How to measure progress of energy transition?

Celem artykułu jest przybliżenie koncepcji pomiaru postępu transformacji energetycznej z wykorzystaniem wskaźników kompozytowych. W pierwszej części pracy przedstawiono sposób konstrukcji i opisano własności dwóch popularnych kompozytowych wskaźników transformacji energetycznej publikowanych odpowiednio przez Światowe Forum Ekonomiczne (indeks ETI) i Światową Radę Energetyczną (indeks WETI). W drugiej części pracy przedstawiono autorską koncepcję wyznaczania zmodyfikowanego indeksu ETI (indeks METI) wykorzystującą zaawansowany aparat statystyczny zapewniający minimalizację wpływu uznaniowości w procesie konstrukcji wskaźnika kompozytowego. Proponowaną metodykę METI zastosowano do „przeliczenia” wyników indeksu ETI dla roku 2020. Uzyskane rezultaty znacznie różnią się od „oryginalnego” rankingu ETI, w szczególności co do pozycji Polski. W ostatniej części artykułu omówiono możliwe kierunki dalszych prac i zarysowano główne rekomendacje w zakresie możliwości stosowania zmodyfikowanych wskaźników kompozytowych do oceny postępu transformacji energetycznej w Polsce.The aim of this paper is to outline the concept of using composite indicators to evaluate the progress of energy transition. The first part of the study presents the construction and properties of two popular composite energy transition indicators published by the World Economic Forum (the ETI index) and the World Energy Council (the WETI index). The second part of the paper is aimed at presenting the novel methodology of determining a particular variant of modified ETI index – the METI index – that is based on advanced statistical tools which minimize the negative impact of arbitral setting of weights in the process of constructing the composite indicators. The new methodology was used to obtain the METI country ranking for the year 2000. In comparison to the original index, the METI2020 turned out to be significantly different, particularly with respect to the position of Poland. The last part of the study depicts possible directions of future research and outlines the main recommendations regarding the possibility of using the modified composite indicators to assess the progress of the energy transition in Poland

Changes in Crisis Management PR and Digital PR Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article aims to show to what extent and in which areas the COVID-19 pandemic changed the services available on the public relations (PR) market. In particular, the paper focuses on crisis management and digital PR. The article was based on data obtained from 242 PR specialists. The research was carried out using the CAWI technique in the period April-May 2020, during the largest lockdown restrictions that were recorded in Poland in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. The collected data enabled the verification of a hypotheses stating that during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland, the role of those two PR task spheres was strengthened

Multiplexed Immunobead-Based Cytokine Profiling in patients with ovarian cancer

Due to late diagnosis, ovarian cancer is the most deadly gynecologic malignancy. Inflammation is one of the risk factors of ovarian cancer and the inflammatory response implicates all stages of tumorigenesis. The purpose of this study was to analyze the concentration of molecules, which can take part in malignant processes. We analyzed patients with ovarian cancer, with endometriosis and healthy controls. Thirty-seven analytes were measured in serum using BioPlex Pro Human Inflammation Panel. We were able to detect 28 of the proteins among the studied groups. We found a significant increase in 22 of the tested molecules (BAFF, Chitinase3-like 1, IFN-alpha2, IFN-beta, IFN-gamma, IFN-lambda2, IFN-lambda1, gp130, IL-2, IL-12 (p40), IL-11, IL-32, IL-35, MMP3, Osteocalcin, Pantraxin-3, sCD163, TNFRSF8, sIL-6Ralpha, STNF-R1, STNF-R2, and TSLP) in the ovarian cancer group in comparison to the healthy controls. Two of them (IL-20, MMP1) did not show significant differences between groups. Moreover, we identified decreased concentrations of APRIL and osteopontin in ovarian cancer vs. healthy controls. While this study is a preliminary report, we hope this will encourage a further use of multiplex analysis in ovarian cancer biomarker research

Spectroscopic Methods Used in Implant Material Studies

It is recognized that interactions between most materials are governed by their surface properties and manifest themselves at the interface formed between them. To gain more insight into this thin layer, several methods have been deployed. Among them, spectroscopic methods have been thoroughly evaluated. Due to their exceptional sensitivity, data acquisition speed, and broad material tolerance they have been proven to be invaluable tools for surface analysis, used by scientists in many fields, for example, implant studies. Today, in modern medicine the use of implants is considered standard practice. The past two decades of constant development has established the importance of implants in dentistry, orthopedics, as well as extended their applications to other areas such as aesthetic medicine. Fundamental to the success of implants is the knowledge of the biological processes involved in interactions between an implant and its host tissue, which are directly connected to the type of implant material and its surface properties. This review aims to demonstrate the broad applications of spectroscopic methods in implant material studies, particularly discussing hard implants, surface composition studies, and surface–cell interactions

Design of short peptides to block BTLA/HVEM interactions for promoting anticancer T-cell responses

International audienceAntibody based immune-checkpoint blockade therapy is a major breakthrough in oncology, leading to clinical benefit for cancer patients. Among the growing family of inhibitory receptors, the B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA), which interacts with herpes virus entry mediator (HVEM), is a promising target for immunotherapy. Indeed, BTLA inhibits T-cell proliferation and cytokine production. The crystal structure of the BTLA/HVEM complex has shown that the HVEM(26-38) fragment is directly involved in protein binding. We designed and analyzed the capacity of several analogs of this fragment to block the ligation between BTLA and HVEM, using competitive ELISA and cellular assay. We found that the HVEM(23-39) peptide can block BTLA/HVEM ligation. However, the blocking ability was due to the Cys encompassed in this peptide and that even free cysteine targeted the BTLA protein and blocked its interaction with HVEM. These data highlight a Cys-related artefact in vitro, which should be taken in consideration for future development of BTLA/HVEM blocking compounds

HVEM(23–39) peptide partially blocks the BTLA/HVEM binding.

<p>Inhibition of the BTLA/HVEM interaction was assessed by ELISA (at least two experiments in triplicate). The graph shows percentages of inhibition of the BTLA/HVEM ligation, relative to the negative control (PBS), in the presence of different concentrations (5, 1 and 0.1 mg/mL) of HVEM(23–39) and corresponding scrambled peptide (Ctrl peptide). The gray and dotted back lines correspond to the percentages of inhibition observed with an anti-BTLA blocking antibody (Mean +/-SEM). *: p< 0.05 following non-parametric One-way ANOVA and Dunn’s post-test.</p