Solutions for Impact Investors: From Strategy to Implementation

In writing this monograph, our main goal is to provide impact investors with tools to tighten the link between their investment decisions and impact creation. Our intent is threefold: to attract more capital to impact investing; to assist impact investors as they move from organizational change to executing and refining their impact investment decision-making process; and to narrow the gap within foundations between program professionals and investment professionals thereby contributing to a mutual understanding and implementation of a portfolio approach to impact investing.Additionally, we intend to help break down the barriers making it difficult to identify opportunities in impact investing. To this end, we provide examples throughout the monograph and at www.rockpa.org/impactinvesting of impact investment opportunities in most major asset classes.While we understand the important role that impact investors can play in providing financial capital, we also want to acknowledge the wide range of non-financial resources needed to address the world's problems. Our intent with this monograph is not to provide a comprehensive list of investments across asset classes nor any type of investment advice with regard to the selected profiles. We strongly encourage the reader to conduct their own assessment and evaluation for risk and suitability before considering any investment

Partitioning of non-ionic surfactants between CO2 and brine

The partitioning of non-ionic surfactants in a CO2/synthetic brine system was studied for a selection of surfactants at reservoir conditions for CO2 enhanced oil recovery and aquifer storage. Alkyl and alkylphenol ethoxylates with different degrees of branching in their hydrophobic moiety were chosen. Generally, higher temperature and pressure promoted increased solubility in CO2. Branching of the hydrophobic moiety tends to favour CO2 solubility (higher partition coefficient). Highly branched moieties were found to hinder solubility probably due to a decrease of their conformational entropy. The addition of an aromatic ring connecting the ethoxylate moiety and the hydrophobic moiety seemed to have an adverse effect at lower temperatures. For two surfactants, the effect of concentration on partitioning was also studied. The partition coefficient decreased for increasing concentrations until a plateau was reached above the corresponding surfactant critical micelle concentration (CMC). This may indicate micelle formation both in the CO2 and in the aqueous phase.acceptedVersio

Predicting the carcass chemical composition and describing its growth in live pigs of different sexes using computed tomographys

The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the ability of computed tomography (CT) to predict the chemical composition of live pigs and carcasses, (2) to compare the chemical composition of four different sex types at a commercial slaughter weight and (3) to model and evaluate the chemical component growth of these sex types. A total of 92 pigs (24 entire males (EM), 24 surgically castrated males (CM), 20 immunocastrated males (IM) and 24 females (FE)) was used. A total of 48 pigs (12 per sex type) were scanned repeatedly in vivo using CT at 30, 70, 100 and 120 kg and slaughtered at the end of the experiment. The remaining 44 were CT scanned in vivo and slaughtered immediately: 12 pigs (4 EM, 4 CM and 4 FE) at 30 kg and 16 pigs each at 70 kg and 100 kg (4 per sex type). The left carcasses were CT scanned, and the right carcasses were minced and analysed for protein, fat, moisture, ash, Ca and P content. Prediction equations for the chemical composition were developed using Partial Least Square regression. Allometric growth equations for the chemical components were modelled. By using live animal and carcass CT images, accurate prediction equations were obtained for the fat (with a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEPCV) of 1.31 and 1.34, respectively, and R2 = 0.91 for both cases) and moisture relative content (g/100 g) (RMSEPCV = 1.19 and 1.38 and R2 = 0.94 and 0.93, respectively) and were less accurate for the protein (RMSEPCV = 0.65 and 0.67 and R2 = 0.54 and 0.63, respectively) and mineral content (RMSEPCV from 0.28 to 1.83 and R2 from 0.09 to 0.62). Better equations were developed for the absolute amounts of protein, fat, moisture and ash (kg) (RMSEPCV from 0.26 to 1.14 and R2 from 0.91 to 0.99) as well as Ca and P (g) (RMSEPCV = 144 and 71, and R2 = 0.76 to 0.66, respectively). At 120 kg, CM had a higher fat and lower moisture content than EM. For protein, CM and IM had lower values than FE and EM. The ash content was higher in EM and IM than in FE and CM, while IM had a higher Ca and P content than the others. The castrated animals showed a higher allometric coefficient for fat and a lower one for moisture, with IM having intermediate values. However, for the Ca and P models, IM presented higher coefficients than EM and FE, and CM were intermediate.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

First Approach to Measure Interfacial Rheology at High-Pressure Conditions by the Oscillating Drop Technique

An oscillating drop rheometer capable of operating under conditions of high pressure and high temperature has been built. The oscillating drop mechanism was able to support pressures as high as 1300 bar and successfully performed oscillations at constant pressure. Apparent elastic and viscous complex moduli were measured for a system of CO2 and synthetic seawater containing 100 ppm of a linear alkyl ethoxylate surfactant for different pressures and temperatures. The moduli had strong dependencies on both pressure and temperature. At temperatures of 40 and 80 °C, the apparent elastic modulus passed through a maximum for pressures between 100 and 300 bar. The harmonic distortion of the oscillations was calculated for all measurements, and it was found that drop oscillations below ca. 2.6 µL caused distortions above 10% due to a mechanical backlash of the motor.publishedVersio

