Prioritizing consumers in smart grid: A game theoretic approach

This paper proposes an energy management technique for a consumer-to-grid system in smart grid. The benefit to consumers is made the primary concern to encourage consumers to participate voluntarily in energy trading with the central power station (CPS) in situations of energy deficiency. A novel system model motivating energy trading under the goal of social optimality is proposed. A single-leader multiple-follower Stackelberg game is then studied to model the interactions between the CPS and a number of energy consumers (ECs), and to find optimal distributed solutions for the optimization problem based on the system model. The CPS is considered as a leader seeking to minimize its total cost of buying energy from the ECs, and the ECs are the followers who decide on how much energy they will sell to the CPS for maximizing their utilities. It is shown that the game, which can be implemented distributedly, possesses a socially optimal solution, in which the sum of the benefits to all consumers is maximized, as the total cost to the CPS is minimized. Numerical analysis confirms the effectiveness of the game. © 2010-2012 IEEE

Management of Renewable Energy for a Shared Facility Controller in Smart Grid

© 2016 IEEE. This paper proposes an energy management scheme to maximize the use of solar energy in the smart grid. In this context, a shared facility controller (SFC) with a number of solar photovoltaic panels in a smart community is considered that has the capability to schedule the generated energy for consumption and trade to other entities. In particular, a mechanism is designed for the SFC to decide on the energy surplus, if there is any, that it can use to charge its battery and sell to the households and the grid based on the offered prices. In this regard, a hierarchical energy management scheme is proposed with a view to reduce the total operational cost to the SFC. The concept of a virtual cost is introduced that aids the SFC to estimate its future operational cost based on some available current information. The energy management is conducted for three different cases, and the optimal cost to the SFC is determined for each case by the theory of maxima and minima. A real-time algorithm is proposed to reach the optimal cost for all cases, and some numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the beneficial properties of the proposed scheme

Numerical investigations of heat transfer enhancement in a latent heat storage exchanger with paraffin/graphite foam

Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.The discrepancy between energy supply and demand can be overcome by the implementation of a proper energy storage system. The latent heat thermal energy storage employing a PCM is the most effective way of the thermal energy storage due to its advantages of high energy storage density and its isothermal operating characteristics during solidification and melting processes. Here high conductivity porosity materialgraphite foam is proposed to enhance the phase change materials (PCM), paraffin, in order to solve the problem of its low conductivity in the latent heat storage exchanger (LHSE). The LHSE suggested is like shell-and-tube heat exchanger, which HTF (water) is flowing in the tube while paraffin/graphite foam is in the shell side. And two-dimensional numerical investigations are conducted to predict the heat transfer performance of the PCM/graphite foam for LHSE by CFD software. The results show that graphite foam can improve heat transfer rate effectively, and a series of numerical calculations have been done in order to analyze the influence of several HTF operating conditions on the melting process of the paraffin/ graphite foam in LHSE, which will provide guidelines of thermal performance and design optimization for LHSE.dc201

Second-line failure and first experience with third-line antiretroviral therapy in Mumbai, India

Background: There are limited data on the failure of second-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the use of third-line ART in people living with HIV in resource-limited settings. Since 2011, the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) HIV/tuberculosis programme in Mumbai, India, has been providing third-line ART to patients in care. Objective: To describe the experiences and programmatic challenges during management of suspected second-line ART failure and third-line ART therapy for patients living with HIV, including the use of HIV viral load (VL) testing. Design: This was a retrospective, observational cohort study of patients with suspected second-line ART treatment failure, who were followed for at least 12 months between January 2011 and March 2014. Results: A total of 47 patients with suspected second-line failure met the inclusion criteria during the study period. Twenty-nine of them (62%) responded to enhanced adherence support, had a subsequent undetectable VL after a median duration of 3 months and remained on second-line ART. The other 18 patients had to be initiated on a third-line ART regimen, which consisted of darunavir–ritonavir, raltegravir, and one or more appropriate nucleoside or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors, based on the results of HIV genotype testing. Of the 13 patients for whom follow-up VL results were available, 11 achieved virological suppression after a median duration of 3 months on third-line ART (interquartile range: 2.5–3.0). No serious treatment-related adverse events were recorded. Conclusions: With intensive counselling and adherence support in those suspected of failing second-line ART, unnecessary switching to more expensive third-line ART can be averted in the majority of cases. However, there is an increasing need for access to third-line ART medications such as darunavir and raltegravir, for which national ART programmes should be prepared. The cost of such medications and inadequate access to VL monitoring and HIV genotype testing are currently major barriers to optimal management of patients failing second-line ART

