impact of consumption profile discontinuities on the feasibility of a pv plant

Abstract The revenues of a grid-connected photovoltaic plant are strongly related to the local climatic conditions. In addition, since self-consumed electricity is much more valuable than that traded with the main power grid, also consumption profile plays a key role in the profitability of a PV system. Self-consumption to total PV production ratio depends on the temporal mismatch between energy generation and demand. The amount of energy that is not self-consumed may be very high in the case of a consumption profile with several discontinuities. This study is focused on the analysis of a grid-connected PV system serving a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station. These facilities are energy-intensive users, characterized by high variability of electricity demand due to intermittent operation of gas compressors: in a few seconds the total load may change from 100% to 5% and vice versa very frequently during the day. The analysis was based on data acquired on the field for the compression station and those already present in the literature for solar irradiation. The influence on plant design of the time step used for the analysis was studied in detail. The outcomes showed that the typical and well-assessed design approaches of a PV pant may lead to errors when used for the design of systems with several consumption profile discontinuities

Colon motility and colo-anal reflexes in chronic idiopathic constipation. Effects of a novel enterokinetic agent cisapride

Motor activity of the colon and reflex behaviour of the anal sphincters in normal subjects and in patients with idiopathic constipation were studied using a novel probe with 5 open-end tips to measure pressures, and 3 balloons for stimulation of the distal colon. Constipation appeared to be associated with an increased threshold of the inhibitory relaxation reflex of the internal anal sphincter (41.7 in normals and 65.7 in patients), and in particular with a blunted sensation of the defaecation urge (51.0 in normals and 112.8 in patients). Single-blind comparison with a placebo showed that cisapride, a new gastrointestinal prokinetic substance, had a significant effect on the sensation threshold, which normalized or improved in 15 out of the 16 patients studied

Integrated treatment with stapled haemorrhoidopexy and proctonorm\uae of haemorrhoidal disease

Background/Aim: This retrospective study was performed in patients undergoing Stapled Haemorrhoidopexy (SH) who were post-operatively treated with Proctonorm\uae with the aim of assessing its effect on early and late haemorrhoidalrelated symptoms. Patients and Methods: Forty-six males and 54 females received Proctonorm\uae (one tablet twice daily for 14 days) and Ketoprofene R (200 mg, one tablet twice daily, as requested). Results: "Early Complication Score" (0-12) two days after surgery was 2.02\ub11.03; pain VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) (0-10) was 1.21\ub10.89, and the number of antiinflammatory tablets was 4.24\ub11.06. At 40-day post-operative assessment, seven patients had post-operative complications with "Late Complication Score" (0-20) of 0.34\ub10.68. At sixmonth follow-up, a high index of patient satisfaction (VAS=9.39\ub10.24) was self-reported with 75% reduction in CSS (Constipation Scoring System) (1.95\ub12.58) compared to preoperative scores; "Late Complication Score" was 0. Conclusion: The specific target activity of Proctonorm\uae at the microcircular level may be effective in patients undergoing SH in order to reduce the inflammatory response of residual haemorrhoids while waiting for stable resolution of symptoms within one or two weeks

[Selective anterior vagotomy of the duodenum. Propositions, technics andexperimental results].

Previous studies have demonstrated that changes in endoduodenal pressure may cause pancreatic alterations in biliary diseases. Anterior selective vagotomy of the duodenum was devised to reduce duodenal motility. An experimental study showed that such a surgical procedure is followed by a marked decrease in the overall duodenal kinesis, with disappearance of the highest pressure peaks