An adaptive framework for day-ahead forecasting of available solar energy is proposed based on a combination of data-analytic approaches consisting of artificial intelligence and statistical ...techniques. Models are developed and validated utilizing a large dataset from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) archive, the Automated Surface Observing System, and the solar position and intensity calculator (i.e., NREL-SOLPOS) sampled at 1-min intervals during eight years (2005-2012) for a site in Golden, CO, USA. The methodology is now ready for testing and validation in San Antonio, TX, USA, with data collected in the largest solar photovoltaic plant in TX, Alamo 1, which is the first solar plant in TX connected to the transmission grid allowing solar energy bidding into the market. A uniqueness of the methodology developed is that an integrated serial time-domain analysis coupled with multivariate analysis was used for preprocessing. The resulting enhanced dataset is used for adaptive training of the neural-network-based forecast engine. Standard performance measures are obtained. The forecast results are compared to those of the state of the art on day-ahead solar energy forecasting methodologies used in Austria and other European Union members in order to provide a clear understanding of capabilities of the proposed solar energy forecasting framework.
Introducing specific microorganisms into the soil ecological system is an important strategy for improving nutrient use efficiency.Two pot experiments were conducted in the greenhouse from December ...3, 2012 to January 25, 2013（Experiment 1） and March 11 to April 23, 2013（Experiment 2） to evaluate the effect of nitrogen（N） source and inoculation with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria（PGPR） on plant growth and N and phosphorus（P） uptake in tomato（Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.） grown on calcareous soils from South Florida, USA.Treatments included urea, controlled release urea（a controlled release fertilizer, CRF） each at low and high N rates and with or without inoculation of PGPR.A mixture of PGPR strains Bacillus amyloliquefaciens IN937 a and Bacillus pumilus T4 was applied to the soil during growing periods of tomato.Treatments with PGPR inoculation increased plant height compared to treatments without PGPR in both experiments.Inoculation with PGPR increased shoot dry weight and shoot N uptake for the same N rate and N source.In both experiments, only at high N rate, CRF and urea treatments with PGPR had significantly（P 〈 0.05）greater shoot biomass than those without PGPR.Only at high N rate, CRF treatment with PGPR significantly increased shoot N uptake by 39.0% and 10.3% compared to that without PGPR in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively.Meanwhile, presence of PGPR in the soil increased shoot P uptake for all treatments in Experiment 1 and for most treatments in Experiment 2.In Experiment 1, only at low N rate, CRF treatment with PGPR significantly increased shoot P uptake compared with that without PGPR.In Experiment2, a significant increase in shoot P uptake by inoculation of PGPR was only observed in CRF treatment at high N rate.Results from this study indicate that inoculation with PGPR may increase plant growth and N and P uptake by tomato grown on calcareous soils.However, the effect of PGPR varied and was influenced by many factors such as N source, N rate, and soil fertility.Further investigations are warranted to confirm the effect of PGPR under different soil conditions.
Research highlights ► Postsynaptic target and presynaptic origin of evoked and spontaneous release diverge. ► Several regulatory pathways impact spontaneous and evoked release differently. ► ...Classical assumptions linking evoked and spontaneous neurotransmission need revision. ► Mechanisms that underlie the divergent regulation of neurotransmission are discussed.
STUDY QUESTION
Does activation of endometrial Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR 3) affect cell receptivity to trophoblast adhesion?
SUMMARY ANSWER
TLR 3 activation in vitro reduces the attachment of ...trophoblast cells to endometrial cells by altering the cell cytoskeleton and reducing the expression of adhesion molecules in human endometrial cells.
WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
It is well documented that the presence of an infection at the time of implantation can lead to implantation failure. The female reproductive tract recognizes invading micro-organisms through the innate pathogen recognition receptors such as the TLRs.
STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
Poly I:C was used as a TLR 3-specific ligand and endometrial cells were either treated or not with Poly I:C (treated versus control) in vitro. The experiments were performed in three replicates on three separate days.
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
An in vitro assay was developed using RL95-2 (a human endometrial cell line) and JAr (a human trophoblast cell line) cells. Initially, the percentage of attached JAr spheroids to RL95-2 was measured in response to TLR 3 activation. Next, actin polymerization in RL95-2 cells was assessed in response to TLR 2/6, 3 and 5 activation. Phalloidin was used to assess the mean fluorescence intensity of F-actin by flow cytometry or confocal microscopy. Secondly, the influence of TLR 2/6, 3 and 5 activation on the expression of cluster of differentiation 98 (CD98) and β3 integrin was determined. To further understand through which pathways the TLR 3-induced alterations occur, inhibitors were applied for Toll/interleukin-1 receptor domain-containing adaptor inducing interferon-beta (TRIF), myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MYD88), mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and nuclear factor pathways.
MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
We observed that stimulation of TLR 3 in endometrial cells with different concentrations of Poly I:C led to a reduction in the percentage of trophoblasts attached to the endometrial cells in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). This decrease was consistent in the Poly I:C treated group regardless of the co-incubation time (P < 0.05). In addition, our results demonstrated that actin polymerization and CD98 expression significantly decreased only in response to TLR 3 activation (P < 0.05). Activation of endometrial cells with TLR 2/6, 3 and 5 significantly reduced β3 integrin expression (P < 0.05). These alterations were shown to work via MYD88-MAPK pathways (P < 0.05).
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
This study has been performed in vitro. Future in vivo studies will be required in order to confirm our data.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
This is a novel discovery which extends our current knowledge concerning diagnosis and treatment of viral-induced infertility cases.
STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)
This research was supported by the COST Action FA1201 (GEMINI) by granting a Short Term Scientific Mission and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III by granting Grant PI11/01645. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
This study aimed to evaluate the toxicity and clinical outcomes for cervical cancer patients treated definitively with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) compared with non-IMRT treatment.
...This prospective cohort study included 452 patients with newly diagnosed cervical cancer treated with curative intent (135 IMRT and 317 non-IMRT). Treatment involved external irradiation and brachytherapy, and 85% of patients received concurrent chemotherapy. All IMRT patients underwent an F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET/CT) simulation. A 3-month post-therapy PET was obtained to evaluate treatment response. Toxicity was scored by the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events Version 3.0.
The IMRT and non-IMRT groups had similar stage distribution and histology. For all patients, the post-therapy FDG-PET response correlated with overall recurrence risk (p < 0.0001) and cause-specific survival (p < 0.0001). Post-treatment FDG-PET findings were not significantly different between the IMRT and non-IMRT patients (p = 0.9774). The mean follow-up for all patients alive at the time of last follow-up was 52 months (72 months non-IMRT, 22 months IMRT). At last follow-up, 178 patients (39 IMRT, 139 non-IMRT) had developed a recurrence. The difference in recurrence-free survival between the two groups did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.0738), although the IMRT group showed better overall and cause-specific survivals (p < 0.0001). Of the patients, 62 patients (8 IMRT and 54 non-IMRT) developed Grade 3 or greater bowel or bladder complications, and by cumulative hazard function analysis the risk was significantly less for patients treated with IMRT (p = 0.0351).
Cervical cancer patients treated with FDG-PET/CT-guided IMRT have improved survival and less treatment-related toxicity compared with patients treated with non-IMRT radiotherapy.
Objective The relationship between alexithymia, particularly difficulty identifying feelings (DIF) and difficulty describing feelings (DDF), and somatic depression was found to be mediated by ...somatosensory amplification (SA). Yet, little is known about the influence of family process on adolescent alexithymia and somatic depressive symptoms. This study aims to test out the hypothesis that maternal alexithymia would affect alexithymia and somatic depression in offspring via family process. Methods A total of 240 mother-adolescent dyads were recruited from a paediatric outpatient clinic. Adolescents completed Center of Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (somatic symptom subscale), Somatosensory Amplification Scale (ChSAS), Toronto Alexithymia Scale-Short form (TAS-9-C) (DIF and DDF subscales) and 15-item Systemic Clinical Outcome Routine Evaluation (SCORE-15) (measuring family strengths, difficulty and communication). Mothers were administered TAS-9-C. Structural equation modelling Results Results showed a good fit to the data that maternal DIF (β = 0.201) and DDF (β = 0.207) respectively influenced family strengths which, thus, affected adolescent DDF (βs ranged 0.354–0.383); family strengths (β = 0.335) and adolescent DDF (β = 0.373) predicted somatic depressive symptoms (maternal DIF: CFI = 0.937, RMSEA = 0.034 90%CI: 0.023–0.043; maternal DDF: CFI = 0.932, RMSEA = 0.035 90%CI: 0.025–0.044). SA was not significantly associated with somatic symptoms. Conclusion Findings provide support for the impact of maternal alexithymia on offspring DDF which affects somatic depressive symptoms. Our findings also underscore the mediating effect of family process on alexithymia across generation. This study lends support to the literature considering the role of alexithymia across generation in the risk of developing somatic depression.
We apply time-resolved MeV electron diffraction to study the electron-lattice energy relaxation in thin film Au-insulator heterostructures. Through precise measurements of the transient ...Debye-Waller-factor, the mean-square atomic displacement is directly determined, which allows to quantitatively follow the temporal evolution of the lattice temperature after short pulse laser excitation. Data obtained over an extended range of laser fluences reveal an increased relaxation rate when the film thickness is reduced or the Au-film is capped with an additional insulator top-layer. This behavior is attributed to a cross-interfacial coupling of excited electrons in the Au film to phonons in the adjacent insulator layer(s). Analysis of the data using the two-temperature-model taking explicitly into account the additional energy loss at the interface(s) allows to deduce the relative strength of the two relaxation channels.
Using a selection of molecular biomarkers, we evaluated responses in freshwater mussels (
Anodonta anatina
) exposed to effluent from an industrial wastewater treatment facility. The aims of this ...work were to (1) assess biomarkers of general toxicity under sublethal exposure to an anthropogenic mixture of chemicals, represented by an arbitrary effluent, and (2) evaluate the potential of
A. anatina
as a bioindicator of pollution. Adult mussels (
n =
in total 32; 24 males and 8 females) were exposed (96 h) in the laboratory to a fixed dilution of effluent or to a control treatment of standardized freshwater. Metal concentrations were in general higher in the effluent, by an order of magnitude or more, compared to the control. Toxic unit estimates were used as proxies of chemical stress, and Cu, Ni, and Zn were identified as potential major contributors (Cu> Ni > Zn). Six transcriptional (
cat
,
gst
,
hsp70
,
hsp90
,
mt
,
sod
) and two biochemical (AChE, GST) biomarkers were analyzed in two tissues, gills, and digestive glands. Out of the 16 responses (eight biomarkers × two tissues), 14 effect sizes were small (within ± 28 % of control) and differences non-significant (
p
> 0.05). Results did however show that (1) AChE activity increased by 40% in gills of exposed mussels compared to control, (2)
hsp90
expression was 100% higher in exposed female gills compared to control, and (3) three marker signals (AChE in both tissues, and
hsp70
in gills) differed between sexes, independent of treatment. Results highlight a need for further investigation of molecular biomarker variability and robustness in
A. anatina
.
There is increasing concern over the impact of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on forest ecosystems in the tropical and subtropical areas. In this study, we quantified atmospheric N deposition ...and revealed current plant and soil N status in 14 forests along a 150 km urban to rural transect in southern China, with an emphasis on examining whether foliar δ¹⁵N can be used as an indicator of N saturation. Bulk deposition ranged from 16.2 to 38.2 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, while the throughfall covered a larger range of 11.7-65.1 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Foliar N concentration, NO₃ ⁻ leaching to stream, and soil NO₃ ⁻ concentration were low and NO₃ ⁻ production was negligible in some rural forests, indicating that primary production in these forests may be limited by N supply. But all these N variables were enhanced in suburban and urban forests. Across the study transect, throughfall N input was correlated positively with soil nitrification and NO₃ ⁻ leaching to stream, and negatively with pH values in soil and stream water. Foliar δ¹⁵N was between −6.6‰ and 0.7‰, and was negatively correlated with soil NO₃ ⁻ concentration and NO₃ ⁻ leaching to stream across the entire transect, demonstrating that an increased N supply does not necessarily increase forest δ¹⁵N values. We proposed several potential mechanism that could contribute to the δ¹⁵N pattern, including (1) increased plant uptake of ¹⁵N-depleted soil NO₃ ⁻, (2) foliage uptake of ¹⁵N-depleted NH₄ ⁺, (3) increased utilization of soil inorganic N relative to dissolved organic N, and (4) increased fractionation during plant N uptake under higher soil N availability.
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