Hybrid AC/DC Provisional Microgrid Planning Model Considering Converter Aging

Building integrated photovoltaics is one of the key technologies when it comes to electricity generation in buildings, districts or urban areas. However, the potential of building façades for the BIPV system, especially in urban areas, is often neglected. Façade-mounted building integrated photovoltaics could contribute to supply the energy demand of buildings in dense urban areas with economic feasibility where the availability of suitable rooftop areas is low. This paper deals with the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of building integrated photovoltaic systems (BIPV) in the capitals of all the European member state countries plus Norway and Switzerland and presents a metric to investigate a proper subsidy or incentive for BIPV systems. The results showed that the average LCOE of the BIPV system as a building envelope material for the entire outer skin of buildings in Europe is equal to 0.09 Euro per kWh if its role as the power generator is considered in the economic calculations. This value will be 0.15 Euro per kWh if the cost corresponding to its double function in the building is taken into the economic analysis (while the average electricity price is 0.18 Euro per kWh). The results indicate that the BIPV generation cost in most case studies has already reached grid parity. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that on average in Europe, the BIPV system does not need a feed-in tariff if the selling price to the grid is equal to the purchasing price from the grid. Various incentive plans based on the buying/selling price of electricity from/to the main grid together with LCOE of the BIPV systems is also investigated. View Full-TextpublishedVersio

Vitamin B12 deficiency, an overlooked risk factor of falling in elderly patients with chronic psychiatric disorders

BACKGROUND: Falls are among the most common accidents in psychiatric hospitals. One of the possible causes of falls is vitamin B12 deficiency, which is especially prevalent among older adults. However, it was not ignored in previous studies.METHODS: This clinical trial was conducted on older patients with chronic psychiatric diseases admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Based on the data obtained from the multi-factorial fall risk assessment tool (MAHC-10) developed by the Missouri Alliance for Home Care (MAHC) and Tinetti Balance Assessment Tool, the patients at risk of falls were identified and their serum vitamin B12 levels were measured. The patients with vitamin B12 deficiency were selected to be studies in a 3-month trial. At the end of the trial, the patients took the Tinetti test once again. Pre- and post-intervention variables were compared with each other using the dependent t-test. P values of ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant.RESULTS: After screening, 10 patients showed vitamin B12 deficiency and were included in the intervention. The mean age and length of stay of the patients were 66.30 ± 10.17 years and 24.55 ± 18.39 months, respectively. The mean scores for the “balance-gait” variable before and after the intervention were 13.40 ± 4.30 and 23.70 ± 4.15, respectively. These figures revealed a significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.001).CONCLUSION: This study showed that vitamin B12 deficiency may be an often-overlooked cause of gait disorders in older patients with psychiatric problems. Treatment with vitamin B12 supplements can reduce the risk of falls in such patients

Kirurško liječenje uvrnuća trećega očnog kapka - prikaz slučaja

This report describes the clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome of a dog with third eyelid scrolling associated with prolapse of the gland of the third eyelid, which was treated with a modified surgical technique, and determines whether this procedure preserves the functions of the third eyelid, reduces cartilage shortening, eliminates the recurrence and finally improves the vision. An 8-month-old male German shepherd dog was presented with ocular irritation and epiphora. Ophthalmic examination revealed an everted third eyelid associated with a prolapsed nictitans gland. We performed the Morgan pocket technique to reposition the prolapsed gland in the current case, and the incision of deformed cartilage was done simultaneously. The surgical outcome was excellent with no recurrence or other complications. The Morgan pocket technique is a suitable surgical technique, however we corrected eversion of third eyelid by cutting the central portion of the deformed cartilage rather than removing the whole or part of it. This work may provide an alternative surgical treatment of third eyelid scrolling in dog.Rad opisuje kliničku sliku, liječenje i ishod liječenja psa s izvrnućem trećega očnog kapka povezanog s prolapsom pripadajuće žlijezde. Primijenjena je modificirana kirurška tehnik kako bi se utvrdilo očuvanje funkcije trećega očnog kapka, smanjilo skraćivanje hrskavice, spriječio povratak bolesti i, konačno, poboljšao vid. Mužjak njemačkog ovčara u dobi od osam mjeseci imao je iritaciju oka i epiforu. Oftalmološki je pregled pokazao uvrnuće trećega očnog kapka povezano s prolapsom žlijezde za treptanje. Učinjena je tehnika Morganova džepa za repoziciju izvrnute žlijezde uz istodobnu inciziju deformirane hrskavice. Rezultat zahvata bio je izvrstan, bez povratka bolesti i drugih komplikacija. Tehnika Morganova džepa prikladna je kirurška tehnika, iako smo korigirali treći očni kapak izrezavši središnji dio deformirane hrskavice radije nego uklanjajući cijelu hrskavicu. Ovaj rad nudi alternativo kirurško liječenje uvrnuća trećega očnog kapka u psa

Robust Fairness under Covariate Shift

Making predictions that are fair with regard to protected group membership (race, gender, age, etc.) has become an important requirement for classification algorithms. Existing techniques derive a fair model from sampled labeled data relying on the assumption that training and testing data are identically and independently drawn (iid) from the same distribution. In practice, distribution shift can and does occur between training and testing datasets as the characteristics of individuals interacting with the machine learning system change. We investigate fairness under covariate shift, a relaxation of the iid assumption in which the inputs or covariates change while the conditional label distribution remains the same. We seek fair decisions under these assumptions on target data with unknown labels. We propose an approach that obtains the predictor that is robust to the worst-case in terms of target performance while satisfying target fairness requirements and matching statistical properties of the source data. We demonstrate the benefits of our approach on benchmark prediction tasks

Tribological Performance of Biomass-Derived Bio-Alcohol and Bio-Ketone Fuels

This study relates to developing future alternative fuels and focuses on the effects of a fuel’s molecular structure on its properties and performance in advanced propulsion systems. The tribological performance of various biomass-derived oxygenated alternative fuels, including butanol, pentanol, cyclopentanol, cyclopentanone, and gasoline and their blends with diesel, was investigated. Lubricity tests were conducted using a high-frequency reciprocating rig (HFRR). Cyclopentanone-diesel and cyclopentanol-diesel blends result in smaller wear scar sizes compared to using their neat forms. A lower steel disc contaminated with the alternative fuels during the HFRR tests resulted in worn surface roughness values lower than those of the neat diesel by up to 20%. It is believed that these reductions are mainly due to the presence of the hydroxyl group and the carbonyl group in alcohols and ketones, respectively, which make them more polar and consequently helps the formation of the protective lubrication film on the worn moving surfaces during the sliding process. Overall, the results from this study indicate that environmentally friendly cyclopentanol and cyclopentanone are practical and efficient fuel candidates for future advanced propulsion systems