Search results for "efficien"

Optimization of process variables on physicochemical properties of milk during an innovative refractance window concentration

2020

Flexibility Services in a Mediterranean Small Island to Minimize Costs and Emissions Related to Electricity Production from Fossil Fuels

2020

In last years, the energy efficiency in non-interconnected islands became an important topic, since the electricity production is often based on diesel generators, thus contributing to the global warming. Italian government recently emitted two decrees to promote the introduction of renewable energy technologies in 21 non-interconnected islands, both for electrical and thermal uses. In this paper, the economic and environmental feasibility of the introduction of renewable energies in the island of Pantelleria was assessed adopting an optimization approach. Furthermore, the flexibility provided from the local desalination plant and the domestic water heaters was evaluated. The final demands …

Hidden Markov Random Field model and BFGS algorithm for Brain Image Segmentation

2016

Brain MR images segmentation has attracted a particular focus in medical imaging. The automatic image analysis and interpretation became a necessity. Segmentation is one of the key operations to provide a crucial decision support to physicians. Its goal is to simplify the representation of an image into items meaningful and easier to analyze. Hidden Markov Random Fields (HMRF) provide an elegant way to model the segmentation problem. This model leads to the minimization problem of a function. BFGS (Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno algorithm) is one of the most powerful methods to solve unconstrained optimization problem. This paper presents how we combine HMRF and BFGS to achieve a good seg…

1 Hop or 2 hops: Topology analysis in Body Area Network

2014

Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) have recently received much attention due to the possibility to be used in healthcare applications. For these applications, link reliability and energy efficiency are critical issues, as in many cases, information carried can be vital for the patient and batteries cannot be easily replaced. The wireless on-body channel experiences significant temporal variation due to body movements and the use of relays is sometimes necessary in order to guarantee reliability or improve lifetime. In this paper, an experimental evaluation is used to give a better understanding about reliability, energy consumption and lifetime in a single hop or a two hops communication. …

Artificial dielectric optical structures: A challenge for nanofabrication

1998

Diffractive optical components can be made using multiple level kinoforms or single level artificial dielectric structures. The latter require the fabrication of pillars of equal depth but differing width and spacing. As a demonstration device, the diffractive optic equivalent of a wedge has been made in GaAs for use at 1.15 μm. The need for all pillars to have the same height was met by using a selective etch and a very thin etch-stop layer on AlGaAs. The experimental diffraction efficiency was 87.8%, among the best ever obtained and close to the theoretical maximum of 97.6%. © 1998 American Vacuum Society.

Field testing of repurposed electric vehicle batteries for price-driven grid balancing

2019

Abstract As electric cars become more widespread, the disposal and recycling of used batteries will become an important challenge. Typically, vehicle batteries are replaced if their capacity drops to 70–80% of initial capacity. However, they may still be useful for stationary applications. In this paper, results from a field test of a molten salt high-temperature electric vehicle battery repurposed as stationary storage for grid balancing are presented. In a previous study, we have shown that a mixed integer linear programming control strategy driven by a spot-market price for electricity is best suited for an implementation on hardware with limited computational resources. A 14-day experim…

Sulfites and the Wine Metabolome

2017

International audience; In a context of societal concern about food preservation, the reduction of sulfite input plays a major role in the wine industry. To improve the understanding of the chemistry involved in the SO2 protection, a series of bottle aged Chardonnay wines made from the same must, but with different concentrations of SO2 added at pressing were analyzed by ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) and excitation emission matrix fluorescence (EEMF).Metabolic fingerprints from FT-ICR-MS data could discriminate wines according to the added concentration to the must but they also revealed chemistry-related differences according to the type of stopper, providing a wine me…

The predictive ability and value relevance of accounting measures

2011

Accepted version of an article published in the journal: International Journal of Economics and Accounting. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJEA.2011.041894 Empirical accounting research sometimes assumes that the value relevance of accounting variables can be indirectly assessed by studying the ability of the variables to forecast future cash flow and earnings. This study investigates the relationships between short-term cash flow and earnings prediction tests and value relevance analyses. I find that earnings prediction tests might be good substitutes for value relevance analyses, whereas cash flow prediction tests merely provide indications with respect to…

The use of energy in the Mediterranean fishing catching sector. A Sicilian perspective

2010

This article address an issue of paramount importance in the Mediterranean area, that is the efficient use of energy and sustainability of fishing sector. A recent study concerning the situation of Fishery and Aquaculture in Sicily highlighted that the Sicilian fishing system requires a bigger amount of energy than the typical Italian or European situation, in order of getting the product available to the market. On the other hand this involves an higher level of environmental pollution, for a given quantity of catch. One of the main findings is that there is a need for a clear, scientifically-founded panorama of the situation and that further studies should be undertaken to provide fishing…

Sistema di irrigazione a perno centrale

2021

L’invenzione consiste nell’impiego, nell’irrigazione pivot, dei comuni irrigatori rotanti che si utilizzano nei sistemi di irrigazione a pioggia (o per aspersione), che hanno il vantaggio, rispetto agli spruzzatori ed ai gocciolatori, di essere dotati di un ugello terminale di elevato diametro (4-30 mm). L’idea nasce quindi dalla ricerca di un sistema irriguo che conservi i benefici dell’irrigazione pivot (completa automatizzazione, manodopera limitata alla manutenzione degli apparecchi erogatori, elevata efficienza) e che al contempo rimuova del tutto il problema dell’occlusione degli apparecchi erogatori. Vengono così azzerati i costi di manodopera e, soprattutto, viene consentito l’impie…