Investor demand and spot commodity prices

The on-going debate over the influence of investor demand on spot commodity prices largely attempts to assess this influence by measuring the growth in investor demand in recent years. Given the serious data problems that plague such analyses, this article pursues another approach in the hope of providing useful insights into the impact of investor demand on spot commodity prices. It focuses on the mechanisms by which investor demand affects spot prices, and in particular on two questions. First, how does an increase in investor demand on the futures markets affect the spot market and spot price? Second, when investor demand is increasing and pushing a commodity's price up, do physical stocks of the commodity also have to be rising, as economists and others widely assume?On the first question, the article concludes that a surge in investor demand raising prices on the futures markets will have a direct and comparable effect on the spot market prices when these markets are in strong contango. However, when markets are in weak contango or backwardation, price movements in the futures markets have a much looser effect on spot prices. As a result, changes in investor demand on the futures markets may have little or no influence on spot prices in the absence of a strong contango. Instead, changes in fundamentals (that is, producer supply and consumer demand) and possibly changes in investor demand taking place directly on the spot market largely determine the spot price at such times.On the second question, the article shows that investor demand can be pushing up a commodity's price even when investor stocks are falling, despite the widespread presumption to the contrary.     

我国环保产业“十二五”技术发展重点领域

基于我国环保产业的发展现状及政策背景,介绍了"十二五"我国环保产业发展重点技术领域及发展方向,包括水污染控制、大气污染控制、固体废弃物处理处置、噪声污染控制、土壤污染控制、重金属污染控制、农村面源污染控制等领域。     

Degradation mechanism of Direct Pink 12B treated by iron-carbon micro-electrolysis and Fenton reaction

The Direct Pink 12B dye was treated by iron-carbon micro-electrolysis (ICME) and Fenton oxidation. The degradation pathway of Direct Pink 12B dye was inferred by ultraviolet visible (UV-Vis), infrared absorption spectrum (IR) and high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). The major reason of decolorization was that the conjugate structure was disrupted in the iron-carbon micro-electrolysis (ICME) process. However, the dye was not degraded completely because benzene rings and naphthalene rings were not broken. In the Fenton oxidation process, the azo bond groups surrounded by higher electron cloud density were first attacked by hydroxyl radicals to decolorize the dye molecule. Finally benzene rings and naphthalene rings were mineralized to H₂O and CO₂ under the oxidation of hydroxyl radicals.     

安徽省“十二五”生态环境遥感监测

利用2011—2015年安徽省遥感影像土地利用类型解译数据,结合地面调查和统计资料,依据生态环境状况评价系统对安徽省"十二五"期间生态环境状况进行动态监测与评价。结果表明,"十二五"末安徽省各市生态环境状况等级为"优"的有4个市,为"良"的有12个市;"十二五"期间,各市等级均保持不变;"十二五"始末相比,有8个市生态环境状况变化度为"略有变好"等级,生态环境状况波动度为"波动"级别,其余8个市的变化度为"无明显变化"等级,波动度为"稳定"级别;省域EI增加了0.76,生态环境质量呈现稳中向好的趋势。     

火电行业"十三五"主要大气污染物减排潜力情景分析研究

火电行业是总量减排的重点行业,也是主要大气污染物削减量的首要贡献者,其主要大气污染物排放量的削减抵消了其他行业的排放增长,为"十二五"全国减排任务的完成做出了重大贡献.本研究在火电行业主要大气污染物排放控制现状分析的基础上,结合火电行业技术政策措施要求,对火电行业"十三五"新增排放量进行了预测,并设置基于技术可行、排放标准以及超低排放三套减排情景,测算"十三五"减排潜力,评估火电行业"十三五"减排空间,对全国及各省火电行业减排形势提出了相应的意见和建议.     

Winter storm-related injuries in Oklahoma, January 2007

Introduction

A January 2007 ice storm occurred in Oklahoma, causing power outages and hazardous travel conditions. The objective of this investigation was to describe the nature of winter storm-related injuries among Oklahoma residents, to determine populations at risk, and to inform prevention-planning personnel.

Methods

Winter storm-related injuries were a temporarily reportable condition; all acute-care hospitals and the state medical examiner logged storm-related injuries and deaths during January 12 − 30, 2007. Medical records were retrospectively abstracted.Risk of injury was described by demographic group, injury type, and mechanism.

Results

Among 6,047 persons experiencing winter storm-related injuries, 74% were injured in falls, 13% in motor-vehicle collisions (MVCs), 8% while sledding, 1% by unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, 1% in cleanup activities, and 3% by other mechanisms. Median age of injured persons was 39 years. Persons aged ≥ 40 years were 1.4 times more likely to experience falls as the cause of injury than those aged < 40 years, and falls were twice as likely as other mechanisms to cause fractures among persons aged ≥ 40 years. Injured persons aged < 40 years were 2.2 times more likely to experience MVC-related injuries, and 19 times more likely to experience sledding-related injuries than persons aged ≥ 40 years.

Conclusions

Younger persons were more likely injured in MVCs and sledding incidents, whereas older persons were more likely to experience falls and fractures.

Impact on industry

Prevention messages for winter storm-related injuries should target winter-driving safety tips to younger adults and precautions regarding falls to older adults.     

沈阳市"十二五"环境保护研究

"十二五"期间,沈阳市环境保护工作面临经济社会高速发展,资源能源消耗量不断增加,污染减排压力越来越大,环境质量功能区达标困难重重,农村环境问题日益显现,境外环境影响和区域性污染日益增加等多重压力,该期间的主要环境保护目标是实现生态市建设和国家环境建设样板城建设目标,对此环境保护的主要措施是优化发展、源头控制、未端治理、...     

光合细菌处理维生素B12废水影响因素的试验研究

利用正交试验设计研究pH值、光照时间和温度等生长因子对光合细菌处理维生素B₁₂废水效果的影响，结果表明，当pH为7.0、昼夜自然光照、温度为30℃时，净化效果最佳，并对不同溶解氧条件下的废水处理效果进行了对比试验。     

四氟乙烷（HFC—134a）急性,亚急性毒性的研究

本文研究了四氟乙烷（ＨＦＣ－１３４ａ）和二氟二氯甲烷（ＣＦＣ－１３，氟利昂１２）的急性．亚急性毒性，给大鼠吸入高浓度ＨＦＣ－１３４ａ或ＣＦＣ－１２，观察和记录体重，心电图，血象，生化指标，脏器系数和病理组织学变化，结果显示：实验动物均无病理改变，无死亡，二者的毒性相近，属基本无毒，因此以毒性为指标，ＨＦＣ－１３４ａ可作为ＣＦＣ－１２的替代品。     

“十三五”医疗废物综合管理思路与对策研究

本文首先总体分析了"十二五"期间我国医疗废物环境管理和技术在完善制度建设、加快处理设施建设、打击环境违法行为和创新开展医疗废物处置示范等方面取得的进展和成效,分析了当前医疗废物管理中存在的包括缺乏针对性制度、处理设施总体技术水平不高、新增布局缺乏指导、收费水平偏低等突出问题。面向"十三五",本文提出环境管理四个方面的主要思路,从思路出发,提出"十三五"重点开展的任务,包括开展基础性调查评估、修订医疗废物管理条例、优化医疗废物处理设施布局、建立区域医疗废物协同处理模式、开展处理设施稳定排放达标整治工程、创新医疗废物环境管理和加快解决医疗废物处理收费中的突出问题等,为相关环境管理部门提供决策参考。