Preliminary design of a fuel cell/battery hybrid powertrain for a heavy-duty yard truck for port logistics

Abstract The maritime transport and the port-logistic industry are key drivers of economic growth, although, they represent major contributors to climate change. In particular, maritime port facilities are typically located near cities or residential areas, thus having a significant direct environmental impact, in terms of air and water quality, as well as noise. The majority of the pollutant emissions in ports comes from cargo ships, and from all the related ports activities carried out by road vehicles. Therefore, a progressive reduction of the use of fossil fuels as a primary energy source for these vehicles and the promotion of cleaner powertrain alternatives is in order. The present study deals with the design of a new propulsion system for a heavy-duty vehicle for port applications. Specifically, this work aims at laying the foundations for the development of a benchmark industrial cargo–handling hydrogen-fueled vehicle to be used in real port operations. To this purpose, an on-field measurement campaign has been conducted to analyze the duty cycle of a commercial Diesel-engine yard truck currently used for terminal ports operations. The vehicle dynamics has been numerically modeled and validated against the acquired data, and the energy and power requirements for a plug-in fuel cell/battery hybrid powertrain replacing the Diesel powertrain on the same vehicle have been evaluated. Finally, a preliminary design of the new powertrain and a rule-based energy management strategy have been proposed, and the electric energy and hydrogen consumptions required to achieve the target driving range for roll-on and roll-off operations have been estimated. The results are promising, showing that the hybrid electric vehicle is capable of achieving excellent energy performances, by means of an efficient use of the fuel cell. An overall amount of roughly 12 kg of hydrogen is estimated to be required to accomplish the most demanding port operation, and meet the target of 6 h of continuous operation. Also, the vehicle powertrain ensures an adequate all-electric range, which is between approximately 1 and 2 h depending on the specific port operation. Potentially, the hydrogen-fueled yard truck is expected to lead to several benefits, such as local zero emissions, powertrain noise elimination, reduction of the vehicle maintenance costs, improving of the energy management, and increasing of operational efficiency

Perioperative care in elderly patients undergoing thyroid surgery

AbstractThe features of western world population are rapidly changing. The increment geriatric population obliges clinicians to implement specific recommendations and guidelines to manage these patients.In the field of thyroid surgery, when indications are represented by benign conditions, surgeons and endocrinologists tent to avoid surgery for the increased perioperative risks in the over 70 year old population.We reviewed our experience in thyroid surgery in geriatric patients within the environment of a “week surgery unit”. This unit was conceived to offer a highly specialized setting for thyroid patients needing short stay after surgery.Results showed that the surgical outcomes were comparable to the ones from third surgery in young patients.The week surgery approach is the best and safest formula to offer to the geriatric population needing thyroid surgery

Women’s adaptation to STEM domains promotes resilience and a lesser reliance on heuristic thinking

Experiences that compel people to challenge social stereotypes can promote enhanced cognitive flexibility on a range of judgmental domains. Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields are chronically exposed to such experiences and may therefore also demonstrate these benefits. Two studies examined the differential effects of counterstereotypical experiences on women from STEM and non-STEM fields. Results showed that imagining or recollecting these experiences led women from STEM fields to exhibit a lesser reliance on heuristic thinking compared to women from non-STEM fields, and this difference was mediated by self-perceived resilience to the negative impact of gender stereotyping. Implications for psychologists’ and educators’ understanding of the relationship between counterstereotypical experiences and heuristic thinking are discussed

Teletraffic Engineering for Direct Load Control in Smart Grids

International audienceThe traditional paradigm for power grid operation is to continuously adapt energy production to demand. This paradigm is challenged by the increasing penetration of renewable sources, that are more variable and less predictable. An alternative approach is the direct load control of some inherently flexible electric loads to shape the demand. Direct control of deferrable loads presents analogies with flow admission control in telecommunication networks: a request for network resources (bandwidth or energy) can be delayed on the basis of the current network status in order to guarantee some performance metrics. In this paper we go beyond such an analogy, showing that usual teletraffic tools can be effectively used to control energy loads. In particular, we propose a family of control schemes which can be easily tuned to achieve the desired trade-off among resource usage, control overhead and privacy leakage

Large Scale Control of Deferrable Domestic Loads in Smart Grids

International audienceIn this paper, we investigate a realistic and low-cost deployment of large scale direct control of inelastic home appliances whose energy demand cannot be shaped, but simply deferred. The idea is to exploit 1) some simple actuators to be placed on the electric plugs for connecting or disconnecting appliances with heterogeneous control interfaces, including non-smart appliances, and 2) the Internet connections of customers for transporting the activation requests from the actuators to a centralized controller. Our solution requires no interaction with home users: in particular, it does not require them to express their energy demand in advance. A queuing theory model is derived to quantify how many users should adopt this solution in order to control a significant aggregated power load without significantly impairing their quality of service

The Biobank of the ‘Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale’ of Sicily: an important resource in medical research for safe and quality storage of biological specimens

The Mediterraean Biobank has been recently launched at the ‘Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale’ (IZS) of Sicily in Palermo. The main aim of the Biobank is to collect and store, under standardised conditions and in a centralised system, several types of certified animal and zoonotic biological resources such as bacterial and viral strains, parasites, nucleic acids, positive/negative sera, cell cultures and tissues, in accordance to quality System procedures as regulated by UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005.peer-reviewe

NUP85 as a Neurodevelopmental Gene: From Podocyte to Neuron

Pathogenic gene variants encoding nuclear pore complex (NPC) proteins were previously implicated in the pathogenesis of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS). The NUP85 gene, encoding nucleoporin, is related to a very rare form of SRNS with limited genotype-phenotype information. We identified an Italian boy affected with an SRNS associated with severe neurodevelopmental impairment characterized by microcephaly, axial hypotonia, lack of achievement of motor milestones, and refractory seizures with an associated hypsarrhythmic pattern on electroencephalography. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed hypoplasia of the corpus callosum and a simplified gyration of the cerebral cortex. Since the age of 3 years, the boy was followed up at our Pediatric Nephrology Department for an SRNS, with a focal segmental glomerulosclerosis at renal biopsy. The boy died 32 months after SRNS onset, and a Whole-Exome Sequencing analysis revealed a novel compound heterozygous variant in NUP85 (NM_024844.5): 611T>A (p.Val204Glu), c.1904T>G (p.Leu635Arg), inherited from the father and mother, respectively. We delineated the clinical phenotypes of NUP85-related disorders, reviewed the affected individuals so far reported in the literature, and overall expanded both the phenotypic and the molecular spectrum associated with this ultra-rare genetic condition. Our study suggests a potential occurrence of severe neurological phenotypes as part of the NUP85-related clinical spectrum and highlights an important involvement of nucleoporin in brain developmental processes and neurological function

Detection of human enteric viruses in water and shellfish samples collected in Sicily

Historical flora and/or vegetation surveys highlight how the small islands of the Ionian coast of Sicily (Bella, Ciclopi islands, Vendicari, Capo Passero), currently protected as Nature Reserves and/or part of the Natura 2000 network have undergone major landscape changes following alterations in anthropogenic pressure. Landscape changes have been more prominent for the islands located in the northern part of the Ionian coast, with the consequence of increasing populations of invasive alien species. In contrast, landscape changes have decreased in the southernmost islands as indicated by the recovery of natural wood vegetation.peer-reviewe

A European Database of Building Energy Profiles to Support the Design of Ground Source Heat Pumps

