Bhim Singh, Farheen Chishti, Shadab Murshid

2019 International Conference on Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering (UPCON) • 2019

This work proposes a solution for improving the voltage profile at point of common coupling (PCC) of an isolated microgrid using an improved filtered-X adaptive scheme. The power quality (PQ) is enhanced by filtering the component of load current so as to reduce the harmonic content. The enhanced PQ allows the application of voltage sensitive equipments and electronic loads together with nonlinear loads connected at PCC. The improved filtered X-control which is a variant of the least mean square (LMS) adaptive filter family, provides good convergence and low computational burden with good applicability in terms of noise reduction and harmonics filtering. Maximum power extraction scheme i.e. perturb and observe (P&O) is implemented to acquire the reference speed of synchronous generator (SG) generating wind power. The regulation of SG speed is acquired by implementing sensor-less field oriented control. The battery backs up the power, moreover, it promotes the overall performance of the microgrid. The test setup developed in the laboratory confirms the effective microgrid performance in the presence of load alterations and renewable intermittency.

Subhadip Chakraborty, Gaurav Modi, Bhim Singh

2022 IEEE 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Future Electric Transportation (SeFeT) • 2022

This paper presents a power management scheme to optimize the overall electrical energy consumption of a solar photovoltaic (SPV) array- battery energy storage (BES) based grid-connected microgrid (MG) for a water supply system (WSS). This paper utilizes the BES as an alternative to the diesel generator (DG) set to reduce the peak demand and energy consumption from the grid during peak hours and provide backup during the islanded condition. This paper also presents a cascaded non-identical frequency adaptive generalized integrator with a modified structure low pass filter type frequency locked loop (CNIFAGI-MSLPF-FLL) control algorithm during grid-connected mode (GCM) operation and a proportional multi resonant (PMR) controller with load current filter control during standalone mode (SAM) operation of the MG. The GCM and SAM controls along with the synchronization control, ensure seamless power transfer to the loads and improve the grid power quality (PQ) even in the presence of local nonlinear and single-phase loads. The power management with the load profile of WSS and the PQ performance of the system is analyzed in various conditions with developed Simulink model of MG.

Jamie P. Smith, Jonathan P. Metters, Osama I. G. Khreit et al.

Analytical Chemistry • 2014

The electrochemical sensing of new psychoactive substance(s) (NPSs), synthetic cathinone derivatives also termed "legal highs", are explored with the use of metallic modified screen-printed electrochemical sensors (SPES). It is found that no significant electrochemical enhancement is evident with the use of either in situ bismuth or mercury film modified SPES compared to the bare underlying electrode substrate. In fact, the direct electrochemical reduction of the cathinone derivatives mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone; 4-MMC) and 4'-methyl-N-ethylcathinone (4-methylethcathinone; 4-MEC) is found to be possible for the first time, without heavy metal catalysis, giving rise to useful voltammetric electroanalytical signatures in model aqueous buffer solutions. This novel electroanalytical methodology is validated toward the determination of cathinone derivatives (4-MMC and 4-MEC) in three seized street samples that are independently analyzed with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) wherein excellent agreement between the two analytical protocols is found. Such an approach provides a validated laboratory tool for the quantification of synthetic cathinone derivatives and holds potential for the basis of a portable analytical sensor for the determination of synthetic cathinone derivatives in seized street samples.

Jiahe Yan, Qin Lu, G. Giannakis

IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications • 2022

Recent years have witnessed the emergence of mobile edge computing (MEC), on the premise of a cost-effective enhancement in the computational ability of hardware-constrained wireless devices (WDs) comprising the Internet of Things (IoT). In a general multi-server multi-user MEC system, each WD has a computational task to execute and has to select binary (off)loading decisions, along with the analog-amplitude resource allocation variables in an online manner, with the goal of minimizing the overall energy-delay cost (EDC) with dynamic system states. While past works typically rely on the explicit expression of the EDC function, the present contribution considers a practical setting, where in lieu of system state information, the EDC function is not available in analytical form, and instead only the function values at queried points are revealed. Towards tackling such a challenging online combinatorial problem with only bandit information, novel Bayesian optimization (BO) based approaches are put forth by leveraging the multi-armed bandit (MAB) framework. Per time slot, the discrete offloading decisions are first obtained via the MAB method, and the analog resource allocation variables are subsequently optimized using the BO selection rule. By exploiting both temporal and contextual information, two novel BO approaches, termed time-varying BO and contextual time-varying BO, are developed. Numerical tests validate the merits of the proposed BO approaches compared with contemporary benchmarks under different MEC network sizes.

Dinh C. Nguyen, Ming Ding, P. Pathirana et al.

IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing • 2021

The convergence of mobile edge computing (MEC) and blockchain is transforming the current computing services in mobile networks, by offering task offloading solutions with security enhancement empowered by blockchain mining. Nevertheless, these important enabling technologies have been studied separately in most existing works. This article proposes a novel cooperative task offloading and block mining (TOBM) scheme for a blockchain-based MEC system where each edge device not only handles data tasks but also deals with block mining for improving the system utility. To address the latency issues caused by the blockchain operation in MEC, we develop a new Proof-of-Reputation consensus mechanism based on a lightweight block verification strategy. A multi-objective function is then formulated to maximize the system utility of the blockchain-based MEC system, by jointly optimizing offloading decision, channel selection, transmit power allocation, and computational resource allocation. We propose a novel distributed deep reinforcement learning-based approach by using a multi-agent deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm. We then develop a game-theoretic solution to model the offloading and mining competition among edge devices as a potential game, and prove the existence of a pure Nash equilibrium. Simulation results demonstrate the significant system utility improvements of our proposed scheme over baseline approaches.

Dan Luo, Chuyin Ma, Junfeng Hou et al.

