Estimation of cost savings from participation of electric vehicles in vehicle to grid(V2G)schemes

The storage capacity of the batteries in an electric vehicle(EV)could be utilised to store electrical energy and give it back to the grid when needed by participating in vehicle to grid(V2G)schemes.This participation could be a source of revenue for vehicle owners thus reducing the total charging cost of their EVs.A V2G simulator has been developed using MATLAB to find out the potential cost saving from participation of EVs in V2G schemes.A standard IEEE30 network has been modelled in the simulator which uses the MATPOWER engine to undertake power flow analysis.A novel control algorithm has been developed to take advantage of the difference between the selling and buying electricity prices by charging and discharging EVs at the appropriate time.Two scenarios are simulated to compare the total charging cost of EVs with or without the utilisation of V2G technology within the power system assuming a total of 5000 EVs.The results of the simulation show that the applied control strategy with V2G is able to reduce the charging cost of EVs by 13.6%while satisfying the minimum requirement for state of charge(SoC)of the EV batteries to complete their next journey.

Clinical and cost impact of intravenous proton pump inhibitor use in non-ICU patients

AIM:To assess the appropriateness of the indication and route of administration of proton-pump-inhibitors (PPIs) and their associated cost impact. METHODS:Data collection was performed prospec-tively during a 6-mo period on 340 patients who re-ceived omeprazole intravenously during their hospital stay in non-intensive care floors. Updated guidelines were used to assess the appropriateness of the indication and route of administration. RESULTS:Complete data collection was available for 286 patients which were used to assess intravenous (IV) PPIs utilization. Around 88% of patients were receiving PPIs for claimed stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) indication; of which,only 17% met the guideline criteria for SUP indication,14% met the criteria for non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drugs-induced ulcer prophylaxis,while the remaining 69% were identifi ed as having an unjustified indication for PPI use. Theinitiation of IV PPIs was appropriate in 55% of pa-tients. Half of these patients were candidates for switching to the oral dosage form during their hos-pitalization,while only 36.7% of these patients were actually switched. The inappropriate initiation of PPIs via the IV route was more likely to take place on the medical floor than the surgical floor (53% vs 36%,P = 0.003). The cost analysis associated with the appro-priateness of the indication for PPI use as well as the route of administration of PPI revealed a possible saving of up to $17 732.5 and $14 571,respectively. CONCLUSION:This study highlights the over-utili-zation of IV PPIs in non-intensive care unit patients. Restriction of IV PPI use for justified indications and route of administration is recommended.

Effect of blockchain technology initiatives on firms’market value

Despite blockchain’s potential to transform corporations by providing new ways of organizing business processes and handling information,extant research pays inadequate attention to how and under what conditions blockchain technology provides additional financial value for shareholders.Drawing on the efficient market hypothesis and signaling theory,we examined the relationship between firms’blockchain use,development announcements,and stock market reactions.We used the event study methodology to analyze a sample of blockchain projects initiated by US firms between 2016 and 2019.The sample contains 114 firm-event observations.The findings show that the average abnormal return over a 2 days event period(including the day of the announcement and the day after the announcement)was positive.This positive stock market reaction is even more substantial when firms announce blockchain projects that focus on saving cost or time.Our findings also indicate that blockchain announcements tend to elicit more positive market reactions from smaller firms.We analyzed 249 firm-event observations containing firms from around the world and conclude that blockchain technology has a non-significant long-term impact on operating performance.The contingency approach adopted in our research provides advice for selecting the right mix of blockchain investment initiatives that is most suitable for a given organizational context.

Optimal use of mobile cooling units in a deep-level gold mine

The South African gold mining sector remains a significant contributor to the country’s economy.Facing several challenges that hinder the realisation of South Africa’s full mineral potential,the sector’s sustainability and profitability can be enhanced through implementing operational improvement measures.Mobile cooling units(MCUs)were identified as a potential focus area for operational improvement.MCUs are used as tertiary or in-stope cooling in hot underground workings.In this paper,a method was presented to characterise the performance of existing MCUs based on three key performance indicators(KPIs),namely,the wet-bulb temperature ratio(WTR),efficiency and position.Optimisation strategies were then elected and implemented based on these KPIs.The implementation of this method in a South African gold mine attained a reduction in pumped water volumes,reduced operating costs through electricity cost savings and improvements in underground ventilation air temperatures.

Clinical and economic impact of infliximab one-hour infusion protocol in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases:A multicenter study

