A stochastic multi-range robust approach for low carbon technology participation in electricity markets

\ua9 2024Ambitious emission reduction targets require fostering more low-carbon technologies (LCTs) in distribution networks. Projections for future energy use predict a significant implementation of these technologies in residential areas. Despite this, individually they cannot effectively participate in electricity markets. This study examines the potential participation of residential LCTs (RLCTs) in multiple electricity markets, including wholesale day-ahead, real-time, and local energy markets (LEM), through the aggregators. We propose a stochastic weighted multi-range robust model to provide a strategy for RLCT aggregators to function as both sellers and buyers in these markets, as price-makers in LEM and price-takers in wholesale markets. The proposed model accounts for the uncertainty associated with the effect of offers/bids on the market clearing price of LEM and the availability patterns of aggregated LCTs. Results of a case study using realistic data reveal that the proposed approach results in higher overall profits compared to both risk-neutral and risk-averse robust methods. Furthermore, the introduced model is resilient to forecast errors, as evidenced by a 12% decrease in profits with the proposed approach compared to a 26% decrease with a risk-neutral strategy when the forecast error was increased by 20%

Investigation of mechanical properties of thermal coatings obtained during plasma spraying of powder zirconium dioxide

© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.Thermal coatings of zirconia partially stabilized with yttrium, deposited by low-temperature plasma, are the basis for the thermal protection of aircraft engine. At the same time there is an actual problem of selection of coating systems "ceramic layer - underlayer" of great thickness, providing better thermal protection, but having low strength characteristics due to the accumulation of internal stresses. To determine the optimal thickness of the test method used in the 4-point bending to allow the surface coating to explore in the elastic-plastic behavior of the field of coatings and strength. Based on the experimental results established the role of underlayer in the formation of the complex mechanical properties of thermal barrier coatings. With a well formed underlayer (PVNH16U6) system becomes sensitive to a change in thickness of the coating, to optimize the response on the strength and deformation criteria. According to the results the optimum ratio of the thickness of the ceramic layer and the underlayer should be regarded as the ratio of 3-5 for which the highest strength values were obtained for all the test coating systems

Analysis of the Degree of Involvement of the Lower Limb Muscles in the Pathological Process in Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis

Background. The problem of the effect of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis on the functional condition of the lower limb muscles is still highlighted insufficiently.Aim. Analysis of the degree of involvement of the lower limb muscles in the pathological process in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.Methods. A comparative analysis has been made on the results of examination of 209 adolescents: 25 adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis; 170 normal adolescents; 14 adolescents with congenital scoliosis. The moments of force ofthe lower limb muscles were evaluated using dynamometric stands. Electrophysiological characteristics of the lower limb muscles were registered by the method of global and stimulation electroneuromyography.Results. The decrease in the amplitude of voluntary EMG of the femoral muscles in adolescents with idiopathic and congenital scoliosis is accompanied by dropping the moments of force relative to the values of the control group. The leg muscles are characterized by the preservation of the values of force at the level of normal test subjects under the conditions of the reduced voluntary EMG of high frequency. The amplitude of the M-responses of the indicator muscles and the values of the excitation propagation velocity along the motor fibers were also preserved. There are no statistically significant correlations between the amount of the spine deformity, on the one hand, and the values of asymmetry of the characteristics of the muscles in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.Conclusion. In adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis the function of femoral muscles is decreased, and there is no relationship between the amount of the spine deformity and the values of asymmetry of the characteristics of the lower limb muscles. The similar character of muscle function changes in adolescents with idiopathic and congenital scoliosis can testify that the cause of the observed changes is not the disease etiology, but the insufficient level of motor activity

Antiphospholipid Syndrome as a Cause of Recurrent Portal Vein Thrombosis in a Man with a Medical History of other Thrombosis

Aim: to present a clinical case of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) manifested as recurrent portal vein thrombosis in a man with a medical history of other thromboses.Key points. APS is a syndrome that includes venous and/or arterial thrombosis, various forms of obstetric pathology, thrombocytopenia, as well as a variety of neurological, skin, cardiovascular and hematological disorders. The article presents a clinical case of a male patient with several episodes of vascular thrombosis, two of which (thrombophlebitis of the veins of the lower extremities and stroke) developed at the age of 39 years, and recurrent thrombosis of the portal vein since 2018. For several years, the patient had the diagnosis of cirrhosis based on the presence of signs of portal hypertension. However, the patient's liver function remained practically intact all the time. During the current examination, APS was suspected, and the result of a blood test for antibodies against phospholipids was positive.Conclusion. This clinical case of APS reflects the difficulties in diagnosing this disease. It should be remembered that cases of thrombosis at a young age may be due to APS

