Analysis of Stock Price Movement Following Financial News Article Release

What effect does a financial news article have on stock price? To answer this question we investigate stock price movements within the minutes following financial news releases, broken down by media outlet, time of release and article sentiment. Our data shown a Sharpe ratio (a measure for calculating risk-adjusted return) of 1.18 versus a random dataset of ‑0.06, indicating significant price movement immediately following article release. Second, we found that articles released through WSJ, Reuters – UK Focus, NYT and FT all experienced significant positive returns, whereas articles in Barrons, MarketWatch, Forbes and Bloomberg experienced significant negative returns. Third, we found that articles released at certain times had abnormally high price movements associated with them, more so than random chance. Lastly we discovered a minority of positive news articles trending upwards and suddenly reversing direction following a financial news article release. In one particular case there was a period of several days where the release of IBM articles triggered large price declines with steady prices otherwise. We believe these findings could be used by companies as a form of stock price management

The PLAID graphics analysis impact on the space program

An ongoing project design often requires visual verification at various stages. These requirements are critically important because the subsequent phases of that project might depend on the complete verification of a particular stage. Currently, there are several software packages at JSC that provide such simulation capabilities. We present the simulation capabilities of the PLAID modeling system used in the Flight Crew Support Division for human factors analyses. We summarize some ongoing studies in kinematics, lighting, EVA activities, and discuss various applications in the mission planning of the current Space Shuttle flights and the assembly sequence of the Space Station Freedom with emphasis on the redesign effort

Computer-assisted technique for airborne dust sampling data representativeness and worker's exposure assessment - CAT-ReADS

Nowadays, occupational exposure to airborne dust is still one of the most concerning problems our society should face, since both airborne dust is a common pollutant in almost all the NACE sectors activities, and the occupational exposure quantification is critical. One of the possible causes can be identified in determining the real conditions of dust pollution in the workplaces, attributable to the delicacy of the various phases of acquisition of the measures, and on the variability of operations carried out by workers, affecting the pollutant emission rates. A research project in progress discusses the causes of uncertainty attributable to laboratory and sampling activities, and to the identification of the most appropriate techniques of the results’ representativeness assessment. A recent result is the development of an original Computer-Assisted Technique for Airborne Dust Sampling data representativeness and worker's exposure assessment - CAT-ReADS, MS-Excel Vbasic developed - it supports the companies and external audit technicians, from the setting of the surveys and the laboratory activities to the verification, in a rigorous statistical approach, of compliance/noncompliance of the field measurement results vs the limit values. The resulting workplaces pollution and workers’ exposure assessment are free from subjective simplifications: CAT-ReADS includes various sections of guided selection and data analysis, covering Instruments and their calibration, Recording of environmental parameters and activities carried out by the workers during the samplings, Calculation of concentrations, Calculation of expanded uncertainty, Statistical tests for estimating the probability of exceeding the limit value, both referring – as is common practice- to the mean value, and, in a more cautionary way, to the upper uncertainty values (assuming a confidence level of 95%). The paper provides some examples of the implementation of CAT-ReADS in different production scenarios, and an in-depth discussion of the results

The role of basic and applied research activities for the improvement of OS&H conditions and the dissemination of the Culture of Safety

Although the European panorama is experiencing a profound change in advance to the Industry 4.0, revolutionizing the world of work with technical, technological and information innovations, in Italy even today we have to deal with the "old" problem of work related injuries and fatalities. In particular, the accident indices of the last few years do not seem to differ much from those typical of the 1970s. The cultural effort matured with the enforcement of the European Directives, with the consequent passage from a rigid prescriptive approach to a flexible one based on risk analysis, is therefore not sufficient to face without “trauma” such rapid technological development accompanied by legislative, productive changes and increasingly widespread reassignment of tasks within the Companies. In this context, the role of scientific research is essential to contribute to technological transfer and scientific knowledge by reconciling the essential aspects of Occupational Safety and Health, through a rigorous and devoted analysis of working scenarios. Furthermore, the dissemination of a Culture of Safety at all levels (Management and Staff roles) can encourage a bilateral synergy "Industry-University" from an OS&H point of view. The present work discusses in more detail the results of the research carried out by the “young” OS&H researchers of the Polytechnic University of Turin presented on the second day of the Conference Dissemination of The Culture of Safety and Health at Work - “Eras of OS&H Development from early ’50 to industry 4.0”

Clinical course and prognostic factors of hepatorenal syndrome: A retrospective single-center cohort study

AIM: To investigate clinical and biochemical features of hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), to assess short and long-term survival evaluating potential predictors of early mortality. METHODS: Sixty-two patients with liver cirrhosis and renal failure, defined as a serum creatinine value > 1.5 mg/dL on at least two measurements within 48 h, admitted to our tertiary referral Unit from 2001 to 201, were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, 33 patients (53.2%) fulfilled the revised criteria of the International Ascites Club for the diagnosis of HRS. Twenty-eight patients were treated with combinations of terlipressin and albumin, two with dopamine and albumin, and three with albumin alone. No patients were suitable for liver transplantation. Complete response was defined as normalization of creatinine levels to less than 1.5 mg/dL, partial response as a decrease of at least 50% but not to less than 1.5 mg/dL, no response as no reduction in creatinine or a decrease of less 50% compared to pre-treatment values. All of the patients were followed up for at least 1 year until January 2013. RESULTS: HRS type 1 was diagnosed in 15 patients (45.5%). Hepatitis C virus infection was the primary etiology (69.6%), followed by alcohol (15.2%), and cryptogenesis (15.2%). Complete response to therapy was obtained in only 3 cases (9.1%) and partial response in 7 patients (21.2%). Median survival was 30 d (range: 10-274) without significant differences between type 1 and type 2 HRS. By univariate analysis, Child-Pugh class C (P = 0.009), presence of hepatocellular carcinoma (P = 0.04), low serum sodium (P = 0.02), high bilirubin values (P = 0.009) and high Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score (P = 0.03) were predictive factors of 30-d mortality. By multivariate analysis, only serum sodium < 132 mEq/L (OR = 31.39; P = 0.02) and MELD score > 27 (OR = 18.72; P = 0.01) were independently associated with a survival of less than one month. CONCLUSION: HRS still has a poor prognosis, even when vasoactive drug therapies are extensively used

