A Sustainable Prototype for Renewable Energy: Optimized Prime-power Generator Solar Array Replacement

Remote locations such as disaster relief camps, isolated arctic communities, and military forward operating bases are disconnected from traditional power grids forcing them to rely on diesel generators with a total installed capacity of 10,000 MW worldwide. The generators require a constant resupply of fuel, resulting in increased operating costs, negative environmental impacts, and challenging fuel logistics. To enhance remote site sustainability, planners can develop stand-alone photovoltaic-battery systems to replace existing prime power generators. This paper presents the development of a novel cost-performance model capable of optimizing solar array and Li-ion battery storage size by generating tradeoffs between minimizing initial system cost and maximizing power reliability. A case study for the replacement of an 800 kW generator, the US Air Force’s standard for prime power at deployed locations, was analyzed to demonstrate the model and its capabilities. A MATLAB model, simulating one year of solar data, was used to generate an optimized solution to minimize initial cost while providing over 99% reliability. Replacing a single diesel generator would result in a savings of 1.9 million liters of fuel, eliminating 100 fuel tanker truck deliveries annually. The distinctive capabilities of this model enable designers to enhance environmental, economic, and operational sustainability of remote locations by creating energy self-sufficient sites, which can operate indefinitely without the need for resupply

A New Adenovirus Based Vaccine Vector Expressing an Eimeria tenella Derived TLR Agonist Improves Cellular Immune Responses to an Antigenic Target

Adenoviral based vectors remain promising vaccine platforms for use against numerous pathogens, including HIV. Recent vaccine trials utilizing Adenovirus based vaccines expressing HIV antigens confirmed induction of cellular immune responses, but these responses failed to prevent HIV infections in vaccinees. This illustrates the need to develop vaccine formulations capable of generating more potent T-cell responses to HIV antigens, such as HIV-Gag, since robust immune responses to this antigen correlate with improved outcomes in long-term non-progressor HIV infected individuals.. Moreover, we show that these improved responses were dependent upon improved TLR pathway interactions.The data presented in this study illustrate the potential utility of Ad-based vectors expressing TLR agonists to improve clinical outcomes dependent upon induction of robust, antigen specific immune responses

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

10.1111/gcb.14904GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY261119-18