The current research paper contains the multicriterial analysis of the Corporate Social Responsibility Reports in the semiconductor and chip manufacturing industry for Intel Corp. and AMD Inc. In the ...interest of a fair analysis, we chose a multicriterial analysis with a structure consisting of data points found in the CSR reports of both companies. The first part of our paper servers an introductory purpose, in which we described the reasoning behind choosing CSR reporting as a theme for our research paper as well as why we chose Intel and AMD as a case study. Furthermore, we have a brief description of the two companies, with similarities and key differences for any readers that are not familiar with the business affairs of Intel and AMD. Subsequently, we have the literature review, and the research methodology with the multicriterial analysis for the CSR reporting at Intel and AMD, and their financial performance. We displayed the same indicators for both companies, focusing on the quantifiable data, as well as the clarity and displaying of the information within the report. Finally, we presented a summary of our findings concerning the financial commitments and the way information was displayed within the reports, as well as establishing future research opportunities.
Land use planning of global metropolis is essential to meet the socioecological challenges of the next decades. This paper aims to contribute to sustainable land use policies by proposing a ...socioecological integrated analysis of metropolitan green infrastructures, applying this landscape-metabolism model to the Urban Master Plan of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. The paper assesses the multiple functions and services of the green infrastructure in four land use scenarios and two types of agricultural management. The results show that the trending scenario of applying the current land use planning would have a negative impact in the ecological functioning of the landscape, affecting biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services to society. The results also show that certified organic farming is not enough to overcome some trends of industrial agriculture as low energy efficiency or greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, the results show different interactions between social metabolism and landscape ecology, as changes in the form of metabolism affect the functioning of the landscape, while changes in land cover specially affect resource use. Therefore, deeper changes are needed in land use policies that consider not only land covers, as has traditionally been done, but also metabolic flows to promote agroecological transitions towards more sustainable metropolitan green infrastructures under climate change scenarios.
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•Socioecological integrated analysis of metropolitan green infrastructure is proposed.•Functions and services in land use and agriculture management scenarios are assessed.•Metabolism affects landscape function, while land cover change affects resource use.•Certified organic farming is not enough to overcome impact of industrial agriculture.•Policies should apply landscape-metabolic models towards agroecological transition.
The research is particularly useful to the management of the company as it has an appropriate tool in evaluating a multicriterial investment project. The multicriterial approach structures and ...combines the various assessments that are considered in the decision-making process for selecting the optimal variant of several possible alternatives, the treatment applied to each of them conditional on the choice of the final decision. The opportunity to choose this approach in the efficient selection of the most feasible alternative within an investment project is an undeniable premise of organizational development, given the existence of a competitive market which is continuous dynamic.
Deregulation of signalling pathways that regulate cell growth, survival, metabolism, and migration can frequently lead to the progression of cancer. Brain tumours are a large group of malignancies ...characterised by inter- and intratumoral heterogeneity, with glioblastoma (GBM) being the most aggressive and fatal. The present study aimed to characterise the expression of cancer pathway-related genes (n = 84) in glial tumour cell lines (A172, SW1088, and T98G). The transcriptomic data obtained by the qRT-PCR method were compared to different control groups, and the most appropriate control for subsequent interpretation of the obtained results was chosen. We analysed three widely used control groups (non-glioma cells) in glioblastoma research: Human Dermal Fibroblasts (HDFa), Normal Human Astrocytes (NHA), and commercially available mRNAs extracted from healthy human brain tissues (hRNA). The gene expression profiles of individual glioblastoma cell lines may vary due to the selection of a different control group to correlate with. Moreover, we present the original multicriterial decision making (MCDM) for the possible characterization of gene expression profiles. We observed deregulation of 75 genes out of 78 tested in the A172 cell line, while T98G and SW1088 cells exhibited changes in 72 genes. By comparing the delta cycle threshold value of the tumour groups to the mean value of the three controls, only changes in the expression of 26 genes belonging to the following pathways were identified: angiogenesis FGF2; apoptosis APAF1, CFLAR, XIAP; cellular senescence BM1, ETS2, IGFBP5, IGFBP7, SOD1, TBX2; DNA damage and repair ERCC5, PPP1R15A; epithelial to mesenchymal transition SNAI3, SOX10; hypoxia ADM, ARNT, LDHA; metabolism ATP5A1, COX5A, CPT2, PFKL, UQCRFS1; telomeres and telomerase PINX1, TINF2, TNKS, and TNKS2. We identified a human astrocyte cell line and normal human brain tissue as the appropriate control group for an in vitro model, despite the small sample size. A different method of assessing gene expression levels produced the same disparities, highlighting the need for caution when interpreting the accuracy of tumorigenesis markers.
