1,176 research outputs found
Estimating the Benefits of Electric Vehicle Smart Charging at Non-Residential Locations: A Data-Driven Approach
In this paper, we use data collected from over 2000 non-residential electric
vehicle supply equipments (EVSEs) located in Northern California for the year
of 2013 to estimate the potential benefits of smart electric vehicle (EV)
charging. We develop a smart charging framework to identify the benefits of
non-residential EV charging to the load aggregators and the distribution grid.
Using this extensive dataset, we aim to improve upon past studies focusing on
the benefits of smart EV charging by relaxing the assumptions made in these
studies regarding: (i) driving patterns, driver behavior and driver types; (ii)
the scalability of a limited number of simulated vehicles to represent
different load aggregation points in the power system with different customer
characteristics; and (iii) the charging profile of EVs. First, we study the
benefits of EV aggregations behind-the-meter, where a time-of-use pricing
schema is used to understand the benefits to the owner when EV aggregations
shift load from high cost periods to lower cost periods. For the year of 2013,
we show a reduction of up to 24.8% in the monthly bill is possible. Then,
following a similar aggregation strategy, we show that EV aggregations decrease
their contribution to the system peak load by approximately 40% when charging
is controlled within arrival and departure times. Our results also show that it
could be expected to shift approximately 0.25kWh (~2.8%) of energy per
non-residential EV charging session from peak periods (12PM-6PM) to off-peak
periods (after 6PM) in Northern California for the year of 2013.Comment: Pre-print, under review at Applied Energ
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Providing Grid Services With Heat Pumps: A Review
Abstract
The integration of variable and intermittent renewable energy generation into the power system is a grand challenge to our efforts to achieve a sustainable future. Flexible demand is one solution to this challenge, where the demand can be controlled to follow energy supply, rather than the conventional way of controlling energy supply to follow demand. Recent research has shown that electric building climate control systems like heat pumps can provide this demand flexibility by effectively storing energy as heat in the thermal mass of the building. While some forms of heat pump demand flexibility have been implemented in the form of peak pricing and utility demand response programs, controlling heat pumps to provide ancillary services like frequency regulation, load following, and reserve have yet to be widely implemented. In this paper, we review the recent advances and remaining challenges in controlling heat pumps to provide these grid services. This analysis includes heat pump and building modeling, control methods both for isolated heat pumps and heat pumps in aggregate, and the potential implications that this concept has on the power system
Microscope 2.0: An Augmented Reality Microscope with Real-time Artificial Intelligence Integration
The brightfield microscope is instrumental in the visual examination of both
biological and physical samples at sub-millimeter scales. One key clinical
application has been in cancer histopathology, where the microscopic assessment
of the tissue samples is used for the diagnosis and staging of cancer and thus
guides clinical therapy. However, the interpretation of these samples is
inherently subjective, resulting in significant diagnostic variability.
Moreover, in many regions of the world, access to pathologists is severely
limited due to lack of trained personnel. In this regard, Artificial
Intelligence (AI) based tools promise to improve the access and quality of
healthcare. However, despite significant advances in AI research, integration
of these tools into real-world cancer diagnosis workflows remains challenging
because of the costs of image digitization and difficulties in deploying AI
solutions. Here we propose a cost-effective solution to the integration of AI:
the Augmented Reality Microscope (ARM). The ARM overlays AI-based information
onto the current view of the sample through the optical pathway in real-time,
enabling seamless integration of AI into the regular microscopy workflow. We
demonstrate the utility of ARM in the detection of lymph node metastases in
breast cancer and the identification of prostate cancer with a latency that
supports real-time workflows. We anticipate that ARM will remove barriers
towards the use of AI in microscopic analysis and thus improve the accuracy and
efficiency of cancer diagnosis. This approach is applicable to other microscopy
tasks and AI algorithms in the life sciences and beyond
Comparison between esophageal and intestinal temperature responses to upper-limb exercise in individuals with spinal cord injury
Objective: Individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) may present with impaired sympathetic
control over thermoregulatory responses to environmental and exercise stressors, which can
impact regional core temperature (Tcore) measurement. The purpose of this study was to
investigate whether regional differences in Tcore responses exist during exercise in individuals
with SCI.
Setting: Rehabilitation centre in Wakayama, Japan.
Methods: We recruited 12 men with motor-complete SCI (7 tetraplegia, 5 paraplegia) and 5
able-bodied controls to complete a 30-minute bout of arm-cycling exercise at 50% V̇ O2peak.
Tcore was estimated using telemetric pills (intestinal temperature; Tint) and esophageal probes
(Teso). Heat storage was calculated from baseline to 15 and 30 minutes of exercise.
