bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vad säger skoldokumentation om elever vars föräldrar har missbruksproblem?
Authors: Näsman Elisabet , Alexandersson Karin
Published: July 2020

What do school records tell us about pupils whose parents have addiction problems?The aim of this article is twofold: to discuss problems of access to school records on children whose parents have addiction problems and to analyse if and how school records can contribute to an understanding of how school staff detect and support these children. Young people with this kind of experience were asked for consent at the end of their school career to let researchers acquire all school documents concerning them. Gaining access proved difficult in spite of consent forms, for several reasons put forward by school staff. This raises the question about the possibility for researchers to scrutinize the work of school staff and the individual’s right to access all information schools have about her/him. The second part deals with the problem of interpretation of texts on sensitive issues produced in this particular context. Drawing on earlier research, we may expect that several factors restrain what professionals put on paper and which texts they save. As Garfinkel stated, there are ”good organizational reasons for ‘bad’ clinical records” (1989:186). The results show accurate documentation of standard variables on pupils’ physical development, but unsystematic, vague or non-existent documentation of their mental status and social problems outside school. The analysis suggests a need for clarification in legislation and routines concerning school’s documentation and of researchers’ as well as children’s access to documentation of school work. To understand the conditions at school for children with this kind of family troubles, listening to children themselves and ethnographic studies seem to be better ways to get information.
Sätta ord på föräldrars psykiska problem för barnens skull
Authors: Bülow Pia H. , Persson Thunqvist Daniel , Cedersund Elisabet
Published: July 2020

Spelling it out for the children’s sake – Family intervention as professional practiceThis article presents an analysis of 21 video-recorded family intervention sessions with children and parents in families where one or both parents are diagnosed with mental illness. The starting point for such family interventions is awareness of the risks that children run due to parental mental illness, e.g. development of mental health problems of their own. Previous studies have shown that openness about parents’ mental problems can reduce such risks. Family-intervention sessions are developed to assist children and their parents to talk about mental illness and related difficulties. Based on a dialogical and micro-sociological perspective, our objective is to analyse family-intervention sessions as professional practice and to illuminate various communicative means used by social workers to support children and parents in their talk about parents’ mental illness and its meaning for the children and the family. The analysis shows how professional practice is formed based on how the social workers solve communicative challenges in conversations with families about mental health problems: to create and maintain family support as a child-focused process; creating and maintaining family support as a child-focused process; spelling out parents’ mental problems; and confirming and normalizing.
Evidensbaserad metod eller praktisk verksamhet?
Authors: Matscheck David
Published: July 2020

Evidence-based method or practical support for users? – Supported Employment without IPSSince the Mental Health Reform of 1995, the social service in Sweden is required to offer ”meaningful activities” to persons with mental health impairments. This requirement has usually been met by the social service’s ”daily activities” centres, which do not have contact with the competitive labour market. ”Supported Employment” (SE) is a method which can be used to help people with mental health, neuropsychiatric or intellectual impairments to regular work places. Based on international research, the SE model ”Individual Placement and Support” (IPS) is recommended in national guidelines as an evidence-based method. However, IPS can be difficult to implement, since the model requires integrated teams, while in the Swedish system health care, social service and vocational rehabilitation belong to different sectors. Another reason is that subsidized forms of employment and internship are more usual in Sweden than in many other countries. This study investigates SE practices in three municipalities which do not follow all of the IPS model’s eight ”basic principles”. The results show that after 18 months many persons who had been totally without regular activities, or had access only to a daily activities centre, had some form of work or internship at regular workplaces. Twenty per cent had paid employment. The author interprets IPS as a ”packaging” of SE which the municipalities have ”translated” locally to offer SE activities which benefit users. This can also be seen as evidence-based practice (EBP), in which the best available research has been combined with the wishes of users and the professionals’ judgement of what is possible to offer in practice. Further research is needed concerning the value for users of prolonged internships which do not lead to paid employment.
Välfärden, samhällskritiken och medierna
Authors: Jörgen Lundälv
Published: July 2020

Welfare, critique and the media – social workers’ voices in podcasts in social policy and social workSocial workers and social policy researchers can engage in social work and critical social policy, in traditional media and in the new media. In recent years, the social media have been increasing in both the international media systems and in the media system in Sweden. One channel for social workers to use to be able to make their voice heard in society is to participate, debate and discuss social policy in podcasts. In 2016, the Union for Professionals, Akademikerförbundet SSR, developed ”Social Services Podcasts”. At the same time the National Board of Health and Welfare introduce a new podcast on social services and health care that is called ”Podcast in the Deep”. This article examines voices and themes in social policy and social work in a total of 112 programmes in two podcasts: ”Socialtjänstpodden” and ”In Depth” during the years 2016–2019. There are several challenges for the storytelling tradition and social criticism in social policy and social work in podcasts, which is highlighted in this article.
How Is the Effect of Phytogenic Feed Supplementation Tested in Heat Stressed Pigs? Methodological and Sampling Considerations
Authors: Jócsák Ildikó , Tossenberger János , Végvári György , Sudár Gergő , Varga-Visi Éva , Tóth Tamás
Published: July 2020

