Evaluation of a Local Fault Detection Algorithm for HVDC Systems

A great increase in the amount of energy generated from clean and renewable sources integrated in the electric power system is expected worldwide in the coming years. High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) systems are seen as a promising alternative to the traditional Alternating Current (AC) systems for the expansion of the electric power system. However, to achieve this vision, there are some remaining challenges regarding HVDC systems which need to be solved. One of the main challenges is related to fault detection and location in HVDC grids. This paper reviews the main protection algorithms available and presents the evaluation of a local fault detection algorithm for DC faults in a multi-terminal Voltage Source Conversion (VSC) based HVDC grid. The paper analyses the influence of the DC voltage sampling frequency and the cable length in the performance of the algorithm. © 2019, European Association for the Development of Renewable Energy, Environment and Power Quality (EA4EPQ).The authors thank the support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (project ENE2016-79145-R AEI/FEDER, UE) and GISEL research group IT1083-16), as well as from the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU (research group funding PPG17/23)

Towards photonic biosensing using a three-port mach-zehnder interferometer in a silicon nitride platform

Integrated photonics enables sensitive and label-free optical biosensors for the detection of chemical and biological substances and is therefore promising for future lab-on-chip solutions. In this article we present our current development of silicon nitride based integrated photonic biosensing devices working at telecom wavelengths. Our approach of three-port based interferometric sensing circumvents the issues of conventional Mach-Zehnder interferometers, providing a constant sensitivity, and allowing to use a fixed wavelength sensing scheme. Preliminary experimental results show that the fabricated devices work as expected from simulations.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Spinorial formulation of the GW-BSE equations and spin properties of excitons in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides

In many paradigmatic materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides, the role played by the spin degrees of freedom is as important as the one played by the electron-electron interaction. Thus an accurate treatment of the two effects and of their interaction is necessary for an accurate and predictive study of the optical and electronic properties of these materials. Despite the fact that the GW-BSE approach correctly accounts for electronic correlations, the spin-orbit coupling effect is often neglected or treated perturbatively. Recently, spinorial formulations of GW-BSE have become available in different flavors in material-science codes. However, an accurate validation and comparison of different approaches is still missing. In this work, we go through the derivation of the noncollinear GW-BSE approach. The scheme is applied to transition metal dichalcogenides comparing the perturbative and full spinorial approaches. Our calculations reveal that dark-bright exciton splittings are generally improved when the spin-orbit coupling is included nonperturbatively. The exchange-driven intravalley mixing between the A and B excitons is found to play a role for Mo-based systems, being especially strong in the case of MoSe 2 . We finally compute the excitonic spin and use it to sharply analyze the spinorial properties of transition metal dichalcogenide excitonic states

Loss of presenilin function enhances tau phosphorylation and aggregation in mice

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40478-021-01259-7.Altres ajuts: This study was funded by ALBA Synchrotron project 2019013256 (to CAS and CMSF). CMSF and PSM are supported by predoctoral fellowships from UAB (PIF B16P0050).Mutations in the presenilin (PS/PSEN) genes encoding the catalytic components of γ-secretase accelerate amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau pathologies in familial Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although the mechanisms by which these mutations affect Aβ are well defined, the precise role PS/γ-secretase on tau pathology in neurodegeneration independently of Aβ is largely unclear. Here we report that neuronal PS deficiency in conditional knockout (cKO) mice results in age-dependent brain atrophy, inflammatory responses and accumulation of pathological tau in neurons and glial cells. Interestingly, genetic inactivation of presenilin 1 (PS1) or both PS genes in mutant human Tau transgenic mice exacerbates memory deficits by accelerating phosphorylation and aggregation of tau in excitatory neurons of vulnerable AD brain regions (e.g., hippocampus, cortex and amygdala). Remarkably, neurofilament (NF) light chain (NF-L) and phosphorylated NF are abnormally accumulated in the brain of Tau mice lacking PS. Synchrotron infrared microspectroscopy revealed aggregated and oligomeric β-sheet structures in amyloid plaque-free PS-deficient Tau mice. Hippocampal-dependent memory deficits are associated with synaptic tau accumulation and reduction of pre- and post-synaptic proteins in Tau mice. Thus, partial loss of PS/γ-secretase in neurons results in temporal- and spatial-dependent tau aggregation associated with memory deficits and neurodegeneration. Our findings show that tau phosphorylation and aggregation are key pathological processes that may underlie neurodegeneration caused by familial AD-linked PSEN mutations

