A Multi-Factor Analysis of AREIT Returns

Since 1990, the Australian Real Estate Investment Trust (AREIT) sector has experienced substantial growth and popularity. While the AREIT sector had benefit from the increased flow of funds from institutional investors during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the recent impact of the 2008 global financial crisis has been a negative one. In this paper, we examine the sensitivities of annualised AREIT returns against a set of seven firm-specific variables and four market-wide risk variables. Balanced and unbalanced panel regressions are conducted on three sub-periods during 1990 - 2008 corresponding to the major phases in evolution of the AREIT sector. Our regression results find that size has a negative impact on returns, and this effect has been diminishing over time. Overall market risk was also found to be significant and positive only since 2003, suggesting that recently AREITs behave more like stocks and less like defensive assets. The relationship with exchange rate risk has been positive in recent years, due to more AREITs choosing to diversify internationally, particularly in the U.S. property markets. Our findings on the relationship between market-to-book ratios and AREIT returns depart from standard finance literature. In comparison to REITs in other countries, AREITs have shifted their preferences away from property-type diversification and into more specialised investment strategies. We also find contrasting evidence on the impact of international diversification, and that domestic AREITs provide better returns than internationally diversified counterparts. The relationship between returns and short term interest rates was found to be positive and significant prior to 2002, and the relationship with long-term interest rates was found to be negative and significant since 2003, suggesting that AREITs exhibit less bond-like characteristics in the past five years.AREITs, AREIT returns, Property-type diversification, International diversification, Panel regressions

Bounds for state-dependent quantum cloning

Due to the no-cloning theorem, the unknown quantum state can only be cloned approximately or exactly with some probability. There are two types of cloners: universal and state-dependent cloner. The optimal universal cloner has been found and could be viewed as a special state-dependent quantum cloner which has no information about the states. In this paper, we investigate the state-dependent cloning when the state-set contains more than two states. We get some bounds of the global fidelity for these processes. This method is not dependent on the number of the states contained in the state-set. It is also independent of the numbers of copying.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Rates of Neutrino Absorption on Nucleons and the Reverse Processes in Strong Magnetic Fields

The rates of electron neutrino capture on neutron, electron anti-neutrino capture on proton, and their reverse processes are important for understanding the production of heavy elements in the supernova environment above the protoneutron star. Observations and theoretical considerations suggest that some protoneutron stars may be born with strong magnetic fields. We develop a numerical method to calculate the above rates in supernova environments with magnetic fields up to 10^16 G. This method is accurate to the order of one over nucleon mass. We show that our results have the correct behavior in the limit of high neutrino energy or small magnetic field. Based on comparison of our results with various approximations, we recommend efficient estimates of the above rates for use in models of supernova nucleosynthesis in the presence of strong magnetic fields.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures. Some explaination and references are added in the second versio

Na+-leak channel, non-selective (NALCN) regulates myometrial excitability and facilitates successful parturition

Background/Aims: Uterine contractility is controlled by electrical signals generated by myometrial smooth muscle cells. Because aberrant electrical signaling may cause inefficient uterine contractions and poor reproductive outcomes, there is great interest in defining the ion channels that regulate uterine excitability. In human myometrium, the Na+ leak channel, non-selective (NALCN) contributes to a gadolinium-sensitive, Na+-dependent leak current. The aim of this study was to determine the role of NALCN in regulating uterine excitability and examine its involvement in parturition. Methods: Wildtype C57BL/6J mice underwent timed-mating and NALCN uterine expression was measured at several time points across pregnancy including pregnancy days 7, 10, 14, 18 and 19. Sharp electrode current clamp was used to measure uterine excitability at these same time points. To determine NALCN’s contribution to myometrial excitability and pregnancy outcomes, we created smooth-muscle-specific NALCN knockout mice by crossing NALCNfx/fx mice with myosin heavy chain Cre (MHCCreeGFP) mice. Parturition outcomes were assessed by observation via surveillance video recording cre control, flox control, smNALCN+/-, and smNALCN-/- mice. Myometrial excitability was compared between pregnancy day 19 flox controls and smNALCN-/- mice. Results: We found that in the mouse uterus, NALCN protein levels were high early in pregnancy, decreased in mid and late pregnancy, and then increased in labor and postpartum. Sharp electrode current clamp recordings of mouse longitudinal myometrial samples from pregnancy days 7, 10, 14, 18, and 19 revealed day-dependent increases in burst duration and interval and decreases in spike density. NALCN smooth muscle knockout mice had reduced myometrial excitability exemplified by shortened action potential bursts, and an increased rate of abnormal labor, including prolonged and dysfunctional labor. Conclusions: Together, our findings demonstrate that the Na+ conducting channel NALCN contributes to the myometrial action potential waveform and is important for successful labor outcomes

