Ignitor: Physics and Progress Towards Ignition

Thermonuclear ignition condition for deuterium-tritium plasmas can be achieved in compact, high magnetic field devices such as Ignitor. The main scientific goals, the underlying physics basis, and the most relevant engineering solutions of this experiment are described. Burning plasma conditions can be reached either with ohmic heating only or with small amount of auxiliary power in the form of ICRH waves, and this condition can be sustained for a time considerably longer than all the relevant plasma time scales. In the reference operating scenario, no transport barriers are present, and the resulting thermal loads on the plasma facing component are estimated to be rather modest, thanks to the high edge density and low edge temperature that ensure an effective intrinsic radiating mantle in elongated limiter configurations. Enhanced confinement regimes can also be obtained in configurations with double X-points near the first wall

Contrasting non-dynamic and dynamic models of the water-energy nexus in small, off-grid Mediterranean islands

Water and energy supply in small Mediterranean islands are strictly interrelated and face a large number of challenging issues, mainly caused by the distance from the mainland, the lack of accessible and safe potable water sources, and the high seasonal variability of the water and energy demands driven by touristic fluxes. The energy system generally relies on carbon intensive, expensive stand-alone diesel generators, while potable water supply is provided by tank vessels. Although this combination provides essential services for local communities, it is often economically and environmentally unsustainable due to high operational costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A traditional approach to improve the sustainability and the efficiency of the water and energy systems is to couple renewable energy sources (RES) with water supply technologies (e.g., desalination), in order to obtain efficient planning solutions (i.e. RES capacity, desalination plant capacity) in a least-cost fashion. However, this approach is generally non-dynamic and optimizes the power allocation using fixed electricity loads as a surrogate of the actual water demand supplied by the desalination plant through the water distribution network. Although this load reflects the actual water demand on the long-term (i.e. monthly or annual time scale), it could strongly deviate from the real water demand if we consider shorter time scales (i.e. daily or hourly), over which the water distribution network is able to store and move water in space and time. In this work, we comparatively analyse this traditional non-dynamic model of the water-energy nexus with a novel dynamic modelling approach, where the operation of both the nexus components (i.e. power allocation and operations of the water distribution network) is conjunctively optimized with respect to multiple economic and sustainability indicators (e.g., net present costs, GHG emissions, water supply deficit, RES penetration). This comparative analysis is performed over the real case study of the Italian Ustica island in the Mediterranean Sea. Preliminary results show the effectiveness of the dynamic approach in improving the static solution with respect to almost all the system performance metrics considered

Refining cellular pathway models using an ensemble of heterogeneous data sources

© Institute of Mathematical Statistics, 2018. Improving current models and hypotheses of cellular pathways is one of the major challenges of systems biology and functional genomics. There is a need for methods to build on established expert knowledge and reconcile it with results of new high-throughput studies. Moreover, the available sources of data are heterogeneous, and the data need to be integrated in different ways depending on which part of the pathway they are most informative for. In this paper, we introduce a compartment specific strategy to integrate edge, node and path data for refining a given network hypothesis. To carry out inference, we use a local-move Gibbs sampler for updating the pathway hypothesis from a compendium of heterogeneous data sources, and a new network regression idea for integrating protein attributes. We demonstrate the utility of this approach in a case study of the pheromone response MAPK pathway in the yeast S. cerevisiae.This work was supported, in part, by NIH grant R01 GM-096193, NSF CAREER grant IIS-1149662, and by MURI award W911NF-11-1-0036 to Harvard University. EMA is an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow and a Shutzer Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies. FM acknowledges support from the University of Cambridge, Cancer Research UK (C14303/A17197), and Hutchison Whampoa Limited. FM and EMA contributed equally to this work

Hexamethylenetetramine reaction with graphite oxide (GO) as a strategy to increase the thermal stability of GO: synthesis and characterization of a compound

In this paper, the synthesis and characterization of a GO–hmta compound (GO – graphite oxide; hmta – hexamethylenetetramine) are presented. It is shown that the presence of hmta molecules inside the GO matrix, with very strong interactions, stabilize the GO matrix from a thermal point of view. Such a fact could be used to explore possible applications of GO matrix, especially in catalysis

TTG1 proteins regulate circadian activity as well as epidermal cell fate and pigmentation.

