Green accounting: Developing versus developed economies

Abstract. Businesses and corporates have started to formulate strategies to opt for environment-friendly and green operations. The same has also conceived the idea of green accounting that emphasizes taking environmental factors into account of corporate financial consideration and reports. Less to date, have made a comparative review for those progresses of green accounting in the developed versus developing economies, and to offer insights for academics and practitioners. This article offered a compact discussion of this issue and provides suggestions to theory and practices.Keywords. Green accounting, Developing economies, Developed economies.JEL. C23, F62, N17

An Envelope Disrupted by a Quadrupolar Outflow in the Pre-Planetary Nebula IRAS19475+3119

IRAS 19475+3119 is a quadrupolar pre-planetary nebula (PPN), with two bipolar lobes, one in the east-west (E-W) direction and one in the southeast-northwest (SE-NW) direction. We have observed it in CO J=2-1 with the Submillimeter Array at ~ 1" resolution. The E-W bipolar lobe is known to trace a bipolar outflow and it is detected at high velocity. The SE-NW bipolar lobe appears at low velocity, and could trace a bipolar outflow moving in the plane of the sky. Two compact clumps are seen at low velocity around the common waist of the two bipolar lobes, spatially coincident with the two emission peaks in the NIR, tracing dense envelope material. They are found to trace the two limb-brightened edges of a slowly expanding torus-like circumstellar envelope produced in the late AGB phase. This torus-like envelope originally could be either a torus or a spherical shell, and it appears as it is now because of the two pairs of cavities along the two bipolar lobes. Thus, the envelope appears to be disrupted by the two bipolar outflows in the PPN phase.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figure

Associations of lower-limb muscle strength performance with static and dynamic balance control among older adults in Taiwan

BackgroundAging is an inevitable process of life development. These physical changes can cause a decline in the functional adaptability and health status of older adult individuals.AimsThe purpose of this study was to investigate the association of lower-limb muscle strength performance with static and dynamic balance control among older adults in Taiwan.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study and reviewed data derived from the National Physical Fitness Survey in Taiwan 2015–2016. A total of 20,846 Taiwanese older adult individuals aged 65 years old or older were recruited as study participants. Demographic characteristics, anthropometric assessments, lifestyle habits, and health-related physical fitness measurements from this dataset were analyzed using the chi-square test, one-way analysis of variance, and linear regression analysis. Lower-limb muscle strength performance was classified into 4 groups based on quartile (Quartile 1 [Q1], Quartile 2 [Q2], Quartile 3 [Q3], and Quartile 4 [Q4]) values.ResultsIncreased lower-limb muscle strength levels were significantly associated with static balance in men (Q2: β = 2.539, p < 0.0001; Q3: β = 4.590, p < 0.0001; Q4: β = 7.700, p < 0.0001) and women (Q2: β = 2.022, p < 0.0001; Q3: β = 4.179, p < 0.0001; Q4: β = 6.920, p < 0.0001) after adjusting for potential confounders. In addition, we observed that increased lower-limb muscle strength levels were significantly associated with dynamic balance in men (Q2: β = −1.661, p < 0.0001; Q3: β = −2.434, p < 0.0001; Q4: β = −3.091, p < 0.0001) and women (Q2: β = −1.660, p < 0.0001; Q3: β = −2.548, p < 0.0001; Q4: β = −3.196, p < 0.0001) after adjusting for potential confounders.ConclusionLower-limb muscle strength was the most important factor, as it was an improved method for static and dynamic balance control in both genders

Novel polythiophene derivatives functionalized withconjugated side-chain pendants comprisingtriphenylamine/carbazole moieties for photovoltaic cellapplications†

We synthesized a series of polythiophenes (PTs) featuring 2-ethylhexyl-substituted terthiophene (T) orquaterthiophene (BT) as the conjugated unit in the polymer backbone with pendant conjugated tertbutyl-substituted triphenylamine (tTPA)- or carbazole (tCz)-containing moieties as side chains, namelyPTtTPA, PBTtTPA, PTtCz and PBTtCz. Incorporating T and BT moieties into the polymer backbone andattaching tTPA or tCz units promoted efficient conjugation within the extended conjugated frameworksof the polymers, resulting in lower band-gap energies and red-shifting of the maximal UV-Visabsorption wavelength. The higher electron-donating ability of tTPA resulted in broader absorptionbands and lower band-gap energies of PTtTPA and PBTtTPA as compared with PTtCz and PBTtCz.Incorporation of the T and BT moieties into the polymer backbone enhanced the compatibility of PTand the fullerene derivative by reducing the side-chain density of PT, thus providing sufficient freevolume for efficient incorporation of [6,6]phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) into thepolymer chains. Polymer solar cells (PSCs) were fabricated by spin-coating a blend of each PT with thefullerene derivative (PC61BM) as a composite film-type photoactive layer; PBTtTPA/PC61BM-based PSCsshowed superior photovoltaic (PV) performance to PTtTPA/PC61BM-based PSCs in terms of conjugationand absorption band broadness. However, PBTtCz/PC61BM-based PSCs showed inferior PV performanceto PTtCz/PC61BM-based PSCs. The lower HOMO level led to a higher open-circuit voltage (Voc; 0.74 V)and larger photo-energy conversion efficiency (h; 2.77%) of PTtCz/PC61BM-based PSCs

Review on the characteristic and feasibility of leachate for biogas production by anaerobic digestion

The sound handling of municipal solid waste (MSW) is of high priority to minimise environmental degradation and pollution. MSW can be treated via various technologies including landfilling, incineration, composting, anaerobic digestion (AD) and more. Landfill without landfill gas capturing serves as an enclosed bioreactor to store and stabilise waste. Other technologies such as incineration, composting and AD allow substantial volume reduction and generate value-added products. The treatment for MSW is commonly focusing on the solid part. Organic waste contains high moisture content of 70 - 90 %. The pressing of the water content before entering treatment unit, the release of water during and after the treatment, can generate high strength wastewater, known as leachate. Leachate is rich in organic matter, organic pollutants, pathogens, heavy metals and more, which can lead to severe secondary environmental pollution if not properly treated. Leachate from different treatment units showed certain unique characteristics, such as high Na, high Ca, different species and availability of heavy metals. This review summarised some of the important characteristics of different leachates and the suitability of AD as a mean of treatment. The efficiency of AD to treat leachate was presented in terms of the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biogas production. The COD removal efficiency was between 60 - 98 %, following the treatment of different leachates under different reactors and operational parameters. Among the different stream of leachates, the leachate from landfill is most commonly studied as a co-digestion substrate for AD, as compared to leachate from the composting facility

Technical aspects of single-port thoracoscopic surgery for lobectomy

Thoracoscopic Surgery is in common use in routine surgical practice. With the advancement of the various techniques and instruments required, mini wounds and fewer thoracoports become practical in recent years. Here, we report our experience of performing lobectomy with radical lymph node dissection in 3 patients using regular straight endoscopic instruments. We demonstrate the feasibility of such techniques and discuss the key points of effectively performing the procedures. Because of the favorable outcomes, we encourage such procedures to be widely applied in surgical operations of various types