Investments into forest biorefineries under different price and policy structures

Increasing scarcity of oil reserves and the high CO₂ emissions from using oil have contributed to the development of renewable biofuels. Pulp and paper mill integrated forest biorefineries offer one important means to increase biofuel production. This study analyzes the effects of policies to support biofuel production in the pulp and paper sector. We study the relative effectiveness of three biofuel supporting policy instruments, namely production subsidy, input subsidy and investment subsidy. We present a partial equilibrium pulp and paper market model with a biorefinery investment option. A numerical model is used to evaluate the impacts of policy instruments on wood prices, as well as input choices and investment strategies of pulp and paper industries. The data represent the Finnish pulp and paper sector. We evaluate the values and direct costs of the policy instruments in a situation of exogenous biofuel production targets. The direct costs of input and investment subsidies are higher than those of a production subsidy. With all the policy instruments, Finnish pulp and paper mills would invest in wood-gasifying technology, instead of black liquor based one. The number of biorefinery units is dependent on the subsidy type — investment and input subsidies are likely to result in more numerous but smaller biofuel production units than a production subsidy. With all the policy instruments the demand for wood increases in Finland leading to higher wood prices. This, in turn, could reflect negatively on the profitability of the pulp and paper industries. To a significant degree, the model and the results can be generalized to other countries and markets where integrated pulp and paper mills are operating.     

Wireless control of a multihop mobile robot squad - [wireless communications in networked robotics]

Wireless controls offer attractive features including flexibility, self-organization, and dynamic networking, especially in mobile control scenarios. At the same time, wireless controls pose new design challenges because network and control performance affect each other. We focus our study on a wireless, mobile, multihop, robot-control scenario and compare the applicability of standard routing protocols and two network-aware control methods in realistic simulations. The scenario is demanding ? with high mobility causing link breaks ? and stresses the routing and control algorithms. The system is modeled and evaluated on a platform for integrated control and communication co-simulator. The performance of the algorithms is evaluated not only at the network layer, but also from the application viewpoint, in this case the mobile robot-control system.     

Exploring Relationships among Proactiveness,Risk‐Taking and Innovation Output in Family and Non‐Family Firms

In an empirical investigation of 532 Finnish firms, and using the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) literature to frame our arguments, we demonstrate that relationships among proactivity, risk‐taking and innovation output differ in family and non‐family firms. Specifically, we find evidence that risk‐taking does not affect innovation output in family firms, whereas in non‐family firms, innovation output is increased through risk‐taking. Also, proactive family firms influence their innovation output more positively than proactive non‐family firms do. This study adds important new insights to the growing knowledge of EO, which are discussed in the following for both academic and business audiences.     

Strong Tunneling in Small Quantum Dots: Kondo Effect in Two Model Systems

We study electron transport through single and double quantumdots with large level spacing and charging energy. Motivatedby recent experiments we focus on linear and nonlinearresponse of two model systems: a single dot with two levelsand a capacitively coupled double dot. At low temperature andstrong coupling to the leads, quantum fluctuations and Kondo-like many-body effects become important and show up, e.g., asresonances in the current-voltage characteristics. Inparticular, we propose a way to observe the splitting of theKondo peak as a function of the applied bias voltage.     

Alternatives for mobile operators in the competitive 3G and beyond business

The importance of analyzing different business models and technologies in the mobile industry has become more crucial for the investment policy of the telecom operators. This paper aims to cover some of the most interesting business alternatives in providing the new 3G and beyond services including cases where the operator already has an existing second-generation cellular network and perhaps even a license for the 3G UMTS network, and cases where the operator does not have any existing network. Three cases for incumbents and new entrants are foreseen, leaving alternatives for new competing 3G technology deployment or acting as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) without owning any radio infrastructure. A techno-economic approach has been used to identify business opportunities and quantify the potential profitability of different kind of business players. The scenarios have been analyzed in the Western European context by different country groups that are not exactly representative of any defined country, but rather share typical demographic characteristics.     

Investigation of CO oxidation and NO reduction on three-way monolith catalysts with transient response techniques

The kinetics of CO oxidation and NO reduction reactions over alumina and alumina-ceria supported Pt, Rh and bimetallic Pt/Rh catalysts coated on metallic monoliths were investigated using the step response technique at atmospheric pressure and at temperatures 30–350°C. The feed step change experiments from an inert flow to a flow of a reagent (O₂, CO, NO and H₂) showed that the ceria promoted catalysts had higher adsorption capacities, higher reaction rates and promoting effects by preventing the inhibitory effects of reactants, than the alumina supported noble metal catalysts. The effect of ceria was explained with adsorbate spillover from the noble metal sites to ceria. The step change experiments CO/O₂ and O₂/CO also revealed the enhancing effect of ceria. The step change experiments NO/H₂ and H₂/NO gave nitrogen as a main reduction product and N₂O as a by-product. Preadsorption of NO on the catalyst surface decreased the catalyst activity in the reduction of NO with H₂. The CO oxidation transients were modeled with a mechanism which consistent of CO and O₂ adsorption and a surface reaction step. The NO reduction experiments with H₂ revealed the role of N₂O as a surface intermediate in the formation of N₂. The formation of NN bonding was assumed to take place prior to, partly prior to or totally following to the NO bond breakage. High NO coverage favors N₂O formation. Pt was shown to be more efficient than Rh for NO reduction by H₂.     

POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS OF DIESEL AND GASOLINE EXHAUST AND DNA ADDUCT DETECTION IN CALF THYMUS DNA AND LYMPHOCYTE DNA OF WORKERS EXPOSED TO DIESEL EXHAUST

Particles present in urban air pollution are mainly derived from diesel- and gasoline-fueled vehicles. Exhaust emission is able to cause several health effects in humans including mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in diesel and gasoline particulate extracts and DNA binding to CT DNA (±S9 and ±XO) was investigated. A large difference in content of 14 PAHs in diesel and gasoline extracts was observed, showing higher concentration of 14 PAHs, 6 carcinogenic PAHs, benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) in diesel than in gasoline extracts. Selected PAH standards of B[a]P, benzo[c]fluoranthene (B[c]F), and 3-nitrobenzanthrone (NBA) were used in ³²P-postlabeling/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) technique to identify CT DNA adducts formed by diesel particulate extracts. CT DNA adduct formation was higher for diesel extracts in comparison with gasoline extracts; however, no clear origin of DNA adducts derived from B[c]F-, 3-NBA-, B[a]P was detected. ³²P-postlabeling/PAGE was a useful assay for analyzing and identifying PAH-DNA adducts. Occupational exposure to particulate and volatile PAH concentrations were evaluated using personal air samples and lymphocyte DNA adducts as markers of exposure. Overall air PAH concentrations were low in all eight workplaces, consisting of 97% of vapor phase compounds. DNA adducts analyzed by ³²P-postlabeling assay were compared between the butanol and nuclease P1 enrichment procedures. Only in winter samples of exposed workers, butanol extraction revealed significantly higher adduct levels in comparison with those of control persons. No differences in adduct levels between exposed and control persons in summer were detected by using either butanol extraction or nuclease P1 treatment. Total concentrations of particulate and volatile PAHs measured in eight workplaces in winter showed a significant correlation with total DNA adducts analyzed in workers' lymphocytes (r = 0.852N = 8, p = .007).