Uncertainty Quantification for SAE J2954 Compliant Static Wireless Charge Components

The present work aims at quantifying how, and how much, the uncertainties on the components and material parameters of a wireless power transfer (WPT) system for the static charge of electric vehicles affect the overall efficiency and functionality of the final produced device. With the aim of considering the perspective of a possible industrial developer, the parameters selected for the uncertainty quantification are chosen to be the capacitance values of the compensation capacitors and the electromagnetic material parameters used for the construction of the magnetic structure of a WPT system, i.e. the parameters of the elements to be purchased. The analysis is based on a standard system among the ones provided by the current SAE J2954 recommended practice

Prevalence of common disease-associated variants in Asian Indians

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Asian Indians display a high prevalence of diseases linked to changes in diet and environment that have arisen as their lifestyle has become more westernized. Using 1200 genome-wide polymorphisms in 432 individuals from 15 Indian language groups, we have recently shown that: (i) Indians constitute a distinct population-genetic cluster, and (ii) despite the geographic and linguistic diversity of the groups they exhibit a relatively low level of genetic heterogeneity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We investigated the prevalence of common polymorphisms that have been associated with diseases, such as atherosclerosis (<it>ALOX5</it>), hypertension (<it>CYP3A5</it>, <it>AGT</it>, <it>GNB3</it>), diabetes (<it>CAPN10</it>, <it>TCF7L2</it>, <it>PTPN22</it>), prostate cancer (DG8S737, rs1447295), Hirschsprung disease (<it>RET</it>), and age-related macular degeneration (<it>CFH</it>, <it>LOC387715</it>). In addition, we examined polymorphisms associated with skin pigmentation (<it>SLC24A5</it>) and with the ability to taste phenylthiocarbamide (<it>TAS2R38</it>). All polymorphisms were studied in a cohort of 576 India-born Asian Indians sampled in the United States. This sample consisted of individuals whose mother tongue is one of 14 of the 22 "official" languages recognized in India as well as individuals whose mother tongue is Parsi, a cultural group that has resided in India for over 1000 years. Analysis of the data revealed that allele frequency differences between the different Indian language groups were small, and interestingly the variant alleles of <it>ALOX5 </it>g.8322G>A and g.50778G>A, and <it>PTPN22 </it>g.36677C>T were present only in a subset of the Indian language groups. Furthermore, a latitudinal cline was identified both for the allele frequencies of the SNPs associated with hypertension (<it>CYP3A5</it>, <it>AGT</it>, <it>GNB3</it>), as well as for those associated with the ability to taste phenylthiocarbamide (<it>TAS2R38</it>).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although caution is warranted due to the fact that this US-sampled Indian cohort may not represent a random sample from India, our results will hopefully assist in the design of future studies that investigate the genetic causes of these diseases in India. Our results also support the inclusion of the Indian population in disease-related genetic studies, as it exhibits unique genotype as well as phenotype characteristics that may yield new insights into the underlying causes of common diseases that are not available in other populations.</p

Variabilidad de los caracteres morfométricos y morfológicos de una población de Criconemetia curvata ( Raski, 1952 ) Luc & Raski, 1981 (Nematoda: Tylenchida)

Se llevó a cabo un estudio de la variabilidad de los calacteres morfométricos y morfológicos de una pobación (hembras y larvas) del nematodo fitófago Criconemella C'urvata (Raski, 1952) Luc &amp; Raski, 1981 proveniente de Córdoba, Argentina. Dicha variablidad fue conocida en base a: análisis estadístico de cada uno de los caracteres morfométricos y análisis de la frecuencia relativa de cada carácter morfológico dentro de la población. En el caso particular de las larvas, se demuestra que la utilización de la longitud de la porción cónica del est Tete permite discriminar con precisión los diferentes estadios. Se efectuó un estudio crítico de la importancia de cada grupo de caracteres en la definición de la especi

Functional conservation of the grapevine candidate gene INNER NO OUTER for ovule development and seed formation

