The aim of this thesis is to evaluate different repowering alternatives from the viewpoint of increasing power production from existing offshore wind farms (OWF), as some of the first commissioned OWFs are approaching the end of their expected lifetime. The thesis presents a literature review of components and financial aspects that are of importance for repowering of OWFs. In the literature review, risks and uncertainties regarding repowering are also lifted and analysed. The thesis contains a case study on Horns Rev 1 OWF, where three different repowering scenarios are evaluated by technical and financial performance, aiming to compare the cost of repowering alternatives. The design of the case study is based around previous studies of offshore repowering having focused mainly on achieving the lowest possible levelized cost of energy (LCoE) and highest possible capacity factor, often resulting in suggested repowering utilizing smaller wind turbines than the existing ones. In order to evaluate the financial viability of repowering alternatives, the software RETScreen Expert was used to estimate the annual energy production (AEP) after losses and calculate the net present value (NPV) and LCoE for lifetime extension and full repowering utilizing different capacity wind turbines. Input values from the literature as well as real wind resource measurements from the site was utilized to achieve as accurate results as possible. The result of the case study shows that repowering of OWFs have the possibility of providing a very strong business case with all scenarios resulting in a positive NPV as well as lower LCoE than the benchmarked electricity production price. Although the initial investment cost of the different repowering alternatives presented in this thesis still are uncertain to some extent, due to the lack of reliable costs for repowering alternatives, this thesis provides a base for further research regarding the repowering of OWFs.

Type 1 diabetes affects a person’s life on many levels in terms of quality of life, health, and socioeconomic costs both for the patients but also their families. As of now there is no therapy that targets the underlying mechanism of the disease. Intralymphatic administration of Diamyd® is being evaluated in a phase IIb clinical trial, DIAGNODE-2. The aim was to examine if the intralymphatic administration is feasible for both patients and medical professionals, and to identify any aspects of the procedure that can be improved. This feasibility study is based on interviews and answers received from questionnaires. The medical professionals that were selected were radiologists and study nurses that are involved in the DIAGNODE-2 trial. The radiologists were the prime focus and were thus interviewed through face-to-face/skype or phone and answered a questionnaire. Study nurses, having more contact with the patient, answered a survey in order to gain additional insights into the patient perspective.   The results show that the radiologists has a positive view towards the administration procedure, which was described as easy and safe. According to the study nurses the patients accept the procedure and they agreed that the patients understand the injection procedure once they received the information. In terms of the emotional state of the patients they were a bit nervous, but they became calmer after receiving the first injection. Based on the above-mentioned findings the intralymphatic injection procedure is described as feasible and has the potential to become a part of the standard clinical routine.

[pt] O mercado brasileiro de energia elétrica ainda não encontrou um modelo de mercado e de formação de preço que garanta a expansão auto-sustentada da oferta. Investigando em detalhe o modelo atual de despacho da geração e formação do preço, demonstramos a sua pouca eficácia na atração de investimentos, e identificamos a causa dessa falha como sendo a miopia do modelo de despacho, uma vez os estados críticos do sistema só aprecem de forma significativa quando o sistema já estiver degradado. São estudados três modelos alternativos que modificam a função-objetivo ou a regra de formação do preço, ajustados de modo a viabilizar e tornar suficientemente atrativos os investimentos na expansão da oferta. Finalmente, estes modelos são então comparados entre si e com o modelo atual, quanto ao valor para o investidor e quanto ao custo para o sistema e para o consumidor. Um mercado é dito completo se permite aos agentes alocar livremente seus recursos e demandas quando estiverem disponíveis e/ou forem necessários e permite que os agentes condicionem estes recursos / demandas ao estado (preço) do mercado. Estas funcionalidades são implementadas através dos derivativos financeiros, negociados no mercado futuro. Neste trabalho fazemos uma análise conceitual do mercado futuro de energia elétrica, indicando a diferença em relação ao de outras commodities e apresentando um modelo da oferta e demanda por contratos futuros de energia elétrica. / [en] The Brazilian Market of Electrical Energy has not yet found a stable market and price model that ensues the feasibility and makes attractive a self-sustained investment for the expansion of electrical energy generation. Researching the current generation dispatch and spot price model, we show that it is ineffective to attract investments because the model is myopic, since the range of critical system states that is foreseen at the current state is not significant until the system is already too degraded. Stemming from this conclusion, we develop three alternative models, modifying the dispatch model objective and the price formation rule. These alternative models are tuned to make the investments in generation expansion feasible and attractive. The models are compared regarding their value to the investor and the cost to the system and to the consumer. A complete market allows the economic agents to freely allocate their resources and requirements whenever they are available and/or required. A complete market also allows conditional settlement, i.e., to condition the resource availability and/or requirement to a particular market state (price). These features are realized by financial derivatives, in the, so called, futures market. We present a conceptual analysis of the electrical energy s future market, pointing the differences to other commodities future markets that are due to economical unfeasibility of storing electricity. We also present an equilibrium model for the forward electrical energy contracts.

