Epoxy‐functionalized porous organic polymers via diels‐alder cycloaddition reaction for atmospheric water capture

We report on the synthesis of highly microporous, epoxy-functionalized porous organic polymers (ep-POPs) through one pot, catalyst-free Diels-Alder cycloaddition polymerization. The high oxygen content of ep-POPs offered efficient hydrogen bonding sites for water molecules, thus leading to high water uptake capacities, up to 39.2-42.4%, under a wide temperature range of 5-45oC, covering the climatic conditions and various manufacturing applications. Importantly, ep-POPs demonstrated regeneration temperatures as low as 55oC and excellent water stability, recyclability as well as high specific surface areas (up to 852 m2 g-1)

Pricing Decisions in Educational Institutions: An Activity based Approach

AbstractThe number of private high schools is significantly growing due to recent increase in the demand for private schools. Therefore, it has been crucial for the administration of private schools to be able to gain competitive advantage and to make strategic decisions including pricing decisions. Private schools have to determine appropriate annual fees in an intensely competitive environment in order to attract new students or not to lose current students. Many factors such as customer demand, attitudes of competing educational institutions, public image of the school, political environment, legal regulations, country's economic conditions and other factors are effective in pricing decisions. An educational institution determines the education fee using either market based or cost based approaches. In this study we will focus on cost-plus pricing approach. A private school may determine the fee by adding a sufficient profit margin on the cost of resources consumed to provide educational services in cost plus pricing approach. Therefore in this approach accurately calculating the cost of services is significantly important. Activity based costing (ABC) method is a new approach in allocating indirect costs to cost objects and determining the unit costs by producing the most accurate data needed by the administrators and as an alternative to traditional costing methods. In this study we will implement the activity based costing method in a private school and determine the annual fees using activity based approach. In the study, we provide application of strategic pricing decisions in an example of a Turkish private high school

Investigation the Entrepreneurship Characteristics of Sports Education Students

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the entrepreneurship levels of students from different departments who receive sports education. Design/methodology/approach:Random 155 university students who were voluntarily participated in the study.  University students entrepreneurship scale was used to collect data. SPSS program used for analysis. Findings: The total entrepreneurship score was found as 133.1±11.3 points. No significant difference was found between the genders. There was a significant difference was found between the departments. It was found that the average scores of the students of the recreation department were significantly lower than the average scores of the students of the other departments (p:0.036). Research limitations/implications: Based on the study findings; It can be said that entrepreneurship scores are generally high, but it may be beneficial to provide entrepreneurship-themed trainings to students in order to reduce the difference between departments. Paper type: Research pape

Digitalization and tax evasion: the moderation effect of corruption

This study investigates the impact of digitalization adoption on tax evasion and tests the moderation effect of corruption on this relationship. The World Bank’s digitalization adoption index is used to measure the level of digitalization adoption, and the shadow economy is chosen as a proxy for tax evasion. The research is conducted based on a comprehensive dataset including data from 133 countries. The results indicate a negative and significant relationship between tax evasion and digitalization adoption of businesses and people, which indicates that digitalization helps to reduce tax evasion. Additional results show that digitalization is highly effective in reducing tax evasion in low-corruption countries compared to high-corruption countries. Our findings are potentially useful for policymakers in identifying digitalization as an effective tool for deterring financial crimes. Investment in technology can help in increasing tax revenues and allow governments to be more efficient in allocating resources

Strategic performance management for soccer clubs: A quantitative model proposal

Soccer has been a very popular sports industry all over the world. Since soccer clubs generate a huge income from a variety of sources, the stakeholders of the soccer industry have come to recognize that this business should be managed professionally, and this would entail all of the functions of management, including performance management. This study provides a comprehensive framework for the strategic performance management of soccer clubs. In order to be strategy-focused, to better serve their mission, and to improve their performance, the performance management systems of soccer clubs should be linked to their missions and visions. Therefore, this study elucidates the application of a strategic performance management tool, the balanced scorecard (BSC), to the different levels of soccer clubs such as giant, middle-level, and lower-level. The study also provides a quantitative BSC model as a case study

The emerging era of supramolecular polymeric binders in silicon anodes

Silicon (Si) anode is among the most promising candidates for the next-generation high-capacity electrodes in Li-ion batteries owing to its unparalleled theoretical capacity (4200 mA h g−1 for Li4.4Si) that is approximately 10 times higher than that of commercialized graphitic anodes (372 mA h g−1 for LiC6). The battery community has witnessed substantial advances in research on new polymeric binders for silicon anodes mainly due to the shortcomings of conventional binders such as polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) to address problems caused by the massive volume change of Si (300%) upon (de)lithiation. Unlike conventional battery electrodes, polymeric binders have been shown to play an active role in silicon anodes to alleviate various capacity decay pathways. While the initial focus in binder research was primarily to maintain the electrode morphology, it has been recently shown that polymeric binders can in fact help to stabilize cracked Si microparticles along with the solid–electrolyte-interphase (SEI) layer, thus substantially improving the electrochemical performance. In this review article, we aim to provide an in-depth analysis and molecular-level design principles of polymeric binders for silicon anodes in terms of their chemical structure, superstructure, and supramolecular interactions to achieve good electrochemical performance. We further highlight that supramolecular chemistry offers practical tools to address challenging problems associated with emerging electrode materials in rechargeable batteries

Comparison of topical isosorbide mononitrate, topical diltiazem, and their combination in the treatment of chronic anal fissure

SummaryBackground/ObjectiveChronic anal fissure is a painful condition that is associated with an increase in internal anal sphincter pressure. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and adverse effects of topical isosorbide 5 mononitrate and topical diltiazem, when administered either as single agents or in combination, in the treatment of anal fissure.MethodsPatients with chronic anal fissure were enrolled in the study. They were randomized into three groups: Group A (0.2% isosorbide 5 mononitrate users), Group B (2% diltiazem users), and Group C (2%diltiazem + 0.2% isosorbide 5 mononitrate users). Pain was evaluated using a visual analog scale (VAS). Level of strain during defecation was graded on a 4-point scale.ResultsA total of 55 patients were enrolled in the study. The average ages of patients in Groups A, B, and C were 37.94 ± 16.19, 42.83 ± 13.21, 40 ± 13.58 years, respectively. After treatment, pain completely abated in 55.6% of patients in Group A, 27.8% (n = 5) in Group B, and 42.1% (n = 8) in Group C. The decreases in average VAS values prior to and after treatment in Groups A, B, and C were statistically significant (p values 0.0001, 0.001, and 0.0001, respectively). Average strain scores prior to and after treatment were 2.11/0.72 for Group A, 2.17/0.94 for Group B, and 1.95/0.47 for Group C. Strain during defecation prior to and after treatment in Groups A, B, and C was statistically significant (p values 0.001, 0.001, and 0.003, respectively).ConclusionTopical diltiazem and a combination of nitrate and diltiazem can be used in the treatment of anal fissure. However, the agents are not significantly superior each other

Financial Ratio Classification and Sub-sector Discrimination of Manufacturing Firms Evidence from an Emerging Market

This article aims to develop an empirically-based classification of financial ratios for manufacturing firms and to examine whether or not these ratios can be used in differentiating sub-sectors of manufacturing industry. The article involves 160 manufacturing firms which are traded in the emerging Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE). It covers the period between December 1992 and June 1999, and financial ratios of those companies have been calculated for 14 terms. Factor analysis was applied, both to isolate the independent patterns of financial ratios and to create an empirical classification for them. Factor analysis revealed four common factors, namely profitability, solvency/leverage, liquidity, and activity. The discriminating ability of the independent patterns of the financial ratios has been evaluated by means of the discriminant analysis. The eight sub-sectors of the manufacturing firms were included in the analysis, and it was concluded that those common factors are statistically significant in differentiating the sub-sectors of manufacturing firms of an emerging market

Appearance of Renal Replacement Lipomatosis on Computed Tomography : Rare pseudotumour

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