Multi-objective optimisation method for coordinating battery storage systems, photovoltaic inverters and tap changers

The many well-established advantages of distributed generation (DG) make their usage in active distribution networks prevalent. However, uncontrolled operation of DG units can negatively interfere with the performance of other equipment, such as tap-changers, in addition to resulting in sub-optimal usage of their potential. Thus, adequate scheduling/control of DG units is critical for operators of the distribution system to avoid those adverse effects. A linearised model of a multi-objective method for coordinating the operation of photovoltaics, battery storage systems, and tap-changers is proposed. Three objective functions are defined for simultaneously enhancing voltage profile, minimising power losses, and reducing peak load power. The formulated multi-objective problem is solved by means of the epsilon-constraint technique. A novel decision-making methodology is offered to find the Pareto optimality and select the preferred solution. To assess to proposed model's performance, it is tested using 33-bus IEEE test system. Consequently, tap-changers suffer lessened stress, the batteries state-of-charge is kept within adequate limits, and the DG units operation is at higher efficiency. The obtained results verify the effectiveness of this approach.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Comparison of electrochemical advanced oxidation processes for removal of ciprofloxacin from aqueous solutions

The aim of this study was to compare the efficiency of two dimensional electrochemical (2DE), electro-Fenton (EF), three dimensional electrochemical (3DE) and three dimensional electro-Fenton (3DEF) processes in removal ciprofloxacin (CIP) from aqueous solutions. The central composite design (CCD) with response surface methodology (RSM) was used to study the effect of experimental parameters on the removal efficiency of CIP by various electrochemical processes. The results showed that obtained quadratic model had a high R-squared coefficient based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The optimum condition for the removal of CIP by the studied processes was pH of 3, current of 0.45 A, and electrolysis time of 60 min. The results of the comparison between the processes showed that the removal efficiency of CIP after 60 min of electrolysis time is reduced as follows: 3DEF>3DE>EF>2DE. The removal efficiency enhancement was attributed to much more hydroxyl radicals generated in the three dimensional (3D) processes because single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) could activate molecular oxygen to produce more H2O2 . These results showed that 3D systems, especially 3DEF, could be considered as an appropriate method for the treatment of persistent pollutants such as antibiotics due to good electro-catalytic activity, high efficiency, no secondary pollution

Developing and validating a checklist for accreditation in leadership and management of hospitals in Iran

INTRODUCTION: In the Iranian Accreditation System, leadership and management standards have been almost ignored and not paid enough and necessary attention to the structural components and the infrastructures standards in management and leadership sections. Governing body, medical staff, chief executive officer (CEO), and nursing management standards are inadequate and lack accountability. These standards could lead to reform and finally provide the context for accomplishment of an appropriate accreditation program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a descriptive, comparative, and qualitative study. It was done in two phases. The first phase included literature review of the standards of the selected countries followed by comparison of the standards of the board of trustees, medical staff, CEOs, and nursing management standards to develop the primary framework for Iranian hospitals. In phase two, the primary framework was validated true three rounds of Delphi technique. RESULTS: Surveying the accreditation system standards in selected countries included the USA, Egypt, Malaysia, and Iran. It was found that the management and leadership standards were classify as governing body, medical staff, CEOs, and nursing management standards. The result of this study provides a framework for improvement of the Iranian national accreditation program. CONCLUSION: In regarded to the importance of the leadership and management standards in reform and change and promotion of the health services quality, efficiency, and effectiveness, the results of this study showed that the present standards of the Iranian accreditation assessment system and guidelines lack the necessary infrastructures for implementing a successful national accreditation progra

Psychometrics properties of the Iranian version of fertility quality of life tool: a cross- sectional study

