Determination of the full deformation tensor by multi-Bragg fast scanning nano X-ray diffraction

International audienceThis work showcases a method to map the full deformation tensor in a single micro-sized crystal. It is shown that measuring the position of two Bragg reflections in reciprocal space is sufficient to obtain the full deformation tensor, if the condition of incompressibility of the material is imposed. This method is used to reveal the surface tension induced deformation at the edges of an as-grown single-crystal VO 2 microwire. All components of the deformation tensor of the microwire were measured down to an absolute value of 10 À4 in an 8 Â 14 mm projected area of the wire. With a beam-defined spatial resolution of 150 Â 150 nm, the measurement time was merely 2.5 h

Reaching a 1.5°C target : socio-technical challenges for a rapid transition to low carbon electricity systems

A 1.5°C global average target implies that we should no longer focus on merely incremental emissions reductions from the electricity system, but rather on fundamentally re-envisaging a system that, sooner rather than later, becomes carbon free. Many low-carbon technologies are surpassing mainstream predictions for both uptake and cost reduction. Their deployment is beginning to be disruptive within established systems. ‘Smart technologies’ are being developed to address emerging challenges of system integration, but their rates of future deployment remain uncertain. We argue that transition towards a system that can fully displace carbon generation sources will require expanding the focus of our efforts beyond technical solutions. Recognizing that change has social and technical dimensions, and that these interact strongly, we set out a socio-technical review that covers electricity infrastructure, citizens, business models and governance. It describes some of the socio-technical challenges that need to be addressed for the successful transition of the existing electricity systems. We conclude that a socio-technical understanding of electricity system transitions offers new and better insights into the potential and challenges for rapid decarbonization. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The Paris Agreement: understanding the physical and social challenges for a warming world of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels'

The diversity of residential electricity demand – a comparative analysis of metered and simulated data

A comparative study between simulated residential electricity demand data and metered data from theUK Household Electricity Survey is presented. For this study, a high-resolution probabilistic model wasused to test whether this increasingly widely used modelling approach provides an adequate represen-tation of the statistical characteristics the most comprehensive dataset of metered electricity demandavailable in the UK. Both the empirical and simulated electricity consumption data have been analysedon an aggregated level, paying special attention to the mean daily load profiles, the distribution of house-holds with respect to the total annual demands, and the distributions of the annual demands of particularappliances. A thorough comparison making use of both qualitative and quantitative methods was madebetween simulated datasets and it’s metered counterparts. Significant discrepancies were found in thedistribution of households with respect to both overall electricity consumption and consumption ofindividual appliances. Parametric estimates of the distributions of metered data were obtained, and theanalytic expressions for both the density function and cumulative distribution are given. These can beincorporated into new and existent modelling frameworks, as well as used as tools for further analysis

Prolactin-sensitive olfactory sensory neurons regulate male preference in female mice by modulating responses to chemosensory cues

Chemosensory cues detected in the nose need to be integrated with the hormonal status to trigger appropriate behaviors, but the neural circuits linking the olfactory and the endocrine system are insufficiently understood. Here, we characterize olfactory sensory neurons in the murine nose that respond to the pituitary hormone prolactin. Deletion of prolactin receptor in these cells results in impaired detection of social odors and blunts male preference in females. The prolactin-responsive olfactory sensory neurons exhibit a distinctive projection pattern to the brain that is similar across different individuals and express a limited subset of chemosensory receptors. Prolactin modulates the responses within these neurons to discrete chemosensory cues contained in male urine, providing a mechanism by which the hormonal status can be directly linked with distinct olfactory cues to generate appropriate behavioral responses

Sarcoma classification by DNA methylation profiling

Sarcomas are malignant soft tissue and bone tumours affecting adults, adolescents and children. They represent a morphologically heterogeneous class of tumours and some entities lack defining histopathological features. Therefore, the diagnosis of sarcomas is burdened with a high inter-observer variability and misclassification rate. Here, we demonstrate classification of soft tissue and bone tumours using a machine learning classifier algorithm based on array-generated DNA methylation data. This sarcoma classifier is trained using a dataset of 1077 methylation profiles from comprehensively pre-characterized cases comprising 62 tumour methylation classes constituting a broad range of soft tissue and bone sarcoma subtypes across the entire age spectrum. The performance is validated in a cohort of 428 sarcomatous tumours, of which 322 cases were classified by the sarcoma classifier. Our results demonstrate the potential of the DNA methylation-based sarcoma classification for research and future diagnostic applications

