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Aphasia is a neurological disorder of language that precludes a person’s ability to speak, understand, read or write in any language. By virtue of this disorder being inextricably connected to language, there is a vast potential for the application of Natural Language Processing (NLP) for the diagnosis of the disorder. This paper surveys the automated machine-learning-based classification methodologies followed by an attempt to discuss a potential way in which an NLP-backed methodology could be implemented along with its accompanying challenges. It is seen that the need for standardized technology-based diagnostic solutions necessitates the exploration of such a methodology.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze significant determinants to assess the probability of insureds’ intent to buy (ITB) insurance and willingness to pay (WTP) quantum of dollars for security benefits. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the Double Hurdle Model (DHM) and Neural Network (NN) architecture to analyze the insureds’ behavior for ITB and WTP. The authors apply these frameworks to all the 503 insureds of a branch of a leading insurer in the United Arab Emirates. Findings The DHM identified age, loans & liabilities, body mass index, travel outside the UAE, salary and country of origin (Middle Eastern and African) as significant determinants to predict WTP for social security benefits. In addition to these determinants, NN architecture identified insurance replacement, holding multiple citizenship, age of parents, mortgages, country of origin: Americas, length of travel, income of previous year and medical conditions of insured as additional important determinants to predict WTP for social security benefits; thus, NN is found to be superior to DHM due to its lowest RMSE and AIC in the holdout sample and also its flexibility and no assumptions unlike econometric models. Research limitations/implications Insureds’ data used from one UAE Branch limit the generalizability of empirical findings. Practical implications The study findings will enable the insurers to appropriately design the insurance products that match the insurers’ behavior of ITB and WTP for social security benefits. Social implications The study findings have the potential for insurance institutions to be more flexible in their insurance practices through public–private partnerships. Originality/value This is the authors’ original research work.

Malaria is a parasitic infection of global importance but has a high prevalence in the developing countries. Renal failure is a common complication of severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria and has been reported in up to 40% of all cases. Acute kidney injury (AKI), however, is not commonly associated with Plasmodium vivax infection. In those patients who develop AKI following P. vivax infection, the cause is commonly attributed to mixed undiagnosed falciparum infection or coexistent sepsis, dehydration, or hypotension. Infrequently, an association of P. vivax infection with thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) has been reported. The purpose of this report is to describe renal failure due to TMA following malaria caused by P. vivax. A 24-year-old female presented with a history of fever and jaundice of two weeks duration followed by progressive oliguria and swelling of the face and feet five days after the onset of fever. The evaluation revealed normal blood pressure, anemia, thrombocytopenia, azotemia, unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia with mildly elevated transaminases, and elevated lactate dehydrogenase. Peripheral smear was positive for P. vivax, and schistocytes were seen. She was given intravenous artesunate followed by oral primaquine for 14 days. Urine examination showed proteinuria and microscopic hematuria. She remained oliguric and dialysis dependent, and her kidney biopsy revealed patchy cortical necrosis involving 40% of sampled cortex with widespread fibrinoid necrosis of the vessel wall, red blood cell fragmentation, and luminal thrombotic occlusion. Hemodialysis was discontinued after three weeks when there was the improvement of renal function over time, and her serum creatinine decreased to 2.2 mg/dL by six weeks. Patients with P. vivax malaria developing renal failure may have TMA. Renal biopsy, if performed early in the course of the disease, may identify TMA and institution of plasma exchange in such patients could help in early recovery.

