Separate Types Research Articles

Performance experiments and pressure drop prediction modelling of an energy-saving cyclone separator

The study proposes a new type of axial-inlet cyclone separator with the smaller cylinder-cone ratio and an expansion tube at the particle exhaust, named energy-saving cyclone separator, which offers several advantages over the traditional tangential inlet cyclone in engineering units. Experimental results demonstrate that the separation efficiency exceeds 83 % for fine particles smaller than 10μm, while the pressure drop is significantly lower than that of the commonly used PV-type tangential inlet cyclone separator, at only 44 % of the PV cyclone separator’s pressure drop. Moreover, the flow fields of energy-saving cyclone separator are measured to analyze its characteristics. It is found that the lower tangential momentum ratio in both the inner and outer swirl zones of energy-saving cyclone separator reduces the dissipation of dynamic swirl pressure at the bottom of the cone section and outlet pipe, resulting in a lower pressure drop. The high proportion of downward axial momentum in the outer swirl section causes the separated large particles to discharge through the dust exhaust, improving the separation efficiency of coarse particles. Furthermore, a model to predict the pressure drop of energy-saving cyclone separator is developed.

Exploring the relevance of the type of horizontal separator to optimize the extraction efficacy for the Arbequina variety.

The productivity of virgin olive oil depends not only on agronomic factors but also on the technological factors of the extraction process. The 'Arbequina' variety has extractability problems, which is a challenge for master millers anywhere. This work aims to evaluate the behavior of different decanters and seeks to modulate the effect of some processing parameters and their interactions with oil extraction efficiency in the case of 'Arbequina.' Fruit characteristics, processing parameters, and extractability were collected over 10 years from 38 decanters that belong to five different brands. The results have shown that fruit moisture is the most relevant factor for oil extractability, especially over 52%. Furthermore, extractability is positively correlated with malaxing temperature, addition of water, and total fat content in the fruit. However, the results show that before applying a regulation, the type of decanter must be considered. The model used in this study has allowed us to optimize the regulations for each type of decanter to reduce oil losses within the pomace, achieving an extraction efficiency within the range of 78%-91.5%. In fact, the best extraction efficiency results (91.5%) were obtained by processing at temperatures >26°C and water injection of 5%.

ANALYSIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF GONDOLA CAR BODY STRUCTURES

The article is devoted to the analysis of promising directions for the development of gondola car body structures. It considers the history of the emergence of gondola cars as a separate type of railway rolling stock. The authors systemise the design of gondola cars and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various designs. The study has shown that the manufacture of the two-axle gondola cars began in the second half of the 19th century. They were designed mainly for transporting coal and iron ore, with their bodies made of wood. Further design improvement led to the appearance of four-axle gondola cars with increased load capacity. Rolled metal began to be used in body structures to improve strength. Particular attention in the article goes to analysing the results of innovative design and technological solutions intended to enhance the efficiency and reliability of body structures. The research indicates that attempts to replace steel with aluminium alloys in manufacturing bodies did not yield results. The reason is the high cost of aluminium and the labour-intensive manufacturing. A promising direction is the use of low-alloy steels 10KhSND and 10KhNDP. For many years, there has been a trend in the railcar-building industry toward producing higher-load gondola cars. It requires increasing the axle load to 25 tons. However, implementing such cars necessitates a substantial restructuring of the railway infrastructure. We consider the design features of innovative domestic gondola cars in detail. The latest technical solutions for the body frame, efficient materials, and components with improved performance have doubled the overhaul mileage. The article analyses the North American experience of gondola car construction and operation. It shows that some models of American gondola cars use longitudinal cylindrical boxes to increase the body volume and reduce the car’s centre of mass. They are on both sides of the girder beam and occupy the space between the carts. Aluminium alloys are also widely used: the frame and lower part of the body are steel, and the side and end walls are aluminium alloy. Keywords: gondola car, body, girder beam, pivot beam, side walls, hatch cover, reliability.

