Academic literature on the topic 'Interconnection capacity contract'

In this note, I discuss avenues for future research stemming from Besley's [this issue] theoretical approach on the interconnections between civicness, institutions, and state‐fiscal capacity. First, I lay down some ideas on how one could extend the framework to model fragility traps that characterize many low‐income countries and study issues related to nation‐building, conflict, and heterogeneity across space and ethnic lines in the provision of public goods. Second, I discuss the relevance of the approach for the analysis of authoritarian populism that is spreading in developed countries and emerging markets.

Network-on-chip- (NoC-) based application-specific systems on chip, where information traffic is heterogeneous and delay requirements may largely vary, require individual capacity assignment for each link in the NoC. This is in contrast to the standard approach of on- and off-chip interconnection networks which employ uniform-capacity links. Therefore, the allocation of link capacities is an essential step in the automated design process of NoC-based systems. The algorithm should minimize the communication resource costs under Quality-of-Service timing constraints. This paper presents a novel analytical delay model for virtual channeled wormhole networks with nonuniform links and applies the analysis in devising an efficient capacity allocation algorithm which assigns link capacities such that packet delay requirements for each flow are satisfied.

Due to the broad use of parallel-connected cells across a wide variety of applications, it is essential to understand the current distribution between them. Variations in resistance, temperature and capacity can lead to an inhomogeneous current distribution and have a deleterious influence on ageing and safety. It is therefore crucial to investigate the current distribution within such systems. Many researchers have designed distinct test-benches to measure the current distribution. In any test-bench, known and unknown resistances caused by wiring, interconnections and measurement equipment can adversely affect the current distribution. The aim of this work is to design a low-complexity test apparatus that does not itself affect the current measurement. This work describes a novel measurement technique [1] to analyse the current distribution within parallel-connected cells without the use of complex custom-made test benches. While the cells are physically connected in conventional test benches, the proposed technique utilizes the software of a commercially available battery cycler to connect the cells in parallel. Because the software replaces the parallel junction within equations, this approach is called “virtual parallel connection“. Each cell is individually connected to the battery cycler and each cell voltage or current can be controlled separately. While a current pulse is used to determine the voltage across the reference cell, the control unit imposes the same voltage across each cell. Therefore, each cell benefits from the 4-wire measurement of the battery cycler, which generates no additional interconnection resistances. For this reason, only the Open Circuit Voltage (OCV), the capacity and the resistance of the cell itself, as well as its relationship to other cells can influence the current distribution. Additionally, any desired connection resistance can be chosen by adding a voltage drop in the equation of the battery cycler. Connecting cells virtually has many advantages, such as the ability to decouple the cells for check-ups and recouple them for cycling without ever touching them physically, independent location of each cell, scaling to n-parallel constellations, low assembly effort on the test-bench and defined contact resistances. In addition, different cell formats can be investigated with no additional effort. In this work, the virtual parallel connection will first be demonstrated, validated and discussed for constant current-, constant voltage- and rest phases using of a conventional test bench [2] within two NMC cells. Next, to understand the influence of additional resistances in two parallel-connected cells, two measurement studies were carried out in which interconnection resistances were varied between 0 and 5 mΩ. The first study investigates the influence of an inhomogeneous resistance increase within one of the parallel paths. Subsequently, the second study examines a homogeneous resistance increase within both parallel-connected paths. The conclusion of both studies is that the height of the local minima and maxima of the current distribution are mainly dependent on the resistance ratio of the parallel legs. The minima and maxima divide relative to the ratio of the combined cell and interconnection resistance in each pathway. In contrast, neither the local minima and maxima measured at various cumulative charge throughputs, nor the intersection points of the current distribution are affected by varied resistances. Meanwhile, OCV interactions between both cells determine the shape of the current distribution. Additionally, the shape of the Differential Voltage Analysis (DVA) showed correlations with current distribution. Some local minima and maxima within the current appear in almost the same region as the local minima and maxima of the DVA. By assigning different peaks of both half-cell profiles of the DVA to the anode and the cathode, the current distribution of both currents is expected to be affected by these characteristic peaks. References [1] Jocher, P.; Steinhardt, M.; Ludwig, S.; Schindler, M.; Martin, J.; Jossen, A.: A novel measurement technique for parallel-connected lithium-ion cells with controllable interconnection resistance, In: Journal of Power Sources 503 (1), S. 230030. (2021). doi: https:/ / doi.org/ 10.1016/ j.jpowsour.2021.230030 [2] Hofmann, M.H.: Current distribution in parallel-connected battery cells, 1. Auflage, Verlag Dr. Hut, München. (2020), ISBN: 978-3-8439-4614-8

