Insiders\u27 Profits in the Australian Equities Market

In this paper we investigate if directors of Australian companies earn persistent profits on their reported trades, if these abnormal profits are significant enough to be mimicked by outsiders, and if these insider trades have an effect on returns of other investors. We find that insiders take advantage of their private information in stocks of larger corporations, but generally do not in medium and small capitalization firms, indicating that they insiders are attracted to the liquidity and a greater presence of uninformed traders in large stocks. Insiders appear able to determine the value of their information in by trading larger volume and larger portion of their holdings when they have access to valuable information. We find that outsiders can make profitable trades by following insider\u27s trades in large firms, but abnormal returns mimicking insiders in small and medium size firms are limited to insiders\u27 sell trades only, and otherwise result in losses for outsiders. Implications on market fairness and integrity are discussed and conclude that market quality can be improved with public access to good quality aggregated data on reported director insider trades

Circularity and sustainability in the construction value chain

This paper debates how circularity can contribute to value creation in the construction value chain. In traditional linear business models, value is often limited to financial value for the firm and customers. Here, value is seen more broadly considering a wider range of stakeholders, such as value chain partners, the environment, and the society. Findings from relevant literature and recent research projects are brought to transform linear cradle to grave processes to sustainable cradle to cradle ones. Circularity can contribute to sustainability in many ways: material recovery from existing buildings and reusing, recycling or even upcycling them into new ones and design for disassembly that eases reuse and value retention. Findings indicate that circular economy has significant potential to create and maintain value in the construction value chain. Most of the decisions that affect value creation are done in the design stage, but it is strongly linked to the other stages and affected by business models, circularity platforms, and external influencers such as financing, client's requirements, regulations and incentives.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Insiders’ profits in the Australian Equities Market

In this paper we investigate if directors of Australian companies earn persistent profits on their reported trades, if these abnormal profits are significant enough to be mimicked by outsiders, and if these insider trades have an effect on returns of other investors. We find that insiders take advantage of their private information in stocks of larger corporations, but generally do not in medium and small capitalization firms, indicating that they insiders are attracted to the liquidity and a greater presence of uninformed traders in large stocks. Insiders appear able to determine the value of their information in by trading larger volume and larger portion of their holdings when they have access to valuable information. We find that outsiders can make profitable trades by following insider’s trades in large firms, but abnormal returns mimicking insiders in small and medium size firms are limited to insiders’ sell trades only, and otherwise result in losses for outsiders. Implications on market fairness and integrity are discussed and conclude that market quality can be improved with public access to good quality aggregated data on reported director insider trade

Effects of thermal hydrolytic pre-treatment on biogas process efficiency and microbial community structure in industrial- and laboratory-scale digesters

This study examined the impact of thermal hydrolysis process (THP) pre-treatment on anaerobic codigestion of wastewater sludge and household waste and assessed whether THP was vital to achieve higher process capacity. Performance data were collected for both industrial- and laboratory-scale digesters and response in microbial community structure was evaluated by Illumina sequencing. Implementation of THP at the industrial-scale plant increased methane yield by 15% and enhanced substrate degradability. Possibility to extend the sludge retention time due to a higher solid content of the substrate, sanitisation of the digestate and improved fertiliser quality of the digestate were other industrial-scale benefits of THP installation. Continuously-fed laboratory-scale digesters were fed THPtreated or untreated substrate at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 5 g volatile solid (VS)/L/day, a feeding rate necessary at the corresponding industrial-scale plant to meet the estimated population increase within the municipality. The results indicated that the plant could have increased the capacity with unimpaired stability independently of THP installation, even though the retention time was significantly shortened during operation with untreated substrate. Microbial community analyses revealed increased contribution of the Clostridia class after THP installation in industrial-scale digesters and positive correlation between Firmicutes:Bacteriodetes and methane yield in all digesters. Differentiated profiles in laboratory-scale digesters indicated that a temperature increase from 37 to 42 degrees C in association with THP installation and altered substrate composition were strong determining factors shaping the microbial community. Overall, these findings can assist industrial-scale plants in choosing management strategies aimed at improving the efficiency of anaerobic digestion processes. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Overweight, obesity, and risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity: pooled analysis of individual-level data for 120 813 adults from 16 cohort studies from the USA and Europe

