Partial Cooperation in Location Choice: Salop’s Model with Three Firms

We consider how three firms compete in a Salop location model and how cooperation in location choice by two of these firms affects the outcomes. We con- sider the classical case of linear transportation costs as a two-stage game in which the firms select first a location on a unit circle along which consumers are dispersed evenly, followed by the competitive selection of a price. Standard analysis restricts itself to purely competitive selection of location; instead, we focus on the situation in which two firms collectively decide about location, but price their products competitively after the location choice has been effectuated. We show that such partial coordination of location is beneficial to all firms, since it reduces the number of equilibria significantly and, thereby, the resulting coordination problem. Subsequently, we show that the case of quadratic transportation costs changes the main conclusions only marginally.

Numerical Analysis on a Dual-Loop Waste Heat Recovery System Coupled with an ORC for Vehicle Applications

The internal combustion (IC) engines exploits only about 30% of the chemical energy ejected through combustion, whereas the remaining part is rejected by means of cooling system and exhausted gas. Nowadays, a major global concern is finding sustainable solutions for better fuel economy which in turn results in a decrease of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) is one of the most promising techniques to increase the overall efficiency of a vehicle system, allowing the recovery of the heat rejected by the exhaust and cooling systems. In this context, Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs) are widely recognized as a potential technology to exploit the heat rejected by engines to produce electricity. The aim of the present paper is to investigate a WHR system, designed to collect both coolant and exhausted gas heats, coupled with an ORC cycle for vehicle applications. In particular, a coolant heat exchanger (CLT) allows the heat exchange between the water coolant and the ORC working fluid, whereas the exhausted gas heat is recovered by using a secondary circuit with diathermic oil. By using an in-house numerical model, a wide range of working conditions and ORC design parameters are investigated. In particular, the analyses are focused on the regenerator location inside the ORC circuits. Five organic fluids, working in both subcritical and supercritical conditions, have been selected in order to detect the most suitable configuration in terms of energy and exergy efficiencies.

Gene mapping and expression analysis of 16q loss of heterozygosity identifies WWOX and CYLD as being important in determining clinical outcome in multiple myeloma.

We performed fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) for 16q23 abnormalities in 861 patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma and identified deletion of 16q [del(16q)] in 19.5%. In 467 cases in which demographic and survival data were available, del(16q) was associated with a worse overall survival (OS). It was an independent prognostic marker and conferred additional adverse survival impact in cases with the known poor-risk cytogenetic factors t(4;14) and del(17p). Gene expression profiling and gene mapping using 500K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mapping arrays revealed loss of heterozygosity (LOH) involving 3 regions: the whole of 16q, a region centered on 16q12 (the location of CYLD), and a region centered on 16q23 (the location of the WW domain-containing oxidoreductase gene WWOX). CYLD is a negative regulator of the NF-kappaB pathway, and cases with low expression of CYLD were used to define a "low-CYLD signature." Cases with 16q LOH or t(14;16) had significantly reduced WWOX expression. WWOX, the site of the translocation breakpoint in t(14;16) cases, is a known tumor suppressor gene involved in apoptosis, and we were able to generate a "low-WWOX signature" defined by WWOX expression. These 2 genes and their corresponding pathways provide an important insight into the potential mechanisms by which 16q LOH confers poor prognosis.

A state-of-the-art review and feasibility analysis of high altitude wind power in Northern Ireland

In many countries wind energy has become an indispensable part of the electricity generation mix. The opportunity for ground based wind turbine systems are becoming more and more constrained due to limitations on turbine hub heights, blade lengths and location restrictions linked to environmental and permitting issues including special areas of conservation and social acceptance due to the visual and noise impacts. In the last decade there have been numerous proposals to harness high altitude winds, such as tethered kites, airfoils and dirigible based rotors. These technologies are designed to operate above the neutral atmospheric boundary layer of 1,300 m, which are subject to more powerful and persistent winds thus generating much higher electricity capacities. This paper presents an in-depth review of the state-of-the-art of high altitude wind power, evaluates the technical and economic viability of deploying high altitude wind power as a resource in Northern Ireland and identifies the optimal locations through considering wind data and geographical constraints. The key findings show that the total viable area over Northern Ireland for high altitude wind harnessing devices is 5109.6 km2, with an average wind power density of 1,998 W/m2 over a 20-year span, at a fixed altitude of 3,000 m. An initial budget for a 2MW pumping kite device indicated a total cost £1,751,402 thus proving to be economically viable with other conventional wind-harnessing devices.