Some neurons in early visual cortex are highly selective for the position of oriented edges in their receptive fields (simple cells), whereas others are largely position insensitive (complex cells). These characteristics are reflected in their sensitivity to the spatial phase of moving sine-wave gratings: simple cell responses oscillate at the fundamental frequency of the stimulus, whereas this is less so for complex cells. In primates, when assessed at high stimulus contrast, simple cells and complex cells are roughly equally represented in the first visual cortical area, V1, whereas in the second visual area, V2, the majority of cells are complex. Recent evidence has shown that phase sensitivity of complex cells is contrast dependent. This has led to speculation that reduced contrast may lead to changes in the spatial structure of receptive fields, perhaps due to changes in how feedforward and recurrent signals interact. Given the substantial interconnections between V1 and V2 and recent evidence for the emergence of unique functional capacity in V2, we assess the relationship between contrast and phase sensitivity in the two brain regions. We show that a substantial proportion of complex cells in macaque V1 exhibit significant increases in phase sensitivity at low contrast, whereas this is rarely observed in V2. Our results support a degree of hierarchical processing from V1 to V2 with the differences possibly relating to the fact that V1 combines both subcortical and cortical input, whereas V2 receives input purely from cortical circuits.

The European Commission’s Target Model’s main objective is to integrate European electricity markets, leading to a single internal energy market and guaranteeing the instantaneous balance between electricity generation and demand. According to the target model for electricity trading, proposed by the European Network Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), within each zone, electricity can be traded freely without taking into consideration network limitations. In contrast, for cross-border trading, the exchanges with other market areas are taken into account. Cross-border trade poses a further burden on the interconnection lines, resulting in increasing network congestion, which in turn restricts electricity trading. Thus, calculating the available capacity for trade has a significant ramification on the market. Today, the Available Transfer Capacity (ATC) mechanism dominates cross-border trading, but this methodology may be replaced by the Flow-Based (FB) approach across Europe. This paper investigates both approaches regarding the cross-border congestion management under the market coupling procedure. In our case study, the Southeast Europe (SEE) region is taken into consideration; it consists of both the FB and ATC approach in a five country (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania) scenario. The purpose of our tests is to perform, compare, and evaluate the effectiveness of each method for the SEE region, while the main findings are the maximization of social welfare, better cross-border trading opportunities, and price convergence via the FB method.

PHE ONWJ is an upstream oil and gas company performing exploration and production of oil and gas. PHE ONWJ is subsidiary of Pertamina Hulu Energy (PHE) under PERTAMINA Group with working areas of 8.300 km2 covering offshore and onshore sites. As response to the declining of global oil price, PHE ONWJ is required to reduce its operating costs. One of them is marine operation that accounted for 10% of the total operating cost, 53% of which is the cost of energy (fuel). The marine fuel efficiency program is a technology based on approach through series of interconnecting activities namely determination of vessels’ economical speed, vessel control by Fuel Monitoring System (FMS) and Vessel Tracking System (VTS), and improvement of contractor performance management. This program has saved diesel fuel consumption for approximately 10,000 kiloliter or equivalent to savings by 34%. Financially it has saved Rp 80 billion and reduce emission by 40 ktons of CO2e during the year 2016. The keys of success of this program are strong commitment to implement economical speed, contractor partnership, capacity building and awareness to raise contractor’s competence also behaviour towards energy efficiency.

Implantable neuromodulation devices typically have metal in contact with soft, ion-conducting nerves. These neural interfaces excite neurons using short-duration electrical pulses. While this approach has been extremely successful for multiple clinical applications, it is limited in delivering long-duration pulses or direct current (DC), even for acute term studies. When the charge injection capacity of electrodes is exceeded, irreversible electrochemical processes occur, and toxic byproducts are discharged directly onto the nerve, causing biological damage. Hydrogel coatings on electrodes improve the overall charge injection limit and provide a mechanically pliable interface. To further extend this idea, we developed a silicone-based nerve cuff lead with a hydrogel microfluidic conduit. It serves as a thin, soft and flexible interconnection and provides a greater spatial separation between metal electrodes and the target nerve. In an in vivo rat model, we used this cuff to stimulate and record from sciatic nerves, with performance comparable to that of metal electrodes. Further, we delivered DC through the lead in an acute manner to induce nerve block that is reversible. In contrast to most metallic cuff electrodes, which need microfabrication equipment, we built this cuff using a consumer-grade digital cutter and a simplified molding process. Overall, the device will be beneficial to neuromodulation researchers as a general-purpose nerve cuff electrode for peripheral neuromodulation experiments.

