Energy Storage Optimization for Grid Reliability

Large scale renewable energy integration is being planned for multiple power grids around the world. To achieve secure and stable grid operations, additional resources/reserves are needed to mitigate the inherent intermittency of renewable energy sources (RES). In this paper, we present formulations to understand the effect of fast storage reserves in improving grid reliability under different cost functions. Our formulations and solution schemes not only aim to minimize imbalance but also maintain state-of-charge (SoC) of storage. In particular, we show that accounting for system response due to inertia and local governor response enables a more realistic quantification of storage requirements for damping net load fluctuations. The storage requirement is significantly lower than values determined when such traditional response are not accounted for. We demonstrate the performance of our designed policies through studies using real data from the Elia TSO in Belgium and BPA agency in the USA. The numerical results enable us to benchmark the marginal effect on reliability due to increasing storage size under different system responses and associated cost functions

Lessons learned in developing family medicine residency training programs in Japan

BACKGROUND: While family medicine is not well established as a discipline in Japan, a growing number of Japanese medical schools and training hospitals have recently started sougoushinryoubu (general medicine departments). Some of these departments are incorporating a family medicine approach to residency training. We sought to learn from family medicine pioneers of these programs lessons for developing residency training. METHODS: This qualitative project utilized a long interview research design. Questions focused on four topics: 1) circumstances when becoming chair/faculty member; 2) approach to starting the program; 3) how Western ideas of family medicine were incorporated; and 4) future directions. We analyzed the data using immersion/crystallization to identify recurring themes. From the transcribed data, we selected representative quotations to illustrate them. We verified the findings by emailing the participants and obtaining feedback. RESULTS: Participants included: five chairpersons, two program directors, and three faculty members. We identified five lessons: 1) few people understand the basic concepts of family medicine; 2) developing a core curriculum is difficult; 3) start with undergraduates; 4) emphasize clinical skills; and 5) train in the community. CONCLUSION: While organizational change is difficult, the identified lessons suggest issues that merit consideration when developing a family medicine training program. Lessons from complexity science could inform application of these insights in other countries and settings newly developing residency training

Protein-peptide association kinetics beyond the seconds timescale from atomistic simulations

Understanding and control of structures and rates involved in protein-ligand binding are es- sential for drug design. Unfortunately, atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations cannot di- rectly sample the excessively long residence and rearrangement times of tightly binding complexes. Here we exploit the recently developed multi-ensemble Markov model framework to compute full protein-peptide kinetics of the oncoprotein fragment 25−109Mdm2 and the nano-molar inhibitor peptide PMI. Using this system, we report, for the first time, direct estimates of kinetics beyond the seconds timescales using simulations of an all-atom MD model, with high accuracy and pre- cision. These results only require explicit simulations on the sub-milliseconds timescale and are tested against existing mutagenesis data and our own experimental measurements of the dissoci- ation and association rates. The full kinetic model reveals an overall downhill but rugged binding funnel with multiple pathways. The overall strong binding arises from a variety of conformations with different hydrophobic contact surfaces that interconvert on the milliseconds timescale.Funding is acknowledged by European Commission (ERC StG “pcCells” to F.N.), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 1114/C3, SFB 740/D7, and TRR 186/A12 to F.N. and SFB 1114/A4 to F.N. and T.W.). J.C. is a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow (WT 095195MA). J.S. is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Internationally outgoing fellow. M.D.C. is supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) studentship