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| 7. |
- Elhai, M, et al.
(författare)
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Outcomes of patients with systemic sclerosis treated with rituximab in contemporary practice: a prospective cohort study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Annals of the rheumatic diseases. - : BMJ. - 1468-2060 .- 0003-4967. ; 78:7, s. 979-987
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To assess the safety and efficacy of rituximab in systemic sclerosis (SSc) in clinical practice.MethodsWe performed a prospective study including patients with SSc from the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) network treated with rituximab and matched with untreated patients with SSc. The main outcomes measures were adverse events, skin fibrosis improvement, lung fibrosis worsening and steroids use among propensity score-matched patients treated or not with rituximab.Results254 patients were treated with rituximab, in 58% for lung and in 32% for skin involvement. After a median follow-up of 2 years, about 70% of the patients had no side effect. Comparison of treated patients with 9575 propensity-score matched patients showed that patients treated with rituximab were more likely to have skin fibrosis improvement (22.7 vs 14.03 events per 100 person-years; OR: 2.79 [1.47–5.32]; p=0.002). Treated patients did not have significantly different rates of decrease in forced vital capacity (FVC)>10% (OR: 1.03 [0.55–1.94]; p=0.93) nor in carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO) decrease. Patients having received rituximab were more prone to stop or decrease steroids (OR: 2.34 [1.56–3.53], p<0.0001). Patients treated concomitantly with mycophenolate mofetil had a trend for better outcomes as compared with patients receiving rituximab alone (delta FVC: 5.22 [0.83–9.62]; p=0.019 as compared with controls vs 3 [0.66–5.35]; p=0.012).ConclusionRituximab use was associated with a good safety profile in this large SSc-cohort. Significant change was observed on skin fibrosis, but not on lung. However, the limitation is the observational design. The potential stabilisation of lung fibrosis by rituximab has to be addressed by a randomised trial.
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| 8. |
- Zouganelis, I., et al.
(författare)
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The Solar Orbiter Science Activity Plan : Translating solar and heliospheric physics questions into action
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP SCIENCES S A. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 642
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Solar Orbiter is the first space mission observing the solar plasma both in situ and remotely, from a close distance, in and out of the ecliptic. The ultimate goal is to understand how the Sun produces and controls the heliosphere, filling the Solar System and driving the planetary environments. With six remote-sensing and four in-situ instrument suites, the coordination and planning of the operations are essential to address the following four top-level science questions: (1) What drives the solar wind and where does the coronal magnetic field originate?; (2) How do solar transients drive heliospheric variability?; (3) How do solar eruptions produce energetic particle radiation that fills the heliosphere?; (4) How does the solar dynamo work and drive connections between the Sun and the heliosphere? Maximising the mission's science return requires considering the characteristics of each orbit, including the relative position of the spacecraft to Earth (affecting downlink rates), trajectory events (such as gravitational assist manoeuvres), and the phase of the solar activity cycle. Furthermore, since each orbit's science telemetry will be downloaded over the course of the following orbit, science operations must be planned at mission level, rather than at the level of individual orbits. It is important to explore the way in which those science questions are translated into an actual plan of observations that fits into the mission, thus ensuring that no opportunities are missed. First, the overarching goals are broken down into specific, answerable questions along with the required observations and the so-called Science Activity Plan (SAP) is developed to achieve this. The SAP groups objectives that require similar observations into Solar Orbiter Observing Plans, resulting in a strategic, top-level view of the optimal opportunities for science observations during the mission lifetime. This allows for all four mission goals to be addressed. In this paper, we introduce Solar Orbiter's SAP through a series of examples and the strategy being followed.
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| 10. |
- Becker, M, et al.
