An improved TLBO with elite strategy for parameters identification of PEM fuel cell and solar cell models

Clean and renewable energy generation and supply has drawn much attention worldwide in recent years, the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and solar cells are among the most popular technologies. Accurately modeling the PEM fuel cells as well as solar cells is critical in their applications, and this involves the identification and optimization of model parameters. This is however challenging due to the highly nonlinear and complex nature of the models. In particular for PEM fuel cells, the model has to be optimized under different operation conditions, thus making the solution space extremely complex. In this paper, an improved and simplified teaching-learning based optimization algorithm (STLBO) is proposed to identify and optimize parameters for these two types of cell models. This is achieved by introducing an elite strategy to improve the quality of population and a local search is employed to further enhance the performance of the global best solution. To improve the diversity of the local search a chaotic map is also introduced. Compared with the basic TLBO, the structure of the proposed algorithm is much simplified and the searching ability is significantly enhanced. The performance of the proposed STLBO is firstly tested and verified on two low dimension decomposable problems and twelve large scale benchmark functions, then on the parameter identification of PEM fuel cell as well as solar cell models. Intensive experimental simulations show that the proposed STLBO exhibits excellent performance in terms of the accuracy and speed, in comparison with those reported in the literature.

Hydrogel antimicrobial capture coatings for endotracheal tubes; a pharmaceutical strategy designed to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia.

This paper presents a novel strategy for the prevention of ventilator-associatedpneumonia that involves coating poly(vinyl chloride, PVC) endotracheal tubes (ET) withhydrogels that may be subsequently used to entrap nebulized antimicrobial solutions. Candidatehydrogels were prepared containing a range of ratios of hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) andmethacrylic acid (MAA) from 100:0 to 70:30 using free radical polymerization and, whenrequired, simultaneous attachment to PVC was performed. The mechanical properties, glasstransition temperatures, swelling kinetics, uptake of gentamicin from an aqueous medium, andgentamicin release were characterized. Increasing the MAA content of the hydrogels significantlydecreased the ultimate tensile strength, % elongation at break, Young’s modulus, and increasedthe glass transition temperature, the swelling ratio, and gentamicin uptake. Microbial(Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) adherence to control (drug-free) hydrogelswas observed; however, while adherence to gentamicin-containing p(HEMA) occurred, noadherence occurred to gentamicin-containing HEMA:MAA copolymers. Antimicrobialpersistence of gentamicin-containing hydrogels was examined by determining the zone ofinhibition against each microorganism on successive days. Hydrogel composition affected the observed antimicrobial persistence,with the hydrogel composed of 70:30 HEMA:MAA exhibiting >20 days persistence against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa,respectively. To simulate clinical use, the hydrogels (coated onto PVC) were first exposed to a nebulized solution of gentamicin(4 mL, 80 mg for 20 min), and then to nebulized bacteria (4 mL ca. 1 × 109 colony forming units mL−1, 30 min). Viable bacteriawere not observed on the gentamicin-treated p(HEMA: MAA) copolymers, whereas growth was observed on gentamicin-treatedp(HEMA). In light of the excellent antimicrobial activity and physicochemical properties, p(HEMA: MAA) copolymerscomposed of ratios of 80:20 or 70:30 HEMA: MAA were identified as potentially useful coatings of endotracheal tubes to be usedin conjunction with the clinical nebulization of gentamicin and designed for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia

A design strategy of large grain lithium-rich layered oxides for lithium-ion batteries cathode

Li-rich materials are considered the most promising for Li-ion battery cathodes, as high capacity can be achieved. However, poor cycling stability is a critical drawback that leads to poor capacity retention. Here a strategy is used to synthesize a large-grain lithium-rich layered oxides to overcome this difficulty without sacrificing rate capability. This material is designed with micron scale grain with a width of about 300 nm and length of 1-3 μm. This unique structure has a better ability to overcome stress-induced structural collapse caused by Li-ion insertion/extraction and reduce the dissolution of Mn ions, which enable a reversible and stable capacity. As a result, this cathode material delivered a highest discharge capacity of around 308 mAh g^-1 at a current density of 30 mA g^-1 with retention of 88.3% (according to the highest discharge capacity) after 100 cycles, 190 mAh g^-1 at a current density of 300 mA g^-1 and almost no capacity fading after 100 cycles. Therefore, Lithium-rich material of large-grain structure is a promising cathode candidate in Lithium-ion batteries with high capacity and high cycle stability for application. This strategy of large grain may furthermore open the door to synthesize the other complex architectures for various applications.