Survival analysis of productive life in Florida dairy goats using a Cox proportional hazards model

Longevity is an economically important trait, since extending the functional life of a doe would allow us to keep the most productive females in the herd as long as possible, and this could result in the increased profitability of dairy farms. Thus, the objectives of this study were to determine the most important factors that influence the length of productive life (LPL) of female Florida goats and to estimate its genetic additive variance using a Cox proportional hazards model. The data consisted of 70,695 productive life records from 25,722 Florida females kidding between 2006 and 2020. A total of 19,495 does had completed their productive life while 6227 (24.2%) does had censored information. The pedigree contained information on 56,901 animals. The average censoring age and average failure age after first kidding for LPL were 36 and 47 months respectively. The model included, as time-independent effects, the age at first kidding and the interaction between herd, year and season of birth of the doe, and as time-dependent effects, the age at kidding, the interaction between herd, year and season of kidding, the within-herd class of milk production deviation, and the interaction between the lactation number and the stage of lactation. All fixed effects had a significant effect on LPL (p < 0.05). Does with older ages at the first kidding and an earlier age at kidding were at higher risk of being culled. A large difference among herds was observed in terms of culling risk, which highlighted the importance of adequate management practices. Also, high-producing does were less likely to be culled. The estimate of the additive genetic variance was 1.844 (in genetic standard deviation), with a heritability estimate of 0.58 ± 0.012. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the development of a genetic model for genetic evaluation of the length of the productive life of Spanish dairy goat breeds.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Moonlighting function of Phytochelatin synthase1 in extracellular defense against fungal pathogens

Phytochelatin synthase (PCS) is a key component of heavy metal detoxification in plants. PCS catalyzes both the synthesis of the peptide phytochelatin from glutathione and the degradation of glutathione conjugates via peptidase activity. Here, we describe a role for PCS in disease resistance against plant pathogenic fungi. The pen4 mutant, which is allelic to cadmium insensitive1 (cad1/pcs1) mutants, was recovered from a screen for Arabidopsis mutants with reduced resistance to the nonadapted barley fungal pathogen Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei. PCS1, which is found in the cytoplasm of cells of healthy plants, translocates upon pathogen attack and colocalizes with the PEN2 myrosinase on the surface of immobilized mitochondria. pcs1 and pen2 mutant plants exhibit similar metabolic defects in the accumulation of pathogen-inducible indole glucosinolate-derived compounds, suggesting that PEN2 and PCS1 act in the same metabolic pathway. The function of PCS1 in this pathway is independent of phytochelatin synthesis and deglycination of glutathione conjugates, as catalytic-site mutants of PCS1 are still functional in indole glucosinolate metabolism. In uncovering a peptidase-independent function for PCS1, we reveal this enzyme to be a moonlighting protein important for plant responses to both biotic and abiotic stresses

Filling in the gaps in biowaste biorefineries : The use of the solid residue after enzymatic hydrolysis for the production of biopesticides through solid-state fermentation

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABAlternative production processes using waste are necessary to preserve non-renewable resources and prevent scarcity of materials for future generations. Biowaste, the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, is abundant and easily available. It can be fractionated into building blocks for which fermentative processes can be designed. By using solid-state fermentation, this paper proposes a method of valorizing biowaste's residual solid fraction after enzymatic hydrolysis. In a 22 L bioreactor, two digestates from anaerobic digestion processes were evaluated as cosubstrates to modify the acidic pH of the solid residue after enzymatic hydrolysis and promote the growth of the bacterial biopesticide producer Bacillus thuringiensis. Regardless of the cosubstrate used, the final microbial populations were similar indicating microbial specialization. The final product contained 4 × 10 spores per gram of dry matter and also crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis, which have insecticidal activity against pests. This method allows for the sustainable use of all materials liberated during the enzymatic hydrolysis of biowaste, including residual solids

Active polymers containing Lactobacillus curvatus CRL705 bacteriocins: effectiveness assessment in Wieners

Fil: Blanco Massani, Mariana R. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial. INTI-Plásticos; ArgentinaFil: Eisenberg, Patricia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial. INTI-Plásticos; ArgentinaFil: Vignolo, Graciela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial. INTI-Plásticos; ArgentinaFil: Molina, V. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial. INTI-Plásticos; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez, M. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial. INTI-Plásticos; ArgentinaFil: Renaud, V. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; Argentin