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Selected AbstractsEthical investment and the incentives for corporate environmental protection and social responsibilityCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2003Iulie Aslaksen This paper addresses some interrelated questions regarding ethical investments: does ethical screening provide any incentives for improved social responsibility within firms? Are ethical screened portfolios competitive compared with conventional funds with respect to risk-adjusted return? Does the risk-adjusted return of a screened portfolio depend on the screening strategy applied? Considering ethical screening as a kind of segmentation of the equity market, it is shown that screening might create incentives for changes in firms' behaviour. The strength of this incentive depends on the relative share of screened portfolios, which in turn partially depends on the financial performance of the screened portfolios. While some theoretical arguments suggest that screening imposes a handicap compared with conventional portfolios, the empirical evidence does not suggest that screened portfolios systematically under-perform conventional portfolios. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Summer changes in cyanobacterial bloom composition and microcystin concentration in eutrophic Czech reservoirsENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY, Issue 3 2006Petr Znachor Abstract In mid-July and August 2003 and 2004, 18 reservoirs in the Czech Republic were sampled for phytoplankton species composition and concentration of intracellular microcystins (MCs). As a consequence of high nutrient loading, most of the reservoirs experienced cyanobacterial blooms of various intensities, with the prevalence of cyanobacteria increasing markedly in August, along with a conspicuous shift in species composition toward dominance of Microcystis spp. Microcystins were detected in 90% of the samples, and their amount also increased considerably in August, reflecting the cyanobacterial biomass. In Microcystis -dominated samples, a significantly higher amount of MCs (p < 0.001) occurred than in samples in which other taxa prevailed. Microcystins were positively correlated with chlorophyll a and cyanobacterial biovolume (p < 0.05, R2 = 0.61 and 0.66, respectively), with the strongest correlation found for Microcystis spp. biovolume (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.87). This taxon was the most important producer of MCs in Czech reservoirs. The main structural variants of MCs were MC-LR, MC-RR, and MC-YR. This study's data also indicate that the relative share of MC variants (MC-LR and MC-RR) varies considerably with time, most likely as a consequence of different species and strain compositions during the summer. This study clearly demonstrates a high prevalence of MC-producing cyanobacteria in Czech reservoirs. Therefore, regular monitoring of these reservoirs is highly desirable in an effort to minimize potential health risks to the human population. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 21: 236,243, 2006. [source] Endothelial dysfunction in Buerger's disease and its relation to markers of inflammationEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION, Issue 6 2006M. Joras Abstract Background, Buerger's disease (BD) is a segmental occlusive vascular disease. The aim of this study was to detect functional changes in brachial artery and asymptomatic morphological changes in extra-cranial carotid arteries not affected by the disease process and to assess markers of inflammation and endothelial damage. Materials and methods, Fourteen patients in the remission phase of BD and the same number of age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included in the study. The capability of endothelium-dependent (flow-mediated) and endothelium-independent dilation of the brachial artery and intima-media thickness of the carotid arteries were measured using high-resolution ultrasound. Laboratory parameters of endogenous fibrinolytic activity, inflammation and endothelial dysfunction were also measured. Results, Patients with BD had a diminished capability of endothelium-dependent vasodilation and higher levels of some circulating markers of inflammation, such as leukocytes, C-reactive protein, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and E-selectin. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 levels were related to some of the inflammatory markers (sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, ,2-globulins and fibrinogen), while E-selectin was correlated with decreased endogenous blood fibrinolytic activity. Endothelium-dependent vasodilation was in negative correlation with the relative share of neutrophil granulocytes. There were no significant differences in intima-media thickness between patients with BD and controls. Conclusions, Our study has expressed generalized functional arterial disorder in patients with BD not accompanied by any measurable morphological changes of the carotid arterial wall. Functional deterioration of brachial artery could be related to increased levels of various inflammatory markers , the process which is most probably the basic pathogenetic mechanism of the disease. [source] Globalization's Alternatives: Competing