Pilot scale pyrolysis - determination of critical moisture content for sustainable organic waste pyrolysis

Economic feasibility of large scale organic waste pyrolysis was investigated for Inghams Enterprise (Waitoa) chicken dissolved air flotation sludge (DAF) and activated sludge (biosolids) from the Hamilton municipal waste water treatment plant. Processing data was obtained from pilot plant trials using the Lakeland Steel (Rotorua) continuous auger pyrolysis plant using feedstock at 15, 30, 45 and ~80% moisture contents. Economics were calculated based on estimated capital and operating costs of a large scale facility, revenue from selling char, savings from landfill diversion (including transportation and gate costs), energy savings by recycling syngas product and using waste heat for drying feedstock. For DAF, 15% moisture content gave yields of 21% syngas, 27% char, and 52% oil (dry weight basis). 15% moisture content gave the best processing conditions based on handling properties and degree of autogenesis. The DAF case does not give a payback period due to low scale of operations. For biosolids, 15% moisture content feedstock gave yields of 46% syngas, 31% char, and 21% oil (wet weight). Difficulties were found with plant blockages at 45% and 80% moisture contents. 15% moisture content gave the best processing conditions and the best economic performance with a payback time of 4.6 years for a facility that could process 11,000 tonnes per year

Eliminating Biases in Evaluating Mutual Fund Performance from a Survivorship Free Sample

Poor performing mutual funds are less likely to be observed in the data sets that are typically available. This so-called survivor problem can induce a substantial bias in measures of the performance of the funds and the persistence of this performance. Many studies have recently argued that survivorship bias can be avoided by analyzing a sample that contains returns on each fund up to the period of disappearance using standard techniques. Such data sets are usually referred to as 'survivorship free'. In this paper we show that the use of standard methods of analysis on a 'survivorship free' data-set typically still suffers from a bias and we show how one can easily correct for this using weights based on probit regressions. Using a sample with quarterly returns on U.S. based equity funds, we first of all model how survival probabilities depend upon historical returns, the age of the fund and upon aggregate economy-wide shocks. Subsequently we employ a Monte Carlo study to analyze the size and shape of the survivorship bias in various performance measures that arise when a 'survivorship free database' is used with standard techniques. In particular, we show that survivorship bias induces a spurious U-shape pattern in performance persistence. Finally, we show how a weighting procedure based upon probit regressions can be used to correct for the bias. In this way, we obtain bias-corrected estimates of abnormal performance relative to a one-factor and the Carhart [1997] four-factor model, as well as its persistence. Our results are in accordance with the persistence pattern found by Carhart [1997], and do not support the existence of a hot hand phenomenon in mutual fund performance.

Ambient Intelligence and Persuasive Technology: The Blurring Boundaries Between Human and Technology

The currently developing fields of Ambient Intelligence and Persuasive Technology bring about a convergence of information technology and cognitive science. Smart environments that are able to respond intelligently to what we do and that even aim to influence our behaviour challenge the basic frameworks we commonly use for understanding the relations and role divisions between human beings and technological artifacts. After discussing the promises and threats of these technologies, this article develops alternative conceptions of agency, freedom, and responsibility that make it possible to better understand and assess the social roles of Ambient Intelligence and Persuasive Technology. The central claim of the article is that these new technologies urge us to blur the boundaries between humans and technologies also at the level of our conceptual and moral frameworks

A panel analysis of UK industrial company failure

We examine the failure determinants for large quoted UK industrials using a panel data set comprising 539 firms observed over the period 1988-93. The empirical design employs data from company accounts and is based on Chamberlain’s conditional binomial logit model, which allows for unobservable, firm-specific, time-invariant factors associated with failure risk. We find a noticeable degree of heterogeneity across the sample companies. Our panel results show that, after controlling for unobservables, lower liquidity measured by the quick assets ratio, slower turnover proxied by the ratio of debtors turnover, and profitability were linked to the higher risk of insolvency in the analysis period. The findings appear to support the proposition that the current cash-flow considerations, rather than the future prospects of the firm, determined company failures over the 1990s recession

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 19/22 mutations alter heterocomplex Kv4.3 channel function and gating in a dominant manner

The dominantly inherited cerebellar ataxias are a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders caused by Purkinje cell loss in the cerebellum. Recently, we identified loss-of-function mutations in the KCND3 gene as the cause of spinocerebellar ataxia type 19/22 (SCA19/22), revealing a previously unknown role for the voltage-gated potassium channel, Kv4.3, in Purkinje cell survival. However, how mutant Kv4.3 affects wild-type Kv4.3 channel functioning remains unknown. We provide evidence that SCA19/22-mutant Kv4.3 exerts a dominant negative effect on the trafficking and surface expression of wild-type Kv4.3 in the absence of its regulatory subunit, KChIP2. Notably, this dominant negative effect can be rescued by the presence of KChIP2. We also found that all SCA19/22-mutant subunits either suppress wild-type Kv4.3 current amplitude or alter channel gating in a dominant manner. Our findings suggest that altered Kv4.3 channel localization and/or functioning resulting from SCA19/22 mutations may lead to Purkinje cell loss, neurodegeneration and ataxia

Dao, harmony and personhood: towards a Confucian ethics of technology

A closer look at the theories and questions in philosophy of technology and ethics of technology shows the absence and marginality of non-Western philosophical traditions in the discussions. Although, increasingly, some philosophers have sought to introduce non-Western philosophical traditions into the debates, there are few systematic attempts to construct and articulate general accounts of ethics and technology based on other philosophical traditions. This situation is understandable, for the questions of modern sciences and technologies appear to be originated from the West; at the same time, the situation is undesirable. The overall aim of this paper, therefore, is to introduce an alternative account of ethics of technology based on the Confucian tradition. In doing so, it is hoped that the current paper can initiate a relatively uncharted field in philosophy of technology and ethics of technology

Reasons for Institutionalization of People With Dementia: Informal Caregiver Reports From 8 European Countries

Objectives: To explore reasons for institutionalization of people with dementia according to informal caregivers as well as variation in reasons between countries. Design: An explorative cross-sectional study was conducted in 8 European countries. Setting: Per country, a minimum of 3 long term care facilities, offering care and accommodation as a package, participated in this study. Participating countries were selected to represent different geographic areas in Europe. Participants: Of the 791 informal caregivers involved in the RightTimePlaceCare project of people with dementia who were recently admitted to a long term care facility, 786 were included for this study. Measurements: As part of a semistructured interview, informal caregivers were asked the main reason for institutionalization in an open-ended question. Answers were categorized according to a conventional coding approach. All reasons were then quantified and tested. Results: Mainly patient-related reasons were stated, such as neuropsychiatric symptoms (25%), care dependency (24%), and cognition (19%). Neuropsychiatric symptoms were among the most often mentioned reasons in most countries. Besides patient-related reasons, caregiver burden and the inability of the informal caregiver to care for the patient were stated as reasons (both 15%). Further analyses showed countries differ significantly in reasons according to informal caregivers. Additionally, reasons were analyzed for spouses and child-caregivers, showing that spouses more often stated reasons related to themselves compared with child-caregivers. Conclusion: Multiple reasons contribute to the institutionalization for people with dementia, with several factors that may influence why there were country differences. Variation in the organization of dementia care and cultural aspects, or the relationship between the informal caregiver and person with dementia may be factors influencing the reasons. Because of a wide variation in reasons between countries, no one-size-fits-all approach can be offered to guide informal caregivers when facing the possibility of institutionalization of the person with dementia. (C) 2014 - American Medical Directors Association, Inc. All rights reserved