Desired Production Level Research Articles

Prospective assessment of transformation pathways toward low-carbon steelmaking: Evaluating economic and climate impacts in Germany

Due to climate change, there is an urgent need to decarbonize high-emission industries. As coal-based operations predominate in primary steelmaking, the steel industry offers an exceptionally high potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Alternative processes for almost fully decarbonized primary steelmaking exist but require substantial investments by steelmakers for their implementation while maintaining desired production levels during the transformation periods. In this context, the energy carriers required change such that the transformation of the steelmaking processes is deeply intertwined with the transformation of the background system. For the first time, we evaluate potential transformation pathways from the steelmakers’ perspective using a prospective life cycle assessment approach. We find that hydrogen may facilitate a reduction of direct emissions by around 96 % compared to conventional steelmaking in 2050. However, indirect emissions remain at a high level throughout the transformation period unless the upstream stages of the value chain are transformed accordingly.

An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis in the Selection of the Best Response for the Drilling of Carbon Fiber-reinforced Plastic Composites

In the drilling operation, defects such as delamination at exit and entry are very disturbing responses that impact the efficiency of the drilling process. Without control, an exponential growth in the amount of drilled components with defect quantities may result. Thus, the process engineer has input in attaining the desired production levels for components in the drilling process. Consequently, this article deploys a novel method of data envelopment analysis to evaluate the relative efficiency of the drilling process in reducing the defects possible in the producing components from the CFRP composites. The high-speed steel drill bits were utilized to process the CFPs, while the responses considered are the entry and exit determination, thrust force, and torque, among others. Literature experimental data in twenty-seven experimental counts were summarized into fewer groups and processed through the data envelopment analysis method. The results show that capturing the CFRP composite responses is feasible, providing an opportunity for enhanced efficiency and a situation where undesirable defects in the CFRP composite production process may be eradicated. The article’s uniqueness and primary value are in being the foremost article in offering an updated vast representation of the comparative efficiency of CFRP composite parameters within the literature for the composite area. The work adds value to the CFRP composite literature by envisaging and understanding the comparative efficiency for the parameters, identifying and separating the best from the worst decision-making unit. It also reveals how the parameters are linked by their relative placements. The article's novelty is that using data envelopment to compare the efficiency in reducing drilling defects such as entry and exit determination, among others. The method’s utility is to provide information for cost-effective drilling operations during the planning and control phases of the operation.

Süt Sığırı Çiftliklerinde İyi Tarım Uygulamaları, Globalgap, AB ve TR Organik Sistemlerin Analizi ve Bunların Hayvan Refahı Standartları Bakımından Karşılaştırılması

Milk, which is a very important source of animal protein, is mainly obtained from cattle in the world and in Türkiye. As in other farm animals, if a good animal welfare is not achieved in cattle, the desired level of productivity cannot be reached and significant economic losses occur. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of farms that implement other production systems other than traditional production systems in which animal welfare is managed more effectively in many countries, together with the efforts to manage cattle welfare in order to ensure sustainable production of dairy cattle farms. Among these production systems, those implemented in Türkiye are ITU, GlobalGap, TR-Organic and EU-Organic systems, and it should be expected that these systems will develop further especially after the European Green Agreement is published and our country becomes a party to the Paris Agreement. From this point of view, in this article; It is aimed to compare the objectives and effectiveness of cattle welfare standards applied in these systems, together with the analysis of the current situation of dairy cattle producing in ITU, GlobalGap and organic scope in Türkiye.

Individual feed intake and performance of finishing steers on ryegrass pasture supplemented with increasing amounts of corn using an automated feeding system

