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Investor Attention and the Salience Effect in the Chinese Stock Market: Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic
Full text linkYesWe investigate the relationship between investor attention and the salience effect (i.e. a negative relation between salience measures and subsequent returns (Cosemans and Frehen, 2021)) in the Chinese stock market using the COVID-19 pandemic as an exogenous shock to attention. We find that COVID-19 significantly distracted individual investors’ attention from stock market activities, leading to a weaker salience effect. However, institutional investors increased their attention during COVID-19 by attending more investor-firm interactive activities. Furthermore, we show that the reduction in retail attention during the COVID period is stronger for negative salient returns than for positive salient returns. As a result, the reduced salience effect during the pandemic is more pronounced for stocks with salient downsides than for stocks with salient upsides. These results indicate that investor attention causes the salience effect
CSK Modulation for Secure Wireless Communication Networks
Full text linkYesPhysical layer security (PLS) has been considered as a key technology to fulfill the information confidentiality request of modern and future communication networks. Therefore, diverse chaos-based wireless communication (CBWC) systems have been developed as low complexity and cost-effective PLS approaches when compared with the upper layer secrecy protocols. In particular, chaos-shift-keying (CSK) modulation schemes have attracted significant research efforts owing to the simple signal generation techniques and enhanced secrecy. However, the practical implementation of CSK for secure data transmission over realistic CBWC channels still needs further investigation. In this paper, the application of CSK based on multiple chaotic basis functions is examined over a band-limited CBWC channel with Rayleigh fading process. Lorenz and Chua chaotic oscillator circuits are used as basis signal functions for CSK modulation at the transmit side and chaos demodulation/synchronization at the receiver end. The impact of channel bandwidth and requisites of the front-end receiver is modeled as a low pass filter process. Performance results show that chaos filtering can greatly affects the physical features of employed signals at different levels. The achieved results confirmed that inadequate filter bandwidth can remarkably distort the state-space, signature waveform, and spectral components of CSK signals in disparate extents regardless of high SNR level. For target error rate and worst-case eavesdropping secrecy, this issue has a direct impact on decreasing the error security gap of CBWC system compared with the reference CSK schemes based on a single chaotic base function, even at a high received signal-to-noise ratio. As a feasible solution to mitigate the degradation in system reliability and secrecy, it is demonstrated that the designed filter bandwidth must include the effective spectral components of utilized chaotic signals
Compact Wideband Active Integrated Antenna Array Performance Enhancement Under High Mutual Coupling for 5G Applications
Full text linkYesThis paper presents a compact solution for the design and analysis of the Active Integrated Antenna Array (AIAA) to improve its performance under high mutual coupling and mismatch losses. A simple compensation network (CN) is introduced to eliminate the mismatches in AIAA introduced by the antenna elements’ mutual coupling, which negatively impacts the power amplifier (PA) performance, rather than the previously proposed complex methods. The AIAA consists of a wideband GaN power amplifier (PA) transistor operating from 3 to 5 GHz, a wideband 4-element antenna array with λ g/2 spacing between elements at 3.8 GHz operating from 3.6 to 4 GHz for 5G applications, and a compensation network designed to mitigate mismatch effects. To verify the proposed approach, two AIAA prototypes are measured, one with the CNs connected between each PA and the corresponding antenna element, and the other with the antenna elements directly connected to the PAs. Experimental results show that the minimum realized gain of the proposed AIAA is more than 19.3 dBi over the operating bandwidth, with an enhancement of more than 2.5 dBi when compared to the conventional AIAA, where no CNs are used. Simulations and experimental results are presented along with detailed design and measurement procedures.. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grant EP/Y035135/1, and HORIZON-MSCA-2022-SE-01-01-ID: 101131501, Marie Skłodowska-Curie, Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE), titled: 6G Terahertz Communications for Future Heterogeneous Wireless Network (6G-TERAFIT), Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, Taif Universit
Bridging ESG and FinTech: A Technological Approach to Carbon Performance
No full textYesWe examine the association between ESG disclosure, FinTech adoption, and carbon performance in firms operating in energy-intensive industries within BRICS countries. Drawing on multiple theoretical frameworks, our empirical models employ firm fixed-effects estimators to analyze an unbalanced panel dataset comprising 2226 firm-year observations spanning 14 years. Our findings are three-fold. First, our primary evidence reveals that both ESG disclosure and FinTech adoption have a statistically significant positive relationship with carbon performance. Second, we provide robust evidence that FinTech enhances the effectiveness of ESG disclosure by improving transparency, reducing information asymmetry, and facilitating access to green financial resources. Third, we find that carbon tax policies moderate these relationships, with firms in high-regulation environments experiencing stronger positive effects. Overall, our results suggest that FinTech acts as an enabler, amplifying the impact of ESG practices on corporate carbon performance. Our findings are robust to various control mechanisms, alternative measures, and potential endogeneities. These results have implications for policymakers and corporate decision-makers seeking to integrate FinTech into ESG frameworks, as well as for advancing country-specific and regional approaches to climate change mitigation
Impact of Pilates training on gait performance in individuals with unilateral transtibial amputation
Full text linkYesPurpose
To evaluate the effects of a 3-month Pilates training program on spatiotemporal gait parameters in unilateral transtibial amputees (TTA).
