Powerful Option Research Articles

A review of Doherty power amplifier and load modulated balanced amplifier for 5G technology

SummaryIn this paper, functionality of the Doherty power amplifiers (DPAs) along with their design constraints such as DPA combining techniques are reviewed. This is because power amplifier (PA) is a key building block in the design of fifth generation (5G) communication systems. A significant trend is the DPA bandwidth enhancement technique, which is the subject of numerous papers in the literature. So, we will review some papers with different solutions to address DPA's bandwidth limitations. There are also different works in the literature that have focused on high‐efficiency PA structure designs, which are also discussed in this paper. An excellent option for effective power combining in broadband designs is using balanced amplifiers. We have discussed load modulated balanced amplifiers (LMBA) in this paper because designing an effective PA with a wide bandwidth is crucial. We also covered some papers that have proposed techniques based on the linearization method to bring the efficiency and linearity of DPAs to a fair level.

Phytochemicals and Regulation of NF-kB in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: An Overview of In Vitro and In Vivo Effects.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic relapsing idiopathic inflammatory conditions affecting the gastrointestinal tract. They are mainly represented by two forms, ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). IBD can be associated with the activation of nuclear factors, such as nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB), leading to increased transcription of pro-inflammatory mediators that result in diarrhea, abdominal pain, bleeding, and many extra-intestinal manifestations. Phytochemicals can interfere with many inflammation targets, including NF-kB pathways. Thus, this review aimed to investigate the effects of different phytochemicals in the NF-kB pathways in vitro and in vivo models of IBD. Fifty-six phytochemicals were included in this study, such as curcumin, resveratrol, kaempferol, sesamol, pinocembrin, astragalin, oxyberberine, berberine hydrochloride, botulin, taxifolin, naringin, thymol, isobavachalcone, lancemaside A, aesculin, tetrandrine, Ginsenoside Rk3, mangiferin, diosgenin, theanine, tryptanthrin, lycopene, gyngerol, alantolactone, mangostin, ophiopogonin D, fisetin, sinomenine, piperine, oxymatrine, euphol, artesunate, galangin, and nobiletin. The main observed effects related to NF-kB pathways were reductions in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and augmented occludin, claudin-1, zonula occludens-1, and IL-10 expression levels. Moreover, phytochemicals can improve weight loss, stool consistency, and rectal bleeding in IBD. Therefore, phytochemicals can constitute a powerful treatment option for IBD in humans.

Lipid network and moiety analysis for revealing enzymatic dysregulation and mechanistic alterations from lipidomics data.

Lipidomics is of growing importance for clinical and biomedical research due to many associations between lipid metabolism and diseases. The discovery of these associations is facilitated by improved lipid identification and quantification. Sophisticated computational methods are advantageous for interpreting such large-scale data for understanding metabolic processes and their underlying (patho)mechanisms. To generate hypothesis about these mechanisms, the combination of metabolic networks and graph algorithms is a powerful option to pinpoint molecular disease drivers and their interactions. Here we present lipid network explorer (LINEX$^2$), a lipid network analysis framework that fuels biological interpretation of alterations in lipid compositions. By integrating lipid-metabolic reactions from public databases, we generate dataset-specific lipid interaction networks. To aid interpretation of these networks, we present an enrichment graph algorithm that infers changes in enzymatic activity in the context of their multispecificity from lipidomics data. Our inference method successfully recovered the MBOAT7 enzyme from knock-out data. Furthermore, we mechanistically interpret lipidomic alterations of adipocytes in obesity by leveraging network enrichment and lipid moieties. We address the general lack of lipidomics data mining options to elucidate potential disease mechanisms and make lipidomics more clinically relevant.

Power-barrier option pricing formulas in uncertain financial market with floating interest rate

<abstract><p>Power-barrier option is a typical exotic option formed by attaching some restrictions to the power option, where the power option evolves from standard European option with the strike price and underlying good price attached to some power. Compared with the ordinary options, power-barrier option can provide investors with stable leverage and premium income. Therefore, power-barrier option is more favored by investors. This paper mainly discusses the pricing problems of power-barrier option in uncertain financial market. The fluctuation of stock price is regarded as an uncertain process and the interest rate is floating. The uncertain differential equation is invoked to simulate this fluctuation in an uncertain environment. Then, the clear pricing formulas of power-barrier option are given. Finally, the corresponding numerical examples and a real data example are put forward to illustrate the method.</p></abstract>

