CLOVER: A modelling framework for sustainable community-scale energy systems

Sustainable Development Goal 7 aims to provide sustainable, affordable, reliable and modern energy access to all by 2030 (United Nations, 2015). In order for this goal to be achieved, sustainable energy interventions in developing countries must be supported with design tools which can evaluate the technical performance of energy systems as well as their economic and climate impacts. CLOVER (Continuous Lifetime Optimisation of Variable Electricity Resources) is a software tool for simulating and optimising community-scale energy systems, typically minigrids, to support energy access in developing countries (Winchester et al., 2022). CLOVER can be used to model electricity demand and supply at an hourly resolution, for example allowing users to investigate how an electricity system might perform at a given location. CLOVER can also identify an optimally-sized energy system to meet the needs of the community under specified constraints. For example, a user could define an optimum system as one which provides a desired level of reliability at the lowest cost of electricity. CLOVER can provide an insight into the technical performance, costs, and climate change impact of a system, and allow the user to evaluate many different scenarios to decide on the best way to provide sustainable, affordable and reliable electricity to a community. CLOVER can be used on both personal computers and high-performance computing facilities. Its design separates its general framework (code, contained in a source src directory) from user inputs (data, contained in a directory entitled locations) which are specific to their investigations. The user inputs these data via a combination of .csv and .yaml files. CLOVER’s straightforward command-line interface provides simple operation for both experienced Python users and those with little prior exposure to coding. An installable package, clover-energy, is available for users to download without needing to become familiar with GitHub’s interface. Information about CLOVER and how to use it is available on the CLOVER wiki pages

Integrated simulation and optimisation of hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) and photovoltaic systems for decentralised rural hot water provision and electrification

Demands for electricity and hot water continue to rise worldwide, with many people in low-income countries, especially in rural areas, lacking access to these basic services. Decentralised minigrids, capable of powering small off-grid communities, are increasingly used in low-income countries as a means of providing power to the 13% of people globally without access to electricity. Hybrid solar photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) collectors combine both photovoltaic (PV) cell and solar-thermal absorbers and, therefore, output both electricity and heat from a single collector with efficiency benefits over standalone PV panels and solar-thermal collectors. Despite this, no models have yet been developed capable of assessing the performance of PV-T collectors generalisable across a range of off-grid settings. We present an integrated model for simulating and optimising combined systems comprising PV panels and PV-T collectors, accurate to within +/- 5% rms error, connected to wider electrical and hot water systems, and employ this to evaluate their potential to meet both electrical and hot-water demands of rural communities. We provide a tool for simulating the lifetime output from combined PV and PV-T systems, assessing their economic and environmental impact, and for optimising the systems to meet the needs of specific communities. We carry out simulations for a case study of a combined PV and PV-T system in Uttar Pradesh, India, and find that the system is able to meet 59.3% and 33.5% of hot water demand for upper and lower bounds for installed capacity. We carry out optimisations for static high demand and growing low-demand scenarios and find that that 35 kWpel and 5 hot-water tanks and 75 kWpel and 15 hot-water tanks are needed to meet these demand scenarios respectively

Introduction: looking beyond the walls

In its consideration of the remarkable extent and variety of non-university researchers, this book takes a broader view of ‘knowledge’ and ‘research’ than in the many hot debates about today’s knowledge society, ‘learning age’, or organisation of research. It goes beyond the commonly held image of ‘knowledge’ as something produced and owned by the full-time experts to take a look at those engaged in active knowledge building outside the university walls

Passing the Torch: Continuation of the South Carolina Libraries Journal

In this article, The South Carolina Libraries Editorial Board discusses the history and rebuilding of the South Carolina Libraries journal, the official publication of the South Carolina Library Association (SCLA). As the journal adjusted in response to community needs, changes in the Editorial Board, the publication cycle, and peer review process were made to expand and enhance the functionality, appearance, and content of the journal. The Editorial Board reviews strategies for library community members – including practitioners, research faculty, and LIS students – to become involved as a part of the publication through authoring, book reviewing, peer reviewing, or artwork for future issues

