Optimisation algorithms for the charge dispatch of plug-in vehicles based on variable tariffs

Plug-in vehicles powered by renewable energies are a viable way to reduce local and total emissions and could also support a highly efficient grid operation. Indirect control by variable tariffs is one option to link charging or even discharging time with the grid load and the renewable energy production. Algorithms are required to develop tariffs and evaluate grid impacts of variable tariffs for electric vehicles (BEV) as well as to schedule the charging process optimisation. Therefore a combinatorial optimisation algorithm is developed and an algorithm based on graph search is used and customised. Both algorithms are explained and compared by performance and adequate applications. The developing approach and the correctness of the quick combinatorial algorithm are proved within this paper. For vehicle to grid (V2G) concepts, battery degradation costs have to be considered. Therefore, common life cycle assumptions based on the battery state of charge (SoC) have been used to include degradation costs for different Li-Ion batteries into the graph search algorithm. An application of these optimisation algorithms, like the onboard dispatcher, which is used in the German fleet test "Flottenversuch Elektromobiliät". Grid impact calculations based on the optimisation algorithm are shown. --BEV,V2G,Plug-In-Vehicles (PHEV),optimisation,mobile dispatcher,demand side management,charging,combinatorial algorithm,graph search algorithm,indirect control by variable tariffs

Schwellenwerte und weitere Entscheidungshilfen bei Befall mit Zwergsteinbrand (Tilletia controversa) und Steinbrand (Tilletia caries)

Beim Zwergsteinbrand zeigte sich, dass bei günstigen Infektionsbedingungen bereits ca. 50 Sporen in 10 g Boden zu einem starken Befall am Erntegut führen. Bei den verwendeten Sorten konnten keine nennenswerten Unterschiede im Befall festgestellt werden. Ein Schwellenwert von 20 Sporen/Korn ist nach den derzeitigen Ergebnissen auch für Zwergsteinbrand ausreichend. Da ein Abschätzen der Winterwitterung schwer möglich ist, wäre ein Grenzwert für das Infektionspotenzial im Boden, vor der Weizen- oder Dinkelsaat, durchaus überlegenswert. Dieser lässt sich aber nach einem einjährigem hohen Befall noch nicht festlegen. Der Steinbrandbefall ist stark von den Auflaufbedingungen abhängig. Nach zwei vorliegenden Versuchsjahren hat sich gezeigt, dass neben einer gezielten Sortenwahl und einen späten Saattermin (Ende Oktober) der Befall am Erntegut gering gehalten werden kann. Es konnte auch nachgewiesen werden, dass die Infektion vom Boden erfolgt. Zur Aussaat sollte nur Z-Saatgut verwendet werden, denn je höher das ausgesäte Saatgut bereits mit Brandsporen befallen ist, umso höher ist der Befall im nächsten Jahr beim Erntegut. Ziel des Weizenanbaus muss sein, das Sporenpotenzial im Boden und am Erntegut so gering wie möglich zu halten. Für einen Grenzwert im Boden besteht derzeit keine Notwendigkeit, da einem Befall mit entsprechender Sortenwahl und späten Saattermin entgegengewirkt werden kann

How can climate neutrality be achieved for industry? A multi-perspective analysis.

