Affect Energy Production Research Articles

Strength and Challenges of global model MPAS with regional mesh refinement for mid-latitude storm forecasting: a case study

Abstract. With the rising share of renewable energy sources like wind energy in the energy mix, high-impact weather events like mid-latitude storms increasingly affect energy production, grid stability and safety and reliable forecasting becomes very relevant for e.g. transmission system operators to allow for actions to reduce imbalances. Traditionally, meteorological forecasts are provided by limited-area weather prediction models (LAMs), which can use high enough model resolution to represent the range of atmospheric scales of motions associated with such storm structures. While generally satisfactory, deterioration and insufficient deepening of large-scale storm structures are observed when they are introduced near the lateral boundaries of the LAM due to inadequate spatial and temporal interpolation. Global models with regional mesh refinement capabilities like the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) have the potential to provide an alternative, while avoiding sharp resolution jumps and lateral boundaries. In this study, MPAS' capabilities of simulating key evaluation metrics like storm intensity, storm location and storm duration are investigated based on a case study and assessed in comparison with buoy measurements, forecast products from the Climate Forecast System (CFSv2) and simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) LAM. Quasi-uniform and variable-resolution MPAS mesh configurations with different model physics settings are designed to analyze the impact of the mesh refinement and model physics on the model performance. MPAS shows good performance in predicting storm intensity based on the local minimum sea level pressure, while time of local minimum sea level pressure (storm duration) was generally estimated too late (too long) in comparison with the buoy measurements in part due to an early west-wards shift of the storm center in MPAS. The variable-resolution configurations showed a combination of an additional south-westwards shift and deviations in the sea level pressure field south-west of the storm center that introduced additional bias to the time of local minimum sea level pressure at some locations. The study highlights the need for a more detailed analysis of applied mesh refinements for particular applications and emphasizes the importance of methods like data assimilation techniques to prevent model drifts.

Building Energy Sovereignty through Community-Based Projects in Nunavik

Inuit communities in Canada are overwhelmingly dependent on expensive and polluting local diesel-powered generators for electricity production. This article seeks to understand the legal and political obstacles relative to the development of renewable energy in Nunavik, Québec’s Inuit territory. After an analysis of the legal regimes, political configurations, and policies affecting energy production in Nunavik, we present two case studies of renewable energy projects in the communities of Kuujjuaq and Inukjuak. This allows us to demonstrate that the development of alternative energy projects is not only determined by technical and economic issues but is also inseparable from the asymmetrical post-colonial power relations between Quebec institutions and the Inuit people. Our results not only illustrate the value of community ownership and leadership for sustainable northern development but also the ambiguous attitude of public authorities regarding the political and financial support for such projects.

Abnormal early folliculogenesis due to impeded pyruvate metabolism in mouse oocytes†.

Fetal ovarian germ cells show characteristic energy metabolism status, such as enhanced mitochondrial metabolism as well as glycolysis, but their roles in early folliculogenesis are unclear. We show here that inhibition of pyruvate uptake to mitochondria by UK5099 in organ cultures of fetal mouse ovaries resulted in repressed early folliculogenesis without affecting energy production, survival of oocytes, or meiosis. In addition, the abnormal folliculogenesis by UK5099 was partially rescued by α-ketoglutarate and succinate, intermediate metabolites in the TCA cycle, suggesting the importance of those metabolites. The expression of TGFβ-related genes Gdf9 and Bmp15 in ovarian germ cells, which are crucial for folliculogenesis, was downregulated by UK5099, and the addition of recombinant GDF9 partially rescued the abnormal folliculogenesis induced by UK5099. We also found that early folliculogenesis was similarly repressed, as in the culture, in the ovaries of a germ cell-specific knockout of Mpc2, which encodes a mitochondria pyruvate carrier that is targeted by UK5099. These results suggest that insufficient Gdf9 expression induced by abnormal pyruvate metabolism in oocytes results in early follicular dysgenesis, which is a possible cause of defective folliculogenesis in humans.

