Maine Distributed Solar Valuation Study

During its 2014 session, the Maine Legislature enacted an Act to Support Solar Energy Development in Maine. P.L Chapter 562 (April 24, 2014) (codified at 35‐A M.R.S. §§ 3471‐3473) (“Act”). Section 1 of the Act contains the Legislative finding that it is in the public interest is to develop renewable energy resources, including solar energy, in a manner that protects and improves the health and well‐being of the citizens and natural environment of the State while also providing economic benefits to communities, ratepayers and the overall economy of the State. Section 2 of the Act requires the Public Utilities Commission (Commission) to determine the value of distributed solar energy generation in the State, evaluate implementation options, and to deliver a report to the Legislature. To support this work, the Commission engaged a project team comprising Clean Power Research (Napa, California), Sustainable Energy Advantage (Framingham, Massachusetts), Pace Energy and Climate Center at the Pace Law School (White Plains, New York), and Dr. Richard Perez (Albany, New York). Under the project, the team developed the methodology under a Commission‐run stakeholder review process, conducted a valuation on distributed solar for three utility territories, and developed a summary of implementation options for increasing deployment of distributed solar generation in the State. The report includes three volumes which accompany this Executive Summary: Volume I Methodology; Volume II Valuation Results; Volume III Implementation Options

China’s institutional environment for entrepreneurship

From once prohibited to now promoted, entrepreneurship in China has taken off creating impressive success stories and contributing to economic growth and societal development. Considerable and relatively rapid transformations of the institutional environment have enabled the emergence of entrepreneurial activities—yet entrepreneurs still face challenges and barriers rooted in formal and informal institutions. Likewise, the distinctiveness of informal institutions in China determines the modalities of doing business. This chapter describes the development of the institutional environment for entrepreneurs in China, illustrates remaining challenges with formal and informal institutions, and discusses the potential impact of entrepreneurs on institutions and on their development

Addition of rituximab to fludarabine and cyclophosphamide in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial

Background On the basis of promising results that were reported in several phase 2 trials, we investigated whether the addition of the monoclonal antibody rituximab to first-line chemotherapy with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide would improve the outcome of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Methods Treatment-naive, physically fit patients (aged 30-81 years) with CD20-positive chronic lymphocytic leukaemia were randomly assigned in a one-to-one ratio to receive six courses of intravenous fludarabine (25 mg/m(2) per day) and cyclophosphamide (250 mg/m(2) per day) for the first 3 days of each 28-day treatment course with or without rituximab (375 mg/m(2) on day 0 of first course, and 500 mg/m(2) on day 1 of second to sixth courses) in 190 centres in 11 countries. Investigators and patients were not masked to the computer-generated treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Analysis was by intention to treat. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00281918. Findings 408 patients were assigned to fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (chemoimmunotherapy group) and 409 to fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (chemotherapy group); all patients were analysed. At 3 years after randomisation, 65% of patients in the chemoimmunotherapy group were free of progression compared with 45% in the chemotherapy group (hazard ratio 0.56 [95% CI 0.46-0.69], p<0.0001); 87% were alive versus 83%, respectively (0.67 [0.48-0.92]; p=0.01). Chemoimmunotherapy was more frequently associated with grade 3 and 4 neutropenia (136 [34%] of 404 vs 83 [21%] of 396; p<0.0001) and leucocytopenia (97 [24%] vs 48 [12%]; p<0.0001). Other side-effects, including severe infections, were not increased. There were eight (2%) treatment-related deaths in the chemoimmunotherapy group compared with ten (3%) in the chemotherapy group. Interpretation Chemoimmunotherapy with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab improves progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Moreover, the results suggest that the choice of a specific first-line treatment changes the natural course of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia