Design of Lupus Impact Tracker (LIT) Validation Study in Five European Clinical Practice Settings

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A prospective observational study of developmental outcomes in survivors of neonatal hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy in South Africa

Background. Neonatal hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (NHIE) is an important cause of long-term handicap in survivors. There is limited information on the burden of handicap from NHIE in sub-Saharan Africa.Objectives. To determine the developmental outcomes in survivors of NHIE in South Africa (SA).Methods. In this prospective observational study, the developmental outcomes in 84 infants who had survived hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (the NHIE group) were compared with those in 64 unaffected infants (the control group). The Bayley Scales of Infant Development version III were used for assessment of developmental outcomes.Results. Significant differences were found between the developmental outcomes of the two groups, with a significantly lower composite language score and higher proportions with language, motor and cognitive developmental delays in the NHIE group than in the control group. Cerebral palsy (CP) was present in 13 of the infants with NHIE (15.5%) and none in the control group (p<0.001). CP was associated with developmental delay, and also with the severity of NHIE. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) was administered in 58.3% of the study group, but although it was associated with lower rates of CP and developmental delay than in the group without TH, the only significant difference was for delay on the language subscale.Conclusions. Survivors of NHIE in SA are at risk of poor developmental outcomes.

Electroreduction of CO2/CO to C2 products: process modeling, downstream separation, system integration, and economic analysis.

Direct electrochemical reduction of CO2 to C2 products such as ethylene is more efficient in alkaline media, but it suffers from parasitic loss of reactants due to (bi)carbonate formation. A two-step process where the CO2 is first electrochemically reduced to CO and subsequently converted to desired C2 products has the potential to overcome the limitations posed by direct CO2 electroreduction. In this study, we investigated the technical and economic feasibility of the direct and indirect CO2 conversion routes to C2 products. For the indirect route, CO2 to CO conversion in a high temperature solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) or a low temperature electrolyzer has been considered. The product distribution, conversion, selectivities, current densities, and cell potentials are different for both CO2 conversion routes, which affects the downstream processing and the economics. A detailed process design and techno-economic analysis of both CO2 conversion pathways are presented, which includes CO2 capture, CO2 (and CO) conversion, CO2 (and CO) recycling, and product separation. Our economic analysis shows that both conversion routes are not profitable under the base case scenario, but the economics can be improved significantly by reducing the cell voltage, the capital cost of the electrolyzers, and the electricity price. For both routes, a cell voltage of 2.5 V, a capital cost of $10,000/m2, and an electricity price of <$20/MWh will yield a positive net present value and payback times of less than 15 years. Overall, the high temperature (SOEC-based) two-step conversion process has a greater potential for scale-up than the direct electrochemical conversion route. Strategies for integrating the electrochemical CO2/CO conversion process into the existing gas and oil infrastructure are outlined. Current barriers for industrialization of CO2 electrolyzers and possible solutions are discussed as well

Process simulation and analysis of carbon capture with an aqueous mixture of ionic liquid and monoethanolamine solvent

This study investigated the prospect of using aqueous mixture of 1-butylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate ([Bpy][BF4]) ionic liquid (IL) and monoethanolamine (MEA) as solvent in post-combustion CO2 capture (PCC) process. This is done by analysis of the process through modelling and simulation. In literature, reported PCC models with a mixture of IL and MEA solvent were developed using equilibrium-based mass transfer approach. In contrast, the model in this study is developed using rate-based mass transfer approach in Aspen Plus®. From the results, the mixed aqueous solvent with 5–30 wt% IL and 30 wt% MEA showed 7%–9% and 12%–27% less specific regeneration energy and solvent circulation rate respectively compared to commonly used 30 wt% MEA solvent. It is concluded that the IL concentration (wt%) in the solvent blend have significant impact on specific regeneration energy and solvent circulation rate. This study is a starting point for further research on technical and economic analysis of PCC process with aqueous blend of IL and MEA as solvent