Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stochastic Solvency Testing in Life Insurance

Stochastic solvency testing methods have existed for more than 20 years, yet there has been little research conducted in this area, particularly in Australia. This is for a number of reasons, the most pertinent of which being the lack of computing capabilities available in the past to implement more sophisticated techniques. However, recent advances in computing have made stochastic solvency testing possible in practice and have resulted in a trend towards this being done in advanced studies. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a realistic solvency testing model in a form that can be implemented by Australian Life Insurers, in anticipation that the Australian insurance regulator, APRA, will ultimately follow the world trend and require stochastic solvency testing to be carried out in Australia. The model is constructed from three interconnected stochastic sub-models used to describe the economic environment and the mortality and lapsation experience of the portfolio of policies under consideration. Australian economic and Life Insurance data is used to fit a number of possible sub-models, such as generalised linear models, overdispersion models and asset models, and the “best” model is selected in each case. The selected models are a modified CAS/SOA economic sub-model; either a Poisson or negative binomial (NB1) distribution (depending on the policy type considered) as the mortality sub-model; and a normal-Poisson lapsation sub-model. Based on tests carried out using this model, it is demonstrated that, for portfolios of level and yearly-renewable term insurance business, the current deterministic solvency capital requirements provide little protection against insolvency. In fact, for the test portfolios of term insurance policies considered, the deterministic capital requirements have levels of sufficiency of less than 2% (on a Value at Risk basis) when compared to the change in capital distribution over a three year time horizon. This is of concern, as yearly-renewable term insurance comprises a significant volume of Life Insurance business in Australia, with there being over 426,000 yearly-renewable
Caldero-Chapoton algebras

Motivated by the representation theory of quivers with potential introduced by Derksen, Weyman and Zelevinsky and by work of Caldero and Chapoton, who gave explicit formulae for the cluster variables of Dynkin quivers, we associate a CalderoChapoton algebra AΛ to any (possibly infinite dimensional) basic algebra Λ. By definition, AΛ is (as a vector space) generated by the Caldero-Chapoton functions CΛ(M) of the decorated representations M of Λ. If Λ = P(Q,W ) is the Jacobian algebra defined by a 2-acyclic quiver Q with non-degenerate potential W , then we have AQ ⊆ AΛ ⊆ A Q , where AQ and A Q are the cluster algebra and the upper cluster algebra associated to Q. The set BΛ of generic Caldero-Chapoton functions is parametrized by the strongly reduced components of the varieties of representations of the Jacobian algebra P(Q,W ) and was introduced by Geiss, Leclerc and Schroer. Plamondon parametrized the strongly reduced components for finite-dimensional basic algebras. We generalize this to arbitrary basic algebras. Furthermore, we prove a decomposition theorem for strongly reduced components. We define BΛ for arbitrary Λ, and we conjecture that BΛ is a basis of the Caldero-Chapoton algebra AΛ. Thanks to the decomposition theorem, all elements of BΛ can be seen as generalized cluster monomials. As another application, we obtain a new proof for the sign-coherence of g-vectors. Caldero-Chapoton algebras lead to several general conjectures on cluster algebras.
Gold nanoparticles: promising nanomaterials for the diagnosis of cancer and HIV/AIDS

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are currently playing a significant role for human welfare in the field of clinical diagnosis as well as several biomedical applications. More and more research shows that AuNPs-based technologies are becoming promising approaches in cancer research and AIDS treatment. In this paper, we have focused mainly on the exploitation of unique and characteristic properties of AuNPs such as surface plasmon resonance (SPR), surface enhance Raman scattering (SERS), magnetic properties (MRI), and fluorescence behavior shown upon conjugation with biological and biocompatible ligands. These properties find wide prevalence in biodiagnostics like plasmon-based labeling and imaging, enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA), and electrochemical-based methods that can pave the way for developing novel techniques towards diagnosis and therapy of cancer and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS).
Trust in Electronic Networks of Practice : An Integrative Model

Trust plays an important role in facilitating knowledge sharing, but few studies have systematically investigated trust development in online communities, a popular tool for knowledge sharing. This paper presents one such exploratory study that investigated how knowledge seekers form trust toward knowledge contributors in electronic networks of practice. Knowledge seekers’ perceptions of knowledge contributors’ ability and benevolence are argued to mediates the trust development formation; and three bases on which perceptions of ability and benevolence are formed – cognition, affection, and situation – were identified. An integrative model was developed and a preliminary test reported with encouraging results. Implications of the findings were also discussed.
Effect of Olive Leaves Drying on the Content of Oleuropein

Oleuropein content in olive leaves dried at ambient temperature, and at elevated temperature (50°C) from Palestinian olive trees collected from West Bank in the middle of November was determined by HPLC and compared to naturally dry olive leaves (collected dry from the tree). Results showed that higher concentration was obtained from olive leaves dried at room temperature (10.0 mg per gram of dry olive leaves), compared to those dried at 50°C (1.7 mg/g), and those that collected dry from the tree (2.5 mg/g). Oleuropein content of dried olive leaves was compared with leaves that chopped and extracted fresh, and results show that fresh leaves showed the lowest oleuropein content (<0.1 mg/g) denoting that drying of leaves is required for high oleuropein recovery.
Self-powered wireless sensor for duct monitoring

We report on the development of a self-powered, battery-less wireless sensor aimed at condition monitoring in ducts or pipelines. The device is based around a 2 cm-diameter shrouded wind turbine with a permanent magnet generator built into the shroud and a cavity in the exit diffuser to accommodate the sensor electronics. The present paper is focused on the design and performance of the power conditioning electronics and the radio transmitter. The power conditioner employs a synchronous, rectifying voltage doubler which is self- priming and able to derive a stable DC supply (2 V at 100 A) from AC input voltages down to 0.5 Vrms. The radio transmitter is a 433 MHz Colpitts oscillator with a loop antenna as the tank inductor.
Term Phonatory Stability in Individuals with Parkinson ’ s Disease Dr .

The voice abnormality in individuals with Parkinson’s disease reflects impaired neuromuscular coordination. Phonatory stability in individuals with Parkinson’s disease can be measured acoustically for identifying the voice abnormalities. In the current study, phonatory stability in individuals with Parkinson’s disease was measured through acoustic analysis by using PRAAT software. The values of acoustic parameters were compared between normals and individuals with Parkinson’s disease. The parameters assessed were mainly F0, jitter, and shimmer parameters. The results of the study indicated higher jitter and shimmer parameters in individuals with Parkinson’s disease as compared to that of normals. Hence, it can be concluded that voice abnormalities are reflected in individuals with Parkinson’s disease.
Correlation between crevicular C-reactive protein level with its serum level in chronic periodontitis patients

Background: The main purpose of this study is to find if there is any correlation between the level of C-reactive protein (CRP) in gingival crevicular fluid with its serum level in chronic periodontitis patients and to explore the differences between them according to the probing depth. Materials and methods: Forty seven male subjects enrolled in this study. Thirty males with chronic periodontitis considered as study group whom further subdivided according to probing depth into subgroup 1 with pocket depth ≤6mm, subgroup 2 with pocket depth >6mm. The other 17 subjects considered as controls. For all subjects, clinical examination where done for periodontal parameters plaque index (PLI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL). The gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) were collected using filter paper size 30 from gingival sulcus of the controls and from (138) pocket site (75 sites > 6mm. and 63 ≤ 6mm.). The weight of the GCF was measured by reading the difference in the weight of filter paper before and after absorption of GCF. Crevicular level of CRP was measured calorimetrically. The serum level CRP was measured using latex test. Results: Highly significant difference in the weight of GCF, crevicular and serum level of CRP between chronic periodontitis and control groups. Subgroup 2 got higher scores of weight of GCF and positive record of crevicular and serum CRP compared with subgroup 1 with a non-significant difference. A highly significant difference in the number of sites with positive crevicular and serum CRP compared to the negative number between chronic periodontitis and control groups also between subgroup1 and subgroup 2. Weight of GCF gets a negative significant correlation with GI at control group and subgroup2. Serum level of CRP exhibits a negative significant correlation with PLI for chronic periodontitis and control group and positive significant correlation for GI at subgroup 1. The crevicular CRP get significant negative correlation with GI of subgroup 1. Conclusions: Crevicular fluid is very good marker for the degree of inflammation of the periodontal pocket. The crevicular level of CRP may be considered as a good tool for estimating the systemic effect and predictor for the effect of periodontitis on the general health and the correlation of crevicular with serum CRP aid to high light this effect.
Modelling Correlations in Credit Portfolio Risk

The risk of a credit portfolio depends crucially on correlations between latent covariates, for instance the probability of default (PD) in different economic sectors. Often, correlations have to be estimated from relatively short time series, and the resulting estimation error hinders the detection of a signal. We suggest a general method of parameter estimation which avoids in a controlled way the underestimation of correlation risk. Empirical evidence is presented how, in the framework of the CreditRisk+ model with integrated correlations, this method leads to an increased economic capital estimate. Thus, the limits of detecting the portfolio's diversification potential are adequately reflected.
DEVELOPMENT OF A SIGNAL PROCESSING BOARD FOR SPILL DIGITAL SERVO SYSTEM FOR PROTON SYNCHROTRON

