Electricity market decarbonization using renewable energies is essential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the identification of the optimum electrical mix for each country ...is a challenging and complex task because of the many boundary conditions that must be taken into account, thus demanding the use of advanced analysis and computing tools. This paper presents a methodology based on artificial intelligence developed for this purpose and the results obtained when applied to the specific case of the Spanish electricity market long-term decarbonization. It also shows how effective this methodology is to find the optimum electrical mix fulfilling previously defined objectives: 100% coverage of the demand while simultaneously minimizing the electricity cost and curtailments. Results show the significant barriers to achieve a 100% renewable electrical mix without excessive curtailments or installed power. The methodology described here is suitable for any other country and target objectives.
•Smart electricity mix optimization based on artificial intelligence.•Multi-objective optimization to simultaneously minimize cost and curtailments.•The optimized mix covers the demand without exceeding the maximum greenhouse gas emissions.•Application to the long-term full decarbonization of the Spanish power generation.
Context:
Maternal obesity and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) can both contribute to adverse neonatal outcomes. The extent to which this may be mediated by differences in placental metabolism and ...nutrient transport remains to be determined.
Objective:
Our objective was to examine whether raised maternal body mass index (BMI) and/or GDM contributed to a resetting of the expression of genes within the placenta that are involved in energy sensing, oxidative stress, inflammation, and metabolic pathways.
Methods:
Pregnant women from Spain were recruited as part of the “Study of Maternal Nutrition and Genetics on the Foetal Adiposity Programming” survey at the first antenatal visit (12–20 weeks of gestation) and stratified according to prepregnancy BMI and the incidence of GDM. At delivery, placenta and cord blood were sampled and newborn anthropometry measured.
Results:
Obese women with GDM had higher estimated fetal weight at 34 gestational weeks and a greater risk of preterm deliveries and cesarean section. Birth weight was unaffected by BMI or GDM; however, women who were obese with normal glucose tolerance had increased placental weight and higher plasma glucose and leptin at term. Gene expression for markers of placental energy sensing and oxidative stress, were primarily affected by maternal obesity as mTOR was reduced, whereas SIRT-1 and UCP2 were both upregulated. In placenta from obese women with GDM, gene expression for AMPK was also reduced, whereas the downstream regulator of mTOR, p70S6KB1 was raised.
Conclusions:
Placental gene expression is sensitive to both maternal obesity and GDM which both impact on energy sensing and could modulate the effect of either raised maternal BMI or GDM on birth weight.
A steady-state mathematical model of a vertically stacked forward feed multi-effect distillation (MED) plant has been carried out using a number of simplifying assumptions. The model has been ...developed taking into consideration the same design and operational characteristics as the pilot MED plant at Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA), in the southeast of Spain. It is a forward feed MED plant with preheaters, which uses low steam temperature coming from a parabolic-trough solar collector field as the thermal energy source. The pilot plant has a special distillate distribution for increased energy recovery which has also been taken into account in the model. This model is simple to implement and suitable for its use in optimization of water production in power and water cogeneration systems. The results of the model have been compared with the experimental data of the pilot plant showing a maximum prediction error of 9%.
•A steady-state mathematical model of a MED plant has been carried out•The model takes into account the same characteristics as the pilot MED plant at PSA•The pilot plant has a special distillate distribution for increased energy recovery•The validation of the model resulted in a maximum prediction error of 9%
The influence of predominant native defects in forming ZnO with p-type conductivity is discussed in this work when the semiconductor is synthesized only in water. The semiconductor was prepared by ...dissolving a Zn-salt in deionized water at 80 °C. The powders were thermally treated at 400 °C in an air atmosphere to obtain well-defined crystalline ZnO. XRD, SEM, EDS, Raman spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance, photoluminescence, and Seebeck effect techniques were used to characterize the synthesized material. The results showed a well-crystalline semiconductor in wurtzite phase. The crystal-oriented growth was the (002) plane. The sample morphology was formed by highly ordered sticks-like. The optoelectronic characterization showed that the synthesized ZnO had a lower band gap than that reported in the literature. It was related to deep energy levels corresponding to oxygen interstitials as the predominant native defects. Raman, EPR, and photoluminescence spectra analysis corroborated the existence of native defects in the crystalline structure. The p-type conductivity of the sample was determined by Seebeck coefficient analysis. A synthesis reaction mechanism involving the formation of oxygen interstitials was proposed in this work. Understanding the effects of native defects in wide band gap semiconductors is necessary to design new materials for sensors or energy conversion applications.
Nitrification, the oxidation of ammonia via nitrite to nitrate, is a key process in marine nitrogen (N) cycling. Although oceanic ammonia and nitrite oxidation are balanced, ammonia-oxidizing archaea ...(AOA) vastly outnumber the main nitrite oxidizers, the bacterial Nitrospinae. The ecophysiological reasons for this discrepancy in abundance are unclear. Here, we compare substrate utilization and growth of Nitrospinae to AOA in the Gulf of Mexico. Based on our results, more than half of the Nitrospinae cellular N-demand is met by the organic-N compounds urea and cyanate, while AOA mainly assimilate ammonium. Nitrospinae have, under in situ conditions, around four-times higher biomass yield and five-times higher growth rates than AOA, despite their ten-fold lower abundance. Our combined results indicate that differences in mortality between Nitrospinae and AOA, rather than thermodynamics, biomass yield and cell size, determine the abundances of these main marine nitrifiers. Furthermore, there is no need to invoke yet undiscovered, abundant nitrite oxidizers to explain nitrification rates in the ocean.
