Critères de choix d'un système de stockage électrochimique hybride d'énergie photovoltaïque

International audienceThe design of battery systems is an important issue in many cases conditioned by several constraints and modeling challenges. This work proposes a design method for electrochemical hybrid energy storage system associated with photovoltaic modules. Based on this method, an optimization procedure is used to discuss the interest of creating a hybrid system combining two different types of batteries. The batteries are modeled as a constant voltage source in series with an internal resistance and the finite capacity of the batteries is considered independent from their use. The model uses the battery capacity, maximum charge rate, internal resistance and cost given at the beginning of the battery life.Une procédure d'optimisation et de dimensionnement d'un système de stockage électrochimique d'énergie associé à des panneaux solaires est décrite et discutée. Elle permet d'étudier l'intérêt ou non de réaliser un système hybride associant deux types de batteries différents. Cet outil utilise un modèle simplifié de batteries : elles sont considérées comme une source de tension constante en série avec une résistance interne avec une capacité finie indépendante du type d'utilisation. Le modèle prend ainsi en compte des caractéristiques de batteries à l'état neuf : capacité, régime maximal de charge, résistance interne et coût

Lifelong Wellbeing for Survivors of Sex Trafficking: Collaborative Perspectives From Survivors, Researchers, and Service Providers

This article summarizes a collaborative effort by researchers, service providers, and women who have experienced exploitation and trafficking for sex, to inform policy and practice related to care for survivors. The effort brought together current research program experience from around the world, and survivor perspectives, in a 2015 interactive forum entitled “STREETS of Hope: Listening to and Supporting Survivors of Human Trafficking.” A participatory approach to defining wellbeing, designed especially for use with vulnerable or highly marginalized populations of women and girls, provided the framework for the discussions. In addition, attempts were made to use principles of trauma-informed care during the workshop itself, toward the overall goals of 1) working as equals to inform research agendas; 2) gaining insights from survivors to improve services; and 3) providing survivors and all participants with a wellbeing model that can help them think and speak with specificity and clarity about their personal growth, wellbeing, and self-care. The results of the interactive two-day workshop and subsequent consultations included: 1) increased understandings and more detailed descriptions of what wellbeing is from the lived experience of survivors, and 2) insights about ways that services and care can be more responsive to the needs and preferences of survivors. Further, the collective exercise suggested revisions and specifications to the wellbeing model itself. Finally, the collaborators identified future directions for their shared research and practice. Overall, the experience of the “STREETS of Hope Forum” supports the idea that iterative, equitable, collaborative work with survivors must be employed to inform systems of care, and that a dynamic and multi-dimensional concept of wellbeing can help survivors, researchers, program leaders and policy-makers to foster support and agency throughout the life course. For those who participated, “STREETS of Hope” constituted a reframing of the goals of services care. It enabled us to think beyond basic needs and survival as defined by caregivers, to one that centers the experience of survivors and fosters recognition of and realization of their talents and life aspirations

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Induced Proliferation Remains Intact in Aging Mouse beta-Cells

Aging is associated with loss of proliferation of the insulin-secreting beta-cell, a possible contributing factor to the increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the elderly. Our group previously discovered that moderate endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress occurring during glucose exposure increases the adaptive beta-cell proliferation response. Specifically, the ATF6alpha arm of the tripartite Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) promotes beta-cell replication in glucose excess conditions. We hypothesized that beta-cells from older mice have reduced proliferation due to aberrant UPR signaling or an impaired proliferative response to ER stress or ATF6alpha activation. To investigate, young and old mouse islet cells were exposed to high glucose with low-dose thapsigargin or activation of overexpressed ATF6alpha, and beta-cell proliferation was quantified by BrdU incorporation. UPR pathway activation was compared by qPCR of target genes and semi-quantitative Xbp1 splicing assay. Intriguingly, although old beta-cells had reduced proliferation in high glucose compared to young beta-cells, UPR activation and induction of proliferation in response to low-dose thapsigargin or ATF6alpha activation in high glucose were largely similar between young and old. These results suggest that loss of UPR-led adaptive proliferation does not explain the reduced cell cycle entry in old beta-cells, and raise the exciting possibility that future therapies that engage adaptive UPR could increase beta-cell number through proliferation even in older individuals

