Our Lady of the Snows

What do Bellville, Illinois and Rome, Italy have in common

Balancing the Regulation and Taxing of Banking

This study gives an overview of bank taxation as an alternative to prudential regulations or non-revenue taxation. We review existing bank taxation with a view to eliminating distortions in the tax system, which have incentivized banks to engage in risky activities in the past. We furthermore analyze taxation of financial instruments trading and taxation of banking products and services and their ability to finance resolution mechanisms for banks and to ensure their stability. In this respect, we put forward the following arguments: (1) that a financial transaction tax is economically inefficient and potentially costly for the economy and may not protect taxpayers; (2) that a bank levy used to finance deposit guarantee and bank resolution mechanisms is potentially useful for financial stability, but that it poses the threat of double taxation, together with the proposed Basel III liquidity ratios; and (3) that we support the elimination of exemption from value added tax (VAT) for financial services in order to provide banks with a level playing field, whilst retaining exemption for basic payments services. This is expected to improve efficiency by reducing the wasteful use of financial services

The diet of bushpigs in a sugarcane agro-ecosystem.

Bushpigs, Potamochoerus porcus, in a sugar-farming area of Natal, South Africa, were found to be omnivorous, but plant material dominated their diet year round. Sugar-cane stem was the main item identified in faeces collected on farmland during all seasons and in faeces from adjacent forest during winter and spring. Fruits were probably preferred to sugar cane by animals defecating in the forest during summer and autumn

Removal of Arsenic (III) from groundwater applying a reusable Mg-Fe-Cl layered double hydroxide

BACKGROUND: Layered double hydroxide compounds (LDHs) have been applied for the removal of oxyanions including arsenate (As(V)). However, the aim of this present research is to develop a LDH to treat arsenite (As(III)). Both batch and column sorption studies were conducted to assess the effect of LDH dosage, contact time, solution pH and initial As(III) concentrations on the As(III) removal performance. The potential re-use of this sorbent was also investigated.<p></p> RESULTS: For 2 g L−1 of Mg-Fe-Cl LDH, As(III) in test solution can be reduced from 400 µg L−1 to <10 µg L−1 after a contact time of 2 h. High As(III) concentration in Bangladesh groundwater can be reduced to meet the national drinking water standards (<50 µg L−1). The maximum adsorption capacity of As(III) by Mg-Fe-Cl LDH is 14.6 mg g−1-LDH. Further, reusability of this sorbent was at least 20 cycles of regeneration with effective As(III) removal between 93.0 and 98.5%. Moreover, As(III) removal was unaffected by the solution pH but affected by the co-existing competing anions and concentration of As(III). Finally, the main mechanism of As(III) removal by Mg-Fe-Cl LDH was suggested to be chemical sorption together with anion and ligand exchange with interlayer Cl− and OH− ions.<p></p> CONCLUSION: High efficiency of sorption of As(III) by the developed Mg-Fe-Cl LDH was demonstrated in this study which is generally not the case for most other sorbent materials. Pilot-scale trials are needed to explore the suitability of full application of the developed Mg-Fe-Cl LDH for the removal of As(III).<p></p&gt

Catholic Documents 101: A Theological Librarian’s Guide to Identifying, Locating, and Using the Documents of the Catholic Church

The teachings of the Catholic Church are found in numerous documents, produced by different persons or groups across centuries, whose arrangement and importance relative to each other are often hard to understand. This Listen and Learn session familiarizes librarians from non-Catholic backgrounds with the various types and features of Catholic Church document, concluding with strategies for answering a sample reference question by relying on that material. By sorting through the classification of these documents and directing attendees to the most authoritative or most easily obtainable source materials for those documents, this session makes it easier for librarians working in non-Catholic settings to help patrons with research questions concerning Catholic doctrine