Abstract Background While the COVID-19 outbreak in China now appears suppressed, Europe and the USA have become the epicentres, both reporting many more deaths than China. Responding to the pandemic, Sweden has taken a different approach aiming to mitigate, not suppress, community transmission, by using physical distancing without lockdowns. Here we contrast the consequences of different responses to COVID-19 within Sweden, the resulting demand for care, intensive care, the death tolls and the associated direct healthcare related costs. Methods We used an age-stratified health-care demand extended SEIR (susceptible, exposed, infectious, recovered) compartmental model for all municipalities in Sweden, and a radiation model for describing inter-municipality mobility. The model was calibrated against data from municipalities in the Stockholm healthcare region. Results Our scenario with moderate to strong physical distancing describes well the observed health demand and deaths in Sweden up to the end of May 2020. In this scenario, the intensive care unit (ICU) demand reaches the pre-pandemic maximum capacity just above 500 beds. In the counterfactual scenario, the ICU demand is estimated to reach ∼20 times higher than the pre-pandemic ICU capacity. The different scenarios show quite different death tolls up to 1 September, ranging from 5000 to 41 000, excluding deaths potentially caused by ICU shortage. Additionally, our statistical analysis of all causes excess mortality indicates that the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 could be increased by 40% (95% confidence interval: 0.24, 0.57). Conclusion The results of this study highlight the impact of different combinations of non-pharmaceutical interventions, especially moderate physical distancing in combination with more effective isolation of infectious individuals, on reducing deaths, health demands and lowering healthcare costs. In less effective mitigation scenarios, the demand on ICU beds would rapidly exceed capacity, showing the tight interconnection between the healthcare demand and physical distancing in the society. These findings have relevance for Swedish policy and response to the COVID-19 pandemic and illustrate the importance of maintaining the level of physical distancing for a longer period beyond the study period to suppress or mitigate the impacts from the pandemic.

Abstract Global reach is equated with national ambition. In the contemporary international system, one measure of global reach for states is their inclusion in global summits. This association is particularly compelling for putative “rising” states from the Global South, among the BRICS (China, India, and Brazil) and also a less well-known forum, MIKTA (Mexico, South Korea, Turkey, and Indonesia) groupings. Yet the standard means of examining the attributes of rising states via country specific and impressionistic studies appears to reveal that these rising powers are similar in many respects but there are significant differences as well. To help identify these differences we turn to a concept and data referred to as “globality.” We believe that this concept is helpful in more accurately analyzing the global reach of rising Global South countries. Though not that well known in the international relations literature, globality emphasizes agency by self-aware actors. Globality can be operationalized by tracing certain dimensions: institutional/diplomatic range; trade profile; and the trajectory of official development assistance. Broadly, the conclusion drawn from such a globality analysis substantiates a sharp distinction between the BRICS members and the MIKTA countries. The BRICS countries have some considerable capacity for global reach while it turns out that the MIKTA countries are regionally entrapped and thus less capable of global projection. Moreover, the specifics in terms of this pattern of differentiation are salient as well. The overall confirmation of an interconnection between subjective impressions of hierarchy and objective measurements of global projection, underscore the contrast between BRICS and MIKTA in summitry dynamics.

We examined whether a phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domain from the human insulin receptor substrate-1 (hIRS-1) is capable of binding inositol phosphates/phosphoinositides. The binding specificity was compared with that of the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain derived from the same protein because the three dimensional structure was found to be very similar to that of the PH domain, despite the lack of sequence similarity. We also attempted to locate the site of binding of the inositol compounds. The PTB domain bound [3H]Ins(1,4,5)P3, which was displaced most strongly by Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 and InsP6, indicating that these inositol polyphosphates show the highest affinity. The PTB domain bound to liposomes containing PtdIns(4,5)P2, PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 and PtdIns(3,4)P2, but not phosphatidylinositol. In contrast, the PH domain showed a preference for Ins(1,4,5)P3, the polar head of PtdIns(4,5)P2. Site-directed mutagenesis studies were performed to map the binding site for inositol phosphates in the PTB domain. Mutation of K169Q, K171Q or K177Q, located in the loop connecting the β1 and β2 strands, which is partially responsible for binding inositol phosphates/phosphoinositides in the PH domains of several other proteins, reduced binding activity, probably because of a reduction in affinity. Mutation of R212Q or R227Q, shown to be involved in the binding of a phosphotyrosine, had little effect on the binding capacity. These results indicate that the PTB domain of hIRS-1 can bind inositol phosphates/phosphoinositides. Therefore signalling through the PTB domain could be regulated by the binding not only of proteins with phosphotyrosine but also of inositol phosphates/phosphoinositides, implying that PTB domains could be involved in a myriad of interconnections between intracellular signalling pathways.

