Modelling of Multi-terminal VSC-HVDC Links for Power Flows and Dynamic Simulations of AC/DC Power Networks

Power transmission systems are expanded in order to supply electrical energy to remote users, to strengthen their operational security and reliability and to be able to carry out commercial transactions with neighbouring power grids. Power networks successfully expand, at any time, by incorporating the latest technological developments. A case in point is the current growth of electrical power grids, in terms of both infrastructure and operational complexity, to meet an unprecedented upward trend in global demand for electricity. Today’s expansion of the power grid is being supported, more and more, by power electronics, in the form of flexible AC transmission systems and HVDC systems using voltage-sourced converters. The latter option, in particular, has been developing exceedingly rapidly since 1999, when the first commercial VSC- HVDC transmission installation was commissioned; the voltage -sourced converter technology has become the preferred option for transporting electricity when natural barriers are present (e.g. the sea), in Europe and further afield. At least one influential European body has recommended that the next step in the construction of the so-called European super grid, be a meshed HVDC transmission system based on the use of the VSC technology, to facilitate further the massive incorporation of renewable energy sources into the Pan European electrical grid, the harvesting of hydrocarbons that lie in deep sea waters and the energy trading between neighbouring countries.It is in this context that this thesis contributes new knowledge to the modelling of VSC-based equipment and systems for the assessment of steady-state and transient stability analyses of AC/DC power networks. The STATCOM, the back-to -back VSC-HVDC link, the point-to-point VSC-HVDC link and the multi-terminal VSC- HVDC link, all receive research attention in this work. The new models emanating from this research capture all the key steady-state and dynamic characteristics of the equipment and network. This has required a paradigm shift in which the VSC equipment has been modelled, here-to-fore, assuming that a voltage-sourced converter behaves like an idealised voltage source. In contrast, the models developed in this research resort to an array of basic power systems elements, such as a phase-shifting transformer and an equivalent shunt susceptance, giving rise to a two-port circuit where the AC and DC sides of the VSCs are explicitly represented. The ensuing VSC model is fundamentally different from the voltage source model; it represents, in an aggregated manner, the array of semiconductor switches in the converter and its PWM control. The VSC model was used as the basic building block with which to develop all the VSC-base d devices put forward in this thesis. The ultimate device is the multiterminal VSC-HVDC system, which may comprise an arbitrary number of VSC units commensurate with the number of otherwise independent AC sub-networks and a DC network of an arbitrary topology. The steady -state and dynamic simulations of the AC/DC systems are carried out using a unified frame-of-reference which is amenable to the Newton-Raphson algorithm. This framework accommodates, quite naturally, the set of discretised differential equations arising from the synchronous generators, HVDC and FACTS equipment, and the algebraic equations describing the conventional transmission lines, transformers and loads of the AC sub-networks. The application areas covered in this work are: power-flow studies and dynamic simulations

La producción caprina en el Chaco Árido Riojano – Catamarqueño

“Red de Innovación para el Desarrollo Rural del Gran Chaco Americano en el Contexto del Cambio Climático”. - ATN/RF-16112-RGLas provincias de La Rioja y Catamarca integran la gran región del Chaco Americano, con una superficie estimada de 9,6 Km2, ocupan la porción Sudoeste del mismo; La Rioja comprendida en el Chaco Árido y Catamarca en el Chaco Semiárido y Árido, siendo este último la expresión más seca y menos productiva del Chaco Americano. Es una región con características ambientales limitadas, fundamentalmente relacionada con la disponibilidad de agua de lluvia, siendo este recurso crítico y decisivo para su crecimiento integral. En estas áreas, los caprinos cumplen un rol importante en la economía local y regional que cuentan con recursos y condiciones poco propicias para desarrollar actividades alternativas. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo presentar algunos aspectos destacados de la actividad caprina en la región del Chaco Árido de las provincias de La Rioja y Catamarca, atendiendo especialmente a sus características socio-productivas y de comercialización en el marco del proyecto Red de Innovación para el Desarrollo Rural del Gran Chaco Americano en el Contexto del Cambio Climático, ref. ATN/RF- 16112-RG. Entre los temas de análisis se consideró el stock caprino y sus variaciones en el tiempo, utilizando censos nacionales agropecuarios que han sido, punto de referencia en diferentes ámbitos gubernamentales para la toma de decisiones; también se aborda aspectos relevantes del sistema de producción, como prácticas de manejo, aspectos de la reproducción, infraestructura, comercialización, entre otros. Para la elaboración de este documento se han utilizado datos provenientes de diversas fuentes y autores descritos en el apéndice bibliográfico, complementada con observaciones y relevamientos propios en campo de productores insertos en el área de estudio. La información obtenida y analizada, destaca la relevancia de la actividad ganadera, en el ambiente de estudio; siendo la ganadería caprina una de las actividades socio económicas más desarrollada en la región.EEA CatamarcaFil: Gonzalez, Maria Florencia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca; ArgentinaFil: Ricarte, Ramon Armando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Guzman, Luis Miguel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Castro, Ornella Eugenia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca; ArgentinaFil: Diaz, Raul Fernando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Castignani, Horacio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; Argentin

