Multimarket optimal bidding for a power producer

This paper considers a profit-maximizing thermal producer that participates in a sequence of spot markets, namely, day-ahead, automatic generation control (AGC), and balancing markets. The producer behaves as a price-taker in both the day-ahead market and the AGC market but as a potential price-maker in the volatile balancing market. The paper provides a stochastic programming methodology to determine the optimal bidding strategies for the day-ahead market. Uncertainty sources include prices for the day-ahead and AGC markets and balancing market linear price variations with the production of the thermal producer. Results from a realistic case study are reported and analyzed. Conclusions are duly drawn.The work of A. J. Conejo was supported in part by the Ministry of Science and Education of Spain under CICYT Project DPI2003-01362 and in part by Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha under Project GC-02-006.Publicad

"Aproximación a la lengua del “Libro decimosesto” de los Comentarios de erudición, de Bartolomé Jiménez Patón: aspectos generales, grafías, fonética y morfología"

El hallazgo de un tomo de los Comentarios de erudición de B. Jiménez Patón (1569-1640) nos ha permitido estudiar la lengua del manuscrito del “Libro decimosesto”, incluido en el tomo IV. Se entrecruzan en el texto dos tendencias: la tradicional, que extiende el periodo medieval, representada sobre todo por un vocalismo átono inestable, el mantenimiento de ciertas formas verbales medievales, una sintaxis latinizante y la elección usual de arcaísmos; y la más moderna, que se advierte en el mantenimiento –vacilante– de los grupos cultos y en ciertos aspectos léxicos como la adopción de cultismos, la frecuente hispanización de ese mismo léxico latino, el uso de coloquialismos y refranes, y el recurso a voces apreciativas y a formaciones neológicas internas del castellano

Energy Recovery in Capacitive Deionization Technology

Capacitive deionization technique (CDI) represents an interesting alternative to compete with reverse osmosis by reducing energy consumption. It is based on creating an electric field between two electrodes to retain the salt ions on the electrode surface by electrostatic attraction; thus the CDI cell operates as a supercapacitor storing energy during the desalination process. Most of the CDI research is oriented to improving the electrode materials in order to increase the effective surface and ionic retention. However, if the CDI overall efficiency is to be improved, it is necessary to optimize the CDI cell geometry and the charge/discharge current used during the deionization process. A DC/DC converter is required to transfer the stored energy from one cell to another with the maximum possible efficiency during energy recovery, thus allowing the desalination process to continue. A detailed description of energy losses and the DC/DC converter used to recover part of the energy involved in the CDI process will provide the hints to optimize the efficiency of the CDI technique for water desalination. The proposed chapter presents an electric model to characterize the power losses in CDI cells and the power converter required for the energy recovery process

Evolution induced by dry minor mergers onto fast-rotator S0 galaxies

We analysed collisionless N-body simulations of intermediate and minor dry mergers onto S0s to test whether these mergers can generate S0 galaxies with kinematics intermediate between fast and slow rotators. We find that minor mergers induce a lower decrease of the global rotational support than encounters of lower mass ratios, which results in S0s with properties intermediate between fast and slow rotators. The resulting remnants are intrinsically more triaxial, less flattened, and span the whole range of apparent ellipticities up to $\epsilon_\mathrm{e} \sim 0.8$. They do not show lower apparent ellipticities in random projections than initially; on the contrary, the formation of oval distortions and the disc thickening increase the percentage of projections at $0.4 < \epsilon_\mathrm{e} < 0.7$. In the experiments with S0b progenitor galaxies, minor mergers tend to spin up the bulge and to decrease slightly its intrinsic ellipticity, whereas in the cases of primary S0c galaxies they keep the rotational support of the bulge nearly constant and decrease significantly its intrinsic ellipticity. The remnant bulges remain nearly spherical ($B/A \sim C/A > 0.9$), but exhibit a wide range of triaxialities ($0.20 < T < 1.00$). In the plane of global anisotropy of velocities ($\delta$) vs. intrinsic ellipticity ($\epsilon_\mathrm{e,intr}$), some of our models extend the linear trend found in previous major merger simulations towards higher $\epsilon_\mathrm{e,intr}$ values, while others depart from it. This is consistent with the wide dispersion exhibited by real S0s in this diagram compared with ellipticals, which follow the linear trend drawn by major merger simulations. The different trends exhibited by ellipticals and S0 galaxies in the $\delta$ - $\epsilon_\mathrm{e}$ diagram may be pointing to the different role played by major mergers in the build-up of each morphological type.Comment: Corrected typos. 20 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publishing in A&

