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Capturing the dynamic behavior of the power distribution grids, especially under high penetration of renewables, is of high interest for grid operators. The distribution power grids are not fully observable due to lack of sufficient metering infrastructure, especially downstream of medium voltage substations. Therefore, fusion of data recorded at significantly different reporting rates was proposed to increase the situational awareness of the system with non-negligible effect on the accuracy of the monitoring tool. Higher reporting rates are possible for next generation smart meters, but they raise higher concerns about data privacy, already an issue for smart meters rollout. This work proposes a framework for knowledge extraction from high reporting-rate smart metering data. The process takes place at smart meter level and with low computation and communication costs and preserving user privacy, with the scope to increase the accuracy of the monitoring tools for distribution power grids. The methodology makes use of statistical metrics able to capture system dynamics relevant for network diagnosis. The proposed approach is validated on a three-phase low voltage power flow model applied to a realistic testbed microgrid and real field measurements synchronized at one second.

Important natural antimicrobial compounds derived from Vinca minor L. plant contain a wide variety of secondary metabolites which are useful for brain health (increasing blood circulation in the brain, supporting brain metabolism, preventing memory loss and problems with concentration and premature aging of the cell), and externally they play a role in tissue repair and skin lesion healing. The testing of the antimicrobial activity of the alcoholic plant extracts obtained from Vinca minor plant was performed on two types of pathogenic germs: a Gram-positive strain, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and a Gram-negative strain, Escherichia Coli ATCC 25922, as well as on a yeast strain pathogenic, Candida albicans ATCC 900288. Quantitative evaluation of antimicrobial activity was performed by a variant of the Kirby-Bauer diffusimetric method, a simple and fast method that allows the determination of the spectrum of sensitivity / resistance to antibiotics of the microorganism. Experimental studies have shown that all samples of alcoholic extract of 70% concentration, in volumes of 7µL, exerted a total antibacterial inhibitory action against the reference strains E. coli ATCC 25922 and C. albicans ATCC 10231 and moderate against the strain S. aureus ATCC 25923, results that agree with the literature. Regarding the alcoholic plant extracts with a concentration of 40% ethyl alcohol, obtained from the leaf and stem of Vinca minor plant, they did not show antimicrobial activity, which suggests that 40% ethyl alcohol does not extract bioactive compounds with antimicrobial activity.

Because the circle of Willis (CoW) supplies blood to the brain in case of occlusion of one of the cerebral arteries, identification of any change in its classical shape could be useful in the assessment of cerebrovascular morbidity. The purpose of our research was to study the anatomical variants of CoW identified on fresh brains obtained at the clinical autopsies of adult deceased patients belonging to a specific population (Northeastern region of Romania), as no data are available for Romania population up to date. The study group included consecutive patients who died in Prof. Dr. Nicolae Oblu Emergency Clinical Hospital, Iaşi, Romania, due to medical causes between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2016, to whom a clinical autopsy was performed. From a total of 96 circles of Willis, 29.17% presented an atypical morphology. We identified eight types of anatomical variants, which affected simultaneously both the posterior and the anterior parts of CoW in 46.42% of cases. The most frequent anatomical variants were hypoplasia (20.91%), followed by the absence of an artery (3.06%), and partially fetal type artery (2.04%). 67.86% of atypical CoW exhibited more than one anatomical variant of an artery in one circle. We identified nine of the 23 morphological patterns that were published to date, and also nine new types. Our research proved that in the population living in the Northeastern part of Romania the anatomical variations of circles of Willis are very polymorphic, with particular morphological aspects.