Trotz der vielen akuten Krisen die letzten Jahre, die jeweils die volle Aufmerksamkeit fordern: Die zunehmende Häufigkeit extremer Wetterereignisse — Dürren, Stürme, Überschwemmungen, extreme Hitze und Kälte — macht deutlich, dass die Zeit zur Eindämmung der Klimakrise knapp wird. In dieser Dissertation wird aufgezeigt, weshalb dem Industriesektor eine zentrale Rolle zukommt, wenn es darum geht, seine eigenen Emissionen, sowie die anderer Sektoren zu reduzieren und so dem Klimawandel Einhalt zu gebieten. Um dieser Rolle nachkommen zu können, gilt es herauszufinden, wie Klimaneutralität für die Industrie möglich wird, was im Fokus der vorliegenden Arbeit steht. In einem multiperspektivischen Ansatz werden unter Verwendung verschiedener quantitativer und qualitativer Quellen sowohl allgemeine Aspekte als auch die systemische Perspektive betrachtet, um anschließend die Herausforderungen auf Unternehmensebene zu beleuchten und Lösungen dafür zu erarbeiten. Die Dissertation untersucht quantitativ, welche Ziele sich produzierende Unternehmen im Kontext der Klimaneutralität setzen, wo sie auf dem Weg zur Dekarbonisierung stehen und wo sie bei der Bestimmung des eigenen Status quo und der Adressierung der eigenen Potenziale stehen. Was die Unternehmen motiviert und auf Basis welcher Determinanten Entscheidungen getroffen werden, sowie die Ziele unterscheiden sich je nach Unternehmensgröße, Branche und Energieintensität deutlich und zeigen, wie vielfältig der Industriesektor ist und unterstreichen damit, dass one-size-fits-all-Ansätze nicht (effektiv) zum Erfolg führen können. Die abgeleiteten Ergebnisse zeigen, welche Schritte ein Unternehmen ergreifen kann, um klimaneutral zu werden, und was andere Unternehmen in diesem Zusammenhang tun und wo sie dabei stehen. Den Unternehmen, der Öffentlichkeit und den politischen Entscheidungsträgern wird aufgezeigt, wie Unternehmen zur Dekarbonisierung motiviert werden können, aber auch, wo Flaschenhälse beseitigt werden müssen, um das Streben nach klimaneutralem Wirtschaften nicht auszubremsen.Despite the many acute crises in recent years, each of which demands full attention: The increasing frequency of extreme weather events — droughts, storms, floods, extreme heat and cold — makes it clear that time is running out to mitigate the climate crisis. This dissertation shows why the industrial sector has a central role to play in reducing its own emissions and those of other sectors in order to halt climate change. In order to fulfil this role, it is necessary to find out how climate neutrality can be achieved for industry, which is the focus of this thesis. In a multi-perspective approach, using various quantitative and qualitative sources, both general aspects and the systemic perspective are addressed in order to then shed light on challenges at the company level and to develop solutions for them. This dissertation examines quantitatively which goals manufacturing companies set themselves in the context of climate neutrality, where they stand on the path to decarbonisation, and where they stand in determining their own status quo and addressing their own potential. What motivates companies and on the basis of which determinants decisions are made, as well as the objectives, differ significantly depending on company size, sector and energy intensity and show how diverse the industrial sector is, thus underlining that one-size-fits all approaches cannot (effectively) lead to success. The derived results show what steps a company can take to become climate neutral, as well as what other companies are doing in this context and where they stand. Companies, the public and policy makers are shown how companies can be motivated to decarbonise, but also where bottlenecks need to be resolved in order not to slow down the pursuit of climate-neutral economic activity

Renal AA-amyloidosis in intravenous drug users - a role for HIV-infection?

Background: Chronic renal disease is a serious complication of long-term intravenous drug use (IVDU). Recent reports have postulated a changing pattern of underlying nephropathy over the last decades. Methods: Retrospective investigation including all patients with prior or present IVDU that underwent renal biopsy because of chronic kidney disease between 01.04.2002 and 31.03.2012 in the city of Frankfurt/Main, Germany. Results: Twenty four patients with IVDU underwent renal biopsy because of progressive chronic kidney disease or proteinuria. Renal AA-amyloidosis was the predominant cause of renal failure in 50% of patients. Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (GN) was the second most common cause found in 21%. Patients with AA-amyloidosis were more likely to be HIV infected (67 vs.17%; p=0.036) and tended to have a higher rate of repeated systemic infections (92 vs. 50%; p=0.069). Patients with AA-amyloidosis presented with progressive renal disease and nephrotic-range proteinuria but most patients had no peripheral edema or systemic hypertension. Development of proteinuria preceded the decline of GFR for approximately 1--2 years. Conclusions: AA-amyloidosis was the predominant cause of progressive renal disease in the last 10 years in patients with IVDU. The highest rate of AA-amyloidosis observed was seen in HIV infected patients with IVDU. We speculate that chronic HIV-infection as well as the associated immunosuppression might promote development of AA-amyloidosis by increasing frequency and duration of infections acquired by IVDU

