Power Losses Minimization for Optimal Operating Maps in Power-Split HEVs: A Case Study on the Chevrolet Volt

The power-split architecture is the most promising hybrid electric powertrain. However, a real advantage in energy saving while maintaining high performance can be achieved only by the implementation of a proper energy management strategy. This requires an optimized functional design before and a comprehensive analysis of the powertrain losses after, which could be rather challenging owing to the constructive complexity of the power-split transmission, especially for multimode architecture with multiple planetary gearing. This difficulty was overcome by a dimensionless model, already available in the literature, that enables the analysis of any power-split transmission, even in full electric operation. This paper relies on this approach to find the operating points of the internal combustion engine and both electric machines which minimize the total power losses. This optimization is carried out for given vehicle speed and demanded torque, by supposing different scenarios in respect of the battery capability of providing or gathering power. The efficiency of the thermal engine and the electric machines is considered, as well as the transmission mechanical power losses. The aim is to provide a global efficiency map that can be exploited to extract data for the implementation of the most suitable real-time control strategy. As a case study, the procedure is applied to the multi-mode power-split system of the Chevrolet Volt

Analyzing the gender gap in European labour markets at the NUTS-1 level

In the labour market framework, gender inequalities penalizing women in participation, remuneration and career still persist almost everywhere, even though there are remarkable differences between countries. At the EU level, in many cases, the levels of these gaps also vary within the same country. According to human capital theory, labour market outcomes should be strongly influenced by the worker's educational level. However, the gender gap endures even in countries where women have surpassed men in education. In this paper, both the aspects of spatial differences (in accordance with the NUTs 1 districts) and the impact of education on the gender gap in the labour market are analysed. With this aim, the composite indicator methodology (including sensitivity analysis involving bootstrap techniques) has been used. The results highlight the substantial stability of the gap in eduacation within the same country but a strong variability in the gap in the labour market outcomes within some countries. Adapting national policies to different regional frameworks could be an efficacious strategy for closing the gap

The Generational Perspective of Gender Gap and Discrimination in Southern Europe

The paper aims at investigating gender differentials in education and wage across four developed countries of southern Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain), taking into account the generational transmission of preferences and some peculiarities of gender equality policies implemented in each national legislative framework. More precisely, a set of α-indexes – which reflect the whole wage and educational distributions of women – is computed to explore the different extent to which these gaps can be attributed to discrimination. Country-specific differentials are sketched and the often controversial role of national contexts in shaping gender discrimination is discussed

The Generational Perspective of Gender Gap and Discrimination in Southern Europe

The paper aims at investigating gender differentials in education and wage across four developed countries of southern Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain), taking into account the generational transmission of preferences and some peculiarities of gender equality policies implemented in each national legislative framework. More precisely, a set of α-indexes – which reflect the whole wage and educational distributions of women – is computed to explore the different extent to which these gaps can be attributed to discrimination. Country-specific differentials are sketched and the often controversial role of national contexts in shaping gender discrimination is discussed

Women’s job search propensity and selection effect in European labour markets

The aim of this paper is to explore the main determinants of women’s job search propensity and the mechanism underlying the selection effect into labour markets. The analysis compares the European countries which share the lowest female activity rates with the well-developed economies of North Europe characterized by the highest levels of female labour force participation. The potential selection bias due to the overlap in some unobserved characteristics is addressed via a bivariate probit model. Significant selection effects in women’s job search process of opposite signs are found for the Greek and for the Polish and the Norwegian labour markets

The Dinuclear Copper Site Structure of Agaricus bisporus Tyrosinase in Solution Probed by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy*

We have measured the x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra of the enzyme tyrosinase from the mushroom Agaricus bisporus in solution in the oxy and deoxy forms. The spectra, obtained under the same conditions as the analogous forms of mollusc hemocyanin (Hc), show that the oxidation state of copper changes from Cu(II) (oxy form) to Cu(I) (deoxy form), and the copper active site(s) of A. bisporus tyrosinase in solution undergoes the same main conformational changes as Hc. We have applied the multiple scattering theory to simulate the XANES spectra of various alternative geometries of the copper site, accounting for the residual differences between Hc and tyrosinase. While oxy-Hc is reasonably fitted only by the pseudo-square-pyramidal geometry reported by its crystallographic data, oxytyrosinase can be fitted, starting from the Hc coordinates, either by distortions toward a pseudo-tetrahedral geometry, with inequivalent copper sites, or by an apically distorted square-pyramidal geometry (with an elongation of the apical distance of no more than 0.2 A)

Comprehensive Brain Tumour Characterisation with VERDICT-MRI: Evaluation of Cellular and Vascular Measures Validated by Histology

