Socially responsible investing has presented itself as a growing, multifaceted, advanced and sophisticated investment philosophy. Socially responsible investment (SRI) involves incorporating social, ethical and responsible investment objectives with financial investment objectives during the investment decision-making process. Social, ethical and responsible investment objectives are set in line with environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria which are established within the SRI strategy followed. SRI strategies include screening (negative, positive and best-of-sector), shareholder activism and cause-based investing. Although international SRI markets such as that of the United States of America and the United Kingdom are sophisticated and established markets, the South African SRI market is still relatively new and is yet to reach its full potential. Thus, as a growing market, little research regarding the long term risk-adjusted performance of SRI funds in South Africa has been conducted. The long term risk-adjusted performance of the sample of SRI funds was measured through the use of five risk-adjusted performance measures, namely the Treynor ratio, Sharpe ratio, Jensen’s alpha, Sortino ratio and Omega ratio, and through the use of three performance measurement models which included the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), Fama-French three-factor model and Carhart four-factor model. The risk-adjusted performance of the sample of SRI funds was measured with the intent to establish if these funds out- or underperformed against three benchmark categories, namely the Financial Times Stock Exchange/Johannesburg Stock Exchange (FTSE/JSE) SRI Index, a matched sample of conventional investment (non-SRI) funds and the FTSE/JSE All Share Index. The probable effect of the 2007/08 global financial crisis was also measured to analyse whether such a hazardous market event affected the performance of the SRI funds. According to the results and findings, the risk-adjusted performance of the SRI funds has improved over the research period. However, the SRI funds neither outperformed nor underperformed against the three benchmark categories over the research period. The performance measurement models’ analysis indicated that the SRI funds were less sensitive to market fluctuations, more exposed to small capitalisation portfolios, more growth-oriented, and exhibited significant momentum after the period of the 2007/08 global financial crisis. Furthermore, the analysis indicated that the SRI funds significantly underperformed against the non-SRI funds during the Performance of socially responsible investment funds in South Africa research period. Mixed results were obtained with regards to the probable effect of the 2007/08 global financial crisis on the performance of the SRI funds.

Socially responsible investing has presented itself as a growing, multifaceted, advanced and sophisticated investment philosophy. Socially responsible investment (SRI) involves incorporating social, ethical and responsible investment objectives with financial investment objectives during the investment decision-making process. Social, ethical and responsible investment objectives are set in line with environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria which are established within the SRI strategy followed. SRI strategies include screening (negative, positive and best-of-sector), shareholder activism and cause-based investing. Although international SRI markets such as that of the United States of America and the United Kingdom are sophisticated and established markets, the South African SRI market is still relatively new and is yet to reach its full potential. Thus, as a growing market, little research regarding the long term risk-adjusted performance of SRI funds in South Africa has been conducted. The long term risk-adjusted performance of the sample of SRI funds was measured through the use of five risk-adjusted performance measures, namely the Treynor ratio, Sharpe ratio, Jensen’s alpha, Sortino ratio and Omega ratio, and through the use of three performance measurement models which included the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), Fama-French three-factor model and Carhart four-factor model. The risk-adjusted performance of the sample of SRI funds was measured with the intent to establish if these funds out- or underperformed against three benchmark categories, namely the Financial Times Stock Exchange/Johannesburg Stock Exchange (FTSE/JSE) SRI Index, a matched sample of conventional investment (non-SRI) funds and the FTSE/JSE All Share Index. The probable effect of the 2007/08 global financial crisis was also measured to analyse whether such a hazardous market event affected the performance of the SRI funds. According to the results and findings, the risk-adjusted performance of the SRI funds has improved over the research period. However, the SRI funds neither outperformed nor underperformed against the three benchmark categories over the research period. The performance measurement models’ analysis indicated that the SRI funds were less sensitive to market fluctuations, more exposed to small capitalisation portfolios, more growth-oriented, and exhibited significant momentum after the period of the 2007/08 global financial crisis. Furthermore, the analysis indicated that the SRI funds significantly underperformed against the non-SRI funds during the Performance of socially responsible investment funds in South Africa research period. Mixed results were obtained with regards to the probable effect of the 2007/08 global financial crisis on the performance of the SRI funds.

