[en] Electric utilities use natural gas to fuel many of their power plants, especially those plants which provide electricity at peak and intermediate hours. Natural gas prices are highly volatile and have shown a general upward trend. Wind energy can provide a cost-effective hedge against natural gas price volatility or price increases. This conclusion is based on analysis of the costs of marginal conventional generation given the historical probability distribution of natural gas prices, the cost of wind energy, wind integration costs, transmission costs for wind energy, the capacity value of wind, and environmental benefits of wind energy for a hypothetical utility in the Southwestern United States. The efficacy of using wind energy as a hedge at a particular utility will depend on site specific conditions

[en] In the last ten years, the wind energy industry has experienced many innovations resulting in wider deployment of wind energy, larger wind energy projects, larger wind turbines, and greater capacity factors. Using regression analysis, this paper examines the effects of technological improvements and other factors on the price of wind energy charged under long-term contracts in the United States. For wind energy projects completed during the period 1999-2006, higher capacity factors and larger wind farms contributed to reductions in wind energy contract prices paid by regulated investor owned utilities in 2007. However, this effect was offset by rising construction costs. Turbine size (in MW) shows no clear relationship to contract prices, possibly because there may be opposing factors tending to decrease costs as turbine size increases and tending to increase costs as turbine size increases. Wind energy is generally a low-cost resource that is competitive with natural gas-fired power generation. (author)

[en] With increasing concern about carbon dioxide emissions from power generation, high natural gas costs for generating electricity, and rapidly increasing costs of constructing new power plants, energy efficiency programs are being given greater consideration by utilities and regulators. This study reports on a statistical analysis of the relationship between state-level efficiency program effort and growth in electricity sales between 2001 and 2006 in the United States. The higher the utility efficiency program expenditures per capita and the greater the range of other efficiency programs offered, the greater the reduction in the growth of power sales. Application of the portfolio of energy efficiency programs used in the states with most aggressive programs would have reduced the growth in a state's electricity sales by about 60% relative to the case where no efficiency programs were implemented

[en] As states seek to foster the development of renewable energy resources, some have introduced renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) which require retailers of electricity to derive a specified amount of their energy supply from renewable energy resources. RPSs in Texas, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada allow for or require the use of tradable renewable energy credits. The price of such credits is expected to reflect the cost premium for generating electricity from renewable resources relative to the market price of conventionally generated electricity. Using the market to trade renewable energy credits exposes buyers and sellers to risks of imperfect information, poor performance, and opportunism. These risks can be managed through contractual arrangements and regulatory requirements pertaining to property rights in credits, pricing, term of the contract, and assurance of performance

[en] In the last ten years, the wind energy industry has experienced many innovations resulting in wider deployment of wind energy, larger wind energy projects, larger wind turbines, and greater capacity factors. Using regression analysis, this paper examines the effects of technological improvements and other factors on the price of wind energy charged under long-term contracts in the United States. For wind energy projects completed during the period 1999-2006, higher capacity factors and larger wind farms contributed to reductions in wind energy contract prices paid by regulated investor owned utilities in 2007. However, this effect was offset by rising construction costs. Turbine size (in MW) shows no clear relationship to contract prices, possibly because there may be opposing factors tending to decrease costs as turbine size increases and tending to increase costs as turbine size increases. Wind energy is generally a low-cost resource that is competitive with natural gas-fired power generation.

[en] We have experimentally and theoretically investigated the equivalent magnetic noise in a magnetoelectric Metglas/ 0.7Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-0.3PbTiO₃ laminate sensor unit by considering the constituent noise sources of dielectric loss (N_DE) and DC leakage resistance (N_R). In the low frequency range (f = 1 Hz), theory predicts that N_R dominates the noise charge (1.6 times larger than N_DE), with a 1 Hz noise of 9.1 pt/√(Hz). The experimental equivalent magnetic noise was 10.8 pt/√(Hz). This observed value is slightly higher than the predicted one, which might be due to an oversimplification of the theoretical model in terms of electrical charge amplifier and external vibration noise sources. (copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

[en] The human sodium/iodide symporter (hNIS) is a well-established target in thyroid disease and reporter gene imaging using gamma emitters ¹²³I-iodide, ¹³¹I-iodide and ^99mTc-pertechnetate. However, no PET imaging agent is routinely available. The aim of this study was to prepare and evaluate ¹⁸F-labelled tetrafluoroborate ([¹⁸F]TFB) for PET imaging of hNIS. [¹⁸F]TFB was prepared by isotopic exchange of BF₄^- with [¹⁸F]fluoride in hot hydrochloric acid and purified using an alumina column. Its identity, purity and stability in serum were determined by HPLC, thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and mass spectrometry. Its interaction with NIS was assessed in vitro using FRTL-5 rat thyroid cells, with and without stimulation by thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), in the presence and absence of perchlorate. Biodistribution and PET imaging studies were performed using BALB/c mice, with and without perchlorate inhibition. [¹⁸F]TFB was readily prepared with specific activity of 10 GBq/mg. It showed rapid accumulation in FRTL-5 cells that was stimulated by TSH and inhibited by perchlorate, and rapid specific accumulation in vivo in thyroid (SUV = 72 after 1 h) and stomach that was inhibited 95% by perchlorate. [¹⁸F]TFB is an easily prepared PET imaging agent for rodent NIS and should be evaluated for hNIS PET imaging in humans. (orig.)

