Generalized tolerance sensitivity and DEA metric sensitivity

OpenAIRE

Neralić, Luka; E. Wendell, Richard

2015-01-01

This paper considers the relationship between Tolerance sensitivity analysis in optimization and metric sensitivity analysis in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Herein, we extend the results on the generalized Tolerance framework proposed by Wendell and Chen and show how this framework includes DEA metric sensitivity as a special case. Further, we note how recent results in Tolerance sensitivity suggest some possible extensions of the results in DEA metric sensitivity.

Generalized tolerance sensitivity and DEA metric sensitivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luka Neralić

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the relationship between Tolerance sensitivity analysis in optimization and metric sensitivity analysis in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA. Herein, we extend the results on the generalized Tolerance framework proposed by Wendell and Chen and show how this framework includes DEA metric sensitivity as a special case. Further, we note how recent results in Tolerance sensitivity suggest some possible extensions of the results in DEA metric sensitivity.

DoDEA 2010-11 Customer Satisfaction Survey. Executive Summary

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Defense Education Activity, 2011

2011-01-01

Every two years the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) administers the DoDEA Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS) to all parents with children attending DoDEA schools and all 4th-12th grade students enrolled in a DoDEA school. Parents were asked to complete one survey for each school in which they had a child enrolled. The purpose of…

Measuring relative performance of banking industry using a DEA and TOPSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Hemmati

2013-02-01

Full Text Available One of the primary concerns in banking industry is to measure the relative importance of banking industry using popular multi criteria decision making (MCDM techniques such as data envelopment analysis (DEA and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS. In this paper, we use these two MCDM techniques to measure the relative efficiencies of 16 private and governmental banks in terms of electronic payment. There are three inputs with DEA methods including the number of issued cards, the number of ATM machines and the number of POSs and there are two outputs including the number of successful ATMs and the number of successful POSs transactions. The proposed study of this paper uses the necessary data of one of Iranian provinces and the results of the implementation of DEA and TOPSIS have indicated that 9 out of 16 banks were efficient. Our study also indicates that mean of relative efficiency for private banks was 82% while this number was 75% for governmental banks.

Common weights under dea control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agrell, P.J.; Bogetoft, P.; Fristrup, P.

2003-01-01

DEA relies so far on endogenous local or exogenous general weights, limited to available information. We offer endogenous general prices based on a reformulation of DEA. The potential application could be to precipitate collective bargaining on cost efficiency. The models are exemplified with data from the Danish district heating plants, where the open evaluation of multiple non-priced outputs is relevant (au)

IDYNA: an interface between I-DEAS and DYNA3D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, N.

1990-03-01

DYNA3D is a popular code used for the analysis of impact and blast loadings. For all but the simplest calculations, the input data for DYNA3D must be prepared with the aid of a finite element mesh generator such as I-DEAS. Both DYNA3D and I-DEAS are well established analysis tools used at Winfrith and, individually, have an international following in their respective fields of application. This memorandum describes an interface program IDYNA, which links together these two major software products. It supports solid, beam and shell elements, nodal constraints, sliding interfaces and pressure boundary conditions. IDYNA makes use of a number of conventions which the I-DEAS user will need to know when creating the model. On running IDYNA, a DYNA3D input data file is generated which requires the minimum of editing before it is ready for use. All this is fully documented, with example output, for reference by both the novice and experienced user. Once learnt, the whole procedure from model creation to running the DYNA3D code will be streamlined, leading to quicker problem solutions. (author)

Dog Erythrocyte Antigen 1 (DEA 1): Mode of Inheritance and Initial Characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Polak, Klaudia; Acierno, Michelle; Raj, Karthik; Mizukami, Keijiro; Siegel, Don L.; Giger, Urs

2015-01-01

Background The Dog Erythrocyte Antigen (DEA) 1 blood group system remains poorly defined. Objectives The purpose of the study was to determine the DEA 1 mode of inheritance and to characterize the DEA 1 antigen and alloantibodies. Animals Canine research colony families, clinic canine patients, and DEA 1.2+ blood bank dogs were studied. Methods Canine blood was typed by flow cytometry and immunochromatographic strips using anti-DEA 1 monoclonal antibodies. Gel column experiments with polyclonal and immunoblotting with monoclonal anti-DEA 1 antibodies were performed to analyze select samples. Cross-reactivity of human typing reagents against canine RBCs and one monoclonal anti-DEA 1 antibody against human RBC panels was assessed. Results Typing of 12 families comprising 144 dogs indicated an autosomal dominant inheritance with ≥4 alleles: DEA 1− (0) and DEA 1+ weak (1+), intermediate (2+) and strong (3+ and 4+). Samples from 6 dogs previously typed as DEA 1.2+ were typed as DEA 1+ or DEA 1− using monoclonal antibodies. Human typing reagents produced varied reactions in tube agglutination experiments against DEA 1+ and DEA 1− RBCs. Polypeptide bands were not detected on immunoblots using a monoclonal anti-DEA 1 antibody, therefore the anti-DEA 1 antibody may be specific for conformational epitopes lost during denaturation. Conclusions The autosomal dominant inheritance of DEA 1 with ≥4 alleles indicates a complex blood group system; the antigenicity of each DEA 1+ type will need to be determined. The biochemical nature of the DEA 1 antigen(s) appears different from human blood group systems tested. PMID:26291052

WHATIF-AQ, Geochem Speciation and Saturation of Aqueous Solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nielsen, Ole John; Jensen, Bror Skytte

1988-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: WHATIF-AQ is part of a family of programs for calculations of geochemistry in the near-field of radioactive waste with temperature gradients. The program calculates speciation and saturation indices for an aqueous solution at temperatures in the range 0 - 125 degrees C. The chemical equilibrium is determined by solving a set of nonlinear equations consisting of the equilibrium constant and mass balance constraints. 2 - Method of solution: The set of equations is solved using a generalized Newton-Raphson technique

STEPWISE SELECTION OF VARIABLES IN DEA USING CONTRIBUTION LOADS

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Fernando Fernandez-Palacin

Full Text Available ABSTRACT In this paper, we propose a new methodology for variable selection in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA. The methodology is based on an internal measure which evaluates the contribution of each variable in the calculation of the efficiency scores of DMUs. In order to apply the proposed method, an algorithm, known as “ADEA”, was developed and implemented in R. Step by step, the algorithm maximizes the load of the variable (input or output which contribute least to the calculation of the efficiency scores, redistributing the weights of the variables without altering the efficiency scores of the DMUs. Once the weights have been redistributed, if the lower contribution does not reach a previously given critical value, a variable with minimum contribution will be removed from the model and, as a result, the DEA will be solved again. The algorithm will stop when all variables reach a given contribution load to the DEA or until no more variables can be removed. In this way and contrary to what is usual, the algorithm provides a clear stop rule. In both cases, the efficiencies obtained from the DEA will be considered suitable and rightly interpreted in terms of the remaining variables, indicating the load themselves; moreover, the algorithm will provide a sequence of alternative nested models - potential solutions - that could be evaluated according to external criterion. To illustrate the procedure, we have applied the methodology proposed to obtain a research ranking of Spanish public universities. In this case, at each step of the algorithm, the critical value is obtained based on a simulation study.

Exact bright and dark spatial soliton solutions in saturable nonlinear media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calvo, Gabriel F.; Belmonte-Beitia, Juan; Perez-Garcia, Victor M.

2009-01-01

We present exact analytical bright and dark (black and grey) solitary wave solutions of a nonlinear Schroedinger-type equation describing the propagation of spatial beams in media exhibiting a saturable nonlinearity (such as centrosymmetric photorefractive materials). A qualitative study of the stationary equation is carried out together with a discussion of the stability of the solutions.

21 CFR 1305.12 - Procedure for executing DEA Forms 222.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Procedure for executing DEA Forms 222. 1305.12... I AND II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES DEA Form 222 § 1305.12 Procedure for executing DEA Forms 222. (a) A purchaser must prepare and execute a DEA Form 222 simultaneously in triplicate by means of interleaved...

21 CFR 1305.18 - Return of unused DEA Forms 222.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Return of unused DEA Forms 222. 1305.18 Section... II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES DEA Form 222 § 1305.18 Return of unused DEA Forms 222. If the registration... substances for which the purchaser is registered, the purchaser must return all unused DEA Forms 222 to the...

21 CFR 1305.16 - Lost and stolen DEA Forms 222.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Lost and stolen DEA Forms 222. 1305.16 Section... II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES DEA Form 222 § 1305.16 Lost and stolen DEA Forms 222. (a) If a purchaser ascertains that an unfilled DEA Form 222 has been lost, he or she must execute another in triplicate and...

21 CFR 1305.15 - Unaccepted and defective DEA Forms 222.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Unaccepted and defective DEA Forms 222. 1305.15... I AND II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES DEA Form 222 § 1305.15 Unaccepted and defective DEA Forms 222. (a) A DEA Form 222 must not be filled if either of the following apply: (1) The order is not complete...

DEA 1 expression on dog erythrocytes analyzed by immunochromatographic and flow cytometric techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Acierno, M M; Raj, K; Giger, U

2014-01-01

The Dog erythrocyte antigen (DEA) 1 blood group system was thought to contain types DEA 1.1 and 1.2 (and possibly 1.3 [A3]). However, DEA 1.2+ dogs are very rare and newer typing methods reveal varying degrees of DEA 1 positivity. To assess if variation in DEA 1 positivity is because of quantitative differences in surface antigen expression. To determine expression patterns in dogs over time and effects of blood storage (4°C). To evaluate DEA 1.2+ samples by DEA 1 typing methods. Anticoagulated blood samples from 66 dogs in a research colony and from a hospital, and 9 previously typed DEA 1.2+ dogs from an animal blood bank. Research study: Samples were analyzed by flow cytometry and immunochromatographic strip using a monoclonal anti-DEA 1 antibody. Twenty dogs were DEA 1-, whereas 46 dogs were weakly to strongly DEA 1+. Antigen quantification revealed excellent correlation between strip and flow cytometry (r = 0.929). Both methods reclassified DEA 1.2+ samples as weakly to moderately DEA 1+, but they were not retyped with the polyclonal anti-DEA 1.1/1.X antibodies. Dogs and blood samples retained their relative DEA 1 antigen densities over time. The blood group system DEA 1 is a continuum from negative to strongly positive antigen expression. Previously typed DEA 1.2+ appears to be DEA 1+. These findings further the understanding of the DEA 1 system and suggest that all alleles within the DEA 1 system have a similarly based epitope recognized by the monoclonal antibody. Copyright © 2014 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

21 CFR 1305.13 - Procedure for filling DEA Forms 222.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Procedure for filling DEA Forms 222. 1305.13... I AND II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES DEA Form 222 § 1305.13 Procedure for filling DEA Forms 222. (a) A purchaser must submit Copy 1 and Copy 2 of the DEA Form 222 to the supplier and retain Copy 3 in the...

21 CFR 1305.14 - Procedure for endorsing DEA Forms 222.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... on the reverse sides of Copies 1 and 2 of the DEA Form 222) the name and address of the second... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Procedure for endorsing DEA Forms 222. 1305.14... I AND II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES DEA Form 222 § 1305.14 Procedure for endorsing DEA Forms 222. (a) A...

Increasing the Discriminatory Power of DEA Using Shannon’s Entropy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiwei Xie

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In many data envelopment analysis (DEA applications, the analyst always confronts the difficulty that the selected data set is not suitable to apply traditional DEA models for their poor discrimination. This paper presents an approach using Shannon’s entropy to improve the discrimination of traditional DEA models. In this approach, DEA efficiencies are first calculated for all possible variable subsets and analyzed using Shannon’s entropy theory to calculate the degree of the importance of each subset in the performance measurement, then we combine the obtained efficiencies and the degrees of importance to generate a comprehensive efficiency score (CES, which can observably improve the discrimination of traditional DEA models. Finally, the proposed approach has been applied to some data sets from the prior DEA literature.

Activity, specificity, and titer of naturally occurring canine anti-DEA 7 antibodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Spada, Eva; Proverbio, Daniela; Baggiani, Luciana; Canzi, Ilaria; Perego, Roberta

2016-11-01

The reported prevalence of naturally occurring anti-dog erythrocyte antigen (DEA) 7 antibodies in DEA 7-negative dogs is as high as 50%. Characterization of these antibodies may better define their importance in canine transfusion medicine. We determined in vitro activity, specificity, and titer of anti-DEA 7 antibodies in DEA 7-negative dogs. Plasma samples from 317 DEA 7-negative dogs were cross-matched with DEA 7-positive red blood cells (RBCs) using gel column technology. Agglutination occurred with DEA 7-positive RBCs but not with DEA 7-negative RBCs in 73 samples (23%), which were hence classified as containing anti-DEA 7 antibodies. These samples were evaluated for hemolytic and agglutinating activity, strength of agglutination, and antibody specificity and titers. All samples showed agglutination but none showed hemolysis. Gel agglutination was graded as 1+ for 20 samples (27%), 2+ for 49 samples (67%), 3+ for 4 samples (6%); no samples were graded 4+. The agglutination titer was DEA 7 antibodies were found in 23% of DEA 7-negative dogs. The presence of naturally occurring anti-DEA 7 antibodies suggests that cross-matching of canine blood recipients is advisable, even at first transfusion, to minimize delayed transfusion reactions. © 2016 The Author(s).

Sensitivity Analysis in Two-Stage DEA

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Athena Forghani

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Data envelopment analysis (DEA is a method for measuring the efficiency of peer decision making units (DMUs which uses a set of inputs to produce a set of outputs. In some cases, DMUs have a two-stage structure, in which the first stage utilizes inputs to produce outputs used as the inputs of the second stage to produce final outputs. One important issue in two-stage DEA is the sensitivity of the results of an analysis to perturbations in the data. The current paper looks into combined model for two-stage DEA and applies the sensitivity analysis to DMUs on the entire frontier. In fact, necessary and sufficient conditions for preserving a DMU's efficiency classiffication are developed when various data changes are applied to all DMUs.

Sensitivity Analysis in Two-Stage DEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Athena Forghani

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Data envelopment analysis (DEA is a method for measuring the efficiency of peer decision making units (DMUs which uses a set of inputs to produce a set of outputs. In some cases, DMUs have a two-stage structure, in which the first stage utilizes inputs to produce outputs used as the inputs of the second stage to produce final outputs. One important issue in two-stage DEA is the sensitivity of the results of an analysis to perturbations in the data. The current paper looks into combined model for two-stage DEA and applies the sensitivity analysis to DMUs on the entire frontier. In fact, necessary and sufficient conditions for preserving a DMU's efficiency classiffication are developed when various data changes are applied to all DMUs.

Exact solutions of the two-dimensional discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation with saturable nonlinearity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khare, A.; Rasmussen, K. O.; Samuelsen, Mogens Rugholm

2010-01-01

We show that the two-dimensional, nonlinear Schrodinger lattice with a saturable nonlinearity admits periodic and pulse-like exact solutions. We establish the general formalism for the stability considerations of these solutions and give examples of stability diagrams. Finally, we show that the e...

The vapour pressures over saturated aqueous solutions of sodium and potassium acetates, chlorates, and perchlorates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Apelblat, Alexander [Department of Chemical Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105 (Israel)]. E-mail: apelblat@bgu.ac.il; Manzurola, Emanuel [Department of Chemical Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105 (Israel)

2007-08-15

Vapour pressures of water over saturated solutions of sodium acetate, potassium acetate, sodium perchlorate, and potassium perchlorate were determined over the (278 to 318) K temperature range and compared with available in the literature data. The cases of saturated solutions of sodium chlorate and potassium chlorate are also considered. The determined vapour pressures were used to obtain the water activities, the osmotic coefficients, and the molar enthalpies of vaporization in considered systems.

DEA-Risk Efficiency and Stochastic Dominance Efficiency of Stock Indices

OpenAIRE

Martin Branda; Miloš Kopa

2012-01-01

In this article, the authors deal with the efficiency of world stock indices. Basically, they compare three approaches: mean-risk, data envelopment analysis (DEA), and stochastic dominance (SD) efficiency. In the DEA methodology, efficiency is defined as a weighted sum of outputs compared to a weighted sum of inputs when optimal weights are used. In DEA-risk efficiency, several risk measures and functionals which quantify the risk of the indices (var, VaR, CVaR, etc.) as DEA inputs are used. ...

21 CFR 1305.19 - Cancellation and voiding of DEA Forms 222.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cancellation and voiding of DEA Forms 222. 1305.19... I AND II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES DEA Form 222 § 1305.19 Cancellation and voiding of DEA Forms 222. (a) A purchaser may cancel part or all of an order on a DEA Form 222 by notifying the supplier in...

DEA 1 Expression on Dog Erythrocytes Analyzed by Immunochromatographic and Flow Cytometric Techniques

OpenAIRE

Acierno, M.M.; Raj, K.; Giger, U.

2014-01-01

Background The Dog erythrocyte antigen (DEA) 1 blood group system was thought to contain types DEA 1.1 and 1.2 (and possibly 1.3 [A3]). However, DEA 1.2+ dogs are very rare and newer typing methods reveal varying degrees of DEA 1 positivity. Objectives To assess if variation in DEA 1 positivity is because of quantitative differences in surface antigen expression. To determine expression patterns in dogs over time and effects of blood storage (4?C). To evaluate DEA 1.2+ samples by DEA 1 typing...

Sensitivity analysis of network DEA illustrated in branch banking

OpenAIRE

N. Avkiran

2010-01-01

Users of data envelopment analysis (DEA) often presume efficiency estimates to be robust. While traditional DEA has been exposed to various sensitivity studies, network DEA (NDEA) has so far escaped similar scrutiny. Thus, there is a need to investigate the sensitivity of NDEA, further compounded by the recent attention it has been receiving in literature. NDEA captures the underlying performance information found in a firm?s interacting divisions or sub-processes that would otherwise remain ...

Laurel Springs & DoDEA

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Jhung, Seung

2000-01-01

At the request of the client organization, Laurel Springs School, we developed an in-depth market analysis of comparable educational programs offered within the Department of Defense Education Activities (DoDEA...

A Multiobjective Programming Method for Ranking All Units Based on Compensatory DEA Model

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Haifang Cheng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In order to rank all decision making units (DMUs on the same basis, this paper proposes a multiobjective programming (MOP model based on a compensatory data envelopment analysis (DEA model to derive a common set of weights that can be used for the full ranking of all DMUs. We first revisit a compensatory DEA model for ranking all units, point out the existing problem for solving the model, and present an improved algorithm for which an approximate global optimal solution of the model can be obtained by solving a sequence of linear programming. Then, we applied the key idea of the compensatory DEA model to develop the MOP model in which the objectives are to simultaneously maximize all common weights under constraints that the sum of efficiency values of all DMUs is equal to unity and the sum of all common weights is also equal to unity. In order to solve the MOP model, we transform it into a single objective programming (SOP model using a fuzzy programming method and solve the SOP model using the proposed approximation algorithm. To illustrate the ranking method using the proposed method, two numerical examples are solved.

Modeling variably saturated subsurface solute transport with MODFLOW-UZF and MT3DMS

Science.gov (United States)

Morway, Eric D.; Niswonger, Richard G.; Langevin, Christian D.; Bailey, Ryan T.; Healy, Richard W.

2013-01-01

The MT3DMS groundwater solute transport model was modified to simulate solute transport in the unsaturated zone by incorporating the unsaturated-zone flow (UZF1) package developed for MODFLOW. The modified MT3DMS code uses a volume-averaged approach in which Lagrangian-based UZF1 fluid fluxes and storage changes are mapped onto a fixed grid. Referred to as UZF-MT3DMS, the linked model was tested against published benchmarks solved analytically as well as against other published codes, most frequently the U.S. Geological Survey's Variably-Saturated Two-Dimensional Flow and Transport Model. Results from a suite of test cases demonstrate that the modified code accurately simulates solute advection, dispersion, and reaction in the unsaturated zone. Two- and three-dimensional simulations also were investigated to ensure unsaturated-saturated zone interaction was simulated correctly. Because the UZF1 solution is analytical, large-scale flow and transport investigations can be performed free from the computational and data burdens required by numerical solutions to Richards' equation. Results demonstrate that significant simulation runtime savings can be achieved with UZF-MT3DMS, an important development when hundreds or thousands of model runs are required during parameter estimation and uncertainty analysis. Three-dimensional variably saturated flow and transport simulations revealed UZF-MT3DMS to have runtimes that are less than one tenth of the time required by models that rely on Richards' equation. Given its accuracy and efficiency, and the wide-spread use of both MODFLOW and MT3DMS, the added capability of unsaturated-zone transport in this familiar modeling framework stands to benefit a broad user-ship.

Conference on New Uses of DEA in Management and Public Policy

CERN Document Server

Charnes, Abraham; Lewin, Arie Y; Seiford, Lawrence M; Data Envelopment Analysis : Theory, Methodology, and Applications

1994-01-01

This book represents a milestone in the progression of Data Envelop­ ment Analysis (DEA). It is the first reference text which includes a comprehensive review and comparative discussion of the basic DEA models. The development is anchored in a unified mathematical and graphical treatment and includes the most important modeling ex­ tensions. In addition, this is the first book that addresses the actual process of conducting DEA analyses including combining DEA and 1 parametric techniques. The book has three other distinctive features. It traces the applications­ driven evolution and diffusion of DEA models and extensions across disciplinary boundaries. It includes a comprehensive bibliography to serve as a source of references as well as a platform for further develop­ ments. And, finally, the power of DEA analysis is demonstrated through fifteen novel applications which should serve as an inspiration for future applications and extensions of the methodology. The origin of this book was a Conference on Ne...

A smart experimental technique for the optimization of dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hodgins, M; Rizzello, G; York, A; Seelecke, S; Naso, D

2015-01-01

In order to aid in moving dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) technology from the laboratory into a commercial product DEA prototypes should be tested against a variety of loading conditions and eventually in the end user conditions. An experimental test setup to seamlessly perform mechanical characterization and loading of the DEA would be a great asset toward this end. Therefore, this work presents the design, control and systematic validation of a benchtop testing station for miniature silicon based circular DEAs. A versatile benchtop tester is able to characterize and apply programmable loading forces to the DEA while measuring actuator performance. The tester successfully applied mechanical loads to the DEA (including positive, constant and negative stiffness loads) simulating biasing systems via an electromagnetic linear motor operating in closed loop with a force/mechanical impedance control scheme. The tester expedites mechanical testing of the DEA by eliminating the need to build intricate pre-load mechanisms or use multiple testing jigs for characterizing the DEA response. The results show that proper mechanical loading of the DEA increases the overall electromechanical sensitivity of the system and thereby the actuator output. This approach to characterize and apply variable loading forces to DEAs in a single test system will enable faster realization of higher performance actuators. (paper)

Amiodarone increases the accumulation of DEA in a human alveolar epithelium-derived cell line.

Science.gov (United States)

Seki, Satoru; Itagaki, Shirou; Kobayashi, Masaki; Hirano, Takeshi; Iseki, Ken

2008-07-01

Amiodarone (AMD)-induced pulmonary toxicity (AIPT) is the most life-threatening side-effect of AMD treatment. N-Monodesethylamiodarone (DEA), an active metabolite of AMD, also exhibits cytotoxicity and tends to accumulate in the lung more intensively than AMD. In this study, we characterized the mechanism of DEA accumulation using A549 cells as a model of the alveolar epithelium. Typical ATP-depletion compounds caused an approximately 30% increase in the accumulation of DEA in A549 cells, although these effects were less than those in Caco-2 cells. Triiodothyronine (T(3)), which exhibited an inhibitory effect on DEA efflux in Caco-2 cells, did not affect the accumulation of DEA in A549 cells. On the other hand, 100 microM AMD caused an approximately 200% increase in DEA content in A549 cells, although AMD accumulation was not affected by 100 microM DEA. Since the reducing effect of AMD on cellular ATP levels and that of FCCP were similar, the mechanism by which DEA accumulation is increased by AMD might be different from the ATP-dependent DEA efflux mechanism. The decrease in cell viability by DEA in the presence of AMD (IC(50) value of DEA for A549 cell viability: 25.4+/-2.4 microM) was more pronounced than that by DEA alone (IC(50) value: 11.5+/-3.0 microM). This further DEA accumulation by AMD might be a factor responsible for the greater accumulation of DEA than that of AMD in the lung in long-term AMD-treated patients.

Linked-cone DEA profit ratios and technical efficiency with application to Illinois coal mines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thompson, R.G.; Dharmapala, P.S.; Thrall, R.M. [University of Houston, Houston, TX (United States). Dept. of Decision and Information Sciences

1995-04-01

The authors develop a theory stating that Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) profit ratios and technical efficiency measures require separate treatment. This point is illustrated by analysis of an example problem; showing that DEA technical efficiency does not necessarily imply a DEA maximum profit ratio; and that a DEA maximum profit ratio does not necessarily imply DEA technical efficiency. The mathematical framework underlying this argument is provided. Application of the concepts to Illinois coal mining data lends support to the need for separate treatment of DEA technical efficiency and DEA profit ratios. 31 refs., 4 figs., 9 tabs.

Linked-cone DEA profit ratios and technical efficiency with application to Illinois coal mines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thompson, R.G.; Dharmapala, P.S.; Thrall, R.M.

1995-01-01

The authors develop a theory stating that Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) profit ratios and technical efficiency measures require separate treatment. This point is illustrated by analysis of an example problem; showing that DEA technical efficiency does not necessarily imply a DEA maximum profit ratio; and that a DEA maximum profit ratio does not necessarily imply DEA technical efficiency. The mathematical framework underlying this argument is provided. Application of the concepts to Illinois coal mining data lends support to the need for separate treatment of DEA technical efficiency and DEA profit ratios. 31 refs., 4 figs., 9 tabs

DEA investment strategy in the Brazilian stock market

OpenAIRE

Newton da Costa, Jr.; Marcus Lima; Edgar Lanzer; Ana Lopes

2008-01-01

This paper presents a multi-period investment strategy using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in the Brazilian stock market. Results show that the returns based on the DEA strategy were superior to the returns of a Brazilian stock index in most of the 22 quarters analyzed, presenting a significant Jensen's alpha.

75 FR 56661 - Agency Information Collection (Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) Election Request...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-16

... (Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) Election Request) Activity; Under OMB Review AGENCY: Veterans... [email protected] . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA... currently approved collection. Abstract: VA must notify eligible dependents of veterans receiving DEA...

Importance of Statistical Evidence in Estimating Valid DEA Scores.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnum, Darold T; Johnson, Matthew; Gleason, John M

2016-03-01

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) allows healthcare scholars to measure productivity in a holistic manner. It combines a production unit's multiple outputs and multiple inputs into a single measure of its overall performance relative to other units in the sample being analyzed. It accomplishes this task by aggregating a unit's weighted outputs and dividing the output sum by the unit's aggregated weighted inputs, choosing output and input weights that maximize its output/input ratio when the same weights are applied to other units in the sample. Conventional DEA assumes that inputs and outputs are used in different proportions by the units in the sample. So, for the sample as a whole, inputs have been substituted for each other and outputs have been transformed into each other. Variables are assigned different weights based on their marginal rates of substitution and marginal rates of transformation. If in truth inputs have not been substituted nor outputs transformed, then there will be no marginal rates and therefore no valid basis for differential weights. This paper explains how to statistically test for the presence of substitutions among inputs and transformations among outputs. Then, it applies these tests to the input and output data from three healthcare DEA articles, in order to identify the effects on DEA scores when input substitutions and output transformations are absent in the sample data. It finds that DEA scores are badly biased when substitution and transformation are absent and conventional DEA models are used.

State and change of Dryland East Asia (DEA)

Science.gov (United States)

Jiquan Chen; Ranjeet John; Guanghua Qiao; Ochirbat Batkhishig; Wenping Yuan; Yaoqi Zhang; Changliang Shao; Zutao Ouyang; Linghao Li; Ke Guo; Ge Sun

2013-01-01

Dry land East Asia (DEA) refers to a region with 4.81 million square kilometers (km²) and includes Mongolia and four provinces/regions in Northern China (hereafter called "administrative units" ): Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. This introduction chapter provides an overview of the DEA region from three perspectives: 1) geography,...

Pharmacists correcting schedule II prescriptions: DEA flip-flops continue.

Science.gov (United States)

Abood, Richard R

2010-12-01

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has in recent years engaged in flip-flopping over important policy decisions. The most recent example involved whether a pharmacist can correct a written schedule II prescription upon verification with the prescriber. For several years the DEA's policy permitted this practice. Then the DEA issued a conflicting policy statement in 2007 in the preamble to the multiple schedule II prescription regulation, causing a series of subsequent contradictory statements ending with the policy that pharmacists should follow state law or policy until the Agency issues a regulation. It is doubtful that the DEA's opinion in the preamble would in itself constitute legal authority, or that the Agency would try to enforce the opinion. Nonetheless, these flip-flop opinions have confused pharmacists, caused some pharmacies to have claims rejected by third party payors, and most likely have inconvenienced patients.

The effects of halide ions on the radiation-induced decoloration of azo and anthraquinone dyes in N2O-saturated aqueous solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Nobutake; Tokunaga, Okihiro; Washino, Masamitsu

1978-01-01

The radiation-induced decoloration of azo and anthraquinone dyes was studied in N 2 O-saturated aqueous solutions containing halide ions. In the N 2 O-saturated solutions, the decoloration yield, G(-Dye), increased markedly upon the addition of Br - and I - , which are efficient scavengers of the OH radical. In the nitrogen-saturated solutions, however, the G(-Dye) decreased upon the addition of Br - and I - . Such an increase in the G(-Dye) upon the addition of Br - and I - in the N 2 O-saturated solutions is mainly attributable to the attacks of the halide radical anions, Br 2 - and I 2 - , on the ring structure of the dyes. On the other hand, the G(-Dye) was not changed upon the addition of Cl - in the N 2 O-saturated solution. This may be attributable to the very slow rate of the formation of Cl 2 - in a neutral solution. (auth.)

75 FR 39620 - Proposed Information Collection (Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) Election Request...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-09

... (Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) Election Request) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans... veterans beginning date to start their DEA benefits. DATES: Written comments and recommendations on the.... Title: Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) Election Request, VA Form Letter 22-909. OMB Control...

78 FR 17778 - Proposed Information Collection (Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) Election Request...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-22

... (Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) Election Request) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans... veterans beginning date to start their DEA benefits. DATES: Written comments and recommendations on the.... Title: Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) Election Request, VA Form Letter 22-909. OMB Control...

Absorption of Carbon Dioxide in the aqueous solution of Diethanolamine (DEA) blended with 1-Butyl-1-Methylpyrrolidinium Trifluoromethanesulfonate [BmPyrr][OTf] at high pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Jamaludin, S. N.; Salleh, R. M.

2018-03-01

Solubility data of carbon dioxide (CO2) in aqueous Diethanolamine (DEA) blended with 1-Butyl-1-Methylpyrrolidinium Trifluoromethanesulfonate [Bmpyrr][OTf] were measured at temperature 313.15K, 323.15K, 333.15K and pressure from 500psi up to 700 psi. The experiments covered over the concentration range of 0-10wt% for [Bmpyrr][OTf] and 30-40wt% for DEA. The solubility of CO2 was evaluated by measuring the pressure drop in high pressure stirred absorption cell reactor. The experimental results showed that CO2 loading in all DEA-[BmPyrr][OTf] mixtures studied increases with increasing of CO2 partial pressure and temperature. It was also found that the CO2 loading capacity increase significantly as the concentration of [Bmpyrr][OTf] increases. Jou and Mather model was used to predict the solubility of CO2 in the mixtures where the experimental data were correlated as a function of temperature and CO2 partial pressure. It was found that the model was successful in predicting the solubility behavior of the aqueous DEA-[Bmpyrr][OTf] systems considered in this study.

The influence of surface roughness and solution concentration on pool boiling process in Diethanolamine aqueous solution

Science.gov (United States)

Khoshechin, Mohsen; Salimi, Farhad; Jahangiri, Alireza

2018-04-01

In this research, the effect of surface roughness and concentration of solution on bubble departing frequency and nucleation site density for pool boiling of water/diethanolamine (DEA) binary solution were investigated experimentally. In this investigation, boiling heat transfer coefficient, bubble departing frequency and nucleation site density have been experimentally investigated in various concentrations and heat fluxes. Microstructured surfaces with a wide range of well-defined surface roughness were fabricated, and a heat flux between 1.5-86 kW/m2 was achieved under atmospheric conditions. The Results indicated that surface roughness and concentration of solution increase the bubble departing frequency and nucleation site density with increasing heat flux. The boiling heat transfer coefficient in mixtures of water/DEA increases with increasing concentration of DEA in water. The experimental results were compared with predictions of several used correlations in the literatures. Results showed that the boiling heat transfer coefficients of this case study are much higher than the predicted values by major existing correlations and models. The excellent agreement for bubble departing frequency found between the models of Jackob and Fritz (1966) and experimental data and also the nucleation site density were in close agreement with the model of Paul (1983) data. f bubble departure frequency, 1/s or Hz N Number of nucleation sites per area per time R c Minimum cavity size, m D c critical diameter, m g gravitational acceleration, m/s2 ρ density, kg/m3 T temperature, °c ΔT temperature difference, °c d d vapor bubble diameter, m h fg enthalpy of vaporization, J/kg R Roughness, μm Ja Jakob number cp specific heat, J/kg °c Pr Prandtl number Ar Archimedes number h Heat transfer coefficient, J/(m2 °c) tg time it takes to grow a bubble, s q/A heat flux (kW/m2) tw time required to heat the layer, s gc Correction coefficient of incompatible units R a Surface

Frequency of DEA 1 antigen in 1037 mongrel and PUREBREED dogs in ITALY.

Science.gov (United States)

Carli, E; Carminato, A; Ravagnan, S; Capello, K; Antognoni, M T; Miglio, A; Furlanello, T; Proverbio, D; Spada, E; Stefani, A; Mutinelli, F; Vascellari, M

2017-11-29

The prevalence of dog erythrocyte antigen (DEA 1) in canine population is approximately 40-60%. Often data are limited to a small number of breeds and/or dogs. The aims of this study were to evaluate frequency of DEA 1 in a large population of purebred and mongrel dogs including Italian native breeds and to recognize a possible association between DEA 1 and breed, sex, and genetic and phenotypical/functional classifications of breeds. Frequencies of DEA 1 blood group collected from screened/enrolled blood donors and from healthy and sick dogs were retrospectively evaluated. The breed and the sex were recorded when available. DEA 1 blood typing was assessed by immunocromatographic test on K3EDTA blood samples. The prevalence of DEA 1 antigen was statistically related to breed, gender, Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) and genotypic grouping. Sixty-two per cent dogs resulted DEA 1+ and 38% DEA 1-. DEA 1- was statistically associated with Dogo Argentino, Dobermann, German Shepherd, Boxer, Corso dogs, the molossian dogs, the FCI group 1, 2 and 3 and the genetic groups "working dogs" and "mastiff". DEA 1+ was statistically associated with Rottweiler, Briquet Griffon Vendéen, Bernese mountain dog, Golden Retriever, the hunting breeds, the FCI group 4, 6, 7 and 8 and the genetic groups "scent hounds" and "retrievers". No gender association was observed. Data obtained by this work may be clinically useful to drive blood donor enrollment and selection among different breeds.

Evaluating the efficiency of municipalities in collecting and processing municipal solid waste: A shared input DEA-model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogge, Nicky; De Jaeger, Simon

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Complexity in local waste management calls for more in depth efficiency analysis. ► Shared-input Data Envelopment Analysis can provide solution. ► Considerable room for the Flemish municipalities to improve their cost efficiency. - Abstract: This paper proposed an adjusted “shared-input” version of the popular efficiency measurement technique Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) that enables evaluating municipality waste collection and processing performances in settings in which one input (waste costs) is shared among treatment efforts of multiple municipal solid waste fractions. The main advantage of this version of DEA is that it not only provides an estimate of the municipalities overall cost efficiency but also estimates of the municipalities’ cost efficiency in the treatment of the different fractions of municipal solid waste (MSW). To illustrate the practical usefulness of the shared input DEA-model, we apply the model to data on 293 municipalities in Flanders, Belgium, for the year 2008.

An interface between I-DEAS and DYNA3D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andress, J.C.

1986-01-01

The I-DEAS software package can be used interactively to generate 3-dimensional finite element models for subsequent analysis. This memorandum describes techniques which allow I-DEAS to be used for the generation of finite element models for the code DYNA3D which is being used at Winfrith for impact analysis. In particular, it is shown how impacting and sliding interfaces can be defined conveniently even though the I-DEAS software does not directly support this feature of the DYNA3D code. A simple example is included to illustrate the use of the techniques described in this memorandum. (author)

Solving binary-state multi-objective reliability redundancy allocation series-parallel problem using efficient epsilon-constraint, multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm, and DEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalili-Damghani, Kaveh; Amiri, Maghsoud

2012-01-01

In this paper, a procedure based on efficient epsilon-constraint method and data envelopment analysis (DEA) is proposed for solving binary-state multi-objective reliability redundancy allocation series-parallel problem (MORAP). In first module, a set of qualified non-dominated solutions on Pareto front of binary-state MORAP is generated using an efficient epsilon-constraint method. In order to test the quality of generated non-dominated solutions in this module, a multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm is also proposed for MORAP. The performance of both procedures is compared using different metrics on well-known benchmark instance. The statistical analysis represents that not only the proposed efficient epsilon-constraint method outperform the multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm but also it improves the founded upper bound of benchmark instance. Then, in second module, a DEA model is supplied to prune the generated non-dominated solutions of efficient epsilon-constraint method. This helps reduction of non-dominated solutions in a systematic manner and eases the decision making process for practical implementations. - Highlights: ► A procedure based on efficient epsilon-constraint method and DEA was proposed for solving MORAP. ► The performance of proposed procedure was compared with a multi-start PBEA. ► Methods were statistically compared using multi-objective metrics.

Fabrication and performance analysis of a DEA cuff designed for dry-suit applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmadi, S; Camacho Mattos, A; Barbazza, A; Soleimani, M; Boscariol, P; Menon, C

2013-01-01

A method for manufacturing a cylindrical dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) is presented. The cylindrical DEA can be used in fabricating the cuff area of dry-suits where the garment is very tight and wearing the suit is difficult. When electrically actuated, the DEA expands radially and the suit can be worn more comfortably. In order to study the performance of the DEA, a customized testing setup was designed, and silicone-made cuff samples with different material stiffnesses were tested. Analytical and FEM modeling were considered to evaluate the experimental output. The results revealed that although the stiffness of the DEA material has a direct relationship with the radial constrictive pressure caused by mechanically stretching the DEA, it has a minor effect on the actuation pressure. It was also found that stacking multiple layers of the DEA to fabricate a laminated structure enabled the attainment of a desired variation of pressure required for the implementation of an electrically tunable cuff. (paper)

Mathematics Audit of the DoDEA Schools: 2014-2015

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

39 The Role of the Mathematics Instructional Support Specialist ... mathematics Instructional Support Specialists (ISSs) and school principals. We also interviewed administrative staff at DoDEA headquarters (HQ) and at the...Resources for High-Quality Professional Development for Mathematics Instructional Support Specialists , Principals, and Teachers DoDEA understands

Analysis of products of thymine irradiated by 18O8+ ion beam in N2O saturated aqueous solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai Xichen; Wei Zengquan; Li Wenjian; Liang Jianping; Li Qiang

1999-01-01

Some methods of capillary gas chromatography, such as GC, GC-MS GC-FT-IR, are used to analyze the products of thymine irradiated by 18 O 8+ ion beam in N 2 O saturated aqueous solution. From the results of GC-MS the molecular weight of products can be determined, and from the results of GC-FT-IR some molecular structure information of products can be obtained. By this way the products, 5,6-Dihydro-thymine, 5-Hydroxyl-5-Methylhydantoin, 5-Hydroxyl-6-Hydro-thymine, 5-Hydro-6-Hydroxyl thymine, 5-Hydroxymethyluracil, Trans-Thymine glycol, Cis-Thymine glycol and dimers are determined without separation of them from samples. Though these products are as same as those products of thymine irradiated by γ rays in N 2 O saturated aqueous solution, the mechanism of thymine irradiated by heavy ion beam in aqueous solution is different from that by γ rays. The main products of thymine irradiated by 18 O 8+ ion beam in N 2 O saturated aqueous solution are hydroxyl adducts at 5-6 band of thymine, while the main products of thymine irradiated by γ ray in N 2 O saturated aqueous solution are dimers of thymine

Analytical solution for the transient response of a fluid/saturated porous medium halfspace system subjected to an impulsive line source

Science.gov (United States)

Shan, Zhendong; Ling, Daosheng; Jing, Liping; Li, Yongqiang

2018-05-01

In this paper, transient wave propagation is investigated within a fluid/saturated porous medium halfspace system with a planar interface that is subjected to a cylindrical P-wave line source. Assuming the permeability coefficient is sufficiently large, analytical solutions for the transient response of the fluid/saturated porous medium halfspace system are developed. Moreover, the analytical solutions are presented in simple closed forms wherein each term represents a transient physical wave, especially the expressions for head waves. The methodology utilised to determine where the head wave can emerge within the system is also given. The wave fields within the fluid and porous medium are first defined considering the behaviour of two compressional waves and one tangential wave in the saturated porous medium and one compressional wave in the fluid. Substituting these wave fields into the interface continuity conditions, the analytical solutions in the Laplace domain are then derived. To transform the solutions into the time domain, a suitable distortion of the contour is provided to change the integration path of the solution, after which the analytical solutions in the Laplace domain are transformed into the time domain by employing Cagniard's method. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate some interesting features of the fluid/saturated porous medium halfspace system. In particular, the interface wave and head waves that propagate along the interface between the fluid and saturated porous medium can be observed.

Performance evaluation using bootstrapping DEA techniques: Evidence from industry ratio analysis

OpenAIRE

Halkos, George; Tzeremes, Nickolaos

2010-01-01

In Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) context financial data/ ratios have been used in order to produce a unified measure of performance metric. However, several scholars have indicated that the inclusion of financial ratios create biased efficiency estimates with implications on firms’ and industries’ performance evaluation. There have been several DEA formulations and techniques dealing with this problem including sensitivity analysis, Prior-Ratio-Analysis and DEA/ output–input ratio analysis ...

SY 2008-09 Customer Satisfaction Survey Results (Full Report). DoDEA Results

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Defense Education Activity, 2009

2009-01-01

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Customer Satisfaction Survey is a biennial survey administered by DoDEA to parents and students to monitor DoDEA's success in meeting students' needs. The survey is administered every other year to sponsors with children in pre-kindergarten--12th grade and to students in grades 4-12. For the…

SY 2010-11 Customer Satisfaction Survey Results (Full Report). DoDEA Results

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Defense Education Activity, 2011

2011-01-01

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Customer Satisfaction Survey is a biennial survey administered by DoDEA to parents and students to monitor DoDEA's success in meeting students' needs. The survey is administered every other year to sponsors with children in pre-kindergarten-12th grade and to students in grades 4-12. For the…

Kinetic study of carbon dioxide absorption into glycine promoted diethanolamine (DEA)

Science.gov (United States)

Pudjiastuti, Lily; Susianto, Altway, Ali; IC, Maria Hestia; Arsi, Kartika

2015-12-01

In industry, especially petrochemical, oil and natural gas industry, required separation process of CO2 gas which is a corrosive gas (acid gas). This characteristic can damage the plant utility and piping systems as well as reducing the caloric value of natural gas. Corrosive characteristic of CO2 will appear in areas where there is a decrease in temperature and pressure, such as at the elbow pipe, tubing, cooler and injector turbine. From disadvantages as described above, then it is important to do separation process in the CO2 gas stream, one of the method for remove CO2 from the gas stream is reactive absorption using alkanolamine based solution with promotor. Therefore, this study is done to determine the kinetics constant of CO2 absorption in diethanolamine (DEA) solution using a glycine promoter. Glycine is chosen as a promoter because glycine is a primary amine compound which is reactive, moreover, glycine has resistance to high temperatures so it will not easy to degradable and suitable for application in industry. The method used in this study is absorption using laboratory scale wetted wall column equipment at atmospheric of pressure. This study will to provide the reaction kinetics data information in order to optimize the separation process of CO2 in the industrialized world. The experimental results show that rising temperatures from 303,15 - 328,15 K and the increase of concentration of glycine from 1% - 3% weight will increase the absorption rate of carbon dioxide in DEA promoted with glycine by 24,2% and 59,764% respectively, also the reaction kinetic constant is 1.419 × 1012 exp (-3634/T) (m3/kmol.s). This result show that the addition of glycine as a promoter can increase absorption rate of carbon dioxide in diethanolamine solution and cover the weaknesses of diethanolamine solution.

28 CFR 16.98 - Exemption of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)-limited access.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Administration (DEA)-limited access. 16.98 Section 16.98 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PRODUCTION... Exemption of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)—limited access. (a) The following systems of records.../Diversion Analysis and Detection System (ARCOS/DADS) (Justice/DEA-003) (2) Controlled Substances Act...

Research and Teaching Efficiencies of Turkish Universities with Heterogeneity Considerations: Application of Multi-Activity DEA and DEA by Sequential Exclusion of Alternatives Methods

OpenAIRE

Çinar, Y.

2016-01-01

The research and teaching efficiencies of 45 Turkish state universities are evaluated by using Multi-Activity Data Envelopment Analysis (MA-DEA) model developed by Beasley (1995). Universities are multi-purpose institutions, therefore they face multiple production functions simultaneously associated with research and teaching activities. MA-DEA allows assigning priorities and allocating shared resources to these activities.

VS2DRTI: Simulating Heat and Reactive Solute Transport in Variably Saturated Porous Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Healy, Richard W; Haile, Sosina S; Parkhurst, David L; Charlton, Scott R

2018-01-29

Variably saturated groundwater flow, heat transport, and solute transport are important processes in environmental phenomena, such as the natural evolution of water chemistry of aquifers and streams, the storage of radioactive waste in a geologic repository, the contamination of water resources from acid-rock drainage, and the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide. Up to now, our ability to simulate these processes simultaneously with fully coupled reactive transport models has been limited to complex and often difficult-to-use models. To address the need for a simple and easy-to-use model, the VS2DRTI software package has been developed for simulating water flow, heat transport, and reactive solute transport through variably saturated porous media. The underlying numerical model, VS2DRT, was created by coupling the flow and transport capabilities of the VS2DT and VS2DH models with the equilibrium and kinetic reaction capabilities of PhreeqcRM. Flow capabilities include two-dimensional, constant-density, variably saturated flow; transport capabilities include both heat and multicomponent solute transport; and the reaction capabilities are a complete implementation of geochemical reactions of PHREEQC. The graphical user interface includes a preprocessor for building simulations and a postprocessor for visual display of simulation results. To demonstrate the simulation of multiple processes, the model is applied to a hypothetical example of injection of heated waste water to an aquifer with temperature-dependent cation exchange. VS2DRTI is freely available public domain software. © 2018, National Ground Water Association.

Transport of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in saturated porous media under various solution chemistry conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yu; Gao Bin; Morales, Verónica L.; Tian Yuan; Wu Lei; Gao Jie; Bai Wei; Yang Liuyan

2012-01-01

Because of its wide applications, nanosized titanium dioxide may become a potential environmental risk to soil and groundwater system. It is therefore important to improve current understanding of the environmental fate and transport of titanium oxides nanoparticles (TONPs). In this work, the effect of solution chemistry (i.e., pH, ionic strength, and natural organic matter (NOM) concentration) on the deposition and transport of TONPs in saturated porous media was examined in detail. Laboratory columns packed with acid-cleaned quartz sand were used in the experiment as porous media. Transport experiments were conducted with various chemistry combinations, including four ionic strengths, three pH levels, and two NOM concentrations. The results showed that TONP mobility increased with increasing solution pH, but decreased with increasing solution ionic strength. It is also found that the presence of NOM in the system enhanced the mobility of TONPs in the saturated porous media. The Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) theory was used to justify the mobility trends observed in the experimental data. Predictions from the theory agreed excellently with the experimental data.

Use of azeotropic distillation for isotopic analysis of deuterium in soil water and saturate saline solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Antonio Vieira dos.

1995-05-01

The azeotropic distillation technique was adapted to extract soil water and saturate saline solution, which is similar to the sea water for the Isotopic Determination of Deuterium (D). A soil test was used to determine the precision and the nature of the methodology to extract soil water for stable isotopic analysis, using the azeotropic distillation and comparing with traditional methodology of heating under vacuum. This methodology has been very useful for several kinds of soil or saturate saline solution. The apparatus does not have a memory effect, and the chemical reagents do not affect the isotopic composition of soil water. (author). 43 refs., 10 figs., 12 tabs

Using a hybrid model to predict solute transfer from initially saturated soil into surface runoff with controlled drainage water.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Juxiu; Hu, Bill X; Yang, Jinzhong; Zhu, Yan

2016-06-01

The mixing layer theory is not suitable for predicting solute transfer from initially saturated soil to surface runoff water under controlled drainage conditions. By coupling the mixing layer theory model with the numerical model Hydrus-1D, a hybrid solute transfer model has been proposed to predict soil solute transfer from an initially saturated soil into surface water, under controlled drainage water conditions. The model can also consider the increasing ponding water conditions on soil surface before surface runoff. The data of solute concentration in surface runoff and drainage water from a sand experiment is used as the reference experiment. The parameters for the water flow and solute transfer model and mixing layer depth under controlled drainage water condition are identified. Based on these identified parameters, the model is applied to another initially saturated sand experiment with constant and time-increasing mixing layer depth after surface runoff, under the controlled drainage water condition with lower drainage height at the bottom. The simulation results agree well with the observed data. Study results suggest that the hybrid model can accurately simulate the solute transfer from initially saturated soil into surface runoff under controlled drainage water condition. And it has been found that the prediction with increasing mixing layer depth is better than that with the constant one in the experiment with lower drainage condition. Since lower drainage condition and deeper ponded water depth result in later runoff start time, more solute sources in the mixing layer are needed for the surface water, and larger change rate results in the increasing mixing layer depth.

Integrated AHP and network DEA for assessing the efficiency of Iranian handmade carpet industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azadeh Omid

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Data envelopment analysis (DEA is a method for measuring the efficiency of peer decision making units (DMUs. Traditional DEA models deal with measurements of relative efficiency of DMUs regarding multiple-inputs vs. multiple-outputs. One of the drawbacks of these models is the neglect of intermediate products or linking activities. Recently, DEA has been extended to examine the efficiency of network structures, where there are lots of sub-processes that are linked with intermediate parameters. These intermediate parameters can be considered as the outputs of the first stage and simultaneously as the inputs for the second stage. In contrast to the traditional DEA analysis, network DEA analysis aims to measure different sub-processes’ efficiencies in addition to the total efficiency. Lots of network DEA technique has been used recently, but none of them uses Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP in network DEA for assessing a network’s efficiency. In this paper, AHP methodology is used for considering the importance of each sub-process and network DEA is used for measuring total and partial efficiencies based on the importance of each department measured from AHP methodology. In this regard, the case of Iranian Handmade Carpet Industry (IHCI is used.

Procedure to Solve Network DEA Based on a Virtual Gap Measurement Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fuh-hwa Franklin Liu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Network DEA models assess production systems that contain a set of network-structured subsystems. Each subsystem has input and output measures from and to the external network and has intermediate measures that link to other subsystems. Most published studies demonstrate how to employ DEA models to establish network DEA models. Neither static nor dynamic network DEA models adjust the links. This paper applies the virtual gap measurement (VGM model to construct a mixed integer program to solve dynamic network DEA problems. The mixed integer program sets the total numbers of “as-input” and “as-output” equal to the total number of links in the objective function. To obtain the best-practice efficiency, each DMU determines a set of weights for inputs, outputs, and links. The links are played either “as-input” or “as-output.” Input and as-input measures reduce slack, whereas output and as-output measures increase slacks to attain their target on the production frontier.

Fuzzy-DEA model for measuring the efficiency of transport quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragan S. Pamučar

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Data envelopment analysis (DEA is becoming increasingly important as a tool for evaluating and improving the performance of manufacturing and service operations. It has been extensively applied in performance evaluation and benchmarking of schools, hospitals, bank branches, production plants, etc. DEA enables mathematical programming for implicit evaluation of the ratio between a number of input and output performance parameters. The result is quantification of the efficiency of business opportunities and providing insight into some flaws from the level of top management. Levels of efficiency determined under the same parametres make this analytical process objective and allow for the application of best practices based on the assessment of the overall efficiency. This paper presents a fuzzy-DEA model for evaluating the effectiveness of urban and suburban public transport- USPT. A fuzzy-DEA model provides insight into the current transport quality provided by USPT and proposes for the improvement of inefficient systems up to the level of best standards possible. Such quantification makes long-term stability of USPT possible. Since most of the acquired data is characterized by a high degree of imprecision, subjectivity and uncertainty, fuzzy logic was used for displaying them. Fuzzy linguistic descriptors are given in the output parameters of DEA models. In this way, fuzzy logic enables the exploitation of tolerance that exists in imprecision, uncertainty and partial accuracy of the acquired research results.

Assessment of Fenton's reagent and ozonation as pre-treatments for increasing the biodegradability of aqueous diethanolamine solutions from an oil refinery gas sweetening process.

Science.gov (United States)

Durán-Moreno, A; García-González, S A; Gutiérrez-Lara, M R; Rigas, F; Ramírez-Zamora, R M

2011-02-28

The aim of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of three chemical oxidation processes for increasing the biodegradability of aqueous diethanolamine solutions (aqueous DEA solutions), to be used as pre-treatments before a biological process. The raw aqueous DEA solution, sourced from a sour gas sweetening plant at a Mexican oil refinery, was first characterized by standardized physico-chemical methods. Then experiments were conducted on diluted aqueous DEA solutions to test the effects of Fenton's reagent, ozone and ozone-hydrogen peroxide on the removal of some physicochemical parameters of these solutions. Lastly, biodegradability tests based on Dissolved Organic Carbon Die Away OECD301-A, were carried out on a dilution of the raw aqueous DEA solution and on the treated aqueous DEA solutions, produced by applying the best experimental conditions determined during the aforementioned oxidation tests. Experimental results showed that for aqueous DEA solutions treated with Fenton's reagent, the best degradation rate (70%) was obtained at pH 2.8, with Fe(2+) and H(2)O(2) at doses of 1000 and 10,000 mg/L respectively. In the ozone process, the best degradation (60%) was observed in aqueous DEA solution (100 mg COD/L), using 100 mg O(3)/L at pH 5. In the ozone-hydrogen peroxide process, no COD or DOC removals were observed. The diluted spent diethanolamine solution showed its greatest increase in biodegradability after a reaction period of 28 days when treated with Fenton's reagent, but after only 15 days in the case of ozonation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Existence and Uniqueness of Solutions to the Stochastic Porous Media Equations of Saturated Flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciotir, Ioana

2010-01-01

This paper proves the existence and uniqueness of nonnegative solutions for the stochastic porous media equations with multiplicative noise, infinite jump and discontinuous diffusivity function relevant in description of saturation processes in underground water infiltration in a bounded domain of R 3 .

Illicit online marketing of lorcaserin before DEA scheduling.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Bryan A; Mackey, Tim K; Archer-Hayes, Ashley N; Shinn, Linda M

2013-05-01

Antiobesity drugs have been marketed illicitly by "no prescription" online pharmacies after approval and scheduling by the drug enforcement agency. We assess whether antiobesity drug Belviq® (lorcaserin HCl) was available from illicit online vendors before DEA-scheduling when sales are unauthorized. Online searches of "buy Belviq no prescription" examining first five result pages marketing the drug. Searches were performed from 11/5/2012-12/8/2012, prior to DEA scheduing. Belviq® is actively marketed by "no prescription" online vendors despite official unavailability and prescription requirements. Approaches included direct-to-consumer advertising using descriptive website URLs; linking to illicit marketers; and directing customers to other weight-loss websites for additional marketing. Finally, large quantities were marketed by business-to-business vendors. Illicit online "no prescription" pharmacies are marketing unauthorized, suspect antiobesity drugs before DEA scheduling and permitted marketing. Regulators must legally intercede to ensure patient safety, and providers must educate patients about online-sourcing risks. Copyright © 2013 The Obesity Society.

Applying DEA Technique to Library Evaluation in Academic Research Libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Shim, Wonsik

2003-01-01

This study applied an analytical technique called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to calculate the relative technical efficiency of 95 academic research libraries, all members of the Association of Research Libraries. DEA, with the proper model of library inputs and outputs, can reveal best practices in the peer groups, as well as the technical…

The performance of a surface-applied corrosion inhibitor for the carbon steel in saturated Ca(OH)2 solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, Haibing; Li, Weihua; Ma, Fubin; Kong, Qinglin

2014-01-01

In the present work, the performance of an amino alcohol based surface applied inhibitor was studied by the electrochemical techniques in saturated Ca(OH) 2 solutions. The surface morphology of the carbon steel was observed by scanning electron microscope, and the energy diffraction spectrum was also tested. Results showed that the inhibitor used in this work demonstrated obvious inhibition efficiency on the carbon steel in saturated Ca(OH) 2 solutions. The inhibition mechanism of the inhibitor lies in the quick adsorption of the active component on carbon steel surface

A new chance-constrained DEA model with birandom input and output data

OpenAIRE

Tavana, M.; Shiraz, R. K.; Hatami-Marbini, A.

2013-01-01

The purpose of conventional Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is to evaluate the performance of a set of firms or Decision-Making Units using deterministic input and output data. However, the input and output data in the real-life performance evaluation problems are often stochastic. The stochastic input and output data in DEA can be represented with random variables. Several methods have been proposed to deal with the random input and output data in DEA. In this paper, we propose a new chance-...

The use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in healthcare with a focus on hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Kohl, Sebastian; Schoenfelder, Jan; Fügener, Andreas; Brunner, Jens O

2018-02-24

The healthcare sector in general and hospitals in particular represent a main application area for Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). This paper reviews 262 papers of DEA applications in healthcare with special focus on hospitals and therefore closes a gap of over ten years that were not covered by existing review articles. Apart from providing descriptive statistics of the papers, we are the first to examine the research purposes of the publications. These research goals can be grouped into four distinct clusters according to our proposed framework. The four clusters are (1) "Pure DEA efficiency analysis", i.e. performing a DEA on hospital data, (2) "Developments or applications of new methodologies", i.e. applying new DEAy approaches on hospital data, (3) "Specific management question", i.e. analyzing the effects of managerial specification, such as ownership, on hospital efficiency, and (4) "Surveys on the effects of reforms", i.e. researching the impact of policy making, such as reforms of health systems, on hospital efficiency. Furthermore, we analyze the methodological settings of the studies and describe the applied models. We analyze the chosen inputs and outputs as well as all relevant downstream techniques. A further contribution of this paper is its function as a roadmap to important methodological literature and publications, which provide crucial information on the setup of DEA studies. Thus, this paper should be of assistance to researchers planning to apply DEA in a hospital setting by providing information on a) what has been published between 2005 and 2016, b) possible pitfalls when setting up a DEA analysis, and c) possible ways to apply the DEA analysis in practice. Finally, we discuss what could be done to advance DEA from a scientific tool to an instrument that is actually utilized by managers and policymakers.

