Capacity expansion in liberalized electricity markets with locational pricing and renewable energy investments.

We study the long-term incentives for expanding production capacity in liberalized electricity markets. How does electricity market design affect the prices of energy, capacity and social welfare? And how is this capacity market affected by the geographical features of the electricity market? Should the system operator design the capacity market to provide incentives for investment in renewable technologies? We analyze the conditions under which capacity payments and markets enable higher investment relative to an energy-only market in which generators sell electricity but not capacity. We show that capacity markets benefit consumers and investors by increasing investment and reliability and capping peak prices. We prove that generators benefit from owning a portfolio of peak and baseload plants and show that investment strategies must consider regional capacity auctions. We demonstrate that a capacity payment per technology increases investment in renewable technologies and leads to the early retirement of older, carbon-emitting technologies. Regional capacity investment targets effectively decrease energy prices and significantly increase investment in renewable technologies

Tic-tac... Explorer les perceptions de femmes qui vivent un échec du déclenchement du travail

Le déclenchement du travail est une procédure obstétricale qui consiste à provoquer le travail afin que la femme puisse vivre un accouchement vaginal dans les 24 à 48 heures suivant l’initiation de la procédure (Leduc et al., 2013). Cependant, le déclenchement du travail peut ne pas fonctionner entraînant la nécessité de procéder à un accouchement par césarienne après un travail d’une durée de plus de 24 heures. Cette étude qualitative visait à explorer l’expérience de femmes qui ont vécu un échec du déclenchement du travail résultant en une césarienne non planifiée. Cette étude a été menée auprès de 6 femmes durant leur séjour hospitalier post-partum. Les données ont été obtenues à l’aide d’un questionnaire sociodémographique, du dossier médical des participantes et d’un entretien semi-dirigé. Les entretiens semi-dirigés ont été enregistrés, avec l’accord des participantes, puis transcrits et analysés selon l’approche d’analyse thématique de Braun, Clarke, Hayfield et Terry (2019). Cinq thèmes et 12 sous-thèmes ont émergé de l’analyse thématique permettant de mieux saisir l’expérience des femmes vivant un échec du déclenchement du travail résultant en une césarienne. Les thèmes : Les attentes envers l’expérience, Le soutien reçu, La qualité et quantité de l’information reçue ainsi que Le sentiment de contrôle envers l’expérience semblent influencer la satisfaction ou l’insatisfaction de la participante envers son expérience et contribuent au thème global de l’Expérience globale de l’échec du déclenchement du travail résultant en une césarienne. Les infirmières ont un rôle important afin de communiquer l’information aux patientes et de les soutenir quant au déclenchement du travail leur permettant de mieux gérer leurs attentes et exercer le contrôle désiré envers leur expérience.Induction of labor is an obstetric procedure which consists of inducing labor so that women can experience a vaginal birth within 24 to 48 hours after the initiation of the procedure (Leduc et al., 2013). The induction of labor may not work resulting in the need for a caesarean delivery after lasting more than 24 hours. This qualitative study aimed to explore the experience of women who had experienced labor induction failure resulting in an unplanned caesarean section. This study was conducted with 6 women in the postpartum unit during their hospitalisation. Data were collected from a socio-demographic questionnaire, the participants’ medical chart as well as a semi-structured interview. After participants’ consent, the semi-structured interviews were recorded, transcribed, then analysed using the Braun, Clarke, Hayfield and Terry (2019) thematic analysis approach. Five themes and 12 sub-themes emerged to better capture the experience of women experiencing labor induction failure resulting in a caesarean. Four themes: Expectation of Labor and Delivery: Managing Expectations, Antepartum and Intrapartum Support Received, Comprehensive Information Needed, and Feeling in Control of the Experience emerged as influencing the participant's satisfaction or dissatisfaction towards their Global Experience of a Failed Induction of Labor Resulting in a Ceserean Section. Nurses have a strategic role and are key support professionals in communicating information and supporting women during induction of labor, allowing them to better manage their expectations and have the desired level of control over their experience

Capitalism and unfree labour : a review of Marxist perspectives on modern slavery

Contrary to the expectations of liberal and neoclassical economists, as well as many Marxists, the deepening and extension of capitalism appear to be heightening the prevalence of unfree labor. By most accounts, the forms of exploitation encapsulated within unfree labor – including those typically referred to as forced labor, human trafficking and modern slavery – are proliferating in the global economy, including in advanced capitalist societies. We evaluate these developments in light of the relationship between capitalism and unfree labor through the prism of Marxism, revealing a deep-seated divide between a neo-Smithian reading, according to which capitalism and unfree labor are incompatible, and a more faithful Marxist tradition that views forced labor as one possible form of labor control and exploitation under capitalism. Building on this second tradition, we argue that international political economy scholars who seek to shed light into the contemporary and historic dynamics of unfree labor must transcend the rigid theoretical binaries that have long characterized Marxist debates on capitalism and unfree labor

First Astronomical Use of Multiplexed Transition Edge Bolometers

We present performance results based on the first astronomical use of multiplexed superconducting bolometers. The Fabry-Perot Interferometer Bolometer Research Experiment (FIBRE) is a broadband submillimeter spectrometer that achieved first light in June 2001 at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). FIBRE'S detectors are superconducting transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers read out by a SQUID multiplexer. The Fabry-Perot uses a low resolution grating to order sort the incoming light. A linear bolometer array consisting of 16 elements detects this dispersed light, capturing 5 orders simultaneously from one position on the sky. With tuning of the Fabry-Perot over one free spectral range, a spectrum covering Δλ/λ= 1/7 at a resolution of δλ/λ ≈ 1/1200 can be acquired. This spectral resolution is sufficient to resolve Doppler-broadened line emission from external galaxies. FIBRE operates in the 350 µm and 450 µm bands. These bands cover line emission from the important star formation tracers neutral carbon [Cl] and carbon monoxide (CO). We have verified that the multiplexed bolometers are photon noise limited even with the low power present in moderate resolution spectrometry

Discrete Cylindrical Vector Beam Generation from an Array of Optical Fibers

A novel method is presented for the beam shaping of far field intensity distributions of coherently combined fiber arrays. The fibers are arranged uniformly on the perimeter of a circle, and the linearly polarized beams of equal shape are superimposed such that the far field pattern represents an effective radially polarized vector beam, or discrete cylindrical vector (DCV) beam. The DCV beam is produced by three or more beams that each individually have a varying polarization vector. The beams are appropriately distributed in the near field such that the far field intensity distribution has a central null. This result is in contrast to the situation of parallel linearly polarized beams, where the intensity peaks on axis

Genetic, serological and biochemical characterization of Leishmania tropica from foci in northern Palestine and discovery of zymodeme MON-307

Background Many cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) have been recorded in the Jenin District based on their clinical appearance. Here, their parasites have been characterized in depth. Methods Leishmanial parasites isolated from 12 human cases of CL from the Jenin District were cultured as promastigotes, whose DNA was extracted. The ITS1 sequence and the 7SL RNA gene were analysed as was the kinetoplast minicircle DNA (kDNA) sequence. Excreted factor (EF) serotyping and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) were also applied. Results This extensive characterization identified the strains as Leishmania tropica of two very distinct sub-types that parallel the two sub-groups discerned by multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) done previously. A high degree of congruity was displayed among the results generated by the different analytical methods that had examined various cellular components and exposed intra-specific heterogeneity among the 12 strains. Three of the ten strains subjected to MLEE constituted a new zymodeme, zymodeme MON-307, and seven belonged to the known zymodeme MON-137. Ten of the 15 enzymes in the profile of zymodeme MON-307 displayed different electrophoretic mobilities compared with the enzyme profile of the zymodeme MON-137. The closest profile to that of zymodeme MON-307 was that of the zymodeme MON-76 known from Syria. Strains of the zymodeme MON-307 were EF sub-serotype A2 and those of the zymodeme MON-137 were either A9 or A9B4. The sub-serotype B4 component appears, so far, to be unique to some strains of L. tropica of zymodeme MON-137. Strains of the zymodeme MON-137 displayed a distinctive fragment of 417 bp that was absent in those of zymodeme MON-307 when their kDNA was digested with the endonuclease RsaI. kDNA-RFLP after digestion with the endonuclease MboI facilitated a further level of differentiation that partially coincided with the geographical distribution of the human cases from which the strains came. Conclusions The Palestinian strains that were assigned to different genetic groups differed in their MLEE profiles and their EF types. A new zymodeme, zymodeme MON-307 was discovered that seems to be unique to the northern part of the Palestinian West Bank. What seemed to be a straight forward classical situation of L. tropica causing anthroponotic CL in the Jenin District might be a more complex situation, owing to the presence of two separate sub-types of L. tropica that, possibly, indicates two separate transmission cycles involving two separate types of phlebotomine sand fly vector

Renal cell carcinoma: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up

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Identification of Pro-MMP-7 as a Serum Marker for Renal Cell Carcinoma by Use of Proteomic Analysis

International audienceBACKGROUND: No validated renal cell carcinoma (RCC) marker is known for detection of asymptomatic disease in selected populations or for prognostic purposes or treatment monitoring. We identified immunogenic proteins as tumor markers for RCC by combining conventional proteome analysis with serological screening, and we investigated the diagnostic clinical value of such markers in serum. METHODS: We studied the immunogenic protein expression profile of CAL 54, a human RCC cell line, by 2-dimensional electrophoresis combined with immunoblotting using sera from healthy donors compared with RCC patients. We developed a homogeneous, fluorescent, dual-monoclonal immunoassay for metalloproteinase 7 (MMP-7) and used it to measure MMP-7 in sera from 30 healthy donors, 30 RCC patients, and 40 control patients. RESULTS: Pro-MMP-7 (29 kDa; pI 7.7) in the CAL 54 cell line secretome was an immunogenic protein reactive with RCC patient sera but not with control sera. The concentrations of pro-MMP-7 were increased (P <0.0001) in sera of RCC patients (median 7.56 microg/L; range 3.12-30.5 microg/L) compared with healthy controls (median 2.13 microg/L; range 0.17-3.5 microg/L). Serum pro-MMP-7 had a sensitivity of 93% (95% CI 78%-99%) at a specificity of 75% (59%-87%) for RCC in the samples tested. CONCLUSION: Proteomics technology combined with serology led to the identification of serum pro-MMP-7 as a marker of RCC and represents a powerful tool in searching for candidate proteins as biomarkers