bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Highly active and stable Ni/perovskite catalysts in steam methane reforming for hydrogen production
Authors: Ou Zhiliang , Zhang Zhonghui , Qin Changlei , Xia Hongqiang , Deng Tao , Niu Juntian , Ran Jingyu , Wu Chunfei
Published: February 2021

The roles of A and B sites in a perovskite support in the catalytic performance of Ni-based catalysts were revealed for steam methane reforming and the Ni/La0.7Mg0.3AlO3−δ catalyst has an outstanding catalytic activity and resistance to carbon deposition.
Efficient overall water splitting catalyzed by robust FeNi3N nanoparticles with hollow interiors
Authors: Liu Zong , Liu Danye , Zhao Linyu , Tian Jingqi , Yang Jun , Feng Ligang
Published: February 2021

Hollow FeNi3N nanoparticles derived from oxygen etching and nitridation of FeNi3 were demonstrated as efficient bi-functional catalysts for overall water splitting.
Not All Procedural Learning Tasks Are Difficult for Adults With Developmental Language Disorder
Authors: Gerken LouAnn , Plante Elena , Goffman Lisa
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The experiment reported here compared two hypotheses for the poor statistical and artificial grammar learning often seen in children and adults with developmental language disorder (DLD; also known as specific language impairment). The
procedural learning deficit hypothesis
states that implicit learning of rule-based input is impaired, whereas the
sequential pattern learning deficit hypothesis
states that poor performance is only seen when learners must implicitly compute sequential dependencies. The current experiment tested learning of an artificial grammar that could be learned via feature activation, as observed in an associatively organized lexicon, without computing sequential dependencies and should therefore be learnable on the sequential pattern learning deficit hypothesis, but not on the procedural learning deficit hypothesis.

Method

Adults with DLD and adults with typical language development (TD) listened to consonant–vowel–consonant–vowel familiarization words from one of two artificial phonological grammars: Family Resemblance (two out of three features) and a control (exclusive OR, in which both consonants are voiced OR both consonants are voiceless) grammar in which no learning was predicted for either group. At test, all participants rated 32 test words as to whether or not they conformed to the pattern in the familiarization words.

Results

Adults with DLD and adults with TD showed equal and robust learning of the Family Resemblance grammar, accepting significantly more conforming than nonconforming test items. Both groups who were familiarized with the Family Resemblance grammar also outperformed those who were familiarized with the OR grammar, which, as predicted, was learned by neither group.

Conclusion

Although adults and children with DLD often underperform, compared to their peers with TD, on statistical and artificial grammar learning tasks, poor performance appears to be tied to the implicit computation of sequential dependencies, as predicted by the sequential pattern learning deficit hypothesis.
Fault recognition method of smart grid data acquisition system based on FNN and sequential DS fusion
Authors: Qiao Hanzhe , Ge Quanbo , Jiang Haoyu , Li Ziyi , You Zilong , Zhang Jianmin , Bi Fengjuan , Yu Chunlei
Published: February 2021

It is of significant practical importance to ensure the operational safety of the smart grid, which requires real‐time fault diagnosis and identifying what causes it based on an enormous amount of data. This article further studies the intelligent fault‐identification method based on the combination of multi‐machine learning methods on the bases of researching on Fault Diagnosis of Smart Grid Data Acquisition System. Firstly, we should apply statistical analysis and feature extraction for fault data. Then, we can use fuzzy neural network (FNN) to calculate the probability of fault prediction of power distribution stations, manufacturers and operation businesses, and use the membership function to calculate the corresponding fault membership and uncertainty. Secondly, it makes use of Dempster/Shafer (DS) evidence sequential fusion method to realize fault membership fusion, and gives the corresponding decision criteria for failure causes. Thirdly, a fault‐identification method of smart grid data‐acquisition system is established based on FNN and DS Evidence Fusion. Finally, the experimental results based on the actual operation data of smart grid show that the new method has a very good application effect at fault cause identification.
Going deeper: magnification‐invariant approach for breast cancer classification using histopathological images
Authors: Alkassar S. , Jebur Bilal A. , Abdullah Mohammed A. M. , Al‐Khalidy Joanna H. , Chambers J. A.
Published: February 2021

Breast cancer has the highest fatality for women compared with other types of cancer. Generally, early diagnosis of cancer is crucial to increase the chances of successful treatment. Early diagnosis is possible through physical examination, screening, and obtaining a biopsy of the dubious area. In essence, utilizing histopathology slides of biopsies is more efficient than using typical screening methods. Nevertheless, the diagnosing process is still tiresome and is prone to human error during slide preparation, such as when dyeing and imaging. Therefore, a novel method is proposed for diagnosing breast cancer into benign or malignant in a magnification‐specific binary (MSB) classification. Besides, the introduced method classifies each type into four subclasses in a magnification‐specific multi‐category (MSM) fashion. The proposed method involves normalizing the hematoxylin and eosin stains to enhance colour separation and contrast. Then, two types of novel features—deep and shallow features—are extracted using two deep structure networks based on DenseNet and Xception. Finally, a multi‐classifier method based on the maximum value is utilized to achieve the best performance. The proposed method is evaluated using the BreakHis histopathology data set, and the results in terms of diagnostic accuracy are promising, achieving 99% and 92% in terms of MSB and MSM, respectively, compared with recent state‐of‐the‐art methods reported in the survey conducted by Benhammou  on the BreakHis data set using deep learning and texture‐based models.
Load balancing edge server placement method with QoS requirements in wireless metropolitan area networks
Authors: Li Xingcun , Zeng Feng , Fang Guanyun , Huang Yinan , Tao Xunlin
Published: February 2021

