R and D in R&D. Endogenous growth and welfare.

No abstract availableResearch, Industrial -- Mathematical models;

Actors and Actions in Prenups and Capitulaciones Matrimoniales: A Cross-Cultural Study

The investigation of a corpus of American prenuptial agreements and Spanish capitulaciones matrimoniales shows how the popularity of premarital contracts is spreading everywhere. The American and the Spanish documents, juridically diverse in many aspects, embedded in two different legal systems, belong to the genre of contracts and are classified as a type of negotiation/mediation. The lexical and semantic analysis focuses on the specialized terminology used to refer to the human actors and their actions within the documents. The aim is to discover whether and how legal, intercultural and sociological divergences emerge from the textual context. Participants play several roles in the various semantic-pragmatic units constituting the contract, being in turn considered as contracting parties, married couple, notary public, parents, esposos, padres, and otorgantes. Their actions are highlighted by a punctual and proper use of verbal constructions and speech acts, such as asserting, signing, stipulating, agreeing. The study demonstrates how actors and actions do not stand autonomously and separately: they perform and fulfil a specific pragmatic function in a precise legal and cultural context

Analisis Implementasi Sistem Elektronik Kinerja (e-kinerja) Pemerintah Provinsi Bengkulu

This purpose of this study are to determine the implementation of the electronic performance system (e- performance) of the Bengkulu Provincial Government, and also to find out what are the supporting and hindering factors. This research was classified as a descriptive research that aims to describe the events in an objective way. The research instruments were questionnaires and conducting interviews with key informants. Furthermore, data from the e- performance application and data from other competent sources are also used. The results of the study reveals the facts that: (1) the implementation of the e-kinerja of the Bengkulu Provincial Government has not been in line with the objectives of e- kinerja itself and (2) the supporting factors for the implementation of e-kinerja include: socialization has been carried out on e-kinerja, there are the employees who already have the ability to develop applications, the Bengkulu Provincial government's e-kinerja has received a security certificate from the BSrE-BSSN; and the inhibiting factors are the lack of competent employees in the field of information technology, there is also, moreover, no specific regulation including Standard Operating Procedure on e-kinerja, there is no special implementation team and supervisor for the implementation. e-kinerja, and to add on, the evaluation of the implementation of e-kinerja has not been carried out regularly.

Le Varietà di olive sarde suscettibili di trasformazione per olive da mensa: nota 4: caratteristiche ed attitudini della varietà «bosana» coltivata nel nuorese

A variety of olive «Bosana» cultivated in Nuoro region, Sardinia, was studied as a possible black olive table consuption. Technological marketing characteristics weave also explored. The results obtained reveal an extremely variable percentage of olives wad can be available is dependent of climate jearly output. Warking teasts confirmed that «Bosana» variety can be used for preparing table olives provided their cultivation is followed under carefully combilled condition

Additive manufactured A357.0 samples using the laser powder bed fusion technique: Shear and tensile performance

New aluminium alloys, with lower silicon content than in the first-developed formulations, have recently been introduced in the field of Additive Manufacturing and are dedicated to automotive applications. As they are relatively new, mechanical characterization under standard protocols of the automotive field are of utmost scientific as well as industrial relevance. The paper addresses the mechanical properties and microstructure of A357.0. Static tensile and shear tests of samples built by Laser Powder Bed Fusion, with different orientations in the machine work volume, have been performed. The aim was to identify possible anisotropy in the tensile and shear behaviour of this innovative alloy. Particularly for shear, the effect of adhesion between the layers onto shear strength was studied. Results analysis, by means of statistical tools, allows for the affirmation that no tensile modulus or yield strength anisotropy is observed. Instead, a small (yet statistically significant) increase in both shear-and tensile strength and a decrease in ductility are obtained as the direction of the specimens approaches the growth direction. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observation of the failure mechanisms assisted in the interpretation of the results, by relating different failure modes to the relative orientation of loads versus the directions of inherent anisotropy in Laser Powder Bed Fusion processes

Comparative study of three yttria-stabilized zirconia formulations in colored vs natural shades

Recently the attention in the field of fixed dental restorations has focused on structural ceramics. Yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia (Y-TZP) is proposed as an alternative to conventional ceramic-metal prostheses, since it merges excellent aesthetic quality with outstanding toughness. Before Y-TZP integral structures spread in dental practice, much needs to be studied as regards the mechanical response, the influence of color and of the manufacturing process, the occurrence of aging phenomena. This work aims at a comparative study of three Y-TZP commercial formulations in five shades; the variations introduced by polishing and their recovery after annealing are also addressed. Flexural strength and microhardness are investigated, basing on international standards. Significant differences between the groups and parts' reliability are evaluated through statistical data processing and Weibull analysis. Results show low flexural strength (500-800MPa), at least 45% inferior to technical specifications, and low Weibull modulus. Hardness is instead higher than expected (1500-1700 HV1). The main finding of the research is that the effect of color on mechanical properties is significant in many cases, hence esthetical requirements must be merged with mechanical ones. Y-TZP shows an extreme variability with manufacturing conditions, so nominal characteristics should be assumed with caution and higher reliability is still required

A new vector, based on the PolII promoter for the U1 snRNA gene, for the expression of siRNAs in mammalian cells

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Did EU candidacy differentiation impact on the performance of pre-accession funds? A quantitative analysis of Western Balkan cases

After four years of implementation the EU funds for candidate countries, the Instrument for Pre- Accession Assistance (IPA), has shown a mixed performance, resulting in a statistically limited level of use of IPA funds in most target countries, though with some variance. This article intends to test the hypothesis linking such a differentiation with the presence or absence of the official status of candidate country. The analysis of the funds allocation levels, the funds absorption levels and the progress in administrative reforms nevertheless shows that candidacy status is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for a good IPA performance. Rather, the data show that the IPA funds were able to catalyse a good progress only in those target countries characterised by an average adaptation pressure, but not to spur laggards and frontrunners, recalling the hypothesis put forward by Radaelli in his analysis of the outcomes of Europeanisation