The effects of for-profit multihospital system ownership on hospital financial and operating performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, J R; McCue, M J

1990-11-01

The financial and operating performance of independent not-for-profit hospitals acquired by US for-profit multi-hospital systems in 10 Southern states between the years 1978 and 1982 was explored. The impact of system ownership on acquired hospitals was investigated by comparing the average financial performance of hospitals in the two years immediately prior to acquisition to the average for 1984 and 1985 and by comparing changes in the performance of acquired hospitals with changes in matched independent facilities. Findings suggest that for-profit multi-hospital systems were able to improve many of the financial and operating problems of acquired facilities. In comparison to independent not-for-profit hospitals, acquired hospitals were found to increase access to long-term debt, make improvements to plant and equipment, improve profitability, and increase efficiency to a greater extent. Prices in acquired hospitals rose more than those in independents and liquidity decreased to a greater extent.

Biomek Cell Workstation: A Variable System for Automated Cell Cultivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehmann, R; Severitt, J C; Roddelkopf, T; Junginger, S; Thurow, K

2016-06-01

Automated cell cultivation is an important tool for simplifying routine laboratory work. Automated methods are independent of skill levels and daily constitution of laboratory staff in combination with a constant quality and performance of the methods. The Biomek Cell Workstation was configured as a flexible and compatible system. The modified Biomek Cell Workstation enables the cultivation of adherent and suspension cells. Until now, no commercially available systems enabled the automated handling of both types of cells in one system. In particular, the automated cultivation of suspension cells in this form has not been published. The cell counts and viabilities were nonsignificantly decreased for cells cultivated in AutoFlasks in automated handling. The proliferation of manual and automated bioscreening by the WST-1 assay showed a nonsignificant lower proliferation of automatically disseminated cells associated with a mostly lower standard error. The disseminated suspension cell lines showed different pronounced proliferations in descending order, starting with Jurkat cells followed by SEM, Molt4, and RS4 cells having the lowest proliferation. In this respect, we successfully disseminated and screened suspension cells in an automated way. The automated cultivation and dissemination of a variety of suspension cells can replace the manual method. © 2015 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

[Simulation for balanced effect of soil and water resources on cultivated land in Naoli River Basin, Northeast China under the RCPs climate scene].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Hao; Lei, Guo Ping; Yang, Xue Xin; Zhao, Yu Hui; Zhang, Ji Xin

2018-04-01

Under the scenarios of climate change, balancing the land and water resources is one of the key problems needed to be solved in land development. To reveal the water dynamics of the cultivated land in Naoli River Basin, we simulated the future scenarios by using the future land use simulation model based on Landsat Satellite images, the DEM data and the meteorological data. Results showed that the growth rate of cultivated land gradually decreased. It showed different changing characteristics in different time periods, which led to different balancing effect between land and water resources. In 1990, the water dynamics of the cultivated land resources was in good state, At the same time, the adjustment of crops structure caused the paddy fields increased dramatically. During 2002 to 2014, the cultivated land that in moderate and serious moisture shortage state increased slightly, the water deficit was deteriorating to a certain degree, and maintained sound development of water profit and loss situation gradually. By comparing the simulation accuracy with different spatial resolutions and time scales, we selected 200 m as the spatial resolution of the simulation, and simulated the land use status in 2038. The simulation results showed that the cultivated land's water profit and loss degree in the river basin showed significant polarization characteristic, in that the water profit and loss degree of the cultivated land would be further intensified, the area with the higher grades of moisture profit and loss degree would distribute more centralized, and partially high evaluated grades for the moisture shortage would expand. It is needed to develop the cultivated land irrigation schemes and adjust the cultivated land in Naoli River Basin to balance soil and water resources.

Cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus and other edible mushrooms.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez, Carmen

2010-02-01

Pleurotus ostreatus is the second most cultivated edible mushroom worldwide after Agaricus bisporus. It has economic and ecological values and medicinal properties. Mushroom culture has moved toward diversification with the production of other mushrooms. Edible mushrooms are able to colonize and degrade a large variety of lignocellulosic substrates and other wastes which are produced primarily through the activities of the agricultural, forest, and food-processing industries. Particularly, P. ostreatus requires a shorter growth time in comparison to other edible mushrooms. The substrate used for their cultivation does not require sterilization, only pasteurization, which is less expensive. Growing oyster mushrooms convert a high percentage of the substrate to fruiting bodies, increasing profitability. P. ostreatus demands few environmental controls, and their fruiting bodies are not often attacked by diseases and pests, and they can be cultivated in a simple and cheap way. All this makes P. ostreatus cultivation an excellent alternative for production of mushrooms when compared to other mushrooms.

Perspective of public law in rearrangement of profit sharing system agricultural land in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Tamsil; Susilowati, IF; Wardhana, M.

2018-01-01

Review of the Shared Revenue Act for better regulatory system is an important issue as a more realistic and highly feasible agrarian reform policy. The rearrangement of agricultural land tenure systems is difficult to implement because it must be done simultaneously and thoroughly plus the support of large economic and political cost allocations; Instead, allowing the use of land in market mechanisms violating the principles of fairness on profit sharing. So it needs agrarian policies that are gradual and more realistic, such as revision of Act on profit sharing. In the previous research, the characteristics of the land sharing system in Indonesia are: (1) The Revenue Sharing Agreement is seen as a personal relationship subject to the private of law, not public rules; (2) found character of unequal Patron-client relationship between landowner and farmer; (3) Different revenue sharing systems and tend to position smallholders as weak and defeated. This study aims to discuss the State’s ‘interference’ in changing the profit sharing system by limiting individual freedom on the basis of a ‘new’ perspective of profit sharing as a relative legal relation. In the future, the profit-sharing system should be able to provide legal protection for farmers, as well as landowners.

Profitability of Western European banking systems: panel evidence on structural and cyclical determinants

OpenAIRE

Beckmann, Rainer

2007-01-01

This paper analyses structural and cyclical determinants of banking profitability in 16 Western European countries. We find that financial structure matters, particularly through the beneficial effect of the capital market orientation in the respective national financial system. Furthermore, higher diversification regarding banks' income sources shows a positive effect. The industry concentration of national banking systems, though, does not significantly affect aggregate profitability. Busin...

Cultivation of shear stress sensitive microorganisms in disposable bag reactor systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Jonczyk, Patrick; Takenberg, Meike; Hartwig, Steffen; Beutel, Sascha; Berger, Ralf G; Scheper, Thomas

2013-09-20

Technical scale (≥5l) cultivations of shear stress sensitive microorganisms are often difficult to perform, as common bioreactors are usually designed to maximize the oxygen input into the culture medium. This is achieved by mechanical stirrers, causing high shear stress. Examples for shear stress sensitive microorganisms, for which no specific cultivation systems exist, are many anaerobic bacteria and fungi, such as basidiomycetes. In this work a disposable bag bioreactor developed for cultivation of mammalian cells was investigated to evaluate its potential to cultivate shear stress sensitive anaerobic Eubacterium ramulus and shear stress sensitive basidiomycetes Flammulina velutipes and Pleurotus sapidus. All cultivations were compared with conventional stainless steel stirred tank reactors (STR) cultivations. Good growth of all investigated microorganisms cultivated in the bag reactor was found. E. ramulus showed growth rates of μ=0.56 h⁻¹ (bag) and μ=0.53 h⁻¹ (STR). Differences concerning morphology, enzymatic activities and growth in fungal cultivations were observed. In the bag reactor growth in form of small, independent pellets was observed while STR cultivations showed intense aggregation. F. velutipes reached higher biomass concentrations (21.2 g l⁻¹ DCW vs. 16.8 g l⁻¹ DCW) and up to 2-fold higher peptidolytic activities in comparison to cell cultivation in stirred tank reactors. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Construction of the Classification and Grading Index System of Cultivated Land Based on the Viewpoint of Sustainable Development

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2010-01-01

In order to objectively and reasonably evaluate the actual and potential value of cultivated land, both social and ecological values are introduced into the classification and grading index system of cultivated land based on the viewpoint of sustainable development, after considering the natural and economic values of cultivated land. Index system construction of the sustainable utilization of cultivated land should follow the principles of economic viability, social acceptability, and ecological protection. Classification of cultivated land should take into account the soil fertility of cultivated land. Then, grading of cultivated land is carried out from the practical productivity (or potential productivity) of cultivated land. According to the existing classification index system of cultivated land, the soil, natural and environmental factors in plains, mountains and hills are mainly modified in the classification index system of cultivated land. And index systems for the cultivated land classification in plains, mountains and hills are set up. The grading index system of cultivated land is established based on the economic viability (economic value), social acceptability (social value) and protection of cultivated land (ecological value). Quantitative expression of cultivated land grading index is also carried out.

Factors associated with profitability in pasture-based systems of milk production.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanrahan, L; McHugh, N; Hennessy, T; Moran, B; Kearney, R; Wallace, M; Shalloo, L

2018-06-01

The global dairy industry needs to reappraise the systems of milk production that are operated at farm level with specific focus on enhancing technical efficiency and competitiveness of the sector. The objective of this study was to quantify the factors associated with costs of production, profitability, and pasture use, and the effects of pasture use on financial performance of dairy farms using an internationally recognized representative database over an 8-yr period (2008 to 2015) on pasture-based systems. To examine the associated effects of several farm system and management variables on specific performance measures, a series of multiple regression models were developed. Factors evaluated included pasture use [kg of dry matter/ha and stocking rate (livestock units/ha)], grazing season length, breeding season length, milk recording, herd size, dairy farm size (ha), farmer age, discussion group membership, proportion of purchased feed, protein %, fat %, kg of milk fat and protein per cow, kg of milk fat and protein per hectare, and capital investment in machinery, livestock, and buildings. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated costs of production per hectare differed by year, geographical location, soil type, level of pasture use, proportion of purchased feed, protein %, kg of fat and protein per cow, dairy farm size, breeding season length, and capital investment in machinery, livestock, and buildings per cow. The results of the analysis revealed that farm net profit per hectare was associated with pasture use per hectare, year, location, soil type, grazing season length, proportion of purchased feed, protein %, kg of fat and protein per cow, dairy farm size, and capital investment in machinery and buildings per cow. Pasture use per hectare was associated with year, location, soil type, stocking rate, dairy farm size, fat %, protein %, kg of fat and protein per cow, farmer age, capital investment in machinery and buildings per cow, breeding season length

Impact of product configuration systems on product profitability and costing accuracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Myrodia, Anna; Kristjansdottir, Katrin; Hvam, Lars

2017-01-01

in control of their product assortment, making the right decisions in the sales phase and increasing sales of optimal products. These benefits should have an impact on the company's ability to make more accurate cost estimations in the sales phase, which can positively affect the products’ profitability......This article aims at analyzing the impact of implementing a product configuration system (PCS) on the increased accuracy of the cost calculations and the increased profitability of the products. Companies that have implemented PCSs have achieved substantial benefits in terms of being more...... and after a PCS was implemented. The comparison in the case study revealed that increased accuracy of the cost calculations in the sales phase and consequently increased profitability can be achieved by implementing a PCS....

Profitability of groundnut-based cropping systems among farmers in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Groundnut is an important cash crop and a good source of vegetable oil to resource-poor farmers. The study examined the Profitability of Groundnut–based Cropping Systems among farmers in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Specifically, the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers were ...

Microbiota of radish plants, cultivated in closed and open ecological systems

Science.gov (United States)

Tirranen, L. S.

It is common knowledge that microorganisms respond to environmental changes faster than other representatives of the living world. The major aim of this work was to examine and analyze the characteristics of the microbiota of radish culture, cultivated in the closed ecological system of human life-support Bios-3 and in an open system in different experiments. Microbial community of near-root, root zone and phyllosphere of radish were studied at the phases of seedlings, root formation, technical ripeness—by washing-off method—like microbiota of the substrate (expanded clay aggregate) and of the seeds of radish culture. Inoculation on appropriate media was made to count total quantity of anaerobic and aerobic bacteria, bacteria of coliform group, spore-forming, Proteus group, fluorescent, phytopathogenic bacteria, growing on Fermi medium, yeasts, microscopic fungi, Actinomyces. It was revealed that formation of the microbiota of radish plants depends on the age, plant cultivation technology and the specific conditions of the closed system. Composition of microbial conveyor-cultivated in phytotrons varied in quality and in quantity with plant growth phases—in the same manner as cultivation of even-aged soil and hydroponics monocultures which was determined by different qualitative and quantitative composition of root emissions in the course of plant vegetation. The higher plant component formed its own microbial complex different from that formed prior to closure. The microbial complex of vegetable polyculture is more diverse and stable than the monoculture of radish. We registered the changes in the species composition and microorganism quantity during plant cultivation in the closed system on a long-used solution. It was demonstrated that during the short-term (7 days) use of the nutrient solution in the experiments without system closing, the species composition of the microbiota of radish plants was more diverse in a multiple-aged vegetable polyculture (61

Survey On Management Systems And Gross Profit Analysis Of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Survey On Management Systems And Gross Profit Analysis Of Muturu In Southern Cross River State. ... in muturu rearing for commercial purposes. Cost price of muturu within the study area was uniform due to the influence of market associations. The selling price of muturu cattle is however influenced by the location.

Do Robotic Surgical Systems Improve Profit Margins? A Cross-Sectional Analysis of California Hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Ya-Chen Tina; Shen, Chan; Hu, Jim C

2017-09-01

The aim of this study was to examine the association between ownership of robotic surgical systems and hospital profit margins. This study used hospital annual utilization data, annual financial data, and discharge data for year 2011 from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. We first performed bivariate analysis to compare mean profit margin by hospital and market characteristics and to examine whether these characteristics differed between hospitals that had one or more robotic surgical systems in 2011 and those that did not. We applied the t test and the F test to compare mean profit margin between two groups and among three or more groups, respectively. We then conducted multilevel logistic regression to determine the association between ownership of robotic surgical systems and having a positive profit margin after controlling for other hospital and market characteristics and accounting for possible correlation among hospitals located within the same market. The study sample included 167 California hospitals with valid financial information. Hospitals with robotic surgical systems tended to report more favorable profit margins. However, multilevel logistic regression showed that this relationship (an association, not causality) became only marginally significant (odds ratio [OR] = 6.2; P = 0.053) after controlling for other hospital characteristics, such as ownership type, teaching status, bed size, and surgical volumes, and market characteristics, such as total number of robotic surgical systems owned by other hospitals in the same market area. As robotic surgical systems become widely disseminated, hospital decision makers should carefully evaluate the financial and clinical implications before making a capital investment in this technology. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

48 CFR 915.404-4-71 - Profit and fee-system for construction and construction management contracts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Profit and fee-system for construction and construction management contracts. 915.404-4-71 Section 915.404-4-71 Federal Acquisition... Contract Pricing 915.404-4-71 Profit and fee-system for construction and construction management contracts. ...

Management of Enterprise Profit: Theory and Methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadezhda Sergeevna Piontkevich

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Effective management of financial activity of commercial organization promotes achievement of the main objective of its activity – receiving profit. Both external and internal factors causing specifics of financial management of organization in the field of management of profit have impact on this process. In modern conditions of economic development this problem gains the greatest relevance, and new approaches for its decision are required. In the present article the author’s theoretical and methodological approach to profit management of organization is offered: its application is connected with revision of acting control system of enterprise profit on the basis of assessing the initial condition of profit, planning the demanded profit level, periodical monitoring condition of planned values on profit, and also adoption of flexible administrative decisions on reduction of deviations and increasing the efficiency of organization activity. The system of profit formation including corresponding income and expenses of organization is presented. Methods of revenue planning are characterized. The characteristics of income and expenses connected with non-operating operations and transactions is given. The essence of the main directions of using enterprise profit is revealed. Need of application of author’s technique of management of profit of organization taking into account influence of external and internal factors is proved. The universal purpose of management of profit of organization and a task providing achievement of the goal are formulated . Tools of assessment efficiency of the system of formation and use of profit which is actually created in organization are offered. The methodical approach to planning of profit allowing to increase efficiency of activity of organization is presented. The mechanism of an assessment deviations of planned indicators of effective management of profit from actual and adoptions of correcting decisions on

Profitability of groundnut-based cropping systems among farmers in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Profitability of groundnut-based cropping systems among farmers in Hong local government area of Adamawa state, Nigeria. ... The PDF file you selected should load here if your Web browser has a PDF reader plug-in installed (for example, a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader). If you would like more information ...

The Impact Of CRM Implementation On Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty And Organisational Profitability

OpenAIRE

Tanas, Islam Nazier Abdelmalak

2010-01-01

This research investigates to what extend the customer relationship management implementation affects the customer loyalty and maintaining profitability in the food and retail industry by cultivating intrinsically motivated loyalty between customers and retailers in the current competitive environment. The former grocery retailers caught up in traditional transaction-based strategies and relied on acquisition instead of loyalty which deters customers from choosing alternative retailers by inc...

Identification of profitable areas to apply product configuration systems in Engineering-To-Order companies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristjansdottir, Katrin; Hvam, Lars; Shafiee, Sara

2015-01-01

This article suggests a systematic framework for identifying potential areas, where Engineering-To-Order (ETO) companies may increase their profit-ability by implementing a Product Configuration System (PCS). In order to do so a three-step framework is proposed based on literature. The starting...... point is to conduct a profitability analysis to determine the accuracy of the cost estima-tions, and based on that the reason for the deviations across different projects is found. The next step is to generate the scope for different scenarios that aim to improve the current situation. Finally...

The role of private non-profit healthcare organizations in NHS systems: Implications for the Portuguese hospital devolution program.

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida, Álvaro S

2017-06-01

The national health services (NHS) of England, Portugal, Finland and other single-payer universalist systems financed by general taxation, are based on the theoretical principle of an integrated public sector payer-provider. However, in practice one can find different forms of participation of non-public healthcare providers in those NHS, including private for profit providers, but also third sector non-profit organizations (NPO). This paper reviews the role of non-public non-profit healthcare organizations in NHS systems. By crossing a literature review on privatization of national health services with a literature review on the comparative performance of non-profit and for-profit healthcare organizations, this paper assesses the impact of contracting private non-profit healthcare organizations on the efficiency, quality and responsiveness of services, in public universal health care systems. The results of the review were then compared to the existing evidence on the Portuguese hospital devolution to NPO program. The evidence in this paper suggests that NHS health system reforms that transfer some public-sector hospitals to NPO should deliver improvements to the health system with minimal downside risks. The very limited existing evidence on the Portuguese hospital devolution program suggests it improved efficiency and access, without sacrificing quality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Profitability of Two Shepherding Systems for Production of Ovine Meat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Fernando González Mendoza

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In Güican (Boyacá, sheep production occupies one of the main items on the economy of the region, despite of being one of the largest, most relevant andimportant business, studies have not been developed to establish that is an efficient and sustainable business. For this reason a research was carried out in theFinca Ronces Güican, where two systems of grazing were temporarily implemented, an extensive traditional and rotational grazing. Forage present in thegrazing area were: Molasses grass (Melinis minutiflora, Kidney weed (Dichondra repens and Dutch clover (Trifolium repens L; 24 creoles sheep were used persystem, selected according to age and sex, achieving uniformity in both groups used. The study was developed for 4 months in order to assess weight gain andprofitability, by assessing and weighing the animals every 15 days. These data were recorded and once the trial period finished, comparisons were made todetermine the effectiveness of each system. It was found that there is a significant difference between the two systems in terms of weight gain. In this way, in theconventional extensive system, sheep had a mean weight gain of 35.47 g / day, while in the rotational system the average profit was 124.24 g / day, so it wasconcluded that the rotational system is more profitable, since it has a return on capital of 8% over the traditional extensive system.

Hydroponic cultivation of soybean for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSSs)

Science.gov (United States)

De Pascale, Stefania; De Micco, Veronica; Aronne, Giovanna; Paradiso, Roberta

For long time our research group has been involved in experiments aiming to evaluate the possibility to cultivate plants in Space to regenerate resources and produce food. Apart from investigating the response of specific growth processes (at morpho-functional levels) to space factors (namely microgravity and ionising radiation), wide attention has been dedicated to agro-technologies applied to ecologically closed systems. Based on technical and human dietary requirements, soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is studied as one of the candidate species for hydroponic (soilless) cultivation in the research program MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) of the European Space Agency (ESA). Soybean seeds show high nutritional value, due to the relevant content of protein, lipids, dietary fiber and biologically active substances such as isoflavones. They can produce fresh sprouts or be transformed in several edible products (soymilk and okara or soy pulp). Soybean is traditionally grown in open field where specific interactions with soil microrganisms occur. Most available information on plant growth, seed productivity and nutrient composition relate to cultivated varieties (cultivars) selected for soil cultivation. However, in a space outpost, plant cultivation would rely on soilless systems. Given that plant growth, seed yield and quality strictly depend on the environmental conditions, to make successful the cultivation of soybean in space, it was necessary to screen all agronomic information according to space constraints. Indeed, selected cultivars have to comply with the space growth environment while providing a suitable nutritional quality to fulfill the astronauts needs. We proposed an objective criterion for the preliminary theoretical selection of the most suitable cultivars for seed production, which were subsequently evaluated in bench tests in hydroponics. Several Space-oriented experiments were carried out in a closed growth chamber to

Microbe observation and cultivation array (MOCA) for cultivating and analyzing environmental microbiota.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Weimin; Navarroli, Dena; Naimark, Jared; Zhang, Weiwen; Chao, Shih-Hui; Meldrum, Deirdre R

2013-01-09

The use of culture-independent nucleic acid techniques, such as ribosomal RNA gene cloning library analysis, has unveiled the tremendous microbial diversity that exists in natural environments. In sharp contrast to this great achievement is the current difficulty in cultivating the majority of bacterial species or phylotypes revealed by molecular approaches. Although recent new technologies such as metagenomics and metatranscriptomics can provide more functionality information about the microbial communities, it is still important to develop the capacity to isolate and cultivate individual microbial species or strains in order to gain a better understanding of microbial physiology and to apply isolates for various biotechnological applications. We have developed a new system to cultivate bacteria in an array of droplets. The key component of the system is the microbe observation and cultivation array (MOCA), which consists of a Petri dish that contains an array of droplets as cultivation chambers. MOCA exploits the dominance of surface tension in small amounts of liquid to spontaneously trap cells in well-defined droplets on hydrophilic patterns. During cultivation, the growth of the bacterial cells across the droplet array can be monitored using an automated microscope, which can produce a real-time record of the growth. When bacterial cells grow to a visible microcolony level in the system, they can be transferred using a micropipette for further cultivation or analysis. MOCA is a flexible system that is easy to set up, and provides the sensitivity to monitor growth of single bacterial cells. It is a cost-efficient technical platform for bioassay screening and for cultivation and isolation of bacteria from natural environments.

Charity care: do not-for-profits influence for-profits?

Science.gov (United States)

Clement, Jan P; White, Kenneth R; Valdmanis, Vivian

2002-03-01

This study further examines whether not-for-profit hospitals exert pressure on for-profit hospitals to provide charity care and whether for-profit hospitals react differently than not-for-profit hospitals to managed care pressures and hospital competition in providing charity care. A two equation model is estimated using 1996 data from California hospitals. The results indicate that in mixed ownership markets, for-profit hospitals provide significantly less charity care as not-for-profit hospitals in the market provide more. Unexpectedly, study for-profit hospitals were not more influenced by price competition than other hospitals with respect to charity care. Having a unique role in providing charity care may justify continuing tax exemption for not-for-profit hospitals and enhance interest in payment and other policies with regard to conversions to ensure that not-for-profit hospitals continue to be represented in market areas.

Information system for selection of conditions and equipment for the cultivation of mammalian cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. R. Batyrgazieva

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The use of mammals cells and their products wide application, so the actual problem is a creation of an information system in the field of their cultivation for the organizing and structuring of information on process experimental data. This work is devoted the analysis of mammalian cell cultivation. The main technologies of cell cultivation, necessary equipment and matrices are considered. The main stages of database design and information system is described. The justification of software products are provided and the results of the database and information system implementation are done. The detailed description of all modules of the system, as well as a comparative analysis of the results of the search are in the system to verify correct operation of the system. The scientific and practical significance of the work lies in the fact that the effective tool for presenting knowledge and data for search by specific parameters is required. The convenience of the system is that it is not necessary to address in various data sources to get and conditions of cultivation of mammalian cells, it has already been collected and structured according to parameters. With help of the system, it is possible to select conditions for the cultivation of mammalian cells at the stage of scientific researches that will significantly reduce the time and cost of work, also to rank of recommended technological and hardware solutions. The system has a functional completeness, i.e. in a specific subject area, it ensures the fulfillment of user's requirements, and allows to accumulate and process information.

Life cycle assessment of coupling household biogas production to agricultural industry: A case study of biogas-linked persimmon cultivation and processing system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Bin; Chen, Shaoqing

2013-01-01

Biogas plant construction has been boosted in rural China not only due to the immediate merit from biogas production but also the succeeding benefit from by-product utilization in agro-industry, both of which are significant strategies to address energy shortage and global warming issues. However, little work has been done to evaluate the coupling of biogas projects to traditional agrosystems from a life-cycle perspective, which is most important in process and system optimization in different senses. By taking persimmon cultivation and processing with supports from a household biogas plant as a case study, this study conducts a life cycle assessment of coupling biogas production to agro-industry in terms of energy, environmental and economic performance. The results suggest that each production stage following the biogas/digestate utilization chain (biogas operation-persimmon cultivation-product processing) is beneficial across all three aspects. However, a tradeoff only exists in utilizing digestate as top-dressing and employing biogas utilization as engine fuel, while biogas application in fresh-keeping and digestate reuse as base fertilizer fails to increase either energy production or greenhouse gas mitigation. The coupled system can be hopefully optimized through increasing fermentation efficiency and joint operation of biogas digesters. -- Highlights: •Biogas/digestate utilization is overall beneficial in all production stages. •Each bioresource application may not be profitable in all respects. •Tradeoffs in using biogas and digestate vary among different utilization ways. •Multi-user operation and fermentation efficiency elevation optimize system

FARMER'S PROFITABILITY OF POTATO CULTIVATION AT RANGPUR DISTRICT: THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT OF BANGLADESH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abu Zafar Ahmed Mukul

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Bangladesh is predominantly an agricultural country. Agriculture is the indispensable culture of Bangladesh. Agriculture has a enceinte contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP of the country. Earlier more than 50% of GDP came from this sector. Various types of crops are produced in this country. These crops might have been categorized into two-food crops and cash crops. Potato is one of the food-stuff of the most people of the world as well as Bangladesh. Potato crop is being treated as foremost crop. This study was conducted to approximation the cost of production and profitability of potato producers at Rangpur district. Data collected from 30 farmers using simple random sampling technique. The potato farmers showed individual differences in their socio-economic characteristics and absolute majority of them belonged to young age category (20-35 years having medium family size, illiterate, medium farm size (0.34-1.0 acre, (1-10 years farming experience. Most of the respondents used cardinal variety of potato seed and sell their output at home. Farmers who sell potato in the market were more profitable than others. The study also designates that the large farmers were most profitable compared to others. Major problem faced by the potato farmers were lower price of potato during harvesting period, price fluctuation , shortage of capital, high charge of cold storage, lack of good quality seed, perish ability of potato, poor storage facility, higher price of inputs and lack of marketing facility etc. Proper steps should be postulated by Government to puzzle out this problem. The determinations of the study will generate basic economic data on the production practices of potato. At long last it will be helpful to the planners and policy makers in contriving micro or macro level policy for the enlargement of potato production in the country.

Increasing Cropping System Diversity Balances Productivity, Profitability and Environmental Health

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Adam S.; Hill, Jason D.; Chase, Craig A.; Johanns, Ann M.; Liebman, Matt

2012-01-01

Balancing productivity, profitability, and environmental health is a key challenge for agricultural sustainability. Most crop production systems in the United States are characterized by low species and management diversity, high use of fossil energy and agrichemicals, and large negative impacts on the environment. We hypothesized that cropping system diversification would promote ecosystem services that would supplement, and eventually displace, synthetic external inputs used to maintain crop productivity. To test this, we conducted a field study from 2003–2011 in Iowa that included three contrasting systems varying in length of crop sequence and inputs. We compared a conventionally managed 2-yr rotation (maize-soybean) that received fertilizers and herbicides at rates comparable to those used on nearby farms with two more diverse cropping systems: a 3-yr rotation (maize-soybean-small grain + red clover) and a 4-yr rotation (maize-soybean-small grain + alfalfa-alfalfa) managed with lower synthetic N fertilizer and herbicide inputs and periodic applications of cattle manure. Grain yields, mass of harvested products, and profit in the more diverse systems were similar to, or greater than, those in the conventional system, despite reductions of agrichemical inputs. Weeds were suppressed effectively in all systems, but freshwater toxicity of the more diverse systems was two orders of magnitude lower than in the conventional system. Results of our study indicate that more diverse cropping systems can use small amounts of synthetic agrichemical inputs as powerful tools with which to tune, rather than drive, agroecosystem performance, while meeting or exceeding the performance of less diverse systems. PMID:23071739

78 FR 11164 - Policy on Contractor Profits

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-15

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Defense Acquisition Regulations System Policy on Contractor Profits AGENCY... Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. Section 804, Department of Defense Policy on Contractor Profits... modifications to such guidelines that are necessary to ensure an appropriate link between contractor profit and...

Capacity-oriented curriculum system of optoelectronics in the context of large category cultivation

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yuan; Hu, Zhangfang; Zhang, Yi

2017-08-01

In order to cultivate the innovative talents with the comprehensive development to meet the talents demand for development of economic society, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications implements cultivation based on broadening basic education and enrolment in large category of general education. Optoelectronic information science and engineering major belongs to the electronic engineering category. The "2 +2" mode is utilized for personnel training, where students are without major in the first and second year and assigned to a major within the major categories in the end of the second year. In the context of the comprehensive cultivation, for the changes in the demand for professionals in the global competitive environment with the currently rapid development, especially the demand for the professional engineering technology personnel suitable to industry and development of local economic society, the concept of CDIO engineering ability cultivation is used for reference. Thus the curriculum system for the three-node structure optoelectronic information science and engineering major is proposed, which attaches great importance to engineering practice and innovation cultivation under the background of the comprehensive cultivation. The conformity between the curriculum system and the personnel training objectives is guaranteed effectively, and the consistency between the teaching philosophy and the teaching behavior is enhanced. Therefore, the idea of major construction is clear with specific characteristics.

To What Extent Do Improved Practices Increase Productivity of Small-Scale Rice Cultivation in A Rain-fed Area? : Evidence from Tanzania

OpenAIRE

Yuko Nakano; Yuki Tanaka; Keijiro Otsuka

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the impact of training provided by a large-scale private farm on the performance of surrounding small-scale rice farmers in a rain-fed area in Tanzania. We found that the training effectively enhances the adoption of improved rice cultivation practices, paddy yield, and profit of rice cultivation by small-holder farmers. In fact, the trainees achieve paddy yield of 5 tons per hectare on average, which is remarkably high for rain-fed rice cultivation. Our results sugges...

Effects of stored feed cropping systems and farm size on the profitability of Maine organic dairy farm simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoshide, A K; Halloran, J M; Kersbergen, R J; Griffin, T S; DeFauw, S L; LaGasse, B J; Jain, S

2011-11-01

United States organic dairy production has increased to meet the growing demand for organic milk. Despite higher prices received for milk, organic dairy farmers have come under increasing financial stress due to increases in concentrated feed prices over the past few years, which can make up one-third of variable costs. Market demand for milk has also leveled in the last year, resulting in some downward pressure on prices paid to dairy farmers. Organic dairy farmers in the Northeast United States have experimented with growing different forage and grain crops to maximize on-farm production of protein and energy to improve profitability. Three representative organic feed systems were simulated using the integrated farm system model for farms with 30, 120, and 220 milk cows. Increasing intensity of equipment use was represented by organic dairy farms growing only perennial sod (low) to those with corn-based forage systems, which purchase supplemental grain (medium) or which produce and feed soybeans (high). The relative profitability of these 3 organic feed systems was strongly dependent on dairy farm size. From results, we suggest smaller organic dairy farms can be more profitable with perennial sod-based rather than corn-based forage systems due to lower fixed costs from using only equipment associated with perennial forage harvest and storage. The largest farm size was more profitable using a corn-based system due to greater economies of scale for growing soybeans, corn grain, winter cereals, and corn silages. At an intermediate farm size of 120 cows, corn-based forage systems were more profitable if perennial sod was not harvested at optimum quality, corn was grown on better soils, or if milk yield was 10% higher. Delayed harvest decreased the protein and energy content of perennial sod crops, requiring more purchased grain to balance the ration and resulting in lower profits. Corn-based systems were less affected by lower perennial forage quality, as corn silage

Closing the water and nutrient cycles in soilless cultivation systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beerling, E.A.M.; Blok, C.; Maas, van der A.A.; Os, van E.A.

2014-01-01

Soilless cultivation systems are common in Dutch greenhouse horticulture, i.e., less than 20% of the greenhouse area is still soil grown. For long, it was assumed that in these so-called closed systems the emission of nutrients and plant protection products (PPPs) was close to zero. However, Water

Profit Allocation of Hybrid Power System Planning in Energy Internet: A Cooperative Game Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jicheng Liu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The rapid development of Energy Internet (EI has prompted numbers of generators to participate, leading to a hybrid power system. Hence, how to plan the hybrid power system and allocate its profit becomes necessary. In this paper, the cooperative game theory is introduced to discuss this problem. We first design the basic structure of EI, and point out the object of this study—coal power plant-wind farm-photovoltaic power station-energy storage provider (CWPE alliance. Subsequently, average allocation strategy (AAS, capacity-based allocation strategy (CAS and Shapley value allocation strategy (SAS are proposed, and then the modified disruption propensity (MDP index is constructed to judge the advantages and disadvantages of the three schemes. Thirdly, taking a certain area of A Province as an example, the profits of CWPE under three strategies are calculated respectively. Finally, by analyzing individual rationality and collective rationality of cooperative game and the MDP index of the three profit allocation schemes, we find that SAS is the most stable.

A Decomposition of Hospital Profitability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason Turner

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Objectives: This paper evaluates the drivers of profitability for a large sample of U.S. hospitals. Following a methodology frequently used by financial analysts, we use a DuPont analysis as a framework to evaluate the quality of earnings. By decomposing returns on equity (ROE into profit margin, total asset turnover, and capital structure, the DuPont analysis reveals what drives overall profitability. Methods: Profit margin, the efficiency with which services are rendered (total asset turnover, and capital structure is calculated for 3,255 U.S. hospitals between 2007 and 2012 using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Healthcare Cost Report Information System (CMS Form 2552. The sample is then stratified by ownership, size, system affiliation, teaching status, critical access designation, and urban or non-urban location. Those hospital characteristics and interaction terms are then regressed (OLS against the ROE and the respective DuPont components. Sensitivity to regression methodology is also investigated using a seemingly unrelated regression. Results: When the sample is stratified by hospital characteristics, the results indicate investor-owned hospitals have higher profit margins, higher efficiency, and are substantially more leveraged. Hospitals in systems are found to have higher ROE, margins, and efficiency but are associated with less leverage. In addition, a number of important and significant interactions between teaching status, ownership, location, critical access designation, and inclusion in a system are documented. Many of the significant relationships, most notably not-for-profit ownership, lose significance or are predominately associated with one interaction effect when interaction terms are introduced as explanatory variables. Results are not sensitive to the alternative methodology. Conclusion: The results of the DuPont analysis suggest that although there appears to be convergence in the behavior of

A Decomposition of Hospital Profitability

Science.gov (United States)

Broom, Kevin; Elliott, Michael; Lee, Jen-Fu

2015-01-01

Objectives: This paper evaluates the drivers of profitability for a large sample of U.S. hospitals. Following a methodology frequently used by financial analysts, we use a DuPont analysis as a framework to evaluate the quality of earnings. By decomposing returns on equity (ROE) into profit margin, total asset turnover, and capital structure, the DuPont analysis reveals what drives overall profitability. Methods: Profit margin, the efficiency with which services are rendered (total asset turnover), and capital structure is calculated for 3,255 U.S. hospitals between 2007 and 2012 using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Healthcare Cost Report Information System (CMS Form 2552). The sample is then stratified by ownership, size, system affiliation, teaching status, critical access designation, and urban or non-urban location. Those hospital characteristics and interaction terms are then regressed (OLS) against the ROE and the respective DuPont components. Sensitivity to regression methodology is also investigated using a seemingly unrelated regression. Results: When the sample is stratified by hospital characteristics, the results indicate investor-owned hospitals have higher profit margins, higher efficiency, and are substantially more leveraged. Hospitals in systems are found to have higher ROE, margins, and efficiency but are associated with less leverage. In addition, a number of important and significant interactions between teaching status, ownership, location, critical access designation, and inclusion in a system are documented. Many of the significant relationships, most notably not-for-profit ownership, lose significance or are predominately associated with one interaction effect when interaction terms are introduced as explanatory variables. Results are not sensitive to the alternative methodology. Conclusion: The results of the DuPont analysis suggest that although there appears to be convergence in the behavior of NFP and IO

Profit and place

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ian Bentley

1997-01-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the physical and symbolic effects the built environment has on human activities in a capitalist economy. The built environment is integrated in the capitalist economy on three levels: as the focus of a profit-oriented manufacturing industry, as the setting for all sorts of other enterprises and as the built context of the whole economy. The built environment is understood as a commodity. The capitalist system contains inbuilt tensions which have important design implications: the first tension arises because the system, if left to itself, lacks any overall planning functions, the second tension stems from the ability of the system to generate profit and the third arises from the character of labour, which distinguishes it from other commodities used in the production process. In conclusion methods of designing built environments, which perpetuate social order, are discussed.

There's no profiting from a joint venture misadventure.

Science.gov (United States)

Herschman, Gary W

2004-10-01

In St. David's vs. IRS, a not-for-profit health system effectively challenged the IRS's determination that the system should be disqualified from tax exemption because it had entered a 50/50 joint venture with a for-profit system. The court decisions in St. David's, coupled with a recent IRS ruling, Revenue Ruling 2004-51, provide insight into how a not-for-profit hospital can structure such a joint venture to avoid jeopardizing its tax-exempt status.

Comparison of algae cultivation methods for bioenergy production using a combined life cycle assessment and life cycle costing approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Resurreccion, Eleazer P; Colosi, Lisa M; White, Mark A; Clarens, Andres F

2012-12-01

Algae are an attractive energy source, but important questions still exist about the sustainability of this technology on a large scale. Two particularly important questions concern the method of cultivation and the type of algae to be used. This present study combines elements of life cycle analysis (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) to evaluate open pond (OP) systems and horizontal tubular photobioreactors (PBRs) for the cultivation of freshwater (FW) or brackish-to-saline water (BSW) algae. Based on the LCA, OPs have lower energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions than PBRs; e.g., 32% less energy use for construction and operation. According to the LCC, all four systems are currently financially unattractive investments, though OPs are less so than PBRs. BSW species deliver better energy and GHG performance and higher profitability than FW species in both OPs and PBRs. Sensitivity analyses suggest that improvements in critical cultivation parameters (e.g., CO(2) utilization efficiency or algae lipid content), conversion parameters (e.g., anaerobic digestion efficiency), and market factors (e.g., costs of CO(2) and electricity, or sale prices for algae biodiesel) could alter these results. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anti-profit beliefs: How people neglect the societal benefits of profit.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharjee, Amit; Dana, Jason; Baron, Jonathan

2017-11-01

Profit-seeking firms are stereotypically depicted as immoral and harmful to society. At the same time, profit-driven enterprise has contributed immensely to human prosperity. Though scholars agree that profit can incentivize societally beneficial behaviors, people may neglect this possibility. In 7 studies, we show that people see business profit as necessarily in conflict with social good, a view we call anti-profit beliefs . Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that U.S. participants hold anti-profit views of real U.S. firms and industries. Study 3 shows that hypothetical organizations are seen as doing more harm when they are labeled "for-profit" rather than "non-profit," while Study 4 shows that increasing harm to society is viewed as a strategy for increasing a hypothetical firm's long-run profitability. Studies 5-7 demonstrate that carefully prompting subjects to consider the long run incentives of profit can attenuate anti-profit beliefs, while prompting short run thinking does nothing relative to a control. Together, these results suggest that the default view of profits is zero-sum. While people readily grasp how profit can incentivize firms to engage in practices that harm others, they neglect how it can incentivize firms to engage in practices that benefit others. Accordingly, people's stereotypes of profit-seeking firms are excessively negative. Even in one of the most market-oriented societies in history, people doubt the contributions of profit-seeking industry to societal progress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

An economic evaluation comparison of solar water pumping system with engine pumping system for rice cultivation

Science.gov (United States)

Treephak, Kasem; Thongpron, Jutturit; Somsak, Dhirasak; Saelao, Jeerawan; Patcharaprakiti, Nopporn

2015-08-01

In this paper we propose the design and economic evaluation of the water pumping systems for rice cultivation using solar energy, gasoline fuel and compare both systems. The design of the water and gasoline engine pumping system were evaluated. The gasoline fuel cost used in rice cultivation in an area of 1.6 acres. Under same conditions of water pumping system is replaced by the photovoltaic system which is composed of a solar panel, a converter and an electric motor pump which is compose of a direct current (DC) motor or an alternating current (AC) motor with an inverter. In addition, the battery is installed to increase the efficiency and productivity of rice cultivation. In order to verify, the simulation and economic evaluation of the storage energy battery system with batteries and without batteries are carried out. Finally the cost of four solar pumping systems was evaluated and compared with that of the gasoline pump. The results showed that the solar pumping system can be used to replace the gasoline water pumping system and DC solar pump has a payback less than 10 years. The systems that can payback the fastest is the DC solar pumping system without batteries storage system. The system the can payback the slowest is AC solar pumping system with batteries storage system. However, VAC motor pump of 220 V can be more easily maintained than the motor pump of 24 VDC and batteries back up system can supply a more stable power to the pump system.

Filling in the blanks. An estimation of illicit cannabis growers' profits in Belgium.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanhove, Wouter; Surmont, Tim; Van Damme, Patrick; De Ruyver, Brice

2014-05-01

As a result of increased pressure on cannabis cultivation in The Netherlands, the number of confiscated indoor cannabis plantations in Belgium is rising. Although increases are reported for all plantations sizes, half of the seized plantations contain less than 50 plants. In this study, factors and variables that influence costs and benefits of indoor cannabis cultivation are investigated as well as how these costs and benefits vary between different cannabis grower types. Real-situation data of four growers were used to perform financial analyses. Costs included fixed and variable material costs, as well as opportunity costs. Gross revenue per grow cycle was calculated based on most recent forensic findings for illicit Belgian cannabis plantations and was adjusted for the risk of getting caught. Finally, gross revenues and return on costs (ROC) were calculated over 1 year (4 cycles). Financial analysis shows that in all cases gross revenues as well as ROC are considerable, even after a single growth cycle. Highest profitability was found for large-scale (600 plants, ROC=6.8) and mid-scale plantations (150 plants, ROC=6.0). However, industrial plantations (23,000 plants, ROC=1.4) and micro-scale plantations (5 plants, ROC=2.8) are also highly remunerative. Shift of police focus away from micro-scale growers, least likely to be involved in criminal gangs, to large-scale and industrial scale plantations would influence costs as a result of changing risks of getting caught. However, sensitivity analysis shows that this does not significantly influence the conclusions on profitability of different types of indoor cannabis growers. Seizure and confiscation of profits are important elements in the integral and integrated policy approach required for tackling illicit indoor cannabis plantations. The large return of costs evidenced in the present study, underpin the policy relevance of confiscating those illicit profits as part of enforcement. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B

Siemens IT solutions for power sector. PROFIT solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lunter, P.

2004-01-01

The cost reduction, flexibility and revenue increase, potential exploitation, productivity increase, and business opportunities exploitation - that is all what can be required in the races for the promonent positioning on the electricity power market. These requirements can be realized by the sophisticated IT solutions hand-tailored to the special requirements of the electric power producers and tradesmen. This approach makes it possible to achieve greater profit. Our solutions 'PROFIT Solutions', that are symbiosis of the most progressive information technologies and the power plant techniques of the company Siemens, satisfy submitted specifications in substantial measure. The system solutions 'PROFIT Solutions' comprise three solution groups: process, operation a business. The solutions of the group 'IT Process Solutions' increase flexibility and manoeuvrability of equipment, improve the efficiency and contribute to more economical operation of the power generation. Solutions 'IT Process Solutions' simplify and shorten the period of power cycles and conduce to higher labour productivity. Solutions group 'IT Process Solutions' approaches equipment to the market - supports the profit strategies, helps quickly and expertly to determine and predict hazards. The extension PROFIT Cockpit means the nuance to the solutions world 'PROFIT Solutions'. The survey about the whole installation is within reach at the simple touch of a button. It is possible to compile the total system part by part from single solutions 'PROFIT Solutions'. As a matter of fact all single parts can be interconnected with already existing solutions. Routines 'PROFIT Solutions' cooperate with all modern control systems. (author)

Profitable or not? It becomes increasingly difficult to calculate the profitability of a solar power system; Sie lohnt sich, sie lohnt sich nicht... Die Rendite einer Solarstromanlage zu berechnen wird allmaehlich zur Geheimwissenschaft

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Podewils, Christoph

2012-05-15

With the new reimbursement regulations, it has become increasingly difficult to calculate the profitability of a solar power system. This contribution identifies critical aspects and shows how profitability can be achieved in spite of legal restrictions.

Profitability indicators of milk production cost center in intensive systems of production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Glauber dos Santos

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The objective was to estimate some profitability indicators of dairy cost center farms with a high volume of daily production in feedlot. The Intended was also to identify the components that had the greatest influence on the operational cost. We used data from three milk systems production, with the origin of the purebred Holsteins. It was considered as a milk cost center production all expenses related in lactating and dry cows. The methodology used total cost and operating cost in profitability analysis. A production system, by presenting gross margin, net positive result, was able to produce short, medium and long term. Another production system had a positive gross margin and net, with conditions to survive in the short and medium term. Finally, the third system of production has shown a negative gross margin presenting decapitalizing and entering into debt, as revenues were not enough to pay operating expenses even effective. The component items of the effective operational cost that exercised higher “impact” cost and income from milk were, in decreasing order, the feeding, labor, miscellaneous expenses, sanitation, energy, milking, reproduction, equipment rental, BST and taxes.

Distribution of Costs and Profits in Urban Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Finn Kjær; Sørensen, Michael Tophøj

2009-01-01

Most countries have a system - procedures and tools - for foreseeable, clear and fair distribution of costs and profits in urban development. However, the distribution of profits and costs between the municipality and the developers /landowners is in Denmark rather fragmented and not very...... transparent as the distribution is regulated throughout the whole planning and environmental regulation system. Furthermore, development agreements – an “old” tool in many countries and an efficient tool to distribute profits and costs between the public and private sector – have only recently become possible...... in Denmark, and only under some special circumstances. This paper aims to clarify how costs and profits are distributed between the municipality and the developers /landowners in Denmark. The paper analyses how the Danish planning and environmental regulation system handles this issue. Based on the analysis...

Soybean cultivation for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSSs): The effect of hydroponic system and nitrogen source

Science.gov (United States)

Paradiso, Roberta; Buonomo, Roberta; Dixon, Mike A.; Barbieri, Giancarlo; De Pascale, Stefania

2014-02-01

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is one of the plant species selected within the European Space Agency (ESA) Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) project for hydroponic cultivation in Biological Life Support Systems (BLSSs), because of the high nutritional value of seeds. Root symbiosis of soybean with Bradirhizobium japonicum contributes to plant nutrition in soil, providing ammonium through the bacterial fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of two hydroponic systems, Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) and cultivation on rockwool, and two nitrogen sources in the nutrient solution, nitrate (as Ca(NO3)2 and KNO3) and urea (CO(NH2)2), on root symbiosis, plant growth and seeds production of soybean. Plants of cultivar 'OT8914', inoculated with B. japonicum strain BUS-2, were grown in a growth chamber, under controlled environmental conditions. Cultivation on rockwool positively influenced root nodulation and plant growth and yield, without affecting the proximate composition of seeds, compared to NFT. Urea as the sole source of N drastically reduced the seed production and the harvest index of soybean plants, presumably because of ammonium toxicity, even though it enhanced root nodulation and increased the N content of seeds. In the view of large-scale cultivation for space colony on planetary surfaces, the possibility to use porous media, prepared using in situ resources, should be investigated. Urea can be included in the nutrient formulation for soybean in order to promote bacterial activity, however a proper ammonium/nitrate ratio should be maintained.

