Emerging energy geographies : scaling and spatial divergence in European electricity generation capacity

This paper presents an evaluation of the impact of the related EU internal energy market and renewable energy policies by exploring the (sustainable) energy transition in the EUropean electricity sector and drawing on the emerging literatures on energy geographies. We use evidence aggregated from plant-level data on installed electricity generation capacity in the EUropean electric utilities sector over the period 1990–2013 to demonstrate how the unintended interaction between EU policies on energy market liberalization and climate change have led to new renewable energy entrants and more widely dispersed ownership of total generation capacity. Our empirical results suggest that six energy geography concepts enable deeper insights into the spatiality of the EUropean energy transition. Specifically, we find that territoriality and scaling are key lenses for interpreting the differentiated change processes occurring at EUropean, subregional and national levels. The EUropean energy transition is unlikely to converge onto a single trajectory any time soon, but particularly subregional approaches are argued to offer policy-makers with more spatially cognizant and effective levers

Childhood amblyopia: current management and new trends

INTRODUCTION OR BACKGROUND: With a prevalence of 2-5%, amblyopia is the most common vision deficit in children in the UK and the second most common cause of functional low vision in children in low-income countries. SOURCES OF DATA: Pubmed, Cochrane library and clinical trial registries (clinicaltrials.gov, ISRCTN, UKCRN portfolio database). AREAS OF AGREEMENT: Screening and treatment at the age of 4-5 years are cost efficient and clinically effective. Optical treatment (glasses) alone can improve visual acuity, with residual amblyopia treated by part-time occlusion or pharmacological blurring of the better-seeing eye. Treatment after the end of the conventional 'critical period' can improve vision, but in strabismic amblyopia carries a low risk of double vision. AREAS OF CONTROVERSY: It is not clear whether earlier vision screening would be cost efficient and associated with better outcomes. Optimization of treatment by individualized patching regimes or early start of occlusion, and novel binocular treatment approaches may enhance adherence to treatment, provide better outcomes and shorten treatment duration. GROWING POINTS: Binocular treatments for amblyopia. AREAS TIMELY FOR DEVELOPING RESEARCH: Impact of amblyopia on education and quality of life; optimal screening timing and tests; optimal administration of conventional treatments; development of child-friendly, effective and safe binocular treatments

Challenges in the management of pediatric blepharokeratoconjunctivis / ocular rosacea

Introduction: Childhood blepharokeratoconjunctivitis is a common lid margin inflammation with secondary ocular surface disease. Its etiology is unclear and there are no randomized controlled trials to support the superiority of any treatment option. / Areas covered: We searched the following databases; Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Ovid MEDLINE and affiliated Ovid databases, EMBASE, the ISRCTN registry, Clinical- Trials.gov and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. Due to the paucity of pediatric data we also considered information from articles focused on adults. / Expert commentary: Treatment is based on the assumption that the mechanisms of BKC and rosacea keratitis are the same: meibomian gland dysfunction, bacterial colonisation of the lid margin, delayed type hypersensitivity, Demodex folliculorum, genetic predisposition and Toll-like receptors inducing release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Generally accepted grading scales are needed. Randomized clinical trials are needed to evaluate treatment options. The effects of antibiotics, immunomodulators, osmoprotectants and essential fatty acids need further investigation

Late‐ but not early‐onset blindness impairs the development of audio‐haptic multisensory integration

