Cash-rich Firms and Carbon Emissions

We investigate whether corporate cash holdings affect carbon dioxide emissions. Using a sample of 5,402 firm-years observations from 943 U.S. firms during 2007–2017, we find that carbon emissions are lower in firms with higher corporate cash holdings. The effect of cash holdings on carbon emissions is more pronounced in firms with low leverage and less financial constraints. Our channel analysis further unveils that renewable energy consumption and carbon abatement investment are higher in cash-rich firms, which transmit lower carbon emissions. Our findings are robust to different identification strategies and alternative measures of cash holdings and carbon emissions. Overall, our paper provides novel evidence on the role of corporate cash holdings in mitigating carbon emissions

Combustion characteristics of rice bran oil biodiesel in an oil burner

The concept of biodiesel as an alternative fuel is not an overnight thought, but the escalating prices, pungent emission gases and non-ecological behavior of fossil fuels has constrained the researchers to take the necessary steps. Biodiesels which are renewable in nature and having environmental friendly attribute have shown the potential to be the perfect replacement for the diesel fuels. Similarly, this study demonstrates the characteristics of Rice Bran Oil (RBO) which can be used as a latent substitute for diesel products. RBO is a vegetable oil, which is extracted from the rice bran (by-product of rice grain). Since rice is the staple diet for more than half of the world population, the quantity of RBO that can be extracted is enormous. In this study, the converted RBO into biodiesel (RBOBD) was blended with diesel to produce B5, B15 and B25 to determine physical properties and combustion performance. Owing to highly packed molecules of RBOBD, the properties such as density, kinematic viscosity and surface tension are higher in RBOBD and its blends than diesel. In contrast, the calorific value is lower. In the combustion test, the highest wall temperature is achieved at stoichiometric fuel mixture, while among the fuels, the wall temperature decreases as the biodiesel proportion increases in the blends. Moreover, in B25, emissions such as CO and SO2 are 68% and 50% lower than that of diesel respectively. However, due to the additional oxygen present in the biodiesel structure, NOx emission of B25 is 15.67% higher than diesel

pH-Responsive Liposomes of Dioleoyl Phosphatidylethanolamine and Cholesteryl Hemisuccinate for the Enhanced Anticancer Efficacy of Cisplatin

The current study aimed to develop pH-responsive cisplatin-loaded liposomes (CDDP@PLs) via the thin film hydration method. Formulations with varied ratios of dioleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) to cholesteryl hemisuccinate (CHEMS) were investigated to obtain the optimal particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, in vitro release profile, and stability. The particle size of the CDDP@PLs was in the range of 153.2 ± 3.08-206.4 ± 2.26 nm, zeta potential was -17.8 ± 1.26 to -24.6 ± 1.72, and PDI displayed an acceptable size distribution. Transmission electron microscopy revealed a spherical shape with ~200 nm size. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis showed the physicochemical stability of CDDP@PLs, and differential scanning calorimetry analysis showed the loss of the crystalline nature of cisplatin in liposomes. In vitro release study of CDDP@PLs at pH 7.4 depicted the lower release rate of cisplatin (less than 40%), and at a pH of 6.5, an almost 65% release rate was achieved compared to the release rate at pH 5.5 (more than 80%) showing the tumor-specific drug release. The cytotoxicity study showed the improved cytotoxicity of CDDP@PLs compared to cisplatin solution in MDA-MB-231 and SK-OV-3 cell lines, and fluorescence microscopy also showed enhanced cellular internalization. The acute toxicity study showed the safety and biocompatibility of the developed carrier system for the potential delivery of chemotherapeutic agents. These studies suggest that CDDP@PLs could be utilized as an efficient delivery system for the enhancement of therapeutic efficacy and to minimize the side effects of chemotherapy by releasing cisplatin at the tumor site

SNP genotyping to screen for a common deletion in CHARGE Syndrome

BACKGROUND: CHARGE syndrome is a complex of birth defects including coloboma, choanal atresia, ear malformations and deafness, cardiac defects, and growth delay. We have previously hypothesized that CHARGE syndrome could be caused by unidentified genomic microdeletion, but no such deletion was detected using short tandem repeat (STR) markers spaced an average of 5 cM apart. Recently, microdeletion at 8q12 locus was reported in two patients with CHARGE, although point mutation in CHD7 on chromosome 8 was the underlying etiology in most of the affected patients. METHODS: We have extended our previous study by employing a much higher density of SNP markers (3258) with an average spacing of approximately 800 kb. These SNP markers are diallelic and, therefore, have much different properties for detection of deletions than STRs. RESULTS: A global error rate estimate was produced based on Mendelian inconsistency. One marker, rs431722 exceeded the expected frequency of inconsistencies, but no deletion could be demonstrated after retesting the 4 inconsistent pedigrees with local flanking markers or by FISH with the corresponding BAC clone. Expected deletion detection (EDD) was used to assess the coverage of specific intervals over the genome by deriving the probability of detecting a common loss of heterozygosity event over each genomic interval. This analysis estimated the fraction of unobserved deletions, taking into account the allele frequencies at the SNPs, the known marker spacing and sample size. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our genotyping indicate that more than 35% of the genome is included in regions with very low probability of a deletion of at least 2 Mb

Physiological and anthocyanin biosynthesis genes response induced by vanadium stress in mustard genotypes with distinct photosynthetic activity

