Reducing energy consumption by using self-organizing maps to create more personalized electricity use information

Identification of electricity use is one of the key elements to motivate customers to promote activities leading more efficient use of energy. Furthermore, electricity use comparisons with other similar customers give more interesting and concrete point of view to examine own consumption habits. In future, electricity providers and retailers are willing and probably forced by legislation to provide such information by the means of energy conservation and efficiency improvement. On the other hand, high number of customers set challenges to handle electricity use data and to create proper comparison information. In this study we present efficient and highly automated way to create comparison groups based on customers building characteristics. The main advantages of the data-based approach are that customer location is noticed, comparison groups are created using concrete building information, data processing is highly automated and also method is computationally efficient. Additionally, presented method provide tool to target and to create customer specific electricity saving guidance. The performance of suggested approach was tested using data set which contained electricity use and building information concerning almost 8000 customers.     

On the origins of psychoanalytic psychohistory.

This article examines the origins and early development of psychoanalytically inspired psychohistory from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. It focuses on Erik H. Erikson, Bruce Mazlish, and Robert Jay Lifton and illustrates their contributions to psychoanalytic psychohistory. Erikson, Mazlish, and Lifton were core members of the Wellfleet group, a research project originally funded by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1965 to conceptualize the foundation of psychohistory. The article gives an account of the early history of the Wellfleet group and argues for specific historical reasons to explain why psychoanalytic psychohistory emerged on the East Coast of the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A critique of the Wellfleet group in unpublished correspondence of Erich Fromm and David Riesman is also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characterizing Mold Problem Buildings – Concentrations And Flora Of Viable Fungi

The purpose of this study was to characterize mold problem buildings by determining concentrations and flora of viable fungi. The composition and concentrations of fungal flora in mold problem (n = 9) and reference buildings (n = 9) were determined by means of four different sampling methods: six-stage impactor (Andersen sampler), sedimentation plate, surface and house dust samples. Samples were taken in the fall and in the winter, and the concentrations and flora in mold problem buildings were compared with those of matched reference buildings. The differences between mold problem and reference buildings were most clearly seen with the impactor samples. The total concentrations of airborne fungi were higher in moldy buildings. In addition, the concentrations of the genera Aspergillus and Oidiodendron in the fall and the concentrations of Aspergillus and Penicillium in the winter were higher in mold problem than in reference buildings. In the winter, certain fungal genera (Stachybotrys, Acremonium, Oedocephalum and Botryosporium) were detected only in the problem buildings in impactor samples. These results indicate that there may be an unusual composition of fungal flora in mold problem buildings. The results of the sedimentation plate samples showed a trend similar to that of impactor samples in the winter. In addition, the results of surface samples supported the data on the fungal flora in the winter-time air samples. The house dust samples did not reveal any differences between mold problem and matched reference buildings.     

Two theorems concerning recognizable N-subsets of σ1

It is proved that the family of recognizable N-subsets is not closed under the operation sup, and that there exists even a DOL length sequence x₀, x₁, … such that, for any k,x_i ? x_i+1 ? … ? x_i+k holds true for some i and the cardinality of the set {n ∈ N|x_n > x_n+1} is infinite.     

Chiral donor–π-acceptor azobenzene dyes

Four chiral donor–π-acceptor azobenzene dye conjugates were synthesized and characterized. Chiral moieties, namely (S)-(+)-2-(6-methoxy-2-naphthyl)propionic acid (naproxen) and (S)-2-aminopropionic acid (l-alanine), were attached to either the donor end or the acceptor site of the azo compound using ester or amide bonds, respectively. The structures of the molecules were verified using ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and ESI TOF mass spectrometry; spectral properties were evaluated with UV–vis and CD spectrometry whilst thermal stability was determined by TGA. The compounds displayed a broad absorption maximum in the visible region between 433 and 483 nm. All compounds showed relatively high thermal stability, decomposition temperatures being ～200 °C.     

Computational power of two stacks with restricted communication

Rewriting systems working on words with a center marker are considered. The derivation is done by erasing a prefix or a suffix and then adding a prefix or a suffix. This models a communication of two stacks according to a fixed protocol defined by the choice of rewriting rules. The paper systematically considers different cases of these systems and determines their expressive power. Several cases are identified where very restricted communication surprisingly yields computational universality.     

Shallow defect density determination in CuIn3Se5 thin film photoabsorber by impedance spectroscopy

A number of CuIn₃Se₅ photoabsorber films were prepared using pulsed laser deposition technique. Impedance spectroscopy (IS) was used to determine the density of shallow defects in CuIn₃Se₅ thin film samples. Various contact layers were deposited onto the CuIn₃Se₅ layers to prepare structures with stable diode-like I-V behavior. It was found that Zn-phthalocyanine is an appropriate material to prepare the barrier layer onto CuIn₃Se₅ layer for the IS measurements and calculations. For analyzing impedance data a more complex equivalent circuit was used consisting of two blocks of parallel capacitance and resistance in series. Using these data it was shown that it is possible to predict more accurately the distribution of the potential in the structure.Density of free carrier generated by shallow defects was calculated by using two different approaches: the abrupt depletion layer edge approximation and the integral capacitance technique developed some years ago by A.F. Yaremchuk.The concentration of free charge carriers was found to be in the range of 1 × 10¹⁵-1 × 10¹⁶ cm^− 3. IS calculation results are in good agreement with data in literature and the calculated thickness of CuIn₃Se₅ layers agrees with data obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).     

Denaverine hydrochloride and carbetocin increased welfare during and after parturition and enhanced subsequent fertility in cattle

The objectives of the current study were to investigate the influence of denaverine hydrochloride and carbetocin on softening and dilatation of the birth canal, the need for assistance during parturition, calf mortality, retention of fetal membranes, endometritis, and subsequent fertility. Altogether 200 animals (100 cows and 100 heifers) of the Simmental breed were divided into 2 groups: treatment (n = 100) and control (n = 100). Animals in the treatment group received denaverine hydrochloride and carbetocin (a maximum of twice for each, depending on the progression of labor) during delivery over a maximum of 4 waiting periods (30 min each), whereas control animals experienced the same waiting periods but received no treatment. The treatment protocol had a positive influence on the ease of calving and postpartum reproductive health. The treatment increased the number of animals with the birth canal dilated by more than 25 cm, and halved the need for any assistance at parturition. In addition, treatment decreased the occurrence of difficult calving, the need for episiotomy, the appearance of birth canal lesions, and clinical endometritis. The treatment protocol had an effect throughout the entire puerperal period, as treated animals conceived with fewer artificial inseminations (1.3 vs. 1.6 artificial inseminations/pregnancy) and sooner (67 vs. 78 d open) compared with control animals. Denaverine hydrochloride and carbetocin administered in combination during parturition affected the progression and ease of calving, and thus the welfare of cows in labor and subsequently. However, further studies are needed to confirm the findings and to establish best practices.