Design description of the Schuchuli Village photovoltaic power system

A stand alone photovoltaic (PV) power system for the village of Schuchuli (Gunsight), Arizona, on the Papago Indian Reservation is a limited energy, all 120 V (d.c.) system to which loads cannot be arbitrarily added and consists of a 3.5 kW (peak) PV array, 2380 ampere-hours of battery storage, an electrical equipment building, a 120 V (d.c.) electrical distribution network, and equipment and automatic controls to provide control power for pumping water into an existing water system; operating 15 refrigerators, a clothes washing machine, a sewing machine, and lights for each of the homes and communal buildings. A solar hot water heater supplies hot water for the washing machine and communal laundry. Automatic control systems provide voltage control by limiting the number of PV strings supplying power during system operation and battery charging, and load management for operating high priority at the expense of low priority loads as the main battery becomes depleted

Can a Loan Valuation Adjustment (LVA) Approach Immunize Collateralized Debt from Defaults?

This study focuses on structuring tangible asset backed loans to inhibit their endemic option to default. We adapt the pragmatic approach of a margin loan in the configuring of collateralized debt to yield a quasi‐default‐free facility. We link our practical method to the current Basel III (2017) regulatory framework. Our new concept of the Loan Valuation Adjustment (LVA) and novel method to minimize the LVA converts the risky loan into a quasi risk‐free loan and achieves value maximization for the lending financial institution. As a result, entrepreneurial activities are promoted and economic growth invigorated. Information asymmetry, costly bailouts and resulting financial fragility are reduced while depositors are endowed with a safety net equivalent to deposit insurance but without the associated moral hazard between risk‐averse lenders and borrowers

Basic Blood Analysis of Rabbits Immunized with Vaccine Against Myxomatosis

The aim of this preliminary study was to assess the immune response of rabbits triggered by vaccination against myxomatosis. In experiments, 14 New Zealand White rabbits (7 does – D and 7 bucks – B at the age of 1 to 3 years) were used. Samples of rabbit peripheral blood (PB) were collected from a. auricularis centralis to heparinised tubes 2 weeks before and 4 days after the subcutaneous injection (0.5 mL) of vaccine against myxomatosis (Pharmavac MXT). Mononuclear cells from peripheral blood (PBMCs) were isolated using Ficoll centrifugation. Isolated PBMCs were then frozen and stored at -192 °C. For phenotyping, the frozen cells were thawed and stained with the following anti-rabbit monoclonal antibodies (mAbs): anti-IgM (NRBM, IgG1), anti-CD4 (RTH1A, IgG1), anti-CD8 (ISC27A, IgG2a), anti-pan T2 (RTH21A, IgG1) and anti-CD45 (L12/201, IgG1). As the secondary immunoreagent, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) or R-phycoerythrin (R-PE) labelled anti-mouse conjugates of appropriate subisotypes were used. We found significantly (P<0.05) increased percentage of either T-cells (does D5 and D7, and bucks B5, B6 and B7), or B-cells (bucks B2 and B7) in the rabbit peripheral blood. In conclusion, fast and adequate immune response to antigen (vaccine against myxomatosis) was indicated by the increase in T lymphocyte subsets 4 days after immunization. Thus, rabbit does (D5 and D7) and bucks (B5, B6 and B7) might be selected to create F1 generation for the future experiments

Decrease in C-reactive protein levels in rabbits after vaccination with a live attenuated myxoma virus vaccine

The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute phase reaction and immune response of rabbits triggered by vaccination with a live attenuated myxoma virus (MXT) vaccine. Thirteen adult and 11 juvenile New Zealand white rabbit-based crossbreed rabbits, were used. Samples of rabbit peripheral blood were collected from vena auricularis centralis into heparinised tubes before vaccination and 48 h after vaccination. All animals were vaccinated by subcutaneous injection (0.5 ml) with a MXT vaccine. The blood plasma C-reactive protein level was measured by an ELISA kit using a double-antibody sandwich. For phenotyping of lymphocytes the fresh cells were stained with the following anti-rabbit monoclonal antibodies: anti-IgM, anti-CD4, anti-CD8 and anti-pan T2. Our results show that the use of attenuated myxoma virus vaccine significantly decreases the level of C-reactive protein in blood plasma of adult rabbits by 38.14% (P &lt; 0.05) and of juvenile rabbits by 37.63% (P &lt; 0.001), within 48 h. The rabbit C-reactive protein after MXT vaccination is a negative acute phase protein. In the group of adult rabbits the immune response to MXT vaccination was accompanied by a non-significant decrease in CD4+, pT2+, IgM+ subsets. On the other hand the values of CD8+, CD4+CD8+ and CD4+/CD8+ were non-significantly higher after MXT vaccination

