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The wind power generation is highly dependent on current weather conditions. In the course of the energy transition, the generation levels from volatile wind energy are constantly increasing. Accordingly, the prediction of regional wind power generation is a particularly important and challenging task due to the highly distributed installations. This paper presents a study on the role of regional wind power infeed estimation and proposes a multi-aggregated wind power characteristics model based on three scaled Gumbel distribution functions. Multi-levels of wind turbines and their allocation are investigated for the regional aggregated wind power. Relative peak power performance and full load hours are compared for the proposed model and the real measurement obtained from a local distribution system operator. Furthermore, artificial intelligence technologies using neural networks, such as Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), stacked LSTM and CNN–LSTM, are investigated by using different historical measurement as input data. The results show that the suggested stacked LSTM performs stably and reliably in regional power prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many commercially available recombinant proteins are produced in Escherichia coli, and most suppliers guarantee contamination levels of less than 1 endotoxin unit (EU). When we analysed commercially available proteins for their endotoxin content, we found contamination levels in the same range as generally stated in the data sheets, but also some that were higher. To analyse whether these low levels of contamination have an effect on immune cells, we stimulated the monocytic cell line THP-1, primary human monocytes, in vitro differentiated human monocyte-derived dendritic cells, and primary human CD1c+ dendritic cells (DCs) with very low concentrations of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; ranging from 0.002–2 ng/ml). We show that CD1c+ DCs especially can be activated by minimal amounts of LPS, equivalent to the levels of endotoxin contamination we detected in some commercially available proteins. Notably, the enhanced endotoxin sensitivity of CD1c+ DCs was closely correlated with high CD14 expression levels observed in CD1c+ DCs that had been maintained in cell culture medium for 24 hours. When working with cells that are particularly sensitive to LPS, even low endotoxin contamination may generate erroneous data. We therefore recommend that recombinant proteins be thoroughly screened for endotoxin contamination using the limulus amebocyte lysate test, fluorescence-based assays, or a luciferase based NF-κB reporter assay involving highly LPS-sensitive cells overexpressing TLR4, MD-2 and CD14. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) like Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and NOD-like receptors (NLRs) are important sensors of microbial products. Although they are referred to as innate immune receptors, they make essential contributions to adaptive immune responses by activating dendritic cells (DCs). Simultaneous activation of DCs via different classes of PRRs provides a powerful tool for inducing strong immune responses. In the present study we investigate the interplay of the NLRs NOD1 and NOD2 and their crosstalk with TLR signaling in terms of DC-activation. We found strong synergistic effects upon treatment with NOD1 and NOD2 ligands combined with the TLR7/8 agonist R848. Simultaneous stimulation of monocyte-derived DCs resulted in highly increased production of IL-1β, IL-23 and SOCS2, a member of the suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family. Silencing of SOCS2 resulted in enhanced IL-23 expression, indicating that SOCS2 is involved in the regulation of TLR/NOD-dependent cytokine secretion. Finally, we demonstrate that TLR7/8-, NOD1- and NOD2-activated DCs promote CD4+ T cells to release increased amounts of IL-17. These results demonstrate that cooperative activation of DCs with NOD1 and NOD2 agonists and TLR7/8 ligands results in a synergistic release of pro-inflammatory mediators which promote the activation of IL-17-producing T cells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

IL-31 is a T cell-derived cytokine that signals via a heterodimeric receptor composed of IL-31Ra and oncostatin M receptor B. Although several studies have aimed to investigate IL-31-mediated effects, the biological functions of this cytokine are currently not well understood. IL-31 expression correlates with the expression of IL-4 and IL-13 and is associated with atopic dermatitis in humans, indicating that IL-31 is involved in Th2-mediated skin inflammation. Because dendritic cells are the main activators of Th cell responses, we posed the question of whether dendritic cells express the IL-31R complex and govern immune responses triggered by IL-31. In the current study, we report that primary human CDlc+ as well as monocyte-derived dendritic cells significantly upregulate the IL-31Ra receptor chain upon stimulation with IFN-γ. EMSAs, chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, and small interfering RNA-based silencing assays revealed that STAT1 is the main transcription factor