Developing a serocorrelate of protection against invasive group B streptococcus disease in pregnant women: a feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Group B streptococcus is the leading cause of infection in infants. Currently, intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis is the major strategy to prevent invasive group B streptococcus disease. However, intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis does not prevent maternal sepsis, premature births, stillbirths or late-onset disease. Maternal vaccination may offer an alternative strategy. Multivalent polysaccharide protein conjugate vaccine development is under way and a serocorrelate of protection is needed to expedite vaccine licensure. OBJECTIVES: The ultimate aim of this work is to determine the correlate of protection against the major group B streptococcus disease-causing serotypes in infants in the UK. The aim of this feasibility study is to test key operational aspects of the study design. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study of pregnant women and their infants in a 6-month period (1 July to 31 December 2018). SETTING: Five secondary and tertiary hospitals from London and South England. National iGBS disease surveillance was conducted in all trusts in England and Wales. PARTICIPANTS: Pregnant women aged ≥ 18 years who were delivering at one of the selected hospitals and who provided consent during the study period. There were no exclusion criteria. INTERVENTIONS: No interventions were performed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) To test the feasibility of collecting serum at delivery from a large cohort of pregnant women. (2) To test the key operational aspects for a proposed large serocorrelates study. (3) To test the feasibility of collecting samples from those with invasive group B streptococcus. RESULTS: A total of 1823 women were recruited during the study period. Overall, 85% of serum samples were collected at three sites collecting only cord blood. At the two sites collecting maternal, cord and infant blood samples, the collection rate was 60%. A total of 614 women were screened for group B streptococcus with a colonisation rate of 22% (serotype distribution: 30% III, 25% Ia, 16% II, 14% Ib, 14% V and 1% IV). A blood sample was collected from 34 infants who were born to colonised women. Maternal and infant blood and the bacterial isolates for 15 newborns who developed invasive group B streptococcal disease during the study period were collected (serotype distribution: 29% III, 29% II, 21% Ia, 7% Ib, 7% IV and 7% V). LIMITATIONS: Recruitment and sample collection were dependent on the presence of research midwives rather than the whole clinical team. In addition, individualised consent limited the number of women who could be approached each day, and site set-up for the national surveillance study and the limited time period of this feasibility study limited recruitment of all eligible participants. CONCLUSIONS: We have verified the feasibility of collecting and processing rectovaginal swabs and blood samples in pregnant women, as well as samples from those with invasive group B streptococcal disease. We have made recommendations for the recruitment of cases within the proposed GBS3 study and for controls both within GBS3 and as an extension of this feasibility study. FUTURE WORK: A large case-control study comparing specific immunoglobulin G levels in mothers whose infants develop invasive group B streptococcal disease with those in colonised mothers whose infants do not develop invasive group B streptococcal disease is recommended. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN49326091; IRAS project identification number 246149/REC reference number 18/WM/0147. FUNDING: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 23, No. 67. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

Predators in Natural Fragments: Foraging Ecology of Wolves in British Columbia’s Central and North Coast Archipelago

Aim Predator–prey dynamics in fragmented areas may be influenced by spatial features of the landscape. Although little is known about these processes, an increasingly fragmented planet underscores the urgency to predict its consequences. Accordingly, our aim was to examine foraging behaviour of an apex mammalian predator, the wolf (Canis lupus), in an archipelago environment. Location Mainland and adjacent archipelago of British Columbia, Canada; a largely pristine and naturally fragmented landscape with islands of variable size and isolation. Methods We sampled 30 mainland watersheds and 29 islands for wolf faeces in summers 2000 and 2001 and identified prey remains. We examined broad geographical patterns and detailed biogeographical variables (area and isolation metrics) as they relate to prey consumed. For island data, we used Akaike Information Criteria to guide generalized linear regression model selection to predict probability of black-tailed deer (main prey; Odocoileus hemionus) in faeces. Results Black-tailed deer was the most common item in occurrence per faeces (63%) and occurrence per item (53%) indices, representing about 63% of mammalian biomass. Wolves consumed more deer on islands near the mainland (65% occurrence per item) than on the mainland (39%) and outer islands (45%), where other ungulates (mainland only) and small mammals replaced deer. On islands, the probability of detecting deer was influenced primarily by island distance to mainland (not by area or inter-landmass distance), suggesting limited recolonization by deer from source populations as a causal mechanism. Main conclusions Although sampling was limited in time, consistent patterns among islands suggest that population dynamics in isolated fragments are less stable and can result in depletion of prey. This may have important implications in understanding predator–prey communities in isolation, debate regarding wolf– deer systems and logging in temperate rain forests, and reserve design

English individualism refuted - and reasserted: the land market of Earls Colne (Essex), 1550-1750

This is the author's post-print version of an article whose final and definitive form has been published in The Economic History Review. © 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. The definitive version is available at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118509292/homeEarls Colne first came to the notice of historians through Macfarlane's study of its seventeenth-century vicar, Ralph Josselin, and then Macfarlane's use of evidence from the village in his The Origins of English Individualism (1978). This article presents preliminary results drawn from a computer-based reconstruction of the copyhold land market, 1546-1750, to contest Macfarlane's reading of the family-land bond in the manor. The familial possession of land over long periods is shown to be normal, and consistent with an active land market predominantly in smaller parcels. Little consolidation took place in the manor although some growth in holding size was achieved through subtenancy. Finally, the article asks whether the experience of copyholders is typical of the general.University of Central Lancashir

Increased SK3 expression in DM1 lens cells leads to impaired growth through a greater calcium-induced fragility

Although cataract is a characteristic feature of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), little is known of the underlying mechanisms. We generated four lens epithelial cell lines derived from DM1 cataracts and two from age-matched, non-DM cataracts. Small-pool PCR revealed typical large triplet repeat expansions in the DM1 cells. Furthermore, real-time PCR analysis showed reduced SIX5 expression and increased expression of the Ca2+-activated K+ channel SK3 in the DM1 cells. These cells also exhibited longer population doubling times which did not arise through reduced proliferation, but rather increased cell death as shown by increased release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Using 86Rb+ as a tracer for K+, we found no difference in the resting K+ influx or efflux kinetics. In all cases, the ouabain sensitive component of the influx contributed ~50% of the total. However, stimulating internal Ca2+ by exposure to ionomycin not only caused greater stimulation of K+ (86Rb) efflux in the DM1 cells but also induced a higher rate of cell death (LDH assay). Since both the hyper-stimulation of K+ efflux and cell death were reduced by the highly specific SK inhibitor apamin, we suggest that increased expression of SK3 has a critical role in the increased Ca2+-induced fragility in DM1 cells. The present data, therefore, both help explain the lower epithelial cell density previously observed in DM1 cataracts and provide general insights into mechanisms underlying the fragility of other DM1-affected tissues