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Herding and informed trading: Evidence from Chinese equity markets
No full textWe empirically investigate the relationship between informed trading and market herding in China for the 2003–2022 period and find a negative contemporaneous relationship, which grows stronger for specific market/economic conditions. Herding comprises of a very strong noise-driven herding and a fundamentals-driven anti-herding; informed trading dampens the former, while boosting the latter. Our results hold when controlling for the 2012 anti-insider trading laws and days of price-limit hits. Evidence on the dynamic relationship between informed trading and herding demonstrates that informed trading Granger-causes herding. Overall, informed traders motivate stronger herding over time, dampening it contemporaneously, thus suggesting that they prey on the very herding they attract
Improving disaster preparedness and recovery of Bangladesh riverbank erosion areas: Insights from household perceptions and practices
Get PDFRiverbank erosion significantly affects lives and livelihoods but is still neglected in disaster risk reduction (DRR) research and policy, which tend to focus on rapid-onset events. This research examines how household preparedness affects recovery outcomes in riverbank erosion-prone areas in Bangladesh, addressing an important gap in understanding anticipatory action to slow-onset disasters. Drawing from a mixed-methods approach consisting of household surveys (n = 280), focus group discussions, and key informant interviews in Harirampur and Sariakandi Upazilas, the research develops and utilises a multidimensional preparedness index. The index covers behavioural, socio-economic, and institutional aspects of preparedness, providing a new framework for assessing household preparedness in chronic hazard settings. The preparedness index shows that households in the low to somewhat prepared categories are among the most recently impacted. Past-impacted households in Harirampur are marginally better off than Sariakandi. Harirampur households' preparedness was linked with significantly lower asset loss. In both sites, insufficient financial resources and the absence of early warning systems were major barriers, and most households' recovery time exceeds two years. The findings show that local knowledge and informal coping strategies boost resilience, while the lack of early warnings and material support adversely affects preparedness. By linking preparedness to recovery and establishing its role in reducing asset losses, we add new empirical evidence and a practical tool that helps target households in need of support. The findings emphasize how context-specific preparedness should be integrated into national DRR frameworks and inclusive community-based approaches in erosion-prone areas
These aren’t the beliefs you’re looking for: on the limits of affect-neutral accounts of psychedelic therapy
Get PDFA recurring finding in psychedelic-assisted therapy is that the subjective intensity and quality of the psychedelic experience contribute more to therapeutic outcomes than the administered dose. To explain why such experiences are therapeutic, many have appealed to what these may reveal or enable, such as the types of mental representations that can be acquired, the expansion of what can enter awareness, or the revision of high-level beliefs about the self and the world. Across these proposals, some form of belief disruption is often assigned a causal role. In this paper, I argue that even if psychedelics do work by loosening beliefs or expanding awareness, this alone is not sufficient to explain why the resulting changes should be beneficial rather than neutral or harmful. By implicitly taking for granted the typically positive character of many psychedelic experiences, existing theories risk describing processes that could just as easily worsen distress as alleviate it, and so fail to reflect the literature’s predominantly positive outcomes. Ultimately, I argue that without a positive shift in affective valence, there is no clear reason why psychedelic experiences should lead to therapeutic outcomes
Improving sustainability of ultra-low-temperature freezers at the School of Biosciences, Sheffield University
Get PDFUltra-low-temperature freezers (ULTFs) are an essential part of biological and medical research, but consume large amounts of energy. The School of Biosciences at the University of Sheffield has a fleet of approximately 80 ULTFs, which were operating at −80 °C until 2024, and contribute significantly to the School’s electricity consumption—around 1300 kW h/d in early 2024, with correspondingly high electricity costs and carbon footprint. We therefore set out to manage the use of our ULTFs more effectively, while reducing risk to research, through a combination of extensive consultation with users, improved management, and increasing the set temperature to −70 °C. We have implemented a policy of consolidating and rolling out replacements for freezers, based on energy usage rather than age. Based on a pilot programme that achieved a 62% reduction in energy, we expect to reduce energy consumption by at least 50% and simultaneously save money while also mitigating risks to research, benefiting both the School and the University. This study provides details on how these results were achieved
A European paramedic curriculum for geriatric emergency medicine developed via a modified Delphi technique
Get PDFBackground
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Older emergency patients currently account for most European emergency medical service dispatches. Due to demographic changes and increasing comorbidities in advanced age, this number is expected to rise substantially in the coming years. Prehospital professionals require specialised training to provide high-quality care for complex, multimorbid patients. The aim of this study is to define minimum competencies for paramedic education in Europe on the management of emergencies in older adults.
Methods
A modified electronic Delphi study was performed from January 2023 to November 2024, comprising two appraisal rounds. A narrative literature review was conducted to identify relevant topics and domains in prehospital geriatric emergency medicine, providing the foundation for an interprofessional core group to establish 58 initial learning objectives. Learning objectives were assigned to competence levels based on a revised Bloom's Taxonomy.
