Long term vibration data analysis from wind turbine -statistical vs energy based features

Wind turbines are operating in varying conditions. Therefore, the recorded signal is highly nonstationary. The typical approach for damage detection in long term data is based on the energy and spectral analysis. This method, suffer for several drawbacks, especially for the signals with high contamination. Thus, the alternative approach is the application of statistical parameters that may indicate the damage. In order to indicate the frequency band corresponding to the damage the proper statistics are used. In this paper, the well know spectral kurtosis and another statistic are applied to the long-term vibration data from wind turbine. Their performance is compared with the standard energy based methods. It is showed that selectors are able to track the damage development and distinguish between healthy and unhealthy case

Unveiling the impact of over-tourism : a case study on Zakopane, exploring symptoms, effects, and strategies for sustainable management

PURPOSE: The main purpose of the considerations presented in the article was to determine the symptoms, effects and strategies for sustainable management aimed at limiting the negative effects of overtourism in Zakopane.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The most important sources of data and information include the following: 1. analysis of existing data (including reports, strategies, statistical data, scientific publications) related to the area and subject of research. 2. participant observation conducted in places of concentration of tourist traffic. 3. Questionnaire interviews containing elements of in-depth interviews conducted with representatives of local authorities, associations, private and public entities in the tourism industry, commercial entities, tourists and residents of Zakopane. The original questionnaire was developed, among others, based on the results of the UNWTO report.FINDINGS: The most important identified causes of overtourism include the following: 1. The relatively small area covered by the city and the national park, 2. Easy access to Zakopane by various means of transport and relatively close proximity to the Krakow agglomeration. 3. High level of tourist attractiveness of the place in question. 4. The influence of social media and a specific fashion for tourist stays in Zakopane. 5. Sometimes low capacity of tourist routes. 6. Lack of tools to control tourist flows. 7. Implementation of standard tourist programs, showing only the most famous places by people guiding tourists. The most important identified symptoms and effects of overtourism in Zakopane include: 1. Periodic lack of accommodation. 2. Crowds on city streets and tourist trails. 3. Communication problems, traffic jams, overcrowded public transport. 4. Social conflicts, reluctance of the local community towards tourists. 5. Increased prices of basic food products. Solutions aimed at limiting the negative impact of overtourism on Zakopane include all initiatives that contribute to "flattening" peak periods. These include the following: 1. Queue and waiting time management. 2. Promoting alternative tourist attractions (maps, tourist routes), 3. Promoting quality. 4. Dynamic control of tourist flows. 5. Regulation of the accommodation rental system. 6. Dispersion of tourist traffic in time and space.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The presented research results and author's recommendations have broad implementation values. Both local authorities and entrepreneurs operating in the field of tourism services may be interested in their implementation.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The original research concept as well as the adopted methodology can be considered an innovative tool for diagnosing causes and effects in overtourism not only in Zakopane, but also in other areas of strong concentration of tourist traffic.Research work financed by the Polish Ministry of Education and Science as part of the activities of the University Research Program "Humanistic and social aspects of physical culture", project “Overtourism and sustainable development: conditions - social perception – counteraction” implemented at the Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw.peer-reviewe

Informative frequency band identification method using bi-frequency map clustering for fault detection in rotating machines

In presented work the problem of local damage detection in rolling element bearings is addressed. Usually such issues require the usage of the techniques of decomposition, separation etc. In such real industrial cases main difficulty lies in relatively low signal-to-noise ratio as well as unpredictable distribution of damage-related information in the frequency domain, hence the typical methods cannot be used. In this paper such industrial scenario is addressed and a simple yet effective approach to underlying component extraction will be discussed. Proposed method analyzes Cyclic Spectral Coherence map as starting data representation, and Expectation-Maximization is used as analytical tool to determine the informative frequency band (IFB) for impulsive component localization in the carrier frequency spectrum. Finally, based on identified IFB, the bandpass filter is constructed to extract the impulsive component from the input signal

INTEGRATION PLATFORM AS CENTRAL SERVICE OF DATA REPLICATION IN DISTRIBUTED MEDICAL SYSTEM

The paper presents the application of Java Integration Platform (JIP) to data replicationin the distributed medical system. After an introductory part on the medical system’s architecture,the focus shifts to a comparison of different approaches that exist with regard totransferring data between the system’s components. A description is given of the historicaldata processing and of the whole area of the JIP application to the medical system