Given the stigma surrounding mental health, a discussion of how symptoms interfere with sleep might be a useful first step to identify unhelpful thoughts or feelings of distress. We asked: 1) Does ...sleep quality have an association with magnitude of incapability and pain intensity independent of mental health? and 2) Are mental health factors associated with sleep quality?
We performed a cross-sectional study of one hundred and fifty-four patients seeking musculoskeletal care who completed measures of magnitude of capability, pain intensity, unhelpful thoughts regarding symptoms (catastrophic thinking, negative pain thoughts), distress (symptoms of anxiety and depression), and sleep disturbance. We tested factors associated with the magnitude of capability and pain intensity, accounting for sleep quality and mental health in multivariable models.
Accounting for potential confounding in multivariable analysis, lower magnitude of capability was independently associated with greater sleep disturbance, more unhelpful thoughts about symptoms (negative pain thoughts), and older age. Greater pain intensity was independently associated with greater unhelpful thoughts about symptoms (catastrophic thinking) and not using of an electronic device before bed. Greater sleep disturbance was independently associated with use of sleep medication, greater symptoms of anxiety, and greater unhelpful thoughts regarding symptoms (PCS).
Given the observation that sleep disturbance is associated with feelings of anxiety, clinicians can consider starting mental health discussions by focusing on sleep quality. App and web-based cognitive behavioral therapy-based treatments for sleep are readily available and have the potential to improve mental health.
•Sleep disturbance is associated with feelings of anxiety.•Sleep disturbance is associated with greater unhelpful thoughts regarding symptoms.•Lower magnitude of capability was associated with greater sleep disturbance.
In order to reduce the energy cost while improving the process operation, a study which aims to analyze the influence of the operational parameters variations and determine the optimal operating ...conditions of a pilot multi-effect desalination system (MED) at CIEMAT-Plataforma Solar de Almerıía (PSA) has been performed. An equation-based object-oriented mathematical model of the experimental MED plant, implemented using the modeling language Modelica and previously developed, calibrated and validated, has been adapted to carry out this study. Firstly, an energetic and exergetic analysis of the process under nominal conditions has been carried out, revealing the key sources of energy and exergy consumption. On the one hand, the thermal energy contained in the mass outflows are the main responsible source of the high energy consumption, on the other hand the entropy generation and the heat exchanged with the environment are the responsible of the exergy degradation. Secondly, a study on the influence of the operational parameters shows that the production of the real plant under nominal conditions is far from the maximum simulated values and some operational parameters have not a great influence in the process with respect to the rest. Finally, using a genetic optimization algorithm implemented in the modeling tool, a optimization process taking into account different energy and exergy performance criteria, sets optimal operational set points.
•An energetic and exergetic analysis of the MED process has been carried out.•The key sources of energy and exergy consumption have been revealed.•Optimization according genetic algorithms has been carried out.•Optimization takes into account different energy and exergy performance criteria.
Functional communication training (FCT) was conducted by parents of 17 young children with autism spectrum disorders who displayed problem behavior. All procedures were conducted at regional clinics ...located an average of 15 miles from the families’ homes. Parents received coaching via telehealth from behavior consultants who were located an average of 222 miles from the regional clinics. Parents first conducted functional analyses with telehealth consultation (Wacker, Lee et al.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
,
in press
) and then conducted FCT that was matched to the identified function of problem behavior. Parent assistants located at the regional clinics received brief training in the procedures and supported the families during the clinic visits. FCT, conducted within a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design, reduced problem behavior by an average of 93.5 %. Results suggested that FCT can be conducted by parents via telehealth when experienced applied behavior analysts provide consultation.
The combination of desalination technology into concentrating solar power (CSP) plants needs to be considered for the planned installation of CSP plants in arid regions. There are interesting ...synergies between the two technologies, like the possibility of substituting the condenser of the power cycle for a thermal desalination unit. This paper presents a thermodynamic evaluation of different configurations for coupling parabolic-trough (PT) solar power plants and desalination facilities in a dry location representing the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The integration of a low-temperature multi-effect distillation (LT-MED) plant fed by the steam at the outlet of the turbine replacing the condenser of the power cycle has been simulated and compared with the combination of CSP with a reverse osmosis (RO) plant. Furthermore, an additional novel concept of concentrating solar power and desalination (CSP+D) has been evaluated: a LT-MED powered by the steam obtained from a thermal vapour compressor (TVC) using the exhaust steam of the CSP plant as entrained vapour and steam extracted from the turbine as the motive vapour of the ejector. This new concept (LT-MED-TVC) has been analyzed and compared with the others, evaluating its optimization for the integration into a CSP plant by considering different extractions of the turbine.
► Combined solar power and desalination evaluated thermodynamically in arid regions. ► Low-temperature multi-effect distillation (LT-MED) replacing the condenser is more efficient than coupling with reverse osmosis (RO). ► LT-MED-TVC has smaller efficiency, although cooling requirements are lower. ► With steam extractions from low-
P turbine at 2
bar, CSP+LT-MED-TVC is competitive.
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