Flexible power converters for the fault tolerant operation of Micro-Grids

The progressive penetration level of Distributed Generation (DG) is destined to cause deep changes in the existing distribution networks no longer considered as passive terminations of the whole electrical system. A possible solution is the realization of small networks, namely the Micro-Grids, reproducing in themselves the structure of the main production and distribution of the electrical energy system. In order to gain an adequate reliability level of the microgrids the individuation and the management of the faults with the goal of maintaining the micro-grid operation (fault tolerant operation) is quite important. In the present paper flexible power converters and a companion control algorithm for the fault tolerant operation of microgrids are presented. The effectiveness of such an algorithm and of the fault tolerant power converters are verified through computer simulations

Extracting Touristic Information from Online Image Collections

In this paper, we present a Geographical Information Retrieval system, which aims to automatically extract and analyze touristic information from photos of online image collections (in our case of study Flickr). Our system collect all the photos, and the related information, that are associated to a specific city. We then use Google Maps service to geolocate the retrieved photos, and finally we analyze geo-referenced data to obtain our goals: 1) determining and locating the most interesting places of the city, i.e. the most visited locations, and 2) reconstructing touristic routes of the users visiting the city. Information is filtered by using a set of constraints, which we apply to select only the users that reasonably are tourists visiting the city. Tests were performed on an Italian city, Palermo, that is rich in artistic and touristic attractions, but preliminary tests showed that our technique could successfully be applied to any city in the world with a reasonable number of touristic landmarks

Wheat yield and grain quality as affected by tillage, sowing time and nitrogen fertilization under rainfed Mediterranean conditions

The research was carried out in 9 sites (5 in 1999-00 and 4 in 2000-01) of inner area of Sicily different for soil type, slope, exposure and preceding crop. The following treatments were studied: (i) conventional tillage and sowing at conventional time (CT); (ii) no tillage and sowing at conventional time (NTc); and (iii) no tillage and early sowing (NTe). In 2000-01 the effect of three nitrogen fertilization treatment (single application at planting, P, and split dressing at two different rates, S and S+) were also evaluated. No tillage systems (NTc and NTe) significantly increased grain yield compared to CT treatment; no differences were observed between the two sowing dates. The productive benefits of no tillage were associated with a decrease of grain protein content that was heavier with early sowing. Regarding N fertilization treatments, S compared with P allowed a significant yield increase; no interaction with tillage technique was found. At the lowest fertilizer rates, split fertilization allowed a significant increase of grain protein content only in NTe

Anderson-Fabry disease: a multiorgan disease.

Fabry disease (FD) is a rare X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme α-galactosidase A . FD causes glycolipids, such as globotriaosylceramide (Gb3), to accumulate in the vascular endothelium of several organs (fig.2), including the skin, kidneys, nervous system, and heart, thereby triggering inflammation and fibrosis . These processes generally result in organ dysfunction, which is usually the first clinical evidence of FD. Patients with classic FD have various symptoms, eg, acroparesthesias, hypohidrosis, angiokeratomas, corneal opacities, cerebrovascular lesions, cardiac disorders, andrenal dysfunction.However, evolving knowledge about the natural course of disease suggests that it is more appropriate to describe FD as a disease with a wide spectrum of heterogeneously progressive clinical phenotypes. Indeed, most female heterozygotes develop symptoms due to yet undetermined mechanisms and a high percentage of females develops vital organ involvement including the kidneys, heart and/or brain about a decade later than males . Renal failure is a serious complication of this disease. Fabry nephropathy lesions are present and progress in childhood while the disease commonly remains silent by routine clinical measures. Early and timely diagnosis of Fabry nephropathy is crucial since late initiation of enzyme replacement therapy may not halt progressive renal dysfunction. This may be challenging due to difficulties in diagnosis of Fabry disease in children and absence of a sensitive non-invasive biomarker of early Fabry nephropathy. Accurate measurement of glomerular filtration rate and regular assessment for proteinuria and microalbuminuria are useful, though not sensitive enough to detect early lesions in the kidney. The principal clinical manifestationsin Fabry disease consist of artery associated complications (such as cerebral disease and nephropathy), but the pathophysiology of this specific vasculopathy is unclear. Several studies indicate that the specific vascular lesions that are present in Fabry disease occur as a result of vascular dysfunction with major components being endothelial dysfunction, alterations in cerebral perfusion and a pro-thrombotic phenotype. Fabry cardiac involvement has several clinical manifestations (table 10): concentric left ventricular hypertrophy without left ventricular dilation and severe loss of left ventricular systolic function, mitral and aortic valvulopathy, disorders of the atrioventricular conduction or repolarization, and compromised diastolic function. The neurological manifestations of Fabry disease include both peripheral nervous system and CNS involvement, with globotriaosylceramide accumulation found in Schwann cells and dorsal root ganglia together with deposits in CNS neurones. The main involvement of the CNS is attributable to cerebrovasculopathy, with an increased incidence of stroke. The abnormal neuronal accumulation of glycosphingolipid appears to have little clinical effect on the natural history of Fabry disease, with the possible exception of some reported mild cognitive abnormalities. The pathogenesis of Fabry vasculopathy remains poorly understood, but probably relates, in part, to abnormal functional control of the vessels, secondary to endothelial dysfunction as a consequence of α-galactosidase A deficiency. The diagnosis of Fabry disease is made in hemizygous males after the detection of the presence of angiokeratomas (fig 19 A, B), irregularities in sweating, edema, scant body hair, painful sensations, and of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, renal, ophthalmologic, phlebologic, and respiratory involvement. A deficiency of alpha-gal A in serum, leukocytes, tears, tissue specimens, or cultured skin fibroblasts further supports the diagnosis in male patients. Since heterozygous women show angiokeratomas in only about 30% of cases and may have alpha-gal A levels within normal range, genetic analysis is recommended. The resultant storage of undegraded glycolipids leads to the progressive development of potentially life-threatening manifestations affecting multiple organ systems in the body. The Mainz Severity Score Index (MSSI) (table 12), a scoring system for patients with Fabry disease has been proven to be representative in patients with 'classic' Fabry disease and may be useful for monitoring clinical improvement in patients receiving enzyme replacement therapy. The MSSI of patients with AFD was significantly higher than that of patients with other severe debilitating diseases

Effects of harvesting methods on seed yield and quality of Scorpiurs muricatus L..