The most medically representative plant in the Apocynaceae family is Vinca minor. Vinca minor is a perennial, herbaceous plant, commonly known as Saschiu. In the present research we aimed to isolate the indole compounds from Vinca minor L. and to carry out some physico-chemical studies on these compounds: UV-VIS spectroscopy and the determination of the polyphenols content using Folin-Ciocâlteu method. The spectrophotometric study of the alcoholic plant extracts obtained from the leaf and stem of Vinca minor was performed using the UV-VIS spectrophotometric method and a VWR UV-630PC double beam spectrophotometer. Both samples of plant alcoholic extracts obtained from the leaf and from the stem of Vinca minor L. had the specific absorption maxima detected in the range 225-350 nm and the absorbance maximum in both cases was 3.5 (u.a- absorbency units). The total content of polyphenols was determined by the Folin-Ciocâlteu method from alcoholic extracts of different concentrations: 40%, 70%, 96% (T40, T70, T96, F40, F70, F96) obtained from the leaf and stem of Vinca minor plant using the spectrophotometer model JASCO- 550 UV VIS. Regarding the alcoholic extracts obtained from the leaf of Vinca minor L., the concentrations of polyphenols were between 812.50 mg / 100g pv and 1737.50 mg / 100g pv and and in the case of alcoholic extracts obtained from the strain, the results were between 1525.00-3962.50 mg GAE / 100 g pv, results that were in accordance with the literature.

In the literature, there are many articles reporting anatomical variations of circle of Willis (CoW), defined as those changes that lead to the inability of this anastomotic structure to maintain adequate brain flow. Because there is such a wide variation in the configuration of the CoW, its anatomical variations affect the hemodynamics of blood flow, thus contributing to the development of aneurysms or stroke. As such, we consider that a good knowledge of the embryological development of the constituent arteries of the CoW can shed some light on the causes of the appearance of its anatomical variants. Reviewing literature, we will present the embryological development of the constituting arteries of the CoW and will begin with vasculogenesis and angiogenesis of the vascular system as a whole. Then, we will focus on the embryological development of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and its branches because, starting with the embryological day 24, these arteries are the first vessels that begin to develop to provide the necessary blood for the primitive brain. As the hindbrain increases its volume, a larger amount of nutrients is needed. Because a larger amount of blood is required to be provided by the primitive ICAs, there is a need for arterial capacity development and thus the posterior circulation begin to take shape. At this stage, the posterior circulation consists of a plexiform arterial network that receives blood from the carotid artery through the carotid-vertebrobasilar anastomoses. At the 5-8 mm embryonic stage, these anastomoses begin to regress, and the basilar artery and vertebral arteries become independent of the ICA. We are pointing out on the process of regression of these primitive vessels, emphasizing the fact that their persistence represents the starting point for the appearance of anatomic anomalies of the CoW, which are identified in the adult individuals. In this review, we also present and illustrate some developmental abnormalities of the anterior and posterior parts of the CoW.

Measurement, dosing, and control systems for liquids are based on applications dedicated to measuring the amount of liquid, controlled filling of enclosures and disinfection of liquids and surfaces. The applications of such a system are multiple, from maintaining the quality of drinking water to the maintenance of swimming pools and can be extended to the food and pharmaceutical industries. This paper presents an experimental setup for monitoring and controlling water in an aquarium, and it was made with commercially available elements, which have a low cost and with microcontrollers specific to the development boards. The system is controlled with the help of development boards and has a didactic purpose, the paper presenting the process of choosing the components and the development of the application.

In the modern world, many cities make use of state-of-the-art technologies for a diversity of applications. A field with very specific needs is the electric power system that deals with both large entities that govern themselves (grid operators) and the citizens. For both and all actors in between, there is an increased need for information. Steps to provide these data are always taken and several initiatives are ongoing across the world to equip residential users with last generation smart meters. However, a full deployment is still not possible. Considering this aspect, the authors propose KPIs for the specific situation when some information is available from the meters and other sources, but some is not. The study case is based on a residential area occupied mainly by university students and after an extensive measurement campaign the results have been studied and analysis methods proposed.

Background Facial blemishes resulting from skin disorders have a significant effect on the patient's self-esteem and impact quality of life (QOL). Aim To assess the impact of a corrective cosmetic (CC) on QOL on top of skin quality parameters. Methods An international observational study was conducted on subjects with visible facial flaws that would benefit from a corrective cosmetic. Investigators collected data regarding demographics, QOL using the Skindex-16 scale, skin dryness and tautness, subject and investigator satisfaction, cosmetic acceptability and tolerance at baseline and after 4 to 6 weeks of daily use. Results A total of 1840 subjects participated; the mean age was 31.5±11.1 and 95% were women. Acne accounted for 48.9% of skin conditions, followed by melasma (16.7%) and rosacea (15.3%). Of the subjects 81.2% had at least 10% of the face affected and the condition was rated as disfiguring by 45.3% of the subjects; 45.0% and 44.4%, respectively, had neither taut nor dry skin at baseline. Baseline Skindex-16 scores for symptoms, emotions, functioning and overall were 1.4±1.3, 3.5±1.6, 2.4±1.8 and 2.4±1.3, respectively, on a scale from 0 to 6. Compliance was 96.0±10.6%. At the end of the study, Skindex-16 scores had significantly (p

