scholarly journals A meta-barcoding census of freshwater planktonic protists in Appalachia – Natural Tunnel State Park, Virginia, USA

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bruce Cahoon ◽  
Ashley G. Huffman ◽  
Megan M. Krager ◽  
Roseanna M. Crowell
Keyword(s):  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Microbial Eukaryotes ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Family Level ◽  
High Throughput Dna Sequencing ◽  
Scott County ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Bodies Of Water ◽  
Tunnel State

The purpose of our study was to survey the freshwater planktonic protists within an inland natural preserve in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province of the Appalachian Region using metabarcoding. Microbial eukaryotes are essential primary producers and predators in small freshwater ecosystems, yet they are often overlooked due to the difficulty of identification. This has been remedied, in part, by the cost reduction of high throughput DNA sequencing and the growth of barcode databases, making the identification and analysis of microorganisms by way of metabarcoding surveys in complex ecosystems increasingly feasible. Water samples were collected from five sites at the Natural Tunnel State Park in Scott County, VA (USA), representing three common bodies of water found in this region. Samples were initially collected during a Bioblitz event in April 2016 and then seven and fourteen weeks afterwards. Metabarcode analysis of the 23S and 18S genes identified 3663 OTUs representing 213 family level and 332 genus level taxa. This study provides an initial barcode census within a region that has a reputation as a temperate biodiversity “hotspot”. The overall protist diversity was comparably high to other temperate systems, but not unusually high; the microalgal diversity, however, was higher than that reported for other temperate regions. The three types of water bodies had their own distinctive protist biomes despite close proximity.

Implementasi Analisis Proses Bisnis Sebagai Upaya Pengurangan Biaya

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Aniek Wijayanti
Keyword(s):  
Business Process ◽  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Process Analysis ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Natural Material ◽  
Management Activity ◽  
Procurement Process ◽  
Material Procurement ◽  
The Cost

Business Process Analysis can be used to eliminate or reduce a waste cost caused by non value added activities that exist in a process. This research aims at evaluating activities carried out in the natural material procurement process in the PT XYZ, calculating the effectiveness of the process cycle, finding a way to improve the process management, and calculating the cost reduction that can achieved by activity management. A case study was the approach of this research. The researcher obtained research data throughout deep interviews with the staff who directly involved in the process, observation, and documentation of natural material procurement. The result of this study show that the effectiveness of the process cycle of natural material procurement in the factory reached as much as 87,1% for the sand material and 72% for the crushed stone. This indicates that the process still carry activities with no added value and still contain ineffective costs. Through the Business Process Mechanism, these non value added activities can be managed so that the process cycle becomes more efficient and cost effectiveness is achieved. The result of the effective cycle calculation after the management activities implementation is 100%. This means that the cost of natural material procurement process has become effective. The result of calculation of the estimated cost reduction as a result of management activity is as much as Rp249.026.635,90 per year.

ANALISIS PENGARUH BIAYA OPERASIONAL PADA PERUSAHAAN PENERBANGAN NASIONAL

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-107
Author(s):  
Dheny Biantara
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Cost Efficiency ◽  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Cost Leadership ◽  
Oil Pricing ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Operation Flexibility ◽  
Airline Maintenance

Summarized Indonesian airline executive views on the reason for the cost problem in mayor airline andon the potential areas and measures of cost reduction in airline operation. Present an introductionsurvey where 3 executives from 3 Indonesian airlines were respondent. In the executive opinion the costproblem in mayor Indonesian airline is primarily due to fuel and oil pricing and money currency. Of thevarious function in airline maintenance was seen as least cost efficiency, whereas flight operation wasseen as an area with most potential for cost reduction. Indonesian airline had made route and fleetchanges after the beginning of 2011 to reduce cost, concludes from the analisys result havingprivatization would be an important step towards more efficient airline operation. Flexibility fromIndonesian airline regulatory would be very much welcome and the value chain concept to improveIndonesian airline having competitive adventage and cost leadership differentiation.

