Les bassins quaternaires du Sahel central de la Tunisie : genèse et évolution des sebkhas en contexte décrochant compressif et distensif

Les études géologiques et les profils sismiques du Sahel central de la Tunisie suggèrent que la genèse et l'évolution des lagunes côtières et des sebkhas de cette région ont été contrôlés par une tectonique décrochante compressive post-villafranchienne, suivie de mouvements distensifs décrochants d'âge tyrrhénie

Quantifying the Economic Value of Vehicle-Grid Integration: A Case Study of Dynamic Pricing in the Sacramento Municipal Utility District

This study develops a stochastic-systems approach in modeling vehicle-grid integration (VGI), where load management strategies can be compared in terms of their economic value to plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) consumers and their local utility companies. The proposed methodology is demonstrated in an assessment of VGI for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) in California. Monte-Carlo simulations have been performed to randomly assign PEV charging characteristics of the households based on given statistical distributions. Consumer adoption of time-of-use (TOU) rates is modeled as an optimization problem where consumers seek the earliest PEV charge start time among the charge schedules resulting lowest cost and satisfying their transportation needs. The preliminary results show that, considering today’s grid system, the deployment of 60,000 PEVs in Sacramento Region will have significant but manageable impacts. These impacts included increasing annual peak demand by 86MWs (5%), and overloading up to 101 neighborhood transformers in the distribution system. On the other hand, adopting proper TOU rates presents a high potential for minimizing these negative impacts of widespread PEV deployment on the grid. The proposed methodology provided several improvements to the VGI modeling literature. These improvements included combining assessments for generation and distribution systems in the same model, and advancing uncertainty analysis for the PEV consumer behavior with considering real world data sets

PHEV-EV Charger Technology Assessment with an Emphasis on V2G Operation

More battery powered electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) will be introduced to the market in 2011 and beyond. Since these vehicles have large batteries that need to be charged from an external power source or directly from the grid, their batteries, charging circuits, charging stations/infrastructures, and grid interconnection issues are garnering more attention. This report summarizes information regarding the batteries used in PHEVs, different types of chargers, charging standards and circuits, and compares different topologies. Furthermore, it includes a list of vehicles that are going to be in the market soon with information on their charging and energy storage equipment. A summary of different standards governing charging circuits and charging stations concludes the report. There are several battery types that are available for PHEVs; however, the most popular ones have nickel metal hydride (NiMH) and lithium-ion (Li-ion) chemistries. The former one is being used in current hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), but the latter will be used in most of the PHEVs and EVs due to higher energy densities and higher efficiencies. The chargers can be classified based on the circuit topologies (dedicated or integrated), location of the charger (either on or off the vehicle), connection (conductive, inductive/wireless, and mechanical), electrical waveform (direct current (dc) or alternating current (ac)), and the direction of power flow (unidirectional or bidirectional). The first PHEVs typically will have dedicated, on-board, unidirectional chargers that will have conductive connections to the charging stations or wall outlets and will be charged using either dc or ac. In the near future, bidirectional chargers might also be used in these vehicles once the benefits of practical vehicle to grid applications are realized. The terms charger and charging station cause terminology confusion. To prevent misunderstandings, a more descriptive term of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) is used instead of charging station. The charger is the power conversion equipment that connects the battery to the grid or another power source, while EVSE refers to external equipment between the grid or other power source and the vehicle. EVSE might include conductors, connectors, attachment plugs, microprocessors, energy measurement devices, transformers, etc. Presently, there are more than 40 companies that are producing EVSEs. There are several standards and codes regarding conductive and inductive chargers and EVSEs from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the Underwriter Laboratories (UL), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the National Electric Code (NEC). The two main standards from SAE describe the requirements for conductive and inductive coupled chargers and the charging levels. For inductive coupled charging, three levels are specified: Level 1 (120 V and 12 A, single-phase), Level 2 (208 V-240 V and 32 A, single-phase), and Level 3 (208-600 V and 400 A, three-phase) . The standard for the conductive-coupled charger also has similar charging ratings for Levels 1 and 2, but it allows higher current ratings for Level 2 charging up to 80 A. Level 3 charging for this standard is still under development and considers dc charging instead of three-phase ac. More details in these areas and related references can be found in this Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) report on PHEV-EV charger technology assessment

Integrating Plug-in Electric Vehicles into the Grid: Policy Entrepreneurship in California