Seedlessness represents a highly appreciated trait in table grapes. Based on an interesting case of seedless fruit production described in the crop species Annona squamosa, we focused on the Vitis vinifera INNER NO OUTER (INO) gene as a candidate. This gene encodes a transcription factor belonging to the YABBY family involved in the determination of abaxial identity in several organs. In Arabidopsis thaliana, this gene was shown to be essential for the formation and asymmetric growth of the ovule outer integument and its mutation leads to a phenotypic defect of ovules and failure in seed formation. In this study, we identified in silico the V. vinifera orthologue and investigated its phylogenetic relationship to INO genes from other species and its expression in different organs in seeded and seedless varieties. Applying cross-species complementation, we have tested its functionality in the Arabidopsis ino-1 mutant. We show that the V. vinifera INO successfully rescues the ovule outer integument growth and seeds set and also partially complements the outer integument asymmetric growth in the Arabidopsis mutant, differently from orthologues from other species. These data demonstrate that VviINO retains similar activity and protein targets in grapevine as in Arabidopsis. Potential implications for grapevine breeding are discussed

Oral hyposensitization to nickel induces clinical improvement and a decrease in TH1 and TH2 cytokines in patients with systemic nickel allergy syndrome.

Some patients with nickel (Ni) allergic contact dermatitis suffer from systemic (intestinal or cutaneous) symptoms after ingestion of Ni-rich foods and experience symptoms reduction with low-Ni diet, a condition termed "systemic Ni allergy syndrome" (SNAS). We aimed at evaluating whether oral administration of low nickel doses improved clinical conditions and modulated immunological aspects of SNAS, without significant side effects. Thirty-six SNAS patients were enrolled. Treatment started after 1-month of low-Ni diet and consisted in an incremental oral NiOH dose phase (0.3ng to 1.5 μg/week) followed by a 12-months maintenance phase (1.5 μg/week). Randomly, twenty-four patients added Ni therapy to low-Ni diet and 12 remained with diet alone. All patients were allowed rescue medications (antihistamines and topical steroids). After 4 months, Ni-rich foods were gradually reintroduced. In vitro allergen-driven IL13, IL5 and IFNγ release by peripheral blood mononuclear cells was evaluated before and after treatment. Twenty-three patients receiving NiOH and the 12 control patients completed the study. Evaluation of SNAS clinical severity (by VAS and drug consumption) showed a significant difference in favor of NiOH-treated patients compared to controls. Twenty of 23 patients in the NiOH group and none in the control group tolerated Ni-rich food reintroduction. Release of all studied cytokines in culture supernatants was significantly lower after NiOH treatment. In conclusion NiOH is effective in reducing symptoms and drug consumption in SNAS and is able to modulate inflammatory parameters

Evaluation of pathogenesis caused in cattle and guinea pig by a Mycobacterium bovis strain isolated from wild boar

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In many regions of the world, wild mammals act as reservoir of <it>Mycobacterium bovis</it>, a situation that prevents the eradication of bovine tuberculosis. In order to observe whether a strain isolated from a wild boar, previously tested as highly virulent in a mice model, is also virulent in cattle, we performed cattle experimental inoculation with this strain</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Groups of Friesian calves were either infected with the wild boar strain <it>M. bovis </it>04-303 or with the bovine strain NCTC10772 as a control. We found that antigen-specific IFN-γ release in whole blood samples occurred earlier in animals infected with <it>M. bovis </it>04-303. Both <it>M. bovis </it>strains resulted in a positive skin test, with animals infected with the wild boar isolate showing a stronger response. These results and the presence of more severe organ lesions, with granuloma and pneumonic areas in cattle demonstrate that the wild boar isolate is more virulent than the NCTC10772 strain. Additionally, we tested the infectivity of the <it>M. bovis </it>strains in guinea pigs and found that <it>M. bovis </it>04-303 had the highest pathogenicity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>M. bovis </it>strains isolated from wild boars may be pathogenic for cattle, producing TB lesions.</p