Forecasting and anomaly detection for energy time series is emerging as an important application area for computational intelligence and learning algorithms. The training of robust data-driven models relies on large measurement datasets sampled at ever increasing rates. Thus, they demand large computational and storage resources for off-line power quality analysis and for on-line control in energy management schemes. We analyze the impact of the reporting interval of energy measurements on deep learning based forecasting models in a residential scenario. The work is also motivated by the development of embedded energy gateways for online inference and anomaly detection that avoid the dependence on costly, high-latency, cloud systems for data storage and algorithm evaluation. This, in turn, requires increased local computation and memory requirements to generate predictions within the control sampling period. We report quantitative forecasting metrics to establish an empirical trade-off between reporting interval and model accuracy. Additional results consider the time scale variable feature extraction using a time series data mining algorithm for multi-scale analytics

Background and Objectives: Odontogenic sinusitis is a frequently underestimated pathology with fewer symptoms in patients with periapical lesions, periodontal disease, or iatrogenic foreign bodies in the maxillary sinus. The aim of our study was to determine the correlation between maxillary sinusitis and periapical lesions using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging and histological and immunohistochemical investigations. Materials and Methods: A total of 1450 initial patients diagnosed with maxillary sinusitis in the Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) Department, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Grigore T. Popa” Iasi, Romania, were treated with anti-inflammatory drugs. Of these, 629 still had unresolved symptomatology and were later referred to the Dental Medicine departments for further investigations. Only 50 subjects with periapical lesions in the premolar/molar maxillary area were included in the present study. All the periapical lesions were observed on CBCT and classified using the Periapical Status Index (PSI) and the mean maxillary sinus mucosa thicknesses (MSMT). The enrolled patients underwent surgical procedures with the excision of periapical lesions. The excised samples were submitted to the histological and immunohistochemical investigations. Results: The 50 patients presented periapical lesions of their maxillary teeth in 328 dental units. There was a higher prevalence of periapical lesions in men than in women (chi-square test). We observed a significant difference between the mean MSMT of individuals with periapical lesions compared to those without (p &lt, 0.01). Mean MSMT was 1.23 mm for teeth without periapical lesions and 3.95 mm for teeth with periapical lesions. The histopathological study identified 50% cases with periapical granulomas, 10% cases with periapical granulomas with cystic potential, and 40% cases as periapical cysts. Immunohistochemical stainings showed that CD4+ helper and CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes, along with CD20+ B lymphocytes and CD68+ macrophages, were diffusely distributed in all periapical cysts and in some periapical granulomas, but CD79α+ plasma cells characterized especially periapical granulomas. Conclusions: The current study observed a significant correlation between CBCT maxillary mucosa thickness and type of periapical lesion. Chronic inflammatory lympho-histiocytic infiltrate predominates in periapical lesions, supporting the idea that lesion progression is determined by a humoral-type (CD20+ and CD79α+ B lymphocytes) but also by a cellular-type (CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte population) immune mechanism.

One of the main challenges in smart city models is consumer behaviour, namely guiding the efforts to promote optimal use of energy in the dynamics of the developing cities, through lower energy consumption without impact on the comfort level. This relates to all energy vectors and can be done through different means. The uptake stage of smart metering and information and communication technologies (ICT) varies in different countries, creating the need for tailored innovative approaches in motivating behavioural change. This paper presents the work carried out within the joint research project ITCity (an ICT platform for sustainable energy ecosystem in smart cities) between the European Union and Latin American Countries. Cooperation of energy researchers and experts in ICT and application developers facilitates adoption of a multipurpose interdisciplinary approach. This work aims at providing the smart city and energy research and innovation community broader understanding of factors influencing adoption of energy efficiency technologies. Different ways of guiding optimal energy use are addressed elaborating on the building blocks for a smart city which consider load patterns based on high resolution, high reporting rate measurements, extensive consumer surveys, available communication solution analysis and end-user interaction with the ICT tool based on gamification principles.

