The smart meter and a smarter consumer: quantifying the benefits of smart meter implementation in the United States

The electric grid in the United States has been suffering from underinvestment for years, and now faces pressing challenges from rising demand and deteriorating infrastructure. High congestion levels in transmission lines are greatly reducing the efficiency of electricity generation and distribution. In this paper, we assess the faults of the current electric grid and quantify the costs of maintaining the current system into the future. While the proposed "smart grid" contains many proposals to upgrade the ailing infrastructure of the electric grid, we argue that smart meter installation in each U.S. household will offer a significant reduction in peak demand on the current system. A smart meter is a device which monitors a household's electricity consumption in real-time, and has the ability to display real-time pricing in each household. We conclude that these devices will provide short-term and long-term benefits to utilities and consumers. The smart meter will enable utilities to closely monitor electricity consumption in real-time, while also allowing households to adjust electricity consumption in response to real-time price adjustments.     

An HPLC method for the determination of bisoprolol in human plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A new high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination of bisoprolol in human plasma. The proposed method was based on the derivatization of bisoprolol with 4-chloro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole in borate buffer at pH 9.5 to yield a fluorescent product. Chromatographic separation of bisoprolol was achieved by using isocratic elution at a flow rate of 1.2 mL/min on a C18 reversed-phase column (Inertsil, 4 μm, 150 4.6 mm) at 40°C. The mobile phase used for the analysis was methanol-water (70:30, % v/v). Fluorescence detector was used at the excitation and emission wavelengths of 458 and 525 nm, respectively. The method was validated for linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, precision, accuracy, recovery and system suitability. The assay was linear over the concentration range of 10-2000 ng/mL. This method was applied in pharmacokinetic studies of bisoprolol preparations in healthy volunteers.     

The effect of the number of carbohydrate moieties on the azaphthalocyanine properties

A series of azaphthalocyanines (AzaPc) bearing one, two, four or eight isopropylidene-protected galactosyl units was prepared by azide-alkyne click reaction or by classical Pc template cyclotetramerization of the corresponding dicyanopyrazine and AzaPc properties important for photodynamic therapy were compared. All compounds absorbed at long wavelengths (above 650 nm) and belonged to strong singlet oxygen producers (Φ(Δ) = 0.58-0.64) retaining significant fluorescence emission (Φ(F) = 0.026-0.23). The only exception was the compound with four isopropyliden-protected galactosyl units where partial aggregation was observed. Removal of protecting groups increased the polar character of all AzaPc. However, only AzaPc bearing eight galactoses was found to be water-soluble (105 mg mL(-1)) but noticeably aggregated in water as well as in organic solvents (DMF, DMSO). Amphiphilic AzaPc bearing one deprotected galactose was incorporated into the lipidic bilayer of liposomes in a nonaggregated form. Liposomes may therefore be a suitable delivery system for this amphiphilic photosensitizer.     

Cooperation under interval uncertainty

In this paper, the classical theory of two-person cooperative games is extended to two-person cooperative games with interval uncertainty. The core, balancedness, superadditivity and related topics are studied. Solutions called ψ ^α-values are introduced and characterizations are given.     

Gamma-irradiated calcium succinate monohydrate single crystal investigation with EPR technique

In this study, EPR investigation of gamma-irradiated calcium succinate monohydrate [CaC(4)H(4)O(4)·H(2)O] single crystal has been carried out at room temperature. The compound crystallizes in monoclinic symmetry with the unit-cell dimensions: a=11.952(2)?, b=9.691(2)?, c=11.606(2)?, β=108.81(1)°. The observed lines in the EPR spectra reveal the formation of C˙H(α)CH(β1)H(β2) radical after irradiating [CaC(4)H(4)O(4)·H(2)O] single crystal. The angular variations of EPR spectra have shown that the radical type has only one site in three perpendicular planes. The principal g and a values and direction cosines of C˙H(α)CH(β1)H(β2) radical have been determined.     

Turbostratic graphite nanofibres from electrospun solutions of PAN in dimethylsulphoxide

Homogenous turbostratic graphite nanofibres (TGNFs) have been synthesized by heat treatment of electrospun polyacrylonitrile in dimethylsulphoxide, offering a solution route of low toxicity to manufacture sub-60 nm diameter TGNFs. Characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction, scanning- and transmission electron microscopy have been used to study the graphitization process, and structural morphology of the nanofibres. The TGNFs have an entangled micro-fibril structure with turbostratic ordering of up to 40 graphene layers after heat treatment at 3000 °C.     

The effect of ultrasound-assisted vacuum drying on the drying rate and quality of red peppers

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Ultrasound-assisted vacuum (USV) drying is a promising method to increase heat and mass transfer rate. This study aimed to examine effects of USV...     

Probing the protein–nanoparticle interface: the role of aromatic substitution pattern on affinity

A new class of cationic gold nanoparticles (NPs) has been synthesised bearing benzyl moieties featuring –NO₂ and –OMe groups to investigate the regioisomeric control of aromatic NP–protein recognition. In general, NPs bearing electron-withdrawing groups demonstrated higher binding affinities towards green fluorescent protein (GFP) than NPs bearing electron-donating groups. Significantly, a ～7.5- and ～4.3-fold increase in binding with GFP was observed for –NO₂ groups in meta-position and para-position, respectively, while ortho-substitution showed binding similar to the unsubstituted ring. These findings demonstrated that the NP–protein interaction can be controlled by tuning the spatial orientation and the relative electronic properties of the aromatic substituents. This improved biomolecular recognition provides opportunities for enhanced biosensing and functional protein delivery to the cells.     

Radiation Parameters of Some Potential Bioactive Compounds

In this study,we aimed to determine the radiation parameters of some potential bioactive compounds.1-Aryl-3-dibenzylamino-propane-1-on hydrochloride type Mannich bases were synthesized via classical conventional heating method.Aryl part was changed as phenyl(C6H5),4-methylphenyl(4-CH3C6H4),4-fluorophenyl(4-FC6H4),4-nitrophenyl(4-NO2C6H4),4-chlorophenyl(4-ClC6H4),4-bromophenyl(4-BrC6H4),and 2-thienyl(C4H3S-2-yl).Mass attenuation coefficient(μm),effective atomic number(Zeff)and effective electron density(Nel)of compounds were determined experimentally and theoretically for at 8.040,8.910,13.40,14.96,17.48,19.61,22.16,24.94,32.19,36.38,44.48,50.38and 59.54keV photon energies by using an HPGe detector with a resolution of 182eV at 5.9keV.Radiation parameters of these compounds which can be anti-cancer drug candidate were given in the tables.The results show that phenyl ring behave like thiophene ring in terms of radiation absorption.It is thought that the results of study may drive allow the development of drug candidate new compounds in medical oncology.