scholarly journals Generic Framework for Downscaling Statistical Quantities at Fine Time-Scales and Its Perspectives towards Cost-Effective Enrichment of Water Demand Records

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 3429
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Kossieris ◽  
Ioannis Tsoukalas ◽  
Andreas Efstratiadis ◽  
Christos Makropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Integrated Modelling ◽  
Temporal Scales ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
One Step ◽  
Synthetic Time Series ◽  
Fine Resolution ◽  
Available Information

The challenging task of generating a synthetic time series at finer temporal scales than the observed data, embeds the reconstruction of a number of essential statistical quantities at the desirable (i.e., lower) scale of interest. This paper introduces a parsimonious and general framework for the downscaling of statistical quantities based solely on available information at coarser time scales. The methodology is based on three key elements: (a) the analysis of statistics’ behaviour across multiple temporal scales; (b) the use of parametric functions to model this behaviour; and (c) the exploitation of extrapolation capabilities of the functions to downscale the associated statistical quantities at finer scales. Herein, we demonstrate the methodology using residential water demand records and focus on the downscaling of the following key quantities: variance, L-variation, L-skewness and probability of zero value (no demand; intermittency), which are typically used to parameterise a stochastic simulation model. Specifically, we downscale the above statistics down to a 1 min scale, assuming two scenarios of initial data resolution, i.e., 5 and 10 min. The evaluation of the methodology on several cases indicates that the four statistics can be well reconstructed. Going one step further, we place the downscaling methodology in a more integrated modelling framework for a cost-effective enhancement of fine-resolution records with synthetic ones, embracing the current limited availability of fine-resolution water demand measurements.

scholarly journals Exploring the Statistical and Distributional Properties of Residential Water Demand at Fine Time Scales

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Kossieris ◽  
Christos Makropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Smart Meters ◽  
Temporal Scales ◽  
Residential Water Demand ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
Distributional Properties ◽  
Different Characteristics ◽  
Residential Water

Residential water demand consists one of the most uncertain factors posing extra difficulties in the efficient planning and management of urban water systems. Currently, high resolution data from smart meters provide the means for a better understanding and modelling of this variable at a household level and fine temporal scales. Having this in mind, this paper examines the statistical and distributional properties of residential water demand at a 15-minute and hourly scale, which are the temporal scales of interest for the majority of urban water modeling applications. Towards this, we investigate large residential water demand records of different characteristics. The analysis indicates that the studied characteristics of the marginal distribution of water demand vary among households as well as on the basis of different time intervals. Both month-to-month and hour-to-hour analysis reveal that the mean value and the probability of no demand exhibit high variability while the changes in the shape characteristics of the marginal distributions of the nonzero values are significantly less. The investigation of performance of 10 probabilistic models reveals that Gamma and Weibull distributions can be used to adequately describe the nonzero water demand records of different characteristics at both time scales.

Calorimetric Sensor for Ethanol Using Ni2+-nitrilotriacetic Acid (NTA) Resin Immobilized Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ADH)

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 795-799
Author(s):  
YongJin Li
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Nitrilotriacetic Acid ◽  
Repeated Measurements ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Calorimetric Sensor ◽  
Controlled Pore Glass ◽  
Pore Glass ◽  
One Step ◽  
Immobilization Matrix ◽  
Enzyme Thermistor

Background: A simple, fast and economic analytical method for the determination of ethanol is important for clinical, biological, forensic and physico-legal purposes. Methods: Ni2+-NTA resin was used as an immobilization matrix for the simple one-step purification/ immobilization of his6-tagged ADH. Different alcohols with a concentration range of 0.5-50% V/V, namely methanol, ethanol and propanol were measured using prepared ADH enzyme thermistor. The ethanol content of Tsingtao beer was tested as a real sample containing alcohol. Reproducibility and stability of prepared ADH enzyme thermistor were also investigated by repeated measurements. Results: In comparison to the controlled pore glass (a common used support for the immobilization of enzyme) used in thermal biosensor, the use of Ni2+-NTA resin not only led to simple one-step purification/ immobilization by his6-tagged ADH binding to Ni2+-NTA resin, but also made the immobilizing supports reusable. The prepared biosensor can be used to determine ethanol and methanol by the calorimetric measurement. A linear range of 1 -32% (V/V) and 2-20% (V/V) was observed for ethanol and methanol, respectively. The detection limits were 0.3% (V/V) and 1% (V/V) for ethanol and methanol, respectively. The tested ethanol concentration of Tsingtao beer was 4.5% V/V, which is comparable with the labeled alcohol by volume (ABV) 4.80%. Conclusion: Ni2+-NTA resin, as an immobilization matrix in ET sensor, provides a simple one-step purification/immobilization for His6-tagged recombinase and a reusable immobilization matrix. The prepared biosensor exhibits good repeatability and stability. Such a new biosensor shows great promise for rapid, simple, and cost-effective analysis of ethanol and methanol, both in qualitative and in quantitative tests.

