One-factor model for default rates by loan type

This paper investigates the link between default rates by loan types and the systemic credit risk component. This link is described by a linear model that combines systemic and idiosyncratic contributions. The systemic component is a latent factor that depends directly on the aggregate loan default rate, while the idiosyncratic component drives specific variations of default rates across loan types. By transforming observable risk measures, the model can be econometrically represented as a mixed-effects model, where the systemic and idiosyncratic components represent, respectively, the slope and the intercept that are specific for each loan type individually. The proposed model is illustrated on a panel of defaulted loans of the Association of Serbian Banks. The obtained results show the model's very high power in explaining average default rates for all loan types. Thus, the aggregate default rate plays the role of a unique systemic component that mimics the influence of fundamental macroeconomic risk factors easily, without the necessity to model this relationship explicitly.

Carmelo Di Bartolo, the Design of a New Architecture of Materials Based on Bionics

The approach referring to a new material architecture based on bionics, addresses a systemic component in favor of its efficiency, usability, ergonomics, experiences and function. In this sense, the Italian designer Carmelo Di Bartolo proposes as part of his philosophy, the consideration of design of materials integrating bionics, through a discourse and practice that values nature in the design process. Consider the product integrating a material-based approach as a suggestive and communicative element, or as a constitutive part of an efficient structure. The teachings of Di Bartolo are reflected in experiences developed in undergraduate and graduate education, as well as research in Chile. A reference being exemplified in the WINNER project that proposes the design of a dynamic facade based on the analysis of functional principles of nature, responsive to the solar energy capture.

RNAemia Corresponds to Disease Severity and Antibody Response in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) represents a global health emergency. To improve the understanding of the systemic component of SARS-CoV-2, we investigated if viral load dynamics in plasma and respiratory samples are associated with antibody response and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found in plasma samples from 14 (44%) out of 32 patients. RNAemia was detected in 5 out of 6 fatal cases. Peak IgG values were significantly lower in mild/moderate than in severe (0.6 (interquartile range, IQR, 0.4–3.2) vs. 11.8 (IQR, 9.9–13.0), adjusted p = 0.003) or critical cases (11.29 (IQR, 8.3–12.0), adjusted p = 0.042). IgG titers were significantly associated with virus Ct (Cycle threshold) value in plasma and respiratory specimens ((ß = 0.4, 95% CI (confidence interval, 0.2; 0.5), p < 0.001 and ß = 0.5, 95% CI (0.2; 0.6), p = 0.002). A classification as severe or a critical case was additionally inversely associated with Ct values in plasma in comparison to mild/moderate cases (ß = −3.3, 95% CI (−5.8; 0.8), p = 0.024 and ß = −4.4, 95% CI (−7.2; 1.6), p = 0.007, respectively). Based on the present data, our hypothesis is that the early stage of SARS-CoV-2 infection is characterized by a primary RNAemia, as a potential manifestation of a systemic infection. Additionally, the viral load in plasma seems to be associated with a worse disease outcome.

Oral Ulceration and Indian Herbs: A Scoping Review

Oral ulcers are one of the most prevalent oral mucosal diseases. The etiology of oral mucosal ulcers still has to be discerned as a variety of precipitating factors and causes have been implicated. Unless associated with some underlying systemic component, the condition generally takes 10 to 14 days to resolve, sometimes to recur soon. During the active disease phase, it affects eating, drinking and swallowing, thus affecting the quality of life. The treatment is generally symptomatic and is limited to the use of analgesics, antibiotics and topical application of steroids. The use of these over-the-counter drugs can sometimes lead to severe adverse effects. Herbal medicaments provide a safer and efficacious alternative to synthetic drugs. This article aims to review the most commonly used herbal medicines and investigate their efficacy in treating oral ulcers.

Heart Rate Variability Assessment and Its Application for Autonomic Function Evaluation in Patients with Hyperhidrosis

Background: Pathophysiology mechanism of primary focal hyperhidrosis (PFHH) is controversial. Heart rate variability (HRV) could explain if there is a systemic component present. We aimed to investigate the functions of the autonomic nervous system in patients diagnosed with PFHH compared to controls using the analysis of HRV in the domains of time, frequency, and nonlinearity, as well as analysis of the recurrence plots (RPs). Methods: We selected 34 patients with PFHH (29.4 ± 10.2 years) and 34 controls (29.2 ± 9.6 years) for HRV analysis. Heart beats were recorded with Polar RS800CX monitor (20 min, at rest, in supine position), and RR intervals were analyzed with Kubios Premium HRV software. RPs were constructed with Visual Recurrence Analysis software. Statistical analysis included unpaired t test (p < 0.05). Results: Our results showed that HRV parameters in the 3 domains evaluated did not show any differences between the groups. The same was observed with RPs. Conclusions: The findings suggest that PFHH, from the pathophysiological point of view, may be caused by peripheral involvement of the sympathetic nervous system (glandular level or nerve terminals), as there was no difference between the groups studied. More specific studies should help elucidate this issue.

Defining Key Determinants of the Strategic Economic Security of the Agro-Industrial Complex in Terms of Stabilizing Political Course

The key determinants of the strategic economic security of the agro-industrial complex in the conditions of a stabilizing political course on food security ensure the state of the facility in which it is possible to carry out conceptual and functional actions built on goals and principles. The composition and structure of the agro-industrial complex of the state is multicomponent and systemic, it contains many internal connecting blocks and interdependent structures. The uneven development of some agricultural systems occures in the lag of technologies and assortment content. Disruptions in supply and marketing, as well as emergency circumstances cause crop failure, cattle death, which significantly affects the systemic component of economic security. A decrease in food security leads to a decrease in the country’s food security due to the decline in the development of an entire industry.

The Radical Right in Post-Soviet Russia

This chapter introduces some basic contours of Russia’s contemporary radical right scene. It distinguishes between systemic and non-systemic ultra-nationalist groups in Putin’s Russia, the principal difference being the groups’ and individual actors’ proximity and clarity of connections to the crypto-authoritarian regime. The systemic component consists of political groups, authors, and activists that are allowed or encouraged to participate in official mass media and public life. Main actors of the mainstream radical right include Vladimir Zhirinovskii’s Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia and organizations using the “Rodina” (Motherland) label. Major expressions of government-supported Russian “uncivil society” and anti-democratic intellectual discourse include the writings of the far right political thinkers Lev Gumilev and Aleksandr Dugin. Manifestations of the non-systemic component of Russia’s extreme right include skinheads and their use of ethnic violence, political movements such as the Movement Against Illegal Immigration, other descendants of the “Pamiat” (Memory) organization in the 1980s, and their activities.

Verb Processes in Kurdish Language

This paper presents a descriptive analysis of the processes underlying the usage of transitivity in Kurdish Language. Paul Simpson’s Transitivity model has been adopted in this work. Language use involves both systemic and functional components, the former comprising language grammar system requirements and the latter embracing cognitive/ functional processes underlying the use of a specific systemic component: namely, Material, Mental, Verbal and Relational. In a descriptive analysis of transitivity usage in Kurdish language, this paper examines participants’ roles and circumstances in identifying each process. The paper demonstrates that there is a correlation between the speakers’ worldviews and their choice of the processes in using transitivity to generate sentences. An adequate and different explanation of the verb concept has been presented on the basis of the semantic organization of a speaker’s experience rather than on viewing transitivity in terms of a grammatical requirement of direct objects. The originality of this paper lies in the various dimensions that such processes provide for analyzing Kurdish sentence structure. The paper can be of benefit as an entry point for studying and understanding the Kurdish verb lexicon and for the program of learning Kurdish language.