This paper introduces a novel method to bring sign language closer to real time application on mobile platforms. Selfie captured sign language video is processed by constraining its computing power to that of a smart phone. Pre-filtering, segmentation and feature extraction on video frames creates a sign language feature space. Minimum Distance and Artificial Neural Network classifiers on the sign feature space is trained and tested iteratively. Sobel edge operator's power is enhanced with morphology and adaptive thresholding giving a near perfect segmentation of hand and head portions compensating for the small vibrations of the selfie stick. Word matching score (WMS) gives the performance of the proposed method with an average WMS of around 85.58% for MDC and 90% for ANN with a small variation of 0.3 s in classification times. Neural network classifiers with fast training algorithms will certainly make this novel selfie sign language recognizer application into app stores. Keywords: Indian sign language, Sobel adaptive threshold, Morphological differencing, Mahalanobis distance, Multi layered artificial neural networks

This paper investigates the behavior of assisted UAE banks four years after specific government intervention programs that were applied to them in 2009-10 using panel corrected standard error (PCSE) model estimation and artificial neural network (ANN). The study results demonstrate that government interventions in the UAE banking sector in 2009 crisis negatively affected banking sector stability in the long-run. The economic significance of these effects is that government intervention is found to decrease a bank’s stability (increase riskiness) in the range of almost 14% to 37%, because of reduced market discipline and less efficient banking structure. The coefficient for banks’ credit activities is negatively related with bank stability, which implies that banks with higher proportions of loans in their portfolio face lower stability and a higher risk level. This is supported by the fact that, (though statistically less significant), banks that are less efficient (ER) tend to engage in riskier activities thus reducing banks’ stability. ANN was found to be superior to PCSE analysis in predicting Stability (riskiness) of the UAE banks post-bailout in terms of correct classification percentage lowest RMSE, AIC in holdout sample, and key factors of importance identified in ANN that were not significant in PCSE. The methodological implication is that ANN study results can also be used by decision makers and policy makers to prioritize different factors to adjust the weight of these factors in their policy strategies. Index of Acronyms ADSE Abu Dhabi Security Exchange AED Arab Emirate Dirham AI Artificial Intelligence ANN Artificial neural network CAGR Compound annual growth rate CDs Certificates of Deposit CVH Charter value hypothesis DFM Dubai Financial Market DiD Difference in difference DIFC Dubai International Financial Centre ETF Exchange-traded funds GDP Gross Domestic Product HHITA Concentration measure - Herfindahl Index - Total Assets IMF International Monetary Fund LLP/R Loan loss provisions/reserves MSTA Market share to Total Assets OECD Organization of Economic Cooperation & Development PCSE Panel corrected standard error RBS Royal Bank of Scotland ROA Return on Assets ROE Return on Equity SCP Structure, Conduct and Performance SWFs Sovereign Wealth Funds UAE United Arab Emirates Y-o-Y Year on Year σ Standard deviation

Background: Lower vitamin D levels have not only been associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), exacerbations and lower lung functions, but also with anxiety and depression. We examined the associations of severity of anxiety and depression using HAM-A (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale) and HAM-D (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) scores with COPD and vitamin D levels. Methods: Observational nested case control study was conducted in MUDHRA cohort. One hundred COPD subjects and 100 age- gender- matched non-COPD subjects (controls) underwent evaluation of socioeconomic status, respiratory symptoms, spirometry, severity of anxiety and depression, six minute walk test and estimation of serum vitamin D levels. Independent association of low vitamin D levels with severity of anxiety and depression was assessed by logistic regression. Results: COPD group had higher mean±SD anxiety and depression scores (HAM-A 8.0±3.5, HAM-D 8.72±4) compared to control group (HAM-A 4.51±2.2, HAM-D 4.3±2). The COPD group had 53 subjects with mild/moderate anxiety/depression whereas control group had 16 subjects with mild/moderate anxiety/depression. In COPD group, subjects with mild/moderate anxiety/depression had lower vitamin D levels compared to subjects with no/minimal anxiety/depression, while the difference in control group was not significant. In logistic regression, anxiety and depression levels had independent association with vitamin D levels, lung function variables, six-minute walk distance and presence of COPD. In COPD subgroup, anxiety and depression levels had independent association with breathlessness, GOLD FEV1 staging, CAT score, SGRQ-C Symptom score and exacerbation of COPD. Conclusions: Greater proportion of COPD subjects suffer from anxiety and depression as compared to subjects without COPD. Severity of anxiety and depression was greater in COPD subjects. Poorer lung functions, higher respiratory symptoms and lower vitamin D levels are associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression in COPD subjects. There is an urgent need to recognise anxiety and depression in COPD patients.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disorder that may manifest in a myriad of ways such as difficulties in social interaction and a tendency to engage in repetitive patterns of behaviour. Over the years, several kinds of treatment protocols have been proposed and implemented. One such area that is attracting the attention of researchers in the field is a robot-based approach in the treatment of children diagnosed with the disorder. Here we propose a viable method via the integration of apex technological methods like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Medical Robotics, coupling it with problem specific algorithms in OpenCV along with principles of Applied Behavioural Analysis to help possibly alleviate a key symptom displayed by children in terms of level of social interaction - that of eye-contact. This would be achieved via an AI-integrated Robotic Framework. The project also considers the possibility of inclusion of the growing research field of Quantum Computing to realize the process and investigates its viability as a potential source of innovation in the future.

