'Inside the box': a cooperative game for co-creating energy efficient retail spaces

Although sustainability is one of the drivers of change in the retail sector, employees still treat energy management as a lower priority compared with other operational tasks. As digital technologies are flourishing, gamification is an emerging method of raising energy awareness, with most examples however targeting individuals, and therefore not supporting teamworking approaches to handling end user building energy demand. As such, combining behavioural incentivisation and technological development is a critical socio-technical challenge within the retail environments. The development of a new cooperative role-playing game that harnesses the participatory character of game theory to boost collegiality and encourage the energy-conscious behaviour of staff in a supermarket located in the UK, is described. By feeding the game with energy simulation results, this can be regarded as a novel synergy between behavioural science and game theory within the field of building energy. Future research will focus on testing the real-world potential of the game to engage retail staff in co-creating energy efficient stores

The Impacts of Electricity Dispatch Protocols on the Emission Reductions Due to Wind Power and Carbon Tax

Two dispatch protocols have been adopted by electricity markets to deal with the uncertainty of wind power but the effects of the selection between the dispatch protocols have not been comprehensively analyzed. We establish a framework to compare the impacts of adopting different dispatch protocols on the efficacy of using wind power and implementing a carbon tax to reduce emissions. We suggest that a market has high potential to achieve greater emission reduction by adopting the stochastic dispatch protocol instead of the static protocol when the wind energy in the market is highly uncertain or the market has enough adjustable generators, such as gas-fired combustion generators. Furthermore, the carbon-tax policy is more cost-efficient for reducing CO₂ emission when the market operates according to the stochastic protocol rather than the static protocol. An empirical study, which is calibrated according to the data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas market, confirms that using wind energy in the Texas market results in a 12% CO₂ emission reduction when the market uses the stochastic dispatch protocol instead of the 8% emission reduction associated with the static protocol. In addition, if a 6$/ton carbon tax is implemented in the Texas market operated according to the stochastic protocol, the CO₂ emission is similar to the emission level from the same market with a 16$/ton carbon tax operated according to the static protocol. Correspondingly, the 16$/ton carbon tax associated with the static protocol costs 42.6more than the 6$/ton carbon tax associated with the stochastic protocol

A source-controlled data center network model

<div><p>The construction of data center network by applying SDN technology has become a hot research topic. The SDN architecture has innovatively separated the control plane from the data plane which makes the network more software-oriented and agile. Moreover, it provides virtual multi-tenancy, effective scheduling resources and centralized control strategies to meet the demand for cloud computing data center. However, the explosion of network information is facing severe challenges for SDN controller. The flow storage and lookup mechanisms based on TCAM device have led to the restriction of scalability, high cost and energy consumption. In view of this, a source-controlled data center network (SCDCN) model is proposed herein. The SCDCN model applies a new type of source routing address named the vector address (VA) as the packet-switching label. The VA completely defines the communication path and the data forwarding process can be finished solely relying on VA. There are four advantages in the SCDCN architecture. 1) The model adopts hierarchical multi-controllers and abstracts large-scale data center network into some small network domains that has solved the restriction for the processing ability of single controller and reduced the computational complexity. 2) Vector switches (VS) developed in the core network no longer apply TCAM for table storage and lookup that has significantly cut down the cost and complexity for switches. Meanwhile, the problem of scalability can be solved effectively. 3) The SCDCN model simplifies the establishment process for new flows and there is no need to download flow tables to VS. The amount of control signaling consumed when establishing new flows can be significantly decreased. 4) We design the VS on the NetFPGA platform. The statistical results show that the hardware resource consumption in a VS is about 27% of that in an OFS.</p></div

Inflammatory markers in postoperative delirium (POD) and cognitive dysfunction (POCD): A meta-analysis of observational studies

