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Purpose: Music could be a challenger for mathematics and a potential candidate for the title "The Universal Language." This paper aims to discuss the primary objectives of engaging with music, including the therapeutic benefits. Similarities, between mathematics and music and how studying one might enhance one's abilities of the other are pointed out. Design/methodology/approach: A formal definition for a universal language is given. A qualitative approach, supplemented with rigorous reasoning, is adopted. The narrative relies on the author's experiences, teaching mathematical concepts and musical interactions, with students from several countries. A vast amount of literature is reviewed and the corresponding findings are connected toward the arguments made. Findings: The paper demonstrates that one day, once we understand both mathematics and music better, we might see both of them as the same language. Until then, it is essential to supplement mathematics with music. The educational implications, for all fields, are to ensure that the future creators of knowledge are equally adept at both music and mathematics. The wider policy connotations are to create a blueprint for a society with a vibrant musical and artistic environment. Originality/value: This study illuminates new ways of thinking about music and mathematics. The possibility that many seemingly complex entities (including our universe, virtual computer worlds, mathematical operations, etc.), are made up of combinations of much simpler building blocks is hinted at. Familiarity with any intricate element of life, without getting flustered, is bound to produce remarkable results in other such endeavors.

We point out the primary riddle of risk management, which is that the life of a risk manager is very similar to someone doing a slow walk on a tight rope. We provide a set of directives, the five pillars risk mitigation guidelines, aimed at brevity so that it is readily apparent what actions to perform, and implement. The guidelines are based on our experience on trading desks across many different asset classes, and they are particularly applicable for the burgeoning field of crypto risk management. It is generally a troubling scenario wherein someone tries to manage something they do not fully understand. Risk, as we know it, requires a lot more in-depth studies to be performed before we are in a position to more fully appreciate its etiology. Once that starts to happen, we will be in a better place to try to manage risk more thoroughly. Our present attempts are better referred to as risk mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses preliminary results from two experiments and puts forth the notion that the development of sensory systems might be more geared toward discerning differences rather than for spotting similarities. The article presents the possibility that the necessity to spot differences might have evolved to ensure the survival of the organism, which suggests numerous other experiments to assess the response of participants to various stimuli. The article considers our present state of affairs, wherein the need is to thrive and not merely survive, which requires us to spot similarities around us. Some suggestions are provided on how this attribute can be developed, which includes mathematical education. This article concludes with an alternate measure for intelligence, termed the Involvement Quotient (also, IQ), which gauges the level of involvement of the sense organs to whatever is happening around the individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We formulate one methodology to put a value or price on knowledge using well accepted techniques from finance. We provide justifications for these finance principles based on the limitations of the physical world we live in. We start with the intuition for our method to value knowledge and then formalize this idea with a series of axioms and models. To the best of our knowledge this is the first recorded attempt to put a numerical value on knowledge. The implications of this valuation exercise, which places a high premium on any piece of knowledge, are to ensure that participants in any knowledge system are better trained to notice the knowledge available from any source. Just because someone does not see a connection does not mean that there is no connection. We need to try harder and be more open to acknowledging the smallest piece of new knowledge that might have been brought to light by anyone from anywhere about anything. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy is a rapidly growing environmental-friendly alternative for electricity generation, which will supersede using fossil fuels in the near future. Renewable-based generation is usually located at remote areas, and the largescale generated power is required to be transmitted to the main load centres; thus, the main challenge facing the bulk power transmission is the precise determination of the most appropriate transmission option. This study presents a comprehensive techno-economic study for the selection of the adequate transmission option for large-scale power transmission. The proposed work aims to study different transmission alternatives to transfer 10,000 MW of renewable generated power to the load centres in the central region of Saudi Arabia. Different high-voltage AC (HVAC) voltage levels such as 725 and 500 kV, and high-voltage DC (HVDC) technologies are considered as alternatives, and a techno-economic evaluation of each option is presented. Moreover, detailed comparisons between different HVAC and HVDC technologies are introduced from technical, economic, and environmental perspective. The presented study, comparisons, and the subsequent recommendations are helpful for the network planner to evaluate different extra high-voltage (EHV) and AC/DC transmission options in terms of accessibility, loadcarrying capability, efficiency, reliability, stability, environmental impact, and economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Comparison of Latin American (LA) nuclear cardiology (NC) practice with that in the rest of the world (RoW) will identify areas for improvement and lead to educational activities to reduce radiation exposure from NC.Methods and Results: INCAPS collected data on all SPECT and PET procedures performed during a single week in March-April 2013 in 36 laboratories in 10 LA countries (n = 1139), and 272 laboratories in 55 countries in RoW (n = 6772). Eight "best practices" were identified a priori and a radiation-related Quality Index (QI) was devised indicating the number used. Mean radiation effective dose (ED) in LA was higher than in RoW (11.8 vs 9.1 mSv, p < 0.001). Within a populous country like Brazil, a wide variation in laboratory mean ED was found, ranging from 8.4 to 17.8 mSv. Only 11% of LA laboratories achieved median ED <9 mSv, compared to 32% in RoW (p < 0.001). QIs ranged from 2 in a laboratory in Mexico to 7 in a laboratory in Cuba. Three major opportunities to reduce ED for LA patients were identified: (1) more laboratories could implement stress-only imaging, (2) camera-based methods of ED reduction, including prone imaging, could be more frequently used, and (3) injected activity of 99mTc could be adjusted reflecting patient weight/habitus.Conclusions: On average, radiation dose from NC is higher in LA compared to RoW, with median laboratory ED <9 mSv achieved only one third as frequently as in RoW. Opportunities to reduce radiation exposure in LA have been identified and guideline-based recommendations made to optimize protocols and adhere to the "as low as reasonably achievable" (ALARA) principle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on opening of stock market the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect which allows flow of capital from China including purpose for strengthening equity market of China, increasing economic growth of China and liberalization of China's financial system.

