Recent Volatility in U.S. Equity Markets: A Review of Key Contributing Factors and Relationships

This paper is a review of volatility trends, factors, and relationships in U.S. equity markets, with emphasis on the period of time from 1980 to the present, when volatility has been at higher levels than what had been observed earlier. Both finance academics and investment professionals are affected by this ‘high-volatility’ environment, as it impacts the traditional relationships that connect risk and return, and can therefore alter both individual asset and portfolio allocation decisions. Based on a thorough review of the literature on a stock’s idiosyncratic volatility, we explain why it has increased in recent times, discuss factors that affect volatility level, and provide an overview of the empirical relationship between current volatility levels and future expected return. At the end of each section, we pose a related idea for future research – there are ten such ideas offered. The primary purposes of the paper are to convince the reader that volatility is an important investment consideration, to identify the major findings in recent volatility research, and to highlight some unanswered volatility questions for future academics and practitioners to explore

Computational Efficiency: Can Something as Small as a Raspberry Pi Complete the Computations Required to Follow the Path?

This chapter explains the development processes of a prototype autonomous toy car. It focuses on the design and implementation of transforming a normal remote control toy car into a self-contained vehicle with the capability to drive autonomously. This would be proven by making it follow a track of any layout. It uses a neural network (NN) in the form of a multilayer perceptron (MLP) to process images in real time to generate a movement instruction. Upon completion, the vehicle demonstrated the ability to be able to follow a track of any layout, while staying between both sides of the track. The collision avoidance system proved to be effective up to a distance of 50 cm in front of the vehicle in order to let it stop prior to hitting an object. The neural network processing of the image in order to classify it in a real time proved to be above the expectation of around 5 FPS and has an accuracy score of over 90%

Analysis of circuit conditions for optimum intermodulation and gain in bipolar cascomp amplifiers with non-ideal error correction

The cascoded-compensation or ‘Cascomp’ amplifier offers excellent distortion reduction and thermal distortion rejection, but has not seen widespread use because of a limited gain and increased complexity compared with other topologies. The original theory showed that with the addition of an ideal error amplifier the circuit will completely compensate distortion for suitably chosen degeneration and bias values. This research presents a new, rigorous mathematical proof for conditions of compensation. The authors further develop the proof to include the non-idealities of the error amplifier. It is shown that there exists a second bias point, not exposed by the original analysis that offers improved gain while maintaining distortion cancellation. By reducing the error amplifier degeneration resistance, one can increase a Cascomp circuit's overall gain by several dB while maintaining theoretically perfect distortion compensation. A robust bias point is proposed, which takes the advantage of this new theory by optimising circuit values resulting in a comparatively broader and deeper third-order distortion null. The proposed theory is confirmed with simulation and measurement that show agreement within the bounds of process and component error limits

Which Australian secondary school students are at risk of illicit drug use?

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [Freeman, T., White, V., & Roche, A.M. (2011) Which Australian secondary school students are at risk of illicit drug use? : A nationwide survey. Drug and Alcohol Review, 30, 589-596], which has been published in final form at [DOI: 10.1111/j.1465-3362.2010.00246.x]. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Introduction and aims: Over recent years, numerous school-based preventive strategies have been explored as possible options to address illicit drug use by young people. However, there is scope to extend current knowledge of which school students are most at risk of illicit drug-related harm. To investigate potential differential risk, the prevalence and patterns of illicit drug use of Australian secondary school students were examined according to demographic, school, economic, and licit drug use factors. Design and methods: Analyses were conducted on the 2005 Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) survey. A total of 21,805 secondary school students aged 12-17 from 376 schools completed the pencil and paper classroom questionnaire. Results: The greatest risk factors for students using illicit drugs were tobacco and alcohol use. Students with self-rated below average academic achievement, with more than $20 a week of disposable income, and who were Indigenous were more likely to report illicit drug use. Discussion and conclusions: While causal pathways could not be examined in the current data, and these relationships are likely to be complex and multi-directional, the findings indicate potentially at-risk populations who warrant extra support to address illicit drug-related harm

THE COORDINATION VARIABILITY OF ‘TRADITIONAL’ AND ‘SPECIFIC’ SPRINT TRAINING EXERCISES COMPARED TO HIGH SPEED RUNNING.

This study aimed to compare specificity of three different resistance training exercises (Back Squat (BS), Bulgarian Split Squat (BSS), and Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift (SL-RDL) compared to high speed running (HSR). Three-dimensional kinematic data were collected from 6 males (age 22.2 ± 1.6 years, height 1.85 ± 0.05 m, mass 77.55 ± 6.50 kg) who completed two sets of six repetitions with two repetitions in reserve for each resistance training exercise and two 10 second treadmill runs at 20 kph (5.56 m/s). Kinematic results from the hip, knee and ankle (max. flexion, max. extension, and range of motion) revealed there was not an exercise that was consistently similar to HSR. Coordination profiling revealed the BS exercise had similarities to HSR across all three joints, however the BSS did show greater specificity at the hip

Domestication and divergence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae beer yeasts

Whereas domestication of livestock, pets, and crops is well documented, it is still unclear to what extent microbes associated with the production of food have also undergone human selection and where the plethora of industrial strains originates from. Here, we present the genomes and phenomes of 157 industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts. Our analyses reveal that today's industrial yeasts can be divided into five sublineages that are genetically and phenotypically separated from wild strains and originate from only a few ancestors through complex patterns of domestication and local divergence. Large-scale phenotyping and genome analysis further show strong industry-specific selection for stress tolerance, sugar utilization, and flavor production, while the sexual cycle and other phenotypes related to survival in nature show decay, particularly in beer yeasts. Together, these results shed light on the origins, evolutionary history, and phenotypic diversity of industrial yeasts and provide a resource for further selection of superior strains

The importance of detecting and managing comorbidities in people with dementia?