Ebola virus surveillance in pigs presenting for slaughter in Uganda

In 2008, Ebola Reston was discovered to infect pigs in the Philippines. Additionally, pigs have been experimentally infected with Ebola Zaire. Uganda has experienced five Ebola outbreaks with index cases unable to account for their source of infection. Over the past 30 years, the pig population in Uganda has increased by more than tenfold to meet growing consumer demand for pork. We are conducting research in regions of Uganda where pig keeping is an increasingly important livelihood strategy and where suitable ecological conditions exist for the emergence and persistence of pig-associated zoonotic diseases including Ebolavirus. Methods being used include repeated cross-sectional sampling of pigs presenting for slaughter during months when previous human Ebola outbreaks occurred in the country and when pig slaughter is known to increase. To determine effective locations for implementation of future surveillance and mitigation measures, pig trader network analysis to map pig trade volumes and routes is being done in conjunction with slaughterhouse surveillance. This is the first systematic, field-based study to determine if pigs are naturally infected with Ebolavirus in an area with previous outbreaks. Methods and findings to date will be shared

Comparison of LASTIC (Light Aspiration device for in vivo Soft TIssue Characterization) with classic Tensile Tests.

International audienceLASTIC is a device estimating in vivo soft tissue elasticity. It uses negative pressure to deform the tissue surface and captures several deformation stages to trace the behavioral curve. Using Finite Element inverse analysis and a Neo Hookean constitutive law, the tissue's Young modulus is evaluated. This paper compares LASTIC capabilities with standard tensile tests on four samples with elastic properties ranging from 10 kPa to 100 kPa. Although LASTIC overestimates Young modulus by an average of 24 %, it allows a first estimation of the elastic modulus of different materials

Recent Increase in Meningitis Caused by Neisseria meningitidis Serogroups A and W135, Yaoundé, Cameroon

From 1991 to 1998, Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, B, and C represented 2%-10% of strains isolated from cases of bacterial meningitis in Yaoundé. During 1999 to 2000, the percentage of meningococci reached 17%, a proportion never reported since recordkeeping began in 1984. The increase of serogroup A meningococci and the emergence of W135 strains highlight the need for increased surveillance for better diagnosis and prevention

A global map of hemispheric influenza vaccine recommendations based on local patterns of viral circulation

Both the Northern and the Southern Hemisphere annual WHO influenza vaccine recommendations are designed to ensure vaccine delivery before the winter-time peak of viral circulation in each hemisphere. However, influenza seasonal patterns are highly diverse in tropical countries and may be out of phase with the WHO recommendations for their respective hemisphere. We modelled the peak timing of influenza activity for 125 countries using laboratory-based surveillance data from the WHO’s FLUNET database and compared it with the influenza hemispheric recommendations in place. Influenza vaccine recommendations for respectively 25% and 39% of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere countries were out of phase with peak influenza circulation in their corresponding hemisphere (62% and 53%, respectively, when the analysis was limited to the 52 countries in the tropical belt). These results indicate that routine influenza immunization efforts should be closely tailored to local patterns of viral circulation, rather than a country’s hemispheric position

IKZF1 Deletions with COBL Breakpoints Are Not Driven by RAG-Mediated Recombination Events in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

IKZF1 deletion (ΔIKZF1) is an important predictor of relapse in both childhood and adult B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Previously, we revealed that COBL is a hotspot for breakpoints in leukemia and could promote IKZF1 deletions. Through an international collaboration, we provide a detailed genetic and clinical picture of B-ALL with COBL rearrangements (COBL-r). Patients with B-ALL and IKZF1 deletion (n = 133) were included. IKZF1 ∆1-8 were associated with large alterations within chromosome 7: monosomy 7 (18%), isochromosome 7q (10%), 7p loss (19%), and interstitial deletions (53%). The latter included COBL-r, which were found in 12% of the IKZF1 ∆1-8 cohort. Patients with COBL-r are mostly classified as intermediate cytogenetic risk and frequently harbor ETV6, PAX5, CDKN2A/B deletions. Overall, 56% of breakpoints were located within COBL intron 5. Cryptic recombination signal sequence motifs were broadly distributed within the sequence of COBL, and no enrichment for the breakpoint cluster region was found. In summary, a diverse spectrum of alterations characterizes ΔIKZF1 and they also include deletion breakpoints within COBL. We confirmed that COBL is a hotspot associated with ΔIKZF1, but these rearrangements are not driven by RAG-mediated recombination