Variable research of the efficiency of a combined thermal storage system when used at NPPs with VVER

The energy sector has the problem of covering the unevenness of daily energy consumption. Electric stations are unloaded during hours of reduced electrical load in the power system, which leads to a decrease in their economic efficiency and resource indicators. This problem is especially relevant for nuclear power plants. This is justified by their high cost with relatively cheap fuel, which makes it logical to fully load them. However, an increase in the number of nuclear installations in the energy system leads to the need to unload them. The authors developed a system for combining thermal accumulators (phase change accumulator and hot water tanks) with a nuclear power plant and an additional low-power steam turbine. An additional turbine makes it possible not to overload the main turbine of a nuclear power plant. In addition, when a nuclear power plant is de-energized, an additional turbine can provide power to the station’s own needs using only the decay heat energy of one reactor. The conditions for economic efficiency and payback of the accumulation system were studied in the work. Boundary values of the maximum net present value for three steam turbine power options for a range of operating conditions were obtained.

BioSAXS at European Synchrotron Radiation Facility – Extremely Brilliant Source: BM29 with an upgraded source, detector, robot, sample environment, data collection and analysis software

As part of its Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS) upgrade project, the ESRF's BM29 BioSAXS beamline was subject to a significant upgrade and refurbishment. In addition to the replacement of the beamline's original bending magnet source by a two-pole wiggler, leading to an increase in brilliance by a factor of 60, the sample environment of the beamline was almost completely refurbished: a vacuum-compatible Pilatus3 X 2M with a sensitive area of 253.7 mm × 288 mm and frame rates up to 250 Hz was installed, increasing the active area available and thus the q-scaling of scattering images taken; the sample changer was replaced with an upgraded version, allowing more space for customizable sample environments and the installation of two new sample exposure units; the software associated with the beamline was also renewed. In addition, the layout and functionality of the BSXCuBE3 (BioSAXS Customized Beamline Environment) data acquisition software was redesigned, providing an intuitive `user first' approach for inexperienced users, while at the same time maintaining more powerful options for experienced users and beamline staff. Additional features of BSXCuBE3 are queuing of samples; either consecutive sample changer and/or SEC-SAXS (size-exclusion chromatography small-angle X-ray scattering) experiments, including column equilibration were also implemented. Automatic data processing and analysis are now managed via Dahu, an online server with upstream data reduction, data scaling and azimuthal integration built around PyFAI (Python Fast Azimuthal Integration), and data analysis performed using the open source FreeSAS. The results of this automated data analysis pipeline are displayed in ISPyB/ExiSAXS. The upgraded BM29 has been in operation since the post-EBS restart in September 2020, and here a full description of its new hardware and software characteristics together with examples of data obtained are provided.

Technical comparison of hybrid renewable energy systems for Information Technology services

Several energy generations options that mitigate fossil fuel burning is currently being considered across the globe by various researchers to reduce atmospheric and environmental pollution, thus reducing the menace of negative climate change. There is a critical need for a technical comparison of an eco-friendly, cost effective, and near zero carbon foot-print for power solutions. Solar, wind and its hybrids can explored to meet the ever-increasing load demand of electrical power consumers especially in information technology (IT) services. Critical IT services and infrastructure are becoming unsustainable with a single power source hence the need for hybrid solutions. To overcome this problem, this research considers the efficiency of solar, wind and hybrid power. The novelty of this work is the information technology backup power requirement considered in the technical comparison. The experimental result showed the input/output peak and off-peak voltages for solar, wind, and solar-wind hybrid energy DC-Volts are 12.67V/12.02V / 12.47V/11.61V, 12.53V / 11.90V / 12.48V / 11.87V, and 12.78V / 12.09V / 12.57 / 11.95V respectively signifying a significant increase from the on-load peak period while the on-load off-peak period is seen to be lower. The results also show that a hybrid solar-wind system tested at 5 minutes time intervals gives a superior output voltage regulation and efficiency when compared to the solar or wind individual systems. It was concluded that the hybrid system of solar and wind energy source is an ideal standalone renewable energy power option in the university.

Selecting initial therapy in CLL.

