Tumor hypoxia severely limits the efficacy of traditional photodynamic therapy (PDT). Here, a liposome‐based nanoparticle (designated as LipoMB/CaO2) with O2 self‐sufficient property for dual‐stage ...light‐driven PDT is demonstrated to address this problem. Through a short time irradiation, 1O2 activated by the photosensitizer methylene blue (MB) can induce lipid peroxidation to break the liposome, and enlarge the contact area of CaO2 with H2O, resulting in accelerated O2 production. Accelerated O2 level further regulates hypoxic tumor microenvironment and in turn improves 1O2 generation by MB under another long time irradiation. In vitro and in vivo experiments also demonstrate the superior competence of LipoMB/CaO2 to alleviate tumor hypoxia, suppress tumor growth and antitumor metastasis with low side‐effect. The O2 self‐sufficient LipoMB/CaO2 nanoplatform with dual‐stage light manipulation is a successful attempt for PDT against hypoxic tumor.
A liposome‐based nanoparticle (desig‐nated as LipoMB/CaO2) with O2 self‐sufficient property is developed to combat hypoxic tumor. Through dual‐stage irradiation, O2 self‐sufficient LipoMB/CaO2 can alleviate tumor hypoxia and strongly suppress tumor growth with low side‐effect.
BackgroundParamedic Practitioner (PP) scope of practice is not comprehensively understood by Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) staff and tasking may be suboptimal. In one UK ambulance trust in ...November 2018, one PP team was enabled to remotely monitor live incidents and, alongside some continued EOC-dispatch, to self-task to incidents they judged would benefit from their additional knowledge and skills. Evidence on self-tasking benefit was found from helicopter emergency services only.MethodsA retrospective cross-sectional study was utilised to evaluate the impact on self-sufficiency - defined as incidents completed by a PP without the need for further ambulance resources - and conveyance rates of PPs utilising a ‘self-tasking’ dispatch model. PP-completed shift reports were collected over a 6-month period from ten PPs working in one trust locality. Excluded cases: Category-1 calls, healthcare professional calls, PP referrals and back-up requests originating from on-scene ambulance clinicians. Descriptive statistics were used to compare rates of self-sufficiency and conveyance between self-tasked and EOC-dispatched incidents.ResultsShift reports detailing 964 incidents were analysed; 705 were self-tasked and 259 were EOC-tasked. PPs showed a statistically significant increase in self-sufficiency when utilising the self-tasking method of dispatch compared to EOC initiated dispatch (88% self-tasked versus 72% EOC-tasked, χ2 40.4, df 1, p<0.01). There was also an increased non-conveyance rate self-tasking compared to EOC-led tasking (64% versus 56%, χ2 5.3, df 1, p<0.05).ConclusionsPPs appear to find it easier to identify incidents suited to their scope to be self-sufficient than EOC staff. This study is a small-scale evaluation in one site, does not adjust for confounders, and does not constitute a direct comparison of the two models. There remains a need for more rigorous research on this topic, though this evaluation suggests that there may be benefits to be gained from PPs self-tasking.
This article revisits the Moving to Opportunity housing mobility experiment, which heretofore has not provided strong evidence to support the hypothesis of neighborhood effects on economic ...self-sufficiency among adults. The authors undertake a conceptual and empirical analysis of the study's design and implementation to gain a better understanding of the selection processes that occur within the study. The article shows that the study is potentially affected by selectivity at several junctures: in determining who complied with the program's requirements, who entered integrated versus segregated neighborhoods, and who left neighborhoods after initial relocation. Furthermore, previous researchers have not found an experimental treatment effect on adult economic self-sufficiency, relative to controls. The authors propose an alternative approach that involves measuring the cumulative amount of time spent in different neighborhood environments. With this method, they find evidence that neighborhood is associated with outcomes such as employment, earnings, TANF receipt, and use of food stamps. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Achieving food and feed self‐sufficiency is important for both China and the world. While China's food self‐sufficiency has been examined at the national and provincial levels, few studies consider ...lower administrative levels or different food and feed items. This study quantifies self‐sufficiency in the eastern regions of China and examines correlations with agronomic (arable area, yield, fertilizer input, and machinery power) and socioeconomic (population density, gross domestic product GDP) variables at the local level, which are related to the interactions of the Sustainable Development Goals. We calculated food and feed balances, and checked correlations across and within regions grouped by population density levels between production, balance indices, and other agronomic and socioeconomic variables. The results showed that most regions can achieve self‐sufficiency in cereals, vegetables, and meat. Regarding eggs and maize, there was self‐sufficiency in the north but deficiency in the south. Nearly all regions demonstrated extreme shortages of milk and soybeans. The results also showed a positive correlation between the production of some food commodities and the population in eastern regions of China, demonstrating that the aim of achieving food self‐sufficiency at the local level is pursued. For cereals, vegetables, and maize, the yield and arable land per capita were positive factors for self‐sufficiency, while GDP per capita was a negative factor for cereals, meat, and maize. Various factors have different impacts on the food and feed self‐sufficiency of regions based on population density. Protecting arable land by rural revitalization and mitigating urban sprawl can retain food and feed self‐sufficiency in large cities. This study outlines important implications for policymakers seeking to achieve food and feed self‐sufficiency in China.
Food and feed self‐sufficiency was quantified at the local level in the eastern regions of China. For cereals, vegetables, and maize, the yield and arable land per capita were positive factors for self‐sufficiency, while GDP per capita was a negative factor for cereals, meat, and maize. Food and feed self‐sufficiency are driven by different factors in different population density regions.
Nano-grid (NG) clusters (NGCs) have the potential to serve as as an essential configuration for future low-voltage distribution networks. To address the comprehensive energy efficiency (CEE) problem ...over a longer time horizon, this paper proposes an energy optimization management strategy. First of all, three typical models are developed, namely equivalent circuit model, cluster loss model and energy sharing model. In the modelling, influences of port characteristics and power transmission losses of interconnecting converters are considered to more accurately describe the cluster power flow. Then, an optimal energy scheduling mechanism with high CEE is proposed based on the three established models. The strategy decomposes the complex CEE problem into three interdependent sub-problems, corresponding to the three established models. First, ensuring the bus power quality and battery requirements are satisfied based on the proposed equivalent circuit model. Second, improving cluster self-sufficiency based on cluster energy sharing model. Third, achieving high energy transfer efficiency based on cluster loss model. Extensive simulation results demonstrate that the CEE under the proposed strategy achieves significant performance improvements, with increases of 8% and 32% in energy transfer efficiency and energy self-sufficiency respectively.
In this work, the Design and Operation of Integrated Technologies (DO-IT) framework is developed, a comprehensive tool to support short- and long-term technology investment and operation decisions ...for integrated energy generation, conversion and storage technologies in buildings. The novelty of this framework lies in two key aspects: firstly, it integrates essential open-source modelling tools covering energy end uses in buildings, technology performance and cost, and energy system design optimisation into a unified and easily-reproducible framework. Secondly, it introduces a novel optimisation tool with a concise and generic mathematical formulation capable of modelling multi-energy vector systems, capturing interdependencies between different energy vectors and technologies. The model formulation, which captures both short- and long-term energy storage, facilitates the identification of smart design and operation strategies with low computational cost. Different building energy demand and price scenarios are investigated and the economic and energy benefits of using a holistic multi-energy-vector approach are quantified. Technology combinations under consideration include: (i) a photovoltaic-electric heat pump-battery system, (ii) a photovoltaic-electric heat pump-battery-hot water cylinder system, (iii) a photovoltaic-electrolyser‑hydrogen storage-fuel cell system, and (iv) a system with all above technology options. Using a university building as a case study, it is shown that the smart integration of electricity, heating, cooling and hydrogen generation and storage technologies results in a total system cost which is >25% lower than the scenario of only importing grid electricity and using a fuel oil boiler. The battery mitigates intra-day fluctuations in electricity demand, and the hot-water cylinder allows for efficiently managing heat demand with a small heat pump. In order to avoid PV curtailment, excess PV-generated electricity can also be stored in the form of green hydrogen, providing a long-term energy storage solution spanning days, weeks, or even seasons. Results are useful for end-users, investment decision makers and energy policy makers when selecting building-integrated low-carbon technologies and relevant policies.
•Building demand, technology and energy system optimisation models are integrated.•The framework uses open-source tools to model complex multi-energy-vector systems.•The novel formulation is generic while capturing both short- and long-term energy storage.•Smart integration of electrical, thermal and hydrogen systems leads to minimum cost.•Demand patterns and resource prices greatly impact PV, heat pump and hydrogen synergies.
