726 research outputs found
NSP work project investment styles
This paper analyzes the Nova Student Portfolio (NSP) with the objective to understand performances of the fund. Each investment style has been analyzed (growth, value and momentum) in order to highlight what style allocation contributed positively and which had a negative impact. The results show that the team mainly invested in value stocks, which contributed positively but that its growth investments had a negative impact on the stock picking performance. The stock selection shows a major influence of the value investment style. A statistical approach shows that the market factor was the one explaining the most the NSP returns
Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury (CENTER-TBI): A Prospective Longitudinal Observational Study
BACKGROUND: Current classification of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is suboptimal, and management is based on weak evidence, with little attempt to personalize treatment. A need exists for new precision medicine and stratified management approaches that incorporate emerging technologies. OBJECTIVE: To improve characterization and classification of TBI and to identify best clinical care, using comparative effectiveness research approaches. METHODS: This multicenter, longitudinal, prospective, observational study in 22 countries across Europe and Israel will collect detailed data from 5400 consenting patients, presenting within 24 hours of injury, with a clinical diagnosis of TBI and an indication for computed tomography. Broader registry-level data collection in approximately 20 000 patients will assess generalizability. Cross sectional comprehensive outcome assessments, including quality of life and neuropsychological testing, will be performed at 6 months. Longitudinal assessments will continue up to 24 months post TBI in patient subsets. Advanced neuroimaging and genomic and biomarker data will be used to improve characterization, and analyses will include neuroinformatics approaches to address variations in process and clinical care. Results will be integrated with living systematic reviews in a process of knowledge transfer. The study initiation was from October to December 2014, and the recruitment period was for 18 to 24 months. EXPECTED OUTCOMES: Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in TBI should provide novel multidimensional approaches to TBI characterization and classification, evidence to support treatment recommendations, and benchmarks for quality of care. Data and sample repositories will ensure opportunities for legacy research. DISCUSSION: Comparative effectiveness research provides an alternative to reductionistic clinical trials in restricted patient populations by exploiting differences in biology, care, and outcome to support optimal personalized patient management
An estimate of the number of tropical tree species
The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisherâs alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between âŒ40,000 and âŒ53,000, i.e. at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of âŒ19,000â25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of âŒ4,500â6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa
A phylogenetic classification of the worldâs tropical forests
Knowledge about the biogeographic affinities of the worldâs tropical forests helps to better understand regional differences in forest structure, diversity, composition and dynamics. Such understanding will enable anticipation of region specific responses to global environmental change. Modern phylogenies, in combination with broad coverage of species inventory data, now allow for global biogeographic analyses that take species evolutionary distance into account. Here we present the first classification of the worldâs tropical forests based on their phylogenetic similarity. We identify five principal floristic regions and their floristic relationships: (1) Indo-Pacific, (2) Subtropical, (3) African, (4) American, and (5) Dry forests. Our results do not support the traditional Neo- versus Palaeo-tropical forest division, but instead separate the combined American and African forests from their Indo-Pacific counterparts. We also find indications for the existence of a global dry forest region, with representatives in America, Africa, Madagascar and India. Additionally, a northern hemisphere Subtropical forest region was identified with representatives in Asia and America, providing support for a link between Asian and American northern hemisphere forests
Search for Scalar Leptoquarks Produced via Ï-Lepton-Quark Scattering in Collisions at
The first search for scalar leptoquarks produced in Ï-leptonâquark collisions is presented. It is based on a set of proton-proton collision data recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138ââfb. The reconstructed final state consists of a jet, significant missing transverse momentum, and a Ï lepton reconstructed through its hadronic or leptonic decays. Limits are set on the product of the leptoquark production cross section and branching fraction and interpreted as exclusions in the plane of the leptoquark mass and the leptoquark-Ï-quark coupling strength
