6,223 research outputs found
RDLS-SS-DWT v. 0.9
No full textThis fileset contains the implementation of RDLS-DWT and SS-DWT in JPEG 2000 (RDLS-SS-DWT v. 0.9), which was used in a research described in: R. Starosolski, “Application of reversible denoising and lifting steps to DWT in lossless JPEG 2000 for improved bitrates,” Signal Processing: Image Communication, Vol. 39, Part A, pp. 249-63, DOI: 10.1016/j.image.2015.09.013, 2015 and R. Starosolski, “Skipping selected steps of DWT computation in lossless JPEG 2000 for improved bitrates,” submitted. This software is intended for research purposes only; it is provided "as is"; author makes no warranty of any kind, either express or implied, with respect to this software. <br
How banks go abroad : branches or subsidiaries ?
No full textThe authors examine the factors that influence banks'type of organizational form when operating in foreign markets using an original database of the branches and subsidiaries in Latin America and Eastern Europe of the top 100 international banks. They find that regulation, taxation, the degree of desired penetration in the local market, and host-country economic and political risks matter. Banks are more likely to operate as branches in countries that have higher corporate taxes and when they face lower regulatory restrictions on bank entry, in general, and on foreign branches, in particular. Subsidiaries are the preferred organizational form by banks that seek to penetrate the local market establishing large and mostly retail operations. Finally, there is evidence that economic and political risks have opposite effects on the type of organizational form, suggesting that legal differences in the degree of parent bank responsibility vis-à-vis branches and subsidiaries under different risk scenarios play an important role in the kind of operations international banks maintain overseasBanks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Banking Law,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Economic Theory&Research
Anaerobic digestion of two biodegradable municipal waste streams
No full textLandfill avoidance for organic wastes is now a high priority worldwide. Two fractions of the municipal waste stream were considered with respect to their potential for diversion through controlled anaerobic digestion. The physical and chemical properties of source segregated domestic food waste (ss-FW) and of the mechanically-recovered organic fraction of municipal solid waste (mr-OFMSW) were analysed, and their methane yields determined in both batch and semi-continuous digestion. Methane potentials were compared with predicted values based on biochemical composition, elemental analysis and carbon mass balance, and the differences explained by compositional analysis of feedstocks and digestates. The ss-FW had a higher percentage biodegradability and higher energy potential on a dry weight basis due to the high proportion of proteins and fats in this waste, although the energy potential of the mr-OFMSW was slightly higher on a wet weight (WW) basis. The mr-OFMSW showed very stable digestion characteristics, whereas the ss-FW had a high digestate ammoniacal-N concentration and volatile fatty acid accumulation leading to some process instability. Digestates from semi-continuous trials with mr-OFMSW had high concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTE) and a lower nutrient content than ss-FW digestate, making the former unsuitable for application to land used in food productio
Management Quality Measurement: Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Estimation Approach for Banks in Brazil
No full textWhile the quality of a bank's management is generally acknowledged to be a key contributor to a financial institutional failure, it is usually not calculated for lack of an objective measure. This paper presents a new paradigm approach for quantifying a bank's managerial efficiency, using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model that combines multiple inputs and outputs to compute a scalar measure of efficiency and management quality. The analysis of the largest 50 Brazilian banks over a twelve-year period from 1995 to 2006 shows significant differences in management quality scores between institutions. Hence, this new metric provides an important, but previously missing, modelling element for the early identification of troubled banks and can be used as a tool for off-site bank supervision in Brazil.Data Envelopment Analysis, DEA, Banks, Brazil
Evaluation of pressurised carbon dioxide pre-treatment aimed at improving the sanitisation and anaerobic digestibility of co-settled sewage sludge
No full textThis work reports on the use of pressurized CO2 pretreatment to improve methane yield and pathogen indicator organism die-off in co-settled sewage sludge (SS). Four semi-continuous mesophilic anaerobic digesters were fed on co-settled SS to establish a baseline for performance and stability. One pair of digesters was then fed with co-settled SS pretreated by P CO2 at 2800 kPa for 23 h. The trial continued for 70 days during which specific biogas and methane production, volatile solids destruction and loss of viability of Escherichia coli was monitored in test and control digesters. The pretreatment had no positive influence on any of these parameters, which was further confirmed using batch biochemical methane potential tests and direct measurement of die-off of E. coli and Salmonella enterica in samples of different sizes treated in pressure vessels of different sizes and in matrices of nutrient medium and co-settled SS. Pressurised CO2 pretreatment was effective at killing fecal indicator bacteria in nutrient medium but ineffectual in SS, strongly suggesting that the nature of suspending matrix was a principle determining factor. Paper concludes that pressurized CO2 pretreatment is not a satisfactory approach to improve either biogas production or pathogen destruction in anaerobic digestion.</p
The Study of Financial Performance of Banking Sector of India
No full textBanking sector reforms in India, strive to increase efficiency and profitability of the banking institutions, the existing banking institutions has to face the global competition. As a consequence, there has not only been rapid expansion in the number of banking institutions in the country, but the banking horizon of the country has also changed significantly with the entry of new private sector and foreign banks. As of now, the country has public sector, old private sector, new private sector and foreign banks operating side-by-side and giving cut-throat competition to each other. Apparently, these different types of banks differ significantly from each other in terms of financial performance including operational efficiency, profitability, productivity and credit efficiency. There is a general perception that new private sector banks and foreign banks are more efficient in financial performance than that of nationalized and old private sector banks. This study emphases on the financial performance of all the commercial banks of the country for the period of five years from the year 1997-1998 to 2001-2002. The aim of this study is to understand and to find out different types of efficiency level of all the commercial banks in India. The operational efficiency reveals the performance of banks regarding operational aspects. The profitability tells about banks financial strength with the same and other banking groups in the industry. The productivity parameter indicates the labour productivity of the employees of a bank. The credit efficiency parameter shows how the given credits are efficient and what will be the effect on solvency of the bank. All these parameters have been taken with different ratios for the period of five years. All the scheduled commercial banks in India have been selected by the researcher
SS Northland Echo
No full textPhotograph - A view of the steamboat, SS Northland Echo on the Athabasca River. Athabasca, Albert
SS Athabasca River - 02
No full textPhotograph - A view of the SS Athabasca River paddle steamer on the river, Athabasca, Albert
Effectiveness of pressurised carbon dioxide for inactivation of Escherichia coli isolated from sewage sludge
No full textThis research explored the possible application of pressurised carbon dioxide (P CO2), a promising non-thermal sterilisation technique, for the treatment of sewage sludge (SS) before anaerobic digestion to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms. Escherichia coli was selected as the test organism and was isolated from SS and maintained in pure culture. The growth curve of the isolated strain was determined by measuring the optical density (OD) in liquid culture medium and relating this information to the spread plate count so that a culture of known cell density could be grown for optimisation experiments. Inactivation of E. coli was enhanced by increase in pressure (1,500, 2,000 and 2,800 kPa) and treatment time (from 0.75 to 24 h). A short exposure time at high pressure was sufficient to provide a degree of inactivation which could also be achieved by longer exposure at lower pressure. Complete inactivation (8 log10 reduction) was possible at all three pressures. scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy studies of E. coli treated with P CO2 revealed that the cell walls were ruptured, and the cytoplasm was unevenly distributed and had lost its density, indicating the possible leakage of intracellular substances
RIC-HSCT for MF/SS
No full textAdvanced-stage mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome (MF/SS) have a poor prognosis. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), particularly using a reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimen, is a promising treatment for advanced-stage MF/SS. We performed RIC-HSCT in nine patients with advanced MF/SS. With a median follow-up period of 954days after HSCT, the estimated 3-year overall survival was 85.7% (95% confidence interval, 33.4-97.9%) with no non-relapse mortality. Five patients relapsed after RIC-HSCT; however, in four patients whose relapse was detected only from the skin, persistent complete response was achieved in one patient, and the disease was manageable in other three patients by the tapering of immunosuppressants and donor lymphocyte infusion, suggesting that graft-versus-lymphoma effect and "down-staging" effect from advanced stage to early stage by HSCT improve the prognosis of advanced-stage MF/SS. These results suggest that RIC-HSCT is an effective treatment for advanced MF/SS
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