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A review on peak load shaving in microgrid—Potential benefits, challenges, and future trend
Get PDFThis study aims to review the potential benefits of peak load shaving in a microgrid system. The relevance of peak shaving for a microgrid system is presented in this research review at the outset to justify the peak load shaving efficacy. The prospective benefits of peak shaving in microgrid systems, including technological, economic, and environmental advantages, are thoroughly examined. This review study also presents a cost–benefit numerical analysis to illustrate the economic viability of peak load shaving for a microgrid system. Different peak shaving approaches are briefly discussed, as well as the obstacles of putting them into practice. Finally, this review study reveals some potential future trends and possible directions for peak shaving research in microgrid systems. This review paper lays a strong foundation for identifying the potential benefits of peak shaving in microgrid systems and establishing suitable projects for practical effectuation
Novel deep learning approach to model and predict the spread of COVID-19
Get PDFSARS-CoV2, which causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is continuing to spread globally, producing new variants and has become a pandemic. People have lost their lives not only due to the virus but also because of the lack of counter measures in place. Given the increasing caseload and uncertainty of spread, there is an urgent need to develop robust artificial intelligence techniques to predict the spread of COVID-19. In this paper, we propose a deep learning technique, called Deep Sequential Prediction Model (DSPM) and machine learning based Non-parametric Regression Model (NRM) to predict the spread of COVID-19. Our proposed models are trained and tested on publicly available novel coronavirus dataset. The proposed models are evaluated by using Mean Absolute Error and compared with the existing methods for the prediction of the spread of COVID-19. Our experimental results demonstrate the superior prediction performance of the proposed models. The proposed DSPM and NRM achieve MAEs of 388.43 (error rate 1.6%) and 142.23 (0.6%), respectively compared to 6508.22 (27%) achieved by baseline SVM, 891.13 (9.2%) by Time-Series Model (TSM), 615.25 (7.4%) by LSTM-based Data-Driven Estimation Method (DDEM) and 929.72 (8.1%) by Maximum-Hasting Estimation Method (MHEM)
Longitudinal monitoring reveals persistence of Colistin-Resistant Escherichia coli on a pig farm following cessation of colistin use
Get PDFColistin-resistant bacteria harboring plasmid-mediated mcr genes are of concern as they may be a cause of serious nosocomial infections. It is hypothesized that cessation of colistin use as a feed additive for pigs will reduce the occurrence and distribution of mcr genes in farms. The aim of this study was to investigate this hypothesis by longitudinal monitoring and characterizing of mcr positive Escherichia coli (MCRPE) isolates after colistin was withdrawn on a central Thailand pig farm that previously had a high frequency of MCRPE. Colistin use ceased at the beginning of 2017, and subsequently 170 samples were collected from farrowing sows and suckling piglets (n = 70), wastewater (n = 50) and farm workers (n = 50) over a 3.5-year period. Bacteria were identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and minimal inhibitory concentrations were determined by broth microdilution. The antibiogram of mcr positive E. coli isolates was determined using the Vitek2 automated susceptibility machine, and multiplex and simplex PCRs were performed for mcr-1–8 genes. MCRPE containing either mcr-1 or mcr-3 were isolated from pigs throughout the investigation period, but with a declining trend, whereas MCRPE isolates were recovered from humans only in 2017. MCRPE were still being recovered from wastewater in 2020. Most MCRPE isolates possessed the virulence genes Stap, Stb, or Stx2e, reflecting pathogenic potential in pigs, and showed high rates of resistance to ampicillin, gentamicin and tetracycline. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multi-locus sequence typing showed that diverse MCRPE clones were distributed on the farm. The study identified a decline of pathogenic MCRPE following withdrawal of colistin, with pigs being the primary source, followed by wastewater. However, short-term therapeutic usage of other antibiotics could enhance the re-occurrence of mcr-carrying bacteria. Factors including the environment, management, and gene adaptations that allow maintenance of colistin resistance require further investigation, and longer-term studies are needed
