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Today’s selection of DC buildings features a diverse set of electrical topologies and turnkey solutions, and each has specific design trade-offs and optimizations. Designers desperately need standardized metrics and procedures for measurement and verification (M&V) to analyze and compare the advantages of each DC solution to traditional AC building networks. This work develops the Measurement-Informed Modeling (MIM) method, which can be used to determine full-building efficiency and energy savings. The MIM M&V procedure develops a building model, and refines the model with metered data. This work demonstrates the MIM method by measuring the full-building efficiency of two DC buildings operated by the Institute of Building Research in Shenzhen, China. The MIM procedure can ultimately be used to compare and improve the efficiency of various DC topologies.

DC microgrids have become a prevalent topic in research in part due to the expected superior efficiency of DC/DC converters compared to their AC/DC counterparts. Although numerous side-by-side analyses have quantified the efficiency benefits of DC power distribution, these studies all modeled converter loss based on product data that varied in component quality and operating voltage. To establish a fair efficiency comparison, this work derives a formulaic loss model of a DC/DC and an AC/DC PFC boost converter. These converters are modeled with identical components and an equivalent input and output voltage. Simulated designs with real components show AC/DC boost converters between 100 W to 500 W having up to 2.5 times more loss than DC/DC boost converters. Although boost converters represent a fraction of electronics in buildings, these loss models can eventually work toward establishing a comprehensive model-based full-building analysis.

With the falling costs of solar arrays and battery storage and reduced reliability of the grid due to natural disasters, small-scale local generation and storage resources are beginning to proliferate. However, very few software options exist for integrated control of building loads, batteries and other distributed energy resources. The available software solutions on the market can force customers to adopt one particular ecosystem of products, thus limiting consumer choice, and are often incapable of operating independently of the grid during blackouts. In this paper, we present the &ldquo, Solar+ Optimizer&rdquo, (SPO), a control platform that provides demand flexibility, resiliency and reduced utility bills, built using open-source software. SPO employs Model Predictive Control (MPC) to produce real time optimal control strategies for the building loads and the distributed energy resources on site. SPO is designed to be vendor-agnostic, protocol-independent and resilient to loss of wide-area network connectivity. The software was evaluated in a real convenience store in northern California with on-site solar generation, battery storage and control of HVAC and commercial refrigeration loads. Preliminary tests showed price responsiveness of the building and cost savings of more than 10% in energy costs alone.

The development of cheaper, more efficient access to space is fundamental to the viability of many current and future ambitions for space exploitation and exploration. Vehicle concepts that combine...

The APPswe/PS1dE9 mouse (line 85) is a double transgenic model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with familial amyloid precursor protein and presenilin-1 mutations. These mice develop age-related behavioral changes reflective of the neuropsychiatric symptoms (altered anxiety-like behaviour, hyperactivity) and cognitive dysfunction (impaired learning and memory) observed in AD. The APPswe/PS1dE9 mouse has been used to examine the efficacy of therapeutic interventions on behaviour, despite previous difficulties in replicating behavioural phenotypes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish the reliability of these phenotypes by further characterizing the behaviour of male APPswe/PS1dE9 and wild-type mice between 7 and 14 months of age. Mice were tested on the open-field over 5-days to examine emotionality, locomotor activity and inter-session habituation. Mice were also tested on the repeated-reversal water maze task and spontaneous alternation on the Y-maze to assess working memory. Sensori-motor gating was examined with acoustic startle and pre-pulse inhibition. Lastly contextual and cued (trace) memory was assessed with fear conditioning. The results show that among non-cognitive behaviours, APPswe/PS1dE9 mice have normal locomotor activity, anxiety-like behavior, habituation and sensori-motor gating. However, APPswe/PS1dE9 mice show impaired working memory on the repeated-reversal water-maze and impaired memory in contextual but not trace-cued fear conditioning. These results indicate that the APPswe/PS1dE9 (line 85) mice have deficits in some types of hippocampal-dependent learning and memory and, at the ages tested, APPswe/PS1dE9 mice model cognitive dysfunction but not neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Behind-the-meter distributed energy resources (DERs), including building solar photovoltaic (PV) technology and electric battery storage, are increasingly being considered as solutions to support carbon reduction goals and increase grid reliability and resiliency. However, dynamic control of these resources in concert with traditional building loads, to effect efficiency and demand flexibility, is not yet commonplace in commercial control products. Traditional rule-based control algorithms do not offer integrated closed-loop control to optimize across systems, and most often, PV and battery systems are operated for energy arbitrage and demand charge management, and not for the provision of grid services. More advanced control approaches, such as MPC control have not been widely adopted in industry because they require significant expertise to develop and deploy. Recent advances in deep reinforcement learning (DRL) offer a promising option to optimize the operation of DER systems and building loads with reduced setup effort. However, there are limited studies that evaluate the efficacy of these methods to control multiple building subsystems simultaneously. Additionally, most of the research has been conducted in simulated environments as opposed to real buildings. This paper proposes a DRL approach that uses a deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm for integrated control of HVAC and electric battery storage systems in the presence of on-site PV generation. The DRL algorithm, trained on synthetic data, was deployed in a physical test building and evaluated against a baseline that uses the current best-in-class rule-based control strategies. Performance in delivering energy efficiency, load shift, and load shed was tested using price-based signals. The results showed that the DRL-based controller can produce cost savings of up to 39.6% as compared to the baseline controller, while maintaining similar thermal comfort in the building. The project team has also integrated the simulation components developed during this work as an OpenAIGym environment and made it publicly available so that prospective DRL researchers can leverage this environment to evaluate alternate DRL algorithms.

