Real estate stock selection and attribute preferences

The majority of studies that explore property portfolio construction and management strategies utilise highly aggregated ex-post data, but stock selection is known to be a significant determinant of portfolio performance. Thus, here we look at stock selection, focusing on the choices faced by investors, necessitating the collection and analysis of primary data, carried out utilising conjoint analysis. This represents a new step in property research, with the data collection undertaken using a simulation exercise. This enables fund managers to make hypothetical purchase decisions, viewing properties comprising a realistic bundle of attributes and making complex contemporaneous trade-offs between attributes, subject to their stated market and economic forecasts and sector specialism. In total 51 fund managers were surveyed, producing 918 purchase decisions for analysis, with additional data collected regarding fund and personal characteristics. The results reveal that ‘fixed’ property characteristics (location and obsolescence) are dominant in the decision-making process, over and above ‘manageable’ tenant and lease characteristics which can be explicitly included within models of probabilities of income variation. This reveals investors are making ex-ante risk judgements and are considering post acquisition risk management strategies. The study also reveals that behavioural factors affect acquisition decisions

Enhancing Biodiversity and Multifunctionality of an Organic Farmscape in California’s Central Valley

Organic farmers in the USA increasingly manage the margins of previously monocultured farmed landscapes to increase biodiversity, e.g. they restore and protect riparian corridors, plant hedgerows and construct vegetated tailwater ponds. This study attempts to link habitat enhancements, biodiversity and changes in ecosystem functions by: 1. inventorying the existing biodiversity and the associated belowground community structure and composition in the various habitats of an organic farm in California’s Central Valley; and 2. monitoring key ecosystem functions of these habitats. Two years of inventories show greater native plant diversity in non-cropped areas. While nematode diversity did not differ between habitats, functional groups were clearly associated with particular habitats as were soil microbial communities (phospholipid fatty acid analysis). Earthworm diversity did not differ between habitats, but biomass was higher in non-cropped areas. Habitats with woody vegetation stored 20% of the farmscape’s total carbon (C), despite their relatively small size (only 5% of the total farm). Two years of monitoring data of farmscape C and nitrogen (N) through emissions, run-off and leaching showed distinct tradeoffs in function associated with each habitat. Clearly habitat restoration in field margins will increase both landscape biodiversity and the multifunctionality of the farmscape as a whole

Pharmacoepidemiology and costs of medications dispensed during pregnancy: A retrospective population‐based study

First published: 11 April 2023. OnlinePublObjective: To describe the pharmacoepidemiology and costs associated with medications dispensed during pregnancy. Design: Pharmacoepidemiological study and cost analysis. Setting: Queensland, Australia. Population: All women who gave birth in Queensland between January 2013 and June 2018. Methods: We used a whole-of- population linked administrative dataset, Maternity 1000, to describe medications approved for public subsidy that were dispensed to 255 408 pregnant women. We describe the volume of medications dispensed and their associated costs from a Government and patient perspective. Main outcome measures: Prevalence of medication use; proportion of total dispensings; total medication costs in AUD 2020/21 ($1AUD =$0.67USD/£0.55GBP in December 2022). Results: During pregnancy, 61% (95% CI 60.96–61.29%) of women were dispensed at least one medication approved for public subsidy. The mean number of items dispensed per pregnancy increased from 2.14 (95% CI 2.11–2.17) in 2013 to 2.47 (95% CI 2.44–2.51) in 2017; an increase of 15%. Furthermore, mean Government cost per dispensing increased by 41% from $21.60 (95$20.99–$22.20) in 2013 to$30.44 (95% CI $29.38–$ 31.49) in 2017. These factors influenced the 53% increase in total Government expenditure observed for medication use during pregnancy between 2013 and 2017 ($2,834,227 versus$4,324,377); a disproportionate rise compared with the 17% rise in women's total out-of- pocket expenses observed over the same timeframe ($1,880,961 versus$2,204,415). Conclusions: Prevalence of medication use in pregnancy is rising and is associated with disproportionate and rapidly escalating cost implications for the Government.H. Jackson, L. E. Grzeskowiak, J. Enticott, E. Callande

Investigation of the origin and magnitude of debris flows from the Payhua Creek basin, Matucana area, Huarochirí Province, Perú

