Coordination of specialised energy aggregators for balancing service provision

In the present context of evolution of the power and energy systems, more flexibility is required on the generation and demand side, to cope with the increasing uncertainty mostly introduced by variable renewable energy resources. This paper presents a conceptual framework that encompasses different types of aggregators, including local network aggregators, demand-side general aggregators, specialised energy aggregators (SEAs), and energy community aggregators. In this framework, this paper focuses on the coordination of SEAs to provide balancing services to the system operator. Each SEA manages a specific type of load, so that these loads can be managed by exploiting their control capabilities in a detailed way considering response time, dynamics and available flexibility. Moreover, the presence of the SEAs increases the privacy protection of the users, as only the information on a specific type of user's load is sent to the SEA. The SEA Coordinator interacts with the Balancing Service Provider aimed at procuring frequency containment, frequency restoration and replacement reserve services. This paper contains the SEA Coordinator formulation, information exchange and control operation strategies. Case study applications are presented by using SEAs for three specific types of loads (thermoelectric refrigerator, water booster pressure systems and electric vehicle charging stations). The results show how the control algorithm of the SEA Coordinator is effective in providing balancing services at different timings with the different types of loads. Various scenarios are considered, comparing an ideal situation without command propagation delays with realistic situations that take into account the command propagation delays

Calbindin-D32k Is Localized to a Subpopulation of Neurons in the Nervous System of the Sea Cucumber Holothuria glaberrima (Echinodermata)

Members of the calbindin subfamily serve as markers of subpopulations of neurons within the vertebrate nervous system. Although markers of these proteins are widely available and used, their application to invertebrate nervous systems has been very limited. In this study we investigated the presence and distribution of members of the calbindin subfamily in the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima (Selenka, 1867). Immunohistological experiments with antibodies made against rat calbindin 1, parvalbumin, and calbindin 2, showed that these antibodies labeled cells and fibers within the nervous system of H. glaberrima. Most of the cells and fibers were co-labeled with the neural-specific marker RN1, showing their neural specificity. These were distributed throughout all of the nervous structures, including the connective tissue plexi of the body wall and podia. Bioinformatics analyses of the possible antigen recognized by these markers showed that a calbindin 2-like protein present in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, corresponded to the calbindin-D32k previously identified in other invertebrates. Western blots with anti-calbindin 1 and anti-parvalbumin showed that these markers recognized an antigen of approximately 32 kDa in homogenates of radial nerve cords of H. glaberrima and Lytechinus variegatus. Furthermore, immunoreactivity with anti-calbindin 1 and anti-parvalbumin was obtained to a fragment of calbindin-D32k of H. glaberrima. Our findings suggest that calbindin-D32k is present in invertebrates and its sequence is more similar to the vertebrate calbindin 2 than to calbindin 1. Thus, characterization of calbindin-D32k in echinoderms provides an important view of the evolution of this protein family and represents a valuable marker to study the nervous system of invertebrates

Appendix por el procurador astricto en la apellacion contra Ivan de Bonilla

Copia digital : Diputación Provincial de Zaragoza. Servicio de Archivos y Bibliotecas, 2010Datos de tit. tomados de p.1 y mención de responsabilidad del final del textoSign.: A-D\p2\sInic. grab. xil. en p.

Antiproliferative efficacies but minor drug transporter inducing effects of paclitaxel, cisplatin, or 5-fluorouracil in a murine xenograft model for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Drug-induced multidrug resistance (MDR) has been linked to overexpression of drug transporting proteins in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in vitro. The aim of this work was to reassess these findings in a murine xenograft model. NOD-SCID mice xenotransplanted with 106 HNO97 cells were treated for four consecutive weeks with weekly paclitaxel, biweekly cisplatin (both intraperitoneal), or 5-fluorouracil (5-FU, administered by osmotic pump). Tumor volume and body weight were weekly documented. Expression of drug transporters and Ki-67 marker were examined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and/or immunohistochemistry. Both paclitaxel and cisplatin significantly reduced tumor volumes after 2–3 weeks. 5-FU-treated animals had significantly lower body weights after 2 or 4 weeks of chemotherapy. None of the drugs affected expression of drug transporters at the mRNA level. However, P-glycoprotein (Pgp) protein expression was increased by paclitaxel (P < 0.01). Ki-67 expression did not change during treatment irrespective of the drug applied. Paclitaxel and cisplatin are effectively tumor volume reducing drugs in a murine xenograft model of HNSCC. Paclitaxel enhanced Pgp expression at the protein level, but not at the mRNA level suggesting transcriptional induction to be of minor relevance. In contrast, posttranscriptional mechanisms or Darwinian selection of intrinsically drug transporter overexpressing MDR cells might lead to iatrogenic chemotherapy resistance in HNSCC.Fil: Theile, Dirk. Universität Heidelberg; AlemaniaFil: Gal, Zoltan. Universität Heidelberg; AlemaniaFil: Warta, Rolf. Universität Heidelberg; AlemaniaFil: Rigalli, Juan Pablo. Universität Heidelberg; Alemania. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lahrmann, Bernd. Universität Heidelberg; AlemaniaFil: Grabe, Niels. Universität Heidelberg; AlemaniaFil: Herold Mende, Christel. Universität Heidelberg; AlemaniaFil: Dyckhoff, Gerhard. Universität Heidelberg; AlemaniaFil: Weiss, Johanna. Universität Heidelberg; Alemani

Next-generation analysis of trypanosomatid genome stability and instability

No abstract available

Sialic Acid Glycobiology Unveils Trypanosoma cruzi Trypomastigote Membrane Physiology.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the flagellate protozoan agent of Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis, is unable to synthesize sialic acids de novo. Mucins and trans-sialidase (TS) are substrate and enzyme, respectively, of the glycobiological system that scavenges sialic acid from the host in a crucial interplay for T. cruzi life cycle. The acquisition of the sialyl residue allows the parasite to avoid lysis by serum factors and to interact with the host cell. A major drawback to studying the sialylation kinetics and turnover of the trypomastigote glycoconjugates is the difficulty to identify and follow the recently acquired sialyl residues. To tackle this issue, we followed an unnatural sugar approach as bioorthogonal chemical reporters, where the use of azidosialyl residues allowed identifying the acquired sugar. Advanced microscopy techniques, together with biochemical methods, were used to study the trypomastigote membrane from its glycobiological perspective. Main sialyl acceptors were identified as mucins by biochemical procedures and protein markers. Together with determining their shedding and turnover rates, we also report that several membrane proteins, including TS and its substrates, both glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins, are separately distributed on parasite surface and contained in different and highly stable membrane microdomains. Notably, labeling for α(1,3)Galactosyl residues only partially colocalize with sialylated mucins, indicating that two species of glycosylated mucins do exist, which are segregated at the parasite surface. Moreover, sialylated mucins were included in lipid-raft-domains, whereas TS molecules are not. The location of the surface-anchored TS resulted too far off as to be capable to sialylate mucins, a role played by the shed TS instead. Phosphatidylinositol-phospholipase-C activity is actually not present in trypomastigotes. Therefore, shedding of TS occurs via microvesicles instead of as a fully soluble form

CD98hc facilitates B cell proliferation and adaptive humoral immunity.

The proliferation of antigen-specific lymphocytes and resulting clonal expansion are essential for adaptive immunity. We report here that B cell-specific deletion of the heavy chain of CD98 (CD98hc) resulted in lower antibody responses due to total suppression of B cell proliferation and subsequent plasma cell formation. Deletion of CD98hc did not impair early B cell activation but did inhibit later activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase Erk1/2 and downregulation of the cell cycle inhibitor p27. Reconstitution of CD98hc-deficient B cells with CD98hc mutants showed that the integrin-binding domain of CD98hc was required for B cell proliferation but that the amino acid-transport function of CD98hc was dispensable for this. Thus, CD98hc supports integrin-dependent rapid proliferation of B cells. We propose that the advantage of adaptive immunity favored the appearance of CD98hc in vertebrates

A big data approach to myocyte membrane analysis: using populations of models to understand the cellular causes of heart failure

Experimentally-calibrated populations of models (ePoMs) allow to elucidate the trends hidden behind large amounts of data, but they have never been used as a means to monitor the temporal evolution of a heart's electrical activity. This work aimed at using ePoMs to understand the cell membrane anomalies that lead to heart failure. A population of the Tusscher-Noble-Noble-Panfilov model was calibrated to the activation-recovery intervals measured from epicardial electrograms acquired during a Physioheart experiment. A Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon U-test was performed on the statistical distributions of the calibrated parameters, at different time points during the experiment, to elucidate the physiology changes that would have led to the resulting ePoMs. The methodology developed in this paper could detect the specific pathological ion dynamics responsible for the abnormal electrical behavior observed during the experiment. Furthermore, the analysis of the electrical activities was capable of detection of pathologies at an earlier stage when compared to the analysis of the cardiac output alone. The use of big data analytics proved to be more effective than the traditional signal analysis approach in predicting heart failure; additionally, this approach accounts for variabilities in both the healthy and the pathological conditions

May Measurement Month 2017: analysis of the blood pressure screening results in Argentina-Americas

Hypertension is a growing concern worldwide, causing over 10 million deaths each year. The prevalence of high blood pressure (BP) in Argentina is 36.3% and 38% of these are unaware of their disease. Half of the hypertensive patients are on pharmacological treatment and only a quarter of them are controlled. The International Society of Hypertension initiated the May Measurement Month (MMM) as a global campaign to raise awareness on high BP that may also serve as a temporary solution to the lack of global screening programs worldwide. A volunteer cross-sectional survey was carried out in May 2017 across 56 health centres. Blood pressure measurement, definition of hypertension and statistical analysis followed the MMM protocol. For this awareness campaign, the Argentine Society of Hypertension coined the slogan: 'Know and control your blood pressure'. A total of 32 346 individuals aged at least 18 years were screened during MMM17. After imputation, 16 263 (50.4%) were hypertensive. Of the 12 156 receiving antihypertensive medication 5400 (44.4%) still had uncontrolled BP. MMM17, called in our country 'Know and control your blood pressure', was the largest BP screening campaign done in Argentina. Almost 6 out of 10 hypertensive patients were either not on treatment or were not controlled to the BP goal. These results suggest that appropriate screening can help to identify a significant number of people with high BP