We explored the application of Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound (LIPUS) technology to improve the metabolic activity of microorganisms. In this study we showed that LIPUS improves bio-ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. We determined specific LIPUS conditions to increase the...

Housing Provident Fund (HPF), a compulsory saving scheme providing self-funded housing credit, is a significant provider of housing finance in several emerging economies. The Chinese HPF program constitutes the largest social housing finance program in the world. Yet, very few studies have...

A number of recent papers examine the relationship between default risk and equity returns, and the results are mixed. These studies employ different measures of default risk and we find that correlations between eight diverse measures of default risk tend to be less than 50%. Nonetheless, we...

This paper analyses the dynamics of the duration of housing allowance claims in Sweden during the period 1991 to 2002. The central concern in this paper is whether the Swedish housing allowance system creates dependence on welfare. Using longitudinal data from Swedish micro-database LINDA, this...

Supersaturated design (SSD) has received much interest because of its potential in factor screening experiments. Most studies focused mainly on balanced designs. This paper considers SSDs with general run sizes. The lower bounds of the [chi]2 proposed by [Yamada, S., Lin, D.K.J., 1999....

This article investigates the accuracy of approximations for distributions of two-dimensional discrete scan statistics. A product-type approximation, a Bonferroni-type inequality, two Poisson approximations and a compound Poisson approximation are studied. A simulation study is presented to...

When consumers consider their feelings about a future purchase, these feelings can influence their preferences for the product under consideration and alter their final purchase decision. This research identifies the effect of anticipating regret on consumer preferences for a product that is a...

The ‘sandwich class’ is an East Asian term referring to the lower middle class. Using a large and unique micro dataset collected in Guangzhou, this paper examines empirically the potential determinants of housing affordability of the ‘sandwich class’. It is found that...

The development of the housing market in the People's Republic of China is not only a major component of Chinese economic growth but also has wide-ranging influential impacts on Chinese society. A burgeoning number of papers have examined the housing market in the postreform People's Republic of...