Bacterial resistance to ciprofloxacin in Greece: results from the National Electronic Surveillance System. Greek Network for the Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance.

According to 1997 susceptibility data from the National Electronic System for the Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance, Greece has high rates of ciprofloxacin resistance. For most species, the frequency of ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates (from highest to lowest, by patient setting) was as follows: intensive care unit > surgical > medical > outpatient. Most ciprofloxacin-resistant strains were multidrug resistant

Prospective Scenarios on Energy Efficiency and CO2 Emissions in the EU Iron & Steel Industry

This document analyzes on the basis of a detailed bottom-up model the role of technology and its diffusion on energy consumption and CO2 emissions at plant level in the EU-27 Iron & Steel industry. Main current processes of all plants and the cost-effectiveness of their retrofit with Best Available Technologies and Innovative Technologies is analyzed up to 2030. The baseline scenario considers the demand for steel and prices of fuels and resources evolve according to the projection of Primes. Two alternative scenarios vary linearly several times by 2030 some of the main drives of technology change, such us the cost of CO2 allowances, fuels and price of the resources. The reduction ranges for the specific CO2 emissions varies between 14% and 21%. The range for the variation in specific energy consumption goes from 7 to 11%. The higher values rely on the successful market roll-out by 2020 of some key innovative technologies, underlining the importance of the successful conclusion of the research ongoing in those technologies. In the recycling route the results indicate potential improvements between 2010 and 2030 in the specific energy consumption and specific CO2 emissions of about 6% and 11%, respectively.JRC.F.6-Energy systems evaluatio

Study on the state of play of energy efficiency of heat and electricity production technologies

This report provides an overview of the current state of the art of the technologies used in EU for power and heat generation as well as combined heat and power generation (cogeneration or CHP). The technologies are categorised per fuel but also in terms of technology selection. The fuels considered are the ones reported in the Strategic European Energy Review report on Energy Sources, Production Costs and Performance of Technologies for Power Generation, Heating and Transport (SEC(2008) 2872).JRC.F.6-Energy systems evaluatio

Best available technologies for the heat and cooling market in the European Union

Every year, over 40% of the total energy consumed in Europe is used for the generation of heat for either domestic or industrial purposes whereas the cooling demand is growing exponentially. The importance of the heat and cooling sector is underlined in the EU energy policy initiatives. This emphasize the role of technologies based on renewable energy sources combined with high-efficiency energy technologies, to meet the heat and cooling demand in Europe more sustainably in the future. In this context, the JRC led study, which was undertaken with two partners , to identify the current best available technologies (BATs) which can contribute to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the CO2 emission in the heat and cooling market in the EU.JRC.F.6-Energy systems evaluatio

Heat and Cooling Demand and Market Perspective

In order to fully understand the national potentials for cogeneration, it is essential to identify the existing and prospective demand of heat and cooling by sector. A study will be performed on a MS level to describe the demand of heat and cooling by different sectors (i.e. industrial, residential), demand types (different temperatures) and supply technologies. This work aims to analyze the current situation and future trends of heat and cooling demand in the EU, as well as, the use and availability of industrial. Within each sector the demand will be presented for different segments. The focus is to map the demand of heat and cooling on temperature intervals possible to be supplied by district heating, district cooling or CHP. In order to capture the characteristics of heat, heat is split into different types; space heating, warm water, cooking, and industrial heat. For cooling, space cooling is the main type applicable to district cooling.JRC.F.6-Energy systems evaluatio

Carbapenem-non-susceptible Enterobacteriaceae in Europe : conclusions from a meeting of national experts

The emergence and global spread of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae is of great concern to health services worldwide. These bacteria are often resistant to all beta-lactam antibiotics and frequently co-resistant to most other antibiotics, leaving very few treatment options. The epidemiology is compounded by the diversity of carbapenem-hydrolysing enzymes and the ability of their genes to spread between different bacterial species. Difficulties are also encountered by laboratories when trying to detect carbapenemase production during routine diagnostic procedures due to an often heterogeneous expression of resistance. Some of the resistance genes are associated with successful clonal lineages which have a selective advantage in those hospitals where antimicrobial use is high and opportunities for transmission exist; others are more often associated with transmissible plasmids. A genetically distinct strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type (ST) 258 harbouring the K. Pneumoniae carbapenemases (KPC) has been causing epidemics of national and international proportions. It follows the pathways of patient referrals, causing hospital outbreaks along the way. Simultaneously, diverse strains harbouring New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM-1) are repeatedly being imported into Europe, commonly via patients with prior medical exposure in the Indian subcontinent. Since the nature and scale of carbapenem-non-susceptible Entrobacteriaceae as a threat to hospital patients in Europe remains unclear, a consultation of experts from 31 countries set out to identify the gaps in diagnostic and response capacity, to index the magnitude of carbapenem-non-susceptibility across Europe using a novel five-level staging system, and to provide elements of a strategy to combat this public health issue in a concerted manner.peer-reviewe