STOCK PRICES AND EXCHANGE RATES IN AUSTRALIA: ARE COMMODITY PRICES THE MISSING LINK?

The relationship between stock prices and exchange rates is an important topic of long standing. But there are still significant gaps in our knowledge of this area, not least, the ambiguity about the sign of the effect of a change in one of these variables on the other. While there are many possible reasons for this ambiguity, one which we explore in the Australian context in this paper is the omission of commodity prices. We show that a bivariate relationship which omits commodity prices performs badly but that once commodity prices are added to the relationship, our results are plausible and robust. We also throw light on the commodity-currency issue and show that the link from the exchange rate to commodity prices is stronger and more consistent than that in the opposite direction.

Comparison of Microanalysis Using Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy

The work presented in this thesis is concerned with the development and comparison of two techniques for microanalysis in the electron microscope. These are energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Particular emphasis has been placed on light element analysis, as these elements have become accessible to EDX analysis with the recent advent of windowless x-ray detectors. The interest here is confined to analysis without recourse to standard specimens of known composition. Standardless analysis requires a theoretical knowedge of the processes which give rise to the various features in both types of spectrum. Chapter 2 outlines the formalism of the relevant basic theory, and describes how expressions are obtained for the cross sections relevant to inelastic scattering of electrons by interactions with inner-shell electrons in the specimen, and to the x-ray production which is associated with such scattering. The signals in EELS and EDX spectra which arise due to inner shell scattering occur at energy losses and photon energies respectively which are characteristic of the atoms in the specimen. Other processes, which contribute to non-characteristic backgrounds in both cases, are described briefly. The work for this thesis was carried out using three microscopes: two similar scanning transmission electron microscopes (STEMs), one of which was equipped with a windowless x-ray detector, and one transmission electron microscope (TEN). Chapter 3 gives a description of one of the STEMs, and goes on to outline the differences between the two STEMs. The TEM is then briefly described. The remainder of the chapter discusses the detectors and spectral acquisition systems fitted to each microscope. The results obtained on EDX are presented in chapters 4, 5 and 6. Chapter 4 starts by discussing general EDX analysis techniques, and then goes on to detail a series on measurements of the ratios of characteristic signals to the local background in the EDX spectrum. The results obtained using all three microscopes are then used as the basis of a parameterisation of the ionisation cross section for the K-shell. The parameterisation allows the prediction of this quantity within an accuracy of ~20% over a range of elements with 14 and a range of accelerating voltages from 80keV to 200k. eV. Chapter 5 details the investigation of L-shell ionisation cross sections. This involved measuring the ratio of the K-shell/L-shell cross sections over a wide range of elements, and using the results of the previous chapter to deduce the L-shell cross sections. These measurements required the detector efficiency to be carefully considered over the entire energy range of an EDX spectrum. The accuracy with which the L-shell cross sections could be determined was limited by uncertainties in the values in the literature for the relevant fluorescence yields. Nevertheless, the results generally suggested that the model used for the K-shell may be applied also to the L-shell. Chapter 6 gives the results of the analyses of a number of compounds of light elements, and shows that many difficulties exist in the determination of quantitative information on these elemnts by EDX. EELS analysis procedures are discussed in chapter 7. Conventional procedures, and an alternative technique proposed by Steele et al. (1985), are detailed. The latter approach involves the inclusion in the function which is fitted to the spectrum of a scaled theoretical cross section. Fitting may then be carried out both before and after the characteristic edge onset. This removes the need for the background to be extrapolated beneath the edge, as conventional background fitting requires. Results of the application of the new procedure are given in chapter 8. Firstly, it is used to re-analyse EELS data which had previously been analysed conventionally. These data were recorded simultaneously with equivalent EDX data. The results showed that the use of the new technique leads to some improvement in the correlation between concentration ratios determined using EELS and EDX. A second analysis, of TiB2 end CrB2 failed to produce any conclusive results. Finally, chapter 9 discusses the implications of the results obtained in this work, and suggests some ways in which the accuracy of each of the two techniques might be improved

Dispersed Repetitive DNA Has Spread to New Genomes Since Polyploid Formation in Cotton