Climate change will lead to increasingly hot summers where the temperature rises above the thermoneutral range of pigs; as a result, they get exposed to heat stress. One of the most damaging consequences of long-lasting heat stress is oxidative stress arising from the increasing level of reactive oxygen species. In order to eliminate oxidative stress, metabolites that are needed for maintaining life and growth may get depleted, which, in chronic cases in particular, negatively affects the economy of meat production. The effect of plant-originated phytogenic feed additives with high antioxidant content may be beneficial to pigs in reducing the effects of oxidative stress induced by heat stress. In this study, a range of methods that assess the effects of phytogenic feed additives on heat stress are reviewed. The main focus is presenting an overview of the investigational possibilities of the antioxidative system and feed uptake and utilization via traditional methods and molecular biological investigations. Furthermore, methodological aspects of sampling are taken into consideration in order to select the best methods for determining the effect of phytogenic feed supplementation on heat-stressed pigs.
Tackling Intrinsic Antibiotic Resistance in Serratia marcescens with a Combination of Ampicillin/Sulbactam and Phage SALSA
Authors: Weber Lorenz , Jansen Mathias , Krüttgen Alex , Buhl Eva Miriam , Horz Hans-Peter
Published: July 2020

During the antibiotic crisis, bacteriophages (briefly phages) are increasingly considered as potential antimicrobial pillars for the treatment of infectious diseases. Apart from acquired drug resistance, treatment options are additionally hampered by intrinsic, chromosomal-encoded resistance. For instance, the chromosomal ampC gene encoding for the AmpC-type β-lactamases is typically present in a number of nosocomial pathogens, including S. marcescens. In this study, phage SALSA (vB_SmaP-SALSA), with lytic activity against clinical isolates of S. marcescens, was isolated from effluent. Besides phage characterization, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether a synergistic effect between the antibiotic ampicillin/sulbactam (SAM) and phage can be achieved despite intrinsic drug resistance. Phage SALSA belongs to the Podoviridae family and genome-wide treeing analysis groups this phage within the phylogenetic radiation of T7-like viruses. The genome of Phage SALSA consists of 39,933 bp, which encode for 49 open reading frames. Phage SALSA was able to productively lyse 5 out of 20 clinical isolates (25%). A bacterial challenge with phage alone in liquid medium revealed that an initial strong bacterial decline was followed by bacterial re-growth, indicating the emergence of phage resistance. In contrast, the combination of SAM and phage, together at various concentrations, caused a complete bacterial eradication, confirmed by absorbance measurements and the absence of colony forming units after plating. The data show that it is principally possible to tackle the axiomatic condition of intrinsic drug resistance with a dual antimicrobial approach, which could be extended to other clinically relevant bacteria.
The Impact of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption on the Liver: A Proteomics-Based Analysis
Authors: Benade Janina , Sher Lucien , De Klerk Sheneez , Deshpande Gaurang , Bester Dirk , Marnewick Jeanine L. , Sieck Gary , Laher Ismail , Essop M. Faadiel
Published: July 2020

Cardiometabolic complications such as the metabolic syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) are major causes of global morbidity and mortality. As sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are implicated in this process, this study aimed to obtain greater mechanistic insights. Male Wistar rats (~200 g) were gavaged with a local SSB every day for a period of six months while the control group was gavaged with an iso-volumetric amount of water. Experimental dosages were calculated according to the surface area-to-volume ratio and were equivalent to 125 mL/day (in human terms). A proteomic analysis was performed on isolated liver samples and thereafter, markers of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, antioxidant/oxidant capacity, calcium regulation, and mitochondrial functionality were assessed. These data show that SSB consumption resulted in (a) the induction of mild hepatic ER stress; (b) altered hepatic mitochondrial dynamics; and (c) perturbed calcium handling across mitochondria-associated ER membranes. Despite significant changes in markers of ER stress, the antioxidant response and calcium handling (proteomics data), the liver is able to initiate adaptive responses to counteract such stressors. However, the mitochondrial data showed increased fission and decreased fusion that may put the organism at risk for developing insulin resistance and T2DM in the longer term.
Alpine Tundra Contraction under Future Warming Scenarios in Europe
Authors: Barredo José I. , Mauri Achille , Caudullo Giovanni
Published: July 2020

The alpine tundra is the highest elevation belt of high mountains. This zone is an important reservoir of freshwater and provides habitat to unique species. This study assesses projected changes in the areal extent of the alpine tundra climate zone in three warming levels in European mountains. The alpine tundra was delineated using the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. We used 11 regional climate model simulations from EURO-CORDEX disaggregated at a one-kilometre grid size representing the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios in the 1.5, 2 and 3 °C warming levels. Mitigation represented by the 1.5 °C warming level reduces projected losses of the alpine tundra. However, even in this warming level the projected contraction is severe. In this case, the contraction in the Alps, Scandes and Pyrenees together is projected at between 44% and 48% of the present extent. The contraction is projected to climb in the 2 °C warming to above 57%, while the 3 °C warming would imply that the alpine tundra will be near to collapse in Europe with a contraction of 84% in the three regions, which host most of the alpine tundra in Europe. The projected changes have negative implications for a range of ecosystem services and biodiversity, such as habitat provision, water provision and regulation, erosion protection, water quality and recreational services.
Optimizing Discharge Capacity of Graphite Nanosheet Electrodes for Lithium–Oxygen Batteries
Authors: Wunderlich Philipp , Küpper Jannis , Simon Ulrich
Published: July 2020

