38 research outputs found
Sub Prime Crisis: Old and New Lessons
No full textUsing generation approach we examine the genesis and mechanisms in major financial crisis and focus on the recent sub – prime crisis. We believe that in the era of increased financial globalization a reliable approach has to consider besides fundamental factors multiple equilibriums and self – fulfilling character of financial crises. In recent global crisis again financial globalization implemented in periods of high international capital mobility have reputedly produced international banking crises. Progressing integration and increasing sophistication of the product and financial markets brought new forms and more global character of the crises events in the recent sub – prime crisis.financial crisis, sub-prime crisis, financial globalization, international capital, financial market
Synthesis and characterization of magnetic iron-oxide microrods with silica coatings and ceria nanoparticles for potential use in catalysis
No full textMagnetni nanodelci železovega oksida so zaradi nizke toksičnosti in varnost uporabe pri ljudeh izredno zanimivi za uporabo na številnih področjih – v katalizi, tehnologiji in biomedicini. Njihova priprava je enostavna. Tvorijo koloidno stabilne suspenzije, katere nadalje uporabimo za pripravo večjih struktur, kot so mikropalčke. V raziskovalni nalogi so predstavljeni rezultati sinteze in vrednotenja magnetnih mikropalčk železovega oksida za potencialno uporabo v katalizi. Mikropalčke so sestavljene iz superparamagnetnih nanodelcev železovega oksida. Podolgovata oblika mikropalčk je bila utrjena z dodatno oblogo iz amorfnega silicijevega dioksida (silike). V zadnjem koraku smo na površino mikropalčk nanesli še nanodelce cerijevega dioksida. Sintetizirane mikropalčke železovega oksida smo vrednotili s številnimi analitskimi tehnikami. Z uporabo rentgenske praškovne difrakcije (XRD) in elektronske difrakcije izbranega območja (SAED) smo določili kristalno strukturo kompozitov in potrdili, da so mikropalčke sestavljene iz nanodelcev γ-železovega oksida s spinelno kristalno strukturo in nanodelcev cerijevega dioksida, ki kristalizira v fluoritni kristalni strukturi. Velikost, strukturo in morfologijo mikropalčk ter uspešnost tvorbe plasti silike ter nanosa nanodelcev cerijevega dioksida smo vrednotili z uporabo optične, presevne (TEM) in vrstične elektronske mikroskopije (SEM). Rezultati, ki smo jih dobili, potrjujejo uspešnost sinteze mikropalčk železovega oksida s spinelno kristalno strukturo, velikih povprečno 23 μm. Mikropalčke so bile prevlečene z 10 nm debelo plastjo kompaktne silike oz. povprečno 70 nm debelo plastjo porozne silike (s povprečnim premerom por okoli 15 nm), s katero smo zagotovili večjo specifično površino kompozita. Na površino so bili uspešno nanešeni sferični nanodelci cerijevega dioksida, veliki med 2 in 4 nm. Specifično površino in celokupni volumen por mikropalčk smo določili s plinsko porozimetrijo z adsorpcijo dušika (BET). Mikropalčke s kompaktno oblogo so imele površino 85,5 m2/gs porozno oblogo pa 570,4 m2/g. Dodaten nanos nanodelcev cerijevega dioksida je specifično površino mikropalčk s plastjo kompaktno silike povečal na 169,6 m2/gmedtem ko se je specifična površina mikropalčk prevlečenih s porozno siliko zmanjšala na 268,8 m2/gsaj so se nanodelci cerijevega dioksida tvorili tudi znotraj por silike. Magnetne lastnosti mikropalčk smo izmerili z magnetometrom z vibrirajočim vzorcem (VSM). Mikropalčke izkazujejo ferimagnetne lastnosti z nasičeno magnetizacijo 5,6 Am2/kg (plast kompaktne silike) in 6,3 Am2/kg (plast porozne silike) in se dobro odzivajo na magnet. Zaradi dobre magnetne odzivnosti in uspešnega nanosa nanodelcev cerijevega dioksida menimo, da bi bil tak material primeren kandidat za uporabo v katalizi. Eksperimenti katalitske učinkovitosti takega materiala bodo izvedeni v nadaljevanju raziskave.Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles are highly interesting for use in various fields – such as catalysis, technology, and biomedicine – due to their low toxicity and safety in human applications. Their synthesis is simple, resulting in colloidally stable suspensions, which can further be used to form larger structures, such as microrods. This study presents the synthesis and characterization of magnetic iron oxide microrods for potential catalytic applications. Microrods are composed of superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles. Their elongated shape is reinforced with an additional coating of amorphous silica. In the final step, cerium-dioxide (CeO₂, ceria) nanoparticles were deposited on the microrods’ surfaces. The synthesized iron oxide microrods were evaluated using various analytical techniques. Using X-ray powder diffraction (XDS) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) was confirmed that microrods consist of γ-iron oxide nanoparticles with spinel crystal structure and ceria nanoparticles with fluorite crystal structure. The size, morphology, and structural characteristics of microrods, as well as the successful formation of silica layers and deposition of ceria nanoparticles, were assessed using optical, transmission (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The average length of the microrods was 23 μm, with 10 nm -thick compact silica coating and 70 nm -thick porous silica coating (with average pore diameter of 15 nm). Deposited ceria nanoparticles had globular shape and were 2 – 4 nm in size.The specific surface area and total pore volume of the microrods were determined using nitrogen gas adsorption porosimetry (BET). Microrods with compact silica coating exhibited a specific surface area of 85.5 m²/g, while those with porous silica coating reached 570.4 m²/g. The addition of ceria nanoparticles increased the specific surface area of compact-silica-coated microrods to 169.6 m²/g, while in the case of porous-silica-coated microrods, the specific surface area decreased to 268.8 m²/g due to pore filling. The magnetic properties of the microrods were measured using vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The microrods exhibited ferromagnetic behavior, with saturation magnetization values of 5.6 Am²/kg (compact silica coating) and 6.3 Am²/kg (porous silica coating), demonstrating a strong response to external magnetic fields. Due to their excellent magnetic responsiveness and successful CeO₂ deposition, we believe this material is a promising candidate for catalytic applications. Future studies will focus on evaluating the catalytic efficiency of this material
Development of anisotropic magnetic nanoparticles and their magneto-mechanical effects in biomedicine
No full textNanotehnologija je interdisciplinarno znanstveno področje, ki vključuje raziskave s področja sinteze in vrednotenja nanomaterialov kot tudi njihovo uporabo. V doktorski nalogi smo si zastavili štiri glavne cilje: i) pripraviti anizotropne magnetne nanodelce, ki omogočajo vgradnjo učinkovin in izkoriščanje magnetno-mehanskega učinka, ii) preučiti uporabo anizotropnih magnetnih nanodelcev kot nanodostavni sistem, iii) pripraviti anizotropne magnetne nanodelce, ki omogočajo selektivno ciljanje vlaken amiloida ? in iv) dokazati vpliv anizotropnih magnetnih nanodelcev na strukturo vlaken amiloida ? v vrtečem magnetnem polju. V okviru zastavljenih raziskav smo pripravili anizotropne magnetne nanoverige železovega oksida z oblogo iz silicijevega dioksida z različno morfologijo. Nanoverige z oblogo iz silicijevega oksida smo pripravili s prilagodljivim in vsestranskim postopkom oblaganja s pomočjo na micelih osnovanih struktur. Z razvitim postopkom oblaganja smo nanoverige obložili z mezoporoznim silicijevim dioksidom z natančno definirano morfologijo. Sintezni postopek je omogočal pripravo obloge z radialno usmerjenimi porami v oblogi iz silicijevega dioksida. Debelino obloge in velikost por smo učinkovito nadzorovali s prilagajanjem pogojev postopka oblaganja. Debelino obloge smo lahko spreminjali v območju med 20 nm in 90 nm ter velikost por v območju od nekaj nm do ~40 nm. Magnetne nanoverige z oblogo iz mezoporoznega silicijevega dioksida smo nato uporabili kot nanodostavni sistem za modelno zdravilno učinkovino ibuprofen. V nanodostavni sistem smo vgradili ibuprofen z uporabo dveh postopkov in tako dosegli vsebnost ibuprofena do 45 % (m/m). Sproščanje ibuprofena iz nanodostavnega sistema osnovanega na magnetnih nanoverigah z oblogo iz mezoporoznega silicijevega dioksida je bilo takojšnje. Na površino obloge iz silicijevega dioksida na magnetnih nanoverigah smo vezali različne fluorescenčne molekule, ki omogočajo selektivno ciljanje struktur amiloida beta. Nato smo s takimi fluorescenčno-označenimi nanoverigami proučevali magnetno-mehanski učinek nanoverig na strukturo vlaken amiloida beta v vrtečem zunanjem magnetnem polju. Magnetne nanoverige so v vrtečem magnetnem polju delno razgradile nitasto strukturo amiloida beta v manj definirane manjše koščke pri čemer se je del vlaken adsorbiral na površino nanoverig.
