Renal Cell Carcinoma in a Right Malrotated Kidney

The authors report a case of renal cell carcinoma in a right malrotated (horizontal axis) kidney. The patient was treated by hand-assisted laparoscopic radical nephrectomy. This is the first report of a horizontal axis malrotated kidney with renal cell carcinoma

Flexible Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 solar cells with over 10% efficiency and methods of enlarging the cell area

For kesterite copper zinc tin sulfide/selenide (CZTSSe) solar cells to enter the market, in addition to efficiency improvements, the technological capability to produce flexible and large-area modules with homogeneous properties is necessary. Here, we report a greater than 10% efficiency for a cell area of approximately 0.5 cm2 and a greater than 8% efficiency for a cell area larger than 2 cm2 of certified flexible CZTSSe solar cells. By designing a thin and multi-layered precursor structure, the formation of defects and defect clusters, particularly tin-related donor defects, is controlled, and the open circuit voltage value is enhanced. Using statistical analysis, we verify that the cell-to-cell and within-cell uniformity characteristics are improved. This study reports the highest efficiency so far for flexible CZTSSe solar cells with small and large areas. These results also present methods for improving the efficiency and enlarging the cell area. © 2019, The Author(s).1

Expression of Ca2+-dependent Synaptotagmin Isoforms in Mouse and Rat Parotid Acinar Cells

Synaptotagmin is a Ca2+ sensing protein, which triggers a fusion of synaptic vesicles in neuronal transmission. Little is known regarding the expression of Ca2+-dependent synaptotagmin isoforms and their contribution to the release of secretory vesicles in mouse and rat parotid acinar cells. We investigated a type of Ca2+-dependent synaptotagmin and Ca2+ signaling in both rat and mouse parotid acinar cells using RT-PCR, microfluorometry, and amylase assay. Mouse parotid acinar cells exhibited much more sensitive amylase release in response to muscarinic stimulation than did rat parotid acinar cells. However, transient [Ca2+]i increases and Ca2+ influx in response to muscarinic stimulation in both cells were identical, suggesting that the expression or activity of the Ca2+ sensing proteins is different. Seven Ca2+-dependent synaptotagmins, from 1 to 7, were expressed in the mouse parotid acinar cells. However, in the rat parotid acinar cells, only synaptotagmins 1, 3, 4 and 7 were expressed. These results indicate that the expression of Ca2+-dependent synaptotagmins may contribute to the release of secretory vesicles in parotid acinar cells

Sex-related impact on clinical outcomes of patients treated with drug-eluting stents according to clinical presentation: Patient-level pooled analysis from the GRAND-DES registry

Background: The contribution of sex and initial clinical presentation to the long-term outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is still debated. Methods: Individual patient data from 5 Korean-multicenter drug-eluting stent (DES) registries (The GRAND-DES) were pooled. A total of 17,286 patients completed 3-year follow-up (5216 women and 12,070 men). The median follow-up duration was 1125 days (interquartile range 1097–1140 days), and the primary endpoint was cardiac death at 3 years. Results: The clinical indication for PCI was stable angina pectoris (SAP) in 36.8%, unstable angina pectoris (UAP) or non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) in 47.4%, and STEMI in 15.8%. In all groups, women were older and had a higher proportion of hypertension and diabetes mellitus compared with men. Women presenting with STEMI were older than women with SAP, with the opposite seen in men. There was no sex difference in cardiac death for SAP or UAP/NSTEMI. In STEMI patients, the incidence of cardiac death (7.9% vs. 4.4%, p = 0.001), all-cause mortality (11.1% vs. 6.9%, p = 0.001), and minor bleeding (2.2% vs. 1.2%, p = 0.043) was significantly higher in women. After multivariable adjustment, cardiac death was lower in women for UAP/NSTEMI (HR 0.69, 95% CI 0.53–0.89, p = 0.005), while it was similar for STEMI (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.65–1.44, p = 0.884). Conclusions: There was no sex difference in cardiac death after PCI with DES for SAP and UAP/NSTEMI patients. In STEMI patients, women had worse outcomes compared with men; however, after the adjustment of confounders, female sex was not an independent predictor of mortality

Optimal Retail Pricing for Demand Response of HVAC Systems in Commercial Buildings Considering Distribution Network Voltages

Retail pricing can be well deployed with support of distribution companies (DISCOs) to promote demand response (DR) programs using heating, ventilating, and airconditioning (HVAC) systems as thermal energy storage resources. This paper proposes a retail pricing strategy to assist a DISCO and end-users in achieving optimal price-based DR for HVAC systems while considering operational aspects of distribution network. The pricing strategy is developed using a bi-level decision model. In the upper level, the DISCO optimizes the retail price to maximize its profit. In the lower level, the end-users schedule HVAC loads to minimize their electricity bills. The nonlinear thermal response model of an experimental building room is integrated with a data-driven model of an HVAC system and incorporated into the pricing strategy using piece-wise linear approximation. The proposed strategy also employs time-of-use rates as retail price caps, leading to low-level price volatility. Case studies are presented for various ranges of bus voltage deviation and penetration levels of HVAC systems. The results demonstrate that the proposed strategy is effective for determining the optimal balancing point between the DISCO's profit and end-users' electricity bills while enabling the DISCO to reliably regulate the network voltages via the price-sensitive HVAC units.11Nsciescopu

Retail electricity pricing via online-learning of data-driven demand response of HVAC systems

This paper proposes an online-learning-based strategy for a distribution system operator (DSO) to determine optimal retail prices, considering the optimal operations of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in commercial buildings. An artificial neural network (ANN) is trained online with building energy data and represented using an explicit set of linear and nonlinear equations. An optimization problem for price-based demand response (DR) is then formulated using the explicit ANN model and repeatedly solved, producing data on optimal HVAC load schedules for various profiles of electricity prices and building environments. Another ANN is then trained online to predict directly the optimal load schedules, which is referred to as meta-prediction (MP). By replacing the DR optimization problem with the MP-enabled ANN, optimal retail electricity pricing can be achieved using a single-level decision-making structure. Consequently, the pricing optimization problem becomes simplified, enabling easier implementation and increased scalability for HVAC systems in a large distribution grid. In case studies, the proposed single-level pricing strategy is verified to successfully reflect the game-theoretic relations between the DSO and building operators, such that they effectively achieve their own objectives via the operational flexibility of the HVAC systems, while ensuring grid voltage stability and occupants' thermal comfort.11Nsciescopu