ITC/USA 2007 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Third Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2007 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Multipath propagation continues to be the dominant channel impairment in many aeronautical mobile telemetry (AMT) applications. Avoidance and diversity techniques continue to be the only practical means to combat this problem. In 2004 limited results from the development of a new post-detection, no-hit diversity selector were reported. Late breaking results from flight test were reported orally. A review of the methodology, flight test results and conclusions are presented in this paper. Also presented is an update describing enhancements of the implementation which emphasize operational flexibility as well as support for alternate demodulator products.

Much research in recent years for evidence evaluation in forensic science has focussed on methods for determining the likelihood ratio in various scenarios. One proposition concerning the evidence is put forward by the prosecution and another is put forward by the defence. The likelihood of each of these two propositions is calculated, given the evidence. The likelihood ratio, or value of the evidence, is then given by the ratio of the likelihoods associated with these two propositions. The aim of this research is twofold. Firstly, it is intended to provide methodology for the evaluation of the likelihood ratio for continuous autocorrelated data. The likelihood ratio is evaluated for two such scenarios. The first is when the evidence consists of data which are autocorrelated at lag one. The second, an extension to this, is when the observed evidential data are also believed to be driven by an underlying latent Markov chain. Two models have been developed to take these attributes into account, an autoregressive model of order one and a hidden Markov model, which does not assume independence of adjacent data points conditional on the hidden states. A nonparametric model which does not make a parametric assumption about the data and which accounts for lag one autocorrelation is also developed. The performance of these three models is compared to the performance of a model which assumes independence of the data. The second aim of the research is to develop models to evaluate evidence relating to traces of cocaine on banknotes, as measured by the log peak area of the ion count for cocaine product ion m/z 105, obtained using tandem mass spectrometry. Here, the prosecution proposition is that the banknotes are associated with a person who is involved with criminal activity relating to cocaine and the defence proposition is the converse, which is that the banknotes are associated with a person who is not involved with criminal activity relating to cocaine. Two data sets are available, one of banknotes seized in criminal investigations and associated with crime involving cocaine, and one of banknotes from general circulation. Previous methods for the evaluation of this evidence were concerned with the percentage of banknotes contaminated or assumed independence of measurements of quantities of cocaine on adjacent banknotes. It is known that nearly all banknotes have traces of cocaine on them and it was found that there was autocorrelation within samples of banknotes so thesemethods are not appropriate. The models developed for autocorrelated data are applied to evidence relating to traces of cocaine on banknotes; the results obtained for each of the models are compared using rates of misleading evidence, Tippett plots and scatter plots. It is found that the hiddenMarkov model is the best choice for themodelling of cocaine traces on banknotes because it has the lowest rate of misleading evidence and it also results in likelihood ratios which are large enough to give support to the prosecution proposition for some samples of banknotes seized from crime scenes. Comparison of the results obtained for models which take autocorrelation into account with the results obtained from the model which assumes independence indicate that not accounting for autocorrelation can result in the overstating of the likelihood ratio.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 28-31, 1996 / Town and Country Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / This paper will discuss the design and use of Optimal Ratio Combiners in modern telemetry applications. This will include basic design theory, operational setups, and various types of combiner configurations. The paper will discuss the advantages of pre-detection vs. post-detection combining. Finally, the paper will discuss modern design techniques.

ITC/USA 2005 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-First Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2005 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Reconfigurable patch antenna integrated with RF mircoelectromechanical system (MEMS) switches is presented in this paper. The proposed antenna radiates circularly polarized wave at selectable dual frequencies (4.7 GHz and 7.5GHz) of high frequency ratio (1.6:1). The switches are incorporated into the diagonally-fed square patch for controlling the operation frequency, and a rectangular stub attached to the edge of the patch acts as the perturbation to produce the circular polarization. Gain of proposed antenna is 5 - 6dBi, and axial ratio satisfies 3dB criterion at both operating frequencies. The switches are monolithically integrated on quartz substrate. The antenna can be used in applications requiring frequency diversity of remarkable high frequency ratio.

