2,309 research outputs found
Contextualized property market models vs. Generalized mass appraisals: An innovative approach
The present research takes into account the current and widespread need for rational valuation methodologies, able to correctly interpret the available market data. An innovative automated valuation model has been simultaneously implemented to three Italian study samples, each one constituted by two-hundred residential units sold in the years 2016-2017. The ability to generate a "unique" functional form for the three different territorial contexts considered, in which the relationships between the influencing factors and the selling prices are specified by different multiplicative coefficients that appropriately represent the market phenomena of each case study analyzed, is the main contribution of the proposed methodology. The method can provide support for private operators in the assessment of the territorial investment conveniences and for the public entities in the decisional phases regarding future tax and urban planning policies
Is acting prosocially beneficial for the credit market?
This article argues that behaving prosocially implies more transparent information during the negotiation process of a financial contract and more cooperation among the parties to respect the terms of the contract. For this reason this work considers interest rate on loans and insolvency rate functions of prosocial behaviour along with the traditional socio-economic and financial collaterals. The context of study is Italy and the analysis is developed at a cross-regional level. We collect data from the two reports on “Relatives and Safety Net” produced by the Italian Centre Bureau of Statistics (ISTAT) in 1998 and 2003 and from the reports on “Regional Economics” produced by the Bank of Italy in the same years. A two-period panel model shows two interesting outcomes. Firstly, regions with a higher proportion of prosocial individuals report lower interest rates on loans and insolvency rates. Secondly, when we include the efficiency of legal enforcement, evidence supports the idea that a more efficient legal framework can act as a more reliable transmission mechanism of institutional norms and facilitate the internalisation of social norms
Real Options for risk analysis in estimating the capitalization rate
A suitable cap-rate is generally determined
through an analogical process in order to estimate the value of
any real estate through the capitalization of the incomes. The
analogy relates to the risk and duration of similar investments.
There are numerous methods to rationalize the valuation of the
cap-rate. Appraisals have a certain degree of uncertainty in all
these methods. This paper proposes a methodology which
removes any uncertainty when evaluating the cap-rate. This is
achieved through the combination of the formal logic of the
Ellwood’s model and the Real Options Analysis
An application of Real Option Analysis for the assessment of operative flexibility in the urban redevelopment
The high variability of market prices and the uncertainty that, even in restrained timeframes, is
characterizing the general economic situation, have led real estate operators to a prudent attitude, who tend to
postpone or at least stagger the start of the initiatives on hold of more stable conditions. In this context it is
appropriate to use evaluation tools enable to enhance the investment capacity to be adapted to possible changes
of the conditions initially hypothesized. In the present research Real Options Analysis (ROA) is applied to the
evaluation of an investment in urban redevelopment of a former industrial complex. The result obtained shows
the efficacy of the instrument. Assuming that the entrepreneur considers affordable the implementation of the
initiative if the outcome of the discounted cash flow analysis is at least equal to a threshold value calculated as
a percentage of revenues, the application of ROA returns an extended NPV that meets this constraint, whereas
the use of traditional NPV suggest to abandon the project idea. The binomial approach used also allows to
accurately monitor the project's development, correlating it to the evolution of the market
QSAR Model for Cytotoxicity of Silica Nanoparticles on Human Embryonic Kidney Cells1
Abstract A predictive model for cytotoxicity of 20 and 50 nm silica nanoparticles has been built using so-called optimal descriptors as mathematical functions of size, concentration and exposure time. These parameters have been encoded into 31 combinations 'concentration-exposure-size'. The calculation has been carried out by means of the CORAL software ( http://www.insilico.eu/coral/ ) using three random splits of the obtained systems into training and test sets. The statistical quality of the best model for cell viability (%) of cultured human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293) exposed to different concentrations of silica nanoparticles measured by MTT assay is satisfactory
Do People Perceive Alexa as Gendered? A Cross-Cultural Study of People’s Perceptions, Expectations, and Desires of Alexa
Mainly, the scholarly debate on Alexa has focused on sexist/anti-woman gender representations in the everyday life of many families, on a cluster of themes such as privacy, insecurity, and trust, and on the world of education and health. This paper takes another stance and explores via online survey methodology how university student respondents in two countries (the United States, n = 333; and Italy, n = 322) perceive Alexa’s image and gender, what they expect from this voice-based assistant, and how they would like Alexa to be. Results of a free association exercise showed that Alexa’s image was scarcely embodied or explicitly gendered. Rather, Alexa was associated with a distinct category of being—the VBA, virtual assistant, or digital helper—with which one talks, and which possesses praiseworthy technical and social traits. Expectations of Alexa and desires regarding Alexa’s ideal performance are presented and compared across the two country samples