Células madre mesenquimales (CMM) aisladas a partir de la sangre periférica

La presente invención se relaciona con células madre mesenquimales (CMM) aisladas a partir de la sangre periférica, caracterizadas porque expresan el receptor alfa-2 de la interleuquina 13 (IL 13RA2), así como con un método para aislar dichas CMM que comprende detectar la expresión de dicho IL13RA2 en células de una muestra de sangre periférica, y, si se desea, aislar dichas células que expresan IL13RA2.1. Una célula madre mesenquimal, aislada, procedente de sangre periférica o de sus hemoderivados, caracterizada porque expresa el receptor alfa-2 de la interleuquina 13 (ILl3RA2) . 2. Célula madre mesenquimal aislada según la reivindicación 1, obtenible mediante un método que comprende detectar el receptor alfa-2 de la interleuquina 13 (TLl3RA2) lOenla superficie de dicha célula y aislar dicha célula que expresa lLl3RA2. 3. Célula madre mesenquimal según la reivindicación 1, caracterizada porque además, expresa uno o más marcadores de membrana plasmática seleccionados del grupo que consiste en CAMK2Nl, CDH10, CLDNll, LSAMP, PSCAy SFRPl. 4. Célula madre mesenquimal según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones 1 a 3, en la que dicha sangre periférica o hemoderivado es de origen humano. 5. Célula madre mesenquimal según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones 1 a 4, en la que la sangre periférica se selecciona del grupo que consiste en sangre periférica fresca o criopreservada, sangre periférica movilizada fresca o criopreservada, sangre periférica movilizada y sin movilizar obtenida por técnicas de aféresis fresca o criopreservada, fracción CD34-fresca o criopreservada obtenida de sangre periférica o sus hemoderivados movilizada, "buffy coats" y cualquiera de sus combinaciones. 6. Célula madre mesenquimal según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones I a 5, en la que la sangre periférica procede de un sujeto al que se le ha administrado un factor de estimulación. 7. Célula madre mesenquimal según la reivindicación 6, en la que el factor de estimulación se selecciona del grupo formado por el factor de crecimiento de colonias de granulocitos (G-CSF) , el factor de crecimiento de colonias granulomacrofágicas (GM-CSF) , un antagonista del receptor CXCR4, una catecolamina, y sus combinaciones. 8. Una población celular aislada que comprende células madre mesenquimales procedentes de sangre periférica o de sus hemoderivados según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones 1 a 7. 9. Una composición de células madre mesenquimales procedentes de sangre periférica, o de sus hemoderivados, en la que, al menos, el 50% de las células madre mesenquimales procedentes de sangre periférica, o de sus hemoderivados, que comprende dicha composición son células madre mesenquimales que expresan IL 13RA2 según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones I a 7. 10. Una composición farmacéutica que comprende una célula madre mesenquimal según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones 1 a 7, una población celular seb>lm la reivindicación 8, o una composición de células madre mesenquimales según la reivindicación 9, y un vehículo farmacéuticamente aceptable. 11. Método in vitro para la identificación y/o el aislamiento de una célula madre mesenquimal a partir de sangre periférica o de sus hemoderivados que comprende detectar la expresión del receptor alfa-2 de la interleuquina 13 (lLI3RA2) en células de una muestra de sangre periférica o de sus hemoderivados y, si se desea, aislar dichas células que expresan TL 13RA2. 12. Método según la reivindicación 11, en el que la sangre periférica utilizada se selecciona del grupo que consiste en sangre periférica fresca o criopreservada, sangre periférica movilizada fresca o criopreservada, sangre periférica movilizada y sin movilizar obtenida por técnicas de aféresis fresca o criopreservada, fracción CD34-fresca o criopreservada obtenida de sangre periférica o sus hemoderivados movilizada, "bufIY coats", y cualquiera de sus combinaciones. 13. Método según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones 11 ó 12, en el que dicha sangre periférica procede de un sujeto al que se le ha administrado un factor de estimulación. 