It is difficult to estimate how much distributed generation (DG) capacity will be connected to distribution systems in the coming years; however, it is certain that increasing penetration levels ...require robust tools that help assess the capabilities and requirements of the networks in order to produce the best planning and control strategies. The work of this Task Force is focused on the numerous strategies and methods that have been developed in recent years to address DG integration and planning. This paper contains a critical review of the work in this field. Although there have been numerous publications in this area, widespread implementation of the methods has not taken place. The barriers to implementation of the advanced techniques are outlined, highlighting why network operators have been slow to pick up on the research to date. Furthermore, key challenges ahead which remain to be tackled are also described, many of which have come into clear focus with the current drive towards smarter distribution networks.
A flexible gas sensor operating at low temperature was achieved using TiO2 membrane nanotubes prepared by anodization method. The TiO2 membrane nanotubes have an average diameter of 100 nm with a ...length of 12 μm.
TiO2 membrane nanotubes was supported over a flexible substrate, onto which array interdigitated gold electrodes were obtained using conventional microfabrication procedure.
The sensing characteristics were investigated by measuring the electrical resistance of the sensor in a test chamber as a function of gas concentration. This was used to detect trimethylamine (TMA) within a concentration range of 40–400 ppm.
The experiment results show that the TiO2 membrane nanotubes are a kind of promising material for detecting TMA at low temperature.
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•TiO2 nanotubes membrane was made and supported on a flexible substrate.•The flexible substrates have advantages such as low-cost and mechanical flexibility.•The results show that the TiO2 membrane nanotubes detect TMA at low temperature.
•Hierarchical reconciliation techniques are demonstrated for temporal hierarchies.•Reconciliation revises the base forecasts and improves their accuracies significantly.•Reconciled forecasts are ...aggregate consistent across all hierarchies.•A day-ahead forecasting example is included for empirical evaluation.
Previously in “Reconciling solar forecasts: Geographical hierarchy” Solar Energy 146 (2017) 276–286, we have demonstrated that by reconciling the forecasts obtained from a geographical hierarchy (formed by levels such as transmission zones, distribution nodes, PV plants, subsystems and inverters), more accurate forecasts can be obtained as compared to forecasts produced using only the information from a single level. Furthermore, these reconciled forecasts are aggregate consistent, facilitating different power system operations and power plant management. In this paper, we continue our discussion on hierarchical reconciliation and consider another type of hierarchy, namely, temporal hierarchy.
A temporal hierarchy can be constructed by aggregating a high-frequency time series (e.g., hourly) into different low-frequency time series (e.g., 6-hourly and daily). While the measurements in a temporal hierarchy sum up consistently (e.g., the first two points in an hourly time series sum up to be the first point in the 2-hourly time series), the forecasts in general do not sum up, due to the different models used to generate forecasts. This inconsistency poses an apparent problem when selecting forecasts. Using reconciliation could mitigate the problem by reconciling different forecasts obtained at different timescales, and thus generating aggregate consistent forecasts. In addition, the reconciled forecasts reduce modeling uncertainties using combinations – similar to the ensemble forecasting used in numerical weather prediction (NWP) – and thus improve forecast accuracy.
The empirical part of the paper consists an NWP-based day-ahead forecast reconciliation example. Hourly data from 318 sites in California, over a period of 1year, is used. Over 50 million forecasts are produced in this paper, in an operational forecasting context. Temporal reconciliation is shown to significantly outperform NWP forecasts produced by 3TIER, with a forecast skill (computed based on 3TIER forecasts) up to 0.3. Since reconciliation does not require any additional information, such improvement is thus encouraging.
Summary
Background
COVID-19 is an ongoing threat to society. Patients who develop the most severe forms of the disease have high mortality. The interleukin-6 inhibitor tocilizumab has the potential ...to improve outcomes in these patients by preventing the development of cytokine release storm.
Aims
To evaluate the outcomes of patients with severe COVID-19 disease treated with the interleukin-6 inhibitor tocilizumab.
Methods
We conducted a retrospective, case–control, single-center study in patients with severe to critical COVID-19 disease treated with tocilizumab. Disease severity was defined based on the amount of oxygen supplementation required. The primary endpoint was the overall mortality. Secondary endpoints were mortality in non-intubated patients and mortality in intubated patients.
Results
A total of 193 patients were included in the study. Ninety-six patients received tocilizumab, while 97 served as the control group. The mean age was 60 years. Patients over 65 years represented 43% of the population. More patients in the tocilizumab group reported fever, cough and shortness of breath (83%, 80% and 96% vs. 73%, 69% and 71%, respectively). There was a non-statistically significant lower mortality in the treatment group (52% vs. 62.1%, P = 0.09). When excluding intubated patients, there was statistically significant lower mortality in patients treated with tocilizumab (6% vs. 27%, P = 0.024). Bacteremia was more common in the control group (24% vs. 13%, P = 0.43), while fungemia was similar for both (3% vs. 4%, P = 0.72).
Conclusion
Our study showed a non-statistically significant lower mortality in patients with severe to critical COVID-19 disease who received tocilizumab. When intubated patients were excluded, the use of tocilizumab was associated with lower mortality.
Myofibroblasts are the major source of extracellular matrix components that accumulate during tissue fibrosis, and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are believed to be the major source of myofibroblasts ...in the liver. To date, robust systems to genetically manipulate these cells have not been developed. We report that Cre under control of the promoter of Pdgfrb (Pdgfrb-Cre) inactivates loxP-flanked genes in mouse HSCs with high efficiency. We used this system to delete the gene encoding α(v) integrin subunit because various α(v)-containing integrins have been suggested as central mediators of fibrosis in multiple organs. Such depletion protected mice from carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic fibrosis, whereas global loss of β₃, β₅ or β₆ integrins or conditional loss of β₈ integrins in HSCs did not. We also found that Pdgfrb-Cre effectively targeted myofibroblasts in multiple organs, and depletion of the α(v) integrin subunit using this system was protective in other models of organ fibrosis, including pulmonary and renal fibrosis. Pharmacological blockade of α(v)-containing integrins by a small molecule (CWHM 12) attenuated both liver and lung fibrosis, including in a therapeutic manner. These data identify a core pathway that regulates fibrosis and suggest that pharmacological targeting of all α(v) integrins may have clinical utility in the treatment of patients with a broad range of fibrotic diseases.
► We analyzed the influence aeration on the pectianse and xylanase production. ► Respirometric quotient (RQ) was established according each carbon source consumed. ► RQ is not constant along the ...fermentation due to different carbon source employed. ► Kinetics parameters behavior depends of carbon source consumed from solid matrix. ► Productivities pattern for biomass and both enzymes was established.
Solid-state fermentation (SSF) is defined as the growth of microbes without a free-flowing aqueous phase. The feasibility of using a citrus peel for producing pectinase and xylanase via the SSF process by Aspergillus niger F3 was evaluated in a 2kg bioreactor. Different aeration conditions were tested to optimize the pectinase and xylanase production. The best air flow intensity was 1VkgM (volumetric air flow per kilogram of medium), which allowed a sufficient amount of O2 for the microorganism growth producing 265U/g and 65U/g pectinases and xylanases, respectively. A mathematical model was applied to determine the different kinetic parameters related to SSF. The specific growth rate and biomass oxygen yield decreased during fermentation, whereas an increase in the maintenance coefficient for the different employed carbon sources was concurrently observed.
Sam68 is an RNA-binding protein with an adaptor role in signal transduction. Our previous work identified critical proinflammatory and apoptotic functions for Sam68, downstream of the TNF/TNFR1 and ...TLR2/3/4 pathways. Recent studies have shown elevated Sam68 in inflamed tissues from rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, suggesting that Sam68 contributes to chronic inflammatory diseases. Here, we hypothesized that deletion of Sam68 is protective against experimental colitis in vivo, via reductions in TNF-associated inflammatory signaling
.
