An Integral Formulation for Rectangular Wires in a 3D Magneto-Quasi-Static Field

This paper proposes an integral formulation for calculating the magnetic and ohmic losses in rectangular wires immersed in an external 3D magneto-quasi-static field. The formulation is based on some simplifying assumptions that allow to employ a collocation method with constant elements for the discretization, reducing the computational burden. Even if the assumptions introduce an approximation, for the application at hand the numerical tests have shown that the accuracy is still acceptable. Moreover, the computational time is drastically reduced with respect to other approaches based on the finite element method

Respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma: Minimally invasive surgery of an endoscopic and radiological finding in maxillary sinus mimicking an inverted papilloma

Abstract Introduction Respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma (REAH) is a benign entity characterized by an abnormal proliferation of glandular tissue surrounded by a thick eosinophilic basement membrane within ciliated respiratory epithelium with no evidence of atypical or metaplastic changes in the squamous cells. Case report An 84 years patient, non-smoker, with in treatment hypertension and depression reported a 3-month history of progressive right nasal obstruction, mucopurulent rhinorrhea, unilateral purulent post-nasal discharge and unilateral anosmia. Endoscopy showed a polypoidal masse, with no presence of nasal polyposis. The lesion, originating from the maxillary sinus, arose from middle meatus and extended inferiority up to the inferior turbinate.During an endoscopic minimally-invasive surgical procedure, we performed the complete excision of the whole lesion, through the use of micro-instruments and debrider technology. The patient underwent regular check-up after 3, 6 and 12 months: endoscopic and radiological evaluation showed no relapse of the disease. Conclusion Although REAH is a neoplastic pathology, the intrinsic characteristics of benignity and the typical limited and non-infiltrating diffusion allow a minimally invasive and conservative surgical approach without evidence of recurrence

Simulation and modelling of transient electric fields in hvdc insulation systems based on polarization current measurements

Simulating and modelling electric field dynamics in the insulation of medium-and high-voltage DC electrical systems is needed to support insulation design optimization and to evaluate the impact of voltage transients on ageing mechanisms and insulation reliability. In order to perform accurate simulations, appropriate physical models must be adopted for the insulating material properties, particularly conductivity, which drives the electric field in a steady-state condition and contributes to determining the field behavior during voltage and load transients. In order to model insulation conductivity, polarization, and conduction, mechanisms must be inferred through charging and discharging current measurements, generally performed at different values of electric field and temperatures in flat specimens of the material under study. In general, both mechanisms are present, but one of them may be predominant with respect to the other depending on type of material. In this paper, we showed that models based on predominant polarization mechanisms were suitable to describe impregnated paper, but not polymers used for HV and MV DC insulation. In the latter case, indeed, trapping–detrapping and conduction phenomena were predominant compared to polarization, thus conductivity models had to be considered, in addition to or as a replacement of the polarization model, in order to carry out proper electric field simulations

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

2D Zernike polynomial expansion: finding the protein-protein binding regions

We present a method for efficiently and effectively assessing whether and where two proteins can interact with each other to form a complex. This is still largely an open problem, even for those relatively few cases where the 3D structure of both proteins is known. In fact, even if much of the information about the interaction is encoded in the chemical and geometric features of the structures, the set of possible contact patches and of their relative orientations are too large to be computationally affordable in a reasonable time, thus preventing the compilation of reliable interactome. Our method is able to rapidly and quantitatively measure the geometrical shape complementarity between interacting proteins, comparing their molecular iso-electron density surfaces expanding the surface patches in term of 2D Zernike polynomials. We first test the method against the real binding region of a large dataset of known protein complexes, reaching a success rate of 0.72. We then apply the method for the blind recognition of binding sites, identifying the real region of interaction in about 60% of the analyzed cases. Finally, we investigate how the efficiency in finding the right binding region depends on the surface roughness as a function of the expansion order

A novel strategy for molecular interfaces optimization: the case of ferritin-transferrin receptor interaction

Protein-protein interactions regulate almost all cellular functions and rely on a fine tune of surface amino acids properties involved on both molecular partners. The disruption of a molecular association can be caused even by a single residue mutation, often leading to a pathological modification of a biochemical pathway. Therefore the evaluation of the effects of amino acid substitutions on binding, and the ad hoc design of protein-protein interfaces, is one of the biggest challenges in computational biology. Here, we present a novel strategy for computational mutation and optimization of protein-protein interfaces. Modeling the interaction surface properties using the Zernike polynomials, we describe the shape and electrostatics of binding sites with an ordered set of descriptors, making possible the evaluation of complementarity between interacting surfaces. With a Monte Carlo approach, we obtain protein mutants with controlled molecular complementarities. Applying this strategy to the relevant case of the interaction between Ferritin and Transferrin Receptor, we obtain a set of Ferritin mutants with increased or decreased complementarity. The extensive molecular dynamics validation of the method results confirms its efficacy, showing that this strategy represents a very promising approach in designing correct molecular interfaces