The effect of NCS- on the radiation-induced decoloration of azo and anthraquinone dyes in N2O-saturated aqueous solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Nobutake; Hotta, Hiroshi

1977-01-01

The radiation-induced decoloration of azo and anthraquinone dyes was studied in N 2 O-saturated aqueous solutions containing NCS - . In the N 2 O-saturated solutions, the decoloration yield, G(-Dye), increased markedly upon the addition of NCS - , which is an efficient scavenger of the OH radical-that is, from 1.46 up to 2.10 for Acid Red 265 and from 0.51 up to 1.51 for Acid Blue 40 upon the addition of 1 mM NCS - . In the nitrogen-saturated solutions, however, the G(-Dye) decreased upon the addition of NCS - . It is concluded that the increase in the G(-Dye) upon the addition of NCS - in the N 2 O-saturated solutions is mainly attributable to the attack of the radical anion (NCS) 2 - on the ring structure of the dyes. This radical anion is formed through the following path: NCS - +OH → NCS+OH - and NCS+NCS - reversible (NCS) 2 - . At low NCS - concentrations, the G(-Dye) decreased for Acid Red 265 and increased for Acid Blue 40. This may be attributable to the larger reactivity of (NCS) 2 - on Acid Blue 40 than on Acid Red 265. (auth.)

Characterization of some electronic spectral parameters for doped Nd (III) ion in saturated aqueous solution of some pharmaceutical compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naulakha, Neelam; Soni, K.P.; Bhati, P.R.

2000-01-01

The stereo-environment of doped Nd(III) ion in various saturated solutions of some medicinal compounds has been studied for various electronic spectral parameters. The various electronic parameters, viz., Slater Condon (F k ), Lande (ζ 4f ) intensity of hypersensitive band ( 4 G 5/2 ), bonding parameter (b 1/2 ), Judd-Ofelt parameter (Tλ) and Racah parameter (E k ) for Nd(III) ion doped in saturated solution of diphenylhydramine, tripelennamine, chlorophenaramine, promethazine, terfinadine, naproxen, fenoprofen, flurbiprofen, oxaprozine, ketoprofen and ibuprofen have been studied. (author)

Photochemical oxidation of americium(3) in bicarbonate-carbonate solutions saturated with N2O

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shilov, V.P.; Yusov, A.B.

1993-01-01

The influence of UV radiation on 1.1x10 -4 mol/l Am(3) in bicarbonate-carbonate solutions of sodium and potassium saturated with N 2 O was studied by spectrographic method. In all the cases Am(4) was formed as a primary product. Initial rate of Am(4) accumulation remains stable in solutions up to HCO 3 - or HCO 3 - +CO 3 2- concentration of approximately 1.5 mol/l, but it decreases in case of their higher concentration. In solutions with pH 8.4-10 Am(4) disproportionates at a slow rate and the method suggested permits attaining practically 100% yield of it

Improving efficiency of decision making units through BSC-DEA technique

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Amir Reza Khaki

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Performance evaluation is one of the most important techniques to prioritize different decision making units. Data envelopment analysis (DEA, as a non-parametric method, plays an important role for measuring relative efficiency. Balanced score card, on the other hand, is another method to evaluate a business plan based on non-financial perspectives. The integrated BSC-DEA takes advantage of the advantages of both methods' features. In this paper, we propose a BSC-DEA method to rank different decision making units. We consider different financial criteria such as profit-margin, return on assets along with non-financial criteria such as customer satisfaction, advanced services, employee skills to compare the performance of different banks. The results are analyzed and discussed, which could be used for making better decisions.

DEA Window Analysis for Measuring Port Efficiencies in Serbia

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Danijela Pjevčević

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to apply Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA method in measuring and analyzing the efficiencies of ports on the river Danube. DEA window analysis is used to determine the efficiency of ports and to observe the possibility of changes in the port efficiency over time. A study is conducted to evaluate the efficiencies of ports on the territory of Serbia in order to identify the sources of inefficiencies and formulate proposals for improving the services of those ports and their operations through a four-year window analysis with port efficiency trends and average efficiencies. The progress is made in the measurement of port efficiency in relation to port productive activities - total area of warehouses, quay length, number of cranes and port throughput, for the Serbian river ports. Keywords: river ports, total area of warehouses, quay length, number of cranes, port throughput, port efficiency, DEA window analysis

DEA-BASED INVESTMENT STRATEGY AND ITS APPLICATION IN THE CROATIAN STOCK MARKET

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Margareta Gardijan

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the DEA-based investment strategy for constructing of a stock portfolio in the Croatian stock market. The relative efficiency of the DMUs, which are in this case the selected stocks from Zagreb Stock Exchange, is obtained from the output oriented CCR and BCC models. The set of inputs consists of risk measures, namely return variance, Value at Risk (VaR and beta coefficient $(\\beta$, while monthly return represents an output. Following the „efficiency scores“, obtained from the models, we construct a portfolio of DEA-efficient stocks (DEA-portfolio. This portfolio can be modified over time according to changes of the DMU's efficiency scores. By comparing the returns of the EA-portfolio and the market return during the given time period, the applicability of the investment strategy based on a DEA methodology, as a strategy for achieving superior returns, is estimated.

Improved DEA Cross Efficiency Evaluation Method Based on Ideal and Anti-Ideal Points

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Qiang Hou

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A new model is introduced in the process of evaluating efficiency value of decision making units (DMUs through data envelopment analysis (DEA method. Two virtual DMUs called ideal point DMU and anti-ideal point DMU are combined to form a comprehensive model based on the DEA method. The ideal point DMU is taking self-assessment system according to efficiency concept. The anti-ideal point DMU is taking other-assessment system according to fairness concept. The two distinctive ideal point models are introduced to the DEA method and combined through using variance ration. From the new model, a reasonable result can be obtained. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the new constructed model and certify the rationality of the constructed model through relevant analysis with the traditional DEA model.

Qualitative Performance Evaluation of Hospitals Using DEA, Balanced Scorecard and Servqual; A Case Study of General Hospitals of Yazd

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M Asadi

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Evaluation is an important factor in productivity context, and acts as a control system for other areas of productivity. Hospitals are large organizations incurring heavy expenses in every country. The level of efficiency in a hospital is a good criterion to understand how hospitals consume their resources. The goal of this research was to determine relative efficiency of 13 public hospitals in Yazd province by using integrated DEA, BSC and SERVQUAL model. Methods: In this study, relative efficiency of 13 public hospitals of Yazd province was calculated using data envelopment analysis technique(DEA and balanced score card and servqual. BSC was used as a tool for designing of performance evaluation indexes, while DEA was used as a tool of evaluating performance and ranking. Results: The mean relative efficiency of hospitals under study was about 0.945 in the Persian calendar year 2008-9. The efficiency levels of nine hospitals were borderline and the efficiency of four hospitals was less than 1. Hospital no.3 had the highest efficiency levels and hospital no.10 had the lowest efficiency level. Conclusion: In this stage, on the basis of references presented by the DEA model, solutions for increasing the quality performance levels of inefficient hospitals in fourth dimensions were determined and some suggestions were proposed. Although all performance indices of the inefficient hospitals need to be addressed, priorities have to be determined by the respective managers.

Regional Spanish Tourism Competitiveness. A DEA-MONITUR approach

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Juan Carlos Martín

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyse the regional tourist competitiveness performance in Spain. We use the seven pillars of tourism from a very detailed and complete database compiled by the Spanish Government –MoniTUR 2010 as primary data. Thus, we calculate a DEA-MONITUR regional tourist competitiveness index in order to compare and rank the total 17 Spanish Autonomous Communities using data envelopment analysis (DEA. Our results show how this performance is very different among regions, and the position of each of the laggard Autonomous Communities should be analysed by their respective destination management organizations (DMOs in order to envisage adequate corrective measures.

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Model in Operation Management

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Malik, Meilisa; Efendi, Syahril; Zarlis, Muhammad

2018-01-01

Quality management is an effective system in operation management to develops, maintains, and improves quality from groups of companies that allow marketing, production, and service at the most economycal level as well as ensuring customer satisfication. Many companies are practicing quality management to improve their bussiness performance. One of performance measurement is through measurement of efficiency. One of the tools can be used to assess efficiency of companies performance is Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The aim of this paper is using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model to assess efficiency of quality management. In this paper will be explained CCR, BCC, and SBM models to assess efficiency of quality management.

The Application of DEA Method in Evaluating Credit Risk of Companies

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Anna Feruś

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The subject of the present article is a new procedure forecasting credit risk of companies in Polish economy environment. What favors the suggested approach is the fact that in Poland, unlike in western countries, DEA method has not yet been implemented in order to assess credit risk that companies face. The research described in the article has been conducted on the basis of comparison of suggested DEA method with currently used procedures, namely point method, discriminative analysis and linear regression. Considering the research, it can be concluded that DEA method facilitates forecasting financial problems, including bankruptcy of companies in Polish economic conditions, and its effectiveness is comparable or even greater than approaches implemented so far.  

Thermosolutal convection in saturated porous enclosure with concentrated energy and solute sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Di; Zhao, Fu-Yun; Tang, Guang-Fa [College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha (China)

2008-01-15

Double diffusive natural convection within a vertical porous enclosure with localized heating and salting from one side is numerically studied by the finite element based finite volume method. In the formulation of the problem, use is made of the Darcy model, which allows the slip boundary condition on a solid wall to be satisfied. Comparisons with benchmark solutions for natural convection in fluid saturated porous enclosures are first presented to validate the code. Following that, an extensive series of numerical simulations is conducted in the range of -55 {<=} N {<=} + 55 and 0.125 {<=} L {<=} 0.875, where N and L are the buoyancy ratio and the element location, respectively. Streamlines, heatlines, masslines, isotherms and iso-concentrations in the system are produced to illustrate the flow structure transition from solutal dominated opposing to thermal dominated and solutal dominated aiding flows, respectively. The computed average Nusselt and Sherwood numbers provide guidance for locating the heating and salting element. (author)

Thermosolutal convection in saturated porous enclosure with concentrated energy and solute sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu Di [College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha (China)], E-mail: liudi66@163.com; Zhao Fuyun [College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha (China)], E-mail: zfycfdnet@163.com; Tang Guangfa [College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha (China)], E-mail: gftangcfd@163.com

2008-01-15

Double diffusive natural convection within a vertical porous enclosure with localized heating and salting from one side is numerically studied by the finite element based finite volume method. In the formulation of the problem, use is made of the Darcy model, which allows the slip boundary condition on a solid wall to be satisfied. Comparisons with benchmark solutions for natural convection in fluid saturated porous enclosures are first presented to validate the code. Following that, an extensive series of numerical simulations is conducted in the range of -55 {<=} N {<=} + 55 and 0.125 {<=} L {<=} 0.875, where N and L are the buoyancy ratio and the element location, respectively. Streamlines, heatlines, masslines, isotherms and iso-concentrations in the system are produced to illustrate the flow structure transition from solutal dominated opposing to thermal dominated and solutal dominated aiding flows, respectively. The computed average Nusselt and Sherwood numbers provide guidance for locating the heating and salting element.

Healthcare efficiency assessment using DEA analysis in the Slovak Republic.

Science.gov (United States)

Stefko, Robert; Gavurova, Beata; Kocisova, Kristina

2018-03-09

A regional disparity is becoming increasingly important growth constraint. Policy makers need quantitative knowledge to design effective and targeted policies. In this paper, the regional efficiency of healthcare facilities in Slovakia is measured (2008-2015) using data envelopment analysis (DEA). The DEA is the dominant approach to assessing the efficiency of the healthcare system but also other economic areas. In this study, the window approach is introduced as an extension to the basic DEA models to evaluate healthcare technical efficiency in individual regions and quantify the basic regional disparities and discrepancies. The window DEA method was chosen since it leads to increased discrimination on results especially when applied to small samples and it enables year-by-year comparisons of the results. Two stable inputs (number of beds, number of medical staff), three variable inputs (number of all medical equipment, number of magnetic resonance (MR) devices, number of computed tomography (CT) devices) and two stable outputs (use of beds, average nursing time) were chosen as production variable in an output-oriented 4-year window DEA model for the assessment of technical efficiency in 8 regions. The database was made available from the National Health Information Center and the Slovak Statistical Office, as well as from the online databases Slovstat and DataCube. The aim of the paper is to quantify the impact of the non-standard Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) variables as the use of medical technologies (MR, CT) on the results of the assessment of the efficiency of the healthcare facilities and their adequacy in the evaluation of the monitored processes. The results of the analysis have shown that there is an indirect dependence between the values of the variables over time and the results of the estimated efficiency in all regions. The regions that had low values of the variables over time achieved a high degree of efficiency and vice versa. Interesting

Evaluate and Analysis Efficiency of Safaga Port Using DEA-CCR, BCC and SBM Models-Comparison with DP World Sokhna

Science.gov (United States)

Elsayed, Ayman; Shabaan Khalil, Nabil

2017-10-01

The competition among maritime ports is increasing continuously; the main purpose of Safaga port is to become the best option for companies to carry out their trading activities, particularly importing and exporting The main objective of this research is to evaluate and analyze factors that may significantly affect the levels of Safaga port efficiency in Egypt (particularly the infrastructural capacity). The assessment of such efficiency is a task that must play an important role in the management of Safaga port in order to improve the possibility of development and success in commercial activities. Drawing on Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA)models, this paper develops a manner of assessing the comparative efficiency of Safaga port in Egypt during the study period 2004-2013. Previous research for port efficiencies measurement usually using radial DEA models (DEA-CCR), (DEA-BCC), but not using non radial DEA model. The research applying radial - output oriented (DEA-CCR), (DEA-BCC) and non-radial (DEA-SBM) model with ten inputs and four outputs. The results were obtained from the analysis input and output variables based on DEA-CCR, DEA-BCC and SBM models, by software Max DEA Pro 6.3. DP World Sokhna port higher efficiency for all outputs were compared to Safaga port. DP World Sokhna position is below the southern entrance to the Suez Canal, on the Red Sea, Egypt, makes it strategically located to handle cargo transiting through one of the world's busiest commercial waterways.

Determination Bounds for Intermediate Products in a Two-Stage Network DEA

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Hadi Bagherzadeh Valami

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The internal structure of decision making unit (DMU is the key element at extension of network DEA. In general considering internal performance evaluation of system is a better criterion than the conventional DEA-models, essentially based on the initial inputs and final outputs of the system. The internal performance of a system is dependent on the relation between sub-DMUs and intermediate products. Since the intermediate measures are consumed by some sub-DMUs produced by the others, it is possible to produce systems; the role of intermediate production is twice output and input. That's why they can be analyzed based on conventional mathematical modeling. In this paper we introduce a new method for determining bounds for intermediate product in a two stage network DEA structure.

The impact of non-discretionary factors on DEA and SFA technical efficiency differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Kontodimopoulos, Nick; Papathanasiou, Nikolaos D; Flokou, Angeliki; Tountas, Yannis; Niakas, Dimitris

2011-10-01

The purpose of this study was to examine if factors of the external operating environment can explain differences in technical efficiency derived from Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). In a sample of 124 dialysis facilities, technical efficiency was compared according to ownership, region, years in operation and size. With second-stage Tobit regression, DEA and SFA efficiency was regressed against these environmental factors to determine their potential for predicting technical efficiency, as well as the efficiency differences between the two frontier methods. DEA expectedly generated lower mean efficiency scores than SFA (68.2% vs. 79.4%, P DEA-SFA efficiency differences was explained by environmental factors. This suggests that in addition to market instabilities, luck, and other related phenomena, decision-makers in their effort to determine optimal resource allocation, should point their attention to the potentially useful insight provided by environmental factors.

HREELS study of the adsorption and evolution of diethylamine (DEA) on Si(1 0 0) surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeninas, S.; Brickman, A.; Craig, J.H.; Lozano, J.

2008-01-01

The adsorption of diethylamine (DEA) on Si(1 0 0) at 100 K was investigated using high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) and electron stimulated desorption (ESD). The thermal evolution of DEA on Si(1 0 0) was studied using temperature programmed desorption (TPD). Our results demonstrate DEA bonds datively to the Si(1 0 0) surface with no dissociation at 100 K. Thermal desorption of DEA takes place via a β-hydride elimination process leaving virtually no carbon behind. Electronic processing of DEA/Si(1 0 0) at 100 K results in desorption of ethyl groups; however, carbon and nitrogen are deposited on the surface as a result of electron irradiation. Thermal removal of carbon and nitrogen was not possible, indicating the formation of silicon carbide and silicon nitride

Artifactual degradation of secondary amine-containing drugs during accelerated stability testing when saturated sodium nitrite solutions are used for humidity control.

Science.gov (United States)

Sluggett, Gregory W; Zelesky, Todd; Hetrick, Evan M; Babayan, Yelizaveta; Baertschi, Steven W

2018-02-05

Accelerated stability studies of pharmaceutical products are commonly conducted at various combinations of temperature and relative humidity (RH). The RH of the sample environment can be controlled to set points using humidity-controlled stability chambers or via storage of the sample in a closed container in the presence of a saturated aqueous salt solution. Herein we report an unexpected N-nitrosation reaction that occurs upon storage of carvedilol- or propranolol-excipient blends in a stability chamber in the presence of saturated sodium nitrite (NaNO 2 ) solution to control relative humidity (∼60% RH). In both cases, the major products were identified as the corresponding N-nitroso derivatives of the secondary amine drugs based on mass spectrometry, UV-vis and retention time. These degradation products were not observed upon storage of the samples at the same temperature and humidity but in the presence of saturated potassium iodide (KI) solution (∼60% RH) for humidity control. The levels of the N-nitrosamine derivatives varied with the pH of various NaNO 2 batches. The presence of volatile NOx species in the headspace of a container containing saturated NaNO 2 solution was confirmed via the Griess assay. The process for formation of the N-nitrosamine derivatives is proposed to involve volatilization of nitric oxide (NO) from aqueous nitrite solution into the headspace of the container followed by diffusion into the solid drug-excipient blend and subsequent reaction of NOx with the secondary amine. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Unitary input DEA model to identify beef cattle production systems typologies

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Eliane Gonçalves Gomes

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The cow-calf beef production sector in Brazil has a wide variety of operating systems. This suggests the identification and the characterization of homogeneous regions of production, with consequent implementation of actions to achieve its sustainability. In this paper we attempted to measure the performance of 21 livestock modal production systems, in their cow-calf phase. We measured the performance of these systems, considering husbandry and production variables. The proposed approach is based on data envelopment analysis (DEA. We used unitary input DEA model, with apparent input orientation, together with the efficiency measurements generated by the inverted DEA frontier. We identified five modal production systems typologies, using the isoefficiency layers approach. The results showed that the knowledge and the processes management are the most important factors for improving the efficiency of beef cattle production systems.

DEA (data envelopment analysis)-assisted supporting measures for ground coupled heat pumps implementing in Italy: A case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longo, L.; Colantoni, A.; Castellucci, S.; Carlini, M.; Vecchione, L.; Savuto, E.; Pallozzi, V.; Di Carlo, A.; Bocci, E.; Moneti, M.; Cocchi, S.; Boubaker, K.

2015-01-01

Nowadays, the increasing of the energy consumption is producing serious global warming issues. Mainly most of greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries come from building equipments. In this context, GCHPs (ground coupled heat pumps) are candidate solution as air conditioning systems in buildings due to their higher efficiency compared to conventional devices. Actually, ground coupled heat pump systems are widely, recognized among the most efficient and comfortable used systems. Nevertheless, economic efficiency of the ground coupled heat pumps has to be proved. In this study, DEA (data envelopment analyses) method is applied to a real case in Italy. - Highlights: • Original investigation in terms of energy demands in buildings. • Gathering conjoint classical and scientific analyses. • Presenting original DEA (data envelopment analysis) economic optimization scheme analyses. • Outlining economical feasibility of an efficient low enthalpy-geothermal plant with GCHP (ground coupled heat pump) exchangers.

The effectiveness of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) on the impurities removal of saturated salt solution

Science.gov (United States)

Pujiastuti, C.; Ngatilah, Y.; Sumada, K.; Muljani, S.

2018-01-01

Increasing the quality of salt can be done through various methods such as washing (hydro-extraction), re-crystallization, ion exchange methods and others. In the process of salt quality improvement by re-crystallization method where salt product diluted with water to form saturated solution and re-crystallized through heating process. The quality of the salt produced is influenced by the quality of the dissolved salt and the crystallization mechanism applied. In this research is proposed a concept that before the saturated salt solution is recrystallized added a chemical for removal of the impurities such as magnesium ion (Mg), calcium (Ca), potassium (K) and sulfate (SO4) is contained in a saturated salt solution. The chemical reagents that used are sodium hydroxide (NaOH) 2 N and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) 2 N. This research aims to study effectiveness of sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate on the impurities removal of magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), potassium (K) and sulfate (SO4). The results showed that the addition of sodium hydroxide solution can be decreased the impurity ions of magnesium (Mg) 95.2%, calcium ion (Ca) 45%, while the addition of sodium carbonate solution can decreased magnesium ion (Mg) 66.67% and calcium ion (Ca) 77.5%, but both types of materials are not degradable sulfate ions (SO4). The sodium hydroxide solution more effective to decrease magnesium ion than sodium carbonate solution, and the sodium carbonate solution more effective to decrease calcium ion than sodium hydroxide solution.

Location optimization of solar plants by an integrated hierarchical DEA PCA approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azadeh, A.; Ghaderi, S.F.; Maghsoudi, A.

2008-01-01

Unique features of renewable energies such as solar energy has caused increasing demands for such resources. In order to use solar energy as a natural resource, environmental circumstances and geographical location related to solar intensity must be considered. Different factors may affect on the selection of a suitable location for solar plants. These factors must be considered concurrently for optimum location identification of solar plants. This article presents an integrated hierarchical approach for location of solar plants by data envelopment analysis (DEA), principal component analysis (PCA) and numerical taxonomy (NT). Furthermore, an integrated hierarchical DEA approach incorporating the most relevant parameters of solar plants is introduced. Moreover, 2 multivariable methods namely, PCA and NT are used to validate the results of DEA model. The prescribed approach is tested for 25 different cities in Iran with 6 different regions within each city. This is the first study that considers an integrated hierarchical DEA approach for geographical location optimization of solar plants. Implementation of the proposed approach would enable the energy policy makers to select the best-possible location for construction of a solar power plant with lowest possible costs

Review of life-cycle approaches coupled with data envelopment analysis: launching the CFP + DEA method for energy policy making.

Science.gov (United States)

Vázquez-Rowe, Ian; Iribarren, Diego

2015-01-01

Life-cycle (LC) approaches play a significant role in energy policy making to determine the environmental impacts associated with the choice of energy source. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be combined with LC approaches to provide quantitative benchmarks that orientate the performance of energy systems towards environmental sustainability, with different implications depending on the selected LC + DEA method. The present paper examines currently available LC + DEA methods and develops a novel method combining carbon footprinting (CFP) and DEA. Thus, the CFP + DEA method is proposed, a five-step structure including data collection for multiple homogenous entities, calculation of target operating points, evaluation of current and target carbon footprints, and result interpretation. As the current context for energy policy implies an anthropocentric perspective with focus on the global warming impact of energy systems, the CFP + DEA method is foreseen to be the most consistent LC + DEA approach to provide benchmarks for energy policy making. The fact that this method relies on the definition of operating points with optimised resource intensity helps to moderate the concerns about the omission of other environmental impacts. Moreover, the CFP + DEA method benefits from CFP specifications in terms of flexibility, understanding, and reporting.

Analytical solution to the diffusion, sorption and decay chain equation in a saturated porous medium between two reservoirs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guzman, Juan; Maximov, Serguei; Escarela-Perez, Rafael; López-García, Irvin; Moranchel, Mario

2015-01-01

The diffusion and distribution coefficients are important parameters in the design of barrier systems used in radioactive repositories. These coefficients can be determined using a two-reservoir configuration, where a saturated porous medium is allocated between two reservoirs filled by stagnant water. One of the reservoirs contains a high concentration of radioisotopes. The goal of this work is to obtain an analytical solution for the concentration of all radioisotopes in the decay chain of a two-reservoir configuration. The analytical solution must be obtained by taking into account the diffusion and sorption processes. Concepts such as overvalued concentration, diffusion and decay factors are employed to this end. It is analytically proven that a factor of the solution is identical for all chains (considering a time scaling factor), if certain parameters do not change. In addition, it is proven that the concentration sensitivity, due to the distribution coefficient variation, depends of the porous medium thickness, which is practically insensitive for small porous medium thicknesses. The analytical solution for the radioisotope concentration is compared with experimental and numerical results available in literature. - Highlights: • Saturated porous media allocated between two reservoirs. • Analytical solution of the isotope transport equation. • Transport considers diffusion, sorption and decay chain

Magnetic field observation on DE-A and -B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farthing, W.H.; Sugiura, M.; Ledley, B.G.

1981-01-01

Magnetic field observations are conducted on each of the DE-A and -B satellites by a triaxial fluxgate magnetometer. In the basic mode the instrumental resolution is +-1.5 nT; in addition, the DE-A magnetometer has two modes of higher resolution: +-0.25 nT and +-20 pT. The sampling rate is 16 vector samples per second in all modes. The experiment objectives include observations of field-aligned currents, magnetospheric equatorial currents, and ULF waves. These observations, taking full advantage of the specifically selected orbits of the two spacecraft and of the unique combination of instruments, are performed to achieve a better understanding of the electrodynamic coupling within the atmosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere system and of wave-particle interactions which contribute to the coupling processes. (orig.)

Laboratory analysis of fluid flow and solute transport through a variably saturated fracture embedded in porous tuff

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chuang, Y.; Haldeman, W.R.; Rasmussen, T.C.; Evans, D.D.

1990-02-01

Laboratory techniques are developed that allow concurrent measurement of unsaturated matrix hydraulic conductivity and fracture transmissivity of fractured rock blocks. Two Apache Leap tuff blocks with natural fractures were removed from near Superior, Arizona, shaped into rectangular prisms, and instrumented in the laboratory. Porous ceramic plates provided solution to block tops at regulated pressures. Infiltration tests were performed on both test blocks. Steady flow testing of the saturated first block provided estimates of matrix hydraulic conductivity and fracture transmissivity. Fifteen centimeters of suction applied to the second block top showed that fracture flow was minimal and matrix hydraulic conductivity was an order of magnitude less than the first block saturated matrix conductivity. Coated-wire ion-selective electrodes monitored aqueous chlorided breakthrough concentrations. Minute samples of tracer solution were collected with filter paper. The techniques worked well for studying transport behavior at near-saturated flow conditions and also appear to be promising for unsaturated conditions. Breakthrough curves in the fracture and matrix, and a concentration map of chloride concentrations within the fracture, suggest preferential flows paths in the fracture and substantial diffusion into the matrix. Average travel velocity, dispersion coefficient and longitudinal dispersivity in the fracture are obtained. 67 refs., 54 figs., 23 tabs

Full Polymer Dielectric Elastomeric Actuators (DEA Functionalised with Carbon Nanotubes and High-K Ceramics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tilo Köckritz

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA are special devices which have a simple working and construction principle and outstanding actuation properties. The DEAs consist of a combination of different materials for the dielectric and electrode layers. The combination of these layers causes incompatibilities in their interconnections. Dramatic differences in the mechanical properties and bad adhesion of the layers are the principal causes for the reduction of the actuation displacement and strong reduction of lifetime. Common DEAs achieve actuation displacements of 2% and a durability of some million cycles. The following investigations represent a new approach to solving the problems of common systems. The investigated DEA consists of only one basic raw polymer, which was modified according to the required demands of each layer. The basic raw polymer was modified with single-walled carbon nanotubes or high-k ceramics, for example, lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate. The development of the full polymer DEA comprised the development of materials and technologies to realise a reproducible layer composition. It was proven that the full polymer actuator worked according to the theoretical rules. The investigated system achieved actuation displacements above 20% regarding thickness, outstanding interconnections at each layer without any failures, and durability above 3 million cycles without any indication of an impending malfunction.

History and future of human cadaver preservation for surgical training: from formalin to saturated salt solution method.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayashi, Shogo; Naito, Munekazu; Kawata, Shinichi; Qu, Ning; Hatayama, Naoyuki; Hirai, Shuichi; Itoh, Masahiro

2016-01-01

Traditionally, surgical training meant on-the-job training with live patients in an operating room. However, due to advancing surgical techniques, such as minimally invasive surgery, and increasing safety demands during procedures, human cadavers have been used for surgical training. When considering the use of human cadavers for surgical training, one of the most important factors is their preservation. In this review, we summarize four preservation methods: fresh-frozen cadaver, formalin, Thiel's, and saturated salt solution methods. Fresh-frozen cadaver is currently the model that is closest to reality, but it also presents myriad problems, including the requirement of freezers for storage, limited work time because of rapid putrefaction, and risk of infection. Formalin is still used ubiquitously due to its low cost and wide availability, but it is not ideal because formaldehyde has an adverse health effect and formalin-embalmed cadavers do not exhibit many of the qualities of living organs. Thiel's method results in soft and flexible cadavers with almost natural colors, and Thiel-embalmed cadavers have been appraised widely in various medical disciplines. However, Thiel's method is relatively expensive and technically complicated. In addition, Thiel-embalmed cadavers have a limited dissection time. The saturated salt solution method is simple, carries a low risk of infection, and is relatively low cost. Although more research is needed, this method seems to be sufficiently useful for surgical training and has noteworthy features that expand the capability of clinical training. The saturated salt solution method will contribute to a wider use of cadavers for surgical training.

Gluon saturation in a saturated environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kopeliovich, B. Z.; Potashnikova, I. K.; Schmidt, Ivan

2011-01-01

A bootstrap equation for self-quenched gluon shadowing leads to a reduced magnitude of broadening for partons propagating through a nucleus. Saturation of small-x gluons in a nucleus, which has the form of transverse momentum broadening of projectile gluons in pA collisions in the nuclear rest frame, leads to a modification of the parton distribution functions in the beam compared with pp collisions. In nucleus-nucleus collisions all participating nucleons acquire enhanced gluon density at small x, which boosts further the saturation scale. Solution of the reciprocity equations for central collisions of two heavy nuclei demonstrate a significant, up to several times, enhancement of Q sA 2 , in AA compared with pA collisions.

Two-phased DEA-MLA approach for predicting efficiency of NBA players

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radovanović Sandro

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In sports, a calculation of efficiency is considered to be one of the most challenging tasks. In this paper, DEA is used to evaluate an efficiency of the NBA players, based on multiple inputs and multiple outputs. The efficiency is evaluated for 26 NBA players at the guard position based on existing data. However, if we want to generate the efficiency for a new player, we would have to re-conduct the DEA analysis. Therefore, to predict the efficiency of a new player, machine learning algorithms are applied. The DEA results are incorporated as an input for the learning algorithms, defining thereby an efficiency frontier function form with high reliability. In this paper, linear regression, neural network, and support vector machines are used to predict an efficiency frontier. The results have shown that neural networks can predict the efficiency with an error less than 1%, and the linear regression with an error less than 2%.

Formulation of insecticide profenofos using Surfactant Diethanolamide (DEA) based on palm olein

Science.gov (United States)

Dewi, H. S.; Rahayuningsih, M.; Hambali, E.

2017-05-01

Soybean is one of the major food commodities in Indonesia that the consumption is increasing each year, but this is not in line with the domestic soybean production capacity. One cause of the low production capacity is the armyworm attact. Generally, the armyworm attack controled by spread insecticide profenofos. Profenofos need to be dissolved, but profenofos couldn’t dissolved in water. So that, it need the right formulation between the solvent and other ingredients which can supprotprofenofos performance. One of that ingredient is surfactant. This research used surfactant diethanolamide (DEA) based on palm olein. DEAfunction in insecticide formulation are as homogenizer, dispersant, sticker and spreader agent.The aims of this research are to obtain the best emultion insecticide product based on profenofos as the active ingredients and DEA as the surfactant, moreover it also to obtain information of the physico-chemical properties. The formulation test performed with compeletely randomized design (CRD) with two factors, first factor is DEA concentrationand the second factor is profenofos concentration. Data of physico-chemical properties test was analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and significant result tested by Duncant Multiple Range Test (DMRT).The result showed that, surfactant DEA could make good emultion between profenofos and sodium ethoxide as the solvent. The best treatment which obtain from formulation stage is concentrate with DEA 10% and profenofos 40%. Physico-chemical properties test result showed that droplet size is 1,76-2,07 µm, contact angle 11,575-24,218°, density 0,996-0,998 g/cm3, surface tension 16,56-40,72 dyne/cm, viscosity 1,032-1,078 Cp and pH 6,87-8,22.

Modeling variably saturated multispecies reactive groundwater solute transport with MODFLOW-UZF and RT3D

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Ryan T.; Morway, Eric D.; Niswonger, Richard G.; Gates, Timothy K.

2013-01-01

A numerical model was developed that is capable of simulating multispecies reactive solute transport in variably saturated porous media. This model consists of a modified version of the reactive transport model RT3D (Reactive Transport in 3 Dimensions) that is linked to the Unsaturated-Zone Flow (UZF1) package and MODFLOW. Referred to as UZF-RT3D, the model is tested against published analytical benchmarks as well as other published contaminant transport models, including HYDRUS-1D, VS2DT, and SUTRA, and the coupled flow and transport modeling system of CATHY and TRAN3D. Comparisons in one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional variably saturated systems are explored. While several test cases are included to verify the correct implementation of variably saturated transport in UZF-RT3D, other cases are included to demonstrate the usefulness of the code in terms of model run-time and handling the reaction kinetics of multiple interacting species in variably saturated subsurface systems. As UZF1 relies on a kinematic-wave approximation for unsaturated flow that neglects the diffusive terms in Richards equation, UZF-RT3D can be used for large-scale aquifer systems for which the UZF1 formulation is reasonable, that is, capillary-pressure gradients can be neglected and soil parameters can be treated as homogeneous. Decreased model run-time and the ability to include site-specific chemical species and chemical reactions make UZF-RT3D an attractive model for efficient simulation of multispecies reactive transport in variably saturated large-scale subsurface systems.

Modeling of water and solute transport under variably saturated conditions: state of the art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lappala, E.G.

1980-01-01

This paper reviews the equations used in deterministic models of mass and energy transport in variably saturated porous media. Analytic, quasi-analytic, and numerical solution methods to the nonlinear forms of transport equations are discussed with respect to their advantages and limitations. The factors that influence the selection of a modeling method are discussed in this paper; they include the following: (1) the degree of coupling required among the equations describing the transport of liquids, gases, solutes, and energy; (2) the inclusion of an advection term in the equations; (3) the existence of sharp fronts; (4) the degree of nonlinearity and hysteresis in the transport coefficients and boundary conditions; (5) the existence of complex boundaries; and (6) the availability and reliability of data required by the models

Technical and scale efficiency in public and private Irish nursing homes - a bootstrap DEA approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Ni Luasa, Shiovan; Dineen, Declan; Zieba, Marta

2016-10-27

This article provides methodological and empirical insights into the estimation of technical efficiency in the nursing home sector. Focusing on long-stay care and using primary data, we examine technical and scale efficiency in 39 public and 73 private Irish nursing homes by applying an input-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA). We employ robust bootstrap methods to validate our nonparametric DEA scores and to integrate the effects of potential determinants in estimating the efficiencies. Both the homogenous and two-stage double bootstrap procedures are used to obtain confidence intervals for the bias-corrected DEA scores. Importantly, the application of the double bootstrap approach affords true DEA technical efficiency scores after adjusting for the effects of ownership, size, case-mix, and other determinants such as location, and quality. Based on our DEA results for variable returns to scale technology, the average technical efficiency score is 62 %, and the mean scale efficiency is 88 %, with nearly all units operating on the increasing returns to scale part of the production frontier. Moreover, based on the double bootstrap results, Irish nursing homes are less technically efficient, and more scale efficient than the conventional DEA estimates suggest. Regarding the efficiency determinants, in terms of ownership, we find that private facilities are less efficient than the public units. Furthermore, the size of the nursing home has a positive effect, and this reinforces our finding that Irish homes produce at increasing returns to scale. Also, notably, we find that a tendency towards quality improvements can lead to poorer technical efficiency performance.

Experiment and model for the surface tension of amine–ionic liquids aqueous solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Pan; Du, LeiXia; Fu, Dong

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The surface tensions of MEA/DEA–ionic liquids aqueous solutions were measured. • The experiments were modeled satisfactorily by using a thermodynamic equation. • The temperature dependence of the surface tension was illustrated. • The effects of the mass fractions of MEA/DEA and ionic liquids were demonstrated. - Abstract: The surface tension (γ) of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Bmim][BF 4 ])–monoethanolamine (MEA), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([Bmim][Br])–MEA, [Bmim][BF 4 ]–diethanolamine (DEA) and [Bmim][Br]–DEA aqueous solutions was measured by using the BZY-1 surface tension meter. The temperature ranged from (293.2 to 323.2) K. The mass fraction of amines and ionic liquids (ILS) respectively ranged from 0.15 to 0.30 and 0.05 to 0.10. A thermodynamic equation was proposed to model the surface tension of amines–ILS aqueous solutions and the calculated results agreed well with the experiments. The effects of temperature, mass fraction of amines and ILS on the surface tension were demonstrated on the basis of experiments and calculations

Optimal Scheme Selection of Agricultural Production Structure Adjustment - Based on DEA Model; Punjab (Pakistan)

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Zeeshan Ahmad; Meng Jun; Muhammad Abdullah; Mazhar Nadeem Ishaq; Majid Lateef; Imran Khan

2015-01-01

This paper used the modern evaluation method of DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) to assess the comparative efficiency and then on the basis of this among multiple schemes chose the optimal scheme of agricultural production structure adjustment. Based on the results of DEA model, we dissected scale advantages of each discretionary scheme or plan. We examined scale advantages of each discretionary scheme, tested profoundly a definitive purpose behind not-DEA efficient, which elucidated the system and methodology to enhance these discretionary plans. At the end, another method had been proposed to rank and select the optimal scheme. The research was important to guide the practice if the modification of agricultural production industrial structure was carried on.

Investment Strategy on the Zagreb Stock Exchange Based on Dynamic DEA

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Tihana Škrinjarić

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, there is a growing interest in the application of quantitative methods in portfolio management, as the results of their application can be used as guidelines for managing a successful investment portfolio, i.e., a portfolio that outperforms the market. This paper deals with the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA approach and a Dynamic Slacks-Based Measure as a method of forming a portfolio which would predominantly outperform the market. In order to test the strategy, data on stocks listed on the Zagreb Stock Exchange were gathered for the period April 2009 – June 2012. Using the quarterly returns, standard deviations and coefficients of skewness as links, a dynamic slacks-based measure approach was applied to evaluate the relative efficiency of stocks in each quarter. The findings indicate that a portfolio based on the results of the optimization beats the market in terms of both returns and risk. This is the first implementation of the dynamic DEA model in stock trading. The results suggest that it is superior to basic DEA models.

An integrated DEA-COLS-SFA algorithm for optimization and policy making of electricity distribution units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azadeh, A.; Ghaderi, S.F.; Omrani, H.; Eivazy, H.

2009-01-01

This paper presents an integrated data envelopment analysis (DEA)-corrected ordinary least squares (COLS)-stochastic frontier analysis (SFA)-principal component analysis (PCA)-numerical taxonomy (NT) algorithm for performance assessment, optimization and policy making of electricity distribution units. Previous studies have generally used input-output DEA models for benchmarking and evaluation of electricity distribution units. However, this study proposes an integrated flexible approach to measure the rank and choose the best version of the DEA method for optimization and policy making purposes. It covers both static and dynamic aspects of information environment due to involvement of SFA which is finally compared with the best DEA model through the Spearman correlation technique. The integrated approach would yield in improved ranking and optimization of electricity distribution systems. To illustrate the usability and reliability of the proposed algorithm, 38 electricity distribution units in Iran have been considered, ranked and optimized by the proposed algorithm of this study.

Employing post-DEA cross-evaluation and cluster analysis in a sample of Greek NHS hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Flokou, Angeliki; Kontodimopoulos, Nick; Niakas, Dimitris

2011-10-01

To increase Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) discrimination of efficient Decision Making Units (DMUs), by complementing "self-evaluated" efficiencies with "peer-evaluated" cross-efficiencies and, based on these results, to classify the DMUs using cluster analysis. Healthcare, which is deprived of such studies, was chosen as the study area. The sample consisted of 27 small- to medium-sized (70-500 beds) NHS general hospitals distributed throughout Greece, in areas where they are the sole NHS representatives. DEA was performed on 2005 data collected from the Ministry of Health and the General Secretariat of the National Statistical Service. Three inputs -hospital beds, physicians and other health professionals- and three outputs -case-mix adjusted hospitalized cases, surgeries and outpatient visits- were included in input-oriented, constant-returns-to-scale (CRS) and variable-returns-to-scale (VRS) models. In a second stage (post-DEA), aggressive and benevolent cross-efficiency formulations and clustering were employed, to validate (or not) the initial DEA scores. The "maverick index" was used to sort the peer-appraised hospitals. All analyses were performed using custom-made software. Ten benchmark hospitals were identified by DEA, but using the aggressive and benevolent formulations showed that two and four of them respectively were at the lower end of the maverick index list. On the other hand, only one 100% efficient (self-appraised) hospital was at the higher end of the list, using either formulation. Cluster analysis produced a hierarchical "tree" structure which dichotomized the hospitals in accordance to the cross-evaluation results, and provided insight on the two-dimensional path to improving efficiency. This is, to our awareness, the first study in the healthcare domain to employ both of these post-DEA techniques (cross efficiency and clustering) at the hospital (i.e. micro) level. The potential benefit for decision-makers is the capability to examine high

DEA radial measurement for environmental assessment and planning: Desirable procedures to evaluate fossil fuel power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki; Goto, Mika

2012-01-01

Energy policy depends on a proper use of methodology in guiding a large energy issue such as the global warming and climate change. DEA is one of such methodologies that are often used for preparing environmental policy, which is closely linked to various energy issues. Unfortunately, the use of DEA applied to environmental policy is insufficient, often misguiding policy makers and other individuals who are involved in energy issues. This study provides three guidelines for a use of DEA in preparing environmental assessment. First, it is important to prepare both primal and dual formulations to confirm whether information regarding all production factors (i.e., inputs, desirable and undesirable outputs) is fully utilized in DEA assessment. Second, DEA has model variations in radial and non-radial measurements. It is necessary for us to examine environmental issues by different models in order to avoid a methodological bias existing in those empirical studies. Finally, DEA environmental assessment needs to incorporate the concept of natural and managerial disposability. The natural disposability indicates that a firm negatively adapts a regulation change on undesirable outputs. In contrast, the managerial disposability indicates that a firm positively adapts the regulation change because the firm considers the regulation change as a new business opportunity. - Highlights: ► This study proposes three disable procedures. ► The disposability is separated into natural and managerial disposability. ► All extensions have large applicability in energy policy.

Facilitated transport of Cu with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles in saturated sand: Effects of solution ionic strength and composition

Science.gov (United States)

Column experiments were conducted to investigate the facilitated transport of Cu in association with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHAP) in water-saturated quartz sand at different solution concentrations of NaCl (0 to 100 mM) or CaCl2 (0.1 to 1.0 mM). The experimental breakthrough curves and retent...

iDEAS: A web-based system for dry eye assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Remeseiro, Beatriz; Barreira, Noelia; García-Resúa, Carlos; Lira, Madalena; Giráldez, María J; Yebra-Pimentel, Eva; Penedo, Manuel G

2016-07-01

Dry eye disease is a public health problem, whose multifactorial etiology challenges clinicians and researchers making necessary the collaboration between different experts and centers. The evaluation of the interference patterns observed in the tear film lipid layer is a common clinical test used for dry eye diagnosis. However, it is a time-consuming task with a high degree of intra- as well as inter-observer variability, which makes the use of a computer-based analysis system highly desirable. This work introduces iDEAS (Dry Eye Assessment System), a web-based application to support dry eye diagnosis. iDEAS provides a framework for eye care experts to collaboratively work using image-based services in a distributed environment. It is composed of three main components: the web client for user interaction, the web application server for request processing, and the service module for image analysis. Specifically, this manuscript presents two automatic services: tear film classification, which classifies an image into one interference pattern; and tear film map, which illustrates the distribution of the patterns over the entire tear film. iDEAS has been evaluated by specialists from different institutions to test its performance. Both services have been evaluated in terms of a set of performance metrics using the annotations of different experts. Note that the processing time of both services has been also measured for efficiency purposes. iDEAS is a web-based application which provides a fast, reliable environment for dry eye assessment. The system allows practitioners to share images, clinical information and automatic assessments between remote computers. Additionally, it save time for experts, diminish the inter-expert variability and can be used in both clinical and research settings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Two-Stage DEA to Analyze the Effect of Entrance Deregulation on Iranian Insurers: A Robust Approach

OpenAIRE

Jalali Naini, Seyed Gholamreza; Nouralizadeh, Hamid Reza

2012-01-01

We use two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to analyze the effects of entrance deregulation on the efficiency in the Iranian insurance market. In the first stage, we propose a robust optimization approach in order to overcome the sensitivity of DEA results to any uncertainty in the output parameters. Hence, the efficiency of each ongoing insurer is estimated using our proposed robust DEA model. The insurers are then ranked based on their relative efficiency scores for an eight-year...

Saturation and linear transport equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kutak, K.

2009-03-01

We show that the GBW saturation model provides an exact solution to the one dimensional linear transport equation. We also show that it is motivated by the BK equation considered in the saturated regime when the diffusion and the splitting term in the diffusive approximation are balanced by the nonlinear term. (orig.)

A generalized cost Malmquist index in DEA for DMUs with negative data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghasem Tohidi

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In some data envelopment analysis (DEA applications, some inputs of DMUs have negative values with positive cost. This paper generalizes the global cost Malmquist productivity index to compare the productivity of different DMUs with negative inputs in any two periods of times under variable returns to scale (VRS technology, and then the generalized index is decomposed to several components. The obtained components are computed using the nonparametric linear programming models, known as DEA. To illustrate the generalized index and its components, a numerical example at three successive periods of time is given.

Carbon emission analysis and evaluation of industrial departments in China: An improved environmental DEA cross model based on information entropy.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Yongming; Long, Chang; Geng, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Keyu

2018-01-01

Environmental protection and carbon emission reduction play a crucial role in the sustainable development procedure. However, the environmental efficiency analysis and evaluation based on the traditional data envelopment analysis (DEA) cross model is subjective and inaccurate, because all elements in a column or a row of the cross evaluation matrix (CEM) in the traditional DEA cross model are given the same weight. Therefore, this paper proposes an improved environmental DEA cross model based on the information entropy to analyze and evaluate the carbon emission of industrial departments in China. The information entropy is applied to build the entropy distance based on the turbulence of the whole system, and calculate the weights in the CEM of the environmental DEA cross model in a dynamic way. The theoretical results show that the new weight constructed based on the information entropy is unique and optimal globally by using the Monte Carlo simulation. Finally, compared with the traditional environmental DEA and DEA cross model, the improved environmental DEA cross model has a better efficiency discrimination ability based on the data of industrial departments in China. Moreover, the proposed model can obtain the potential of carbon emission reduction of industrial departments to improve the energy efficiency. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Derivation of a No-Significant-Risk-Level (NSRL) for diethanolamine (DEA).

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bingxuan; Amacher, David E; Whittaker, Margaret H

2014-02-01

Diethanolamine (DEA) has been listed on the State of California's Proposition 65 List. This listing is based in part on tumors reported in a National Toxicology Program (NTP) 2-year dermal carcinogenicity study in mice which found clear evidence of carcinogenic activity in B6C3F₁ mice based on increased incidences of liver neoplasms in both sexes, and increased incidences of renal tubule neoplasms in males. Although considerable controversy exists on the relevance of the NTP study to humans, industries are obligated to comply with the Proposition 65 labeling requirement and drinking water discharge prohibition, unless they are able to demonstrate that DEA levels in their products are below a specific No Significant Risk Level (NSRL). The State of California has not published an NSRL for DEA. In this article, a NSRL of 5.6 μg/day and a life-stage-adjusted NSRL(adj) of 1.4 μg/day are derived from the NTP carcinogenicity study using a benchmark dose modeling method based on the incidence of hepatocellular carcinomas in female mice, in accordance with the guidelines of California EPA. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ranking DMUs by Comparing DEA Cross-Efficiency Intervals Using Entropy Measures

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Tim Lu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Cross-efficiency evaluation, an extension of data envelopment analysis (DEA, can eliminate unrealistic weighing schemes and provide a ranking for decision making units (DMUs. In the literature, the determination of input and output weights uniquely receives more attentions. However, the problem of choosing the aggressive (minimal or benevolent (maximal formulation for decision-making might still remain. In this paper, we develop a procedure to perform cross-efficiency evaluation without the need to make any specific choice of DEA weights. The proposed procedure takes into account the aggressive and benevolent formulations at the same time, and the choice of DEA weights can then be avoided. Consequently, a number of cross-efficiency intervals is obtained for each DMU. The entropy, which is based on information theory, is an effective tool to measure the uncertainty. We then utilize the entropy to construct a numerical index for DMUs with cross-efficiency intervals. A mathematical program is proposed to find the optimal entropy values of DMUs for comparison. With the derived entropy value, we can rank DMUs accordingly. Two examples are illustrated to show the effectiveness of the idea proposed in this paper.

Exploiting Stretchable Metallic Springs as Compliant Electrodes for Cylindrical Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEAs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chien-Hao Liu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In recent years, dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs have been widely used in soft robots and artificial bio-medical applications. Most DEAs are composed of a thin dielectric elastomer layer sandwiched between two compliant electrodes. DEAs vary in their design to provide bending, torsional, and stretch/contraction motions under the application of high external voltages. Most compliant electrodes are made of carbon powders or thin metallic films. In situations involving large deformations or improper fabrication, the electrodes are susceptible to breakage and increased resistivity. The worst cases result in a loss of conductivity and functional failure. In this study, we developed a method by which to exploit stretchable metallic springs as compliant electrodes for cylindrical DEAs. This design was inspired by the extensibility of mechanical springs. The main advantage of this approach is the fact that the metallic spring-like compliant electrodes remain conductive and do not increase the stiffness as the tube-like DEAs elongate in the axial direction. This can be attributed to a reduction in thickness in the radial direction. The proposed cylindrical structure is composed of highly-stretchable VHB 4905 film folded within a hollow tube and then sandwiched between copper springs (inside and outside to allow for stretching and contraction in the axial direction under the application of high DC voltages. We fabricated a prototype and evaluated the mechanical and electromechanical properties of the device experimentally using a high-voltage source of 9.9 kV. This device demonstrated a non-linear increase in axial stretching with an increase in applied voltage, reaching a maximum extension of 0.63 mm (axial strain of 2.35% at applied voltage of 9.9 kV. Further miniaturization and the incorporation of compressive springs are expected to allow the implementation of the proposed method in soft micro-robots and bio-mimetic applications.

An application of DEA method for ranking different Tehran municipality branches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Hossein Miri

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Measuring the performance of governmental organizations plays essential role on making strategic decisions. In this paper, we present an empirical investigation to measure the performance of 22 different branches of municipalities in city of Tehran, Iran. The proposed study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA for measuring the relative efficiencies of various units. The proposed DEA uses fixed assets, employee expenses and total income as input and Green Space Development, Resumption and Waste, Development of Cultural Spaces as well as Improvement of Passages and highways are considered as the output of the model. The results indicate that 9 regions were operating efficiently and 14 regions were inefficient.

Combining AHP and DEA Methods for Selecting a Project Manager

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baruch Keren

2014-07-01

Full Text Available A project manager has a major influence on the success or failure of the project. A good project manager can match between the strategy and objectives of the organization and the goals of the project. Therefore, the selection of the appropriate project manager is a key factor for the success of the project. A potential project manager is judged by his or her proven performance and personal qualifications. This paper proposes a method to calculate the weighted scores and the full rank of candidates for managing a project, and to select the best of those candidates. The proposed method combines specific methodologies: the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA and the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP and uses DEA Ranking Methods to enhance selection.

Non-ionic, thermo-responsive DEA/DMA nanogels: synthesis, characterization, and use for DNA separations by microchip electrophoresis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xihua; Sun, Mingyun; Barron, Annelise E

2011-05-15

Thermo-responsive polymer "nanogels" (crosslinked hydrogel particles with sub-100 nm diameters) are intriguing for many potential applications in biotechnology and medicine. There have been relatively few reports of electrostatically neutral, thermosensitive nanogels comprising a high fraction of hydrophilic co-monomer. Here we demonstrate the syntheses and characterization of novel, non-ionic nanogels based on random N,N-diethylacrylamide (DEA)/N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) copolymers, made by free-radical, surfactant-free dispersion polymerization. The volume-phase transition temperatures of these DEA/DMA nanogels are strongly affected by co-monomer composition, providing a way to "tune" the phase transition temperature of these non-ionic nanogels. While DEA nanogels (comprising no DMA) can be obtained at 70 °C by standard emulsion precipitation, DEA/DMA random co-polymer nanogels can be obtained only in a particular range of temperatures, above the initial phase transition temperature and below the critical precipitation temperature of the DEA/DMA copolymer, controlled by co-monomer composition. Increasing percentages of DMA in the nanogels raises the phase transition temperature, and attenuates and broadens it as well. We find that concentrated DEA/DMA nanogel dispersions are optically clear at room temperature. This good optical clarity was exploited for their use in a novel DNA sieving matrix for microfluidic chip electrophoresis. An ultrafast, high-efficiency dsDNA separation was achieved in less than 120 s for dsDNA ranging from 75 bp to 15,000 bp. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Benchmarking of Generation and Distribution Units in Nepal Using Modified DEA Models

Science.gov (United States)

Jha, Deependra Kumar; Yorino, Naoto; Zoka, Yoshifumi

This paper analyzes the performance of Nepalese Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) by investigating the relative operational efficiencies of the generating stations as well as the Distribution Centers (DCs) of the Integrated Nepal Power System (INPS). Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), a state owned utility, owns and operates the INPS. Performance evaluation of both generation and distribution systems is carried out by formulating suitable weight restriction type Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models. The models include a wide range of inputs and outputs representing essence of the respective processes. Decision maker's preferences as well as available quantitative information associated with the operation of the Decision Making Units (DMUs) are judiciously incorporated in the DEA models. The proposed models are realized through execution of computer programs written in General Algebraic Modeling Systems (GAMS) and the results obtained are thus compared against those from the conventional DEA models. Sensitivity analysis is performed in order to check the robustness of the results as well as to identify the improvement directions for DMUs. Ranking of the DMUs has been presented based on their average overall efficiency scores.

Nuclei and models, 2001-2003. DEA fields, particles and matter; Noyaux et modeles, 2001-2003. DEA champs, particules, matieres

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sida, J.L

2003-07-01

This document gathers a series of 6 lessons dedicated to students in the first year of their thesis (DEA) in fields and particles physics: 1) the extent of nuclear physics, 2) the nucleus as a cluster of interacting fermions, 3) models and deformation, 4) nuclei and rotation, 5) isospin and exotic nuclei, and 6) fission reactions from the saddle point to the scission point.

Review: Water recovery from brines and salt-saturated solutions: operability and thermodynamic efficiency considerations for desalination technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Vane, Leland M

2017-03-08

When water is recovered from a saline source, a brine concentrate stream is produced. Management of the brine stream can be problematic, particularly in inland regions. An alternative to brine disposal is recovery of water and possibly salts from the concentrate. This review provides an overview of desalination technologies and discusses the thermodynamic efficiencies and operational issues associated with the various technologies particularly with regard to high salinity streams. Due to the high osmotic pressures of the brine concentrates, reverse osmosis, the most common desalination technology, is impractical. Mechanical vapor compression which, like reverse osmosis, utilizes mechanical work to operate, is reported to have the highest thermodynamic efficiency of the desalination technologies for treatment of salt-saturated brines. Thermally-driven processes, such as flash evaporation and distillation, are technically able to process saturated salt solutions, but suffer from low thermodynamic efficiencies. This inefficiency could be offset if an inexpensive source of waste or renewable heat could be used. Overarching issues posed by high salinity solutions include corrosion and the formation of scales/precipitates. These issues limit the materials, conditions, and unit operation designs that can be used.

Volumetric interpretation of protein adsorption: interfacial packing of protein adsorbed to hydrophobic surfaces from surface-saturating solution concentrations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kao, Ping; Parhi, Purnendu; Krishnan, Anandi; Noh, Hyeran; Haider, Waseem; Tadigadapa, Srinivas; Allara, David L; Vogler, Erwin A

2011-02-01

The maximum capacity of a hydrophobic adsorbent is interpreted in terms of square or hexagonal (cubic and face-centered-cubic, FCC) interfacial packing models of adsorbed blood proteins in a way that accommodates experimental measurements by the solution-depletion method and quartz-crystal-microbalance (QCM) for the human proteins serum albumin (HSA, 66 kDa), immunoglobulin G (IgG, 160 kDa), fibrinogen (Fib, 341 kDa), and immunoglobulin M (IgM, 1000 kDa). A simple analysis shows that adsorbent capacity is capped by a fixed mass/volume (e.g. mg/mL) surface-region (interphase) concentration and not molar concentration. Nearly analytical agreement between the packing models and experiment suggests that, at surface saturation, above-mentioned proteins assemble within the interphase in a manner that approximates a well-ordered array. HSA saturates a hydrophobic adsorbent with the equivalent of a single square or hexagonally-packed layer of hydrated molecules whereas the larger proteins occupy two-or-more layers, depending on the specific protein under consideration and analytical method used to measure adsorbate mass (solution depletion or QCM). Square or hexagonal (cubic and FCC) packing models cannot be clearly distinguished by comparison to experimental data. QCM measurement of adsorbent capacity is shown to be significantly different than that measured by solution depletion for similar hydrophobic adsorbents. The underlying reason is traced to the fact that QCM measures contribution of both core protein, water of hydration, and interphase water whereas solution depletion measures only the contribution of core protein. It is further shown that thickness of the interphase directly measured by QCM systematically exceeds that inferred from solution-depletion measurements, presumably because the static model used to interpret solution depletion does not accurately capture the complexities of the viscoelastic interfacial environment probed by QCM. Copyright © 2010

Resource and environment efficiency analysis of provinces in China: A DEA approach based on Shannon's entropy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bian Yiwen; Yang Feng

2010-01-01

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been widely used in energy efficiency and environment efficiency analysis in recent years. Based on the existing environment DEA technology, this paper presents several DEA models for estimating the aggregated efficiency of resource and environment. These models can evaluate DMUs' energy efficiencies and environment efficiencies simultaneously. However, efficiency ranking results obtained from these models are not the same, and each model can provide some valuable information of DMUs' efficiencies, which we could not ignore. Under this situation, it may be hard for us to choose a specific model in practice. To address this kind of performance evaluation problem, the current paper extends Shannon-DEA procedure to establish a comprehensive efficiency measure for appraising DMUs' resource and environment efficiencies. In the proposed approach, the measure for evaluating a model's importance degree is provided, and the targets setting approach of inputs/outputs for DMU managers to improve DMUs' energy and environmental efficiencies is also discussed. We illustrate the proposed approach using real data set of 30 provinces in China.

