Industrial sugar beets to biofuel: Field to fuel production system and cost estimates

Specialized varieties of sugar beets (Beta vulgaris L.) may be an eligible feedstock for advanced biofuel designation under the USA Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. These non-food industrial beets could double ethanol production per hectare compared to alternative feedstocks. A mixed-integer mathematical programming model was constructed to determine the breakeven price of ethanol produced from industrial beets, and to determine the optimal size and biorefinery location. The model, based on limited field data, evaluates Southern Plains beet production in a 3-year crop rotation, and beet harvest, transportation, and processing. The optimal strategy depends critically on several assumptions including a just-in-time harvest and delivery system that remains to be tested in field trials. Based on a wet beet to ethanol conversion rate of 110 dm³ Mg⁻¹ and capital cost of 128 M$ for a 152 dam³ y⁻¹ biorefinery, the estimated breakeven ethanol price was 507 $ m⁻³. The average breakeven production cost of corn (Zea mays L.) grain ethanol ranged from 430 to 552 $ m⁻³ based on average net corn feedstock cost of 254 and 396 $ m⁻³ in 2014 and 2013, respectively. The estimated net beet ethanol delivered cost of 207 $ m⁻³ was lower than the average net corn feedstock cost of 254–396$ m⁻³ in 2013 and 2014. If for a mature industry, the cost to process beets was equal to the cost to process corn, the beet breakeven ethanol price would be $387 m^-3 (587 $ m⁻³ gasoline equivalent).     

A bat-neural network multi-agent system (BNNMAS) for stock price prediction: Case study of DAX stock price

Creating an intelligent system that can accurately predict stock price in a robust way has always been a subject of great interest for many investors and financial analysts. Predicting future trends of financial markets is more remarkable these days especially after the recent global financial crisis. So traders who access to a powerful engine for extracting helpful information throw raw data can meet the success. In this paper we propose a new intelligent model in a multi-agent framework called bat-neural network multi-agent system (BNNMAS) to predict stock price. The model performs in a four layer multi-agent framework to predict eight years of DAX stock price in quarterly periods. The capability of BNNMAS is evaluated by applying both on fundamental and technical DAX stock price data and comparing the outcomes with the results of other methods such as genetic algorithm neural network (GANN) and some standard models like generalized regression neural network (GRNN), etc. The model tested for predicting DAX stock price a period of time that global financial crisis was faced to economics. The results show that BNNMAS significantly performs accurate and reliable, so it can be considered as a suitable tool for predicting stock price specially in a long term periods.     

Mixed coordination mechanisms for scheduling games on hierarchical machines

In this paper, we study scheduling games under mixed coordination mechanisms on hierarchical machines. The two scheduling policies involved are ‐ and ‐, where ‐ (resp., ‐) policy sequences jobs in nondecreasing order of their hierarchies, and jobs of the same hierarchy in nonincreasing (resp., nondecreasing) order of their processing times. We first show the existence of a Nash equilibrium. Then we present the price of anarchy and the price of stability for the games with social costs of minimizing the makespan and maximizing the minimum machine load. All the bounds given in this paper are tight.     

基于承包商预期收益不变的不平衡报价模型

在招标实践中,通常采用最低价中标原则,使得投标人不得不压低其投标价格。基于承包商预期收益不变的不平衡报价模型,是在“工程量清单报价”的条件下,考虑到施工中工程量的变化及施工顺序的影响,体现了资金的时间价值,在保持承包商预期收益不变的前提下,通过调整各分项工程的单价,来降低工程报价,以增加中标机会而建立的。所建立的模型简单,易于操作,并配以具体的工程实例,通过计算机求得其最优解,可供承包商投标报价时参考。     

The Application of the Theory of the Price Elasticity of Demand to the EMS Management

1　Introduction　ExpressMailService (EMS )wasopenedupbyChinaPostintheearly 80stomeettheneedsofeco nomicdevelopment.It sthemostcompetitiveoneofthepostservices.There recivilaviation ,Chinarail wayandotherprivateexpressdeliverycompaniesdomesticallyandUPS ,TNT ,DHLandTEDEXcompetingwithEMSintheinternationalmarket.OneofthemostpowerfulcompeteweaponofthesecompaniesisthelowerpricethanEMS[1 ] .BecauseofthefiercecompetitionEMSdeclinedfromthemo nopolistindomesticandinternationalmarketoftheear…     

印度尼西亚对二甲苯生产现状和发展

分析了印度尼西亚近年对二甲苯（ＰＸ）的供需情况及ＰＸ历年价格变化。指出印尼大量扩大ＰＴＡ和聚酯产能，导致ＰＸ缺口扩大，印度尼西亚将成为亚洲主要的ＰＸ进口国之一。     

国有基层水管单位困境及其出路

针对贺州地区基层水管单位存在的农业水价低、水费征收难和经济困难等现状,对基层水管单位的出路进行了一些探索,提出了一些解决对策。     

The beginning of immigrant settlement in the Helsinki metropolitan area and the role of social housing

Finland has experienced a rapid increase inimmigration since the beginning of the 1990s.Almost half of the foreign population isconcentrated in the metropolitan area of thecapital, Helsinki. The development andexplanations of their settlement patterns havenot yet been thoroughly studied. It ishypothesised in this study that social housingcan explain the settlement patterns. Indices ofdissimilarity were calculated to study thelevel and development of spatial segregation ofimmigrant groups in the Helsinki metropolitanarea in 1995–99, and the association betweenthe settlement patterns of immigrants andsocial housing was studied by regressionanalysis. Neighbourhood-level data were used.The results indicate that the Helsinkimetropolitan area has avoided extreme ethnicsegregation so far and that segregation isdecreasing. Especially immigrants from poorcountries are clearly associated with socialhousing in their settlement patterns, evenafter adjustment for socio-economic anddemographic differentiation. Also newconstruction of social housing seems to haveaffected the spatial distribution of thisgroup. Despite this dependence, the group isnot extremely segregated, which is probablybecause the social housing sector is nottotally marginalised.     

关于征地制度的思考

针对当前农村土地问题的现状．认为调整农村土地关系改革土地制度是解决当前农村问题的关键之一。介绍苏格兰土地改革的经验．提出农村土地转为非农用地的交易中国家应实行限制性措施．可尝试建立“国家失地农民账户”和“国家失地农民保障基金”．从而合理分配土地交易产生的级差收益保障失地农民的合法利益。     

冬瓜山铜矿初步设计概算编制的几点体会

简述初步设计概算重要性,结合冬瓜山铜矿概算编制的实例,总结了编制初步设计概算的几点体会。