1,729 research outputs found
Household preferences for Socially Responsible Investments
We analyze revealed and stated household preferences for socially responsible investments (SRI). Using a questionnaire specifically designed for this purpose and administered to a Dutch representative household panel, we investigate the actual and latent demand for SRI products. Respondents reported whether they owned SRI products and why or why not, but also answered stated choice questions on traditional investments and hypothetical socially responsible products with an explicit return penalty and/or an in- kind compensation associated with lower return. Our results show that investors attracted by socially responsible financial products are more interested in the social product as such and show little interest in compensation. The magnitude of the penalty for investing in SRI is not diluting their investment intentions
The influence of dietary energy source and dietary protein level on milk protein concentration from dairy cows
Diachroneity of the Clearwater west and Clearwater east impact structures supported by (U-Th)/He dating
Refining lunar impact chronology through high spatial resolution 40Ar/39Ar dating of impact melts
Quantitative constraints on the ages of melt-forming impact events on the Moon are based primarily on isotope
geochronology of returned samples. However, interpreting the results of such studies can often be difficult
because the provenance region of any sample returned from the lunar surface may have experienced
multiple impact events over the course of billions of years of bombardment. We illustrate this problem with
new laser microprobe 40Ar/39Ar data for two Apollo 17 impact melt breccias. Whereas one sample yields a
straightforward result, indicating a single melt-forming event at ca. 3.83 Ga, data from the other sample document
multiple impact meltâforming events between ca. 3.81 Ga and at least as young as ca. 3.27 Ga. Notably,
published zircon U/Pb data indicate the existence of even older melt products in the same sample. The revelation
of multiple impact events through 40Ar/39Ar geochronology is likely not to have been possible using
standard incremental heating methods alone, demonstrating the complementarity of the laser microprobe
technique. Evidence for 3.83 Ga to 3.81 Ga melt components in these samples reinforces emerging interpretations
that Apollo 17 impact breccia samples include a significant component of ejecta from the Imbrium basin
impact. Collectively, our results underscore the need to quantitatively resolve the ages of different melt generations
from multiple samples to improve our current understanding of the lunar impact record, and to establish
the absolute ages of important impact structures encountered during future exploration missions in the
inner Solar System
Constraints on the tectonic and landscape evolution of the Bhutan Himalaya from thermochronometry
The observed geomorphology and calculated thermal histories of the Bhutan Himalaya provide
an excellent platform to test ideas regarding the influence of tectonics and climate on the evolution of a
convergentmountain range. However, little consensus has been reached regarding the late Cenozoic history of
the Bhutan Himalaya. Some researchers have argued that observed geologic relationships show slowing
deformation rates, such that the range is decaying from a geomorphic perspective, while others see the range
as growing and steepening. We suggest that a better understanding is possible through the integrated
interpretation of geomorphic and thermochronometric data from the comparison of predictions from models
of landscape evolution and thermal-kinematic models of orogenic systems. New thermochronometric data
throughout Bhutan aremost consistent with a significant decrease in erosion rates, from2 to 3 km/Ma down to
0.1â0.3 km/Ma, around 6â4Ma. We interpret this pattern as a decrease in rock uplift rates due to the activation
of contractional structures of the Shillong Plateau, an uplifted region approximately 100 km south of Bhutan.
However, low-relief, fluvial landscapes throughout the Bhutanese hinterland record a late pulse of surface uplift
likely due to a recent increase in rock uplift rates. Constraints from our youngest thermochronometers suggest
that this increase in rock uplift and surface uplift occurred within the last 1.75Ma. These results imply that
the dynamics of the Bhutan Himalaya and Shillong Plateau have been linked during the late Cenozoic, with
structural elements of both regions active in variable ways and times over that interval
The (U-Th)/He isotope system applied to the dating of distal ejecta from the Chesapeake Bay impact structure
Pre-transplant kidney quality evaluation using photoacoustic imaging during normothermic machine perfusion
Due to the shortage of kidneys donated for transplantation, surgeons are forced to use the organs with an elevated risk of poor function or even failure. Although the existing methods for pre-transplant quality evaluation have been validated over decades in population cohort studies across the world, new methods are needed as long as delayed graft function or failure in a kidney transplant occurs. In this study, we explored the potential of utilizing photoacoustic (PA) imaging during normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) as a means of evaluating kidney quality. We closely monitored twenty-two porcine kidneys using 3D PA imaging during a two-hour NMP session. Based on biochemical analyses of perfusate and produced urine, the kidneys were categorized into ânon-functionalâ and âfunctionalâ groups. Our primary focus was to quantify oxygenation (sO2) within the kidney cortical layer of depths 2 mm, 4 mm, and 6 mm using two-wavelength PA imaging. Next, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to determine an optimal cortical layer depth and time point for the quantification of sO2 to discriminate between functional and non-functional organs. Finally, for each depth, we assessed the correlation between sO2 and creatinine clearance (CrCl), oxygen consumption (VO2), and renal blood flow (RBF). We found that hypoxia of the renal cortex is associated with poor renal function. In addition, the determination of sO2 within the 2 mm depth of the renal cortex after 30 min of NMP effectively distinguishes between functional and non-functional kidneys. The non-functional kidneys can be detected with the sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 85% respectively, using the cut-off point of sO2 < 39%. Oxygenation significantly correlates with RBF and VO2 in all kidneys. In functional kidneys, sO2 correlated with CrCl, which is not the case for non-functional kidneys. We conclude that the presented technique has a high potential for supporting organ selection for kidney transplantation.</p
Another one bites the dust: faecal silica levels in large herbivores correlate with high-crowned teeth
The circumstances of the evolution of hypsodonty (= high-crowned teeth) are a bone of contention. Hypsodonty is usually linked to diet abrasiveness, either from siliceous phytoliths (monocotyledons) or from grit (dusty environments). However, any empirical quantitative approach testing the relation of ingested silica and hypsodonty is lacking. In this study, faecal silica content was quantified as acid detergent insoluble ash and used as proxy for silica ingested by large African herbivores of different digestive types, feeding strategies and hypsodonty levels. Separate sample sets were used for the dry (n = 15 species) and wet (n = 13 species) season. Average faecal silica contents were 17â46 g kgâ1 dry matter (DM) for browsing and 52â163 g kgâ1 DM for grazing herbivores. No difference was detected between the wet (97.5 Âą 14.4 g kgâ1 DM) and dry season (93.5 Âą 13.7 g kgâ1 DM) faecal silica. In a phylogenetically controlled analysis, a strong positive correlation (dry season r = 0.80, p < 0.0005; wet season r = 0.74, p < 0.005) was found between hypsodonty index and faecal silica levels. While surprisingly our results do not indicate major seasonal changes in silica ingested, the correlation of faecal silica and hypsodonty supports a scenario of a dominant role of abrasive silica in the evolution of high-crowned teeth
- âŚ