Aquatic invasive alien species – top issues for their management. Outcomes from the IFI/EIFAAC conference “Freshwater Invasives – Networking for Strategy”

In November 2014, a new EU Regulation to address Invasive Alien Species (IAS) and protect biodiversity was published. This entered into force across the EU in January 2015. The aim of the Regulation is to ‘prevent the introduction of, control or eradicate alien species which threaten ecosystems, habitats or species’. In an effort to provide focus to the Regulation prior to its publishing and to identify the major issues relating to Invasive Alien Species in Europe, the views of invasive species experts from around the world were sought. These were consolidated at an international conference (Freshwater Invasives - Networking for Strategy (FINS)) that was held in Ireland in April 2013. A major outcome from this meeting of experts was the production of the Top 20 IAS issues that relate primarily to freshwater habitats but are also directly relevant to marine and terrestrial ecosystems. This list will support policy makers throughout the EU as preparations are made to implement this important piece of legislation. A further outcome from the conference was the formation of an expert IAS Advisory Group to support EIFAAC in its work on invasive species

Hardware Software Interface: a Strategy for the implementation of Urban Agriculture

This paper describes how urban agriculture differs from conventional agriculture not only in the way it engages with the technologies of growing, but also in the choice of crop and the way these are brought to market. The authors propose a new model for understanding these new relationships, which is analogous to a systems view of information technology, namely Hardware-Software- Interface.
The first component of the system is hardware. This is the technological component of the agricultural system. Technology is often thought of as equipment, but its linguistic roots are in ‘technis’ which means ‘know how’. Urban agriculture has to engage new technologies, ones that deal with the scale of operation and its context which is different than rural agriculture. Often the scale is very small, and soils are polluted. There this technology in agriculture could be technical such as aquaponic systems, or could be soil-based agriculture such as allotments, window-boxes, or permaculture. The choice of method does not necessarily determine the crop produced or its efficiency. This is linked to the biotic that is added to the hardware, which is seen as the ‘software’.
The software of the system are the ecological parts of the system. These produce the crop which may or may not be determined by the technology used. For example, a hydroponic system could produce a range of crops, or even fish or edible flowers. Software choice can be driven by ideological preferences such as permaculture, where companion planting is used to reduce disease and pests, or by economic factors such as the local market at a particular time of the year. The monetary value of the ‘software’ is determined by the market. Obviously small, locally produced crops are unlikely to compete against intensive products produced globally, however the value locally might be measured in different ways, and might be sold on a different market. This leads to the final part of the analogy - interface.
The interface is the link between the system and the consumer. In traditional agriculture, there is a tenuous link between the producer of asparagus in Peru and the consumer in Europe. In fact very little of the money spent by the consumer ever reaches the grower. Most of the money is spent on refrigeration, transport and profit for agents and supermarket chains. Local or hyper-local agriculture needs to bypass or circumvent these systems, and be connected more directly to the consumer. This is the interface. In hyper-localised systems effectiveness is often more important than efficiency, and direct links between producer and consumer create new economies.

An Adaptive Predictive Control Strategy for RMPPT under Partially Shaded Conditions

As one of key technologies in photovoltaic converter control, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) methods can keep the power conversion efficiency as high as nearly 99% under the uniform solar irradiance condition. However, these methods may fail when shading conditions occur and the power loss can over as much as 70% due to the multiple maxima in curve in shading conditions v.s. single maximum point in uniformly solar irradiance. In this paper, a Real Maximum Power Point Tracking (RMPPT) strategy under Partially Shaded Conditions (PSCs) is introduced to deal with this kind of problems. An optimization problem, based on a predictive model which will change adaptively with environment, is developed to tracking the global maxima and corresponding adaptive control strategy is presented. No additional circuits are required to obtain the environment uncertainties. Finally, simulations show the effectiveness of proposed method.

In silico analysis and DHPLC screening strategy identifies novel apoptotic gene targets of aberrant promoter hypermethylation in prostate cancer

BACKGROUND: Aberrant DNA methylation has been implicated as a key survival mechanism in cancer, whereby promoter hypermethylation silences genes essential for many cellular processes including apoptosis. Limited data is available on the methylation profile of apoptotic genes in prostate cancer (CaP). The aim of this study was to profile methylation of apoptotic-related genes in CaP using denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC).

METHODS: Based on an in silico selection process, 13 genes were screened for methylation in CaP cell lines using DHPLC. Quantitative methylation specific PCR was employed to determine methylation levels in prostate tissue specimens (n = 135), representing tumor, histologically benign prostate, high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Gene expression was measured by QRT-PCR in cell lines and tissue specimens.

