NK cells and cancer: you can teach innate cells new tricks

Natural killer (NK) cells are the prototype innate lymphoid cells endowed with potent cytolytic function that provide host defence against microbial infection and tumours. Here, we review evidence for the role of NK cells in immune surveillance against cancer and highlight new therapeutic approaches for targeting NK cells in the treatment of cancer

Economic Dispatch for on-line operation of grid-connected microgrids

In this paper, a control strategy for real-time operation of a master-slave controlled microgrid is developed. The basic idea of this control strategy is to schedule all dispatchable energy sources available into a microgrid to minimize its operational costs. Control actions are centrally evaluated by solving a two-stage optimization problem formulated to take place on two different time-scales: in the day-ahead and in the real-time. The first one provides a 24-hour plan in advance. It mainly draws up the active power levels that Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) should provide for each quarter hour of the next day by taking into account energy prices of the day-ahead energy market, the forecasted energy production of non-dispatchable renewables and loads. The real-time optimization problem updates the active power set-points of DERs in order to minimize as much as possible the real-time deviations between the actual power exchanged with the utility grid and its scheduled value. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology has been experimentally tested on an actual microgrid

Online Identification of Simplified CHP Models

The aim of this article is to develop a simplified equivalent dynamic model capable to capture the transient behavior of a gas-fueled co-generator. To comply with this exigency, an online identification methodology based on the sensitivity theory in conjunction with the Lyapunov function is adopted. By this methodology, stable solutions can be achieved in the online environment, renewing the parameters of the model at every change occurring on the physical system. In order to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in deriving a simplified dynamic model, several simulations and experimental tests were performed on the Prince Lab microgrid located at the Polytechnic University of Bari

Effects of Demand Side Management on the Operation of an Isolated LV Microgrids

The work presents the results of a study regarding the impact of Demand Side Management actions on flexible loads distributed at the domestic end-users' facilities in an isolated low voltage microgrid. Aim of the research study is to evaluate how the implementation of local control actions on the end-user's side can impact on the operation of the isolated microgrid. The Demand Side Management is applied by each domestic user to optimize the operation of its own resources following well-defined operative steps. The study is carried out implementing a suitable model of the microgrid in Neplan environment, while the daily controlled load profiles of the end-users are evaluated using the Montecarlo approach implemented in Matlab. The results of the study are useful to the DSOs which will face all the issues rising in a fully-automated environment

Transitions from grid-connected to island operation of Smart Microgrids

In this paper a control methodology is presented to perform a bumpless transition from the on-grid to the offgrid of a smart microgrid. The derived controller manages the internal production in order to get to zero the tie-line active and reactive power flows so that the opening of the tie line breaker does not produce significant perturbations. Experimental tests performed on the microgrid built at the Polytechnic University of Bari demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy

Experimental results on the economic management of a smart microgrid

The aim of this paper is to assess economic benefits deriving from the adoption of a smart microgrid. To this end, a case study consisting of 250 houses connected to the distribution network through a MV/LV transformer substation has been investigated and implemented in the experimental microgrid built at the Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy. The analysis has been performed by comparing three different energy providers: the utility grid, the utility grid with the inclusion of non-programmable renewables generators, and the inclusion of such residential loads into a smart microgrid. The obtained results demonstrated that with the adoption of a smart microgrid significant costs savings can be obtained

On the Impact of Heat Pumps Electric Load on the Power Consumption of Lampedusa

The present paper reports the results of a simulation study regarding the impact of the adoption of heat pumps for domestic hot water production in the island of Lampedusa (Italy). In the study, it has been assumed to replace electric storage water heaters with heat pumps at every dwelling of the about four thousand domestic end-users of the island and, in addition, to control the heat pump operation in order to enhance some parameters that characterize the quality of the generation and distribution system of the island (power peak, energy losses and voltage drop). According to the results of the simulations, while the replacement of electric storage water heaters with heat pumps is able to positively impact the island power system, the control of heat pumps, even if in great number, does not generate any evident additional advantage for the power system operation. These results are significant for better understanding potentiality and limits of Demand Response and Aggregation in the presence of high-efficiency devices

Differential effects of IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta on tumorigenicity patterns and invasiveness

In this study, we show that distinct compartmentalization patterns of the IL-1 molecules (IL-1alpha and IL-1beta), in the milieu of tumor cells that produce them, differentially affect the malignant process. Active forms of IL-1, namely precursor IL-1alpha (pIL-1alpha), mature IL-1beta (mIL-1beta), and mIL-1beta fused to a signal sequence (ssIL-1beta), were transfected into an established fibrosarcoma cell line, and tumorigenicity and antitumor immunity were assessed. Cell lines transfected with pIL-1alpha, which expresses IL-1alpha on the membrane, fail to develop local tumors and activate antitumor effector mechanisms, such as CTLs, NK cells, and high levels of IFN-gamma production. Cells transfected with secretable IL-1beta (mIL-1beta and ssIL-1beta) were more aggressive than wild-type and mock-transfected tumor cells; ssIL-1beta transfectants even exhibited metastatic tumors in the lungs of mice after i.v. inoculation (experimental metastasis). In IL-1beta tumors, increased vascularity patterns were observed. No detectable antitumor effector mechanisms were observed in spleens of mice injected with IL-1beta transfectants, mock-transfected or wild-type fibrosarcoma cells. Moreover, in spleens of mice injected with IL-1beta transfectants, suppression of polyclonal mitogenic responses (proliferation, IFN-gamma and IL-2 production) to Con A was observed, suggesting the development of general anergy. Histologically, infiltrating mononuclear cells penetrating the tumor were seen at pIL-1alpha tumor sites, whereas in mIL-1beta and ssIL-1beta tumor sites such infiltrating cells do not penetrate inside the tumor. This is, to our knowledge, the first report on differential, nonredundant, in vivo effects of IL-1alpha and IL-1beta in malignant processes; IL-1alpha reduces tumorigenicity by inducing antitumor immunity, whereas IL-1beta promotes invasiveness, including tumor angiogenesis, and also induces immune suppression in the host

Preoperative chemotherapy with methotrexate and cis-diammine-dichloro-platinum II in osteosarcoma

Preoperative chemotherapy with methotrexate and cis-diammine-dichloro-platinum II in osteosarcoma