Advanced Energy Materials • 2022

Sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) have attracted much attention for their advantages of high operating voltage, environmental friendliness and cost‐effectiveness. However, the intrinsic defects of anode materials (such as poor electrical conductivity, sluggish kinetics, and large volume changes) hinder them from meeting the requirements for practical applications. Herein, a Nb2O5@carbon nanoreactor containing both a O–Nb–C heterointerface and oxygen vacancies (Nb2O5‐x@MEC) as an anode material is designed to drive SIBs toward extraordinary capacity and ultra‐long cycle life. The heterostructured nanoreactor both effectively immobilizes defective Nb2O5 by forming O‐Nb‐C heterointerface and offers homogeneous dispersion of Nb2O5 with desirable content to prevent their agglomeration. In addition, vast active interfaces, favored electrolyte infiltration, and a well‐structured ion–electron transportation channel are enabled by the framework, improving sodium ion storage and enhancing redox reaction kinetics. The enhancement brought by spatial confinement, defect implantation and heterointerface design give the composites a highly reversible sodiation–desodiation process and remarkable structural stability. By virtue of these superiorities, Nb2O5‐x@MEC delivers excellent performance, i.e., high areal capacity over 1.1 mAh cm‐2, admirable rate capability up to 20 A g‐1, and ultra‐long cycling performance over 5000 cycles, holding great promise for utilization in practically viable SIBs.

Pengcheng Chen, Yuxuan Yang, Bin Lyu et al.

IEEE Internet of Things Journal • 2024

In this article, we propose a movable antenna (MA)-enhanced scheme for wireless-powered mobile-edge computing (WP-MEC) system, where the hybrid access point (HAP) equipped with multiple MAs first emits wireless energy to charge wireless devices (WDs), and then receives the offloaded tasks from the WDs for edge computing. The MAs deployed at the HAP enhance the spatial Degrees of Freedom (DoFs) by flexibly adjusting the positions of MAs within an available region, thereby improving the efficiency of both downlink wireless energy transfer (WPT) and uplink task offloading. To balance the performance enhancement against the implementation intricacy, we further propose three types of MA positioning configurations, i.e., dynamic MA positioning, semidynamic MA positioning, and static MA positioning. In addition, the nonlinear power conversion of energy harvesting (EH) circuits at the WDs and the finite computing capability at the edge server are taken into account. Our objective is to maximize the sum computational rate (SCR) by jointly optimizing the time allocation, positions of MAs, energy beamforming matrix, receive combing vectors, and offloading strategies of WDs. To solve the nonconvex problems, efficient alternating optimization (AO) frameworks are proposed. Moreover, we propose a hybrid algorithm of particle swarm optimization with variable local search (PSO-VLS) to solve the subproblem of MA positioning. Numerical results validate the superiority of exploiting MAs over the fixed-position antennas (FPAs) for enhancing the SCR performance of WP-MEC systems.

Yue Li, Zhiqiang Zhao, Yafei Yang et al.

Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology • 2018

BACKGROUND Microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) has been widely reported as an efficient strategy to enhance anaerobic digestion. However, the role of MEC during acidogenesis for treatment of sulfate-containing wastes remains unclear as so far. In this study a pair of electrodes was placed into an acidogennic reactor to form a MEC-based acidogenesis to investigate its performance in sulfate-containing wastewater treatment. RESULTS MEC obviously improved anaerobic acidogenesis to treat sulfate-containing wastewater. Higher COD removal and sulfate reduction were obtained in the MEC-based acidogenesis even under high sulfate loading conditions. MEC accelerated the conversion of substrate to acetate, indicationg the acidogenesis was enhanced. From Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis, exoelectrogenic bacteria were enriched in anodic biofilm. CONCLUSION The syntrophic metabolism between anodic exoelectrogenic bacteria and anaerobic fermentative bacteria enriched might accelerate the anodic decomposition of complex substrates as well as cathodic sulfate reduction, then providing a positive environment for sulfate reduction during acidogenesis.

Kai Hu, Shuo-qiu Jia, Cheng Yang et al.

Bioengineered • 2020

ABSTRACT The influence of freezing-thawing (F/T) pretreatment on the degradation of highly concentrated organic matters from dewatered sludge (DS) in microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) was investigated in this study. Extended freezing disintegrated the DS matrix and resulted in accelerated hydrolysis rate. The biogas production and stabilization were increased due to the pretreatment by 25–70% of H2 production rate and 17.8–33.8% of COD reduction rate, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis indicated that the pretreatment was unable to alter the bioelectrochemical reactions except for accelerating degradation rate. Excitation and emission matrix (EEM) spectra showed that aromatic protein and soluble microbial products (SMPs)-like materials in DS were increasingly solubilized by the pretreatment and significantly removed during electrogenesis. The F/T-pretreated DS favored the enrichment of exoelectrogens in MEC. Graphical Abstract

Jeong-A Lim, Yeongjin Kim

2022 19th Annual IEEE International Conference on Sensing, Communication, and Networking (SECON) • 2022

As deep learning technology advances, mobile vision applications such as augmented reality or autonomous vehicles are widespread. The quality of experience (QoE) of such applications highly depends on hardware specification of mobile device, dynamic service requests, stochastic network status and characteristics of DNN model. In this paper, we propose an algorithm called RT-DMP that jointly optimizes DNN model partitioning and process/network resources adapting to system dynamics by leveraging virtual queue-based Lyapunov optimization framework. The RT-DMP jointly makes decisions on (i) partition point between a mobile device and an MEC server, (ii) mobile GPU clock frequency, and (iii) transmission rate through the wireless network every time slot. We theoretically show that RT-DMP optimally strikes the balance among three QoE metrics that are energy consumption, throughput and end-to-end latency, which has not been addressed in existing studies. Finally, we demonstrate the performance and feasibility of RT-DMP via trace-driven simulations and real testbed based on Nvidia Jetson TX2 and a high-end MEC server.

Yu Xu, Tiankui Zhang, Dingcheng Yang et al.

2021 IEEE International Conference on Communications Workshops (ICC Workshops) • 2021

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has the potential to support the terminal devices (TDs) performing the mobile edge computing (MEC) in Internet of Things (IoT). This paper investigates a UAV-assisted relaying and MEC network, in which the UAV acts as a MEC server to assist computation for the computation-hungry TDs, and also as a relay to deliver the sub-tasks to a ground access point (AP) for execution. We aim to minimize the task completion time of the network by jointly optimizing the communication bandwidth, UAV transmit power, computation resource, task partition, and UAV’s three-dimensional (3D) location deployment. Although the formulated problem is complex and non-convex, it is decomposed into three low-complex subproblems, and then efficiently solved by the proposed successive convex approximation (SCA) based joint optimization algorithm. Finally, numerical results demonstrate that: 1) a superior convergence is achieved by the proposed algorithm; 2) the 3D deployment optimization extremely contributes to the performance enhancement; 3) the task completion time is dramatically reduced by applying the proposed algorithm, compared to the benchmark schemes.