Recent advances in the technologies of connection for panel structures: Design and cost analysis of different solutions with X-shaped dissipative connectors

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-315
Author(s):  
Massimo Latour
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Design Criterion ◽  
Classical Solutions ◽  
Finite Element Analyses ◽  
Seismic Damper ◽  
Classical Systems ◽  
Cyclic Behaviour ◽  
Energy Dissipation Capacity ◽  
The Cost

In this work, a recently patented seismic damper to be applied to structures composed by systems of panels is presented. In particular, the article is devoted to characterize the behaviour of the proposed connector by means of an experimental and numerical analysis and to provide some information about the cost of the elements needed to realize the damper, accounting for the manufacturing process. The experimental analysis has regarded five specimens tested under different loading conditions, and it has been used as a term of comparison with the classical systems of connection currently employed in these structures. Afterwards, in the article, a design criterion able to control the capacity and ductility of the device by simply varying the shape of the damper is presented and its accuracy is evaluated by performing finite element analyses. The results of the experimental and finite element analyses are very promising in terms of cyclic behaviour and energy dissipation capacity and reveal that the design of the element can be accurately controlled by means of the proposed approach. Furthermore, the cost estimate has revealed that the proposed damper is also cheaper than the classical solutions with a cost reduction of about 40%.

Reforming Teacher Pension Plans: The Case of Kansas, the 1st Teacher Cash Balance Plan

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-48
Author(s):  
Robert M. Costrell
Keyword(s):  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Pension Plans ◽  
Average Salary ◽  
Cash Balance ◽  
Surface Appearance ◽  
Risky Assets ◽  
Retirement Accounts ◽  
Employer Contribution ◽  
Loaded Structure ◽  
The Cost

Abstract The ongoing crisis in teacher pension funding has led states to consider various reforms in plan design, to replace the traditional benefit formulas, based on years of service and final average salary (FAS). One such design is a cash balance (CB) plan, long deployed in the private sector, and increasingly considered, but rarely yet adopted for teachers. Such plans are structured with individual 401(k)-type retirement accounts, but with guaranteed returns. In this paper I examine how the nation's first CB plan for teachers, in Kansas, has played out for system costs, and the level and distribution of individual benefits, compared to the FAS plan it replaced. My key findings are: (1) employer-funded benefits were modestly reduced, despite the surface appearance of more generous employer contribution matches; (2) more importantly, the cost of the pension guarantee, which is off-the-books under standard actuarial accounting, was reduced quite substantially. In addition, benefits are more equitably distributed between short termers and career teachers than under the back-loaded structure of benefits characteristic of FAS plans. The key to the plan's cost reduction is that the guaranteed return approximates a low-risk market return, considerably lower than the assumed return on risky assets.

scholarly journals Comparative economics of cashew nut kernel processing technology in Bastar region of India

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-172
Author(s):  
Praveen Kumar Verma ◽  
SK Nag ◽  
SK Patil
Keyword(s):  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Economic Viability ◽  
Working Capital ◽  
Cashew Nut ◽  
Net Profit ◽  
Cost Benefit Ratio ◽  
Comparative Economics ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Improved Technology

The paper has studied the economic viability of improved technology (Introduced under NAIP component-3) for extraction of cashew kernel from cashew nut in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, India. Cost concept has been used to calculate economics of cashew kernel. The technology (Boiling, steaming, cutting, drying, and peeling) has been found viable over conventional practices (Traditional manual separation by stone or hammer) on account of higher recovery of 40 percent and cost reduction by 29.71 percent. Overall net profit per unit (One unit includes one boiler, one steamer, two cutter, one dryer, six peelers and cost of land, depreciation and interest on working capital) in the case of improved technology has been estimated to be Rs 7.32 lakh. Cost of production in machine extraction practices was 202.80 Rupees per kilogram of cashew in spite of traditionally practiced 288.56 Rupees per kilogram. The cost benefit ratio was found higher in machine extraction (1.57) as compare to traditionally practiced (0.169). The mechanical decortications and separation could not only save time and money, also reduced women drudgery (due to manual breaking by stone or hammer to separate kernel). The technology has been found suitable for promotion of entrepreneurship on the processing of cashew kernel from cashew nut in the production catchments which otherwise is not properly utilized. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjar.v39i1.20166 Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 39(1): 165-172, March 2014

scholarly journals Lymnaea rupestris sp. n. from Southern Brazil (Pulmonata: Lymnaeidae)

1982 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Lobato Paraense
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
British Museum ◽  
South American ◽  
University Of Michigan ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Nidamental Gland ◽  
Basal Half ◽  
Wet Rocks ◽  
Deep Suture ◽  
Bodies Of Water

A new species of South American lymnaeid snail, Lymnaea rupestris, is described. So far it has been found only in its type-locality, Nova TeuTõnia, a village in the municipality of Seara (27° 07' S, 52° 17' W), state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. It is distinguishable, by characteristics of the shell and internal organs, from the other two lymnaeid species known to occur in the area, Lymnaea columella and L. viatrix. Its shell has 4 markedly shouldered whorls, deep suture, ovoid or rounded aperture occupying about half the length of the shell, and reaches about 6 mm in length in adults; in columella and viatrix the shell has 4-5 rounded whorls, shallow suture, and reaches over 10 mm in adults; the aperture is ovoid, occupying about half the length of the shell in viatrix, about two thirds in columella. Anatomically it is readily separated from L. columella by the shape of the ureter, straight in rupestris, with a double flexure in columella. Comparison with L. viatrix shows the following main differences: distalmost portion of the oviduct with a low, caplike lateral swelling in rupestris, with a well-developed pouch in viatrix; uterus bent abruptly caudalward in rupestris, only slightly curved rightward in viatrix; basal half of the spermathecal duct hidden by the prostate in rupestris, wholly visible or nearly so in viatrix; spermiduct sinuous and uniformly wide in rupestris, straight and gradually narrowing in viatrix; prostate more than half as long and nearly as wide as the nidamental gland, and with a slit-like lumen in cross-section in rupestris, less than half as long as and much narrower than the nidamental gland, and with an inward fold in cross-section in viatrix; penial sheath about as long and as wide as the prepuce in rupesris, shorter and narrower than the prepuce in viatrix. An important ecological characteristic of L. rupestris is its habitat on wet rocks most often outside bodies of water, although in close proximity to them. Specimens were deposited in the following malacological collections: Instituto OswaldoCruz, Rio de Janeiro; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia; Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan; and British Museum (Natural History).

scholarly journals Economic consequences to society of pandemic H1N1 influenza 2009 – preliminary results for Sweden

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (37) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Brouwers ◽  
B Cakici ◽  
M Camitz ◽  
A Tegnell ◽  
M Boman
Keyword(s):  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Pandemic H1n1 ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Pandemic H1n1 Influenza ◽  
Swedish Society ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Death Cases

Experiments using a microsimulation platform show that vaccination against pandemic H1N1 influenza is highly cost-effective. Swedish society may reduce the costs of pandemic by about SEK 2.5 billion (approximately EUR 250 million) if at least 60 per cent of the population is vaccinated, even if costs related to death cases are excluded. The cost reduction primarily results from reduced absenteeism. These results are preliminary and based on comprehensive assumptions about the infectiousness and morbidity of the pandemic, which are uncertain in the current situation.

scholarly journals Why the Concept of Private Demand for Innovations Should Be Understand: The case of ex-YU countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Slagjana Stojanovska ◽  
Violeta Madzova ◽  
Biljana Gjozinska
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Assessment ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Global Competitiveness ◽  
Innovation Culture ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Innovative Products ◽  
Private Demand ◽  
Key Indicators ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Global Competitiveness Report

This paper aims to provide a comparative analysis of private demand for innovation in the context of the ex-YU countries such as Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia from 2011 to 2016. One key variable for the importance of demand for innovation is the buyer sophistication. This signals the ability of buyers to select products and services based on performance rather than price and to bear the cost of products at the beginning of the life cycle. The companies that face a sophisticated domestic market are likely to sell high quality products and a close proximity to such consumers should to enables the company to better understand the needs and desires of the customers and how they perceive the value of the product. For cultural or historical reasons, buyers may be more demanding in some countries than in others. Hence, оur start point is that “higher degrees of buyer sophistication can to explain higher shares of innovative sales” (Hollanders and Es-Sadki, 2017, p. 42) and opposite “lower shares of innovative sales could to explain lower degrees of buyer sophistication” in the above countries. Thus, our analysis relies on two key indicators, the “buyer sophistication” and the “sales of new-to-market and new-to-firm product innovations”, which are including, the first in the Global Competitiveness Report and the second, in the European Innovation Scoreboard. Looking at the results, it can be noted that Serbia has a big gap between the two indicators, so the extent of buyer sophistication is lower from the extent of innovative sales. Аs business leaders make a subjective assessment of the GCR’s indicator Buyer sophistication, it can be assumed that Serbian business leaders assess the sophistication of domestic customers much lower than it is. This example is somewhat similar to the Slovenian business leaders. These two countries achieve the same level of sales of innovative products, while Macedonia and Croatia are in the same group and have lower sales of innovative products. This finding calls for demand-oriented policies which would have to influence the innovation culture in the market, making buyers more risk taking, aware of innovations and empower them to buy and use them.