千年以來，人類不斷遭遇各種疫病的侵襲，流行速度更勝戰火蔓延，影響整體人類重大，然而隨著醫學知識的進步與衛生環境的改善，許多傳染病已經受到控制乃至根絕，但是生活周遭仍然面臨諸多威脅生命健康的潛藏危機，如果稍有疏失或不慎，傳染病不僅對於人體造成傷害，甚至恐將危害社會、經濟和政治層面，而近年的SARS、H1N1等流行病毒皆造成全球恐慌。 防疫工作重點在於及早掌握疫情趨勢以利制定相關因應政策，目前各國對於傳染病的掌握主要透過層層監測系統與歷史平均，藉以判斷該年特定傳染病流行與散佈程度。這些方法受到各種人為與環境因素影響，導致推估疫情成效有限之外，同時所得資料無法直接反應未來疫情，因此導致各國相關單位逐漸嘗試其他預測方法。 近年應用預測市場機制預測疫情模式引起公衛領域的重視，相關學術期刊與著名雜誌相繼介紹此一新興模式，同時肯定其在預測傳染病方面的成效與貢獻，而美國和台灣政府部門先後透過此項機制改善現有防疫體系的不足。那麼，預測市場用以預測疫情的成效是否確實如同其在眾多領域取得的成效一樣出眾？鑑於前述問題，本研究分別透過質化與量化的方式發掘公衛、醫學或流病學等其他領域對於「傳染病預測市場」是否能夠成為有效的預測機制或是成為常規的參考方法，結果證實使用的疾管局人員與參與的專業醫事人員認為「傳染病預測市場」確實可以應用於我國疫情預測的層面，但是兩者意見具有程度的差異。 / For centuries, the spread of various diseases damage countless human beings, which surpass wars in the world. Those diseases not only endanger people’s life, but also invade the other dimensions, including society, economic and politics. With the advancement of medical knowledge and the improvement of public health, many infectious diseases have been brought under control and even eradicated. But humans still face and experience threats from pandemic viruses such as SARS and H1N1 constantly. Epidemic prevention work focuses on understanding the variation of situation as soon as possible. Then governments can set up suitable decisions and policies based on epidemic situation. Though the monitoring system and the historical average are the mainstream to control the trends of infections for related departments, scientists believe that the two methods are subject to humans and environmental factors. In other words, it is difficult to draw effective information and direct response of the future trends from present methods. And it leads to national units gradually try other epidemic forecasting methods. In recent years, using prediction markets to predict flu causes the attention of public health. Thus academic journals and well-known magazines not only introduce this application but approve its effectiveness and contribution in predicting infectious diseases. The departments of US and Taiwan have tried to improve the deficiencies of the existing prevention system through prediction markets. Is this application really as successful as PM in many issues and fields? To response the question, this research intends to through qualitative and quantitative ways respectively to explore the evaluations on Epidemic Prediction Markets behind public health, medical, epidemiology, etc. The result confirms that CDC staff and health workers identify the feasibility of Epidemic Prediction Markets, but with the degree of variation.

The thesis outlined in this report has been done as a sub-project in cooperation between the municipalities Borlänge in Sweden and Chisinau in Moldova. The project aimed to explore the region's economic and environmental opportunities for waste incineration with energy recovery, also known as Waste to Energy. At present, the solution to the waste situation is unmonitored landfills with smaller sorting operations. Environmentally, this is a poor solution and although there are plans for change, no specific strategy has been presented. Another important issue is Moldova's dependence on foreign produced energy. The country's energy system is dependent on imported natural gas, and only a small part of the country's electrical energy is produced domestically. What makes the waste to energy so interesting for this region is that it contributes to an improvement in both of these issues by using the waste as fuel to reduce energy dependency. The study has been done without specific waste composition data for the Chisinau region. With this in mind a dynamic model in several steps has been made, designed to obtain new results depending on what waste composition is specified. The results of this study show that implementation of a waste incineration plant in the Chisinau energy system is economically and environmentally feasible, given the current conditions. The proposed plant is designed to annually handle 400,000 tonnes of waste, and would with the assumed waste composition deliver 560 GWh of district heat and 260 GWh of electric energy. This production provides an annual profit of 31.6 M €, which gives a positive net present value after the project amortization. Compared with the city's current solution with landfills and gas turbines, the project also provides a significant environmental improvement. During the plant's design lifetime, greenhouse gas emissions are 53.9%, and only 6.8% with the assumption that only a portion of the carbon content of the waste is of fossil origin.

No description available.

From the Proceedings of the 1978 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 14-15, 1978, Flagstaff, Arizona / As a part of the ongoing Phoenix Urban Study, Federal legislation mandates that land treatment of wastewater be seriously considered as a treatment option. Land treatment is a particularly viable alternative in the Phoenix area because in this arid desert climate, all water is a scarce and valuable resource and land treatment offers a positive opportunity for the conservation of this resource. In addition, land treatment systems are generally less expensive and have lower energy requirements than other conventional treatment processes while resulting in comparable treatment. The analysis of wastewater treatment systems for populated urban areas necessitates the preliminary investigation and comparison of a large number of alternatives to allow for a realistic engineering and economic evaluation. The site specific nature of land application adds additional variables that must be considered. A preliminary systems approach indicated that to minimize the effect of a human judgement factor between sites and yet maximize the depth of the initial analysis, computer techniques should be utilized for analysis and data storage. A summary of this analysis with appropriate cost, power usage, land requirements and other pertinent factors will be presented.

Actuellement, le diagnostic différentiel du trouble bipolaire (TB) et du trouble de personnalité limite (TPL) à l’adolescence s’avère difficile et complique le choix thérapeutique. Portant sur le TB et le TPL, ce mémoire fait le point sur la littérature scientifique adulte et adolescente, vérifie la faisabilité et présente les résultats d’une étude exploratoire portant sur les variables cliniques (instabilité émotionnelle, hostilité, impulsivité, tempraément) et le rythme veille-sommeil à l’adolescence. L’étude exploratoire comprend sept adolescents TB et huit TPL (12-17 ans), évalués par questionnaires autoadministrés pour les variables cliniques, et par actigraphie et agenda de sommeil pour le rythme veille-sommeil. Aucune différence significative n’existe entre les deux troubles pour les variables cliniques. En moyenne, les adolescents TB ont porté l'actigraphie pendant 9,9 jours et ont rempli un agenda de sommeil pendant 5,7 jours; chez les TPL, les chiffres sont respectivement 9,8 et 8,9 jours. Comparés aux TPL, les TB ont un plus grand intervalle d’éveil (p=0,035), ont un plus grand intervalle de sommeil (p>0,05), et ont une plus grand variabilité intrajournalière (p=0,04). Les données subjectives (agenda de sommeil) semblent refléter les données objectives (actigraphie) : aucune différence statistique n’est observée entre les deux mesures pour le délai d’endormissement, la durée du dernier réveil et le temps total de sommeil. La recension de la littérature montre un manque de données chez l’adolescent quant aux deux troubles. La faisabilité de l’étude est démontrée par la présence de résultats analysables. Ceci encourage la poursuite des recherches sur ces variables, afin de distinguer les deux psychopathologies à l’adolescence. / Presently, differential diagnosis between bipolar disorder (BD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adolescents remains difficult and affects therapeutic choices. This master’s thesis reviews current scientific literature, both in adults and adolescents. It examines feasibility and presents results of a study on clinical dimensions and endophenotypes in adolescent BD and BPD. Seven BD and eight BPD adolescents (12-17 years old) were evaluated by self-reported questionnaires for clinical variables (affective instability, impulsivity, hostility and temperament) and by actigraphy and sleep diary for sleep-wake circadian rhythm. No significant difference was found between BD and BPD for the clinical variables. BD adolescents wore actigraphic device for 9.9 days and completed the sleep diary for 5.7 days on average; for BPD subjects, the numbers were respectively 9.8 days and 8.9 days. Compared to BPD, BD patients had longer active interval (p=0.035), tended to sleep longer, and had more intradaily variability (p=0.04). Subjective data (sleep diary) and objective data (actigraphy) did not significantly differ on sleep onset latency, last awakening duration and total sleep time, which suggested that BD and BPD adolescents had a good estimate of their sleep patterns. Literature review showed a dearth of research done on adolescent BD and BPD. Feasibility of this study was verified, since data was successfully collected. Research on these variables should continue, so differential diagnosis can be done in adolescent BD and BPD.

The aim of this study was firstly to perform, from the existing literature, a SWOT ("Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats") analysis of the boerbok industry. Secondly, to design a case study where a number of management accounting evaluation techniques (i.e. performance measurement (short–term focus), capital investment evaluation (long–term focus) and risk have been identified to compare the financial results of different scenarios between boerbok, sheep and cattle farming. In the case study, Scenarios 1, 2 and 3 assumed a farm size of 200 hectares and capital available of R200 000, R500 000 and R900 000, respectively. Scenarios 4, 5 and 6 assumed a farm size of 500 hectares, with the same capital as the above amounts, respectively; and Scenarios 7, 8 and 9 assumed a farm size of 900 hectares, with the same capital as the above amounts, respectively. The study concluded, from the SWOT analysis, that the boergoat inherently has the potential to be an important source of red meat in future markets. The sum total of the management accounting techniques indicated that the boerbok is in general financially the best specimen choice for farming, e.g. in seven of the nine scenarios it has the highest score. The recommendation is that the user must determine which of performance (short–term), return on capital (long–term) or risk are the most important considerations before a decision is made regarding to the choice of preferred specimen. The study's recommendation is to select boerbok farming in case both short–term financial performance and long–term return on capital are the most important factors. If risk is the major consideration, cattle farming should be selected. If the overall financial analysis outlined in the study is considered, boerbok farming should be selected, followed by sheep farming. Note that these recommendations are made for specific scenarios; therefore, the general recommendation is that each decision–maker should take his/her own unique situation's variables into account in this financial analysis. The limitations of the study, which arose because a number of assumptions were made, are as follows: The results of the investigation are only valid for the Potchefstroom and surrounding areas and, carrying capacity, based on this area's average, may even differ in the area; Dosage is based on the needs of the environment as in January 2011; Buying and selling prices are as at January 2011; The input costs for livestock handling infrastructure may differ, as farming practices and approaches differ; The physical shape of the farm could have a direct impact on the fencing expenditure; Lamb and calf growth percentages may vary as a result of different farming practices and approaches; and The combination of initial capital and farm size may influence the results. As a result of these constraints (assumptions), it is very risky to generalise, but the practical value of the study is that a Microsoft Excel programme was developed, which can be used for calculations, similar to calculations in this study, which is available at the following web address: http://sites.google.com/site/rooivleisvergelyking/. Therefore, variables such as farm size, capital available, carrying capacity, costs and prices can be changed for each unique scenario, and the results will be calculated accordingly. The contribution of this study is that it supports the decision regarding the choice between the types of red meat farming for several unique scenarios, because every land user can determine which of these species are recommended according to the different management accounting evaluation techniques. The value of the study is that it is the first attempt where the viability of three species of red meat farming is compared by means of a case study with different scenarios. The gap for further research that should be done is as follows: The number of evaluation techniques can be extended to give more substance to the results; The number of species in the comparison can be extended; An analysis of the behaviour of costs between the different scenarios can be done; and The optimal combination of farm size and capital available can be determined. / Thesis (M.Com. (Management Accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The aim of this study was firstly to perform, from the existing literature, a SWOT ("Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats") analysis of the boerbok industry. Secondly, to design a case study where a number of management accounting evaluation techniques (i.e. performance measurement (short–term focus), capital investment evaluation (long–term focus) and risk have been identified to compare the financial results of different scenarios between boerbok, sheep and cattle farming. In the case study, Scenarios 1, 2 and 3 assumed a farm size of 200 hectares and capital available of R200 000, R500 000 and R900 000, respectively. Scenarios 4, 5 and 6 assumed a farm size of 500 hectares, with the same capital as the above amounts, respectively; and Scenarios 7, 8 and 9 assumed a farm size of 900 hectares, with the same capital as the above amounts, respectively. The study concluded, from the SWOT analysis, that the boergoat inherently has the potential to be an important source of red meat in future markets. The sum total of the management accounting techniques indicated that the boerbok is in general financially the best specimen choice for farming, e.g. in seven of the nine scenarios it has the highest score. The recommendation is that the user must determine which of performance (short–term), return on capital (long–term) or risk are the most important considerations before a decision is made regarding to the choice of preferred specimen. The study's recommendation is to select boerbok farming in case both short–term financial performance and long–term return on capital are the most important factors. If risk is the major consideration, cattle farming should be selected. If the overall financial analysis outlined in the study is considered, boerbok farming should be selected, followed by sheep farming. Note that these recommendations are made for specific scenarios; therefore, the general recommendation is that each decision–maker should take his/her own unique situation's variables into account in this financial analysis. The limitations of the study, which arose because a number of assumptions were made, are as follows: The results of the investigation are only valid for the Potchefstroom and surrounding areas and, carrying capacity, based on this area's average, may even differ in the area; Dosage is based on the needs of the environment as in January 2011; Buying and selling prices are as at January 2011; The input costs for livestock handling infrastructure may differ, as farming practices and approaches differ; The physical shape of the farm could have a direct impact on the fencing expenditure; Lamb and calf growth percentages may vary as a result of different farming practices and approaches; and The combination of initial capital and farm size may influence the results. As a result of these constraints (assumptions), it is very risky to generalise, but the practical value of the study is that a Microsoft Excel programme was developed, which can be used for calculations, similar to calculations in this study, which is available at the following web address: http://sites.google.com/site/rooivleisvergelyking/. Therefore, variables such as farm size, capital available, carrying capacity, costs and prices can be changed for each unique scenario, and the results will be calculated accordingly. The contribution of this study is that it supports the decision regarding the choice between the types of red meat farming for several unique scenarios, because every land user can determine which of these species are recommended according to the different management accounting evaluation techniques. The value of the study is that it is the first attempt where the viability of three species of red meat farming is compared by means of a case study with different scenarios. The gap for further research that should be done is as follows: The number of evaluation techniques can be extended to give more substance to the results; The number of species in the comparison can be extended; An analysis of the behaviour of costs between the different scenarios can be done; and The optimal combination of farm size and capital available can be determined. / Thesis (M.Com. (Management Accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.