Erarbeitung von Schwellenwerten zur gezielten Bekämpfung von Zwergsteinbrand (Tilletia controversa) und Steinbrand (Tilletia caries) sowie deren praktische Umsetzung im Öko- Landbau

Dwarf bunt of wheat (Tilletia controversa) and common bunt of wheat (Tilletia caries) are the most important pathogens in organic cereal production. The aim of this research work is to find out whether a threshold value for seed is sufficient or whether the infection potential in the soil must be considered additionally. For dwarf bunt of wheat two-years-lasting field trials are performed at 3 sites with susceptible and low-susceptible wheat and spelt cultivars, 4 infection levels and 4 replications. The field trials are designed in a randomized split-block design with additional marginal-plots, so (1) sowing and harvest will be possible without greater interaction between the field plots, (2) spore contamination of the soil during harvest will be assured and (3) the determination of spore inoculum density in the soil after harvest will be enabled. Only fields with natural spore contamination are chosen. The field trials for common bunt of wheat are carried out in a similar design with 4 replicates at 4 sites with susceptible and low-susceptible wheat cultivars and two different sowing times. For an infestation with dwarf bunt of wheat, diffuse light is sufficient. The wheat cultivar Capo showed a significantly lower infestation than the cultivar Saturnus. The infestation of the spelt cultivar Franckenkorn was significantly lower than that of the cultivar Oberkulmer Rotkorn, with the infestation of spelt cultivars being in principle lower because of morphological features. The greatest significant number of infested spikes per m² was found in the variant soil infection. With the dwarf bunt of wheat results from the first year no threshold values can be determined neither for seed nor for soil. In the case of infestation with common bunt of wheat, there were no significant differences between the early and late sowing dates, nor between the cultivars Capo and Tommi. The highest bunt spore potential in the soil was found at the field trial site in Saxony; however, the highest number of infested spikes per m² was not found there

CD8+ and Regulatory T cells Differentiate Tumor Immune Phenotypes and Predict Survival in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer

Background: The tumor immune status “inflamed”, “immune excluded”, and “desert” might serve as a predictive parameter. We studied these three cancer immune phenotypes while using a simple immunohistochemical algorithm. Methods: Pre-treatment tissue samples of 280 patients with locally advanced HNSCC treated with radiochemotherapy were analyzed. A double staining of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTL) and FoxP3+ (Treg) was performed and the cell density was evaluated in the intraepithelial and stromal compartment of the tumor. Results: The classification of tumors as “immune desert” when stromal CTL were ≤ 50 cells/mm2, “inflamed” when intraepithelial CTL were > 500 cells/mm2, and as “excluded” when neither of these definitions met these cut off values allowed the best discrimination regarding overall survival. These groups had median OS periods of 37, 61, and 85 months, respectively. In “immune desert” and “immune excluded” tumors high Treg tended to worsen OS, but in “inflamed” tumors high Treg clearly improved OS. Conclusions: We propose that, in locally advanced HNSCC, the tumor immune state “inflamed”, “immune excluded”, and “immune desert” can be defined by intraepithelial and stromal CTL. Tregs can further subdivide these groups. The opposing effects of Tregs in the different groups might be the reason for the inconsistency of Tregs prognostic values published earlier

Everolimus-Induced Immune Effects after Heart Transplantation: A Possible Tool for Clinicians to Monitor Patients at Risk for Transplant Rejection

Background: Patients treated with an inhibitor of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTORI) in a calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-free immunosuppressive regimen after heart transplantation (HTx) show a higher risk for transplant rejection. We developed an immunological monitoring tool that may improve the identification of mTORI-treated patients at risk for rejection. Methods: Circulating dendritic cells (DCs) and regulatory T cells (Tregs) were analysed in 19 mTORI- and 20 CNI-treated HTx patients by flow cytometry. Principal component and cluster analysis were used to identify patients at risk for transplant rejection. Results: The percentages of total Tregs (p = 0.02) and CD39+ Tregs (p = 0.05) were higher in mTORI-treated patients than in CNI-treated patients. The principal component analysis revealed that BDCA1+, BDCA2+ and BDCA4+ DCs as well as total Tregs could distinguish between non-rejecting and rejecting mTORI-treated patients. Most mTORI-treated rejectors showed higher levels of BDCA2+ and BDCA4+ plasmacytoid DCs and lower levels of BDCA1+ myeloid DCs and Tregs than mTORI non-rejectors. Conclusion: An mTORI-based immunosuppressive regimen induced a sufficient, tolerance-promoting reaction in Tregs, but an insufficient, adverse effect in DCs. On the basis of patient-specific immunological profiles, we established a flow cytometry-based monitoring tool that may be helpful in identifying patients at risk for rejection

Chronological aging leads to apoptosis in yeast

During the past years, yeast has been successfully established as a model to study mechanisms of apoptotic regulation. However, the beneficial effects of such a cell suicide program for a unicellular organism remained obscure. Here, we demonstrate that chronologically aged yeast cultures die exhibiting typical markers of apoptosis, accumulate oxygen radicals, and show caspase activation. Age-induced cell death is strongly delayed by overexpressing YAP1, a key transcriptional regulator in oxygen stress response. Disruption of apoptosis through deletion of yeast caspase YCA1 initially results in better survival of aged cultures. However, surviving cells lose the ability of regrowth, indicating that predamaged cells accumulate in the absence of apoptotic cell removal. Moreover, wild-type cells outlast yca1 disruptants in direct competition assays during long-term aging. We suggest that apoptosis in yeast confers a selective advantage for this unicellular organism, and demonstrate that old yeast cells release substances into the medium that stimulate survival of the clone

Increased Levels of sCD30 Have No Impact on the Incidence of Early ABMR and Long-Term Outcome in Intermediate-Risk Renal Transplant Patients With Preformed DSA

Background: It is still incompletely understood why some patients with preformed donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies (DSA) have reduced kidney allograft survival secondary to antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR), whereas many DSA-positive patients have favorable long-term outcomes. Elevated levels of soluble CD30 (sCD30) have emerged as a promising biomarker indicating deleterious T-cell help in conjunction with DSA in immunologically high-risk patients. We hypothesized that this would also be true in intermediate-risk patients. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed pre-transplant sera from 287 CDC-crossmatch negative patients treated with basiliximab induction and tacrolimus-based maintenance therapy for the presence of DSA and sCD30. The incidence of ABMR according to the Banff 2019 classification and death-censored allograft survival were determined. Results: During a median follow-up of 7.4 years, allograft survival was significantly lower in DSA-positive as compared to DSA-negative patients (p 5,000), increased levels of sCD30 were associated with accelerated graft loss compared to patients with low sCD30 (3-year allograft survival 75 vs. 95%). Long-term survival, however, was comparable in DSA-positive patients irrespective of sCD30 status. Likewise, the incidence of early ABMR and lesion score characteristics were comparable between sCD30-positive and sCD30-negative patients with DSA. Finally, increased sCD30 levels were not predictive for early persistence of DSA. Conclusion: Preformed DSA are associated with an increased risk for ABMR and long-term graft loss independent of sCD30 levels in intermediate-risk kidney transplant patients