The Arabidopsis genome contains three genes encoding proteins of the TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA 1 (TTG1) WD-repeat (WDR) subfamily. TTG1 is a known regulator of epidermal cell differentiation and pigment production, while LIGHT-REGULATED WD1 and LIGHT-REGULATED WD2 are known regulators of the circadian clock. Here, we discovered a new central role for TTG1 WDR proteins as regulators of the circadian system, as evidenced by the lack of detectable circadian rhythms in a triple lwd1 lwd2 ttg1 mutant. This shows that there has been subfunctionalization via protein changes within the angiosperms, with some TTG1 WDR proteins developing a stronger role in circadian clock regulation while losing the protein characteristics essential for pigment production and epidermal cell specification, and others weakening their ability to drive circadian clock regulation. Our work shows that even where proteins are very conserved, small changes can drive big functional differences.CAA acknowledges support from the Cambridge University Botanic Garden Research Fund. TJH was supported by BBSRC UK grant BB/M006212/1 awarded to AARW

The early detection of osteoporosis in a cohort of healthcare workers: Is there room for a screening program?

Workforce aging is becoming a significant public health problem due to the resulting emergence of age-related diseases, such as osteoporosis. The prevention and early detection of osteoporosis is important to avoid bone fractures and their socio-economic burden. The aim of this study is to evaluate the sustainability of a screening workplace program able to detect workers with osteoporosis. The screening process included a questionnaire-based risk assessment of 1050 healthcare workers followed by measurement of the bone mass density (BMD) with a pulse-echo ultrasound (PEUS) at the proximal tibia in the at-risk subjects. Workers with a BMD value 64 0.783 g/cm\ub2 were referred to a specialist visit ensuring a diagnosis and the consequent prescriptions. Any possible association between the outcome variable BMD 64 0.783 g/cm\ub2 and the risk factors was eval-uated. The costs were calculated with a full costing method. We identified 60 pathological subjects. We observed increased risks for women, older ages, and menopause (p < 0.01). The yearly cost of our screening program estimated for this study was 8242 euros, and, considering the fragility bone fracture costs, we hypothesize a considerable economic savings, with a possible positive bene-fits/cost ratio of 2.07. We can say that the margin between the investment and results leads to a preference for this type of screening program. Osteoporosis is an occupational health problem, and a workplace screening program could be a cost-effective intervention

Quantifying Condition-Dependent Intracellular Protein Levels Enables High-Precision Fitness Estimates

Countless studies monitor the growth rate of microbial populations as a measure of fitness. However, an enormous gap separates growth-rate differences measurable in the laboratory from those that natural selection can distinguish efficiently. Taking advantage of the recent discovery that transcript and protein levels in budding yeast closely track growth rate, we explore the possibility that growth rate can be more sensitively inferred by monitoring the proteomic response to growth, rather than growth itself. We find a set of proteins whose levels, in aggregate, enable prediction of growth rate to a higher precision than direct measurements. However, we find little overlap between these proteins and those that closely track growth rate in other studies. These results suggest that, in yeast, the pathways that set the pace of cell division can differ depending on the growth-altering stimulus. Still, with proper validation, protein measurements can provide high-precision growth estimates that allow extension of phenotypic growth-based assays closer to the limits of evolutionary selection

Green and Roasted Coffee Extracts Inhibit Interferon-β Release in LPS-Stimulated Human Macrophages

The anti-inflammatory activity of coffee extracts is widely recognized and supported by experimental evidence, in both in vitro and in vivo settings, mainly murine models. Here, we investigated the immunomodulatory properties of coffee extracts from green (GCE) and medium-roasted (RCE) Coffea canephora beans in human macrophages. The biological effect of GCE and RCE was characterized in LPS-stimulated THP-1-derived human macrophages (TDM) as a model of inflammation. Results showed decreased amounts of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β and a strong dose-dependent inhibition of interferon-β (IFN-β) release. Molecular mechanism of IFN-β inhibition was further investigated by immunofluorescence confocal microscopy analysis that showed a diminished nuclear translocation of p-IRF-3, the main transcription factor responsible for IFN-β synthesis. The inhibition of IFN-β release by RCE and GCE was also confirmed in human primary CD14+ monocytes-derived macrophages (MDM). The main component of coffee extracts, 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA) also inhibited IFN-β production, through a mechanism occurring downstream to TLR4. Inhibition of IFN-β release by coffee extracts parallels with the activity of their main phytochemical component, 5-CQA, thus suggesting that this compound is the main responsible for the immunomodulatory effect observed. The application of 5-CQA and coffee derived-phytoextracts to target interferonopathies and inflammation-related diseases could open new pharmacological and nutritional perspectives