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Automated vehicles (AVs), which are expected to enter the market within the near future, represent the current frontiers in mobility and urban planning. AVs are assumed to bring substantial benefits to cities in many aspects. The present study attempts to investigate this broad assumption by conducting a literature review on the possible implications of AVs in cities as well as synthesizing the current state of practice of AV pilots to detect trends in their deployment. In this paper, literature findings on AVs’ implication on vehicle ownership, mobility, land use as well thirteen uses cases were synthesized to capture the big picture of them in cities. The findings showed that, in the AV pilots, the operation of AVs is limited to routes stretching less than 3.5km and an operation speed of less than 18km/h; low speed has been one of the main concerns of the participating passengers to use them for daily trips. The results also revealed that although shared AVs are expected in urban mobility, private ownership will stay competitive since vehicle ownership has been a socio-cultural identity in the history of automobiles. The findings also underlined that the potential influence of AVs on active mobility is still unclear as the AVs have not been introduced on a larger scale. Regarding AVs’ impact on land use, their introduction results in the effective use of space, but they will cause suburbanization in the long term.

This paper proposes a two-stage auction-based local market mechanism to allocate physical storage rights (PSRs). As a market product, PSRs are provided by a storage owner and enable the local market participants (including renewable producers, consumers and prosumers) to access the storage. That is, they can book storage in the form of PSRs and dispatch it at a given time aiming to maximize their utility function. The business options we examine to evaluate the position of storage in the market range from storage owner entirely participating in day-ahead (DA) and real-time (RT) markets as an inter-temporal arbitrager, to exclusively acting as a PSR provider in DA only – this way, the storage owner is fully paid upfront in DA. Considering the context above, we propose an equilibrium model where each player optimizes its operational objective. We prove that the equilibrium model can be substituted with an equivalent optimization formulation which clears the proposed market ensuring the same desirable market properties, such as efficiency and revenue adequacy. Results suggest that the certain revenues earned by the storage owner in DA when acting as a PSR provider is equal to its expected profit as a regular market participant, mitigating however its payoff uncertainty and resulting in the same economic return.

Endocrine organs are metastatic targets for several primary cancers, either through direct extension from nearby tumour cells or dissemination via the venous, arterial and lymphatic routes. Although any endocrine tissue can be affected, most clinically relevant metastases involve the pituitary and adrenal glands with the commonest manifestations being diabetes insipidus and adrenal insufficiency respectively. The most common primary tumours metastasing to the adrenals include melanomas, breast and lung carcinomas, which may lead to adrenal insufficiency in the presence of bilateral adrenal involvement. Breast and lung cancers are the most common primaries metastasing to the pituitary, leading to pituitary dysfunction in approximately 30% of cases. The thyroid gland can be affected by renal, colorectal, lung and breast carcinomas, and melanomas, but has rarely been associated with thyroid dysfunction. Pancreatic metastasis can lead to exo-/endocrine insufficiency with renal carcinoma being the most common primary. Most parathyroid metastases originate from breast and lung carcinomas and melanoma. Breast and colorectal cancers are the most frequent ovarian metastases; prostate cancer commonly affects the testes. In the presence of endocrine deficiencies, glucocorticoid replacement for adrenal and pituitary involvement can be life saving. As most metastases to endocrine organs develop in the context of disseminated disease, surgical resection or other local therapies should only be considered to ameliorate symptoms and reduce tumour volume. Although few consensus statements can be made regarding the management of metastases to endocrine tissues because of the heterogeneity of the variable therapies, it is important that clinicians are aware of their presence in diagnosis.

Part 9: Deep Learning; International audience; Automated trading is an approach to investing whereby market predictions are combined with algorithmic decision-making strategies for the purpose of generating high returns while minimizing downsides and risk. Recent advancements in Machine and Deep learning algorithms has led to new and sophisticated models to improve this functionality. In this paper, a comparative analysis is conducted concerning eight studies which focus on the American and the European stock markets. The simple method of Golden Cross trading strategy is being utilized for the assessment of models in real-world trading scenarios. Backtesting was performed in two indices, the S&P 500 and the EUROSTOXX 50, resulting in relative good performance, aside from the significant downfall in global markets due to COVID-19 outbreak, which appeared to affect all models.