Lithium–oxygen (Li-O2) batteries require scalable air electrode concepts and a sensible choice of operation parameters to achieve their promised energy densities. Furthermore, different test parameters are often investigated individually, but rarely brought together in order to optimize the discharge process and unlock the full discharge capability of an air electrode. In this work, we present a highly porous electrode based on graphite nanosheets (GNS) and discuss the impact of the discharge current density and the oxygen pressure as battery test parameters, as well as the electrolyte salt and volume, on the discharge behavior. In particular, changing the electrolyte salt from LiNO3 to LiTFSI proved to be an important step towards better cell performance, because synergistic effects of the electrolyte and GNS greatly enhance the carbon-specific capacity. The optimized combination of the aforementioned parameters enabled a remarkably high discharge capacity of 56.3 mAh/cm2 (5860 mAh/gcarbon) obtained at 150 µA/cm2 (15.6 mA/gcarbon), resulting in the almost complete conversion of the lithium anode. These experimental results are an important step towards practical high-capacity air electrodes for Li-O2 batteries.
Thickness of Intraretinal Layers in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Depending on a Concomitant Diabetic Neuropathy: Results of a Cross-Sectional Study Using Deviation Maps for OCT Data Analysis
Authors: Prakasam Ruby Kala , Matuszewska-Iwanicka Aleksandra , Fischer Dagmar-Christiane , Schumann Heidrun , Tschöpe Diethelm , Stratmann Bernd , Hettlich Hans-Joachim , Guthoff Rudolf F. , Stachs Oliver , Röhlig Martin
Published: July 2020

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) supports the detection of thickness changes in intraretinal layers at an early stage of diabetes mellitus. However, the analysis of OCT data in cross-sectional studies is complex and time-consuming. We introduce an enhanced deviation map-based analysis (MA) and demonstrate its effectiveness in detecting early changes in intraretinal layer thickness in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) compared to common early treatment diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS) grid-based analysis (GA). To this end, we obtained OCT scans of unilateral eyes from 33 T2DM patients without diabetic retinopathy and 40 healthy controls. The patients were categorized according to concomitant diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DN). The results of MA and GA demonstrated statistically significant differences in retinal thickness between patients and controls. Thinning was most pronounced in total retinal thickness and the thickness of the inner retinal layers in areas of the inner macular ring, selectively extending into areas of the outer macular ring and foveal center. Patients with clinically proven DN showed the strongest thinning of the inner retinal layers. MA showed additional areas of thinning whereas GA tended to underestimate thickness changes, especially in areas with localized thinning. We conclude that MA enables a precise analysis of retinal thickness data and contributes to the understanding of localized changes in intraretinal layers in adults with T2DM.
Mild Cognitive Impairments Attenuate Prefrontal Cortex Activations during Walking in Older Adults
Authors: Holtzer Roee , Izzetoglu Meltem
Published: July 2020

The presence of Mild Cognitive Impairments (MCI) is associated with worse gait performance. However, the effect of MCI on cortical control of gait, as assessed during active walking, is unknown. We hypothesized that MCI would be associated with attenuated activations and limited improvement in efficiency in the Prefrontal cortex (PFC) under cognitively-demanding walking conditions. Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to assess Oxygenated Hemoglobin (HbO2) in the PFC during Single-Task-Walk (STW), cognitive interference (Alpha) and Dual-Task-Walk (DTW) conditions. Three repeated trials in each experimental condition were administered. Healthy control (n = 71; mean age = 76.82 ± 6.21 years; %female = 50.7) and MCI (n = 11; mean age = 78.27 ± 4.31 years; %female = 45.5) participants were included. The increase in HbO2 from STW to DTW was attenuated among MCI participants compared to controls (estimate = 0.505; p = 0.001). Whereas, among controls, HbO2 increased from Alpha to DTW, the opposite was observed among MCI participants (estimate = 0.903; p < 0.001). In DTW, the decline in HbO2 from trial 1 to 2 was attenuated in MCI participants compared to controls (estimate = 0.397; p = 0.008). Moreover, whereas HbO2 declined from trial 1 to 3 among controls, MCI participants showed the opposite trend (estimate = 0.946; p < 0.001). MCI was associated with attenuated brain activation patterns and compromised ability to improve PFC efficiency during dual-task walking.
Protective Effects of Dietary Grape on UVB-Mediated Cutaneous Damages and Skin Tumorigenesis in SKH-1 Mice
Authors: Mintie Charlotte A. , Musarra Anna K. , Singh Chandra K. , Ndiaye Mary A. , Sullivan Ruth , Eickhoff Jens C. , Ahmad Nihal
Published: July 2020

Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) are the most diagnosed cancers in the US and occur more frequently in males. We previously demonstrated chemoprotective effects of dietary grape powder (GP) against UVB-mediated skin tumorigenesis in female SKH-1 mice. To expand on this, here, we determined the effects of GP in a short-term UVB exposure protocol (0 or 5% GP, followed by UVB every other day for 2 weeks) in male and female SKH-1 mice, as well as explored any sex-related differences in UVB carcinogenesis via male SKH-1 mice (0, 3, or 5% GP; UVB twice weekly for 28 weeks). In the short-term study, we found that GP protects against early-stage epithelial hyperplasia and mast cell infiltration in both sexes. In the long term, GP markedly reduced tumor counts and malignant conversion, along with significant decreases in mast cell infiltration, serum IgE and Eotaxin. We also found inhibition of P38 phosphorylation and reduced PCNA, Ki67 and BCL2 levels, suggesting that the anti-inflammatory effects of GP inhibits P38, acting as an upstream regulator to inhibit proliferation and reduce tumor cell survival. Together, GP appears to protect against UVB-mediated skin damage and carcinogenesis in SKH-1 mice and should be explored further as a supplement for NMSC prevention.
Roles of NK Cell Receptors 2B4 (CD244), CS1 (CD319), and LLT1 (CLEC2D) in Cancer
Authors: Buller Casey W. , Mathew Porunelloor A. , Mathew Stephen O.
Published: July 2020

Natural killer (NK) cells play a pivotal role in the immune system, especially in the recognition and clearance of cancer cells and infected cells. Their effector function is controlled by a delicate balance between the activating and inhibitory signals. We have identified 2B4 (CD244, SLAMF4) and CS1 (CD319, SLAMF7) as NK cell receptors regulating NK cell cytotoxicity. Lectin-like transcript 1 (LLT1), a member of the C-type lectin-like domain family 2 (CLEC2D), induced IFN-γ production but did not directly regulate cytolytic activity. Interestingly, LLT1 expressed on other cells acts as a ligand for an NK cell inhibitory receptor NKRP1A (CD161) and inhibits NK cytolytic function. Extensive research has been done on novel therapies that target these receptors to increase the effector function of NK cells. The 2B4 receptor is involved in the rejection of melanoma cells in mice. Empliciti, an FDA-approved monoclonal antibody, explicitly targets the CS1 receptor and enhances the NK cell cytotoxicity against multiple myeloma cells. Our studies revealed that LLT1 is expressed on prostate cancer and triple-negative breast cancer cells and allows them to evade NK-cell-mediated killing. In this review, we describe NK cell receptors 2B4, CS1, and LLT1 and their potential in targeting cancer cells for NK-cell-mediated immunotherapy. New cancer immunotherapies like chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) and NK (CAR-NK) cells are showing great promise in the treatment of cancer, and CAR cells specific to these receptors would be an attractive therapeutic option.
Tumor Cell-Intrinsic Immunometabolism and Precision Nutrition in Cancer Immunotherapy
Authors: Cuyàs Elisabet , Verdura Sara , Martin-Castillo Begoña , Alarcón Tomás , Lupu Ruth , Bosch-Barrera Joaquim , Menendez Javier A.
Published: July 2020

One of the greatest challenges in the cancer immunotherapy field is the need to biologically rationalize and broaden the clinical utility of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The balance between metabolism and immune response has critical implications for overcoming the major weaknesses of ICIs, including their lack of universality and durability. The last decade has seen tremendous advances in understanding how the immune system’s ability to kill tumor cells requires the conspicuous metabolic specialization of T-cells. We have learned that cancer cell-associated metabolic activities trigger shifts in the abundance of some metabolites with immunosuppressory roles in the tumor microenvironment. Yet very little is known about the tumor cell-intrinsic metabolic traits that control the immune checkpoint contexture in cancer cells. Likewise, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how systemic metabolic perturbations in response to dietary interventions can reprogram the immune checkpoint landscape of tumor cells. We here review state-of-the-art molecular- and functional-level interrogation approaches to uncover how cell-autonomous metabolic traits and diet-mediated changes in nutrient availability and utilization might delineate new cancer cell-intrinsic metabolic dependencies of tumor immunogenicity. We propose that clinical monitoring and in-depth molecular evaluation of the cancer cell-intrinsic metabolic traits involved in primary, adaptive, and acquired resistance to cancer immunotherapy can provide the basis for improvements in therapeutic responses to ICIs. Overall, these approaches might guide the use of metabolic therapeutics and dietary approaches as novel strategies to broaden the spectrum of cancer patients and indications that can be effectively treated with ICI-based cancer immunotherapy.
Sulfide Detection by Gold-Amalgam Microelectrodes in Artificial Wastewater
Authors: Andrich Jonas M. S. , Schröder Uwe
Published: July 2020

