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

Sorption of lead from aqueous solutions by spent tea leaf

An adsorbent was prepared using spent tea leaf and was used to remove lead (Pb) from solution. The Pb removal by the spent tea leaf adsorbent depended on pretreatment of spent tea leaf, adsorption contact time and adsorbent dosage. The optimum pretreatment conditions were confirmed to be that tea leaf was ground to 0.28-0.45 mm in diameter and then drenched in 0.3 M NaOH for 12 h. Adsorption kinetic study showed that the adsorption of Pb onto the spent tea leaf followed the pseudo-secondordermodel. The adsorption was time dependent and adsorbent dosage dependent. The optimum contact time was 8 h

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

The Association Between Sleep Problems and Attentional Network Functions in Patients with Self-Limited Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes

Nan Jiang,1,2 Chun Mei Yang,1,2 Jia Le Wang,1,2 Xiao Fei Ye,1 Bin Yang1,2 1Children’s Medical Centre of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China; 2The Fifth Clinical College Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Bin Yang, Children’s Medical Centre of Anhui Medical University, The Fifth Clinical College Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13866127496, Email [email protected]: To investigate sleep problems in children with self-limited epilepsy with central temporal spiking (SeLECTS) and to assess the relationship between sleep problems and attention network dysfunction.Patients and methods: 107 children 6– 14 years of age with SeLECTS and 90 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited for this study. The sleep status of these participants was evaluated using the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), while attentional network function was assessed with the attention network function test (ANT).Results: Together, these analyses revealed that children with SeLECTS exhibited higher total CSHQ scores and sleep disorder incidence relative to healthy controls (P< 0.001). Children with SeLECTS had higher scores in delayed sleep onset, sleep duration, night awakenings, parasomnias, daytime sleepiness and sleep anxiety (P< 0.01). Total CSHQ scores were negatively correlated with average ANT correct rates (ρ= − 0.253, P< 0.01), while they were positively correlated with total reaction time (ρ=0.367, P< 0.01) and negatively correlated with the efficiency of the alerting and executive control networks (ρ=− 0.344 P< 0.01; ρ=− 0.418 P< 0.01).Conclusion: Children with SeLECTS face a higher risk of experiencing sleep disorders relative to age-matched healthy children, while also demonstrating that the magnitude of the impairment of attentional network function in these children is positively correlated with sleep disorder severity. Thus, the prognosis and quality of life of children with SeLECTS can be improved by interventions addressing sleep disorders.Keywords: SeLECTS, attention network function, sleep disorders, CSH

Dipolar collisions of polar molecules in the quantum regime

Ultracold polar molecules offer the possibility of exploring quantum gases with interparticle interactions that are strong, long-range, and spatially anisotropic. This is in stark contrast to the dilute gases of ultracold atoms, which have isotropic and extremely short-range, or "contact", interactions. The large electric dipole moment of polar molecules can be tuned with an external electric field; this provides unique opportunities such as control of ultracold chemical reactions, quantum information processing, and the realization of novel quantum many-body systems. In spite of intense experimental efforts aimed at observing the influence of dipoles on ultracold molecules, only recently have sufficiently high densities been achieved. Here, we report the observation of dipolar collisions in an ultracold molecular gas prepared close to quantum degeneracy. For modest values of an applied electric field, we observe a dramatic increase in the loss rate of fermionic KRb molecules due to ultrcold chemical reactions. We find that the loss rate has a steep power-law dependence on the induced electric dipole moment, and we show that this dependence can be understood with a relatively simple model based on quantum threshold laws for scattering of fermionic polar molecules. We directly observe the spatial anisotropy of the dipolar interaction as manifested in measurements of the thermodynamics of the dipolar gas. These results demonstrate how the long-range dipolar interaction can be used for electric-field control of chemical reaction rates in an ultracold polar molecule gas. The large loss rates in an applied electric field suggest that creating a long-lived ensemble of ultracold polar molecules may require confinement in a two-dimensional trap geometry to suppress the influence of the attractive dipolar interactions