Residential photovoltaic module and array requirements study

Design requirements for photovoltaic modules and arrays used in residential applications were identified. Building codes and referenced standards were reviewed for their applicability to residential photovoltaic array installations. Four installation types were identified - integral (replaces roofing), direct (mounted on top of roofing), stand-off (mounted away from roofing), and rack (for flat or low slope roofs, or ground mounted). Installation costs were developed for these mounting types as a function of panel/module size. Studies were performed to identify optimum module shapes and sizes and operating voltage cost drivers. It is concluded that there are no perceived major obstacles to the use of photovoltaic modules in residential arrays. However, there is no applicable building code category for residential photovoltaic modules and arrays and additional work with standards writing organizations is needed to develop residential module and array requirements

Loose mechanochemical coupling of molecular motors

In living cells, molecular motors convert chemical energy into mechanical work. Its thermodynamic energy efficiency, i.e. the ratio of output mechanical work to input chemical energy, is usually high. However, using two-state models, we found the motion of molecular motors is loosely coupled to the chemical cycle. Only part of the input energy can be converted into mechanical work. Others is dissipated into environment during substeps without contributions to the macro scale unidirectional movement

The mean velocity of two-state models of molecular motor

The motion of molecular motor is essential to the biophysical functioning of living cells. In principle, this motion can be regraded as a multiple chemical states process. In which, the molecular motor can jump between different chemical states, and in each chemical state, the motor moves forward or backward in a corresponding potential. So, mathematically, the motion of molecular motor can be described by several coupled one-dimensional hopping models or by several coupled Fokker-Planck equations. To know the basic properties of molecular motor, in this paper, we will give detailed analysis about the simplest cases: in which there are only two chemical states. Actually, many of the existing models, such as the flashing ratchet model, can be regarded as a two-state model. From the explicit expression of the mean velocity, we find that the mean velocity of molecular motor might be nonzero even if the potential in each state is periodic, which means that there is no energy input to the molecular motor in each of the two states. At the same time, the mean velocity might be zero even if there is energy input to the molecular motor. Generally, the velocity of molecular motor depends not only on the potentials (or corresponding forward and backward transition rates) in the two states, but also on the transition rates between the two chemical states

Queen control of a key life-history event in a eusocial insect

In eusocial insects, inclusive fitness theory predicts potential queen–worker conflict over the timing of events in colony life history. Whether queens or workers control the timing of these events is poorly understood. In the bumble-bee Bombus terrestris, queens exhibit a ‘switch point’ in which they switch from laying diploid eggs yielding females (workers and new queens) to laying haploid eggs yielding males. By rearing foundress queens whose worker offspring were removed as pupae and sexing their eggs using microsatellite genotyping, we found that queens kept in the complete absence of adult workers still exhibit a switch point. Moreover, the timing of their switch points relative to the start of egg-laying did not differ significantly from that of queens allowed to produce normal colonies. The finding that bumble-bee queens can express the switch point in the absence of workers experimentally demonstrates queen control of a key life-history event in eusocial insects. In addition, we found no evidence that workers affect the timing of the switch point either directly or indirectly via providing cues to queens, suggesting that workers do not fully express their interests in queen–worker conflicts over colony life history

Circadian regulation of lipid mobilization in white adipose tissues.

In mammals, a network of circadian clocks regulates 24-h rhythms of behavior and physiology. Circadian disruption promotes obesity and the development of obesity-associated disorders, but it remains unclear to which extent peripheral tissue clocks contribute to this effect. To reveal the impact of the circadian timing system on lipid metabolism, blood and adipose tissue samples from wild-type, Clock Delta 19, and Bmall(-/-) circadian mutant mice were subjected to biochemical assays and gene expression profiling. We show diurnal variations in lipolysis rates and release of free fatty acids (FFAs) and glycerol into the blood correlating with rhythmic regulation of two genes encoding the lipolysis pacemaker enzymes, adipose triglyceride (TG) lipase and hormone-sensitive lipase, by self-sustained adipocyte clocks. Circadian clock mutant mice show low and nonrhythmic FFA and glycerol blood content together with decreased lipolysis rates and increased sensitivity to fasting. Instead circadian clock disruption promotes the accumulation of TGs in white adipose tissue (WAT), leading to increased adiposity and adipocyte hypertrophy. In summary, circadian modulation of lipolysis rates regulates the availability of lipid-derived energy during the day, suggesting a role for WAT clocks in the regulation of energy homeostasis

Spatial and spatio-temporal patterns in a cell-haptotaxis model

We investigate a cell-haptotaxis model for the generation of spatial and spatio-temporal patterns in one dimension. We analyse the steady state problem for specific boundary conditions and show the existence of spatially hetero-geneous steady states. A linear analysis shows that stability is lost through a Hopf bifurcation. We carry out a nonlinear multi-time scale perturbation procedure to study the evolution of the resulting spatio-temporal patterns. We also analyse the model in a parameter domain wherein it exhibits a singular dispersion relation

Residential photovoltaic module and array requirements study, appendices

Regional building code variations, federal and city codes, and the national electric code are reviewed for their possible effects on the design of photovoltaic modules. Problems that photovoltaic arrays may impose on the insurability of residences are also discussed. Mounting configurations are developed for the modules, and grounding, wiring, terminal, and voltage requirements are established. Installation and materials costs are presented along with performance criteria

A modified Oster-Murray-Harris mechanical model of morphogenesis

There are two main modeling paradigms for biological pattern formation in developmental biology: chemical prepattern models and cell aggregation models. This paper focuses on an example of a cell aggregation model, the mechanical model developed by Oster, Murray, and Harris [Development, 78 (1983), pp. 83--125]. We revisit the Oster--Murray--Harris model and find that, due to the infinitesimal displacement assumption made in the original version of this model, there is a restriction on the types of boundary conditions that can be prescribed. We derive a modified form of the model which relaxes the infinitesimal displacement assumption. We analyze the dynamics of this model using linear and multiscale nonlinear analysis and show that it has the same linear behavior as the original Oster--Murray--Harris model. Nonlinear analysis, however, predicts that the modified model will allow for a wider range of parameters where the solution evolves to a bounded steady state. The results from both analyses are verified through numerical simulations of the full nonlinear model in one and two dimensions. The increased range of boundary conditions that are well-posed, as well as a wider range of parameters that yield bounded steady states, renders the modified model more applicable to, and more robust for, comparisons with experiments