A model for the development of a power production system in Greece,Part I: Where RES do not meet EU targets

This paper studies the electricity production system of the Greek Interconnected Electric Production System using a model created with the software package WASP-IV. The period of study is from 2009 to 2030. It consists of three scenarios using three different criteria: energy, environmental and economic. The three scenarios are the business as usual, the lignite and the natural gas. Subsequently, a sensitivity analysis is carried out for the annual growth rate of electricity consumption and load demand. The paper examines how the three criteria change, when there are no other energy sources beyond those already in use (lignite, oil, natural gas, biomass, solar, wind and hydropower) with no CO₂ capture policies and with the electricity production from Renewable Energy Sources not to reach the targets of the European Union for 2020. In a second paper, three other scenarios examine production with the Renewable Energy Sources to reach the targets of the European Union for 2020.     

Quality attributes of farmed eel (Anguilla anguilla) stored under air, vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging at 0 degrees C

The shelf life of fresh eel in various packaging conditions of atmospheric air, vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) (40% CO(2), 30% N(2) and 30% O(2)) at 0 degrees C was investigated. All raw eel samples received acceptable sensory scores during the first 11+/-1 days of storage in atmospheric air, 11+/-1 days of storage in vacuum and finally 18+/-1 days of storage in MAP conditions. Using the microbial quality indicators the shelf life of eel packed in air, vacuum and MAP was estimated to be more than 18, 28 and 34 days, respectively. The main spoilage microorganisms under MAP conditions were lactic acid producing bacteria followed by Shewanella spp., pseudomonads, Enterobacteriaceae and yeasts. Chemical data revealed that pH, ammonia, glucose and lactate examinations might not be useful for monitoring eel quality differences.     

Estimating ground-level PM2.5 in the eastern United States using satellite remote sensing

An empirical model based on the regression between daily PM2.5 (particles with aerodynamic diameters of less than 2.5 microm) concentrations and aerosol optical thickness (AOT) measurements from the multiangle imaging spectroradiometer (MISR) was developed and tested using data from the eastern United States during the period of 2001. Overall, the empirical model explained 48% of the variability in PM2.5 concentrations. The root-mean-square error of the model was 6.2 microg/m3 with a corresponding average PM2.5 concentration of 13.8 microg/m3. When PM2.5 concentrations greater than 40 microg/m3 were removed, model results were shown to be unbiased estimators of observations. Several factors, such as planetary boundary layer height, relative humidity, season, and other geographical attributes of monitoring sites, were found to influence the association between PM2.5 and AOT. The findings of this study illustrate the strong potential of satellite remote sensing in regional ambient air quality monitoring as an extension to ground networks. With the continual advancement of remote sensing technology and global data assimilation systems, AOT measurements derived from satellite remote sensors may provide a cost-effective approach as a supplemental source of information for determining ground-level particle concentrations.     

A multilevel sampled‐data approach for resilient navigation and control of autonomous systems

Autonomous systems are rapidly becoming an integrated part of the modern life. Safe and secure navigation and control of these systems present significant challenges in the presence of uncertainties, physical failures, and cyber attacks. In this paper, we formulate a navigation and control problem for autonomous systems using a multilevel control structure, in which the high‐level reference commands are limited by a saturation function, whereas the low‐level controller tracks the reference by compensating for disturbances and uncertainties. For this purpose, we consider a class of nested, uncertain, multiple‐input–multiple‐output systems subject to reference command saturation, possibly with nonminimum phase zeros. A multirate output‐feedback adaptive controller is developed as the low‐level controller. The sampled‐data (SD) design of this controller facilitates the direct implementation on digital computers, where the input/output signals are available at discrete time instances with different sampling rates. In addition, stealthy zero‐dynamics attacks become detectable by considering a multirate SD formulation. Robust stability and performance of the overall closed‐loop system with command saturation and multirate adaptive control are analyzed. Simulation scenarios for navigation and control of a fixed‐wing drone under failures/attacks are provided to validate the theoretical findings.     

Exploiting IP‐layer traffic prediction analytics to allocate spectrum resources using swarm intelligence

Elastic optical networks emerge as a reliable backbone platform covering the next‐generation connectivity requirements. It consists of advanced enabling components that provide the ability for extensive configuration leading to performance improvement in many areas of interest. Higher layer analytics like data from IP traffic prediction can assist in the process of allocating resources at the optical layer. This way, light connections are established more efficiently while targeting specific performance goals. For that purpose, an algorithm is designed and evaluated that exploits traffic prediction of data transfers between nodes of an optical metro or backbone network. Next, it utilizes adaptive functionality based on particle swarm optimization to find paths with available spectrum resources. These resources can facilitate more efficiently the future traffic demand, since traffic prediction data are considered when finding the related paths. The innovative resource allocation method is evaluated using small and very large real topologies. It scales (in execution time and resource usage) according to node increase, executes in feasible time frames, and reduces transponder utilization resulting to increased energy efficiency.     

Fibro/chondrogenic differentiation of dental stem cells into chitosan/alginate scaffolds towards temporomandibular joint disc regeneration

Tissue engineering (TE) may provide effective alternative treatment for challenging temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pathologies associated with disc malpositioning or degeneration and leading to severe masticatory dysfunction. Aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of chitosan/alginate (Ch/Alg) scaffolds to promote fibro/chondrogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and production of fibrocartilage tissue, serving as a replacement of the natural TMJ disc. Ch/Alg scaffolds were fabricated by crosslinking with CaCl2 combined or not with glutaraldehyde, resulting in two scaffold types that were physicochemically characterized, seeded with DPSCs or human nucleus pulposus cells (hNPCs) used as control and evaluated for cell attachment, viability, and proliferation. The DPSCs/scaffold constructs were incubated for up to 8 weeks and assessed for extracellular matrix production by means of histology, immunofluorescence, and thermomechanical analysis. Both Ch/Alg scaffold types with a mass ratio of 1:1 presented a gel-like structure with interconnected pores. Scaffolds supported cell adhesion and long-term viability/proliferation of DPSCs and hNPCs. DPSCs cultured into Ch/Alg scaffolds demonstrated a significant increase of gene expression of fibrocartilaginous markers (COLI, COL X, SOX9, COM, ACAN) after up to 3 weeks in culture. Dynamic thermomechanical analysis revealed that scaffolds loaded with DPSCs significantly increased storage modulus and elastic response compared to cell-free scaffolds, obtaining values similar to those of native TMJ disc. Histological data and immunochemical staining for aggrecan after 4 to 8 weeks indicated that the scaffolds support abundant fibrocartilaginous tissue formation, thus providing a promising strategy for TMJ disc TE-based replacement.

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A contribution to the study of some greek marbles

The use of marble in Architecture began on the 7th century B.C. and continued to be used without stop untill today. Greece and especially the East Macedonia region is an extremely privileged area on marble deposits both in quantities and qualities and colours. In the present work the main physical and engineering properties of some varieties of greek marbles are given and a comparison with the international standards is made. The experimental material (marbles) was from East Macedonia, Argolida-Arcadia and Magnessia, three of the biggest marble deposit areas in Greece. From the results obtained, it is concluded that the marbles examined satisfy all the international standard codes and thus they can be used as building stones and decoration materials.     

Investigation of sewage sludge stabilization potential by the addition of fly ash and lime

The aim of this work was the examination of stabilization potential of sewage sludge by the addition of fly ash and/or lime and the investigation of the effect of stabilization time on the properties of produced mixtures. Five samples were prepared by mixing fly ash, sewage sludge and lime in various ratios and the mixtures were stabilized for a period of 35 d. The addition of alkaline agents resulted in the increase of sample pH up to 12, the increase of total solids content to about 50% and the reduction of the organic fraction of the solids. The produced samples presented inhibition effects to seed germination and root length growth of three higher plants (one monocotyl and two dicotyls); however, samples with high sludge content resulted in negligible seed germination inhibition at prolonged stabilization times. The standard TCLP leaching procedure was applied in all the produced samples in order to evaluate the extraction potential of certain metallic elements; the content of metals in the eluates was varied, depending upon their speciation and form. Eluates presented significant inhibition to the marine photobacterium Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence, while the lowest inhibition was detected for the samples containing higher sludge content. These samples potentially could be applied as soil amendment, offering an efficient method for the combined utilization of two different solid wastes; however, low dosages of fly ash should be used for the production of a stabilized material presenting negligible effects with respect to its phytotoxic and ecotoxic properties.     

SAR distribution in human beings when using body-worn RF transmitters

This study analyzes the exposure of the human torso to electromagnetic fields caused by wireless body-mounted or handheld devices. Because of the frequency and distance ranges from 30-5800 MHz and 10 to 200 mm, respectively, both near-field and far-field effects are considered. A generic body model and simulations of anatomical models are used to evaluate the worst case tissue composition with respect to the absorption of electromagnetic energy. Both standing wave effects and enhanced coupling of reactive near-field components can lead to a specific absorption rate (SAR) increase in comparison to homogeneous tissue. In addition, the exposure and temperature increase of different inner organs is assessed. With respect to compliance testing, the observed SAR enhancement may require the introduction of a multiplication factor for the spatial peak SAR measured in the liquid-filled phantom in order to obtain a conservative exposure assessment. The observed tissue heating at the body surface under adiabatic conditions can be significant, whereas the temperature increase in the inner organs turned out to be negligible for the cases investigated.     

In vivo imaging of hydrogen peroxide with chemiluminescent nanoparticles

The overproduction of hydrogen peroxide is implicated in the development of numerous diseases and there is currently great interest in developing contrast agents that can image hydrogen peroxide in vivo. In this report, we demonstrate that nanoparticles formulated from peroxalate esters and fluorescent dyes can image hydrogen peroxide in vivo with high specificity and sensitivity. The peroxalate nanoparticles image hydrogen peroxide by undergoing a three-component chemiluminescent reaction between hydrogen peroxide, peroxalate esters and fluorescent dyes. The peroxalate nanoparticles have several attractive properties for in vivo imaging, such as tunable wavelength emission (460-630 nm), nanomolar sensitivity for hydrogen peroxide and excellent specificity for hydrogen peroxide over other reactive oxygen species. The peroxalate nanoparticles were capable of imaging hydrogen peroxide in the peritoneal cavity of mice during a lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory response. We anticipate numerous applications of peroxalate nanoparticles for in vivo imaging of hydrogen peroxide, given their high specificity and sensitivity and deep-tissue-imaging capability.