14. Método según la reivindicación 13, en el que dicho factor de estimulación se selecciona del grupo formado por el factor de crecimiento de colonias de granulocitos (G-CSF) , el factor de crecimiento de colonias granulomacrofágicas (GM-CSF) , un antagonista del receptor CXCR4, una catecolamina, y sus combinaciones. 15. Método según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones 11 a 14, en el que dicha sangre periférica o hemoderivado es de origen humano. 16. Uso del receptor alfa-2 de la interleuquina 13 (LL13RA2) como marcador de una célula madre mesenquimal procedente de sangre periférica o de sus hemoderivados. 17. Uso según la reivindicaciónl6, para la identitlcación y/o el aislamiento in vitro de una célula madre mesenquimal a partir de sangre periférica, o de un hemoderivado de la misma, de un sujeto. 18. Uso de un reactivo capaz de detectar el receptor alfa-2 de la interleuquina 13 (ILl3RA2) para la identitlcación y/o el aislamiento de una célula madre mesenquimal a partir de sangre periférica o de sus hemoderivados, en donde dicho reactivo es un anticuerpo que se une especitlcamente a LLI3RA2. 19. Uso de una célula madre mesenquimal según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones 1 a 7, o de una población celular según la reivindicación 8, o de una composición de células madre según la reivindicación 9, o de una composición farmacéutica según la reivindicación 10, en la preparación de un medicamento para el tratamiento de una enfermedad autoinmune. 20. Uso de una célula madre mesenquimal según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones 1 a 7, o de una población celular set, 'ún la reivindicación 8, o de una composición de células madre según la reivindicación 9, o de una composición farmacéutica según la reivindicación 10, en la preparación de un medicamento para el tratamiento de una enfermedad inflamatoria. 21. Uso de una célula madre mesenquimal según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones 1 a 7, o de una población celular según la reivindicación 8, o de una composición de células madre según la reivindicación 9, o de una composición farmacéutica según la reivindicación 10, en la preparación de un medicamento para inducir tolerancia al trasplante. 22. Uso de una célula madre mesenquimal según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones 1 a 7, o de una población celular según la reivindicación 8, o de una composición de células madre según la reivindicación 9, o de una composición farmacéutica según la reivindicación 10, en la preparación de un medicamento para la reparación y regeneración de tejidos. 23. Uso de una célula madre mesenquimal según cualquiera de las reivindicaciones 1 a 7, o de una población celular según la reivindicación 8, o de una composición de células madre según la reivindicación 9, o de una composición farmacéutica según la reivindicación 10, como sistema de transporte o vehículo de un compuesto biológicamente activo a un sitio de interés.Cuando una patente se hace internacional, se puede encontrar en el idioma de cada país en que se ha solicitado. En Espacenet se tiene acceso a los documentos en cada idioma.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; Universidad de Granada; Fundación Progreso y Salud.Solicitud de patent

Non-productive angiogenesis disassembles Aß plaque-associated blood vessels

The human Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain accumulates angiogenic markers but paradoxically, the cerebral microvasculature is reduced around Aß plaques. Here we demonstrate that angiogenesis is started near Aß plaques in both AD mouse models and human AD samples. However, endothelial cells express the molecular signature of non-productive angiogenesis (NPA) and accumulate, around Aß plaques, a tip cell marker and IB4 reactive vascular anomalies with reduced NOTCH activity. Notably, NPA induction by endothelial loss of presenilin, whose mutations cause familial AD and which activity has been shown to decrease with age, produced a similar vascular phenotype in the absence of Aß pathology. We also show that Aß plaque-associated NPA locally disassembles blood vessels, leaving behind vascular scars, and that microglial phagocytosis contributes to the local loss of endothelial cells. These results define the role of NPA and microglia in local blood vessel disassembly and highlight the vascular component of presenilin loss of function in AD