[EN] The design of ground source heat pumps is a fundamental step to ensure the high energy efficiency of heat pump systems throughout their operating years. To enhance the diffusion of ground source heat pump systems, two different tools are developed in the H2020 research project named, Cheap GSHPs: A design tool and a decision support system. In both cases, the energy demand of the buildings may not be calculated by the user. The main input data, to evaluate the size of the borehole heat exchangers, is the building energy demand. This paper presents a methodology to correlate energy demand, building typologies, and climatic conditions for different types of residential buildings. Rather than envelope properties, three insulation levels have been considered in different climatic conditions to set up a database of energy profiles. Analyzing European climatic test reference years, 23 locations have been considered. For each location, the overall energy and the mean hourly monthly energy profiles for heating and cooling have been calculated. Pre-calculated profiles are needed to size generation systems and, in particular, ground source heat pumps. For this reason, correlations based on the degree days for heating and cooling demand have been found in order to generalize the results for different buildings. These correlations depend on the Koppen-Geiger climate scale.This work received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 657982.Carnieletto, L.; Badenes Badenes, B.; Belliardi, M.; Bernardi, A.; Graci, S.; Emmi, G.; Urchueguía Schölzel, JF.... (2019). A European Database of Building Energy Profiles to Support the Design of Ground Source Heat Pumps. Energies. 12(13):1-23. https://doi.org/10.3390/en12132496S1231213De Carli, M., Tonon, M., Zarrella, A., & Zecchin, R. (2010). A computational capacity resistance model (CaRM) for vertical ground-coupled heat exchangers. Renewable Energy, 35(7), 1537-1550. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2009.11.034Grossi, I., Dongellini, M., Piazzi, A., & Morini, G. L. (2018). Dynamic modelling and energy performance analysis of an innovative dual-source heat pump system. Applied Thermal Engineering, 142, 745-759. doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2018.07.022Engineering Reference Manual. In EnergyPlus V8.5https://energyplus.net/Sandberg, N. H., Bergsdal, H., & Brattebø, H. (2011). Historical energy analysis of the Norwegian dwelling stock. Building Research & Information, 39(1), 1-15. doi:10.1080/09613218.2010.528186Application of Energy Performance Indicators for Residential Building Stocks Experiences of the EPISCOPE Projecthttp://episcope.eu/fileadmin/episcope/public/docs/reports/EPISCOPE_Indicators_ConceptAndExperiences.pdfGustafsson, M., Dipasquale, C., Poppi, S., Bellini, A., Fedrizzi, R., Bales, C., … Holmberg, S. (2017). Economic and environmental analysis of energy renovation packages for European office buildings. Energy and Buildings, 148, 155-165. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.04.079De Carli, M., Bernardi, A., Cultrera, M., Dalla Santa, G., Di Bella, A., Emmi, G., … Zarrella, A. (2018). A Database for Climatic Conditions around Europe for Promoting GSHP Solutions. Geosciences, 8(2), 71. doi:10.3390/geosciences8020071Cartalis, C., Synodinou, A., Proedrou, M., Tsangrassoulis, A., & Santamouris, M. (2001). Modifications in energy demand in urban areas as a result of climate changes: an assessment for the southeast Mediterranean region. Energy Conversion and Management, 42(14), 1647-1656. doi:10.1016/s0196-8904(00)00156-4Kottek, M., Grieser, J., Beck, C., Rudolf, B., & Rubel, F. (2006). World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated. Meteorologische Zeitschrift, 15(3), 259-263. doi:10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0130Herrera, M., Natarajan, S., Coley, D. A., Kershaw, T., Ramallo-González, A. P., Eames, M., … Wood, M. (2017). A review of current and future weather data for building simulation. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 38(5), 602-627. doi:10.1177/0143624417705937Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., & McMahon, T. A. (2007). Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 11(5), 1633-1644. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007D’Amico, A., Ciulla, G., Panno, D., & Ferrari, S. (2019). Building energy demand assessment through heating degree days: The importance of a climatic dataset. Applied Energy, 242, 1285-1306. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.03.167Al-Hadhrami, L. M. (2013). Comprehensive review of cooling and heating degree days characteristics over Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 27, 305-314. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2013.04.034Degree Days.net-Custom Degree Day Datahttp://www.degreedays.netAnnunziata, E., Frey, M., & Rizzi, F. (2013). Towards nearly zero-energy buildings: The state-of-art of national regulations in Europe. Energy, 57, 125-133. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2012.11.049Principle for Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings, Ecofys Germany GmbHhttp://bpie.eu/documents/BPIE/publications/LR_nZEB%20study.pdfAhern, C., Griffiths, P., & O’Flaherty, M. (2013). State of the Irish housing stock—Modelling the heat losses of Ireland’s existing detached rural housing stock & estimating the benefit of thermal retrofit measures on this stock. Energy Policy, 55, 139-151. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2012.11.039Kaklauskas, A., Zavadskas, E. K., Raslanas, S., Ginevicius, R., Komka, A., & Malinauskas, P. (2006). Selection of low-e windows in retrofit of public buildings by applying multiple criteria method COPRAS: A Lithuanian case. Energy and Buildings, 38(5), 454-462. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2005.08.005Zavadskas, E., Raslanas, S., & Kaklauskas, A. (2008). The selection of effective retrofit scenarios for panel houses in urban neighborhoods based on expected energy savings and increase in market value: The Vilnius case. Energy and Buildings, 40(4), 573-587. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2007.04.015Aerts, D., Minnen, J., Glorieux, I., Wouters, I., & Descamps, F. (2014). A method for the identification and modelling of realistic domestic occupancy sequences for building energy demand simulations and peer comparison. Building and Environment, 75, 67-78. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.01.021Yang, Z., & Becerik-Gerber, B. (2014). The coupled effects of personalized occupancy profile based HVAC schedules and room reassignment on building energy use. Energy and Buildings, 78, 113-122. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.04.002Richardson, I., Thomson, M., & Infield, D. (2008). A high-resolution domestic building occupancy model for energy demand simulations. Energy and Buildings, 40(8), 1560-1566. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2008.02.006Villi, G., Peretti, C., Graci, S., & De Carli, M. (2013). Building leakage analysis and infiltration modelling for an Italian multi-family building. Journal of Building Performance Simulation, 6(2), 98-118. doi:10.1080/19401493.2012.69998

Atrial electro-functional predictors of incident atrial fibrillation in cardiac amyloidosis

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in patients with cardiac amyloidosis (CA) and is a significant risk factor for heart failure hospitalization and thromboembolic events. Objective: to investigate the atrial electro-functional predictors of incident AF in CA. Methods: A multicenter, observational study performed in 4 CA referral centers including sinus rhythm patients with light-chain (AL) and transthyretin (ATTR) CA undergoing electrocardiogram (ECG) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). The primary endpoint was new-onset AF occurrence. Results: Overall, 96 patients (AL-CA: n=40; ATTR-CA n=56) were enrolled. During an 18-month median follow-up (Q1-Q3:7-29), 30 patients (29%) had incident AF. Compared with those without, patients with AF were older (79 vs 73 years, p=0.001) and more frequently with ATTR (73% vs 27%, p78 years showed a cumulative incidence for AF of 40% at 12 months. This risk was significantly higher than that carried by one (8.5%) or none (7.6%) of these three risk factors. Conclusions: In patients with CA, older age, IAB on 12-lead ECG and reduced LAEF on CMR are significant and independent predictors of incident AF. A closer screening for AF is advisable in CA patients carrying these features