Development of a model to simulate solar PV plants in MATLAB with a study on the effects of under-sizing the inverter

The solar PV market is continuously expanding and utility - scale solar plants are becoming larger due to advantages in economies of scale. Consequently , it is an increasingly important part of the des ign to have reliable simulation software allowing investors and engineers to make financial and technical decisions. Moreover, for expert users it is important to have a flexible software in which every model can be tuned and adjusted. To address this is sue, the present thesis proposes the development of a MATLAB based program to simulate hourly production of solar PV systems. I t includes an application of the software in which the economic feasibility of under - sizing the inverter is studied. To create th e model, all the equation s are taken from either PVsyst or SAM and the algorithms used are explained in details. In the analysis on under - sizing the inverter, a 10 MW PV plant is designed and the LCOE as a function of the DC - to - AC ratio is analyzed for dif ferent locations. Results of the program against the reference software show that the hourly RMSE for the DC power is 0.26%. The analysis showed that an optimal DC - to - AC ratio for which LCOE is minimum can be found. The reduction in total LCOE and total ca pex is respectively around 3 .3 - 3.7 % and 4% depending on the location. Conclusions are that a flexible open source MATLAB code could be developed with high accuracy and that under - sizing the inverter make economic sense if carefully performed

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor inhibits follicular and anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cells growth by upregulating p21Cip1/WAF1 gene in a Sp1-dependent manner

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Supramolecular amplification of amyloid self-assembly by iodination

Amyloid supramolecular assemblies have found widespread exploitation as ordered nanomaterials in a range of applications from materials science to biotechnology. New strategies are, however, required for understanding and promoting mature fibril formation from simple monomer motifs through easy and scalable processes. Noncovalent interactions are key to forming and holding the amyloid structure together. On the other hand, the halogen bond has never been used purposefully to achieve control over amyloid self-assembly. Here we show that single atom replacement of hydrogen with iodine, a halogen-bond donor, in the human calcitonin-derived amyloidogenic fragment DFNKF results in a super-gelator peptide, which forms a strong and shape-persistent hydrogel at 30-fold lower concentration than the wild-type pentapeptide. This is remarkable for such a modest perturbation in structure. Iodination of aromatic amino acids may thus develop as a general strategy for the design of new hydrogels from unprotected peptides and without using organic solvents

Novel insights in health-promoting properties of sweet cherries

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Insulinoma in pediatric tuberous sclerosis complex: a case report

BackgroundTuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare multisystemic disorder. This genetically determined disease is characterized by highly variable clinical expression, including epilepsy as a common feature. Seizures can also occur as a manifestation of symptomatic hypoglycemia. The latter could be caused by an insulinoma, whose association to TSC has already been debated. In TSC-associated tumors, dysregulation of the mTOR pathway is believed to be present, leading to significant impacts on cellular metabolism, growht, and proliferation. To date, the association between TSC and insulinoma has been reported in 11 adults. Here, we present the first case of a pediatric patient with TSC diagnosed with an insulinoma and review the existing literature on this topic.Case presentationA 11-year-old female with TSC presented with seizures unresponsive to standard therapy. Further investigation revealed that these seizures were caused by hypoglycemia. Subsequent evaluation led to the diagnosis of a pancreatic insulinoma, which was surgically removed. Following the procedure, the patient was free from seizures.ConclusionsIn individuals with TSC, the recurrence of epileptiform episodes throughout their lifetime, especially if previously well controlled with antiepileptic therapy, should raise suspicion for hypoglycemic events. These events may potentially be associated with the presence of an insulinoma. Further research and increased awareness are necessary to gain a better understanding of the association between TSC and insulinomas, and to guide clinical management strategies

Energetics of Deep Alpine Valleys in Pooling and Draining Configurations

This is an Open Access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).The Weather Research and Forecast numerical model is used to investigate the nocturnal atmospheric boundary layer in a valley that opens either on a wider valley (draining configuration) or on a narrower valley (pooling configuration). One draining case and three weak to strong pooling cases are considered. Results show that the structure of the nocturnal boundary layer is substantially different for the draining and pooling configurations. The greater the pooling, the deeper and colder is the boundary layer. Down-valley winds are weaker for pooling and draining configurations than in an equivalent valley opening directly on a plain. For the strong pooling case, an up-valley flow develops from the narrower to the wider valley during the evening transition, affecting the mass budget of the wider valley during that period. Considering the heat budget of the valley system, the contribution of the diabatic processes, when appropriately weighted, hardly varies along the valley axis. Conversely, the contribution of advection varies along the valley axis: it decreases for a pooling configuration and increases for a draining configuration. Consequently, for a pooling configuration, the heat transfer between the valley and the plain is reduced, thereby increasing the temperature difference between them. For the strong pooling case, this temperature difference can be explained by the valley-volume effect once the down-valley flow has developed. This occurs in a valley when the `extra' heat loss within the valley due to the surface sensible heat flux balances the heat input due to advection.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Exploring mobility in Italian Neolithic and Copper Age communities

As a means for investigating human mobility during late the Neolithic to the Copper Age in central and southern Italy, this study presents a novel dataset of enamel oxygen and carbon isotope values (δ18Oca and δ13Cca) from the carbonate fraction of biogenic apatite for one hundred and twenty-six individual teeth coming from two Neolithic and eight Copper Age communities. The measured δ18Oca values suggest a significant role of local sources in the water inputs to the body water, whereas δ13Cca values indicate food resources, principally based on C3 plants. Both δ13Cca and δ18Oca ranges vary substantially when samples are broken down into local populations. Statistically defined thresholds, accounting for intra-site variability, allow the identification of only a few outliers in the eight Copper Age communities, suggesting that sedentary lifestyle rather than extensive mobility characterized the investigated populations. This seems to be also typical of the two studied Neolithic communities. Overall, this research shows that the investigated periods in peninsular Italy differed in mobility pattern from the following Bronze Age communities from more northern areas