Characterization of non-intentional emissions from distributed energy resources up to 500 kHz: A case study in Spain

Narrow Band Power Line Communications (NB-PLC) systems are currently used for smart metering and power quality monitoring as a part of the Smart Grid (SG) concept. However, non-intentional emissions generated by the devices connected to the grid may sometimes disturb the communications and isolate metering equipment. Though some research works have been recently developed to characterize these emissions, most of them have been limited to frequencies below 150 kHz and they are mainly focused on in-house electronic appliances and lightning devices. As NB-PLC can also be allocated in higher frequencies up to 500 kHz, there is still a lack of analysis in this frequency range, especially for emissions from Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). The identification and characterization of the emissions is essential to develop solutions that avoid a negative impact on the proper performance of NB-PLC. In this work, the non-intentional emissions of different types of DERs composing a representative microgrid have been measured in the 35–500 kHz frequency range and analyzed both in time and frequency domains. Different working conditions and coupling and commutation procedures to mains are considered in the analysis. Results are then compared to the limits recommended by regulatory bodies for spurious emissions from communication systems in this frequency band, as no specific limits for DERs have been established. Field measurements show clear differences in the characteristics of non-intentional emissions for different devices, working conditions and coupling procedures and for frequencies below and above 150 kHz. Results of this study demonstrate that a further characterization of the potential emissions from the different types of DERs connected to the grid is required in order to guarantee current and future applications based on NB-PLC.This work has been financially supported in part by the Basque Government (Elkartek program)

The antenna DSA 3 and its potential use for Radio Astronomy

The European Space Agency (ESA) will inaugurate its third Deep Space Antenna (DSA 3) by the end of 2012. DSA 3 will be located in Argentina near the city of Malarg"ue in the Mendoza province. While the instrument will be primarily dedicated to communications with interplanetary missions, the characteristics of its antenna and receivers will also enable standalone leading scientific contributions, with a high scientific-technological return. We outline here scientific proposals for a radio astronomical use of DSA 3.Comment: 4 pages, submitted as Proceedings for the BAA

Association of insurance disparities and survival in adults with multiple myeloma: A non-concurrent cohort study

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) accounts for 10 % of all hematological malignancies. As recent advances in MM treatment continue to improve survival rates, socioeconomic barriers need to be identified to ensure equal treatment. This study evaluates the association between insurance status and survival in patients with MM. Methods: This study analyzed patients with MM from the 2007?2016 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program database. Insurance status was categorized as uninsured, Medicaid, private insurance, and other insurance. Cancer-specific survival was measured at one- and five-years post diagnosis. Results: From 2007?2016, there were 41,846 patients with MM extracted from the SEER database. Those with private insurance had a higher proportion of participants that identified as married (65.5 %), resided in metropolitan cities (90.1 %), and identified as white (76 %) and non-Hispanic (90.8 %). The uninsured group had the highest proportion of Black participants compared to other insurance groups (37.4 %). After adjustment for age, sex, race, ethnicity, marital status, and residence, the likelihood of five-year survival was significantly lower in those respondents with Medicaid (adjusted (adj) Hazard Ratio (HR): 1.44; 95 % Confidence Interval (CI): 1.36-1.53), when compared with private insurance holders. Those who were uninsured had a 26 % increased mortality hazard than those with private insurance (95 % CI 1.04-1.53). Conclusion: After adjustment, insurance status can influence the survival of adults with MM. As treatment modalities for MM continue to advance, the insurance status of a patient should not hinder their ability to receive the most effective and timely therapies.Peer reviewe

Chemical and structural changes of calcium ion exchange silica pigment in 0.5M NaCl and 0.5M Na 2SO4 solutions

This paper studies the suitability of an environmentallyfriendly anticorrosive pigment (Si/Ca) to replace Cr(VI) pigments, characterising the initial pigment and the products obtained after interaction with aqueous solutions containing aggressive ions from a corrosion viewpoint (Cl - and SO42- ). X-ray diffraction (XRD), calorimetry (DTATG), Fourier transform IR spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanningelectron microscopy (SEM-EDAX) techniques areused. The ion exchange capacity of the pigment is studied and the solutions obtained after the pigment-solution interaction are analysed. The results obtained show that a series of physical/chemical transformations take place in the pigment on interaction with the Cl - and SO42-  solutions, in some cases accompanied by the appearance of new crystalline phases, mainly calcium and sodium silicates and calcium sulphate. Analysis of the solutions obtained after interaction shows a rise in the calcium content as theionic force of the medium increases. These results suggest that the mechanism by which the pigment acts is not only based on ion exchange reactions but also on a structural modification of the pigment itself and consequently on (co)precipitation reactions that form insoluble compounds in the studied aggressive media

Gender differences in professional drivers’ fatigue level measured with BAlert mobile app: A psychophysiological, time efficient, accessible, and innovative approach to fatigue management

Addressing fatigue is useful in a variety of scenarios and activities. Fatigue has recently been studied from a psychophysiological standpoint. As a result, the expression and impact of peripheral and central fatigue has been evaluated. Driving is one occupation where tiredness has disastrous consequences. BAlert is a smartphone app that approaches exhaustion with psychophysiological measures. More specifically, it evaluates the level of fatigue via heart rate variability (HRV) data and the cognitive compromise via Stroop effect. The goal of this study is to determine if there are gender differences in fatigue levels among professional drivers using the BAlert app. Statistically significant differences were found in the number of hours awake, in different parameters of HRV (AVNN, PNN50, RMSSD, and SDNN), in the level of stress, as well as in the cognitive response evaluated through the app. The results are discussed and their implications for the management of work fatigue are presented

Quantum State During and after O(4)O(4)-Symmetric Bubble Nucleation with Gravitaional Effects

We extend our previous analysis of the quantum state during and after $O(4)$-symmetric bubble nucleation to the case including gravitational effects. We find that there exists a simple relationship between the case with and without gravitational effects. In a special case of a conformally coupled scalar field which is massless except on the bubble wall, the state is found to be conformally equivalent to the case without gravity.Comment: 31 pages plain Tex file, uuencoded postscript figure file is available from [email protected] upon request, KUNS126

Transcriptome analysis of the venom gland of the Mexican scorpion Hadrurus gertschi (Arachnida: Scorpiones)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Scorpions like other venomous animals posses a highly specialized organ that produces, secretes and disposes the venom components. In these animals, the last postabdominal segment, named telson, contains a pair of venomous glands connected to the stinger. The isolation of numerous scorpion toxins, along with cDNA-based gene cloning and, more recently, proteomic analyses have provided us with a large collection of venom components sequences. However, all of them are secreted, or at least are predicted to be secretable gene products. Therefore very little is known about the cellular processes that normally take place inside the glands for production of the venom mixture. To gain insights into the scorpion venom gland biology, we have decided to perform a transcriptomic analysis by constructing a cDNA library and conducting a random sequencing screening of the transcripts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From the cDNA library prepared from a single venom gland of the scorpion <it>Hadrurus gertschi</it>, 160 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were analyzed. These transcripts were further clustered into 68 unique sequences (20 contigs and 48 singlets), with an average length of 919 bp. Half of the ESTs can be confidentially assigned as homologues of annotated gene products. Annotation of these ESTs, with the aid of Gene Ontology terms and homology to eukaryotic orthologous groups, reveals some cellular processes important for venom gland function; including high protein synthesis, tuned posttranslational processing and trafficking. Nonetheless, the main group of the identified gene products includes ESTs similar to known scorpion toxins or other previously characterized scorpion venom components, which account for nearly 60% of the identified proteins.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge this report contains the first transcriptome analysis of genes transcribed by the venomous gland of a scorpion. The data were obtained for the species <it>Hadrurus gertschi</it>, belonging to the family Caraboctonidae. One hundred and sixty ESTs were analyzed, showing enrichment in genes that encode for products similar to known venom components, but also provides the first sketch of cellular components, molecular functions, biological processes and some unique sequences of the scorpion venom gland.</p

Características y distribución de la maleza Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson (Amaranthaceae) en cultivos de soja y maíz de la provincia de Tucumán y del NOA

Amaranthus palmeri (“ataco”, “yuyo colorado”, “bledo”) es una maleza introducida desde el hemisferio norte y que fue detectada en Argentina en las campañas de 2011 – 2012 debido a su resistencia a glifosato y a inhibidores de ALS (Tuesca et.al., 2012). Morichetti et al. (2013) mencionan que en nuestro país, ya en 1966, fue coleccionada por J. H. Hunziker y G. Covas, no volviendo a ser citada ni incluida en la flora adventicia quizás por no haber logrado establecerse exitosamente. Pero, colecciones realizadas en 2012 en diferentes lotes cultivados con soja, maní, sorgo y maíz en el Sur de Córdoba y San Luis, permiten ahora incluirla como una maleza establecida y problemática de nuestra flora adventicia. El grave problema que también plantea esta maleza es que puede hibridarse con otras especies de Amaranthus, con lo cual puede transferir genes de resistencia hacia otras especies del Género (Morichetti et. al., 2013).Fil: Villagran, Liliana Fernanda. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Cabrera, Debora Carina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: de la Vega, M.. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; ArgentinaFil: Figueroa, O.. Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Castro, E.. Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Rossi, D.. Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola; Argentin

VINEDA—Volcanic INfrasound Explosions Detector Algorithm

Infrasound is an increasingly popular tool for volcano monitoring, providing insights of the unrest by detecting and characterizing acoustic waves produced by volcanic processes, such as explosions, degassing, rockfalls, and lahars. Efficient event detection from large infrasound databases gathered in volcanic settings relies on the availability of robust and automated workflows. While numerous triggering algorithms for event detection have been proposed in the past, they mostly focus on applications to seismological data. Analyses of acoustic infrasound for signal detection is often performed manually or by application of the traditional short-term average/long-term average (STA/LTA) algorithms, which have shown limitations when applied in volcanic environments, or more generally to signals with poor signal-to-noise ratios. Here, we present a new algorithm specifically designed for automated detection of volcanic explosions from acoustic infrasound data streams. The algorithm is based on the characterization of the shape of the explosion signals, their duration, and frequency content. The algorithm combines noise reduction techniques with automatic feature extraction in order to allow confident detection of signals affected by non-stationary noise.We have benchmarked the performances of the new detector by comparison with both the STA/LTA algorithm and human analysts, with encouraging results. In this manuscript, we present our algorithm and make its software implementation available to other potential users. This algorithm has potential to either be implemented in near real-timemonitoring workflows or to catalog pre-existing databases.This research was partially funded by KNOWAVES TEC2015- 68752 (MINECO/FEDER), by NERC Grant NE/P00105X/1, by Spanish research grant MECD Jose Castillejo CAS17/00154 and by VOLCANOWAVES European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme Under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement no 798480