Wind tunnel testing of the DeepWind demonstrator in design and tilted operating conditions

The DeepWind Project aims at investigating the feasibility of a new floating vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) concept, whose purpose is to exploit wind resources at deep-water offshore sites.The results of an extensive experimental campaign on the DeepWind reduced scale demonstrator are here presented for different wind speeds and rotor angular velocities, including also skewed flow operation due to a tilted rotor arrangement. To accomplish this, after being instrumented to measure aerodynamic power and thrust (both in streamwise and transversal directions), a troposkien three-bladed rotor was installed on a high precision test bench, whose axis was suitable to be inclined up to 15° with respect to the design (i.e. upright) operating condition.The experiments were performed at the large scale, high speed wind tunnel of the Politecnico di Milano (Italy), using a "free jet" (open channel) configuration. The velocity field in the wake of the rotor was also fully characterized by means of an instrumented traversing system, to investigate the flow distribution downstream of the test section.Special care is taken in the description of the experimental set-up and of the measured data, so that the present results can be used as a benchmark for the validation of simulation models

Paisia, an Early Cretaceous eudicot angiosperm flower with pantoporate pollen from Portugal

A new fossil angiosperm, Paisia pantoporata, is described from the Early Cretaceous Catefica mesofossil flora, Portugal, based on coalified floral buds, flowers and isolated floral structures. The flowers are actinomorphic and structurally bisexual with a single whorl of five fleshy tepals, a single whorl of five stamens and a single whorl of five carpels. Tepals, stamens and carpels are opposite, arranged on the same radii and tepals are involute at the base clasping the stamens. Stamens have a massive filament that grades without a joint into the anther. The anthers are dithecate and tetrasporangiate with extensive connective tissue between the tiny pollen sacs. Pollen grains are pantoporate and spiny. The carpels are free, apparently plicate, with many ovules borne in two rows along the ventral margins. Paisia pantoporata is the oldest known flower with pantoporate pollen. Similar pantoporate pollen was also recognised in the associated dispersed palynoflora. Paisia is interpreted as a possibly insect pollinated, herbaceous plant with low pollen production and low dispersal potential of the pollen. The systematic position of Paisia is uncertain and Paisia pantoporata most likely belongs to an extinct lineage. Pantoporate pollen occurs scattered among all major groups of angiosperms and a close match to the fossils has not been identified. The pentamerous floral organisation together with structure of stamen, pollen and carpel suggests a phylogenetic position close to the early diverging eudicot lineages, probably in the Ranunculales.Swiss Light Source at the Paul Scherrer Institute (European Union FP6 projects) [20130185, 20141047]; Swedish Research Council [2014-5228]; Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) [UID/MAR/00350/2013]; CretaCarbo project [PTDC/CTE-GIX/113983/2009

Proteome Analysis of Pod and Seed Development in the Model Legume Lotus japonicus

Legume pods serve important functions during seed development and are themselves sources of food and feed. Compared to seeds, the metabolism and development of pods are not well-defined. The present characterization of pods from the model legume Lotus japonicus, together with the detailed analyses of the pod and seed proteomes in five developmental stages, paves the way for comparative pathway analysis and provides new metabolic information. Proteins were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and tandem-mass spectrometry. These analyses lead to the identification of 604 pod proteins and 965 seed proteins, including 263 proteins distinguishing the pod. The complete data set is publicly available at http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/cgi-bin/lotus/db.cgi, where spots in a reference map are linked to experimental data, such as matched peptides, quantification values, and gene accessions. Identified pod proteins represented enzymes from 85 different metabolic pathways, including storage globulins and a late embryogenesis abundant protein. In contrast to seed maturation, pod maturation was associated with decreasing total protein content, especially proteins involved in protein biosynthesis and photosynthesis. Proteins detected only in pods included three enzymes participating in the urea cycle and four in nitrogen and amino group metabolism, highlighting the importance of nitrogen metabolism during pod development. Additionally, five legume seed proteins previously unassigned in the glutamate metabolism pathway were identified

Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and risk of oral cancer: a cohort study

Epidemiologic data regarding the chemopreventive potential of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) against oral cancer are sparse. We found a relative risk for oral cancer of 1.2 (95% CI, 1.0–1.6) among 169 589 Danish NSAID users (≥2 prescriptions), with no apparent trends in subgroups. Our study provided no clear evidence that NSAIDs may protect against oral cancer

Impact of Non-HIV and HIV Risk Factors on Survival in HIV-Infected Patients on HAART: A Population-Based Nationwide Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: We determined the impact of three factors on mortality in HIV-infected patients who had been on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for at least one year: (1) insufficient response to (HAART) and presence of AIDS-defining diseases, (2) comorbidity, and (3) drug and alcohol abuse and compared the mortality to that of the general population. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In a Danish nationwide, population-based cohort study, we used population based registries to identify (1) all Danish HIV-infected patients who started HAART in the period 1 January 1998-1 July 2009, and (2) a comparison cohort of individuals matched on date of birth and gender (N = 2,267 and 9,068, respectively). Study inclusion began 1 year after start of HAART. Patients were categorised hierarchically in four groups according to the three risk factors, which were identified before study inclusion. The main outcome measure was probability of survival from age 25 to 65 years. The probability of survival from age 25 to age 65 was substantially lower in HIV patients [0.48 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.42-0.55)] compared to the comparison cohort [0.88 (0.86 to 0.90)]. However, in HIV patients with no risk factors (N = 871) the probability of survival was equivalent to that of the general population [0.86 (95% CI 0.77-0.92)]. In contrast, the probability of survival was 0.58 in patients with HIV risk factors (N = 704), 0.30 in patients with comorbidities (N = 479), and 0.03 in patients with drug or alcohol abuse (N = 313). CONCLUSIONS: The increased risk of death in HIV-infected individuals is mainly attributable to risk factors that can be identified prior to or in the initial period of antiretroviral treatment. Mortality in patients without risk factors on a successful HAART is almost identical to that of the non-HIV-infected population