Locus specific reduction of L1 expression in the cortices of individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Get PDFThe activation and dysregulation of retrotransposons has been identified in the CNS of individuals with the fatal neurodegenerative disorder Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This includes elements from multiple different families and subfamilies of retrotransposons, however there is limited knowledge of the specific loci from which this expression occurs in ALS. The long interspersed element-1 (L1) is the only autonomous retrotransposon in the human genome and members of this family of elements maintain the ability to mobilise. Despite L1s contributing to 17% of the human genome only 80–100 L1s encode the required proteins for mobilisation and are retrotransposition competent. Identifying the specific loci from which L1 expression occurs will inform on the potential functional consequences of their expression, such as the potential for somatic retrotransposition or DNA damage caused by the endonuclease activity of the ORF2 protein of the L1. Here we characterised L1 loci expression using the L1EM tool (https://github.com/FenyoLab/L1EM) in RNA sequencing data from 518 samples across four tissues (motor cortex, frontal cortex, cerebellum and cervical spinal cord) in the Target ALS cohort obtained from the New York Genome Center. There was a significant reduction in total intact L1 expression (those that encode functional proteins) in two brain regions of individuals with ALS compared to controls and clustering of the ALS brain regions occurred based on their intact L1 expression profile. Although overall the levels of L1 expression were reduced in ALS/ALS with other neurological disorder (ND) there were individuals in which L1s were expressed at much higher levels than the rest of the ALS/ALSND cohort. Expressed L1 loci were more frequently located in introns compared to those not expressed and the level of L1 expression positively correlated with the expression of the gene in which it was located. Significant differences were observed in the expression profiles of L1s in ALS and specific features of these elements, such as location in the genome and whether or not they are intact, were significantly associated with those that were expressed in the cohort
A History of Manners and Civility in Thailand by Patrick Jory
No full textInfluenced by cultural studies, anthropology, and literary criticism, many historians of colonial and postcolonial societies cite Western powers’ notions of civilization as a partial explanation for their political and economic dominance. The effects of Western hegemony are often presented as creating a two-tiered world that, regardless of how self-serving or racist Western imperial claims to superiority might have been, shows how developing societies’ adaptation to modernity are consistently evaluated on the basis of their assimilation of Western standards of personal behavior.
By contrast, few histories of the third world show a convergence in globalizing processes—or “habitus,” as Jory terms societies’ civilizing behaviors—stemming from common politico-historical changes. The reason is an unfamiliarity with methods pioneered in historical sociology, coupled with a belief that such methods privilege the West or privilege Eurocentrism. In an approach inspired by Norbert Elias’ The Civilizing Process: Sociogenetic and Psychogenetic Investigations (Hoboken, 2000; orig, pub. Basil, 1939),..
Addressing beta‐lactam allergy: A time for action
No full textIt is now 93 years since the discovery of penicillins, and over 75 years since the first use of penicillin..
Disgust sensitivity relates to attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women across 31 nations
Get PDFPrevious work has reported a relation between pathogen-avoidance motivations and prejudice toward various social groups, including gay men and lesbian women. It is currently unknown whether this association is present across cultures, or specific to North America. Analyses of survey data from adult heterosexuals (N = 11,200) from 31 countries showed a small relation between pathogen disgust sensitivity (an individual-difference measure of pathogen-avoidance motivations) and measures of antigay attitudes. Analyses also showed that pathogen disgust sensitivity relates not only to antipathy toward gay men and lesbians, but also to negativity toward other groups, in particular those associated with violations of traditional sexual norms (e.g., prostitutes). These results suggest that the association between pathogen-avoidance motivations and antigay attitudes is relatively stable across cultures and is a manifestation of a more general relation between pathogen-avoidance motivations and prejudice towards groups associated with sexual norm violations
A review on hybrid photovoltaic – Battery energy storage system: Current status, challenges, and future directions