BACKGROUND: Although overweight and obesity have been studied in relation to individual cardiometabolic diseases, their association with risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity is poorly understood. Here we aimed to establish the risk of incident cardiometabolic multimorbidity (ie, at least two from: type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke) in adults who are overweight and obese compared with those who are a healthy weight. METHODS: We pooled individual-participant data for BMI and incident cardiometabolic multimorbidity from 16 prospective cohort studies from the USA and Europe. Participants included in the analyses were 35 years or older and had data available for BMI at baseline and for type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke at baseline and follow-up. We excluded participants with a diagnosis of diabetes, coronary heart disease, or stroke at or before study baseline. According to WHO recommendations, we classified BMI into categories of healthy (20·0-24·9 kg/m(2)), overweight (25·0-29·9 kg/m(2)), class I (mild) obesity (30·0-34·9 kg/m(2)), and class II and III (severe) obesity (≥35·0 kg/m(2)). We used an inclusive definition of underweight (<20 kg/m(2)) to achieve sufficient case numbers for analysis. The main outcome was cardiometabolic multimorbidity (ie, developing at least two from: type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke). Incident cardiometabolic multimorbidity was ascertained via resurvey or linkage to electronic medical records (including hospital admissions and death). We analysed data from each cohort separately using logistic regression and then pooled cohort-specific estimates using random-effects meta-analysis. FINDINGS: Participants were 120  813 adults (mean age 51·4 years, range 35-103; 71 445 women) who did not have diabetes, coronary heart disease, or stroke at study baseline (1973-2012). During a mean follow-up of 10·7 years (1995-2014), we identified 1627 cases of multimorbidity. After adjustment for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, compared with individuals with a healthy weight, the risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity in overweight individuals was twice as high (odds ratio [OR] 2·0, 95% CI 1·7-2·4; p<0·0001), almost five times higher for individuals with class I obesity (4·5, 3·5-5·8; p<0·0001), and almost 15 times higher for individuals with classes II and III obesity combined (14·5, 10·1-21·0; p<0·0001). This association was noted in men and women, young and old, and white and non-white participants, and was not dependent on the method of exposure assessment or outcome ascertainment. In analyses of different combinations of cardiometabolic conditions, odds ratios associated with classes II and III obesity were 2·2 (95% CI 1·9-2·6) for vascular disease only (coronary heart disease or stroke), 12·0 (8·1-17·9) for vascular disease followed by diabetes, 18·6 (16·6-20·9) for diabetes only, and 29·8 (21·7-40·8) for diabetes followed by vascular disease. INTERPRETATION: The risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity increases as BMI increases; from double in overweight people to more than ten times in severely obese people compared with individuals with a healthy BMI. Our findings highlight the need for clinicians to actively screen for diabetes in overweight and obese patients with vascular disease, and pay increased attention to prevention of vascular disease in obese individuals with diabetes. FUNDING: NordForsk, Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, Finnish Work Environment Fund, and Academy of Finland

A walk in the PARC:developing and implementing 21st century chemical risk assessment in Europe

Current approaches for the assessment of environmental and human health risks due to exposure to chemical substances have served their purpose reasonably well. Nevertheless, the systems in place for different uses of chemicals are faced with various challenges, ranging from a growing number of chemicals to changes in the types of chemicals and materials produced. This has triggered global awareness of the need for a paradigm shift, which in turn has led to the publication of new concepts for chemical risk assessment and explorations of how to translate these concepts into pragmatic approaches. As a result, next-generation risk assessment (NGRA) is generally seen as the way forward. However, incorporating new scientific insights and innovative approaches into hazard and exposure assessments in such a way that regulatory needs are adequately met has appeared to be challenging. The European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) has been designed to address various challenges associated with innovating chemical risk assessment. Its overall goal is to consolidate and strengthen the European research and innovation capacity for chemical risk assessment to protect human health and the environment. With around 200 participating organisations from all over Europe, including three European agencies, and a total budget of over 400 million euro, PARC is one of the largest projects of its kind. It has a duration of seven years and is coordinated by ANSES, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety

Methanosarcinaceae and acetate-oxidizing pathways dominate in high-rate thermophilic anaerobic digestion of waste-activated sludge

This study investigated the process of high-rate, high-temperature methanogenesis to enable very-high-volume loading during anaerobic digestion of waste-activated sludge. Reducing the hydraulic retention time (HRT) from 15 to 20 days in mesophilic digestion down to 3 days was achievable at a thermophilic temperature (55°C) with stable digester performance and methanogenic activity. A volatile solids (VS) destruction efficiency of 33 to 35% was achieved on waste-activated sludge, comparable to that obtained via mesophilic processes with low organic acid levels

Job strain and the risk of severe asthma exacerbations : a meta-analysis of individual-participant data from 100 000 European men and women

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