Computational modeling of Li-ion batteries

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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TECHNICAL, ECONOMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FEASIBILITY OF COGENERATION PLANT USING WOOD BIOMASS

After having identified, in a previous work [6], the possible sites for the location of a new cogeneration plant using wood biomass in the Mountain Community of Carnia, Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (Italy), the technical and economic feasibility and environmental sustainability of such a system has been carried out in order to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed solution

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TECHNICAL, ECONOMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FEASIBILITY OF COGENERATION PLANT USING WOOD BIOMASS

After having identified, in a previous work [6], the possible sites for the location of a new cogeneration plant using wood biomass in the Mountain Community of Carnia, Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (Italy), the technical and economic feasibility and environmental sustainability of such a system has been carried out in order to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed solution

Tensorial effective transport properties of Li-ion battery separators elucidated by computational multiscale modeling

Existing battery modeling works have limitations in addressing the dependence of transport properties on local field variations and characterizing the response of anisotropic media. These limitations are tackled by means of a nested finite element (FE2) multiscale framework in which microscale simulations are employed to comprehensively characterize an anisotropic medium (macroscale). The approach is applied to the numerical simulation of transport processes in lithium ion battery separators. From the microscale solution, homogenized fluxes and their dependence on the downscaled macroscale variables are upscaled, thereby replacing otherwise assumed macroscale constitutive laws. The tensorial nature of macroscale effective transport properties stems from the numerical treatment. The proposed approach is verified against full-scale simulations. Several numerical examples are used to demonstrate the perils associated with accepted procedures, leading in some cases to severe discrepancies in the prediction of field quantities (from differences in the potential drop across the separator of about 27% for a fixed microstructure to more than 100% in the case of an evolving microstructure). Despite the use of simplified assumptions (e.g., synthetic microstructures), the numerical results demonstrate the importance of a tensorial description of transport properties in the modeling of battery processes

Investigating the Influence that Service in a Pro Bono Clinic has on a First Full-Time Clinical Education Experience from the Perspective of Students and their Clinical Instructors

Purpose: Academic physical therapy programs strive to foster student readiness for full-time clinical education experiences in a variety of ways. This research looks at one program who has students participate in a student-run pro bono clinic for at least 60 hours prior to the first full-time clinic experience. The purpose of the study is to explore the influence that participation in this pro bono clinic has on a first full-time clinical education experience from the perspective of both the student and the clinical instructor (CI). Methods: Qualitative methodology was employed to gain the perspectives of 29 students and their respective CIs. Data collection included student journals and focus groups, and CI Likert-scale rankings and open-ended questions upon midterm calls. Data points were triangulated through iterative data analysis. Results: CIs rated students high in the eight categories that were triangulated to student data. The themes that were strongest among both students and Cis included comfort with client interaction, interaction with CIs, and cultural competency. Additional themes included documentation, interprofessional interaction, examination, clinical reasoning and intervention. An overarching theme was that students were well-prepared and functioning at high levels of competency for a first full-time clinical experience. Conclusions: Participation in a student-run pro bono clinic helps to facilitate student readiness for a first full-time clinical education experience according to both student perceptions and CI ratings

Stem-like and highly invasive prostate cancer cells expressing CD44v8-10 marker originate from CD44-negative cells

In human prostate cancer (PCa), the neuroendocrine cells, expressing the prostate cancer stem cell (CSC) marker CD44, may be resistant to androgen ablation and promote tumor recurrence. During the study of heterogeneity of the highly aggressive neuroendocrine PCa cell lines PC3 and DU-145, we isolated and expanded in vitro a minor subpopulation of very small cells lacking CD44 (CD44neg). Unexpectedly, these sorted CD44neg cells rapidly and spontaneously converted to a stable CD44high phenotype specifically expressing the CD44v8-10 isoform which the sorted CD44high subpopulation failed to express. Surprisingly and potentially interesting, in these cells expression of CD44v8-10 was found to be induced in stem cell medium. CD44 variant isoforms are known to be more expressed in CSC and metastatic cells than CD44 standard isoform. In agreement, functional analysis of the two sorted and cultured subpopulations has shown that the CD44v8-10pos PC3 cells, resulting from the conversion of the CD44neg subpopulation, were more invasive in vitro and had a higher clonogenic potential than the sorted CD44high cells, in that they produced mainly holoclones, known to be enriched in stem-like cells. Of interest, the CD44v8-10 is more expressed in human PCa biopsies than in normal gland. The discovery of CD44v8-10pos cells with stem-like and invasive features, derived from a minoritarian CD44neg cell population in PCa, alerts on the high plasticity of stem-like markers and urges for prudency on the approaches to targeting the putative CSC

On the polarimetric backscatter by a still or quasi-still wind turbine

Wind turbines negatively affect the performance of weather radars, especially when located in the proximity of a radar site. In March 2019, MeteoSwiss performed a measurement campaign by deploying a mobile X-band radar in Schaffhausen. It proved to be useful for mapping and characterizing the maximum power returns by three wind turbines observed using standard scanning strategies. In March 2020, the campaign was repeated using a more sophisticated scan strategy: ∼ 100 min special sessions of fixed pointing an antenna towards the nacelle of the closest wind turbine (WT) located within a range of 7766 m from the radar, interleaved every 2 h by a scanning protocol identical to that of the March 2019 campaign. Polarimetric radar signatures were derived every 64 ms using 128 radar pulses transmitted every 0.5 ms (pulse repetition frequency (PRF) = 2000 Hz). A thorough overview of the polarimetric signatures of the WT in still or quasi-still conditions has been obtained based on 30 000 polarimetric measurables acquired over 32 min on the first day of the campaign (4 March 2020). During the first 2 min with zero rotor speed, the co-polar correlation coefficient between the orthogonal polarization states, ρHV, was persistently equal to 1, similarly to the signature of a bright scatterer observed by a non-rotating antenna. The changes between two consecutive values of the differential reflectivity and radar reflectivity factor were either 0 dBz or ±0.5 dBz. Due to the absence of precipitation, one could assume that the standard deviation of the differential phase shift, which was as small as 3.0∘, can be entirely attributed to the variability of the differential backscattering phase shift. There were two 10 min periods during which the rotor moved less than 1 revolution. It is worth noting that this slow movement could be associated with a change in the blade pitch angle and the nacelle orientation, which caused extreme changes in the radar reflectivity factor. For instance, two pairs of 64 ms consecutive values reached 78.5 dBz, which is the absolute maximum reached in the whole campaign (4–21 March 2020).</p

Estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer in postmenopausal women: The role of body composition and physical exercise

Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide and the most common cause of cancer-related death. To date, it is still a challenge to estimate the magnitude of the clinical impact of physical activity (PA) on those parameters producing significative changes in future BC risk and disease progression. However, studies conducted in recent years highlight the role of PA not only as a protective factor for the development of ER+ breast cancer but, more generally, as a useful tool in the management of BC treatment as an adjuvant to traditional therapies. In this review, we focused our attention on data obtained from human studies analyzing, at each level of disease prevention (i.e., primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary), the positive impact of PA/exercise in ER+ BC, a subtype representing approximately 70% of all BC diagnoses. Moreover, given the importance of estrogen receptors and body composition (i.e., adipose tissue) in this subtype of BC, an overview of their role will also be made throughout this review