Building-to-building energy trading under the influence of occupant comfort

Peer-to-peer energy trading is becoming an efficient methodology for trading flexibility between buildings due to the increasing utilisation of small-scale generation and storage technologies. In the buildings, however, this trading mechanism could be affected by occupant comfort and uncertainty around it, affecting the building operation and consumption. This study introduces a multi-level peer-to-peer energy trading framework for residential buildings under the influence of occupants preferences. The proposed method considers the effect of occupants comfort as an important factor on the control and energy management of buildings in local markets. The robustness of the proposed real-time control framework in face of uncertainty in a real-life building parameter (i.e. occupants comfort level) is improved through the-state-of-the-art information gap decision theory technique. This method requires very little information about uncertain parameters, making it a suitable technique for dealing with the uncertainty in parameters with unknown patterns. Finally, the operational models of energy storage and electric vehicles are adopted for full utilisation of available photovoltaic generation. The simulation results show that participating in the local energy trading can increase the robustness of the control systems in the residential microgrids in face of uncertainty in the occupant comfort level. Also, results show that 0.1% increase in the uncertainty radius of occupants comfort level requires a 6% increase in the energy bill. This shows the importance of considering the occupant comfort in the conventional building energy management strategies, and uncertainty around it on the energy bill.</p

Building-to-building energy trading under the influence of occupant comfort

Peer-to-peer energy trading is becoming an efficient methodology for trading flexibility between buildings due to the increasing utilisation of small-scale generation and storage technologies. In the buildings, however, this trading mechanism could be affected by occupant comfort and uncertainty around it, affecting the building operation and consumption. This study introduces a multi-level peer-to-peer energy trading framework for residential buildings under the influence of occupants preferences. The proposed method considers the effect of occupants comfort as an important factor on the control and energy management of buildings in local markets. The robustness of the proposed real-time control framework in face of uncertainty in a real-life building parameter (i.e. occupants comfort level) is improved through the-state-of-the-art information gap decision theory technique. This method requires very little information about uncertain parameters, making it a suitable technique for dealing with the uncertainty in parameters with unknown patterns. Finally, the operational models of energy storage and electric vehicles are adopted for full utilisation of available photovoltaic generation. The simulation results show that participating in the local energy trading can increase the robustness of the control systems in the residential microgrids in face of uncertainty in the occupant comfort level. Also, results show that 0.1% increase in the uncertainty radius of occupants comfort level requires a 6% increase in the energy bill. This shows the importance of considering the occupant comfort in the conventional building energy management strategies, and uncertainty around it on the energy bill.</p

Identification of NLRP3 PYD Homo-Oligomerization Inhibitors with Anti-Inflammatory Activity

[EN] Inflammasomes are multiprotein complexes that represent critical elements of the inflammatory response. The dysregulation of the best-characterized complex, the NLRP3 inflammasome, has been linked to the pathogenesis of diseases such as multiple sclerosis, type 2 diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer. While there exist molecular inhibitors specific for the various components of inflammasome complexes, no currently reported inhibitors specifically target NLRP3(PYD) homo-oligomerization. In the present study, we describe the identification of QM380 and QM381 as NLRP3(PYD) homo-oligomerization inhibitors after screening small molecules from the MyriaScreen library using a split-luciferase complementation assay. Our results demonstrate that these NLRP3(PYD) inhibitors interfere with ASC speck formation, inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokine IL1-beta release, and decrease pyroptotic cell death. We employed spectroscopic techniques and computational docking analyses with QM380 and QM381 and the PYD domain to confirm the experimental results and predict possible mechanisms underlying the inhibition of NLRP3(PYD) homo-interactions.This research was funded by EC-funded RISE (EPIC 690939), Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, FEDER (SAF2017-84689-R), Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2019/065), research council of Tarbiat Modares University (#IG/39803).Moasses Ghafary, S.; Soriano-Teruel, P.; Lotfollahzadeh, S.; Sancho, M.; Serrano-Candelas, E.; Karami, F.; Barigye, SJ.... (2022). Identification of NLRP3 PYD Homo-Oligomerization Inhibitors with Anti-Inflammatory Activity. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 23(3):1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms2303165111523

