Intelligent systems in finance

Business sectors ranging from banking and insurance to retail, are benefiting from a whole new generation of ‘intelligent’ computing techniques. Successful applications include asset forecasting, credit evaluation, fraud detection, portfolio optimization, customer profiling, risk assessment, economic modelling, sales forecasting and retail outlet location. The techniques include expert systems, rule induction, fuzzy logic, neural networks and genetic algorithms, which in many cases are outperforming traditional statistical approaches. Their key features include the ability to recognize and classify patterns, learning from examples, generalization, logical reasoning from premises, adaptability and the ability to handle data which is incomplete, imprecise and noisy. This paper is the first in a series to appear in Applied Mathematical Finance;here we introduce the reader to the basic concepts of intelligent systems, describe their mode of operation and identify applications of the techniques in real world problem domains. Subsequent papers will concentrate on neural networks, genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic and hybrid systems, and will investigate their history and operation more rigorously.     

Chromophore formation in resorcinarene solutions and the visual detection of mono- and oligosaccharides

The colorimetric properties of resorcinarene solutions had not been investigated since Baeyer's initial synthesis. We recently reported that solutions containing resorcinarene macrocycles develop color upon heating or standing. In the presence of saccharides, these solutions exhibit significant color changes which are easily seen. We herein present strong evidence that the solution color is due to macrocycle ring opening and oxidation. The optical responses to saccharides are due to complexation of the sugar with the acyclic chromophores. We apply these mechanistic insights toward the challenging problem of the visual detection of neutral oligosaccharides by simple chromogens. In addition, we also report the first single-crystal X-ray crystal structure determination of a rarely observed "diamond" resorcinarene stereoisomer.     

Investigation of the Chemical Differences between Native and Bypass Coronary Artery Plaques from the Same Heart Using Cross Polarization Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (CP/MAS-NMR)

The plaque deposits in bypass arteries and native arteries from the same heart have been studied using solid state cross polarization nuclear magnetic resonance (CP/MAS NMR). Both ¹³C and ³¹P signals were observed. The samples are of interest because plaque in native arteries may have deposited during the lifetime of the patient. However, plaque in the bypass occurred since bypass surgery. It has been observed that the mature plaque in native arteries was more calcified than that in bypass arteries, especially if the latter had not matured to become significant in size. Results showed that the concentrations of carboxylate carbons present in cholesterol esters were similar in native and bypass arteries. However, the areas of the ¹³C peaks of the carboxylate compared to the sum of areas of all other ¹³C arteries indicated that the carboxylate was attached to five or six other carbons. From this we can calculate that the carboxylate to other carbon ratio in the remainder must be 1:4 or 1:3. This indicates large quantities of other organic compounds in the deposits. Studies of ³¹P showed that phosphorus existed primarily as hydroxyapatite in the crystalline native plaque. However, a large proportion existed as organic phosphorus in the bypass plaque. In addition, we studied the interactions of calcium with homocysteine and cholesterol. Calcium-homocysteine and cholesterol-homocysteine precipitates were characterized using ¹³C solid state NMR. Results showed that calcium appeared to interact with sulphur in the homocysteine which seemed to form dimers and polymers.