Large-FSR Thermally Tunable Double-Ring Filters for WDM Applications in Silicon Photonics
International audience; We present the design procedure and experimental results of thermally tunable double ring resonators for integrated wavelength division multiplexing applications. A detailed analytical model specific for double rings is described, and a modified racetrack geometry using Bezier bends is used to reduce bending loss. We demonstrate devices with a free-spectral-range up to 2.4 THz ( 19 nm) around 1550 nm and nonadjacent channel rejection higher than 35 dB. The experimental results of thermally tunable double ring resonators is also presented with doped silicon integrated heaters, allowing the device to be used as a tunable filter or a switch
Tunability and Losses of Mid-infrared Plasmonics in Heavily Doped Germanium Thin Films
Heavily-doped semiconductor films are very promising for application in
mid-infrared plasmonic devices because the real part of their dielectric
function is negative and broadly tunable in this wavelength range. In this work
we investigate heavily n-type doped germanium epilayers grown on different
substrates, in-situ doped in the to cm range, by
infrared spectroscopy, first principle calculations, pump-probe spectroscopy
and dc transport measurements to determine the relation between plasma edge and
carrier density and to quantify mid-infrared plasmon losses. We demonstrate
that the unscreened plasma frequency can be tuned in the 400 - 4800 cm
range and that the average electron scattering rate, dominated by scattering
with optical phonons and charged impurities, increases almost linearly with
frequency. We also found weak dependence of losses and tunability on the
crystal defect density, on the inactivated dopant density and on the
temperature down to 10 K. In films where the plasma was optically activated by
pumping in the near-infrared, we found weak but significant dependence of
relaxation times on the static doping level of the film. Our results suggest
that plasmon decay times in the several-picosecond range can be obtained in
n-type germanium thin films grown on silicon substrates hence allowing for
underdamped mid-infrared plasma oscillations at room temperature.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure
Antiphospholipid reactivity against cardiolipin metabolites occurring during endothelial cell apoptosis.
We have recently shown that cardiolipin (CL) and its metabolites move from mitochondria to other cellular membranes during death receptor-mediated apoptosis. In this study, we investigate the immunoreactivity to CL derivatives occurring during endothelial apoptosis in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We compared the serum immunoreactivity to CL with that of its derivatives monolysocardiolipin (MCL), dilysocardiolipin (DCL), and hydrocardiolipin (HCL) by means of both enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and thin-layer chromatography (TLC) immunostaining. In addition, we investigated the composition of phospholipid extracts from the plasma membrane of apoptotic endothelial cells and the binding of patients' sera to the surface of the same cells by using high-performance TLC and immunofluorescence analysis. The average reactivity to MCL was comparable with that of CL and significantly higher than that for DCL and HCL in patients studied, both in the presence or in the absence of beta2-glycoprotein I. Of relevance for the pathogenic role of these autoantibodies, immunoglobulin G from patients' sera showed an increased focal reactivity with the plasma membrane of endothelial cells undergoing apoptosis. Interestingly, the phospholipid analysis of these light membrane fractions showed an accumulation of both CL and MCL. Our results demonstrated that a critical number of acyl chains in CL derivatives is important for the binding of antiphospholipid antibodies and that MCL is an antigenic target with immunoreactivity comparable with CL in APS and SLE. Our finding also suggests a link between apoptotic perturbation of CL metabolism and the production of these antibodies
Estimating the concession fee for the use of a football stadium
The concession for the use of real estate intended to provide public services is the tool often used by the public administration to obtain, with the recourse to private investment, the valorisation of the asset and a more efficient management of the service. A typical case is that of football stadiums, the management of which is normally entrusted in concession to companies that assume the burden of guaranteeing the safety and functionality of the facility to provide a satisfactory experience for the spectator. When the management of the asset entails profit margins for the concessionary company, the public service concession must provide for the payment of a fee as consideration for the use of the asset. This work deals with the issue of estimating the concession fee for football stadiums granted to clubs with teams playing in professional leagues. The issue is addressed through the implementation of a direct probabilistic and multi-parametric approach, which attempts to overcome the limitations of the procedures normally used in these cases, based on cost value or income analysis, resulting from the subjective nature that often characterises the choice of fundamental parameters. Specifically, a multiple regression analysis is developed on the basis of information and data from the examination of existing concession contracts for similar properties. The results show that the variance of the fees is explained by the level of the football league in which the concessionaire's team plays, the capacity of the stadium, the year of construction of the stadium, and the year of the last major renovation on the building structure
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