Citropin 1.1 Trifluoroacetate to Chloride Counter-Ion Exchange in HCl-Saturated Organic Solutions: An Alternative Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Sikora, Karol; Neubauer, Damian; Jaśkiewicz, Maciej; Kamysz, Wojciech

2018-01-01

In view of the increasing interest in peptides in various market sectors, a stronger emphasis on topics related to their production has been seen. Fmoc-based solid phase peptide synthesis, although being fast and efficient, provides final products with significant amounts of trifluoroacetate ions in the form of either a counter-ion or an unbound impurity. Because of the proven toxicity towards cells and peptide activity inhibition, ion exchange to more biocompatible one is purposeful. Additionally, as most of the currently used counter-ion exchange techniques are time-consuming and burdened by peptide yield reduction risk, development of a new approach is still a sensible solution. In this study, we examined the potential of peptide counter-ion exchange using non-aqueous organic solvents saturated with HCl. Counter-ion exchange of a model peptide, citropin 1.1 (GLFDVIKKVASVIGGL-NH 2 ), for each solvent was conducted through incubation with subsequent evaporation under reduced pressure, dissolution in water and lyophilization. Each exchange was performed four times and compared to a reference method-lyophilization of the peptide from an 0.1 M HCl solution. The results showed superior counter-ion exchange efficiency for most of the organic solutions in relation to the reference method. Moreover, HCl-saturated acetonitrile and tert -butanol provided a satisfying exchange level after just one repetition. Thus, those two organic solvents can be potentially introduced into routine peptide counter-ion exchange.

A Two-Stage DEA to Analyze the Effect of Entrance Deregulation on Iranian Insurers: A Robust Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Gholamreza Jalali Naini

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We use two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA model to analyze the effects of entrance deregulation on the efficiency in the Iranian insurance market. In the first stage, we propose a robust optimization approach in order to overcome the sensitivity of DEA results to any uncertainty in the output parameters. Hence, the efficiency of each ongoing insurer is estimated using our proposed robust DEA model. The insurers are then ranked based on their relative efficiency scores for an eight-year period from 2003 to 2010. In the second stage, a comprehensive statistical analysis using generalized estimating equations (GEE is conducted to analyze some other factors which could possibly affect the efficiency scores. The first results from DEA model indicate a decline in efficiency over the entrance deregulation period while further statistical analysis confirms that the solvency ignorance which is a widespread paradigm among state owned companies is one of the main drivers of efficiency in the Iranian insurance market.

Classification of the Group Invariant Solutions for Contaminant Transport in Saturated Soils under Radial Uniform Water Flows

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M. M. Potsane

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The transport of chemicals through soils to the groundwater or precipitation at the soils surfaces leads to degradation of these resources. Serious consequences may be suffered in the long run. In this paper, we consider macroscopic deterministic models describing contaminant transport in saturated soils under uniform radial water flow backgrounds. The arising convection-dispersion equation given in terms of the stream functions is analyzed using classical Lie point symmetries. A number of exotic Lie point symmetries are admitted. Group invariant solutions are classified according to the elements of the one-dimensional optimal systems. We analyzed the group invariant solutions which satisfy the physical boundary conditions.

Internet consumer value research based on DEA%基于 DEA 的网络消费者价值研究

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

耿文莉; 魏秀安

2016-01-01

The RFMPS model was put forward based on the RFM model in this paper , the in-dex system became more perfect .The DEA cross evaluation method was selected to make relative effective evaluation on different consumers ’ buying behavior in the same enterprise . At the same time , the DEA cross evaluation method takes into consideration that the different indicators have different influence on consumers , and the calculation of index weight was ob-jective, and it made the results more accurate .%在RFM模型基础上提出了RFMPS模型，使得指标体系更加完善，方法上运用DEA交叉评价法，来进行同一企业中不同消费者购买行为的相对有效性评价。同时，DEA交叉评价法考虑到了不同的指标对消费者的影响程度不同，指标权重计算具有客观性，使得计算结果更加准确。

Multi Laser Pulse Investigation of the DEAS Concept in Hypersonic Flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minucci, M.A.S.; Toro, P.G.P.; Oliveira, A.C.; Chanes, J.B. Jr.; Ramos, A.G.; Nagamatsu, H.T.; Myrabo, L.N.

2004-01-01

The present paper presents recent experimental results on the Laser-Supported Directed Energy 'Air Spike' - DEAS in hypersonic flow achieved by the Laboratory of Aerothermodynamics and Hypersonics - LAH, Brazil. Two CO2 TEA lasers, sharing the same optical cavity, have been used in conjunction with the IEAv 0.3m Hypersonic Shock Tunnel - HST to demonstrate the Laser-Supported DEAS concept. A single and double laser pulse, generated during the tunnel useful test time, were focused through a NaCl lens upstream of a Double Apollo Disc model fitted with seven piezoelectric pressure transducers and six platinum thin film heat transfer gauges. The objective being to corroborate previous results as well as to obtain additional pressure and heat flux distributions information when two laser pulses are used

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Elastic Wave Velocity of Chalk Saturated with Brines Containing Divalent Ions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Katika, Konstantina; Alam, Mohammad Monzurul; Fabricius, Ida Lykke

divided into groups of three and each group was saturated either with deionized water, calcite equilibrated water, or sodium chloride, magnesium chloride and calcium chloride solutions of the same ionic strength. Saturation with solutions that contain divalent ions caused major shifts in the distribution...... of the relaxation time. Core samples saturated with calcium chloride solution relaxed slower and those saturated with magnesium chloride solution relaxed faster than the rest of the samples. Along with the changes in relaxation the samples experienced smaller velocities of elastic waves when saturated with MgCl2...

Assessing efficiency and effectiveness of Malaysian Islamic banks: A two stage DEA analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Kamarudin, Norbaizura; Ismail, Wan Rosmanira; Mohd, Muhammad Azri

2014-06-01

Islamic banks in Malaysia are indispensable players in the financial industry with the growing needs for syariah compliance system. In the banking industry, most recent studies concerned only on operational efficiency. However rarely on the operational effectiveness. Since the production process of banking industry can be described as a two-stage process, two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) can be applied to measure the bank performance. This study was designed to measure the overall performance in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of Islamic banks in Malaysia using Two-Stage DEA approach. This paper presents analysis of a DEA model which split the efficiency and effectiveness in order to evaluate the performance of ten selected Islamic Banks in Malaysia for the financial year period ended 2011. The analysis shows average efficient score is more than average effectiveness score thus we can say that Malaysian Islamic banks were more efficient rather than effective. Furthermore, none of the bank exhibit best practice in both stages as we can say that a bank with better efficiency does not always mean having better effectiveness at the same time.

Extended performance evaluation based on DEA a multidimensional point of view

CERN Document Server

Neumann, Ludmila

2017-01-01

This book introduces new methodological developments of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) that satisfy the demands of business practice and provide a multidimensional point of view on the evaluation of organizational performance.

Germinación simbiótica y asimbiótica en semillas de orquídeas epifitas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joel Tupac Otero Ospina

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Se compara el crecimiento de plántulas de la orquídeas epifita Tolumnia variegata en medios de agar con y sin hongos micorrízicos. Los métodos de germinación simbiótica produjeron embriones de T. variegata más desarrollados que los métodos de germinación asimbiótica y las diferencias fueron estadísticamente significativas. Las semillas en los controles en medio de celulosa sin hongos micorrízicos no germinaron. Las semillas de Epidendrum ramosum, Lepanthes rupestris y Psychilis monensis no mostraron diferencias significativas en germinación entre métodos simbiótica y asimbiótica utilizando hongos aislados de raíces de T. variegata, incluso algunos aislados del grupo Rhizoctonia parasitaron las semillas. Los resultados sugieren que las semillas de orquídeas epifitas y sus hongos micorrízicos son más específicos de lo que anteriormente se había creído y por tanto es necesario utilizar los hongos específicos para cada especie de orquídea. Además, se sugiere que los cultivadores de orquídeas podrían obtener mejores resultados en la propagación de orquídeas epifitas si utilizan metodologías de germinación simbiótica apropiados.

Germinación simbiótica y asimbiótica en semillas de orquídeas epifitas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bayman Paul

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Se compara el crecimiento de plántulas de la orquídeas epifita Tolumnia variegata en medios de agar con y sin hongos micorrízicos. Los métodos de germinación simbiótica produjeron embriones de T. variegata más desarrollados que los métodos de germinación asimbiótica y las diferencias fueron estadísticamente significativas. Las semillas en los controles en medio de celulosa sin hongos micorrízicos no germinaron. Las semillas de Epidendrum ramosum, Lepanthes rupestris y Psychilis monensis no mostraron diferencias significativas en germinación entre métodos simbiótica y asimbiótica utilizando hongos aislados de raíces de T. variegata, incluso algunos aislados del grupo Rhizoctonia parasitaron las semillas. Los resultados sugieren que las semillas de orquídeas epifitas y sus hongos micorrízicos son más específicos de lo que anteriormente se había creído y por tanto es necesario utilizar los hongos específicos para cada especie de orquídea. Además, se sugiere que los cultivadores de orquídeas podrían obtener mejores resultados en la propagación de orquídeas epifitas si utilizan metodologías de germinación simbiótica apropiados.

An integrated DEA PCA numerical taxonomy approach for energy efficiency assessment and consumption optimization in energy intensive manufacturing sectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azadeh, A.; Amalnick, M.S.; Ghaderi, S.F.; Asadzadeh, S.M.

2007-01-01

This paper introduces an integrated approach based on data envelopment analysis (DEA), principal component analysis (PCA) and numerical taxonomy (NT) for total energy efficiency assessment and optimization in energy intensive manufacturing sectors. Total energy efficiency assessment and optimization of the proposed approach considers structural indicators in addition conventional consumption and manufacturing sector output indicators. The validity of the DEA model is verified and validated by PCA and NT through Spearman correlation experiment. Moreover, the proposed approach uses the measure-specific super-efficiency DEA model for sensitivity analysis to determine the critical energy carriers. Four energy intensive manufacturing sectors are discussed in this paper: iron and steel, pulp and paper, petroleum refining and cement manufacturing sectors. To show superiority and applicability, the proposed approach has been applied to refinery sub-sectors of some OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. This study has several unique features which are: (1) a total approach which considers structural indicators in addition to conventional energy efficiency indicators; (2) a verification and validation mechanism for DEA by PCA and NT and (3) utilization of DEA for total energy efficiency assessment and consumption optimization of energy intensive manufacturing sectors

La Dea Roma de Segóbriga

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martín ALMAGRO-GORBEA

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Una hermosa escultura romana a la que hemos creído podríamos llamar desde ahora la «Dea Roma de Segóbriga», realizada en mármol blanco. Ahora ofrece una acusada pátina de color hueso. Mide 1,95 m. de altura, 0,69 de anchura máxima y 0,54 de grueso en su parte más voluminosa. Se conserva en el Museo de Cuenca.

Production of electronically excited NO via DEA to NO2

Science.gov (United States)

Gope, Krishnendu; Tadsare, Vishvesh; Prabhudesai, Vaibhav S.; Krishnakumar, E.

2017-12-01

Dissociative electron attachment (DEA) to NO2 in the 7-11 eV range is studied using velocity slice imaging technique. Two distinct channels are observed in the DEA corresponding to O- + NO(A 2Σ+) and O- + NO(C 2Π and/or D 2Σ+). While NO(A 2Σ+) is found to be formed only in very high vibrational levels, NO(C 2Π and/or D 2Σ+) is found to be formed with vibrational distribution starting from v = 0. From the angular distribution of the O- ions leading to the NO(C 2Π and/or D 2Σ+) channel, we obtain the symmetry of the negative ion resonance to be dominantly B1 with small contribution from B2. Contribution to the Topical Issue: "Low Energy Positron and Electron Interactions", edited by James Sullivan, Ron White, Michael Bromley, Ilya Fabrikant, and David Cassidy.

Measuring China’s regional energy and carbon emission efficiency with DEA models: A survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meng, Fanyi; Su, Bin; Thomson, Elspeth; Zhou, Dequn; Zhou, P.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • China’s regional efficiency studies using data envelopment analysis are reviewed. • The main features of 46 studies published in 2006–2015 are summarized. • Six models are compared from the perspective of methodology and empirical results. • Empirical study of China’s 30 regional efficiency assessment in 1995–2012 is presented. - Abstract: The use of data envelopment analysis (DEA) in China’s regional energy efficiency and carbon emission efficiency (EE&CE) assessment has received increasing attention in recent years. This paper conducted a comprehensive survey of empirical studies published in 2006–2015 on China’s regional EE&CE assessment using DEA-type models. The main features used in previous studies were identified, and then the methodological framework for deriving the EE&CE indicators as well as six widely used DEA models were introduced. These DEA models were compared and applied to measure China’s regional EE&CE in 30 provinces/regions between 1995 and 2012. The empirical study indicates that China’s regional EE&CE remained stable in the 9th Five Year Plan (1996–2000), then decreased in the 10th Five Year Plan (2000–2005), and increased a bit in the 11th Five Year Plan (2006–2010). The east region of China had the highest EE&CE while the central area had the lowest. By way of conclusion, some useful points relating to model selection are summarized from both methodological and empirical aspects.

The vapour pressures over saturated aqueous solutions of cadmium chloride, cadmium bromide, cadmium iodide, cadmium nitrate, and cadmium sulphate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apelblat, Alexander; Korin, Eli

2007-01-01

Vapour pressures of water over saturated solutions of cadmium salts (chloride, bromide, iodide, nitrate, and sulphate) were determined over the temperature range 280 K to 322 K and compared with the literature data. The vapour pressures determined were used to obtain the water activities, osmotic coefficients and the molar enthalpies of vaporization in the (cadmium salt + water) systems

The vapour pressures over saturated aqueous solutions of cadmium chloride, cadmium bromide, cadmium iodide, cadmium nitrate, and cadmium sulphate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Apelblat, Alexander [Department of Chemical Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva 84105 (Israel)]. E-mail: apelblat@bgu.ac.il; Korin, Eli [Department of Chemical Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva 84105 (Israel)

2007-07-15

Vapour pressures of water over saturated solutions of cadmium salts (chloride, bromide, iodide, nitrate, and sulphate) were determined over the temperature range 280 K to 322 K and compared with the literature data. The vapour pressures determined were used to obtain the water activities, osmotic coefficients and the molar enthalpies of vaporization in the (cadmium salt + water) systems.

Measuring health indicators and allocating health resources: a DEA-based approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chih-Ching

2016-02-03

This paper suggests new empirical DEA models for the measurement of health indicators and the allocation of health resources. The proposed models were developed by first suggesting a population-based health indicator. By introducing the suggested indicator into DEA models, a new approach that solves the problem of health resource allocation has been developed. The proposed models are applied to an empirical study of Taiwan's health system. Empirical findings show that the suggested indicator can successfully accommodate the differences in health resource demands between populations, providing more reliable performance information than traditional indicators such as physician density. Using our models and a commonly used allocation mechanism, capitation, to allocate medical expenditures, it is found that the proposed model always obtains higher performance than those derived from capitation, and the superiority increases as allocated expenditures rise.

Super-Efficiency and Sensitivity Analysis Based on Input-Oriented DEA-R

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. R. Mozaffari∗

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This paper suggests a method of finding super-efficiency scores and modification of input-oriented models for sensitivity analysis of decision making units. First, by using DEA-R (ratiobased DEA models in the input orientation, the models of superefficiency and also models of super-efficiency modification are suggested. Second, the worst-case scenarios are considered where the efficiency of the test DMU is deteriorating while the efficiencies of the other DMUs are improving. Then, by combining these two ideas, a model is suggested which increases the super-efficiency score and modifies the change ranges in order to preserve the performance class. In the end, the super-efficiency and change interval of efficient decision making units for 23 branches of Zone 1 of the Islamic Azad University are calculated

(p,V{sub m},T,x) measurements for aqueous LiNO{sub 3} solutions[Density; Concentration; Electrolyte solutions; Equation of state; Lithium nitrate; Saturated density; Saturated pressure; Temperature; Water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abdulagatov, I.M. E-mail: ilmutdin@boulder.nist.govmangur@datacom.ru; Azizov, N.D. E-mail: Nazim_Azizov@yahoo.com

2004-01-01

(p,V{sub m},T,x) properties of four aqueous LiNO{sub 3} solutions (0.181, 0.526, 0.963, and 1.728) mol {center_dot} kg{sup -1} H{sub 2}O were measured in the liquid phase with a constant-volume piezometer immersed in a precision liquid thermostat. Measurements were made for 10 isotherms between (298 and 573) K. The range of pressure was from (2 to 40) MPa. The total uncertainty of density, pressure, temperature, and concentration measurements were estimated to be less than 0.06 %, 0.05 %, 10 mK, and 0.014 %, respectively. The values of saturated density were determined by extrapolating experimental (p,{rho}) data to the vapor-pressure at fixed temperature and composition using an interpolating equation. A polynomial type of equation of state for specific volume was obtained as a function of temperature, pressure, and composition by a least-squares method from the experimental data. The average absolute deviation (AAD) between measured and calculated values from this polynomial equation for density was 0.02 %. Measured values of solution density were compared with values calculated from Pitzer's ion-interaction equation. The agreement is within (0.2 to 0.4) % depending of concentration range.

Challenging an immediate suspension of a DEA registration: is it time for a new tact?

Science.gov (United States)

Behr, Douglas J

2014-01-01

A Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") registration is not only a necessity, but also an invaluable commodity for doctors, pharmacists, hospitals and drug wholesalers who prescribe, stock, and distribute controlled substances. While the DEA may only suspend a registration by issuing an immediate suspension order ("ISO) after an ex parte finding of "imminent danger to the public health or safety," the law fails to explicitly protect the registrant by way of a post-suspension hearing on the ISO, despite the registrant's constitutionally protected property interest in the registration. A registrant has only two procedural options--which are often unsuccessful--to challenge the ISO: endure a long and arduous administrative review proceeding or petition the court for a "not-so-easily proven" injunction, all the while the suspension remains in effect and the controlled substance business operations cease. Accordingly, a suspension of the registration may be certain death to doctors and pharmacists without the financial means to operate the business in the absence of the registration. Because the DEA registration is a constitutionally-protected interest, there is a better way to challenge the suspension. The Supreme Court has held that once a license is issued, the continued possession of it is essential to the registrant's livelihood. Therefore suspension or revocation of such a protected interest requires due process. Due-process hearings, while varied, will provide the necessary avenues of review to provide a fair review of the justification of the suspension and its continuance, i.e., whether there truly is imminent danger to public health or safety and whether the suspension is overbroad and should be limited. To date, this thesis remains to be tested and awaits a petitioner with a justiciable claim and the financial resources to challenge the DEA in court. But in the field of DEA ISO challenges, it is time for a new tact!

Energy efficiency analysis method based on fuzzy DEA cross-model for ethylene production systems in chemical industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Yongming; Geng, Zhiqiang; Zhu, Qunxiong; Qu, Yixin

2015-01-01

DEA (data envelopment analysis) has been widely used for the efficiency analysis of industrial production process. However, the conventional DEA model is difficult to analyze the pros and cons of the multi DMUs (decision-making units). The DEACM (DEA cross-model) can distinguish the pros and cons of the effective DMUs, but it is unable to take the effect of the uncertainty data into account. This paper proposes an efficiency analysis method based on FDEACM (fuzzy DEA cross-model) with Fuzzy Data. The proposed method has better objectivity and resolving power for the decision-making. First we obtain the minimum, the median and the maximum values of the multi-criteria ethylene energy consumption data by the data fuzzification. On the basis of the multi-criteria fuzzy data, the benchmark of the effective production situations and the improvement directions of the ineffective of the ethylene plants under different production data configurations are obtained by the FDEACM. The experimental result shows that the proposed method can improve the ethylene production conditions and guide the efficiency of energy utilization during ethylene production process. - Highlights: • This paper proposes an efficiency analysis method based on FDEACM (fuzzy DEA cross-model) with data fuzzification. • The proposed method is more efficient and accurate than other methods. • We obtain an energy efficiency analysis framework and process based on FDEACM in ethylene production industry. • The proposed method is valid and efficient in improvement of energy efficiency in the ethylene plants

Equity portfolio optimization: A DEA based methodology applied to the Zagreb Stock Exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margareta Gardijan

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Most strategies for selection portfolios focus on utilizing solely market data and implicitly assume that stock markets communicate all relevant information to all market stakeholders, and that these markets cannot be influenced by investor activities. However convenient, this is a limited approach, especially when applied to small and illiquid markets such as the Croatian market, where such assumptions are hardly realistic. Thus, there is a demand for including other sources of data, such as financial reports. Research poses the question of whether financial ratios as criteria for stock selection are of any use to Croatian investors. Financial and market data from selected publicly companies listed on the Croatian capital market are used. A two-stage portfolio selection strategy is applied, where the first stage involves selecting stocks based on the respective Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA efficiency scores. DEA models are becoming popular in stock portfolio selection given that the methodology includes numerous models that provide a great flexibility in selecting inputs and outputs, which in turn are considered as criteria for portfolio selection. Accordingly, there is much room for improvement of the current proposed strategies for selecting portfolios. In the second stage, two portfolio-weighting strategies are applied using equal proportions and score-weighting. To show whether these strategies create outstanding out–of–sample portfolios in time, time-dependent DEA Window Analysis is applied using a reference time of one year, and portfolio returns are compared with the market portfolio for each period. It is found that the financial data are a significant indicator of the future performance of a stock and a DEA-based portfolio strategy outperforms market return.

Allocation of Energy Consumption among Provinces in China: A Weighted ZSG-DEA Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siqin Xiong

2017-11-01

Full Text Available To realize the sustainable development of energy, the Chinese government has formulated a series of national goals of total energy control and energy structure optimization. Under the national constraints, how to efficiently allocate the constrained total amount of energy consumption to each province is a fundamental problem to be solved. Based on a data envelopment analysis (DEA model and a zero-sum game theory (ZSG, this paper constructs a weighted zero-sum game data envelopment analysis (ZSG-DEA model to allocate the energy consumption quota. Additionally, this paper compares the results with the current administrative targets, to examine the efficiency and feasibility of each allocation mechanism. Finally, this paper employs the proposed model to determine the optimal energy structure for each province in China. The results indicate that by 2020, the national goal of energy structure adjustment will be realized, and energy structure will be diversified in most regions, whereas the coal-dominated status in primary energy consumption will not change. Additionally, the weighted ZSG-DEA model focuses on allocation efficiency while the government considers more regional economic disparity. Therefore, this study suggests a mixture of the two allocation mechanisms in accordance with specific conditions.

Um método para estimativa de metas DEA A method for estimating goals in DEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ernée Kozyreff Filho

2004-01-01

Full Text Available A avaliação da produtividade de unidades comerciais pertencentes a um mesmo grupo, como as agências de um banco ou as unidades de uma rede de franquia, feita através de Análise de Envoltória de Dados (DEA, da sigla em inglês Data Envelopment Analysis, fornece valores de eficiência de cada uma destas unidades. Esta eficiência, no entanto, é relativa, pois seu valor depende de como as outras unidades se comportam. Como a análise é feita pós-produção, fica impossível saber quanto determinada unidade deveria ter produzido para ser classificada como eficiente. Este trabalho sugere um método de se estimar metas de produção para que cada unidade possa ser considerada eficiente independentemente do resto do grupo, a partir da idealização de uma fronteira de eficiência.The productivity evaluation of commercial units belonging to a single group, such as the branches of a bank or the units of a franchising network, done through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA, yields efficiency values for each of the units, called DMU's (Decision Making Units. However, this efficiency is relative, for its value depends on how the other DMU's behaved. Since the analysis is done after production, it is not possible to know how much one unit should have produced to be classified as efficient. This work suggests a method for estimating goals of production for each DMU to be considered efficient independently from the rest of the group, from the idealization of an efficiency frontier.

Estudio de la morbimortalidad en pacientes intervenidos de estenosis carotídea que precisan transfusión sanguínea

OpenAIRE

Ibáñez Maraña, María Antonia

2016-01-01

Se trata de un estudio retrospectivo en pacientes intervenidos de estenosis carotídea mediante la realización de endarterectomía carotídea. Estos pacientes han sido operados en el Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, en el periodo comprendido entre enero del 2012 y enero del 2014, ambos incluidos. Todos los pacientes operados de estenosis carotídea en dicho periodo fueron incluidos en el estudio, ya que no se precisa seguimiento de los mismos. Se analiza la morbimortalidad...

Evaluating the efficiency of municipalities in collecting and processing municipal solid waste: a shared input DEA-model.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogge, Nicky; De Jaeger, Simon

2012-10-01

This paper proposed an adjusted "shared-input" version of the popular efficiency measurement technique Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) that enables evaluating municipality waste collection and processing performances in settings in which one input (waste costs) is shared among treatment efforts of multiple municipal solid waste fractions. The main advantage of this version of DEA is that it not only provides an estimate of the municipalities overall cost efficiency but also estimates of the municipalities' cost efficiency in the treatment of the different fractions of municipal solid waste (MSW). To illustrate the practical usefulness of the shared input DEA-model, we apply the model to data on 293 municipalities in Flanders, Belgium, for the year 2008. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Services Provided to Military Dependents Who Are "Mentally Gifted" in the US Department of Defense (DoDEA) Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Bugaj, Stephen J.

2013-01-01

The US Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal agency that provides educational services to military dependents in 12 foreign countries, seven states, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Perhaps due to its restricted audience, the general public has limited knowledge of DoDEA services; moreover, empirical information about these services…

Improved solution for saturated-unsaturated flow to a partially penetrating well in a compressible unconfined aquifer

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, P. K.; Neuman, S. P.

2009-12-01

Tartakovsky and Neuman [2007] developed an analytical solution for flow to a partially penetrating well pumping at a constant rate from a compressible unconfined aquifer considering an unsaturated zone of infinite thickness. In their solution three-dimensional, axially symmetric unsaturated flow was described by a linearized version of Richards’ equation in which both relative hydraulic conductivity and water content vary exponentially with incremental capillary pressure head relative to its air entry value. Both exponential functions were characterized by a common exponent. We present an improved solution in which relative hydraulic conductivity and water content are characterized by separate parameters and the unsaturated zone has finite thickness. Our four-parameter representation of these functions is more flexible than the three-parameter version of Mathias and Butler [2006], who consider flow in the unsaturated zone to be strictly vertical and the pumping well to be fully penetrating. We investigate the effects of unsaturated zone thickness and constitutive parameters on drawdown in the unsaturated and saturated zones as functions of position and time. We then use our new solution to analyze data from synthetic and real pumping tests.

Long-term pretreatment with desethylamiodarone (DEA) or amiodarone (AMIO) protects against coronary artery occlusion induced ventricular arrhythmias in conscious rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Morvay, Nikolett; Baczkó, István; Sztojkov-Ivanov, Anita; Falkay, György; Papp, Julius Gy; Varró, András; Leprán, István

2015-09-01

The aim of this investigation was to compare the effectiveness of long-term pretreatment with amiodarone (AMIO) and its active metabolite desethylamiodarone (DEA) on arrhythmias induced by acute myocardial infarction in rats. Acute myocardial infarction was induced in conscious, male, Sprague-Dawley rats by pulling a previously inserted loose silk loop around the left main coronary artery. Long-term oral pretreatment with AMIO (30 or 100 mg·(kg body mass)(-1)·day(-1), loading dose 100 or 300 mg·kg(-1) for 3 days) or DEA (15 or 50 mg·kg(-1)·day(-1), loading dose 100 or 300 mg·kg(-1) for 3 days), was applied for 1 month before the coronary artery occlusion. Chronic oral treatment with DEA (50 mg·kg(-1)·day(-1)) resulted in a similar myocardial DEA concentration as chronic AMIO treatment (100 mg·kg(-1)·day(-1)) in rats (7.4 ± 0.7 μg·g(-1) and 8.9 ± 2.2 μg·g(-1)). Both pretreatments in the larger doses significantly improved the survival rate during the acute phase of experimental myocardial infarction (82% and 64% by AMIO and DEA, respectively, vs. 31% in controls). Our results demonstrate that chronic oral treatment with DEA resulted in similar cardiac tissue levels to that of chronic AMIO treatment, and offered an equivalent degree of antiarrhythmic effect against acute coronary artery ligation induced ventricular arrhythmias in conscious rats.

Preparation of H3-labelled methyl ethers of saturated fatty acids by heterogeneous catalytic isotope exchange in solution with gaseous tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shevchenko, V.P.; Myasoedov, N.F.

1980-01-01

A simple method of preparing 3 H-labelled methyl ethers of saturated fatty acids in the dioxane solution using the method of isotopic heterogenous catalytic exchange with gaseous tritium, is suggested. 3 H-labelled natural fatty acids (C 12 -C 18 ) are prepared by alkaline hydrolysis [ru

Investigation on the formation of Cu-Fe nano crystalline super-saturated solid solution developed by mechanical alloying

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mojtahedi, M., E-mail: m.mojtahedi@gmail.com [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Narmak, Tehran 16846-13114 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Goodarzi, M.; Aboutalebi, M.R. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Narmak, Tehran 16846-13114 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ghaffari, M. [Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, UNAM-Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800 (Turkey); Soleimanian, V. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Shahrekord University, P.O. Box 115, Shahrekord (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2013-02-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The deformation of the mechanically alloyed Cu-Fe powder is anisotropic. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The Rietveld method is more proper and results in smaller crystallite size than the Scherer and Williamson-Hall methods. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A dual phase super saturated solid solution achieved after 96 h of milling of the mixtures with 30, 50 and 70 wt.% of Iron. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A final proportion of approximately 85% FCC and 15% BCC structure obtained in all of the applied compositions. - Abstract: In this study, the formation of super saturated solid solution in the binary Cu-Fe system was investigated. Three powder blends with 30, 50 and 70 wt.% of Fe were milled for different times to 96 h. The variations of lattice parameter and inter-planar spacing were calculated and analyzed using X-ray diffraction analysis (XDA). The anisotropy of lattice deformation in the FCC phase was studied and the obtained results were compared to milled pure Cu powder. Furthermore, crystallite size was calculated using Scherer formula in comparison with Rietveld full profile refinement method. Considering the previous studies about the formation of non-equilibrium FCC and BCC phases, the phase evolution has been discussed and the proportion of each phase was calculated using Rietveld refinement method. Supplementary studies on the evolution of microstructure and formation of solid solution were carried out using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Finally, high angle annular dark field (HAADF) imaging was utilized to find out the level of homogeneity in the resulting phases. While true alloying takes place in each phase, the final structure consists of both FCC and BCC nano-crystallites.

[Dynamics of riboflavin level in aqueous humour of anterior chamber of experimental animals under standard stroma saturation by ultraviolet corneal cross-linking solutions].

Science.gov (United States)

Bikbov, M M; Shevchuk, N E; Khalimov, A R; Bikbova, G M

To evaluate the dynamics of riboflavin changes in the aqueous humour of the anterior chamber (AHAC) of rabbits' eyes during standard ultraviolet (UV) cross-linking with account to the area of corneal debridement. Forty two rabbits were studied sequentially. The following solutions of riboflavin were used for cornea saturation: IR - 0.1% isosmotic riboflavin, D - Dextralink (0.1% riboflavin with 20% dextran), R - 0.1% riboflavin with 1.0% hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC). Each solution was evaluated in 3 groups that differed in the diameter of corneal debridement: group 1 - Epi-Off 3 mm (IR-3, D-3, P-3), group 2 - Epi-Off 6 mm (IR-6, D-6, R-6), and group 3 - Epi-Off 9 mm (IR-9, D-9, R-9). Aqueous humour sampling (252 samples in total) was performed in 10-minute intervals within a 60 minute period. Riboflavin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ID-Vit microbiological test system; Immundiagnostik, Germany). Stable growth rates of riboflavin level in the AHAC (with maximum values reached at 30-40 min) were observed for solutions D and R, regardless of the variant of corneal debridement. Moreover, throughout the whole follow-up period and regardless of the area of corneal debridement, the solution D provided a relatively lower concentration of riboflavin in the AHAC as compared to the two other solutions. At 30 minutes, when the cornea was considered ready for UV irradiation, the riboflavin level in the AHAC ranged from 385±26.1 μg/l (D-9) to 665±28 μg/l (R-9). In groups IR-9, IR-6, P-6, IR-3, and P-3 riboflavin levels were found to be in the same range starting at 20 minutes. However, even a sufficient concentration of riboflavin in the cornea or AHAC cannot guarantee safe and effective UV cross-linking, since the removed epithelium limits the area of the stroma that can be saturated with riboflavin, while the area of UV exposure is 8-10 mm. Safe and efficient standard UV cross-linking may be performed only under sufficient saturation of the

Modeling and notation of DEA with strong and weak disposable outputs.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuntz, Ludwig; Sülz, Sandra

2011-12-01

Recent articles published in Health Care Management Science have described DEA applications under the assumption of strong and weak disposable outputs. As we confidently assume that these papers include some methodical deficiencies, we aim to illustrate a revised approach.

On the use of DEA for software development productivity measurement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asmild, Mette; Imperatore, Francisco

2016-01-01

This paper first, based on a thorough review of the relevant literature, provides a general discussion of some of the many aspects one should consider when using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to measure the efficiency of software development. It then contains a case study which investigates a few...

Returns to Scale and Damages to Scale with Strong Complementary Slackness Conditions in DEA Assessment: Japanese Corporate Effort on Environment Protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki; Goto, Mika

2012-01-01

This study proposes a use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for environmental assessment. All organizations in private and public sectors produce not only desirable (good) but also undesirable (bad) outputs as a result of their economic activities. The proposed use of DEA determines the level of unified (operational and environmental) efficiency of all the organizations. A contribution of this study is that it explores how to measure not only RTS (Returns to Scale) on desirable outputs but also a new concept regarding “DTS: Damages to Scale” (corresponding to RTS for undesirable outputs). This study discusses how to measure RTS under natural disposability and DTS under managerial disposability by DEA. The measurement of RTS and DTS is formulated by incorporating “Strong Complementary Slackness Conditions (SCSCs)”. As a result, this study can handle an occurrence of multiple reference sets and multiple projections in the RTS/DTS measurement. The incorporation of SCSCs makes it possible both to restrict DEA multipliers in a specific range without any prior information and to identify all possible efficient organizations as a reference set. Using the unique capabilities of SCSCs, this study discusses the use of DEA environmental assessment by exploring how to classify the type of RTS/DTS with SCSCs. Such analytical capabilities are essential, but not previously explored in DEA environmental assessment for energy industries. As an illustrative example, this study applies the proposed approach for the performance evaluation of Japanese manufacturing industries. This study finds that these firms need to introduce technology innovation to reduce an amount of greenhouse gases and wastes. The empirical result confirms the importance of measuring RTS/DTS in DEA environmental assessment.

Saturated salt solution method: a useful cadaver embalming for surgical skills training.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayashi, Shogo; Homma, Hiroshi; Naito, Munekazu; Oda, Jun; Nishiyama, Takahisa; Kawamoto, Atsuo; Kawata, Shinichi; Sato, Norio; Fukuhara, Tomomi; Taguchi, Hirokazu; Mashiko, Kazuki; Azuhata, Takeo; Ito, Masayuki; Kawai, Kentaro; Suzuki, Tomoya; Nishizawa, Yuji; Araki, Jun; Matsuno, Naoto; Shirai, Takayuki; Qu, Ning; Hatayama, Naoyuki; Hirai, Shuichi; Fukui, Hidekimi; Ohseto, Kiyoshige; Yukioka, Tetsuo; Itoh, Masahiro

2014-12-01

This article evaluates the suitability of cadavers embalmed by the saturated salt solution (SSS) method for surgical skills training (SST). SST courses using cadavers have been performed to advance a surgeon's techniques without any risk to patients. One important factor for improving SST is the suitability of specimens, which depends on the embalming method. In addition, the infectious risk and cost involved in using cadavers are problems that need to be solved. Six cadavers were embalmed by 3 methods: formalin solution, Thiel solution (TS), and SSS methods. Bacterial and fungal culture tests and measurement of ranges of motion were conducted for each cadaver. Fourteen surgeons evaluated the 3 embalming methods and 9 SST instructors (7 trauma surgeons and 2 orthopedists) operated the cadavers by 21 procedures. In addition, ultrasonography, central venous catheterization, and incision with cauterization followed by autosuture stapling were performed in some cadavers. The SSS method had a sufficient antibiotic effect and produced cadavers with flexible joints and a high tissue quality suitable for SST. The surgeons evaluated the cadavers embalmed by the SSS method to be highly equal to those embalmed by the TS method. Ultrasound images were clear in the cadavers embalmed by both the methods. Central venous catheterization could be performed in a cadaver embalmed by the SSS method and then be affirmed by x-ray. Lungs and intestines could be incised with cauterization and autosuture stapling in the cadavers embalmed by TS and SSS methods. Cadavers embalmed by the SSS method are sufficiently useful for SST. This method is simple, carries a low infectious risk, and is relatively of low cost, enabling a wider use of cadavers for SST.

Rice growing farmers efficiency measurement using a slack based interval DEA model with undesirable outputs

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Sahubar Ali Mohd. Nadhar; Ramli, Razamin; Baten, M. D. Azizul

2017-11-01

In recent years eco-efficiency which considers the effect of production process on environment in determining the efficiency of firms have gained traction and a lot of attention. Rice farming is one of such production processes which typically produces two types of outputs which are economic desirable as well as environmentally undesirable. In efficiency analysis, these undesirable outputs cannot be ignored and need to be included in the model to obtain the actual estimation of firm's efficiency. There are numerous approaches that have been used in data envelopment analysis (DEA) literature to account for undesirable outputs of which directional distance function (DDF) approach is the most widely used as it allows for simultaneous increase in desirable outputs and reduction of undesirable outputs. Additionally, slack based DDF DEA approaches considers the output shortfalls and input excess in determining efficiency. In situations when data uncertainty is present, the deterministic DEA model is not suitable to be used as the effects of uncertain data will not be considered. In this case, it has been found that interval data approach is suitable to account for data uncertainty as it is much simpler to model and need less information regarding the underlying data distribution and membership function. The proposed model uses an enhanced DEA model which is based on DDF approach and incorporates slack based measure to determine efficiency in the presence of undesirable factors and data uncertainty. Interval data approach was used to estimate the values of inputs, undesirable outputs and desirable outputs. Two separate slack based interval DEA models were constructed for optimistic and pessimistic scenarios. The developed model was used to determine rice farmers efficiency from Kepala Batas, Kedah. The obtained results were later compared to the results obtained using a deterministic DDF DEA model. The study found that 15 out of 30 farmers are efficient in all cases. It

Performance analysis of US coal-fired power plants by measuring three DEA efficiencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki; Goto, Mika; Ueno, Takahiro

2010-01-01

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has been widely used for performance evaluation of many organizations in private and public sectors. This study proposes a new DEA approach to evaluate the operational, environmental and both-unified performance of coal-fired power plants that are currently operating under the US Clean Air Act (CAA). The economic activities of power plants examined by this study are characterized by four inputs, a desirable (good) output and three undesirable (bad) outputs. This study uses Range-Adjusted Measure (RAM) because it can easily incorporate both desirable and undesirable outputs in the unified analytical structure. The output unification proposed in this study has been never investigated in the previous DEA studies even though such a unified measure is essential in guiding policy makers and corporate leaders. Using the proposed DEA approach, this study finds three important policy implications. First, the CAA has been increasingly effective on their environmental protection. The increased environmental performance leads to the enhancement of the unified efficiency. Second, the market liberalization/deregulation was an important business trend in the electric power industry. Such a business trend was legally prepared by US Energy Policy Act (EPAct). According to the level of the market liberalization, the United States is classified into regulated and deregulated states. This study finds that the operational and unified performance of coal-fired power plants in the regulated states outperforms those of the deregulated states because the investment on coal-fired power plants in the regulated states can be utilized as a financial tool under the rate-of-return criterion of regulation. The power plants in the deregulated states do not have such a regulation premium. Finally, plant managers need to balance between their environmental performance and operational efficiency.

Efficiency of primary care in rural Burkina Faso. A two-stage DEA analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Marschall, Paul; Flessa, Steffen

2011-07-20

Providing health care services in Africa is hampered by severe scarcity of personnel, medical supplies and financial funds. Consequently, managers of health care institutions are called to measure and improve the efficiency of their facilities in order to provide the best possible services with their resources. However, very little is known about the efficiency of health care facilities in Africa and instruments of performance measurement are hardly applied in this context. This study determines the relative efficiency of primary care facilities in Nouna, a rural health district in Burkina Faso. Furthermore, it analyses the factors influencing the efficiency of these institutions. We apply a two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) based on data from a comprehensive provider and household information system. In the first stage, the relative efficiency of each institution is calculated by a traditional DEA model. In the second stage, we identify the reasons for being inefficient by regression technique. The DEA projections suggest that inefficiency is mainly a result of poor utilization of health care facilities as they were either too big or the demand was too low. Regression results showed that distance is an important factor influencing the efficiency of a health care institution Compared to the findings of existing one-stage DEA analyses of health facilities in Africa, the share of relatively efficient units is slightly higher. The difference might be explained by a rather homogenous structure of the primary care facilities in the Burkina Faso sample. The study also indicates that improving the accessibility of primary care facilities will have a major impact on the efficiency of these institutions. Thus, health decision-makers are called to overcome the demand-side barriers in accessing health care.

Dynamic Evaluation of the Energy Efficiency of Environments in Brazilian University Classrooms Using DEA

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Samuel de Alencar Bezerra

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an experience applied to a public university campus using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA to evaluate and improve the energy efficiency of the indoor spaces of the buildings within the limits of the Federal University of Piauí, considering the lighting (installed power and luminous flux and air conditioning (absorbed electric power and cooling capacity input/output variables. Using Brazilian energy efficiency evaluation methods, a comparison was made between DEA and Brazilian standards, with the goal of examining DEA’s performance and feasibility in efficiency improvement. The results revealed that all of the analyzed university classrooms were inefficient, which is coherent with the classification obtained by applying Brazilian standards; the calculated efficiency scores for these rooms varied from 0.7182 to 0.8477, a 0.7848 average. The DEA model, while operating in lighting and air conditioning systems, achieved a reduction of installed power of 43.5% and 22.7%, respectively, totaling a decrease of 25.6%, being able to maintain the standard characteristics of the systems mentioned. According to the DEA models, it was found that the generated targets effectively improved the efficiency of lighting and air-conditioning systems, reducing excessive inputs such as air conditioners’ consumption and increasing deficient outputs such as luminous flux. It is possible to expand this successful application in the layout of the building in the whole campus area to concept small smart city projects; both have been achieved in the public buildings of the administrative body. Results from this paper revealed DEA’s potential in assessing and optimizing the energy efficiency of buildings, improving their sustainability indexes, acting as a tool to support decision-making and benchmarking.

Curing kinetics of visible light curing dental resin composites investigated by dielectric analysis (DEA).

Science.gov (United States)

Steinhaus, Johannes; Hausnerova, Berenika; Haenel, Thomas; Großgarten, Mandy; Möginger, Bernhard

2014-03-01

During the curing process of light curing dental composites the mobility of molecules and molecule segments is reduced leading to a significant increase of the viscosity as well as the ion viscosity. Thus, the kinetics of the curing behavior of 6 different composites was derived from dielectric analysis (DEA) using especially redesigned flat sensors with interdigit comb electrodes allowing for irradiation at the top side and measuring the ion viscosity at the bottom side. As the ion viscosities of dental composites change 1-3 orders of magnitude during the curing process, DEA provides a sensitive approach to evaluate their curing behavior, especially in the phase of undisturbed chain growth. In order to determine quantitative kinetic parameters a kinetic model is presented and examined for the evaluation of the ion viscosity curves. From the obtained results it is seen that DEA might be employed in the investigation of the primary curing process, the quality assurance of ingredients as well as the control of processing stability of the light curing dental composites. Copyright © 2014 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated IDA–ANN–DEA for assessment and optimization of energy consumption in industrial sectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olanrewaju, O.A.; Jimoh, A.A.; Kholopane, P.A.

2012-01-01

This paper puts forward an integrated approach, based on logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) – an index decomposition analysis (IDA) method, an artificial neural network (ANN) and a data envelopment analysis (DEA) for the analysis of total energy efficiency and optimization in an industrial sector. The energy efficiency assessment and the optimization of the proposed model use LMDI to decompose energy consumption into activity, structural and intensity indicators, which serve as inputs to the ANN. The ANN model is verified and validated by performing a linear regression comparison between the specifically measured energy consumption and the corresponding predicted energy consumption. The proposed approach utilizes the measure-specific, super-efficient DEA model for sensitivity analysis to determine the critical measured energy consumption and its optimization reductions. The proposed method is validated by its application to determine the efficiency computation and an analysis of historical data as well as the prediction and optimization capability of the Canadian industrial sector. -- Highlights: ► An integrated IDA–ANN–DEA model for energy management is proposed. ► The model relies on aggregate energy and GDP data. ► The model explains how energy can be managed in the Canadian Industrial sector.

Localized innovation and productivity growth in Asia : an intertemporal DEA approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Timmer, Marcel P.; Los, Bart

2002-01-01

Recent contributions to growth theory stress the importance of localized innovation for the performance of more backward countries. In earlier papers, analyses by means of DEA techniques confirmed this intuition. In this paper, we extend this type of analysis by relaxing the macroeconomic viewpoint

The role of dea in csr efficiency evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tetiana Botsian

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Measuring CSR has been widely discussed as a problematic issue in business literature. The main reason is its importance for companies’ reputation, stakeholders’ valuations and academic research. This paper provides an introduction to the problem of measuring CSR (corporate social responsibility activity effectiveness. The main purpose of it is to apply a non-parametric DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis methodology for measuring CSR performance taking in accounts specified inputs and output of social business activity

The molar enthalpies of solution and vapour pressures of saturated aqueous solutions of some cesium salts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apelblat, Alexander; Korin, Eli

2006-01-01

Vapour pressures of water over saturated solutions of cesium chloride, cesium bromide, cesium nitrate, cesium sulfate, cesium formate, and cesium oxalate were determined as a function of temperature. These vapour pressures were used to evaluate the water activities, osmotic coefficients and molar enthalpies of vapourization. Molar enthalpies of solution of cesium chloride, Δ sol H m (T = 295.73 K; m = 0.0622 mol . kg -1 ) = (17.83 ± 0.50) kJ . mol -1 ; cesium bromide, Δ sol H m (T = 293.99 K; m = 0.0238 mol . kg -1 ) = (26.91 ± 0.59) kJ . mol -1 ; cesium nitrate, Δ sol H m (T = 294.68 K; m = 0.0258 mol . kg -1 ) = (37.1 ± 2.3) kJ . mol -1 ; cesium sulfate, Δ sol H m (T = 296.43 K; m = 0.0284 mol . kg -1 ) (16.94 ± 0.43) kJ . mol -1 ; cesium formate, Δ sol H m (T = 295.64 K; m = 0.0283 mol . kg -1 ) = (11.10 ± 0.26) kJ . mol -1 and Δ sol H m (T = 292.64 K; m = 0.0577 mol . kg -1 ) = (11.56 ± 0.56) kJ . mol -1 ; and cesium oxalate, Δ sol H m (T = 291.34 K; m = 0.0143 mol . kg -1 ) = (22.07 ± 0.16) kJ . mol -1 were determined calorimetrically. The purity of the chemicals was generally greater than 0.99 mass fraction, except for HCOOCs and (COOCs) 2 where purities were approximately 0.95 and 0.97 mass fraction, respectively. The uncertainties are one standard deviations

Relative performance of academic departments using DEA with sensitivity analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tyagi, Preeti; Yadav, Shiv Prasad; Singh, S P

2009-05-01

The process of liberalization and globalization of Indian economy has brought new opportunities and challenges in all areas of human endeavor including education. Educational institutions have to adopt new strategies to make best use of the opportunities and counter the challenges. One of these challenges is how to assess the performance of academic programs based on multiple criteria. Keeping this in view, this paper attempts to evaluate the performance efficiencies of 19 academic departments of IIT Roorkee (India) through data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique. The technique has been used to assess the performance of academic institutions in a number of countries like USA, UK, Australia, etc. But we are using it first time in Indian context to the best of our knowledge. Applying DEA models, we calculate technical, pure technical and scale efficiencies and identify the reference sets for inefficient departments. Input and output projections are also suggested for inefficient departments to reach the frontier. Overall performance, research performance and teaching performance are assessed separately using sensitivity analysis.

Model Evaluation To Measuring Efficiencies of ICT Development In Indonesia Region Using DEA

Science.gov (United States)

Efendi, Syahril; Fadly Syahputra, M.; Anggia Muchtar, M.

2018-01-01

ICT Pura or digital city is a program designed by the Indonesian government with the main objective is to determine the level of readiness of each district and city in each province in the era of digital economy. It is necessarily to evaluate whether a city or a region that was successfully managing ICT better than other city and significantly contributes to the communities and living systems. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a well known technique to estimate efficiency and returns to scale through the construction of a best practice frontier, based on non-parametric mathematical programming approach. This paper addresses DEA BCC method to get index of efficiencies for all region in Indonesia covered by ICT Pura. Numerical result is given.

Improved actuation strain of PDMS-based DEA materials chemically modified with softening agents

Science.gov (United States)

Biedermann, Miriam; Blümke, Martin; Wegener, Michael; Krüger, Hartmut

2015-04-01

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are smart materials that gained much in interest particularly in recent years. One active field of research is the improvement of their properties by modification of their structural framework. The object of this work is to improve the actuation properties of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based DEAs by covalent incorporation of mono-vinyl-terminated low-molecular PDMS chains into the PDMS network. These low-molecular units act as a kind of softener within the PDMS network. The loose chain ends interfere with the network formation and lower the network's density. PDMS films with up to 50wt% of low-molecular PDMS additives were manufactured and the chemical, mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical properties of these novel materials were investigated.

Performance assessment of electric power generations using an adaptive neural network algorithm and fuzzy DEA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Javaheri, Zahra

2010-09-15

Modeling, evaluating and analyzing performance of Iranian thermal power plants is the main goal of this study which is based on multi variant methods analysis. These methods include fuzzy DEA and adaptive neural network algorithm. At first, we determine indicators, then data is collected, next we obtained values of ranking and efficiency by Fuzzy DEA, Case study is thermal power plants In view of the fact that investment to establish on power plant is very high, and maintenance of power plant causes an expensive expenditure, moreover using fossil fuel effected environment hence optimum produce of current power plants is important.

Data envelopment analysis: a taxonomy, a meta review and an extension (confident-dea) with application to predicting cross (OECD) country banking systems' efficiency

OpenAIRE

Gattoufi, Said

2002-01-01

This work contributes to the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) literature at three ways. First, it extends the roots of DEA by providing an analytical approach deriving the basic Charties-Cooper-Rhodes (1978) model from the Weak Axiom of Profit Maximization (WAPM) of Finn Theory. This in turn, develops the Approximate-Weak Axiom of Profit Maximization (A-WAPM). Additional;/, a direct connection is established between the sensitivity of DEA provided results to sample size and the A-WAPhL Second,...

DEA ranking of municipalities of the Republic of Serbia based on efficiency of SMEs in agribusiness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maletić Radojka

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The most important aspect of any business is efficiency. The goal is to achieve a greater output results using less inputs, i.e. to maximize the use of available inputs. Numerous mathematical and statistical procedures, such as DEA technique (Data Envelopment Analysis, take an important place in the process of the effective management of the company and its business activities. This paper illustrated the application of DEA technique in assessing the business efficiency of SMEs in agribusiness in Vojvodina Measuring the efficiency of business operations of SMEs is based on the values of the following indicators: fixed assets, working capital, number of companies, number of employees, total income, profit and loss. The data used to calculate the values of indicators of business efficiency were obtained from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, based on the annual accounts of SMEs in agribusiness for four-year average (2008-2011. The aim of this paper is statistical assessment of business efficiency of SMEs in agribusiness using DEA technique, and then, based on the results obtained, to perform the ranking of Vojvodina municipalities in which observed SMEs were located, and finally, based on 4 models, to show sensitivity of DEA technique compared to different combination of input / output indicators, so therefore, caution is needed when this method is used. If the combination of parameters in the model is better, the results are more realistic, since if a key parameter is omitted, wrong decisions could be made.

Testing over-representation of observations in subsets of a DEA technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asmild, Mette; Hougaard, Jens Leth; Olesen, Ole Bent

2013-01-01

This paper proposes a test for whether data are over-represented in a given production zone, i.e. a subset of a production possibility set which has been estimated using the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. A binomial test is used that relates the number of observations...

Establishing the existence of a distance-based upper bound for a fuzzy DEA model using duality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soleimani-damaneh, M.

2009-01-01

In a recent paper [Soleimani-damaneh M. Fuzzy upper bounds and their applications. Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 2008;36:217-25.], I established the existence of a distance-based fuzzy upper bound for the objective function of a fuzzy DEA model, using the properties of a discussed signed distance, and provided an effective approach to solve that model. In this paper a new dual-based proof for the existence of the above-mentioned upper bound is provided which gives a useful insight into the theory of fuzzy DEA.

Bistability By Self-Reflection In A Saturable Absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Roso-Franco, Luis

1987-01-01

Propagation of laser light through a saturable absorber is theoretically studied. Computed steady state solutions of the Maxwell equations describing the unidimensional propagation of a plane monochromatic wave without introducing the slowly-varying envelope approximation are presented showing how saturation effects can influence the absorption of the field. At a certain range of refractive index and extintion coefficients, computed solutions display a very susprising behaviour, and a self-reflected wave appears inside the absorber. This can be useful for a new kind of biestable device, similar to a standard bistable cavity but with the back mirror self-induced by the light.

Weight Constrained DEA Measurement of the Quality of Life in Spanish Municipalities in 2011.

Science.gov (United States)

González, Eduardo; Cárcaba, Ana; Ventura, Juan

2018-01-01

This paper measures quality of life (QoL) in the 393 largest Spanish municipalities in 2011. We follow recent descriptions of QoL dimensions to propose an integrated framework composed of eight dimensions: material living conditions, health, education, environment, economic and physical safety, governance and political voice, social interaction, and personal activities. Using different sources of information we construct 16 indicators, two per each of the QoL dimensions considered. Weight constrained data envelopment analysis (DEA) is then used to estimate a composite indicator of the QoL of each municipality. Robustness is checked by altering the weight ranges introduced within the DEA specification. Results show that the Northern and Central regions in Spain attain the highest levels of QoL, while the Southern and Mediterranean regions report lower scores. These figures are consistent with those obtained by González et al. ( Soc Ind Res 82:111-145 2011) for the Spanish municipalities in 2001, although both the sample and the indicators used are different. The analysis also shows that, while it is important to restrict weights in DEA, the specific restrictions used are less important, since all the composite indicators computed are highly correlated. The results also show important differences between per capita gross domestic product and QoL at the provincial level.

Total-Factor Energy Efficiency in BRI Countries: An Estimation Based on Three-Stage DEA Model

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Changhong Zhao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI is showing its great influence and leadership on the international energy cooperation. Based on the three-stage DEA model, total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE in 35 BRI countries in 2015 was measured in this article. It shows that the three-stage DEA model could eliminate errors of environment variable and random, which made the result better than traditional DEA model. When environment variable errors and random errors were eliminated, the mean value of TFEE was declined. It demonstrated that TFEE of the whole sample group was overestimated because of external environment impacts and random errors. The TFEE indicators of high-income countries like South Korea, Singapore, Israel and Turkey are 1, which is in the efficiency frontier. The TFEE indicators of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Poland and China are over 0.8. And the indicators of Uzbekistan, Ukraine, South Africa and Bulgaria are in a low level. The potential of energy-saving and emissions reduction is great in countries with low TFEE indicators. Because of the gap in energy efficiency, it is necessary to distinguish different countries in the energy technology options, development planning and regulation in BRI countries.

Analisis Portofolio Syariah Optimal Menggunakan Model Mean Variance Efficient Portofolio (MVEP Dengan Pendekatan Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA

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Laeli Nurani

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Penelitian ini membahas analisis portofolio syariah optimum menggunakan model Mean-Variannce Efficient Portofolio (MVEP yang proses pemilihan sahamnya menggunakan Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA dengan menggunakan kendala input (Standar Deviasi, Debt Earning Ratio, Book Value Share, Price Book Value Ratio dan kendala output (Return, Earning Per Share, Return On Equity, Return On Asset, Net Profit Margin, Price Earning Ratio. Data yang digunakan dalam Tugas Akhir ini adalah saham-saham yang terdaftar di Jakarta Islamic Index (JII periode 27 Juni 2014 – 18 Februari 2016. Hasil uji efisiensi dengan DEA-CCR dan DEA-BCC diperoleh 14 saham terpilih sebagai kandidat pembentuk portofolio, yaitu: ADRO, ASRI, BSDE INDF, INTP, ITMG, KLBF, LPKR, LSIP, PGAS, SMGR, SMRA, TLKM, dan UNVR. Dari ke-14 saham tersebut diperoleh 4 saham optimal dengan besar dana yang harus diinvestasikan pada masing-masing saham yaitu: TLKM (52%, UNVR (7%, LPKR (17% dan INDF (24% dengan ekspektasi keuntungan sebesar 0,000646 (0,06% resiko sebesar 0,01389 (1,4%.

