Predictive Content of Output and Inflation For Stock Returns and Volatility: Evidence from Selected Asian Countries

This study examines the impact of inflation and output growth on stock market returns and volatility in selected Asian countries, namely India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Philippines. By using monthly data from 1991 to 2004 and by employing GARCH (1, 1) model, it is found that macroeconomic volatility, which is measured by movement in inflation and output growth, have a weak predictive power for stock market returns and volatility in these countries. The movements of the inflation rate have significant impact to the stock market returns, either positive or negative depending on the inflation rates and their fluctuation in that country. While output growth movements have significant effect to stock market volatility, countries with relatively higher output volatility is associated with higher conditional volatility of stock returns, which is positive effect but is negative for countries which have relatively lower output volatility

Dependence of nanocrystal formation and charge storage/retention performance of a tri-layer memory structure on germanium concentration and tunnel oxide thickness

The effect of germanium (Ge) concentration and the rapid thermal oxide (RTO) layer thickness on the nanocrystal formation and charge storage/retention capability of a trilayer metal-insulator-semiconductor device was studied. We found that the RTO and the capping oxide layers were not totally effective in confining the Ge nanocrystals in the middle layer when a pure Ge middle layer was used for the formation of nanocrystals. From the transmission electron microscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy results, a significant diffusion of Ge atoms through the RTO and into the silicon (Si) substrate was observed when the RTO layer thickness was reduced to 2.5 nm. This resulted in no (or very few) nanocrystals formed in the system. For devices with a Ge+SiO₂ co-sputtered middle layer (i.e., lower Ge concentration), a higher charge storage capability was obtained than with devices with a thinner RTO layer, and the charge retention time was found to be less than in devices with a thicker RTO layer.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

Relative importance of environment, human activity and spatial situation in determining the distribution of terrestrial mammal diversity in Argentina

We recorded the number of terrestrial mammal species in each Argentinian province, and the number of species belonging to particular groups (Marsupialia, Placentaria, and among the latter, Xenarthra, Carnivora, Ungulates and Rodentia). We performed multiple regressions of each group’s SR on environmental, human and spatial variables, to determine the amounts of variation explained by these factors. We then used a variance partitioning procedure to specify which proportion of the variation in SR is explained by each of the three factors exclusively and which proportions are attributable to interactions between factors

Synthesis of Germanium Nanocrystals and its Possible Application in Memory Devices

A novel method of synthesizing and controlling the size of germanium nanocrystals was developed. A tri-layer structure comprising of a thin (~5nm) SiO₂ layer grown using rapid thermal oxidation (RTO), followed by a layer of Ge+SiO₂ of varying thickness (6 - 20 nm) deposited using the radio frequency (r.f.) co-sputtering technique and a SiO₂ cap layer (50nm) deposited using r.f. sputtering, was investigated. It was verified using TEM that germanium nanocrystals of sizes ranging from 6 – 20 nm were successfully fabricated after thermal annealing of the tri-layer structure under suitable conditions. The nanocrystals were found to be well confined by the RTO SiO₂ and the cap SiO₂ under specific annealing conditions. The electrical properties of the tri-layer structure have been characterized using MOS capacitor test devices. A significant hysteresis can be observed from the C-V measurements and this suggests the charge storage capability of the nanocrystals. The proposed technique has the potential for fabricating memory devices with controllable nanocrystals sizes.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

Charge Storage Mechanism and Size Control of Germanium Nanocrystals in a Tri-layer Insulator Structure of a MIS Memory Device

A method of synthesizing and controlling the size of germanium nanocrystals is developed. A tri-layer metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) memory device structure comprising of a thin (~5nm) silicon dioxide (SiO₂) layer grown using rapid thermal oxidation (RTO), followed by a layer of Ge+SiO₂ of varying thickness (3 - 6 nm) deposited using a radio frequency (rf) co-sputtering technique, and a capping SiO₂ layer (50nm) deposited using rf sputtering is investigated. It was verified that the size of germanium (Ge) nanocrystals in the vertical z-direction in the trilayer memory device was controlled by varying the thickness of the middle (cosputtered Ge+SiO₂) layer. From analyses using transmission electron microscopy and capacitance-voltage measurements, we deduced that both electrons and holes are most likely stored within the nanocrystals in the middle layer of the trilayer structure rather than at the interfaces of the nanocrystals with the oxide matrix.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

Geographical gradients in Argentinean terrestrial mammal species richness and their environmental correlates.

We analysed the main geographical trends of terrestrial mammal species richness (SR) in Argentina, assessing how broad-scale environmental variation (defined by climatic and topographic variables) and the spatial form of the country (defined by spatial filters based on spatial eigenvector mapping (SEVM)) influence the kinds and the numbers of mammal species along these geographical trends. We also evaluated if there are pure geographical trends not accounted for by the environmental or spatial factors. The environmental variables and spatial filters that simultaneously correlated with the geographical variables and SR were considered potential causes of the geographic trends. We performed partial correlations between SR and the geographical variables, maintaining the selected explanatory variables statistically constant, to determine if SR was fully explained by them or if a significant residual geographic pattern remained. All groups and subgroups presented a latitudinal gradient not attributable to the spatial form of the country. Most of these trends were not explained by climate.We used a variation partitioning procedure to quantify the pure geographic trend (PGT) that remained unaccounted for. The PGT was larger for latitudinal than for longitudinal gradients. This suggests that historical or purely geographical causes may also be relevant drivers of these geographical gradients in mammal diversity

Electronic Structure of Carbon Nanotube Ropes

We present a tight binding theory to analyze the motion of electrons between carbon nanotubes bundled into a carbon nanotube rope. The theory is developed starting from a description of the propagating Bloch waves on ideal tubes, and the effects of intertube motion are treated perturbatively in this basis. Expressions for the interwall tunneling amplitudes between states on neighboring tubes are derived which show the dependence on chiral angles and intratube crystal momenta. We find that conservation of crystal momentum along the tube direction suppresses interwall coherence in a carbon nanorope containing tubes with random chiralities. Numerical calculations are presented which indicate that electronic states in a rope are localized in the transverse direction with a coherence length corresponding to a tube diameter.Comment: 15 pages, 10 eps figure

A taxonomic revision of Asthenodipsas malaccana Peters, 1864 (Squamata Pareidae) with a description of a new species from Borneo

Quah, Evan S.H., Grismer, L. Lee, Lim, Kelvin K.P., Anuar, M.S. Shahrul, Chan, Kin Onn (2020): A taxonomic revision of Asthenodipsas malaccana Peters, 1864 (Squamata Pareidae) with a description of a new species from Borneo. Zootaxa 4729 (1): 1-24, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4729.1.