Sensitivity analysis of the moments of the profit on an Income Protection Policy

The main purpose of this paper is to perform a sensitivity analysis where we quantify and analyse the effects on the mean of the profit on an Income Protection policy and two risk measures of changing the values of the transition intensities. All the calculations carried out are based on a multiple state model for Income Protection proposed in Continuous Mortality Investigation Committee (Continuous Mortality Investigation Reports 1991; 12 ). Within this model, we derive a formula for the mean of the profit, which enables to evaluate it more efficiently. In order to calculate the two risk measures we use the numerical algorithms for the calculation of the moments of the profit proposed by Waters (Insurance: Mathematics and Economics 1990; 9 :101–113). We carry out the sensitivity analysis considering two different situations: in the first situation, we update the premium rates used to calculate the moments of the profit, according to the changes in the values of the transition intensities; in the second one, we do not update the premium rates. Both analyses are of practical interest to insurance companies selling Income Protection policies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An evaluation of technical efficiency and managerial correlates of solid waste management by Welsh SMEs using parametric and non-parametric techniques

Strong economic growth and environmental regulation stimulus make Welsh small and medium enterprises' (SMEs) sustainability performance merit investigation in the context of European Union (EU) sustainability initiatives. This is due in part to strong economic growth and the stimulus provided by environmental regulation. We use stochastic frontier analysis, a parametric econometric technique to generate estimates of the technical efficiency of solid waste management by 299 Welsh SMEs in 2003. We demonstrate that the ranking and efficiency scores of the Welsh SMEs studied correlate significantly with non-parametric data envelopment analysis efficiency measures and are related to the use of environmental auditing practices and the use of local business support groups, but not to monitoring of waste expenditures and publication of environmental policies.     

Ionic and radical adsorption on the Au(hkl) surfaces: A DFT study

Adsorption of several ionic and non-ionic species (OH^?, O, O^?, O^2?, H, H⁺ and H^?) on the low-index Miller Au(hkl) surfaces has been investigated by means of density functional theory based methods. The stability order for adsorptions on the three surfaces decreases with the increasing of the coordination number of the outermost gold atoms in each surface, i.e., Au(110) > Au(100) > Au(111), which is in agreement with the experimental evidences. The detailed COOPs analysis of the various adsorption sites for all adsorbates in the surface with the most stable adsorption(s), Au(110), evidenced that adsorption in the gold surfaces may be a function of particle size and charge and substantiates the variability in the order of preferences sites for the adsorption of the different species found in these low-index Miller Au(hkl) surfaces. This variability increases with the increasing of the stability of the adsorptions on the gold surfaces, i.e., the Au(110) presents more variability in the order of preferences sites for the adsorption of different species.     

Reversible Lysine Modification on Proteins by Using Functionalized Boronic Acids

Iminoboronates have been utilized to successfully install azide and alkyne bioorthogonal functions on proteins, which may then be further reacted with their bioorthogonal counterparts. These constructs were also used to add polyethylene glycol (PEG) to insulin, a modification which has been shown to be reversible in the presence of fructose. Finally, iminoboronates were used to assemble a folic acid/paclitaxel small‐molecule/drug conjugate in situ with an IC₅₀ value of 20.7 nM against NCI‐H460 cancer cells and negligible cytotoxicity against the CRL‐1502 noncancer cells.     

Static solitary wave solution in 1D quantum quenched systems

We use Morita's formulation to describe quenched systems. Through the Holstein-Primakoff (HP) representation we quantize the system in 1D and it gives coupled non-linear Schrödinger equations. We show that a static solitary wave is a solution of these equations.     

Enzymatic formation of ions and their detection at a three-phase electrode

An electrochemical method for the detection of enzymatically created anions is described that uses a thin-film electrode with decamethylferrocene as an electroactive redox probe. The enzymatic oxidation of glucose with enzyme glucose oxidase produces gluconic acid as a final product. The oxidation of decamethylferrocene dissolved in the thin-nitrobenzene film, that is spread on the working graphite electrode and submerged in the aqueous solution containing glucose and glucose oxidase, is followed by the up-take of gluconate anions from the aqueous phase to nitrobenzene. The peak currents of the square-wave voltammetric responses of that system are a linear function of the glucose concentration in the milimolar range from 0.1 mmol/L to 0.7 mmol/L (R²=0.994).