Innovative Technologies for District Heating and Cooling: InDeal Project

The paper discusses the outcomes of the conference organized by the InDeal project. The conference took place on 12 December 2018 in Montpellier as part of the EnerGaia energy forum 2018. A holistic interdisciplinary approach for district heating and cooling (DHC) networks is presented that integrates heterogeneous innovative technologies from various scientific sectors. The solution is based on a multi-layer control and modelling framework that has been designed to minimize the total plant production costs and optimize heating/cooling distribution. Artificial intelligence tools are employed to model uncertainties associated with weather and energy demand forecasts, as well as quantify the energy storage capacity. Smart metering devices are utilized to collect information about all the crucial heat substations’ parameters, whereas a web-based platform offers a unique user environment for network operators. Three new technologies have been further developed to improve the efficiency of pipe design of DHC systems: (i) A new sustainable insulation material for reducing heat losses, (ii) a new quick-fit joint for an easy installation, and (iii) a new coating for reducing pressure head losses. The results of a study on the development and optimization of two energy harvesting systems are also provided. The assessment of the environmental, economic and social impact of the proposed holistic approach is performed through a life cycle analysis. The validation methodology of the integrated solution is also described, whereas conclusions and future work are finally given

Alexithymia and its association with burnout, depression and family support among Greek nursing staff

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Few studies have examined the relation between alexithymia (i.e. the inability to recognize and verbalize emotions) and professional burnout. Considering the absence of relevant studies in the Greek scientific literature, the aim of this work was to examine the associations of alexithymia with the three facets of professional burnout, the perception of family support and depression in nursing personnel.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was performed in one of the largest hospitals in Greece and included 95 nurses. Assessments of alexithymia, burnout, depression and family support were made by means of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Julkunen Family Support Scale, respectively. Student's t-test, Pearson's correlation and stepwise linear regression were used for the evaluation of data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Alexithymia was correlated positively with depression, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and negatively with sense of family support and personal achievement. Additionally, family support was correlated positively with personal achievement and negatively with depression.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In the scientific literature there is a debate as to whether alexithymia is a stable personality characteristic or if it is dependent on symptoms of mental disorders. We tried to interpret the associations of alexithymia with professional burnout, depressive symptoms and family support. From this study it appears very likely that alexithymia is directly associated with depression and personal achievement, but also indirectly with the sense of family support.</p

Chronic ethanol attenuates centrally-mediated hypotension elicited via alpha-2-adrenergic, but not I1-imidazoline, receptor activation in female rats

Aims—This study dealt with the effect of chronic ethanol administration on hemodynamic responses elicited by α2-adrenergic (α-methyldopa) or I1-imidazoline (rilmenidine) receptor activation in telemetered female rats. Main methods—The effects of α-methyldopa or rilmenidine on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) and their variability were investigated in rats that received liquid diet without or with ethanol (5% w/v) for 12 weeks. To evaluate the effect of each drug on cardiovascular autonomic control (BP and HR variability) in the absence or presence of ethanol, three time-domain indices of hemodynamic variability were measured: (i) standard deviation of mean arterial pressure (SDMAP), (ii) standard deviation of beat-to-beat intervals, and (iii) root mean square of successive differences in R-R intervals. Key findings—In liquid diet-fed control rats, i.p. rilmenidine (600 μg/kg) or α-methyldopa (100 mg/kg) reduced BP along with decreases and increases, respectively, in HR. Both drugs had no effect on HR variability but reduced BP variability (SDMAP), suggesting a reduced vasomotor sympathetic tone. Ethanol feeding attenuated reductions in BP and SDMAP evoked by α-methyldopa but not by rilmenidine. Significance—We conclude that chronic ethanol preferentially compromises α2- but not I1- receptor-mediated hypotension in female rats probably via modulation of vasomotor sympathetic activity. These findings highlight the adequacy of rilmenidine use to lower BP in hypertensive alcoholic females

Prevalence of alexithymia and its association with anxiety and depression in a sample of Greek chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) outpatients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major health problem, especially in adults over 40 years of age, and has a great social and economic impact. The psychological morbidity of COPD patients with regard to anxiety and depressive symptoms has been extensively studied in the past. However, few studies have investigated the prevalence of alexithymia in these patients, as well as its association with this comorbidity. Based on this fact, we studied the prevalence of alexithymia and its association with anxiety and depressive symptoms in COPD outpatients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The present study included 167, randomly selected, outpatients diagnosed with COPD. Alexithymia, anxiety and depression were assessed using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean BDI score was 12.88 (SD: 7.7), mean STAI score 41.8 (SD: 11.0) and mean TAS-20 score 48.2 (SD: 11.5). No differences were observed between genders regarding age and alexithymia (t test <it>P </it>> 0.05), while female patients presented higher depression and trait anxiety scores than males (t test <it>P </it>< 0.05). Clinically significant levels of anxiety were present in 37.1% of men, and in 45.7% of women. The mean depression score was also higher than the corresponding mean score in the general population (one-sample t test <it>P </it>< 0.01), while 27.7% and 30.5% of the sample presented mild and moderate to severe depression, respectively. Finally, a strong correlation was observed between alexithymia, depression and anxiety.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study confirms the high prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in Greek outpatients with COPD. The prevalence of alexithymia in COPD patients, contrary to what has been observed in patients with other chronic respiratory diseases, seem to be lower. However, we observed a strong association between alexithymia, depression and anxiety levels. This observation suggests that alexithymia should be taken into consideration when drafting specific psychotherapeutic interventions for these patients.</p