Life-threatening conditions in newborn - neonatal thyrotoxicosis. Case presentation

Tyreotoksykoza noworodków jest rzadkim, zagrażającym życiu (śmiertelność 12-25%) i następstwami odległymi schorzeniem. W pracy przedstawiono przypadek noworodka przyjętego na oddział intensywnej terapii w 16. dobie życia w przełomie tyreotoksycznym, u którego rozpoznanie tyreotoksykozy było utrudnione, ponieważ nie prezentował on objawów typowych dla hipertyreozy, czyli wola i objawów ocznych. Na pierwszy plan wysuwały się objawy sugerujące zakażenie wewnątrzmaciczne w postaci zielonych, mętnych wód płodowych, wcześniactwa, cech dystrofii wewnątrzmacicznej, braku przyrostu masy ciała, powiększenia wątroby i śledziony. Na zakażenie wewnątrzmaciczne wskazywały też wyniki badań pomocniczych, takie jak: wysokie stężenie białka C-reaktywnego (CRP [C-reactive protein] 51,4 mg/l, n: 0–5), leukopenia (L 2,6 × 109/l, n: 6,0-21,0) trombocytopenia (płytki krwi 57,0 × 109/l, n: 170,0-500,0), nieznaczny wzrost stężenia bilirubiny i enzymów wątrobowych (AspAt, AlAt) oraz hipomagnezemia. Kolejnym utrudnieniem rozpoznania tyreotoksykozy u noworodka było niezdiagnozowanie u matki choroby Gravesa i Basedowa, której początek datował się na trzeci trymestr ciąży.Neonatal thyrotoxicosis is a rare, life-threatening condition with mortality rates of 12–25% and late sequelae. The authors present a male newborn admitted to Intensive Care Unit with tyreotoxic crisis when 16 days old, in whom diagnosing tyreotoxicosis was hindered, since the boy did not present with typical signs, i.e. goiter and exophthalmus. His major symptoms suggested intrauterine infection (green, opaque amniotic fluid, prematurity, intrauterine dystrophy, failure to thrive, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly). Intrauterine infection was also indicated by lab results, such as high CRP values (51.4 mg/l, normal range: 0-5), leukopenia (L 2.6 × 109/l, normal range: 6.0-21.0), thrombocytopenia (platelets 57.0 × 109/l, normal range: 170.0-500.0), as well as mildly increased bilirubin and hepatic enzymes (AspAt, AlAt) and hypomagnesemia. Another hindrance of diagnosing tyreotoxicosis was failure to diagnose and treat maternal Graves’ disease with the onset in the third trimester of pregnancy

Negligible Effect of Estrogen Deficiency on Development of Skeletal Changes Induced by Type 1 Diabetes in Experimental Rat Models

Although postmenopausal osteoporosis often occurs concurrently with diabetes, little is known about interactions between estrogen deficiency and hyperglycemia in the skeletal system. In the present study, the effects of estrogen deficiency on the development of biochemical, microstructural, and mechanical changes induced by streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus (DM) in the rat skeletal system were investigated. The experiments were carried out on nonovariectomized (NOVX) and ovariectomized (OVX) control and diabetic mature female Wistar rats. Serum levels of bone turnover markers (CTX-I and osteocalcin) and 23 cytokines, bone mass and mineralization, histomorphometric parameters, and mechanical properties of cancellous and compact bone were determined. The results were subjected to two-way ANOVA and principal component analysis (PCA). Estrogen deficiency induced osteoporotic changes, with increased bone resorption and formation, and worsening of microstructure (femoral metaphyseal BV/TV decreased by 13.0%) and mechanical properties of cancellous bone (the maximum load in the proximal tibial metaphysis decreased by 34.2%). DM in both the NOVX and OVX rats decreased bone mass, increased bone resorption and decreased bone formation, and worsened cancellous bone microarchitecture (for example, the femoral metaphyseal BV/TV decreased by 17.3% and 18.1%, respectively, in relation to the NOVX controls) and strength (the maximum load in the proximal tibial metaphysis decreased by 35.4% and 48.1%, respectively, in relation to the NOVX controls). Only in the diabetic rats, profound increases in some cytokine levels were noted. In conclusion, the changes induced by DM in female rats were only slightly intensified by estrogen deficiency. Despite similar effects on bone microstructure and strength, the influence of DM on the skeletal system was based on more profound systemic homeostasis changes than those induced by estrogen deficiency

