On stochastic auctions in risk-averse electricity markets with uncertain supply

This paper studies risk in a stochastic auction which facilitates the integration of renewable generation in electricity markets. We model market participants who are risk averse and reflect their risk aversion through coherent risk measures. We uncover a closed form characterization of a risk-averse generator’s optimal pre-commitment behaviour for a given real-time policy, both with and without risk trading.     

Degradation of chitosan with self-resonating cavitation

For the degradation of chitosan, a novel physical method of self-resonating cavitation with strong cavitation effects was investigated in this paper. The effects of initial concentration, pH, temperature, inlet pressure and cavitation time on the degradation efficiency of chitosan were evaluated. It was found that the degradation efficiency was positively correlated with temperature and cavitation time, but was negatively correlated with the solution concentration. The degradation efficiency was maximized at pH of 4.4 and inlet pressure of 0.4 MPa. Under the experimental conditions, the intrinsic viscosity of chitosan solution was reduced by 92.2%, which was twice as high as the degradation efficiency where a Venturi tube cavitator was used. The viscosity-average molecular weights of initial and degraded chitosan were 651 and 104 kD, respectively. The deacetylation degree of chitosan slightly decreased from 89.34% to 88.05%. Structures and polydispersity of initial and degraded chitosan were measured by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectroscopy (¹H NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The results showed that the degradation process did not change the natural structure of chitosan. XRD peaks of the original chitosan were observed at 2θ of 9.59° and 20.00°, and the one at 2θ of 20.00° was obviously weakened after the degradation process, which indicated that the crystallinity of chitosan decreased significantly after the degradation. The polydispersity index of chitosan samples decreased from 3.17 to 2.75, indicating that the molecular-weight distribution of products after the degradation was more concentrated. The results proved that self-resonating cavitation prompted the degradation of chitosan and could reduce the polydispersity of the products for the production of oligochitosan with homogeneous molecular weights.     

科研成果向教学实验的转化设计与实践成效*

围绕学校高水平应用型人才培养目标,依托省级重点实验室与省级化学化工大学生创新训练中心等科研教学平台,将“零排放型化学镀镍及其废液资源化为掺杂型LiFePO₄/C复合材料”的科研成果进行拆解和提炼,设计为分阶段、多层次的10个教学实验项目,并予以实践。结果表明,该科教融合模式营造出良好的科研氛围,有利于学生科研素养与创新意识的培养、实践能力与创新能力的提升。     

Comparative structural analysis of a histone-like protein from Spiroplasma melliferum in the crystalline state and in solution

A solution of a histone-like protein from Spiroplasma melliferum (HUSpm) was examined by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The experimental SAXS curve was compared with those calculated for the HUSpm structures from the PDB databank obtained by both X-ray diffraction analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The model of the HUSpm structure in solution, which best agrees with the experimental SAXS data, has a shorter distance between the centers of mass of the HUSpm monomers compared to the crystal structure, indicating that the HUSpm monomers can be located closer to each other in solution than in the crystalline state.     

Estimation of the stability of skeletal muscle myoglobin of chilled pork treated with brine activated by low-frequency high-intensity ultrasound

We studied the effect of ultrasonic activation of brine (3%) during salting on the degree of stability of colour parameters of pork with normal (NOR) and abnormal course of autolysis in the CIE Lab colour space. The mechanism of stabilisation of the colour of meat is attributed to donor–acceptor bonds of metmyoglobin (MetMb). The accumulation of excessive number of free electrons in the medium are capable of activating MetMb. This reduces the activity of meat, when the native participants of the metmyoglobin reductase system and their own antioxidant systems of meat are depleted.Based on the additive calculation of deviations (increase / decrease) by the coordinates L*, a*, b* in the CIE Lab system, and the total colour difference (ΔE) in control and experimental samples, recommendations were developed. To optimize the colour characteristics of all types of meat, both on the surface and in the thickness of the meat, the preliminary activation of a 3% brine in a low-frequency submersible ultrasonic unit is recommended. Moreover, preliminary cavitation activation of a 3% is more preferable to stabilise the colour of PSE – meat (pale, soft, exudative (watery),) brine in a flow-through installation.     

Computation of hydrodynamic mass and damping coefficients for a cavitating marine propeller flow using a panel method

The present paper deals with the numerical calculation of hydrodynamic mass and damping coefficients under consideration of unsteady sheet cavitation on marine propeller flows. In the first part of the paper, the mathematical and numerical background behind the numerical method is introduced. The numerical calculations carried out in this work are based on a low-order panel method. Panel methods belong to the class of collocation techniques and are applied to obtain a numerical solution of a potential flow based system of boundary integral equations. They are suitable for the present application because of their short computation time which makes them applicable in the design process of marine propellers.Additionally, two different approaches for the determination of hydrodynamic masses and damping are introduced in this work. The hydrodynamic masses and damping are important in studies of the ship motion in seaway and in the analysis of vibrations of a vessel and its appendages. The developed approaches are applied on a propeller flow in heave motion. Hereby, the calculations are performed for a non-rotating and rotating propeller under non-cavitating and cavitating conditions. The results obtained from the simulations are discussed in detail and an outlook is given.     

Prediction of 195Pt NMR chemical shifts of dissolution products of H2[Pt(OH)6] in nitric acid solutions by DFT methods: how important are the counter‐ion effects?