Mobile edge computing (MEC) is concerned with moving complex tasks from data sources to nearby computing resources, which can reduce computing latency and remote cloud workload. Although there has been significant research in the field of MEC, research on edge server placement in wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs) is overlooked, and the load balancing problem of edge servers is seldom discussed. From a practical perspective, how to place edge servers efficiently in WMANs while considering load balancing between edge servers is studied. A greedy algorithm is proposed that can balance the workload of edge servers more effectively. However, the performance of the greedy algorithm as the number of servers placed increases is not ideal. Therefore, the authors combine the greedy algorithm with a genetic algorithm (GA) to minimise the number of edge servers while ensuring load balancing between edge servers and quality of service (QoS) requirements for mobile users. Finally, they conduct simulation experiments and compare the proposed algorithms with other algorithms. The improved GA proposed is superior to the greedy algorithm in terms of load balancing and the number of servers. The experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm has excellent performance.
Investigation of power quality and structural loads for two‐bladed wind turbines with rigid and teetered rotors using a wind turbine emulator
Authors: Mohammadi Ebrahim , Fadaeinedjad Roohollah , Moschopoulos Gerry
Published: February 2021

Two‐bladed wind turbines (WTs) are recently discussed as a potential alternative to reduce the cost of energy in offshore wind farms which have a higher cost compared to onshore wind farms. However, the dynamic response and performance of these WTs are different from the three‐bladed WTs. In this study, new and comprehensive models for rigid and teetered rotor WTs are developed in FAST and emulated with a setup of the previous simulation‐based works. Then, the power quality issues are discussed and compared for two‐bladed WTs with rigid and teetered rotors as the main contribution of this study. The performance of a WT with different rotors is evaluated and compared in terms of power fluctuations, voltage fluctuations, flicker emission level. In addition, the structural loads of the turbine are studied and compared with both rotor types. This was done in emulation and simulation by varying linear horizontal and logarithmic vertical wind shear as well as utilising a turbulent wind time series without shear. The study presents results obtained by simulation and by emulation, using a scaled‐down WT emulator. It presents conclusions as to which type of rotor offers better performance for various operating conditions.
Printed Persian OCR system using deep learning
Authors: Rahmati Marziye , Fateh Mansoor , Rezvani Mohsen , Tajary Alireza , Abolghasemi Vahid
Published: February 2021

Optical character recognition, known as OCR, has been widely used due to high demand of different technologies. Currently, most existing OCR systems have been focused on Latin languages. In recent studies, OCR systems for non‐Latin texts involving cursive style have also been introduced despite posing some challenges. In this study, the authors propose an OCR system based on long short‐term memory neural networks for the Persian language. The authors also investigate the effects of variations of parameters, involved in this approach. The proposed OCR system solves false recognition of sub‐word ‘LA’ and ‘LA’. Moreover, the authors present a preprocessing algorithm to remove ‘justification’ using image processing. A new comprehensive collated data set is introduced, comprising five million images with eight popular Persian fonts and in ten various font sizes. The proposed evaluations show that the accuracy of the proposed OCR is increased by 2%, compared to the existing Persian OCR system. The experimental results indicated that the proposed system has average accuracy of 99.69% at the letter level. The proposed system has an accuracy of 98.1% for ‘zero‐width non‐breaking space’ and 98.64% for ‘LA’ at the word level.
Vector ordering and regression learning‐based ranking for dynamic summarisation of user videos
Authors: K Vivekraj V , Sen Debashis , Raman Balasubramanian
Published: February 2021

Dynamic video summarisation (video skimming) is a process of generating a shorter video (video skim) as a summary of a given video, which helps in its easier and quicker comprehension. In this study, an efficient dynamic summarisation approach for user videos is proposed using vector ordering for ranking video units (frames/shots). User videos are casually shot unscripted videos, where skimming involves the selection of its interesting part(s) ignoring many uninteresting ones. The concept of R‐ordering of vectors is employed to find a representative frame, which is used to perform relative ranking of the video frames. It is theoretically shown that significance is given to each element of a frame's feature vector while computing the importance scores that lead to the frame ranks used for skimming. Furthermore, the allocation of different weights to the features involved is also achieved using linear and Gaussian process regressions. Through extensive experiments considering several standard datasets with human‐labelled ground truth, the proposed approach is demonstrated to be efficient and to perform better than the relevant state‐of‐the‐art.
Segmentation of brain magnetic resonance images using a novel fuzzy clustering based method
Authors: Tripathi Prasun Chandra , Bag Soumen
Published: February 2021

Segmentation of tissues in brain magnetic resonance (MR) images has a crucial role in computer‐aided diagnosis (CAD) of various brain diseases. However, due to the complex anatomical structure and the presence of intensity non‐uniformity (INU) artefact, the segmentation of brain MR images is considered as a complicated task. In this study, the authors propose a novel locally influenced fuzzy C‐means (LIFCM) clustering for segmentation of tissues in MR brain images. The proposed method incorporates local information in the clustering process to achieve accurate labelling of pixels. A novel local influence factor is proposed, which estimates the influence of a neighbouring pixel on the centre pixel. Furthermore, they have introduced the kernel‐induced distance in LIFCM, which deals with complex brain MR data and produces effective segmentation. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, they have used one simulated and one real MRI data set. Extensive experimental findings suggest that the authors' method not only produces effective segmentation but also retains crucial image details. The statistical significance test has been further conducted to support their experimental observations.
Efficient computer‐aided diagnosis technique for leukaemia cancer detection
Authors: Abdulla Alan Anwer
Published: February 2021

