Forecasting the Yield Curve of Government Bonds: A Comparative Study

For the past 20 years, researchers have applied the Kalman filter to the modeling and forecasting the term structure of interest rates. Despite its impressive performance in in-sample fitting yield curves, little research has focused on the out-of-sample forecast of yield curves using the Kalman filter. The goal of this thesis is to develop a unified dynamic model based on Diebold and Li (2006) and Nelson and Siegel’s (1987) three-factor model, and estimate this dynamic model using the Kalman filter. We compare both in-sample and out-of-sample performance of our dynamic methods with various other models in the literature. We find that our dynamic model dominates existing models in medium- and long-horizon yield curve predictions. However, the dynamic model should be used with caution when forecasting short maturity yields

The band structure of Cd0

The Augmented Pl ane Wave Method has been used to calculate the one-electron energy band structure of CdO. Energy eigenva l ues were calculated along three symmetry lines and for some other general wave-vectors of interest.

The effect of 17-B estradiol therapy on bone mineral density and structure of alveolar bone in the ovariectomized rat model of postmenopausal osteoporosis

The ovariectomized (OVX) rat, a preclinical model for studying postmenopausal bone loss, may also be used to study differences in alveolar bone (AB). The objectives of this study were to quantify the differences in AB following estrogen replacement therapy (ERT), and to investigate the relationship between AB structure and density, and trabecular bone at the femoral neck (FN) and third lumbar vertebral body (LB3). Estrogen treated rats had a higher bone volume fraction (BV/TV) at the AB region (9.8% P < 0.0001), FN (12% P < 0.0001), and LB3 (11.5% P < 0.0001) compared to the OVX group. BV/TV of the AB was positively correlated with the BV/TV at the FN (r = 0.69 P < 0.0001) and the LB3 (r = 0.75 P < 0.0001). The trabecular number (Tb.N), trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), and structure model index (SMI) were also positively correlated (P < 0.05) between the AB and FN (r = 0.42, 0.49, and 0.73, respectfully) and between the AB and LB3 (r = 0.44, 0.63, and 0.69, respectfully). Given the capacity of AB to respond to ERT, future preclinical drug/nutritional intervention studies aimed at improving skeletal health should include the AB as a region of interest (ROI).