Probabilistic Wind Farms Generation Model for Reliability Studies Applied to Brazilian Sites

This paper presents a computer model for the probabilistic representation of wind farms generation for reliability studies, which can provide an annual estimation of energy production and calculate several performance indexes. The model combines the stochastic characteristics of wind speed with the operational information of the turbines, such as the failure and repair rates, representing the wind farm by a Markov process. The simulations are made with real time series of wind speed of several Brazilian regions and actual turbine models. The influence of some wind farm and installation site characteristics on the results are evaluated, such as the wind speed statistical clustering technique, the number and type of the turbines, and the failure and repair rates. The results obtained reproduce successfully the behavior of the components considered in the model     

Resistivity as a function of composition in the superconducting Nb-Pt A15 phase

The electrical resistivity of the A15 compound Nb_100–x Pt _x (20x28.9) is measured as a function of compositionx from room temperature to the superconducting transition temperatureT _c The residual resistivity ₀ is observed to be nearly independent of composition on the Nb-rich side of stoichiometry, but strongly dependent on the Pt-rich side. A closeT _c correlation with the resistivity sloped/dT at high temperatures and with the electronic specific heat coefficient , which are proportional to the superconducting coupling parameter , is noted. The results can be understood in terms of an order-disorder model.     

Microporous anisotropic phase inversion membranes from bisphenol A polycarbonate: Effect of additives to the polymer solution

Phase inversion is a very flexible technique to obtain membranes with a large sort of morphologies. Membrane properties can vary greatly depending on the kind of polymer system used. Bisphenol A polycarbonate (PC) could be used as a phase inversion membrane base polymer, and presents very good properties. Nevertheless, very little information on membrane preparation using PC and the phase inversion process can be found in the literature. In this work flat‐sheet microporous membranes were obtained by the phase inversion process using the immersion precipitation technique. A new polymer system was studied, consisting of polycarbonate, N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone as solvent, water as the nonsolvent, and an additive. The influence of some parameters on membrane morphology, such as polymer solution composition, exposition time before immersion into the precipitation bath, and the kind of additive was investigated. Precipitation was followed using light transmission experiments and membrane morphology was observed through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The viscosity and cloud points of all polymer solutions were also determined. The results were related to the studied synthesis parameters, using the basic principles of membrane formation by the phase inversion technique, looking forward to establishing criteria to control the morphology of flat‐sheet membranes using polycarbonate as the base polymer. The results showed that both additives were able to increase pore interconnectivity and even suppress macrovoid formation. The decrease in the miscibility region of the polymer system and increase in mass transfer resistance are found to be the determining factors during polymer solution precipitation. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 3085–3096, 2002     

Two new aluminophosphates, IST-1 and IST-2: First examples of a dual templating role of water and methylamine in generating microporous structures

This study is aimed at exploring the ability of very small sized N-bearing molecules to generate and stabilize microporous aluminophosphates. Two new AlPO₄-n materials, called IST-1 and IST-2, have been obtained in aqueous media using, as main template, methylamine (MA), directly added, or generated in situ from methylformamide (MF) degradation. While IST-1 topology proved to be novel, IST-2 appears structurally related to AlPO₄-53(A). The obtained materials were characterized by powder XRD, TG/DSC, SEM and solid-state NMR. Tetraalkylammonium (TEA) cations were used as potential co-templates but only MA and water were found incorporated in the pore volumes of both structures, which argues for their true templating role. In IST-1, ¹³C solid-state NMR studies showed that half of MA species, presumably protonated, is H-bonded to framework oxygens while the other half surprisingly bonds directly to framework Al atoms. ¹³C NMR showed that only protonated MA occurs in IST-2 channels. TEA⁺ cations definitely do not play any specific template role. They indirectly favor the crystallization of IST-1 or IST-2 devoid from other crystalline or amorphous side phases, by interacting with part of the Al and P in solution and forming soluble [AlPO₄(OH)]–[TEA,HMA] complexes, substantially modifying the compositions of gels precursors to each phase during nucleation and/or growth steps. While both IST-1 and IST-2 crystallize from gels of similar initial compositions, it was demonstrated that the new MA/T ratio (T = Al or P) obtained after in situ complexation was the key parameter that specifically governs the crystallization of each phase.     

Bio-based sustainable films from the Algerian Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes powder: Effect of plasticizer content

The present study investigated the fabrication and characterization of bio-based sustainable films composed of a terrestrial plant raw material, namely Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) cladodes powder (CP) and a marine seaweed derivative, namely agar (A). The effect of glycerol concentration on the properties of the casted films was evaluated at four different contents, namely 30, 40, 50 and 60 wt%. The films present UV-blocking properties, as well as moderate mechanical performance, thermal stability, and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR). The results point to an increase in thickness, elongation at break, moisture content, water solubility, and WVTR with increasing glycerol content. On the contrary, Young's modulus, tensile strength, and water contact angle decreased as glycerol concentration increased. The best combination is obtained for the film with 30% glycerol, based on an intermediate compromise between physical, mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties. All these outcomes express the potentiality of the powder obtained from grinding the OFI cladodes as raw material to produce low-cost films for the development of sustainable packaging materials.     

A Closed-Loop Automatic Data-Mining Approach for Preventive Network Monitoring

As telecommunication networks grow in size and complexity, monitoring systems need to scale up accordingly. Alarm data generated in a large network are often highly correlated. These correlations can be explored to simplify the process of network fault management, by reducing the number of alarms presented to the network-monitoring operator. This makes it easier to react to network failures. But in some scenarios, it is highly desired to prevent the occurrence of these failures by predicting the occurrence of alarms before hand. This work investigates the usage of data mining methods to generate knowledge from historical alarm data, and using such knowledge to train a machine learning system, in order to predict the occurrence of the most relevant alarms in the network. The learning system was designed to be retrained periodically in order to keep an updated knowledge base.     

Mass spectrometric immunoassay and MRM as targeted MS-based quantitative approaches in biomarker development: Potential applications to cardiovascular disease and diabetes

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD)—the leading cause of death in the United States. Yet not all subjects with T2DM are at equal risk for CVD complications; the challenge lies in identifying those at greatest risk. Therapies directed toward treating conventional risk factors have failed to significantly reduce this residual risk in T2DM patients. Thus newer targets and markers are needed for the development and testing of novel therapies. Herein we review two complementary MS-based approaches—mass spectrometric immunoassay (MSIA) and MS/MS as MRM—for the analysis of plasma proteins and PTMs of relevance to T2DM and CVD. Together, these complementary approaches allow for high-throughput monitoring of many PTMs and the absolute quantification of proteins near the low picomolar range. In this review article, we discuss the clinical relevance of the high density lipoprotein (HDL) proteome and Apolipoprotein A-I PTMs to T2DM and CVD as well as provide illustrative MSIA and MRM data on HDL proteins from T2DM patients to provide examples of how these MS approaches can be applied to gain new insight regarding cardiovascular risk factors. Also discussed are the reproducibility, interpretation, and limitations of each technique with an emphasis on their capacities to facilitate the translation of new biomarkers into clinical practice.     

Impact of white-matter mask selection on DTI histogram-based metrics as potential biomarkers in cerebral small vessel disease

Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine - Histogram-based metrics extracted from diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) have been suggested as potential biomarkers for cerebral small...     

Hierarchical planning in a supervisory control context with compositional abstraction

Discrete Event Dynamic Systems - Hierarchy is a tool that has been applied to improve the scalability of solving planning problems modeled using Supervisory Control Theory. In the work of Hill and...     

Use of 3D printing for biofuel production: efficient catalyst for sustainable biodiesel production from wastes

This work deals with the sustainable biodiesel production from low-cost renewable feedstock (waste and non-edible oils) using a heterogeneous catalyst constituted by potassium loaded on an amorphous aluminum silicate naturally occurring as volcanic material (pumice). The main challenge to biodiesel production from low-quality oils (used oils and greases) is the high percentage of free fatty acids (FFAs) and water in the feedstock that causes undesirable side reactions. The catalytic materials studied were tested in the transesterification reaction when using low-quality oils containing a high proportion of free fatty acids (FFAs) and water. Results indicated that the amount of acid and basic sites on the catalytic surface increases upon increasing potassium loading in the catalyst, displaying better performance for biodiesel production. Indeed, the modification of the aluminum silicate substrate upon potassium incorporation results in a catalytic material containing both acidic and basic sites, which are responsible for both triglycerides transesterification and FFA esterification reactions. The studied catalyst not only showed good performance in the biodiesel production reaction but also good tolerance to FFA and water contained in the feedstock for biodiesel production. The catalytic material was microstructured by 3D printing in order to design a catalytic stirring system with high mechanical strength, efficient and reusable. The use of 3D printing in biofuel production is a novelty that brings good solutions for catalyst production.