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During the past two decades, a number of two-terminal switching devices have been demonstrated in the literature. They typically exhibit hysteric behavior in the current-to-voltage characteristics. These devices have often been also referred to as memristive devices. Their capacity to switch and exhibit electrical hysteresis has made them well-suited for applications such as data storage, in-memory computing, and in-sensor computing or in-memory sensing. The aim of this perspective paper is to is twofold. Firstly, it seeks to provide a comprehensive examination of the existing research findings in the field and engage in a critical discussion regarding the potential for the development of new non-Von-Neumann computing machines that can seamlessly integrate sensing and computing within memory units. Secondly, this paper aims to demonstrate the practical application of such an innovative approach in the realm of cancer medicine. Specifically, it explores the modern concept of employing multiple cancer markers simultaneously to enhance the efficiency of diagnostic processes in cancer medicine.

Droplet-based microfluidics is a modular platform in high-throughput single-cell and small sample analyses. However, this droplet microfluidic system was widely fabricated using soft lithography or glass capillaries, which is expensive and technically demanding for various applications, limiting use in resource-poor settings. Besides, the variation in droplet size is also restricted due to the limitations on the operating forces that the paper-based platform is able to withstand. Herein, we develop a fully integrated paper-based droplet microfluidic platform for conducting droplet generation and cell encapsulation in independent aqueous droplets dispersed in a carrier oil by incorporating electric fields. Through imposing an electric field, the droplet size would decrease with increasing the electric field and smaller droplets can be produced at high applied voltage. The droplet diameter can be adjusted by the ratio of inner and outer flow velocities as well as the applied electric field. We also demonstrated the proof of concept encapsulation application of our paper device by encapsulating yeast cells under an electric field. Using a simple wax printing method, carbon electrodes can be integrated on the paper. The integrated paper-based microfluidic platform can be fabricated easily and conducted outside of centralized laboratories. This microfluidic system shows great potential in drug and cell investigations by encapsulating cells in resource-limited environments., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

HVPE is an excellent and often overlooked method for obtaining objective and meaningful information about cell-wall "building blocks" and their metabolic precursors. It provides not only a means of analysis of known compounds but also an insight into the charge and/or mass of any unfamiliar compounds that may be encountered. It can be used preparatively or analytically. It can achieve either "class separations" (e.g., delivering all hexose monophosphates into a single pool) or the resolution of different compounds within a given class (e.g., ADP-Glc from UDP-Glc; or GlcA from GalA).All information from HVPE about charge and mass can be obtained on minute traces of analytes, especially those that have been radiolabeled, for example by in-vivo feeding of a 3 H- or 14 C-labeled precursor. HVPE does not usually damage the substance under investigation (unless staining is used), so samples of interest can be eluted intact from the paper ready for further analysis. Although HVPE is a technique that has been available for several decades, recently it has tended to be sidelined, possible because the apparatus is not widely available. Interested scientists are invited to contact the author about the possibility of accessing the Edinburgh apparatus.

There is a large global effort to improve microbial fuel cell (MFC) techniques and advance their translational potential toward practical, real-world applications. Significant boosts in MFC performance can be achieved with the development of new techniques in synthetic biology that can regulate microbial metabolic pathways or control their gene expression. For these new directions, a high-throughput and rapid screening tool for microbial biopower production is needed. In this work, a 48-well, paper-based sensing platform was developed for the high-throughput and rapid characterization of the electricity-producing capability of microbes. 48 spatially distinct wells of a sensor array were prepared by patterning 48 hydrophilic reservoirs on paper with hydrophobic wax boundaries. This paper-based platform exploited the ability of paper to quickly wick fluid and promoted bacterial attachment to the anode pads, resulting in instant current generation upon loading of the bacterial inoculum. We validated the utility of our MFC array by studying how strategic genetic modifications impacted the electrochemical activity of various Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutant strains. Within just 20 minutes, we successfully determined the electricity generation capacity of eight isogenic mutants of P. aeruginosa. These efforts demonstrate that our MFC array displays highly comparable performance characteristics and identifies genes in P. aeruginosa that can trigger a higher power density.

