Optimally allocating renewable generation in Ireland: a long-term outlook until 2050. ESRI Research Bulletin, 2018/03

The Irish energy white paper released in December 2015 states the objective of diversifying electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES-E). While onshore wind is planned to continue to make a significant contribution, the question arises which roles other RES-E technologies, such as solar PV, wind offshore or bioenergy, will play in the future. Moreover, the Irish 2030 target for RES-E is about to be set. Since the electricity demand growth in future is uncertain and the national target is yet unknown, this creates a high uncertainty around the overall amount of RES-E required. In this uncertain context, this research seeks to provide support for 1. achieving the national RES-E target determined as percentage share of energy demand in a cost minimal way under consideration of different diversification approaches, and 2. long-term planning of the electricity system by providing insight into the future regional distribution of generation and demand under different scenarios

Can retinal ganglion cell dipoles seed iso-orientation domains in the visual cortex?

It has been argued that the emergence of roughly periodic orientation preference maps (OPMs) in the primary visual cortex (V1) of carnivores and primates can be explained by a so-called statistical connectivity model. This model assumes that input to V1 neurons is dominated by feed-forward projections originating from a small set of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). The typical spacing between adjacent cortical orientation columns preferring the same orientation then arises via Moir\'{e}-Interference between hexagonal ON/OFF RGC mosaics. While this Moir\'{e}-Interference critically depends on long-range hexagonal order within the RGC mosaics, a recent statistical analysis of RGC receptive field positions found no evidence for such long-range positional order. Hexagonal order may be only one of several ways to obtain spatially repetitive OPMs in the statistical connectivity model. Here, we investigate a more general requirement on the spatial structure of RGC mosaics that can seed the emergence of spatially repetitive cortical OPMs, namely that angular correlations between so-called RGC dipoles exhibit a spatial structure similar to that of OPM autocorrelation functions. Both in cat beta cell mosaics as well as primate parasol receptive field mosaics we find that RGC dipole angles are spatially uncorrelated. To help assess the level of these correlations, we introduce a novel point process that generates mosaics with realistic nearest neighbor statistics and a tunable degree of spatial correlations of dipole angles. Using this process, we show that given the size of available data sets, the presence of even weak angular correlations in the data is very unlikely. We conclude that the layout of ON/OFF ganglion cell mosaics lacks the spatial structure necessary to seed iso-orientation domains in the primary visual cortex.Comment: 9 figures + 1 Supplementary figure and 1 Supplementary tabl

Distilling Non-Locality

Two parts of an entangled quantum state can have a correlation in their joint behavior under measurements that is unexplainable by shared classical information. Such correlations are called non-local and have proven to be an interesting resource for information processing. Since non-local correlations are more useful if they are stronger, it is natural to ask whether weak non-locality can be amplified. We give an affirmative answer by presenting the first protocol for distilling non-locality in the framework of generalized non-signaling theories. Our protocol works for both quantum and non-quantum correlations. This shows that in many contexts, the extent to which a single instance of a correlation can violate a CHSH inequality is not a good measure for the usefulness of non-locality. A more meaningful measure follows from our results.Comment: Revised abstract, introduction and conclusion. Accepted by PR

Access to prompt and effective malaria treatment in the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania

Malaria is the most important parasitic infection in humans, causing an estimated one million deaths annually. Most cases occur in young children in sub-Saharan Africa, supporting the vicious circle of disease and poverty. Current control strategies have so far failed to reduce the disease in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITN) are effective in preventing malaria episodes and efficacious drugs (such as artemisinin-based combination therapies or ACTs) exist to cure malaria. However, a major problem is the delivery of quality health services, including life-saving drugs, to the ones in need. A variety of inter-linked factors influences patients’ access to prompt and effective treatment. While growing resistance against commonly used antimalarials such as chloroquine or sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is being addressed with the introduction of ACTs, obstacles to effective malaria treatment have been identified at the levels of the households (the demand side), the health system (the supply side), and in health policy. The present thesis aimed at contributing to a better understanding of factors influencing access to malaria treatment in a positive or a negative way. The insights gained should inform the development of targeted interventions to improve access to malaria treatment and help to develop a general access framework. The research was carried out as part of the ACCESS Programme, which aims to understand and improve access to effective malaria treatment in the districts of Kilombero and Ulanga, in south-eastern Tanzania. The ACCESS strategy is based on a set of integrated interventions, including (1) social marketing for improved care seeking at community level, (2) strengthening the quality of case-management in health facilities, and (3) strengthening the commercial drug retail sector. The interventions are accompanied by a comprehensive set of monitoring and evaluation activities. Quantitative, semi-quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data collection in the area of the local Demographic Surveillance System (DSS) and the nearby semi-urban centre of Ifakara. Between 2004 and 2006, community-based surveys were conducted to investigate treatment-seeking behaviour and estimate communityeffectiveness of malaria treatment. A shop census and mystery shoppers (simulated clients) were used to monitor drug availability and the performance of shopkeepers in the retail sector. The DSS served as sampling frame for the community-based studies and provided demographic indicators, including morbidity and mortality data. The investigation of treatment-seeking and illness perception revealed a better overlap of local and biomedical illness concepts than reported in earlier studies from the same area. This is likely to reflect the intensive social marketing and health education campaigns carried out during the past decade. Modern medicine was clearly preferred by most patients and 87.5% (95% CI 78.2-93.8) of the fever cases in children and 80.7% (68.1-90.0) in adults were treated with one of the recommended antimalarials (at the time SP, amodiaquine or quinine). However, an estimation of community-effectiveness revealed that only 22.5% (13.9-33.2) of the children and 10.5% (4.0-21.5) of the adults received prompt and appropriate antimalarial treatment, despite high health facility usage rates. Quality of case-management was not satisfactory and the exemption mechanism for under-fives was not functional. Consequently, the commercial drug retail sector played an important complementary role in the provision of malaria treatment. In order to increase treatment effectiveness and maintain the high efficacy of the recently introduced ACT, both treatment sources should be strengthened and their quality should be improved. The seasonal movement of families to distant farming sites did not increase the risk of family members contracting malaria. In the fields, 97.9% (95.2-100) of all people were protected with mosquito nets but since few households stocked antimalarials at home, treatment had to be sought from distant health facilities or drug stores. Of the episodes that happened in the fields, 88.2% (72.6-96.7) were finally treated with an antimalarial, indicating that households made a considerable effort to obtain malaria treatment. It appeared that during the farming season, difficulties to mobilize resources coupled with the long distance to treatment sources led to delays in treatment-seeking. In this context, a comprehensive approach should be considered to improve access to treatment while at the same time assuring rational use of medicines and protecting fragile livelihoods. Investigations in the retail sector found that antimalarial availability had decreased by almost 50% in commercial shops following the policy change from chloroquine to SP as first-line treatment in 2001. This decline was noted mainly in general shops, which were not tolerated any more to sell SP (while they could generally sell chloroquine prior to the policy-change). In 2004, five out of 25 studied villages with a total population of 13,506 (18%) had neither a health facility, nor a shop as source of malaria treatment. While there was no immediately apparent impact on overall antimalarial use, the decline may have disproportionately affected the poorest and most remote groups in the community. In the light of the policy change to ACT these issues need to be addressed urgently if the benefits of these efficacious drugs are to be extended to the whole population. The assessment of shop keepers knowledge and behaviour revealed that drug store keepers had better knowledge of malaria and its treatment than their peers in general shops. In drug stores, mystery shoppers were more likely to receive an appropriate treatment (OR=9.6, 95% CI 1.5-60.5), even though at a higher price. As a distribution channel for ACTs, complementary to health facilities, upgraded drug stores may be the most realistic option. However, shopkeepers in drug stores need to be trained on the provision of correct malaria treatment. At the same time, the role of general shops as first contact points for malaria patients needs to be re-considered. Taking the importance of shops into account, interventions to increase the availability of ACTs in the retail sector are urgently required within the existing legal framework. The insights gained in the ACCESS studies helped to design a generic access framework embedded into the context of livelihood insecurity. This framework links social science and public health research with broader approaches to poverty alleviation. Apart from offering an analytical frame for further scientific research, it suggests access policies and interventions that reach beyond health services. In conclusion, the findings of this thesis underline the need for a comprehensive approach to analyze and improve access to treatment. In this setting, health systems factors appear to be major obstacles to treatment, while local disease perceptions did not appear to have a big influence on treatment access. There is an urgent need to improve quality of care at all levels and new avenues have to be explored to achieve equitable coverage with essential health interventions. Health policies need to be formulated and implemented in a way that they effectively improve the quality of services for all population groups. Considering the close link of disease and poverty, any health intervention is unlikely to succeed without taking the demand side into consideration. A comprehensive approach should therefore not only include measures that enable patients to access providers of good quality care, but also contribute to the strengthening of household economies. In order to achieve a decline in malaria morbidity and mortality in Africa, a concerted effort of all stakeholders is required to translate efficacious tools into effective, equitable and sustainable interventions

