Carbon-supported Re–M (M = Pt and Rh) bimetallic catalysts with controlled size and composition were synthesized by using a microwave-assisted thermolytic method and evaluated in the aqueous phase hydrogenation of succinic acid. The Re–M interaction contributes to the inhibition of aggregation of particles and to the improvement in the catalytic activity for succinic acid hydrogenation through decreasing the activation energy. The Re–M interaction favors the ring opening of γ-butyrolactone, an intermediate product, to 1,4-butanediol instead of the hydrogenation and dehydration to tetrahydrofuran observed over a Re/C catalyst. The kinetic study proves that the Re–M interaction can increase the relative formation rate of 1,4-butanediol more than that of tetrahydrofuran, while the strength of the Re–M interaction has a limited influence on the product selectivity. It was shown that the Re–Rh interaction can reduce the direct hydrogenolysis of succinic acid, but it cannot avoid the hydrogenolysis of 1,4-butanediol, thus limiting the selectivity to this product. According to the kinetic mechanism, ring opening of γ-butyrolactone is favored at low temperature while direct hydrogenation to tetrahydrofuran is favored at high temperature.

O objetivo deste estudo é analisar a adoção de práticas de contabilidade gerencial em empresas hoteleiras. Para atingir esse objetivo, um questionário foi aplicado a 15 hotéis da grande Florianópolis, SC, Brasil, filiados à Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Hotéis (ABIH), no período de abril de 2014 a maio de 2016. Com essa limitação, os resultados servem para o escopo específico e mostram que a contabilidade gerencial é adotada em grande parte das empresas hoteleiras pesquisadas. Dos resultados, pode-se destacar o uso dos métodos de custeio por absorção e de custeio padrão, a utilização do orçamento para planejamento anual e controle de custos, medidas de rentabilidade e análise de rentabilidade do produto e de clientes, e análise dos pontos fortes e fracos e da posição dos concorrentes. Isso mostra que geralmente os hotéis adotam práticas tradicionais, de primeiro e segundo estágio. Entre as possíveis mudanças apontadas pelos gestores hoteleiros para os próximos três anos está a utilização de medidas não financeiras relacionadas à inovação e à gestão baseada em atividades.

This paper investigates the socio-economic role of waqf in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the 20th century to date. Bosnia and Herzegovina waqf endured through various political fortunes and improved the social and economic circumstances of Muslims. A contemporary challenge is to reconstruct this waqf. A new development is the emergence of Islamic Economics. Since 1995, the Waqf Directorate of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina (WD-ICBIH), the main authority over waqf, initiated reforms to revive the socio-economic role of waqf and integrate it into Bosnia and Herzegovina development. The study identifies the challenges facing the Waqf Directorate and the development of Islamic Economics in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The emergence of Islamic Economics and Islamic Banking and Finance, in cooperation with the Bosnia Bank International, presents opportunities to the Waqf Directorate to achieve its vision and mission. Some avenues for waqf integration into Bosnia and Herzegovina development qualify as commendable efforts of reform, indicate a feasible future for the Waqf Directorate, and gradually address various challenges. The paper concludes with actionable policy recommendations.

One of the primary soil functions is the production of food and raw materials, but the soil is used for ther purposes as well, outside the sphere of agricultural production, e.g.road construction and housing, exploitation of mineral resources. The research in this paper, appropriate agricultural land capability classification, was carried out in the Bužim Municipality using the guideline of unique methodology regarding the classification of agricultural land in the rating categories and criteria for individual soil properties, based on which land capability classes are determined. As a result of the research, six agricultural land capability classes (LCC) and land capability subclasses (LCS), ranging from III to VII, were determined, and areas were also marked as forest and built land. The most common land areas were marked under the VI LCC with the total area of 18.99% of the territory of the municipality. The V LCC was represented with a percentage of 11.65, while the IVa LCS was only represented with 1.02%.

In living systems processes like genome duplication and cell division are carefully synchronized through subsystem coupling. If we are to create life de novo, similar control over essential processes such as self-replication need to be developed. Here we report that coupling two dynamic combinatorial subsystems, featuring two separate building blocks, enables effector-mediated control over self-replication. The subsystem based on the first building block shows only self-replication, whereas that based on the second one is solely responsive toward a specific external effector molecule. Mixing the subsystems arrests replication until the effector molecule is added, resulting in the formation of a host-effector complex and the liberation of the building block that subsequently engages in self-replication. The onset, rate and extent of self-replication is controlled by the amount of effector present.

During exploitation, textile products printed with screen printing technique are quite often exposed to various influences, one of which is a heat treatment- firstly during the production process and later on when ironing. Heat is simultaneously affecting deposited colorants (ink) on the surface of the substrate material, as well as textile fibers in the material structure. As a result, colorimetric characteristics of printed colorants are changed. The research presented in this paper aims to determine the influence of heat treatment on color changes of screen printed textile substrates, observed in CIE L*, a*, b* color space. Macro non-uniformity of the printed cotton textile materials was analyzed as a function of temperature levels applied during thermal treatments and textile material characteristics, as well as mesh counts of screens used in the printing process. The results show that thermal treatment affects the color change of printed samples.

Target research in this paper is the assessment and analysis of content of digital progress and its impact on modern business. Business digitization has been introducing increasingly dynamic changes across the entire global economic sphere, whereas its content increasingly maintains to affect the competitiveness of national economies. At the microeconomic level, digital technologies lead to a change of economic structure and quality of production factors, based on knowledge and innovations. This paper should provide specific answers on how to apply new technologies and digital techniques in a quality manner within the knowledge economy. This is not the only answer provided in this paper. On the contrary, the paper shall respond to question how to minimize the risks of all kinds, in order to increase labour productivity. The immediate objective of this paper is to adequately locate and understand the problem of economy digitization and the changes it brings, as well as to provide specific ideas and practical solutions for better and more efficient business operations. The new information, i.e. digital economy fundamentally differs from the traditional ones. This very synergy of workforce, its emergence in such manner, as well as increase in its presence, will be the biggest challenge to what we now call the digital economy. The IT revolution and communication technology affect the development of the new economy on a global scale, which significantly contributes to the modern business. The impact of digital growth on modern business should be reflected in increased productivity, knowing that the increase in productivity is a key issue in any economy, including the digital economy. Increasing productivity implies an increase in the results achieved with the same consumption of resources or achieving the same results with less consumption of resources. Numerous studies have been performed on this subject at the global level, demonstrating that there are serious analyses and research that show exactly how much the investment in IT does actually increase productivity. It is believed that the majority of the growth in productivity since 1995 to date is to be primarily credited to investments in information technology and business process automation. Increasing productivity is evident almost anywhere: in individual companies, industries and economies, which actually represents the essence of modern business activities.