Energy and economic analysis of building integrated photovoltaic thermal system: Seasonal dynamic modeling assisted with machine learning-aided method and multi-objective genetic optimization

Building integrated photovoltaic thermal (BIPV/T) systems offer a highly effective means of generating clean energy for both electricity and heating purposes in residential buildings. Hence, this article introduces a new BIPV/T system to optimally minimize the energy consumption of a household residential building. The meticulous design of the proposed BIPV/T system is accomplished through MATLAB/Simulink® dynamic modeling. Performance analysis for the BIPV/T system is performed under different seasonal conditions with in-depth techno-economic analyses to estimate the expected enhancement in the thermal, electrical, and economic performance of the system. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to explore the impact of various factors on the energetic and economic performances of the proposed BIPV/T system. More so, the two-layer feed-forward back-propagation artificial neural network modeling is developed to accurately predict the hourly solar radiation and ambient temperature for the BIPV/T. Additionally, a multi-objective optimization using the NSGA-II method is also conducted for the minimization of the total BIPV/T plant area and maximization of the total efficiency and net thermal power of the system as well as to estimate the optimized operating conditions for input variables across different seasons within the provided ranges. The sensitivity analysis revealed that higher solar flux levels lead to increased electric output power of the BIPV/T plant, but total efficiency decreases due to higher thermal losses. Moreover, the proposed NSGA-II shows a feasible method to attain a maximum net thermal power and optimal total efficiency of 5320 W and 63% with a minimal total plant area of 32.89 m2 that attained a very low deviation index from the ideal solution. The levelised cost of electricity is obtained as 0.10 $/kWh under the optimal conditions. Thus, these findings offer valuable insights into the potential of BIPV/T systems as a sustainable and efficient energy solution for residential applications

Tailored CO2-philic Anionic Poly(ionic liquid) Composite Membranes: Synthesis, Characterization and Gas Transport Properties

Unformatted post printPolymeric membranes either containing, or built from, ionic liquids (ILs) are of great interest for enhanced CO2/light gas separation due to the stronger affinity of ILs toward quadrupolar CO2 molecules, and hence, high CO2 solubility selectivity. Herein, we report the development of a series of four novel anionic poly(IL)-IL composite membranes via a photopolymerization method for effective CO2 separation. Interestingly, these are the first examples of anionic poly(IL)-IL composite systems, in which the poly(IL) component has delocalized sulfonimide anions pendant from the polymer backbone with imidazolium cations as “free” counterions. Two types of photopolymerizable methacryloxy-based IL monomers (MILs) with highly delocalized anions (–SO2–N(-)–SO2–CF3 and –SO2–N(-)–SO2–C7H7) and mobile imidazolium ([C2mim]+) counter cations were successfully synthesized and photopolymerized with two distinct amounts of free IL containing the same structural cation ([C2mim][Tf2N]) and 20 wt% PEGDA crosslinker, to serve as a composite matrix. The structure-property relationships of the four newly developed anionic poly(IL)-IL composite membranes were extensively characterized by TGA, DSC, and XRD analysis. All of the newly developed anionic poly(IL)-IL composite membranes exhibited superior CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 selectivities together with moderate CO2/H2 selectivity and reasonable CO2 permeabilities. The membrane with an optimal composition and polymer architecture (MIL-C7H7/PEGDA(20%)/IL(1eq.)) reaches the 2008 Robeson upper bound limit of CO2/CH4, due to the simultaneous improvement in permeability and selectivity (CO2 permeability ~ 20 barrer and αCO2/CH4 ~119). This study provides a promising strategy to explore the benefits of anionic poly(IL)-IL composites to separate CO2 from flue gas, natural gas, and syngas streams and open up new possibilities in the polymer membrane design with strong candidate materials for practical applications.Partial support for this work provided by the United States Department of Energy (DE-SC0020282) and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (80NSSC19K1314), is gratefully acknowledged. Liliana C. Tomé has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 745734

The potential role of T-cells and their interaction with antigen-presenting cells in mediating immunosuppression following trauma-hemorrhage

