Net Project Research Articles

PeachPie: Mature PHP to CLI compiler

PeachPie is a compiler of PHP code into Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) assemblies, enabling direct interoperability between PHP and .NET projects. This work describes the overall PeachPie architecture and the implementation of its components, highlighting and explaining the differences from its predecessor Phalanger. PeachPie can compile both legacy proprietary PHP applications and modern PHP frameworks, porting them into CLI with the ability to integrate with other projects written in languages such as C#. This work might provide helpful insight for people performing static analysis of PHP, developing a custom compiler targeting CLI, or exploring possibilities of dynamic language compilation.

남북관계 발전을 위한 공법적 쟁점 세 가지

Whether or not inter-Korean agreement= relations, which has been deepened by the blockade of North Korea’s external contacts due to COVID-19, and alleviating tensions caused by North Korea’s missile provocations and nuclear test attempts, an explicit basis is needed to promote continuous health and medical cooperation that is not shaken by political conditions as much as possible. The inter-Korean health and medical agreement includes the establishment of a cooperative system such as information exchange for joint response to infectious diseases, the establishment of a medical safety net, nutrition and health projects for infants and pregnant women, support for medicines and medical equipment, and education and training of health and medical personnel. Program development and implementation, cooperative projects to modernize medical facilities, and establishment of a regular communication system should be included.

Физико-химические свойства трудноизвлекаемой нефти в Арктике

In the article, the author summarizes information about the extraction of hard-to-recover oil in various Arctic zones — Russian, Scandinavian and North American. Various estimates of the Arctic hydrocarbon reserves are presented, but the Russian Arctic occupies a leading position in terms of its reserves. The number of deposits in the Russian sector exceeds the number of deposits in the North American and Scandinavian sectors of the Arctic by 4 and 8 times, respectively. For Russia, the Arctic has become one of the main driving forces of the growth of the Russian oil and gas industry in the coming decades. The problems of stabilization and growth of the level of development of hard-to-recover oil in modern conditions of oil production are indicated. Based on the analysis of information from the database of the Institute of Petroleum Chemistry, consolidated information on the development of hard-to-recover oil production in the Arctic zone of Russia, in particular, in the European and Siberian parts of the macroregion, on the physico-chemical properties of hard-to-recover oil, conditions of occurrence and spatial distribution. It has been established that heavy and viscous oils of the Siberian part of the Arctic are characterized by lower viscosity values, low concentrations of asphaltenes, sulfur and metals compared to similar European Arctic oils. The solidification temperature is in the negative temperature range. The established differences determine the features of the development, production and transportation of heavy and viscous oils at critically low temperatures. The article may be of interest to companies in the oil and gas sector net monitor Arctic projects and prospects for their implementation.

Techno-Economic Evaluation of a Skimmed Milk Powder Production Process

Milk powder is a highly demanded food that is used in various ways, both in the industrial area and in everyday life. In the present work, an innovative and unprecedented techno-economic evaluation of a technological proposal for a skimmed milk powder production plant with an annual capacity of 700 tons was carried out through the use of the SuperPro Designer® simulator, in order to know its main economic and profitability indicators under the current economic conditions in Cuba. For economic performance evaluation, the total capital investment, unit production cost, internal rate of return (IRR), net present value (NPV) and project payback time (PT) among other indicators, were determined. A sensitivity study was also accomplished, to determine from what value of the fluid milk unit cost the proposed skimmed milk powder plant begins to be unprofitable. A total capital investment of USD 22 744 000, an annual operating cost of USD 9 884 000, a working capital of USD 647 000 and a unit production cost of USD 352.95 per 25 kg bag were obtained. From the techno-economic results obtained, it can be concluded that the evaluated skimmed milk powder production plant is profitable and feasible due to the values of NPV (USD 14 475 000), IRR (18.98 %) and PT (4.46 years) obtained. The proposed production plant becomes unprofitable from a value of the fluid milk unit cost of USD 1.32/L.