Beef production in subtropical areas is mainly based on extensive grazing systems. During the winter, a drop in the forage quantity is common, energy supplementation may help maintain desired production levels. To measure the effect of increasing levels of corn supplementation on the individual forage intake and feed efficiency of finishing steers, we conducted a 99-d experiment during the winter-spring season in Uruguay. Sixty Aberdeen Angus steers (average BW 464.0 ± 29.7 kg) with access to the same sward of ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) were managed under a strip-grazing system (sward height post-grazing: 5 cm) and access to an automated supplement feeder until slaughter. Steers were blocked by BW and previous supplement intake and randomly assigned to one of four groups of 15 animals: control (CON, 0.1% BW of corn), low supplementation (LS, 0.4% BW of corn), moderate supplementation (MS, 0.8% BW of corn), and high supplementation (HS, 1.2% BW of corn). Corn was pelleted with TiO2 to estimate fecal production. Diet digestibility was estimated with acid-insoluble ash concentration. The average daily forage allowance was 3.6 kg DM/100 kg BW per day. Supplement intake was 0.5, 1.8, 3.6, and 4.3 kg DM/d for CON, LS, MS, and HS group, respectively. Corn added at 0.4% BW resulted in a greater (P ≤ 0.01) forage intake than other treatments. A quadratic response was observed for forage (P ≤ 0.05) and total diet (P ≤ 0.01) intake to increasing rations of supplements. Total diet digestibility was greater (P ≤ 0.01) for CON and LS steers than for those from MS and HS; and an inverse, linear relationship with supplementation levels was observed (P ≤ 0.01). Steers grew faster with increasing amounts of supplementation (P ≤ 0.01) in comparison to CON cattle, responding quadratically (P ≤ 0.05) to added corn. Cattle from the CON group showed the lowest hot carcass weight (P ≤ 0.01). Finishing cattle on ryegrass pasture (low post-grazing sward height) using 0.6 to 0.8% BW of corn supplementation is the best option to obtain a better intake, performance, and carcass weight, being an alternative to reduce days on fattening and/or the cost of feeding animals.

Technical, Economic and Allocative Efficiencies of Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Growing Farmers in Intermediate Zones of J and K

The study was carried out in two intermediate zones of Jammu and Kashmir to identify both farm specific and socio-economic factors that influence the technical efficiency (TE) and also to analyze the economic (EE)and allocative efficiency (AE) of wheat growing farmers to assess the level of possibilities to gain the desired level of productivity by improving all three types of efficiencies(TE, AE and EE)by estimating Cobb-Douglas Stochastic Production Function and Stochastic Profit Function. The study revealedthat how different cost components affect the profitability of production of wheat crop and also proposes that at how much level of efficiency, the farmer is producing the wheat crop and how much level of efficiency is yet to be obtained. The maximum likelihood estimates of the stochastic production function revealed that fertilizer and farmyard manure showed a negative and significant effect on wheat production. The coefficients of the frontier profit function revealed thatall input shows a negative and significant impact on wheat farmer profitability. Socio-economic factors show positive and significant relation with technical efficiency except cultivated area. The mean technical, economic and allocative efficiencyof farm households was found out to be 86 per cent, 71 per cent, and 83 per cent indicated that there is still scope for wheat growers to increase all the three efficiencies by operating at a full efficient level by proper utilization and allocation of existing resources and technology. This study provides crucial information for the farmers and also to the government about to formulate effective policy measures for attaining the sustainability of wheat crop in rainfed hilly areas of Jammu division.

Idiotype vaccines produced with a non-cytopathic alphavirus self-amplifying RNA vector induce antitumor responses in a murine model of B-cell lymphoma

A promising therapy for patients with B-cell lymphoma is based on vaccination with idiotype monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Since idiotypes are different in each tumor, a personalized vaccine has to be produced for each patient. Expression of immunoglobulins with appropriate post-translational modifications for human use often requires the use of stable mammalian cells that can be scaled-up to reach the desired level of production. We have used a noncytopathic self-amplifying RNA vector derived from Semliki Forest virus (ncSFV) to generate BHK cell lines expressing murine follicular lymphoma-derived idiotype A20 mAb. ncSFV/BHK cell lines expressed approximately 2 mg/L/24 h of A20 mAb with proper quaternary structure and a glycosylation pattern similar to that of A20 mAb produced by hybridoma cells. A20 mAb purified from the supernatant of a ncSFV cell line, or from the hybridoma, was conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin and used to immunize Balb/c mice by administration of four weekly doses of 25 µg of mAb. Both idiotype mAbs were able to induce a similar antitumor protection and longer survival compared to non-immunized mice. These results indicate that the ncSFV RNA vector could represent a quick and efficient system to produce patient-specific idiotypes with potential application as lymphoma vaccines.