AIM To assess the impact of short infliximab(IFX) infusion on hospital resource utilization and costs.METHODS All inflammatory bowel diseases(IBD) patients who received IFX 1 h infusion from March 2007 to September 2014 in eight centers from Southern Italy were included in the analysis. Demographic, clinical and infusion related data were collected. The potential benefits related to the short infusion protocol were assessed both in terms of time saving and increased infusion unit capacity. In addition, indirect patient-related cost savings were evaluated.RESULTS One hundred and twenty-five patients were recruited(64 with ulcerative colitis and 61 with Crohn's disease). Median duration of disease was of 53 mo and mean age of pts at diagnosis was of 34 years(SD: ± 13). Adverse infusion reactions were reported in less than 4% both before and after short infusion. The total number of infusions across the selected centers was of 2501(30.5% short infusions). In the analyzed cohort, 1143 h were saved(762 in the infusion and 381 in observation phases) through the rapid IFX infusion protocol. This time saving(-15% compared to the standard protocol in infusion phase) represents, from the hospital perspective, an opportunity to optimize infusion unit capacity by allocating the saved time in alternative cost-effective treatments. This is the case of opportunity cost that represents the value of forgone benefit which could be obtained from a resource in its next-best alternative use. Hence, an extra hour of infusion in the case of standard 2-h IFX represents a loss in opportunity to provide other cost effective services. The analysis showed that the short infusion increased the infusion units capacity up to 50% on days when the IFX infusions were scheduled(infusion phase). Furthermore, the analysis showed that the short IFX infusion protocol leads to time savings also in the post-infusion phase(observation) leading to a time saving of 10% on average among the analyzed centers. Finally, the short infusion protocol has been demonstrated to lead to indirect cost savings of €138/patient(average-€17.300 on the whole cohort).CONCLUSION A short IFX infusion protocol can be considered time and cost saving in comparison to the standard infusion protocol both from the hospital's perspective, as it contributes to increase infusion units capacity, and the patients' perspective, as it reduces indirect costs and the impact of treatment on everyday life and work productivity.

Optimization of Internal Thermally Coupled Distillation Columns of Nonideal Mixture

Internal thermally coupled distillation column(ITCDIC) is a frontier in energy saving distillation research. In this paper, the optimal assessment on the energy saving and the operating cost for ITCDIC of nonideal mixture is explored. An evaluating method is proposed, and the pertinent optimization model is then derived. The ethanol-water system is studied as an illustrative example. The optimization results show that the maximum energy saving in ITCDIC process is about 35% and the maximum operating cost saving in ITCDIC process is about 30%,as compared with a conventional distillation column(CDIC) under the minimum reflux ratio operating; the optimal operating pressure of the rectifying section is found to be around 0.25 MPa; the effects of the feed composition,operating pressure and the heat transfer rate on operation are also found and analyzed. It is revealed that ITCDIC process possesses high energy saving potential and promising economical prospect.

Smelting practice of scrap addition in blast furnace and theoretical analysis of cost saving

The recycling of scrap has attracted more attention in recent years,and scrap can be used as iron-bearing material to smelt hot metal.The smelting practice of blast furnace(BF)with scrap addition in China was investigated,with the types of scrap being small pieces of scrap,such as crushed materials,light and thin materials,and small compacts which were easy to be added into BFs.The higher productivity of BFs with scrap addition was observed compared with that of BFs without scrap addition at the same volume,and the positive correlation between production increase rate and addition amount of scrap was found.The reducing agent rate of most BFs with scrap addition was lower than the average reducing agent rate at the same volume,while the gas utilization of BFs with scrap addition would not be reduced significantly.The theoretical analysis of cost saving was carried out as well,and the results indicated that the cost could be saved by scrap addition.The melting and carburizing were the two main processes of scrap in BF,in which three steps were involved in the melting process of scrap.The amount of carburization depended on the carbon content of hot metal in hearth and the original carbon content in scrap.The calculation showed that the coke rate could be reduced by 27 kg with 100 kg scrap addition per ton of hot metal,and the saving cost was decided by the amount of scrap and the actual situation of BF.

Saving Lives at All Costs

Military surgeons risk danger and battle primitive conditions to rescue a girl trapped for almost three

Toward cost-effective residential energy reduction and community impacts: A data-based machine learning approach

Many U.S.utilities incentivize residential energy reduction through rebates,often in response to state mandates for energy reduction or from a desire to reduce demand to mitigate the need to grow generating assets.The assumption built into incentive programs is that the least efficient residences will be more likely take advantage of the rebates.This,however,is not always the case.The main goal of this study was to determine the potential for prioritized incentivization,i.e.,prioritizing incentives that deliver the greatest energy savings per invest-ment through an entire community.It uses a data mining approach that leverages known building and energy characteristics for predicting energy consumption of houses that collectively can be considered representative of all residences within an entire community.From this model,it estimates natural gas consumption and savings,and corresponding implementation costs associated with the adoption of the most impactful energy reduction measures.The resulting savings and cost estimates allow us to develop a sequential energy reduction strategy whereby the most economic measures within the whole utility district are addressed.The results show that an energy reduction of 36%can be achieved at a levelized cost of less than$14 per mmBTU($14,780 per MJ),demonstrating the strong potential of this approach.A corresponding Economic Input–Output Analysis captures the cascading community economic impacts of this strategy.The results show that for the roughly 45,000 single-family residences in the studied region,an initial energy efficiency investment of$26M could result in a total cascading multiplier economic impact of$41M and additional economic impacts of$2.2M for the lifetime of the considered energy efficiency measures.

Practice of Hot Metal Full Pretreatment and Less-slag Steelmaking in ShouGangJingTang

The hot metal full pretreatment and less-slag steelmaking process constituted a platform to produce clean steel with low cost and rapid pace and also realized a professional production line. The w[P] can be less than 0.030% at the end of De-P converter and 0.006% at the end of De-C converter. The w[N] in steel can be less than 15×10-6 at the stirring station. This production line can make clean steel steadily used for auto sheet or pipeline, for example X65 MS. The De-C slag was left in the converter for the next heat and recycled to De-P converter to reduce lime consumption, which has a great benefit for the cost saving.