Abudukeremu Kadier, Yibadatihan Simayi, Washington Logroño et al.

SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología • 2015

The Microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) is one of the promising and cutting-edge technologies for generating hydrogen from wastewater through biodegradation of organic waste by exoelectrogenic microbes. In MECs the operational parameters, such as applied voltage (E ap ), anode surface area, anode-cathode distance, and N 2 /CO 2 volume ratio have a significant impact on hydrogen yield and production. In the present study, to enhance current and hydrogen production of MECs, the effects of key operational conditions on the MEC performance were extensively investigated. The optimal operating condition for hydrogen production in MECs was determined as: the optimum applied voltage of 1.1 V, an anode surface area of 94 (cm 2 ), an anode-cathode distance of 1.5 (cm), and a N 2 /CO 2 volume ratio of 4:1. With these optimum conditions, the maximum H 2 volume, current density and hydrogen production rate (HPR) of the MEC reached to 270.09 mL, 314.01 ± 2.81 A/m 3 , and 4.25 ± 0.55 m 3 H 2 /m 3 d, respectively. The results obtained in this study imply that a systematic investigation of the key operational variables is an effective strategy to maximize the hydrogen production in single-chamber MECs.

Jing Li, Song Guo, W. Liang et al.

IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking • 2024

The emerging digital twin technique enhances the network management efficiency and provides comprehensive insights on network performance, through mapping physical objects to their digital twins. The user satisfaction on digital twin-enabled service relies on the freshness of digital twin data, which is measured by the Age of Information (AoI). Due to long service delays, the use of the remote cloud for delay-sensitive service provisioning faces serious challenges. Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), as an ideal paradigm for delay-sensitive services, is able to realize real-time data communication between physical objects and their digital twins at the network edge. However, the mobility of physical objects and dynamics of user query arrivals make seamless service provisioning in MEC become challenging. In this paper, we investigate dynamic digital twin placements for improving user service satisfaction in MEC environments, by introducing a novel metric to measure user service satisfaction based on the AoI concept and formulating two user service satisfaction enhancement problems: the static and dynamic utility maximization problems under static and dynamic digital twin placement schemes. To this end, we first formulate an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) solution to the static utility maximization problem when the problem size is small; otherwise, we propose a performance-guaranteed approximation algorithm. We then propose an online algorithm with a provable competitive ratio for the dynamic utility maximization problem, by considering dynamic user query services. Finally, we evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms via simulations. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms outperform the comparison baseline algorithms, improving the algorithm performance by at least 10.7%, compared to the baseline algorithms.

Baogang Li, Wenjing Wu, Wei Zhao et al.

IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology • 2021

This article investigates how to exploit the cooperative mechanism between non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) user pairs to enhance the security of the mobile-edge computing (MEC) system. Considering the different delay requirements of Internet of Things (IoT) users, we propose a two-slot hybrid cooperative NOMA security (THCNS) scheme that utilizes the cooperative interference between NOMA user pairs to enhance the security of offloading. In the first time slot, the interference to the eavesdropper comes from the task signals (TSs) transmitted by the two users, while in the second time slot comes from jamming signal (JS) transmitted by the user who has completed the offloading tasks. The weighted sum secrecy outage probability (wSOP) and secrecy computation probability (SCP) are utilized to measure the security performance of users in the proposed scheme. To confirm the feasibility and applicability of the proposed scheme, we analyze the impact of some key parameters on users’ security, including the users’ local computation time and offloading time, transmit power, task allocation coefficients of two time slots. The analysis results indicate that the proposed scheme is more suitable for the case where the wiretap channel outperforms the main channel, and it can enhance the system security when selecting the optimal parameters. Finally, the numerical simulation results reveal how the analysis parameters affect the security performance of users and validate the theoretical analysis, it provides good insights about how to design parameters of IoT users to enhance their security performance in MEC system.

Michelle Outeda-García, Jorge Arca-Suárez, Emilio Lence et al.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy • 2025

ABSTRACT Carbapenemase OXA-48 and its variants pose a serious threat to the development of effective treatments for bacterial infections. OXA-48-producing Enterobacterales are the most prevalent carbapenemase-producing bacteria in large parts of the world. Although these bacteria exhibit low-level carbapenem resistance in vitro , the infections they cause are challenging to treat with conventional therapies, owing to their spread and complex detection in clinical settings. However, numerous β-lactamase inhibitors (BLIs) are currently in the pipeline or late clinical stages. To assess the potential of these compounds, this study compared the efficacy against OXA-48 of novel β-lactamase inhibitors, specifically the 1,6-diazabicyclo[3,2,1]octanes (DBOs) avibactam, relebactam, zidebactam, nacubactam, and durlobactam, along with the cyclic and bicyclic boronates vaborbactam, taniborbactam, and xeruborbactam. The extensive kinetics assays identified xeruborbactam, taniborbactam, and durlobactam, together with the already established avibactam, as BLIs with superior biochemical performance. Susceptibility testing further validated these findings but also demonstrated significantly improved bacterial killing by the DBOs zidebactam, nacubactam, and durlobactam. On the other hand, binding studies demonstrated the superior inhibitory capacity of the BLIs durlobactam and xeruborbactam. Combinations, such as cefepime/zidebactam, meropenem/nacubactam, and sulbactam/durlobactam, show promising activity against OXA-48-producing Enterobacterales, while ceftazidime/avibactam, cefepime/taniborbactam, and meropenem/xeruborbactam combinations also appear highly active, largely due to the excellent kinetics of these new inhibitors. Overall, this comprehensive analysis provides important insights into the effectiveness of new BLIs against OXA-48-producing Enterobacterales, highlighting xeruborbactam, durlobactam, and avibactam as leading candidates. Additionally, BLIs like zidebactam, nacubactam, and taniborbactam also showed potential in addressing the clinical challenges posed by OXA-48-mediated antimicrobial resistance.

Bo Dong, Yurong Li, Xinyue Li et al.

Journal of New Materials for Electrochemical Systems • 2022

Compared with a microbial fuel cell (MFC) of single flora, the MFC of mixed flora provide much better denitrification and electricity generation performance. Therefore, in-depth analysis of the kinetic features such as the structures of various types of microflora in MFCs is of important theoretical and practical significance. There is little existing research on the electricity generation and pollutant removal process of cathode microorganisms and the functions of microbial flora. To this end, this paper constructs an MFC anaerobic-aerobic coupled denitrification system and studies its performance enhancement method. First, the basic principle of MFC biological denitrification was expounded, the kinetics was introduced into the analysis of the reaction between the MFC microorganisms and pollutants, and the migration and transformation occurring in the reaction process and the mechanism of transformation speed changes were revealed. Then, the analysis and calculation methods for the electrochemical parameters and microbial diversity index in MFC were explained in detail, and the experimental results and analysis conclusions were given.

Rainer Kurz

Journal of Fuel Cell Science and Technology • 2005

A thermodynamic model for a gas turbine-fuel cell hybrid is created and described in the paper. The effects of gas turbine design parameters such as compressor pressure ratio, compressor efficiency, turbine efficiency, and mass flow are considered. The model allows to simulate the effects of fuel cell design parameters such as operating temperature, pressure, fuel utilization, and current density on the cycle efficiency. This paper discusses, based on a parametric study, optimum design parameters for a hybrid gas turbine. Because it is desirable to use existing gas turbine designs for the hybrids, the requirements for this hybridization are considered. Based on performance data for a typical 1600hp industrial single shaft gas turbine, a model to predict the off-design performance is developed. In the paper, two complementary studies are performed: The first study attempts to determine the range of cycle parameters that will lead to a reasonable cycle efficiency. Next, an existing gas turbine, that fits into the previously established range of parameters, will be studied in more detail. Conclusions from this paper include the feasibility of using existing gas turbine designs for the proposed cycle.

William J. Sembler, Sunil Kumar

Journal of Fuel Cell Science and Technology • 2011

To determine the effects of various parameters on the performance of a solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC), a series of simulations was performed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The first step in this process was to create a three-dimensional CFD model of a specific single-cell SOFC for which experimental performance data had been published. The CFD simulation results developed using this baseline model were validated by comparing them to the experimental data. Numerous CFD simulations were then performed with various thermal conditions at the cell’s boundaries and with different fuel and air inlet temperatures. Simulations were also conducted with fuel utilization factors from 30% to 90% and air ratios from 2 to 6. As predicted by theory, conditions that resulted in higher cell temperatures or in lower air and fuel concentrations resulted in lower thermodynamically reversible voltages. However, the higher temperatures also reduced Ohmic losses and, when operating with low to moderate current densities, activation losses, which often caused the voltages actually being produced by the cell to increase. Additional simulations were performed during which air and fuel supply pressures were varied from 1 atm to 15 atm. Although the increased pressure resulted in higher cell voltages, this benefit was significantly reduced or eliminated when air- and fuel-compressor electrical loads were included. CFD simulations were also performed with counterflow, crossflow, and parallel-flow fuel-channel to air-channel configurations and with various flow-channel dimensions. The counterflow arrangement produced cell voltages that were equal to or slightly higher than the other configurations, and it resulted in a differential temperature across the electrolyte that was significantly less than that of the parallel-flow cell and was close to the maximum value in the crossflow cell, which limits stress caused by uneven thermal expansion. The use of wider ribs separating adjacent flow channels reduced the resistance to the electrical current conducted through the ribs. However, it also reduced the area over which incoming fuel and oxygen were in contact with the electrode surfaces and, consequently, impeded diffusion through the electrodes. Reducing flow-channel height reduced electrical resistance but increased the pressure drop within the channels. Plots of voltage versus current density, together with temperature and species distributions, were developed for the various simulations. Using these data, the effect of each change was determined and an optimum cell configuration was established. This process could be used by fuel cell designers to better predict the effect of various changes on fuel cell performance, thereby facilitating the design of more efficient cells.

Harmanjeet Shihn, Ramesh K. Shah

1st International Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology Conference • 2003

This paper presents a framework for the system integration and optimization of a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) working under stationary conditions using process integration. Here, the analysis is focused on two systems in terms of the efficiency and process requirements: (i) an MCFC system alone and (ii) an MCFC system integrated with the steam turbine cycle, now onwards referred to as fuel cell combined cycle system for electric power generation. In the first system, a steady state direct internal reforming MCFC system is being simulated using desulphurized natural gas. A heat exchanger network is developed using process integration so that a minimum amount of external thermal energy is provided to the fuel cell system for electric power generation. In the second analysis, a steam turbine system is added to the first (fuel cell) one to form a fuel cell combined cycle system. The procedure for developing a network of heat exchangers and proper integration of the steam turbine system with an optimized minimum temperature difference is discussed. The results of the study elucidate the advantages of properly designed fuel cell combined cycle system to reach power demand with 17% higher efficiency as compared with the system without a combined cycle.

Ling Jun Tan, Chen Yang, Nana Zhou

Journal of Fuel Cell Science and Technology • 2014

A hybrid system that combines a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is presented in this paper. The SOFC stack acts as both an electricity producer and the fuel reformer for the PEMFC stack to generate additional power. A thermoeconomic model for the design optimization of a 220 kW SOFC-PEMFC hybrid system is developed in this work. Optimization of two objectives, i.e., the life cycle cost and the net electrical efficiency, are considered individually to find the optimum system configuration and component designs. Then, a multiparameter sensitivity analysis is performed to estimate the relative importance of the decision variables on the objectives. The optimization results indicate that the life cycle cost of the hybrid system is 3800–5,600 $/kW, and the maximum net electrical efficiency can reach around 63%, which is higher than an SOFC-only system, a reformer-PEMFC system, and an SOFC-gas turbine (GT) system with a similar output power. The sensitivity analysis shows that minimizing the size of the SOFC is most crucial to the system cost optimization. The hydrogen utilization factor in the SOFC is found to be sensitive to the net electrical efficiency.

