Save Money or Feel Cozy?: A Field Experiment Evaluation of a Smart Thermostat that Learns Heating Preferences

We present the design of a fully autonomous smart thermostat that supports end-users in managing their heating preferences in a realtime pricing regime. The thermostat uses a machine learning algorithm to learn how a user wants to trade off comfort versus cost. We evaluate the thermostat in a field experiment in the UK involving 30 users over a period of 30 days. We make two main contributions. First, we study whether our smart thermostat enables end-users to handle real-time prices, and in particular, whether machine learning can help them. We find that the users trust the system and that they can successfully express their preferences; overall, the smart thermostat enables the users to manage their heating given real-time prices. Moreover, our machine learning-based thermostats outperform a baseline without machine learning in terms of usability. Second, we present a quantitative analysis of the users’ economic behavior, including their reaction to price changes, their price sensitivity, and their comfort-cost trade-offs. We find a wide variety regarding the users’ willingness to make trade-offs. But in aggregate, the users’ settings enabled a large amount of demand response, reducing the average energy consumption during peak hours by 38%

The effectiveness of interventions for optometric referrals into the hospital eye service: A review

Purpose: Ophthalmic services are currently under considerable stress; in the UK, ophthalmology departments have the highest number of outpatient appointments of any department within the National Health Service. Recognising the need for intervention, several approaches have been trialled to tackle the high numbers of false-positive referrals initiated in primary care and seen face to face within the hospital eye service (HES). In this mixed-methods narrative synthesis, we explored interventions based on their clinical impact, cost and acceptability to determine whether they are clinically effective, safe and sustainable. A systematic literature search of PubMed, MEDLINE and CINAHL, guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), was used to identify appropriate studies published between December 2001 and December 2022. Recent Findings: A total of 55 studies were reviewed. Four main interventions were assessed, where two studies covered more than one type: training and guidelines (n = 8), referral filtering schemes (n = 32), asynchronous teleophthalmology (n = 13) and synchronous teleophthalmology (n = 5). All four approaches demonstrated effectiveness for reducing false-positive referrals to the HES. There was sufficient evidence for stakeholder acceptance and cost-effectiveness of referral filtering schemes; however, cost comparisons involved assumptions. Referral filtering and asynchronous teleophthalmology reported moderate levels of false-negative cases (2%–20%), defined as discharged patients requiring HES monitoring. Summary: The effectiveness of interventions varied depending on which outcome and stakeholder was considered. More studies are required to explore stakeholder opinions around all interventions. In order to maximise clinical safety, it may be appropriate to combine more than one approach, such as referral filtering schemes with virtual review of discharged patients to assess the rate of false-negative cases. The implementation of a successful intervention is more complex than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach and there is potential space for newer types of interventions, such as artificial intelligence clinical support systems within the referral pathway

Managing energy tariffs with agents: a field study of a future smart energy system at home

© 2015 ACM.Interactive autonomous systems are likely to be more involved in future energy systems to assist human users. Given this, we prototyped a future scenario in which householders are assisted in switching electricity tariffs by an agent-based interactive system. The system uses real-time electricity monitoring to instantiate a scenario where participants may have to make, or delegate to their agent (in a variety ways), tariff switching decisions given uncertainty about their own consumption. We carried out a field trial with 12 households for 6 weeks in order to study the notion of autonomy. The results show nuanced ways in which monitoring system performance and taking control is balanced in everyday practice. Our field study provides promising directions for future use of smart systems that help householders manage their energy

Deployment of solar sails by joule effect: thermal analysis and experimental results

Space vehicles may be propelled by solar sails exploiting the radiation pressure coming from the sun and applied on their surfaces. This work deals with the adoption of Nickel-Titanium Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) elements in the sail deployment mechanism activated by the Joule Effect, i.e., using the same SMA elements as a resistance within suitable designed electrical circuits. Mathematical models were analyzed for the thermal analysis by implementing algorithms for the evaluation of the temperature trend depending on the design parameters. Several solar sail prototypes were built up and tested with different number, size, and arrangement of the SMA elements, as well as the type of the selected electrical circuit. The main parameters were discussed in the tested configurations and advantages discussed as well

Heat Conduction and Microconvection in Nanofluids: Comparison between Theoretical Models and Experimental Results

A nanofluid is a suspension consisting of a uniform distribution of nanoparticles in a base fluid, generally a liquid. Nanofluid can be used as a working fluid in heat exchangers to dissipate heat in the automotive, solar, aviation, aerospace industries. There are numerous physical phenomena that affect heat conduction in nanofluids: clusters, the formation of adsorbate nanolayers, scattering of phonons at the solid–liquid interface, Brownian motion of the base fluid and thermophoresis in the nanofluids. The predominance of one physical phenomenon over another depends on various parameters, such as temperature, size and volume fraction of the nanoparticles. Therefore, it is very difficult to develop a theoretical model for estimating the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids that considers all these phenomena and is accurate for each value of the influencing parameters. The aim of this study is to promote a way to find the conditions (temperature, volume fraction) under which certain phenomena prevail over others in order to obtain a quantitative tool for the selection of the theoretical model to be used. For this purpose, two sets (SET-I, SET-II) of experimental data were analyzed; one was obtained from the literature, and the other was obtained through experimental tests. Different theoretical models, each considering some physical phenomena and neglecting others, were used to explain the experimental results. The results of the paper show that clusters, the formation of the adsorbate nanolayer and the scattering of phonons at the solid–liquid interface are the main phenomena to be considered when ϕ = 1 ÷ 3%. Instead, at a temperature of 50 ◦C and in the volume fraction range (0.04–0.22%), microconvection prevails over other phenomen