The assignment of dissociative electron attachment bands in compounds containing hydroxyl and amino groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skalicky, Tomas; Allan, Michael

2004-01-01

Dissociative electron attachment (DEA) spectra were recorded for methanol, phenol, diethylamine, tetramethylhydrazine, piperazine, pyrrole and N,N-dimethylaniline. Comparison with He I photoelectron spectra permitted the assignment of virtually all DEA bands in the saturated compounds to core excited Feshbach resonances with double occupation of Rydberg-like orbitals and various Koopmans' states of the positive ion as a core. These resonances shift to lower energies with alkyl substitution, in contrast to the shape resonances, and are found at surprisingly low energies in the amines. The DEA spectra in the unsaturated compounds show no or only weak evidence for the Rydberg-type Feshbach resonances. It is proposed that DEA in saturated polyatomic molecules containing hydroxyl and amino groups is in general dominated by this type of resonance

Efficiency of mutual funds in Croatia: a DEA-based approach applied in the pre-crisis, crisis and post crisis period

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Margareta Gardijan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to estimate the overall performance of mutual funds in Croatia in terms of their relative efficiency based on several performance indicators using data envelopment analysis (DEA. DEA is a non-parametric method that can provide an overall relative efficiency score of a certain fund given a number of risk, cost or reward or profitability measures. Since traditional mutual fund performance indicators are mostly based on the CAPM paradigm that demands using rigid assumptions and questionable benchmarks, we endeavor to overcome the limitations of such an approach by considering more appropriate risk and reward measures, such as Expected Shortfall, stochastic dominance and higher order moments. In this way, we developed an adjusted DEA-based mutual fund performance index. The efficiency scores obtained from the DEA model help in identifying efficient funds and ranking the funds based on certain criteria. DEA also identifies mutual fund(s that can be benchmarks for other mutual funds that have similar investment strategies. These results were compared to various traditional indicators of absolute and relative risk-adjusted performance of mutual funds. The analysis was divided into three periods: the pre-crisis period, crisis period and post-crisis period with different conclusions for mutual fund performances in Croatia. The analysis includes altogether 60 UCITS funds in Croatia, in the period from the beginning of 2005 until the end of 2015, and was conducted on daily data of share prices, available from the Bloomberg terminal.

Measuring of the efficiency of bank branches on the basis of DEA approach

OpenAIRE

Korchahin, A.; Zhukau, A.

2010-01-01

The problem of the measuring of efficiency of bank branches in a bank strategic planning is considered. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is employed as a managerial tool to evaluate performance of network of bank branches.

Scaling production and improving efficiency in DEA: an interactive approach

Science.gov (United States)

Rödder, Wilhelm; Kleine, Andreas; Dellnitz, Andreas

2017-10-01

DEA models help a DMU to detect its (in-)efficiency and to improve activities, if necessary. Efficiency is only one economic aim for a decision-maker; however, up- or downsizing might be a second one. Improving efficiency is the main topic in DEA; the long-term strategy towards the right production size should attract our attention as well. Not always the management of a DMU primarily focuses on technical efficiency but rather is interested in gaining scale effects. In this paper, a formula for returns to scale (RTS) is developed, and this formula is even applicable for interior points of technology. Particularly, technical and scale inefficient DMUs need sophisticated instruments to improve their situation. Considering RTS as well as efficiency, in this paper, we give an advice for each DMU to find an economically reliable path from its actual situation to better activities and finally to most productive scale size (mpss), perhaps. For realizing this path, we propose an interactive algorithm, thus harmonizing the scientific findings and the interests of the management. Small numerical examples illustrate such paths for selected DMUs; an empirical application in theatre management completes the contribution.

Estimating Energy Consumption of Transport Modes in China Using DEA

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Weibin Lin

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The rapid growth of transport requirements in China will incur increasing transport energy demands and associated environmental pressures. In this paper, we employ a generalized data envelopment analysis (DEA to evaluate the relative energy efficiency of rail, road, aviation and water transport from 1971 to 2011 by considering the energy input and passenger-kilometers (PKM and freight ton-kilometers (TKM outputs. The results show that the optimal energy efficiencies observed in 2011 are for rail and water transport, with the opposite observed for the energy efficiencies of aviation and road transport. In addition, we extend the DEA model to estimate future transport energy consumption in China. If each transport mode in 2020 is optimized throughout the observed period, the national transport energy consumption in 2020 will reach 497,701 kilotons coal equivalent (ktce, whereas the annual growth rate from 2011 to 2020 will be 5.7%. Assuming that efficiency improvements occur in this period, the estimated national transport energy consumption in 2020 will be 443,126 ktce, whereas the annual growth rate from 2011 to 2020 will be 4.4%, which is still higher than that of the national total energy consumption (3.8%.

Saturation of drift instabilities by ExB advection of resonant electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dimits, A.M.

1990-01-01

Saturation of the collisionless and weakly collisional drift instabilities by nonlinear ExB advection of resonant electrons is considered. The nonlinear ExB advection of the resonant electrons around the O points and X points of the potential shuts off the linear phase shift between the electron density and the potential, and hence the linear growth, and produces residual oscillations at the ExB-trapping frequency. Two analytical solutions of a three-mode model of Lee et al. [Phys. Fluids 27, 2652 (1984)], which describes the saturation of drift waves by this mechanism, are found. The first is an exact solution in the form of a steadily propagating wave of constant amplitude, and is relevant when electron pitch-angle scattering is present. The second is an approximate time-dependent analytical solution, obtained using the method of O'Neil [Phys. Fluids 8, 2255 (1965)], and is relevant to the collisionless case. The predictions that follow from this solution for the saturation level and for the amplitude oscillation frequency are in excellent agreement with the direct numerical solutions of the three-mode system

A cause and effect two-stage BSC-DEA method for measuring the relative efficiency of organizations

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Seyed Esmaeel Najafi

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an integration of balanced score card (BSE with two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA. The proposed model of this paper uses different financial and non-financial perspectives to evaluate the performance of decision making units in different BSC stages. At each stage, a two-stage DEA method is implemented to measure the relative efficiency of decision making units and the results are monitored using the cause and effect relationships. An empirical study for a banking sector is also performed using the method developed in this paper and the results are briefly analyzed.

Measuring effectiveness of a university by a parallel network DEA model

Science.gov (United States)

Kashim, Rosmaini; Kasim, Maznah Mat; Rahman, Rosshairy Abd

2017-11-01

Universities contribute significantly to the development of human capital and socio-economic improvement of a country. Due to that, Malaysian universities carried out various initiatives to improve their performance. Most studies have used the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model to measure efficiency rather than effectiveness, even though, the measurement of effectiveness is important to realize how effective a university in achieving its ultimate goals. A university system has two major functions, namely teaching and research and every function has different resources based on its emphasis. Therefore, a university is actually structured as a parallel production system with its overall effectiveness is the aggregated effectiveness of teaching and research. Hence, this paper is proposing a parallel network DEA model to measure the effectiveness of a university. This model includes internal operations of both teaching and research functions into account in computing the effectiveness of a university system. In literature, the graduate and the number of program offered are defined as the outputs, then, the employed graduates and the numbers of programs accredited from professional bodies are considered as the outcomes for measuring the teaching effectiveness. Amount of grants is regarded as the output of research, while the different quality of publications considered as the outcomes of research. A system is considered effective if only all functions are effective. This model has been tested using a hypothetical set of data consisting of 14 faculties at a public university in Malaysia. The results show that none of the faculties is relatively effective for the overall performance. Three faculties are effective in teaching and two faculties are effective in research. The potential applications of the parallel network DEA model allow the top management of a university to identify weaknesses in any functions in their universities and take rational steps for improvement.

FORÓFITOS PREFERENCIAIS DE ORQUÍDEAS EPÍFITAS NA APA ILHA DO COMBU, BELÉM, PARÁ, BRASIL

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Tonny David Santiago Medeiros

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Foi avaliada a correlação da abundância de orquídeas epífitas com o tipo de casca dos forófitos e a influência do DAP sobre a abundância e a riqueza na Área de Proteção Ambiental (APA Ilha do Combu, Belém, Pará, Brasil. O estudo foi realizado em 2,85 ha, a partir da demarcação de 114 transectos de 5 m x 50 m, onde foram mensurados todos os forófitos com DAP ≥ 20 cm e anotadas as características da casca, e identificadas as orquídeas epífitas. A correlação entre o tipo de casca dos forófitos e a abundância de orquídeas foi verificada através do número de epífitas por forófitos na espécie arbórea x, e também da razão (n.° epífitas/n.° forófitos para forófitos rugosos e não-rugosos. Os diâmetros foram categorizados em classes para verificar a influência do DAP sobre a abundância e a riqueza. Trinta e cinco espécies de forófitos (73% apresentaram casca rugosa, com destaque para Hevea brasiliensis e Carapa guianensis que foram os mais amostrados (58 e 42 e mais expressivos em número de orquídeas epífitas; a razão de epífitas por forófitos foi maior em troncos com casca não-rugosa. As classes de diâmetro 2 (31,8┤ 63,7 e 3 (63,7┤ 95,5 registraram as maiores abundâncias de orquídeas epífitas. A abundância de orquídeas epífitas é influenciada pela rugosidade da casca e correlacionada aos maiores diâmetros dos forófitos. Palavras-chave: interação, hospedeiro, orquidaceae, floresta de várzea, Amazônia. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18561/2179-5746/biotaamazonia.v4n3p1-4

Nuclei and models, 2001-2003. DEA fields, particles and matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sida, J.L.

2003-01-01

This document gathers a series of 6 lessons dedicated to students in the first year of their thesis (DEA) in fields and particles physics: 1) the extent of nuclear physics, 2) the nucleus as a cluster of interacting fermions, 3) models and deformation, 4) nuclei and rotation, 5) isospin and exotic nuclei, and 6) fission reactions from the saddle point to the scission point

Electric conductivity for laboratory and field monitoring of induced partial saturation (IPS) in sands

Science.gov (United States)

Kazemiroodsari, Hadi

Liquefaction is loss of shear strength in fully saturated loose sands caused by build-up of excess pore water pressure, during moderate to large earthquakes, leading to catastrophic failures of structures. Currently used liquefaction mitigation measures are often costly and cannot be applied at sites with existing structures. An innovative, practical, and cost effective liquefaction mitigation technique titled "Induced Partial Saturation" (IPS) was developed by researchers at Northeastern University. The IPS technique is based on injection of sodium percarbonate solution into fully saturated liquefaction susceptible sand. Sodium percarbonate dissolves in water and breaks down into sodium and carbonate ions and hydrogen peroxide which generates oxygen gas bubbles. Oxygen gas bubbles become trapped in sand pores and therefore decrease the degree of saturation of the sand, increase the compressibility of the soil, thus reduce its potential for liquefaction. The implementation of IPS required the development and validation of a monitoring and evaluation technique that would help ensure that the sands are indeed partially saturated. This dissertation focuses on this aspect of the IPS research. The monitoring system developed was based on using electric conductivity fundamentals and probes to detect the transport of chemical solution, calculate degree of saturation of sand, and determine the final zone of partial saturation created by IPS. To understand the fundamentals of electric conductivity, laboratory bench-top tests were conducted using electric conductivity probes and small specimens of Ottawa sand. Bench-top tests were used to study rate of generation of gas bubbles due to reaction of sodium percarbonate solution in sand, and to confirm a theory based on which degree of saturation were calculated. In addition to bench-top tests, electric conductivity probes were used in a relatively large sand specimen prepared in a specially manufactured glass tank. IPS was

Bank performance evaluation using dynamic DEA A slacks-based measure approach

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Morteza Shafiee

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Data envelopment analysis (DEA has been applied in many studies in the banking industry but deficiency of empirical studies in Iranian banking sector that incorporate time factor into the efficiency, have still remained. Previous studies measured the efficiency of bank branches in a single period within cross-sectional data. They did not considered effect of interconnecting activities (links between two consecutive terms. The main contribution of this paper is to evaluate the efficiency of an Iranian bank using dynamic SBM model in DEA during three consecutive terms considering net profit as a good link and loan losses as a bad link. In order to realize most important variables (inputs-outputs, relative to our case, we made a checklist and distributed them among headmen of branches and arranged an interview with the CEO of bank. Dynamic SBM efficiency is compared with its static efficiency to check the validity of described model. In addition, input-bad link excesses and output-good link shortfalls (slacks are analyzed and further suggestions to the management are provided.

Measuring productivity of research in economics: A cross-country study using DEA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kocher, M.; Luptacik, M.; Sutter, M.

2006-01-01

We measure productivity in leading edge economic research by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) for a sample of 21 countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Publications in ten top journals of economics from 1980 to 1998 are taken as the research

Surface texture change on-demand and microfluidic devices based on thickness mode actuation of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs)

Science.gov (United States)

Ankit, Ankit; Nguyen, Anh Chien; Mathews, Nripan

2017-04-01

Tactile feedback devices and microfluidic devices have huge significance in strengthening the area of robotics, human machine interaction and low cost healthcare. Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEAs) are an attractive alternative for both the areas; offering the advantage of low cost and simplistic fabrication in addition to the high actuation strains. The inplane deformations produced by the DEAs can be used to produce out-of-plane deformations by what is known as the thickness mode actuation of DEAs. The thickness mode actuation is achieved by adhering a soft passive layer to the DEA. This enables a wide area of applications in tactile applications without the need of complex systems and multiple actuators. But the thickness mode actuation has not been explored enough to understand how the deformations can be improved without altering the material properties; which is often accompanied with increased cost and a trade off with other closely associated material properties. We have shown the effect of dimensions of active region and non-active region in manipulating the out-of-plane deformation. Making use of this, we have been able to demonstrate large area devices and complex patterns on the passive top layer for the surface texture change on-demand applications. We have also been able to demonstrate on-demand microfluidic channels and micro-chambers without the need of actually fabricating the channels; which is a cost incurring and cumbersome process.

A framework for performance measurement in university using extended network data envelopment analysis (DEA) structures

Science.gov (United States)

Kashim, Rosmaini; Kasim, Maznah Mat; Rahman, Rosshairy Abd

2015-12-01

Measuring university performance is essential for efficient allocation and utilization of educational resources. In most of the previous studies, performance measurement in universities emphasized the operational efficiency and resource utilization without investigating the university's ability to fulfill the needs of its stakeholders and society. Therefore, assessment of the performance of university should be separated into two stages namely efficiency and effectiveness. In conventional DEA analysis, a decision making unit (DMU) or in this context, a university is generally treated as a black-box which ignores the operation and interdependence of the internal processes. When this happens, the results obtained would be misleading. Thus, this paper suggest an alternative framework for measuring the overall performance of a university by incorporating both efficiency and effectiveness and applies network DEA model. The network DEA models are recommended because this approach takes into account the interrelationship between the processes of efficiency and effectiveness in the system. This framework also focuses on the university structure which is expanded from the hierarchical to form a series of horizontal relationship between subordinate units by assuming both intermediate unit and its subordinate units can generate output(s). Three conceptual models are proposed to evaluate the performance of a university. An efficiency model is developed at the first stage by using hierarchical network model. It is followed by an effectiveness model which take output(s) from the hierarchical structure at the first stage as a input(s) at the second stage. As a result, a new overall performance model is proposed by combining both efficiency and effectiveness models. Thus, once this overall model is realized and utilized, the university's top management can determine the overall performance of each unit more accurately and systematically. Besides that, the result from the network

Optimizing the molarity of a EDTA washing solution for saturated-soil remediation of trace metal contaminated soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrade, M.D.; Prasher, S.O.; Hendershot, W.H.

2007-01-01

Three experiments were conducted to optimize the use of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) for reclaiming urban soils contaminated with trace metals. As compared to Na 2 EDTA (NH 4 ) 2 EDTA extracted 60% more Zn and equivalent amounts of Cd, Cu and Pb from a sandy loam. When successively saturating and draining loamy sand columns during a washing cycle, which submerged it once with a (NH 4 ) 2 EDTA wash and four times with deionised water, the post-wash rinses largely contributed to the total cumulative extraction of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. Both the washing solution and the deionised water rinses were added in a 2:5 liquid to soil (L:S) weight ratio. For equal amounts of EDTA, concentrating the washing solution and applying it and the ensuing rinses in a smaller 1:5 L:S weight ratio, instead of a 2:5 L:S weight ratio, increased the extraction of targeted Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn. - A single EDTA addition is best utilised in a highly concentrated washing solution given in a small liquid to soil weight ratio

Monitorización ultrasonográfica de endarterectomía carotídea y angioplastia transluminal percutánea como procedimientos de revascularización carotídea en estenosis de alto grado de la arteria carótida interna extracraneal

OpenAIRE

Benavente Fernández, Lorena

2014-01-01

INTRODUCCIÓN El ictus aterotrombótico por ateromatosis carotídea, es el responsable del 15-20% de todos los ictus. Siendo la arteria carótida interna (ACI) un vaso principal para la irrigación del parénquima cerebral, cuando dicha ateromatosis condiciona una estenosis significativa con alto riesgo tromboembólico se plantea la necesidad de un tratamiento revascularizador. La endarterectomía carotídea (EAC) y la angioplastia endoluminal (ASC) con o sin implante de stent son las dos opciones ...

Effect of Cr on the passive film formation mechanism of steel rebar in saturated calcium hydroxide solution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Ming; Cheng, Xuequn [Corrosion and Protection Center, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083 (China); Li, Xiaogang, E-mail: lixiaogang@ustb.edu.cn [Corrosion and Protection Center, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083 (China); Ningbo Institute of Material Technology & Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, 315201, Zhejiang (China); Pan, Yue; Li, Jun [Corrosion and Protection Center, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083 (China)

2016-12-15

Highlights: • Cr inhibits the formation of passive film at the beginning of its formation. • Cr promotes the formation of a denser and more compact passive film. • The passive film thickness presents a slight increase as the content of Cr goes up. - Abstract: Passive films grow on the surface of Cr-modified steels subjected to saturated Ca(OH){sub 2} solution. Electrochemical techniques, such as measurement of open circuit potentials, polarization curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy combined with X-ray photoelectron spectrometer and auger electron spectroscopy, were applied to study the influence of low Cr content on the passive film formation mechanism of steel rebar in saturated Ca(OH){sub 2} solution. Results show that Cr inhibits the formation of passive film at the beginning of its formation. Corrosion current density decreases and polarization resistance increases with the extension of the immersion time. A stable passive film takes at least three days to form. The passive film resistance of HRB400 carbon steel is higher than that of Cr-modified steels in the early stage of immersion (<72 h). The polarization resistance of Cr-modified steel is larger after a stable passive film is formed (>72 h), and Cr promotes the formation of a denser and more compact passive film. The stable passive film is primarily made up of iron oxides with a thickness of 5–6 nm. Cr are involved in the formation of passive films, thereby resulting in a film that consists of an inner layer that contains Cr–Fe oxides and an outer layer that contains Fe oxides, whose thickness presents a slight increase as the content of Cr increases.

Thermodynamically coupled mass transport processes in a saturated clay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carnahan, C.L.

1984-01-01

Gradients of temperature, pressure, and fluid composition in saturated clays give rise to coupled transport processes (thermal and chemical osmosis, thermal diffusion, ultrafiltration) in addition to the direct processes (advection and diffusion). One-dimension transport of water and a solute in a saturated clay subjected to mild gradients of temperature and pressure was simulated numerically. When full coupling was accounted for, volume flux (specific discharge) was controlled by thermal osmosis and chemical osmosis. The two coupled fluxes were oppositely directed, producing a point of stagnation within the clay column. Solute flows were dominated by diffusion, chemical osmosis, and thermal osmosis. Chemical osmosis produced a significant flux of solute directed against the gradient of solute concentration; this effect reduced solute concentrations relative to the case without coupling. Predictions of mass transport in clays at nuclear waste repositories could be significantly in error if coupled transport processes are not accounted for. 14 refs., 8 figs

Thermodynamically coupled mass transport processes in a saturated clay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carnahan, C.L.

1984-11-01

Gradients of temperature, pressure, and fluid composition in saturated clays give rise to coupled transport processes (thermal and chemical osmosis, thermal diffusion, ultrafiltration) in addition to the direct processes (advection and diffusion). One-dimensional transport of water and a solute in a saturated clay subjected to mild gradients of temperature and pressure was simulated numerically. When full coupling was accounted for, volume flux (specific discharge) was controlled by thermal osmosis and chemical osmosis. The two coupled fluxes were oppositely directed, producing a point of stagnation within the clay column. Solute flows were dominated by diffusion, chemical osmosis, and thermal osmosis. Chemical osmosis produced a significant flux of solute directed against the gradient of solute concentration; this effect reduced solute concentrations relative to the case without coupling. Predictions of mass transport in clays at nuclear waste repositories could be significantly in error if coupled transport processes are not accounted for. 14 references, 8 figures, 1 table

The integrated application of the AHP and DEA methods in evaluating the performances of higher education institutions in the Republic of Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Predrag Mimovic

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The measurement and evaluation of performance are critical for the efficient and effective functioning of the economic system, because this allows for the analysis of the extent to which the defined objectives are achieved. Organizational performance is measured by different methods, both quantitative and qualitative. Many of the known methods for the evaluation and measurement of organizational performance take into account only financial indicators, while ignoring the non-financial ones. The integration of both indicators, through the combined application of multiple methods and the comparison of their results, should provide a more complete and objective picture of organizational performance. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP is a formal framework for solving complex decision-making problems, as well as a systemic procedure for the hierarchical presentation of the problem elements. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA is a non-parametric approach based on linear programming, which allows for the calculation of the efficiency of decision-making units within a group of organizations. The work is an illustration of the method and framework of the combined use of the multi-criteria analysis methods for the measurement and evaluation of the performance of higher education institutions in the Republic of Serbia. The advantages of this approach are reflected in overcoming the shortcomings of a partial application of the AHP and the DEA methods by utilizing a new, hybrid, DEAHP (Data Envelopment Analytic Hierarchy Process method. Performance evaluation through an integrated application of the AHP and the DEA methods provides more objective results and more reliable solutions to the observed problem, thus creating a valuable information base for high-quality strategic decision making in higher education institutions, both at the national level and at the level of individual institutions.

Evaluation and selection of sustainable suppliers in supply chain using new GP-DEA model with imprecise data

Science.gov (United States)

Jafarzadeh Ghoushchi, Saeid; Dodkanloi Milan, Mehran; Jahangoshai Rezaee, Mustafa

2017-11-01

Nowadays, with respect to knowledge growth about enterprise sustainability, sustainable supplier selection is considered a vital factor in sustainable supply chain management. On the other hand, usually in real problems, the data are imprecise. One method that is helpful for the evaluation and selection of the sustainable supplier and has the ability to use a variety of data types is data envelopment analysis (DEA). In the present article, first, the supplier efficiency is measured with respect to all economic, social and environmental dimensions using DEA and applying imprecise data. Then, to have a general evaluation of the suppliers, the DEA model is developed using imprecise data based on goal programming (GP). Integrating the set of criteria changes the new model into a coherent framework for sustainable supplier selection. Moreover, employing this model in a multilateral sustainable supplier selection can be an incentive for the suppliers to move towards environmental, social and economic activities. Improving environmental, economic and social performance will mean improving the supply chain performance. Finally, the application of the proposed approach is presented with a real dataset.

UV saturable absorber for short-pulse KrF laser systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishioka, H; Kuranishi, H; Ueda, K; Takuma, H

1989-07-01

A derivative of the linear tricyclic compound, acridine, is shown to be useful as a saturable absorber for short-pulse KrF lasers. The saturation characteristics and absorption recovery of a methanol solution of acridine for a 20-psec KrF laser pulse are reported. We obtain a saturation fluence of 1.2 mJ/cm(2) and a ratio of the primary to the excited absorption cross section of 6.25:1.

Saturated-unsaturated flow to a partially penetrating well with storage in a compressible aquifer

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, P. K.; Neuman, S. P.

2010-12-01

Mishra and Neuman [2010] developed an analytical solution for flow to a partially penetrating well of zero radius in a compressible unconfined aquifer that allows inferring its saturated and unsaturated hydraulic properties from responses recorded in the saturated and/or the unsaturated zone. We extend their solution to the case of a finite diameter pumping well with storage. Both solutions account for horizontal as well as vertical flows throughout the system. We investigate the effects of storage in the pumping well and delayed piezometer response on drawdowns in the saturated and unsaturated zones as functions of position and time; validate our solution against numerical simulations of drawdown in a synthetic aquifer having unsaturated properties described by the van Genuchten - Mualem constitutive model; and use our solution to analyze drawdown data from a pumping test conducted at the Borden site in Ontario, Canada.

Energy and environment efficiency analysis based on an improved environment DEA cross-model: Case study of complex chemical processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geng, ZhiQiang; Dong, JunGen; Han, YongMing; Zhu, QunXiong

2017-01-01

Highlights: •An improved environment DEA cross-model method is proposed. •Energy and environment efficiency analysis framework of complex chemical processes is obtained. •This proposed method is efficient in energy-saving and emission reduction of complex chemical processes. -- Abstract: The complex chemical process is a high pollution and high energy consumption industrial process. Therefore, it is very important to analyze and evaluate the energy and environment efficiency of the complex chemical process. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of decision-making units (DMUs). However, the traditional DEA method usually cannot genuinely distinguish the effective and inefficient DMU due to its extreme or unreasonable weight distribution of input and output variables. Therefore, this paper proposes an energy and environment efficiency analysis method based on an improved environment DEA cross-model (DEACM) method. The inputs of the complex chemical process are divided into energy and non-energy inputs. Meanwhile, the outputs are divided into desirable and undesirable outputs. And then the energy and environment performance index (EEPI) based on the cross evaluation is used to represent the overall performance of each DMU. Moreover, the improvement direction of energy-saving and carbon emission reduction of each inefficiency DMU is quantitatively obtained based on the self-evaluation model of the improved environment DEACM. The results show that the improved environment DEACM method has a better effective discrimination than the original DEA method by analyzing the energy and environment efficiency of the ethylene production process in complex chemical processes, and it can obtain the potential of energy-saving and carbon emission reduction of ethylene plants, especially the improvement direction of inefficient DMUs to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emission.

Negative Saturation Approach for Non-Isothermal Compositional Two-Phase Flow Simulations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salimi, H.; Wolf, K.H.; Bruining, J.

2011-01-01

This article deals with developing a solution approach, called the non-isothermal negative saturation (NegSat) solution approach. The NegSat solution approach solves efficiently any non-isothermal compositional flow problem that involves phase disappearance, phase appearance, and phase transition.

Eco-efficiency analysis of Spanish WWTPs using the LCA + DEA method.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenzo-Toja, Yago; Vázquez-Rowe, Ian; Chenel, Sergio; Marín-Navarro, Desirée; Moreira, María Teresa; Feijoo, Gumersindo

2015-01-01

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are regarded as units designed for the efficient removal of organic matter and nutrients from polluted wastewaters, avoiding their discharge into the environment. Despite these benefits, they have also been found to be highly energy intensive, with consequent increased emissions in terms of greenhouse gases and other environmental impacts. Therefore, it has become imperative to monitor thoroughly the overall functioning of WWTPs from an integrated perspective with the aim of understanding how these can improve their eco-efficiency. In this case study, a group of 113 WWTPs located in regions across Spain were analysed using the methodology that combines life cycle assessment (LCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). The aim of this work was to determine the operational efficiency of each unit in order to obtain environmental benchmarks for inefficient plants. Thereafter, the environmental gains linked with the inputs reduction proposed for the DEA model for each unit were computed in order to verify eco-efficiency criteria. The operational complexity of WWTPs resulted in several identified factors affecting their efficiency which are discussed in depth, including the size of the facility, the climatic influence, the influent load and the over- or underuse of the plant.

Evaluation of Performance of Investment Funds Based on Decision Models (DEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alireza Samet

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Selection of a suitable investment funds is very important from investors' point of view and may have a significant impact on the profit or loss of the funds. Therefore, evaluation of performance of investment funds to choose the most suitable fund will be given special emphasis. One of the new techniques for evaluating the performance of the Funds based on efficiency is the Data Envelopment Analysis technique. Accordingly, the present study is aimed to analyze and evaluate the performance of investment Funds in capital market of Iran, using the technique of efficiency evaluation through data envelopment analysis technique (DEA. This research is a descriptive - applicable study and to analyze the efficiency and effectiveness, 53 investment funds in the capital market of Iran in 2013 were considered as the sample. To analyze the efficiency of these funds, data envelopment analysis (DEA is used. Research findings showed that in 2013, of a total of 53 examined funds, 11 funds were in the efficiency situation and the other 42 funds were in a state of inefficiency. Also the reference funds and virtual composited funds of all inefficient funds were evaluated.

SATURATED ZONE IN-SITU TESTING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

P.W. REIMUS

2004-11-08

transfer coefficients, and colloid transport parameters. (4) Comparisons of sorption parameter estimates for a reactive solute tracer (lithium ion) derived from the C-wells field tracer tests and laboratory tests using C-wells core samples. (5) Sorption parameter estimates for lithium ion derived from laboratory tests using alluvium samples from ATC well NC-EWDP-19D. These estimates will allow a comparison of laboratory- and field-derived sorption parameters to be made in saturated alluvium if cross-hole tracer tests are conducted at the ATC.

SATURATED ZONE IN-SITU TESTING

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

REIMUS, P.W.

2004-01-01

transport parameters. (4) Comparisons of sorption parameter estimates for a reactive solute tracer (lithium ion) derived from the C-wells field tracer tests and laboratory tests using C-wells core samples. (5) Sorption parameter estimates for lithium ion derived from laboratory tests using alluvium samples from ATC well NC-EWDP-19D. These estimates will allow a comparison of laboratory- and field-derived sorption parameters to be made in saturated alluvium if cross-hole tracer tests are conducted at the ATC

Avaliação carotídea em doentes submetidos a revascularização miocárdica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiz Roberto Felizzola

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Como a doença carotídea é a principal causa isolada de acidente vascular cerebral de origem tromboembólica, acredita-se ser imprescindível o seu diagnóstico precoce. O presente estudo tem por objetivo realizá-lo, mantendo os conceitos de praticidade e viabilidade econômica, adequando-se às condições socioeconômicas desfavoráveis locais. MÉTODO: No período de 18 meses foram avaliados 50 doentes, sendo 35 homens e 15 mulheres, com média de idade de 67,2 anos. Todos apresentavam indicação de revascularização miocárdica, considerados coronariopatas graves. Avaliou-se a incidência e o grau de estenose carotídea com base no mapeamento dúplex. Da mesma forma, foi avaliada a relação com possíveis fatores de risco: diabetes melito, hipertensão arterial sistêmica, tabagismo, sintomatologia neurológica focal prévia, doença arterial troncular dos membros inferiores e presença de sopro carotídeo. RESULTADOS: A incidência de estenose carotídea hemodinamicamente significativa (>50% foi de 48%, e crítica (>70% de 32%. Mostraram-se fatores de risco estatisticamente significativos, antecedentes de diabetes melito, sintomatologia neurológica focal prévia, presença de sopro carotídeo e presença de alterações arteriais tronculares dos membros inferiores. CONCLUSÃO: Concluiu-se que no grupo estudado houve aumento significativo de risco para estenose carotídea hemodinamicamente significativa e crítica, em relação à população geral. Desta forma, justifica-se o rastreamento ultra-sonográfico para doença carotídea em doentes coronariopatas, principalmente quando os fatores de risco significativos se fizerem presentes.

Selected Private Higher Educational Institutions in Metro Manila: A DEA Efficiency Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

de Guzman, Maria Corazon Gwendolyn N.; Cabana, Emilyn

2009-01-01

This paper measures the technical efficiency of 16 selected colleges and universities in Metro Manila, Philippines, using academic data for the SY 2001-2005. Using the data envelopment analysis (DEA), on average, schools posted 0.807 index score and need additional 19.3% efficiency growth to be efficient. Overall, there are top four efficient…

Two-beam interaction in saturable media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schjødt-Eriksen, Jens; Schmidt, Michel R.; Juul Rasmussen, Jens

1998-01-01

The dynamics of two coupled soliton solutions of the nonlinear Schrodinger equation with a saturable nonlinearity is investigated It is shown by means of a variational method and by direct numerical calculations that two well-separated solitons can orbit around each other, if their initial velocity...

Schedules of Controlled Substances: Placement of FDA-Approved Products of Oral Solutions Containing Dronabinol [(-)-delta-9-transtetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC)] in Schedule II. Interim final rule, with request for comments.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-23

On July 1, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug application for Syndros, a drug product consisting of dronabinol [(-)-delta-9-trans-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC)] oral solution. Thereafter, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with a scheduling recommendation that would result in Syndros (and other oral solutions containing dronabinol) being placed in schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In accordance with the CSA, as revised by the Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act, DEA is hereby issuing an interim final rule placing FDA-approved products of oral solutions containing dronabinol in schedule II of the CSA.

Aspectos Fisiológicos de Orquídeas Cortadas.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Fabrino Machado Mattiuz

2006-06-01

Full Text Available A família Orchidaceae possui grande diversidade de espécies e híbridos, suas flores destacam-se pelo tamanho, forma e combinação de cores, características que contribuem cada vez mais para a sua apreciação. Na Floricultura, é muito apreciada como planta envasada, e, atualmente, devido ao aumento da demanda de material cortado para exportação, o cultivo de espécies com características para o corte tem sido considerado promissor principalmente para orquídeas dos gêneros Oncidium, Cymbidium, Dendrobium, Phalaenopsis e Catleya. No entanto, o material para corte ainda permanece aquém de sua potencialidade, havendo poucas informações disponíveis para o aprimoramento das técnicas de pós-colheita. A perda da qualidade das flores cortadas está relacionada com vários processos fisiológicos, com possíveis interações entre os diversos componentes florais e também com fatores qualitativos. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo informar aspectos da fisiologia póscolheita de orquídeas para corte, relacionados com a manutenção da qualidade e longevidade floral; como a senescência, estádio de desenvolvimento, relações hídricas, respiração, substratos de reserva, bloqueio vascular e hormônios vegetais.

Seized Drugs and Weapons: DEA Needs to Improve Certain Physical Safeguards and Strength Accountability

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1999-01-01

This report focuses on DEAs controls over seized drugs and weapons. There is an inherent risk of theft, misuse, and loss of drugs and weapons due to the fact that such evidence typically has a market or "street" value...

Relative efficiency of the electric power distribution sector in Peru: an application of data envelopment analysis (DEA)

OpenAIRE

Bonifaz, José Luis; Santin, Daniel

2000-01-01

El objetivo de este estudio es analizar empíricamente la eficiencia técnica relativa de las empresas que operaron en el sector de distribución de energía eléctrica en el Perú, en el período 1995-1998. La metodología empleada para estimar la eficiencia técnica se basa en el análisis envolvente de datos (DEA). La DEA construye, mediante técnicas de programación lineal y a partir de las mejores prácticas observadas, la frontera de producción con respecto a la cual se evalúa la eficiencia de cada...

Limitations of amorphous content quantification by isothermal calorimetry using saturated salt solutions to control relative humidity: alternative methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Khalef, Nawel; Pinal, Rodolfo; Bakri, Aziz

2010-04-01

Despite the high sensitivity of isothermal calorimetry (IC), reported measurements of amorphous content by this technique show significant variability even for the same compound. An investigation into the reasons behind such variability is presented using amorphous lactose and salbutamol sulfate as model compounds. An analysis was carried out on the heat evolved as a result of the exchange of water vapor between the solid sample during crystallization and the saline solution reservoir. The use of saturated salt solutions as means of control of the vapor pressure of water within sealed ampoules bears inherent limitations that lead in turn to the variability associated with the IC technique. We present an alternative IC method, based on an open cell configuration that effectively addresses the limitations encountered with the sealed ampoule system. The proposed approach yields an integral whose value is proportional to the amorphous content in the sample, thus enabling reliable and consistent quantifications. 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association

EFISIENSI PERBANKAN DI INDONESIA DAN PENGARUHNYA TERHADAP RETURN SAHAM DENGAN PENDEKATAN DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS ( DEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rina Sari Qurniawati

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to analyze bank efficiency listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX and to empirically determine the effect of bank efficiency listed in BEI toward stock performance reflected in stock returns. The sampling is bank listed in IDX from 2004 until 2008. DEA is used to measure the bank efficiency from each Decision Making Units  (DMUs,which is obtained as the maximum weight ratio of outputs and inputs. The result of banks efficiency using DEA approach indicated that most of Bank in Indonesia is efficient. Only 6 banks from 16 banks which have not yet reached the efficiency score over the 5 years. Meanwhile, the regression test did not revealed any effect of the bank efficiency in Indonesia toward stock return.

DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) assessment of operational and environmental efficiencies on Japanese regional industries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goto, Mika; Otsuka, Akihiro; Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki

2014-01-01

A balance between industrial pollution and economic growth becomes a major policy issue to attain a sustainable society in the world. To discuss the problem from economics and business perspectives, this study proposes a new use of DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) as a methodology for unified (operational and environmental) assessment. A unique feature of the proposed approach is that it separates outputs into desirable and undesirable categories. Such separation is important because energy industries usually produce both desirable and undesirable outputs. This study discusses how to unify the two types of outputs under natural and managerial disposability. The proposed DEA approach evaluates various organizations by the three efficiency measures such as OE (Operational Efficiency), UEN (Unified Efficiency under Natural disposability) and UENM (Unified Efficiency under Natural and Managerial disposability). An important feature of UENM is that it separates inputs into two categories and unifies them under the two disposability concepts in addition to the proposed output separation and unification. This study incorporates an amount of capital assets for technology innovation, as one of the two input group, into the measurement of UENM. Then, it compares UENM with the other two efficiency measures. This study is the first research effort in which DEA has an analytical capability to quantify the importance of investment on capital assets for technology innovation. To confirm the practicality of the proposed approach, this study applies the three efficiency measures to a data set regarding manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries of 47 prefectures in Japan. This study empirically confirms the validity of Porter hypothesis in Japanese manufacturing industries, so implying that environmental regulation has been effective for betterment on the performance of Japanese manufacturing industries. Another important finding is that the emission of greenhouse gases is a

The effect of temperature and concentration on the corrosion inhibition mechanism of an amphiphilic amido-amine in CO2 saturated solution

OpenAIRE

Desimone, Paula Mariela; Gordillo, Gabriel Jorge; Simison, Silvia Noemi

2017-01-01

The corrosion inhibition mechanism of the N-[2-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]ethyl]-9-octadecenamide on mild steel surface in CO2-saturated 5% NaCl solution has been studied. The inhibition efficiency decreases with increasing temperature. Adsorption of the inhibitor studied is found to follow the Frumkin adsorption isotherm. EIS results show that the mechanism of its corrosion inhibition at concentrations higher than critical micelle concentration is by forming a protective porous bi-layer. The a...

A BSC-DEA approach to measure the relative efficiency of service industry: A case study of banking sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. B. Aryanezhad

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Performance evaluation plays an important role in determining faults and difficulties of any organization as well as attempting to increase capabilities and improve activities. Data envelopment analysis (DEA, as a non-parametric method, has been one of the most important and significant management tools for measuring output or efficiency. In this paper, we propose a method to utilize balanced score card (BSC as a tool for designing performance evaluation indices of an organization. The integrated BSC-DEA has been applied as an empirical case for a major private bank organization and the results are analyzed.

Silício na micropropagação de orquídeas: características morfofisiológicas

OpenAIRE

Soares, Joyce Dória Rodrigues

2013-01-01

O cultivo in vitro de espécies de orquídeas constitui a base para a propagação massal de mudas livre de doenças. Este trabalho objetivou estudar o desenvolvimento fitotécnico, o comportamento fisiológico e ultraestrutural em orquídeas micropropagadas. Três experimentos foram realizados, os quais avaliaram: 1) concentrações de silício e qualidade de luz no cultivo in vitro; 2) anatomia de espécies híbrida e nativa sob concentrações de silicio; 3) estiolamento e luz artificial na multiplicação ...

Economic Feasibility Analysis for Renewable Energy Project Using an Integrated TFN–AHP–DEA Approach on the Basis of Consumer Utility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu Gan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A renewable energy (RE project has been brought into focus in recent years. Although there is quite a lot of research to assist investors in assessing the economic feasibility of the project, because of the lack of consideration of consumer utility, the existing approaches may still cause a biased result. In order to promote further development, this study focuses on the economic feasibility analysis of the RE project on the basis of consumer utility in the whole life cycle. Therefore, an integrated approach is proposed, which consists of triangular fuzzy numbers (TFNs, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP and data envelopment analysis (DEA. The first step is to determine the comprehensive cost index weights of DEA by TFN–AHP. Secondly, to solve the problem, the first DEA model, which is proposed by A. Charnes, W. W. Cooper and E. Rhodes (C2R, is established to calculate the DEA effectiveness. Then, the third task involves designing a computer-based intelligent interface (CBII to simplify realistic application and ensure performance efficiency. Finally, a solar water heater case study is demonstrated to validate the effectiveness of the entire method’s system. The study shows that this could make investors’ lives easier by using the CBII scientifically, reasonably and conveniently. Moreover, the research results could be easily extended to more complex real-world applications.

Transport and Retention of TiO2 Rutile Nanoparticles in Saturated Porous Media: Influence of Solution pH, Ionic Strength, and the Presence of Humic Acid

Science.gov (United States)

The influence of solution pH, ionic strength, and varying concentrations of the Suwannee River Humic Acid (SRHA) on the transport of titanium dioxide (TiO2, rutile) nanoparticle aggregates (nTiO2) in saturated porous media was investigated through systematically examining the tra...

Interrelated temperature dependence of bulk etch rate and track length saturation time in CR-39 detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azooz, A.A.; Al-Jubbori, M.A.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • New empirical parameterization of CR-39 bulk etch rate. • Bulk etch rates measurements using two different methods give consistent results. • Temperature independence of track saturation length. • Two empirical relation between bulk etch rate and temperature are suggested. • Simple inverse relation between bulk etch rate and track saturation time. -- Abstract: Experimental measurements of the etching solution temperature dependence of bulk etch rate using two independent methods revealed a few interesting properties. It is found that while the track saturation length is independent of etching temperature, the etching time needed to reach saturation is strongly temperature-dependent. It is demonstrated that there is systematic simple inverse relation between track saturation time, and etching solution temperature. In addition, and although, the relation between the bulk etch rate and etching solution temperature can be reasonably described by a modified form of the Arrhenius equation, better fits can be obtained by another equation suggested in this work

Effect of solution saturation state and temperature on diopside dissolution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carroll Susan A

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Steady-state dissolution rates of diopside are measured as a function of solution saturation state using a titanium flow-through reactor at pH 7.5 and temperature ranging from 125 to 175°C. Diopside dissolved stoichiometrically under all experimental conditions and rates were not dependent on sample history. At each temperature, rates continuously decreased by two orders of magnitude as equilibrium was approached and did not exhibit a dissolution plateau of constant rates at high degrees of undersaturation. The variation of diopside dissolution rates with solution saturation can be described equally well with a ion exchange model based on transition state theory or pit nucleation model based on crystal growth/dissolution theory from 125 to 175°C. At 175°C, both models over predict dissolution rates by two orders of magnitude indicating that a secondary phase precipitated in the experiments. The ion exchange model assumes the formation of a Si-rich, Mg-deficient precursor complex. Lack of dependence of rates on steady-state aqueous calcium concentration supports the formation of such a complex, which is formed by exchange of protons for magnesium ions at the surface. Fit to the experimental data yields Rate (moldiopsidecm−2s−1=k×10−Ea/2.303RT(aH+2aMg2+n MathType@MTEF@5@5@+=feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfKttLearuWrP9MDH5MBPbIqV92AaeXatLxBI9gBaebbnrfifHhDYfgasaacH8akY=wiFfYdH8Gipec8Eeeu0xXdbba9frFj0=OqFfea0dXdd9vqai=hGuQ8kuc9pgc9s8qqaq=dirpe0xb9q8qiLsFr0=vr0=vr0dc8meaabaqaciaacaGaaeqabaqabeGadaaakeaaieaacqWFsbGucqWFHbqycqWF0baDcqWFLbqzcqqGGaaicqGGOaakcqWFTbqBcqWFVbWBcqWFSbaBcqWFGaaicqWFKbazcqWFPbqAcqWFVbWBcqWFWbaCcqWFZbWCcqWFPbqAcqWFKbazcqWFLbqzcqWFGaaicqWFJbWycqWFTbqBdaahaaWcbeqaaiabgkHiTiabikdaYaaakiab=bcaGiab=nhaZnaaCaaaleqabaGaeyOeI0IaeGymaedaaOGaeiykaKIaeyypa0Jaem4AaSMaey41aqRaeeymaeJaeeimaaZaaWbaaSqabeaacqGHsislcqWGfbqrdaWgaaadbaGaemyyaegabeaaliabc+caViabikdaYiabc6ca

Effectiveness of maritime safety control in different navigation zones using a spatial sequential DEA model: Yangtze River case.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Bing; Wang, Yang; Zhang, Jinfen; Savan, Emanuel Emil; Yan, Xinping

2015-08-01

This paper aims to analyze the effectiveness of maritime safety control from the perspective of safety level along the Yangtze River with special considerations for navigational environments. The influencing variables of maritime safety are reviewed, including ship condition, maritime regulatory system, human reliability and navigational environment. Because the former three variables are generally assumed to be of the same level of safety, this paper focuses on studying the impact of navigational environments on the level of safety in different waterways. An improved data envelopment analysis (DEA) model is proposed by treating the navigational environment factors as inputs and ship accident data as outputs. Moreover, because the traditional DEA model cannot provide an overall ranking of different decision making units (DMUs), the spatial sequential frontiers and grey relational analysis are incorporated into the DEA model to facilitate a refined assessment. Based on the empirical study results, the proposed model is able to solve the problem of information missing in the prior models and evaluate the level of safety with a better accuracy. The results of the proposed DEA model are further compared with an evidential reasoning (ER) method, which has been widely used for level of safety evaluations. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted to better understand the relationship between the variation of navigational environments and level of safety. The sensitivity analysis shows that the level of safety varies in terms of traffic flow. It indicates that appropriate traffic control measures should be adopted for different waterways to improve their safety. This paper presents a practical method of conducting maritime level of safety assessments under dynamic navigational environment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efficiency measurement of Swiss shopping centers using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

OpenAIRE

Alexandra Bay

2015-01-01

DEA as an Operations Research based linear programming approach for evaluating the relative performance of homogenous Decision Making Units (DMUs) is applied to Swiss shopping centers. Output-to-input efficiency ratios – as for example the sales productivity – incorporate one output (sales) and one input (sales area). Peer group comparisons (efficiency rankings) are difficult if multiple inputs and / or multiple outputs of different kind of data (quantitative, qualitative, categorical etc.) o...

DEA-Risk Efficiency and Stochastic Dominance Efficiency of Stock Indices

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Branda, M.; Kopa, Miloš

2012-01-01

Roč. 62, č. 2 (2012), s. 106-124 ISSN 0015-1920 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP402/10/1610 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GAP402/12/0558 Program:GA Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Data Envelopment Analysis * Risk measures * Index efficiency * Stochastic dominance Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research Impact factor: 0.340, year: 2012 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2012/E/branda-dea-risk efficiency and stochastic dominance efficiency of stock indices.pdf

Environmental efficiency analysis of transportation system in China: A non-radial DEA approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Young-Tae; Zhang, Ning; Danao, Denise; Zhang, Nan

2013-01-01

Many countries are worried about reducing energy consumption and environmental pollution while increasing the productivity and efficiency of their industries. This study intends to contribute to the literature by proposing a non-radial DEA model with the slacks-based measure (SBM) to analyze the environmental efficiency of China's transportation sector. The results show that most of the provinces in China do not have an eco-efficient transportation industry. The environmental efficiency levels in most of the provinces are lower than 50% of the ideal or target level. Therefore, China's transportation industry is environmentally very inefficient. China can reduce a great deal of carbon emissions in each province ranging from at least 1.6 million TOEs in Qinghai and at most 33 million TOEs in Guangdong and Shanghai. - Highlights: • Propose a non-radial DEA model with the slacks-based measure. • Analyze the environmental efficiency of China's transportation sector. • China's transportation industry is environmentally very inefficient. • Millions of TOE carbon emissions can be reduced in most of the provinces

What is the best practice for benchmark regulation of electricity distribution? Comparison of DEA, SFA and StoNED methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuosmanen, Timo; Saastamoinen, Antti; Sipiläinen, Timo

2013-01-01

Electricity distribution is a natural local monopoly. In many countries, the regulators of this sector apply frontier methods such as data envelopment analysis (DEA) or stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to estimate the efficient cost of operation. In Finland, a new StoNED method was adopted in 2012. This paper compares DEA, SFA and StoNED in the context of regulating electricity distribution. Using data from Finland, we compare the impacts of methodological choices on cost efficiency estimates and acceptable cost. While the efficiency estimates are highly correlated, the cost targets reveal major differences. In addition, we examine performance of the methods by Monte Carlo simulations. We calibrate the data generation process (DGP) to closely match the empirical data and the model specification of the regulator. We find that the StoNED estimator yields a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 4% with the sample size 100. Precision improves as the sample size increases. The DEA estimator yields an RMSE of approximately 10%, but performance deteriorates as the sample size increases. The SFA estimator has an RMSE of 144%. The poor performance of SFA is due to the wrong functional form and multicollinearity. - Highlights: • We compare DEA, SFA and StoNED methods in the context of regulation of electricity distribution. • Both empirical comparisons and Monte Carlo simulations are presented. • Choice of benchmarking method has a significant economic impact on the regulatory outcomes. • StoNED yields the most precise results in the Monte Carlo simulations. • Five lessons concerning heterogeneity, noise, frontier, simulations, and implementation

Winners in the urban champions league – A performance assessment of Japanese cities by means of dynamic and super-efficient DEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soushi Suzuki

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to provide an advanced dynamic efficiency assessment methodology for city performance strategies in Japan, based on an extended and super-efficient Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA. The use of this novel efficiency-improving approach originates from earlier research based on the so-called Distance Friction Minimisation (DFM method. In the present study we develop a new multi-period model from a blend of a Target-Oriented (TO DFM model including a dynamic approach. This new model is able to present a more realistic efficiency improvement projection comprising a dynamic system of target-settings to achieve a target improvement level so as to programme more realistic policy actions. The above-mentioned Dynamic TO-DFM model will be applied to and tested for a multi-dimensional efficiency assessment of several large Japanese cities. In this study, we consider due to comparative data limitations, two inputs (population and city budget and two outputs (GDP and tax revenues. Based on these items, this study assesses the relative economic performance of 16 Japanese big cities by means of the above described, extended super-efficient DEA model. Finally, we present an efficiency improvement programme based on the Dynamic TO-DFM model for enhancing the position of inefficient cites. Keywords: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA, Distance Friction Minimization (DFM, super-efficiency, Target-oriented (TO model, Dynamic DEA model, performance assessment, Japanese cities

A multiplicative environmental DEA approach to measure efficiency changes in the world's major polluters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valadkhani, Abbas; Roshdi, Israfil; Smyth, Russell

2016-01-01

We propose a multiplicative environmental data envelopment analysis (ME-DEA) approach to measure the performance of 46 countries that generate most of the world's carbon dioxide (CO_2) emissions. In the model, we combine economic (labour and capital), environmental (freshwater) and energy inputs with a desirable output (GDP) and three undesirable outputs (CO_2, methane and nitrous oxide emissions). We rank each country according to the optimum use of its resources employing a multiplicative extension of environmental DEA models. By computing partial efficiency scores for each input and output separately, we thus identify major sources of inefficiency for all sample countries. Based on the partial efficiency scores obtained from the model, we define aggregate economic, energy and environmental efficiency indexes for 2002, 2007 and 2011, reflecting points in time before and after the official enactment of the Kyoto Protocol. We find that for most countries efficiency scores increase over this period. In addition, there exists a positive relationship between economic and environmental efficiency, although, at the same time, our results suggest that environmental efficiency cannot be realized without first reaching a certain threshold of economic efficiency. We also find support for the Paradox of Plenty, whereby an abundance of natural and energy resources results in their inefficient use. - Highlights: • This study proposes a multiplicative extension of environmental DEA models. • We examine how countries utilize energy, labour, capital and freshwater over time. • We measure how efficiently countries minimize the emissions of greenhouse gases. • Results support the Paradox of Plenty among 46 countries in 2002, 2007 and 2011. • Countries richest in oil and gas exhibited the worst energy efficiency.

The vapour pressures over saturated aqueous solutions of DL-2-aminobutyric acid, 4-aminobutyric acid, sodium-D-gluconate, sodium hippurate, and potassium magnesium-L-aspartate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apelblat, Alexander; Korin, Eli

2008-01-01

Vapour pressures of water over saturated solutions of DL-2-aminobutyric acid, 4-aminobutyric acid, sodium-D-gluconate, sodium hippurate, and potassium magnesium-L-aspartate were determined over the (278 to 322) K temperature range. The determined vapour pressures were used to obtain the water activities, the molar enthalpies of vaporization, and the osmotic coefficients of sodium-D-gluconate

The vapour pressures over saturated aqueous solutions of DL-2-aminobutyric acid, 4-aminobutyric acid, sodium-D-gluconate, sodium hippurate, and potassium magnesium-L-aspartate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Apelblat, Alexander [Department of Chemical Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105 (Israel)], E-mail: apelblat@bgu.ac.il; Korin, Eli [Department of Chemical Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105 (Israel)

2008-05-15

Vapour pressures of water over saturated solutions of DL-2-aminobutyric acid, 4-aminobutyric acid, sodium-D-gluconate, sodium hippurate, and potassium magnesium-L-aspartate were determined over the (278 to 322) K temperature range. The determined vapour pressures were used to obtain the water activities, the molar enthalpies of vaporization, and the osmotic coefficients of sodium-D-gluconate.

A robust AHP-DEA method for measuring the relative efficiency: An application of airport industry

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Amin Foroughi

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Measuring the relative efficiency of similar units has been an important topic of research among many researchers. Data envelopment analysis has been one of the most important techniques for measuring the efficiency of different units. However, there are some limitations on using such technique and some people prefer to use other methods such as analytical hierarchy process to measure the relative efficiencies. Besides, uncertainty in the input data is another issue, which makes some misleading results. In this paper, we present an integrated robust DEA-AHP to measure the relative efficiency of similar units. The proposed model of this is believed to capable of presenting better results in terms of efficiency compared with exclusive usage of DEA or AHP. The implementation of the proposed model is demonstrated for a real-world case study of Airport industry and the results are analyzed.

Deposition and release kinetics of nano-TiO2 in saturated porous media: Effects of solution ionic strength and surfactants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godinez, Itzel G.; Darnault, Christophe J.G.; Khodadoust, Amid P.; Bogdan, Dorin

2013-01-01

The aggregation, transport and deposition kinetics (i.e. attachment and release) of TiO 2 nanoparticles (nano-TiO 2 ) were investigated as a function of ionic strength and the presence of anionic (sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, SDBS) and non-ionic (Triton X-100) surfactants in 100% critical micelle concentration (CMC). The electrolyte concentration of the suspensions dictated the kinetic stability of nano-TiO 2 thus influencing the transport and retention of the nanoaggregates in the saturated porous medium. With increasing ionic strength, the interaction between approaching nano-TiO 2 and nano-TiO 2 already deposited onto collectors surfaces seemed to be more favorable than the interaction between approaching nano-TiO 2 and bare collectors surfaces. The abrupt and gradual reduction in electrolyte concentration during the flushing cycles of the column experiments induced the release of previously deposited nano-TiO 2 suggesting attachment of nano-TiO 2 through secondary energy minimum. Highlights: ► This study focuses on aggregation, transport and deposition kinetics of nano-TiO 2 . ► Ionic strength and surfactants impact nano-TiO 2 transport in saturated porous media. ► Previously deposited nano-TiO 2 serve as preferential sites for subsequent deposition. ► Changes in solution chemistry cause nanodeposits to release a portion of nano-TiO 2 . -- Previously deposited nano-TiO 2 serve as preferential sites for subsequent deposition and changes in solution chemistry cause nanodeposits to release a portion of nano-TiO 2

Energy efficiency measures in China: A three-stage DEA analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Yu; Xiong, Siqin; Ma, Xiaoming

2017-04-01

This paper measures energy efficiency of 30 regions in China during 2010-2014 by using the three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model. The results indict that environmental factors and random error both have significant impacts on energy efficiency. After eliminating these influences, the results present that the energy efficiency in developed regions is almost higher than that in undeveloped or resource-rich regions and low scale technical efficiency is the main constraining factor in inefficient regions. Based on the efficiency characteristics, this paper divides all regions into four types and provide differential energy strategies.

The mechanism of 'solid-body' rotation of superfluid and normal components in the process of separation into layers of the over saturated 3He-4He solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pashitskij, Eh.A.; Mal'nev, V.N.; Naryshkin, R.A.

2005-01-01

It is shown that unstable hydrodynamic vortices may be formed inside subcritical nuclei of separation in the normal component of the decaying over saturated 3 He- 4 He solution. We consider the mechanism of drag of the superfluid component of the 3 He- 4 He solution by the normal component into the 'solid-body' rotation due to the Hall-Vinen-Bekarevich-Khalatnikov forces in the equations of two-fluid hydrodynamics, resulting in the formation of quantized vortices. An increase in the average density of the quantized vortices may accelerate the process of heterogeneous decomposition of the 3 He- 4 He solution

UV saturable absorber for short-pulse KrF laser systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishioka, H.; Kuranishi, H.; Ueda, K.; Takuma, H.

1989-07-01

A derivative of the linear tricyclic compound, acridine, is shown to beuseful as a saturable absorber for short-pulse KrF lasers. The saturationcharacteristics and absorption recovery of a methanol solution of acridine for a20-psec KrF laser pulse are reported. We obtain a saturation fluence of 1.2mJ/cm/sup 2/ and a ratio of the primary to the excited absorption cross sectionof 6.25:1.

Input saturation in nonlinear multivariable processes resolved by nonlinear decoupling

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Jens G. Balchen

1995-04-01

Full Text Available A new method is presented for the resolution of the problem of input saturation in nonlinear multivariable process control by means of elementary nonlinear decoupling (END. Input saturation can have serious consequences particularly in multivariable control because it may lead to very undesirable system behaviour and quite often system instability. Many authors have searched for systematic techniques for designing multivariable control systems in which saturation may occur in any of the control variables (inputs, manipulated variables. No generally accepted method seems to have been presented so far which gives a solution in closed form. The method of elementary nonlinear decoupling (END can be applied directly to the case of saturation control variables by deriving as many control strategies as there are combinations of saturating control variables. The method is demonstrated by the multivariable control of a simulated Fluidized Catalytic Cracker (FCC with very convincing results.