Digitalization and Innovation in Nigerian Firms

This study examined the determinants of digitalization and its impact on innovation in Nigeria. The study applied the logit regression and propensity score matching (PSM) on data sourced from the World Bank 2014/2015 enterprise survey. The result from the logit regression shows that size of the firm, educational qualification of the top manager of the firm, business age, employment growth and sector of operation are the major significant determinants of the extent to which firms digitalized in Nigeria. On the other hand, the result from the propensity score matching shows that digitization is positive and significant in explaining the level of firms' innovation in Nigeria. This means that an increased level of ICT will synonymously increase the level of firms' ability to innovate. Based on the results, the study concludes by recommending that managers of various firms should employ a tactical approach to improve on the rate of digitization and innovation to achieve the desired level of productivity.

Effect and Roles of Nitrogen Supply on Photosynthesis

N deficiency caused a decrease in leaf N content, Chlorophyll a and carbon assimilation of crop plants, resulting in a lower dry matter accumulation. It increases overall plant growth, but the nature of this response depends upon patterns of plant, nitrogen allocation, nutrient that vary throughout the growing season and depend upon canopy position. Decreased photosynthetic capacity is not only associated with direct effects of N deficiency but also with a negative feedback mechanism from the leaf carbohydrate pool. Because of the high requirement of crop plants for elemental N and its numerous important roles in growth and development, N is the mineral element that most often limits crop productivity. Because N mineralization from the soil is normally too low to support desired production levels, soil N levels are typically increased through fertilization. However, the complex cycle of N in the environment causes uncertainty in N fertilizer management, increasing the chances for economic loss and environmental damage. Nitrogen use and productivity of crop plants is also complex, resulting from an interaction of biochemical, physiological, and morphological processes in the plant. Application of N increases N content in the leaves of the soybean plant which increase growth rate, Leaf are, leaf area index and other physiology of the plant during the study.

Influence of Foliar Sprays of Nutrients on Yield and Yield Accrediting Characters of Kinnow Mandarin: A Review

Plant nutrients both macro and micro plays a major productive and qualitative role in bringing stability and sustainability in the production system particularly in fruits crops like citrus and therefore, effective nutrient management is critical. The aim of our paper is to study the influence of foliar sprays of nutrients on yield and yield attributing characters such as fruit drop, final fruit retention, number of fruits per plant and fruit yield of Kinnow mandarin as appropriate rate, time and method of application of fertilizers in Kinnow are considered to be the major indices in deciding the desired level of productivity and quality of fruits. Therefore, many studies around the world, evaluating the yield and yield attributing characters of Kinnow mandarin with respect to foliar application of nutrients were studied and their results showed that the foliar application were economically viable and beneficial for both Kinnow productivity and environmental sustainability. Hence, for obtaining better fruit yield and minimizing fruit drop with aim to achieve desired level of productivity and improved fruit quality, foliar spray of macro and micronutrients could be used effectively.

Determination of the Main Socio-Economic Factors of the Sustainable Production of Forage Crops: Research of Kayseri Province

Today, about 21% of the Turkey’s population lives engage plant production and animal husbandry; the most crucial aspect of livestock breeding is producing forage crops. Since 2000, growers in Turkey have been subsidized and encouraged to increase both their production and quality of forage crops. However, despite all this support and assistance, desired production levels have not yet been achieved. Therefore, it is equally crucial analyze the effects of factors other than the subsidies provided on forage crops production. This study aims to determine the socio-economic factors that affect sustainable forage crops production. The study was carried out in the province of Kayseri, specifically in 11 villages where both plant production and animal husbandry systems are common. The subjects of the study were selected through the Random Sampling Method and data was collected by surveying 310 forage crops growers. To identify dependency relationships between qualitative variables used mainly based on a statistical chi-square statistic. According to the analysis results, 35.5% of growers found forage crops production sustainable, whereas 64.5% of them thought that it was unsustainable. When both socio-economic variables and the answers to survey questions were taken into account, variables such as grower’s age, education level, income level, land for fodder crops, livestock count, recent increase in livestock count, subsidies, and the conditions under which sustainability may be maintained were found to be related to forage crops production sustainability.