An interconnector is an asset that gives the owner the right, but not the obligation, to transmit electricity between two locations each hour of the day over a prefixed time period. The financial value of the interconnector is given by a series of options that are written on the price differential between two electricity markets, that is, a strip of European options on an hourly spread. Since the hourly forward price is not directly observable on the market, Chapter 1 proposes a practical procedure to build an hourly forward price curve, fitting both base load and peak load forward quotations. One needs a stochastic model, a valuation formula, and a calibration method to evaluate interconnection capacity contracts. To capture the main features of the electricity price series, we model the energy price log-returns for each hour with a non-Gaussian mean-reverting stochastic process. Unfortunately no explicit solution to the spread option valuation problem is available. Chapter 2 develops a method for pricing the generic spread option in the non-Gaussian framework by extending the Bjerksund and Stensland (2011) approximation to a Fourier transform framework. We also obtain an upper bound on the estimation error. The method is applicable to models in which the joint characteristic function of the underlying assets is known analytically. Since an option on the difference of two prices is a particular case of a basket option, Chapter 3 extends our results to basket option pricing, obtaining a lower and an upper bound on the estimated price. We propose a general lower approximation to the basket option price and provide an upper bound on the estimation error. The method is applicable to models in which the joint characteristic function of the underlying assets and the geometric average is known. We test the performance of these new pricing algorithms, considering different stochastic dynamic models. Finally, in Chapter 4, we use the proposed spread option pricing method to price interconnectors. We show how to set up a calibration procedure: A market-coherent calibration is obtained, reproducing the hourly forward price curve. Finally, we present several examples of interconnector capacity contract valuation between European countries.

How do new media affect the question of social memory? Social memory is usually described as enacted through ritual, language, art, architecture, and institutions ? phenomena whose persistence over time and capacity for a shared storage of the past was set in contrast to fleeting individual memory. But the question of how social memory should be understood in an age of digital computing, instant updating, and interconnection in real time, is very much up in the air. The essays in this collection discuss the new technologies of memory from a variety of perspectives that explicitly investigate their impact on the very concept of the social. Contributors: David Berry, Ina Blom, Wolfgang Ernst, Matthew Fuller, Andrew Goffey, Liv Hausken, Yuk Hui, Trond Lundemo, Adrian Mackenzie, Sónia Matos, Richard Mills, Jussi Parikka, Eivind Røssaak, Stuart Sharples, Tiziana Terranova, Pasi Väliaho.

Tourism is an information-intensive industry that requires the interconnection of the stakeholders to make strategic decisions for both tourism organizations and tourists. For instance, trip planning as a high-engagement, time and effort-consuming decision-making process, allows choosing the most suitable travel destination, mode, and activities. Tourists often need a considerable amount of information to develop a travel plan and to build expectations for their trip. Therefore, they need a technological platform on which information relating to tourism activities could be interoperated to respond to the pre-trip tourists' information sourcing behavior. In contrast, given the substantial number of actors providing open data in the field of tourism, tourism service providers aim to explore its significant potentials for sustainable tourism development. Thus, this chapter investigates the capacity to build a centralized information platform using diverse open data sources to support travelers during their trip planning by providing more prominent and better-tailored information.

We propose and analyze a novel interconnection configuration in which one 2-dimensional plane can communicate simultaneously and reconfigurably with many planes by using WDM. This system incorporates arrays of multiple-wavelength VCSEL’s as well as wavelength-selective detecting planes. High signal contrast ratio with low power penalty can be achieved for a Δλ>30nm, limited only by the detector spectral response. In addition, system capacity is significantly enhanced over more traditional techniques by using WDM pixels.

