Intermunicipal cooperation and privatization of solid waste services among small municipalities in Spain

The aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of intermunicipal cooperation and privatization on the delivery costs of urban solid waste services. The results of our empirical analysis, which we conducted among a sample of very small municipalities, indicate that small towns that cooperate incur lower costs for their waste collection service. Cooperation also raises collection frequency and improves the quality of the service in small towns. By contrast, the form of production, whether it is public or private, does not result in systematic differences in costs. Interestingly, the degree of population dispersion has a significant positive relation with service costs. No evidence of scale economies is found because, it would seem, small municipalities exploit them by means of intermunicipal cooperation.

Decolorization and toxicity of municipal waste by horseradish (Cochlearia armoracia)

The Municipal Station of Americana, SP, Brazil, treats a volume of 400 l s-1 of effluent, of domestic and textile origin, and produces about 20 t of sludge per day. The plant horseradish, which contains high amount of peroxidases, was able to decolorize this effluent in 2 h and the solid waste in 2 days, at concentrations of 10 and 50%, respectively. However, there was an increase in the toxicity for the bioassays with Hydra attenuatta, Selenastrum capricornutum and lettuce seeds, indicating formation of more toxic substances. Since horseradish showed the ability to decolorize these residues, it can be used as pre-treatment resulting in a sludge of less complex composition.

The Management of Intellectual Capital in the Early Phases of Project Marketing

This study aims at enhancing understanding and deriving new constructs about the management of intellectual capital in the early phases of project marketing. The research methodology employed is deductive; conceptual reasoning is based on existing literature. The study's knowledge base is drawn from the bodies of literature dealing with project, relationship, and industrial marketing, as well as from the literature dealing with mechanical engineering, network approach, systems selling, R&D, project portfolio, strategic, financial, and knowledge management. As a result, three processes, 32 summaries and 19 conclusions give to the management of intellectual capital meaning in the context of project marketing. These conclusions and synthesis are proposed to improve the existing concepts and models in project marketing.

Synthesis of liquid menthol by hydrogenation of dementholized peppermint oil over Ni catalysts

Hydrogenation of (-)-menthone and (+)-isomenthone was studied at 2.7 MPa and 100 ºC. The objective was to produce a liquid menthol mixture rich in (-)-menthol from dementholized peppermint oil. Ni-based catalysts were tested and compared for this reaction: a) 6 and 12% Ni dispersed into a nonstoichiometric magnesium aluminate (Ni-Mg-Al) with spinel structure; b) Ni-Raney catalyst. Both types of catalysts were active for (-)-menthone and (+)-isomenthone hydrogenation. Lower conversion but higher selectivity to (-)-menthol was obtained with Ni-Mg-Al catalysts. However, they rapidly lost their activity. Instead Ni-Raney catalysts kept its original activity even after several hydrogenation runs.

Anxiolytic-like effects of erythrinian alkaloids from erythrina suberosa

Two alkaloids, erysodine (1) and erysothrine (2) were isolated from the flowers of a Pakistani medicinal plant, Erythrina suberosa. These compounds were investigated for anxiolytic properties, and the results showed significant effect, in an acute oral treatment with 1-2, which were suspended in saline (NaCl 0.9%) plus DMSO 1%, and evaluated in 122 Swiss male mice exposed to two tests of anxiety - the elevated plus-maze (EPM) and the light/dark transition model (LDTM).

Patient education to support self-management of patients with mental illness

This study explores areas which need to be improved to develop the quality of patient education to support self-management of patients with mental illness in psychiatric hospitals. The study was conducted in five phases during the period 2000 – 2007. First, patients‘ (n = 313) satisfaction with patient education were investigated. Second, patients' (n = 51) experiences of patient education were explored. Third, a national survey was conducted to investigate realisation of patient education from the staff (n = 55) viewpoint. Fourth, outcomes of patient education were investigated by evaluating the impacts of different patient education methods on patients‘ (n = 311) attitudes towards medication, knowledge level and importance of information. Fifth, patients‘ (n = 16) perceptions of different patient education methods were explored. Patients reported poor satisfaction with patient education (Phase I), and they have considerable need to receive information during their hospital stay (Phase II). Described by staff, the content of patient education covered almost all informational areas investigated. However, discrepancies related to the realisation of patient education were found. (Phase III.) Evaluation of different patient education methods indicate that patients derived benefits from structured patient education with supportive methods (Phase IV) and patients also perceived that these methods supported their information receiving (Phase V). In order to improve the quality of patient education to support self-management of patients with mental illness patient education should be systematically and individually provided to all patients by using different educational methods. Realisation of this should be ensured by providing written instructions, improving nurses‘ knowledge and skills as well ensuring operating conditions.

Atual estágio de desenvolvimento da tecnologia GTL e perspectivas para o Brasil

Although the production of liquid fuels from coal, natural gas (CTL and GTL processes) and other carbon sources has been discovered 90 years ago, the interest was renewed in the last years motivated by stranded gas reserves and by petroleum market instability. This review intends to show the scenario of these technologies nowadays, discussing the applied technologies, the steps in an industrial plant, the ways to produce syngas and liquid fuels, the catalysts used, the type of reactors and the operating plants with their respective capacities, besides the technical, economical and environmental viability, challenges and perspectives for Brazil.

Evaluation of antiradical assays used in determining the antioxidant capacity of pure compounds and plant extracts

The efficiency of the chemiluminescence luminol method and colorimetric DPPH and ABTS methods in evaluating the antiradical capacity of pure compounds and plant extracts with antioxidant potential is compared. In case of pure compounds, the values of parameter 'n' (number of radicals quenched per molecule of antiradical) for ascorbic acid, p-hydroquinone, catechol, quercetin, and rutin are similar when measured by colorimetric assays; however, considerably lower values of n are obtained with the luminol assay. The antiradical activity of extracts from male and female individuals of Baccharis burchelli and Baccharis crispa were determined by the luminol assay and expressed using the new Trolox® percentage (%Trolox®) parameter.

Separation and purification of three stilbenes from the radix of Polygonum cillinerve (Nakai) Ohwl by macroporous resin column chromatography combined with high-speed counter-current chromatography

An effective method for the rapid separation and purification of three stilbenes from the radix of Polygonum cillinerve (Nakai) Ohwl by macroporous resin column chromatography combined with high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was successfully established. In the present study, a two-phase solvent system composed of chloroform-n-butanol-methanol-water (4:1:4:2, v/v/v/v) was used for HSCCC separation. A one-step separation in 4 h from 150 mg of crude extract produced 26.3 mg of trans-resveratrol-3-O-glucoside, 42.0 mg of pieceid-2"-O-gallate, and 17.9 mg of trans-resveratrol with purities of 99.1%, 97.8%, and 99.4%, respectively, as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The chemical structures of these compounds were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

Separation of Gas Bubbles from Circulation Waters and Pulp Suspensions in Open Channel Flow

The objective of this thesis was to study the removal of gases from paper mill circulation waters experimentally and to provide data for CFD modeling. Flow and bubble size measurements were carried out in a laboratory scale open gas separation channel. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique was used to measure the gas and liquid flow fields, while bubble size measurements were conducted using digital imaging technique with back light illumination. Samples of paper machine waters as well as a model solution were used for the experiments. The PIV results show that the gas bubbles near the feed position have the tendency to escape from the circulation channel at a faster rate than those bubbles which are further away from the feed position. This was due to an increased rate of bubble coalescence as a result of the relatively larger bubbles near the feed position. Moreover, a close similarity between the measured slip velocities of the paper mill waters and that of literature values was obtained. It was found that due to dilution of paper mill waters, the observed average bubble size was considerably large as compared to the average bubble sizes in real industrial pulp suspension and circulation waters. Among the studied solutions, the model solution has the highest average drag coefficient value due to its relatively high viscosity. The results were compared to a 2D steady sate CFD simulation model. A standard Euler-Euler k-ε turbulence model was used in the simulations. The channel free surface was modeled as a degassing boundary. From the drag models used in the simulations, the Grace drag model gave velocity fields closest to the experimental values. In general, the results obtained from experiments and CFD simulations are in good qualitative agreement.

Print-capture PCR for detection of tomato begomoviruses from plants and whiteflies

Print-capture (PC) Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was evaluated as a novel detection method of plant viruses. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) plants infected with begomovirus (fam. Geminiviridae, gen. Begomovirus) and viruliferous whiteflies were used to study the efficiency of the method. Print-capturing steps were carried out using non-charged nylon membrane or filter paper as the solid support for DNA printings. Amplified DNA fragments of expected size were consistently obtained by PCR from infected plants grown in a greenhouse, after direct application of printed materials to the PCR mix. However, virus detection from a single whitefly and from field-grown tomato samples required a high temperature treatment of printed material prior to PCR amplification. Comparison of nylon membrane and filter paper as the solid support revealed the higher efficiency of the nylon membrane. The application of print-capture PCR reduces the chances of false-positive amplification by reducing manipulation steps during preparation of the target DNA. This method maintains all the advantages of PCR diagnosis, such as the high sensitivity and no requirement of radioactive reagents.

AFLP markers differentiate isolates of Colletotrichum gossypii from C. gossypii var. cephalosporioides

Fungal diseases in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), such as anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gossypii and ramulose caused by C. gossypii var. cephalosporioides, are responsible for large yield losses. These pathogens are seed borne and morphologically similar although they induce different symptoms, which can lead to misdiagnosis using the blotter testing method. The present study was carried out to assess the viability of using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers to differentiate these pathogens. Five isolates, for each pathogen, were classified according to pathogenicity on cotton plants, and mycelial growth morphology. Conidial suspensions were sprayed on 30-day-old cotton plants and the symptoms assessed ten and 40 days after inoculation. For growth morphology 200 cottonseeds were inoculated with seven-day-old pure cultures, and the mycelial traits observed under a stereoscopic microscope seven days after inoculation. The DNA for AFLP analysis was obtained from seven-day-old fungal mycelia grown in liquid medium, using the Dneasy Qiagen protocol. Using the AFLP technique 318 polymorphic bands were selected to estimate similarities using Dice's Coefficient. The results clearly distinguished between ramulose and anthracnose isolates, which agreed with morphological and pathogenicity testing.

Parents as Pain Killers in the Pain Management of Preterm Infants

Vanhemmat keskoslasten kivun lievittäjinä Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kehittää uusi kivunlievitysmenetelmä, Vanhempien käsikapalo, keskoslasten kivunhoitoon vastasyntyneiden teho-osastolla. Vanhempien käsikapalon tehokkuutta verrattiin kahdessa satunnaistetussa kontrolloidussa crossover-tutkimusasetelmassa ei-lääkkeelliseen näyttöön perustuvaan hoitoon (P.O. glukoosiliuos), lääkkeelliseen menetelmään (I.V. oksikodoni) ja lumeeseen (P.O. vesi) tai kontrolli hoitoon kantapääpiston ja hengitysteiden imemisen aikana. Lisäksi mitattiin kivunhoidon lyhytaikaisia sivuvaikutuksia (hapetuksen- ja pulssinlasku) ja pidempiaikaisia vaikutuksia uneen. Tutkittujen lasten ikä oli 28 raskausviikkoa (n = 20) ja 28 1/7 (n = 20). Toimenpidekipua arvioitiin Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) -kipumittarilla. Interventioiden jälkeen unen rakenne analysoitiin 13 tunnin polysomnografia-rekisteröinneistä. Viimeisessä vaiheessa haastateltiin äitejä (n = 23), jotka olivat käyttäneet vanhempien käsikapaloa 2–4 viikkoa vastasyntyneiden teho-osastolla, strukturoidulla the Clinical Interview for Parents of High-Risk Infants -haastattelulla, johon oli lisätty kysymyksiä lapsen kivunhoidosta. Kantapääpiston aikana PIPP–pisteet olivat merkitsevästi matalampia P.O. glukoosiliuoksella (ka 4,85 ± 1,73, p ≤ 0,001) ja vanhempien käsikapalolla (ka 5,20 ± 1,70, p = 0,004) verrattuna lumeeseen (ka 7,05 ± 2,16). Hengitysteiden imemisen yhteydessä PIPP–pisteet olivat matalampia P.O. glukoosiliuoksella (ka 11,05 ± 2,31, p = 0,014) ja vanhempien käsikapalolla (ka 11,25 ± 2,47, p = 0,034) verrattuna lumeeseen (ka 12,40 ± 2,06). Oksikodonin teho oli verrattavissa lumeeseen kummankin toimenpiteen aikana. P.O. glukoosiliuoksen (21,3 %) ja lumeen (12,5 %) annosteluun liittyi merkittävästi enemmän lyhytaikaisia sivuvaikutuksia verrattuna oksikodoniin (5 %) tai vanhempien käsikapaloon (5 %). Oksikodoni muutti keskoslasten unen rakennetta vähentämällä merkittävästi aktiivisen unen määrää verrattuna muihin hoitoihin. Vanhemmat suhtautuivat positiivisesti käsikapalon käyttöön. Äitien osallistuminen kivunhoitoon voitiin jaotella kolmeen eri tyylin, jotka selittyivät äidin kiintymyksen tunteilla ja lapsen tehohoitoon liittyvällä stressillä. Vanhempien käsikapalo on suositeltavampi lyhyen toimenpidekivun lievittäjä kuin P.O. glukoosiliuos tai I.V. oksikodoni, kun tehokkuus, turvallisuus ja perhe otetaan huomioon.

