Electrical energy conservation and its application to a sheet glassindustry

Electrical energy is the most common and widely used type of energy in the world. The subject of energy conservation is a concern for most energy users particularly industry. Energy conservation (ECON) becomes even more important for the third world, developing countries, where the rising energy costs and the use of efficient energy apparatus are of significant concern to both the industry and the utility. In this paper, the application of the ECON techniques by which electrical energy can be saved and made cost efficient from the industrial perspective are presented for a sheet-glass industry in a developing country (Pakistan-Asia). The selection, in particular, of a sheet-glass industry was done because electrical energy constitutes only a small amount of the overall energy used. A complete energy conservation guideline is recommended. The load profile and its overall improvement in light of these recommendations is also illustrated along with the proposed utilization of the techniques and their applications. Electrical energy management (EEM) approach for motors, PF, and tariff control is outlined and the emphasis on energy conservation technology has been elaborated. More findings of the application of energy conservation techniques of high significance are presented in the pape

Prevalence and association of obesity with self-reported comorbidity: a cross-sectional study of 1321 adult participants in Lasbela, Balochistan

Association of fatness with chronic metabolic diseases is a well-established fact, and a high prevalence of risk factors for these disorders has increasingly been reported in the third world. In order to incorporate any preventive strategies for such risk factors into clinical practice, decision-makers require objective evidence about the associated burden of disease. A cross-sectional study of 1321 adults from one of the districts of Balochistan, among the most economically challenged areas of Pakistan, was carried out for the measures of fatness and self-reported comorbidities. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were measured and demographic information and self-reported comorbidities were documented.The prevalence of obesity was 4.8% (95% CI: [3.8, 6.1]) and 21.7% (95% CI: [19.5, 24.0]), as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) international and Asia/Asia-Pacific BMI cut-offs, respectively. The proportion exhibiting comorbidity increased with increasing levels of fatness in a dose-response relationship

Computation of critical clearing time for detailed machine models:impact of stressed system loading

Computation of critical clearing time (CCT) is carried out for detailed machine models using the generator, exciter and governor-turbine dynamics, The simulations are carried out at both the base-case system loading and the stressed system loading. For the stressed-case loading, all load buses are uniformly loaded with uniform power factor and CCT is computed. Also a comparison is made with the classical machine model results for both base and stressed system loading conditions. The results are compiled for faults at all buses for two test systems and provide a benchmark for comparison of CCT computed by other method

A power line data communication interface using spread spectrumtechnology in home automation

Building automation technology is rapidly developing towards more reliable communication systems, devices that control electronic equipment. This equipment, if controlled, leads to efficient energy management, and savings on the monthly electricity bill. Power line communication (PLC) has been one of the dreams of the electronics industry for decades, especially for building automation. It is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate communication methods among electronic control devices through an AC power line carrier within the buildings for more efficient energy control. The paper outlines methods of communication over a power line, namely the X-10 and CE bus. It also introduces the spread spectrum technology as to increase speed to 100-150 times faster than the X-10 system. The power line carrier has tremendous applications in the field of building automation. The paper presents an attempt to realize a smart house concept, so called, in which all home electronic devices from a coffee maker to a water heater microwave to chaos robots will be utilized by an intelligent network whenever one wishes to do so. The designed system may be applied very profitably to help in energy management for both customer and utilit

An assessment method for consumer load management

Load management is undertaken by utilities to alter the load shape to achieve a better match between the customers' cyclic demands and utilities current and planned generating and TD (transmission and distribution) resources. Specifically, load management actions may aim to control load growth, alter the shape of the load curve or increase the supply through nonutility or nontraditional sources. The actions may be initiated to reduce capital expenditures, improve capacity utilization, provide for economic dispatch, reduce the cost of service, improve load factors, improve system efficiency, or improve system reliability. Utilities can use load management to control their purchased power costs, most often aiming to reduce demand change

Computation of critical clearing time for detailed machine models:impact of stressed system loading

Computation of critical clearing time (CCT) is carried out for detailed machine models using the generator, exciter and governor-turbine dynamics, The simulations are carried out at both the base-case system loading and the stressed system loading. For the stressed-case loading, all load buses are uniformly loaded with uniform power factor and CCT is computed. Also a comparison is made with the classical machine model results for both base and stressed system loading conditions. The results are compiled for faults at all buses for two test systems and provide a benchmark for comparison of CCT computed by other method

Influence of seed invigoration techniques on germination and seedling vigor of maize (Zea mays L.)

