Development of an environmental and economic optimization model for distributed generation energy systems

The reduction of pollutant emissions is one of the current main targets fixed by the most important international authorities. The reduction of the energy needs in the residential-tertiary sector can help achieving this goal, as it represents one of the dominant energy consuming sectors in industrialized societies. However the adoption of an energy system still depend on technical and economical evaluations, while environmental considerations are not taken into consideration yet. For this reason, a development of a tool for the selection of an energy system which allows the reduction of the overall costs containing in the meanwhile the pollutant emissions could help reaching the environmental targets. The thesis proposes a methodology for the Multiobjective optimization of a Dis- tributed Generation Energy System. Such a system is normally constituted by several users connected to each other and to a central unit through a District Heating Network. Furthermore, each unit can be equipped with an internal production unit for the production of its energy needs. Therefore, the determination of the optimal energy system requires the simultaneous optimization of the synthesis, design and operation of the whole energy system. The total annual cost for owning, operating and maintaining the whole system is considered as economic objective function, while the total annual operation CO2 emissions is considered as environmental objective function. An optimization MILP model for the optimization of tertiary sector Distributed Generation Energy Systems is developed and is applied to a real case study, made up of nine tertiary sector users located in a small town city center situated in the North-East of Italy. A preliminary energy audit allowed the determination of the users\u2019 energy needs. The energy system is optimized for different configurations in order to understand how different components affect the optimal solution

Immature granulocyte count on the new Sysmex XN-9000: performance and diagnosis of sepsis in the intensive care unit

Introduction. The amount of immature leukocytes reflects marrow response to bacterial infection, and this may be quantified as the band or immature granulocyte (IG) count. The aim of this study was to analyze the IG count performance of the Sysmex XN-9000 hematology analyzer in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods. 480 peripheral blood samples from adult patients admitted to the ICU (301 control, 119 sepsis and 60 septic shock) were analyzed with Sysmex XN-9000. Serum C reactive protein (CRP) was measured on Siemens ADVIA 2400. IG count in peripheral blood was determined either by XN-9000 or optical microscopy (OM). Agreement between the two methods was assessed with Pearson’s correlation, Passing-Bablok regression and Bland Altman bias. Diagnostic accuracy was estimated through ROC curves analysis. Sysmex XN-9000 imprecision and within-run precision were also evaluated. Results. Pearson’s correlation (r) relative to IG count, as absolute and percentage values, was 0.89 (p <0.0001) and 0.74 (p <0.0001), respectively, with a Bias of 0.22 and 1.69 respectively. The Area Under the curve (AUC) for the IG count for diagnosing sepsis was greater on XN-9000 than OM and equal to the serum CRP. The diagnostic accuracy of IG counts improves when taking into account the conventional criteria for diagnosing sepsis. Conclusion. IG count appears suitable and reliable when performed using XN-9000. Even if a modest overestimation was found, the diagnostic accuracy showed by IG analysis on XN-9000 may represent a valid alternative to OM count for diagnosing sepsis in ICU patients

Evolution of the automobile industry in MERCOSUR : trends and strategic moves of TNCs in the region

Siirretty Doriast

Ultrasound-assisted lipolysis of the omentum in dwarf pigs.

Successful surgical treatment of medium degree obesity by subcutaneous liposuction has been reported in the literature. In obesity, most adipose tissue is visceral, mainly omental, and the resection of omentum is a mutilating procedure for the intestinal tract. Because of this, we planned to reduce omental adipose tissue by an apparently conservative approach: ultrasound-assisted lipolysis. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and safety of this procedure in an animal experimental model, drawing clinical and autoptic patterns. We chose pigs because they are functionally analogous to humans, although they store less fat in the omentum, whose structure looks like a veil. Four male dwarf pigs were fed, since weaning, with hyperlipidic fodder. When they were eight months old, they were operated on under general anesthesia in our laboratory for experimental surgery. After laparotomy, the omentum was delivered and treated with ultrasound for 1 hour. Before and just after the sonication, biopsies were drawn from omentum and processed for histologic findings. After 50 days, the surviving animals were sacrificed and autopsied; specimens from omentum, liver, and spleen were histologically processed. Two animals died during the operation, while the two surviving animals were in good general condition. Macro and microscopic observations demonstrated that the ultrasound can liquefy omental fat, sparing its fibrous network in the immediate time; during the postoperative period, an intense inflammatory reaction developed; macroscopic observation evidenced fibrous adhesions of the omentum to the surrounding organs; the connective tissue network was thickened and the whole omentum was twisted on itself. The high mortality rate could be due either to the surgical learning curve or to casualty or to lethal effects of ultrasound on the cardiac conductive system; the inflammatory peritoneal reaction could be specifically due to ultrasound or to surgical handling