Some Preliminary Modeling Issues

Some Preliminary Modeling Issues 3.2.1 Two Critical Tasks... 

Although there are several books on distillation in general where batch distillation is only briefly introduced, there is only one book currently available in the market that is solely dedicated to Batch Distillation. It addresses some of the issues mentioned above using short-cut methods, simplified models and Maximum Principle based optimisation techniques and therefore is a good book to start with for the undergraduate students and for the practitioners in process engineering whose interests lie in the basics of batch distillation and in the preliminary design of batch distillation columns and operations. 

In chapter 2 of the companion volume to this book in the boxed-set library, Corporate Bonds and Structured Financial Products, we introduced the concept of the yield curve, and reviewed some preliminary issues concerning both the shape of the curve and to what extent the curve could be used to infer the shape and level of the yield curve in the future. We do not know what interest rates will be in the future, but given a set of zero-coupon (spot) rates today we can estimate the future level of forward rates using a yield curve model. In many cases however we do not have a zero-coupon curve to begin with, so it then becomes necessary to derive the spot yield curve from the yields of coupon bonds, which one can observe readily in the market. If a market only trades short-dated debt instruments, then it will be possible to construct a short-dated spot curve. 

Preliminary results from case reports, case series, and open and increasingly better controlled trials have found TMS to be effective in the treatment of depression. TMS, antidepressants, and ECS appear to induce similar effects in animal behavioral models of depression and changes in brain neurochemical activity. These include changes in the forced swim test, increase in seizure threshold, and effects on b-noradrenergic receptor downregulation. Whereas seizures appear unnecessary to achieve clinical benefit with TMS, it is still unclear what aspects are beneficial. As noted earlier, although this modality is associated with some complications (e.g., headaches and, rarely, inadvertent seizure) relative to ECT and perhaps even pharmacotherapy under certain situations, it appears to be quite safe. Future studies of major depression should explore TMS-related issues such as the following ... 

---