Despite the rising interest in smart city initiatives worldwide, governmental theories along with the managerial perspectives of city planning are a great lack in the literature. It is definitely understandable that the adoption of configurational pathways towards the ‘smart’ ‘governance’ models is required as key factor and smartness’ facilitator in modern cities. In this manuscript, we display an exhaustive analysis on the importance of the n-Helix models along with a benchmarking critical approach through selected European case-studies. The study, through the literature review, revealed the lack of exhaustive analyses for the methodological investigation, identification and adoption of the most appropriate governance model and collaborative approaches per project and collaborative approaches and create modular frameworks to address efficiently the continuous urban challenges, such as the rapid urbanization or the climate change.

Background The aim of our study was to assess clinico-pathological and biochemical parameters of Type 1 Gastric Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (GNEN1) with respect to tumours propensity for recurrence and metastasis. Methods Hospital charts of GNEN1 patients were reviewed at a single tertiary referral centre. Results We included 114 consecutive patients (74 women; age at baseline 54.5 ± 12.7 years [mean ± SD]) with GNEN1. All tumours (n = 114) were well differentiated; Grade 1 (G1) accounted for 56 patients (49%), whereas 46 (40%) were Grade 2 (G2) and 12 (11%) of unknown Grade. Overall follow-up encompassed 45.3 ± 46 (mean ± SD) months in 84 patients who were subjected to annual surveillance; 44 (52%) developed recurrence in the stomach during follow-up with 22 experiencing multiple recurrences; three (2.6%) presented with metastases in locoregional lymph nodes (n = 3) and/or the liver (n = 2); No metastasis or death was reported during follow-up. Median recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 31 months (95% CI: 7.6-54.4). Among clinico-pathological and biochemical parameters investigated, endoscopic intervention compared with surgery (P-value = .009) and higher serum-gastrin levels (s-gastrin) at baseline and first-year follow-up were associated with recurrence (P-value = .022 and .003 respectively) and also shorter RFS (log-rank P = .009 for type of intervention and .014 for s-gastrin, respectively). Receiver Operator Curve analysis of s-gastrin levels at first-year follow-up for recurrence demonstrated an area under the curve of 0.702. Conclusion Despite the relatively high prevalence of G2 tumours, endoscopically and/or surgically treated GNEN1 remains an indolent disease with a low metastatic propensity and no disease-specific mortality reported in our series. Many patients though will experience local recurrence, warranting long-term endoscopic surveillance with s-gastrin biomarker being a complementary tool in recurrence prediction.

To study the evolution and optimal management of metastatic bone disease (mBD) in patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs). Seventy-four patients were recruited from four NEN centers in this observational multicenter study. Pancreas and small bowel were the most common primaries (30 and 27%, respectively). Almost all gastrointestinal (GI)-NENs were grades 1 and 2, whereas bronchopulmonary-thymic were atypical carcinoids. Thirty-two (43%) patients had synchronous metastatic bone disease (mBD) and three patients reported bone-specific symptoms; metachronous mBD developed at a median of 35 (range: 4–395) months. Thirty-six (86%) of patients with metachronous mBD had stage IV disease at diagnosis. Somatostatin receptor functional imaging and computed tomography were the modalities mostly used for mBD identification. Fifty-two patients received assessable bone-related therapy (bisphosphonates, denosumab, local radiotherapy, and radionuclide treatment). Improvement in mBD was seen in 5, stable disease in 22, and deterioration in 25 patients. The presence of synchronous mBD and the negative outcome of bone-related therapy negatively affected overall survival (OS). In the multivariate analysis, the stronger predictor of OS was the outcome of bone-related therapy (HR: 4.753; 95% CI: 1.589–14.213). Bisphosphonates therapy was the mostly used bone-specific treatment but its monthly administration did not affect OS. At last follow-up, 39 patients were alive with OS 50 (14–463) months. Early investigation for mBD offers a prognostic marker of patients with NENs, since synchronous mBD has a negative impact on survival. The outcome of bone-related therapy affects OS but the monthly administration of bisphosphonates did not show a benefit over less intense schemes.