Polyploid formation has played a major role in the evolution of many plant and animal genomes; however, surprisingly little is known regarding the subsequent evolution of DNA sequences that become newly united in a common nucleus. Of particular interest is the repetitive DNA fraction, which accounts for most nuclear DNA in higher plants and animals and which can be remarkably different, even in closely related taxa. In one recently formed polyploid, cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.; AD genome), 83 non-cross-hybridizing DNA clones contain dispersed repeats that are estimated to comprise about 24% of the nuclear DNA. Among these, 64 (77%) are largely restricted to diploid taxa containing the larger A genome and collectively account for about half of the difference in DNA content between Old World (A) and New World (D) diploid ancestors of cultivated AD tetraploid cotton. In tetraploid cotton, FISH analysis showed that some A-genome dispersed repeats appear to have spread to D-genome chromosomes. Such spread may also account for the finding that one, and only one, D-genome diploid cotton, Gossypium gossypioides, contains moderate levels of (otherwise) A-genome-specific repeats in addition to normal levels of D-genome repeats. The discovery of A-genome repeats in G. gossypioides adds genome-wide support to a suggestion previously based on evidence from only a single genetic locus that this species may be either the closest living descendant of the New World cotton ancestor, or an adulterated relic of polyploid formation. Spread of dispersed repeats in the early stages of polyploid formation may provide a tag to identify diploid progenitors of a polyploid. Although most repetitive clones do not correspond to known DNA sequences, 4 correspond to known transposons, most contain internal subrepeats, and at least 12 (including 2 of the possible transposons) hybridize to mRNAs expressed at readily discernible levels in cotton seedlings, implicating transposition as one possible mechanism of spread. Integration of molecular, phylogenetic, and cytogenetic analysis of dispersed repetitive DNA may shed new light on evolution of other polyploid genomes, as well as providing valuable landmarks for many aspects of genome analysis

Genomics reveal population structure, evolutionary history, and signatures of selection in the northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus

Funding: This work was supported by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Maritimes and National Geographic emerging explorer grant to L.J.F, with support by and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Killam Nova Scotia Doctoral Scholarships. Work was also supported by US Office of Naval Research and US Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), DFO, University of Windsor, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Nunavut Fisheries Association, Government of Nunavut, and NSERC. Funding and resources for sequencing the northern bottlenose whale genome was supported by the CanSeq150 program of Canada’s Genomics Enterprise.Information on wildlife population structure, demographic history, and adaptations are fundamental to understanding species evolution and informing conservation strategies. To study this ecological context for a cetacean of conservation concern, we conducted the first genomic assessment of the northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, using whole-genome resequencing data (n = 37) from five regions across the North Atlantic Ocean. We found a range-wide pattern of isolation-by-distance with a genetic subdivision distinguishing three subgroups: the Scotian Shelf, western North Atlantic, and Jan Mayen regions. Signals of elevated levels of inbreeding in the Endangered Scotian Shelf population indicate this population may be more vulnerable than the other two subgroups. In addition to signatures of inbreeding, evidence of local adaptation in the Scotian Shelf was detected across the genome. We found a long-term decline in effective population size for the species, which poses risks to their genetic diversity and may be exacerbated by the isolating effects of population subdivision. Protecting important habitat and migratory corridors should be prioritized to rebuild population sizes that were diminished by commercial whaling, strengthen gene flow, and ensure animals can move across regions in response to environmental changes.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The Lost Library of Anne Conway

The philosopher Anne Conway (1631-1679) owned a large library, and her reading and book ownership shaped her intellectual life in distinctive ways. Until now, however, almost nothing has been known about the details of her reading or her book collection. Current scholarship assumes that her library, like that of her husband, the third Viscount Conway (c. 1623–1683), was lost or dispersed after her death. This article presents previously unrecognised evidence of Conway’s book ownership, and identifies, for the first time, the only books currently known to survive from her personal library. It traces their path to their current location in the Old Library of Jesus College, Cambridge, through the library of the soldier, book collector, and Cambridge Fellow Francis Sterling (c. 1652-1692). The article demonstrates that the newly identified books reveal previously unknown patterns of intellectual exchange amongst Conway’s family, and argues that they have significant implications for our understanding of her early intellectual development

Molecular epidemiological analysis of Escherichia coli sequence type ST131 (O25:H4) and bla CTX-M-15among extended-spectrum-β- lactamase-producing E. coli from the United States, 2000 to 2009

Escherichia coli sequence type ST131 (from phylogenetic group B2), often carrying the extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL) gene bla , is an emerging globally disseminated pathogen that has received comparatively little attention in the United States. Accordingly, a convenience sample of 351 ESBL-producing E. coli isolates from 15 U.S. centers (collected in 2000 to 2009) underwent PCR-based phylotyping and detection of ST131 and bla . A total of 200 isolates, comprising 4 groups of 50 isolates each that were (i) bla negative non-ST131, (ii) bla positive non-ST131, (iii) bla negative ST131, or (iv) bla positive ST131, also underwent virulence genotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Overall, 201 (57%) isolates exhibited bla , whereas 165 (47%) were ST131. ST131 accounted for 56% of bla -positive-versus 35% of bla -negative isolates (