The long-run price elasticity of residential demand for electricity: Results from a natural experiment

In one of two otherwise similar adjacent regions in a Canadian province, the price of electricity changed abruptly, substantially, and permanently. That natural experiment allows for a simple differences-in-differences calculation of the long-run price elasticity of residential demand for electricity. This analysis is of interest for two reasons. First, it is a rare circumstance when such a methodology can be used. Secondly, the magnitude of the elasticity estimate has substantial implications for utilities, regulators, and policymakers.     

SLA-driven container consolidation with usage prediction for green cloud computing

Since service level agreement(SLA)is essentially used to maintain reliable quality of service between cloud providers and clients in cloud environment,there has been a growing effort in reducing power consumption while complying with the SLA by maximizing physical machine(PM)-level utilization and load balancing techniques in infrastructure as a service.However,with the recent introduction of container as a service by cloud providers,containers are increasingly popular and will become the major deployment model in the cloud environment and specifically in platform as a service.Therefore,reducing power consumption while complying with the SLA at virtual machine(VM)-level becomes essential.In this context,we exploit a container consolidation scheme with usage prediction to achieve the above objectives.To obtain a reliable characterization of overutilized and underutilized PMs,our scheme jointly exploits the current and predicted CPU utilization based on local history of the considered PMs in the process of the container consolidation.We demonstrate our solution through simulations on real workloads.The experimental results show that the container consolidation scheme with usage prediction reduces the power consumption,number of container migrations,and average number of active VMs while complying with the SLA.     

Measurement of Consumed Energy Due to the Two-Phase Pressure Drop in a Pulsed Semi-Industrial Column: Effect of Geometry

This article deals with the evaluation of pressure drop and consumption of energy for a steady-state solvent extraction in a horizontal pulsed sieve-plate column, which are important for the design and optimization of the periodic-flow processes for industrial applications. In this study, the pressure drop and the position of loading points are investigated. Moreover, a mathematical evaluation on the energy consumption in the case of a pulsed flow is conducted, and besides the influence of pulsation intensity, the effect of geometrical parameters including the plate spacing and plate-free area is investigated as well. The results of this study are helpful for optimization of column geometry targeted to higher performance and lower energy consumption.     

A mesocosm investigation of the effects of quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) on Lake Michigan zooplankton assemblages

Dreissenid mussels are known to disrupt the base of the food web by filter feeding on phytoplankton; however, they may also directly ingest zooplankton thereby complicating their effects on plankton communities. The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of quagga mussel feeding on the composition and size structure of Lake Michigan zooplankton assemblages. Two mesocosm (six 946 L tanks) experiments were conducted in summer 2013, using quagga mussels and zooplankton collected near Beaver Island, MI, to examine the response of zooplankton communities to the presence and absence of mussels (experiment 1) and varying mussel density (experiment 2). Mesocosms were sampled daily and zooplankton taxa were enumerated and sized using microscopy and FlowCAM® imaging. In experiment 1, the presence of quagga mussels had a rapid negative effect on veliger and copepod nauplii abundance, and a delayed negative effect on rotifer abundance. In experiment 2, mussel density had a negative effect on veliger, nauplii, and copepodite abundance within 24 h. Multivariate analyses revealed a change in zooplankton community composition with increasing mussel density. Ten zooplankton taxa decreased in abundance and frequency as quagga mussel density increased: except for the rotifer Trichocerca sp., treatments with higher mussel densities (i.e., 1327, 3585, and 5389 mussels/m²) had the greatest negative effect on small-bodied zooplankton (≤ 128 μm). This study confirms results from small-scale (≤ 1 L) experiments and demonstrates that quagga mussels can alter zooplankton communities at mesoscales (~ 1000 L), possibly through a combination of direct consumption and resource depletion.     

分时电价下多目标绿色可重入混合流水车间调度

针对多目标绿色可重入混合流水车间调度问题（RHFSP）的特点，在机器分配和工序排序的基础上引入分时电价机制，构建了以最小化最大完工时间、总能耗成本和碳排放为目标的绿色调度优化模型，提出了一种改进的多目标文化基因算法（MOMA）来求解该问题，通过数值实验验证了所设计的MOMA算法的可行性。实验结果表明MOMA算法在非劣解的收敛性、多样性和支配性指标方面都显著优于多目标蚁狮优化算法(MOALO)、多目标粒子群优化算法（MOPSO）和带精英策略的非支配排序遗传算法（NSGA-Ⅱ），四种算法的分布性指标无显著差异。所提出的模型能够使企业有效避开高电价时段作业，合理转移用电负荷，达到降低总用电成本和碳排放的目的。     

电力供电大楼机房能耗监测与分析系统研究

针对提倡节能减排的社会背景，设计实现了面向电力供电大楼机房能耗监测与分析系统，基于现有的机房能耗数据资源，通过对机房能耗数据多方面的监测以及科学化的分析，为管理者更好地制定节能措施提供决策支持。系统功能分为能耗环境监测、能耗行为分析、节能改造建议、节能效果评估4个子模块；利用GESD算法设计了能耗异常检测方法，利用SSH框架实现了B/S架构；在数据展示方面利用了Extjs、BIRT报表2种技术，利用POI实现了导出Excel格式的能耗数据文件。实际应用表明，该系统为管理者制定节能减排措施提供了帮助。     

Association of solid fuel use with risk of stunting in children living in China

Stunting adversely affects physical and mental outcomes of children. It has not been examined whether household air pollution from solid fuel combustion is a risk factor for stunting in children. In a total of 41,439 children aged 6-17 across China, height was measured using a unified protocol. Multivariable linear regression models and logistic regression models were used to assess the associations of solid fuel use for cooking/heating with stunting in children. Adjusted for covariates, cooking/heating with solid fuel was significantly associated with a lower z-score for height for age and sex (β = −0.21 [−0.32 to −0.09] and −0.17 [−0.31 to −0.03], respectively) and an increased risk of stunting with an estimated ORs of 1.34 [1.07~1.68] and 1.37 [1.02~1.83], respectively. The risk of stunting associated with solid fuel use was statistically significant in high-age children. And the effect was greater on girls than on boys, though the difference was not statistically significant. Our study suggested that Chinese children living in households using solid fuel had a significantly higher risk of stunting than those living in households using cleaner fuel.     

The impact of flood risk on the price of residential properties: the case of England

This paper examines the impact of flood risk on the value of English residential properties. We find that a location within a flood zone significantly lowers property values even if we control for the proximity to a watercourse, the history of flooding and neighbourhoods effects. Although the flood risk discount is more compelling for waterfront properties, it is still highly significant for dwellings further from the water. The markdown arises around 2004–2005, which coincides with the publication of detailed flood maps by the UK Environment Agency and with a more risk-based pricing of flood insurance policies. As expected, the effect of flood risk on house prices is stronger in the months following major flood events but, interestingly, it almost disappears in a hot market when buyers have arguably less negotiating power.     

Electricity Production

Current data on net electricity production, as well as a breakdown of production by country. Updated on a monthly basis.     

Political YouTube Channel Reputation (PYCR): Development and validation of a multidimensional scale

Although YouTube is driving change in the news and information environment and earning a reputation as an alternative media, there is a lack of research examining what determines people’s reputational judgments on YouTube’s political channels. Based on in-depth interviews with 32 experts and empirical findings from 380 adults, this research identified factors that impact YouTube users’ reputation perception of political channels and developed a scale. The results showed that the Political YouTube Channel Reputation (PYCR) scale comprises four distinctive dimensions: news credibility, political ideology, user-oriented communication, and quality management. The reliability and validity of the scale were assessed, using exploratory and confirmatory analyses and construct validity. The PYCR scale has a variety of potential applications for users, political influencers, and YouTube, and it can serve as a theoretical framework for future empirical research in this novel and emerging area.