Determining and Optimizing Effective Factors in Laser Irradiation on Skin Tensional Strength using a Hybrid DOE and DEA Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehdi Bashiri

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: We investigated the characteristic of a suitable irradiation on skin's tensional strength using design of experiments (DOE. The experiments in this research are designed in two phases and data envelopment analysis (DEA is used for performance measurement of each phase. Material and Methods: Samples were provided from pleura as surface tissue made of collagen and elastin fibers. In each experiment, the sample was stretched before and after irradiation. Variation of the sample length was measured. Then force-length data were plotted and the slope of the fitted line was calculated. Variation in these slopes was used as a criterion to determine tissue strength variation after laser irradiation. Furthermore, the output oriented DEA model by variable return to scale was used to examine performance of the designed experiments for each phase. Results: Results of the first phase experiments showed that the main effect of time duration was significant; but this was not the case for beam radius. Regarding polarization, only its interaction effect with time duration was significant. Results of the second phase indicated that laser irradiation with parallel polarization for 10 seconds caused a greater increase in tensional strength. Resultant efficiencies of applying DEA showed that the first phase experiments were more efficient. Discussion and Conclusions: This research has combined DEA and DOE to investigate the effects of laser on skin elasticity. Comparing the results of the two phases indicates that it is more efficient to use the experimental design of phase 1 in our experiment. So for similar future studies, we suggest using more levels for experiments of phase 1 instead of doing the experimental design in two phases.

Comparative study on DuPont analysis and DEA models for measuring stock performance using financial ratio

Science.gov (United States)

Arsad, Roslah; Shaari, Siti Nabilah Mohd; Isa, Zaidi

2017-11-01

Determining stock performance using financial ratio is challenging for many investors and researchers. Financial ratio can indicate the strengths and weaknesses of a company's stock performance. There are five categories of financial ratios namely liquidity, efficiency, leverage, profitability and market ratios. It is important to interpret the ratio correctly for proper financial decision making. The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of listed companies in Bursa Malaysia using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and DuPont analysis Models. The study is conducted in 2015 involving 116 consumer products companies listed in Bursa Malaysia. The estimation method of Data Envelopment Analysis computes the efficiency scores and ranks the companies accordingly. The Alirezaee and Afsharian's method of analysis based Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (CCR) where Constant Return to Scale (CRS) is employed. The DuPont analysis is a traditional tool for measuring the operating performance of companies. In this study, DuPont analysis is used to evaluate three different aspects such as profitability, efficiency of assets utilization and financial leverage. Return on Equity (ROE) is also calculated in DuPont analysis. This study finds that both analysis models provide different rankings of the selected samples. Hypothesis testing based on Pearson's correlation, indicates that there is no correlation between rankings produced by DEA and DuPont analysis. The DEA ranking model proposed by Alirezaee and Asharian is unstable. The method cannot provide complete ranking because the values of Balance Index is equal and zero.

Airports’ Operational Performance and Efficiency Evaluation Based on Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA Tools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Jardim

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Airport benchmarking depends on airports’ operational performance and efficiency indicators, which are important for business agents, operational managers, regulatory agencies, airlines and passengers. There are several sets of single and complex indicators to evaluate airports’ performance and efficiency as well as several techniques to benchmark such infrastructures. The general aim of this work is twofold: to balance the data envelopment analysis (DEA and multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA tools and to show that airport benchmarking is also possible using a multicriteria decision analysis tool called Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique (MACBETH. Whilst DEA measures the relative performance in the presence of multiple inputs and outputs, MCDA/ MACBETH uses performance and efficiency indicators to support benchmark results, being useful for evaluating the real importance and weight of the selected indicators. The work is structured as follows: first, a state-of-the-art review concerning either airport benchmarking and performance indicators or DEA and MCDA tool techniques; second, an overview of the impacts on airports’ operational performance and efficiency of emergent operational factors (sudden meteorological/natural phenomena; third, two case studies on a set of worldwide airports and Madeira (FNC Airport; and fourth, some insights into and challenges for future research that are still under development.

The Fate of a Healing Goddess: Ocular Pathologies, the Antonine Plague, and the Ancient Roman Cult of Bona Dea

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Leonardo Ambasciano

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to offer a diachronic and dynamic contextualisation of the ancient Roman cult of Bona Dea, connecting its cognitive underpinnings with its healing dimension. Special attention is devoted to the ocular concerns attested in the epigraphic inventory. The decline of the presence of Bona Dea on the religious scene, attested by the 3rd century CE, is considered to be the multi-causal result of the long-lasting, ocular side-effects of smallpox in the aftermath of the so-called Antonine Plague, which interacted with the correlated and prolonged lack of positive reinforcement concerning symptom relief and cognitive feedback.

Improving energy productivity of sunflower production using data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Avval, Seyed Hashem Mousavi; Rafiee, Shahin; Jafari, Ali; Mohammadi, Ali

2011-08-15

Efficient use of energy in agriculture is one of the conditions for sustainable agricultural production. This study applies the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to the data of 95 randomly selected farms to investigate the technical and scale efficiencies of farmers with respect to energy use for sunflower production in Golestan province, Iran. The study also helps to identify the wasteful usage and the optimum level of energy from different inputs. According to the results of DEA models, about 36% of farmers were found to be technically efficient and the mean efficiency of sunflower producers was found to be 0.87 and 0.96 under the constant and variable returns to scale assumptions respectively. The optimum energy requirement was calculated as 8448.3 MJ ha⁻¹; accordingly, a potential reduction of 10.8% (1020.3 MJ ha⁻¹) in total energy input could be achieved by raising the performance of farmers to the highest level. Applying a better machinery management technique and conservation tillage methods, application of fertilisers by performance monitoring and utilisation of alternative sources of energy such as compost and chopped residues may be the pathways for improving energy productivity and reducing the environmental footprint. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

Benchmarking road safety of U.S. states: a DEA-based Malmquist productivity index approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Egilmez, Gokhan; McAvoy, Deborah

2013-04-01

In this study, a DEA based Malmquist index model was developed to assess the relative efficiency and productivity of U.S. states in decreasing the number of road fatalities. Even though the national trend in fatal crashes has reached to the lowest level since 1949 (Traffic Safety Annual Assessment Highlights, 2010), a state-by-state analysis and comparison has not been studied considering other characteristics of the holistic national road safety assessment problem in any work in the literature or organizational reports. In this study, a DEA based Malmquist index model was developed to assess the relative efficiency and productivity of 50 U.S. states in reducing the number of fatal crashes. The single output, fatal crashes, and five inputs were aggregated into single road safety score and utilized in the DEA-based Malmquist index mathematical model. The period of 2002-2008 was considered due to data availability for the inputs and the output considered. According to the results, there is a slight negative productivity (an average of -0.2 percent productivity) observed in the U.S. on minimizing the number of fatal crashes along with an average of 2.1 percent efficiency decline and 1.8 percent technological improvement. The productivity in reducing the fatal crashes can only be attributed to the technological growth since there is a negative efficiency growth is occurred. It can be concluded that even though there is a declining trend observed in the fatality rates, the efficiency of states in utilizing societal and economical resources towards the goal of zero fatality is not still efficient. More effective policy making towards increasing safety belt usage and better utilization of safety expenditures to improve road condition are derived as the key areas to focus on for state highway safety agencies from the scope of current research. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Life expectancy and health expenditure evolution in Eastern Europe-DiD and DEA analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jakovljevic, Mihajlo B; Vukovic, Mira; Fontanesi, John

2016-08-01

Exploration of long-term health expenditure and longevity trends across three major sub-regions of Eastern Europe since 1989. 24 countries were classified as EU 2004, CIS, or SEE. European Health for All Database (HFA-DB) 1989-2012 data were processed using difference-in-difference (DiD) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). The strongest expenditure growth was recorded in EU 2004 followed by SEE and the CIS. A surprisingly similar longevity increase was present in SEE and EU 2004. In 1989, countries that joined EU in 2004 were relatively inefficient in the number of life-years gained yet had a lower life expectancy than the SEE region and was only slightly higher than the CIS region (DEA). By 2012 the revenue spent was roughly linear to additional life-year expectancies. EU 2004 members were the best performers in terms of balanced longevity increase followed by health expenditure growth. The SEE economies' longevity gains were lagging slightly behind at a far lower cost. An extrapolated CIS expenditure to longevity increase ratio has the fastest-growing long-term promise.

Traveling wave fronts and the transition to saturation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munier, S.; Peschanski, R.

2004-01-01

We propose a general method to study the solutions to nonlinear QCD evolution equations, based on a deep analogy with the physics of traveling waves. In particular, we show that the transition to the saturation regime of high energy QCD is identical to the formation of the front of a traveling wave. Within this physical picture, we provide the expressions for the saturation scale and the gluon density profile as a function of the total rapidity and the transverse momentum. The application to the Balitskii-Kovchegov equation for both fixed and running coupling constants confirms the effectiveness of this method

Evaluation of Student's Environment by DEA Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Moradi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The important question here is, is there real evaluation in educational advance? In other words, if a student has been successful in mathematics or has been unsuccessful in mathematics, is it possible to find the reasons behind his advance or, is it possible to find the reasons behind his advance or weakness? If we want to respond to this significant question, it should be said that factors of educational advance must be divided into 5 main groups. 1-family, 2-teacher, 3- students 4-school and 5-manager of 3 schools It can then be said that a student's score does not just depend on a factor that people have imaged From this, it can be concluded that by using the DEA and SBM models, each student's efficiency must be researched and the factors of the student's strengths and weaknesses must be analyzed.

Applying DEA sensitivity analysis to efficiency measurement of Vietnamese universities

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Thi Thanh Huyen Nguyen

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The primary purpose of this study is to measure the technical efficiency of 30 doctorate-granting universities, the universities or the higher education institutes with PhD training programs, in Vietnam, applying the sensitivity analysis of data envelopment analysis (DEA. The study uses eight sets of input-output specifications using the replacement as well as aggregation/disaggregation of variables. The measurement results allow us to examine the sensitivity of the efficiency of these universities with the sets of variables. The findings also show the impact of variables on their efficiency and its “sustainability”.

Chloraea riojana (Chloraeinae-Orchidaceae), una nueva orquídea argentina

OpenAIRE

Sobral, Ana; Novoa, Patricio

2013-01-01

Se describe una nueva especie de orquídea del género Chloraea, secc. Foliosae. Encontrada en provincia de La Rioja, representa el nuevo límite sur de distribución de la sección, presente desde el sudoeste de Perú hasta el noroeste de Argentina. Las diferencias significativas, morfológicas (de color del perigonio), fenológicas y la separación geográfica con las otras especies del género justifican la creación de este nuevo taxón. La diferencia más evidente con las especies afines (Chloraea pra...

Automobile Industry Strategic Alliance Partner Selection: The Application of a Hybrid DEA and Grey Theory Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chia-Nan Wang

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Finding the right strategic alliance partner is a critical success factor for many enterprises. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to propose an effective approach based on grey theory and data envelopment analysis (DEA for selecting better partners for alliance. This study used grey forecasting to predict future business performances and used DEA for the partner selection of alliances. This research was implemented with realistic public data in four consecutive financial years (2009–2012 of the world’s 20 biggest automobile enterprises. Nissan Motor Co., Ltd was set to be the target decision making unit (DMU. The empirical results showed that, among 19 candidate DMUs, Renault (DMU10 and Daimler (DMU11 were the two feasible beneficial alliance partners for Nissan. Although this research is specifically applied to the automobile industry, the proposed method could also be applied to other manufacturing industries.

The Best Path Analysis in Military Highway Transport Based on DEA and Multiobjective Fuzzy Decision-Making

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Wu Juan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Military transport path selection directly affects the transport speed, efficiency, and safety. To a certain degree, the results of the path selection determine success or failure of the war situation. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model based on DEA (data envelopment analysis and multiobjective fuzzy decision-making for path selection. The path decision set is established according to a search algorithm based on overlapping section punishment. Considering the influence of various fuzzy factors, the model of optimal path is constructed based on DEA and multitarget fuzzy decision-making theory, where travel time, transport risk, quick response capability, and transport cost constitute the evaluation target set. A reasonable path set can be calculated and sorted according to the comprehensive scores of the paths. The numerical results show that the model and the related algorithms are effective for path selection of military transport.

Process for using a saturated salt hydrate solution as a heat storing material in a latent heat storage device. Anvendelse av en mettet salthydratloesning som varme-lagringsmateriale i et latent varmemagasin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wasel-Nielen, J.; Merkenich, K.; Gehrig, O.; Sommer, K.

1984-06-12

Disclosed is a process for preparing a salt composition having a phase transition heat greater than the heat capacity of water at a corresponding temperature, for charging a latent heat storage device. The process comprises the steps of providing an acid component of the salt hydrate; providing a base component of the salt hydrate, wherein at least one of the acid or base components comprises a liquid; and mixing the acid component and the base component together to cause a neutralization reaction. The acid and base components are mixed in a ratio and in respective concentrations to produce a salt hydrate solution saturated at the desired phase transition point. The claims concern the use of saturated salt hydrate solution with a certain phase transition heat produced in a particular way.

Envelhecimento acelerado em sementes de azevém com e sem solução salina e saturada Accelerated aging of ryegrass seeds submitted to saturated salt solution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lilian Madruga de Tunes

2011-01-01

Full Text Available O presente trabalho teve por objetivo analisar a metodologia do teste de envelhecimento acelerado para avaliação do potencial fisiológico de sementes de azevém, bem como verificar a possibilidade do uso de solução não saturada e saturada de NaCl como opção para controle da absorção de água pelas sementes durante a realização do teste, sem reduzir sua sensibilidade. Foram utilizados quatro lotes de sementes, submetidos aos testes de germinação, emergência de plântulas, índice de velocidade de emergência e envelhecimento acelerado, empregando-se os períodos de exposição de 24, 48, 72 e 96h, com e sem solução salina (NaCl. A utilização de solução não saturada e saturada de NaCl diminui a absorção de água pelas sementes de azevém durante o teste de envelhecimento acelerado, acarretando uma taxa de deterioração menos acentuada e resultados menos drásticos e mais uniformes. A opção 24h com solução não saturada (SNS só conseguiu estratificar os lotes em dois grupos, não devendo ser indicada como promissora. Assim, deve-se usar a opção 48h com solução saturada de NaCl (SSS, que estratificou em três lotes.The objective of the present study was to evaluate the methodology of the accelerated aging test to evaluate the physiological potential of s ryegrass seeds, as well as verify the possibility of the use of unsaturated and saturated solution of NaCl as an option for control of water uptake by seeds during the test without reducing its sensitivity. Four lots of ryegrass seeds were tested for germination, seedling emergence, speed emergence and accelerated aging (periods of 24, 48, 72 and 96h, with or without the use of saturated and saline solution of NaCl. The use of unsaturated and saturated solution of NaCl reduces water absorption by ryegrass seeds during the accelerated aging test, resulting in a rate of deterioration is less pronounced ,less drastic and more uniform results. Option 24h with

PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY OF AGRICULTURAL AND NON AGRICULTURAL BANKS IN THE UNITED STATES: DEA APPROACH

OpenAIRE

Dias, Weeratilake

1998-01-01

Efficient operation of agricultural credit markets is very important both for the producer as well as for the policy makers. DEA approach is used to calculate productivity analysis which allows decomposition of sources of productivity changes into efficiency and technical change. Measured efficiencies are comparable to most recent parametric studies.

An assessment of diagnostic efficiency by Taguchi/DEA methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Taner, Mehmet Tolga; Sezen, Bulent

2009-01-01

The aim of this paper is to propose a new, objective and consistent method for the calculation of the diagnostic efficiency in medical applications. In this study, a hybrid method of Taguchi and DEA is proposed. This method reflects the diversity of inputs and outputs by incorporating the stepwise application of sensitivity, specificity, leveling threshold, and efficiency score. A hypothetical case study is given which involves eight readers of X-ray films in clinical radiology. The selected pairs of sensitivity and specificity yielded two efficient readers. After super efficiency analysis, Reader 6 is found to be the most efficient reader. The paper presents a new, objective and consistent method for the calculation of the diagnostic efficiency in medical applications.

Energy efficiency of China's industry sector: An adjusted network DEA (data envelopment analysis)-based decomposition analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yingnan; Wang, Ke

2015-01-01

The process of energy conservation and emission reduction in China requires the specific and accurate evaluation of the energy efficiency of the industry sector because this sector accounts for 70 percent of China's total energy consumption. Previous studies have used a “black box” DEA (data envelopment analysis) model to obtain the energy efficiency without considering the inner structure of the industry sector. However, differences in the properties of energy utilization (final consumption or intermediate conversion) in different industry departments may lead to bias in energy efficiency measures under such “black box” evaluation structures. Using the network DEA model and efficiency decomposition technique, this study proposes an adjusted energy efficiency evaluation model that can characterize the inner structure and associated energy utilization properties of the industry sector so as to avoid evaluation bias. By separating the energy-producing department and energy-consuming department, this adjusted evaluation model was then applied to evaluate the energy efficiency of China's provincial industry sector. - Highlights: • An adjusted network DEA (data envelopment analysis) model for energy efficiency evaluation is proposed. • The inner structure of industry sector is taken into account for energy efficiency evaluation. • Energy final consumption and energy intermediate conversion processes are separately modeled. • China's provincial industry energy efficiency is measured through the adjusted model.

Ceratobasidium como hongo micorrízico de orquídeas en Colombia Ceratobasidium as orchid mycorrhizal fungi in Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana T. Mosquera-Espinosa

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Las orquídeas se caracterizan por su relación micorrízica obligada para la germinación de las semillas. El micosimbionte es principalmente del género-forma Rhizoctonia, al igual que sus teleomorfos de los géneros Ceratobasidium, Tulasnella, Thanatephorus y Sebacina. En Colombia hasta la fecha son muy pocos los reportes sobre hongos micorrízicos de orquídeas. Para el presente estudio se planteó el aislamiento e identificación de hongos micorrízicos de algunas orquídeas de diferentes há bitats en Colombia, siguiendo la metodología de contaje de núcleos en células de hifas jóvenes y la secuenciación de la región ITS de los genes ribosomales nucleares. Se identificaron doce aislamientos provenientes de ocho plantas de especies diferentes de orquídeas. Tanto búsquedas BLAST del GenBank como el número de núcleos los agruparon en el género Ceratobasidium. Los resultados sugieren que este género se asocia con una amplia diversidad de orquídeas de há bitats variados en Colombia, además que para esta planta puede ser un importante hongo micorrízico. Sin embargo, surgen preguntas relacionadas con la patogenicidad de los Ceratobasidium micorrízicos sobre otros hospederos y su posible potencial biocontrolador de hongos patógenos en plantas cultivadas como arroz.Orchids require a mycorrhizal relationship for seed germination. Many mycorrhizal fungi are in the form-genus Rhizoctonia, with teleomorphs in the genera Ceratobasidium, Tulasnella, Thanatephorus and Sebacina. So far there are very few reports of orchid mycorrhizal fungi in Colombia. The objectives of the present study were to isolate mycorrhizal fungi of orchids from different habitats in Colombia, and identify them by counting nuclei in young hyphae and sequencing the ITS region of nuclear ribosomal genes. We identified 12 isolates from 8 plants of different species of orchids. BLAST searches in GenBank and binucleate cellsplaced all isolates in the genus

Schedules of Controlled Substances: Placement of FDA-Approved Products of Oral Solutions Containing Dronabinol [(-)-delta-9-trans-

Science.gov (United States)

2017-11-22

This final rule adopts without changes an interim final rule with request for comments published in the Federal Register on March 23, 2017. On July 1, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug application for Syndros, a drug product consisting of dronabinol [(-)-delta-9-trans-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC)] oral solution. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) maintains FDA-approved products of oral solutions containing dronabinol in schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act.

Speeding-up exchange-mediated saturation transfer experiments by Fourier transform

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carneiro, Marta G.; Reddy, Jithender G.; Griesinger, Christian; Lee, Donghan, E-mail: dole@nmr.mpibpc.mpg.de [Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical chemistry, Department of NMR-based Structural Biology (Germany)

2015-11-15

Protein motions over various time scales are crucial for protein function. NMR relaxation dispersion experiments play a key role in explaining these motions. However, the study of slow conformational changes with lowly populated states remained elusive. The recently developed exchange-mediated saturation transfer experiments allow the detection and characterization of such motions, but require extensive measurement time. Here we show that, by making use of Fourier transform, the total acquisition time required to measure an exchange-mediated saturation transfer profile can be reduced by twofold in case that one applies linear prediction. In addition, we demonstrate that the analytical solution for R{sub 1}ρ experiments can be used for fitting the exchange-mediated saturation transfer profile. Furthermore, we show that simultaneous analysis of exchange-mediated saturation transfer profiles with two different radio-frequency field strengths is required for accurate and precise characterization of the exchange process and the exchanging states.

Speeding-up exchange-mediated saturation transfer experiments by Fourier transform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carneiro, Marta G.; Reddy, Jithender G.; Griesinger, Christian; Lee, Donghan

2015-01-01

Protein motions over various time scales are crucial for protein function. NMR relaxation dispersion experiments play a key role in explaining these motions. However, the study of slow conformational changes with lowly populated states remained elusive. The recently developed exchange-mediated saturation transfer experiments allow the detection and characterization of such motions, but require extensive measurement time. Here we show that, by making use of Fourier transform, the total acquisition time required to measure an exchange-mediated saturation transfer profile can be reduced by twofold in case that one applies linear prediction. In addition, we demonstrate that the analytical solution for R 1 ρ experiments can be used for fitting the exchange-mediated saturation transfer profile. Furthermore, we show that simultaneous analysis of exchange-mediated saturation transfer profiles with two different radio-frequency field strengths is required for accurate and precise characterization of the exchange process and the exchanging states

DEA-BASED INVESTMENT STRATEGY AND ITS APPLICATION IN THE CROATIAN STOCK MARKET

OpenAIRE

Margareta Gardijan; Vedran Kojić

2012-01-01

This paper describes the DEA-based investment strategy for constructing of a stock portfolio in the Croatian stock market. The relative efficiency of the DMUs, which are in this case the selected stocks from Zagreb Stock Exchange, is obtained from the output oriented CCR and BCC models. The set of inputs consists of risk measures, namely return variance, Value at Risk (VaR) and beta coefficient $(\\beta)$, while monthly return represents an output. Following the „efficiency scores“, obtained f...

Technical evaluation of hybrid membrane/DEA modeling. Topical report, January 1990-August 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Changela, M.K.; McKee, R.L.; Reading, G.J.

1991-08-01

The report examines the potential for cost and/or performance advantages of a hybrid system, the integration of membranes and amines, over a single-stage membrane or amine system for producing pipeline quality gas on a small scale from high carbon dioxide subquality natural gas. The hybrid configuration evaluated is a membrane system in series with a conventional diethanolamine (DEA) system. Comparison of the established costs shows that each system has a region of operability. Membranes offer higher cost savings at low feed flow rates and high carbon dioxide feed contents. The hybrid system offers cost savings over moderate to high feed flow rates and for moderate to high carbon dioxide feed contents. The DEA system offers cost savings for moderate to high feed flow rates at low to moderate carbon dioxide feed contents. Membranes do not exhibit economies of scale which works to their advantage for removing carbon dioxide on a small scale. Processing costs for amine systems are more sensitive to economies of scale, and thus decrease more rapidly than for membranes at higher feed flow rates. The hybrid system offers cost savings in regions that have been perceived as exclusively amine treating applications, thus increasing the area of operability for membranes

Saturation at Low X and Nonlinear Evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stasto, A.M.

2002-01-01

In this talk the results of the analytical and numerical analysis of the nonlinear Balitsky-Kovchegov equation are presented. The characteristic BFKL diffusion into infrared regime is suppressed by the generation of the saturation scale Q s . We identify the scaling and linear regimes for the solution. We also study the impact of subleading corrections onto the nonlinear evolution. (author)

A total pressure-saturation formulation of two-phase flow incorporating dynamic effects in the capillary-pressure-saturation relationship

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dahle, H K; Celia, M A; Hassanizadeh, S M; Karlsen, K H

2002-07-01

New theories suggest that the relationship between capillary pressure and saturation should be enhanced by a dynamic term that is proportional to the time rate of change of saturation. This so-called dynamic capillary pressure formulation is supported by laboratory experiments, and can be included in various forms of the governing equations for two-phase flow in porous media. An extended model of two-phase flow in porous media may be developed based on fractional flow curves and a total pressure - saturation description that includes the dynamic capillary pressure terms. A dimensionless form of the resulting equation set provides an ideal tool to study the relative importance of the dynamic capillary pressure effect. This equation provides a rich set of mathematical research questions, and numerical solutions to the equation provide insights into the behavior of two-phase immiscible flow. For typical two-phase flow systems, dynamic capillary pressure acts to retard infiltration fronts, with responses dependent on system parameters including boundary conditions. Recent theoretical work suggests that the traditional algebraic relationship between capillary pressure and saturation may be inadequate. Instead, a so-called dynamic capillary pressure formulation is needed, where capillary pressure is defined as a thermodynamic variable, and the difference between phase pressures is only equal to the capillary pressure at equilibrium. Under dynamic conditions, the disequilibrium between phase-pressure differences and the capillary pressure is taken to be proportional to the time rate of change of saturation. A recent study by Hassanizadeh et al. presents experimental evidence, culled from the literature, to support this claim. Numerical simulations using dynamic pore-scale network models and upscaling also support the claim. Hassanizadeh et al. also presented numerical solutions for an enhanced version of Richards' equation that included the dynamic terms. A preliminary

DEA as a business failure prediction tool. Application to the case of galician SMEs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pablo de Llano Monelos

2014-01-01

variables y ratios clásicas nos lleva a determinar un punto de partida mediante la construcción de un modelo matemático que sirva de referencia. En este sentido, hemos reducido el ámbito de estudio a Pyme no financieras gallegas con el fin de desarrollar un modelo que permita diagnosticar y pronosticar el fracaso empresarial. Hemos desarrollado los modelos con base en variables financieras relevantes desde la óptica de la lógica financiera, la tensión y el fracaso financiero, aplicando tres metodologías de análisis: discriminante, logit y lineal multivariante. Por último, hemos cerrado el primer ciclo, utilizando la programación matemática DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis con el fin de fundamentar la determinación del fracaso. El uso simultáneo de los modelos se explica por la voluntad de comparar sus respectivas conclusiones y buscar elementos de complementariedad. La capacidad de pronóstico lograda nos permite afirmar que los modelos obtenidos son satisfactorios. No obstante, el DEA presenta determinados puntos críticos significativos en cuanto a su aplicabilidad al pronóstico del fallo empresarial.

Saturated Zone In-Situ Testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reimus, P. W.; Umari, M. J.

2003-01-01

colloid transport parameters. (4) Comparisons of sorption parameter estimates for a reactive solute tracer (lithium ion) derived from both the C-wells field tracer tests and laboratory tests using C-wells core samples. (5) Sorption parameter estimates for lithium ion derived from laboratory tests using alluvium samples from NC-EWDP-19D1 (one of the wells at the ATC) so that a comparison of laboratory- and field-derived sorption parameters can be made in saturated alluvium if cross-hole tracer tests are conducted at the ATC

Saturated Zone In-Situ Testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

P. W. Reimus; M. J. Umari

2003-12-23

colloid transport parameters. (4) Comparisons of sorption parameter estimates for a reactive solute tracer (lithium ion) derived from both the C-wells field tracer tests and laboratory tests using C-wells core samples. (5) Sorption parameter estimates for lithium ion derived from laboratory tests using alluvium samples from NC-EWDP-19D1 (one of the wells at the ATC) so that a comparison of laboratory- and field-derived sorption parameters can be made in saturated alluvium if cross-hole tracer tests are conducted at the ATC.

Custos operacionais eficientes das distribuidoras de energia elétrica: um estudo comparativo dos modelos DEA e SFA The cost efficiency of the Brazilian electricity distribution utilities: a comparative study with DEA and SFA models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcus Vinicius Pereira de Souza

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Este artigo apresenta medidas de eficiência para 40 distribuidoras de energia elétrica que operam no setor elétrico brasileiro. As medidas foram obtidas por modelos de análise envoltória de dados (DEA e modelos de fronteira estocástica (SFA, duas técnicas que podem mitigar a assimetria de informação e aprimorar a habilidade do agente regulador comparar os desempenhos das distribuidoras, requisitos fundamentais em esquemas de regulação incentivada. As duas abordagens são apresentadas e os resultados obtidos pelos diferentes modelos são comparados.This paper shows the efficiency measurements of 40 Brazilian electricity distribution companies. The efficiency scores are obtained using the data envelopment analysis (DEA and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA models, techniques that can reduce the information asymmetry and improve the regulator skills to compare the performance of the electricity companies, which are fundamental aspects of regulatory regimes. The two approaches are described, and the main results obtained from the different models are compared.

The DEA – FUZZY ANP Department Ranking Model Applied in Iran Amirkabir University

OpenAIRE

Serpil Erol; Babak Daneshvar Rouyendegh

2010-01-01

Proposed in this study is a hybrid model for supporting the department selectionprocess within Iran Amirkabir University. This research is a two-stage model designed tofully rank the organizational departments where each department has multiple inputs andoutputs. First, the department evaluation problem is formulated by Data EnvelopmentAnalysis (DEA) and separately formulates each pair of units. In the second stage, the pairwiseevaluation matrix generated in the first stage is utilized to ful...

Network DEA: an application to analysis of academic performance

Science.gov (United States)

Saniee Monfared, Mohammad Ali; Safi, Mahsa

2013-05-01

As governmental subsidies to universities are declining in recent years, sustaining excellence in academic performance and more efficient use of resources have become important issues for university stakeholders. To assess the academic performances and the utilization of the resources, two important issues need to be addressed, i.e., a capable methodology and a set of good performance indicators as we consider in this paper. In this paper, we propose a set of performance indicators to enable efficiency analysis of academic activities and apply a novel network DEA structure to account for subfunctional efficiencies such as teaching quality, research productivity, as well as the overall efficiency. We tested our approach on the efficiency analysis of academic colleges at Alzahra University in Iran.

Supplier Selection Study under the Respective of Low-Carbon Supply Chain: A Hybrid Evaluation Model Based on FA-DEA-AHP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiangshuo He

2018-02-01

Full Text Available With the development of global environment and social economy, it is an indispensable choice for enterprises to achieve sustainable growth through developing low-carbon economy and constructing low-carbon supply chain. Supplier is the source of chain, thus selecting excellent low-carbon supplier is the foundation of establishing efficient low-carbon supply chain. This paper presents a novel hybrid model for supplier selection integrated factor analysis (FA, data envelopment analysis (DEA, with analytic hierarchy process (AHP, namely FA-DEA-AHP. First, an evaluation index system is built, incorporating product level, qualification, cooperation ability, and environmental competitiveness. FA is utilized to extract common factors from the 18 pre-selected indicators. Then, DEA is applied to establish the pairwise comparison matrix and AHP is employed to rank these low-carbon suppliers comprehensively and calculate the validity of the decision-making units. Finally, an experiment study with seven cement suppliers in a large industrial enterprise is carried out in this paper. The results reveal that the proposed technique can not only select effective suppliers, but also realize a comprehensive ranking. This research has enriched the methodology of low-carbon supplier evaluation and selection, as well as owns theoretical value in exploring the coordinated development of low-carbon supply chain to some extent.

Data envelopment analysis - DEA and fuzzy sets to assess the performance of academic departments: a case study at Federal University of Santa Catarina - UFSC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lopes Ana Lúcia Miranda

2002-01-01

Full Text Available This paper address the issue of performance evaluation - productivity and quality - of academic departments at an University. A DEA model was used to simulate a process of cross-evaluation between departments. The results of DEA in the dimensions of teaching, research, service and quality were modeled as fuzzy numbers and then aggregated through a weighted ordered aggregator. A single index of performance for each department was generated. The proposal is to identify departments with low performance in one or more dimensions that should receive additional evaluation from an external auditing committee. A by-product of the model is to enlarge the possibility of working with more variables than a conventional DEA model. The model applied to a set of fifty-eight departments of a Brazilian University showed fifteen with low performance. Zero correlation between department teaching, research and service were observed. Weak correlation was detected between research productivity and quality. Weak scale effects were detected.

Soil hydraulic properties near saturation, an improved conductivity model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Børgesen, Christen Duus; Jacobsen, Ole Hørbye; Hansen, Søren

2006-01-01

of commonly used hydraulic conductivity models and give suggestions for improved models. Water retention and near saturated and saturated hydraulic conductivity were measured for a variety of 81 top and subsoils. The hydraulic conductivity models by van Genuchten [van Genuchten, 1980. A closed-form equation...... for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44, 892–898.] (vGM) and Brooks and Corey, modified by Jarvis [Jarvis, 1991. MACRO—A Model of Water Movement and Solute Transport in Macroporous Soils. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Department of Soil Sciences....... Optimising a matching factor (k0) improved the fit considerably whereas optimising the l-parameter in the vGM model improved the fit only slightly. The vGM was improved with an empirical scaling function to account for the rapid increase in conductivity near saturation. Using the improved models...

Diagnóstico y tratamiento de la enfermedad carotídea aterosclerótica extracraneal asintomática

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Luciano A. Sposato

2011-12-01

Full Text Available La enfermedad aterosclerótica asintomática de la arteria carótida interna extracraneal alcanza una prevalencia de hasta el 12.5%. La angioplastia carotídea todavía no ha demostrado ser lo suficientemente segura y eficaz para prevenir el ACV isquémico en estos pacientes. Estudios aleatorizados demostraron que la endarterectomía carotídea es superior al tratamiento médico en cuanto a reducción del riesgo de ACV isquémico si es realizada por equipos con tasas de complicaciones (ACV o muerte menores que 3%. Sin embargo, los pacientes evaluados en estos estudios comenzaron a reclutarse hace más de 25 años, cuando la utilización de antiagregantes plaquetarios era menor que la actual, el tratamiento de la hipertensión arterial era menos efectivo y todavía no se usaban estatinas como componentes fundamentales de los esquemas de prevención vascular. La optimización de la calidad del tratamiento médico en las últimas décadas ha llevado a una significativa reducción del riesgo de ACV en pacientes no intervenidos quirúrgicamente. En base a estas observaciones y con la excepción de casos específicos, el tratamiento médico es la opción terapéutica de elección en pacientes con enfermedad aterosclerótica carotídea extracraneal asintomática.

Stabilization of Neutral Systems with Saturating Actuators

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F. El Haoussi

2012-01-01

to determine stabilizing state-feedback controllers with large domain of attraction, expressed as linear matrix inequalities, readily implementable using available numerical tools and with tuning parameters that make possible to select the most adequate solution. These conditions are derived by using a Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional on the vertices of the polytopic description of the actuator saturations. Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique.

Electroerosion method for preparation of saturated solutions of ruthenium hydroxochloride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikhalev, V.A.; Andrianov, G.A.; Zhadanov, B.V.; Ryazanov, A.I.

1987-01-01

A pilot plant for carrying out electroerosion processes using pulse current of high unit power is developed. The solution process of metallic Ru in concentrated HCl is investigated. The possibility of preparation of ruthenium hydroxochloride solutions of 300 g/l concentration is established; it gives the possibility of Ru solution under conditions similar to the process of salting out

Allocation of Energy Consumption among Provinces in China: A Weighted ZSG-DEA Model

OpenAIRE

Siqin Xiong; Yushen Tian; Junping Ji; Xiaoming Ma

2017-01-01

To realize the sustainable development of energy, the Chinese government has formulated a series of national goals of total energy control and energy structure optimization. Under the national constraints, how to efficiently allocate the constrained total amount of energy consumption to each province is a fundamental problem to be solved. Based on a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model and a zero-sum game theory (ZSG), this paper constructs a weighted zero-sum game data envelopment analysis ...

Morbi-mortalidad de la endarterectomía carotídea

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Virginia A. Pujol Lereis

2011-10-01

Full Text Available La endarterectomía carotídea (EC en adición al mejor tratamiento médico mostró reducción del riesgo de eventos cerebrovasculares en pacientes sintomáticos y asintomáticos con estenosis moderada-grave del vaso en ensayos clínicos en centros académicos con cirujanos altamente seleccionados. Las principales guías internacionales recomiendan que el procedimiento se realice en centros con morbi-mortalidad auditada menor al 6% para pacientes sintomáticos y 3% para asintomáticos. Evaluamos la morbi-mortalidad peri-procedimiento en nuestro centro. Esta fue definida como la presencia de accidente cerebrovascular, infarto de miocardio y/o muerte dentro de los 30 días de la cirugía. Se indicó el procedimiento en pacientes sintomáticos con estenosis > 50%. En pacientes asintomáticos o sintomáticos con estenosis ≤ 50% se decidió el tratamiento sobre una base caso por caso. Todos los pacientes fueron examinados por un neurólogo y un cardiólogo antes y después de la EC. Se utilizó en forma rutinaria monitoreo intraoperatorio con Doppler transcraneano en los pacientes con adecuada ventana ultrasónica. Se evaluaron 306 endarterectomías carotídeas. No se registraron muertes. La morbilidad perioperatoria fue de 2.6% tanto para individuos sintomáticos como asintomáticos. Estos índices se compararon favorablemente con informes de otros centros de Latinoamérica y Europa. En conclusión, este informe muestra que la EC puede realizarse en la práctica clínica cotidiana con morbi-mortalidad peri-procedimiento dentro de los niveles recomendados por las guías internacionales.

INVESTOR’S PREFERENCE MODEL FOR DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS MID (DEA IN BRAZILIAN

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Mara Vogt

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study had aimed to analyze the preferred model investor through data envelopment analysis (DEA in Brazilian companies. We conducted a descriptive research with quantitative approach and through document analysis with secondary data. The study population comprised 50 companies listed on the BM&Bovespa IBrX50 and the sample had been composed of 46 companies that presented all the necessary data for analysis of data from 2013 to 2015. To analyze the results we used the method DEA to identify companies that are efficient to in connection to risk and expected return on the stock market, these serving as the preferred model. The results have indicated that the best option for investor would be Ambev companies, BRF, Cetip, Cosan, Itausa, Klabin, Multiplan, Telefonica Brazil and Ultrapar Participações, as these companies had maximum efficiency scores, that is, the score value 1.0.Each company who has that score have expected return that none in the sample managed to overcome with less risk and even equal. The results also indicate that several companies have been above average efficiency score and below average, indicating that there are significant differences in efficiency between the companies analyzed. It is concluded that the efficiency of the sample front companies the capital market is considered satisfactory, since the existence of inefficiencies in many companies prevents IBrX50 index reaches its maximum potential over the actions and the risk and return expected by investors.

Research of Strategic Alliance Stable Decision-making Model Based on Rough Set and DEA

OpenAIRE

Zhang Yi

2013-01-01

This article uses rough set theory for stability evaluation system of strategic alliance at first. Uses data analysis method for reduction, eliminates redundant indexes. Selected 6 enterprises as a decision-making unit, then select 4 inputs and 2 outputs indexes data, using DEA model to calculate, analysis reasons for poor benefit of decision-making unit, find out improvement direction and quantity for changing, provide a reference for the alliance stability.

The input and output management of solid waste using DEA models: A case study at Jengka, Pahang

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamed, Siti Rosiah; Ghazali, Nur Fadzrina Mohd; Mohd, Ainun Hafizah

2017-08-01

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as a tool for obtaining performance indices has been used extensively in several of organizations sector. The ways to improve the efficiency of Decision Making Units (DMUs) is impractical because some of inputs and outputs are uncontrollable and in certain situation its produce weak efficiency which often reflect the impact for operating environment. Based on the data from Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd Jengka, the researcher wants to determine the efficiency of solid waste management (SWM) in town Jengka Pahang using CCRI and CCRO model of DEA and duality formulation with vector average input and output. Three input variables (length collection in meter, frequency time per week in hour and number of garbage truck) and 2 outputs variables (frequency collection and the total solid waste collection in kilogram) are analyzed. As a conclusion, it shows only three roads from 23 roads are efficient that achieve efficiency score 1. Meanwhile, 20 other roads are in an inefficient management.

The application of DEA model in enterprise environmental performance auditing

Science.gov (United States)

Li, F.; Zhu, L. Y.; Zhang, J. D.; Liu, C. Y.; Qu, Z. G.; Xiao, M. S.

2017-01-01

As a part of society, enterprises have an inescapable responsibility for environmental protection and governance. This article discusses the feasibility and necessity of enterprises environmental performance auditing and uses DEA model calculate the environmental performance of Haier for example. The most of reference data are selected and sorted from Haier’s environmental reportspublished in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2015, and some of the data from some published articles and fieldwork. All the calculation results are calculated by DEAP software andhave a high credibility. The analysis results of this article can give corporate managements an idea about using environmental performance auditing to adjust their corporate environmental investments capital quota and change their company’s environmental strategies.

Cost efficiency with triangular fuzzy number input prices: An application of DEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagherzadeh Valami, H.

2009-01-01

The cost efficiency model (CE) has been considered by researchers as a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model for evaluating the efficiency of DMUs. In this model, the possibility of producing the outputs of a target DMU is evaluated by the input prices of the DMU. This provides a criterion for evaluating the CE of DMUs. The main contribution of this paper is to provide an approach for generalizing the CE of DMUs when their input prices are triangular fuzzy numbers, where preliminary concepts of fuzzy theory and CE, are directly used.

Analyzing the Operations Strategies of Manufacturing Firms Using a Hybrid Grey DEA approach – A case of Fars Cement Companies in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamad Amin Kaviani

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In competitive markets, the operations strategies of companies are normally formulated based on their competitive advantages. An effective operations strategy should maintain and improve competitive advantages based on the capabilities of the corporate operations resources. Considering the market requirements and the operational performance of the rivals is the key for success and survival of a company in the competition. Therefore, recognizing where a company stands in comparison with its rivals and adopting the appropriate operations strategy plays vital roles in the success of companies. This paper proposes a method for comparing and ranking operations strategies of companies based on the concept of efficient frontier using data envelopment analysis (DEA in grey environment. In the aforementioned method, DEA is used to evaluate the efficiency of operations strategies of manufacturing firms. Also, grey theory is used to support the uncertainty of the experts’ opinions regarding the inputs and outputs of the DEA model. Then the respective units are ranked, and analyses are performed. The proposed approach is applied for the entire nine cement factories of Fars Province in Iran, and the units are ranked, respective analyses are presented regarding the efficient and inefficient units.

Desenvolvimento vegetativo de genótipos de orquídeas brasileiras em substratos alternativos ao xaxim.

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Luciana do Valle Rego

2000-05-01

Full Text Available Oncidium sarcodes é uma orquídea nativa do Brasil de crescimento lento e que está correndo um sério risco de extinção no seu habitat. Schomburgkia crispa, outra orquídea nativa do Brasil, é muito apreciada internacionalmente pelo colorido e beleza de suas flores. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o crescimento dessas duas espécies, em casa de vegetação, utilizando diferentes substratos. As plantas de 0. sarcodes eram oriundas de coletivos de sementes germinadas in vitro e com altura de 1 cm ± 0,3 cm. As plantas de S. crispa, coletadas já adultas (quatro pseudobulbos às margens do rio Tibagi, no município de Jataizinho (PR, onde será construída uma usina hidrelétrica, foram cultivadas em vasos de cerâmica. As orquídeas permaneceram em casa de vegetação com 50% de luminosidade, sendo regadas três vezes por semana. Os substratos utilizados no experimento foram: TI xaxim (Dicksonia sellowiana Hook. desfibrado; T2 xaxim em cubos; T3 casca de pínus + isopor + carvão; T4 vermiculita + casca de arroz carbonizada + carvão + isopor; T5 casca de pínus e T6 casca de pínus + carvão (este último adotado somente para 0. sarcodes. No caso dos tratamentos em que foram combinados diferentes tipos de substratos, sua proporção foi igual na mistura. Os substratos T3, T4, T5 e T6 podem ser considerados alternativos para 0. sarcodes, assim como T3, T4 e T5, para S. crispa, preservando-se, assim, o samambaiaçu, do qual o xaxim é retirado.

A new DEA-GAHP method for supplier selection problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Behrooz Ahadian

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Supplier selection is one of the most important decisions made in supply chain management. Supplier evaluation problem has been in the center of supply chain researcher’s attention in these years. Managers regard some of these studies and methods inappropriate due to simple, weight scoring methods that generally are based on subjective opinions and judgments of decision maker units involved in the supplier evaluation process yielding imprecise and even unreliable results. This paper seeks to propose a methodology to integrate data envelopment analysis (DEA and group analytical hierarchy process (GAHP for evaluating and selecting the most efficient supplier. We develop a methodology, which consists of 6 steps, one by one has been introduced in lecture and finally applicability of proposed method is indicated by assessing 12 suppliers in a numerical example.

Mutual boosting of the saturation scales in colliding nuclei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kopeliovich, B.Z., E-mail: bzk@mpi-hd.mpg.d [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, Instituto de Estudios Avanzados en Ciencias e Ingenieria, Centro Cientifico-Tecnologico de Valparaiso, Casilla 110-V, Valparaiso (Chile); Institut fuer Theoretische Physik der Universitaet, Philosophenweg 19, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Pirner, H.J. [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik der Universitaet, Philosophenweg 19, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Potashnikova, I.K.; Schmidt, Ivan [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, Instituto de Estudios Avanzados en Ciencias e Ingenieria, Centro Cientifico-Tecnologico de Valparaiso, Casilla 110-V, Valparaiso (Chile)

2011-03-14

Saturation of small-x gluons in a nucleus, which has the form of transverse momentum broadening of projectile gluons in pA collisions in the nuclear rest frame, leads to a modification of the parton distribution functions in the beam compared with pp collisions. The DGLAP driven gluon distribution turns out to be suppressed at large x, but significantly enhanced at x<<1. This is a high twist effect. In the case of nucleus-nucleus collisions all participating nucleons on both sides get enriched in gluon density at small x, which leads to a further boosting of the saturation scale. We derive reciprocity equations for the saturation scales corresponding to a collision of two nuclei. The solution of these equations for central collisions of two heavy nuclei demonstrate a significant, up to several times, enhancement of Q{sub sA}{sup 2}, in AA compared with pA collisions.

Selection Input Output by Restriction Using DEA Models Based on a Fuzzy Delphi Approach and Expert Information

Science.gov (United States)

Arsad, Roslah; Nasir Abdullah, Mohammad; Alias, Suriana; Isa, Zaidi

2017-09-01

Stock evaluation has always been an interesting problem for investors. In this paper, a comparison regarding the efficiency stocks of listed companies in Bursa Malaysia were made through the application of estimation method of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). One of the interesting research subjects in DEA is the selection of appropriate input and output parameter. In this study, DEA was used to measure efficiency of stocks of listed companies in Bursa Malaysia in terms of the financial ratio to evaluate performance of stocks. Based on previous studies and Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM), the most important financial ratio was selected. The results indicated that return on equity, return on assets, net profit margin, operating profit margin, earnings per share, price to earnings and debt to equity were the most important ratios. Using expert information, all the parameter were clarified as inputs and outputs. The main objectives were to identify most critical financial ratio, clarify them based on expert information and compute the relative efficiency scores of stocks as well as rank them in the construction industry and material completely. The methods of analysis using Alirezaee and Afsharian’s model were employed in this study, where the originality of Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (CCR) with the assumption of Constant Return to Scale (CSR) still holds. This method of ranking relative efficiency of decision making units (DMUs) was value-added by the Balance Index. The interested data was made for year 2015 and the population of the research includes accepted companies in stock markets in the construction industry and material (63 companies). According to the ranking, the proposed model can rank completely for 63 companies using selected financial ratio.

Alterações de difusão e perfusão cerebral por RM em angioplastia carotídea com \\"stent\\" sob proteção cerebral por filtros

OpenAIRE

Antenor Tavares de Sá Júnior

2009-01-01

INTRODUÇÃO: A angioplastia carotídea com stent (ACS) sob proteção cerebral é opção terapêutica em pacientes com estenose carotídea. Existe o risco de embolia apesar da utilização do filtro e as modificações na perfusão cerebral após tratamento da estenose carotídea não são claras. O propósito deste estudo é avaliar, após ACS sob proteção cerebral por filtros, modificações nas seqüências de RM de difusão (DWI) e perfusão (PWI), correlacionando-as com os aspectos técnicos da ACS, com as caracte...

Improved forward and inverse analyses of saturated-unsaturated flow toward a well in a compressible unconfined aquifer

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, Phoolendra Kumar; Neuman, Shlomo P.

2010-07-01

We present an analytical solution for flow to a partially penetrating well in a compressible unconfined aquifer that allows inferring its saturated and unsaturated hydraulic properties from drawdowns recorded in the saturated and/or unsaturated zone. We improve upon a previous such solution due to Tartakovsky and Neuman (2007) by (1) adopting a more flexible representation of unsaturated zone constitutive properties and (2) allowing the unsaturated zone to have finite thickness. Both solutions account for horizontal as well as vertical flows throughout the system. We investigate the effects of unsaturated zone constitutive parameters and thickness on drawdowns in the saturated and unsaturated zones as functions of position and time; demonstrate the development of significant horizontal hydraulic gradients in the unsaturated zone in response to pumping; validate our solution against numerical simulations of drawdown in a synthetic aquifer having unsaturated properties described by the van Genuchten-Mualem constitutive model; use our solution to analyze drawdown data from a pumping test conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey at Cape Cod, Massachusetts; and compare our estimates of van Genuchten-Mualem parameters with laboratory values obtained for similar materials in the area.

Saturated Switching Systems

CERN Document Server

Benzaouia, Abdellah

2012-01-01

Saturated Switching Systems treats the problem of actuator saturation, inherent in all dynamical systems by using two approaches: positive invariance in which the controller is designed to work within a region of non-saturating linear behaviour; and saturation technique which allows saturation but guarantees asymptotic stability. The results obtained are extended from the linear systems in which they were first developed to switching systems with uncertainties, 2D switching systems, switching systems with Markovian jumping and switching systems of the Takagi-Sugeno type. The text represents a thoroughly referenced distillation of results obtained in this field during the last decade. The selected tool for analysis and design of stabilizing controllers is based on multiple Lyapunov functions and linear matrix inequalities. All the results are illustrated with numerical examples and figures many of them being modelled using MATLAB®. Saturated Switching Systems will be of interest to academic researchers in con...

Studies of non-isothermal flow in saturated and partially saturated porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ho, C.K.; Maki, K.S.; Glass, R.J.

1993-01-01

Physical and numerical experiments have been performed to investigate the behavior of nonisothermal flow in two-dimensional saturated and partially saturated porous media. The physical experiments were performed to identify non-isothermal flow fields and temperature distributions in fully saturated, half-saturated, and residually saturated two-dimensional porous media with bottom heating and top cooling. Two counter-rotating liquid-phase convective cells were observed to develop in the saturated regions of all three cases. Gas-phase convection was also evidenced in the unsaturated regions of the partially saturated experiments. TOUGH2 numerical simulations of the saturated case were found to be strongly dependent on the assumed boundary conditions of the physical system. Models including heat losses through the boundaries of the test cell produced temperature and flow fields that were in better agreement with the observed temperature and flow fields than models that assumed insulated boundary conditions. A sensitivity analysis also showed that a reduction of the bulk permeability of the porous media in the numerical simulations depressed the effects of convection, flattening the temperature profiles across the test cell

Notes on HP1 a software package for simulating variably-saturated water flow, heat transport, solute transport, and biogeochemistry in porous media. HP1 Version 2.2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jacques, D.; Simunek, J.

2010-01-15

HP1 is a comprehensive modeling tool in terms of processes and reactions for simulating reactive transport and biogeochemical processes in variably-saturated porous media. HP1 results from coupling the water and solute transport model HYDRUS-1D (Simunek et al., 2009a) and PHREEQC-2 (Parkhurst and Appelo, 1999). This note provides an overview of how to set up and execute a HP1 project using version 2.2.002 of HP1 and version 4.13 of the graphical user interface (GUI) of HYDRUS-1D. A large part of this note are step-by-step instructions for selected examples involving mineral dissolution and precipitation, cation exchange, surface complexation and kinetic degradation networks. The implementation of variably-saturated flow conditions, changing boundary conditions, a layered soil profile or immobile water is also illustrated.

Notes on HP1 a software package for simulating variably-saturated water flow, heat transport, solute transport, and biogeochemistry in porous media. HP1 Version 2.2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacques, D.; Simunek, J.

2010-01-01

HP1 is a comprehensive modeling tool in terms of processes and reactions for simulating reactive transport and biogeochemical processes in variably-saturated porous media. HP1 results from coupling the water and solute transport model HYDRUS-1D (Simunek et al., 2009a) and PHREEQC-2 (Parkhurst and Appelo, 1999). This note provides an overview of how to set up and execute a HP1 project using version 2.2.002 of HP1 and version 4.13 of the graphical user interface (GUI) of HYDRUS-1D. A large part of this note are step-by-step instructions for selected examples involving mineral dissolution and precipitation, cation exchange, surface complexation and kinetic degradation networks. The implementation of variably-saturated flow conditions, changing boundary conditions, a layered soil profile or immobile water is also illustrated.

Saturated and unsaturated salt transport in peat from a constructed fen

Science.gov (United States)

Simhayov, Reuven B.; Weber, Tobias K. D.; Price, Jonathan S.

2018-02-01

The underlying processes governing solute transport in peat from an experimentally constructed fen peatland were analyzed by performing saturated and unsaturated solute breakthrough experiments using Na+ and Cl- as reactive and non-reactive solutes, respectively. We tested the performance of three solute transport models, including the classical equilibrium convection-dispersion equation (CDE), a chemical non-equilibrium one-site adsorption model (OSA) and a model to account for physical non-equilibrium, the mobile-immobile (MIM) phases. The selection was motivated by the fact that the applicability of the MIM in peat soils finds a wide consensus. However, results from inverse modeling and a robust statistical evaluation of this peat provide evidence that the measured breakthrough of the conservative tracer, Cl-, could be simulated well using the CDE. Furthermore, the very high Damköhler number (which approaches infinity) suggests instantaneous equilibration between the mobile and immobile phases underscoring the redundancy of the MIM approach for this particular peat. Scanning electron microscope images of the peat show the typical multi-pore size distribution structures have been homogenized sufficiently by decomposition, such that physical non-equilibrium solute transport no longer governs the transport process. This result is corroborated by the fact the soil hydraulic properties were adequately described using a unimodal van Genuchten-Mualem model between saturation and a pressure head of ˜ -1000 cm of water. Hence, MIM was not the most suitable choice, and the long tailing of the Na+ breakthrough curve was caused by chemical non-equilibrium. Successful description was possible using the OSA model. To test our results for the unsaturated case, we conducted an unsaturated steady-state evaporation experiment to drive Na+ and Cl- transport. Using the parameterized transport models from the saturated experiments, we could numerically simulate the unsaturated

Device for isolation of seed crystals during processing of solution

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, K.E.; Zaitseva, N.P.; Deyoreo, J.J.; Vital, R.L.

1999-05-18

A device is described for isolation of seed crystals during processing of solutions. The device enables a seed crystal to be introduced into the solution without exposing the solution to contaminants or to sources of drying and cooling. The device constitutes a seed protector which allows the seed to be present in the growth solution during filtration and overheating operations while at the same time preventing the seed from being dissolved by the under saturated solution. When the solution processing has been completed and the solution cooled to near the saturation point, the seed protector is opened, exposing the seed to the solution and allowing growth to begin. 3 figs.

LLUVIA-II: A program for two-dimensional, transient flow through partially saturated porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eaton, R.R.; Hopkins, P.L.

1992-08-01

LLUVIA-II is a program designed for the efficient solution of two- dimensional transient flow of liquid water through partially saturated, porous media. The code solves Richards equation using the method-of-lines procedure. This document describes the solution procedure employed, input data structure, output, and code verification

Research on Sustainable Development of Resource-Based Cities Based on the DEA Approach: A Case Study of Jiaozuo, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Li

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Jiaozuo is a typical resource-based city, and its economic transformation has been an example of success in China. However, quantitative evaluation of the city’s development has scarcely been performed, and future development is not clear. Because of this, using the relevant data from 1999 to 2013, this paper uses the data envelopment analysis (DEA model to evaluate development after the transformation of Jiaozuo with the aim of providing a basis for its future developing plan. The results show that DEA was effective in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2012, was weakly effective in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2013, and was ineffective in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011. By evaluating the development of Jiaozuo, this paper provides policy implications for Jiaozuo’s sustainable development, and it may serve as a reference for the sustainable development of China’s other resources-based cities.

Análise do comportamento do hemometabolismo cerebral durante endarterectomia carotídea com pinçamento transitório Análisis del comportamiento del hemometabolismo cerebral durante endarterectomia carotídea con pinzamiento transitorio Analysis of brain hemometabolism behavior during carotid endarterectomy with temporary clamping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gastão Fernandes Duval Neto

2004-04-01

hipóxia oliguemica o desacoplamiento hemometabólico. El objetivo del presente estudio fue identificar las alteraciones del hemometabolismo cerebral, evaluados por medio de las alteraciones de la saturación de la oxihemoglobina en el bulbo de la vena yugular interna (SjO2, durante endarterectomia carotídea con pinzamiento, correlacionando esas alteraciones con factores con potencialidad de interferir con las mismas, principalmente la presión de CO2 expirada (P ET CO2 y la presión de perfusión cerebral (PPC. MÉTODO: Participaron del estudio 16 pacientes con enfermedad estenosante unilateral y sometidos al pinzamiento arterial transitorio durante endarterectomia carotídea. Los parámetros monitorizados (saturación de la oxihemoglobina en el bulbo de la vena yugular interna, stump pressure y la presión de CO2 expirado fueron analizados en los siguientes momentos: M1 - pre-pinzamiento; M2 - 3 minutos pos-pinzamiento; M3 - pre-despinzamiento; M4 - pos-despinzamiento. RESULTADOS: La comparación entre la SjO2 (%, Media ± DP en los períodos estudiados evidenció una diferencia entre la registrada en los momentos M1 (52,25 ± 7,87 y M2 (47,43 ± 9,19. Esa reducción inicial estabilizó durante el pinzamiento transitorio, con disminución en la comparación entre M2 y M3 (46,56 ± 9,25, sin significado estadístico (p = ns. En la fase pos despinzamiento, M4 (47,68 ± 9,12, la media de la SjO2 presentó una elevación, cuando comparada con los momentos de pinzamiento M2 e M3, más inferior al momento pre-pinzamiento M1 (M4 x M1 - p BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Carotid endarterectomy with temporary clamping changes cerebral blood flow and cerebral metabolic oxygen demand ratio with consequent oligemic hypoxia or hemometabolic uncoupling. This study aimed at identifying changes in brain hemometabolism, evaluated through changes in oxyhemoglobin saturation in internal jugular vein bulb (SvjO2 during carotid endarterectomy with clamping, and at correlating these changes

Reaction paths and equilibrium end-points in solid-solution aqueous-solution systems

Science.gov (United States)

Glynn, P.D.; Reardon, E.J.; Plummer, Niel; Busenberg, E.