Under the background of cap-and-trade mechanisms, this article constructs a game model of the electricity supply chain, which is dominated by electricity generators and followed by electricity sellers, taking into account the situation of electricity generators investing in renewable energy and energy storage under the grandfathering mechanism (GM) and benchmarking mechanism (BM). By comparing the equilibrium solutions in different cases, the research finds that (1) compared with the grandfathering mechanism, the benchmarking mechanism has more investment in renewable energy and higher energy storage quality; (2) in the consumer market, compared with GM, the electricity price and the electricity demand are higher under BM; (3) an increase in the renewable energy preference coefficient or carbon price will lead to an increase in the electricity wholesale price, renewable energy investment, energy storage quality, electricity price, and electricity demand. Further, an increase in the energy storage cost coefficient or renewable energy investment cost coefficient will result in lower electricity wholesale price, renewable energy investment, energy storage quality, electricity price, and electricity demand; and (4) the profit of the generator under GM is higher than that under BM when the total carbon quota is larger, while the profit of the generator under BM is higher than that under GM when the unit carbon quota is larger., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The efficiency of a bioelectrochemical treatment system (BET) to treat complex paper and pulp wastewater at two different pH conditions (6 and 7) in comparison with conventional anaerobic treatment process (AnT) was evaluated. Among the operating conditions, BET showed good treatment efficiency at pH 7 in terms of COD (BET/AnT: 55%/51%), nitrates (33.5%/19.1%), phosphates (33%/19%) and sulfates (58%/41%) in removal. The effluent obtained from BET system was subjected to coagulation for further treatment which showed good COD removal (BET/AnT, 95%/69%) and color (100%/68%). Bioelectrochemical analysis revealed higher catalytic currents in BET than AnT specific to oxidation and reduction. Besides, derivative of cyclic voltammetric scans (DCV) also supported the involvement of various membrane bound electron transferring complexes like FAD(H) bound enzymes, ubiquinone, NADH(+)/H(+) bound enzymes, etc. Experimental results demonstrated that BET system can be a viable platform to treat complex wastewaters with simultaneous energy recovery in integrated approach., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Compared with traditional drug delivery methods, transdermal drug delivery has many advantages in avoiding the side effects in gastrointestinal tract, reducing the fluctuations in drug concentration, and improving patients' compliance. Among them, electrically controlled drug delivery is a promising solution. This work presents a wireless, battery-free and wearable device with electrically controlled drug delivery capability. The electronic component of the device is a flexible circuit board with a temperature sensor and a near-field communication module. With the help of smartphone, the device could wirelessly obtain energy and implement data transmission. The drug delivery component is a paper-based electrode modified with polypyrrole, in which non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug sodium salicylate was encapsulated. The applied potential for electrically controlled drug delivery was more negative than -0.6 V. The drug release dose and release rates could be controlled by applying potentials with different amplitudes and durations through this device. It provided a minimalized wearable transdermal drug delivery platform for monitoring diseases such as gout. This wearable device shows promising potential in develop closed-loop drug delivery and monitoring systems for the treatment of various diseases.

Gold is among the highly conductive and stable materials, which are ideal anodes for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). However, previous studies have shown that bare gold surface is recalcitrant for the colonization of some exoelectrogens, e.g., Shewanella putrefacians. In this work, the problem regarding the poor bio-compatibility of gold as an anode material was sorted out through coupling it with carbon paper. A new composite anode material was fabricated through sputtering gold layer homogeneously on carbon paper matrix. Results of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in Fe(CN)6(3-/4-) solution demonstrated better electrochemical performance of the carbon paper-gold (C-Au) composite than either carbon paper or bare gold, when they were used in MFCs. With Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 as the inoculum, the C-Au anode-based MFC produced total electric charges higher than the carbon-paper-anode-based MFC by 47%. The cyclic voltammetry analysis and the scanning electron microscopy observation showed that the MR-1 biofilm growth was accelerated when the carbon paper surface was sputtered with gold. Utilization of such a carbon paper-gold composite significantly enhanced the MFC performance., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Attributable to the prosperous production growth of palm oil in Malaysia, the generated palm oil mill effluent (POME) poses a high threat owing to its highly polluted characteristic. Urged by the escalating concern of environmental conservation, POME pollution abatement and potential energy recovery from the effluent are flagged up as a research topic of interest. In this study, a cutting-edge photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) system with employment of ZnO/Zn nanorod array (NRA) photoanode, CuO/Cu cathode, and persulfate (PS) oxidant was successfully designed to improve the treatment of POME and simultaneous energy production. The photoelectrodes were fabricated and characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller analysis (BET). Owing to the properties of strong oxidant of PS, the proposed PFC/PS system has exhibited exceptional performance, attaining chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of 96.2%, open circuit voltage (V oc ) of 740.0 mV, short circuit current density (J sc ) of 146.7 μA cm -2 , and power density (P max ) of 35.6 μW cm -2 . The pre-eminent PFC/PS system performance was yielded under optimal conditions of 2.5 mM of persulfate oxidant, POME dilution factor of 1:20, and natural solution pH of 8.51. Subsequently, the postulated photoelectrocatalytic POME treatment mechanism was elucidated by the radical scavenging study and Mott-Schottky (M-S) analysis. The following recycling test affirmed the stability and durability of the photoanode after four continuous repetition usages while the assessed electrical energy efficiency revealed the economic viability of PFC system serving as a post-treatment for abatement of POME. These findings contributed toward enhancing the sustainability criteria and economic viability of palm oil by adopting sustainable and efficient POME post-treatment technology., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Microstickies deposits on both paper machine and paper products when it agglomerates under step change in ionic strength, pH, temperature and chemical additives. These stickies increase the down time of the paper mill and decrease the quality of paper. The key property of microstickies is its smaller size, which leads to low removal efficiency and difficulties in measurement. Thus the increase of microstickies size help improve both removal efficiency and reduce measurement difficulty. In this paper, a new agglomeration technology based on electric field was investigated. The electric treatment could also increase the size of stickies particles by around 100 times. The synergetic effect between electric field treatment and detacky chemicals/dispersants, including polyvinyl alcohol, poly(diallylmethylammonium chloride) and lignosulfonate, was also studied.

