Budget deficits and U.S. economic growth

This paper explores how the U.S. budget deficit affects U.S. economic growth. Time-series data for the 1973-2004 period is applied to a simultaneous equation model to estimate the various direct and indirect effects of budget deficits on growth. The results indicate that, ceteris paribus, an increase in budget deficits slows growth. However, the “twin†current account deficits, which our model shows tend to accompany budget deficits, increase growth. Hence, the overall relationship between budget deficits and economic growth is ambiguous.economic growth, budget deficits, stationary, simultaneity

Spin-outs

The subject of this report is spin-outs in the Netherlands compared to those in the Cambridge area. The differences between the two areas have been found to be fewer than expected. The same type of initiatives are to be found in both areas, and the same type of problems are also encountered in both areas In general it seems that it would be advisable for universities to have spin-out stimulation added to the performance criteria to help the better facilitation of spin-outs.

Tailor-Made Nanostructured Ion Selective MCM-48 Membranes

Mesoporous templated MCM-48 silica was prepared using a C16 surfactant as template. The MCM-48 powders and thin films were characterized by different techniques. Two types of porous supports were used, namely macroporous ¿-alumina and silicon microsieves. The supported MCM-48 layers were applied as liquid permeable membranes in pressure-driven nanofiltration and electric field-mediated ion transport experiments

A multifaceted clinical decision support intervention to improve adherence to thromboprophylaxis guidelines

Background Venous thromboembolism is a potentially fatal complication of hospitalisation, affecting approximately 3% of non-surgical patients. Administration of low molecular weight heparins to the appropriate patients adequately decreases venous thromboembolism incidence, but guideline adherence is notoriously low. Objective To determine the effect of a multifaceted intervention on thromboprophylaxis guideline adherence. The secondary objective was to study the effect on guideline adherence specifically in patients with a high venous thromboembolism risk. As an exploratory objective, we determined how many venous thromboembolisms may be prevented. Setting A Dutch general teaching hospital. Method A prospective study with a pre- and post-intervention measurement was conducted. A multifaceted intervention, consisting of Clinical Decision Support software, a mobile phone application, monitoring of duplicate anticoagulants and training, was implemented. Guideline adherence was assessed by calculating the Padua prediction and Improve bleeding score for each patient. The number of preventable venous thromboembolisms was calculated using the incidences of venous thromboembolism in patients with and without adequate thromboprophylaxis and extrapolated to the annual number of admitted patients. Main outcome measure Adherence to thromboprophylaxis guidelines in pre- and post-intervention measurements. Results 170 patients were included: 85 in both control and intervention group. The intervention significantly increased guideline adherence from 49.4 to 82.4% (OR 4.78; 95%CI 2.37-9.63). Guideline adherence in the patient group with a high venous thromboembolism risk also increased significantly from 54.5 to 84.3% (OR 2.46; 95%CI 1.31-4.62), resulting in the potential prevention of +/- 261 venous thromboembolisms per year. Conclusions Our multifaceted intervention significantly increased thromboprophylaxis guideline adherence

The industrial production of dimethyl carbonate from methanol and carbon dioxide

This work discusses the design of a dimethyl carbonate (DMC) production plant based on methanol and CO2 as feed materials, which are a cheap and environment-friendly feedstock. DMC is a good alternative for methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as a fuel oxygenating agent, due to its low toxicity and fast biodegradability. Based on the MTBE demand of a general gasoline plant, the annual production capacity of the process design is stipulated to be 86 kt DMC, with a purity of 99 wt%. Three routes are proposed to form DMC: 1) direct synthesis from methanol and CO2, 2) reaction of CO2 and ammonia to urea, which can be converted to DMC with methanol, 3) reaction of ethylene oxide with CO2 to a cyclic carbonate, which can be converted to DMC by transesterification with methanol. From a black box cost analysis based on raw material prices, it is concluded that the ethylene oxide route is the least profitable. Because of higher single-pass conversions found in literature, smaller recycles and easier separations, it is concluded that the urea route would be the most feasible. The required process functions for the urea route have been determined in the conceptual design phase. A detailed design of the most important process operations is made and an overall technical and economic evaluation of the process has been carried out. In the first step of this DMC synthesis, urea is produced from carbon dioxide and ammonia with the ACES21 process. After separation and purification steps, urea is fed to a reactor with methanol (150 °C, 20 bar), where methyl carbamate (MC), an intermediate of DMC production, and ammonia are formed in the absence of a catalyst. Subsequently, MC and methanol are converted to DMC and ammonia (190 °C, 40 bar) over a ZnO-Al2O3 catalyst in a fixed-bed reactor. Methanol and DMC form an azeotrope; extractive distillation with methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) as entrainer is used to separate the azeotropic mixture. The reactor model for the reaction towards DMC based on kinetic rate expressions, showed that a long residence time (>10 h) and a relatively high MeOH:MC molar feed ratio of 6 are required to achieve reasonable single-pass conversions (15 %). This resulted however in an unrealistically large reactor volume and a large methanol load on the process. A feasibility study was done in order to improve the performance of the process. It was calculated that with a MeOH:MC ratio of 2 and a single-pass conversion of MC of 30 % the process would become technically feasible; the reactor volume decreased from 5,000 m3 to 600 m3 and the energy consumption of the process was decreased from 238 MW to 50 MW. A Pinch analysis showed that maximally 6 MW could be saved with heat integration, which corresponds to approximately 2 M$/y savings on energy costs. To produce 86 kt/y of DMC, the required amounts of raw materials are 80 kt/y of methanol and 58 kt/y of CO2, which results in an overall DMC yield from methanol of 38$. Economic feasibility depends on the DMC selling price. A price range between 800 and 1,100 $/t was assumed. For 800$/t it is not possible to repay the capital investment within an assumed lifetime of 10 years and the process would therefore not be profitable. The break-even point is at 845 $/t. For a selling price of 1,100$/t the gross profit becomes 22 M$/y, with a payback period of 3 years and a return on investment of 20 %

The long road to automated trucking: Insights from driver focus groups

With the rapid progress of automated driving technology, self-driving vehicles are on the horizon. In this study, we look at what is likely to be the first implementation of a form of automated driving on public roads, i.e., truck platooning, where virtually connected trucks drive at short headways to save fuel and associated emissions. With progressing technology, we may see platoons with drivers resting while being in the truck or even platoons in which not all trucks require drivers. Hence, platooning technology has a significant impact on the jobs of truck drivers. Driver acceptance of this emerg- ing technology is therefore an important factor in the implementation of platooning and, consequently, automated driving in general. In this study, we explore the range of per- spectives that exist among drivers by conducting focus groups in the Netherlands. These discussions indicate that drivers foresee that platooning will eventually become a reality but believe it will have a negative impact on the quality of their work and their job satisfaction

Rule induction performance in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s dementia: examining the role of simple and biconditional rule learning processes

Introduction: Rule induction tests such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test require executive control processes, but also the learning and memorization of simple stimulus–response rules. In this study, we examined the contribution of diminished learning and memorization of simple rules to complex rule induction test performance in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) or Alzheimer’s dementia (AD). Method: Twenty-six aMCI patients, 39 AD patients, and 32 control participants were included. A task was used in which the memory load and the complexity of the rules were independently manipulated. This task consisted of three conditions: a simple two-rule learning condition (Condition 1), a simple four-rule learning condition (inducing an increase in memory load, Condition 2), and a complex biconditional four-rule learning condition—inducing an increase in complexity and, hence, executive control load (Condition 3). Results: Performance of AD patients declined disproportionately when the number of simple rules that had to be memorized increased (from Condition 1 to 2). An additional increment in complexity (from Condition 2 to 3) did not, however, disproportionately affect performance of the patients. Performance of the aMCI patients did not differ from that of the control participants. In the patient group, correlation analysis showed that memory performance correlated with Condition 1 performance, whereas executive task performance correlated with Condition 2 performance. Conclusions: These results indicate that the reduced learning and memorization of underlying task rules explains a significant part of the diminished complex rule induction performance commonly reported in AD, although results from the correlation analysis suggest involvement of executive control functions as well. Taken together, these findings suggest that care is needed when interpreting rule induction task performance in terms of executive function deficits in these patients