Does it pay to be a faithful investor? A risk-based approach performance analysis of Islamic funds vs UCITS schemes

PurposeThis paper empirically investigates the performance of Islamic funds, which have been praised for weathering the 2008 financial storm relatively well and compares it to a European product designed to protect the most vulnerable of investors, UCITS funds.Design/methodology/approachThis paper builds on 128 time-series regressions using various factor models to analyse the risk-return relationship of 242 Islamic and UCITS funds relative to a market benchmark, over a 10-year period starting January 2006, to capture severe bear and bull market conditions.FindingsIslamic funds do not face a competitive disadvantage arising from their strict compliance with Shariah principles, and their performance and investment style is relatively similar to UCITS schemes.Practical implicationsIslamic funds represent a low risk investment due to their very mild betas. Therefore, when forming part of a diversified portfolio, they can act as a hedging tool against adverse market movements.Social implicationsMuslim investors are not punished relative to conventional retail investors when following their own beliefs. Other investors can consider Islamic funds in their portfolio allocation, especially those who seek socially and ethically responsible investments.Originality/valueThis paper fills a lacuna in the existing literature, because the sample is made up of Islamic funds established worldwide and includes not only equity, but also fixed income and mixed allocation funds.

A Retrospective Outbreak Investigation of a COVID-19 Case Cluster in a Berlin Kindergarten, November 2020

While SARS-CoV-2 infection activity in German kindergartens during the first year of the pandemic appeared to be overall low, outbreaks did occur. We retrospectively investigated an outbreak in November and December 2020 in a Berlin kindergarten participating in the Berlin Corona School and Kindergarten Study (BECOSS). Interviews were conducted with affected families regarding symptomatology, contact persons and possible sources of infection, as well as relevant information on the conditions on-site and infection prevention measures. A chronology of the outbreak was elaborated, and based on data on contacts and symptoms, we mapped the most likely chains of infection. Overall, 24 individuals, including ten educators, seven children, and seven household members, were infected with SARS-CoV-2 in a four-week time interval. Courses of infection ranged from asymptomatic to severe, with children less affected by symptoms. Viral spread within the facility seemed to occur mainly through kindergarten staff, while children primarily transmitted infections within their families. Interviewees reported that hygiene measures were not always adhered to inside the facility. To prevent outbreaks in kindergartens, especially in the light of current and newly emerging viral variants of concern, strict compliance to hygiene rules, staff vaccinations against SARS-CoV-2, and immediate reaction to suspected cases by quarantining and frequent testing seem reasonable measures.

Constitutional principles of the creation of federal territories in Russia

Introduction. During the constitutional reform of 2020, part 1 of Article 67 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation was supplemented with a provision on the possibility of creating federal territories. In this regard, questions need to be resolved about how the constitutional novel should relate to the principles of federalism established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and what the principles for the creation of federal territories in Russia are. Theoretical analysis. The creation of federal territories in the Russian Federation should take place subject to strict compliance with the principle of state integrity, the principle of equality and self-determination of the peoples of Russia; the principle of unity of the public power system; the principle of priority of individual rights and freedoms, their recognition, observance and protection by the state; the principle of compliance with the goals of the formation of federal territories with the strategic interests of the Russian Federation. Empirical analysis. It is revealed that the current version of Part 1 of Article 67 of the Constitution, firstly, establishes the possibility of creating federal territories as a new type of public legal territory, secondly, provides for a special organization of public power in these territories, different from the generally accepted organization operating on the territory of the subjects of the Russian Federation, and, thirdly, defines the constitutional and legal mechanism for their creation: the adoption of a federal law. This norm does not specify the types of federal territories and the possible goals of their creation. These issues are fully attributed to the discretionary powers of the Russian Parliament. Results. Based on the analysis of the scientific literature devoted to the problems of federal territories in Russia and abroad, and the legislation of the Russian Federation, the definition can be formulated: federal territory is a public legal entity that has a special constitutional and legal status determined by national strategic significance, created in accordance with a regulatory act providing for direct or indirect management of it by the federal government, defining the specifics of the exercise of public power in accordance with the goals of creation, additional guarantees and restrictions on the rights and freedoms of citizens.

