Ethical business modeling: developing a business model for the REIT industry towards an ethical structure

This research explores the development and validity of a questioning framework to better understand the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) business model. This framework will equip investors to navigate the rough seas of public equity investing. As an equity research analyst with two decades of experience, I aspire to enhance the level of investor education across Asia Pacific. With better investor education, the degree of information asymmetry between retail investors and financial institutions will reduce, leading to improvement in market integrity. This research has been initiated in the context of taxpayers underwriting losses sustained by numerous too-big-to-fail companies with unsustainable business models partially due to unconstrained quantitative easing conducted by central bankers. Together with institutionally orchestrated pump-and-dump strategies, unsuspecting retail investors often find themselves at the receiving end during the eventual equity market debacles. Such unethical behaviors generate substantial societal deadweight losses. The overall methodology chosen is unusual for the sector but proved effective and reliable. This approach will be of interest to new researchers investigating issues in complex environments in which the relationship between the practitioner, practitioner experience and knowledge and technical knowledge is an intricately connected one. The methodology belongs to the interpretivist family of academically approved approaches. A thorough review was undertaken of the relevant literature to generate a pilot list of questions. These questions were subject to initial inspection by a group of six industry experts for ease of comprehension. Their feedback was analysed and assimilated, and a revised set of questions was produced. Using the Delphi approach, these questions were presented to 16 industry practitioners to extract their professional insights. Subsequently, two focus study sessions were conducted with six retail investors in Hong Kong and Singapore to optimise the readability of the questioning framework. Part of the questioning framework was then mapped onto a modified version of the Business Model Canvas conceptual framework. Finally, the framework was subject to three layers of validation. Firstly, the framework was used to review four in-sample case studies to ascertain whether all red flags could indeed be uncovered. Secondly, the same processes were repeated with three out-of-sample case studies. Thirdly, three industry practitioners were invited to apply the framework during real life investment analyses to test out whether it was indeed impactful. Validation results at all three layers were affirmative. The concise version of the framework has had a positive reception as a questioning template among retail investors. As for professional investors, the detailed version of the framework has functioned efficiently as their fundamental analysis blueprint. To date, more than 2,000 retail investors and 2,400 professional stakeholders have benefited from the series of spin-off physical and virtual CE (Continuing Education) events associated with this research. The research was informed by and confirmed the key role of corporate governance relating to the ethics of practice as well as environmental, social and governance (ESG) elements

A wideband CPW ring power combiner with low insertion loss and high port isolation

In this paper we present a coplanar waveguide (CPW)-based ring power combiner that exhibits less than 0.8 dB insertion loss, better than 15 dB port match and higher than 22 dB isolation loss over the frequency range from 50 GHz to 100 GHz. Compared with the conventional 2-way Wilkinson combiner, the proposed ring power combiner replaces the resistor between the two input ports with two quasi quarter-wave CPWs, a 180º CPW phase inverter, and two resistors that lead to frequency-insensitive port isolation and wideband port match. The power combiner is realized using an electron beam-based GaAs MMIC process along with simple electron beam airbridge technology. These results agree well with 3D full-wave simulations

Succesful teaching of experimental vibration research

For more than 20 years, master students have been offered a practical training on experimental vibration research by the Structural Dynamics & Acoustics Section of the University of Twente. The basic theoretical knowledge, necessary to attend this practical training, is provided for the Master part of their study and it consists of a series of lectures on advanced dynamics, measurement techniques and the concept of modal analysis. The practical training consists of performing vibration experiments on a well defined simple structure. Use is made of a digital signal processing (DSP) Siglab system, together with ME'scope as analysis tool. In order to guarantee maximal transfer of knowledge toward the participants, small groups consisting of two students are formed. These groups are supervised by an experienced tutor, who intensively monitors the progress of the practical training. It lasts one day and the students have to write down their findings in a report. In order to attend the practical training in an efficient way, students have to study the theoretical basics of experimental vibration research in advance. In order to achieve an optimal preparation to the practical, a ‘virtual’ vibration measurement based on Labview is developed for the next academic year. Students will thus be able to run this experiment remotely from behind their PC by activating a real-life test case placed in the laboratory. In this paper the content and execution of the practical training is described. The experience of the authors is that the vast amount of interesting educational ingredients contributes to a profound understanding of both theoretical and experimental vibration research for Mechanical Engineering students

Poly(amido amine)s as Gene Delivery Vectors: Effects of Quaternary Nicotinamide Moieties in the Side Chains

To evaluate the effect of quaternary nicotinamide pendant groups on gene delivery properties, a series of poly(amido amine) (co)polymers were synthesized by Michael addition polymerization of N, N-cystaminebisacrylamide with variable ratios of 1-(4-aminobutyl)-3-carbamoylpyridinium (Nic-BuNH2), and tert-butyl-4-aminobutyl carbamate (BocNH-BuNH2), yielding poly(amido amine)s (NicX-NHBoc) with X=0, 10, 30, and 50 % of quaternary nicotinamide groups in the polymer side chains. Deprotection of the pendant Boc-NH groups afforded an analogous series of polymers (NicX-NH2) with higher charge density (due to the presence of protonated primary amino groups in the side chains) and subsequent acetylation yielded a series of polymers (NicX-NHAc) of lower hydrophobicity than the Boc-protected polymers. The polymers with the Boc-protected or the acetylated amino groups showed high buffer capacity in the range pH 5.1-7.4, which is a property that can contribute to endosomal escape of polyplexes. The presence of quaternary nicotinamide groups has distinct beneficial effects on the gene vector properties of these polymers. The polymers containing 30 % of quaternary nicotinamide groups in their side chains condense DNA into small, nanosized particles (200 nm) with positive surface charge (+15 mV). Fluorescence experiments using ethidium bromide as a competitor showed that the quaternary nicotinamide groups intercalate with DNA, contributing to a more intimate polymer-DNA binding and shielding. Polyplexes of nicotinamide-functionalized poly(amido amine)s NicX-NHBoc and NicX-NHAc, formed at 12/1 polymerDNA mass ratio, efficiently transfect COS-7 cells with efficacies up to four times higher than that of PEI (Exgen 500), and with essentially absence of cytotoxicity. NicX-NH2 polymers, possessing protonated primary amino groups in their side chains, have a higher cytotoxicity profile under these conditions, but at lower 3/1 polymer-DNA mass ratio also these polymers are capable of efficient transfection, while retaining full cell viability

