A Techno-Economic Study of 100% Renewable Energy for a Residential Household in China

In the context of global warming and energy shortage, this paper discusses the techno-economic feasibility of a residential household based on 100% renewable energy in China. The energy storage life, equipment’s residual value, system shortage capacity and atmospheric pollution emissions were considered comprehensively. A life cycle evaluation model based on the net present value (NPV) was built. Taking a real household as an example, the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) is 0.146 $/kW and the unmet load is only 0.86$8079 in 25 years when the LCOE is −0.062 $/kW. The effects of the allowed shortage capacity, renewable energy resources, battery price and the allowed depth of discharge on the economy and energy structure were examined. For example, due to the features of the residential load, the influence of wind resource richness is more obvious than the irradiance. The maximum depth of discharge has less impact on the economy. This paper verifies the techno-economic rationality and feasibility of 100% renewable energy for a household

Inexact half-quadratic optimization for image reconstruction

International audienceWe present new global convergence results for half-quadratic optimization in the context of image reconstruction. In particular, we do not assume that the inner optimization problem is solved exactly and we include the problematic cases where the objective function is nonconvex and has a continuum of stationary points. The inexact algorithm is modeled by a set-valued map defined from the majorization-minimization interpretation of half-quadratic optimization, and our main convergence results are based on the Kurdyka-Lojasiewicz inequality. We also propose a practical implementation that uses the conjugate gradient method and whose efficiency is illustrated by numerical experiments

Enhancing the Anticancer Efficacy of Immunotherapy through Combination with Histone Modification Inhibitors

In the nucleus of each cell, the DNA is wrapped around histone octamers, forming the so-called “nucleosomal core particles„. The histones undergo various modifications that influence chromatin structure and function, including methylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, phosphorylation, and SUMOylation. These modifications, known as epigenetic modifications (defined as heritable molecular determinants of phenotype that are independent of the DNA sequence), result in alterations of gene expression and changes in cell behavior. Recent work has shown that epigenetic drugs targeting histone deacetylation or methylation modulate the immune response and overcome acquired resistance to immunotherapy. A number of combination therapies involving immunotherapy and epigenetic drugs, which target histone deacetylation or methylation, are currently under various clinical/pre-clinical investigations and have shown promising anticancer efficacy. These combination therapies may provide a new strategy for achieving sustained anticancer efficacy and overcoming resistance

Intentional Carrier Doping to Realize n-Type Conduction in Zintl Phases Eu5−yLayIn2.2Sb6

Due to the tunable electrical transport properties and lower thermal conductivity, Zintl phase compounds have been considered as a promising candidate for thermoelectric applications. Most Sb-based Zintl compounds exhibit essentially p-type conduction as result of the cation vacancy. Herein, n-type Zintl phases Eu5−yLayIn2.2Sb6 has been successfully synthesized via controlling the vacancy defect combined with intentional electron doping. Excess of In would occupy the vacancy while La doping enables the electron to be the major carrier at the measured temperate range, realizing the n-type conduction for Eu5−yLayIn2.2Sb6 (y ≥ 0.04). Meanwhile, the thermal conductivity of Eu5−yLayIn2.2Sb6 reduces from 0.90 W/mK to 0.72 W/mK at 583 K derived from the La doping-induced disorder. The maximum thermoelectric figure of merit zT = 0.13 was obtained. This work firstly realizes the n-type conduction in Eu5In2Sb6, which sheds light on the strategy to synthesize n-type Zintl thermoelectric materials and promotes the practical applications of Zintl thermoelectric devices

Cd substitution in Zintl phase Eu5In2Sb6 enhancing the thermoelectric performance

Rare earth-contained compound Eu5In2Sb6 which shows improved air stability and competitive thermoelectric properties in comparison to its alkaline earth analogues, has attracted much attention recently for thermoelectric applications. Polycrystalline samples Eu5In2-xCdxSb6 (x ¼ 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.06, 0.08, 0.1) were synthesized via a direct element combination reaction and subsequent hot-press sintering. With increasing Cd concentration, both the electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient decrease monotonously, and the conductive behaviors vary essentially from non-degenerate semiconductor to degenerate semiconductor. The maximum value of power factor (5.78 mW/cm*K2 ) can be obtained with x ¼ 0.1. While the total thermal conductivity rise as a result of the contribution of electronic part, the thermoelectric figure of merit zT for Eu5In2-xCdxSb6 can be enhanced up to 0.5 at 709

The Diffusion of Low-Energy Methyl Group on ITO Film Surface and Its Impact on Optical-Electrical Properties

Indium tin oxide (ITO) film is one of the ideal candidates for transparent conductive cathode in methylammonium lead halide perovskite solar cells. Thus, the diffusion of methyl group in ITO film is inevitable, which could deteriorate the optical-electrical property of ITO film. In this study, ITO films with and without (100) preferred orientation were bombarded by the low-energy methyl group beam. After the bombardment, the optical-electrical property of ITO film without (100) preferred orientation deteriorated. The bombardment of methyl group had little influence on the optical-electrical property of ITO film with (100) preferred orientation. Finally, combining the crystallographic texture and chemical bond structure analysis, the diffusion mechanism of low-energy methyl group on ITO lattice and grain boundary, as well as the relation between the optical-electrical property and the diffusion of the methyl group, were discussed systematically. With the above results, ITO film with (100) preferred orientation could be an ideal candidate for transparent conductive cathode in methylammonium lead halide perovskite solar cells