Policy Challenges for the Development of Energy Flexibility Services

European energy policies call for an increased share of renewable energy sources and a more active role of the energy consumer. This is facilitated by, amongst others, buildings becoming energy flexible hubs, supporting smart energy grids with demand response strategies. While there is abundant technical research in this field, the related business and policy development is less well documented. This research scopes existing policy programmes and identifies opportunities and barriers to business development supporting energy flexible buildings. Using examples from seven European countries, this work reviews influencing niche management factors such as existing policy instruments, business development cases and identified stakeholder concerns, using literature research, narrative analysis and stakeholder research. National policy pathways show many differences but confirm that European buildings might become active players in the energy market, by providing energy storage, demand response and/or shifts in the use of energy sources. Slow sustained business development for energy flexibility services was mainly identified in the retail industry, and for energy service companies and aggregators. The direct involvement of end users in energy flexible buildings is still difficult. Stakeholders call for policy improvement, especially concerning the development of flexible energy tariffs, supporting incentives, awareness raising and more stakeholder-targeted business development

The immune score as a new possible approach for the classification of cancer

The outcome prediction in cancer is usually achieved by evaluating tissue samples obtained during surgical removal of the primary tumor focusing on their histopathological characteristics. Tumor staging (AJCC/UICC-TNM classification) summarizes data on tumor burden (T), presence of cancer cells in draining and regional lymph nodes (N), and evidence for metastases (M). However, this classification provides limited prognostic information in estimating the outcome in cancer and does not predict response to therapy. It is recognized that cancer outcomes can vary significantly among patients within the same stage. Recently, many reports suggest that cancer development is controlled by the host's immune system underlying the importance of including immunological biomarkers for the prediction of prognosis and response to therapy. Data collected from large cohorts of human cancers demonstrated that the immune-classification has a prognostic value that may be superior to the AJCC/UICC TNM-classification. Thus, it is imperative to begin incorporating immune scoring as a prognostic factor and to introduce this parameter as a marker to classify cancers, as part of the routine diagnostic and prognostic assessment of tumors. At the same time, the inherent complexity of quantitative immunohistochemistry, in conjunction with variable assay protocols across laboratories, the different immune cell types analyzed, different region selection criteria, and variable ways to quantify immune infiltration underscore the urgent need to reach assay harmonization. In an effort to promote the immunoscore in routine clinical settings worldwide, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), the European Academy of Tumor Immunology, the Cancer and Inflammation Program, the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, USA and "La Fondazione Melanoma" will jointly initiate a task force on Immunoscoring as a New Possible Approach for the Classification of Cancer that will take place in Naples, Italy, February 13th, 2012. The expected outcome will include a concept manuscript that will be distributed to all interested participants for their contribution before publication outlining the goal and strategy to achieve this effort; a preliminary summary to be presented during the "Workshop on Tumor Microenvironment" prior to the SITC annual meeting on October 24th - 25th 2012 in Bethesda, Maryland, USA and finally a "Workshop on Immune Scoring" to be held in Naples in December of 2012 leading to the preparation of a summary document providing recommendations for the harmonization and implementation of the Immune Score as a new component for the classification of cancer

Using a One-Stop-Shop Concept to Guide Decisions When Single-Family Houses Are Renovated

One way of reducing the use of fossil fuels in Denmark is to explore possible energy savings in the building stock, especially the large number of single-family houses built from 1960 through 1980. Energy renovation in this housing segment is progressing slowly. The aim of this project was to determine how a one-stop-shop (OSS) or full-service concept could be used to guide the extensive energy renovation of single-family houses. The purpose was partly to identify the benefits and disadvantages of using the concept and partly to evaluate the potential of the OSS concept for increasing the degree of renovation. The scope of the project was to carry out renovations on up to three houses. The project revealed that the concept on its own was not enough to motivate the house owners to engage in extensive renovation. However, interviews with the house owners indicated that the renovations that took place had probably been expanded and improved with the use of the concept and that the renovations in general benefitted from an independent adviser

Эпидемиология и факторы риска рака шейки матки

ФАКТОРЫ РИСКАШЕЙКИ МАТКИ НОВООБРАЗОВАНИ

Innovation, low energy buildings and intermediaries in Europe: systematic case study review

As buildings throughout their lifecycle account for circa 40% of total energy use in Europe, reducing energy use of the building stock is a key task. This task is, however, complicated by a range of factors, including slow renewal and renovation rates of buildings, multiple non- coordinated actors, conservative building practices, and limited competence to innovate. Drawing from academic literature published during 2005-2015, this article carries out a systematic review of case studies on low energy innovations in the European residential building sector, analysing their drivers. Specific attention is paid to intermediary actors in facilitating innovation processes and creating new opportunities. The study finds that qualitative case study literature on low energy building innovation has been limited, particularly regarding the existing building stock. Environmental concerns, EU, national and local policies have been the key drivers; financial, knowledge and social sustainability and equity drivers have been of modest importance; while design, health and comfort, and market drivers have played a minor role. Intermediary organisations and individuals have been important through five processes: (1) facilitating individual building projects, (2) creating niche markets, (3) implementing new practices in social housing stock, (4) supporting new business model creation, and (5) facilitating building use post construction. The intermediaries have included both public and private actors, while local authority agents have acted as intermediaries in several cases

T Cell Cancer Therapy Requires CD40-CD40L Activation of Tumor Necrosis Factor and Inducible Nitric-Oxide-Synthase-Producing Dendritic Cells

Effective cancer immunotherapy requires overcoming immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments. We\ua0found that local nitric oxide (NO) production by tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells is important for adoptively transferred CD8(+) cytotoxic T\ua0cells to destroy tumors. These myeloid cells are phenotypically similar to inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2)- and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-producing dendritic cells (DC), or Tip-DCs. Depletion of immunosuppressive, colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF-1R)-dependent arginase 1(+) myeloid cells enhanced NO-dependent tumor killing. Tumor elimination via NOS2 required the CD40-CD40L pathway. We also uncovered a strong correlation between survival of colorectal cancer patients and NOS2, CD40, and TNF expression in their tumors. Our results identify a network of pro-tumor factors that can be targeted to boost cancer immunotherapies

Immunological network signatures of cancer progression and survival

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The immune contribution to cancer progression is complex and difficult to characterize. For example in tumors, immune gene expression is detected from the combination of normal, tumor and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. Profiling the immune component of tumors may facilitate the characterization of the poorly understood roles immunity plays in cancer progression. However, the current approaches to analyze the immune component of a tumor rely on incomplete identification of immune factors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To facilitate a more comprehensive approach, we created a ranked immunological relevance score for all human genes, developed using a novel strategy that combines text mining and information theory. We used this score to assign an immunological grade to gene expression profiles, and thereby quantify the immunological component of tumors. This immunological relevance score was benchmarked against existing manually curated immune resources as well as high-throughput studies. To further characterize immunological relevance for genes, the relevance score was charted against both the human interactome and cancer information, forming an expanded interactome landscape of tumor immunity. We applied this approach to expression profiles in melanomas, thus identifying and grading their immunological components, followed by identification of their associated protein interactions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The power of this strategy was demonstrated by the observation of early activation of the adaptive immune response and the diversity of the immune component during melanoma progression. Furthermore, the genome-wide immunological relevance score classified melanoma patient groups, whose immunological grade correlated with clinical features, such as immune phenotypes and survival.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The assignment of a ranked immunological relevance score to all human genes extends the content of existing immune gene resources and enriches our understanding of immune involvement in complex biological networks. The application of this approach to tumor immunity represents an automated systems strategy that quantifies the immunological component in complex disease. In so doing, it stratifies patients according to their immune profiles, which may lead to effective computational prognostic and clinical guides.</p

Th Inducing POZ-Kruppel Factor (ThPOK) Is a Key Regulator of the Immune Response since the Early Steps of Colorectal Carcinogenesis

We purposed to evaluate the role of Th inducing POZ-Kruppel Factor (ThPOK), a transcriptional regulator of T cell fate, in tumour-induced immune system plasticity in colorectal carcinogenesis. The amounts of CD4+, CD8+ and CD56+ and ThPOK+ cells infiltrate in normal colorectal mucosa (NM), in dysplastic aberrant crypt foci (microadenomas, MA), the earliest detectable lesions in colorectal carcinogenesis, and in colorectal carcinomas (CRC), were measured, and the colocalization of ThPOK with the above-mentioned markers of immune cells was evaluated using confocal microscopy. Interestingly, ThPOK showed a prominent increase since MA. A strong colocalization of ThPOK with CD4 both in NM and in MA was observed, weaker in carcinomas. Surprisingly, there was a peak in the colocalization levels of ThPOK with CD8 in MA, which was evident, although to a lesser extent, in carcinomas, too. In conclusion, according to the data of the present study, ThPOK may be considered a central regulator of the earliest events in the immune system during colorectal cancer development, decreasing the immune response against cancer cells

Parametric POMDPs for planning in continuous state spaces

This thesis is concerned with planning and acting under uncertainty in partially-observable continuous domains. In particular, it focusses on the problem of mobile robot navigation given a known map. The dominant paradigm for robot localisation is to use Bayesian estimation to maintain a probability distribution over possible robot poses. In contrast, control algorithms often base their decisions on the assumption that a single state, such as the mode of this distribution, is correct. In scenarios involving significant uncertainty, this can lead to serious control errors. It is generally agreed that the reliability of navigation in uncertain environments would be greatly improved by the ability to consider the entire distribution when acting, rather than the single most likely state. The framework adopted in this thesis for modelling navigation problems mathematically is the Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP). An exact solution to a POMDP problem provides the optimal balance between reward-seeking behaviour and information-seeking behaviour, in the presence of sensor and actuation noise. Unfortunately, previous exact and approximate solution methods have had difficulty scaling to real applications. The contribution of this thesis is the formulation of an approach to planning in the space of continuous parameterised approximations to probability distributions. Theoretical and practical results are presented which show that, when compared with similar methods from the literature, this approach is capable of scaling to larger and more realistic problems. In order to apply the solution algorithm to real-world problems, a number of novel improvements are proposed. Specifically, Monte Carlo methods are employed to estimate distributions over future parameterised beliefs, improving planning accuracy without a loss of efficiency. Conditional independence assumptions are exploited to simplify the problem, reducing computational requirements. Scalability is further increased by focussing computation on likely beliefs, using metric indexing structures for efficient function approximation. Local online planning is incorporated to assist global offline planning, allowing the precision of the latter to be decreased without adversely affecting solution quality. Finally, the algorithm is implemented and demonstrated during real-time control of a mobile robot in a challenging navigation task. We argue that this task is substantially more challenging and realistic than previous problems to which POMDP solution methods have been applied. Results show that POMDP planning, which considers the evolution of the entire probability distribution over robot poses, produces significantly more robust behaviour when compared with a heuristic planner which considers only the most likely states and outcomes