Epidemiology of premenstrual symptoms and disorders

The aim of this paper is to review published literature on the types and prevalences of premenstrual disorders and symptoms, and effects of these on activities of daily life and other parameters of burden of illness. The method involved review of the pertinent published literature. Premenstrual disorders vary in prevalence according to the definition or categorization. The most severe disorder being premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) affects 3-8% of women of reproductive age. This disorder focuses on psychological symptoms whereas global studies show that the most prevalent premenstrual symptoms are physical. Both psychological and physical symptoms affect women's activities of daily life. A considerable burden of illness has been shown to be associated with moderate to severe premenstrual disorders. In conclusion, premenstrual symptoms are a frequent source of concern to women during their reproductive lives and moderate to severe symptoms impact on their quality of lives.     

Concepts de dépendance et ordres stochastiques pour des lois bidimensionnelles

Yanagimoto and Okamoto (1969) introduced a stochastic ordering that generalizes a concept of monotone regression dependence introduced by Lehmann (1966). In this paper, we define and examine the properties of three new orderings which imply that of Yanagimoto and Okamoto. One of these orderings is seen to extend Shaked's (1977) notion of DTP(0, 1), and another includes Lehmann's concept of positive likelihood-ratio dependence as a special case. The proposed orderings are also compared with the TP₂ positive-dependence ordering defined by Kimeldorf and Sampson (1987).     

On the influence of extreme parties in electoral competition with policy-motivated candidates

We study and compare equilibrium platforms in models of unidimensional electoral competition with two and four policy motivated parties. We first analyze the plurality game, where the party getting the most votes is elected and implements its proposed platform. Restrictions on the set of credible announcements are needed to get existence of equilibria. Comparing equilibria with two and four parties, we obtain that moderate parties react to the introduction of extreme parties by proposing the same or more extreme equilibrium platforms. We then study the proportional system, where the policy implemented is a weighted sum of the proposals, with the voting shares as weights. Here, the existence of extreme parties leads moderate ones to choose more centrist platforms. We finally test the robustness of our results with respect to, first, the enlargement of the strategy space to entry decisions and, second, to asymmetric distributions of voters' blisspoints.

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Development and Application of a Probabilistic Risk–Benefit Assessment Model for Infant Feeding Integrating Microbiological,Nutritional, and Chemical Components

A probabilistic and interdisciplinary risk–benefit assessment (RBA) model integrating microbiological, nutritional, and chemical components was developed for infant milk, with the objective of predicting the health impact of different scenarios of consumption. Infant feeding is a particular concern of interest in RBA as breast milk and powder infant formula have both been associated with risks and benefits related to chemicals, bacteria, and nutrients, hence the model considers these three facets. Cronobacter sakazakii, dioxin‐like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl‐PCB), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were three risk/benefit factors selected as key issues in microbiology, chemistry, and nutrition, respectively. The present model was probabilistic with variability and uncertainty separated using a second‐order Monte Carlo simulation process. In this study, advantages and limitations of undertaking probabilistic and interdisciplinary RBA are discussed. In particular, the probabilistic technique was found to be powerful in dealing with missing data and to translate assumptions into quantitative inputs while taking uncertainty into account. In addition, separation of variability and uncertainty strengthened the interpretation of the model outputs by enabling better consideration and distinction of natural heterogeneity from lack of knowledge. Interdisciplinary RBA is necessary to give more structured conclusions and avoid contradictory messages to policymakers and also to consumers, leading to more decisive food recommendations. This assessment provides a conceptual development of the RBA methodology and is a robust basis on which to build upon.     

Random sampling of long-memory stationary processes

This paper investigates the second order properties of a stationary process after random sampling. While a short memory process gives always rise to a short memory one, we prove that long-memory can disappear when the sampling law has heavy enough tails. We prove that under rather general conditions the existence of the spectral density is preserved by random sampling. We also investigate the effects of deterministic sampling on seasonal long-memory.     

Corporate Governance: Stakeholder Value Versus Shareholder Value

Unsatisfied with the dominatingshareholders' point of view, that appears to betoo limited to build a relevant theory ofcorporate governance, we propose an enlargeddefinition of the value which may be called,the stakeholder value. This definition and itsassociated measure are more suitable for thestakeholder approach to the firm and morerelevant to understand the value creation andsharing mechanisms.