Statins are commonly used for treating the elevation of lipids in the blood stream, also known as hyperlipidemia. Statins are considered to be an economical and effective way to achieve desirable long-term health outcomes for hyperlipdemic patients, however, ensuring adequate adherence to statin medications is often difficult as hyperlipidemia is an asymptomatic condition and patients sometimes fail to recognize the importance of being adherent to their statin medications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate impact of enrollment under Medicaid and Medicare Part D and patient out-of-pocket costs on patient statin adherence, persistence, and mean number of gap days per claim. A retrospective claims database was used in this study to conduct repeated measures analyses on statin prescription claims from independent community pharmacies in Texas. The pre-period in this study extended from January 1, 2005 to September 30, 2005 (Medicaid period) and the post-period extended from January 1, 2006 to September 30, 2006 (Medicare period). The study population consisted of dual-eligible beneficiaries in Texas who had at least two stain claims in the pre and post-periods each. The final study population comprised of 1734 Texas dual-eligible beneficiaries with 6064 statin claims during the pre-period and 7956 claims during the post-period. Patients had an average of 3.49 statin claims during the pre-period and 4.58 statin claims during the post-period. Patients were dispensed an average of 57.34 days of drug supply per claim during the pre-period and 42.02 days of drug supply per claim during the post-period. The results from this study showed that out-of-pocket costs for patients increased from $0.39 per claim under Medicaid to $13.36 per claim under Medicare Part D. Patient adherence to statins was assessed by calculating medication possession ratio (MPR). The results showed that mean patient MPR increased from 75.71 percent under Medicaid to 79.37 percent under Medicare. Results from generalized estimating equations showed that odds of being adherent (i.e., MPR ≥ 80 percent) to statins increased by 36 percent when patients were covered under Medicare Part D. Linear mixed model analysis showed that MPR increased by 3.66 percent when patients were covered under Medicare Part D compared to Medicaid. Also, patient MPR was found to increase by 0.13 percent when patient out-of-pocket payment increased by $1.00. Patient persistence was calculated by measuring gaps in therapy and patients with a gap of 60 or more days were considered to have discontinued therapy. Patients were found to be persistent to their drug therapy for an average of 151.76 days under Medicaid and 159.75 days under Medicare. Linear mixed model analysis showed that patient persistence increased by 7.99 days when patients were enrolled under Medicare Part D compared to Medicaid. Days of persistence was also found to increase by 0.41 days when patient out-of-pocket costs increased by $1.00. Mean number of gap days per claim during the Medicaid period was 11.91 days and decreased to 8.38 days during the Medicare period. Linear mixed model analysis showed that mean number of gap days per claim decreased by 3.52 days when patients were enrolled under Medicare Part D compared to Medicaid. Mean number of gap days in therapy were found to decrease by 0.10 days when patient out-of-pocket costs increased by $1.00. The results of this study showed that implementation of Medicare Part D resulted in an increase in MPR and persistence and a decrease in mean number of gap days per claim for Texas dual-eligible beneficiaries. The results also suggest that increased out-of-pocket costs under Medicare Part D may not have had a negative impact on statin drug utilization by dual-eligible beneficiaries in Texas. / text

The study evaluated whether the activity of the indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) enzyme is increased post-stroke and contributes to the development of post-stroke depression (PSD) via tryptophan (TRP) depletion and neurotoxic kynurenine (KYN) metabolite production. The activity of IDO was measured using the KYN/TRP ratio. Participants were assessed for depression severity using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Blood TRP, KYN, large neutral amino acids and cytokines were measured and compared. Fifty-four (mean age=69.9±15.2, male=52.7%, mean NIHSS=7.3±4.6) patients within 28.9±40.3 days of stroke were separated into two groups: non-depressed (n=38, CES-D=6.1±4.9) and those with significant depressive symptoms (n=16, CES-D=26.8±10.8). Higher mean KYN/TRP ratios were demonstrated in stroke patients with depressive symptoms (non-depressed=69.3±36.9 vs. depressive symptoms=78.3±42.0, F3,50=4.61, p=0.006) after controlling for LNAA (p=0.026) and hypertension (p=0.039). As the KYN/TRP ratio reflects decreased TRP and increased neurotoxic KYN metabolites, both mechanisms may play an etiological role in PSD.

