'Parasitic invasions' or sources of good governance: constraining foreign competition in Hong Kong banking, 1956-81

This paper investigates the operation and impact of the moratorium on new banking licences imposed in Hong Kong in 1965 and the claims that foreign banks destabilised the banking system and drained resources from the colony. First it examines foreign banks' attempts to circumvent the moratorium through claims of special circumstances and buying interests in local banks, and secondly it examines the efforts of incumbents to extend barriers to non-bank financial institutions and to branches of foreign banks. The general conclusions are that while the moratorium was aimed at increasing the stability of the banking system, it had the effect of decreasing the regulatory breadth of the government, and reducing incentives for mergers and acquisitions that might have improved governance

Sporopollenin, a natural copolymer, is robust under high hydrostatic pressure

Lycopodium sporopollenin, a natural copolymer, shows exceptional stability under high hydrostatic pressures (10 GPa) as determined by in situ high pressure synchrotron source FTIR spectroscopy. This stability is evaluated in terms of the component compounds of the sporopollenin: p-coumaric acid, phloretic acid, ferulic acid, and palmitic and sebacic acids, which represent the additional n-acid and ndiacid components. This high stability is attributed to interactions between these components, rather than the exceptional stability of any one molecular component. We propose a biomimetic solution for the creation of polymer materials that can withstand high pressures for a multitude of uses in aeronautics, vascular autografts, ballistics and light-weight protective materials

Avaliacao clinico-laboratorial de bovinos Nelores infectados experimentalmente com Trypanosoma vivax.

bitstream/item/137703/1/PESQ-EM-ANDAMENTO-51.pdfCNPGC

Desenvolvimento de uma prova de imunoadsorcao enzimática para detecção de anticorpos contra Trypanosoma vivax em bovinos: resultados preliminares.

bitstream/item/137691/1/PESQ-EM-ANDAMENTO-50.pdfCNPGC

Avaliação preliminar de parâmetros epidemiológicos da tristeza parasitaria bovina no Mato Grosso do Sul.

Epidemiologia; Bovino; Tristeza parasitaria; Praga; Sanidade; America do Sul; Brasil; Mato Grosso do Sul.bitstream/item/137587/1/PESQ-EM-ANDAMENTO-38.pdfCNPGC

Optimization of an Externally Mixed Biogas Plant Using a Robust CFD Method

Biogas plants have to be continuously or periodically mixed to ensure the homogenization of fermenting and fresh substrate. Externally installed mixers provide easier access than submerged mixers but concerns of insufficient mixing deter many operators from using this technology. In this paper, a new approach to improve homogenization of the substrate mixture is proposed by optimizing external mixer configurations across a wide range of rheological properties. Robust optimization of a biogas reactor is coupled with CFD simulations to improve parameters for the angles of inflow and the position of the substrate outlet in a large-scale fermenter. The optimization objective is to minimize the area in the tank which is poorly mixed. We propose to define this “dead volume zone” as the region in which the velocity magnitude during mixing falls below a certain threshold. Different dry substance contents are being investigated to account for the varying rheological properties of different substrate compositions. The velocity thresholds are calculated for each dry substance content from the mixer-tank configuration of a real biogas reactor in Brandenburg, Germany (BGA Warsow GmbH & Co.KG). The robust optimization results comprising the whole range of rheological properties are compared to simulations of the original configuration and to optimization results for each individual dry substance content. The robust CFD-based optimized configurations reduce the dead volume zones significantly across all dry substance contents compared to the original configuration. The outcomes of this paper can be particularly useful for plant manufacturers and operators for optimal mixer placement in industrial size biogas fermenters.BMBF - ROENOBIO project with contract number 05M2013UTA (Germany), DFG - RTG 2126 Algorithmic Optimization (Germany

Embodied uncertainty: living with complexity and natural hazards

In this paper, we examine the concept of embodied uncertainty by exploring multiple dimensions of uncertainty in the context of risks associated with extreme natural hazards. We highlight a need for greater recognition, particularly by disaster management and response agencies, of uncertainty as a subjective experience for those living at risk. Embodied uncertainty is distinguished from objective uncertainty by the nature of its internalisation at the individual level, where it is subjective, felt and directly experienced. This approach provides a conceptual pathway that sharpens knowledge of the processes that shape how individuals and communities interpret and contextualise risk. The ways in which individual characteristics, social identities and lived experiences shape interpretations of risk are explored by considering embodied uncertainty in four contexts: social identities and trauma, the co-production of knowledge, institutional structures and policy and long-term lived experiences. We conclude by outlining the opportunities that this approach presents, and provide recommendations for further research on how the concept of embodied uncertainty can aid decision-making and the management of risks in the context of extreme natural hazards

Renminbi Internationalisation: Precedents and Implications

While it is commonly assumed that there are no known precedents against which to benchmark the internationalisation of the Renminbi (RMB), this paper argues that the PRCs own development experience provides a useful perspective on the internationalisation debate. In particular it indicates that lessons can be learnt from both the successes and the shortcomings of efforts to internationalise the RMB in the 1970s. During this period state-owned banks in Hong Kong played a central role in mobilising finance for foreign trade. Access to Hong Kong’s developed financial institutions allowed the PRC to maximise receipts from foreign trade as well as minimise the risks of undue swings in capital flows. The paper shows that although China no longer faces foreign exchange scarcity, economic reforms have not yet resolved vulnerabilities in China’s financial institutions and as such Hong Kong’s role in mitigating the risk of undue capital swings remains