The Risk Margin under Solvency II is determined as the cost of holding capital over the lifetime of liabilities, whereby future costs are discounted to the valuation date at risk-free rates. An ...implicit assumption of the current method is that the Risk Margin should allow for new capital to be raised after the occurrence of losses no larger than required capital. Using “Cost of Capital” as general valuation method, various approaches are discussed, giving rise to several alternative calculation methods of the Risk Margin. A comparison is made with the adjustment proposed by EIOPA in 2020 and also an approach is explored where future capital raisings are treated as contingent commitments. Each of the approaches discussed can be justified on its own merits in the context of Solvency II legislation, and leads to substantially different results for liabilities with long durations. Therefore, a more precise specification of the function of the Risk Margin and underlying assumptions is desirable.
The resource curse is an evolving phenomenon in the context of financial development. In this paper, using the firm-level data, we assess the impact of resource curse on the banking sector of those ...countries with significant dependence on oil production. Our sample spans from 1Q2001 to 4Q2019 and includes commercial banks from twelve oil-producing countries with an oil rent (% of the GDP) being twenty percent and above. We assess the effect of resource curse on banking profit efficiency, asset quality, and solvency using interest rate spreads, credit infections, and the probability of default, respectively, during periods of varying oil prices. Our results show that during episodes of the price boom, the banking efficiency declines, credit infection worsens, and the probability of default would surge. These findings confirm the presence of resources curse and validate the reasons why countries with excess reliance on natural resources tend to have lower financial development. Considering the role of commercial banking in the financial system, these results have important implications for policymakers.
•We analyze the impact of increasing commodity prices on banking efficiency.•We employ a multifacet methodology based on panel regressions to assess the impact.•The results show that interest rate spreads contracts during the oil price boom.•Our findings depict an upsurge in credit infections due to resource trap.•The resource curse increases the probability of default of the sample banks.
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•Aqueous solutions of organic acids are promising substitutes for organic solvents.•Performance in the extraction of L-dopa from the seeds of M. Pruriens was assessed.•High purity and ...yields of L-dopa have been achieved with the investigated compounds.
Levodopa is an amino acid commonly used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease found in several plants, such as Mucuna pruriens. The extraction of levodopa from biomass has been achieved using methanol, ethanol:water mixtures in presence of ascorbic acid, chloroform in alkaline media, and acetonitrile. Aiming at finding more sustainable solvents and develop efficient extraction processes, in this work, aqueous solutions of carboxylic acids (acetic, propionic, citric, glycolic, and lactic acid) and (poly)alcohols (ethanol, ethylene glycol and glycerol) were studied for the extraction of levodopa from Mucuna pruriens seeds. An initial screening with aqueous solutions of these compounds (at 50 wt%) was conducted at 50 °C, with an extraction time of 90 min at a solid/liquid (biomass/solvent) ratio of 1:10. Based on these results, citric acid aqueous solutions were identified as the best solvent, and an experimental design was carried out to optimize the temperature (T), solid/liquid ratio (S:L) and concentration of acid (wt.%), with the following optimal extraction conditions found: T = 60 °C, S:L = 1:7 and concentration of acid at 58 wt%. Under these optimal conditions, an extraction efficiency of 9.2 ± 0.1 wt% of levodopa was achieved. The recovery of levodopa from the acidic aqueous solution was achieved using an ion exchange column, allowing the recovery of approximately 84% of levodopa. The solvent was shown to be reusable in three successive extraction cycles, with no significant losses in the extraction efficiency of levodopa. The results here obtained show that citric acid aqueous solutions can lead to the effective extraction of levodopa from seeds of Mucuna pruriens, serving as basis for the development of more effective and environmentally friendly processes to recover natural products with therapeutic properties.
Nowadays, medicinal herbs and their phytochemicals have emerged as a great therapeutic option for many disorders. However, poor bioavailability and selectivity might limit their clinical application. ...Therefore, bioavailability is considered a notable challenge to improve bio-efficacy in transporting dietary phytochemicals. Different methods have been proposed for generating effective carrier systems to enhance the bioavailability of phytochemicals. Among them, nano-vesicles have been introduced as promising candidates for the delivery of insoluble phytochemicals. Due to the easy preparation of the bilayer vesicles and their adaptability, they have been widely used and approved by the scientific literature. The first part of the review is focused on introducing phytosome technology as well as its applications, with emphasis on principles of formulations and characterization. The second part provides a wide overview of biological activities of commercial and non-commercial phytosomes, divided by systems and related pathologies. These results confirm the greater effectiveness of phytosomes, both in terms of biological activity or reduced dosage, highlighting curcumin and silymarin as the most formulated compounds. Finally, we describe the promising clinical and experimental findings regarding the applications of phytosomes. The conclusion of this study encourages the researchers to transfer their knowledge from laboratories to market, for a further development of these products.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether profitability has a negative effect and solvency has a positive effect on audit delay with audit tenure as a moderating variable. The population used ...in this study are companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2016-2018. The research sample was determined by using purposive sampling technique in order to obtain 43 companies. The research method used is causal quantitative. The results showed that profitability had a negative effect on audit delay with a probability value of 0.003 at the 1% significance level and a coefficient value of - 47.550 while solvency had no effect on audit delay with a probability value of 0.371. This study also shows that audit tenure as a moderating variable does not play a role in strengthening the negative effect of profitability on audit delay because it has a probability value of 0.847, but audit tenure plays a role in weakening the positive effect of solvency on audit delay with a probability value of 0.063 at the 10% significance level and a coefficient value of -136.986.Tujuan dari penelitian ini untuk mengetahui apakah profitabilitas berpengaruh negatif dan solvabilitas berpengaruh positif terhadap audit delay dengan audit tenure sebagai variabel pemoderasi. Populasi yang digunakan pada penelitian ini yaitu perusahaan-perusahaan yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia pada tahun 2016-2018. Sampel penelitian ditentukan dengan menggunakan teknik purposive sampling sehingga diperoleh 43 perusahaan. Adapun metode penelitian yang digunakan yaitu kausal kuantitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan profitabilitas berpengaruh negatif terhadap audit delay dengan nilai probabilitas 0,003 pada level signifikansi 1% dan nilai koefisien -47,550 sedangkan solvabilitas tidak berpengaruh terhadap audit delay dengan nilai probabilitas 0,371. Penelitian ini juga menunjukkan bahwa audit tenure sebagai variabel moderasi tidak berperan memperkuat pengaruh negatif profitabilitas terhadap audit delay karena memiliki nilai probabilitas 0,847, tapi audit tenure berperan memperlemah pengaruh positif solvabilitas terhadap audit delay dengan nilai probabilitas 0,063 pada level signifikansi 10% dan nilai koefisien -136,986.
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