Historical distribution system reliability optimization approaches have relied on the creation of detailed feeder reliability models, which is extremely labor-intensive. This paper presents a reliability optimization approach using synthetic feeders that does not require creating a topologically-precise model, but can still perform an overall system assessment considering a wide range of reliability improvement options for far less modeling effort. The synthetic feeder approach is then applied to Hawaiian Electric&rsquo, s Oʻahu distribution system, to identify (1) the lowest cost required to achieve various levels of reliability improvement, and (2) an approximate reliability project portfolio for each level of spending.

Spatial navigation is a universal behavior that varies depending on goals, experience and available sensory stimuli. Spatial navigational tasks are routinely used to study learning, memory and goal-directed behavior, in both animals and humans. One popular paradigm for testing spatial memory is the Morris water maze, where subjects learn the location of a hidden platform that offers escape from a pool of water. Researchers typically express learning as a function of the latency to escape, though this reveals little about the underlying navigational strategies. Recently, a number of studies have begun to classify water maze search strategies in order to clarify the precise spatial and mnemonic functions of different brain regions, and to identify which aspects of spatial memory are disrupted in disease models. However, despite their usefulness, strategy analyses have not been widely adopted due to the lack of software to automate analyses. To address this need we developed Pathfinder, an open source application for analyzing spatial navigation behaviors. In a representative dataset, we show that Pathfinder effectively characterizes the development of highly-specific spatial search strategies as male and female mice learn a standard spatial water maze. Pathfinder can read data files from commercially- and freely-available software packages, is optimized for classifying search strategies in water maze paradigms, but can also be used to analyze 2D navigation by other species, and in other tasks, as long as timestamped xy coordinates are available. Pathfinder is simple to use, can automatically determine pool and platform geometry, generates heat maps, analyzes navigation with respect to multiple goal locations, and can be updated to accommodate future developments in spatial behavioral analyses. Given these features, Pathfinder may be a useful tool for studying how navigational strategies are regulated by the environment, depend on specific neural circuits, and are altered by pathology.

The kynurenine pathway metabolizes tryptophan into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, producing a number of intermediary metabolites, including 3-hydroxy kynurenine and quinolinic acid, which are involved in the neurodegenerative mechanisms that underlie Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Indolamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), the first and rate-limiting enzyme of this pathway, is increased in AD, and it has been hypothesized that blocking this enzyme may slow the progression of AD. In this study, we treated male and female 3xTg-AD and wild-type mice with the novel IDO inhibitor DWG-1036 (80 mg/kg) or vehicle (distilled water) from 2 to 6 months of age and then tested them in a battery of behavioral tests that measured spatial learning and memory (Barnes maze), working memory (trace fear conditioning), motor coordination and learning (rotarod), anxiety (elevated plus maze), and depression (tail suspension test). The 3xTg-AD mice treated with DWG-1036 showed better memory in the trace fear conditioning task and significant improvements in learning but poorer spatial memory in the Barnes maze. DWG-1036 treatment also ameliorated the behaviors associated with increased anxiety in the elevated plus maze and depression-like behaviors in the tail suspension test in 3xTg-AD mice. However, the effects of DWG-1036 treatment on the behavioral tasks were variable, and sex differences were apparent. In addition, high doses of DWG-1036 resulted in reduced body weight, particularly in females. Taken together, our results suggest that the kynurenine pathway is a promising target for treating AD, but more work is needed to determine the effective compounds, examine sex differences, and understand the side effects of the compounds.

Despite the recent interest in direct current (DC) power distribution in buildings, the market for DC-ready loads remains small. The existing DC loads in various products or research test beds are not always designed to efficiently leverage the benefits of DC. This work addresses a pressing need for a study into the development of efficient DC loads. In particular, it focuses on documenting and demonstrating how to best leverage a DC input to eliminate or improve conversion stages in a load’s power converter. This work identifies how typical building loads can benefit from DC input, including bath fans, refrigerators, task lights, and zone lighting. It then details the development of several prototypes that demonstrate efficiency savings with DC. The most efficient direct-DC loads are explicitly designed for DC from the ground up, rather than from an AC modification.

This paper compares several electrical load models for estimating the efficiency of DC vs. AC distribution in micro-grids. Candidate models include energy balance, harmonic power flow, and time-domain modeling. Model results are compared with numerical studies and validated with experimental measurements. Based on quantitative and qualitative considerations, the most appropriate load modeling approach for larger-scale DC distribution efficiency studies is proposed.

Author(s): Meier, Alan; Brown, Richard E; Gerber, Daniel; Khandekar, Aditya; Kloss, Margarita; Koyanagi, Hidemitsu; Liou, Richard; Rainer, Leo; SANDERS, Seth | Abstract: Plug loads are the devices plugged into common electrical outlets. Modern buildings contain hundreds of these devices which, together, are responsible for at least 25 percent of the energy use in California buildings. Energy consumed by plug loads is increasing because the “Internet of Things” is, to a great extent, the “Internet of Plug Loads.” This project developed technologies that will reduce the energy use of plug loads. Two crosscutting strategies were investigated in detail: (1) technologies to reduce standby power use to near zero, and (2) methods to increase the use of direct current (DC) as a power source. Two new approaches to reduce standby to near zero were developed and have potential applicability to a wide range of devices. Prototype DC appliances were developed to demonstrate energy savings by bypassing power supplies and avoiding other losses. Networks of DC-powered devices can save even more energy and provide other benefits, such as resiliency during power outages. A unique category of energy-using devices was identified that provide life safety, health, and security to building occupants. Their installation or use is dictated by building codes, health providers, insurance companies, and other entities—none of whom would ordinarily prioritize energy efficiency. In the case of ground fault circuit interrupts (GFCIs), savings of 80 percent appear possible, simply by adopting the most efficient designs. Home medical equipment, particularly oxygen concentrators, are a rising category of energy use where significant savings are possible. This report also reviews the codes, standards, and other policies that affect energy use of plug loads.

