Open access simulation toolbox for the grid connection of offshore wind farms using multi-terminal HVDC networks

Decarbonisation of the European electricity system can become dauntingly costly due to transmission and distribution network issues arising from the integration of intermittent renewable generation sources. It is expected that wind energy will be the principal renewable source by 2050 and, as such, a number of initiatives in the academia and in the industry are being carried out to propose solutions to best accommodate the wind resource. This paper presents work carried out by DEMO 1 partners within the EU FP7 project BEST PATHS. A MATLAB/Simulink toolbox consisting of the necessary building blocks for the simulation and integration of offshore wind farms using enabling technologies such as multiterminal high-voltage direct-current grids is presented. To illustrate the toolbox capabilities, a number of system topologies is studied. System performance is assessed and measured against a set of key performance indicators. To ensure knowledge dissemination, the toolbox has been made available as open access in the BEST PATHS project website

Structural insight into the membrane targeting domain of the Legionella deAMPylase SidD

AMPylation, the post-translational modification with adenosine monophosphate (AMP), is catalyzed by effector proteins from a variety of pathogens. Legionella pneumophila is thus far the only known pathogen that, in addition to encoding an AMPylase (SidM/DrrA), also encodes a deAMPylase, called SidD, that reverses SidM-mediated AMPylation of the vesicle transport GTPase Rab1. DeAMPylation is catalyzed by the N-terminal phosphatase-like domain of SidD. Here, we determined the crystal structure of full length SidD including the uncharacterized C-terminal domain (CTD). A flexible loop rich in aromatic residues within the CTD was required to target SidD to model membranes in vitro and to the Golgi apparatus within mammalian cells. Deletion of the loop (??loop) or substitution of its aromatic phenylalanine residues rendered SidD cytosolic, showing that the hydrophobic loop is the primary membrane-targeting determinant of SidD. Notably, deletion of the two terminal alpha helices resulted in a CTD variant incapable of discriminating between membranes of different composition. Moreover, a L. pneumophila strain producing SidD??loop phenocopied a L. pneumophila ??sidD strain during growth in mouse macrophages and displayed prolonged co-localization of AMPylated Rab1 with LCVs, thus revealing that membrane targeting of SidD via its CTD is a critical prerequisite for its ability to catalyze Rab1 deAMPylation during L. pneumophila infection

Líneas cebra: Repercusión radiológica de la acción de los bifosfonatos en el esqueleto inmaduro

Los bifosfonatos son utilizados en el tratamiento de la osteogénesis imperfecta, observándose con ellos una reducción de las fracturas en estos pacientes. Sin embargo, el uso de dichos fármacos en el esqueleto inmaduro de estos pacientes da lugar a la formación de unas bandas lineales hiperdensas visibles radiológicamente, llamadas líneas cebra o zebra lines. Presentamos el caso de un paciente con osteogénesis imperfecta que inició tratamiento con bifosfonatos a los 10 años de edad y que al cabo de 2 años ya mostraba dichas imágenes radiológicas

Centralized vs distributed (power optimizer) PV system architecture field test results under mismatched operating conditions

The number of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) system installations is increasing as different new and specific solar cells and modules are developed. The great advantages of BIPV systems should be enough to achieve their massive implantation, but the difficult working conditions of the urban environment reduce the energy yield and increase the payback period of investment. In order to boost the energy yield of BIPV systems distributed PV system architectures seem to be the solution. In this sense, TECNALIA developed a new distributed DC-DC converter PV system architecture. These electronic devices, commonly called power optimizers, eliminate almost all the mismatching losses between modules and increase the system energy output. The performance of these distributed architectures is much better than centralized ones for high mismatched PV systems. However, for no mismatched cases centralized architectures present higher overall system efficiencies and energy yields. This makes the decision of which architecture is the most suitable one not so easy. In order to quantify the advantages and disadvantages in the performance of these types of architectures, the present abstract summarizes the experimental results of both architectures in real and identical working conditions. The tests have been performed in two independent PV fields, one with distributed architecture and the other one with the typical centralized one. The work carried out has consisted in generating different type of mismatching situations common in an urban environment. The tested working conditions are related to different irradiation levels, type of irradiation, orientation and inclination, shadows, dirtiness and reflexions conditions. Other aspects related to the double operation of MPPT systems (inverter and power optimizers) have also been tested. The energetic test result are presented and analyzed, showing the strengths and weaknesses of each PV system architecture. The work carried out is comprised under the Government of Bizkaia funded research project EMAITEK-FOTO.Peer reviewe