Targeted therapy is a powerful treatment option in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) that has outperformed conventional chemoimmunotherapy in most clinical settings. Except for selected young, fit patients with a mutated immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region gene, most patients benefit from targeted therapy with either a continuous BTK inhibitor or 1-year fixed-duration venetoclax-obinutuzumab as first-line treatment of CLL. Treatment selection is driven by patient-, treatment-, and disease-related factors, encompassing patient preference, concomitant medications, comorbidities, safety profile of the regimen, and TP53 aberration. Clinical trials are actively investigating the simultaneous inhibition of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) and B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) proteins with or without a CD20 monoclonal antibody, which can achieve deep response in most patients (52%-89% undetectable minimal residual disease in bone marrow).

Alternative Power Options for Improvement of the Environmental Friendliness of Fishing Trawlers

The fishing sector is faced with emission problems arising from the extensive use of diesel engines as prime movers. Energy efficiency, environmental performance, and minimization of operative costs through the reduction of fuel consumption are key research topics across the whole maritime sector. Ship emissions can be determined at different levels of complexity and accuracy, i.e., by analyzing ship technical data and assuming its operative profile, or by direct measurements of key parameters. This paper deals with the analysis of the environmental footprint of a fishing trawler operating in the Adriatic Sea, including three phases of the Life-Cycle Assessment (manufacturing, Well-to-Pump (WTP), and Pump-to-Wake (PTW)). Based on the data on fuel consumption, the viability of replacing the conventional diesel-powered system with alternative options is analyzed. The results showed that fuels such as LNG and B20 represent the easiest solution that would result in a reduction of harmful gases and have a positive impact on overall costs. Although electrification and hydrogen represent one of the cleanest forms of energy, due to their high price and complex application in an obsolete fleet, they do not present an optimal solution for the time being. The paper showed that the use of alternative fuels would have a positive effect on the reduction of harmful emissions, but further work is needed to find an environmentally acceptable and economically profitable pathway for redesigning the ship power system of fishing trawlers.

Insilico exploration of the potential inhibitory activity of DrugBank compounds against CDK7 kinase using structure-based virtual screening, molecular docking, and dynamics simulation approach

The CDK-activating complex (CAK), which includes CDK7, cyclin H, and the RING-finger protein (MAT1), drives cell cycle advancement via T-loop phosphorylation of cell cycle CDKs.The heterotrimeric CAK complex is a component of TFIIH, a generic transcription factor with dual functions in transcription and cell cycle control. CDK7 facilitates transcription by phosphorylating RNA polymerase II (Pol II) at active gene promoters. The “hallmark of cancer” has been attributed to cell cycle dysregulation, as well as aberrant transcriptions mediated by various pathways found in a variety of malignancies. Furthermore, clinical outcomes show that CDK7 levels are abundantly produced in many types of malignancies, implying that it may play a role in tissue maintenance. As a result, CDK7 is regarded as a malignant therapeutic target. Selective CDK7 inhibitors (CDK7i) have been found to work as anti-cancer medications. Drugs being repurposed for CDK7 kinase treatments is a viable strategy to swiftly uncover powerful therapeutic options for some of the most challenging forms of cancer. All of the DrugBank database chemicals, as well as the CDK7 kinase protein, were prepared, and Maestro (Schrödinger Suite) and GROMACS software suite were used to perform Docking, ADMET, MMGBSA, and MD simulation analyses. After screening the DrugBank molecules against CDK7 kinase, compounds including DB07075, DB07163, DB07025, DB01204, DB03916, DB02943, DB07812, and DB07959 were discovered to fit in the active site of the CDK7 kinase and demonstrate tight interactions. The top three docked compounds were tested, and the MD simulation revealed that they were stable with the target protein at 200 ns. As a result, these chemicals have the potential to be effective CDK7 Kinase inhibitors. As a final result, we present DB07075 (3-(5-[4-(aminomethyl)piperidin-1-yl]methyl-1H-indol-2-yl)-1H-indazole-6-carbonitrile) is a reversible inhibitor because it inactivates an enzyme through non-covalent, reversible interactions that could be a more promising inhibitor of CDK7 kinase by interacting with CDK7 kinase. This novel molecule, DB07075 has met all in silico criteria, necessitating further in vitro and in vivo research, especially in clinical trials.

