Direct air capture (DAC) deployment: National context cannot be neglected. A case study applied to Norway

DAC deployment is still an open question. Recent publications focused on energy consumption and the relationship between the cost of captured CO2 and operating conditions. These works addressed a preliminary assessment of the best locations but neglected the importance of the local context to succeed in implementing DAC in a specific country. Certainly, levelized costs provide a pointer of the costs but do not point out the impact on the natural resources to be allocated (land use and energy) or if the energy consumption outweighs the environmental benefit. Furthermore, it does not consider if it clashes with planned national strategies. This article aims at predicting the impact of DAC facilities deployment in the Norwegian context by taking advantage of international reports by independent agencies. The estimates are just preliminary but offer an initial rough estimate of Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies deployment at a national level taking the local resource consumption into account.publishedVersio

Direct Air capture (DAC) deployment: A review of the industrial deployment

Currently, scientists and investors consider Direct Air Capture (DAC) as one of the candidates to reduce CO2 emissions. The emissions cut is pressing since 30% of the current greenhouse gas emissions must be addressed by 2030. In seven years, CO2 removal (CDR) technologies are expected to reach a Technology Readiness Level (TRL), relevant to industrial applications. The most promising technologies are at TRL-7, but the jump to TRL-11 in the new IEA scale for disruptive technologies looks unlikely because the scale-up from small pilots to industrial scale requires time and large investments. Moreover, validation on a large scale is still missing or even unplanned. This work also identifies the critical materials supply chain and the competition with the energy transition as limiting factors which could further hinder DAC deployment and reduce DAC contribution in the next years when a first significant emissions cut should be addressed.publishedVersio

Methods to Estimate the Comparative Effectiveness of Clinical Strategies that Administer the Same Intervention at Different Times

Clinical guidelines that rely on observational data due to the absence of data from randomized trials benefit when the observational data or its analysis emulates trial data or its analysis. In this paper, we review a methodology for emulating trials that compare the effects of different timing strategies, that is, strategies that vary the frequency of delivery of a medical intervention or procedure. We review trial emulation for comparing (i) single applications of the procedure at different times, (ii) fixed schedules of application, and (iii) schedules adapted to the evolving clinical characteristics of the patients. For illustration, we describe an application in which we estimate the effect of surveillance colonoscopies in patients who had an adenoma detected during the Norwegian Colorectal Cancer Prevention (NORCCAP) trial

Politisk merkevare – en studie av Arbeiderpartiets velgere gjennom brand concept maps.

I denne oppgaven har vi undersøkt kjernevelgere og vippevelger i lys av Arbeiderpartiet. Formålet med studien er å avdekke hvilke assosiasjoner utvalgene har til Arbeiderpartiet som en merkevare, og om assosiasjonene kan differensieres ved innhold og assosiasjonsstyrke. Vi har anvendt analyseverktøyet Brand concept maps (BCM) slik det er utviklet i studien til French og Smith (2010) med små praktiske modifikasjoner. Metoden brukes for å kartlegge et utvalgs assosiasjonsnettverk av informasjon om en merkevare. Derfor har det vært hensiktsmessig å bruke metaforen ”det politiske markedet” om prosessene og utvekslingene som utspiller seg i det politiske landskapet. Når vi tolker det politiske markedet betyr det å se på velgeren som en forbruker av politiske parti, og stemmegivningen som et kjøp. Denne sammenligningen har vi vurdert gjennom et kritisk perspektiv da overføring av kunnskap fra et felt til et annet sjeldent foregår uten implikasjoner. Vi kan ikke generalisere på bakgrunn av funnene. Gjennom dataanalysen observerte vi at kjernevelgere og vippevelgere tolker merkevaren Arbeiderpartiet noe ulikt. Sammenlignet med vippevelgere er kjernevelgere mer positivt til Arbeiderpartiet og partilederen. Vippevelgere på sin side er noe positiv til Arbeiderpartiet, men stiller seg nøytral og litt kritisk til partilederen. Der kjernevelgere er positive til samarbeidet med LO er vippevelgere negative. Det kan også tenkes at partilederen har personifisert negative attributter til partiet, settgjennom vippevelgernes assosiasjon vinglete i konsensuskartet. Vi ble noe overrasket over et større antall assosiasjoner knyttet til partiets ideologi hos både kjernevelgere og vippevelgere. Sett i lys av teorien om sakseierskap ble vi også overrasket av mangelen på assosiasjoner om saker hos begge utvalgene

Colorectal cancer - Demand for a joint Nordic study on the value of colonoscopic screening

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The dynamics of immune responses to <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis </i>during different stages of natural infection:A longitudinal study among Greenlanders

OBJECTIVE:Understanding human immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) during different stages of infection is important for development of an effective tuberculosis (TB) vaccine. We aimed to evaluate immunity to Mtb infection by measuring immune responses to selected Mtb antigens expressed during different stages of infection over time and to observe sustainability of immunity. METHODS:In a cohort study comprising East Greenlanders aged 17-22 years (2012 to 2014) who had either; undetectable Mtb infection, ongoing or prior Mtb infection at enrolment, we measured immunity to 15 antigens over a one-year period. Quantiferon-TB Gold testing (QFT) defined Mtb infection status (undetected/detected). The eligible study population of East Greenlanders aged 17-22 years was identified from the entire population using the Civil Registration System. From the source population 65 participants were selected by stratified random sampling according to information on Mtb infection stage. Retrospective and prospective information on notified TB (including treatment) was obtained through the mandatory TB notification system and was used to characterise Mtb infection stage (ongoing/prior). Immunity to 15 antigens including two QFT antigens, PPD and 12 non-QFT antigens (representing early, constitutive and latent Mtb infection) was assessed by measuring immune responses using whole-blood antigen stimulation and interferon gamma measurement. RESULTS:Of 65 participants, 54 were considered Mtb-infected. Immunity to Mtb infection fluctuated with high annual risk of conversion (range: 6-69%) and reversion (range: 5-95%). During follow-up, five (8%) participants were notified with TB; neither conversion nor reversion was associated with an increased risk of progressing to TB. CONCLUSIONS:Our findings suggest that human immunity to natural Mtb infection over time is versatile with fluctuations, resulting in high levels of conversion and reversion of immunity, thus human immunity to Mtb is much more dynamic than anticipated. The study findings suggest future use of longitudinal assessment of immune responses when searching for TB vaccine candidate antigens