A parametric study on exergoeconomic analysis for a binary geothermal power plant with ORC

ABSTRACT The exergoeconomic analysis of an energy conversion system is helpful to decide about topics like the cost of fuel required to produce each unit of energy, electricity sales prices affecting energy production cost amounts and how to allocate R&D funds to develop system equipment. With this aim, exergoeconomic assessment of a binary geothermal power plant (GPP) with organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is researched in detail. Therefore, a parametric study about the effect of well head and ambient temperatures, electricity production, and CO2 release is conducted for the GPP. The study shows that the exergy efficiency, exergy destruction ratio and exergoeconomic factor for the GPP are, respectively, 39.1%, 31.4%, and 58.1%. The highest total operating costs and exergy destruction rate belong to the condenser in the system with values of 186 $/h and 2.49 MW. The costs per unit exergy for the liquid and steam geothermal fluid in the GPP are 1.2 $/GJ and 370 $/GJ, respectively. The total operating cost of the GPP is nearly 1,218.38 $/h, while the cost rate per unit of electricity produced by the GPP is 0.055 $/kWh. As the ambient temperature increased, there is a 10% increase in total operating cost and this results in a 21% increase in cost per electricity produced. With the brine input temperatures of 160°C, 165°C, and 170°C, the costs per unit CO2 output are, respectively, 110 $/h, 167.50 $/h, and 307 $/h. In conclusion, as the amount of steam brine entering the GPP increases, the amount of CO2 released to the atmosphere ascends.

Effects of particulate matters and climate condition on photovoltaic system efficiency in tropical climate region

The design of the photovoltaic system comprises numerous factors, which can affect the scale of system installation. This research study investigated additional factors to common parameters that are used in fundamental computations, especially factors related to tropical climates. Moreover, pollution problems, such as Particulate Matter 2.5 microns (PM2.5) is currently becoming critical across these regions. Therefore, we also investigated the influence of PM2.5, ambient temperature and other factors towards the efficiency of electricity-generation from photovoltaic systems in a tropical climate zone. The parameters were collected using a data logger and the data was analyzed. The direct and indirect influences on the electricity produced from the photovoltaic system was described using the R2-value obtained from structural equation modeling. The results showed that ambient temperature and PM2.5 factors resulted in a direct negative effect on the electrical production in the tropical climate area. The equation could explain 59.0% of the factors affecting energy production; therefore can be applied to improve the development of system designs in tropical climate regions.

Dust detection in solar panel using image processing techniques: A review

The performance of a photovoltaic panel is affected by its orientation and angular inclination with the horizontal plane. This occurs because these two parameters alter the amount of solar energy received by the surface of the photovoltaic panel. There are also environmental factors that affect energy production, one example is the dust. Dust particles accumulated on the surface of the panel reduce the arrival of light to the solar modules, reducing the amount of generated energy. The cleaning or mitigation of the modules is important and, to optimize these processes, constant monitoring and evaluation must be carried out. In order to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic panels, the use of image processing methods can be considered for the detection of dust. Therefore, the creation of a document that gathers and analyzes the results of different works developed to solve this problem facilitates access to information, allowing a better understanding of what has already been done and how it can be improved. The objective of this article is to review researches that uses image processing techniques to detect dust on solar panels, in order to compile information to assist research in the area and provide inspiration for future studies.

Infectious bronchitis virus affects energy production

Infectious bronchitis virus affects energy production

Role of Mitochondrial Calcium in the Maintenance of Skeletal Muscle Homeostasis

Calcium accumulates into the mitochondrial matrix through the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU). Few years ago a MCU homolog has been discovered, which has been called MCUb. MCU and MCUb share a 50% sequence and structure similarity although some conserved differences in the primary sequence prevent MCUb from forming a Ca2+‐permeable channel. Interestingly, MCUb/MCU expression ratio varies greatly among tissues, suggesting that it might contribute to the spatiotemporal control of mitochondrial calcium uptake. We found that MCUb is highly expressed during skeletal muscle regeneration, a process that is mainly regulated by phenotypic skewing of tissue resident and freshly recruited macrophages. We have demonstrated that MCUb expression is specifically induced in macrophages, the most abundant cell population in a regenerating muscle that drive both the proliferation and differentiation of the muscle stem cells, satellite cells, thus affecting the progression of healing after muscle damage. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that the absence of MCU affects macrophages skewing from a pro (M1) to an anti‐inflammatory profile (M2). Indeed, macrophages of mice lacking MCUb are more prone to acquire a pro‐inflammatory M1 profile. Since M2 macrophages have a pro‐regenerative role and promote myogenic precursor cell differentiation, we hypothesized that MCUb absence, by affecting M2 polarization, might influence the correct remodeling and reorganization of skeletal muscle structure after damage. Our results clearly show that regenerating muscles lacking MCUb show a decrease in the expression level of myogenic regulatory transcription factors involved in satellite cells activation and differentiation. We also observed a decrease in the percentage of regenerating myofibers and a decrease in collagen deposition. In addition, co‐culture experiments demonstrated that macrophage‐conditioned medium from M2 MCUb KO macrophages drastically decreases satellite cell differentiation. Altogether these results demonstrate the role of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in promoting the polarization of macrophages towards an M2 pro‐regenerative profile during skeletal muscle regeneration.Moreover, we found that skeletal muscle mitochondria express a unique MCU complex containing an alternative splice isoform of MICU1, MICU1.1, characterized by the addition of a micro‐exon that is sufficient to greatly modify the properties of the MCU. Indeed, MICU1.1 binds Ca2+ one order magnitude more efficiently than MICU1. In skeletal muscle in vivo, MICU1.1 is required for sustained mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and ATP production. Furthermore, we observed that the MICU1 forced expression in skeletal muscle not only affects energy production but also influences muscle trophism. These results highlight a novel mechanism of the molecular plasticity of the MCU Ca2+ uptake machinery and suggest a previously unexplored pathogenic mechanism in skeletal muscle diseases.Support or Funding InformationThis work is supported by the Italian Telethon ONLUS Foundation (Rome, Italy): GGP16026 to AR and the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Finalizzata) (GR‐2016‐02362779 to AR).

The Mitochondrial Lon Protease: Novel Functions off the Beaten Track?

To maintain organellar function, mitochondria contain an elaborate endogenous protein quality control system. As one of the two soluble energy-dependent proteolytic enzymes in the matrix compartment, the protease Lon is a major component of this system, responsible for the degradation of misfolded proteins, in particular under oxidative stress conditions. Lon defects have been shown to negatively affect energy production by oxidative phosphorylation but also mitochondrial gene expression. In this review, recent studies on the role of Lon in mammalian cells, in particular on its protective action under diverse stress conditions and its relationship to important human diseases are summarized and commented.

The impact of China's ‘Atmosphere Ten Articles’ policy on total factor productivity of energy exploitation: Empirical evidence using synthetic control methods

Implementation of the atmospheric policy is important to influence energy production and exploitation. By implementing the atmospheric policy, this study has simulated and compared the energy exploitation total factor productivity (TFP) change path for the energy extraction and enrichment areas applying the synthetic control method, using Chinese panel data for the period from 2007 to 2016. The results show that the atmospheric policy will help the growth of TFP in Shandong, Anhui, and Shanxi, but the impact in most areas is not observable, and the lagging effect of atmospheric policy is conspicuous in Gansu, Shaanxi, Liaoning, and other places. Based on this, the study proposes three mechanisms to explain how atmospheric policy affects energy production TFP and uses a panel Tobit model to test the path of action. The test results show that implementation of the atmospheric policy has not improved energy exploitation TFP effectively, but it has to be implemented. Time effect and the model estimation results show that the atmospheric policy and technological innovations are more conducive to improving energy exploitation TFP, but the role of industrial division of labour and the energy market price mechanism makes it difficult to promote energy exploitation TFP. The influence of atmospheric policy varies in different regions and is inconsistent in the northeast and east. The regional atmospheric policy can significantly promote energy exploitation TFP in the region, but the central and western regions do not show significant inverse relationship with the energy exploitation TFP.

