This paper investigates the relation between lunar phases and stock market returns of 48 countries. The findings indicate that stock returns are lower on the days around a full moon than on the days around a new moon. The magnitude of the return difference is 3% to 5% per annum based on analyses of two global portfolios: one equal-weighted and the other value-weighted. The return difference is ...

The communication and migration patterns of a country are shaped by its socioeconomic processes. The economy of Senegal is predominantly rural, as agriculture employs over 70% of the labor force. In this paper, we use mobile phone records to explore the impact of agricultural activity on the communication and mobility patterns of the inhabitants of Senegal. We find two peaks of phone calls acti...

BACKGROUND Influenza and Influenza-like-illness (ILI) represents a substantial public health problem, but it is difficult to measure the overall burden as many cases do not access health care. Community cohorts have the advantage of not requiring individuals to present at hospitals and surgeries and therefore can potentially monitor a wider variety of cases. This study reports on the incidence ...

This paper explores adolescent preferences for the setting, timing, delivery format, provider and key elements of tobacco control programmes. The need for programme sensitivity towards urban/rural, gender and ethnic subgroups is also discussed. Schools were purposively selected from the Southern Cape-Karoo Region, South Africa. Twelve prevention and nine cessation focus group discussions were c...

BACKGROUND School closure is often considered as an option to mitigate influenza epidemics because of its potential to reduce transmission in children and then in the community. The policy is still however highly debated because of controversial evidence. Moreover, the specific mechanisms leading to mitigation are not clearly identified. METHODS We introduced a stochastic spatial age-specific...

The first wave of pandemic influenza A(H1N1) has subsided in New Zealand as in other southern hemisphere countries. This study aimed to estimate the effective reproduction number (R) of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) taking into account imported cases. It also aimed to show the temporal variation of R throughout the New Zealand epidemic, changes in age- and ethnicity-specific cumulative incide...

INTRODUCTION Suicide is a complex and multifactorial phenomenon with growing importance to public health. An increase in its occurrence has been observed in Mexico over the past 10 years. The present article analyzes the secular trend in suicide at the national level between the years 2000 and 2013. MATERIALS AND METHODS All suicides during the study period (n = 64,298, of which 82.11% were m...

tions regarding potential plant poisonings, especially around the holidays, when festive plants may be placed in locations accessible to curious pets. This article will help you better recognize plants commonly encountered during winter and spring holidays and treat pets exposed to them. Remember, an owner may not know a plant’s name, and attempting to identify a plant from an owner’s descripti...

This study examines the direct and indirect impact (via educational achievement) of student work during secondary education on later employment outcomes. To this end, we jointly model schooling outcomes as discrete choices, while correcting for these outcomes’ unobserved determinants. Using unique longitudinal Belgian data, find that pupils who summer holidays are more likely to be employed thr...