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Decision-Focused Learning Enhanced by Automated Feature Engineering for Energy Storage Optimisation
Get PDFDecision-making under uncertainty in energy management is complicated by unknown parameters hindering optimal strategies, particularly in Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) operations. Predict-Then-Optimise (PTO) approaches treat forecasting and optimisation as separate processes, allowing prediction errors to cascade into suboptimal decisions as models minimise forecasting errors rather than optimising downstream tasks. The emerging Decision-Focused Learning (DFL) methods overcome this limitation by integrating prediction and optimisation; however, they are relatively new and have been tested primarily on synthetic datasets with limited evidence of their practical viability. Real-world BESS applications present additional challenges, including greater variability and data scarcity due to collection constraints. Because of these challenges, this work leverages Automated Feature Engineering (AFE) to improve the nascent approach of DFL. This AFE–DFL integration automatically extracts decision-relevant features from limited energy data without requiring domain expertise, while ensuring features directly enhance BESS operational decisions rather than merely improving prediction accuracy metrics. We propose an AFE–DFL framework suitable for small datasets that forecasts electricity prices and demand while optimising BESS operations to minimise costs. We validate the framework’s effectiveness on a novel real-world UK property dataset. The evaluation compares DFL methods against PTO, with and without AFE. Results show that DFL yields lower operating costs than PTO, and adding AFE further improves DFL performance by 22.9–56.5 % compared to models without AFE. These findings provide empirical evidence for DFL’s practical viability, demonstrating that AFE-DFL integration reduces reliance on domain expertise while achieving superior economic outcomes for BESS optimisation
Hosting as a border making process: Understanding the role of proximity in explaining the motivations of British hosts in the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Get PDFThe Homes for Ukraine (HfU) scheme provided a bespoke emergency visa pathway, accommodation in a host's home, and exceptional rights to Ukrainians for a period of three years. Established by the government of the United Kingdom it is the first large-scale hosting programme of its kind in the UK with 125,000 placements to date. To understand how the programme was successful in recruiting the large number of hosts, this research explored the motivations of participating members of the British public. We identify three common forms of proximity within host interviews: perceptions of common identity of guest and host as members of a bounded European community, shared geopolitical threat to that same European community (and the spatialized proximity of the threat), and the ability of the British public to situate Ukrainians within a collective British memory of war time hosting. Together these forms of proximity drove a sense of responsibility in hosts to participate in the 'war effort.' This willingness was made possible by the governmental programme and state response which distinguished this population of displaced persons in terms of deservingness, giving them privileged access to resources upon arrival. We demonstrate how the larger migration governance systems used proximity to both motivate welcome and conversely justify the exclusion of others. Findings are based on interviews and surveys with thirty-one hosts participating in the HfU scheme conducted in 2022 and review of media and government sources
Pore connectivity and structure-transport relationships in rocks from the Aphrodite gas field
Get PDFPore structure-transport relationships greatly impact potential gas storage within, and producibility from, rocks of the Aphrodite Mediterranean gas field, but the former are difficult to discern with current typical methods. However, rarely-used gas overcondensation data have been shown here to be essential for representative and accurate invasion percolation-based determination of the pore connectivity for pore sizes over the whole range from ∼100s μm down to nanometres in these rocks. Combined gas overcondensation and scanning curves have revealed the presence of two sub-networks of large macropores, each shielded by very differently-sized necks, and enabled the separate pore body size distribution and pore connectivity to be obtained for the sub-network shielded by pore-blocking necks. A ‘pore-sifting’ strategy, implemented with either serial nitrogen and iodononane adsorption, or integrated gas sorption and mercury porosimetry, has assessed the different accessibility and/or mass transport contributions of each sub-network. Independent findings from nitrogen kinetic gas uptake suggested, perhaps counter-intuitively, that mass transport rates are faster in the sub-network ultimately shielded for desorption by smaller orifices, though explanations for this have been provided. Computerised X-ray tomography, SEM and PFG NMR have suggested that the pore bodies are associated with the cavities of planktonic foraminifera, while the shielding necks with the semi-permeable fossil shells or embedding clay matrix
Pyrolysis of pulp and paper mill sludge: Mechanistic effects of process conditions and feldspar catalysis on product formation and biochar carbon permanence