The small city of Matucana (population 5800), Province of Huarochirí, Perú is located on the flood plain of Rimac River in Andes Occidental, approximately 75 km east of Lima at an elevation of 2390 m (area of 11° 50.489’ S, 76° 22.857’ W). Adjacent ridges and mountain peaks rise to 5000 m. Matucana shares a 300m wide valley bottom with two transportation arteries: Carretera Central, the only highway in Perú connecting the Amazon basin to the Pacific Coast and Ferrocarril Central, the highest standard gauge railway in the world which services mines and communities in the Andes. The present course of Rimac River is controlled by a dike and fill for the highway and railroad. These structures confine it to the northern portion of its flood plain. Consequently, parts of Matucana are lower in elevation than the bed of Rimac River. Payhua Creek (PC), a steep, debris-flow-prone tributary to Rimac River, has built an extensive fan at the upstream end of the city. Debris flows from PC has dammed Rimac River and diverted it into Matucana. This type of disaster occurred 1959 and 1983 when heavy precipitation occurred in the normally arid Andes Occidental. The 1959 event was particularly notable as it destroyed 90% of Matucana with loss of life. Although these events were not well documented, investigation of the PC fan and documentation of 1983 deposits on the fan indicate that the 1983 debris flow had a volume in the 0.12 106 to 106m3 range. Investigation of surficial and bedrock geology including mapping of all landslides in PC basin was carried out in 2004. A landslide complex immediately west of Payhua village is the most significant source of debris flow sediment in the basin. Incision of an unfavourable succession of andesite flows overlying a pervasively fractured tuff is responsible for the concentration of landslides in the Payhua village area. The area affected by landsliding in this area has increased by a factor of five since 1951. The PC basin upstream from Payhua has been a relatively small source of debris flows during the past 600 to 800 years based upon archaeological evidence. Exposures of debris flow deposits in the PC fan indicate that debris flow events larger than those of 1959 and 1983 have occurred in the recent geologic past. Matucana has also grown significantly since 1983 and has further encroached on the Rimac River flood plain and the PC fan. As a result, if debris flows of the magnitude of those in 1959 and 1983 occur, direct burial of the upstream area of Matucana by debris flows is likely

Extracellular bacterial lymphatic metastasis drives Streptococcus pyogenes systemic infection

Unassisted metastasis through the lymphatic system is a mechanism of dissemination thus far ascribed only to cancer cells. Here, we report that Streptococcus pyogenes also hijack lymphatic vessels to escape a local infection site, transiting through sequential lymph nodes and efferent lymphatic vessels to enter the bloodstream. Contrasting with previously reported mechanisms of intracellular pathogen carriage by phagocytes, we show S. pyogenes remain extracellular during transit, first in afferent and then efferent lymphatics that carry the bacteria through successive draining lymph nodes. We identify streptococcal virulence mechanisms important for bacterial lymphatic dissemination and show that metastatic streptococci within infected lymph nodes resist and subvert clearance by phagocytes, enabling replication that can seed intense bloodstream infection. The findings establish the lymphatic system as both a survival niche and conduit to the bloodstream for S. pyogenes, explaining the phenomenon of occult bacteraemia. This work provides new perspectives in streptococcal pathogenesis with implications for immunity

Facultative Aestivation in a Tropical Freshwater Turtle Chelodina rugosa

Abstract-1. Chelodina rugosa dug from aestivation sites at the end of the dry season were immediately alert and well coordinated. 2. Compared with non-aestivating animals, aestivating turtles had 20% higher plasma osmotic pressure and 7% higher sodium. Coupled with a small, but significant weight gain upon return to the water, this suggested the occurrence of minor dehydration in aestivating animals. 3. Plasma lactate levels of aestivating animals were low, averaging 1.99 mmol/1, consistent with aerobic rather than anaerobic metabolism having sustained their long period under ground. 4. No evidence was seen of dramatic physiological specialization. Aestivation in this species is interpreted as a primarily behavioural adaptation, made possible by typically reptilian abilities to tolerate a wide range in plasma electrolytes and to survive long periods without feeding

Pliocene and pleistocene volcanic interaction with cordilleran ice sheets, damming of the Yukon River and vertebrate palaeontology, Fort Selkirk volcanic group, west-central Yukon, Canada