Prospective Climate Change Impacts upon Energy Prices in the 21ST Century: A Case Study in Italy

The assessment of the effect of the electricity price on energy production is important when studying the profitability and benefits of energy systems. The demand and price of electricity depends upon societal and economic development, but it is subject to a seasonal, weather-dependent variability, and possibly to long-term variation under climate change. Here, we developed a methodology to model the energy demand and electricity price in response to gross domestic product (GDP), temperatures, and random factors, usable for the purpose of cost/benefit analysis of production systems. The method was applied to the case study of the Italian electricity market, showing acceptable capacity of modelling recently observed price fluctuations. Then, we gathered climate projections until 2100 from three global climate models of the IPCC AR5, under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5, and we produced future scenarios of price fluctuations for two reference decades, half-century 2040–2049, and end-of-century 2090–2099. Our scenarios displayed a potential for the reduction of energy demand in winter, and an increase in summer and spring, and for the similarly-changing electricity price throughout the 21st century. We discuss the application of our model with the specific aim of the projection of future hydropower production, as controlled by climate, hydrology, demand, and price constraints, with examples from recent studies. Our results provide a tool for modelling the behaviour of energy systems based upon knowledge of external factors, usable for further investigation of energy systems, such as hydropower, and others, taking into account the key variables affecting energy production and energy price.

Perspectives on integrated water resource management and its relevance in understanding the water-energy-climate change nexus in South Africa

It is increasingly acknowledged that the water-energy-climate change (WECC) nexus is one of the synergies that pose a significant risk to achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs), specifically numbers six, seven and thirteen. There are suggestions that climate change outcomes such as increased temperature and drought episodes have implications for water availability, which in turn affects energy production in countries dependent on hydropower, pump-storage or coal-generated electricity, including South Africa. This development therefore calls for improved understanding of how to effectively manage the challenges that arise from this nexus, to mitigate the impacts it may have on achieving the associated SDGs. This study, which is based on an in-depth appraisal of existing developments, assessed the potential of the integrated water resource management framework in understanding the WECC nexus and its implications for South Africa’s sustainable development endeavours, particularly in the context of water resource management and utilisation. The study revealed South Africa’s lack of integrated, effective, and efficient institutions and policy framework to comprehensively manage the challenges emanating from this nexus. It identified an urgent need to develop systems and processes through which South Africa can handle the challenges as well as capture the benefits that may be obtained from this nexus.

Transmission of Dysfunctional Mitochondrial DNA and Its Implications for Mammalian Reproduction.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes proteins for the electron transport chain which produces the vast majority of cellular energy. MtDNA has its own replication and transcription machinery that relies on nuclear-encoded transcription and replication factors. MtDNA is inherited in a non-Mendelian fashion as maternal-only mtDNA is passed onto the next generation. Mutation to mtDNA can cause mitochondrial dysfunction, which affects energy production and tissue and organ function. In somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), there is an issue with the mixing of two populations of mtDNA, namely from the donor cell and recipient oocyte. This review focuses on the transmission of mtDNA in SCNT embryos and offspring. The transmission of donor cell mtDNA can be prevented by depleting the donor cell of its mtDNA using mtDNA depletion agents prior to SCNT. As a result, SCNT embryos harbour oocyte-only mtDNA. Moreover, culturing SCNT embryos derived from mtDNA depleted cells in media supplemented with a nuclear reprograming agent can increase the levels of expression of genes related to embryo development when compared with non-depleted cell-derived embryos. Furthermore, we have reviewed how mitochondrial supplementation in oocytes can have beneficial effects for SCNT embryos by increasing mtDNA copy number and the levels of expression of genes involved in energy production and decreasing the levels of expression of genes involved in embryonic cell death. Notably, there are beneficial effects of mtDNA supplementation over the use of nuclear reprograming agents in terms of regulating gene expression in embryos. Taken together, manipulating mtDNA in donor cells and/or oocytes prior to SCNT could enhance embryo production efficiency.