No full textWe investigated the pyrolysis of pulp and paper mill sludge (PPMS) as a carbon dioxide removal strategy by examining the effects of feedstock moisture (0 and 30 wt%), temperature (400–800 °C), and ex-situ catalysis using feldspar minerals on product yields, carbon and nitrogen recovery, chemical speciation, and biochar carbon stability. Product distribution was temperature-dependent: biochar was favored at low temperatures, biocrude at intermediate temperatures, and syngas at high temperatures. Without catalysis, wet PPMS produced more biochar and CO₂-rich syngas but less biocrude and aqueous coproducts compared to dry PPMS. While feldspar catalysts had negligible effects on biochar yield due to the ex-situ configuration, Na-feldspar—with greater Lewis acidity than K-feldspar—significantly enhanced biocrude yield and increased methane and hydrogen content in the syngas, particularly from wet PPMS. These improvements originated from the activated CO₂ methanation, water–gas shift, and hydrocarbon-forming gas-phase reactions, e.g., dimerization and telomerization. Nitrogen distribution varied with temperature: it was retained in biochar at low temperatures and migrated to the aqueous phase as amines and pyrroles at higher temperatures. Shrinking core kinetic modeling of biochar oxidation, supported by elemental analysis, solid-state ¹ ³C NMR, and reflectance microscopy, revealed the formation of inertinitic, graphitic-like carbon structures. Biochars produced at higher temperatures exhibited increased oxidation resistance, with extrapolated half-lives from 0.25 to 1 and from 1 to 5 million years for wet-derived and dry-derived samples, confirming geological-scale carbon stability. These findings underscore the potential of optimized pyrolysis conditions for producing stable biochar while enhancing the energy value of co-produced biocrude and syngas
Evaluating the effect of child home safety training upon three family support practitioner groups: a mixed-methods study
Get PDFAims:Unintentional injuries in the home contribute substantially to preschool child morbidity and mortality. Practitioners such as health visitors, family mentors and children’s centre staff are well-positioned to facilitate child injury prevention by providing home safety advice to families, and training may enhance their ability to do so. We aimed to assess the impact of child home safety training for these practitioners.Methods:An explanatory mixed-methods design was used. Practitioners completed questionnaires before, and up to 7 months after, receiving child home safety training and took part in interviews. Seventy-eight health visitors, 72 family mentors and 11 children’s centre staff members completed questionnaires. Items were used to calculate scores on home safety knowledge, confidence to provide home safety advice and belief that child home safety promotion is important. Thematic analysis of interviews with seven health visitors and nine family mentors, open-ended responses to the questionnaires and an additional evaluation form was conducted to explore attendees’ perceptions of the training and its impact. In addition, seven health visitors and six children’s centre staff who had received no training were interviewed.Results:Knowledge was greater post-training than pre-training across all participants (p < .001). When practitioner groups were analysed separately, there were significant increases in family mentors’ knowledge (p < .001) and belief (p = .016), and health visitors’ confidence (p = .0036). Qualitative findings indicated that most training session attendees valued the training, believed their practice relating to child home safety had improved as a result, and felt further similar training sessions would be beneficial. Those who had not attended the sessions described a need for more child home safety training.Conclusions:Delivering training to practitioners providing child home safety promotion to families with preschool children can enhance injury prevention knowledge, beliefs and confidence and positively impact on home safety promotion by practitioners
Grow to last or grow to sell? Strategy making and narrative identity refocussing in business support programmes
Get PDFVenture growth creates tensions that, in turn, cause entrepreneurial identities (EI) to evolve as entrepreneurs have to engage with new forms of strategic thinking in order to scale up. However, little is known about how these tensions inform emergent entrepreneurial identity work and its consequences, as entrepreneurs reorganize ventures for growth. We explore this issue by analysing how the process of remaking strategy under the auspices of a UK university business school venture growth programme informed the narrative identity work of the participant entrepreneurs. Our findings illustrate that engaging in strategy making generated ‘narrative identity refocussing’ as entrepreneurs used strategy-related meanings to plot growth events into their self-narration and construct growth trajectories expected to lead to future growth. We contribute to debate by extending understanding about how narrative identity work is undertaken at moments of transition in the entrepreneurial journey, specifically as entrepreneurs scale their ventures, and how business schools can enhance this process
Ethnicity and the epidemiology of skin cancer incidence: a national retrospective population-based study in England, 2013-20
Get PDFIntroductionSkin cancers primarily affect people of White ethnicity and lighter skin tones, but people of other ethnicities may face diagnostic delays and experience higher mortality, reflecting existing inequities in healthcare. This is the first study showing incidence data from the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) cancer registry in England for skin cancers stratified by the seven broad ethnic groups.MethodsWe used data from NDRS from 2013-20 to analyse melanoma, acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM), basal cell carcinoma (BCC), cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), and Kaposi sarcoma (KS). Tumour records were linked to datasets including census population data, Office for National Statistics (ONS) mortality data, Index of Multiple Deprivation and Hospital Episode Statistics. Ethnicity data were grouped into seven standardised broad ONS categories: White, Asian, Chinese, Black, Mixed, Other and Unknown. European age-standardized rates (EASR) were calculated using the 2013 European Standard Population and reported per 100,000 person years (PY).ResultsEthnic diversity in England increased between the 2011 and 2021 censuses. ‘Unknown’ ethnicity cases with registry data ranged from 19.2% for BCC to 5.0% for ALM. EASR of melanoma was 33 times higher in White (27.29 CI [27.12- 27.46]) than in Asian (0.82 CI [0.67- 0.99]) and 16 times higher in White than in the Black ethnic group (1.67 CI [1.37- 2.01)]. Similarly, cSCC was 14 times more common in White compared (61.75 CI [61.49- 62.0]) with Asian (4.55 CI [4.15- 4.97]) and 13 times more common with the Black ethnic group (4.73 CI [4.17- 5.34], respectively. BCC was 26 times more common in White (153.69 CI [153.28-154.09] than in Asian (5.59 CI [5.16- 6.04]) and 27 times more common in White than in Black ethnic groups (5.98 CI [5.35- 6.65], respectively. However, EASR for ALM was highest in the Black ethnic groups. ALMs were less likely to be referred along the urgent suspected cancer pathways and more likely to present at a later stage than for melanoma overall. EASR for KS was significantly higher in Other and Black ethnic groups.ConclusionA lack of high-quality published ethnicity data hampers our understanding of health disparities. These findings emphasize the need for better ethnicity data collection and regular audits to better understand and address needs of underserved populations
Control of a Four-Port DC-DC Converter for Photovoltaic Systems Integrating Batteries and Supercapacitors
Get PDFThe integration of batteries and supercapacitors in a photovoltaic (PV) system using a multiport dc-dc converter is an attractive solution compared to conventional configurations with multiple two-port dc-dc converters. However, the high-order, cross-coupled, and multivariable nature of most multiport converters poses significant control design challenges. This paper proposes a digital control strategy based on state feedback, decouplers, and PI controllers to efficiently regulate a four-port dc-dc converter topology that connects a photovoltaic module, a battery, a supercapacitor, and a load. The proposed approach achieves reduced settling times for PV and load voltages and battery and supercapacitor currents, minimizing overshoots and undershoots. Experimental results also demonstrate smooth transitions between modes, highlighting the ability of the system to simultaneously perform MPPT, regulate charge and discharge currents, and maintain stable voltage control at load. With settling times for reference changes of less than 20 ms for all controlled variables and a cross-coupling deviation of less than 2% between PV and load voltages, the proposed control strategy ensures robust and stable operation in all operating modes studied
The Nottingham consensus on dementia risk reduction policy: recommendations from a modified Delphi process
Get PDFTranslation of evidence about dementia risk and its reduction into effective, equitable public health policy is a major challenge. To address this challenge, the National Institute for Health and Care Research Policy Research Unit in Dementia and Neurodegeneration at Queen Mary University of London (DeNPRU-QM) convened a multidisciplinary panel of 40 experts from across England, with diverse lived, academic, clinical, policy and advocacy experience, at various career stages, and of diverse gender and ethnicity, to develop actionable policy recommendations for dementia risk reduction. Through a 2-day in-person workshop and a subsequent three-round modified Delphi survey, the panel evaluated and refined statements on dementia prevention. The panel achieved consensus on 56 recommendations in four domains: public health messaging, individual-level interventions, population-level interventions and research commissioning. A key priority across all domains was the need to consider and address health inequalities so that prevention efforts do not exacerbate existing disparities. Our recommendations provide policymakers with a robust foundation for designing and implementing an evidence-based dementia prevention strategy in England and provide guidance that can inform approaches in other countries and contexts. By prioritizing clear communication, targeted intervention and sustained research investment, the recommendations can help to address structural inequities and advance dementia risk reduction. Ongoing cross-sector advocacy will be crucial in driving policy adoption and implementation
A qualitative study of enablers and barriers to healthy eating in adults with Charcot Marie Tooth disease using the Theoretical Domains Framework and COM-B model
Get PDFCharcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is a progressive neurological disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system, with symptoms such as fatigue, pain and muscle weakness that can hinder engagement in health-promoting behaviours, including healthy eating. This study explored enablers and barriers to healthy eating among adults with CMT, using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and the COM-B model. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 women and 5 men (aged 25–73). Data were analysed using framework analysis. Identified barriers included symptom-related fatigue, particularly during periods of high demand (e.g. workdays), limited lifestyle-focused guidance in routine healthcare interactions and physical environmental constraints. Key enablers comprised meal planning, social support from family and online communities, recognition of the mental and physical benefits of healthy eating and access to resources that helped mitigate physical limitations. These findings provide a foundation for developing evidence-based, context-sensitive dietary interventions tailored to the lived experiences of individuals with CMT
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