UK lenders entered 2023 on a high, after high refinancing activity in Q4 2022

Bayes’ bi-annual real estate report shows that lending to real estate remained strong throughout 2022, reaching £48.6bn of new lending, still the third-strongest year post Brexit.

Reports and Proceedings

CITY UNIVERSITY LONDON

The latest Bayes UK Commercial Real Estate Year-end 2022 report shows that despite the increase in interest rates in Q3 2022 and the decline in real estate market transactions, lenders continued to close new loans.

It does not come as a surprise that 65% was the result of refinancing. The strong business activity was also supported by an active secondary market, 24% of new lending was syndicated or concluded as a participation, hence overall average loan size was also larger than in previous years, with £70m average loan size.

Findings by Dr Nicole Lux, lead author and Senior Research Fellow at Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), show that the alternative lender segment including insurance companies now provide 31% of new loans.

Debt funds dedicated 55% of their new lending to development projects, with lenders confirming their financing support for transitioning assets, carbon zero assets and assets with clear, improved Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials.

Key highlights from the report, which covers data up to December 2022, also show:

• Development lending made up 23% of new origination in 2022, showing a new increase in commercial development finance, which for the first time post pandemic includes speculative development finance.
• Debt funds have taken on larger-scale asset transitioning projects, and supplied 61% of commercial development finance.
• Margins for prime office loans have moved out by 0.16%, to 2.7%, but loan margins for secondary offices moved by 0.46%, to 3.87%. The largest movement was seen for secondary industrial property which moved by 0.69%to 3.58%.
• Small to mid-size lenders price loans more expensively, 3.05%, than larger lenders, 2.31%. The pricing gap is even larger for secondary assets, such as secondary office, 5.17%versus 2.75%.
• 42% of lenders have reported breaches and 47% have reported defaults across their loan book. In total, the average amount of loans in defaults reported was 3.5%, showing an increase again since 2021 (2.9%).

The second half of 2022 was dominated by the increase in interest rates, which has left many real estate investors worried about the incremental cost of financing. This resulted in increased refinancing activity in Q4 2022 and borrowers refinanced early rather than waiting longer in 2023, or extended loans in to 2024.

In addition to increasing lending margins, lenders also notably lowered the loan amounts on new loans. The average loan-to-value for a prime office loan is now 54.8%, while in 2021 it was still 56.8%. Similar movements were observed for all other property types.

Dr Lux said:

“We are definitely seeing that large institutional borrowers are rushing to negotiate the best debt deals.

“As long as the income remains stable, new asset valuations are holding up and borrowers are negotiating their refinancing as early as possible.”

Mark Manson-Bahr, Global Head of Real Estate Finance, Allen & Overy LLP, said:

“2022 was a year of two halves with greater stress in the market due to macroeconomic risks, inflation and realignment of global supply chains affecting deal volumes in H2. It is pleasing to see from the Bayes 2022 report that real estate finance lenders are responding to this challenging environment to offer flexible credit solutions and certainty of execution, which continue to be prized by borrowers. Despite the retrenchment of some traditional lenders, increased activity from alternative credit providers looking to deploy capital will provide a competitive environment for borrowers seeking new financing or refinancing options in 2023.

“Lenders are demonstrating greater selectivity when granting loans. ESG and stewardship remain a core part of lenders’ activities, notwithstanding market challenges, and this is a trend we expect to continue to gain momentum in 2023.”

Chris Gow, Head of Debt & Structured Finance, CBRE said:

“The Report helps highlight similarities and differences between the UK and US debt markets. In both markets Logistics and Living remain the most favoured assets classes, smaller lenders have a greater percentage of loans in default and the significant year-on-year increase in the all-in-cost of debt has mainly been driven by higher reference rates. But there is no sign of a credit crunch in the UK. Banks are well capitalised, their liquidity remains strong and most continue to support borrowers and look for new origination opportunities, albeit at more conservative levels that before. We are also fortunate to have a very active and continually growing roster of Non-Bank Lenders who are eager to step into any further dislocation.”

Neil Odom-Haslett, President, Association of Property Lenders, said:

“2022 turned out to be a year with a number of challenges, with unexpected events both nationally and internationally. As the Bayes report highlights, the world of real estate started the year strongly but as the year moved forward the impact of these events caused the market to react with valuation corrections and increased interest rates – it really was a year of contrasting halves. For the lenders it was a case of ‘battening down the hatches’ in H2 2022 and, as the report highlights, a number of lenders had an increase in loan covenant breaches and defaults. With lending liquidity reduced, of the lenders that were still actively lending, LTVs were reduced and spreads increased. The report also notes that certain asset classes are proving tricky to finance (e.g., secondary retail).

