The Working Party has produced this report in order to prompt readers to engage at an early stage in InsurTech projects, through considering (i) the full range of risks associated with InsurTech developments, (ii) the lifecycle of an InsurTech venture and how any risk considerations may vary over this lifecycle and (iii) the extent to which InsurTech ventures align with risk strategy and risk appetite.

The report contains practical guidance for actuaries, risk professionals, insurance companies and their Boards on these considerations, and can be used to facilitate appropriate questioning, to help ensure that InsurTech-related business decisions are fully cognisant of the risk management issues and to help ensure the success of projects.

The Working Party developed this guidance having carried out an industry survey on a number of risk management topics relating to InsurTech, as well as having carried out interviews with a number of relevant senior stakeholders across the insurance industry, in order to better understand current sentiment and how risk management plays a part when considering opportunities in InsurTech. The Working Party views on the findings from these activities are summarised in the report.

Somatoform disorders (SD) are an example of the complex interaction between mind and body.

To estimate the efficacy of pregabalin (PG) versus combination of pregabalin and antidepressants in patients with SD who were previously on long-term treatment with at least three antidepressants (SSRI, SNRI, SARIs, SNDIs, MAOI, TCAs) in an adequate therapeutic dose and had a partial response on it. In this open label trial investigators diagnosed 41 patients by standard clinical interview as F 45.0 and F 45.4 according to ICD-10 criteria and divided them in two groups: experimental (Pregabalin, 20 patients) and control group (Pregabalin + antidepressant, 21 patients). Patients also had comorbid diagnoses as follows: F 41.1, F 32, F 33 or F 34. Assessment was done by 100 mm Visual analogue scale (VAS) and by Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI). Within both groups there was a statistically significant improvement measured by VAS and CGI scales in all repeated measurements, except for the CGI scale in both groups between the second and ninth month where there was no statistical difference. There were no statistically significant differences between CG and EG on both scales either in the beginning or in repeated measurements. There was no difference in the effects of the drugs between EG and CG on both scales- VAS & CGI. Pregabalin as mono or as an adjuvant therapy had equally good efficiency in patients with SD who had partial response on various antidepressants therapy after long-term treatment.

Severe side effects of chemotherapy during treatment of malignant disease significantly disrupt patient's mental and physical state. Seventy five-years-old female patient was treated for breast cancer by protocol (operation, radiotherapy, chemotherapy-paclitaxel (CHT-PX) every tree weeks) and for dysthymia and generalized anxiety disorder with escitalopram (ESC). Tramadol (TRA) and clonazepam (KLO) given by oncologist due to severe side effects of CHT-PX: muscle cramps, lower back pain, walking difficulties, had partial results, increased anxiety and drug abuse (TRA doses increase from 100 to 300 mg/day and KLO from 4 to 6 mg/day). Efficiency of pregabalin (PG) in pain and anxiety control during CHT-PX application. The assessment was made by 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS), which assessed physical symptom severity and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) on the first day after CHT-PX application, on the 7th, 14th and 21th day. Effective PG dose was 300 mg/day with EST, KLO and TRA previously taken. On the first day after CHT-PX, patient rated pain level as 9 according to VAS. During TRA and KLO treatment, pain level on VAS was 6 from the 7th till 14th day after CHT-PX, on 21th day deceased to 2. HAMA score was 49. After PG augmentation, according to VAS, pain level was 3 on the 7th day and 0 on 14th day. HAMA score was 20. Tapering off the dose of TRA and KLO started till discontinuation of both medications. Pregabalin efficiency in pain and anxiety control increase compliance of oncological patient and reduce harm of drug abuse.