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate gender-based differences in nuclear cardiology practice globally, with a particular focus on laboratory volume, radiation dose, protocols, and best practices. Background It is unclear whether gender-based differences exist in radiation exposure for nuclear cardiology procedures. Methods In a large, multicenter, observational, cross-sectional study encompassing 7,911 patients in 65 countries, radiation effective dose was estimated for each examination. Patient-level best practices relating to radiation exposure were compared between genders. Analysis of covariance was used to determine any difference in radiation exposure according to gender, region, and the interaction between gender and region. Linear, logistic, and hierarchical regression models were developed to evaluate gender-based differences in radiation exposure and laboratory adherence to best practices. The study also included the United Nations Gender Inequality Index and Human Development Index as covariates in multivariable models. Results The proportion of myocardial perfusion imaging studies performed in women varied among countries; however, there was no significant correlation with the Gender Inequality Index. Globally, mean effective dose for nuclear cardiology procedures was only slightly lower in women (9.6 ± 4.5 mSv) than in men (10.3 ± 4.5 mSv; p < 0.001), with a difference of only 0.3 mSv in a multivariable model adjusting for patients’ age and weight. Stress-only imaging was performed more frequently in women (12.5% vs. 8.4%; p < 0.001); however, camera-based dose reduction strategies were used less frequently in women (58.6% vs. 65.5%; p < 0.001). Conclusions Despite significant worldwide variation in best practice use and radiation doses from nuclear cardiology procedures, only small differences were observed between genders worldwide. Regional variations noted in myocardial perfusion imaging use and radiation dose offer potential opportunities to address gender-related differences in delivery of nuclear cardiology care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the effect of the tick size changes by the Tokyo Stock Exchange on January 14, 2014, and July 22, 2014, on the TOPIX 100 index stocks. The intended consequence of the change is price improvement and shorter time to execution. The author examines at security level metrics, including the spread, trading volume, number of trades, and the size of trades to establish whether this goal is accomplished. An unintended effect might be the reduction in execution sizes, which would then mean that institutions with large orders would have greater difficulty in sourcing liquidity. He looks at a sample of real orders to see if the execution costs have gone up across the orders since the implementation of this change [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author seeks to develop a model to alter the bid--offer spread, currently quoted by market makers, that varies with the market and trading conditions. The dynamic nature of financial markets and trading--as with the rest of social sciences, where changes can be observed and decisions can be made by participants to influence the system--means that this model has to be adaptive and include a feedback loop that alters the bid-offer adjustment based on the modifications observed in the market and trading conditions, without a significant time delay. The factors used to adjust the spread are price volatility, which is publicly observable, and trade count and volume, which are generally known only to the market maker, in various instruments over different historical durations in time. The contributions of each factor to the bid-offer adjustment are computed separately and then consolidated to produce a very adaptive bid--offer quotation. The author uses the currency markets to build the sample model because they are extremely liquid and trading in them is not as transparent as other financial instruments, such as equities. Simulating the number of trades and the average size of trades from a lognormal distribution, the parameters of the lognormal distributions are chosen such that the total volume in a certain interval matches the volume publicly mentioned by currency trading firms. This methodology can easily be extended to other financial instruments and possibly to any product with the ability to make electronic price quotations, or can even be used to periodically perform manual price updates on products that are traded non-electronically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the evidence-based medicine era, objective treatment guidelines have been laid down for pulmonary tuberculosis, but the same is not true for osteoarticular tuberculosis. This has led to demands for standardising the treatment protocol and to a lack of consensus between doctors regarding the composition and duration of treatment. Twenty-five patients with extraspinal osteoarticular tuberculosis were evaluated prospectively. Following the diagnosis, patients were given standard directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) regimen and were monitored for disease activity at zero, three and six months with the help of technetium-99m-labelled ciprofloxacin ( Tc) scan. Tracer activity at the site was recorded and compared on sequential scans. Clinical and radiological profile of all the patients were also recorded at regular intervals and compared. All 25 cases had a positive Tc bone scan initially. Four patients (16%) converted to negative scans at three months, whereas the remaining 21 patients (84%) showed negative scans at six months. The end of six months therapy also coincided with resolution of clinical and radiological parameters in all cases. In conclusion, Tc scan is a promising tool for monitoring drug response in osteoarticular tuberculosis; however, due to the small sample size, studies with a large number of patients might be of help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]