Computer‐aided diagnosis (CAD) is a common tool for the detection of diseases, particularly different types of cancers, based on medical images. Digital image processing thus plays a significant role in the processing and analysis of medical images for diseases identification and detection purposes. In this study, an efficient CAD system for the acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) detection is proposed. The proposed approach entails two phases. In the first phase, the white blood cells (WBCs) are segmented from the microscopic blood image. The second phase involves extracting important features, such as shape and texture features from the segmented cells. Eventually, on the extracted features, Naïve Bayes and k‐nearest neighbour classifier techniques are implemented to identify the segmented cells into normal and abnormal cells. The performance of the proposed approach has been assessed through comprehensive experiments carried out on the well‐known ALL‐IDB data set of microscopic blood images. The experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed approach over the state‐of‐the‐art in terms of accuracy rate in which achieved 98.7%.
Possible single-armed spiral in the protoplanetary disk around HD 34282
Authors: de Boer J. , Ginski C. , Chauvin G. , Ménard F. , Benisty M. , Dominik C. , Maaskant K. , Girard J. H. , van der Plas G. , Garufi A. , Perrot C. , Stolker T. , Avenhaus H. , Bohn A. , Delboulbé A. , Jaquet M. , Buey T. , Möller-Nilsson O. , Pragt J. , Fusco T.
Published: February 2021

Context. During the evolution of protoplanetary disks into planetary systems we expect to detect signatures that trace mechanisms such as planet–disk interaction. Protoplanetary disks display a large variety of structures in recently published high-spatial resolution images. However, the three-dimensional morphology of these disks is often difficult to infer from the two-dimensional projected images we observe.

Aims. We aim to detect signatures of planet–disk interaction by studying the scattering surface of the protoplanetary disk around HD 34282.

Methods. We spatially resolved the disk using the high-contrast imager VLT/SPHERE in polarimetric imaging mode. We retrieved a profile for the height of the scattering surface to create a height-corrected deprojection, which simulates a face-on orientation.

Results. The detected disk displays a complex scattering surface. An inner clearing or cavity extending up to r < 0.′′28 (88 au) is surrounded by a bright inclined (i = 56°) ring with a position angle of 119°. The center of this ring is offset from the star along the minor axis with 0.′′07, which can be explained with a disk height of 26 au above the midplane. Outside this ring, beyond its southeastern ansa we detect an azimuthal asymmetry or blob at r ~ 0.′′4. At larger separation, we detect an outer disk structure that can be fitted with an ellipse, which is compatible with a circular ring seen at r = 0.′′62 (=190 au) and a height of 77 au. After applying a height-corrected deprojection we see a circular ring centered on the star at 88 au; what had seemed to be a separate blob and outer ring could now both be part of a single-armed spiral.

Conclusions. We present the first scattered-light image of the disk around HD 34282 and resolve a disk with an inner cavity up to r ≈ 90 au and a highly structured scattering surface of an inclined disk at a large height Hscat∕r = 0.′′29 above the midplane at the inner edge of the outer disk. Based on the current data it is not possible to conclude decisively whether Hscat∕r remains constant or whether the surface is flared with at most Hscat ∝ r1.35, although we favor the constant ratio based on our deprojections. The height-corrected deprojection allows for a more detailed interpretation of the observed structures, from which we discern the first detection of a single-armed spiral in a protoplanetary disk.
A MeerKAT view of pre-processing in the Fornax A group
Authors: Kleiner D. , Serra P. , Maccagni F. M. , Venhola A. , Morokuma-Matsui K. , Peletier R. , Iodice E. , Raj M. A. , de Blok W. J. G. , Comrie A. , Józsa G. I. G. , Kamphuis P. , Loni A. , Loubser S. I. , Molnár D. Cs. , Passmoor S. S. , Ramatsoku M. , Sivitilli A. , Smirnov O. , Thorat K. , Vitello F.
Published: February 2021

We present MeerKAT neutral hydrogen (H I) observations of the Fornax A group, which is likely falling into the Fornax cluster for the first time. Our H I image is sensitive to 1.4 × 1019 atoms cm−2 over 44.1 km s−1, where we detect H I in 10 galaxies and a total of (1.12 ± 0.02) × 109 M⊙ of H I in the intra-group medium (IGM). We search for signs of pre-processing in the 12 group galaxies with confirmed optical redshifts that reside within the sensitivity limit of our H I image. There are 9 galaxies that show evidence of pre-processing and we classify each galaxy into their respective pre-processing category, according to their H I morphology and gas (atomic and molecular) scaling relations. Galaxies that have not yet experienced pre-processing have extended H I discs and a high H I content with a H2-to-H I ratio that is an order of magnitude lower than the median for their stellar mass. Galaxies that are currently being pre-processed display H I tails, truncated H I discs with typical gas fractions, and H2-to-H I ratios. Galaxies in the advanced stages of pre-processing are the most H I deficient. If there is any H I, they have lost their outer H I disc and efficiently converted their H I to H2, resulting in H2-to-H I ratios that are an order of magnitude higher than the median for their stellar mass. The central, massive galaxy in our group (NGC 1316) underwent a 10:1 merger ∼2 Gyr ago and ejected 6.6−11.2 × 108 M⊙ of H I, which we detect as clouds and streams in the IGM, some of which form coherent structures up to ∼220 kpc in length. We also detect giant (∼100 kpc) ionised hydrogen (Hα) filaments in the IGM, likely from cool gas being removed (and subsequently ionised) from an in-falling satellite. The Hα filaments are situated within the hot halo of NGC 1316 and there are localised regions that contain H I. We speculate that the Hα and multiphase gas is supported by magnetic pressure (possibly assisted by the NGC 1316 AGN), such that the hot gas can condense and form H I that survives in the hot halo for cosmological timescales.
Caractéristiques de l’îlot de chaleur urbain à Sfax durant la saison chaude (centre-est de la Tunisie)
Authors: Ghribi Marwen , Dahech Salem
Published: February 2021

Cette étude s’inscrit dans la continuité des travaux portant sur le climat urbain de Sfax avec une précision spatiale et temporelle. Il s’agit d’une recherche fondamentale apportant certains éléments de réponse à des problématiques d’aménagement, d’économie d’énergie électrique et de prévention du risque sanitaire en cas de forte chaleur. Nous étudions les variations spatiotemporelles des températures de l’air dans l’agglomération de Sfax. En phase nocturne, l’écart thermique centre/campagne atteint son maximum (jusqu’à 7°C) à partir de minuit. De surcroit, pendant la dernière décennie, les espaces inter-radiaux de la périphérie ont été remarquablement densifiés, suite aux opérations de morcellement, ce qui a engendré l’expansion de la zone chaude à l’échelle de l’agglomération et atténué l’écart thermique entre le centre-ville et la périphérie. De même, la périphérie est l’endroit le plus hétérogène (zones denses, terrains nus, petites exploitations agricoles…), ce qui se traduit par des températures contrastées tributaires de la densité du bâti et des activités anthropiques. Par ailleurs, en phase diurne, la brise de mer rend le littoral, y compris le centre, moins chaud (jusqu’à moins 5°C en fonction de la distance) que la périphérie et la zone rurale ouest alors que la brise de terre rend la campagne plus fraîche la nuit.
Exergo-economic assessment of OTEC power generation
Authors: Talluri Lorenzo , Manfrida Giampaolo , Ciappi Lorenzo
Published: February 2021

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion is an important renewable energy technology aimed at harvesting the large energy resources connected to the temperature gradient between shallow and deep ocean waters, mainly in the tropical region. After the first small-size demonstrators, the current technology is focused on the use of Organic Rankine Cycles, which are suitable for operating with very low temperatures of the resource. With respect to other applications of binary cycles, a large fraction of the output power is consumed for harvesting the resource – that is, in the case of OTEC, for pumping the cold and hot water resource. An exergy analysis of the process (including thermodynamic model of the power cycle as well as heat transfer and friction modelling of the primary resource circuit) was developed and applied to determine optimal conditions (for output power and for exergy efficiency). A parametric analysis examining the main design constraints (temperature range of the condenser and mass flow ratio of hot and cold resource flows) is performed. The cost of power equipment is evaluated applying equipment cost correlations, and an exergo-economic analysis is performed. The results allow to calculate the production cost of electricity and its progressive build-up across the conversion process. A sensitivity analysis with respect to the main design variables is performed.
Modelling of an innovative and autonomous micro-grid based on a biomass - solar PV hybrid power system
Authors: Costa Michela , Martoriello Gaia , Tuccillo Raffaele
Published: February 2021

Micro-Combined heat and power (m-CHP) systems fuelled by renewables, such as residual biomasses, are today of great interest to produce energy in an efficient and green way. The aim of the present work is to develop a numerical model of a hybrid energy system including a biomass powered m-CHP unit based on gasification and coupled with solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and to an electrical storage device, able to provide energy to remote areas. Main advantages of the considered configuration are its ultra-low environmental impact and just its autonomous operation by local resources. The developed unsteady multiphysical model accounts for the main plant components, namely the syngas powered engine, the PV panels and the battery, as well for a dynamic use of the produced energy. Main features of the adopted schematization of the actual system rely on the proper description of syngas combustion, that takes into account the extreme difficulty of working with a non-conventional gas, and on a PID control that is considered for energy flow management to meet the electrical demand curve. The PV panel current is calculated through an ad-hoc function that reads, at any given time, actual solar irradiance data in the city of Naples, Italy, the battery voltage and the main parameters of the PV module. The battery, with a voltage of 48V and a capacity of 100kWh, is modelled as an equivalent circuit with its proper State of Charge (SoC) versus Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) curve. The voltage response to a current at a particular SoC and temperature are calculated. This dynamic modelling permits the optimal control of the whole system to meet the electrical and thermal user’s demand and also to better design any possible change in the storage or PV size to meet specific real uses of the produced energy.
Design and Modelling of Technologies for Upgrading and Direct Methanation of biogas: energy analysis and economic assessment
Authors: Perna Alessandra , Minutillo Mariagiovanna , Sorce Alessandro
Published: February 2021

The exploitation of the biomethane as transport fuel is receiving increasing attention in many European countries. Technologies and processes for improving the Biogas-to-biomethane production with a lower energy consumption and lower costs are objective of several techno-economic studies.