We used Sam68 knockout (KO) mice to study the role of Sam68 in experimental colitis, including its contributions to TNF-induced inflammatory gene expression in three-dimensional intestinal organoid cultures. We also studied the expression of Sam68 and inflammatory genes in colon tissues of UC patients. Sam68 KO mice treated with an acute course of DSS exhibited significantly less weight loss and histopathological inflammation compared to wild-type controls, suggesting that Sam68 contributes to experimental colitis. Bone marrow transplants showed no pathologic role for hematopoietic cell-specific Sam68, suggesting that non-hematopoietic Sam68 drives intestinal inflammation. Gene expression analyses showed that Sam68 deficiency reduced the expression of proinflammatory genes in colon tissues from DSS-treated mice, as well as TNF-treated three-dimensional colonic organoids. We also found that inflammatory genes, such as
TNF, CCR2, CSF2, IL33 and CXCL10
, as well as Sam68 protein, were upregulated in inflamed colon tissues of UC patients. This report identifies Sam68 as an important inflammatory driver in response to intestinal epithelial damage, suggesting that targeting Sam68 may hold promise to treat UC patients.
Currently available data on the involvement of neuropeptide Y (NPY), peptide YY (PYY), and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) and their receptors (YRs) in cancer are updated. The structure and dynamics of ...YRs and their intracellular signaling pathways are also studied. The roles played by these peptides in 22 different cancer types are reviewed (e.g., breast cancer, colorectal cancer, Ewing sarcoma, liver cancer, melanoma, neuroblastoma, pancreatic cancer, pheochromocytoma, and prostate cancer). YRs could be used as cancer diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets. A high Y1R expression has been correlated with lymph node metastasis, advanced stages, and perineural invasion; an increased Y5R expression with survival and tumor growth; and a high serum NPY level with relapse, metastasis, and poor survival. YRs mediate tumor cell proliferation, migration, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis; YR antagonists block the previous actions and promote the death of cancer cells. NPY favors tumor cell growth, migration, and metastasis and promotes angiogenesis in some tumors (e.g., breast cancer, colorectal cancer, neuroblastoma, pancreatic cancer), whereas in others it exerts an antitumor effect (e.g., cholangiocarcinoma, Ewing sarcoma, liver cancer). PYY or its fragments block tumor cell growth, migration, and invasion in breast, colorectal, esophageal, liver, pancreatic, and prostate cancer. Current data show the peptidergic system's high potential for cancer diagnosis, treatment, and support using Y2R/Y5R antagonists and NPY or PYY agonists as promising antitumor therapeutic strategies. Some important research lines to be developed in the future will also be suggested.
The World Health Organization identifies alcohol as a cause of several neoplasias of the oropharynx cavity, esophagus, gastrointestinal tract, larynx, liver, or female breast. We review ethanol’s ...nonoxidative and oxidative metabolism and one-carbon metabolism that encompasses both redox and transfer reactions that influence crucial cell proliferation machinery. Ethanol favors the uncontrolled production and action of free radicals, which interfere with the maintenance of essential cellular functions. We focus on the generation of protein, DNA, and lipid adducts that interfere with the cellular processes related to growth and differentiation. Ethanol’s effects on stem cells, which are responsible for building and repairing tissues, are reviewed. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) of different origins suffer disturbances related to the expression of cell surface markers, enzymes, and transcription factors after ethanol exposure with the consequent dysregulation of mechanisms related to cancer metastasis or resistance to treatments. Our analysis aims to underline and discuss potential targets that show more sensitivity to ethanol’s action and identify specific metabolic routes and metabolic realms that may be corrected to recover metabolic homeostasis after pharmacological intervention. Specifically, research should pay attention to re-establishing metabolic fluxes by fine-tuning the functioning of specific pathways related to one-carbon metabolism and antioxidant processes.
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