Power sector development in India with CO2 emission targets: Effects of regional grid integration and the role of clean technologies

The power sector in India at present comprises of five separate regional electricity grids having practically no integrated operation in between them. This study analyses the utility planning, environmental and economical effects of integrated power sector development at the national level in which the regional electric grids are developed and operated as one integrated system. It also examines the effects of selected CO₂ emission reduction targets in the power sector and the role of renewable power generation technologies in India. The study shows that the integrated development and operation of the power system at the national level would reduce the total cost including fuel cost by 4912 million $, total capacity addition by 2784 MW, while the emission of CO₂, SO₂ and NO_x would be reduced by 231.6 (1.9%), 0.8 (0.9%), 0.4 (1.2%) million tons, respectively, during the planning horizon. Furthermore, the study shows that the expected unserved energy, one of the indices of generation system reliability, would decrease to 26 GWh under integrated national power system from 5158 GWh. As different levels of CO₂ emission reduction targets were imposed, there is a switching of generation from conventional coal plants to gas fired plants, clean coal technologies and nuclear based plants. As a result the capacity expansion cost has increased. It was found that wind power plant is most attractive and economical in the Indian perspective among the renewable options considered (Solar, wind and biomass). Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing terrestrial wildlife populations in the Toronto and Region Area of Concern

Beneficial use impairments (BUIs) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement identify environmental issues requiring remedial action within the Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs). We conducted this study to support the assessment of the wildlife component of BUI 3: degradation of fish and wildlife populations. We compared bird and amphibian (frogs and toads) data from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s Terrestrial Long-term Monitoring Program in the Toronto and Region AOC to an adjacent, but otherwise similar, reference watershed, Duffins Creek. Twelve of 13 targets were met within the AOC for forest bird, wetland bird, meadow bird and amphibian populations based on averages of mean annual values at sites within the AOC that were within two standard deviations of averages at sites in the Duffins Creek reference watershed between 2008 and 2017. Even though wildlife populations within the AOC were within the normal range of variability expected from a reference watershed, they were often at lower levels than within the Duffins Creek reference watershed. In addition, forest bird and amphibian populations were negatively affected by urbanization within the AOC and meadow bird indices declined. We conclude that while wildlife populations within the AOC currently meet targets for BUI 3, they continue to be negatively impacted by numerous stressors that are primarily related to past and ongoing urbanization. Thus, continued restoration of wildlife habitat and protection of existing habitat within the AOC is highly recommended.     

Seasonal variation in light penetration and subsurface chlorophyll-α in southern Lake Michigan observed by a glider

The Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) in collaboration with the Great Lakes Observing System and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (NOAA GLERL) deployed an autonomous underwater glider in southern Lake Michigan several times per year between 2012 and 2019 to collect offshore (>30 m depth) limnological measurements, including temperature, photosynthetically active radiation (beginning during 2015), and chlorophyll-α fluorescence. From these data, we calculated mixed layer depth, several measures of light penetration (diffuse attenuation coefficient, first optical depth, euphotic zone depth), and depth of the subsurface chlorophyll-α maxima. During summer, mean offshore mixed layer depth was typically 10–15 m, K_d for PAR was 0.1–0.17 m^?1, first optical depth was 6–9 m, euphotic zone depth was 35–40 m, and depth of subsurface chlorophyll-α maxima was 30–35 m. We also observed substantial spatial and temporal variation in these values across the basin and within and among seasons. Glider-based observations provide a wider horizontal and vertical perspective than other methods (e.g., ship- and satellite-based observations, buoys, and fixed moorings), and are therefore a valuable, complementary tool for Great Lakes limnology. The set of observations reported here provide seasonal and basin-scale information that may help to identify anomalies useful for future glider-assisted investigation into the role of biophysical processes in Great Lakes limnology and ecology.     

Synchronization of Multiple Camera Videos Using Audio-Visual Features

Digital video capturing is getting popular with the decreasing price of camcorders and the increasing availability of devices with embedded video cameras such as digital-still cameras, mobile phones and PDAs. While a raw home video is considered as visually non-appealing, having multiple recordings of the same event provides the opportunity to combine audio and video segments from different cameras for improving quality and aesthetics. Mixing content from different recordings requires precise synchronization among the recordings. In most present applications, synchronization is done manually and considered as a very tedious task. In this paper, we propose a novel automated synchronization approach based on detecting and matching audio and video features extracted from the recorded content. We assess experimentally three realizations of this approach on a common data set and make recommendations on the usability of the different realizations in practical use cases. The realizations have no limitations on the number and movement of the cameras. Moreover, they are robust against various ambient noises and audio-visual artifacts occurring during the recordings.     

