A Management Strategy for Multi-Source Heat Pump Systems

The recent H2020 IDEAS project is oriented to the study of multi-source heat pump systems by investigating their behavior through dynamic simulations and on-field experiments in real small and large-scale prototypes respectively. One of the main aims of the project is the exploitation of available free energy sources, solar, air and ground using the heat pump technology. The key point in the investigated multi-source heat pump system is the optimal management of the renewable sources and the keeping of the ground storage available also in case of undersize of it and in case of buildings with unbalanced thermal load profile. In the last year of the project the algorithm for the control of sources and devices in the IDEAS system has been developed to maximize the use of renewable energies and at the same time to minimize the consumption of auxiliary energy. The present paper shows the details of this part of the project highlighting limits, potential and properties of the management system with a discussion of the results obtained from the on-field experiments. In the last part of the project, the implementation of weather forecast and artificial intelligence in the algorithm is planned

Systemic lupus erythematosus: immunopathogenesis and novel therapeutic targets

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the prototype of autoimmune diseases with multiorgan involvement. SLE presents many genetic and epigenetic associations and the pathogenesis is characterized by a complex network of alterations affecting both adaptative and innate immunity. The disclosure of novel mechanisms of SLE pathogenesis suggested new therapeutic targets, based on interference with the cytokine pathways or on depletion of the immune cells

Upaya Peningkatan Bernyanyi Paduan Suara untuk Remaja Gereja HKBP Taman Deli dalam Kegiatan Praktik Lapang Tematik

 Dalam kegiatan Praktik Lapang Tematik (PLT),  mahasiswa  Program Studi Seni Musik  melakukan   pelatihan paduan suara  untuk  remaja  Gereja HKBP Taman Deli, Medan Labuhan. Di Gereja HKBP Taman Deli anak remaja sangat berminat belajar bernyanyi dalam bentuk paduan suara. Permasalahan yang dihadapi pihak gereja/mitra adalah  anak remaja belum mampu membaca notasi dengan baik dan bernyanyi dengan benar. Oleh karena itu, anak remaja diberi pembelajaran teori dasar  musik dan  belajar lagu  “Ku Berbahagia” dalam bentuk paduan suara. Metode yang digunakan oleh tim pelatih metode pelatihan dan pendampingan. Dalam hal belajar bernyanyi, pengajar mempraktikkan langsung lagu “Ku Berbahagia” dengan menggunakan fasilitas yang ada di lingkungan Gereja HKBP Taman Deli seperti piano dan keyboard. Hasil pengajaran teori dasar musik telah meningkatkan pengetahuan  anak  remaja membaca not angka dan not balok,  membaca ritem dan melodi  lagu “Ku Berbahagia”, dan menampilkan lagu tersebut dalam perayaan Natal Gereja HKBP Taman Deli. In this Thematic Field Practice activities, students from the Music Arts Study Program conducted choir training for youth at the HKBP Taman Deli Church, Medan Labuhan. At Taman Deli HKBP Church, teenagers are very interested in learning to sing in the form of a choir. The problem faced by the church/partners is that teenagers are not yet able to read notation and sing properly. Therefore, teenagers were given basic music theory lessons and learned the song "Ku Berbahagia" in the form of a choir. The results  of the authors’ basic music teaching theory are the increasing of young singers’ abilities in reading numbers and musical notes, the ability to read the rhythm and melody of the song "Ku Berbahagia", and the performance of the choir in HKBP Taman Deli Church Christmas celebration

A New Procedure for Combining UAV-Based Imagery and Machine Learning in Precision Agriculture

Drone images from an experimental field cropped with sugar beet with a high diffusion of weeds taken from different flying altitudes were used to develop and test a machine learning method for vegetation patch identification. Georeferenced images were combined with a hue-based preprocessing analysis, digital transformation by an image embedder, and evaluation by supervised learning. Specifically, six of the most common machine learning algorithms were applied (i.e., logistic regression, k-nearest neighbors, decision tree, random forest, neural network, and support-vector machine). The proposed method was able to precisely recognize crops and weeds throughout a wide cultivation field, training from single partial images. The information has been designed to be easily integrated into autonomous weed management systems with the aim of reducing the use of water, nutrients, and herbicides for precision agriculture

