Electric Vehicles (EVs) have been penetrated to the modern distribution system in last decade. On the other hand, Renewable Energies (RE) play serious task in such Micro-Grids (MG). A typical MG consists of several Distributed Energy Resources (DER) including Distributed Generations (DGs) and Demand Response (DR) as well as EVs charge/discharge stations. In this paper optimal charging and discharging strategies based on DR programs applied on Electric Vehicles charging station equipped with renewable energies. To avoid profit loosing due to renewable uncertainties, Peer to Peer (P2P) energy bartering between EVs charging station as procumers is suggested in this paper. Hence the management system for charge and discharge of EVs and station batteries, as well as Energy Management System (EMS) are developed in this paper. To this end firstly developed EMS applied to the individual station. Secondly the P2P power transaction added to the model in order to smoothen volatile uncertain load and renewables. The proposed model is a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) and has been solved by GAMS/CPLEX. Numerical studies have been shown that aggregator deployment is more beneficiary for Virtual Power Plant (VPP).

A large number of forecasting technologies are carried out on the basis of sufficient historical data, but the newly built PV plants have not been put into operation, and there is not enough historical data to forecast the power of PV plants, the existing research cannot accurately forecast the power of photovoltaic plants containing the newly built PV plants. There are two main innovations in the paper. Firstly, in the case that deep learning cannot be carried out without historical data of new PV plants, Pearson coefficients are used to analyze the correlation among PV plants and construct historical data of new photovoltaic plants. Secondly, on this basis, an improved CNN-LSTM model is proposed, which takes the form of parallel convolution-pool layers in CNN, so that the features of each plant, all plants, and time characteristics in the region can be extracted completely. Finally, the network can be fine-tuned and corrected after obtaining the actual power data. Further, the forecasting accuracy of PV power was improved, and the training time was reduced. Based on data from five PV plants in Australia, the effectiveness of the method proposed in this paper is verified.

Insulation coordination studies are of great importance in power grid reliability. In this paper, a new method is proposed for modeling trapped charge sources (TCS) in switching transient studies. The TCS is used to take account of the voltage stored in line capacitors during reclosing operation after fault occurrence. The proposed model is designed based on the active filter concept, so it does not have the limitations of conventional TCS for simulating transient states in EMTP/ATPDraw. Given the natural frequencies of the transmission line to which the proposed TCS (PTCS) is connected, the PTCS injects the appropriate frequencies and eliminates voltage oscillations, which limit the use of TCS. To verify the efficiency of the PTCS, it is implemented in a real system with a shunt reactor, and the results are then compared with field measurements. A comparison of the results shows that the PTCS eliminates the voltage oscillations in the simulation before closing and provides a smooth voltage with the desired amplitude. Using the proposed model, the maximum line switching overvoltage is correctly calculated; this, in turn, results in a more accurate transmission line insulation design, which is technically and economically beneficial.

Abscract: Polyphylla gracilicornis, both adults and larvae can produce serious damage to crops. In this experiment, the antenna structure and sensors of P. gracilicornis were specifically observed using a stereoscopic microscope and a scanning electron microscope.We also analyzed the characteristics of tentacle structure and sensor types, morphology, number and distribution of male and female adults of P. gracilicornis.The results showed that both male and female antennae consisted of scape, pedicel and flagellum. The flagellum was divided into rod-like and gill-like parts, among which the flagellum like part of the male antennae consisted of seven segments, L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6 and L7, while the female antennae consisted of six segments. Observations of their male and female antennal sensors revealed that both sensor types were approximately the same, with a total of seven sensor types observed, namely Sensilla trichodea, Sensilla chaetica, Sensilla basiconica, Sensilla placodea, Sensilla coeloconica, Sensilla. But, the size and distribution of the male adult antennas differed from the female antennas. The basic study of the ultrastructure of antennas provided a basis for the study of the chemical communication mechanism of P. gracilicornis.

