Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On Utility-Based Investment, Pricing and Hedging in Incomplete Markets

This thesis deals with rational investors who maximize their expected utility in incomplete markets. In Part I, we consider incompleteness induced by jumps and stochastic volatility. Using martingale methods we determine optimal investment strategies for power utility in a wide class of different models. Moreover, we show how first-order approximations of utility-based prices and hedging strategies can be computed by solving a quadratic hedging problem under a suitable measure. This representation result is then applied to affine models leading to semi-explicit solutions. In Part II, we deal with incompleteness due to proportional transaction costs. In finite discrete time we establish that there always exists a shadow price process, which lies within the bid-ask bounds of the original market with transaction costs and leads to the same maximal expected utility. We then show that this idea can also be used in actual computations. This is done by reconsidering the classical Merton problem with transaction costs and solving it by computing the shadow price and the optimal strategy simultaneously.
The effect of triglyceride positional distribution on fatty acid absorption in rats.

BACKGROUND Human milk contains palmitic acid predominantly in the triglyceride sn-2 position, and differs from the palmitic acid positional distribution found in most infant formulas (predominantly positions sn-1 and sn-3). Following lipolysis by pancreatic lipase, 2-monoglycerides and free fatty acids are produced. All 2-monoglycerides are well absorbed, including 2-monopalmitin, thus providing one reason for the efficient absorption of palmitic acid in breast-fed infants. If infants are fed fat blends with palmitic acid located in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions, the resulting free fatty acids may form poorly absorbed calcium soaps. Therefore, many infant formulas contain only modest levels of palmitic acid. METHODS Fat absorption studies were conducted in rats with preparations containing various amounts of palmitic acid in the triglyceride sn-2 position. Determining total fat absorption, specific fatty acid absorption, and the presence of calcium-fatty acid soaps. RESULTS Betapol, a new triacylglycerol, similar to human milk in its palmitic acid content and positional distribution, demonstrated excellent absorption characteristics compared to fat blends derived from either palm olein or oleo (similar in fatty acid profile to Betapol, but with most palmitic acid in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions). A five-point dose response was used to further evaluate the relationship of positional distribution and fat loss. Palmitic acid excretion and fecal fatty acid soaps were negatively correlated to the presence of palmitic acid in the sn-2 position. CONCLUSION These studies provide evidence that palmitic acid can be efficiently absorbed, avoiding fatty soap formation of it is present in the sn-2 position.
An Investigation of Market Concentration and Financial Stability in Property–Liability Insurance Industry

The article investigates whether the market concentration is associated with an insurer's financial stability in the U.S. property–liability insurance industry over the period 1992–2010. We employ two-stage least squares techniques with instrumental variables to address likely endogeneity problems. The results show that higher market concentration is associated with lower financial stability of insurance firms, consistent with the “concentration-fragility” view. Our results indicate that firm-specific characteristics including firm size, underwriting leverage, organizational form, product and geographical diversification, along with the exposure to natural catastrophes and macroeconomic conditions are important determinants in ensuring a safe and sound insurance system. Robustness tests using various estimation methods and alternative measures of financial stability present consistent results.
Case based learning—a review of the literature: is there scope for this educational paradigm in prehospital education?

This paper discusses the findings of a literature review of case based learning (CBL) from a multidisciplinary health science education perspective and attempts to draw comparisons with the available literature relating to prehospital education and CBL. CBL is an exciting educational prospect in which to develop research capacity, strategies, and opportunities. This paper provides an examination of the literature exploring the major consistencies and inconsistencies, and reveals areas of potential future research for prehospital education institutions.
Information-Content Of Analysts Composite Forecast Revisions

In this paper we provide evidence on the relationship between revisions in analysts' composite earnings forecasts and contemporaneous stock price movements. Most of the research on forecasts of accounting earnings has focused on (1) whether earnings forecasts have information content, and (2) the pros and cons of regulations (standards) requiring earnings forecasts (Gonedes, Dopuch, and Penman [1976]). The second issue is moot if earnings forecasts do not contain information. Empirical evidence suggests that management earnings forecasts are associated with significant security price revisions (Foster [1973], Patell [1976], Nichols and Tsay [1979], and Penman [1980]). Similar results were obtained for analysts' forecasts (Gonedes, Dopuch, and Penman [1976]). One aspect of this area of research which has been neglected is the relationship between analysts' forecasts and managements' forecasts. Normally, corporations do not issue public forecasts of accounting data on a regular basis. ' However, security analysts are in frequent contact with corporations in an effort to confirm information or obtain new
Can employee share‐ownership improve employee attitudes and behaviour?