Dementia is a debilitating condition characterised by global loss of cognitive and intellectual functioning, which gradually interferes with social and occupational performance. It is a common worldwide condition with a significant impact on society. There are currently 36 million people worldwide with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other dementias [1]. This is expected to more than double by 2030 (65 million) and reach ∼115 million in 2050, unless a major breakthrough is made. The worldwide societal costs were estimated at USD 604 billion in 2010 and rising [2]. To date research on the specific physical healthcare needs of people with dementia has been neglected. Yet, physical comorbidities are reported as common in people with dementia [3] and have been shown to lead to increased disability and reduced quality of life for the affected person and their carer [4]. Dementia is most frequently associated with older people who often present with other medical conditions, known as co-morbidities. Such co-morbidities include diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, musculoskeletal disorders and chronic cardiac failure and are common, 61% of people with

Portfolio Vol. IV N 4

Wager, Dick. Collective Bargaining. Prose. 3-5. Raymond, Toby. Lochinvar Rides Again. Poetry. 6. Wyman, John. Lily of the Alley. Prose. 8-9. Benson, Virginia. Lost Cause. Prose. 10. Collins, Peg. The Curtain Falls. Prose. 11. Dorsey, Ann. Jack. Picture. 12. Sulke, Jim. Old Pete. Picture. 12. Myers, Sue. Jerry. Picture. 12. Rosenthal, Joan. Canadian Farmhouse. Picture. 13. Deeds, Ed. Mirror Lake. Picture. 13. Peters, Doris. Trees. Picture. 13. Seagrave, Leslie. Chinese Coins. Poetry. 14. White, Molly. Thoughts in the Rain. Poetry. 14. Smith, Duke. Keeping the Records Straight. Prose. 15. Stocker, Ed. Joe. Prose. 16-17. Saunders, John. Seven Year\u27s Luck. Prose. 19-22

Investigating the effects of nintedanib on biomarkers of extracellular matrix turnover in patients with IPF : design of the randomised placebo-controlled INMARK®trial

Introduction A feature of the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the excess accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) in the lungs. Cleavage of the ECM by metalloproteinases (MMPs) generates freecirculating protein fragments known as neoepitopes. The PROFILE study suggested that changes in ECM turnover proteins may be of value as markers of disease progression in patients with IPF. Nintedanib is an approved treatment for IPF that slows disease progression by reducing decline in forced vital capacity (FVC). Methods and analysis The INMARK® trial is evaluating the effect of nintedanib on the rates of change of biomarkers of ECM turnover in patients with IPF, the value of changes in these biomarkers as predictors of disease progression and whether nintedanib affects the associations between changes in these biomarkers and disease progression. Following a screening period, 347 patients with IPF and FVC ≥80% predicted were randomised 1:2 to receive nintedanib 150 mg two times a day or placebo for 12 weeks, followed by an open-label period in which all patients will receive nintedanib for 40 weeks. The primary endpoint is the rate of change in C reactive protein degraded by MMP-1/8 from baseline to week 12. Ethics and dissemination This trial is being conducted in compliance with the protocol, the ethical principles detailed in the Declaration of Helsinki and in accordance with the International Conference on Harmonisation Harmonised Tripartite Guideline for Good Clinical Practice. The results of the trial will be presented at national and international meetings and published in peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration number NCT0278847

Designing a primary care pharmacist-led review for people treated with opioids for persistent pain: a multi-method qualitative study.

oai:repository.canterbury.ac.uk:97w90Opioids are frequently prescribed for persistent non-cancer pain despite limited evidence of long-term effectiveness and risk of harm. Evidence-based interventions to address inappropriate opioid prescribing are lacking. To explore perspectives of people living with persistent pain to understand barriers and facilitators in reducing opioids in the context of a pharmacist-led primary care review, and identify review components and features for optimal delivery. Primary care multi-method qualitative study. Adults with experience of persistent pain and taking opioids participated in semi-structured interviews (n=15, 73% female) and an online discussion forum (n=31). The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) provided a framework for data collection and thematic analysis, involving deductive analysis to TDF domains, inductive analysis within-domains to generate subthemes, and subtheme comparison to form across-domain overarching themes. The behaviour change technique taxonomy v.1 and motivational behaviour change technique classification system were used to systematically map themes to behaviour change techniques to identify potential review components and delivery features. 32 facilitator and barrier subthemes for patients reducing opioids were identified across 13 TDF domains. These combined into six overarching themes: learning to live with pain, opioid reduction expectations, assuming a medical model, pharmacist-delivered reviews, pharmacist-patient relationship and patient engagement. Subthemes mapped to 21 unique behaviour change techniques, yielding 17 components and five delivery features for the proposed PROMPPT review. This study generated theoretically-informed evidence for design of a practice pharmacist-led PROMPPT review. Future research will test the feasibility and acceptability of the PROMPPT review and pharmacist training. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2024, The Authors.