The 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was recently granted to David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper, renowned for their pioneering works in protein design.

Network security has always been the focus of Internet research. In order to better detect these attacks, it is necessary to more accurately evaluate the state performance of the network. The existing measurement methods often only focus on a single or very few indicators.

Abstract

Purpose – This study examines how oil market volatility and clean energy trends impact the stock performance of automakers, specifically comparing traditional manufacturers with electric vehicle (EV) producers such as BYD and Tesla. The objective is to assess the extent to which traditional automakers are sensitive to oil market fluctuations, while EV manufacturers align more closely with clean energy dynamics, particularly during global market crises.

Design/methodology/approach – Using daily data from January 2013 to December 2023, we conduct linear regressions, GARCH, DCC-GARCH and the Diebold–Yilmaz connectedness approaches in the analysis. We use these econometric models to capture volatility patterns, correlations and cross-market spillovers.

Findings – Traditional manufacturers are affected by both oil prices and clean energy development. While traditional automakers remain more vulnerable to oil price volatility, global leading EV manufacturers BYD and Tesla are less sensitive to oil price shocks and show strong alignment with clean energy indices. Significant volatility spillovers are observed during global crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine conflict.

Originality/value – The paper uniquely integrates clean energy indices into the analysis of oil price impacts on automaker stocks. By comparing traditional and EV manufacturers using advanced econometric models, it sheds light on the literature of energy markets and sustainable financial markets.

Abstract

Purpose – Our study investigates how board co-option influences solvency risk in Australian and New Zealand banks. Board governance is considered one of the most critical variables impacting bank risk management practices and policies.

Design/methodology/approach – Our sample consists of commercial banks from both countries and data from 2011 to 2021. The results obtained were based on fixed-effect, 2SLS and GMM Models. Our results are robust to the other two measures of Board Co-option, Tenure-Weighted Co-Option and Residual Co-option, showing the applicability of our econometric model.

Findings – Results reveal that an increased proportion of co-opted directors on the board is associated with a notably reduced Z-Score ratio value, signifying an elevated level of solvency risk for banks. The evidence is consistent with the notion that co-opted directors bring about less effective board governance, escalating agency problems and enhancing solvency risk.

Research limitations/implications – The banks in these two countries must carefully establish a risk management framework under the Basel Accords to avoid risks like solvency risk. The regulators in the financial services industry may also devise mechanisms and regulate the banks under the second pillar of Basel-II and III, “Supervisory Review Process,” to avoid solvency risk management issues. Future researchers and scholars can extend the limits of future studies from two countries to various geographic locations, such as Europe, China and Southeast Asian regions.

Practical implications – Our study establishes the fact that banks in Australia and New Zealand are more exposed to solvency risk due to increasing board co-option phenomena at the board level.

Social implications – The unique measure of board co-option reveals the significance of board governance for bank risk management. To properly develop and implement bank risk management policies, the appointment and performance of board members must be actively monitored in Australian and New Zealand banks through a sensitive measure of board co-option.

Originality/value – Our study provides fresh insight and adds to the body of knowledge. It is a pioneering effort and a point of reference for forthcoming researchers, as there are either limited or no other such studies available in the literature to the best of our knowledge in terms of the relationship between Board co-option and solvency risk. A few previous studies are limited to US firms only.

Existing swirling combustion technology, which relies on faulty coal, is unable to meet deep peak shaving demands without auxiliary methods. This paper developed a deep peak regulation burner (DPRB) to achieve stable combustion at 15%–30% of the boiler’s rated load without auxiliary support. Gas-particle tests, industrial trials, and transient numerical simulations were conducted to evaluate the burner’s performance. At full rated load, the DPRB formed a central recirculation zone (RZ) with a length of 1.5d and a diameter of 0.58d (where d represents the outlet diameter). At 40%, 20%, and 15% rated loads, the RZ became annular, with diameters of 0.30d, 0.40d, and 0.39d, respectively, with a length of 1.0d. At 20% and 15% rated loads, the recirculation peak and the range of particle volume flux were comparable to those at 40% rated load. The prototype burner demonstrated that, without oil support, the gas temperature within 0 to 1.8 m from the primary air outlet remained below 609 °C, insufficient to ignite faulty coal. As the load rate increased from 20% to 30%, the prototype’s central region temperature remained low, with a maximum of 750 °C between 0 and 2.0 m. In contrast, the DPRB’s central region temperature reached 750 °C at around 0.65–0.70 m. At a 3%·min−1 load-up rate, when the load increased from 20% to 30%, the prototype burner extinguished after 30 s. However, the DPRB maintained stable combustion throughout the process.

To increase the power generated by solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), multiple cells have to be connected into a stack. Nonuniformity of cell performance is a worldwide concern in the practical application of stack, which is known to be unavoidable and caused by manufacturing and operating conditions. However, the effect of such nonuniformity on SOFCs that are connected in parallel has not been discussed in detail so far. This paper provides detailed experimental data on the current distribution within a stack with nonuniform cells in parallel connection, based on the basics of electricity and electrochemistry. Particular phenomena found in such a parallel system are the “self-discharge effect” in standby mode and the “capacity-proportional-load sharing effect” under normal operating conditions. It is believed that the experimental method and results proposed in this paper can be applied to other types of fuel cell or even other energy systems.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic disease that affects an increasing number of children and adults. The skin is dry and irritated, and the itching can be so severe that it interferes with sleep and daily life. Although AD has been discussed for years, it is only now that scientists are beginning to understand exactly why the disease causes so much itching.

A team of students from the Student Scientific Association and researchers from Wroclaw Medical University and Medical University of Silesia in Katowice described in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences the so-called IL-31/IL-33 axis – a mechanism that drives inflammation and itching in atopic dermatitis.

Florida State University researchers have discovered a pathway within a certain type of molecule that limits chemical reactions by redirecting light energy. The study could help develop more efficient reactions for pharmaceuticals and other products. The researchers examined ligand-to-metal photocatalysts.

Researchers have learned how stingrays adjust for negative lift near the seafloor - being sucked downwards - and the discovery could help build smarter underwater robots that avoid disastrous ground collisions. 

For the ArchaeoSpain research team, it was a day just like any other on their dig at the castle of Zorita de los Canes (Guadalajara). They were working at the Corral de los Condes, where some knights from the Order of Calatrava are buried, when they came across some highly unusual human remains. Accompanying an apparently normal adult skeleton, was an extraordinarily narrow and elongated skull, 23 centimetres long and only 12 centimetres wide. Who was this individual and how did they survive to adulthood? What caused such a severe cranial deformity? What role did they play in the Order of Calatrava? To answer these questions, the team sent the skeleton to the laboratory of Carme Rissech, a researcher in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences at the URV.