Despite the rising interest in smart city initiatives worldwide, governmental theories along with the managerial perspectives of city planning are greatly lacking in the literature. It is definitely understandable that the adoption of configurational pathways toward the ‘smart’ ‘governance’ models is required as a key factor and smartness’ facilitator in modern cities. In this manuscript, we display an exhaustive literature review on the importance of the n-Helix models along with a benchmarking critical approach through selected European case studies. This paper reveals the lack of exhaustive analyses for the methodological investigation, identification, and adoption of the most appropriate governance model per project including collaborative approaches. In addition, the paper deploys modular frameworks to efficiently address the continuous urban challenges, such as the rapid urbanization or the climate change.

In this Chapter, we consider a microgrid with a certain number of distributed energy resources (DER) components connected to an office building (in a university campus) provided with electricity by a utility company. We develop the initial version of the energy management system which is responsible for the optimal energy scheduling of the microgrid’s distributed energy resources. These resources include a photovoltaic (PV) installation, a Storage Energy System (ESS), a small Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit, and a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) used for work-related trips. The mobility behavior of the EVs fleet is modeled considering deterministic realizations of the probabilistic distributions used for the arrival/departure, and the time EVs remain parked. To investigate the impact of renewable generation and load unpredictability on the energy management system (EMS) operation, PV production and electric load are modeled under uncertainty using actual smart meters data for the scenarios formulation. We also assume that each DER component, through an EMS, can communicate and control the power exchange from and towards this component and that, two way communication with the utility company can be reached through aggregators using advanced metering equipment. We also consider a simplified thermal model that provides a specific level of thermal comfort to the building’s occupants, by meeting the predicted heating load. The energy produced by the DERs can be sold back to the grid by the microgrid manager and/or it can be stored for future utilization.

Carsharing is a mode of transportation that provides access to a set of vehicles in the form of organized short-term car rental, serving as a substitute for private car ownership with a number of transportation, environmental, and social benefits. Combining the mobility concept of carsharing with electric vehicles (EVs), referred to as e-carsharing, can contribute not only to more efficient use of the shared vehicles, but also to more sustainable urban mobility in smart cities. In this context, this paper advances the concept of university-based e-carsharing, to serve the mobility needs of an academic community in Bilbao, Spain, focusing on the technical design aspects to cover the energy requirements of the EV fleet of the proposed system through the installation of fast charging posts based on a battery-to-battery approach. In this regard, a MATLAB/Simulink model is implemented to simulate the fast charging infrastructure using the real-world data collected from the university parking lot in order to represent the potential utilization of the EVs. The simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed system design, ensuring that the energy demand of the EVs is successfully covered and concurrently the charging station batteries operate out of the low charge zone. QC 20180927

The renewed interest in the deployment of electric vehicles promises enhanced environmental and social compatibility, higher energy efficiency, as well as effective power grid support through the vehicle-to-grid energy exchange mode. Focusing on a smaller scale, such as buildings with large parking lots for electric vehicles, the aim of the so-called vehicle-to-building concept is to regulate the power consumption of a building by either throttling the charging rate of electric vehicles or by delivering electricity (discharging) into the building when needed. In this paper, a mathematical model is implemented in MATLAB to peak-shave and valley-fill the power consumption profile of a university building by scheduling the charging/discharging process in an electric vehicle parking lot, using real-world data of power consumption and parking lot occupancy. The simulation of three scenarios with different number of parking spots reveal the feasibility of the proposed approach to effectively flatten the power consumption profile during daytime, which is particularly important for electricity customers that the energy cost depends on the contracted power capacity. In detail, the results indicate that the peak power consumption is reduced by approximately 3% and 20% for the scenarios with the minimum and maximum number of electric vehicle parking spots respectively.