<div><p>Background</p><p>The aim of this study was to summarize and discuss the similarities and differences in inflammatory biomarkers in postoperative delirium (POD) and cognitive dysfunction (POCD).</p><p>Methods</p><p>A systematic retrieval of literature up to June 2017 in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database, and the Wanfang database was conducted. Extracted data were analyzed with STATA (version 14). The standardized mean difference (SMD) and the 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of each indicator were calculated using a random effect model. We also performed tests of heterogeneity, sensitivity analysis, assessments of bias, and meta-regression in this meta-analysis.</p><p>Results</p><p>A total of 54 observational studies were included. By meta-analysis we found significantly increased C-reactive protein (CRP) (9 studies, SMD 0.883, 95% CI 0.130 to 1.637, <i>P</i> = 0.022 in POD; 10 studies, SMD -0.133, 95% CI -0.512 to 0.246, <i>P</i> = 0.429 in POCD) and interleukin (IL)-6 (7 studies, SMD 0.386, 95% CI 0.054 to 0.717, <i>P</i> = 0.022 in POD; 16 studies, SMD 0.089, 95% CI -0.133 to 0.311, <i>P</i> = 0.433 in POCD) concentrations in both POD and POCD patients. We also found that the SMDs of CRP and IL-6 from POCD patients were positively correlated with surgery type in the meta-regression (CRP: Coefficient = 1.555365, <i>P</i> = 0.001, 10 studies; IL-6: Coefficient = -0.6455521, <i>P</i> = 0.086, 16 studies).</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>Available evidence from medium-to-high quality observational studies suggests that POD and POCD are indeed correlated with the concentration of peripheral and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) inflammatory markers. Some of these markers, such as CRP and IL-6, play roles in both POD and POCD, while others are specific to either one of them.</p></div

Improving Thermal, Mechanical, and Crystalline Properties of Poly(butylene succinate) Copolyesters from a Renewable Rigid Diester

The introduction of rigid cyclic monomers into the poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) backbone is the most common way to elevate its low glass-transition temperature (Tg = −30.0 °C). However, the insertion of cyclic units always leads to very poor crystallinity and low molecular weight, which drastically hinder their industrial applications. Herein, a renewable rigid diester N,N′-trans-1,4-cyclohexane-bis(pyrrolidone-4-methyl carboxylate) (CBPC) was obtained via Michael addition. CBPC with linked rings had high spatial mobility, resulting in high reaction reactivity. A series of biobased PBCxBSy copolyesters were prepared by melt polycondensation of CBPC with succinic acid and 1,4-butanediol, achieving the high-number-average molecular weight of up to 44.5 kDa. The insertion of CBPC led to higher thermal stability and dramatically enhanced the Tg, such that the Tg of PBC80BS20 (87.5 °C) surpassed that of PBS (−30.0 °C) over 117.5 °C. Moreover, PBCxBSy showed an unexpected cocrystallization behavior, in which the rigid CBPC with a bulky tricyclic structure could be inserted into the crystal of PBS and formed a homogeneous crystalline structure. The cocrystallization was deeply analyzed by thermodynamic study and density functional theory calculation. Benefiting from the cocrystallization, PBCxBSy showed distinguished mechanical performances, which matched with or excelled those of the commercial polyesters of polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, and polylactic acid. Accordingly, CBPC could be regarded as an effective biobased building block to spectacularly improve the thermal, mechanical, and crystalline performances of PBS at the same time

VA and the assignment of PI.

<p>Assuming the communication path from A to D is A->G->I.->J->D.</p

The structure of the VS based on NetFPGA.

<p>The packets are placed in buffing queues ranging from 0 to 3 based on off-chip BRAM without the use of off-chip SRAMs and DRAMs.</p

The physiological saline is sealed in a plastic tube.

<p>The anode (Pt probe) sticks into the tube and the cathode (Pt probe) into the liquid metal droplet. When the tube and the droplet contact, the polarization voltage emerges and is recorded through the probes.</p

The architecture of the SCDCN model.

<p>The model makes network resources be unified with computing and storage resources and provides open interfaces for upper application by applying techniques of VA and SDN techniques.</p

Cloud computing and its impact on service level: a multi-agent simulation model

<p>Supply chains are increasingly becoming more complex, making collaboration progressively difficult to establish and maintain. It is imperative to understand not only the consequences, but also the drivers of effective and efficient collaboration. In this study, we attempt to show how varying levels of collaboration impact service level and how cloud computing fosters these levels of collaboration. We introduce a framework detailing how cloud computing impacts three levels of collaboration: (1) information centralisation, (2) vendor managed inventory and continuous replenishment programmes and (3) business intelligence (BI) collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment. In addition, we use multi-agent-based simulation to analyse how each level of collaboration (enhanced through cloud computing) impacts service level as measured by fill rate. Obtained results show that cloud computing can enhance all three levels of collaboration. Further, our results demonstrate that BI collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment have significantly greater service level benefits in comparison to other collaboration levels.</p