Integrating different senses to reduce sensory uncertainty and increase perceptual precision can have an important compensatory function for individuals with visual impairment and blindness. However, how visual impairment and blindness impact the development of optimal multisensory integration in the remaining senses is currently unknown. Here we first examined how audio‐haptic integration develops and changes across the life span in 92 sighted (blindfolded) individuals between 7 to 70 years of age. We used a child‐ friendly task in which participants had to discriminate different object sizes by touching them and/or listening to them. We assessed whether audio‐haptic performance resulted in a reduction of perceptual uncertainty compared to auditory‐only and haptic‐only performance as predicted by maximum‐likelihood estimation model. We then compared how this ability develops in 28 children and adults with different levels of visual experience, focussing on low‐vision individuals and blind individuals that lost their sight at different ages during development. Our results show that in sighted individuals, adult‐like audio‐haptic integration develops around 13‐15 years of age, and remains stable until late adulthood. While early‐blind individuals, even at the youngest ages, integrate audio‐haptic information in an optimal fashion, late‐blind individuals do not. Optimal integration in low‐vision individuals follows a similar developmental trajectory as that of sighted individuals. These findings demonstrate that visual experience is not necessary for optimal audio‐haptic integration to emerge, but that consistency of sensory information across development is key for the functional outcome of optimal multisensory integration

Увеличение интенсификации теплообмена в подогревателях низкого давления КуАЭС

Объектом для анализа является подогреватель низкого давления регенеративной установки турбины К-500-65/3000. Целью работы является проведение анализа методов увеличения интенсификации теплообмена и проектирование подогревателя низкого давления с использованием данных методов. В ходе работы был рассмотрен один из методов модернизации подогревателя низкого давления, позволяющий увеличить эффективность его работы, и проведен тепловой, конструкторский и экономический расчеты подогревателя в сравнении с прототипом, используемым на Курской АЭС. В результате проектирования были получены более компактные размеры модернизированного подогревателя в сравнении с прототипом при сохранении его одинаковой тепловой мощности.The object for analysis is the low pressure heater of the regenerative installation of the turbine K-500-65 / 3000. The aim of the work is to analyze methods for increasing the intensification of heat transfer and designing a low-pressure heater using these methods. In the course of the work, one of the methods of upgrading the low-pressure heater was considered, which makes it possible to increase the efficiency of its operation, and thermal, design and economic calculations of the heater in comparison with the prototype used at Kursk NPP. As a result of the design, more compact sizes of the upgraded heater were obtained in comparison with the prototype, while maintaining its equal thermal power

Tablet computers versus optical aids to support education and learning in children and young people with low vision: protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial, CREATE (Children Reading with Electronic Assistance To Educate)

INTRODUCTION: Low vision and blindness adversely affect education and independence of children and young people. New 'assistive' technologies such as tablet computers can display text in enlarged font, read text out to the user, allow speech input and conversion into typed text, offer document and spreadsheet processing and give access to wide sources of information such as the internet. Research on these devices in low vision has been limited to case series. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will carry out a pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) to assess the feasibility of a full RCT of assistive technologies for children/young people with low vision. We will recruit 40 students age 10-18 years in India and the UK, whom we will randomise 1:1 into two parallel groups. The active intervention will be Apple iPads; the control arm will be the local standard low-vision aid care. Primary outcomes will be acceptance/usage, accessibility of the device and trial feasibility measures (time to recruit children, lost to follow-up). Exploratory outcomes will be validated measures of vision-related quality of life for children/young people as well as validated measures of reading and educational outcomes. In addition, we will carry out semistructured interviews with the participants and their teachers. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: NRES reference 15/NS/0068; dissemination is planned via healthcare and education sector conferences and publications, as well as via patient support organisations. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02798848; IRAS ID 179658, UCL reference 15/0570

Crowding changes appearance systematically in peripheral, amblyopic, and developing vision

Visual crowding is the disruptive effect of clutter on object recognition. Although most prominent in adult peripheral vision, crowding also disrupts foveal vision in typically developing children and those with strabismic amblyopia. Do these crowding effects share the same mechanism? Here we exploit observations that crowded errors in peripheral vision are not random: Target objects appear either averaged with the flankers (assimilation) or replaced by them (substitution). If amblyopic and developmental crowding share the same mechanism, then their errors should be similarly systematic. We tested foveal vision in children aged 3 to 8 years with typical vision or strabismic amblyopia and peripheral vision in typical adults. The perceptual effects of crowding were measured by requiring observers to adjust a reference stimulus to match the perceived orientation of a target “Vac-Man” element. When the target was surrounded by flankers that differed by ± 30°, all three groups (adults and children with typical or amblyopic vision) reported orientations between the target and flankers (assimilation). Errors were reduced with ± 90° differences but primarily matched the flanker orientation (substitution) when they did occur. A population pooling model of crowding successfully simulated this pattern of errors in all three groups. We conclude that the perceptual effects of amblyopic and developing crowding are systematic and resemble the near periphery in adults, suggesting a common underlying mechanism