¹⁹⁵Pt NMR chemical shifts of octahedral Pt(IV) complexes with general formula [Pt(NO₃)_n(OH)_{6 ? n}]^2?, [Pt(NO₃)_n(OH₂)_{6 ? n}]^{4 ? n} (n = 1–6), and [Pt(NO₃)_{6 ? n ? m}(OH)_m(OH₂)_n]^{?2 + n ? m} formed by dissolution of platinic acid, H₂[Pt(OH)₆], in aqueous nitric acid solutions are calculated employing density functional theory methods. Particularly, the gauge‐including atomic orbitals (GIAO)‐PBE0/segmented all‐electron relativistically contracted–zeroth‐order regular approximation (SARC–ZORA)(Pt) ∪ 6–31G(d,p)(E)/Polarizable Continuum Model computational protocol performs the best. Excellent second‐order polynomial plots of δ_calcd(¹⁹⁵Pt) versus δ_exptl(¹⁹⁵Pt) chemical shifts and δ_calcd(¹⁹⁵Pt) versus the natural atomic charge Q_Pt are obtained. Despite of neglecting relativistic and spin orbit effects the good agreement of the calculated δ ¹⁹⁵Pt chemical shifts with experimental values is probably because of the fact that the contribution of relativistic and spin orbit effects to computed σ^{iso 195}Pt magnetic shielding of Pt(IV) coordination compounds is effectively cancelled in the computed δ ¹⁹⁵Pt chemical shifts, because the relativistic corrections are expected to be similar in the complexes and the proper reference standard used. To probe the counter‐ion effects on the ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR chemical shifts of the anionic [Pt(NO₃)_n(OH)_{6 ? n}]^2? and cationic [Pt(NO₃)_n(OH₂)_{6 ? n}]^{4 ? n} (n = 0–3) complexes we calculated the ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR chemical shifts of the neutral (PyH)₂[Pt(NO₃)_n(OH)_{6 ? n}] (n = 1–6; PyH = pyridinium cation, C₅H₅NH⁺) and [Pt(NO₃)_n(H₂O)_{6 ? n}](NO₃)_{4 ? n} (n = 0–3) complexes. Counter‐anion effects are very important for the accurate prediction of the ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR chemical shifts of the cationic [Pt(NO₃)_n(OH₂)_{6 ? n}]^{4 ? n} complexes, while counter‐cation effects are less important for the anionic [Pt(NO₃)_n(OH)_{6 ? n}]^2? complexes. The simple computational protocol is easily implemented even by synthetic chemists in platinum coordination chemistry that dispose limited software availability, or locally existing routines and knowhow. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In Situ Synthesis and Characterization of Poly(aryleneethynylene)‐Grafted Reduced Graphene Oxide

Using highly soluble bromo‐functionalized reduced graphene oxide (RGBr) as a key graphene template for surface‐directing Sonogashira–Hagihara polymerization, a novel soluble poly(arylene‐ethynylene)‐grafted reduced graphene oxide, hereafter abbreviated as PAE‐g‐RGO, was prepared in situ. The entirely different electron distribution of LUMO and HOMO of PAE‐g‐RGO suggested the existence of a charge‐transfer (CT) state (PAE^.?–RGO^.+). The negative ΔG_CS value (?2.57 eV) indicates that the occurrence of the charge separation via ¹RGO* in o‐DCB is exothermic and favorable. Upon irradiation with 365 nm light, the light‐induced electron paramagnetic resonance (LEPR) spectrum of PAE‐g‐RGO showed a decrease in the spin‐state density owing to photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer events in this system. A sandwich‐type Al/PAE‐g‐RGO/ITO device showed representative bistable electrical switching behavior. The nonvolatile memory performance was attributed to the CT‐induced conductance changes, which was supported by molecular computation results and conductive atomic force microscopy (C‐AFM) images.     

Pitfalls in the experimental recording of ultrasonic (backscatter) polar scans for material characterization

The ultrasonic polar scan (UPS), either in transmission, reflection or backscatter mode, is a promising non-destructive testing technique for the characterization of composites, providing information about the mechanical anisotropy, the viscoelastic damping, the surface roughness, and more. At present, the technique is merely being used for qualitative purposes. The limited quantitative exploration and use of the technique can be primarily ascribed to limitations of current theoretical models as well as the difficulty to perform accurate, and more importantly, reproducible UPS experiments. Over the last years, we have identified several potential pitfalls in the experimental implementation of the technique which severely deteriorate the accurateness and reproducibility of a UPS. In this paper, we make an inventory of the most important difficulties, illustrate each of them by a real experiment and present a feasible mediation, either numerical or experimental in nature. Once the experimental set-up is fine-tuned to overcome these pitfalls, it is expected that the recording of high-level UPS experiments, in combination with numerical computations, will facilitate the technique to become a fully quantitative non-destructive characterization method.     

Measurement of preferences with self-explicated approaches: A classification and merge of trade-off- and non-trade-off-based evaluation types

Self-explicated approaches are popular preference measurement approaches for products with many attributes. This article classifies previous self-explicated approaches according to their evaluation types, i.e. trade-off- versus non-trade-off-based, and outlines their advantages and disadvantages. In addition, it proposes a new method, the presorted adaptive self-explicated approach that is based on Netzer and Srinivasan’s (2011) adaptive self-explicated approach and that combines trade-off- and non-trade-off-based evaluation types. Two empirical studies compare this new method with the most popular existing self-explicated approaches, including the adaptive self-explicated approach and paired comparison preference measurement. The new method overcomes the insufficient discrimination between importance weights, as usually found in non-trade-off-based evaluation types; discourages respondents’ simplification strategies, as are frequently encountered in trade-off evaluation types; is easy to implement; and yields high predictive validity compared with other popular self-explicated approaches.