Narelle K Bradford, L. Caffery, Anthony C. Smith

Rural and Remote Health • 2016

INTRODUCTION With the escalating costs of health care, issues with recruitment and retention of health practitioners in rural areas, and poor economies of scale, the question of delivering people to services or services to people is a dilemma for health authorities around the world. People living in rural areas have poorer health outcomes compared to their urban counterparts, and the problem of how to provide health care and deliver services in rural locations is an ongoing challenge. Telehealth services can efficiently and effectively improve access to healthcare for people living in rural and remote areas of Australia. However, telehealth services are not mainstream or routinely available in many rural and remote locations. The barriers to integration of telehealth into mainstream practice have been well described, but not the factors that may influence the success and sustainability of a service. Our aim was to collate, review and synthesise the available literature regarding telehealth services in rural and remote locations of Australia, and to identify the factors associated with their sustained success. METHODS A systematic literature review of peer-reviewed and grey literature was undertaken. Electronic databases were searched for potentially relevant articles. Reference lists of retrieved articles and the grey literature were also searched. Searches identified 970 potentially eligible articles published between 1988 and 2015. Studies and manuscripts of any type were included if they described telehealth services (store-and-forward or real-time videoconferencing) to provide clinical service or education and training related to health care in rural or remote locations of Australia. Data were extracted according to pre-defined criteria and checked for completeness and accuracy by a second reviewer. Any disagreements were resolved with discussion with a third researcher. All articles were appraised for quality and levels of evidence. Data were collated and grouped into categories including clinical speciality, disciplines involved, geographical location and the role of the service. Data relating to the success or sustainability of services were grouped thematically. RESULTS Inclusion criteria were met by 116 articles that described 72 discrete telehealth services. Telehealth services in rural and remote Australia are described and we have identified six key factors associated with the success and sustainability of services: vision, ownership, adaptability, economics, efficiency and equipment. CONCLUSIONS Telehealth has the potential to address many of the key challenges to providing health in Australia, with its substantial land area and widely dispersed population. This review collates information regarding the telehealth services in Australia and describes models of care and characteristics of successful and sustainable services. We identified a wide variety of telehealth services being provided in rural and remote areas of Australia. There is great potential to increase this number by scaling up and replicating successful services. This review provides information for policy makers, governments and public and private health services that wish to integrate telehealth into routine practice and for telehealth providers to enhance the sustainability of their service.

Phillip M. Hughes, Genevieve Verrastro, C. Fusco et al.

The Journal of Rural Health • 2021

Abstract Purpose Tracking changes in care utilization of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) services before, during, and after COVID‐19‐associated changes in policy and service delivery in a mixed rural and micropolitan setting. Methods Using a retrospective, open‐cohort design, we examined visit data of MOUD patients at a family medicine clinic across three identified periods: pre‐COVID, COVID transition, and COVID. Outcome measures include the number and type of visits (in‐person or telehealth), the number of new patients entering treatment, and the number of urine drug screens performed. Distance from patient residence to clinic was calculated to assess access to care in rural areas. Goodness‐of‐Fit Chi‐Square tests and ANOVAs were used to identify differences between time periods. Findings Total MOUD visits increased during COVID (436 pre vs. 581 post, p < 0.001), while overall new patient visits remained constant (33 pre vs. 29 post, p = 0.755). The clinic's overall catchment area increased in size, with new patients coming primarily from rural areas. Length of time between urine drug screens increased (21.1 days pre vs. 43.5 days post, p < 0.001). Conclusions The patterns of MOUD care utilization during this period demonstrate the effectiveness of telehealth in this area. Policy changes allowing for MOUD to be delivered via telehealth, waiving the need for in‐person initiation of MOUD, and increased Medicaid compensation for MOUD may play a valuable role in improving access to MOUD during the COVID‐19 pandemic and beyond.

Jamey J. Lister, P. J. Joudrey

The Journal of Rural Health • 2022

The drug overdose epidemic and Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic diminished the health of rural* communities in theUnited States, and their interaction had harmful synergistic effects. However, many rural residents mistrust public health interventions.1 We are health services researchers who grew up in the rural Midwest, with viewpoints informed by different disciplines (social work and general internal medicine). Over our lifetime, we witnessed the accumulation of mistrust of health care institutions among residents of our home communities. The issue of mistrust is so deep that friends, family, and community leaders question our expertise after relocating to academic jobs in urban communities. As such, we believe the only sustainableway to improve adoption of public health interventions in rural communities requires acknowledgment of the longstanding pattern of health care divestment in rural areas and creation of long-lasting partnerships between the health care system and rural communities. Conversely, solutions that seek to solve this issue with short-term remedies only represent a continuance of the norm, and in the eyes of rural residents, will be unlikely to dismantle mistrust that has grown over generations. To illustrate the impact of mistrust on health, we focus on how this issue affects 2 current public health interventions, medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) (buprenorphine, methadone, and extended-release naltrexone) and COVID-19 vaccines, both of which reduce mortality and promote health. Leading health care institutions, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention2 and the Sub-

Xiaodong Zhao, Xiaorui Qin, Xiuqing Jing et al.

Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts • 2023

Abstract Background Soil microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can remove antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) simultaneously, but their removal mechanism is unclear. In this study, metagenomic analysis was employed to reveal the functional genes involved in degradation, electron transfer and the nitrogen cycle in the soil MFC. Results The results showed that the soil MFC effectively removed tetracycline in the overlapping area of the cathode and anode, which was 64% higher than that of the control. The ARGs abundance increased by 14% after tetracycline was added (54% of the amplified ARGs belonged to efflux pump genes), while the abundance decreased by 17% in the soil MFC. Five potential degraders of tetracycline were identified, especially the species Phenylobacterium zucineum, which could secrete the 4-hydroxyacetophenone monooxygenase encoded by EC 1.14.13.84 to catalyse deacylation or decarboxylation. Bacillus , Geobacter , Anaerolinea , Gemmatirosa kalamazoonesis and Steroidobacter denitrificans since ubiquinone reductase (encoded by EC 1.6.5.3), succinate dehydrogenase (EC 1.3.5.1), Coenzyme Q-cytochrome c reductase (EC 1.10.2.2), cytochrome-c oxidase (EC 1.9.3.1) and electron transfer flavoprotein-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (EC 1.5.5.1) served as complexes I, II, III, IV and ubiquinone, respectively, to accelerate electron transfer. Additionally, nitrogen metabolism-related gene abundance increased by 16% to support the microbial efficacy in the soil MFC, and especially EC 1.7.5.1, and coding the mutual conversion between nitrite and nitrate was obviously improved. Conclusions The soil MFC promoted functional bacterial growth, increased functional gene abundance (including nitrogen cycling, electron transfer, and biodegradation), and facilitated antibiotic and ARG removal. Therefore, soil MFCs have expansive prospects in the remediation of antibiotic-contaminated soil. This study provides insight into the biodegradation mechanism at the gene level in soil bioelectrochemical remediation.

A. Tunik, M. Tolstoy

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering • 2017

A new type of a complex mobile independent power station developed in the Department of Engineering Communications and Life-Support Systems of Irkutsk National Research Technical University, is presented in this article. This station contains only solar panel, wind turbine, accumulator, diesel generator and microbial fuel cell for to produce electric energy, heat pump and solar collector to generate heat energy and also wastewater treatment plant and new complex control system. The complex mobile independent power station is intended for full power supply of a different kind of consumers located even in remote areas thus reducing their dependence from centralized energy supply systems, decrease the fossil fuel consumption, improve the environment of urban areas and solve the problems of the purification of industrial and municipal wastewater.

Egide Kalisa, S. Archer, Edward G. Nagato et al.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health • 2019

Aerosolized particulate matter (PM) is a complex mixture that has been recognized as the greatest cause of premature human mortality in low- and middle-income countries. Its toxicity arises largely from its chemical and biological components. These include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their nitro-derivatives (NPAHs) as well as microorganisms. In Africa, fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning in urban settings are the major sources of human exposure to PM, yet data on the role of aerosols in disease association in Africa remains scarce. This review is the first to examine studies conducted in Africa on both PAHs/NPAHs and airborne microorganisms associated with PM. These studies demonstrate that PM exposure in Africa exceeds World Health Organization (WHO) safety limits and carcinogenic PAHs/NPAHs and pathogenic microorganisms are the major components of PM aerosols. The health impacts of PAHs/NPAHs and airborne microbial loadings in PM are reviewed. This will be important for future epidemiological evaluations and may contribute to the development of effective management strategies to improve ambient air quality in the African continent.

J. Vázquez-Castillo, A. Castillo-Atoche, J. Estrada-López et al.

IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement • 2022

In this article, a Kalman framework is proposed for dynamic energy-saving in wireless sensor networks used to monitor urban noise pollution. The energy-saving framework implements a dynamic power management strategy (DPMS) with the Kalman algorithm that varies the sensor node’s sleep period according to the measured noise levels. An Internet-of-Things (IoT) edge-based self-sustaining long-range (LoRa) network is developed and used for ubiquitous monitoring and analysis of urban noise pollution. The network consists of a star topology with six LoRa battery-free wireless sensing nodes deployed in Mérida city downtown, each node powered by a green facade structure consisting of an array of plant-microbial fuel cells (P-MFC). The sensor node’s prototype was implemented following Mexican regulations, transmitting the data packets with the open frequency band of 915 MHz, and monitoring the LoRa network from a web page. Experimental results prove a sustainable operation with a green facade P–MFC array power generation of 112.1 mW with an open-circuit voltage of 2.7 V and a short-circuit current of 180 mA. The sensor node’s average power consumption is 11.2 mW; therefore, sufficient energy is generated for continuous monitoring. The efficient Kalman DPMS is also tested with the urban noise measurement estimation and adjusting the sleep period only if the urban measurement state estimation is above the threshold normativity. The system’s low-power consumption allows to perform 70 continuous LoRa transmissions even when the energy harvester source is absent, and the power capacity of the green facade restores a supercapacitor full charge after only 4 min of a LoRa transmission. A 23.6% of energy was saved with Kalman DPMS in comparison with a continuous measurement system of 10-min uniform-sleep period.

A. Abdel Azim, R. Bellini, A. Vizzarro et al.

Recycling • 2023

E-materials become e-waste once they have been discarded without the intent of reuse. Due to its rich content of metals, among which many are Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), e-waste can be considered an urban mine to exploit and valorise. Common metal refining is performed by energy-intensive processes frequently based on the use of fossil fuel. Bio-metallurgy is a promising alternative for e-waste valorisation based on biological routes of specialised microorganisms able to leach solid-containing metals. Because of the physiology of these microorganisms, microbial leaching can be economically feasible, besides being an environmentally sustainable process. Like Bacteria and Fungi, Archaea are also capable of metal leaching activity, though their potential is underestimated. Among them, the extremophiles are the most studied and applied in the field of metal recovery, while mesophilic species are less common but still of high interest. Here we provide the state of industrial application of bio-metallurgy and report on the state of the art of Archaea exploitation in metal recovery from e-waste. Moreover, we give a special highlight to methanogenic archaea, which are able to convert CO2 into methane in order to highlight the potential for the valorisation of CO2-rich industrial streams generated by key processes (i.e., anaerobic digestion, concrete, and steel production) in CH4 for gas grid distribution, while making metals content in e-waste available again as raw material.

