248 research outputs found

    Automatic detection of PV systems failures from monitoring validated on 10,000 BIPV systems in Europe

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    The installers and owners show a growing interest in the follow-up of the performance of their photovoltaic (PV) systems. The owners are requesting reliable sources of information to ensure that their system is functioning properly, and the installers are actively looking for efficient ways of providing them the most useful possible information from the data available. Policy makers are becoming increasingly interested in the knowledge of the real performance of PV systems and the most frequent sources of problems that they suffer to be able to target the identified challenges properly. The scientific and industrial PV community is also requiring an access to massive operational data to pursue the technological improvements further

    Does the Notion of ‘Corporate Citizenship’ Make Sense?

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    Cytokine profile and anti-inflammatory activity of a standardized conditioned medium obtained by coculture of monocytes and mesenchymal stromal cells (PRS CK STORM)

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    Intercellular communication between monocytes/macrophages and cells involved in tissue regeneration, such as mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and primary tissue cells, is essential for tissue regeneration and recovery of homeostasis. Typically, in the final phase of the inflammation-resolving process, this intercellular communication drives an anti-inflammatory immunomodulatory response. To obtain a safe and effective treatment to counteract the cytokine storm associated with a disproportionate immune response to severe infections, including that associated with COVID-19, by means of naturally balanced immunomodulation, our group has standardized the production under GMP-like conditions of a secretome by coculture of macrophages and MSCs. To characterize this proteome, we determined the expression of molecules related to cellular immune response and tissue regeneration, as well as its possible toxicity and anti-inflammatory potency. The results show a specific molecular pattern of interaction between the two cell types studied, with an anti-inflammatory and regenerative profile. In addition, the secretome is not toxic by itself on human PBMC or on THP-1 monocytes and prevents lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced growth effects on those cell types. Finally, PRS CK STORM prevents LPS-induced TNF-A and IL-1B secretion from PBMC and from THP-1 cells at the same level as hydrocortisone, demonstrating its anti-inflammatory potency. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

    Evaluation in a Cytokine Storm Model in Vivo of the Safety and Efficacy of Intravenous Administration of PRS CK STORM (Standardized Conditioned Medium Obtained by Coculture of Monocytes and Mesenchymal Stromal Cells)

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    Our research group has been developing a series of biological drugs produced by cocul-ture techniques with M2-polarized macrophages with different primary tissue cells and/or mesen-chymal stromal cells (MSC), generally from fat, to produce anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic ef-fects, avoiding the overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines by the innate immune system at a given time. One of these products is the drug PRS CK STORM, a medium conditioned by allogenic M2-polarized macrophages, from coculture, with those macrophages M2 with MSC from fat, whose composition, in vitro safety, and efficacy we studied. In the present work, we publish the results obtained in terms of safety (pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics) and efficacy of the intravenous application of this biological drug in a murine model of cytokine storm associated with severe infectious processes, including those associated with COVID-19. The results demonstrate the safety and high efficacy of PRS CK STORM as an intravenous drug to prevent and treat the cytokine storm associated with infectious processes, including COVID-19

    Coupled/decoupled spray simulation comparison of the ECN spray a condition with the Sigma-Y Eulerian atomization model

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    This work evaluates the performance of the Σ-Y Eulerian atomization model at reproducing the internal structure of a diesel spray in the near- field. In the study, three different computational domains have been used in order to perform 3D and 2D coupled simulations, where the internal nozzle flow and external spray are modeled in one continuous domain, and 2D decoupled simulations, where only the external spray is modeled. While the 3D simulation did the best job of capturing the dense zone of the spray, the 2D simulations also performed well, with the coupled 2D simulation slightly outperforming the decoupled simulation. The similarity in results between the coupled and the decoupled simulation show that internal and external flow calculations can be performed independently. In addition, the use of spatially averaged nozzle outlet conditions, in the case of an axisymmetric (single-hole) convergent nozzle, leads to a slightly worse near-field spray predictions but to an accurate far-field ones. Finally, a novel constraint on turbulent driven mixing multiphase flows is introduced which prevents the slip velocity from exceeding the magnitude of the turbulent fluctuations through a realizable Schmidt number. This constraint increased model stability, allowing for a 4x increase in Courant number.Authors acknowledge that part of this work was possible thanks to the Programa de Ayudas de Investigacion y Desarrollo (PAID-2013 3198) of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia. Also this study was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness in the frame of the COMEFF(TRA2014-59483-R) project.Desantes Fernández, JM.; García Oliver, JM.; Pastor Enguídanos, JM.; Pandal-Blanco, A.; Baldwin, E.; Schmidt, DP. (2016). Coupled/decoupled spray simulation comparison of the ECN spray a condition with the Sigma-Y Eulerian atomization model. International Journal of Multiphase Flow. 80:89-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2015.12.002S89998

    A consistent, scalable model for Eulerian spray modeling

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    Despite great practical interest in how sprays emanate from fuel injectors, the near-nozzle region has remained a challenge for spray modelers. Recently, Eulerian models have shown promise in capturing the fast gas-liquid interactions in the near field. However, with the inclusion of compressibility, it can be difficult to maintain consistency between the hydrodynamic and thermodynamic variables. In order to resolve numerical inconsistencies that occur in segregated solutions of Eulerian spray model equations as well as to provide good scalability and stability, a new construction of a -Y model is introduced. This construction is built around an IMEX-RK3 algorithm which offers accuracy and efficiency. The new algorithm is compared to an existing implementation for speed and is validated against experimental measurements of spray evolution in order to test the accuracy. The predictions of the new construction are slightly more accurate and, when tested on 256 processors, are 34 times faster.Also this research used the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), which is supported by National Science Foundation grant number ACI-1053575. The authors gratefully acknowledge the computing resources provided on the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin that have contributed to the research results reported within this paper URL: http://www.tacc.utexas.edu.Pandal-Blanco, A.; Pastor Enguídanos, JM.; García Oliver, JM.; Baldwin, E.; Schmidt, D. (2016). A consistent, scalable model for Eulerian spray modeling. International Journal of Multiphase Flow. 83:162-171. doi:10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2016.04.003S1621718
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