Romeo Sherpa green journal. Permission to archive accepted author manuscriptNeogene volcanism in the Fort Selkirk area began with eruptions in the Wolverine Creek basin ca. 4.3 Ma and persisted to ca. 3.0 Ma filling the ancestral Yukon River valley with at least 40 m of lava flows. Activity at the Ne Ch’e Ddhäwa eruptive center overlapped with the last stages of the Wolverine Creek eruptive centers. Hyaloclastic tuff was erupted between ca. 3.21 and 3.05 Ma. This eruption caused or was coincident with damming of Yukon River. The first demonstrable incursion of a Cordilleran ice sheet into the Fort Selkirk area was coincident with a second eruption of the Ne Ch’e Ddhäwa eruptive center ca. 2.1 Ma. The Ne Ch’e Ddhäwa subglacial mound was erupted beneath at least 300 m of glacial ice (Ne Ch’e Ddhäwa Glaciation). The Eruption of the Fort Selkirk center occurred between the last eruption of Ne Ch’e Ddhäwa and Fort Selkirk Glaciation (ca. 2.1e1.5 Ma). Till and outwash from Fort Selkirk Glaciation are conformably overlain by nonglacial sediments that contain the Fort Selkirk tephra (fission track dated at ca. 1.5 Ma). These nonglacial sediments also preserve a short magnetic reversal (reversed to normal) identified as the Gilsá polarity excursion. Temporal control and sedimentology constrain Fort Selkirk Glaciation and the Fort Selkirk Local Fauna to marine isotope stage 54. Rapid and extensive eruption of the Pelly eruptive center filled the Yukon River valley with 70 m of lava which buried these glacial and nonglacial sediments and dammed Yukon River. Local striations and erratic pebbles occur on the last of these lava flows. They document a subsequent incursion of glacial ice during the last 500 ka of the Matuyama Chron (Forks Glaciation). The last major eruption of mafic lava occurred in the middle Pleistocene west of (early Holocene) Volcano Mountain in basin of Black Creek: lava flowed down the valley presently occupied by Black Creek and dammed Yukon River in the area of the Black Creek confluence. This eruption predated the middle Pleistocene Reid Glaciation. Minor volcanism has continued in this area since the middle Pleistocene at Volcano Mountain.Ye

The Future of Our Seas: Marine scientists and creative professionals collaborate for science communication

To increase awareness of the current challenges facing the marine environment, the Future of Our Seas (FOOS) project brought together the expertise of scientists, public engagement experts and creatives to train and support a group of marine scientists in effective science communication and innovative public engagement. This case study aims to inspire scientists and artists to use the FOOS approach in training, activity design and development support (hereafter called the ‘FOOS programme’) to collaboratively deliver novel and creative engagement activities. The authors reflect on the experiences of the marine scientists: (1) attending the FOOS communication and engagement training; (2) creating and delivering public engagement activities; (3) understanding our audience; and (4) collaborating with artists. The authors also share what the artists and audiences learned from participating in the FOOS public engagement activities. These different perspectives provide new insights for the field with respect to designing collaborative training which maximizes the impact of the training on participants, creative collaborators and the public. Long-term benefits of taking part in the FOOS programme, such as initiating future collaborative engagement activities and positively impacting the scientists’ research processes, are also highlighted

On the gravitodynamics of moving bodies

In the present work we propose a generalization of Newton's gravitational theory from the original works of Heaviside and Sciama, that takes into account both approaches, and accomplishes the same result in a simpler way than the standard cosmological approach. The established formulation describes the local gravitational field related to the observables and effectively implements the Mach's principle in a quantitative form that retakes Dirac's large number hypothesis. As a consequence of the equivalence principle and the application of this formulation to the observable universe, we obtain, as an immediate result, a value of Omega = 2. We construct a dynamic model for a galaxy without dark matter, which fits well with recent observational data, in terms of a variable effective inertial mass that reflects the present dynamic state of the universe and that replicates from first principles, the phenomenology proposed in MOND. The remarkable aspect of these results is the connection of the effect dubbed dark matter with the dark energy field, which makes it possible for us to interpret it as longitudinal gravitational waves.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures. Final version: almost identical to the reference journal; Cent. Eur. J. Phys. 201