"Pricing of Non-ferrous Metals Futures on the London Metal Exchange"

The London Metal Exchange (LME) is the most important centre for spot and futures trading in the main industrially-used non-ferrous metals. In this paper, data on 3-month futures contracts for aluminium, aluminium alloy, copper, lead, nickel, tin and zinc are analysed. The risk premium hypothesis and the cost-of-carry model are the standard theoretical models for pricing futures contracts, but these two models have rarely been estimated within a unified framework for metals futures. Single equation versions of the risk premium hypothesis and the cost-of-carry model are nested within a more general model. If the spot price, futures price, interest rate and stock level variables contain stochastic trends, long run versions of the general model can be estimated within a cointegration framework. Various long run pricing models are estimated using daily LME price data for the period 1 February 1986 to 30 September 1998. Likelihood ratio tests are used to test restrictions on the general model to examine the validity of alternative nested specifications.

An Investigation Into Thermal Comfort In Residential Buildings In The Hot Humid Climate Of Sub-Saharan Africa: A Field Study In Abuja-Nigeria

A field study was conducted to understand the real and preferred conditions of thermal comfort in low-income residential buildings in Abuja, Nigeria. Knowing the temperatures people are experiencing in their houses and the limits which residents can tolerate is a first step to proffer passive solutions to reduce discomfort. During the study, 40 people responded to a post occupancy questionnaire and two households were issued a comfort survey questionnaire. Physical measurements were taken simultaneously during the comfort survey in both an air-conditioned and naturally ventilated residential building. The ASHRAE and air flow sensation scale were chosen as voting scales. The results from this study show that during the monitoring period the average and maximum temperatures in an air conditioned residential building were 31°C and 34°C; and 33°C and 36°C for natural ventilated buildings in Abuja. This compares with the external average and maximum air temperatures of 31°C and 39°C

Secondary terms in the number of vanishings of quadratic twists of elliptic curve L-functions

We examine the number of vanishings of quadratic twists of the L-function associated to an elliptic curve. Applying a conjecture for the full asymptotics of the moments of critical L-values we obtain a conjecture for the first two terms in the ratio of the number of vanishings of twists sorted according to arithmetic progressions.Comment: 16 pages, many figure

Session 5: Looking Beyond COVID-19

The recovery from COVID represents a unique opportunity for the aviation community. Airlines and Air Traffic are working together to take advantage of the modern aircraft capabilities and improved ATC procedures. Implementation now, during this downturn, assures seamless integration as air traffic resumes. Building back better, safer, and more efficient is the goal of all within the community. This segment will highlight some of the many activities to achieve this goal as well as identify new areas for improvement

The thermographic nondestructive evaluation of iron aluminide green sheet

The recent development of manufacturing techniques for the fabrication of thin iron aluminide sheet requires advanced quantitative methods for on-line inspection. An understanding of the mechanisms responsible for flaws and the development of appropriate flaw detection methods are key elements in an effective quality management system. The first step in the fabrication of thin FeAl alloy sheet is the formation of a green sheet by cold rolling FeAl powder mixed with organic binding agents. The green sheet composite has a bulk density, which is typically less than about 3.6 g/cc. The finished sheet, with a density of about 6.1 g/cc, is obtained using a series of process steps involving binder elimination, densification, sintering, and annealing. Non-uniformities within the green sheet are the major contributor to material failure in subsequent sheet processing and the production of non-conforming finished sheet. The production environment and physical characteristics of the composite provide for unique challenges in developing a rapid nondestructive inspection capability. The method must be non-contact due to the fragile nature of the composite. Limited access to the material also demands a one-sided inspection technique. An active thermographic method providing for 100% on-line inspection within an industrial, process has been developed. This approach is cost competitive with alternative technologies, such as x-ray imaging systems, and provides the required sensitivity to the variations in material composition. The mechanism of flaw formation and the transformation of green sheet flaws into defects that appear in intermediate and finished sheet products are described. A mathematical model which describes the green sheet heat transfer propagation, in the context of the inspection technique and the compact heterogeneity, is also presented. The potential for feedback within the production process is also discussed

Isolating Student, School, and Community Effects on School Weapon Carrying

Much prior research has alluded to the importance of community conditions in shaping levels of violence in around and schools. It is interesting to find, therefore, that few studies have systematically examined the effects of broader contextual characteristics (e.g., economic disadvantage) on levels of student misbehavior in schools. This research filled a part of this void in the school violence literature by using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to identify whether social conditions in schools¿ attendance areas were statistically related to levels of student weapon carrying across a national sample of 55 high schools. Multilevel models estimated in this research revealed that levels of economic disadvantage, residential mobility, and violent crime in schools¿ attendance areas were unrelated to between-school variation in student weapon carrying. Similar null findings were found when examining levels of gun carrying among male students in the sample. Specifically, social conditions in schools¿ attendance areas were also unrelated to between-school variation in gun carrying among male students. Current findings, therefore, offer no support for the conventional wisdom that community conditions discernibly affect levels of weapon carrying in and around schools (i.e., spillover hypothesis). Consequently, current findings are unable to challenge the implementation of many school-based violence prevention programs that do not attempt to manipulate or change social conditions external to schools (i.e., individual-change interventions). Finally, the limitations of this research are thoroughly discussed in order to address how future research can further advance the systematic study of the effects of community conditions on violence in and around schools

Coccidian Parasites of Wild Turkeys, Meleagris gallopavo silvestris, in Illinois

Fecal samples from 124 wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris), collected in three southern Illinois counties, were examined for coccidia. Three and two tenths percent (4) of the birds sampled were infected with Eimeria of apparently four different species. These species were tentatively designated as: E. meleagridis, E. adendeides, E. meleagrimitis and E. subrotunda

Problems associated with re-breeding of sows at Ames Plantation

Data from 789 crossbred Duroc, Hampshire, Yorkshire, and Landrace litters, as well as 174 purebred litters from Duroc, Hampshire, and Yorkshire sows were used to evaluate factors influencing problems in rebreeding. The management and care of the herd was considered typical of the production system, and a consistent level of management was maintained throughout the study. Sows were separated into parity groups as well as farrowing interval groups and analyzed separately. The farrowing interval groups separated sows and gilts into rebreeding groups which were considered to be on or off schedule. Results showed that first litter sows which were older and gained weight at a slower rate during gestation tended to be on schedule and, thus, have normal farrowing intervals. Second through fifth litter sows that showed more body weight fluctuation between weight gain during gestation and weight loss due to the products of reproduction and lactation tended to have longer farrowing inter vals. Sows with parities of six and greater showed no differences in response among the variables used to classify them into interval groups. Sows that had lactation lengths of approximately 35 days and greater tended to rebreed on schedule, compared to those with shorter lactation lengths

Discretisation for odd quadratic twists

The discretisation problem for even quadratic twists is almost understood, with the main question now being how the arithmetic Delaunay heuristic interacts with the analytic random matrix theory prediction. The situation for odd quadratic twists is much more mysterious, as the height of a point enters the picture, which does not necessarily take integral values (as does the order of the Shafarevich-Tate group). We discuss a couple of models and present data on this question.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the INI Workshop on Random Matrix Theory and Elliptic Curve