Power system static and dynamic security studies for the 1st phase of Crete Island Interconnection

The island of Crete is currently served by an autonomous electrical system being fed by oil-fired (Heavy fuel or light Diesel oil) thermal power plants and renewables (wind and PVs). The peak load and annual electric energy consumption are approximately 600 MW and 3 TWh respectively; wind and photovoltaic parks contribute approximately 20% of the electricity needs of the island. Due to the expensive fuel used, the Cretan power system has very high electric energy generation cost compared to the Greek mainland. On the other side the limited size of the system poses severe limitations to the penetration of renewable energy sources, not allowing to further exploit the high wind and solar potential of the island. According to the Ten Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) of the Greek TSO (Independent Power Transmission Operator S.A. IPTO S.A.), the interconnection of Crete to the mainland Transmission System of Greece will be realized through two links: A 150 kV HVAC link between the Peloponnese and the Crete (Phase I) and a HVDC link connecting the metropolitan area of Athens with Crete (Phase II). The total length of submarine and underground cable of the HVAC link will be approximately 174km; it is at the limits of the AC technology and the longest and deepest worldwide at 150 kV level. A number of studies have been conducted by a joint group of IPTO and Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO) for the design of this interconnection. This paper presents briefly the power system static and dynamic studies conducted for the design of the AC link and its operation. Firstly, the paper presents the main results of the static security study regarding the calculation of the maximum power transfer capability of the link and the selection of the reactive power compensation scheme of the cable. Results from dynamic security analysis studies are also presented. The small-signal stability analysis concludes that a new (intra-area) electromechanical oscillation is introduced to the National System after the interconnection. The damping of the electromechanical oscillations is sufficient; however the operation of power system stabilizers at power plants located both at the mainland and at Crete power system can increase significantly the damping of important oscillation modes. Finally with respect to the risk of loss of synchronism after a significant disturbance in the system of Crete, such as a three-phase fault (“transient stability”)- enough safety margin is estimated by means of Critical Clearing Time calculations

Power system static and dynamic security studies for the 1st phase of Crete Island Interconnection

The island of Crete is currently served by an autonomous electrical system being fed by oil-fired (Heavy fuel or light Diesel oil) thermal power plants and renewables (wind and PVs). The peak load and annual electric energy consumption are approximately 600 MW and 3 TWh respectively; wind and photovoltaic parks contribute approximately 20% of the electricity needs of the island. Due to the expensive fuel used, the Cretan power system has very high electric energy generation cost compared to the Greek mainland. On the other side the limited size of the system poses severe limitations to the penetration of renewable energy sources, not allowing to further exploit the high wind and solar potential of the island. According to the Ten Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) of the Greek TSO (Independent Power Transmission Operator S.A. IPTO S.A.), the interconnection of Crete to the mainland Transmission System of Greece will be realized through two links: A 150 kV HVAC link between the Peloponnese and the Crete (Phase I) and a HVDC link connecting the metropolitan area of Athens with Crete (Phase II). The total length of submarine and underground cable of the HVAC link will be approximately 174km; it is at the limits of the AC technology and the longest and deepest worldwide at 150 kV level. A number of studies have been conducted by a joint group of IPTO and Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO) for the design of this interconnection. This paper presents briefly the power system static and dynamic studies conducted for the design of the AC link and its operation. Firstly, the paper presents the main results of the static security study regarding the calculation of the maximum power transfer capability of the link and the selection of the reactive power compensation scheme of the cable. Results from dynamic security analysis studies are also presented. The small-signal stability analysis concludes that a new (intra-area) electromechanical oscillation is introduced to the National System after the interconnection. The damping of the electromechanical oscillations is sufficient; however the operation of power system stabilizers at power plants located both at the mainland and at Crete power system can increase significantly the damping of important oscillation modes. Finally with respect to the risk of loss of synchronism after a significant disturbance in the system of Crete, such as a three-phase fault (“transient stability”)- enough safety margin is estimated by means of Critical Clearing Time calculations

Silencing of caveolin-1 in fibroblasts as opposed to epithelial tumor cells results in increased tumor growth rate and chemoresistance in a human pancreatic cancer model