Results: At 15 minutes of exercise, elevations in Teso (Δ0.39±0.22°C; P<0.05), but not Tint
(Δ0.04±0.18°C; P=0.09), were observed in able-bodied men. At 30 minutes of exercise, men
with paraplegia and able-bodied men both exhibited increases in Teso (paraplegia: Δ0.56±0.30°C,
P<0.05; able-bodied men: Δ0.60±0.31°C, P<0.05) and Tint (paraplegia: Δ0.38±0.33°C, P<0.05;
able-bodied men: Δ0.30±0.30°C, P<0.05). Teso began rising 7.2 min earlier than Tint (pooled,
P<0.01). Heat storage estimated by Teso was greater than heat storage estimated by Tint at 15
minutes (P=0.02) and 30 minutes (P=0.03) in men with paraplegia. No elevations in Teso, Tint, or
heat storage were observed in men with tetraplegia. Conclusions: While not interchangeable, both Teso and Tint are sensitive to elevations in Tcore during arm-cycling exercise in men with paraplegia, although Teso may have superior sensitivity
to capture temperature information earlier during exercise
COPI mediates recycling of an exocytic SNARE by recognition of a ubiquitin sorting signal
The COPI coat forms transport vesicles from the Golgi complex and plays a poorly defined role in endocytic trafficking. Here we show that COPI binds K63-linked polyubiquitin and this interaction is crucial for trafficking of a ubiquitinated yeast SNARE (Snc1). Snc1 is a v-SNARE that drives fusion of exocytic vesicles with the plasma membrane, and then recycles through the endocytic pathway to the Golgi for reuse in exocytosis. Removal of ubiquitin from Snc1, or deletion of a β’-COP subunit propeller domain that binds K63-linked polyubiquitin, disrupts Snc1 recycling causing aberrant accumulation in internal compartments. Moreover, replacement of the β’-COP propeller domain with unrelated ubiquitin-binding domains restores Snc1 recycling. These results indicate that ubiquitination, a modification well known to target membrane proteins to the lysosome or vacuole for degradation, can also function as recycling signal to sort a SNARE into COPI vesicles in a non-degradative pathway
Lower Extremity Kinematics of the Y-Balance Test in Healthy and ACL Injured Adolescent Females
# Background
Adolescent females are at significant risk for sustaining an ACL injury. The Y-Balance Test (YBT) is frequently used to evaluate neuromuscular control and lower extremity function. However, few studies have quantified 2D lower extremity kinematics during performance of the YBT, and there is an absence of kinematic data specific to at-risk adolescent females.
# Purpose
To examine lower extremity joint kinematics during execution of the YBT by healthy and ACL-injured adolescent females.
# Study Design
Prospective cohort.
# Methods
Twenty-five healthy and ten ACL-injured (mean time from injury 143 days) adolescent females were assessed using the YBT. Sagittal and frontal plane knee and ankle motion was video recorded during execution of the YBT anterior reach movement. Ankle dorsi-flexion, knee flexion, and knee valgus angles were quantified via kinematic analysis. ANOVAs with a post hoc Bonferroni correction were used to compare YBT scoring (%LL) and kinematic data between groups. Pearson product-moment correlations determined the relationship between kinematic data and YBT scoring.
# Results
Healthy and ACL-injured subjects demonstrated similar YBT scores and lower extremity kinematic data. Healthy subjects demonstrated a weak positive correlation between ankle dorsiflexion and YBT scoring, and a weak negative correlation between knee valgus and YBT scoring. These relationships did not exist for ACL-injured subjects. Kinematic data for both groups also demonstrated a large degree of variability, regardless of YBT score.
# Conclusions
Adolescent females frequently utilize a variety of lower extremity movement strategies when performing a functional movement task, and scoring on the YBT offers limited insight regarding lower extremity joint kinematics and ACL-injury risk in a physically active adolescent female population.
# Level of Evidence
Level 3
A Green Bank Telescope search for narrowband technosignatures between 1.1-1.9 GHz during 12 Kepler planetary transits
A growing avenue for determining the prevalence of life beyond Earth is to
search for "technosignatures" from extraterrestrial intelligences/agents.
Technosignatures require significant energy to be visible across interstellar
space and thus intentional signals might be concentrated in frequency, in time,
or in space, to be found in mutually obvious places. Therefore, it could be
advantageous to search for technosignatures in parts of parameter space that
are mutually-derivable to an observer on Earth and a distant transmitter. In
this work, we used the L-band (1.1-1.9 GHz) receiver on the Robert C. Byrd
Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to perform the first technosignature search
pre-synchronized with exoplanet transits, covering 12 Kepler systems. We used
the Breakthrough Listen turboSETI pipeline to flag narrowband hits (3 Hz)
using a maximum drift rate of 614.4 Hz/s and a signal-to-noise threshold
of 5 - the pipeline returned apparently-localized
features. Visual inspection by a team of citizen scientists ruled out 99.6% of
them. Further analysis found 2 signals-of-interest that warrant follow-up, but
no technosignatures. If the signals-of-interest are not re-detected in future
work, it will imply that the 12 targets in the search are not producing
transit-aligned signals from 1.1-1.9 GHz with transmitter powers 60 times
that of the former Arecibo radar. This search debuts a range of innovative
technosignature techniques: citizen science vetting of potential
signals-of-interest, a sensitivity-aware search out to extremely high drift
rates, a more flexible method of analyzing on-off cadences, and an extremely
low signal-to-noise threshold.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figure
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