Molecular Kondo effect in flat-band lattices

The Kondo effect of a single magnetic impurity embedded in the Lieb lattice is studied by the numerical renormalization group. When the band flatness is present in the local density of states, it quenches the participation of all dispersive electrons in the Kondo singlet formation, and reduces the many-body Kondo problem to a two-electron molecular Kondo problem. The two-electron analog of the many-body Kondo singlet, a quantum entanglement of two spins, is stable at low temperature, and the impurity contributions to thermodynamical and dynamical quantities are qualitatively different from that obtained in the conventional Kondo effect in systems without flat bands. The existence conditions of the molecular Kondo effect in narrow band systems are also discussed

A study of Fez1 and Fez2. Establishment of Fez1 and Fez2 knock out cells lines. Localization of Fez1 and Fez2

Autophagy is an essential cellular process that is important to maintain homeostasis by degrading proteins, lipids and organelles during critical times like cellular or environmental stress conditions. Autophagy plays a critical role in human pathologies, since defective autophagy can lead to diseases like cancer, neurodegenerative- and inflammatory diseases. Fez1 (Fasciculation and elongation protein zeta 1) is a protein that has been reported to inhibit autophagy. In the first part of this study an attempt to establish stable knock out cell lines of Fez1, its homologue Fez2 and double Fez1-Fez2 by using CRISPR/Cas9 technology was performed. The knock out strategy was applied on two different human cell lines, Hek293 Flp-In and the neuronal cell line SH-SY5Y, and more than 200 putative clones were screened. Unfortunately, none of them displayed complete knock out of Fez1 or Fez2. This may indicate that Fez1 and Fez2 are essential for cell survival or cell growth in these cell lines. In the second part of this study, confocal imaging was applied to study the localization of Fez1 and Fez2, and if they colocalized with proteins involved in autophagy and intracellular transport. Interestingly, upon over-expression both Fez1 and Fez2 colocalized with proteins involved in autophagosome initiation and maturation like WIPI2 and the Atg8 proteins. However, they did not colocalize with syntaxin17, which is involved in the fusion step between autophagosomes and lysosomes. Both proteins also colocalized with tubulin and the transport protein KIF5B. This may suggest a role for Fez1 and Fez2 in the transport of early autophagosomes. The colocalization with tubulin, specifically γ tubulin, was verified at the endogenous level by immunostaining

Hedonic regression model for coffee futures: an analysis of effect of weather, exchange rate, past price and spot price

Objectives The first objective of the thesis is determining the form of time series data that would be suitable for conducting empirical research on coffee futures. The second objective is to conduct a hedonic regression model and to test the observed data for multiple linear regression. Finally, this paper would like to understand the relative importance of economic factors affecting coffee futures price. Summary Unit root test is conducted for 228 samples of Coffee “C” Futures and the independent variables: precipitation in Brazil and in Colombia, exchange rates USD/BRL and USD/COD, spot coffee price and coffee futures price of the previous month from January 1994 to December 2012. The Augmented Dicker-Fuller test suggests the first differencing method to remove unit root in time series data. Several tests for ensuring multiple regression assumptions are performed. The input variables could be said to be valid for conducting hedonic regression model. Conclusions The hedonic regression model reveals that 96% of coffee futures price could be explained by precipitation in Brazil and in Colombia, exchange rates USD/BRL and USD/COD, spot coffee price, coffee futures price of the previous month and dummy variable shock. Only spot price is of great significance at 95% confidence, while the others are not. Spot price also has the highest coefficient, while coefficients of other independent variables are relatively low

How is the review helpfulness evaluated?

A user-generated review that is perceived as helpful is valuable for both customer and the retailer, and that is why online markets such as Amazon.com collect public opinion on reviews that are perceived more helpful. Review platforms allow customers to vote for reviews they deem helpful. While prior literature has examined what drives the helpfulness of reviews, many of these studies have looked at drivers of perceived helpfulness of reviews in isolation. Using the lens of dual process theory, this research examines how consumers evaluate the helpfulness of a review. We propose a framework and provide empirical evidence for the evaluation of the review helpfulness process. We find that extreme reviews have a higher effect on review helpfulness compared to moderate reviews, and this effect is mediated by the depth and sentiment of the review content

Profitability and Activity Assessment of a Selected Company

Cílem bakalářské práce je finanční analýza vybrané společnosti vhodnými metodami.. Je to komplexní zhodnocení finančního zdraví firmy. Vypovídá o podniku, jak efektivně využívá majetek, jak umí zhodnotit vložený kapitál. Celkově zobrazuje vnitřní hospodářskou politiku, její platební schopnost a nízká zadluženost. Důležité jsou zdroje, ze kterých čerpá finanční analýza, a taky správný výběr vhodných metod. Práce je rozdělena na teoretickou část, zde jsou uvedeny zdroje a metody, které jsou následně aplikované v praktické části.The goal of bachelor theses is the financial analysis of selected company by applying appropriate methods. It is complex evaluation of the financial health of company. It provides how efficiently the company uses the assets, how efficiently the company is able to use the invested capital. Economic policy, solvency and low leverage is refelcted. Important are the sources, from which the financial analysis is performed and the selection of appropriate methods. The theses is divided into theoretical part, which focus on the information sources and methods, which are subsequently applied in practice part.154 - Katedra financívelmi dobř

Assessing the impact of selected factors on the consumer loans default in the Czech Republic

Diplomová práce se zabývá ekonometrickým modelováním závislosti podílů nevýkonných spotřebitelských úvěrů vůči celkovým poskytnutým spotřebitelským úvěrům v České republice na vybraných makroekonomických faktorech. Pro verifikaci a kvantifikaci vztahů je používán lineární regresní model s využitím odhadové metody nejmenších čtverců. V první části práce je diskutována problematika finanční stability, trhu spotřebitelských úvěrů v České republice a jsou zde charakterizovány vybrané metody ekonometrické analýzy. Empirická část se již věnuje jednotlivým fázím ekonometrické analýzy a následné predikci podílů nevýkonných spotřebitelských úvěrů na celkově poskytnutých spotřebitelských úvěrech v České republice. Jednotlivé výsledky jsou diskutovány s ohledem na ekonomickou teorii.The diploma thesis deals with econometric modelling of the dependence of the shares of non-performing consumer loans on the total provided consumer loans in the Czech republic on selected macroeconomic factors. The linear regression model with least squares estimation method is used to verify and quantify the relationships. The first part of the thesis discusses the issue of financial stability, the consumer credit market in the Czech republic and selected methods of econometric analysis. The empirical part deals with the individual phases of econometric analysis and subsequent prediction of the shares od non-performing consumer loans to total provided consumer loans in the Czech republic. The last part are discussed in the terms od economic theory.154 - Katedra financívelmi dobř

The Age of Extreme

The COVID-19 pandemic caught the entire world off guard; presenting policy-makers with various thorny issues to address. This article probes the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic and human rights. We argue that, on the one hand, there is a growing concern about excessive and disproportionate restrictions on human rights under the guise of ‘emergency powers’. On the other, the fact that rights are not taken seriously renders every effort to ward off the infectious disease faltering. Hence, we suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic should serve as a wake-up call for countries to step up their rights commitments. Despite the exceptional nature of the pandemic, human rights must remain at the heart of the States’ legal and policy choices