In this paper two promising concepts for the biogas conversion are proposed and analyzed considering both technical and economic issues. The analysis regards the biogas upgrading by means of the chemical absorption with Hot Potassium Carbonate and the direct methanation of biogas by adding renewable hydrogen. In order to assess the feasibility of these technologies the numerical modelling has been applied for the plants designing. The energy results have then been used to assess the expected biomethane production price and a sensitivity analysis on the main parameters has been performed. Finally, economic performance of the options proposed will be evaluated under different market conditions.
Constant-volume vapor-liquid equilibrium for thermal energy storage: investigation of a new storage condition for solar thermal systems
Authors: Bamoshmoosh Abdullah , Valenti Gianluca
Published: February 2021

The sector of thermal energy storage shows a number of alternatives that could have a relevant impact on the future of energy saving as well as renewable energy technologies. Among these, latent heat thermal energy storage technologies show promising results. Technologies that exploit solid-liquid phase change have already been widely proposed, but those technologies show common drawbacks limiting their application, such as high cost, low energy storage density and particularly low heat transfer properties. This work proposes to exploit the liquid-vapor phase transition in closed and constant volumes because it shows higher heat transfer properties. Consequently, the objective is to assess its energy storage performances in target temperature ranges. With respect to previous activity by the authors, this work proposes an exergy analysis of these systems, gives a methodology their deployment, and proposes a comparison between a new storage condition for solar thermal domestic hot water systems exploiting vapor-liquid equilibrium and conventional technologies. The exergy analysis is performed in reduced terms in order to have a generalized approach. Three hypothetical fluids with increasing degree of molecular complexity are considered in order to have a complete overview of the thermodynamic behavior of potential heat storage fluids. The analysis shows that the increased pressure of liquid systems has a major impact on exergy, resulting in vapor-liquid systems having less than 50% of the exergy variation of pressurized liquid systems. This is proven to have no impact on thermal energy storage. For the case study, the proposed methodology indicates that water itself is a strong candidate as a heat storage fluid in the new condition. Comparison shows that the new condition has a higher energy storage capacity at same volume. The useful temperature range is increased by 108% by setting a 10.5% volume vapor fraction at ambient temperature. The resulting improvement gives a 94% higher energy storage, with a maximum operating pressure of the system of less than 5 bar.
Techno-economic impact of collective self-consumption on different energy-related investments for a condominium
Authors: Zatti Matteo , Guermandi Federico , Bovera Filippo
Published: February 2021

Energy Communities (ECs) are gaining a key role in supporting the transition towards a low carbon economy in EU, since they combine the promotion of efficient energy practices with an expected positive social impact. Legislators are resorting to the concept of collective self-consumption as a tool to favor the electrification of energy needs and the diffusion of renewable energy sources. This work presents the first results in this field of the ENERGYNIUS project, co-funded by Regione Emilia-Romagna, focusing on the economic feasibility of investment decisions that would increase energy efficiency and renewables’ penetration in the household sector. To this purpose, a mathematical model has been developed, featuring an hourly time step definition of the internal and external energy exchanges and an accurate modelling of the electricity billing. It has been applied to an Italian condominium case study where the energy requirements of the inhabitants – in terms of electricity, heating, cooling and private transportation – have been considered. Thanks to the model, it is possible to compare increasing levels of electrification (e.g., photovoltaic panels, heat pumps, electric vehicles and batteries) and assess the benefits of collective selfconsumption on the condominium cash flows and environment (fossil CO2 emissions).
The future of Sustainable Biofuels towards the 2°C target: forecasting process, technologies and sector demands
Authors: Chiaramonti David , Talluri Giacomo
Published: February 2021

Introducing sustainable fuels in the different transport fields in the EU is a very challenging goal, but also a clear priority in the EU decarbonization strategy. In fact, the transport sector is extremely rigid and regulated, with consolidated norms and standards and well-defined economics. Adding more oxygenated components to the fuel mix is also limited by the so-called blend-wall: thus, the share of renewable drop-in hydrocarbons has been recently growing worldwide and in the European Union. However, as a large part of these relates to lipids, the supply of sustainable feedstock has become the major critical element of the value chain. Fast-growing demand from new sectors as Aviation also emerged, that together with Heavy Duty and Maritime represent the focus of the EC strategy, complementary to the electrification of the road transport, passenger cars and light duty vehicles. Introducing innovative processes at full commercial scale requires to overcome the Mountain of Death of processes, where the bankability of not yet demonstrated technologies is the core problem. This work addresses the impact of the EU policy scenario, depicting the status of the different process and technologies, both Bio-based and Recycled Carbon, on the Mountain of Death.
Optimal dispatch of electricity storage supporting the direct supply of industrial consumers by wind generation
Authors: Schischke Eva , Grimpe Clemens
Published: February 2021

A rising number of industrial companies are aiming to increase the share of renewable generation in their electricity consumption, in order to decrease electricity costs or to fulfill portfolio requirements. This can be achieved by using pv or wind generation systems, which are directly connected to the industrial consumer. The volatility of the renewable generation can be balanced by employing an electricity storage system. The paper presents an MILP optimization model for the direct supply of an industrial consumer by a wind farm, coupled with a storage system. The model optimizes the dispatch of the storage system in order to minimize both the energy component as well as the capacity component of the consumers electricity cost. A case study is presented using the grid tariffs in Germany for two different legal scenarios and two load profiles. The operation of a modular compressed air energy storage system is analyzed and the optimal dimensions of the storage power and capacity are determined, for the proposed system.
Model-Based Diagnosis of Telecommunication Cooling Systems Malfunctioning
Authors: Sorrentino Marco , Trifirò Alena
Published: February 2021

A model is developed that allows simulating the most-likely failures possibly occurring in freecooling (FC) systems of telecommunication (TLC) switching rooms. Main aim is to provide an effective and online implementable diagnosis method, which in turn will allow fulfilling the threefold function of safeguarding electronic equipment, ensuring desired air quality in case of human presence and reducing malfunction-related waste of energy. Specifically in this work, obstruction (reduction of the volumetric flow of air introduced into the room) and loss of efficiency (degradation of the fan) are deepened. Two black-box sub-models were developed to simulate the above described faulty functioning of the free-coolers. Subsequently, the fault signature matrix was developed, through which the “symptoms”, calculated as residuals between the “faulty” and “non faulty” conditions of the monitored variables, are associated to the corresponding faults. The peculiarity of the telecommunication sector, where nowadays data acquisition and monitoring platforms are significantly spreading to monitor most significant energy consumptions, including cooling loads, was proved essential in guaranteeing effective isolation of different faults. The simulation results highlight the reliability of the developed diagnostic tool, expected to be versatile and easy to implement enough for being extended to air-handling unit diagnosis, as well as other industrial sectors.
L’art de la guerre appliqué aux DIPG
Authors: Bailleul Quentin , Rakotomalala Andria , Ferry Isabelle , Leblond Pierre , Meignan Samuel , Furlan Alessandro
Published: February 2021

Les tumeurs cérébrales pédiatriques représentent la principale cause de mortalité par cancer chez l’enfant. Alors que l’exérèse complète a une valeur pronostique dans certains gliomes de haut grade, les DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas) ne peuvent en bénéficier du fait d’une localisation critique au niveau du tronc cérébral et de leur caractère infiltrant. La radiothérapie demeure le traitement de référence contre ces tumeurs depuis bientôt cinquante ans, et les tentatives pour améliorer le pronostic vital des patients à l’aide de chimiothérapies ou de thérapies ciblées se sont révélées infructueuses. La connaissance des altérations moléculaires dans ces gliomes a fortement progressé cette dernière décennie, grâce aux progrès du séquençage à haut débit. Cela a permis de révéler des entités distinctes au niveau moléculaire et de préciser des diagnostics discriminants. Dans cette revue, nous faisons le point sur ces nouvelles connaissances et les perspectives qu’elles apportent en termes de stratégies cliniques.
Les données de santé en France
Authors: Zins Marie , Cuggia Marc , Goldberg Marcel
Published: February 2021

Alors que l’application de traçage des contacts (contact tracing)StopCovid(transformée à la mi-octobre 2020 enTousAntiCovid), débattue au Parlement en raison des inquiétudes qu’elle suscitait concernant la confidentialité des données personnelles et les libertés individuelles du fait qu’elle permet d’alerter un utilisateur s’il s’est trouvé à proximité d’une personne atteinte de la COVID-19, a été adoptée par près de 12 millions de personnes, un dispositif concernant les données individuelles de santé, aux conséquences potentiellement beaucoup plus importantes pour les citoyens et leurs données personnelles, a commencé à se mettre en place suite à la Loi du 24 juillet 2019 (Loi n° 2019-774) relative à l’organisation et à la transformation du système de santé : laplateforme des données de santé, communément appeléeHealth Data Hub, constituée sous la forme d’un groupement d’intérêt public (GIP). Il ne s’agit plus de simplement signaler qu’on a croisé une personne anonyme infectée par le SARS-Cov-2, mais de réunir, dans une infrastructure informatique unique, un immense ensemble de données personnelles particulièrement sensibles concernant la totalité de la population française. Ce projet suscite désormais un certain intérêt médiatique et un début d’inquiétude. Mais cette inquiétude ne concerne presque uniquement que le fait que ces données sont déposées et gérées dans uncloudappartenant à une société américaine, un nuage informatique qui tombe sous le coup de la loi américaine de 2018 dite « CLOUD act », qui ouvre la possibilité d’un transfert des données personnelles vers les États-Unis, comme s’en est inquiété récemment le Conseil d’État. Cet aspect est certes très important, mais il masque également de très nombreux enjeux liés au partage des données de santé, et qui sont largement méconnus de la population. Nous nous proposons de rappeler, tout d’abord, ce que sont les données de santé, ce qu’elles apportent et la nécessité d’en faciliter le partage, mais aussi les difficultés rencontrées pour leur accès et leur utilisation. Nous expliquerons ensuite, dans un deuxième article, en quoi cetteplateforme des données de santé, telle qu’elle est conçue et pilotée par les pouvoirs publics pour répondre à ces difficultés et pour promouvoir l’intelligence artificielle en santé, est un projet qui soulève de fortes inquiétudes pour les citoyens et la société dans son ensemble. Même si les problèmes posés se présentent sous une forme différente selon les pays, notre propos concernera spécifiquement la situation en France.
Subcutaneous seeding following surgical excision of an intracranial meningioma in a cat
Authors: Deutschland Martin , Hoppe Judith , Gruber Achim D.
Published: February 2021