The global significance of eucalypts as sources of wood and fiber, but inadequate cold tolerance of Eucalyptus cloeziana has limited a broader deployment beyond subtropical regions of the China. Cold temperature tolerance can be a valuable trait in cultivated plants. This study investigated the effects of the application of under different environment conditions eighteen morphological and six physiological indices were measured in 26 E. cloeziana clones cultivars. Field investigations and analysis of a leaf anatomical structure index were used to define the anatomical and structural characteristics of E. cloeziana leaves, then explored the relationship between a leaf biochemical characteristics and leaf cold tolerance, using a comparative analysis of the changes in leaf physiological indicators. Results of the principal component analysis indicated that some of the 18 morphological indices (including midrib vascular bundle area, main vein xylem area, main vein thickness, leaf area, the lower epidermis thickness, leaf cell tense ratio, and leaf thickness) could be screened out by stepwise regression and could be used to evaluate the low temperature resistance. Moreover, the 26 E. cloeziana clones cultivars were divided into five types: highly cold resistant, cold resistant, moderately cold resistant, low cold resistant, and cold intolerant. The cold resistance of seven selected E. cloeziana cultivars (one cold resistant cultivars, and two each of cold resistant, low cold resistant, and two cultivars) with contrasting low-temperature sensitivities were further verified by physiological analysis. Results showed that various E. cloeziana clone materials had different abilities to adapt to cold temperatures due to their complex genetic backgrounds because the scavenging capacity of reactive oxygen species in the middle leaves was strong enough to eliminate an excessive accumulation of free radicals, and thus reduce the amount of cell membrane leakage. The characteristics of resistance to low-temperature stress in E. cloeziana were, at least partially, dependent on its relatively high leaf cell tense ratio, main vein thickness, and leaf thickness, in addition to its antioxidant capacity and the malondialdehyde and proline content, which can be used as ideal experimental materials to study the characteristic of cold resistance of different E. cloeziana clone cultivars with contrasting low-temperature in responses to low-temperature stress.

A document by Anindya Ghosh. Click on the document to view its contents.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most prevalent primary fatal bone neoplasm in adolescents and children owing to limited therapeutic methods. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are identified as vital regulators in a variety of cancers. However, the role of circRNAs in OS are still unclear. In our study, we evaluate the differentially expressed circRNAs in 3 paired OS and corresponding adjacent nontumor tissue samples by circRNA microarray assay, finding a novel circRNA, circ_001722, significantly upregulated in OS tissues and cells. Then we show that downregulation of circ_0001722 can suppress proliferation and invasion of human OS cells in vitro and in vivo. Computational algorithms predict miR-204-5p can bind with circ_0001722 and RUNX2 mRNA 3’UTR, which is verified by Dual-luciferase assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay. Further functional experiments show that circ_0001722 competitively binds to miR-873-3p and prevents it to decrease the level of RUNX2, which upregulates proliferation and invasion of human OS cells. In summary, our research firstly show that circ_001722 promotes the progression of OS via miR-204-5p/RUNX2 axis.

A document by erkan . Click on the document to view its contents.

It is well known that evergreen and deciduous species have different functional traits and utilize different strategies in growth and adaptation to environments, however little work has been done to elucidate whether leaf habit mediate the effect of trait-environment interactions on plant performance. Here we wanted to illuminate whether relative growth rate of deciduous and evergreen species depended on multiple trait-environment interactions. We measured eight leaf traits of 1230 individuals from 25 species and collected topographic factors, edaphic variables and competition index in a subtropic evergreen and deciduous mixed forest. Then we modeled plant relative growth rate with high-order trait-environment interactions for evergreen and deciduous species respectively using generalized linear mixed model and visualized the difference between leaf habits. Results showed that leaf habits were divided by trait PC1 (41.8%) which was related to leaf lifespan and resource acquisition. We found that trait-environment interactions improved growth predictions for both leaf habits but the optimal models for them were different. Moreover, the explanatory power of deciduous species models was always higher than that of evergreens. These results indicated that leaf habits with different life history strategies were reflected by trait-environment interactions. We emphasized the importance of leaf habits in explaining forest productivity and functions, and future research should focus on the effects of leaf habits on other demographic metrics and spatial patterns to solve the coexistence of the two leaf habits in mixed forests.

This paper proposes a novel combined cycle fatigue life prediction method of a blade-like specimen considering the effect of multiple damage modes and complex stress state. Combined tensile and bending fatigue (CTBF) experiments were performed on a blade-like specimen at 850°C, using a novel biaxial tension-vibration test system. To account for the effect of high stress ratio related creep on bending fatigue damage, a creep damage factor was proposed and explicitly introduced into Lemaitre-Chaboche model. In the framework of continuum damage mechanics (CDM), the CTBF life was assessed considering the geometry-stress gradient feature factor and multiple damage modes, including the damage of LCF, high stress ratio bending fatigue and oxidation. Finally, a novel CTBF life prediction model was proposed, agreeing well with the experimental results. Compared with the existing classical models, the proposed model provides the significantly higher prediction accuracy.

SARS-CoV-2 and its ever-emerging variants, are spread from host-to-host via expelled respiratory aerosols and saliva droplets. Knowing the number of virions which are exhaled by a person requires precise measurements of the size, count, velocity and trajectory of the virus-laden particles that are ejected directly from the mouth. These measurements are achieved in 3D, at 15000 images/second, and are applied when speaking, yelling, and coughing. In this study 33 events have been analysed by post-processing ~500000 images. Using these data, the flow rate of SARS-CoV-2 virions have been evaluated. At high concentrations, 10^7 virions/mL, it is found that 136 to 231 virions are ejected during a single cough, where the virion flow rate peak is capable of reaching 32 virions within a millisecond. This peak can reach tens of virions/ms when yelling, but reduced to only a few virions/ms when speaking. At medium concentrations, ~10^5 virions/mL, those results are hundreds of times lower. The total number of virions that are ejected when yelling at 110db, instead of speaking at 85db, increases by two to three fold. From the measured data analysed in this article, the flow rate of other diseases such as influenza, tuberculosis or measles, can also be estimated. As these data are openly accessible, they can be used by modellers for the simulation of saliva droplet transport and evaporation, allowing to further advance our understanding of airborne pathogen transmission.

Uncapped copper oxide nanorods (CuOnrs), capped with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB-CuOnrs), and polyvinyl pyrrolidine (PVP-CuOnrs) were utilized for the interaction study of the carbamate (Aldicarb (A.D.)) and organophosphate (Chlorpyrifos (C.P.)) pesticides. These nanorods were synthesized using the co-precipitation method, followed by calcination at 350 –ͦ C for 2 hr. X-ray diffraction study confirmed the monoclinic structure of the CuOnrs without any impurities with average crystallite size in the range of 10-12 nm. Field emission scanning and transmission electron microscopy (FE-SEM & TEM) studies confirmed the nanocrystalline structure of CuOnrs, CTAB-CuOnrs, and PVP-CuOnrs having rod-like structures. The contact angle study showed the hydrophilic nature of the uncapped CuOnrs and PVP-CuOnrs with a contact angle of 51 –ͦ & 57 –ͦ, respectively. While CTAB-CuOnrs exhibited hydrophobic nature with a contact angle of more than 90 –ͦ. Interaction study of CuOnrs, CTAB-CuOnrs, and PVP-CuOnrs with A.D. and C.P was conducted using U.V.- vis absorption study (in the 250 - 400 nm region). Uncapped CuOnrs have shown the specific detection with A.D., while CTAB-CuOnrs have shown with C.P. without using any bio-recognition elements. PVP-CuOnrs did not show systematic change with both pesticides confirming the capping agent-dependent specific interaction of the pesticides.

Mitochondria play a central role in the innate and acquired response against viral infections. Common mtDNA variants have been associated with severe COVID-19 and mtDNA depletion. A poly C length variation has been associated with mtDNA instability and increased risk for several diseases. We studied 482 patients who required treatment in the intensive care unit and age matched population controls. The 16184-16193 poly-C and 514-523 CA-repeats were determined by fluorescent capillary electrophoresis and Sanger sequencing of PCR fragments. We found a significantly higher frequency of 16184-16193 mtDNA poly-C heteroplasmy in patients aged ≤60 compared to patients aged >60 years. Poly-C heteroplasmy did not differ between the age control groups. Poly-C heteroplasmy was associated with the presence of the 16223 T allele, that was associated with the risk of critical COVID-19 at ≤60 years. In Conclusion, heteroplasmy in the poly-C tract of the mtDNA control region might be a marker for critical COVID-19. The 16184-16193 heteroplasmy was linked to the 16223 T allele, that was significantly increased among patients aged ≤60 years. This finding requires validation in other cohorts and to determine the functional link between length variation in the mitochondrial DNA control sequence and risk of severe SARS-CoV-2 disease.

We know little about the relationships that matter to emerging adults. This preregistered report elaborates our plan to survey 200 emerging adults (approximately half male) to better understand the role of significant others. First, we plan to ask emerging adults to list individuals who matter and we will code the open-ended text for relationship type. Second, we will use an adapted version of Schneck’s (2009) Mattering Scale to assess mattering among five common close relationships (i.e., mother figure, father figure, partner, best friend, sibling). We predict that mattering of partner and best friend will be highest, mothers will matter more than fathers, and siblings will matter least. We hypothesize failing to mention a relationship in the open-ended portion will be related to lower mattering of that relationship. Finally, we anticipate better well being and less loneliness when the list of those who matter is longer and when significant others matter more.

