Linking Unserved Energy to Weather Regimes

The integration of renewable energy sources into power systems is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades. This can result in critical situations related to the strong variability in space and time of weather patterns. During these critical situations the power system experiences a structural shortage of energy across multiple time steps and regions, leading to Energy Not Served (ENS) events. Our research explores the relationship between six weather regimes that describe the large scale atmospheric flow and ENS events in Europe by simulating future power systems. Our results indicate that most regions have a specific weather regime that leads to the highest number of ENS events. However, ENS events can still occur during any weather regime, but with a lower probability. In particular, our findings show that ENS events in western and central European countries often coincide with either the positive Scandinavian Blocking (SB+), characterised by cold air penetrating Europe under calm weather conditions from north-eastern regions, or North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO+) weather regime, characterised by westerly flow and cold air in the southern half of Europe. Additionally, we found that the relative impact of one of these regimes reaches a peak 10 days before ENS events in these countries. In Scandinavian and Baltic countries, on the other hand, our results indicate that the relative prevalence of the negative Atlantic Ridge (AR-) weather regime is higher during and leading up to the ENS event.Comment: Rogier H. Wuijts and Laurens P. Stoop contributed equally to this wor

The Climatological Renewable Energy Deviation Index

Here we propose an index to quantify and analyse the impact of climatological variability on the energy system at different timescales. We define the Climatological Renewable Energy Deviation Index (CREDI) as the cumulative anomaly of a renewable resource with respect to its climate over a specific time period of interest. We analyse the index at decadal, annual and (sub-)seasonal timescales using the forthcoming Pan-European Climate Database and consider the starting point and window of analysis for its use at those timescales. The CREDI is meant as an analytical tool for researchers and stakeholders to help them quantify, understand, and explain, the impact of the variability of weather on the energy system across timescales. Improved understanding translates to better assessments of how renewable resources, and the associated risks for energy security, may fare in current and future climatological settings. The practical use of the index is in resource planning. For example transmission system operators may be able to adjust short-term planning to reduce adequacy issues before they occur or combine the index with storyline event selection for improved assessments of climate change related risks

Development of a value-based healthcare burns core set for adult burn care

Background: Value-based healthcare (VBHC) is increasingly implemented in healthcare worldwide. Transparent measurement of the outcomes most important and relevant to patients is essential in VBHC, which is supported by a core set of most important quality indicators and outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a VBHC-burns core set for adult burn patients. Methods: A three-round modified national Delphi study, including 44 outcomes and 24 quality indicators, was conducted to reach consensus among Dutch patients, burn care professionals and researchers. Items were rated on a nine-point Likert scale and selected if ≥ 70% in each group considered an item ‘important’. Subsequently, instruments quantifying selected outcomes were identified based on a literature review and were chosen in a consensus meeting using recommendations from the Dutch consensus-based standard set and the Dutch Centre of Expertise on Health Disparities. Time assessment points were chosen to reflect the burn care and patient recovery process. Finally, the initial core set was evaluated in practice, leading to the adapted VBHC-burns core set. Results: Twenty-seven patients, 63 burn care professionals and 23 researchers participated. Ten outcomes and four quality indicators were selected in the Delphi study, including the outcomes pain, wound healing, physical activity, self-care, independence, return to work, depression, itching, scar flexibility and return to school. Quality indicators included shared decision-making (SDM), the number of patients receiving aftercare, determination of burn depth, and assessment of active range of motion. After evaluation of its use in clinical practice, the core set included all items except SDM, which are assessed by 9 patient-reported outcome instruments or measured in clinical care. Assessment time points included are at discharge, 2 weeks, 3 months, 12 months after discharge and annually afterwards. Conclusion: A VBHC-burns core set was developed, consisting of outcomes and quality indicators that are important to burn patients and burn care professionals. The VBHC-burns core set is now systemically monitored and analysed in Dutch burn care to improve care and patient relevant outcomes. As improving burn care and patient relevant outcomes is important worldwide, the developed VBHC-burns core set could be inspiring for other countries.</p

A 46,XY female DSD patient with bilateral gonadoblastoma, a novel SRY missense mutation combined with a WT1 KTS splice-site mutation

Patients with Disorders of Sex Development (DSD), especially those with gonadal dysgenesis and hypovirilization are at risk of developing malignant type II germ cell tumors/cancer (GCC) (seminoma/dysgerminoma and nonseminoma), with either carcinoma in situ (CIS) or gonadoblastoma (GB) as precursor lesion. In 10-15% of 46,XY g

Coherent Stranski-Krastanov growth in 1+1 dimensions with anharmonic interactions: An equilibrium study

The formation of coherently strained three-dimensional islands on top of the wetting layer in Stranski-Krastanov mode of growth is considered in a model in 1+1 dimensions accounting for the anharmonicity and non-convexity of the real interatomic forces. It is shown that coherent 3D islands can be expected to form in compressed rather than in expanded overlayers beyond a critical lattice misfit. In the latter case the classical Stranski-Krastanov growth is expected to occur because the misfit dislocations can become energetically favored at smaller island sizes. The thermodynamic reason for coherent 3D islanding is the incomplete wetting owing to the weaker adhesion of the edge atoms. Monolayer height islands with a critical size appear as necessary precursors of the 3D islands. The latter explains the experimentally observed narrow size distribution of the 3D islands. The 2D-3D transformation takes place by consecutive rearrangements of mono- to bilayer, bi- to trilayer islands, etc., after exceeding the corresponding critical sizes. The rearrangements are initiated by nucleation events each next one requiring to overcome a lower energetic barrier. The model is in good qualitative agreement with available experimental observations.Comment: 12 pages text, 15 figures, Accepted in Phys.Rev.B, Vol.61, No2

Exploring data provenance in handwritten text recognition infrastructure:Sharing and reusing ground truth data, referencing models, and acknowledging contributions. Starting the conversation on how we could get it done

This paper discusses best practices for sharing and reusing Ground Truth in Handwritten Text Recognition infrastructures, and ways to reference and acknowledge contributions to the creation and enrichment of data within these Machine Learning systems. We discuss how one can publish Ground Truth data in a repository and, subsequently, inform others. Furthermore, we suggest appropriate citation methods for HTR data, models, and contributions made by volunteers. Moreover, when using digitised sources (digital facsimiles), it becomes increasingly important to distinguish between the physical object and the digital collection. These topics all relate to the proper acknowledgement of labour put into digitising, transcribing, and sharing Ground Truth HTR data. This also points to broader issues surrounding the use of Machine Learning in archival and library contexts, and how the community should begin toacknowledge and record both contributions and data provenance

Characterization of the effects of cross-linking of macrophage CD44 associated with increased phagocytosis of apoptotic PMN

Control of macrophage capacity for apoptotic cell clearance by soluble mediators such as cytokines, prostaglandins and lipoxins, serum proteins, and glucocorticoids may critically determine the rate at which inflammation resolves. Previous studies suggested that macrophage capacity for clearance of apoptotic neutrophils was profoundly altered following binding of CD44 antibodies. We have used a number of different approaches to further define the mechanism by which CD44 rapidly and specifically augment phagocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils. Use of Fab ’ fragments unequivocally demonstrated a requirement for cross-linking of macrophage surface CD44. The molecular mechanism of CD44-augmented phagocytosis was shown to be opsonin-independent and to be distinct from the Mer/protein S pathway induced by glucocorticoids and was not functional for clearance of apoptotic eosinophils. CD44-cross-linking also altered macrophage migration and induced cytoskeletal re-organisation together with phosphorylation of paxillin and activation of Rac2. Investigation of signal transduction pathways that might be critical for CD44 augmentation of phagocytosis revealed that Ca 2+ signalling, PI-3 kinase pathways and altered cAMP signalling were not involved, but did implicate a key role for tyrosine phosphorylation events. Finally, although CD44 antibodies were able to augment phagocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils by murine peritoneal and bone marrow-derived macrophages, we did not observe a difference in the clearance of neutrophils following induction of peritonitis with thioglycollate in CD44-deficient animals. Together, these data demonstrate that CD4