Search results for "ALTER"
showing 10 items of 2368 documents
Business Angel Investments: Risks and Opportunities
2015
Abstract For the last few years the need of improving the access to finance for the companies, especially SME's (small and middle enterprises), has been on the agenda in European Union. As long as the traditional financing such as bank loans became more complex to attract, the development of alternative investment, like seed and start-up capital investments, crowd funding, venture capital and Business angels, became a bold topic. Moreover, there is an opinion that development of alternative investment might be seen as a ground for boosting economic activity and entrepreneurship development. Even though a lot of various studies have been done on the evaluation and description of alternative …
Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and its Impact on Malta’s Financial Service Industry
2016
The introduction of the Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM Directive 2011/61/EU) in 2013 means a radical transformation of the EU regulatory landscape for the whole alternative investment fund industry. Taking into account the growing meaning of the alternative investment fund industry in Europe, the aim of the paper is to assess the impact the Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMD) will have on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs) managing Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) in the EU. The research is based on the case of Malta, which is a quickly growing financial centre. The main findings are based on an analysis of questionnaire respon…
Alternative Financing of SMEs in the Baltic States: Myth or Reality?
2014
Abstract Alternative financing for small business can help companies whose owners can’t get traditional financing resources as small business loans, overdrafts and personal credit cards. New companies typically seek alternative financing when their companies have not been in business long enough to establish credit profiles with financial institutions. Access to alternative financing together with traditional financial resources represents one of the most significant challenges for new SMEs not only in the Baltic States but all over the world. Ensurance of new SMEs creation, existence and growth asks understanding of SMEs’ financing needs and alternative funding is one of them. Alternative …
Effects of Behavioural Finance on Emerging Capital Markets
2014
Abstract A recent common view of finance experts is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to understand how the economy as a whole works. Although the efficient market theory might be considered an ideal model enabling the interpretation of market behavior, it has begun to lose ground, and the rationality hypothesis failed to explain the excessive volatility of the returns and trading volume recorded on both developed capital markets and emerging ones. Adding the behavioral finance perspective to the equation can help us to understand better how market agents will react. In this article, we investigate the factors that may explain the trading volume evolution on two emerging capital ma…
CO2 Prices and Portfolio Management
2008
Since January 2005, the attention on European carbon markets has been increasing and thus the interest in studying the implications of the existence of two new assets in portfolio management. In this article we analyse both the characteristics of the EUAs Phase I and Phase II as a sole investment and the impact of including these two assets, considered separately, in a well-diversified portfolio. In order to control the problems of using historical returns, we have performed this analysis using as expected returns either historical returns or risk-adjusted returns. We find that, although the weights of EUAs are not too important when incorporating the EUAs in an optimal and well-diversified…
Flavonoids from Acacia pennata and their Cyclooxygenase (COX-1 and COX-2) Inhibitory Activities
2007
Two new flavonoids quercetin 4'-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-O-beta-D-allopyranoside (1) and apigenin 6-C-[2''-O-(E)-feruloyl- beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-8-C-beta-glucopyranoside (2), along with the known isorhamnetin 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (3), kaempferol 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (4), and isovitexin (5) were isolated from the leaves of Acacia pennata Willd. (Mimosaceae) and tested for their anti-inflammatory activity. Their structures were determined by 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectrometry. They were tested for an inhibitory effect on COX-1 and COX-2, showing 60-90% inhibition at 10(-4) g/mL and 5-14% inhibition at 10(-4) g/mL, respectively.
In Vitro Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Extracts from Morus alba L. Leaves, Stems and Fruits
2012
In this study, the aqueous and ethanolic extracts (leaves, stems and fruits) from Morus alba L., a traditional Chinese medicine, were evaluated for their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Ethanolic extracts showed higher contents of both total phenolics and flavonoids than aqueous extracts. The total phenolic content was in the order of: leaf extracts > fruit extracts > stem extracts, whereas the total flavonoids was: leaf extracts > stem extracts > fruit extracts. Using DPPH assays, the concentrations providing 50% inhibition (IC50) values of aqueous extracts from leaves, stems and fruits were 7.11 ± 1.45 mg/ml, 86.78 ± 3.21 mg/ml and 14.38 ± 2.83 mg/ml, respectively, …
General and flexible methodology and architecture for CAPP: GF-CAPP system
2003
Although all researchers insist on the need to develop computer-aided process planning (CAPP) systems, they agree that one of its most significant shortfalls is the low level of generality and flexibility present in current proposals. One of the outcomes of this low level of generality--apart from its limited application domain--is the low level of integration achieved with CAD, CAM and PP&C systems. To ensure optimized running of the production system, it is also important to stress the need to develop alternative process planning that enables it to adapt to disruptions in production. Several factors play an important role in implementing these features, among which the following may be hi…
Traditional medicine as a source of new therapeutic agents against psoriasis.
2000
In the frame of traditional medicine, the use in the treatment of psoriasis of some plants typical of the flora of Sicily is reported. A preliminary search on some plants used for the treatment of psoriasis in Asia, South America and Africa is also reported.
Alternance et professionnalisation : des atouts pour les parcours des jeunes et les carrières ?
2015
International audience; Ces 22èmes Journées du Longitudinal (JDL) abordent la question de la professionnalisation des formations, particulièrement sujette à controverse, dans une conjoncture, où les difficultés d'insertion professionnelle des jeunes persistent, alors qu'il est en même temps régulièrement fait état de difficultés de recrutement, de pénurie de « talents » dans de nombreux métiers ou secteurs d'activité. Pour de nombreux observateurs, l'explication de ce paradoxe serait la mauvaise ou insuffisante adaptation du contenu des formations aux besoins des emplois. Cette réponse est peut-être hâtive et inappropriée, alors que les mesures visant à « professionnaliser » les formations …