Investment incentives and valuation of power sector infrastructure assets with increasing interconnection, intermittency and decarbonisation

This dissertation applies a variety of quantitative methods to electricity and carbon market data, utility company accounts data, capital and operating costs to analyse some of the challenges associated with investment in energy assets. In particular, three distinct research topics are analysed within this general theme: the efficiency of interconnector trading, the optimal sizing of intermittent wind facilities and the impact of carbon pricing on the cost of capital for investors are researched in successive sections.

The increasing impact of human immunodeficiency virus infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and viral hepatitis in Durham County, North Carolina: a call for coordinated and integrated services.

BACKGROUND: Durham County, North Carolina, faces high rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (with or without progression to AIDS) and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). We explored the use of health care services and the prevalence of coinfections, among HIV-infected residents, and we recorded community perspectives on HIV-related issues. METHODS: We evaluated data on diagnostic codes, outpatient visits, and hospitalizations for individuals with HIV infection, STDs, and/or hepatitis B or C who visited Duke University Hospital System (DUHS). Viral loads for HIV-infected patients receiving care were estimated for 2009. We conducted geospatial mapping to determine disease trends and used focus groups and key informant interviews to identify barriers and solutions to improving testing and care. RESULTS: We identified substantial increases in HIV/STDs in the southern regions of the county. During the 5-year period, 1,291 adults with HIV infection, 4,245 with STDs, and 2,182 with hepatitis B or C were evaluated at DUHS. Among HIV-infected persons, 13.9% and 21.8% were coinfected with an STD or hepatitis B or C, respectively. In 2009, 65.7% of HIV-infected persons receiving care had undetectable viral loads. Barriers to testing included stigma, fear, and denial of risk, while treatment barriers included costs, transportation, and low medical literacy. LIMITATIONS: Data for health care utilization and HIV load were available from different periods. Focus groups were conducted among a convenience sample, but they represented a diverse population. CONCLUSIONS: Durham County has experienced an increase in the number of HIV-infected persons in the county, and coinfections with STDs and hepatitis B or C are common. Multiple barriers to testing/treatment exist in the community. Coordinated care models are needed to improve access to HIV care and to reduce testing and treatment barriers.

Increasing Motorcycle Taxi Driver Conspicuity in Tanzania

Motorcycle crash related injuries and deaths are increasing rapidly in many African nations. Utilizing conspicuity measures, such as wearing reflective, fluorescent safety vests, are effective as crash prevention strategies. Furthermore, use of some conspicuity measures is mandated by law among motorcycle-taxi drivers in Tanzania. Nonetheless, uptake remains low. Locally appropriate strategies to improve crash preventative behaviors are needed.

To explore whether use of conspicuity measures could be improved through eliminating cost-barriers, we tested a distribution strategy involving the provision of free motorcycle safety vests among a population of motorcycle-taxi drivers in Moshi, Tanzania. We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial among 180 motorcycle-taxi drivers in which half of the participants (90) were randomized to the intervention arm and received a free reflective vest. The other half of the participants (90) were randomized to the control arm and did not receive free vests. Whether motorcycle taxi drivers used the reflective vest was then unobtrusively observed on city streets over a period of three months.

Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to estimate differential uptake of the vests between trial arms. At baseline, 3.3% of individuals in both arms used a reflective vest. In three months of follow-up, 79 drivers in the intervention arm and 82 drivers in the control arm were able to be observed. In the intervention arm the average proportion of observations during which drivers were observed to be using a reflective vest was 9.5%, compared to 2.0% in the control arm (odds ratio: 5.5, 95% confidence interval: 1.1-26.9, p-value: 0.04). Distribution of free reflective vests did lead to an increase in vest usage, however, the increase was minimal. Removing economic barriers alone appears insufficient to adequately improve adherence to conspicuity measures.

Increasing arousal enhances inhibitory control in calm but not excitable dogs

© 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.The emotional-reactivity hypothesis proposes that problem-solving abilities can be constrained by temperament, within and across species. One way to test this hypothesis is with the predictions of the Yerkes–Dodson law. The law posits that arousal level, a component of temperament, affects problem solving in an inverted U-shaped relationship: Optimal performance is reached at intermediate levels of arousal and impeded by high and low levels. Thus, a powerful test of the emotional-reactivity hypothesis is to compare cognitive performance in dog populations that have been bred and trained based in part on their arousal levels. We therefore compared a group of pet dogs to a group of assistance dogs bred and trained for low arousal (N = 106) on a task of inhibitory control involving a detour response. Consistent with the Yerkes–Dodson law, assistance dogs, which began the test with lower levels of baseline arousal, showed improvements when arousal was artificially increased. In contrast, pet dogs, which began the test with higher levels of baseline arousal, were negatively affected when their arousal was increased. Furthermore, the dogs’ baseline levels of arousal, as measured in their rate of tail wagging, differed by population in the expected directions. Low-arousal assistance dogs showed the most inhibition in a detour task when humans eagerly encouraged them, while more highly aroused pet dogs performed worst on the same task with strong encouragement. Our findings support the hypothesis that selection on temperament can have important implications for cognitive performance.