(författare)
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Predictors of disease worsening defined by progression of organ damage in diffuse systemic sclerosis: a European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) analysis
- 2019
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Ingår i: Annals of the rheumatic diseases. - : BMJ. - 1468-2060 .- 0003-4967. ; 78:9, s. 1242-1248
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mortality and worsening of organ function are desirable endpoints for clinical trials in systemic sclerosis (SSc). The aim of this study was to identify factors that allow enrichment of patients with these endpoints, in a population of patients from the European Scleroderma Trials and Research group database.MethodsInclusion criteria were diagnosis of diffuse SSc and follow-up over 12±3 months. Disease worsening/organ progression was fulfilled if any of the following events occurred: new renal crisis; decrease of lung or heart function; new echocardiography-suspected pulmonary hypertension or death. In total, 42 clinical parameters were chosen as predictors for the analysis by using (1) imputation of missing data on the basis of multivariate imputation and (2) least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression.ResultsOf 1451 patients meeting the inclusion criteria, 706 had complete data on outcome parameters and were included in the analysis. Of the 42 outcome predictors, eight remained in the final regression model. There was substantial evidence for a strong association between disease progression and age, active digital ulcer (DU), lung fibrosis, muscle weakness and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) level. Active DU, CRP elevation, lung fibrosis and muscle weakness were also associated with a significantly shorter time to disease progression. A bootstrap validation step with 10 000 repetitions successfully validated the model.ConclusionsThe use of the predictive factors presented here could enable cohort enrichment with patients at risk for overall disease worsening in SSc clinical trials.
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| 11. |
- Arguedas Cuendis, S., et al.
(författare)
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First results on the search for chameleons with the KWISP detector at CAST
- 2019
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Ingår i: Physics of the Dark Universe. - : Elsevier. - 2212-6864. ; 26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on a first measurement with a sensitive opto-mechanical force sensor designed for the direct detection of coupling of real chameleons to matter. These dark energy candidates could be produced in the Sun and stream unimpeded to Earth. The KWISP detector installed on the CAST axion search experiment at CERN looks for tiny displacements of a thin membrane caused by the mechanical effect of solar chameleons. The displacements are detected by a Michelson interferometer with a homodyne readout scheme. The sensor benefits from the focusing action of the ABRIXAS X-ray telescope installed at CAST, which increases the chameleon flux on the membrane. A mechanical chopper placed between the telescope output and the detector modulates the incoming chameleon stream. We present the results of the solar chameleon measurements taken at CAST in July 2017, setting an upper bound on the force acting on the membrane of 80pN at 95% confidence level. The detector is sensitive for direct coupling to matter 104≤βm≤108, where the coupling to photons is locally bound to βγ≤1011.
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| 12. |
- Wedemeyer, S., et al.
(författare)
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Solar Science with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array-A New View of Our Sun
- 2016
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Ingår i: Space Science Reviews. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0038-6308 .- 1572-9672. ; 200:1-4, s. 1-73
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is a new powerful tool for observing the Sun at high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution. These capabilities can address a broad range of fundamental scientific questions in solar physics. The radiation observed by ALMA originates mostly from the chromosphere-a complex and dynamic region between the photosphere and corona, which plays a crucial role in the transport of energy and matter and, ultimately, the heating of the outer layers of the solar atmosphere. Based on first solar test observations, strategies for regular solar campaigns are currently being developed. State-of-the-art numerical simulations of the solar atmosphere and modeling of instrumental effects can help constrain and optimize future observing modes for ALMA. Here we present a short technical description of ALMA and an overview of past efforts and future possibilities for solar observations at submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths. In addition, selected numerical simulations and observations at other wavelengths demonstrate ALMA's scientific potential for studying the Sun for a large range of science cases.
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| 13. |
- Przybylski, D., et al.
(författare)
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Chromospheric extension of the MURaM code
- 2022
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 664
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Detailed numerical models of the chromosphere and corona are required to understand the heating of the solar atmosphere. An accurate treatment of the solar chromosphere is complicated by the effects arising from non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) radiative transfer. A small number of strong, highly scattering lines dominate the cooling and heating in the chromosphere. Additionally, the recombination times of ionised hydrogen are longer than the dynamical timescales, requiring a non-equilibrium (NE) treatment of hydrogen ionisation.Aims. We describe a set of necessary additions to the MURaM code that allow it to handle some of the important NLTE effects. We investigate the impact on solar chromosphere models caused by NLTE and NE effects in radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the solar atmosphere.Methods. The MURaM code was extended to include the physical process required for an accurate simulation of the solar chromosphere, as implemented in the Bifrost code. This includes a time-dependent treatment of hydrogen ionisation, a scattering multi-group radiation transfer scheme, and approximations for NLTE radiative cooling.Results. The inclusion of NE and NLTE physics has a large impact on the structure of the chromosphere; the NE treatment of hydrogen ionisation leads to a higher ionisation fraction and enhanced populations in the first excited state throughout cold inter-shock regions of the chromosphere. Additionally, this prevents hydrogen ionisation from buffering energy fluctuations, leading to hotter shocks and cooler inter-shock regions. The hydrogen populations in the ground and first excited state are enhanced by 102–103 in the upper chromosphere and by up to 109 near the transition region.Conclusions. Including the necessary NLTE physics leads to significant differences in chromospheric structure and dynamics. The thermodynamics and hydrogen populations calculated using the extended version of the MURaM code are consistent with previous non-equilibrium simulations. The electron number and temperature calculated using the non-equilibrium treatment of the chromosphere are required to accurately synthesise chromospheric spectral lines.
