Optimizing 100%‐renewable grids through shifting residential water‐heater load

A low‐carbon electricity supply for Australia was simulated, and the installed capacity of the electrical grid was optimized by shifting the electricity demand of residential electric water heaters (EWHs). The load‐shifting potential of Australia was estimated for each hour of the simulation period using a nationwide aggregate EWH load model on a 90 × 110 raster grid. The electricity demand of water heaters was shifted from periods of low renewable resource and high demand to periods of high renewable resource and low demand, enabling us to effectively reduce the installed capacity requirements of a 100%‐renewable electricity grid. It was found that by shifting the EWH load by just 1 hour, the electricity demand of Australia could be met using purely renewable electricity at an installed capacity of 145 GW with a capacity factor of 30%, an electricity spillage of 20%, and a generation cost of 15.2 ¢/kWh. A breakdown of the primary energy sources used in our scenario is as follows: 43% wind, 29% concentrated solar thermal power, and 20% utility photovoltaic. Sensitivity analysis suggested that further reduction in installed capacity is possible by increasing the load‐shifting duration as well as the volume and insulation level of the EWH tank.     

Uplink coverage probability and spectral efficiency for downlink uplink decoupled dense heterogeneous cellular network using multi-slope path loss model

Telecommunication Systems - Low powered node densification leading to dense and ultra dense heterogeneous networks is a feature of 5th generation cellular networks. With this densification, the...     

SER and throughput analysis of space–time analog network coded relaying system over shadowed Rician fading channels

Wireless Networks - This research article presents an innovative approach based on analog network coding (ANC) in conjunction with space time block coding (STBC) which is termed as space time...     

Carob Kibble: A Bioactive‐Rich Food Ingredient

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is well known for its valuable locust bean gum obtained from the carob seeds. Separation of seeds from the pod leaves behind the carob kibble which is a good source of dietary fiber, sugars, and a range of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols and pinitol. Bioactive compounds present in carob kibble have been found to be beneficial in the control of many health problems such as diabetes, heart diseases, and colon cancer due to their antidiabetic, antioxidant, and anti‐inflammatory activities. Carob kibble has substantial potential to be used as a food ingredient. This article focuses on the composition, health benefits, and food applications of carob kibble.     

Synergistic Processing of Skim Milk with High Pressure Nitrous Oxide,Heat, Nisin,and Lysozyme to Inactivate Vegetative and Spore-Forming Bacteria

Individual and combined effects of high pressure nitrous oxide (HPN₂O), heat, and antimicrobials on the inactivation of Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua, and Bacillus atrophaeus endospores in milk were all evaluated after 20-min treatments. Stand-alone milk treatments with HPN₂O (15.2 MPa), heat (45 and 65 °C), or nisin (50 and 150 IU mL^?1) resulted in log₁₀ reductions ranging only from 0.1 to 2.1 for E. coli and L. innocua. Combining HPN₂O (15.2 MPa) with heat (65 °C) inactivated 6.0 and 5.1 log₁₀ in the vegetative bacteria, respectively. Similarly, reductions of 5.9 and ≥ 6.0 log₁₀ of respective E. coli and L. innocua cells in milk were achieved through a combination of HPN₂O (15.2 MPa), heat (65 °C), and nisin (150 IU mL^?1). A 2.5 log₁₀ cycle inactivation of spores was obtained by HPN₂O, nisin (at both 50 and 150 IU mL^?1), and lysozyme (50 μg mL^?1) at 85 °C. Combining these processing techniques resulted in significantly greater microbial inactivation (p < 0.05) than the sum of individual reductions from each treatment alone, indicating synergistic effects. HPN₂O irrespective of processing temperatures did not cause any occurrence of sub-lethally injured cells or disruption in colloidal stability of milk at 65 and 85 °C (p ≥ 0.05). Color and pH changes in milk following the most demanding treatment conditions were minimal.     

An application of univariate marginal distribution algorithm in MIMO communication systems

The paper discusses a sequence detector based on univariate marginal distribution algorithm (UMDA) that jointly estimates the symbols transmitted in a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication system. While an optimal maximum likelihood detection using an exhaustive search method is prohibitively complex, it has been shown that sphere decoder (SD) achieves the optimal bit error rate (BER) performance with polynomial time complexity for smaller array sizes. However, the worst‐case complexity of SD is exponential in the problem dimensions, this brings in question its practical implementation for larger number of spatial layers and for higher‐order signal constellation. The proposed detector shows promising results for this overly difficult and complicated operating environment, confirmed through simulation results. A performance comparison of the UMDA detector with SD is presented for higher‐order complex MIMO architectures with limited average transmit power. The proposed detector achieves substantial performance gain for higher‐order systems attaining a near optimal BER performance with reduced computational complexity as compared with SD. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiscale Modeling for Food Drying: State of the Art

Plant‐based food materials are mostly porous in nature and heterogeneous in structure with huge diversity in cellular orientation. Different cellular environments of plant‐based food materials, such as intercellular, intracellular, and cell wall environments, hold different proportions of water with different characteristics. Due to this structural heterogeneity, it is very difficult to understand the drying process and associated morphological changes during drying. Transport processes and morphological changes that take place during drying are mainly governed by the characteristics of and the changes in the cells. Therefore, to predict the actual heat and mass transfer process that occurs in the drying process and associated morphological changes, development of multiscale modeling is crucial. Multiscale modeling is a powerful approach with the ability to incorporate this cellular structural heterogeneity with microscale heat and mass transfer during drying. However, due to the huge complexity involved in developing such a model for plant‐based food materials, the studies regarding this issue are very limited. Therefore, we aim in this article to develop a critical conceptual understanding of multiscale modeling frameworks for heterogeneous food materials through an extensive literature review. We present a critical review on the multiscale model formulation and solution techniques with their spatial and temporal coupling options. Food structure, scale definition, and the current status of multiscale modeling are also presented, along with other key factors that are critical to understanding and developing an accurate multiscale framework. We conclude by presenting the main challenges for developing an accurate multiscale modeling framework for food drying.     

SPARC deficiency leads to early-onset cataractogenesis

PURPOSE: To determine the role of SPARC (secreted protein, acidic, and rich in cysteine) in cataractogenesis by examining mice deficient in a matricellular protein SPARC. METHODS: Mice were rendered SPARC-deficient by a targeted disruption of the gene. Slit-lamp microscopy and histology were used to examine the eyes of SPARC-null and wild-type mice from birth to 14 months of age. RESULTS: SPARC-null mice developed opacities in the posterior cortex of the eye as early as 1.5 months after birth. The diffuse cataracts appeared to progress toward the anterior cortex and reached maturity in many animals by 3.5 months of age. Early stages of cataractogenesis in SPARC-null mice included inhibition of normal lens fiber cell differentiation, degeneration of fiber cells, vacuole formation at the equator, and liquefaction of the cortex. No cataracts were detected in wild-type mice up to the age of 8 months. CONCLUSIONS: The early onset of cataracts in SPARC-null mice establishes that the gene is essential to the maintenance of lens transparency.