Is competition really bad news for cooperatives? Some empirical evidence for Italian producers' cooperatives

In this paper, we analyse the nature of the relationship between market power and technical efficiency for producers' cooperatives. More specifically we test two hypotheses: first, we evaluate the extent to which increasing market pressure may help producers' cooperatives to improve technical efficiency to guarantee positive profits; second, we test whether higher technical efficiency induces producers' cooperatives to have a larger market share. These hypotheses are tested on a sample of Italian conventional and cooperative firms for the Wine Production and Processing sector, using both frontier analysis and dynamic panel techniques. The results support the hypothesis that increasing market pressure can affect positively the cooperativeś efficiency, while gains in technical efficiency do not seem to have any impact on the cooperatives' market share. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

The Single drop drying of heat-sensitive materials

The literature relating to the principles and practice of drying of materials, particularly those susceptible to thermal degradation or undesirable loss of volatile components, has been reviewed. Single droplets of heat-sensitive materials were dried whilst suspended in a horizontal wind tunnel from a specially-designed, rotating thermocouple which enabled direct observation of drying behaviour and continuous measurement of droplet temperature as drying progressed. The effects of drying air temperature and initial solids concentration on the potency of various antibiotics, viz. ampicillin, chloramphenicol, oxytetracycline, streptomycin and tetracycline, were assessed using a modified Drug Sensitivity Testing technique. Only ampicillin was heat-sensitive at temperatures above 100°C, e.g. at an air temperature of 115°C its zone diameter was reduced from 100% to 45%. Selected enzymes, viz. dextran sucrase and invertase, were also dried and their residual activities determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The residual activity of dextran sucrase was rapidly reduced at temperatures above 65°C, and the residual activity of invertase reduced rapidly at temperatures above 65°C; but drying with short residence times will retain most of its activity. The performance of various skin-forming encapsulants, viz. rice and wheat starch, dextrin, coffee, skim milk, fructose, gelatine 60 and 150 Bloom, and gum arabic, was evaluated to determine their capabilities for retention of ethanol as a model volatile, under different operating conditions. The effects of initial solids concentration, air velocity and temperature were monitored for each material tested. Ethanol content was analysed by Gas Liquid Chromatography and in some cases dried crusts were removed for examination. Volatiles retention was concluded to depend in all cases upon the rate and nature of the skin formation and selective diffusion phenomena. The results provided further insight into the inter-relationship between temperature, residence time and thermal degradation of heat-sensitive materials. They should also assist in selection of the preferred dryer for such materials, and of the operating parameter to enable maximum retention of the required physico-chemical characteristics in the dried materials.

Entry, reforms complementarity and performance:a tale of two Indian manufacturing sectors

In this paper, we use plant-level data from two Indian industries, namely, electrical machinery and textiles, to examine the empirical relationship between structural reforms like abandonment of entry restrictions to the product market, competition and firm-level productivity and efficiency. These industries have faced different sets of policies since Independence but both were restricted in the adoption of technology and in the development of optimal scales of production. They also belonged to the first set of industries that benefited from the liberalization process started in the 1980s. Our results suggest that both the industries have improved their efficiency and scales of operation by the turn of the century. However, the process of adjustment seems to have been worked out more fully for electrical machinery. We also find evidence of spatial fragmentation of the market as late as 2000–2001. Gains in labour productivity were much more evident in states that either have a strong history of industrial activity or those that have experienced significant improvements in business environment since 1991.

Experiments for CFD-modelling of cooling water and Insulation debris two-phase flow phenomena during loss of coolant accidents

The knowledge of insulation debris generation and transport gains in importance regarding reactor safety research for PWR and BWR. The insulation debris released near the break consists of a mixture of very different fibres and particles concerning size, shape, consistence and other properties. Some fraction of the released insulation debris will be transported into the reactor sump where it may affect emergency core cooling. Experiments are performed to blast original samples of mineral wool insulation material by steam under original thermal-hydraulic break conditions of BWR. The gained fragments are used as initial specimen for further experiments at acrylic glass test facilities. The quasi ID-sinking behaviour of the insulation fragments are investigated in a water column by optical high speed video techniques and methods of image processing. Drag properties are derived from the measured sinking velocities of the fibres and observed geometric parameters for an adequate CFD modelling. In the test rig "Ring line-II" the influence of the insulation material on the head loss is investigated for debris loaded strainers. Correlations from the filter bed theory are adapted with experimental results and are used to model the flow resistance depending on particle load, filter bed porosity and parameters of the coolant flow. This concept also enables the simulation of a particular blocked strainer with CFDcodes. During the ongoing work further results of separate effect and integral experiments and the application and validation of the CFD-models for integral test facilities and original containment sump conditions are expected.

Optical immersion of mid-infrared LEDs and photodiodes for gas-sensing applications

The high gains in performance predicted for optical immersion are difficult to achieve in practice due to total internal reflection at the lens/detector interface. By reducing the air gap at this interface optical tunneling becomes possible and the predicted gains can be realized in practical devices. Using this technique we have demonstrated large performance gains by optically immersing mid-infrared heterostructure InA1Sb LEDs and photodiodes using hypershperical germanium lenses. The development of an effective method of optical immersion that gives excellent optical coupling has produced a photodiode with a peak room temperature detectivity (D*) of 5.3 x 109 cmHz½W-1 at λpeak=5.4μm and a 40° field of view. A hyperspherically immersed LED showed a f-fold improvement in the external efficiency, and a 3-fold improvement in the directionality compared with a conventional planar LED for f/2 optical systems. The incorporation of these uncooled devices in a White cell produced a NO2 gas sensing system with 2 part-per-million sensitivity, with an LED drive current of <5mA. These results represent a significant advance in the use of solid state devices for portable gas sensing systems.

Dynamic network rating for low carbon distribution network operation:a U.K. application

Dynamic asset rating (DAR) is one of the number of techniques that could be used to facilitate low carbon electricity network operation. Previous work has looked at this technique from an asset perspective. This paper focuses, instead, from a network perspective by proposing a dynamic network rating (DNR) approach. The models available for use with DAR are discussed and compared using measured load and weather data from a trial network area within Milton Keynes in the central area of the U.K. This paper then uses the most appropriate model to investigate, through a network case study, the potential gains in dynamic rating compared to static rating for the different network assets - transformers, overhead lines, and cables. This will inform the network operator of the potential DNR gains on an 11-kV network with all assets present and highlight the limiting assets within each season.

Improving the economic value of photographic screening for optical coherence tomography-detectable macular oedema:a prospective, multicentre, UK study

Objectives: To determine the best photographic surrogate markers for detecting sight-threatening macular oedema (MO) in people with diabetes attending UK national screening programmes. Design: A multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study of 3170 patients with photographic signs of diabetic retinopathy visible within the macular region [exudates within two disc diameters, microaneurysms/dot haemorrhages (M/DHs) and blot haemorrhages (BHs)] who were recruited from seven study centres. Setting: All patients were recruited and imaged at one of seven study centres in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Dundee, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Oxford. Participants: Subjects with features of diabetic retinopathy visible within the macular region attending one of seven diabetic retinal screening programmes. Interventions: Alternative referral criteria for suspected MO based on photographic surrogate markers; an optical coherence tomographic examination in addition to the standard digital retinal photograph. Main outcome measures: (1) To determine the best method to detect sight-threatening MO in people with diabetes using photographic surrogate markers. (2) Sensitivity and specificity estimates to assess the costs and consequences of using alternative strategies. (3) Modelled long-term costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Results: Prevalence of MO was strongly related to the presence of lesions and was roughly five times higher in subjects with exudates or BHs or more than two M/DHs within one disc diameter. Having worse visual acuity was associated with about a fivefold higher prevalence of MO. Current manual screening grading schemes that ignore visual acuity or the presence of M/DHs could be improved by taking these into account. Health service costs increase substantially with more sensitive/less specific strategies. A fully automated strategy, using the automated detection of patterns of photographic surrogate markers, is superior to all current manual grading schemes for detecting MO in people with diabetes. The addition of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to each strategy, prior to referral, results in a reduction in costs to the health service with no decrement in the number of MO cases detected. Conclusions: Compared with all current manual grading schemes, for the same sensitivity, a fully automated strategy, using the automated detection of patterns of photographic surrogate markers, achieves a higher specificity for detecting MO in people with diabetes, especially if visual acuity is included in the automated strategy. Overall, costs to the health service are likely to increase if more sensitive referral strategies are adopted over more specific screening strategies for MO, for only very small gains in QALYs. The addition of OCT to each screening strategy, prior to referral, results in a reduction in costs to the health service with no decrement in the number of MO cases detected. © Queen's Printer and Controller of HMSO 2013.

Sustainable energy systems for seawater reverse osmosis desalination

Desalination of seawater driven by solar and other sustainable energy sources could in principle fulfil the growing needs of the world's most water-stressed countries. Reverse osmosis (RO) has become the most efficient process for desalination, making it the technology of choice for use with solar energy, and photovoltaics (PV) has become the most successful technology for solar energy conversion. But despite recent gains in the efficiency of PV-RO, substantial improvements are still possible because of the numerous energy losses occurring between input of sunlight and output of freshwater. This chapter gives an overview of some of the research activities and recent advances that could ultimately result in solar-powered RO systems becoming more than 10 times efficient than today. It also describes advances in waste heat recovery for RO desalination that are yielding greatly improved performance over desalination processes based on distillation.

Clinical characteristics and benefit of cataract intervention amongst UK domiciliary eye care recipients

Purpose: Given the ageing UK population and the high prevalence of activity-limiting illness and disability in the over 65s, the demand for domiciliary eye care services is set to grow significantly. Over 400,000 NHS domiciliary eye examinations are conducted each year, yet minimal research attention has been directed to this mode of practice or patient needs amongst this group. The study aimed to compare clinical characteristics and benefits of cataract surgery between conventional in-practice patients and domiciliary service users. Methods: Clinical characteristics were compared between patients in North-West England receiving NHS domiciliary eye care services (n = 197; median age 76.5 years), and an age-matched group of conventional in-practice patients (n = 107; median age 74.6 years). Data including reason for visit; logMAR uncorrected and best corrected distance (UDVA and CDVA) and near acuities (UNVA and CNVA); presence of ocular pathology and examination outcome were documented retrospectively. To compare the benefit of cataract surgery in terms of functional capacity between the patient groups, individuals undergoing routine referral for first-eye surgery completed the VF-14 questionnaire pre-operatively, and at 6 weeks post-operatively. Results: UDVA was similar between the two groups (median 0.48 and 0.50 logMAR in the domiciliary and practice groups, P = 0.916); CDVA was significantly worse in the domiciliary group (median 0.18 vs 0.08 logMAR, P<0.001), who were more likely to have clinically-significant cataract. Both groups showed similar improvements in VF-14 scores following cataract surgery (mean gains 24.4 ± 11.7, and 31.5 ± 14.7 points in the in-practice and domiciliary groups, respectively. P = 0.312). Conclusions: Patients receiving domiciliary eye care services are more likely to have poorer corrected vision than in-practice patients of a similar age, partly due to a higher prevalence of significant cataract. Despite limitations in their activities due to illness and disability, domiciliary patients experience similar gains in self-reported functional capacity following cataract surgery