[en] The operation of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) using a reformed fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) mixture a biodiesel-like fuel, has been successfully demonstrated. This project had two main aspects: 1) determining the fuel reforming activity of a pyrochlore catalyst deposited onto a monolith; and 2) operating a SOFC on reformed fuel gas. Prior to integrated testing, parametric reforming studies of the FAME mixture were conducted using both Rh/γ-Al₂O₃ and Rh-substituted pyrochlore catalyst powders to determine the operating conditions to maximize syngas selectivity. Using the same pyrochlore catalyst as in the parametric studies, a monolith reformer converted 0.5 cm³ min⁻¹ of the FAME mixture into mostly hydrogen and carbon monoxide (syngas). The syngas generated in the reformer was sent to an anode supported SOFC (H.C. Starck Ceramics GmbH and Co.) The SOFC operated on 98% H₂/2% H₂O for baseline testing before and after switching to the reformed FAME mixture for 100 h of operation. The results presented here demonstrate that FAME mixture can be successfully reformed to power a SOFC, making them a viable fuel for a SOFC-based auxiliary power unit that is both greenhouse gas neutral and renewable. -- Highlights: ► Successfully demonstrated the operation of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) using a reformed biodiesel-like fuel. ► Used a patented Rh-substituted pyrochlore catalyst, which was coated on a monolith, to reform the biodiesel. ► SOFC operated for 100 h on the reformed FAME mixture without significant increase in fuel cell resistance.

[en] Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) is a B-cell malignancy associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Mounting evidence has implicated heparan sulfate proteoglycans and heparan sulfate-like glycosaminoglycans (HSGAGs) in the initiation, severity, and progression of the malignancy. The importance of HSGAGs in regulating BL cell growth was therefore examined. Extracellular exogenous heparin inhibited cell growth >30%, while heparin internalized with poly(β-amino ester)s promoted proliferation up to 58%. The growth-modulating effects of heparin and internalized heparin were dependent on cell surface HSGAGs, PI3K, and Erk/Mek. Treatment of cells with protamine sulfate or with heparinases potently inhibited proliferation, with the greatest effects induced by heparinase I. Cell surface HSGAGs therefore play an important role in regulating BL proliferation and may offer a potential target for therapeutic intervention

[en] We determine the magnetic field strength in the OMC 1 region of the Orion A filament via a new implementation of the Chandrasekhar–Fermi method using observations performed as part of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) B-Fields In Star-forming Region Observations (BISTRO) survey with the POL-2 instrument. We combine BISTRO data with archival SCUBA-2 and HARP observations to find a plane-of-sky magnetic field strength in OMC 1 of $B_{\mathrm{p}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}}=6.6\pm <!--\; ??\; -->4.7$ mG, where $\mathrm{\delta <!--\; ??\; -->}{B}_{\mathrm{p}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}}=4.7$ mG represents a predominantly systematic uncertainty. We develop a new method for measuring angular dispersion, analogous to unsharp masking. We find a magnetic energy density of $\sim <!--\; ???\; -->1.7\times <!--\; ??\; -->{10}^{-<!--\; ???\; -->7}$ J m⁻³ in OMC 1, comparable both to the gravitational potential energy density of OMC 1 (∼10⁻⁷ J m⁻³) and to the energy density in the Orion BN/KL outflow (∼10⁻⁷ J m⁻³). We find that neither the Alfvén velocity in OMC 1 nor the velocity of the super-Alfvénic outflow ejecta is sufficiently large for the BN/KL outflow to have caused large-scale distortion of the local magnetic field in the ∼500 yr lifetime of the outflow. Hence, we propose that the hourglass field morphology in OMC 1 is caused by the distortion of a primordial cylindrically symmetric magnetic field by the gravitational fragmentation of the filament and/or the gravitational interaction of the BN/KL and S clumps. We find that OMC 1 is currently in or near magnetically supported equilibrium, and that the current large-scale morphology of the BN/KL outflow is regulated by the geometry of the magnetic field in OMC 1, and not vice versa.