Combination of the W boson polarization measurements in top quark decays using ATLAS and CMS data at root s=8 TeV

The combination of measurements of the W boson polarization in top quark decays performed by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations is presented. The measurements are based on proton-proton collision data produced at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 20 fb(-1)for each experiment. The measurements used events containing one lepton and having different jet multiplicities in the final state. The results are quoted as fractions of W bosons with longitudinal (F-0), left-handed (F-L), or right-handed (F-R) polarizations. The resulting combined measurements of the polarization fractions are F-0= 0.693 +/- 0.014 and F-L= 0.315 +/- 0.011. The fractionF(R)is calculated from the unitarity constraint to be F-R=-0.008 +/- 0.007. These results are in agreement with the standard model predictions at next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics and represent an improvement in precision of 25 (29)% for F-0(F-L) with respect to the most precise single measurement. A limit on anomalous right-handed vector (V-R), and left- and right-handed tensor (g(L), g(R)) tWb couplings is set while fixing all others to their standard model values. The allowed regions are [-0.11,0.16] for V-R, [-0.08,0.05] for g(L), and [-0.04,0.02] for g(R), at 95% confidence level. Limits on the corresponding Wilson coefficients are also derived.Peer reviewe

A search for the dimuon decay of the Standard Model Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector

A search for the dimuon decay of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson is performed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1) collected with the ATLAS detector in Run 2 pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed (expected) significance over the background-only hypothesis for a Higgs boson with a mass of 125.09 GeV is 2.0 sigma (1.7 sigma). The observed upper limit on the cross section times branching ratio for pp -&gt; H -&gt; mu mu is 2.2 times the SM prediction at 95% confidence level, while the expected limit on a H -&gt; mu mu signal assuming the absence (presence) of a SM signal is 1.1(2.0). The best-fit value of the signal strength parameter, defined as the ratio of the observed signal yield to the one expected in the SM, is mu = 1.2 +/- 0.6. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V

Measurement of hadronic event shapes in high-p T multijet final states at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A measurement of event-shape variables in proton-proton collisions at large momentum transfer is presented using data collected at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Six event-shape variables calculated using hadronic jets are studied in inclusive multijet events using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. Measurements are performed in bins of jet multiplicity and in different ranges of the scalar sum of the transverse momenta of the two leading jets, reaching scales beyond 2 TeV. These measurements are compared with predictions from Monte Carlo event generators containing leading-order or next-to-leading order matrix elements matched to parton showers simulated to leading-logarithm accuracy. At low jet multiplicities, shape discrepancies between the measurements and the Monte Carlo predictions are observed. At high jet multiplicities, the shapes are better described but discrepancies in the normalisation are observed. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Alignment of the ATLAS Inner Detector in Run 2

The performance of the ATLAS Inner Detector alignment has been studied using pp collision data at v s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment during Run 2 (2015-2018) of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The goal of the detector alignment is to determine the detector geometry as accurately as possible and correct for time-dependent movements. The Inner Detector alignment is based on the minimization of track-hit residuals in a sequence of hierarchical levels, from global mechanical assembly structures to local sensors. Subsequent levels have increasing numbers of degrees of freedom; in total there are almost 750,000. The alignment determines detector geometry on both short and long timescales, where short timescales describe movementswithin anLHCfill. The performance and possible track parameter biases originating from systematic detector deformations are evaluated. Momentum biases are studied using resonances decaying to muons or to electrons. The residual sagitta bias and momentum scale bias after alignment are reduced to less than similar to 0.1 TeV-1 and 0.9 x 10(-3), respectively. Impact parameter biases are also evaluated using tracks within jets

Measurement of the total cross section and ρ -parameter from elastic scattering in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

In a special run of the LHC with β⋆= 2.5 km, proton–proton elastic-scattering events were recorded at s=13 TeV with an integrated luminosity of 340μb-1 using the ALFA subdetector of ATLAS in 2016. The elastic cross section was measured differentially in the Mandelstam t variable in the range from - t= 2.5 · 10 - 4 GeV 2 to - t= 0.46 GeV 2 using 6.9 million elastic-scattering candidates. This paper presents measurements of the total cross section σtot , parameters of the nuclear slope, and the ρ -parameter defined as the ratio of the real part to the imaginary part of the elastic-scattering amplitude in the limit t→ 0 . These parameters are determined from a fit to the differential elastic cross section using the optical theorem and different parameterizations of the t-dependence. The results for σtot and ρ are σtot(pp→X)=104.7±1.1mb,ρ=0.098±0.011. The uncertainty in σtot is dominated by the luminosity measurement, and in ρ by imperfect knowledge of the detector alignment and by modelling of the nuclear amplitude