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| 14. |
- Rout, Auroshis, et al.
(författare)
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An index-based generic framework for tracking the quality of supplied electricity
- 2021
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Ingår i: Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning and Policy. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 1556-7249 .- 1556-7257. ; 16:5, s. 478-490
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper proposes an index-based analytical framework to quantify the quality of electricity supplied in a specific location. Four quality defining indicators: day and night supply hours, evening supply hours, normal voltage hours, and frequency of power cut were selected to form a composite quality index. The study consists of ten sample rural villages and four capital cities across four Indian provinces (Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand). The average value of the electricity quality index for rural locations was 0.53, and for province capital locations, it was 0.93 for the year 2018. This reveals that electricity quality in rural areas needs significant improvement. The average electricity quality index for both rural and capital locations was relatively better in Madhya Pradesh. This generic analytical framework can be applied to monitor the electricity quality over time in a village, city, district, or province depending upon the data availability.
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| 17. |
- Bühler, David, et al.
(författare)
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A comparison between solar plage and network properties
- 2019
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 630
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims. We compare the properties of kG magnetic structures in the solar network and in active region plage at high spatial resolution.Methods. Our analysis used six SP scans of the solar disc centre aboard Hinode SOT and inverted the obtained spectra of the photospheric 6302 angstrom line pair using the 2D SPINOR code.Results. Photospheric magnetic field concentrations in network and plage areas are on average 1.5 kG strong with inclinations of 10 degrees-20 degrees, and have <400 m s(-1) internal and 2-3 km s(-1) external downflows. At the disc centre, the continuum intensity of magnetic field concentrations in the network are on average 10% brighter than the mean quiet Sun, whilst their plage counterparts are 3% darker. A more detailed analysis revealed that all sizes of individual kG patches in the network have 150 G higher field strengths on average, 5% higher continuum contrasts, and 800 m s(-1) faster surrounding downflows than similarly sized patches in the plage. The speed of the surrounding downflows also correlates with the patch area, and patches containing pores can produce supersonic flows exceeding 11 km s(-1) in individual pixels. Furthermore, the magnetic canopies of kG patches are on average 9 degrees more horizontal in the plage compared to the network.Conclusions. Most of the differences between the network and plage are due to their different patch size distributions, but the intrinsic differences between similarly sized patches likely results from the modification of the convection photospheric convection with increasing amounts of magnetic flux.
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| 18. |
- Felipe, T., et al.
(författare)
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Three-dimensional structure of a sunspot light bridge
- 2016
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 596
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Active regions are the most prominent manifestations of solar magnetic fields; their generation and dissipation are fundamental problems in solar physics. Light bridges are commonly present during sunspot decay, but a comprehensive picture of their role in the removal of the photospheric magnetic field is still lacking. Aims. We study the three-dimensional configuration of a sunspot, and in particular, its light bridge, during one of the last stages of its decay. Methods. We present the magnetic and thermodynamical stratification inferred from full Stokes inversions of the photospheric Si I 10 827 angstrom and Ca I 10 839 angstrom lines obtained with the GREGOR Infrared Spectrograph of the GREGOR telescope at the Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife, Spain. The analysis is complemented by a study of continuum images covering the disk passage of the active region, which are provided by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Results. The sunspot shows a light bridge with penumbral continuum intensity that separates the central umbra from a smaller umbra. We find that in this region the magnetic field lines form a canopy with lower magnetic field strength in the inner part. The photospheric light bridge is dominated by gas pressure (high-beta), as opposed to the surrounding umbra, where the magnetic pressure is higher. A convective flow is observed in the light bridge. This flow is able to bend the magnetic field lines and to produce field reversals. The field lines merge above the light bridge and become as vertical and strong as in the surrounding umbra. We conclude that this occurs because two highly magnetized regions approach each other during the sunspot evolution.