An Experimental Investigation of the Heating Effects of 900 MHz Cell Phones on Brain Phantom in terms of Public Health

Investigation of the effect of mobile phones in the terms of human health is getting more important position in the literature due to the increased public concern. An experimentally efficient setup was established to determine the thermal effects caused by mobile phones in the brain. Temperature increasing in the brain during exposing the mobile phone is investigated in a brain equivalent liquid (phantom). In the proposed experimental setup, mobile phone which operates at 900 MHz frequency was represented with a radio frequency (RF) generator which has a half-dipole antenna and this system is applied to phantom at different distances. Thermal absorptions were observed by sensitive temperature sensors at different depths. Effects of electromagnetic fields are usually investigated via numerical methods and simulations in the literature. In this study, an experimental analysis of temperature distributions in the human brain phantom exposed to mobile phone radiation at 900 MHz is presented. All experiments were conducted in an anechoic chamber where temperature variation is about 0.009oC. Additionally, high-power electromagnetic fields are used such as 4W, 7W and 10W which are not implemented till now in the literature for GSM frequencies. Different temperature distribution in the phantoms was observed by systematically changed distances and power options. In this last case, maximum temperature elevation was observed as 0.403oC. While the temperature elevation increases with increasing applied power, removing the mobile phone from the phantom reduce the temperature elevation in the phantom.

AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION STATUS IN AFRICA: AN OVERVIEW

One of the key aspirations of Agenda 2063 on the Africa we want is to consolidate the modernization of African agriculture and agro-businesses. Use of mechanical technologies which are both labour saving and directly increase yields and production is the most appropriate way of sustaining increased food production. It is therefore important that an appropriate technology, technology that is socially acceptable, economically viable and technically feasible, is selected for specific prevailing condition. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region in the world with the lowest power usage (manual, animal and mechanical) and the lowest level of farm mechanization. In SSA the general average number of tractors is about 28 tractors per 1 000 ha whereas it is about 241 tractors in other regions. In order to enhance mechanization in Africa, governments have to place more emphasis on the development of small-scale farmers, support and encourage the existing advanced and successful commercial farming sector, provide in-service training for extension officers, artisans and other entrepreneurs to improve their understanding of the different power and mechanization options available to farmers and to expose them to new technologies and opportunities as well as strengthening input supply networks and promote the manufacturing base on agricultural operations and processing technologies.

Highly Parallel Discovery of Synthetic Knockin Sequences for Enhanced Cancer Immunotherapies

Introduction T cells engineered to express transgenic T cell receptors (TCRs) or chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) have emerged as powerful treatment options for some malignancies. However, while CAR T cells have induced impressive initial response rates in patients with B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and lymphoma, they fail to mediate long-term relapse-free survival in 40-60% of patients and have not been successful in most solid tumors. For both TCR- and CAR-based approaches, T cell persistence and long-term functionality can be diminished by chronic antigen stimulation or tonic signaling. One approach to enhance the efficacy of cell therapies that has been explored by several groups is the overexpression of specific transcription factors (e.g. AP-1/ATF transcription factors such as c-JUN or BATF); however, more systematic gain-of-function screens in human CAR T cells have not yet been done. Methods and Results Here, we introduce CRISPR-based modular pooled knockin (ModPoKI) screens to evaluate hundreds to thousands of different constructs in human T cells and their potential to overcome TCR or CAR T cell dysfunction. We generated two barcoded ModPoKI libraries of 100 transcription factors (TFs) and 129 natural and synthetic surface receptors (SRs) to identify those that confer a fitness advantage to TCR or CAR T cells. The libraries were combined with either an NY-ESO-1-specific TCR, an anti-CD19 CAR or a high affinity anti-GD2 CAR that is known to induce tonic signaling-based dysfunction. The libraries and the TCR/CAR were engineered as polycistronic sequences that were non-virally integrated into the TRAC (T cell receptor alpha chain constant) locus of primary human T cells. We performed >20 unique ModPoKI screens including bead-based single stimulation, repetitive stimulation with target cells and tonic stimulation (GD2 CAR model). While constructs containing known AP-1/ATF transcription factors BATF and BATF3 showed increased abundance across multiple screens, transcription factor AP4 (TFAP4) knockin (KI) constructs were more clearly enriched after repetitive stimulation and tonic signaling, suggesting potentially undescribed benefits in exhaustion-prone environments. We next validated single knockins of TFAP4 or a control construct (truncated nerve growth factor receptor, tNGFR) in combination with the GD2 or the CD19 CAR. TFAP4 KI led to increased levels of cytokine release, proliferation and target cell killing compared to conventional CAR T cells. Moreover, TFAP4 KI mediated increased tumor control and survival in an in vivo model. Interestingly, we observed elevated levels of CD25 (IL2RA) expression on TFAP4 KI T cells and enrichment of genes related to IL2/STAT5 pathways which could hint at a potential benefit in situations of IL-2 competition/presence of regulatory T cells. Lastly, we aimed to discover specific combinations of TFs that work in concert to enhance T cell fitness in the setting of tonic CAR signaling. We created a ~10,000-member library (102 x 102 - pairwise combinations of 100 transcription factors plus two controls) cloned into constructs with the GD2 CAR and performed a tonic signaling ModPoKI screen. Analysis of the constructs that increased the most in relative abundance highlighted that several of the top performing constructs included either TFAP4, BATF, BATF3 or a combination of TFAP4 and BATF(3), suggesting that TFAP4 and BATF(3) are key transcription factors that can coordinately drive increased T cell fitness upon repetitive stimulation. Validation analyses confirmed that the combinatorial KI of a BATF-TFAP4 construct confers highest cytotoxic capacity in vitro and in vivo compared to single knockin (BATF-RFP or RFP-TFAP4) or control knockin (RFP-tNGFR) GD2 CAR constructs. Conclusions In conclusion, ModPoKI screens allow for customizable parallel evaluation and functional characterization of hundreds to thousands of different T cell constructs. Using clinically relevant screening modalities, we nominated candidate genes that can synthetically re-write the T cell response to repetitive antigen exposure or tonic signaling and thus have the potential to program more effective TCR or CAR T cell therapies for cancer. Figure 1View largeDownload PPTFigure 1View largeDownload PPT Close modal

