152 research outputs found
Frog Smith
No full textGib Bergquist discusses being a "Florida Cracker" and E.A. (Ernest Archer) Frog Smith (1896-1993), who was a Fort Myers-based free-lance columnist and humorist who wrote about life in southwest Florida for over 30 years. Smith's articles appeared in The Fort Myers News-Press, The Tampa Tribune, and Railroad Magazine. Gilbert Bergquist (1924-2006) was the author of "Cracker Crumbs", a collection of Old Florida stories, who also served for several terms on the Manatee County Historical Commission
Development of a hybrid ion exchange-catalyst system to denitrify ion exchange waste brine
No full textNitrate is the most common groundwater contaminant in the United States and is regulated in drinking water by the EPA due to its harmful health impacts. Ion exchange (IX) is frequently used to treat nitrate and is very effective, but suffers from inefficiencies associated with the regeneration process. When the IX resin is saturated, it requires regeneration, which is accomplished through back-washing with a high-salt brine, which treatment plants use only one time prior to disposal. The cost of salt to make fresh brine and disposal requirements of waste brine are expensive processes for the water treatment plant. Additionally, this process merely transfers the nitrate to another phase (from resin to brine) rather than destroying it, leading to significant environmental impacts of the brine disposal process. Recently, a hybrid system that incorporates catalytic denitrification of IX waste brine has been shown to be technically feasible. Using a bimetallic palladium-indium on activated carbon catalyst, nitrate in waste brine can be selectively reduced to inert dinitrogen gas. This technology has the potential to significantly reduce the cost and environmental burden of the convention IX process for nitrate treatment.
In order to improve the hybrid-IX system, the following research objectives were pursued: (1) Using an experimental and modeling approach, determine whether the accumulation of bicarbonate and sulfate in reused waste brine will negatively impact the hybrid system performance and model key IX system variables using a case-study approach, (2) Evaluate reactor performance in continuously stirred and fixed bed reactors; and optimize a fixed bed reactor to reduce hydrogen mass transfer limitations to the catalyst surface, and (3) Evaluate selectivity of Pd-In/AC catalyst using different reactor types and matrix conditions.
A model of the IX-catalyst system was developed, calibrated and validated using experimental data. Results from modeling simulations show that concentrations of non-target ions like sulfate and bicarbonate will buildup in waste brines over repeated cycles of reuse, but this buildup will not negatively impact IX performance or lead to permanent deactivation of the Pd metal catalyst. IX columns were tested experimentally to verify the modeling results. The key IX variables evaluated using the model and case study approach based on data from Chino, CA were resin regeneration length, treatment time, and addition of make-up salt. Overall, salt costs and waste brine volumes can be decreased by up to 80% with the hybrid system. A fixed-bed catalytic reactor was used to evaluate a real brine from Chino, CA and demonstrated consistent reduction, however the overall activity was very low due to hydrogen mass transfer limitations. This led to prohibitively high predicted catalyst costs for a commercial-scale hybrid system, leading to a focus on reactor design in an attempt to reduce mass transfer limitations.
Based on its significant use in industrial catalytic applications and the known ability to facilitate high mass transfer rates, a trickle bed reactor (TBR) was chosen as the new reactor design for use in the hybrid IX-catalyst system. The 2” ID TBR with two 10” beds of catalyst and recycling flow was designed in accordance with reactor design guidelines and evaluated across a range of liquid and gas superficial velocities. Synthetic waste brines were treated with two Pd-In/AC catalysts that had different support sizes. In comparison to a previously tested up-flow fixed-bed reactor, the same catalyst in the TBR demonstrated c. 300% higher activity. While the results showed a major step forward in reactor performance, the TBR activity was only 8.3% of the activity found in batch, indicating significant mass transfer limitations remained.