Analysis of Field-Effect Biosensors using Self-Consistent 3D Drift-Diffusion and Monte-Carlo Simulations

AbstractField-effect biosensors based on nanowires enjoy considerable popularity due to their high sensitivity and direct electrical readout [1]. However, crucial issues such as the influence of the biomolecules on the charge-carrier transport or the binding of molecules to the surface have not been described satisfactorily yet in a quantitative manner. In order to analyze these effects, we present simulation results based on a 3D macroscopic transport model coupled with Monte-Carlo simulations for the bio-functionalized surface layer. Excellent agreement with measurement data has been found, while detailed study of the influence of the most prominent biomolecules, namely double-stranded DNA and single-stranded DNA, on the current through the semiconductor transducer has been carried out

The Bivariate Normal Copula

We collect well known and less known facts about the bivariate normal distribution and translate them into copula language. In addition, we prove a very general formula for the bivariate normal copula, we compute Gini's gamma, and we provide improved bounds and approximations on the diagonal.Comment: 24 page

A step closer to local carbon calculations : growth timescales and linear relationships for sand forest and woodland tree species in Maputaland, South Africa

In Africa, information on time required for plants to develop from seed to mean size and maximum size is scarce. There is also a lack of information regarding accurate relationships between stem diameter, height and canopy dimensions. This type of information is however becoming a real necessity to allow the accurate measurement of carbon stocks and carbon stocks change to qualify for the UNFCCC’s REDD+ mechanism. We evaluated these parameters for 22 Sand Forest and woodland tree species of South Africa’s Maputaland. Results indicated that it takes approximately 66 and 35 years for current dynamics of Sand Forests and woodlands to occur respectively. Based on diameter and growth rates, larger trees of the forests can be older than 600 years, while large woodland trees can reach ages of 900 years. Our evaluation of linear relationships between stem diameter, height and canopy dimensions showed extremely robust results allowing the use of stem diameter to calculate height and canopy dimensions. The results are of interest for carbon related investigations and reconstructing stands dynamics.The University of Pretoria and the South African National Research Foundation under Grant Number 2053522.http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojfam201

A mixed integer linear programming model for optimal sovereign debt issuance

Copyright @ 2011, Elsevier. NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in the European Journal of Operational Research. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version is available at the link below.Governments borrow funds to finance the excess of cash payments or interest payments over receipts, usually by issuing fixed income debt and index-linked debt. The goal of this work is to propose a stochastic optimization-based approach to determine the composition of the portfolio issued over a series of government auctions for the fixed income debt, to minimize the cost of servicing debt while controlling risk and maintaining market liquidity. We show that this debt issuance problem can be modeled as a mixed integer linear programming problem with a receding horizon. The stochastic model for the interest rates is calibrated using a Kalman filter and the future interest rates are represented using a recombining trinomial lattice for the purpose of scenario-based optimization. The use of a latent factor interest rate model and a recombining lattice provides us with a realistic, yet very tractable scenario generator and allows us to do a multi-stage stochastic optimization involving integer variables on an ordinary desktop in a matter of seconds. This, in turn, facilitates frequent re-calibration of the interest rate model and re-optimization of the issuance throughout the budgetary year allows us to respond to the changes in the interest rate environment. We successfully demonstrate the utility of our approach by out-of-sample back-testing on the UK debt issuance data

Design, Verification, Test and In-Field Implications of Approximate Computing Systems

Today, the concept of approximation in computing is becoming more and more a “hot topic” to investigate how computing systems can be more energy efficient, faster, and less complex. Intuitively, instead of performing exact computations and, consequently, requiring a high amount of resources, Approximate Computing aims at selectively relaxing the specifications, trading accuracy off for efficiency. While Approximate Computing gives several promises when looking at systems’ performance, energy efficiency and complexity, it poses significant challenges regarding the design, the verification, the test and the in-field reliability of Approximate Computing systems. This tutorial paper covers these aspects leveraging the experience of the authors in the field to present state-of-the-art solutions to apply during the different development phases of an Approximate Computing system