Since their introduction in 1989 [1,2], asymmetric Fabry-Perot modulators (AFPMs) have attracted a great deal of attention because of their high efficiency (high contrast, low insertion loss, and low voltage) and the fact that their surface-normal configuration is particularly compatible with fiber optics and with proposed architectures for parallel optical free-space image processors and interconnection systems. In addition to their other virtues, AFPMs also have the potential for extremely high speed operation. Last year we demonstrated small-signal modulation of AFPMs to 21 GHz [3], and recently we have predicted that speeds in excess of 40 GHz may well be possible. [4] This capacity for high speed operation makes AFPMs suitable for high-speed photonic switching applications in which the optical switches are "smart" — that is, they perform functions on the data stream at the data rate, rather than simply switching packets at some slower rate.

The Bolivia Brasil Gas Pipeline (GASBOL) is a pipeline extending from the gas producing fields of Rio Grande, Bolivia, to Canoas, Brazil. It distributes gas to five states in Brazil, with a total extension of 3 160 km (1,970 mi) and a rated operating pressure of 100 kgf/cm2g (1,420 psig). GASBOL is owned and operated by Transportadora Brasileira Gasoduto Bolivia-Brasil S.A., TBG, a company whose shareholders are Petrobras, AEI Ame´rica do Sul, Transredes, BBPP Holdings and Bear Ga´s. After several occurrences of flow turbine failures caused by large flow variations at some city gates, the design of new stations was modified to include a control valve upstream of the interconnection point with consumers. For operational city gates such functionality would imply delivery interruption to perform costly hot tapping procedures in order to install a flow control valve. Therefore, TBG’s engineering team was challenged to develop a cheaper and quicker solution. This paper describes TBG’s answer to that challenge, developing a low cost flow control solution at ten selected city gates along the pipeline. The stations were chosen based on several aspects such as volume capacity, line packing to the consumer, etc. The main objective is to ensure that the daily volume effectively delivered does not exceed the contracted volume, avoiding delivery failures due to imbalances caused by unplanned withdrawals, as a means to improve planning of the pipeline operational profile.

I territori sono oggi utilizzati come un “menu” all’interno del quale ci si sposta sempre più liberamente secondo le proprie necessità. Le città, già da tempo, hanno assunto l’accezione di sistemi integrati, apparendo sempre più simili a una miscellanea, composita e variabile, alla cui definizione concorrono molteplici dispositivi e la cui comprensione e gestione operativa sembra trovarsi non più nella perimetrazione di registri e contesti formali, ma nell’individuazione di regole e tattiche capaci di guidare e prevedere gli esiti e le evoluzioni delle differenti dinamiche e vocazioni. In questo progressivo evolversi delle realtà urbane, i centri storici, in particolare quelli dell’area mediterranea, storicamente, fortemente strutturati, iper-stratificati e densi, risultano inadeguati a rispondere alle nuove necessità della vita odierna Fondamentale, in questo senso, diviene, dunque, individuare e riconoscere un nuovo criterio e metodo per la gestione di questi contesti, mirato, non a stravolgerli o snaturarli in nome del progresso, ma, al contrario, a riattivarli nuovamente come nodi propulsivi a partire dalla riscoperta di valenze e funzioni intrinseche alla loro storica dimensione e natura, sulla base una logica sostanzialmente rinnovativo-reinterpretativo. Genova, si propone come un fantastico laboratorio per l’individuazione di strategie e azioni mirate a tracciarne nuovi sviluppi futuribili rispondenti alle odierne logiche attive di sostenibilità, avanzamento e interconnessione locale e globale. The territories are now used as a "menu", where people move more freely according to their own needs . The city , for some time , have taken on the meaning of integrated systems , appearing more like a miscellany definition of which contribute to multiple devices and whose understanding and operational management appears to be no longer in the delimitation of records and formal, but in ' identification of rules and tactics capable of guiding and predicting possible outcomes and the evolution of the different dynamics and vocations. This gradual development of urban , historic centers , particularly those of the Mediterranean , historically , highly structured , hyper - layered and dense , are inadequate to meet the new needs of today's life . Fundamental , in this sense , becomes, therefore , to identify and recognize a new criterion and method for the management of these contexts , focused, not distorting them or altering them in the name of progress , but , on the contrary , to reactivate them again as dynamic hubs from the rediscovery of values and functions intrinsic to its historical dimension and nature , based on a logic substantially renewal and reinterpretation. Genoa is a fantastic laboratory for the identification of strategies and actions to trace new developments futuristic responding to today's active logical sustainability, progress and interconnecting local and global.