Interventional Treatment of Bronchiectasis Macrosomia Based on Multirow CT Tomography Monitoring

We present in this paper an in-depth study and analysis of bronchiectasis haemoptysis by multirow CT tomography and a multifaceted treatment and analysis of the interventions monitored by the scan. Although coronary CT is of great clinical value in the diagnosis and monitoring of coronary artery disease, the potential radiation damage caused by coronary CT should not be underestimated because CT imaging is based on X-rays and the actual effective dose is 5–30 mSv, which is reported in the literature to be high when using conventional imaging modalities for coronary CT. Although there is no direct evidence of a definite causal relationship between X-ray exposure during CT examinations and tumorigenesis, theoretically, even small doses of radiation exposure may pose some potential health risk. Therefore, in clinical practice, coronary CT examinations should be performed in strict compliance with the radiation protection rule “as low as reasonably achievable” (ALARA) recognized by the radiation industry. For longitudinal openings in the range of 0° to 59° and transverse openings in the range of 0° to 44°, the CB2 catheter is significantly more stable than the MIK catheter, and for longitudinal openings in the range of 60° to 119° and transverse openings in the range of 0° to 44°, the CB2 catheter is more stable than the MIK catheter. For longitudinal openings from 0° to 120° and lateral openings from 45° to 90°, there was no significant difference in cannulation stability between the CB2 and MIK catheters. There was a potential tendency for MIK cannulation stability to be higher than CB2 for longitudinal openings in the range of 120° to 180° and lateral openings in the range of 45° to 90°, but there was no significant difference.

PROVIDING EMERGENCY SURGICAL CARE TO PATIENTS IN A COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Among the features of surgical care for patients with COVID-19 are the need for strict compliance with the epidemiological regime, minimizing the number of staff in the operating room, the possible minimization of surgical interventions and reducing their duration. The most important task in these conditions is the safety of personnel. Materials and methods. The results of surgical treatment of 85 pa-tients with acute surgical pathology are presented, and the presence of the virus was confirmed by the results of laboratory tests in 75.3 %. 24.7 % of patients had a clear picture of pneumonia of viral etiology with a high probability. All operations were performed in compliance with the epidemiological regime by pre-trained and instructed per-sonnel in compliance with the rules of asepsis and antiseptics. Discussion of results. There are no fundamental changes in the tac-tics of management of patients with acute surgical pathology. Howev-er, in the presence of the patient, in addition to acute surgical disease, COVID-19 and viral pneumonia of varying severity, it is necessary to take into account the increased risk of both bacterial and thrombo-embolic complications. Conclusions. Given the limitations caused by the spread of COVID-19, emergency surgical care should be provided to all pa-tients in a timely, highquality and complete manner. Any action of the emergency surgical service must be justified by the specific situa-tion, with the absolute priority of public and patient safety.

Seismic Vulnerability of Primary Response Agencies in The Himalayan Province of Uttarakhand in India

Seismic vulnerability assessment of nearly 67%, 60%, and 18% of buildings of the first responders (Fire and Emergency Service, Police, and local administration, respectively) in the Himalayan province of Uttarakhand in India suggests 14.12% collapse, and 67.19% damage, and put to disuse immediately after an earthquake. This is to seriously limit emergency response capability of the state, and enhance sufferings and trauma of the affected community. US$ 95.27 is estimated as the cost of seismic safety of emergency response infrastructure, and this is to save building contents worth US$ 10.00 million. Prioritised demolition and reconstruction of Grade 5 buildings, detailed vulnerability assessment and phased retrofitting of Grade 4 and Grade 3 buildings, effective and strict compliance of building bye-laws, stringent punitive measures for lapses in lifeline buildings, mechanism for routine vulnerability assessment, and corrective maintenance are recommended for ensuring smooth and uninterrupted functioning of the emergency response agencies in the aftermath of an earthquake.

