The paper proposes a new method for optimal allocation of shunt capacitors in distribution network with renewable distributed generation units such as wind turbines and/or solar power plants. The ...proposed method, based on application of the Monte Carlo simulation methods, respects the uncertainties associated with load demand and renewable sources power production. The optimisation problem is modelled by two criterion functions with the aim of improving voltage profile in a network by optimal selection of the locations and installed powers of the shunt capacitors. The suggested criterion functions have been optimised simultaneously by applying the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm. On the basis of the measured data on wind speed and solar radiation, the method has been tested by the example of a real distribution network.
Data on medical applications of cerium oxide nanoparticles CeO2 (CONP) are promising, yet information regarding their action in cells is incomplete and there are conflicting reports about in vitro ...toxicity. Herein, we have studied cytotoxic effect of CONP in several cancer and normal cell lines and their potential to change intracellular redox status. The IC50 was achieved only in two of eight tested cell lines, melanoma 518A2 and colorectal adenocarcinoma HT-29. Self-propagating room temperature method was applied to produce CONP with an average crystalline size of 4 nm. The results confirmed presence of Ce(3+) and O(2-) vacancies. The induction of cell death by CONP and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were analyzed by flow-cytometry. Free radicals related antioxidant capacity of the cells was studied by the reduction of stable free radical TEMPONE using electron spin resonance spectroscopy. CONP showed low or moderate cytotoxicity in cancer cell lines: adenocarcinoma DLD1 and multi-drug resistant DLD1-TxR, non-small cell lung carcinoma NCI-H460 and multi-drug resistant NCI-H460/R, while normal cell lines (keratinocytes HaCaT, lung fetal fibroblasts MRC-5) were insensitive. The most sensitive were 518A2 melanoma and HT-29 colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines, with the IC50 values being between 100 and 200 μM. Decreased rate of TEMPONE reduction and increased production of certain ROS species (peroxynitrite and hydrogen peroxide anion) indicates that free radical metabolism, thus redox status was changed, and antioxidant capacity damaged in the CONP treated 518A2 and HT-29 cells. In conclusion, changes in intracellular redox status induced by CONP are partly attributed to the prooxidant activity of the nanoparticles. Further, ROS induced cell damages might eventually lead to the cell death. However, low inhibitory potential of CONP in the other human cell lines tested indicates that CONP may be safe for human usage in industry and medicine.
Utilization possibilities of solidified fractions of industrial hazardous waste obtained by mixing with inert materials in construction were investigated. Waste mineral oils, water-hydrocarbon ...emulsions mixture, and waste filter cakes from the physico-chemical treatment of wastewater generated by washing of patterned rollers for a printing machine, were used as models of industrial hazardous waste in the solidification process. Investigation comprised preparation of concrete and asphalt mixtures for further testing. The solidified powder was analyzed regarding the granulometric composition, while the obtained concrete samples were further subjected to compressive strength determination, whereas the asphalt mixtures were tested in the context of potential waterproofing materials. According to the obtained leaching test results, all the samples met the required conditions for further application. Compressive strength test results were in the range of 8.7-22.6 MPa. Still, the measured compressive strength values were lower than expected, which is explained using solidified powder fractions of smaller grain size. According to the results, it can be concluded that the investigated mixtures cannot be used for structural building elements, but their usage is recommended for elements such as pavements, roadside, path cubes, concrete haberdashery, etc. Asphalt mixtures showed acceptable properties in terms of mechanical, durability, and waterproofing tests.