Does Capital Structure Influence Company Profitability?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herciu Mihaela

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Every company has a different structure of balance sheet. Some of the companies have more liabilities than equity. Considering the industry or debt-to-equity ratio, the balance sheet structure affects the company profitability measured by DuPont system. The main objective of the paper is to analyze the structure of balance sheet and to identify some optimal levels in order to increase company profitability. The DuPont returns like ROA (return on assets and ROE (return on equity will be used to measure the company profitability, while the debt-to-equity ratio will be used as a measure (reflection of capital structure. The samples consist on the most profitable non-financial companies ranked in Fortune Global 500. The companies will be grouped in clusters (based on industry or debt-to-equity ratio in order to identify the signification of the correlation between the profit and the balance sheet structure. The main results of the paper refer to the company profitability that can be increased by using an optimal structure of liabilities and equity.

The Influence of Cultivation System on Distribution Profile Of 137cs and Erosion / Deposition Rate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nita Suhartini

2016-05-01

Full Text Available 137Cs radiogenic content in the soil can be used to estimate the rate of erosion and deposition in an area occurring since 1950’s, by comparing the content of the 137Cs in observed site with those in a stable reference site. This experiment aimed to investigate the influence of cultivation type on distribution profile of 137Cs and distribution of erosion and deposition rate in cultivated area. A study site was small cultivated area with slope steepness <10o and length 2 km located in Bojong – Ciawi. For this purpose, the top of a slope was chosen for reference site and three plot sites were selected namely Land Use I that using simple cultivation, Land Use II that using simple cultivation with ridge and furrow, and Land Use III using machine cultivation. The results showed that cultivation could make a movement of 137Cs to the deeper layer and ridges and furrows cultivation system could minimized an erosion process. The net erosion and deposition for land Use I, II and III were -25 t/ha/yr , 24 t/ha/yr and -58 t/ha/yr, respectively.

Results of cultivation experiment at clean farm (vegetable plant). 1. Clean farm (yasai kojo) ni okeru saibai jikken kekka. 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyaishi, T; Kawagishi, K; Matsuzaki, O; Nakahara, M [Kyushu Electric Power Co. Ltd., Fukuoka (Japan)

1991-03-31

This paper reports a summary of the facilities in an experimental plant constructed by the Kyushu Electric Power Company in 1988, and a result of experiments on cultivating salad and lettuce. The plant has environmentally controlled cultivating rooms of solar beam combined type and totally artificial light type, each having a floor area of 50 m {sup 2}, disposed with cultivating stages divided into three divisions of seedling culture, growth, and forced culture, nutritious liguid feeding devices of circulation type, and air conditioning equipment. The paper describes results of the tests aimed at realizing an increase in yield and profit, an optimum cultivating system, and economic facilities at the vegetable plant. Included in the tests are that (a) four kinds of salads and five kinds lettuce were selected for cultivation to decide most suitable kinds, based on literature survey and preliminary experiments; (b) varying the environmental conditions for the culture, such as temperature, radiating condition, concentration of the nutritious liquid, and concentration of carbon dioxide, conditions optimum or suitable for the plant growth were selected; (c) the plant was compared with glass green houses with respect to the required cultivating period of time, vitamin C content and color tones of the products; (d) the solar beam combined type room and the totally artificial light rooms were compared with respect to power consumption and heat capacity that passes through the cultivation room walls, and the latter was concluded being superior in economics and stability. 12 refs., 37 figs., 30 tabs.

Impact of growing costs on the profitability of crop production in Poland in the mid-term perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aldona SKARŻYŃSKA

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Main aim of this paper was to demonstrate the impact of cultivation intensity on economic of selected activities of crop production in Poland. The projection of income of these activities in mid-term perspective, i.e. in 2016, has also been developed. Studies have shown that for cultivation technology of low intensity, as compared to high, the economic results of examined activities were more favourable. The profitability of production, expressed as a ratio of the value of production to economic costs, was higher by 10.0 to 52.7%. According to the projection results, in the highly intensive cultivation, high costs and dynamics of growth, stronger than growth of income, had a negative impact on the level of income. It is expected, even with an exceptionally high yield, income level will be lower than in the cultivation of low intensity. The results show that the use of technological progress can reduce a negative impact of chemicals on the environment while maintaining the high economic efficiency of production.

Reimbursement, system prices, profits. To stand or to fall; Einspeiseverguetung, Systempreise und Renditen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuhs, Michael

2012-07-01

It is difficult to forecast the perspectives of photovoltaic conversion in Germany for 2012 as the energy-political boundary conditions are quite uncertain. Two different scenarios are possible, but both of them are difficult. The contribution presents reimbursement rates, system prices, and profits.

Vectors for Increasing the Effectiveness of Profit Management at Company Level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

І. V.

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Imperfect management of processes involved in accumulation and disposal of profit at Ukrainian companies affects their performance, with the consequent losses of public budget revenues. This raises the need for new and more effective mechanisms for accumulation and disposal of corporate profit, which would be focused on maximal utilization of production, marketing and fiscal capacities of business entities and enhancement of their competitiveness at domestic and global market. The article’s objective is to conduct theoretical study of profit as an economic category and an essential component of company’s performance, sum up the principles of profit management, and analyze the profit management system at company level. A brief review of theoretical definitions of profit is made, economic origin of profit and its role in business operation in the Ukrainian context is highlighted. The components of profit management system at company level, essential principles of strategic management of company profit, organizational and economic mechanism for company profit management, a strategy for profit management at company level is discussed and summed up. The organizational and economic mechanism for profit quality management at company level is proposed.

Financial assessment of oil palm cultivation on peatland in Selangor, Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.N. Noormahayu

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Oil palm plantations on peat soils are generally believed to have greater environmental impacts than those on other soil types. Nonetheless, Malaysia operates substantial incentives to maximise palm oil production, which in practice encourage the establishment of plantations on peatland. This paper explores the social and economic basis of oil palm cultivation on one peatland estate at Sungai Panjang in the state of Selangor, peninsular Malaysia. Data were obtained by conducting a questionnaire survey of 200 farmers who cultivate oil palm on peat soil. Some of the data were cross-tabulated against farmers’ ages in order to identify any age-related trends in education level, the area of land farmed, annual income and knowledge about oil palm cultivation. The Cobb-Douglas production function was used to model the financial output from oil palm in terms of the costs of chemical inputs and labour. The results indicated that cultivation of this crop gives decreasing returns to scale on peatland in Sungai Panjang, and that chemical inputs are more important than labour cost in determining the level of financial output. Finally, the financial viability of oil palm cultivation for farmers was assessed by calculating three financial indicators (NPV, BCR and IRR. This can be a profitable investment so long as growth conditions, costs, selling price and interest rate do not fluctuate substantially. Greater annual returns can be achieved over 20–25 years than over shorter periods, especially of less than 10 years.

RODUCTION COSTS AND PROFITABILITY OF THREE POTATO VARIETIES: LORD, VINETA AND JELLY IN YEARS 2011-2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lukasz KUTA

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The paper Farm incomes in Poland vary substantially, which is entirely confirmed by the results of agricultural accounting in Polish FADN. The income is influenced by a range of factors of which the most important are natural conditions, the farm production potential, production intensity as well as subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy. The increase in potato production on the European market has caused a low price level. In some countries the decline in prices was even 15% in 2010. The decline in prices led to the decline in profitability of potato production because low prices obtained by producers entailed higher costs of potato production. This work shows research results from years 2011-2013. The aim of the research was to compare the profitability of edible potato production on an individual farm in the Lódz Province in the early and late harvesting of the analysed years. The data needed to estimate the profitability were obtained based on the data included in the report which an individual farm runs in order to determine the profitability of the application of new cultivation technique or new varieties. Based on the obtained data, direct and indirect costs as well as profit were calculated. The profitability estimated on the basis of the data collected from the farmer was compared to the profitability which would be achieved by the farmer on the basis of the percentage of direct and indirect costs provided by the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics. The profitability calculated on the basis of indicators of the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics was lower than the profitability estimated on the basis of the data obtained from the analysis of the farm financial report.

Taxes, bankruptcy costs, and capital structure in for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Sean S; Yang, Jie; Carroll, Nathan

2018-02-01

About 60% of the US hospitals are not-for-profit and it is not clear how traditional theories of capital structure should be adapted to understand the borrowing behavior of not-for-profit hospitals. This paper identifies important determinants of capital structure taken from theories describing for-profit firms as well as prior literature on not-for-profit hospitals. We examine the differential effects these factors have on the capital structure of for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals. Specifically, we use a difference-in-differences regression framework to study how differences in leverage between for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals change in response to key explanatory variables (i.e. tax rates and bankruptcy costs). The sample in this study includes most US short-term general acute hospitals from 2000 to 2012. We find that personal and corporate income taxes and bankruptcy costs have significant and distinct effects on the capital structure of for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals. Specifically, relative to not-for-profit hospitals: (1) higher corporate income tax encourages for-profit hospitals to increase their debt usage; (2) higher personal income tax discourages for-profit hospitals to use debt; and (3) higher expected bankruptcy costs lead for-profit hospitals to use less debt. Over the past decade, the capital structure of for-profit hospitals has been more flexible as compared to that of not-for-profit hospitals. This may suggest that not-for-profit hospitals are more constrained by external financing resources. Particularly, our analysis suggests that not-for-profit hospitals operating in states with high corporate taxes but low personal income taxes may face particular challenges of borrowing funds relative to their for-profit competitors.

Cost-volume-profit and net present value analysis of health information systems.

Science.gov (United States)

McLean, R A

1998-08-01

The adoption of any information system should be justified by an economic analysis demonstrating that its projected benefits outweigh its projected costs. Analysis differ, however, on which methods to employ for such a justification. Accountants prefer cost-volume-profit analysis, and economists prefer net present value analysis. The article explains the strengths and weaknesses of each method and shows how they can be used together so that well-informed investments in information systems can be made.

Not-for-profits trek into for-profit accounting: goodwill impairments.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-01

Acquisitions may be integral and strategic drivers for successfully executing the business objectives of an entity or fulfilling its mission. The new guidance creates accounting and valuation challenges for not-for-profit entities that for-profit entities have been dealing with for years. Now that not-for-profit entities apply the same principles, the fair value concepts and accounting complexities are more pervasive. By brining to bear the rights complement of accounting, finance, and valuation resources, not-for-profit entities can successfully navigate these challenges and gain an understanding of the full magnitude of acquisition decisions on financial results.

A Web-Based Decision Support System for Evaluating Soil Suitability for Cassava Cultivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adewale Opeoluwa Ogunde

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Precision agriculture in recent times had assumed a different dimension in order to improve on the poor standard of agriculture. Similarly, the upsurge in technological advancement, most especially in the aspect of machine learning and artificial intelligence, is a promising trend towards a positive solution to this problem. Therefore, this research work presents a decision support system for analyzing and mining knowledge from soil data with respect to its suitability for cassava cultivation. Past data consisting of some major soil attributes were obtained from relevant literature sources. This data was preprocessed using the ARFF Converter, available in WEKA. 70% of the data were used as training data set while remaining 30% were used for testing. Classification rule mining was carried out using J48 decision tree algorithm for the data training. ‘If-then’ construct models were then generated from the decision tree, which was used to develop a system for predicting the suitability status of soil for cassava cultivation. The percentage accuracy of the data classification was 76.5% and 23.5% for correctly classified and incorrectly classified instances respectively. Practically, the developed system was esteemed a prospective tool for farmers, soil laboratories and other users in predicting soil suitability for cassava cultivation.

First steps towards the successful surface-based cultivation of human embryonic stem cells in hanging drop systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Schulz, Julia C; Stumpf, Patrick S; Katsen-Globa, Alisa; Sachinidis, Agapios; Hescheler, Jürgen; Zimmermann, Heiko

2012-11-01

Miniaturization and parallelization of cell culture procedures are in focus of research in order to develop test platforms with low material consumption and increased standardization for toxicity and drug screenings. The cultivation in hanging drops (HDs) is a convenient and versatile tool for biological applications and represents an interesting model system for the screening applications due to its uniform shape, the advantageous gas supply, and the small volume. However, its application has so far been limited to non-adherent and aggregate forming cells. Here, we describe for the first time the proof-of-principle regarding the adherent cultivation of human embryonic stem cells in HD. For this microcarriers were added to the droplet as dynamic cultivation surfaces resulting in a maintained pluripotency and proliferation capacity for 10 days. This enables the HD technique to be extended to the cultivation of adherence-dependent stem cells. Also, the possible automation of this method by implementation of liquid handling systems opens new possibilities for miniaturized screenings, the improvement of cultivation and differentiation conditions, and toxicity and drug development.

Financial Profitability and Sensitivity Analysis of Palm Oil Plantation in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tereza Svatoňová

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Oil palm cultivation in Indonesia is increasing. This study investigates the financial and economic aspects of establishing an oil palm plantation using data collected in 2014. The financial case study is undertaken from the perspective of company in North Sumatra, Indonesia. A spreadsheet model was used to develop and calculate the net present value (NPV, return of investment (ROI, internal rate of return (IRR and payback period (PP. Sensitivity analysis of the NPV to the default discount rate (10% was included. A 8,000 ha plantation over 25 years was estimated to result in a positive NPV of USD 10,670 with a ROI 73.50% and an IRR at 14.83% and payback period of 6.75 years. Establishing an oil palm plantation seems to be very profitable investment on the basis of the assumptions made. System is tested on sensitivity in different capital and recurrent costs and in selling price of raw material, while change in selling price of FFB is more sensitive to NPV than change in investment and recurrent costs Discount rate is also one of the factors affecting NPV and system is tested between 5–15% change in discount rate.

Soybean cultivar selection for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSSs) - Hydroponic cultivation

Science.gov (United States)

Paradiso, R.; Buonomo, R.; De Micco, V.; Aronne, G.; Palermo, M.; Barbieri, G.; De Pascale, S.

2012-12-01

Four soybean cultivars ('Atlantic', 'Cresir', 'Pr91m10' and 'Regir'), selected through a theoretical procedure as suitable for cultivation in BLSS, were evaluated in terms of growth and production. Germination percentage and Mean Germination Time (MGT) were measured. Plants were cultivated in a growth chamber equipped with a recirculating hydroponic system (Nutrient Film Technique). Cultivation was performed under controlled environmental conditions (12 h photoperiod, light intensity 350 μmol m-2 s-1, temperature regime 26/20 °C light/dark, relative humidity 65-75%). Fertigation was performed with a standard Hoagland solution, modified for soybean specific requirements, and EC and pH were kept at 2.0 dS m-1 and 5.5 respectively. The percentage of germination was high (from 86.9% in 'Cresir' to 96.8% in 'Regir')and the MGT was similar for all the cultivars (4.3 days). The growing cycle lasted from 114 in 'Cresir' to 133 days on average in the other cultivars. Differences in plant size were recorded, with 'Pr91m10' plants being the shortest (58 vs 106 cm). Cultivars did not differ significantly in seed yield (12 g plant-1) and in non edible biomass (waste), water consumption and biomass conversion efficiency (water, radiation and acid use indexes). 'Pr91m10' showed the highest protein content in the seeds (35.6% vs 33.3% on average in the other cultivars). Results from the cultivation experiment showed good performances of the four cultivars in hydroponics. The overall analysis suggests that 'Pr91m10' could be the best candidate for the cultivation in a BLSS, coupling the small plant size and the good yield with high resource use efficiency and good seed quality.

The Service-profit Chain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grønholdt, Lars; Martensen, Anne

2016-01-01

This paper examines the links between employee attitudes, customer loyalty and company profitability. From a conceptual point of view, this employee-customer-profit chain, also known as the service-profit chain, is well founded and generally accepted. But for many companies, it seems difficult...... to demonstrate such links, and several issues must be addressed to uncover the links. To investigate these links empirically, a hotel chain provided data matching employee and customer measures with measures of profitability. We have successfully employed a modeling approach, and the paper reports empirical...... evidence of the employee-customer-profit chain. As it is possible to estimate the links, we have demonstrated their effect on company profitability. The research findings provide a better understanding of the service-profit chain and may help practitioners in improving company financial performance....

Agroforestry systems with fine aroma cocoa cultivation: socio-economic and productive environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deyanira Mata Anchundia

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The agroforestry systems with cocoa are good for many purposes and they give many products to a diversity of soil users, among them, to the families of the producers in their environment. The objective of the research was to evaluate the socioeconomic and productive factors in agroforestry systems with fine aroma cocoa of export, in the El Vergel parish of the Valencia canton, county of Los Ríos, Ecuador. A survey to a random sample of 35 farmers of El Vergel parish was carried out, to evaluate socioeconomic and productivevariables. A descriptive analysis was applied to the data of the surveys. Most of the interviewed producers (71,4 % ignore on agroforestry systems. The farmers possess among 0,63 up to 10 hectares. 100 % of them cultivates the fine aroma cocoa, like main cultivation and other secondary cultivations where they stand out the forest species (48,6 %. The families are conformed by 49,5 % males and 50,5 % women. Most of the farmers (males and women are home bosses, with an age that fluctuates among 45 to 54 years. Alone 37 % of the members of the home is devoted to the work in the agriculture. 51 % of the farmers cohabits in free union and 38,3 % are single. The main monthly entrance oscillates from zero to $488. The monthly expenses of the farmers fluctuate among $101,00 up to $500,00. The analyzed social and productive indicators are not in the level required to achieve the sustainable development of these agroforestry systems.

Yield and profitability of ‘Conference’ pear in five training systems in North East of Spain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lordan, J.; Alegre, S.; Montserrat, R.; Asín, L.

2017-07-01

Training systems are key to manage the tree canopy to take advantage of the tree productivity potential. Assessment of yearly cropping, labor requirements, fruit quality, and orchard profitability were studied. The experiment was organized in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Five different training systems on Quince EMC rootstock and ‘Conference’ as the scion cultivar were compared. The results of this study show that the use of preformed highly feathered trees is an improvement for both, early cropping and profitability. Planting cost, trellis, and labor requirements had a large impact on the economic viability of each system. Tatura produced high yields, but the strong initial investment that needs to be done at planting makes this system a risky investment. Axis 2 seems to be the most suitable system for early cropping while maintaining intermediate plantation costs and an appropriate level of production efficiency.

Yield and profitability of ‘Conference’ pear in five training systems in North East of Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaume Lordan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Training systems are key to manage the tree canopy to take advantage of the tree productivity potential. Assessment of yearly cropping, labor requirements, fruit quality, and orchard profitability were studied. The experiment was organized in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Five different training systems on Quince EMC rootstock and ‘Conference’ as the scion cultivar were compared. The results of this study show that the use of preformed highly feathered trees is an improvement for both, early cropping and profitability. Planting cost, trellis, and labor requirements had a large impact on the economic viability of each system. Tatura produced high yields, but the strong initial investment that needs to be done at planting makes this system a risky investment. Axis 2 seems to be the most suitable system for early cropping while maintaining intermediate plantation costs and an appropriate level of production efficiency.

Identifying and Studying the Factors Effective on Greenhouses Profitability in the Varamin Plain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Narges Rajabi Tehrani

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research was economic evaluation of green houses and the factors that affect their profitability in the Varamin plain. The type of this research is descriptive-correlation research that was conducted by using a survey method. The statistical population of the research consisted of the beneficiary farmers of established and cultivated green houses in the Varamin plain. The sample size was 108 farmers. The sampling method was simple random sampling method. The main tool of this research study is a questionnaire that whose validity was verified by using a panel of experts and professors in the field of agriculture. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed through a pre-test for which the Cronbach alpha was between 0.78 and 0.85 which is considered to be acceptable. The results of this research study show that the mean of the profitability index of cost benefit  was 2.286 and thus there is a significant positive correlation between agricultural experience, the level of famer education, agricultural income, the total area of the green house, technical knowledge, using of information resources with the cost benefit  profitability index. The results of regression analysis also indicated that the five variables of agricultural experience, agricultural income, the total area of the green house, technical knowledge, using of information resources well explain for 51.5 % of the changes in the cost benefit profitability index of the green houses located in the Varamin plain. Finally, it is recommended to improve the cost benefit profitability index by actions such as increasing the level of technical knowledge and farmers' access to and use of information resources.

DISPAQ: Distributed Profitable-Area Query from Big Taxi Trip Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Putri, Fadhilah Kurnia; Song, Giltae; Kwon, Joonho; Rao, Praveen

2017-09-25

One of the crucial problems for taxi drivers is to efficiently locate passengers in order to increase profits. The rapid advancement and ubiquitous penetration of Internet of Things (IoT) technology into transportation industries enables us to provide taxi drivers with locations that have more potential passengers (more profitable areas) by analyzing and querying taxi trip data. In this paper, we propose a query processing system, called Distributed Profitable-Area Query ( DISPAQ ) which efficiently identifies profitable areas by exploiting the Apache Software Foundation's Spark framework and a MongoDB database. DISPAQ first maintains a profitable-area query index (PQ-index) by extracting area summaries and route summaries from raw taxi trip data. It then identifies candidate profitable areas by searching the PQ-index during query processing. Then, it exploits a Z-Skyline algorithm, which is an extension of skyline processing with a Z-order space filling curve, to quickly refine the candidate profitable areas. To improve the performance of distributed query processing, we also propose local Z-Skyline optimization, which reduces the number of dominant tests by distributing killer profitable areas to each cluster node. Through extensive evaluation with real datasets, we demonstrate that our DISPAQ system provides a scalable and efficient solution for processing profitable-area queries from huge amounts of big taxi trip data.

10 CFR 603.615 - Financial management standards for-profit firms.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Financial management standards for-profit firms. 603.615... § 603.615 Financial management standards for-profit firms. (a) To avoid causing needless changes in participants' financial management systems, an expenditure-based TIA will make for-profit participants that...

DataProfit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2016-01-01

DataProfit er et værktøj til at kortlægge og analysere din virksomheds evne til datadreven forretningsudvikling.......DataProfit er et værktøj til at kortlægge og analysere din virksomheds evne til datadreven forretningsudvikling....

Convergent adaptations: bitter manioc cultivation systems in fertile anthropogenic dark earths and floodplain soils in Central Amazonia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James Angus Fraser

Full Text Available Shifting cultivation in the humid tropics is incredibly diverse, yet research tends to focus on one type: long-fallow shifting cultivation. While it is a typical adaptation to the highly-weathered nutrient-poor soils of the Amazonian terra firme, fertile environments in the region offer opportunities for agricultural intensification. We hypothesized that Amazonian people have developed divergent bitter manioc cultivation systems as adaptations to the properties of different soils. We compared bitter manioc cultivation in two nutrient-rich and two nutrient-poor soils, along the middle Madeira River in Central Amazonia. We interviewed 249 farmers in 6 localities, sampled their manioc fields, and carried out genetic analysis of bitter manioc landraces. While cultivation in the two richer soils at different localities was characterized by fast-maturing, low-starch manioc landraces, with shorter cropping periods and shorter fallows, the predominant manioc landraces in these soils were generally not genetically similar. Rather, predominant landraces in each of these two fertile soils have emerged from separate selective trajectories which produced landraces that converged for fast-maturing low-starch traits adapted to intensified swidden systems in fertile soils. This contrasts with the more extensive cultivation systems found in the two poorer soils at different localities, characterized by the prevalence of slow-maturing high-starch landraces, longer cropping periods and longer fallows, typical of previous studies. Farmers plant different assemblages of bitter manioc landraces in different soils and the most popular landraces were shown to exhibit significantly different yields when planted in different soils. Farmers have selected different sets of landraces with different perceived agronomic characteristics, along with different fallow lengths, as adaptations to the specific properties of each agroecological micro-environment. These findings open

Convergent Adaptations: Bitter Manioc Cultivation Systems in Fertile Anthropogenic Dark Earths and Floodplain Soils in Central Amazonia

Science.gov (United States)

Fraser, James Angus; Alves-Pereira, Alessandro; Junqueira, André Braga; Peroni, Nivaldo; Clement, Charles Roland

2012-01-01

Shifting cultivation in the humid tropics is incredibly diverse, yet research tends to focus on one type: long-fallow shifting cultivation. While it is a typical adaptation to the highly-weathered nutrient-poor soils of the Amazonian terra firme, fertile environments in the region offer opportunities for agricultural intensification. We hypothesized that Amazonian people have developed divergent bitter manioc cultivation systems as adaptations to the properties of different soils. We compared bitter manioc cultivation in two nutrient-rich and two nutrient-poor soils, along the middle Madeira River in Central Amazonia. We interviewed 249 farmers in 6 localities, sampled their manioc fields, and carried out genetic analysis of bitter manioc landraces. While cultivation in the two richer soils at different localities was characterized by fast-maturing, low-starch manioc landraces, with shorter cropping periods and shorter fallows, the predominant manioc landraces in these soils were generally not genetically similar. Rather, predominant landraces in each of these two fertile soils have emerged from separate selective trajectories which produced landraces that converged for fast-maturing low-starch traits adapted to intensified swidden systems in fertile soils. This contrasts with the more extensive cultivation systems found in the two poorer soils at different localities, characterized by the prevalence of slow-maturing high-starch landraces, longer cropping periods and longer fallows, typical of previous studies. Farmers plant different assemblages of bitter manioc landraces in different soils and the most popular landraces were shown to exhibit significantly different yields when planted in different soils. Farmers have selected different sets of landraces with different perceived agronomic characteristics, along with different fallow lengths, as adaptations to the specific properties of each agroecological micro-environment. These findings open up new avenues for

Regenerative agriculture: merging farming and natural resource conservation profitably.

Science.gov (United States)

LaCanne, Claire E; Lundgren, Jonathan G

2018-01-01

Most cropland in the United States is characterized by large monocultures, whose productivity is maintained through a strong reliance on costly tillage, external fertilizers, and pesticides (Schipanski et al., 2016). Despite this, farmers have developed a regenerative model of farm production that promotes soil health and biodiversity, while producing nutrient-dense farm products profitably. Little work has focused on the relative costs and benefits of novel regenerative farming operations, which necessitates studying in situ , farmer-defined best management practices. Here, we evaluate the relative effects of regenerative and conventional corn production systems on pest management services, soil conservation, and farmer profitability and productivity throughout the Northern Plains of the United States. Regenerative farming systems provided greater ecosystem services and profitability for farmers than an input-intensive model of corn production. Pests were 10-fold more abundant in insecticide-treated corn fields than on insecticide-free regenerative farms, indicating that farmers who proactively design pest-resilient food systems outperform farmers that react to pests chemically. Regenerative fields had 29% lower grain production but 78% higher profits over traditional corn production systems. Profit was positively correlated with the particulate organic matter of the soil, not yield. These results provide the basis for dialogue on ecologically based farming systems that could be used to simultaneously produce food while conserving our natural resource base: two factors that are pitted against one another in simplified food production systems. To attain this requires a systems-level shift on the farm; simply applying individual regenerative practices within the current production model will not likely produce the documented results.

Comparison of Microalgae Cultivation in Photobioreactor, Open Raceway Pond, and a Two-Stage Hybrid System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Narala, Rakesh R.; Garg, Sourabh; Sharma, Kalpesh K.; Thomas-Hall, Skye R.; Deme, Miklos; Li, Yan; Schenk, Peer M., E-mail: p.schenk@uq.edu.au [Algae Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia)

2016-08-02

In the wake of intensive fossil fuel usage and CO{sub 2} accumulation in the environment, research is targeted toward sustainable alternate bioenergy that can suffice the growing need for fuel and also that leaves a minimal carbon footprint. Oil production from microalgae can potentially be carried out more efficiently, leaving a smaller footprint and without competing for arable land or biodiverse landscapes. However, current algae cultivation systems and lipid induction processes must be significantly improved and are threatened by contamination with other algae or algal grazers. To address this issue, we have developed an efficient two-stage cultivation system using the marine microalga Tetraselmis sp. M8. This hybrid system combines exponential biomass production in positive pressure air lift-driven bioreactors with a separate synchronized high-lipid induction phase in nutrient deplete open raceway ponds. A comparison to either bioreactor or open raceway pond cultivation system suggests that this process potentially leads to significantly higher productivity of algal lipids. Nutrients are only added to the closed bioreactors, while open raceway ponds have turnovers of only a few days, thus reducing the issue of microalgal grazers.

Comparison of Microalgae Cultivation in Photobioreactor, Open Raceway Pond, and a Two-Stage Hybrid System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narala, Rakesh R.; Garg, Sourabh; Sharma, Kalpesh K.; Thomas-Hall, Skye R.; Deme, Miklos; Li, Yan; Schenk, Peer M.

2016-01-01

In the wake of intensive fossil fuel usage and CO 2 accumulation in the environment, research is targeted toward sustainable alternate bioenergy that can suffice the growing need for fuel and also that leaves a minimal carbon footprint. Oil production from microalgae can potentially be carried out more efficiently, leaving a smaller footprint and without competing for arable land or biodiverse landscapes. However, current algae cultivation systems and lipid induction processes must be significantly improved and are threatened by contamination with other algae or algal grazers. To address this issue, we have developed an efficient two-stage cultivation system using the marine microalga Tetraselmis sp. M8. This hybrid system combines exponential biomass production in positive pressure air lift-driven bioreactors with a separate synchronized high-lipid induction phase in nutrient deplete open raceway ponds. A comparison to either bioreactor or open raceway pond cultivation system suggests that this process potentially leads to significantly higher productivity of algal lipids. Nutrients are only added to the closed bioreactors, while open raceway ponds have turnovers of only a few days, thus reducing the issue of microalgal grazers.

Comparison of microalgae cultivation in photobioreactor, open raceway pond, and a two-stage hybrid system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rakesh R Narala

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In the wake of intensive fossil fuel usage and CO2 accumulation in the environment, research is targeted towards sustainable alternate bioenergy that can suffice the growing need for fuel and also that leaves a minimal carbon footprint. Oil production from microalgae can potentially be carried out more efficiently, leaving a smaller footprint and without competing for arable land or biodiverse landscapes. However, current algae cultivation systems and lipid induction processes must be significantly improved and are threatened by contamination with other algae or algal grazers. To address this issue, we have developed an efficient two-stage cultivation system using the marine microalga Tetraselmis sp. M8. This hybrid system combines exponential biomass production in positive pressure air lift-driven bioreactors with a separate synchronized high-lipid induction phase in nutrient deplete open raceway ponds. A comparison to either bioreactor or open raceway pond cultivation system suggests that this process potentially leads to significantly higher productivity of algal lipids. Nutrients are only added to the closed bioreactors while open raceway ponds have turnovers of only a few days, thus reducing the issue of microalgal grazers.

The cultivation of the mushroom Agaricus bisporus (Champignon): micro-organisms and preservability.

Science.gov (United States)

Zicari, Giuseppe; Rivetti, Daniela; Soardo, Vincenzo; Cerrato, Elena; Panata, Marisa

2011-01-01

Cultivation of Agaricus bisporus mushrooms requires the use of substrates that are potentially dangerous from the microbiological point of view, such as chicken and horse manure. Microorganisms can pose risks to consumers and workers, and generate lower profits. Packaging of fresh mushrooms with impermeable films is used to extend their shelf life but creates anaerobic and humidity conditions that could favour the growth of microorganisms such as Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium botulinum. This paper examines some alternatives for packaging fresh mushrooms and the resulting potential microbiological hazards.

Technical evaluation of photobioreactors for microalgae cultivation

Science.gov (United States)

Płaczek, Małgorzata; Patyna, Agnieszka; Witczak, Stanisław

2017-10-01

This paper undertakes the description and assessment of various solutions applied for the design of photobioreactors as the type of apparatus, which can provide high output of green algae biomass. The design of such apparatus plays an important role in the context of the concurrent fulfillment of ecological and economic requirements, which are necessary to conduct an efficient and effective technology using cheap and easily accessible resources to produce different goods. Nowadays, algae is seen as one of the most promising sustainable way to produce energy in the future (biofuels, electricity, thermal energy) but technologies of biomass production and processing are still under development particularly to increase biomass and energy output. The cultivation costs in closed systems are still high, limiting their commercial applications to high-valued compounds but they can be reduced by efficient bioreactor designs, which are able to achieve high areal biomass productivities. This paper focuses on the advantages and drawbacks associated with the application of the particular types of bioreactors in algae production, description of their operation parameters and area for practical application, pointing of the constructions (tubular, flat panel, bubble column) that can contribute to improvement the profitability of large-scale production.

Residual soil nitrate content and profitability of five cropping systems in northwest Iowa.

Science.gov (United States)

De Haan, Robert L; Schuiteman, Matthew A; Vos, Ronald J

2017-01-01

Many communities in the Midwestern United States obtain their drinking water from shallow alluvial wells that are vulnerable to contamination by NO3-N from the surrounding agricultural landscape. The objective of this research was to assess cropping systems with the potential to produce a reasonable return for farmers while simultaneously reducing the risk of NO3-N movement into these shallow aquifers. From 2009 to 2013 we conducted a field experiment in northwest Iowa in which we evaluated five cropping systems for residual (late fall) soil NO3-N content and profitability. Soil samples were taken annually from the top 30 cm of the soil profile in June and August, and from the top 180 cm in November (late fall). The November samples were divided into 30 cm increments for analysis. Average residual NO3-N content in the top 180 cm of the soil profile following the 2010 to 2013 cropping years was 134 kg ha-1 for continuous maize (Zea mays L.) with a cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crop, 18 kg ha-1 for perennial grass, 60 kg ha-1 for a three year oat (Avena sativa L.)-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)-maize rotation, 85 kg ha-1 for a two year oat/red clover (Trifolium pratense L.)-maize rotation, and 90 kg ha-1 for a three year soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)-winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-maize rotation. However, residual NO3-N in the 90 to 180 cm increment of the soil profile was not significantly higher in the oat-alfalfa-maize cropping system than the perennial grass system. For 2010 to 2013, average profit ($ ha-1 yr-1) was 531 for continuous corn, 347 for soybean-winter wheat-maize, 264 for oat-alfalfa-maize, 140 for oat/red clover-maize, and -384 (loss) for perennial grass. Considering both residual soil NO3-N and profitability data, the oat-alfalfa-maize rotation performed the best in this setting. However, given current economic pressures widespread adoption is likely to require changes in public policy.

Ex-ante evaluation of profitability and government's subsidy policy on vehicle-to-grid system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Junhee; Koo, Yoonmo; Jeong, Gicheol; Lee, Jongsu

2012-01-01

Abstact: Although the electric vehicle reduces pollutant emissions and results in reduced energy costs, lack of battery charging infrastructure and relatively high vehicle prices create challenges to the automobile industry and affect government support policies. To create a battery charging infrastructure, such as a vehicle-to-grid system, stakeholders need a quantitative analysis that decreases profitability uncertainty. The high cost of an electric vehicle can be offset by government subsidies that promote early marketing efforts, but an ex-ante evaluation of consumer demand is needed to analyze the effectiveness of any policy. This study provides information about optimal pricing based on consumer demand as well as the social welfare change effected by possible government subsidy polices for electric vehicles. Results show that the maximum profit for a vehicle-to-grid service provider will be 1.27 trillion Korean won/year with an annual subscription fee of 0.65 million Korean won. The government subsidy of 1 trillion Korean won, given annually, will increase social welfare by 1.94 trillion won and also boost the profit of vehicle-to-grid service provider to 1.98 trillion won. - Highlights: ▶ We evaluate consumer preference on electric vehicle and V2G service. ▶ Based on the consumer preference, we calculate profitability of V2G service. ▶ Also, the effect of government subsidy on electric vehicle market is analyzed. ▶ The empirical results will be useful to the V2G service providers and policy makers

The effect of energy market liberalization on the profitability of sustainable energy systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wisse, C.J.

2001-01-01

Changes to energy prices can have a major impact on the profitability of energy-saving measures. It appears that the introduction of the Commodity Services System (CDS) - the Gasunie's (Dutch natural gas trading company) new tariff system - may result in shorter cost-recovery times for a number of innovative options as well as higher gas prices for peak boilers. Further Regulatory Energy Taxes (REB) will make their influence felt. An overview of the current situation is given. 4 refs

Regional not-for-profit systems: can they compete with national investor-owned firms?

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, R; Hill, D B

1984-01-01

The relative competitive advantages of regional and national systems are summarized in Figure One. As illustrated, each type of system has unique competitive advantages at the corporate level. While it is difficult to state that either system has distinct advantages that place it in a superior position relative to the other, it seems that in the short-run investor-owned systems have operating characteristics that may result in more efficient internal functioning because of more centralized control over resource allocation and performance systems, greater possibilities for economies of scale, and greater access to capital. However, it was previously noted that growing pressures from government and the business community will lead to tighter constraints on the profitability of investments in the health care sector. The possibility of this shift suggests that the access to capital advantage enjoyed by investor-owned systems may not continue. Additionally, regional systems that are part of larger affiliated organizations such as the Sun Alliance and the Voluntary Hospitals of America are developing means to pool their access to debt funds, thus reducing the cost of capital for member institutions. The group purchasing contracts developed by these large systems also have resulted in significant savings. The distinction between regional and national systems on centralized control are becoming less pronounced. Investor-owned systems are seeking to determine how they might best decentralize selected decisions to be more responsive to local markets while not-for-profit regional systems are recognizing that they must centralize selected decisions to obtain more efficient, rational operation. The long-run outlook suggests that the competitive advantages that have been identified will become less pronounced and that both systems will survive in the marketplace.

Socio-economic comparison between traditional and improved cultivation methods in agroforestry systems, East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, Teija; Quiroz, Roberto; Msikula, Shija

2005-11-01

The East Usambara Mountains, recognized as one of the 25 most important biodiversity hot spots in the world, have a high degree of species diversity and endemism that is threatened by increasing human pressure on resources. Traditional slash and burn cultivation in the area is no longer sustainable. However, it is possible to maintain land productivity, decrease land degradation, and improve rural people's livelihood by ameliorating cultivation methods. Improved agroforestry seems to be a very convincing and suitable method for buffer zones of conservation areas. Farmers could receive a reasonable net income from their farm with little investment in terms of time, capital, and labor. By increasing the diversity and production of already existing cultivations, the pressure on natural forests can be diminished. The present study shows a significant gap between traditional cultivation methods and improved agroforestry systems in socio-economic terms. Improved agroforestry systems provide approximately double income per capita in comparison to traditional methods. More intensified cash crop cultivation in the highlands of the East Usambara also results in double income compared to that in the lowlands. However, people are sensitive to risks of changing farming practices. Encouraging farmers to apply better land management and practice sustainable cultivation of cash crops in combination with multipurpose trees would be relevant in improving their economic situation in the relatively short term. The markets of most cash crops are already available. Improved agroforestry methods could ameliorate the living conditions of the local population and protect the natural reserves from human disturbance.

Impact on cost accuracy and profitability from implementing product configuration system – A case-study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Myrodia, Anna; Kristjansdottir, Katrin; Hvam, Lars

2015-01-01

This article aims at analyzing the impacts from implementing a product configuration system (PCS) on company profitability and improved cost estimations in the sales phase. Companies that have implemented PCSs have achieved substantial benefits in terms of being more in control of their product...... assortment, making the right decisions in the sales phase and increased sales of optimal products. Those benefits should have direct impact on improved profitability in terms of increased contribution ratios and more accurate cost estimations used to determine the price in the budgetary quotations...... and accuracy of the cost estimation in the sales phase can be achieved from implementing a PCS....

Rehabilitation of saline ecosystems through cultivation of salt tolerant plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdul, R.; Mahmood, K.

2012-01-01

In Pakistan, salt-affected regions have been drastically disturbed by unchecked activities of local populations. Removal of deep-rooted perennials and overgrazing destroy the native vegetation leading to rapid desertification. Shallow-rooted agricultural crops are grown on marginal soils on limited area that is not enough with respect to the spread of salinity problem. Sustainable restoration of these ecosystems requires a large scale integration of perennial plants (trees, shrubs and herbs) back in to farming systems. However, selenization processes continue because the available options for cultivation of perennial plants prove less profitable than agricultural crops. This study relates to resort the salt-affected lands for plant production and develop a technology for sustainable saline ecosystem. Plants, having salt tolerance potential, have been identified and introduced on salt-affected wastelands to develop a sustainable ecosystem with increased productivity. The biomass so produced can be used directly as forage, fuel, and even as food or feed. In addition, fish aquaculture, and some value-added products make this ecosystem more sustainable. This technology is practically demonstrated at Biosaline Research Station of Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Pakka Anna, Faisalabad, Pakistan. The marginally saline soils and wastelands ameliorated as a result of growing salt tolerant perennials can also be used for growing salt tolerant cultivars of conventional crops like wheat, barley and mustard. So, through proper management the saline ecosystem can become economical and profitable. (author)

relating customer satisfaction to customer profitability

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PROF EKWUEME

Purchase behavior and profitability data derived from the accounting system of a firm, are ... terms of cost control, in the sense that marketing ... internal accounting system which allows for an ..... information and advice, and the effects of such.

Profit maximization mitigates competition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dierker, Egbert; Grodal, Birgit

1996-01-01

We consider oligopolistic markets in which the notion of shareholders' utility is well-defined and compare the Bertrand-Nash equilibria in case of utility maximization with those under the usual profit maximization hypothesis. Our main result states that profit maximization leads to less price...... competition than utility maximization. Since profit maximization tends to raise prices, it may be regarded as beneficial for the owners as a whole. Moreover, if profit maximization is a good proxy for utility maximization, then there is no need for a general equilibrium analysis that takes the distribution...... of profits among consumers fully into account and partial equilibrium analysis suffices...

Mapping the Profit Motive: The Distinct Geography and Demography of For-Profit Charter Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, W. Brett

2015-01-01

For-profit charter schools represent a controversial new market-based education reform (Garcia, Barber, & Molnar, 2009; Conn, 2002). This essay explores how schools operated by for-profit corporations differ from those operated by non-profit organizations. Specifically, do for-profit charter schools locate in demographically distinct areas and…

DISPAQ: Distributed Profitable-Area Query from Big Taxi Trip Data †

Science.gov (United States)

Putri, Fadhilah Kurnia; Song, Giltae; Rao, Praveen

2017-01-01

One of the crucial problems for taxi drivers is to efficiently locate passengers in order to increase profits. The rapid advancement and ubiquitous penetration of Internet of Things (IoT) technology into transportation industries enables us to provide taxi drivers with locations that have more potential passengers (more profitable areas) by analyzing and querying taxi trip data. In this paper, we propose a query processing system, called Distributed Profitable-Area Query (DISPAQ) which efficiently identifies profitable areas by exploiting the Apache Software Foundation’s Spark framework and a MongoDB database. DISPAQ first maintains a profitable-area query index (PQ-index) by extracting area summaries and route summaries from raw taxi trip data. It then identifies candidate profitable areas by searching the PQ-index during query processing. Then, it exploits a Z-Skyline algorithm, which is an extension of skyline processing with a Z-order space filling curve, to quickly refine the candidate profitable areas. To improve the performance of distributed query processing, we also propose local Z-Skyline optimization, which reduces the number of dominant tests by distributing killer profitable areas to each cluster node. Through extensive evaluation with real datasets, we demonstrate that our DISPAQ system provides a scalable and efficient solution for processing profitable-area queries from huge amounts of big taxi trip data. PMID:28946679

Hydroponic cultivation of Oncidium baueri

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele Brandstetter Rodrigues

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In Brazil, orchid cultivation has been increasing steadily over the last few years and contributing significantly to the economy. It has been reported that several vegetable crops and ornamentals have been successfully grown by soilless cultivation. The orchid Oncidium baueri Lindl. is grown on pot substrates. Nevertheless, hydroponics is an excellent alternative, especially for the production of cut flowers and bare root plants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the development of Oncidium baueri on two soilless systems: (a pots containing Amafibra® coconut fiber, carbonized rice husk, and pine bark (1:1:1 irrigated with nutrient solution every 15 d; and (b a nutrient film technique (NFT hydroponic system irrigated with nutrient solution daily. Shoot height, pseudobulb diameter, and number of sprouts were evaluated monthly. The number of flowering plants, number of flowers, dry mass of shoots, and dry mass of roots were evaluated 11 months after onset of experiment. The pot cultivation system yielded more flowers and higher values for all vegetative parameters than the NFT hydroponic system.

[A hydroponic cultivation system for rapid high-yield transient protein expression in Nicotiana plants under laboratory conditions].

Science.gov (United States)

Mo, Qianzhen; Mai, Rongjia; Yang, Zhixiao; Chen, Minfang; Yang, Tiezhao; Lai, Huafang; Yang, Peiliang; Chen, Qiang; Zhou, Xiaohong

2012-06-01

To develop a hydroponic Nicotiana cultivation system for rapid and high-yield transient expression of recombinant proteins under laboratory conditions. To establish the hydroponic cultivation system, several parameters were examined to define the optimal conditions for the expression of recombinant proteins in plants. We used the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and the geminiviral plant transient expression vector as the model protein/expression vector. We examined the impact of Nicotiana species, the density and time of Agrobacterium infiltration, and the post-infiltration growth period on the accumulation of GFP. The expression levels of GFP in Nicotiana leaves were then examined by Western blotting and ELISA. Our data indicated that a hydroponic Nicotiana cultivation system with a light intensity of 9000 LX/layer, a light cycle of 16 h day/8 h night, a temperature regime of 28 degrees celsius; day/21 degrees celsius; night, and a relative humidity of 80% could support the optimal plant growth and protein expression. After agroinfiltration with pBYGFPDsRed.R/LBA4404, high levels of GFP expression were observed in both N. benthamiana and N. tobaccum (cv. Yuyan No.5) plants cultured with this hydroponic cultivation system. An optimal GFP expression was achieved in both Nicotiana species leaves 4 days after infiltration by Agrobacterium with an OD(600) of 0.8. At a given time point, the average biomass of N. tobaccum (cv. Yuyan No.5) was significantly higher than that of N. benthamiana. The leaves from 6-week-old N. benthamiana plants and 5-week-old N. tobaccum (cv. Yuyan No.5) plants could be the optimal material for agroinfiltration. We have established a hydroponic cultivation system that allows robust growth of N. benthamiana and N. tobaccum (cv. Yuyan No.5) plants and the optimal GFP expression in the artificial climate box.

Does outsourcing affect hospital profitability?

Science.gov (United States)

Danvers, Kreag; Nikolov, Pavel

2010-01-01

Organizations outsource non-core service functions to achieve cost reductions and strategic benefits, both of which can impact profitability performance. This article examines relations between managerial outsourcing decisions and profitability for a multi-state sample of non-profit hospitals, across 16 states and four regions of the United States. Overall regression results indicate that outsourcing does not necessarily improve hospital profitability. In addition, we identify no profitability impact from outsourcing for urban hospitals, but somewhat positive effects for teaching hospitals. Our regional analysis suggests that hospitals located in the Midwest maintain positive profitability effects with outsourcing, but those located in the South realize negative effects. These findings have implications for cost reduction efforts and the financial viability of non-profit hospitals.

The profitability of automatic milking on Dutch dariy farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bijl, R.; Kooistra, S.R.; Hogeveen, H.

2007-01-01

Several studies have reported on the profitability of automatic milking based on different simulation models, but a data-based study using actual farm data has been lacking. The objective of this study was to analyze the profitability of dairy farms having an automatic milking system (AMS) compared

Increasing gas producer profitability with virtual well visibility via an end-to-end wireless Internet gas monitoring system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McDougall, M. [Northrock Resources Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada); Benterud, K. [Zed.i solutions, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2003-07-01

This PowerPoint presentation describes how Northrock Resources Ltd. increased profitability using Smart-Alek{sup TM} while avoiding high implementation costs. Smart-Alek is a new type of fully integrated end-to-end electronic gas flow measurement (GFM) system based on Field Intelligence Network and End User Interference (FINE). Smart-Alek can analyze gas production through public wireless communications and a web-browser delivery system. The system has enabled Northrock to increase gas volumes with more accurate measurement and reduced downtime. In addition, operating costs have decreased because the frequency of well visits has been reduced and the administrative procedures of data collection is more efficient. The real-time well visibility of the tool has proven to be very effective in optimizing business profitability. 7 figs.

