Of Mice and Men: An Ergonomic and Market Assessment of Current Computer Mice

Gemstone Team MICE (Modifying and Improving Computer Ergonomics)

The potential of natural, photosynthetic pigments to improve the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells

Gemstone Team Grenergy

Improving Photovoltaics with High Luminescence Efficiency Quantum Dot Layers

A solar cell relies on its ability to turn photons into current. Because short wavelength photons are typically absorbed near the top surface of a cell, the generated charge carriers recombine before being collected. But when a layer of quantum dots (nanoscale semiconductor particles) is placed on top of the cell, it absorbs short wavelength photons and emits them into the cell at longer wavelengths, which enables more efficient carrier collection. However, the resulting power conversion efficiency of the system depends critically on the quantum dot luminescence efficiency – the nature of this relationship was previously unknown. Our calculations suggest that a quantum dot layer must have high luminescence efficiency (at least 80%) to improve the current output of existing photovoltaic (PV) cells; otherwise, it may worsen the cell’s efficiency. Our quantum dot layer (using quantum dots with over 85% quantum yield) slightly reduced the efficiency of our PV cells. We observed a decrease in short circuit current of a commercial-grade cell from 0.1977 A to 0.1826 A, a 7.6% drop, suggesting that improved optical coupling from the quantum dot emission into the solar cell is needed. With better optical coupling, we predict current enhancements between ~6% and ~8% for a solar cell that already has an antireflection coating. Such improvements could have important commercial impacts if the coating could be deployed in a scalable fashion.

Dependence of laser-driven coherent synchrotron emission efficiency on pulse ellipticity and implications for polarization gating

The polarization dependence of laser-driven coherent synchrotron emission transmitted through thin foils is investigated experimentally. The harmonic generation process is seen to be almost completely suppressed for circular polarization opening up the possibility of producing isolated attosecond pulses via polarization gating. Particle-in-cell simulations suggest that current laser pulses are capable of generating isolated attosecond pulses with high pulse energies.

Water efficiency as a means of reducing carbon emissions in Northern Ireland (NI) Water

The water and sewerage sectors' combined emissions account for just over 1% of total UK emissions, while household water heating accounts for a further 5%. Energy use, particularly electricity, is the largest source of emissions in the sector. Water efficiency measures should therefore result in reduced emissions from a lower demand for water and wastewater treatment and pumping, as well as from decreased domestic water heating. Northern Ireland Water (NI Water) is actively pursuing measures to reduce its carbon footprint. This paper investigated the carbon impacts of implementing a household water efficiency programme in Northern Ireland. Assuming water savings of 59.6 L/prop/day and 15% uptake among households, carbon savings of 0.6% of NI Water's current net operational emissions are achievable from reduced treatment and pumping. Adding the carbon savings from reduced household water heating gives savings equivalent to 6.2% of current net operational emissions. Cost savings to NI Water are estimated as 300,000 per year. The cost of the water efficiency devices is approximately 1.6 million, but may be higher depending on the number of devices distributed relative to the number installed. This paper has shown clear carbon benefits to water efficiency, but further research is needed to examine social and cost impacts. © IWA Publishing 2013.

Pharmacogenomics and metastatic colorectal cancer:current knowledge and perspectives

The pharmacogenomics field is crucial for optimizing the selection of which chemotherapy regimen to use according to the patient's genomic profile. Indeed, the individual's inherited genome accounts for a large proportion of the variation in his or her response to chemotherapeutic agents both in terms of efficiency and toxicity. Patients with metastatic disease are more likely to receive different lines of chemotherapy with variable efficacy and experience some related complications. It is therefore critical to tailor the best therapeutic arsenal to improve the efficacy and avoid as much as possible related complications that are susceptible to interrupt the treatment. The pharmacogenomics approach investigates for each drug the implicated metabolic pathway and the potential personal variations in gene function. The aim of this review is to present a clear overview of the most accurate polymorphisms that have been identified as related to drug response in patients with mCRC.

A Conventional Internal Combustion Engine Versus a Range Extended Electric Vehicle Under the Current Regulatory Regime in the United Kingdom

Transport accounts for 22% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United Kingdom and cars are expected tomore than double by 2050. Car manufacturers are continually aiming for a substantially reduced carbonfootprint through improved fuel efficiency and better powertrain performance due to the strict EuropeanUnion emissions standards. However, road tax, not just fuel efficiency, is a key consideration of consumerswhen purchasing a car. While measures have been taken to reduce emissions through stricter standards, infuture, alternative technologies will be used. Electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles and range extended electricvehicles have been identified as some of these future technologies. In this research a virtual test bed of aconventional internal combustion engine and a range extended electric vehicle family saloon car were builtin AVL’s vehicle and powertrain system level simulation tool, CRUISE, to simulate the New EuropeanDrive Cycle and the results were then soft-linked to a techno-economic model to compare the effectivenessof current support mechanisms over the full life cycle of both cars. The key finding indicates that althoughcarbon emissions are substantially reduced, switching is still not financially the best option for either theconsumer or the government in the long run.

Efficiency optimization of the transportation supply chain activity: the maritime option for Volkswagen Autoeuropa

Field Lab of Entrepreneurial Innovative Ventures

Search engine advertising in web retailing : an efficiency analysis

This study examines the efficiency of search engine advertising strategies employed by firms. The research setting is the online retailing industry, which is characterized by extensive use of Web technologies and high competition for market share and profitability. For Internet retailers, search engines are increasingly serving as an information gateway for many decision-making tasks. In particular, Search engine advertising (SEA) has opened a new marketing channel for retailers to attract new customers and improve their performance. In addition to natural (organic) search marketing strategies, search engine advertisers compete for top advertisement slots provided by search brokers such as Google and Yahoo! through keyword auctions. The rationale being that greater visibility on a search engine during a keyword search will capture customers' interest in a business and its product or service offerings. Search engines account for most online activities today. Compared with the slow growth of traditional marketing channels, online search volumes continue to grow at a steady rate. According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, spending on search engine marketing by North American firms in 2008 was estimated at $13.5 billion. Despite the significant role SEA plays in Web retailing, scholarly research on the topic is limited. Prior studies in SEA have focused on search engine auction mechanism design. In contrast, research on the business value of SEA has been limited by the lack of empirical data on search advertising practices. Recent advances in search and retail technologies have created datarich environments that enable new research opportunities at the interface of marketing and information technology. This research uses extensive data from Web retailing and Google-based search advertising and evaluates Web retailers' use of resources, search advertising techniques, and other relevant factors that contribute to business performance across different metrics. The methods used include Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), data mining, and multivariate statistics. This research contributes to empirical research by analyzing several Web retail firms in different industry sectors and product categories. One of the key findings is that the dynamics of sponsored search advertising vary between multi-channel and Web-only retailers. While the key performance metrics for multi-channel retailers include measures such as online sales, conversion rate (CR), c1ick-through-rate (CTR), and impressions, the key performance metrics for Web-only retailers focus on organic and sponsored ad ranks. These results provide a useful contribution to our organizational level understanding of search engine advertising strategies, both for multi-channel and Web-only retailers. These results also contribute to current knowledge in technology-driven marketing strategies and provide managers with a better understanding of sponsored search advertising and its impact on various performance metrics in Web retailing.

Efficiency and social inclusion: implications for the museum profession

In the late 1980s Stephen Weil (1990) raised the question of the extent to which museum work could be considered a profession, the extent to which it had been professionalized, and in what ways this professionalization was facilitated or impeded by the changing circumstances of museum work, its organizational and governance context and its already multiplying roles vis-à-vis public culture and society at large. Although Weil‘s thoughts were situated in the American museum context of the mid-1980s, many of his thoughts apply to contexts beyond the US, and some of the questions he raised about the potential for professionalising museum work still resonate with the current situation of museum work. This paper tries to pose and approach a host of questions that, whilst in the main echoing Stephen Weil‘s mid-1980s reflections, are reconfigured in light of some sweeping changes in the nature of museum work, its mode of governance and its governing norms and values.

Examining the technical efficiency of rice producers in Bangladesh

Despite record national output in the early years of this decade there is widespread concern that rice yields in Bangladesh are below those attainable, and that given future population growth this may constrain achievement of food security and poverty reduction objectives. A frequent response to this problem is that farmers could close the gap between actual farm yields and potential yields identified in field trials if farmers who are technically inefficient could improve their current farming practices. This paper estimates and explains technical efficiency for a sample of rice farmers in Bangladesh employing Bayesian methods. The results provide insights into the distribution of technical efficiency and identify important influences on rice growing.

