Forecasting Li-ion battery State of Charge using Long-Short-Term-Memory network

Estimating the state of charge (SOC) for lithium-ion batteries (LIB) has become a highly desirable task, but also critical, especially as electrified vehicles become more common. However, due to the non-linear behaviour of these batteries, accurately estimating SOC remains a challenge. As a result, traditional theory-based methods are often being replaced by data-driven approaches, thanks to the greater availability of battery data and advances in artificial intelligence. Recurrent neural networks (RNNs), in particular, are promising methods to be exploited, because they can capture temporal dependencies and predict SOC without a battery model. Long short term memory (LSTM), a specific type of RNN, can accurately predict SOC values in real-time and forecast future SOC values within different time horizons

Isoenzyme A and Urinary N-Acetyl-β-D-Glucosaminidase Activity in Normal Pregnancy

Urinary N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity has been found to increase during normal uncomplicated pregnancy and such behavior could limit the diagnostic value of this enzyme for detection of subclinical tubular injury. The aim of this study was to evaluate urinary NAG activity and isoenzyme A in normal pregnant women at 30th week of pregnancy and in healthy women, to discriminate between physiological and lesional enzymuria.Enzyme activities in first morning fasting urine samples from 20 nonpregnant control and 20 normal pregnant women at 30th gestational week were evaluated by fluorometric methods.Both total and isoenzyme A activity was significantly higher ( p0.01) in urines of normal pregnant women compared with control urines, whereas ratio between these two parameters was significantly lower ( p0.001).The increase of urinary NAG activity during normal uncomplicated pregnancy appears to be characterized by a prevalent increase in isoenzyme A form, a finding associated with functional (not lesional) enzymuria. The fluorometric assays may represent a simple and rapid method to evaluate whether increase in urinary NAG activity represents a renal physiological adaptation during pregnancy

Carcinoma sieroso ovarico: correlazione tra andamento clinico, prognosi, espressione di p53, MDM2, p21, APE/Ref1 e NPM1 e possibili implicazioni terapeutiche

Il tumore ovarico \ue8 la sesta neoplasia pi\uf9 frequente nelle donne in Nord America e in Europa. Il carcinoma ovarico rappresenta il 60% dei tumori ovarici e il 90% di tutte le neoplasie ovariche maligne. Le donne affette da carcinoma ovarico hanno a tutt\u2019oggi una prognosi negativa. Nel 75% dei casi il carcinoma ovarico \ue8 diagnosticato quando ormai si \ue8 gi\ue0 diffuso oltre la pelvi. I fattori prognostici noti sono l\u2019et\ue0 delle pazienti, la malattia minima residua dopo l\u2019intervento chirurgico, il grado, lo stadio e l\u2019istotipo del tumore. Tali parametri clinicopatologici risultano per\uf2 insufficienti e si rende necessario lo studio approfondito dei biomarcatori che caratterizzano questa neoplasia, al fine di identificare nuovi bersagli per terapie mirate. In considerazione dell\u2019assenza di un pannello di marcatori utili per il patologo, lo scopo del lavoro in analisi \ue8 stato quello di testare numerosi biomarcatori, nell\u2019intento di stabilire una correlazione statisticamente significativa tra la loro espressione e l\u2019andamento clinico della malattia. L\u2019eterogeneo insieme di proteine esaminate comprende i prodotti di oncogeni e di oncosoppressori, proteine coinvolte nell\u2019apoptosi, nella regolazione del ciclo cellulare, nella proliferazione, nel differenziamento, nell\u2019adesione cellulare, nella degradazione della matrice extracellulare, attivatori e repressori trascrizionali, chaperones molecolari ed enzimi che catalizzano specifiche reazioni; una volta ottenuti i dati preliminari, l\u2019attenzione \ue8 stata concentrata sull\u2019espressione di APE1 e NPM1, per le quali non vi sono ancora molti dati in Letteratura sul carcinoma ovarico

Nuove tendenze del settore cosmetico: la cosmesi naturale. Risultati di un'indagine empirica

Questo lavoro nasce dalla passione per il mondo della cosmesi ecobiologica, dalla quale è scaturito un interesse nel chiedersi quali siano i fattori che orientano le scelte dei consumatori oggi e se essi cambino a seconda che una persona utilizzi cosmetici naturali o tradizionali. Si è scelto di intervistare ragazzi e ragazze fra i 18-30 anni per vedere il pensiero di quelle che sono le “nuove generazioni”, oltre che per la maggior semplicità nell’ottenere risposte. Il primo capitolo presenta il quadro di riferimento del settore cosmetico, partendo dalle varie definizioni, percorrendo poi alcuni tratti di storia e facendo accenno alle nuove tendenze del settore. Il secondo capitolo affronta il tema del green marketing e il problema del greenwashing, fenomeno che comprende la pubblicità ingannevole. Il terzo capitolo illustra la metodologia utilizzata per svolgere l’indagine e i risultati ottenuti. Il quarto riguarda un’analisi statistica dei risultati attraverso l’utilizzo dell’analisi delle componenti principali, del clustering e della regressione logistica

The Hepato-Pulmonary-Cutaneous Syndrome: Description of a Case and Suggestion of a Unifying Hypothesis

We report a 54-year-old patient with the association of hepatic dysfunction with cyanosis, severe hypoxemia, platypnea-orthodeoxia, diffuse cutaneous spider nevi, telangiectasia, palmar erythema, digital clubbing and findings of marked intrapulmonary vascular dilation and arterovenous shunt. The diagnosis of hepato-pulmonary-cutaneous syndrome, a term we think more appropriate and inclusive than that of hepato-pulmonary syndrome for this clinicopathological picture, is proposed. The putative underlying mechanism for these connected pulmonary and extrapulmonary syndromic features is discussed