Recent area and volume loss of Alpine glaciers in the Adda River of Italy and their contribution to hydropower production

We computed and analysed the geometry changes affecting an Italian glacierized sector (the Sondrio Province, Adda River Basin). This zone was chosen because i) there is a relative abundance of high resolution remote sensing data covering the last thirty years, ii) it represents an important sector of the glacierized areas of Italy, and iii) it is first ranked within the list of Italian districts featuring highest hydro-power production.We found large glacier reduction, with an area change of −25.41% during 1991–2007, and −30.5% during 1981–2007. Volume change during 1981–2007 was −1353 × 106 m3 ± 27%. The mean thickness change was −14.91 m. The mean annual volume change of the Sondrio glaciers was about −52 × 106 m3 y−1 of ice, or ca. −47 × 106 m3 y−1 of water. We then computed the glaciers' contribution to 25 hydropower plants located in the studied area. For this purpose we divided the study region into two zones. While in the first, Eastern most region (R1) a large share of hydropower is provided by liquid precipitation, in the second Western region (R2) ca. 1/2 of the total water for hydropower is provided by solid water, i.e. snowfall and ice melt. Our results display that in areas like Region R2, where a large share of hydropower production depends upon ice melt, the expected future lack of water under glaciers' down wasting may affect energy production, and requires adaptation strategies.

Disruption of quercetin metabolism by fungicide affects energy production in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450) in the honey bee, Apis mellifera, detoxify phytochemicals in honey and pollen. The flavonol quercetin is found ubiquitously and abundantly in pollen and frequently at lower concentrations in honey. Worker jelly consumed during the first 3 d of larval development typically contains flavonols at very low levels, however. RNA-Seq analysis of gene expression in neonates reared for three days on diets with and without quercetin revealed that, in addition to up-regulating multiple detoxifying P450 genes, quercetin is a negative transcriptional regulator of mitochondrion-related nuclear genes and genes encoding subunits of complexes I, III, IV, and V in the oxidative phosphorylation pathway. Thus, a consequence of inefficient metabolism of this phytochemical may be compromised energy production. Several P450s metabolize quercetin in adult workers. Docking in silico of 121 pesticide contaminants of American hives into the active pocket of CYP9Q1, a broadly substrate-specific P450 with high quercetin-metabolizing activity, identified six triazole fungicides, all fungal P450 inhibitors, that dock in the catalytic site. In adults fed combinations of quercetin and the triazole myclobutanil, the expression of five of six mitochondrion-related nuclear genes was down-regulated. Midgut metabolism assays verified that adult bees consuming quercetin with myclobutanil metabolized less quercetin and produced less thoracic ATP, the energy source for flight muscles. Although fungicides lack acute toxicity, they may influence bee health by interfering with quercetin detoxification, thereby compromising mitochondrial regeneration and ATP production. Thus, agricultural use of triazole fungicides may put bees at risk of being unable to extract sufficient energy from their natural food.

