Fractional Reserve in Banking System

This thesis is aimed to provide understanding of the role of the fractional reserve in the mod-ern banking system worldwide and particularly in Finland. The fractional reserve banking is used worldwide, but the benefits of this system are very disputable. On the one hand, experts say that the fractional reserve is a necessary instrument for the normal business and profit making. On the other hand, sceptics openly criticize the fractional reserve system and blame it for fiat money (money not backed by any physical commodities) creation. According to a third point of view, which is expressed by conspiracy theory followers, a the fractional reserve system primary targets to control the money supply in favor of famous rich families, such as the Rothschild family. Although the fractional reserve system is criticized for many reasons, such as causing a moral hazard, cheating and being not transparent, it still functions successfully all over the world. At least the banking system still exists and seems to exist further. How crucial are the defi-ciencies in the fractional reserve system for which it is criticized? Can they be improved? Or maybe the fractional reserve system is not that up to date anymore and should be replaced by something totally different? To find answers to these questions, I studied history books, up-to-date materials and legisla-tion, especially acts published by the European Central Bank. In addition, I sent questionnaires to several banks in Finland and got examples from real bank practice, which in total helped me to form the final understanding of the role of the fractional reserve system in today’s economy

Steam reforming of CH4 over Ni-Ru catalysts supported on Mg-Al mixed oxide

Ni0.5/Mg2.5(Al)O catalyst prepared from hydrotalcite precursors showed high and stable activity in the CH4 steam reforming, but was severely deactivated in the daily start-up and shut-down (DSS) operation under steam purging. The addition of Ru drastically improved the behavior of Ni0.5/Mg2.5(Al)O catalyst for the DSS operation. During the wet Ru loading on the Ni0.5/Mg2.5(Al)O catalyst, the reconstitution of hydrotalcite took place by "memory effect," resulting in the formation of Ru-Ni alloy as well as the strong interaction between Ru and Ni after the calcination followed by reduction. This provided the catalyst with high sustainability probably by suppressing the oxidation of Ni metal by steam by hydrogen spillover from Ru. Only 0.05 wt% of Ru loading was enough to effectively suppress the deactivation

Partial oxidation of propane over Ru promoted Ni/Mg(Al)O catalysts Self-activation and prominent effect of reduction-oxidation treatment of the catalyst

Ru (0.1~0.5 wt%) loaded Ni/Mg(Al)O catalysts have been prepared by adopting the "memory effect," i.e., the reconstitution of Mg(Ni)-Al hydrotalcite from the Mg(Ni,Al)O periclase after the heat-treatment, and their catalytic activities have been tested in the partial oxidation of propane. The Ru-Ni0.5/Mg2.5(Al)O catalysts were prepared by dipping Mg2.5(Al,Ni0.5)O periclase derived from Mg2.5(Ni0.5)-Al hydrotalcite in an aqueous solution of Ru(III) nitrate. The reconstitution of hydrotaclite took place by the "memory effect" and was simultaneously accompanied by Ru incorporation in the hydrotalcite layer, leading to the formation of the active Ni-Ru bimetal loaded catalyst after the calcination followed by the reduction. Upon O2 purging at 700 °C during the propane partial oxidation at 600 °C, the Ru-Ni0.5/Mg2.5(Al)O catalyst showed no deactivation, while the Ni0.5/Mg2.5(Al)O catalyst was totally deactivated by the Ni oxidation. Moreover, the Ru-Ni0.5/Mg2.5(Al)O catalysts were self-activated under the reaction conditions without reduction pre-treatment with H2. The activity of the Ru-Ni0.5/Mg2.5(Al)O catalysts was enhanced with increasing the Ru loading after the reduction-oxidation pretreatment. After the treatment, two types of Ni reduction peak were observed in the TPR of the catalysts: the 1st peak observed around 550 °C was weakened, whereas the 2nd peak observed around 750 °C was enhanced, with increasing the Ru loading. The 1st is assigned to non-active Ni2+ ions having square-pyramidal coordination in the outermost layer of the Mg(Al)O structure, while the 2nd is probably of active Ni-Ru bimetallic species composed of finely dispersed Ni metal particles combined with Ru

Partial oxidation of propane to synthesis gas over noble metals-promoted Ni/Mg(Al)O catalysts - High activity of Ru-Ni/Mg(Al)O catalyst

Effect of the addition of small amount of noble metal, i.e. Ru, Rh, Pd, Ir or Pt, in the Ni/Mg(Al)O catalyst on the catalytic activity for the partial oxidation of propane has been investigated. Mg2.5(Ni0.5)-Al hydrotalcite was prepared by co-precipitation and was calcined to form Mg2.5(Al,Ni0.5)O periclase. When the powders of the periclase were dipped in an aqueous solution of the nitrate of Ru(III), Rh(III), Pd(II), Ir(III) or Pt(II), a reconstitution of the hydrotaclite took place on the surface of Mg2.5(Al,Ni0.5)O particles due to a "memory effect." The calcination followed by the reduction of the dipped samples produced highly dispersed noble metal-Ni supported catalysts. The loading of noble metal gave rise to a decrease in the reduction temperature of Ni2+ to Ni0 on Mg2.5(Al,Ni0.5)O periclase, an increase in the amount of H2 uptake on the Ni metal and moreover a decrease in the particle size of Ni metal formed on the noble metals-Ni/Mg2.5(Al)O catalyst. When the noble metals-Ni0.5/Mg2.5(Al)O catalysts were tested in the temperature-cycled operation of propane partial oxidation between 400 ºC and 700 ºC, the deactivation due to both Ni oxidation and coke formation on the catalyst was effectively suppressed by the loading of noble metals. The combination of Ru and Ni0.5/Mg2.5(Al)O was the most effective; the high sustainability against both Ni oxidation and coke formation was obtained only with 0.1 wt% of Ru loading. A dipping of 1.0 g of the powders of Ni0.5/Mg2.5(Al)O periclase in a 5 ml of Ru(III) nitrate-aqueous solution was enough to reconstitute the hydrotalcite on the surface of the powder particles, leading to the formation of the Ru-Ni bimetal loaded catalyst with the high activity as well as the high sustainability

Ultrahigh-contrast kilojoule-class petawatt LFEX laser using a plasma mirror

Laser pulse contrast exceeding 10^11 was demonstrated on a kilojoule-class petawatt laser for fast ignition experiments (LFEX) laser system [J. Phys. IV France 133, 81 (2006)] by implementing a 2 in. plasma mirror. Laser beams of up to 1.2 kJ striking the plasma mirror with a pulse duration of 1.5 ps were reflected and focused onto a target without significant distortions in the focal spot. Transmitted light from the plasma mirror reveals that it has a high reflectivity 2 ps before the main peak. The estimated laser pulse contrast at the target was 10^11 at 1 ns before the main peak. No preformed plasma was observed with optical interferometry diagnostics, but in the experiment without a plasma mirror a preplasma was clearly observed. The energetic proton was generated from a 0.1μm thick CH film showing excellent pulse contrast. This technique constitutes a promising method to enhance the LFEX laser system performance in fast ignition experiments

National trends in the outcomes of subarachnoid haemorrhage and the prognostic influence of stroke centre capability in Japan: retrospective cohort study

Objectives To examine the national, 6-year trends in in-hospital clinical outcomes of patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) who underwent clipping or coiling and the prognostic influence of temporal trends in the Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) capabilities on patient outcomes in Japan.Design Retrospective study.Setting Six hundred and thirty-one primary care institutions in Japan.Participants Forty-five thousand and eleven patients with SAH who were urgently hospitalised, identified using the J-ASPECT Diagnosis Procedure Combination database.Primary and secondary outcome measures Annual number of patients with SAH who remained untreated, or who received clipping or coiling, in-hospital mortality and poor functional outcomes (modified Rankin Scale: 3–6) at discharge. Each CSC was assessed using a validated scoring system (CSC score: 1–25 points).Results In the overall cohort, in-hospital mortality decreased (year for trend, OR (95% CI): 0.97 (0.96 to 0.99)), while the proportion of poor functional outcomes remained unchanged (1.00 (0.98 to 1.02)). The proportion of patients who underwent clipping gradually decreased from 46.6% to 38.5%, while that of those who received coiling and those left untreated gradually increased from 16.9% to 22.6% and 35.4% to 38%, respectively. In-hospital mortality of coiled (0.94 (0.89 to 0.98)) and untreated (0.93 (0.90 to 0.96)) patients decreased, whereas that of clipped patients remained stable. CSC score improvement was associated with increased use of coiling (per 1-point increase, 1.14 (1.08 to 1.20)) but not with short-term patient outcomes regardless of treatment modality.Conclusions The 6-year trends indicated lower in-hospital mortality for patients with SAH (attributable to better outcomes), increased use of coiling and multidisciplinary care for untreated patients. Further increasing CSC capabilities may improve overall outcomes, mainly by increasing the use of coiling. Additional studies are necessary to determine the effect of confounders such as aneurysm complexity on outcomes of clipped patients in the modern endovascular era