CSF/serum matrix metallopeptidase-9 ratio discriminates neuro Behcet from multiple sclerosis

In neuro Behcet disease with multiple sclerosis-like features, diagnosis could be challenging. Here, we studied the cerebrospinal fluid and serum inflammatory profile of 11 neuro Behcet and 21 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients. Between the soluble factors analyzed (MMP9, TNF, IL6, CXCL13, CXCL10, CXCL8, IFN, IL10, IL17, IL23, and others) we found MMP9 increased in neuro Behcet serum compared to multiple sclerosis and decreased in cerebrospinal fluid. Furthermore, neuro Behcet analysis of circulating natural killer CD56(DIM) subset suggests their potential involvement in increased MMP9 production. We believe that these findings may have a translational utility in clinical practice

Female Presence Does Not Increase Testosterone but Still Ameliorates Sickness Behaviours in Male Japanese Quail

Infections can dramatically modify animal behaviour. The extent of these changes depends on an animal\u27s environment. It has been proposed that testosterone modulates the suppression of behavioural symptoms of sickness under certain reproductive contexts. To further understand the role played by testosterone in modulating sickness behaviours under reproductive contexts, we studied a species, the Japanese quail, in which female exposure rapidly decreases circulating testosterone in males. Males received either an immune challenge (lipopolysaccharide – LPS) or a control injection and their behaviours, mass change and testosterone levels were quantified in the presence or absence of a female. Both the presence of a female and LPS treatment reduced testosterone levels. LPS-treated males maintained in isolation expressed expected sickness behaviours, including increased resting (quantified as crouching) and decreased food and water intake. Despite the reduction in testosterone, when paired with females LPS-treated males showed similar amounts of mating behaviours to controls and reduced crouching. In sum, even under very low levels of testosterone, male quail had reduced sickness behaviours when exposed to females, indicating that testosterone may not be key in modulating sickness behaviours, at least in this species

Central vein sign differentiates Multiple Sclerosis from central nervous system inflammatory vasculopathies.

In multiple sclerosis (MS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a sensitive tool for detecting white matter lesions, but its diagnostic specificity is still suboptimal; ambiguous cases are frequent in clinical practice. Detection of perivenular lesions in the brain (the "central vein sign") improves the pathological specificity of MS diagnosis, but comprehensive evaluation of this MRI biomarker in MS-mimicking inflammatory and/or autoimmune diseases, such as central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory vasculopathies, is lacking. In a multicenter study, we assessed the frequency of perivenular lesions in MS versus systemic autoimmune diseases with CNS involvement and primary angiitis of the CNS (PACNS). In 31 patients with inflammatory CNS vasculopathies and 52 with relapsing-remitting MS, 3-dimensional T2*-weighted and T2-fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images were obtained during a single MRI acquisition after gadolinium injection. For each lesion, the central vein sign was evaluated according to consensus guidelines. For each patient, lesion count, volume, and brain location, as well as fulfillment of dissemination in space MRI criteria, were assessed. MS showed higher frequency of perivenular lesions (median = 88%) than did inflammatory CNS vasculopathies (14%), without overlap between groups or differences between 3T and 1.5T MRI. Among inflammatory vasculopathies, Behçet disease showed the highest median frequency of perivenular lesions (34%), followed by PACNS (14%), antiphospholipid syndromes (12%), Sjögren syndrome (11%), and systemic lupus erythematosus (0%). When a threshold of 50% perivenular lesions was applied, central vein sign discriminated MS from inflammatory vasculopathies with a diagnostic accuracy of 100%. The central vein sign differentiates inflammatory CNS vasculopathies from MS at standard clinical magnetic field strengths. Ann Neurol 2018;83:283-294