Is the European Union (EU) Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) effective in shaping sustainability objectives? An analysis of investment funds' behaviour

This paper investigates how investment funds behave in line with European Union (EU)'s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The SFDR requires investment funds to take a clear position with respect to sustainability objectives, aiming at addressing the threats of greenwashing. However, we still do not know whether investment funds are managed accordingly. We frame our study within the organizational category theory, using Morningstar Direct data to analyze the category of investment funds declaring sustainability objectives - SFDR Article 9- and a control group with no sustainability objectives - SFDR Article 6. We assess how investment managers are financially incentivized to achieve either sustainability or financial objectives. The analysis evidences unexpected results: investment funds that self-select into opposite categories have incentives to behave similarly from both the financial and sustainability perspectives. Our results show that European investment funds hardly distinguish the attributes of sustainability meanings across opposite categories, reflecting category fuzziness

BODY HARMONlZATIO~: Using Body Wisdom To Evaluate & Address Anxiety & Depression, In a Select Group

This study examined changes in levels of anxiety and depression, using a selection of specific energy balancing techniques called Body Harmonization©. A protocol was followed for each individual using muscle testing (kinesiology). The study consisted of a 2-period, 2-intervention crossover design

Determination of concentration of the pseudomycelles from fermentation broth via spectroscopy and Neubauer chamber

The present work presents an alternative technique to obtain the concentration of pseudomycelles as number of pseudomycelles/sample volume, obtained by Neubauer chamber, as function of absorbance from spectroscopy. Samples of broth from fermentation via bacteria Streptomyces tsukubaensis were analyzed, making it possible to obtain a linear relationship between the number of pseudomycelles/ sample volume and absorbance, with determination coefficient of 0.995. In addition, a morphological analysis of the unfermented pseudomycelles was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at the magnifications of 20, 2000, 5000, 10000 and 20000 x. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.398701

Erectile dysfunction and psychopathology: a clinical study

Objective: To study psychopathological aspects in subjects with symptoms of psychogenic erectile dysfunction (ED), from a psychoanalytic perspective. Method:Evaluation and psychotherapeutic treatment (three-year follow-up – 1998-2001) on 25 men with diagnosis of psychogenic (ED), carried out at the psychiatric out-patient clinic at the UNICAMP, Brazil.Results: Of the 25 men studied, one showed ego-dissonance in aspects regarding his sexual preference (homosexual), and another was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and substance abuse. Almost all presented high anxiety (23), low self-esteem (20) and depression (23) in facing life in general, with growing difficulties in their relationships as of the onset of the symptom. For 23 of the men, the fears associated with sexual failure revealed insecurities regarding their own masculinity, based psychically on their sexual performance by means of erection. Conclusion: The symptom of ED raises the issue of masculinity, affecting the men’s basic being and confirming the subjective feeling of sexual “impotence”. Both male subject and symptom become involved in the erective failure as “impotent”. We were able to observe the close correlation between sexual symptoms and their counterpart, the constitution of masculine identity. No attempt was made to exhaust all the symbolic possibilities of understanding the psychopathology of ED. Our purpose was rather to open up a field of dialogue and discussion of pathos, as the patients’ psychic suffering, and symptomatic expression.   Keywords: erectile dysfunction; psychopathology; psychoanalysis.Objetivo: Estudar sob a perspectiva psicanalítica aspectos psicopatológicos de sujeitos com sintomas de disfunção erétil (DE) de etiologia psicogênica. Método: Avaliação e tratamento psicoterápico (com duração de 3 anos entre 1998-2001) de 25 homens com diagnóstico de disfunção erétil psicogênica acompanhados no Ambulatório de Psiquiatria da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Resultados: Dos 25 homens estudados, um apresentou ego-distonia com relação à sua preferência homossexual e um apresentou um quadro psiquiátrico diagnosticado como borderline e apresentando abuso de substâncias químicas. Os outros sujeitos apresentavam quadro de ansiedade (23), baixa autoestima (20) e depressão (23) com crescente dificuldade de relacionamentos interpessoais após a instalação dos sintomas. Para 23 dos 25 homens analisados, os medos associados ao fracasso sexual revelaram inseguranças com relação à própria masculinidade, apoiada psiquicamente no desempenho sexual e por intermédio da ereção. Conclusão: O sintoma de DE levanta a questão da masculinidade, afetando o ser masculino e confirmando a sensação subjetiva da “impotência” sexual. Tanto o sujeito masculino como o sintoma ficam implicados no fracasso erétil como “impotentes”. Foi observada uma estreita correlação entre sintomas sexuais e o seu duplo, a constituição da identidade masculina. Nenhuma tentativa foi feita para esgotar todas as possibilidades simbólicas de entender a psicopatologia da DE. O objetivo foi abrir um campo de diálogo e discussão sobre o pathos, como o sofrimento psíquico dos pacientes e sua expressão sintomática.   Palavras-chave: disfunção erétil; psicopatologia; psicanálise

Experimental Investigation of 3D Velocity by Tomographic Particle Image Velocimetry (Tomo-PIV) in a Short Riser Section

AbstractThe measurement of instantaneous velocity field with high spatial resolution makes the Tomo-PIV (tomographic particle image velocimetry) technique attractive for the study of complex flows in circulating beds. The Tomo-PIV technique is employed for obtaining the velocity field of the fluid phase in three dimensions using tracer particles which follow the fluid. They are immersed in the fluid and illuminated by a source of pulsed light (laser) within a three-dimensional region. Images of the particles are recorded in the focus of several viewing directions using CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) sensors. The distribution of light intensity is discretized into a 3D array of voxels and then analyzed by interrogation of cross-correlation in three dimensions. The information field is returned in the form of instantaneous velocities of the measurement volume. This paper aims to present an experimental setup for an initial investigation of the velocity field of the particulate phase of a riser section of a circulating bed. The calibration errors were between 0.209 and 0.066 pixels and after the self-calibration errors were below 0.097 pixels. The volume investigated was 82 x 100 x 10 mm3 with a resolution of 1571 x 897 x 113 voxels. The reconstructed volumes were processed using 3D cross-correlation with a volume interrogation size of 110 voxels decreasing to a final size of 16 voxels with a 75% overlap between adjacent interrogation volumes. The velocity field produced has 224 x 393 x 28 voxels