or Complementary Perspectives?1GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 1 2008John Glenn Recent writings on globalization have tended to argue that such economic interconnectedness is, in one way or another, geographically delimited. Three competing views appear in the literature, regionalization, triadization and the involutionist perspective. This article challenges the portrayal of these perspectives as competing conceptions and instead argues that each perspective furnishes us with a partial view of a larger process. In so doing, this paper revisits the involutionist perspective, arguing that, in relation to the developing countries' relative share of world trade and investment shares, the use of the term ,globalization' should be questioned. Rather, in relation to trade, involution is a more apt description. However, in terms of FDI, stasis better describes the contemporary international economy. The article then examines the trade and investment patterns within the triad, corroborating earlier findings that each leg of the triad is increasingly trading more with their neighbours than with each other, but that inter-triad FDI is indeed increasing. Three main factors are presented in order to explain the contemporary patterns of trade and investment associated with involution, regionalization and triadization: product differentiation, vertical specialization and the continuing concentration on primary product production in much of the developing world. [source] The efficiency of natural gas futures marketsOPEC ENERGY REVIEW, Issue 2 2003Ahmed El Hachemi Mazighi Recent experience with the emergence of futures markets for natural gas has led to many questions about the drivers and functioning of these markets. Most often, however, studies lack strong statistical support. The objective of this article is to use some classical statistical tests to check whether futures markets for natural gas (NG) are efficient or not. The problem of NG market efficiency is closely linked to the debate on the value of NG. More precisely, if futures markets were really efficient, then: 1) spot prices would reflect the existence of a market assessment, which is proof that speculation and the manipulation of prices are absent; 2) as a consequence, spot prices could give clear signals about the value of NG; and 3) historical series on spot prices could serve as "clean" benchmarks in the pricing of NG in long-term contracts. On the whole, since the major share of NG is sold to power producers, the efficiency of futures markets implies that spot prices for NG are driven increasingly by power prices. On the other hand, if futures markets for natural gas fail the efficiency tests, this will reflect: 1) a lack of liquidity in futures markets and/or possibilities of an excess return in the short term; 2) a pass-through of the seasonality of power demand in the gas market; 3) the existence of a transitory process, before spot markets become efficient and give clear signals about the value of NG. Using monthly data on three segments of the futures markets, our findings show that efficiency is almost completely rejected on both the International Petroleum Exchange in London (UK market) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (US market). On the NYMEX, the principle of "co-movement" between spot and forward prices seems to be respected. However, the autocorrelation functions of the first differences in the price changes show no randomness of price fluctuations for three segments out of four. Further, both the NYMEX and the IPE fail, with regard to the hypothesis that the forward price is an optimal predictor of the spot price. Consequently, unless we have an increase in the liquidity of spot markets and an increase in the relative share of NG spot trading, futures markets cannot be considered as efficient. [source] Diurnal feeding pattern and gut content of milkfish Chanos chanos (Forsskål, 1775) cultured semi-intensively during the wet and dry season in brackish ponds in the PhilippinesAQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 1 2008Kai-Jens Kühlmann Abstract To improve feeding management and reduce feed cost in semi-intensive grow-out culture of milkfish (Chanos chanos, Forsskål 1775) in brackish ponds, the relative shares of natural food (NF) and supplemental feed (SF) ingested by the fish were microscopically quantified from their completely dissected digestive tracts sampled during 24-h cycles in wet (June,September) and dry (December,April) seasons. Particles from rice husk, indigestible to milkfish, were used as internal markers to quantify supplemental feed. Significantly (P<0.05) more NF than SF (1.4±0.2 vs. 0.4±0.1 g kg,0.8) and SF than NF (1.4±0.8 vs. 0.6±0.3 g kg,0.8) were found during the first month of the wet and the first 3 months of the dry season respectively. Diurnal feeding patterns on SF were significantly higher at morning hours during the dry compared with the wet season. The feeding pattern of milkfish is likely to be affected by the different weather and pond conditions in both seasons. Developing a season-specific pond fertilization management to enhance NF availability in semi-intensive milkfish culture can help to improve the economical and ecological performance of milkfish culture. [source] | |||||||||||||