Gold amalgam microelectrodes (GAMEs) have been characterized and successfully calibrated to measure >1.5 mM (30 mg L−1) sulfide in artificial wastewater (AWW) using cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV). Microbial sulfide generation in two types of AWW was traced. Artificial wastewater type 1 (AWW1) held the potential for almost 50% conversion of sulfur compounds at a maximum rate of ~4.3 ± 0.5 µM h−1 while AWW 2 held a potential for 75–100% conversion at a rate of 165 µM h−1. In addition, the GAMEs were thoroughly examined during fabrication, maturation, and aging. An earlier described plating method was found to result in varying electrode surfaces due to excess mercury deposition and, therefore, deviating stripping signals. The limited shelf life of GAMEs has been proposed previously. This study shows the extent of electrode surface changes during amalgam formation and the wear and tear of application. As a result, suggestions to optimize fabrication and application are discussed to provide reliable measurements and proceed toward a future commercialization.
Polarization Volume Gratings for Near-Eye Displays and Novel Photonic Devices
Authors: Yin Kun , Zhan Tao , Xiong Jianghao , He Ziqian , Wu Shin-Tson
Published: July 2020

Liquid crystal-based reflective polarization volume grating (PVG), also known as a linear Bragg–Berry phase optical element or a member of volume Bragg gratings (VBGs), is a functional planar structure with patterned orientation of optical axis. Due to the strong polarization selectivity, nearly 100% diffraction efficiency, large diffraction angle, and simple fabrication process, PVGs have found potential applications in novel photonic devices and emerging near-eye displays. In this review paper, we describe the operation principles, discuss the optical properties, present the fabrication methods, and provide promising applications of PVGs for near-eye displays and novel photonic devices.
Synthesis, Structure and Bonding Analysis of the Zwitterionic PPP-Pincer Complex (6-Ph2P-Ace-5-)2P(O)AuCl2
Authors: Duvinage Daniel , Lork Enno , Grabowsky Simon , Mebs Stefan , Beckmann Jens
Published: July 2020

The reaction of (6-Ph2P-Ace-5-)2P(O)H with (tht)AuCl3 proceeds via elimination of tetrahydrothiophene (tht) and HCl, providing the zwitterionic PPP-pincer complex (6-Ph2P-Ace-5-)2P(O)AuCl2 (1) as yellow crystals. The molecular structure of 1 was established and studied by X-ray crystallography. The electronic structure was computationally analyzed using a comprehensive set of real-space bonding indicators derived from electron and electron-pair densities, providing insight into the relative contributions of covalent and non-covalent forces to the polar-covalent Au–Cl, Au–P, and P–O− bonds; the latter being one of the textbook cases for strongly polarized covalent interactions. Partial spatial complementarity between both bonding aspects is suggested by the electronic properties of the distinctively different Au–Cl bonds.
Electrochemical Performance of 2D-Hierarchical Sheet-Like ZnCo2O4 Microstructures for Supercapacitor Applications
Authors: Prasad Kumcham , Rajasekhara Reddy Gutturu , Rajesh Megala , Babu P. Reddi , Shanmugam Gnanendra , Sushma N. John , Pratap Reddy M. Siva , Deva Prasad Raju Borelli , Mallikarjuna Koduru
Published: July 2020

With the rapid improvement of the global economy, the role of energy has become even more vital in the 21st century. In this regard, energy storage/conversion devices have become a major, worldwide research focus. In response to this, we have prepared two-dimensional (2D)-hierarchical sheet-like ZnCo2O4 microstructures for supercapacitor applications using a simple hydrothermal method. The 2D-hierarchical sheet-like morphologies with large surface area and smaller thickness enhanced the contact area of active material with the electrolyte, which increased the utilization rate. We investigated the electrochemical performance of sheet-like ZnCo2O4 microstructures while using Cyclic voltammetry (CV), Galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), and Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis. The electrochemical results demonstrated that the ZnCo2O4 electrode possesses 16.13 mF cm−2 of areal capacitance at 10 µA cm−2 of current density and outstanding cycling performance (170% of capacitance is retained after 1000 cycles at 500 µA cm−2). The high areal capacitance and outstanding cycling performance due to the unique sheet-like morphology of the ZnCo2O4 electrode makes it an excellent candidate for supercapacitor applications.
Intelligence Comes from Within—Personality as a UI Paradigm for Smart Spaces
Authors: Diefenbach Sarah , Butz Andreas , Ullrich Daniel
Published: July 2020

The buzzword “smart home” promises an intelligent, helpful environment in which technology makes life easier, simpler or safer for its inhabitants. On a technical level, this is currently achieved by many networked devices interacting with each other, working on shared protocols and standards. From a user experience (UX) perspective, however, the interaction with such a collection of devices has become so complex that it currently rather stands in the way of widespread adoption and use. So far, it does not seem likely that a common user interface (UI) concept will emerge as a quasi-standard, as the desktop interface did for graphical UIs. Therefore, our research follows a different approach. Instead of many singular intelligent devices, we envision a UI concept for smart environments that integrates diverse pieces of technology in a coherent mental model of an embodied “room intelligence” (RI). RI will combine smart machinery, mobile robotic arms and mundane physical objects, thereby blurring the line between the physical and the digital world. The present paper describes our vision and emerging research questions and presents the initial steps of technical realization.
Establishing Picture Databases for Image Boards: An Example for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability Images
Authors: Liu Peng-Jyun , Chuang Ming-Chuen , Hsu Chun-Cheng
Published: July 2020

