•Comparative studies of demand response performances of three popular EV charging approaches.•In-depth analysis of the pros and cons of different control approaches and the reasons ...behind.•Investigation of how control strategies can affect the control performances.•Performance evaluation based on a real community in Sweden.
The use of electric vehicles (EVs) has been on the rise during the past decade, and the number is expected to rapidly increase in the future. At aggregated level, the large EV charging loads, if not well regulated, will cause great stress on the existing grid infrastructures. On the other hand, considered as a resource-efficient and cost-effective demand response resource, EV fleet smart charging control methods have been developed and applied to mitigate power issues of the grid while avoiding expensive upgrade of power grid infrastructure. Until now, there is no systematic study on how different coordination mechanisms affecting the EV fleet's charging demand response performance. Thus, it is still unclear which one may perform better in the increasingly common solar-powered building communities, especially as demand response is increasingly concerned. Aiming to fill in such knowledge gaps, this study conducted systematic comparative studies of three representative control methods selected from the non-coordinated, bottom-up coordinated, and top-down coordinated control categories. Their power regulation performances have been comparatively investigated in two perspectives: minimizing peak power exchanges with the grid and maximizing PV self-utilization, based on a real building community in Sweden. Meanwhile, their computational performances have also been investigated. The study results show that due to the ability to schedule and coordinate all the EVs simultaneously, the top-down coordinated control is superior to the other two control methods in the considered demand response performances. Note that its better performance is realized with a higher computational load, leading to possible convergence difficulties in practice. The study results will help improve understanding of how coordination affect the EV smart charging control performances. It will pave the way for developments of more sophisticated control methods for EV smart charging in more complex scenarios.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
•Formulating signal timing optimization problem in connected transportation networks.•Developing a real-time distributed optimization algorithm for network-level signal timing.•Reducing network-level ...travel time between 17% and 48% on different case studies.
This paper presents a Distributed-Coordinated methodology for signal timing optimization in connected urban street networks. The underlying assumption is that all vehicles and intersections are connected and intersections can share information with each other. The novelty of the work arises from reformulating the signal timing optimization problem from a central architecture, where all signal timing parameters are optimized in one mathematical program, to a decentralized approach, where a mathematical program controls the timing of only a single intersection. As a result of this distribution, the complexity of the problem is significantly reduced thus, the proposed approach is real-time and scalable. Furthermore, distributed mathematical programs continuously coordinate with each other to avoid finding locally optimal solutions and to move towards global optimality. We proposed a real-time and scalable solution technique to solve the problem and applied it to several case study networks under various demand patterns. The algorithm controlled queue length and maximized intersection throughput (between 1% and 5% increase compared to the actuated coordinated signals optimized in VISTRO) and reduced travel time (between 17% and 48% decrease compared to actuated coordinated signals) in all cases.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
The prevention of interpersonal violence and abuse for students in higher educational institutions and the development of appropriate institutional responses to support those affected are at the core ...of the Universities UK’s Changing the Culture Report on Violence Against Women, Harassment and Hate Crime. While the provision of robust reporting and monitoring systems on-campus are thought to be essential in helping to ensure the safety of higher education students, the findings of research discussed in this article suggest that more fundamental work is needed in order to encourage students to view the University as a source of help in the event that they experience interpersonal violence, particularly when this takes place ‘off-campus’. The research, which surveyed students attending Northfacing University in England, found that help-seeking practices seem to be shaped both by the location in which interpersonal violence occurs and by whom it is perpetrated.
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NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background: Schools play a vital role in student health, and a collaborative approach may affect health factors such as physical activity (PA) and nutrition. There is a lack of recent literature ...synthesizing collaborative approaches in K-12 settings. We present updated evidence about interventions that used a coordinated school health approach to support K-12 student PA and nutrition in the United States. Methods: A 2-phase literature review search included a search of systematic reviews for individual qualifying studies (2010-2018), followed by a search for individual articles (2010-2020) that evaluated a coordinated approach or use of school wellness councils, committees, or teams to address PA and/or nutrition. Results: We identified 35 articles describing 30 studies and grouped them by intervention type. Interventions demonstrated promising findings for environmental changes and student dietary and PA behaviors. Implications: Coordinated and multicomponent interventions demonstrated significant improvements or null results, indicating that implementation of programs and/or policies to promote healthier eating and PA practices may support and do not appear to hinder environmental or behavioral outcomes. Conclusions: Schools can use a coordinated approach to implement opportunities for PA and nutrition; this may influence students' PA and dietary behaviors.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
This case series was completed to determine the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary (occupational and physical therapy) approach to treating constipation and fecal incontinence in children. ...Non-pharmacological therapies for treating constipation and incontinence are showing potential benefits, especially for children not responding to standard medical treatment, which involves oral laxatives for fecal dis-impaction (cleanout) and maintenance dosing to prevent further impaction.
A retrospective chart review, surface electromyography (sEMG) biofeedback, and parent and child reports of progress was completed for two children ages 4 and 10 years old. Progress toward goals was measured using a therapy plan of care and progress updates every 60 days. Focus of goals included, pelvic floor muscle coordination and activation, education of anatomy and physiology of digestive system, emotional regulation, functional training in the bathroom, and hygiene.
