Chapter 11 Simulation studies of efficiency,returns to scale and misspecification with nonlinear functions in DEA

Using statistically designed experiments, 12,500 observations are generated from a 4-pieced Cobb-Douglas function exhibiting increasing and decreasing returns to scale in its different pieces. Performances of DEA and frontier regressions represented by COLS (Corrected Ordinary Least Squares) are compared at sample sizes ofn=50, 100, 150 and 200. Statistical consistency is exhibited, with performances improving as sample sizes increase. Both DEA and COLS generally give good results at all sample sizes. In evaluating efficiency, DEA generally shows superior performance, with BCC models being best (except at corner points), followed by the CCR model and then by COLS, with log-linear regressions performing better than their translog counterparts at almost all sample sizes. Because of the need to consider locally varying behavior, only the CCR and translog models are used for returns to scale, with CCR being the better performer. An additional set of 7,500 observations were generated under conditions that made it possible to compare efficiency evaluations in the presence of collinearity and with model misspecification in the form of added and omitted variables. Results were similar to the larger experiment: the BCC model is the best performer. However, COLS exhibited surprisingly good performances — which suggests that COLS may have previously unidentified robustness properties — while the CCR model is the poorest performer when one of the variables used to generate the observations is omitted.     

Chapter 15 DEA/AR analysis of the 1988–1989 performance of the Nanjing textiles corporation

This article employs new data envelopment analysis/assurance region (DEA/AR) methods to evaluate the efficiency of the 35 textile factories of the Nanjing Textiles Corporation (NTC), Nanjing, China. The returns to scale (RTS) of these factories were studied without assuming that the optimal DEA solutions were unique. All DMUs are identified with pointsE (Extreme Efficient),E (Efficient but not an extreme point) andF (Frontier but not efficient). We then further identify the nonfrontier DMUs with pointsNE, NE andNF according to whether they are projected onto a point inE, E, orF en route to evaluating their performances. All of the inefficient factories were in classNF and had unique optimal primal-dual solution pairs. Consequently, the solution pairs satisfy the strong complementary slackness condition (SCSC). Application of cone-ratio (CR) ARs reduced significantly the number of factories in classE, and showed that some AR-efficient factories were more flexible in adopting the mixture of central planning and market economies that China currently is trying to use. Also, linked-cone (LC) ARs were applied to measure maximum and minimum profit ratios. The SCSC multiplier space approach was utilized to analyze the sensitivity of the efficiency results to potential errors in the data with and without ARs. The results in this article suggest that collective units had a better performance than state-owned units in the two consecutive years analyzed.This paper was written while the author was at the School of Economics and Management, Southeast University, Nanjing 210018, P.R. China.     

Ionization constants for deuterium oxide in deuterium oxide-organic mixtures

A potentiometric method using a glass electrode has been applied to determination of ionization constants for deuterium oxide (D₂O) in binary mixtures of D₂O with dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, acetone, dimethylsulfoxide, CH₃CH₂OD, and CH₃OD at 25°C. The results are compared with values of ionization constants for H₂O obtained previously in the corresponding H₂O-organic mixtures, and the isotope effect is shown to be small. Further calculations with the D₂O results show that the first five solvents mentioned above are neither appreciably acidic nor basic in D₂O solution, but that CH₃OD shows slightly acidic behavior (pK_a=16.0±0.3).     

负载型贵金属催化剂的硫中毒机理——载体的酸碱性与催化剂抗硫性能的关系

以H_2S为毒物,H_2-O_2反应为催化模型反应,制备并考察了一系列不同酸碱性的负载型钯催化剂。以NH_3和吡啶为探针分子,用程序升温脱附(TPD)或红外光谱法测定了催化剂的酸碱性。用交替脉冲微反色谱技术评价了催化剂的活性和耐硫中毒性,并对催化剂的耐硫性能和载体酸碱性进行关联和解释。在以上研究基础上,指出了提高催化剂抗硫性能的途径。     

减压蜡油缓和加氢裂化催化剂酸性研究

用热重原位氨吸附－程序升温脱附及氨吸附－差热法考察了含分子筛缓和加氢裂化催化剂的载体、活性金属组分及催化剂本身的酸性。发现载体的总酸量是其分子筛含量的线性函数。载体担载上Ｎｉ、Ｗ活性组分后，可不同程度的引起催化剂的酸性变化。催化剂中分子筛含量增加除提高其加氢裂化活性外，还可增加它的ＶＧＯ加氢脱氮及加氢脱芳烃的活性，但会引起中馏份选择性的下降。催化剂的酸性可通过载体的分子筛含量、类型及分子筛改性加以调节。     

The effectiveness of solvents as hydrogen bond donors

Taft and Kamlet's -scale of solvent hydrogen bond donation ability is reexamined with regard to its correlations with three widely used polarity scales: Dimroth and Reichardt's E _T (30), Kosower's Z and Mayer's A _N , as well as with the _m values of the solvents when present as monomeric solutes. The correlation with E _T serves to extend the solvent -scale according to the expression:

Acid activated montmorillonite and vermiculite clays as dehydration and cracking catalysts

Treatment of montmorillonite and vermiculite with hydrochloric acid results in an overall increase in acidity and acidic sites. IR and DSC studies of base adsorbed catalysts have revealed the heterogeneity of surface acidity on the activated catalysts. Clay catalysts have been found to dehydrate 1-butanol to 1-butene, which directly isomerizes tocis- andtrans-2-butenes, confirming the presence of Lewis and Brönsted acid sites. Cumene cracking studies using the clay catalyst also confirm the presence of Brönsted acid sites. The temperature and concentration of acid have been found to have a significant influence on the catalytic activity.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Dual Acidic Ionic Liquids

Novel ionic liquids with dual acidity, of which the cation contains Brφnsted acidity and anions contain Lewis acidity were synthesized. These ionic liquids obtained were identified by NMR, FF-IR, SDT and FAB-MS. Their acidities were determined by pyridine probe on IR spectrography.     

Thermodynamics of Dipeptides in Water. Influence of the hydrophobic forces of the side-chains on the dissociation processes for some series of dipeptides

A calorimetric study has been carried out on the dissociation processes in water of both the free α-amino group belonging to the amino terminal residue and the free α-carboxyl groups belonging to the carboxyl terminal residue for a series having phenylalanine as the first common term. These thermodynamic quantities have been compared with those of the proton dissociation processes related to the same groups of the corresponding singleα-amino acids. The dissociation process values of this series have also been considered in connection with those obtained from others series of dipeptides previously studied, in an effort to compare the alkyl groups and benzene ring hydrophobic effects on the salvation processes of the zwitterions, undissociated molecules and ionic forms. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Solvatochromism and prototropism of diaminodiphenyl sulphones and 2-aminodiphenyl sulphone: a comparative study by electronic spectra

A comparative study of absorption and fluorescence maxima of 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulphone (4DADPS), 3,3′-diaminodiphenyl sulphone (3DADPS) and 2-aminodiphenyl sulphone (2ADPS) in different solvents reveals that (i) solvatochromic shifts are found to be mainly due to interaction of solvents with amino group, (ii) in any one solvent the net solvatochromic shifts of two amino groups are less than that of one amino group, (iii) fluorescence shift from cyclohexane to water is a maximum for 4DADPS and a minimum for 2ADPS and (iv) 4DADPS and 3DADPS possess more twisted intramolecular charge transfer character than 2ADPS. The excited-state acidity constants, determined by fluorimetric titration and Förster cycle methods, have been reported and discussed.