Recently, more importance has been attached to consumers’ emotional feelings in the course of product design. Designers must convey positive emotions, such as surprise and affection, to consumers through their designs. For this purpose, image boards have been frequently used in design to position product emotional feeling and arouse design ideas. A large number of pictures are often needed for constructing an image board. However, it is time-consuming and labor-intensive to find appropriate pictures and the pictures that are finally collected may not reflect the expected image of consumers. Therefore, this study aims to take Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) as an example to build a user-driven database for image boards. In this research, 16 LOHAS representatives were identified and recruited by using a lifestyle questionnaire to collect, and then screen out 50 proposed pictures relevant to the image of LOHAS. Since image boards are usually used by designers, in order to include their ideas, another 16 pictures were selected by the invited experienced product designers to create a comprehensive pool of 66 proposed pictures. Design experts were asked to select six key image adjectives, which included healthy, environmentally friendly, sustainable, natural, simple, and ecological for describing images of the LOHAS, from the vocabulary pool collected by general respondents, LOHAS representatives, and designers. Next, 219 LOHAS subjects were required to carry out a semantic differential assessment of each of the 66 proposed pictures with the six key images, and then two types of analyses on the collected data from the semantic differential assessment. Through mean analysis and grey correlation analysis, the recommended pictures representing LOHAS or six key adjective images were selected. The research results put forward three database application models. The results of this study are expected to be used by designers, users, manufacturers, and educators to help improve product design efficiency in the future.
Information Transfer in Linear Multivariate Processes Assessed through Penalized Regression Techniques: Validation and Application to Physiological Networks
Authors: Antonacci Yuri , Astolfi Laura , Nollo Giandomenico , Faes Luca
Published: July 2020

The framework of information dynamics allows the dissection of the information processed in a network of multiple interacting dynamical systems into meaningful elements of computation that quantify the information generated in a target system, stored in it, transferred to it from one or more source systems, and modified in a synergistic or redundant way. The concepts of information transfer and modification have been recently formulated in the context of linear parametric modeling of vector stochastic processes, linking them to the notion of Granger causality and providing efficient tools for their computation based on the state–space (SS) representation of vector autoregressive (VAR) models. Despite their high computational reliability these tools still suffer from estimation problems which emerge, in the case of low ratio between data points available and the number of time series, when VAR identification is performed via the standard ordinary least squares (OLS). In this work we propose to replace the OLS with penalized regression performed through the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO), prior to computation of the measures of information transfer and information modification. First, simulating networks of several coupled Gaussian systems with complex interactions, we show that the LASSO regression allows, also in conditions of data paucity, to accurately reconstruct both the underlying network topology and the expected patterns of information transfer. Then we apply the proposed VAR-SS-LASSO approach to a challenging application context, i.e., the study of the physiological network of brain and peripheral interactions probed in humans under different conditions of rest and mental stress. Our results, which document the possibility to extract physiologically plausible patterns of interaction between the cardiovascular, respiratory and brain wave amplitudes, open the way to the use of our new analysis tools to explore the emerging field of Network Physiology in several practical applications.
A Low-Cost Method of Improving the GNSS/SINS Integrated Navigation System Using Multiple Receivers
Authors: Liu Di , Wang Hengjun , Xia Qingyuan , Jiang Changhui
Published: July 2020

GNSS (global navigation satellite system) and SINS (strap-down inertial navigation system) integrated navigation systems have been the apparatus for providing reliable and stable position and velocity information (PV). Commonly, there are two solutions to improve the GNSS/SINS integration navigation system accuracy, i.e., employing GNSS with higher position accuracy in the integration system or utilizing the high-grade inertial measurement unit (IMU) to construct the integration system. However, technologies such as RTK (real-time kinematic) and PPP (precise point positioning) that improve GNSS positioning accuracy have higher costs and they cannot work under high dynamic environments. Also, an IMU with high accuracy will lead to a higher cost and larger volume, therefore, a low-cost method to enhance the GNSS/SINS integration accuracy is of great significance. In this paper, multiple receivers based on the GNSS/SINS integrated navigation system are proposed with the aim of providing more precise PV information. Since the chip-scale receivers are cheap, the deployment of multiple receivers in the GNSS/SINS integration will not significantly increase the cost. In addition, two different filtering methods with central and cascaded structure are employed to process the multiple receivers and SINS integration. In the centralized integration filter method, measurements from multiple receivers are directly processed to estimate the SINS errors state vectors. However, the computation load increases heavily due to the rising dimension of the measurement vector. Therefore, a cascaded integration filter structure is also employed to distribute the processing of the multiple receiver and SINS integration. In the cascaded processing method, each receiver is regarded as an individual “sensor”, and a standard federated Kalman filter (FKF) is implemented to obtain an optimal estimation of the navigation solutions. In this paper, a simulation and a field tests are carried out to assess the influence of the number of receivers on the PV accuracy. A detailed analysis of these position and velocity results is presented and the improvements in the PV accuracy demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
How the Italian Residential Sector Could Contribute to Load Flexibility in Demand Response Activities: A Methodology for Residential Clustering and Developing a Flexibility Strategy
Authors: Mancini Francesco , Romano Sabrina , Lo Basso Gianluigi , Cimaglia Jacopo , de Santoli Livio
Published: July 2020

This work aims at exploring the potential contribution of the Italian residential sector in implementing load flexibility for Demand Response activities. In detail, by combining experimental and statistical approaches, a method to estimate the load profile of a dwelling cluster of 751 units has been presented. To do so, 14 dwelling archetypes have been defined and the algorithm to categorise the sample units has been built. Then, once the potential flexible loads for each archetype have been evaluated, a control strategy for applying load time shifting has been implemented. That strategy accounts for both the power demand profile and the hourly electricity price. Specifically, it has been assumed that end users access a pricing mechanism following the hourly trend of electricity economic value, which is traded day by day in the Italian spot market, instead of the current Time of Use (TOU) system. In such a way, it is possible to flatten the dwellings cluster profile, limiting undesired and unexpected results on the balancing market. In the end, monthly and yearly flexibility indexes have been defined along with the strategy effectiveness parameter. From calculations, it emerges that a dwelling cluster for the Italian residential sector is characterised by a flexibility index of 10.3% and by a strategy effectiveness equal to 34%. It is noteworthy that the highest values for flexibility purpose have been registered over the heating season (winter) for the weekends.
Novel Ni/Ce(Ti)ZrO2 Catalysts for Methane Dry Reforming Prepared in Supercritical Alcohol Media
Authors: Bespalko Yuliya , Smal Ekaterina , Simonov Mikhail , Valeev Konstantin , Fedorova Valeria , Krieger Tamara , Cherepanova Svetlana , Ishchenko Arcady , Rogov Vladimir , Sadykov Vladislav
Published: July 2020

To achieve a high activity and coking stability of nickel catalysts in dry reforming of methane, materials comprised of ceria–zirconia doped by Ti were investigated as supports. Ceria–zirconia supports doped with titanium were prepared either via the Pechini method or by synthesis in supercritical alcohol media. Ni-containing catalysts were prepared by two techniques: standard incipient wetness impregnation and one-pot synthesis. The catalytic reaction of DRM to synthesis gas was carried out in the 600–750 °C range over 5% wt. Ni/Ce(Ti)ZrO2. Dried and calcined supports and catalysts were characterized by physicochemical methods including N2 adsorption, XRD, Raman, H2-TPR, and HRTEM. Both preparation methods led to formation of solid solution with cubic fluorite-like structure, as well as after addition of Ti. Introduction of Ti should provide improved oxygen storage capacity and mobility of support oxygen. The highest activity was observed with the catalyst of 5% wt. Ni/Ce0.75Ti0.2Zr0.05O2−δ composition due to optimized oxide support structure and support oxygen mobility.
Defining and Quantifying Intermittency in the Power Sector
Authors: Suchet Daniel , Jeantet Adrien , Elghozi Thomas , Jehl Zacharie
Published: July 2020

The lack of a systematic definition of intermittency in the power sector blurs the use of this term in the public debate: the same power source can be described as stable or intermittent, depending on the standpoint of the authors. This work tackles a quantitative definition of intermittency adapted to the power sector, linked to the nature of the source, and not to the current state of the energy mix or the production predictive capacity. A quantitative indicator is devised, discussed and graphically depicted. A case study is illustrated by the analysis of the 2018 production data in France and then developed further to evaluate the impact of two methods often considered to reduce intermittency: aggregation and complementarity between wind and solar productions.
Maximizing Distributed Energy Resource Hosting Capacity of Power System in South Korea Using Integrated Feeder, Distribution, and Transmission System
Authors: Widiputra Victor , Kong Junhyuk , Yang Yejin , Jung Jaesung , Broadwater Robert
Published: July 2020

Intermittent power generated from renewable distributed energy resource (DER) can create voltage stability problems in the system during peak power production in the low demand period. Thus, the existing standard for operation and management of the distribution system limits the penetration level of the DER and the amount of load in a power system. In this standard, the hosting capacity of the DER is limited to each feeder at a level where the voltage problem does not occur. South Korea applied this standard, thereby making it hard to achieve its DER target. However, by analyzing the voltage stability of an integrated system, the hosting capacity of DER can be increased. Therefore, in this study, the maximum hosting capacity of DER is determined by analyzing an integrated transmission and distribution system. Moreover, the fast voltage stability index (FVSI) is used to verify the determined hosting capacity of DER. For this, the existing interconnection standard of DER at a feeder, distribution system, and transmission system level is investigated. Subsequently, a Monte Carlo simulation is performed to determine the maximum penetration of the DER at a feeder level, while varying the load according to the standard test system in South Korea. The actual load generation profile is used to simulate system conditions in order to determine the maximum DER hosting capacity.
An Adaptive Control Scheme for Variable Speed Wind Turbines Providing Frequency Regulation in Isolated Power Systems with Thermal Generation
Authors: Fernández-Guillamón Ana , Martínez-Lucas Guillermo , Molina-García Ángel , Sarasua Jose Ignacio
Published: July 2020