Objective: Trauma-hemorrhage results in depressed immune responses of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and T-cells. Recent studies suggest a key role of depressed T-cell derived interferon (IFN)-g in this complex immune cell interaction. The aim of this study was to elucidate further the underlying mechanisms responsible for dysfunctional T-cells and their interaction with APCs following trauma-hemorrhage. Design: Adult C3H/HeN male mice were subjected to trauma-hemorrhage (3-cm midline laparotomy) followed by hemorrhage (blood pressure of 35�5mmHg for 90 min and resuscitation) or sham operation. At 24 h thereafter, spleens were harvested and T-cells (by Microbeads) and APCs (via adherence) were Isolated. Co-cultures of T-cells and APCs were established for 48 h and stimulated with concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide. T-Cell specific cytokines known to affect APC function (i.e. interleukin(IL)-2, IL-4 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)) were measured in culture supernatants by Multiplex assay. The expression of MHC class II as well as co-stimulatory surface molecules on T-cells and APCs was determined by flow cytometry. Results: The release of IL-4 and GM-CSF by T-cells was suppressed following trauma-hemorrhage, irrespective of whether sham or trauma-hemorrhage APCs were present. Antigen-presenting cells from animals subjected to trauma-hemorrhage did not affect T-cell derived cytokine release by sham T-cells. In contrast, T-cells from traumahemorrhage animals depressed MHC class II expression of CD11c(þ) cells, irrespective of whether APCs underwent sham or trauma-hemorrhage procedure. Surprisingly, co-stimulatory molecules on APCs (CD80, CD86) were not affected by trauma-hemorrhage. Conclusions: These results suggest that beside IFN-g other T-cell derived cytokines contribute to immunosuppression following trauma-hemorrhage causing diminished MHC II expression on APCs. Thus, T-cells appear to play an important role in this interaction at the time-point examined. Therapeutic approaches should aim at maintenance of T-cell function and their interaction with APCs to prevent extended immunosuppression following trauma-hemorrhage

Effects of probiotic on the intestinal morphology with special reference to the growth of broilers.

The probiotic (Protexin)® increases the growth rate in broilers. It must interfere with the intestinal cell morphology and absorption. The intestinal epithelium is one of the most rapidly renewed tissues in the body and is renewed by a process of continuous cell division. This study was carried out with an aim to establish a link between the use of probiotic doses, growth rate, and intestinal cell proliferation by measuring the length and weight of the intestine and intestinal crypt cell proliferation (CCP) of broiler chicks. The results revealed significant increase in intestinal CCP but no effect was observed on the intestinal weight and length. The increase in CCP has also no significant influence towards growth factor. The increased weight gain in this study is associated with more feed consumption which is observed with Protexin® dose 1.0 g / 10 kg of feed. Furthermore, feed consumption reduced beyond this dose may lead to reduced weight gain

Pareto Optimization of a Laser Wakefield Accelerator

Optimization of accelerator performance parameters is limited by numerous trade-offs and finding the appropriate balance between optimization goals for an unknown system is challenging to achieve. Here we show that multi-objective Bayesian optimization can map the solution space of a laser wakefield accelerator in a very sample-efficient way. Using a Gaussian mixture model, we isolate contributions related to an electron bunch at a certain energy and we observe that there exists a wide range of Pareto-optimal solutions that trade beam energy versus charge at similar laser-to-beam efficiency. However, many applications such as light sources require particle beams at a certain target energy. Once such a constraint is introduced we observe a direct trade-off between energy spread and accelerator efficiency. We furthermore demonstrate how specific solutions can be exploited using \emph{a posteriori} scalarization of the objectives, thereby efficiently splitting the exploration and exploitation phases

A Fast Time-Domain Current Harmonic Extraction Algorithm for Power Quality Improvement Using Three-Phase Active Power Filter

© 2013 IEEE. Harmonic current estimation is the key aspect of Active Power Filter (APF) control algorithms to generate a reference current for harmonic compensation. This paper proposes a novel structure for harmonic current estimation scheme based on Trigonometric Orthogonal Principle (TOP) and Self Tuning Filter (STF). The key advantages of the proposed method are its simplicity, low computational burden and faster execution time in comparison to the conventional harmonic current estimation approaches. The TOP method provides a simple and fast approach to extract the reference current, while STF provides a simplified structure to generate the required synchronization signal that eliminates the need of a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) algorithm for synchronization. As a result, it exhibits less complexity in implementation and less consumption of microcontroller's resources; thus, the proposed method can be implemented using a low-cost microcontroller. It is shown in the paper that the proposed method provides 10 times gain in processing speed as compared to the conventional DQ method. The proposed approach is analyzed in detail, and its effectiveness and superior performance are verified using simulation and experimental results

Present status and sustainable utilization of hydrothermal geothermal resources in Tianjin, China: a critical review

Tianjin, as one of the pioneering and most prominent cities in China, has a long history of harnessing geothermal energy. The geothermal resource available in Tianjin is primarily characterized as a low- to medium-temperature hydrothermal geothermal resource. This manuscript introduces the ongoing status and potential of geothermal utilization in China, with a particular focus on the characteristics and utilization status of geothermal resources in Tianjin, China. Moreover, the relevant strategies and challenges for cost-efficient sustainable utilization of Tianjin geothermal resources are identified. The formation parameters of heat storage characteristics of Tianjin geothermal resources are also discussed. In addition, the key paths, guidelines and challenges on how to solve the obstacles related to the geothermal resources development in Tianjin are also suggested. The summarized results indicate that the geothermal reservoirs exploited in Tianjin vary greatly, which include sandstone of Neogene Minghuazhen formation, Guantao formation, Ordovician and Cambrian and carbonate of Proterozoic Wumishan formation. Most of the exploitative geothermal resources (146 geothermal wells) in Tianjin have mainly been produced from the Wumishan formation of the Jixian system and the Guantao formation of the Neogene system. The current production capacity has been doubled, and a two-stage cascade utilization system has been established, incorporating geothermal power generation and geothermal heating. The geothermal utilization share in Tianjin is estimated to be 81.66% for heating, 16.6% for domestic hot water and 1.35% for bathing. In conclusion, notwithstanding the diversity of geothermal resources in Tianjin, it is difficult to guarantee the sustainable development and utilization of geothermal resources in Tianjin due to the unreasonable layout of geothermal wells, imbalance of production and reinjection. Hence, the integration of distributed temperature sensing and distributed strain sensing monitoring demonstrates significant promise and effectiveness in tracking water circulation and detecting flow localization problems as dynamic monitoring processes and smart thermal response tests should be recommended and established as a substantial feature required in the future utilization and development of geothermal resources in Tianjin

Assessment of algorithms for mitosis detection in breast cancer histopathology images

The proliferative activity of breast tumors, which is routinely estimated by counting of mitotic figures in hematoxylin and eosin stained histology sections, is considered to be one of the most important prognostic markers. However, mitosis counting is laborious, subjective and may suffer from low inter-observer agreement. With the wider acceptance of whole slide images in pathology labs, automatic image analysis has been proposed as a potential solution for these issues. In this paper, the results from the Assessment of Mitosis Detection Algorithms 2013 (AMIDA13) challenge are described. The challenge was based on a data set consisting of 12 training and 11 testing subjects, with more than one thousand annotated mitotic figures by multiple observers. Short descriptions and results from the evaluation of eleven methods are presented. The top performing method has an error rate that is comparable to the inter-observer agreement among pathologists

MMP-1 activation contributes to airway smooth muscle growth and asthma severity

Introduction: Matrix metalloproteinase-1 and mast cells are present in the airways of people with asthma. We hypothesised that matrix metalloproteinase-1 could be activated by mast cells and increase asthma severity. Methods: Patients with stable asthma and healthy controls underwent spirometry, methacholine challenge, bronchoscopy and their airway smooth muscle cells were grown in culture. A second asthma group and controls had symptom scores, spirometry and bronchoalveolar lavage before and after rhinovirus-induced asthma exacerbations. Extra-cellular matrix was prepared from decellularised airway smooth muscle cultures. Matrix metalloproteinase-1 protein and activity were assessed. Results: Airway smooth muscle cells generated pro-matrix metalloproteinase-1 which was proteolytically activated by mast cell tryptase. Airway smooth muscle treated with activated mast cell supernatants produced extra-cellular matrix which enhanced subsequent airway smooth muscle growth by 1.5 fold (p<0.05) which was dependent on matrix metalloproteinase-1 activation. In asthma, airway pro-matrix metalloproteinase-1 was 5.4 fold higher than control subjects (p=0.002). Mast cell numbers were associated with airway smooth muscle proliferation and matrix metalloproteinase-1 protein associated with bronchial hyper-responsiveness. During exacerbations, matrix metalloproteinase-1 activity increased and was associated with fall in FEV1 and worsening asthma symptoms. Conclusions: Matrix metalloproteinase-1 is activated by mast cell tryptase resulting in a pro-proliferative extra-cellular matrix. In asthma, mast cells are associated with airway smooth muscle growth, matrix metalloproteinase-1 levels are associated with bronchial hyper-responsiveness and matrix metalloproteinase-1 activation with exacerbation severity. Our findings suggest that airway smooth muscle/mast cell interactions contribute to asthma severity by transiently increasing matrix metalloproteinase activation, airway smooth muscle growth and airway responsiveness