Integration of Novel Sensors and Machine Learning for Predictive Maintenance in Medium Voltage Switchgear to Enable the Energy and Mobility Revolutions

The development of renewable energies and smart mobility has profoundly impacted the future of the distribution grid. An increasing bidirectional energy flow stresses the assets of the distribution grid, especially medium voltage switchgear. This calls for improved maintenance strategies to prevent critical failures. Predictive maintenance, a maintenance strategy relying on current condition data of assets, serves as a guideline. Novel sensors covering thermal, mechanical, and partial discharge aspects of switchgear, enable continuous condition monitoring of some of the most critical assets of the distribution grid. Combined with machine learning algorithms, the demands put on the distribution grid by the energy and mobility revolutions can be handled. In this paper, we review the current state-of-the-art of all aspects of condition monitoring for medium voltage switchgear. Furthermore, we present an approach to develop a predictive maintenance system based on novel sensors and machine learning. We show how the existing medium voltage grid infrastructure can adapt these new needs on an economic scale

Adults' Awareness of Faces Follows Newborns' Looking Preferences

From the first days of life, humans preferentially orient towards upright faces, likely reflecting innate subcortical mechanisms. Here, we show that binocular rivalry can reveal face detection mechanisms in adults that are surprisingly similar to inborn face detection mechanism. We used continuous flash suppression (CFS), a variant of binocular rivalry, to render stimuli invisible at the beginning of each trial and measured the time upright and inverted stimuli needed to overcome such interocular suppression. Critically, specific stimulus properties previously shown to modulate looking preferences in neonates similarly modulated adults' awareness of faces presented during CFS. First, the advantage of upright faces in overcoming CFS was strongly modulated by contrast polarity and direction of illumination. Second, schematic patterns consisting of three dark blobs were suppressed for shorter durations when the arrangement of these blobs respected the face-like configuration of the eyes and the mouth, and this effect was modulated by contrast polarity. No such effects were obtained in a binocular control experiment not involving CFS, suggesting a crucial role for face-sensitive mechanisms operating outside of conscious awareness. These findings indicate that visual awareness of faces in adults is governed by perceptual mechanisms that are sensitive to similar stimulus properties as those modulating newborns' face preferences

Meditation and cognitive ageing: The role of mindfulness meditation in building cognitive reserve

Mindfulness-related meditation practices engage various cognitive skills including the ability to focus and sustain attention, which in itself requires several interacting attentional sub-functions. There is increasing behavioural and neuroscientific evidence that mindfulness meditation improves these functions and associated neural processes. More so than other cognitive training programmes, the effects of meditation appear to generalise to other cognitive tasks, thus demonstrating far transfer effects. As these attentional functions have been linked to age-related cognitive decline, there is growing interest in the question whether meditation can slow-down or even prevent such decline. The cognitive reserve hypothesis builds on evidence that various lifestyle factors can lead to better cognitive performance in older age than would be predicted by the existing degree of brain pathology. We argue that mindfulness meditation, as a combination of brain network and brain state training, may increase cognitive reserve capacity and may mitigate age-related declines in cognitive functions. We consider available direct and indirect evidence from the perspective of cognitive reserve theory. The limited available evidence suggests that MM may enhance cognitive reserve capacity directly through the repeated activation of attentional functions and of the multiple demand system and indirectly through the improvement of physiological mechanisms associated with stress and immune function. The article concludes with outlining research strategies for addressing underlying empirical questions in more substantial ways

Modelación del crecimiento, acumulación de biomasa y captura de carbono en árboles de Gmelina arborea Roxb., asociados a sistemas agroforestales y plantaciones homogéneas en Colombia

La presente investigación se realizó en diferentes zonas de bosque seco tropical en Colombia, que comprenden a los valles interandinos de los ríos Cauca y Magdalena, al igual que la llanura Caribe. En dichas regiones geográficas se establecieron experimentos que permitieron la modelación del crecimiento, acumulación de biomasa y captura de carbono en árboles de Gmelina arborea Roxb., asociados a sistemas agroforestales y plantaciones homogéneas. Se generaron parámetros morfológicos, funcionales, estructurales y dasométricos, desde el estado de plántula, en individuos juveniles, arboles adultos y rodales homogéneos que fueron sometidos a ambientes contrastantes de luz, disponibilidad de agua en el suelo y competencia expresada en el espaciamiento y arreglos de plantación. Todo lo anterior permitió generar una secuencia lógica, jerárquica y sistémica de simulación del crecimiento utilizando modelos basados en procesos para la comprensión del comportamiento de la especie en la generación de bienes y servicios ecosistémicos, lo que manifiesta su potencialidad como especie promisoria en el desarrollo forestal de Colombia.Abstract: This research was carried out in different areas of tropical dry forest in Colombia, comprising the valleys of the Cauca and Magdalena rivers, like the Caribbean plain. In these geographical regions experiments were carried that allowed the modeling of growth, biomass accumulation and carbon sequestration in Gmelina arborea trees, associated with homogeneous plantations and agroforestry systems. Morphological, functional, structural and dasometric parameters were generated from the seedling stage, in juveniles trees, adult trees and homogeneous stands that were subjected to contrasting light environments, availability of water in the soil and competence expressed in the spacing and arrangements plantation. All this allowed to generate a logic sequence hierarchical and systemic growth simulation using process-based models for understanding the behavior of the species in the generation of ecosystem goods and services, thereby demonstrating its potential as a promising species in development forestry of Colombia.Doctorad

Retrievable inferior vena cava filter utilization in obstetric patients

<p><b>Objectives:</b> The objective of this study is to evaluate patterns of use and outcomes of retrievable inferior vena cava filters (rIVCF) in obstetric patients.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> A single center review of consecutive patients who underwent rIVCF placement during pregnancy/postpartum in 2005–2016. A pooled analysis of the relevant cases in the English literature was conducted.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> The current cohort comprised 24 women, median age 27 [interquartile range 24–30] years. Among 10 filters placed during pregnancy, the most common indication (<i>n</i> = 4) was the need to withhold anticoagulation therapy before delivery, in the presence of acute thrombosis. In the postpartum period, most filters (64%, 9/14) were an adjunct to catheter-directed thrombolytic therapy. Inferior vena cava filters (IVCF)-related complications occurred in seven (29.2%). Retrieval was attempted in 21 patients (87.5%), and was technically successful in 19 (90.5%), for an overall removal rate of 79.1%. Pooled analysis of the literature (<i>n</i> = 98) showed comparable rates for filter removal and complications (81.6%, <i>p</i> = .78 and 24.2%, <i>p</i> = .60, respectively). Suprarenal placement (<i>p</i> = .12) and elective cesarean section (<i>p</i> = .19) did not reduce overall complication and retrieval rates. The estimated radiation dose among pregnant patients who underwent rIVCF placement without adjunct catheter directed thrombolysis (CDT) (mean 695 Gy cm²) was significantly lower than the radiation dose used in postpartum patients (1863 Gy cm²) or in pregnant patients in whom adjunct CDT was utilized (4059 Gy cm²) (<i>p</i> = .001 for both comparisons).</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Frequent rIVCF-related complications, radiation exposure, and removal failure call for their cautious utilization in obstetric patients. The role of suprarenal placement and elective cesarean section to improve outcomes has yet to be established.</p