Looking under the hood: A comparison of techno-economic assumptions across national and global integrated assessment models

Integrated assessment models are extensively used in the analysis of climate change mitigation and are informing national decision makers as well as contribute to international scientific assessments. This paper conducts a comprehensive review of techno-economic assumptions in the electricity sector among fifteen different global and national integrated assessment models. Particular focus is given to six major economies in the world: Brazil, China, the EU, India, Japan and the US. The comparison reveals that techno-economic characteristics are quite different across integrated assessment models, both for the base year and future years. It is, however, important to recognize that techno-economic assessments from the literature exhibit an equally large range of parameters as the integrated assessment models reviewed. Beyond numerical differences, the representation of technologies also differs among models, which needs to be taken into account when comparing numerical parameters. While desirable, it seems difficult to fully harmonize techno-economic parameters across a broader range of models due to structural differences in the representation of technology. Therefore, making techno-economic parameters available in the future, together with of the technology representation as well as the exact definitions of the parameters should become the standard approach as it allows an open discussion of appropriate assumptions. © 2019 The Author

Burden of malaria in pregnancy in Jharkhand State, India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Past studies in India included only symptomatic pregnant women and thus may have overestimated the proportion of women with malaria. Given the large population at risk, a cross sectional study was conducted in order to better define the burden of malaria in pregnancy in Jharkhand, a malaria-endemic state in central-east India.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional surveys at antenatal clinics and delivery units were performed over a 12-month period at two district hospitals in urban and semi-urban areas, and a rural mission hospital. Malaria was diagnosed by Giemsa-stained blood smear and/or rapid diagnostic test using peripheral or placental blood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>2,386 pregnant women were enrolled at the antenatal clinics and 718 at the delivery units. 1.8% (43/2382) of the antenatal clinic cohort had a positive diagnostic test for malaria (53.5% <it>Plasmodium falciparum</it>, 37.2% <it>Plasmodium vivax</it>, and 9.3% mixed infections). Peripheral parasitaemia was more common in pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in rural sites (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 4.31, 95%CI 1.84-10.11) and in those who were younger than 20 years (aRR 2.68, 95%CI 1.03-6.98). Among delivery unit participants, 1.7% (12/717) had peripheral parasitaemia and 2.4% (17/712) had placental parasitaemia. Women attending delivery units were more likely to be parasitaemic if they were in their first or second pregnancy (aRR 3.17, 95%CI 1.32-7.61), had fever in the last week (aRR 5.34, 95%CI 2.89-9.90), or had rural residence (aRR 3.10, 95%CI 1.66-5.79). Malaria control measures including indoor residual spraying (IRS) and untreated bed nets were common, whereas insecticide-treated bed nets (ITN) and malaria chemoprophylaxis were rarely used.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of malaria among pregnant women was relatively low. However, given the large at-risk population in this malaria-endemic region of India, there is a need to enhance ITN availability and use for prevention of malaria in pregnancy, and to improve case management of symptomatic pregnant women.</p

A phase II study of sequential neoadjuvant gemcitabine plus doxorubicin followed by gemcitabine plus cisplatin in patients with operable breast cancer: prediction of response using molecular profiling

This study examined the pathological complete response (pCR) rate and safety of sequential gemcitabine-based combinations in breast cancer. We also examined gene expression profiles from tumour biopsies to identify biomarkers predictive of response. Indian women with large or locally advanced breast cancer received 4 cycles of gemcitabine 1200 mg m−2 plus doxorubicin 60 mg m−2 (Gem+Dox), then 4 cycles of gemcitabine 1000 mg m−2 plus cisplatin 70 mg m−2 (Gem+Cis), and surgery. Three alternate dosing sequences were used during cycle 1 to examine dynamic changes in molecular profiles. Of 65 women treated, 13 (24.5% of 53 patients with surgery) had a pCR and 22 (33.8%) had a complete clinical response. Patients administered Gem d1, 8 and Dox d2 in cycle 1 (20 of 65) reported more toxicities, with G3/4 neutropenic infection/febrile neutropenia (7 of 20) as the most common cycle-1 event. Four drug-related deaths occurred. In 46 of 65 patients, 10-fold cross validated supervised analyses identified gene expression patterns that predicted with ⩾73% accuracy (1) clinical complete response after eight cycles, (2) overall clinical complete response, and (3) pCR. This regimen shows strong activity. Patients receiving Gem d1, 8 and Dox d2 experienced unacceptable toxicity, whereas patients on other sequences had manageable safety profiles. Gene expression patterns may predict benefit from gemcitabine-containing neoadjuvant therapy

Use Of ADO II Device In A Large Aorto-Pulmonary Collateral-An Interesting Case

A 11month old girl was diagnosed to have a large aorto pulmonary collateral during evaluation for respiratory distress and seizures. Echocardiographic evaluation showed a large collateral from the descending aorta to left lung with ventricular dysfunction (left ventricular ejection fraction of 40%). This was confirmed on computed tomography angiogram (CT) scan. The collateral was closed with Amplatzer Ductal Occluder II device under fluoroscopic guidance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of large aorto-pulmonary collateral closed successfully with an Amplatzer Ductal Occluder II device

Controlled synthesis and characteristics of antireflection coatings of TiO2 produced from a organometallic colloid

Antireflection titanium dioxide (TiO2) coatings have been developed on monocrystalline silicon by a sol–gel spin-coating process using titanium di-isopropoxidebis(acetylacetonate) colloidal precursor solution. The effect of titanium content in the precursor, spin rate, sintering duration and temperature have been studied and their effect on coating thickness and optical properties (i.e., refractive index and reflectivity) were investigated. The influence of post-deposition sintering temperature on the optical characteristics, composition and the microstructure of the coatings have been evaluated by UV–vis spectroscopy, ellipsometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. Solar cells made on silicon wafers with TiO2 as antireflection layer showed enhancement of more than 20% in short circuit current density in comparison to a cell devoid of the TiO2 coating

Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia Coli Infections in Metro Detroit: Early Dominance of the ST-131 Clone

Abstract Introduction Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli infections have become endemic worldwide. We aimed to describe the molecular and clinical epidemiology of ESBL-producing E. coli infections during a period of rising global prevalence. Methods Three hundred sixty-nine consecutive ESBL-producing E. coli infections in Detroit from 2010–2011 were analyzed. Sequence typing (ST) and CH typing were performed. Clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared between patients infected with ST131 and non-ST131 isolates. Results Ninety-six percent of isolates were ST 131, and 78.6% of ST 131 isolates produced blaCTX-M-15. Median time to effective therapy was 48 h vs. 35 h (P = 0.38) in the ST131 vs. non-ST131 groups. Ninety-day mortality rates (8% vs. 8%, P = 1.0) were similar between the two groups. Conclusion blaCTX-M-15 ST131 E. coli predominated in Detroit during an early period of global ST131 dissemination. Patients with ST131 E. coli infections had similar clinical outcomes to those with non-ST131 E. coli infections.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/173967/1/40121_2020_Article_321.pd