Energy in the 21st Century: New Challenges and Goals

In the next century energy will remain the pillar of social development and wealth. The demand for energy will continue to increase apace with economic growth in the medium term and population growth in the longer term. In several countries, development planning strategies might also conflict sharply with environmental concerns, thus complicating the implementation of timely environmental protection policy strategies. However, early introduction and deployment of safe and clean technologies could reduce future economic burdens such as compensation payments for health and the environmental costs of energy use. The major goal in developing long-term energy projections is to identify those principal trends and tendencies that will prevail over the time period under consideration rather than to define exactly the various factors constituting the scenario or system being studied. Whereas long-term projections can concentrate on many different aspects, the major focus is on the possible exhaustion of cheap energy resources and the environmental and climatic impact of energy systems. Scenarios and options for global and regional energy systems are addressed in this paper with the aim of identifying a smooth transition from the present structure based primarily on fossil fuels to a future structure based on the more efficient and balanced use of fossil fuels, nuclear energy and renewable energy. It is clear that energy resources are available in sufficient quantity in the medium term to support national development and individual well-being. The energy mix adopted by each country will depend on the economical and ecological use of the indigenous resource base and global/regional constraints on greenhouse gas emissions. Trade-offs between environmental impact and economic development must be explored and incorporated into national energy policies. The challenge of the next decades will place greater emphasis on energy sources and power generation technologies that have the potential to minimize damage to health and the environment, while at the same time being economically viable and deployable on a broad scale so as to meet global energy demands. Energy availability, security of supply, and the pricing structure of primary as well as final energy sources are important issues on the decision-makers' agendas. Improvements in technology transfer, financial mechanisms, and new more effective institutional frameworks are required, if a global environmentally compatible energy strategy is to be achieved for the next century

Communicating Processes with Data for Supervisory Coordination

We employ supervisory controllers to safely coordinate high-level discrete(-event) behavior of distributed components of complex systems. Supervisory controllers observe discrete-event system behavior, make a decision on allowed activities, and communicate the control signals to the involved parties. Models of the supervisory controllers can be automatically synthesized based on formal models of the system components and a formalization of the safe coordination (control) requirements. Based on the obtained models, code generation can be used to implement the supervisory controllers in software, on a PLC, or an embedded (micro)processor. In this article, we develop a process theory with data that supports a model-based systems engineering framework for supervisory coordination. We employ communication to distinguish between the different flows of information, i.e., observation and supervision, whereas we employ data to specify the coordination requirements more compactly, and to increase the expressivity of the framework. To illustrate the framework, we remodel an industrial case study involving coordination of maintenance procedures of a printing process of a high-tech Oce printer.Comment: In Proceedings FOCLASA 2012, arXiv:1208.432

"Challenges in Trust and Security by Implementation of E-CRM Among Banks and Financial Institution: A Case Study of E-Banking in Iran”

The advancement in technology, information and communication has forced banks and financial institutions into hard competition.  In this new era technology, people and customer are the elements which the banks are concentrating on them to manage customer relationship and success of banking in customer satisfaction. Electronic customer relationship management (e-CRM) is seen to arise from the consolidation of traditional CRM with the e-business applications marketplace and has created a flurry of activity among companies. The purpose of this study is to examine the competitive advantages on e-CRM in financial institutions and banks and obtain better understanding of the e-CRM benefits. A qualitative research approach was used for this study. Empirical data was collected through interviews were conducted with twenty six banks which just sixteen of them are participated. Our findings indicate Accessibility, Convenience, Services quality, Timeliness, and Trust are the most important benefits of E-CRM. We found that implementation of E-CRM bring about the following competitive advantages: Up to date of banks, Preparation of up to date technology, Proliferation of channels, Marketing and Strategic Factors and Fragmentation of customer segment

Mutational signatures in esophageal adenocarcinoma define etiologically distinct subgroups with therapeutic relevance

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) has a poor outcome, and targeted therapy trials have thus far been disappointing owing to a lack of robust stratification methods. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis of 129 cases demonstrated that this is a heterogeneous cancer dominated by copy number alterations with frequent large-scale rearrangements. Co-amplification of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and/or downstream mitogenic activation is almost ubiquitous; thus tailored combination RTK inhibitor (RTKi) therapy might be required, as we demonstrate in vitro. However, mutational signatures showed three distinct molecular subtypes with potential therapeutic relevance, which we verified in an independent cohort (n = 87): (i) enrichment for BRCA signature with prevalent defects in the homologous recombination pathway; (ii) dominant T>G mutational pattern associated with a high mutational load and neoantigen burden; and (iii) C>A/T mutational pattern with evidence of an aging imprint. These subtypes could be ascertained using a clinically applicable sequencing strategy (low coverage) as a basis for therapy selection

Virtual embodiment training is associated with relative alpha power modulation

IntroductionVirtual Reality mediated virtual embodiment training (VR-VET) is designed to reduce chronic pain, yet a neuroimaging marker predictive of outcomes or associated with clinical changes in pain has not been validated. This study considers four candidate EEG metrics that are associated with cognitive states of mental imagery, chronic pain intensity, and stress states. VR-VET with EEG enables measurement of these metrics and collection of kinematic data. Kinematic data serves as an indicator of functional movement. In a healthy population, this study assessed neuroimaging markers for cognitive processes involved in VET or pain perception.MethodsEEG was collected in 16 healthy individuals during VR-VET. Candidate EEG metrics were computed. Position data for each hand was used to calculate smoothness of movement within each activity. EEG metrics and smoothness were compared between the breathwork activity and activities with active movement of arms.ResultsRelative global alpha was significantly different in all VET activities compared to breathwork (p < 0.001). Specifically, relative posterior alpha power (p < 0.001) and relative mu (p = 0.026) were significantly lower in all active conditions. Smoothness of the active arm varied across VET activities and was reduced compared to breathwork (p < 0.001).DiscussionNeuroimaging markers are feasible to investigate VET mechanisms during movement. Relative global alpha is sensitive to VET states and may be related to motor imagery tasks or visual attention, making it a relevant EEG metric in the study of VET

Use of a Cytosponge biomarker panel to prioritise endoscopic Barrett's oesophagus surveillance: a cross-sectional study followed by a real-world prospective pilot

Background Endoscopic surveillance is recommended for patients with Barrett's oesophagus because, although the progression risk is low, endoscopic intervention is highly effective for high-grade dysplasia and cancer. However, repeated endoscopy has associated harms and access has been limited during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to evaluate the role of a non-endoscopic device (Cytosponge) coupled with laboratory biomarkers and clinical factors to prioritise endoscopy for Barrett's oesophagus. Methods We first conducted a retrospective, multicentre, cross-sectional study in patients older than 18 years who were having endoscopic surveillance for Barrett's oesophagus (with intestinal metaplasia confirmed by TFF3 and a minimum Barrett's segment length of 1 cm [circumferential or tongues by the Prague C and M criteria]). All patients had received the Cytosponge and confirmatory endoscopy during the BEST2 (ISRCTN12730505) and BEST3 (ISRCTN68382401) clinical trials, from July 7, 2011, to April 1, 2019 (UK Clinical Research Network Study Portfolio 9461). Participants were divided into training (n=557) and validation (n=334) cohorts to identify optimal risk groups. The biomarkers evaluated were overexpression of p53, cellular atypia, and 17 clinical demographic variables. Endoscopic biopsy diagnosis of high-grade dysplasia or cancer was the primary endpoint. Clinical feasibility of a decision tree for Cytosponge triage was evaluated in a real-world prospective cohort from Aug 27, 2020 (DELTA; ISRCTN91655550; n=223), in response to COVID-19 and the need to provide an alternative to endoscopic surveillance. Findings The prevalence of high-grade dysplasia or cancer determined by the current gold standard of endoscopic biopsy was 17% (92 of 557 patients) in the training cohort and 10% (35 of 344) in the validation cohort. From the new biomarker analysis, three risk groups were identified: high risk, defined as atypia or p53 overexpression or both on Cytosponge; moderate risk, defined by the presence of a clinical risk factor (age, sex, and segment length); and low risk, defined as Cytosponge-negative and no clinical risk factors. The risk of high-grade dysplasia or intramucosal cancer in the high-risk group was 52% (68 of 132 patients) in the training cohort and 41% (31 of 75) in the validation cohort, compared with 2% (five of 210) and 1% (two of 185) in the low-risk group, respectively. In the real-world setting, Cytosponge results prospectively identified 39 (17%) of 223 patients as high risk (atypia or p53 overexpression, or both) requiring endoscopy, among whom the positive predictive value was 31% (12 of 39 patients) for high-grade dysplasia or intramucosal cancer and 44% (17 of 39) for any grade of dysplasia. Interpretation Cytosponge atypia, p53 overexpression, and clinical risk factors (age, sex, and segment length) could be used to prioritise patients for endoscopy. Further investigation could validate their use in clinical practice and lead to a substantial reduction in endoscopy procedures compared with current surveillance pathways