Support for the upregulation of serum thyrotropin by estrogens coming from the increased requirement of levothyroxine in one gynecomastic patient with excess of thyroxine-binding globulin secondary to exposure to exogenous estrogens

Thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) is the liver-synthesized and estrogen-upregulated major plasma carrier of thyroid hormones with an affinity binding greater for T4 than T3. It is known that pregnancy, a physiologic state of estrogen-driven elevation of serum TBG, raises the requirement of L-T4 dose in hypothyroid women, especially those with no residual thyroid function. Similar increased requirement was reported for postmenopausal women during estrogen therapy. One known cause of relative hyperestrogenemia, gynecomastia and acquired TBG excess is liver disease, but very rarely chronic liver disease is mentioned as a cause of increased L-T4 requirement. One hypothyroid man with cirrhosis-associated gynecomastia and increased serum levels of both estradiol and TBG was reported recently. His requirement of L-T4 was no longer increased after liver transplantation. We now report the case of a man with primary hypothyroidism under stable replacement therapy with L-T4 until exposure to an exogenous cause of hyperestrogenemia caused increased L-T4 requirement associated to TBG excess. In addition to increased TBG, the high levels of estrogens had caused the appearance of gynecomastia. We fully corrected primary hypothyroidism upon eliminating his exposure to the source of estrogens. Hyperestrogenism can be a cause of increased L-T4 requirement through the rise of circulating levels of TBG also in man with no residual thyroid function. Keywords: Thyroxine-binding globulin, Estrogens, Thyrotropin, Levothyroxine therapy, Refractory hypothyroidis

Relation of Birthweight and Ovarian and Uterine Size Prior to Menarche

During pregnancy, supply of nutrients and exposure of the mother to environmental factors can influence fetus phenotype, possibly modifying growth of fetal tissues and organs. Few studies inconsistently reported that fetuses exposed to an insufficient energy supply, as those born small for gestational age, may have a reduced volume of uterus and ovaries. A retrospective analysis was performed on ultrasound data performed between 2012 and 2018 in 69 young premenarchal girls, 5 to 9\ua0years of age, attending our endocrine\u2013gynecologic clinic for a suspect of early puberty. Length of pregnancy and birthweight was also retrieved. When corrected for age, and presence of ovarian follicles, ovarian volume was positively (R2 = 0.210; p = 0.001) related to percentiles of birthweight (beta coefficient 0.012; 95% CI, 0.002\u20130.021). Similarly, uterine volume was positively (R2 = 0.237; p = 0.005) related to percentiles of birthweight (beta coefficient 0.067; 95% CI, 0.021\u20130.114). Ovarian (p = 0.034) and uterine (p = 0.014) volume was higher in the upper 3rd distribution of birthweight percentiles. In conclusion, development of ovarian and uterine volume increases progressively with the increase of birthweight percentiles. The data indicate an association between birthweight and the volume of uterus and ovary at 5\u20139\ua0years of age

Increased requirement of replacement doses of levothyroxine caused by liver cirrhosis

Background: Since hypothyroidism is a fairly common dysfunction, levothyroxine (L-T4) is one of the most prescribed medications. Approximately 70% of the administered L-T4 dose is absorbed. The absorption process takes place in the small intestine. Some disorders of the digestive system and some medicines, supplements, and drinks cause L-T4 malabsorption, resulting in failure of serum TSH to be normal. Only rarely liver cirrhosis is mentioned as causing L-T4 malabsorption. Case report: In this study, we report increased requirement of daily doses of l-thyroxine in two patients with the atrophic variant of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and liver cirrhosis. In one patient, this increased requirement could have been contributed by the increased serum levels of the estrogen-dependent thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG), which is the major plasma carrier of thyroid hormones. In the other patient, we switched from tablet L-T4 to liquid L-T4 at the same daily dose. Normalization of TSH levels was achieved, but TSH increased again when she returned to tablet L-T4. Conclusion: Liver cirrhosis can cause increased L-T4 requirements. In addition to impaired bile secretion, the mechanism could be increased serum TBG. A similar increased requirement of L-T4 is observed in other situations characterized by elevation of serum TBG. Because of better intestinal absorption, L-T4 oral liquid formulation is able to circumvent the increased need of L-T4 in these patients

A Case of Advanced Tubal Ectopic Pregnancy after Emergency Contraception

Ectopic pregnancy is a relatively common condition and an important cause of morbidity in women of childbearing age. The most frequent implantation site is the fallopian tube. Most cases are diagnosed in an early gestational period. Patients come to the attention of clinicians for pelvic pain and vaginal blood loss, and consequent diagnosis is made through clinical presentation, laboratory tests, and ultrasound. Other rarer implantation sites such as the abdominal cavity give space for ectopic pregnancy to grow until later gestational ages, delaying diagnosis. This is a rare case of a healthy 41-year-old woman with an advanced ectopic pregnancy after emergency contraception with Ulipristal Acetate. The patient went to visit for amenorrhea after taking a contraceptive. Evaluation with ultrasound demonstrated a 10 + 4 weeks’ unruptured tubal pregnancy with fetal heart rate. The patient underwent laparoscopic salpingectomy without complication. This is the first case of such an advanced ectopic pregnancy in a woman who performed emergency contraception with Ulipristal Acetate