Optimal Net-Load Balancing in Smart Grids with High PV Penetration

Mitigating Supply-Demand mismatch is critical for smooth power grid operation. Traditionally, load curtailment techniques such as Demand Response (DR) have been used for this purpose. However, these cannot be the only component of a net-load balancing framework for Smart Grids with high PV penetration. These grids can sometimes exhibit supply surplus causing over-voltages. Supply curtailment techniques such as Volt-Var Optimizations are complex and computationally expensive. This increases the complexity of net-load balancing systems used by the grid operator and limits their scalability. Recently new technologies have been developed that enable the rapid and selective connection of PV modules of an installation to the grid. Taking advantage of these advancements, we develop a unified optimal net-load balancing framework which performs both load and solar curtailment. We show that when the available curtailment values are discrete, this problem is NP-hard and develop bounded approximation algorithms for minimizing the curtailment cost. Our algorithms produce fast solutions, given the tight timing constraints required for grid operation. We also incorporate the notion of fairness to ensure that curtailment is evenly distributed among all the nodes. Finally, we develop an online algorithm which performs net-load balancing using only data available for the current interval. Using both theoretical analysis and practical evaluations, we show that our net-load balancing algorithms provide solutions which are close to optimal in a small amount of time.Comment: 11 pages. To be published in the 4th ACM International Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Built Environments (BuildSys 17) Changes from previous version: Fixed a bug in Algorithm 1 which was causing some min cost solutions to be misse

Holistic Measures for Evaluating Prediction Models in Smart Grids

The performance of prediction models is often based on "abstract metrics" that estimate the model's ability to limit residual errors between the observed and predicted values. However, meaningful evaluation and selection of prediction models for end-user domains requires holistic and application-sensitive performance measures. Inspired by energy consumption prediction models used in the emerging "big data" domain of Smart Power Grids, we propose a suite of performance measures to rationally compare models along the dimensions of scale independence, reliability, volatility and cost. We include both application independent and dependent measures, the latter parameterized to allow customization by domain experts to fit their scenario. While our measures are generalizable to other domains, we offer an empirical analysis using real energy use data for three Smart Grid applications: planning, customer education and demand response, which are relevant for energy sustainability. Our results underscore the value of the proposed measures to offer a deeper insight into models' behavior and their impact on real applications, which benefit both data mining researchers and practitioners.Comment: 14 Pages, 8 figures, Accepted and to appear in IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, 2014. Authors' final version. Copyright transferred to IEE

Family Role in Settling Inheritance Feuds among Heirs

The current study deals with role of family with relation to feud settlement at family level. A sample size of 182 respondents was randomly selected of those respondents who had at least 10 acres of land. Frequency distribution of data was observed to have a comprehensive data layout. Moreover, Chi square (χ2) statistics was used to determine the level of association between dependent variable (Feud Settlement) with the independent variables (Role of Family)., The study depicted that family play an important role in division of property among the heirs with laid down propositions among the male and female and thus consider the transformation of inheritance and property obligatory to avoid feuds at family level but while the elder brother within the family had more rights in the division of property as compare to other members by virtue of occupying the place of leadership in terms of age while supposedly replacing the father. Moreover, incapability on part of the male gender regarding divisions of property in inheritance usually crops up in shape of tussles and feuds among the real heirs that in turn has brought instability to the family as an institution. In addition, such distributions of property is only practiced by the concerned family members with sole discretion on part of legal heirs only. As well as prohibiting all the discrimination, especially in respect of inherited property mainly on the basis of age, gender and custom could lead to the mitigation of inheritance related feuds at family level

Frequency and management of maternal infection in health facilities in 52 countries (GLOSS): a 1-week inception cohort study

Background: Maternal infections are an important cause of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity. We report the main findings of the WHO Global Maternal Sepsis Study, which aimed to assess the frequency of maternal infections in health facilities, according to maternal characteristics and outcomes, and coverage of core practices for early identification and management. Methods: We did a facility-based, prospective, 1-week inception cohort study in 713 health facilities providing obstetric, midwifery, or abortion care, or where women could be admitted because of complications of pregnancy, childbirth, post-partum, or post-abortion, in 52 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs). We obtained data from hospital records for all pregnant or recently pregnant women hospitalised with suspected or confirmed infection. We calculated ratios of infection and infection-related severe maternal outcomes (ie, death or near-miss) per 1000 livebirths and the proportion of intrahospital fatalities across country income groups, as well as the distribution of demographic, obstetric, clinical characteristics and outcomes, and coverage of a set of core practices for identification and management across infection severity groups. Findings: Between Nov 28, 2017, and Dec 4, 2017, of 2965 women assessed for eligibility, 2850 pregnant or recently pregnant women with suspected or confirmed infection were included. 70·4 (95% CI 67·7–73·1) hospitalised women per 1000 livebirths had a maternal infection, and 10·9 (9·8–12·0) women per 1000 livebirths presented with infection-related (underlying or contributing cause) severe maternal outcomes. Highest ratios were observed in LMICs and the lowest in HICs. The proportion of intrahospital fatalities was 6·8% among women with severe maternal outcomes, with the highest proportion in low-income countries. Infection-related maternal deaths represented more than half of the intrahospital deaths. Around two-thirds (63·9%, n=1821) of the women had a complete set of vital signs recorded, or received antimicrobials the day of suspicion or diagnosis of the infection (70·2%, n=1875), without marked differences across severity groups. Interpretation: The frequency of maternal infections requiring management in health facilities is high. Our results suggest that contribution of direct (obstetric) and indirect (non-obstetric) infections to overall maternal deaths is greater than previously thought. Improvement of early identification is urgently needed, as well as prompt management of women with infections in health facilities by implementing effective evidence-based practices. Funding: UNDP–UNFPA–UNICEF–WHO–World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction, WHO, Merck for Mothers, and United States Agency for International Development