There are numerous articles on the discovery of this arterial polygon, its history being quite long, beginning with the Antiquity and up to the Modern Era. Making an analysis of the primary and secondary sources on this topic, the purpose of this article is to identify the significant moments of the discovery of this arterial polygon, which is an anatomical structure with great importance for neurologists and neurosurgeons. We will present the contributions to this topic from Renaissance and early Modern Era anatomists, such as Andreas Vesalius, Jean Fernel, Gabriel Fallopius, Giulio Cesare Casseri, Adriaan van den Spiegel, Johann Vesling, and Johann Jakob Wepfer von Schaffhausen. We also pointed out that the contribution of the famous British anatomist Sir Thomas Willis (1621-1675) was the most important one. He published De Cerebri Anatome, in 1664, in which he described the vascular arrangement laying at the base of the brain, accompanying it by the exquisite drawings of Christopher Wren. Thus, he demonstrated to the medical world that he had reached the greatest understanding of the structure and function of the circular arterial anastomosis. For this excellent discovery, his followers honored him by giving his name to this arterial circle.

Power quality evaluation is one of the always present topics in electrical engineering. Among the issues related to this, some are related more to the production and distribution of electrical energy and others related to the consumption. When dealing with the consumption of electrical energy, at any level, the most important factor is the harmonic pollution. As such, mitigating the effects of the current harmonics, and even more, compensating them is an important subject. For this, active filters are generally used, and their control structure is subject to many research initiatives. In this paper, different design methods for the harmonic controllers often used in medium level active filters are compared based on their dynamic behavior when faced with a reference very similar to the one obtained when mitigating the harmonic content of an electrical drive.

Open and direct feedback from the students is important for the quality of the educational process. Adapting the curricula using the right correlation with the requirements of society but also with the actual knowledge level of students is generally accepted and promoted but not easily done. In this paper are presented the results of the students' evaluation of the "Signal Processing" course over a period of five years, the last of which was impacted by the transition to the full online teaching. Comparative results for this year are presented and possible explanations for the differences are investigated.

The electric power systems together with the entire energy sector are rapidly evolving towards a low-carbon, secure, and competitive economy facing revolutionary transformations from technical structure to economic value chain. Pathways to achieve sustainability led to the development of new technologies, accommodation of larger shares of unpredictable and stochastic electricity transfer from sources to end-users without loss of reliability, new business models and services, data management, and so on. The new technologies and incentives for local energy communities along with large development of microgrids are main forces driving the evolution of the low voltage energy sector changing the context and paradigm of rigid contractual binding between utilities and end-user customers (now progressing to flexible prosumers with generation and storage capabilities). The flexibility and operation of a prosumer can be enhanced by a non-intrusive time-frequency analysis of distorted power quality waveforms for both generation and demand at the point of common connection. Therefore, it becomes of importance to discriminate among successive quasi-steady-state operation of a given local system using only the aggregated waveforms information available in the PCC. This paper focuses on the Hilbert–Huang method with modifications such as empirical mode decomposition improved with masking signals based on the Fast Fourier Transform, Hilbert spectral analysis, and a post-processing method for separating components and their amplitudes and frequencies within distorted power signals for a low-voltage prosumer operation. The method is used for a time-frequency-magnitude representation with promising localization capabilities enabling efficient operation for prosumers.

The new technologies and regulation initiatives favoring local energy communities, together with larger - scale deployment and operation of microgrids have revealed that the rigid contractual link (intermediated by various forms of utilities) between traditional electricity generation and (mostly passive) customers is getting weaker and weaker. We face a paradigm shift where final users are becoming prosumers with generation and storage capacity and look for solutions enabling flexibility to enter a market which is also evolving. In this paper we focus on the capacity of enhancing prosumer flexibility by non-intrusive analysis of both demand - and generation patterns identified in the current signals at point of connection. A version of the Hilbert-Huang method is applied to obtain a time-frequency representation from which information enabling prosumers' efficient operation can be extracted.