Predicting forage intake in extensive grazing systems1

Voluntary intake by cattle and other ruminants is controlled by a complex mix of physical and physiological factors that interact with a variety of environmental, geo-spatial, and experiential influences external to the animal. These factors are intensified in grazing ruminants, where selective grazing and potential variability in dietary options also affect eating decisions. As a result of the complexity of intake control and associated interacting factors, developing methods that yield accurate and precise predictions of voluntary intake by grazing cattle has been a long-standing challenge for animal scientists. Nonetheless, reliable estimates of intake are necessary to make informed management decisions related to sustainable management of grazing lands and to provide economically sustainable quantities of supplemental nutrients to maintain desired production levels. Currently available empirical regression equations to predict intake include independent variables like BW and energy concentration (or digestibility). Adding production variables (e.g., ADG for growing cattle or calf ADG/weaning weight for cows) seems to improve the accuracy and precision of these regression models, but to be applied in practice, these production variables must be estimated from historical data, which adds another source of variation and could decrease the predictive ability of these equations. Similarly, intake can be predicted from estimates of energy requirements and energy concentration of the diet selected (the DMI required approach), but this method also involves forecasting of requirements. For all empirical methods, estimates of forage digestibility or energy concentration are essential, but obtaining accurate estimates is difficult with grazing livestock. More complex mechanistic or quasi-mechanistic models have been developed, but the application of these models has been too limited to determine whether they offer significant advantages over traditional empirical models. Because our knowledge base of how, in a quantitative sense, both intake control mechanisms and external factors influence voluntary intake by grazing ruminants is limited, development of tools for predicting intake is likely to be a long-term process.

A study of best management practices for enhancing productivity in building projects: construction methods perspectives

This research investigates management practices that have the potential to enhance productivity in building projects by focusing on construction methods. In phase 1 of the study, face-to-face interviews with nineteen experts were conducted to identify the best management practices for construction methods. The qualitative data analysis reached saturation and resulted in a list of best practices for construction methods that are relevant to the local industry. The second phase used an industry-wide survey to prioritize the best practices. Accordingly, project start-up plan, traffic control plan, machinery positioning strategy, project completion plan, and dynamic site layout plan were shown to be the top five best practices for construction methods. The study also revealed that high levels of implementation of best practices are associated with low levels of project delays. The use of best practices also varied according to the project costs. There were no discernible differences between the top five best practices. The authors suggest that they should be implemented jointly to improve productivity in building projects. Contractors could use the logistic regression model developed, to predict the probability of exceeding a baseline productivity factor and, on that basis, implement corrective actions to achieve the desired level of productivity.

BARAJ GÖLLERİNİN ALTERNATİF EKONOMİK FAALİYETLERDE KULLANIMI: BORÇKA BARAJ GÖLÜ ÖRNEĞİ

In today’s world where environmental and economic effects of dam construction and lakes are debated, it’s not a rational approach to benefit from dams for only electricity production. In this context, it will be convenient to plan various alternative economical activities in dam lakes such as fishing and touristic activities. In the study, Borcka Dam Lake was handled with this point of view; possible investments around Dam Lake were mentioned with aim of maximizing economical benefit. For this purpose, initially related literature was scanned in order to obtain documentary data. In addition, field observation tours were performed in certain periods starting from 2013. In those tours, company owners related with Dam Lake were interviewed and first-hand information was obtained. In Borcka Dam Lake, starting from 2010, culture or cage fishery activity is conducted. This situation is an important development in terms of benefiting from Dam Lake but attention should be paid for the desired production level to be reached by removing the sector related problems and for development of touristic and recreational use. In this context, performance of water sports such as kayak, rowing, water bicycle and sailing, arrangement of boat or raft trips, creation of observation and recreational areas (picnic area, walking track, etc.) can be considered