Inadequate selection of an area for the location of dams brings about social and economic disadvantages due to the non-fulfillment of its objective, as well as causes significant damage to the ...ecosystem of the river basin. This type of selection depends on a set of different criteria and variables, so it is necessary to develop a tool to support decision-making that allows reducing the collateral damage that a project of this type entails and increasing the project effectiveness. This paper proposes the development of a hybrid method of multicriterial analysis using the hierarchical analysis technique (AHP) and the technique for the order of preferences by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) with a specific focus on the selection of sites for dams. Modifications to traditional methods were established by eliminating the decision-maker as an evaluator of alternatives. The proposed method is based on the hierarchical ordering of alternatives taking into account the subjective judgments of decision-makers when considering the uncertainties of the selection process. The ordering of the alternatives is preceded by the analysis of a series of hydrological, geological, topographic and land use parameters extracted from a digital elevation model. According to the results obtained, it was possible to order hierarchically (better-worse) each of the river basins evaluated according to the established parameters.
This reprint encompasses a number of articles that focus on the molecular blueprint of brain tumors. A collection of relevant papers in the rapidly expanding field of brain tumor molecular genetics ...broadens our knowledge about the biology of brain tumors, and inspires further studies that will improve the diagnosis and clinical management of brain tumors. Due to the great heterogeneity of brain tumors it is important to research and understand every aspect of their initiation, progression and metastasis in order to design better diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for their clinical management and patient benefit.
Most of the natural geomorphosites represent main attractions that have a high tourism potential and need great care in terms of their capitalization. The irrational tourism capitalization of the ...geomorphosites may lead to their degradation because of the lack of proper tourism infrastructure and the practice of random and uncontrolled tourism. The reintroduction in the tourism circuit of such geomorphological structures that have a high landscape and scientific value claims, first of all, the assessment of the current state of degradation and the drawing up of sustainable development proposals from a geomorphological point of view. This study deals mainly with the assessment of a geomorphosite (Grădina Zmeilor Geomorphosite, North-West Region, Romania), using a complex methodology, which is based on the identification of criteria influencing the tourism development of the geomorphosite, and their analysis by means of qualitative points given according to the impact of each criterion. A total of 17 criteria have been therefore identified. They are structured along four levels of analysis which are integrated in the form of spatial analysis based on weighted average, and highlight the overall value of the analysed geomorphosite. By implementing the methodology in the proposed research, a total value of 0.29 has been obtained in an interval between 0 and 1. This value underlines the high degree of degradation of the geomorphosite. The planning proposals have the main purpose of increasing the overall value of the geomorphosite by providing sustainability in its capitalization. To achieve this, proposals have been made to mitigate the shortcomings for a total of four criteria. The overall value of the geomorphosite has been recalculated, resulting a significant increase of the value (0.33), highlighting the impact of the implementation of these proposals in practice for the development of the geomorphosite and the increase of its level of tourism attractiveness. The introduction of this objective on the tourist map, following the application of the suggestions proposed in this paper, can lead to favorable economic development both at the local and regional level. This analysis model can also be applied to other geomorphists facing the problem of degradation and involution.
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