Investment appraisal criteria underlying investment decisions

Companies that want to grow their activity must decide on which investment projects to focus. Investment in financial terms, represents a use of capital that at the end of the investment wants to obtain a profitability. Following the investment, the company hopes that both its volume and activity increase. If the company faces several potential investment projects, it will have to achieve a complex analysis of their characteristics. In support of this analysis, the company can use different criteria to see how profitable are the project. Thus, in this article I will present two of these criteria: net present value and internal rate of return.investment, net present value, internal rate of return

Pricing strategies – aspects, types and characteristics

Companies that want to maximize their profits must decide on several elements that influence this aspect. An important role is pricing the product or service offered by the company. In determining the best price for the product, management must take into account several factors such as cost / unit, market characteristics where the product is intended to be placed, consumer needs. Those that make this type of decisions often use price strategies which help enter a particular market. Economists state that there are many types of strategies out of which I will present those strategies that are based on marginal cost, incremental costs, break even and mark-up.prices, strategies, price discrimination

Antiganglioside Antibodies and Inflammatory Response in Cutaneous Melanoma

Introduction. Endogenously produced antiganglioside antibodies could affect the evolution of cutaneous melanoma. Epidemiological and experimental evidence suggest “chronic inflammation” to be one of the hallmarks in skin cancers. The aim of the study was to characterize the relation between antiganglioside antibodies and inflammation in cutaneous melanoma focusing on gangliosides GM1, GM2, GM3, GD1a, GD1b, GT1b, GQ1b. Material and Method. We performed an observational study that included 380 subjects subdivided into three groups: patients with metastatic melanoma (170 cases), patients with primary melanoma (160 cases), and healthy subjects (50 subjects). The assessment of antiganglioside antibodies, IgG, and IgM classes, against -GM1, -GM2, -GM3, -GD1a, -GD1b, -GT1b, -GQ1b was performed using immunoblot technique (EUROLine kit). Results. The presence of IgG and IgM antiganglioside antibodies in primary melanoma was (%), as follows: anti-GM1 (5.0 and 13.1), -GM2 (1.8 and 18.1), -GM3 (0.6 and 5.6), -GD1a (0.6 and 15.0), -GD1b (3.7 and 10.7), -GT1b (0.0 and 13.1), -GQ1b (0.0 and 5.0). In metastatic melanoma, the level of antiganglioside antibodies was significantly lower compared with primary melanoma (p<0.05), while in the control group they were absent. Antiganglioside antibodies anti-GM1 and -GD1a were positively correlated, while anti-GM3, -GD1b, and -GT1b were negatively associated with the inflammatory markers, interleukin 8 (IL-8), and C reactive protein (CRP). Conclusions. Tumour ganglioside antigens generate an immune response in patients with primary melanomas. The host’s ability to elaborate an early antiganglioside response could be considered as a defence mechanism, directed toward eliminating a danger signal from the tumour microenvironment. Antiganglioside antibodies associated with inflammation markers could be used as diagnostic, monitoring, and treatment tools in patients with cutaneous melanoma

The Relationship between the Soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products and Oxidative Stress in Patients with Palmoplantar Warts

Background and objectives: Warts are the most common lesions caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Recent research suggests that oxidative stress and inflammation are involved in the pathogenesis of HPV-related lesions. It has been shown that the soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) may act as a protective factor against the deleterious effects of inflammation and oxidative stress, two interconnected processes. However, in HPV infection, the role of sRAGE, constitutively expressed in the skin, has not been investigated in previous studies. Materials and Methods: In order to analyze the role of sRAGE in warts, we investigated the link between sRAGE and the inflammatory response on one hand, and the relationship between sRAGE and the total oxidant/antioxidant status (TOS/TAS) on the other hand, in both patients with palmoplantar warts (n = 24) and healthy subjects as controls (n = 28). Results: Compared to the control group, our results showed that patients with warts had lower levels of sRAGE (1036.50 &plusmn; 207.60 pg/mL vs. 1215.32 &plusmn; 266.12 pg/mL, p &lt; 0.05), higher serum levels of TOS (3.17 &plusmn; 0.27 vs. 2.93 &plusmn; 0.22 &micro;mol H2O2 Eq/L, p &lt; 0.01), lower serum levels of TAS (1.85 &plusmn; 0.12 vs. 2.03 &plusmn; 0.14 &micro;mol Trolox Eq/L, p &lt; 0.01) and minor variations of the inflammation parameters (high sensitivity-CRP, interleukin-6, fibrinogen, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate). Moreover, in patients with warts, sRAGE positively correlated with TAS (r = 0.43, p &lt; 0.05), negatively correlated with TOS (r = &minus;0.90, p &lt; 0.01), and there was no significant correlation with inflammation parameters. There were no significant differences regarding the studied parameters between groups when we stratified the patients according to the number of the lesions and disease duration. Conclusions: Our results suggest that sRAGE acts as a negative regulator of oxidative stress and could represent a mediator involved in the development of warts. However, we consider that the level of sRAGE cannot be used as a biomarker for the severity of warts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that sRAGE could be involved in HPV pathogenesis and represent a marker of oxidative stress in patients with warts