Determination of the thermodynamic temperature between 236 K and 430 K from speed of sound measurements in helium

We report speed of sound measurements in helium at 273.16 K and at eight temperatures in the range between 236 K and 430 K. These results determine the difference (T  −  T 90) between the thermodynamic temperature T and its approximation T 90 by the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90). The uncertainty of our measurements of (T  −  T 90) spans between a minimum of 0.25 mK near 247 K and a maximum of 0.89 mK at the freezing point of indium (429.75 K) with comparable contributions from the uncertainty of our acoustic determination of T and from the uncertainty of our laboratory realization of ITS-90. On the overlapping temperature ranges these results are consistent with other recent acoustic determinations of (T  −  T 90). We also present evidence that (T  −  T 90) can be determined with comparably small uncertainties by the alternative, time-saving procedure of measuring the speed-of-sound in helium using only a single, judiciously-chosen, pressure on each isotherm

Evaluation of strand-to-strand capacitance and dissipation factor in thermally aged enamelled coils for low-voltage electrical machines

© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2019. The dissipation factor (i.e. tanδ) and insulation capacitance (IC) measurements are conventional monitoring methods for assessing the aging level of insulation systems. These quantities provide an invaluable indication of the dielectric losses within the insulating materials. However, how these values are affected by the aging processes due to thermal stresses have until today never been investigated fully. Thus, this study exhibits the influence of thermal aging on tanδ and IC of windings for electrical machines (EMs). The work is performed for class 200, round enamelled magnet wire specimens. The study aims at improving the design process of EMs for short duty cycle applications; hence, its outcome might be included at the design stage for enhancing reliability and lifetime. Random wound coils are chosen in the performed study, because they are the most common winding arrangement for low-voltage EMs, which are employed in a wide range of applications (e.g. from home appliances to aerospace motors). Based on the collected data, considerations regarding the impact of relative humidity on both the dissipation factor and IC are presented. Finally, the correlation between the partial discharge inception voltage and the diagnostic measurements is experimentally verified

A revisited and general Kane’s formulation applied to very flexible multibody spacecraft

Abstract. Current space missions require predicting the spacecraft dynamics with considerable reliability. Among the various components of a spacecraft, subsystems like payload, structures, and power depend heavily on the dynamic behavior of the satellite during its operational life. Therefore, to ensure that the results obtained through numerical simulations correspond to the actual behavior, an accurate dynamical model must be developed. In this context, an implementation of Kane’s method is presented to derive the dynamical equations of a spacecraft composed of both rigid and flexible bodies connected via joints in tree topology. Starting from the kinematics of two generic interconnected bodies, a systematic approach is derived and the recursive structure of the equations is investigated. The Kane’s formulation allows a relatively simple derivation of the equation of motion while obtaining the minimum set of differential equations, which implies lower computational time. On the other hand, this formulation excludes reaction forces and torques from the dynamical equations. Nevertheless, in this work a strategy to compute them a posteriori without further numerical integrations is presented. Flexibility is introduced through the standard modal decomposition technique, so that modal shapes obtained by FEA software can be directly utilized to characterize the elastic motion of the flexible bodies. A spacecraft composed of a rigid bus and several flexible appendages is modeled and numerical simulations point out that this systematic method is very effective for this illustrative example

High prevalence of anti-hepatitis e virus antibodies among blood donors in central Italy, february to march 2014