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| 19. |
- Hoffman, Lindsey M., et al.
(författare)
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Clinical, Radiologic, Pathologic, and Molecular Characteristics of Long-Term Survivors of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) : A Collaborative Report From the International and European Society for Pediatric Oncology DIPG Registries
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Oncology. - : AMER SOC CLINICAL ONCOLOGY. - 0732-183X .- 1527-7755. ; 36:19, s. 1963-1972
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PurposeDiffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a brainstem malignancy with a median survival of < 1 year. The International and European Society for Pediatric Oncology DIPG Registries collaborated to compare clinical, radiologic, and histomolecular characteristics between short-term survivors (STSs) and long-term survivors (LTSs).Materials and MethodsData abstracted from registry databases included patients from North America, Australia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and Croatia.ResultsAmong 1,130 pediatric and young adults with radiographically confirmed DIPG, 122 (11%) were excluded. Of the 1,008 remaining patients, 101 (10%) were LTSs (survival 2 years). Median survival time was 11 months (interquartile range, 7.5 to 16 months), and 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year survival rates were 42.3% (95% CI, 38.1% to 44.1%), 9.6% (95% CI, 7.8% to 11.3%), 4.3% (95% CI, 3.2% to 5.8%), 3.2% (95% CI, 2.4% to 4.6%), and 2.2% (95% CI, 1.4% to 3.4%), respectively. LTSs, compared with STSs, more commonly presented at age < 3 or > 10 years (11% v 3% and 33% v 23%, respectively; P < .001) and with longer symptom duration (P < .001). STSs, compared with LTSs, more commonly presented with cranial nerve palsy (83% v 73%, respectively; P = .008), ring enhancement (38% v 23%, respectively; P = .007), necrosis (42% v 26%, respectively; P = .009), and extrapontine extension (92% v 86%, respectively; P = .04). LTSs more commonly received systemic therapy at diagnosis (88% v 75% for STSs; P = .005). Biopsies and autopsies were performed in 299 patients (30%) and 77 patients (10%), respectively; 181 tumors (48%) were molecularly characterized. LTSs were more likely to harbor a HIST1H3B mutation (odds ratio, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.5; P = .002).ConclusionWe report clinical, radiologic, and molecular factors that correlate with survival in children and young adults with DIPG, which are important for risk stratification in future clinical trials.
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| 20. |
- Joshi, Jayant, et al.
(författare)
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Upper chromospheric magnetic field of a sunspot penumbra : observations of fine structure
- 2016
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 596
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims. The fine-structure of the magnetic field in a sunspot penumbra in the upper chromosphere is to be explored and compared to that in the photosphere. Methods. Spectropolarimetric observations with high spatial resolution were recorded with the 1.5-m GREGOR telescope using the GREGOR Infrared Spectrograph (GRIS). The observed spectral domain includes the upper chromospheric Hei triplet at 10 830 angstrom and the photospheric Si I 10 827.1 angstrom and Ca I 10 833.4 angstrom spectral lines. The upper chromospheric magnetic field is obtained by inverting the Hei triplet assuming a Milne-Eddington-type model atmosphere. A height-dependent inversion was applied to the Si I 10 827.1 angstrom and Ca I 10 833.4 angstrom lines to obtain the photospheric magnetic field. Results. We find that the inclination of the magnetic field varies in the azimuthal direction in the photosphere and in the upper chromosphere. The chromospheric variations coincide remarkably well with the variations in the inclination of the photospheric field and resemble the well-known spine and interspine structure in the photospheric layers of penumbrae. The typical peak-to-peak variations in the inclination of the magnetic field in the upper chromosphere are found to be 10 degrees-15 degrees, which is roughly half the variation in the photosphere. In contrast, the magnetic field strength of the observed penumbra does not vary on small spatial scales in the upper chromosphere. Conclusions. Thanks to the high spatial resolution of the observations that is possible with the GREGOR telescope at 1.08 microns, we find that the prominent small-scale fluctuations in the magnetic field inclination, which are a salient part of the property of sunspot penumbral photospheres, also persist in the chromosphere, although at somewhat reduced amplitudes. Such a complex magnetic configuration may facilitate penumbral chromospheric dynamic phenomena, such as penumbral micro-jets or transient bright dots.