Pre-strain accommodation enabled multi-dimensionally and hierarchically elastomeric MoSe2/MXene and AC/MXene electrodes for stretchable sodium ion capacitors

Stretchable supercapacitors with simultaneously high energy/power densities and long life can enrich integrated power options for ever-increasing wearable electronics. However, supercapacitors with high electrochemical performances while maintaining high stretchability are still challenging. Herein, we report stretchable sodium ion capacitors (S-SICs) based on multi-dimensionally and hierarchically elastomeric composite electrodes, and stretchable high voltage gel polymer electrolyte (3.0 V). The elastomeric composite electrode is constructed by stretchable 3D electrospun polyurethane (PU) fibrous mat and conductive 1D Ag nanowire network. 2D MoSe2/MXene and 3D AC/MXene as anodic and cathodic materials are embedded in this conductive and stretchable mat. This hierarchical structure enables multi-dimensional conductive connections under tensile condition. The pre-strain treatment on PU fibrous mat further increases the relatively stretching distance before losing conductive connection among hierarchical components. The electrodes exhibit superior sodium ion storage performances (420 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1), as well as good stretchability and stability (95% after 1000 cycles at 2 A g−1). Based on this, the S-SICs with high operating voltage demonstrate high energy/power densities (max. 5.44 mWh cm−3, 493.55 mW cm−3) and good stretchability. This prototypical exhibition of S-SICs indicates a promising design direction of stretchable supercapacitors with high electrochemical performances and tolerance of stretchability.

Tissue culture coupled with a gas exchange system offers new perspectives on phenotyping the developmental biology of Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. 'MicroTom'.

Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. 'Microtom' (MicroTom) is a model organism with a relatively rapid life cycle, and wide library of genetic mutants available to study different aspects of plant development. Despite its small stature, conventional MicroTom research often requires expensive growth cabinets and/or expansive greenhouse space, limiting the number of experimental and control replications needed for experiments, and can render plants susceptible to pests and disease. Thus, alternative experimental approaches must be devised to reduce the footprint of experimental units and limit the occurrence problematic confounding variables. Here, tissue culture is presented as a powerful option for MicroTom research that can quell the complications associated with conventional MicroTom research methods. A previously established, non-invasive, analytical tissue culture system is used to compare in vitro and conventionally produced MicroTom by assessing photosynthesis, respiration, diurnal carbon gain, and fruit pigments. To our knowledge, this is the first publication that measures in vitro MicroTom fruit pigments and compares diurnal photosynthetic/respiration responses to abiotic factors between in vitro and ex vitro MicroTom. Comparable trends would validate tissue culture as a new benchmark method in MicroTom research, as it is like Arabidopsis, allowing replicable, statistically valid, high throughput genotyping and selective phenotyping experiments. Combining the model plant MicroTom with advanced tissue culture methods makes it possible to study bonsai-style MicroTom responses to light, temperature, and atmospheric stimuli in the absence of confounding abiotic stress factors that would otherwise be unachievable using conventional methods.