Techno-Economics of Solar Hydrogen: The Role of Storage at National and Residential Level

Abstract For hydrogen to become a truly sustainable energy vector, low carbon generation technologies need to be developed and brought to market. Hydrogen from solar energy is a promising approach, capable, if successfully developed, of producing hydrogen from an abundant source with greatly reduced carbon emissions. At present fundamental research on a wide range of solar hydrogen technologies is being investigated, including thermal, biological and electrochemical methods. The techno-economic properties of these technologies differ significantly. Some are best suited to large-scale centralised applications, whereas others may be employed on a smaller scale as part of a distributed energy resource strategy. This work focuses on understanding the commercial potential of distributed generation and storage of hydrogen for stationary applications within a future energy system. Of particular interest is the combination of different generation approaches with appropriate storage technology and capacity. A modelling approach has been taken to estimate the value of energy storage at the residential and the national level. It has been found that large scale storage, providing arbitrage services in an energy system with more than 30 GW of renewable energy, can be economically viable. For the production of solar hydrogen to be competitive at the residential level, large installations and a dynamic operation, delivering electricity, heat or hydrogen, are required, whilst meeting ambitious manufacturing cost targets of less than 1 $ W −1 p

Cellular, histological and statistical analyses concerning the function of the protein LASP-1 in human ovarian and mammary carcinomas

Brustkrebs ist, verbunden mit einem Lebenszeitrisiko von 12.5 % daran zu erkranken, die häufigste maligne Erkrankung der Frau in der westlichen Welt. Das LIM- und SH3-Domänen Protein LASP-1 wurde erstmalig 1995 als spezifisch in fokalen Kontakten akkumulierendes Protein in humanen Brustkrebszellen beschrieben. Eine eigene Patientenstudie (n = 83) ergab, dass LASP-1 in 55.4 % der untersuchten invasiven Mammakarzinome eindeutig überexprimiert wird und die LASP-1-Expressionshöhe signifikant positiv mit der Tumorgröße (p < 0.05) und der Wahrscheinlichkeit für Nodalpositivität (p < 0.01) korreliert. Als Actin-bindendes Protein mit ubiquitärer Expression interagiert LASP-1 mittels seiner SH3-Domäne auch mit Zyxin. Zyxin ist ein Signalprotein, das zwischen fokalen Kontakten und dem Zellkern pendelt und an der Regulation von Transcription, Zellzyklus und Zellbewegung beteiligt ist. In dieser Doktorarbeit untersuchte ich die Funktion von LASP-1 in verschiedenen humanen Brustkrebszelllinien und einer humanen Ovarkarzinomzelllinie unter Verwendung der RNA-Interferenz zum sequenzspezifischen knock-down von LASP-1. Die Transfektion der Zellen mit LASP-1-spezifischer small-interfering-RNA (siRNA) senkte die Proteinexpression um ca. 50 - 58 %, was zu einer Arretierung des Zellzyklus in der G2-Phase führte und die Proliferation der Brust- und Eierstockkrebszellen um 30 - 50 % reduzierte. Apoptotische und nekrotische Prozesse wurden dabei durch Caspase-3 Western-blots und Trypan-Blau-Färbungen ausgeschlossen. Außerdem verringerte der knock-down von LASP-1 die Migration der Krebszellen, wohingegen die Überexpression von LASP-1 in PTK2- (Potorous tridactylis kidney) Zellen, welche kein endogenes LASP-1 exprimieren, in einer signifikanten Steigerung der Migration resultierte. Immunfluoreszenzfärbungen zeigten, dass der knock-down von LASP-1 von einer verringerten Konzentration seines Interaktionspartners Zyxin an fokalen Kontakten begleitet wird, ohne dabei das Actin-Zytoskelett oder die Morphologie der fokalen Kontakte zu verändern. Die Transfektion der Brust- und Eierstockkrebszellen mit einer Kontroll-siRNA (scrambled Neuropilin1) beeinflusste hingegen keinen der genannten Parameter. Diese Daten unterstreichen die wichtige Rolle von LASP-1 für die Tumorzellproliferation und -migration. LASP-1 könnte daher in Interaktion mit Zyxin an der molekularen Karzinogenese von Brust- und Eierstockkrebs beteiligt sein und in der Zukunft als viel versprechender Prognosemarker dienen.LIM and SH3 protein (LASP-1), initially identified from human breast cancer, is a specific focal adhesion protein involved in cell migration. LASP-1 is an actin binding protein, which also interacts with the proline-rich domains of zyxin, a scaffolding protein required for cell movement and gene transcription. In an own patient study (n=83) strong cytoplasmatic expression of LASP-1 was detected in 55.4 % of the invasive carcinomas, which correlated significantly with increased tumor size (p < 0.05) and rate of nodal-positivity (p < 0.01). Furthermore, transfection with LASP-1-specific siRNA resulted in a reduced protein level of LASP-1 in different breast and ovarian cancer cell lines (BT-20, MCF-7 and SKOV-3). The siRNA-treated cells were arrested in G2/M phase of cell cycle, and proliferation of the tumor cells was suppressed by 30-50% corresponding to around 50% of the cells being transfected successfully as seen by immunofluorescence. In addition, tumor cells showed a 50% reduced migration after siRNA treatment, while overexpression of LASP-1 in non-tumor PTK-2 cells, which do not express endogenous LASP-1, resulted in a significant increase in cell motility. LASP-1 silencing is accompanied with a reduced binding of the of LASP-1 binding partner zyxin to focal contacts without changes in actin stress fiber organization as observed in immunofluorescence experiments. The data provide evidence for an essential role of LASP-1 in tumor cell growth and migration, possibly by influencing the localization of zyxin. Since the increased expression of LASP-1 in vivo is present in breast carcinomas with higher tumor stage, LASP-1 expression may be related with worse prognosis concerning patients' overall survival, hinting to a potential role of LASP-1 as a prognstic marker