Optimization of Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization Protocols in the Era of Precision Medicine.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is a cytogenetic assay that is widely used in both clinical and research settings to validate genetic aberrations. Simple in principle, it is based on denaturation and hybridization of a DNA probe and its complementary sequence; however, it is subject to continuous optimization. Here we share how in-house FISH can be optimized using different control tissues to visualize and ultimately validate common and novel genetic abnormalities unearthed by next-generation sequencing (NGS). Seven specific FISH probes were designed and labeled, and conditions for eight tissue types and one patient-derived tumor organoid were optimized. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue slides were used for each experiment. Slides were first deparaffinized, then placed in a pretreatment solution followed by a digestion step. In-house FISH probes were then added to the tissue to be denatured and hybridized, and then washed twice. To obtain optimal results, probe concentration, pepsin incubation time, denaturation, and the two post-hybridization washes were optimized for each sample. By modifying the above conditions, all FISH experiments were optimized in separate tissue types to investigate specific genomic alterations in tumors arising in those tissues. Signals were clear and distinct, allowing for visualization of the selected probes. Following this protocol, our lab has quickly optimized 11 directly labeled in-house FISH probes to support genetic aberrations nominated by NGS, including most recent discoveries through whole-genome sequencing analyses. We describe a robust approach of how to advance in-house labeled FISH probes. By following these guidelines, reliable and reproducible FISH results can be obtained to interrogate FFPE slides from benign, tumor tissues, and patient-derived tumor organoid specimens. This is of most relevance in the era of NGS and precision oncology. © 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Metaphase FISH optimization Support Protocol 1: In-house probe labeling and preparation Support Protocol 2: Metaphase spread preparation Basic Protocol 2: Optimization of FISH on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue.

Administrative Hierarchy of the Gandan Monastery According to the “Regulations of 1840”

The article is devoted to the analysis of the system of administrative positions in the Gandan Monastery of Mongolia during the Qing era in the context of the distribution of material wealth based on the author’s translation of an archival document entitled “Regulations of the Gandan Monastery”, compiled in 1840. During the study, the author relied on source studies, historical and sociological methods, and also a method of historical and ethnographic reconstruction. The use of these methods made it possible to restore the administrative structure of the Gandan monastery, as well as to identify the specifics of the everyday life and economic structure of the Buddhist clergy of the mid-19th century. As a result of the source study and historical-ethnographic analysis of the text of the “Regulations” and the identification of the main contexts for the mention of Buddhist monastic positions in the “Regulations”, the author came to the following conclusions: most of the cases of mentioning positions are related to the range of administrative and economic responsibilities (control, accounting and distribution of material wealth monastery), while the greatest attention of the drafters of the “Regulations” was paid to organizational aspects of preparing and conducting calendar Buddhist prayers, as well as issues of subordination between lamas. According to the text of the “Regulations”, the material assets that came under the jurisdiction of the Gandan monastery consisted mainly of cattle, food products (meat, pressed tea), pieces of silk fabric (Mong. mangnuγ), as well as various types of ritual hadaks (Mong. sonom-hadak, sambai-khadak), etc. The economic structure of the Gandan monastery was based on regular offerings (Mong. bar’ts) from the rich patrons of the monastery, princes and their closest relatives, as well as on the material support of the aimags-communities located at the monastery. It was also revealed that food surpluses from the offerings were sold, which indicates significant food reserves and, accordingly, the presence of large funds among the monastery leadership. In general, we can say that monastic everyday life in the context of the administrative hierarchy of Buddhist positions and statuses has its own eastern characteristics, it can be considered as a separate type of organization of everyday life of the eastern steppe society, which gradually moved to a semi-nomadic and sedentary way of life.

Thermally induced phase separation of UHMWPE mixture with dioctyl adipate: Competition of liquid–liquid phase separation and polymer crystallization

The thermal behavior of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) with dioctyl adipate (DOA) was investigated by the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) method. Capillary-porous bodies were obtained via thermally induced phase separation of DOA mixtures with polyethylenes of different molecular weight at different cooling rates. Analysis of the morphology of the prepared porous bodies together with DSC data and results of cloud point estimation revealed an unexpected effect of a cooling rate on the type of phase separation occurring in the mixture during its cooling from homogeneous state. Particularly it was shown that increase in the cooling rate reduces the probability of realization of liquid – liquid phase separation in the mixture. It was argued that such behavior, different from the standard semicrystalline polymers, is a result of kinetic hindrance of liquid – liquid phase separation in mixtures containing a polymer with such a high molecular weight.

Computational study on CO2 absorption mechanism and structure–activity relationship of biphasic solvent

The biphasic solvents are conducive to improving the efficiency of CO2 capture and reducing the energy consumption caused by regeneration. This study explored their reaction process at the molecular level based on density functional theory (DFT): selection of diamines such as active amines with distinct amino groups, 1,4-butanediamine (BDA) and N-(2-aminoethyl)ethanolamine (AEEA), and with typical phase separation promoters, 2-(diethylamino)ethanolamine (DEEA), and N,N,N′,N′,N′′-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA). This study systematically explores the potential reaction paths in CO2 capture to quantitatively assesse the structure–activity relationships among different amines in different stages of absorption, the influence of reaction sequence on reaction rates, and further elucidates the characteristics of product formation and its impact on the phase separation process. The results indicated that the zwitterion mechanism is widely applicable and remains the dominant explanation for the biphasic solvent CO2 capture mechanism. The intramolecular proton transfer reaction is the key to influencing the absorption rate of CO2, but in the case of interproton transfer, the rate-determining step needs to be judged in conjunction with the type of amino groups on it. And the amine groups on AEEA react with CO2 in different orders, forming distinct zwitterions that have similar activity in later intramolecular proton transfers. Under the zwitterion mechanism, primary amino groups exhibit stronger proton affinity than secondary ones. In solvents approaching saturation stage, DEEA reacts with AEEA and CO2 earlier than PMDETA. This study reveals the reaction mechanism of biphasic solvents and the key paths in different phases, providing insights for developing new solvents.

Przestępstwo czynu nierządnego z nieletnim w kodeksach karnych państw zaborczych i kodeksie karnym z 1932 roku. Przyczynek do badań

The crime of pedophilia, as a separate type of prohibited act, appeared in Poland together with the criminal codes of the partitioning countries. These provisions were in many cases very casuistic, providing a different standard of protection for minors. The Criminal Code of 1932 introduced a uniform standard of protection through the provision of Article 203 penalizing the act of fornication with a minor. The author discusses not only the provisions of the partitioning codes and the Polish Criminal Code of 1932 relating to the crime of pedophilia, but also points to the conflict of these provisions with the provisions of the marriage law in force in Poland, which in some cases allowed children under 15 years of age to marry.

Optimizing Image Classification Performance with MnasNet Model on Blurred Images

In this era, the development of fashion in clothing is increasing. Over the last 30 years, the fashion industry has experienced significant improvements, causing its growth and development to increase. Fashion has many types and variants, but blurry images can also make it difficult for people to classify whether this is a shirt, t-shirt, or something else. Because of that, we proposed image classification. By classifying images, we can help the fashion industry to separate categories and types of various fashion. The approach uses MnasNet which is included in the deep learning approach. The data used is 70,000 which is divided into 60,000 training data and 10,000 testing data. The MnasNet architectural model produces an accuracy of 89% and a loss of 0.4426. It can be seen that MnasNet is the right method for image classification so that the problems described in the background have been successfully solved.

Quantitative effects of overlay clutter and information access effort: Examining the scan-clutter trade-off in displays with geospatial maps.

Overlaying images from multiple geospatial databases increases clutter and imposes attentional costs by disrupting focusing attention on each database and dividing attention when comparing databases. Costs of overlay clutter may offset the benefits of reduced scanning between two images displayed separately. In two experiments, we examine these attention issues using computational metrics to quantify clutter. We also examine how the scan-clutter trade-off is modified by different levels of clutter, display separation, and task attentional requirements. Participants viewed information from a geographical terrain database and a schematic map database and made judgments that required focusing attention on either database or integrating information across both. In Experiment 1, databases were presented as either overlaid or adjacent displays, and in Experiment 2, as either overlay, adjacent, or more separated displays. Results showed that response time was modulated by the magnitude of clutter, spatial separation, and task type. Results also revealed that clutter costs dominated those of spatial separation, particularly in tasks requiring focused attention. A computational feature congestion metric of clutter effectively predicted performance but could be improved by incorporating an overlay component, which amplified the costs of clutter. The results provide design guidelines for overlay displays (e.g., head-mounted displays) that will minimize the scan-clutter trade-off. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF EDUCATIONAL TOURISM

In today's technological era, rural tourism with its unique and unusual offer, which carries the traditions, culture and culinary heritage of ancestors, becomes a proper and unique cultural capital, and it has opportunities to hybridize with other types of tourism, for example, with educational tourism. As a separate type of tourism - educational tourism, becomes an innovative opportunity to revive the usual rural tourism offer. In order to retain the interest of tourists, the tourism experience must have transformative potential. Consumer experiences can contribute to tourists' cognitions and emotions, resulting in psychological, physical, social, or knowledge changes. Educational tourism combines the features of two fields: education and tourism, which at the intersection gives the actual educational tourism. In Latvia, educational tourism is not defined as a separate economic category. This type of tourism can become a successful platform for travelers' self-growth, creating opportunities for them to learn, relax and improve spiritually. The aim of the study is to analyze the interpretations of the definition. The research uses the scientific literature research method. The research questions are (1) What research has been done on aspects of educational tourism? (2 ) Which scientists have focused on the study of this concept? (3) What are the prerequisites for the introduction of educational tourism in Latgale/regions? An exploratory study was implemented and described in this paper.

Judicial enforcement as a specific type of law enforcement: administrative and legal aspect

In the article, the author reflects on the possibility of recognizing judicial enforcement as a specific type of law enforcement. Proceeding from the already finally formed position of recognition of application as a separate independent form of implementation of the norms of administrative law, along with its other forms - implementation, compliance, use, the author directs his scientific search to the study of the specifics of law enforcement by its special subject - the court . Having analyzed the arguments available in scientific sources about the specifics of judicial enforcement, the author rejects most of the features that are proposed in scientific sources as being inherent only in judicial enforcement (simultaneous and related application of not only the norms of substantive law, but also the norms of procedural law; legal interpretation activity court; the need to coordinate judicial enforcement with judicial practice) as those that characterize the enforcement activity not only of courts, but also of other subjects. Such a deficiency of normative regulation is indicated, such as the lack of normative definitions of the concepts of "norms of material norm” ("material norms”, "substantive law”, other similar), "norms of procedural law” ("procedural norms”, "procedural law”, other similar ), as well as "application of legal norms”, "application of material law norms”, "application of procedural law norms”, etc. As criteria for distinguishing judicial application as a separate type of law enforcement, the author considers: the specificity of the subject of application itself; different from other cases of (non-judicial) application of normative regulation of relevant procedural issues, and the content of the concepts "type” and "typing” is taken into account. It is indicated that, in the absence of a unified approach to determining the content of all forms of implementation of legal norms (execution, use, compliance, application), it is problematic (and will remain until the normative resolution of this issue) to attribute certain actions of the court in the implementation of procedural norms to certain specific forms The author considers the possibility of interpreting the actions of the court to implement procedural norms in some cases as "use” and in others as "application” as a promising direction for further discussions.

Linguistic and pragmatic aspects of communication in the modern media world

Taking into account the purposeful activity of modern man, his acquisition of huge masses of information during a short period, the communication aspect of communication in the business sphere has gradually turned from a means of enjoyment, length, and unhurried language interaction into a means of accurate, short and simultaneous full communication of a problem, initiative, proposal. Communication pragmatics came to the aid of such language transformations. The article proves that pragmalinguistics studies speech communication as a manifestation of speech activity – purposeful influence on each other (persuasion, persuasion, request for information, etc.) using language. To achieve their communicative goals, depending on the context and situation, their communicative roles, the speaker and the addressee use certain speech acts (written as sentences) corresponding to these goals – stating facts, encouraging action, etc. It is scientifically determined that the emergence of ecolinguistics is due to the need to solve the problems of interaction between language, man and nature. It is indicated that it covers extremely diverse research that reflects the importance of environmental issues in society. The attention paid to issues of environmental protection at all levels of society, and as a result, the relevance of environmental issues, as well as the peculiarities of communication in the field of environmental protection, allow us to distinguish a separate type of discourse - ecological, which is characterized by the constant addition of the ecological glossary, the emergence of special axiological units, the presence of separate status models - role configuration, which determine the use of certain communicative strategies in specific communicative situations. It was highlighted in practice that the main discourse-creating concepts in environmental discourse are environment, pollution, energy, and climate change, which constitute the semantic base of communication in the field of environmental protection.

Intelligent Agents and Causal Inference: Enhancing Decision-Making through Causal Reasoning

This study examines the incorporation of causal inference methods into intelligent entities and examines the benefits of utilizing causal reasoning to improve decision-making procedures. This study entails conducting an experimental evaluation within a video game setting to evaluate the performance of three separate agent types: ExplorerBOT, GuardBOT, and CausalBOT. The ExplorerBOT utilizes a stochastic path selection technique for task completion, whereas the GuardBOT remains immobile yet exhibits exceptional proficiency in identifying and neutralizing other bots. On the other hand, the CausalBOT utilizes sophisticated causal inference methods to examine the underlying factors contributing to the failures noticed in the task completion of the ExplorerBOT. The aforementioned feature allows CausalBOT to make informed decisions by selecting paths that have a greater likelihood of achieving success. The main purpose of these experiments is to assess and compare the effectiveness of two distinct bots, namely ExplorerBOT and CausalBOT, in accomplishing their respective objectives. To facilitate comparison, two iterations of the ExplorerBOT are utilized. The initial iteration is predicated exclusively on stochastic path selection and necessitates a more profound understanding of the variables that impact the achievement of tasks. On the other hand, the second version integrates an algorithm for informed search. In contrast, CausalBOT employs causal inference techniques to discover the underlying causes of failures exhibited by ExplorerBOTs and collect pertinent data. Through the process of discerning the fundamental causal mechanisms, CausalBOT is able to make well-informed decisions by selecting pathways that maximize the probability of successfully completing a given job. The utilization of this approach greatly boosts the decision-making powers of CausalBOT, hence enabling it to effectively adapt and overcome problems in a more efficient manner when compared to alternative agents.

Teaching sight translation to Economics and Management majors

Relevance. Teaching professionally oriented translation to students in non-linguistic areas of study is important and relevant, since future specialists will have to use the foreign language as part of their professional activities, which includes the translation of professionally oriented texts. Teaching visual-oral translation (sight translation) as a separate type of professionally oriented translation for economics and management majors is considered to be necessary to prepare future graduates for successful professional activities.Research Methods. The study used methods such as qualitative and quantitative analysis of the most typical difficulties of students (emotional, cognitive and motor difficulties), as well as the errors they make when sight translating.Results and Discussion. The authors provide typological characteristics of sight translation as a separate type of translation activity. We discuss the main obstacles that students of non-linguistic areas of training encounter when mastering the skills of sight translation of texts related to economic and managerial discourse. Among them are the following: translation of terminological vocabulary, recognition of syntactic connections at the level of sentences and phrases, translation of modern realities, stylistically colored vocabulary and idioms, translation of lexical inclusions of other industry discourse. The reasons leading to distortions in translation from the sheet are analyzed, ways of overcoming translation difficulties that have been tested and have shown their effectiveness in the Odintsovo branch of Moscow Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation are considered.Conclusions. Skills of translating from a foreign language (English) into one’s native language (Russian) contributes not only to the formation of professional translation competence, but also a number of other academic and professional skills. To successfully implement this, a clear and competent course structure is required, taking into account the need to learn to translate modern English-language texts of economic discourse.

JUSTIFICATION OF CONSTRUCTION AND TECHNOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF THE STRIP-TILL SECTION FOR STRIP TILLAGE WITH THE APPLICATION OF FERTILIZERS

The STRiP-TiLL technology came from the USA, where at a certain stage, as a result of changes in the external environment, it was formed from the technology of direct seeding, or No-Till. This tillage technology is most suitable for row crops. Yes, it was primarily developed in North America specifically for corn. Gradually, it proved itself well during the cultivation of other row crops, in particular, sunflower, soybean, sugar beet, etc. Strip cultivation, as a resource-saving technology with the prospect of its application in arid conditions, is quite promising in the cultivation of industrial crops. The key principles of implementing the strip-till technology are the separate type of its application, i.e. the formation of strips and sowing are spread over time, or combined - when the processes of forming strips and sowing are carried out simultaneously. World agricultural engineering offers various technical and technological solutions for the implementation of strip-till technology, based on the application of the principles of separate and combined methods of implementing this technology, in which they use: in the first version - separate machines for forming strips and sowing, in the second - about combine them into one unit and use one universal unit. One of the features of strip tillage is the possibility of using various chemicals and mineral fertilizers at the same time as sowing seeds, which makes it possible to make the fertilizing process quite precise and targeted, placing active substances right near the roots of the plants. Strip-Till allows you to integrate oxygen into the soil with part of the fertilizers when plants with a short growing cycle are planted. This improves plant development by eliminating stress. Passing the rollers on both sides of the seed line eliminates the air pocket left by the paws, promoting ideal plant growth. Loosening only the seed line limits or eliminates inter-row weed growth while creating a water storage area that will percolate to the roots of the harvested plants.

Recent advances in separator design for lithium metal batteries without dendrite formation: Implications for electric vehicles

Electric vehicle (EV) technology addresses the challenge of reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. The power battery, which serves as the energy source for EVs, directly impacts their driving range, maximum speed, and service life. Considering the high energy density requirements for future EVs, lithium metal anodes possess several advantages such as high theoretical capacity, high energy and power density, and low electrochemical reduction potential which enable them to be a promising material for next-generation batteries. However, lithium metal anodes suffer from short cycle life and safety concerns due to the formation of dendritic and moss-like metal deposits that impede battery performance and reliability. This review will feature the recent advancement of functional separators to tackle these challenges. Firstly, this review presents a comprehensive review of the growth mechanism of lithium dendrites and delineates the underlying processes leading to battery failure. This aims to deepen understanding, which serves as a fundamental basis for classifying separators. Then, according to the growth of lithium dendrites and the failure process of lithium metal batteries, namely lithium-ion nucleation, growth of lithium dendrites, penetration of lithium dendrites into the separator, thermal runaway and even failure of the battery, four types of functional separators for different stages are proposed. The functions of these types of separators are to prevent the nucleation of lithium ions and regulate the uniform deposition of lithium ions, detect and eliminate dendrites, increase the mechanical strength of the separator and enhance the thermal stability and flame-retardancy of the separators, respectively. Finally, the recent advances of the above strategies are reviewed and discussed, existing critical problems are identified, and the future perspective of functional separators for the safety of lithium metal batteries is also discussed.

Morphological and electrophysiological characterization of a novel displaced astrocyte in the mouse retina.

Astrocytes throughout the central nervous system are heterogeneous in both structure and function. This diversity leads to tissue-specific specialization where morphology is adapted to the surrounding neuronal circuitry, as seen in Bergman glia of the cerebellum and Müller glia of the retina. Because morphology can be a differentiating factor for cellular classification, we recently developed a mouse where glial-fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-expressing cells stochastically label for full membranous morphology. Here we utilize this tool to investigate whether morphological and electrophysiological features separate types of mouse retinal astrocytes. In this work, we report on a novel glial population found in the inner plexiform layer and ganglion cell layer which expresses the canonical astrocyte markers GFAP, S100β, connexin-43, Sox2 and Sox9. Apart from their retinal layer localization, these cells are unique in their radial distribution. They are notably absent from the mid-retina but are heavily concentrated near the optic nerve head, and to a lesser degree the peripheral retina. Additionally, their morphology is distinct from both nerve fiber layer astrocytes and Müller glia, appearing more similar to amacrine cells. Despite this structural similarity, these cells lack protein expression of common neuronal markers. Additionally, they do not exhibit action potentials, but rather resemble astrocytes and Müller glia in their small amplitude, graded depolarization to both light onset and offset. Their structure, protein expression, physiology, and intercellular connections suggest that these cells are astrocytic, displaced from their counterparts in the nerve fiber layer. As such, we refer to these cells as displaced retinal astrocytes.

Separating insider and informed behavior: Evidence from a natural setting

AbstractPrevious literature has established the need to separate insider from expert trading in both financial and betting markets. This type of separation proves difficult to achieve because experts and insiders co‐exist in most market settings. Utilizing novel betting markets in which expert skill bettors are unable to use their expert knowledge, this study uncouples insider from expert betting, and allows more direct measurement of insider trading than in previous empirical tests. Evidence is presented in favor of some predictions from the highly cited Shin model of insider trading. Price setters charge an extra premium in markets with high proportions of insiders when compared to equivalent markets. The insiders accurately predict event outcomes, and their presence exacerbates a well known bias in betting market prices whereby returns on betting favorites is higher than for bets on longshots.

Phase separation methods for protein purification: A meta-analysis of purification performance and cost-effectiveness.

Protein purifications based on phase separations (e.g., precipitation and liquid-liquid extraction) have seen little adoption in commercial protein drug production. To identify barriers, we analyzed the purification performance and economics of 290 phase separation purifications from 168 publications. First, we found that studies using Design of Experiments for optimization achieved significantly greater mean yield and host cell protein log10 removal values than those optimizing one factor at a time (11.5% and 53% increases, respectively). Second, by modeling each reported purification at scales from 10 to 10,000kg product/year and comparing its cost-effectiveness versus chromatography, we found that cost-effectiveness depends strongly on scale: the fraction of phase separations predicted to be cost-effective at the 10, 100, and 1000kg/year scales was 8%, 15%, and 43%, respectively. Total cost per unit product depends inversely on input purity, with phase separation being cheaper than chromatography at the 100kg/year scale in 100% of cases where input purity was ≤ 1%, compared to about 25% of cases in the dataset as a whole. Finally, we identified a simple factor that strongly predicts phase separation process costs: the mass ratio of reagents versus purified product (the "direct materials usage rate"), which explains up to 58% of variation in cost per unit of purified product among all 290 reports, and up to 98% of variation within particular types of phase separation.