The objective of this study was to assess the comparative efficiency of different priming techniques on germination and early seedling growth of maize cultivars. Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine the efficacy of different seed invigoration treatments on seed germination and vigor traits of three maize hybrids, Pioneer 3025, Pioneer 70 and Baber at Agronomy research laboratory, University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan. The experiment was laid in completely randomized design (CRD) and was replicated thrice. The treatments included control treatment (T1) unsoaked/dry seed, (T2) hydropriming with distilled water for 24 hrs, (T3) halo priming treatments with NaCl (3% solution) for 24 hrs, (T4) osmopriming with PEG-6000 for 24 hrs and (T5), hormonal priming with GA3 for 24 hrs. The results showed that seed invigoration treatment with gibberellic acid (GA3) PEG-6000 and hydropriming with distilled water for 24 hrs gave higher germination, decreased days to 50% germination, increased shoot length, root length, seedling fresh and dry weight, as compared to halo priming with NaCl and control treatment. It is concluded that seed invigoration with GA3, osmopriming with PEG-6000 and hydropriming with distilled water for 24 hrs serve as an appropriate treatment for accelerating the emergence and growth parameters of maize hybrid. Pioneer 3025 showed its superiority over other cultivars in all the studied parameters

Liver resection rate following downsizing chemotherapy with cetuximab in metastatic colorectal cancer: UK retrospective observational study

Aims The high objective response rate to cetuximab along with chemotherapy in patients with colorectal liver metastases makes it an effective downsizing protocol to facilitate surgery in those with initially unresectable disease. Adoption of this strategy has been variable in the UK. A retrospective observational study was conducted in 7 UK specialist liver surgical centres to describe the liver resection rate following a downsizing protocol of cetuximab and chemotherapy and to evaluate the quality and efficiency of processes by which the treatment was provided. Methods Data were collected in 2012 by reviewing medical records of patients with colorectal metastases confined to the liver, defined as unresectable without downsizing therapy at first review by a specialist Multi Disciplinary Team (MDT). Results Sixty patients were included; 29 (48%) underwent liver resection following cetuximab and chemotherapy. Of the 29, 17 (59% or 28% of all patients) achieved R0 resection and 7 (24% or 12% of all patients) R1 resection. All treated patients were KRAS wild-type. Conclusion In specialist liver surgical centres, where patients are evaluated for liver resection, optimal management by MDT using KRAS testing, cetuximab and chemotherapy results in a 28% R0 resection rate in patients with initially unresectable colorectal cancer liver metastases

Nutrient uptake and yield of wheat varieties as influenced by foliar potassium under drought condition

Water stress experienced by a wheat crop during growth is recognized to have accumulative effect stated as a decline in total biomass over well water potential. The yield and nutrient uptake performance of two wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties (Pirsabak-2013 and Atta Habib) to foliar feeding of 2% potassium (K) at three various growth phases (Zadoks GS-22, Zadoks GS-60 and Zadoks GS-73) was explored under water restricted environment in a wire house trial at the Agriculture Research Station, Harichand, Charsadda. The target was to find out the preeminent K application stage for enhancement in the drought tolerance potential. Drought stress was generated by suppression of irrigation at the three growth phases and then K was sprayed with the carboxymethyl cellulose as a sticking agent, however Tween-20 was used as a surfactant for foliar spray. Data about several agronomic characters (plant height, spike length, number of spikelets per spike, number of grains per spike, 1000- grain weight and grain yield per plant) of crop were documented via standard techniques. Moreover, at maturity, aboveground nitrogen, phosphorus, K, sodium and calcium uptakes by the crop were determined. The results point out that drought stress at all three acute growth phases unfavorably affected plant height, spike length, number of spikelets per spike, number of grains per spike, 1000-grain weight, grain yield and nutrient uptake of the wheat plant. The exogenous K application under drought stress at all three acute growth phases boosted tolerance of wheat by decreasing noxious nutrient’s uptake and augmenting the yield and yield characters. In this concerns, both varieties exposed undeviating behavior. Extreme enhancement in all the documented yield parameters and nutrients uptake was attained when K was practiced at grain filling stage of both varieties

In pursuit of visual attention: SSVEP frequency-tagging moving targets.

Previous research has shown that visual attention does not always exactly follow gaze direction, leading to the concepts of overt and covert attention. However, it is not yet clear how such covert shifts of visual attention to peripheral regions impact the processing of the targets we directly foveate as they move in our visual field. The current study utilised the co-registration of eye-position and EEG recordings while participants tracked moving targets that were embedded with a 30 Hz frequency tag in a Steady State Visually Evoked Potentials (SSVEP) paradigm. When the task required attention to be divided between the moving target (overt attention) and a peripheral region where a second target might appear (covert attention), the SSVEPs elicited by the tracked target at the 30 Hz frequency band were significantly, but transiently, lower than when participants did not have to covertly monitor for a second target. Our findings suggest that neural responses of overt attention are only briefly reduced when attention is divided between covert and overt areas. This neural evidence is in line with theoretical accounts describing attention as a pool of finite resources, such as the perceptual load theory. Altogether, these results have practical implications for many real-world situations where covert shifts of attention may discretely reduce visual processing of objects even when they are directly being tracked with the eyes