Advances in Li-Ion battery management for electric vehicles

This paper aims at presenting new solutions for advanced Li-Ion battery management to meet the performance, cost and safety requirements of automotive applications. Emphasis is given to monitoring and controlling the battery temperature, a parameter which dramatically affects the performance, lifetime, and safety of Li-Ion batteries. In addition to this, an innovative battery management architecture is introduced to facilitate the development and integration of advanced battery control algorithms. It exploits the concept of smart cells combined with an FPGA-based centralized unit. The effectiveness of the proposed solutions is shown through hardware-in-the-loop simulations and experimental results

IgE antibody repertoire in nasal secretions of children and adults with seasonal allergic rhinitis: a molecular analysis

Background: There is growing interest both in testing IgE in nasal secretions (NS) and in molecular diagnosis of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR). Yet, the reliability of nasal IgE detection with the newest molecular assays has never been assessed in a large cohort of pollen allergic patients. Objective: To investigate with microarray technology and compare the repertoires of specific IgE (sIgE) antibodies in NS and sera of a large population of children and adults with SAR. Methods: Nasal secretions were collected with an absorbent device (Merocel 2000®, Medtronic) and a minimal dilution procedure from 90 children and 71 adults with SAR. Total IgE (tIgE) (ImmunoCAP, Thermo Fisher&nbsp;Scientific (TFS)) and sIgE antibodies against 112 allergen molecules (ISAC-112, TFS) were measured in NS and serum. Results: Nasal sIgE was detectable in 68.3% of the patients. The detected nasal sIgE antibodies recognized airborne (88%), vegetable (10%), and animal food or other (&lt;1%) allergen molecules. The prevalence and average levels of sIgE in NS and serum were highly interrelated at population level. A positive nasal sIgE antibody to a given molecule predicted the detection of the same antibody in the patient's serum with a specificity of 99.7% and a sensitivity of 40%. Conclusions: The concentration of sIgE is much lower in nasal secretions than in the serum. sIgE assays with very high analytical sensitivity and sampling methods with minimal dilution will be therefore needed to validate nasal secretions as alternative to serum in testing the sIgE repertoire

LA FLORA INTESTINALE NEL PRIMO ANNO DI VITA DEL BAMBINO: PRIME CONSIDERAZIONI DALLO STUDIO ALLERGYFLORA.

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Short-term complexity indexes of heart period and systolic arterial pressure variabilities provide complementary information

It is unclear whether the complexity of the variability of the systolic arterial pressure (SAP) provides complementary information to that of the heart period (HP). The complexity of HP and SAP variabilities was assessed from short beat-to-beat recordings (i.e., 256 cardiac beats). The evaluation was made during a pharmacological protocol that induced vagal blockade with atropine or a sympathetic blockade (beta-Adrenergic blockade with propranolol or central sympathetic blockade with clonidine) alone or in combination, during a graded head-up tilt, and in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) without orthostatic hypotension undergoing orthostatic challenge. Complexity was quantified according to the mean square prediction error (MSPE) derived from univariate autoregressive (AR) and multivariate AR (MAR) models. We found that: 1) MSPEMAR did not provide additional information to that of MSPE AR; 2) SAP variability was less complex than that of HP; 3) because HP complexity was reduced by either vagal blockade or vagal withdrawal induced by head-up tilt and was unaffected by beta-Adrenergic blockade, HP was under vagal control; 4) because SAP complexity was increased by central sympathetic blockade and was unmodified by either vagal blockade or vagal withdrawal induced by head-up tilt, SAP was under sympathetic control; 5) SAP complexity was increased in patients with PD; and 6) during orthostatic challenge, the complexity of both HP and SAP variabilities in patients with PD remained high, thus indicating both vagal and sympathetic impairments. Complexity indexes derived from short HP and SAP beat-to-beat series provide complementary information and are helpful in detecting early autonomic dysfunction in patients with PD well before circulatory symptoms become noticeable