1990-01-01

Equations are presented describing equilibrium in binary solid-solution aqueous-solution (SSAS) systems after a dissolution, precipitation, or recrystallization process, as a function of the composition and relative proportion of the initial phases. Equilibrium phase diagrams incorporating the concept of stoichiometric saturation are used to interpret possible reaction paths and to demonstrate relations between stoichiometric saturation, primary saturation, and thermodynamic equilibrium states. The concept of stoichiometric saturation is found useful in interpreting and putting limits on dissolution pathways, but there currently is no basis for possible application of this concept to the prediction and/ or understanding of precipitation processes. Previously published dissolution experiments for (Ba, Sr)SO4 and (Sr, Ca)C??O3orth. solids are interpreted using equilibrium phase diagrams. These studies show that stoichiometric saturation can control, or at least influence, initial congruent dissolution pathways. The results for (Sr, Ca)CO3orth. solids reveal that stoichiometric saturation can also control the initial stages of incongruent dissolution, despite the intrinsic instability of some of the initial solids. In contrast, recrystallisation experiments in the highly soluble KCl-KBr-H2O system demonstrate equilibrium. The excess free energy of mixing calculated for K(Cl, Br) solids is closely modeled by the relation GE = ??KBr??KClRT[a0 + a1(2??KBr-1)], where a0 is 1.40 ?? 0.02, a1, is -0.08 ?? 0.03 at 25??C, and ??KBr and ??KCl are the mole fractions of KBr and KCl in the solids. The phase diagram constructed using this fit reveals an alyotropic maximum located at ??KBr = 0.676 and at a total solubility product, ???? = [K+]([Cl-] + [Br-]) = 15.35. ?? 1990.

Radiolysis of Aqueous Toluene Solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christensen, H.C.; Gustafson, R.

1971-04-01

Aqueous toluene solutions have been irradiated with Co γ-rays. In unbuffered solutions the various cresol isomers are formed in a total yield of 0.45, 0.87 and 0.94 molecules/100 eV absorbed energy in argon-, N 2 O- and air - saturated solutions, respectively. The yields are reduced in acid (pH 3) solutions (G 0.14, 0.14 and 0.52, respectively) but the reduction is compensated by the formation of 1,2-di-phenylethane in yields of 0.49 and 1.60 in argon- and N 2 O-saturated solutions, respectively. Benzyl radicals are formed through an acid catalysed water elimination reaction from the initially formed hydroxymethylcyclohexadienyl radical. Phenyltolylmethanes, dimethylbiphenyls and partly reduced dimers are also formed during the radiolysis. Hydrogen is formed in the same yield as the molecular yield, g(H 2 ). Xylene isomers and benzene are formed in trace quantities. The most remarkable effects of the addition of Fe(III) ions to deaerated acid toluene solutions are the formation of benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde and an increase in the yield of 1,2-diphenylethane

Effect of temperature on hydration kinetics and polymerization of tricalcium silicate in stirred suspensions of CaO-saturated solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grant, Steven A.; Boitnott, Ginger E.; Korhonen, Charles J.; Sletten, Ronald S.

2006-01-01

Tricalcium silicate was hydrated at 274, 278, 283, 298, and 313 K in stirred suspensions of saturated CaO solutions under a nitrogen-gas atmosphere until the end of deceleratory period. The suspension conductivities and energy flows were measured continuously. The individual reaction rates for tricalcium silicate dissolution, calcium silicate hydrate precipitation, and calcium hydroxide precipitation were calculated from these measurements. The results suggest that the proportion of tricalcium silicate dissolved was determined by the rate of tricalcium silicate dissolution and the time to very rapid calcium hydroxide precipitation. The time to very rapid calcium hydroxide precipitation was more sensitive to changes in temperature than was the rate of tricalcium silicate dissolution, so that the proportion of tricalcium silicate hydration dissolved by the deceleratory period increased with decreasing temperature. The average chain length of the calcium silicate hydrate ascertained by magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy increased with increasing temperature

A window-DEA based efficiency evaluation of the public hospital sector in Greece during the 5-year economic crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Flokou, Angeliki; Aletras, Vassilis; Niakas, Dimitris

2017-01-01

The main objective of this study was to apply the non-parametric method of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to measure the efficiency of Greek NHS hospitals between 2009-2013. Hospitals were divided into four separate groups with common characteristics which allowed comparisons to be carried out in the context of increased homogeneity. The window-DEA method was chosen since it leads to increased discrimination on the results especially when applied to small samples and it enables year-by-year comparisons of the results. Three inputs -hospital beds, physicians and other health professionals- and three outputs-hospitalized cases, surgeries and outpatient visits- were chosen as production variables in an input-oriented 2-year window DEA model for the assessment of technical and scale efficiency as well as for the identification of returns to scale. The Malmquist productivity index together with its components (i.e. pure technical efficiency change, scale efficiency change and technological scale) were also calculated in order to analyze the sources of productivity change between the first and last year of the study period. In the context of window analysis, the study identified the individual efficiency trends together with "all-windows" best and worst performers and revealed that a high level of technical and scale efficiency was maintained over the entire 5-year period. Similarly, the relevant findings of Malmquist productivity index analysis showed that both scale and pure technical efficiency were improved in 2013 whilst technological change was found to be in favor of the two groups with the largest hospitals.

Efficiency evaluation of a safety department in a construction company-A case study: A DEA approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Solomon Odeyale

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA is a decision making tool based on linear programming for measuring the relative efficiency of a set of comparable units. DEA helps us identify the sources and level of inefficiency for each of the inputs and outputs. This approach has been used to evaluate the efficiency of the safety department in five construction companies. A three-input, safety workforce, safety training, and safety budget, and two-output, Perfect days and Uptime, constant returns-to-scale (CRS model was developed. The model indicated the necessary improvements required in the inefficient unit’s inputs and outputs to make it efficient, by identifying what factor is responsible for the low efficiency of performance, and also what factor should be improved in order to improve the efficiency of the safety department. The result shows that the safety department of firm A, B and D are efficient, but Firm C and Firm E can improve their efficiency by reducing inputs up to 3.34% and 6.05%, respectively. The inputs identified for reduction were; number of safety staffs and safety budget for Firm C and E respectively.

Enhanced DEA model with undesirable output and interval data for rice growing farmers performance assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khan, Sahubar Ali Mohd. Nadhar, E-mail: sahubar@uum.edu.my; Ramli, Razamin, E-mail: razamin@uum.edu.my; Baten, M. D. Azizul, E-mail: baten-math@yahoo.com [School of Quantitative Sciences, UUM College of Arts and Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah (Malaysia)

2015-12-11

Agricultural production process typically produces two types of outputs which are economic desirable as well as environmentally undesirable outputs (such as greenhouse gas emission, nitrate leaching, effects to human and organisms and water pollution). In efficiency analysis, this undesirable outputs cannot be ignored and need to be included in order to obtain the actual estimation of firms efficiency. Additionally, climatic factors as well as data uncertainty can significantly affect the efficiency analysis. There are a number of approaches that has been proposed in DEA literature to account for undesirable outputs. Many researchers has pointed that directional distance function (DDF) approach is the best as it allows for simultaneous increase in desirable outputs and reduction of undesirable outputs. Additionally, it has been found that interval data approach is the most suitable to account for data uncertainty as it is much simpler to model and need less information regarding its distribution and membership function. In this paper, an enhanced DEA model based on DDF approach that considers undesirable outputs as well as climatic factors and interval data is proposed. This model will be used to determine the efficiency of rice farmers who produces undesirable outputs and operates under uncertainty. It is hoped that the proposed model will provide a better estimate of rice farmers’ efficiency.

Enhanced DEA model with undesirable output and interval data for rice growing farmers performance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Sahubar Ali Mohd. Nadhar; Ramli, Razamin; Baten, M. D. Azizul

2015-01-01

Agricultural production process typically produces two types of outputs which are economic desirable as well as environmentally undesirable outputs (such as greenhouse gas emission, nitrate leaching, effects to human and organisms and water pollution). In efficiency analysis, this undesirable outputs cannot be ignored and need to be included in order to obtain the actual estimation of firms efficiency. Additionally, climatic factors as well as data uncertainty can significantly affect the efficiency analysis. There are a number of approaches that has been proposed in DEA literature to account for undesirable outputs. Many researchers has pointed that directional distance function (DDF) approach is the best as it allows for simultaneous increase in desirable outputs and reduction of undesirable outputs. Additionally, it has been found that interval data approach is the most suitable to account for data uncertainty as it is much simpler to model and need less information regarding its distribution and membership function. In this paper, an enhanced DEA model based on DDF approach that considers undesirable outputs as well as climatic factors and interval data is proposed. This model will be used to determine the efficiency of rice farmers who produces undesirable outputs and operates under uncertainty. It is hoped that the proposed model will provide a better estimate of rice farmers’ efficiency

Enhanced DEA model with undesirable output and interval data for rice growing farmers performance assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Sahubar Ali Mohd. Nadhar; Ramli, Razamin; Baten, M. D. Azizul

2015-12-01

Agricultural production process typically produces two types of outputs which are economic desirable as well as environmentally undesirable outputs (such as greenhouse gas emission, nitrate leaching, effects to human and organisms and water pollution). In efficiency analysis, this undesirable outputs cannot be ignored and need to be included in order to obtain the actual estimation of firms efficiency. Additionally, climatic factors as well as data uncertainty can significantly affect the efficiency analysis. There are a number of approaches that has been proposed in DEA literature to account for undesirable outputs. Many researchers has pointed that directional distance function (DDF) approach is the best as it allows for simultaneous increase in desirable outputs and reduction of undesirable outputs. Additionally, it has been found that interval data approach is the most suitable to account for data uncertainty as it is much simpler to model and need less information regarding its distribution and membership function. In this paper, an enhanced DEA model based on DDF approach that considers undesirable outputs as well as climatic factors and interval data is proposed. This model will be used to determine the efficiency of rice farmers who produces undesirable outputs and operates under uncertainty. It is hoped that the proposed model will provide a better estimate of rice farmers' efficiency.

Sensorial saturation for infants' pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellieni, Carlo Valerio; Tei, Monica; Coccina, Francesca; Buonocore, Giuseppe

2012-04-01

Sensorial saturation (SS) is a multisensorial stimulation consisting of delicate tactile, gustative, auditory and visual stimuli. This procedure consists of simultaneously: attracting the infant's attention by massaging the infant's face; speaking to the infant gently, but firmly, and instilling a sweet solution on the infant's tongue. We performed a systematic Medline search of for articles focusing on human neonatal studies related to SS. The search was performed within the last 10 years and was current as of January 2012. We retrieved 8 articles that used a complete form of SS and 2 articles with an incomplete SS. Data show that the use of SS is effective in relieving newborns' pain. Oral solution alone are less effective than SS, but the stimuli without oral sweet solution are ineffective. the partial forms of SS have some effectiveness, but minor than the complete SS. Only one article showed lack of SS as analgesic method, after endotracheal suctioning. SS can be used for all newborns undergoing blood samples or other minor painful procedures. It is more effective than oral sugar alone. SS also promotes interaction between nurse and infant and is a simple effective form of analgesia for the neonatal intensive care unit.

DEA best practice assesses relative efficiency, profitability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, D.T.; Thompson, R.G.

1995-01-01

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in its Order 636 of Apr. 8, 1992, stated, ''All natural gas suppliers, including pipelines, will compete for gas purchases on an equal footing.'' This FERC order changed the economic environment in the natural gas pipeline industry. Now, gas pipeline companies must know their market position, since rate of return regulation is no longer relevant. They must be managed more than before as companies have been in less-regulated parts of the oil and gas business. How they adapt to the new environment, therefore, can be instructive to companies throughout the energy industry. In this article, DEA best-practice methods measure relative efficiency and profitability potential. This measurement reflects fundamental economic relationships. The operational efficiency model analyzed is as follows: Y 1 = f(x 1 , x 2 ), where Y 1 is gross profits, x 1 is total assets (capital employed), and x 2 is total employees (labor employed). Y 1 is a comprehensive indicator of a pipeline's output, whereas x 1 represents the pipeline's total capital employed, and x 2 represents the pipeline's total labor employed. This model reflects principles long studied in economics

Microscopic analysis of saturable absorbers: Semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors versus graphene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hader, J.; Moloney, J. V. [Nonlinear Control Strategies, Inc., 3542 N. Geronimo Ave., Tucson, Arizona 85705 (United States); College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 (United States); Yang, H.-J.; Scheller, M. [College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 (United States); Koch, S. W. [Department of Physics and Materials Sciences Center, Philipps Universität Marburg, Renthof 5, 35032 Marburg (Germany)

2016-02-07

Fully microscopic many-body calculations are used to study the influence of strong sub-picosecond pulses on the carrier distributions and corresponding optical response in saturable absorbers used for mode-locking—semiconductor (quantum well) saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs) and single layer graphene based saturable absorber mirrors (GSAMs). Unlike in GSAMs, the saturation fluence and recovery time in SESAMs show a strong spectral dependence. While the saturation fluence in the SESAM is minimal at the excitonic bandgap, the optimal recovery time and least pulse distortion due to group delay dispersion are found for excitation higher in the first subband. For excitation near the SESAM bandgap, the saturation fluence is about one tenth of that in the GSAM. At energies above the bandgap, the fluences in both systems become similar. A strong dependence of the saturation fluence on the pulse width in both systems is caused by carrier relaxation during the pulse. The recovery time in graphene is found to be about two to four times faster than that in the SESAMs. The occurrence of negative differential transmission in graphene is shown to be caused by dopant related carriers. In SESAMs, a negative differential transmission is found when exciting below the excitonic resonance where excitation induced dephasing leads to an enhancement of the absorption. Comparisons of the simulation data to the experiment show a very good quantitative agreement.

Investigation of the role of the NO-cGMP pathway on YC-1 and DEA/NO effects on thoracic aorta smooth muscle responses in a rat preeclampsia model.

Science.gov (United States)

Turgut, Nergiz Hacer; Temiz, Tijen Kaya; Turgut, Bülent; Karadas, Baris; Parlak, Mesut; Bagcivan, Ihsan

2013-10-01

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of YC-1, a nitric oxide (NO)-independent soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) activator, and DEA/NO, a NO donor, on smooth muscle responses in the preeclampsia model with suramin-treated rats and on the levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) of thoracic aorta rings isolated from term-pregnant rats. Rats of 2 groups, control group and suramin group, were given intraperitoneal injection of saline or suramin, respectively. Suramin injection caused increased blood pressure, protein in urine, and fetal growth retardation. Thoracic aorta rings were exposed to contractile and relaxant agents. KCl contraction and papaverine relaxation responses were similar. Relaxation responses of YC-1 and DEA/NO decreased in suramin group. In both groups in the presence of ODQ, a sGC inhibitor, the relaxation responses of YC-1 and DEA/NO decreased. The cGMP content was determined by radioimmunoassay technique. The content of cGMP in the suramin group decreased. In the presence of YC-1 and DEA/NO in both groups, cGMP content increased, but in ODQ-added groups, there was a significant decrease. We conclude that in preeclampsia, the decrease of relaxation responses and the decrease of cGMP content could be due to the reduction in stimulation of sGC and the decrease in cGMP levels.

Facilitated transport of copper with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles in saturated sand

Science.gov (United States)

Saturated packed column experiments were conducted to investigate the facilitated transport of Cu with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHAP) at different pore water velocities (0.22-2.2 cm min–1), solution pH (6.2-9.0), and fraction of Fe oxide coating on grain surfaces (', 0-0.36). The facilitated tr...

Assessing Green Development Efficiency of Municipalities and Provinces in China Integrating Models of Super-Efficiency DEA and Malmquist Index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qing Yang

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In order to realize economic and social green development, to pave a pathway towards China’s green regional development and develop effective scientific policy to assist in building green cities and countries, it is necessary to put forward a relatively accurate, scientific and concise green assessment method. The research uses the CCR (A. Charnes & W. W. Cooper & E. Rhodes Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA model to obtain the green development frontier surface based on 31 regions’ annual cross-section data from 2008–2012. Furthermore, in order to classify the regions whereby assessment values equal to 1 in the CCR model, we chose the Super-Efficiency DEA model for further sorting. Meanwhile, according to the five-year panel data, the green development efficiency changes of 31 regions can be manifested by the Malmquist index. Finally, the study assesses the reasons for regional differences; while analyzing and discussing the results may allude to a superior green development pathway for China.

Saturated-unsaturated flow to a well with storage in a compressible unconfined aquifer

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, Phoolendra Kumar; Neuman, Shlomo P.

2011-05-01

Mishra and Neuman (2010) developed an analytical solution for flow to a partially penetrating well of zero radius in a compressible unconfined aquifer that allows inferring its saturated and unsaturated hydraulic properties from responses recorded in the saturated and/or unsaturated zones. Their solution accounts for horizontal as well as vertical flows in each zone. It represents unsaturated zone constitutive properties in a manner that is at once mathematically tractable and sufficiently flexible to provide much improved fits to standard constitutive models. In this paper we extend the solution of [2010] to the case of a finite diameter pumping well with storage; investigate the effects of storage in the pumping well and delayed piezometer response on drawdowns in the saturated and unsaturated zones as functions of position and time; validate our solution against numerical simulations of drawdown in a synthetic aquifer having unsaturated properties described by the [1980]- [1976] model; use our solution to analyze 11 transducer-measured drawdown records from a seven-day pumping test conducted by University of Waterloo researchers at the Canadian Forces Base Borden in Ontario, Canada; validate our parameter estimates against manually-measured drawdown records in 14 other piezometers at Borden; and compare (a) our estimates of aquifer parameters with those obtained on the basis of all these records by [2008], (b) on the basis of 11 transducer-measured drawdown records by [2007], (c) our estimates of van Genuchten-Mualem parameters with those obtained on the basis of laboratory drainage data from the site by [1992], and (d) our corresponding prediction of how effective saturation varies with elevation above the initial water table under static conditions with a profile based on water contents measured in a neutron access tube at a radial distance of about 5 m from the center of the pumping well. We also use our solution to analyze 11 transducer-measured drawdown

Generation of dense plume fingers in saturated-unsaturated homogeneous porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Cremer, Clemens J. M.; Graf, Thomas

2015-02-01

Flow under variable-density conditions is widespread, occurring in geothermal reservoirs, at waste disposal sites or due to saltwater intrusion. The migration of dense plumes typically results in the formation of vertical plume fingers which are known to be triggered by material heterogeneity or by variations in source concentration that causes the density variation. Using a numerical groundwater model, six perturbation methods are tested under saturated and unsaturated flow conditions to mimic heterogeneity and concentration variations on the pore scale in order to realistically generate dense fingers. A laboratory-scale sand tank experiment is numerically simulated, and the perturbation methods are evaluated by comparing plume fingers obtained from the laboratory experiment with numerically simulated fingers. Dense plume fingering for saturated flow can best be reproduced with a spatially random, time-constant perturbation of the solute source. For unsaturated flow, a spatially and temporally random noise of solute concentration or a random conductivity field adequately simulate plume fingering.

Strand breaks, base release and post-irradiation changes in DNA γ-irradiated in dilute O2-saturated aqueous solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ward, J.F.; Kuo, I.

1976-01-01

Gamma irradiation of DNA in dilute O 2 -saturated aqueous solution releases free bases and damaged bases from the macromolecule. The yields of these products were measured after column chromatographic separation. For double stranded DNA the immediate yield of bases varies from G = 0.012 for cytosine to G = 0.033 for adenine. The yields of released bases increase with post-irradiation time (the majority of the increase occurs in the first 2 hrs.) to yields in the range of G = 0.07 +- 0.012. Yields of two released damaged thymine radiation products from γ-irradiated 3 H thymine labelled DNA also increased with post-irradiation time. Strand breaks were measured in γ-irradiated single stranded DNA the initial yield G = 0.02 was low but increased with time to G = 0.07. No direct correlation between strand-break production and release of low molecular weight products is possible. The findings are discussed in terms of damage to DNA in vivo and its enzymatic repair

Komparasi Efisiensi Teknis Bank Umum Konvensional (BUK dan Bank Umum Syariah (BUS di Indonesia Dengan Metode Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Wahab

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The Comparation of Technical Efficiency Between Conventional Banks and Islamic Banks in Indonesia Using DEA MethodThis research is to compare the levels of technical efficiency between BUK and BUS by employing non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA. This research assigns Third Party Funds, Labor Expenses and Fixed Assets which are input variable, meanwhile Total Credit and Other Incomes are determined as Output Variables. This research also examines the Profitability of BUK and BUS by Using Panel Regression Model with CAR, LDR, NPL and BOPO as independent variables, where ROA and ROE are dependent variables. The result showed that the average technical efficiency of the Conventional Banks is better than that of the Islamic Banks. That is because of the inefficient utilization of Input Variables, namely Third Party Funds, Labor Expenses and Fixed Assets in the Islamic Banks  DOI:10.15408/aiq.v6i2.1229

Measuring the Efficiency of Public Universities: Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to Examine Public Universities in Saudi Arabia

Science.gov (United States)

Alabdulmenem, Fahad Mohammed

2017-01-01

Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that allot substantial amount of government resources for education. Thus, it is important to measure how these resources are used to generate favorable academic outcomes for its nationals. In this study, data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to measure the relative efficiency of 25 public universities in…

Germinación simbiótica y asimbiótica en semillas de orquídeas epifitas Symbiotic vs. asymbiotic seed germination in epiphytic orchids

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Joel Tupac Otero Ospina

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Se compara el crecimiento de plántulas de la orquídeas epifita Tolumnia variegata en medios de agar con y sin hongos micorrízicos. Los métodos de germinación simbiótica produjeron embriones de T. variegata más desarrollados que los métodos de germinación asimbiótica y las diferencias fueron estadísticamente significativas. Las semillas en los controles en medio de celulosa sin hongos micorrízicos no germinaron. Las semillas de Epidendrum ramosum, Lepanthes rupestris y Psychilis monensis no mostraron diferencias significativas en germinación entre métodos simbiótica y asimbiótica utilizando hongos aislados de raíces de T. variegata, incluso algunos aislados del grupo Rhizoctonia parasitaron las semillas. Los resultados sugieren que las semillas de orquídeas epifitas y sus hongos micorrízicos son más específicos de lo que anteriormente se había creído y por tanto es necesario utilizar los hongos específicos para cada especie de orquídea. Además, se sugiere que los cultivadores de orquídeas podrían obtener mejores resultados en la propagación de orquídeas epifitas si utilizan metodologías de germinación simbiótica apropiados.We compared seedling growth of the epiphytic orchid, Tolumnia variegata in agar media with and without inoculated mycorrhizal fungi. Symbiotic germination produced more-developed embryos than asymbiotic germination. Differences were highly significant, although some isolates of Rhizoctonia-like fungi were parasitic on seeds. Control seeds in a cellulose medium without Rhizoctonia-like fungi did not germinate. Seeds of Epidendrum ramosum, Lepanthes rupestris and Psychilis monensis showed no significant differences between asymbiotic and symbiotic germination using mycorrhizal fungi isolated from T. variegata roots, suggesting high mycorrhizal specificity. Our data suggest that the relationship between epiphytic orchids and the mycorrhizal fungi is more specific than previously thought. The use of

POSSIBILITIES OF APPLYING THE DEA METHOD IN THE ASSESSMENT OF EFFICIENCY OF COMPANIES IN THE ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY: REVIEW OF WIND ENERGY COMPANIES

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Dario Maradin

2014-07-01

Full Text Available One of the fundamental tasks of modern power system is finding ways to produce stable and continuous electricity from scarce energy resources. One of the possible solutions is introduction, implementation and improvement of alternative forms of energy such as renewable energy sources, particularly wind energy as an increasingly important energy source which is expected to further increase its share in total electricity production. Numerous methods can be used in assessing the efficiency of wind energy companies, and in the focus of this research is the Data Envelopment Analysis method (DEA, a widely accepted methodology given its interdisciplinary approach and flexibility. This method represents a step forward in the field of renewable energy management, because it provides the possibility to compare the selected companies with the best in the industry (the most efficient and the possibility of determining sources of inefficiency and, consequently, the possibilities of their elimination.

User manual of the multicompenent variably - saturated flow and transport model HP1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacques, D.; Simunek, J.

2005-06-01

This report describes a new comprehensive simulation tool HP1 (HYDRUS1D-PHREEQC) that was obtained by coupling the HYDRUS-1D one-dimensional variably-saturated water flow and solute transport model with the PHREEQC geochemical code. The HP1 code incorporates modules simulating (1) transient water flow in variably-saturated media, (2) transport of multiple components, and (3) mixed equilibrium/kinetic geochemical reactions. The program numerically solves the Richards equation for variably-saturated water flow and advection-dispersion type equations for heat and solute transport. The flow equation incorporates a sink term to account for water uptake by plant roots. The heat transport equation considers transport due to conduction and convection with flowing water. The solute transport equations consider advective-dispersive transport in the liquid phase. The program can simulate a broad range of low-temperature biogeochemical reactions in water, soil and ground water systems including interactions with minerals, gases, exchangers, and sorption surfaces, based on thermodynamic equilibrium, kinetics, or mixed equilibrium-kinetic reactions. The program may be used to analyze water and solute movement in unsaturated, partially saturated, or fully saturated porous media. The flow region may be composed of nonuniform soils or sediments. Flow and transport can occur in the vertical, horizontal, or a generally inclined direction. The water flow part of the model can deal with prescribed head and flux boundaries, boundaries controlled by atmospheric conditions, as well as free drainage boundary conditions. The governing flow and transport equations were solved numerically using Galerkin-type linear finite element schemes. To test the accuracy of the coupling procedures implemented in HP1, simulation results were compared with (i) HYDRUS-1D for transport problems of multiple components subject to sequential first-order decay, (ii) PHREEQC for steady-state flow conditions, and

Thermodynamic activity of saturated solutions of CsClO4 in ethylene glycol and its analogs of the HOCH2(CH2CH2O)nCH2OH series

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krasnoperova, A.P.; Ivanova, E.F.; Kijko, S.M.; Yukhno, G.D.

1997-01-01

Solubility of CsClO 4 in ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, polyethylene glycols with molar mass 300 and 400 in the temperature range of 273.15-318.15 K has been ascertained by the method of radioactive indicators. Dependence of saturated solutions activity on temperature, dielectric permittivity and the number of (CH 2 CH 2 O) ether groups in glycols is discussed

A DEA Approach for Selecting a Bundle of Tickets for Performing Arts Events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baldin, Andrea

2017-01-01

tackle the issue of identifying the most efficient subset of the events scheduled to offer as a bundle. We formulate this problem following the choice-based network Revenue Management approach. Assuming the price as fixed on two types of events, lowbrow and highbrow, proposed by the theatre, the purchase...... decision is modelled on the basis of two random variables: the available time and the reservation price per perfomance. The super-efficiency DEA model will be implemented in order to find the most efficient combination of events to be bundled, defined as the one that offers the most favourable trade...

Radiolysis of Aqueous Toluene Solutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christensen, H C; Gustafson, R

1971-04-15

Aqueous toluene solutions have been irradiated with Co gamma-rays. In unbuffered solutions the various cresol isomers are formed in a total yield of 0.45, 0.87 and 0.94 molecules/100 eV absorbed energy in argon-, N{sub 2}O- and air - saturated solutions, respectively. The yields are reduced in acid (pH 3) solutions (G = 0.14, 0.14 and 0.52, respectively) but the reduction is compensated by the formation of 1,2-di-phenylethane in yields of 0.49 and 1.60 in argon- and N{sub 2}O-saturated solutions, respectively. Benzyl radicals are formed through an acid catalysed water elimination reaction from the initially formed hydroxymethylcyclohexadienyl radical. Phenyltolylmethanes, dimethylbiphenyls and partly reduced dimers are also formed during the radiolysis. Hydrogen is formed in the same yield as the molecular yield, g(H{sub 2}). Xylene isomers and benzene are formed in trace quantities. The most remarkable effects of the addition of Fe(III) ions to deaerated acid toluene solutions are the formation of benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde and an increase in the yield of 1,2-diphenylethane

A weight restricted DEA model for FMEA risk prioritization

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Pauli Adriano de Almada Garcia

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we present a linear programming (LP approach to risk prioritization in failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA. The LP is a data envelopment analysis (DEA-based model considering weight restriction. In a FMEA, we commonly consider three criteria to prioritize the failure modes, occurrence, severity and detectability. These criteria are in an ordinal scale commonly varying from 1 to 10, higher the figure worse the result. Considering the values established for each criteria, in traditional FMEA one adopts a Risk Priority Number, calculated considering the product of criteria, which has been very criticized due to its shortcoming. Through the proposed approach a frontier is established considering the less critical failure modes. Considering this frontier, one can establish how much each failure mode must be improved to become relatively acceptable. A simplified case concerning an AFWS of a two loops PWR power plant is presented to shows the applicability of the proposed approach.

DEA environmental assessment in a time horizon: Malmquist index on fuel mix, electricity and CO2 of industrial nations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki; Goto, Mika

2013-01-01

Climate change and global warming become a major policy issue in the world. Economic activities produce not only desirable outputs (e.g., electricity) but also undesirable outputs (e.g., CO 2 emission). The important policy issue is how each nation can balance between economic development and environmental protection to attain a sustainable society. In attaining the sustainable society, environmental assessment is increasingly important because it can serve as an initial step toward the green growth of each nation. For the purpose, this study proposes a new use of DEA (Data Environment Analysis) for environmental assessment in a time horizon. The proposed use of DEA incorporates Malmquist index to examine the degree of a frontier shift among multiple periods. The frontier shift indicates a technology progress and/or managerial innovation during an observed period. The index is conceptually separated into six subcomponents, which are further divided into twelve different subcomponents (six subcomponents × two disposability concepts) under the natural and managerial disposability. In the index measurement, it is necessary for us to consider a frontier crossover among different periods because technology innovation usually has a time lag until it really appears. As an empirical application, this study utilizes the proposed approach to identify the relationship among fuel mix, electricity and CO 2 of ten industrial nations. This study finds three important empirical findings. First, there is a time lag in technology innovation on electricity generation and CO 2 emission reduction. Consequently, it is necessary to consider the existence of a frontier crossover in assessing the electric power industry. Second, nuclear generation, as found in France, as well as hydro and renewable energy, as found in Netherlands, are important for the development of a sustainable society although the former is associated with a very high level of risk and the latter has a limited

The assessment of vulnerability to natural disasters in China by using the DEA method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Yiming; Fan Ying; Lu Cong; Tsai, H.-T.

2004-01-01

China has been greatly affected by natural disasters, so that it is of great importance to analyze the impact of natural disasters on national economy. Usually, the frequency of disasters or absolute loss inflicted by disasters is the first priority to be considered, while the capability of regions to overcome disasters is ignored. The concept of vulnerability is used to measure the capability to overcome disasters in different regions with distinctive economies. Traditional methods for vulnerability analysis calculate sub-indices based on disaster frequency, loss, the economic impact and the population of each region, and then add the sub-indices to get a composite index for regional vulnerability. But those methods are sensitive to the weights selected for sub-indices when multi-indexes are added up to get an index of total vulnerability. The analytic results are less convincing because of the subjectivity of different weighting methods. A data envelopment analysis (DEA)-based model for analysis of regional vulnerability to natural disasters is presented here to improve upon the traditional method. This paper systematically describes the DEA method to evaluate the relative severity of disasters in each region. A model for regional vulnerability analysis is developed, based on the annual governmental statistics from 1989 to 2000. The regional vulnerabilities in China's mainland are illustrated as a case study, and a new method for the classification of regional vulnerability to natural disasters in China is proposed

The Prediction of the Students' Academic Underachievement in Mathematics Using the DEA Model: A Developing Country Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Moradi, Fatemeh; Amiripour, Parvaneh

2017-01-01

In this study, an attempt was made to predict the students' mathematical academic underachievement at the Islamic Azad University-Yadegare-Imam branch and the appropriate strategies in mathematical academic achievement to be applied using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. Survey research methods were used to select 91 students from the…

Controle químico de brilhantina (Pilea microphylla no cultivo de orquídeas Chemical control of Pilea microphylla in orchid cultivation

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F.C.L. Freitas

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a eficácia do oxyfluorfen no controle da brilhantina (Pilea microphylla em cultivo de orquídeas. Foram realizados dois experimentos, no delineamento de blocos ao acaso, no esquema fatorial 2 x 7, com três repetições. Um dos experimentos foi constituído por duas espécies de orquídeas (Epidendrum ibaguensis e Dendrobium sp. e sete doses de oxyfluorfen (0,000, 0,024, 0,072, 0,144, 0,216, 0,288 e 0,36 L ha-1 do i.a., pulverizadas em área total, e o outro, pelas mesmas espécies e sete concentrações de oxyfluorfen (0,00000 0,00036, 0,00072, 0,00144, 0,00288, 0,00576 e 0,01152% do i.a., aplicadas em pulverização dirigida na brilhantina, sem atingir as folhas de orquídea. Cada unidade experimental foi representada por um vaso, com uma planta de orquídea, infestado com brilhantina. Aos 15, 30 e 60 dias após a aplicação do herbicida (DAA, foram realizadas avaliações visuais de toxidez na orquídea e de controle de brilhantina, utilizando-se a escala de 0 (ausência de toxidez a 100 (morte das plantas. Não houve interação entre fatores, espécie e dose ou concentração do herbicida nem diferença no comportamento do herbicida entre as espécies, no que se refere às características avaliadas, em nenhum dos experimentos. Não foram observados sintomas de toxidez nas plantas de orquídea em nenhum dos tratamentos avaliados. Verificou-se controle eficiente de brilhantina, acima de 90%, para as doses superiores a 0,26 e 0,25 L ha- 1, aos 30 e 60 dias DAA, respectivamente, na aplicação em área total; e nas concentrações superiores a 0,0020 e 0,0019%, aos 30 e 60 DAA, respectivamente, na aplicação dirigida. O oxyfluorfen promoveu eficiente controle de brilhantina através da pulverização em área total e dirigida, sem causar danos às plantas de orquídeas.This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of oxyfluorfen in the control of Pilea microphylla in orchid cultivation. Two experiments

Lipid order, saturation and surface property relationships: a study of human meibum saturation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mudgil, Poonam; Borchman, Douglas; Yappert, Marta C; Duran, Diana; Cox, Gregory W; Smith, Ryan J; Bhola, Rahul; Dennis, Gary R; Whitehall, John S

2013-11-01

Tear film stability decreases with age however the cause(s) of the instability are speculative. Perhaps the more saturated meibum from infants may contribute to tear film stability. The meibum lipid phase transition temperature and lipid hydrocarbon chain order at physiological temperature (33 °C) decrease with increasing age. It is reasonable that stronger lipid-lipid interactions could stabilize the tear film since these interactions must be broken for tear break up to occur. In this study, meibum from a pool of adult donors was saturated catalytically. The influence of saturation on meibum hydrocarbon chain order was determined by infrared spectroscopy. Meibum is in an anhydrous state in the meibomian glands and on the surface of the eyelid. The influence of saturation on the surface properties of meibum was determined using Langmuir trough technology. Saturation of native human meibum did not change the minimum or maximum values of hydrocarbon chain order so at temperatures far above or below the phase transition of human meibum, saturation does not play a role in ordering or disordering the lipid hydrocarbon chains. Saturation did increase the phase transition temperature in human meibum by over 20 °C, a relatively high amount. Surface pressure-area studies showing the late take off and higher maximum surface pressure of saturated meibum compared to native meibum suggest that the saturated meibum film is quite molecularly ordered (stiff molecular arrangement) and elastic (molecules are able to rearrange during compression and expansion) compared with native meibum films which are more fluid agreeing with the infrared spectroscopic results of this study. In saturated meibum, the formation of compacted ordered islands of lipids above the surfactant layer would be expected to decrease the rate of evaporation compared to fluid and more loosely packed native meibum. Higher surface pressure observed with films of saturated meibum compared to native meibum

Anomalous solute transport in saturated porous media: Relating transport model parameters to electrical and nuclear magnetic resonance properties

Science.gov (United States)

Swanson, Ryan D; Binley, Andrew; Keating, Kristina; France, Samantha; Osterman, Gordon; Day-Lewis, Frederick D.; Singha, Kamini

2015-01-01

The advection-dispersion equation (ADE) fails to describe commonly observed non-Fickian solute transport in saturated porous media, necessitating the use of other models such as the dual-domain mass-transfer (DDMT) model. DDMT model parameters are commonly calibrated via curve fitting, providing little insight into the relation between effective parameters and physical properties of the medium. There is a clear need for material characterization techniques that can provide insight into the geometry and connectedness of pore spaces related to transport model parameters. Here, we consider proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), direct-current (DC) resistivity, and complex conductivity (CC) measurements for this purpose, and assess these methods using glass beads as a control and two different samples of the zeolite clinoptilolite, a material that demonstrates non-Fickian transport due to intragranular porosity. We estimate DDMT parameters via calibration of a transport model to column-scale solute tracer tests, and compare NMR, DC resistivity, CC results, which reveal that grain size alone does not control transport properties and measured geophysical parameters; rather, volume and arrangement of the pore space play important roles. NMR cannot provide estimates of more-mobile and less-mobile pore volumes in the absence of tracer tests because these estimates depend critically on the selection of a material-dependent and flow-dependent cutoff time. Increased electrical connectedness from DC resistivity measurements are associated with greater mobile pore space determined from transport model calibration. CC was hypothesized to be related to length scales of mass transfer, but the CC response is unrelated to DDMT.

Determination of saturation functions and wettability for chalk based on measured fluid saturations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olsen, D.; Bech, N.; Moeller Nielsen, C.

1998-08-01

The end effect of displacement experiments on low permeable porous media is used for determination of relative permeability functions and capillary pressure functions. Saturation functions for a drainage process are determined from a primary drainage experiment. A reversal of the flooding direction creates an intrinsic imbibition process in the sample, which enables determination if imbibition saturation functions. The saturation functions are determined by a parameter estimation technique. Scanning effects are modelled by the method of Killough. Saturation profiles are determined by NMR. (au)

Development of a method to determine the total C-14 content in saturated salt solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lucks, C.; Prautsch, C.

2016-01-01

This two-step method described here for the determination of the total carbon-14 content in saturated salt solutions is divided in the analysis of the carbon-14 in the evaporable and the non-evaporable fraction. After driving off the inorganic carbon by acidification, the volatile carbon compounds and volatile decomposition products follow with rising temperature inside the sample vessel in a mild stream of oxygen to a tube furnace equipped with CuO catalyst for oxidizing the carbon compounds to CO 2 at a temperature of 800 C. Water is condensed out with an intensive condenser and the released CO 2 is absorbed in a wash bottle filled with sodium hydroxide. Similarly, an aliquot of the evaporation residue is put in the first zone of the tube furnace during the second step of the analysis. After heating the catalyst in the second zone of the furnace to 800 C the residue is heated stepwise to 800 C. By proceeding in this way, the non-volatile compounds are decomposed or oxidised in the oxygen stream and finally completely oxidized by the aid of the catalyst. The released CO 2 is again absorbed in another wash bottle. The carbonate of each fraction is then precipitated as BaCO 3 separately. Finally, the precipitate is washed, dried, finely grounded and covered with toluene scintillation cocktail for measurement in a LSC. The detection limit is about 0,2 Bq/l for a sample volume of 250 ml.

Application of FMEA-DEA (Failure Modes and Effect Analysis - Data Envelopment Analysis) to the air conditioning system of the control room a nuclear power plant; Aplicacao de FMEA-DEA ao sistema de ar condicionado da sala de controle de uma usina nuclear

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barbosa, Junior, Gilberto Varanda

2007-03-15

This dissertation presents the FMEA-DEA analysis application to the air conditioning system of the control room of a nuclear power plant. After obtaining the failure modes, the index associated to the occurrence probability, the severity of the effects and the potential of detention, a priority order is established for the failure modes or deviations. This number is obtained by multiplying the three mentioned index that vary in a natural scale from 1 to 10, where the higher the index, the more critical the situation will be. In this work, it is intended to use a model based on the data envelopment analysis, DEA jointly with the FMEA, to identify the current efficiency of the system and which failure modes or deviations are considered more critical, and by means of the weights attributed for the mathematical modeling to identify which index are contributing more for these deviations. From this identification, improvements can be set, which may consider administrative changes, operator training and so on, thus adding value to the final product. (author)

Benchmarking variable-density flow in saturated and unsaturated porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Guevara Morel, Carlos Roberto; Cremer, Clemens; Graf, Thomas

2015-04-01

In natural environments, fluid density and viscosity can be affected by spatial and temporal variations of solute concentration and/or temperature. These variations can occur, for example, due to salt water intrusion in coastal aquifers, leachate infiltration from waste disposal sites and upconing of saline water from deep aquifers. As a consequence, potentially unstable situations may exist in which a dense fluid overlies a less dense fluid. This situation can produce instabilities that manifest as dense plume fingers that move vertically downwards counterbalanced by vertical upwards flow of the less dense fluid. Resulting free convection increases solute transport rates over large distances and times relative to constant-density flow. Therefore, the understanding of free convection is relevant for the protection of freshwater aquifer systems. The results from a laboratory experiment of saturated and unsaturated variable-density flow and solute transport (Simmons et al., Transp. Porous Medium, 2002) are used as the physical basis to define a mathematical benchmark. The HydroGeoSphere code coupled with PEST are used to estimate the optimal parameter set capable of reproducing the physical model. A grid convergency analysis (in space and time) is also undertaken in order to obtain the adequate spatial and temporal discretizations. The new mathematical benchmark is useful for model comparison and testing of variable-density variably saturated flow in porous media.

CCC, Heat Flow and Mass Flow in Liquid Saturated Porous Media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mangold, D.C.; Lippmann, M.J.; Bodvarsson, G.S.

1982-01-01

1 - Description of problem or function: The numerical model CCC (conduction-convection-consolidation) solves the heat and mass flow equations for a fully, liquid-saturated, anisotropic porous medium and computes one-dimensional (vertical) consolidation of the simulated systems. The model has been applied to problems in the fields of geothermal reservoir engineering, aquifer thermal energy storage, well testing, radioactive waste isolation, and in situ coal combustion. The code has been validated against analytic solutions for fluid and heat flow, and against a field experiment for underground storage of hot water. 2 - Method of solution: The model employs the Integrated Finite Difference Method (IFDM) in discretizing the saturated porous medium and formulating the governing equations. The sets of equations are sol- ved by an iterative solution technique. The vertical deformation of the medium is calculated using the one-dimensional consolidation theory of Terzaghi. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Maximum of 12 materials. It is assumed that: (a) Darcy's law adequately describes fluid movement through fractured and porous media. (b) The rock and fluid are in thermal equilibrium at any given time. (c) Energy changes due to the fluid compressibility, acceleration and viscous dissipation are neglected. (d) One-dimensional consolidation theory adequately describes the vertical deformation of the medium

Subcritical saturation of the magnetorotational instability through mean magnetic field generation

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Jin-Han; Julien, Keith; Knobloch, Edgar

2018-03-01

The magnetorotational instability is widely believed to be responsible for outward angular momentum transport in astrophysical accretion discs. The efficiency of this transport depends on the amplitude of this instability in the saturated state. We employ an asymptotic expansion based on an explicit, astrophysically motivated time-scale separation between the orbital period, Alfvén crossing time and viscous or resistive dissipation time-scales, originally proposed by Knobloch and Julien, to formulate a semi-analytical description of the saturated state in an incompressible disc. In our approach a Keplerian shear flow is maintained by the central mass but the instability saturates via the generation of a mean vertical magnetic field. The theory assumes that the time-averaged angular momentum flux and the radial magnetic flux are constant and determines both self-consistently. The results predict that, depending on parameters, steady saturation may be supercritical or subcritical, and in the latter case that the upper (lower) solution branch is always stable (unstable). The angular momentum flux is always outward, consistent with the presence of accretion, and for fixed wavenumber peaks in the subcritical regime. The limit of infinite Reynolds number at large but finite magnetic Reynolds number is also discussed.

Rotating black holes which saturate a Bogomol close-quote nyi bound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horowitz, G.T.; Sen, A.

1996-01-01

We construct and study the electrically charged, rotating black hole solution in heterotic string theory compactified on a (10-D)-dimensional torus. This black hole is characterized by its mass, angular momentum, and a (36-2D)-dimensional electric charge vector. One of the features of this solution is that for D>5 its extremal limit saturates the Bogomol close-quote nyi bound. This is in contrast with the D=4 case where the rotating black hole solution develops a naked singularity before the Bogomol close-quote nyi bound is reached. The extremal black holes can be superposed, and by taking a periodic array in D>5, one obtains effectively four-dimensional solutions without naked singularities. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

Saturation of the hydroxyapatite mineral phase using radioactive fluorine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flores de la Torre, J.A.; Badillo A, V.E.; Lopez D, F.A.

2005-01-01

With the purpose of knowing the Anion exchange capacity (CIA) of the hydroxyapatite mineral phase, marketed by BIO-RAD, becomes necessary to saturate the surface of the mineral with an anion specie that possesses a strong affinity by this solid as it is the case of the fluorine. Moreover it takes advantage that offers the radioactive tracer technique, using the radioactive isotope of the fluorine, 18 F, produced in the cyclotron of the UNAM. This saturation is obtained in terms of the quantity of retained fluorine (mmol/ 100 g) in the synthetic hydroxyapatite in function of the concentration of the solution of NaF that oscillates from 0.7 M up to 0.16 M to fixed values of pH of 9.2. Those results demonstrate that to this fixed pH value the saturation of the surface of the hydroxyapatite is achieved in approximately 30 mmol/ 100 g, using important concentrations of NaF that correspond to 0.14 M from now on. This result demonstrates the high capacity of the solid considered to retain considerable quantities of fluorine even to basic pH values. (Author)

Evaluating sustainability of household consumption - using DEA to assess environmental performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wier, Mette; Christoffersen, Line Block; Jensen, Trine S.

2005-01-01

We assess environmental performance across product types and across household types in order to evaluate environmental pressure from human activities. To so do, we combine family budget statistics, input-output tables, energy and material flow matrices, various types of emissions and environmental...... effects indices for various effect types (e.g. a global warming potential index, an ozone depletion potential index, etc). Subsequently, using DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis), we use these weighted environmental effects indices to form one environ-mental performance score for each family type and product...... type. We find that the environmental performance of each family type changes considerably across environmental effect types. The analysis of the overall environmental performance scores shows that families living in urban flats, especially the young and elderly families, have the most environmentally...

Propagación in vitro de semillas de la orquídea Comparettia falcata Poepp. & Endl. (Orchidaceae mediante técnicas simbióticas y asimbióticas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Héctor Karol Chávez

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Para su germinación, las orquídeas dependen de hongos micorrízicos y muchas de las características únicas de estas plantas están asociadas con el hongo que las coloniza. En este trabajo se evaluó la germinación de semillas de la orquídea Comparettia falcata en condiciones de laboratorio utilizando los métodos simbióticos: dos hongos micorrízicos de orquídeas de diferentes especies y un aislamiento patogénico de Rhizoctonia solani obtenido de arroz, y los asimbioticos: formulación de Knudson C y MS (Murashie & Skood. Se encontraron diferencias (P < 0.05 entre tratamientos, resultando mejor el método asimbiótico con la formulación Knudson C y el simbiótico con R. solani, patógeno de arroz. Además, se observó que los tratamientos donde se implementó la metodología simbiótica tuvieron menor porcentaje de contaminación por microorganismos que los tratamientos de tipo asimbiótico.

Efficiency of insurance companies: Application of DEA and Tobit analyses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Grmanová

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to determine the relationship between technical efficiency and profitability of insurance companies. The profitability of insurance companies was expressed by such indicators as ROA, ROE and the size of assets. We analysed 15 commercial insurance companies in Slovakia in the period of 2013-2015. Technical efficiency scores were expressed using DEA models. The relationship between the technical efficiency score and the indicators of profitability was expressed using censored regression, i.e. the Tobit regression model and the Mann-Whitney U-test. The relationship between the technical efficiency score in the CCR and BCC models and all the groups formed on the basis of the return on assets and the group formed basing on the return on equity was not confirmed. Statistically significant difference between average technical efficiency score in the CCR model in the group of insurance companies with ROA

Mechanics of non-saturated soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coussy, O.; Fleureau, J.M.

2002-01-01

This book presents the different ways to approach the mechanics of non saturated soils, from the physico-chemical aspect to the mechanical aspect, from the experiment to the theoretical modeling, from the laboratory to the workmanship, and from the microscopic scale to the macroscopic one. Content: water and its representation; experimental bases of the behaviour of non-saturated soils; transfer laws in non-saturated environment; energy approach of the behaviour of non-saturated soils; homogenization for the non-saturated soils; plasticity and hysteresis; dams and backfilling; elaborated barriers. (J.S.)

Facilitated transport near the carrier saturation limit

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Anawat Sungpet

2002-11-01

Full Text Available Permeation of ethylbenzene, styrene and 1-hexene through perfluorosulfonate ionomer membranes was carried out with the feed concentrations ranging from 1 M to pure. On comparison, fluxes of ethylbenzene through the Ag+-form membrane were the lowest. Only a small increase in ethylbenzene flux was observed after the feed concentration exceeded 3 M, indicating the existence of carrier saturation. The increase in styrene flux was suppressed to some degree at high concentration driving forces. In contrast, 1-hexene flux was the highest and continued to increase even at very high feed concentrations. After the experiments with pure feeds, extraction of the solutes from the membranes revealed that 62.5% of Ag+ ions reacted with 1-hexene as against 40.6% for styrene and 28.9% for ethylbenzene. Equilibrium constants, determined by distribution method, of 1-hexene, styrene and ethylbenzene were 129, 2.2 and 0.7 M-1 respectively, which suggested that stability of the complex was a key factor in the carrier saturation phenomenon.

Curing behavior and reaction kinetics of binder resins for 3D-printing investigated by dielectric analysis (DEA)

Science.gov (United States)

Möginger, B.; Kehret, L.; Hausnerova, B.; Steinhaus, J.

2016-05-01

3D-Printing is an efficient method in the field of additive manufacturing. In order to optimize the properties of manufactured parts it is essential to adapt the curing behavior of the resin systems with respect to the requirements. Thus, effects of resin composition, e.g. due to different additives such as thickener and curing agents, on the curing behavior have to be known. As the resin transfers from a liquid to a solid glass the time dependent ion viscosity was measured using DEA with flat IDEX sensors. This allows for a sensitive measurement of resin changes as the ion viscosity changes two to four decades. The investigated resin systems are based on the monomers styrene and HEMA. To account for the effects of copolymerization in the calculation of the reaction kinetics it was assumed that the reaction can be considered as a homo-polymerization having a reaction order n≠1. Then the measured ion viscosity curves are fitted with the solution of the reactions kinetics - the time dependent degree of conversion (DC-function) - for times exceeding the initiation phase representing the primary curing. The measured ion viscosity curves can nicely be fitted with the DC-function and the determined fit parameters distinguish distinctly between the investigated resin compositions.

Stochastic analysis of radionuclide migration in saturated-unsaturated soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawanishi, Moto

1988-01-01

In Japan, LLRW (low level radioactive wastes) generated from nuclear power plants shall be started to store concentrically in the Shimokita site from 1990, and those could be transformed into land disposal if the positive safety is confirmed. Therefore, it is hoped that the safety assessment method shall be successed for the land disposal of LLRW. In this study, a stochastic model to analyze the radionuclide migration in saturated-unsaturated soils was constructed. The principal results are summarized as follows. 1) We presented a generalized idea for the modeling of the radionuclide migration in saturated-unsaturated soils as an advective-dispersion phenomena followed by the decay of radionuclides and those adsorption/desorption in soils. 2) Based on the radionuclide migration model mentioned above, we developed a stochastic analysis model on radionuclide migration in saturated-unsaturated soils. 3) From the comparison between the simulated results and the exact solution on a few simple one-dimensional advective-dispersion problems of radionuclides, the good validity of this model was confirmed. 4) From the comparison between the simulated results by this model and the experimental results of radionuclide migration in a one-dimensional unsaturated soil column with rainfall, the good applicability was shown. 5) As the stochastic model such as this has several advantages that it is easily able to represent the image of physical phenomena and has basically no numerical dissipation, this model should be more applicable to the analysis of the complicated radionuclide migration in saturated-unsaturated soils. (author)

Identificação de benchmarks e anti-benchmarks para companhias aéreas usando modelos DEA e fronteira invertida Use of DEA and inverted frontier for airlines benchmarking and anti-benchmarking identification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Quintanilha da Silveira

2012-12-01

Full Text Available O crescente aumento da competitividade do setor de transporte aéreo nos últimos anos tem provocado uma mudança na dinâmica de mercado, levando as companhias aéreas a buscar novas estratégias para garantir a sua posição. Este artigo tem o objetivo de analisar o desempenho das companhias aéreas brasileiras no que tange à sua gestão operacional, após a crise do setor, ocorrida em 2006. A eficiência das empresas aéreas em 2007 foi avaliada através da comparação dos resultados obtidos no modelo de Análise Envoltória de Dados (Data Envelopment Analysis - DEA clássico com os calculados pelo método da fronteira invertida. Este artigo inclui ainda a identificação das companhias com as melhores e piores práticas gerenciais.The increase of the air transportation sector competition in recent years has changed this market dynamics, leading airlines to seek new strategies to ensure their position. This article aims to analyze the performance of Brazilian air carriers regarding their operational management after the crisis of the sector in 2006. The analysis of the companies' efficiency in 2007 is done by comparing the results obtained with a classic DEA model to those obtained with the Inverted Frontier method. This paper includes the identification of the airlines with the best and the worst managerial practices.

Nonlinear saturation of non-resonant internal instabilities in a straight spheromak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, W.; Jardin, S.C.

1982-04-01

An initial value numerical solution of the time dependent nonlinear ideal magnetohydrodynamic equations demonstrates that spheromak equilibria which are linearly unstable to nonresonant helical internal perturbations saturate at low amplitude without developing singularities. These instabilities thus represent the transition from an axisymmetric to a non-axisymmetric equilibrium state, caused by a peaking of the current density

Technology Efficiency Study on Nuclear Power and Coal Power in Guangdong Province Based on DEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yinong Li; Dong Wang

2006-01-01

Guangdong Province has taken the lead in embarking on nuclear power development to resolve its dire lack of primary resources. With the deepening of the on-going structural reform in the electric power sector in China, the market competition scheme is putting electricity generation enterprises under severe strain. Consequently, it is incumbent upon the nuclear power producers to steadily upgrade management, enhance technical capabilities, reduce cost and improve efficiency. At present, gradual application of such efficiency evaluation methodology has already commenced in some sectors in China including the electric power industry. The purpose of this paper is to use the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which is a cutting-edge approach in the efficiency evaluation field - to study the technological efficiency between nuclear power and coal power in Guangdong Province. The DEA results demonstrate that, as far as Guangdong Province is concerned, the technological efficiency of nuclear power is higher than that of coal power in terms of Technological Efficiency (TE), Pure Technology Efficiency (PTE) and Scale Efficiency (SE). The reason is that nuclear power technology is advanced with a much higher equipment availability factor. Under the same scale, the generation output of nuclear power is far higher than that of equivalent coal power generation. With the environmental protection and sustainable development requirements taken into full account, nuclear power constitutes a clean, safe and highly-efficient energy form which should be extensively harnessed in Guangdong Province to fuel its future continuing economic growth. (authors)

Chronic administration of the HNO donor Angeli's salt does not lead to tolerance, cross-tolerance, or endothelial dysfunction: comparison with GTN and DEA/NO.

Science.gov (United States)

Irvine, Jennifer C; Kemp-Harper, Barbara K; Widdop, Robert E

2011-05-01

Nitroxyl (HNO) displays distinct pharmacology to its redox congener nitric oxide (NO(•)) with therapeutic potential in the treatment of heart failure. It remains unknown if HNO donors are resistant to tolerance development following chronic in vivo administration. Wistar-Kyoto rats received a 3-day subcutaneous infusion of one of the NO(•) donors, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) or diethylamine/NONOate (DEA/NO), or the HNO donor Angeli's salt (AS). GTN infusion (10 μg/kg/min) resulted in significantly blunted depressor responses to intravenous bolus doses of GTN, demonstrating tolerance development. By contrast, infusion with AS (20 μg/kg/min) or DEA/NO (2 μg/kg/min) did not alter their subsequent depressor responses. Similarly, ex vivo vasorelaxation responses in isolated aortae revealed that GTN infusion elicited a significant 6-fold decrease in the sensitivity to GTN and reduction in the maximum response to acetylcholine (ACh). Chronic infusion of AS or DEA/NO had no effect on subsequent vasorelaxation responses to themselves or to ACh. No functional cross-tolerance between nitrovasodilators was evident, either in vivo or ex vivo, although an impaired ability of a nitrovasodilator to increase tissue cGMP content was not necessarily indicative of a reduced functional response. In conclusion, HNO donors may represent novel therapies for cardiovascular disease with therapeutic potential over clinically used organic nitrates.

Life quality evaluation in regions of the Czech Republic according to selected criteria using the DEA method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana Friebelová

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Our work has several aims. We have evaluated the Quality of life of the districts (LAU 1 regions in the Czech Republic, according to the selected criteria by the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA method. This method was initially proposed to evaluate the efficiency. In this paper the level of efficiency represents the level of life quality. The efficiency (quality of life is in this case represented as a share of output in weighted sum of inputs. In other words, it represents a certain degree to which desirable output can offset undesirable indicators. Hence we have consider three types of input (the unemployment rate, criminality, as well as the specific emissions and one output (the average salary. In the next stage, the fourth input (the average price of a dwelling per square metre is added. Its impact on the changing of efficiency score is under consideration with regression analysis. At the same time, we have observed a possible connection between the achieved efficiency score and net migration in following year. In addition to efficiency score DEA method provides weights of particular inputs and outputs. These weights are used to find those contributions of particular criteria to the achieved score. This enables us to determine the strong and weak points of the districts.

