Power transformers winding fault diagnosis by the on-load exciting current extended Park's vector approach

This paper presents the application of the on-load exciting current Extended Park's Vector Approach to diagnose incipient turn-to-turn winding faults in operating power transformers. Experimental and simulation test results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique, which is based on the spectral analysis of the AC component of the on-load exciting current Park's Vector modulus

Effect of age, sex and gender on pain sensitivity: A narrative review

© 2017 Eltumi And Tashani. Introduction: An increasing body of literature on sex and gender differences in pain sensitivity has been accumulated in recent years. There is also evidence from epidemiological research that painful conditions are more prevalent in older people. The aim of this narrative review is to critically appraise the relevant literature investigating the presence of age and sex differences in clinical and experimental pain conditions. Methods: A scoping search of the literature identifying relevant peer reviewed articles was conducted on May 2016. Information and evidence from the key articles were narratively described and data was quantitatively synthesised to identify gaps of knowledge in the research literature concerning age and sex differences in pain responses. Results: This critical appraisal of the literature suggests that the results of the experimental and clinical studies regarding age and sex differences in pain contain some contradictions as far as age differences in pain are concerned. While data from the clinical studies are more consistent and seem to point towards the fact that chronic pain prevalence increases in the elderly findings from the experimental studies on the other hand were inconsistent, with pain threshold increasing with age in some studies and decreasing with age in others. Conclusion: There is a need for further research using the latest advanced quantitative sensory testing protocols to measure the function of small nerve fibres that are involved in nociception and pain sensitivity across the human life span. Implications: Findings from these studies should feed into and inform evidence emerging from other types of studies (e.g. brain imaging technique and psychometrics) suggesting that pain in the older humans may have unique characteristics that affect how old patients respond to intervention

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

Interaction between Reelin and Notch signaling regulates neuronal migration in the cerebral cortex

Neuronal migration is a fundamental component of brain development whose failure is associated with various neurological and psychiatric disorders. Reelin is essential for the stereotypical inside-out sequential lamination of the neocortex, but the molecular mechanisms of its action still remain unclear. Here we show that regulation of Notch activity plays an important part in Reelin-signal-dependent neuronal migration. We found that Reelin-deficient mice have reduced levels of the cleaved form of Notch intracellular domain (Notch ICD) and that loss of Notch signaling in migrating neurons results in migration and morphology defects. Further, overexpression of Notch ICD mitigates the laminar and morphological abnormalities of migrating neurons in Reeler. Finally, our in vitro biochemical studies show that Reelin signaling inhibits Notch ICD degradation via Dab1. Together, our results indicate that neuronal migration in the developing cerebral cortex requires a Reelin-Notch interaction

Social distribution of cardiovascular disease risk factors: change among men in England 1984-1993

OBJECTIVE—To investigate change in the social distribution of some of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease in men in England during a period when inequality in cardiovascular disease mortality widened
DESIGN—Age standardised comparison of the social distribution of seven known risk factors for cardiovascular disease (body mass index, waist to hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, consumption of fresh green vegetables, leisure time exercise, cigarette smoking and levels of social support) in two large cross sectional representative samples of the English population.
SUBJECTS—Men aged 20-64 years in the 1984 Health and Lifestyle Survey (excluding Scotland and Wales) first sweep and the 1993 Health Survey for England.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES—Mean values of continuous variables; age adjusted proportions of categorical variables; change in the relative index of inequality for each risk factor.
RESULTS—The overall prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors improved during the period in which cardiovascular disease mortality was falling. The social distribution of cardiovascular disease risk factors, in contrast, did not become more extreme. Increases in the relative index of inequality for angina from 1.75 to 1.86,( )for eating vegetables less than once a day from 1.76 in 1984 to 1.96 in 1993, and an apparently larger increase in inequality of social support, from 1.92 to 2.53 were not statistically significant. In most cases the degree of inequality in risk factors tended to narrow non-significantly: for example the relative index of inequality fell from 5.02 in 1984 to 3.07 in 1993 for systolic blood pressure, from 5.60 to 4.29 for current smoking and from 6.24 to 4.19 for eating other than wholemeal bread as the main form of bread in the diet. The two statistically significant changes in inequality were in the direction of narrowing inequality: from a relative index of inequality of 2.12 to 0.90 for diastolic blood pressure (p<0.01) and from 19.3 to 0.87 (p<0.01) for psychological distress as indicated by the General Health Questionnaire.
CONCLUSIONS—Healthier lifestyle options have not been adopted at a significantly faster rate by middle class than working class people over this time period. At the population level the change in risk factors is consistent with falling cardiovascular mortality. The change in the social distribution of risk factors within the population, however, shows little or no relation to the pattern of widening inequality in cardiovascular mortality. This may be because the effect is lagged, or because the adoption of healthier behaviour confers greater benefits on those in higher socioeconomic status groups.


Keywords: cardiovascular diseas