Search results for "ECONOMICS"
showing 10 items of 14389 documents
Plant extracts as green reductants for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles: lessons from chemical synthesis.
2018
The increasing use of silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) in daily-life applications, electronics, or catalysis calls for green and cost-efficient synthetic methods. Ag NPs are used especially in biomedicine because of their antibacterial, antifungal, or anticancer properties. Chemical synthesis allows tuning the particle morphology, size, and crystallinity, but requires toxic and hazardous chemicals. Bioinspired synthetic protocols have shown promise to minimize environmental impact, but biological protocols for the synthesis of Ag NPs lack control on the morphology and crystallinity. This review briefly compiles the chemical synthesis of Ag NPs and contrasts it with "green" protocols based on…
Comparative study of protective coatings for the conservation of Urban Art
2020
Abstract Contemporary mural paintings are complex artworks for several reasons, including the heterogeneity of the materials used to make them, and the different types of substrate on which the painting layers can be applied. Currently we are focused on a technical-scientific research aimed to solve the issues related to the long-term care and maintenance of murals, by evaluating the performance of several protective coatings applied on these artworks. This paper deals with a preliminary experimentation aimed to: (a) study the interaction of antigraffiti products on common synthetic paints; (b) test the effectiveness and efficiency of several commercial products used as antigraffiti; (c) de…
Wine Consumption and Oral Cavity Cancer: Friend or Foe, Two Faces of Janus
2020
The health benefits of moderate wine consumption have been extensively studied during the last few decades. Some studies have demonstrated protective associations between moderate drinking and several diseases including oral cavity cancer (OCC). However, due to the various adverse effects related to ethanol content, the recommendation of moderate wine consumption has been controversial. The polyphenolic components of wine contribute to its beneficial effects with different biological pathways, including antioxidant, lipid regulating and anti-inflammatory effects. On the other hand, in the oral cavity, ethanol is oxidized to form acetaldehyde, a metabolite with genotoxic properties. This rev…
Foreign Direct Investment in oil-abundant countries: The role of institutions
2019
The present work reassesses the impact of good governance and democracy on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in oil-abundant countries. To this end, we estimate the effect of host countries’ institutions on greenfield FDI, using a gravity equation for a dataset that covers 182 countries during 2003-2012. Our findings confirm that compliance to rule of law, lack of corruption, political stability and democracy could boost new FDI links through the extensive margin. Our results could not rule out the “oil curse”, meaning that oil producers attract fewer new greenfield projects than similar countries without oil. Unlike other studies, we show that the impact of institutions is not necessarily un…
Life Cycle Assessment of an Ambitious Renovation of a Norwegian Apartment Building to nZEB Standard
2018
Author's accepted manuscript. The upgrading of building infrastructure to modern standards represents a key tool for reducing global energy demand and emissions from buildings. In Norway, building upgrades have been prioritized despite the relatively low carbon intensity of the Norwegian energy mix through various incentive programs and continual improvement in building standards. Prioritizing upgrades is important as up to 90% of the existing Norwegian building stock is expected to remain standing by the year 2050. The overall impact of upgrading buildings is expected to be a net benefit to the environment but this is primarily in operation, and many studies on energy do not include the ma…
Green Homeowners? An Empirical Application of Fischel’s Homevoter Hypothesis
2021
It is a no-brainer that owners of private property usually care about their personal possessions. But does this also apply to public goods? Fischel’s homevoter hypothesis argues that property owners—in this case homeowners—will exhibit more than average concern with regard to public goods, particularly local public goods in their own neighborhood such as the local crime rate, nearby schools, and environmental quality. This contribution applies Fischel’s hypothesis to the public good of residential environmental conditions. Based on survey and administrative data collected in two cities, Mainz in Germany and Zurich in Switzerland, it examines whether house and apartment owners, as compared t…
Scenario optimization asset and liability modelling for individual investors
2006
We develop a scenario optimization model for asset and liability management of individual investors. The individual has a given level of initial wealth and a target goal to be reached within some time horizon. The individual must determine an asset allocation strategy so that the portfolio growth rate will be sufficient to reach the target. A scenario optimization model is formulated which maximizes the upside potential of the portfolio, with limits on the downside risk. Both upside and downside are measured vis- `a-vis the goal. The stochastic behavior of asset returns is captured through bootstrap simulation, and the simulation is embedded in the model to determine the optimal portfolio. …
The Euler–Lagrange equation for the Anisotropic least gradient problem
2016
Abstract In this paper we find the Euler–Lagrange equation for the anisotropic least gradient problem inf { ∫ Ω ϕ ( x , D u ) : u ∈ B V ( Ω ) , u | ∂ Ω = f } being ϕ a metric integrand and f ∈ L 1 ( ∂ Ω ) . We also characterize the functions of ϕ -least gradient as those whose boundary of the level set is ϕ -area minimizing in Ω .
Responsabilité Sociale de l'Entreprise et pratiques de Gestion des Ressources Humaines
2006
As far as human resource management practices (HRM) are concerned, how do French companies respond to corporate social responsibility (CSR)? Are they eager to develop practices beyond the existing legal rules? To answer these questions, we present the results of an inquiry involving 106 HR managers who mainly belong to large manufacturing companies. Their statements, collected by questionnaire, are focused on a few "responsible" HRM practices: - Recruiting practices in favour of disabled or non skilled persons - Training practices promoting the access or the return to work - Communication practices encouraging the dialog between the managers and the employees. According to our results, the …
Nonlocal elasticity and related variational principles
2001
Abstract The Eringen model of nonlocal elasticity is considered and its implications in solid mechanics studied. The model is refined by assuming an attenuation function depending on the `geodetical distance' between material particles, such that in the diffusion processes of the nonlocality effects certain obstacles as holes or cracks existing in the domain can be circumvented. A suitable thermodynamic framework with nonlocality is also envisaged as a firm basis of the model. The nonlocal elasticity boundary-value problem for infinitesimal displacements and quasi-static loads is addressed and the conditions for the solution uniqueness are established. Three variational principles, nonlocal…