Information consumption patterns from big data

Virtual social networks imply an important opportunity to generate friendlier communication bridges between students, teachers and other actors related to the educational field. In this sense, our study presents an approximation to the connection habits between university students in these networks, which in the future will allow to take advantage of these platforms to achieve a successful communication between actors. Thus, the characterization of uses, habits and consumption of virtual social networks becomes very relevant

Long-Term Smart Grid Planning Under Uncertainty Considering Reliability Indexes

The electricity sector is fast moving towards a new era of clean generation devices dispersed along the network. On one hand, this will largely contribute to achieve the multi-national environment goals agreed via political means. On the other hand, network operators face new complexities and challenges regarding network planning due to the large uncertainties associated with renewable generation and electric vehicles integration. In addition, due to new technologies such as combined heat and power (CHP), the district heat demand is considered in the long-term planning problem. The 13-bus medium voltage network is evaluated considering the possibility of CHP units but also without. Results demonstrate that CHP, together with heat-only boiler units, can supply the district heat demand and contribute to network reliability. They can also reduce the expected energy not supplied and the power losses cost, avoiding the need to invest in new power lines for the considered lifetime project.This work has received funding from the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 641794 (project DREAM-GO) and from FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and from National Funds through FCT under the project UID/EEA/00760/2013. Bruno Canizes is supported by FCT Funds through SFRH/BD/110678/2015 PhD scholarship and M. Ali Fotouhi Ghazvini is supported by FCT Funds through SFRH/BD/94688/2013 PhD scholarship.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Comprehensive assessment of sequence variation within the copy number variable defensin cluster on 8p23 by target enriched in-depth 454 sequencing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In highly copy number variable (CNV) regions such as the human defensin gene locus, comprehensive assessment of sequence variations is challenging. PCR approaches are practically restricted to tiny fractions, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches of whole individual genomes e.g. by the 1000 Genomes Project is confined by an affordable sequence depth. Combining target enrichment with NGS may represent a feasible approach.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>As a proof of principle, we enriched a ~850 kb section comprising the CNV defensin gene cluster DEFB, the invariable DEFA part and 11 control regions from two genomes by sequence capture and sequenced it by 454 technology. 6,651 differences to the human reference genome were found. Comparison to HapMap genotypes revealed sensitivities and specificities in the range of 94% to 99% for the identification of variations.</p> <p>Using error probabilities for rigorous filtering revealed 2,886 unique single nucleotide variations (SNVs) including 358 putative novel ones. DEFB CN determinations by haplotype ratios were in agreement with alternative methods.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although currently labor extensive and having high costs, target enriched NGS provides a powerful tool for the comprehensive assessment of SNVs in highly polymorphic CNV regions of individual genomes. Furthermore, it reveals considerable amounts of putative novel variations and simultaneously allows CN estimation.</p

Influence of bevacizumab, sunitinib and sorafenib as single agents or in combination on the inhibitory effects of VEGF on human dendritic cell differentiation from monocytes

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibits differentiation and maturation of dendritic cells (DC), suggesting a potential immunosuppressive role for this proangiogenic factor. Bevacizumab, sorafenib and sunitinib target VEGF-mediated angiogenesis and are active against several types of cancer, but their effects on the immune system are poorly understood. In this study, VEGF and supernatants of renal carcinoma cell lines cultured under hypoxia were found to alter the differentiation of human monocytes to DC. Resulting DC showed impaired activity, as assessed by the alloreactive mixed T-lymphocyte reaction. Bevacizumab and sorafenib, but not sunitinib, reversed the inhibitory effects of VEGF, but not of those mediated by tumour supernatants. Dendritic cells matured under the influence of VEGF expressed less human leukocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR) and CD86, and this effect was restored by bevacizumab and sorafenib. Finally, tumour-cell supernatants decreased interleukin-12 (IL-12) production by mature DC, and such inhibition was not restored by any of the tested drugs, delivered either as single agents or in combination. The deleterious effects of tumour-cell supernatants were mainly mediated by thermostable molecules distinct from VEGF. These results indicate that inhibition of the differentiation of monocytes to DC is a multifactorial effect, and that they support the development of combinations of angiogenesis inhibitors with immunological modulators

