Offshore wind power integration to support weak grid voltage for industrial loads using VSC-HVDC transmission system

This paper investigates the integration of the offshore wind power plant into the grid using voltage source converter high-voltage direct current (VSC-HVDC). The paper proposes both offshore and onshore converter stations control to support voltage variation in grid. Heavy industrial loads result in a weak grid. In this paper, the effect on industrial loads by the grid strength is shown. Then the paper proposes a solution for the grid voltage support for industrial loads connected to weak grids. The results showed that the increase of grid voltage from 0.7 pu to 1 pu at full load condition that provides a continuous operation without any interruption. The system was modelled using MATLAB/Simulink package

Vaginal carriage and antibiotic susceptibility profile of group B Streptococcus during late pregnancy in Ismailia, Egypt

SummaryGroup B Streptococcus (GBS) infection has long been recognized as a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in newborn infants. The purpose of this study was to determine the colonization rate with GBS and the antibiotic susceptibility profile in pregnant women attending Gynecological clinics in Egypt. One-hundred and fifty vaginal swabs were collected from pregnant women at 35–40 weeks of gestation. In comparison to culture, direct latex agglutination testing revealed 100% sensitivity and 93.75% specificity. Thirty-eight specimens (25.3%) were found to be positive for GBS. Each isolate was tested for susceptibility to penicillin G, ampicillin, cefotaxime, erythromycin, clindamycin and vancomycin. Erythromycin-resistant isolates were further classified by double-disk method. All isolates were susceptible to penicillin G, ampicillin and vancomycin. Resistance to cefotaxime was detected in three isolates (7.89%). Five isolates (13.15%) were resistant to erythromycin and nine isolates (23.68%) were resistant to clindamycin. Four (80%) isolates had constitutive macrolide–lincosamide–StreptograminB resistance (cMLSBB) resistance and one (20%) isolate had inducible resistance (iMLSB) resistance. GBS colonization was found to be high in our region. Latex agglutination testing and Islam medium are reliable methods to detect GBS in late pregnancy; however, latex agglutination test is rapid and simpler. Penicillin G remains the first choice antibiotic for treatment of GBS infections

Quality of Experience-Enabled Social Networks

Social Networks (SNs), such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, have become ubiquitous in our daily life. However, as the number of SN users grows, the SN usage grows and there is higher demand for users’ Quality of Experience (QoE). For instance, some users would prefer to filter some posts, e.g. unwanted friendship requests and certain categories of posts, i.e. sports related posts. Users may also prefer to subscribe to a higher Quality of Service (QoS) level with their SN provider to have, for instance, higher priority on posting/retrieving. 3GPP 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC)-Based systems are all IP network architectures that enable users to connect to mobile networks through their mobile devices and seamlessly change from one access technology to another. EPC systems enable service provisioning with guaranteed and differentiated end-to-end QoS. This thesis proposes a novel architecture that enables differentiated QoS and information filtering in SNs to improve the users QoE. The SN is deployed on top of 3GPP 4G EPC-Based systems, and it uses EPC services to enable guaranteed and differentiated QoS. The components of the proposed architecture interact through RESTful web services. This architecture allows users to filter posts using their own criteria and have priority over other users in posting and/or retrieving; thereby, improving users’ QoE. A proof of concept prototype tool has been implemented to illustrate the viability of the proposed architecture and its performance has been partially evaluated

MMSS: A storytelling simulation software to mitigate misinformation on social media

This paper proposes a modular python implementation of a storytelling simulation. The software evaluates misinformation mitigation strategies over social media and visualizes the investigated scenarios’ potential outcomes. Our software integrates information diffusion and control models components. The control model mitigates users’ exposure to misinformation with social fairness awareness, while the diffusion model predicts the outcome from the control model. During the interaction of both models, a graph coloring algorithm traces the interaction within specific time intervals. Then, it generates meta-data to construct visuals of predicted near-future states of the social network to help support decision-making and evaluate proposed mitigation strategies.publishedVersionPaid open acces

Impact of lipids and lipoproteins on hepatitis C virus infection and virus neutralization

