This paper employs a semiparametric procedure to estimate the diffusion process of short-term interest rates. The Monte Carlo study shows that the semiparametric approach produces more accurate volatility estimates than models that accommodate asymmetry, levels e¤ect and serial dependence in the conditional variance. Moreover, the semiparametric approach yields robust volatility estimates even if

Modern power plants are all strongly dependent on reliable and accurate sensor readings for monitoring and control, thus making sensors an important part of any plant. Failing sensors can force a plant or component into non-optimal operation, cause complete shut-down of operation or in the worst case result in damage to components. Given their importance, sensors need regular calibration and maint

PURPOSE. To demonstrate noninvasive imaging of human foveal capillary networks with a high-resolution, wide-field, dual-conjugate adaptive optics (DCAO) imaging instrument. METHODS. The foveal capillary networks of five healthy subjects with no previous history of ocular or neurologic disease or surgery were imaged with a novel high-resolution, wide-field DCAO instrument. The foveal avascular zone

Protection against mucosally transmitted infections probably requires immunity at the site of pathogen entry(1), yet there are no mucosal adjuvant formulations licensed for human use. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) represents a family of organic polycations used as nucleic acid transfection reagents in vitro and DNA vaccine delivery vehicles in vivo(2,3). Here we show that diverse PEI forms have potent m

This thesis aimed to search for epidemiological evidence supporting the associations of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with cancer and autoimmune diseases (ADs) by analysing several Swedish national registries. T2DM shares risk factors with cancer, such as obesity, diet, stress, and physical inactivity. However, it is unclear whether the associations with several types of cancers are due to share

Background: Denmark and Sweden are considered to be countries of rather similar socio-political type, but public health policies and smoking habits differ considerably between the two neighbours. A study comparing mechanisms behind socioeconomic inequalities in tobacco smoking, could yield information regarding the impact of health policy and -promotion in the two countries. Methods: Cross-section

Handlingsutrymmet för kyrkans sociala engagemang har sett olika ut i olika tider, för att de senare decennierna öka i takt med att legala restriktioner minskat eller försvunnit. Relationen till staten har varit en styrande faktor för detta. I en omvärld alltmer präglad av marknadsvillkor och välfärdspluralism ställs nya krav. Ett sådant är att församlingar tydligare behöver artikulera vad de vill

Osteopetrosis caused by defective acid secretion by the osteoclast, is characterized by defective bone resorption, increased osteoclast numbers, while bone formation is normal or increased. In contrast the bones are of poor quality, despite this uncoupling of formation from resorption. To shed light on the effect of uncoupling in adult mice with respect to bone strength, we transplanted irradiated

This paper is concerned with model fitting in the presence of noise and outliers. Previously it has been shown that the number of outliers can be minimized with polynomial complexity in the number of measurements. This paper improves on these results in two ways. First, it is shown that for a large class of problems, the statistically more desirable truncated L-2-norm can be optimized with the sam

High-quality computer graphics let mobile-device users access more compelling content. Still, the devices' limitations and requirements differ substantially from those of a PC. This survey of mobile graphics research describes current solutions in terms of specialized hardware (including 3D displays), rendering and transmission, visualization, and user interfaces.

Subject-verb agreement in number (3sg - 3pl) in spoken French is a heterogeneous morpho-syntactic domain where number is expressed in some groups of verbs and in some phonological contexts only. The acquisition of this agreement is a long and gradual process (Prévost, 2009). Both children learning French as their first language (L1) and older second language (L2) learners overuse the dominant patt

Background: High activity of cysteine proteases such as legumain and the cathepsins have been shown to facilitate growth and invasion of a variety of tumor types. In breast cancer, several recent studies have indicated that loss of the cysteine protease inhibitor cystatin E/M leads to increased growth and metastasis. Although cystatin E/M is normally expressed in the skin, its role in cysteine pro

The concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has enjoyed immense popularity and thus has been the preferred approach for river basin management. IWRM generally has a strong focus on rational choice, based on a technocratic conceptual interpretation of the conventional hydrological cycle. However, uncritical acceptance of IWRM runs the risk of blinding policy makers and academics for

Today, there is considerable interest in integrated forest biorefineries which, besides pulp, produce high-value-added products, such as, polymers and carbon fibres. Lignin is the major non-cellulosic constituent of wood. It is a complex, amorphous highly crosslinked polyphenolic. Lignosulphonate in spent liquor in sulphite mills has long been isolated using ultra filtration. Generally, precipitat

Background: Dysregulation of the immune function in autoimmune diseases could potentially lead to cancer development and there is definite evidence linking some autoimmune mechanisms with cancer. We analyzed systematically the occurrence of histology-specific digestive tract cancers in patients diagnosed with 33 different autoimmune diseases in order to address the question of shared susceptibilit