Caveolin‑1 (Cav‑1) expression has been shown to be associated with tumor growth and resistance to chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer. The primary aim of this study was to explore the significance of Cav‑1 expression in pancreatic cancer cells as compared to fibroblasts in relation to cancer cell proliferation and chemoresistance, both in vitro and in vivo, in an immunodeficient mouse model. We also aimed to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of Cav‑1 in the epithelial and stromal component of pancreatic cancer tissue specimens. The immunohistochemical staining of poorly differentiated tissue sections revealed a strong and weak Cav‑1 expression in the epithelial tumor cells and stromal fibroblasts, respectively. Conversely, the well‑differentiated areas were characterized by a weak epithelial Cav‑1 expression. Cav‑1 downregulation in cancer cells resulted in an increased proliferation in vitro; however, it had no effect on chemoresistance and growth gain in vivo. By contrast, the decreased expression of Cav‑1 in fibroblasts resulted in a growth advantage and the chemoresistance of cancer cells when they were co‑injected into immunodeficient mice to develop mixed fibroblast/cancer cell xenografts. On the whole, the findings of this study suggest that the downregulation of Cav‑1 in fibroblasts is associated with an increased tumor proliferation rate in vivo and chemoresistance. Further studies are warranted to explore whether the targeting of Cav‑1 in the stroma may represent a novel therapeutic approach in pancreatic cancer

Epidemiology of intra-abdominal infection and sepsis in critically ill patients: “AbSeS”, a multinational observational cohort study and ESICM Trials Group Project

Purpose: To describe the epidemiology of intra-abdominal infection in an international cohort of ICU patients according to a new system that classifies cases according to setting of infection acquisition (community-acquired, early onset hospital-acquired, and late-onset hospital-acquired), anatomical disruption (absent or present with localized or diffuse peritonitis), and severity of disease expression (infection, sepsis, and septic shock). Methods: We performed a multicenter (n = 309), observational, epidemiological study including adult ICU patients diagnosed with intra-abdominal infection. Risk factors for mortality were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Results: The cohort included 2621 patients. Setting of infection acquisition was community-acquired in 31.6%, early onset hospital-acquired in 25%, and late-onset hospital-acquired in 43.4% of patients. Overall prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was 26.3% and difficult-to-treat resistant Gram-negative bacteria 4.3%, with great variation according to geographic region. No difference in prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was observed according to setting of infection acquisition. Overall mortality was 29.1%. Independent risk factors for mortality included late-onset hospital-acquired infection, diffuse peritonitis, sepsis, septic shock, older age, malnutrition, liver failure, congestive heart failure, antimicrobial resistance (either methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Gram-negative bacteria, or carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria) and source control failure evidenced by either the need for surgical revision or persistent inflammation. Conclusion: This multinational, heterogeneous cohort of ICU patients with intra-abdominal infection revealed that setting of infection acquisition, anatomical disruption, and severity of disease expression are disease-specific phenotypic characteristics associated with outcome, irrespective of the type of infection. Antimicrobial resistance is equally common in community-acquired as in hospital-acquired infection

Memantine and recognition memory: Possible facilitation of its behavioral effects by the nitric oxide (NO) donor molsidomine

The effects of the non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist memantine on recognition memory were investigated in the rat by using the object recognition task. In addition, a possible interaction between memantine and the nitric oxide (NO) donor molsidomine in antagonizing extinction of recognition memory was also evaluated utilizing the same behavioral procedure. In a first dose-response study, post-training administration of memantine (10 and 20, but not 3 mg/kg) antagonized recognition memory deficits in the rat, suggesting that memantine modulates storage and/or retrieval of information. In a subsequent study, combination of sub-threshold doses of memantine (3 mg/kg) and the NO donor molsidomine (1 mg/kg) counteracted delay-dependent impairments in the same task. Neither memantine (3 mg/kg) nor molsidomine (1 mg/kg) alone reduced object recognition performance deficits. The present findings indicate a) that memantine is involved in recognition memory and b) support a functional interaction between memantine and molsidomine on recognition memory mechanisms. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Crocus sativus L. extracts antagonize memory impairments in different behavioural tasks in the rat

The effects of extracts of Crocus sativus L. (CSE), on memory were investigated in the rat by using the object recognition and the step-through passive avoidance task. In the first study, post-training administration of CSE (30 and 60 g/kg) successfully counteracted extinction of recognition memory in the normal rat, suggesting that CSE modulates storage and/or retrieval of information. In a subsequent study, pre-training treatment with CSE (30 and 60 mg/kg) significantly antagonized the scopolamine (0.75 mg/kg)-induced performance deficits in the step-through passive avoidance test. These results support and extend prior findings about the implication of CSE in learning and memory mechanisms. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The 5-HT2c receptor antagonist RO 60-0491 counteracts rats' retention deficits in a recognition memory task

The effects of the 5-HT2C receptor antagonist RO 60-0491 on recognition memory were investigated in the rat by using the object recognition task. Post-training administration of RO 60-0491 at 3 mg/kg, but not at 1 mg/kg, counteracted rats' performance deficits in the object recognition task, suggesting that this 5-HT2C receptor antagonist compound modulates storage and/or retrieval of information. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved