A Method of Developing Quantile Convolutional Neural Networks for Electric Vehicle Battery Temperature Prediction Trained on Cross-Domain Data

The energy consumption caused by battery thermal management of electric vehicles can be reduced using predictive control. A predictive controller needs a prediction model of the battery temperature, for example for different battery cooling and heating thresholds. In the proposed method, cross-domain data from simulation, vehicle fleet and weather stations were analyzed and processed as training data for a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The CNN took data from previous road segments and predictions for following road segments as input and predicted the change in battery temperature as quantile sequences over a prediction horizon. Properties of the collected cross-domain data sets were analyzed and considered during preprocessing, before 150 models were trained, of which the best performing model was further analyzed. Point-forecast metrics and quantile-related metrics were used for model comparison and evaluation. For example, the median prediction achieved a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.27 ◦C and the true values were below the median prediction in 47% of the test data. Possible improvements of the method such as increasing data size, using more complex architectures as well as optimizing the horizon sizes were discussed. In conclusion, the method was able to well predict battery temperatures for different battery cooling thresholds

Predictive battery thermal management using quantile convolutional neural networks

An improvement in energy efficiency of Battery Thermal Management Systems (BTMS) can increase range and reduce well-to-wheel emissions of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV). In this work, the potential of a predictive BTMS using Quantile Convolutional Neural Networks (QCNN) was examined. The QCNN provided quantile predictions of battery temperature based on input data from both previous and following drive segments. The predictive control was designed to choose battery cooling thresholds based on a weighted sum of battery cooling, ageing and derating costs derived by the quantile predictions. The predictive BTMS was analyzed concerning its adaptability to different routes ahead, tunability of cost weights as well as robustness to uncertainty of inputs. A setup with unchanged ageing costs reduced average cooling costs by 9% compared to a fixed threshold strategy in a set of 18 scenarios. Simplifications and limitations were discussed to provide a base for further improvements, for example concerning the limited freedom of cooling threshold choice. In conclusion, the developed framework was able to use QCNN predictions to increase the BTMS energy efficiency while taking ageing and derating effects into account

Shaping EU Attitudes Through Identity Leadership: Investigating Pro-EU and EU-Skeptic Identity Narratives

The European Union (EU) faces many challenges. Chief among them are (1) the growing electoral appeal of EU-skeptic parties, (2) the prevalence of negative narratives about the EU, and (3) frequent marginalization of government leaders openly advocating EU membership. It is hence unsurprising that the EU attitude literature focuses heavily on ways in which leaders undermine (rather than bolster) confidence in the EU. The aim of this conceptual article is to fill this void and to shine a spotlight on how leaders seek to restore confidence in the EU. Rather than to merely describe what pro-EU leaders say in public, we propose a conceptual model that combines older EU attitude research (into nested social identities and perceived identity compatibility), with more recent social psychology research (into identity mobilization and identity leadership). By combining insights from both fields, our framework enables us to gain a deeper understanding of why certain pro-EU narratives can be expected to take hold and instill faith in the EU among the public at large. The discussion focuses on the implications for EU leadership

Validation of AVHRR Land Surface Temperature with MODIS and In Situ LST—A TIMELINE Thematic Processor

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is an important parameter for tracing the impact of changing climatic conditions on our environment. Describing the interface between long- and shortwave radiation fluxes, as well as between turbulent heat fluxes and the ground heat flux, LST plays a crucial role in the global heat balance. Satellite-derived LST is an indispensable tool for monitoring these changes consistently over large areas and for long time periods. Data from the AVHRR (Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer) sensors have been available since the early 1980s. In the TIMELINE project, LST is derived for the entire operating period of AVHRR sensors over Europe at a 1 km spatial resolution. In this study, we present the validation results for the TIMELINE AVHRR daytime LST. The validation approach consists of an assessment of the temporal consistency of the AVHRR LST time series, an inter-comparison between AVHRR LST and in situ LST, and a comparison of the AVHRR LST product with concurrent MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) LST. The results indicate the successful derivation of stable LST time series from multi-decadal AVHRR data. The validation results were investigated regarding different LST, TCWV and VA, as well as land cover classes. The comparisons between the TIMELINE LST product and the reference datasets show seasonal and land cover-related patterns. The LST level was found to be the most determinative factor of the error. On average, an absolute deviation of the AVHRR LST by 1.83 K from in situ LST, as well as a difference of 2.34 K from the MODIS product, was observed

Does wage rank affect employees' well-being?