RESULTS: The promoters of BIK, BNIP3, cFLIP, TMS1, DCR1, DCR2, and CDKN2A appeared fully or partially methylated in a number of malignant cell lines. This is the first report of aberrant methylation of BIK, BNIP3, and cFLIP in CaP. Quantitative methylation analysis in prostate tissues identified 5 genes (BNIP3, CDKN2A, DCR1, DCR2 and TMS1) which were frequently methylated in tumors but were unmethylated in 100% of benign tissues. Furthermore, 69% of tumors were methylated in at least one of the five-gene panel. In the case of all genes, except BNIP3, promoter hypermethylation was associated with concurrent downregulation of gene expression.

CONCLUSION: Future examination of this "CaP apoptotic methylation signature" in a larger cohort of patients is justified to further evaluate its value as a diagnostic and prognostic marker.

Discovery of DNA hypermethylation using a DHPLC screening strategy

Promoter hypermethylation is recognized as a hallmark of human cancer, in addition to conventional mechanisms of gene inactivation. As such, many new technologies have been developed over the past two decades to uncover novel targets of methylation and decipher complex epigenetic patterns. However, many of these are either labor intensive or provide limited data, confined to oligonucleotide hybridization sequences or enzyme cleavage sites and cannot be easily applied to screening large sets of sequences or samples. We present an application of denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC), which relies on bisulfite modification of genomic DNA, for methylation screening. We validated DHPLC as a methylation screening tool using GSTP1, a well known target of methylation in prostate cancer. We developed an in silico approach to identify potential targets of promoter hypermethylation in prostate cancer. Using DHPLC, we screened two of these targets LGALS3 and SMAD4 for methylation. We show that DHPLC has an application as a fast, sensitive, quantitative and cost effective method for screening novel targets or DNA samples for DNA methylation.

Innovative interprofessional teaching session on labour and childbirth for undergraduate medical and midwifery students

There is an increasing recognition of the need to improve interprofessional relationships within clinical practice (Midwifery 2020, 2010). Evidence supports the assertion that healthcare professionals who are able to communicate and work effectively together and who have a mutual respect and understanding for one another’s roles will provide a higher standard of care (McPherson et al, 2001; Miers et al, 2005; Begley, 2008). The joint Royal College of Obstetrics & Gynaecologists(RCOG) / Royal College of Midwives (RCM) report (2008 Page 8) on clinical learning environment and recruitment recommended that “Inter-professional learning strategies should be introduced and supported at an early stage in the medical and midwifery undergraduate students' experience and continued throughout training.” Providing interprofessional education within a University setting offers an opportunity for a non-threatening learning environment where students can develop confidence and build collaborative working relationships with one another (Saxell et al, 2009).Further research supports the influence of effective team working on increased client satisfaction. Additionally it identifies that the integration of interprofessional learning into a curriculum improves students’ abilities to interact professionally and provides a better understanding of role identification within the workplace than students who have only been exposed to uniprofessional education (Meterko et al, 2004; Pollard and Miers, 2008; Siassakos, et al, 2009; Wilhelmsson et al, 2011; Murray-Davis et al, 2012). An interprofessional education indicative has been developed by teaching staff from the School of Nursing and Midwifery and School of Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast. The aim of the collaboration was to enhance interprofessional learning by providing an opportunity for medical students and midwifery students to interact and communicate prior to medical students undertaking their obstetrics and gynaecology placements. This has improved medical students placement experience by facilitating them to learn about the process of birth and familiarisation of the delivery suite environment and it also has the potential to enhance interprofessional relationships. Midwifery students benefit through the provision of an opportunity to teach and facilitate learning in relation to normal labour and birth and has provided them with an opportunity to build stronger and more positive relationships with another profession. This opportunity also provides a positive, confidence building forum where midwifery students utilise teaching and learning strategies which would be transferable to their professional role as registered midwives. The midwifery students were provided with an outline agenda in relation to content for the workshop, but then were allowed creative licence with regard to delivery of the workshop. The interactive workshops are undertaken within the University’s clinical education centre, utilising low fidelity simulation. The sessions are delivered 6 times per year and precede the medical students’ obstetric/gynaecology placement. All 4th year medical and final year midwifery students have an opportunity to participate. Preliminary evaluations of the workshops have been positive from both midwifery and medical students. The teaching sessions provided both midwifery and medical students with an introduction to inter professional learning and gave them an opportunity to learn about and respect each other’s roles. The midwifery students have commented on the enjoyable aspects of team working for preparing for the workshop and also the confidence gained from teaching medical students. The medical students have evaluated the teaching by midwifery students positively and felt that it lowered their anxiety levels going into the labour setting. A number of midwifery and medical students have subsequently worked with one another within the practice setting which has been recognised as beneficial. Both Schools have recognised the benefits of interprofessional education and have subsequently made a commitment to embed it within each curriculum.