Improving the Stability of Power Supply in Regions on the Basis of Smart Local Energy Systems

Основой современного энергетического перехода на новый организационно-технологический уклад стало развитие распределенной энергетики, обеспечивающей повышение надежности, экономичности и экологичности региональных систем электроснабжения. Целью исследования является обоснование экономических преимуществ от интеграции локальных интеллектуальных энергосистем на базе распределенной энергетики в состав региональных систем электроснабжения. На основе эвристических и теоретических методов раскрыт генезис появления локальных интеллектуальных энергосистем, выявлены факторы, стимулирующие их развитие в регионах. Анализ эмпирических данных реализованных проектов локальных интеллектуальных энергосистем позволил выявить рост темпов распространения распределенной энергетики в различных сферах экономики региона и оценить размеры получаемых эффектов. Коммунальные локальные интеллектуальные энергосистемы имеют приоритет перед промышленными и сельскохозяйственными, поскольку именно их интеграция сопровождается значимыми для региона системными эффектами: повышение доступности электроэнергии для потребителей по общественно приемлемым ценам, ослабление перекрестного субсидирования, увеличение гибкости энергоснабжения на основе применения интеллектуальных технологий, создание благоприятных условий для функционирования малого и среднего бизнеса. Основным ограничением реализации проектов локальных интеллектуальных энергосистем является недостаточно развитая институциональная среда, с целью совершенствования которой рекомендованы изменения существующих правил оптового и розничного рынков электрической энергии и мощности. В частности, для обоснования изменений нормативно-правовой базы показана целесообразность включения локальных интеллектуальных энергосистем в региональные энергосистемы. В статье комплексно рассмотрены свойства и характеристики локальных интеллектуальных энергосистем, средства получения полезных экономических эффектов при развитии региональных систем энергоснабжения. Практическая значимость исследования обусловлена повышением инвестиционной привлекательности создания локальных интеллектуальных энергосистем для специализированных инвестиционных компаний и формированием условий устойчивого развития региона.A modern organisational and technological structure of the energy sector emerged due to the development of distributed energy improving the reliability, efficiency and environmental friendliness of regional power supply systems. The study aims to substantiate the economic benefits of integrating smart local energy systems (SLES) based on distributed energy into regional power supply systems. Using heuristic and theoretical methods, the article explores the genesis of SLES and reveals factors that spur their development in regions. Analysis of empirical data from the implemented SLES projects revealed the accelerating pace of adoption of distributed energy by various regional economic sectors, allowing us to estimate the effects. Municipal smart local energy systems have a priority over those in agriculture and manufacturing, since their integration generates systemic effects significant for the region. These effects include increased availability of energy at socially acceptable prices, reduced cross-subsidisation, flexible energy supply through the use of smart technology, and better conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises. A key factor limiting the implementation of SLES projects is an underdeveloped institutional environment, which could be improved by changing the current rules of the wholesale and retail markets of electricity and capacity. In particular, it might be expedient to include SLES in regional energy systems in order to justify changes in the regulatory framework. The paper presents a comprehensive examination of the properties and characteristics of smart local energy systems and suggests ways to obtain useful economic effects in the development of regional power supply systems. As for the practical value, the research emphasises the appeal of SLES to investment companies and outlines conditions for a region’s sustainable development.Исследование выполнено за счет гранта Российского научного фонда № 22-29-20278, https://rscf.ru/ project/22-29-20278/ и гранта № р-19 Правительства Новосибирской области в Новосибирском государственном техническом университете.The article has been prepared with the support of the grant of the Russian Science Foundation No. 22-29-20278, https://rscf.ru/project/22-29-20278/ and grant No. r-19 of the Government of the Novosibirsk Region in Novosibirsk State Technical University

Disruption of Ant-Aphid Mutualism in Canopy Enhances the Abundance of Beetles on the Forest Floor

Ant-aphid mutualism is known to play a key role in the structure of the arthropod community in the tree canopy, but its possible ecological effects for the forest floor are unknown. We hypothesized that aphids in the canopy can increase the abundance of ants on the forest floor, thus intensifying the impacts of ants on other arthropods on the forest floor. We tested this hypothesis in a deciduous temperate forest in Beijing, China. We excluded the aphid-tending ants Lasius fuliginosus from the canopy using plots of varying sizes, and monitored the change in the abundance of ants and other arthropods on the forest floor in the treated and control plots. We also surveyed the abundance of ants and other arthropods on the forest floor to explore the relationships between ants and other arthropods in the field. Through a three-year experimental study, we found that the exclusion of ants from the canopy significantly decreased the abundance of ants on the forest floor, but increased the abundance of beetles, although the effect was only significant in the large ant-exclusion plot (80*60 m). The field survey showed that the abundance of both beetles and spiders was negatively related to the abundance of ants. These results suggest that aphids located in the tree canopy have indirect negative effects on beetles by enhancing the ant abundance on the forest floor. Considering that most of the beetles in our study are important predators, the ant-aphid mutualism can have further trophic cascading effects on the forest floor food web