Constitutive Expression of Insulin Receptor Substrate (IRS)-1 Inhibits Myogenic Differentiation through Nuclear Exclusion of Foxo1 in L6 Myoblasts

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are well known to play essential roles in enhancement of myogenic differentiation. In this report we showed that initial IGF-I signal activation but long-term IGF-1 signal termination are required for myogenic differentiation. L6 myoblast stably transfected with myc-epitope tagged insulin receptor substrate-1, myc-IRS-1 (L6-mIRS1) was unable to differentiate into myotubes, indicating that IRS-1 constitutive expression inhibited myogenesis. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying myogenic inhibition, IGF-I signaling was examined. IGF-I treatment of control L6 cells for 18 h resulted in a marked suppression of IGF-I stimulated IRS-1 association with the p85 PI 3-kinase and suppression of activation of Akt that correlated with a down regulation of IRS-1 protein. L6-mIRS1 cells, in contrast, had sustained high levels of IRS-1 protein following 18 h of IGF-I treatment with persistent p85 PI 3-kinase association with IRS-1, Akt phosphorylation and phosphorylation of the downstream Akt substrate, Foxo1. Consistent with Foxo1 phosphorylation, Foxo1 protein was excluded from the nuclei in L6-mIRS1 cells, whereas Foxo1 was localized in the nuclei in control L6 cells during induction of differentiation. In addition, L6 cells stably expressing a dominant-interfering form of Foxo1, Δ256Foxo1 (L6-Δ256Foxo1) were unable to differentiate into myotubes. Together, these data demonstrate that IGF-I regulation of Foxo1 nuclear localization is essential for the myogenic program in L6 cells but that persistent activation of IGF-1 signaling pathways results in a negative feedback to prevent myogenesis

Large-scale unit commitment under uncertainty: an updated literature survey

The Unit Commitment problem in energy management aims at finding the optimal production schedule of a set of generation units, while meeting various system-wide constraints. It has always been a large-scale, non-convex, difficult problem, especially in view of the fact that, due to operational requirements, it has to be solved in an unreasonably small time for its size. Recently, growing renewable energy shares have strongly increased the level of uncertainty in the system, making the (ideal) Unit Commitment model a large-scale, non-convex and uncertain (stochastic, robust, chance-constrained) program. We provide a survey of the literature on methods for the Uncertain Unit Commitment problem, in all its variants. We start with a review of the main contributions on solution methods for the deterministic versions of the problem, focussing on those based on mathematical programming techniques that are more relevant for the uncertain versions of the problem. We then present and categorize the approaches to the latter, while providing entry points to the relevant literature on optimization under uncertainty. This is an updated version of the paper "Large-scale Unit Commitment under uncertainty: a literature survey" that appeared in 4OR 13(2), 115--171 (2015); this version has over 170 more citations, most of which appeared in the last three years, proving how fast the literature on uncertain Unit Commitment evolves, and therefore the interest in this subject

Primary skeletal muscle myoblasts from chronic heart failure patients exhibit loss of anti-inflammatory and proliferative activity

BACKGROUND: Peripheral skeletal muscle wasting is a common finding with adverse effects in chronic heart failure (HF). Whereas its clinical relevance is beyond doubt, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are not yet fully elucidated. We aimed to introduce and characterize the primary culture of skeletal muscle cells from individual HF patients as a supportive model to study this muscle loss. METHODS AND RESULTS: Primary myoblast and myotubes cultures were successfully propagated from the m. vastus lateralis of 6 HF patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF; LVEF <45 %) and 6 age and gender-matched healthy donors. HFrEF cultures were not different from healthy donors in terms of morphology, such as myoblast size, shape and actin microfilament. Differentiation and fusion indexes were identical between groups. Myoblast proliferation in logarithmic growth phase, however, was attenuated in the HFrEF group (p = 0.032). In addition, HFrEF myoblasts are characterized by a reduced TNFR2 expression and IL-6 secretion (p = 0.017 and p = 0.016; respectively). CONCLUSION: Biopsy derived primary skeletal muscle myoblasts of HFrEF patients produce similar morphological and myogenic differentiation responses as myoblasts of healthy donors, though demonstrate loss of anti-inflammatory and proliferative activity