Purpose of Review
Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD), defined as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) occurring before age 65, is significantly less well studied than the late-onset form (LOAD) despite EOAD ...often presenting with a more aggressive disease progression. The aim of this review is to summarize the current understanding of the etiology of EOAD, their translation into clinical practice, and to suggest steps to be taken to move our understanding forward.
Recent Findings
EOAD cases make up 5–10% of AD cases but only 10–15% of these cases show known mutations in the
APP
,
PSEN1
, and
PSEN2
, which are linked to EOAD. New data suggests that these unexplained cases following a non-Mendelian pattern of inheritance is potentially caused by a mix of common and newly discovered rare variants. However, only a fraction of this genetic variation has been identified to date leaving the molecular mechanisms underlying this type of AD and their association with clinical, biomarker, and neuropathological changes unclear.
Summary
While great advancements have been made in characterizing EOAD, much work is needed to disentangle the molecular mechanisms underlying this type of AD and to identify putative targets for more precise disease screening, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.
This paper presents a framework for the selection of microgrid configuration for water pumping applications in a rural area. The approach adopted is based on multi-criteria decision making. Four ...criteria, namely, (1) net-present cost, (2) cost of energy, (3) fuel cost, and (4) complexity of the system are used for making the selection. Weights are assigned to the criteria in the order of their importance and TOPSIS and VIKOR methods are used to determine the ranking of the alternatives. The results show the consistency of both methods in ranking the same alternative as the best. Both methods identified the scheme comprising PV–Battery as the best alternative with a closeness coefficient being closer to 1. However, the ranking of the second and fourth alternatives differed for both methods.
Cymbopogon citratus is an aromatic plant of Gramineae family well-known as lemon grass. Cymbopogon is derived from Greek word “kymbe – pogon” which means boat-beard. The lemon-like scent could be ...ascribed to the existence of a cyclic monoterpene (citral). The herb is a perennial grass, native and distributed in Asia, Africa, South and North America. It contains considerable group of flavonoids, essential oils, phenolic compounds and other phytochemical constituents which possesses pharmacological activities such as anti-obesity, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-nociceptive, anti-oxidants anti-diarrheal, and anti-inflammatory properties which could enhance health. Owing to its volatility and lemon-like aroma, citronella oil is used as deodorants in cosmetics, toiletries, insecticides (bio-pesticide) and spent grass in agriculture, in pharmaceutical and chemical industries it is incorporated in the manufacture of perfumes, fragrances, soaps, detergents, aftershaves, cosmetics and as culinary flavor in food industries. This literature review was tailored to widely investigate the ethnobiological, phytochemical compounds and pharmacological assays in attempt to divulge other plausible therapeutic activities.
•Criteria weights are determined using Fuzzy-BWM and Fuzzy-Entropy methods.•Combined weights are introduced using fuzzy preference index.•Alternative prime-movers technologies were ranked using ...Fuzzy-CoCoSo approach.•Borda count and Copeland aggregating strategies are applied for consolidated ranking.•Comparative and sensitivity analysis were conducted to validate of the proposed method.
Combined heat and power (CHP) based community microgrid using renewable resources such as biogas is gaining fast prominence in municipalities across the world as a strategy to decarbonise energy sector and brings power supply close to the consumers. But for profitable operation of a CHP system, the selection of suitable prime movers (PMs) is very germane. It has become a significant issue to assess PM alternatives in detail from the investor’s or policy maker’s view point. Due to varying characteristics of each PM, multi criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques could be efficient tools for selecting optimal PM and making a reasonable decision. In this work, four PMs such as internal combustion engine (ICE), gas turbine (GT), micro-gas turbine (MGT) and fuel cells (FCs) are selected as alternatives with twenty evaluation criteria. The weights of criteria for each PM are evaluated taking a cue from the integration of Fuzzy-Best-Worst (Fuzzy-BWM) and Fuzzy-Entropy methods using fuzzy preference variables. These PMs are ranked using Fuzzy-Combined Compromise Solution (Fuzzy-CoCoSo) on the basis of technical, economic, environmental and social specifications. Thereafter, results based on each weighting preference are merged by using the Borda count and Copeland ranking strategies. The results reveal that initial investment cost in the economic category and footprint in the social category are respectively the most and least significant criteria for PM assessment. It is also revealed that FCs are the most sustainable PM with a compromise score of 2.8053 followed by ICE with a score of 2.5767. The least ranked PM is the MGT with a compromise value of 2.5541. Furthermore, the robustness and reliability of the results are tested by applying a sensitivity analysis and comparative assessment with five existing Fuzzy MCDM methods. This research could be useful to investors and policy makers for the selection of sustainable PM at the planning stage of a biogas-based CHP community microgrid.
The performance of a three-phase induction motor operating under supply unbalance conditions has been the focus of many research works using various methods. Most of the studies have focused majorly ...on voltage magnitude unbalance without due analysis to determine the effect of deviations in the supply phase angle from the 120° phase to phase displacement. This research investigates the significance of supply phase shift on the performance of a three-phase induction motor by applying a novel phase shift unbalance definition to the zero, negative and positive sequence components model of the motor. The test results reveal that when both phase angle shift and voltage magnitude unbalance occur simultaneously during motor operation the effect of the phase shift dominates over the effects of the voltage magnitude unbalance. This study shows that phase angle unbalance has a severe consequence on three phase motor performance.
This paper is part of the ongoing research by the Power, Energy, Machine and Drive (PEMD) research group of the Electrical Engineering Department of the University of Ibadan. The paper presents ...various sites with possible hydrokinetic energy potential in Nigeria with the aim of quantifying their energy potential for rural electrification application. Overview of hydrokinetic technology is also presented with the view of highlighting the opportunities and the challenges of the technology for rural electrification. A case study of using hydrokinetic turbine technology in meeting the energy demand of a proposed civic center in a remote community is demonstrated. Some of the key findings revealed that Nigeria has many untapped hydrokinetic potential site and if adequately harnessed can improve the energy poverty and boost economic activities especially in the isolated and remote rural communities, where adequate river water resource is available. The total estimated untapped hydrokinetic energy potential in Nigeria is 111.15MW with the Northern part of the country having 68.18MW while the Southern part has 42.97MW. The case study shows that harnessing hydrokinetic energy of potential site is promising for rural electrification. This paper is important as it will serve as an initial requirement for optimal investment in hydrokinetic power development in Nigeria.Article History: Received November 16th 2017; Received in revised form April 7th 2018; Accepted April 15th 2018; Available onlineHow to Cite This Article: Olatunji, O.A.S., Raphael, A.T. and Yomi, I.T. (2018) Hydrokinetic Energy Opportunity for Rural Electrification in Nigeria. Int. Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 7(2), 183-190.https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.7.2.183-190
Waste-to-energy has evolved as a promising solution for sustainable power generation as well and waste management. To effectively harness the potential of the waste-to-energy technologies in a ...sustainable manner, an optimal choice among the diverse technologies is highly essential. The multi-dimensional nature of waste management makes selection of appropriate waste-to-energy option a complex problem. Therefore, a simple and computationally efficient decision tool is required to aid decision making. In this paper, a novel hybrid multi-criteria method based on IDOCRIW and TOPSIS are proposed for optimal selection of the appropriate waste-to-energy technologies for distributed generation. Fourteen criteria were considered spanning through technical, economic, environmental and social factors. Five technologies such as anaerobic digestion, landfill gas recovery, incineration, pyrolysis and gasification were selected due to their level of maturity and availability. The proposed model was tested using the City of Johannesburg, South Africa as a case study. The overall results indicated that anaerobic digestion is the most attractive technology with a relative closeness of 0.9724 to the ideal solution while incineration is ranked worst with a closeness of 0.6474 to the ideal solution. The result also revealed that the integration of anaerobic digestion and gasification could be more promising in terms of waste management. It could also be a good candidate for distributed generation in a microgrid application by serving as a local power generator when integrated to waste management systems of the City of Johannesburg.
•IDOCRIW-weighted TOPSIS method was proposed to select appropriate WtE technologies.•IDOCRIW based model was developed using a hybrid of CILOS and Entropy methods•Alternatives waste-to-energy technologies were ranked using TOPSIS method•AD was selected as the best in terms of economic, environmental & social benefits.
Background
The transition towards renewable energy sources has become an imperative step to mitigate climate change, reduce carbon emissions and improve energy security and economic prosperity in a ...sustainable manner. Maximizing the cost effectiveness of electric power generation is crucial to making renewable energy sources viable and attractive options for clean energy production. The strategic allocation of wind, hydro and solar power systems is essential to achieving this goal. This paper attempts to demonstrate how the cost effectiveness of electrical power system could be maximized through the integration of wind, solar and hydropower systems and comparison at different penetration levels of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% on cost effectiveness of electric power generation. The different generator technologies were designed based on their electrical output attributions.
Results
The cost of electric generation for the integration of each generator at the various buses were calculated at different penetration level for fair comparison. The results indicate that the minimum money loss for the integration of solar power was $743.90 at bus 4 and at 50% penetration level, the minimum money loss for the integration of wind power was $999.00 at bus 4 and at 25% penetration level while the minimum amount loss for the integration of hydropower was $546.50 at bus 4 and at 75% penetration level.
Conclusions
The magnitude to which the integration of the different generator affects the cost effectiveness of power production hinges on the type of generator, the penetration level and the location of the generator in the grid.
The aim of this paper is to select appropriate waste-to-energy (WtE) technology considering both subjective perspective of decision-maker and objective evaluation of the actual performance metrics of ...each alternative. Based on this premise, a novel hybrid multi-criteria decision making method based on Fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process (Fuzzy-AHP), Fuzzy-Entropy and Fuzzy-Multi-Objective Optimization on the basis of Ratio Analysis plus full multiplicative form (Fuzzy-MULTIMOORA) is applied as a decision tool. In this study, four (4) alternative WtE technologies (i.e., anaerobic digestion, incineration, pyrolysis and gasification) with fourteen (14) sub-factors that cut across four sustainability aspects (i.e., technical, economic, environmental and social factors) are considered. The applicability of the model is tested for a WtE technology selection in the City of Cape Town, South Africa. The result obtained reveals that for all the alternatives considered, the most sustainable WtE technology for investment in the City of Cape Town follows the order: anaerobic digestion > gasification > pyrolysis > incineration. Sensitivity analysis shows a high degree of consistency, robustness, and stability in the obtained results. The current work recommends that the integration of anaerobic digestion and gasification should be promoted as it has the potential to offer a well-balanced WtE technology compared to the stand-alone systems. Although, the case study is a city in South Africa, the methodology could be applied for selecting WtE technology in any developing countries’ city with similar waste characteristic and economic nature like that of South Africa.
•An objective-subjective hybrid MCDM model is put forward.•The criteria weights are determined using Fuzzy-AHP and Fuzzy-Entropy methods.•The waste-to-energy technologies are ranked using Fuzzy-MULTIMOORA approach.•Managerial implications of the most sustainable waste-to-energy technology is presented.
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