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Although further research is necessary, this thesis has revealed some indicators that can help to answer the question of what the role of the socio-military organizations in the pursuit of [...]

The introduction of electric vehicles and photovoltaics is changing the residential electricity consumption. Distribution network operators (DNO) are investing in an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) to enable cost reduction through smart grid applications. The DNO also benefits from the additional measurement data the AMI gives for the network planning process. The availability of AMI data can be limited by the cost of communication and by privacy concerns. To determine the social welfare of an AMI, the economic gains should be estimated. For the planning of the low voltage (LV) network, a method for determining the value of an AMI still needs to be developed. Therefore, a planning methodology which allows various levels of measurement data availability has been developed. By applying this approach the value of different levels of AMI from an LV-network planning perspective can be determined. To illustrated the application of this approach a case study for the LV-network of a Dutch DNO is performed. The results show that an increase in measurement data can lead to €49-254 lower LV-network reinforcement costs. A detailed analysis of the results shows that already 50% of the possible cost reduction can be achieved if only 65% of the households have AMI data available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the residential sector, with the introduction of electric vehicles and photovoltaics, developments are taking place which have an impact on residential load curves. In order to assess the integration of these new types of technologies on both the generation and load side, as well as to develop mitigation strategies like demand side management, detailed information is required about the load curve of a household. To gain knowledge about this load curve a residential load model is developed based on publicly available data. The model utilises a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to model the occupancy in a household based on time use surveys, which together with weather variables, neighbourhood characteristics and behavioural data are used to model the switching pattern of appliances. The modelling approach described in this paper is applied for the situation in the Netherlands. The resulting load curve probability distributions are validated with smart meter measurements for 100 Dutch households for a week. The validation shows that the model presented in this paper can be employed for further studies on demand side management approaches and integration issues of new appliances in distribution grids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism explaining the persistence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 variants with multiple protease inhibitor (PI)-resistance mutations in the absence of PI therapy. METHODS: Longitudinal genotypic analyses were performed on sequential samples obtained from 2 HIV-1-infected patients who had stopped PI therapy for 4 years. Replication capacity (RC) was determined using recombinant viruses. Subsequently, the effect that changing individual protease mutations back to wild type has on RC was analyzed. RESULTS: We observed prolonged persistence (up to 4 years) of viruses with multiple protease mutations after PI therapy was stopped, despite the fact that the RC of the viruses was severely reduced. Forcing the virus to evolve toward wild type by changing individual protease mutations to wild type was unsuccessful, because all variants displayed a decreased RC in comparison with that of their predecessors. CONCLUSIONS: We propose compensatory fixation as a mechanism for the in vivo persistence of variants with multiple PI-resistance mutations in the absence of PI therapy. Viruses with multiple PI mutations have (partially) compensated for the initial loss in RC. Therefore, reversion of a single mutation causes a (further) reduction in RC and, as a consequence, the route to wild type is blocked. Copyright © 2007 Infectious Diseases Society of America [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Airway infection with influenza virus induces local expression of the tryptophan-catabolizing enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), which has been shown to enhance inflammatory mediator responses in vitro. Because secondary pneumococcal infections occurring shortly after recovery from influenza are associated with enhanced inflammatory responses, we hypothesized that IDO activity contributes to the enhanced response to bacterial challenges in mice previously infected with influenza virus. METHODS: On day 14 after influenza virus infection (with strain A/PR/8/34), C57Bl/6 mice were intranasally inoculated with 1 x 10(4) colony-forming units of S. pneumoniae (serotype 3). Matrix-driven delivery pellets that contained 70 mg of the IDO inhibitor 1-methyl-DL-tryptophan (MeTrp) released over a period of 7 days were subcutaneously implanted 48 h before pneumococcal infection. RESULTS: MeTrp treatment resulted in a 20-fold reduction in pneumococcal outgrowth 48 h after bacterial inoculation. Remarkably, pulmonary levels of interleukin-10 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were significantly reduced in mice treated with MeTrp. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that IDO expression during influenza virus infection alters the inflammatory response and facilitates the outgrowth of pneumococci during secondary bacterial pneumonia. Copyright © 2006 Infectious Diseases Society of America [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV persists in latently infected cells of patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART). This persistent proviral DNA reservoir is an important predictor of viral rebound upon therapy failure or interruption and forms a major obstacle towards cure. Accurate quantification of the low levels of persisting HIV DNA may aid patient monitoring and cure research. Digital PCR is a promising tool that enables direct absolute quantification with high sensitivity. With recent technological advances, several platforms are available to implement digital PCR in a clinical setting. Here, we compared two digital PCR platforms, the Quantstudio 3D (Life Technologies) and the QX100 (Bio-Rad) with a semi-nested qPCR on serial HIV DNA dilutions and DNA isolated from PBMCs of ART-suppressed patients. All three methods were able to detect target to the lowest levels of 2.5 HIV DNA copies. The QX100 excelled in having the least bias and highest precision, efficiency and quantitative linearity. Patient sample quantifications by the QX100 and semi-nested qPCR were highly agreeable by Bland-Altman analysis (0.01 ± 0.32 log10). Due to the observation of false-positive signals with current digital PCR platforms however, semi-nested qPCR may still be preferred in a setup of low quantity detection to discriminate between presence or absence of HIV DNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]