The 3xTg-AD mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has both amyloid beta plaque and tau tangle pathology. However, the results of behavioural testing with these mice have been inconsistent due to age- and sex-related differences, as well as differences in the difficulty of the tests used to measure cognitive function. In order to better understand the sex- and age-related spatial working memory deficits in the 3xTg-AD mice compared to their B6129S/F2 wildtype controls, we tested 4 and 7-month-old males and females and 13-month-old females in the Hebb-Williams maze. In the acquisition phase, the 3xTg-AD mice performed better than the WT controls, but the females of both genotypes showed motivational deficits; often returning to the start box and not eating the food reward, thus taking longer than males to meet the criterion for acquisition. The 3xTg-AD mice showed more working memory deficits than WT mice during the test phase, and the difference increased as the problems increased in difficulty. The results of this study indicate that female 3xTg-AD mice may have motivational deficits in tests using food reward and that the cognitive deficits of the 3xTg-AD mice are not apparent when the tests are too easy; the more difficult the task, the more deficits are shown in the 3xTg-AD mice compared to WT controls. Thus, the inconsistency in previous results may result from differences in motivation and in test difficulty and these must be considered when evaluating cognitive deficits in the 3xTg-AD mice.

In addition to cognitive decline, patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) exhibit sensory, motor, and neuropsychiatric deficits. Many AD patients also show weight loss, suggesting that AD may involve a metabolic syndrome. The 5xFAD mouse model shows age-related weight loss compared to wildtype controls, and thus may exhibit metabolic dysfunction. This longitudinal study measured age-related weight loss in female 5xFAD and B6SJL/JF2 wild-type mice from 3 to 12 months of age, and examines some of the behavioural and physiological phenotypes in these mice that have been proposed to contribute to this weight loss. Because some mice had to be singly housed during the study, we also examined genotype by housing interactions. The 5xFAD mice weighed less and ate less than WT littermates starting at 6 months of age, exhibited less home cage activity, had higher frailty scores, less white adipose tissue, and lower leptin expression. At 9 and 12 months of age, heavier 5xFAD mice performed better on the rotarod, suggesting that metabolic deficits which begin between 6 and 9 months of age may exacerbate the behavioural deficits in 5xFAD mice. These results indicate that the 5xFAD mouse is a useful model to study the behavioural and metabolic changes in AD.

Electricity became a household necessity with the advent of broadcast radio in the 1920s. There were no nonelectric substitutes for the radio, it served a strong public interest for the government to be able to quickly send information to its citizens, and it was therefore desirable to electrify as many homes as possible.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder that causes profound cognitive dysfunction. Deficits in olfactory memory occur in early stages of AD and may be useful in AD diagnosis. The 5xFAD mouse is a commonly used model of AD, as it develops neuropathology, cognitive and sensori-motor dysfunctions similar to those seen in AD. However, olfactory memory dysfunction has not been studied adequately or in detail in 5xFAD mice. Furthermore, despite sex differences in AD prevalence and symptom presentation, few studies using 5xFAD mice have examined sex differences in learning and memory. Therefore, we tested olfactory memory in male and female 5xFAD mice from 3 to 15 months of age using a conditioned odour preference task. Olfactory memory was not impaired in male or female 5xFAD mice at any age tested, nor were there any sex differences. Because early-onset impairments in very long-term (remote) memory have been reported in 5xFAD mice, we trained a group of mice at 3 months of age and tested olfactory memory 90 days later. Very long-term olfactory memory in 5xFAD mice was not impaired, nor was their ability to perform the discrimination task with new odourants. Examination of brains from 5xFAD mice confirmed extensive Aβ-plaque deposition spanning the olfactory memory system, including the olfactory bulb, hippocampus, amygdala and piriform cortex. Overall this study indicates that male and female 5xFAD mice do not develop olfactory memory deficits, despite extensive Aβ deposition within the olfactory-memory regions of the brain.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that leads to age-related cognitive and sensori-motor dysfunction. There is an increased understanding that motor dysfunction contributes to overall AD severity, and a need to ameliorate these impairments. The 5xFAD mouse develops the neuropathology, cognitive and motor impairments observed in AD, and thus may be a valuable animal model to study motor deficits in AD. Therefore, we assessed age-related changes in motor ability of male and female 5xFAD mice from 3 to 16 months of age, using a battery of behavioral tests. At 9-10 months, 5xFAD mice showed reduced body weight, reduced rearing in the open-field and impaired performance on the rotarod compared to wild-type controls. At 12-13 months, 5xFAD mice showed reduced locomotor activity on the open-field, and impaired balance on the balance beam. At 15-16 months, impairments were also seen in grip strength. Although sex differences were observed at specific ages, the development of motor dysfunction was similar in male and female mice. Given the 5xFAD mouse is commonly on a C57BL/6 × SJL hybrid background, a subset of mice may be homozygous recessive for the Dysf im mutant allele, which leads to muscular weakness in SJL mice and may exacerbate motor dysfunction. We found small effects of Dysf im on motor function, suggesting that Dysf im contributes little to motor dysfunction in 5xFAD mice. We conclude that the 5xFAD mouse may be a useful model to study mechanisms that produce motor dysfunction in AD, and to assess the efficacy of therapeutics on ameliorating motor impairment.