考虑环保因素的最小费用电源规划研究

介绍电力部门降低污染物排放的必要性、可行性以及需要采取的一些措施，并介绍由泰国亚洲理工大学（AIT）开发的考虑环保因素的综合资源规划软件(IRPA)及其规划思路、所需数据和特点。对我国某省2003年～2017年的电力发展进行了规划研究。     

Revealing Differential Expression of Phytohormones in Sorghum in Response to Aphid Attack Using the Metabolomics Approach

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is an important multipurpose crop grown worldwide, but like many other crops, it is often threatened by insect pests. Sugarcane aphid (SCA, Melanaphis sacchari Zehntner), for example, is one of the most severe pests in sorghum, which causes plant damage and yield loss. The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of phytohormones on host plant resistance to aphid attack. Two sorghum genotypes, BTx623 (susceptible) and Tx2783 (resistant), were selected for a comparative analysis of differential expression of a group of phytohormones in response to aphid infestation. The quantification of phytohormones through LC-MS demonstrated higher levels of jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), abscisic acid (ABA), and auxins in the resistant genotype infested with SCA. The PCA plot supports the strong differential responses between resistant and susceptible genotypes, indicating a positive correlation between JA and ABA and a negative correlation between SA and auxins. Similarly, RT-PCR results of the phytohormones-related marker genes showed higher expression in the resistant genotype compared to the susceptible one. Furthermore, to corroborate the role of phytohormones in plant defense, the susceptible genotype was treated with SA, JA, and ABA. The exogenous application of SA and JA + ABA significantly reduced plant mortality, aphid number, and damage in the susceptible genotype, suggesting a strong correlation between phytohormones and plant survival. Our findings indicate that phytohormones play positive roles in plant defense against aphids and provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms operating in plants for self-protection. These findings could also stimulate further research into the mystery about the regulation of phytohormone production during plant interaction with aphids.     

Three-dimensional echo-planar cine imaging of cerebral blood supply using arterial spin labeling

Objective

Echo-planar imaging (EPI) with CYlindrical Center-out spatiaL Encoding (EPICYCLE) is introduced as a novel hybrid three-dimensional (3D) EPI technique. Its suitability for the tracking of a short bolus created by pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) through the cerebral vasculature is demonstrated.

Materials and methods

EPICYCLE acquires two-dimensional planes of k-space along center-out trajectories. These “spokes” are rotated from shot to shot about a common axis to encode a k-space cylinder. To track a bolus of labeled blood, the same subset of evenly distributed spokes is acquired in a cine fashion after a short period of pCASL. This process is repeated for all subsets to fill the whole 3D k-space of each time frame.

Results

The passage of short pCASL boluses through the vasculature of a 3D imaging slab was successfully imaged using EPICYCLE. By choosing suitable sequence parameters, the impact of slab excitation on the bolus shape could be minimized. Parametric maps of signal amplitude, transit time, and bolus width reflected typical features of blood transport in large vessels.

Conclusion

The EPICYCLE technique was successfully applied to track a short bolus of labeled arterial blood during its passage through the cerebral vasculature.

     

Spray Drying of Skim Milk Mixed with Milk Permeate: Effect on Drying Behavior,Physicochemical Properties,and Storage Stability of Powder

The possibility of using milk permeate (MP) to lower the protein level of skim milk powder (SMP) in producing powders of 34% and lower protein is explored. Skim milk suspensions with various levels of MP were prepared by mixing SMP and MP powder (MPP) at the ratios of 1:0, 7:3, 3:7, and 0:1: from 34 to 5.3% protein. The suspensions were dried in a spray dryer with inlet and outlet temperatures of 180 and 80°C, respectively. Increasing permeate concentration in the mixture showed a greater tendency to stickiness manifested by lowered the cyclone recovery of the powder as more powder stuck on the wall of the dryer. Increasing permeate concentration in the resultant powder did not significantly affect the bulk density but led to a reduction in the particle size and also made the powder slight green and yellowish in color. It also found to lower the glass transition temperature (T_g ) of the skim milk powder (SMP) and induce crystallization of lactose at lower water activity (a_w  ≥ 0.328 for SMP:MPP of 3:7 and 0:1 compared to a_w  ≥ 0.0.432 for SMP:MPP of 1:0 and 3:7). Addition of MP in SMP lowered the T_g values of the resulting powders. The permeate fraction in spray-dried SMP/MPP mixtures found to lower the critical a_w and moisture content, suggesting the SMP mixed with MPP is more likely to become sticky than SMP alone (at 34% protein) when stored at a similar water activity and moisture content.