Hypercortisolism in children - a difficult, interdisciplinary diagnostic and therapeutic problem

WSTĘP. Endogenny zespół Cushinga (CS) występuje rzadko u dzieci i młodzieży, a różnorodny obraz kliniczny utrudnia jego rozpoznanie i leczenie. MATERIAŁ I METODY. Analizie poddano 10 chorych z endogennym CS w wieku od 1 miesiąca do 16 lat, leczonych w klinice w okresie ostatnich 25 lat - 4 raki kory nadnerczy (AC), 2 gruczolaki, 3 mikrogruczolaki przysadki (choroba Cushinga [CD]), 1 mikroguzkowy rozrost nadnerczy (PPNAD) - w celu wykazania typowych dla różnych postaci CS problemów diagnostyczno-leczniczych. Przedstawiono je na przykładzie 6-miesięcznego chorego z AC, 7-letniej chorej z PPNAD oraz 16-letniej chorej z CD. WYNIKI. Wspólną cechą była otyłość o typie cushingoidalnym, nadciśnienie tętnicze, różnego stopnia androgenizacja oraz kolejno: zahamowanie wzrastania, przedwczesne dojrzewanie (AC, PPNAD) lub wtórny brak miesiączki (CD), plethora (AC) oraz rozstępy skórne (CD). W całej grupie 10 chorych rodzaj i nasilenie objawów zależały od wartości stężeń hormonów, czasu trwania oraz postaci CS. U wszystkich stwierdzono zaburzenie rytmu kortyzolemii, i kolejno: hiperkortyzolemię wraz ze zwiększonym wydalaniem kortyzolu z moczem (AC), zwiększone wydalanie kortyzolu (CD, PPNAD) o typie cyklicznym w PPNAD. Zmiany organiczne uwidoczniono za pomocą badań CT i MRI w AC, a nie uwidoczniono w PPNAD i CD. Pomocny był test z CRH w rozpoznaniu CD oraz profil steroidowy GC-MS w przypadku PPNAD. W wyrównywaniu nadciśnienia chory na AC (200/140 mm Hg) wymagał zahamowania syntezy mineralokortykoidów i kortyzolu (ketokonazol, mitotan). Po leczeniu operacyjnym, po którym u wszystkich ustąpiły objawy CS, włączono substytucję hydrokortyzonem (u chorej z PPNAD, u której wykonano jednostronną adrenalektomię dopiero po przełomie nadnerczowym). W przypadku chorego na AC, u którego stosowano mitotan przez 7 miesięcy po operacji, wznowę w badaniach MRI i GC-MS stwierdzono po 4 latach. WNIOSKI. Hiperkortyzolemia u dzieci może stanowić zagrożenie życia, a ustalenie jej przyczyn oraz sposobu leczenia wymaga indywidualnego postępowania.INTRODUCTION. Endogenous Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is rare in children and adolescents and its diversified clinical presentation hinders diagnosis and treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS. The analysis included 10 patients aged 1 month to 16 years of life with endogenous CS, who were treated at the Department within the past 30 years: 4 adrenal carcinomas (AC), 2 adenomas, 3 pituitary microadenomas (Cushing’s disease [CD]), 1 primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease (PPNAD), to demonstrate diagnostic and therapeutic problems typical of various CS forms. The problems were exemplified by a 6-month old boy with AC, a 7-year old girl with PPNAD and a 16-year old girl with CD. RESULTS. Common properties included cushingoid obesity, hypertension, a variable degree of androgenization and delay in growth velocity, precocious puberty (AC, PPNAD) or secondary amenorrhea (CD), plethora (AC) and striae (CD). In all 10 analyzed patients, the presence and intensity of clinical signs of CS depended on age, intensity of hormonal abnormalieties, duration of disease and its form. All the patients demonstrated abnormal 24 hour rhythm of cortisolemia and in AC hypercortisolemia with increased urinary cortisol excretion, increased cortisol excretion (CD, PPNAD), which was cyclic in character in PPNAD. Organic lesions were visualized by CT and MRI in AC, but not seen in PPNAD and CD. In diagnosing CD, CRH test was helpful; while diagnosing PPNAD was facilitated by steroid profiling by GC-MS. Controlling hypertension in a patient with AC (200/140 mm Hg) required inhibition of mineralocorticoids and cortisol synthesis (ketoconazole, mitotane). Following surgical treatment, all the patients showed resolution of Cushing’s symptoms. Hydrocortisone substitution was introduced in all the patients (in a PPNAD girl subjected to a unilateral adrenalectomy, after an adrenal crisis). An AC patient administered mitotane for 7 months postoperatively, showed carcinoma recurrence after 4 years in MRI an GC-MS examinations. CONCLUSIONS. Hypercortisolemia in children may be life threatening and determination of its causes and treatment modality requires an individualized approach

