Life Cycle Risks for Human Health: A Comparison of Petroleum Versus Bio-Based Production of Five Bulk Organic Chemicals

This article describes the development and application of a generic approach to the comparative assessment of risks related to the production of organic chemicals by petrochemical processes versus white biotechnology. White biotechnology, also referred to as industrial biotechnology, typically uses bio-based feedstocks instead of the fossil raw materials used in the petrochemical sector. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the production of chemicals by means of white biotechnology has lower conventional risks than their production by petrochemical processes. Conventional risks are the risks of well-established processes, and not those related to genetically modified microorganisms and plants. Our approach combines classical risk assessment methods (largely based on toxicology), as developed by the life cycle assessment (LCA) community, with statistics on technological disasters, accidents, and work-related illnesses. Moreover, it covers the total process chain for both petrochemical and bio-based products from cradle to grave. The approach was applied to five products: the plastics polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), and ethanol. Our results show that the conventional risks related to the white biotechnology products studied are lower than those of the petrochemical products. However, considering the uncertainties with respect to the ranges of input data, the (incomplete) coverage of emissions by the environmental priority strategies (EPS) 2000 method, and the uncertainties of the assumptions made in this study (i.e., large to very large), the differences in results between bio-based and petrochemical products fall into the uncertainty range. Because of this, future research is necessary to decrease the uncertainties before we can conclude that the conventional risks of biotechnologically produced chemicals are lower than those of fossil-fuel-derived chemicals.     

基于产品寿命次数的闭环供应链生产优化问题研究

本文研究了单一厂商制造/再制造集成系统的多期生产优化问题.首先,基于闭环供应链的全生命周期思想,通过引入产品寿命次数的概念构造了不超过产品寿命次数而能够进行再制造的回收产品与新制造产品之间的数量关系;接着,验证了将可再制造产品全部用于再制造时能够实现利润最大化的目标;然后,给出了几个有关解的性质;最后,通过算例对本文模型的性质和规律作进一步分析.     

A frame of reference for strategy development

Strategy development in today's volatile business environment demands increased management concern with fundamental issues which go beyond the balance sheet and the income statement to deal with the proper positioning of the corporation and its units to achieve long-term profitable survival. This is well understood. On the other hand, it is equally clear that management capacity—in terms of man hours of talent available—is the most important resource of any corporation and is also limited. In this article the authors set out to develop a frame of reference for analysing the corporation, its individual business and its competitors. Their objective is to provide management with the tools they need to deploy their creative entrepreneurial talent more efficiently by focusing on strategically relevant issues, using guidelines based on the ever-increasing body of research available today.     

中央财政保费补贴政策对新疆农业保险可持续发展的影响分析

文章应用计量经济学分析方法对新疆农业保险1982—2008年的赔付支出与保费收入的关系进行了实证分析。研究结果显示,中央财政保费补贴政策的实施,不仅显著促进了新疆农业保险保费收入的增长,大幅提高了农业保险的保障水平,而且显著降低了农业保险的边际赔付水平,使农业保险的平均赔付率下降,对新疆农业保险的可持续发展和实现供求平衡起到了积极的作用。     

强强联合独领风骚--记营口营龙化学纤维有限公司

当法国罗地亚公司总裁狄若飞第一次来到营口化学纤维厂时,他对厂区环境的优美震惊了,脱口而出道:这哪里是生产企业呀,简直就是一流的职工疗养院!     

Three scenarios for the future of work

After presenting a historical overview of the concept of work and the different meanings that it has acquired over the centuries, the author analyses the value it holds for Europeans, and the impact on work and employment of the popular rhetoric about a technological revolution and its “inevitable” consequences. She then considers the future of work in the light of three scenarios: a “dismantling of labour law”, a “technological revolution” (where automation brings an end to employment), and an “environmental transition”. She argues that the latter is compatible with the imperative to take action on climate change and the expectations placed in work and employment.     

Bayesian estimation of parameters of mixed geometric failure models from Type I group censored sample

The estimation problem of the parameters of a mixed geometric lifetime model, using Bayesian approach and Type I group censored sample, will be investigated in the case of two subpopulations. The Bayes estimates are derived for squared error, minimum expected, general entropy and linex loss functions under informative and diffuse priors. A practical example given by Nelson (W.B. Nelson, Hazard plotting methods for analysis of the life data with different failure models, J. Qual. Technol. 2 (1970), pp. 126–149) is considered. A simulation study is carried out along with risk.