Carbon steel protection in G.S. (Girlder sulfide) plants. A protective layer formation in saturated solution of sulfohydric acid in water at pH = 4.43. Pt. 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruzzoni, P.; Burkart, A.L.; Garavaglia, R.N.

1985-04-01

As complement to the experiences on carbon steel passivation for its use in G.S. (Girlder sulfide) heavy water production plants, the results herein obtained are given, processing the material with a saturated solution at 2.3 MPa of full pressure and 125 temperature degree of H 2 S in NaOH 5 x 10 -3 M, which, at an equilibrium point, the pH is 4.43. The characteristics, the composition and adherence to the layer formed and the corrosion velocity data are analyzed. (Author) [es

Inhibition properties of self-assembled corrosion inhibitor talloil diethylenetriamine imidazoline for mild steel corrosion in chloride solution saturated with carbon dioxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jevremović, Ivana; Singer, Marc; Nešić, Srđan; Mišković-Stanković, Vesna

2013-01-01

Highlights: •Corrosion inhibitor talloil diethylenetriamine imidazoline effectively protects mild steel from CO 2 corrosion. •Quartz crystal microbalance measurements were used to the investigate kinetics of corrosion inhibitor adsorption. •Adsorption of talloil diethylenetriamine imidazoline can be described by Langmuir adsorption isotherm. -- Abstract: The inhibition effect of talloil diethylenetriamine imidazoline (TOFA/DETA imidazoline) on corrosion of mild steel in chloride solutions saturated with CO 2 was investigated by weight loss measurements (WL) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Adsorption mechanism and kinetics of self-assembled (TOFA/DETA imidazoline) monolayers formation on gold were studied using the quartz crystal microbalance measurements (QCM). WL and AFM results demonstrated that TOFA/DETA imidazoline can effectively protect mild steel surface from corrosion. QCM measurements shown that the adsorption of TOFA/DETA imidazoline onto gold follows Langmuir adsorption isotherm and further investigation of the adsorption process will be carried out on a corroding metal surface

Effect of Ethanolamines on Corrosion Inhibition of Ductile Cast Iron in Nitrite Containing Solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, K. T.; Kim, Y. S.; Chang, H. Y.; Lim, B. T.; Park, H. B.

2016-01-01

In this work, synergistic corrosion inhibition effect of nitrite and 3 kinds of ethanolamines on ductile cast iron using chemical and electrochemical methods was evaluated. This work attempts to clarify the synergistic effect of nitrite and ethanolamines. The effects of single addition of TEA, DEA, and MEA, and mixed addition of nitrite plus TEA, DEA or MEA on the corrosion inhibition of ductile cast iron in a tap water were evaluated. A huge amount of single addition of ethanolamine was needed. However, the synergistic effect by mixed addition was observed regardless of the combination of nitrite and triethanolamines, but their effects increased in a series of MEA + nitrite > DEA + nitrite > TEA + nitrite. This tendency of synergistic effect was attributed to the film properties and polar effect; TEA addition couldn't form the film showing high film resistance and semiconductive properties, but DEA or MEA could build the film having relatively high film resistance and n-type semiconductive properties. Moreover, it can be explained that this behaviour was closely related to electron attractive group within the ethanolamines, and thus corrosion inhibition power depends upon the number of the electron attractive group of MEA, DEA, and TEA.

Effect of Ethanolamines on Corrosion Inhibition of Ductile Cast Iron in Nitrite Containing Solutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, K. T.; Kim, Y. S. [Andong National University, Andong (Korea, Republic of); Chang, H. Y.; Lim, B. T.; Park, H. B. [KEPCO Engineering and Construction Company, Gimcheon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-08-15

In this work, synergistic corrosion inhibition effect of nitrite and 3 kinds of ethanolamines on ductile cast iron using chemical and electrochemical methods was evaluated. This work attempts to clarify the synergistic effect of nitrite and ethanolamines. The effects of single addition of TEA, DEA, and MEA, and mixed addition of nitrite plus TEA, DEA or MEA on the corrosion inhibition of ductile cast iron in a tap water were evaluated. A huge amount of single addition of ethanolamine was needed. However, the synergistic effect by mixed addition was observed regardless of the combination of nitrite and triethanolamines, but their effects increased in a series of MEA + nitrite > DEA + nitrite > TEA + nitrite. This tendency of synergistic effect was attributed to the film properties and polar effect; TEA addition couldn't form the film showing high film resistance and semiconductive properties, but DEA or MEA could build the film having relatively high film resistance and n-type semiconductive properties. Moreover, it can be explained that this behaviour was closely related to electron attractive group within the ethanolamines, and thus corrosion inhibition power depends upon the number of the electron attractive group of MEA, DEA, and TEA.

Establecimiento simbiótico para la propagación y conservación de Orquídeas en condiciones ex citu en el Jardín Botánico de Boyacá, Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samantha E. Zamora N.

2005-07-01

capaces de establecer asociaciones simbióticas con orquídeas a nivel de la raíz (Alexopoulos, 1986. Se analizaron 326 ejemplares de orquídeas colectadas en el Cañón de Arcabuco, Boyacá, Colombia y mantenidas en el sustrato anterior como un mecanismo para la evaluación y conservación ex citu, 30 días después de la siembra, se analizó la población encontrándose nueve en estado de inflorescencia del genero Oncidium sp., Stellis sp. y las especies Masdevallia cumniculata, M. amisomorfa, Epidendrum secundum,  Odontoglosum coronarium, Miltonia warscewiczii, Eleantus cinnabarium. Al hacer el respectivo análisis del tipo de sustrato utilizado se determinó que es viable para el cultivo y propagación de las orquídeas en condiciones ex citu.

End-Member Formulation of Solid Solutions and Reactive Transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lichtner, Peter C. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-09-01

A model for incorporating solid solutions into reactive transport equations is presented based on an end-member representation. Reactive transport equations are solved directly for the composition and bulk concentration of the solid solution. Reactions of a solid solution with an aqueous solution are formulated in terms of an overall stoichiometric reaction corresponding to a time-varying composition and exchange reactions, equivalent to reaction end-members. Reaction rates are treated kinetically using a transition state rate law for the overall reaction and a pseudo-kinetic rate law for exchange reactions. The composition of the solid solution at the onset of precipitation is assumed to correspond to the least soluble composition, equivalent to the composition at equilibrium. The stoichiometric saturation determines if the solid solution is super-saturated with respect to the aqueous solution. The method is implemented for a simple prototype batch reactor using Mathematica for a binary solid solution. Finally, the sensitivity of the results on the kinetic rate constant for a binary solid solution is investigated for reaction of an initially stoichiometric solid phase with an undersaturated aqueous solution.

The improvement gap in energy intensity: Analysis of China's thirty provincial regions using the improved DEA (data envelopment analysis) model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Ke; Lin, Boqiang

2015-01-01

Enacting a reduction target for energy intensity in provinces has become an important issue for the central and local governments in China. But the energy intensity index has provided little information about energy efficiency improvement potential. This study re-estimates the TFEE (total-factor energy efficiency) using an improved DEA (data envelopment analysis) model, which combines the super-efficiency and sequential DEA models to avoid “discriminating power problem” and “technical regress”, and then used it to calculated the TEI (target for energy intensity). The REI (improvement potential in energy intensity) is calculated by the difference between TEI and the actual level of energy intensity. In application, we calculate the REIs for different provinces under the metafrontier and group-frontier respectively, and their ratios are the technology gaps for energy use. The main result shows that China's REIs fluctuate around 21%, 7.5% and 12% for Eastern, Central and Western China respectively; and Eastern China has the highest level of energy technology. These findings reveal that energy intensities of China's provinces do not converge to the optimal level. Therefore, the target of energy-saving policy for regions should be enhancing the energy efficiency of the inefficient ones, and thereby reduce the gap for improvement in energy intensity across regions. - Highlights: • We present an improved DEA model to calculate the TFEE (total-factor energy efficiency). • The improved TFEE combines with a meta-frontier analysis. • We estabilish a new indicator for improvement gap in energy intensity. • Improvement in energy intensity of regions in China is analysed

Rational synthesis of zerovalent iron/bamboo charcoal composites with high saturation magnetization

Science.gov (United States)

Mingshan Wu; Jianfeng Ma; Zhiyong Cai; Genlin Tian; Shumin Yang; Youhong Wang; Xing' e Liu

2015-01-01

The synthesis of magnetic biochar composites is a major new research area in advanced materials sciences. A series of magnetic bamboo charcoal composites (MBC800, MBC1000 and MBC1200) with high saturation magnetization (Ms) was fabricated in this work by mixing bamboo charcoal powder with an aqueous ferric chloride solution and subsequently...

The impact of economic growth on environmental efficiency of the electricity sector: A hybrid window DEA methodology for the USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Halkos, George E; Polemis, Michael L

2018-04-01

This paper estimates the efficiency of the power generation sector in the USA by using Window Data Envelopment Analysis (W-DEA). We integrate radial and non-radial efficiency measurements in DEA using the hybrid measure while we extend the proposed model by considering good and undesirable outputs as separable and non separable. Then in the second stage, we perform parametric and non-parametric econometric techniques in order to model the relationship between the calculated environmental efficiencies and economic growth in attaining sustainability. Our empirical findings indicate a stable N-shape relationship between environmental efficiency and regional economic growth in the case of global and total pollutants but an inverted N-shape in the case of local pollutants. This implies that attention is required when considering local and global pollutants and the extracted environmental efficiency scores. A clear message to policy makers and government officials is that climate change which calls for economic, environmental and social concern should be analyzed according to its dispersion and regional dimension. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Femoral venous oxygen saturation is no surrogate for central venous oxygen saturation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Beest, Paul A.; van der Schors, Alice; Liefers, Henriëtte; Coenen, Ludo G. J.; Braam, Richard L.; Habib, Najib; Braber, Annemarije; Scheeren, Thomas W. L.; Kuiper, Michaël A.; Spronk, Peter E.

2012-01-01

Objective: The purpose of our study was to determine if central venous oxygen saturation and femoral venous oxygen saturation can be used interchangeably during surgery and in critically ill patients. Design: Prospective observational controlled study. Setting: Nonacademic university-affiliated

Nuclear magnetic resonance and sound velocity measurements of chalk saturated with magnesium rich brine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Katika, Konstantina; Alam, Mohammad Monzurul; Fabricius, Ida Lykke

2013-01-01

The use of low field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) to determine petrophysical properties of reservoirs has proved to be a good technique. Together with sonic and electrical resistivity measurements, NMR can contribute to illustrate the changes on chalk elasticity due to different pore water...... solutions of the same ionic strength. Saturation with a solution that contained divalent ions caused a major shift on the distribution of the relaxation time. The changes were probably due to precipitats forming extra internal surface in the sample. Sonic velocities were relatively low in the MgCl2 solution...

Performance of brazilian supermarket companies: a data envelopment analysis approach Desempeño organizacional en el sector de los supermercados brasileños: un analisis apoyado en el dea Desempenho organizacional no setor supermercadista brasileiro: uma análise apoiada em dea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Antonio Ferreira de Souza

2010-06-01

Full Text Available This article applies Data Envelopment Analysis, DEA, to compare the relative performance of the 100 smallest supermarket companies from the list of the 300 largest in the sector. This is in consideration of relevance that has been given to DEA by academics. Results disclose that all single store companies have performance problems related to economies of scale while chain stores have problems more frequently related to poor technical efficiency. The ten largest supermarket companies have better performance, especially with regard to efficiency of scale, than the ten smallest supermarkets studied.El presente artículo pretende analizar el desempeño de las 100 empresas más pequeñas entre las 300 más grandes del sector de supermercados. En este contexto, se presenta como contribución una discusión del desempeño relativo por medio de la aplicación del Análisis Envolvente de Datos (DEA. Los resultados muestran, entre otras informaciones interesantes, que todos los supermercados con una sola tienda tienen sus problemas de rendimiento relacionados con la escala, mientras que aquellos con más de una tienda presentan más problemas relacionados con la eficiencia técnica. Se advierte que, en general, especialmente en lo que se refiere a la eficiencia de escala, los 10 supermercados más grandes tienen un rendimiento superior en comparación con los 10 más pequeños.Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar o desempenho das 100 menores empresas supermercadistas dentre as 300 maiores do setor. Nesse contexto, apresenta-se como contribuição uma discussão do desempenho relativo por meio da aplicação da Análise Envoltória de Dados (DEA. Os resultados mostram, entre outras informações interessantes, que todos os supermercados com uma loja única têm seus problemas de desempenho relacionados à escala, enquanto os que têm mais de uma loja apresentam problemas relacionados mais �

Femoral venous oxygen saturation is no surrogate for central venous oxygen saturation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Beest, Paul A.; van der Schors, Alice; Liefers, Henriette; Coenen, Ludo G. J.; Braam, Richard L.; Habib, Najib; Braber, Annemarije; Scheeren, Thomas W. L.; Kuiper, Michael A.; Spronk, Peter E.

2012-01-01

Objective:  The purpose of our study was to determine if central venous oxygen saturation and femoral venous oxygen saturation can be used interchangeably during surgery and in critically ill patients. Design:  Prospective observational controlled study. Setting:  Nonacademic university-affiliated

Efficiency and productivity (TFP) of the Turkish electricity distribution companies: An application of two-stage (DEA and Tobit) analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Çelen, Aydın

2013-01-01

In this study, we analyze the efficiency performances of 21 Turkish electricity distribution companies during the period of 2002–2009. For this aim, we employ a two-stage analysis in order to take into account the business environment variables which are beyond the control of distribution companies. We determine the efficiency performances of the electricity distribution companies by help of DEA in the first stage. Then, in the second stage, using these calculated efficiency scores as dependent variable, we utilize Tobit model to determine the business environment variables which may explain the efficiency scores. According to the results, customer density of the region and the private ownership affect the efficiencies positively. Thus, the best strategy to improve efficiency in the market is privatizing the public distribution companies. - Highlights: • We analyze the efficiencies of 21 Turkish electricity distribution companies. • A two-stage analysis is employed to take into account environmental variables. • We firstly calculate efficiencies of companies with DEA, then Tobit model is used to determine the effects of the variables. • Customer density and ownership type affect the efficiencies positively. • Privatization is a good strategy to improve efficiencies

Nonlinear saturation controller for vibration supersession of a nonlinear composite beam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamed, Y. S. [Menofia University, Menouf (Egypt); Amer, Y. A. [Zagazig University, Zagazig (Egypt)

2014-08-15

In this paper, a study for nonlinear saturation controller (NSC) is presented that used to suppress the vibration amplitude of a structural dynamic model simulating nonlinear composite beam at simultaneous sub-harmonic and internal resonance excitation. The absorber exploits the saturation phenomenon that is known to occur in dynamical systems with quadratic non-linearities of the feedback gain and a two-to-one internal resonance. The analytical solution for the system and the nonlinear saturation controller are obtained using method of multiple time scales perturbation up to the second order approximation. All possible resonance cases were extracted at this approximation order and studied numerically. The stability of the system at the worst resonance case (Ω = 2ω{sub s} and ω{sub s} =2ω{sub C}) is investigated using both frequency response equations and phase-plane trajectories. The effects of different parameters on the system and the controller are studied numerically. The effect of some types of controller on the system is investigated numerically. The simulation results are achieved using Matlab and Maple programs.

Effective Clusters as Territorial Performance Engines in a Regional Development Strategy - A Triple-Layer DEA Assessment of the Aviation Valley in Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karima Kourtit

2017-08-01

country. A new approach based on a triple-layer architecture will be adopted here, viz.: a quantitative comparative analysis of the 16 Polish ‘voivodships’ (main administrative regions in the country, at a NUTS-2 level, a benchmark analysis of the 25 counties (‘powiats’ within the Podkarpackie voivodship (at a NUTS-4 level, and an effective industrial cluster analysis on the basis of the individual aviation firms located in the Podkarpackie region. In each step an extended Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA, characterised by a merger of a Slack-Based Measure (SMB and a super-efficiency (SE DEA, will be used in order to achieve an unambiguous ranking of the various regions or Decision Making Units (DMUs. The study will employ an extensive database on individual actors in the cluster, in combination with a broadly composed territorial-capital database for the areas under study. The paper will be concluded with some strategic policy lessons.

I-deas TMG to NX Space Systems Thermal Model Conversion and Computational Performance Comparison

Science.gov (United States)

Somawardhana, Ruwan

2011-01-01

CAD/CAE packages change on a continuous basis as the power of the tools increase to meet demands. End -users must adapt to new products as they come to market and replace legacy packages. CAE modeling has continued to evolve and is constantly becoming more detailed and complex. Though this comes at the cost of increased computing requirements Parallel processing coupled with appropriate hardware can minimize computation time. Users of Maya Thermal Model Generator (TMG) are faced with transitioning from NX I -deas to NX Space Systems Thermal (SST). It is important to understand what differences there are when changing software packages We are looking for consistency in results.

Vitamin A degradation in triglycerides varying by their saturation levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Moccand, Cyril; Martin, Fréderic; Martiel, Isabelle; Gancel, Charlotte; Michel, Martin; Fries, Lennart; Sagalowicz, Laurent

2016-10-01

Vitamin A deficiency has a widespread occurrence globally and is considered as one of the world's most serious health risk factors. Potential solutions to address this deficiency include dietary diversification or supplementation, but food fortification is generally accepted as the most cost-effective solution. The main issue with food fortification of this vitamin is related to its high instability in food matrices. Dilution of vitamin A in triglycerides is a natural and appropriate way to stabilize this compound. We show here that vitamin A palmitate stability increases with increasing concentration of triglycerides. Moreover, we found that vitamin A palmitate displays improved stability in more saturated oils. Using various temperatures, and Arrhenius plots of experiments performed at storage temperatures between 30°C and 60°C for oils varying by their saturation and crystallinity, we demonstrate that crystallization is not responsible for this phenomenon. Additionally, we show by centrifugation that vitamin A is preferably solubilized in the liquid phase compared to the crystalline phase, explaining that triglyceride crystallization does not stabilize vitamin A palmitate. It is proposed that unsaturated fats generate more oxidation products such as radicals and peroxides, leading to a quicker degradation of vitamin A. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Saturation and stability of nonlinear photonic crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franco-Ortiz, M; Corella-Madueño, A; Rosas-Burgos, R A; Adrian Reyes, J; Avendaño, Carlos G

2017-01-01

We consider a one-dimensional photonic crystal made by an infinite set of nonlinear nematic films immersed in a linear dielectric medium. The thickness of each equidistant film is negligible and its refraction index depends continuously on the electric field intensity, giving rise to all the involved nonlinear terms, which joints from a starting linear index for negligible amplitudes to a final saturation index for extremely large field intensities. We show that the nonlinear exact solutions of this system form an intensity-dependent band structure which we calculate and analyze. Next, we ponder a finite version of this system; that is, we take a finite array of linear dielectric stacks of the same size separated by the same nonlinear extremely thin nematic slabs and find the reflection coefficients for this arrangement and obtain the dependence on the wave number and intensity of the incident wave. As a final step we analyze the stability of the analytical solutions of the nonlinear crystal by following the evolution of an additive amplitude to the analytical nonlinear solution we have found here. We discuss our results and state our conclusions. (paper)

Method for selection of optimal road safety composite index with examples from DEA and TOPSIS method.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosić, Miroslav; Pešić, Dalibor; Kukić, Dragoslav; Antić, Boris; Božović, Milan

2017-01-01

Concept of composite road safety index is a popular and relatively new concept among road safety experts around the world. As there is a constant need for comparison among different units (countries, municipalities, roads, etc.) there is need to choose an adequate method which will make comparison fair to all compared units. Usually comparisons using one specific indicator (parameter which describes safety or unsafety) can end up with totally different ranking of compared units which is quite complicated for decision maker to determine "real best performers". Need for composite road safety index is becoming dominant since road safety presents a complex system where more and more indicators are constantly being developed to describe it. Among wide variety of models and developed composite indexes, a decision maker can come to even bigger dilemma than choosing one adequate risk measure. As DEA and TOPSIS are well-known mathematical models and have recently been increasingly used for risk evaluation in road safety, we used efficiencies (composite indexes) obtained by different models, based on DEA and TOPSIS, to present PROMETHEE-RS model for selection of optimal method for composite index. Method for selection of optimal composite index is based on three parameters (average correlation, average rank variation and average cluster variation) inserted into a PROMETHEE MCDM method in order to choose the optimal one. The model is tested by comparing 27 police departments in Serbia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ANALISIS EFISIENSI DISTRIBUSI PADA PENJUALAN PRODUK OLAHAN BUAH DAN SAYURAN DENGAN METODE DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS (DEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvana Maulidah

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Industrial agro requires efficient marketing distribution making it easier for consumers to get their products and can optimize the benefits to achieve a large market share. The purposes from this research is to identify the distributional channel toward fruit and vegetable processing product sale, to analyze the efficient rate on fruit and vegetable processing product, and to formulate the distributional efficiency rate improvement strategy which is not efficient using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA is done by WDEA (Warwick DEA Software. Limitations in the efficiency measurement in this study is the input and output variables. Input variables include the number of retailers, delivery volume, and distribution costs. Variable output includes the volume of sales, revenue and profits. The result of distributinal efficiency analysis toward fruit and vegetables processing product selling namely: (1 used are zero-rate and one rate distributional channeling. (2 There are 8 distributional channeling which is efficient includes in Malang, Batu, Kediri, Tuban, Magelang, Jombang, Lumajang and Surabaya. Meanwhile 7 distributional channeling area which is not efficient are Blitar, Banyuwangi, Bojonegoro, Trenggalek, Lamongan, Ponorogo, and  Mojokerto. (3 Improvement strategy toward distributional channeling area which is not efficient are explained below: (a decrease the sending volume according to the efficiency target; (b increase the selling volume based on the efficiency target in order not to get heaping on product so it can give advantage for industrial agro; and (c add the total amount of retailer toward distributional area which is not efficient.

Collector modulation in high-voltage bipolar transistor in the saturation mode: Analytical approach

Science.gov (United States)

Dmitriev, A. P.; Gert, A. V.; Levinshtein, M. E.; Yuferev, V. S.

2018-04-01

A simple analytical model is developed, capable of replacing the numerical solution of a system of nonlinear partial differential equations by solving a simple algebraic equation when analyzing the collector resistance modulation of a bipolar transistor in the saturation mode. In this approach, the leakage of the base current into the emitter and the recombination of non-equilibrium carriers in the base are taken into account. The data obtained are in good agreement with the results of numerical calculations and make it possible to describe both the motion of the front of the minority carriers and the steady state distribution of minority carriers across the collector in the saturation mode.

Structure and Supersaturation of Highly Concentrated Solutions of Buckyball in 1-Butyl-3-Methylimidazolium Tetrafluoroborate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fileti, E. E.; Chaban, V. V.

2014-01-01

Solubilization of fullerenes is of high interest because of their wide usage in both fundamental research and numerous applications. This paper reports molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of saturated and supersaturated solutions of C-60 in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [C4C1IM......-long real-time dynamics. The ion-molecular structure patterns in saturated and supersaturated solutions are distinguished in terms of radial distribution functions and cluster analysis of the solute particles. The cation separated solute pair is found to be a common structure in both saturated......][BF4], room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL). The simulations cover a wide range of temperatures between 280 and 500 K at ambient pressure. Unlike in simpler solvents, C-60 in [C4C1IM][BF4] forms highly supersaturated solutions, whose internal arrangement remains unaltered during nearly a microsecond...

Dendrobium ´Tropical Classic´. Nuevo híbrido de orquídea para Cuba

OpenAIRE

Suárez Guerra, Lorenzo; Téllez Beltrán, Georvis

2015-01-01

Los Dendrobium forman parte del género de las orquídeas más cultivadas de todo el mundo, gracias a su fácil cultivo y al gran número de híbridos obtenidos de diferentes formas, colores y tamaños. Varios cultivares de Dendrobium son comercializados como flor de corte, material in vitro y planta de pote o maceta y se ubican en el cuarto lugar en ventas entre los productos de floricultura, después de las Palmáceas, Dracaena y Anthurium. En este trabajo se presentan las principales característica...

Dendrobium «Bohemia Habana». Nuevo cultivar de orquídea epifita obtenido en Cuba

OpenAIRE

Suárez Guerra, Lorenzo

2013-01-01

Los Dendrobium, forman parte del género de las orquídeas más cultivadas de todo el mundo. Se le comercializa como flor de corte, material in vitro y planta de pote o maceta. Varios cultivares de Dendrobium son vendidos de este modo y se ubican en el cuarto lugar en ventas entre los productos de floricultura, después de las Palmáceas, Dracaena y Anthurium de corte. En este trabajo se presentan las principales características de un nuevo cultivar de Dendrobium. «Bohemia Habana», es el resultado...

347. Insuficiencia tricuspídea grave 13 años tras traumatismo torácico: una causa infrecuente de reparación valvular

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Arroyo

2012-04-01

Conclusiones: La reparación de la insuficiencia tricuspídea postraumática, aunque es una patología poco frecuente, puede ser intervenida con éxito. La cirugía reparadora sobre el recambio valvular se debe intentar, siempre que sea posible.

Torsional vibration of a pipe pile in transversely isotropic saturated soil

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Changjie; Hua, Jianmin; Ding, Xuanming

2016-09-01

This study considers the torsional vibration of a pipe pile in a transversely isotropic saturated soil layer. Based on Biot's poroelastic theory and the constitutive relations of the transversely isotropic medium, the dynamic governing equations of the outer and inner transversely isotropic saturated soil layers are derived. The Laplace transform is used to solve the governing equations of the outer and inner soil layers. The dynamic torsional response of the pipe pile in the frequency domain is derived utilizing 1D elastic theory and the continuous conditions at the interfaces between the pipe pile and the soils. The time domain solution is obtained by Fourier inverse transform. A parametric study is conducted to demonstrate the influence of the anisotropies of the outer and inner soil on the torsional dynamic response of the pipe pile.

IntertextualitY and discourse in Dea Loher’s Theater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Júlia Mara Moscardini Miguel

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Discourse is made of several voices, a premise that was announced since Bakhtin’s studies. The advances in the field of intertextuality allowed a wider specification of the term and broaden the discussion of many different occurrence of the intertext in literature. The work of a German contemporary playwright, Dea Loher, brings the recurrence of intertext, and the present paper aims to investigate this manifestation in two of her plays, Olgas Raum and Licht. Loher uses citation, references and allusions, cutting pieces of other texts and pasting them into her writing. This game of cutting and pasting is also visible inside her aesthetic, as she uses elements that are part of other theatrical aesthetics and adapts them in her work, creating an original style. Representing the political side of theater, Loher provides her reader with the possibility of reflecting and, in the considered two plays, she does it through the deconstruction of the canonic discourse, showing how discourses are made and how they are connected to power maintenance. This way, intertext, the hybrid aesthetic and other aesthetical and linguistic resources are organized to receive these political themes that come to the reader as questions and inquires.

Research on Evaluation of resource allocation efficiency of transportation system based on DEA

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhehui; Du, Linan

2017-06-01

In this paper, we select the time series data onto 1985-2015 years, construct the land (shoreline) resources, capital and labor as inputs. The index system of the output is freight volume and passenger volume, we use Quantitative analysis based on DEA method evaluated the resource allocation efficiency of railway, highway, water transport and civil aviation in China. Research shows that the resource allocation efficiency of various modes of transport has obvious difference, and the impact on scale efficiency is more significant. The most important two ways to optimize the allocation of resources to improve the efficiency of the combination of various modes of transport is promoting the co-ordination of various modes of transport and constructing integrated transportation system.

Automatic NAA. Saturation activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Westphal, G.P.; Grass, F.; Kuhnert, M.

2008-01-01

A system for Automatic NAA is based on a list of specific saturation activities determined for one irradiation position at a given neutron flux and a single detector geometry. Originally compiled from measurements of standard reference materials, the list may be extended also by the calculation of saturation activities from k 0 and Q 0 factors, and f and α values of the irradiation position. A systematic improvement of the SRM approach is currently being performed by pseudo-cyclic activation analysis, to reduce counting errors. From these measurements, the list of saturation activities is recalculated in an automatic procedure. (author)

On the role of environmental corruption in healthcare infrastructures: An empirical assessment for Italy using DEA with truncated regression approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavalieri, Marina; Guccio, Calogero; Rizzo, Ilde

2017-05-01

This paper investigates empirically whether the institutional features of the contracting authority as well as the level of 'environmental' corruption in the area where the work is localised affect the efficient execution of public contracts for healthcare infrastructures. A two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is carried out based on a sample of Italian public contracts for healthcare infrastructures during the period 2000-2005. First, a smoothed bootstrapped DEA estimator is used to assess the relative efficiency in the implementation of each single infrastructure contract. Second, the determinants of the efficiency scores variability are considered, paying special attention to the effect exerted by 'environmental' corruption on different types of contracting authorities. Our results show that the performance of the contracts for healthcare infrastructures is significantly affected by 'environmental' corruption. Furthermore, healthcare contracting authorities are, on average, less efficient and the negative effect of corruption on efficiency is greater for this type of public procurers. The policy recommendation coming out of the study is to rely on 'qualified' contracting authorities since not all the public bodies have the necessary expertise to carry on public contracts for healthcare infrastructures efficiently. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Are car manufacturers on the way to reduce CO2 emissions?: A DEA approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voltes-Dorta, Augusto; Perdiguero, Jordi; Jiménez, Juan Luis

2013-01-01

One of the pillars of the fight against climate change is reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted into the atmosphere. In that regard, curtailing CO 2 emissions from transport activities is a major objective. In its attempts of “decarbonising” transport, the European Commission set in 2009 different emission limits on the vehicles sold in Europe. With this background, this paper aims to test the ability of the major car manufacturers to meet these present and future targets with the existing technological trends. To that end, we provide an in-depth analysis on the temporal evolution of emission efficiencies in the Spanish car market. The well-known DEA-Malmquist method is applied over a large sample of car models sold in Spain between 2004 and 2010. A second-stage regression allows us to identify the main drivers of efficiency, catch-up and technical change over the period. Finally, the estimated trends are extrapolated to predict future emission levels for the car manufacturers. Using post-regulation rates of technical change, results show that the vast majority of companies would meet the 2015 target, 27% of the current market would meet the 2020 target, and around 3% would be able to comply with the 2025 target. Thus, since all targets are technologically feasible, stricter regulation is the recommended approach to encourage manufacturers to meet the goals set by the European Commission. - Highlights: • We test the ability of car manufacturers to meet emission targets. • A DEA-Malmquist model is estimated using panel data between 2004 and 2010. • With post-2007 technical change, the vast majority of companies beat the 2015 target. • 27% of the market meets the 2020 target, and 3% meets the 2025 target. • More stringent regulation is needed to meet the goals set by the European Authorities

The kinetics of dye formation by pulse radiolysis of pararosaniline cyanide in aqueous or organic solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McLaughlin, W.L.; Holcman, J.; Sehested, K.; Kosanic, M.M.

1979-11-01

The radiation-induced conversion of the leucocyanide of pararosaniline dye to the highly colored salt-isomer of the dye in acidic aqueous solution (wavelength of maximum absorption lambda sub(max)=540 nm) or polar organic solution (lambda sub(max)=550 nm), takes place in two separate processes. The first is very fast (within 3 s -1 to 10 6 s -1 , as the acidity or concentration of an oxidizing agent increases. In oxygen-free acidic aqueous or organic solutions (argon saturated) there is an unstable transient species (lambdasub(max)=380 nm). When using O 2 or N 2 O-saturated aqueous or organic solution, there is no intermediate absorption band at 380 nm, but the slow process of dye formation at 540 or 550 nm is still sequential to the initial fast process having somewhat faster kinetics than in Ar-saturated solution. (author)

Supercrystallization of KCl from solution irradiated by soft X-rays

Science.gov (United States)

Janavičius, A. J.; Rinkūnas, R.; Purlys, R.

2016-10-01

The X-rays influence on KCl crystallization in a saturated water solution has been investigated for the aim of comparing it with previously considered NaCl crystallization. The rate of crystallization has been measured in the drying drop in the solution activated by the irradiation. We have measured the influence of the irradiation time of the solution on the rates of KCl crystallization as well as the beginning of the crystallization processes on drying drops. For a longer irradiation time of the solution early crystallization in the drops occurs. A saturated water solution of KCl was irradiated with the diffractometer DRON-3M (Russian device) and this had a great influence on the two-step processes of crystallization. The ionization of the solution by soft X-rays can produce ions, metastable radicals in water, excited crystals' seeds and vacancies in growing crystals by Auger's effect. The X-rays generate a very fast crystallization in the drying drop.

A framework to select commercial bank partner using fuzzy BSC-DEA method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moussa Azarbad

2011-10-01

Full Text Available One of the primary concerns of many corporate organizations is to assess the weakness and strength of their future partners in an attempt to reduce all potential risks involved with them. In this paper, we present a BSC-DEA based model to indentify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a firm. The proposed model of this paper assumes there are various uncertainties associated with all input/output parameters and uses fuzzy numbers to handle the uncertainties. We also consider a real-world case study of banking industry where four major banks are possible candidates of a partnership and implement the proposed model of this paper for this case study. The results of this study reveal some of the issues such as weakness of electronic banking, services and resource allocation as part of their infrastructure problems.

Exploring the existence of Kuznets curve in countries' environmental efficiency using DEA window analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halkos, George Emm.; Tzeremes, Nickolaos G.

2009-01-01

This paper, using data envelopment (DEA) window analysis and generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators, examines the existence of a Kuznets type relationship between countries' environmental efficiency and national income. Specifically, it measures the environmental efficiency of 17 OECD countries by constructing environmental efficiency ratios for the time period 1980-2002. The analysis with the application of dynamic panel data reveals that there isn't a Kuznets type relationship between environmental efficiency and income. Allowing for dynamic effects we find that the adjustment to the target ratio is instantaneous. We also find that increased economic activity does not always ensure environmental protection and thus the path of growth is important in addition to the growth itself. (author)

Fault tolerant control of systems with saturations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niemann, Hans Henrik

2013-01-01

This paper presents framework for fault tolerant controllers (FTC) that includes input saturation. The controller architecture known from FTC is based on the Youla-Jabr-Bongiorno-Kucera (YJBK) parameterization is extended to handle input saturation. Applying this controller architecture in connec......This paper presents framework for fault tolerant controllers (FTC) that includes input saturation. The controller architecture known from FTC is based on the Youla-Jabr-Bongiorno-Kucera (YJBK) parameterization is extended to handle input saturation. Applying this controller architecture...... in connection with faulty systems including input saturation gives an additional YJBK transfer function related to the input saturation. In the fault free case, this additional YJBK transfer function can be applied directly for optimizing the feedback loop around the input saturation. In the faulty case......, the design problem is a mixed design problem involved both parametric faults and input saturation....

Comparing and contrasting poverty reduction performance of social welfare programs across jurisdictions in Canada using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA): an exploratory study of the era of devolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Habibov, Nazim N; Fan, Lida

2010-11-01

In the mid-1990s, the responsibilities to design, implement, and evaluate social welfare programs were transferred from federal to local jurisdictions in many countries of North America and Europe through devolution processes. Devolution has caused the need for a technique to measure and compare the performances of social welfare programs across multiple jurisdictions. This paper utilizes Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for a comparison of poverty reduction performances of jurisdictional social welfare programs across Canadian provinces. From the theoretical perspective, findings of this paper demonstrates that DEA is a promising method to evaluate, compare, and benchmark poverty reduction performance across multiple jurisdictions using multiple inputs and outputs. This paper demonstrates that DEA generates easy to comprehend composite rankings of provincial performances, identifies appropriate benchmarks for each inefficient province, and estimates sources and amounts of improvement needed to make the provinces efficient. From a practical perspective the empirical results presented in this paper indicate that Newfoundland, Prince Edwards Island, and Alberta achieve better efficiency in poverty reduction than other provinces. Policy makers and social administrators of the ineffective provinces across Canada may find benefit in selecting one of the effective provinces as a benchmark for improving their own performance based on similar size and structure of population, size of the budget for social programs, and traditions with administering particular types of social programs. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Equilibrium solubility of CO{sub 2} in aqueous solutions of 1-amino-2-propanol as function of concentration, temperature, and pressure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rebolledo-Morales, Miguel Angel; Rebolledo-Libreros, Maria Esther [Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Direccion de Investigacion y Posgrado, Programa de Ingenieria Molecular, Area de Investigacion de Termofisica, Eje Central Lazaro Cardenas Norte 152, 07730 Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Trejo, Arturo, E-mail: atrejo@imp.m [Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Direccion de Investigacion y Posgrado, Programa de Ingenieria Molecular, Area de Investigacion de Termofisica, Eje Central Lazaro Cardenas Norte 152, 07730 Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)

2011-05-15

Research highlights: Gas solubility of CO{sub 2} in aqueous solutions of 1-amino-2-propanol was measured. Solubility increases as pressure and concentration of 1-amino-2-propanol increase. The Kent-Eisenberg model was used to correlate all the experimental results. Aqueous solutions of MIPA are an excellent alternative to use in gas purification. - Abstract: Using a dynamic method with recirculation of the vapour phase, experimental values for the gas solubility of carbon dioxide in aqueous solutions of 1-amino-2-propanol (MIPA) were measured at T = (313.15 and 393.15) K, over the pressure range of (0.2 to 2436.4) kPa. The concentrations of the studied aqueous MIPA solutions were (0.20, 0.30, 0.40, and 0.50) mass fraction. The results of gas solubility are given as the partial pressure of CO{sub 2}, p{sub CO{sub 2}}, against its mole ratio, {alpha}{sub CO{sub 2}} (mol CO{sub 2} {center_dot} mol{sup -1} MIPA), and its mole fraction, x{sub CO{sub 2}}. It is observed that the solubility of CO{sub 2} increases as the concentration of MIPA in solution increases, at a given temperature throughout the pressure range considered; also the solubility values increase, under constant temperature, as the pressure increases in the studied concentration range of MIPA. The physicochemical model of Kent and Eisenberg was used to correlate simultaneously all the experimental results of the solubility of CO{sub 2} in the studied aqueous solutions of MIPA. The model correlates satisfactorily the experimental results. The deviation for pressure was 96.9 kPa using 62 experimental solubility points. The solubility results of carbon dioxide presented in this work are compared with those reported in the literature for aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), diisopropanolamine (DIPA), and N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and it is possible to conclude that the aqueous solutions of MIPA are an excellent alternative to use in gas purification processes, since the

Assessing the performance of Taiwan’s environmental protection system with a non-radial network DEA approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Chin-wei; Chiu, Yung-ho; Fang, Wei-ta; Shen, Neng

2014-01-01

Previous studies involving environmental performance purely focus on analyzing environmental or waste treatment efficiencies. This study combines various aspects of environmental protection and establishes a non-radial network DEA approach to evaluate the performance of an environmental protection system. The empirical methodology assumes that the system consists of three stages: administrative, executive processes, and protection effectiveness. The executive process includes waste treatment and pollution auditing divisions. In addition to assessing efficiencies, the empirical evaluation further explores the internal and external influences on performances and contributes implications and suggestions for environmental policy makers. The proposed model is utilized to gauge the performance of an environmental protection system for 20 municipalities in Taiwan. The results indicate the following: (1) for improving environmental quality, the government needs to put forth greater efforts in environmental audits; (2) improving productivity per unit so as to increase achievements in the executive process is more important for raising performance on environmental work, in addition to increasing workers and equipment for environmental protection; (3) a high degree of industrialization negatively influences administrative efficiency and educated residents have a greater comprehension for administrative operations, which can help in efficient budget utilization. - Highlights: • A non-radial network DEA approach to evaluate the Performance of Environmental Protection System. • The performance of waste treatment performs better than the efficiency of auditing. • Governmental expenditure is more efficiently utilized in the administrative process. • The effectiveness of achieved protection is a critical indicator for revealing environmental quality in a region

Numerical solution for heave of expansive soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadrnezhad, S. A.

1999-01-01

A numerical solution for heave prediction is developed within the context theories for both saturated and unsaturated soil behaviors. Basically, lowering the potential level of compressing on a saturated layer will cause heaving due to water absorption. This water absorption is in an opposite way, similar to water dissipation as what happens during unloading in consolidation process. However, in unsaturated layers any change of the stability of potential energy level will cause the tendency of change in particle interconnection forces. So, any change by either distressing or the variation of moisture ratio will lead to soil heave. In this paper a finite element solution is employed for predicting the heave in saturated soil similar to unloading in consolidation. Also, in the case of unsaturated soil, equivalent soil suction as negative pore water pressures in applied to soil elements as equivalent nodal forces. To show the potential of this method, test results were com pated with those obtained from computations. These comparisons show that the presented method is capable of predicting the heave phenomenon quite well

Analysis of financing efficiency of big data industry in Guizhou province based on DEA models

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chenggang; Pan, Kang; Luo, Cong

2018-03-01

Taking 20 listed enterprises of big data industry in Guizhou province as samples, this paper uses DEA method to evaluate the financing efficiency of big data industry in Guizhou province. The results show that the pure technical efficiency of big data enterprise in Guizhou province is high, whose mean value reaches to 0.925. The mean value of scale efficiency reaches to 0.749. The average value of comprehensive efficiency reaches 0.693. The comprehensive financing efficiency is low. According to the results of the study, this paper puts forward some policy and recommendations to improve the financing efficiency of the big data industry in Guizhou.

Accuracy in the quantification of chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) and relayed nuclear Overhauser enhancement (rNOE) saturation transfer effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiao-Yong; Wang, Feng; Li, Hua; Xu, Junzhong; Gochberg, Daniel F; Gore, John C; Zu, Zhongliang

2017-07-01

Accurate quantification of chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) effects, including dipole-dipole mediated relayed nuclear Overhauser enhancement (rNOE) saturation transfer, is important for applications and studies of molecular concentration and transfer rate (and thereby pH or temperature). Although several quantification methods, such as Lorentzian difference (LD) analysis, multiple-pool Lorentzian fits, and the three-point method, have been extensively used in several preclinical and clinical applications, the accuracy of these methods has not been evaluated. Here we simulated multiple-pool Z spectra containing the pools that contribute to the main CEST and rNOE saturation transfer signals in the brain, numerically fit them using the different methods, and then compared their derived CEST metrics with the known solute concentrations and exchange rates. Our results show that the LD analysis overestimates contributions from amide proton transfer (APT) and intermediate exchanging amine protons; the three-point method significantly underestimates both APT and rNOE saturation transfer at -3.5 ppm (NOE(-3.5)). The multiple-pool Lorentzian fit is more accurate than the other two methods, but only at lower irradiation powers (≤1 μT at 9.4 T) within the range of our simulations. At higher irradiation powers, this method is also inaccurate because of the presence of a fast exchanging CEST signal that has a non-Lorentzian lineshape. Quantitative parameters derived from in vivo images of rodent brain tumor obtained using an irradiation power of 1 μT were also compared. Our results demonstrate that all three quantification methods show similar contrasts between tumor and contralateral normal tissue for both APT and the NOE(-3.5). However, the quantified values of the three methods are significantly different. Our work provides insight into the fitting accuracy obtainable in a complex tissue model and provides guidelines for evaluating other newly developed

Comparison of pulseoximetry oxygen saturation and arterial oxygen saturation in open heart intensive care unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alireza Mahoori

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Pulseoximetry is widely used in the critical care setting, currently used to guide therapeutic interventions. Few studies have evaluated the accuracy of SPO2 (puls-eoximetry oxygen saturation in intensive care unit after cardiac surgery. Our objective was to compare pulseoximetry with arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2 during clinical routine in such patients, and to examine the effect of mild acidosis on this relationship.Methods: In an observational prospective study 80 patients were evaluated in intensive care unit after cardiac surgery. SPO2 was recorded and compared with SaO2 obtained by blood gas analysis. One or serial arterial blood gas analyses (ABGs were performed via a radial artery line while a reliable pulseoximeter signal was present. One hundred thirty seven samples were collected and for each blood gas analyses, SaO2 and SPO2 we recorded.Results: O2 saturation as a marker of peripheral perfusion was measured by Pulseoxim-etry (SPO2. The mean difference between arterial oxygen saturation and pulseoximetry oxygen saturation was 0.12%±1.6%. A total of 137 paired readings demonstrated good correlation (r=0.754; P<0.0001 between changes in SPO2 and those in SaO2 in samples with normal hemoglobin. Also in forty seven samples with mild acidosis, paired readings demonstrated good correlation (r=0.799; P<0.0001 and the mean difference between SaO2 and SPO2 was 0.05%±1.5%.Conclusion: Data showed that in patients with stable hemodynamic and good signal quality, changes in pulseoximetry oxygen saturation reliably predict equivalent changes in arterial oxygen saturation. Mild acidosis doesn’t alter the relation between SPO2 and SaO2 to any clinically important extent. In conclusion, the pulse oximeter is useful to monitor oxygen saturation in patients with stable hemodynamic.

The effect of temperature and concentration on the corrosion inhibition mechanism of an amphiphilic amido-amine in CO2 saturated solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desimone, M.P.; Gordillo, G.; Simison, S.N.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Behaviour of N-[2-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]ethyl]-9-octadecenamide (AAOA) as CO 2 corrosion inhibitor. → The adsorption of the AAOA corrosion inhibitor obeys a Frumkin adsorption isotherm. → The inhibition efficiency of the AAOA depends on temperature and concentration. → There is a change in the adsorption mode of the inhibitor with concentration. → AAOA is mainly physi- or chemisorbed for low or high concentrations, respectively. - Abstract: The corrosion inhibition mechanism of the N-[2-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]ethyl]-9-octadecenamide on mild steel surface in CO 2 -saturated 5% NaCl solution has been studied. The inhibition efficiency decreases with increasing temperature. Adsorption of the inhibitor studied is found to follow the Frumkin adsorption isotherm. EIS results show that the mechanism of its corrosion inhibition at concentrations higher than critical micelle concentration is by forming a protective porous bi-layer. The activation energy, thermodynamic parameters and electrochemical results reveal a change in the adsorption mode of the inhibitor studied: the inhibitor could primarily be physically adsorbed at low concentrations, while chemisorption is favoured as concentration increases.

Germinação, crescimento e desenvolvimento in vitro de orquídeas (Cattleya spp., Orchidaceae)

OpenAIRE

Schneiders,Danieli; Pescador,Rosete; Booz,Maristela Raitz; Suzuki,Rogério Mamoru

2012-01-01

As orquídeas no ambiente natural sofrem exploração devido a sua importância ornamental, levando algumas espécies à extinção. O cultivo in vitro é uma forma alternativa para a conservação ex-situ. Procurou-se determinar um meio de cultura eficiente para a germinação in vitro de sementes e o crescimento inicial de plântulas de Cattleya forbesii, bem como para o crescimento de plântulas in vitro de Cattleya harrisoniana. No primeiro caso, sementes foram inoculadas em meio de cultura básico de Mu...

Full-field dye concentration measurement within saturated/unsaturated thin slabs of porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norton, D.L.; Glass, R.J.

1993-01-01

This paper presents a full-field dye concentration measurement technique that extends our experimental capabilities to the measurement of transient dye concentration fields within steady state flow fields under unsaturated or saturated conditions. Simple light absorption theory provides a basis for translating images into high resolution dye concentration fields. A series of dye pulse experiments that demonstrate the combined use of the full-field saturation and dye concentration techniques was conducted at four different degrees of saturation. Each of these experimental sequences was evaluated with respect to mass balance, the results being within 5% of the known dye mass input. An image windowing technique allowed us to see increased dispersion due to decreasing moisture content, tailing of concentration at the rear of the dye pulse and slight velocity changes of the dispersive front due to changes in moisture content. The exceptional resolution of dye concentration in space and time provided by this laboratory technique allows systematic experimentation for examining basic processes affecting solute transport within saturated/unsaturated porous media. Future challenges for this work will be to use these techniques to analyze more complex systems involving heterogeneities, scaling laws, and detailed investigations of the relationship between transverse and longitudinal dispersion in unsaturated media

nitrogen saturation in stream ecosystems

OpenAIRE

Earl, S. R.; Valett, H. M.; Webster, J. R.

2006-01-01

The concept of nitrogen (N) saturation has organized the assessment of N loading in terrestrial ecosystems. Here we extend the concept to lotic ecosystems by coupling Michaelis-Menten kinetics and nutrient spiraling. We propose a series of saturation response types, which may be used to characterize the proximity of streams to N saturation. We conducted a series of short-term N releases using a tracer ((NO3)-N-15-N) to measure uptake. Experiments were conducted in streams spanning a gradient ...

Thermodynamic properties of potassium chloride aqueous solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Zezin, Denis; Driesner, Thomas

2017-04-01

Potassium chloride is a ubiquitous salt in natural fluids, being the second most abundant dissolved salt in many geological aqueous solutions after sodium chloride. It is a simple solute and strong electrolyte easily dissociating in water, however the thermodynamic properties of KCl aqueous solutions were never correlated with sufficient accuracy for a wide range of physicochemical conditions. In this communication we propose a set of parameters for a Pitzer-type model which allows calculation of all necessary thermodynamic properties of KCl solution, namely excess Gibbs free energy and derived activity coefficient, apparent molar enthalpy, heat capacity and volume, as well as osmotic coefficient and activity of water in solutions. The system KCl-water is one of the best studied aqueous systems containing electrolytes. Although extensive experimental data were collected for thermodynamic properties of these solutions over the years, the accurate volumetric data became available only recently, thus making possible a complete thermodynamic formulation including a pressure dependence of excess Gibbs free energy and derived properties of the KCl-water liquids. Our proposed model is intended for calculation of major thermodynamic properties of KCl aqueous solutions at temperatures ranging from freezing point of a solution to 623 K, pressures ranging from saturated water vapor up to 150 MPa, and concentrations up to the salt saturation. This parameterized model will be further implemented in geochemical software packages and can facilitate the calculation of aqueous equilibrium for reactive transport codes.

Characterization of Microstructure and Performance of YBa2Cu3O7−x Films Synthesized Through Sol–Gel Aqueous Precursors with DEA/TEA Addition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tang, Xiao; He, Dong; Zhao, Yichun

2013-01-01

YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) superconducting thin films are synthesized through non-fluorine sol–gel aqueous processes. Diethanolamine (DEA) and triethonalamine (TEA), which have similar molecular structures but different complexation abilities and molecular weights, are separately used as chelating agents...

Semiconductor saturable absorbers for ultrafast terahertz signals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoffmann, Matthias C.; Turchinovich, Dmitry

2010-01-01

states, due to conduction band onparabolicity and scattering into satellite valleys in strong THz fields. Saturable absorber parameters, such as linear and nonsaturable transmission, and saturation fluence, are extracted by fits to a classic saturable absorber model. Further, we observe THz pulse......We demonstrate saturable absorber behavior of n-type semiconductors GaAs, GaP, and Ge in the terahertz THz frequency range at room temperature using nonlinear THz spectroscopy. The saturation mechanism is based on a decrease in electron conductivity of semiconductors at high electron momentum...

A Graphical-User Interface for the U. S. Geological Survey's SUTRA Code using Argus ONE (for simulation of variable-density saturated-unsaturated ground-water flow with solute or energy transport)

Science.gov (United States)

Voss, Clifford I.; Boldt, David; Shapiro, Allen M.

1997-01-01

This report describes a Graphical-User Interface (GUI) for SUTRA, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) model for saturated-unsaturated variable-fluid-density ground-water flow with solute or energy transport,which combines a USGS-developed code that interfaces SUTRA with Argus ONE, a commercial software product developed by Argus Interware. This product, known as Argus Open Numerical Environments (Argus ONETM), is a programmable system with geographic-information-system-like (GIS-like) functionality that includes automated gridding and meshing capabilities for linking geospatial information with finite-difference and finite-element numerical model discretizations. The GUI for SUTRA is based on a public-domain Plug-In Extension (PIE) to Argus ONE that automates the use of ArgusONE to: automatically create the appropriate geospatial information coverages (information layers) for SUTRA, provide menus and dialogs for inputting geospatial information and simulation control parameters for SUTRA, and allow visualization of SUTRA simulation results. Following simulation control data and geospatial data input bythe user through the GUI, ArgusONE creates text files in a format required for normal input to SUTRA,and SUTRA can be executed within the Argus ONE environment. Then, hydraulic head, pressure, solute concentration, temperature, saturation and velocity results from the SUTRA simulation may be visualized. Although the GUI for SUTRA discussed in this report provides all of the graphical pre- and post-processor functions required for running SUTRA, it is also possible for advanced users to apply programmable features within Argus ONE to modify the GUI to meet the unique demands of particular ground-water modeling projects.

Nitrogen saturation in stream ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Earl, Stevan R; Valett, H Maurice; Webster, Jackson R

2006-12-01

The concept of nitrogen (N) saturation has organized the assessment of N loading in terrestrial ecosystems. Here we extend the concept to lotic ecosystems by coupling Michaelis-Menten kinetics and nutrient spiraling. We propose a series of saturation response types, which may be used to characterize the proximity of streams to N saturation. We conducted a series of short-term N releases using a tracer (15NO3-N) to measure uptake. Experiments were conducted in streams spanning a gradient of background N concentration. Uptake increased in four of six streams as NO3-N was incrementally elevated, indicating that these streams were not saturated. Uptake generally corresponded to Michaelis-Menten kinetics but deviated from the model in two streams where some other growth-critical factor may have been limiting. Proximity to saturation was correlated to background N concentration but was better predicted by the ratio of dissolved inorganic N (DIN) to soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), suggesting phosphorus limitation in several high-N streams. Uptake velocity, a reflection of uptake efficiency, declined nonlinearly with increasing N amendment in all streams. At the same time, uptake velocity was highest in the low-N streams. Our conceptual model of N transport, uptake, and uptake efficiency suggests that, while streams may be active sites of N uptake on the landscape, N saturation contributes to nonlinear changes in stream N dynamics that correspond to decreased uptake efficiency.

Using boosted regression trees to predict the near-saturated hydraulic conductivity of undisturbed soils

Science.gov (United States)

Koestel, John; Bechtold, Michel; Jorda, Helena; Jarvis, Nicholas

2015-04-01

The saturated and near-saturated hydraulic conductivity of soil is of key importance for modelling water and solute fluxes in the vadose zone. Hydraulic conductivity measurements are cumbersome at the Darcy scale and practically impossible at larger scales where water and solute transport models are mostly applied. Hydraulic conductivity must therefore be estimated from proxy variables. Such pedotransfer functions are known to work decently well for e.g. water retention curves but rather poorly for near-saturated and saturated hydraulic conductivities. Recently, Weynants et al. (2009, Revisiting Vereecken pedotransfer functions: Introducing a closed-form hydraulic model. Vadose Zone Journal, 8, 86-95) reported a coefficients of determination of 0.25 (validation with an independent data set) for the saturated hydraulic conductivity from lab-measurements of Belgian soil samples. In our study, we trained boosted regression trees on a global meta-database containing tension-disk infiltrometer data (see Jarvis et al. 2013. Influence of soil, land use and climatic factors on the hydraulic conductivity of soil. Hydrology & Earth System Sciences, 17, 5185-5195) to predict the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and the conductivity at a tension of 10 cm (K10). We found coefficients of determination of 0.39 and 0.62 under a simple 10-fold cross-validation for Ks and K10. When carrying out the validation folded over the data-sources, i.e. the source publications, we found that the corresponding coefficients of determination reduced to 0.15 and 0.36, respectively. We conclude that the stricter source-wise cross-validation should be applied in future pedotransfer studies to prevent overly optimistic validation results. The boosted regression trees also allowed for an investigation of relevant predictors for estimating the near-saturated hydraulic conductivity. We found that land use and bulk density were most important to predict Ks. We also observed that Ks is large in fine

Brain oxygen saturation assessment in neonates using T2-prepared blood imaging of oxygen saturation and near-infrared spectroscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alderliesten, Thomas; De Vis, Jill B; Lemmers, Petra Ma

2017-01-01

saturation in the sagittal sinus (R(2 )= 0.49, p = 0.023), but no significant correlations could be demonstrated with frontal and whole brain cerebral blood flow. These results suggest that measuring oxygen saturation by T2-prepared blood imaging of oxygen saturation is feasible, even in neonates. Strong...... sinus. A strong linear relation was found between the oxygen saturation measured by magnetic resonance imaging and the oxygen saturation measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (R(2 )= 0.64, p ..., and magnetic resonance imaging measures of frontal cerebral blood flow, whole brain cerebral blood flow and venous oxygen saturation in the sagittal sinus (R(2 )= 0.71, 0.50, 0.65; p 

Fabrication high-purity Fe nanochains with near theoretical limit value of saturation magnetization of bulk Fe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bian, Erkang [Henan University, Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education (China); Xu, Yanling [Henan University, The Audit Department (China); Lou, Shiyun, E-mail: lousy@henu.edu.cn [Henan University, Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education (China); Fu, Yunlong, E-mail: yunlongfu@dns.sxnu.edu.cn [Shanxi Normal University, School of Chemistry and Material Science (China); Zhou, Shaomin, E-mail: smzhou@henu.edu.cn [Henan University, Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education (China)

2016-11-15

High-yield purity chain-like one-dimensional nanostructures consisting of single crystal Fe nanoparticles have been produced by using solution dispersion approach. Room temperature magnetic measurement shows that the as-fabricated Fe nanochains are ferromagnetic with a high saturation magnetization (203 emu/g) whereas the nanoparticles are single magnetic domains, which indicate that the as-synthesized products have superparamagnetism behavior with the saturation magnetization of about 28 emu/g. Maybe this results from the directional alignment of the nanoparticles. The excellent characteristic may have led to the potential applications in spin filtering, high density magnetic recording, and nanosensors.

Effect of solvent and temperature on solution-crystallized terfenadine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leitao, M. Luisa P.; Canotilho, Joao; Ferreira, Simone C.R.; Sousa, Adriano T.; Simoes Redinha, J.