Microwave resonance of the reentrant insulating quantum Hall phases in the 1st excited Landau Level

We present measurements of the real diagonal microwave conductivity of the reentrant insulating quantum Hall phases in the first excited Landau level at temperatures below 50 mK. A resonance is detected around filling factor $\nu=2.58$ and weaker frequency dependence is seen at $\nu=2.42$ and 2.28. These measurements are consistent with the formation of a bubble phase crystal centered around these $\nu$ at very low temperatures

Biocompatible Mesoporous Hollow Carbon Nanocapsules for High Performance Supercapacitors.

A facile and general method for the controllable synthesis of N-doped hollow mesoporous carbon nanocapsules (NHCNCs) with four different geometries has been developed. The spheres (NHCNC-1), low-concaves (NHCNC-2), semi-concaves (NHCNC-3) and wrinkles (NHCNC-4) shaped samples were prepared and systematically investigated to understand the structural effects of hollow particles on their supercapacitor performances. Compared with the other three different shaped samples (NHCNC-1, NHCNC-2, and NHCNC-4), the as-synthesized semi-concave structured NHCNC-3 demonstrated excellent performance with high gravimetric capacitance of 326 F g-1 (419 F cm-3) and ultra-stable cycling stability (96.6% after 5000 cycles). The outstanding performances achieved are attributed to the unique semi-concave structure, high specific surface area (1400 m2 g-1), hierarchical porosity, high packing density (1.41 g cm-3) and high nitrogen (N) content (up to 3.73%) of the new materials. These carbon nanocapsules with tailorable structures and properties enable them as outstanding carriers and platforms for various emerging applications, such as nanoscale chemical reactors, catalysis, batteries, solar energy harvest, gas storage and so on. In addition, these novel carbons have negligible cytotoxicity and high biocompatibility for human cells, promising a wide range of bio applications, such as biomaterials, drug delivery, biomedicine, biotherapy and bioelectronic devices

Observation of pinning mode in Wigner solid of 1/3 fractional quantum Hall excitations

We report the observation of a resonance in the microwave spectra of the real diagonal conductivities of a two-dimensional electron system within a range of ~ +- .0.015 $from filling factor$\nu=1/3$. The resonance is remarkably similar to resonances previously observed near integer$\nu$, and is interpreted as the collective pinning mode of a disorder-pinned Wigner solid phase of$e/3$-charged carriers .Comment: version with edits for clarity, improved Figure 3 and added referenc

Rubidium and lead abundances in giant stars of the globular clusters M 13 and NGC 6752

We present measurements of the neutron-capture elements Rb and Pb in five giant stars of the globular cluster NGC 6752 and Pb measurements in four giants of the globular cluster M 13. The abundances were derived by comparing synthetic spectra with high resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra obtained using HDS on the Subaru telescope and MIKE on the Magellan telescope. The program stars span the range of the O-Al abundance variation. In NGC 6752, the mean abundances are [Rb/Fe] = -0.17 +/- 0.06 (sigma = 0.14), [Rb/Zr] = -0.12 +/- 0.06 (sigma = 0.13), and [Pb/Fe] = -0.17 +/- 0.04 (sigma = 0.08). In M 13 the mean abundance is [Pb/Fe] = -0.28 +/- 0.03 (sigma = 0.06). Within the measurement uncertainties, we find no evidence for a star-to-star variation for either Rb or Pb within these clusters. None of the abundance ratios [Rb/Fe], [Rb/Zr], or [Pb/Fe] are correlated with the Al abundance. NGC 6752 may have slightly lower abundances of [Rb/Fe] and [Rb/Zr] compared to the small sample of field stars at the same metallicity. For M 13 and NGC 6752 the Pb abundances are in accord with predictions from a Galactic chemical evolution model. If metal-poor intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch stars did produce the globular cluster abundance anomalies, then such stars do not synthesize significant quantities of Rb or Pb. Alternatively, if such stars do synthesize large amounts of Rb or Pb, then they are not responsible for the abundance anomalies seen in globular clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap