44 research outputs found
Multi-objective optimization of environmentally conscious chemical supply chains under demand uncertainty
In this work, we analyze the effect of demand uncertainty on the multi-objective optimization of chemical supply chains (SC) considering simultaneously their economic and environmental performance. To this end, we present a stochastic multi-scenario mixed-integer linear program (MILP) with the unique feature of incorporating explicitly the demand uncertainty using scenarios with given probability of occurrence. The environmental performance is quantified following life cycle assessment (LCA) principles, which are represented in the model formulation through standard algebraic equations. The capabilities of our approach are illustrated through a case study. We show that the stochastic solution improves the economic performance of the SC in comparison with the deterministic one at any level of the environmental impact.The authors wish to acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (ENE2011-28269-C03-03, ENE2011-22722, DPI2012-37154-C02-02, CTQ2009-14420-C02, CTQ2012-37039-C02) and Programa DRAC de la Xarxa Vives d’Universitats
A precise characterisation of the top quark electro-weak vertices at the ILC
Top quark production in the process at a future linear
electron positron collider with polarised beams is a powerful tool to determine
indirectly the scale of new physics. The presented study, based on a detailed
simulation of the ILD detector concept, assumes a centre-of-mass energy of
GeV and a luminosity of
equally shared between the incoming beam polarisations of . Events are selected in which the top pair
decays semi-leptonically and the cross sections and the forward-backward
asymmetries are determined. Based on these results, the vector, axial vector
and tensorial conserving couplings are extracted separately for the photon
and the component. With the expected precision, a large number of models
in which the top quark acts as a messenger to new physics can be distinguished
with many standard deviations. This will dramatically improve expectations from
e.g. the LHC for electro-weak couplings of the top quark.Comment: This work is an update of arXiv:1307.8102, minor changes w.r.t. v1
(typos, wrong grammar, incomplete sentences etc.
Four-point correlator constraints on electromagnetic chiral parameters and resonance effective Lagrangians
We pursue the analysis of a set of generalized DGMLY sum rules for the
electromagnetic chiral parameters at order and discuss implications
for effective Lagrangians with resonances. We exploit a formalism in which
charge spurions are introduced and treated as sources. We show that no
inconsistency arises from anomalies up to quadratic order in the spurions. We
focus on the sum rules associated with QCD 4-point correlators which were not
analyzed in detail before. Convergence properties of the sum rules are deduced
from a general analysis of the form of the counterterms in the presence of
electromagnetic spurions. Following the approach in which vector and
axial-vector resonances are described with antisymmetric tensor fields and have
a chiral order, we show that the convergence constraints are violated at chiral
order four and can be satisfied by introducing a set of terms of order six. The
relevant couplings get completely and uniquely determined from a set of
generalized Weinberg sum-rule relations. An update on the corrections to
Dashen's low-energy theorem is given.Comment: 42 pages, 1 figure. v2: references adde
Electromagnetic transitions in an effective chiral Lagrangian with the eta-prime and light vector mesons
We consider the chiral Lagrangian with a nonet of Goldstone bosons and a
nonet of light vector mesons. The mixing between the pseudoscalar mesons eta
and eta-prime is taken into account. A novel counting scheme is suggested that
is based on hadrogenesis, which conjectures a mass gap in the meson spectrum of
QCD in the limit of a large number of colors. Such a mass gap would justify to
consider the vector mesons and the eta-prime meson as light degrees of freedom.
The complete leading order Lagrangian is constructed and discussed. As a first
application it is tested against electromagnetic transitions of light vector
mesons to pseudoscalar mesons. Our parameters are determined by the
experimental data on photon decays of the omega, phi and eta-prime meson. In
terms of such parameters we predict the corresponding decays into virtual
photons with either dielectrons or dimuons in the final state.Comment: 17 pages, extended discussion on mixin
Multiobjective Early Design of Complex Distillation Sequences Considering Economic and Inherent Safety Criteria
Inherent safety aspects are not usually considered as a driving force during the conceptual design stage of chemical plants. Instead, after the selection of the optimal economic flowsheet, safety is added to the design. However, this sequential design approach could be applied to inferior designs due to protection devices’ cost overrun. The objective of this work is to implement a strategy to simultaneously design a profitable and inherently safer distillation train. Two safety indexes, a disaggregated version of the Safety Weighted Hazard Index and Dow’s Fire and Explosion Index, have been adapted to quantify the inherent safety performance. A large-scale multiobjective MILP problem is formulated. Thus, two strategies of objective reduction are utilized: principal component analysis coupled with Deb’s algorithm and a method based on the dominance structure. The results prove the suitability of these safety index as inherently safer metrics, and showcase the ability of the objective reduction methods to discriminate among the inherent safety criteria.We acknowledge financial support from “Proyectos de I + D para grupos de investigación emergentes GV/2016/005” (Conselleria d’Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport, GENERALITAT VALENCIANA) Spanish “Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad” (CTQ2016-77968-C3-2-P, AEI/FEDER, UE)
Optimal Pretreatment System of Flowback Water from Shale Gas Production
Shale gas has emerged as a potential resource to transform the global energy market. Nevertheless, gas extraction from tight shale formations is only possible after horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, which generally demand large amounts of water. Part of the ejected fracturing fluid returns to the surface as flowback water, containing a variety of pollutants. For this reason, water reuse and water recycling technologies have received further interest for enhancing overall shale gas process efficiency and sustainability. Water pretreatment systems (WPSs) can play an important role for achieving this goal. This paper introduces a new optimization model for WPS simultaneous synthesis, especially developed for flowback water from shale gas production. A multistage superstructure is proposed for the optimal WPS design, including several water pretreatment alternatives. The mathematical model is formulated via generalized disjunctive programming (GDP) and solved by re-formulation as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem, to minimize the total annualized cost. Hence, the superstructure allows identifying the optimal pretreatment sequence with minimum cost, according to inlet water composition and wastewater-desired destination (i.e., water reuse as fracking fluid or recycling). Three case studies are performed to illustrate the applicability of the proposed approach under specific composition constraints. Thus, four distinct flowback water compositions are evaluated for the different target conditions. The results highlight the ability of the developed model for the cost-effective WPS synthesis, by reaching the required water compositions for each specified destination
Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19
Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2–4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease
SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues
Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types