Building lighting energy consumption modelling with hybrid neural-statistic approaches

"In the proposed work we aim at modelling building lighting energy consumption. We compared several classical methods to the latest Artificial Intelligence. modelling technique: Artificial Neural Networks Ensembling (ANNE). Therefore, in this study we show how we built the ANNE and a new hybrid model based on the. statistical-ANNE combination. Experimentation has been carried out over a three. months data set coming from a real office building located in the ENEA ‘Casaccia’. Research Centre. Experimental results show that the proposed hybrid statistical-ANNE approach can get a remarkable improvement with respect to the best classical method(the statistical one).

Light-front model of the kaon electromagnetic current

The electromagnetic form factor is extracted from both components of the electromagnetic current: J(plus) and J(minus) with a pseudo-scalar coupling of the quarks to the kaon. In the case of J(plus) there is no pair term contribution in the Drell-Yan frame. However, J(minus) component of the electromagnetic current the pair term contribution is different from zero and is necessary include it to preserve the rotational symmetry of the current.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, uses World Scientific style file. To be published by World Scientific in the proceedings of the "VIII International Workshop on Hadron Physics,(HADRONS 2002)", Bento Goncalves, RS, Brazi

The IkB kinase inhibitor nuclear factor-kB essential modulator–binding domain peptide for inhibition of balloon injury-induced neointimal formation

Objective—The activation of nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) is a crucial step in the arterial wall’s response to injury. The identification and characterization of the NF-kB essential modulator– binding domain (NBD) peptide, which can block the activation of the IkB kinase complex, have provided an opportunity to selectively abrogate the inflammation-induced activation of NF-kB. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the NBD peptide on neointimal formation.<br></br> Methods and Results—In the rat carotid artery balloon angioplasty model, local treatment with the NBD peptide (300 microg/site) significantly reduced the number of proliferating cells at day 7 (by 40%; P<0.01) and reduced injury-induced neointimal formation (by 50%; P<0.001) at day 14. These effects were associated with a significant reduction of NF-kB activation and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 expression in the carotid arteries of rats treated with the peptide. In addition, the NBD peptide (0.01 to 1 micromol/L) reduced rat smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Similar results were observed in apolipoprotein E-/-, mice in which the NBD peptide (150 microg/site) reduced wire-induced neointimal formation at day 28 (by 47%; P<0.01).<br></br> Conclusion—The NBD peptide reduces neointimal formation and smooth muscle cell proliferation/migration, both effects associated with the inhibition of NF-kB activation

Quality of life in alopecia areata: A disease-specific questionnaire

Background Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease affecting about 2% of the population, which has a considerable impact on quality of life (QoL). There are no disease-specific questionnaires to assess QoL in patients suffering from AA. Objective To validate a new disease-specific questionnaire for AA, named AA-QLI, and to compare the consequent Quality of Life Index (QLI) with the commonly known Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) to verify if it can provide a more comprehensive tool for patients. Methods A total of 50 patients affected by AA were administered both the AA-QLI, created by us, and the well-known DLQI. With the aim to detect suitable QLI, we propose to use two multivariate analyses: a principal component analysis approach on the data collected with both questionnaires to compare their capability to measure the QoL; a structural equation modelling on our AA-QLI to identify which category of symptoms mostly affects the QoL. Results The scores of both the questionnaires are quite close, except for a few cases. Statistical analysis shows a higher specificity of the AA-QLI for evaluating QoL. Among the three areas in which AA-QLI is divided, 'Relationship' has a major impact on the QLI, followed by 'Subjective symptoms'; 'Objective signs' has a lower weight on the QLI. Conclusion AA-QLI is a good instrument to evaluate the real impact of AA on QoL. It can be helpful both for the physician and for the patient. © 2012 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology

Effects of Isometric Handgrip Training in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BackgroundMeta‐analyses have shown that isometric handgrip training (IHT) can reduce brachial systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) by >6/4 mm Hg, respectively. However, whether IHT promotes these effects among patients with peripheral artery disease, who exhibit severe impairment in cardiovascular function, is currently unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of IHT on the cardiovascular function of patients with peripheral artery disease. Methods and ResultsA randomized controlled trial with peripheral artery disease patients assigned to either the IHT or control group was conducted. The IHT group performed 3 sessions per week, for 8 weeks, of unilateral handgrip exercises, consisting of 4 sets of isometric contractions for 2 minutes at 30% of maximum voluntary contraction and a 4‐minute interval between sets. The control group received a compression ball in order to minimize the placebo effects, representing sham training. The primary outcome was brachial BP. The secondary outcomes were central BP, arterial stiffness parameters, cardiac autonomic modulation, and vascular function. The IHT program reduced diastolic BP (75 [10] mm Hg preintervention versus 72 [11] mm Hg postintervention), with no change in the control group (74 [11] mm Hg preintervention versus 74 [11] mm Hg postintervention), with this between‐group difference being significant (P=0.04). Flow‐mediated dilation improved in the IHT group (6.0% [5.7] preintervention versus 9.7% [5.5] postintervention), with no change in the control group (7.6% [5.5] preintervention versus 7.4% [5.1] postintervention), with this between‐group difference being significant (P=0.04). There was no change in other measured variables over the intervention period. ConclusionsIHT reduced brachial diastolic BP and improved local vascular function in patients with peripheral artery disease

Many-body system with a four-parameter family of point interactions in one dimension

We consider a four-parameter family of point interactions in one dimension. This family is a generalization of the usual $\delta$-function potential. We examine a system consisting of many particles of equal masses that are interacting pairwise through such a generalized point interaction. We follow McGuire who obtained exact solutions for the system when the interaction is the $\delta$-function potential. We find exact bound states with the four-parameter family. For the scattering problem, however, we have not been so successful. This is because, as we point out, the condition of no diffraction that is crucial in McGuire's method is not satisfied except when the four-parameter family is essentially reduced to the $\delta$-function potential.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Insulin-mediated increases in arterial baroreflex control of muscle sympathetic nerve activity following meal intake in humans [abstract]

Animal studies indicate that insulin enhances arterial baroreflex (ABR) control of sympathetic nerve activity (SNA); however, the extent to which these findings can be extrapolated to humans is unknown. To begin to address this, we utilized a mixed meal as a physiological method to evoke sustained increases in plasma insulin