Studies of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and preconditioning have shown that ion homeostasis, particularly calcium homeostasis, is critical to limiting tissue damage. However, the relationship between ion homeostasis and specific cell death pathways has not been investigated in the context of I/R. Previously we reported that calpain cleaved Bid in the absence of detectable caspase activation (1). In this study, we have shown that an inhibitor of the sodium/hydrogen exchanger prevented calpain activation after I/R. Calpain inhibitors prevented cleavage of Bid as well as the downstream indices of cell death, including DNA strand breaks, creatine kinase (CK) release, and infarction measured by triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. In contrast, the broad spectrum caspase inhibitor IDN6734 was not protective in this model. To ascertain whether mitochondrial dysfunction downstream of these events was a required step, we utilized a peptide corresponding to residues 4 -23 of Bcl-x L conjugated to the protein transduction domain of HIV TAT (TAT-BH4), which has been shown to protect mitochondria against Ca 2؉ -induced ⌬⌿ m loss (2). TAT-BH4 attenuated CK release and loss of TTC staining, demonstrating the role of mitochondria and a pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member in the process leading to cell death. We propose the following pathway. (i) Reperfusion results in sodium influx followed by calcium accumulation. (ii) This leads to calpain activation, which in turn leads to Bid cleavage. (iii) Bid targets the mitochondria, causing dysfunction and release of pro-apoptotic factors, resulting in DNA fragmentation and death of the cell. Ischemia/reperfusion initiates a cell death pathway that is independent of caspases but requires calpain and mitochondrial dysfunction.

This paper presents a method to operate a grid connected hybrid system. The hybrid system composed of a Photovoltaic (PV) array and a Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is considered. The PV array normally uses a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique to continuously deliver the highest power to the load when variations in irradiation and temperature occur, which make it become an uncontrollable source. In coordination with PEMFC, the hybrid system output power becomes controllable. Two operation modes, the unit-power control (UPC) mode and the feeder-flow control (FFC) mode, can be applied to the hybrid system. The coordination of two control modes, the coordination of the PV array and the PEMFC in the hybrid system, and the determination of reference parameters are presented. The proposed operating strategy with a flexible operation mode change always operates the PV array at maximum output power and the PEMFC in its high efficiency performance band, thus improving the performance of system operation, enhancing system stability, and decreasing the number of operating mode changes.

In this paper, a grid connected microgrid with multiple inverter-based distributed generators (DGs) is considered. DG in FFC mode regulates the microgrid as a controllable load from the utility point of view as long as its output is within the capacity limit. The transition mode causes a change in frequency of microgrid due to the loss of power transferred between main grid and microgrid. Frequency deviation from the nominal value can exceed the limit if the loss of power is large enough. This paper presents a coordinated control method for inverter-based DGs so that the microgrid is always regulated as a constant load from the utility viewpoint during grid connected mode, and the frequency deviation in the transition mode is minimized. DGs can share the load by changing their control modes between UPC and FFC and stabilize microgrid during transition.

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A large scale energy storage system has become increasingly attractive and has been applied to various ancillary services. To serve energy for a longer time and to increase the profit of a multiple energy storages system, it should be operated considering each available energy source and the different efficiencies of the subordinate storages. This paper proposes a hierarchical control structure and three types of the power sharing methods for a multiple battery energy storages system. A maximum efficiency optimization method based on a piecewise linearized Lagrangian equation is suggested. In addition, a usable energy sharing algorithm is proposed to distribute the output power evenly according to the available energy of each battery. To improve the system availability, a combination algorithm that selects the appropriate control according to the situation is also proposed. The improvement in energy efficiency of the proposed methods is verified with a duty cycle test of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory by PSCAD/EMTDC.