Investment and Savings Cycles and Tests for Capital Market Integration

A spectral analysis of the Australian time series for the investment and savings ratio on monthly data over the period finds that the investment ratio is subject to a cycle of 6 months duration while the savings ratio series is concentrated on a longer swing of 4 to 6 years. The implications for the Feldstein-Horioka test of capital mobility are explained.investment, savings, spectral analysis, Australia

Residential construction and demolition waste in Perth, Western Australia: Cost benefit analysis of best practices

In Perth, Western Australia the construction and demolition (C&D) industry contributes 50% of all waste generated. The recovery rate in WA for C&D waste is currently only 38% which is very poor compared to European countries as they are exceeding 80%. This project aimed to assess C&D waste generation in Perth to determine how waste recovery could be improved. Waste from three construction sites and two demolition sites was collected and collated to determine waste generation and composition and to identify areas for improvement. Also landfill sites, skip bin operators, and resource recovery facilities were surveyed on the cost of waste disposal to determine the most cost effective option. This study showed that the residential construction industry would generate approximately 881,000 tonnes of waste during 2015 using the predicted housing figures from HIA and UDIA. Also it shows that there is great variation with the generation of demolition waste due to the different site characteristics, which was shown by the two demolition sites of different sizes both generating nearly 300 tonnes of waste. Resource recovery was found to be the most cost effective option out of landfill, skip bins and resource recovery. The waste streams produced highlight that the main area of concern is rubble materials, concrete, sand, dirt, and broken bricks and tiles. Therefore better waste management of these wastes and possible recycling into waste derived materials is recommended. The findings from this study indicate that large scale changes are needed within the industry to increase resource recovery rates in WA, such as legislation change, more education, and the possible introduction of subsidy programs

集散バランスを考慮した消防隊の選定基準に関する研究

電気通信大学200

An Overview of Real Interest Rate Interdependence Among the G7 Nations

We examine the interdependence of G7 90 day treasury bills on monthly data over the period 1970(1) to 2003(12). We find evidence for the presence of RIP among G7 treasury bill rates and on this evidence accept the hypothesis of a high degree of interdependence among G7 capital markets. We apply the time plot of a recursively estimated trace statistic to test for an increasing degree of integration and find little if any evidence of cointegration in the mid 1970s but interdependence increased markedly after the 1980 recession and again following the 1990 recession. From this time RIP appears to hold. A β parameter inconstancy is evident prior to mid 1979, however, the cointegration β parameters are constant over the period 1979(6) to 2003(12). The implications are explained and further research is indicated

Sex hormones and cortisol during experimental trauma memory consolidation: Prospective association with intrusive memories

Background: Trauma- and stress-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are more common in females than in males. Sex hormones affect learning and emotional memory formation and may be associated with the development of PTSD. Most previous studies have indexed these hormones in isolation. Objectives: To investigate associations of sex hormones and cortisol during memory consolidation on the development of intrusive memories. Methods: We employed an experimental trauma film paradigm in 61 healthy women and indexed salivary testosterone, progesterone, estradiol, and cortisol on day one and day two post experimental trauma exposure and their effects on intrusion frequency, distress, and vividness. Intrusive trauma memories were indexed by means of a diary in which participants documented intrusion frequency, distress, and vividness. Results and conclusion: Participants reported an average of 5.3 intrusions over the course of seven days (SD = 4.6, range 0-26). Progesterone, and estradiol indexed on day one predicted intrusion frequency, with higher progesterone and lower estradiol predicting more intrusive memories (p-values AUC progesterone 0.01 and estradiol 0.02). There was no evidence for associations between hormone concentration indices on day two and intrusion outcomes. Further research on the roles of gonadal and adrenal hormones in trauma memory formation is needed to advance our efforts to understand their influence on PTSD development

Greater sleep disturbance and longer sleep onset latency facilitate SCR-specific fear reinstatement in PTSD

Fear reinstatement is one of several paradigms designed to measure fear return following extinction, as a laboratory model for the relapse of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Sleep is a key factor in emotional memory consolidation, and here we examined the relationship between sleep quality and fear reinstatement in PTSD, relative to trauma-exposed and non-exposed controls. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used as a subjective measure of sleep quality, and skin conductance responses (SCR) and unconditioned stimulus (US)-expectancy ratings were used to index threat responses during a differential fear conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement paradigm. There were no significant between-group differences in the reinstatement of conditioned responding. Sleep disturbance and sleep onset latency were significant moderators between reinstatement of fear and PTSD symptom severity, such that there was a positive relationship between PTSD symptoms and fear reinstatement for higher levels - but not lower levels - of sleep disturbance and sleep onset latency. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate PTSD-specific reinstatement patterns and sleep as a boundary condition of reinstatement. Future research using polysomnographic measures of sleep-wave architecture may further clarify the relationship between fear reinstatement and sleep quality in clinical samples with PTSD relative to controls

Activity of telithromycin and comparators against bacterial pathogens isolated from 1,336 patients with clinically diagnosed acute sinusitis

BACKGROUND: Increasing antimicrobial resistance among the key pathogens responsible for community-acquired respiratory tract infections has the potential to limit the effectiveness of antibiotics available to treat these infections. Since there are regional differences in the susceptibility patterns observed and treatment is frequently empirical, the selection of antibiotic therapy may be challenging. PROTEKT, a global, longitudinal multicentre surveillance study, tracks the activity of telithromycin and comparator antibacterial agents against key respiratory tract pathogens. METHODS: In this analysis, we examine the prevalence of antibacterial resistance in 1,336 bacterial pathogens, isolated from adult and paediatric patients clinically diagnosed with acute bacterial sinusitis (ABS). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In total, 58.0%, 66.1%, and 55.8% of S. pneumoniae isolates were susceptible to penicillin, cefuroxime, and clarithromycin respectively. Combined macrolide resistance and reduced susceptibility to penicillin was present in 200/640 (31.3 %) of S. pneumoniae isolates (128 isolates were resistant to penicillin [MIC >= 2 mg/L], 72 intermediate [MIC 0.12–1 mg/L]) while 99.5% and 95.5% of isolates were susceptible to telithromycin and amoxicillin-clavulanate, respectively. In total, 88.2%, 87.5%, 99.4%, 100%, and 100% of H. influenzae isolates were susceptible to ampicillin, clarithromycin, cefuroxime, telithromycin, and amoxicillin-clavulanate, respectively. In vitro, telithromycin demonstrated the highest activity against M. catarrhalis (MIC(50 )= 0.06 mg/L, MIC(90 )= 0.12 mg/L). CONCLUSION: The high in vitro activity of against pathogens commonly isolated in ABS, together with a once daily dosing regimen and clinical efficacy with 5-day course of therapy, suggest that telithromycin may play a role in the empiric treatment of ABS

Investment and Savings Cycles and Tests for Capital Market Integration

A spectral analysis of the Australian time series for the investment and savings ratio on monthly data over the period finds that the investment ratio is subject to a cycle of 6 months duration while the savings ratio series is concentrated on a longer swing of 4 to 6 years. The implications for the Feldstein-Horioka test of capital mobility are explained

Emergence and Spread of Streptococcus pneumoniae with erm(B) and mef(A) Resistance

Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates (N = 31,001) were collected from patients with community-acquired respiratory tract infections during the PROTEKT US surveillance study (2000–2003). While the macrolide (erythromycin) resistance rate remained stable at ≈29%, the prevalence of resistant isolates containing both erm(B) and mef(A) increased from 9.7% in year 1 to 16.4% in year 3, with substantial regional variability. Almost all (99.2%) dual erm(B)+mef(A) macrolide-resistant isolates exhibited multidrug resistance, whereas 98.6% and 99.0% were levofloxacin- and telithromycin-susceptible, respectively. These strains were most commonly isolated from the ear or middle-ear fluid of children. Of 152 representative erm(B)+mef(A) isolates, >90% were clonally related to the multidrug-resistant international Taiwan19F-14 clonal complex 271 (CC271). Of 366 erm(B)+mef(A) isolates from the PROTEKT global study (1999–2003), 83.3% were CC271, with the highest prevalence seen in South Africa, South Korea, and the United States. This study confirms the increasing global emergence and rapidly increasing US prevalence of this multidrug-resistant pneumococcal clone

Surveillance of resistance in bacteria causing community‐acquired respiratory tract infections

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics in community‐acquired respiratory tract infections is a serious problem and is increasing in prevalence world‐wide at an alarming rate. Streptococcus pneumoniae, one of the main organisms implicated in respiratory tract infections, has developed multiple resistance mechanisms to combat the effects of most commonly used classes of antibiotics, particularly the β‐lactams (penicillin, aminopenicillins and cephalosporins) and macrolides. Furthermore, multidrug‐resistant strains of S. pneumoniae have spread to all regions of the world, often via resistant genetic clones. A similar spread of resistance has been reported for other major respiratory tract pathogens, including Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Streptococcus pyogenes. To develop and support resistance control strategies it is imperative to obtain accurate data on the prevalence, geographic distribution and antibiotic susceptibility of respiratory tract pathogens and how this relates to antibiotic prescribing patterns. In recent years, significant progress has been made in developing longitudinal national and international surveillance programs to monitor antibiotic resistance, such that the prevalence of resistance and underlying trends over time are now well documented for most parts of Europe, and many parts of Asia and the Americas. However, resistance surveillance data from parts of the developing world (regions of Central America, Africa, Asia and Central/Eastern Europe) remain poor. The quantity and quality of surveillance data is very heterogeneous; thus there is a clear need to standardize or validate the data collection, analysis and interpretative criteria used across studies. If disseminated effectively these data can be used to guide empiric antibiotic therapy, and to support—and monitor the impact of—interventions on antibiotic resistance