Walkable Cities: Using the Smart Pedestrian Net Method for Evaluating a Pedestrian Network in Guimarães, Portugal

Evidence for the benefits of walking has attracted the attention of researchers and practitioners and encouraged them to develop healthier and more sustainable walkable cities. Many methods and approaches have been developed to measure walkability; namely, by using land use attributes. This paper examines the transferability of the Geographic Information System (GIS) based multi-criteria method developed in the Smart Pedestrian Net (SPN) research project to evaluate the level of walkability in a pedestrian network in Guimarães, Portugal. The method involves the assessment of 19 built environment and streetscape attributes, which were scored by a group of experts following the analytic hierarchy process. The method proved to be efficient in evaluating the pedestrian network and in mapping walkability in the study area. Around 65% of the street lengths scored above 0.60, indicating that the overall pedestrian conditions are favourable, with the best performance criteria being those related to accessibility and street connectivity. The method also allowed for the identification of different levels of walkability within the study area and the lack of a pedestrian network of highly scored streets. According to the results, the SPN method could be replicated in other cities to evaluate walkability and could be a useful planning tool to support policies towards developing more walkable cities.

The Proper Treatment of Cash Holdings in DCF Valuation Theory and Practice

Abstract The discounted cash flow (“DCF”) model is widely used for valuing corporate assets. But valuable assets that do not generate cash flows will be missed by the DCF approach. Because cash interest income is generally not included in the projected net cash flows of operating assets, the value of cash is regarded as a non-operating asset whose value must be added to the DCF enterprise value. Unfortunately, it has become standard practice on Wall Street and for the courts to exclude some amount of cash from non-operating assets on the basis that it will be used to finance the immediate operations of the business. The exclusion of so-called “operating” or “working-capital” cash is widely accepted as necessary and is recommended in virtually all valuation texts and treatises. We disagree and show that all cash should generally be added as a non-operating asset, except in unique circumstances where “wasting cash” is not earning a fair market return. We explain that excluding operating cash is correct only if either the interest income on cash is included in the net cash flows projections used to compute DCF value, or if the specific (near-term) operating expenses that will be covered by operating cash are excluded from the net cash flow projections. In either case, the full economic benefits of owning operating cash are fully reflected in the DCF enterprise value of the company, causing the DCF value to be higher by the exact amount of operating cash that is excluded. We call this the symmetry principle of operating cash. In practice, neither condition is normally met, so that all cash should generally be treated as a non-operating asset.

Potential for Energy Utilization of Air Compression Section Using an Open Absorption Refrigeration System

In this paper, an open absorption refrigeration system is proposed to recover part of the waste compression heat while producing cooling capacity to further cool the compressed air itself. The self-utilization of the compression waste heat can significantly reduce the energy consumption of air compression, and hence increase the energy efficiency of the cryogenic air separation unit. To illuminate the energy distribution and energy conversion principle of the open absorption refrigerator-assisted air compression section, a thermodynamic model is built and the simulation work conducted based on a practical triple-stage air compression section of a middle-scale cryogenic air separation unit. Our results indicate that the energy saving ratio is mainly constrained by the distribution of the cooling load of compressed air, which corresponds to the heat load of the generator and cooling capacity of the evaporator in the open absorption refrigerator. The energy saving ratio ranges from 0.52–8.05%, corresponding to the temperature range of 5–30 °C and humidity range of 0.002–0.010 kg/kg. It is also estimated, based on the economic analysis, that the payback period of the open absorption refrigeration system is less than one year, and the net project revenue during its life cycle reaches USD 5.7 M, thus showing an attractive economic potential.

Economic and Environmental Multiobjective Optimization of a Hybrid Power Generation System using Solar and Wind Energy Source

This article presents a comparison of energy generation using two methods of power production for different geographical locations. For this comparison, the HOMER software was used, which allows simulating generation systems with different energy sources. For the development of these simulations it was necessary to collect three parameters in the locations to be analyzed, which were wind speed, solar radiation and temperature. The photovoltaic array system was simulated using from 10 to 200 units with a constant value of one wind turbine, while for the wind turbine system, 1 to 9 units were used together with a constant value of 100 photovoltaic arrays. For the photovoltaic system, there is no major difference in the net project cost, the renewable fraction and the annual carbon dioxide production when using a greater number of arrays, but an increase in energy production is observed, a greater effect is obtained by changing the location of the system, analyzing the wind system a greater number of turbines increases the energy production, but also increase the annual carbon dioxide production and project cost, there is no significant difference between locations for the project cost the other parameters are affected. By using an optimization algorithm in the systems, the best performance was obtained in Puerto Bolivar using 105 photovoltaic arrays of 1kW and 3 wind turbines of 1.5MW.

