All new technologies, including automotive technologies, are first purchased by early adopters. These consumers are currently posed with the choice of purchasing a fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or a ...variety of other alternatively fueled vehicles, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs). For FCVs to be commercially successful they need to carve out their own niche in the automotive market, something which may prove challenging in the face of strong BEV market growth. The results in this paper come from a questionnaire survey of 470 FCV owners and 1550 BEV owners. The paper explores the socio-economic profile, travel patterns, and attitudes of FCV buyers and compares them to the buyers of BEVs. The result suggests that the adopters of BEVs and FCV are similar in gender, level of education, household income, and have similar travel patterns. They have differences in age, ownership of previous alternative fuel vehicles, attitudes towards sustainability, and more FCV owners live in rented homes and apartment buildings. The results of the study suggest that FCVs may appeal to consumers who live in homes where they cannot recharge a BEV or install their own charger. FCVs still have several challenges to overcome, including the lack of hydrogen refueling stations and a lack of FCV models to choose from.
•This paper explores the early adopters of fuel cell vehicles.•Fuel cell vehicle adopters are high income, highly educated, and mostly male.•They have previously owned other alternative fuel vehicles.•More fuel cell vehicle adopters live in apartments or rented homes compared to electric vehicle adopters.•Fuel cells may appeal to consumers with range anexity or those who cannot charge a vehicle from home.
The environmental benefits of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are closely related to the driving and charging behavior of vehicle owners. It is often wrongly assumed that PHEV drivers ...plug-in once per day. Using data from drivers of the vehicles we show this is not the case and that some drivers rarely charge their PHEV. If the vehicle is not plugged-in regularly, the vehicle will drive fewer electric miles and more gasoline miles, thereby losing out on potential emission savings. Analyzing 30-day charging behavior of 5418 PHEV owners using a logistic regression model, we explore the factors that influence driver's decisions to not charge their vehicle. Several factors play a role in drivers' decision to plug-in their PHEV or not, including vehicle characteristics and the availability and cost of charging at various locations. Higher home electricity prices, lower electric driving range, lower electric motor power to vehicle weight ratios, lower potential cost savings from charging, and living in an apartment or condo, among other factors are related to not plugging in a PHEV. The findings have important implications in terms of future policy and vehicle design including which PHEVs policymakers should incentivize and what measures can encourage PHEV owners to plug-in their vehicles to help realize the environmental benefits of the technology.
Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), consisting of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), combined with the decarbonization of the electricity sector, can ...significantly help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector. This study used empirical data from 287 households with at least one plug-in electric vehicle in California between 2016 and 2020. We estimated electric vehicle miles traveled (eVMT), fuel consumption and utility factor at the household level, i.e., taking into consideration all vehicles. We also studied the effect of household-specific factors—such as frequency of overlaps between vehicles, frequency of charging and frequency of long-distance trips—on eVMT, utility factor and fuel consumption within two-car households. Our results indicate that PHEVs with a range of at least 35 miles have the potential to electrify a similar share of total household miles as some short range BEVs, or can reach up to 70% as much electrification as some long range BEVs and, thus, can play an important role in decarbonizing the transport sector.
•PEV adoption can reduce greenhouse gas emission by up to 65%•Optimal PEV model assignment at household level is significantly different from vehicle level.•BEVs with 120+ miles range can benefit the ...most travel demand.•The achievable GHG emission reduction decreases by 2/3 if PHEV drivers never charge.
There has been a continuous effort to quantify the expected greenhouse gas reductions from plug- in electric vehicles (PEVs). Most existing studies are based on standardized driving cycles to compare the performance of PEVs and conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. This study is based on assigning the most efficient plug-in hybrid or full electric vehicle to a household based on the household travel behavior as collected by GPS tracking data of thousands of vehicles’ real trips in California, and it found that PEV adoption can reduce greenhouse gas emission by up to 65%. We further explore the market share difference in assigning optimal vehicle models by considering vehicle-based and household-based travel demand, and we found that, given currently available technology, in many cases adoption of Plug-in Hybrid Electric vehicles (PHEVs) will not necessarily result in significantly higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (2.8% higher) compared to battery electric vehicles (BEVs), while PHEVs have advantages to satisfy household’s long-distance travel demand. However, if PHEV drivers never charge their vehicles, the achievable GHG emission reduction will be decreased by nearly 2/3.
To define immunophenotypes of stromal inflammatory and endothelial cells and fibroblasts 3-months post-augmentation of the peri-implant soft tissue using a porcine cross-linked collagen matrix ...(VCMX).
Peri-implant soft tissue samples were obtained from 12 patients at the lining mucosa (LM) - masticatory mucosa (MM) junction, before and at 3-months post-augmentation. Immunohistochemical stains for identification of inflammatory cells T (CD3) and B (CD20) lymphocytes, plasma cells (CD138), macrophages (CD68-pro-inflammatory, CD163-anti-inflammatory/reparative), endothelial cells (CD31, CD34) and fibroblasts (CD90, TE-7), were performed. Differences in the mean positively-stained cells pre- and post-augmentation was analyzed by Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test.