Novel mutation-deletion in the PHOX2B gene of the patient diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, Hirschsprung's Disease, and Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (NB-HSCR-CCHS) Cluster

INTRODUCTION: Neuroblastoma (NB), Hirschsprung disease (HSCR), Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS), clinically referred as the NB-HSCR-CCHS cluster, are genetic disorders linked to mutations in the PHOX2B gene on chromosome 4p12. SPECIFIC AIM: The specific aim of this project is to define the PHOX2B gene mutations as the genomic basis for the clinical manifestations of the NB-HSCR-CCHS cluster. PATIENT: A one day old male patient presented to the Jagiellonian University Medical College (JUMC), American Children Hospital, neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to abdominal distention, vomiting, and severe apneic episodes. With the preliminary diagnosis of the NB-HSCR-CCHS, the blood and tissue samples were acquired from the child, as well as from the child’s parents. All procedures were pursued in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, with the patient’s Guardian Informed Consent and the approval from the Institutional Review Board. GENETIC/GENOMIC METHODS: Karyotyping was analyzed based upon Giemsa banding. The patient’s genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood and amplified by polymerase chain reaction. Direct microfluidic Sanger sequencing was performed on the genomic DNA amplicons. These procedures were pursued in addition to the routine clinical examinations and tests. RESULTS: G-banding showed the normal 46 XY karyotype. However, genomic sequencing revealed a novel, heterozygous deletion (8 nucleotides: c.699–706, del8) in exon 3 of the PHOX2B gene on chromosome 4. This led to the frame-shift mutation and malfunctioning gene expression product. CONCLUSION: Herein, we report a novel PHOX2B gene mutation in the patient diagnosed with the NB-HSCR-CCHS cluster. The resulting gene expression product may be a contributor to the clinical manifestations of these genetic disorders. It adds to the library of the mutations linked to this syndrome. Consequently, we suggest that screening for the PHOX2B mutations becomes an integral part of genetic counseling, genomic sequencing of fetal circulating nucleic acids and / or genomes of circulating fetal cells prenatally, while preparing supportive therapy upon delivery, as well as on neonates' genomes of intubated infants, when breathing difficulties occur upon extubation. Further, we hypothesize that PHOX2B may be considered as a potential target for gene therapy

Analiza stężenia pyłku dębu w wybranych miastach Polski w 2015 r.

W pracy przedstawiono przebieg sezonu pylenia dębu w wybranych miastach Polski w 2015 r. Zanalizowano dane z pomiarów przeprowadzonych w Białymstoku, Bydgoszczy, Drawsku Pomorskim, Krakowie, Olsztynie, Opolu, Piotrkowie Trybunalskim, Sosnowcu, Szczecinie, Warszawie i we Wrocławiu. Badania prowadzono metodą objętościową przy wykorzystaniu aparatów Burkard i Lanzoni. Czas trwania sezonu pyłkowego wyznaczono jako okres, w którym w powietrzu występuje 95% rocznej sumy ziaren pyłku. Najwcześniej sezon pylenia dębu zaczął się w Sosnowcu (16 kwietnia). Najwyższe wartości średniodobowych stężeń pyłku dębu odnotowano we Wrocławiu, gdzie 25 kwietnia zanotowano stężenie 368 z/m3 powietrza.This paper presents the course of oak pollination season in selected cities of Poland in 2015. The measurements were performed in Bialystok, Bydgoszcz, Drawsko Pomorskie, Cracow, Olsztyn, Opole, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Sosnowiec, Szczecin, Warsaw and Wroclaw. Volumetric method with the use of Volumetric Spore Trap (Burkard and Lanzoni) was implemented. Pollen season was defined as the period in which 95% of the annual total catch occurred. The season started first in Sosnowiec (16 April). The highest 24-hour average pollen count was recorded in Wroclaw on 25 April (368 oak pollen grains/1 m3)