La determinazione dei salari in Italia : rigidit&#224; reali e nominali prima e dopo gli accordi di politica dei redditi

This paper estimates the extent of downward wage rigidity in Italy using a micro-econometric model and the recently released WHIP longitudinal data. The econometric approach distinguishes between downward nominal wage rigidity \u2013 i.e., the impediment to nominal wage cuts \u2013 and downward real wage rigidity \u2013 i.e., when nominal wages cannot grow by less than a minimum positive threshold. The model accounts for measurement error and flexibly specifies the counterfactual, rigidity-free wage change distribution. The period analyzed goes from the mid eighties to the end of the century, within which the 1992-1993 income agreements \u2013 with the abolition of the scala mobile \u2013 are situated. Overall, downward wage rigidity impacts on about 70% of the observations. However, in the periods following the income agreements, the impact of wage rigidity is reduced, in particular with regards to real rigidities (with a slight increase in nominal rigidities). In each sub-period, however, real rigidities prevail over nominal rigiditie

Measures of Obesity Associated with Asthma Diagnosis in Ethnic Minority Children

Objective. The study objective was to examine relationships between different body size measurements and asthma in ethnic minority children. Methods. We used data from a community-based study of 505 children aged 6-to-8 years old to study the association of percent body fat, fat distribution, and BMI percentile with asthma diagnosis. Poisson regression models were used to compute prevalence ratios (PRs) for sex-specific quintiles of the body fat measures on the main outcome of asthma. Results. When comparing the highest quintile of each body fat measure to the combined lowest two quintiles, higher body mass index percentile, percent body fat, and waist circumference all were associated with a higher likelihood of physician-diagnosed asthma (PR = 1.63 (95% CI 1.12–2.39), 1.50 (95% CI 1.02–2.21), and 1.56 (95% CI 1.04–2.34), resp.). Conclusions. This study found a significant association between increased body size and asthma diagnosis, regardless of the measurement examined

Impaired circadian heart rate variability in Parkinson's disease: A time-domain analysis in ambulatory setting

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) decreases in Parkinson's disease (PD) and it can be considered a marker for cardiovascular dysautonomia. The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate long-term time-domain analysis of HRV of PD patients and compare the results with those of matched healthy individuals. Methods: Idiopathic PD patients without comorbidity impairing HRV, and age-matched healthy individuals were recruited in a pilot study. A long-term time domain analysis of HRV using 24-h ambulatory ECG was performed. Results: Overall, 18 PD patients fulfilling inclusion criteria completed the evaluation (mean age was 55.6 ± 8.8, disease duration: 5.0 ± 4.7). Mean SCOPA-AUT score was 10.1 ± 7.3. Patients were on Hoehn &amp; Yahr stage 1-2 and mean Levodopa Equivalent Dose (LED) was 311 ± 239.9. Mean of the 5-min standard deviation (SD) of R-R intervals distribution (SDNN) for all 5 min segments of the entire recording (ISDNN) was significantly lower in patients compared to controls. ISDNN was significantly different between Parkinson's disease patients and healthy controls. Conclusions: In our population characterized by mild to moderate disease severity, time-domain assessment of HRV seemed to be a potential tool to characterize cardiovascular dysautonomia. Decrease of ISDNN in PD may reflect an autonomic derangement extending all day and night long

Comparison of Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) suited and unsuited isolated joint strength measurements

In this study the strength of subjects suited in extravehicular mobility units (EMU's) - or Space Shuttle suits - was compared to the strength of unsuited subjects. The authors devised a systematic and complete data set that characterizes isolated joint torques for all major joints of EMU-suited subjects. Six joint motions were included in the data set. The joint conditions of six subjects were compared to increase our understanding of the strength capabilities of suited subjects. Data were gathered on suited and unsuited subjects. Suited subjects wore Class 3 or Class 1 suits, with and without thermal micrometeoroid garments (TMG's). Suited and unsuited conditions for each joint motion were compared. From this the authors found, for example, that shoulder abduction suited conditions differ from each other and from the unsuited condition. A second-order polynomial regression model was also provided. This model, which allows the prediction of suited strength when given unsuited strength information, relates the torques of unsuited conditions to the torques of all suited conditions. Data obtained will enable computer modeling of EMU strength, conversion from unsuited to suited data, and isolated joint strength comparisons between suited and unsuited conditions at any measured angle. From these data mission planners and human factors engineers may gain a better understanding of crew posture, and mobility and strength capabilities. This study also may help suit designers optimize suit strength, and provide a foundation for EMU strength modeling systems