Improvements in building end-use efficiency have significantly reduced the energy intensity of new buildings, but diminishing returns make it a challenge to build very-low energy buildings cost-effectively. A largely untapped efficiency strategy is to improve the efficiency of power distribution within buildings. Direct current (DC) distribution with modern power electronics has the potential to eliminate much of the power conversion loss in alternating current (AC) building distribution networks that include photovoltaics and DC end uses. Previous literature suggests up to 15% energy savings from DC power distribution in very energy efficient buildings with onsite generation and battery storage. This paper extends prior energy modeling of DC versus AC distribution in buildings, to consider the cost of implementing DC systems on a life-cycle basis. A techno-economic analysis framework based on commercially available products that evaluates the cost-effectiveness of DC systems is presented. The analysis is conducted for three commercial building types in two California climate zones and for various PV and battery storage capacities. Monte Carlo simulation is used to compute the payback period and lifecycle cost savings of DC versus AC distribution systems. A future-market scenario is also examined, which evaluates how future efficiency improvements in power converters and changes in electricity tariffs may affect cost savings. This analysis shows that DC systems can be cost-effective in all scenarios that include large capacities of battery storage and onsite solar, whereas for systems without storage, DC distribution is generally not cost-effective.

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) has been demonstrated in many clinical reports as a risk factor that promotes the development of cognitive impairment. However, the underlying neurological mechanisms are not clear. Noise exposure is one of the most common causes of SNHL. Although noise exposure causes relatively less damage to general health as compared with other methods for creating hearing loss (such as ototoxicity), it does impair cognitive function. Many studies have shown that the noise-induced cognitive impairment occur via the oxidative stress induced by the noise. In those studies, the effects of the noise-induced hearing loss induced (NIHL) were not addressed. Previously, we have demonstrated in the CBA/CaJ mouse model that oxidative stress was transient after a brief noise exposure, but the NIHL was permanent. In addition, NIHL was followed by a declined cognitive function and decreased hippocampal neurogenesis that were developed long after the oxidative stress disappeared. Therefore, NIHL can cause cognitive impairment independent of its stress effect and can serve as a model to investigate the relationship between hearing loss and the development of cognitive impairment. In the present study, we further demonstrated that the oxidative stress produced by the brief noise exposure did not damage the stem cell bank of hippocampus that was evaluated shortly after the noise exposure. In addition to the reduction in the rate of cell proliferation in hippocampus that was found previously, we found that the noise induced hearing loss significantly reduced the promoting effect of learning activity on various stages of hippocampal neurogenesis, accompanied by the reduction in learning-induced expression of immediate early genes (IEGs) in hippocampus. Since the MWM-tested spatial function does not directly require auditory input, the results provide evidence for the maintenance role of auditory input on the cognitive function; the reduction of IEG expression that is required in memory-formation may be the initial step in blocking the effect of learning activity on neurogenesis in subjects with NIHL.

Mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) exhibit marked differences in life expectancy depending on their genotype and sex. The assessment of frailty could provide a measure of healthspan to facilitate comparisons between different AD models. We used a validated mouse frailty index (FI) assessment tool to explore genotype and sex differences in lifespan and healthspan of 3xTg-AD mice and their B6129F2 wild-type (WT) controls. This tool is based on an approach commonly used in people and quantifies frailty by counting the accumulation of age-related health deficits. The number of deficits in an individual divided by the total number measured yields an FI score theoretically between 0 and 1, with higher scores denoting more frailty. Male 3xTg-AD mice aged 300-600 days had higher FI scores (Mean FI = 0.21 ± 0.03) than either male WT (Mean FI = 0.15 ± 0.01) or female 3xTg-AD mice (Mean FI = 0.10 ± 0.01), and the elevated frailty scores were accompanied by parallel increases in mortality. Frailty increased exponentially with age, and higher rates of deficit accumulation elevated mortality risk in all groups of mice. When mice were stratified by FI score, frailty predicted mortality, at least in females. Therefore, the mouse clinical FI provides a valuable tool for evaluating healthspan in mouse models of AD with different lifespans.

Motor deficits are some of the most prevalent non-cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with patients showing impairments in speech, gait and fine motor skills. We investigated motor behaviour in 16-month-old male and female 3xTg-AD mice and their B6129SF2 wildtype (WT) controls. The 3xTg-AD mice develop extracellular Aβ plaques and tau tangles in the hippocampus and motor cortex between 6 and 9 months of age. Previously we showed that at 6 months of age, 3xTg-AD mice performed better on tests of motor coordination and motor learning than WT mice. The aim of our experiment was to use a battery of motor behaviour tests to determine if this superior motor performance was present in older mice. On the Rotarod, the aged 3xTg-AD mice showed better motor coordination and learning than WT mice. Although females performed better than males, this sex difference was confounded by body weight as females weighed less than males. There were no significant genotype or sex differences on the wire hang or grid suspension tasks, nor in stride length or stride width, but 3xTg-AD mice performed worse than WT mice on the balance beam. In comparison to the 6-month-old mice, an age-related decline in most aspects of motor behaviour was apparent. These results indicate that different sub-domains of motor function are affected differently in the 3xTg-AD mice and that aging does not have the same effect on all motor behaviours.

Preclinical studies are essential for translation to disease treatments and effective use in clinical practice. An undue emphasis on single approaches to Alzheimer's disease (AD) appears to have retarded the pace of translation in the field, and there is much frustration in the public about the lack of an effective treatment. We critically reviewed past literature (1990-2014), analyzed numerous data, and discussed key issues at a consensus conference on Brain Ageing and Dementia to identify and overcome roadblocks in studies intended for translation. We highlight various factors that influence the translation of preclinical research and highlight specific preclinical strategies that have failed to demonstrate efficacy in clinical trials. The field has been hindered by the domination of the amyloid hypothesis in AD pathogenesis while the causative pathways in disease pathology are widely considered to be multifactorial. Understanding the causative events and mechanisms in the pathogenesis are equally important for translation. Greater efforts are necessary to fill in the gaps and overcome a variety of confounds in the generation, study design, testing, and evaluation of animal models and the application to future novel anti-dementia drug trials. A greater variety of potential disease mechanisms must be entertained to enhance progress.

Visual impairments and retinal abnormalities occur in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in mouse models of AD. It is important to know the visual ability of mouse models of AD to ensure that age-related cognitive deficits are not confounded by visual impairments. Using OptoMotry, the spatial frequency thresholds of male and female 3xTg-AD mice did not differ from their B6129SF2 wildtype controls between 1-18 months of age, but females had higher spatial frequency thresholds than males. However, the differences were quite small, and the visual ability of all mice was comparable to that of C57BL/6 mice.

Probabilistic Risk Management 19.3 Asset Management in an Electric Utility 19-10 Shift from Standards-Driven to Business-Based Management . Pareto Cur ves and the Efficient Frontier . Use of Risk-Based Asset Management Methods 19.4 Asset Management Project and Process Example ...... 19-15 Substation Example . Implementing Project Evaluation and Por tfolio Selection . ‘‘Half Measure’’ Approaches Fail to Deliver Good Results . Limiting ‘‘Must Do’’ Projects 19.5 Changes in Philosophy and Approach 19-23 Asset Management Does Not Lower Standards .

Ethical behavior encompasses actions that benefit both self and society. This means that tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) becomes an ethical obligation, because the prospect of declining anti-infectives affects everyone. Without preventive action, loss of drugs that have saved lives over the past century, will condemn ourselves, people we know, and people we don't know, to unacceptable risk of untreatable infection. Policies aimed at extending antimicrobial life should be considered within an ethical framework, in order to balance the choice, range, and quality of drugs against stewardship activities. Conserving availability and effectiveness for future use should not compromise today's patients. Practices such as antimicrobial prophylaxis for healthy people 'at risk' should receive full debate. There are additional ethical considerations for AMR involving veterinary care, agriculture, and relevant bio-industries. Restrictions for farmers potentially threaten the quality and quantity of food production with economic consequences. Antibiotics for companion animals do not necessarily spare those used for humans. While low-income countries cannot afford much-needed drugs, pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to develop novel agents for short-term return only. Public demand encourages over-the-counter, internet, black market, and counterfeit drugs, all of which compromise international control. Prescribers themselves require educational support to balance therapeutic choice against collateral damage to both body and environment. Predicted mortality due to AMR provides justification for international co-operation, commitment and investment to support surveillance and stewardship along with development of novel antimicrobial drugs. Ethical arguments for, and against, control of antimicrobial resistance strategies are presented and discussed in this review.

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and monitoring systems are widely used in power infrastructure, including transmission, distribution and secondary network systems. This paper presents a research that primarily addresses the reliability and life expectancy of SCADA and monitoring equipment installed in secondary underground network systems of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) company, which serves areas where safety and reliability are critical. The equipment is installed in underground vaults and includes sensors, remote terminal units, communication switches, backup batteries and fiber cables. This equipment is exposed to harsh underground environmental conditions. Detrimental effects of these environmental conditions, such as moisture, corrosion and resistive contaminations, could potentially affect the reliability and accuracy of the monitoring devices. This paper presents the findings of the research that Exponent has performed on PG&E's SCADA equipment used in the secondary underground networks of San Francisco and Oakland in California. The research included the life expectancy of the existing equipment and effects of local conditions, integrity and reliability of the electrical connectors and monitoring sensors, methods to increase life expectancy, and the associated human factors and economics related to maintenance of the underground monitoring equipment. Factors affecting performance of the studied equipment are discussed and suggested methods to improve the reliability and life expectancy are outlined.

Miscellaneous and electronic loads (MELs) consume about 20% of the primary energy used in U.S. buildings, and this share is projected to increase for the foreseeable future. Our understanding, however, of which devices are most responsible for this energy use is still rudimentary due to the difficulty and expense of performing detailed studies on MELs and their energy use. In order to better understand the energy use of MELs and the design of MELs field metering studies, we conducted a year-long study of MELs in an 89,500 sq. ft. (8310 m 2 ) office building. We present insights obtained from this study using 455 wireless plug-load power meters including the study design process, the tools needed for success, and key other methodology issues. Our study allowed us to quantify, for the study buildings, how many devices we needed to inventory and meter as well as for how long we needed to collect meter data. We find that the study design of earlier work would not have yielded accurate results in our study building. This paper presents these findings along with a brief summary of the energy related results.