Z. Borjas, J. M. Ortiz, A. Aldaz et al.

Energies • 2015

Microbial electrochemical technologies (METs) constitute the core of a number of emerging technologies with a high potential for treating urban wastewater due to a fascinating reaction mechanism—the electron transfer between bacteria and electrodes to transform metabolism into electrical current. In the current work, we focus on the model electroactive microorganism Geobacter sulfurreducens to explore both the design of new start-up procedures and electrochemical operations. Our chemostat-grown plug and play cells, were able to reduce the start-up period by 20-fold while enhancing chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal by more than 6-fold during this period. Moreover, a filter-press based bioreactor was successfully tested for both acetate-supplemented synthetic wastewater and real urban wastewater. This proof-of-concept pre-pilot treatment included a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) followed in time by a microbial fuel cell (MFC) to finally generate electrical current of ca. 20 A·m−2 with a power of 10 W·m−2 while removing 42 g COD day−1·m−2. The effective removal of acetate suggests a potential use of this modular technology for treating acetogenic wastewater where Geobacter sulfurreducens outcompetes other organisms.

Chennappa Gurikar, H.B. Vandana, B. Netravati et al.

Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology • 2021

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are the device that involves bacteria and organic matter, to generate electrical current via bacterial metabolism from a wide range of organic and inorganic substrates. MFCs are novel bioreactors, that convert chemical energy into electrochemical energy through bio-catalysis of various wastes (agriculture, food, households, food processing industries) using microorganisms. MFC is a promising approach that offers direct, clean, green energy generation, ease of waste recyclability, and by-product utilization of different sources. In recent, MFCs research advances related to electrode development and utilization of suitable different rural and urban wastes is a significant interest in the MFC application. Hence in a large-scale application, the MFC concept is one of the effective technologies for the management of different wastes and is simultaneously used for electricity generation to cater to the energy demand in rural or remote areas that are not linked to the electric grid. MFCs help reduce the global energy crisis and reduce the pressure on non-renewable energy resources.

A. Capodaglio, D. Molognoni, Enrico Dallago et al.

The Scientific World Journal • 2013

Application of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to wastewater treatment for direct recovery of electric energy appears to provide a potentially attractive alternative to traditional treatment processes, in an optic of costs reduction, and tapping of sustainable energy sources that characterizes current trends in technology. This work focuses on a laboratory-scale, air-cathode, and single-chamber MFC, with internal volume of 6.9 L, operating in batch mode. The MFC was fed with different types of substrates. This study evaluates the MFC behaviour, in terms of organic matter removal efficiency, which reached 86% (on average) with a hydraulic retention time of 150 hours. The MFC produced an average power density of 13.2 mW/m3, with a Coulombic efficiency ranging from 0.8 to 1.9%. The amount of data collected allowed an accurate analysis of the repeatability of MFC electrochemical behaviour, with regards to both COD removal kinetics and electric energy production.

Jui-Sheng Chou, Tsung-Chi Cheng, Chi‐Yun Liu et al.

International Journal of Energy Research • 2022

Plant microbial fuel cells (PMFCs) are an emergent green‐energy technology that continuously converts solar energy into electricity. Placing PMFCs on the roofs of urban buildings can help to create green urban environments even as they generate power. The power generation performance of PMFCs is affected by a range of environmental factors, so their power generation capacity is difficult to estimate. To develop an artificial intelligence model to forecast PMFC power generation accurately, relevant results obtained using shallow and deep learning techniques are compared for the first time. Once deep learning techniques had been identified as superior for this purpose, they were used with a bio‐inspired optimization algorithm to dynamically setting the model hyperparameters. The developed model can also be applied to estimate the power generation capacity of PMFC devices in the future. The model was trained using data collected from sensors in a site experiment that was carried out using PMFCs embedded with Chinese pennisetumin (Pennisetum alopecuroides), narrowleaf cattail (Typha angustifolia), dwarf rotala (Rotala rotundifolia), and no plant as a control group. The original data of device parameters, environmental parameters, and the measured power generation of PMFCs in numerical form were applied to train shallow learning and time‐series deep learning models. Meanwhile, the state‐of‐the‐art sliding window technique was used to establish a numerical matrix, which was converted into a 2D image‐like format to represent inputs for deep convolutional neural network (CNN) models. The accuracy in predicting the power generation capacity of PMFC devices showed that EfficientNet, an advanced type of CNN, was the best model among the shallow and deep learning techniques. These analytical results demonstrate the superior performance of deep CNNs in learning image features and their consequent suitability for constructing PMFC power generation forecasting models. To enhance the generalization performance of CNN, a newly developed bio‐inspired optimization algorithm, jellyfish search (JS), was incorporated into this model to determine the optimal hyperparameters, yielding the hybrid JSCNN model. This investigation revealed that the JS optimization algorithm can find better values of hyperparameters of the CNN and stabilize model accuracy. Notably, once the optimal hyperparameters have been obtained using JS, the computation time of the hybrid JSCNN model is shorter than that of the generic CNN model, supporting the need to determine the appropriate hyperparameter values in deep learning. This study is the first to use its particular setup and to offer its particular precautions; it therefore contributes to the body of domain knowledge and practicality of sustainable PMFCs.

Liesje De Schamphelaire, Korneel Rabaey, Pascal Boeckx et al.

Microbial Biotechnology • 2008

Summary The benefits of sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) go beyond energy generation for low‐power applications. Aside from producing electrical energy, SMFCs can enhance the oxidation of reduced compounds at the anode, thus bringing about the removal of excessive or unwanted reducing equivalents from submerged soils. Moreover, an SMFC could be applied to control redox‐dependent processes in sediment layers. Several cathodic reactions that may drive these sediment oxidation reactions are examined. Special attention is given to two biologically mediated cathodic reactions, respectively employing an oxygen reduction and a manganese cycle. Both reactions imply a low cost and a high electrode potential and are of interest for reactor‐type MFCs as well as for SMFCs.

RR Rudenko, EE Vasilevich, GO Zhdanova et al.

International Journal of Engineering &amp; Technology • 2018

The possibility of using urban sewage sludge from the silt areas of the sewage treatment facilities of the left bank of Irkutsk as a substratum in microbial fuel cells (MFС) was studied. The characteristics of voltage and current intensity generated by the microbiological preparation "Doctor Robik 109" in MFC without taking into account and taking into account the resistance of the external electric circuit are obtained. It is shown that sewage sludge with the addition of peptone and acetate (without the introduction of microorganisms-bioagents) is also capable of generating electricity. Presumably, this is due to the presence in the sewage sludge of a large number of microorganisms and their spores. An increase in the total microbial number in the investigated wastewater sediments supports the above hypothesis. The carried out researches testify to the prospects of using MFC for municipal sewage sludge utilization.