Reduced functionality of soil food webs in burnt boreal forests: a case study in Central Russia

© 2017, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd. Abstract: Functionality of soil food webs after forest fires remains generally unexplored. We address this question by studying both burnt and unburnt spruce forests in Central European Russia (Tver Region). In August 2014 we sampled two spatially distant blocks consisting of forest areas burnt in 2010 and the respective unburnt controls. We analyzed biomass and structure of soil food webs as well as carbon mobilization with respect to carbon stocks in the dead wood, litter and soil after burning. The biomass of soil fauna was moderately reduced in the burnt plots. For some groups like testate amoebae and enchytraeids, however, this decrease was highly significant and corresponded with the decreased C-stock in litter. For the other taxa changes in biomass were insignificant. At the same time C-flow through the soil food web after fire was strongly reduced mainly due to the reduction of biomass of active fungi and secondary decomposers. The overall consumption rate of detritus by the soil food web strongly decreased in the burnt forests and was maintained predominantly by the decomposition activity of bacteria instead of fungi. This resulted in the reduction of the total soil food web functionality related with C-mobilization in the forests four years after a fire event. Brief Summary: We compared rates of carbon mobilization by soil food webs in burnt and unburnt boreal forests in Central Russia. Despite of only slight decrease in soil animal biomass, consumption rate of carbon in the soil food webs after fire was considerably lower and mainly associated with soil bacteria instead of fungi

Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails.

Soil life supports the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails (Collembola) are among the most abundant soil arthropods regulating soil fertility and flow of energy through above- and belowground food webs. However, the global distribution of springtail diversity and density, and how these relate to energy fluxes remains unknown. Here, using a global dataset representing 2470 sites, we estimate the total soil springtail biomass at 27.5 megatons carbon, which is threefold higher than wild terrestrial vertebrates, and record peak densities up to 2 million individuals per square meter in the tundra. Despite a 20-fold biomass difference between the tundra and the tropics, springtail energy use (community metabolism) remains similar across the latitudinal gradient, owing to the changes in temperature with latitude. Neither springtail density nor community metabolism is predicted by local species richness, which is high in the tropics, but comparably high in some temperate forests and even tundra. Changes in springtail activity may emerge from latitudinal gradients in temperature, predation and resource limitation in soil communities. Contrasting relationships of biomass, diversity and activity of springtail communities with temperature suggest that climate warming will alter fundamental soil biodiversity metrics in different directions, potentially restructuring terrestrial food webs and affecting soil functioning

Global fine-resolution data on springtail abundance and community structure

Springtails (Collembola) inhabit soils from the Arctic to the Antarctic and comprise an estimated ~32% of all terrestrial arthropods on Earth. Here, we present a global, spatially-explicit database on springtail communities that includes 249,912 occurrences from 44,999 samples and 2,990 sites. These data are mainly raw sample-level records at the species level collected predominantly from private archives of the authors that were quality-controlled and taxonomically-standardised. Despite covering all continents, most of the sample-level data come from the European continent (82.5% of all samples) and represent four habitats: woodlands (57.4%), grasslands (14.0%), agrosystems (13.7%) and scrublands (9.0%). We included sampling by soil layers, and across seasons and years, representing temporal and spatial within-site variation in springtail communities. We also provided data use and sharing guidelines and R code to facilitate the use of the database by other researchers. This data paper describes a static version of the database at the publication date, but the database will be further expanded to include underrepresented regions and linked with trait data.</p

Investigation of mechanical properties of thermal coatings obtained during plasma spraying of powder zirconium dioxide

© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.Thermal coatings of zirconia partially stabilized with yttrium, deposited by low-temperature plasma, are the basis for the thermal protection of aircraft engine. At the same time there is an actual problem of selection of coating systems "ceramic layer - underlayer" of great thickness, providing better thermal protection, but having low strength characteristics due to the accumulation of internal stresses. To determine the optimal thickness of the test method used in the 4-point bending to allow the surface coating to explore in the elastic-plastic behavior of the field of coatings and strength. Based on the experimental results established the role of underlayer in the formation of the complex mechanical properties of thermal barrier coatings. With a well formed underlayer (PVNH16U6) system becomes sensitive to a change in thickness of the coating, to optimize the response on the strength and deformation criteria. According to the results the optimum ratio of the thickness of the ceramic layer and the underlayer should be regarded as the ratio of 3-5 for which the highest strength values were obtained for all the test coating systems