The deployment of large numbers of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), in order to satisfy zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) goals in California, brings both potential benefits and costs for the electric grid. Since early 2009, the issue of so-called vehicle-grid integration (VGI) has become a center-stage policy discussion among the electricity and transportation sectors. By conducting a policy process analysis, this research addresses the questions of how the policy process for VGI regulations has been formed in California, and what have been the major challenges in policy-making. A series of interviews were conducted between with representatives of 18 organizations from the government, electric utility, and PEV sectors. The qualitative data is analyzed under the three dimensions of policy process; problem, politics, and policy as suggested by Multiple Streams framework (Kingdon, 1995). The results show that a policy window for VGI regulations was opened for the first time by the political stream, through State Senate Bill 626 in 2009, and later, supported by the Governor’s ZEV action plan in 2012. In response, the California Public Utility Commission became a policy entrepreneur, and has adopted an incremental policy-making strategy targeting investor-owned utilities (IOUs). The two largest barriers facing an effective policy solution are identified as the complexities involved in quantifying economic value from VGI and the feasibility concerns about adopting VGI enabling technologies on the grid

Yöresel Organik Ürünlerde Üretim ve Pazarlama Problemleri

Tarımsal ürün üretim sistemlerinde kimyasal girdi kullanılmadan, tamamen doğal girdilerle yapılan ürün yetiştiriciliği organik tarım olarak adlandırılmaktadır. Artan nüfusa paralel olarak ortaya çıkabilecek gıda açığına karşı tarımsal üretimi artırmaya yönelik çeşitli uygulamalar yapılmış ve önemli gelişmeler kaydedilmiştir. Sağlıklı beslenme ve çevre sağlığı açısından oldukça önemli bir uygulama olan organik tarım üretim modeli ülkemizin birçok kırsal kesiminde yerine getirilmesine rağmen tarımsal üretimle uğraşan kişiler bu önemli ürünlerden yeterince kazanç elde edememektedirler. Bu durumun en önemli sebepleri üreticilerin ürettikleri ürün konusunda yeterince bilgi sahibi olmamaları ile ilişkili olarak üretim, işleme ve paketleme yöntemlerinin ürün kalitesi ve sağlığına uygun bir şekilde düzenlenememesi ile pazarlama imkânlarından yeterince faydalanamama gibi durumlardır. Organik tarımsal üretim açısından önemli bir potansiyele sahip olan yöresel ürünlerin uygun yöntemlerle üretilip işlenerek daha sağlıklı şartlarda tüketicilere sunulmalarının sağlanması durumunda kırsal kesimdeki tarımsal ürün yetiştiricilerinin elde edecekleri gelirde artış sağlanabileceği gibi insan ve çevre sağlığına da önemli katkılar sağlanacaktır

Efecto de la cocción óhmica seguida de un método de cocción infrarrojo sobre la oxidación de lípidos y la formación de hidrocarburos aromáticos policíclicos (HAP) de músculo de vaca

In this study, the effects of ohmic cooking alone and a consecutive application of ohmic and infrared cooking on lipid oxidation and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) formation in beef was investigated. In consecutive cooking, samples were first cooked ohmically at 40, 55 and 70 Volt for 7 minutes, then infrared cooking was applied to each side of ohmically cooked beef samples at 3 different temperatures (325, 375 and 425 °F) for 3 minutes. The thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) levels of the samples were found between 0.31 and 1.74 mg MDA/kg. Increasing the voltage level in ohmic cooking caused a significant (P < 0.05) increase in the TBARS value. In the consecutive application of ohmic and infrared cooking, infrared cooking temperature caused a significant (P < 0.05) increase in the TBARS value at the same voltage levels. In this study, working with 40 and 55 Volts for ohmic cooking alone and 40 V-325 °F, 40V-375 °F settings for ohmic-infrared cooking gave a generally acceptable threshold level for TBARS value (1 mg/kg). About 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in the cooked beef by ultra-performance liquid chromatography fluorescence detector (UPLC-FD). Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), which is the most common PAH, was detected at between 1.2514 and 1.4392 μg/kg and 4 PAH (sum of Benzo(a)pyrene, Chrysene, Benz(a)anthracene, Benz(b)fluoranthene) levels were detected at between 1.2514- 3.7844 μg/kg. The results of PAHs were reasonably below the European Commission regulation limits, which are very important and indicate that the cooking processes applied in this study are safe.En este estudio se investigaron los efectos de la cocción óhmica sola y la aplicación consecutiva de cocción óhmica e infrarroja sobre la oxidación de lípidos y la formación de hidrocarburos aromáticos policíclicos (HAP) en carne de res. En cocción consecutiva, las muestras se cocieron primero óhmicamente a 40, 55 y 70 voltios durante 7 minutos, seguidamente se aplicó una cocción infrarroja a cada lado de las muestras de carne de res cocidas óhmicamente a 3 temperaturas diferentes (325, 375 y 425 °F) durante 3 minutos. Los niveles de las sustancias reactivas al ácido tiobarbitúrico (TBARS) de las muestras se encontraron entre 0,31 y 1,74 mg de MDA/kg. Aumentar el nivel de voltaje en la cocción óhmica ocasiona un aumento significativo (

Recent Developments and Characterization Techniques in 3D printing of Corneal Stroma Tissue