Управління реновацією національної економіки у забезпеченні енергетичної децентралізації та енергобезпеки

The article is devoted to an analytical review of the situation in the industrial and energy sectors of Ukraine, taking into account the regional component and given the extent of destruction caused by the armed conflict. It is proposed and substantiated the hypothesis that the SMART-chain of administrative-budgetary-energy decentralization in the shortest possible time to protect the economy of Ukraine from the challenges of the postwar period. The national resource potential of energy efficient and energy saving technologies is systematized, applied recommendations are provided to support state and local energy development trends, namely: energy storage projects, distributed and micro-generation, Net Energy Metering projects to support small projects in the energy sector. Proposals for institutional changes to establish a Decarbonization / Green Energy Transition Agency in Ukraine, with broad communication powers and the ability to make decisions on reducing carbon emissions in all areas, are presented. The possibility and expediency of applying the concept of niarshoring in Ukrainian industry (with the potential to use Ukraine's industrial and logistics infrastructure as a mega-industrial park for the EU and the mutual benefit of such a project) and in the national energy sector (to improve the EU energy balance) . The energy balance of Europe for the last 5 years is analyzed, the negative dynamics of its development is demonstrated. To improve the situation, the forecast of energy prices for individual EU countries was calculated taking into account Ukraine's integration into the European energy system. The analysis and calculations revealed a potentially possible level of price reductions in selected EU countries up to 20-30%. Recommendations for improving the efficiency of energy management at the regional level are provided, in particular, ensuring transparency in the development of renewable energy sources, using significant national biofuel potential and increasing natural gas production, developing a business model of a gas distribution center in Western Ukraine energy market.

The costs and constraints of pandemic response in Mali*

The costs and constraints of pandemic response in Mali*

Analysis of Hair Design Tasks for National Skills Competition: focused on Ladies hair style tasks

Recently, there has been a shift to salon styles which are immediately applicable to customers as WORLDSKILLS asks for practical and commercial design. Under such circumstances, this study attempted to analyze projects which revealed such change among those designed focusing on the art of National Skills Competition. For this, data were primarily collected from the job descriptions provided by MEISTER NET and hairstyle projects on women in National Skills Competition. The scope of research was limited to year 2018 and year 2020, and the results found the followings: In 2020 National Skills Competition, practical salon styles which are readily applicable to the fields were more focused than those that require personal skills and creativity. Therefore, under the concept that such competition is an extension of industrial sites, it is required to prepare National Skills Competition by building the ability to reanalyze the conventional fancy and artistic value-oriented styles in practical design. It is anticipated that the study results would be available for those preparing for such competition.

Feasibility Study of Vietnam Fire and Disaster Prevention Agency Improvement Project through ODA Project I

By matching domestic ODA projects for specific implementation in accordance with the 2020 Fire and Disaster Prevention Agency Facility Infrastructure Master Plan and 2030 Vision, a social safety net construction project in Vietnam, its business feasibility was analyzed. Vietnam is undergoing rapid change and urbanization. As a result, demand in the firefighting sector is expected to increase rapidly. Because there are no domestic manufacturers of firefighting vehicles in Vietnam, the demand is largely satisfied through imports; however, the firefighting vehicles and additional devices provided through this ODA project should greatly contribute to the promotion of domestic exports. To represent the environmental factors that can cause fires in 58 provinces, the selection of project areas to support firefighting vehicles is based on population, jurisdictional area, population density, age of firefighting vehicles, number of firefighting targets, and number of firefighting vehicles in the past four years; the trend of reinforcement of firefighting vehicles and regional characteristics is determined. Twelve provinces in Vietnam were selected in the same way as the selected areas to support firefighting vehicles. This ODA project is expected to provide an opportunity to improve the legal and institutional aspects of the firefighting and disaster prevention field in Vietnam by applying domestic advanced firefighting force deployment standards.

A Study on the Characteristics of Smart Wellness Housing Promotion Project for Classes in Need of Housing Support in Japan

This study identifies the characteristics of the smart wellness promotion project through on overview of the project for classes in need of housing support, such as the elderly, the disabled, and childrearing households in Japan, as well as case studies. In addition, this data is intended to be used as a data that can be used to fine the direction of housing welfare projects for the people requiring housing support according to the current situation in Korea. The methods used were literature review and case analysis. Data were collected from the Internet, research materials, and papers. From among the various housing-related projects in Japan, the paper analyzed three types of project characteristics in the Smart Wellness Housing Promotion Project. The study results are as follows. The Service-type Housing Improvement Project for the Elderly ensures residential stability for the elderly by linking with barrier-free structures, long-term care, and medical care; the Safety Net Housing Improvement Project establishes a housing safety net using vacant homes or rooms, focusing on the elderly, the disabled, and childrearing households; and the Housing Environment Improvement Project conducts maintenance for a safe residential environment based on regional characteristics or life stages for the elderly, the disabled, and childrearing household. It is necessary to reorganize various housing welfare-related laws and to broadly expand the class of people in need of housing support.

Spatial order in a two-dimensional spin–orbit-coupled spin-1/2 condensate: superlattice, multi-ring and stripe formation

We demonstrate the formation of stable spatially-ordered states in a uniform and also trapped quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) Rashba or Dresselhaus spin–orbit (SO) coupled pseudo spin-1/2 Bose–Einstein condensate using the mean-field Gross–Pitaevskii equation. For weak SO coupling, one can have a circularly-symmetric (0, +1)- or (0, −1)-type multi-ring state with intrinsic vorticity, for Rashba or Dresselhaus SO coupling, respectively, where the numbers in the parentheses denote the net angular momentum projection in the two components, in addition to a circularly-asymmetric degenerate state with zero net angular momentum projection. For intermediate SO couplings, in addition to the above two types, one can also have states with stripe pattern in component densities with no periodic modulation in total density. The stripe state continues to exist for large SO coupling. In addition, a new spatially-periodic state appears in the uniform system: a superlattice state, possessing some properties of a supersolid, with a square-lattice pattern in component densities and also in total density. In a trapped system the superlattice state is slightly different with multi-ring pattern in component density and a square-lattice pattern in total density. For an equal mixture of Rashba and Dresselhaus SO couplings, in both uniform and trapped systems, only stripe states are found for all strengths of SO couplings. In a uniform system all these states are quasi-2D solitonic states.

Small in value, important in essence: lessons learnt from a decade of implementing the European Small Claims Procedure in Italy and Belgium

This article examines the extent to which the European Small Claims Procedure (ESCP) has served the main purpose of the EU legislature to establish a legal framework to improve access to justice for creditors of cross-border small claims through a simplified, expedited and inexpensive redress mechanism. This article first analyses the implementation of the ESCP in Italy and Belgium. These two countries were chosen because of the authors’ research on the Small Claims Analysis Net (SCAN) Project (The SCAN Project was initiated in 2018 as a two-year project with the fundamental aim of evaluating the efficiency of the European Small Claims Procedure within several EU Member States (France, Belgium, Italy, Slovenia, and Lithuania), besides raising awareness of this procedure among consumers and other judicial stakeholders. For the conducted activities as part of the SCAN project, see http://www.scanproject.eu accessed on 24 February 2021). The second part of this article deals with the impact of this regulatory instrument on access to justice for citizens, in view of the principle of judicial efficiency. Finally, this article focuses on the possibility of using this instrument for collective redress, on the one hand, and linking this procedure to online dispute resolution, on the other.

Process simulation and techno-economic performance evaluation of alternative technologies for biodiesel production from low value non-edible oil

In this study the techno-economic performances of three possible technologies have been assessed to identify the better one. The studied technologies include: Glycerol enriched CaO catalyzed, Supercritical ethanol, and Solid acid catalyzed processes. The overall study is based on complete process simulations using two commercially known software – Aspen Plus and Super Pro. The complete process layout for each option has been designed based on reasonable assumptions and optimum reaction conditions taken from relevant literatures. The amount and quality of biodiesel and glycerol as well as the amount of biodiesel per amount of feedstock used have been used to assess the relative technical performances among the process alternatives. For economic performance evaluation, the total cost of investment, unit cost of production, internal rate of return, net present value and project payback time have been used. The economic feasibility of each process towards change in production capacity has also been assessed. In addition, the sensitivity of each process scenario for the possible global market fluctuations of inputs and outputs has been evaluated. The glycerol enriched CaO catalyzed option is found to be the most economically feasible option under the given market scenario. All the three options are proved to be good in their technical performances, even though the solid acid catalyzed, and supercritical options are not economically efficient.

Validating Famine Early Warning Systems Network projections of food security in Africa, 2009–2020

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) operates to mitigate harms associated with food insecurity. Many stakeholders depend on this resource to guide monitoring, planning, interventions, and resource allocations. These activities' effectiveness hinges on the credibility of FEWS NET projections. Published statistical evaluations are rare and narrow in geographic scope. Our extended analysis validates projections for 25 African countries from 2009-2020. Accuracy is 84 percent overall, but drops sharply with ascending food insecurity, biasing toward over-projection. Variation in humanitarian responses, climate, and conflict appear connected to the patterns. The study illuminates FEWS NET's performance in anticipating food insecurity amid fragile conditions and motivates recommendations for improvements through ongoing validation, deeper scrutiny of factors affecting reliability, increased transparency, and informed usage.

Biodiesel production process using solid acid catalyst: influence of market variables on the process's economic feasibility

AbstractThere are a number of efficient alternative technologies for the production of fuel‐quality biodiesel from various feedstock types. The solid acid catalyzed transesterification process is one such approach. In this study, the whole process of biodiesel fuel production using solid acid catalysts has been simulated using commercially known software – SuperPro Designer – and the effects of some selected market variables on the economic feasibility of the whole process have been investigated. The market variables considered are oil cost, biodiesel price, alcohol cost, catalyst cost, labor cost, tax variation, maintenance cost, and glycerol selling price. Net present value and project payback time have been used as the parameters for evaluating the effect of changes in these market variables on the economic feasibility of the process. Possible market variations in oil cost and biodiesel price strongly affect the viability of the production process, whereas changes in labor cost and equipment maintenance cost could show less effect. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Techno-economic sizing of renewable energy power system case study Dhofar Region-Oman

ABSTRACT In this paper, the sizing of an electrical power system for the Dhofar region in the southern of Oman is proposed and discussed through an optimization of the net project cost of different configurations of power sources. Both stand-alone and grid-connected cases are studied and discussed. The generated electrical power from renewable energy sources depends mainly on solar radiations, temperature, and wind speed. The incomes depend on the electrical power produced from renewable energy sources and the initial cost of investment as well as the operation and maintenance cost of renewable energy equipment. The analysis of different cases is performed using HOMER Software. The comparison of different configurations shows that the hybrid grid-connected system is the optimum solution to produce 1046807 kWh of electrical power from renewable energy sources with a minimum net project cost of 186 751 €. The utilization of electrical power from the power grid is the most expensive solution with a net project cost of 5.07 million €. The hybrid photovoltaic wind grid-connected system allows reducing of the cost of energy to 0.0117 € per kWh with an optimum initial investment cost of 386 648 €. The detailed analysis of proposed renewable energy solutions based on accurate informations gives every confidence in its reliability for future energy requirements of Oman. The proposed solutions hold good for this region in Oman in the long term. Indeed, installing renewable energy systems allows reducing electricity bills and participating in the national development plan related to green energy policy.

Evaluation of Global Experiences in Large-Scale Double-Fortified Salt Programs

BackgroundDouble-fortified salt (DFS) is a vehicle for dual fortification with iron and iodine, to reduce their respective deficiencies. This background article is the third in a series reviewing available research, analyses, and experiences on DFS as an effective delivery vehicle for iron and iodine. ObjectivesThe objective of this article is to systematically evaluate current programs distributing DFS around the world and catalogue opportunities, risks, and challenges related to programs that incorporate DFS. We carried out a narrative review of DFS programs from around the world with our data sources deriving from a mix of a nonsystematic literature search and interviews with key informants. MethodsWe assessed programmatic experience with DFS from social safety net programs in India (from the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh) and from non–social safety net country programs or projects in Argentina, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Philippines, and Sri Lanka. ResultsFindings revealed color change of the final DFS product was an issue in 9 of the 14 programs or studies reviewed and was the most significant challenge that had a direct impact on consumer acceptance and uptake regardless of type of program (open market or social safety net). Other challenges identified were related to the quality of the salt and lack of DFS formulation standards and regulatory monitoring protocols. ConclusionsDFS programs need to focus on 1) improved technology with better consumer acceptance and better performance when used with lower-quality salt; 2) elucidation and enforcement of DFS formulation quality standards, along with producer incentives; and 3) strong government backing at the policy level. DFS offers a unique opportunity to leverage an almost universally consumed product with the addition of 2 important nutrients missing in many populations. However, program “maturity” will take time with urgent attention needed for quality production.