Middleware architectures for the smart grid: A survey on the state-of-the-art, taxonomy and main open issues

The integration of small-scale renewable energy sources in the smart grid depends on several challenges that must be overcome. One of them is the presence of devices with very different characteristics present in the grid or how they can interact among them in terms of interoperability and data sharing. While this issue is usually solved by implementing a middleware layer among the available pieces of equipment in order to hide any hardware heterogeneity and offer the application layer a collection of homogenous resources to access lower levels, the variety and differences among them make the definition of what is needed in each particular case challenging. This paper offers a description of the most prominent middleware architectures for the smart grid and assesses the functionalities they have, considering the performance and features expected from them in the context of this application domain

Area Littlewood-Paley functions associated with Hermite and Laguerre operators

In this paper we study Lp-boundedness properties for area Littlewood-Paley functions associated with heat semigroups for Hermite and Laguerre operator

Controlled localization of interacting bosons in a disordered optical lattice

We show that tunneling and localization properties of interacting ultracold atoms in an optical lattice can be controlled by adiabatically turning on a fast oscillatory force even in the presence of disorder. Our calculations are based on the exact solution of the time-dependent Schroedinger equation, using the Floquet formalism. Implications of our findings for larger systems and the possibility of controlling the phase diagram of disordered-interacting bosonic systems are discussed.Comment: 7 pages 7 fig

The moderating role of gender on entrepreneurial intentions: a TPB perspective

Purpose: To disentangle the ways in which social norms shape entrepreneurial intentions of university students and to analyse the moderating effect of gender that may arise. Design/methodology/approach: We have used the entrepreneurial intention model based on Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) literature and moderated by students’ gender affecting this intention. We tested some hypotheses using data from undergraduate business students in Spain and their entrepreneurial intentions. Findings: Our results suggest that perceived behavioural control and attitudes affect the entrepreneurial intentions of university students towards entrepreneurship while subjective norms do not. Furthermore, our findings reveal that the moderating effect of gender has a positive influence for women in the relationship between those subjective norms and the perceived behavioural control. However, as to some research done so far, the moderating role of gender does not seem to have a particular effect on predicting entrepreneurial intentions when moderating TPB dimensions. Practical implications: Given the socio-economic benefits attributed to entrepreneurship, the results allow the design of more effective education initiatives and policies. Originality/value: This research provides support for the application of the TPB, allowing for a better understanding of gender differences in entrepreneurial intentions

Maxillofacial reconstruction in a pediatric patient with Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is a bone tumor that consists of malignant cells that produce immature bone. Is a bone tumor that develops during periods of rapid growth in adolescents and young adults. It is the most common type of bone cancer in children and adolescents. The diagnosis and treatment of patients with osteosarcoma requires a multidisciplinary team approach. Resection of maxillary tumours remains a surgical challenge due to the possible aesthetic and functional secuelae. We present herein the case of a 15 year-old female with an osteoblastic osteosarcoma of the left maxilla. It was treated with eight cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by a total left maxillectomy. Resection was performed through a modified Ferguson-Weber approach, using a titanium mesh to reconstruct the orbital base and the maxillary process. A palatal obturator was placed at the same time. The use of a three-dimensional model by stereolithography is extremely helpful in planning and performing the maxillectomy, as well as the facial reconstructio

The Use of Stone Columns on Settlement and Liquefaction Susceptible Soils

The new Paradisus Coco Beach Resort in Rio Grande (PR) is located on an old swamp area, which has been filled with relatively clean to silty sands. The swampy deposits consists of organic silts, peat and loose fine to medium sand and silty sand. The project requires the placement of 1.0 to 1.5 meters of additional fill together with the construction of light structures. The need for the fill will trigger the development of settlements in the underlaying weak, and compressible stratum. Furthermore, the susceptibility of the loose sand to liquefaction during an earthquake was considered. This paper describes the soil improvement by means of vibro-replacement, the purpose of which was threefold: reduction in total and differential settlement, acceleration of settlements during the surcharge period and densification of the loose sand to reduce its liquefaction potential. The predesign is presented together with relevant construction details of the preliminary trial areas from which the final column diameter and grid spacing were derived. Instrumentation together with settlement observations during the surcharge period are presented as well and compared with the initial predictions

Degradabilidade in situ da matéria seca e proteína bruta das silagens de seis genótipos de sorgo (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) em diferentes estádios de maturação.

In order to evaluate the in situ degradability of the dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) of silages of six sorghum genotypes in different stages of maturation, four fistulated crossbred Holstein-Zebu steers, fed with grass hay ad libitum, were utilized. The silage samples were dried and milled at 5 mm screen and 5 g of each sample was placed in 12x18 cm nylon bags with a 50 micro m porous size, and were introduced into the fistulas. After incubation (6, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h), the nylon bags were removed, the samples from the same genotype, animal and time of incubation were transformed in a homogenous pool and milled at 1 mm screen, and stored for further analysis of DM and CP. It used the split-split plot design in which the parcels contained the silages of the different genotypes. In this study, there were differences in DM and CP disappearance of the sorghum silages, although these cannot be attributed to the percentage of grains in the different genotypes. The age of the plant influenced the effective degradability of digestible fractions, benefiting early stages.