Detection of Non-Technical Losses in Smart Distribution Networks: a Review

With the advent of smart grids, distribution utilities have initiated a large deployment of smart meters on the premises of the consumers. The enormous amount of data obtained from the consumers and communicated to the utility give new perspectives and possibilities for various analytics-based applications. In this paper the current smart metering-based energy-theft detection schemes are reviewed and discussed according to two main distinctive categories: A) system statebased, and B) arti cial intelligence-based.Comisión Europea FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IT

Injective edge coloring of graphs

Three edges $e_{1}, e_{2}$ and $e_{3}$ in a graph $G$ are consecutive if they form a path (in this order) or a cycle of lengths three. An injective edge coloring of a graph $G = (V,E)$ is a coloring $c$ of the edges of $G$ such that if $e_{1}, e_{2}$ and $e_{3}$ are consecutive edges in $G$, then $c(e_{1})\neq c(e_3)$. The injective edge coloring number $\chi_{i}^{'}(G)$ is the minimum number of colors permitted in such a coloring. In this paper, exact values of $\chi_{i}^{'}(G)$ for several classes of graphs are obtained, upper and lower bounds for $\chi_{i}^{'}(G)$ are introduced and it is proven that checking whether $\chi_{i}^{'}(G)= k$ is NP-complete.in publicatio

Foeniculum vulgare Essential Oils: Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities

The essential oils from Foeniculum vulgare commercial aerial parts and fruits were isolated by hydrodistillation, with different distillation times (30 min, I h, 2 h and 3 h), and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The antioxidant ability was estimated using four distinct methods. Antibacterial activity was determined by the agar diffusion method. Remarkable differences, and worrying from the quality and safety point of view, were detected in the essential oils. trans-Anethole (31-36%), alpha-pinene (14-20%) and limonene (11-13%) were the main components of the essentials oil isolated from F. vulgare dried aerial parts, whereas methyl chavicol (= estragole) (79-88%) was dominant in the fruit oils. With the DPPH method the plant oils showed better antioxidant activity than the fruits oils. With the TBARS method and at higher concentrations, fennel essential oils showed a pro-oxidant activity. None of the oils showed a hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity >50%, but they showed an ability to inhibit 5-lipoxygenase. The essential oils showed a very low antimicrobial activity. In general, the essential oils isolated during 2 h were as effective, from the biological activity point of view, as those isolated during 3 h.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ceramic additive manufacturing in architecture: computational methodology for defining a column system

The present paper describes a research that explores the design and production of customised architectural ceramic components defined through parametric relations of biomorphic inspiration and to be built through additive manufacturing. In this sense, is presented a case study that develops a system of both architectural and structural components - a column system. The definition process of the system is mediated by computational design, implementing not only structural analysis and optimization strategies, but also mimetic formal characteristics of nature to an initial grid, creating a model that adapts its formal attributes, depending on its assumptions and the material constraints. This process resulted in the definition of a set of solutions that better answer to a specific design problem

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The role of cholesterol metabolism and cholesterol transport in carcinogenesis: a review of scientific findings, relevant to future cancer therapeutics

While the unique metabolic activities of malignant tissues as potential targets for cancer therapeutics has been the subject of several recent reviews, the role of cholesterol metabolism in this context is yet to be fully explored. Cholesterol is an essential component of mammalian cell membranes as well as a precursor of bile acids and steroid hormones. The hypothesis that cancer cells need excess cholesterol and intermediates of the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway to maintain a high level of proliferation is well accepted, however the mechanisms by which malignant cells and tissues reprogram cholesterol synthesis, uptake and efflux are yet to be fully elucidated as potential therapeutic targets. High and low density plasma lipoproteins are the likely major suppliers of cholesterol to cancer cells and tumors, potentially via receptor mediated mechanisms. This review is primarily focused on the role(s) of lipoproteins in carcinogenesis, and their future roles as drug delivery vehicles for targeted cancer chemotherapy