Enhanced exchange and reduced magnetization of Gd in an Fe/Gd/Fe trilayer

5 páginas, 6 figuras.-- PACS number(s): 75.70.−i, 75.47.De, 75.60.EjThe exchange interaction of Gd adjacent to Fe has been characterized by transport measurements on a double spin valve with a Fe/Gd/Fe trilayer as the middle layer. Our measurements show that the ferromagnetism of the Gd is enhanced by the presence of the Fe, and it remains ferromagnetic over its Curie temperature up to a thickness no smaller than 1 nm adjacent to the Fe. This thickness is more than double what has been reported before. Additionally, the saturation magnetization of the thin Gd layer sandwiched in Fe was found to be half of its bulk value. This reduced magnetization does not seem to be related to the proximity of Fe but rather to the incomplete saturation of Gd even for very high fields.This work was partially supported by Project Nos. MAT2008-02770/NAN and MAT2009-08771 from the SpanishMinisterio deCiencia e Innovaci´on. M. Romerawas funded through the FPU Fellowship No. AP2007-00464.Peer reviewe

Superoxide dismutase in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection

It has been reported that hepatitis C virus (HCV) may cause oxidative stress in infected cells. Patients with chronic hepatitis C exhibit an increased production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha), a cytokine that can produce oxidative stress by stimulating the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Cell defense against ROS includes overexpression of Mn-superoxide dismutase (SOD), an inducible mitochondrial enzyme. To investigate cell defense against oxidative stress in HCV infection, we analyzed Mn-SOD mRNA in liver and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with chronic hepatitis C. Mn-SOD expression in PBMC was significantly increased in patients with HCV infection. Patients with sustained virological and biochemical response after therapy showed significantly lower Mn-SOD than patients with positive viremia. By contrast, Mn-SOD expression was not enhanced in the liver of patients with chronic hepatitis C. The values of Mn-SOD mRNA did not correlate with TNF alpha mRNA expression, viral load, or liver disease activity. Our results indicate that in HCV infection an induction of Mn-SOD was present in PBMC but absent in the liver, suggesting that this organ could be less protected against oxidative damage. Oxidative stress could participate in the pathogenesis of HCV infection

The Interstitial Lymphatic Peritoneal Mesothelium Axis in Portal Hypertensive Ascites: When in Danger, Go Back to the Sea

Portal hypertension induces a splanchnic and systemic low-grade inflammatory response that could induce the expression of three phenotypes, named ischemia-reperfusion, leukocytic, and angiogenic phenotypes.During the splanchnic expression of these phenotypes, interstitial edema, increased lymph flow, and lymphangiogenesis are produced in the gastrointestinal tract. Associated liver disease increases intestinal bacterial translocation, splanchnic lymph flow, and induces ascites and hepatorenal syndrome. Extrahepatic cholestasis in the rat allows to study the worsening of the portal hypertensive syndrome when associated with chronic liver disease. The splanchnic interstitium, the mesenteric lymphatics, and the peritoneal mesothelium seem to create an inflammatory pathway that could have a key pathophysiological relevance in the production of the portal hypertension syndrome complications. The hypothetical comparison between the ascitic and the amniotic fluids allows for translational investigation. From a phylogenetic point of view, the ancestral mechanisms for amniotic fluid production were essential for animal survival out of the aquatic environment. However, their hypothetical appearance in the cirrhotic patient is considered pathological since ultimately they lead to ascites development. But, the adult human being would take advantage of the potential beneficial effects of this “amniotic-like fluid” to manage the interstitial fluids without adverse effects when chronic liver disease aggravates

Optimal pole number and winding designs for low speed-high torque synchronous reluctance machines

