All data are not created equal.

Local gradient pattern - A novel feature representation for facial expression recognition

Many researchers adopt Local Binary Pattern for pattern analysis. However, the long histogram created by Local Binary Pattern is not suitable for large-scale facial database. This paper presents a simple facial pattern descriptor for facial expression recognition. Local pattern is computed based on local gradient flow from one side to another side through the center pixel in a 3x3 pixels region...

Emerging contaminants in raw water supply in the east of Tehran

Emerging contaminant in drinking water has created concerns among public, water supplier and government. Pharmaceutical in water and food even in low concentration have shown potential risks to human. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are among a set of the most prescribed drugs in the world. In this study raw water and treated drinking water from Latyan drinking water treatment facilities were analy...

Portfolio performance evaluation in modified mean-variance models

The present study is an attempt toward evaluating the performance of portfolios and assets selecting using modified mean-variance models by utilizing a non-parametric efficiency analysis tool, namely Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Huge amounts of money are being invested in financial market. As a result, portfolio performance evaluation has created a great deal of interest among people. We kn...

The Alpha in Fund of Hedge Funds Do Fund of Hedge Funds Managers Add Value?

All hedge funds are not created equal. A poorly chosen portfolio of hedge funds can produce disappointing results. All fund of funds managers are not created equal, either. A poor choice of fund of funds managers can yield disappointing results. This article is designed to outline the value proposition of a fund of hedge funds operation. We conclude that fund of funds add value primarily throug...

An Empirical Comparison of Performance of the Unified Approach to Linearization of Variance Estimation after Imputation with Some Other Methods

Imputation is one of the most common methods to reduce item non_response effects. Imputation results in a complete data set, and then it is possible to use naϊve estimators. After using most of common imputation methods, mean and total (imputation estimators) are still unbiased. However their variances (imputation variances) are underestimated by naϊve variance estimators. Sampling mechanism an...

Not All Children are Created Equal: A Proposal to Address Equal Protection Inheritance Rights of Posthumously Conceived Children