Resource assessment for offshore green hydrogen production

Hydrogen is a low carbon energy carrier with the ability to reduce emissions from a variety of sectors such as heating, transportation, heavy industry and power generation. With renewable energy expanding further offshore, there is potential to repurpose existing oil and gas infrastructure for transporting energy to land in the form of molecules, such as hydrogen, rather than building expensive new cables to connect wind farms to an already constrained grid. Hydrogen can help to balance intermittent renewable energy supply as well as store the excess power that would otherwise be curtailed. Areas around Scotland have been determined, which match offshore renewable and oil and gas areas of interest that could be used to produce green hydrogen offshore. A resource assessment was carried out on one of the identified sites to estimate approximate annual energy yield available for hydrogen production. The average annual energy yield (P50) was 5576.3 GWh/year with the capacity factor for the ‘grid-less’ wind farm of 42.4%. Four different scenarios were used in order to analyse the impact of the availability of the electrolyser on the capacity factor for ‘grid-less’ wind farms. Capacity factor can vary up to 4.1%, which translates to 27.7 tons of hydrogen lost per day. This could power up to 155 trains, 2,770 buses or provide a full tank for up to 5,540 cars contributing towards the 2045 net zero carbon target in Scotland

Methods for economic evaluation of a factorial-design cluster randomised controlled trial of a nutrition supplement and an exercise programme among healthy older people living in Santiago, Chile: the CENEX study

BACKGROUND: In an effort to promote healthy ageing and preserve health and function, the government of Chile has formulated a package of actions into the Programme for Complementary Food in Older People (Programa de Alimentación Complementaria para el Adulto Mayor - PACAM). The CENEX study was designed to evaluate the impact, cost and cost-effectiveness of the PACAM and a specially designed exercise programme on pneumonia incidence, walking capacity and body mass index in healthy older people living in low- to medium-socio-economic status areas of Santiago. The purpose of this paper is to describe in detail the methods that will be used to estimate the incremental costs and cost-effectiveness of the interventions. METHODS AND DESIGN: The base-case analysis will adopt a societal perspective, including the direct medical and non-medical costs borne by the government and patients. The cost of the interventions will be calculated by the ingredients approach, in which the total quantities of goods and services actually employed in applying the interventions will be estimated, and multiplied by their respective unit prices. Relevant information on costs of interventions will be obtained mainly from administrative records. The costs borne by patients will be collected via exit and telephone interviews. An annual discount rate of 8% will be used, consistent with the rate recommended by the Government of Chile. All costs will be converted from Chilean Peso to US dollars with the 2007 average period exchange rate of US$1 = 522.37 Chilean Peso. To test the robustness of model results, we will vary the assumptions over a plausible range in sensitivity analyses. DISCUSSION: The protocol described here indicates our intent to conduct an economic evaluation alongside the CENEX study. It provides a detailed and transparent statement of planned data collection methods and analyses. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN48153354

A horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2014

This paper presents the output of our fifth annual horizon-scanning exercise, which aims to identify topics that increasingly may affect conservation of biological diversity, but have yet to be widely considered. A team of professional horizon scanners, researchers, practitioners, and a journalist identified 15 topics which were identified via an iterative, Delphi-like process. The 15 topics include a carbon market induced financial crash, rapid geographic expansion of macroalgal cultivation, genetic control of invasive species, probiotic therapy for amphibians, and an emerging snake fungal disease. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

A 2018 Horizon Scan of Emerging Issues for Global Conservation and Biological Diversity.

This is our ninth annual horizon scan to identify emerging issues that we believe could affect global biological diversity, natural capital and ecosystem services, and conservation efforts. Our diverse and international team, with expertise in horizon scanning, science communication, as well as conservation science, practice, and policy, reviewed 117 potential issues. We identified the 15 that may have the greatest positive or negative effects but are not yet well recognised by the global conservation community. Themes among these topics include new mechanisms driving the emergence and geographic expansion of diseases, innovative biotechnologies, reassessments of global change, and the development of strategic infrastructure to facilitate global economic priorities

Results and complications of amniocentesis. Experience of two centers of Latin American fetal maternal medicine

