First Demonstration Experiment for Energy-Trading System EDISON-X Using the XRP Ledger

Proceedings of Blockchain Kaigi 2022 (BCK22), August 4-5, 2022, Sendai, JapanWe developed a blockchain-based energy-trading system called EDISON-X to manage the buying and selling of electricity usage rights (i.e., tokens). Students buy UPX and SPX tokens to use electricity supplied from the utility company’s distribution lines and solar PV panels installed on the roof of the school building, respectively. In July 2022, 17 students from our school dormitory participated in an experiment to validate the operation of the EDISON-X system. Based on the results of this experiment, we describe an energy-trading system using blockchain technology for the effective usage of renewable energy. We developed topology and network science methodologies to understand the characteristics of energy trading. This study examined the hypothesis that market transactions become less active when “cavities” appear using topological data analysis. The preliminary results suggest that this hypothesis is plausible

High levels of immunosuppression are related to unfavourable outcomes in hospitalised patients with rheumatic diseases and COVID-19 : first results of ReumaCoV Brasil registry

Objectives To evaluate risk factors associated with unfavourable outcomes: emergency care, hospitalisation, admission to intensive care unit (ICU), mechanical ventilation and death in patients with immune-mediated rheumatic disease (IMRD) and COVID-19. Methods Analysis of the first 8 weeks of observational multicentre prospective cohort study (ReumaCoV Brasil register). Patients with IMRD and COVID-19 according to the Ministry of Health criteria were classified as eligible for the study. Results 334 participants were enrolled, a majority of them women, with a median age of 45 years; systemic lupus erythematosus (32.9%) was the most frequent IMRD. Emergency care was required in 160 patients, 33.0% were hospitalised, 15.0% were admitted to the ICU and 10.5% underwent mechanical ventilation; 28 patients (8.4%) died. In the multivariate adjustment model for emergency care, diabetes (prevalence ratio, PR 1.38; 95% CI 1.11 to 1.73; p=0.004), kidney disease (PR 1.36; 95% CI 1.05 to 1.77; p=0.020), oral glucocorticoids (GC) (PR 1.49; 95% CI 1.21 to 1.85; p50 years (PR 1.89; 95% CI 1.26 to 2.85; p=0.002), no use of tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) (PR 2.51;95% CI 1.16 to 5.45; p=0.004) and methylprednisolone pulse therapy (PR 2.50; 95% CI 1.59 to 3.92; p<0.001); for ICU admission, oral GC (PR 2.24; 95% CI 1.36 to 3.71; p<0.001) and pulse therapy with methylprednisolone (PR 1.65; 95% CI 1.00 to 2.68; p<0.043); the two variables associated with death were pulse therapy with methylprednisolone or cyclophosphamide (PR 2.86; 95% CI 1.59 to 5.14; p<0.018). Conclusions Age >50 years and immunosuppression with GC and cyclophosphamide were associated with unfavourable outcomes of COVID-19. Treatment with TNFi may have been protective, perhaps leading to the COVID-19 inflammatory process

First Demonstration Experiment for Energy-Trading System EDISON-X Using the XRP Ledger

We developed a blockchain-based energy-trading system called EDISON-X to manage the buying and selling of electricity usage rights (i.e., tokens). Students buy UPX and SPX tokens to use electricity supplied from the utility company’s distribution lines and solar PV panels installed on the roof of the school building, respectively. In July 2022, 17 students from our school dormitory participated in an experiment to validate the operation of the EDISON-X system. Based on the results of this experiment, we describe an energy-trading system using blockchain technology for the effective usage of renewable energy. We developed topology and network science methodologies to understand the characteristics of energy trading. This study examined the hypothesis that market transactions become less active when “cavities” appear using topological data analysis. The preliminary results suggest that this hypothesis is plausible.Proceedings of Blockchain Kaigi 2022 (BCK22), August 4-5, 2022, Sendai, Japa

A Systems-Level Analysis of the Peripheral Nerve Intrinsic Axonal Growth Program

The regenerative capacity of the injured CNS in adult mammals is severely limited, yet axons in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) regrow, albeit to a limited extent, after injury. We reasoned that coordinate regulation of gene expression in injured neurons involving multiple pathways was central to PNS regenerative capacity. To provide a framework for revealing pathways involved in PNS axon regrowth after injury, we applied a comprehensive systems biology approach, starting with gene expression profiling of dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) combined with multi-level bioinformatic analyses and experimental validation of network predictions. We used this rubric to identify a drug that accelerates DRG neurite outgrowth in vitro and optic nerve outgrowth in vivo by inducing elements of the identified network. The work provides a functional genomics foundation for understanding neural repair and proof of the power of such approaches in tackling complex problems in nervous system biology