The paper analyzes the financial and operational measures for Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) business distress for predicting credit worthiness by using panel data of 110 observations from 22 SME companies for a period of 5 years (2009 – 2013). Panel logistic and Neural Network (NN) models are developed as alternative techniques for predicting the business distress. The result suggests that cash cycle, net fixed assets, and leverage ratio are key factors in making credit decisions by lenders. The logistic model overall correctly classified 70 percent while NN framework outperformed the logistic model with 93 percent overall correct classification in training phase, and 83 percent in testing phase. The study opens up potential opportunities for the lending firms to adopt advanced analytical frameworks for predicting distress behavior of business firms. Keywords: SME, Business distress, Arab region, Petrochemical sub-sectors, Logit Model, Neural Network. JEL codes: G29, G32

The study examines the factors affecting the economic and financial development by applying Zellner’s seemingly unrelated regressions (SURE) and Neural Network techniques. It applies multivariate and neural network frameworks for analysing the GDP of Dubai and rest of UAE using data for 2001–2015. The study shows that there exists positive interdependencies between Dubai and rest of UAE economies. This signifies that the core competencies across various sectors in Dubai and rest of UAE economies need to be promoted further to have overall diversified impact on UAE economy. The positive sizable impact of the finance sector in Dubai and negative sizable impact in the rest of the UAE provide many opportunities for designing diversification programs for sustained economic development of the entire UAE economy. The small sample size, non-availability of detailed sectoral data in four of the seven emirates constrained the scope of the study for generalization to other economies in the Middle East. The study findings are crucial for identifying structural reforms, to strengthen competitiveness and accelerate private sector-led job creation for nationals, potential on further opening up foreign direct investment (FDI), improving selected areas of the business environment, and easing access to finance for start-ups and SMEs in both the economies. JEL: C32, C52, D85, N15, N25

In this study, we have evaluated the potential use of spectral mapping algorithms in deriving spectrolithological maps of metasedimentary rocks of Vindhyan group of rocks. In this regard, we have processed visible near infrared (VNIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands of Advanced Speceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data using similarity based spectral mapping algorithms such as spectral angle mapper (SAM) and spectral information divergence (SID). Laboratory spectra were collected by Fieldspec 3© spectroradiometer for main rock types of study area and the spectra were resampled to ASTER bandwidth to compare laboratory spectra with image spectra of respective rocks. Overall matching of image spectra of rocks with their ASTER resampled laboratory counterparts justified the spectral integrity of these rocks on the image. Therefore, image spectra of rocks were used as end member for deriving spectral maps using SAM and SID method. These maps were compared with the conventional field based lithological map (consequently updated using ASTER false colour image composite and band ratio images). SAM spectral map had over all accuracy of 67.41% and the SID map had overall accuracy of 69.67%. Present study has brought out the fact that spectral mapping algorithms would be useful in deriving moderate accuracy lithological maps even if the sedimentary rocks are of close mineralogy and these rocks have very close reflectance spectra within the spectral bandwidth of ASTER sensor. Spectral maps corroborate well with the discrete geochemical data.