scholarly journals Economic Determinants of Industrial Water Demand: A Review of the Applied Research Literature

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1684
Author(s):  
Pilar Gracia-de-Rentería ◽  
Ramón Barberán
Keyword(s):  
Water Demand ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Industrial Water ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Economic Determinants ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Know How ◽  
Level Of Activity ◽  
Industrial Water Demand ◽  
Available Information

This paper surveys the empirical, economic literature focused on the determinants of industrial water demand. Both the methodological issues and the outcomes of the previous studies are presented and discussed. Attention is given to key methodological issues, such as the available information, the type of data used, the specification of the variables, the choice of the estimated function, its functional form, and the estimation techniques used, highlighting the issues that require greater attention in future studies. Regarding the results, we focus on the estimated elasticities in order to know how the price of water, the level of activity, and the prices of the other inputs influence the demand for water.

scholarly journals Assessing biophysical and socio-economic impacts of climate change on regional avian biodiversity

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Kapitza ◽  
Pham Van Ha ◽  
Tom Kompas ◽  
Nick Golding ◽  
Natasha C. R. Cadenhead ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Integrated Modelling ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Avian Biodiversity ◽  
Biodiversity Change ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

AbstractClimate change threatens biodiversity directly by influencing biophysical variables that drive species’ geographic distributions and indirectly through socio-economic changes that influence land use patterns, driven by global consumption, production and climate. To date, no detailed analyses have been produced that assess the relative importance of, or interaction between, these direct and indirect climate change impacts on biodiversity at large scales. Here, we apply a new integrated modelling framework to quantify the relative influence of biophysical and socio-economically mediated impacts on avian species in Vietnam and Australia and we find that socio-economically mediated impacts on suitable ranges are largely outweighed by biophysical impacts. However, by translating economic futures and shocks into spatially explicit predictions of biodiversity change, we now have the power to analyse in a consistent way outcomes for nature and people of any change to policy, regulation, trading conditions or consumption trend at any scale from sub-national to global.

scholarly journals 3D Printed Microfluidic Devices for Drug Release Assays

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Benzion Amoyav ◽  
Yoel Goldstein ◽  
Eliana Steinberg ◽  
Ofra Benny
Keyword(s):  
3D Printing ◽  
Drug Release ◽  
Particle Production ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Drug Dissolution ◽  
Cytotoxicity Test ◽  
High Durability ◽  
One Step ◽  
Cost Effective Alternative ◽  
Multiple Recycling

Microfluidics research for various applications, including drug delivery, cell-based assays and biomedical research has grown exponentially. Despite this technology’s enormous potential, drawbacks include the need for multistep fabrication, typically with lithography. We present a one-step fabrication process of a microfluidic chip for drug dissolution assays based on a 3D printing technology. Doxorubicin porous and non-porous microspheres, with a mean diameter of 250µm, were fabricated using a conventional “batch” or microfluidic method, based on an optimized solid-in-oil-in-water protocol. Microspheres fabricated with microfluidics system exhibited higher encapsulation efficiency and drug content as compared with batch formulations. We determined drug release profiles of microspheres in varying pH conditions using two distinct dissolution devices that differed in their mechanical barrier structures. The release profile of the “V” shape barrier was similar to that of the dialysis sac test and differed from the “basket” barrier design. Importantly, a cytotoxicity test confirmed biocompatibility of the printed resin. Finally, the chip exhibited high durability and stability, enabling multiple recycling sessions. We show how the combination of microfluidics and 3D printing can reduce costs and time, providing an efficient platform for particle production while offering a feasible cost-effective alternative to clean-room facility polydimethylsiloxane-based chip microfabrication.