Three-dimensional temporal instabilities, leading to spray formation of a round liquid jet segment with an outer, coaxial high-density gas flow, are studied with Navier–Stokes and level-set computations. These computations predict the liquid surface shape showing the smaller structures on the conical wave crests, i.e. lobes, holes, bridges and ligaments, which are the precursors to droplet and spray formations. These structures and their time scales affect droplet size and velocity distributions as well as spray cone angles. The gas-to-liquid density ratio, liquid Reynolds number ( $Re$ ) and liquid Weber number ( $We$ ) range between 0.02–0.9, 320–16 000 and 2000–230 000, respectively, which cover three distinct physical domains. (1) At higher $Re$ and $We$ , ligaments and then drops develop following hole and liquid bridge formations. (2) At higher gas densities throughout the $Re$ range, several holes merge forming two bridges per lobe before breaking to form ligaments; this hole merging is explained by slower development of hairpin vortices and lobe shape. (3) In cases where both gas density and $Re$ or $We$ are lower, the well-ordered lobes are replaced by more irregular, smaller-scale corrugations along the conical wave crest edge; ligaments form differently by stretching from the lobes before holes form. Thicker ligaments and larger droplets form in the low $Re$ , low gas density range. The surface wave dynamics, vortex dynamics and their interactions are explained. Understandings of liquid stream break up and concurrent smaller structure formation are built upon an examination of both translation and rotation of the fluid. In all cases, hole formation is correlated with hairpin and helical vortices; fluid motion through a perforation in the thin sheet near the wave crest corresponds to these vortices. The hole formation process is dominated by inertial forces rather than capillary action, which differs from mechanisms suggested previously for other configurations. Circulation due to streamwise vorticity increases while the lobes thin and holes form. For larger surface tension, cavities in the jet core rather than perforations in a sheet occur. The more rapid radial extension of the two-phase mixture with increasing gas density is explained by greater circulation in the ring (i.e. wave crest) region. Experimental descriptions of the smaller structures are available only at lower $Re$ and lower density, agreeing with the computations. Computed scales of bridges, ligaments, early droplets and emerging spray radii agree qualitatively with experimental evidence through the high $Re$ and $We$ domains.

Spices, herbs and medicinal plants as a feed supplements present promising alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters due to their high content of bioactive substances. A large number of experiments have confirmed a wide range of activities of spices in poultry nutrition such as stimulation of feed intake, antimicrobial, antioxidative and coccidiostat stimulation, increase of body weight gain, lowering the mortality rate and improvement of the blood and tissue lipid profile. The present paper gives a review on the characteristics of hot red pepper and its mode of action in broilers nutrition.

The aim of this review paper is to show the most important bioactive compounds of garlic (Allium sativum L.), modes of action of garlic powder and its effects on broiler chicken productive performance. Allicin is thought to be the principal bioactive compound present in aqueous garlic extract or raw garlic homogenate. When garlic is chopped or crushed, the allinase enzyme present in garlic is activated and acts on alliin to produce allicin. Other important sulphur containing compounds present in garlic are allyl methyl thiosulphonate, 1-propenyl allyl thiosulphonate and γ-L-glutamyl-S-alkyl-L-cysteine. These active compounds are thought to influence feed consumption, feed utilisation, body weight, blood lipid profiles and cholesterol levels in chickens. Biological responses to these bioactive compounds have been attributed to a reduction in risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and cancer, stimulation of immune function, enhanced detoxification of foreign compound, hepatoprotection, antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

We propose that observations of ‘hidden’ magnetars in central compact objects can be used to probe crustal activity of neutron stars with large internal magnetic fields. Estimates based on calculations by Perna & Pons, Pons & Rea and Kaminker et al. suggest that central compact objects, which are proposed to be ‘hidden’ magnetars, must demonstrate flux variations on the time scale of months–years. However, the most prominent candidate for the ‘hidden’ magnetars — CXO J1852.6+0040 in Kes 79 — shows constant (within error bars) flux. This can be interpreted by lower variable crustal activity than in typical magnetars. Alternatively, CXO J1852.6+0040 can be in a high state of variable activity during the whole period of observations. Then we consider the source 1E161348 − 5055 in RCW103 as another candidate. Employing a simple 2D-modelling we argue that properties of the source can be explained by the crustal activity of the magnetar type. Thus, this object may be supplemented for the three known candidates for the ‘hidden’ magnetars among central compact objects discussed in literature.