Manufacturing Low Cost Nano-Coatings for High Performance Battery Materials

It is now widely accepted that both high-end (Gen 3 materials) and low-end (e.g. Gen 1-2 LiCoO2, NCA, NMC, etc.) electrode powders alike can benefit from surface coatings as a means to provide an optimized interfacial transition between the electrode and the electrolyte, independent of type of battery or system. In spite of the significant public and private investment in new battery materials, efforts on those that are under development today still tend to focus on features and attributes of the bulk materials. Significant cost savings can be realized without sacrificing performance by encapsulating today’s materials with coatings tailored to improve the electrode-electrolyte interface. The two primary surface coating technologies that have been studied are Co-Precipitation (CP) and Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), with results showing significant favor to ALD as shown in Figure 1. ALD coatings, which can be optimized for each system for composition, thickness, and uniformity, have been proven to reduce capacity fade with cycling, improve thermal stability, allow for safe charging to higher voltages, and reduce degradation under high temperature storage. These coatings can also reduce costs by eliminating the need for overbuilding, and be done without affecting capacity or internal resistivity. ALD has found enormous application in the semiconductor industry owing to its conformal sub-nanometer thickness deposition capability, but until recently has been regarded as non-scalable technology for powder materials due to excessive capital cost of processing. Early research on ALD applications for batteries focused on coatings for electrodes with a drive toward roll-to-roll processing. However, through significant effort it has been determined that roll-to-roll processing of battery electrodes via ALD is prohibitively expensive. Particle ALD has been extensively studied as well and shown improved performance of battery materials comparable to electrode-ALD improvements, and in many cases shown even greater performance enhancement. Similar to electrode-ALD coating however, particle-ALD has remained a small scale laboratory-only research tool due to of the inability to scale-up the primary processing technique, which is a vacuum fluidized bed reactor. Even though ALD as a process has been proven to impart significant benefit to batteries materials, the capital cost of commercial scale production has to-date prevented its widespread adoption. To remove the cost barrier of ALD-enabled batteries, PneumatiCoat Technologies (PCT) has developed a semi-continuous high throughput particle-ALD (HTP-ALD) pilot plant which has demonstrated the capability to meet the needs of commercial demand for battery materials with little increase in at-scale cost per kg of battery materials. PCT has refined and validated a pilot-scale high throughput ALD coating system capable of 200kg/day scale, for Li-ion cathode powders that can meet the automotive industry mandate of low add-on cost (at scale). The price point attainable with PCT’s high throughput gas-phase processing is significantly cheaper than even the most generous projections for manufacturing liquid-phase co-precipitation techniques ($3-5/kg) or batch-based ALD systems ($7-10/kg). Equally as important as meeting cost and performance criteria, PCT has demonstrated the semi-continuous technology to be capable of producing materials with a high degree of repeatability, a factor not often found with fluidized bed treatments and lab scale systems. Figure 2 shows a radar plot for 35 sub-batches of material coated using an early prototype of PCT’s original semi-continuous HTP-ALD system. The HTP-ALD pilot plant is also designed for plug-and-play scale-up capability in which simply making components larger or setting up automatic feeding systems will allow for nearly any desired level of production using existing powder processing techniques. With the PCT pilot plant meeting projected cost targets and capability for producing high quality materials at pilot scale, the barriers to commercial scale ALD-enabled batteries have been greatly reduced. Ultimately this technology will allow battery manufacturers to eliminate the embedded costs of overbuilding, and these higher performance materials can be adopted at lower net cost and thereby reduce the cell and pack level $/kWh. Figure 1

Integrated technology selection for energy conservation and PAHs control in iron and steel industry: Methodology and case study

Energy conservation and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) control are two challenges for the iron and steel industry, especially where the industry has developed at high speed. How to select appropriate technologies to improve energy efficiency and control pollution from PAHs simultaneously is encountered by both the researchers and the decision makers. This study sets up a framework on technology selection and combination which integrates technology assessment, multiple objective programming and scenario analysis. It can predict proper technology combination for different emission controls, energy conservation targets and desired levels of production. An iron and steel factory in Southwestern China is cited as a case. It is shown that stricter PAHs control will drive the transformation from process control technology to alternative smelting technology. In low PAHs limit, 25% energy reduction is a threshold. Before inclusion of a restraint on energy consumption at 25% reduction, PAHs emission is the key limiting factor for the technology selection; while after inclusion of this restraint, energy consumption becomes the key limiting factor. The desired level of production will also influence the technology selection. This study can help decision makers to select appropriate technologies to meet the PAHs control objectives and energy conservation strategies in energy-intensive industries.