scholarly journals Simple and Visible Detection of Novel Astroviruses Causing Fatal Gout in Goslings Using One-Step Reverse Transcription Polymerase Spiral Reaction Method

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Ji ◽  
Qinxi Chen ◽  
Zhengli Yu ◽  
Xin Xu ◽  
Xinhao Mu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Transcription ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Pcr Primers ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Conventional Pcr ◽  
Specific Detection ◽  
Isothermal Method ◽  
Naked Eye ◽  
One Step ◽  
The One

In this study, a one-step isothermal method combining polymerase spiral reaction (PSR) with reverse transcription (RT-PSR) was established for rapid and specific detection of novel astroviruses causing fatal gout in goslings (N-GoAstV). The one-step RT-PSR was accomplished at the optimal temperature of 62°C and time of 40 min and used primers simply designed as conventional PCR primers, and the results of detection were visible to the naked eye. The detection limit of PSR was above 34.7 copies/μL at a 95% probability level according to probit regression analysis. The assay specifically detected N-GoAstV, and no other reference viruses were detected. These results suggest that the newly established RT-PSR assay could, in one step, accomplish reverse-transcription, amplification, and result determination providing a visible, convenient, rapid, and cost-effective test that can be carried out onsite, in order to ensure timely quarantine of N-GoAstV-infected birds, leading to effective disease control.

scholarly journals How model paradigms affect our representation of future land-use change

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calum Brown ◽  
Ian Holman ◽  
Mark Rounsevell
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
System Development ◽  
Active Management ◽  
Integrated Modelling ◽  
Agent Based Model ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Land Use Models ◽  
Landscape Scales

Abstract. Land use models operating at regional to global scales are almost exclusively based on the single paradigm of economic optimisation. Models based on different paradigms are known to produce very different results, but these are not always equivalent or attributable to particular assumptions. In this study, we compare two pan-European land use models that are based on the same integrated modelling framework and utilise the same climatic and socio-economic scenarios, but which adopt fundamentally different model paradigms. One of these is a constrained optimising economic-equilibrium model and the other is a stochastic agent-based model. We run both models for a range of scenario combinations and compare their projections of spatial and aggregate land use change and ecosystem service supply. We find that the agent-based model projects more multifunctional and heterogeneous landscapes in most scenarios, providing a wider range of ecosystem services at landscape scales, as agents make individual, time-dependent decisions that reflect economic and non-economic motivations. This tendency also results in food shortages under certain scenario conditions. The optimisation model, in contrast, maintains food supply through intensification of agricultural production in the most profitable areas, sometimes at the expense of active management in large, contiguous parts of Europe. We relate the principal differences observed to underlying model assumptions, and hypothesise that optimisation may be appropriate in scenarios that allow for coherent political and economic control of land systems, but not in scenarios where economic and other scenario conditions prevent the normal functioning of price signals and responses. In these circumstances, agent-based modelling allows explicit consideration of behavioural processes, but in doing so provides a highly flexible account of land system development that is harder to link to underlying assumptions. We suggest that structured comparisons of parallel, transparent but paradigmatically distinct models are an important method for better understanding the potential scope and uncertainties of future land use change.

scholarly journals Options for reforming agricultural subsidies from health, climate, and economic perspectives

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Springmann ◽  
F. Freund
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Integrated Modelling ◽  
Agricultural Subsidies ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Equal Distribution ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Economic Perspectives

AbstractAgricultural subsidies are an important factor for influencing food production and therefore part of a food system that is seen as neither healthy nor sustainable. Here we analyse options for reforming agricultural subsidies in line with health and climate-change objectives on one side, and economic objectives on the other. Using an integrated modelling framework including economic, environmental, and health assessments, we find that on a global scale several reform options could lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improvements in population health without reductions in economic welfare. Those include a repurposing of up to half of agricultural subsidies to support the production of foods with beneficial health and environmental characteristics, including fruits, vegetables, and other horticultural products, and combining such repurposing with a more equal distribution of subsidy payments globally. The findings suggest that reforming agricultural subsidy schemes based on health and climate-change objectives can be economically feasible and contribute to transitions towards healthy and sustainable food systems.

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