Management of interdependency in project portfolio

Project management has evolved in recent decades. Project portfolio management, together with multi project management, is an emerging area in the project management field in practice, and correspondingly in academic research and forums. In multi project management, projects cannot be handled isolated from each other, as they often have interdependencies that have to be taken into account. If the interdependencies between projects are evaluated during the selection process, the success rate of the project portfolio is increased. Interdependencies can be human resources, technological, and/or market based. Despite of the fact that interdependency as a phenomenon has roots in the 1960s and is related to famous management theories, it has not been much studied, although in practice most companies use it to great extent. There exists some research on interdependency, but prior publications have not emphasized the phenomenon per se, because a practical orientation practitioner techniques prevails in the literature. This research applies the method triangulation, electronic surveys and multiple case study. The research concentrates on small to large companies in Estonia and Finland, mainly in construction, engineering, ICT, and machinery industries. The literature review reveals that interdependencies are deeply involved in R&D and innovation. Survey analysis shows that companies are aware of interdependency issues in general, but they i have lack of detailed knowledge to use it thoroughly. Empirical evidence also indicates that interdependency techniques influence the success rate and other efficiency aspects to different extents. There are a lot of similarities in interdependency related managerial issues in companies of varying sizes and countries in Northern Europe. Differences found in the study are for instance the fact that smaller companies face more difficulties in implementing and evaluating interdependency procedures. Country differences between Estonia and Finland stem from working solutions to manage interdependencies on a daily basis.historical and cultural reasons, such as the special features of a transition country compared to a mature country. An overview of the dominant problems, best practices, and commonly used techniques associated with interdependency is provided in the study. Empirical findings show that many interdependency techniques are not used in practice. A multiple case study was performed in the study to find out how interdependencies are managed in real life on a daily basis. The results show that interdependencies are mostly managed in an informal manner. A description of managing the interdependencies and implementation procedures is given. Interdependency procedures are hard to implement, especially in smaller companies. Companies have difficulties in implementing interdependency procedures and evaluating them. The study contains detailed results on how companies have implemented working solutions to manage interdependencies on a daily basis

Algorithmic Solutions for Combinatorial Problems in Resource Management of Manufacturing Environments

This thesis studies the use of heuristic algorithms in a number of combinatorial problems that occur in various resource constrained environments. Such problems occur, for example, in manufacturing, where a restricted number of resources (tools, machines, feeder slots) are needed to perform some operations. Many of these problems turn out to be computationally intractable, and heuristic algorithms are used to provide efficient, yet sub-optimal solutions. The main goal of the present study is to build upon existing methods to create new heuristics that provide improved solutions for some of these problems. All of these problems occur in practice, and one of the motivations of our study was the request for improvements from industrial sources. We approach three different resource constrained problems. The first is the tool switching and loading problem, and occurs especially in the assembly of printed circuit boards. This problem has to be solved when an efficient, yet small primary storage is used to access resources (tools) from a less efficient (but unlimited) secondary storage area. We study various forms of the problem and provide improved heuristics for its solution. Second, the nozzle assignment problem is concerned with selecting a suitable set of vacuum nozzles for the arms of a robotic assembly machine. It turns out that this is a specialized formulation of the MINMAX resource allocation formulation of the apportionment problem and it can be solved efficiently and optimally. We construct an exact algorithm specialized for the nozzle selection and provide a proof of its optimality. Third, the problem of feeder assignment and component tape construction occurs when electronic components are inserted and certain component types cause tape movement delays that can significantly impact the efficiency of printed circuit board assembly. Here, careful selection of component slots in the feeder improves the tape movement speed. We provide a formal proof that this problem is of the same complexity as the turnpike problem (a well studied geometric optimization problem), and provide a heuristic algorithm for this problem.