Systematic review: identifying patients with chronic hepatitis C in need of early treatment and intensive monitoring – predictors and predictive models of disease progression

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108647/1/apt12921.pd

Remote Hardware-In-the-Loop Measurement System for Electrolyser Characterization

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works. The installation of facilities replicating the realworld condition is often required for carrying out meaningful tests on new devices and for collecting data with the aim to create realistic device model. However, these facilities require huge investments, as well as areas where they can be properly installed. In this paper, we present a test infrastructure exploiting the concept of Remote Power Hardware-In-the-Loop (RPHIL), applied for characterizing the performances of a 8kW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser installed at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen (The Netherlands). The electrolyser is subjected to different test conditions imposed both locally and remotely. The results show that this measurement procedure is effective and can open new perspectives in the way to share and exploit the existing research infrastructure in Europe

A Sustainable Facility Management Outsourcing Relationships System: Artificial Neural Networks

The Contingency Outsourcing Relationship (CORE) model originated from the Four Outsourcing Relationship Types (FORT) model; the CORE model is used in the globalized Facility Management (FM) industry, while the FORT model is originally used in the global information technology industry. The purpose of this paper is to thoroughly analyse the simulated case studies of the four different categories (i.e., in-house, technical expertise, commitment and common goals) of the CORE model from the perspective of the various clients. This study builds on the previous work on the outsourcing relationships between a client and a globalized FM service provider. It further explores the application of this model with the aid of artificial neural networks (ANNs) towards a sustainable future. A quantitative methodology through a survey is used to analyse eight outsourcing strategies for the four outsourcing relationships. A set of revised rules of the CORE is introduced and discussed regarding the approaches to investigate the four simulated outsourcing relationship systems. The study further reveals that an interesting understanding of the four outsourcing categories can be systematically and efficiently implemented into the FM outsourcing relationships through the methodology of scientific Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is concluded that FM outsourcing categorization may help to define the appropriate relationships. This further detailed outcome generated from the ANN can be clearly considered a strong and solid reference to define and explain the existing outsourcing relationships between the stakeholders and the service providers with the aim to assign an outsourcing category to the FM relationship between the client and service provider based on the learnt rules

Nonequilibrium Quantum Field Theory

Bringing together the key ideas from nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and powerful methodology from quantum field theory, this 2008 book captures the essence of nonequilibrium quantum field theory. Beginning with the foundational aspects of the theory, the book presents important concepts and useful techniques, discusses issues of basic interest, and shows how thermal field, linear response, kinetic theories and hydrodynamics emerge. It also illustrates how these concepts are applied to research topics including nonequilibrium phase transitions, thermalization in relativistic heavy ion collisions, the nonequilibrium dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensation, and the generation of structures from quantum fluctuations in the early Universe. This self-contained book is a valuable reference for graduate students and researchers in particle physics, gravitation, cosmology, atomic-optical and condensed matter physics. It has been reissued as an Open Access publication

Prosthechea mejia

Platystele colombiana is most similar to P. caudatisepala, P. posadarum and P. baqueroi but can be easily distinguished by the completely glandular-hirsute tepals and the very narrowly linear to acuminate petals that are about a third the width of the sepals, but similar in length.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Jardín Botánico Lankester (JBL

Interaction between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and traumatic childhood events predicts depression

Childhood trauma is associated with the onset and recurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD). The thermolabile T variant of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism (rs1801133) is associated with a limited (oxidative) stress defense. Therefore, C677T MTHFR could be a potential predictor for depressive symptomatology and MDD recurrence in the context of traumatic stress during early life. We investigated the interaction between the C677T MTHFR variant and exposure to traumatic childhood events (TCEs) on MDD recurrence during a 5.5-year follow-up in a discovery sample of 124 patients with recurrent MDD and, in an independent replication sample, on depressive syniptomatology in 665 healthy individuals from the general population. In the discovery sample, Cox regression analysis revealed a significant interaction between MTHFR genotype and TCEs on MOD recurrence (P = 0.017). Over the 5.5-year follow-up period, median time to recurrence was 191 days for T-allele carrying patients who experienced TCEs (T + and TCE +); 461 days for T - and TCE + patients; 773 days for T + and TCE - patients and 866 days for T - and TCE - patients. In the replication sample, a significant interaction was present between the MTHFR genotype and TCEs on depressive symptomatology (P = 0.002). Our results show that the effects of TCEs on the prospectively assessed recurrence of MOD and self-reported depressive symptoms in the general population depend on the MTHFR genotype. In conclusion, T-allele carriers may be at an increased risk for depressive symptoms or MOD recurrence after exposure to childhood trauma