STUDY AND APPLICATION ON REAL TIME OPTIMUM OPERATION FOR PLANT UNITS

ABSTRACT The optimum unit commitment is to determine an optimal scheme which can minimize the system operating cost during a period while the load demand, operation constrains of the individual unit are simultaneously satisfied. Since it is characterized as a nonlinear, large scale, discrete, mixed-integer combinatorial optimization problem with constrains, it is always hard to find out the theoretical optimal solution. In this paper, a method combining the priority-order with dynamic comparison is brought out to obtain an engineering optimal solution, and is validated in a power plant composed of three 200MW and two 300MW units. Through simulating the on-line running datum from the DCS system in the power plant, the operating cost curves are obtained in different units, startup/shut-down mode and load demand. According to these curves, an optimum unit commitment model is established based on equal-incremental rate pnnciple principle. Make target function be minimum gross coal consumption, the results show that compared with the duty-chief-mode that allocates the load based on operators' experience, the units' mean gross coal consumption rate is reduced about 0.5g/(kWoh) when operating by this unit commitment model, and its economic profit is far more than the load economic allocation model that doesn't considered the units' start-up/shut-down

The molecular basis of ATM-dependent dimerization of the Mdc1 DNA damage checkpoint mediator

Mdc1 is a large modular phosphoprotein scaffold that maintains signaling and repair complexes at double-stranded DNA break sites. Mdc1 is anchored to damaged chromatin through interaction of its C-terminal BRCT-repeat domain with the tail of γH2AX following DNA damage, but the role of the N-terminal forkhead-associated (FHA) domain remains unclear. We show that a major binding target of the Mdc1 FHA domain is a previously unidentified DNA damage and ATM-dependent phosphorylation site near the N-terminus of Mdc1 itself. Binding to this motif stabilizes a weak self-association of the FHA domain to form a tight dimer. X-ray structures of free and complexed Mdc1 FHA domain reveal a ‘head-to-tail’ dimerization mechanism that is closely related to that seen in pre-activated forms of the Chk2 DNA damage kinase, and which both positively and negatively influences Mdc1 FHA domain-mediated interactions in human cells prior to and following DNA damage

Telehealth in Home-Based Primary Care: Factors and Challenges Associated With Integration Into Veteran Care

To describe the structural characteristics and challenges associated with home telehealth (HT) use in the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) program. We designed a national survey to collect information about HBPC program structural characteristics. The survey included eight organizational and service domains, one of which was HT. HBPC program directors were surveyed online using REDCap. We received 232 surveys from 394 HBPC sites (59% response rate). HBPC structural domains were compared between sites using and not using HT technology. Open-ended responses were analyzed using content analysis. A total of 127 sites (76%) used HT, which was more likely when HBPC sites were aligned organizationally with the VA's Geriatrics and Extended Care Services division, when there were more disciplines on the HBPC team, and when primary care providers made home visits. Program directors overwhelmingly viewed HT as contributing to managing veterans' complex chronic conditions (81%), yet HT data were not readily integrated into care planning (24%). Challenges to HT use included veterans' acceptance and adherence, device issues, and collaboration between HBPC teams and HT staff. Corresponding to HBPC's complexity, HT use is primarily a self-organizing process that shapes the patterns of integration at each site. Although HT technology is compatible with core structures of the HBPC model, usability varies, and overall is low. To optimize HT use in HBPC, there are opportunities to redesign systems to mitigate challenges to adoption. As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' strives to increase access to both HBPC and telehealth benefits, evidenced by the continuation of its successful Independence at Home demonstration and the final changes in the proposed rule in April 2019 incorporating additional telehealth benefits for beneficiaries, this information will be relevant to VA and non-VA alike. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:1928-1933, 2019