Open-source project feasibility tools for supporting development of the green ammonia value chain

Ammonia plays a vital role in feeding the world through fertilizer production, as well as having other industrial uses. However, current ammonia production processes rely heavily on fossil fuels, mostly natural gas, to generate hydrogen as a feedstock. There is an urgent need to re-design and decarbonise the production process to reduce greenhouse emissions and avoid dependence on volatile gas markets and a depleting resource base. Renewable energy driven electrolysis to generate hydrogen provides a viable pathway for producing carbon-free or green ammonia. However, a key challenge associated with producing green ammonia is managing low cost but highly variable wind and solar renewable energy generation for hydrogen electrolysis while maintaining reliable operation of the less flexible ammonia synthesis unit. To date, green ammonia production has only been demonstrated at pilot scale, and optimising plant configurations and scaling up production facilities is an urgent task. Existing feasibility studies have demonstrated the ability to model and cost green ammonia production pathways that can overcome the technical and economic challenges. However, these existing approaches are context specific, demonstrating the ability to model and cost green ammonia production for defined locations, with set configurations. In this paper we present a modelling framework that consolidates the array of configurations previously studied into a single framework that can be tailored to the location of interest. Our open-source green ammonia modelling and costing tool dynamically simulates the integration of renewable energy with a wide range of balancing power and storage options to meet the flexible demands of the green ammonia production process at hourly time resolution over a year or more. Unlike existing models, the open-source implementation of our tool allows it to be used by a potentially wide range of stakeholders to explore their own projects and help guide the upscaling of green ammonia as a pathway for decarbonisation. Using Gladstone in Australia as a case study, a 1 million tonne per annum (MMTPA) green ammonia plant is modelled and costed using price assumptions for major equipment in 2030 provided by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). Using a hybrid (solar PV and wind) renewable energy source and Battery Energy Storage System as balancing technology, we estimate a levelized cost of ammonia (LCOA) between 0.69 and 0.92 USD kgNH3-1. While greater than historical ammonia production costs from natural gas, falling renewables costs and emission reduction imperatives suggest a major future role for green ammonia.

Review of Energy Consumption by the Fish Farming and Processing Industry in Croatia and the Potential for Zero-Emissions Aquaculture

Higher energy efficiency and lower environmental impact have become very important aspects in the evaluation of the design and operation of technical systems. The same goes for the fish farming sector, which continuously aims to reduce its environmental footprint as well as its operating costs. This paper reviews the energy needs of the fish farming sector and their impact on the environment, and discusses the possibilities of improving the environmental friendliness of this sector by employing a higher share of renewable energy sources. The fish farming process is divided into its constitutive phases: fish breeding with associated activities, transportation, and handling of grown fish, together with relevant processes; and final processing and distribution to the customers. For these phases, the energy consumption and associated emissions, depending on the energy source, have been assessed. The parts of the process with the highest potential for the integration of alternative powering options and consequent environmental improvements are identified. The case study deals with the fish farming process in Croatia, for which a set of alternative powering options has been proposed, considering the existing energy supply, i.e., import of fossil fuels and current Croatian electricity mix, as well as renewable energy potential, which is reviewed in the paper.

From waste heat to domestic hot water; a sustainable and financially viable solution?

Modern waste management facilities that combust waste to generate domestic hot water or electricity are more sustainable than landfilling but not necessarily more viable. Space limitations and advances in sorting waste before burning it may financially justify the construction of waste combustion facilities. In addition, building small-scale incinerators close to demand centres (e.g., homes) can provide a resilient option compared to centralized systems. This study aims to financially assess the use of an incinerator to provide domestic hot water for homes. First, data regarding hot water consumption in homes is collected through a survey. The collected data is compiled with national data to generalize the results. Once we know the hot water demand, a cost-production model is developed to assess the cost of hot water supply for an incinerator that combusts wood, rubber, and plastic waste. The incinerator used in this study has a water-cooled structure that allows for building the facility in the proximity of the demand centre. In addition, this smokeless incinerator is equipped with high-pressure air to attain the highest achievable efficiency in the market. The cost per gallon of supplying hot water is compared to the cost of using traditional power options such as gas and electricity and the cost of disposing waste in a landfill combined. The results of the study determine the required amounts of waste per household and the financial viability of using waste management facilities to provide domestic hot water.

