Congestion Management in European Power Networks: Criteria to Assess the Available Options

EU Member States are pursuing large scale investment in renewable generation in order to meet a 2020 target to source 20% of total energy sources by renewables. As the location for this new generation differs from the location of existing generation sources, and is often on the extremities of the electricity network, it will create new flow patterns and transmission needs. While congestion exists between European countries, increasing the penetration of variable sources of energy will change the current cross-border congestion profile. It becomes increasingly important for the power market design to foster the full use of existing transmission capacity and allow for robust operation even in the presence of system congestion. After identifying five criteria that an effective congestion management scheme for European countries will need, this paper critically assess to what extent the various approaches satisfy the requirements.Power market design, integrating renewables, congestion management

Network-constrained models of liberalized electricity markets: the devil is in the details

Numerical models for electricity markets are frequently used to inform and support decisions. How robust are the results? Three research groups used the same, realistic data set for generators, demand and transmission network as input for their numerical models. The results coincide when predicting competitive market results. In the strategic case in which large generators can exercise market power, the predicted prices differed significantly. The results are highly sensitive to assumptions about market design, timing of the market and assumptions about constraints on the rationality of generators. Given the same assumptions the results coincide. We provide a checklist for users to understand the implications of different modelling assumptions

Network-constrained models of liberalized electricity markets: the devil is in the details

Numerical models for electricity markets are frequently used to inform and support decisions. How robust are the results? Three research groups used the same, realistic data set for generators, demand and transmission network as input for their numerical models. The results coincide when predicting competitive market results. In the strategic case in which large generators can exercise market power, the predicted prices differed significantly. The results are highly sensitive to assumptions about market design, timing of the market and assumptions about constraints on the rationality of generators. Given the same assumptions the results coincide. We provide a checklist for users to understand the implications of different modelling assumptions.Market power, Electricity, Networks, Numeric models, Model comparison

Application of finite element code Q3DFL0-81 to turbomachinery flow fields

Through-flow and blade-to-blade calculations were made in association with a number of experimental research activities at the Turbopropulsion Laboratory, Naval Postgraduate School. The Q3DFL0-81 code was operated on an IBM 370-3033 mainframe computer. The flow through a single stage axial research compressor was computed and compared with both probe survey and stage performance map measurments. Swirling flow produced by a vaned out-flow generator for a radial diffuser test facility was calculated for both large low-speed and small-scale high-speed versions of the device. Flow through a two-dimensional compressor cascade of "controlled-dif fusion" blade shapes was calculated and the results compared with experimental data, and with predictions obtained using the NASA code QSONIC.Prepared for: Naval Air Systems Command, Washington DChttp://archive.org/details/applicationoffin00schuN0001984WR 41099, N0001984WR 41134N

The rising burden of spondylodiscitis in Germany: an epidemiologic study based on the federal statistical office database [Abstract]

Introduction: Spondylodiscitis is the commonest form of infectious disease of the spine and harbours a high mortality rate of up to 20%. Recent demographic trends in Germany, such as an aging population, immunosuppression, and intravenous drug use, suggest that the incidence of spondylodiscitis may be on the rise. However, the exact epidemiological development of the disease remains uncertain. This study aims to analyse the burden on the tertiary healthcare system in Germany using data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany (FSOG) database. Materials and Methods: All cases of spondylodiscitis diagnosed between 2005 and 2021 were identified from the FSOG database. The study characterised the mean duration of hospital stays, total and population-adjusted number of diagnoses made, age-stratified incidence, and outcomes of hospitalised patients. Results: A total of 131,982 diagnoses for spondylodiscitis were identified between 2005 and 2021. The number of diagnoses for spondylodiscitis has doubled during this period, from 5.4/100,000 population in 2005 to 11/100,000 population in 2021. The highest increase in admissions was recorded for those aged 90 years and above (+1307%), 80-89 (+376%) and 70-79 (+99%). Hospital discharges to rehabilitation facilities have increased by 160%, and discharges against medical advice by 91%. On the other hand, during the analysed period, the in-hospital mortality rate has decreased by 52%. Conclusion: The population-adjusted incidence of spondylodiscitis in Germany has more than doubled between 2005 and 2021, highlighting the clinical relevance of this disease. During the same period, in-hospital mortality dropped by half. These findings suggest the need for further investigation into optimal therapy, particularly the role and timing of surgical treatment

Emission projections 2008-2012 versus National Allocation Plans II

We compare the national allocation plans (NAPs), proposed and submitted by EU Member States as of October 2006, with our estimations for CO2 emissions by the installations covered by these NAPs. The collective allocations proposed under phase II NAPs exceed the historic trend of emissions extrapolated forward. Using our projections we find, depending on uncertainty in fuel prices, economic growth rates, performance of the non-power sector and CDM/JI availability, a 15% chance of a ‘dead market’ with emissions below cap even at zero prices. With an expected inflow of committed CDM/JI credits of 100 MtCO2/year, allowance supply will exceed demand in 50% of cases without any carbon price, and in 80% of our €20/tCO2 scenarios. Banking of allowances towards post-2012 conditions could create additional demand, but this is difficult to anticipate and conditional on policy evolution. The proposed phase II NAPs would result in low prices and only small volumes of CDM/JI would enter the EU ETS. CDM/JI would almost exclusively be public-sector funded, placing the cost of Kyoto compliance entirely upon governments