Covalent Aurora A regulation by the metabolic integrator coenzyme A

Aurora A kinase is a master mitotic regulator whose functions are controlled by several regulatory interactions and post-translational modifications. It is frequently dysregulated in cancer, making Aurora A inhibition a very attractive antitumor target. However, recently uncovered links between Aurora A, cellular metabolism and redox regulation are not well understood. In this study, we report a novel mechanism of Aurora A regulation in the cellular response to oxidative stress through CoAlation. A combination of biochemical, biophysical, crystallographic and cell biology approaches revealed a new and, to our knowledge, unique mode of Aurora A inhibition by CoA, involving selective binding of the ADP moiety of CoA to the ATP binding pocket and covalent modification of Cys290 in the activation loop by the thiol group of the pantetheine tail. We provide evidence that covalent CoA modification (CoAlation) of Aurora A is specific, and that it can be induced by oxidative stress in human cells. Oxidising agents, such as diamide, hydrogen peroxide and menadione were found to induce Thr 288 phosphorylation and DTT-dependent dimerization of Aurora A. Moreover, microinjection of CoA into fertilized mouse embryos disrupts bipolar spindle formation and the alignment of chromosomes, consistent with Aurora A inhibition. Altogether, our data reveal CoA as a new, rather selective, inhibitor of Aurora A, which locks this kinase in an inactive state via a “dual anchor” mechanism of inhibition that might also operate in cellular response to oxidative stress. Finally and most importantly, we believe that these novel findings provide a new rationale for developing effective and irreversible inhibitors of Aurora A, and perhaps other protein kinases containing appropriately conserved Cys residues

Not gods but animals : human dignity and vulnerable subjecthood

Drawing on earlier work on the conceptual structure of dignity, this paper will suggest a particular type of connectedness between vulnerability and human dignity; namely, that the ‘‘organizing idea’’ of human dignity is the idea of a particular sort of ethical response to universal human vulnerability. It is common ground among many, if not all, approaches to ethics that vulnerability requires us to respond ethically. Here, I argue that human dignity is distinctive among ethical values in that it values us because of, rather than in spite of, or regardless of, our universal vulnerability. The term ‘‘dignity’’ is used synonymously with ‘‘human dignity’’ here, since an investigation of the dignity of non-human entities forms no part of the present examination

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Cerebral microbleeds and stroke risk after ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack: a pooled analysis of individual patient data from cohort studies

BACKGROUND: Cerebral microbleeds are a neuroimaging biomarker of stroke risk. A crucial clinical question is whether cerebral microbleeds indicate patients with recent ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack in whom the rate of future intracranial haemorrhage is likely to exceed that of recurrent ischaemic stroke when treated with antithrombotic drugs. We therefore aimed to establish whether a large burden of cerebral microbleeds or particular anatomical patterns of cerebral microbleeds can identify ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack patients at higher absolute risk of intracranial haemorrhage than ischaemic stroke. METHODS: We did a pooled analysis of individual patient data from cohort studies in adults with recent ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack. Cohorts were eligible for inclusion if they prospectively recruited adult participants with ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack; included at least 50 participants; collected data on stroke events over at least 3 months follow-up; used an appropriate MRI sequence that is sensitive to magnetic susceptibility; and documented the number and anatomical distribution of cerebral microbleeds reliably using consensus criteria and validated scales. Our prespecified primary outcomes were a composite of any symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage or ischaemic stroke, symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage, and symptomatic ischaemic stroke. We registered this study with the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews, number CRD42016036602. FINDINGS: Between Jan 1, 1996, and Dec 1, 2018, we identified 344 studies. After exclusions for ineligibility or declined requests for inclusion, 20 322 patients from 38 cohorts (over 35 225 patient-years of follow-up; median 1·34 years [IQR 0·19-2·44]) were included in our analyses. The adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] comparing patients with cerebral microbleeds to those without was 1·35 (95% CI 1·20-1·50) for the composite outcome of intracranial haemorrhage and ischaemic stroke; 2·45 (1·82-3·29) for intracranial haemorrhage and 1·23 (1·08-1·40) for ischaemic stroke. The aHR increased with increasing cerebral microbleed burden for intracranial haemorrhage but this effect was less marked for ischaemic stroke (for five or more cerebral microbleeds, aHR 4·55 [95% CI 3·08-6·72] for intracranial haemorrhage vs 1·47 [1·19-1·80] for ischaemic stroke; for ten or more cerebral microbleeds, aHR 5·52 [3·36-9·05] vs 1·43 [1·07-1·91]; and for ≥20 cerebral microbleeds, aHR 8·61 [4·69-15·81] vs 1·86 [1·23-1·82]). However, irrespective of cerebral microbleed anatomical distribution or burden, the rate of ischaemic stroke exceeded that of intracranial haemorrhage (for ten or more cerebral microbleeds, 64 ischaemic strokes [95% CI 48-84] per 1000 patient-years vs 27 intracranial haemorrhages [17-41] per 1000 patient-years; and for ≥20 cerebral microbleeds, 73 ischaemic strokes [46-108] per 1000 patient-years vs 39 intracranial haemorrhages [21-67] per 1000 patient-years). INTERPRETATION: In patients with recent ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack, cerebral microbleeds are associated with a greater relative hazard (aHR) for subsequent intracranial haemorrhage than for ischaemic stroke, but the absolute risk of ischaemic stroke is higher than that of intracranial haemorrhage, regardless of cerebral microbleed presence, antomical distribution, or burden