BIODIESEL AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PETROLEUM DIESEL IN A STOCHASTIC ENVIRONMENT

Policy makers should consider price volatility effects when determining appropriate spending levels for alternative fuel programs.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

BIODIESEL AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PETROLEUM DIESEL IN A STOCHASTIC ENVIRONMENT

The objective of the research presented in this paper is the development of a stochastic adoption threshold. The option pricing approach for modeling investment under uncertainty is extended for the case of comparing two stochastic input prices associated with inputs that are perfect substitutes in a production process. Based on this methodology, a threshold decision rule influenced by the drift and volatility of these two input prices is developed. Theoretical results established an empirical link for measuring the tradeoff of a relatively more expensive input (biodiesel) with lower price drift and volatility compared with a lower but more volatile priced input (petroleum diesel).option pricing, production, renewable fuels, technology adoption under uncertainty, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Electron impact promoted fragmentation of alkyl-N-(1-Phenylethyl)-carbamates of primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols

Mass spectra of alkyl carbamates derived from primary, secondary, and teriary alcohols by use of deuterium labeling and high resolution mass spectroscop

Exponential Upper Bounds via Martingales for Multiplexers with Markovian Arrivals.

We obtain explicit upper bounds in closed form for the queue length in a slotted time FCFS queue in which the service requirement is a sum of independent Markov processes on the state space {O, 1}, with integral service rate. The bound is of the form P[queue length ≥ b] ≤ cy^(-b) for any b ≥ 1 where c 1 are given explicitly in terms of the parameters of the model. The model can be viewed as an approximation for the burst-level component of the queue in an ATM multiplexer. We obtain heavy traffic bounds for the mean queue length and show that for typical parameters this far exceeds the mean queue length for independent arrivals at the same load. We compare our results on the mean queue length with an analytic expression for the case of unit service rate, and compare our results on the full distribution with computer simulations

Factors in the practice environment of nurses working in inpatient mental health: A partial least squares path modeling approach

Background: Developing a therapeutic relationship with consumers is considered as the central aspect of nursing work in mental health. The importance of this relationship stems from its association with enhanced patient care and improved patient outcomes. Factors within the practice environment may influence the nurse's ability to engage effectively in this relationship. Objective: This study explored a model that added characteristics of the individual and practice environment to a central framework incorporating therapeutic commitment: a nurse's ability and willingness to engage in a therapeutic relationship. Setting and participants: Data were collected at six mental health nursing units in five public general acute hospitals in New South Wales, Australia for 14 days per unit, between 2005 and 2006. All nurses in participating wards were invited to partake in the study. Seventy-six (51%) responses were analyzed. Method: The data were collected using a Nurse Survey inclusive of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (NWI-PES), and the Mental Health Problems Perception Questionnaire (MHPPQ). A Unit Profile form was used concurrently to collect staffing, skill mix and patient turnover data. Partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) was chosen as the analytical method to test the model and identify the most influential factors. Results: Experienced nurses who perceived themselves to be competent and supported were more likely to express a willingness to engage therapeutically with patients. Environmental factors associated with these perceptions included foundations of quality nursing care, opportunities to participate in hospital affairs and clinical supervision. Not all elements in the proposed model were supported. Conclusion: Positive hospital practice environments can improve the capacity of nurses working in mental health to engage therapeutically with patients. Specific approaches may include access to preceptorship, continued education and career development opportunities, together with clinical supervision, improved continuity of care, and the involvement of mental health nurses in the governance of the hospital. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd

The economic benefits of increased levels of nursing care in the hospital setting

Aim: To assess the economic impact of increased nursing hours of care on health outcomes in adult teaching hospitals in Perth, Western Australia. Background: Advancing technology and increased availability of treatment interventions are increasing demand for health care while the downturn in world economies has increased demand for greater efficiency. Nurse managers must balance nurse staffing to optimize care and provide efficiencies. Design: This longitudinal study involved the retrospective analysis of a cohort of multi-day stay patients admitted to adult teaching hospitals. Methods: Hospital morbidity and staffing data from September 2000 until June 2004, obtained in 2010 from a previous study, were used to analyse nursing-sensitive outcomes pre- and post-implementation of the Nurse Hours per Patient Day staffing method, which remains in place today. The cost of the intervention comprised increased nursing hours following implementation of the staffing method. Results: The number of nursing-sensitive outcomes was 1357 less than expected post-implementation and included 155 fewer \u27failure to rescue\u27 events. The 1202 other nursing-sensitive outcomes prevented were \u27surgical wound infection\u27, \u27pulmonary failure\u27, \u27ulcer, gastritis\u27, \u27upper gastrointestinal bleed\u27, and \u27cardiac arrest\u27. One outcome, pneumonia, showed an increase of 493. Analysis of life years gained was based on the failure to rescue events prevented and the total life years gained was 1088. The cost per life year gained was AUD$8907. Conclusion: The implementation of the Nurse Hours per Patient Day staffing method was cost-effective when compared with thresholds of interventions commonly accepted in Australia

A Complexity Measure for Continuous Time Quantum Algorithms

We consider unitary dynamical evolutions on n qubits caused by time dependent pair-interaction Hamiltonians and show that the running time of a parallelized two-qubit gate network simulating the evolution is given by the time integral over the chromatic index of the interaction graph. This defines a complexity measure of continuous and discrete quantum algorithms which are in exact one-to-one correspondence. Furthermore we prove a lower bound on the growth of large-scale entanglement depending on the chromatic index.Comment: 6 pages, Revte

Bounding the Spacecraft Atmosphere Design Space for Future Exploration Missions

The selection of spacecraft and space suit atmospheres for future human space exploration missions will play an important, if not critical, role in the ultimate safety, productivity, and cost of such missions. Internal atmosphere pressure and composition (particularly oxygen concentration) influence many aspects of spacecraft and space suit design, operation, and technology development. Optimal atmosphere solutions must be determined by iterative process involving research, design, development, testing, and systems analysis. A necessary first step in this process is the establishment of working bounds on the atmosphere design space