Preliminary molecular genetic analysis of the Receptor Interacting Protein 140 (RIP140) in women affected by endometriosis

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a complex disease affecting 10–15% of women at reproductive age. Very few genes are known to be altered in this pathology. RIP140 protein is an important cofactor of oestrogen receptor and many other nuclear receptors. Targeting disruption experiments of nrip1 gene in mice have demonstrated that nuclear receptor interacting protein 1 gene (nrip1), the gene encoding for rip140 protein, is essential for female fertility. Specifically, mice null for nrip1 gene are viable, but females are infertile because of complete failure of mature follicles to release oocytes at ovulation stage. The ovarian phenotype observed in mice devoid of rip140 closely resembles the luteinized unruptured follicle (LUF) syndrome that is observed in a high proportion of women affected of endometriosis or idiopathic infertility. Here we present a preliminary work that analyses the role of NRIP1 gene in humans. METHODS: We have sequenced the complete coding region of NRIP1 gene in 20 unrelated patients affected by endometriosis. We have performed genetic association studies by using the DNA variants identified during the sequencing process. RESULTS: We identified six DNA variants within the coding sequence of NRIP1 gene, and five of them generated amino acid changes in the protein. We observed that three of twenty sequenced patients have specific combinations of amino-acid variants within the RIP140 protein that are poorly represented in the control population (p = 0.006). Moreover, we found that Arg448Gly, a common polymorphism located within NRIP1 gene, is associated with endometriosis in a case-control study (59 cases and 141 controls, p(allele positivity test )= 0.027). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that NRIP1 gene variants, separately or in combinations, might act as predisposing factors for human endometriosis

Enhancing the First-Pass Effect in Acute Stroke: The Impact of Stent Retriever Characteristics

Introduction: Although stentrievers (SRs) have been a mainstay of mechanical thrombectomy (MT), and current guidelines recommend the use of SRs in the treatment of large vessel occlusion stroke (LVO), there is a paucity of studies in the literature comparing SRs directly against each other in terms of mechanical and functional properties. Timely access to endovascular therapy and the ability to restore intracranial flow in a safe, efficient, and efficacious manner have been critical to the success of MT. This study aimed to investigate the impact of contemporary SR characteristics, including model, brand, size, and length, on the first-pass effect (FPE) in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods: Consecutive patients with M1 occlusion treated with a single SR+BGC were recruited from the ROSSETTI registry. The primary outcome was the FPE that was defined as modified (mFPE) or true (tFPE) for the achievement of modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (mTICI) grades 2b-3 or 3 after a single device pass, respectively. We compared patients who achieved mFPE with those who achieved tFPE according to SR characteristics. Results: We included 610 patients (52.3% female and 47.7% male, mean age 75.1 +/- 13.62 years). mFPE was achieved in 357 patients (58.5%), whereas tFPE was achieved in 264 (43.3%). There was no significant association between SR characteristics and mFPE or tFPE. Specifically, the SR size did not show a statistically significant relationship with improvement in FPE. Similarly, the length of the SR did not yield significant differences in the mFPE and tFPE, even when the data were grouped. Conclusions: Our data indicate that contemporary SR-mediated thrombectomy characteristics, including model, brand, size, and length, do not significantly affect the FPE

Effectiveness and safety of anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies in patients over 65 years: a real-life multicentre analysis of 162 patients