Na podlagi rezultatov raziskav v okviru doktorske naloge smo potrdili nov način fizičnega spreminjanja strukture biološke mehke snovi kot so vlakna amiloida beta na nanometrskem nivoju z uporabo anizotropnih magnetnih nanoverig in vrtečega zunanjega magnetnega polja. Potrditev koncepta magnetno-mehanskega spreminjanja strukture biološke mehke snovi je pomemben znanstveni dosežek, ki odpira novo vejo raziskav na področju mehanskega vplivanja na biološke tarče z anizotropnimi magnetnimi nanodelci.Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary scientific field that involves research ranging from the synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials to their applications. In this doctoral dissertation, we set four main objectives: i) to prepare anisotropic magnetic nanoparticles that enable the incorporation of drug molecules and perform the magneto-mechanical effect, ii) to study the utilization of anisotropic magnetic nanoparticles as a nanocarriers, iii) to prepare anisotropic magnetic nanoparticles that are able to selectively target amyloid fibrils, and iv) to prove the influence of anisotropic magnetic nanoparticles on the structure of amyloid beta fibrils in a rotating magnetic field. Within our research, we prepared anisotropic magnetic iron oxide nanochains coated with silicon dioxide with different morphologies by using an adjustable and versatile coating procedure assisted by micellar-based structures. Using our developed coating procedure, we prepared mesoporous silica-coated nanochains with well-defined morphology and radially aligned pores. The coating thickness and pore size could be efficiently changed by adjusting the developed coating procedure. Our approach allows coating with thicknesses ranging from 20 nm to 90 nm and the pore size in the range from a few nm to ~40 nm. Magnetic nanochains coated with mesoporous silica were then used to study the incorporation and delivery of ibuprofen molecules. Ibuprofen was loaded into the mesoporous coating using two different procedures and thus achieved an ibuprofen loading degree of up to 45 wg%. The release of ibuprofen from the nanodelivery system based on the nanochains with mesoporous silica coating was immediate. Various fluorescent probes have been specifically developed for the selective targeting of amyloid beta structures which were then attached to the nanochains. Finally, using these fluorescently-labelled nanochains, we investigated the magneto-mechanical effect generated by nanochains on the structure of amyloid beta fibrils in a rotating magnetic field. The results confirmed that the magnetic nanochains affected the fibrillar structure of the amyloid beta fibrils because smaller and less defined fragments were observed after the magneto-mechanical treatment. Moreover, a part of the mechanically broken fibrils were adsorbed on the surface of the nanochains.