CD31+ endothelial cells showed increased mean numbers in MM2 compared to MM1 (p=0.025) and in LM2 compared to LM1 (p=0.047). CD163+ anti-inflammatory macrophages showed mean numbers in MM2 higher than MM1 (p=0.021) and in LM2 than LM1 (p=0.012). All other cell phenotypes showed insignificant changes between pre- and post-augmentation.
This molecular study provided novel insight on the frequency of phenotypes of stromal cells in the wound healing process 3-months post-augmentation with VCMX, with anti-inflammatory CD163+ macrophages being predominant. This should be further investigated in order to find novel therapeutic approaches to modulate and promote the VCMX-related healing process.
Abstract
Electric vehicles (EVs) are experiencing a rise in popularity over the past few years as the technology has matured and costs have declined, and support for clean transportation has promoted ...awareness, increased charging opportunities, and facilitated EV adoption. Suitably, a vast body of literature has been produced exploring various facets of EVs and their role in transportation and energy systems. This paper provides a timely and comprehensive review of scientific studies looking at various aspects of EVs, including: (a) an overview of the status of the light-duty-EV market and current projections for future adoption; (b) insights on market opportunities beyond light-duty EVs; (c) a review of cost and performance evolution for batteries, power electronics, and electric machines that are key components of EV success; (d) charging-infrastructure status with a focus on modeling and studies that are used to project charging-infrastructure requirements and the economics of public charging; (e) an overview of the impact of EV charging on power systems at multiple scales, ranging from bulk power systems to distribution networks; (f) insights into life-cycle cost and emissions studies focusing on EVs; and (g) future expectations and synergies between EVs and other emerging trends and technologies. The goal of this paper is to provide readers with a snapshot of the current state of the art and help navigate this vast literature by comparing studies critically and comprehensively and synthesizing general insights. This detailed review paints a positive picture for the future of EVs for on-road transportation, and the authors remain hopeful that remaining technology, regulatory, societal, behavioral, and business-model barriers can be addressed over time to support a transition toward cleaner, more efficient, and affordable transportation solutions for all.
Background: Enamel matrix proteins (EMPs) play a role in enamel formation and the development of the periodontium. Sporadic clinical observations of periodontal regeneration treatments with enamel ...matrix derivative (EMD), a commercial formulation of EMPs, suggest that it also promotes post‐surgical healing of soft tissues. In vitro studies showed that EMD stimulates various cellular effects, which could potentially enhance wound healing. This study examines the in vivo effects of EMD on healing of an oral mucosa surgical wound in rats.
Methods: A bilateral oral mucosa wound was created via a crestal incision in the anterior edentulous maxilla of Sprague‐Dawley rats. Full‐thickness flaps were raised, and, after suturing, EMD was injected underneath the soft tissues on one side, whereas the EMD vehicle was injected in the contralateral side. Animals were sacrificed after 5 or 9 days, and the wound area was subjected to histologic and immunohistochemical analysis of the epithelial gap, number of macrophages, blood vessels, proliferating cells, and collagen content in the connective tissue (CT). Gene expression analysis was also conducted 2 days post‐surgery.
Results: EMD had no effect on the epithelial gap of the wound. On both days 5 and 9, EMD treatment increased significantly the number of blood vessels and the collagen content. EMD also enhanced (by 20% to 40%) the expression of transforming growth factors β1 and β2, vascular endothelial growth factor, interleukin‐1β, matrix metalloproteinase‐1, versican, and fibronectin.
Conclusion: EMD improves oral mucosa incisional wound healing by promoting formation of blood vessels and collagen fibers in CT.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are an effective intermediate vehicle technology option in the long-term transition pathway towards light-duty vehicle electrification. Their net ...environmental impact is evaluated using the performance metric Utility Factor (UF), which quantifies the fraction of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on electricity. There are concerns about the gap between Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sticker label and real-world UF due to the inability of test cycles to represent actual driving conditions and assumptions about their driving and charging differing from their actual usage patterns. Using multi-year longitudinal data from 153 PHEVs (11–53 miles all-electric range) in California, this paper systematically evaluates how observed driving and charging, energy consumption, and UF differs from sticker label expectations. Principal Components Analysis and regression model results indicated that UF of short-range PHEVs (less than 20-mile range) was lower than label expectations mainly due to higher annual VMT and high-speed driving. Long-distance travel and high-speed driving were the major reasons for the lower UF of longer-range PHEVs (at least 35-mile range) compared to label values. Enhancing charging infrastructure access at both home and away locations, and increasing the frequency of home charging, improves the UF of short-range and longer-range PHEVs respectively.
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