Nuclear processes associated with plant immunity and pathogen susceptibility

Plants are sessile organisms that have evolved exquisite and sophisticated mechanisms to adapt to their biotic and abiotic environment. Plants deploy receptors and vast signalling networks to detect, transmit and respond to a given biotic threat by inducing properly dosed defence responses. Genetic analyses and, more recently, next-generation -omics approaches have allowed unprecedented insights into the mechanisms that drive immunity. Similarly, functional genomics and the emergence of pathogen genomes have allowed reciprocal studies on the mechanisms governing pathogen virulence and host susceptibility, collectively allowing more comprehensive views on the processes that govern disease and resistance. Among others, the identification of secreted pathogen molecules (effectors) that modify immunity-associated processes has changed the plant–microbe interactions conceptual landscape. Effectors are now considered both important factors facilitating disease and novel probes, suited to study immunity in plants. In this review, we will describe the various mechanisms and processes that take place in the nucleus and help regulate immune responses in plants. Based on the premise that any process required for immunity could be targeted by pathogen effectors, we highlight and describe a number of functional assays that should help determine effector functions and their impact on immune-related processes. The identification of new effector functions that modify nuclear processes will help dissect nuclear signalling further and assist us in our bid to bolster immunity in crop plants

Scaling mechanisms of energy communities:A comparison of 28 initiatives

Energy communities have mushroomed over the past decades. These initiatives have scaled, that is replicated their experiences, expanded membership, and diversified involved actors and technologies. The picture existing literature paints is hopeful that the scaling of local-scale action may translate into global-scale impact and thus effectively contribute to combating climate change. However, important gaps remain in understanding the (combinations of) conditions which are necessary for scaling with this goal in mind. This article pushes the boundaries of knowledge further by examining and comparing 28 energy communities through a fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and by identifying the necessary conditions of actionable scaling mechanisms. Our analysis identifies a high number (8) of necessary (combinations of) conditions for scaling. Addressing a strong need amongst policy makers to facilitate broader scaling of community initiatives, this article offers concrete insights on mechanisms that need to be in place to scale energy communities. Insights are developed on – for example – the type of capacity support needed, support structures and the tools needed for connecting communities with each other. These insights help corroborate empirically, for the first time the crucial leverage points that will support strategies for upscaling the impact of energy communities, and will enable them to flourish as an essential element of the global climate governance system.</p

Predictive control for multi-market trade of aggregated demand response using a black box approach

Aggregated demand response for smart grid services is a growing field of interest especially for market participation. To minimize economic and network instability risks, flexibility characteristics such as shiftable capacity must be known. This is traditionally done using lower level, end user, device specifications. However, with these large numbers, having lower level information, has both privacy and computational limitations. Previous studies have shown that black box forecasting of shiftable capacity, using machine learning techniques, can be done accurately for a homogeneous cluster of heating devices. This paper validates the machine learning model for a heterogeneous virtual power plant. Further it applies this model to a control strategy to offer flexibility on an imbalance market while maintaining day ahead market obligations profitably. It is shown that using a black box approach 89% optimal economic performance is met. Further, by combining profits made on imbalance market and the day ahead costs, the overall monthly electricity costs are reduced 20%

An assessment framework of business modelling ontologies to ensure the viability of business models

Organisations operate in an increasingly dynamic environment. Consequently, the business models span several organisations, dealing with multiple stakeholders and their competing interests. As a result, the enterprise information systems supporting this new market setting are highly distributed, and their components are owned and managed by different stakeholders. For successful businesses to exist it is crucial that their enterprise architectures are derived from and aligned with viable business models. Business model ontologies (BMOs) are effective tools for designing and evaluating business models. However, the viability perspective has been largely neglected. In this paper, current BMOs have been assessed on their capabilities to support the design and evaluation of viable business models. As such, a list of criteria is derived from literature to evaluate BMOs from a viability perspective. These criteria are subsequently applied to six well-established BMOs, to identify a BMO best suited for design and evaluation of viable business models. The analysis reveals that, although none of the BMOs satisfy all the criteria, e3-value is the most appropriate BMO for designing and evaluating business models from a viability perspective. Furthermore, the identified deficits provide clear areas for enhancing the assessed BMOs from a viability perspective

Towards the drivers of value creation in the biogas industry:enablers and inhibiters in the Netherlands

The Dutch biogas industry is developing slowly and in many instances still unviable. Insights in the drivers of value creation may help to create viable biogas business networks. This research explores these related drivers and accordingly, proposes a new and comprehensive definition of a driver of value creation. This definition focuses on the enabling and inhibiting factors of value creation in a business network and forms the backbone of three case studies. The results suggest the presence of four specific drivers as necessary for a viable biogas business network: stability and certainty, partner alignment, local opportunities and economies of scale

Investigating the on-demand service characteristics:an empirical study

Purpose Technological developments and new customer expectations of immediacy have driven businesses to adopt on-demand service models. The purpose of this paper is to study the characteristics of a range of on-demand services in order to better understand the meaning of "on-demand" and its implications for service management. This enables the on-demand service logic to be applied to other service contexts, where it may add value for customers. Design/methodology/approach The study starts with a focused literature review and continues with a multiple case study methodology, as the on-demand service concept is in the early stages of theory development. Seven cases were studied, based on a maximum variation sampling strategy. Findings The results show that on-demand services are characterized by three interrelated characteristics: being highly available, responsive and scalable. Analysis further reveals that on-demand services display differences within the conceptual boundaries of these characteristics, i.e. they vary in terms of their availability, responsiveness and scalability. Originality/value Drawing on these findings, the study contributes to the service literature by being the first to specifically conceptualize and define the on-demand services concept and reveal three key characteristics that clarify the distinctive nature of this service type. Accordingly, on-demand services are clearly differentiated from other services. Additionally, the paper discusses the variety within on-demand services and develops an on-demand service continuum that gives detailed insights into the conceptual variations within such services

Driving Performance in Patients With Idiopathic Cervical Dystonia; A Driving Simulator Pilot Study

Objective: To explore driving performance and driving safety in patients with cervical dystonia (CD) on a simulated lane tracking, intersections and highway ride and to compare it to healthy controls. Design: This study was performed as an explorative between groups comparison. Participants: Ten CD patients with idiopathic CD, 30 years or older, stable on botulinum toxin treatment for over a year, holding a valid driver's license and being an active driver were compared with 10 healthy controls, matched for age and gender. Main outcome measures: Driving performance and safety, measured by various outcomes from the simulator, such as the standard deviation of the lateral position on the road, rule violations, percentage of line crossings, gap distance, and number of collisions. Fatigue and driving effort were measured with the Borg CR-10 scale and self-perceived fitness to drive was assessed with Fitness to Drive Screening. Results: Except for a higher percentage of line crossings on the right side of the road by controls (median percentage 2.30, range 0.00-37.00 vs. 0.00, range 0.00-9.20, p = 0.043), no differences were found in driving performance and driving safety during the simulator rides. Fatigue levels were significantly higher in CD patients just before (p = 0.005) and after (p = 0.033) the lane tracking ride (patients median fatigue levels before 1.5 (range 0.00-6.00) and after 1.5 (range 0.00-7.00) vs. controls median fatigue levels before and after 0.00 (no range). No significant differences were found on self-perceived fitness to drive. Conclusion: In patients with CD there were no indications that driving performance or driving safety were significant different from healthy controls in a simulator. Patients reported higher levels of fatigue both before and after driving compared to controls in accordance with the non-motor symptoms known in CD

Is the jury still out? Toward greater insight in policy learning in participatory decisoin processes-the case of Dutch citizens' juries on water management in the Rhine Basin

This article discusses the potential for policy learning offered by participatory processes, specifically so-called citizens' juries. We establish the need for policy learning by pointing to the increased complexity of water management tasks and challenges. A conceptual discussion subsequently distinguishes between cognitive, normative, and relational learning. The public participation literature suggests that participatory processes will contribute to various forms of learning. We assess the truth of this assumption on the basis of three case studies: citizens' juries on water management in the Dutch part of Rhine basin. We analyze whether the three forms of learning have occurred among jurors, and among policy makers. We find high levels of cognitive, normative, and relational levels of learning for the jurors, but relatively low levels of learning for policy makers. We analyze the reason for this divergence

HOLISDER Project: Introducing Residential and Tertiary Energy Consumers as Active Players in Energy Markets

Although it has been demonstrated that demand-side flexibility is possible, business application of residential and small tertiary demand response programs has been slow to develop. This paper presents a holistic demand response optimization framework that enables significant energy costs reduction for consumers. Moreover, buildings are introduced as main contributors to balance energy networks. The solution basis consists of a modular interoperability and data management framework that enables open standards-based communication along the demand response value chain. The solution is being validated in four large-scale pilot sites, which have diverse building types, energy systems and energy carriers. Furthermore, they offer diverse climatic conditions, and demographic and cultural characteristics to establish representative results.Research leading to these results has been supported by HOLISDER project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 768614. The APC was funded by HOLISDER project