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Optimal power flow (OPF) analysis enables the in-depth study and examination of islanded microgrid design and operation. The development of the analysis framework, including modeling, formulating, and selecting effective OPF solvers, however, is a nontrivial task. As a result, this paper presents a tutorial on an OPF modeling framework, offering a mathematical model that can be readily implemented using established open-source software tools such as OpenDSS, Pyomo, and IPOPT. The framework is versatile, capable of representing single-phase and unbalanced three-phase islanded microgrids. Various inverter models, such as those of grid forming and following equipped with their operating characteristics, can be incorporated. The efficacy of the proposed framework is demonstrated in studying the OPF of single-phase and three-phase microgrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium controls an array of key events in keratinocytes and epidermis: localized changes in Ca(2+) concentrations and their regulation are therefore especially important to assess when observing epidermal barrier homeostasis and repair, neonatal barrier establishment, in differentiation, signaling, cell adhesion, and in various pathological states. Yet, tissue- and cellular Ca(2+) concentrations in physiologic and diseased states are only partially known, and difficult to measure. Prior observations on the Ca(2+) distribution in skin were based on Ca(2+) precipitation followed by electron microscopy, or proton-induced X-ray emission. Neither cellular and/or subcellular localization could be determined through these approaches. In cells in vitro, fluorescent dyes have been used extensively for ratiometric measurements of static and dynamic Ca(2+) concentrations, also assessing organelle Ca(2+) concentrations. For lack of better methods, these findings together build the basis for the current view of the role of Ca(2+) in epidermis, their limitations notwithstanding. Here we report a method using Calcium Green 5N as the calcium sensor and the phasor-plot approach to separate raw lifetime components. Thus, fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) enables us to quantitatively assess and visualize dynamic changes of Ca(2+) at light-microscopic resolution in ex vivo biopsies of unfixed epidermis, in close to in vivo conditions. Comparing undisturbed epidermis with epidermis following a barrier insult revealed major shifts, and more importantly, a mobilization of high amounts of Ca(2+) shortly following barrier disruption, from intracellular stores. These results partially contradict the conventional view, where barrier insults abrogate a Ca(2+) gradient towards the stratum granulosum. Ca(2+) FLIM overcomes prior limitations in the observation of epidermal Ca(2+) dynamics, and will allow further insights into basic epidermal physiology.

We characterized several cellular and structural features of early stage Type II/III atherosclerotic plaques in an established model of atherosclerosis-the ApoE-deficient mouse-by using a multimodal, coregistered imaging system that integrates three nonlinear optical microscopy (NLOM) contrast mechanisms: coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS), second harmonic generation (SHG), and two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF). Specifically, the infiltration of lipid-rich macrophages and the structural organization of collagen and elastin fibers were visualized by CARS, SHG, and TPEF, respectively, in thick tissue specimens without the use of exogenous labels or dyes. Label-free CARS imaging of macrophage accumulation was confirmed by histopathology using CD68 staining. A high-fat, high-cholesterol Western diet resulted in an approximate 2-fold increase in intimal plaque area, defined by CARS signals of lipid-rich macrophages. Additionally, analysis of collagen distribution within lipid-rich plaque regions revealed nearly a 4-fold decrease in the Western diet-fed mice, suggesting NLOM sensitivity to increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and decreased smooth muscle cell (SMC) accumulation. These imaging results provide significant insight into the structure and composition of early stage Type II/III plaque during formation and allow for quantitative measurements of the impact of diet and other factors on critical plaque and arterial wall features.

In dietary potassium deficiency there is a decrease in the transport activity of the type IIa sodium/phosphate cotransporter protein (NaPi) despite an increase in its apical membrane abundance. This novel posttranslational regulation of NaPi activity is mediated by the increased glycosphingolipid content of the potassium-deficient apical membrane. However, the mechanisms by which these lipids modulate NaPi activity have not been determined. We determined if in potassium deficiency NaPi is increasingly partitioned in cholesterol-, sphingomyelin-, and glycosphingolipid-enriched microdomains of the apical membrane and if the increased presence of NaPi in these microdomains modulates its activity. By using a detergent-free density gradient flotation technique, we found that 80% of the apical membrane NaPi partitions into the low density cholesterol-, sphingomyelin-, and GM1-enriched fractions characterized as "lipid raft" fractions. In potassium deficiency, a higher proportion of NaPi was localized in the lipid raft fractions. By combining fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and photon counting histogram methods for control and potassium-deficient apical membranes reconstituted into giant unilamellar vesicles, we showed a 2-fold decrease in lateral diffusion of NaPi protein and a greater than 2-fold increase in size of protein aggregates/clusters in potassium deficiency. Our results indicate that NaPi protein is localized in membrane microdomains, that in potassium deficiency a larger proportion of NaPi protein is present in these microdomains, and that NaPi lateral diffusion is slowed down and NaPi aggregation/clustering is increased in potassium deficiency, both of which could be associated with the decreased Na/Pi cotransport activity in potassium deficiency.

