81 research outputs found
Distributed Generation unit and Capacitor Placement for Multi-objective Optimization
Distributed Generation (DG) and capacitor placement and the tap setting of ULTC transformers can be used individually to improve the voltage profile and loss reduction. In this article, the Genetic Algorithm (GA) is applied to optimize the multi-objective function for DG and capacitor placement with tap setting of ULTC. The objective function consists the loss reduction, voltage improvement and increasing the available transfer capability (ATC) of the distribution network. To show the effectiveness of the proposed method, it is applied to IEEE 41 bus radial distribution network. The results show that this method has a better effect on improving the objective functions.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v2i5.159
First report of two ichneumonid wasp species from Iran
طی بررسـیهای انجامشده جهت شناسایی پارازیتوئیدهای لارو شبپرهی کرم گلوگاه انار،Ectomyelois ceratoniae Zeller (Lep.: Pyralidae)، در باغات انار استان قم، منطقهی قلهچم واقع در 15 کیلومتری جنوب غربی شهر قم و استان مرکزی، منطقهی ساوه، که در طی سالهای 86-1385 صورت گرفت، 2 گونه زنبور پارازیتوئید از خانوادهی Ichneumonidae از روی لاروهای شبپرهی فوق جمعآوری گردید که برای اولین بار از ایران گزارش میشوند
Independent Review Support for Phoenix Mars Mission Robotic Arm Brush Motor Failure
The Phoenix Project requested the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) perform an independent peer review of the Robotic Arm (RA) Direct Current (DC) motor brush anomalies that originated during the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Project and recurred during the Phoenix Project. The request was to evaluate the Phoenix Project investigation efforts and provide an independent risk assessment. This includes a recommendation for additional work and assessment of the flight worthiness of the RA DC motors. Based on the investigation and findings contained within this report, the IRT concurs with the risk assessment Failure Cause / Corrective Action (FC/CA) by the project, "Failure Effect Rating "3"; Major Degradation or Total Loss of Function, Failure Cause/Corrective Action Rating Currently "4"; Unknown Cause, Uncertainty in Corrective Action.
Toxicity of Three Insecticides to Lysiphlebus fabarum, a Parasitoid of the Black Bean Aphid, Aphis fabae
The toxicity of three insecticides to Lysiphlebus fabarum (Marshall) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae), a parasitoid of Aphis fabae Scopoli (Hemiptera: Aphididae), was investigated using IOBC/wprs protocols. Abamectin 1.8 EC, imidacloprid 350 SC, and pymetrozine 25 WP were tested under laboratory conditions at recommended field rates. Immature stages of the parasitoid were exposed to materials by briefly dipping mummified aphids into insecticide solutions/suspensions or water (controls). Abamectin, imidacloprid, and pymetrozine caused 44.8, 58.5, and 14.5% mortality of mummies, respectively. Insecticides were also applied to broad bean foliage until run-off using a hand sprayer and the contact toxicity of residues was investigated after 1, 5, 16 and 30 day periods of outdoor weathering by caging adult wasps on treated plants for 24 h. One day-old residues of abamectin, imidacloprid, and pymetrozine produced 52.5, 90.0 and 57.0% mortality, respectively, and 5 day-old residues produced 28.1, 77.0 and 18.6% mortality. Sixteen day-old residues produced 8.8, 22.4 and 13.6% mortality, whereas 30 day-old residues produced 0.0, 3.2 and 1.1% mortality, respectively. On the basis of these results, abamectin and pymetrozine were classified as short-lived compounds (Class A) and imidacloprid as a slightly persistent compound (Class B)
Targeting CD22 Reprograms B-Cells and Reverses Autoimmune Diabetes
OBJECTIVES—To investigate a B-cell–depleting strategy to reverse diabetes in naïve NOD mice
The potential utility of B cell-directed biologic therapy in autoimmune diseases
Increasing awareness of the importance of aberrant B cell regulation in autoimmunity has driven the clinical development of novel B cell-directed biologic therapies with the potential to treat a range of autoimmune disorders. The first of these drugs—rituximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody against the B cell-specific surface marker CD20—was recently approved for treating rheumatoid arthritis in patients with an inadequate response to other biologic therapies. The aim of this review is to discuss the potential use of rituximab in the management of other autoimmune disorders. Results from early phase clinical trials indicate that rituximab may provide clinical benefit in systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren’s syndrome, vasculitis, and thrombocytopenic purpura. Numerous case reports and several small pilot studies have also been published reporting the use of rituximab in conditions such as myositis, antiphospholipid syndrome, Still’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. In general, the results from these preliminary studies encourage further testing of rituximab therapy in formalized clinical trials. Based on results published to date, it is concluded that rituximab, together with other B cell-directed therapies currently under clinical development, is likely to provide an important new treatment option for a number of these difficult-to-treat autoimmune disorders
Human cell types important for Hepatitis C Virus replication in vivo and in vitro. Old assertions and current evidence
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a single stranded RNA virus which produces negative strand RNA as a replicative intermediate. We analyzed 75 RT-PCR studies that tested for negative strand HCV RNA in liver and other human tissues. 85% of the studies that investigated extrahepatic replication of HCV found one or more samples positive for replicative RNA. Studies using in situ hybridization, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, and quasispecies analysis also demonstrated the presence of replicating HCV in various extrahepatic human tissues, and provide evidence that HCV replicates in macrophages, B cells, T cells, and other extrahepatic tissues. We also analyzed both short term and long term in vitro systems used to culture HCV. These systems vary in their purposes and methods, but long term culturing of HCV in B cells, T cells, and other cell types has been used to analyze replication. It is therefore now possible to study HIV-HCV co-infections and HCV replication in vitro
The risks and benefits of long-term use of hydroxyurea in sickle cell anemia: A 17.5 year follow-up.
A randomized, controlled clinical trial established the efficacy and safety of short-term use of hydroxyurea in adult sickle cell anemia. To examine the risks and benefits of long-term hydroxyurea usage, patients in this trial were followed for 17.5 years during which they could start or stop hydroxyurea. The purpose of this follow-up was to search for adverse outcomes and estimate mortality. For each outcome and for mortality, exact 95% confidence intervals were calculated, or tests were conducted at alpha = 0.05 level (P-value \u3c0.05 for statistical significance). Although the death rate in the overall study cohort was high (43.1%; 4.4 per 100 person-years), mortality was reduced in individuals with long-term exposure to hydroxyurea. Survival curves demonstrated a significant reduction in deaths with long-term exposure. Twenty-four percent of deaths were due to pulmonary complications; 87.1% occurred in patients who never took hydroxyurea or took it for \u3c5 years. Stroke, organ dysfunction, infection, and malignancy were similar in all groups. Our results, while no longer the product of a randomized study because of the ethical concerns of withholding an efficacious treatment, suggest that long-term use of hydroxyurea is safe and might decrease mortality
Influence of Atomic Hydrogen, Band Bending, and Defects in the Top Few Nanometers of Hydrothermally Prepared Zinc Oxide Nanorods
Safety and tolerability of an anti-CD19 monoclonal antibody, MEDI-551, in subjects with systemic sclerosis: a phase I, randomized, placebo-controlled, escalating single-dose study
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