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the outcomes of a substantial broad‐based employee share‐ownership scheme for employee attitudes and behaviour in a privatised firm.Design/methodology/approach – Results are based on a survey of 711 employees in Eircom, an Irish telecommunications firm, which is 35 percent employee‐owned.Findings – The ESOP has created sizable financial returns and has had extensive influence in firm governance at the strategic level. However, findings show only a limited impact on employee attitudes and behaviour. This is attributed to a failure in creating a sense of employee participation and line of sight between employee performance and reward.Practical implications – The aim of employee share‐ownership often includes aligning employee objectives with those of other shareholders, and thus improving labour performance. The findings in this study highlight a need to provide employees with a sense of ownership and control. Findings also question the assumption that whe.
Chinese Private Firms and Internationalization

Applying the socioemotional wealth perspective of family businesses, this study examines how family control affects whether firms tend to go international. Departing from prior research that has treated family involvement in management and family ownership as interchangeable and inseparable, we suggest that they are two different aspects of family control, which independently and differently affect firms’ internationalization strategies. A sample of private Chinese firms supports our predictions that family involvement in management has an inverted-U-shaped relationship with the likelihood of internationalization and that the percentage of family ownership has a U-shaped relationship with the likelihood of internationalization.
Information, Selective Disclosure, and Analyst Behavior

"This paper examines whether the prohibition of selective disclosures to equity research analysts mandated by Regulation FD alters the amount of information and the manner in which it is revealed to the market. We demonstrate that equity research analysts are more responsive to information contained in company-initiated disclosures after Reg FD, suggesting that regulation has affected the importance of various channels of communication. We also present evidence consistent with the notion that managers use earnings guidance as a substitute for selective disclosure following the passage of Reg FD. " Copyright (c) 2009 Financial Management Association International.
Mainstreaming intersectional equality for older people? Exploring the impact of quasi-federalism in the UK

Using an analytical framework based on European Commission directives and United Nations resolutions calling for a mainstreamed and intersectional approach to age equality, this paper examines the UK’s devolved administrations’ governance practices and territorially specific public policy on older people. The findings reveal mixed progress. Whilst a number of mainstreaming prerequisites have been secured and divergent, ‘regional’ equality rights and welfare entitlements established, shortcomings are also apparent including reliance on an intercategorical, additive approach to intersectionality, one that falls short of fully addressing the diverse needs and identities of older people.
Trading Off or Having it All? Completed Fertility and Mid-Career Earnings of Swedish Men and Women

Earnings in mid-career and children are two fundamental outcomes of the life-choices of men and women. Both require time and other resources and reflect the accumulated priorities of individuals and couples. We explore how these outcomes have changed for Swedish men and women born 1945-1962 by documenting changes in education, assortative mating patterns, completed fertility and mid-career earnings. We find an overall increasing inequality in career and family outcomes of men, reflecting a rise in the family-career complementarity. For women, the family-career trade-off has eased for non-professionals, and there appears to be a convergence in the life-choices of women across education groups. Despite these different developments for men and women, we find that within-family specialization, measured by the average spousal earnings contribution, is remarkably stable through the period.
An Evaluation of the Effect of Child-Directed Television Food Advertising Regulation in the United Kingdom

type="main" xml:lang="fr"> Devant l'augmentation de l'obesite infantile, le gouvernement du Royaume-Uni a introduit recemment une regulation plus stricte pour diminuer l'exposition des enfants aux publicites d'aliments gras, sucres et sales (en anglais, produits ≪ HFSS ≫). L'objectif de notre article est de quantifier l'impact de cette reglementation sur les achats lors de trois phases representantes de l'evolution de la reglementation; une phase sans reglementation, une periode de regulation volontaire des industries agroalimentaires puis la phase actuelle de coregulation encadree par un code des pratiques industrielles. Les resultats laissent voir que la coregulation est le seul mecanisme qui permette de faire diminuer sensiblement le budget dedie aux encarts publicitaires. La reduction du budget publicitaire de £15,2 millions comprend £11,4 millions de publicites televisees des produits HFSS. La diminution des budgets publicitaires s'est repercutee dans les depenses des menages pour les produits HFSS. Quoi qu'il en soit, l'autoregulation et la coregulation permettent une diminution des achats de produits HFSS. En effet, les menages sans enfant ont diminue leurs depenses de boissons HFSS de £5,2 par personne (par trimestre) tandis que les menages avec enfants ont diminue leurs achats d'aliment HFSS de £14.9 et boissons HFSS de £5,6 par personne (par trimestre).
Two distinct human myeloma cell lines originating from one patient with myeloma