Two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy allows in vivo high-resolution imaging of human skin structure and biochemistry with a penetration depth over 100 microm. The major damage mechanism during two-photon skin imaging is associated with the formation of cavitation at the epidermal-dermal junction, which results in thermal mechanical damage of the tissue. In this report, we verify that this damage mechanism is of thermal origin and is associated with one-photon absorption of infrared excitation light by melanin granules present in the epidermal-dermal junction. The thermal mechanical damage threshold for selected Caucasian skin specimens from a skin bank as a function of laser pulse energy and repetition rate has been determined. The experimentally established thermal mechanical damage threshold is consistent with a simple heat diffusion model for skin under femtosecond pulse laser illumination. Minimizing thermal mechanical damage is vital for the potential use of two-photon imaging in noninvasive optical biopsy of human skin in vivo. We describe a technique to mitigate specimen thermal mechanical damage based on the use of a laser pulse picker that reduces the laser repetition rate by selecting a fraction of pulses from a laser pulse train. Since the laser pulse picker decreases laser average power while maintaining laser pulse peak power, thermal mechanical damage can be minimized while two-photon fluorescence excitation efficiency is maximized.

Measurements of ionic concentrations in skin have traditionally been performed with an array of methods which either did not reveal detailed localization information, or only provided qualitative, not quantitative information. FLIM combines a number of advantages into a method ideally suited to visualize concentrations of ions such as FT in intact, unperturbed epidermis and stratum corneum (SC). Fluorescence lifetime is dye concentration- independent, the method requires only low light intensities and is therefore not prone to photobleaching or phototoxic artifacts, and because multiphoton lasers of IR wavelength are used, light penetrates deep into intact tissue. The standard method to measure SC pH is the flat pH electrode, which provides reliable information only about surface pH changes, without further vertical or subcellular spatial resolution; i.e., specific microdomains such as the corneocyte interstices are not resolved, and the deeper SC is inaccessible without resorting to inherently disruptive stripping methods. Furthermore, the concept of a gradient of pH through the SC stems from such stripping experiments, but other confirmation for this concept is lacking. Our investigations into the SC pH distribution so far have revealed the crucial role of the Sodium/Hydrogen Antiporter NHE1 in generation of SC acidity, the colocalization of enzymatic lipid processing activity in the SC with acidic domains of the SC, and the timing and localization of emerging acidity in the SC of newborns. Together, these results have led to an improved understanding of the SC pH, its distribution, origin, and regulation. Future uses for this method include measurements of other ions important for epidermal processes, such as Ca2+, and a quantitative approach to topical drug penetration.

Fluorescence lifetime images are obtained with the laser scanning microscope using two methods: the time-correlated single-photon counting method and the frequency-domain method. In the same microscope system, we implement both methods. We perform a comparison of the performance of the two approaches in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the speed of data acquisition. While in our practical implementation the time-correlated single-photon counting technique provides a better SNR for low-intensity images, the frequency-domain method is faster and provides less distortion for bright samples.

Although basal permeability barrier function is established at birth, the higher risk for infections, dermatitis, and percutaneous absorption of toxic agents may indicate incomplete permeability barrier maturation in the early neonatal period. Since stratum corneum (SC) acidification in adults is required for normal permeability barrier homeostasis, and lipid processing occurs via acidic pH dependent enzymes, we hypothesized that, in parallel with the less acidic surface pH, newborn SC would exhibit signs of incomplete barrier formation. Fluorescence lifetime imaging reveals that neonatal rat SC acidification first becomes evident by postnatal day 3, in extracellular "microdomains" at the SC- stratum granulosum (SG) interface, where pH-sensitive lipid processing is known to occur. This localized acidification correlated temporally with efficient processing of secreted lamellar body contents to mature extracellular lamellar bilayers. Since expression of the key acidifying mechanism NHE1 is maximal just prior to birth, and gradually declines over the first postnatal week, suboptimal SC acidification at birth cannot be attributed to insufficient NHE1 expression, but could instead reflect reduced NHE1 activity. Expression of the key lipid processing enzyme, beta-glucocerebrosidase (beta-GlcCer'ase), develops similar to NHE1, excluding a lack of beta-GlcCer'ase protein as rate limiting for efficient lipid processing. These results define a postnatal development consisting of initial acidification in the lower SC followed by outward progression, which is accompanied by formation of mature extracellular lamellar membranes. Thus, full barrier competence appears to require the extension of acidification in microdomains from the SC/SG interface outward toward the skin surface in the immediate postnatal period.