Traditionally patient owners express their concerns that surgical or diagnostic procedures on a tumor may induce metastasis. In pets, this has been documented in only very rare occasions, e. g. needle path metastases after diagnostic fine needle biopsies of urinary bladder or prostatic tumors. Here, we describe a case of subcutaneous seeding of a feline intracranial grade 1 meningioma 6 months after surgical resection. A 10-year-old male neutered domestic shorthaired cat with typical neurological signs was diagnosed with an extra-axial contrast enhancing mass in the dorsal frontotemporal lobes using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Transfronto-parietal bone craniotomy was performed and the 24 × 19 × 22 mm large tumor was largely removed. Tumor recurrence after 12 months resulted in a second surgical tumor removal. In addition, 2 subcutaneous masses of 10 × 4 × 4 mm in size were removed at the site of the original surgical site which were fully separated from the recurring meningeal tumor by the intact frontal bone. Histology and immunohistochemistry suggested the same tumor growth in all 4 masses. Most likely the tumor seeding had been caused during the first surgery. After all, the risk of surgical seeding of a benign tumor seems very low.
Direct Oral Anticoagulants after Ischemic Stroke: Which Patient? Which Drug? And How Early?
Authors: De Marchis Gian Marco
Published: February 2021

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are recommended over vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ischemic stroke. The main advantage of DOAC over VKA is the lower rate of bleeding and mortality. This review covers challenges clinicians can encounter when treating patients with AF and ischemic stroke, including timing of DOAC start and ongoing randomized clinical trials, appropriate dosing, and available comparative evidence across DOACs. For patients without AF but with an ischemic stroke, the review outlines the role of DOACs. Finally, the risk of thrombotic events associated with specific DOAC reversal agents and DOAC pausing is reviewed.
Functional Roles of the von Willebrand Factor Propeptide
Authors: Rawley Orla , Lillicrap David
Published: February 2021

The primary polypeptide sequence of von Willebrand factor (VWF) includes an N-terminal 741-amino acid VWF propeptide (VWFpp). In cells expressing VWF, the VWFpp performs two critical functions. In the Golgi, VWFpp mediates the intermolecular disulfide linkages that generate high-molecular-weight VWF multimers. Subsequently, the VWFpp, which is proteolytically cleaved from mature VWF by furin, functions to generate the endothelial storage organelles (Weibel-Palade bodies) in which VWF and a distinct collection of proteins are stored, and from where they undergo regulated secretion from the endothelium. The VWFpp is secreted from endothelial cells as dimers and circulates in plasma with at least some of the dimers associating with a noncovalent manner with the D′D3 domain of mature VWF. The VWFpp has a half-life of 2 to 3 hours in plasma, but to date no extracellular function has been determined for the molecule. Nevertheless, its large size and several biologically interesting structural features (two sets of vicinal cysteines and an RGD sequence) suggest that there may be roles that the VWFpp plays in hemostasis or associated physiological processes such as angiogenesis or wound repair.
Parasiten beim Tier – ein Thema für die Phytotherapie?
Authors: Brendieck-Worm Cäcilia , Thoonsen Yvonne , Vollstedt Sabine
Published: February 2021

Weltweit wachsen aufgrund betriebswirtschaftlicher Zwänge die Tierbestände. Arbeitsabläufe werden rationalisiert, Futterproduktion und Fütterungsmanagement technisiert und industrialisiert. Die unter diesen Lebensbedingungen gehaltenen Tiere sind nicht nur großem psychosozialen Stress ausgesetzt, sondern auch einem hohen Infektionsdruck durch Viren, Bakterien und Parasiten. Antibiotika und Antiparasitika gelten folglich in großen Tierbeständen als unverzichtbar. Sie sind es jedoch auch in Kleinbeständen mit schlechten Haltungsbedingungen.

Die sich bei Bakterien und Parasiten ausbreitenden Resistenzen gegen Antibiotika bzw. Antiparasitika sind systemimmanent und sowohl für die derzeitige landwirtschaftliche Tierproduktion als auch für den Menschen weltweit bedrohlich. Die Notwendigkeit strategischer Änderungen bei Diagnose und Therapie von bakteriellen und parasitären Infektionen ist offensichtlich. Solche Änderungen werden jedoch noch selten umgesetzt und verfehlen zudem ihr Ziel, wenn nicht Haltung und Fütterung auf die Gesunderhaltung der Tiere ausgerichtet werden. Leider beobachtet man diese Missstände nicht nur in Nutztierhaltungen, die der Rentabilität unterworfen sind, sondern auch in der Hobbytierhaltung, v. a. bei Pferden und sogar bei Haus- und Heimtieren. Es fehlt allgemein an Wissen und Verständnis für die Grundbedürfnisse der Tiere und deren Bedeutung für ihre Gesundheit.