Identifying Competences and Their Sources in a Not-for-Profit Organization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vega, Diego; Sanchez, Ron

2017-01-01

Effective competence-based management (CBM) requires in the first instance an ability to identify an organization’s competences and the sources of those competences. Identifying competences can be especially challenging in the context of not-for-profit organizations, which have often been...... characterized as being “different” from for-profit organizations. In this paper we argue that not-for-profit organizations have fundamentally the same systemic requirements for survival and success as for-profit organizations – and therefore that not-for-profits ought to be amenable to competence identification...... and analysis through use of CBM concepts and theory in essentially the same way as for-profit organizations. We support this basic proposition through a case study of competence identification and analysis in a humanitarian relief organization (HRO), an increasingly important kind of not-for-profit...

Residual soil nitrate content and profitability of five cropping systems in northwest Iowa.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert L De Haan

Full Text Available Many communities in the Midwestern United States obtain their drinking water from shallow alluvial wells that are vulnerable to contamination by NO3-N from the surrounding agricultural landscape. The objective of this research was to assess cropping systems with the potential to produce a reasonable return for farmers while simultaneously reducing the risk of NO3-N movement into these shallow aquifers. From 2009 to 2013 we conducted a field experiment in northwest Iowa in which we evaluated five cropping systems for residual (late fall soil NO3-N content and profitability. Soil samples were taken annually from the top 30 cm of the soil profile in June and August, and from the top 180 cm in November (late fall. The November samples were divided into 30 cm increments for analysis. Average residual NO3-N content in the top 180 cm of the soil profile following the 2010 to 2013 cropping years was 134 kg ha-1 for continuous maize (Zea mays L. with a cereal rye (Secale cereale L. cover crop, 18 kg ha-1 for perennial grass, 60 kg ha-1 for a three year oat (Avena sativa L.-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.-maize rotation, 85 kg ha-1 for a two year oat/red clover (Trifolium pratense L.-maize rotation, and 90 kg ha-1 for a three year soybean (Glycine max (L. Merr.-winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.-maize rotation. However, residual NO3-N in the 90 to 180 cm increment of the soil profile was not significantly higher in the oat-alfalfa-maize cropping system than the perennial grass system. For 2010 to 2013, average profit ($ ha-1 yr-1 was 531 for continuous corn, 347 for soybean-winter wheat-maize, 264 for oat-alfalfa-maize, 140 for oat/red clover-maize, and -384 (loss for perennial grass. Considering both residual soil NO3-N and profitability data, the oat-alfalfa-maize rotation performed the best in this setting. However, given current economic pressures widespread adoption is likely to require changes in public policy.

Propulsion/flight control integration technology (PROFIT) software system definition

Science.gov (United States)

Carlin, C. M.; Hastings, W. J.

1978-01-01

The Propulsion Flight Control Integration Technology (PROFIT) program is designed to develop a flying testbed dedicated to controls research. The control software for PROFIT is defined. Maximum flexibility, needed for long term use of the flight facility, is achieved through a modular design. The Host program, processes inputs from the telemetry uplink, aircraft central computer, cockpit computer control and plant sensors to form an input data base for use by the control algorithms. The control algorithms, programmed as application modules, process the input data to generate an output data base. The Host program formats the data for output to the telemetry downlink, the cockpit computer control, and the control effectors. Two applications modules are defined - the bill of materials F-100 engine control and the bill of materials F-15 inlet control.

Dynamic Profit Inefficiency: A DEA Application to Belgian Dairy Farms

OpenAIRE

Ang, Frederic; Oude Lansink, Alfons

2014-01-01

Using a nonparametric framework, we analyze dynamic profit inefficiency for a sample of Belgian, specialized dairy farms from 1996–2008. Profit inefficiency is decomposed into contributions of output, input, and investment. Moreover, we identify the contributions of technical and allocative inefficiency in each input and output. The results suggest substantial profit inefficiency under the current dairy-quota system, mainly driven by an average underproduction of approximately 50 percent and ...

For-profit colleges.

Science.gov (United States)

Deming, David; Goldin, Claudia; Katz, Lawrence

2013-01-01

For-profit, or proprietary, colleges are the fastest-growing postsecondary schools in the nation, enrolling a disproportionately high share of disadvantaged and minority students and those ill-prepared for college. Because these schools, many of them big national chains, derive most of their revenue from taxpayer-funded student financial aid, they are of interest to policy makers not only for the role they play in the higher education spectrum but also for the value they provide their students. In this article, David Deming, Claudia Goldin, and Lawrence Katz look at the students who attend for-profits, the reasons they choose these schools, and student outcomes on a number of broad measures and draw several conclusions. First, the authors write, the evidence shows that public community colleges may provide an equal or better education at lower cost than for-profits. But budget pressures mean that community colleges and other nonselective public institutions may not be able to meet the demand for higher education. Some students unable to get into desired courses and programs at public institutions may face only two alternatives: attendance at a for-profit or no postsecondary education at all. Second, for-profits appear to be at their best with well-defined programs of short duration that prepare students for a specific occupation. But for-profit completion rates, default rates, and labor market outcomes for students seeking associate's or higher degrees compare unfavorably with those of public postsecondary institutions. In principle, taxpayer investment in student aid should be accompanied by scrutiny concerning whether students complete their course of study and subsequently earn enough to justify the investment and pay back their student loans. Designing appropriate regulations to help students navigate the market for higher education has proven to be a challenge because of the great variation in student goals and types of programs. Ensuring that potential

Generic phase transitions and profit singularities in Arnol'd's model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davydov, Aleksei A; Matos, Helena Mena

2007-01-01

For a smooth one-parameter family of pairs of control systems and profit densities on a circle, the generic transitions between optimal rotations and stationary strategies are studied in the problem of maximization of the time-averaged profit on the infinite horizon. It is shown that there are only two types of such transitions, the corresponding singularities of the average profit as a function of the family parameter are found, and it is proved that these singularities are stable under small perturbations of a generic family. The classification of singularities of the maximum average profit is completed for generic families. Bibliography: 16 titles.

Role of Pigeonpea Cultivation on Soil Fertility and Farming System Sustainability in Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Adjei-Nsiah

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The productivity of the smallholder farming system in Ghana is under threat due to soil fertility decline. Mineral fertilizer is sparingly being used by smallholder farmers because of prohibitive cost. Grain legumes such as pigeonpea can play a complementary or alternative role as a source of organic fertilizer due to its ability to enhance soil fertility. Despite its importance, the potential of pigeonpea as a soil fertility improvement crop has not been exploited to any appreciable extent and the amount of land cultivated to pigeonpea in Ghana is vey negligible. This paper synthesizes recent studies that have been carried out on pigeonpea in Ghana and discusses the role of pigeonpea cultivation in soil fertility management and its implication for farming system sustainability. The paper shows that recent field studies conducted in both the semi-deciduous forest and the forest/savanna transitional agro-ecological zones of Ghana indicate that pigeonpea/maize rotations can increase maize yield by 75–200%. Barrier to widespread adoption of pigeonpea include land tenure, market, and accessibility to early maturing and high yielding varieties. The paper concludes among other things that in order to promote the cultivation of pigeonpea in Ghana, there is the need to introduce varieties that combine early maturity with high yields and other desirable traits based on farmers preferences.

Is It Possible To Use Intelligent Systems To Design A Profitable Foreign Exchange Trading Agent?

OpenAIRE

Julian, Pomfret-Pudelsky

2009-01-01

In this paper, a trading agent is developed using a basket of intelligent systems with the goal of trading the GBPUSD currency pair profitably in the Foreign Exchange market. The basket of intelligent system consists of two regression models: a radial basis neural network and a TSK-fuzzy inference system; and three classification models: k-nearest neighbour, support vector machine and a decision tree. The trading strategy combines the predictions of each model using a Kalman-type filter to...

Economic evaluation of cereal cropping systems under semiarid conditions: minimum input, organic and conventional

OpenAIRE

Pardo,Gabriel; Aibar,Joaquín; Cavero,José; Zaragoza,Carlos

2009-01-01

Cropping systems like organic farming, selling products at a higher price and promoting environmental sustainability by reducing fertilizer and pesticides, can be more profitable than conventional systems. An economic evaluation of three cropping systems in a seven year period experiment was performed, using a common rotation (fallow-barley-vetch-durum wheat) in a semi-arid rainfed field of Spain. The minimum input system included mouldboard ploughing, cultivator preparation, sowing and harve...

Design of a monitoring system for the cultivation of garden tomato in greenhouse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Elizabeth Minda Gilces

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper briefly discusses the design and implementation of a prototype that monitors temperature, humidity and ultraviolet solar radiation levels in a greenhouse set for the cultivation of garden tomato. The Scrum agile methodology was applied through the deployment of the prototype. The monitoring system is composed by low cost, commercially available sensors, a database and a computer program developed in JAVA. It provides charts, audible and visual alerts, as well as daily, monthly and yearly statistical reports of sensed data. Implementation in the greenhouse aids farmers in the decision- making process regarding crop exposure to the sun, water and ambient temperature, thus enhancing quality of the cultivation process.

Technical evaluation of photobioreactors for microalgae cultivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Płaczek Małgorzata

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper undertakes the description and assessment of various solutions applied for the design of photobioreactors as the type of apparatus, which can provide high output of green algae biomass. The design of such apparatus plays an important role in the context of the concurrent fulfillment of ecological and economic requirements, which are necessary to conduct an efficient and effective technology using cheap and easily accessible resources to produce different goods. Nowadays, algae is seen as one of the most promising sustainable way to produce energy in the future (biofuels, electricity, thermal energy but technologies of biomass production and processing are still under development particularly to increase biomass and energy output. The cultivation costs in closed systems are still high, limiting their commercial applications to high-valued compounds but they can be reduced by efficient bioreactor designs, which are able to achieve high areal biomass productivities. This paper focuses on the advantages and drawbacks associated with the application of the particular types of bioreactors in algae production, description of their operation parameters and area for practical application, pointing of the constructions (tubular, flat panel, bubble column that can contribute to improvement the profitability of large-scale production.

The impact of liquidity on bank profitability

OpenAIRE

Bordeleau, Etienne; Graham, Christopher

2010-01-01

The recent crisis has underlined the importance of sound bank liquidity management. In response, regulators are devising new liquidity standards with the aim of making the financial system more stable and resilient. In this paper, the authors analyse the impact of liquid asset holdings on bank profitability for a sample of large U.S. and Canadian banks. Results suggest that profitability is improved for banks that hold some liquid assets, however, there is a point at which holding further liq...

A novel customizable modular bioreactor system for whole-heart cultivation under controlled 3D biomechanical stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hülsmann, Jörn; Aubin, Hug; Kranz, Alexander; Godehardt, Erhardt; Munakata, Hiroshi; Kamiya, Hiroyuki; Barth, Mareike; Lichtenberg, Artur; Akhyari, Payam

2013-09-01

In the last decade, cardiovascular tissue engineering has made great progress developing new strategies for regenerative medicine applications. However, while tissue engineered heart valves are already entering the clinical routine, tissue engineered myocardial substitutes are still restrained to experimental approaches. In contrast to the heart valves, tissue engineered myocardium cannot be repopulated in vivo because of its biological complexity, requiring elaborate cultivation conditions ex vivo. Although new promising approaches-like the whole-heart decellularization concept-have entered the myocardial tissue engineering field, bioreactor technology needed for the generation of functional myocardial tissue still lags behind in the sense of user-friendly, flexible and low cost systems. Here, we present a novel customizable modular bioreactor system that can be used for whole-heart cultivation. Out of a commercially obtainable original equipment manufacturer platform we constructed a modular bioreactor system specifically aimed at the cultivation of decellularized whole-hearts through perfusion and controlled 3D biomechanical stimulation with a simple but highly flexible operation platform based on LabVIEW. The modular setup not only allows a wide range of variance regarding medium conditioning under controlled 3D myocardial stretching but can also easily be upgraded for e.g. electrophysiological monitoring or stimulation, allowing for a tailor-made low-cost myocardial bioreactor system.

Implementation of system dynamic simulation method to optimize profit in supply chain network of vegetable product

Science.gov (United States)

Tama, I. P.; Akbar, Z.; Eunike, A.

2018-04-01

Vegetables are categorized as a perishable product, which is a product with short lifespan thus requires proper handling and planning to reduce losses caused by the short lifespan. In order to reduce the losses, coordination among the players in the supply chain is required. On the other hand, the decision in the supply chain of vegetables and other farming products in the traditional market of developing country is independent among the players. This research is conducted by using System Dynamic Simulation method to develop model and scenario by coordinating the supply quantity amongst players in the supply chain. The scenarios are developed based on newsboy inventory model. This study aims to compare scenarios combining tiers involved in coordination program. The result shows that coordination in supply chain increases total supply chain profit, although there will always be players who experienced decrements in profit. The scenario of coordination among the farmer, the distributor, and the wholesaler resulted in the highest increase in total supply chain profit compared to other coordination scenarios, with an increased value of 10.49%.

Islamic banks and profitability: an empirical analysis of Indonesian banking

OpenAIRE

Jordan, Sarah

2013-01-01

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the factors that determine the profitability of Indonesian banks between the years 2006-2012. In particular, it investigates whether there are any significant differences in terms of profitability between Islamic banks and commercial banks. The results, obtained by applying the system-GMM estimator to the panel of 54 banks, indicate that the high bank profitability during these years were determined mainly by the size of the banks, the market share...

48 CFR 215.404-76 - Reporting profit and fee statistics.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... statistics. 215.404-76 Section 215.404-76 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... Contract Pricing 215.404-76 Reporting profit and fee statistics. Follow the procedures at PGI 215.404-76 for reporting profit and fee statistics. [71 FR 69494, Dec. 1, 2006] ...

Dynamic cultivation of human mesenchymal stem cells in a rotating bed bioreactor system based on the Z RP platform.

Science.gov (United States)

Diederichs, Solvig; Röker, Stefanie; Marten, Dana; Peterbauer, Anja; Scheper, Thomas; van Griensven, Martijn; Kasper, Cornelia

2009-01-01

Because the regeneration of large bone defects is limited by quantitative restrictions and risks of infections, the development of bioartificial bone substitutes is of great importance. To obtain a three-dimensional functional tissue-like graft, static cultivation is inexpedient due to limitations in cell density, nutrition and oxygen support. Dynamic cultivation in a bioreactor system can overcome these restrictions and furthermore provide the possibility to control the environment with regard to pH, oxygen content, and temperature. In this study, a three-dimensional bone construct was engineered by the use of dynamic bioreactor technology. Human adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells were cultivated on a macroporous zirconium dioxide based ceramic disc called Sponceram. Furthermore, hydroxyapatite coated Sponceram was used. The cells were cultivated under dynamic conditions and compared with statically cultivated cells. The differentiation into osteoblasts was initiated by osteogenic supplements. Cellular proliferation during static and dynamic cultivation was compared measuring glucose and lactate concentration. The differentiation process was analysed determining AP-expression and using different specific staining methods. Our results demonstrate much higher proliferation rates during dynamic conditions in the bioreactor system compared to static cultivation measured by glucose consumption and lactate production. Cell densities on the scaffolds indicated higher proliferation on native Sponceram compared to hydroxyapatite coated Sponceram. With this study, we present an excellent method to enhance cellular proliferation and bone lineage specific growth of tissue like structures comprising fibrous (collagen) and globular (mineral) extracellular components. (c) 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009.

Amazon: Is Profitability a Possibility?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brett DENNIS

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In today’s society, companies seem to all be following the same trend; growth in profitability at all cost. Higher profits, for the most part, leads to more investors and more potential financing. Amazon.com appears to be breaking that trend, however. Their strategy seems to be growth, but not in profits. We would like to look into how and why Amazon is growing at such a fast pace, while their profits are staying steady at a very low level. Is profitability a possibility for Amazon? We believe that a marginal increase in price could accomplish just that, with a minimal impact to consumers.

Profit vs. Purpose

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strand, Robert

2017-01-01

Money helps us meet our basic needs, but what about our need for meaning? Businesses will profit — not just financially — by finding their souls.......Money helps us meet our basic needs, but what about our need for meaning? Businesses will profit — not just financially — by finding their souls....

Advanced continuous cultivation methods for systems microbiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Adamberg, Kaarel; Valgepea, Kaspar; Vilu, Raivo

2015-09-01

Increasing the throughput of systems biology-based experimental characterization of in silico-designed strains has great potential for accelerating the development of cell factories. For this, analysis of metabolism in the steady state is essential as only this enables the unequivocal definition of the physiological state of cells, which is needed for the complete description and in silico reconstruction of their phenotypes. In this review, we show that for a systems microbiology approach, high-resolution characterization of metabolism in the steady state--growth space analysis (GSA)--can be achieved by using advanced continuous cultivation methods termed changestats. In changestats, an environmental parameter is continuously changed at a constant rate within one experiment whilst maintaining cells in the physiological steady state similar to chemostats. This increases the resolution and throughput of GSA compared with chemostats, and, moreover, enables following of the dynamics of metabolism and detection of metabolic switch-points and optimal growth conditions. We also describe the concept, challenge and necessary criteria of the systematic analysis of steady-state metabolism. Finally, we propose that such systematic characterization of the steady-state growth space of cells using changestats has value not only for fundamental studies of metabolism, but also for systems biology-based metabolic engineering of cell factories.

Civil society: beyond non profit / Sociedad civil: más allá del non profit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel de Haro Serrano

2013-10-01

Full Text Available For a numerous group of recognized and proved authority authors, the Civil Society is limited to the Non Profit organizations. Non Profit is the great limit, the rigid and static border. The limes on the Roman Empire were less overwhelming than the non profit of certain academics. Dura lex and unfair law that keeps aside from the civil society scope the entities on the social economy and the whole market around mercantile enterprises and businesses. Nevertheless, the new changes in the today’s society and the new concept of businesses oriented to the society without forsaking the quest for economic profit, poses a Civil Society beyond non profit.

A More Detailed Understanding Of Factors Associated With Hospital Profitability.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Ge; Anderson, Gerard F

2016-05-01

To identify the characteristics of the most profitable US hospitals, we examined the profitability of acute care hospitals in fiscal year 2013, measured as net income from patient care services per adjusted discharge. Based on Medicare Cost Reports and Final Rule Data, the median hospital lost $82 for each such discharge. Forty-five percent of hospitals were profitable, with 2.5 percent earning more than $2,475 per adjusted discharge. The ten most profitable hospitals, seven of which were nonprofit, each earned more than $163 million in total profits from patient care services. Hospitals with for-profit status, higher markups, system affiliation, or regional power, as well as those located in states with price regulation, tended to be more profitable than other hospitals. Hospitals that treated a higher proportion of Medicare patients, had higher expenditures per adjusted discharge, were located in counties with a high proportion of uninsured patients, or were located in states with a dominant insurer or greater health maintenance organization (HMO) penetration had lower profitability than hospitals that did not have these characteristics. These findings can inform policy reforms, while providing a baseline against which to measure the impact of any subsequent reforms. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

A study on the development of automatic economic profit and loss calculation system for maritime boundary delimitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwak, G; Kim, K; Park, Y

2014-01-01

As the maritime boundary delimitation is important for the purpose of securing marine resources, in addition to the aspect of maritime security, interest in maritime boundary delimitation to help national benefits are increasing over the world. In Korea, the importance of maritime boundary delimitation with the neighbouring countries is also increasing in practice. The quantity of obtainable marine resources depending on maritime boundary acts as an important factor for maritime boundary delimitation. Accordingly, a study is required to calculate quantity of our obtainable marine resources depending on maritime boundary delimitation. This study intends to calculate obtainable marine resources depending on various maritime boundary scenarios insisted by several countries. It mainly aims at developing a GIS-based automation system to be utilized for decision making of the maritime boundary delimitation. For this target, it has designed a module using spatial analysis technique to automatically calculate profit and loss waters area of each country upon maritime boundary and another module to estimate economic profits and losses obtained by each country using the calculated waters area and pricing information of the marine resources. By linking both the designed modules, it has implemented an automatic economic profit and loss calculation system for the GIS-based maritime boundary delimitation. The system developed from this study automatically calculate quantity of the obtainable marine resources of a country for the maritime boundary to be added and created in the future. Thus, it is expected to support decision making for the maritime boundary negotiators

A study on the development of automatic economic profit and loss calculation system for maritime boundary delimitation

Science.gov (United States)

Kwak, G.; Kim, K.; Park, Y.

2014-02-01

As the maritime boundary delimitation is important for the purpose of securing marine resources, in addition to the aspect of maritime security, interest in maritime boundary delimitation to help national benefits are increasing over the world. In Korea, the importance of maritime boundary delimitation with the neighbouring countries is also increasing in practice. The quantity of obtainable marine resources depending on maritime boundary acts as an important factor for maritime boundary delimitation. Accordingly, a study is required to calculate quantity of our obtainable marine resources depending on maritime boundary delimitation. This study intends to calculate obtainable marine resources depending on various maritime boundary scenarios insisted by several countries. It mainly aims at developing a GIS-based automation system to be utilized for decision making of the maritime boundary delimitation. For this target, it has designed a module using spatial analysis technique to automatically calculate profit and loss waters area of each country upon maritime boundary and another module to estimate economic profits and losses obtained by each country using the calculated waters area and pricing information of the marine resources. By linking both the designed modules, it has implemented an automatic economic profit and loss calculation system for the GIS-based maritime boundary delimitation. The system developed from this study automatically calculate quantity of the obtainable marine resources of a country for the maritime boundary to be added and created in the future. Thus, it is expected to support decision making for the maritime boundary negotiators.

Hydroponic cultivation techniques: good results with Eg system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mimiola, G; Sigliuzzo, C [Tecnagro, Valenzano (Italy)

1988-12-01

This report describes results obtained at the Tecnagro agronomic institute (Valenzano, Italy) in which research is being carried out on the use of the Eg hydroponic system developed in Israel. The research program examined the following: composition of nutritive solutions for ornamental plants and vegetables, methods of application of nutritive substances, breeding densities for ornamental plants and vegetables. Successful nutritive formulas were obtained which resulted, in the case of ornamental plants, in increases in plant height (from 30 to 50%), foliage area (50%), as well as, in shortened growth cycles. For vegetables, shortened growth cycles were developed along with a greater and more consistant production. From the economics point of view, tomatoes proved to be the best choice of vegetable for cultivation with the Eg technique.

Evaluating Banking Profit Performance in Ghana during and post Profit Decline: A five Step Du-Pont Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baah Aye Kusi

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In this study we aimed at three objectives. First, identify and rank banks based on a composite score comprising of all five du-pont variables. Second, we identify variables in the five step du-pont set up that are most likely to influence bank ROE during and post profit declining periods. And third, we estimate a model to capture the variables that drive bank ROE during and post profit declining periods. We first establish from our rankings that, foreign banks in Ghana performed better during profit declining periods while the local banks performed better in post profit decline periods using the top ten banks as a benchmark in both periods. Employing Pearson correlation coefficients matrix, we recognized that operating profit margin, asset turnover and leverage were most likely to influence bank ROE in both time periods. We further employ OLS regression and find that bank ROE was impacted by operating profit margin and leverage during profit declining periods and post profit decline while tax effect added up in post profit declining periods.

Increasing gas producer profitability with virtual well visibility via an end-to-end, wireless Internet gas monitoring system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McDougall, M.; Coleman, K.; Beck, R.; Lyon, R.; Potts, R. [Northrock Resources Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada); Benterud, K. [Zed.i solutions, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2003-07-01

Most gas producing companies still use 100-year old technology to measure gas volumes because of the prohibitive costs of implementing corporate wide electronic information systems to replace circular mechanical chart technology. This paper describes how Northrock Resources Ltd. increased profitability using Smart-Alek{sup TM} while avoiding high implementation costs. Smart-Alek is a new type of fully integrated end-to-end electronic gas flow measurement (GFM) system based on Field Intelligence Network and End User Interference (FINE). Smart-Alek can analyze gas production through public wireless communications and a web-browser delivery system. The system has enabled Northrock to increase gas volumes with more accurate measurement and reduced downtime. In addition, operating costs were also decreased because the frequency of well visits was reduced and the administrative procedures of data collection was more efficient. The real-time well visibility of the tool has proven to be very effective in optimizing business profitability. 9 refs., 1 tab., 9 figs.

Profit-Sharing – A Tool for Improving Productivity, Profitability and Competitiveness of Firms?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fibirova Jana

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The importance of appropriate utilization of rewards for performance is still growing and therefore this type of rewards can be seen as a significant part of a total rewards package. Companies that are able to appropriately implement rewards for performance may gain competitive advantage over their competitors, but successful implementation requires a good knowledge of these rewards. The main aim of this paper is to contribute to the growth of this knowledge by identifying possible positive and negative impacts of profit-sharing on various areas that are important for the performance of a company, nevertheless, addressed are also macroeconomic consequences of profit-sharing. Furthermore, a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the relevant literature is provided, under-researched areas are identified and suggestions for further research are given. To accomplish these goals, we applied methods of bibliometric analysis to the articles indexed in ISI Web of Knowledge to identify the most important articles, authors and topics. According to our findings, the majority of studies report a neutral or positive impact of profit-sharing on productivity and profitability. This impact may be achieved by direct influence of profit-sharing on productivity of employees (due to the dependence of their pay on profit, but it seems that yet more important are various mediating mechanisms, especially effects on employment stability, absenteeism, quits and related issues, as well as effects on attitudes of employees and on relationships between employees. We argue that a well-designed profit-sharing plan is crucial for its success, but it is a relatively under-researched problem.

Soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization under different tillage systems and Permanent Groundcover cultivation between Orange trees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elcio Liborio Balota

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this work was to evaluate the alterations in carbon and nitrogen mineralization due to different soil tillage systems and groundcover species for intercropped orange trees. The experiment was established in an Ultisol soil (Typic Paleudults originated from Caiuá sandstone in northwestern of the state of Paraná, Brazil, in an area previously cultivated with pasture (Brachiaria humidicola. Two soil tillage systems were evaluated: conventional tillage (CT in the entire area and strip tillage (ST with a 2-m width, each with different groundcover vegetation management systems. The citrus cultivar utilized was the 'Pera' orange (Citrus sinensis grafted onto a 'Rangpur' lime rootstock. The soil samples were collected at a 0-15-cm depth after five years of experiment development. Samples were collected from under the tree canopy and from the inter-row space after the following treatments: (1 CT and annual cover crop with the leguminous Calopogonium mucunoides; (2 CT and perennial cover crop with the leguminous peanut Arachis pintoi; (3 CT and evergreen cover crop with Bahiagrass Paspalum notatum; (4 CT and cover crop with spontaneous B. humidicola grass vegetation; and (5 ST and maintenance of the remaining grass (pasture of B. humidicola. The soil tillage systems and different groundcover vegetation influenced the C and N mineralization, both under the tree canopy and in the inter-row space. The cultivation of B. humidicola under strip tillage provided higher potential mineralization than the other treatments in the inter-row space. Strip tillage increased the C and N mineralization compared to conventional tillage. The grass cultivation increased the C and N mineralization when compared to the others treatments cultivated in the inter-row space.

Effect of reversal of the flow direction on hydrodynamic characteristics and plants cultivated in constructed wetland systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gheila Corrêa Ferres Baptestini

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of reversal of the flow direction, when used the surface flow as an operating criteria, on hydrodynamic characteristics and plants grown in horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetland systems (HSF-CWs. For this purpose, six HSF-CWs were used: two non-cultivated (HSF-CWs 1 and 4, two cultivated with Tifton 85 grass (Cynodon spp. (HSF-CWs 2 and 5 and two cultivated with Alternanthera (Alternanthera philoxeroides (HSF-CWs 3 and 6. It was made a reversal in the flow direction of the HSF-CWs 1, 2 and 3. The reversal of the wastewater flow direction was performed when the superficial flow of the wastewater applied (SF reached 50% of the length of the HSF-CWs. There was a single reversal for each system, on different dates. Reversing the flow direction promoted distinction on the dry matter yield of Tifton 85 grass. This was not observed in HSF-CWs cultivated with Alternanthera. The reversal of the wastewater flow direction promoted, in principle, the extinction of the SF advance in the HSF-CWs, but did not prevent its return. Waiting for the SF to reach 50% of the length was not the best criterion for reversing the flow direction.

Measuring customer profitability through time-driven activity-based costing: a case study at hotel x Jogjakarta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Billy Ardiansyah Garry

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Travelling intensity has been higher in the past few years making hospitality industry must be ready to provide the best service at optimum prices to customers who purchase and enjoy the services. Hotel as one of the accommodation service providers should be able to allocate resources accurately according to the actual needed capacity and thorough tariff policy for not losing the competition and obtain profit according to how much is projected. TDABC system is the most updated costing system which can assist the allocation of these resources. TDABC system is considered twice important to be applied in the service industry as service is intangible so costing system must show the exact and accurate number of resources used to provide the service. Through TDABC system, Customer Profitability Analysis is conducted with the aim of knowing the level of profitability every customer type possesses and classifying them as profitable or non-profitable customers. A case study had been conducted in a five-star hotel located in the Special Region of Jogjakarta resulting a profit recognized under TDABC system that traditional method used as the hotel’s costing system failed to do so and more proper data on costs and profitability of customers.

Management trends: Internationalization of non-profit organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inić Branimir P.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Non-profit organizations are increasingly gaining importance in the modern economy with their development and their numbers increasing day by day. It is very important to note that non-profit organizations are often subject to various benefits that the for-profit companies are not. Thus, for example, preferential tax status of non-profit organizations is manifested primarily in the form of exemption from corporate income tax. In addition, private non-profit organizations enjoy various other state, local and federal taxes exemptions. Under certain conditions, these organizations are exempt from taxes on donations and membership fees. A feature that differentiates various non-profit organizations and profit-oriented companies is their source of income. Profit oriented companies depend on their income, obtained from sales of their goods or services to customers, who usually cover the price and cost of goods and services plus the profit. In contrast, nonprofit organizations are very dependent on membership fees, tax exemptions, members donations or depend on funds of the sponsoring agency which covers most of their costs, for example a federal government agency. Those non-profit organizations that have substantial operating costs beyond national borders and do not identify themselves as purely domestic in their mandate are International non-profit organizations. Most non-profit organizations remain in their national boundaries, on the territory of the country in which they were created, but a large number of non-profit organizations rapidly internationalize, and some larger non-profits have grown into important global actors. The paper includes the following sections: (1 introduction, (2 why is the 'non-profit' important, (3 the internationalization of non-profit organizations, (4 sources of income of non-profit organizations (4.1. causality of impact and of strategic decisions in cases pertaining to universities, (5 the limits of strategic

Windfalls and other profits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verbruggen, Aviel

2008-01-01

'Windfall profits' again is a popular term, but mostly the term is used inappropriately. This short article discusses why, and proposes a more complete taxonomy of profits. There exists little ground and need for policy to act against genuine windfalls, while the contrary holds for other excessive earnings. Very few windfalls, freely fallen down from winds in the sky, occur after observed excessive profits are stripped from deliberate man-made interventions. That is why clear identification and correct language are needed

CULTIVATION OF CLADOCERAN (CLADOCERA FOR INCREASING PROVISION OF YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR CARP (CYPRINUS CARPIO WITH NATURAL FEEDS (REVIEW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Tuchapska

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Natural feeds are important in pond fish diet because they contain all nutrients necessary for fish growth and development. The share of natural feeds in fish diet has great effect on fish growth and immunity, assimilation of artificial feeds. The main way of assured procurement of natural feeds for fish feeding at different stages of their development is artificial cultivation of aquatic organisms. However, cultivation of natural feeds is not virtually performed in aquaculture enterprises of Ukraine, therefore an analysis of available data on zooplankton cultivation is important for looking for optimal and economically profitable methods of enrichment of pond fish diet with natural feeds. Methodology. Methods of cladoceran cultivation were the object of the study, material for the study – literature data on ways and methods of zooplankton cultivation. Findings. Cultivation of various species of zooplankton is performed for feeding of pond fish on different life stages. Main object of cultivation in aquaculture is Daphnia magna Straus, juvenile forms of which are consumed by fish larvae, while adult organisms are the most valuable for yearlings and older fish. The efficiency of hydrobiont cultivation highly depends on the selected object, containers, where cladocerans are cultivated, optimum conditions, peculiarities of water supply, species, and application of fertilizers and feeds. Originality. The highest production of zooplankton can be obtained when cultivating D. magna in tanks with continuous flow and in net cages installed in ponds under condition of ensuring requirements of the culture in bacterial and algae feeds (due to application of fertilizers and feeding with feeds and microalgae taking into account their presence in water, which is in the tank-cultivator. Practical value. Simplicity of the methods and high efficiency of zooplankton cultivation for preparation of pond fish juveniles is the basis of its wide use in

Sinister synergies : how competition for unregulated profit causes blackouts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, J.

2005-01-01

This white paper examined the effects of deregulation on electricity system reliability and demonstrated that the pursuit of unregulated profit has increased blackout risk. It was suggested that although deregulation works well in some areas, experts, studies and experience have shown that the deregulation of the electricity system has failed. The make-up of the electricity system was discussed, as well as the importance of the system to security, safety, health and economic well-being. It was suggested that higher costs and the need for greater profits have pushed deregulated power producers to cut costs drastically and to invest where high, short-term returns are more likely, rather than focusing on reasonable long-term returns with reasonable cost savings and reliability. In addition, the complexity of deregulated electricity markets has afforded participants many opportunities to manipulate and cut corners to increase profits. It was suggested that higher costs and the need for higher profits have combined with deregulated market conditions to provide motives and opportunities for a culture of bad behavior. This has cost consumers billions of dollars and resulted in increased blackout risk. It was noted that there have also been significant cut-backs in training, maintenance and rehabilitation, as well as in research. There has been a large increase in the complexity of deregulated systems because of increased numbers of participants, transactions and relationships, which has led to the introduction of new systems without appropriate testing, pilot projects, risk management, gradual implementation and backup procedures. It was concluded that an independent investigation should be carried out, and that a major study is needed to examine deregulated environments. 31 refs

Profitability analysis of a femtosecond laser system for cataract surgery using a fuzzy logic approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Trigueros, José Antonio; Piñero, David P; Ismail, Mahmoud M

2016-01-01

To define the financial and management conditions required to introduce a femtosecond laser system for cataract surgery in a clinic using a fuzzy logic approach. In the simulation performed in the current study, the costs associated to the acquisition and use of a commercially available femtosecond laser platform for cataract surgery (VICTUS, TECHNOLAS Perfect Vision GmbH, Bausch & Lomb, Munich, Germany) during a period of 5y were considered. A sensitivity analysis was performed considering such costs and the countable amortization of the system during this 5y period. Furthermore, a fuzzy logic analysis was used to obtain an estimation of the money income associated to each femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (G). According to the sensitivity analysis, the femtosecond laser system under evaluation can be profitable if 1400 cataract surgeries are performed per year and if each surgery can be invoiced more than $500. In contrast, the fuzzy logic analysis confirmed that the patient had to pay more per surgery, between $661.8 and $667.4 per surgery, without considering the cost of the intraocular lens (IOL). A profitability of femtosecond laser systems for cataract surgery can be obtained after a detailed financial analysis, especially in those centers with large volumes of patients. The cost of the surgery for patients should be adapted to the real flow of patients with the ability of paying a reasonable range of cost.

Profitables Food & Beverage Management

OpenAIRE

Studer, Adrian; Blatter, Martin; Glenz-Mounir, Chantal

2008-01-01

Die Diplomarbeit befasst sich mit dem Thema „Profitables Food & Beverage Management“, es geht darum, wie Restaurationsstätten, Beherbergungsbetriebe und Campingbetreiber ihren Umsatz innerhalb kürzester Zeit um 6 bis 8 % und den Gewinn um 8 bis 10 % steigern können. Grundlage für die Diplomarbeit ist das Buch „Profitables Food & Beverage Management“ von Urs Schaffer1 und die angebotenen Kurse von ritzy*2. Mit dem Buch und dem Module Profit Management auf dem ritzycampus3 haben die Wirte, Hote...

Fission profits of thorium: Distribution in charge and mass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guarnieri, A.A.

1985-01-01

It is presented the improvement of a semi-empiric model to describe behavior fo the 235 U + thermal neutrons system. The model is applied to fission of the 232 Th case reproducing the distribution of mass profits of fission products from the behavior of independent profits of fragments related the mass and charge, and the emission of prompt neutrons per fragment. (M.C.K.) [pt

EBP2R – An innovative enhanced biological nutrient recovery activated sludge system to produce growth medium for green microalgae cultivation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valverde Perez, Borja; Ramin, Elham; Smets, Barth F.

2015-01-01

system to produce nutrient rich organic-carbon depleted algal cultivation media of target composition. Via SRT control, the quality of the constructed cultivation media can be optimized to support a wide range of green micro-algal growth requirements. Up to 75% of the influent phosphorus can be recovered...... that the system performance predicted through the model-based design can be achieved in reality....

Study on TenneT profits 2010. Regulated Transport and System Tasks; Onderzoek winsten TenneT 2010. Gereguleerde Transport- en Systeemtaken

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-04-15

Research has been done on the profits realized by TenneT in 2010 with its regulated distribution and system tasks. The regulation method enables TenneT to recover its costs and realize a reasonable profit [Dutch] Onderzoek is gedaan naar het rendement dat TenneT in 2010 heeft behaald met de uitvoering van zijn gereguleerde transport- en systeemtaken. TenneT is door de reguleringsmethodiek in staat zijn efficiente kosten terug te verdienen en een redelijk rendement te behalen.

Earnings and bank profitability in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John N. N. Ugoani

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Bank earnings in form of retained profit help in the capital formation of banks. This is critical because capital inadequacy is often a cause of bank failures. During the banking crisis in Nigeria the gross earnings of many banks diminished considerably due to frauds and bad management. For example, in 2009 the Central Bank of Nigeria revoked the operating licences of fourteen banks which had huge nonperforming loans and were making losses. The fragility in the Nigerian banking system in the 1990s and beyond was compounded due to wide spread poor corporate governance practices and imprudent lending that led to the erosion of gross earnings and profitability. The study employed the exploratory research design. Data analyses were done through description statistics and the regression technique using the statistical package for the social sciences. The regression result was Y = 4.926 + 1.877x meaning that with an increase of 1 percent in gross earnings bank profitability increases by 1.88 percent. This is the crux of the study.

Determinants of Market Share of For-Profit Hospitals: An Empirical Examination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seungchul Lee

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This study estimates the effects of a prospective payment system on the growth of for-profit hospitals. The empirical results show that the proportion of patient care paid for by Medicare managed care has a positive, statistically significant relationship with the market share of for-profit hospitals. Medicare managed care reimburses health care providers prospectively, and a larger portion of prospective reimbursements is received by for-profit hospitals, whose market share consequently increases. In addition, the proportion of patients with Medi-Cal and third party managed care has a positive, statistically significant relationship with the market share of for-profit hospitals.

Influence of shifting cultivation practices on soil-plant-beetle interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ibrahim, Kalibulla Syed; Momin, Marcy D; Lalrotluanga, R; Rosangliana, David; Ghatak, Souvik; Zothansanga, R; Kumar, Nachimuthu Senthil; Gurusubramanian, Guruswami

2016-08-01

Shifting cultivation (jhum) is a major land use practice in Mizoram. It was considered as an eco-friendly and efficient method when the cycle duration was long (15-30 years), but it poses the problem of land degradation and threat to ecology when shortened (4-5 years) due to increased intensification of farming systems. Studying beetle community structure is very helpful in understanding how shifting cultivation affects the biodiversity features compared to natural forest system. The present study examines the beetle species diversity and estimates the effects of shifting cultivation practices on the beetle assemblages in relation to change in tree species composition and soil nutrients. Scarabaeidae and Carabidae were observed to be the dominant families in the land use systems studied. Shifting cultivation practice significantly (P PERMANOVA), permutational multivariate analysis of dispersion (PERMDISP)) statistical analyses. Besides changing the tree species composition and affecting the soil fertility, shifting cultivation provides less suitable habitat conditions for the beetle species. Bioindicator analysis categorized the beetle species into forest specialists, anthropogenic specialists (shifting cultivation habitat specialist), and habitat generalists. Molecular analysis of bioindicator beetle species was done using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) marker to validate the beetle species and describe genetic variation among them in relation to heterogeneity, transition/transversion bias, codon usage bias, evolutionary distance, and substitution pattern. The present study revealed the fact that shifting cultivation practice significantly affects the beetle species in terms of biodiversity pattern as well as evolutionary features. Spatiotemporal assessment of soil-plant-beetle interactions in shifting cultivation system and their influence in land degradation and ecology will be helpful in making biodiversity conservation decisions in the

Profitability of Residential Battery Energy Storage Combined with Solar Photovoltaics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christoph Goebel

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Lithium-ion (Li-Ion batteries are increasingly being considered as bulk energy storage in grid applications. One such application is residential energy storage combined with solar photovoltaic (PV panels to enable higher self-consumption rates, which has become financially more attractive recently due to decreasing feed-in subsidies. Although residential energy storage solutions are commercially mature, it remains unclear which system configurations and circumstances, including aggregator-based applications such as the provision of ancillary services, lead to profitable consumer investments. Therefore, we conduct an extensive simulation study that is able to jointly capture these aspects. Our results show that, at current battery module prices, even optimal system configurations still do not lead to profitable investments into Li-Ion batteries if they are merely used as a buffer for solar energy. The first settings in which they will become profitable, as prices are further declining, will be larger households at locations with higher average levels of solar irradiance. If the batteries can be remote-controlled by an aggregator to provide overnight negative reserve, their profitability increases significantly.

An autonomous robot for de-leafing cucumber plants in a high-wire cultivation system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Henten, van E.J.; Tuijl, van B.A.J.; Hoogakker, G.J.; Weerd, van der M.J.; Hemming, J.; Kornet, J.G.; Bontsema, J.

2005-01-01

The paper presents an autonomous robot for removing the leaves from cucumber plants grown in a high-wire cultivation system. Leaves at the lower end of the plants are removed because of their reduced vitality, their negligible contribution to canopy photosynthesis and their increased sensitivity for

PERBANDINGAN PROFITABILITAS PASIEN BPJS DAN PASIEN UMUM DI RUMAH SAKIT BRAWIJAYA SURABAYA DENGAN PENDEKATAN CUSTOMER PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Saiful Hakim

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Since 2013 Indonesia has developed their national healthcare programme (JKN that run by BPJS kesehatan. Nowadays this system has attract broad demand in Indonesia. This programme used INA CBG system as their payment system for the healthcare. Since the implementation many of hospital has doubt regard this system has provided hospital with profit. This paper answer the question by using Customer Profitability analysis that extracted from Activity Based Costing Measurement to measuring profitability between BPJS patient and regular patient . The result indicated that for short term, BPJS Patient generated higher profit rather than regular patient. On the other hand for long term BPJS patient have lower profit compared with regular patient

Development of everlasting flowers (Comanthera elegans (Bong. L.R. Parra & Giul. in three cultivation systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernanda da Conceição Moreira

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Marketing the inflorescences of Comanthera elegans (Bong. L.R. Parra & Giul. represents a source of income to many families from extractives communities in the portion of the Espinhaço Range located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Cultivating this species stands out by allying income generation with conservation since the species is currently endangered. This study aimed to assess aspects of the development of C. elegans in three cultivation systems: beds, rows, and whole area. Sowing took place in January 2009 and the inflorescences were harvested in May 2010, which characterized the experimental period. Emergence; plant density; rates of flowering, mortality, resprouting, and recruiting of new individuals; and production of inflorescences per plant and per area were assessed. Emergence began approximately 50 days after sowing. Plant density ranged from 130 to 350 plants.m-2 among the three cultivation systems. The highest mortality rate (18% was observed at the peak of the dry season (August and the overall mortality rate over one reproductive cycle was 49%. Of the plants that lost the aerial part, 36% resprouted. Sprouting and seed germination accounted for 30 and 3% of the recruiting of new individuals, respectively. C. elegans had two bloom (AprilMay 2009 and April-May 2010: 5.4% of the plants bloomed in the first season and 78%, in the second. Each plant produced between three and 178 inflorescences and the highest inflorescence production in terms of weight (232 g.m-2 and number (2,910 inflorescences.m-2 was observed in the cultivation in beds at 1,624 kg.ha-1.

Profitability primer: a guide to profitability analysis in the electric power industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woo, C.K.; Lloyd-Zannetti, D.; Martin, J.; Price, S.

1996-06-01

As the electric power industry is opened to forces of competition, increased attention must be focused to develop products and services that deliver good value to customers and to identify customer segments that are profitable to serve. This primer introduces the concept of profitability analysis and its application to the electric power industry. The primer recognizes that some segments of the business will remain monopolistic and subject to regulations, while other segments will become competitive. The primer also recognizes that customer profitability is critically dependent on a host of related issues such as how internal costs are allocated to various functions and how revenues are collected and allocated

[Biotechnological cultivation of edible macrofungi: an alternative for obtaining nutraceutics].

Science.gov (United States)

Suárez Arango, Carolina; Nieto, Ivonne Jeannette

2013-01-03

Macromycetes have been part of the human culture for thousand years, and have been reported as food in the most important civilizations in history. Many nutraceutical properties of macromycetes have been described, such as anti-cancer, anti-tumour, cholesterol lowering, antiviral, antibacterial, or immunomodulatory, among others. Given that production of mushrooms by traditional cultivation and extraction of bioactive metabolites is very difficult in some cases, biotechnology is essential for the development of profitable and productive techniques for obtaining these metabolites. It is the development of this technology, and the ease in which it enables the use of its variables that has allowed mycelium to be cultivated in liquid medium of macrofungi, with a significant reduction in time and an increased production of metabolites. This increased production has led to the study of compounds that have medicinal, nutriceutical and quasi-farmaceutical potential, in the exhausted media and the mycelium. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the use of liquid-state fermentation as a technological tool for obtaining edible fungi, and the study of these and their metabolites, by describing the different cultivation conditions used in recent years, as well as the results obtained. The relevance of Agaricus, Flammulina, Grifola, Pleurotus and Lentinula genera, will also be discussed, with emphasis on the last one, since Shiitake has been always considered as the ultimate medicinal mushroom. Copyright © 2011 Revista Iberoamericana de Micología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

profitability of groundnut-based cropping systems among farmers in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

accounting for all cost. The rate of return on investment (RRI) analysis shows that groundnut/sorghum enterprise has RRI of. 232%, while sole groundnut enterprise has RRI of. 260%. This implies that an average farmer earns N232 profit for every naira invested in groundnut/sorghum production, while N260 is earned for ...

Design of an SolidWorks-based household substrate cultivation device

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Guo; Yueying, Wang

2018-03-01

Rapid urbanization has caused increasingly severe environmental problems and smaller tillable land area. Even worse, negative reports on vegetable production are repeatedly found. In this case, home gardening has become an inexorable trend. To meet demand for vegetable cultivation in the home environment, an SolidWorks-based household substrate cultivation device has been designed. This device is composed of the cultivation tank, upright post, base, irrigation system, supplemental lighting system and control system. The household substrate cultivation device manufactured based on the design results has shown in practice that this device features an esthetic appearance, low cost, automatic irrigation and lighting supplementation, good vegetable growing conditions, full of ornamental value and practicability and thus is suitable for vegetable growing in the home environment. Hence it has a higher promotion value in the home gardening field.

Measuring Customer Profitability in Complex Environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Morten; Kumar, V.; Rohde, Carsten

2012-01-01

Customer profitability measurement is an important element in customer relationship management and a lever for enhanced marketing accountability. Two distinct measurement approaches have emerged in the marketing literature: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Customer Profitability Analysis (CPA...... propositions. Additionally, the framework provides design and implementation guidance for managers seeking to implement customer profitability measurement models for resource allocation purposes....... that the degree of sophistication deployed when implementing customer profitability measurement models is determined by the type of complexity encountered in firms’ customer environments. This gives rise to a contingency framework for customer profitability measurement model selection and five research...

