Biomass-derived oxymethylene ethers as diesel additives: A techno-economic assessment

Conversion of agricultural biomass such as wood chips, wheat straw and forest residue for the production of fuels can help in reducing GHG emissions since they are considered as nearly carbon neutral. Around the world there is a significant amount of forest and agricultural-biomass available which could be used for the production of liquid fuels that can be blended with the petroleum-based diesel. Oxymethylene ethers (OMEs) can be derived from biomass via gasification, water-gas shift reaction and methanol production. The addition of OMEs to conventional diesel fuel has great potential to reduce soot formation during the combustion in diesel engines. Unlike methanol and dimethyl ether (DMM) which can also reduce soot formation, the physical properties of OMEs allow the use in modern diesel engines without significant change of the engines infrastructure. In this study, a detailed and data intensive process simulation model was developed to simulate all the unit operations involved in the production of OMEs from biomass. The unit operation considered include biomass drying, gasification, gas cleaning, water gas shift reaction, methanol production and OMEs synthesis. The simulation results were then utilized to conduct a detailed techno-economic assessment study of the whole biomass conversion chain to determine the most attractive pathways for OMEs production. Our recent study shows that the key parameters affecting the OMEs production are equivalence ratio, H2/CO ratio and optimal air flow. Overall, the cost of production ($/liter) of OMEs from different biomass feedstock in Alberta will be determined

Paving the way for the use of the SDQ in economic evaluations of school-based population health interventions: an empirical analysis of the external validity of SDQ mapping algorithms to the CHU9D in an educational setting

Purpose
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a behavioural screening tool for children. The SDQ is increasingly used as the primary outcome measure in population health interventions involving children, but it is not preference based; therefore, its role in allocative economic evaluation is limited. The Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D) is a generic preference-based health-related quality of-life measure. This study investigates the applicability of the SDQ outcome measure for use in economic evaluations and examines its relationship with the CHU9D by testing previously published mapping algorithms. The aim of the paper is to explore the feasibility of using the SDQ within economic evaluations of school-based population health interventions.
Methods
Data were available from children participating in a cluster randomised controlled trial of the school-based roots of empathy programme in Northern Ireland. Utility was calculated using the original and alternative CHU9D tariffs along with two SDQ mapping algorithms. t tests were performed for pairwise differences in utility values from the preference-based tariffs and mapping algorithms.
Results
Mean (standard deviation) SDQ total difficulties and prosocial scores were 12 (3.2) and 8.3 (2.1). Utility values obtained from the original tariff, alternative tariff, and mapping algorithms using five and three SDQ subscales were 0.84 (0.11), 0.80 (0.13), 0.84 (0.05), and 0.83 (0.04), respectively. Each method for calculating utility produced statistically significantly different values except the original tariff and five SDQ subscale algorithm.
Conclusion
Initial evidence suggests the SDQ and CHU9D are related in some of their measurement properties. The mapping algorithm using five SDQ subscales was found to be optimal in predicting mean child health utility. Future research valuing changes in the SDQ scores would contribute to this research.

Injurious tail biting in pigs: How can it be controlled in existing systems without tail docking?

Tail biting is a serious animal welfare and economic problem in pig production. Tail docking, which reduces but does not eliminate tail biting, remains widespread. However, in the EU tail docking may not be used routinely, and some 'alternative' forms of pig production and certain countries do not allow tail docking at all. Against this background, using a novel approach focusing on research where tail injuries were quantified, we review the measures that can be used to control tail biting in pigs without tail docking. Using this strict criterion, there was good evidence that manipulable substrates and feeder space affect damaging tail biting. Only epidemiological evidence was available for effects of temperature and season, and the effect of stocking density was unclear. Studies suggest that group size has little effect, and the effects of nutrition, disease and breed require further investigation. The review identifies a number of knowledge gaps and promising avenues for future research into prevention and mitigation. We illustrate the diversity of hypotheses concerning how different proposed risk factors might increase tail biting through their effect on each other or on the proposed underlying processes of tail biting. A quantitative comparison of the efficacy of different methods of provision of manipulable materials, and a review of current practices in countries and assurance schemes where tail docking is banned, both suggest that daily provision of small quantities of destructible, manipulable natural materials can be of considerable benefit. Further comparative research is needed into materials, such as ropes, which are compatible with slatted floors. Also, materials which double as fuel for anaerobic digesters could be utilised. As well as optimising housing and management to reduce risk, it is important to detect and treat tail biting as soon as it occurs. Early warning signs before the first bloody tails appear, such as pigs holding their tails tucked under, could in future be automatically detected using precision livestock farming methods enabling earlier reaction and prevention of tail damage. However, there is a lack of scientific studies on how best to respond to outbreaks: the effectiveness of, for example, removing biters and/or bitten pigs, increasing enrichment, or applying substances to tails should be investigated. Finally, some breeding companies are exploring options for reducing the genetic propensity to tail bite. If these various approaches to reduce tail biting are implemented we propose that the need for tail docking will be reduced. © 2014 The Animal Consortium.

The welfare implications of large litter size in the domestic pig II:Management factors

Increasing litter size has long been a goal of pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) breeders and producers in many countries. Whilst this has economic and environmental benefits for the pig industry, there are also implications for pig welfare. Certain management interventions are used when litter size routinely exceeds the ability of individual sows to successfully rear all the piglets (ie viable piglets outnumber functional teats). Such interventions include: tooth reduction; split suckling; cross-fostering; use of nurse sow systems and early weaning, including split weaning; and use of artificial rearing systems. These practices raise welfare questions for both the piglets and sow and are described and discussed in this review. In addition, possible management approaches which might mitigate health and welfare issues associated with large litters are identified. These include early intervention to provide increased care for vulnerable neonates and improvements to farrowing accommodation to mitigate negative effects, particularly for nurse sows. An important concept is that management at all stages of the reproductive cycle, not simply in the farrowing accommodation, can impact on piglet outcomes. For example, poor stockhandling at earlier stages of the reproductive cycle can create fearful animals with increased likelihood of showing poor maternal behaviour. Benefits of good sow and litter management, including positive human-animal relationships, are discussed. Such practices apply to all production situations, not just those involving large litters. However, given that interventions for large litters involve increased handling of piglets and increased interaction with sows, there are likely to be even greater benefits for management of hyper-prolific herds. © 2013 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare.

Economic Stability and Economic Governance in the Euro Area:What the European Crisis Can Teach on the Limits of Economic Integration

The recent European economic crisis has dramatically exposed the failures of
the various institutional mechanisms in place to maintain economic stability
in Europe, and has unveiled the difficulty in achieving international coordination
on fiscal and financial stability policies. Drawing on the European
experience, this article analyzes the concept of economic stability in international
law and highlights the peculiar problems connected to its maintenance
or promotion. First, we demonstrate that policies that safeguard and
protect economic stability are largely regulated and managed at the national
level, due to their inextricable relationship with the exercise of national political
power. Until recently, more limited levels of pan-European integration
did not make the coordination of economic stability policies seem necessary.
However, a much deeper level of economic integration makes it very difficult
to tackle an international economic crisis through national responses. If EU
Member states wish to maintain and deepen economic integration, they
must accept an erosion of sovereignty over their economic stability policies.
This will not only deprive states of a fundamental anchor of political power,
but also create a challenge for the maintenance of democratic control over
economic policies. Second, this article argues that soft law approaches are
likely ineffective in enforcing the regulatory disciplines required to ensure
economic stability.

Socio-economic status and lifestyle factors are associated with achalasia risk: a population-based case-control study.

AIM: To evaluate the association between various lifestyle factors and achalasia risk.

METHODS: A population-based case-control study was conducted in Northern Ireland, including n= 151 achalasia cases and n = 117 age- and sex-matched controls. Lifestyle factors were assessed via a face-to-face structured interview. The association between achalasia and lifestyle factors was assessed by unconditional logistic regression, to produce odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

RESULTS: Individuals who had low-class occupations were at the highest risk of achalasia (OR = 1.88, 95%CI: 1.02-3.45), inferring that high-class occupation holders have a reduced risk of achalasia. A history of foreign travel, a lifestyle factor linked to upper socio-economic class, was also associated with a reduced risk of achalasia (OR = 0.59, 95%CI: 0.35-0.99). Smoking and alcohol consumption carried significantly reduced risks of achalasia, even after adjustment for socio-economic status. The presence of pets in the house was associated with a two-fold increased risk of achalasia (OR = 2.00, 95%CI: 1.17-3.42). No childhood household factors were associated with achalasia risk.

CONCLUSION: Achalasia is a disease of inequality, and individuals from low socio-economic backgrounds are at highest risk. This does not appear to be due to corresponding alcohol and smoking behaviours. An observed positive association between pet ownership and achalasia risk suggests an interaction between endotoxin and viral infection exposure in achalasia aetiology.

Potentially inappropriate prescribing in two populations with differing socio-economic profiles: a cross-sectional database study using the PROMPT criteria

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to establish the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) in middle-aged adults (45-64 years) in two populations with differing socio-economic profiles, and to investigate factors associated with PIP, using the PROMPT (PRescribing Optimally in Middle-aged People's Treatments) criteria.METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using 2012 data from the Enhanced Prescribing Database (EPD), covering the full population in Northern Ireland and the Health Services Executive Primary Care Reimbursement Service (HSE-PCRS) database, covering the most socio-economically deprived third of the population in this age group in the Republic of Ireland. The prevalence for each PROMPT criterion and overall prevalence of PIP were calculated. Logistic regression was used to investigate the association between PIP and gender, age group and polypharmacy.RESULTS: This study included 441,925 patients from the EPD and 309,748 patients from the HSE-PCRS database. Polypharmacy was common in both datasets (46.7 % in the HSE-PCRS and 20.3 % in the EPD). The prevalence of PIP was 42.9 % (95%CI 42.7, 43.1) in the HSE-PCRS and 21.1 % (95%CI 21.0, 21.2) in the EPD. Age group, female gender and polypharmacy were significantly associated with PIP in both populations (p < 0.05) and polypharmacy had the strongest association.CONCLUSIONS: PIP is common amongst middle-aged people with the risk of PIP increasing with polypharmacy. Differences in the prevalence of polypharmacy and PIP between the two populations may relate to heterogeneity in healthcare services and different socio-economic profiles, with higher rates of multimorbidity and associated polypharmacy in more deprived groups.

The complexity of biodiversity: A biological perspective on economic valuation

To value something, you first have to know what it is. Bartkowski et al. (2015) reveal a critical weakness: that biodiversity has rarely, if ever, been defined in economic valuations of putative biodiversity. Here we argue that a precise definition is available and could help focus valuation studies, but that in using this scientific definition (a three-dimensional measure of total difference), valuation by stated-preference methods becomes, at best, very difficult.We reclassify the valuation studies reviewed by Bartkowski et al. (2015) to better reflect the biological definition of biodiversity and its potential indirect use value as the support for provisioning and regulating services. Our analysis shows that almost all of the studies reviewed by Bartkowski et al. (2015) were not about biodiversity, but rather were about the 'vague notion' of naturalness, or sometimes a specific biological component of diversity. Alternative economic methods should be found to value biodiversity as it is defined in natural science. We suggest options based on a production function analogy or cost-based methods. Particularly the first of these provides a strong link between economic theory and ecological research and is empirically practical. Since applied science emphasizes a scientific definition of biodiversity in the design and justification of conservation plans, the need for economic valuation of this quantitative meaning of biodiversity is considerable and as yet unfulfilled.

Integrated techno-economic and environmental assessments of sixty scenarios for co-firing biomass with coal and natural gas

Displacement of fossil fuel-based power through biomass co-firing could reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuels. In this study, data-intensive techno-economic models were developed to evaluate different co-firing technologies as well as the configurations of these technologies. The models were developed to study 60 different scenarios involving various biomass feedstocks (wood chips, wheat straw, and forest residues) co-fired either with coal in a 500 MW subcritical pulverized coal (PC) plant or with natural gas in a 500 MW natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) plant to determine their technical potential and costs, as well as to determine environmental benefits. The results obtained reveal that the fully paid-off coal-fired power plant co-fired with forest residues is the most attractive option, having levelized costs of electricity (LCOE) of $53.12–$54.50/MW h and CO2 abatement costs of $27.41–$31.15/tCO2. When whole forest chips are co-fired with coal in a fully paid-off plant, the LCOE and CO2 abatement costs range from $54.68 to $56.41/MW h and $35.60 to $41.78/tCO2, respectively. The LCOE and CO2 abatement costs for straw range from $54.62 to $57.35/MW h and $35.07 to $38.48/tCO2, respectively.

Stated preference methods and landscape ecology indicators: an example of transdisciplinarity in landscape economic valuation

This paper addresses the representation of landscape complexity in stated preferences research. It integrates landscape ecology and landscape economics and conducts the landscape analysis in a three-dimensional space to provide ecologically meaningful quantitative landscape indicators that are used as variables for the monetary valuation of landscape in a stated preferences study. Expected heterogeneity in taste intensity across respondents is addressed with a mixed logit model in Willingness to Pay space. Our methodology is applied to value, in monetary terms, the landscape of the Sorrento Peninsula in Italy, an area that has faced increasing pressure from urbanization affecting its traditional horticultural, herbaceous, and arboreal structure, with loss of biodiversity, and an increasing risk of landslides. We find that residents of the Sorrento Peninsula would prefer landscapes characterized by large open views and natural features. Residents also appear to dislike heterogeneous landscapes and the presence of lemon orchards and farmers' stewardship, which are associated with the current failure of protecting the traditional landscape. The outcomes suggest that the use of landscape ecology metrics in a stated preferences model may be an effective way to move forward integrated methodologies to better understand and represent landscape and its complexity.