This research study uses a computer simulation based on real input data to examine the impact of a supercapacitor module working as a fast response energy storage unit in renewable energy systems to ...increase energy self-consumption and self-sufficiency. The evaluated system includes a photovoltaic system with a capacity of 3.0 kWp and between 0 and 5 supercapacitor units with a capacity of 500 F per module. The study was carried out using experimental data for electrical load, solar irradiance, and ambient temperature for the year 2020, with a 1 min temporal resolution. The daily average ambient temperature was 10.7 °C, and the daily average solar irradiance was 3.1 kWh/m2/day. It is assumed that the supercapacitor could only be charged from a photovoltaic system using renewable energy and not from the grid. The simulation results showed that using the supercapacitors to feed the short and large peaks of the electrical load significantly increases energy self-consumption and self-sufficiency. With only five supercapacitor modules, yearly energy self-sufficiency increases from 28.09% to 40.77%.
Self-consumption PV installations in the residential sector have a great potential to mitigate emissions associated with fossil fuels. However, few studies analyse the influence of the seasonality of ...the prosumer’s consumption habits on the evaluation of PV self-consumption.
Thus, this work develops a detailed analysis of the evaluation of self-consumption and self-sufficiency as a function of different variables, such as the size of the installation, consumption habits, and existing installations in the home, among others. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is carried out, in which it is studied how a change in the hourly and monthly distribution of consumption influences self-consumption.
The results show the importance of considering the prosumer’s consumption habits. Dwellings with electric heating have a greater potential to increase self-consumption than other dwellings, while in low-consumption dwellings the hourly or seasonal distribution of consumption does not play as important a role as in high-consumption dwellings. On the other hand, it is shown that the hourly distribution is much more significant than the monthly distribution since improvements in the hourly distribution of consumption can increase self-consumption and self-sufficiency by 21.05 % and 29.6 %, respectively.
One of the main energy consumptions in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is due to the oxygenation of aerobic biological processes. In order to approach to an energy self-sufficient scenario in ...WWTPs, Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactors (MABRs) provide a good opportunity to reduce the impact of aeration on the global energy balance. However, mass transfer limitations derived from poor flow distribution must be tackled to take advantage of this technology. In this work, in order to improve mass transfer between biofilm and bulk water, a specific configuration was developed and studied at laboratory scale, aimed at compactness, energy efficiency and high nitrification rates. Nitrification rates were higher in the innovative configuration than in the conventional one, achieving a Volumetric Nitrification Rate (VNR) as high as 575.84 g NH4-N m−3 d−1, which is comparable with confirmed technologies. Regarding energy consumption due to aeration, a reduction of 83.7% was reached in comparison with aeration through diffusers with the same Oxygen Transfer Efficiency (OTE). These results highlight the importance of hydrodynamic conditions and the membranes configuration on treatment performance.
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•A high packing MABR configuration enhances flow pattern and mass transfer.•Volumetric nitrification rates comparable to confirmed technologies are achieved.•A reduction of 83.7% in energy consumption is reached in comparison with diffusers.•Membranes configuration and recycling velocity influence biological performance.
•Study of hydrogen energy storage for microgrid using a reversible solid oxide cell.•Optimisation is used to choose and size components for simulated microgrid.•Case studies are considered for ...England and Texas.•Economics for such a system are challenging: payback generally at least 20 years.•Hybrid storage (hydrogen + battery) preferred to battery for high self sufficiency.
Reversible solid oxide cells (rSOCs) offer the prospect of long term bulk energy storage using hydrogen or methane fuel. Solid oxide technology, whilst less mature than alkaline and PEM technology, offers superior conversion efficiency - especially for electrolysis. Furthermore, the possibility of using the cells reversibly means that separate ‘power-to-gas’ and ‘gas-to-power’ components are not needed, potentially reducing costs. In this work, we consider the suitability of energy storage using rSOCs and/or battery storage for a microgrid consisting of houses equipped with solar PV generation. An agent-based simulation model is developed to assess the performance of such a microgrid. The model enables the microgrid’s self-sufficiency to be quantified, and hence the possible cost savings through avoided imports of grid power. Sizing of microgrid components is optimised to determine the most cost-effective design capable of achieving given self-sufficiency ratio. Case studies are considered for England and Texas. Initially, designs are considered with hydrogen energy storage only; subsequently, hybrid energy storage is considered, with a community scale battery working alongside the rSOC. Results suggest that payback periods for pure rSOC systems tend to be unfavourable. However, if prices fall to levels foreseen in the literature, a system designed to achieve 50% grid-independence could pay back its investment costs within 20 years. Systems designed for Texas need relatively less storage, owing to the good year-round solar resource; as such, payback time in Texas is superior to the UK. Hybrid storage with battery + rSOC is found to be preferable to battery only systems when (i) high SSR is required and (ii) large over-capacity of PV generation is not possible.
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