Biomass partitioning and growth efficiency in four naturally regenerated forest tree species

Current forest growth models and yield tables are almost exclusively based on data from mature trees, reducing their applicability to young and developing stands. To address this gap, young European beech, sessile oak, Scots pine and Norway spruce trees approximately 0 to 10 years old were destructively sampled in a range of naturally regenerated forest stands in Central Europe. Diameter at base and height were first measured in situ for up to 175 individuals per species. Subsequently, the trees were excavated and dry biomass of foliage, branches, stems and roots was measured. Allometric relations were then used to calculate biomass allocation coefficients (BAC) and growth efficiency (GE) patterns in young trees. We found large differences in BAC and GE between broadleaves and conifers, but also between species within these categories. Both BAC and GE are strongly age-specific in young trees, their rapidly changing values reflecting different growth strategies in the earliest stages of growth. We show that linear relationships describing biomass allocation in older trees are not applicable in young trees. To accurately predict forest biomass and carbon stocks, forest growth models need to include species and age specific parameters of biomass allocation patterns.

Shoot yield drives phosphorus use efficiency in Brassica oleracea and correlates with root architecture traits

The environmental and financial costs of using inorganic phosphate fertilizers to maintain crop yield and quality are high. Breeding crops that acquire and use phosphorus (P) more efficiently could reduce these costs. The variation in shoot P concentration (shoot-P) and various measures of P use efficiency (PUE) were quantified among 355 Brassica oleracea L. accessions, 74 current commercial cultivars, and 90 doubled haploid (DH) mapping lines from a reference genetic mapping population. Accessions were grown at two or more external P concentrations in glasshouse experiments; commercial and DH accessions were also grown in replicated field experiments. Within the substantial species-wide diversity observed for shoot-P and various measures of PUE in B. oleracea, current commercial cultivars have greater PUE than would be expected by chance. This may be a consequence of breeding for increased yield, which is a significant component of most measures of PUE, or early establishment. Root development and architecture correlate with PUE; in particular, lateral root number, length, and growth rate. Significant quantitative trait loci associated with shoot-P and PUE occur on chromosomes C3 and C7. These data provide information to initiate breeding programmes to improve PUE in B. oleracea.

Transgenic cereals: current status and future prospects

This review summarises the history of transgenic (GM) cereals, principally maize, and then focuses on the scientific literature published in the last two years. It describes the production of GM cereals with modified traits, divided into input traits and output traits. The first category includes herbicide tolerance and insect resistance, and resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses; the second includes altered grains for starch, protein or nutrient quality, the use of cereals for the production of high value medical or other products, and the generation of plants with improved efficiency of biofuel production. Using data from field trial and patent databases the review considers the diversity of GM lines being tested for possible future development. It also summarises the dichotomy of response to GM products in various countries, describes the basis for the varied public acceptability of such products, and assesses the development of novel breeding techniques in the light of current GM regulatory procedures.

An aggregate resource efficiency perspective on sustainability: a Sustainable Value application to the EU-15 countries

The Sustainable Value approach integrates the efficiency with regard to environmental, social and economic resources into a monetary indicator. It gained significant popularity as evidenced by diverse applications at the corporate level. However, its introduction as a measure adhering to the strong sustainability paradigm sparked an ardent debate. This study explores its validity as a macroeconomic strong sustainability measure by applying the Sustainable Value approach to the EU-15 countries. Concretely, we assessed environmental, social and economic resources in combination with the GDP for all EU-15 countries from 1995 to 2006 for three benchmark alternatives. The results show that several countries manage to adequately delink resource use from GDP growth. Furthermore, the remarkable difference in outcome between the national and EU-15 benchmark indicates a possible inefficiency of the current allocation of national resource ceilings imposed by the European institutions. Additionally, by using an effects model we argue that the service degree of the economy and governmental expenditures on social protection and research and development are important determinants of overall resource efficiency. Finally, we sketch out three necessary conditions to link the Sustainable Value approach to the strong sustainability paradigm.