Binocular Therapy for Childhood Amblyopia Improves Vision Without Breaking Interocular Suppression

PURPOSE: Amblyopia is a common developmental visual impairment characterized by a substantial difference in acuity between the two eyes. Current monocular treatments, which promote use of the affected eye by occluding or blurring the fellow eye, improve acuity, but are hindered by poor compliance. Recently developed binocular treatments can produce rapid gains in visual function, thought to be as a result of reduced interocular suppression. We set out to develop an effective home-based binocular treatment system for amblyopia that would engage high levels of compliance but that would also allow us to assess the role of suppression in children's response to binocular treatment. METHODS: Balanced binocular viewing therapy (BBV) involves daily viewing of dichoptic movies (with “visibility” matched across the two eyes) and gameplay (to monitor compliance and suppression). Twenty-two children (3–11 years) with anisometropic (n = 7; group 1) and strabismic or combined mechanism amblyopia (group 2; n = 6 and 9, respectively) completed the study. Groups 1 and 2 were treated for a maximum of 8 or 24 weeks, respectively. RESULTS: The treatment elicited high levels of compliance (on average, 89.4% ± 24.2% of daily dose in 68.23% ± 12.2% of days on treatment) and led to a mean improvement in acuity of 0.27 logMAR (SD 0.22) for the amblyopic eye. Importantly, acuity gains were not correlated with a reduction in suppression. CONCLUSIONS: BBV is a binocular treatment for amblyopia that can be self-administered at home (with remote monitoring), producing rapid and substantial benefits that cannot be solely mediated by a reduction in interocular suppression

Novel Insights in the Management of Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis (VKC): European Expert Consensus Using a Modified Nominal Group Technique

Introduction: Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a rare, severe allergic ocular disease, typically occurring in children and adolescents, that can have a significant impact on quality of life and lead to visual impairment. Long-term treatment may be necessary to tackle chronic inflammation and topical corticosteroid dependency must be minimised due to the risk of complications. There is a need for unified clinical guidance to aid the assessment, diagnosis and management of VKC across Europe. The aim of this expert panel (the EUR-VKC Group) was to provide clear guidance for primary care physicians and general ophthalmologists involved in the diagnosis and management of VKC. Methods: An expert group of seven European ophthalmologists was convened and a modified nominal group technique used to develop key recommendations on VKC management. The recommendations were subject to up to two rounds of voting using a 5-point Likert scale to ascertain consensus and the strength of each recommendation. Consensus was set at a predetermined threshold of ≥ 75.0% of experts selecting 'Strongly agree' or 'Agree'. Results: A total of 47 recommendations were developed relating to the assessment of key of VKC, guidance on who and when to refer, as well as treatment-escalation pathways, long-term follow-up, and supportive care and education. All recommendations reached consensus after two rounds. The group emphasise how timely diagnosis and treatment initiation that is appropriate to disease severity are crucial to benefit patients with VKC. Patients with signs ('red flags') indicating severe VKC, or persistent mild-to-moderate VKC that is non-responsive following 2-4 weeks of treatment, should be referred to a sub-specialist. Conclusion: The EUR-VKC Group provides recommendations on the assessment, diagnosis, management, referral and follow-up of patients with VKC. It also provides a framework to facilitate collaboration between primary care physicians, general ophthalmologists and sub-specialists to improve the outcomes for patients with VKC.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio