From waste to hydrogen: An optimal design of energy production and distribution network

This paper focuses on evaluating the economic potential and infrastructure requirements of hydrogen production from agricultural residues, a representative green energy pathway. A mixed-integer nonlinear programming model is constructed for finding the most efficient and economical configuration of the whole pathway. Using northern California case studies, we found that hydrogen from agricultural wastes can be delivered at costs similar to producing hydrogen from natural gas, a non-renewable energy source. The potential impact of this energy pathway on local freight transport is also discussed depending on the choice of hydrogen delivery mode.     

Soil Fertility Management and Compost Use in Senegal's Peanut Basin

The Jóór (Dior) soils of Senegal's Peanut Basin are inherently low in organic matter, limiting yields of millet and other crops and threatening the food security of smallholders. Focus groups and interviews were conducted in eight villages to characterise the site-specific fertility management by farmers in the Peanut Basin. Results of the qualitative survey revealed that farmers base management decisions on a series of fertility indicators that include type, colour, and texture of soil, presence of vegetation, and productivity in previous years. In an effort to equalise fertility across the field, farmers amend areas they classify as less fertile with decomposed manure and household waste from the family sëntaare (traditional pile) orwith compost from managed piles. On-site measurements of soil in areas of fields amended with compost or sëntaare material revealed significant increases in peanut and millet growth over unamended areas, but little difference between the effects of compost and manure. Similarly, chemical analysis revealed increased effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) and nutrient concentrations (K, Mg and Al) in soils amended with compost or manure. Similarities in the chemical characteristics of compost and sëntaare material suggest that development workers could emphasise improved pile management rather than promoting more labour-intensive composting.     

Greenmail premia, board composition and management shareholdings

This paper investigates the association between premia paid in targeted share repurchases (greenmail) and the characteristics of the boards of directors. A nonlinear relationship is found between the premium paid and the proportion of shares held by the inside directors. The premium decreases as the proportion of unaffiliated outside directors increases.     

机遇,你抓对了么

正一旦他们看准并研究透彻了特定市场上的机遇,就会制定一套聚焦战略,将注意力牢牢锚定他们认为最佳的机会,这会让战略家们一次性收获一个领域的多个机遇,而非相互割裂的一个个机会机遇稍纵即逝。对于任何企业,抓住新的增长机遇都具有战略意义上的重要性,这种重要性体现在公司整体发展、业务创新、营销创意等各个方面。更重要的是,在新的竞争环境下,公司越来越看重变革与灵活,那么是否过去强调聚焦度的战略就不再重要?     

Impact of behavioral health problems on access to care and health services utilization

Access to specialists for treatment of behavioral health problems has become restricted in this era of capped budgets and reductions in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. Patients with multiple mental health problems may face additional barriers to obtaining needed health care services. The study's aim was to measure the impact of behavioral health problems on access to care and health services utilization for veterans and non-veterans and to determine the contribution of health system characteristics in the prediction of self-reported health services utilization. The study sample consisted of Vietnam veterans who participated in both the Vietnam Drug User Study (September 1971 Army discharges) and the Vietnam Era Study (25-year follow-up) (N=642), as well as a non-veteran cohort (N=197).     

Hurt feelings? You could take a pain reliever..

THE FINDING: Daily doses of acetaminophen alleviate hurt feelings and reduce neural activity related to the pain of social rejection. THE RESEARCH: The University of Kentucky's C. Nathan DeWall asked 62 undergraduates to take 1,ooo milligrams of acetaminophen or a placebo for three weeks. Each evening they recorded how much social pain they'd felt that day. The hurt feelings of those who took acetaminophen decreased significantly over time; people who took the placebo showed no change. In a related study, functional MRIs showed that people who had taken acetaminophen also had less activity in the brain regions that respond to emotional pain. THE CHALLENGE: Aren't mental and physical pain entirely different? Can over-the-counter analgesics improve your emotional state if, say, you get fired?