From a spatial perspective, this paper constructs a spatial Durbin model based on the adjacent weight matrix to analyze the impact of environmental regulation on the development of renewable energy in 30 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) in China from 2007 to 2020. The results show that (1) both environmental regulation and renewable energy development have positive spatial autocorrelation and form relatively similar spatial agglomeration areas, specifically showing the characteristics of "high-high" agglomeration in resource-rich areas and "low-low" agglomeration in resource-scarce areas. (2) Environmental regulation significantly promotes the development of local renewable energy and has a significant spatial spillover effect on the development of renewable energy in neighboring provinces. (3) The moderating effect results show that renewable energy installed capacity and electricity demand play an inverse moderating role between environmental regulation and renewable energy development. (4) From the perspective of different regions, the impact of environmental regulation on the development of renewable energy is heterogeneous. Based on the research conclusions, this paper finally provides corresponding policy suggestions from three aspects: regional cooperation, technical support, and differentiation., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: High permittivity dielectric pads are known to be effective for tailoring the RF field and improving image quality in high field MRI. Despite a number of studies reporting benign specific absorption rate (SAR) effects, their "universal" safety remains an open concern. In this work, we evaluate the impact of the insulation material in between the pad and the body, using both RF simulations as well as phantom experiments., Methods: A 3T configuration with high permittivity material was simulated and characterized experimentally in terms of B 1 + fields and RF power absorption, both with and without electrical insulation in between the high permittivity material and the sample. Different insulation conditions were compared, and electromagnetic analyses on the induced current density were performed to elucidate the effect., Results: Increases in RF heating of up to 49% were observed experimentally in a tissue-mimicking phantom after removing the material insulation. The B 1 + magnitude and RF transceive phase were not affected. Simulations indicated that an insulation thickness of 0.5-2 mm should be accounted for in numerical models in order to ensure reliable results., Conclusion: A reliable RF safety assessment of high permittivity dielectric pads requires accounting for the insulating properties of the plastic encasing. Ignoring the electrical insulation can lead to erroneous results with substantial increases in local SAR at the interface. Conversely, the material insulation does not need to be modeled to predict the B 1 + effects during the design of the pad geometry., (© 2023 The Authors. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.)

Highly stretchable graphene-nanocellulose composite nanopaper is fabricated for strain-sensor applications. Three-dimensional macroporous nanopaper from crumpled graphene and nanocellulose is embedded in elastomer matrix to achieve stretchability up to 100%. The stretchable graphene nanopaper is demonstrated for efficient human-motion detection applications., (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Large-scale wind power integration has raised concerns about the reliability and stability of power systems. The rotor circuit of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) is highly vulnerable to unexpected voltage dips, which can cause considerable electromotive force in the circuit. Consequently, the DFIG must fulfil the fault-ride through (FRT) criteria to ensure the system's performance and contribute to voltage regulation during severe grid outages. This paper provides a hybrid solution for DFIG wind turbines with FRT capabilities, using both a modified switch-type fault current limiter (MSFTCL) and a direct current (DC) chopper. The proposed system has the merit of keeping the rotor current and the DC-link voltage within the permissible limits, enhancing the FRT capability of generators. Moreover, the boundness of supply voltage into its reference value ensures dynamic stability during symmetric and asymmetric grid failures. Further, electromagnetic torque variations are significantly reduced during fault events. Finally, the performance validation of the proposed scheme is performed in a simulation setup, and the results are compared with the existing sliding mode control (SMC) and proportional-integral (PI) controller-based approaches. The comparison results show that a hybrid strategy with advanced controllers provides superior performance for all critical parameters.