involved in IFN-γ-dependent IL-31Ra expression. Subsequent IL-31 stimulation resulted in a dose-dependent release of proinflammatory mediators, including TNF-α, IL-6, CXCL8, CCL2, CCL5, and CCL22. Because these cytokines are crucially involved in skin inflammation, we hypothesize that IL-31-specific activation of dendritic cells may be part of a positive feedback loop driving the progression of inflammatory skin diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dendritic cells (DCs) are key players in initiating and directing the immune response. Therefore, their activation state and functional differentiation need to be tightly controlled. The activating stimuli and their signaling networks have long been an area of focus in DC research. Recent investigations have also shed light on the mechanisms of counterregulation and fine-tuning of DC functions. One class of proteins involved in these processes is the family of suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS), whose members were originally described as feedback inhibitors of cytokine-induced JAK/STAT signaling. Essential roles in DC function have been assigned to SOCS1 and SOCS3. In this article, we show that SOCS2 also is involved in DC regulation. In human and in murine DCs, SOCS2 is a highly TLR-responsive gene, which is expressed in a time-delayed fashion beginning 8 h after TLR ligation. Functionally, silencing of SOCS2 in DCs results in hyperphosphorylation of STAT3 at later time points. As a consequence, SOCS2-deficient DCs secrete increased amounts of the cytokines IL-1β and IL-10, both being transcriptional targets of STAT3. We propose a model in which SOCS2 acts as a negative regulator of TLR-induced DC activation. The delayed expression of SOCS2 provides a mechanism of late-phase counterregulation and limitation of inflammation-driving DC activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a method for simplified description of a regional power grid model aimed to deliver a grid reduction, and improve grid performance observability. The derived power grid model can be used to analyze the regional allocation of the decentralized energy generation and consumption. The expansion of wind and solar generation in the power system affects the residual load. The power balance between electricity consumption and generation was calculated and analyzed based on the temporal and spatial scales. The proposed grid clustering method is a useful approach for performance analysis in systems with a growing share of renewable generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low endotoxin recovery (LER) is a recently discovered phenomenon describing the inability of limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL)-based assays to detect lipopolysaccharide (LPS) because of a 'masking effect' caused by chelators or detergents commonly used in buffer formulations for medical products and recombinant proteins. This study investigates the masking capacities of different buffer formulations and whether masked endotoxin is biologically active. We show that both naturally occurring endotoxin as well as control standard endotoxin can be affected by LER. Furthermore, whereas masked endotoxin cannot be detected in Factor C based assays, it is still detectable in a cell-based TLR4-NF-κB-luciferase reporter gene assay. Moreover, in primary human monocytes, masked LPS induces the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and surface activation markers even at very low concentrations. We therefore conclude that masked LPS is a potent trigger of immune responses, which emphasizes the potential danger of masked LPS, as it may pose a health threat in pharmaceutical products or compromise experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of evidence suggests that the ethanol dissolved in the oil can be used as an indicator to effectively monitor the aging behavior of insulating paper. In this study, thermal aging experiments are performed on oil-paper systems with different initial moisture contents and aging temperatures, and then a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer equipped with an automatic headspace sampler is used to test the ethanol contents of the oil samples. The variations and correlations of ethanol contents with temperature, moisture and aging degree are analyzed. The experimental results show that the ethanol contents in oil had a strong correlation with temperature, and is also affected by the cellulose hydrolysis. In addition, a preliminary lifespan assessment of the oil-paper systems under laboratory conditions is conducted by establishing the relationship between ethanol and the degree of polymerization. Then, the time-temperature superposition method is applied to the relationship, and a lifespan model with any temperature is determined according to the ethanol kinetic equation. Based on the model, further observation of the fitting parameters in the case of the two moisture contents (0.8%, 2.3%), the goodness of fit reached higher values of 0.961 and 0.973, respectively. The results of this promising model can help us to a better understanding of ethanol indicator to condition assessment for the transformer paper insulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]