Understanding consumers' perceptions towards Iberian pig production and animal welfare

The Spanish market offers a greater variety of Iberian pork products. The aim of this paper is to determine the perception of consumers of several aspects of Iberian pig production and animal welfare depending on the consumers' characteristics. Consumers from two Spanish regions (n = 403) answered a questionnaire about their beliefs and the importance of pig production, their purchase intentions and their willingness to pay. Consumers were segmented according to their level of knowledge about Iberian pig production. The results of this work indicate that consumers have poor knowledge about Iberian pig production. Even so, consumers show a remarkable preference for Iberian products, especially when the animals are reared freely and in natural conditions, giving great importance to animal welfare. Consumer preferences indicate the importance of emphasizing Iberian traditional pig product characteristics on the label to promote their purchase choices

Pompéi

Parfumeries de la via degli Augustali La via degli Augustali, située au nord du forum de Pompéi, et les boutiques qui la flanquent de part et d’autre ont été dégagées dans les années 1820 sans que les documents d’époque donnent des informations précises sur les trouvailles (fig. 1). Fig. 1 - Pompéi, Via degli Augustali. Vue aérienne avec localisation des boutiques sondées en 2011. Cliché J.-P. Brun, Centre Jean Bérard. Une des boutiques (VII 4, 25) contenait aussi les restes d’un pressoir dé..

Unified model for the gamma-ray emission of supernova remnants

Shocks of supernova remnants (SNRs) are important (and perhaps the dominant) agents for production of the Galactic cosmic rays. Recent $\gamma$-ray observations of several SNRs have made this case more compelling. However, these broadband high-energy measurements also reveal a variety of spectral shape demanding more comprehensive modeling of emissions from SNRs. According to the locally observed fluxes of cosmic ray protons and electrons, the electron-to-proton number ratio is known to be about 1%. Assuming such a ratio is universal for all SNRs and identical spectral shape for all kinds of accelerated particles, we propose a unified model that ascribes the distinct $\gamma$-ray spectra of different SNRs to variations of the medium density and the spectral difference between cosmic ray electrons and protons observed at Earth to transport effects. For low density environments, the $\gamma$-ray emission is inverse-Compton dominated. For high density environments like systems of high-energy particles interacting with molecular clouds, the $\gamma$-ray emission is $\pi^0$-decay dominated. The model predicts a hadronic origin of $\gamma$-ray emission from very old remnants interacting mostly with molecular clouds and a leptonic origin for intermediate age remnants whose shocks propagate in a low density environment created by their progenitors via e.g., strong stellar winds. These results can be regarded as evidence in support of the SNR-origin of the Galactic cosmic rays.Comment: 7 pages (two-column), 5 figures, 1 table; discussion added; accepted by Ap

Prospects for a Dark Matter annihilation signal towards the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy with ground based Cherenkov telescopes

Dwarf galaxies are widely believed to be among the best targets for indirect dark matter searches using high-energy gamma rays; and indeed gamma-ray emission from these objects has long been a subject of detailed study for ground-based atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Here, we update current exclusion limits obtained on the closest dwarf, the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, in light of recent realistic dark matter halo models. The constraints on the velocity-weighted annihilation cross section of the dark matter particle are of a few 10$^{-23}$ cm$^{3}$s$^{-1}$ in the TeV energy range for a 50 h exposure. The limits are extrapolated to the sensitivities of future Cherenkov Telescope Arrays. For 200 h of observation time, the sensitivity at 95% C.L. reaches 10$^{-25}$ cm$^{3}$s$^{-1}$. Possible astrophysical backgrounds from gamma-ray sources dissembled in Sagittarius dwarf are studied. It is shown that with long-enough observation times, gamma-ray background from millisecond pulsars in a globular cluster contained within Sagittarius dwarf may limit the sensitivity to dark matter annihilations.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Ap

Acogimiento residencial : problemas emocionales y conductuales

En esta investigación se analizó la prevalencia de problemas emocionales y conductuales en niños en acogimiento residencial así como la influencia del tiempo de institucionalización. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 26 niños de ambos sexos en situación residencial y 45 niños que vivían con sus familias emparejados según edades y sexo. El instrumento de evaluación empleado fue el Behavior Assessment System for Children, BASC: autoinforme, formas padres y profesores. Se encontraron más problemas de conducta externalizada e internalizada, mayores dificultades de socialización y problemas de aprendizaje en los niños en acogimiento residencial. A mayor tiempo de institucionalización la agresividad, los problemas de conducta, y la percepción negativa hacia los profesores se incrementan y disminuye el ajuste personalThe prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems affecting children in residential care as well as the influence of the institutionalization length were analyzed. The sample consisted of 26 children in residential care and 45 children living with their families paired according to age and gender. The data collection procedure used was the Behavior Assessment System for Children, BASC :self-report scale, teacher rating scale and parent rating scale. Children in residential care were found to have more behavioral and emotional problems, greater difficulties in adaptation, as well as more learning difficulties. The length of institutionalization time increases aggressiveness, behavioral problems, the negative view towards teacher and decreases personal adjustmen