Predicting growth of the healthy infant using a genome scale metabolic model

An estimated 165 million children globally have stunted growth, and extensive growth data are available. Genome scale metabolic models allow the simulation of molecular flux over each metabolic enzyme, and are well adapted to analyze biological systems. We used a human genome scale metabolic model to simulate the mechanisms of growth and integrate data about breast-milk intake and composition with the infant’s biomass and energy expenditure of major organs. The model predicted daily metabolic fluxes from birth to age 6 months, and accurately reproduced standard growth curves and changes in body composition. The model corroborates the finding that essential amino and fatty acids do not limit growth, but that energy is the main growth limiting factor. Disruptions to the supply and demand of energy markedly affected the predicted growth, indicating that elevated energy expenditure may be detrimental. The model was used to simulate the metabolic effect of mineral deficiencies, and showed the greatest growth reduction for deficiencies in copper, iron, and magnesium ions which affect energy production through oxidative phosphorylation. The model and simulation method were integrated to a platform and shared with the research community. The growth model constitutes another step towards the complete representation of human metabolism, and may further help improve the understanding of the mechanisms underlying stunting.

Climate change and next generation cellular systems

As climate change could affect energy production, it can also undermine telecommunications development which requires increased energy consumption to drive improvement in network penetration, coverage and capacity. Employing secondary data analysis and simulation, this paper presents a study on climate change effect on energy consumption of telecommunication base stations. The impact of climate change on energy consumption was examined by introducing a climate factor,, into validated Base Transceivers Stations (BTS) power consumption models. The BTS energy demand was found to increase with increase in temperature due to cooling requirement. The result shows that, with 1 o C increase in outdoor temperature, heat flow through BTS shelter increases by 6.25%. This increase effect, manifests on cooling system with above 1 kW power. The result presented shows the importance of taking climate change variables into consideration when planning next generation cellular networks for sustainable deployment. Key Words: Climate change, renewable energy, cellular systems, base stations, mmWave communication, sustainability

Proteomic and Carbonylation Profile Analysis at the Critical Node of Seed Ageing in Oryza sativa

The critical node (CN), which is the transition from the plateau phase to the rapid decreasing phase of seed ageing, is extremely important for seed conservation. Although numerous studies have investigated the oxidative stress during seed ageing, information on the changes in protein abundance at the CN is limited. In this study, we aimed to investigate the abundance and carbonylation patterns of proteins at the CN of seed ageing in rice. The results showed that the germination rate of seeds decreased by less than 20% at the CN; however, the abundance of 112 proteins and the carbonylation levels of 68 proteins markedly changed, indicating oxidative damage. The abundance and activity of mitochondrial, glycolytic, and pentose phosphate pathway proteins were reduced; consequently, this negatively affected energy production and germination. Proteins related to defense, including antioxidant system and heat shock proteins, also reduced in abundance. Overall, energy metabolism was reduced at the CN, leading to a decrease in the antioxidant capacity, whereas seed storage proteins were up-regulated and carbonylated, indicating that the seed had a lower ability to utilize seed storage proteins for germination. Thus, the significant decrease in metabolic activities at the CN might accelerate the loss of seed viability.

Environmental Effect on Wind Farm Efficiency and Power Production

A meta-study is conducted investigating the effect of wind farm and turbine sites on the thermodynamic factors that affect energy production. Site deviations in surface roughness length, diurnal temperature changes of turbine and generation density and thermally stratified wind distributions are the parameters considered. The environment should be a significant factor in the placement of new wind farm sites. Further it is shown that with increasing wind velocity distributions negatively impacts efficiency of the turbine system and power output is decreased.

What has Electron Microscopy Contributed to Alzheimer's Research?

Electron microscopy has enlarged the visual horizons of the morphological alterations in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Study of the mitochondria and Golgi apparatus in early cases of AD revealed the principal role that these important organelles play in the drama of pathogenic dialog of AD, substantially affecting energy production and supply, and protein trafficking in neurons and glia. In addition, study of the morphological alterations of the dendritic arbor, dendritic spines and neuronal synapses, which are associated with mitochondrial damage, may reasonably interpret the clinical phenomena of the irreversible decline of the mental faculties and an individual's personality changes. Electron microscopy also reveals the involvement of microvascular alterations in the etiopathogenic background of AD.