“The lending market has shown in the last few months it is able to pivot and adjust – however the era of cheap (and easy) lending does seem to be over, certainly in the near term.”

Peter Cosmetatos, Chief Executive of CREFC Europe, said:

"At a time when financial regulators show renewed interest in both banking sector stability and real estate risk, we are fortunate to have this rich resource to provide insights into the intersection between the two.

“Unsurprisingly, given the rapid change in the interest rate environment, the research reveals rising stress, particularly in the parts of the lending market – like smaller challenger banks and especially debt funds – that serve higher risk real estate. However, there is little to suggest widespread real estate-related problems in the financial sector. The market is diversely funded and has not experienced excessive exuberance this cycle, and leverage has remained at sensible levels."

Euan Gatfield, Head of EMEA CMBS and Loan Ratings, Fitch Ratings, said:

“2022 lending volumes held up remarkably well given LTVs were reined in and loan interest rates spiked. However, acquisition financing accounted for a lower share of lending than in any of the previous 15 years, and was largely the preserve of insurance companies, debt funds and overseas banks.

“Also noteworthy is that around half of refinancing involved a change of lender, well above the norm. How much this reshuffling reflected divergence in lender risk appetite or balance sheet costs remains to be seen. An interesting parallel is the question of how much the repricing of CMBS in 2022 reflected divergence in credit risk versus funding pressures facing some bond investors.

“Whatever lay behind those reallocations, we believe that for this and next year credit risk will be the dominant theme for lenders. Property values have already fallen quite a bit, banks are facing renewed scrutiny, office markets especially present considerable uncertainty, while typical five-year loans reaching maturity will have been shaped by looser standards of 2018 and 2019 origination.”

ENDS

Media enquiries:

Chris Lines, PR & Communications Manager, Bayes Business School (formerly Cass)

T: +44 (0) 20 7040 3062 M: +44 (0) 073 9186 9228 E: chris.lines@city.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

About Bayes Business School

Bayes Business School (formerly Cass) is a leading global business school driven by world-class knowledge, innovative education and a vibrant, diverse community. The School has been at the forefront of business education for more than 50 years, developing leaders who help businesses thrive through change and uncertainty.

Located in the heart of one of the world’s top financial centres, the School has strong links to both the City of London and the thriving entrepreneurial hub of Tech City.

The faculty members are experts in their fields, producing cutting-edge research with real-world impact. The last Research Excellence Framework results assessed 84 per cent of its research to be world-leading or internationally excellent.

The School is a signatory of the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME). It is home to the renowned ETHOS Centre for Responsible Enterprise, and the Centre for Charity Effectiveness, one of the UK’s leading nonprofit and philanthropy centres.

The School educates nearly 5,000 students each year on globally renowned courses across all levels of study including undergraduate, postgraduate and Executive Education. On graduating, students join a strong alumni community of 50,000 from 160 countries. 

The new name Bayes Business School replaces Cass Business School. In June 2020, there was increasing awareness of the links between Sir John Cass and the slave trade, which made the School, and its stakeholders, reflect on whether such a link was consistent with the School’s values. The School decided that, in line with its values and principles, it should change its name and increase its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Read more about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work at Bayes.

The School had carried the Cass name between 2002 and 2020 after a donation from the Sir John Cass Foundation, an educational charity which has now been renamed The Portal Trust.

 

---

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Bayes CRE Lending Report

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

26-Apr-2023

Why 6G when 5G is already so fast?

New book explains why with the 7 Cs of Future Communications

Book Announcement

WORLD SCIENTIFIC

 

IMAGE: COVER FOR "FROM 5G TO 6G AND BEYOND: THE 7 CS OF FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS" view more 

CREDIT: WORLD SCIENTIFIC

Why should countries invest in 6G networks when existing 5G networks are already so powerful? This question might seem irrelevant now, but it will shape the future of countries and businesses.

These days, people are not just accessing digital information in real time but also watching movies, playing games, and enjoying multimedia data streaming services even when onboard airplanes and trains traveling at very high speeds. As human society evolves towards a more data- and network-oriented world, consumers and service providers are seeking more advanced communication systems that offer lower latency, higher bandwidth, and larger data capacities. Hence, efforts are underway to consider beyond state-of-the-art protocols, future chip design and integration, and even standardized guidelines for 6G wireless communication systems.

With wireless connectivity becoming ubiquitous, a future where applications like virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and even autonomous vehicles requiring high data rates combined with extremely low latencies, or delays, due to processing time may arrive sooner than we think—if we have the right network architecture to support such a reality. Accordingly, 6G, with its peak data rate of 1 Terabit per second and latency of 100 microseconds, should be able to smoothly support these use cases. At the same time, individuals and organisations will expect a trustworthy network that can seamlessly and securely deliver data—meaning that further research must focus on building a holistic 6G network security architecture.

Written by four IEEE Fellows, one Chief Executive Officer, and several leading experts in communications and semiconductors, From 5G to 6G and Beyond: The 7 Cs of Future Communications covers all aspects of future communications from key technologies, design challenges, network requirements and users' experiences to standardization, chip design and industry applications from 5G to 6G. It demonstrates how two seemingly unrelated technologies in the past can be integrated to create new solutions for the future.

Power consumption is another major consideration when designing future networks. This is because of the current power needs of 5G networks; as explained by Huawei in July 2020 , while the “Energy consumption per unit of data (watt/bit) is much less for 5G than 4G … power consumption is much higher [than 4G networks]”. To address this problem, we must target to deliver the next generation networks that, at their introduction time, does not surpass the previous generation’s energy needs.

Therefore, the next generation of wireless communications and semiconductor technology is expected to work together to meet the energy needs and demands of various challenging use cases that cover a wide range of new applications; from 5G/6G communications, mobile computing, artificial intelligence, and advanced internet of things, to big data, cloud, and edge computing.

From 5G to 6G and Beyond discusses the open problems of future communication systems and chip design, and present new solutions that address these challenges. Specifically, the role of semiconductors in future communications are discussed. The use cases of 6G, the RF transceivers roadmap for 2030 and beyond, as well as the modelling of RF devices for 5G/6G are presented. Additionally, a modified Shannon’s capacity formula that is critical for future advanced wireless communications, is examined for the first time. The standardization of 6G wireless communication systems, with emphasis on Standard Development Organizations (SDOs), regulatory bodies and administrations, ITU, industry forums, and 6G standard timeline, is reported. Finally, the design of RF/mm-wave integrated circuits and systems, which includes voltage-controlled oscillators, power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, frequency synthesizers, high-frequency dividers, and chip-to-chip communications isolation technology, is described.

From 5G to 6G and Beyond: The 7 Cs of Future Communications retails for US$118 / £105 (hardcover) and is also available in electronic formats. To order or know more about the book, visit http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/13265.

###

About the Editor

Professor Kiat Seng YEO (M’00–SM’09–F’16) received his B.Eng. (EE) in 1993 and Ph.D. (EE) in 1996, both from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Currently, he is Advisor (Global Partnerships) at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), Singapore and Distinguished Professor at Tianjin University, China. He was Chairman of the University Research Board, Associate Provost for Research, and Founding Associate Provost for Graduate Studies and International Relations at SUTD. Professor Yeo is a widely known authority in low-power RF/mm-wave IC design and a recognized expert in CMOS technology. He was a Member of the Board of Advisors of the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association. Before his appointment at SUTD, he was Associate Chair (Research), Head of Division of Circuits and Systems, and Founding Director of VIRTUS (IC Design Centre of Excellence) of the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at NTU. Professor Yeo has secured over S$70 million of research funding as Principal Investigator from various funding agencies and the industry since 2000. He has published 11 books, 7 book chapters, and over 600 international top-tier refereed journal and conference papers. He also holds 38 patents. Professor Yeo holds/held key positions in many international conferences as Advisor, General Chair, Co-General Chair, and Technical Chair. He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) on National Day 2009 by the President of the Republic of Singapore and the Nanyang Alumni Achievement Award in 2009 for his outstanding contributions to the university and society. In 2020, he was conferred the Long Service Medal on National Day by the President of the Republic of Singapore. Professor Yeo is a Fellow of the Singapore Academy of Engineering (SAEng), a Fellow of the Singapore National Academy of Science (SNAS), a Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA), and a Fellow of IEEE for his contributions to low-power integrated circuit design. He is the principal author of World University Research Rankings (WURR) 2020. Professor Yeo was recognized among the top 2% of scientists worldwide by Stanford University in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

About World Scientific Publishing Co.

