Pro-atherogenic, hyperlipidemic states demonstrate increases in circulating ligands for scavenger receptor CD36 (e.g. oxidized LDL (oxLDL)) and the Na/K-ATPase (e.g. cardiotonic steroids). These factors increase inflammation, oxidative stress, and progression of chronic kidney disease. We hypothesized that diet-induced obesity and hyperlipidemia potentiate a CD36/ Na/K-ATPase -dependent inflammatory paracrine loop between proximal tubule cells (PTC) and their associated macrophages and thereby facilitates development of chronic inflammation and tubulointerstitial fibrosis. ApoE−/− and apoE−/−/cd36−/− mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for up to 32 weeks and examined for physiologic and histologic changes in renal function. Compared to apoE−/−, apoE−/−/cd36−/− mice had improved creatinine clearance and blood pressure which corresponded histologically to less glomerular and tubulointerstitial macrophage accumulation, foam cell formation, oxidant stress, and interstitial fibrosis. Co-IP and a cell surface fluorescence-based crosslinking assay showed CD36 and Na/K-ATPase α-1 co-localized in PTC and macrophages, and this association was increased by oxLDL or the cardiotonic steroid ouabain. OxLDL and ouabain also increased activation of Src and Lyn in PTC. Cell-free conditioned media from PTC treated with oxLDL or ouabain increased macrophage migration. OxLDL, ouabain, or plasma isolated from HFD-fed mice stimulated reactive oxygen species production in PTC which was inhibited by N-acetyl-cysteine, apocynin or Na/K-ATPase α-1 knockdown. These data suggest that ligands generated in hyperlipidemic states activate CD36 and the Na/K-ATPase, and potentiate an inflammatory signaling loop involving PTC and their associated macrophages which facilitates the development of chronic inflammation, oxidant stress, and fibrosis underlying the renal dysfunction common to pro-atherogenic, hyperlipidemic states.

Abstract-This paper presents the design and development of a three-phase 10-kV/400-V 500-kVA electronic power transformer (EPT). The power circuit is designed in a modular fashion, i.e., the main circuit consists of many identical ac-dc-dc-ac modules (abbreviated as power modules). Each power module consists of a high-voltage power cell (HVPC), a low-voltage power cell (LVPC), a medium-frequency isolation transformer (MFIT), and a filter. The corresponding control and protection system is developed. A special three-stage start-up strategy is designed to shorten the start-up time and reduce the start-up inrush current. The negative-sequence current compensation is introduced in the input stage to handle the unbalanced loads. To keep the dc-link voltages balanced, an individual dc voltage balancing controller based on regulating the output power of each parallel LVPC is proposed. The detailed control hardware design and software implementation are discussed. The functions of this 10-kV EPT prototype are verified through the laboratory and field tests. The results are shown in the paper. Currently, the prototype is operating in the industrial power grid. Index Terms-Distributionsystem, electronic power transformer (EPT), smart grid, solid state transformer (SST), Industrial prototype Dan Wang (M'07) received the B.S., M.S. and Ph. D. degrees from the in 2010, where he is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree. His research interest is the application of power electronic technology in power systems. Chengxiong Mao (M'93-SM'08) received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the with the support of Humboldt Foundation. He is currently a Professor with HUST. His fields of interest are power system operation and control, the excitation control of synchronous generator and applications of high power electronic technology to power system. Jiming Lu received the B.S. degree from the In 1984, he joined the faculty of HUST. He is currently a professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, HUST. His research is focused on the excitation control based on microcomputer. Yuping Duan received the B.S. degree from the He is currently a Senior Engineer with Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corporation (WISCO), Wuhan, China, and he engages in the operation and management of the distribution network. His research is focused on grid operation and reactive power optimization. Jun Qiu received the M.S. degree from Wuhan University of Hydraulic and Electrical Engineering, Wuhan, China, in 1992.He is currently a Senior Engineer with Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corporation (WISCO), Wuhan, China, and his research interests include the grid operation and the safety management of the electrical system. Huihong Cai received the M.S. degree from the and his research interests include the grid operation and reactive power optimization.

DC fault protection is the key technique for the development of the DC distribution and transmission system. This paper analyzes the transient characteristics of DC faults in a modular multilevel converter (MMC) based DC system combining with the numerical method. Meanwhile, lots of simulation tests based on MATLAB/Simulink are carried out to verify the correctness of the theoretical analysis. Finally, the technological difficulties of and requirements for the protection and isolation are discussed to provide the theoretical foundation for the design of dc fault protection strategy.

Endogenous ANXA1 expression at the DRG level is involved in CFA-induced inflammatory pain, and i.t. ANXA1 20 µg µl(-1) produces its anti-nociceptive effect through FPR2/ALX.