Two distinct cell lines (OPM‐l and OPM‐2) were established from the peripheral blood of a 56‐year‐old female myeloma patient at the stage of terminal leukemic evolution associated with loss of cytoplasmic immunoglobulin heavy chain (Gλ ± λ). The lines grew in suspension with a doubling time of 36‐42 hr and 30‐36 hr, respectively. EBNA was absent from both lines. The lines synthesized cytoplasmic λ‐chain, but had no detectable surface immunoglobulins. Fc receptors and complement receptors could not be detected in either line. The lines had very complex chromosomal abnormalities, but the patterns of chromosomes differed greatly between the two lines. The two lines, together with the RPMI 8226 line established by Matsuoka et al. (1967), were analyzed for phenotypic expression as defined by a panel of monoclonal antibodies to B cells (B1, BA‐1, BA‐2, BA‐3, OKla‐1 and OKT10/BMA0100). Neither OPM‐I nor OPM‐2 reacted with any of the antibodies tested except OKT10. OPM‐l cells reacted weakly ( < 30%) with OKT10/BMA0100, while OPM‐2 cells showed a fluctuating reactivity, ranging from 40 to 80%, with OKT10/BMA0100. In contrast, RPMI 8226 reacted strongly with OKT10 and BA‐2. These results demonstrate the presence of phenotypic heterogeneity in all 3 myeloma cell lines, suggesting that the lines might represent different stages of terminal B‐cell development.
Bridging discourses in a writing classroom

The aim of this study is to describe and analyse the writing discourse in one classroom and how students learn through studying a topic, i.e. the teaching and learning of written argument. The study takes its stance from a sociocultural perspective and is influenced by discourse analyses, new literacy studies and critical literacy (Fairclough 1989; Barton 2007; Janks 2010; IvaniÄ 2004). Data from year 6 in Sweden consist of observations, informal conversations, teachers’ planning and students’ written texts, i.e. letters to the editor. The results are presented in terms of four themes that became apparent during the reading of the data, viz.: (1) teaching for learning – deconstruction; (2) dialogue and scaffolding for learning – enabling access; (3) feedback and students’ reflections for learning; and (4) writing to learn – reconstruction. The data are analysed and discussed on the basis of four concepts for developing critical literacy, viz. access, deconstruction, reconstruction and domination (cf. Janks 2010:21 – 32). The study indicates that explicit teaching of a written argument provides students with access to the dominating structure of the genre if they are given the time and tools to reflect and are given feedback from the teacher.
Fiscal Reserves and State Own-Source Expenditure in Downturn Years

This article tests the effects of fiscal reserves on state total own-source expenditure in downturn years. Using a panel data set (fifty states, 1979 to 1999), the article uses the variance-from-trend as the dependent variable to estimate the effects of aggregate reserves as well as budget stabilization funds (BSF) and general fund surpluses (GFS) and obtain their respective coefficients. Two data sources on fiscal reserves are used: the Fiscal Survey of the States and the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The article provides evidence that fiscal reserves exert positive effects on state own-source expenditure in downturn years. The effects, however, are mainly from the BSF; the GFS coefficients, even when statistically significant, are only a quarter the size of those for the BSF. Nevertheless, states that do not have a BSF seem still to rely on the GFS. It appears that the BSF has taken over the counter cyclical stabilizing function from the GFS.
Decreased Urethral Volume Is Comparable to Funneling as a Predictor of Intrinsic Sphincter Deficiency

Objectives The aims of this study were to determine the association between x-ray funneling and ultrasound urethral sphincter complex measurements and to compare the reliability of funneling versus urethral volume measurement in the detection of intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD). Methods This was a retrospective analysis, which included 54 stress incontinent women dichotomized into those with (1) ISD and (2) no ISD. The presence of bladder neck funneling was diagnosed by fluoroscopic images obtained at the time of video-urodynamics testing. Measurements of the urethral sphincter complex were obtained from ultrasound volumes. Reliability measures were obtained for both funneling and urethral volume measurements. Results Rhabdomyosphincter length and area were found to be smaller in patients with funneling compared with those with no funneling (P = 0.0161, P = 0.0359). The urethral volume was significantly smaller in the ISD versus no-ISD group (P = 0.0002). For those who had funneling, the ISD group had smaller urethral volume compared with the no-ISD group (P = 0.0019). For those who did not have funneling, the ISD group still had a smaller urethral volume compared with the no-ISD group (P = 0.0054). An ultrasound urethral volume of less than 3.5 cm3 had a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 64% for the presence of ISD, whereas x-ray funneling had a sensitivity of 76% and a specificity of 73%. Conclusions Smaller rhabdomyosphincter length and area on ultrasound are associated with x-ray funneling. Ultrasound urethral volume of 3.5 cm3 as a cutoff provides the same reliability as x-ray funneling for the diagnosis of ISD.
Essays in Development and Health Economics