Background. Since the introduction of direct antiviral agents (DAAs), morbidity of HCV has considerably decreased but still no guidelines have been formulated in renal transplant recipients (RTRs). We studied efficacy and tolerability of direct antiviral agents in RTRs.Methods. This prospective observational study was conducted at Army Hospital Research & Referral, Delhi, from June 2016 to May 2017. Forty-five HCV infected RTRs with stable graft function were included.Results. Median time between renal transplantation and the start of anti-HCV therapy was 36 months (1–120 months). The majority (66.7%) were infected with genotype 3. Baseline median HCV RNA level was 542648 IU/ml (1189–55028534 IU/ml). Sofosbuvir-Ribavirin combination (24 weeks) was given to 30 patients including 3 cirrhotics, Ledipasvir-Sofosbuvir combination to 8 patients, and Daclatasvir-Sofosbuvir combination to 7 patients, including 2 cirrhotics. Rapid virological response was observed in 29 patients treated with Sofosbuvir/Ribavirin, all 8 patients on Sofosbuvir/Ledipasvir, and all 7 patients on Sofosbuvir/Daclatasvir. End treatment response and sustained virological response (12 weeks) were achieved in all patients irrespective of genotype or treatment regimen. Decrease in mean HCV RNA level and transaminase level was statistically significant (p<0.01). Ribavirin was significantly associated with anaemia (p=0.032).Conclusions. DAA regimens are well tolerated and highly efficacious. Response to DAA is good irrespective of genotype, drug combination, initial HCV RNA level, age or sex of patient, or graft age. However, Sofosbuvir/Ledipasvir and Sofosbuvir/Daclatasvir combination is preferable.

The paper develops an ethical multiple stochastic objectives approach to address the ethical portfolio selection problem in the stochastic environment under the Shari’ah compliant framework. Two random objectives considered in this paper which are maximizing portfolio return and maximizing social welfare of portfolio. The risk of portfolio is measured by covariance matrix of total return. The ethical stochastic objectives program approach is based on goal programming approach, a chance constrained approach and Shari’ah compliant framework. The model is applied on 60 stocks including conventional and Islamic securities in GCC. The results show that, portfolios with higher proportion of ethical Islamic securities in the portfolio and with higher expected loss the higher is the portfolio performance in terms of Sharpe measure. Keywords: Shari’ah compliant, Ethical investment, Goal programming, Multiple objectives, Stochastic Multiple objectives programming, Chance constrained approach, Sharpe index as portfolio performance measure.

This paper analyses the strategy of All Nippon Airways, the second largest airline in Japan. The airline industry has been considered a symbol of government regulation. Competitive strategies increased through gradual deregulation in the 1980s, new entrants in the 1990s, and the expansion of Tokyo International Airport. Competition in the industry intensified when Japan Airlines (JAL), the largest airline in Japan, which rebuilt its operations using government support, re-listed. In this environment, ANA, which has been a private company since its inception and the second largest airline for many years, was the ninth largest in the world based on profits and number of passengers. We first use a cross-sectional financial analysis to confirm the positioning in Japan’s aviation industry by comparing ANA with JAL. Next, regarding ANA’s management strategy, we use Ansoff’s Product-Market Growth Matrix. Finally, regarding global strategy, we analyze ANA. Keywords: Airline; Management Strategy; Ansoff’s Matrix

The paper examines sector specific characteristics to analyse the factors affecting the sustainability of the economies of Dubai and rest of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study applies system design to analyse the research questions. Consequently, Zellner’s seemingly unrelated regressions (SURE) technique is used to examine the relative contribution of sectors to the economies Dubai, as an individual Emirate, and the rest of UAE as a group of Emirates using time series sectoral level data for 2001–2015. The study shows that there exists positive interdependencies between Dubai and rest of UAE economies. This signifies that the core competencies across various sectors in Dubai and rest of UAE economies need to be promoted further to have overall diversified impact on UAE economy. The positive sizable impact of the finance sector in Dubai and negative sizable impact in the rest of the UAE provide many opportunities for designing diversification programs for sustained economic development of the entire UAE economy. The small sample size, non-availability of detailed sectoral data in four of the seven emirates constrained the scope of the study for generalization to other economies in the middle east. The study findings are very crucial for identifying structural reforms, to strengthen competitiveness and accelerate private sector-led job creation for nationals, potential on further opening up foreign direct investment (FDI), improving selected areas of the business environment, and easing access to finance for start-ups and SMEs in both the economies. There are very few studies, which have researched the sector specific characteristics to explain the factors affecting the sustainability of the economies of Dubai and the rest of UAE. The study provides insights to the UAE policy makers, for enhancement of policies through development of the key sectors that influence the performance of the two economies. Despite being independent entities though, the seven emirates of the UAE are economically interdependent. Studies on such interactions add unique value to the literature. Keywords: SURE, GDP, Dubai, UAE, Sectoral Evaluation, Financial development.

This research develops a multivariate system framework for assessing user satisfaction of public water utility organization in a developing country and predicts quality, quantity and overall user satisfaction for policy initiatives. The model framework is applied to the data collected by Public Affairs Centre (PAC) based on the Citizen Report Card approach pioneered by it. Wald test confirms that there exits cross equation correlation across quality, quantity and overall users’ satisfaction dimensions. Based on the system model, the study identifies statistically significant factors that explain users’ loyalty to express satisfaction and voice to express dissatisfaction of users. Policy initiatives are proposed on key factors to reduce voice factors set so that the service provider could improve its service delivery. The system model correctly predicts 85% of satisfied customers across quality, quantity and overall satisfaction dimensions. Keywords: Multivariate, Logit, Discrete choice Model, Public Sector Utility service provider

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider borrower-specific characteristics to understand the factors affecting both the probability and quantum of loan default by individual borrowers under Islamic and conventional banking. Design/methodology/approach Borrower-specific characteristics that explain the probability of default may not necessarily be similar factors that determine the quantum of default. The authors therefore apply a Box-Cox double hurdle model to treat both the probability and quantum of default in a two-step approach. The authors also explain the differences in default risk and quantum of default between Islamic and conventional banking borrowers from their behavioral perspectives following the Sharia principles in financial transactions between lenders and borrowers. The authors use borrower-specific information of two separate bank branches of the United Arab Emirates that solely deal with either Islamic or conventional banking products. Findings The paper demonstrates that the probability of default and the quantum of default appear to be influenced by different set of client-specific factors. The results suggest that the probability of default does not vary significantly between Islamic and conventional banking borrowers. The evidence also shows that Islamic banking defaulters, compared to those in conventional banking, repay a large quantum of overdue when their financial leverage improves. However, they do not tend to reduce their outstanding quantum of overdue faster than conventional banking defaulters. Research limitations/implications Availability of data from only two bank branches may limit the explanatory power of empirical findings. Practical implications The study findings will enable the Islamic and conventional banks to appropriately address Basel Capital requirements based on the borrowers’ behavior. Social implications The study findings have the potential for Islamic and conventional financing institutions to be more flexible with equity in their lending practices. Originality/value Religious beliefs are crucial in borrower’s default behavior in Islamic banking.

Countries in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) have diverse economic structures. Some countries are oil exporters, some are oil importers and some countries are very poor, dependent on agriculture. Since current account is an important indicator of an economy’s health, it is of interest to examine if current account balances in MEA region are sustainable. However, empirical research paid scant attention to this issue. No study has been conducted before to examine this issue. The present paper makes an attempt to fill this research gap by employing panel data model over the period from 1995 to 2014 to examine current account sustainability in MEA countries. We follow intertemporal budget constraint approach and examine long-run relationship between export and import plus interest on net foreign debt. As we work with panel data, we pay special attention to cross-section dependence. We use annual data collected from World Development Indicators. All data (exports, imports and interest on long-term external borrowing) are in current US dollar and expressed as percentage of GDP. Interest payment on long-term external borrowing (also in current US dollar) is used as a proxy for interest on net foreign debt. Panel unit root test to cross-section dependence indicate variables are first-difference stationary. We next use panel cointegration and bootstrap critical values under null hypothesis to accommodate cross-section dependence. Panel cointegration result suggests that current account is sustainable. However, panel cointegrating regression estimation indicates that the value of sustainability coefficient is less than 1 (one), which implies that current account is weakly sustainable. As current account is weakly sustainable, it is desirable to make policy intervention at macro level to ensure strong sustainability. This may be achieved by accelerating ongoing trade reforms in MEA countries to boost export earnings and hence ensure the sustainability of external debt in the long run.

Malaysia has been experiencing sustained current account surplus during post-Asian crisis period. Although current account surplus is not as harmful as deficit, it cannot be sustained forever. Moreover, if the surplus is caused by bad reasons, such as, insufficient social insurance, inefficient financial intermediation, then it is reflected in deteriorating external competitiveness through more depreciated real exchange rate. Therefore, examination of current account sustainability is of crucial importance for the long-run health of the economy. Previous studies on Malaysian current account sustainability produce diverse results and leave it as an unsettled issue open to further research. In this backdrop this paper investigates the sustainability of Malaysia’s current account balance for the period 1970 – 2010. This paper employs inter-temporal budget constraint to understand the behavior of exports and imports of Malaysian economy. Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method is applied to examine the long cointegrating relation between Malaysian exports and imports plus interest on external borrowing. Advantage of employing the ARDL method is that it does not require the variables to be integrated to the first order. This method can be applied to a set of stationary and nonstationary variables. The paper uses annual data over the periods 1970 – 2010. Export, import and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data are in current US dollars. Interest payment on long-term external borrowing in US dollars is used as a proxy for interest on net foreign debt. Estimation results indicate that these two variables are cointegrated, which implies that Malaysia’s current account is sustainable in the long run. Strong sustainability requires the coefficient of cointegrating vector to be one. In addition to ARDL method, coefficient of cointegrating vector is estimated by two other methods, namely, fully modified OLS (FMOLS) and dynamic OLS (DOLS). All three estimations show that the long-run coefficient is greater than one. This indicates that in the long-run export increases more than import plus interest on external borrowing. Therefore, if the excess export earnings in the long run cannot be utilized productively current account surplus may not sustain. It is, therefore, concluded that Malaysian current account is weakly sustainable. This findings call for policy intervention at macro level to make efficient utilization of excess saving to boost economic growth through promoting social insurance, facilitating efficient financial intermediation and encouraging private investment.

Our objective was to determine incidence, predisposing factors, and microbiological profile of urinary tract infection (UTI) in renal transplant recipients in our center. This was cross-sectional observational study, conducted at the Department of Nephrology, Army Hospital Research and Referral, Delhi, India. Two hundred and ten renal transplant recipients were studied over one year. Out of 210 transplant recipients, 69 (32.86%) had UTI. Majority (59/69) had undergone live renal transplantation and 10 cases had received cadaveric grafts. Forty-nine patients had primary infection while 20 patients had recurrences. The mean age of patients with UTI was 38.63 ± 10 years. The incidence of UTI was higher in females (42.25%) than males (28.06%, P = 0.038). Majority of patients in younger age group (age 30 years) age group (61.54%). Most common causative agent was Escherichia coli (72.46%). Gram-negative bacilli accounted for 94.20% (65/69) while Gram-positive cocci for 5.8% (4/69) of positive cultures. Multidrug resistance was highest in Klebsiella pneumoniae (100%). Fifteen cases with UTI were detected to have underlying urinary tract abnormalities, most common being urethral stricture (60%). One patient was detected to have broken double J stent in the renal pelvis which led to recurrent E. coli infection. Forty-eight patients (69.57%) developed acute graft dysfunction secondary to UTI. Female sex (P = 0.038), urinary tract abnormality (P