How do workers make wage comparisons? Both an experimental study and an analysis of 16,000 British employees are reported. Satisfaction and well-being levels are shown to depend on more than simple relative pay. They depend upon the ordinal rank of an individual's wage within a comparison group. “Rank” itself thus seems to matter to human beings. Moreover, consistent with psychological theory, quits in a workplace are correlated with pay distribution skewness

Critical dynamics in thin films

Critical dynamics in film geometry is analyzed within the field-theoretical approach. In particular we consider the case of purely relaxational dynamics (Model A) and Dirichlet boundary conditions, corresponding to the so-called ordinary surface universality class on both confining boundaries. The general scaling properties for the linear response and correlation functions and for dynamic Casimir forces are discussed. Within the Gaussian approximation we determine the analytic expressions for the associated universal scaling functions and study quantitatively in detail their qualitative features as well as their various limiting behaviors close to the bulk critical point. In addition we consider the effects of time-dependent fields on the fluctuation-induced dynamic Casimir force and determine analytically the corresponding universal scaling functions and their asymptotic behaviors for two specific instances of instantaneous perturbations. The universal aspects of nonlinear relaxation from an initially ordered state are also discussed emphasizing the different crossovers that occur during this evolution. The model considered is relevant to the critical dynamics of actual uniaxial ferromagnetic films with symmetry-preserving conditions at the confining surfaces and for Monte Carlo simulations of spin system with Glauber dynamics and free boundary conditions.Comment: 64 pages, 21 figure

Science and Ideology in Economic, Political, and Social Thought

This paper has two sources: One is my own research in three broad areas: business cycles, economic measurement and social choice. In all of these fields I attempted to apply the basic precepts of the scientific method as it is understood in the natural sciences. I found that my effort at using natural science methods in economics was met with little understanding and often considerable hostility. I found economics to be driven less by common sense and empirical evidence, then by various ideologies that exhibited either a political or a methodological bias, or both. This brings me to the second source: Several books have appeared recently that describe in historical terms the ideological forces that have shaped either the direct areas in which I worked, or a broader background. These books taught me that the ideological forces in the social sciences are even stronger than I imagined on the basis of my own experiences. The scientific method is the antipode to ideology. I feel that the scientific work that I have done on specific, long standing and fundamental problems in economics and political science have given me additional insights into the destructive role of ideology beyond the history of thought orientation of the works I will be discussing

Positional goods and legal orderings

People consume because others consume, maintained Veblen in 1899. More recently, theoretical, empirical and experimental articles have argued that people constantly compare themselves to their environments and care greatly about their relative positions. Given that competition for positions may produce social costs, we adopt a Law and Economics approach (i) to suggest legal remedies for positional competition, and (ii) to argue that, because legal relations are characterized in turn by positional characteristics, such legal remedies do not represent ‘free lunches’

Quantification of cAMP and cGMP analogs in intact cells: pitfalls in enzyme immunoassays for cyclic nucleotides

Immunoassays are routinely used as research tools to measure intracellular cAMP and cGMP concentrations. Ideally, this application requires antibodies with high sensitivity and specificity. The present work evaluates the cross-reactivity of commercially available cyclic nucleotide analogs with two non-radioactive and one radioactive cAMP and cGMP immunoassay. Most of the tested cyclic nucleotide analogs showed low degree competition with the antibodies; however, with Rp-cAMPS, 8-Br-cGMP and 8-pCPT-cGMP, a strong cross-reactivity with the corresponding cAMP and cGMP, respectively, immunoassays was observed. The determined EIA-binding constants enabled the measurement of the intracellular cyclic nucleotide concentrations and revealed a time- and lipophilicity-dependent cell membrane permeability of the compounds in the range of 10–30% of the extracellular applied concentration, thus allowing a more accurate prediction of the intracellular analog levels in a given experiment