Que Vo Nguyen Xuan, Hoang Dung Nguyen, Nguyen Xuan Phuong Vo et al.

Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Sustainability • 2025

Abstract A plant–microbial fuel cell (PMFC) is a derived technology of microbial fuel cell technology that integrates plant photosynthesis and rhizosphere microbial metabolism for bioelectricity generation and organic pollutant treatment. With living plants as a structural component, PMFCs can also function as green roofs. Integration of PMFCs in a green roof is a new and innovative approach that has huge scope for sustainable development in urban areas, particularly with tropical climates. Solving of bottlenecks in system configuration and operational optimization are both essential for successful implementation and performance of PMFC–green roofs. Adaptive features of PMFC–green roofs in tropical urban regions include intensive and natural growth media, regular watering with supplementary wastewater sources, and diverse plant adaptation with superior resistance to strong irradiation and toxic pollutants in wastewaters. These critical issues determine the plant vitality and plant–microbe interactions. Plant species adopting C4 carbon fixation and crassulacean acid metabolism are prioritized to achieve high day and night transpiration rates, photosynthetic efficiency, and tolerance capacity to harsh tropical rooftop conditions. Runoff contamination and management of end-of-life disposals are specific concerns to ensure public safety and the full assessment of wastewater amended PMFC–green roofs in tropical urban regions. This chapter describes the working principles underlying PMFC technology and its possibility to integrate into tropical rooftops for a simultaneous wastewater treatment. This chapter also highlights challenges that need to be overcome for large-scale applications of PMFC–green roofs in tropical urban regions.

K. Rabaey

Microbiology Australia • 2009

Wastewater, whether it is domestic or industrial, represents a great opportunity to recover water, energy or chemicals, and nutrients. Today, wastewater treatment is energy-consuming, and does not recover the resources from the wastewater. Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs), which have recently been developed, allow for adequate harvesting of the energy or for the production of high quality chemicals. In this article, the basic principles and opportunities of BESs in the context of wastewater treatment are explained.

Emre Oguz Koroglu, B. Özkaya, A. Çetinkaya

International Journal of Energy Science • 2014

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bioelectrochemical systems which enable the conversion of chemical energy directly into electrical energy with microorganism. Studies focused on using organic materials of waste to increase power production performance. In this study, two different MFC reactors were investigated to produce electricity using domestic wastewater. The highest current and power density were 1385 mA/m 2 and 16 mW/m 2 at Ti-TiO2/Nafion combination with 78% COD removal. Ti-TiO2/CMI7000 assemblies generated 750 mA/m2 of current densities and 5 mW/m2 of power density and HRT of 1 day was found favorable for MFC system.

Juliette Monetti, P. Ledezma, Bernardino Virdis et al.

ACS Omega • 2019

Removal and recovery of nutrients from waste streams is essential to avoid depletion of finite resources and further disruption of the nutrient cycles. Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are gaining interest because of their ability to recover nutrients through ion migration across membranes at a low energy demand. This work assesses the feasibility of the concept of nutrient bio-electroconcentration from domestic wastewater, which is a widely available source of nutrients in ionic form, collected via sewer networks and easily accessible at centralized wastewater treatment plants. Here, we demonstrate the limits of a three-chamber BES for the recovery of nutrients from domestic wastewater. Because of low ionic conductivity, the measured current densities did not exceed 2 A m, with corresponding limited nutrient ion recoveries. Moreover, in a 3D electrode, forcing higher current densities through potentiostatic control leads to higher Ohmic losses, resulting in anode potential profiles and runaway currents and potentials, with consequent unwanted water oxidation and disintegration of the graphite electrode. At the current density of 1.9 A m, N removal efficiency of 48.1% was obtained at the anode. However, calcium and magnesium salts precipitated on the anion-exchange membrane, putatively lowering its permselectivity and allowing for migration of cations through it. This phenomenon resulted in low N and K recovery efficiencies (12.0 and 11.5%, respectively), whereas P was not recovered because of precipitation of salts in the concentrate chamber.

Han Gao, Y. Scherson, G. Wells

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts • 2014

Conventional biological wastewater treatment processes are energy-intensive endeavors that yield little or no recovered resources and often require significant external chemical inputs. However, with embedded energy in both organic carbon and nutrients (N, P), wastewater has the potential for substantial energy recovery from a low-value (or no-value) feedstock. A paradigm shift is thus now underway that is transforming our understanding of necessary energy inputs, and potential energy or resource outputs, from wastewater treatment, and energy neutral or even energy positive treatment is increasingly emphasized in practice. As two energy sources in domestic wastewater, we argue that the most suitable way to maximize energy recovery from wastewater treatment is to separate carbon and nutrient (particularly N) removal processes. Innovative anaerobic treatment technologies and bioelectrochemical processes are now being developed as high efficiency methods for energy recovery from waste COD. Recently, energy savings or even generation from N removal has become a hotspot of research and development activity, and nitritation-anammox, the newly developed CANDO process, and microalgae cultivation are considered promising techniques. In this paper, we critically review these five emerging low energy or energy positive bioprocesses for sustainable wastewater treatment, with a particular focus on energy optimization in management of nitrogenous oxygen demand. Taken together, these technologies are now charting a path towards to a new paradigm of resource and energy recovery from wastewater.

A. S. Mathuriya, Shashank Bajpai, S. Giri

Journal of Biochemical Technology • 2015

Microbial fuel cells are the bioelectrochemical systems which convert chemical energy of chemical compounds into electricity by catalytic aid of microorganisms. Plant microbial fuel cells are the fuel cells which apply plants in any way to assist electricity generation. In present study, a house plant Epipremnum aureum was used in cathodic chamber of two chamber microbial fuel cell designed to treat wastewater. The performance of plant microbial fuel cell was compared with conventional microbial fuel cell. E. aureum efficiently provided oxygen in cathode chamber and t he resulting plant microbial fuel cell system showed remarkable performance during sunlight. Present system shows an alternative of mechanical aeration or mediator in cathodic chamber. Normal 0 false false false EN-IN X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}