In vitro study of interaction between quinine and Garcinia kola

Purpose: To investigate the interaction between quinine and Garcinia kola using an in vitro adsorption study.Methods: In vitro interaction between quinine and G. kola was conducted at 37 ± 0.1 °C. Adsorption of quinine (2.5 - 40 μg/ml) to 2.5 % w/v G. kola suspension was studied. Thereafter, quinine desorption process was investigated. The amount of quinine adsorbed and desorbed was quantified using HPLC. A Freundlich isotherm was constructed to describe the resulting data and percentage of quinine desorbedwas determined from the desorption data.Results: An adsorption isotherm of the data gave a Freundlich constant (K) of 52.66 μg/g, with a slope of 0.69 indicating a high capacity and affinity of G. kola to adsorb quinine at a concentration smaller than 2.41 μg/g of G. kola. However the adsorptive capacity of G. kola for quinine at 37 ± 0.1 °C appears to be a saturable process as observed from the isotherm. Quinine desorption from G. kola peaked at 1 hour (37.51 %) and decreased to a constant amount (about 35 %) over the remaining sampling time.Conclusion: Quinine is adsorbed on G. kola in vitro. This suggests that concurrent administration of quinine and G. kola should be avoided, to prevent potential drug interaction and decreased drug bioavailability.Keywords: Quinine, Garcinia kola, Adsorption, Desorption, Drug interactio

Solar Energy: Incentives to Promote PV in EU27

The growth in the use of renewable energies in the EU has been remarkable. Among these energies is PV. The average annual growth rate for the EU-27 countries in installed PV capacity in the period 2005-2012 was 41.2%. While the installed capacity of PV has reached almost 82 % of National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) targets for the EU-27 countries for 2020, it is still far from being used at its full potential. Over recent years, several measures have been adopted in the EU to enhance and promote PV. This paper undertakes a complete review of the state of PV power in Europe and the measures taken to date to promote it in EU-27. 25 countries have adopted measures to promote PV. The most widespread measure to promote PV use is Feed- in Tariffs. Tariffs are normally adjusted, in a decreasing manner, annually. Nevertheless, currently, seven countries have decided to accelerate this decrease rate in view of cost reduction of the installations and of higher efficiencies. The second instrument used to promote PV in the EU-27 countries is the concession of subsidies. Nevertheless, subsidies have the disadvantage of being closely linked to budgetary resources and therefore to budgetary constraints. In most EU countries, subsidies for renewable energy for PV are being lowered. Twelve EU-27 countries adopted tax measures. Low-interest loans and green certificate systems were only sparingly used

Factors affecting the electrocardiographic QT interval in malaria: A systematic review and meta-analysis of individual patient data.

BACKGROUND: Electrocardiographic QT interval prolongation is the most widely used risk marker for ventricular arrhythmia potential and thus an important component of drug cardiotoxicity assessments. Several antimalarial medicines are associated with QT interval prolongation. However, interpretation of electrocardiographic changes is confounded by the coincidence of peak antimalarial drug concentrations with recovery from malaria. We therefore reviewed all available data to characterise the effects of malaria disease and demographic factors on the QT interval in order to improve assessment of electrocardiographic changes in the treatment and prevention of malaria. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual patient data. We searched clinical bibliographic databases (last on August 21, 2017) for studies of the quinoline and structurally related antimalarials for malaria-related indications in human participants in which electrocardiograms were systematically recorded. Unpublished studies were identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) Evidence Review Group (ERG) on the Cardiotoxicity of Antimalarials. Risk of bias was assessed using the Pharmacoepidemiological Research on Outcomes of Therapeutics by a European Consortium (PROTECT) checklist for adverse drug events. Bayesian hierarchical multivariable regression with generalised additive models was used to investigate the effects of malaria and demographic factors on the pretreatment QT interval. The meta-analysis included 10,452 individuals (9,778 malaria patients, including 343 with severe disease, and 674 healthy participants) from 43 studies. 7,170 (68.6%) had fever (body temperature ≥ 37.5°C), and none developed ventricular arrhythmia after antimalarial treatment. Compared to healthy participants, patients with uncomplicated falciparum malaria had shorter QT intervals (-61.77 milliseconds; 95% credible interval [CI]: -80.71 to -42.83) and increased sensitivity of the QT interval to heart rate changes. These effects were greater in severe malaria (-110.89 milliseconds; 95% CI: -140.38 to -81.25). Body temperature was associated independently with clinically significant QT shortening of 2.80 milliseconds (95% CI: -3.17 to -2.42) per 1°C increase. Study limitations include that it was not possible to assess the effect of other factors that may affect the QT interval but are not consistently collected in malaria clinical trials. CONCLUSIONS: Adjustment for malaria and fever-recovery-related QT lengthening is necessary to avoid misattributing malaria-disease-related QT changes to antimalarial drug effects. This would improve risk assessments of antimalarial-related cardiotoxicity in clinical research and practice. Similar adjustments may be indicated for other febrile illnesses for which QT-interval-prolonging medications are important therapeutic options

Fossil fuel subsidy removal and inadequate public power supply: Implications for businesses

We briefly consider the impact of fossil fuel subsidy removal policies in the context of inadequate power supply, with a focus on the implications for businesses. In doing so, we utilize the case of the early 2012 fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria. The rationale for such subsidy-removal policies is typically informed by analysis showing that they lead to an economically inefficient allocation of resources and market distortions, while often failing to meet intended objectives. However, often the realities of infrastructural and institutional deficiencies are not appropriately factored into the decision-making process. Businesses in many developing countries, already impaired by the high cost of power supply deficiencies, become even less competitive on an unsubsidized basis. We find that justifications for removal often do not adequately reflect the specific environments of developing country economies, resulting in poor recommendations - or ineffective policy

Consumer engagement: An insight from smart grid projects in Europe

This paper provides an insight into consumer engagement in smart grid projects in Europe. Projects analysed are those included in the catalogue annexed in the JRC Report “Smart Grid projects in Europe: lessons learned and current developments”. The analysis suggests an increase in the interest in consumer engagement projects at European level and a strong focus on the residential sector, and emphasises the key importance of public funding to support these projects. The study also reveals that projects involving consumers are characterised by the pursuit of two main objectives: gaining deeper knowledge of consumer behaviour (observing and understanding the consumer) and motivating and empowering consumers to become active energy customers (engaging the consumer). The paper reviews the main activities undertaken to obtain these objectives and highlights trends and developments in the field. Finally, the paper discusses obstacles to consumer engagement and the strategies adopted by the projects surveyed to tackle them, highlighting the need to build consumer trust and to design targeted campaigns taking into consideration different consumer segments. The conclusions are in line with findings and analyses presented in the literature and underscore the need for further research and action at European level

Contextualizing electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa

This paper presents statistical findings from research focusing on factors that may help explain electricity access levels in emerging countries. It focuses on why SSA countries are lagging behind with regard to the provision of electricity services, despite reforms in the electricity sector. Poverty levels, gross domestic savings, energy-related gross fixed capital formation, rural population and population density are used as independent variables in the econometric analysis. We find that some factors characterizing electricity access levels in SSA countries have a different impact than those in other developing economies. Our results show that the size of rural population plays a more important role in SSA countries than in non-SSA countries. Furthermore, government effectiveness appears to explain more of the variation in electricity levels in SSA countries than in non-SSA countries. The requirements for clear political commitment and leadership with a strong focus on providing electricity access to the rural poor are underscored

Consumer engagement: An insight from smart grid projects in Europe

This paper provides an insight into consumer engagement in smart grid projects in Europe. Projects analysed are those included in the catalogue annexed in the JRC Report “Smart Grid projects in Europe: lessons learned and current developments”. The analysis suggests an increase in the interest in consumer engagement projects at European level and a strong focus on the residential sector, and emphasises the key importance of public funding to support these projects. The study also reveals that projects involving consumers are characterised by the pursuit of two main objectives: gaining deeper knowledge of consumer behaviour (observing and understanding the consumer) and motivating and empowering consumers to become active energy customers (engaging the consumer). The paper reviews the main activities undertaken to obtain these objectives and highlights trends and developments in the field. Finally, the paper discusses obstacles to consumer engagement and the strategies adopted by the projects surveyed to tackle them, highlighting the need to build consumer trust and to design targeted campaigns taking into consideration different consumer segments. The conclusions are in line with findings and analyses presented in the literature and underscore the need for further research and action at European level

Comparative Studies of the Effects of Microstructures on the Corrosion Behavior of Micro-Alloyed Steels in Unbuffered 3.5 Wt% NaCl Saturated with CO2

Corrosion problem which exists in every stage of oil and gas production has been a great challenge to the operators in the industry. The conventional carbon steel with all its inherent advantages has been adjudged susceptible to the aggressive corrosion environment of oilfield. This has aroused increased interest in the use of micro alloyed steels for oil and gas production and transportation. The corrosion behavior of three commercially supplied micro alloyed steels designated as A, B, and C have been investigated with API 5L X65 as reference samples. Electrochemical corrosion tests were conducted in an unbuffered 3.5 wt% NaCl solution saturated with CO2 at 30 0C for 24 hours. Pre-corrosion analyses revealed that samples A, B and X65 consist of ferrite-pearlite microstructures but with different grain sizes, shapes and distribution whereas sample C has bainitic microstructure with dispersed acicular ferrites. The results of the electrochemical corrosion tests showed that within the experimental conditions, the corrosion rate of the samples can be ranked as CR(A)< CR(X65)< CR(B)< CR(C). These results are attributed to difference in microstructures of the samples as depicted by ASTM grain size number in accordance with ASTM E112-12 Standard and ferrite-pearlite volume fractions determined by ImageJ Fiji grain size analysis software

Re-considering the economics of photovoltaic power

This paper briefly considers the recent dramatic reductions in the underlying costs and market prices of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, and their implications for decision-makers. In many cases, current PV costs and the associated market and technological shifts witnessed in the industry have not been fully noted by decision-makers. The perception persists that PV is prohibitively expensive, and still has not reached competitiveness. The authors find that the commonly used analytical comparators for PV vis a vis other power generation options may add further confusion. In order to help dispel existing misconceptions, some level of transparency is provided on the assumptions, inputs and parameters in calculations relating to the economics of PV. The paper is aimed at informing policy makers, utility decision-makers, investors and advisory services, in particular in high-growth developing countries as they weigh the suite of power generation options available to them