Institutional preferences, demand shocks and the distress anomaly

Our paper examines the distress anomaly on the Chinese stock markets. We show that the anomaly disappears after controlling for institutional ownership. We propose two hypotheses. The growing scale of institutional investors and changes in institutional preferences can generate greater demand shocks for stocks with low distress risk than those with high distress risk, causing the former to outperform the latter. Consistent with our hypotheses, the growth of institutions explains the anomaly when the institutional market share increases rapidly. We also show that institutional preferences for stocks with low distress risk have significantly increased over time and changes in preferences also explain the anomaly. Finally, momentum trading and gradual incorporation of distress information cannot account for the anomaly. Key words: institutional investors, institutional preferences, distress, the Chinese stock market

Effects of amino acids and metabolizable energy on egg characteristics and broiler breeder performance

A study was conducted to determine the effects of diet formulation type on egg characteristics and reproductive performance of broiler breeder (50 to 64 weeks of age). 140 female and 20 male breeders in four treatments with five replicates (7 females : 1 male) were used in the randomized 2 × 2 factorial design. Four experimental diets were formulated based on two factors: two levels of apparent and true metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen of feedstuffs (AMEn and TMEn) and two levels of total amino acids (TAAF) and digestible (DAAF) feedstuffs. The results show that egg weight, egg production, fertility and hatchability were significantly different and affected by diet formulation based on energy (P<0.05). Diet formulation based on digestible amino acids of feedstuffs significantly increased albumen height and Haugh unit (HU). Hens on treatment 2 (AMEn + DAAF) were significantly different in egg weight (69.17 g), egg production (62.45%) and chicks/hen (40.23) (P<0.05). This study shows that the diets formulations for AMEn, TMEn, TAAF and DAAF have significant effects on egg characteristics and broiler breeders reproductive performance.Key words: Broiler breeders, reproduction, amino acids, fertility, chickens

Damage identification of concrete arch beam utilising residual frequency response function

One of the critical missions for bridge structural health monitoring (SHM) is to provide a reliable assessment technique to potential hazards caused by structural damage or other structural defects using continuously monitored vibration data. Recognising the needs and shortcomings of SHM, a project was established by NICTA, the University of Technology Sydney and The University of Sydney to develop reliable damage detection methods to provide robust and accurate assessment techniques for critical bridge infrastructure in Australia. This paper presents the progress of research and development of a vibration-based damage detection technique and its experimental validation in the laboratory. The proposed technique uses residual frequency response functions (FRFs) combined with principal component analysis (PCA) to form damage specific features (DSFs) that are incorporated in pattern recognition using artificial neural networks (ANNs). In the method, FRFs are obtained using modal analysis techniques and damage is identified using ANNs that innovatively map the DSF to damage characteristics, such as damage location and severity. The results of the experimental validation show that the proposed technique can successfully locate and quantify damage induced to a concrete arch beam simulating a real life structural component of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Development of specific RAPD markers for identifying albino tea cultivars ‘Qiannianxue’ and ‘Xiaoxueya’

Albino tea cultivars grow white leaves at low temperature which are valuable materials for processing green tea, but they develop green leaves in summer and autumn seasons. It is difficult to discriminate albino tea cuttings from the normal tea cuttings by leaf colour and plant morphological characteristics.Specific RAPD markers for identifying albino tea cultivars ‘Qiannianxue’ and ‘Xiaoxueya’ were developed in the present paper and they can be used in the authentication of the two albino tea cultivars. An amplified fragment (about 1500 bp) from Primer (S 12 (Sangon Biological Engineering Technology and Services Co., Ltd.) was identified in the albino teas and not from the widely cultivated cultivar; Fudingdabai

Silicon Atomic Quantum Dots Enable Beyond-CMOS Electronics

We review our recent efforts in building atom-scale quantum-dot cellular automata circuits on a silicon surface. Our building block consists of silicon dangling bond on a H-Si(001) surface, which has been shown to act as a quantum dot. First the fabrication, experimental imaging, and charging character of the dangling bond are discussed. We then show how precise assemblies of such dots can be created to form artificial molecules. Such complex structures can be used as systems with custom optical properties, circuit elements for quantum-dot cellular automata, and quantum computing. Considerations on macro-to-atom connections are discussed.Comment: 28 pages, 19 figure

Quantum states made to measure

Recent progress in manipulating quantum states of light and matter brings quantum-enhanced measurements closer to prospective applications. The current challenge is to make quantum metrologic strategies robust against imperfections.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Commentary for Nature Photonic

Studies on the interactions between potassium oxalato-oxodiperoxovanadate and histidine by NMR and MS

Multi-nuclear NMR and ESI-MS have been applied to study the interactions between oxalato-oxodiperoxovanadate and histidine in neutral solution. Coordination between the complex and histidine was monitored by V-51 NMR. A pair of new isomers produced via vanadium atom binding separately to N1 and N3 of the imidazole ring of histidine was characterized by several spectroscopic methods. Experimental results show that the structure activity relationship of peroxovanadium complexes bearing organic ligands may be related to the specific recognition between peroxovanadium and histidine residue of tyrosine phosphatase

92-Gene Molecular Profiling in Identification of Cancer Origin: A Retrospective Study in Chinese Population and Performance within Different Subgroups

BACKGROUND: After cancer diagnosis, therapy for the patient is largely dependent on the tumor origin, especially when a metastatic tumor is being treated. However, cases such as untypical metastasis, poorly differentiated tumors or even a limited number of tumor cells may lead to challenges in identifying the origin. Moreover, approximately 3% to 5% of total solid tumor patients will not have to have their tumor origin identified in their lifetime. The THEROS CancerTYPE ID® is designed for identifying the tumor origin with an objective, rapid and standardized procedure. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This is a blinded retrospective study to evaluate performance of the THEROS CancerTYPE ID® in a Chinese population. In total, 184 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples of 23 tumor origins were collected from the tissue bank of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (FDUSCC). A standard tumor cell enrichment process was used, and the prediction results were compared with reference diagnosis, which was confirmed by two experienced pathologists at FDUSCC. All of the 184 samples were successfully analyzed, and no tumor specimens were excluded because of sample quality issues. In total, 151 samples were correctly predicted. The agreement rate was 82.1%. A Pearson Chi-square test shows that there is no difference between this study and the previous evaluation test performed by bioTheranostics Inc. No statistically significant decrease was observed in either the metastasis group or tumors with high grades. CONCLUSIONS: A comparable result with previous work was obtained. Specifically, specimens with a high probability score (>0.85) have a high chance (agreement rate = 95%) of being correctly predicted. No performance difference was observed between primary and metastatic specimens, and no difference was observed among three tumor grades. The use of laser capture micro-dissection (LCM) makes the THEROS CancerTYPE ID® accessible to almost all of the cancer patients with different tumor statuses

Applications of advanced metrology for understanding the effects of drying temperature in the lithium-ion battery electrode manufacturing process

The performance of lithium-ion batteries is determined by the architecture and properties of electrodes formed during manufacturing, particularly in the drying process when solvent is removed and the electrode structure is formed. Temperature is one of the most dominant parameters that influences the process, and therefore a comparison of temperature effects on both NMC622-based cathodes (PVDF-based binder) and graphite-based anodes (water-based binder) dried at RT, 60, 80, 100 and 120 °C has been undertaken. X-ray computed tomography showed that NMC622 particles concentrated at the surface of the cathode coating except when dried at 60 °C. However, anodes showed similar graphite distributions at all temperatures. The discharge capacities for the cathodes dried at 60, 80, 100 and 120 °C displayed the following trend: 60 °C < 80 °C < 100 °C < 120 °C as C-rate was increased which was consistent with the trends found in adhesion testing between 60 and 120 °C. Focused-ion beam scanning electrode microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy suggested that the F-rich binder distribution was largely insensitive to temperature for cathodes. In contrast, conductivity enhancing fine carbon agglomerated on the upper surface of the active NMC particles in the cathode as temperature increased. The cathode dried at RT had the highest adhesion force of 0.015 N mm−1 and the best electrochemical rate performance. Conversely, drying temperature had no significant effect on the electrochemical performance of the anode, which was consistent with only a relatively small change in the adhesion, related to the use of lower adhesion water-based binders