Environmental determinants of health: Measuring multiple physical environmental exposures at the United States census tract level
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Various building loads, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioners (HVACs), electric water heaters (EWHs), and electric vehicles (EVs), can introduce opportunities for improving the flexibility of electricity consumption while satisfying the needs of building owners as well as benefiting the resilience of distribution system. To utilize such flexibility, a tri-level distribution market framework is established, including residential consumers, load aggregators (LAs), and the distribution system operator (DSO). In this work, the uncertainties from all three levels are considered. The random consumption behavior at the consumer level is modeled as a Gaussian noise that is also aggregated and transmitted to the LA level. The weather temperature in the LA level is forecasted as an interval, and the photovoltaic (PV) power in the market-clearing level is modeled by a set of power scenarios generated by Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). Then, a hybrid interval-stochastic programming is proposed to transform the uncertain problems in the first two levels into deterministic ones. For real-time implementations, a rolling horizon optimization (RHO) scheme is employed to continuously optimize the power consumption based on the latest operating information. Finally, case studies on a modified IEEE 69-bus system validate the effectiveness of the proposed uncertainty modeling strategies and the RHO scheme.
Geologic heterogeneity is a key feature that must be considered when translations of scaled data are performed. This paper presents the assessment of geologic heterogeneity using a multiscale workflow that includes image analysis-based methods coupled with well log analysis to provide data in which fractals and machine learning methods estimate the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) storage resource potential of a reservoir. The heterogeneity of rock properties of the complex Bell Creek reservoir in Montana, USA, was explored at the pore scale (~nm to mm), core scale (~mm to m), and well scale (~cm to m). The data used in this study included advanced image analysis of micro-CT (computed tomography) images (pore scale), thin sections (pore scale), plugs and core images (core scale) and well logs (well scale). The micro-CT images were segmented using a U-net segmentation approach into objects of pores and grains. Further, the segmented images were reconstructed into subvolumes of different sizes. Physical properties (porosity and permeability) and fractal dimensions were calculated for the various subvolumes, and Lorenz coefficient (Lc) values, a single parameter to describe the degree of heterogeneity within a pay zone section, were calculated from thin-section images and well logs. Porosity and fractal dimension values were used to estimate the 188-µm threshold of representative elementary volume (REV) in this study. Both the Lc and fractal dimension values were found to be negatively correlated. When these two parameters are combined, it is possible to discern differences in the complex porous networks of the samples analyzed in this study.
Recently a mesoscale model was developed that includes thermomechanically consistent constitutive equations with dissipation due to porous compaction, inelastic distortional deformation rate, and slipping on persistent dry joint surfaces. In this Part I of a two-part paper, we describe enhancements of the mesoscale model which include: normal compliance with hysteresis, non-persistent joints with finite area, joint sets with angular deviation, and the weakening effect of fluid pressure in the joints. Examples study the influences of these effects on average strength. These computationally expensive simulations are used to inspire functional forms in a continuum model, described in Part II, which is needed for large scale simulations of real applications.
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Cellular senescence is a driver of many age-related pathologies. There is an active search for pharmaceuticals termed senolytics that can mitigate or remove senescent cells in vivo by targeting genes that promote the survival of senescent cells. We utilized single-cell RNA sequencing to identify CRYAB as a robust senescence-induced gene and potential target for senolysis. Using chemical inhibitor screening for CRYAB disruption, we identified 25-hydroxycholesterol (25HC), an endogenous metabolite of cholesterol biosynthesis, as a potent senolytic. We then validated 25HC as a senolytic in mouse and human cells in culture and in vivo in mouse skeletal muscle. Thus, 25HC represents a potential class of senolytics, which may be useful in combating diseases or physiologies in which cellular senescence is a key driver.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic condition caused by autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing pancreatic ß-cells. While it is known that gene-environment interactions play a key role in triggering the autoimmune process leading to T1D, the pathogenic mechanism leading to the appearance of islet autoantibodies - biomarkers of autoimmunity – is poorly understood. Here we show that disruption of the complement system precedes the detection of islet autoantibodies and persists through diagnosis. Our results suggest that children who exhibit islet autoimmunity and progress to clinical T1D are complement deficient relative to those who do not progress within a similar timeframe. Thus, the complement pathway, an understudied mechanistic and therapeutic target in T1D, merits increased attention for use as protein biomarkers of prediction and potentially prevention of T1D.
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5-Hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) and furfurals are DOE-listed platform chemicals that can be derived from the renewable carbon in the lignocellulosic biomasses and have the potential to replace petroleum-derived alter- natives. High substrate cost and use of expensive solvents limit the economic feasibility of bio-based HMF production on an industrially relevant scale. The study presents an experimental optimized condition that maximizes the chemical-free production of HMF and furfurals without lowering the yield of total fermentable sugars from Saccharum bagasse. Hydrothermal pretreatment at 210 °C for 15 min yielded approximately 10%, 12%, and 46% of HMF, furfurals, and fermentable sugars per gram of dry biomass, respectively. Additionally, the study proposes a consolidated bioprocess model to produce and recover four high-value bioproducts i.e., HMF, furfurals, ethanol, and acetic acid based on the experimental results and evaluates its technoeconomic feasibility considering HMF as the main product. The minimum selling price (MSP) of HMF was estimated to be 930.6 USD/ t which is competitive with its petroleum-derived precursor alternative p-xylene (1,113 USD/t). The sensitivity analysis performed for the process parameters suggests that pretreatment cost and revenues from coproducts immensely influence the MSP of HMF. The preliminary technoeconomic analysis performed on the consolidated bioprocess design indicates that additional revenue streams from diversified coproducts in biorefineries aid in lowering the MSP of high-value bioproducts.
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We present an immersed interface method for the vorticity-velocity form of the 2D Navier Stokes equations that directly addresses challenges posed by nonconvex immersed bodies, multiply connected domains, and the calculation of force distributions on immersed surfaces. The immersed interface method is re-interpreted as a polynomial extrapolation of flow quantities and boundary conditions into the immersed solid bodies, reducing computational cost and enabling simulations with nonconvex bodies that could not be discretized with previous immersed interface methods. In the flow, the vorticity transport equation is discretized using a conservative finite difference scheme and explicit Runge-Kutta time integration. The velocity reconstruction problem is transformed to a scalar Poisson equation that is discretized with conservative finite differences, and solved using an FFT-accelerated iterative algorithm. The use of conservative differencing throughout leads to exact enforcement of a discrete Kelvin's theorem, allowing for simulations with multiply connected domains and outflow boundaries that have challenged other immersed interface vortex methods. We also explore novel methods for recovering time-dependent pressure distributions on immersed bodies within a vorticity-based method and present a novel control volume formulation for recovering aerodynamic moments from only the vorticity and velocity fields. The method achieves second order spatial accuracy and third order temporal accuracy, and is validated on a variety of 2D flows in internal and free-space domains.
Background: When selecting zirconia for a dental restoration, laboratory prescriptions often refer to high strength and high translucency. In this survey, zirconia specimens were ordered from various dental laboratories for posterior (high strength) and anterior (high translucency) clinical indications. The specimens were then tested and evaluated for their mechanical and physical behaviors. Methods: In a double-blinded manner, 9 laboratories provided 32 specimens from 17 different zirconia blanks, which were tested in the American Dental Association laboratory. Flexural strength tests were performed on standard specimens, and fracture surfaces were examined using both optical and scanning electron microscopy. Chemical composition, Vickers hardness, and absolute transmittance measurements were also performed. Results: A large scatter in the strength values was observed. The zirconia intended for posterior applications displayed strengths (SD) from 195 through 783 MPa (490 [183] MPa), which overlapped greatly with the strengths (SD) of the zirconia intended for anterior applications, 320 through 768 MPa (581 [136] MPa). However, when the strength values were recalculated on the basis of yttria content, the strengths (SD) were 584 (158) MPa for 3 mol% yttria and 373 (104) MPa for 5 mol% yttria. Conclusions: When a prescription was given to dental laboratories to request zirconia on the basis of clinical requirements, there was a large scatter and no consistency in the resulting strength values partly because of mixed use of 3 mol% and 5 mol% yttria zirconia. The 3 mol% materials had much higher strength when the strength values were grouped according to yttria content. Strength was also highly dependent on processing and finishing at the dental laboratories.
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