Respiratory viral infections are a leading cause of disease worldwide. A variety of respiratory viruses produce infections in humans with effects ranging from asymptomatic to life-treathening. ...Standard surveillance systems typically only target severe infections (ED outpatients, hospitalisations, deaths) and fail to track asymptomatic or mild infections. Here we performed a large-scale community study across multiple age groups to assess the pathogenicity of 18 respiratory viruses. We enrolled 214 individuals at multiple New York City locations and tested weekly for respiratory viral pathogens, irrespective of symptom status, from fall 2016 to spring 2018. We combined these test results with participant-provided daily records of cold and flu symptoms and used this information to characterise symptom severity by virus and age category. Asymptomatic infection rates exceeded 70% for most viruses, excepting influenza and human metapneumovirus, which produced significantly more severe outcomes. Symptoms were negatively associated with infection frequency, with children displaying the lowest score among age groups. Upper respiratory manifestations were most common for all viruses, whereas systemic effects were less typical. These findings indicate a high burden of asymptomatic respiratory virus infection exists in the general population.
HLA Genetic Variability Shapes Pancreatic Cancer Risk Langtry, Alberto; Rabadán, R.; Filip, I. ...
Pancreatology : official journal of the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP) ... et al.,
11/2022, Letnik:
22
Journal Article
To perform the analysis of the peripheral blood lymphocyte changes after stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) in patients with oligometastatic cancers.
The dynamics of the immune status in ...peripheral blood was prospectively evaluated in 46 patients with lung (17 cases) or liver (29 cases) metastases treated by SABR. Flow cytometry of peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations was performed before SABR, 3-4 weeks and 6-8 weeks after the end of SABR: 3 fractions of 15-20 Gy or 4 fractions of 13.5 Gy. The number of treated lesions varied from 1 (32 patients) to 2-3 (14 patients).
SABR induced a significant increase of T-lymphocytes (CD3+CD19-) (p = 0.001), T-helper (CD3+CD4+) (p = 0.004), activated cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CD3+CD8+HLA-DR+) (p = 0.001), activated T-helpers (CD3+CD4+HLA-DR+) (p < 0.001). A significant decrease of T-regulated immune suppressive lymphocytes (CD4+CD25brightCD127low) (p = 0.002) and NKT-cells (CD3+CD16+CD56+) (p = 0.007) was recorded after the SABR. The comparative analysis demonstrated that lower doses of SABR (EQD2Gy(α/β=10) = 93.7-105.7 Gy) induced significant increase of T-lymphocytes, activated cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, and activated CD4+CD25+ T-helpers, while SABR with higher doses (EQD2Gy(α/β=10) = 150 Gy) was not associated with these effects. A more efficient activations of T-lymphocytes (p = 0.010), activated T-helpers (p < 0.001), and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (p = 0.003) were associated with SABR to a single lesion. A significant increase of T-lymphocytes (p = 0.002), T-helpers (p = 0.003), and activated cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (p = 0.001) was observed after SABR for hepatic metastases in contrast to SABR for lung lesions.
Changes in peripheral blood lymphocytes after SABR could be influenced by the location or the number of irradiated metastasis, and the dose of SABR.
Based on historiography and documentary research, this study juxtaposes the economic history of the Principality of Transylvania against the general evolution of accounting practice and thought, and ...makes comparisons with the general European context. Along with providing evidence for a less-researched area, the discussion on the sophistication of accounting through successive stages - from 1541 to 1918 - is useful for enabling other regional comparative studies. This study argues that there was a delay in the evolution of accounting in Transylvania compared to the development of European accounting, with the gap growing smaller towards the end of World War I. The pace of economic development, initially extremely slow, increased and triggered the emergence of capitalism, hence the development of double-entry bookkeeping and scientific accounting. In this way, Sombart's ideas and the post-Sombart theses are supported. Imperial (Austro-Hungarian) political domination and the region's social structure played an important role in this setting. Observing other external channels of the spread of accounting, the study confirms the validity of the diffusionist theory.
The main objective of the control strategies applied at hybrid micro grid systems (wind/hydro/solar), that function based on maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques is to improve the ...conversion system's efficiency and to preserve the quality of the generated electrical energy (voltage and power factor). One of the main goals of maximum power point tracking strategy is to achieve the harvesting of the maximal possible energy within a certain time period. In order to implement the control strategies for micro grid, there are typically required specific transducers (sensor for wind speed, optical rotational transducers, etc.). In the technical literature, several variants of the MPPT techniques are presented and particularized at some applications (wind energy conversion systems, solar systems, hydro plants, micro grid hybrid systems). The maximum power point tracking implementations are mainly based on two-level architecture. The lower level controls the main variable and the superior level represents the MPPT control structure. The paper presents micro grid structures developed at Politehnica University Timisoara (PUT) within the frame of a research grant. The paper is focused on the application of MPPT strategies on hybrid micro grid systems. There are presented several structures and control strategies and are highlighted their advantages and disadvantages, together with practical implementation guidelines.
Hydroelectric power has proven to be an efficient and reliable form of renewable energy, but its impact on the environment has long been a source of concern. Hydrokinetic turbines are an emerging ...class of renewable energy technology designed for deployment in small rivers and streams with minimal environmental impact on the local ecosystem. Hydrokinetic technology represents a truly clean source of energy, having the potential to become a highly efficient method of harvesting renewable energy. However, in order to achieve this goal, extensive research is necessary. This paper presents a Hardware-in-the-Loop emulator for a run-of-the-river type hydrokinetic turbine. The HIL system uses an ABB ACS800 drive to control an induction machine as a significant means of replicating the behavior of the real turbine. The induction machine is coupled to a permanent magnet synchronous generator and the corresponding load. The ACS800 drive is controlled through the software system, which comprises of the hydrokinetic turbine real-time simulation through mathematical modeling in the LabVIEW programming environment running on a NI CompactRIO (cRIO) platform. The advantages of this method are that it can provide a means for testing many control configurations without requiring the presence of the real turbine. This paper contains the basic principles of a hydrokinetic turbine, particularly the run-of-the-river configurations along with the experimental results obtained from the HIL system.
The palladium and platinum complexes of the newly synthesized 1-(diphenylphosphino)-10-methyl-10H-phenothiazine (1) and the previously reported 3-(diphenylphosphino)-10-alkyl-10H-phenothiazine alkyl ...= Me (2), Et (3) and 4-(diphenylphosphino)-10-ethyl-10H-phenothiazine (4) were prepared. Density functional calculations were carried out to explain the electronic properties of compounds 1, 3 and 4. Compounds 1, 3 and 4 can interact with DNA, as was observed in agarose gel electrophoresis experiments. In addition, the cytotoxicity of the platinum complexes of ligands 2 and 4 towards breast, colorectal and hepatocarcinoma cell lines was studied.
The paper presents an extended structure for a minimum variance adaptive control system of an induction generator, which aims to improve its operating behavior under electrical short-circuit ...conditions. The basic design idea is to limit the control to physically achievable values, and thus increasing the robustness of the control system and avoiding an instability regime. A control limiting block is proposed and used for this purpose. Moreover, a short-circuit detector enables an on-line setting of the control penalty factor, improving the quality of the controlled output. All these additional customizations of the control system, implemented to keep the plant operational under and after a short-time short-circuit fault (acting as an abnormal perturbation), must also provide good performance in the normal operating mode. Index Terms--adaptive control, control engineering, generators, power system faults, short circuit currents
The main followed objectives within control strategies dedicated to hybrid micro grid systems (wind hydro solar), that operate based on maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques are to improve ...the conversion systems efficiency and to maintain the quality of the produced electrical energy (the voltage and power factor control). One of the main goals of maximum power point tracking strategy is to achieve the harvesting of the maximal possible energy within a pre-set time period. In order to implement the control strategies for micro grid systems that operate at time variable parameter, there are usually required specific transducers (anemometer for wind speed measurement, optical rotational transducers, taco generators, etc.). In the technical literature there are presented several variants of the MPPT techniques, which are particularized at several applications (wind energy conversion systems, solar systems, hydro plants and micro grid hybrid systems). The maximum power point tracking implementations are mainly based on two-level architecture. The inferior level controls the primary variables, while the superior level represents the MPPT control structure. In the paper, authors present some micro grid structures proposed at Politehnica University Timisoara within the frame of a research grant. The paper is focused on the application of MPPT strategies on hybrid micro grid systems. There are presented several structures and control strategies and are highlighted their advantages and disadvantages, together with practical implementation guidelines.
Pancreatic cancer (PC) and chronic pancreatitis (CP) are still significant problems. The aim of this study was a comparative analysis of the activity and concentrations of matrix metalloproteinases 2 ...and 9 and the concentrations of their tissue inhibitors (TIMP 1 and 2) in the PC compared to CP tissue homogenates. The study was performed in a group of 63 patients with pancreatic cancer or chronic pancreatitis selected for resection procedures. Group 1 consisted of 31 patients with CP, group 2 consisted of 32 patients with PC. There was no coincidence of pancreatic cancer in CP group. The pancreatic tumor samples have been properly prepared in order to perform electrophoresis and immunoassay testing. The activity of MMPs and the concentrations of MMPs and TIMPs were evaluated.
the revealed activities of gelatinases and concentrations levels of the gelatinases and their inhibitors were significantly higher in the PC tissue samples compared to CP. In both groups, higher concentrations of MMP9 compared to MMP2 and TIMP2 compared to TIMP1 were shown. High potential for tumor invasiveness demonstrated by the formation of lymph node metastases was characterized by the higher concentrations of MMP9 and TIMP2. However, in the case of infiltration of the nerve fibers, a decrease in the concentration of MMP2 was found.
gelatinases and their inhibitors play important role in the pathogenesis of the CP as well as PC. The activity and concentration of gelatinases and the concentration of their inhibitors were all significantly higher in the PC group.
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