Comparing the profitability of organic and conventional broiler production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F Cobanoglu

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Recently, organic broiler chicken production has received more attention worldwide. This study has carried out an economic analysis to compare the profitability of organic versus conventional growing systems per unit of broiler meat production. To achieve this goal, 400 slow-growing broiler chickens (Hubbard Red-JA were reared in an organic production system, and the same number of fast-growing birds (Ross-308 in a conventional system. The profitability was deduced with an economic analysis that compared total costs and net income. Results showed that organic broiler meat can cost from 70% to 86% more with respect to variable and fixed costs when compared with conventional production. The main reasons for the higher cost of organic broiler meat were feed, labor, certification, and outdoor area maintenance. The proportion of fixed costs in total costs was 1.54% in the conventional system and 7.48% in the organic system. The net income per kg of chicken meat in the organic system was € 0.75, which is 180% higher than chicken meat grown in a conventional system (€ 0.27; however, the price of organic broiler meat sold in the present study was twice as high as that obtained for conventional broilers. In conclusion, organic broiler meat production was more profitable than conventional rearing.

Profitability analysis in the hospital industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Cleverley, W O

1978-01-01

Measures of marginal profit are derived for the two payment classes--cost payers and charge payers--that the hospital industry must consider in profitability analysis, i.e., prediction of the excess of revenue over expenses. Two indexes of profitability, use when payment mix is constant and when it is nonconstant, respectively, are derived from the two marginal profit measures, and one of them is shown to be a modification of the contribution margin, the conventional measure of profitability used in general industry. All three measures--the contribution margin and the two new indexes of profitability--are used to estimate changes in net income resulting from changes in patient volume with and without accompanying changes in payment mix. The conventional measure yields large overestimates of expected excess revenue. PMID:632101

Shorter Fallow Cycles Affect the Availability of Noncrop Plant Resources in a Shifting Cultivation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Paule. Dalle

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Shifting cultivation systems, one of the most widely distributed forms of agriculture in the tropics, provide not only crops of cultural significance, but also medicinal, edible, ritual, fuel, and forage resources, which contribute to the livelihoods, health, and cultural identity of local people. In many regions across the globe, shifting cultivation systems are undergoing important changes, one of the most pervasive being a shortening of the fallow cycle. Although there has been much attention drawn to declines in crop yields in conjunction with reductions in fallow times, little if any research has focused on the dynamics of noncrop plant resources. In this paper, we use a data set of 26 fields of the same age, i.e., ~1.5 yr, but differing in the length and frequency of past fallow cycles, to examine the impact of shorter fallow periods on the availability of noncrop plant resources. The resources examined are collected in shifting cultivation fields by the Yucatec Maya in Quintana Roo, Mexico. These included firewood, which is cut from remnant trees and stumps spared at the time of felling, and 17 forage species that form part of the weed vegetation. Firewood showed an overall decrease in basal area with shorter fallow cycles, which was mostly related to the smaller diameter of the spared stumps and trees in short-fallow milpas. In contrast, forage species showed a mixed response. Species increasing in abundance in short-fallow milpas tended to be short-lived herbs and shrubs often with weedy habits, whereas those declining in abundance were predominantly pioneer trees and animal-dispersed species. Coppicing tree species showed a neutral response to fallow intensity. Within the cultural and ecological context of our study area, we expect that declines in firewood availability will be most significant for livelihoods because of the high reliance on firewood for local fuel needs and the fact that the main alternative source of firewood, forest

Test results on vegetable cultivation using fish breeding water; Yogyosui riyo ni yoru yasai saibai shikenkekka ni tsuite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishida, S. [Hokuriku Electric Power Co. Inc., Toyama (Japan)

1997-10-30

Although a part of the entrails of fishes, birds and livestock is used for food, most of them are treated by costly combustion because of their bad odor and looking, and International Environment and Welfare Laboratory, Toyama prefecture in Japan is studying their profitable treatment. As a part of such study, possibility of hydroponic cultivation of vegetable was tested using fish breeding water including excretions of fishes and residual feeds after use of waste as feed, and the growth condition, safety and effectiveness of cultured vegetable were verified. Three-hundred and fifty viviparous Oryzias were released into a breeding water area with no controlled pH and EC (electric conductivity). For comparison a culture solution area of 6.0 in pH and 1.2ms/cm in EC was prepared. The result on cultivation of 6 kinds of vegetable in culture beds supported by circulation of these water showed that hydroponic cultivation of vegetable using fish breeding water is possible, and average growth of 68% is obtained although difference in growth for every vegetable is found. 8 figs., 5 tabs.

Profitability of wood harvesting enterprises

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Penttinen, M. email: markku.penttinen@metla.fi; Mikkola, J. email: jarmo.mikkola@metla.fi; Rummukainen, A. email: arto.rummukainen@metla.fi

2009-07-01

The forest machine business is about 50 years old. The rapid technical development of machinery increased productivity up to the end of last century. In 2007, the total value of round and energy wood harvesting and silvicultural work operated by forest machine enterprises exceeded 570 mill. euro. According to the materials of the Vehicle Administration Finland and Statistics Finland there are about 1 600 active harvesting enterprises in the personal and business taxation system. Beside this, there are according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry about 1 300 farmers who do harvesting as side business. About 1 000 enterprises working in June 2007 were studied with their retrospective economic analyses from 2001. The data includes all enterprises that had supplied closing of the accounts data. One-machine entrepreneurs represent more than a third of the number of enterprises, but only 13 percent of the turnover. Enterprises with seven or more machines represent less than ten percent of the number, but over twenty percent of the turnover. Enterprises are largest in eastern and northern Finland, where the average number of machines per enterprise exceeds three. Small enterprises are mostly singleowner business enterprises with a median turnover of 125 000 euros per annum. Partnerships and limited enterprises have double the median turnover of single-owner businesss. Limited companies turn over a median of 450 000 euro/y, representing 67 percent of total turnover. Median net profit varied between 6 and 10 percent of turnover in 2001-2007, but only between 2 and 4 percent where the wage adjustment is deducted from the profit. The wage adjustment is estimated as if the owners of single-owner businesses earn an operator's salary. Profit was highest in 2002 and lowest 2006. In the smallest enterprise class with a turnover of less than 75 000 euro/y, profit was lowest and negative in 2006 and 2007. The variation in profits between enterprises was also biggest in

La maximisation du taux de profit

OpenAIRE

De Mesnard, Louis

1991-01-01

On the traditional micro-economic theory, firms are supposed to maximise pure profit. We study what happened when we take into consideration shareholders and the financial profit remunerating the financial capital. We show that it is necessary to surrender the financial profit maximisation to use the rate of financial profit maximisation. The cases of concurrence with fix coefficient of capital, monopoly with fix coefficient of capital, monopoly with variable coefficient of capital are studie...

Personnel Policy and Profit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bingley, Paul; Westergård-Nielsen, Niels Chr.

2004-01-01

personnel structure variation. It is found that personnel policy is strongly related to economic performance. At the margin, more hires are associated with lower profit, and more separations with higher profit. For the average firm, one new job, all else equal, is associated with ?2680 (2000 prices) lower...

Combining purpose with profits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Birkinshaw, J.; Foss, N.J.; Lindenberg, S.M.

2014-01-01

Is it possible for a company to strive for a higher purpose while also delivering solid profits? Some have argued that pursuing goals other than making money means, by definition, spending on things that aren't profit-maximizing. Others have countered that by investing in worthwhile causes the

Estimation of soya cultivation efficiency in conditions of Belarus lands polluted by radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gutseva, G.Z.

2007-01-01

Production of high-protein soya crop including lands polluted by radionuclides after the Chernobyl accident, causes to the necessity of carrying out research to study the radionuclide transfer into production of this crop. As a result of research the transfer factors of 137Cs and 90Sr from soil into seeds and green mass of various soya varieties have been determined to allow a prediction of radionuclide transfer into production. Limiting densities of radionuclide pollution for moderately improved sod - podzol sandy soils for production of the soya products corresponding of 137Cs and 90Sr content to the national permissible levels are established. Use of the crop in plant cultivation and cattle-breeding branch is accompanied by high energy - conserving effects. Soya products contains high quantity of total energy per kilogram of forage. The most highly energy-conserving forages are waste products of soya processing: an oil cake - up to 87,4 Mj and soil-seed meal up to 79,7 Mj. High profitability of this crop cultivation is provided by production for seeds. It is economically defensible a soya beans cultivation for processing and for fodder. For reception of seeds for food purposes there are restrictions on pollution of soil: 1125 kBk/square ? (30 Ci/square km) and 90Sr to 2,6 kBk/square ? (0,07 Ci/square km)

Profitability analysis of KINGLONG nearly 5 years

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Mei; Wen, Jinghua

2017-08-01

Profitability analysis for measuring business performance and forecast its prospects play an important role. In this paper, the research instance King Long Motor in understanding the basic theory on the basis of financial management, to take a combination of theory and data analysis methods, combined with a measure of profitability related indicators of King Long Motor company’s profitability do a specific analysis to identify factors constraining the profitability of Kinglong company exists and the motivation to improve profitability, which made recommendations to improve the profitability of Kinglong car company to promote the company’s future can be better and faster development.)

An ethical justification of profit maximization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Carsten Allan

2010-01-01

In much of the literature on business ethics and corporate social responsibility, it is more or less taken for granted that attempts to maximize profits are inherently unethical. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether an ethical argument can be given in support of profit maximizing...... behaviour. It is argued that some form of consequential ethics must be applied, and that both profit seeking and profit maximization can be defended from a rule-consequential point of view. It is noted, however, that the result does not apply unconditionally, but requires that certain form of profit (and...... utility) maximizing actions are ruled out, e.g., by behavioural norms or formal institutions....

Ökologischer Anbau von Äpfeln ohne den Einsatz von Pflanzenschutzmitteln

OpenAIRE

Geipel, Karlheinz; Kreckl, Wolfgang

2006-01-01

Plant protection is still a burning issue in organic apple production. Insufficient strategies lead to minor quali-ties and immense profit cuts. To thwart these problems and to support organic apple production a program has been started to test a new cultivation system for apple farming. Preconditions for the profitability of the new method are a high yield of premium quality apples comparable to those reached in conventional farming. Main components of the new cultivation system are a foil c...

Nannochloropsis oculata D. microalgae growth in a treated effluent from superintensive shrimp cultivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Menezes Galindro

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The use of microalgae biomass in order to obtain lipids is an important alternative to be studied and it has great potential to be applied in order to produce food and biofuel, for instance. However, there are some processes of its production which need further study, such as the cultivation inputs. A possibility for an alternative raw material is the effluent from superintensive shrimp cultivation with bioflocs (BF. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the productivity and nutrient removal rate of Nannochloropsis oculata cultivation in three systems: (i f/2 - produced integrally with chemical fertilizers, (ii BF - using of 100% of the effluent for superintensive shrimp cultivation with bioflocs and (iii 50/50 – using 50% of shrimp cultivation effluents  and  50% from f/2 system. The microalgae presented greater biomass growth and productitvity in BF system but less lipids and esters accumulation. Concerning nutrient removal, f/2 system showed better performance, which may indicate that the cultivation in BF systems takes longer to reach the stationary growth phase.

FARM RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND PROFITABILITY OF ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Unique cropping systems have emerged in Nigeria to suit limited farmer resources and production objectives in humid forest inland valley ecosystems. But the basis for farm resource allocation and profitability of different crop enterprises are not properly understood. This study is based on a survey of 48 randomly selected ...

Impact of longevity on greenhouse gas emissions and profitability of individual dairy cows analysed with different system boundaries.

Science.gov (United States)

Grandl, F; Furger, M; Kreuzer, M; Zehetmeier, M

2018-05-29

Dairy production systems are often criticized as being major emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG). In this context, the extension of the length of the productive life of dairy cows is gaining interest as a potential GHG mitigation option. In the present study, we investigated cow and system GHG emission intensity and profitability based on data from 30 dairy cows of different productive lifetime fed either no or limited amounts of concentrate. Detailed information concerning productivity, feeding and individual enteric methane emissions of the individuals was available from a controlled experiment and herd book databases. A simplified GHG balance was calculated for each animal based on the milk produced at the time of the experiment and for their entire lifetime milk production. For the lifetime production, we also included the emissions arising from potential beef produced by fattening the offspring of the dairy cows. This accounted for the effect that changes in the length of productive life will affect the replacement rate and thus the number of calves that can be used for beef production. Profitability was assessed by calculating revenues and full economic costs for the cows in the data set. Both emission intensity and profitability were most favourable in cows with long productive life, whereas cows that had not finished their first lactation performed particularly unfavourably with regard to their emissions per unit of product and rearing costs were mostly not repaid. Including the potential beef production, GHG emissions in relation to total production of animal protein also decreased with age, but the overall variability was greater, as the individual cow history (lifetime milk yield, twin births, stillbirths, etc.) added further sources of variation. The present results show that increasing the length of productive life of dairy cows is a viable way to reduce the climate impact and to improve profitability of dairy production.

A MANAGERIAL AND COST ACCOUNTING APPROACH OF CUSTOMER PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CARDOS Ildiko Reka

2010-07-01

Full Text Available In the last years many organizations realized that market orientation is essential to their success. Satisfying the needs of customers, offering them products and services which meet their desires and demands, customer loyalty can increase profitability for long term. After analyzing the existing journal literature in this field we would like to emphasize that managerial accounting, cost calculation methods and techniques, the analysis of costs provides relevant information when analyzing the customer’s profitability. We pay special attention on cost systems. An activity based costing approach takes customer profitability to new levels of accuracy and usefulness, provides the basis for creating, communicating and delivering value to the customers.

Subfield profitability analysis reveals an economic case for cropland diversification

Science.gov (United States)

Brandes, E.; McNunn, G. S.; Schulte, L. A.; Bonner, I. J.; Muth, D. J.; Babcock, B. A.; Sharma, B.; Heaton, E. A.

2016-01-01

Public agencies and private enterprises increasingly desire to achieve ecosystem service outcomes in agricultural systems, but are limited by perceived conflicts between economic and ecosystem service goals and a lack of tools enabling effective operational management. Here we use Iowa—an agriculturally homogeneous state representative of the Maize Belt—to demonstrate an economic rationale for cropland diversification at the subfield scale. We used a novel computational framework that integrates disparate but publicly available data to map ˜3.3 million unique potential management polygons (9.3 Mha) and reveal subfield opportunities to increase overall field profitability. We analyzed subfield profitability for maize/soybean fields during 2010-2013—four of the most profitable years in recent history—and projected results for 2015. While cropland operating at a loss of US 250 ha-1 or more was negligible between 2010 and 2013 at 18 000-190 000 ha (profitable areas, incorporating conservation management that breaks even (e.g., planting low-input perennials), into low-yielding portions of fields could increase overall cropland profitability by 80%. This approach is applicable to the broader region and differs substantially from the status quo of ‘top-down’ land management for conservation by harnessing private interest to align profitability with the production of ecosystem services.

The relationship of CSR and the business profit: can the most responsible companies be more profitable?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Miguel Gil Salmerón

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Persistent financial crisis and the cases of corruption afflicting Spain have broken the trust of society that forcefully demands an ethical, responsible and sustainable management of organizations, which are not immune to environmental problems. The effects of globalization, the introduction of tecnoestructura as a management model, technological and socio-economic changes have reshaped the cultural, management and ownership system of the current company, the company nowadays is transferred the responsibility to combine growth and competitiveness with social development and environmental improvement. This reconfiguration of business management model is implemented with the introduction of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR in the strategic plans of the companies with the purpose of achieving a competitive advantage. The question is: can the most responsible companies be more profitable? The introduction of CSR in the organizational culture of the companies involved as a vector, accelerates the profitability of the companies that apply it: the higher level of CSR used, the more profitable the companies are. These conclusions are determined from a linear regression analysis comparing the ROA –return on assets– to CSR levels in a hundred companies with higher levels of sustainability that operate in Spain, according to a survey published in 2014 by the Monitor business Corporate Reputation (Merco

The financial performance of selected investor-owned and not-for-profit system hospitals before and after Medicare prospective payment.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, B; Shortell, S

1988-01-01

This article analyzes determinants of cost and profitability, including the influence of Medicare prospective payment (PPS), between 1983 and 1985 for nearly 300 hospitals belonging to investor-owned (IO) and not-for-profit (NFP) systems. Using approaches that assure comparability of financial data, and including case mix, quality, competition, and regulation measures, the findings indicate that (1) in both years, competitive environment, case mix, age of facility, and scope of diversified services were important determinants of average cost, while a process measure of quality was insignificant and the independent effect of ownership type was insignificant for cost; (2) effects of HMO competition and hospital strategy were stronger in 1985 than in 1983; (3) operating margins for all types of hospitals showed increases, with a somewhat greater improvement for NFP system members; and (4) significantly greater declines in volume of care occurred for IO system members. Implications for future research are discussed. PMID:3133323

Application of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) to the Cultivation Line of Mushroom and Other Cultivated Edible Fungi.

Science.gov (United States)

Pardo, José E; de Figueirêdo, Vinícius Reis; Alvarez-Ortí, Manuel; Zied, Diego C; Peñaranda, Jesús A; Dias, Eustáquio Souza; Pardo-Giménez, Arturo

2013-09-01

The Hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) is a preventive system which seeks to ensure food safety and security. It allows product protection and correction of errors, improves the costs derived from quality defects and reduces the final overcontrol. In this paper, the system is applied to the line of cultivation of mushrooms and other edible cultivated fungi. From all stages of the process, only the reception of covering materials (stage 1) and compost (stage 3), the pre-fruiting and induction (step 6) and the harvest (stage 7) have been considered as critical control point (CCP). The main hazards found were the presence of unauthorized phytosanitary products or above the permitted dose (stages 6 and 7), and the presence of pathogenic bacteria (stages 1 and 3) and/or heavy metals (stage 3). The implementation of this knowledge will allow the self-control of their productions based on the system HACCP to any plant dedicated to mushroom or other edible fungi cultivation.

An Autonomous Robot for De-leafing Cumcumber Plants grown in a High-wire Cultivation System

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Henten, van E.J.; Tuijl, van B.A.J.; Hoogakker, G.J.; Weerd, van der M.J.; Hemming, J.; Kornet, J.G.; Bontsema, J.

2006-01-01

The paper presents an autonomous robot for removing the leaves from cucumber plants grown in a high-wire cultivation system. Leaves at the lower end of the plants are removed because of their reduced vitality, their negligible contribution to canopy photosynthesis and their increased sensitivity to

Development of air conditioning system and labor saving technology for efficient hydroponic cultivation; Konoritsuna suiko saibai no tame no kucho to shoryokuka gijutsu no kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okano, T.; Terazoe, H.; Shoji, K. [Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Tokyo (Japan); Yonezawa, K.; Otani, F. [Chugoku Electric Power Co. Inc., Hiroshima (Japan); Sekiyama, T.; Kosakai, K.; Sato, H.

1997-06-01

Equipment which made experiments on air conditioning and hydroponic cultivation possible was set up at the technical research center of the Chugoku Electric Power Co., to study an air conditioning system using night power and energy saving technology for the cultivation. Vegetables suitable to the cultivation were selected. For air conditioning, adopted was a water heat storage air conditioning system using night power. The space between the shade curtain and the greenhouse roof was ventilated to prevent increase in cooling load caused by rise in curtain temperature. Moreover, the cultivation equipment was covered with transparent vinyl film to cool the inside of the equipment. The hydroponic cultivation equipment was trially manufactured which makes the continued production by one worker possible. The cultivation of spinach, leaf lettuce and chingensai throughout the year became possible. The yield of chingensai reached the target, but those of spinach and leaf lettuce were approximately 70% of the targets. Vegetables to be produced in the air-conditioned greenhouse by hydroponic cultivation are thought to be those that can have added values such non-pesticides and ingredients, young plants which were increased by cutting or tissue culturing, etc. 5 refs., 19 figs., 8 tabs.

Analysis of profitability of using a heat recovery system from grey water discharged from the shower (case study of Poland)

Science.gov (United States)

Kordana, Sabina; Słys, Daniel

2017-11-01

The paper analyses the profitability of the use of Drain Water Heat Recovery units. An original simulation model was used for this purpose, and a detached residential building located in Poland was selected as the test facility. The conducted analysis proved that the type of the hot water heater has decisive influence on the profitability level of such an investment. Application of the abovementioned technology is particularly profitable, when water is heated with the use of an electrical device. When the energy source in the system is a gas water heater, the obtained calculation results are not as favourable, and the period of investment return in many cases exceeds the expected service life of these devices. Moreover, the analysis demonstrated that the potential energy savings, and thus also the financial savings, may be in both cases increased as a result of simultaneous intake of water from various water taps.

The profitability of Norwegian salmon farming companies : a study of profitability variation

OpenAIRE

Eilertsen, Bendik Foss; Hui, Erik

2015-01-01

The conditions in the Norwegian salmon farming industry are constantly changing. Locally and globally, regulations, consolidation and technological advancements are some of the factors having a deep impact on the current industry. To ensure competitiveness, it is essential to emphasise on profitability and taking the correct strategic decisions. The objective of this thesis is to indicate what may cause variation in profitability in the current Norwegian salmon farming industry...

Prompt nuclear coal analysis ups profits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barker, D.

1982-01-01

To maximise profitability it is essential that products should comply with specification, while ensuring that mining procedures are designed to optimise fully the exploitation of coal reserves. For the producer to realise maximum profits, it is necessary to produce a consistently satisfactory product, while utilising the lowest possible quality of reserves. For the potential need for on-stream analysis, a comprehensive research program, produced several unique systems. The Nucoalyzer CONAC has been developed to analyse continuously a coal sample stream of up to 13 t/h. On-stream analysis is also particularly appropriate as a means of controlling a coal beneficiation plant, especially where coal have a high middling content. Major coal users such as thermal power stations and Synfuel processes can also realise substantial economic benefits through the use of on-stream analysis. On-stream analysis can again significantly reduce operating costs, as it offers the possibility of controlling the level of sulphur in the coal feed. The analytical principle employed in the various Nucoalyzer system is based on Prompt Neutron Activation Analysis

Growth and biomass productivity of Scenedesmus vacuolatus on a twin layer system and a comparison with other types of cultivations.

Science.gov (United States)

Carbone, Dora Allegra; Olivieri, Giuseppe; Pollio, Antonino; Gabriele; Melkonian, Michael

2017-12-01

Scenedesmus is a genus of microalgae employed for several industrial uses. Industrial cultivations are performed in open ponds or in closed photobioreactors (PBRs). In the last years, a novel type of PBR based on immobilized microalgae has been developed termed porous substrate photobioreactors (PSBR) to achieve significant higher biomass density during cultivation in comparison to classical PBRs. This work presents a study of the growth of Scenedesmus vacuolatus in a Twin Layer System PSBR at different light intensities (600 μmol photons m -2  s -1 or 1000 μmol photons m -2  s -1 ), different types and concentrations of the nitrogen sources (nitrate or urea), and at two CO 2 levels in the gas phase (2% or 0.04% v/v). The microalgal growth was followed by monitoring the attached biomass density as dry weight, the specific growth rate and pigment accumulation. The highest productivity (29 g m -2 d -1 ) was observed at a light intensity of 600 μmol photons m -2  s -1 and 2% CO 2 . The types and concentrations of nitrogen sources did not influence the biomass productivity. Instead, the higher light intensity of 1000 μmol photons m -2  s -1 and an ambient CO 2 concentration (0.04%) resulted in a significant decrease of productivity to 18 and 10-12 g m -2 d -1 , respectively. When compared to the performance of similar cultivation systems (15-30 g m -2 d -1 ), these results indicate that the Twin Layer cultivation System is a competitive technique for intensified microalgal cultivation in terms of productivity and, at the same time, biomass density.

Business analytics of specialized medical biochemistry laboratory using profit and loss acount

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vikica Buljanović

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction. By measuring the actual effectiveness of a medical biochemistry laboratory’s business operations, we can determine the accounting measure of laboratory’s profitability, where operating expenses of the laboratory are covered by the income generated from the services. A laboratory’s financial report can be based on a profit and loss account, which shows whether or not a business entity, i.e., the laboratory, is making a profit during a particular business period. Methods. Profitability of the Specialized Medical Biochemical Laboratory (Laboratory of the General County Hospital in Našice, Croatia, was determined using the profit and loss account for 2007. Business success was expressed using the accounting measures of marginal contribution, gross income, and operating income, which could show whether or not the laboratory was operating profitably. This procedure allowed us to identify indicators of successful or unsuccessful business operations of the Laboratory. Results. According to the profit and loss account, the operating profit was 719,926 HRK, i.e., the operating margin was 11.7%, indicating that the Laboratory was operating positively. After subtracting all operating expenses per 100 income units, 11.7 units profit remained from the Laboratory’s core business. Conclusion. The Specialized Medical Biochemical Laboratory of the General County Hospital in Našice generated income, i.e., it operated at a profit. The purpose of profit and loss account was to determine the Laboratory operations that had impact on its business effectiveness and could increase the actual profitability. If the laboratory operates at a loss, and no activities are undertaken that would reverse the business toward positive, the analysis may provide information on the cost for the society as a whole of the studied laboratory within the existing healthcare system.

«Neutral» Profit Taxation, Risk Taking and Optimal Profit Taxation

OpenAIRE

Jack M. MINTZ

1982-01-01

The object of this study is to answer two questions related to the design of profit taxes when taking into account riskiness of firms. The first question is the following: leaving aside general equilibrium effects of taxation on the interest rate and risk premia faced by firms, would a cash flow tax be neutral with respect to the investment decisions made by firms. The second question to be considered is whether profit tax rates should vary across industries because of different degrees of ri...

Sustainability of current GM crop cultivation : Review of people, planet, profit effects of agricultural production of GM crops, based on the cases of soybean, maize, and cotton

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Franke, A.C.; Breukers, M.L.H.; Broer, W.; Bunte, F.H.J.; Dolstra, O.; Engelbronner-Kolff, d' F.M.; Lotz, L.A.P.; Montfort, J.; Nikoloyuk, J.; Rutten, M.M.; Smulders, M.J.M.; Wiel, van de C.C.M.; Zijl, M.

2011-01-01

This report adresses the question whether the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops abroad for import in the Netherlands, as compared to the cultivation of their conventional (non-GM) counterparts, is in line with Dutch policy and societal aims striving after more sustainable forms of

Profits in reverse? An examination of the decisive factors for reverse supply chain profitability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Samuel; Jacobsen, Peter

2015-01-01

Although the concept of the reverse supply chain (RSC) is not unknown in industry, an inhibitor for its successful use is low (or no) profitability. A research challenge is investigating ways to establish the RSC as a profit-creating center in the organization. This paper contributes...

Advanced quality systems : probabilistic optimization for profit (Prob.O.Prof) software

Science.gov (United States)

2009-04-01

Contractors constantly have to make decisions regarding how to maximize profit and minimize risk on paving projects. With more and more States adopting incentive/disincentive pay adjustment provisions for quality, as measured by various acceptance qu...

Patient experience and hospital profitability: Is there a link?

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, Jason P; Muhlestein, David B

Patient experience has had a direct financial impact on hospitals since value-based purchasing was instituted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 2013 as a method to reward or punish hospitals based on performance on various measures, including patient experience. Although other industries have shown an indirect impact of customer experience on overall profitability, that link has not been well established in the health care industry. Return-to-provider rate and perceptions of health quality have been associated with profitability in the health care industry. Our aims were to assess whether, independent of a direct financial impact, a more positive patient experience is associated with increased profitability and whether a more negative patient experience is associated with decreased profitability. We used a sample of 19,792 observations from 3767 hospitals over the 6-year period 2007-2012. The data were sourced from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. Using generalized estimating equations to account for repeated measures, we fit four separate models for three dependent variables: net patient revenue, net income, and operating margin. Each model included one of the following independent variables of interest: percentage of patients who definitely recommend the hospital, percentage of patients who definitely would not recommend the hospital, percentage of patients who rated the hospital 9 or 10, and percentage of patients who rated the hospital 6 or lower. We identified that a positive patient experience is associated with increased profitability and a negative patient experience is even more strongly associated with decreased profitability. Management should have greater justification for incurring costs associated with bolstering patient experience programs. Improvements in training, technology, and staffing can be justified as a way to improve not only quality but now

Short Run Profit Maximization in a Convex Analysis Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilko Vrankic

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In this article we analyse the short run profit maximization problem in a convex analysis framework. The goal is to apply the results of convex analysis due to unique structure of microeconomic phenomena on the known short run profit maximization problem where the results from convex analysis are deductively applied. In the primal optimization model the technology in the short run is represented by the short run production function and the normalized profit function, which expresses profit in the output units, is derived. In this approach the choice variable is the labour quantity. Alternatively, technology is represented by the real variable cost function, where costs are expressed in the labour units, and the normalized profit function is derived, this time expressing profit in the labour units. The choice variable in this approach is the quantity of production. The emphasis in these two perspectives of the primal approach is given to the first order necessary conditions of both models which are the consequence of enveloping the closed convex set describing technology with its tangents. The dual model includes starting from the normalized profit function and recovering the production function, and alternatively the real variable cost function. In the first perspective of the dual approach the choice variable is the real wage, and in the second it is the real product price expressed in the labour units. It is shown that the change of variables into parameters and parameters into variables leads to both optimization models which give the same system of labour demand and product supply functions and their inverses. By deductively applying the results of convex analysis the comparative statics results are derived describing the firm's behaviour in the short run.

Contribution of semen trait selection, artificial insemination technique, and semen dose to the profitability of pig production systems: A simulation study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez-Pena, Dianelys; Knox, Robert V; Rodriguez-Zas, Sandra L

2016-01-15

The economic impact of selection for semen traits on pig production systems and potential interaction with artificial insemination (AI) technique and semen dose remains partially understood. The objectives of this study were to compare the financial indicators (gross return, net profit, cost) in a three-tier pig production system under one of two selection strategies: a traditional strategy including nine paternal and maternal traits (S9) and an advanced strategy that adds four semen traits (S13). Maternal traits included the number of pigs born alive, litter birth weight, adjusted 21-day litter weight, and the number of pigs at 21 days, and paternal traits included days to 113.5 kg, back fat, average daily gain, feed efficiency, and carcass lean percentage. The four semen traits included volume, concentration, progressive motility of spermatozoa, and abnormal spermatozoa. Simultaneously, the impact of two AI techniques and a range of fresh refrigerated semen doses including cervical AI with 3 × 10(9) (CAI3) and 2 × 10(9) (CAI2) sperm cells/dose, and intrauterine AI with 1.5 × 10(9) (IUI1.5), 0.75 × 10(9) (IUI0.75), and 0.5 × 10(9) (IUI0.5) sperm cells/dose were evaluated. These factors were also evaluated using a range of farrowing rates (60%-90%), litter sizes (8-14 live-born pigs), and a selected semen collection frequency. The financial impact of the factors was assessed through simulation of a three-way crossbreeding system (maternal nucleus lines A and B and paternal nucleus line C) using ZPLAN. The highest return on investment (profit/cost) of boars was observed at 2.33 collections/wk (three periods of 24 hours between collections). Under this schedule, a significant (P profit. The highest gross return was obtained under S13 with IUI0.75 and IUI0.5. The net profit of S13 was 34.37% higher than the traditional S9 (P profit favored IUI0.5 with relative differences of 4.13%, 2.41%, 1.72%, and 0.43% compared to CAI3, CAI2, IUI1.5, and IUI0

Do Emotional Appeal and Media-context Influence the Effectiveness of TV Commercials for Profit and Non-profit Brands?

OpenAIRE

Roozen, Irene; Claeys, Christel

2009-01-01

This study investigates the impact of emotions, both ad- and context-evoked, on the effectiveness of commercials for non-profit vs. profit brands. Effectiveness is made operational by rational measures, recall and recognition, and by emotional measures, ad likeability and brand attitude. Four different experimental groups were exposed to a sequence of warm and sad commercials for non-profit and profit brands, embedded either in a warm film fragment or a sad one. The results indicate that, ove...

Profitability of Qualified-Labour-Power Production

Science.gov (United States)

Baldino, Roberto Ribeiro; Cabral, Tânia Cristina Baptista

2015-01-01

In Baldino and Cabral (2013) we introduced the concept of qualified labour-power as the commodity produced by the school system. In the present article we outline a quantitative model to evaluate the profit rate of educational programmes. We compare a medical school programme with a teacher education programme at a public university in Brazil,…

[Dendrobium officinale stereoscopic cultivation method].

Science.gov (United States)

Si, Jin-Ping; Dong, Hong-Xiu; Liao, Xin-Yan; Zhu, Yu-Qiu; Li, Hui

2014-12-01

The study is aimed to make the most of available space of Dendrobium officinale cultivation facility, reveal the yield and functional components variation of stereoscopic cultivated D. officinale, and improve quality, yield and efficiency. The agronomic traits and yield variation of stereoscopic cultivated D. officinale were studied by operating field experiment. The content of polysaccharide and extractum were determined by using phenol-sulfuric acid method and 2010 edition of "Chinese Pharmacopoeia" Appendix X A. The results showed that the land utilization of stereoscopic cultivated D. officinale increased 2.74 times, the stems, leaves and their total fresh or dry weight in unit area of stereoscopic cultivated D. officinale were all heavier than those of the ground cultivated ones. There was no significant difference in polysaccharide content between stereoscopic cultivation and ground cultivation. But the extractum content and total content of polysaccharide and extractum were significantly higher than those of the ground cultivated ones. In additional, the polysaccharide content and total content of polysaccharide and extractum from the top two levels of stereoscopic culture matrix were significantly higher than that of the ones from the other levels and ground cultivation. Steroscopic cultivation can effectively improves the utilization of space and yield, while the total content of polysaccharides and extractum were significantly higher than that of the ground cultivated ones. The significant difference in Dendrobium polysaccharides among the plants from different height of stereo- scopic culture matrix may be associated with light factor.

Feasibility Study on Sterilization of Badge using Radiation and Cultivation by Nano-bubble Water for Matsutake Mushroom Cultivation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Inha

2013-12-01

This report on the 'Sterilization of Badge using Radiation and Cultivation by Nano-bubble Water for Matsutake Mushroom Cultivation' is belonged to the final report on the preliminary study of the first subject in 2013 for civilian project. This was complimented on the responsible of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute for 1 st of June 2013 to 30 th of November 2013. We are going to make sterilization the badge using the gamma ray and supplying the oxygen by nano-bubble oxygen rich water for cultivating the Matsutake Mushroom, instead of the conventional process of sterilization of the badge by hot steam over 120 .deg. C consuming over 8 hours and expensive ventilation system for supplying the fresh air for delivering the oxygen

TRANSPARENCY IN ITALIAN NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrizia Gazzola

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to evaluate the accountability and transparency of Italian non profits organizations. The main goal is to understand if a general accountability or transparency problem, or a systematic publicity deficit, exist in the third sector in Italy. Non profit organizations have an ethical obligation to their stakeholder and to the public to conduct their activities with accountability and transparency. Non profit organizations should regularly and openly convey information to the stakeholder about their vision, mission, objectives, activities, accomplishments, decision-making processes and organizational structure. Information from a non profit organization should be easily accessible to the stakeholder and should create external visibility, public understanding and trust in the organization, conditions necessary to find donors. Non profit organizations work with communities and community donors need to know how their money is used. In the first part the analysis of the definition of transparency and accountability is made and the sustainability report like an important instrument of communication is considered. In the second part an empirical research is presented. The Italian law allows taxpayers to devote 5 per thousand of their income tax to non profit organizations, choosing between charities, social promotion associations, recognized associations, entities dedicated to scientific research and health care, universities, municipal social services and other non profit organizations. The present study present a quantitative research and it’s based on an empirical analysis of non-profit organizations that receive this donation in Italy in the year 2010 and 2011. In the paper we analyze the transparency and the accountability of the top 100 non profit organizations that have received the contribution of 5 per thousand, checking whether they prepare their Sustainability Report or any other kind of report for communicate the use

Not for the Profit, but for the Training? Gender Differences in Training in the For-Profit and Non-Profit Sectors

OpenAIRE

Dostie, Benoît; Javdani, Mohsen

2017-01-01

We use Canadian linked employer-employee data to examine gender differences in probability, duration, and intensity of firm-sponsored training. We find that women in the for-profit sector are less likely to receive classroom training, and receive shorter classroom training courses. However, we find the reverse in the non-profit sector, with women being more likely to receive both classroom and on-the-job training, and also receiving longer classroom training courses. Our results suggest that ...

Profit through predictability: The MRF difference at optimax

Science.gov (United States)

Light, Brandon

2007-05-01

In the manufacturing business, there is one product that matters, money. Whether making shoelaces or aircraft carriers a business that doesn't also make a profit doesn't stay around long. Being able to predict operational expenses is critical to determining a product's sale price. Priced too high a product won't sell, too low profit goes away. In the business of precision optics manufacturing, predictability has been often impossible or had large error bars. Manufacturing unpredictability made setting price a challenge. What if predictability could improve by changing the polishing process? Would a predictable, deterministic process lead to profit? Optimax Systems has experienced exactly that. Incorporating Magnetorheological Finishing (MRF) into its finishing process, Optimax saw parts categorized financially as "high risk" become a routine product of higher quality, delivered on time and within budget. Using actual production figures, this presentation will show how much incorporating MRF reduced costs, improved output and increased quality all at the same time.

Industrial management- control and profit a technical approach

CERN Document Server

Halevi, Gideon

2014-01-01

This volume presents controlling tools for management in order to be in a position to communicate with control engineers concerning technological decisions. The main objective of manufacturing management is to make profit. However, in traditional manufacturing systems none of the separate stages in the process support this objective. Management is not expert in any of these stages, and therefore is dependent on specific experts at each stage and must follow their decisions. Each stage has its own first priority which is not profit and cost. This means that management does not have real control over these functional stages, nor over the process as a whole. This book presents controlling tools for management in order to allow them to communicate better with the experts of the particular manufacturing stages to reach better results and higher profits. It is shown that most enterprises can improve their efficiency rate by between 25 and 60% by using the tools developed here.

Public ownership helps boost HMOs' profits.

Science.gov (United States)

Kenkel, P J

1992-05-04

Health maintenance organizations have found that the route to faster growth and better profitability may be turning into a for-profit business and issuing stock. For the past five years, such organizations have generally outperformed their older, not-for-profit counterparts that rely on debt to fuel growth. Since 1988, HMOs have completed 48 stock and debt offerings, raising $3.6 billion.

Degeneration of penicillin production in ethanol-limited chemostat cultivations of Penicillium chrysogenum : A systems biology approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Douma, Rutger D.; Batista, Joana M.; Touw, Kai M.; Kiel, Jan A. K. W.; Zhao, Zheng; Veiga, Tania; Klaassen, Paul; Bovenberg, Roel A. L.; Daran, Jean-Marc; van Gulik, Walter M.; Heijnen, J.J.; Krikken, Arjen

2011-01-01

Background: In microbial production of non-catabolic products such as antibiotics a loss of production capacity upon long-term cultivation (for example chemostat), a phenomenon called strain degeneration, is often observed. In this study a systems biology approach, monitoring changes from gene to

48 CFR 1815.404-471 - NASA structured approach for profit or fee objective.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... for profit or fee objective. 1815.404-471 Section 1815.404-471 Federal Acquisition Regulations System NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES CONTRACTING BY NEGOTIATION Contract Pricing 1815.404-471 NASA structured approach for profit or fee objective. ...

Profit-driven drug testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Collen, Mark

2012-01-01

Random drug testing of people being treated for chronic pain has become more common. Physicians may drug test patients on opioid therapy as a result of concerns over prosecution, drug misuse, addiction, and overdose. However, profit motive has remained unexplored. This article suggests profits also drive physician drug-testing behavior and evidence is offered, including an exploration of Medicare reimbursement incentives and kickbacks for drug testing.

DETERMINANTS OF CHANGES IN WORK PROFITABILITY IN POLISH AGRICULTURE IN 2004-2013

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zbigniew GOLAS

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this work is to analyse the changes in work profitability in Polish agriculture. The analysis is based on the Economic Accounts for Agriculture, i.e. the applicable in the EU harmonised financial statement, which enables the analysis of the economic situation in agriculture according to uniform rules. The basis for the research have been the proposed systems of work profitability indicators and factor analysis (the logarithm method. The research has proven that in the post-accession period work profitability in agriculture increased in real terms on annual average by about 4,47%, and in 2013 in comparison to 2004, work profitability was higher in real terms by almost 60%. In the light of the factor analysis the main determinant of changes in work profitability in the domestic agriculture was the increase in work productivity and production subsidies.

The importance of working capital management for hospital profitability: evidence from bond-issuing, not-for-profit U.S. hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Rauscher, Simone; Wheeler, John R C

2012-01-01

Increased financial pressures on hospitals have elevated the importance of working capital management, that is, the management of current assets and current liabilities, for hospitals' profitability. Efficient working capital management allows hospitals to reduce their holdings of current assets, such as inventory and accounts receivable, which earn no interest income and require financing with short-term debt. The resulting cash inflows can be reinvested in interest-bearing financial instruments or used to reduce short-term borrowing, thus improving the profitability of the organization. This study examines the relationship between hospitals' profitability and their performance at managing two components of working capital: accounts receivable, measured in terms of hospitals' average collection periods, and accounts payable, measured in terms of hospitals' average payment periods. Panel data derived from audited financial statements for 1,397 bond-issuing, not-for-profit U.S. hospitals for 2000-2007 were analyzed using hospital-level fixed-effects regression analysis. The results show a negative relationship between hospitals' average collection period and profitability. That is, hospitals that collected on their patient revenue faster reported higher profit margins than did hospitals that have larger balances of accounts receivable outstanding. We also found a negative relationship between hospitals' average payment period and their profitability. Hospital managers did not appear to delay paying their vendors. Rather, the findings indicated that more profitable hospitals paid their suppliers faster, possibly to avoid high effective interest rates on outstanding accounts payable, whereas less profitable hospitals waited longer to pay their bills. The findings of this study suggest that working capital management indeed matters for hospitals' profitability. Efforts aimed at reducing large balances in both accounts receivable and accounts payable may frequently be

DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS OF BANK PROFITABILITY LEVELS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ante Rozga

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Discriminant analysis has been employed in this paper in order to identify and explain key features of bank profitability levels. Bank profitability is set up in the form of two categorical variables: profit or loss recorded and above or below average return on equity. Predictor variables are selected from various groups of financial indicators usually included in the empirical work on microeconomic determinants of bank profitability. The data from the Croatian banking sector is analyzed using the Enter method. General recommendations for a more profitable business of banking found in the bank management literature and existing empirical framework such as rationalization of overhead costs, asset growth, increase of non-interest income by expanding scale and scope of financial products proved to be important for classification of banks in different profitability levels. A higher market share may bring additional advantages. Classification results, canonical correlation and Wilks’ Lambda test confirm statistical significance of research results. Altogether, discriminant analysis turns out to be a suitable statistical method for solving presented research problem and moving forward from the bankruptcy, credit rating or default issues in finance.

Profitability Analysis of Soybean Oil Processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Ming-Hsun; Rosentrater, Kurt A

2017-10-07

Soybean oil production is the basic process for soybean applications. Cash flow analysis is used to estimate the profitability of a manufacturing venture. Besides capital investments, operating costs, and revenues, the interest rate is the factor to estimate the net present value (NPV), break-even points, and payback time; which are benchmarks for profitability evaluation. The positive NPV and reasonable payback time represent a profitable process, and provide an acceptable projection for real operating. Additionally, the capacity of the process is another critical factor. The extruding-expelling process and hexane extraction are the two typical approaches used in industry. When the capacities of annual oil production are larger than 12 and 173 million kg respectively, these two processes are profitable. The solvent free approach, known as enzyme assisted aqueous extraction process (EAEP), is profitable when the capacity is larger than 17 million kg of annual oil production.

Profitability Analysis of Soybean Oil Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming-Hsun Cheng

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Soybean oil production is the basic process for soybean applications. Cash flow analysis is used to estimate the profitability of a manufacturing venture. Besides capital investments, operating costs, and revenues, the interest rate is the factor to estimate the net present value (NPV, break-even points, and payback time; which are benchmarks for profitability evaluation. The positive NPV and reasonable payback time represent a profitable process, and provide an acceptable projection for real operating. Additionally, the capacity of the process is another critical factor. The extruding-expelling process and hexane extraction are the two typical approaches used in industry. When the capacities of annual oil production are larger than 12 and 173 million kg respectively, these two processes are profitable. The solvent free approach, known as enzyme assisted aqueous extraction process (EAEP, is profitable when the capacity is larger than 17 million kg of annual oil production.

Coordination of Nordic system operators in the electric power market - profit from improved capacity utilization and a more flexible division into price zones

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bjoerndal, Mette; Joernsten, Kurt

2001-08-01

This report evaluates the possible profits of establishing a common system operator function in the Nordic electric power market. The main focus is placed on how to deal with congestion in the transmission grid. To estimate possible profits from a better utilization of the resources in the Nordic grid, the authors have analyzed socio-economic profits for several load scenarios. A simplified model of the Nordic stock area was used in the calculations. The existence of two methods of dealing with congestion in the grid may lead to reduced capacity utilization and to greater price differences than necessary. The examples show that ''indirect'' congestion control may be very expensive and that considerable cost reduction can be achieved by improved exploitation of congestion. This implies that if the Nordic area is divided into price zones, it is advantageous to regard the grid as an entity independent of national borders and system operators and to let the real transmission limitations determine the price zoning

Microgravity cultivation of cells and tissues

Science.gov (United States)

Freed, L. E.; Pellis, N.; Searby, N.; de Luis, J.; Preda, C.; Bordonaro, J.; Vunjak-Novakovic, G.

1999-01-01

In vitro studies of cells and tissues in microgravity, either simulated by cultivation conditions on earth or actual, during spaceflight, are expected to help identify mechanisms underlying gravity sensing and transduction in biological organisms. In this paper, we review rotating bioreactor studies of engineered skeletal and cardiovascular tissues carried out in unit gravity, a four month long cartilage tissue engineering study carried out aboard the Mir Space Station, and the ongoing laboratory development and testing of a system for cell and tissue cultivation aboard the International Space Station.

Improving profitability in a grassroots refinery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coombs, T. [Star Petroleum Refining Co. Ltd. (Thailand); Kennedy, P.; Bhargava, S. [KBC Process Technology Ltd. (United Kingdom)

1999-05-01

Actions taken to maximise profit at the Star Refinery in Thailand are described. The company made good use of the Profit Improvement Programme (PIP) (which specialises in refinery economics) and the way in which PIP addressed the problem and the benefits derived therefrom is the nub of this paper. The efforts appear to have been more than satisfactory from the aspect of increasing profit margins. (UK)

Impact of robotic operative efficiency on profitability.

Science.gov (United States)

Geller, Elizabeth J; Matthews, Catherine A

2013-07-01

We sought to determine the impact of robotic operative efficiency on profitability and assess the impact of secondary variables. Financial data were collected for all robotic cases performed for fiscal years 2010 (FY10) and 2011 (FY11) at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and included 9 surgical subspecialties. Profitability was defined as a positive operating income. From July 2009 through June 2011, 1295 robotic cases were performed. Robotic surgery was profitable in both fiscal years, with an operating income of $386,735 in FY10 and $822,996 in FY11. In FY10, urogynecology and pediatric surgery were the only nonprofitable subspecialties. In FY11, all subspecialties were profitable. Profitability was associated with case time, payor mix, and procedure type (all P profitability regardless of surgical specialty. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Dicentrarchus labrax meats and the vegetable quality of Beta vulgaris var. Cicla farmed in freshwater and saltwater aquaponic systems

OpenAIRE

Nozzi, Valentina; Parisi, Giuliana; Di Crescenzo, Davide; Giordano, Mario; Carnevali, Oliana

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to exploit the euryhaline nature of commercially attractive species for their cultivation in freshwater aquaponic systems. This approach may increase the profitability of aquaponic production in coastal countries where the consumption of marine fish is traditional and of commercial relevance. For this purpose, juvenile European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) were reared in an aquaponic freshwater (AFW) system and an aquaponic saltwater (ASW) system (salinity 20 p...