The lack of synchronous inertia, associated with the relevant penetration of variable speed wind turbines (VSWTs) into isolated power systems, has increased their vulnerability to strong frequency deviations. In fact, the activation of load shedding schemes is a common practice when an incident occurs, i.e., the outage of a conventional unit. Under this framework, wind power plants should actively contribute to frequency stability and grid reliability. However, the contribution of VSWTs to frequency regulation involves several drawbacks related to their efficiency and equipment wear due to electrical power requirements, rotational speed changes, and subsequently, shaft torque oscillations. As a result, wind energy producers are not usually willing to offer such frequency regulation. In this paper, a new control technique is proposed to optimize the frequency response of wind power plants after a power imbalanced situation. The proposed frequency controller depends on different power system parameters through a linear regression to determine the contribution of wind power plants for each imbalance condition. As a consequence, VSWTs frequency contribution is estimated to minimize their mechanical and electrical efforts, thus reducing their equipment wear. A group of sixty supply-side and imbalance scenarios are simulated and analyzed. Results of the case study are compared to previous proposals. The proposed adaptive control reduces the maximum torque and rotational speed variations while at the same time maintaining similar values of the load shedding program. Extensive results and discussion are included in the paper.
Lifetime Modelling Issues of Power Light Emitting Diodes
Authors: Hegedüs János , Hantos Gusztáv , Poppe András
Published: July 2020

The advantages of light emitting diodes (LEDs) over previous light sources and their continuous spread in lighting applications is now indisputable. Still, proper modelling of their lifespan offers additional design possibilities, enhanced reliability, and additional energy-saving opportunities. Accurate and rapid multi-physics system level simulations could be performed in Spice compatible environments, revealing the optical, electrical and even the thermal operating parameters, provided, that the compact thermal model of the prevailing luminaire and the appropriate elapsed lifetime dependent multi-domain models of the applied LEDs are available. The work described in this article takes steps in this direction in by extending an existing multi-domain LED model in order to simulate the major effect of the elapsed operating time of LEDs used. Our approach is based on the LM-80-08 testing method, supplemented by additional specific thermal measurements. A detailed description of the TM-21-11 type extrapolation method is provided in this paper along with an extensive overview of the possible aging models that could be used for practice-oriented LED lifetime estimations.
Electrical Vehicle Charging Services Planning and Operation with Interdependent Power Networks and Transportation Networks: A Review of the Current Scenario and Future Trends
Authors: Jawad Shafqat , Liu Junyong
Published: July 2020

The growing trend in electrical vehicle (EV) deployment has transformed independent power network and transportation network studies into highly congested interdependent network performance evaluations assessing their impact on power and transportation systems. Electrified transportation is highly capable of intensifying the interdependent correlations across charging service, transportation, and power networks. However, the evaluation of the complex coupled relationship across charging services, transportation, and power networks poses several challenges, including an impact on charging scheduling, traffic congestion, charging loads on the power grid, and high costs. Therefore, this article presents comparative survey analytics of large-scale EV integration’s impact on charging service network scheduling, transportation networks, and power networks. Moreover, price mechanism strategies to determine the charging fares, minimize investment profits, diminish traffic congestion, and reduce power distribution constraints under the influence of various factors were carried out. Additionally, the survey analysis stipulates the interdependent network performance index, ascertaining travel distance, route selection, long-term and short-term planning, and different infrastructure strategies. Finally, the limitations of the proposed study, potential research trends, and critical technologies are demonstrated for future inquiries.
Improved Appliance Classification in Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring Using Weighted Recurrence Graph and Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Faustine Anthony , Pereira Lucas
Published: July 2020

Appliance recognition is one of the vital sub-tasks of NILM in which a machine learning classier is used to detect and recognize active appliances from power measurements. The performance of the appliance classifier highly depends on the signal features used to characterize the loads. Recently, different appliance features derived from the voltage–current (V–I) waveforms have been extensively used to describe appliances. However, the performance of V–I-based approaches is still unsatisfactory as it is still not distinctive enough to recognize devices that fall into the same category. Instead, we propose an appliance recognition method utilizing the recurrence graph (RG) technique and convolutional neural networks (CNNs). We introduce the weighted recurrent graph (WRG) generation that, given one-cycle current and voltage, produces an image-like representation with more values than the binary output created by RG. Experimental results on three different sub-metered datasets show that the proposed WRG-based image representation provides superior feature representation and, therefore, improves classification performance compared to V–I-based features.