Critical role for prokineticin 2 in CNS autoimmunity

Objective: To investigate the potential role of prokineticin 2 (PK2), a bioactive peptide involved in multiple biological functions including immune modulation, in CNS autoimmune demyelinating disease. Methods: We investigated the expression of PK2 in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), and in patients with relapsing-remitting MS. We evaluated the biological effects of PK2 on expression of EAE and on development of T-cell response against myelin by blocking PK2 in vivo with PK2 receptor antagonists. We treated with PK2 immune cells activated against myelin antigen to explore the immune-modulating effects of this peptide in vitro. Results: Pk2 messenger RNA was upregulated in spinal cord and lymph node cells (LNCs) of mice with EAE. PK2 protein was expressed in EAE inflammatory infiltrates and was increased in sera during EAE. In patients with relapsing-remitting MS, transcripts for PK2 were significantly increased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells compared with healthy controls, and PK2 serum concentrations were significantly higher. A PK2 receptor antagonist prevented or attenuated established EAE in chronic and relapsing-remitting models, reduced CNS inflammation and demyelination, and decreased the production of interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-17A cytokines in LNCs while increasing IL-10. PK2 in vitro increased IFN-γ and IL-17A and reduced IL-10 in splenocytes activated against myelin antigen. Conclusion: These data suggest that PK2 is a critical immune regulator in CNS autoimmune demyelination and may represent a new target for therapy

PosterVote:expanding the action repertoire for local political activism

Online and digital technologies support and extend the action repertoires of localized social movements. In this paper we examine the ways by which digital technologies can support ‘on-the-ground ’ activist communities in the development of social movements. After identifying some of the challenges of deploying conventional voting and consultation technologies for activism, we examine situated political action in local communities through the design and deployment of a low-cost community voting prototype, PosterVote. We deploy PosterVote in two case studies with two local community organizations identifying the features that supported or hindered grassroots democratic practices. Through interviews with these communities, we explore the design of situated voting systems to support grassroots democratic practices and participation within an ecology of social action. Author Keywords Democracy; activism; participation; e-votin

Vitamin A, cancer treatment and prevention: The new role of cellular retinol binding proteins

Retinol and vitamin A derivatives influence cell differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis and play an important physiologic role in a wide range of biological processes. Retinol is obtained from foods of animal origin. Retinol derivatives are fundamental for vision, while retinoic acid is essential for skin and bone growth. Intracellular retinoid bioavailability is regulated by the presence of specific cytoplasmic retinol and retinoic acid binding proteins (CRBPs and CRABPs). CRBP-1, the most diffuse CRBP isoform, is a small 15 KDa cytosolic protein widely expressed and evolutionarily conserved in many tissues. CRBP-1 acts as chaperone and regulates the uptake, subsequent esterification, and bioavailability of retinol. CRBP-1 plays a major role in wound healing and arterial tissue remodelling processes. In the last years, the role of CRBP-1-related retinoid signalling during cancer progression became object of several studies. CRBP-1 downregulation associates with a more malignant phenotype in breast, ovarian, and nasopharyngeal cancers. Reexpression of CRBP-1 increased retinol sensitivity and reduced viability of ovarian cancer cells in vitro. Further studies are needed to explore new therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring CRBP-1-mediated intracellular retinol trafficking and the meaning of CRBP-1 expression in cancer patients' screening for a more personalized and efficacy retinoid therapy

The Straw Tube Trackers of the PANDA Experiment

The PANDA experiment will be built at the FAIR facility at Darmstadt (Germany) to perform accurate tests of the strong interaction through bar pp and bar pA annihilation's studies. To track charged particles, two systems consisting of a set of planar, closed-packed, self-supporting straw tube layers are under construction. The PANDA straw tubes will have also unique characteristics in term of material budget and performance. They consist of very thin mylar-aluminized cathodes which are made self-supporting by means of the operation gas-mixture over-pressure. This solution allows to reduce at maximum the weight of the mechanical support frame and hence the detector material budget. The PANDA straw tube central tracker will not only reconstruct charged particle trajectories, but also will help in low momentum (< 1 GeV) particle identification via dE/dx measurements. This is a quite new approach that PANDA tracking group has first tested with detailed Monte Carlo simulations, and then with experimental tests of detector prototypes. This paper addresses the design issues of the PANDA straw tube trackers and the performance obtained in prototype tests.Comment: 7 pages,16 figure