Can agricultural Cultivation Methods Influence the Healthfulness of Crops for Foods?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Melballe Jensen, Maja; Jørgensen, Henry; Halekoh, Ulrich

2012-01-01

The aim of the current study was to investigate if there are any health effects of long-term consumption of organically grown crops using a rat model. Crops were retrieved over two years from a long-term field trial at three different locations in Denmark, using three different cultivation systems....... Additionally, the nutritional quality was affected by harvest year and location. However, harvest year and location rather than cultivation system affected the measured health biomarkers. In conclusion, the differences in dietary treatments composed of ingredients from different cultivation systems did...... not lead to significant differences in the measured health biomarkers, except for a significant difference in plasma IgG levels....

Study on profits and the financial position of the Dutch power transmission system operator Tennet 2005-2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-12-01

A study has been conducted into the profits of the grid operator of the Dutch national high-voltage power transmission system operator TenneT in the years 2005 to 2009. Also attention is paid to the financial position of TenneT. These results are taken into account with regard to method decisions for TenneT in the fifth regulatory period. [nl

Feasibility Study on Sterilization of Badge using Radiation and Cultivation by Nano-bubble Water for Matsutake Mushroom Cultivation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Inha

2013-12-15

This report on the 'Sterilization of Badge using Radiation and Cultivation by Nano-bubble Water for Matsutake Mushroom Cultivation' is belonged to the final report on the preliminary study of the first subject in 2013 for civilian project. This was complimented on the responsible of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute for 1{sup st} of June 2013 to 30{sup th} of November 2013. We are going to make sterilization the badge using the gamma ray and supplying the oxygen by nano-bubble oxygen rich water for cultivating the Matsutake Mushroom, instead of the conventional process of sterilization of the badge by hot steam over 120 .deg. C consuming over 8 hours and expensive ventilation system for supplying the fresh air for delivering the oxygen.

Cultivation-Independent and Cultivation-Dependent Analysis of Microbes in the Shallow-Sea Hydrothermal System Off Kueishantao Island, Taiwan: Unmasking Heterotrophic Bacterial Diversity and Functional Capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Kai; Zhang, Yao; Lin, Dan; Han, Yu; Chen, Chen-Tung A; Wang, Deli; Lin, Yu-Shih; Sun, Jia; Zheng, Qiang; Jiao, Nianzhi

2018-01-01

Shallow-sea hydrothermal systems experience continuous fluctuations of physicochemical conditions due to seawater influx which generates variable habitats, affecting the phylogenetic composition and metabolic potential of microbial communities. Until recently, studies of submarine hydrothermal communities have focused primarily on chemolithoautotrophic organisms, however, there have been limited studies on heterotrophic bacteria. Here, fluorescence in situ hybridization, high throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and functional metagenomes were used to assess microbial communities from the shallow-sea hydrothermal system off Kueishantao Island, Taiwan. The results showed that the shallow-sea hydrothermal system harbored not only autotrophic bacteria but abundant heterotrophic bacteria. The potential for marker genes sulfur oxidation and carbon fixation were detected in the metagenome datasets, suggesting a role for sulfur and carbon cycling in the shallow-sea hydrothermal system. Furthermore, the presence of diverse genes that encode transporters, glycoside hydrolases, and peptidase indicates the genetic potential for heterotrophic utilization of organic substrates. A total of 408 cultivable heterotrophic bacteria were isolated, in which the taxonomic families typically associated with oligotrophy, copiotrophy, and phototrophy were frequently found. The cultivation-independent and -dependent analyses performed herein show that Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria represent the dominant heterotrophs in the investigated shallow-sea hydrothermal system. Genomic and physiological characterization of a novel strain P5 obtained in this study, belonging to the genus Rhodovulum within Alphaproteobacteria, provides an example of heterotrophic bacteria with major functional capacity presented in the metagenome datasets. Collectively, in addition to autotrophic bacteria, the shallow-sea hydrothermal system also harbors many heterotrophic bacteria with versatile

The strategic value of customer profitability analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Raaij, van E.M.

2005-01-01

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to show how intelligence emanating from customer profitability analysis (CPA) can help improve strategic marketing planning. Insights into the profitability of individual customers, as well as the distribution of profitability across the customer base, can lead to

Chemical plant protection outlays in vast areas farming at the beginning of 21st century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Golinowska

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In 2008, several investigations were conducted in the area of chemical plant protection outlays in two vast area farms where simplified system of farming was applied. Analysed outlays consisted of: use of pesticides in kilograms of active substance per 1 ha and real costs of plant protection procedures. Profitability of the outlay was identified with approximate indicator of outlay E1 and E2. The research showed that farm during plant production use from 1 to 10.28 kg AS/ha. Costs of these procedures ranged from 100.50 to 1253.84 PLN/ha depending on the cultivated plant. Profitability of plant protection procedures in wheat and rape cultivation was at the same level in both farms. The highest profitability was reached by maize cultivation.

Alternative profit rate shariah-compliant for islamic banking

Science.gov (United States)

Gazali, Nadhirah; Halim, Nurfadhlina Abdul; Ghazali, Puspa Liza

2017-09-01

Profit is the aims for Islamic banking and conventional banking. Determination of profit in Islamic banking in Malaysia depends on the profit rate, whereas profit rate is essentially from reference rate which is known as the base rate (BR). However, the determination of the components contained in the BR such as benchmark cost of funds and the statutory reserve requirement (SRR) is non-compliance with the Shariah because its directly proportional to the overnight policy rate (OPR). Therefore, an alternative formula for the profit rate are proposed which is known as the base profit rate (BPR). Construction of BPR formula is based on the principle that are more Shariah-compliant.

Comparative Corporate Governance of Non-Profit Organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Steen

2014-01-01

Based on the impressive work of Hopt and von Hippel (2010), I review the comparative corporate governance of non-profit organizations and propose topics for future research. There is evidence of agency problems in non-profit as well as for-profit organizations, but the governance mechanisms...

PROFIT SENSITIVITY IN THE DECISION - MAKING PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimi Ofilean

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Projections on the profitability of an entity is a prerequisite impact assessment of implementing various management strategies. The literature did not include a model sensitivity analysis in terms of profit margin of safety modification and safety coefficient. This article aims to explicit solutions for identifying the factors that influence the sensitivity of profit, the proposed analytical models to change the margin of safety (physical and value and coefficient of safety. The model allows the determination of limits that can increase or decrease sales costs so that the company remains profitable, ie to be able to maintain an adequate level of profit. This analysis allows knowing the influence of each factor in the evolution of the profitability of the entity, allowing managers to adopt the right decisions based on the importance of the influence of the analysis results of the entity. To facilitate understanding of the proposed analytical model is presented a case study.

Improving farming practices using multi-criteria decision analysis in geographic information system for Damask Rose cultivating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Shokati

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Lack of awareness of the critical factors involved in production of plants and sometimes, the cultivation of plants in areas unsusceptible to plant, can increase the amount of chemical fertilizer consumption in order to compensate the subsequent reduction of plant yield. This would increase environmental pollution. Thus, identifying of suitable areas where could supply plants initial needs of the environment is critical. For this goal, several criteria including soil conditions, climatologically indicators, topography situation and agro-climatology criteria were taken into account of modeling processing. Doing so, standardization process was performed on criteria and weighting process was performed by using of analytic hierarchy process approach. Geographical information system based on multi-criteria decision analysis was employed for weighted overlapping of indicators. Initial results indicated that East-Azerbaijan Province in the northern part of Iran has high potential for cultivating of Damask Rose. Results indicate that about 34.4% of East Azerbaijan Province has classified to be high suitability for cultivating this plant, while about 65.5 and 0.1 % of this area classified to be in the moderate and low suitability category respectively. In comparison of Damask Rose production during the 2014 and resulted analytic hierarchy process map results showed that areas with high suitability are not more under cultivation of this plant. Then, the findings of this study are great of importance for the purpose of regional planning in East-Azerbaijan Province.

Economic and energy assessment of minimalized soil tillage methods in maize cultivation

OpenAIRE

Piotr Szulc; Andrzej Dubas

2014-01-01

Grain yield of maize cultivated in the years 1997-2009 in monoculture and with annual tillage simplifications was assessed in energy and economy terms. Effects of no-tillage system and direct sowing (D) with cultivation with autumn deep (A) and shallow (B) ploughing and cultivation with spring pre-sowing ploughing (C) were compared. It was demonstrated that the 13-year maize grain yield in no-tillage system and direct sowing was lower by 10.4% than the yield obtained in conventional tillage s...

Cancer: a profit-driven biosystem?

Science.gov (United States)

Deisboeck, Thomas S

2008-08-01

The argument is made that solid malignant tumors behave as profit-driven biological systems in that they expand their nutrient-uptaking surface to increase energetic revenue, at a comparably low metabolic cost. Within this conceptual framework, cancer cell migration is a critical mechanism as it maximizes systemic surface expansion while minimizing diffusion distance. Treating these tumor systems with adjuvant anti-proliferative regimen only should increase the energetic net gain of the viable cancer cells left behind, hence would facilitate tumor recurrence. Therapeutic attempts to better control tumor (re)growth should therefore aim primarily at containing its surface expansion, thus reducing its energetic revenue, or increasing its metabolic costs or better yet, both.

Liquidity risk and profitability: An assessment of Nigerian banks ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

International Journal of Development and Management Review ... The paper examines liquidity risk and profitability from the Nigerian banking sector perspective. ... financial system, which in turn would assist financial institutions to evaluate ...

Aggregate Stability of Tropical Soils Under Long-Term Eucalyptus Cultivation

Science.gov (United States)

Eucalyptus cultivation has increased in all Brazilian regions. Despite the large amount of cultivated area, little is known about how this kind of management system affects soil properties, mainly the aggregate stability. Aggregate stability analyses have proved to be a sensitive tool to measure soi...

DETERMINANTS OF BANK PROFITABILITY: EVIDENCE FROM US

OpenAIRE

Cheng, Yinglin; Huang, Yating

2017-01-01

This paper examines the variables that affect bank profitability. We construct a sample of US banks from 2003 to 2015, and use return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) to measure bank profitability. We find that banks with higher profitability are the banks that have: (1) a higher deposits to total asset ratio, (2) a higher diversification ratio, and (3) higher operational efficiency. We also find that better-capitalized banks tend to be more profitable only when we use ROA as the me...

Categories of Profit and Effectiveness of Business Activity in the System of Market Values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niyazi Musa ogly Ismailov

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The article describes the approaches to the interpretation of economic categories “profit” and “effectiveness of business activity”, studies the essence and manifestations of these concepts in business that allows us to consider their place in the system of market valuables. Due to the necessity of a broader view of the success of the business, the author discussed the basic provisions of methodological individualism in the categories of economic theory of property rights. Disclosing them the author focuses on the characteristics which show the formation of operating results in achieving its ultimate goal. Details reveal a mixed situation in respect of the appointment of the rate of profit in modern conditions, the potential motives and incentives of human activity. A list of targeted economic outcomes correlates with the solved economic issues. For example, when you build and study the business model in the form of chains of forming and maintaining value the most appropriate terms that define the goal of firms are profitability, balance and optimality. In this article, the following results are obtained: 1 terminological analysis of targeted economic results, which are put in touch in an appropriate relationship to solve economic problem; 2 conclusion on the profit’s universality and absoluteness loss in direct characterization of business activity effectiveness.

Why public health services? Experiences from profit-driven health care reforms in Sweden.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahlgren, Göran

2014-01-01

Market-oriented health care reforms have been implemented in the tax-financed Swedish health care system from 1990 to 2013. The first phase of these reforms was the introduction of new public management systems, where public health centers and public hospitals were to act as private firms in an internal health care market. A second phase saw an increase of tax-financed private for-profit providers. A third phase can now be envisaged with increased private financing of essential health services. The main evidence-based effects of these markets and profit-driven reforms can be summarized as follows: efficiency is typically reduced but rarely increased; profit and tax evasion are a drain on resources for health care; geographical and social inequities are widened while the number of tax-financed providers increases; patients with major multi-health problems are often given lower priority than patients with minor health problems; opportunities to control the quality of care are reduced; tax-financed private for-profit providers facilitate increased private financing; and market forces and commercial interests undermine the power of democratic institutions. Policy options to promote further development of a nonprofit health care system are highlighted.

Profitability expertise of rural methanization projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-02-01

The main objectives of this study were to analyze the profitability of projects of methanization, and to identify factors which curb or favour their profitability. It is based on a detailed analysis of the investment and of the profitability of 50 sites of different sizes and at different stages of progress (from the feasibility study to few months of operation), and also of experiences in three neighbour countries (Germany, Switzerland and Belgium). First, the study highlights the importance of investment costs in the biogas production global cost, notably with respect to current German prices. Then, it comments the impact of subsidies on facility profitability. It proposes ways to improve public support to the different energetic vectors produced from biogas: electricity, biomethane, and heat

Cannabis cultivation in Spain: A profile of plantations, growers and production systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez, Arturo; Gamella, Juan F; Parra, Iván

2016-11-01

The European market for cannabis derivatives is being transformed. The cultivation of cannabis within the EU and the shift of demand from hashish to domestic marihuana are key aspects of this transformation. Spain, formerly central to the trade of Moroccan hashish, is becoming a marihuana-producing country. The emergence of "import-substitution" has been researched in other EU countries, but thus far the Spanish case remains undocumented. This paper is based on analysis of data of 748 cannabis plantations seized by Spanish police in 2013. The sample comprises reports of seizures identified through a survey of online news and police reports. "Event-analysis" methods were applied to these sources. The analysis offers a typology of plantations, a profile of participants and the different production systems, and a model of regional distribution. Half of the plantations were small (less than 42 plants) and half contained between 100 and 1000 plants, with an average size of 261 plants. About three-quarters of plants were cultivated indoors using stolen electricity. 86% of all plants seized were from large-scale plantations (more than 220 plants). Most plantations were located along the Mediterranean coast, where population and tourism are concentrated. Over three-quarters of those indicted by police were Spanish (85%). Among the foreign owners of big plantations, Dutch nationals predominated. The number of seized plants by province was directly associated with the number of grow shops (β=0.962, pcannabis plantations in the Spanish Mediterranean coast is increasingly replacing import of Moroccan hashish. Indoor cultivation supported by grow shops, that provide the technology and know-how, seem to be the dominant form of organization in this emerging industry. Large-scale plantations may have met most of the demand for marihuana in 2013. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Piggerywaste management and profitability of pig farming in Imo ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Open Access DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ... Piggery waste management systems in the study area were identified and described, the farm profitability ... Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, operating net returns and benefit cost ratio.

Financialization and financial profit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arturo Guillén

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This article starts from the critical review of the concept of financial capital. I consider it is necessary not to confuse this category with of financialization, which has acquired a certificate of naturalization from the rise of neoliberalism. Although financial monopoly-financial capital is the hegemonic segment of the bourgeoisie in the major capitalist countries, their dominance does not imply, a fortiori, financialization of economic activity, since it depends of the conditions of the process reproduction of capital. The emergence of joint stock companies modified the formation of the average rate of profit. The "promoter profit" becomes one of the main forms of income of monopoly-financial capital. It is postulated that financial profit is a kind of "extraordinary surplus-value" which is appropriated by monopoly-financial capital by means of the monopolistic control it exerts on the issue and circulation of fictitious capital.

The benefits of customer profitability analysis in the hospitality industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragan Georgiev

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article reveals the benefits of customer profitability analysis implementation according to the specifics of the hotel product and the state of the management accounting in hotels. On this basis is substantiated the necessity management accounting and information systems in the hotels to be anteriorly adapted and developed in relevance with the objectives and methodological tools of customer profitability analysis, while keeping their function in collecting information for operational revenues and costs by responsibility centers. A model for customer profitability analysis based on ABC method is proposed in this connection, providing an example to clarify its methodological aspects and benefits. The latter consist in providing information for the purposes of taking a variety of management decisions regarding costs, product mix, pricing, performance measurement and implementation of various marketing initiatives.

Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of Glycyrrhiza uralensis root extracts produced using artificial hydroponic and artificial hydroponic-field hybrid cultivation systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Akiyama, H; Nose, M; Ohtsuki, N; Hisaka, S; Takiguchi, H; Tada, A; Sugimoto, N; Fuchino, H; Inui, T; Kawano, N; Hayashi, S; Hishida, A; Kudo, T; Sugiyama, K; Abe, Y; Mutsuga, M; Kawahara, N; Yoshimatsu, K

2017-01-01

Glycyrrhiza uralensis roots used in this study were produced using novel cultivation systems, including artificial hydroponics and artificial hydroponic-field hybrid cultivation. The equivalency between G. uralensis root extracts produced by hydroponics and/or hybrid cultivation and a commercial Glycyrrhiza crude drug were evaluated for both safety and efficacy, and there were no significant differences in terms of mutagenicity on the Ames tests. The levels of cadmium and mercury in both hydroponic roots and crude drugs were less than the limit of quantitation. Arsenic levels were lower in all hydroponic roots than in the crude drug, whereas mean lead levels in the crude drug were not significantly different from those in the hydroponically cultivated G. uralensis roots. Both hydroponic and hybrid-cultivated root extracts showed antiallergic activities against contact hypersensitivity that were similar to those of the crude drug extracts. These study results suggest that hydroponic and hybrid-cultivated roots are equivalent in safety and efficacy to those of commercial crude drugs. Further studies are necessary before the roots are applicable as replacements for the currently available commercial crude drugs produced from wild plant resources.

Fungal cultivation on glass-beads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Droce, Aida; Sørensen, Jens Laurids; Giese, Henriette

Transcription of various bioactive compounds and enzymes are dependent on fungal cultivation method. In this study we cultivate Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium solani on glass-beads with liquid media in petri dishes as an easy and inexpensive cultivation method, that resembles in secondary...... metabolite production to agar-cultivation but with an easier and more pure RNA-extraction of total fungal mycelia....

Competition and Profitability in European Financial Services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Balling, Morten; Lierman, F.; Mullineux, A.

Financial services firms play a key role in the European economy. The efficiency and profitability of these firms and the competition among them have an impact on allocation of savings, financing of investment, economic growth, the stability of the financial system and the transmission of monetary...... policy. This collection of research contributions includes evaluations of trends in the European financial service industry and examinations of the driving forces of efficiency, competition and profitability of financial firms and institutions in Europe. The papers have been written by leading academics...... and researchers in the field, who specialize in strategic, systematic and policy issues related to the European financial services industry. This edited collection will be will be essential reading for students and academics but will also be of interest to financial practitioners and government officials...

EP BASED PSO METHOD FOR SOLVING PROFIT BASED MULTI AREA UNIT COMMITMENT PROBLEM

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K. VENKATESAN

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a new approach to solve the profit based multi area unit commitment problem (PBMAUCP using an evolutionary programming based particle swarm optimization (EPPSO method. The objective of this paper is to maximize the profit of generation companies (GENCOs with considering system social benefit. The proposed method helps GENCOs to make a decision, how much power and reserve should be sold in markets, and how to schedule generators in order to receive the maximum profit. Joint operation of generation resources can result in significant operational cost savings. Power transfer between the areas through the tie lines depends upon the operating cost of generation at each hour and tie line transfer limits. The tie line transfer limits were considered as a set of constraints during optimization process to ensure the system security and reliability. The overall algorithm can be implemented on an IBM PC, which can process a fairly large system in a reasonable period of time. Case study of four areas with different load pattern each containing 7 units (NTPS and 26 units connected via tie lines have been taken for analysis. Numerical results showed comparing the profit of evolutionary programming-based particle swarm optimization method (EPPSO with conventional dynamic programming (DP, evolutionary programming (EP, and particle swarm optimization (PSO method. Experimental results shows that the application of this evolutionary programming based particle swarm optimization method have the potential to solve profit based multi area unit commitment problem with lesser computation time.

Macroeconomic and industry-specific determinants of Greek bank profitability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zampara, K.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the external factors that influence the profitability of a typical Greek systemic bank over the period 2001 – 2014. Design/Methodology/Approach: A conceptual framework incorporating two fundamental groups of const ructs, namely, macroeconomic forces and industry related factors, was developed. Two constructs were examined in the former: GDP growth rate and unemployment rate, whilst two attributes were explored in the latter; the bank's market share, both in terms of deposits and in terms of assets, and the banking market growth, also both in terms of the market's total assets and total deposits. In order to isolate the effects of the ongoing financial crisis, the research was undertaken for two periods, firstly 2001 to 2014 and secondly, the period 2001 - 2011, which excluded the deep recession. Consequently, multiple regression analysis was conducted and linear models were specified by means of OLS. Findings: The empirical analysis revealed that both macroeconomic forces and industry-related factors affect bank profitability. As far as the macroeconomic factors are concerned, unemployment rate has a negative impact, whereas the GDP growth rate has a positive impact on bank profitability. The industry -related factors, rate of growth of the industry's deposits and bank's assets market share have a positive impact on the financial performance of the bank. Finally, the rate of growth of the industry's assets and the bank's deposits market share have a negative effect on bank profitability. Originality/Value: This study reveals the mechanism determining bank profitability over a recent period that includes the financial crisis. Moreover, understanding the impact of macroeconomic forces as well as industry related attributes on bank profitability may enable banks to focus on the most critical factors in their decision process.

Technological and profitable analysis of airlifting in deep sea mining systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ma, W.; van Rhee, C.; Schott, D.L.

2017-01-01

Airlifting technology utilized in deep-sea mining (DSM) industry was proposed in the 70s of last century, which was triggered by the discovery of vast amounts of mineral resources on the seabed. The objective of this paper is to assess the technological feasibility and profitability analyses in

Hydro-Quebec is profitable

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poirier, M.

1997-01-01

The pros and cons of the potential privatisation of Hydro-Quebec were discussed. A brief review of charges of less than competent management, low profitability and the corporation's recent administrative restructuring was presented. The general thrust of the argument was that Hydro-Quebec plays a crucial role in the economic development of Quebec, it can be made to be more profitable and that for the good of Quebec it should continue as a public corporation under the control of the provincial government

Fractal profit landscape of the stock market.

Science.gov (United States)

Grönlund, Andreas; Yi, Il Gu; Kim, Beom Jun

2012-01-01

We investigate the structure of the profit landscape obtained from the most basic, fluctuation based, trading strategy applied for the daily stock price data. The strategy is parameterized by only two variables, p and q Stocks are sold and bought if the log return is bigger than p and less than -q, respectively. Repetition of this simple strategy for a long time gives the profit defined in the underlying two-dimensional parameter space of p and q. It is revealed that the local maxima in the profit landscape are spread in the form of a fractal structure. The fractal structure implies that successful strategies are not localized to any region of the profit landscape and are neither spaced evenly throughout the profit landscape, which makes the optimization notoriously hard and hypersensitive for partial or limited information. The concrete implication of this property is demonstrated by showing that optimization of one stock for future values or other stocks renders worse profit than a strategy that ignores fluctuations, i.e., a long-term buy-and-hold strategy.

The Nigerian Statements of Accounting Standards and Ribh (Profit ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Nigerian Statements of Accounting Standards and Ribh (Profit) in an ... the years on Islamic finance and interest-based economic-system has been concerned ... However, Islamic accounting uses both historical cost concept and current ...

Valuation of Volunteer Work in the Satellite Account of Non-Profit Institutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Václav Rybáček

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Volunteer work constitutes an important input into the activities of non-profit institutions. However, in the core system of national accounts, volunteering falls outside the production boundary even if it leads to the production of services. By doing so, national accounts inevitably underestimates the contribution of non-profit institutions to the well-being. This shortcoming is overcome by the Satellite Account of Non-profit Institutions complementing and extending the concept of national accounts chiefly by incorporation of the value of volunteering and by full coverage of non-profit institutions classified in a number of economic sectors. This paper is an attempt to address the key issue that is the way of volunteer work´s valuation for analytical purposes. We will discuss different approaches to the valuation and their impact on key macroeconomic aggregates.

Assessment of the Agronomic Feasibility of Bioenergy Crop Cultivation on Marginal and Polluted Land: A GIS-Based Suitability Study from the Sulcis Area, Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giuseppe Pulighe

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In the context of environmental sustainability there has been an increasing interest in bioenergy production from renewable resources, and is expected that European biofuel production from energy crops will increase as a consequence of the achievement of policy targets. The aim of this paper is to assess the agronomic feasibility of biomass crop cultivation to provide profitable renewable feedstocks in a marginal and heavy-metal polluted area located in the Sulcis district, Sardinia (Italy. Results from literature review and unpublished data from field trials carried out in Sardinia were analysed to establish the main agronomic traits of crops (e.g., yield potential and input requirements. A Geographical Information System (GIS-based procedure with remotely sensed data is also used to evaluate the land suitability and the actual land use/cover, considering a future scenario of expansion of energy crops on these marginal areas avoiding potential conflicts with food production. The results of the review suggests that giant reed, native perennial grasses and milk thistle are the most suitable energy crops for this area. The land suitability analysis shows that about 5700 ha and 1000 ha could be available for feedstock cultivation in the study area and in the most polluted area, respectively. The results obtained from land suitability process and agronomic evaluation will serve as a base to support technical and economical feasibility studies, as well as for the evaluation of environmental sustainability of the cultivation in the study area.

Study of the evolution of nitrogen compounds during grape ripening. application to differentiate grape varieties and cultivated systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Garde-Cerdán, Teresa; Lorenzo, Cándida; Lara, José Félix; Pardo, Francisco; Ancín-Azpilicueta, Carmen; Salinas, M Rosario

2009-03-25

The aim of this work was to study the evolution of amino acids and ammonium during grape ripening and to evaluate its application to differentiate grape varieties and cultivated systems (organic and nonorganic). For this purpose, Monastrell, Syrah, Merlot, and Petit Verdot grapes produced using conventional agriculture and Monastrell grape cultivated using organic agriculture, collected during two consecutive harvests at different stages of ripening, were studied. These years of harvest were very different climatic years; even so, the grape varieties presented similar qualitative compositions. Therefore, the percentage of amino acids at harvest moment allowed differentiation of grapes according to variety and cultivated system, regardless of the year. The nitrogen composition could allow estimation of the fermentative aroma potential of grapes. Thus, Syrah was the grape with the greatest aroma potential at harvest. Monastrell nonorganic grape had a concentration of nitrogen compounds superior to that of Monastrell organic grape. In Monastrell, Syrah, and Merlot, traditional varieties in the area, the highest concentration of nitrogen compounds coincided with the highest degrees Baume/total acidity ratio and color index during 2007. Consequently, technological and phenolic maturity of these grape varieties coincided with the maximum composition of nitrogen compounds. However, in 2008, this did not happen because grape ripening was irregular as a consequence of different climatological conditions.

The effects of agricultural subsidies on sunflower cultivation and farmers income: evidence from turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Semerci, A.

2012-01-01

In this study the effects of both premium support application on sunflower cultivation area, production amount and support payments on producer income are investigated. In this study it is concluded that premium supports are inefficient on increasing sunflower cultivation area and production whereas it is concluded that it has an important role on producer income and in the determination of the market price. In fact, from a survey that we have carried out, it emerges that the area-based support (diesel oil, fertilizer etc. support) together with premium support increase the revenue of sunflower up to 27.74% per unit area and the gross profit in the proportion of 98.87%. This study indicates that in order to increase the sunflower production in Turkey the amounts of sunflower premium support, diesel oil and fertilizer should be rearranged in compliance with current market conditions. Moreover, for other agricultural products, the use of certified seed should also be included into agricultural support programmes. Production on well irrigated areas should be widened and the use of oil crops varieties with high oil ratio should be extended. (author)

Price and Profit Optimization for Financial Services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catalina Bolancé

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Prospective customers of financial and insurance products can be targeted based on the profit the provider expects to earn from them. We present a model for individual expected profit and two alternatives for calculating optimal personalized prices that maximize the expected profit. For one of these alternatives, we obtain a closed-form expression for the price offered to each prospective customer; for the other, we need to use a numerical approximation. In both approaches, the profits generated by prospective customers are not immediately observed, given that the products sold by these companies have a risk component. We assume that willingness to pay is heterogeneous and apply our methodology using real data from a European insurance company. Our study indicates that a substantial boost in profits can be expected when applying the simplest optimal pricing method proposed.

Research on cultivating medical students' self-learning ability using teaching system integrated with learning analysis technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Hong; Wu, Cheng; He, Qian; Wang, Shi-Yong; Ma, Xiu-Qiang; Wang, Ri; Li, Bing; He, Jia

2015-01-01

Along with the advancement of information technology and the era of big data education, using learning process data to provide strategic decision-making in cultivating and improving medical students' self-learning ability has become a trend in educational research. Educator Abuwen Toffler said once, the illiterates in the future may not be the people not able to read and write, but not capable to know how to learn. Serving as educational institutions cultivating medical students' learning ability, colleges and universities should not only instruct specific professional knowledge and skills, but also develop medical students' self-learning ability. In this research, we built a teaching system which can help to restore medical students' self-learning processes and analyze their learning outcomes and behaviors. To evaluate the effectiveness of the system in supporting medical students' self-learning, an experiment was conducted in 116 medical students from two grades. The results indicated that problems in self-learning process through this system was consistent with problems raised from traditional classroom teaching. Moreover, the experimental group (using this system) acted better than control group (using traditional classroom teaching) to some extent. Thus, this system can not only help medical students to develop their self-learning ability, but also enhances the ability of teachers to target medical students' questions quickly, improving the efficiency of answering questions in class.

Study notes separability of oil company profitability, efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thompson, R.G.

1993-01-01

In recent years, the large publicly traded oil companies have been restructuring and downsizing to improve efficiency. Newly developed decision theory forces one to question the widely held singular focus on efficiency because improving efficiency will not necessarily improve profits. This is especially likely in the oil industry, where price volatility is the norm. Because its products are so basic, its price volatility typically ripples widely throughout the economy. In light of this, efficiency and profitability in the oil industry require separate treatment. More specifically, the efficient are not necessarily the most profitable; conversely, the most profitable are not necessarily the most efficient. Such a decoupling of efficiency and profitability requires a totally new look at business strategy. In the face of highly variable prices, firms can no longer depend on the long-accepted duality norm between profits and efficiency

Net profit flow per country from 1980 to 2009: The long-term effects of foreign direct investment.

Science.gov (United States)

Akkermans, Dirk H M

2017-01-01

The paper aims at describing and explaining net profit flows per country for the period 1980-2009. Net profit flows result from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock and profit repatriation: inward stock creating a profit outflow and outward FDI stock a profit inflow. Profit flows, especially 'normal' ones are not commonly researched. According to world-system theory, countries are part of a system characterised by a core, semi-periphery and periphery, as shown by network analyses of trade relations. Network analyses based on ownership relations of TransNational Corporations (TNCs) show that the top 50 firms that control about 40% of the world economy are almost exclusively located in core countries. So, we may expect a hierarchy in net profit flows with core countries on top and the periphery at the bottom. FDI outflows from the core countries especially rose in the 1990s, so we may expect that the difference has grown in time. A dataset on 'net profit flow' per country is developed. There are diverging developments in net profit flows since the 1980s, as expected: ever more positive for core countries, negative and ever lower for semi-peripheral and peripheral countries, in particular from the 1990s onwards. A fixed effects quantile regression using publicly available data confirms the prediction that peripheral countries share a unique characteristic: their outward investments do not have a positive influence on net profit flow as is the case with semi-peripheral and core countries. The most probable explanation is that peripheral outward investments are indirectly owned by firms located in core and semi-peripheral countries, so all peripheral profit inflows end up in those countries.

Meet the New For-Profit: The Low-Profit

Science.gov (United States)

Blumenstyk, Goldie

2012-01-01

"Doing well by doing good" is the business mantra of the for-profit-college industry. But one does not have to look far to find people who question the slogan's sincerity or the very legitimacy of that model. And that was even before reports of some companies' abusive student-recruiting practices and questionable educational standards fed a public…

Evaluation of the cultivation of the lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. under organoponico and semi-protected systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dania Bárbara Núñez Sosa

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The research was done in the organoponico at the Soil Laboratory in Matanzas. The objective was to evaluate the response of the of the lettuce (Lactuca sativa, L. cultivation under conditions of organoponic and Semi-protected cultivation systems. Two varieties were studied: Fomento 95 and Black Seeded Simpson (BSS. The random block design was used. The data were processed using the Statgraphic plus 5.1 package for WINDOWS. The total number of leaves, number of commercial leaves, diameter of bush, yield in kg/m2, total content of soluble proteins and carbohydrates were evaluated. In conclusion, the variety Fomento 95 showed a significant increment of the total number of leaves in the organoponico system and commercial leaves with respect to the semi-protected conditions; the BSS variety showed only significant differences in commercial leaves; no significant differences in yield for both varieties were reported under the studied conditions. The analysis showed that the total soluble carbohydrates and proteins content decreased significantly in both varieties under semi-protected conditions.

10 CFR 603.680 - Purchase of real property and equipment by for-profit firms.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS Award Terms Affecting Participants' Financial, Property, and Purchasing Systems Property § 603.680 Purchase of real property and equipment by for-profit firms. (a) With the two exceptions... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Purchase of real property and equipment by for-profit...

Environmental performance, profitability, asset utilization, debt monitoring and firm value

Science.gov (United States)

Bukit, R. Br; Haryanto, B.; Ginting, P.

2018-02-01

The growing issue on firm value shows that firm value is not only determined by the firm ability to increase financial profit, but also by the company's concern in maintaining the environmental condition. The industrial development produces waste that pollutes the environment that has potential to serious impact on the next life. In addition to provide financial benefits, companies are increasingly facing pressure to be socially responsible for the survival of the company. However, past findings demonstrate that the effect of environmental performance, profitability, and asset utilization to the firm’s value are still unclear. This study aims to test whether environmental performance, firm profitability and asset utilization can effectively enhance firm value in two different conditions: intensive debt monitoring and less intensive debt monitoring. Sample of companies is taken from the list of Indonesia Stock Exchange during the period of 2013 to 2015. Using multiple regression analysis, discloses that: in intensive monitoring, managers tend to have high firm value when company has high environmental performance and or high profitability and high asset utilization. Monitoring system needs to be intensified especially for companies with the above characteristics.

Decomposing dynamic profit inefficiency of Belgian dairy farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ang, Frederic; Lansink, Alfons Oude

2018-01-01

This paper introduces a nonparametric framework for analysing dynamic profit inefficiency and applies this to a sample of Belgian, specialised dairy farms from 1996 to 2008. Profit inefficiency is decomposed into technical and allocative inefficiency. The paper also decomposes profit inefficiency

Profit sharing for increased training investments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gielen, A. C.

2011-01-01

This article investigates whether paying a profit-related wage stimulates training investments. The results point to increased worker effort and wage flexibility as two channels through which profit sharing enhances investments in training. While both effects are found for young workers, for older

DataProfit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ritter, Thomas; Lund Pedersen, Carsten; Eibe Sørensen, Hans

sammen for at udnytte mulighederne for datadreven profitabel vækst. Denne guide giver en anvendelsesorienteret gennemgang af de ni kompetencer i vores kort, som vi kalder for DataProfit. I guiden beskrives hver kompetence – og du inviteres til at analysere din virksomhed. Til sidst sætter vi hele...

An Exploration of the Relationship between Training Grants and Profitability of UK Construction Companies

Science.gov (United States)

Abdel-Wahab, Mohamed; Dainty, Andrew R. J.; Ison, Stephen G.; Hazlehurst, Guy

2008-01-01

A levy/grant system exists in the UK construction industry to provide financial support for companies undertaking training activities. With the current UK government skills policy, there is an emphasis on ensuring that training support provided to employers is aimed at enhancing companies' profitability. This paper explores the profitability of…

Effect of Plant Growth Regulator on Red Onion Cultivation from True Seed Shallot (TSS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tri Sudaryono

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Red onion is one of the strategic horticultural commodities, considering this commodity is very high consumption as a daily spice and fluctuating price. Therefore is not surprising that these commodities are contributing to inflation. Efforts to meet increasing consumption needs, it is necessary to find the right strategy to increase domestic red onion production. One of the strategies considered to increase domestic red onion production is the use of botanical seed (TSS as a source of seed on shallot cultivation. There are 2 main weaknesses of red onion cultivation with TSS as a source of seeds. The two weaknesses are TSS low growing power, which is naturally only in the 50-60 % range and the number of tubers produced is less than 3 cloves per plant. In order to solve the problem, research has been done to know the effect of plant growth regulator on the growth and red onion production from TSS and also get the description of red onion farming from TSS and tuber as seed source. The research was conducted from June to November 2017 at BPP Pare, Kediri Regency, East Java. The results showed that the use of young coconut water on TSS obtained red onion plants are able to produce the number of tubers per plant more than 3 cloves. In detail as much as 22.22 % produces the number of tubers range 4-5 per plant; 56.56 % yields 5-6 bulb range; and as much as 22.22 % produces tubers > 6. As well, wet weight of tubers when harvested weighing more than 99 g per plant. If converted per hectare, TSS red onion plants treated with young coconut water can produce a range of 30 -35 tons of wet bulb. This production is doubled compared to the production of shallots grown from tubers. Based on the analysis of the farm, red onion from TSS treated with young coconut water gives a profit of Rp 224,860,000 per hectare with B/C ratio of 3.397. This profit is more than 1.75 times compared to the profit of red onion tuber farming which is only Rp 93.787.000, - with B

Creating Societal Benefits and Corporate Profits

OpenAIRE

Raisch, Sebastian; Probst, Gilbert; Gomez, Peter; Zimmermann, Alexander

2014-01-01

The odds of launching a new business that creates value for both the company and the public can be improved with good planning. An in-depth analysis of how four companies created for-profit initiatives that also have high societal value suggests that each followed a similar step-by-step process to achieve what the researchers call synergistic value creation. Those steps include establishing cross-business incubators and installing multi-perspective monitoring systems.

ProfitFruit: Decision Support System for Evaluation of Investments in Fruit Production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roelofs, P.F.M.M.; Groot, M.J.

2012-01-01

Innovative techniques were developed in the Isafruit project in order to create a more ecological sustainable way of fruit growing. Before fruit growers will consider implementation of these innovations they need information concerning their economic sustainability. The economic model ProfitFruit is

Report on achievements in fiscal 1998. Venture business growing type consortium - small business creating infrastructure (Development of ultra-high efficiency cultivation system for Hyphomycetes, and application of the system to plant device to manufacture fermentative foods); 1998 nendo itojokin no chokoritsu tairyo baiyo system no kaihatsu to kinosei hakko sho0kuhin seizo plant kiki eno tekiyo seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

This project has noticed the membrane surface liquid culture method, and researched and developed the following themes with an objective to commercialize the membrane surface liquid culture system and develop novel fermentative foods using this system. Cultivation of Beni-koji bacteria (solid culture of M. pilosus k) is taken up in the model cultivation system. (1) establishment of the membrane surface liquid culture system and development of devices, (2) elucidation of cultivation characteristics of the membrane surface liquid culture system and optimization of the cultivating conditions, and (3) development of fermentative foods. In Item (1), such problems were solved as automation of bacteria planting, long-term pasteurized cultivation, and assurance of clean cultivation broth. In Item (2), it was discovered most suitable that maltose concentration is about 5%, glutamic acid concentration is about 50 mM, the initial culture medium pH is about six, and the cultivation temperature is 30 degree C. In item (3), as a result of mixing this red coloring matter containing cultivation broth into preparation of Miso (bean paste) and soy sauce, products having high {gamma}-Aminobutyric acid and monacholin k content were developed. In addition, while Beni-koji made by solid cultivation had peculiar taste and odor, this drawback was eliminated by using this coloring matter containing cultivation broth. This has made differentiation from conventional products possible. (NEDO)

Effect of payment for milk quality on the profitability of dairy farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Etiene Pinheiro Teixeira Júnior

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Analyzed, by means of simulation, the effect of payment for milk quality on the profitability of dairy farming a system of milk production with F1 Holstein x Gir cows. During the rainy season, in the summer season, cows were kept on pastures and, during the dry season, were confined with use of cane sugar in natura enriched with urea and ammonium sulfate. The zootechnical reference was composed of herd of F1 Holstein x Gir cows of the Experimental Farm Felixlândia (FEFX of the Agricultural Research Corporation of Minas Gerais (EPAMIG, located in the municipality of Felixlândia-MG, central region of the state. The inventory and expenditure, revenue and other data were registered on COST BOVINE MILK 1.0 software, to obtain profitability analysis. The use of zootechnical practices which enable improvements in the quality of milk provides a differential remuneration, arising from subsidies; increases the economic-financial results and improves the profitability of milk production system analyzed.

Net profit flow per country from 1980 to 2009: The long-term effects of foreign direct investment

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Aim of the paper The paper aims at describing and explaining net profit flows per country for the period 1980–2009. Net profit flows result from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock and profit repatriation: inward stock creating a profit outflow and outward FDI stock a profit inflow. Profit flows, especially ‘normal’ ones are not commonly researched. Theoretical background According to world-system theory, countries are part of a system characterised by a core, semi-periphery and periphery, as shown by network analyses of trade relations. Network analyses based on ownership relations of TransNational Corporations (TNCs) show that the top 50 firms that control about 40% of the world economy are almost exclusively located in core countries. So, we may expect a hierarchy in net profit flows with core countries on top and the periphery at the bottom. FDI outflows from the core countries especially rose in the 1990s, so we may expect that the difference has grown in time. Data and results A dataset on 'net profit flow' per country is developed. There are diverging developments in net profit flows since the 1980s, as expected: ever more positive for core countries, negative and ever lower for semi-peripheral and peripheral countries, in particular from the 1990s onwards. A fixed effects quantile regression using publicly available data confirms the prediction that peripheral countries share a unique characteristic: their outward investments do not have a positive influence on net profit flow as is the case with semi-peripheral and core countries. The most probable explanation is that peripheral outward investments are indirectly owned by firms located in core and semi-peripheral countries, so all peripheral profit inflows end up in those countries. PMID:28654644

Comparing the profitability of organic and conventional broiler production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F Cobanoglu

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Organic broiler chicken production has recently received more attention worldwide. This study carried out an economic analysis to compare the profitability of organic versus conventional growing systems per unit of broiler meat production. In this study, 400 slow-growing broilers (Hubbard Red-JA were reared in an organic production system and the same number of fast-growing broilers (Ross-308 were reared in a conventional system. Profitability was deduced from an economic analysis that compared total costs and net income. Results showed that organic broiler meat can cost from 70% to 86% more with respect to variable and fixed costs when compared with conventional production. The main reasons for the higher cost of organic broiler meat were feed, labor, certification, and outdoor area maintenance. The proportion of fixed costs in total costs was 1.54% in the conventional system and 7.48% in the organic system. The net income per kg of chicken meat in the organic system was €0.75, which is 180% higher compared with the conventional system (€0.27; however, organic broiler meat was sold at a twice as high price than the conventional one. In conclusion, organic broiler meat production was more economical than conventional rearing.

Cellulase production by white-rot basidiomycetous fungi: solid-state versus submerged cultivation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bentil, Joseph A.; Thygesen, Anders; Mensah, Moses

2018-01-01

fungi for improved enzyme expression, as well as on-site approaches for production of enzyme blends for industrial biomass conversion. The quantitative comparisons made have implications for selection of the most appropriate cultivation method for WRB fungi for attaining maximal cellulase production....... on different biomass residues in SSC or SmC systems. Although some variation in cellulase production yields have been reported for certain substrates, the analysis convincingly shows that SmC is generally more efficient than SSC for obtaining high cellulase production yields and high cellulase production rates......) or submerged cultivation (SmC) systems. In this review, we quantitatively assess the data available in the literature on cellulase production yields by WRB fungi cultivated by SSC or SmC. The review also assesses cellulolytic enzyme production rates and enzyme recovery when WRB fungi are cultivated...

Is ISO 14001 Certification Effective? An Experimental Analysis of Firm Profitability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aridelmo José Campanharo Teixeira

2012-05-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the effect environmental management certification (ISO 14001 has on publicly tradedBrazilian companies profitability. Signaling theory predicts that the certification serves to signal to society goodenvironmental behavior; allowing people to screen the different types of firms, improving the financialeconomicperformance of those firms that engage in this behavior. We performed difference-in-difference fixedeffect design comparing the financial performance of companies with and without certification of theirenvironmental management systems, using data on 552 companies over the period from 1996 to 2008. Theresults indicate that firms with an environmental management system certified according to the NBR ISO14001:2004 standard tended to be more profitable, on average, than firms without certification.

Refinery profitability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tobin, G.

1998-01-01

Recently there has been considerable shutting down of oil refinery capacity in response to the increasing pressures on profitability. This article examines the situation and the industry's response to it, including the drive for mergers, disposal of fuel oil, downsizing of workforces and strategic alliances. Future trends and their implications are also discussed. (UK)

Life cycle assessment: an application to poplar for energy cultivated in Italy

OpenAIRE

Bacenetti, J.; Gonzalez Garcia, S.; Mena, A.; Fiala, M.

2012-01-01

The development of the bioenergy sector has led to an increasing interest in energy crops. Short rotation coppices (SRC) are forestry management systems in which fast-growing tree species are produced under intensive cultivation practices to obtain high wood chips yields. In Italy, most SRC plantations consist of poplar biomass-clones. SRC plantations can be carried out with different management systems with diverse cutting times; consequently, the cultivation system can be crucial for attain...

For-Profit Schools: They Get IT

Science.gov (United States)

Waters, John K.

2011-01-01

The for-profit sector of higher education has generated some disturbing headlines recently. Widely publicized charges of predatory recruiting practices have prompted new regulations and provided fuel for scorching criticism of the entire business model. But while the spotlight is focused on what for-profits are doing wrong, are people overlooking…

Shifting Cultivation : Promoting Innovative Policy and Development ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

... if improved and rationalized as an agroforestry system, has high potential for poverty ... with the livelihood issues of the cultivators and the health of the ecosystem, and assess the ... International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.

Impact of facility size and profit status on intermediate outcomes in chronic dialysis patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Frankenfield, D L; Sugarman, J R; Presley, R J; Helgerson, S D; Rocco, M V

2000-08-01

Little information is available regarding the influence of dialysis facility size or profit status on intermediate outcomes in chronic dialysis patients. We have combined data from the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) Core Indicators Project; the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) facility survey; and the HCFA On-Line Survey, Certification, and Reporting System to analyze trends in this area. For hemodialysis patients, larger facilities were more likely than smaller facilities to perform dialysis on patients who were younger than 65 years of age, black, or undergoing dialysis 2 years or more (P profit units (P reduction ratio, but not with hematocrit or serum albumin values. Facility profit status was not associated with these intermediate outcomes. For peritoneal dialysis patients, there were no significant differences in patient demographics based on facility size. More patients in nonprofit units had been undergoing dialysis 2 or more years than patients in for-profit units (P profit status.

Profit U

Science.gov (United States)

Weinstein, Margery

2012-01-01

Preparing employees for the immediate work in front of them is a challenge. While most companies are still mastering effectively training their own workforce, some, such as "Training" magazine Top 10 Hall of Famer The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, have set up for-profit academies open to the public. When Ritz-Carlton won the national Malcolm…

Analysis of Selected Environmental Indicators in the Cultivation System of Energy Crops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Šoltysová Božena Š

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The changes of selected chemical parameters were observed in Gleyic Fluvisols. The field experiment was established as a twofactor experiment with four energy crops (Arundo donax L., Miscanthus × giganteus, Elymus elongatus Gaertner, Sida hermafrodita and two variants of fertilization (nitrogen fertilization in rate 60 kg ha-1, without nitrogen fertilization. Soil samples were taken from the depth of 0 to 0.3 m at the beginning of the experiment in the autumn 2012 and at the end of reference period in the autumn 2015. Land management conversion from market crops to perennial energy crops cultivation has influenced changes of selected soil chemical parameters. The contents of soil organic carbon were affected by cultivated energy crops differently. It was found out that Arundo increased the organic carbon content and Miscanthus, Elymus and Sida decreased its content. At the same time, the same impact of the crops on content of available phosphorus and potassium and soil reaction was found. It was recorded that each cultivated crop decreased the soil reaction and available phosphorus content and increased the content of available potassium.