scholarly journals Breaking the problem into pieces: pre-clustering on-the-fly with the NGLMS

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Farrow
Keyword(s):  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Linked Data ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Transitive Closure ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Quality Analysis ◽  
Clustering Techniques ◽  
Computationally Intensive ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Manual Review

ABSTRACT ObjectivesThe SA.NT DataLink Next Generation Linkage Management System (NGLMS) stores linked data in the form of a graph (in the computer science sense) comprised of nodes (records) and edges (record relationships or similarities). This permits efficient pre-clustering techniques based on transitive closure to form groups of records which relate to the same individual (or other selection criteria). ApproachOnly information known (or at least highly likely) to be relevant is extracted from the graph as superclusters. This operation is computationally inexpensive when the underlying information is stored as a graph and may be able to be done on-the-fly for typical clusters. More computationally intensive analysis and/or further clustering may then be performed on this smaller subgraph. Canopy clustering and using blocking used to reduce pairwise comparisons are expressions of the same type of approach. ResultsSubclusters for manual review based on transitive closure are typically computationally inexpensive enough to extract from the NGLMS that they are extracted on-demand during manual clerical review activities. There is no necessity to pre-calculate these clusters. Once extracted further analysis is undertaken on these smaller data groupings for visualisation and presentation for review and quality analysis. More computationally expensive techniques can be used at this point to prepare data for visualisation or provide hints to manual reviewers. 
Extracting high-recall groups of data records for review but providing them to reviews grouped further into high precision groups as the result of a second pass has resulted in a reduction of the time taken for clerical reviewers at SANT DataLink to manual review a group by 30–40%. The reviewers are able to manipulate whole groups of related records at once rather than individual records. ConclusionPre-clustering reduces the computational cost associated with higher order clustering and analysis algorithms. Algorithms which scale by n^2 (or more) are typical in comparison scenarios. By breaking the problem into pieces the computational cost can be reduced. Typically breaking a problem into many pieces reduces the cost in proportion to the number of pieces the problem can be broken into. This cost reduction can make techniques possible which would otherwise be computationally prohibitive.

Cost Comparison of Panel Level and Wafer Level Fan-out Packaging

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (DPC) ◽  
pp. 000141-000164
Author(s):  
Amy Lujan
Keyword(s):  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Cost Comparison ◽  
Cost Modeling ◽  
Cost Models ◽  
Wafer Level ◽  
Process Flow ◽  
Total Cost ◽  
Large Panels ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

In recent years, the possibility of panels replacing wafers in some fan-out applications has been a topic of interest. Questions of cost and yield continue to arise even as the industry appears to be full steam ahead. While large panels allow for more packages to be produced at once, the cost does not scale simply based on how many more packages can be generated from a panel over a wafer. This analysis begins by breaking down the types of cost and will discuss how those types of cost are impacted (or not) by the shift from wafer to panel. Activity based cost modeling is used; this is a detailed, bottom-up approach that takes into account each type of cost for each activity in a process flow. Two complete cost models were constructed for this analysis. A variety of package sizes are analyzed, and multiple panel sizes are included as well. For each set of activities in the fan-out process flow, there is an explanation of how the process changes with the move to panel, including assumptions related to throughput, equipment price, and materials. The cost reduction that may be achieved at each package and panel size will be presented for each processing segment. The focus of this analysis is on the details of each segment of the process flow, but results for the total cost of various packages will also be presented. There is also a section of analysis related to the impact of yield on the competitiveness of panel processing.

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