Results
In Round 1, 45 of 58 competence-based learning objectives were accepted (77.6%) with average agreement 83.2% [range: 70.8–93.9%]. 13 declined learning objectives were revised, including merging and splitting of learning objectives, adjusting competence levels, and grouping domains. In Round 2, all 12 adapted learning objectives were accepted with average agreement 87.1% [range: 75–100%]. The final curriculum has 57 learning objectives in 12 domains. This consensus was achieved with contributions from Delphi panellists across 27 European countries. The domains include: risk stratification; indicators of serious health problems; altered mental status; clinical assessment; falls; trauma; medication; communication; medical history; frailty; palliative and end-of-life care; positioning and transport; and social, psychological and legal aspects.
Conclusions
This European curriculum for prehospital geriatric emergency medicine represents a first step towards systematically integrating these geriatric-specific competencies into paramedic education. It can further serve as a foundation for standardised training programs aimed at addressing the complex needs of older emergency patients
Exploring nonlinearity-loss tradeoffs in foundry fabricated silicon integrated photon pair sources
Get PDFFoundry fabricated silicon heralded photon pair sources underpin a wide range of quantum photonics applications. Traditional photonics foundry platforms, originating in classical datacom applications, have waveguide cross-sections <0.2 μm2, which significantly enhance surface absorption and roughness-induced scattering effects on propagating optical fields. Given the critical importance of loss for quantum information applications, here we consider the generation of photon pairs in a low-loss, thick (3 μm) silicon foundry platform and explore the associated nonlinearity-loss-footprint tradeoffs, with a view toward understanding the optimal silicon thickness for resonator-based photon pair sources
Why do pedestrians get lost? A case study of personal, situational, and environmental factors in greater London
Get PDFDespite advances in route optimization and navigational technologies, pedestrians still face challenges navigating complex urban spaces. This study aims to identify and quantify the multidimensional factors that influence pedestrian navigation, with the focus on why people get lost. The collected data from an online survey in which 64 participants reported the locations and contextual information of their getting lost events. Building upon literature, expert interviews, and collected data, we identify and quantify 14 environmental, situational, and personal factors influencing pedestrian navigation. We utilize a dual-analytical approach that combines expert-led analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis with data-driven regression models to derive distinct weighting schemes for the factors. While the approach based on experts’ opinion (i.e. AHP) demonstrates that familiarity, self-orientation skills, and access to reliable navigation tools are the most important contributing factors, data-driven models additionally highlight the significance of environmental complexity, such as angular distance between exits and number of landmarks near decision points. Importantly, expert-led and data-driven methods reveal different but complementary influences on pedestrian navigation, underscoring the value of combining specialist knowledge with insights derived from observed data to improve our understanding and guide the creation of more navigable urban environments
Rib fracture diagnosis in suspected abuse: computed tomography or radiographs (RECEPTOR)? A multicentre diagnostic accuracy observational study
No full textOBJECTIVES: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of chest CT for rib fractures in live children investigated for suspected physical abuse (SPA), using initial and follow-up chest radiographs (CXRs) as the reference standard.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective 10-year (September 2011-2021) multicentre search was performed for children less than two years of age who received CXRs and chest CT for SPA. Nineteen consultant radiologists independently read the images: Round 1 (initial CXRs only), Round 2 (CTs only) and Round 3 (initial and follow-up CXRs). No reporter performed Round 3 before Round 1 or 2. Radiologists reported the presence of rib fractures, fracture age, fracture location and confidence level. CT diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy) was calculated per patient, per rib and per specific location along the rib arc.
RESULTS: A total of 64 patients (36 boys) with a median age of 2 months were included and assessed by 19 independent consultant radiologists. Patient level analysis: CT sensitivity = 90.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 88.2-92.6), specificity = 74.2% (95% CI: 70.2-78.0). Rib level analysis: CT sensitivity = 85.6% (95% CI: 84.1-87.0), specificity = 94.16% (95% CI: 93.8-94.4). Location level analysis: CT sensitivity = 75.7% (95% CI: 74.0-77.4), specificity = 97.09% (95% CI: 96.9-97.2).
CONCLUSION: Chest CT confers accurate rib fracture detection in live children with SPA, with the potential to replace the current standard of performing six CXRs as part of initial and follow-up imaging for SPA.
KEY POINTS: Question What is the diagnostic performance of chest CT in detecting rib fractures in live children with SPA, using CXR as a reference standard? Findings Chest CT showed 90.6% sensitivity and 74.2% specificity for detecting rib fractures on patient-based analysis, with 79.7% sensitivity for posterior rib fractures. Clinical relevance Chest CT accurately detects rib fractures in children investigated for SPA and may serve as an alternative to initial and follow-up CXR, supporting timely clinical assessment and management
Depolymerization-induced morphological transformation
Get PDFDepolymerization offers a powerful route for the chemical recycling of vinyl polymers. However, current strategies focus almost exclusively on monomer recovery, which overlooks broader applications and opportunities. Herein, depolymerization-induced morphological transformation (DIMT) is introduced as a modular methodology to control the shape of sterically stabilized diblock copolymer nanoparticles and gain mechanistic insight into morphological transformations that occur during selective degradation of the methacrylic core-forming block. Notably, DIMT results in a sequential evolution in copolymer morphology from vesicles to worms to spheres. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) studies enabled the construction of a predictive (pseudo)phase diagram. Furthermore, this new approach was also applied to the irreversible degelation of diblock copolymer worm gels, highlighting new opportunities to regulate material properties through depolymerization
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