Wie beinflusst unterschiedliche Düngung die Bodenfauna? - Ergebnisse aus dem DüNaMed-Projekt

Edaphische Vielfalt ist eine wichtige Komponente der Bodenbiodiversität und weitgehend unbekannt. Im Rahmen des Projektes DüNaMed wollen wir die Wirkung differenzierten Düngung auf die edaphische Vielfalt untersuchen

Proteomics as a quality control tool of pharmaceutical probiotic bacterial lysate products

Probiotic bacteria have a wide range of applications in veterinary and human therapeutics. Inactivated probiotics are complex samples and quality control (QC) should measure as many molecular features as possible. Capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry (CE/MS) has been used as a multidimensional and high throughput method for the identification and validation of biomarkers of disease in complex biological samples such as biofluids. In this study we evaluate the suitability of CE/MS to measure the consistency of different lots of the probiotic formulation Pro-Symbioflor which is a bacterial lysate of heat-inactivated Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis. Over 5000 peptides were detected by CE/MS in 5 different lots of the bacterial lysate and in a sample of culture medium. 71 to 75% of the total peptide content was identical in all lots. This percentage increased to 87–89% when allowing the absence of a peptide in one of the 5 samples. These results, based on over 2000 peptides, suggest high similarity of the 5 different lots. Sequence analysis identified peptides of both E. coli and E. faecalis and peptides originating from the culture medium, thus confirming the presence of the strains in the formulation. Ontology analysis suggested that the majority of the peptides identified for E. coli originated from the cell membrane or the fimbrium, while peptides identified for E. faecalis were enriched for peptides originating from the cytoplasm. The bacterial lysate peptides as a whole are recognised as highly conserved molecular patterns by the innate immune system as microbe associated molecular pattern (MAMP). Sequence analysis also identified the presence of soybean, yeast and casein protein fragments that are part of the formulation of the culture medium. In conclusion CE/MS seems an appropriate QC tool to analyze complex biological products such as inactivated probiotic formulations and allows determining the similarity between lots

Compression of Auditory Space during Forward Self-Motion

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Spatial inputs from the auditory periphery can be changed with movements of the head or whole body relative to the sound source. Nevertheless, humans can perceive a stable auditory environment and appropriately react to a sound source. This suggests that the inputs are reinterpreted in the brain, while being integrated with information on the movements. Little is known, however, about how these movements modulate auditory perceptual processing. Here, we investigate the effect of the linear acceleration on auditory space representation.</p> <h3>Methodology/Principal Findings</h3><p>Participants were passively transported forward/backward at constant accelerations using a robotic wheelchair. An array of loudspeakers was aligned parallel to the motion direction along a wall to the right of the listener. A short noise burst was presented during the self-motion from one of the loudspeakers when the listener’s physical coronal plane reached the location of one of the speakers (null point). In Experiments 1 and 2, the participants indicated which direction the sound was presented, forward or backward relative to their subjective coronal plane. The results showed that the sound position aligned with the subjective coronal plane was displaced ahead of the null point only during forward self-motion and that the magnitude of the displacement increased with increasing the acceleration. Experiment 3 investigated the structure of the auditory space in the traveling direction during forward self-motion. The sounds were presented at various distances from the null point. The participants indicated the perceived sound location by pointing a rod. All the sounds that were actually located in the traveling direction were perceived as being biased towards the null point.</p> <h3>Conclusions/Significance</h3><p>These results suggest a distortion of the auditory space in the direction of movement during forward self-motion. The underlying mechanism might involve anticipatory spatial shifts in the auditory receptive field locations driven by afferent signals from vestibular system.</p> </div

Multicentric validation of proteomic biomarkers in urine specific for diabetic nephropathy

Background: Urine proteome analysis is rapidly emerging as a tool for diagnosis and prognosis in disease states. For diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy (DN), urinary proteome analysis was successfully applied in a pilot study. The validity of the previously established proteomic biomarkers with respect to the diagnostic and prognostic potential was assessed on a separate set of patients recruited at three different European centers. In this case-control study of 148 Caucasian patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 and duration &gt;= 5 years, cases of DN were defined as albuminuria &gt;300 mg/d and diabetic retinopathy (n = 66). Controls were matched for gender and diabetes duration (n = 82). Methodology/Principal Findings: Proteome analysis was performed blinded using high-resolution capillary electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry (CE-MS). Data were evaluated employing the previously developed model for DN. Upon unblinding, the model for DN showed 93.8% sensitivity and 91.4% specificity, with an AUC of 0.948 (95% CI 0.898-0.978). Of 65 previously identified peptides, 60 were significantly different between cases and controls of this study. In &lt;10% of cases and controls classification by proteome analysis not entirely resulted in the expected clinical outcome. Analysis of patient's subsequent clinical course revealed later progression to DN in some of the false positive classified DN control patients. Conclusions: These data provide the first independent confirmation that profiling of the urinary proteome by CE-MS can adequately identify subjects with DN, supporting the generalizability of this approach. The data further establish urinary collagen fragments as biomarkers for diabetes-induced renal damage that may serve as earlier and more specific biomarkers than the currently used urinary albumin