Notable improvements in pelvic floor function, emotional regulation, and defecation dynamics contributed to decreased constipation and fecal incontinence as well as improved emotional regulation and confidence in both participants over a 6-month period.
A coordinated physical therapy and occupational therapy approach to treating children with constipation and fecal incontinence can be successful in reaching full continence and support children have not responded to standard medical treatment.
Turbine blisks are assembled using blades, disks and casings. They can endure complex loads at a high temperature, high pressure and high speed. The safe operation of assembled structures depends on ...the reliability of each component. Monte Carlo (MC) simulation is commonly used to analyze structural reliability, but this method needs to run thousands of computations. In order to assess the clearance reliability of assembled structures in an efficient and precise manner, the novel Kriging-based decomposed-coordinated (DC) (DCNK) approach is proposed by integrating the DC strategy, the Kriging model and the importance sampling-based Markov chain (MCIS) technique. In this method, the DC strategy is used to decompose a multi-objective problem into many single-objective problems. The relationships between these many single-objectives and the overall objective are then coordinated. The Kriging model is applied to establish the limit state functions of the single-objectives and multi-objective problems, while the MCIS method is used to assess the structural assembled clearance reliability. Moreover, a highly nonlinear complex compound function is first utilized to verify the DCNK model from a mathematical perspective. Then, the reliability of an aeroengine high-pressure turbine (HPT) blade-tip radial running clearance (BTRRC) is analyzed to validate the DCNK approach by considering thermo-structural interaction. The analytical results show that the reliability is 0.9976 when the allowance value of the BTTRC is 1.7650 × 10−3 m. Compared with different methodologies (including direct simulation, the classical Kriging model, and the weighted response surface method (WRSM)), the proposed method holds obvious advantages in computing time and precision, as well as simulation efficiency and precision. The efforts of this paper provide a useful approach to analyzing assembled clearance reliability and contribute to the development of structural reliability theory.
The increasing traffic congestion problem can be solved by an adaptive traffic signal control (ATSC) system as it utilises real-time traffic information to control traffic signals. Recently, deep ...reinforcement learning (DRL) has shown its potential in solving the traffic signal timing. However, one of the main challenges of DRL is to design a proper reward function and special attention needs for a multi-objective reward design. Since the feedback to the agent depends on the reward function, a proper design of reward function is needed for fast and stable learning. In this study, the authors proposed a new reward architecture called composite reward architecture (CRA) for multi-objective ATSC to optimise multiple objectives. It calculates multiple rewards in parallel for each action and applies the majority voting method to choose the desired action. Since the traffic signal of one intersection affects the adjacent intersections, a new coordination approach is proposed to get the overall smooth traffic flow. The proposed reward architecture CRA is compared with several existing reward functions used in the literature for different traffic scenarios. The new coordinated approach is compared with the non-coordinated approach. The authors demonstrated that the proposed approaches outperform the others concerning waiting time, halting the number of vehicles, and so on.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the Danish national return-to-work (RTW) program in 21 Danish municipalities. Methods We conducted a structured process ...evaluation on (i) reach and recruitment, (ii) fidelity, (iii) dosedelivered, (iv) dose-received, and (v) context by formulating 29 implementation criteria and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data from administrative records, interviews, field notes, and questionnaires. Results All municipalities integrated the basic features of the RTW program into the existing framework of the sickness benefit management system to an acceptable degree, ie, establishment of RTW teams, participation of RTW team members in the training courses, and following the general procedures of the program. However, the level of implementation varied considerably between the municipalities, particularly with respect to fidelity (defined as implementation consistent with the principles of the interdisciplinary RTW process). Five municipalities had high and eight had low fidelity scores. Similar large differences were found with regard to dose-delivered, particularly in the quality of cooperation with beneficiaries, employers, and general practitioners. Only 50% of the first consultations with the RTW coordinator were conducted in time. Among participants who were employed when their sickness absence period started, only 9% had at least one meeting with their workplace. Conclusion It was feasible to implement the basic features of the Danish RTW program, however, large variations existed between municipalities. Establishment of well-functioning interdisciplinary RTW teams might require more time and resources, while ensuring early assessment and more frequent cooperation with employers might need more general adjustments in the Danish sickness benefit system.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
Medical-legal partnerships (MLP) are a model in which medical and legal practitioners are co-located and work together to support the health and wellbeing of individuals by identifying and resolving ...legal issues that impact patients' health and wellbeing. The aim of this article is to analyse the benefits of this model, which has proliferated in the USA, and its applicability in the context of rural and remote Australia.
This review was undertaken with three research questions in mind: What is an MLP? Is service provision for individuals with mental health concerns being adequately addressed by current service models particularly in the rural context? Are MLPs a service delivery channel that would benefit individuals experiencing mental health issues?
The combined searches from all EBSCO Host databases resulted in 462 citations. This search aggregated academic journals, newspapers, book reviews, magazines and trade publications. After several reviews 38 papers were selected for the final review based on their relevance to this review question: How do MLPs support mental health providers and legal service providers in the development of a coordinated approach to supporting mental health clients' legal needs in regional and rural Australia?
There is considerable merit in pursuing the development of MLPs in rural and remote Australia particularly as individuals living in rural and remote areas have far fewer opportunities to access support services than those people living in regional and metropolitan locations. MLPS are important channels of service delivery to assist in early invention of legal problems that can exacerbate mental health problems.
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