One-loop structure of parton distribution for the gluon condensate and “zero modes”

We present results for one-loop corrections to the recently introduced “gluon condensate” PDF F(x). In particular, we give expression for the gg-part of its evolution kernel. To enforce strict compliance with the gauge invariance requirements, we have used on-shell states for external gluons, and have obtained identical results both in Feynman and light-cone gauges. No “zero mode” δ(x) terms were found for the twist-4 gluon PDF F(x). However a q2δ(x) term was found for the ξ = 0 GPD F(x, q2) at nonzero momentum transfer q. Overall, our results do not agree with the original attempt of one-loop calculations of F(x) for gluon states, which sets alarm warning for calculations that use matrix elements with virtual external gluons and for lattice renormalization procedures based on their results.

Some results of voltage increase in marine electrical propulsion installations

The main voltage parameters of marine electrical propulsion installations, at various load capacities, with further stress assessment are discussed in the article. By considering voltage options, it was revealed that an increase in inductive resistance makes it possible to manufacture a machine with high power, but the quality of electrical energy in transient modes is deteriorated. During starts, reversals, resets and load surges of powerful consumers, large voltage dips will occur on the generator. To solve the problem, including determination of optimal parameters of the generator, based on the multifactorial nature of the task of creating an electric machine for a specific purpose, an analysis of all the necessary parameters was carried out. The main dimensions of the machine depend on its full power, angular speed and electromagnetic loads. The article presents technical solutions considered using the example of a modern multipurpose icebreaker-supply “Vitus Bering”. Also, as an example, an icebreaker of the Taimyr type with a limited draft is considered, for the first time in modern practice, an alternating-changing current EDMS is used. From the experience of operating the icebreakers “Taimyr” and “Vaigach”, the transition to high voltage did not lead to a complication and increase in the complexity of the maintenance of the MPM, although it required strict compliance with safety regulations during the work. During the operation of icebreakers with MPM 6.3 kV, not a single case of single-phase short circuit or electrical injury has been recorded.

Vulnérabilité De La Commune Urbaine De Mopti Aux Inondations

La commune urbaine de Mopti, particulièrement la ville du même nom, du fait de son positionnement géographique (à la confluence du fleuve Niger et de son principal affluent, le Bani) est exposée aux épisodes d’inondation. L’objectif de cette recherche est de montrer la vulnérabilité de la commune aux évènements pluviométriques et hydriques extrêmes et de proposer des pistes de solutions en vue de prévenir les risques d’inondation. La démarche méthodologique a consisté à analyser les données pluviométriques et hydriques (données de crues et de hauteurs d’eau) journalières de la station de Mopti à l’aide des logiciels Excel et XLSTAT. Les analyses portent sur le calcul des indices de précipitations et hydriques extrêmes et la détermination de leur période de retour. Les résultats font ressortir que la fréquence des évènements pluviométriques et hydriques dans la commune a augmenté depuis la moitié des années 2000, occasionnant des inondations faisant de plus en plus de victimes et d’importants dégâts en raison notamment des problèmes d’aménagement de la commune. Face à ce défi, faudra-t-il la prise en compte des risques climatiques dans les documents de planification locale, une large sensibilisation des populations et le strict respect de la réglementation en vigueur. The urban commune of Mopti, particularly the city of the same name, due to its geographical location (at the confluence of the Niger River and its main tributary, the Bani) is exposed to flooding episodes. The objective of this research is to show the vulnerability of the town to extreme rainfall and water events and to propose possible solutions to prevent flood risks. The methodological approach consisted in analysing daily rainfall and water data (flood and water level data) from the Mopti station using Excel and XLSTAT software. The analyses focus on the calculation of extreme rainfall and water indices and the determination of their return period. The results show that the frequency of rainfall and water events in the commune has increased since the mid-2000s, causing floods with an increasing number of victims and significant damage, due in particular to the commune's development problems. Faced with this challenge, one should take in to consideration of climate risks in local planning documents, a broad awareness of the population and strict compliance with the regulations in force.