Robust energy disaggregation using appliance-specific temporal contextual information

An extension of the baseline non-intrusive load monitoring approach for energy disaggregation using temporal contextual information is presented in this paper. In detail, the proposed approach uses a two-stage disaggregation methodology with appliance-specific temporal contextual information in order to capture time-varying power consumption patterns in low-frequency datasets. The proposed methodology was evaluated using datasets of different sampling frequency, number and type of appliances. When employing appliance-specific temporal contextual information, an improvement of 1.5% up to 7.3% was observed. With the two-stage disaggregation architecture and using appliance-specific temporal contextual information, the overall energy disaggregation accuracy was further improved across all evaluated datasets with the maximum observed improvement, in terms of absolute increase of accuracy, being equal to 6.8%, thus resulting in a maximum total energy disaggregation accuracy improvement equal to 10.0%.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Nano-Structured Ceramics by Gas-Phase Reaction

Single-crystalline nanofibers of tin dioxide (SnO_2) were synthesized by a gas-phase reaction of solid SnO2 sintered disks in a reducing atmosphere between 700 and 800 °C. The resulting nanostructures grew on regions of the disk that were coated with gold, which acted as a catalyst. The samples were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The nanofiber length was controlled by varying the reaction time and by the sintering agent used to densify the SnO_2 disks

Superconducting film on metallic wire

For technological applications of high T(sub c) superconductors, it will be necessary to overcome the inherent problem of brittleness, to develop materials with high current carrying capacity, and to devise ways of joining superconductors with other materials. These issues will be addressed in the context of superconducting films on metallic wires. These composite systems are expected to produce flexible wires with desirable properties

Optimising ventilator use during the COVID-19 pandemic

Hypoxemia is the most common cause for hospitalization in COVID-19 patients. Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the most common complication in COVID-19 patients. Close monitoring of respiratory decompensation is essential. Supplemental oxygen, high flow nasal canula, non-invasive ventilation and endotracheal intubation are the most commonly suggested methods to improve oxygenation. Early intubation with pre-oxygenation, modified rapid sequence intubation and intubation using a video laryngoscope has been advised as a strategy including lung protective ventilation, prone position ventilation, adequate sedation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Strict personal precautions and challenges related to airway management has been currently studied. The authors summarize here the issues of mechanical ventilation and some strategies to resolve them