This paper analyzes simultaneity and endogeneity of ERM and Corporate Governance. It assesses quantitative relationship between Corporate Governance, ERM and value of the firm. The research results provide quantitative justifications for the boards to make investments in ERM and Corporate Governance initiatives for improved shareholder wealth. 3SLS-IV system modelling was applied on 2004-11 data of Gulf Cooperation Council financial institutions. Our research confirms the simultaneity and endogeneity of Corporate Governance, ERM and Firm Value determinants. Firm value is jointly and positively impacted by ERM & Corporate Governance initiatives although the impact was less significant. Unexpectedly, ERM initiative was significantly and negatively impacted by determinants such as intangibility, and profitability. Firm size was the only determinant that showed significant and positive impact on firm value. Relative to UAE the corporate governance mechanism was active in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman firms. Further, the existence of audit committees in the GCC firm’s boards and ERM adoption significantly positively impacted the corporate governance by 3.42% and 1.7239% respectively. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Enterprise Risk Management, Firm Value, Simultaneity, Endogeneity, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies. JEL codes: C15, C21, C51, D57, F30, G21, G32, G34, K22, L21, M31, M41, N25, O16

This research addresses the problem of predicting the user’s responses through multivariate choice (MVC) and neural network (NN) frameworks for predicting quality, quantity and overall User satisfaction of public water supply organization, BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board) in Bangalore - India for policy initiatives. The MVC study identifies statistically significant factors that explain users’ loyalty to express satisfaction and voice to express dissatisfaction. The MVC model correctly predicts 85% of satisfied customers across satisfaction dimensions. Wald test on 1940 responses confirms that there exits cross equation correlation across quality, quantity and overall Users’ satisfaction dimensions and thus appropriateness of MVC framework over traditional logit for predicting the user responses. NN framework outperforms the econometric model with 94% correct classification of user responses. The study opens up potential research opportunities for applying the advanced analytical frameworks for predicting user responses in various public and private settings for Policy initiatives so that the service providers could improve their service delivery.

Structured light image systems have been used effectively for precise measurement of 3-D surfaces in a computer image. Their applications are mostly restricted to scanning stationary objects, as tens of images are to be captured for improving a single 3-D scene. This work presents an idea for real-time acquisition of 3-D surface data by a specially coded image system. To achieve 3-D measurement for a dynamic scene, the data acquisition must be accomplished with only single image. A principle of distinctively color-encoded pattern projection is proposed to mean a color matrix for improving the renovation efficiency. The matrix is produced by a special code chain and a number of state transitions. A color projector is limited by computer to generate the desired color patterns in the scene. The unique indexing of the light codes is crucial at this point for colour projection, as it is critical that each light grid be uniquely identified by incorporating local neighbourhoods. Hence 3-D reconstruction can be performed with only local analysis of the single image. A scheme is presented to describe such an image processing method for fast 3-D data acquisition. Practical experimental performance is provided to analyse the efficiency of the proposed methods.