Corneal stroma has a significant function in normal visual function. The corneal stroma is vulnerable because of being the thickest part of the cornea, as it can be affected easily by infections or injuries. Any problems on corneal stroma can result in blindness. Donor shortage for corneal transplantation is one of the main issues in corneal transplantation. To address this issue, the corneal tissue engineering focuses on replacing injured tissues and repairing normal functions. Currently, there are no available, engineered corneal tissues for widely accepted routine clinical treatment, but new emerging 3D printing applications are being recognized as a promising option. Recent in vitro researches revealed that the biocompatibility and regeneration possessions of 3D-printed hydrogels outperformed conventional tissue engineering approaches. The goal of this review is to highlight the current developments in the characterization of 3D cell-free and bioprinted hydrogels

Characterizing industry-academia collaborations in software engineering: evidence from 101 projects

Research collaboration between industry and academia supports improvement and innovation in industry and helps ensure the industrial relevance of academic research. However, many researchers and practitioners in the community believe that the level of joint industry-academia collaboration (IAC) projects in Software Engineering (SE) research is relatively low, creating a barrier between research and practice. The goal of the empirical study reported in this paper is to explore and characterize the state of IAC with respect to industrial needs, developed solutions, impacts of the projects and also a set of challenges, patterns and anti-patterns identified by a recent Systematic Literature Review (SLR) study. To address the above goal, we conducted an opinion survey among researchers and practitioners with respect to their experience in IAC. Our dataset includes 101 data points from IAC projects conducted in 21 different countries. Our findings include: (1) the most popular topics of the IAC projects, in the dataset, are: software testing, quality, process, and project managements; (2) over 90% of IAC projects result in at least one publication; (3) almost 50% of IACs are initiated by industry, busting the myth that industry tends to avoid IACs; and (4) 61% of the IAC projects report having a positive impact on their industrial context, while 31% report no noticeable impacts or were “not sure”. To improve this situation, we present evidence-based recommendations to increase the success of IAC projects, such as the importance of testing pilot solutions before using them in industry. This study aims to contribute to the body of evidence in the area of IAC, and benefit researchers and practitioners. Using the data and evidence presented in this paper, they can conduct more successful IAC projects in SE by being aware of the challenges and how to overcome them, by applying best practices (patterns), and by preventing anti-patterns.The authors would like to thank the researchers and practitioners who participated in this survey. João M. Fernandes was supported by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) within the Project Scope UID/CEC/00319/2013. Dietmar Pfahl was supported by the institutional research grant IUT20-55 of the Estonian Research Council. Andrea Arcuri was supported by the Research Council of Norway (grant agreement No 274385). Mika Mäntylä was partially supported by Academy of Finland grant and ITEA3 / TEKES grant

Religio-ethical discussions on organ donation among Muslims in Europe: an example of transnational Islamic bioethics

This article analyzes the religio-ethical discussions of Muslim religious scholars, which took place in Europe specifically in the UK and the Netherlands, on organ donation. After introductory notes on fatwas (Islamic religious guidelines) relevant to biomedical ethics and the socio-political context in which discussions on organ donation took place, the article studies three specific fatwas issued in Europe whose analysis has escaped the attention of modern academic researchers. In 2000 the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) issued a fatwa on organ donation. Besides this “European” fatwa, two other fatwas were issued respectively in the UK by the Muslim Law (Shariah) Council in 1995 and in the Netherlands by the Moroccan religious scholar Muṣṭafā Ben Ḥamza during a conference on “Islam and Organ Donation” held in March 2006. The three fatwas show that a great number of Muslim religious scholars permit organ donation and this holds true for donating organs to non-Muslims as well. Further, they demonstrate that transnationalism is one of the main characteristics of contemporary Islamic bioethics. In a bid to develop their own standpoints towards organ donation, Muslims living in the West rely heavily on fatwas imported from the Muslim world

De Novo Transcriptome Assembly and Comparative Analysis Elucidate Complicated Mechanism Regulating Astragalus chrysochlorus Response to Selenium Stimuli

Astragalus species are medicinal plants that are used in the world for years. Some Astragalus species are known for selenium accumulation and tolerance and one of them is Astragalus chrysochlorus, a secondary selenium accumulator. In this study, we employed Illumina deep sequencing technology for the first time to de novo assemble A. chrysochlorus transcriptome and identify the differentially expressed genes after selenate treatment. Totally, 59,656 unigenes were annotated with different databases and 53,960 unigenes were detected in NR database. Transcriptome in A. chrysochlorus is closer to Glycine max than other plant species with 43,1 percentage of similarity. Annotated unigenes were also used for gene ontology enrichment and pathway enrichment analysis. The most significant genes and pathways were ABC transporters, plant pathogen interaction, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and carbohydrate metabolism. Our results will help to enlighten the selenium accumulation and tolerance mechanisms, respectively in plants