Distributed power quality improvement in residential microgrids

The importance of power quality issue on micro grids and also the changing nature of power system distortions will lead the future power systems to use distributed power quality improvement (DPQI) devices. One possible choice of these DPQIs are multifunctional DGs that could compensate some harmonics in the location of generation and prevent the harmonics to enter main power grid. In this paper a control method based on virtual harmonic impedance is presented for these multifunctional DGs and the effect of the location of these DGs on compensation procedure is studied with simulating the different situations. Finally a comparison is presented between different states of using DGs as PQI devices. To verify the feasibility of the control method a comparison is done between the presented method results and IEEE power quality standard limits

Augmentation of Recipient Adaptive Alloimmunity by Donor Passenger Lymphocytes within the Transplant.

Chronic rejection of solid organ allografts remains the major cause of transplant failure. Donor-derived tissue-resident lymphocytes are transferred to the recipient during transplantation, but their impact on alloimmunity is unknown. Using mouse cardiac transplant models, we show that graft-versus-host recognition by passenger donor CD4 T cells markedly augments recipient cellular and humoral alloimmunity, resulting in more severe allograft vasculopathy and early graft failure. This augmentation is enhanced when donors were pre-sensitized to the recipient, is dependent upon avoidance of host NK cell recognition, and is partly due to provision of cognate help for allo-specific B cells from donor CD4 T cells recognizing B cell MHC class II in a peptide-degenerate manner. Passenger donor lymphocytes may therefore influence recipient alloimmune responses and represent a therapeutic target in solid organ transplantation.This work was supported by a British Heart Foundation project grant, the National Institute of Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre and the National Institute of Health Research Blood and Transplant Research Unit. IGH and JMA were supported by a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellowship and Raymond and Beverly Sackler Scholarship. KSP was supported by an Academy of Medical Sciences / Wellcome Trust starter grant.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2016.04.00

Modelling human choices: MADeM and decision‑making

Research supported by FAPESP 2015/50122-0 and DFG-GRTK 1740/2. RP and AR are also part of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics FAPESP grant (2013/07699-0). RP is supported by a FAPESP scholarship (2013/25667-8). ACR is partially supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

Catecholamine contents of different regions in the adult rat brain are altered following short and long-term exposures to Pb+2

Background: Catecholamine is a group of neurotransmitters that is believed to be responsible for the normal function of animal brain. Physiological and behavioral changes of the human body have been reported due to the damage of the brain function following Lead exposure. Due to the assumption of Lead disposal in brain tissue with two years for its half-life, which results in alteration of brain function, the aim of this study was to investigate the ability of Lead to change the brain catecholamines during short and long-term studies. Materials and Methods: Rats were exposed daily to varying amounts of Lead and the catecholamine contents of cerebellum, mid-brain and brain cortex were determined. Results: Acute peritoneal administration of single dose of Lead as Lead acetate (260 µmol/kg) after 2h reduced (P<0.05) catecholamine levels of cerebellum, mid-brain and cortex part by 34.9%, 35.44% and 23.8%, respectively. The extension of experiment time to 5h, the significant (P<0.05) reductions were seen in catecholamine levels of mentioned regions of brain by 32.35%, 12.35% and 19.3%, respectively. Daily intraperitoneal administration of 10 µmol/kg Lead for 30 and 60 days reduced catecholamines levels of cerebellum (22.22% and 30.44%), mid-brain (12.48% and 26.27%) and brain cortex (11.58% and 26.7%), respectively. Conclusion: It can be concluded that brain dysfunction in Lead intoxicated rat occurred through the reduction in the catecholamine levels of different parts of brain. Therefore, Lead might be considered as a probable factor in causing neurological disease in Lead-exposed man

A dictionary learning approach for spatio-temporal characterization of absence seizures

International audienc

DTI-based response-driven modeling of mTLE laterality

Purpose: To develop lateralization models for distinguishing between unilateral and bilateral mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) and determining laterality in cases of unilateral mTLE. Background: mTLE is the most common form of medically refractory focal epilepsy. Many mTLE patients fail to demonstrate an unambiguous unilateral ictal onset. Intracranial EEG (icEEG) monitoring can be performed to establish whether the ictal origin is unilateral or truly bilateral with independent bitemporal ictal origin. However, because of the expense and risk of intracranial electrode placement, much research has been done to determine if the need for icEEG can be obviated with noninvasive neuroimaging methods, such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Methods: Fractional anisotropy (FA) was used to quantify microstructural changes reflected in the diffusivity properties of the corpus callosum, cingulum, and fornix, in a retrospective cohort of 31 patients confirmed to have unilateral (n = 24) or bilateral (n = 7) mTLE. All unilateral mTLE patients underwent resection with an Engel class I outcome. Eleven were reported to have hippocampal sclerosis on pathological analysis; nine had undergone prior icEEG. The bilateral mTLE patients had undergone icEEG demonstrating independent epileptiform activity in both right and left hemispheres. Twenty-three nonepileptic subjects were included as controls. Results: In cases of right mTLE, FA showed significant differences from control in all callosal subregions, in both left and right superior cingulate subregions, and in forniceal crura. Comparison of right and left mTLE cases showed significant differences in FA of callosal genu, rostral body, and splenium and the right posteroinferior and superior cingulate subregions. In cases of left mTLE, FA showed significant differences from control only in the callosal isthmus. Significant differences in FA were identified when cases of right mTLE were compared with bilateral mTLE cases in the rostral and midbody callosal subregions and isthmus. Based on 11 FA measurements in the cingulate, callosal and forniceal subregions, a response-driven lateralization model successfully differentiated all cases (n = 54) into groups of unilateral right (n = 12), unilateral left (n = 12), and bilateral mTLE (n = 7), and nonepileptic control (23). Conclusion: The proposed response-driven DTI biomarker is intended to lessen diagnostic ambiguity of laterality in cases of mTLE and help optimize selection of surgical candidates. Application of this model shows promise in reducing the need for invasive icEEG in prospective cases