Morphology and muscle gene expression in GIFT and Supreme Nile tilapia varieties reared in two cultivation systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Lima, E C S; Povh, J A; Otonel, R A A; Leonhardt, J H; Alfieri, A A; Headley, S A; Souza, F P; Poveda-Parra, A R; Furlan-Murari, P J; Lopera-Barrero, N M

2017-03-16

Tissue growth in most fishes occurs by muscular hyperplasia and hypertrophy, which are influenced by different regulatory factors, such as myostatin. The current study evaluated the influence of cultivation in hapas and earthen ponds on the diameter of white muscle fibers and on the myostatin (MSTN-1) gene in GIFT and Supreme varieties of tilapia. Fish of both varieties were reared for 204 days and then divided into four developmental stages. White muscle samples, corresponding to 100 fibers per slide, were collected from the middle region of fish of each variety and cultivation system, and were measured and divided into two classes representing hyperplasia and hypertrophy. Samples were subjected to real-time PCR to analyze gene expression. Hyperplasia decreased during the developing stages, coupled with increased hypertrophy. There was a higher rate of hypertrophy in fish raised in earthen ponds when compared to those raised in hapas, during juvenile and developing phases, and greater hypertrophic growth was observed in GIFT specimens when compared to Supreme specimens in earthen ponds. Since increased MSTN-1 gene expression was observed in GIFT specimens during the developing phase in pond cultivations, and in Supreme tilapia in hapas, MSTN-1 expression is related to greater hypertrophy. These results demonstrate the capacity for increased muscle growth in earthen pond cultivation in which the GIFT variety developed best. How the environment affects the growth of different tilapia varieties may be employed to optimize culture management and genetic improvement programs. Further investigations should aim to describe mechanisms affecting muscle growth and development.

Non-profit Drug Research and Development at a Crossroads.

Science.gov (United States)

Jarosławski, Szymon; Toumi, Mondher; Auquier, Pascal; Dussart, Claude

2018-02-07

In wealthy nations, non-profit drug R&D has been proposed to reduce the prices of medicines. We sought to review the ethical and economic issues concerning non-profit drug R&D companies, and the possible impact that their pricing strategy may have on the innovation efforts from for-profit companies targeting the same segment of the pharmaceutical market. There are two possible approaches to pricing drugs developed by non-profit R&D programs: pricing that maximises profits and "affordable" pricing that reflects the cost of manufacturing and distribution, plus a margin that ensures sustainability of the drug supply. Overall, the non-profits face ethical challenges - due to the lack of resources, they are unable to independently commercialize their products on a large scale; however, the antitrust law does not permit them to impose prices on potential licensees. Also, reduced prices for the innovative products may result in drying the for-profit R&D in the area.

'Paper profits': Fair value accounting, dividends, and corporate governance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goncharov, I.; van Triest, S.

2009-01-01

We examine the impact of upward fair value adjustments on dividend policies in Russia, where corporate governance is weak. We discuss the case of the utility company Unified Energy System (UES), which abolished its dividends (including mandatory preferred dividends) after reporting a record profit

10 CFR 603.640 - Audits of for-profit participants.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Audits of for-profit participants. 603.640 Section 603.640 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (CONTINUED) ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS Award Terms Affecting Participants' Financial, Property, and Purchasing Systems Financial Matters § 603.640...

Supplier Contribution to Profit Calculation and Supplier’s Expense Levels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danilo Dorović

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Suppliers of goods present a very important cost object for trading companiessuch as retail. There is, however, no theoretical explanation as to how to calculate a contribution to profits generated from an individual supplier. This calculation is the subject of the paper. There is no calculation that shows how goods, provided from the supplier, create profit through gross margin and how the supplier`s behavior influences the costs (like delivery terms, costs of keeping specific goods fresh…. The final costs further decrease the profit generated by suppliers. As they have long found it illogical to calculate contribution to profit from suppliers in a production company, trading companies have long ignored it, as well. The Activity Based Costing (ABC, as the up-to-date system, still does not possess the cost hierarchy for suppliers as the cost object. The aim of the paper is to present a proposal for creating the cost hierarchy for suppliers in a trade company through creating a theoretical financial model as a method. The model also offers a theoretical explanation of how to calculate the contribution from a supplier or a group of suppliers. It is based on empirically evident activities in any supermarket or hypermarket, which makes it possible to create explanatory theoretical research.

Gigantic environmental profit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

The article presents studies on possible profits and advantages by converting vehicles such as buses and taxis from diesel to gas fuel engines for the environment and human beings in Norway. Some applications for automobiles are mentioned

Glass bead cultivation of fungi

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Droce, Aida; Sørensen, Jens Laurids; Giese, H.

2013-01-01

Production of bioactive compounds and enzymes from filamentous fungi is highly dependent on cultivation conditions. Here we present an easy way to cultivate filamentous fungi on glass beads that allow complete control of nutrient supply. Secondary metabolite production in Fusarium graminearum...... and Fusarium solani cultivated on agar plates, in shaking liquid culture or on glass beads was compared. Agar plate culture and glass bead cultivation yielded comparable results while liquid culture had lower production of secondary metabolites. RNA extraction from glass beads and liquid cultures was easier...... to specific nutrient factors. •Fungal growth on glass beads eases and improves fungal RNA extraction....

Are loyal customers profitable? : customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer profitability at the individual level

OpenAIRE

Helgesen, Øyvind

2000-01-01

Customer satisfaction is supposed to be positively related to profitability. This conception may be called “the paradigm of customer satisfaction”. Nevertheless, only a few studies have examined this fundamental relationship. Thus, evidence for this “much talked about relationship” is questioned. In this working paper the focus is on the individual customer with respect to the relationships between customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer profitability at the customer level. The f...

Cultivations...and potting on a strategic plan for a social and horticultural therapy program.

Science.gov (United States)

Smilski, Andrea

2008-01-01

This research endeavored to develop a strategic growth plan for St. Ann's Garden Club (SAGC), a Non-Profit Social and Horticultural Therapy program, located at Providence Farm in Duncan, British Columbia. SAGC is a day program for older adults with mental illness and/or drug/alcohol addiction. The aim of the program is to be sustainable within the context of stakeholders needs, preferences, and resources and therefore they sought a strategic analysis prior to launching a growth strategy. SAGC has valuable intangible resources that contribute to strong core competencies and effectiveness despite facing many program issues requiring change in order for them to be sustainable. These same issues are shared by many public and non-profit health and wellness programs as they struggle to remain relevant in today's changing healthscape. To adequately focus the study and provide sound direction, the strategic analysis highlighted SAGC's environment, opportunities, issues, priorities, and requirements and was conducted through multiple iterations of the action research cycle. Data was gathered using surveys, interviews, and a focus group. The findings supported a capital campaign to build as new larger clubhouse and establish a more diverse sustainable funding base. Using a resource based perspective, a three year strategic plan was formulated for SAGC to help them cultivate growth and sustainability.

Understanding and overcoming the “positive profits with negative surplus-value” paradox

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GUSTAVO DAOU LUCAS

Full Text Available ABSTRACT This paper explains the “positive profits with negative surplus-value” example of Steedman (1975 and shows that while in joint production systems individual labour values can be negative, the claim that the total labour embodied in the surplus product of the economy (surplus-value can also be negative is based on assumptions that have no economic meaning (such as negative activity levels.The paper also provides a way to measure the surplus-value of joint production systems which overcomes the problems of the traditional concept and restates the proposition that a positive amount of surplus labour is a necessary condition for positive profits.

Electronic Payments Profitability Extent Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rudolf Vohnout

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Cashless payments are recent phenomena, which even increased with the introduction of contactless means like NFC, PayPass or payWave. Such new methods speed-up the entire payment process and in comparison to cash transactions are much simpler and faster. But on the other hand the key question for merchant is if it is worth to have such device, which accept these new payment means or not to have the terminal at all. What is the amount of cash flow, which delimits the cash holdings to be still profitable? This paper tries to give answers to such question by presenting general profitability model, which will address defining the cash threshold amount. The aim is to show that cash holdings could be profitable up to certain amount, but after the threshold is met, cashless payment methods are fairly superior despite their additional costs.

The determinants of Bank Profitability: Does Liquidity Creation matter?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Sahyouni

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Using a panel data set of 4995 banks across 11 developed and emerging countries during the period (2011-2015, this report analyses the amount of liquidity created by banks, how liquidity creation, bank-specific and the macroeconomic factors affecting bank profitability. The results show evidence of increased creation of liquidity over the period. By applying the panel data fixed effect technique, banks that create more liquidity, are set up to have lower profitability. As well as, Asset management, bank size and capital ratio are positively correlated with bank profitability. While, credit quality and operating efficiency affect bank’s profits negatively. Additionally, macroeconomic factors have different impact on profitability indicators in each market. Our findings may help decision makers inside and outside bank to determine important factors affecting bank profitability.

Education for Profit, Education for Freedom

Science.gov (United States)

Nussbaum, Martha C.

2009-01-01

Education is often discussed in low-level utilitarian terms: how can educators produce technically trained people who can hold onto "their" share of the global market? With the rush to profitability, values precious for the future of democracy are in danger of getting lost. The profit motive suggests to most concerned politicians that science and…

10 CFR 603.230 - Fee or profit.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... participant is to receive fee or profit. Note that this policy extends to all performers of the project... subrecipients' payment of reasonable fee or profit when making purchases from suppliers of goods (e.g., supplies...

Analysis of Major Nutritional Components of Pleurotus pulmonarius During the Cultivation in Different Indoor Environmental Conditions on Sawdust

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tariqul Islam

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Pleurotus pulmonarius was cultivated in three different environmental conditions, in ambient indoor environment (System 1, in humidifying without ventilation (System 2 and in humidifying with ventilation (System 3 to analyse the major nutritional contents. Sawdust was the main substrate for all the cultivation systems. The lowest temperature and the highest optimal humidity were found in System 3. The temperature and humidity had shown statistically significant among the three cultivation Systems. The highest numbers of flushes was found both in System 2 and System 3 but System 1 was produced mushrooms till 3rd flush. About 29.5%, 28.3%, 28.5% protein; 59.0%, 55.8%, 54.3% carbohydrate and 3.8%, 3.5%, 3.3% lipid were found in System 1, System 2 and System 3 respectively. The protein, carbohydrate, and lipid contents were shown statistically insignificant among the cultivation systems. The highest value of protein, carbohydrate and lipid were found for the sample of 1st flush in all the cultivation systems but the values were started to decrease with the increased numbers of flushes significantly. So, this study shown that, although the environmental conditions of the three cultivation systems were varied significantly but the protein, carbohydrate and lipid contents were existed their normal values in all cases but the values were decreased by the increased numbers of flushes.

The role of non-financial performance measures in predicting hospital financial performance: the case of for-profit system hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Vélez-González, Heltie; Pradhan, Rohit; Weech-Maldonado, Robert

2011-01-01

Non-financial measures have found increasing acceptance in the business world--however, their application in the health care industry remains limited. The purpose of this article is to understand the influence of non-financial measures (efficiency, productivity, and quality) on the financial performance of for-profit system hospitals. The sample consists of 499 for-profit system hospitals in the United States from 1999 to 2002. Data analyzed include the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey, Medicare Cost Reports, Joint Commission's quality scores, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Hospital Case Mix Index. Dependent variables consist of financial measures (operating and total margins), while independent variables include measures of efficiency, productivity, and quality. Our results suggest the influence of non-financial performance measures on financial performance; occupancy rate positively influences financial performance while greater labor intensity may have negative implications for financial performance. In addition, we show that quality positively influences financial performance thereby offering a potential business case for quality. This result has important managerial and policy implications as it may incentivize capital and human resource investments required to improve hospital quality of care.

Comparison between cultivated and total bacterial communities associated with Cucurbita pepo using cultivation-dependent techniques and 454 pyrosequencing.

Science.gov (United States)

Eevers, N; Beckers, B; Op de Beeck, M; White, J C; Vangronsveld, J; Weyens, N

2016-02-01

Endophytic bacteria often have beneficial effects on their host plants that can be exploited for bioremediation applications but, according to the literature, only 0.001-1% of all endophytic microbes should be cultivable. This study compared the cultivated endophytic communities of the roots and shoots of Cucurbita pepo with the total endophytic communities as determined by cultivation-dependent techniques and 454 pyrosequencing. The ten most abundant taxa of the total communities aligned well with the cultivated taxa; however, the abundance of these taxa in the two communities differed greatly. Enterobacter showed very low presence in the total communities, whereas they were dominantly present in the cultivated communities. Although Rhizobium dominated in total root and shoot communities, it was poorly cultivable and even then only in growth media containing plant extract. Since endophytes likely contribute to plant-growth promotion, cultivated bacterial strains were tested for their plant-growth promoting capabilities, and the results were correlated with their abundance in the total community. Bacillus and Pseudomonas showed promising results when considering cultivability, abundance in the total community and plant-growth promoting capability. This study demonstrated that, although a limited number of bacterial genera were cultivable, current cultivation-dependent techniques may be sufficient for further isolation and inoculation experiments that aim to improve phytoremediation efficiency. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Approaches to economic analysis of profitability of forestry enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O.M. Dzyubenko

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The article substantiates the directions of adaptation of existing analytical procedures for assessing the profitability to specific activities of forestry enterprises, which is an integral part of evaluating financial potential of enterprises of the investigated branch. In particular, the author identifies the following analytical procedures that make it possible to assess the performance of forestry enterprises and determine its financial potential: the return on equity (assets on net profit, the return on equity, the return on assets, the return on sales of profits from operating activities, the profitability of sold products at net profit, reinvestment factor, the economic growth sustainability ratio, the period of payback capital, the payback period of equity capital. On the basis of these indicators, the current state of profitability of forestry enterprises was substantiated and their critical points were determined.

Operating Profitability of For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Florida Community Hospitals During Medicare Policy Changes, 2000 to 2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Langland-Orban, Barbara; Large, John T; Sear, Alan M; Zhang, Hanze; Zhang, Nanhua

2015-01-01

Medicare Advantage was implemented in 2004 and the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program was implemented in Florida during 2005. Both increase surveillance of medical necessity and deny payments for improper admissions. The purpose of the present study was to determine their potential impact on for-profit (FP) and not-for-profit (NFP) hospital operating margins in Florida. FP hospitals were expected to be more adversely affected as admissions growth has been one strategy to improve stock performance, which is not a consideration at NFPs. This study analyzed Florida community hospitals from 2000 through 2010, assessing changes in pre-tax operating margin (PTOM). Florida Agency for Health Care Administration data were analyzed for 104 community hospitals (62 FPs and 42 NFPs). Academic, public, and small hospitals were excluded. A mixed-effects model was used to assess the association of RAC implementation, organizational and payer type variables, and ownership interaction effects on PTOM. FP hospitals began the period with a higher average PTOM, but converged with NFPs during the study period. The average Medicare Advantage effect was not significant for either ownership type. The magnitude of the RAC variable was significantly negative for average PTOM at FPs (-4.68) and positive at NFPs (0.08), meaning RAC was associated with decreasing PTOM at FP hospitals only. RAC complements other Medicare surveillance systems that detect medically unnecessary admissions, coding errors, fraud, and abuse. Since its implementation in Florida, average FP and NFP operating margins have been similar, such that the higher margins reported for FP hospitals in the 1990s are no longer evident. © The Author(s) 2015.

A Decomposition of Hospital Profitability: An Application of DuPont Analysis to the US Market.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Jason; Broom, Kevin; Elliott, Michael; Lee, Jen-Fu

2015-01-01

This paper evaluates the drivers of profitability for a large sample of U.S. hospitals. Following a methodology frequently used by financial analysts, we use a DuPont analysis as a framework to evaluate the quality of earnings. By decomposing returns on equity (ROE) into profit margin, total asset turnover, and capital structure, the DuPont analysis reveals what drives overall profitability. Profit margin, the efficiency with which services are rendered (total asset turnover), and capital structure is calculated for 3,255 U.S. hospitals between 2007 and 2012 using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Healthcare Cost Report Information System (CMS Form 2552). The sample is then stratified by ownership, size, system affiliation, teaching status, critical access designation, and urban or non-urban location. Those hospital characteristics and interaction terms are then regressed (OLS) against the ROE and the respective DuPont components. Sensitivity to regression methodology is also investigated using a seemingly unrelated regression. When the sample is stratified by hospital characteristics, the results indicate investor-owned hospitals have higher profit margins, higher efficiency, and are substantially more leveraged. Hospitals in systems are found to have higher ROE, margins, and efficiency but are associated with less leverage. In addition, a number of important and significant interactions between teaching status, ownership, location, critical access designation, and inclusion in a system are documented. Many of the significant relationships, most notably not-for-profit ownership, lose significance or are predominately associated with one interaction effect when interaction terms are introduced as explanatory variables. Results are not sensitive to the alternative methodology. The results of the DuPont analysis suggest that although there appears to be convergence in the behavior of NFP and IO hospitals, significant financial differences remain

Profitability Analysis of Selected Farms in the Batinah Region of Oman

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Slim Zekri

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The agricultural sector of Oman represents less than 2% of the total GDP and uses 88% of the fresh water. Several decision makers are questioning whether the agricultural activity in the Sultanate of Oman can be sustained and if so what type of crops should be encouraged. More than 53% of the agricultural cropped area is situated in the Batinah coastal area where farming is exclusively based on groundwater pumping. A sample of 49 market-oriented farms from the Batinah region was surveyed during 2006. Four types of farms were considered. Results showed that the most profitable farms are mixing fodder crops and vegetables with a net margin of 1,412 RO/ha/year. The less profitable farms are based on tree crops and vegetables with a net margin of 847 RO/ha/year. For vegetables the most profitable crop is tomato with an average net margin of 2,580 RO/ha/year with a standard deviation of 2,043 RO/ha/year and the least profitable crop is cabbage with 113 RO/ha/ year with a standard deviation of 182 RO/ha/year. The net margin of crops grown under drip irrigation is higher than that for crops under furrow irrigation, with a difference of 548 RO/ha/year. Farms equipped with such modern irrigation systems tend to irrigate almost the same area in winter as in summer, while farms under furrow irrigation crop less than one percent of their cropped area during summer compared to winter. Consequently and contrary to expectations, modern irrigation systems tend to increase, rather than reduce, groundwater pumping given the financial incentives for farmers to grow summer vegetables instead of only winter vegetables. Even so, the net water use efficiency is greater for vegetable production under drip irrigation than it is for fodder production. The figures show that, on average, farming in the Batinah is financially profitable for the types of farm considered in this study. However, profitability varies widely between different farms and crops. The reasons for

Profitability of timber harvesting and timber transportation enterprises

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajamaeki, J.

1996-01-01

In co-operation with the major companies contracting out forestry work and Statistics Finland, Metsaeteho carried out a project with the objective of analysing the economic profitability of timber harvesting and transportation enterprises in 1994. The calculation of profitability was based on utilisation of last livelihoods taxation data (EVR) that Statistics Finland was in possession of. The basic material comprised data that the companies contracting out forestry work had full-time entrepreneurs. There were 255 forestry machine contractor enterprises and 270 trucking enterprises. Statistics Finland was responsible for computations of the results of the project. The calculation of the indicators of profitability was based on the recommendations of Yritystutkimusneuvottelukunta, a committee looking into the functioning of enterprises. The year 1994 was a good year from the viewpoint of profitability of both forestry machine contractors as well as trucking enterprises. With full depreciations and salary adjustments attended to, both enterprise groups still showed a mean profitability of ca. 8 %. The yield of invested capital was ca. 25 %. The differences in profitability among enterprises were great in both groups and in different parts of the country

Determination of volumetric gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient of carbon monoxide in a batch cultivation system using kinetic simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Nulee; Yasin, Muhammad; Park, Shinyoung; Lovitt, Robert W; Chang, In Seop

2017-09-01

A mathematical model of microbial kinetics was introduced to predict the overall volumetric gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient (k L a) of carbon monoxide (CO) in a batch cultivation system. The cell concentration (X), acetate concentration (C ace ), headspace gas (N co and [Formula: see text] ), dissolved CO concentration in the fermentation medium (C co ), and mass transfer rate (R) were simulated using a variety of k L a values. The simulated results showed excellent agreement with the experimental data for a k L a of 13/hr. The C co values decreased with increase in cultivation times, whereas the maximum mass transfer rate was achieved at the mid-log phase due to vigorous microbial CO consumption rate higher than R. The model suggested in this study may be applied to a variety of microbial systems involving gaseous substrates. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamic cell culture system: a new cell cultivation instrument for biological experiments in space

Science.gov (United States)

Gmunder, F. K.; Nordau, C. G.; Tschopp, A.; Huber, B.; Cogoli, A.

1988-01-01

The prototype of a miniaturized cell cultivation instrument for animal cell culture experiments aboard Spacelab is presented (Dynamic cell culture system: DCCS). The cell chamber is completely filled and has a working volume of 200 microliters. Medium exchange is achieved with a self-powered osmotic pump (flowrate 1 microliter h-1). The reservoir volume of culture medium is 230 microliters. The system is neither mechanically stirred nor equipped with sensors. Hamster kidney (Hak) cells growing on Cytodex 3 microcarriers were used to test the biological performance of the DCCS. Growth characteristics in the DCCS, as judged by maximal cell density, glucose consumption, lactic acid secretion and pH, were similar to those in cell culture tubes.

Jodï horticultural belief, knowledge and practice: incipient or integral cultivation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanford Zent

Full Text Available This paper describes the Jodï horticultural system, including belief, knowledge and practice aspects. The horticultural practices of the Jodï were previously characterized as 'incipient cultivation' but such practices were poorly described and documented. The antiquity of cultivation among this group is suggested by the prominence and significance of horticultural products and techniques in myth and ritual. Our field observations uncovered a fairly sophisticated system of plant management in swiddens, house gardens, trail gardens and natural forest gaps. An inventory of 67 cultivated plant species was documented, of which 36 are utilized for food, 20 for magical or medicinal purposes, and 11 for technology. The Jodï prolong the productive phase of their gardens for five years or more through successive planting-harvesting-replanting operations. Jodï swiddens display an elaborate polycultivated appearance and they possess at least five principal crops: plantain/banana, maize, yams, sweet potato, and sweet manioc. Another distinctive feature is the extensive use of natural gaps in the forest canopy as cultivation zones. The results of this study suggest that while Jodï horticultural practice is well integrated with a nomadic, foraging-dependent lifestyle, nevertheless this system does not deserve to be labeled as 'incipient' and instead is more integral than was recognized previously.

The relationship between bed size and profitability in South Carolina hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yang K; Glover, Saundra H; Stoskopf, Carleen H; Boyd, Suzan D

2002-01-01

The purpose of the study is to identify factors affecting hospital profitability and to find the optimal hospital bed size that assures maximum profit. This is a cross-sectional study using survey data obtained from acute care hospitals in South Carolina in 1997. The relationship of hospital profitability and hospital bed size revealed that when bed size increases, hospital profitability increases, decreases, and then increases again. For the patient profit proportion, the turning points in bed size are 238.22 and 560.08. For the total profit proportion, the turning points in bed size are 223.31 and 503.86. The results on the relationship between bed size and hospital profitability indicate that medium-size hospitals have less profitability.

Profit Forecast Model Using Monte Carlo Simulation in Excel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petru BALOGH

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Profit forecast is very important for any company. The purpose of this study is to provide a method to estimate the profit and the probability of obtaining the expected profit. Monte Carlo methods are stochastic techniques–meaning they are based on the use of random numbers and probability statistics to investigate problems. Monte Carlo simulation furnishes the decision-maker with a range of possible outcomes and the probabilities they will occur for any choice of action. Our example of Monte Carlo simulation in Excel will be a simplified profit forecast model. Each step of the analysis will be described in detail. The input data for the case presented: the number of leads per month, the percentage of leads that result in sales, , the cost of a single lead, the profit per sale and fixed cost, allow obtaining profit and associated probabilities of achieving.

Micro-CHP for self-supply in the housing industry. Profitability and system integration; Mikro-BHKW zur Eigenversorgung in der Wohnungswirtschaft. Wirtschaftlichkeit und Systemintegration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hollinger, Raphael; Buettner, Markus; Erge, Thomas; Wille-Haussmann, Bernhard; Wittwer, Christof [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Solare Energiesysteme ISE, Freiburg (Germany)

2011-07-01

The use of micro-CHP units in multifamily buildings is particularly profitable if the produced electricity - coupled with the thermal energy production - is used directly by the operator or sold locally. To maximize the share of own consumption the use of thermal storages to operate the CHP at times of high electrical demand is necessary. By conducting a field test it is shown that the share of own consumption can be increased by predictive control of CHP with thermal storages. The approach increases the profitability of the CHP operation under today's conditions as well as the system integration of the CHP electricity. (orig.)

Relative power and efficiency as a main determinant of banks' profitability in Latin America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Guillén

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Despite the financial sector liberalization and openness that started in the earlier 90's and significant macroeconomic development as well as increasing inflow of capital toward the region, there is not any evidence of the reduction of interest rates as well as banks' profits in Latin America. In this paper we develop a model to estimate the determinants of Latin American banks' profitability and, try to understand the reasons why banks are reluctant to decrease their interest rate spreads even when change in competitiveness in the financial system is improving. By using Data Envelopment Analysis to better exploit the information of several variables at the same time and, by employing a sample of 200 Banks located in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela; we find that banks' profits grew consistently above the normal levels of profits adjusted by risk. Our results show that banks in Latin America have been profiting from their oligopolistic position in detriment of their clients in particular and of their whole economy in general.

Exploring the Cultivable Ectocarpus Microbiome.

Science.gov (United States)

KleinJan, Hetty; Jeanthon, Christian; Boyen, Catherine; Dittami, Simon M

2017-01-01

Coastal areas form the major habitat of brown macroalgae, photosynthetic multicellular eukaryotes that have great ecological value and industrial potential. Macroalgal growth, development, and physiology are influenced by the microbial community they accommodate. Studying the algal microbiome should thus increase our fundamental understanding of algal biology and may help to improve culturing efforts. Currently, a freshwater strain of the brown macroalga Ectocarpus subulatus is being developed as a model organism for brown macroalgal physiology and algal microbiome studies. It can grow in high and low salinities depending on which microbes it hosts. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in this process are still unclear. Cultivation of Ectocarpus -associated bacteria is the first step toward the development of a model system for in vitro functional studies of brown macroalgal-bacterial interactions during abiotic stress. The main aim of the present study is thus to provide an extensive collection of cultivable E . subulatus -associated bacteria. To meet the variety of metabolic demands of Ectocarpus -associated bacteria, several isolation techniques were applied, i.e., direct plating and dilution-to-extinction cultivation techniques, each with chemically defined and undefined bacterial growth media. Algal tissue and algal growth media were directly used as inoculum, or they were pretreated with antibiotics, by filtration, or by digestion of algal cell walls. In total, 388 isolates were identified falling into 33 genera (46 distinct strains), of which Halomonas ( Gammaproteobacteria ), Bosea ( Alphaproteobacteria ), and Limnobacter ( Betaproteobacteria ) were the most abundant. Comparisons with 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding data showed that culturability in this study was remarkably high (∼50%), although several cultivable strains were not detected or only present in extremely low abundance in the libraries. These undetected bacteria could be considered as part

Exploring the Cultivable Ectocarpus Microbiome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hetty KleinJan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Coastal areas form the major habitat of brown macroalgae, photosynthetic multicellular eukaryotes that have great ecological value and industrial potential. Macroalgal growth, development, and physiology are influenced by the microbial community they accommodate. Studying the algal microbiome should thus increase our fundamental understanding of algal biology and may help to improve culturing efforts. Currently, a freshwater strain of the brown macroalga Ectocarpus subulatus is being developed as a model organism for brown macroalgal physiology and algal microbiome studies. It can grow in high and low salinities depending on which microbes it hosts. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in this process are still unclear. Cultivation of Ectocarpus-associated bacteria is the first step toward the development of a model system for in vitro functional studies of brown macroalgal–bacterial interactions during abiotic stress. The main aim of the present study is thus to provide an extensive collection of cultivable E. subulatus-associated bacteria. To meet the variety of metabolic demands of Ectocarpus-associated bacteria, several isolation techniques were applied, i.e., direct plating and dilution-to-extinction cultivation techniques, each with chemically defined and undefined bacterial growth media. Algal tissue and algal growth media were directly used as inoculum, or they were pretreated with antibiotics, by filtration, or by digestion of algal cell walls. In total, 388 isolates were identified falling into 33 genera (46 distinct strains, of which Halomonas (Gammaproteobacteria, Bosea (Alphaproteobacteria, and Limnobacter (Betaproteobacteria were the most abundant. Comparisons with 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding data showed that culturability in this study was remarkably high (∼50%, although several cultivable strains were not detected or only present in extremely low abundance in the libraries. These undetected bacteria could be considered

Impacts of transportation on the profitability of sweet potato ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Transportation is an essential aspect of agricultural production. However, in many parts of Nigeria, bad transport system is still a problem of rural farmers. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the impacts of transportation on the profitability of sweet potato production in Kwara State. The sampling techniques involved the ...

The medicinal Agaricus mushroom cultivated in Brazil: biology, cultivation and non-medicinal valorisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Largeteau, Michèle L; Llarena-Hernández, Régulo Carlos; Regnault-Roger, Catherine; Savoie, Jean-Michel

2011-12-01

Sun mushroom is a cultivated mushroom extensively studied for its medicinal properties for several years and literature abounds on the topic. Besides, agronomical aspects were investigated in Brazil, the country the mushroom comes from, and some studies focus on the biology of the fungus. This review aimed to present an overview of the non-medicinal knowledge on the mushroom. Areas of commercial production and marketing trends are presented. Its specific fragrance, taste, nutritional value and potential use of extracts as food additives are compared to those of the most cultivated fungi and laboratory models. The interest of the mushroom for lignocellulosic enzyme production and source of biomolecules for the control of plant pathogens are shown. Investigation of genetic variability among cultivars is reported. Growing and storage of mycelium, as well as cultivation conditions (substrate and casing generally based on local products; indoor and outdoor cultivation; diseases and disorders) are described and compared to knowledge on Agaricus bisporus.

Cultivating Peace: Conflict and Collaboration in Natural Resource ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Cultivating Peace presents original case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, ... experience on moving from conflict to collaborative modes of management. ... public health, and health systems research relevant to the emerging crisis.

Cultivating the Deep Subsurface Microbiome

Science.gov (United States)

Casar, C. P.; Osburn, M. R.; Flynn, T. M.; Masterson, A.; Kruger, B.

2017-12-01

Subterranean ecosystems are poorly understood because many microbes detected in metagenomic surveys are only distantly related to characterized isolates. Cultivating microorganisms from the deep subsurface is challenging due to its inaccessibility and potential for contamination. The Deep Mine Microbial Observatory (DeMMO) in Lead, SD however, offers access to deep microbial life via pristine fracture fluids in bedrock to a depth of 1478 m. The metabolic landscape of DeMMO was previously characterized via thermodynamic modeling coupled with genomic data, illustrating the potential for microbial inhabitants of DeMMO to utilize mineral substrates as energy sources. Here, we employ field and lab based cultivation approaches with pure minerals to link phylogeny to metabolism at DeMMO. Fracture fluids were directed through reactors filled with Fe3O4, Fe2O3, FeS2, MnO2, and FeCO3 at two sites (610 m and 1478 m) for 2 months prior to harvesting for subsequent analyses. We examined mineralogical, geochemical, and microbiological composition of the reactors via DNA sequencing, microscopy, lipid biomarker characterization, and bulk C and N isotope ratios to determine the influence of mineralogy on biofilm community development. Pre-characterized mineral chips were imaged via SEM to assay microbial growth; preliminary results suggest MnO2, Fe3O4, and Fe2O3 were most conducive to colonization. Solid materials from reactors were used as inoculum for batch cultivation experiments. Media designed to mimic fracture fluid chemistry was supplemented with mineral substrates targeting metal reducers. DNA sequences and microscopy of iron oxide-rich biofilms and fracture fluids suggest iron oxidation is a major energy source at redox transition zones where anaerobic fluids meet more oxidizing conditions. We utilized these biofilms and fluids as inoculum in gradient cultivation experiments targeting microaerophilic iron oxidizers. Cultivation of microbes endemic to DeMMO, a system

Phylogeography of the wild and cultivated stimulant plant qat (Catha edulis, Celastraceae) in areas of historical cultivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tembrock, Luke R; Simmons, Mark P; Richards, Christopher M; Reeves, Patrick A; Reilley, Ann; Curto, Manuel A; Meimberg, Harald; Ngugi, Grace; Demissew, Sebsebe; Al Khulaidi, Abdul Wali; Al-Thobhani, Mansoor; Simpson, Sheron; Varisco, Daniel M

2017-04-01

Qat ( Catha edulis , Celastraceae) is a woody plant species cultivated for its stimulant alkaloids. Qat is important to the economy and culture in large regions of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Yemen. Despite the importance of this species, the wild origins and dispersal of cultivars have only been described in often contradictory historical documents. We examined the wild origins, human-mediated dispersal, and genetic divergence of cultivated qat compared to wild qat. We sampled 17 SSR markers and 1561 wild and cultivated individuals across the historical areas of qat cultivation. On the basis of genetic structure inferred using Bayesian and nonparametric methods, two centers of origin in Kenya and one in Ethiopia were found for cultivated qat. The centers of origin in Ethiopia and northeast of Mt. Kenya are the primary sources of cultivated qat genotypes. Qat cultivated in Yemen is derived from Ethiopian genotypes rather than Yemeni wild populations. Cultivated qat with a wild Kenyan origin has not spread to Ethiopia or Yemen, whereas a small minority of qat cultivated in Kenya originated in Ethiopia. Hybrid genotypes with both Ethiopian and Kenyan parentage are present in northern Kenya. Ethiopian cultivars have diverged from their wild relatives, whereas Kenyan qat has diverged less. This pattern of divergence could be caused by the extinction of the wild-source qat populations in Ethiopia due to deforestation, undersampling, and/or artificial selection for agronomically important traits. © 2017 Tembrock et al. Published by the Botanical Society of America. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons public domain license (CC0 1.0).

Use of geographic information systems (GIS to identify adequate sites for cultivation of the seaweed Gracilaria birdiae in Rio Grande do Norte, Northeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flavo E. S. de Sousa

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This study was designed to select potential areas for cultivation of the seaweed Gracilaria birdiae Plastino & E.C. Oliveira (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta on the coast of Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil. The Geographic Information System (GIS and multi-criteria evaluation (MCE were used to identify the most suitable areas. The Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP was applied to establish MCE weights, thereby generating viable areas for species cultivation. From a total of 3316.82 ha, around 53.67% (1780.06 ha were indicated as highly suitable areas, 40.93% (1357.58 ha as moderately suitable and 5.40% (179.18 ha as scarcely suitable for seaweed cultivation. Seven areas (1084.62 ha are located on the northern coast and 20 (2232.20 ha on the eastern coast. The results show that GIS can be used as an effective instrument for selecting seaweed cultivation areas.

Establishing a benchmarking for fish farming - profitability, productivity and energy efficiency of German, Danish and Turkish rainbow trout grow-out systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lasner, Tobias; Brinker, Alexander; Nielsen, Rasmus

2017-01-01

The promotion of Blue Growth in aquaculture requires an understanding of the economic drivers influencing the sector at farm level, but the collection of reliable and comparable data at this level is time-consuming and expensive. This study suggests an alternative strategy for qualitative sampling...... of freshwater trout farms in Germany, Denmark and Turkey, using a combination of existing data, group discussions and interviews with trout farmers, consultants and researchers. Nine 'typical' trout farming models are described, focusing on profitability, productivity and energy efficiency and allowing in......-depth comparative economic analyses of different production systems at farm level, across regions. Our results show that the majority of the farms investigated have been profitable. Turkish farms benefit from competitive advantages due to low wages, low capital investment and favourable climate conditions. Large...

Profit Allocation in Fuzzy Cooperative Games in Manufacturing and Logistics Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoyan Wang

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Alliance between manufacturing and logistics industry is a new model of the joint development of the two industries. A reasonable profit allocation mechanism is the key to ensure the stable operation of the alliance, as well as to achieve the desired objectives. Based on uncertainty of alliance expected return as well as the inherent features of the alliance, this research establishes an improved model of profit allocation in manufacturing and logistics industry alliance.Design/methodology/approach: This article studies how to introduce comprehensive correction factors to improve interval Shapley value method, which is based on the fact that had been proved by exiting studies. In this study, interval Shapley value method is first applied to calculate the initial allocation of fuzzy cooperative games. Next AHP-GEM method and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method are incorporated. Based on those results, an improved model of profit allocation is established. After that, a case study is demonstrated the practicality and feasibility of the improved model.Findings: Profit allocation is a complex issue in fuzzy cooperative games. There’re impacts from partner risk sharing, collaborative effort market competition, innovative contribution as well as resource investment. All these factors should be involved in the profit allocation, and different factors have different weight in importance.Practical implications: The new model established in the paper is more scientific and reasonable, and more in line with the actual situation. This method also provides good incentives to each enterprise to ensure the healthy and stable development of the alliance.Originality/value: Based on alliance characteristics, this paper establishes an indicator system and a new model for profit allocation in manufacturing and logistics industry alliance, using AHP-GEM method.

Soil protection through almond tree cultivation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, C.; Hernandez, T.; Moreno, J. L.; Bastida, F.; Masciandaro, G.; Mennone, C.; Ceccanti, B.

2009-01-01

Most threat to soil are particularly severe in areas with steps slopes and suffering dry periods followed by heavy rain such as the Mediterranean regions. Severity is aggravated by lacking or inappropriate farming systems. Therefore the objective of this work was to demonstrate that land management based on cultivation of new varieties of local crops (almond trees) suited to these conditions may result in a sustainable system to prevent soil degradation. (Author)

Transforming the tobacco market: why the supply of cigarettes should be transferred from for-profit corporations to non-profit enterprises with a public health mandate.

Science.gov (United States)

Callard, C; Thompson, D; Collishaw, N

2005-08-01

Current tobacco control strategies seek primarily to decrease the demand for cigarettes through measures that encourage individuals to adopt healthier behaviours. These measures are impeded and undermined by tobacco corporations, whose profit drive compels them to seek to maintain and expand cigarette sales. Tobacco corporations seek to expand cigarette sales because they are for-profit business corporations and are obliged under law to maximise profits, even when this results in harm to others. It is not legally possible for a for-profit corporation to relinquish its responsibility to make profits or for it to temper this obligation with responsibilities to support health. Tobacco could be supplied through other non-profit enterprises. The elimination of profit driven behaviour from the supply of tobacco would enhance the ability of public health authorities to reduce tobacco use. Future tobacco control strategies can seek to transform the tobacco market from one occupied by for-profit corporations to one where tobacco is supplied by institutions that share a health mandate and will help to reduce smoking and smoking related disease and death.

Competition for FDI and Profit Shifting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ma, Jie; Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis

When countries compete for the location of a new multinational plant they need to be aware of the profit shifting opportunities this new plant creates for the global multinational firm. By modelling explicitly the multinational’s intra-firm transactions, we show that the home market advantage...... that large countries have due to their size will be counteracted by such profit shifting opportunities. As a result of this, large countries will not be able to capitalize on their size and sustain high corporate taxes. We show that, on the basis of these profit shifting opportunities, a small country can...... easily win the location game ahead of a large country. How lenient the small country is in implementing transfer pricing regulations turns out to be an important variable in such location games....

Health care joint ventures between tax-exempt organizations and for-profit entities.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Michael I

2005-01-01

Health care exempt organizations have many options regarding their structure and affiliations with for-profit entities. As long as any joint ventures are carefully structured and the nonprofit retains control over the exempt health care activities, the Internal Revenue Service should not question the structure. However, as outlined above, if the for-profit entity effectively gains control over the activities of the venture, the structure is not likely to be upheld by the IRS or the courts, and either the exempt status of the nonprofit will be denied or revoked, or health care income will be subject to the unrelated business income tax. In summary, the health care industry has been severely impacted by many economic forces, including uncertainty in the area of joint ventures between nonprofits and for-profit health care systems. The uncertainty as to whether the joint venture would negatively impact the nonprofit's tax-exempt status undoubtedly caused many nonprofits to form for-profit subsidiaries and otherwise expanded operations in a for-profit marketplace. Fortunately, with the guidance that is currently available in the form of Revenue Ruling 98-15, Redlands, St. David's, and now Revenue Ruling 2004-51, health care institutions can move forward with properly structured joint ventures with greater confidence that the joint venture will not endanger the tax-exempt status of the nonprofit.

Profit Sharing and Reciprocity: Theory and Survey Evidence

OpenAIRE

Cornelissen, Thomas; Heywood, John S.; Jirjahn, Uwe

2010-01-01

The 1/n problem potentially limits the effectiveness of profit sharing in motivating workers. While the economic literature suggests that reciprocity can mitigate this problem, it remains silent on the optimal degree of reciprocity. We present a representative model demonstrating that reciprocity may increase productive effort but may also increase unproductive effort such as socializing on the job. The model implies that reciprocity increases profit up to a point but decreases profit beyond ...

Benefits and Costs of For-Profit Public Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Molnar

2001-04-01

Full Text Available As a policy initiative, for-profit operation of public schools has not lived up to the claims of its proponents. An examination of issues such as teaching methods, academic achievement, autonomy, local control, and the image and influence of for-profit public schools suggests that "for-profits" are unlikely to succeed in the long term in improving the overall quality of public education. They do, however, seem capable of harming public schools.

Cooperation and profit allocation in distribution chains

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Guardiola, Luis A.; Meca, Ana; Timmer, Judith B.

2007-01-01

We study the coordination of actions and the allocation of profit in supply chains under decentralized control in which a single supplier supplies several retailers with goods for replenishment of stocks. The goal of the supplier and the retailers is to maximize their individual profits. Since the

An Algorithm for the Nucleolus of Airport Profit Problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brânzei, R.; Inarra, E.; Tijs, S.H.; Zarzuelo, J.

2003-01-01

Airport profit games are a generalization of airport cost games as well as of bankruptcy games.In this paper we present a simple algorithm to compute the nucleolus of airport profit games.In addition we prove that there exists an unique consistent allocation rule in airport profit problems, and it

Causes of different profitability of agricultural sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vučković Branko

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This work involves identification of causes of different profitability of agricultural sector done on case study of nearly identical agricultural enterprises. It shows that financial mix even in scope of similar companies can lead to various profit indicators. Through comparative financial analysis in the same industry and activity by applying methods and techniques we have concluded that company PP Ratkovo operates more stable and closer to determined norms and also shows better results in majority of the indicators. Horizontal and vertical analysis indicates that companies in Agribusiness partner group use expensive external sources of financing. We have precisely defined in which cost segment occurs highest distinction. Also we have shown reasons why PP Ratkovo in the last two years manifests great profitability measured by ebit, ebitda and net profit as well as excellent structure of material costs and wages costs in in frame of the operating income, and reasons why enterprises in Agribusiness partner group does not.

Profit inefficiency and its determinants among yam producers in Imo ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Farm profit inefficiency in yam production in Imo State, Nigeria was estimated using stochastic translog profit frontier model. The mean output of yam producers was 10.3tons/ha, while the mean level of profit inefficiency was 63.7 percent with a wide range of 23.41 – 94.23 percent. Mean loss of profit was N76061 per hectare.

Provision of Child Care: Cost Functions for Profit-Making and Not-for-Profit Day Care Centers

OpenAIRE

Swati Mukerjee; Ann Dryden Witte; Sheila Hollowell

1990-01-01

This paper estimates cost functions for day care centers in Massachusetts. The production technology assumed is the generalized homothetic Cobb-Douglas production function. The cost function dual to this production function is estimated separately for profit-making (P1Os) and not-for-profit (NPOs) organizations. The results are discussed in the context of current NPO literature. NPOs are found to be operating at higher average coats than PMOs for most output levels as predicted by the literat...

Analysing the Influence of the Spontaneous Aneuploidy Frequency on the Cell Population System Cultivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. A. Nefedov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The paper provides a qualitative analysis of M.S. Vinogradova's nonlinear model for dynamics of the cell population system. This system describes the stem cells cultivation in vitro under resource constraints. The system consists of two populations, namely: population of normal cells and population of abnormal cells. Resource constraints are considered as linear dependences of mitosis parameters on the normalized densities of each population.One of the key parameters that effects on the realization of the system evolution scenarios is a parameter that determines a share of the normal cells, which pass, when dividing, into population of the abnormal cells. The paper analyses both the existence conditions of the rest points and the changes of the evolution scenarios of population system with changing abovementioned parameter and other system parameters held fixed. It is shown that there is a saddle-node bifurcation in the system; the bifurcation value of the parameter is found. The paper shows the interval of parameter values in which the favorable scenarios of population system evolution are implemented. It also presents results of mathematical modeling.

Financial Liberalization and Banking Profitability: a Panel Data analysis for Tunisian Banks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hakimi Abdelaziz

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The financial liberalization policy was undertaken in several countries like in Tunisia in order to have modern and dynamic financial system. However, the consequences of this program are completely divergent from it’s waitings. In this paper, on the basis of data relating to 9 Tunisian banks over the period 1980-2009, and by adopting the panal data analysis, we will try to check the effect of financial liberalization on the Tunisian banking profitability. The results of our study show a negative and significative relation between financial liberalization and banking profitability.

Optimal solutions for routing problems with profits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Archetti, C.; Bianchessi, N.; Speranza, M. G.

2013-01-01

In this paper, we present a branch-and-price algorithm to solve two well-known vehicle routing problems with profits, the Capacitated Team Orienteering Problem and the Capacitated Profitable Tour Problem. A restricted master heuristic is applied at each node of the branch-and-bound tree in order to

Management Practices: Are Not For Profits Different?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. Delfgaauw (Josse); A.J. Dur (Robert); C. Propper (Propper); S. Smith (Sarah)

2011-01-01

textabstractRecent studies have demonstrated the importance of good management for firm performance. Here, we focus on management in not-for-profits (NFPs). We present a model predicting that management quality will be lower in NFPs compared to for-profits (FPs), but that outputs may not be worse if

Significance, progress and prospects for research in simplified cultivation technologies for rice in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, M; Ibrahim, Md; Xia, B; Zou, Y

2011-08-01

Simplified cultivation technologies for rice have become increasingly attractive in recent years in China because of their social, economical and environmental benefits. To date, several simplified cultivation technologies, such as conventional tillage and seedling throwing (CTST), conventional tillage and direct seeding (CTDS), no-tillage and seedling throwing (NTST), no-tillage and direct seeding (NTDS) and no-tillage and transplanting (NTTP), have been developed in China. Most studies have shown that rice grown under each of these simplified cultivation technologies can produce a grain yield equal to or higher than traditional cultivation (conventional tillage and transplanting). Studies that have described the influences of agronomic practices on yield formation of rice under simplified cultivation have demonstrated that optimizing agronomy practices would increase the efficiencies of simplified cultivation systems. Further research is needed to optimize the management strategies for CTST, CTDS and NTST rice which have developed quickly in recent years, to strengthen basic research for those simplified cultivation technologies that are rarely used at present (such as NTTP and NTDS), to select and breed cultivars suitable for simplified cultivation and to compare the practicability and effectiveness of different simplified cultivation technologies in different rice production regions.

Scale-down of continuous protein producing Saccharomyces cerevisiae cultivations using a two compartment system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wright, Naia Risager; Rønnest, Nanna Petersen; Thykær, Jette

2016-01-01

ml standard continuous cultivations. It was found that substrate gradients within a limited range result in increased productivity of the heterologous protein under regulation of the glycolytic TPI promoter and delay the decrease of protein and trehalose production during continuous cultivation...

Factors of U.S. Hospitals Associated with Improved Profit Margins: An Observational Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ly, Dan P; Cutler, David M

2018-02-14

Hospitals face financial pressure from decreased margins from Medicare and Medicaid and lower reimbursement from consolidating insurers. The objectives of this study are to determine whether hospitals that became more profitable increased revenues or decreased costs more and to examine characteristics associated with improved financial performance over time. The design of this study is retrospective analyses of U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals between 2003 and 2013. There are 2824 hospitals as subjects of this study. The main measures of this study are the change in clinical operating margin, change in revenues per bed, and change in expenses per bed between 2003 and 2013. Hospitals that became more profitable had a larger magnitude of increases in revenue per bed (about $113,000 per year [95% confidence interval: $93,132 to $133,401]) than of decreases in costs per bed (about - $10,000 per year [95% confidence interval: - $28,956 to $9617]), largely driven by higher non-Medicare reimbursement. Hospitals that improved their margins were larger or joined a hospital system. Not-for-profit status was associated with increases in operating margin, while rural status and having a larger share of Medicare patients were associated with decreases in operating margin. There was no association between improved hospital profitability and changes in diagnosis related group weight, in number of profitable services, or in payer mix. Hospitals that became more profitable were more likely to increase their admissions per bed per year. Differential price increases have led to improved margins for some hospitals over time. Where significant price increases are not possible, hospitals will have to become more efficient to maintain profitability.