World Scientific Publishing is a leading international independent publisher of books and journals for the scholarly, research and professional communities. World Scientific collaborates with prestigious organisations like the Nobel Foundation and US National Academies Press to bring high quality academic and professional content to researchers and academics worldwide. The company publishes about 600 books and over 170 journals in various fields annually. To find out more about World Scientific, please visit www.worldscientific.com.

For more information, contact WSPC Communications at communications@wspc.com.

---

DOI

10.1142/13265 

Renewing COVID masks

Peer-Reviewed Publication

INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

 

IMAGE: RESEARCHERS AT THE INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO, HAVE DEVELOPED A DESKTOP CHARGER WITH VOLTAGES HIGH ENOUGH TO REPLENISH THE ELECTRIC CHARGE ON N95 AND SURGICAL MASKS, WHICH IS REQUIRED FOR EFFECTIVE USE view more 

CREDIT: INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

Tokyo, Japan – Get home, take off your mask and toss it in the bin. This daily ritual might change soon, however, thanks to scientists from the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo.

The researchers have developed a compact system that can restore N95 respirators and surgical masks that have been exposed to moisture to 97% efficiency. By using a special circuit and a conductive plate, a large and uniform voltage distribution recharges the mask in about one minute. This machine can help address the need for high-performance masks while reducing plastic medical waste.  

During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, surgical masks and N95 respirators were in high demand, because these were some of the best tools available for reducing the risk of catching or transmitting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Remarkably, the pore size of these masks, about 10 microns, is much larger than the size of virus-carrying aerosol droplets, which are about one micron. However, the reason the masks are still so good at capturing droplets is that the polypropylene mesh inside them carries a static electric charge, which can attract the droplets via electrostatic force.

However, over time or as a mask becomes wet, this effect becomes significantly reduced, hindering effectiveness. “Humidity, including exposure to exhaled air, or washing in water removes a mask’s charge and compromises its filtering efficiency,” says lead author Taisuke Ikawa. As a result, most used masks were discarded, instead of being sterilized and reused.

The device built by the research team is based on an electrical circuit called a Cockcroft-Walton’s voltage multiplier. This allows electrical potentials of up to 40,000 volts to be obtained in a compact device. The researchers used a conductive aluminum plate as an electrode to ensure a homogenous voltage distribution, and covered it with an insulating plastic PET board to suppress sparks.  

The efficiency of the masks was tested after being washed in water; efficiency was significantly restored after brief exposure to the electric field generated by the device. “Our work raises the possibility that masks can be sterilized and recharged again and again, significantly increasing supply,” says senior author Kaori Sugihara. Future research may scale up the size of the device to help increase throughput.

###

The article, “Development of a desktop mask charger,” is published in Heliyon at DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15359.

 

About Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo

The Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo (UTokyo-IIS) is one of the largest university-attached research institutes in Japan. UTokyo-IIS is comprised of over 120 research laboratories—each headed by a faculty member—and has over 1,200 members (approximately 400 staff and 800 students) actively engaged in education and research. Its activities cover almost all areas of engineering. Since its foundation in 1949, UTokyo-IIS has worked to bridge the huge gaps that exist between academic disciplines and real-world applications.

---

JOURNAL

Heliyon

DOI

10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15359 

ARTICLE TITLE

Development of a desktop mask charger

Textile treatment sets a futuristic trend for new electronic applications

Liquid metal coating open doors for new human-machine interfaces, including soft robotics and health monitoring systems

Peer-Reviewed Publication

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: FLINDERS UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER DR VI-KHANH TRUONG, WHO CONDUCTED RESEARCH IN THE US WITH A FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP, CONTINUES THE STUDY AT FLINDERS UNIVERSITY ASSISTED BY BIOTECHNOLOGY MASTERS STUDENT TIEN THANH NGUYEN. view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO: FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

Scientists from around the world have developed a simple metallic coating treatment for clothing or wearable textiles which can repair itself, repel dangerous bacteria from the wearer and even monitor a person’s electrocardiogram (ECG) heart signals.   

