The Rand as a Carry Trade Target: Risk, Returns and Policy Implications

We analyze the returns to targeting the Australian, New Zealand, and South African currencies, through Japanese yen-funded speculation - with a particular focus on the South African rand, for which the carry trade is often seen as a source of exchange rate volatility. Targeting the rand through forward currency speculation produces returns which are as volatile, but with higher mean, and smaller probability of rare but large losses, than a buy-and-hold investment in the stock market - which is stochastically dominated in the second-order sense by the rand-targeting trade; and generates a larger return-to-volatility ratio than the Australian and New Zealand dollars - the two most common carry targets. Speculative positions and debt ‡ows driven by the carry trade cause an exchange rate process characterized by gradual appreciations punctuated by infrequent but potentially large and rapid depreciations. The consequent level of currency instability is a¤ected by whether in‡ows cause overheating, and how the central bank responds to the associated in‡ationary pressureCurrency speculation; carry trade; forward premium; skewness and crash risk; exchange rate instability; capital ‡ows

Nongrey radiation effects on the boundary layer of an absorbing gas over a flat plate

Nongrey radiation effects on boundary layer of absorbing gas over flat plat

Characterization of Freshwater Natural Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM): Mechanistic Explanations for Protective Effects Against Metaltoxicity and Direct Effects on Organisms

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) exerts direct and indirect influences on aquatic organisms. In order to better understand how DOM causes these effects, potentiometric titration was carried out for a wide range of autochthonous and terrigenous freshwater DOM isolates. The isolates were previously characterized by absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy. Proton binding constants (pKa) were grouped into three classes:acidic (pKa ≤ 5), intermediate (5 \u3c pKa ≤ 8.5) and basic (pKa \u3e 8.5). Generally, the proton site densities (LT) showed maximum peaks at the acidic and basic ends around pKa values of 3.5 and 10, respectively. More variably positioned peaks occurred in the intermediate pKa range. The acid–base titrations revealed the dominance of carboxylic and phenolic ligands with a trend for more autochthonous sources to have higher total LT. A summary parameter, referred to as the Proton Binding Index (PBI), was introduced to summarize chemical reactivity of DOMs based on the data of pKa and LT. Then, the already published spectroscopic data were explored and the specific absorbance coefficient at 340 nm (i.e. SAC340), an index of DOM aromaticity,was found to exhibit a strong correlation with PBI. Thus, the tendencies observed in the literature that darker organic matter is more protective against metal toxicity and more effective in altering physiological processes in aquatic organisms can now be rationalized on a basis of chemical reactivity to protons

The Influence of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) on Sodium Regulation and Nitrogenous Waste Excretion in the Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is both ubiquitous and diverse in composition in natural waters, but its effects on the branchial physiology of aquatic organisms have received little attention relative to other variables (e.g. pH, hardness, salinity, alkalinity). Here, we investigated the effects of four chemically distinct DOM isolates (three natural, one commercial, ranging from autochthonous to highly allochthonous, all at ∼6 mg C l−1) on the physiology of gill ionoregulation and nitrogenous waste excretion in zebrafish acclimated to either circumneutral (7.0–8.0) or acidic pH (5.0). Overall, lower pH tended to increase net branchial ammonia excretion, net K+ loss and [3H]PEG-4000 clearance rates (indicators of transcellular and paracellular permeability, respectively). However, unidirectional Na+ efflux, urea excretion and drinking rates were unaffected. DOM sources tended to stimulate unidirectional Na+ influx rate and exerted subtle effects on the concentration-dependent kinetics of Na+ uptake, increasing maximum transport capacity. All DOM sources reduced passive Na+ efflux rates regardless of pH, but exerted negligible effects on nitrogenous waste excretion, drinking rate, net K+ loss or [3H]PEG4000 clearance, so the mechanism of Na+ loss reduction remains unclear. Overall, these actions appear beneficial to ionoregulatory homeostasis in zebrafish, and some may be related to physicochemical properties of the DOM sources. They are very different from those seen in a recent parallel study on Daphnia magna using the same DOM isolates, indicating that DOM actions may be both species and DOM specific

Theory of low transitions in CO discharge lasers

A self consistent theoretical model which couples the electron and heavy particle finite rate kinetics with the optical and fluid dynamic processes has been employed to identify the various parameters and explain the mechanism responsible for producing low lying transitions in slow flowing CO lasers. It is found that lasing on low lying transitions can be achieved at low temperatures for low pressures (or low flow rates) together with high partial pressures of the He and N2. The role of N2 has been identified as an additive responsible for reducing the electron temperature to a range where the transfer of electrical power to the lower vibrational modes of CO is optimum

Polarized Photoproduction of Heavy Quarks in Next-to-Leading Order

The results of a next-to-leading order calculation of heavy quark production in longitudinally polarized photon-nucleon collisions are presented. At c.m. energy $\sqrt{S}=10$ GeV, for $\vec \gamma +\vec p \to c+X$, cross sections differential in the transverse momentum and rapidity of the charmed quark $c$ and the corresponding asymmetries are presented; also, as functions of $\sqrt{S}$, integrated cross sections, $K$-factors and the corresponding asymmetries are given. Errors in the asymmetries are estimated and the possibility to distinguish between three scerarios differing essentially in the polarized gluon distribution is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Laboratory-Scale Research of Non-Catalyzed Supercritical Alcohol Process for Continuous Biodiesel Production

This work investigates the non-catalyzed supercritical methanol (SCM) process for continuous biodiesel production. The lab-scale setup was designed and used for biodiesel production in the temperature range of 520–650 K and 83–380 bar with an oil-to-methanol molar ratio ranging from 1:5 to 1:45. The experiments were performed in the coiled plug flow tubular reactor. The volumetric flow rate of the methanol/oil ranged from 0.1-10 mL/min. This work examines a new reactor technology involving preheating and pre-mixing of the methanol/oil mixture to reduce setup cost and increase biodiesel yield under the same reaction conditions. Work performed showed that FAME’s yield increased rapidly with temperature and pressure above the methanol critical points (i.e., 513 K and 79.5 bar). The best methyl-ester yield using this reaction technology was 91% at 590 K temperature and 351 bars with an oil-to-methanol ratio of 39 and a 15-min residence time. Furthermore, the kinetics of the free catalyst transesterification process was studied in supercritical methanol under different reaction conditions

Supportive leadership and co-worker support for nomophobia reduction: Considering affective commitment and HRM practices

Given the wide range of mobile and communication devices in everyday life and the day-to-day work of most individuals, people often become dependent on their smartphones - this dependency creates a modern phobia. The discomfort or anxiety caused by being unable to use a smartphone is referred to as “Nomophobia.” This paper outlines our approach to survey the impact of supportive leadership and co-worker support on nomophobia, in terms of the role of affective commitment and human resource management (HRM) practices. This study employs structural equation modelling (SEM) based on data obtained from a questionnaire into organizations, with a view to revealing comprehensive findings concerning nomophobia. Additionally, some measures to control nomophobia will be suggested