The aim of this work was to extend the VERDICT-MRI framework for modelling brain tumours, enabling comprehensive characterisation of both intra- and peritumoural areas with a particular focus on cellular and vascular features. Diffusion MRI data were acquired with multiple b-values (ranging from 50 to 3500 s/mm2), diffusion times, and echo times in 21 patients with brain tumours of different types and with a wide range of cellular and vascular features. We fitted a selection of diffusion models that resulted from the combination of different types of intracellular, extracellular, and vascular compartments to the signal. We compared the models using criteria for parsimony while aiming at good characterisation of all of the key histological brain tumour components. Finally, we evaluated the parameters of the best-performing model in the differentiation of tumour histotypes, using ADC (Apparent Diffusion Coefficient) as a clinical standard reference, and compared them to histopathology and relevant perfusion MRI metrics. The best-performing model for VERDICT in brain tumours was a three-compartment model accounting for anisotropically hindered and isotropically restricted diffusion and isotropic pseudo-diffusion. VERDICT metrics were compatible with the histological appearance of low-grade gliomas and metastases and reflected differences found by histopathology between multiple biopsy samples within tumours. The comparison between histotypes showed that both the intracellular and vascular fractions tended to be higher in tumours with high cellularity (glioblastoma and metastasis), and quantitative analysis showed a trend toward higher values of the intracellular fraction (fic) within the tumour core with increasing glioma grade. We also observed a trend towards a higher free water fraction in vasogenic oedemas around metastases compared to infiltrative oedemas around glioblastomas and WHO 3 gliomas as well as the periphery of low-grade gliomas. In conclusion, we developed and evaluated a multi-compartment diffusion MRI model for brain tumours based on the VERDICT framework, which showed agreement between non-invasive microstructural estimates and histology and encouraging trends for the differentiation of tumour types and sub-regions

Chemotherapy effects on brain glucose metabolism at rest

Background: A growing number of studies reports that chemotherapy may impair brain functions inducing cognitive changes which can persist in a subset of cancer survivors. Aims: To investigate the neural basis of the chemotherapy-induced neurobehavioral changes by means of metabolic imaging and voxel-based statistical parametric mapping analyses. Methods: We studied the resting brain [18]FDG-PET/CT images of 43 adult cancer patients with solid (n=12, 28%) or hematologic malignancies (n=31, 72%); 12 patients were studied prior to chemotherapy (No chemotherapy) while treated patients were divided into two matched subgroups: Early High (6 chemotherapy cycles, n=10), and Late Low (>9 months after chemotherapy, <6 chemotherapy cycles, n=21). Findings: Compared to No chemotherapy, the Early High subgroup showed a significant bilateral (p<0.05) lower regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose metabolism in both the prefrontal cortices and white matter, cerebellum, posterior medial cortices and limbic regions. A similar pattern emerged in the Early High versus Low Late comparison, while no significant result was obtained in the Low Late versus No chemotherapy comparison. The number of cycles and the post-chemotherapy time were negatively and positively correlated, respectively, with a set of these same brain regions. Interpretation: The present study shows that chemotherapy induces significant transient changes in the glucose metabolism of multiple cerebral cortical and white matter regions with a prevailing involvement of the prefrontal cortex. The severity of these changes are significantly related with the number of chemotherapy cycles and a subset of brain regions seems to present longer lasting, but more subtle, metabolic changes

Aberrant epigenome in iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons from Parkinson's disease patients

The epigenomic landscape of Parkinson's disease (PD) remains unknown. We performed a genomewide DNA methylation and a transcriptome studies in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived dopaminergic neurons (DAn) generated by cell reprogramming of somatic skin cells from patients with monogenic LRRK2-associated PD (L2PD) or sporadic PD (sPD), and healthy subjects. We observed extensive DNA methylation changes in PD DAn, and of RNA expression, which were common in L2PD and sPD. No significant methylation differences were present in parental skin cells, undifferentiated iPSCs nor iPSC-derived neural cultures not-enriched-in-DAn. These findings suggest the presence of molecular defects in PD somatic cells which manifest only upon differentiation into the DAn cells targeted in PD. The methylation profile from PD DAn, but not from controls, resembled that of neural cultures not-enriched-in-DAn indicating a failure to fully acquire the epigenetic identity own to healthy DAn in PD. The PD-associated hypermethylation was prominent in gene regulatory regions such as enhancers and was related to the RNA and/or protein downregulation of a network of transcription factors relevant to PD (FOXA1, NR3C1, HNF4A, and FOSL2). Using a patient-specific iPSC-based DAn model, our study provides the first evidence that epigenetic deregulation is associated with monogenic and sporadic PD