No full textCurrently, Photovoltaic (PV) generation systems and battery energy storage systems (BESS) encourage interest globally due to the shortage of fossil fuels and environmental concerns. PV is pivotal electrical equipment for sustainable power systems because it can produce clean and environment-friendly energy directly from the sunlight. On the other hand, cost-effectiveness, adequate performance, prompt response time, prominent lifecycle etc., heighten the attractiveness of BESS. This review paper presents comprehensive and significant research conducted on the state-of-the-art of hybrid PV-BESS system. The research studies conducted with hybrid PV-BESS system is also critically reviewed in this study, highlighting their strengths, weaknesses, barriers/limitations, and future opportunities for improvement. This study explored six different areas where the hybrid PV-BESS system is analyzed: lifetime improvement, cost reduction analysis, optimal sizing, mitigating various power quality issues, optimal control of power system, and peak load shifting and minimizing. The existing research conducted with a hybrid PV-BESS system is considered in this review study to find out its potentiality for power system application as well as to improve its further operations. A simulation case study has also been undertaken to evaluate the potentiality of an existing peak shaving strategy. Finally, insights into future directions are provided for further advancement of hybrid PV-BESS systems
Human milk macronutrients and bioactive molecules and development of regional fat depots in Western Australian infants during the first 12 months of lactation
Get PDFWe investigated associations between intakes of human milk (HM) components (macronutrients and biologically active molecules) and regional fat depots development in healthy term infants (n = 20) across the first year of lactation. Infant limb (mid-arm and mid-thigh) lean and fat areas were assessed by ultrasound imaging at 2, 5, 9 and 12 months of age. Concentrations of HM total protein, whey protein, casein, adiponectin, leptin, lysozyme, lactoferrin, secretory IGA, total carbohydrates, lactose, HM oligosaccharides (total HMO, calculated) and infant 24-h milk intake were measured, and infant calculated daily intakes (CDI) of HM components were determined. This pilot study shows higher 24-h milk intake was associated with a larger mid-arm fat area (p = 0.024), higher breastfeeding frequency was associated with larger mid-arm (p = 0.008) and mid-thigh (p < 0.001) fat areas. Lysozyme (p = 0.001) and HMO CDI (p = 0.004) were time-dependently associated with the mid-arm fat area. Intakes of HM components and breastfeeding parameters may modulate infant limb fat depots development during the first year of age and potentially promote favorable developmental programming of infant body composition; however, further studies are needed to confirm these findings
Root-TRAPR: a modular plant growth device to visualize root development and monitor growth parameters, as applied to an elicitor response of Cannabis sativa
Get PDFBackground
Plant growth devices, for example, rhizoponics, rhizoboxes, and ecosystem fabrication (EcoFAB), have been developed to facilitate studies of plant root morphology and plant-microbe interactions in controlled laboratory settings. However, several of these designs are suitable only for studying small model plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana and Brachypodium distachyon and therefore require modification to be extended to larger plant species like crop plants. In addition, specific tools and technical skills needed for fabricating these devices may not be available to researchers. Hence, this study aimed to establish an alternative protocol to generate a larger, modular and reusable plant growth device based on different available resources.
Results
Root-TRAPR (Root-Transparent, Reusable, Affordable three-dimensional Printed Rhizo-hydroponic) system was successfully developed. It consists of two main parts, an internal root growth chamber and an external structural frame. The internal root growth chamber comprises a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) gasket, microscope slide and acrylic sheet, while the external frame is printed from a three-dimensional (3D) printer and secured with nylon screws. To test the efficiency and applicability of the system, industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) was grown with or without exposure to chitosan, a well-known plant elicitor used for stimulating plant defense. Plant root morphology was detected in the system, and plant tissues were easily collected and processed to examine plant biological responses. Upon chitosan treatment, chitinase and peroxidase activities increased in root tissues (1.7- and 2.3-fold, respectively) and exudates (7.2- and 21.6-fold, respectively). In addition, root to shoot ratio of phytohormone contents were increased in response to chitosan. Within 2 weeks of observation, hemp plants exhibited dwarf growth in the Root-TRAPR system, easing plant handling and allowing increased replication under limited growing space.
Conclusion
The Root-TRAPR system facilitates the exploration of root morphology and root exudate of C. sativa under controlled conditions and at a smaller scale. The device is easy to fabricate and applicable for investigating plant responses toward elicitor challenge. In addition, this fabrication protocol is adaptable to study other plants and can be applied to investigate plant physiology in different biological contexts, such as plant responses against biotic and abiotic stresses