Hypersonic hybrid hydrodynamic-molecular gas flow solvers are required to satisfy the two essential requirements of any high-speed reacting code, these being physical accuracy and computational efficiency. The James Weir Fluids Laboratory at the University of Strathclyde is currently developing an open-source hybrid code which will eventually reconcile the direct simulation Monte-Carlo method, making use of the OpenFOAM application called dsmcFoam, and the newly coded open-source two-temperature computational fluid dynamics solver named hy2Foam. In conjunction with employing the CVDV chemistry-vibration model in hy2Foam, novel use is made of the QK rates in a CFD solver. In this paper, further testing is performed, in particular with the CFD solver, to ensure its efficacy before considering more advanced test cases. The hy2Foam and dsmcFoam codes have shown to compare reasonably well, thus providing a useful basis for other codes to compare against.

During re-entry, a spacecraft will experience flow conditions ranging from highly rarefied to continuum. To simulate regions in between, a hydrodynamic-molecular gas hybrid solver should be used to provide accuracy and effciency. Currently available hybrid codes are in-house codes or do not provide the capabilities to simulate all of the phenomena a spacecraft will experience during re-entry. An open-source CFD-DSMC hybrid code is being developed within the OpenFOAM framework, coupling the solvers dsmcFoam and hy2Foam. In this paper, comparison between the CFD, DSMC and hybrid codes have been performed for simple cases. The dsmcFoam and the hybrid code have shown to compare satisfactorily.

A two-temperature CFD (computational fluid dynamics) solver is a prerequisite to any spacecraft re-entry numerical study that aims at producing results with a satisfactory level of accuracy within realistic timescales. In this respect, a new two-temperature CFD solver, hy2Foam, has been developed within the framework of the open-source CFD platform OpenFOAM for the prediction of hypersonic reacting flows. This solver makes the distinct juncture between the trans-rotational and multiple vibrational-electronic temperatures. hy2Foam has the capability to model vibrational-translational and vibrational-vibrational energy exchanges in an eleven-species air mixture. It makes use of either the Park TTv model or the coupled vibration-dissociation-vibration (CVDV) model to handle chemistry-vibration coupling and it can simulate flows with or without electronic energy. Verification of the code for various zero-dimensional adiabatic heat baths of progressive complexity has been carried out. hy2Foam has been shown to produce results in good agreement with those given by the CFD code LeMANS (The Michigan Aerothermodynamic Navier-Stokes solver) and previously published data. A comparison is also performed with the open-source DSMC (direct simulation Monte Carlo) code dsmcFoam. It has been demonstrated that the use of the CVDV model and rates derived from Quantum-Kinetic theory promote a satisfactory consistency between the CFD and DSMC chemistry modules.

To decrease the need for fossil fuels, the alternative energy resources must be not only economically viable but also sustainable in the long term. One of the most promising alternatives is the marine renewable energy resource. The relatively young marine energy industry is presented with two challenges: first, to deliver a continuous reliable power supply, and second, to minimize potentially harmful effects of the power extraction on the marine environment. The requirement to understand the interactions between a tidal turbine and the surrounding flow environment motivated this work. A tidal turbine mounted on the seabed induces a wake that extends far downstream of the device. As the direction of tidal flow changes, so does the position of the wake with respect to the device. The detailed study of the turbine wake has been conducted by means of computer simulations. An existing finite-volume computer model called the vorticity transport model has been modified to suit the purpose of simulating the wake of a horizontal axis tidal turbine subjected to a nonuniform flow typical of that close to the seabed. High-resolution computer simulations suggest that a progressive fragmentation of the vortical structure occurs during the development of the wake of a tidal turbine. The predicted fragmentation generates small-scale unsteady flow phenomena beyond five rotor diameters downstream of the device in the area previously thought unaffected by the presence of a tidal turbine. The effects of nonuniform flow on the vorticity structure downstream of a tidal turbine and the fragmentation process are analyzed in this work.

Most antipsychotics interfere with the dopaminergic system, resulting in extrapyramidal effects. This study compared the extrapyramidal effects of chlorpromazine (Cpz), the herb Rauwolfia vomitoria (RV) and its alkaloid reserpine (Res), used as antipsychotics, in mice. Ninety age-matched male CD-1 strain of mice (25–33 g body weight) were divided into 3 groups, each consisting of 5 subgroups (n = 6). Cpz (0.0, 0.25, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered 30 min before testing. RV (0.0, 0.25, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg/kg, i.p.) and Res (0.0, 0.1, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6 mg/kg, i.p.) were administered 24 h before testing. Locomotor behaviour (open field test) and motor coordination (acceleratory rotarod) were assessed. Mice were also observed for 10 min for tremor and vacuous chewing movement (VCM). CPZ and Res dose-dependently decreased locomotor behaviour and impaired motor coordination (p < 0.01). RV also decreased locomotor behaviour (4.0 mg/kg; p < 0.05) but had minimal effect on motor coordination. VCM was lower in the RV group (0.17 ± 0.16/10 min) than the Res (6.8 ± 1.36/10 min) and Cpz groups (7.83 ± 1.95/10 min): F(4,25) = 10.703; p < 0.01. The frequency of bouts of tremor was also lower in the RV group (1.17 ± 0.72/10 min) than the Res (21.2 ± 5.63/10 min) and Cpz (7.83 ± 1.59/10 min) groups: F(4,25) = 11.012; p < 0.001. The root bark extract of R. vomitoria, therefore, has great potential in the management of psychotic disorders.