Growth and profitability in small privately held biotech firms: preliminary findings.

Science.gov (United States)

Brännback, Malin; Carsrud, Alan; Renko, Maija; Ostermark, Ralf; Aaltonen, Jaana; Kiviluoto, Niklas

2009-06-01

This paper reports on preliminary findings on a study of the relationship of growth and profitability among small privately held Finnish Life Science firms. Previous research results concerning growth and profitability are mixed, ranging from strongly positive to a negative relationship. The conventional wisdom states that growth is a prerequisite for profitability. Our results suggest that the reverse is the case. A high profitability-low growth biotech firm is more probably to make the transition to high profitability-high growth than a firm that starts off with low profitability and high growth.

Determinants of Profitability and Recovery from System-Wide Shocks: The Case of the Airline Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benny Mantin

2012-05-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the determinants of profitability in the U.S. domestic airline industry, segmented into: operations strategy, productivity, and service measures, using quarterly data between 1995 and 2007. The analysis is performed separately on data prior and post 9/11 attack, revealing, among others, that after 9/11 the profitability of full-service carriers is improving faster than that of focused carriers, and that passengers are more forgivable to service glitches after 9/11 or possibly are associating lack of service with the intensified security measures imposed after 9/11. Focusing the analysis on determinants of consumers’ complaints we find further support for these arguments.

Orchid Classification Disease Identification And Healthiness Prediction System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. W. V Sanjaya

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Floriculture has become one of Sri Lankas major foreign exchange ventures and it has grown substantially during the last few years. Currently we can find three major types of growers in floriculture. They are Large Commercial Ventures Middle Level growers and Village Level growers. Both Middle Level and Village level growers usually go for low cost cultivation with minimum advanced techniques sticking to conventional methods. Orchid cultivation is more pleasurable and profitable than any other floriculture ventures. As the orchid cultivation is so pleasurable we can introduce another group of growers who cultivate orchid in their home gardens for making their home gardens beautiful. But the problem is that most of these growers may not have the knowledge to identify the specie of the plants as there are a number of similar looking plants which are in different species. And also they may not have the knowledge about the orchid diseases. Because of that they may not be able to get the maximum outcome from their cultivations. So the aim of our project is to address the above mentioned issues by introducing a system which can identify orchid species amp diseases and predict the healthiness of the orchid plants. The only input to this system is an image of an orchid leaf and the system will provide the orchid specie name diseases if there any healthiness of the orchid plant and suggestions to overcome the issues associated with the orchid plant as the output. We identify the orchid species and diseases by extracting the features of orchid plant leaf in the input image using image processing technics and with the use of data mining technics we predict the healthiness of the orchid plant. So this system will be a great help for the people who love to grow orchids but dont have knowledge about the orchid species and diseases. And also they will be able to find the healthiness of their orchid plants.

Components of the Profitability of Technical Currency Trading

OpenAIRE

Schulmeister, Stephan

2005-01-01

This paper investigates the sources of the profitability of 1024 moving average and momentum models when trading in the German mark (euro)/U.S. dollar market based on daily data. The main results are as follows. First, each of these models would have been profitable over the entire sample period. Second, this profitability is exclusively due to the exploitation of persistent exchange rate trends. Third, these results do not change substantially when trading is examined within subperiods. Four...

Marketing strategies and profitability analysis of restaurants in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Marketing strategies and profitability analysis of restaurants in Sokoto metropolis, Nigeria. ... Abstract. The study examined the marketing strategies and profitability of restaurants in Sokoto metropolis. ... EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT

Harvest and logistics for better profitability from small cultivations of Short Rotation Willow Coppice; Skoerdeteknik och logistik foer baettre loensamhet fraan smaa odlingar av Salix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baky, Andras; Forsberg, Maya; Rosenqvist, Haakan; Jonsson, Nils; Sundberg, Martin

2010-06-15

In Sweden, the political desire to increase the amount of short rotation willow coppice (Salix) plantations has been expressed. However, for various reasons interest from farmers has been low. The hypothesis of this study is that the total area of Salix cultivation can be increased by also cultivating fields smaller than those generally considered economic today. In order to lower production costs, machine systems adapted for harvest of smaller fields are required. The possibility of using farmers' existing tractors and more convenient machines, as well as achieving lower machine costs for smaller fields, may increase farmers' interest. The long-term objective is to achieve large-scale deliveries of willow with small-scale solutions at farm level, as an option and complement to today's more large-scale systems for harvesting willow. Costs, energy use and climatic impact (CO{sub 2} emissions) for two harvest and logistical chains suitable for small fields have been calculated from field to energy plant, and methods for minimizing these costs have been analyzed. Comparison is made with the direct chipping system, the most commonly used in Sweden today. The systems studied comprised: 1. Direct bundling harvest system with a tractor-towed harvester, collection of bundles in the field with a trailer-mounted crane, and storage in a pile before delivery. Chipping is performed at the energy plant. 2. Direct billeting with a tractor-towed harvester accompanied simultaneously by a tractor and trailer for collection, and storage in a pile before delivery. 3. Direct chipping with a self-propelled modified forage harvester accompanied simultaneously by a tractor and container for collection, and direct delivery to plant. Both the billet and bundle systems show higher costs than the direct chipping system, irrespective of field size. The analysis of different scenarios and conditions shows possibilities of lowering the costs through certain measures. Furthermore

Analyzing a self-managed CHP system for greenhouse cultivation as a profitable way to reduce CO2-emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Compernolle, Tine; Witters, Nele; Van Passel, Steven; Thewys, Theo

2011-01-01

To counter global warming, a transition to a low-carbon economy is needed. The greenhouse sector can contribute by installing Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems, known for their excellent energy efficiency. Due to the recent European liberalization of the energy market, glass horticulturists have the opportunity to sell excess electricity to the market and by tailored policy and support measures, regional governments can fill the lack of technical and economic knowledge, causing initial resistance. This research investigates the economic and environmental opportunities using two detailed cases applying a self managed cogeneration system. The Net Present Value is calculated to investigate the economic feasibility. The Primary Energy Saving, the CO 2 Emission Reduction indicator and an Emission Balance are applied to quantify the environmental impact. The results demonstrate that a self-managed CHP system is economic viable and that CO 2 emissions are reduced.

Price Discrimination, Economies of Scale, and Profits.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Donghyun

2000-01-01

Demonstrates that it is possible for economies of scale to induce a price-discriminating monopolist to sell in an unprofitable market where the average cost always exceeds the price. States that higher profits in the profitable market caused by economies of scale may exceed losses incurred in the unprofitable market. (CMK)

[Cultivated keratinocytes on micro-carriers: in vitro studies of a new carrier system].

Science.gov (United States)

Hecht, J; Hoefter, E A; Hecht, J; Haraida, S; Nerlich, A; Hartinger, A; Mühlbauer, W; Dimoudis, N

1997-03-01

Epidermal grafts from confluently cultivated keratinocytes have been used since the early eighties for the treatment of severe burns, where the shortage of donor sites for split-thickness skin grafts did not allow for adequate wound coverage. The difficult handling of these grafts as well as the advanced differentiation of their epithelial cells into a multilayer sheet poses a problem for their clinical application. The aim of the study was to characterize cultivated keratinocytes, as well as to observe their migration and proliferation from the MC onto a surface. Keratinocytes were isolated from human foreskin and cultivated in serum-free and serum-containing medium according to a modified method by Rheinwald and Green. Collagen-coated Dextran beads were used as MC. The MC were colonized with keratinocytes using the Spinner culture technique. After seeding the colonized MC into culture flasks, their migration and proliferation was monitored regularly through immunohistochemical studies and measurement of the metabolic cell activity. Immunohistological staining proved that the cells isolated from human foreskin represent keratinocytes of the basal type. Keratinocytes, cultivated with serum-containing and serum free medium, both adhered to the surface of the MC, then migrated onto the surface of the flasks and proliferated to form a multilayer of epithelial cells. In the long-term, a flexible epithelial graft consisting of poorly differentiated keratinocytes should be available, which is simple to produce and easy to handle. This would be an alternative method for treating wounds, where the conventional multilayer epithelial graft (ET) is insufficient.

Relay cropping of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) improves the profitability of cotton-wheat cropping system in Punjab, Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Sajjad, Aamer; Anjum, Shakeel Ahmad; Ahmad, Riaz; Waraich, Ejaz Ahmad

2018-01-01

Delayed sowing of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in cotton-based system reduces the productivity and profitability of the cotton-wheat cropping system. In this scenario, relay cropping of wheat in standing cotton might be a viable option to ensure the timely wheat sowing with simultaneous improvement in wheat yields and system profitability. This 2-year study (2012-2013 and 2013-2014) aimed to evaluate the influence of sowing dates and relay cropping combined with different management techniques of cotton sticks on the wheat yield, soil physical properties, and the profitability of the cotton-wheat system. The experiment consisted of five treatments viz. (S1) sowing of wheat at the 7th of November by conventional tillage (two disc harrows + one rotavator + two plankings) after the removal of cotton sticks, (S2) sowing of wheat at the 7th of November by conventional tillage (two disc harrows + two plankings) after the incorporation of cotton sticks in the field with a rotavator, (S3) sowing of wheat at the 7th of November as relay crop in standing cotton with broadcast method, (S4) sowing of wheat at the 15th of December by conventional tillage (two disc harrows + one rotavator + two plankings) after the removal of cotton sticks, and (S5) sowing of wheat at the 15th of December by conventional tillage (two disc harrows + two plankings) after the incorporation of cotton sticks in the field with a rotavator. The highest seed cotton yield was observed in the S5 treatment which was statistically similar with the S3 and S4 treatments; seed cotton yield in the S1 and S2 treatments has been the lowest in both years of experimentation. However, the S2 treatment produced substantially higher root length, biological yield, and grain yield of wheat than the other treatments. The lower soil bulk density at 0-10-cm depth was recorded in the S2 treatment which was statistically similar with the S5 treatment during both years of experimentation. The volumetric water contents, net

A study on the comparison of antioxidant effects among wild ginseng, cultivated wild ginseng, and cultivated ginseng extracts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hae Young, Jang

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Objective : The objective of this study was to compare the antioxidant effects among wild ginseng, cultivated wild ginseng, and ginseng extracts. Methods : In vitro antioxidant activities were examined by total antioxidant capacity (TAC, oxygen radical scavenging capacity(ORAC, total phenolic content, 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH radical scavenging activity, inhibition of induced lipid peroxidation using liver mitochondria, reactive oxygen species(ROS scavenging effect using 2’, 7’-dichlorofluorescein(DCF fluorescence. Results : 1. TAC of 1.5 and 3.75 mg extracts was highest in cultivated wild ginseng, followed by wild ginseng and lowest in ginseng. 2. ORAC of 2, 10, and 20 μg extracts was highest in cultivated wild ginseng, followed by wild ginseng and lowest in ginseng. 3. Total phenolic content of 0.375, 0.938, and 1.875 mg extracts was highest in cultivated wild ginseng, followed by wild ginseng and lowest in ginseng. 4. DPPH(1, 1 -Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl scavenging activity between wild ginseng and cultivated wild ginseng did not differ significantly (p>0.05. 5. Induced lipid peroxidation, measured by TBARS concentration in solution containing rat liver mitochondria incubated in the presence of FeSO4/ascorbic acid was inhibited as amounts of wild ginseng, cultivated wild ginseng, and ginseng extracts increased. TBARS concentration of ginseng extracts were significantly (p<0.05 higher than wild ginseng or cultivated wild ginseng extracts. 6. DCF fluorescence intensity was decreased as concentrations of wild ginseng, cultivated wild ginseng, and ginseng extracts increased, demonstrating that ROS generation was inhibited in a concentrationdependent manner. Conclusions : In summary, the results of this study demonstrate that cultivated wild ginseng extracts had similar antioxidant activities to wild ginseng extracts and greater that of cultivated ginseng extracts.

Effects of different cultivation techniques on vineyard fauna

OpenAIRE

Mikulas, J.; Kutasi, Cs.; Mark, V.; Balog, A.

2002-01-01

Green covering compared to soil cultivation enhanced the number of individuals of Araneae living on or near soil. No differences between the different soil management systems were found for the number of individuals of Staphylinidae and Carabidae. The typical main species of the two systems were different for all groups analyzed (Araneae, Staphylinidae and Carabidae).

Profitability analysis of plantain marketing in Kaduna metropolis ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Profitability analysis of plantain marketing in Kaduna metropolis, Kaduna state Nigeria. ... The study was carried out to analyze the profitability of plantain marketing and to examine the ... EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT

Cultivation Of Deep Subsurface Microbial Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Obrzut, Natalia; Casar, Caitlin; Osburn, Magdalena R.

2018-01-01

The potential habitability of surface environments on other planets in our solar system is limited by exposure to extreme radiation and desiccation. In contrast, subsurface environments may offer protection from these stressors and are potential reservoirs for liquid water and energy that support microbial life (Michalski et al., 2013) and are thus of interest to the astrobiology community. The samples used in this project were extracted from the Deep Mine Microbial Observatory (DeMMO) in the former Homestake Mine at depths of 800 to 2000 feet underground (Osburn et al., 2014). Phylogenetic data from these sites indicates the lack of cultured representatives within the community. We used geochemical data to guide media design to cultivate and isolate organisms from the DeMMO communities. Media used for cultivation varied from heterotrophic with oxygen, nitrate or sulfate to autotrophic media with ammonia or ferrous iron. Environmental fluid was used as inoculum in batch cultivation and strains were isolated via serial transfers or dilution to extinction. These methods resulted in isolating aerobic heterotrophs, nitrate reducers, sulfate reducers, ammonia oxidizers, and ferric iron reducers. DNA sequencing of these strains is underway to confirm which species they belong to. This project is part of the NASA Astrobiology Institute Life Underground initiative to detect and characterize subsurface microbial life; by characterizing the intraterrestrials, the life living deep within Earth’s crust, we aim to understand the controls on how and where life survives in subsurface settings. Cultivation of terrestrial deep subsurface microbes will provide insight into the survival mechanisms of intraterrestrials guiding the search for these life forms on other planets.

Isolation and Cultivation of Anaerobes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aragao Börner, Rosa

2016-01-01

Anaerobic microorganisms play important roles in different biotechnological processes. Their complex metabolism and special cultivation requirements have led to less isolated representatives in comparison to their aerobic counterparts.In view of that, the isolation and cultivation of anaerobic...

Corporate Social Responsibility and Profit Maximizing Behaviour

OpenAIRE

Becchetti, Leonardo; Giallonardo, Luisa; Tessitore, Maria Elisabetta

2005-01-01

We examine the behavior of a profit maximizing monopolist in a horizontal differentiation model in which consumers differ in their degree of social responsibility (SR) and consumers SR is dynamically influenced by habit persistence. The model outlines parametric conditions under which (consumer driven) corporate social responsibility is an optimal choice compatible with profit maximizing behavior.

Investment in Electronic Commerce: Financial Perspectives and Profit Conditions

OpenAIRE

Bergendahl, Göran

2002-01-01

Electronic Commerce ("eCommerce") is a concept for trade based upon products and services that are being marketed, contracted, and paid for over the Internet. Consequently, electronic commerce demands for the investment in computer systems, marketing, logistics and payments. This paper will focus on the profitability of investments in eCommerce with a special focus on outlays for information technology systems and sales management. If the services are made more standardized, if they do not ch...

ADAPTIVE ENERGY-SAVING CULTIVATOR FOR STONY SOILS CULTIVATING

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A. B. Kudzaev

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Practice of cultivators operation on stony soils in RNO-Alania with high hardness and humidity indicates that traction resistance during the work varies widely, with deviation from the mean value by more than 2 times. Optimally adjust the machine to the soil background when using most modern mechanisms of regulation is not always possible. Customizing the data machine boils down to the choice of priority between the vibration of the working bodies in the soil, the maintenance of the given depth and power reserve stands required to crawl the working body of the big stones. It is very difficult to get in practice the best combination of these three factors, especially on stony soils. Therefore, the machine must be designed with the ability to quickly adjust to changing operating conditions and modes to ensure energy-saving effects and not violations of the specified soil depth of various hardness with the possibility of equipping the machine racks with different working bodies. The interrow cultivator with the possibility of the quick adjustment (including automated to varying conditions was developed. In the process of studied basic parameters of elastic composite racks and parameters of pneumatic mechanism drive to adjust the proposed section of the machine were established. The system hardiness in layouts by elastic bars with air pressure up to 0.6 MPa varies from 17.7 to 45.3 N/mm. It was received effective values of pressures 0.4-0.5 MPa in the pneumatic drive partitions of the machine when operating with universal blade and ridger body OK-3 on stony soil. As a result, traction resistance decreases by 30-35 percent.

The use of PCR assay for quality testing of grain of winter wheat cultivated in organic, integrated, conventional system and monoculture in phytopathological aspect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksander Łukanowski

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of experiments was to evaluate the occurrence of fungi on grain of winter wheat cv. Roma cultivated in four systems on the experimental fields owned by the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation. Among pathogenic species, fungi from genus Fusarium dominated. Their number was the lowest on grain harvested in organic system and the highest in integrated one. Saprotrophic species were represented mainly by Alternaria alternata, which occurred the most often in organic system. Determination of F. avenaceum, F. culmorum and F. poae with microscope was confirmed with a PCR assay. All isolates of F. culmorum and F. poae gave an amplification product of Tri 5 gene coding the possibility of trichocene production, while none of isolates of F. avenaceum.

Fungal communities in mycorrhizal roots of conifer seedlings in forest nurseries under different cultivation systems, assessed by morphotyping, direct sequencing and mycelial isolation.

Science.gov (United States)

Menkis, Audrius; Vasiliauskas, Rimvydas; Taylor, Andrew F S; Stenlid, Jan; Finlay, Roger

2005-12-01

Fungi colonising root tips of Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies grown under four different seedling cultivation systems were assessed by morphotyping, direct sequencing and isolation methods. Roots were morphotyped using two approaches: (1) 10% of the whole root system from 30 seedlings of each species and (2) 20 randomly selected tips per plant from 300 seedlings of each species. The first approach yielded 15 morphotypes, the second yielded 27, including 18 new morphotypes. The overall community consisted of 33 morphotypes. The level of mycorrhizal colonisation of roots determined by each approach was about 50%. The cultivation system had a marked effect on the level of mycorrhizal colonisation. In pine, the highest level of colonisation (48%) was observed in bare-root systems, while in spruce, colonisation was highest in polyethylene rolls (71%). Direct internal transcribed spacer ribosomal DNA sequencing and isolation detected a total of 93 fungal taxa, including 27 mycorrhizal. A total of 71 (76.3%) fungi were identified at least to a genus level. The overlap between the two methods was low. Only 13 (13.9%) of taxa were both sequenced and isolated, 47 (50.5%) were detected exclusively by sequencing and 33 (35.5%) exclusively by isolation. All isolated mycorrhizal fungi were also detected by direct sequencing. Characteristic mycorrhizas were Phialophora finlandia, Amphinema byssoides, Rhizopogon rubescens, Suillus luteus and Thelephora terrestris. There was a moderate similarity in mycorrhizal communities between pine and spruce and among different cultivation systems.

Application of relationship marketing in non-profit organisations ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Application of relationship marketing in non-profit organisations involved in the provision of sport and recreational services. ... A variety of factors have over time contributed to a need for marketing in non-profit ... AJOL African Journals Online.

Social Cultivation of Vaccine Refusal and Delay among Waldorf (Steiner) School Parents.

Science.gov (United States)

Sobo, Elisa J

2015-09-01

U.S. media reports suggest that vastly disproportionate numbers of un- and under-vaccinated children attend Waldorf (private alternative) schools. After confirming this statistically, I analyzed qualitative and quantitative vaccination-related data provided by parents from a well-established U.S. Waldorf school. In Europe, Waldorf-related non-vaccination is associated with anthroposophy (a worldview foundational to Waldorf education)—but that was not the case here. Nor was simple ignorance to blame: Parents were highly educated and dedicated to self-education regarding child health. They saw vaccination as variously unnecessary, toxic, developmentally inappropriate, and profit driven. Some vaccine caution likely predated matriculation, but notable post-enrollment refusal increases provided evidence of the socially cultivated nature of vaccine refusal in the Waldorf school setting. Vaccine caution was nourished and intensified by an institutionalized emphasis on alternative information and by school community norms lauding vaccine refusal and masking uptake. Implications for intervention are explored. © 2015 by the American Anthropological Association.

Capital Structure and Profitability of Quoted Companies in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AMOS O. AROWOSHEGBE. Ph.D; ACA.

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The study examined the relationship of capital structure to profitability of quoted firms in Nigeria. The study was based on a panel data set from 1996 to 2010 comprising sixty non – financial companies. The study specified two panel regression models. Two profitability measures: Net Profit Margin (NPM and Operating Profit Margin (OPM were taken as the dependent variables respectively. The principal explanatory variable for each of the models was Debt Ratio (DR. The results of the study indicated that there was a significant negative relationship between capital structure and profitability of quoted companies in Nigeria. Indeed, the results the Pecking order theory that profitable firms do not target an optimal level of leverage to balance the benefits and costs of debt financing. Rather, firms use retained earnings first, then debts and finally equity. Such firms would actually be paying high tax charges and also high operating costs arising from over dependence on the money market for their funds requirements. It was recommended that appropriate fiscal policies, relevant capital market institutional and legal framework should be put in place. These measures, we believe, will ensure better access to funds and reduce the cost of doing business.

A global view of shifting cultivation: Recent, current, and future extent.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Heinimann

Full Text Available Mosaic landscapes under shifting cultivation, with their dynamic mix of managed and natural land covers, often fall through the cracks in remote sensing-based land cover and land use classifications, as these are unable to adequately capture such landscapes' dynamic nature and complex spectral and spatial signatures. But information about such landscapes is urgently needed to improve the outcomes of global earth system modelling and large-scale carbon and greenhouse gas accounting. This study combines existing global Landsat-based deforestation data covering the years 2000 to 2014 with very high-resolution satellite imagery to visually detect the specific spatio-temporal pattern of shifting cultivation at a one-degree cell resolution worldwide. The accuracy levels of our classification were high with an overall accuracy above 87%. We estimate the current global extent of shifting cultivation and compare it to other current global mapping endeavors as well as results of literature searches. Based on an expert survey, we make a first attempt at estimating past trends as well as possible future trends in the global distribution of shifting cultivation until the end of the 21st century. With 62% of the investigated one-degree cells in the humid and sub-humid tropics currently showing signs of shifting cultivation-the majority in the Americas (41% and Africa (37%-this form of cultivation remains widespread, and it would be wrong to speak of its general global demise in the last decades. We estimate that shifting cultivation landscapes currently cover roughly 280 million hectares worldwide, including both cultivated fields and fallows. While only an approximation, this estimate is clearly smaller than the areas mentioned in the literature which range up to 1,000 million hectares. Based on our expert survey and historical trends we estimate a possible strong decrease in shifting cultivation over the next decades, raising issues of livelihood security

Profit and loss account in the international context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PALIU - POPA LUCIA

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Given that the objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of an economic unit, useful for a wide range of users in making economic decisions, particular attention should be paid to the profit and loss account, which is the main instrument for reflecting the financial performance, because on the one hand it provides the information necessary for their evaluation, and on the other hand the information essential for determining the risk of cash flows. Even if each component of the financial statements provides different pieces of information, they should be correlated because they reflect different aspects of the same transactions or events, and in this article we will address the general aspects of profit and loss account from the perspective of profit and loss account models. In this regard, after a brief theoretical approach of the profit and loss account, we will indicate the advantages of two models of profit and loss account but without forgetting their limitations. Thus, we will provide the income statement structure on two stages of normalization: internationally and nationally.

Valuing goodwill: not-for-profits prepare for annual impairment testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Heuer, Christian; Travers, Mary Ann K

2011-02-01

Accounting standards for valuing goodwill and intangible assets are becoming more rigorous for not-for-profit organizations: Not-for-profit healthcare organizations need to test for goodwill impairment at least annually. Impairment testing is a two-stage process: initial analysis to determine whether impairment exists and subsequent calculation of the magnitude of impairment. Certain "triggering" events compel all organizations--whether for-profit or not-for-profit--to perform an impairment test for goodwill or intangible assets.

The Significance of Loyalty on Consumer Credit Profitability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aditya Galih Prihartono

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to analyze and test the effect of customer loyalty on consumer credit profitability. Loyalty Index Score was developed to determine the level of customers’ loyalty level through 4 main variables; Longevity, Depth, Breadth and Referrals. The effect of Loyalty Index Score on profitability was further tested by path analysis to find out the significance direct relationship between loyalty and profitablity and the indirect relationship between the two variable through bucket. The result showed that loyalty has a significant effect on profitability either directly or indirectly. It was concluded that direct loyalty effect on profitability is lower than that of the indirect effect through bucket. The conclusion could be made by analyzing the available data from personal loan customers in one of the biggest multinational bank in indonesia during October 2010 until March 2011.

Implications of Water Use and Water Scarcity Footprint for Sustainable Rice Cultivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thapat Silalertruksa

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Rice cultivation is a vital economic sector of many countries in Asia, including Thailand, with the well-being of people relying significantly on selling rice commodities. Water-intensive rice cultivation is facing the challenge of water scarcity. The study assessed the volumetric freshwater use and water scarcity footprint of the major and second rice cultivation systems in the Chao Phraya, Tha Chin, Mun, and Chi watersheds of Thailand. The results revealed that a wide range of freshwater use, i.e., 0.9–3.0 m3/kg of major rice and 0.9–2.3 m3/kg of second rice, and a high water use of rice was found among the watersheds in the northeastern region, like the Mun and Chi watersheds. However, the water scarcity footprint results showed that the second rice cultivation in watersheds, like in Chao Phraya and Tha Chin in the central region, need to be focused for improving the irrigation water use efficiency. The alternate wetting and drying (AWD method was found to be a promising approach for substituting the pre-germinated seed broadcasting system to enhance the water use efficiency of second rice cultivation in the central region. Recommendations vis-à-vis the use of the water stress index as a tool for agricultural zoning policy were also discussed.

Activity of Mn-Oxidizing Peroxidases of Ganoderma lucidum Depending on Cultivation Conditions

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Jasmina Ćilerdžić

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Trunks and stumps of various deciduous species act as natural habitats for Ganoderma lucidum. The chemical composition of their cell wall affects the development of fungal ligninolytic enzyme system as well as its ability to degrade lignin from the plant cell wall. Additionally, numerous compounds structurally similar to lignin can be degraded by the G. lucidum enzyme system which could take important roles in various biotechnological processes. The laccases, which are the dominant enzymes synthesized by G. lucidum, have been studied more extensively than the Mn-oxidizing peroxidases. Therefore, this study aimed to create the dynamics profile of Mn-oxidizing peroxidases activities in four G. lucidum strains, classifying and determining their properties depending on the cultivation type and plant residue as a carbon source in the medium, as well as to establish whether intraspecific variety exists. The findings suggest that submerged cultivation appeared to be a more appropriate cultivation type for enzyme activities compared with solid-state cultivation, and oak sawdust was a better carbon source than wheat straw. Under the optimum conditions, on day 14, G. lucidum BEOFB 431 was characterized by the highest levels of both Mn-dependent and Mn-independent peroxidase activities (4795.5 and 5170.5 U/L, respectively. Strain, cultivation type, and carbon source were factors that affected the profiles of Mn-oxidizing peroxidases isoenzymes.

Productivity and Profitability of Jackfruit-Eggplant Agroforestry System in the Terrace Ecosystem of Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Abiar Rahaman

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Multistoried agroforestry systems as a form of jackfruit-eggplant based is increasingly recognized as a promising option to counteract the catastrophic effects of climate change through providing multifaceted benefits. Unfortunately, farmers of Bangladesh did not manage their jackfruit orchard in a scientific manner. Therefore, the present study was aimed to assess the productivity and profitability of jackfruit-eggplant based agroforestry system after modification from a traditional jackfruit orchard during the period of July 2012 to December 2013. Five treatments covering four orientations of jackfruit tree and an open field was used as a control treatment. To observe the growth and economic performance of the system; soil moisture and temperature, DBH, number of fruits per tree, fruit length, fruit width, fruit weight, total yield, BCR, and LER were calculated following different established methods. The yield of jackfruit dramatically increased by 81% in the agroforestry system in compared to sole cropping, while eggplant shows inverse trend. Soil moisture was high in agroforestry system than that of control plot while soil temperature shows reverse pattern. Indeed, agroforestry system had some negative effects on growth performance of understorey crops. Despite, net return and BCR from jackfruit based agroforestry system were 5.58 lakh and 4.56, which was 66 and 45%, respectively higher than sole cropping systems. The LER of jackfruit-eggplant based agroforestry system was 2.17. Considering the main findings, we can elucidate that jackfruit orchards can be transformed to agroforestry system for maximizing production, generating income and conserving environment.

Gas-processing profit margin series begins in OGJ

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovacs, K.J.

1991-01-01

This paper reports on the bases and methods employed by the WK (Wright, Killen and Co, Houston) profit-margin indicator for U.S. gas-processing plants. Additionally, this article reviews the historical profitability of the gas-processing industry and key factors affecting these trends. Texas was selected as the most representative for the industry, reflecting the wide spectrum of gas-processing plants. The profit performance of Texas' gas plants is of special significance because of the large number of plants and high volume of NGL production in the region

Oil price scenarios and refining profitability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sweeney, B.

1993-01-01

Currently refining profitability is low because there has been an overbuilding of conversion capacity in Western Europe in the last round. Oil marketing, the chemicals business and the fundamental economy itself are at low points in their cycles which have not coincided, at least in the UK, since 1975. Against that gloomy background, it is predicted that downstream profitability will recover in the mid-1990s. Crude oil prices will remain low until the call on OPEC crude increases again and takes up the capacity which has been brought on stream in response to the Gulf War. When this happens, it is likely to trigger another price spike and another round of investment in production capacity. Environmentally driven investments in desulphurisation or emissions reduction will be poorly remunerated all the way through the value chain. Refining margins will recover when white oil demand growth tightens up the need for conversion capacity. Marketing will need to reduce the retail network overcapacity in the mature markets if it is to improve its profitability. In this period of low profitability, even with the light at the end of the tunnel for refiners in the middle of the decade, the industry structure is under threat. There is a strong argument for new modes of competitive behaviour which are backed by strong elements of cooperation. (author)

Combining Purpose With Profits

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Julian Birkinshaw, Julian; Foss, Nicolai Juul; Lindenberg, Siegwart

2014-01-01

A sense of purpose that transcends making money can motivate employees. But to sustain both a sense of purpose and a solid level of profitability over time, companies need to pay attention to several fundamental organizing principles....

Micrometeorological principles of protected cultivation

Science.gov (United States)

Protected cultivation is a broad term commonly used among producers of specialty crops. Techniques can range from complex fixed structures to field site selection, to straightforward cultural practices in the field. This introduction to the ASHS workshop "Protected cultivation for fruit crops" consi...

Use of waste material in cultivation substrates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petr Salaš

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Gardeners' practical experience and experimental work prove the affirmation that the used substrate is a very important base for the production of quality nursery products. It is important to emphasis the complexity and synergy of all factors influencing the ecosystem and there mutual relations. Physical, chemical and biological properties do not separately affect the growth and development of plants. In addition, the relations are not statical but differ in relation with other factors changes. This article is dealing with the possibility to use waste material from timber processing in cultivation substrates. The large scale use of such substrates would enable people to reach a relative independence from peat substrates, of which the global reserve is gradually decreasing.Our research activities focus on the use of bark. The basic problems of a bark substrate are easy dehydration and unbalanced nutrition of trees and shrubs. The suggested and experimented cultivation technology solves these problems. It is based on the cultivation of woody species in bark substrates, using modern irrigation systems, slow release fertilisers (Silvamix Forte and special soil conditioners (TerraCottem. This technology was tested on the following species of trees and shrubs: Malus and Buxus.

Evaluation of comparative advantages in the profitability and competitiveness of the small-scale dairy system of Tulancingo Valley, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Posadas-Domínguez, Rodolfo Rogelio; Del Razo-Rodríguez, Oscar Enrique; Almaraz-Buendía, Isaac; Pelaez-Acero, Armando; Espinosa-Muñoz, Verónica; Rebollar-Rebollar, Samuel; Salinas-Martínez, Jesús Armando

2018-06-01

This article combines a Policy Analysis Matrix with a sensitivity and poverty line analysis with the objective of evaluating the economic contribution of comparative advantages to the private profitability and competitiveness of small-scale dairy systems. For 1 year, socioeconomic data were collected from 82 farms selected from four strata via statistical sampling. Two scenarios were established to determine the quantitative contribution of comparative advantages: (1) a simulated scenario, which accounted for the cost of purchasing the total food and the opportunity cost of the family labour force (FLF), and (2) an actual production scenario, which accounted for the cost of producing food and eliminating the payment of the FLF and included other income. The E3 and E4 producers were the most profitable and competitive in the simulated scenario and actual production scenario. Of the four scales evaluated, the E2 and E1 producers were the most efficient in taking advantage of the economic contribution provided by the comparative advantages in their own production of food and employment of the FLF, in addition to accounting for other income, a condition that increased their profitability by 171 and 144% and competitiveness by 346 and 273%, respectively. The poverty results indicated that only E3 and E4 producers were non-vulnerable in the simulated scenario and actual production scenario. The purchase of food was the comparative advantage with the greatest sensitivity to cost increases in the two scenarios analysed, which exacerbated the effect on the E1 and E2 producers.

Soil water erosion under different cultivation systems and different fertilization rates and forms over 10 years

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ildegardis Bertol

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The action of rain and surface runoff together are the active agents of water erosion, and further influences are the soil type, terrain, soil cover, soil management, and conservation practices. Soil water erosion is low in the no-tillage management system, being influenced by the amount and form of lime and fertilizer application to the soil, among other factors. The aim was to evaluate the effect of the form of liming, the quantity and management of fertilizer application on the soil and water losses by erosion under natural rainfall. The study was carried out between 2003 and 2013 on a Humic Dystrupept soil, with the following treatments: T1 - cultivation with liming and corrective fertilizer incorporated into the soil in the first year, and with 100 % annual maintenance fertilization of P and K; T2 - surface liming and corrective fertilization distributed over five years, and with 75 % annual maintenance fertilization of P and K; T3 - surface liming and corrective fertilization distributed over three years, and with 50 % annual maintenance fertilization of P and K; T4 - surface liming and corrective fertilization distributed over two years, and with 25 % annual maintenance fertilization of P and K; T5 - fallow soil, without liming or fertilization. In the rotation the crops black oat (Avena strigosa , soybean (Glycine max , common vetch (Vicia sativa , maize (Zea mays , fodder radish (Raphanus sativus , and black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris . The split application of lime and mineral fertilizer to the soil surface in a no-tillage system over three and five years, results in better control of soil losses than when split in two years. The increase in the amount of fertilizer applied to the soil surface under no-tillage cultivation increases phytomass production and reduces soil loss by water erosion. Water losses in treatments under no-tillage cultivation were low in all crop cycles, with a similar behavior as soil losses.

Recent advances in periodontal microbiology: An update on cultivation techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kishore G Bhat

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Microbial members of the subgingival plaque community play a major role in the initiation and progression of periodontal diseases. Majority of these bacteria are anaerobic in nature and several anaerobic systems have been used for their cultivation. Among them anaerobic jars are the most popular and are routinely used for the detection of periodontal pathogens from clinical samples. Despite best efforts, a significant portion of oral microbes have not yet been cultivated and several hypotheses have been put forth to explain this anomaly. This has led to renewed efforts to cultivate the oral bacteria so far identified only by their molecular signatures resulting in improvisation of existing culture techniques and devising novel methods of isolation. Several devices have been used on environmental samples successfully: One method called "minitrap" has been successfully adapted to oral cavity and has shown great promise in isolation of not yet cultivated oral bacterial species. These newer techniques are sure to shed more light on the role of microbes in the etiology of periodontal diseases.

Bicarbonate-based cultivation of Dunaliella salina for enhancing carbon utilization efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ga-Yeong; Heo, Jina; Kim, Hee-Sik; Han, Jong-In

2017-08-01

In this study, bicarbonate was proposed as an alternative carbon source to overcome exceedingly low CO 2 fixation efficiency of conventional microalgae cultivation system. 5gL -1 of sodium bicarbonate was found to well support the growth of Dunaliella salina, showing 2.84-fold higher specific growth rate than a bicarbonate-free control. This bicarbonate-fed cultivation also could yield biomass productivity similar to that of CO 2 -based system as long as pH was controlled. While the supplied CO 2 , because of its being a gas, was mostly lost and only 3.59% of it was used for biomass synthesis, bicarbonate was effectively incorporated into the biomass with 91.40% of carbon utilization efficiency. This study showed that the bicarbonate-based microalgae cultivation is indeed possible, and can even become a truly environment-friendly and workable approach, provided that a CO 2 mineralization technology is concomitantly established. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intensification of Shifting Cultivation in Tanzania: Degree, Drivers and Effects on Vegetation and Soils

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kilawe, Charles Joseph

The aim of the present study was to provide a better understanding of the degree and drivers of intensification of shifting cultivation and its effects on vegetation and soils. The study was conducted in uplands and low lands agro-ecological zones of Kilosa District, eastern central Tanzania. Data...... and intensive short fallow systems. They also adopted intensive land preparation methods that involved deep cultivation and burying of vegetation. Intensification in upland was driven by adoption and enforcement of land tenure policies which restrict shifting cultivation whereas in the lowlands, it was driven...... that sustainable intensification of shifting cultivation be sought to prevent further adverse effects on the environment. The present restrictive policy driven approach of intensification of shifting cultivation seems to cause more negative environmental consequences. I recommend development and promotion...

FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THE PROFITABILITY, AN IMPORTANT QUALITY SYNTHETIC INDICATOR OF THE COMPANIES FROM TOURISM

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SANDA GHEORGHE GABRIEL

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The tourist activity is numbered among those phenomena which have been imposed globally, the special development of it being one of the characteristic features of our century, and especially of the second half of it. The goal of any travel company is to obtain profit, performing economic activities in terms of economic profitability. We can talk about the profitability of an activity when the effects are of the nature of the net income, profit. We can speak of efficiency when the effects are of the nature of economies. The concept of profitability must be delimited as economic and theoretical concept, which involves the capacity of a system to produce useful economic effects and measure profitability which is carried out by comparing the effects with the effort[1]. The purpose of the use of profitability varies according to the organizational levels of the economy, interests which pursue the place where the action takes place. Given the evolution of the global tourism, tourism activity is among the few large-scale phenomena, which are essential for the welfare of each of us. Any travel agency, in order to be profitable, it must have an effective manager to manage all resources, human, financial and material in order to obtain a result at least lucrative, with which you can develop your business and thrive on the tourist market. The research on tourism phenomenon integrates a broad thematic area, from defining its place in the development strategy to highlighting the determinants, the development fluctuations and the manifestation forms of coordinates and market mechanisms and evaluating its impact on economic, social, cultural, environmental and political area.

Advancing gut microbiome research using cultivation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sommer, Morten OA

2015-01-01

Culture-independent approaches have driven the field of microbiome research and illuminated intricate relationships between the gut microbiota and human health. However, definitively associating phenotypes to specific strains or elucidating physiological interactions is challenging for metagenomic...... approaches. Recently a number of new approaches to gut microbiota cultivation have emerged through the integration of high-throughput phylogenetic mapping and new simplified cultivation methods. These methodologies are described along with their potential use within microbiome research. Deployment of novel...... cultivation approaches should enable improved studies of xenobiotic tolerance and modification phenotypes and allow a drastic expansion of the gut microbiota reference genome catalogues. Furthermore, the new cultivation methods should facilitate systematic studies of the causal relationship between...

The Determinants of Bank Profitability: The Case of Tunisia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olfa Nessibi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Using bank level data this paper examines how bank’s specific characteristics and macroeconomic indicators affect the profitability in the Tunisian banking industry over the period 1990–2008. The results indicate that the more profitable banks are those higher amount of capital and lower operating costs. Furthermore, it appears that private banks tend to perform better than state owned ones.  Despite the great importance given to the board of directors, it doesn't have a dominant role in the Tunisian commercial banks. Finally, turning to macroeconomic conditions and its impact on banks’ profitability, we find that the real interest rate has a positive effect on bank profitability.

Where Did They Go? Market Share Trends of Business Student Enrollment at Public, Not-for-Profit, and For-Profit Institutions from 1996 to 2008

Science.gov (United States)

Fox Garrity, Bonnie Kathleen

2012-01-01

The author presents the trends in market share of business student enrollment at public, not-for-profit, and for-profit 4-year-and-above institutions from 1996 to 2008. Although each sector of the institutions has experienced growth in overall enrollments, the relative market share of public and not-for-profit institutions has dropped, whereas the…

Impact of pig insemination technique and semen preparation on profitability.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez-Peña, D; Knox, R V; Pettigrew, J; Rodriguez-Zas, S L

2014-01-01

Artificial insemination technique and semen preparation impact boar utilization efficiency, genetic dissemination, and biosecurity. Intrauterine (IUI) and deep intrauterine (DUI) AI techniques require lower number of spermatozoa per dose compared to conventional (CON) AI. Frozen semen (FRO) has been associated with lower reproductive performance compared to fresh semen (FRE) preparation. The combined effects of 3 AI techniques (CON, IUI, and DUI) and 2 semen preparations (FRE and FRO) on the financial indicators of a pig crossbreeding system were studied. A 3-tier system was simulated in ZPLAN and the genetic improvement in a representative scenario was characterized. The cross of nucleus lines B and A generated 200,000 BA sows at the multiplier level. The BA sows were inseminated (CON, IUI, or DUI) with FRE or FRO from line C boars at the commercial level. Semen preparation and AI technique were represented by distinct sow:boar ratios in the C × BA cross. A range of farrowing rates (60 to 90%) and litter sizes (8 to 14 liveborn pigs) were tested. Genetic improvement per year for number born alive, adjusted 21-d litter weight, days to 113.5 kg, backfat, and ADG were 0.01 pigs per litter, 0.06 kg, -0.09 d, -0.29 mm, and 0.88 g, respectively. On average, the net profit for FRE (FRO) increased (P-value profit between techniques were driven by differences in costs. Differences in fixed costs between IUI and DUI relative to CON were -2.4 (-5.2%) and -3.4% (-7.4%), respectively. The differences in total costs between FRE and FRO were lower than -5%. The difference in variable costs between FRE and FRO ranged from -5.3 (CON) to -24.7% (DUI). Overall, insemination technique and semen preparation had a nonlinear effect on profit. The average relative difference in profit between FRE and FRO was less than 3% for the scenarios studied.

The Effect of Capital Working Management on the Profitability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Slamet Mulyono

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Companies must maintain the sustainability business. In order to keep their existence and competitiveness, companies must increase profitability in every year. It also applies to state fertilizer companies. However, 10 years of history (2005-2014, the state fertilizer company have been facing difficulties in maintaining business sustainability. Profitability fluctuates and tends to decrease every year. One of the causes is inefficient working capital management. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between working capital management and corporate profitability. To ensure the absence of the influence of unexamined factors, this study uses control variables of firm size, financial leverage, and gross domestic product. This research uses a positivist paradigm with a quantitative approach and multiple regression analysis.The results of this study indicate that state fertilizer companies will be able to increase ROA by accelerating Days of Sales in Inventory and Days of Payables. Higher assets, reduce profitability, and increasing debt withdrawal, which further declines the profitability. State fertilizer companies should accelerate inventory turnover and obligation payments to suppliers to minimize the risk of foreign exchange loss, considering that 80% of raw materials are still imported. In addition, state fertilizer should maintain asset quality and minimize debt withdrawal to increase profitability. 

Affordable orphan drugs: a role for not-for-profit organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Elin H; Fulton, Emma; Brook, Daniel; Hughes, Dyfrig A

2017-07-01

The success of the Regulation on Orphan Medicinal Products in the European Union is evidenced by the 127 orphan drugs that have had market authorization since 2000. However, the incentives aimed at stimulating research and development have had the unintended consequence of increasing drug cost, resulting in many orphan drugs not being cost-effective. Orphan drugs command an increasing share of the pharmaceutical market and account for a disproportionate amount of healthcare expenditure. Orphan drug ownership by socially motivated, not-for-profit organizations may facilitate access to more affordable orphan drugs, for the benefit of patients and healthcare systems alike. This study aims to describe opportunities for such organizations to become orphan drug Market Authorization Holders. We reviewed data on the ownership of EMA designated and approved orphan drugs, identified funding opportunities and business models for not-for-profit organizations, and summarised relevant legal and policy documents concerning intellectual property rights and drug regulation. Using repurposed drugs as a paradigm, this narrative review navigates the regulatory hurdles, describes the legal context and identifies funding opportunities, in a bid to facilitate and encourage not-for-profit organizations to lead on the development of affordable orphan drugs. Although the regulatory steps required to obtain an MA for an orphan drug are numerous and challenging, they are not insurmountable and can be achieved by not-for-profit organizations that are socially motivated to reduce the costs of orphan drugs to the payers of healthcare. Opportunities for orphan drug development resulting in affordable products lie mainly with repurposed drugs. © 2017 The British Pharmacological Society.

Environmental and economic aspects of Triticum aestivum L. and Avena sativa growing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jelínková Zuzana

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the assessment of cultivation of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. and oat (Avena sativa grown in Central Europe within the conventional and organic farming systems in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and economic profitability. Organic farming may be one of the tools for mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural production. In the context of crop production, cereals rank among the most commonly grown crops and therefore bread wheat and oat were chosen. The Climate change impact category was assessed within the simplified LCA method and the production of greenhouse gas emissions expressed in CO2e per the production unit was calculated. Economic balance of the cultivation of monitored cereals was compiled based on the yields, farm gate prices and costs. On its basis, the cultivation of wheat within the organic farming system appears to be the most profitable. From an environmental point of view, the emission load of the organic farming system is reduced by 8.04 % within the wheat production and by 15.46 % within the oat cultivation. Therefore, the organic farming system in the Czech Republic appears to be more environmentally friendly and economically efficient within the cereals production.

10 CFR 603.655 - Frequency of periodic audits of for-profit participants.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... audit, unless the participant already had a systems audit due to other Federal awards within the past... to verify that the participant's systems continue to be reliable (the audit then would cover the two... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Frequency of periodic audits of for-profit participants...

26 CFR 509.105 - Industrial and commercial profits.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... sales promotion, the orders being transmitted to Switzerland for acceptance, then the profits arising... 26 Internal Revenue 19 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Industrial and commercial profits. 509.105 Section 509.105 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED...

Profit efficiency among catfish farmers in Benue state, Nigeria | Tsue ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study examined profit efficiency among catfish farmers in Benue State of Nigeria using a stochastic profit frontier approach. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to collect data from 143 catfish farmers through a well structured questionnaire. The study used a Cobb-Douglas stochastic profit frontier function to ...

In California, not-for-profit hospitals spent more operating expenses on charity care than for-profit hospitals spent.