Mammographic features and screening outcome in a randomized controlled trial comparing digital breast tomosynthesis and digital mammography

Purpose To compare the distribution of mammographic features among women recalled for further assessment after screening with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) versus digital mammography (DM), and to assess associations between features and final outcome of the screening, including immunohistochemical subtypes of the tumour. Methods This randomized controlled trial was performed in Bergen, Norway, and included 28,749 women, of which 1015 were recalled due to mammographic findings. Mammographic features were classified according to a modified BI-RADS-scale. The distribution were compared using 95 % confidence intervals (CI). Results Asymmetry was the most common feature of all recalls, 24.3 % (108/444) for DBT and 38.9 % (222/571) for DM. Spiculated mass was most common for breast cancer after screening with DBT (36.8 %, 35/95, 95 %CI: 27.2−47.4) while calcifications (23.0 %, 20/87, 95 %CI: 14.6−33.2) was the most frequent after DM. Among women screened with DBT, 0.13 % (95 %CI: 0.08−0.21) had benign outcome after recall due to indistinct mass while the percentage was 0.28 % (95 %CI: 0.20−0.38) for DM. The distributions were 0.70 % (95 %CI: 0.57−0.85) versus 1.46 % (95 %CI: 1.27−1.67) for asymmetry and 0.24 % (95 %CI: 0.16−0.33) versus 0.54 % (95 %CI: 0.43−0.68) for obscured mass, among women screened with DBT versus DM, respectively. Spiculated mass was the most common feature among women diagnosed with non-luminal A-like cancer after DBT and after DM. Conclusions Spiculated mass was the dominant feature for breast cancer among women screened with DBT while calcifications was the most frequent feature for DM. Further studies exploring the clinical relevance of mammographic features visible particularly on DBT are warranted.publishedVersio

Bortezomib is significantly beneficial for de novo pediatric AML patients with low phosphorylation of the NF-κB subunit RelA

Purpose: The addition of the proteasome inhibitor (PI) bortezomib to standard chemotherapy (ADE: cytarabine [Ara-C], daunorubicin, and etoposide) did not improve overall outcome of pediatric AML patients in the Children's Oncology Group AAML1031 phase 3 randomized clinical trial (AAML1031). Bortezomib prevents protein degradation, including RelA via the intracellular NF-kB pathway. In this study, we hypothesized that subgroups of pediatric AML patients benefitting from standard therapy plus bortezomib (ADEB) could be identified based on pre-treatment RelA expression and phosphorylation status. Experimental design: RelA-total and phosphorylation at serine 536 (RelA-pSer536) were measured in 483 patient samples using reverse phase protein array technology. Results: In ADEB-treated patients, low-RelA-pSer536 was favorably prognostic when compared to high-RelA-pSer536 (3-yr overall survival (OS): 81% vs. 68%, p = 0.032; relapse risk (RR): 30% vs. 49%, p = 0.004). Among low-RelA-pSer536 patients, RR significantly decreased with ADEB compared to ADE (RR: 30% vs. 44%, p = 0.035). Correlation between RelA-pSer536 and 295 other assayed proteins identified a strong correlation with HSF1-pSer326, another protein previously identified as modifying ADEB response. The combination of low-RelA-pSer536 and low-HSF1-pSer326 was a significant predictor of ADEB response (3-yr OS: 86% vs. 67%, p = 0.013). Conclusion and clinical relevance: Bortezomib may improve clinical outcome in a subgroup of AML patients identified by low-RelA-pSer536 and low-HSF1-pSer326

Phase 2 study of vismodegib, a hedgehog inhibitor, combined with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in patients with untreated metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Background: The Hedgehog (Hh) signalling pathway is overexpressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). Preclinical studies have shown that Hh inhibitors reduce pancreatic cancer stem cells (pCSC), stroma and Hh signalling. Methods: Patients with previously untreated metastatic PDA were treated with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel. Vismodegib was added starting on the second cycle. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) as compared with historical controls. Tumour biopsies to assess pCSC, stroma and Hh signalling were obtained before treatment and after cycle 1 (gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel) or after cycle 2 (gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel plus vismodegib). Results: Seventy-one patients were enrolled. Median PFS and overall survival (OS) were 5.42 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.37–6.97) and 9.79 months (95% CI: 7.85–10.97), respectively. Of the 67 patients evaluable for response, 27 (40%) had a response: 26 (38.8%) partial responses and 1 complete response. In the tumour samples, there were no significant changes in ALDH + pCSC following treatment. Conclusions: Adding vismodegib to chemotherapy did not improve efficacy as compared with historical rates observed with chemotherapy alone in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic pancreatic cancer. This study does not support the further evaluation of Hh inhibitors in this patient population. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01088815