A prototype data processing board for a digital spill control system has been made. The system is considered to be used to control proton beams in 50-GeV synchrotron rings of J-PARC. The prototype circuit board consists of four ADCs, two FPGAs, a DSP, memories, and four DACs. The four inputs of the processing board are assumed to be an intensity signal of the proton beam in the accelerator rings, a digital gate signal that indicates the duration of beam extraction, a spill signal that shows the intensity of the extracted proton beam and a reserved signal. The resolution and maximum sampling speed of the ADC are 16-bit and 2.5 Msps, respectively. The one of the FPGAs is Vartex-2 1000-4C and a real-time power spectrum analyzer will be implemented. It analyses the spill signal every 1ms or shorter period. The analyzed result reflects optimum parameters used in spill control by servo. The DSP takes charge of these digital servo processing. The DACs with 16-bit resolution drive control signals for magnet currents. The system has another FPGA for communication between the processing board and network. MicroBlase CPU core is implemented and uCLinux is installed to use EPICS.
Bayesian network classification of gastrointestinal bleeding

The source of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) remains uncertain in patients presenting without hematemesis. This paper aims at studying the accuracy, specificity and sensitivity of the Naive Bayesian Classifier (NBC) in identifying the source of GIB in the absence of hematemesis. Data of 325 patients admitted via the emergency department (ED) for GIB without hematemesis and who underwent confirmatory testing were analysed. Six attributes related to demography and their presenting signs were chosen. NBC was used to calculate the conditional probability of an individual being assigned to Upper Gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) or Lower Gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB). High classification accuracy (87.3 %), specificity (0.85) and sensitivity (0.88) were achieved. NBC is a useful tool to support the identification of the source of gastrointestinal bleeding in patients without hematemesis.
NEGRO DE LOS PEDROCHES, THE MOLECULAR DEFINITION OF A NEW VARIETY OF THE IBERIAN PIG BREED NEGRO DE LOS PEDROCHES, LA DEFINICIÓN MOLECULAR DE UNA NUEVA VARIEDAD DE LA RAZA PORCINA IBÉRICA

SUMMARY Pedroches Valley is one of the most importantareas of the traditional pig breeding in Andalusia(Southern Spain). The Iberian pig variety namedNegro de Los Pedroches has its origins in thisvalley. This is an old autochthonous pig populationgenerated after decades of breeding but now inrisk of extinction. Breeders consider this Iberianpig strain as an important element of theAndalusian paddock linked to its cultural andbiological patrimony. It seems to have excellentproductive capabilities that justify its characte-risation and conservation. Microsatellites areused to investigate the genetic relationships withother Iberian pig subpopulations, the use of anaccurate panel of loci increases the chance oftheir definition. Genetic distances suggest thatthe Negro de Los Pedroches must be consideredas another variety. RESUMEN La variedad de cerdo Iberico llamada Negrode Los Pedroches, tiene su origen en el valle deLos Pedroches (Andalucia, sur de Espana). Esuna antigua poblacion autoctona generada des-pues de decadas de cria pero que ahora esta enriesgo de extincion. Los criadores consideran aesta estirpe como un elemento importante de ladehesa andaluza ligado a su patrimonio culturaly biologico. Parece tener excelentes capacida-des productivas que justifican su caracteriza-cion y conservacion. Los microsatelites sonusados para investigar las relaciones geneticascon otras subpoblaciones del cerdo Iberico, eluso de un panel efectivo de loci incrementa laoportunidad de su definicion. Las distanciasgeneticas muestran como el Negro de LosPedroches debe ser considerado como otravariedad de la raza porcina Iberica.
An intervention study of autologous fat transfer for scar tissue rejuvenation in the setup

Background: There are lot of work going on AFT procedures. This procedure has been taken recent advances nowadays and very helpful in many conditions to rejuvenate and restoration of damaged tissues. The use of autologous fat for soft tissue augmentation seems attractive because of its relatively ubiquitous availability. Autologous fat transfer is a technique shown to be beneficial as a reconstructive procedure for patients with volume loss of tissue due to disease, trauma, and congenital defects. Methods: In the present study, 20 patients were taken as sample size. It is an intervention study. Whole procedure has been taken as day case which included local anaesthesia and patient received all the standard monitoring, medications, safety precautions and care that is provided for any patient undergoing any surgery, including antibiotics, pain medicine and other supportive care as needed. The Autologous fat was harvested by surgeon via syringe aspiration technique with a long atraumatic cannula. After processing, the material was injected immediately under designated skin grafts/scars using a small needle. Scar was cleansed with normal saline and dry dressing is applied for a day. Then patient was discharged on the same day. Results: Results obtained were efficacious with 60 to 80% improvement in all parameters in 15-20 days after the procedure. Conclusions: AFT procedure was found feasible, efficacious and accepted in patients with scar. It brings scar tissue rejuvenation up to great extent.
Autoregressive Forecasting of Some Functional Climatic Variations

