Search results for "Balance"
showing 10 items of 1379 documents
A validated energy model of a solar dish-Stirling system considering the cleanliness of mirrors
2020
Solar systems based on the coupling of parabolic concentrating collectors and thermal engines (i.e. dish-Stirling systems) are among the most efficient generators of solar power currently available. This study focuses on the modelling of functioning data from a 32 kWe dish-Stirling solar plant installed at a facility test site on the University of Palermo campus, in Southern Italy. The proposed model, based on real monitored data, the energy balance of the collector and the partial load efficiency of the Stirling engine, can be used easily to simulate the annual energy production of such systems, making use of the solar radiation database, with the aim of encouraging a greater commercialisa…
Reliability of physical functioning measures in ambulatory subjects with MS.
2005
Background and Purpose. One of the primary reasons for measuring outcomes during rehabilitation is to determine the effect of physiotherapy. Repeated measurement situations are susceptible to several sources of error, including inconsistencies caused by the subject, the procedure, the instrument and the examiner. Therefore, the reliability of the measures needs to be examined. Method. The present study used a repeated-measures design. Two studies were undertaken to examine the test–retest and inter-rater reliability for physical functioning measures. The interval between the measurements was one week. The sample consisted of 19 ambulatory subjects with mutliple sclerosis (MS) in the test–re…
The Strategic Scorecards: An Instrumentation of the Strategic Management Accounting. Exploration of a Concept, Instrumentation and Results from a Fre…
2003
I describe in this study a generic model of strategic management accounting instrumentation: the strategic scorecards. In order to build this generic model, I review in the existing literature the concepts of Strategic Control and Strategic Management Accounting (SMA). I present the characteristics of these concepts and analyse the reasons why they emerged. I show how the strategic scorecards are an instrumentation of the SMA in studying the most widely known and esteemed scorecards: the Balanced Scorecards (Kaplan & Norton, 1996) and Skandia's Navigator (Edvinsson & Malone, 1997). I then clarify the outlines for a generic model of strategic scorecard and disclose an "a priori" typology of …
Firm innovativeness and work-life balance
2017
ABSTRACTAssessing firms’ innovativeness is not an easy task. The literature recognises a number of innovativeness indicators. Most of them are technology-based indicators which perform well in high-tech industries but might be ineffective in other industries where patenting is not usual or in which R&D budgets are low or not formalised. In this paper, we critically review previous innovativeness indicators and we propose a new approach to assess firm innovativeness that is based not on the role of technology but on that of people. This new approach focuses on the existence of work-life balance benefits that are connected with motivation, engagement and creativity in the workplace. We argue …
Biotechnological potential of respiring Zymomonas mobilis: a stoichiometric analysis of its central metabolism.
2013
The active, yet energetically inefficient electron transport chain of the ethanologenic bacterium Zymomonas mobilis could be used in metabolic engineering for redox-balancing purposes during synthesis of certain products. Although several reconstructions of Z. mobilis metabolism have been published, important aspects of redox balance and aerobic catabolism have not previously been considered. Here, annotated genome sequences and metabolic reconstructions have been combined with existing biochemical evidence to yield a medium-scale model of Z. mobilis central metabolism in the form of COBRA Toolbox model files for flux balance analysis (FBA). The stoichiometric analysis presented here sugges…
Impact of Land Cover Change Induced by a Fire Event on the Surface Energy Fluxes Derived from Remote Sensing
2015
Forest fires affect the natural cycle of the vegetation, and the structure and functioning of ecosystems. As a consequence of defoliation and vegetation mortality, surface energy flux patterns can suffer variations. Remote sensing techniques together with surface energy balance modeling offer the opportunity to explore these changes. In this paper we focus on a Mediterranean forest ecosystem. A fire event occurred in 2001 in Almodovar del Pinar (Spain) affecting a pine and shrub area. A two-source energy balance approach was applied to a set of Landsat 5-TM and Landsat 7-EMT+ images to estimate the surface fluxes in the area. Three post-fire periods were analyzed, six, seven, nine, and 11 y…
Forest resources and sustainable tourism, a combination for the resilience of the landscape and development of mountain areas.
2020
The development of sustainable tourism models has been widely discussed in the economic literature. If on the one hand the demand for tourism has grown in recent years, on the other it is necessary to have adequate planning and political tools. The problems of sustainable tourism appear more complex when sustainable tourism involves development opportunities that require the support of the local community and the management of natural resources which are generally common goods. In these circumstances, new management structures need to be created, which can both meet the needs of the local community and ensure adequate management of natural resources. This study analyzes the connections betw…
Carbon Footprint Analysis: Towards a Projects Evaluation Model for Promoting Sustainable Development
2013
Abstract Climate change and global warming are internationally recognized as current issues, driving negative effects on humanity, and being mainly caused by GHG emissions generated both from industrial activities, and from other anthropogenic activities. Restoring the ecological balance requires urgent action to reduce GHG emissions. In this respect, the European Union has set the target to reduce the GHG emissions by 20% until 2020, compared to 1990 level. This paper presents a methodology to develop a model for carbon footprint calculation, for assessing and reducing GHG emissions generated by European funds financed projects.
CB(1) signaling in forebrain and sympathetic neurons is a key determinant of endocannabinoid actions on energy balance
2010
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays a critical role in obesity development. The pharmacological blockade of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB(1)) has been shown to reduce body weight and to alleviate obesity-related metabolic disorders. An unsolved question is at which anatomical level CB(1) modulates energy balance and the mechanisms involved in its action. Here, we demonstrate that CB(1) receptors expressed in forebrain and sympathetic neurons play a key role in the pathophysiological development of diet-induced obesity. Conditional mutant mice lacking CB(1) expression in neurons known to control energy balance, but not in nonneuronal peripheral organs, displayed a lean phenotype and res…
Estimation of the spatially distributed surface energy budget for AgriSAR 2006, part I : remote sensing model intercomparison
2011
A number of energy balance models of variable complexity that use remotely sensed boundary conditions for producing spatially distributed maps of surface fluxes have been proposed. Validation typically involves comparing model output to flux tower observations at a handful of sites, and hence there is no way of evaluating the reliability of model output for the remaining pixels comprising a scene. To assess the uncertainty in flux estimation over a remote sensing scene requires one to conduct pixel-by-pixel comparisons of the output. The objective of this paper is to assess whether the simplifications made in a simple model lead to erroneous predictions or deviations from a more complex mod…