Refractive index in holographic superconductors

With the probe limit, we investigate the behavior of the electric permittivity and effective magnetic permeability and related optical properties in the s-wave holographic superconductors. In particular, our result shows that unlike the strong coupled systems which admit a gravity dual of charged black holes in the bulk, the electric permittivity and effective magnetic permeability are unable to conspire to bring about the negative Depine-Lakhtakia index at low frequencies, which implies that the negative phase velocity does not appear in the holographic superconductors under such a situation.Comment: JHEP style, 1+15 pages, 11 figures, version to appear in JHE

SUSY Splits, But Then Returns

We study the phenomenon of accidental or "emergent" supersymmetry within gauge theory and connect it to the scenarios of Split Supersymmetry and Higgs compositeness. Combining these elements leads to a significant refinement and extension of the proposal of Partial Supersymmetry, in which supersymmetry is broken at very high energies but with a remnant surviving to the weak scale. The Hierarchy Problem is then solved by a non-trivial partnership between supersymmetry and compositeness, giving a promising approach for reconciling Higgs naturalness with the wealth of precision experimental data. We discuss aspects of this scenario from the AdS/CFT dual viewpoint of higher-dimensional warped compactification. It is argued that string theory constructions with high scale supersymmetry breaking which realize warped/composite solutions to the Hierarchy Problem may well be accompanied by some or all of the features described. The central phenomenological considerations and expectations are discussed, with more detailed modelling within warped effective field theory reserved for future work.Comment: 29 pages. Flavor and CP constraints on left-right symmetric structure briefly discussed. References adde

Risk factors for exacerbations and pneumonia in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pooled analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at risk of exacerbations and pneumonia; how the risk factors interact is unclear. METHODS: This post-hoc, pooled analysis included studies of COPD patients treated with inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/long-acting β2 agonist (LABA) combinations and comparator arms of ICS, LABA, and/or placebo. Backward elimination via Cox's proportional hazards regression modelling evaluated which combination of risk factors best predicts time to first (a) pneumonia, and (b) moderate/severe COPD exacerbation. RESULTS: Five studies contributed: NCT01009463, NCT01017952, NCT00144911, NCT00115492, and NCT00268216. Low body mass index (BMI), exacerbation history, worsening lung function (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease [GOLD] stage), and ICS treatment were identified as factors increasing pneumonia risk. BMI was the only pneumonia risk factor influenced by ICS treatment, with ICS further increasing risk for those with BMI <25 kg/m2. The modelled probability of pneumonia varied between 3 and 12% during the first year. Higher exacerbation risk was associated with a history of exacerbations, poorer lung function (GOLD stage), female sex and absence of ICS treatment. The influence of the other exacerbation risk factors was not modified by ICS treatment. Modelled probabilities of an exacerbation varied between 31 and 82% during the first year. CONCLUSIONS: The probability of an exacerbation was considerably higher than for pneumonia. ICS reduced exacerbations but did not influence the effect of risks associated with prior exacerbation history, GOLD stage, or female sex. The only identified risk factor for ICS-induced pneumonia was BMI <25 kg/m2. Analyses of this type may help the development of COPD risk equations

Stable Heterogeneity for the Production of Diffusible Factors in Cell Populations

