Impact of liquidity spillovers among industrial sectors on stock markets during crisis periods: Evidence from the S&P 500 index.

We investigate liquidity spillovers among industry sectors in the S&P 500 index to explain the interconnection dynamics in the US stock market. To do so, we define a sectoral liquidity measure based on the Amihud liquidity measure. Employing the spillover model, we further examine US sectors' liquidity spillovers during the global financial crisis (GFC) and the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the relationship between liquidity in financial markets and business cycles, our findings show that (i) liquidity connections became stronger during both crises, (ii) in the GFC period, the material sector was the primary transmitter of total liquidity spillovers, whereas in the COVID-19 pandemic period, the consumer discretionary sector was the main conveyor of total liquidity spillovers and the real estate sector was the dominant recipient of total liquidity spillovers, and (iii) net liquidity spillovers between all sectors fluctuated notably during the GFC, while the industrial, consumer staples, and healthcare sectors had the largest net liquidity spillovers during the COVID-19 crisis. These findings have important implications for portfolio managers and policymakers.

Study on the unsteady state oxidative coupling of methane: effects of oxygen species from O2, surface lattice oxygen, and CO2 on the C2+ selectivity.

This study examined the effects of oxygen species on the unsteady-state oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) using a lengthy catalyst bed of Na2WO4/Mn/SiO2. The reaction conditions, including the methane-to-oxygen ratio, ratio of feed gas dilution by N2, quantity of catalyst, and feed flow rate were adjusted for the continuous flow fixed bed reaction system. While the O2 gas initiated methyl radical formation from methane, the surface lattice oxygen atoms improved the dehydrogenation of paraffins to olefins without significant activation of methane. The addition of CO2 as a mild oxidizing agent was also tested and slightly improved OCM selectivity with slightly lower methane conversion were observed.

Fast on-site diagnosis of influenza A virus by Palm PCR and portable capillary electrophoresis.

A method combining Palm polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and portable capillary electrophoresis (CE) was developed for rapid on-site analysis of influenza A (H1N1) virus. The portable CE system was suitable for rapid diagnosis which was able to detect a sample in ∼4 min after sample loading, while the 'Palm PCR' system allowed for high-speed nucleic acid amplification in ∼16 min. The analysis time from DNA sample to analysis of amplified target DNA molecule was only ∼20 min, which was significantly less than slab gel electrophoresis with other commercially available PCR machine. When the 100-bp DNA ladder was separated, the relative standard deviation values (n=5) for the migration times and peak areas of the 100 and 200-bp DNA molecules were 0.26 and 8.9%. The detection limits were 6.3 and 7.2 pg/µL, respectively. The combined method was also able to identify two influenza A-associated genes (the HA and NP genes of the novel H1N1 influenza). CE separation was achieved with a sieving matrix of 1% poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (Mr=1,300,000) in 1× TBE buffer (pH 8.45). The combined Palm PCR-portable CE system should provide an improved, fast on-site molecular genetic diagnostic method.