Prevalence of anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) antibodies is highly variable in developed countries, which seems partly due to differences in assay sensitivity. Using validated sensitive assays, we tested 313 blood donors attending a hospital transfusion unit in central Italy in January and February 2014 for anti-HEV IgG and IgM and HEV RNA. Data on HEV exposure were collected from all donors. Overall anti-HEV IgG prevalence was 49% (153/313). Eating raw dried pig-liver sausage was the only independent predictor of HEV infection (adjusted prevalence rate ratio = 2.14; 95% confidence interval: 1.23–3.74). Three donors were positive for either anti-HEV IgM (n = 2; 0.6%) or HEV RNA (n = 2; 0.6%); they were completely asymptomatic, without alanine aminotransferase (ALT) abnormalities. Of the two HEV RNA-positive donors (both harbouring genotype 3), one was anti-HEV IgG- and IgM-positive, the other was anti-HEV IgG- and IgM-negative. The third donor was positive for anti-HEV IgG and IgM but HEV RNA-negative. HEV infection is therefore hyperendemic among blood donors (80% men 18–64 years-old) from central Italy and associated with local dietary habits. Nearly 1% of donors have acute or recent infection, implying potential transmission to blood recipients. Neither ALT nor anti-HEV IgM testing seems useful to prevent transfusion-transmitted HEV infection. © 2016, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

Assessment of Trends and Uncertainties in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Height Estimated Using Radiosounding Observations over Europe

Trends in atmospheric boundary layer height may represent an indication of climate changes. The related modified interaction between the surface and free atmosphere affects both thermodynamics variables and dilution of chemical constituents. Boundary layer is also a major player in various feedback mechanisms of interest for climate models. This paper investigates trends in the nocturnal and convective boundary layer height at mid-latitudes in Europe using radiosounding profiles from the Integrated Global Radiosounding Archive (IGRA). Atmospheric data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ReAnalysis v5 (ERA5) and from the GCOS Reference Upper-Air Network (GRUAN) Lindenberg station are used as intercomparison datasets for the study of structural and parametric uncertainties in the trend analysis. Trends are calculated after the removal of the lag-1 autocorrelation term for each time series. The study confirms the large differences reported in literature between the boundary layer height estimates obtained with the two different algorithms used for IGRA and ERA5 data: ERA5 shows a density distribution with median values of 350 m and 1150 m for the night and the daytime data, respectively, while the corresponding IGRA median values are of 1150 m and 1750 m. An overall good agreement between the estimated trends is found for nighttime data, while daytime ERA5 boundary layer height estimates over Europe are characterized by a lower spatial homogeneity than IGRA. Parametric uncertainties due to missing data in both the time and space domain are also investigated: the former is not exceeding 1.5 m, while the latter are within 10 m during night and 17 m during the day. Recommendations on dataset filtering based on time series completeness are provided. Finally, the comparison between the Lindenberg data as processed at high-resolution by GRUAN and as provided to IGRA at a lower resolution, shows the significant impact of using high-resolution data in the determination of the boundary layer height, with differences from about 200 m to 450 m for both night and day, as well as a large deviation in the estimated trend

High glucose-induced hyperosmolarity contributes to COX-2 expression and angiogenesis: Implications for diabetic retinopathy

Background: We tested the hypothesis that glucose-induced hyperosmolarity, occurring in diabetic hyperglycemia, promotes retinal angiogenesis, and that interference with osmolarity signaling ameliorates excessive angiogenesis and retinopathy in vitro and in vivo. Methods and Results: We incubated human aortic (HAECs) and dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMVECs) with glucose or mannitol for 24 h and tested them for protein levels and in vitro angiogenesis. We used the Ins2 Akita mice as a model of type 1 diabetes to test the in vivo relevance of in vitro observations. Compared to incubations with normal (5 mmol/L) glucose concentrations, cells exposed to both high glucose and high mannitol (at 30.5 or 50.5 mmol/L) increased expression of the water channel aquaporin-1 (AQP1) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2. This was preceded by increased activity of the osmolarity-sensitive transcription factor Tonicity enhancer binding protein (TonEBP), and enhanced endothelial migration and tubulization in Matrigel, reverted by treatment with AQP1 and TonEBP siRNA. Retinas of Ins2 Akita mice showed increased levels of AQP1 and COX-2, as well as angiogenesis, all reverted by AQP1 siRNA intravitreal injections. Conclusions: Glucose-related hyperosmolarity seems to be able to promote angiogenesis and retinopathy through activation of TonEBP and possibly increasing expression of AQP1 and COX-2. Osmolarity signaling may be a target for therapy

Stem Cell Aging and Age-Related Cardiovascular Disease: Perspectives of Treatment by Ex-vivo Stem Cell Rejuvenation.