Bangladesh government is in the final stage of setting up one nuclear power plant with two units at Rooppur, Ishwardi, each having 1200 MW capacity, to be launched in 2023 to meet the energy shortage urgently. The financial cost of the project is the US $12.65 billion. The primary purpose of this paper is to calculate the economic cost of setting up this plant by using the estimation method developed by Du and Parsons (2009), MIT (2003; 2009; 2018), and Singh et al.  (2018). It has been found that the economic cost is amounted to 9.36 cents/kWh for the capacity of 2400 MW. In contrast, for a similar plant in Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu, India, the corresponding cost figure is 5.36 cents/kWh for 2000 MW. Even though it seems costlier than India, the study suggests that policymakers should prefer nuclear power, as it is cost-competitive, considering the production cost of other electricity facilities. The main advantage of nuclear power is cost-competitive baseload power generation with zero carbon emission. This nuclear power plant (NPP) project is expected to boost the energy sector of Bangladesh by transforming the country from an energy deficit country into an energy surplus country., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Because nanomaterials are highly reactive and electronically sensitive towards a variety of drug molecules, they are thought of as efficient drug sensors. In the present research study, an aluminum carbide (C 3 Al) monolayer is employed and its interaction is examined with cyclophosphamide (CP) by performing DFT computations. The C 3 Al monolayer is highly reactive and sensitive towards CP according to the computations. CP interacts with the C 3 Al monolayer with the adsorption energy of -31.39 kcal/mol. A considerable charge transfer (CT) indicates an enhancement in the conductivity. Also, the charge density is explained based on the electron density differences (EDD). The decrease in CP/C 3 Al energy gap (E g ) by approximately 52.91% is due to the remarkable effect of adsorption on the LUMO and the HOMO levels. Therefore, due to the decrease in E g which can generate an electrical signal, the electrical conductivity is considerably increased. These results suggest that the C 3 Al monolayer can be employed as a proper electronic drug sensor for CP. Also, the recovery time for the desorption process of CP form the surface of C 3 Al is 351 s at 598 K., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The rapid urbanization and industrialization of India have caused a demand-supply gap in the electrical sector, leading to higher electric bills. Lower-income households face the worst energy poverty in the country. Sustainable strategies like corporate social responsibility are the most effective way to combat the energy crisis. This study aims to assess the contribution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to energy poverty alleviation (EPA) by developing the role of mediating variables such as assessment of renewable energy resource (RER), feasibility of sustainable energy supply (SES), and sustainable energy development (SED). We used hybrid research methodology such as partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the collected data from professionals, economic experts, and directors in the country in 2022. The study proved that CSR directly affects energy poverty alleviation. Besides, the findings suggest RER, SES, and SED significantly lead the energy poverty alleviation. The findings of this study will divert the attention of policymakers, stakeholders, and economists toward the corporate social responsibility to mitigate the energy crisis in Indian context. A mediating role of a renewable energy resource (RER) as a value-added contribution to this study can be strengthened more in future research. Based on the results, the study illustrates that CSR acts as a catalyst to alleviate energy poverty., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

As modern society becomes ever more dependent on the availability of electric power, the costs that could arise from individual and social vulnerability to large outages of long duration (LLD-outages) increases. During such an outage, even a small amount of power would be very valuable. This article compares individual and collective strategies for providing limited amounts of electric power to residential customers in a hypothetical New England community during a large electric power outage of long duration. We develop estimates of the emergency load required for survival and assess the cost of strategies to address outages that last 5, 10, and 20 days in either winter or summer. We find that the cost of collective solutions could be as much as 10 to 40 times less than individual solutions (less than $2 per month per home). However, collective solutions would require community-wide coordination, and if local distribution system lines are destroyed, only individual back-up systems could provide contingency power until those lines are repaired. Costs might be reduced if more robust distributed generation were employed that could be operated continuously with the ability to sell power back to the grid. Our cost-effectiveness analysis only assesses what could be done, developing estimates of preparedness cost. A decision about what should be done would require additional input from a range of stakeholders as well as some form of analytical deliberative process., (© 2021 Society for Risk Analysis.)