The production of diffusible molecules that promote survival and growth is common in bacterial and eukaryotic cell populations, and can be considered a form of cooperation between cells. While evolutionary game theory shows that producers and non-producers can coexist in well-mixed populations, there is no consensus on the possibility of a stable polymorphism in spatially structured populations where the effect of the diffusible molecule extends beyond one-step neighbours. I study the dynamics of biological public goods using an evolutionary game on a lattice, taking into account two assumptions that have not been considered simultaneously in existing models: that the benefit of the diffusible molecule is a non-linear function of its concentration, and that the molecule diffuses according to a decreasing gradient. Stable coexistence of producers and non-producers is observed when the benefit of the molecule is a sigmoid function of its concentration, while strictly diminishing returns lead to coexistence only for very specific parameters and linear benefits never lead to coexistence. The shape of the diffusion gradient is largely irrelevant and can be approximated by a step function. Since the effect of a biological molecule is generally a sigmoid function of its concentration (as described by the Hill equation), linear benefits or strictly diminishing returns are not an appropriate approximations for the study of biological public goods. A stable polymorphism of producers and non-producers is in line with the predictions of evolutionary game theory and likely to be common in cell populations

Identifying key influences on antibiotic use in China: a systematic scoping review and narrative synthesis

INTRODUCTION: The inappropriate use of antibiotics is a key driver of antimicrobial resistance. In China, antibiotic prescribing and consumption exceed recommended levels and are relatively high internationally. Understanding the influences on antibiotic use is essential to informing effective evidence-based interventions. We conducted a scoping review to obtain an overview of empirical research about key behavioural, cultural, economic and social influences on antibiotic use in China. METHODS: Searches were conducted in Econlit, Medline, PsycINFO, Social Science citation index and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for the period 2003 to early 2018. All study types were eligible including observational and intervention, qualitative and quantitative designs based in community and clinical settings. Two authors independently screened studies for inclusion. A data extraction form was developed incorporating details on study design, behaviour related to antibiotic use, influences on behaviour and information on effect (intervention studies only). RESULTS: Intervention studies increased markedly from 2014, and largely focused on the impact of national policy and practice directives on antibiotic use in secondary and tertiary healthcare contexts in China. Most studies used pragmatic designs, such as before and after comparisons. Influences on antibiotic use clustered under four themes: antibiotic prescribing; adherence to antibiotics; self-medicating behaviour and over-the-counter sale of antibiotics. Many studies highlighted the use of antibiotics without a prescription for common infections, which was facilitated by availability of left-over medicines and procurement from local pharmacies. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions aimed at modifying antibiotic prescribing behaviour show evidence of positive impact, but further research using more robust research designs, such as randomised trials, and incorporating process evaluations is required to better assess outcomes. The effect of national policy at the primary healthcare level needs to be evaluated and further exploration of the influences on antibiotic self-medicating is required to develop interventions that tackle this behaviour

Manifold Elastic Net: A Unified Framework for Sparse Dimension Reduction

It is difficult to find the optimal sparse solution of a manifold learning based dimensionality reduction algorithm. The lasso or the elastic net penalized manifold learning based dimensionality reduction is not directly a lasso penalized least square problem and thus the least angle regression (LARS) (Efron et al. \cite{LARS}), one of the most popular algorithms in sparse learning, cannot be applied. Therefore, most current approaches take indirect ways or have strict settings, which can be inconvenient for applications. In this paper, we proposed the manifold elastic net or MEN for short. MEN incorporates the merits of both the manifold learning based dimensionality reduction and the sparse learning based dimensionality reduction. By using a series of equivalent transformations, we show MEN is equivalent to the lasso penalized least square problem and thus LARS is adopted to obtain the optimal sparse solution of MEN. In particular, MEN has the following advantages for subsequent classification: 1) the local geometry of samples is well preserved for low dimensional data representation, 2) both the margin maximization and the classification error minimization are considered for sparse projection calculation, 3) the projection matrix of MEN improves the parsimony in computation, 4) the elastic net penalty reduces the over-fitting problem, and 5) the projection matrix of MEN can be interpreted psychologically and physiologically. Experimental evidence on face recognition over various popular datasets suggests that MEN is superior to top level dimensionality reduction algorithms.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figure