Aging affects endogenous stem cells in terms of functionality and numbers. In particular, during aging, the stemness property can decrease because of enhanced apoptotic cell death and senescence. In addition, aging and aging-related co-morbidities affect the paracrine activity of stem cells and the efficiency of their transplantation. Collectively, this leads to a reduction of the capacity of organs to repair themselves, possibly due to a reduced functional capability of stem cells. Therefore, major efforts have been invested to improve the repair capability of stem cells in aged individuals by overexpressing antisenescence and antiapoptotic genes. In this review, we describe critical genes and signaling pathways in stem cell aging and discuss ex vivo genetic modification approaches aimed at stem cell rejuvenation that are of interest for the cardiovascular system

Arithmetically Cohen-Macaulay Bundles on complete intersection varieties of sufficiently high multidegree

Recently it has been proved that any arithmetically Cohen-Macaulay (ACM) bundle of rank two on a general, smooth hypersurface of degree at least three and dimension at least four is a sum of line bundles. When the dimension of the hypersurface is three, a similar result is true provided the degree of the hypersurface is at least six. We extend these results to complete intersection subvarieties by proving that any ACM bundle of rank two on a general, smooth complete intersection subvariety of sufficiently high multi-degree and dimension at least four splits. We also obtain partial results in the case of threefolds.Comment: 15 page

Structural and functional neuroimaging studies in generalized anxiety disorder: a systematic review

Objectives: Brain imaging studies carried out in patients suffering from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) have contributed to better characterize the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this disorder. The present study reviews the available functional and structural brain imaging evidence on GAD, and suggests further strategies for investigations in this field. Methods: A systematic literature review was performed in PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar, aiming to identify original research evaluating GAD patients with the use of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging as well as diffusion tensor imaging. Results: The available studies have shown impairments in ventrolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, posterior parietal regions, and amygdala in both pediatric and adult GAD patients, mostly in the right hemisphere. However, the literature is often tentative, given that most studies have employed small samples and included patients with comorbidities or in current use of various medications. Finally, different methodological aspects, such as the type of imaging equipment used, also complicate the generalizability of the findings. Conclusions: Longitudinal neuroimaging studies with larger samples of both juvenile and adult GAD patients, as well as at risk individuals and unaffected relatives, should be carried out in order to shed light on the specific biological signature of GAD

Dynamics of concurrent and sequential Central European and Scandinavian heatwaves

In both 2003 and 2018 a heatwave in Scandinavia in July was followed by a heatwave in Central Europe in August. Whereas the transition occurred abruptly in 2003, it was gradual in 2018 with a 12-day period of concurrent heatwaves in both regions. This study contrasts these two events in the context of a heatwave climatology to elucidate the dynamics of both concurrent and sequential heatwaves. Central European and, in particular, concurrent heatwaves are climatologically associated with weak pressure gradient (WPG) events over Central Europe, which indicate the absence of synoptic activity over this region. One synoptic pattern associated with such events is Scandinavian blocking. This pattern is at the same time conducive to heatwaves in Scandinavia, thereby providing a mechanism by which Scandinavian and Central European heatwaves can co-occur. Further, the association of WPG events with Scandinavian blocking constitutes a mechanism that allows heatwaves to grow beyond the perimeter of the synoptic system from which they emanated. A trajectory analysis of the source regions of the low-level air incorporated in the heatwaves indicates rapidly changing air mass sources throughout the heatwaves in both regions, but no recycling of heat from one heatwave to the other. This finding is line with a composite analysis indicating that transitions between Scandinavian and Central European heatwaves are merely a random coincidence of heatwave onset and decay