Fisher hypothesis postulates positive relation between stock return and inflation; however early studies document negative relationship between the two and they conclude that stock cannot be used as a hedge against inflation. In this paper we explore long-run nonlinear relationship between stock price and goods price. Our sample consists of 19 OECD countries; all or some of these countries have been studied before with the findings of linear cointegration between the stock index and goods price index. Based on unit root tests and linear cointegration test, we apply threshold cointegration tests, Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration test and panel VAR method. With all these econometric methods we arrive at heterogeneous findings as follows: two countries have linear cointegration, five countries have threshold cointegration, nine countries do not have any cointegration and finally two countries provide inconclusive results. Estimates of Fisher coefficient provided by linear and nonlinear cointegration methods, which range between 1.27 and 1.86, are consistent with previous studies. Impulse response analysis from panel VAR for countries having no cointegrating relation shows that shock to inflation produces negative response in stock return, which supports findings of earlier studies.

This is the first report of epidemic stroke and epidemic reversible ischemic neurological deficit. Objectives of this study were to confirm that strokes can occur in epidemics, to identify the association of any pathogen, to study its clinical characteristics, to study its pathology by neuroimaging, to know the arterial territory involved, to understand the effect of symptomatic treatment and to know if some ischemic cases are reversible. This is a cross sectional and case-control study. It included 55 stroke cases. It was performed in hospitals of Andhra Pradesh from 1st June 2003 to 12th August 2003. The cases were analyzed for age, sex, symptoms and signs, investigations done, treatment given and course of the disease. There was a 13-fold increase in the incidence of pediatric strokes. Diagnostic symptoms and signs included abdominal colic in 28 (50.91%), diarrhea without dehydration or dyselectrolytemia in 26 (47.27%), focal symptoms and signs in 33 (60%) and meningeal irritation signs in 0%. Cerebrospinal fluid, except for increased pressure, was normal in 100%. Computerized tomography revealed hypodensities restricted to middle cerebral artery territory. Twenty-eight (50.91%) cases had evidence of Chandipurainfection. Strokes do occur in epidemics. Though infection is the cause, etiologic role of Chandipura virus is doubtful. Enterovirus 71, Varicella and any other yet unidentified endotheliotropic virus should be investigated for. Epidemic stroke has characteristic features. Middle cerebral artery territory is involved. Early treatment of raised intracranial pressure significantly reduced Case Fatality Rate. Twenty-three (85.19%) of 27 survived cases recovered totally within 3 months. Two (7.41%) cases developed late onset refractory epilepsy and four (14.81%) continued to have hemiplegia after 8 months. (J Pediatr Neurol 2004; 2(3): 131–143).

Sustained current account deficit and surplus are not good for an economy. Before 1997 financial crisis South East Asian countries experienced current account deficit, while after the crisis most of them have current account surplus. This paper is motivated by the absence of research on current account sustainability issues in selected crisis affected countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, within the framework of panel cointegration and error correction methods. The paper employs panel unit root, panel cointegration and panel dynamic OLS (PDOLS) methods to assess current account sustainability. Based on an inter-temporal analytical framework the paper examines co-integrating relationship between export as percentage of GDP (indicated by X) and the sum of import and interest on long-term external borrowing, both as percentage of GDP (indicated by MM). The paper also estimates current account sustainability parameter by PDOLS. Annual data from 1970 to 2013 for Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand are sourced from World Development Indicator 2012 & 2014 . Exports, imports, and GDP data are in current US dollars. The interest payment on long-term external borrowing is used as a proxy for interest on net foreign debt. All variables are expressed as percentage of GDP. Different econometric tests indicate that X and MM are non-stationary at level; however, stationary at first difference. Panel co-integration tests indicate that the variables are co-integrated, which indicates that there is long-run equilibrium relationship between X and MM. Error correction parameter indicates that it takes less than four years to correct short-run disequilibrium. PDOLS estimate shows that the sustainability coefficient is 1 (one).Panel co-integration and PDOLS results together indicate that current accounts in the sample countries are strongly sustainable. This finding is consistent with previous single country study. This finding supports that the current account balance reflects the optimal decisions of the borrowers and lenders; therefore, policy intervention to correct the balance is unwarranted and could reduce welfare. To avoid future crises, policymakers should pay attention to other issues, such as supporting long-term capital flows and liberalizing short-term capital movements.