Sustainability evaluation of power generation technologies using Multi-Criteria Decision Making: The Kenyan case

Kenya expects a high growth in energy demand due to its high demographic and economic growth as well as increasing industrialization. In that regard, the government of Kenya has already shown interest to expand its power supply which includes coal-fired power plants. However, many previous studies conducted to evaluate the Kenyan energy planning scenarios were limited to technical aspect such as dynamic power consumption and demand forecasting; techno-environmental aspect such as low carbon capacity expansion; techno-economic electricity expansion aspect and economic, techno-environmental electricity expansion aspect. The concern of evaluating all the potential Kenyan power options against sustainability dimensions as a whole was not addressed since selecting power technology options has become a multidimensional problem. Therefore, this study aimed at prioritizing Kenyan power technology options using sustainable dimensions: Economic, Social, Environmental and Technical. This research applied Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method which is an interesting tool able to bring together several variables to handle a decision making problem. Hence, energy options were evaluated against the four sustainable dimensions (Economic, Social, Environmental and Technical) combining 17 energy indicators and a hybrid AHP–TOPSIS technique was used for that purpose. Results showed that Solar PV and Wind are the most promising technologies in Kenya. Although CSP has not been privileged by Kenyan policymakers, it ranks among the first-three promising technologies, except for economic scenario raking this option the last. Five different analyzed scenarios (Economic privileged, Technical privileged, Environmental privileged, Social privileged, Equal importance) showed the robustness of Solar PV in the all sustainable dimensions. This study has provided a critical policy contribution to the Kenyan government and energy projects investors by solving the dilemma of technologies prioritization in capacity expansion.

A blinded multicenter investigation: Accentuated NK lymphocyte CD335 (NKp46) expression predicts reproductive failures after IVF.

The peripheral blood NK cell diversity is highly complex. Recent studies have described more than a thousand phenotypes sharing NK cell receptors (NKRs), across the leukocyte lineages. Previously, we have found that accentuated NK p46 phenotype has prognostic value for NK cytotoxicity status, and is characteristic for patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF).In a blinded investigation we studied blood samples from IVF women before embryo transfer (pre-implantation genetic tested [PGT] embryos n = 116; not tested embryos n = 219). We studied NKp46 expression by flow cytometry and anti-cardiolipin antibody (aCL) levels. aCL results were transmitted to the clinic but NKp46 expression was blinded (for us and for the clinic) and not analyzed before termination of the study (end of last pregnancy). Association of NKp46 phenotype with clinical pregnancy rate (CPR), pregnancy failure (PF) rate and life birth rate (LBR) were analyzed. aCL positive and IvIg treated cases were excluded.IVF success was dependent on p46 NK phenotype in patients with PGT embryos. Elevated p46 expression on NK (>93%) as well as decreased (<66%) significantly reduce CPR (OR 12.7 and 3.8) without affecting pregnancy failure frequency. Both accentuations (taken together) resulted in a significant reduction of LBR (OR 3.9 p = 0.019) compared with non-accentuated phenotypes (p46 levels 66–93%). Elevated NK cell levels (>14.5% weakly) were associated with PF (OR 3.1 p = 0.069), but not significantly with reduced LBR. In contrast, numbers of NKCD335+ lymphocytes (>11.5%) were a significant predictor of PF (OR-4.0 p<0.05) and decreased LBR (OR 2.1 p = 0.06). At the same time, accentuated numbers of NKCD335neg lymphocytes (<0.7 and >4%) were also associated with decreased LBR (OR 2,65 p = 0.05). In patients with NKCD335++ numbers (<5 and >21%), we found a weakly association with IVF failure. We found similar associations in IVF patients without PGT -A but at lower significance levels regardless the higher number of patients. Impact of NKp46 phenotype for IVF success was significant in patients with donor's ET and almost imperceptible in patients > 35y.o. with own embryo transfer.Accentuated increased or decreased CD335 expression on NK was associated with embryo implantation failure. Balanced CD335 levels form a condition favorable for implantation. Elevated numbers of p46+NK (CD3-CD56+CD335+) predicts pregnancy failures at higher significance levels than elevated NK cell numbers. Elevated numbers of p46negNK (CD3-CD56+CD335-) indicate reduced LBR. Accentuation of p46 expression on NK cells is associated with reproductive failures. In combination with PGD it provides a powerful prediction algorithm and treatment option.