Researchers from North Carolina State University, Flinders University and South Korea say the conductive circuits created by liquid metal (LM) particles can transform wearable electronics and open doors for further development of human-machine interfaces, including soft robotics and health monitoring systems. 

The ‘breathable’ electronic textiles have special connectivity powers to ‘autonomously heal’ itself even when cut, says the US team led by international expert in the field, Professor Michael Dickey.  

When the coated textiles are pressed with significant force, the particles merge into a conductive path, which enables the creation of circuits that can maintain conductivity when stretched, researchers say.   

“The conductive patterns autonomously heal when cut by forming new conductive paths along the edge of the cut, providing a self-healing feature which makes these textiles useful as circuit interconnects, Joule heaters and flexible electrodes to measure ECG signals,” says Flinders University medical biotechnology researcher Dr Khanh Truong, senior co-author in a new article in Advanced Materials Technologies. 

The technique involves dip-coating fabric into a suspension of LM particles at room temperature.  

“Evenly coated textiles remain electrically insulating due to the native oxide that forms on the LM particles. However, the insulating effect can be removed by compressing the textile to rupture the oxide and thereby allow the particles to percolate.  

“This enables the creation of conductive circuits by compressing the textile with a patterned mold. The electrical conductivity of the circuits increases by coating more particles on the textile.”  

As well the LM-coated textiles offer effective antimicrobial protection against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.  

This germ repellent ability not only gives the treated fabric protective qualities but prevents the porous material from becoming contaminated if worn for and extended time, or put in contact with other people.    

The particles of gallium-based liquid metals have low melting point, metallic electrical conductivity, high thermal conductivity, effectively zero vapor pressure, low toxicity and antimicrobial properties.  

LMs have both fluidic and metallic properties so show great promise in applications such as microfluidics, soft composites, sensors, thermal switches and microelectronics.  

One of the advantages of LM is that it can be deposited and patterned at room temperature onto surfaces in unconventional ways that are not possible with solid metals. 

The article,Liquid Metal Coated Textiles with Autonomous Electrical Healing and Antibacterial Properties (2023) by Jiayi Yang, Praneshnandan Nithyanandam, Shreyas Kanetkar, Ki Yoon Kwon, Jinwoo Ma, Sooik Im, Ji-Hyun Oh, Mohammad Shamsi, Mike Wilkins, Michael Daniele Tae-il Kim, Huu Ngoc Nguyen, Vi Khanh Truong and Michael D Dickey has been published in Advanced Materials Technologies DOI: 10.1002/admt.202202183  First published: 02 April 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202202183 

 

---

JOURNAL

Advanced Materials Technologies

DOI

10.1002/admt.202202183 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Lab-produced tissue samples

ARTICLE TITLE

Liquid Metal Coated Textiles with Autonomous Electrical Healing and Antibacterial Properties

Social media fuelling eating disorders among female athletes, research shows

Book Announcement

TAYLOR & FRANCIS GROUP

Social media is fuelling eating disorders among female athletes who feel they must achieve the ‘ideal’ body, according to experts.

Dr Kathryn Vidlock and Catherine Liggett, who have both competed in collegiate athletics, and dietician Andrew Dole warn that nutrition ‘myths’ posted by fitness influencers, exercise-related ‘fitspiration’ images on Instagram, and photoshopping are having a direct impact on sportswomen.

Their new book Spring Forward: Balanced Eating, Exercise, and Body Image in Sport for Female Athletes highlights how disordered eating and negative body image is now present in nearly all sports, especially in high school, but is often hidden.

Unrealistic goals

The authors say athletes constantly strive to fit into a body-type ideal that isn’t realistic and education is the way to ‘stop this in its tracks’.

“False information is often perpetuated on social media by ‘fitness influencers’ who are not actually qualified to give health information,” say the authors who are based in the U.S. and New Zealand.

“With the creation of Photoshop and other editing devices, the images portrayed by media are not realistic.

“Many teens cannot achieve this body type without using damaging restrictive eating. They feel the pressure to look ideal and subsequently they feel they are never good enough when they do not duplicate the unrealistic bodies seen in the media.”

Athletes on social media

The considerable pressure to main the ‘perfect’ physique has been voiced by top female competitors including tennis champion Serena Williams. Earlier this year, heptathlete Anna Hall used TikTok to attack critics who tell sportswomen they look like men.  

In Spring Forward, published by CRC Press, nearly a dozen female athletes share stories of how the pressure to be slim triggered their struggles with negative body image.

From swimmers to tennis players, the women featured in the book detail harrowing accounts such as running for 5 miles as self-punishment for eating a cookie, fainting in the gym after 24 hours without food, and dieting heavily after criticism about her ‘butt cheeks.’ 

One volleyball player even lost a friend – the team’s ‘star player’ – to anorexia when the girl suffered a heart attack triggered by the eating disorder.

Dr Kathryn Vidlock and her co-authors highlight how the situation is made worse by the fact many sports have specific body type ideals.

Runners are expected to be very thin, they say, yet some elite runners have muscular legs that appear bigger than the stereotype. The consequence is women often face ‘disparaging remarks’.

What can be done?

To counter unrealistic expectations, Spring Forward encourages higher-quality performance in women’s sport achieved through healthy eating and nutrition, from secondary school to elite athlete levels.

The aim is to educate teenage and women athletes, sports coaches, and clubs about body confidence.

This will protect them from unhealthy eating and fad diets such as ketogenic and other self-destructive behaviors in a bid to meet unrealistic ideals, say the authors.   

It provides extensive instruction manuals on positive eating plans, the consequences of disordered eating such as not menstruating, and how parents can spot warning signs. 

The authors have also devised an education program SPRING (Strength and Positivity Rooted in Nutrition for Girls) for high schools which is described in the book.

They are calling for programs like SPRING to be offered in schools, colleges and among adults so women at risk can be identified early. 

SPRING focuses on increasing body image ‘flexibility’, which the authors define as the ability to be confident in one’s body regardless of size or shape. It involves three, one-hour long sessions spread throughout the athlete’s season. 

Data from research by the authors suggests SPRING has resulted in an increase of more than 22% in body image flexibility among cheerleaders in Colorado schools.

---

DOI

10.1201/b23228 

Parents bear the brunt of rising burden of eating disorders

Significant gap in assessing personal, financial and emotional toll on primary carers

Peer-Reviewed Publication

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: DR SIMON WILKSCH, A SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW AT FLINDERS UNIVERSITY AND CLINIC DIRECTOR OF ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGY SERVICES, CONDUCTED AN AUSTRALIA-WIDE SURVEY OF PARENTS WHOSE CHILD (UNDER 18 YEARS-OLD) EXPERIENCED AN EATING DISORDER. view more 

CREDIT: FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

With eating disorders on the rise among young people, a Flinders University expert is calling for an urgent increase in support for parents as new research reveals the immense burden they often endure. 

Dr Simon Wilksch, a Senior Research Fellow at Flinders University and Clinic Director of Advanced Psychology Services, conducted an Australia-wide survey of parents whose child (under 18 years-old) experienced an eating disorder. The findings are now published in a special report in the International Journal of Eating Disorders. 

“While extensive research reveals the devastating toll of eating disorders on the young person, it has been far less common to investigate the burden on parents. This is a significant gap, given that the leading treatment for paediatric eating disorders heavily involves parents,” says Dr Wilksch, a credentialed eating disorder clinician. 

“However, the parent role extends beyond active treatment to also include first identifying signs of the illness; initial help seeking with a GP; pursuing referral to treatment services; and, navigating physical and psychological health challenges in their child.  

“This occurs whilst managing other roles including parenting other children, relationships, work and finances.” 

In total, 439 parents completed the survey, 91% of them were female. Key findings included parents: 

• Were the first person to notice the eating disorder (ED) symptoms in 81.8% of cases 
• Had only a 14.7% chance of a helpful experience for their child with both the first general practitioner and first therapist they saw 
• Needed to see an average of 3.55 therapists before finding one that could help their child 
• Reported worse than normal psychological health (96.0%), physical health (70.5%), and romantic relationship (92.7%) 
• Required an average of 70.06 days leave from work to care for their child (per household) 
• Need to access treatment in the private sector (91.8%) at very high rates, with only 8% reporting their child received full treatment in the public sector 

The median out-of-pocket treatment expenses were between $10,000 and $20,000. However, the survey was completed prior to the increase in the number of eligible Medicare rebated sessions for eating disorder patients. 

Parent responses indicated that 81.9% of the children were diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. The average duration of illness was 4 years with 96.8% of parents reporting their child was diagnosed with additional psychiatric conditions, including suicidal behaviours (23.8%); and non-suicidal self-injury (29.3%), while over two thirds (67.9%) had been hospitalised for their ED. 