Many variations such as the annual cycle in sea surface temperatures can be considered to be smooth functions and are appropriately described using methods from functional data analysis. This study defines a class of functional autoregressive (FAR) models which can be used as robust predictors for making forecasts of entire smooth functions in the future. The methods are illustrated and compared with pointwise predictors such as SARIMA by applying them to forecasting the entire annual cycle of climatological El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) time series one year ahead. Forecasts for the period 1987–1996 suggest that the FAR functional predictors show some promising skill, compared to traditional scalar SARIMA forecasts which perform poorly.
Children's empathic tendencies: Effect of perceived family relations

The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of perceived family relations on children's empathic tendencies.Correlational research model was used to analyze the data. The study group was comprised of 250 children from grades 4th and 5th in primary school in the city-center of Aksaray. To gather data, â€œKA-SÄ° Empathic Tendency Scale Child Formâ€ and â€œFamily Relationship Scale for Childrenâ€ were conducted. Multiple regression analyses were performed to predict the determinants of childrenâ€™s empathic tendencies. According to findings, supportive family relations predict cognitive and emotional empathic tendencies of children positively, while discouraging family relations predict cognitive and emotional empathic tendencies of children, negatively. This study pointed out how familial relations perceived by children affected empathic tendencies. For further studies, it can be recommended other parental factors be evaluated based on parenting socialization, practices and believes for expanding on this growing area of literature.Keywords: Empathic tendencies, perceived family relations, primary school children.
Evaluation of modified paediatric logistic organ dysfunction scoring system in predicting the outcome in critically ill children

Critically ill children have huge variations in normal body homeostasis that can be estimated by the drift of the physiological variables from the normal range. Scores can be constructed from deviations of these drifted variables and can be divided into two categories: the prognostic scores-which predict the risk of death at the time of entry into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the outcome scores-which describe the course of illness after admission into the ICU. Scoring systems provide objective measures for inter-unit and intra-unit comparisonn and give useful information for comparing the severity of illness of patients.
Patenting activity and innovativeness in US and Japan: An econometric analysis

Este trabajo analiza los regimenes de propiedad intelectual en los Estados Unidos y Japon a traves del numero de patentes otorgadas durante el periodo 1940 a 2005 y 1965 a 2005, respectivamente. Haciendo uso de la base de datos generada por la Organizacion Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual (OMPI), probamos la presencia de un cambio en el tiempo en el nivel o en la pendiente de la funcion tendencia de las series de patentes otorgadas. En la literatura sobre el tema se argumenta que la actividad patentadora en los Estados Unidos ha sido modificada como resultado de las nuevas regulaciones que se impusieron al regimen de propiedad intelectual en ese pais durante los anos ochenta. En el caso de Japon, se argumenta que las politicas a favor de una mayor actividad patentadora implementadas recientemente en ese pais no han afectado significativamente las capacidades innovadoras de sus empresas. Los resultados obtenidos en este trabajo corroboran estos argumentos. Normal 0 21 false false false ES-MX X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabla normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
Nurses Participating in Healthcare Facility Redesign: A Qualitative Descriptive Study Julia Braid 2010 Nurses Participating in Healthcare Facility Redesign: A Qualitative Descriptive Study A dissertation submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the

This study aims to reveal the experiences of senior nurses who have been expressly involved in healthcare facility and care redesign. This qualitative descriptive research describes the experiences of three senior nurses participating in hospital redesign at a New Zealand District Health Board (DHB). By examining their roles as project owners for facility and care redesign in project groups, we gain understanding of how such involvement currently exists, and what future recommendations might be formulated. Throughout New Zealand nurses have been involved in major hospital redevelopments, providing a unique opportunity to redesign facilities and systems of care. The participation of nurses in facility redesign projects contributes to a focus on the needs of key stakeholders, such as patient flow-through services, and reviewing current work practices and processes of care. Nurses demonstrate high levels of commitment to facility redesign projects holding key positions of representation. They seek to ensure integration with overall Ministry of Health strategic aims, service delivery requirements, client and population needs, and incorporating multidisciplinary healthcare concerns. Within this research paradigm the existing and apparent themes have been interpreted as Representation; Leadership; Relationships; and Creativity. These overarching themes were apparent in the data and thus provided important direction for the collation, presentation, and discussion of the related data and the findings. The subsequent recommendations focus on offering more support to enable senior nurses to be better equipped to fulfil this important role, with the aim being to ensure the new facility supports clients in a clinically safe environment.
Extended Hilbert space approach to few-body problems

A general formulation of the quantum scattering theory for a system of few particles, which have an internal structure, is given. Due to freezing out the internal degrees of freedom in the external channels, a certain class of energy‐dependent potentials is generated. By means of potential theory, a modified Faddeev equation is derived both in external and internal channels. The Fredholmity of these equations is proven and this is what provides a sound basis for solving the addressed scattering problem.