The impact of catalyst dilution was evaluated in the TBR and had been previously shown to improve reactor performance. The catalyst was diluted at a ratio of 1 part catalyst : 2 parts inert support. Continuous flow experiments using the diluted TBR did not demonstrate better performance and, to the contrary, showed a significant decrease in selectivity of catalyst. The TBR with non-diluted catalyst resulted in c. 50% selectivity towards N2, which is the desired end product due to its inert nature. The TBR with 1:2 diluted catalyst resulted in selectivity of nearly 100% towards NH4+. To better understand reduction mechanisms and selectivity, a series of experiments were performed and it was found the support had no direct role in selectivity. Rather, the change in selectivity was due to high hydrogen concentrations on the catalyst surface. In the diluted catalyst bed, reactive metal surfaces were geographically dispersed, allowing more time for hydrogen mass transfer from the gas to liquid phase. This led to higher hydrogen concentrations on the catalyst surface, which altered the N:H ratio and shifted selectivity towards NH4+. In contrast, in the non-diluted catalyst bed, reactive metal surfaces are found throughout the reactor, leaving less time for hydrogen mass transfer and resulting in a lower concentration of hydrogen on each metal surface.
Overall, this thesis advanced the state of the art for a hybrid IX-catalyst system and brought the system closer to economic feasibility. The modeling and experimental approaches served to more thoroughly evaluate the system and provide focus on the remaining barriers to increased improvement. This thesis also highlighted the critical role hydrogen mass transfer played as a barrier to a significant step forward in technology development. Reactor design contributed to improvements in the catalytic system, but were unable to completely overcome mass transfer limitations thus far. The findings from this thesis supported additional research directions regarding hydrogen delivery, reactor design and techno-economic analysis.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2018-12-01The student, Allison Bergquist, accepted the attached license on 2016-11-21 at 09:50.The student, Allison Bergquist, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2016-11-21 at 10:02.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2016-11-21 at 15:55.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #10281 on 2017-02-28 at 14:36:35Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-01T16:36:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3
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Prediction With Systematically Missing Data: Methods for Health Plan Payment and Cancer Stage Classification
No full textMissing data is a common barrier in health services research and has important implications for both health plan payment policy and cancer outcomes research. This dissertation assesses two approaches for leveraging data in plan payment risk adjustment, and evaluates lung cancer stage classification algorithms and subsequently estimates survival outcomes.
Chapter one evaluates non-representative sampling in Medicare Advantage risk adjustment. Setting per-person payments based on data samples that differ nontrivially from their target populations may incorrectly characterize expected costs and create unintended adverse incentives. A propensity-score matched sample of traditional Medicare beneficiaries who resemble Medicare Advantage enrollees is used to estimate risk adjustment formulas. Matching improves balance on observables but fitting the risk adjustment formulas on a random versus a matched sample yields little difference in plan payments, suggesting that employing a random sample for risk adjustment estimation is not a large contributor to problematic selection incentives.
Chapter two proposes to break the feedback loop between insurer actions and health plan payments by transforming the data used to set payments. Data modified to reflect the researcher or policymaker’s beliefs about efficient and fair levels of spending versus observed spending levels can be used for calibrating payments. The proposed data modification approach is demonstrated in two Medicare applications and compared to two other common methods, illustrating that the “side effects” of the approaches vary by context and that data transformation is an effective tool for addressing misallocations in individual health insurance markets.
Chapter three examines using health insurance claims data to classify lung cancer stage and compares survival outcomes based on observed and predicted stage. Oncology health outcomes research has been limited by the difficulty of identifying cancer stage in claims data, and this study first demonstrates the feasibility of employing machine learning-based methods to classify early versus late stage lung cancer. This work is then extended to predicting a tripartite outcome of stages I-II, stage III, and stage IV, which is more clinically relevant due to the survival differences between these groups. The machine learning-based classification algorithms approximate the separation obtained by stratifying survival on the observed lung cancer stages.Health Polic
Valutariskhantering vid rörelseexponering : En kvantitativ studie av svenska börsföretag