Scorpiurus muricatus L. is an annual legume, widely distributed in Mediterranean pastures, that is appreciated by farmers for its productivity, forage quality, and palatability. It is characterised by long flowering and ripening periods and by pod shedding. These characteristics cause high seed losses, which could reduce its seed harvest efficiency in terms of seed yield and quality. In this study, we investigated the effects on seed yield and quality of different harvesting methods (windrowing at different times with subsequent combining was compared with direct combining). Our results show that direct combining when the pods were fully ripened reduced pod losses compared with swathing methods, producing the highest yield of seed actually harvested. However, in this study, the unique climatic conditions during the pod development stage (extremely high temperatures) accelerated the ripening process, presumably limiting pod shedding

The electron transfer rate of large TPA based compounds: a joint theoretical and electrochemical approach

A series of triphenylamine (TPA) based compounds is investigated by means of density functional theory and cyclic voltammetry. Using the Nicholson\u27s formalism, the measured D E_p are correlated with B3LYP/6-31G* calculated reorganization energies (lambda), elucidating the trend followed by the self electron transfer rate (k_{ET}) of these compounds. Besides the direct dependency upon the dimension of the cationic fragment contributing to the hole stabilization, the lambdas are tuned by the symmetry local to the TPA units, as evidenced by the structural relaxation of the cations. TAPC turns out to be the most effective compound with respect to the self electron transfer process, while N,N\u27-diphenyl-N,N\u27-bis[N-phenyl-N-3-tolyl(4-aminophenyl)]benzidine (MDTAB) shows the interesting combination of low ionization potential (IP) and high k_{ET}. This can make these compounds interesting for practical applications in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) devices, due to the direct correlation of the IP and k_{ET} with the hole transfer efficiency to the anode, along with the hole mobility

Scorpiurus muricatus L.: an interesting legume species for Mediterranean forage systems

Scorpiurus muricatus L. (prickly scorpion’s tail) is a legume species widely distributed as a spontaneous plant in Mediterranean pastures. In Sicily, farmers ascribe to this species a very high palatability and galactogogue effect, so that its abundance increases the value of the pasture. However, despite its worthy traits, the use of S. muricatus as a forage within cropping systems has not been well investigated. A field experiment was performed during two growing seasons in a semiarid Mediterranean environment to acquire information on the productivity of S. muricatus in comparison with other forage species grown in Mediterranean areas (e.g. berseem clover, burr medic, subterranean clover) and on its response to different cutting managements (cuts made in different phenological stages). Results showed that S. muricatus can provide biomass yield similar to, and in some cases higher than, that of the other forage legumes evaluated, differing from these species in its temporal distribution of the biomass accumulation. The findings contribute to define the role that S. muricatus could play in improving the productivity sustainability of the Mediterranean forage systems

Effects of ACE-inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers on inflammation.

The role of inflammation in cardiovascular disease and in hypertensive disease above all, is complex. Several studies confirm that activation of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), through increase in the production of angiotensin II (Ang II), is closely related to local vascular inflammation. Over the BP lowering effects of anti-hypertensive treatments, several ancillary effects for every class may be found, distinguishing the various drugs from one another. Given the pro-inflammatory effects of Ang II and aldosterone, agents that interfere with the components of RAAS, such as ACE inhibitors, Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs), and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (spironolactone or the more selective eplerenone), represent logical therapeutic tools to reduce vascular inflammation and cardiovascular risk, as suggested in large clinical trials in patients with hypertension and diabetes. Regarding ACE inhibitors, actually there is no convincing evidence indicating that ACEi's reduce plasma levels of major inflammatory markers in hypertension models. Lack of evidence concerns especially these inflammation markers, such as fibrinogen of CRP, which are less closely related to atherosclerotic disease and vascular damage and conversely are affected by several more aspecific factors. Results obtained by trials accomplished using ARBs seem to be more univocal to confirm, although to great extent, these is an anti-inflammatory effect of drugs blocking AT1 receptor. In order to strictly study the effects of blockage of RAAS on inflammation, future studies may explore different strategies by, for example, simultaneously acting on the ACE and the AT1 angiotensin receptors

An IPMSM torque/weight and torque/moment of inertia ratio optimization

In this paper, a torque/weight and torque/moment of inertia ratio optimization procedure for interior permanent magnet syncronous motors (IPMSMs) is presented. More in detail, a performance comparison between several IPMSM rotor structures has been carried out in order to determine the optimum geometry that can maximize the torque/weight and torque/moment of inertia ratios. A commercial motor, with known electrical and mechanical characteristics, has been taken as reference. Its rotor structure has been modified several times, obtaining different rotor geometries and, therefore, many IPMSM models with different electrical and mechanical characteristics. The finite element method (FEM) analysis of each IPMSMs has been performed using the software FEMM, allowing to determine the related torque/load-angle characteristics. From the comparison between the torque/load-angle characteristics of the different IPMSM structures, it can be stated that significant performance improvements can be obtained in dependence not only of the type of permanent magnets and their direction of magnetization, but also of the PM displacement within the rotor