Materials and methods
Ten TTA (aged 18 to 59 years) participated in a training program consisting of 36 remote, supervised mat-based Pilates sessions, assessed at baseline, pre- and post-training, and at follow-up. Spatiotemporal gait parameters were recorded using an instrumented walkway at self-selected walking speed (SSWS) and fast walking speed (FWS). Functional mobility was assessed using the Timed-up and Go (TUG) test. Statistical analyses included repeated measures ANOVA and effect size calculations.
Results
Following training prosthetic limb step length increased (p = 0.015). The intact side also showed increased step length (p = 0.009), while stance time (p = 0.011) and swing time (p = 0.005) decreased post-training. No changes in asymmetry were observed, regardless of walking speed (p > 0.05). Walking speed increased significantly for SSWS (p < 0.001) and FWS (p = 0.002). Performance on the TUG test increased post the training intervention (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
The 3-month Pilates program improved gait performance and functional mobility in TTA, suggesting that Pilates may be an effective rehabilitation tool.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) – Brazil – Finance Code 001, and the Federal University of Parana in Curitiba, Brazil
Activation Mechanisms, Trafficking and Signalling of GABAA Receptors
No full textNoGamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAARs) are pivotal regulators of neuronal activity and brain function through the inhibition of signals. This chapter integrates key aspects of GABAAR biology, focusing on their activation, trafficking, regulation and implications in neurological disorders. GABAARs, composed of diverse subunits, exhibit varied pharmacological responses influenced by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) binding, leading to chloride ion movement and modulation of neuronal membrane potential. Allosteric modulators like benzodiazepines enhance GABAAR function, impacting neurotransmission dynamics. GABAARs undergo dynamic trafficking processes, shuttling between intracellular compartments and the plasma membrane, crucial for modulating brain excitability and synaptic inhibition. Dysregulation of GABAAR trafficking contributes to synaptic imbalance in neurodegenerative disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, altering synaptic strength and neuronal viability. Understanding GABAAR biology provides insights into therapeutic strategies targeting GABAergic signalling for restoring synaptic homeostasis in neurological conditions
Non-pharmacological interventions for the treatment of depression in mid-to-older age minority ethnic populations: a scoping review
No full textYesPeople from minority ethnic (ME) backgrounds are at greater risk of developing depression but are less likely to receive treatment, perpetuated by health inequalities. Non-pharmacological interventions are recommended as the first-line treatment for depression. This scoping review aimed to map international evidence on non-pharmacological interventions for depression in ME populations aged 40 and above. A scoping review was conducted using Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, AMED and Embase. Twenty-one studies were included. Six interventions were identified: Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Behavioral Activation, Mindfulness-based, Reminiscence Therapy, Logo-Autobiography and Social Group intervention. Interventions were adapted for ME populations via translation of materials and to the ‘local context’ such as incorporating cultural norms and understanding of depression. This review found a lack of non-pharmacological interventions for depression in people of ME background in the UK. This review indicates a need for non-pharmacological interventions for depression in ME populations in the UK. Recruiting people of ME backgrounds over the age of 40 for randomized controlled trials requires prioritization. It is recommended that non-pharmacological interventions for depression are culturally adapted and co-produced with ME populations.National Institute for Health Care Research, Yorkshire and Humber Applied Research Collaborations [NIHR200166
The Association between Urbanisation and Household Food Security
No full textYesA growing number of studies have shown that urbanisation is commonly associated with a change in dietary or consumption patterns towards more expensive and exotic foods. Previous attempts to investigate the implications of urbanisation on household food security have commonly employed dichotomous or binary indicators of urbanisation. Unlike previous studies, we employ satellite-based night-time light intensity data from the U.S. Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellites Program and use it as a proxy for different stages or degrees of urbanisation. The night-time light data provide a continuous, spatially explicit, and objective proxy for urbanisation. The data are measured with consistent quality across countries, regardless of the different institutional capacities, allowing for consistent measurement of urban growth across various communities and regions. In our analysis, we explore the impact of variations in nightlight intensity on household food security in Nigeria. Our results show that night-time light is positively associated with household food security. However, we find that higher polynomial terms of night-time light intensity exhibit a non-linear relationship between urbanisation and household food security. Based on the results of the quantitative analysis, our findings will advance the current understanding of the relationship between urbanisation and household food security, which could have implications on maternal and child wellbeing