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections represent a major global health problem. End-stage liver disease caused by chronic HCV infection is a major indication for liver transplantation. However, after transplantation the engrafted liver inevitably becomes infected by the circulating virus. Direct acting antivirals are not yet approved for use in liver transplant patients, and limited efficacy and severe side effects hamper the use of pegylated interferon combined with ribavirin in a post-transplant setting. Therefore, alternative therapeutic options need to be explored. Viral entry represents an attractive target for such therapeutic intervention. Understanding the mechanisms of viral entry is essential to define the viral and cellular factors involved. The HCV life cycle is dependent of and associated with lipoprotein physiology and the presence of lipoproteins has been correlated with altered antiviral efficacy of entry inhibitors. In this review, we summarise the current knowledge on how lipoprotein physiology influences the HCV life cycle. We focus especially on the influence of lipoproteins on antibodies that target HCV envelope proteins or antibodies that target the cellular receptors of the virus. This information can be particularly relevant for the prevention of HCV re-infection after liver transplantation

Development and characterization of a human monoclonal antibody for prevention of HCV recurrence in liver transplant patients

More than 170 million people worldwide are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and are at risk of developing liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver transplantation is the only option for patients with HCV-induced end-stage liver diseases. Nevertheless, infection of the newly grafted liver occurs immediately and universally after transplantation. Despite the recent progress in HCV therapy, a prophylactic vaccine is still not available. The role of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in protection from different viral infections including HCV, HIV and Ebola has been reported. In the last few years, several mAbs with neutralizing activity have been described but only few mAbs have been evaluated in vivo. In the present study, we describe the development of a mAb, designated 2A5, isolated from HCV genotype 1b chronic patient. ELISA results indicated high affinity of mAb 2A5 towards HCV envelope glycoprotein (E1E2). The binding activity was completely lost against denatured E1E2 protein indicating that it targets a conformational epitope within the envelope region. Epitope mapping using alanine mutants of E1E2 proteins defined critical binding residues within the regions 419-447 and 612-617. Results of pseudoparticles (HCVpp) and cell culture produced virus (HCVcc) neutralization showed broad neutralizing activity of mAb 2A5 against all HCV genotypes. The efficacy study of mAb 2A5 in immune-deficient mice of which the liver is repopulated with human hepatocytes (humanized mice) showed complete protection from HCV challenge for genotypes 1a and 4a, while partial protection was achieved for genotypes 1b and 6a. Sequence analysis of E1E2 protein from non-protected mice did not revealed resistance mutations at interaction residues of mAb 2A5. In conclusion, mAb 2A5 shows potent anti-HCV neutralizing activity both in vitro and in vivo and could hence provide an effective strategy to prevent HCV recurrence in chronically infected HCV liver transplant patients. In addition, the broad neutralizing activity of this mAb presents a valuable epitope for the design of HCV vaccine with cross-protection activity

Learning Automata-based Misinformation Mitigation via Hawkes Processes

Mitigating misinformation on social media is an unresolved challenge, particularly because of the complexity of information dissemination. To this end, Multivariate Hawkes Processes (MHP) have become a fundamental tool because they model social network dynamics, which facilitates execution and evaluation of mitigation policies. In this paper, we propose a novel light-weight intervention-based misinformation mitigation framework using decentralized Learning Automata (LA) to control the MHP. Each automaton is associated with a single user and learns to what degree that user should be involved in the mitigation strategy by interacting with a corresponding MHP, and performing a joint random walk over the state space. We use three Twitter datasets to evaluate our approach, one of them being a new COVID-19 dataset provided in this paper. Our approach shows fast convergence and increased valid information exposure. These results persisted independently of network structure, including networks with central nodes, where the latter could be the root of misinformation. Further, the LA obtained these results in a decentralized manner, facilitating distributed deployment in real-life scenarios.acceptedVersio

Suboptimal correction of low anorectal anomalies: a possible cause for intractable constipation in children

Background Constipation is a common problem among patients following the repair of low anorectal anomalies. We present our experience in managing constipation in a group of these patients with reoperation to correct residual anterior anal misplacement.Patients and methods The study included pediatric patients presenting with significant constipation following the repair of low anorectal anomalies. Patients with evidence of residual anterior anal misplacement (either clinically, by means of MRI, or using electrical muscle stimulation) were offered a reoperation to bring their ani backward to an orthotropic position.Results Thirteen patients were included in the study between September 2009 and June 2015. Their ages ranged from 1.5 to 10 years. The primary anomaly was rectoperineal fistula in 10 (seven boys and three girls) and rectovestibular in three girls. Two types of reoperations were performed: a posterior anoplasty with posterior sphincterotomy (five cases), and a limited sagittal anorectoplasty (eight cases). Straining at defecation was relieved in all patients. Of the 13 patients, nine were relieved from their constipation (69%) and had regular bowel movements without medications. The remaining four (31%) showed partial improvement.Conclusion Among patients with low anorectal anomalies, suboptimal correction with residual anterior anal misplacement represents one correctable cause for persistence of constipation