It is becoming increasingly common for utility commissions to compare the reliability of utilities in their state to industry benchmark surveys. Utilities are typically categorized into performance quartiles, with the top quartile corresponding to 25% of participating utilities with the best reliability indices. Taken at face value, this type of benchmark comparison is of little to no worth. Of more concern is the tendency of people to draw incorrect conclusions, to unfairly criticize certain utilities, to unfairly praise others, and to set inappropriate reliability improvement targets. Reliability benchmarking activities can be extremely valuable when used appropriately, but often it is not. This article discusses the many problems with benchmark comparisons, recommends their proper use, and suggests an approach for setting appropriate reliability improvement targets.

Most numerical and experimental studies of the performance of vertical-axis wind turbines have been conducted with the rotors in steady, and thus somewhat artificial, wind conditions - with the result that turbine aerodynamics, under varying wind conditions, are still poorly understood. The Vorticity Transport Model has been used to investigate the aerodynamic performance and wake dynamics, both in steady and unsteady wind conditions, of three different vertical-axis wind turbines: one with a straight-bladed configuration, another with a curved-bladed configuration and another with a helically twisted configuration. The turbines with non-twisted blades are shown to be somewhat less efficient than the turbine with helically twisted blades when the rotors are operated at constant rotational speed in unsteady wind conditions. In steady wind conditions, the power coefficients that are produced by both the straight- and the curved-bladed turbines vary considerably within one rotor revolution because of the continuously varying angle of attack on the blades and, thus, the inherent unsteadiness in the blade aerodynamic loading. These variations are much larger, and thus far more significant, than those that are induced by the unsteadiness in the wind conditions.

The Barnes maze is a visuo-spatial learning and memory test originally designed for use with rats, and later adapted for use with mice. The Barnes maze design and test procedure vary across studies using mice, but the effects of variation in Barnes maze design and test procedure on learning and memory in mice have not yet been investigated. Therefore the present experiment investigates whether test procedures, such as the number of habituation trials and parameters of the probe trial (correct zone size and trial length) influence learning and memory performance on three Barnes maze designs that differed in size and the presence of a wall with intra-maze visual cues. Performance was compared across the three mazes to determine how apparatus design influences visuo-spatial cue use. The number of habituation trials and parameters of the probe trial had small effects on learning and memory performance. Apparatus design, had little effect on acquisition performance but had a significant effect on memory performance. Mice on a maze with a small diameter, external wall and intra-maze visual cues had very poor visuo-spatial memory relative to mice tested on small and large diameter mazes without a wall or intra-maze visual cues. Assessment of visuo-spatial cue use indicated that mice do not rely on visuo-spatial cues to locate the escape hole on the small-diameter maze with a wall and intra-maze visual cues, but show reliable visuo-spatial cue use on small or large diameter mazes with no wall. These results indicate that apparatus design influences search strategy use and memory performance on the Barnes maze, and that including a wall around the edge of the Barnes maze decreases visuo-spatial cue use.

Accurate simulations of the aerodynamic performance of vertical-axis wind turbines pose a significant challenge for computational fluid dynamics methods. The aerodynamic interaction between the blades of the rotor and the wake that is produced by the blades requires a high-fidelity representation of the convection of vorticity within the wake. In addition, the cyclic motion of the blades induces large variations in the angle of attack on the blades that can manifest as dynamic stall. The present paper describes the application of a numerical model that is based on the vorticity transport formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations, to the prediction of the aerodynamics of a verticalaxis wind turbine that consists of three curved rotor blades that are twisted helically around the rotational axis of the rotor. The predicted variation of the power coefficient with tip speed ratio compares very favorably with experimental measurements. It is demonstrated that helical blade twist reduces the oscillation of the power coefficient that is an inherent feature of turbines with non-twisted blade configurations.

Network connectivity has become nearly ubiquitous, and the energy use of the equipment required for this connectivity is growing. Network equipment consists of devices that primarily switch and route Internet Protocol (IP) packets from a source to a destination, and this category specifically excludes edge devices like PCs, servers and other sources, and sinks of IP traffic. This paper presents the results of a study of network equipment energy use and includes case studies of networks in a campus, a medium commercial building, and a typical home. The total energy use of network equipment is the product of the stock of equipment in use, the power of each device, and their usage patterns. This information was gathered from market research reports, broadband market penetration studies, field metering, and interviews with network administrators and service providers. We estimate that network equipment in the USA used 18 TWh, or about 1% of building electricity, in 2008 and that consumption is expected to grow at roughly 6% per year to 23 TWh in 2012; world usage in 2008 was 51 TWh. This study shows that office building network switches and residential equipment are the two largest categories of energy use consuming 40% and 30% of the total respectively. We estimate potential energy savings for different scenarios using forecasts of equipment stock and energy use, and savings estimates range from 20% to 50% based on full market penetration of efficient technologies.

Data centers are a significant and growing component of electricity demand in the United States. This paper presents a bottom-up model that can be used to estimate total data center electricity demand within a region as well as the potential electricity savings associated with energy efficiency improvements. The model is applied to estimate 2008 U.S. data center electricity demand and the technical potential for electricity savings associated with major measures for IT devices and infrastructure equipment. Results suggest that 2008 demand was approximately 69 billion kilowatt hours (1.8% of 2008 total U.S. electricity sales) and that it may be technically feasible to reduce this demand by up to 80% (to 13 billion kilowatt hours) through aggressive pursuit of energy efficiency measures. Measure-level savings estimates are provided, which shed light on the relative importance of different measures at the national level. Measures applied to servers are found to have the greatest contribution to potential savings.

The accurate prediction of the aerodynamics and performance of vertical-axis wind turbines is essential if their design is to be improved but poses a signifi cant challenge to numerical simulation tools. The cyclic motion of the blades induces large variations in the angle of attack of the blades that can manifest as dynamic stall. In addition, predicting the interaction between the blades and the wake developed by the rotor requires a high-fi delity representation of the vortical structures within the fl ow fi eld in which the turbine operates. The aerodynamic performance and wake dynamics of a Darrieus-type vertical-axis wind turbine consisting of two straight blades is simulated using Brown’s Vorticity Transport Model. The predicted variation with azimuth of the normal and tangential force on the turbine blades compares well with experimental measurements. The interaction between the blades and the vortices that are shed and trailed in previous revolutions of the turbine is shown to have a signifi cant effect on the distribution of aerodynamic loading on the blades. Furthermore, it is suggested that the disagreement between experimental and numerical data that has been presented in previous studies arises because the blade–vortex interactions on the rotor were not modelled with sufficient fidelity.

The Digital Television (DTV) Converter Box Coupon Program was administered by the U.S. government to subsidize purchases of digital-to-analog converter boxes, with up to two $40 coupons for each eligible household. In order to qualify as Coupon Eligible Converter Boxes (CECBs), these devices had to meet a number of minimum performance specifications, including energy efficiency standards. The Energy Star Program also established voluntary energy efficiency specifications that are more stringent than the CECB requirements. In this study, we measured the power and energy consumptions for a sample of 12 CECBs (including 6 Energy Star labeled models) in-use in homes and estimated aggregate energy savings produced by the energy efficiency policies. Based on the 35 million coupons redeemed through the end of the program, our analysis indicates that between 2500 and 3700 GWh per year are saved as a result of the energy efficiency policies implemented on digital-to-analog converter boxes. The energy savings generated are equivalent to the annual electricity use of 280,000 average US homes.

Significant progress has been made to date in modelling, computationally, the formation and development of the dust cloud that forms in the air surrounding the rotorcraft under brownout conditions. Modern computational methods are able to replicate not only the development of the dust cloud in appropriate operational scenarios, but also the sensitivity of the shape and density of the dust cloud to the detailed design of the rotorcraft. Results so far suggest that attempts to ameliorate brownout by aerodynamic means, for instance by modifying the rotor properties, will be frustrated to some extent by the inherent instability of the flow field that is produced by the helicopter. Nonetheless, very recent advances in understanding the fundamental mechanisms that lead to the formation of the dust cloud may allow substantial progress to be made once certain elements of the basic physics of the problem are more fully understood and better quantified.

The tail rotor of a helicopter with a single main rotor configuration can experience a significant reduction in thrust when the aircraft operates in crosswind flight. Brown’s vorticity transport model has been used to simulate a main rotor and tail rotor system translating at a sideslip angle that causes the tail rotor to interact with the main rotor tip vortices as they propagate downstream at the lateral extremities of the wake. The tail rotor is shown to exhibit a distinct directionally dependent mode during which tail rotors that are configured so that the blades travel forward at the top of the disk develop less thrust than tail rotors with the reverse sense of rotation. The range of flight speeds over which this mode exists is shown to vary considerably with the vertical location of the tail rotor. At low flight speeds, the directionally dependent mode occurs because the tail rotor is immersed within not only the downwash from the main rotor but also the rotational flow associated with clusters of largely disorganized vorticity within the main rotor wake. At higher flight speeds, however, the tail rotor is immersed within a coherent supervortex that strongly influences the velocity field surrounding the tail rotor.

Aim of the study Since remedies for mental disorders have been sought through both orthodox and traditional medicine this study compared the effects of the antipsychotic, chlorpromazine (Cpz), the herb Rauwolfia vomitoria (RV) and its alkaloid reserpine (Res) in mice. Materials and methods Ninety male CD-1 strain of mice (75–80 days old; 30–34 g body weight) were divided into 3 major groups and each consisting 5 subgroups (n = 6). Cpz (0.0, 0.25, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg/kg, i.p.), was administered 30 min before testing. RV (0.0, 0.25, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg/kg, i.p.) and Res (0.0, 0.1, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6 mg/kg, i.p.) were administered 24 h before testing. The open field test was used to assess locomotor and exploratory behaviour, acceleratory rotarod for motor coordination, light/dark box for anxiety. Results CPZ dose-dependently decreased locomotor and exploration behaviour and impaired motor coordination (p

Objective This article models use of emergency medical services (EMS) within a defined geographical area. Our goal was to develop an original quantitative method to delineate the need for EMS units within a geographical population. Methods Use of the EMS system within 11 municipalities was analyzed in 2007. The geospatial distributions of interventions during this year were examined, as well as the population dynamics of the region. A statistical model to determine the probability of an individual within the call area requiring an intervention was proposed using weighted population statistics and the application of an intervention probability. Results The observed interventional probability increased exponentially with age, notably after the age of 75. Areas with higher proportions of elderly residents had substantially higher rates of intervention and EMS use. Municipality H had the largest age-group of 20 to 24 years with an intervention probability of 0.34% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.24-0.44), their more than 85-year age-group also had the largest intervention probability of 19.54% (95% CI, 15.60-23.48). Conclusions Contrary to current practice patterns of placing paramedic units in regions of greatest population density, we established a formula based on population vs intervention probability. We found the actual numbers of interventions performed are not dependent solely on population size but also are affected by the age of the population being served. This is particularly relevant to growing elderly communities. This determination will aid in the disbursement of limited prehospital resources in regions by improving availability of EMS personnel.