Increasing Stability of Lithium-Ion Batteries with Ordered Graphene Silicon Negative Electrodes

Currently, lackluster battery capability is restricting the widespread integration of Smart Grids, limiting the long-term feasibility of alternative, green energy conversion technologies. Silicon nanoparticles have great conductivity for applications in rechargeable batteries, but have degradation issues due to changes in volume during lithiation/delithiation cycles. To combat this, we use electrochemical deposition to uniformly space silicon particles on graphene sheets to create a more stable structure. We found the process of electrochemical deposition degraded the graphene binding in the electrode material, severely reducing charge capacity. But, the usage of mechanically mixing silicon particles with grapheme yielded batteries better than those that are commercially available.

Peer-Informed Learning on Increasing Contraceptive Knowledge Among Women in Rural Haiti

Contraceptive prevalence in Haiti remains low despite extensive foreign aid targeted at improving family planning. [1] Earlier studies have found that peer-informed learning have been successful in promoting sexual and reproductive health. [2-5] This pilot project was implemented as a three-month, community-based, educational intervention to assess the impact of peer education in increasing contraceptive knowledge among women in Fondwa, Haiti. Research investigators conducted contraceptive information trainings to pre-identified female leaders of existing women’s groups in Fondwa, who were recruited as peer educators (n=4). Later, these female leaders shared the knowledge from the training with the test participants in the women’s group (n=23) through an information session. Structured surveys measuring knowledge of contraceptives were conducted with all participants before the intervention began, at the end of the intervention, and four weeks after the intervention. The surveys measured general contraceptive knowledge, knowledge about eight selected types of modern contraceptives and contraceptive preferences and attitudes. Only test participants showed significant improvement in their general contraceptive knowledge score (p<0.001), but both test participants and peer educators showed significant improvement in overall knowledge scores for identifying the types and uses of modern contraceptive methods. Assessment for knowledge retention remained significantly higher four weeks after the intervention than prior to the intervention. Therefore, a one-time, three-hour peer-based educational intervention using existing social structures is effective, and might be valuable in a population with minimal access to education and little to no knowledge about contraceptives.

Les discriminations au travail dues à l’orientation sexuelle et les identités de genre

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The Euroregional discourse. Increasing evidence towards legitimizing an institutional space

From a multilingual corpus composed of institutional websites published by the Euroregions, this article attempts to explore the discursive indications which tend to legitimize the notion of Euroregional space. The lexicometric and qualitative observations lead to a compliance to the normative objectives of the European politics and to the standardization of the euroregional representations, in spite of languages and issuing cross-border areas.

Increasing research evidence in practice: a possible role for the consultant nurse

Aims: To determine the extent to which clinical nursing practice has adopted research evidence. To identify barriers to the application of research findings in practice and to propose ways of overcoming these barriers. Background: Way back in 1976, nursing and midwifery practice started adopting research evidence. By 1990s, there was some transparency of research evidence in practice, but more could have been done to widen its adoption. Many barriers were identified which could hinder implementation of the evidence in practice, and the effort to remove these remains weak. Evaluation: 25 research articles from across Europe and America were selected, and scrutinized, and recommendations analysed. Findings: Many clinical practitioners report a lack of time, ability and motivation to appraise research reports and adopt findings in practice. The clinical environment was not seen as research friendly as there were a general lack of research activities and facilities locally. There was a clear lack of research leadership in practice. Implication for nursing management: This paper reviewed the research evidence from several published research papers and provides consultant nurses with practical suggestions on how to enhance research evidence application in their practice. It recommends how consultant nurses can make their practice more research transparent by providing the required leadership, creating a research-friendly organization, developing a clear research agenda and facilitating staff develop a local research framework for reading research and implementing research evidence in their practice.

Increasing prevalence of the marine cladoceran Penilia avirostris (Dana, 1852) in the North Sea

Rising sea surface temperatures in the North Sea have had consequential effects on not only indigenous plankton species, but also on the possibility of successful colonisation of the area by invasive plankton species. Previous studies have noted the introduction and integration into the plankton community of various phytoplankton species, but establishment of zooplankton organisms in the North Sea is less well-documented. Examining continuous plankton recorder (CPR) survey data and zooplankton results from the Helgoland Roads study, the autumn of 1999 witnessed the occurrence of the marine cladoceran Penilia avirostris in large numbers in the North Sea. The rapid appearance of the species corresponded with exceptionally warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs). Since 1999, the species has become a regular feature of the autumnal zooplankton community of the North Sea. In 2002 and 2003, the species occurred in greater abundance than recorded before. It is suggested that increased autumn SSTs have proved favourable to P. avirostris, with warmer conditions contributing to the success of the species’ resting eggs and aiding colonisation.