Digital Transformation and Integration Process

Digital transformation (DT) has emerged as a revolutionary transformation of organizational structure (e.g., processes, culture, leadership) in recent years. As such, it has drawn the attention of practitioners and researchers to better understand this phenomenon and to provide guidelines for an effective and smooth organizational transformation. In this regard, information systems (IS) researchers have investigated various aspects of DT and examined their impacts on performance within organizations and stakeholder behaviors (e.g., Baiyere et al. 2020). However, the current research on digital transformation is limited, and prior research has inconsistently defined this phenomenon (for a review, see Vial 2019) and identified inadequate DT attributes. Thus, understanding how organizations can digitally transform and the processes through which DT occurs deserves more investigation. By reviewing 282 DT studies, Vial (2019) presented a framework for DT and demonstrated various building blocks of the DT process. Although this framework sheds light on the DT process, it suffers from shortcomings simply because the presented framework is built on fragmented literature. For example, while this framework shows that digital technologies lead to the change value creation paths, it does not illustrate the types of processes that may cause this change. Also, the processes in which DT impacts an organization\u27s business model have been overlooked. Two of the reasons for these shortcomings are ambiguous DT attributes and the blurry boundary between DT and IT-enabled organizations (Wessel et al. 2021). Thus, in this research, we first discuss the attributes of DT and provide a maturity model that shows how organizations can move from IT-use to IT-enabled organizations to being Digitally Transformed. To this end, we elaborate on “time” and explain that DT does not occur instantly and requires several steps. We elaborate on each of these steps and explain how technologies should be engaged in organizational processes during each step. Then, we discuss different types of processes within the organization and how technologies are embedded with each process that will eventually result in new digitally transformed processes

Label-Free and Bioluminescence-Based Nano-Biosensor for ATP Detection

A bioluminescence-based assay for ATP can measure cell viability. Higher ATP concentration indicates a higher number of living cells. Thus, it is necessary to design an ATP sensor that is low-cost and easy to use. Gold nanoparticles provide excellent biocompatibility for enzyme immobilization. We investigated the effect of luciferase proximity with citrate-coated gold, silver, and gold–silver core–shell nanoparticles, gold nanorods, and BSA–Au nanoclusters. The effect of metal nanoparticles on the activity of luciferases was recorded by the luminescence assay, which was 3–5 times higher than free enzyme. The results showed that the signal stability in presence of nanoparticles improved and was reliable up to 6 h for analytes measurements. It has been suggested that energy is mutually transferred from luciferase bioluminescence spectra to metal nanoparticle surface plasmons. In addition, we herein report the 27-base DNA aptamer for adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP) as a suitable probe for the ATP biosensor based on firefly luciferase activity and AuNPs. Due to ATP application in the firefly luciferase reaction, the increase in luciferase activity and improved detection limits may indicate more stability or accessibility of ATP in the presence of nanoparticles. The bioluminescence intensity increased with the ATP concentration up to 600 µM with a detection limit of 5 µM for ATP

Design and bioinformatics analysis of novel biomimetic peptides as nanocarriers for gene transfer

Objective(s): The introduction of nucleic acids into cells for therapeutic objectives is significantly hindered by the size and charge of these molecules and therefore requires efficient vectors that assist cellular uptake. For several years great efforts have been devoted to the study of development of recombinant vectors based on biological domains with potential applications in gene therapy. Such vectors have been synthesized in genetically engineered approach, resulting in biomacromolecules with new properties that are not present in nature. Materials and Methods: In this study, we have designed new peptides using homology modeling with the purpose of overcoming the cell barriers for successful gene delivery through Bioinformatics tools. Three different carriers were designed and one of those with better score through Bioinformatics tools was cloned, expressed and its affinity for pDNA was monitored. Results: The resultszz demonstrated that the vector can effectively condense pDNAinto nanoparticles with the average sizes about 100 nm. Conclusion: We hope these peptides can overcome the biological barriers associated with gene transfer, and mediate efficient gene delivery