Phylogenetic classification of the world's tropical forests
Knowledge about the biogeographic affinities of the worldâs tropical forests helps to better understand regional differences in forest structure, diversity, composition, and dynamics. Such understanding will enable anticipation of region-specific responses to global environmental change. Modern phylogenies, in combination with broad coverage of species inventory data, now allow for global biogeographic analyses that take species evolutionary distance into account. Here we present a classification of the worldâs tropical forests based on their phylogenetic similarity. We identify five principal floristic regions and their floristic relationships: (i) Indo-Pacific, (ii) Subtropical, (iii) African, (iv) American, and (v) Dry forests. Our results do not support the traditional neo- versus paleotropical forest division but instead separate the combined American and African forests from their Indo-Pacific counterparts. We also find indications for the existence of a global dry forest region, with representatives in America, Africa, Madagascar, and India. Additionally, a northern-hemisphere Subtropical forest region was identified with representatives in Asia and America, providing support for a link between Asian and American northern-hemisphere forests.</p
Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study
Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008â11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003â13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 Ă 10â10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 Ă 10â8 DHFR p=8·37 Ă 10â7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 Ă 10â9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 Ă 10â4 DHFR p=8·45 Ă 10â4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 Ă 10â3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 Ă 10â8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16â0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06â0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation
Mesure de la production des mĂ©sons Ï dans les collisions protonâproton et PbâPb Ă âs_(NN) = 5.02 TeV avec l'expĂ©rience ALICE au LHC
Les collisions dâions lourds ultra-relativistes mĂšne Ă lâĂ©mergence dâun Ă©tat extrĂȘme de la matiĂšre, le plasma de quarks et de gluons ou QGP. FormĂ©s aux premiers instants de la collision, les quarkonia, rĂ©sonances de deux quarks de mĂȘme saveur lourde, interagissent avec le milieu tout au long de son Ă©volution. Selon lâintensitĂ© des mĂ©canismes en jeu, les paires sont dissociĂ©es et le taux de production est donc supprimĂ©. La mesure de cette suppression offre un accĂšs privilĂ©giĂ© aux caractĂ©ristiques du QGP. En particulier, la production de quarkonia dans les collisions dâions lourds est communĂ©ment avancĂ©e comme une observable clĂ© de la modification de lâinteraction forte.Cette thĂšse porte sur lâĂ©tude de la production du mĂ©son ΄ en collisions PbâPbĂ âsNN = 5.02 TeV au LHC. Les mĂ©sons ΄(nS) sont reconstruits Ă travers leur dĂ©sintĂ©gration en paire de muons dĂ©tectĂ©s parle spectromĂštre Ă muon dâALICE. Les rĂ©sultats montrent une forte suppression de la production de ΄(1S), augmentant des collisions pĂ©riphĂ©riques aux plus centrales. LâĂ©tat excitĂ© ΄(2S) est pour la premiĂšre fois mesurĂ© Ă rapiditĂ© avant dans des collisions noyauânoyau. La comparaison avec des prĂ©dictions de modĂšles phĂ©nomĂ©nologiques permettent dâinterprĂ©ter les mesures et de contraindre les mĂ©canismes de suppression des quarkonia.Ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions lead to the emergence of an extreme state of matter, the quark-gluon plasma or QGP. Formed at the early stage of the collision, quarkonia, resonances of two quarks of the same heavy flavour, interact with the medium throughout its evolution. Depending on the intensity of the mechanisms at play, the pairs are dissociated and the final-state production rate is thus suppressed. The measurement of this suppression offers a privileged access to QGP features. In particular, the production of quarkonia in heavy-ion collisions is commonly advertised as a key observable of the modification of the strong interaction. This thesis is devoted to the study of the ΄ production in PbâPb collisions at âsNN = 5.02 TeV at the LHC. The ΄(nS) mesons are reconstructed via their decay into muon pairs detected by the ALICE muon spectrometer. The results indicate a strong suppression of the ΄(1S) production, increasing from peripheral towards more central collisions. For the first time, the ΄(2S) excited state can be measured at forward rapidity in nucleusânucleus collisions. The comparison with predictions by phenomenological models allows to interpret the measurements and to constrain the suppression mechanisms of quarkonia
Mesure de la production des mĂ©sons Ï dans les collisions protonâproton et PbâPb Ă âs_(NN) = 5.02 TeV avec l'expĂ©rience ALICE au LHC
Ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions lead to the emergence of an extreme state of matter, the quark-gluon plasma or QGP. Formed at the early stage of the collision, quarkonia, resonances of two quarks of the same heavy flavour, interact with the medium throughout its evolution. Depending on the intensity of the mechanisms at play, the pairs are dissociated and the final-state production rate is thus suppressed. The measurement of this suppression offers a privileged access to QGP features. In particular, the production of quarkonia in heavy-ion collisions is commonly advertised as a key observable of the modification of the strong interaction. This thesis is devoted to the study of the ΄ production in PbâPb collisions at âsNN = 5.02 TeV at the LHC. The ΄(nS) mesons are reconstructed via their decay into muon pairs detected by the ALICE muon spectrometer. The results indicate a strong suppression of the ΄(1S) production, increasing from peripheral towards more central collisions. For the first time, the ΄(2S) excited state can be measured at forward rapidity in nucleusânucleus collisions. The comparison with predictions by phenomenological models allows to interpret the measurements and to constrain the suppression mechanisms of quarkonia.Les collisions dâions lourds ultra-relativistes mĂšne Ă lâĂ©mergence dâun Ă©tat extrĂȘme de la matiĂšre, le plasma de quarks et de gluons ou QGP. FormĂ©s aux premiers instants de la collision, les quarkonia, rĂ©sonances de deux quarks de mĂȘme saveur lourde, interagissent avec le milieu tout au long de son Ă©volution. Selon lâintensitĂ© des mĂ©canismes en jeu, les paires sont dissociĂ©es et le taux de production est donc supprimĂ©. La mesure de cette suppression offre un accĂšs privilĂ©giĂ© aux caractĂ©ristiques du QGP. En particulier, la production de quarkonia dans les collisions dâions lourds est communĂ©ment avancĂ©e comme une observable clĂ© de la modification de lâinteraction forte.Cette thĂšse porte sur lâĂ©tude de la production du mĂ©son ΄ en collisions PbâPbĂ âsNN = 5.02 TeV au LHC. Les mĂ©sons ΄(nS) sont reconstruits Ă travers leur dĂ©sintĂ©gration en paire de muons dĂ©tectĂ©s parle spectromĂštre Ă muon dâALICE. Les rĂ©sultats montrent une forte suppression de la production de ΄(1S), augmentant des collisions pĂ©riphĂ©riques aux plus centrales. LâĂ©tat excitĂ© ΄(2S) est pour la premiĂšre fois mesurĂ© Ă rapiditĂ© avant dans des collisions noyauânoyau. La comparaison avec des prĂ©dictions de modĂšles phĂ©nomĂ©nologiques permettent dâinterprĂ©ter les mesures et de contraindre les mĂ©canismes de suppression des quarkonia
Mesure de la production des mĂ©sons Ï dans les collisions protonâproton et PbâPb Ă âs_(NN) = 5.02 TeV avec l'expĂ©rience ALICE au LHC
Ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions lead to the emergence of an extreme state of matter, the quark-gluon plasma or QGP. Formed at the early stage of the collision, quarkonia, resonances of two quarks of the same heavy flavour, interact with the medium throughout its evolution. Depending on the intensity of the mechanisms at play, the pairs are dissociated and the final-state production rate is thus suppressed. The measurement of this suppression offers a privileged access to QGP features. In particular, the production of quarkonia in heavy-ion collisions is commonly advertised as a key observable of the modification of the strong interaction. This thesis is devoted to the study of the ΄ production in PbâPb collisions at âsNN = 5.02 TeV at the LHC. The ΄(nS) mesons are reconstructed via their decay into muon pairs detected by the ALICE muon spectrometer. The results indicate a strong suppression of the ΄(1S) production, increasing from peripheral towards more central collisions. For the first time, the ΄(2S) excited state can be measured at forward rapidity in nucleusânucleus collisions. The comparison with predictions by phenomenological models allows to interpret the measurements and to constrain the suppression mechanisms of quarkonia.Les collisions dâions lourds ultra-relativistes mĂšne Ă lâĂ©mergence dâun Ă©tat extrĂȘme de la matiĂšre, le plasma de quarks et de gluons ou QGP. FormĂ©s aux premiers instants de la collision, les quarkonia, rĂ©sonances de deux quarks de mĂȘme saveur lourde, interagissent avec le milieu tout au long de son Ă©volution. Selon lâintensitĂ© des mĂ©canismes en jeu, les paires sont dissociĂ©es et le taux de production est donc supprimĂ©. La mesure de cette suppression offre un accĂšs privilĂ©giĂ© aux caractĂ©ristiques du QGP. En particulier, la production de quarkonia dans les collisions dâions lourds est communĂ©ment avancĂ©e comme une observable clĂ© de la modification de lâinteraction forte.Cette thĂšse porte sur lâĂ©tude de la production du mĂ©son ΄ en collisions PbâPbĂ âsNN = 5.02 TeV au LHC. Les mĂ©sons ΄(nS) sont reconstruits Ă travers leur dĂ©sintĂ©gration en paire de muons dĂ©tectĂ©s parle spectromĂštre Ă muon dâALICE. Les rĂ©sultats montrent une forte suppression de la production de ΄(1S), augmentant des collisions pĂ©riphĂ©riques aux plus centrales. LâĂ©tat excitĂ© ΄(2S) est pour la premiĂšre fois mesurĂ© Ă rapiditĂ© avant dans des collisions noyauânoyau. La comparaison avec des prĂ©dictions de modĂšles phĂ©nomĂ©nologiques permettent dâinterprĂ©ter les mesures et de contraindre les mĂ©canismes de suppression des quarkonia
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