Interdisciplinary three-step strategy to treat aortic stenosis and coronary artery disease in a patient with end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: Valvular aortic stenosis is a common disease in the elderly, often in multimorbid patients. It is often associated with coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease. In this situation, the risk of conventional open-heart surgery is too high, and other treatment strategies have to be evaluated. Case report: A 79-year-old female patient with severe aortic stenosis, coronary artery disease and end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease suffering from dyspnea at rest and permanently dependent on oxygen was treated in three steps. Firstly, her pulmonary infection was treated with antibiotics for 7 days. Then, the left anterior descending artery was stented (bare-metal stent). In the same session, valvuloplasty of the aortic valve was performed. She was sent to rehabilitation to improve her pulmonary condition and took clopidogrel for 4 weeks. Finally, she underwent transapical aortic valve replacement. She was released to rehabilitation on postoperative day 12. Conclusion: A combination of modern interventional and minimally invasive surgical techniques to treat aortic stenosis and coronary heart disease can be a viable option for multimorbid patients with extremely high risk in conventional open-heart surgery

Discovery of a Hot Symbiotic Star in the Cold Antarctic Sky: Symbiotics Are Outliers in SkyMapper uvgriz Photometry

Using near-ultraviolet flux excess and variability from the SkyMapper Southern Sky Survey11 as novel diagnostics to search for symbiotic stars?cool giants accreting onto compact objects, typically white dwarfs (WDs), we report that Hen 3-1768 (≡ASAS J195948?8252.7) is a symbiotic star. It may be an optimal target for continuous monitoring by Antarctic telescopes; at a decl. of −82877, it is now the closest known symbiotic to either geographic pole, and the only known symbiotic more southern than the Small Magellanic Cloud (Belczyński et al. 2000; Akras et al. 2019, ApJS, in press). Figure 1 shows that Hen 3-1768 produced unambiguous emission from Raman O vi 6830,7088 Å, He ii 4686 Å, and other transitions, proving that it is a symbiotic star (e.g., Shore et al. 2014). Comparing to Pickles (1998) template spectra, we preliminarily constrained the giant donor´s spectral type to between K4 and K7, making Hen 3-1768 one of the dozen or so yellow symbiotics with stellar-type infrared (IR) colors currently known (e.g., Baella et al. 2016). The 2MASS IR colors (J − H)0 = 0.82 and (H − Ks)0 = 0.21 (Skrutskie et al. 2006; de-reddened by total Galactic extinction12 ) are consistent with this conclusion (see Figure 1 in Baella et al. 2016).Fil: Lucy, Adrian B.. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Sokoloski, J. L.. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Nuñez, Natalia Edith. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Wolf, C.. Research School Of Astronomy And Astrophysics, Anu; AustraliaFil: Bohlsen, T.. Mirranook Observatory,; AustraliaFil: Luna, Gerardo Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentin

Faktorisierungsverfahren für ganze Zahlen

Die vorliegende Diplomarbeit behandelt das Faktorisierungsproblem, also von der Berechnung eines Teilers einer zusammengesetzten ganzen Zahl, und primär den Methoden, die sowohl historisch als auch aktuell dafür zur Anwendung kommen. Zuvor führen wir alle mathematischen Grundlagen, die wir zur Vorstellung der Faktorisierungsalgorithmen benötigen, ein. Die im Hauptteil beinhalteten Methoden zur Teilerberechnung, deren Funktionsweisen wir detailliert vorstellen, sind die Probedivision, Pollards - und (p-1)-Methode, die Elliptic Curve Method, die Methode nach Fermat, nach Legendre, der Kettenbruchalgorithmus, das quadratische Sieb und das Zahlkörpersieb. Für ein besseres Verständnis geben wir einige der Algorithmen als funktionstüchtigen Code des Algebra- Programms PARI/GP an und testen diese auf ihre Geschwindigkeit und Eigenschaften. Zwei Fragen schenken wir bei der Beschreibung dieser Methoden besondere Beachtung: 1) Wie schnell arbeitet der jeweilige Algorithmus? 2) Spielen Charakteristika der zu faktorisierenden Zahlen eine Rolle? Diese Fragestellungen sind im Besonderen im Anwendungsbereich des Faktorisierungsproblems, dem RSA-Verfahren in der Verschlüsselungstheorie, von zentraler Bedeutung, da die Sicherheit des Verfahrens auf deren Komplexität beruht. Danach nehmen wir aktuelle Faktorisierungsprogramme praktisch unter die Lupe, testen also mittels ausgewählter Zahlen ihre Faktorisierungsgeschwindigkeit. Abschließend erfolgt wir eine Zeitreise durch die Faktorisierungsgeschichte, eine Analyse des gegenwärtigen Forschungsstandes und ein Blick in die Zukunft der Zahlenfaktorisierung.This diploma thesis is about the factorization problem, i.e. to compute a factor of a composite integer, and primary the historical and current methods to do this. First of all we discuss the mathematical background we need to present the factorization algorithms. The main part of this thesis, the detailed introductions of the factorization algorithms, will cover the trial division algorithm, Pollard's Rho- and (p-1)-method, the elliptic curve method, Fermat's factorization method, Legendre's factorization method, the continued fraction method, the quadratic sieve and the number field sieve. For a better understanding we specify for some of the methods a working source code for the algebra software PARI/GP, which we will check for speed and properties. The two following questions will cause our special interest: 1) How fast terminates the algorithm? 2) Do the characteristics of the factoring numbers play a role? These questions are in particular important for the RSA-algorithm in the cryptography, where the factorization problem plays the central part for the security. Afterwards we test some of the current factorization softwares for their speed and finally we go on a time travel of the factorization history, analyze the state of the art and look into the future of the integer factorization

A 3D quantitative method for analyzing bone mineral densities : a case study on skeletal deformities in the gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Skeletal deformities, one of the major threats for aquaculture, have been studied extensively. These include opercular malformations in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), a key fish species for Mediterranean aquaculture. What is causing it and at what morphogenetic level it arises, however, is still unclear. Here we focus on bone formation, at the level of bone mineralization. Several methods have been used to study bone mineralization density (BMD), however, these are frequently limited when targeting a high-resolution, three-dimensional mapping of BMD. We used micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) data to perform such a 3D quantification of BMD levels in gilthead sea bream that showed different levels of opercular bone deformations. This approach has the advantage of not having to rely on calibration phantoms, as long as relative BMD values are needed. The results show an increased BMD in deformed opercles compared to normal ones, especially in a bilaterally-deformed specimen. Furthermore, we show that opercular deformations are not necessarily associated with similar mineralization patterns in other mineralized cranial elements, except for the otoliths. Also, mineralization seems to occur left-right independently, matching earlier observations of such an independency of the opercular phenotype as a whole. This study confirms that a quantitative characterization of BMD patterns in 3D is feasible, even in smaller specimens, and that it has several advantages over other commonly used approaches