Nachhaltige Besserung der Lebensumstände und der Gesundheit der Tiere bringen salutogenetische Ansätze. Wird insbesondere die Darm- und Stoffwechselgesundheit der Tiere optimiert, reduziert sich der Bedarf an Antibiotika und Antiparasitika. Es gilt sowohl die evolutionsbiologische Bedeutung sekundärer Pflanzenstoffe für die jeweilige Tierart zu beachten, als auch die Rolle von Bakterien und Parasiten und ihre Interaktionen in diesem System. Am Beispiel von Hund und Pferd wird dies im Folgenden versucht.
Jenseits der antinutritiven Eigenschaften von Gerbstoffen
Authors: Piwowarski Jakub P
Published: February 2021

Obwohl gerbstoffhaltigen Pflanzenmaterialien zugeschrieben wird, über antidiarrhöische Eigenschaften zu verfügen und das Wachstum einiger pathogener Mikroorganismen zu hemmen, wurde ihre Anwendung in der Ferkelernährung aufgrund der antinutritiven Eigenschaften vermieden. Der jahrzehntelange ausgedehnte Einsatz von Antibiotika zur Vorbeugung und Therapie von Infektionen bei Tieren hat wesentlich zur Ausbreitung der antimikrobiellen Resistenz beigetragen und in der Folge zu Einschränkungen beim Einsatz in der Landwirtschaft geführt. Als Konsequenz ist die Entwicklung von präventiven und therapeutischen Strategien zur Erhaltung der Darmgesundheit von Ferkeln, die auf neuartigen Mechanismen basieren, dringend erforderlich.

Aktuelle Fortschritte in den Analysemethoden ermöglichen eine gründliche strukturelle Charakterisierung der Gerbstoffzusammensetzung und biologischen Aktivitäten, was eine standardisierte Verwendung und präzise Dosierung von Phytopharmaka, die hydrolysierbare und kondensierte Gerbstoffe enthalten, ermöglicht. Als Konsequenz kann die Nutzung ihrer biologischen Eigenschaften in der Tierernährung mit voller Kontrolle über unerwünschte Nebenwirkungen potenziell erreicht werden. Darüber hinaus werfen Studien zur Interaktion mit der Darmmikrobiota ein neues Licht auf den Metabolismus und die Disposition von Gerbstoffen und bieten die Möglichkeit, neue Erkenntnisse über die Mechanismen ihrer biologischen Aktivitäten zu gewinnen.
Herstellerabhängige Resultate des Schirmer-Tränentests
Authors: Betz Daniela Simon
Published: February 2021

Lewin AC, Liu CC, Yoon A et al. Schirmer strip wetting length varies by commercial manufacturer. Vet Ophthalmol 2020; 23: 1031–1035

Der Schirmer-Tränentest (STT) ist ein häufiges diagnostisches Verfahren in der tierärztlichen Praxis und dient zur Diagnose einer Keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Die publizierten Referenzwerte variieren studienabhängig. Ziel dieser Studie war zu prüfen, inwiefern die Ergebnisse des STT je nach Hersteller der Teststreifen Unterschiede aufweisen. Hierzu dienten ein In-vitro-Verfahren sowie eine klinische Testung.
Anatomische Landmarken für periphere Nervenblöcke an Unterarm und Handgelenk: Eine Untersuchung an Leichenpräparaten
Authors: Jann David , Lanaras Tatjana , Besmens Inga Swantje , Guidi Marco , Calcagni Maurizio
Published: February 2021

Hintergrund Es gibt keine Daten, die eine standardisierte, auf Orientierungspunkten basierende Technik zur Blockierung sensibler Nerven des Unterarms gewährleisten.

Ziel Ziel dieser Untersuchung war es, Stellen an Unterarm und Ellenbogen zu definieren, an denen unter Orientierung an gut tastbaren knöchernen Landmarken Nervenblockaden relativ sicher erfolgreich möglich sind.

Methoden An fünf Leichenarmen wurden der Ramus superficialis des N. radialis (RSNR), der dorsale Ast des N. ulnaris (RDNU), der laterale, mediale und dorsale N. cutaneus antebrachii (NCAL, NCAM, NCAD) sowie der Ramus palmaris des N. medianus (RPNM) präpariert. In Bezug auf den Processus styloideus radii und ulnaris, das Listerʼsche Tuberkulum sowie den Epikondylus medialis und lateralis sowie Verbindungslinien zwischen diesen gut tastbaren Knochenvorsprüngen wurden Stellen lokalisiert, an denen die vorgenannten Nerven aufzufinden und zu blockieren sind.

Ergebnisse Die Nerven können an folgenden Stellen sicher blockiert werden: der RSNR 85 mm proximal des Listerʼschen Tuberkels auf einer Linie zwischen letzterem und dem Epicondylus humeri medialis; der NCAL 38 mm und der NCAD 32 mm ulnar vom Epicondylus humeri lateralis; der NCAM 14 mm radial zum medialen Epicondylus; der RDNU 27 mm proximal zum Ulnastyloid in Richtung des lateralen Epicondylus; der RPNM auf einer nach ulnar zielenden Senkrechten zur Verbindungslinie zwischen dem Processus styloideus radii (PSR) und dem medialen Epikondylus 45 mm proximal des PSR und 21 mm nach ulnar.

Schlussfolgerung Unter Verwendung gut tastbarer Knochenvorsprünge am distalen Unterarm und Ellenbogen und Verbindungslinien zwischen ihnen lassen sich der RSNR, RDNU, RPNM sowie die NNCAL/M und D sicher lokalisieren.

Evidenzgrad IV
Photophysical Properties and Redox Potentials of Photosensitizers for Organic Photoredox Transformations
Authors: Teets Thomas S. , Wu Yanyu , Kim Dooyoung
Published: February 2021

Photoredox catalysis has proven to be a powerful tool in synthetic organic chemistry. The rational design of photosensitizers with improved photocatalytic performance constitutes a major advancement in photoredox organic transformations. This review summarizes the fundamental ground-state and excited-state photophysical and electrochemical attributes of molecular photosensitizers, which are important determinants of their photocatalytic reactivity.