Animal migration impacts organismal health and disease transmission: migrants are simultaneously exposed to parasites and able to reduce infection at the population and individual levels. However, these dynamics are difficult to study; empirical studies reveal disparate results while existing theory makes assumptions that simplify natural complexity. Here, we systematically review empirical studies of migration and infection across taxa, highlighting key gaps in our understanding. Next, we develop a unified evolutionary framework incorporating different mechanisms of parasite-migration interactions while accounting for ecological complexity that goes beyond previous theory. Our framework generates diverse migration-infection patterns paralleling those seen in empirical systems, including partial and differential migration. Finally, we generate predictions about which mechanisms dominate which empirical systems to guide future studies. Our framework provides an overarching understanding of selective pressures shaping migration patterns in the context of animal health and disease, which is critical for predicting how environmental change may threaten migration.

A document by Patryk Gryszkiewicz. Click on the document to view its contents.

Speciation can be caused by divergent adaptation in allopatry as a result of ecological or reproductive character displacement in sympatry or parapatry. The latter can result as a means of preventing hybridization, a process known as reinforcement speciation. Though this has been described in a variety of taxonomic systems though the prevalence throughout nature is still unknown. In this study, we use whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of two primate species that have experienced introgression in their history, the rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and cynomolgus (M. fascicularis) macaques, to identify genes exhibiting a pattern of reproductive character displacement consistent with reinforcement speciation. Using windowed scans of various population genetic statistics to identify reproductive character displacement, we find candidate genes associated with a variety of functions, including an overrepresentation of multiple neurological functions and some genes involved in sexual development and gametogenesis. This suggests a variety of genes acting at multiple stages of a reinforcement process between these species. We also find signatures of introgression of the Y-chromosome that confirm previous studies suggesting male-driven introgression of M. mulatta into M. fascicularis populations. This study is among the first to utilize whole-genome sequencing to analyze the phenomenon of reinforcement and among the first to find evidence of this phenomenon in primates, particularly ones that have medical relevance.

Climate change impacts cold-water species by altering thermal and flow regimes. These impacts may vary spatially, depending on habitat quality. We developed a Bayesian hierarchical model to investigate the effects of seasonal weather patterns on brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) populations occupying suitable and marginal habitats separated by the Eastern Continental Divide in North Carolina, USA. We specified weather-related coefficients separately for the Interior and Atlantic slope populations. We also specified multi-scale random effects to account for heterogeneity due to nested stream habitats. Our cohesive framework accommodates depletion sampling data and allows us to infer variation in capture probabilities between two different sampling protocols. As expected, we found the Atlantic slope (i.e., marginal habitats) population sizes were smaller on average than those of the Interior (i.e., suitable habitats), and the dominant drivers differed for either side of the Divide. Specifically, juvenile fish on the Atlantic slope were most adversely affected by high winter flows, and the Interior juveniles were most adversely affected by high spring flows. We also identified higher spatial variation than temporal variation in trout density conditioned on the covariates, where the primary source of spatial heterogeneity was likely meso-habitat characteristics of stream segments. Our method allowed us to partition uncertainty between population dynamics and imperfect detection, and facilitated scale-specific inference useful to develop management strategies for a species of conservation concern. This approach is widely applicable to other lotic species and ecosystems occupying dendritic habitats.

Biodiversity is diminishing at alarming rates due to multiple anthropogenic drivers. To mitigate these drivers, their impacts must be quantified accurately and comparably across drivers. To enable that, we present a generally applicable framework introducing fundamental principles of ecological impact quantification, including the quantification of interactions between multiple drivers. The framework contrasts biodiversity variables in impacted against those in unimpacted or other reference situations, while accounting for their temporal dynamics through modelling. Properly accounting for temporal dynamics reduces biases in impact quantification and comparison. The framework addresses key questions around ecological impacts in global change science, namely, how to compare impacts under temporal dynamics across stressors, how to account for stressor interactions in such comparisons, and how to compare the success of management actions over time.

Antimicrobial resistance is raging, but large size of India limits comprehensive exploration. This demands a sample like sewage, which could represent a large population and is often reported to harbor resistant microbes. Here, we did pan-India sewage sampling and studied the antibiotic resistance pattern in the microbial community. We used culture-based antibiotic susceptibility assays and estimated the level of antibiotics present at each site. We found high antibiotic resistance across all cities of India with more diversity of resistance profiles in bigger cities as compared to smaller ones. Bacillus and Pseudomonas were the most common, predominant resistant genera across Indian cities and many sites harbored multi-drug resistant phenotypes. Antibiotic concentrations were below recommended limits at all sites and thus high resistance is not likely caused solely due to antibiotics. Sewage proved to be a good representative for rapidly studying antibiotic resistance in a big country and for similar epidemiological strides.