The study evaluated whether the activity of the indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) enzyme is increased post-stroke and contributes to the development of post-stroke depression (PSD) via tryptophan (TRP) depletion and neurotoxic kynurenine (KYN) metabolite production. The activity of IDO was measured using the KYN/TRP ratio. Participants were assessed for depression severity using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Blood TRP, KYN, large neutral amino acids and cytokines were measured and compared. Fifty-four (mean age=69.9±15.2, male=52.7%, mean NIHSS=7.3±4.6) patients within 28.9±40.3 days of stroke were separated into two groups: non-depressed (n=38, CES-D=6.1±4.9) and those with significant depressive symptoms (n=16, CES-D=26.8±10.8). Higher mean KYN/TRP ratios were demonstrated in stroke patients with depressive symptoms (non-depressed=69.3±36.9 vs. depressive symptoms=78.3±42.0, F3,50=4.61, p=0.006) after controlling for LNAA (p=0.026) and hypertension (p=0.039). As the KYN/TRP ratio reflects decreased TRP and increased neurotoxic KYN metabolites, both mechanisms may play an etiological role in PSD.

Thermodiffusion is one of the mechanisms in transport phenomena in which molecules are transported in a multicomponent mixture driven by temperature gradients. Thermodiffusion in associating mixtures presents a larger degree of complexity than non-associating mixtures, since the direction of flow in associating mixtures may change with variations in composition and temperature. In this study a new activation energy model is proposed for predicting the ratio of evaporation energy to activation energy. The new model has been implemented for prediction of thermodiffusion for acetone-water, ethanol-water and isopropanol-water mixtures. In particular, a sign change in the thermodiffusion factor for associating mixtures has been predicted, which is a major step forward in modeling of thermodiffusion for associating mixtures. In addition, a new model for the prediction of thermodiffusion coefficients for linear chain hydrocarbon binary mixtures is proposed using the theory of irreversible thermodynamics and a kinetics approach. The model predicts the net amount of heat transported based on an available volume for each molecule. This model has been found to be the most reliable and represents a significant improvement over the earlier models. Also a new approach to predicting the Soret coefficient in binary mixtures of linear chain and aromatic hydrocarbons using the thermodynamics of irreversible processes is presented. This approach is based on a free volume theory which explains the diffusivity in diffusion-limited systems. The proposed model combined with the Shukla and Firoozabadi model has been applied to predict the Soret coefficient for binary mixtures of toluene and n-hexane, and benzene and n-heptane. Comparisons of theoretical results with experimental data show a good agreement. The proposed model has also been applied to estimate thermodiffusion coefficients of binary mixtures of n-butane & carbon dioxide and n-dodecane & carbon dioxide at different temperature. The results have also been incorporated into CFD software FLUENT for 3-dimensional simulations of thermodiffusion and convection in porous media. The predictions show the thermodiffuison phenomenon is dominant at low permeabilities (0.0001 to 0.01), but as the permeability increases convection plays an important role in establishing a concentration distribution. Finally, the activation energy in Eyring’s viscosity theory is examined for associating mixtures. Several methods are used to estimate the activation energy of pure components and then extended to mixtures of linear hydrocarbon chains. The activation energy model based on alternative forms of Eyring’s viscosity theory is implemented to estimate the thermodiffusion coefficient for hydrocarbon binary mixtures. Comparisons of theoretical results with the available thermodiffusion coefficient data have shown a good performance of the activation energy model.