Optimization Techniques for the Developing Distribution System

The most rapidly changing part of today’s power grid is the distribution system. Many new technologies have emerged that revolutionize the way utilities provide, and now sometimes receive, power to and from their customers. To an extent, the push for de-regulation of utilities has also led to an increased focus on reliability and efficiency. These changes make design and operation of power systems more complex causing utilities to question if they are operating optimally. Operations Research (OR) is an area of mathematics where quantitative analysis is used to provide a basis for complex decision making. The changing landscape in electric distribution makes it a prime candidate for the application of OR techniques. This research seeks to develop optimization methods that can be applied to any distribution feeder or group of feeders that allows for optimal decisions to be made in a reasonable time frame. Two specific applications identified in this thesis are optimal reconfiguration during outage situations and optimal location of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Response to outages has traditionally relied on human-in-the-loop approaches where a dispatcher or a crew working the field decides what switching operations are needed to isolate affected parts of the system and restore power to healthy ones. This approach is time consuming and under-utilizes the benefits provided by widely-adopted, remotely-controlled switching technologies. Chapters Two and Three of this thesis develop a partitioning method for determining the switching operations required to optimize the amount of load that is restored during an event. Most people would agree that renewable forms of Distributed Generation (DG) provide great benefits to the power industry, especially through reduced impact on the environment. The variable nature of renewables, however, can cause many issues for operation and control of a utilities’ system, especially for distribution interconnections. Storage technologies are thought to be the primary solution to these issues with much research focused on sizing and control of BESSs. Equally important for integration, but often overlooked, is the location at which the device is connected. Chapter Four explores this idea by drawing conclusions about optimal BESS location based on well-studied ideas of optimal capacitor location

The Effects of Water in the Retardation of the Fungi Aspergillus flavus Growth in Embalming Fluids

Cadavers are typically embalmed using fluids containing varying concentrations of alcohols, phenols, and glutaraldehydes in water to preserve the tissue and kill bacteria. Occasionally cadavers in gross anatomy studies become infested with mold growth. The primary goal of our research is to compare the effectiveness of embalming fluids at different concentrations in the prevention of the growth of mold on cadavers. Previous studies in our lab determined the optimal preparatory procedures for eight common embalming fluids. We selected four formulas to test their ability to retard the growth of Aspergellus flavus a common species of mold recovered from cadaver tissue. Embalming fluids diluted with water are significantly less effective in the prevention of Aspergellus flavus growth than embalming fluids consisting of a higher ratio of alcohol or preservatives to water. We were able to determine that a dilution ratio of 1:32 or higher would not retard mold growth. Mold cultures maintained for more than 120 days in diluted embalming fluids were still viable suggesting the need for proper preparation and storage of embalming fluids

Spectrophotometric Analysis of the Mold Apsergillus flavus in Embalming Fluids Using an XTT Assay Kit.

The presence of mold in cadavers remains an issue in many laboratory settings worldwide. By measuring the efficiency of water diluted embalming fluids, the results can be attributed to cadaver preparation and preservation techniques using water. Aspergillus flavus mold from the Bellarmine University cadaver lab was cultured on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) plates for use in our experiment. Using a flat bottom 96-well plate we created mold inoculums with seven different concentrations of embalming fluids. Being limited to only viability observations using the microtiter and PDA plates, we proceeded to include a method of quantitative analysis. An XTT assay kit was used to indicate the presence of metabolic activity using the mold\u27s dehydrogenase enzymes, producing a formazan dye. The XTT prepared microtiter plate was allowed to sit for 24 hours and then scanned at 450nm. Our results indicate that mold viability progressively increases with successively greater dilutions of embalming fluids. Therefore, the growth of mold on cadaver may be reflective of the amount of water applied to embalmed tissues. The volume of water repeatedly applied to tissues throughout a semester may be a critical contributor to the establishment of mold growth by simple dilution of the preservative ingredients of embalming fluids

The Use of Species Specific Interferons in Veterinary Medicine

Interferons are cytokines, a type of signaling proteins involved in immune response that are released by affected cells in situations such as the invasion of viruses, bacteria, or parasites. Currently, human recombinant interferons are used in veterinary medicine to treat various conditions in animals; however, interferons are species specific and human interferon based drugs require higher dosages administered to animals to achieve remission. The purpose of this study is to determine how well species specific interferon medication works in improving health of domestic animals suffering from various conditions. Pharmaceutical substances based on recombinant bovine, swine, canine, equine interferons with or without an antibiotic will be administered to animals suffering from low immune response levels, viral and bacterial infections, stress, etc. In order to collect data for analysis veterinarians will examine the condition of animals subjected to study followed by completion of a questionnaire by animal owners. The use of species specific interferons will be analyzed to test the prediction that these pharmaceutical substances are more beneficial when compared to human interferon that are currently administered.https://dc.swosu.edu/rf_2016/1080/thumbnail.jp

A Social-Ecological System Framework for Marine Aquaculture Research

Aquaculture has been responsible for an impressive growth in the global supply of seafood. As of 2016, more than half of all global seafood production comes from aquaculture. To meet future global seafood demands, there is need and opportunity to expand marine aquaculture production in ways that are both socially and ecologically sustainable. This requires integrating biophysical, social, and engineering sciences. Such interdisciplinary research is difficult due to the complexity and multi-scale aspects of marine aquaculture and inherent challenges researchers face working across disciplines. To this end, we developed a framework based on Elinor Ostrom’s social–ecological system framework (SESF) to guide interdisciplinary research on marine aquaculture. We first present the framework and the social–ecological system variables relevant to research on marine aquaculture and then illustrate one application of this framework to interdisciplinary research underway in Maine, the largest producer of marine aquaculture products in the United States. We use the framework to compare oyster aquaculture in two study regions, with a focus on factors influencing the social and biophysical carrying capacity. We conclude that the flexibility provided by the SESF is well suited to inform interdisciplinary research on marine aquaculture, especially comparative, cross-case analysis

Hermeneutic phenomenology and international entrepreneurship research

It is not uncommon for business researchers to avoid discussion associated with the philosophy of science. In this paper, it is argued that this avoidance weakens the quality and insightfulness of entrepreneurship and international entrepreneurship research, which by definition should be concerned with human action and activity. This paper explores the implications of alternative research philosophies and argues that a dichotomy between objective and subjective meaning is manifestly inadequate for the study of opportunity recognition and exploitation and by implication for many other problems of international entrepreneurship research. In response, hermeneutic phenomenology is proposed as an underutilized, misunderstood, yet highly relevant research paradigm. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2006International entrepreneurship, Philosophy of science, Hermeneutic phenomenology, Opportunity,