Science.gov (United States)

Valdovinos, Erica; Le, Sidney; Hsia, Renee Y

2015-08-01

In exchange for sizable tax exemptions, not-for-profit hospitals must engage in activities that meet the Internal Revenue Service's community benefit standard. The provision of charity care-free care to those unable to pay-can help meet that standard. Bad debt, the other form of uncompensated care, cannot be used to meet the standard, although Medicaid shortfalls can. However, the ACA lacks guidelines for providing charity care, and federal law sets no minimum requirements for community benefit activities. Using data from California, we examined whether the levels of charity and uncompensated care provided differed across general acute care hospitals by profit status and other characteristics during 2011-13. The mean proportion of total operating expenses spent on charity care differed significantly between not-for-profit (1.9 percent) and for-profit hospitals (1.4 percent), in contrast to the mean proportion spent on uncompensated care. Both types of spending varied widely across hospitals. Policy makers should consider measures that remove disincentives to meeting the persistent considerable need for charity care-for example, increasing supports to offset rising Medicaid shortfalls resulting from program expansion-and facilitate the tracking of ACA impacts on the distribution of charity care and uncompensated care delivery. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

A Kitchen with too Many Cooks: Factors Associated with Hospital Profitability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Na-Eun Cho

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we carefully investigate previous literature to extract 10 relevant factors to explain the hospital profitability and build an econometrically well-specified model of explaining hospital profitability that does not suffer from omitted variable bias. Then we provide empirical evidence to a common belief that the objective function of a hospital varies with the type of hospital. We identified distinct objective functions for three types of hospitals: for-profit hospitals are driven by the overarching agreed-upon goal of profit maximization for shareholders; government hospitals, which are often the insurers of last resort, are obliged to put the public interest over profit objectives; nonprofit hospitals, which are legally prohibited from distributing profits, occupy the middle ground between for-profit and government hospitals. The results of this paper suggest that the ownership type should determine the factors on which hospitals focus and hence are useful to hospital management and academic researchers.

The Profitability – Risk Relationship and Financing Decision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicoleta BARBUTA-MISU

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The enterprise financial decision is a rational process for option to the optimal variant related to financing and investments. For the capital investment to be justified, the profitability of the invested money must be at least equal with the profitability of the alternative investment opportunities with the same risk on market. The choosing of a way for financing is determined on the one side by their cost and on the other side by the existent capital structure. In this paper I tried to analyse the profitability – risk relationship in the financing decision for the “NIKOS” Ltd.

Audits contribute to pride, productivity and profit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, Q.

1984-01-01

The object of this writing is to demonstrate that audits (in general) when used as a ''management tool' can contribute to pride, productivity, and profit. The goal of ''pride'' achievement is demonstrated through the use of techniques developed from behavioral sciences. Discussed is dealing with people and their basic needs. This is intended to point out the fact that satisfying individual needs and concerns is the first step to achieving the goals of pride, productivity, and profit. Also discussed are the basic needs of safety (security), social, ego/esteem, and self-fulfillment as well as providing some basic techniques of auditing which will help assure general satisfaction of these needs. Also noted are reporting methods. The goal of ''productivity'' is approached by demonstrating that objectives must be clear and workable. Objectives must be translated into specific action and that action must be compatible with the overall company objectives. All objectives must be known and understood by those affected. Consideration must be given to men, money, and machines (present technology). All of the objectives must also be weighed against external constraints. The goal of ''profit'' then becomes the product of a combination of ''pride'' and ''productivity''. Audits must be cost conscious. Value engineer the problem, the cause, and the solution. Discussion continues with quality cost programs briefly indicating that ''Q'' costs could be considered a type of audit. Identifying deficiencies and weaknesses, then correcting them, contributes to profit. Increased pride and productivity contributes to profit. Consider the employee's awareness and commitment for doing a good job when auditing

The influence of some selected variables from accounting system on profit or loss of agricultural companies in the Slovak republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra Ferenczi Vaňová

2017-01-01

Full Text Available 1024x768 The article presents the influence assessment of significance of some selected variables from the entrepreneurs' accounting system on the achieved profit or loss of the agricultural companies in the Slovak Republic. Accounting information serves as an active tool for internal users for operational as well as strategic company management, and for external users the information is determined as legally binding output information which is a subject to disclosure. Individual financial statements of assessed agricultural companies are considered to be the relevant source of information. Agricultural companies are represented by commercial companies and agricultural cooperatives. Profit or loss after income tax presents the final complex effect of economic company's performance. The existence and development of companies is conditioned by assets which amount and structure depend on focus and the range of subject activity but as well as on specific factors set by the production process in the agricultural primary production. The increase in liabilities is notable by the influence of unsufficient amount of own company funding sources, mainly the increase in trade payables. The continuance of company reproduction process is secured by a bank loan drawdown. The income situation of companies of agricultural primary production is favourably influenced by the subsidies of non-investment character. During the observed period of years 2004 - 2014 the examined variables were assessed by means of statistical methods. The obtained results of rate determination of statistical correlation between selected variables by means of classical canonical analysis and non-parametric correlation analysis secured that in the assessed group of companies all analysed variables influenced statistically significantly profit or loss after income tax, mainly the total value of assets and non-investment subsidies, except for years 2010, 2012 a 2013, when the statistically

CHANGE OF CHOSEN SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CHERNOZEM AFTER SEVEN YEARS OF NO-TILL SOIL CULTIVATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarna Hrckov

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Soil physical properties were investigated in two types of growing systems - integrated no-till system and conventional system with ploughing, in 1999 2005 on chernozem in maize growing region. Bulk density decreased and total porosity increased during 7 years in both growing systems. In integrated system the improvement of soil physical properties could be explained by remaining of plant residues on soil surface. In conventional system the plant residues were incorporated into soil by ploughing. This led to the higher proportion of organic matter in soil. Soil cultivated conventionally had significantly higher value of reduced bulk density, significantly lower porosity and significantly higher values of soil moisture compared to soil in integrated no-till system. Maximum capillary water capacity was not significantly influenced by soil cultivation. Values of investigated soil physical properties in both systems were not markedly different from the typical values of cultivated chernozem.

Contribution of family labour to the profitability and competitiveness of small-scale dairy production systems in central Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Posadas-Domínguez, Rodolfo Rogelio; Arriaga-Jordán, Carlos Manuel; Martínez-Castañeda, Francisco Ernesto

2014-01-01

The objective of this work was to determine the effect of family labour on the profitability and competitiveness of small-scale dairy farms in the highlands of Central Mexico. Economic data from 37 farms were analysed from a stratified statistical sampling with a Neyman assignment. Three strata were defined taking herd size as criterion. Stratum 1: herds from 3 to 9 cows plus replacements, Stratum 2: herds from 10 to 19 cows and Stratum 3: herds from 20 to 30 cows. The policy analysis matrix was used as the method to determine profitability and competitiveness. The coefficient of private profitability (CPP) when the economic cost of family labour is included in the cost structure was 8.0 %, 31.0 % and 46.0 %. When the economic cost of family labour is not included, CPP increase to 47.0 %, 57.0 % and 66.0 % for each strata, respectively. The private cost ratio (PCR) when family labour is included was 0.79, 0.51 and 0.42 for strata 1, 2 and 3, respectively. When family labour is not included, the PCR was 0.07, 0.25 and 0.26. Net profit per litre of milk including family labour was US$0.03 l(-1) for Stratum 1, US$0.09 for Stratum 2 and US$0.12 l(-1) for Stratum 3; but increased to $0.12, 0.14 and 0.15, respectively, when the economic cost of family labour is not included. It is concluded that family labour is a crucial factor in the profitability and competitiveness of small-scale dairy production.

Study of interconnection of financial and tax accounting of profit in Russia and abroad

OpenAIRE

Labyntsev Mykola T.; Tsepilova Olena S.

2013-01-01

The article analyses the degree of interconnection of financial and tax accounting of profit in Russia and some foreign countries – USA, France and Germany. The legal principle – common law or unified law – is taken as a criterion. The article shows that existence of the system of tax accounting by one tax (organisation profit tax) separately from the financial accounting in Russia from 2002 is not rational. At present Russia actively develops a variant of making financial accounting and tax ...

Hospital financial management: what is the link between revenue cycle management, profitability, and not-for-profit hospitals' ability to grow equity?

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Simone Rauscher; Wheeler, John

2012-01-01

Effective revenue cycle management--from appointment scheduling and patient registration at the front end of the revenue cycle to billing and cash collections at the back end--plays a crucial role in hospitals' efforts to improve their financial performance. Using data for 1,397 bond-issuing, not-for-profit US hospitals for 2000 to 2007, this study analyzed the relationship between hospitals' performance at managing the revenue cycle and their profitability and ability to build equity capital. Hospital-level fixed effects regression analysis was used to model four different measures of profitability and equity capital as functions of two key financial indicators of revenue cycle management--amount of patient revenue and speed of revenue collection. The results indicated that higher amounts of patient revenue in relation to a hospital's assets were associated with statistically significant increases in operating and total profit margins, free cash flow, and equity capital (p < 0.01 for all four models); that is, hospitals that generated more patient revenue per dollar of assets invested reported improved financial performance. Likewise, a statistically significant link existed between lower revenue collection periods and all four indicators of hospital financial performance (p < 0.01 for three models; p < 0.05 for one model). Hospitals that collected faster on their patient revenue reported higher profit margins and larger equity values. For revenue cycle managers, these findings represent good news: Streamlining a hospital's management of the patient revenue cycle can advance the organization's financial viability by improving profitability and enabling equity growth.

Gender-sensitive Value Chain Intervention Improved Profit Efficiency among Orange-fleshed Sweetpotato Producers in Rwanda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bocher Temesgen

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The Rwanda Super Foods project sought to develop a value chain for processed orange-fleshed sweetpotato products to respond to farmer concerns over lack of markets. This study used data collected from five districts in rural Rwanda under supper food project between August and September 2014. The study applied a stochastic profit frontier model to data collected from 846 households growing sweetpotato, among which 327 were value chain participants; 312 were “spillover” households that received planting material from participant households, and the remainder control households with no project links. Results showed that average level of profit efficiency in sweetpotato production systems is 55%; suggesting that an estimated 45% of profit is lost due to the combined effect of technical, allocative and scale inefficiency. The profit efficiency of participant households was 64% compared to 20% of the control households. Moreover, the profit efficiency of the female beneficiary, female spillover, and male beneficiary households was found to be 55%, 70%, and 90% against 17% for male control households, respectively. Findings suggest that an orange-fleshed sweetpotato based value chain intervention can enhance the profit efficiency of the poor and disadvantageous households, if designed with special attention to women’s needs. Thus, polices and programs aiming at improving the livelihood of smallholder should be designed targeting women and resource poor.

Converting MEMS technology into profits

Science.gov (United States)

Bryzek, Janusz

1998-08-01

This paper discusses issues related to transitioning a company from the advanced technology development phase (with a particular focus on MEMS) to a profitable business, with emphasis on start-up companies. It includes several case studies from (primarily) NovaSensor MEMS development history. These case studies illustrate strategic problems with which advanced MEMS technology developers have to be concerned. Conclusions from these case studies could be used as checkpoints for future MEMS developers to increase probability of profitable operations. The objective for this paper is to share the author's experience from multiple MEMS start-ups to accelerate development of the MEMS market by focusing state- of-the-art technologists on marketing issues.

A system dynamics approach to the study of Colombian coca cultivation and the counter-intuitive consequence of law enforcement.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaén, Sebastian; Dyner, Isaac

2014-03-01

A large-scale expansion of the Colombian coca cultivation is one of the most revealing signs of a structural change in the illegal cocaine market in the Andean region. From being a modest and domestic production, in the space of five years Colombian coca cultivation supplied a competitive market, capable of substituting almost completely the foreign sources of supply. The purpose of this work is to explore the role and potential of system dynamics (SD) as a modeling methodology to better understand the consequences of drug policy. As a case study, this work tests the hypothesis that the outbreak of Colombian coca cultivations is a consequence of the take down of large cartels, leading to the surge of small drug-trafficking firms called "cartelitos." Using an SD model, and elements from the economic theory of the criminal firm, our work shows how the formation of these small firms might significantly contribute to the configuring of a more competitive domestic coca industry (and hence to a more efficient crime industry). We conclude that SD seems an appropriate dynamic modeling-based approach to address policy issues regarding drug markets. The methodology takes into account the dynamic nature of drug markets and their multi-dimensional responses to policy interventions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

OBTAINING OF PROTEIC BIOMASS BY CULTIVATION OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA ON GRAPE MARC DIFFUSION SOLUTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marian BUTU

2013-08-01

Full Text Available In this article are presented the researches made in order to obtain protein biomass with the aid of lactic bacteria grown on an economically medium, achieved by using secondary products from the winery: marc and wine yeast. Therefore, there were cultivated two strains of Lactobacillus sp. on five different growth medium. The protein biosynthesis and evolution of lactic fermentation were monitored by determining the optical density (OD of the culture at a wavelength λ = 600 nm and by counting the colony forming units (CFU by serial dilutions and seeding on plates and by determination of lactic acid obtained. The results showed that the fermentation medium represented by diffusion solution of the marc, enriched with peptone is economically profitable compared to other culture media containing peptone, yeast extract, glucose, minerals, amino acids and vitamins presented in the literature.

The Impact of Internal Factors on Bank Profitability in Kosovo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonora Haliti Rudhani

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Commercial banks play an important role in the economic development and financial stability; therefore this study investigated the influence of internal factors in the profitability of commercial banks in Kosovo. Based on the literature review, a crucial internal factor on the profitability of banks in Kosovo was deemed: the repayment of assets (ROA as a measure of profitability influenced by other independent variables, such as: bank size, capital adequacy, loan and liquidity risk. The aim of this study is to investigate the empirical relation between internal factors determining bank profitability and profitability as a dependent variable. The empirical analysis is based on the data of commercial banks in Kosovo published in the period 2010-2014. The data were analysed with SPSS 21 version, and the hypotheses were tested by means of correlation and linear regression. The findings of the study proved that commercial banks in Kosovo could enlarge their profitability by increasing the level of bank loaning and other investments, except for managing risk and liquidity properly.

Bacterial community analysis of Tatsoi cultivated by hydroponics.

Science.gov (United States)

Koo, Ok K; Kim, Hun; Kim, Hyun J; Baker, Christopher A; Ricke, Steven C

2016-07-02

Tatsoi (Brassica narinosa) is a popular Asian salad green that is mostly consumed as a source of fresh produce. The purpose of this study was to assess the microbial diversity of Tatsoi cultivated in a hydroponic system and of its ecosystem. Tatsoi leaves, nutrient solution, and perlite/earth samples from a trickle feed system (TFS) and an ebb-and-flow system (EFS) were collected and their microbial communities were analyzed by pyrosequencing analysis. The results showed that most bacteria in the leaves from the TFS contained genus Sporosarcina (99.6%), while Rhizobium (60.4%) was dominant in the leaves from the EFS. Genus Paucibacter (18.21%) and Pelomonas (12.37%) were the most abundant microbiota in the nutrient solution samples of the TFS. In the EFS, the nutrient solution samples contained mostly genus Rhodococcus and Acinetobacter. Potential microbial transfer between the leaves and the ecosystem was observed in the EFS, while samples in the TFS were found to share only one species between the leaves, nutrient solution, and earth. Together, these results show that the bacterial populations in Tatsoi and in its ecosystem are highly diverse based on the cultivation system.

Quantification of net carbon flux from plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation: A full carbon cycle analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yan; Xu Hao; Wu Xu; Zhu Yimei; Gu Baojing; Niu Xiaoyin; Liu Anqin; Peng Changhui; Ge Ying; Chang Jie

2011-01-01

Plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation (PGVC) has played a vital role in increasing incomes of farmers and expanded dramatically in last several decades. However, carbon budget after conversion from conventional vegetable cultivation (CVC) to PGVC has been poorly quantified. A full carbon cycle analysis was used to estimate the net carbon flux from PGVC systems based on the combination of data from both field observations and literatures. Carbon fixation was evaluated at two pre-selected locations in China. Results suggest that: (1) the carbon sink of PGVC is 1.21 and 1.23 Mg C ha -1 yr -1 for temperate and subtropical area, respectively; (2) the conversion from CVC to PGVC could substantially enhance carbon sink potential by 8.6 times in the temperate area and by 1.3 times in the subtropical area; (3) the expansion of PGVC usage could enhance the potential carbon sink of arable land in China overall. - Highlights: → We used full carbon (C) cycle analysis to estimate the net C flux from cultivation. → The plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation system in China can act as a C sink. → Intensified agricultural practices can generate C sinks. → Expansion of plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation can enhance regional C sink. - The conversion from conventional vegetable cultivation to plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation could substantially enhance carbon sink potential by 8.6 and 1.3 times for temperate and subtropical area, respectively.

Dynamics of ligninolytic enzyme production in Ganoderma applanatum depending on cultivation type

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Ćilerdžić Jasmina Lj.

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Ganoderma applanatum belongs to the group of white-rot fungi, due to a well-developed ligninolytic enzyme system. White-rot fungi have attracted great scientific attention in recent years, especially with respect to their enzymatic potential for the bioremediation of persistent pollutants. Contrary to G. lucidum, which medicinal properties, as well as ligninolytic enzyme system have been extensively studied, enzymatic system of G. applanatum has not been studied yet. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the dynamics of laccase, Mn-dependent peroxidase, and versatile peroxidase activity during submerged and solid state cultivation on two selected plant raw materials. Enzyme activity was determined spectrophotometrically after 7, 10 and 14 days of cultivation. The peak of laccase activity (220.14 Ul-1 was noted after 14 days of submerged wheat straw fermentation. Maximum level of Mn-dependent peroxidase (110.91 Ul-1 and versatile peroxidase (116.20 Ul-1 activity was obtained in the medium with oak sawdust after 14 days of submerged cultivation.

Statistical methods for analysing the relationship between bank profitability and liquidity

OpenAIRE

Boguslaw Guzik

2006-01-01

The article analyses the most popular methods for the empirical estimation of the relationship between bank profitability and liquidity. Owing to the fact that profitability depends on various factors (both economic and non-economic), a simple correlation coefficient, two-dimensional (profitability/liquidity) graphs or models where profitability depends only on liquidity variable do not provide good and reliable results. Quite good results can be obtained only when multifactorial profitabilit...

Development of an activity-based costing model to evaluate physician office practice profitability.

Science.gov (United States)

Dugel, Pravin U; Tong, Kuo Bianchini

2011-01-01

Newer treatment regimens for age-related macular degeneration have significantly affected traditional and non-traditional retinal services across all types of practice settings around the country as they seek to find a balance among delivering best patient care, keeping operating costs under control, and maintaining profitability. A systematic retrospective review of a multi-city, multi-physician retinal practice's accounting system to obtain data on revenues, expenses, and profit. Data reviewed were from practice management systems to obtain claims level data on clinical procedures across 7 primary activity centers: non-laser surgery, laser surgery, office visits, optical coherence tomography (OCT), non-OCT diagnostics, drugs and drug injections, and research. All treated patients from a retina practice from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2007. Retrospective claims data review from a multi-physician retina practice detailing Current Procedural Terminology and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System procedures performed and billed, submitted charges, allowed charges, and net collections. Analyses were performed by an outside firm and verified by a risk advisory firm. Identifying practice efficiencies/inefficiencies as they relate to patient care. An elaborate analysis using activity-based costing (ABC) showed that increased office visits and OCT and non-OCT diagnostics had a significant negative impact on the practice's profit margins, whereas surgical procedures contributed to the majority of the practice's profit margins because of the lower operating costs associated with surgery. The practice was able to accommodate the demand in patient volume, medical retina services, and medical imaging with the advent of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy and realized a seismic shift in operating costs. The practice attempted to deliver state-of-the-art patient care in a cost-effective manner, yet underwent a significant decline in its financial health

Mixotrophic cultivation of microalgae for biodiesel production: status and prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jinghan; Yang, Haizhen; Wang, Feng

2014-04-01

Biodiesel from microalgae provides a promising alternative for biofuel production. Microalgae can be produced under three major cultivation modes, namely photoautotrophic cultivation, heterotrophic cultivation, and mixotrophic cultivation. Potentials and practices of biodiesel production from microalgae have been demonstrated mostly focusing on photoautotrophic cultivation; mixotrophic cultivation of microalgae for biodiesel production has rarely been reviewed. This paper summarizes the mechanisms and virtues of mixotrophic microalgae cultivation through comparison with other major cultivation modes. Influencing factors of microalgal biodiesel production under mixotrophic cultivation are presented, development of combining microalgal biodiesel production with wastewater treatment is especially reviewed, and bottlenecks and strategies for future commercial production are also identified.

Component analysis of cultivated ginseng, cultivated wild ginseng, and natural wild ginseng by structural parts using HPLC method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Young-Ju,Han

2007-02-01

Full Text Available Objectives : The aim of this experiments is to provide an objective differentiation of ginseng, Korean and Chinese cultivated wild ginseng, and natural wild ginseng through components analysis of different parts of ginseng. Methods : Comparative analyses of ginsenoside-, ginsenoside-, and ginsenosides and from the root, stem, and leaves of ginseng, Korean and Chinese cultivated wild ginseng, and natural wild ginseng were conducted using HPLC. Results : 1. For content comparison of leaves, ginseng showed highest content of ginsenoside than other samples. Natural wild ginseng showed relatively high content of ginsenosides and than other samples. 2. For content comparison of the stem, ginseng and 10 years old Chinese cultivated wild ginseng didn't contain ginsenoside . Natural wild ginseng showed higher content of ginsenosides and than other samples. 3. For content comparison of the root, ginsenoside was found only in 5 and 10 years old Korean cultivated wild ginseng. 4. Distribution of contents by the parts of ginseng was similar in ginseng and Chinese cultivated wild ginseng. Conclusions : Above experiment data can be an important indicator for the identification of ginseng, Korean and Chinese cultivated wild ginseng, and natural wild ginseng.

Comparative analysis of functional food producers' profitability in Serbia: A leader-follower relation

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Draganac Dragana

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The functional food market in Serbia is relatively young and insufficiently explored both from the aspects of producers and consumers, the qualitative aspect and especially from the quantitative aspect. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the results of the comprehensive quantitative financial analysis of profitability which focuses on the example of two companies. The main criterion applied in the selection of companies for the analysis represents the fact that one company is recognizable as a producer of foods with nutritive and health claims and is a leader within that market segment, whereas the other analyzed company mostly produces traditional products and has entered the aforementioned market segment at a later stage. The key idea is to do a comparative analysis of the profitability of these two companies for a four-year period. The profitability ratio analysis and the Du Pont analysis system are used in the paper as well as the analysis of solvency and financial leverage effect. The vertical analysis of income statement is also done in order to reveal the relation between some cost categories and operating revenues. The research results lead to a conclusion that the company that mostly produces functional foods has higher profit margins and rates of return and is therefore in a more favourable position since it can benefit from positive effects of financial leverage to a higher extent. The profitability of the second relevant company is mostly based on the better asset turnover.

Total quality management to improve gas plant profits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovacs, K.; Wood, G.; Thompson, L.

1992-01-01

This paper describes the application of total quality management (TQM) techniques to the gas processing industry. It also assesses the profit potential for applying TQM in a typical plant situation. Companies utilizing TQM techniques will enjoy a competitive advantage. It represents a new way of doing business for the gas processing industry and incorporates many of Dr. W. Edwards Deming's methods which are often cited as one of the competitive advantages used by the Japanese. TQM can be described as a collection of systems or techniques that work toward two major objectives: To continuously improve the process or operation; and To view meeting the customer's needs as an important criterion for success. As applied to a typical U.S. gas processing operation, it involves several different techniques which are outlined in the paper. The benefits of TQM are detailed in this paper. All of these benefits go directly to a plant's bottom line profitability. The paper also describes ho to establish a program and identifies the factors necessary for successful implementation

Risk Pricing and Profit Maximization of Insurance Companies ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The research investigates the impact of pricing of risk on the profitability of Nigeria insurance market and also the relationship between operation expenses and profitability of the non-life insurance market in Nigeria. Results show that economy, competition and government regulation have effect on pricing of risk. Also, it was ...

smallholder farmers' use and profitability of legume inoculants

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ACSS

Rhizobia inoculant, a product of Kenya, and its profitability in smallholder farms. Data were collected from ... of the inoculants use and gross margin analysis to examine profitability. The area under the .... the effects of various factors on the extent of. BIOFIX® use. ..... little information, resulting in reduced adoption of legume ...

Screen Wars, Star Wars, and Sequels: Nonparametric Reanalysis of Movie Profitability

OpenAIRE

W. D. Walls

2012-01-01

In this paper we use nonparametric statistical tools to quantify motion-picture profit. We quantify the unconditional distribution of profit, the distribution of profit conditional on stars and sequels, and we also model the conditional expectation of movie profits using a non- parametric data-driven regression model. The flexibility of the non-parametric approach accommodates the full range of possible relationships among the variables without prior specification of a functional form, thereb...

Hydroponic cultivation improves the nutritional quality of soybean and its products.

Science.gov (United States)

Palermo, Mariantonella; Paradiso, Roberta; De Pascale, Stefania; Fogliano, Vincenzo

2012-01-11

Hydroponic cultivation allows the control of environmental conditions, saves irrigation water, increases productivity, and prevents plant infections. The use of this technique for large commodities such as soybean is not a relevant issue on fertile soils, but hydroponic soybean cultivation could provide proteins and oil in adverse environmental conditions. In this paper, the compositions of four cultivars of soybean seeds and their derivates, soy milk and okara, grown hydroponically were compared to that of the same cultivar obtained from soil cultivation in an open field. Besides proximal composition, the concentrations of phytic acid and isoflavones were monitored in the seeds, soy milk, and okara. Results demonstrated that, independent from the cultivar, hydroponic compared to soil cultivation promoted the accumulation of fats (from 17.37 to 21.94 g/100 g dry matter) and total dietary fiber (from 21.67 to 28.46 g/100 g dry matter) and reduced isoflavones concentration (from 17.04 to 7.66 mg/kg dry matter), whereas protein concentration was unaffected. The differences found in seed composition were confirmed in the respective okara products, but the effect of cultivation system was not significant looking at the soy milk composition. Data showed that hydroponic cultivation improved the nutritional quality of soybean seeds with regard to fats and dietary fiber. They also suggest that specific cultivars should be selected to obtain the desired nutritional features of the soybean raw material depending on its final destination.

Profitability of Irrigated Improved Pecan Orchards in the Southern Plains

OpenAIRE

Springer, Job D.; Swinford, Wyatt; Rohla, Charles

2011-01-01

The objective was to determine if an irrigated improved pecan orchard is economical relative to agronomic systems commonly implemented by producers that have access to irrigation. Results show that the improved pecan orchard is more profitable than competitive enterprises after a twenty year time frame, but is sensitive to pecan price, pecan yield and attitude toward risk.

Safe use of metal-contaminated agricultural land by cultivation of energy maize (Zea mays)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Slycken, S.; Witters, N.; Meers, E.; Peene, A.; Michels, E.; Adriaensen, K.; Ruttens, A.; Vangronsveld, J.; Du Laing, G.; Wierinck, I.; Van Dael, M.; Van Passel, S.; Tack, F.M.G.

2013-01-01

Production of food crops on trace element-contaminated agricultural lands in the Campine region (Belgium) can be problematic as legal threshold values for safe use of these crops can be exceeded. Conventional sanitation of vast areas is too expensive and alternatives need to be investigated. Zea mays on a trace element-contaminated soil in the region showed an average yield of 53 ± 10 Mg fresh or 20 ± 3 Mg dry biomass ha −1 . Whole plant Cd concentrations complied with legal threshold values for animal feed. Moreover, threshold values for use in anaerobic digestion were met. Biogas production potential did not differ between maize grown on contaminated and non-contaminated soils. Results suggested favorable perspectives for farmers to generate non-food crops profitably, although effective soil cleaning would be very slow. This demonstrates that a valuable and sustainable alternative use can be generated for moderately contaminated soils on which conventional agriculture is impaired. -- Highlights: •Zea mays on trace element-contaminated soil has an average yield of 20 ± 3 Mg DW ha −1 . •Whole plant Cd concentrations complied with legal threshold values for animal feed. •Biogas production did not differ from maize grown on non-contaminated soils. •Perspectives are favorable for farmers to generate non-food crops profitably. •Effective soil cleaning would be very slow. -- Energy maize cultivation constitutes a sustainable alternative use of trace element-contaminated agricultural soils

Climate Management System for mushroom cultivation (CMMC). First phase. Inventory and functional design; Klimaat Managementsysteem Champignonteelt (KMC). 1e fase. Inventarisatie en functioneel ontwerp

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gielen, J.H. [DLV Plant, Horst (Netherlands)

2011-03-15

This report describes the feasibility and the opportunities of developing a Climate Management System for Mushroom Cultivation (CMMC) software package, based on which a decision can be made to proceed with the realization of phase 2 of the project, i.e. the actual construction of the CMMC for mushroom cultivation [Dutch] Deze rapportage beschrijft de haalbaarheid en de mogelijkheden van de ontwikkeling van een KMC software pakket, op basis waarvan besloten kan worden tot de realisatie van fase 2 van het project, de daadwerkelijke bouw van de KMC voor de champignonteelt.

High-throughput micro-scale cultivations and chromatography modeling: Powerful tools for integrated process development.

Science.gov (United States)

Baumann, Pascal; Hahn, Tobias; Hubbuch, Jürgen

2015-10-01

Upstream processes are rather complex to design and the productivity of cells under suitable cultivation conditions is hard to predict. The method of choice for examining the design space is to execute high-throughput cultivation screenings in micro-scale format. Various predictive in silico models have been developed for many downstream processes, leading to a reduction of time and material costs. This paper presents a combined optimization approach based on high-throughput micro-scale cultivation experiments and chromatography modeling. The overall optimized system must not necessarily be the one with highest product titers, but the one resulting in an overall superior process performance in up- and downstream. The methodology is presented in a case study for the Cherry-tagged enzyme Glutathione-S-Transferase from Escherichia coli SE1. The Cherry-Tag™ (Delphi Genetics, Belgium) which can be fused to any target protein allows for direct product analytics by simple VIS absorption measurements. High-throughput cultivations were carried out in a 48-well format in a BioLector micro-scale cultivation system (m2p-Labs, Germany). The downstream process optimization for a set of randomly picked upstream conditions producing high yields was performed in silico using a chromatography modeling software developed in-house (ChromX). The suggested in silico-optimized operational modes for product capturing were validated subsequently. The overall best system was chosen based on a combination of excellent up- and downstream performance. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Being 'green' helps profitability?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Austin, D.

1999-01-01

Pollution reduction beyond regulatory compliance is gaining momentum among firms, but managers ask if being 'green' helps profitability. Evidence suggests it doesn't hurt, but when we see environmentally attractive firms with sound financial performance, it cannot yet say which is cause and which is effect [it

Rice cultivation in the farming systems of Sukumaland, Tanzania : a quest for sustainable production under structural adjustment programmes

OpenAIRE

Meertens, H.C.C.

1999-01-01

This thesis investigates options for sustainable rice cultivation and general agricultural development in the Mwanza and Shinyanga regions in northwestern Tanzania, often called Sukumaland due to the predominance of Wasukuma people. Generally Sukumaland has a semi-arid climate; agriculture is constrained by unreliable and low rainfall. In the past fifty years the population density has doubled in most parts. This has triggered several changes in farming systems. One important change ...

Is merging and acquisition profitable?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skjeret, Frode; Soergard, Lars

2002-01-01

This report deals with mergers and acquisitions in the electricity sector in Norway. The background is the fact that the profitability of these activities proves to be low. In buying, it is typically the selling shareholder who profits from the transaction, while the buying company does not really earn much. This result appears to be a robust result both in different countries, between sectors and independent of methodology. The report provides theoretical justification for merging and buying up and empirical evaluations of the effects of company integration. It is asserted that what can be learned in general from the literature may also occur in the European power sector. Furthermore, the report discusses the challenges faced by the companies if they want to expand through mergers and acquisitions

Not-for-profit versus for-profit health care providers-Part I: comparing and contrasting their records.

Science.gov (United States)

Rotarius, Timothy; Trujillo, Antonio J; Liberman, Aaron; Ramirez, Bernardo

2005-01-01

The debate over which health care providers are most capably meeting their responsibilities in serving the public's interest continues unabated, and the comparisons of not-for-profit (NFP) versus for-profit (FP) hospitals remain at the epicenter of the discussion. From the perspective of available factual information, which of the two sides to this debate is correct? This article is part I of a 2-part series on comparing and contrasting the performance records of NFP health care providers with their FP counterparts. Although it is demonstrated that both NFP and FP providers perform virtuous and selfless feats on behalf of America's public, it is also shown that both camps are involved in potentially willful clinical and administrative missteps. Part I contains the background information (eg, legal differences, perspectives on social responsibility, and types of questionable and fraudulent behavior) that is necessary to adequately understand the scope of the comparison issue. Part II offers actual comparisons of the 2 organizational structures using several disparate factors such as specific organizational behaviors, approach to the health care priorities of cost and quality, and business-focused goals of profits, efficiency, and community benefit.

Not-for-profit versus for-profit health care providers--Part II: Comparing and contrasting their records.

Science.gov (United States)

Rotarius, Timothy; Trujillo, Antonio J; Liberman, Aaron; Ramirez, Bernardo

2006-01-01

The debate over which health care providers are most capably meeting their responsibilities in serving the public's interest continues unabated, and the comparisons of not-for-profit (NFP) versus for-profit (FP) hospitals remain at the epicenter of the discussion. From the perspective of available factual information, which of the two sides to this debate is correct? This article is part II of a 2-part series on comparing and contrasting the performance records of NFP health care providers with their FP counterparts. Although it is demonstrated that both NFP and FP providers perform virtuous and selfless feats on behalf of America's public, it is also shown that both camps have been accused of being involved in potentially willful clinical and administrative missteps. Part I provided the background information (eg, legal differences, perspectives on social responsibility, and types of questionable and fraudulent behavior) required to adequately understand the scope of the comparison issue. Part II offers actual comparisons of the 2 organizational structures using several disparate factors such as specific organizational behaviors, approach to the health care priorities of cost and quality, and business-focused goals of profits, efficiency, and community benefit.

Adaptive neuro-fuzzy optimization of wind farm project net profit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shamshirband, Shahaboddin; Petković, Dalibor; Ćojbašić, Žarko; Nikolić, Vlastimir; Anuar, Nor Badrul; Mohd Shuib, Nor Liyana; Mat Kiah, Miss Laiha; Akib, Shatirah

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Analyzing of wind farm project investment. • Net present value (NPV) maximization of the wind farm project. • Adaptive neuro-fuzzy (ANFIS) optimization of the number of wind turbines to maximize NPV. • The impact of the variation in the wind farm parameters. • Adaptive neuro fuzzy application. - Abstract: A wind power plant which consists of a group of wind turbines at a specific location is also known as wind farm. To maximize the wind farm net profit, the number of turbines installed in the wind farm should be different in depend on wind farm project investment parameters. In this paper, in order to achieve the maximal net profit of a wind farm, an intelligent optimization scheme based on the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is applied. As the net profit measures, net present value (NPV) and interest rate of return (IRR) are used. The NPV and IRR are two of the most important criteria for project investment estimating. The general approach in determining the accept/reject/stay in different decision for a project via NPV and IRR is to treat the cash flows as known with certainty. However, even small deviations from the predetermined values may easily invalidate the decision. In the proposed model the ANFIS estimator adjusts the number of turbines installed in the wind farm, for operating at the highest net profit point. The performance of proposed optimizer is confirmed by simulation results. Some outstanding properties of this new estimator are online implementation capability, structural simplicity and its robustness against any changes in wind farm parameters. Based on the simulation results, the effectiveness of the proposed optimization strategy is verified

Profiting from competition: Financial tools for electric generation companies

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, Charles William, Jr.

Regulations governing the operation of electric power systems in North America and many other areas of the world are undergoing major changes designed to promote competition. This process of change is often referred to as deregulation. Participants in deregulated electricity systems may find that their profits will greatly benefit from the implementation of successful bidding strategies. While the goal of the regulators may be to create rules which balance reliable power system operation with maximization of the total benefit to society, the goal of generation companies is to maximize their profit, i.e., return to their shareholders. The majority of the research described here is conducted from the point of view of generation companies (GENCOs) wishing to maximize their expected utility function, which is generally comprised of expected profit and risk. Strategies that help a GENCO to maximize its objective function must consider the impact of (and aid in making) operating decisions that may occur within a few seconds to multiple years. The work described here assumes an environment in which energy service companies (ESCOs) buy and GENCOs sell power via double auctions in regional commodity exchanges. Power is transported on wires owned by transmission companies (TRANSCOs) and distribution companies (DISTCOs). The proposed market framework allows participants to trade electrical energy contracts via the spot, futures, options, planning, and swap markets. An important method of studying these proposed markets and the behavior of participating agents is the field of experimental/computational economics. For much of the research reported here, the market simulator developed by Kumar and Sheble and similar simulators has been adapted to allow computerized agents to trade energy. Creating computerized agents that can react as rationally or irrationally as a human trader is a difficult problem for which we have turned to the field of artificial intelligence. Some of our

Management of Enterprise Profit: Theory and Methodology

OpenAIRE

Nadezhda Sergeevna Piontkevich

2015-01-01

Effective management of financial activity of commercial organization promotes achievement of the main objective of its activity – receiving profit. Both external and internal factors causing specifics of financial management of organization in the field of management of profit have impact on this process. In modern conditions of economic development this problem gains the greatest relevance, and new approaches for its decision are required. In the present article the author’s theoretical and...

An Analysis of The Islamic and Conventional Banking Profitability in Palestine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohmad Tawfiq Abusharbeh

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract: An Analysis of the Islamic and Conventional Banking Profitability in Palestine. The research paper examines the performance of profitability of Islamic banks against conventional banks for the period of 2005 to 2010. Two alternative measurements of banking profitability such as Return on Equity (ROE and Return on Assets (ROA are used to examine whether there is any differences of profit rate between Islamic, local and foreign conventional banks. The study concludes that Islamic banks generally provide the similar profit rate compared to local banks, however Islamic banks provide lower profit rate compared to foreign banks. Finally the findings also suggest that there is no statistical significant difference in mean return between the Islamic banks, local and foreign banks in Palestine. The study recommends the critical needs for Islamic regulation in order to improve the role of Islamic banking industry in Palestine.

NONPERFORMING LOANS PORTFOLIO AND ITS EFFECT ON BANK PROFITABILITY IN NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John N. N. Ugoani

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Huge nonperforming loans portfolio erodes the ability of banks to make profits. In the 1990s and beyond many Nigerian banks became weak and highly unprofitable due to excessive nonperforming loans portfolio accumulated by bank promoters and management that led to their demise. Insider dealing was the major cause of large nonperforming loan portfolio in Nigeria, involving over-extension of loans to promoters, directors and significant others that became bad and irrecoverable. To clean up the mess in the banking sector and return the banks to the paths of sound management and profitability, the CBN had to inject about N700bn in a bailout exercise while purging the system of bad and irresponsible management teams .The exploratory research design was adopted. Data generated were organized and coded before they were classified. To achieve the objective of the study data analyses were done through descriptive and regression analyses using the statistical package for the social sciences for the regression. With the regression result of Y = 78.353 – 4.04x it was found that nonperforming loans portfolio has negative effect on bank profitability.

Profitability of Technical Currency Speculation. The Case of Yen-Dollar Trading 1976-2007

OpenAIRE

Schulmeister, Stephan

2008-01-01

The paper investigates the profitability of 1,024 moving average and momentum models and their components in the yen-dollar market. It turns out that all models would have been profitable between 1976 and 2007. The models produce more single losses than single profits. At the same time, the size of the single profits is on average much higher than the size of single losses because profitable positions last two to six times longer than unprofitable positions. Hence, the profitability of techni...

Estimating profit shifting in South Africa using firm-level tax returns

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wier, Ludvig

2016-01-01

Using the universe of South African corporate tax returns for 2009–14, we estimate profit- and debt-shifting responses in South Africa. We find evidence that South African subsidiaries engage in profit shifting and that profit-shifting responses to tax incentives across all channels...

Quality of care in investor-owned vs not-for-profit HMOs.

Science.gov (United States)

Himmelstein, D U; Woolhandler, S; Hellander, I; Wolfe, S M

1999-07-14

The proportion of health maintenance organization (HMO) members enrolled in investor-owned plans has increased sharply, yet little is known about the quality of these plans compared with not-for-profit HMOs. To compare quality-of-care measures for investor-owned and not-for-profit HMOs. Analysis of the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) Version 3.0 from the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Quality Compass 1997, which included 1996 quality-of-care data for 329 HMO plans (248 investor-owned and 81 not-for-profit), representing 56% of the total HMO enrollment in the United States. Rates for 14 HEDIS quality-of-care indicators. Compared with not-for-profit HMOs, investor-owned plans had lower rates for all 14 quality-of-care indicators. Among patients discharged from the hospital after myocardial infarction, 59.2% of members in investor-owned HMOs vs 70.6% in not-for-profit plans received a beta-blocker (Pinvestor-owned plans vs 47.9% in not-for-profit plans had annual eye examinations (PInvestor-owned plans had lower rates than not-for-profit plans of immunization (63.9% vs 72.3%; Pinvestor ownership was consistently associated with lower quality after controlling for model type, geographic region, and the method each HMO used to collect data. Investor-owned HMOs deliver lower quality of care than not-for-profit plans.

The Cultivation of Human Granulosa Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lenka Brůčková

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The major functions of granulosa cells (GCs include the production of steroids, as well as a myriad of growth factors to interact with the oocyte during its development within the ovarian follicle. Also FSH stimulates GCs to convert androgens (coming from the thecal cells to estradiol by aromatase. However, after ovulation the GCs produce progesterone that may maintain a potential pregnancy. Experiments with human GCs are mainly focused on the purification of GCs from ovarian follicular fluid followed by FACS analysis or short-term cultivation. The aim of our study was to cultivate GCs for a long period, to characterize their morphology and phenotype. Moreover, we have cultivated GCs under gonadotropin stimulation in order to simulate different pathological mechanisms during folliculogenesis (e.g. ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. GCs were harvested from women undergoing in vitro fertilization. Complex oocyte-cumulus oophorus was dissociated by hyaluronidase. The best condition for transport of GCs was optimized as short transport in follicular fluid at 37 °C. GCs expansion medium consisted of DMEM/F12, 2 % FCS, ascorbic acid, dexamethasone, L-glutamine, gentamycine, penicillin, streptomycin and growth factors (EGF, bFGF. GCs transported in follicular fluid and cultivated in 2 % FCS containing DMEM/F12 medium supplemented with follicular fluid presented increased adhesion, proliferation, viability and decreased doubling time. Cell viability was 92 % and mean cell doubling time was 52 hrs. We have optimized transport and cultivation protocols for long-term cultivation of GCs.

The decline of uranium profitability in South Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1989-06-01

Between 1952 and 1988, the South African uranium industry produced 340 million pounds U{sub 3}O{sub 8}-some 14 percent of total world production to date. Peak production was 16.1 million pounds U{sub 3}O{sub 8} in 1980. In 1989, uranium production will have dropped to less than eight million pounds U{sub 3}O{sub 8} per year, and the prospects for further decreases are high. This once-booming business that has been a major contributor to South Africa`s economy is on the brink of collapse. While the policy of apartheid has caused several countries to restrict or embargo further deliveries, the uranium business has also become much less profitable. Profits from the production of uranium concentrates in South Africa exceeded 1.5 billion rand during the period 1981-1988. The trend of this profitability is shown. Inflation and low prices in combination with stabilizing exchange rates are continuing to restrict profitability. NUEXCO examines these factors and their impact on South African uranium production in detail in this article.

The relationship between the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) and hospital profitability.

Science.gov (United States)

Younis, Mustafa Z

2006-01-01

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) reduced the payment for fees for service providers and reduced the subsidy paid by the government for teaching hospitals. Since the passage of such cost containment measures, debates regarding their impact on hospitals, graduate medical education, and access to health care were raised. The need to examine the effect of such payment reduction on hospital profitability was widely ignored. We examined the relationship between the BBA and hospital profitability by using return on assets to measure profitability, by running an ordinary least squares regression for 1996 as pre-BBA and 1999 as post-BBA. We controlled for variables that were not included in previous literature, such as disproportionate share hospital status, critical access hospital status, and graduate medical education, measured by teaching hospitals to measure the effect of BBA cuts on teaching hospitals. Furthermore we incorporated several economic, financial, and utilization variables in the model. We used 1996 and 1999 data in our analysis to bridge potential effects of the BBA. To locate hospitals that changed ownership status we cross-matched the Medicare Cost Report data with the American Hospital Association Annual Survey. We found that overall hospital profitability declined as a result of the introduction of the BBA; however, small rural hospitals that converted to critical access status enjoyed improvement in financial status over the period of our study. Hospitals that converted to for-profit status did not improve in financial status, and showed a lower earning after the conversation. Our results show that the BBA had a negative effect on hospitals because of cuts in its reimbursement policy, except for critical access hospitals, which show improvement because of their exemption from the prospective payment system. Our study differs from others by using national comprehensive data for years that focus exclusively on the Balanced Budget Act period. We

The Cultivation of Cultural Awareness in English Teaching

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

王宁

2015-01-01

As the development of the information age,the cultivation of intercultural communicative competence has been extremely important. Thus foreign language teaching lays stress on the cultivation of language comprehensive application ability. Culture awareness is an important part of language comprehensive application ability. The cultivating of students’ cultural awareness is beneficial to improve their humanistic quality,broaden their international view,strengthen their patriotism spirit and sense of national mission,and achieve their all-round development. The paper will discuss the current situation of cultural awareness cultivation in English teaching. In view of the problems and its causes existing in the cultural awareness cultivation,three count measures have been proposed.

Age differences in career activities among higher-level employees in the Netherlands: a comparison between profit sector and non-profit sector staff

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Heijden, Beatrice

2006-01-01

The present study describes age differences in the occurrence of career activities among profit sector and non-profit sector employees in the Netherlands. Three different types of variables have been studied, i.e. individual, job-related and organizational variables. Hypotheses have been tested with

Domestic and Foreign Banks’ Profitability: Differences and Their Determinants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad AZAM

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study to analyze and compare the profitability of domestic (Public & Private and foreign banks operating in the Pakistan Banking market between 2004 and 2010 on quarterly basis. Total 36 Commercial Banks of Pakistani Industry have represented our sample. To control for the effect of bank ownership on performance, we split the sample into three categories: (1 domestic banks with Government Control, (2 domestic banks with Private control, and (3 foreign banks. This study also finds that foreign banks are more profitable than all domestic banks regardless of their ownership structure by applying regression analysis. This may suggest that it is better for a multinational bank to establish a subsidiary/branch rather than acquiring an “existing player” in the host country. We also found that domestic and foreign banks have different profitability determinants, i.e. factors that are important in shaping domestic banks’ profitability are not necessary important for the foreign banks and vice versa. Empirical results show that foreign banks are less affected by the macroeconomic factors of the host country than domestic banks and they have a higher profitability margin in Pakistan.

Nonprofit to for-profit conversions by hospitals, health insurers, and health plans.

Science.gov (United States)

Needleman, J

1999-01-01

Conversion of hospitals, health insurers, and health plans from nonprofit to for-profit ownership has become a focus of national debate. The author examines why nonprofit ownership has been dominant in the US health system and assesses the strength of the argument that nonprofits provide community benefits that would be threatened by for-profit conversion. The author concludes that many of the specific community benefits offered by nonprofits, such as care for the poor, could be maintained or replaced by adequate funding of public programs and that quality and fairness in treatment can be better assured through clear standards of care and adequate monitoring systems. As health care becomes increasingly commercialized, the most difficult parts of nonprofits' historic mission to preserve are the community orientation, leadership role, and innovation that nonprofit hospitals and health plans have provided out of their commitment to a community beyond those to whom they sell services.

Challenges and best practices for big data-driven healthcare innovations conducted by profit–non-profit partnerships – a quantitative prioritization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Witjas-Paalberends, E. R.; van Laarhoven, L. P.M.; van de Burgwal, L. H.M.; Feilzer, J.; de Swart, J.; Claassen, H.J.H.M.; Jansen, W. T.M.

2017-01-01

Big data-driven innovations are key in improving healthcare system sustainability. Given the complexity, these are frequently conducted by public-private-partnerships (PPPs) between profit and non-profit parties. However, information on how to manage big data-driven healthcare innovations by PPPs is

Comparing profitability of Burlina and Holstein Friesian cattle breeds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martino Cassandro

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Aim of this study was to compare profitability of Burlina and Holstein Friesian cows in northern Italy. Cow’s profitability was calculated for each breed, with consideration of economic incentive programs and alternative milk pricing scenarios. The difference in annual profitability between Burlina and Holstein Friesian ranged from −€719 to −€274 per cow per year. In a low-input management level with a cow’s incentive payment and a specific cheese market strategy the low milk yield of Burlina can be compensate respect to Holstein Friesian.

Financial performance, employee well-being, and client well-being in for-profit and not-for-profit nursing homes: A systematic review.