The outermost epidermal layer, the stratum corneum (SC), exhibits an acidic surface pH, whereas the pH at its base approaches neutrality. NHE1 is the only Na(+)/H(+) antiporter isoform in keratinocytes and epidermis, and has been shown to regulate intracellular pH. We now demonstrate a novel function for NHE1, as we find that it also controls acidification of extracellular "microdomains" in the SC that are essential for activation of pH-sensitive enzymes and the formation of the epidermal permeability barrier. NHE1 expression in epidermis is most pronounced in granular cell layers, and although the surface pH of NHE1 knockout mice is only slightly more alkaline than normal using conventional pH measurements, a more sensitive method, fluorescence lifetime imaging, demonstrates that the acidic intercellular domains at the surface and of the lower SC disappear in NHE1 -/- animals. Fluorescence lifetime imaging studies also reveal that SC acidification does not occur through a uniform gradient, but through the progressive accumulation of acidic microdomains. These findings not only visualize the spatial distribution of the SC pH gradient, but also demonstrate a role for NHE1 in the generation of acidic extracellular domains of the lower SC, thus providing the acidification of deep SC interstices necessary for lipid processing and barrier homeostasis.

Two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging is used to identify microdomains (1-25 microm) of two distinct pH values within the uppermost layer of the epidermis (stratum corneum). The fluorophore used is 2',7'-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5-(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF), whose lifetime tau (pH 4.5, tau = 2.75 ns; pH 8.5, tau = 3.90 ns) is pH dependent over the pH range of the stratum corneum (pH 4.5 to pH 7.2). Hairless mice (SKH1-hrBR) are used as a model for human skin. Images (< or =50 microm x 50 microm) are acquired every 1.7 microm from the stratum corneum surface to the first viable layer (stratum granulosum). Acidic microdomains (average pH 6.0) of variable size (~1 microm in diameter with variable length) are detected within the extracellular matrix of the stratum corneum, whereas the intracellular space of the corneocytes in mid-stratum corneum (25 microm diameter) approaches neutrality (average pH 7.0). The surface is acidic. The average pH of the stratum corneum increases with depth because of a decrease in the ratio of acidic to neutral regions within the stratum corneum. The data definitively show that the stratum corneum acid mantle results from the presence of aqueous acidic pockets within the lipid-rich extracellular matrix.

Fluorescent probes have found widespread use in biomedical sciences. Particularly since they can be targeted to cellular compartments and further more can report on the properties of their environment such as calcium concentration. Near infrared ultrafast lasers find increasing use for fluorescence applications since femtosecond pulses with a few milliwatts of average power are sufficient to induce significant two photon fluorescence from the probe when focussed into typical samples. The nonlinear optical excitation process allows sectioned imaging of 3-D samples without use of a confocal pinhole. In this paper we describe two aspects of multiphoton microscopy: the two-photon excitation cross section and the fluorescence lifetime. Of interest is the wavelength characterization of two-photon excitation cross-sections of fluorescence probes. We slowly modulate (∼500Hz) the intensity envelope of the input laser pulse train and analyze the emission signal in terms of the amplitude and phase of the harmonics of this modulation. In effect this is a power study that allows separation of different order effects. An application of ultrafast laser excitation that exploits many of the features outlined above is measurement of pH gradients in the skin. This is essential to skin barrier function and disruption of the gradient is though to be a indicating factor in many skin diseases. A probe for which the fluorescence lifetime varies with pH is used. We thus are able to tackle problems associated with inhomogeneous labeling. We have developed a two-photon laser-scanning lifetime microscope and present pH maps of skin obtained with this instrument. © 2002 SPIE · 0277-786X/02/$15.00.

Multiphoton fluorescence microscopy has now become a relatively common tool among biophysicists and biologists. The intrinsic sectioning achievable by multiphoton excitation provides a simple means to excite a small volume inside cells and tissues. Multiphoton microscopes have a simplified optical path in the emission side due to the lack of an emission pinhole, which is necessary with normal confocal microscopes. This article illustrates examples in which this advantage in the simplified optics is exploited to achieve a new type of measurements. First, dual-emission wavelength measurements are used to identify regions of different phase domains in giant vesicles and to perform fluctuation experiments at specific locations in the membrane. Second, we show how dual-wavelength measurements are used in conjunction with scanning fluctuation analysis to measure the changes in the geometry of the domains and the incipient formation of gel domains when the temperature of the giant vesicles is gradually lowered.

The transformation of governance in Westminster democracies is well documented. However, one aspect of their change that has not received much attention is the creation and publication of cabinet rulebooks. The few studies of cabinet rulebooks have focused on their potential constitutional implications, leaving unclear how their emergence fits within the broader development of Westminster governance. We address this gap in the literature by examining cabinet rulebooks in five Westminster democracies: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. We analyze their features and emergence, and then set out a framework to analyze their potential effects on cabinet dynamics. We find that the appearance of cabinet rulebooks can be tied to several forces of change in Westminster systems, but most especially the growth of government. Furthermore, we find that these rulebooks project an account of prime ministerial power that is favorable to the prime minister. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]