Influence-Driven Model for Time Series Prediction from Partial Observations

Applications in sustainability domains such as in energy, transportation, and natural resource and environment monitoring, increasingly use sensors for collecting data and sending it back to centrally located processing nodes. While data can usually be collected by the sensors at a very high speed, in many cases, it can not be sent back to central nodes at a frequency that is required for fast and real-time modeling and decision-making. This may be due to physical limitations of the transmission networks, or due to consumers limiting frequent transmission of data from sensors located at their premises for security and privacy concerns. We propose a novel solution to the problem of making short term predictions in absence of real-time data from sensors. A key implication of our work is that by using real-time data from only a small subset of influential sensors, we are able to make predictions for all sen- sors. We evaluated our approach with a large real-world electricity consumption data collected from smart meters in Los Angeles and the results show that between prediction horizons of 2 to 8 hours, despite lack of real time data, our influence model outperforms the baseline model that uses real-time data. Also, when using partial real-time data from only ≈ 7% influential smart meters, we witness prediction error increase by only ≈ 0.5% over the baseline, thus demonstrating the usefulness of our method for practical scenarios

Brucellosis: A Threat to Human Population of District Rawalpindi

Objective: This study was conducted to detect cases of brucellosis among shepherds and to identify risk factors associated with human brucellosis. Study Design: Case control study Methodology:  A descriptive study followed by case control study was conducted during the month of August, 2016 at Village Hassar tehsil Taxilla, district Rawalpindi. A case was defined as “intermittent fever, profuse night sweats, headache and positive brucella antibodies on ELISA in a resident of Hassar from August 21-25, 2016. Epidemiological information was recorded on structured questionnaire. Cases and controls were matched by age and sex (1:4). Blood samples were collected from sheep/goat handlers (n=30) and small ruminants (n=144). Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT) and indirect Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (I-ELISA) was used for testing of  serum samples. Frequencies were calculated, odd ratios were determined at 95% confidence interval with p value less than 0.05. Results: A total of six cases of brucellosis were identified. Among cases 42% were having direct  contact with small ruminants and 60% were raw milk consumers. Animal handler (OR =12 CL=1.19-123.6: p<.026) were likely to have brucellosis as compared to those who were not directly involved in animal handling. Persons consuming raw milk are more likely to have brucellosis (OR=11: Cl= 1.3-95: p<0.04) as compared to those consuming pasteurized milk. Among small ruminants tested, 52%  were found positive for brucellosis. Conclusion: Animal handlers/shepherds of district Rawalpindi were infected with brucellosis. Animal handler and raw milk consumer were more likely to get brucella infection. Infected small ruminant are potential source of infection for human. Presence of brucella infection in animal handlers/shepherd of Rawalpindi is suggestive of brucella infection all across the country. &nbsp

Postmortem minimally invasive tissue sampling in communities: Exploring perceptions of families, funeral workers, religious and community leaders and healthcare providers from Pakistan

Background: Minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) has increasingly been used to improve the diagnosis of disease and identification of the cause of death, particularly in underserved areas. However, there are multiple barriers to accessing those who die within the community, our study aimed to explore the perceptions and insights of community members and healthcare providers regarding the feasibility of implementing MITS in community settings.Methods: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted. A total of twenty one in-depth interviews were conducted with deceased infants\u27 parents, elders of the family, religious leaders, community leaders, and funeral workers. Focus group discussions were conducted with health care providers (n = 14) in two peri-urban slum areas of Karachi, Pakistan. The duration of this study was from August to October 2020. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis and was coded and merged into categories forming eight major themes.Results: In general, participants viewed minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) as beneficial for improving child health, though some had concerns about disrespecting the deceased during sample collection. Misinformation, fear of needles, and medical procedures were major barriers to MITS implementation. To enhance acceptance, community and religious leaders suggested using religious rulings, obtaining parental consent, ensuring confidentiality, and increasing efforts of community engagement. Community healthcare providers, along with funeral workers, recommended providing community members with grief counseling to increase study participation. Besides concerns about sampling interfering with respect for the decease, community members also raised concerns about misinformation. Further, participants provided feedback on the design and appearance of the mobile van used to collect MITS samples from children under the age of five.Conclusion: This study is critical for understanding the challenges associated with implementation of community-based MITS sampling in Pakistan. Integrating the use of a mobile van for sample collection, grief counseling along with community engagement sessions and advocacy will help address community-based misinformation and develop community trust