The present study aimed to elucidate the photosynthetic performance, antioxidant enzyme activities, anthocyanin contents, anthocyanin biosynthetic gene expression, and vanadium uptake in mustard genotypes (purple and green) that differ in photosynthetic capacity under vanadium stress. The results indicated that vanadium significantly reduced photosynthetic activity in both genotypes. The activities of the antioxidant enzymes were increased significantly in response to vanadium in both genotypes, although the purple exhibited higher. The anthocyanin contents were also reduced under vanadium stress. The anthocyanin biosynthetic genes were highly expressed in the purple genotype, notably the genes TT8, F3H, and MYBL2 under vanadium stress. The results indicate that induction of TT8, F3H, and MYBL2 genes was associated with upregulation of the biosynthetic genes required for higher anthocyanin biosynthesis in purple compared with the green mustard. The roots accumulated higher vanadium than shoots in both mustard genotypes. The results indicate that the purple mustard had higher vanadium tolerance

A Study of Errors in Using Modal Verbs Made by Grade 11 Students of a Government School in Nintavur Educational Division

This study at investigating the errors in using modal verbs made by grade 11 students of a government school in Nintavur educational division. In English modal verbs are used to show if we believe something is certain, probable or possible and we also use models to do things like talking about ability , asking permission, making requests and offers and so on. Although the students have learnt English language for many years in a government school of nintavur educational division they make a lot of errors while using modal verbs in writing.Without having the proper knowledge on how to use modal verbs to create sentences the students won’t be able to improve the writing skills.With regards to this research a grade 11 students of a government school in Nintavur educational division which consists of 25 students has been chosen for the study as they are currently in great 11 finding extremely difficult to use modal verbs in writing. They have learnt 11 years but it is still difficult to create meaningful sentences by using modal verbs. The objective of this research is to identify the errors while using modal verbs and provide useful guidelines and instructions to overcome the problems and errors and enhance the writing skills

Media społecznościowe w zarządzaniu reklamą polityczną : studium Indii

Social Media has become an important tool of opinion formation in this technology driven age and marketing managers have realised its significance. With political arena behaving like a customer driven market, uses of marketing technologies are increasingly being used for competitive advantage. Social Media has proved to a useful tool. Marketing political parties are evident in the recent election in India. The present paper explores the implication of twitter on political marketing by studying the relationship between tweet followers and vote share gained by political parties taking Delhi Assembly elections 2015 as a case in point. The findings suggest that there is a positive correlation between the volume of tweet and vote share.Media społecznościowe w tej erze napędzanej technologią stały się ważnym narzędziem kształtowania opinii i menedżerowie marketingowi zdali sobie sprawę z jej znaczenia. Z areną polityczną zachowującą się jak rynek napędzany klientem, użytkownicy technologii marketingowych są coraz częściej wykorzystywani do przewagi konkurencyjnej. Media społecznościowe okazały się do tego użytecznym narzędziem. Marketingowe partie polityczne są widoczne w ostatnich wyborach w Indiach. Niniejszy artykuł bada wpływ Twittera na marketing polityczny, badając relacje między osobami obserwującymi twittera i udziałem głosów uzyskanych przez partie polityczne, biorące udział w wyborach Zgromadzenia Delhi w 2015. Wnioski sugerują, że istnieje dodatnia korelacja pomiędzy ilością wysyłanych tweetów a udziałem głosów

Assessment of the groundwater quality and pollution in Kabul City, Afghanistan

Kabul, the Capital of Afghanistan is counting as one of the rapidly growing cities in Asia, one-third of its population have access to the water supply network. In addition to that, the public sanitation system does not exist in the city, which leads to contamination of the groundwater in the city. However, the purpose of this study is to assess the groundwater quality and to analyze the main sources of water pollution in Kabul city. In this relation, more than 450 samples of groundwater which covers the samples from residential houses, water supply wells and public water supply system reservoirs, have been collected and analyzed for physical and biological characteristics, which reveal the existence of Total Coliform bacteria by 12.9% and Fecal Coliform bacteria by 9.6% in the groundwater of the Kabul city. Furthermore, 49 water supply wells were also investigated to find the main sources of water pollution in the city and the result discovered that 13 different sources exist that may affect the groundwater quality of the city to its greater extent

Residents’ perception on the impact of urban development on water quality in Kabul City, Afghanistan

Kabul, as one of the biggest cities and capital of Afghanistan, has been severely affected by the past few decades of war in the country. The Kabul city population has significantly increased after 2001, which resulted in the fastest urban development of the city. About 70% of the Kabul city residents living in the informal settlement, nearly two-thirds of its population do not have access to the city water supply network, and the Kabul city drinking water is mainly being supplied through shallow wells. Proper sanitation system also does not exist in the city. This resulted in the decline of water quality. Indeed, groundwater analyses display a continued reduction in water quality due to increases in pollution. Thus, the main purpose of this research is to analyse the effects of urban development on water quality of groundwater through resident’s perception. Therefore, a survey questionnaire was circulated among 429 persons, which shows that about half of the respondents were not satisfied with their home drinking water quality. Besides, the analyses of data also revealed that rapid urbanisation has a significant impact on water quality and that the rapid population growth, stormwater, water pollution, colour of water, septic tank, drainage, and pit latrine are the main elements that contribute to the impact of urban development on water quality of the city

Synthesis and characterization of complexes [<img src='/image/spc_char/Etta.gif' border=0>⁵-CpFe(CO)₂]₂SiMe₂ and [(<img src='/image/spc_char/Etta.gif' border=0>⁵-Cp)₄Fe₄(CO)₂(SiMe₂)₂]

398-399Na[5-CpFe(CO)2] reacts with SiMe2Cl2 (2:1 molar ratio) in THF at ~ 0°C to give the iron-silicon cluster complex [(5-Cp)4Fe4(CO)2(SiMe2)2] (II) in addition to the simple complex {5-CpFe(CO)2]2SiMe2 (I). The complex (II) has a tetrahedral framework of four iron atoms with bridging CO and SiMe2 units and the structure is highly symmetrical