Dietary determinants of postprandial blood glucose control in adults with type 1 diabetes on a hybrid closed-loop system

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this work was to assess the relationship between meal nutrients and postprandial blood glucose response (PGR) in individuals with type 1 diabetes on a hybrid closed-loop system (HCLS). Methods: The dietary composition of 1264 meals (398 breakfasts, 441 lunches and 425 dinners) was assessed by 7-day food records completed by 25 individuals with type 1 diabetes on HCLSs (12 men/13 women, mean ± SD age 40 ± 12 years, mean ± SD HbA1c 51 ± 10 mmol/mol [6.9 ± 0.2%]). For each meal, PGR (continuous glucose monitoring metrics, glucose incremental AUCs) and insulin doses (pre-meal boluses, post-meal microboluses automatically delivered by the pump and adjustment boluses) over 6 h were evaluated. Results: Breakfast, lunch and dinner significantly differed with respect to energy and nutrient intake and insulin doses. The blood glucose postprandial profile showed an earlier peak after breakfast and a slow increase until 4 h after lunch and dinner (p < 0.001). Mean ± SD postprandial time in range (TIR) was better at breakfast (79.3 ± 22.2%) than at lunch (71.3 ± 23.9%) or dinner (70.0 ± 25.9%) (p < 0.001). Significant negative predictors of TIR at breakfast were total energy intake, per cent intake of total protein and monounsaturated fatty acids, glycaemic load and absolute amounts of cholesterol, carbohydrates and simple sugars consumed (p < 0.05 for all). No significant predictors were detected for TIR at lunch. For TIR at dinner, a significant positive predictor was the per cent intake of plant proteins, while negative predictors were glycaemic load and intake amounts of simple sugars and carbohydrate (p < 0.05 for all). Conclusions/interpretation: This study shows that nutritional factors other than the amount of carbohydrate significantly influence postprandial blood glucose control. These nutritional determinants vary between breakfast, lunch and dinner, with differing effects on postprandial blood glucose profile and insulin requirements, thus remaining a challenge to HCLSs. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Assessing soil P fractions changes with long-term phosphorus fertilization related to crop yield of soybean and maize

Long-term P Fertiliser application increases soil phosphorus (P) labile fractions, which can be associated with crop P uptake and grain yield and are useful to improve fertilizer recommendations. Research aims were to evaluate in long-term experiments with different P Fertiliser application in a Mollisol and a Vertisol: (a) the changes of soil P fractions and (b) the relationship between soil P fractions with long-term P Fertiliser application, with accumulated apparent P budget, grain P, total P uptake, soybean (Glycine max L.Merr.) and maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield. Soil P fractions were measured after 1 and 9 year since the beginning of the long-term experiments. Experiments included an initial Fertiliser application rate of 200 kg P ha−1 and annual P Fertiliser application rate of 36 kg P ha−1. Bray1-P, total, organic, and inorganic P in fine (53 μm) (CF) soil fractions, and in NaHCO3 extract were measured. Initial P Fertiliser application increased inorganic and total P fractions. However, Bray1-P, total P in NaHCO3 extract and in the CF were the fractions that most increased with continuous long-term P Fertiliser application in both sites. In the Mollisol, maize grain yield was unrelated to long-term P Fertiliser application. In the Vertisol, total P in NaHCO3 extract, and total and organic P in the CF were more closely related to soybean grain yield than Bray1-P. We proposed soil P indices of labile inorganic and organic P that showed close relationships with soybean grain yield and may be useful to improve the diagnosis of P soil fertility.Fil: Appelhans, Stefania Carolina. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Departamento de Producción Vegetal; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Entre Ríos. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Paraná; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Barbagelata, Pedro Aníbal. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Departamento de Producción Vegetal; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Entre Ríos. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Paraná; ArgentinaFil: Melchiori, Ricardo José Miguel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Entre Ríos. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Paraná; ArgentinaFil: Gutiérrez Boem, Flavio Hernán. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Ingeniería Agrícola y Uso de la Tierra. Cátedra de Fertilidad y Fertilizantes; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales; Argentin