Developing a blockchain-based supply chain system for advanced therapies: study protocol

Advanced therapies, including cell and gene therapies, have shown therapeutic promise in curing life-threatening diseases such as leukaemia and lymphoma. However, they can be complicated and expensive to deliver due to their sensitivity to environment, troublesome tissue, cell, or genetic material sourcing and complicated regulatory requirements

On the use of mass-conserving wind fields in chemistry-transport models

A new method has been developed that provides mass-conserving wind fields for global chemistry-transport models. In previous global Eulerian modeling studies a mass-imbalance was found between the model mass transport and the surface pressure tendencies. Several methods have been suggested to correct for this imbalance, but so far no satisfactory solution has been found. Our new method solves these problems by using the wind fields in a spherical harmonical form (divergence and vorticity) by mimicing the physics of the weather forecast model as closely as possible. A 3-D chemistry-transport model was used to show that the calculated ozone fields with the new processing method agree remarkably better with ozone observations in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. In addition, the calculated age of air in the lower stratosphere show better agreement with observations, although the air remains still too young in the extra-tropical stratosphere

Mobile apps for health behaviour change in physical activity, diet, drug and alcohol use, and mental health: a systematic review

Background: With a growing focus on patient interaction with health management, mobile apps are increasingly used to deliver behavioural health interventions. The large variation in these mobile health apps - their target patient group, health behaviour, and behavioural change strategies - has resulted in a large but incohesive body of literature. Objective: The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of mobile apps at improving health behaviours and outcomes, and to examine the inclusion and effectiveness of Behaviour Change Techniques in mobile health apps. Methods: Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Web of Science were systematically searched for articles published between 2014 and 2019 that evaluated mobile apps for health behaviour change. Two authors independently screened and selected studies according to the eligibility criteria. Data was extracted and risk of bias assessed by one reviewer and validated by a second reviewer. Results: 52 randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria and were included in analysis - 37 studies focused on physical activity, diet, or a combination of both, 11 on drug and alcohol use, and 4 on mental health. Participant perceptions were generally positive - only one app was rated as less helpful and satisfactory than the control - and the studies that measured engagement and usability found relatively high study completion rates (mean = 83.3%, n = 18) and ease of use ratings (3 significantly better than control, 9/15 rated >70%) . However, there was little evidence of changed behaviour or health outcomes. Conclusions: There was not strong evidence found to support the effectiveness of mobile apps at improving health behaviours or outcomes because few studies found significant differences between the app and control groups. Further research is needed to identify the behaviour change techniques that are most effective at promoting behaviour change. Improved reporting is necessary to accurately evaluate the mobile health app effectiveness and risk of bias

Global ozone forecasting based on ERS-2 GOME observations

International audienceThe availability of near-real time ozone observations from satellite instruments has recently initiated the development of ozone data assimilation systems. In this paper we present the results of an ozone assimilation and forecasting system, in use since Autumn 2000. The forecasts are produced by an ozone transport and chemistry model, driven by the operational medium range forecasts of ECMWF. The forecasts are initialised with realistic ozone distributions, obtained by the assimilation of near-real time total column observations of the GOME spectrometer on ERS-2. The forecast error diagnostics demonstrate that the system produces meaningful total ozone forecasts for up to 6 days in the extratropics. In the tropics meaningful forecasts of the small anomalies are restricted to shorter periods of about two days with the present model setup. It is demonstrated that important events, such as the breakup of the South Pole ozone hole and mini-hole events above Europe can be successfully predicted 4--5 days in advance

Engineering requirements of a Herpes simplex virus patient registry: discovery phase of a real-world evidence platform to advance pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine

Comprehensive pharmacogenomic understanding requires both robust genomic and demographic data. Patient registries present an opportunity to collect large amounts of robust, patient-level data. Pharmacogenomic advancement in the treatment of infectious diseases is yet to be fully realised. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is one disease for which pharmacogenomic understanding is wanting. This paper aims to understand the key factors that impact data collection quality for medical registries and suggest potential design features of an HSV medical registry to overcome current constraints and allow for this data to be used as a complement to genomic and clinical data to further the treatment of HSV. This paper outlines the discovery phase for the development of an HSV registry with the aim of learning about the users and their contexts, the technological constraints and the potential improvements that can be made. The design requirements and user stories for the HSV registry have been identified for further alpha phase development. The current landscape of HSV research and patient registry development were discussed. Through the analysis of the current state of the art and thematic user analysis, potential design features were elucidated to facilitate the collection of high-quality, robust patient-level data which could contribute to advances in pharmacogenomic understanding and personalised medicine in HSV. The user requirements specification for the development of an HSV registry has been summarised and implementation strategies for the alpha phase discussed

Is it the Income Distribution or Redistribution that Affects Growth?

Hervorming Sociale Regelgevin

Tropospheric O3 distribution over the Indian Ocean during spring 1995 evaluated with a chemistry-climate model

An analysis of tropospheric O 3 over the Indian Ocean during spring 1995 is presented based on O 3 soundings and results from the chemistry-general circulation model ECHAM (European Centre Hamburg Model). The ECHAM model is nudged towards actual meteorology using ECMWF analyses, to enable a direct comparison between model results and in situ observations. The model reproduces observed CO levels in different air mass categories. The model also reproduces the general tendencies and the diurnal variation in the observed surface pressure, although the amplitude of the diurnal variation in the amplitude is underestimated. The model simulates the general O 3 tendencies as seen in the sonde observations. Tropospheric O 3 profiles were characterized by low surface concentrations (< 10 ppbv), mid-tropospheric maxima (60-100 ppbv, between 700-250 hPa) and upper-tropospheric minima (< 20 ppbv, between 250-100 hPa). Large-scale upper tropospheric O 3 minima were caused by convective transport of O 3 -depleted boundary layer air in the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Similarly, an upper tropospheric O 3 minimum was caused by cyclone Marlene south of the ITCZ. The mid-tropospheric O 3 maxima were caused by transport of polluted African air. The ECHAM model appears to overestimate surface O 3 levels, and does not reproduce the diurnal variations very well This could be related to unaccounted multiphase O 3 destruction mechanisms involving low level clouds and aerosols, and missing halogen chemistr

Methyl chloride as a tracer of tropical tropospheric air in the lowermost stratosphere inferred from IAGOS-CARIBIC passenger aircraft measurements

We present variations of methyl chloride (CH3Cl) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in the lowermost stratosphere (LMS) obtained from air samples collected by the In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System-Civil Aircraft for the Regular Investigation of the atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container (IAGOS-CARIBIC) passenger aircraft observatory for the period 2008-2012. To correct for the temporal increase of atmospheric N2O, the CARIBIC N2O data are expressed as deviations from the long-term trend at the northern hemispheric baseline station Mauna Loa, Hawaii (Delta N2O).Delta N2O undergoes a pronounced seasonal variation in the LMS with a minimum in spring. The amplitude increases going deeper in the LMS (up to potential temperature of 40 K above the thermal tropopause), as a result of the seasonally varying subsidence of air from the stratospheric overworld. Seasonal variation of CH3Cl above the tropopause is similar in phase to that of Delta N2O. Significant correlations are found between CH3Cl and Delta N2O in the LMS from winter to early summer, both being affected by mixing between stratospheric air and upper tropospheric air. This correlation, however, disappears in late summer to autumn. The slope of the CH3Cl-Delta N2O correlation observed in the LMS allows us to determine the stratospheric lifetime of CH3Cl to be 35 +/- 7 years. Finally, we examine the partitioning of stratospheric air and tropical/extratropical tropospheric air in the LMS based on a mass balance approach using Delta N2O and CH3Cl. This analysis clearly indicates efficient inflow of tropical tropospheric air into the LMS in summer and demonstrates the usefulness of CH3Cl as a tracer of tropical tropospheric air