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| 21. |
- Kaushik, Priya Darshni, et al.
(författare)
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Surface functionalization of epitaxial graphene using ion implantation for sensing and optical applications
- 2020
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Ingår i: Carbon. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0008-6223 .- 1873-3891. ; 157, s. 169-184
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Surface functionalization has been shown to allow tailoring of graphene lattice thus making it suitable for different applications like sensing, supercapacitance devices, drug delivery system and memory devices. In this work, surface functionalization of epitaxial graphene on SiC (EG/SiC) was done by ion beam technology (30 keV Ag- ions at fluences ranging from 5 x 10(12) ions/cm(2) to 5 x 10(14) ions/cm(2)), which is one of the most precise techniques for introducing modifications in materials. Atomic force microscopy showed presence of nanostructures in ion implanted samples and Photoluminescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that these are probably silicon oxy carbide. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) showed decoupling of buffer layer from SiC substrate at many places in ion implanted samples. Further, HRTEM and Raman spectroscopy showed amorphization of both graphene and SiC at highest fluence. Fluence dependent increase in absorbance and resistance was observed. Gas sensors fabricated on pristine and ion implanted samples were able to respond to low concentration (50 ppb) of NO2 and NH3 gases. Detecting NH3 gas at low concentration further provides a simple platform for fabricating highly sensitive urea biosensor. We observed response inversion with increasing fluence along with presence of an optimal fluence, which maximized gas sensitivity of EG/SiC. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 23. |
- Rout, Auroshis, et al.
(författare)
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A Monte Carlo based approach for exergo-economic modeling of solar water heater
- 2020
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Ingår i: Energy Sources, Part A. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1556-7036 .- 1556-7230. ; , s. 1-19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In life-cycle costing of thermal energy systems, the basis of costing could be mass or exergy and the approach followed could be deterministic or stochastics. In thermal energy systems with end products/services such as hot air, hot water, steam etc. the value addition is due to higher exergy content; therefore, exergy is a logical basis of costing and stochastics is a practical approach capturing uncertainties of input variables. This paper proposes a novel framework named as stochastic Monte Carlo-based exergy costing (SMXC) for assessment of solar hot water systems. The annual hours of operation, maintenance cost, service life, and capital cost have been identified as highly sensitive input variables. The costs based on mass and exergy content of hot water in deterministic life-cycle costing method are estimated at 0.296 and 0.304 US cent/kg, respectively. The mean values of mass and exergy costs of hot water using Monte Carlo-based stochastics life-cycle costing method are 0.302 and 0.310 US cent/kg. A very low value (i.e. 2.4%) of the exergo-economic factor (f) for the solar water heater indicates the poor exergetic efficiency; therefore, capital investment to improve its efficiency is justified. The methodological approach can be extended to examine the probabilistic exergo-economic cost of array of thermal energy products when the parametric uncertainties play a key role.
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| 24. |
- Rout, Auroshis, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing the financial sustainability of rural grid electrification pathway : a case study of India
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainable Production and Consumption. - : Elsevier. - 2352-5509. ; 25:January, s. 27-42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- India has recently achieved universal electricity access. However, the financial sustainability of supplying electricity in many rural areas in India still remains a key concern. In 2018–2019, total annual loss of all the distribution utilities in India was reported to be INR 270 billion. This is a huge financial burden and remains as a sustainability challenge to provide affordable and reliable electricity supply (SDG7.1). In this paper, a generic mathematical cost model has been developed in terms of viability gap and applied the model to evaluate the financial sustainability of rural grid electrification in four Indian provinces Andhra Pradesh (AP), Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttar Pradesh (UP), and Uttarakhand (UTKH). The viability gap is basically the difference between electricity tariff and actual delivery cost of electricity considering the life cycle analysis. The analysis showed that viability gap is negative in all four provinces indicating the fact that existing modality of electrification is financially unsustainable. The paper also revealed that the tariff revision along with annual increment in the tariff, minimizing the distribution losses and increasing the load factor could significantly reduce the viability gap. This study could be of high interest to the policy makers, power distribution companies (DISCOMs) and energy researchers.
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