Since the discovery that applying electrical stimulation can promote cell growth, proliferation, and tissue regeneration, research on bio-piezoelectric materials is being actively conducted. In this study, a composite material was prepared by mixing polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a conventional piezoelectric polymer, and silk fibroin (SF), a natural piezoelectric material that recently attracting attention. These two polymers were fabricated into a composite fiber mat using electrospinning technology. To find optimal conditions, SF was added in various ratios to prepare electrospun PVDF/SF mats. The characteristics of these PVDF/SF composite mats were then analyzed through various evaluations and in vitro studies. It was confirmed that PVDF and SF were successfully mixed through scanning electron microscope images and structural analysis such as x-ray diffractometer and Fourier transform infrared. The results revealed that adding an appropriate amount of SF could improve the tensile strength, enhance cell proliferation rate, and generate a voltage similar to that of a conventional PVDF-only electrospinning mat. Such fabricated electrospun PVDF/SF composite mats are expected to be useful in the bio-piezoelectric field because they can maintain piezoelectricity while compensating for the shortcomings, such as low physical properties, of a PVDF electrospun mat., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Injury prevention is an important goal for electric utility line workers who are among the top 10 U.S. occupational groups sustaining fatal injuries on the job., Methods: Using narrative text fields, we identified 10 high-risk tasks among electric utility line workers. We performed a case-control study of task-injury associations using data from the Electric Power Research Institute Occupational Health and Safety Database (1995-2013)., Results: Drawn from 12,323 line worker injuries, cases were individuals with a major injury (5 or more days lost work) matched to controls, individuals with a minor injury (less than 1 day lost work), on company and year of injury. Conditional logistic regression estimated adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Some tasks associated with higher odds for major injuries among line workers included: climbing up/down ladder/stairs/elevator (OR = 4.3; 95% CI = 2.6, 7.4); climbing down poles and transmission towers (OR = 5.5; 95% CI = 3.6, 8.4); entering/stepping out/approaching utility trucks, bucket, or vaults (OR = 5.8; 95% CI = 4.0, 8.4); and performing repetitive work/overtime (OR = 5.5; 95% CI = 3.2, 9.5)., Conclusions: Knowledge gained can be used to focus efforts and plan efficient preventive measures that reduce injury rates, time lost from work, and costs within the electric power industry., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

In the last decade India has seen an increase in the adoption of solar energy-based technologies by consumers, which has been supported by various government efforts and policies. The rural areas and low-income households that lack a proper electricity supply have emerged as a market for solar off-grid technologies, with private developers increasing their market base slowly in this group. This has promulgated the need to restructure the decentralized energy sector. Existing literature points out the suitability of solar off-grid in such markets; the present study investigates the challenges that have hindered its growth. The study reviews the concept of poverty with respect to the energy sector and analyzes methods of determining poor energy access in the present scenario. It emphasizes the need to understand and reconceptualize policy instruments in order to make solar off-grid a powerful tool in tackling energy demand and providing adequate energy access. It further explores the causes of energy disconnects and how grid-independent solar energy is a technological solution of utmost relevance and in consonance with the idea of sustainable development. For a successful venture, both consumer behavior and marketer objectives are important determinants. The work also provides insights into various models, tools, factors, and social constructs that affect consumer perception and subsequently demand. Over the course of the study, it has been revealed how private players and entrepreneurs are tapping the wrong solar market, leading to misappropriation of solar energy technologies. The suggested improvements and recommendations of the present study from the analysis can serve as a guide for policy makers, technological innovators, and financial stakeholders. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:364-375. © 2020 SETAC., (© 2020 SETAC.)

Water is the most fundamental need for better yield in agriculture. Worldwide, diesel and electricity are typically used to pump water which contributes to atmospheric pollution. Besides, a power outage affects the irrigation process badly. Without water, the crop may wither away, causing a substantial economic loss. This paper discusses the resilience of a solar PV system during a power outage. HOMER Pro software was used to perform the techno-economic analysis of solar-based irrigation for four major divisions of Bangladesh, while 1-hour power outage was assigned in REopt lite to model the survivability of the system against the grid outage. The simulation outcomes showed that the energy cost is $0.1496/kWh, $0.1502/kWh, $0.1557/kWh, and $0.1576/kWh for Rajshahi, Sylhet, Dhaka, and Chattogram, respectively. About 45% of excess electricity can be stored after fulfilling all requirements. The system is more economical than a microgrid-based water pumping system and a diesel-based system, and the photovoltaic system is technically and economically suitable to pump water if the nearest grid connection is impossible. When connected to the main utility grid, the system can survive without grid power for several hours, subject to daytime outages., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

With the development of green logistics and the promotion of new energy vehicle development policies domestically and abroad, electric vehicles have been put into logistics and distribution as an alternative to traditional fuel vehicles. The Electric Vehicle Routing Problem (EVRP) has attracted widespread attention from the academic community. This paper comprehensively examines the latest research progress on electric vehicle routing models and solution algorithms in logistics and distribution. Firstly briefly introduces EVRP models considering battery losses; secondly, based on the composition of the EVRP objective function and constraints, EVRP models are classified into four types: EVRP considering load and battery life constraints, EVRP with a time window and considering charging strategies, the study of vehicle routing problems for hybrid fleets, and EVRP combined with charging/swapping station location. Then, briefly introduce exact algorithms, traditional heuristics, meta-heuristics, and hybrid algorithms for solving EVRP models. Moreover, it analyzes the main meta-heuristics that are more widely used. Finally, this review points out the development trend of EVRP theoretical methods., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The study examines the effects of electricity consumption from different sectors such as agricultural, commercial, domestic, industrial (HV), industrial (LV-MV) and miscellaneous sectors on economic growth over the period of 1981-2019 in the case of India. We used SVAR framework and concluded that the consumption of electricity from agriculture sector has a negative impact on economic growth, whereas the industrial (HV and MV-LV) and commercial electricity consumption has positive impact on economic growth. Similarly, electricity consumption by the domestic sector has less positive effect on economic growth. Further, we computed the total factor productivity growth (TFP) by using the DEA method and showed the effects of sector-wise electricity consumption on TFP as the robustness of our analysis. We obtain similar kind of results. From the policy perceptive, the study suggests that the government must speed up the construction of a power grid to improve the availability of electricity for achieving higher rate of economic growth., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Many cell types migrate in response to naturally generated electric fields. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the external application of an electric field may be used to intervene in and optimize natural processes such as wound healing. Precise cell guidance suitable for such optimization may rely on predictive models of cell migration, which do not generalize. Here, we present a machine learning model that can forecast directedness of cell migration given a timeseries of previous directedness and electric field values. This model is trained using time series galvanotaxis data of mammalian cranial neural crest cells obtained through time-lapse microscopy of cells cultured at 37 °C in a galvanotaxis chamber at ambient pressure. Next, we show that our modeling approach can be used for a variety of cell types and experimental conditions with very limited training data using transfer learning methods. We adapt the model to predict cell behavior for keratocytes (room temperature, ~ 18-20 °C) and keratinocytes (37 °C) under similar experimental conditions with a small dataset (~ 2-5 cells). Finally, this model can be used to perform in silico studies by simulating cell migration lines under time-varying and unseen electric fields. We demonstrate this by simulating feedback control on cell migration using a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. This data-driven approach provides predictive models of cell migration that may be suitable for designing electric field based cellular control mechanisms for applications in precision medicine such as wound healing., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Thermoelectric materials can be potentially employed in solid-state devices that harvest waste heat and convert it to electrical power, thereby improving the efficiency of fuel utilization. The spectacular increases in the efficiencies of these materials achieved over the past decade have raised expectations regarding the use of thermoelectric generators in various energy saving and energy management applications, especially at mid to high temperature (400-900 °C). However, several important issues that prevent successful thermoelectric generator commercialization remain unresolved, in good part because of the lack of a research roadmap., (© 2021. Springer Nature Limited.)

The need for power is rising on a daily basis all across the world. Due to the finite supply of fossil fuels, it is critical to develop innovative non-renewable energy systems that can reduce reliance on conventional energy sources. A hybrid off-grid renewable energy system might be utilized to reduce reliance on traditional energy supplies, and to enhance the reliability of the renewable energy system. The process of selecting the appropriate combinations of components and their costs in order to produce an affordable, dependable, and effective alternative energy supply is known as hybrid system optimization. Hybrid energy technology can meet the energy needs of community very effectively. The goal of improving hybrid energy system control, size, and component selection is to offer society with a cost-effective electric power solution. The main aim of this paper is to use the proposed algorithm, i.e., hybrid chaotic particle swarm optimization and slime mould algorithm (HCPSOSMA), and Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) Software (Version 3.14.0) to minimize the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) supply and annualized cost system (ACS). The findings show that the proposed algorithm has an excellent convergence characteristic and the capacity to provide high-quality output. According to the simulation findings, the suggested off-grid-connected hybrid (solar PV/biomass/FC) power system is the most suitable and cost-effective option for the selected location, Patiala in Indian sub-continent., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is used to remove organic pollutants while generating electricity. Biocathode plays as an efficient electrocatalyst for accelerating the Oxidation Reduction Reaction (ORR) of oxygen in MFC. This study integrated biocathode into a single-chamber microbial fuel cell (BSCMFC) to produce electricity from an organic substrate using aerobic activated sludge to gain more insights into anodic and cathodic biofilms. The maximum power density, current density, chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, and coulombic efficiency were 0.593 W m -3 , 2.6 A m -3 , 83 ± 8.4%, and 22 ± 2.5%, respectively. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced by biofilm from the biocathode were higher than the bioanode. Infrared spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) examined confirmed the presence of biofilm by the adhesion on electrodes. The dominant phyla in bioanode were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, while the dominant phylum in the biocathode was Proteobacteria. Therefore, this study demonstrates the applicable use of BSCMFC for bioelectricity generation and pollution control., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

A vast array of microorganisms from all three domains of life can produce electrical current and transfer electrons to the anodes of different types of bioelectrochemical systems. These exoelectrogens are typically iron-reducing bacteria, such as Geobacter sulfurreducens, that produce high power densities at moderate temperatures. With the right media and growth conditions, many other microorganisms ranging from common yeasts to extremophiles such as hyperthermophilic archaea can also generate high current densities. Electrotrophic microorganisms that grow by using electrons derived from the cathode are less diverse and have no common or prototypical traits, and current densities are usually well below those reported for model exoelectrogens. However, electrotrophic microorganisms can use diverse terminal electron acceptors for cell respiration, including carbon dioxide, enabling a variety of novel cathode-driven reactions. The impressive diversity of electroactive microorganisms and the conditions in which they function provide new opportunities for electrochemical devices, such as microbial fuel cells that generate electricity or microbial electrolysis cells that produce hydrogen or methane.

The growing use of information and communication technologies (ICT) has the potential to increase productivity and improve energy efficiency. However, digital technologies also consume energy, resulting in a complex relationship between digitalization and energy demand and an uncertain net effect. To steer digital transformation towards sustainability, it is crucial to understand the conditions under which digital technologies increase or decrease firm-level energy consumption. This study examines the drivers of this relationship, focusing on German manufacturing firms and leveraging comprehensive administrative panel data from 2009 to 2017, analyzed using the Generalized Random Forest algorithm. Our results reveal that the relationship between digitalization and energy use at the firm level is heterogeneous. However, we find that digitalization more frequently increases energy use, mainly driven by a rise in electricity consumption. This increase is lower in energy-intensive industries and higher in markets with low competition. Smaller firms in structurally weak regions show higher energy consumption growth than larger firms in economically stronger regions. Our study contributes to the literature by using a non-parametric method to identify specific firm-level and external characteristics that influence the impact of digital technologies on energy demand, highlighting the need for carefully designed digitalization policies to achieve climate goals., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Distributed generation can actively participate in the day-ahead markets, real-time power balance, and wholesale gas markets to achieve various goals, such as supplying gas to various electric power generation plants. A multi-objective network with two types of loads is considered in this paper. The reason for the simultaneous optimization of these two networks is that these two energy carriers are dependent on each other and gas is needed to produce electricity, so this issue can be addressed with a multi-objective function. The simulation carried out in this article is coded in GAMS software as a mixed integer linear programming (MILP). The efficiency of gas turbines and fuel cells in this article is dependent on their working point, and considering the exact model of these resources and the relationships related to the calculation of their fuel consumption is non-linear. On the other hand, a binary variable has been used to show the charging and discharging state of the storage and the on-and-off state of the gas turbines. Therefore, the problem considered in this article is a MILP problem. The results of this article are the proper planning of charging and discharging of the energy storage system with the proper planning of the power generation of different energy sources considering the network loads in two optimized and non-optimized scenarios., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Behnia et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

China's renewable energy industry is facing the challenge of overcapacity. The environmental management literature suggests that consumers' participation in the green electricity market holds immense potential in addressing renewable energy consumption concerns. However, the question of how payment policies influence China's consumers' willingness to pay for green electricity remains unresolved. Based on 2854 valid questionnaires from a survey conducted in China's four first-tier cities in 2023, our research findings reveal: (1) While 97.9% of consumers express a willingness to use green electricity, only 63.1% are willing to pay a higher cost, indicating the existence of a "value-action" gap between environmental awareness and actual willingness to pay. (2) China's consumers' willingness to pay for green electricity is approximately 38.4 RMB per month. This figure has decreased by 5.7 RMB compared to our survey in 2019. (3) Consumers' willingness to pay will be influenced by the attitudes of those around them. (4) The voluntary payment policy positively impacts consumers' willingness to pay for green electricity. (5) Male, younger, lower education level, higher income, and larger household size consumers exhibit a higher willingness to pay. (6) Electricity price sensitivity weakens the impact of payment policies on willingness to pay., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study aims to investigate the effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) assisted OSA esterification treatment on the multi-scale structure and digestive properties of cassava starch and structure-digestion relationships. The degree of substitution (DS) of starch dually modified at 1.5-4.5 kV/cm was 37.6-55.3 % higher than that of starch modified by the conventional method. Compared with native starch, the resistant starch (RS) content of esterified starch treated with 3 kV/cm significantly increased by 17.13 %, whereas that of starch produced by the conventional method increased by only 5.91 %. Furthermore, assisted esterification at low electric fields (1.5-3 kV/cm) promotes ester carbonyl grafting on the surface of starch granules, increases steric hindrance and promotes the rearrangement of the amorphous regions of starch, which increases the density of the double-helical structure. These structural changes slow down starch digestion and increase the RS content. Therefore, this study presents a potential method for increasing the RS content of starch products using PEF to achieve the desired digestibility., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

With the continuous increase in air conditioning installations, the proportion of air conditioning electricity consumption to total electricity consumption is growing. Research on the decomposition of air conditioning electricity consumption is of great significance for assessing electricity usage, formulating electricity scheduling plans, and ensuring the stable operation of the power grid. Currently, typical day selection strategies for the decomposition of air conditioning electricity consumption often overlook the corresponding relationship between typical daily electricity consumption and temperature. Therefore, this paper proposes an air conditioning electricity consumption decomposition method based on the dependence between temperature and electricity consumption. This method filters typical days based on Copula-based dependence indicators and equiprobable ellipses, determines the baseline electricity consumption curve through model selection voting, and ultimately calculates the air conditioning electricity consumption. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by applying it to electricity consumption data in Fuzhou from 2019 to 2022., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Xun et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

As the share of air conditioning electricity consumption within total grid electricity consumption grows, the decomposition of such consumption becomes increasingly crucial for assessing electricity usage patterns, devising consumption scheduling strategies, and maintaining the stability of the power grid. Although there is a strong correlation between apparent temperature and air conditioning electricity consumption, the literature currently available seldom explores the impact of apparent temperature on this consumption. Moreover, there is a scarcity of effective assessment indices to evaluate the efficacy of air conditioning electricity consumption breakdown. This study introduces a method for decomposing electricity consumption from air conditioning units, utilizing effective duration as a basis to tackle these issues. By employing an apparent temperature model as a constraint, this approach identifies the effective operating time of air conditioning and constructs a constrained convex optimization problem to estimate air conditioning power usage. Additionally, a novel evaluation index for the effectiveness of air conditioning electricity consumption decomposition is proposed, which includes penalties for negative decomposed consumption, alongside the traditional consistency index. Comparative experiments are conducted using real electricity consumption data from Fujian Province. Empirical results indicate that the methodology for air conditioning electricity consumption decomposition presented in this paper aligns more closely with actual conditions. Furthermore, the evaluation metrics introduced for the decomposition of air conditioning electricity consumption are adept at precisely gauging the quality of the air conditioning electricity consumption data., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Xun et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Hydrogen, a clean and sustainable energy source, faces challenges from energy-intensive pre-processing technologies. This study explores the synergistic enhancement of active electric fields on enzymolysis of wheat straw and hydrogen production through dark fermentation. The active electric field enzymolysis system improved the adsorption capacity of wheat straw to cellulase, increasing cellulase activity by 18.0 %, causing a 39.1 % increase in reducing sugar content. In the active fermentation system, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 activity was enhanced in the first stage, increasing hydrogenase activity by 23.0 %, prolonging the first hydrogen production peak. Elevated reducing sugars were observed in the second stage, with Prevotella_9 and Bacteroides becoming the dominant hydrogen-producing bacteria in the third stage, leading to a second hydrogen production peak. Overall, cumulative hydrogen production was enhanced by 50.9 % compared to the control. The synergistic pretreatment with an active electric field and cellulase provides a novel approach for efficiently utilizing wheat straw., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Malan loess is a common engineering geological material in Northwest China, which is often used in many engineering constructions. In this paper, the electrical properties of loess under high temperature environment are studied, which provides theoretical basis for engineering construction. The remolded loess samples are heated by different temperatures between 25 and 900 °C under laboratory conditions. Then, the surface features and electrical properties are measured and analyzed. The major findings are as follows: (1) The effect of high temperature on different electrical parameters of loess is different. As temperature increases, a series of physicochemical reactions occur in the loess; as a result, the resistance and impedance of loess samples initially increase and then decrease. The temperature of change trend changes between 500 and 600 °C, which fits the normal distribution. The capacitance of loess decreases first and then slowly increases with increased temperature. The temperature of change trend changes between 200 and 300 °C. (2) The experimental results also show that frequency has an important effect on the measurement of electrical parameters. As the frequency increases, the resistance, capacitance, and impedance decrease. In addition, at high frequencies, the electrical properties of loess are basically not affected by temperature. Therefore, using a frequency of 100 Hz is more advantageous to study the variation law of the electrical properties of loess.

Electricity generation is the largest sector with decarbonization potential for China and the world. Based on the new emission factors, this paper aims to identify the structural and technological determinants of provincial carbon intensity in the electricity generation sector (CIE) using the multiplicative LMDI-II method. Results demonstrate that (1) China's overall CIE decreases by 7.3% in 2001-2015, and the research period can be divided into four stages according to CIE changes (i.e., rapid growth, rapid decline, slow growth, and transition). The CIE in the 12th FYP estimated in this paper, 24.9% lower than that using the emission factors from IPCC, is closer to China's actual situation. (2) There exists huge heterogeneity in the determinants of provincial CIE changes in four stages. CIE growth in the Northwest and Northeast is caused by the coal-dominated energy structure. CIE growth in the Southwest is attributed to the electricity structure effect, while that of the Coast region is caused by the geographic distribution effect. The electricity efficiency effect is attributed to the CIE growth for these regions and the Southwest should also place focus on the electricity trade effect. The impact of electricity trade-related factors depends on the region being a net exporter or importer of electricity. (3) To achieve carbon intensity reduction targets, 30 provinces are categorized into four types based on various combinations of structural and technological determinants. The findings provide insights into capturing future emission-mitigating focus as well as defining the emission-mitigating responsibilities between electricity exporters and importers in China.