Breast milk has significant benefits to preterm infants, including reduced risk of infection and inflammatory disorders. Many biomolecules, such as peptides, that exhibit immunomodulation function or antimicrobial activity and protect against infection have been identified in human milk. β-Casein 65, an endogenous peptide cleaved amino acids 204-225 of β-casein, is expressed at high levels in preterm breast milk. Our study demonstrates the antibacterial activity of β-casein 65 against Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus) and Escherichia coli ( E. coli) through use of an agarose filter paper diffusion and microdilution method. The LIVE/DEAD BacLight bacterial viability assay results also confirmed the antibacterial effects of β-casein 65. Destroyed membrane structures in S. aureus and E. coli after treatment with β-casein 65 were observed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. A DNA-binding assay showed that β-casein 65 exerts antimicrobial effects independent of DNA-binding activity. Our results revealed the antibacterial activity and mechanism of peptide β-casein 65 sourced from human milk. Further studies should be carried out to determine ways to prevent and treat pathogens in animals and human neonates.

Growing calls and the need for food security and health have brought deserved attention to the diagnosis of soil health and efforts towards improving or maintaining the soil health of cultivated land. The soil has special health risks in the acidic red soil areas of China. In this study, a case study of Niutian Town in Jiangxi Province, a typical area of acidic red soil in China, a total of 31 indicators was selected from the perspective of resources and environment for the health assessment of heavy metals in acidic red soil area. Entropy weight TOPSIS was used to calculate the weights and scores of each indicator, and the emergy analysis was used to modify these indicators. Subsequently, we developed a biocharsoil amendment through experiments and verified that it was effectivein remediating heavy metal and pesticide pollution. From the results, Pb, Hg, and Cd have led to a moderate potential ecological risk in 92.1% of the cultivated land in the study region.And 56.78% of the cultivated land is in the “sub-healthy” or “unhealthy” level. The soil conditioners developed based on that are used in the process of remediation, which has an excellent effect on the adsorption of heavy metal pollution. This work presents a research framework for the whole process of cultivated soil health diagnosis, which precisely solves the problem of soil pollution and is important for the improvement of sustainable productivity and service quality of land in acidic red soil areas.

Cross-reactive cellular and humoral immunity can substantially contribute to antiviral defense against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC). While the adult SARS-CoV-2 cellular and humoral immunity and its cross-recognition potential against VOC is broadly analyzed, similar data regarding the pediatric population are missing. In this study, we perform an analysis of the humoral and cellular SARS-CoV-2 response immune of 32 convalescent COVID-19 children (children), 27 convalescent vaccinated adults(C+V+) and 7 unvaccinated convalescent adults (C+V-). SARS-CoV-2 reactive T cell response is analyzed via multiparametric flowcytometry and humoral immunity is addressed via pseudovirus neutralization assay. Similarly to adults, a significant loss of neutralizing capacity against delta and omicron VOC was observed 6 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. While SAR-CoV-2 neutralizing capacity was comparable among children and C+V- against all VOC, children demonstrated as expected an inferior humoral response when compared to C+V+. Nevertheless, children generated SARS-CoV-2 reactive T cells with broad cross-recognition potential. When compared to V+C+, children presented even comparable frequencies of WT-reactive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells with high avidity. Our results suggest that following SARS-CoV-2 infection children generate a humoral SARS-CoV-2 response with neutralizing potential comparable to unvaccinated COVID-19 convalescent adults as well a sustained SARS-CoV-2 cellular response cross-reactive to VOC.

Background: Adenoid tissue is a first-line host defense secondary lymphoid organ especially in childhood. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is required to maintain balanced cellular activity. With impaired ER functions, protein accumulation occurs, resulting in ER stress, which plays a role in the etiopathogenesis of many diseases. Aims: We aimed to investigate the relationship between ER stress and adenoid tissue disorders, thereby elucidating the mechanisms of immunity-related diseases. Methods: Fifty-four pediatric patients (>3 years old) who underwent adenoidectomy for chronic adenoiditis (CA) or adenoid hypertrophy (AH) were enrolled in this prospective, parallel-group clinical study. Adenoids were divided into two groups (CA or AH) based on their size and evaluated for ER stress pathway and apoptosis pathway markers by Real-time PCR and Western blot analysis. Results: ER stress pathway markers significantly differed between the CA and AH groups. Children with CA had higher ER stress marker levels than the AH group ( p <0.001 for ATF-4, ATF-6, and GRP78, and p <0.05 for EDEM1, CHOP, EIF2AK3, ERNI, and GRP94). Apoptosis pathway markers levels (BAX and BCL-2) were not different between groups. Conclusions: ER stress contributes to the etiopathogenesis of adenoid tissue diseases and the pathogenesis of adenoid tissue disorders, which are part of the immune response. These results may guide the development of new and alternative treatments for immune system disorders. Clinical Trial Registry at Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04583631