2004-01-01

The aim of this work was to understand the crystallization process of terfenadine in solution. Cooling of saturated solutions prepared at 50 deg. C at different temperatures, evaporating the solvent from nearly saturated solutions at a certain temperature, and exposing ethanol solutions of terfenadine to water vapour atmosphere were the techniques used for obtaining terfenadine specimens. The characterization of these specimens was carried out by thermal microscopy, differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetry and powder X-ray diffraction. Crystalline phases, amorphous solids, and solvates were identified. For the solvents used in the present study, the crystallinity degree of terfenadine decreases from ethanol-water to ethanol and from this to methanol. Decreasing the temperature promotes the formation of amorphous solid material; at low temperatures, methanol and ethanol solvates are also formed. Desolvation, following the terfenadine aggregation process in solution accounts for the different behaviour found for the solvents and for the effect of temperature on the structure. The role of the solvent as structure-mediator is explained on the grounds of the values previously published for the enthalpy of solution of terfenadine in the solvents under study

Scattering by a spherical inhomogeneity in a fluid-saturated porous medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berryman, J.G.

1985-01-01

A fast compressional wave incident on an inhomogeneity in a fluid-saturated porous medium will produce three scattered elastic waves: a fast compressional wave, a slow compressional wave, and a shear wave. This problem is formulated as a multipole expansion using Biot's equations of poroelasticity. The solution for the first term (n = 0) in the multipole series involves a 4 x 4 system which is solved analytically in the long-wavelength limit. All higher-order terms (n > or = 1) require the solution of a 6 x 6 system. A procedure for solving these equations by splitting the problem into a 4 x 4 system and a 2 x 2 system and then iterating is introduced. The first iterate is just the solution of the elastic wave scattering problem in the absence of fluid effects. Higher iterates include the successive perturbation effects of fluid/solid interaction

Exploring the existence of Kuznets curve in countries' environmental efficiency using DEA window analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Halkos, George Emm.; Tzeremes, Nickolaos G. [Department of Economics, University of Thessaly, Korai 43, 38333, Volos (Greece)

2009-05-15

This paper, using data envelopment (DEA) window analysis and generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators, examines the existence of a Kuznets type relationship between countries' environmental efficiency and national income. Specifically, it measures the environmental efficiency of 17 OECD countries by constructing environmental efficiency ratios for the time period 1980-2002. The analysis with the application of dynamic panel data reveals that there isn't a Kuznets type relationship between environmental efficiency and income. Allowing for dynamic effects we find that the adjustment to the target ratio is instantaneous. We also find that increased economic activity does not always ensure environmental protection and thus the path of growth is important in addition to the growth itself. (author)

Effects of Temperature on Solute Transport Parameters in Differently-Textured Soils at Saturated Condition

Science.gov (United States)

Hamamoto, S.; Arihara, M.; Kawamoto, K.; Nishimura, T.; Komatsu, T.; Moldrup, P.

2014-12-01

Subsurface warming driven by global warming, urban heat islands, and increasing use of shallow geothermal heating and cooling systems such as the ground source heat pump, potentially causes changes in subsurface mass transport. Therefore, understanding temperature dependency of the solute transport characteristics is essential to accurately assess environmental risks due to increased subsurface temperature. In this study, one-dimensional solute transport experiments were conducted in soil columns under temperature control to investigate effects of temperature on solute transport parameters, such as solute dispersion and diffusion coefficients, hydraulic conductivity, and retardation factor. Toyoura sand, Kaolin clay, and intact loamy soils were used in the experiments. Intact loamy soils were taken during a deep well boring at the Arakawa Lowland in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In the transport experiments, the core sample with 5-cm diameter and 4-cm height was first isotropically consolidated, whereafter 0.01M KCl solution was injected to the sample from the bottom. The concentrations of K+ and Cl- in the effluents were analyzed by an ion chromatograph to obtain solute breakthrough curves. The solute transport parameters were calculated from the breakthrough curves. The experiments were conducted under different temperature conditions (15, 25, and 40 oC). The retardation factor for the intact loamy soils decreased with increasing temperature, while water permeability increased due to reduced viscosity of water at higher temperature. Opposite, the effect of temperature on solute dispersivity for the intact loamy soils was insignificant. The effects of soil texture on the temperature dependency of the solute transport characteristics will be further investigated from comparison of results from differently-textured samples.

Bismuth telluride topological insulator nanosheet saturable absorbers for q-switched mode-locked Tm:ZBLAN waveguide lasers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Xiantao; Gross, Simon; Withford, Michael J.; Fuerbach, Alexander [Centre for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS) and MQ Photonics Research Centre, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie Univ., NSW (Australia); Zhang, Han; Guo, Zhinan [SZU-NUS Collaborative Innovation Centre for Optoelectronic Science and Technology, Key Lab. of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen Univ. (China)

2016-08-15

Nanosheets of bismuth telluride (Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}), a topological insulator material that exhibits broadband saturable absorption due to its non-trivial Dirac-cone like energy structure, are utilized to generate short pulses from Tm:ZBLAN waveguide lasers. By depositing multiple layers of a carefully prepared Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} solution onto a glass substrate, the modulation depth and the saturation intensity of the fabricated devices can be controlled and optimized. This approach enables the realization of saturable absorbers that feature a modulation depth of 13% and a saturation intensity of 997 kW/cm{sup 2}. For the first time to our knowledge, Q-switched mode-locked operation of a linearly polarized mid-IR ZBLAN waveguide chip laser was realized in an extended cavity configuration using the topological insulator Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}. The maximum average output power of the laser is 16.3 mW and the Q-switched and mode-locked repetition rates are 44 kHz and 436 MHz, respectively. (copyright 2016 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Space Charge Saturated Sheath Regime and Electron Temperature Saturation in Hall Thrusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raitses, Y.; Staack, D.; Smirnov, A.; Fisch, N.J.

2005-01-01

Secondary electron emission in Hall thrusters is predicted to lead to space charge saturated wall sheaths resulting in enhanced power losses in the thruster channel. Analysis of experimentally obtained electron-wall collision frequency suggests that the electron temperature saturation, which occurs at high discharge voltages, appears to be caused by a decrease of the Joule heating rather than by the enhancement of the electron energy loss at the walls due to a strong secondary electron emission

A Case Study of Nitrogen Saturation in Western U.S. Forests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark E. Fenn

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Virtually complete nitrification of the available ammonium in soil and nitrification activity in the forest floor are important factors predisposing forests in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California to nitrogen (N saturation. As a result, inorganic N in the soil solution is dominated by nitrate. High nitrification rates also generate elevated nitric oxide (NO emissions from soil. High-base cation saturation of these soils means that soil calcium depletion or effects associated with soil acidification are not an immediate risk for forest health as has been postulated for mesic forests in the eastern U.S. Physiological disturbance (e.g., altered carbon [C] cycling, reduced fine root biomass, premature needle abscission of ozone-sensitive ponderosa pine trees exposed to high N deposition and high ozone levels appear to be the greater threat to forest sustainability. However, N deposition appears to offset the aboveground growth depression effects of ozone exposure. High nitrification activity reported for many western ecosystems suggests that with chronic N inputs these systems are prone to N saturation and hydrologic and gaseous losses of N. High runoff during the winter wet season in California forests under a Mediterranean climate may further predispose these watersheds to high nitrate leachate losses. After 4 years of N fertilization at a severely N saturated site in the San Bernardino Mountains, bole growth unexpectedly increased. Reduced C allocation below- ground at this site, presumably in response to ozone or N or both pollutants, may enhance the bole growth response to added N.

Saturated Zone Colloid-Facilitated Transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolfsberg, A.; Reimus, P.

2001-01-01

The purpose of the Saturated Zone Colloid-Facilitated Transport Analysis and Modeling Report (AMR), as outlined in its Work Direction and Planning Document (CRWMS MandO 1999a), is to provide retardation factors for colloids with irreversibly-attached radionuclides, such as plutonium, in the saturated zone (SZ) between their point of entrance from the unsaturated zone (UZ) and downgradient compliance points. Although it is not exclusive to any particular radionuclide release scenario, this AMR especially addresses those scenarios pertaining to evidence from waste degradation experiments, which indicate that plutonium and perhaps other radionuclides may be irreversibly attached to colloids. This report establishes the requirements and elements of the design of a methodology for calculating colloid transport in the saturated zone at Yucca Mountain. In previous Total Systems Performance Assessment (TSPA) analyses, radionuclide-bearing colloids were assumed to be unretarded in their migration. Field experiments in fractured tuff at Yucca Mountain and in porous media at other sites indicate that colloids may, in fact, experience retardation relative to the mean pore-water velocity, suggesting that contaminants associated with colloids should also experience some retardation. Therefore, this analysis incorporates field data where available and a theoretical framework when site-specific data are not available for estimating plausible ranges of retardation factors in both saturated fractured tuff and saturated alluvium. The distribution of retardation factors for tuff and alluvium are developed in a form consistent with the Performance Assessment (PA) analysis framework for simulating radionuclide transport in the saturated zone. To improve on the work performed so far for the saturated-zone flow and transport modeling, concerted effort has been made in quantifying colloid retardation factors in both fractured tuff and alluvium. The fractured tuff analysis used recent data

Ionizing radiation induced degradation of salicylic acid in aqueous solution

Science.gov (United States)

Albarrán, Guadalupe; Mendoza, Edith

2018-06-01

The radiation-induced degradation of salicylic acid (SA-) in aqueous solutions (1.0 and 0.1 mmol dm-3) saturated with N2O or air or without oxygen were studied. Irradiation was carried out using a cobalt-60 source. With a 1 mmol dm-3 solution saturated with N2O a seemingly total degradation occurred at about 18 kGy, although small quantities of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, catechol and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid were present at that dose at concentrations of 67, 22 and 6 μmol dm-3 respectively. Under air and when free oxygen, the three radiolytic products were present at 18.54 kGy while SA- was destroyed only to 90% and 62%, respectively. In the case of 0.1 mmol dm-3 SA- solutions, the acid was degraded at 3.5 kGy if the solution contained N2O, at 5.8 kGy in air and at 7 kGy without oxygen. The concentration of the radiolytic products increased with increasing dose and after a maximum they decreased. The oxidation was followed by measuring the chemical oxygen demand; the slopes were 0.48 and 0.11, 0.21 and 0.07, 0.15 and 0.03 mmol dm-3 kGy-1 for 1.0 and 0.10 mmol dm-3 solutions saturated with N2O or air or without oxygen, respectively.

Relative Efficiency Indicators of the Credit Management Process in a Colombian Bank by Means of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

OpenAIRE

Sánchez-Gooding, Sandra Paola; Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Rodríguez-Lozano, Gloria Isabel; Universidad Nacional de Colombia

2017-01-01

The purpose of this work is to measure the relative efficiency of the units that take part in the credit management process in a Colombian bank by means of the use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Using a doublé optimization process, this advanced linear programmingmethodology generates a single relative efficiency index for each one of the units being studied, although it is capable of including multiple resources and multiple outputs. In the bank that was used as the object of this study...

Koordinasi Optimal Capacitive Energy Storage (CES dan Kontroler PID Menggunakan Differential Evolution Algorithm (DEA pada Sistem Tenaga Listrik

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akbar Swandaru

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Peningkatan suplai daya listrik diperlukan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan daya listrik. Generator cenderung beroperasi dalam beban penuh.Hal ini berpengaruh pada keamanan generator dalam operasi sistem tenaga listrik.Salah satu masalah adalah osilasi frekuensi.Bila perubahan beban terjadi, kontroler diperlukan untuk meredam osilasi frekuensi ini.Pada tugas akhir ini diusulkan sebuah koordinasi antara Kontroler Capacitive Energy Storage (CES dan Kontroler PID. CES disini berfungsi untuk membantu kinerja Governor agar meredam osilasi frekuensi dengan cepat. Kontroler CES ini digunakan bersama dengan PID controller yang dioptimalkan dengan  Differential Evolution Algorithm (DEA.

Numerical modeling of variably saturated flow and transport, 881 Hillside at Rocky Flats Plant, Jefferson County, Colorado

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fedors, R.W.; Warner, J.W.

1993-01-01

This study characterizes the unconfined groundwater flow and chemical transport in a thin veneer of colluvial and alluvial Quaternary sediments on the 881 Hillslope at Rocky Flats Plant, Jefferson County, Colorado. Colluvial deposits with a varying thickness of 1.5 to 6.7 meters mantle a 255 meter steeply dipping hillslope. Saturated and the similar material types. A two-dimensional finite element code for variably saturated conditions is used to obtain steady state flow conditions from which water contents and Darcy velocities are used for transient contaminant transport modeling. The migration of an absorptive solute is modeled over a twenty year period using the transport portion of the two-dimensional finite element code. Different potential scenarios for the source area are compared with actual well sample data. The solutes considered for this study are Trichloroethene (TCE) and tetrachloroethene (PCE) dissolved in the water phase

Assessing species saturation: conceptual and methodological challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Olivares, Ingrid; Karger, Dirk N; Kessler, Michael

2018-05-07

Is there a maximum number of species that can coexist? Intuitively, we assume an upper limit to the number of species in a given assemblage, or that a lineage can produce, but defining and testing this limit has proven problematic. Herein, we first outline seven general challenges of studies on species saturation, most of which are independent of the actual method used to assess saturation. Among these are the challenge of defining saturation conceptually and operationally, the importance of setting an appropriate referential system, and the need to discriminate among patterns, processes and mechanisms. Second, we list and discuss the methodological approaches that have been used to study species saturation. These approaches vary in time and spatial scales, and in the variables and assumptions needed to assess saturation. We argue that assessing species saturation is possible, but that many studies conducted to date have conceptual and methodological flaws that prevent us from currently attaining a good idea of the occurrence of species saturation. © 2018 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

The theory and experiment of solute migration caused by excited state absorptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao, Jin; Ying-Lin, Song; Yu-Xiao, Wang; Min, Shui; Chang-Wei, Li; Jun-Yi, Yang; Xue-Ru, Zhang; Kun, Yang

2010-01-01

Nonsymmetrical transition from reverse-saturable absorption (RSA) to saturable absorption (SA) caused by excited state absorption induced mass transport of the CuPcTs dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide is observed in an open aperture Z-scan experiment with a 21-ps laser pulse. The nonsymmetrical transition from RSA to SA is ascribed neither to saturation of excited state absorption nor to thermal induced mass transport, the so-called Soret effect. In our consideration, strong nonlinear absorption causes the rapid accumulation of the non-uniform kinetic energy of the solute molecules. The non-uniform kinetic field in turn causes the migration of the solute molecules. Additionally, an energy-gradient-induced mass transport theory is presented to interpret the experimental results, and the theoretical calculations are also taken to fit our experimental results. (classical areas of phenomenology)

Misconceptions in Reporting Oxygen Saturation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Toffaletti, John; Zijlstra, Willem G.

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: We describe some misconceptions that have become common practice in reporting blood gas and cooximetry results. In 1980, oxygen saturation was incorrectly redefined in a report of a new instrument for analysis of hemoglobin (Hb) derivatives. Oxygen saturation (sO(2)) was redefined as the

Subluxação da mandíbula para abordagem de bifurcação carotídea alta em paciente com parotidite por contraste iodado: relato de caso e revisão de literatura

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reinaldo Benevides dos Santos

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Resumo A doença aterosclerótica das carótidas extracranianas pode resultar em complicações com alta morbidade e mortalidade. A avaliação pré-operatória com exames contrastados de imagem é associada a complicações como a parotidite, além das já bem conhecidas reações alérgicas e da disfunção renal. A bifurcação carotídea alta e a doença aterosclerótica de extensão cranial costumam ser fatores limitantes para o tratamento cirúrgico convencional. Entretanto, quando há contraindicação ao uso de contraste iodado ou impossibilidade do tratamento endovascular, há a necessidade do conhecimento de técnicas cirúrgicas que permitam a realização da endarterectomia com segurança. A subluxação da mandíbula se mostrou uma técnica adjuvante segura e efetiva, de fácil execução e reprodutibilidade, possibilitando o acesso a bifurcações carotídeas altas com boa exposição do campo cirúrgico e permitindo a realização da endarterectomia conforme a técnica padrão. Apresentamos o caso de uma paciente com bifurcação carotídea alta e com limitações para uso do contraste iodado que foi submetida a endarterectomia carotídea após subluxação de mandíbula.

Landsliding in partially saturated materials

Science.gov (United States)

Godt, J.W.; Baum, R.L.; Lu, N.

2009-01-01

[1] Rainfall-induced landslides are pervasive in hillslope environments around the world and among the most costly and deadly natural hazards. However, capturing their occurrence with scientific instrumentation in a natural setting is extremely rare. The prevailing thinking on landslide initiation, particularly for those landslides that occur under intense precipitation, is that the failure surface is saturated and has positive pore-water pressures acting on it. Most analytic methods used for landslide hazard assessment are based on the above perception and assume that the failure surface is located beneath a water table. By monitoring the pore water and soil suction response to rainfall, we observed shallow landslide occurrence under partially saturated conditions for the first time in a natural setting. We show that the partially saturated shallow landslide at this site is predictable using measured soil suction and water content and a novel unified effective stress concept for partially saturated earth materials. Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.

Recipe for residual oil saturation determination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guillory, A.J.; Kidwell, C.M.

1979-01-01

In 1978, Shell Oil Co., in conjunction with the US Department of Energy, conducted a residual oil saturation study in a deep, hot high-pressured Gulf Coast Reservoir. The work was conducted prior to initiation of CO/sub 2/ tertiary recovery pilot. Many problems had to be resolved prior to and during the residual oil saturation determination. The problems confronted are outlined such that the procedure can be used much like a cookbook in designing future studies in similar reservoirs. Primary discussion centers around planning and results of a log-inject-log operation used as a prime method to determine the residual oil saturation. Several independent methods were used to calculate the residual oil saturation in the subject well in an interval between 12,910 ft (3935 m) and 12,020 ft (3938 m). In general, these numbers were in good agreement and indicated a residual oil saturation between 22% and 24%. 10 references.

Predicting the activity coefficients of free-solvent for concentrated globular protein solutions using independently determined physical parameters.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Devin W McBride

Full Text Available The activity coefficient is largely considered an empirical parameter that was traditionally introduced to correct the non-ideality observed in thermodynamic systems such as osmotic pressure. Here, the activity coefficient of free-solvent is related to physically realistic parameters and a mathematical expression is developed to directly predict the activity coefficients of free-solvent, for aqueous protein solutions up to near-saturation concentrations. The model is based on the free-solvent model, which has previously been shown to provide excellent prediction of the osmotic pressure of concentrated and crowded globular proteins in aqueous solutions up to near-saturation concentrations. Thus, this model uses only the independently determined, physically realizable quantities: mole fraction, solvent accessible surface area, and ion binding, in its prediction. Predictions are presented for the activity coefficients of free-solvent for near-saturated protein solutions containing either bovine serum albumin or hemoglobin. As a verification step, the predictability of the model for the activity coefficient of sucrose solutions was evaluated. The predicted activity coefficients of free-solvent are compared to the calculated activity coefficients of free-solvent based on osmotic pressure data. It is observed that the predicted activity coefficients are increasingly dependent on the solute-solvent parameters as the protein concentration increases to near-saturation concentrations.

Tracking Controller for Intrinsic Output Saturated Systems in Presence of Amplitude and Rate Input Saturations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chater, E.; Giri, F.; Guerrero, Josep M.

2014-01-01

We consider the problem of controlling plants that are subject to multiple saturation constraints. Especially, we are interested in linear systems whose input is subject to amplitude and rate constraints of saturation type. Furthermore, the considered systems output is also subject to an intrinsi...

Evaluationon Rail Transit Connection Mode Selection Based on Interval DEA Model%基于区间DEA模型的轨道交通衔接模式选择评价研究

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

蒋文

2012-01-01

合理完善的不同层次的轨道交通线路衔接模式,对于发挥都市圈轨道交通网络的整体效率显得尤为重要.通过确定评价指标体系及其计算方法,建立了适用于轨道交通衔接模式的选择评价的模糊区间DEA(Data Envelopment Analysis)模型.以珠三角地区典型轨道交通线路为研究案例,应用模糊区间DEA模型对衔接模式进行评价分析.结果表明,模型计算结果与工程设计方案相一致,表明所建立的区间DEA模型在轨道交通衔接模式的选择评价中具有一定的适用性.%Reasonable and effective connection mode of rail transit at different levels is rather important to improve the overall efficiency of Metropolitan rail transit network. Based on the building index calculation system of the model, the paper develops a fuzzy interval DEA model of the special needs to evaluate the selections of connection mode of rail transit. Taking the Pearl River Delta region rail network in China as an example, the interval DEA models are tested. The model results matched well with the engineering design plan. It proves that the established interval DEA models is feasible and applicable in rail traffic convergence mode selection evaluation.

Synthesis and investigation of saturated vapor pressure of lanthanum, praseodymium and neodymium tris-isopropylcyclopentadienyls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devyatykh, G.G.; Chernyaev, N.P.; Zverev, Yu.B.; Gavrishchuk, E.M.; Runovskaya, I.V.; Krupnova, Eh.F.; Chesnokova, S.G.

1980-01-01

Lanthanum, praseodymium and neodymium tris-isopropylcyclopentadienyls are synthesized with corresponding unhydrous chlorides in tetrahydrofuran solution. Saturated vapour pressure of substances obtained is studied in the 150-262 deg C range by the statistic method using a compensation zero-manometer. Vapour pressure of the compounds in question is shown to increase with the growth of the rare earth element number [ru

Concurrent freezing and sublimation of a liquid-saturated porous slab

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaidyanathan, N.; Shamsundar, N.

1991-01-01

In this paper analytical models are formulated for describing heat and mass transport during concurrent freezing and sublimation of a one-dimensional liquid-saturated porous slab. The models are based on transient heat transfer in the frozen and wet regions, and quasi-steady heat and mass transfer in the dried region. The enthalpy method in conjunction with a fully implicit finite-difference scheme is employed to obtain the solution in the frozen and wet regions. A quasi-steady solution is used in the dried region. The governing equations are nondimensionalized and parametric studies are performed. The results indicate that the Luikov number, the ambient vapor pressure, and the heat transfer Biot number are important parameters. The results also confirm that the sublimation interface temperature may show significant variations, in contrast to earlier studies in which it was assumed constant

The relative efficiency of Iranian's rural traffic police: a three-stage DEA model.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahimi, Habibollah; Soori, Hamid; Nazari, Seyed Saeed Hashemi; Motevalian, Seyed Abbas; Azar, Adel; Momeni, Eskandar; Javartani, Mehdi

2017-10-13

Road traffic Injuries (RTIs) as a health problem imposes governments to implement different interventions. Target achievement in this issue required effective and efficient measures. Efficiency evaluation of traffic police as one of the responsible administrators is necessary for resource management. Therefore, this study conducted to measure Iran's rural traffic police efficiency. This was an ecological study. To obtain pure efficiency score, three-stage DEA model was conducted with seven inputs and three output variables. At the first stage, crude efficiency score was measured with BCC-O model. Next, to extract the effects of socioeconomic, demographic, traffic count and road infrastructure as the environmental variables and statistical noise, the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) model was applied and the output values were modified according to similar environment and statistical noise conditions. Then, the pure efficiency score was measured using modified outputs and BCC-O model. In total, the efficiency score of 198 police stations from 24 provinces of 31 provinces were measured. The annual means (standard deviation) of damage, injury and fatal accidents were 247.7 (258.4), 184.9 (176.9), and 28.7 (19.5), respectively. Input averages were 5.9 (3.0) patrol teams, 0.5% (0.2) manpower proportions, 7.5 (2.9) patrol cars, 0.5 (1.3) motorcycles, 77,279.1 (46,794.7) penalties, 90.9 (2.8) cultural and educational activity score, 0.7 (2.4) speed cameras. The SFA model showed non-significant differences between police station performances and the most differences attributed to the environmental and random error. One-way main road, by road, traffic count and the number of household owning motorcycle had significant positive relations with inefficiency score. The length of freeway/highway and literacy rate variables had negative relations, significantly. Pure efficiency score was with mean of 0.95 and SD of 0.09. Iran's traffic police has potential opportunity to reduce

Effect of desaturation and re-saturation on shale in underground galleries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pham, Q.T.

2006-03-01

and re-saturation at the scale of underground facilities are performed with numerical models calibrated with experimental results. Analytical and numerical solutions are found using the finite-elements method to foresee the influence of desaturation and re-saturation on the argillite massif inside the underground galleries. (J.S.)

Sensitivity analysis of tracer transport in variably saturated soils at USDA-ARS OPE3 field site

Science.gov (United States)

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of uncertainties in hydrologic and geochemical parameters on the results of simulations of the tracer transport in variably saturated soils at the USDA-ARS OPE3 field site. A tracer experiment with a pulse of KCL solution applied to an irrigatio...

Radiation degradation of Congo Red in aqueous solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Hongjuan; Wang Min; Yang Ruiyuan; Wang Wenfeng; Shen Zhongqun; Yao Side

2006-01-01

About one-half of the dyes used in textile industry are azo dyes, and as a consequence a lot of azo dyes are released into the environment with industrial wastewater. Because of complex structures of the dyes, biological, physical and chemical treatments of dye effluents are inefficient. In this study, radiation degradation of Congo Red in aqueous solutions was investigated in different reaction systems. Both pulsed radiolysis and laser flash photolysis experiments were carried out for better understandings of degradation mechanisms involved in the treatments. Congo Red solutions saturated by air, N 2 O, O 2 , N 2 O or N 2 and added with tert-butanol were irradiated to 0-14.8 kGy. The absorption spectra, degradation efficiency, TOC (total organic carbon) removal and pH changes of the solutions were investigated. The main radiolytic products from Congo Red samples irradiated in steady-state were determined by HPLC-MS. And probable reaction mechanisms were proposed. Effects of primary species from water radiolysis, such as e aq - , . OH and . O 2 . /HO 2 . on the degradation behavior of the dye were discussed. Below 5 kGy in γ-rays irradiation, the bleaching efficiency of Congo Red was (N 2 +tert-butanol) >O 2 >air>N 2 O>N 2 . Complete degradation of Congo Red was observed at 4.0, 5.5 and 10.2 kGy irradiation of the aqueous solutions saturated by N 2 with tert-butanol added, O 2 and N 2 O, respectively. With just oxidative or reductive species, highly conjugated part of Congo Red molecules could be destroyed. While oxidative species produced from water radiolysis could oxidize the Congo Red more effectively, making the dye to break into fatty acids and CO 2 finally. In the solution saturated with N 2 and air, the primary active species were both of oxidative and reductive and the highly conjugated part of Congo Red molecules could not be destroyed completely up to 14.8 kGy of γ-ray irradiation. It was more difficult to achieve high TOC removal in comparison with �

SURGTANK, Steam Pressure, Saturation Temperature or Reactor Surge Tank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorman, D.J.; Gupta, R.K.

2001-01-01

1 - Description of problem or function: SURGTANK generates the steam pressure, saturation temperature, and ambient temperature history for a nuclear reactor steam surge tank (pressurizer) in a state of thermodynamic equilibrium subjected to a liquid insurge described by a specified time history of liquid levels. It is capable also of providing the pressure and saturation temperature history, starting from thermodynamic equilibrium conditions, for the same tank subjected to an out-surge described by a time history of liquid levels. Both operations are available for light- or heavy- water nuclear reactor systems. The tank is assumed to have perfect thermal insulation on its outer wall surfaces. 2 - Method of solution: Surge tank geometry and initial liquid level and saturation pressure are provided as input for the out-surge problem, along with the prescribed time-sequence level history. SURGTANK assumes a reduced pressure for the end of the first change in liquid level and determines the associated change of entropy for the closed system. The assumed pressure is adjusted and the associated change in entropy recalculated until a pressure is attained for which no change occurs. This pressure is recorded and used as the beginning pressure for the next level increment. The system is then re-defined to exclude the small amount of liquid which has left the tank, and a solution for the pressure at the end of the second level increment is obtained. The procedure is terminated when the pressure at the end of the final increment has been determined. Surge tank geometry, thermal conductivity, specific heat, and density of tank walls, initial liquid level, and saturation pressure are provided as input for the insurge problem, along with the prescribed time-sequence level history. SURGTANK assumes a slightly in- creased pressure for the end of the first level, the inner tank sur- face is assumed to follow saturation temperature, linearly with time, throughout the interval, and

The application of DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) window analysis in the assessment of influence on operational efficiencies after the establishment of branched hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Tongying; Yuan, Huiyun

2017-04-12

Many large-scaled public hospitals have established branched hospitals in China. This study is to provide evidence for strategy making on the management and development of multi-branched hospitals by evaluating and comparing the operational efficiencies of different hospitals before and after their establishment of branched hospitals. DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) window analysis was performed on a 7-year data pool from five public hospitals provided by health authorities and institutional surveys. The operational efficiencies of sample hospitals measured in this study (including technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency) had overall trends towards increase during this 7-year period of time, however, a temporary downturn occurred shortly after the establishment of branched hospitals; pure technical efficiency contributed more to the improvement of technical efficiency compared to scale efficiency. The establishment of branched-hospitals did not lead to a long-term negative effect on hospital operational efficiencies. Our data indicated the importance of improving scale efficiency via the optimization of organizational management, as well as the advantage of a different form of branch-establishment, merging and reorganization. This study brought an insight into the practical application of DEA window analysis on the assessment of hospital operational efficiencies.

Generación de bienestar social en México: un estudio DEA a partir del IDH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JOSÉ CÉSAR NAVARRO-CHÁVEZ

2016-01-01

Full Text Available El presente documento aborda el estudio del uso eficiente de los recursos para generar bienestar social en México durante el periodo 1990-2010; para ello se utilizó el Análisis de la Envolvente de Datos (DEA, tomando como referencia los indicadores socioeconómicos de las tres dimensiones del Índice de Desarrollo Humano (IDH. El análisis de resultados muestra que fueron Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Distrito Federal, Estado de México, Quintana Roo, Tlaxcala y Zacatecas los más eficientes en la generación de bienestar social, haciendo evidente que las entidades con mayores recursos no son necesariamente las que generan mayor bienestar social.

Profit Malmquist Index and Its Global Form in the Presence of the Negative Data in DEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghasem Tohidi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper first introduces the allocative and profit efficiency in the presence of the negative data and then presents a new circular index to measure the productivity change of decision making units (DMUs for the case that the dataset contains the inputs and/or outputs with the negative values in data envelopment analysis (DEA. The proposed index is decomposed into four components in the two stages. The range directional model (RDM and the proposed efficiencies are used to compute the proposed index and its components. The interpretations of the components are presented. Finally, a numerical example is organized to illustrate the proposed index and its components at three successive periods of time.

Adaptive projection intensity adjustment for avoiding saturation in three-dimensional shape measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chao; Gao, Nan; Wang, Xiangjun; Zhang, Zonghua

2018-03-01

Phase-based fringe projection methods have been commonly used for three-dimensional (3D) measurements. However, image saturation results in incorrect intensities in captured fringe pattern images, leading to phase and measurement errors. Existing solutions are complex. This paper proposes an adaptive projection intensity adjustment method to avoid image saturation and maintain good fringe modulation in measuring objects with a high range of surface reflectivities. The adapted fringe patterns are created using only one prior step of fringe-pattern projection and image capture. First, a set of phase-shifted fringe patterns with maximum projection intensity value of 255 and a uniform gray level pattern are projected onto the surface of an object. The patterns are reflected from and deformed by the object surface and captured by a digital camera. The best projection intensities corresponding to each saturated-pixel clusters are determined by fitting a polynomial function to transform captured intensities to projected intensities. Subsequently, the adapted fringe patterns are constructed using the best projection intensities at projector pixel coordinate. Finally, the adapted fringe patterns are projected for phase recovery and 3D shape calculation. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves high measurement accuracy even for objects with a high range of surface reflectivities.

Mass transfer processes and field-scale transport of organic solutes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brusseau, M.L.

1990-01-01

The influence of mass transfer processes, such as sorption/desorption and mass transfer between immiscible liquids and water, on the transport of organic solutes is discussed. Rate-limited sorption of organic solutes caused by a diffusion-constrained mechanism is shown to be significant under laboratory conditions. The significance of the impact of nonequilibrium sorption on field-scale transport is scale dependent. The impact of organic liquids on mass transfer and transport of organic solutes depends upon the nature of the solute and the nature and form of the organic liquid. For example, while retardation of nonionic solutes is decreased in mixed-solvent systems, (i.e. systems comprised of water and a miscible organic liquid or an immiscible liquid present in concentrations below phase separation), the retardation of organic acids may, in some cases, increase with addition of a cosolvent. While the presence of an immiscible liquid existing as a mobile phase will reduce retention of organic solutes, the presence of residual saturation of an immiscible liquid can significantly increase retention. A model is presented that incorporates the effects of retention resulting from residual saturation, as well as nonequilibrium sorption, on the transport of organic solutes. (Author) (70 refs., 3 figs.)

Measuring the technical effciency of public service broadcasters: An application of DEA in Spain || Midiendo la eficiencia técnica de los servicios públicos de televisión: una aplicación de DEA en España

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Latorre Martínez, Pilar

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The excessive debt of the Spanish economy in the last few year raises the issue of efficiency in the management of public resources. Within this context, this research measures the technical efficiency of regional public service broadcasters (PSBs in Spain using data envelopment analysis (DEA. The results indicate that several corporations are not efficient and they need to make decisions regarding some of their inputs to guarantee their sustainability.In addition, those PSBs following a management model based on outsourcing are more efficient. This research also provides a theoretical framework and a methodological application for the measurement of efficiency in the public service media sector. || La excesiva deuda pública que presenta la economía española obliga a analizar la eficiencia en la gestión de los recursos públicos. Dentro de este contexto, este artículo mide la eficiencia técnica de los servicios públicos autonómicos de televisión en España a través del Análisis Envolvente de Datos (DEA. Los resultados indican que varias televisiones autonómicas no son eficientes y que requieren variar algunos de sus inputs para garantizar su sostenibilidad. Además, los servicios públicos regionales de televisión que siguen un modelo de gestión basado en externalizar parte de su actividad son más eficientes. Esta investigación también aporta un modelo teórico y una aplicación metodológica a la medición de la eficiencia en el sector de los medios de comunicación públicos.

Corrosion of carbon steel in saturated high-level waste salt solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiersma, B.J.; Parish, W.R.

1997-01-01

High level waste stored as crystallized salts is to be removed from carbon steel tanks by water dissolution. Dissolution of the saltcake must be performed in a manner which will not impact the integrity of the tank. Corrosion testing was performed to determine the amount of corrosion inhibitor that must be added to the dissolution water in order to ensure that the salt solution formed would not induce corrosion degradation of the tank materials. The corrosion testing performed included controlled potential slow strain rate, coupon immersion, and potentiodynamic polarization tests. These tests were utilized to investigate the susceptibility of the cooling coil material to stress corrosion cracking in the anticipated environments. No evidence of SCC was observed in any of the tests. Based on these results, the recommended corrosion requirements were that the temperature of the salt solution be less than 50 degrees C and that the minimum hydroxide concentration be 0.4 molar. It was also recommended that the hydroxide concentration not stay below 0.4 molar for longer than 45 days

On the coupled unsaturated–saturated flow process induced by vertical, horizontal, and slant wells in unconfined aquifers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Liang

2017-03-01

established with special consideration of the coupled unsaturated–saturated flow process and the well orientation. Groundwater flow in the saturated zone is described by a three-dimensional governing equation and a linearized three-dimensional Richards' equation in the unsaturated zone. A solution in the Laplace domain is derived by the Laplace–finite-Fourier-transform and the method of separation of variables, and the semi-analytical solutions are obtained using a numerical inverse Laplace method. The solution is verified by a finite-element numerical model. It is found that the effects of the unsaturated zone on the drawdown of a pumping test exist at any angle of inclination of the pumping well, and this impact is more significant in the case of a horizontal well. The effects of the unsaturated zone on the drawdown are independent of the length of the horizontal well screen. The vertical well leads to the largest water volume drained from the unsaturated zone (W during the early pumping time, and the effects of the well orientation on W values become insignificant at the later time. The screen length of the horizontal well does not affect W for the whole pumping period. The proposed solutions are useful for the parameter identification of pumping tests with a general well orientation (vertical, horizontal, and slant in unconfined aquifers affected from above by the unsaturated flow process.

Efficiency dynamics and sustainability of the Indian IT-ITeS industry: An empirical investigation using DEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sankalpa Bhattacharjee

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Efficiency considerations of the Indian IT-ITeS industry have come to the forefront especially with slowdown in the US and other major industrialised economies. Using the DEA technique, this paper argues that the key to sustainability rests on the operational efficiency of the players. Primary data for this study has been collected from STP Kolkata for a period of 15 years. The results reveal that (technical efficiency varies across industry segments and increases with greater global orientation of the unit. The study prescribes segment-specific policies for sustainability of the industry instead of a uniform policy that has been the usual practice.

Avaliação da Eficiência Técnica das Empresas de Saneamento Brasileiras Utilizando a Metodologia DEA

OpenAIRE

Carmo, Cinthya Melo do

2003-01-01

Atualmente, o setor de saneamento básico brasileiro está passando por estudos para modernização das empresas responsáveis pelos serviços d água e captação de esgoto nos âmbitos regionais, estaduais e municipais, a fim de mapear, conhecer a qualidade, amplitude e eficiência desses serviços. Essa dissertação determinou o grau de eficiência técnica das 26 companhias estaduais de saneamento básico, através da metodologia DEA - Análise Envoltória de Dados (Data Envelopment Analys...

Diffusion Coefficients of Several Aqueous Alkanolamine Solutions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Snijder, Erwin D.; Riele, Marcel J.M. te; Versteeg, Geert F.; Swaaij, W.P.M. van

1993-01-01

The Taylor dispersion technique was applied for the determination of diffusion coefficients of various systems. Experiments with the system KCl in water showed that the experimental setup provides accurate data. For the alkanolamines monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), methyldiethanolamine

Application of FMEA-DEA (Failure Modes and Effect Analysis - Data Envelopment Analysis) to the air conditioning system of the control room a nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbosa Junior, Gilberto Varanda

2007-03-01

This dissertation presents the FMEA-DEA analysis application to the air conditioning system of the control room of a nuclear power plant. After obtaining the failure modes, the index associated to the occurrence probability, the severity of the effects and the potential of detention, a priority order is established for the failure modes or deviations. This number is obtained by multiplying the three mentioned index that vary in a natural scale from 1 to 10, where the higher the index, the more critical the situation will be. In this work, it is intended to use a model based on the data envelopment analysis, DEA jointly with the FMEA, to identify the current efficiency of the system and which failure modes or deviations are considered more critical, and by means of the weights attributed for the mathematical modeling to identify which index are contributing more for these deviations. From this identification, improvements can be set, which may consider administrative changes, operator training and so on, thus adding value to the final product. (author)

Gluon Saturation and EIC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sichtermann, Ernst

2016-12-15

The fundamental structure of nucleons and nuclear matter is described by the properties and dynamics of quarks and gluons in quantum chromodynamics. Electron-nucleon collisions are a powerful method to study this structure. As one increases the energy of the collisions, the interaction process probes regions of progressively higher gluon density. This density must eventually saturate. An high-energy polarized Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) has been proposed to observe and study the saturated gluon density regime. Selected measurements will be discussed, following a brief introduction.

Standing torsional waves in a fully saturated, porous, circular cylinder

CERN Document Server

Solorza, S; 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02198.x

2004-01-01

For dynamic measurement of the elastic moduli of a porous material saturated with viscous fluid using the resonance-bar technique, one also observes attenuation. In this article we have carried out the solution of the boundary-value problem associated with standing torsional oscillations of a finite, poroelastic, circular cylinder cast in the framework of volume-averaged theory of poroelasticity. Analysing this solution by eigenvalue perturbation approach we are able to develop expressions for torsional resonance and temporal attenuation frequencies in which the dependence upon the material properties are transparent. It shows how the attenuation is controlled by the permeability and the fluid properties, and how the resonance frequency drops over its value for the dry solid-frame due to the drag effect of fluid mass. Based upon this work we have a firm basis to determine solid-frame shear modulus, permeability, and tortuosity factor from torsional oscillation experiments.

Suggested Methods for Preventing Core Saturation Instability in HVDC Transmission Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Norheim, Ian

2002-07-01

fundamental frequency current from flowing on the DC side at the same time as it allows the Dc component in the DC side current to flow through it. By placing the filter between the low voltage potential and earth on the DC side it does not have to sustain the DC side voltage. It is 1) that represent the most preferable solution. It does not introduce any new components in the AC or DC grid, and it is inexpensive compared to the other solutions. The solutions in 2), 3), and 4) requires large and expensive components. However, it might be that in future schemes hybrid filters replaces passive filters on the Ac side. Then it might be inexpensive and convenient to use the hybrid filters to prevent core saturation instability. (author)

Determining the chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) behavior of citrate and spermine under in vivo conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Basharat, Meer; deSouza, Nandita M.; Parkes, Harold G.

2015-01-01

Purpose To estimate the exchange rates of labile 1H in citrate and spermine, metabolites present in prostatic secretions, to predict the size of the citrate and spermine CEST effects in vivo. Methods CEST z‐spectra were acquired at high‐field [11.7 Tesla (T)] from citrate and spermine solutions at physiological pH (6.5) using saturation power 6 μT. CEST was performed at different temperatures to determine exchange regimes (slow, intermediate or fast). For low pH solutions of spermine, exchange rates were estimated from resonance line width, fitting z‐spectra using the Bloch equations incorporating exchange, and using quantifying exchange using saturation time experiments (QUEST). These rates were extrapolated to physiological pH. Results Citrate showed little CEST effect at pH 6.5 and temperature (T) = 310 K (maximum 0.001% mM‐1), indicating fast exchange, whereas spermine showed greater CEST effects (maximum 0.2% mM‐1) indicating intermediate‐to‐fast exchange. Extrapolating data acquired from low pH spermine solutions predicts exchange rates at pH 6.5 and T of 310 K of at least 2 × 104s‐1. Conclusion Citrate and spermine show minimal CEST effects at 11.7T even using high saturation power. These effects would be much less than 2% at clinical field‐strengths due to relatively faster exchange and would be masked by CEST from proteins. Magn Reson Med 76:742–746, 2016. © 2015 The Authors. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. PMID:26467055

Mixed field radiation effects on dry and acidic solution saturated polyamide 6,6

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, L. [Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ont., K7K 7B4 (Canada); Bonin, H.W. [Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ont., K7K 7B4 (Canada)]. E-mail: bonin-h@rmc.ca; Bui, V.T. [Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ont., K7K 7B4 (Canada)

2005-05-15

The disposal of Canada's radioactive waste materials has been the focus of ongoing research at the Royal Military College of Canada, in the use of polymer-based composite materials for the fabrication of disposal containers. An evaluation of the performance of polyamide 6,6 after exposure to radiation and acidic aqueous solutions provides the basis for the assessment of the lifetime performance of a polymeric-based storage container. This work demonstrates the importance of the combined effects of aqueous solution diffusion and radiation exposure on the mechanical performance and molecular structure of polyamide 6,6. Irradiation of dry samples initially results in a marked reduction of mechanical performance, however, post-irradiation aging allows for the return to pre-irradiation mechanical strength. Samples irradiated after exposure to either distilled water or 0.1 M sulfuric acid solutions exhibited increases in mechanical performance upon exposure to a mixed field radioactive environment.

Mixed field radiation effects on dry and acidic solution saturated polyamide 6,6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, L.; Bonin, H.W.; Bui, V.T.

2005-01-01

The disposal of Canada's radioactive waste materials has been the focus of ongoing research at the Royal Military College of Canada, in the use of polymer-based composite materials for the fabrication of disposal containers. An evaluation of the performance of polyamide 6,6 after exposure to radiation and acidic aqueous solutions provides the basis for the assessment of the lifetime performance of a polymeric-based storage container. This work demonstrates the importance of the combined effects of aqueous solution diffusion and radiation exposure on the mechanical performance and molecular structure of polyamide 6,6. Irradiation of dry samples initially results in a marked reduction of mechanical performance, however, post-irradiation aging allows for the return to pre-irradiation mechanical strength. Samples irradiated after exposure to either distilled water or 0.1 M sulfuric acid solutions exhibited increases in mechanical performance upon exposure to a mixed field radioactive environment

Ranking of bank branches with undesirable and fuzzy data: A DEA-based approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sohrab Kordrostami

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Banks are one of the most important financial sectors in order to the economic development of each country. Certainly, efficiency scores and ranks of banks are significant and effective aspects towards future planning. Sometimes the performance of banks must be measured in the presence of undesirable and vague factors. For these reasons in the current paper a procedure based on data envelopment analysis (DEA is introduced for evaluating the efficiency and complete ranking of decision making units (DMUs where undesirable and fuzzy measures exist. To illustrate, in the presence of undesirable and fuzzy measures, DMUs are evaluated by using a fuzzy expected value approach and DMUs with similar efficiency scores are ranked by using constraints and the Maximal Balance Index based on the optimal shadow prices. Afterwards, the efficiency scores of 25 branches of an Iranian commercial bank are evaluated using the proposed method. Also, a complete ranking of bank branches is presented to discriminate branches.

Do Forwarders Improve Sustainability Efficiency? Evidence from a European DEA Malmquist Index Calculation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthias Klumpp

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Sustainability performance and efficiency is an important topic in transportation and for forwarders. This is shown, for example, by the fact that major logistics service providers LSP publish sustainability reports, often within the annual legal business report. However, in depth research is missing regarding the efficiency of forwarders regarding the established triple bottom line approach for sustainability, including economic, social, and ecology performance areas. This is especially true for a dynamic time-series perspective, as usually only static analyses for one point in time are presented (in most cases single business years. Therefore, the operations research technique of a data envelopment analysis (DEA Malmquist index calculation is used in order to provide a longitudinal calculation of efficiency, incorporating multiple objectives regarding the triple bottom line approach for European forwarders. Several indicators are tested, including total revenues and assets as input types, profit (EBIT and dividend volume (economic dimension, employment and gender equality in management (social, and carbon-equivalent emissions (environmental as output types.

Energy dependent saturable and reverse saturable absorption in cube-like polyaniline/polymethyl methacrylate film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thekkayil, Remyamol [Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Valiamala, Thiruvananthapuram 695 547 (India); Philip, Reji [Light and Matter Physics Group, Raman Research Institute, C.V. Raman Avenue, Bangalore 560 080 (India); Gopinath, Pramod [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Valiamala, Thiruvananthapuram 695 547 (India); John, Honey, E-mail: honey@iist.ac.in [Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Valiamala, Thiruvananthapuram 695 547 (India)

2014-08-01

Solid films of cube-like polyaniline synthesized by inverse microemulsion polymerization method have been fabricated in a transparent PMMA host by an in situ free radical polymerization technique, and are characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The nonlinear optical properties are studied by open aperture Z-scan technique employing 5 ns (532 nm) and 100 fs (800 nm) laser pulses. At the relatively lower laser pulse energy of 5 μJ, the film shows saturable absorption both in the nanosecond and femtosecond excitation domains. An interesting switchover from saturable absorption to reverse saturable absorption is observed at 532 nm when the energy of the nanosecond laser pulses is increased. The nonlinear absorption coefficient increases with increase in polyaniline concentration, with low optical limiting threshold, as required for a good optical limiter. - Highlights: • Synthesized cube-like polyaniline nanostructures. • Fabricated polyaniline/PMMA nanocomposite films. • At 5 μJ energy, saturable absorption is observed both at ns and fs regime. • Switchover from SA to RSA is observed as energy of laser beam increases. • Film (0.1 wt % polyaniline) shows high β{sub eff} (230 cm GW{sup −1}) and low limiting threshold at 150 μJ.

Interaction of inhibitors with corrosion scale formed on N80 steel in CO{sub 2}-saturated NaCl solution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, D. [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Materials Chemistry and Service Failure, Wuhan (China); School of Chemical Engineering and Pharmacy, Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Process of Ministry of Education, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan (China); Qiu, Y.B.; Guo, X.P. [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Materials Chemistry and Service Failure, Wuhan (China); Tomoe, Y.; Bando, K. [Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, The Former Japan National Oil Corporation, Hamada, Mihama-ku, Chiba-City, Chiba (Japan)

2011-12-15

The performance of the selected inhibitors, including thioglycolic acid (TGA), diethylenetriamine (DETA), and naphthene acid imidazolines (IM), on the bare surface of N80 steel and its scaled surface pre-corroded in CO{sub 2}-saturated 1%NaCl solution was investigated by weight-loss method, electrochemical measurements using rotating cylinder electrode and surface analytical methods (SEM, XRD, and EPMA). The results indicate that there is a remarkable difference in inhibition efficiency of inhibitors on the N80 steel with and without pre-corrosion scale. The synergistic effect between inhibitors and corrosion scale not only depends on the size of inhibitor molecules, but also depends on the interaction of the inhibitor with the corrosion scale. It shows that IM and DETA have a good positive synergistic effect with the corrosion scale formed on N80 steel, although DETA has no inhibition efficiency for bare N80 steel, which can easily enter into the apertures of the corrosion scale, and block the active sites on the metal surface and the diffusion routeways of the reactant so as to depress the corrosion of the substrate metal. While TGA shows excellent inhibition efficiency on bare N80 steel, but it has an antagonistic effect with the corrosion scale although it has a small molecular weight as well as DETA, because TGA can dissolve corrosion scale and break its integrality and protectiveness performance. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The transformation of weak saturated soils using piles-drains for improving its mechanical properties

Science.gov (United States)

Ter-Martirosyan, Z. G.; Ter-Martirosyan, A. Z.; Sidorov, V. V.

2018-04-01

In practice of increased responsibility structures design there are often weak saturated clayey soils with low characteristics of deformability and strength take place on the construction site. In these cases, foundations using piles-drains of sandy or coarse material are recommended by norms, which is able to bear the load and to accelerate the consolidation process. The presented solutions include an analytical solution of the interaction problem between piles and slab raft foundation with the surrounding soil of the base with the possibility of extension of pile shaft. The closed-form solutions to determine the stresses in pile shaft and in the soil under the foundation slab are obtained. The article presents the results of large scale tests in the pilot area construction of major energy facilities in Russia.

On Characterizing weak defining hyperplanes (weak Facets in DEA with Constant Returns to Scale Technology

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Dariush Akbarian

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The Production Possibility Set (PPS is defined as a set of inputs and outputs of a system in which inputs can produce outputs. The Production Possibility Set of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA model is contain of two types defining hyperplanes (facets; strong and weak efficient facets. In this paper, the problem of finding weak defining hyperplanes of the PPS of the CCR model is dealt with. However, the equation of strong defining hyperplanes of the PPS of the CCR model can be found in this paper. We state and prove some properties relative to our method. To illustrate the applicability of the proposed model, some numerical examples are finally provided. Our algorithm can easily be implemented using existing packages for operation research, such as GAMS.

On the corrosion behaviour of phosphoric irons in simulated concrete pore solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahoo, Gadadhar; Balasubramaniam, R.

2008-01-01

The corrosion behaviour of three phosphoric irons P 1 (Fe-0.11P-0.028C), P 2 (Fe-0.32P-0.026C) and P 3 (Fe-0.49P-0.022C) has been studied in simulated concrete pore solution (saturated Ca(OH) 2 solution) containing different chloride concentration. This has been compared with that of two commercial concrete reinforcement steels, a low carbon steel TN (Fe-0.148C-0.542Mn-0.128Si) and a microalloyed corrosion resistant steel CS (Fe-0.151C-0.088P-0.197Si-0.149Cr-0.417Cu). The beneficial aspect of phosphoric irons was revealed from potentiodynamic polarization experiments. The pitting potentials and pitting nucleation resistances for phosphoric irons and CS were higher than that for TN. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies revealed thickening and growth of passive film as a function of time in case of phosphoric irons and CS in saturated Ca(OH) 2 pore solutions without chloride and in the same solution with 0.05% Cl - and 0.1% Cl - . In case of TN, breakdown of passive film resulted in active corrosion in simulated pore solution containing 0.1% Cl - . Linear polarization resistance measurements complemented EIS results. Visual observations indicated that phosphoric iron P 3 was immune to corrosion even after 125 days of immersion in saturated Ca(OH) 2 solution containing 5% NaCl. The good corrosion resistance of phosphoric irons in simulated concrete pore solution containing chloride ions has been related to the formation of phosphate, based on ultraviolet spectrophotometric analysis and Pourbaix diagram of phosphorus-water system

Solubility and viscosity for CO_2 capture process using MEA promoted DEAE aqueous solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu, Dong; Wang, LeMeng; Zhang, Pan; Mi, ChenLu

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Solubility of CO_2 in MEA promoted DEAE aqueous solution was measured. • Mass fraction and temperature dependences of solubility were illustrated. • Viscosities of carbonated MEA–DEAE solutions were measured and calculated. • Temperature, mass fraction and CO_2 loading dependences of viscosity were illustrated. - Abstract: The saturated solubility of CO_2 in monoethanolamine (MEA) promoted 2-diethylaminoethanol (DEAE) aqueous solution was investigated at temperatures ranging from (303.2 to 323.2) K. The mass fraction and temperature dependences of the saturated solubility and CO_2 loading are illustrated. The viscosities of both CO_2-unloaded and CO_2-loaded DEAE–MEA aqueous solutions were measured and then calculated by using the Weiland equation. The effects of temperature, mass fraction and CO_2 loading on viscosities are demonstrated.

Gravity flow and solute dispersion in variably saturated sand

Science.gov (United States)

Kumahor, Samuel K.; de Rooij, Gerrit H.; Vogel, Hans-Joerg

2014-05-01

Solute dispersion in porous media depends on the structure of the velocity field at the pore scale. Hence, dispersion is expected to change with water content and with mean flow velocity. We performed laboratory experiments using a column of repacked fine-grained quartz sand (0.1-0.3 mm grain size) with a porous plate at the bottom to controle the water potential at the lower boundary. We established gravity flow conditions - i.e. constant matric potential and water content throughout the column - for a number of different irrigation rates. We measured breakthrough curves during unit gradient flow for an inert tracer which could be described by the convection-dispersion equation. As the soil water content decreased we observed an initially gradual increase in dispersivity followed by an abrupt increase below a threshold water content (0.19) and pressure head (-38 hPa). This phenomena can be explained by the geometry of phase distribution which was simulated based on Xray-CT images of the porous structure.

Selective nonspecific solvation under dielectric saturation and fluorescence spectra of dye solutions in binary solvents.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakhshiev, N G; Kiselev, M B

1991-09-01

The influence of selective nonspecific solvation on the fluorescence spectra of three substitutedN-methylphthalimides in a binary solvent system consisting of a nonpolar (n-heptane) and a polar (pyridine) component has been studied under conditions close to dielectric saturation. The substantially nonlinearity of the effect is confirmation that the spectral shifts of fluorescence bands depend on the number of polar solvent molecules involved in solvating the dye molecule. The measured fluorescence spectral shifts determined by substituting one nonpolar solvent molecula with a polar one in the proximity of the dye molecule agree quantitatively with the forecasts of the previously proposed semiempirical theory which describes this nonlinear solvation phenomenon.

An in vivo evaluation of the change in the pulpal oxygen saturation after administration of preoperative anxiolytics and local anesthesia

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Krishna P. Shetty

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Background. Given the influence of systemic blood pressure on pulpal blood flow, anxiolytics prescribed may alter the pulpal blood flow along with the local anesthetic solution containing a vasoconstrictor. This study evaluated the impact of preoperative anxiolytics and vasoconstrictors in local anesthetic agents on pulpal oxygen saturation. Methods. Thirty anxious young healthy individuals with a mean age of 24 years were randomly selected using the Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS. After checking the vital signs the initial pulpal oxygen saturation (initial SpO2 was measured using a pulse oximeter. Oral midzolam was administered at a dose of 7.5 mg. After 30 min, the vital signs were monitored and the pulpal oxygen saturation (anxiolytic SpO2 was measured. A total of 1.5 mL of 2% lidocaine with 1:200000 epinephrine was administered as buccal infiltration anesthesia and 10 min the final pulpal oxygen saturation (L.A SpO2 was measured. Results. The mean initial (SpO2 was 96.37% which significantly decreased to 90.76% (SpO2 after the administration of the anxiolytic agent. This drop was later accentuated to 85.17% (SpO2 after administration of local anesthetic solution. Statistical significance was set at P<0.0001. Conclusion. High concentrations of irritants may permeate dentin due to a considerable decrease in the pulpal blood flow from crown or cavity preparation. Therefore, maintaining optimal blood flow during restorative procedures may prevent pulpal injury.

VALORAÇÃO ECONÔMICA DO DANO AMBIENTAL OCASIONADO PELA EXTRAÇÃO ILEGAL DA ORQUÍDEA Cattleya granulosa NO PARQUE NATURAL DOM NIVALDO MONTE, NATAL/RN.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana Margarida Zanbotto Ramalho

2010-04-01

Full Text Available A Mata Atlântica vem sendo alvo de biopirataria e coleta predatória de plantas ornamentais como orquídeas que alcançam um alto valor de mercado em função das características estéticas e beleza cênica. O Parque Natural Dom Nivaldo Monte é um fragmento de Mata Atlântica de 64 ha, inserido na Zona de Proteção Ambiental-1 (ZPA-1 do município de Natal, que vem sendo alvo deste mercado ilegal devido à extração vegetal da Cattleya granulosa, uma orquídea endêmica ameaçada de extinção. O objetivo geral deste trabalho é valorar economicamente o dano ambiental ocasionado pela extração ilegal da orquídea C. granulosa. A metodologia utilizada na pesquisa contemplou as seguintes etapas: levantamento amostral da orquídea na área em estudo; cálculo de densidade e freqüência absolutas; valoração econômica do dano ambiental associado à extração indevida; proposição de políticas públicas. Como resultado, foi observada uma densidade de 1,17 indivíduos/parcela e freqüência absoluta de 8,33%, sendo estimando 1493 indivíduos no Parque, durante o período analisado. Os serviços ambientais oferecidos por todos os indivíduos de C. granulosa a sociedade, na área estudada, representa monetariamente um valor de R$ 9.555.200,00. Assim, para manutenção destes serviços propõem-se como políticas públicas municipais para preservação da espécie: aumento da fiscalização na área, educação ambiental com a comunidade circunvizinha, cobrança de indenização ao infrator, investir na interligação da ZPA-1 com a ZPA -3 a fim de propiciar fluxo gênico entre estes fragmentos, assim como incentivar a utilização técnicas de biotecnologia vegetal como a micropropagação de clones e semeadura in vitro para reintrodução na natureza.

A quantitative discussion on the assessment of power supply technologies: DEA (data envelopment analysis) and SAW (simple additive weighting) as complementary methods for the “Grammar”

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shakouri, Hamed G.; Nabaee, Mahdis; Aliakbarisani, Sajad