Difficulties in advancing effective patient-specific therapies for psychiatric disorders highlight a need to develop a stable neurobiologically grounded mapping between neural and symptom variation. ...This gap is particularly acute for psychosis-spectrum disorders (PSD). Here, in a sample of 436 PSD patients spanning several diagnoses, we derived and replicated a dimensionality-reduced symptom space across hallmark psychopathology symptoms and cognitive deficits. In turn, these symptom axes mapped onto distinct, reproducible brain maps. Critically, we found that multivariate brain-behavior mapping techniques (e.g. canonical correlation analysis) do not produce stable results with current sample sizes. However, we show that a univariate brain-behavioral space (BBS) can resolve stable individualized prediction. Finally, we show a proof-of-principle framework for relating personalized BBS metrics with molecular targets via serotonin and glutamate receptor manipulations and neural gene expression maps derived from the Allen Human Brain Atlas. Collectively, these results highlight a stable and data-driven BBS mapping across PSD, which offers an actionable path that can be iteratively optimized for personalized clinical biomarker endpoints.
The dominant compounds in Satureja horvatii oil were p-cymene (33.14%), thymol (26.11%) and thymol methyl ether (15.08%). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) varied from 0.03 to 0.57mg/mL for ...bacteria, and from 0.56 to 2.23mg/mL for yeast strains, while minimum bactericidal/yeast-cidal concentration (MBC/MYC) varied from 0.07 to 1.15mg/mL and 1.11 to 5.57mg/mL for bacteria and yeasts, respectively. The antiradical potential of the essential oil was evaluated using hydroxyl radical (•OH) generated in Fenton reaction. The meat preserving potential of essential oil from Satureja horvatii was investigated against L. monocytogenes. Essential oil successfully inhibited development of L. monocytogenes in pork meat. Sensorial evaluation on flavor and color of meat was performed. The color and flavor of meat treated with essential oil improved after 4days of storage. S. horvatii essential oil can act as a potent inhibitor of food spoiling microorganisms, in meat products and also can be a useful source of natural antioxidants.
•S. horvatii was a rich source of p-cymene, thymol and thymol methyl ether.•Essential oil possessed dose dependent antimicrobial activity.•Antiradical properties were recorded.•Pork meat was preserved by essential oil, by inhibiting development of L. monocytogenes.
Herein we compared antioxidative activities (AA) of 25 free l-amino acids (FAA) against Fenton system-mediated hydroxyl radical (HO•) production in aqueous solution, and examined the relation between ...AA and a set of physicochemical properties. The rank order according to AA was: Trp > norleucine > Phe, Leu > Ile > His >3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, Arg > Val > Lys, Tyr, Pro > hydroxyproline > α-aminobutyric acid > Gln, Thr, Ser > Glu, Ala, Gly, Asn, Asp. Sulfur-containing FAA generated different secondary reactive products, which were discriminated by the means of electron paramagnetic resonance spin-trapping spectroscopy. AA showed a general positive correlation with hydrophobicity. However, when taken separately, uncharged FAA exhibited strong positive correlation of AA with hydrophobicity whereas charged FAA showed negative or no significant correlation depending on the scale applied. A general strong negative correlation was found between AA and polarity. Steric parameters and hydration numbers correlated positively with AA of nonpolar side-chain FAA. In addition, a decrease of temperature which promotes hydrophobic hydration resulted in increased AA. This implies that HO•-provoked oxidation of FAA is strongly affected by hydrophobic hydration. Our findings are important for the understanding of oxidation processes in natural and waste waters.
Rationale
Depression, with variable longitudinal patterns, recurs in one third of patients. We lack useful predictors of its course/outcome, and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) of ...brain metabolites is an underused research modality in finding outcome correlates.
Objectives
To determine if brain metabolite levels/changes in the amygdala region observed early in the recovery phase indicate depression recurrence risk in patients receiving maintenance therapy.
Methods
Forty-eight patients on stable-dose antidepressant (AD) maintenance therapy were analyzed from recovery onset until (i) recurrence of depression or (ii) start of AD discontinuation. Two 1H-MRS scans (6 months apart) were performed with a focus on amygdala at the beginning of recovery. N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline-containing metabolites (Cho), and Glx (glutamine/glutamate and GABA) were evaluated with regard to time without recurrence, and risks were assessed by Cox proportional hazard modeling.
Results
Twenty patients had depression recurrence, and 23 patients reached AD discontinuation. General linear model repeated measures analysis displayed three-way interaction of measurement time, metabolite level, and recurrence on maintenance therapy, in a multivariate test, Wilks’ lambda = 0.857,
F
(2,40) = 3.348,
p
= 0.045. Cho levels at the beginning of recovery and subsequent changes convey the highest risk for earlier recurrence. Patients experiencing higher amygdala Cho after recovery are at a significantly lower risk for depression recurrence (hazard ratio = 0.32; 95% confidence interval 0.13–0.77).
Conclusion
Cho levels/changes in the amygdala early in the recovery phase correlate with clinical outcome. In the absence of major NAA fluctuations, changes in Cho and Glx may suggest a shift towards reduction in (previously increased) glutamatergic neurotransmission. Investigation of a larger sample with greater sampling frequency is needed to confirm the possible predictive role of metabolite changes in the amygdala region early in the recovery phase.
Five Ru(II)(η6-toluene) complexes formed with 2-picolinic acid and its various derivatives have been synthesized and characterized. X-ray structures of four complexes are also reported. Complex ...formation processes of Ru(II)(η6-toluene)(H2O)32+ organometallic cation with the metal-free ligands were studied in aqueous solution in the presence of chloride ions by the combined use of 1H NMR spectroscopy, UV–visible spectrophotometry and pH-potentiometry. Solution stability, chloride ion affinity and lipophilicity of the complexes were characterized together with in vitro cytotoxic and antiproliferative activity in cancer cell lines being sensitive and resistant to classic chemotherapy and in normal cells as well. Formation of mono complexes such as Ru(η6-toluene)(L)(Z)+/0 (L: completely deprotonated ligand; Z = H2O/Cl−) with high stability and Ru(η6-toluene)(L)(OH) was found in solution. The pKa values (8.3–8.7) reflect the formation of low amount of mixed hydroxido species at pH 7.4 at 0.2 M KCl ionic strength. The complexes are fairly hydrophilic and show moderate chloride ion affinity and fast chloride-water exchange processes. The studied complexes exhibit no cytotoxic activity in human cancer cells (IC50 > 100 μM), only complexes formed with 2-picolinic acid (1) and its 3-methyl derivative (2) represented a moderate antiproliferative effect (IC50 = 84.8 (1), 79.2 μM (2)) on a multidrug resistant colon adenocarcinoma cell line revealing considerable multidrug resistant selectivity. Complexes 1 and 2 bind to human serum albumin covalently and relatively slowly with moderate strength at multiple binding sites without ligand cleavage.
Ru(II)(η6-toluene) complexes of 2-picolinic acid and its four derivatives were synthesized and characterized including X-ray structure analysis. Stoichiometry, stability and chloride affinity of the complexes were determined in aqueous solution. Their cytotoxicity and antiproliferative effects were evaluated in sensitive and resistant human cancer cell lines. Display omitted
•Solution stability of Ru(toluene) complexes of various picolinates•Moderate pKa and aqua/chlorido ligand exchange constants•X-ray crystal structure of four Ru(toluene)(picolinate) complexes•Antiproliferative activity against sensitive and resistant human cancer cell lines•Human serum albumin binding at multiple sites
The research in this paper is focused on the analysis of the environmental performance indicators reporting impact in the context of sustainable development on the profitability of companies. The ...research focuses on 60 companies in the energy sector in Europe in the period 2012-2020. Reports on sustainable development of companies available in the database of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) were used for the collection of data. The independent variables in this study are nine indicators of the environmental performance of sustainable development. The dependent variable is the profitability of the company, which is measured by the rate of return on total assets (ROA). The method of multiple linear regression will be used to analyze the impact of reporting on environmental performance indicators of sustainable development on the profitability of energy companies in Europe. Empirical results of this research have shown that reporting on environmental performance indicators of sustainable development has a positive effect on company profitability indicators.
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