Editorial: Littoral 2008

n/

Saving with a social impact: Evidence from trento province

In this paper, we investigate the determinants of investing, focusing on its potential social impact. In particular, we consider whether there is room for expanding impact investing through social savings. The increasing trend in the demand for social finance makes the topic of unique interest, particularly when data on preferences for social saving can be collected at the individual level. We investigate the determinants and drivers of saving with a social goal running a survey conducted in Trentino-Alto Adige in which respondents are asked to allocate their portfolio to possible social investments. In line with the evidence collected in the Netherlands by Riedl and Smeets (2014), our results show a strong preference for a lower return, with the condition that the return is invested in a community programme, and little interest in the monetary return of the investment. Respondents are either inclined to put their entire portfolio into saving for the community or not to invest at all. This result suggests that there is a consistent demand, only partially accommodated by the supply, for financial products investing in the community, rather than for a monetary return

An accretion disc model for quasar optical variability

Some different correlations between optical-UV variability and other quasar properties, such as luminosity, black hole mass and rest-frame wavelength, were discovered. The positive correlation between optical-UV variability amplitude and black hole mass was first found by Wold et al., and this was confirmed by Wilhite et al. We suggest that the accretion disk model can explain these correlations, provided the optical-UV variability is triggered by the change of accretion rate. The disk temperature of accretion discs decreases with increasing black hole mass, which leads to systematical spectral shape difference with black hole mass even if the black hole is accreting at the same rate m_dot (m_dot = M_dot / M_dotEdd). The observed positive correlation between optical-UV variability and black hole mass can be well reproduced by our model calculations, if the mean accretion rate m_dot0 ~ 0.1 with variation of m_delta ~ 0.4 - 0.5 m_dot0. We also found that the observed correlations of optical-UV variability amplitude with luminosity or rest-frame wavelength can be qualitatively explained by this accretion disc model.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

Stratigraphic evolution of the Triassic\u2013Jurassic succession in the Western Southern Alps (Italy) : the record of the two-stage rifting on the distal passive margin of Adria

The Triassic-Lower Jurassic succession of the Southern Alps is characterized by rapid thickness changes, from an average of about 5000m east of Lago Maggiore to about 500m in the Western Southern Alps. The stratigraphy reflects the Triassic evolution of the Tethyan Gulf and the Early Jurassic rifting responsible for the Middle Jurassic break-up of Adria from Europe. The succession of the Western Southern Alps starts with Lower Permian volcanics directly covered by Anisian sandstones. The top of the overlying Ladinian dolostones (300m) records subaerial exposure and karstification. Locally (Gozzano), Upper Sinemurian sediments cover the Permian volcanics, documenting pre-Sinemurian erosion. New biostratigraphic data indicate a latest Pliensbachian-Toarcian age for the Jurassic synrift deposits that unconformably cover Ladinian or Sinemurian sediments. Therefore, in the Western Southern Alps, the major rifting stage that directly evolved into the opening of the Penninic Ocean began in the latest Pliensbachian-Toarcian. New data allowed us to refine the evolution of the two previously recognized Jurassic extensional events in the Southern Alps. The youngest extensional event (Western Southern Alps) occurred as tectonic activity decreased in the Lombardy Basin. During the Sinemurian the Gozzano high represents the western shoulder of a rift basin located to the east (Lombardy). This evolution documents a transition from diffuse early rifting (Late Hettangian-Sinemurian), controlled by older discontinuities, to rifting focused along a rift valley close to the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary. This younger rift bridges the gap between the Hettangian-Sinemurian diffuse rifting and the Callovian-Bathonian break-up. The late Pliensbachian-Toarcian rift, which eventually lead to continental break-up, is interpreted as the major extensional episode in the evolution of the passive margin of Adria. The transition from diffuse to focused extension in the Southern Alps is comparable to the evolution of the Central Austroalpine during the Early Jurassic and of the Central and Northern Atlantic margins

Linking food web functioning and habitat diversity for an ecosystem based management: A Mediterranean lagoon case-study

We propose a modelling approach relating the functioning of a transitional ecosystem with the spatial extension of its habitats. A test case is presented for the lagoon of Venice, discussing the results in the context of the application of current EU directives. The effects on food web functioning due to changes related to manageable and unmanageable drivers were investigated. The modelling procedure involved the use of steady-state food web models and network analysis, respectively applied to estimate the fluxes of energy associated with trophic interactions, and to compute indices of food web functioning. On the long term (hundred years) temporal scale, the model indicated that the expected loss of salt marshes will produce further changes at the system level, with a lagoon showing a decrease in the energy processing efficiency. On the short term scale, simulation results indicated that fishery management accompanied by seagrass restoration measures would produce a slight transition towards a more healthy system, with higher energy cycling, and maintaining a good balance between processing efficiency and resilience. Scenarios presented suggest that the effectiveness of short term management strategies can be better evaluated when contextualized in the long term trends of evolution of a system. We also remark the need for further studying the relationship between habitat diversity and indicators of food web functioning

Pulse transit time measured by photoplethysmography improves the accuracy of heart rate as a surrogate measure of cardiac output, stroke volume and oxygen uptake in response to graded exercise

Heart rate (HR) is a valuable and widespread measure for physical training programs, although its description of conditioning is limited to the cardiac response to exercise. More comprehensive measures of exercise adaptation include cardiac output ((Q) over dot), stroke volume (SV) and oxygen uptake ((V) over dotO(2)), but these physiological parameters can be measured only with cumbersome equipment installed in clinical settings. In this work, we explore the ability of pulse transit time (PTT) to represent a valuable pairing with HR for indirectly estimating (Q) over dot, SV and (V) over dotO(2) non-invasively. PTT was measured as the time interval between the peak of the electrocardiographic (ECG) R-wave and the onset of the photoplethysmography (PPG) waveform at the periphery (i.e. fingertip) with a portable sensor. Fifteen healthy young subjects underwent a graded incremental cycling protocol after which HR and PTT were correlated with (Q) over dot, SV and (V) over dotO(2) using linear mixed models. The addition of PTT significantly improved the modeling of (Q) over dot, SV and (V) over dotO(2) at the individual level (R-1(2) = 0.419 for SV, 0.548 for (Q) over dot, and 0.771 for (V) over dotO(2)) compared to predictive models based solely on HR (R-1(2) = 0.379 for SV, 0.503 for (Q) over dot, and 0.745 for (V) over dotO(2)). While challenges in sensitivity and artifact rejection exist, combining PTT with HR holds potential for development of novel wearable sensors that provide exercise assessment largely superior to HR monitors

Descriptors for web-enabled national in situ landrace inventories

vo