In summary, we confirmed a new approach of physical disruption of the structure of a soft biological material such as amyloid beta fibrils at the nanometer scale using anisotropic magnetic nanochains in a rotating magnetic field. A proof of the concept of magneto-mechanical disruption of biological soft materials is, in our opinion, a very important scientific achievement that opens a new branch of research activity in the field of magneto-mechanical actuation of biological targets with anisotropic magnetic nanoparticles
A Versatile Interfacial Coassembly Method for Fabrication of Tunable Silica Shells with Radially Aligned Dual Mesopores on Diverse Magnetic Core Nanoparticles
No full textPost-contractual non-compete clause in commercial agency contracts
No full textThis paper deals with the legal regime governing post-contractual non-compete clauses in commercial agency contracts, analysing Slovenian legislation and its compliance with Directive86/653/EEC. The Slovenian Obligations Code (OZ) requires the mandatory payment of compensation for compliance with a non-compete clause only in cases where the contract is terminated for reasons attributable to the principal. The author stresses that such a regime may lead to a restriction of contractual freedom without adequate compensation, which is not in line with the spirit of the Directive. Based on a review of the regimes inrespect of non-compete clauses after the termination of a commercial agency contract in various European countries, including Croatia, the author finds that the regimes vary considerably between countries. The paper also focuses on the impact of non-compete clauses on indemnity, as the OZ requires such clauses to be taken into consideration in determining the amount. The author draws attention to the need for a fair balance of interests and for legislation to be revised to ensure that agents are protected against disproportionate restrictions without adequate compensation.Članek obravnava pravno ureditev konkurenčne klavzule po prenehanju pogodbe o trgovskem zastopanju, v okviru katere analizira slovensko zakonodajo in njeno skladnost z Direktivo 86/653/EGS. Slovenski Obligacijski zakonik (OZ) zahteva obvezno plačevanje odmene za spoštovanje konkurenčne klavzule zgolj v primerih, ko je pogodba prenehala zaradi razlogov na strani naročitelja. Po mnenju avtorja takšna ureditev lahko vodi v omejitev pogodbene svobode brez ustreznega plačila, kar ni v skladu z duhom direktive. Na podlagi pregleda ureditev konkurenčne klavzule po prenehanju pogodbe o trgovskem zastopanju v različnih evropskih državah, tudi na Hrvaškem, avtor ugotavlja, da se ureditev po posameznih državah zelo razlikuje. Avtor se osredotoča tudi na vpliv konkurenčne klavzule na odpravnino, saj OZ zahteva njeno upoštevanje pri določanju višine. Opozarja tudi na potrebo po pravičnem ravnotežju interesov in prilagoditvi zakonodaje, ki bi zagotavljala zaščito zastopnika pred nesorazmernimi omejitvami brez primernega nadomestila
Aldosterone, aldosterone receptor blockers and chronic kidney disease
No full textChronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide
public health problem and an important risk
factor for cardiovascular events, morbidity and
mortality. The renin-angiotensin-aldosteron
system (RAAS) drugs, angiotensin-converting
enzyme inhibitors and/or angiotensin receptor
blockers contribute to a better evaluation
of patients with CKD. Despite good efficacy of
mentioned drugs, progressive decline of kidney
function was observed, suggesting a hypothesis
that both aldosterone activity related mechanism
and some RAAS independent mechanisms may
result in progressive kidney failure.
The author of the article described the role of aldosterone
and aldosterone receptor blockers in
patients with CKD
MACRO AND MICRO FACTORS OF THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
No full textNaloga govori o makro in mikro ekonomskih dejavnikih, ki so vplivali na nastanek globalne finančne krize. Izpostavljeni so predvsem pojavi moralnega hazarda, zunanji dolg posameznih držav ter nepremičninski balon v ZDA. Avtor v nadaljevanju skuša dokazati, da velik del odgovornosti za nastanek aktualne globalne krize nosi neoliberalizem Miltona Friedmana (tržni fundamentalizem), katerega jedro doktrine je rušenje državnih regulatorjev trga. Na koncu dela je izpostavljeno nezadostno okrevanje Slovenije v primerjavi s ključnimi gospodarstvi kot sta ZDA in Nemčija, ter breme, ki so ga Sloveniji naložili propadli notranji menedžerski odkupi.The paper deals with macro and micro economic factors which had influence on the creation of the global financial crisis. The manifestation (occurrence) of moral hazard, foreign debt of individual countries and real estate bubble in the USA are highlighted in particular. Further on the author wishes to prove that a great deal of responsibility for the outbreak (occurrence) of the present global crisis lies on the Milton Friedman’s neoliberalism (market fundamentalism), the essence of his doctrine being the destruction of the state market regulators. The paper finally exposes the insufficient recovery of the Slovenian economy if compared to the key economies, e.g. USA or Germany and the burden imposed to Slovenia by unsuccessful manager buy outs (MBO)
