Exchange rate sensitivity of Australian international equity funds

This paper analyses the exchange rate exposure displayed by a sample of Australian international equity trusts (IET). Exchange rate exposure is also examined in the context of differing economic climates with particular emphasis on the Asian crisis in mid-1997. It is found that there is evidence of exchange rate exposure particularly in the context of a multiple exchange rate model. Exposure varies substantially between three alternative time periods with different exposure apparent subsequent to the Asian crisis than prior to this event.

Governed by the cycle : direct and inverted interest-rate sensitivity of emerging market corporate debt

An innovative approach to quantify interest rate sensitivities of emerging market corporates is proposed. Our focus is centered at price sensitivity of modeled investment grade and high yield portfolios to changes in the present value of modeled portfolios composed of safe-haven assets, which define risk-free interest rates. Our methodology is based on blended yield indexes. Modeled investment horizons are always kept above one year thus allowing to derive empirical implications for practical strategies of interest rate risk management in the banking book. As our study spans over the period 2002 – 2015, it covers interest rate sensitivity of assets under the pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis phases of the economic cycles. We demonstrate that the emerging market corporate bonds both, investment grade and high yield types, depending on the phase of a business cycle exhibit diverse regimes of sensitivity to interest rate changes. We observe switching from a direct positive sensitivity under the normal pre-crisis market conditions to an inverted negative sensitivity during distressed turmoil of the recent financial crisis, and than back to direct positive but weaker sensitivity under new normal post-crisis conjuncture. Our unusual blended yield-based approach allows us to present theoretical explanations of such phenomena from economics point of view and helps us to solve an old controversy regarding positive or negative responses of credit spreads to interest rates. We present numerical quantification of sensitivities, which corroborate with our conclusion that hedging of interest rate risk ought to be a dynamic process linked to the phases of business cycles as we evidence a binary-like behavior of interest rate sensitivities along the economic time. Our findings allow banks and financial institutions for approaching downside risk management and optimizing economic capital under Basel III regulatory capital rules.

Interest rate (in)sensitivity of emerging market corporate debt : economic analysis based on 2002-2015 empirical evidence

Interest rate sensitivity assessment framework based on fixed income yield indexes is developed and applied to two types of emerging market corporate debt: investment grade and high yield exposures. Our research advances beyond the correlation analyses focused on co- movements in yields and/or spreads of risky and risk-free assets. We show that correlation- based analyses of interest rate sensitivity could appear rather inconclusive and, hence, we investigate the bottom line profit and loss of a hypothetical model portfolio of corporates. We consider historical data covering the period 2002 – 2015, which enable us to assess interest rate sensitivity of assets during the development, the apogee, and the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Based on empirical evidence, both for investment and speculative grades securities, we find that the emerging market corporates exhibit two different regimes of sensitivity to interest rate changes. We observe switching from a positive sensitivity under the normal market conditions to a negative one during distressed phases of business cycles. This research sheds light on how financial institutions may approach interest rate risk management, evidencing that even plain vanilla portfolios of emerging market corporates, which on average could appear rather insensitive to the interest rate risk in fact present a binary behavior of their interest rate sensitivities. Our findings allow banks and financial institutions for optimizing economic capital under Basel III regulatory capital rules.

Slow Strain Rate Testing and Stress Corrosion Cracking of Ultra-Fine Grained and Conventional Al-Mg Alloy

Stress corrosion cracking susceptibility was investigated for an ultra-fine grained (UFG) AI-7.5Mg alloy and a conventional 5083 H111 alloy in natural seawater using slow strain rate testing (SSRT) at very slow strain rates between 1E(-5) s(-1), 1E(-6) s(-1) and 1E(-7) s(-1). The UFG Al-7.5Mg alloy was produced by cryomilling, while the 5083 H111 alloy is considered as a wrought manufactured product. The response of tensile properties to strain rate was analyzed and compared. Negative strain rate sensitivity was observed for both materials in terms of the elongation to failure. However, the UFG alloy displayed strain rate sensitivity in relation to strength while the conventional alloy was relatively strain rate insensitive. The mechanical behavior of the conventional 5083 alloy was attributed to dynamic strain aging (DSA) and delayed pit propagation while the performance of the UFG alloy was related to a diffusion-mediated stress relaxation mechanism that successfully delayed crack initiation events, counteracted by exfoliation and pitting which enhanced crack initiation. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact on HDPE and PVC plates - Experimental tests and numerical simulations

This paper presents first material tests on HDPE and PVC, and subsequently impact tests on plates made of the same materials. Finally, numerical simulations of the plate impact tests are compared with the experimental results. A rather comprehensive series of mechanical material tests were performed to disclose the behaviour of PVC and HDPE in tension and compression. Quasi-static tests were carried out at three rates in compression and two in tension. Digital image correlation. DIC, was used to measure the in-plane strains, revealing true stress-strain curves and allowing to analyze strain-rate sensitivity and isotropy of Poisson`s ratio. In addition, dynamic compression tests were carried out in a split-Hopkinson pressure bar. Quasi-static and dynamic tests were also performed on clamped plates made of the same PVC and HDPE materials, using an optical technique to measure the full-field out-of-plane deformations. These tests, together with the material data, were used for comparative purposes of a finite element analysis. A reasonable agreement between experimental and numerical results was achieved. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Three-dimensional orthotropic viscoelastic finite element model of a human ligament

Ligaments undergo finite strain displaying hyperelastic behaviour as the initially tangled fibrils present straighten out, combined with viscoelastic behaviour (strain rate sensitivity). In the present study the anterior cruciate ligament of the human knee joint is modelled in three dimensions to gain an understanding of the stress distribution over the ligament due to motion imposed on the ends, determined from experimental studies. A three dimensional, finite strain material model of ligaments has recently been proposed by Pioletti in Ref. [2]. It is attractive as it separates out elastic stress from that due to the present strain rate and that due to the past history of deformation. However, it treats the ligament as isotropic and incompressible. While the second assumption is reasonable, the first is clearly untrue. In the present study an alternative model of the elastic behaviour due to Bonet and Burton (Ref. [4]) is generalized. Bonet and Burton consider finite strain with constant modulii for the fibres and for the matrix of a transversely isotropic composite. In the present work, the fibre modulus is first made to increase exponentially from zero with an invariant that provides a measure of the stretch in the fibre direction. At 12% strain in the fibre direction, a new reference state is then adopted, after which the material modulus is made constant, as in Bonet and Burton's model. The strain rate dependence can be added, either using Pioletti's isotropic approximation, or by making the effect depend on the strain rate in the fibre direction only. A solid model of a ligament is constructed, based on experimentally measured sections, and the deformation predicted using explicit integration in time. This approach simplifies the coding of the material model, but has a limitation due to the detrimental effect on stability of integration of the substantial damping implied by the nonlinear dependence of stress on strain rate. At present, an artificially high density is being used to provide stability, while the dynamics are being removed from the solution using artificial viscosity. The result is a quasi-static solution incorporating the effect of strain rate. Alternate approaches to material modelling and integration are discussed, that may result in a better model.

Powder forging of a sintered Al-3.8Cu-1Mg-0.8Si-O.1Sn alloy

The forging characteristics of an Al-Cu-Mg-Si-Sn alloy are examined using it new testing strategy which incorporates a double truncated cone specimen and finite element modelling. This sample geometry produces controlled strain distributions within a single specimen and can readily identify the specific strain required to achieve a specific microstructural event by matching the metallographic data with the strain profiles calculated from finite element software, The friction conditions were determined using the conventional friction ring test, which was evaluated using finite element software. The rheological properties of the alloy, evaluated from compression testing of right cylinders, are similar to the properties of conventional aluminium forgings. A hoop strain develops at the outer diameter of the truncated cones and this leads to pore opening at the outer few millimetres. The porosity is effectively removed when the total strain equals the net compressive strain. The strain profiles that develop in the truncated cones are largely independent of the processing temperature and the strain rate although the strain required for pore closure increases as the forging temperature is reduced. This suggests that the microstructure and the strain rate sensitivity may also be important factors controlling pore behaviour. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Allergic asthma exhaled breath metabolome: a challenge for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

Allergic asthma represents an important public health issue, most common in the paediatric population, characterized by airway inflammation that may lead to changes in volatiles secreted via the lungs. Thus, exhaled breath has potential to be a matrix with relevant metabolomic information to characterize this disease. Progress in biochemistry, health sciences and related areas depends on instrumental advances, and a high throughput and sensitive equipment such as comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography–time of flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC–ToFMS) was considered. GC × GC–ToFMS application in the analysis of the exhaled breath of 32 children with allergic asthma, from which 10 had also allergic rhinitis, and 27 control children allowed the identification of several hundreds of compounds belonging to different chemical families. Multivariate analysis, using Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis in tandem with Monte Carlo Cross Validation was performed to assess the predictive power and to help the interpretation of recovered compounds possibly linked to oxidative stress, inflammation processes or other cellular processes that may characterize asthma. The results suggest that the model is robust, considering the high classification rate, sensitivity, and specificity. A pattern of six compounds belonging to the alkanes characterized the asthmatic population: nonane, 2,2,4,6,6-pentamethylheptane, decane, 3,6-dimethyldecane, dodecane, and tetradecane. To explore future clinical applications, and considering the future role of molecular-based methodologies, a compound set was established to rapid access of information from exhaled breath, reducing the time of data processing, and thus, becoming more expedite method for the clinical purposes.

Caracterização e avaliação de três grupos de arroz-de-sequeiro de diferentes procedências por meio da sensitividade à radiação gama

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Temporomandibular disorders among Brazilian adolescents: reliability and validity of a screening questionnaire

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Dynamic Aerobic Exercise Induces Baroreflex Improvement in Diabetic Rats

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of an acute aerobic exercise on arterial pressure (AP), heart rate (HR), and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) in STZ-induced diabetic rats. Male Wistar rats were divided into control (n = 8) and diabetic (n = 8) groups. AP, HR, and BRS, which were measured by tachycardic and bradycardic (BR) responses to AP changes, were evaluated at rest (R) and postexercise session (PE) on a treadmill. At rest, STZ diabetes induced AP and HR reductions, associated with BR impairment. Attenuation in resting diabetes-induced AP (R: 103 +/- 2 versus PE: 111 +/- 3 mmHg) and HR (R: 290 +/- 7 versus PE:328 +/- 10 bpm) reductions and BR dysfunction (R: -0.70 +/- 0.06 versus PE:-1.21 +/- 0.09 bpm/mmHg) was observed in the postexercise period. In conclusion, the hemodynamic and arterial baro-mediated control of circulation improvement in the postexercise period reinforces the role of exercise in the management of cardiovascular risk in diabetes.

Investigation on laser shock peening capability by FE simulation

Laser shock peening is a technique similar to shot peening that imparts compressive residual stresses in materials for improving fatigue resistance. The ability to use a high energy laser pulse to generate shock waves, inducing a compressive residual stress field in metallic materials, has applications in multiple fields such as turbo-machinery, airframe structures, and medical appliances. The transient nature of the LSP phenomenon and the high rate of the laser's dynamic make real time in-situ measurement of laser/material interaction very challenging. For this reason and for the high cost of the experimental tests, reliable analytical methods for predicting detailed effects of LSP are needed to understand the potential of the process. Aim of this work has been the prediction of residual stress field after Laser Peening process by means of Finite Element Modeling. The work has been carried out in the Stress Methods department of Airbus Operations GmbH (Hamburg) and it includes investigation on compressive residual stresses induced by Laser Shock Peening, study on mesh sensitivity, optimization and tuning of the model by using physical and numerical parameters, validation of the model by comparing it with experimental results. The model has been realized with Abaqus/Explicit commercial software starting from considerations done on previous works. FE analyses are “Mesh Sensitive”: by increasing the number of elements and by decreasing their size, the software is able to probe even the details of the real phenomenon. However, these details, could be only an amplification of real phenomenon. For this reason it was necessary to optimize the mesh elements' size and number. A new model has been created with a more fine mesh in the trough thickness direction because it is the most involved in the process deformations. This increment of the global number of elements has been paid with an "in plane" size reduction of the elements far from the peened area in order to avoid too high computational costs. Efficiency and stability of the analyses has been improved by using bulk viscosity coefficients, a merely numerical parameter available in Abaqus/Explicit. A plastic rate sensitivity study has been also carried out and a new set of Johnson Cook's model coefficient has been chosen. These investigations led to a more controllable and reliable model, valid even for more complex geometries. Moreover the study about the material properties highlighted a gap of the model about the simulation of the surface conditions. Modeling of the ablative layer employed during the real process has been used to fill this gap. In the real process ablative layer is a super thin sheet of pure aluminum stuck on the masterpiece. In the simulation it has been simply reproduced as a 100µm layer made by a material with a yield point of 10MPa. All those new settings has been applied to a set of analyses made with different geometry models to verify the robustness of the model. The calibration of the model with the experimental results was based on stress and displacement measurements carried out on the surface and in depth as well. The good correlation between the simulation and experimental tests results proved this model to be reliable.

Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis in Switzerland - Consequences after analysis of a 4 months pilot study

BACKGROUND: Switzerland introduced newborn screening (NBS) for CF in 2011, using an IRT/DNA/IRT protocol. This paper describes the results of the first year and compares two versions of the protocol with different IRT cut-offs, particularly effects on recall rate, sensitivity and specificity. METHODS: IRT cut-offs were >45ng/ml (99.0th percentile) in period 1 (months 1-4) and >50ng/ml (99.2nd percentile) in period 2 (months 5-12). In period 2 we abstained from recalls when none of the 7 most common CF mutations were detected and IRT was <60ng/ml. RESULTS: In periods 1 and 2, 26,535 and 56,663 tests were performed. Recall rates were 0.94% and 0.48%, respectively (p<0.001), PPV increased from 23% to 47% (p=0.024) and sensitivity was 90% and 100%. CONCLUSIONS: Raising initial IRT cut-off from the 99.0th to the 99.2nd percentile and abstaining from recalls for children with an IRT<60ng/ml and carrying no major CFTR mutation significantly reduced the recall rate without affecting sensitivity.

Evaluating Prediction Rules for t-Year Survivors With Censored Regression Models

Suppose that we are interested in establishing simple, but reliable rules for predicting future t-year survivors via censored regression models. In this article, we present inference procedures for evaluating such binary classification rules based on various prediction precision measures quantified by the overall misclassification rate, sensitivity and specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. Specifically, under various working models we derive consistent estimators for the above measures via substitution and cross validation estimation procedures. Furthermore, we provide large sample approximations to the distributions of these nonsmooth estimators without assuming that the working model is correctly specified. Confidence intervals, for example, for the difference of the precision measures between two competing rules can then be constructed. All the proposals are illustrated with two real examples and their finite sample properties are evaluated via a simulation study.