Only 18.3% of parents endorsed that their child was recovered, 67.3% reported their child still had an ED, while 14.5% were unsure. Weight loss and food restriction were the most common first signs of the child's illness, followed by changes in mood and personality. 

Nearly a quarter (23.8%) of parents reported the ED symptoms started at age 12 years or younger and the mean age of onset was 13.91 years, consistent with other studies. 
Dr Wilksch says this Australian research clearly shows the need for an increased focus on supporting initial symptom detection; improving primary care and treatment experiences; and, increasing the number of skilled ED treatment providers. 

“Clinicians and researchers need to urgently look at further ways to support parents and reduce the immense toll they can face. 

“If parents can have more helpful experiences with the first GP and therapist they see, this is likely to lead to both a quicker recovery for the child and less distress for the parents. 

“Efforts to maintain and improve parent wellbeing are not only helpful for parents but also vital for their child’s recovery.” 

While the burden of the illness on parents was high, there were some encouraging findings: 

• Nearly half of parents (48.8%) had received at least one session of their own support 
• These parents were significantly less depressed and anxious than parents who hadn't received their own support 
• 88.6% of parents rated the eventual therapist they worked with as Helpful, including 68.2% who said the therapists was either "Extremely" or "Very" Helpful. 

Parents of recovered children had significantly better ratings of physical health, psychological health, romantic relationships, and much lower rates of depressive and anxiety symptoms indicating there are numerous improvements for parents post-recovery. 

“Parents who receive their own support during their child’s treatment experience less distress. This needs to be more readily available during their child’s treatment. It would be especially helpful if Medicare items were created for parent-only sessions to make this accessible. 

“With access to timely, effective health care and treatment, people can and do recover from an eating disorder. These findings indicate that parent wellbeing improves significantly after their child recovers.” 

Dr Wilksch adds: “Parents are the greatest resource we have in helping young people with an ED. We must listen to their experiences, work together, and do more to support them.” 

Toward a more comprehensive understanding and support of parents with a child experiencing an eating disorder (2023) by Simon M Wilksch PhD has been published in International Journal of Eating Disorders DOI: 10.1002/eat.23938 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eat.23938 

---

JOURNAL

International Journal of Eating Disorders

DOI

10.1002/eat.23938 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Toward a more comprehensive understanding and support of parents with a child experiencing an eating disorder

Biases about bribery in certain countries facilitate corruption

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE

Whether or not people bribe – or attempt to bribe – others depends on which country the counterpart comes from. The nationality of the briber, in turn, is barely significant. That is the result of a study conducted with the participation of three researchers at the University of Cologne: Professor Dr Bernd Irlenbusch, member of the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute, Professor Dr Andreas Glöckner and Dr Angela Rachael Dorrough as well as scientists at the University of Amsterdam and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin. The study has appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

With increasing globalization, more and more people interact across national borders. Until now, however, behavioural research has focused mainly on corruption within individual countries. Irlenbusch and his team explored corruption in a highly controlled, international environment in a large-scale experiment. As part of the study, approximately 6500 people from 18 countries participated online in a bribery game. They took on the roles of citizens and officials, keeping their actual nationalities. The citizens had to decide whether they would buy a licence through official channels or bribe the responsible officials in order to obtain the licence at a lower price and to receive more money at the end of the experiment. The officials could either accept or refuse the bribe.

In total, the citizens had to decide 18 times whether to bribe or not – once for each nation in the sample. They were then asked to estimate how likely it was that the officials would accept the bribe. If the assessment was largely correct, they were paid a bonus. In a further step, the participants swapped roles. The study also accounted for the harm corruption causes within societies: For each successful bribe, the researchers actually donated less money to a non-governmental organization working to fight climate change.

It turns out that citizens of all nations offered bribes above average to officials from countries with a reputation for corruption. Indian officials, for example, were almost twice as likely to be offered bribes as Canadian ones. “Our study shows that the nationality of one’s interaction partner and the expectations it gives rise to has a greater influence on the offering of bribes than one’s own nationality,” said Bernd Irlenbusch. However, the participants tended to over- or underestimate the acceptance rates: Officials from countries with a reputation for corruption were less likely to accept bribes than people expected. At the same time, ‘citizens’ underestimated how often officials from countries that do not have a reputation for corruption accepted the money. For example, on average, participants expected 42 per cent of US citizens to accept bribes in their roles as public officials, while in fact they were successfully bribed 56 per cent of the time. Among Russian officials in the game, the acceptance rate of 33 per cent was significantly lower than the expected 47 per cent.