Background Anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies have shown notable effectiveness and tolerability in migraine patients; however, data on their use in elderly patients is still lacking, as clinical trials have implicit age restrictions and real-world evidence is scarce. In this study, we aimed to describe the safety and effectiveness of erenumab, galcanezumab and fremanezumab in migraine patients over 65 years old in real-life. Methods In this observational real-life study, a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from 18 different headache units in Spain was performed. Migraine patients who started treatment with any anti-CGRP monoclonal antibody after the age of 65 years were included. Primary endpoints were reduction in monthly migraine days after 6 months of treatment and the presence of adverse effects. Secondary endpoints were reductions in headache and medication intake frequencies by months 3 and 6, response rates, changes in patient-reported outcomes and reasons for discontinuation. As a subanalysis, reduction in monthly migraine days and proportion of adverse effects were also compared among the three monoclonal antibodies. Results A total of 162 patients were included, median age 68 years (range 65-87), 74.1% women. 42% had dyslipidaemia, 40.3% hypertension, 8% diabetes, and 6.2% previous cardiovascular ischaemic disease. The reduction in monthly migraine days at month 6 was 10.17.3 days. A total of 25.3% of patients presented adverse effects, all of them mild, with only two cases of blood pressure increase. Headache and medication intake frequencies were significantly reduced, and patient-reported outcomes were improved. The proportions of responders were 68%, 57%, 33% and 9% for reductions in monthly migraine days >= 30%,>= 50%,>= 75% and 100%, respectively. A total of 72.8% of patients continued with the treatment after 6 months. The reduction in migraine days was similar for the different anti-CGRP treatments, but fewer adverse effects were detected with fremanezumab (7.7%). Conclusions Anti-CGRP mAbs are safe and effective treatments in migraine patients over 65 years old in real-life clinical practice

Stratification of radiosensitive brain metastases based on an actionable S100A9/RAGE resistance mechanism

© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) is the treatment backbone for many patients with brain metastasis; however, its efficacy in preventing disease progression and the associated toxicity have questioned the clinical impact of this approach and emphasized the need for alternative treatments. Given the limited therapeutic options available for these patients and the poor understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the resistance of metastatic lesions to WBRT, we sought to uncover actionable targets and biomarkers that could help to refine patient selection. Through an unbiased analysis of experimental in vivo models of brain metastasis resistant to WBRT, we identified activation of the S100A9-RAGE-NF-κB-JunB pathway in brain metastases as a potential mediator of resistance in this organ. Targeting this pathway genetically or pharmacologically was sufficient to revert the WBRT resistance and increase therapeutic benefits in vivo at lower doses of radiation. In patients with primary melanoma, lung or breast adenocarcinoma developing brain metastasis, endogenous S100A9 levels in brain lesions correlated with clinical response to WBRT and underscored the potential of S100A9 levels in the blood as a noninvasive biomarker. Collectively, we provide a molecular framework to personalize WBRT and improve its efficacy through combination with a radiosensitizer that balances therapeutic benefit and toxicity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Overview of recent TJ-II stellarator results

The main results obtained in the TJ-II stellarator in the last two years are reported. The most important topics investigated have been modelling and validation of impurity transport, validation of gyrokinetic simulations, turbulence characterisation, effect of magnetic configuration on transport, fuelling with pellet injection, fast particles and liquid metal plasma facing components. As regards impurity transport research, a number of working lines exploring several recently discovered effects have been developed: the effect of tangential drifts on stellarator neoclassical transport, the impurity flux driven by electric fields tangent to magnetic surfaces and attempts of experimental validation with Doppler reflectometry of the variation of the radial electric field on the flux surface. Concerning gyrokinetic simulations, two validation activities have been performed, the comparison with measurements of zonal flow relaxation in pellet-induced fast transients and the comparison with experimental poloidal variation of fluctuations amplitude. The impact of radial electric fields on turbulence spreading in the edge and scrape-off layer has been also experimentally characterized using a 2D Langmuir probe array. Another remarkable piece of work has been the investigation of the radial propagation of small temperature perturbations using transfer entropy. Research on the physics and modelling of plasma core fuelling with pellet and tracer-encapsulated solid-pellet injection has produced also relevant results. Neutral beam injection driven Alfvénic activity and its possible control by electron cyclotron current drive has been examined as well in TJ-II. Finally, recent results on alternative plasma facing components based on liquid metals are also presentedThis work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014–2018 under Grant Agreement No. 633053. It has been partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Inovación y Universidades of Spain under projects ENE2013-48109-P, ENE2015-70142-P and FIS2017-88892-P. It has also received funds from the Spanish Government via mobility grant PRX17/00425. The authors thankfully acknowledge the computer resources at MareNostrum and the technical support provided by the Barcelona S.C. It has been supported as well by The Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU), Project P-507F