The evolution of smart grids enables active end-user participation in energy management systems (EMS) through demand response (DR) strategies. The integration of renewable energy sources (RES), electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS) provides additional energy and storage options to a microgrid. Factors as RES generation, market prices and EVs’ driving schedule determine the benefits of microgrid’s operation. In this paper, a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) framework-based model is provided to investigate the cooperative evaluation of an EMS operation in a building considering: (i) bidirectional energy trading capabilities of an EV fleet arriving at an office building under a stochastic EVs’ driving schedule, (ii) the impact of PV uncertainty on EMS operation based on real smart-metering data and comparing it with a deterministic PV production approach and, (iii) the effect of setting different prioritization factors in selling energy back to the grid from the resources on total system’s cost. Results confirmed the necessity of the stochastic approach as in all considered case-studies was found that the total expected daily cost for the system was much lower compared to their corresponding deterministic cases. For the base case study, detailed results were provided demonstrating the power flow between the microgrid’s components and the grid under both a stochastic and a deterministic approach.

The thermal network method is a reliable approach to study the thermal performance of buildings. It is able to simulate the indoor temperature, heating and cooling loads by means of a set of ordinary differential equations. In this work, a 4R3C thermal network has been proposed to study a detached building. Combinations of thermal networks are addressed in order to consider the effects of adjacent walls in other typologies (semi-attached and terraced). Corresponding models, generated by the TRNSYS software, provide the training data used to identify the parameters in the thermal networks. At the end, the accuracy of the model's output and identified parameters is discussed.

Electrification demand in small isolated power systems is typically covered by autonomous power stations, mainly diesel-generators. The technical constraints introduced by diesel-generators along with the high cost of storage options confine the penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) in these systems. This paper examines the possibility of utilizing a RES-hybrid system for a small Greek island by exploring three different case scenarios. The first two include system configurations with gradual conventional fossil-fuel power reduction while in the third one we investigate if a nearly 100% renewable system is feasible. Techno-economic analyses ensure the technical feasibility of the systems and address their economic viability. Results showed that the conventional fossil-fuel power required for the first and the second scenario could be decreased 52% and 74% compared to the existing system and the system's overall by 17% and 26% respectively. RES-penetration reached 68% (first-scenario) and 74% (second-scenario) while the NPC value was calculated to 1.84 and 2.25 million euro respectively. A nearly 100% renewable energy system (third scenario) could be technically feasible but it would require the installation of enormous RES equipment capacity dramatically increasing the total cost. Finally, the social aspect and local acceptability of RES-projects in Greece are discussed.

This paper presents an integrated tool to mitigate power quality issues in a microgrid through coordinating the operating schedule of its generating resources and loads. Such a microgrid includes renewable and conventional distributed energy resources, electric vehicles, energy storage, linear and nonlinear loads, while it serves as an example small-to-medium scale residential and commercial buildings. The proposed tool operates on a sequential, two-stage basis: at the first stage the energy management system (EMS) ensures that the microgrid’s generation resources and loads are dispatched at the minimum total system cost. In addition, it assesses the potential provision of flexibility services towards the system operator, relying on financially incentivized power signal requests. At the second stage, the power quality (PQ) framework evaluates whether the proposed optimal solution complies or not with several PQ standards applicable to the distribution level. The unique characteristic of the proposed tool is the self-triggered interaction between the EMS and the PQ framework, which identifies potential PQ violations, and restores the PQ indices to acceptable levels through an iterative process. Case studies have been performed with realistic model parameters to verify the performance of the proposed integrated tool. The obtained results demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm in managing voltage deviations, voltage unbalance, as well as harmonic distortions with a small additional cost for the total system.

Biological anti-rheumatic agents (BAA) may induce autoimmune phenomena. Evidence on thyroid-specific effects of these agents is relatively limited. We studied prospectively, over 3 years, 36 rheumatic patients treated with BAA (18 Infliximab and 18 Rituximab) and no prior exposure to biological therapies (group-1), with respect to their thyroid function, thyroid antibody titers, and thyroid ultrasonographic parameters, such as left inferior thyroid artery peak systolic velocity (ITA PSV), left thyroid lobe vascularity index (TL VI), and echogenicity. Twenty-eight rheumatic patients treated with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and/or glucocorticoids (group-2), 21 rheumatic patients not receiving any treatment (group-3), and 49 healthy individuals (group-4) were used for comparison. Thyroid function and autoantibody titers were not significantly altered at any stage irrespectively of the administered BAA, previously unknown autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) status, and/or concomitant treatment with glucocorticoids. Left ITA PSV was significantly increased in group-1 patients (mean ± SD start: 25.5 ± 14.1 cm/s vs. end: 29.8 ± 11.1 cm/s, p = 0.038 and p < 0.001, respectively). Six group-1, 7 group-2, and 3 group-3 patients developed reduced thyroid echogenicity during follow-up (start: p = 0.003 and end: p < 0.001). Left ITA PSV, left TL VI, and echogenicity changes were not related to alterations in thyroid volume, thyrotropin hormone levels, and/or underlying AITD. Infliximab and Rituximab do not cause any alterations in thyroid function and/or autoimmunity, even in patients with previously undiagnosed AITD. Elevated left ITA PSV and reduced thyroid echogenicity may be early features signaling progression to AITD in patients treated with BAA.