Background: Clinical measurement of quality of life for assessing reproductive problems should be considered as a standard investigation at the initial and continuing medical consultations with infertile people. Objective: The purpose of this study was comprehensive testing the psychometric properties of the Iranian version of fertility quality of life (FertiQol) as its use could be considerable due to the prevalence of infertility in Iran and the importance of evaluation of QoL in patients with infertility. Method and material: This was a psychometric properties study of 300 women referred to infertility clinic, Hormozgan, Iran. After linguistic validation of the Iranian version of MPCOSQ, a semi-structured interview was conducted to assess face validity. Consequently exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed to indicate the scale constructs. Discriminant validity was assessed using the known groups comparison. Convergent validity was evaluated by assessing the correlation between similar content on the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and FertiQol. In addition, reliability analysis was carried out with internal consistency. Results: The reliability of the Iranian version of the FertiQol questionnaire was satisfactory in all dimensions (Cronbach’s alpha ranging from 0.77 to 0.83 ). Six factors (emotional, mind/body, relational, social, environmental and tolerability) were extracted from the results of EFA with factor loading of the more than 0.3. Discrimination validity showed that FertiQol can differentiate between female patients with differing duration of infertility and number of children; this indicates favorable discrimination validity. Moreover, the results of convergent validity showed a favorable correlation between the related dimensions of 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (correlation ranging from 0.43 to 0.68 ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(correlation ranging from 0.47 to 0.52 ) and FertiQol. Conclusion: The Iranian version of FertiQol is valid and reliable for assessing infertility problems and the effects of treatment on quality of life of infertile patients referred for diagnosis and treatment at an Iranian infertility clinic. The clinical use of this measure is recommended for Iranian infertility clinics

Quantum Control of Spin Qubits Using Nanomagnets

Single-qubit gates are essential components of a universal quantum computer. Without selective addressing of individual qubits, scalable implementation of quantum algorithms is not possible. When the qubits are discrete points or regions on a lattice, the selective addressing of magnetic spin qubits at the nanoscale remains a challenge due to the difficulty of localizing and confining a classical divergence-free field to a small volume of space. Herein we propose a new technique for addressing spin qubits using voltage-control of nanoscale magnetism, exemplified by the use of voltage control of magnetic anisotropy (VCMA). We show that by tuning the frequency of the nanomagnet's electric field drive to the Larmor frequency of the spins confined to a nanoscale volume, and by modulating the phase of the drive, single-qubit quantum gates with fidelities approaching those for fault-tolerant quantum computing can be implemented. Such single-qubit gate operations have the advantage of remarkable energy efficiency, requiring only tens of femto-Joules per gate operation, and lossless, purely magnetic field control (no E-field over the target volume). Their physical realization is also straightforward using existing foundry manufacturing techniques.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Examining Causes of Racial Disparities in General Surgical Mortality: Hospital Quality Versus Patient Risk

BACKGROUND: Racial disparities in general surgical outcomes are known to exist but not well understood. OBJECTIVES: To determine if black-white disparities in general surgery mortality for Medicare patients are attributable to poorer health status among blacks on admission or differences in the quality of care provided by the admitting hospitals. RESEARCH DESIGN: Matched cohort study using Tapered Multivariate Matching. SUBJECTS: All black elderly Medicare general surgical patients (N=18,861) and white-matched controls within the same 6 states or within the same 838 hospitals. MEASURES: Thirty-day mortality (primary); others include in-hospital mortality, failure-to-rescue, complications, length of stay, and readmissions. RESULTS: Matching on age, sex, year, state, and the exact same procedure, blacks had higher 30-day mortality (4.0% vs. 3.5%, P\u3c0.01), in-hospital mortality (3.9% vs. 2.9%, P\u3c0.0001), in-hospital complications (64.3% vs. 56.8% P\u3c0.0001), and failure-to-rescue rates (6.1% vs. 5.1% P\u3c0.001), longer length of stay (7.2 vs. 5.8 d, P\u3c0.0001), and more 30-day readmissions (15.0% vs. 12.5%, P\u3c0.0001). Adding preoperative risk factors to the above match, there was no significant difference in mortality or failure-to-rescue, and all other outcome differences were small. Blacks matched to whites in the same hospital displayed no significant differences in mortality, failure-to-rescue, or readmissions. CONCLUSIONS: Black and white Medicare patients undergoing the same procedures with closely matched risk factors displayed similar mortality, suggesting that racial disparities in general surgical mortality are not because of differences in hospital quality. To reduce the observed disparities in surgical outcomes, the poorer health of blacks on presentation for surgery must be addressed

Characteristics Associated With Differences in Survival Among Black and White Women With Breast Cancer

Importance Difference in breast cancer survival by race is a recognized problem among Medicare beneficiaries. Objective To determine if racial disparity in breast cancer survival is primarily attributable to differences in presentation characteristics at diagnosis or subsequent treatment. Design, Setting, and Patients Comparison of 7375 black women 65 years and older diagnosed between 1991 to 2005 and 3 sets of 7375 matched white control patients selected from 99 898 white potential controls, using data for 16 US Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) sites in the SEER-Medicare database. All patients received follow-up through December 31, 2009, and the black case patients were matched to 3 white control populations on demographics (age, year of diagnosis, and SEER site), presentation (demographics variables plus patient comorbid conditions and tumor characteristics such as stage, size, grade, and estrogen receptor status), and treatment (presentation variables plus details of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy). Main Outcomes and Measures 5-Year survival. Results The absolute difference in 5-year survival (blacks, 55.9%; whites, 68.8%) was 12.9% (95% CI, 11.5%-14.5%; P \u3c .001) in the demographics match. This difference remained unchanged between 1991 and 2005. After matching on presentation characteristics, the absolute difference in 5-year survival was 4.4% (95% CI, 2.8%-5.8%; P \u3c .001) and was 3.6% (95% CI, 2.3%-4.9%; P \u3c .001) lower for blacks than for whites matched also on treatment. In the presentation match, fewer blacks received treatment (87.4% vs 91.8%; P \u3c .001), time from diagnosis to treatment was longer (29.2 vs 22.8 days; P \u3c .001), use of anthracyclines and taxols was lower (3.7% vs 5.0%; P \u3c .001), and breast-conserving surgery without other treatment was more frequent (8.2% vs 7.3%; P = .04). Nevertheless, differences in survival associated with treatment differences accounted for only 0.81% of the 12.9% survival difference. Conclusions and Relevance In the SEER-Medicare database, differences in breast cancer survival between black and white women did not substantially change among women diagnosed between 1991 and 2005. These differences in survival appear primarily related to presentation characteristics at diagnosis rather than treatment differences

Dynamics of Adrenal Steroids Are Related to Variations in Th1 and Treg Populations during Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in HIV Positive Persons

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the most frequent cause of illness and death from an infectious agent, and its interaction with HIV has devastating effects. We determined plasma levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), its circulating form DHEA-suphate (DHEA-s) and cortisol in different stages of M. tuberculosis infection, and explored their role on the Th1 and Treg populations during different scenarios of HIV-TB coinfection, including the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), a condition related to antiretroviral treatment. DHEA levels were diminished in HIV-TB and HIV-TB IRIS patients compared to healthy donors (HD), HIV+ individuals and HIV+ individuals with latent TB (HIV-LTB), whereas dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-s) levels were markedly diminished in HIV-TB IRIS individuals. HIV-TB and IRIS patients presented a cortisol/DHEA ratio significantly higher than HIV+, HIV-LTB and HD individuals. A positive correlation was observed between DHEA-s and CD4 count among HIV-TB individuals. Conversely, cortisol plasma level inversely correlated with CD4 count within HIV-TB individuals. M. tuberculosis-specific Th1 lymphocyte count was increased after culturing PBMC from HIV-TB individuals in presence of DHEA. We observed an inverse correlation between DHEA-s plasma level and Treg frequency in co-infected individuals, and CD4+FoxP3+ Treg frequency was increased in HIV-TB and IRIS patients compared to other groups. Strikingly, we observed a prominent CD4+CD25-FoxP3+ population across HIV-TB and HIV-TB IRIS patients, which frequency correlated with DHEA plasma level. Finally, DHEA treatment negatively regulated FoxP3 expression without altering Treg frequency in co-infected patients. These data suggest an enhancing role for DHEA in the immune response against M. tuberculosis during HIV-TB coinfection and IRIS