This paper studies the feasibility of using synchronous reluctance machines (SynRM) for low speed–high torque applications. The challenge lies in obtaining low torque ripple values, high power factor, and, especially, high torque density values, comparable to those of permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs), but without resorting to use permanent magnets. A design and calculation procedure based on multistatic finite element analysis is developed and experimentally validated via a 200 Nm, 160 rpm prototype SynRM. After that, machine designs with different rotor pole and stator slot number combinations are studied, together with different winding types: integral-slot distributed-windings (ISDW), fractional-slot distributed-windings (FSDW) and fractional-slot concentrated-windings (FSCW). Some design criteria for low-speed SynRM are drawn from the results of the study. Finally, a performance comparison between a PMSM and a SynRM is performed for the same application and the conclusions of the study are summarized

Revisión sistemática sobre los beneficios psicosociales obtenidos con intervenciones para promover el desplazamietno activo al colegio

Active commuting to schools has decreased in the last few years. The main objectives of this review were to determine which interventions are being carried out to promote active commuting, to know the quality of the research, and to analyze which psycosocial parameters can be improved. The bibliographic search was carried out in the databases of Medline, Sport Discus, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar... Finally, there were selecting a total of 23 investigations. The most frequent action is to implement programs to promote active commuting (91.30%). There are few data as yet on interventions, and approximately half of the studies fail to improve active commuting data (47.83%). Psychosocial health is not just studied only 1 study tested variables of psychosocial health. It is important to increase the number of studies, to randomize them, control external contaminants, increase the duration, and increase the psychosocial health studies.El desplazamiento activo al centro educativo ha disminuido en los últimos años. Los objetivos principales de esta revisión fueron determinar qué intervenciones se están llevando a cabo para promover el desplazamiento activo, conocer la calidad de las investigaciones y analizar qué parámetros psicosociales se han estudiado. La búsqueda bibliográfica se realizó en las bases de datos de Medline, Sport Discus, Scopus, Web of Science y Google Scholar. Finalmente, se seleccionaron 23 investigaciones que desarrollaban intervenciones para fomentar el desplazamiento activo. La intervención más frecuente es implementar programas para promover el desplazamiento activo (91.30%). Existen pocos estudios con intervenciones, y aproximadamente la mitad de los estudios no logran mejorar los datos de niveles de desplazamiento activo (47.83%). La salud psicosocial no ha sido apenas estudiada, tan solo en 1 estudio se midieron las variables de salud psicosocial. Es importante aumentar el número de estudios, aleatorizarlos, controlar contaminantes externos, aumentar la duración y desarrollar estudios de salud psicosocial

Ultrasound as a apid and Low-cost extraction procedure to obtain Anthocyanin-based colorants from Prunus spinosa L. Fruit epicarp: comparative study with conventional heat-based extraction

An ultrasound rapid and low-cost procedure for anthocyanin-based colorants from Prunus spinosa L. fruit epicarp was developed, and the advantages were compared with conventional heat-based extraction. To obtain the conditions that maximize anthocyanins’ extraction, a response surface methodology was applied using the variables of time, temperature, and ethanol content, in the case of heat extraction, whereas for ultrasound assisted extraction, temperature was replaced by ultrasound power. Two anthocyanin compounds were identified by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS—namely, cyanidin 3-rutinoside and peonidin 3-rutinoside. The responses used were the extraction yield and the content of the identified anthocyanins. Ultrasound extraction was the most effective method at 5.00 0.15 min, 400.00 32.00 W, and 47.98% 2.88% of ethanol obtaining 68.60% 2.06% of extracted residue, with an anthocyanin content of 18.17 mg/g (extract-basis) and 11.76 mg/g (epicarp-basis). Overall, a viable green process was achieved that could be used to support pilot-scale studies for industrial production of anthocyanin-based colorants from P. spinosa fruit epicarp.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013), L. Barros and C. Pereira research contract; to FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal programme for financial support through the project 0377_Iberphenol_6_E.; to European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-023289: DeCodE and project Mobilizador Norte-01-0247-FEDER-024479: ValorNatural®. This work was also financially supported by the following: Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984, Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM funded by FEDER through COMPETE2020, Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI), and national funds through FCT. The authors thank the GAIN (Xunta de Galicia) for financial support (P.P. 0000 421S 140.08) to M.A. Prieto by a post-doctoral (modality B) grant.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio