The exposure of shipping firms’ stock returns to financial risks and oil prices: a global perspective

Shipping is an industry that is highly geared towards international trade and therefore, would seem to be highly susceptible to fluctuations in macroeconomic factors. This article investigates the impact of exchange rates, interest rates and oil prices on stock returns of 143 shipping companies from 16 countries. We also investigate the factors which determine the extent to which firm are sensitive to macroeconomic variables. Our results indicate that the low incidence of significant exposure to exchange rate and interest rates suggests that most shipping firms have utilised reasonably successful hedging strategies to reduce the impact of these macroeconomic risks. Finally, we find that, for the minority of shipping firms significantly affected by oil price increases, the effects have usually been beneficial

Effect of pre-slaughter handling and serology on Salmonella in pigs

This study investigated the combined effect of herd sero-prevalence, time-off-feed prior to slaughter and transport distance to the abattoir on Salmonella spp. infection in slaughter pigs under Australian marketing scenarios. Ten herds situated either \u3c 125 km or \u3e 500 km from the abattoirs were monitored at slaughter over a 12-month period both serologically (Australian Salmonella spp. mix-ELISA) and by caecal culture. On 4 occasions (seasonally) each farm withdrew feed from three groups of slaughter pigs so they were off feed for 12-18 hours, 18-24 hours and \u3e24 hours prior to slaughter, including transport and lairage times. For herds \u3c125 km from the abattoirs, Salmonella spp. infection decreased significantly with an increase in the period between last feed and slaughter. For herds \u3e 500 km from the abattoirs, Salmonella spp. infection increased significantly with an increase in the period between last feed and slaughter, other factors apparently overriding the protective effect of fasting. Herd sero-prevalence was not a significant risk factor for caecal positivity

Iodine-ethanol surface passivation for measurement of millisecond carrier lifetimes in silicon wafers with different crystallographic orientations

To improve silicon device fabrication processes it is necessary to monitor bulk minority carrier lifetimes accurately, and this requires surface recombination to be well controlled and, ideally, minimized. Good surface passivation can result from thermal oxidation or by deposition of dielectrics (e.g. Al2O3, SiNx, amorphous Si), but these forms of passivation can modify the lifetime of the material under investigation. Various schemes can passivate surfaces on a temporary basis without modifying the bulk, and, in this paper, the virtues of the iodine‐ethanol temporary surface passivation scheme are explored. A procedure for preparing the wafer surfaces prior to passivation is developed. For the optimised pre‐treatment, a series of experiments on 3–5 Ωcm float‐zone wafers cut from the same ingot with different thicknesses is conducted. This enables the material's bulk lifetime to be measured at 1015 cm−3 injection as ≈46 ms, with the surface recombination velocity being 6.5 ± 0.3 cm s−1. Iodine‐ethanol passivation is then compared to a recently developed superacid‐derived temporary passivation scheme. Although the latter is superior on (100)‐orientation substrates, iodine‐ethanol performs much better on (111)‐orientation substrates, making it a better choice for (111)‐orientation wafers, such as those used for power devices

Cardiac Non-myocyte Cells Show Enhanced Pharmacological Function Suggestive of Contractile Maturity in Stem Cell Derived Cardiomyocyte Microtissues

The immature phenotype of stem cell derived cardiomyocytes is a significant barrier to their use in translational medicine and pre-clinical in vitro drug toxicity and pharmacological analysis. Here we have assessed the contribution of non-myocyte cells on the contractile function of co-cultured human embryonic stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) in spheroid microtissue format. Microtissues were formed using a scaffold free 96-well cell suspension method from hESC-CM cultured alone (CM microtissues) or in combination with human primary cardiac microvascular endothelial cells and cardiac fibroblasts (CMEF microtissues). Contractility was characterized with fluorescence and video-based edge detection. CMEF microtissues displayed greater Ca(2+ )transient amplitudes, enhanced spontaneous contraction rate and remarkably enhanced contractile function in response to both positive and negative inotropic drugs, suggesting a more mature contractile phenotype than CM microtissues. In addition, for several drugs the enhanced contractile response was not apparent when endothelial cell or fibroblasts from a non-cardiac tissue were used as the ancillary cells. Further evidence of maturity for CMEF microtissues was shown with increased expression of genes that encode proteins critical in cardiac Ca(2+ )handling (S100A1), sarcomere assembly (telethonin/TCAP) and β-adrenergic receptor signalling. Our data shows that compared with single cell-type cardiomyocyte in vitro models, CMEF microtissues are superior at predicting the inotropic effects of drugs, demonstrating the critical contribution of cardiac non-myocyte cells in mediating functional cardiotoxicity

Understanding the Acceptability and Effect of Psychiatric Care via Telemedicine as an Alternative Option for Patients Living with Intellectual Disabilities in Group Homes

Telemedicine has become a popular alternative to in-person clinic visits in the field of psychiatry, but few studies examine the impact of telemedicine mental healthcare provided to patients with intellectual disabilities living in group homes. Our study aims to fill this gap in the literature. A ten-question survey was designed to evaluate the effect of telemedicine services on access to care, quality of care, and patient and caregiver stress. This survey was distributed to caregivers of patients living in group homes who received care at the University of Alabama Medical Center. The majority of respondents indicated that telemedicine visits improved access to care, did not result in lower quality care compared to in-person visits, and adequately addressed the needs of the patient. Our findings suggest that telemedicine is an acceptable method of delivery of healthcare for a significant proportion of caregivers of patients surveyed

Please mind the gap: students’ perspectives of the transition in academic skills between A-level and degree level geography

This paper explores first-year undergraduates’ perceptions of the transition from studying geography at pre-university level to studying for a degree. This move is the largest step students make in their education, and the debate about it in the UK has been reignited due to the government’s planned changes to A-level geography. However, missing from most of this debate is an appreciation of the way in which geography students themselves perceive their transition to university. This paper begins to rectify this absence. Using student insights, we show that their main concern is acquiring the higher level skills required for university learning

Investigation of Salmonella Contamination of Pigs in Australia

Microbiological surveys of pigs before, during and after slaughter and processing have been conducted at abattoirs in Australia, to estimate the incidence and risk factors for Salmonella contamination on carcasses. In one such survey, approximately 10% of carcasses were positive for Salmonella contamination at the end of the slaughter line, although there was considerable variation between abattoirs and between herds in the incidence of contamination. A range of Salmonella serotypes was recovered from carcasses, with the most common being S. derby, S. give, S. anatum, and S. ohio. The incidence of Salmonella contamination on carcasses varied along the slaughter line: some contamination on the skin surface of carcasses survived scalding and dehairing, despite the temperatures achieved during these processes

´Waste-to-energy' fuel cell systems

Funding: Defence Science and Technology Lab.In this paper, a review of the different possible gas and solid fuels for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is presented. Much research has been performed with gaseous fuels in SOFCs. On the contrary, much work remains on the direct use of solid fuels in SOFCs to overcome all the technical challenges that these systems present. The challenges are even greater when the use of complex solid waste is considered. However, the development of efficient and sustainable energy systems that can operate with waste is of general interest to the energy sector and the environment, as waste management is of major concern. In particular, the re-utilisation or disposal of plastics is of great importance due to their worldwide usage and their slow degradation. The use of an untreated wood and polystyrene mixture in an electrolyte-supported fuel cell with a NiO-YSZ anode and LSM-based cathode was also investigated in this work.Postprin