No full textSAMMANFATTNING Titel: Valutariskhantering vid rörelseexponering - En kvantitativ studie av svenska börsföretag Nivå: C -uppsats i ämnet företagsekonomi. Författare: Gustaf Bergquist och Jimmy Mattsson. Handledare: Peter Lindberg. Datum: 2015 - juni. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att studera förekomsten av skillnader och likheter mellan svenska börsnoterade företags hantering av rörelseexponering mot valutarisk beroende på vilket segment de tillhör på Stockholmsbörsen. Metod: Studien är av kvantitativ natur med en deduktiv ansats. Data har samlats in genom internetbaserade enkäter som sedan har ställts mot tidigare forskning och teorier. Utfallet har sedan analyserats genom korrelationsanalys och presenteras tillsammans med resultatet. Resultat & slutsats: Studiens resultat visar på förekomsten av flertalet skillnader och likheter vad gäller hantering av valutarisk som kan kopplas till segmenttillhörighet. Den slutsats som dras i studien visar att benägenheten att skydda sig för rörelseexponering mot valutarisk och att hantera valutarisk internt är störst hos företag på Large Cap och att benägenheten att ta hjälp externt vid valutariskhantering är störst hos företag på Small Cap. Gällande förekomsten av storleksrelaterade likheter visar studien att dessa är relativt små. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Då denna studie är av kvantitativ natur skulle det i framtiden vara intressant att komplettera enkätundersökningen med intervjuer för att ge en bättre förståelse kring valutasäkringsprocessen. Ett annat potentiellt förslag till vidare forskning är att utöka antalet respondenter och förslagsvis inkludera den danska börsen som är snarlik den svenska börsen för att hitta skillnader och likheter mellan börserna. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studiens teoretiska bidrag kan bidra till att ge en djupare förståelse av fenomenet valutariskhantering där studien kan fungera som en förklaringsvariabel till utfall som är relaterade till detta område. Studiens praktiska bidrag kan ha stor relevans för mindre företag som är i uppbyggnadsfasen av sin riskhantering och därför vill veta vilka alternativ som finns vid ett beslutsfattande. Nyckelord: Valutarisk, riskhantering, rörelseexponering, valutasäkringsmetoder, skillnader och likheter, segmenttillhörighet. ABSTRACT Title: Currency risk management in operating exposure - a quantitative study of Swedish listed companies. Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration. Author: Gustaf Bergquist and Jimmy Mattsson. Supervisor: Peter Lindberg. Date: 2015 - June. Aim: The purpose of this study is to examine the existence of differences and similarities between Swedish listed companies’ management of operating exposure to currency risk, depending on segment affiliation at the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Method: This study is of quantitative nature with a deductive approach. Data have been collected through Internet based questionnaires, which later have been set against previous research and theories. The results have been analyzed through correlation- analysis and presented along with the results. Result & Conclusions: The results of the study shows that the majority of the differences and similarities in terms of managing currency risk can be linked to segment affiliation. The conclusion drawn in the study shows that the tendency to protect the company’s exposure to currency risk and to manage foreign currency risk internally are highest among companies on Large Cap and that the tendency to request help externally are greatest among companies on Small Cap. Regarding the presence of size related similarities, the study shows that these are relatively small. Suggestions for future research: It would be interesting to complement the survey with a few interviews in order to provide a better understanding regarding the hedging process. Another potential suggestion for further research is to expand the number of respondents and include the Danish Stock Exchange that is similar to the Swedish Stock Exchange in order to find differences and similarities between the two Stock exchanges. Contribution of the thesis: The theoretical contribution can help provide a deeper understanding of currency risk management and therefore serve as an explanatory variable of the outcomes related to this area. The practical contribution can have great relevance for smaller companies that are in the construction phase of its risk management and therefore want to know what options are at their disposal. Key words: Currency risk, risk management, operating exposure, hedging methods, differences and similarities, segment affiliation
Book review: archaeology and world religion
No full textThis book, Archaeology and world religion is a book compilation from 8 writers or authors. Anders Bergquist -- Bergquist, Rev. Canon Dr Anders, St Albans Cathedral, St Albans, Hertfordshire, DilipChakrabarti -- Chakrabarti, Dr Dilip, Lecturer, Department of Archaeology, Universityof Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, Robin Coningham -- Coningham, Dr Robin, Senior Lecturer, Department of ArchaeologicalSciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, Rachel Hachlili -- Hachlili, Professor Rachel, Chair of the Department of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Israel, Timothy Insoll --Insoll, Dr Timothy, Lecturer in Archaeology, School of Art History andArchaeology, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, Paul Lane -- Lane, Dr Paul, Director, British Institute in Eastern Africa, PO Box30710, Nairobi, Kenya, Rachel MacLean -- MacLean, Dr Rachel, Honorary Secretary, British Institute in EasternAfrica, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London and Mike Parker Pearson -- Parker Pearson, Dr Mike, Reader, Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield, Northgate House, West Street, Sheffield. It is the definitive text for this growing area of archaeology. The whole book can be divided to two parts, which can then be define by the survey done on each of the religions in question—Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism, and the second one is to address the important themes of ethics, gender and death