Ten Years of Neuroinformatics

This issue closes the tenth volume of Neuroinformatics and in this editorial we will present a brief overview of how the journal evolved over its first decade. Of course many outside events sculpted the scientific field during this time. The Human Brain Project was a dominating force in US neuroinformatics when this journal was born, but was discontinued and a new similarly named project may soon dominate European neuroscience and neuroinformatics. In the USA the NIF (Neuroscience Information Framework), the NITRC (Neuroimaging Informatics Tools and Resources Clearinghouse) and many other initiatives became established resources and the INCF (International Neuroinformatics Coordination Facility) with its different National Nodes pushed neuroinformatics throughout the world. Overall it is clear that the field is vigorous and growing fast. Consequently, we also welcomed a number of new competing journals, all of them open access. On its tenth anniversary the journal is healthy and doing well. The increased competition initially hurt us with a decreased paper flow, resulting in a number of lean years (volumes 4–8 had only 250–320 pages each), but we are back to the desired production level (more than 400 pages in a volume) since 2 years. In fact we would have grown more this year, but instead advanced our publication schedule (all issues now appear 2 months earlier during the year). During the lean years we did not relax our editorial standards, with an average acceptance ratio of 40–50 % submitted papers. As a result Neuroinformatics can boast having the largest impact factor in the field, stably fluctuating around 3.0, higher than all computational neuroscience journals, for example. Interestingly, our rejection rate increasingly includes manuscripts that were returned for major revision and then withdrawn by the authors (none in the beginning, up to 25 % of the papers submitted in 2010). In some cases we later discovered the same paper with only small changes in a competing journal. While this may be seen as a bit disrespectful, it seems to reflect a reputation for tough review of resubmissions by the journal, which we only wish to encourage. But more important is scientific content. Did the kind of papers we publish evolve over those 10 years and does this indicate a changing field of neuroinformatics? Some categories were stable, e.g. the majority of papers is about 1 De Schutter E, Ascoli GA, Kennedy DN (2006) On the future of the human brain project. Neuroinform 4: 129–130. 2 Waldrop MM (2012) Brain in a box. Nature 482: 456–458. 3 http://neuinfo.org/ Gupta A, Bug WJ, Marenco LN, Qian X, Condit C, Rangarajan A, Muller HM, Miller PL, Sanders B, Grethe JS, Astakhov V, Shepherd GM, Sternberg PW, Martone ME (2008) Federated access to heterogeneous information resources in the Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF). Neuroinform 6: 205–217. 4 http://www.nitrc.org/; Luo X-ZJ, Kennedy DN, Cohen Z (2009) Neuroimaging informatics tools and resources clearinghouse (NITRC) resource announcement. Neuroinform 7: 55–56.

New discounted cash flow method: Estimating plant profitability at the conceptual design level while compensating for business risk/uncertainty

Conceptual design of a new plant involves the evaluation of alternative plant configurations to determine physical feasibility (does each achieve desired production levels within the required quality limits?) and economic viability (is sufficient profit generated each year of a multiyear projected lifetime while requiring an acceptably low initial capital investment?). In testing alternatives, designers require both an absolute measure and a normalized measure in order to make a definitive evaluation. In recent years NPV (Net Present Value) has often been chosen as the absolute metric and IRR (Internal Rate of Return) as the normalized one. But these two measures provide insufficient information to develop an optimum design that can be guaranteed suitably profitable, i.e., with optimum design profits high enough to justify investment … more importantly, high enough to warrant taking on the risk/uncertainty characteristics of a particular product/plant with the business environment in which the constructed plant must operate.In this paper a relook at discounted cash flow procedures motivates a new metric based on a normalized and annualized value of NPV, designated NPV%. In line with traditional analysis, a required minimum value –NPV%required (%/year) – once found via ad hoc and/or first principles methods, is assumed to represent suitably the Enterprise's profitability expectations plus the “premium” needed to justify intrinsic business risk/uncertainty. The ability to achieve a value that justifies anticipated risk, however that property is calculated or characterized, is a major element in determining whether projected returns from a particular design are high enough to justify proceeding with the project.Surprisingly, a close analysis of spreadsheet methodology used for discounted cash flow calculations, such as in calculating NPV, reveals unexpected underlying linearities, e.g.,NPV=a(ProfitBT)+b(Fixed Capital)when “factored estimates” are used (usually the case at the conceptual design stage), as well asROIBT=e(NPV%)+fThus maximizing either ROIBT or NPV% is equivalent to minimizing the time to achieve return of invested capital (exposure to risk). NPV measures the effect on a company's balance sheet that will result from a decision to design/construct/operate. Thus once an appropriate risk premium for a plant is agreed upon, a rigorous design procedure can utilize a constrained optimization procedure in which NPV (absolute profitability) and NPV% (inverse of time exposed to the risk of capital loss) are jointly optimized, subject to the constraint NPV%>NPV%required. How much to weight the long-term profitability vs. speed of capital return is essentially a decision for the designers/investors.

Bioeconomic effect from the size selection in red abalone intensive culture Haliotis rufescens as a production strategy

The variability in growth is a common characteristic in mollusks breeding. Effects rising from the variability in the individual growth rate and the consequent dispersion of sizes in cultivation are important in financial terms. To manage this heterogeneity many firms use size selection, which can happen in two stages: toward the end of the stage of growing, or in the phase of growing of seeds. A bioeconomic model simulating the operation of a firm producing red abalone was implemented in spreadsheets. The firm produces 70 tons yearly. The model was structured in three sub-models. A biological sub-model detailed a batch’s dynamics, in terms of survival and growth, considering individual variation of size around a central value for each age. A technological sub-model described raw materials, the quantity of food and the energy required. Finally, the simulation model is completed with an economic integrated sub-model, where net present value is calculated considering income and costs over the time. Results of the alternative production strategies (with or without selection) are assessed according to: quantity of larvae and necessary spawners to reach the desired level of production; net present value (NPV) and necessary time to recover the investment. The number of larvae was approximately 17 millions larger for the case of the strategy of production with sizes selection and 73% more of available spawners is required for this larger amount of larvae. In the short term, the size-selection strategy increases the production costs at the initial time, compared with the strategy without selection. However, in the long term, this strategy generates greater NPV. The span for investment recovery was shorter for the case of the strategy with size selection and living product (nearly 2,140 days) than frozen (nearly 2,232 days); while without sizes selection a 15-year simulation showed the investment is not recovered. Finally, could be verified that size selection can be an interesting strategy to explore, since it improves the financial result, the same way other more expensive technological changes would.

Contracts, Labor Supply and Income Targeting

In many professions and personal services, a firm offers a contract with either proportional revenue sharing of the worker’s output or a contract with 100% revenue accruing to the worker in exchange for a fixed (debt) payment. Contingent on the contract, the worker chooses the mechanism to achieve the desired level of productivity. A higher revenue split induces the worker to be more productive in output per hour resulting in a higher wage. The relevant price of effort is the after-split, after-tax wage controlled for after-tax household income. Incentives through a higher split raise productivity and the return to effort. The sample is 1,559 U.S. real estate sales professionals paid on contract splits in 2007 and choosing their hours and effort. The compensated labor supply elasticity is positive and between approximately zero and 0.3 suggesting the absence of income targeting for these workers on split and 100% revenue contracts. But the inclusion of contractual income split provisions in the model substantially increases the labor supply elasticity.

Controlling Formation Fines at Their Sources To Maintain Well Productivity

Summary Migration of formation fines has been shown to cause production decline in many wells. Despite the availability of new downhole tools for use in well stimulation and completion, the ability to sustain desired production levels is often plagued with fines migration problems. The solution to this problem is appropriate treatment to mitigate fines migration at its source. This paper describes the use of an ultra-thin tackifying agent (UTTA) for stabilizing fines in high-rate producing or injection wells. This UTTA is applied as part of an initial prepad in fracturing or gravel-packing operations, as a remedial treatment, or as a post-treatment following acid fracturing or matrix acidizing treatments. The primary purpose of UTTA application is to immobilize formation fines so that they will not detach, migrate with flowing fluids, plug the pore channels, and reduce the flow path permeability. Results of laboratory testing indicate that the UTTA system is applicable to most types of formation fines, including coals, sandstones, and carbonates. Once injected into the formation matrix or proppant pack, the UTTA forms a thin film on formation surfaces, encapsulating the fines. Capillary action helps pull the tackifier into the contact points, fixing the particulate in place without plugging the pore throat. The UTTA does not require a shut-in time after its application. The thin film tackifier does not harden, but remains flexible, enhancing the ability of a formation to withstand stress cycling and allowing the formation to handle high shear stress during high flow rates.