Evolution to the new “smart” era requires the implementation of smart technology systems through comprehensive and effective energy management concepts. This paper proposes a bi-directional energy management system framework for a smart household including renewable energy sources (RES), an energy storage system (ESS) and an electric vehicle (EV). The developed mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model utilizes two-way energy exchange using net metering technology and incorporates an optimizer which decides the power flow among the distributed energy resources (DER) components of the microgrid. Real smart-metering data for PV generation and real-time household load were classified using a clustering technique in order to formulate probabilistic scenarios. The stochastic approach was compared with a deterministic one. Results confirmed the necessity of the proposed stochastic approach as the total expected daily cost for the system within the stochastic approach was much lower compared to its corresponding deterministic case.

Efficient energy operation of microgrids that include a localized group of controllable loads with distributed energy resources (DERs) requires the development of energy management systems (EMSs) with the ability of controlling the loads so that the aggregate performance of the microgrid can be optimized. This paper proposes a bi-directional EMS framework used for an office building including photovoltaic panels (PV), an energy storage system (ESS) and a combined heat and power (CHP) microturbine. A simplified building thermal model is developed for predicting and characterizing the thermal demand. The developed mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model utilizes two-way energy exchange using net metering technology and incorporates an optimizer which decides the power flow among the DERs components of the microgrid so as to minimize electricity cost and in the same time ensure the thermal comfort of the occupants. Simulation results demonstrated the individual energy contribution of each DER in the system and confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

The new reactor concepts proposed in the Generation IV International Forum require the development and validation of new components and new materials. Inside the Collaborative Project on the European Sodium Fast Reactor, several accidental scenario have been studied. Nevertheless, none of them coped with mechanical safety assessment of the fuel cladding under accidental conditions. Among the accidental conditions considered, there is the unprotected transient of overpower (UTOP), due to the insertion, at the end of the first fuel cycle, of a positive reactivity into the reactor core as a consequence of the unexpected runaway of one control rod. The goal of the study was the search for a detailed distribution of the fission power, in the radial and axial directions, within the power peaked fuel pin under the above accidental conditions. Results show that after the control rod ejection an increase from 658 W/cm 3 to 894 W/cm 3 , i.e. of some 36%, is expected for the power peaked fuel pin. This information will represent the base to investigate, in a future work, the fuel cladding safety margin.

Context: Although adrenal incidentalomas (AIs) are associated with a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk (CVR) factors, it is not clear whether patients with nonfunctioning AI (NFAI) have increased CVR. Objective: Our objective was to investigate CVR in patients with NFAI. Design and Setting: This case-control study was performed in a tertiary general hospital. Subjects: Subjects included 60 normotensive euglycemic patients with AI and 32 healthy controls (C) with normal adrenal imaging. Main Outcome Measures: All participants underwent adrenal imaging, biochemical and hormonal evaluation, and the following investigations: 1) measurement of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and flow-mediated dilatation, 2) 2-hour 75-gram oral glucose tolerance test and calculation of insulin resistance indices (homeostasis model assessment, quantitative insulin sensitivity check, and Matsuda indices), 3) iv ACTH stimulation test, 4) low-dose dexamethasone suppression test, and 5) NaCl (0.9%) post-dexamethasone saline infusion test. Results: Based on cutoffs obtained from controls, autonomous cortisol secretion was documented in 26 patients (cortisol-secreting AI [CSAI] group), whereas 34 exhibited adequate cortisol and aldosterone suppression (NFAI group). IMT measurements were higher and flow-mediated vasodilatation was lower in the CSAI group compared with both NFAI and C and in the NFAI group compared with C. The homeostasis model assessment index was higher and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index and Matsuda indices were lower in the CSAI and NFAI groups compared with C as well as in CSAI compared with the NFAI group. The area under the curve for cortisol after ACTH stimulation was higher in the CSAI group compared with the NFAI group and C and in the NFAI group compared with C. In the CSAI group, IMT correlated with cortisol, urinary free cortisol, and cortisol after a low-dose dexamethasone suppression test, whereas in the NFAI group, IMT correlated with area under the curve for cortisol after ACTH stimulation and urinary free cortisol. Conclusions: Patients with CSAI without hypertension, diabetes, and/or dyslipidemia exhibit adverse metabolic and CVR factors. In addition, NFAIs are apparently associated with increased insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction that correlate with subtle but not autonomous cortisol excess.

This paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) study that examines a number of scenarios that complement the primary use phase of electric vehicle (EV) batteries with a secondary application in smart buildings in Spain, as a means of extending their useful life under less demanding conditions, when they no longer meet the requirements for automotive purposes. Specifically, it considers a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery to analyze four second life application scenarios by combining the following cases: (i) either reuse of the EV battery or manufacturing of a new battery as energy storage unit in the building, and (ii) either use of the Spanish electricity mix or energy supply by solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Based on the Eco-indicator 99 and IPCC 2007 GWP 20a methods, the evaluation of the scenario results shows that there is significant environmental benefit from reusing the existing EV battery in the secondary application instead of manufacturing a new battery to be used for the same purpose and time frame. Moreover, the findings of this work exemplify the dependence of the results on the energy source in the smart building application, and thus highlight the importance of PVs on the reduction of the environmental impact.

ObjectiveTo study the clinical presentation, diagnostic approach, response to treatment, and the presence of other pathologies in patients with gastric carcinoid type 1 (GC 1) tumors.Design and methodsRetrospective analysis of 111 patients from four institutions and a mean follow-up of 76 months.ResultsThe main indications for gastroscopy were upper gastrointestinal tract symptoms. The mean number of lesions, maximum tumoral diameter, and percentage of cells expressing Ki-67 labeling index were 3.6±3.8, 8±12.1 mm and 1.9±2.4% respectively. Serum gastrin and chromogranin A (CgA) levels were elevated in 100/101 and 85/90 patients respectively. Conventional imaging studies demonstrated pathology in 9/111 patients. Scintigraphy with radiolabeled octreotide was positive in 6/60 without revealing any additional lesions. From the 59 patients who had been followed-up without any intervention, five developed tumor progression. Thirty-two patients were treated with long-acting somatostatin analogs (SSAs), leading to a significant reduction of gastrin and CgA levels, number of visible tumors, and CgA immune-reactive tumor cells in 28, 19, 27, and 23 treated patients respectively. Antrectomy and/or gastrectomy were initially performed in 20 patients and a complete response was achieved in 13 patients. The most common comorbidities were vitamin B12 deficiency, thyroiditis, and parathyroid adenomas.ConclusionsMost GCs1 are grade 1 (82.7%) tumors presenting with stage I (73.9%) disease with no mortality after prolonged follow-up. Ocreoscan did not provide further information compared with conventional imaging techniques. Treatment with SSAs proved to be effective for the duration of administration.

Nowadays, one of the dominant reasons of excessive energy consumption is the high energy demand in corporate and/or public buildings. At the same time, electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more and more popular worldwide being a considerable alternative power source when parked. In this work we initially propose an energy management framework which optimizes the control of the charging-discharging schedule of a fleet of EVs arriving at a university building for two typical load-days in February and May aiming at the minimization of the energy demand and, thus, the electricity cost of the building. To this end, a mixed integer linear programing (MILP) model containing binary and continuous variables was developed. Uncertainties in load, generation, and cost require modeling power systems with a probabilistic approach. In such a way, the probabilistic nature of demand side management (DSM) problem is also possible to be addressed. The integration of the EVs in the Low Voltage (LV) grid is simulated with a probabilistic analysis framework that uses real smart metering (SM) data. The stochastic character of the loading parameters at the network nodes is studied taking into account the charging energy needs of the corresponding EVs fleet.