Untersuchungen zur Bronzezeit

Layoutgetreues Digitalisat der Ausg.: Marburg, 1987 Standort: Universität Marburg, Fachgebiet Vor- u. Frühgeschichte (411) Signatur: gelb Sc 520, 22 Bemerkungen: Enth.: Untersuchungen zur Grab- und Hortsitte in den Perioden II und III auf den dänischen Inseln / Philipp Ille. Zur Herkunft, Verbreitung und Datierung von Bronzeringen mit Strichgruppen- und Dreiecksverzierung / Dorothee Ackermann-Grünewald. - Literaturangabe

Linking intra-day variations in residential electricity demand loads to consumers’ activities: what's missing?

An increasing interest in the representation of the intra-day variability observed in domestic electricityconsumption patterns has driven the development of various modelling frameworks that incorporateconsumer behavioural patterns as a key element for the simulation of electricity consumption. Some ofthe existing models produce reasonable representations of the broader characteristics of user activitypatterns, typically rendered as dwelling occupancy patterns. However, when these activity patterns areused to produce estimates of the electricity demand loads associated with such activities, little attentionis paid to the links between activities and the actual use of the electric equipment responsible for theproduction of the actual demand loads. Instead, the simulation of demand loads from activity patterns isruled by simplifying assumptions that mask the reality behind those links. This paper therefore seeks tounpack the relationship between activity and electricity demand profiles by focussing on the underlyingactivity patterns in more detail, and how these relate to the usage patterns of the associated appliances.These relationships are studied based on currently available datasets. The analysis of the activities asso-ciated with the use of more than one appliance revealed the differences between the likelihood of eachappliance being activated throughout the day relative to user engagement in the activity the applianceis associated with. In practice, what this shows is how each appliance’s share of the demand load asso-ciated with the activity varies throughout the day. As a result, the power consumption associated with aparticular activity is subject to the same kind of variability; activity-related demand. The results of thisanalysis can be used in conjunction with current or new modelling approaches with a view to linking theuser activity patterns with the simulation more of realistic electricity demand loads

The role of large scale storage in a GB low carbon energy future: Issues and policy challenges

Large scale storage offers the prospect of capturing and using excess electricity within a low carbon energy system, which otherwise might have to be wasted. Incorporating the role of storage into current scenario tools is challenging, because it requires high temporal resolution to reflect the effects of intermittent sources on system balancing. This study draws on results from a model with such resolution. It concludes that large scale storage could become economically viable for scenarios with high penetration of renewables. As the proportion of intermittent sources increases, the optimal type of storage shifts towards solutions with low energy related costs, even at the expense of efficiency. However, a range of uncertainties have been identified, concerning storage technology development, the regulatory environment, alternatives to storage and the stochastic uncertainty of year-on-year revenues. All of these negatively affect the cost of finance and the chances of successful market uptake. We argue, therefore, that, if the possible wider system and social benefits from the presence of storage are to be achieved, stronger and more strategic policy support may be necessary. More work on the social and system benefits of storage is needed to gauge the appropriate extent of support measures.Large storage Energy system modelling Intermittent generation