Fullerite derivatives synthesized with a catalytic polymerization reaction at a relatively low-pressure range of 0.5–4 GPa show unique mechanical properties: elastic recovery is 98% and hardness possibly approaches 100 GPa. Structure of the samples is also unique: one composes from fragments of C60 molecules linked by the covalent bonds. To obtain the homogeneous crack-free samples, we synthesized B4C–fullerite derivatives composite which show a 550 MPa flexural stress, a 2250 MPa compressive strength, and a 28 GPa hardness and have density of 2.2 g/cm3.

In this paper, we discuss the low-frequency range of the Raman spectrum of individual suspended index-identified single-walled (SWCNTs) and double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs). In SWCNTs, the role of environment on the radial breathing mode (RBM) frequency is discussed. We show that the interaction between the surrounding air and the nanotube does not induce a RBM upshift. In several DWCNTs, we evidence that the low-frequency modes cannot be connected to the RBM of each related layer. We discuss this result in terms of mechanical coupling between the layers which results in collective radial breathing-like modes. The mechanical coupling qualitatively explains the observation of Raman lines of radial breathing-like modes, whenever only one of the layers is in resonance with the incident laser energy.

Fine radioactive particulate dispersal in outdoor areas presents significant economic, social, environmental and public health concerns. The interactions of these radioactive particles with urban surfaces need to be well understood to develop optimized decontamination strategies. The major environmental factors influencing these interactions are relative air humidity, temperature and rain. The objective of this work is to investigate the fate and transport of water soluble cesium deposited on conventional urban building materials, especially concrete, brick, asphalt, limestone, and granite, under various environmental conditions (relative humidity (RH), and atmospheric precipitation). The data on the kinetics of 137Cs desorption from building materials by the solution containing 100 mM of Ca2+ and 0.5 mM of K+ have shown that the shape of the 137Cs desorption curves is similar for all building materials. There is a rapid initial decrease in the activity of the sorbed 137Cs. The desorption rate first decreases quickly during 7–10 days and practically does not change later. The remaining 137Cs in building materials that is not desorbed by the solution is 30-40% of the initially sorbed amount. For the building materials of interest, radiocaesium interception potentials (RIP). The RIP(K) value has been shown to range from 20 to 300 mM/kg and increase in the order: limestone > brick > concrete > granite > asphalt. The fine fraction of building materials (<0.125 mm) sorbs 137Cs better than the coarse fraction (0.0125–0.25 mm). Based on RIP(K) value and measured concentration of cations the distribution coefficients Kd(137Cs) were determined. The study of the mechanisms of radiocesium binding by different components of building materials, based on sequential extraction technique, shows that the highest ability to bind 137Cs is characteristic of asphalt which retains 40.9±1.0 % of 137Cs after all extractions. By the ability to bind 137Cs with the residual fraction, the studied materials form the following sequence: concrete > limestone > granite > brick. Method to study radionuclides distribution in depth of building materials using layer-by-layer grinding has been developed.

In this work, we present the spectra of NGC 4151 observed over 11 years (from 1996 to 2006) using the SAO 6-m and 1-m telescopes (Russia), the GHAO 2.1-m telescope (Cananea, México), and the OAN-SPM 2.1-m telescope (San-Pedro, México). The procedure of spectra calibration is given by Shapovalova et al. (2008). Our analysis is focused on high-quality (S/N > 50) spectra of the Hα and Hβ emission lines.

We modeled the single-peaked Broad Emission Lines (BELs) with two-component model (accretion disk, with surrounding spherical region), comparing it with observational line profiles for a number of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). We find that the accretion in the Broad Line Region (BLR) can be present even if the profiles of BELs are single-peaked.