1,720,965 research outputs found
In depth study on service providers’ needs
No full textL'articolo è il paragrafo 4.6 del Final Final Report del progetto europeo "Cultural sensitivity and competence in adolescent mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention" RTD PROJECT INCO-CT-2005-015127 FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY INCO PROGRAMME
“Confirming the international role of community research
The Gap Between Assets and Liabilities of a Bond Portfolio
No full textEach investor is interested in controlling changes in the value of a stream of future cash flows
depending by changes in interest rates. So many researchers have examined this problem or by
establishing some results for bond portfolio immunization or lower limits for portfolio net value
variation, when the shock belongs to a certain class of functions. In general, these inequalities hold
for portfolios in balance and duration-matching, and contain terms dependent on certain types of
temporal dispersion. In this paper, by introducing a new risk measure that take in account the
mismatching between values of assets and liabilities, we have established some inequalities for the
percentage variation of the net value of the portfolio, when the shock belongs to L^1 and L^2
SOME BOUNDS OF LOSS IN CLASSICAL SEMIDETERMINISTIC IMMUNIZZATION
No full textSince Samuelson, Redington and Fisher and Weil, duration and immunization are very important
topics in bond portfolio analysis from both a theoretical and a practical point of view. Many results
have been established, especially in semi-deterministic framework. As regards, however, the loss
may be sustained, we do not think that the subject has been investigated enough, except for the
results found in the wake of the theorem of Fong and Vasicek. In this paper we present some results
relating to the limitation of the loss in the case of local immunization for multiple liabilities
Some Bounds of Loss in Classical Semideterministic Immunization
No full textSince Samuelson, Redington and Fisher and Weil, duration and immunization are very important topics in bond portfolio analysis from both a theoretical and a practical point of view. Many results have been established, especially in semi-deterministic framework. As regards, however, the loss may be sustained, we do not think that the subject has been investigated enough, except for the results found in the wake of the theorem of Fong and Vasicek. In this paper we present some results relating to the limitation of the loss in the case of local immunization for multiple liabilities
A European project on Service Providers' competence and cross-cultural aspects of mental health promotion for immigrant youth: a quantitative approach
No full textDifferent dimensions of acculturation processes are significant
factors that shape young immigrants’ health. The general
objective of E.U. project(*) is to contribute to the implementation
of the results of a cross-cultural study on immigrant youth
(Sujoldžić A. et al 2005).
This study aims at expanding the evidence base for effective
culturally sensitive promotion, prevention and early interventions,
specifically targeting mental health in adolescents, through
increased cultural awareness and competence of service providers
in 4 countries: Albania, Bosnia, Croatia and Italy. This
report summarizes the preliminary results of questionnaires and
interviews conducted with various youth’s service providers in
the above-mentioned countries. Altogether 300 semi-structural
interviews were conducted with service providers who have
experience in working with adolescents of diverse cultural
backgrounds. In the work a quantitative approach will be presented
which defines a criterion that aims to order, in terms of
their significance, both the items and the headings of which
they are comprised
Searching for Consistent Indices of Rating Mobility Through the Crisis
No full textThe Great Crisis having a first trough in 2007-09 brought about a general reassessment in the perception of default risks. Thus, mobility of the ratings – with a noticeable prevalence of downgrades over upgrades – escalated particularly in structured finance but also in traditional corporate finance assets. Can we take a stance on this higher mobility? On one hand, in normal times, their increased mobility might lower the information content of the ratings. On the other hand, markets might expect heightened mobility of the ratings at a time of structural break in the perception of risk, as the one produced by the Great Crisis. Thus, it is difficult to judge whether the former line of reasoning or the latter should prevail.
Furthermore, quantifying rating mobility is a non trivial issue, even more so at a time like this one when mobility is acutely unbalanced. Focusing on the three major credit rating agencies (CRAs: Moody’s, S&P’s and Fitch) and using the transition matrices they published, we address three research questions. First, we review the extent of rating mobility over a number of years into the crisis employing already available indices. We find that, indeed, mobility raised conspicuously for each of the three CRAs. Second, we propose a set of new indices that may be more consistent than the previous ones at measuring mobility of the ratings. The proposed indices higher consistency may stem either form their mathematical properties or from their being better suited to evaluate the observed especially skewed rating mobility. The comparison reveals the mobility assessments of the previous indices often differs markedly from that of the newly proposed indices. Third, we try to rank the mobility the three CRAs in terms of the various indices. While there are variations over time, a general ranking of the CRAs is possible and some of the newly proposed indices appear to make it neater
Platelet and Brain Fatty Acids: a model for the classification of the animal world? Part I
No full textRecently Cocchi-Tonello have investigated the platelet fatty acid profile in normal and depressive subjects.
The data allowed us to create a particular Artificial Neural Net¬work, the so-called Self Organizing Map (SOM).
The SOM distributes all the subjects investigated over a plane, also according to the degree of saturation/unsaturation of the fatty acids identified as markers of the depressive pathology (Palmitic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Arachidonic Acid).
In this way it is possible to distribute all animals and humans over the map according to the percentage of the fatty acids (Pal¬mitic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Arachidonic Acid)characteristic of each of the animal species investigated.
Because of the specific characteristics of the SOM and the af¬finity of the platelet with the neuron, we considered that the SOM could also be used to classify the brains of different ani¬mal species. Because of the low level of Linoleic Acid in the brain, all the brains were classified in the same position on the map, very close to the area of depressive subjects.
Is the brain genetically organized for the risk of depression? In this sense, is the brain, influenced by the modulation of the fatty acids or by the gene expression of the fatty acids? We do not yet know the final answers to these questions, but it is significant that the fatty acids which make the difference be¬tween the normal condition and the depressive condition shape the brain in the way we found. In any case, we know that Major Depression is characterized by a high level of Arachidonic Acid, both in platelets and in the brain
Platelet fatty acids: a model for the classification of animal world?, Part II
No full textDepression may be linked to changes of the fatty acid profile in many biological districts such as platelets, plasma phospholipids, rat brain and red blood cells.
The platelet is one of the most extensively researched biological markers in psychiatry. In an animal model of depression, the high level of arachidonic acid, found in the brain, in platelets and in other biological material indicates a possible relationship between platelets and brain.
For this purpose we investigated platelet fatty acid composition in humans (vein and artery) and in pigs (vein and brain).
The findings are consistent with the hypothesis, in the case of Arachidonic Acid, of a specific link between the two districts (platelets and brain) and of the existence of particular conditions which can cause a dangerous accumulation of Arachidonic Acid within the brain
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