This paper aims to analyze the frequency behavior of the Romanian power system under various severe operating conditions. These conditions are referring to large unbalances of active power, sudden and slow, and short circuits. Our analysis includes results from PMU measurements that have been performed by Romanian TSO Transelectrica S.A. using the wide area measurement system (WAMS) implemented in the Romanian Transmission Network (RTN) and by the MicroDERlab group from University Politehnica of Bucharest.

Brain tumor location is related with specific, focal neurological impairment, but also with more diffuse, generalized and subtitle neurocognitive dysfunctions. For a better evaluation of these cases, we need a specific battery of tests. Beside the impact of preoperative status on surgical decision, the quantification of postoperative function alteration is essential in neurorehabilitation.We proposed a battery of tests to assess the neurocognitive function, with an accent on language adapted to Romanian population. The 43 cases included in the study were tested preoperatively, seven days postoperatively and at one month, and correlated with the images and histological results.At admission, from all participants, 11.6% were affected across all measured items and 6.9% on none of them. A rate of impairment significantly higher, four or more items, was observed in glioblastoma (GB) cases (23.3%) in contrast with low-grade glioma (LGG) (0%), meningioma (0%) and metastases (6.9%). From all cases, we performed seven awake craniotomies. At one-month evaluation, general decrease in neurocognitive function was observed in 20.93% cases, among them 88.88% being GB and favorable outcome in 32.55% patients with dominance of LGG and meningioma cases.A neurocognitive assessment of brain tumor patients is important for preoperative and postoperative evaluation and secondary adjustment of the surgical resection in order to improve or, at list, meantime the initial status. The role and the link between the histological type and tests alteration were observed. The results can be used for a better understanding and management of language area tumors.

Background Facial blemishes resulting from skin disorders have a significant effect on the patient’s self-esteem and impact quality of life (QOL). Aim To assess the impact of a corrective cosmetic (CC) on QOL on top of skin quality parameters. Methods An international observational study was conducted on subjects with visible facial flaws that would benefit from a corrective cosmetic. Investigators collected data regarding demographics, QOL using the Skindex-16 scale, skin dryness and tautness, subject and investigator satisfaction, cosmetic acceptability and tolerance at baseline and after 4 to 6 weeks of daily use. Results A total of 1840 subjects participated; the mean age was 31.5±11.1 and 95% were women. Acne accounted for 48.9% of skin conditions, followed by melasma (16.7%) and rosacea (15.3%). Of the subjects 81.2% had at least 10% of the face affected and the condition was rated as disfiguring by 45.3% of the subjects; 45.0% and 44.4%, respectively, had neither taut nor dry skin at baseline. Baseline Skindex-16 scores for symptoms, emotions, functioning and overall were 1.4±1.3, 3.5±1.6, 2.4±1.8 and 2.4±1.3, respectively, on a scale from 0 to 6. Compliance was 96.0±10.6%. At the end of the study, Skindex-16 scores had significantly (p

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) accounts for only 0.5-3% of all malignant diseases, but is responsible for more deaths every year than all the other endocrine malignancies taken together. Approximately 75-80% of MTCs occur sporadically, while the inherited forms of MTC are responsible for the rest of the cases. The heritable MTC results from a germline mutation in the rearranged during transfection (RET) proto-oncogene and is included into the multiple endocrine neoplasia 2 (MEN2), being associated with other endocrine abnormalities and clinical features. MTC is a neuroendocrine tumor that releases a wide range of secretory products that are responsible for a variety of symptoms, making it difficult to be diagnosed. For this reason, the pathological analysis is of vital importance to ensure that the correct diagnosis is made. This review presents the main data from the contemporary literature related to the pathological diagnosis of a patient with MTC and highlights the wide range of tumor cytological features, the many histological variants, as well as the particular tumor immunophenotype. It also reveals the new approach to this type of cancer in the new World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Thyroid Tumors (2017) and the reassessment of MTC tumor category in the new American Joint Committee on Cancer∕Tumor, Node, Metastasis (AJCC∕TNM) Staging (2017).