The results show a pattern of human behaviour: “People often base their behaviour on what they expect others to do,” Irlenbusch added. Efforts to overcome biases about certain nations could hence contribute to fighting corruption around the world, he concluded.

ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy

ECONtribute is the only Cluster of Excellence in economics funded by Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments at the universities of Bonn and Cologne. The Cluster conducts research on markets at the intersection of economics, policy and society. It aims to improve our understanding of markets and employs a new approach to analysing market failures in times of social, technological and economic challenges, among them increasing inequality, global financial crises and digital transformation.

---

JOURNAL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2209731120 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Conditional bribery: Insights from incentivized experiments across 18 nations

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

25-Apr-2023

Enhancing water-splitting process for hydrogen production

Chromium oxide found to be best material for photocatalyst semiconductor efficiency

Peer-Reviewed Publication

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: FLINDERS UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS GUNTHER ANDERSSON view more 

CREDIT: FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

The rise of hydrogen as an important future renewable energy source is accelerating – and Flinders University has made an important contribution to the understanding of the stability of photocatalysts for water splitting to improve potential production methods.

The latest research by Flinders University, University of Adelaide and Tokyo University of Science contributes to the push to make hydrogen from renewable energy sources to reduce CO2 emissions.

“It’s an exciting time to be involved in hydrogen science, and there are rapid advances being made to ensure the greatest possible efficiency of hydrogen production,” says Flinders Professor of Chemical Physics Gunther Andersson, first author in a new article outlining the method in an American Chemical Society (ACS) journal. 

Photocatalytic water splitting is a promising technique to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using semiconductor particles as photocatalysts. While researchers understand that the structural and electronic properties of photocatalyst semiconductors play a major role in determining photocatalytic activity, their goal is to find the best and most efficient material to assist this process – which they have found to be chromium oxide. 

“Cocatalysts can promote efficient photocatalytic water splitting by supporting the electron and hold separation and acts as active sites for the water splitting reaction,” says Professor Andersson, Deputy Director of the Flinders University Institute for NanoScale Science and Technology at the College of Science and Engineering. 

“However, the cocatalyst requires a protective overlayer to suppress the H2 and O2 recombination which will result in a backward reaction that takes H2 and O2 back to H2O. 

“We need to find the right overlayer material to ensure the most efficient photocatalytic water splitting – and this led us to explore mixed transition metal oxides.” 

The researchers found that chromium oxide overlayers protect the water splitting process in photocatalysis for solar light driven hydrogen production.  

Their work investigated the stability, oxidation state, and the bulk and surface electronic structure of chromium-oxide photodeposited onto different particles as a function of the annealing process.  

Importantly, the international research team also found that the chromium oxide overlayers do not contribute to the water splitting reaction. 

Senior co-author University of Adelaide Professor of Chemistry Gregory Metha adds: “World-leading photocatalysts have chromium oxide overlayers and this work reveals new insights into the nature of the coating that could lead to improvements in future materials.”  

It is known that chromium oxide overlayers protect the water splitting process in photocatalysis for solar light driven hydrogen production. The researchers found that the thermal stability of the chromium oxide overlayer depends on the chemical nature of the underlying photocatalyst. 

“Understanding the stability, oxidation state, and electronic structure of the chromium-oxide layer on photocatalyst particles under annealing is essential for overlayer applications in photocatalytic water splitting,” says Professor Andersson. 

The research – “Reduction and Diffusion of Cr-Oxide Layers into P25, BaLa4Ti4O15, and Al:SrTiO3 Particles upon High-Temperature Annealing,” by Abdulrahman Alotabi, Thomas Small, Yanting Yin, D J Osborn, Shuhei Ozaki, Yuki Kataoka, Yuichi Negishi, Kazunari Domen, Gregory Metha and Gunther Andersson – has been published in the ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Journal.

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c00250 

---

JOURNAL

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

DOI

10.1021/acsami.3c00250 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Lab-produced tissue samples

ARTICLE TITLE

Reduction and Diffusion of Cr-Oxide Layers into P25, BaLa4Ti4O15, and Al:SrTiO3 Particles upon High-Temperature Annealing