High energy demand in corporate and/or public buildings is nowadays one of the main reasons of excessive energy consumption. At the same time, electric vehicles (EVs) have become very popular worldwide being a considerable alternative power source when parked. In this work we propose a scheduling mechanism which optimizes the control of the charging-discharging schedule of an altered but finite number of EVs arriving at a university building for a typical load-day in February aiming at the minimization of the energy demand and the electricity cost of the building. In the aforementioned framework, a parallel operation of a small sized gas turbine generator (GGT) is considered. To this end, a mixed integer linear programing (MILP) model containing binary and continuous variables has been developed to optimize the control process and minimize energy cost. Results showed that the use of the EVs as an alternative energy source can significantly contribute to the reduction of the building's energy demand leading to important cost decrease. The exploitation of the energy produced by the GGT further contributed to the minimization of the total energy consumption of the building and the total electricity cost.

The vast majority of gastrin-related gastrointestinal neuroendocrine neoplasms (GI-NENs) develop in the context of chronic atrophic gastritis (type 1), a condition closely related to autoimmune thyroid diseases. These neoplasms are defined as gastric NENs type 1 (GNEN1) and have recently been shown to constitute the commonest GI-NENs in a prospective study. GNEN1s are usually multiple and follow a relative indolent course, raising questions regarding the extent that such patients should be investigated and the appropriate therapeutic interventions needed. Recently, a number of consensus statements and guidelines have been published from various societies dealing with the diagnosis and management of GI-NENs. Endocrinologists are among the many different medical specialties involved in GNEN1s diagnosis and management. However, despite recent advances, few randomized trials are available, and thus existing evidence remains relatively weak compared to other malignancies. The purpose of this review is to provide recent evidence along with currently employed modalities addressing the diagnosis, management, long-term follow-up and potential comorbidities of GNEN1s.

Studies have documented the presence of herpes viruses in semen. The aim of our study was to determine whether they persist in semen samples following two-density gradient centrifugation for IVF purposes. Semen samples were collected from 109 men seeking fertility evaluation, prior to IVF treatment. Routine semen analysis was performed according to WHO guidelines. Each sample was treated in a two-density gradient centrifugation using PureSperm (PS). Both untreated and treated samples were screened for the presence of herpes viruses, using PCR. Kruskal-Wallis, chi-square and binomial statistical tests were used; P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. No statistically significant associations were observed between semen parameters and viral presence. Viral DNA was detected in 54% of semen samples: HSV1/2 in 32 samples, EBV in 49, CMV in 47, HHV6 in 9, HHV7 in 4 and VZV in none. PS gradient failed to remove CMV in 89.36%, HSV1/2 in 59.38% and EBV in 22.45% of samples, while HHV6 and 7 were completely removed. Especially HSV1/2 and CMV seem to persist even following PS treatment. These observations indicate the possible risk of oocyte becoming infected during insemination, by IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection, with unknown sequelae. Further studies are required to determine whether any correlation exists between their presence, implantation rate and the outcome of pregnancy.

Aim: to determine thyroid vascularity in healthy subjects and patients with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), and assess its sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of AITD.Methods: High-sensitivity color flow Doppler sonography (HSCFDS) was used to estimate the thyroid intra - parenchymal vascularity in 31 euthyroid patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HD), 33 hypothyroid patients with HD, 13 hyperthyroid patients with Graves’ disease, and in 34 healthy controls. Images obtained from the ultrasound unit were further processed with a widespread, available imaging analysis program and the predictive value of the maximum vascularity index (VI) was used for further statistical analysis.Results: Compared to healthy controls, patients with AITD had higher mean VI of both the right and the left thyroid lobe (TL) (P < 0.001). The sensitivity of left TL VI values greater than 5.57% (the best cut-off value of the Receiver Operating Characteristics-ROC curve) for the diagnosis of AITD was 80.8% and the specificity was 85.3%. Right TL VI values greater than 14.75% had 84.6% sensitivity and 86.2% specificity for the differential diagnosis among patients with HT or GD.Conclusions: Measurement of right and left TL vascularity index using HSCFDS is a high specific tool, particularly where there is a high clinical suspicion of an autoimmune process.

Antithyroid drugs have been used for more than 50 years for the management of hyperthyroidism. Most patients tolerate treatment well but some may develop life threatening side effects such as agranulocytosis and aplastic anemia (AA). We review all cases of antithyroid drug induced AA and describe, as illustrative cases, two women with Graves' disease who developed AA after 8 and 24 weeks of carbimazole (CBM) and methimazole (MMI) treatment respectively.To date, at least 34 cases of aplastic anemia (AA) due to antithyroid drugs [(1 with CMZ, 31 with MMI, and 2 with propylthiouracil (PTU)] have been published, not including the two patients described here. In addition, at least another 14 patients in whom AA developed after treatment with antithyroid drugs (11 with CMZ, and 3 with MMI) have been reported in Yellow Card Scheme data analysis. Patients with AA usually exhibit sudden onset of symptoms after a relative short time of exposure to the drugs, and all have concomitant agranulocytosis. Most have a rapid recovery following discontinuation of the drug and supportive treatment. Although only two antithyroid drug induced AA deaths have been published, the mortality rate was higher in the Yellow Card Scheme data analysis.Aplastic anemia associated with antithyroid drug treatment is rarer than antithyroid drug associated agranulocytosis. The prognosis of patients with antithyroid drug induced AA is good overall, but may not be as favorable as that of antithyroid drug induced isolated agranulocytosis.

Nowadays distribution systems are becoming more and more complicated mainly due to the new methods of producing and storing electricity (PV, fuel cells, battery storage systems) as well as due to the new tensions of consuming electric energy (smart appliances, e-vehicles, e-bikes, etc.). Uncertainty in load, generation, and cost requires modeling power systems with a probabilistic approach. In such a way, the probabilistic nature of demand side management (DSM) problem can also be addressed. This work presents the design of an e-bike sharing system, in terms of system components and user mobility patterns. The integration of the designed system in the Low Voltage (LV) grid is simulated with a probabilistic analysis framework that uses real smart metering (SM) data. The stochastic character of the loading parameters at the network nodes is studied taking into account the charging energy needs of the proposed e-bikes sharing system. PV generation produced on the parking roof of the e-bikes smart charging stations (SCS) along with the energy stored in a local battery is also studied.

Carsharing has the potential to reduce the total number of cars on the road, with significant benefits to the society and the environment, while at the same time relevant studies show that university communities are often more receptive to alternative transportation services compared to the general population. With the growing interest in electromobility, as a means of decarbonizing the transportation sector, this paper considers the case of combining carsharing with electric vehicles (EVs) to serve the commuting needs of students, employees and faculty of a university in Bilbao, Spain. The aim of the present work is to conceptualize the design of the charging infrastructure of the e-carsharing system under a fast charging scheme and define its components, their attributes and interactions. To this end, a MATLAB/Simulink based simulator is developed incorporating the dynamics of a real-world scenario based on arrival and departure data from the university parking lot.

The design and safety analyses of current and future nuclear reactors require continuous improvement of computational accuracies. To this end, multi-physics approaches including detailed, coupled neutronic, thermal hydraulic, and fuel pin mechanic assessments are being increasingly used. In this work, we have studied the neutronic performance of a 3600 MWth oxide-fuelled sodium-cooled fast reactor core developed in the framework of the Euratom 7th Framework Programme Collaborative Project on European Sodium Fast Reactor. A new version of Monte Carlo neutron transport code (MCNP6) was used to evaluate a number of safety-relevant characteristics. These included the effective neutron multiplication factor and pin-by-pin power distribution in the ESFR core. As such, the peak power pin was identified and its axial power profile determined. These characteristics were evaluated both for the beginning of life as well as the end of cycle situations, explicitly taking into account changes in core material composition during burn-up. Obtained results will serve as an input to detailed safety assessments of fuel pin behavior in nominal and off-nominal conditions.