Objetivo Describir las indicaciones, complicaciones y repercusiones de la amniocentesis. Materiales y métodos Estudio descriptivo, observacional y transversal de las amniocentesis efectuadas de 2009 a 2015 en dos unidades de medicina materno fetal de Bogotá, Colombia. Se evaluaron las características de las pacientes, indicación de los procedimientos y las complicaciones. Además, los hallazgos se compararon con reportes de diferentes estudios de la bibliografía internacional. Resultados Se incluyeron 748 amniocentesis. La mediana de edad de las pacientes fue de 29 años (límites 23 y 37). La indicación más común fue el estudio genético en 508 casos (67.9%). Se reportaron 89 (17.5%) casos de cromosomopatías, y de éstas la de mayor frecuencia fue la trisomía 21 en 41 pacientes (46%). La mayor parte de las complicaciones se registró en embarazos que superaron las 20 semanas. La pérdida del embarazo y la amenaza de parto pretérmino atribuibles a la amniocentesis fueron de 0.9 y 2.5%, respectivamente. Conclusión Las características de la amniocentesis permitieron conocer sus repercusiones, complicaciones, tasa de pérdida real o factores asociados, con miras a explorar los factores maternos y fe tales en embarazos únicos y múltiples en dos unidades de Medicina Materno Fetal latinoamericanas.Objective The purpose of this paper is to describe the indications, complications and results of amniocentesis performed in two fetal maternal medicine units in Bogota Colombia between 2009 and 2015. Materials and methods Cross-sectional observational descriptive study; 770 amniocentesis performed during 6 years (2009 - 2015) with evaluation of the characteristics of the patients, procedures and complications observed were evaluated. In addition, the findings were compared with reports from different studies of the world literature. Results 748 amniocentesis data were included, statistically analyzing the clinical characteristics of the patients and the results, indications and complications of the procedure. The median age was 29 years (RIQ: 23-37). The most common indication was genetic in 508 cases (67.9%). 89 (17.5%) cases of chromosomopathies were reported, with trisomy 21 being more frequently observed in 41 patients (46%). The loss of pregnancy and the threat of preterm labor attributable to amniocentesis were 0.94% and 2.54%, respectively. Conclusion The characteristics of amniocentesis allow us to know statistics of outcomes, complications, actual loss rate or associated factors, with a view to exploring both maternal and fetal factors in single and multiple pregnancies in two units of Latin American Fetal Maternal Medicine

Understanding the effects of Covid-19 through a life course lens

The Covid-19 pandemic is shaking fundamental assumptions about the human life course in societies around the world. In this essay, we draw on our collective expertise to illustrate how a life course perspective can make critical contributions to understanding the pandemic’s effects on individuals, families, and populations. We explore the pandemic’s implications for the organization and experience of life transitions and trajectories within and across central domains: health, personal control and planning, social relationships and family, education, work and careers, and migration and mobility. We consider both the life course implications of being infected by the Covid-19 virus or attached to someone who has; and being affected by the pandemic’s social, economic, cultural, and psychological consequences. It is our goal to offer some programmatic observations on which life course research and policies can build as the pandemic’s short- and long-term consequences unfold

Current Wildland Fire Patterns and Challenges in Europe : A Synthesis of National Perspectives

Changes in climate, land use, and land management impact the occurrence and severity of wildland fires in many parts of the world. This is particularly evident in Europe, where ongoing changes in land use have strongly modified fire patterns over the last decades. Although satellite data by the European Forest Fire Information System provide large-scale wildland fire statistics across European countries, there is still a crucial need to collect and summarize in-depth local analysis and understanding of the wildland fire condition and associated challenges across Europe. This article aims to provide a general overview of the current wildland fire patterns and challenges as perceived by national representatives, supplemented by national fire statistics (2009-2018) across Europe. For each of the 31 countries included, we present a perspective authored by scientists or practitioners from each respective country, representing a wide range of disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The authors were selected from members of the COST Action "Fire and the Earth System: Science & Society" funded by the European Commission with the aim to share knowledge and improve communication about wildland fire. Where relevant, a brief overview of key studies, particular wildland fire challenges a country is facing, and an overview of notable recent fire events are also presented. Key perceived challenges included (1) the lack of consistent and detailed records for wildland fire events, within and across countries, (2) an increase in wildland fires that pose a risk to properties and human life due to high population densities and sprawl into forested regions, and (3) the view that, irrespective of changes in management, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of wildland fires in the coming decades. Addressing challenge (1) will not only be valuable in advancing national and pan-European wildland fire management strategies, but also in evaluating perceptions (2) and (3) against more robust quantitative evidence.Peer reviewe

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients