Partialization losses of ON/OFF operation of waterto- water refrigeration/heat-pump units

[EN] This paper presents the results of an experimental campaign for the characterization of the dynamic behavior of a water-to-water refrigeration/heat-pump unit under ON/OFF operation. The unit was previously tested at different water inlet temperatures under steady state conditions, and a very good agreement was found between the instantaneous dynamic performance of the heat pump and the corresponding quasi-steady state operation. In parallel, a series of tests were carried out to quantify the coefficient of performance (COP) degradation as a function of the load ratio, and a simple formula for the Part Load Factor is presented. Results lead to the conclusion that the only non-negligible factor in the COP degradation is the stand-by electrical consumption during the OFF period, especially at low load ratios. Finally, it is concluded that the minimization of the stand-by consumption is a key point for the future improvement of the seasonal performance of water-to-water systems.This research has been partially funded by the European FP7 framework project "Advanced ground source heat pump systems for heating and cooling in Mediterranean climate" (GROUND-MED) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the project "Estudio de evaporadores y condensadores basados en tecnologia de minicanales para su aplicaciOn en equipos de aire acondicionado, refrigeraciOn y bomba de calor estacionarios" with reference DPI2011-26771-C02-01. The authors gratefully acknowledge their financial support.Corberán, JM.; D.Donadello; Martínez Galván, IO.; Montagud, C. (2013). Partialization losses of ON/OFF operation of waterto- water refrigeration/heat-pump units. International Journal of Refrigeration. 36(8):2251-2261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2013.07.002S2251226136

Large scale proteomic studies create novel privacy considerations.

Privacy protection is a core principle of genomic but not proteomic research. We identified independent single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) quantitative trait loci (pQTL) from COPDGene and Jackson Heart Study (JHS), calculated continuous protein level genotype probabilities, and then applied a naïve Bayesian approach to link SomaScan 1.3K proteomes to genomes for 2812 independent subjects from COPDGene, JHS, SubPopulations and InteRmediate Outcome Measures In COPD Study (SPIROMICS) and Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). We correctly linked 90-95% of proteomes to their correct genome and for 95-99% we identify the 1% most likely links. The linking accuracy in subjects with African ancestry was lower (~ 60%) unless training included diverse subjects. With larger profiling (SomaScan 5K) in the Atherosclerosis Risk Communities (ARIC) correct identification was > 99% even in mixed ancestry populations. We also linked proteomes-to-proteomes and used the proteome only to determine features such as sex, ancestry, and first-degree relatives. When serial proteomes are available, the linking algorithm can be used to identify and correct mislabeled samples. This work also demonstrates the importance of including diverse populations in omics research and that large proteomic datasets (> 1000 proteins) can be accurately linked to a specific genome through pQTL knowledge and should not be considered unidentifiable

Genome-wide association and linkage identify modifier loci of lung disease severity in cystic fibrosis at 11p13 and 20q13.2

A combined genome-wide association and linkage study was used to identify loci causing variation in CF lung disease severity. A significant association (P=3. 34 × 10(-8)) near EHF and APIP (chr11p13) was identified in F508del homozygotes (n=1,978). The association replicated in F508del homozygotes (P=0.006) from a separate family-based study (n=557), with P=1.49 × 10(-9) for the three-study joint meta-analysis. Linkage analysis of 486 sibling pairs from the family-based study identified a significant QTL on chromosome 20q13.2 (LOD=5.03). Our findings provide insight into the causes of variation in lung disease severity in CF and suggest new therapeutic targets for this life-limiting disorder

Immune regulation during chronic visceral leishmaniasis

Visceral leishmaniasis is a chronic parasitic disease associated with severe immune dysfunction. Treatment options are limited to relatively toxic drugs and there is no vaccine for humans available. Hence, there is an urgent need to better understand immune responses following infection with Leishmania species by studying animal models of disease and clinical samples from patients. Here, we review recent discoveries in these areas and highlight shortcomings in our knowledge that need to be addressed if better treatment options are to be developed and effective vaccines designed