The Development of an Economically Viable Biomass Feedstock Supply Chain to Meet the Renewable Fuel Standards

This dissertation addresses the challenge to develop an economically viable biomass feedstock supply chain (SCh) that is able to provide feedstock under a range of operating conditions and meet the national renewable fuel targets for cellulosic fuels. This goal requires advances on a number of topics related to the structure of the feedstock logistics and the unit operations utilized to collect biomass. An assessment of the underlying assumptions for the range of conditions across the US was performed to determine their influence on perennial grasses predicted by DOE. Potential perennial grass production was overestimated in 2011 nationwide by 8-11% and 36-87% in TX. These overestimations are still present in the 2016 report, as perennial grasses are still predicted to grow on cropland with low rainfall levels. The revised total herbaceous biomass predicted exceeded the national targets, but the geographical location of biomass production changed. Overestimating biomass totals affects sustainability policies and planning. The revised predictions were used to determine the structure of the likely biomass feedstock SCh and quantify potential accessible and economically stranded herbaceous biomass in the US. Of the total nationwide available biomass, 78% could be accessed by biorefineries and 12% by depots, leaving 10% as stranded biomass. In total, 161 million Mg per year of feedstock delivered to 77 biorefineries (with capacities >2,000 Mg per day) around the US and 22.7 million Mg per year delivered to 171 depots (with capacities >240 Mg per day). This translates into 65.3 billion liters of advanced biofuels, enough to meet the targeted 60 billion liters of advanced cellulosic biofuel in the RFS2. A simulation tool was developed to evaluate an experimental module-based biomass collection system of corn stover in TX and IA and of switchgrass in Iowa and Tennessee, the BioMass Optimized Delivery System (BioMODS). Considering a grower payment of $29.77 per DMg, BioMODS costs were$90.82 and $71.63 for corn stover in TX and IA; and,$69.19 and $66.29 for switchgrass in IA and TN. The BioMODS system met the DOE goal of$88.2 per DMg and was proven more cost-effective than some studies presented DOE (with exception of the TX case study)

Internationalization of portuguese SMEs to Brazil : main barriers and motivations

Due to the growing presence and development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in foreign markets over the past years, the internationalization process especially its main drivers and barriers, have been extensively studied and discussed among scholars. This dissertation explores the process of Portuguese SMEs entering the Brazilian market, with a focus on the motivations and barriers that these companies experienced. The methodological approach used for this study was a qualitative analysis of a questionnaire that was developed, distributed, and a shared with Portuguese companies that have internationalize to Brazil. The framework of this study is the Brazilian market, one of the most populated in the world and a developing economy that represents a big market with great untapped potential. Doing business in Brazil is difficult due to numerous trade restrictions, unclear and dispersed legislation among states, and bureaucratic red tape. However, because of the close cultural links, common language, and shared history between the two nations, Portuguese businesses benefit from a shorter psychological barrier. The findings of this study allow us to draw the conclusion that the key factors leading Portuguese SMEs to internationalize to Brazil were increasing sales, international management/administration, and reducing dependency on the domestic market. The complexity of the bureaucratic processes, the market's regulations and legislation, the political and economic climate in Brazil, and the fluctuating currency rates were the most significant obstacles to entering the Brazilian market. The goal is to provide context and guidance for other companies to consider when undergoing the same experience.Devido à crescente presença e desenvolvimento de pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs) nos mercados estrangeiros nos últimos anos, o processo de internacionalização, especialmente os seus principais impulsionadores e barreiras, tem sido progressivamente estudado e discutido. Esta dissertação explora o processo de entrada das PME portuguesas no mercado brasileiro, com foco nas motivações e barreiras que estas empresas experienciaram. A abordagem metodológica utilizada para este estudo foi uma análise qualitativa de um questionário desenvolvido e partilhado com empresas portuguesas que se internacionalizaram para o Brasil. O contexto deste estudo é o mercado brasileiro, um dos mais populosos do mundo e uma economia em desenvolvimento que representa um grande mercado com grande potencial inexplorado. Fazer negócio no Brasil é difícil devido a numerosas restrições comerciais, legislação pouco clara e dispersa entre estados, e procedimentos burocráticos. Contudo, devido aos estreitos laços culturais, língua comum e história partilhada entre as duas nações, as empresas portuguesas beneficiam de uma barreira psicológica mais curta. Os resultados deste estudo permitem-nos concluir que os fatores-chave que levaram as PME portuguesas a internacionalizarem-se para o Brasil foram o aumento das vendas, a gestão/administração internacional, e a redução da dependência do mercado doméstico. A complexidade dos processos burocráticos, os regulamentos e legislação do mercado, o clima político e económico no Brasil, e as flutuações das taxas de câmbio foram os obstáculos mais significativos à entrada no mercado brasileiro. O objetivo é fornecer contexto e orientação para outras empresas a considerar passar pela mesma experiência

Internationalization of portuguese SMEs to Brazil : main barriers and motivations

Due to the growing presence and development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in foreign markets over the past years, the internationalization process especially its main drivers and barriers, have been extensively studied and discussed among scholars. This dissertation explores the process of Portuguese SMEs entering the Brazilian market, with a focus on the motivations and barriers that these companies experienced. The methodological approach used for this study was a qualitative analysis of a questionnaire that was developed, distributed, and a shared with Portuguese companies that have internationalize to Brazil. The framework of this study is the Brazilian market, one of the most populated in the world and a developing economy that represents a big market with great untapped potential. Doing business in Brazil is difficult due to numerous trade restrictions, unclear and dispersed legislation among states, and bureaucratic red tape. However, because of the close cultural links, common language, and shared history between the two nations, Portuguese businesses benefit from a shorter psychological barrier. The findings of this study allow us to draw the conclusion that the key factors leading Portuguese SMEs to internationalize to Brazil were increasing sales, international management/administration, and reducing dependency on the domestic market. The complexity of the bureaucratic processes, the market's regulations and legislation, the political and economic climate in Brazil, and the fluctuating currency rates were the most significant obstacles to entering the Brazilian market. The goal is to provide context and guidance for other companies to consider when undergoing the same experience.Devido à crescente presença e desenvolvimento de pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs) nos mercados estrangeiros nos últimos anos, o processo de internacionalização, especialmente os seus principais impulsionadores e barreiras, tem sido progressivamente estudado e discutido. Esta dissertação explora o processo de entrada das PME portuguesas no mercado brasileiro, com foco nas motivações e barreiras que estas empresas experienciaram. A abordagem metodológica utilizada para este estudo foi uma análise qualitativa de um questionário desenvolvido e partilhado com empresas portuguesas que se internacionalizaram para o Brasil. O contexto deste estudo é o mercado brasileiro, um dos mais populosos do mundo e uma economia em desenvolvimento que representa um grande mercado com grande potencial inexplorado. Fazer negócio no Brasil é difícil devido a numerosas restrições comerciais, legislação pouco clara e dispersa entre estados, e procedimentos burocráticos. Contudo, devido aos estreitos laços culturais, língua comum e história partilhada entre as duas nações, as empresas portuguesas beneficiam de uma barreira psicológica mais curta. Os resultados deste estudo permitem-nos concluir que os fatores-chave que levaram as PME portuguesas a internacionalizarem-se para o Brasil foram o aumento das vendas, a gestão/administração internacional, e a redução da dependência do mercado doméstico. A complexidade dos processos burocráticos, os regulamentos e legislação do mercado, o clima político e económico no Brasil, e as flutuações das taxas de câmbio foram os obstáculos mais significativos à entrada no mercado brasileiro. O objetivo é fornecer contexto e orientação para outras empresas a considerar passar pela mesma experiência

An alternative basis for the Kauffman bracket skein module of the Solid Torus via braids

In this paper we give an alternative basis, $\mathcal{B}_{\rm ST}$, for the Kauffman bracket skein module of the solid torus, ${\rm KBSM}\left({\rm ST}\right)$. The basis $\mathcal{B}_{\rm ST}$ is obtained with the use of the Tempereley--Lieb algebra of type B and it is appropriate for computing the Kauffman bracket skein module of the lens spaces $L(p, q)$ via braids.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

ETIKA PEMERINTAHAN DALAM MENINGKATKAN KINERJA APARATUR SIPIL NEGARA (Studi di Kantor Kecamatan Siau Barat Selatan Kabupaten Sitaro)

AbstrakEtika pemerintahan terkait proses penyelenggaraan pemerintahan adalah menyangkut pentingnya melaksanakan tugas dan tanggung jawab, mentaati berbagai ketentuan dan peraturan perundang-undangan, melaksanakan hubungan kerja yang baik, serta menciptakan lingkungan kerja yang kondusif, disamping itu aparatur pemerintah dalam melaksanakan tugasnya sesuai dengan koridor etika pemerintah perlu memberikan pelayanan terbaik khususnya dalam proses pelayanan publik, dengan demikian dapat di pahami bahwa konteks dalam beretika akan menjadi pedoman bagi setiap aparatur pemerintah khususnya dalam melaksanakan tugas. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui etika pemerintahan dalam meningkatkan kinerja aparatur sipil negara di kantor Kecamatan Siau Barat Selatan Kabupaten Sitaro, dengan menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif diharapkan penelitian ini dapat menjawab secara paripurna mengenai masalah yang diteliti, hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa perilaku aparatur pemerintah tercermin pada sikap dalam menjalankan tugas dan kewajibannya sehari-hari, yang pada akhirnya berimplikasi pada penyelenggaraan pelayanan publik. Etika pemerintahan berdasarkan hasil penelitian membuktikan bahwa selama ini dalam melaksanakan tugasnya aparatur selalu mentaati peraturan disiplin, melaksanakan tugas dan tanggung jawab secara baik, saling menghormati, santun, ramah dalam melayani anggota masyarakat. Pelayanan kepada masyarakat di Kecamatan Siau Barat Selatan merupakan tugas-tugas yang dipikul bersama sesuai tugas pokok dan fungsinya dalam kaitan dengan kinerja aparatur sipil negara. Apapun bentuknya jika melekat sebagai aparatur sipil negara berarti dia harus berkepentingan untuk melayani masyarakat sehingga dapat dikatakan bahwa setiap aparatur pemerintah tentu sangat berurusan langsung dengan kegiatan pelayanan publik.Kata Kunci: Etika Pemerintahan, Kinerja, Aparatur Sipil Negara

Solar variability and climate

Recent precise observations of solar global parameters are used to calibrate an upgraded solar model which takes into account magnetic fields in the solar interior. Historical data about sunspot numbers (from 1500 to the present) and solar radius changes (between 1715 and 1979) are used to compute solar variability on years to centuries timescales. The results show that although the 11 year variability of the total irradiance is of the order of 0.1%, additional, longer lived changes of the order of 0.1% may have occurred in the past centuries. These could, for example, account for the occurrence of climate excursions such as little ice ages.Comment: LaTeX, JGR preprint with AGU++ v16.b and AGUTeX 5.0, use packages graphicx; 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to JGR-Space physic

Research into nurse staffing levels in Wales

This report presents a review of the evidence associated with setting and monitoring safe nurse staffing levels. It also includes analysis of findings related to developing a better understanding of the availability and accessibility of nurse staffing data in medical and surgical wards in Wales. The review of evidence on safe nurse staffing levels includes, for example, nurse-to-patient ratios and skill mix, the role played by nurse staffing levels in influencing patient safety, unintended consequences of mandatory nurse staffing levels and the use of staffing level tools. Availability and accessibility of relevant data focuses on the Electronic Staff Record (ESR), public availability of Welsh NHS staff data, data quality in the ESR database system and possible other sources of data. In addition, a data acquisition exercise with Local Health Boards is outlined, setting out methods, data quality, findings from an initial analysis of the data returned and lessons for future practice

Over 200,000 kilometers of free-flowing river habitat in Europe is altered due to impoundments

European rivers are disconnected by more than one million man-made barriers that physically limit aquatic species migration and contribute to modification of freshwater habitats. Here, a Conceptual Habitat Alteration Model for Ponding is developed to aid in evaluating the effects of impoundments on fish habitats. Fish communities present in rivers with low human impact and their broad environmental settings enable classification of European rivers into 15 macrohabitat types. These classifications, together with the estimated fish sensitivity to alteration of their habitat are used for assessing the impacts of six main barrier types (dams, weirs, sluices, culverts, fords, and ramps). Our results indicate that over 200,000 km or 10% of previously free-flowing river habitat has been altered due to impoundments. Although they appear less frequently, dams, weirs and sluices cause much more habitat alteration than the other types. Their impact is regionally diverse, which is a function of barrier height, type and density, as well as biogeographical location. This work allows us to foresee what potential environmental gain or loss can be expected with planned barrier management actions in rivers, and to prioritize management actions

Testing LSST dither strategies for Survey Uniformity and Large-Scale Structure Systematics

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will survey the southern sky from 2022{2032 with unprecedented detail. Since the observing strategy can lead to artifacts in the data, we investigate the eects of telescope-pointing osets (called dithers) on the r-band coadded 5 depth yielded after the 10-year survey. We analyze this survey depth for several geometric patterns of dithers (e.g.,random, hexagonal lattice, spiral) with amplitude as large as the radius of the LSST eld-of-view, implemented on dierent timescales (per season, per night, per visit). Our results illustrate that per night and per visit dither assignments are more eective than per season. Also, we find that some dither geometries (e.g., hexagonal lattice) are particularly sensitive to the timescale on whichthe dithers are implemented, while others like random dithers perform well on all timescales. We then model the propagation of depth variations to articial uctuations in galaxy counts, which are a systematic for large-scale structure studies. We calculate the bias in galaxy counts caused by the observing strategy, accounting for photometric calibration uncertainties, dust extinction, and magnitude cuts; uncertainties in this bias limit our ability to account for structure induced by the observing strategy. We nd that after 10 years of the LSST survey, the best dither strategies lead to uncertainties in this bias smaller than the minimum statistical floor for a galaxy catalog as deep asr<27.5. A few of these strategies bring the uncertainties close to the statistical floor for r<25.7 after only one year of survey.Fil: Awan, Humna. Rutgers University; Estados UnidosFil: Gawiser, Eric. Rutgers University; Estados UnidosFil: Kurczynski, Peter. Rutgers University; Estados UnidosFil: Lynne Jones, R.. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Zhan, Hu. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de ChinaFil: Padilla, Nelson David. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Muñoz Arancibia, Alejandra M.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Orsi, Alvaro. Centro de Estudios de Fisica del Cosmos de Aragon; EspañaFil: Cora, Sofia Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica la Plata; ArgentinaFil: Yoachim, Peter. University of Washington; Estados Unido