In this collection of essays I study individuals’ health related decision-making and the consequences of those decisions for health and labor market productivity. The first two essays focus on the impact of low caloric intake on economic productivity in India and find that changes in caloric intake result in substantial and broadly generalizable changes in productivity among malnourished adults. The first of these essays, based on a randomized controlled trial of cyclerickshaw drivers, finds that an additional 700 calories per day results in improved physical and cognitive function in the laboratory as well as a 10 percent increase in labor supply and earnings by the fifth and final week of the study. The second essay studies the impact of a decline of 700 calories per day caused by Ramadan fasting on agricultural production. The estimated decrease in production implies a 20 to 40 percent loss in productivity per fasting individual. In both of these studies, the estimated return on investment in calories is relatively high, with point estimates of 75 to 200 percent over a few months. Yet, substantial evidence suggests that liquidity constraints do not meaningfully limit caloric consumption. Hence, the low caloric intake of the majority of Indian adults presents a puzzle. I study choices regarding caloric intake through incentivized surveys and find evidence that inaccurate beliefs about both the returns to calories and the caloric content of foods may play a role in the low caloric consumption observed in India. The third essay examines the impact of individually oriented, purely altruistic, and a hybrid of competitive and cooperative monetary incentives on older adults’ completion of cognitive exercises in the United States. This research finds that all three incentive structures approximately double the number of exercises completed during the six-week active experimental period relative to a no incentive control
Young children who commit crime: Epidemiology, developmental origins, risk factors, early interventions, and policy implications

An early onset of delinquency prior to age 13 years increases the risk of later serious, violent, and chronic offending by a factor of 2–3. Also child delinquents, compared to juveniles who start offending at a later age, tend to have longer delinquent careers. This article summarizes the report of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Study Group on Very Young Offenders, chaired by Rolf Loeber and David P. Farrington. The Study Group, consisting of 16 scholars and 23 coauthors, worked for 2 years on preparing a report, undertaking extensive secondary data analyses, and writing chapters in different speciality areas. The report consists of a state of the art review of the developmental background of child delinquents. The report also summarizes risk and protective factors in the individual, family, peer group, school, and neighborhood that affect that development. Lastly, the report renews relevant preventive and remedial interventions in the juvenile justice system, families, peer groups, schools, and neighborhoods, and makes a case for improvement in the integration of services for child delinquents. Policy recommendations are presented to improve methods of dealing with child delinquents by juvenile justice, child welfare, and mental health agencies.
Intrastromal Crystalline Deposits Following Hydrogel Keratophakia in Monkeys

Intrastromal corneal crystals developed in 11 of 49 monkey eyes with hydrogel intracorneal lenticules followed over a 4 year period. All of the eyes, except one, underwent synthetic keratophakia via a microkeratome incision. The diagnosis of crystal formation was initially made by slit-lamp examination and confirmed with specular microscopy (from 21 to 150 days post-hydrogel keratophakia). The crystals were noted to lie in a plane adjacent to the hydrogel lenticule and specular microscopy revealed polychromatic, hyperrefringent crystals with either a rectangular or linear morphology. Prior to intrastromal crystal formation, these corneas developed early postoperative stromal edema (*3 weeks). We hypothesize that early stromal edema in combination with the hydrogel intracorneal lenticule induced the production of lipid crystals by stromal keratocytes.
Performance analysis of optical double sideband and optical single sideband generation using mach zehnder modulator chirp and extinction ratio over different fiber link

In this paper, we present theoretical and simulative studies on optical double sideband (ODSB) and optical single sideband (OSSB) Radio over Fiber (RoF) system. The simulations were carried out using Mach Zehnder Modulator (MZM) by varying its chirp and Extinction Ratio (ER) over different fiber link. In RoF systems, with the increase in RF frequency, the chromatic dispersion becomes severe thus reducing the transmission distance over fiber link. In this paper, we show that the effect of chromatic dispersion can be reduced and transmission distance can be increased by employing an MZM with negative chirp. Further, we analyze that the system using OSSB is more immune to dispersion effects as compared to ODSB systems. In addition, we show that the received RF power variations become negligible and second order harmonics reduces with the signal transmitted over RoF system using MZM with negative chirp for different ER.