Book review archeology and world religion
No full textThis book, Archaeology and world religion is a book compilation from 8 writers or authors. Anders Bergquist -- Bergquist, Rev. Canon Dr Anders, St Albans Cathedral, St Albans, Hertfordshire, DilipChakrabarti -- Chakrabarti, Dr Dilip, Lecturer, Department of Archaeology, Universityof Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, Robin Coningham -- Coningham, Dr Robin, Senior Lecturer, Department of ArchaeologicalSciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, Rachel Hachlili -- Hachlili, Professor Rachel, Chair of the Department of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Israel, Timothy Insoll --Insoll, Dr Timothy, Lecturer in Archaeology, School of Art History andArchaeology, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, Paul Lane -- Lane, Dr Paul, Director, British Institute in Eastern Africa, PO Box30710, Nairobi, Kenya, Rachel MacLean -- MacLean, Dr Rachel, Honorary Secretary, British Institute in EasternAfrica, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London and Mike Parker Pearson -- Parker Pearson, Dr Mike, Reader, Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield, Northgate House, West Street, Sheffield. It is the definitive text for this growing area of archaeology. The whole book can be divided to two parts, which can then be define by the survey done on each of the religions in question—Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism, and the second one is to address the important themes of ethics, gender and death
The Order Hadromerida (Porifera: Demospongiae), taxonomy and relationships of the major families
No full textThesis now published as papers. Whole document restricted at the request of the author, but available by individual request, use the feedback form to request access.Despite advances of recent years no stable higher order classification of the Porifera has yet emerged. To address this problem, relationships at various taxonomic levels within the Order Hadromerida have been evaluated. Descriptions of new species of. Tethya, Aaptos and Polymastia from northern New Zealand are given in conjunction with a review and redefinition of specific diagnostic characters for these genera. A range of species, genera and families within the Hadromerida have been subjected to 18S rRNA sequencing. Using morphological and molecular sequence data together in phylogenetic analysis, the existing familial groups of the Hadromerida are confirmed and some rearrangement of genera is indicated following sequence alignment and comparison. These data serve as a baseline for molecular approaches to resolving relationships between other sponge groups
Ensuring patient privacy and accuracy of analytical methods to support evidence-based healthcare
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2021Over the past two decades, healthcare providers substantially increased their use of electronic health record (EHR) systems. EHRs are primed to become the core of the data driven healthcare system, with the potential to serve as a platform for population health analytics, predictive model development and implementation, and coordination with patients to manage their health information. However, research with EHRs introduces the risk of exposing patient records and business practices to nefarious actors. Creating infrastructure to deliver predictive methods to clinical records while protecting patient privacy is key to building a reliable healthcare analytics platform. In addition, the quality of data from these systems is not fully validated for all use cases, such as assessing population health. Validating the utility of EHRs for use as a population health platform is necessary to fully realize the vision of the data driven health system. Patient involvement in their health is essential to maximize positive patient outcomes. While many vectors exist for patients to access their health information, they are still limited in their ability to contribute to their health data. More solutions are needed to further promote patient involvement with their healthcare information. In this dissertation, I focus on three areas with four aims for building a safe, private, and accessable data analytics platform on the EHR. The aims are to: (1) Evaluate the University of Washington EHR as a generalizable public health repository; (2) Pilot a "Model to data" framework as a method to deliver predictive analytic methods to clinical records; (3) Scale the "Model to data" pipeline to host a community challenge, securely delivering outside models to EHRs; and (4) Develop a patient portal to enable patientinteraction with their health data and the return of clinically actionable research results
"Du vet inte hur otäckt det är!" : Skräck och obehag i tre av John Ajvide Lindqvists noveller
No full textThis study aims to explore how the author John Ajvide Lindqvist portrays horror and unpleasantness in three of his short stories. The stories were read closely to identify and categorize the means by which the author creates a spooky and scary atmosphere and feeling. The findings were compared to the horror genre and its properties. The main finding was that Ajvide Lindqvist uses traditional horror conventions and modernises them, for example by placing the plot in desolate locations within a more modern setting. As well as this, the author also uses foreshadowing and placement of objects that evokes an ominous feeling within the reader and uses explicit and sometimes grotesque descriptions of the human body
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