Search

This review aims to explore the role of professional diagnostic rapid testing of acute respiratory infections (ARIs), especially COVID-19 and influenza, ensuring proper disease management and treatment in Europe, and particularly in Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania. The paper was constructed based on a review of scientific evidence and national and international policies and recommendations, as well as a process of validation by four experts. The development of new testing technologies, treatment options, and increased awareness of the negative multidimensional impact of ARI profiles transformed differential diagnosis into a tangible and desirable reality. This review covers the following topics: (1) the multidimensional impact of ARIs, (2) ARI rapid diagnostic testing platforms and their value, (3) the policy landscape, (4) challenges and barriers to implementation, and (5) a set of recommendations illustrating a path forward. The findings indicate that rapid diagnostic testing, including at the point of care (POC), can have a positive impact on case management, antimicrobial and antibiotic stewardship, epidemiological surveillance, and decision making. Integrating this strategy will require the commitment of governments and the international and academic communities, especially as we identified room for improvement in the access and expansion of POC rapid testing in the focus countries and the inclusion of rapid testing in relevant policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors compare the energy consumption and CO2 emissions from vehicles using internal combustion engines (ICE), battery electric vehicles (BEV), fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV), and two types of hybrid vehicles, BEV-ICE hybrid and BEV-FCEV hybrid. This paper considers several scenarios for four countries' electricity production from primary energy sources to estimate total CO2 release. Energy consumption of the vehicle per 100 km, emissions during manufacturing, battery production, and lifecycle of the vehicle are considered in the total amount evaluation of CO2 released. The results show that with current technologies for battery manufacturing, and a significant proportion of national grid electricity delivered by fossil fuels, BEV is the best choice to reduce carbon emissions for shorter driving ranges. In the case of electricity generation mainly by low-carbon sources, FCEV and BEV-FCEV hybrid vehicles end up with lower carbon dioxide emissions. In contrast, with electricity mainly generated from fossil fuels, electric vehicles do not reduce CO2 emissions compared to combustion cars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the validation results of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) retrieved from the Spinning Enhanced Visible Infrared Radiometer (SEVIRI) data using the near-real-time algorithm further developed in the frame of the Satellite-based Monitoring Initiative for Regional Air quality (SAMIRA) project. The SEVIRI AOD was compared against multiple data sources: six stations of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) in Romania and Poland, three stations of the Aerosol Research Network in Poland (Poland–AOD) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data overlapping Romania, Czech Republic and Poland. The correlation values between a four-month dataset (June–September 2014) from SEVIRI and the closest temporally available data for both ground-based and satellite products were identified. The comparison of the SEVIRI AOD with the AERONET AOD observations generally shows a good correlation (r = 0.48–0.83). The mean bias is 0.10–0.14 and the root mean square error RMSE is between 0.11 and 0.15 for all six stations cases. For the comparison with Poland–AOD correlation values are 0.55 to 0.71. The mean bias is 0.04–0.13 and RMSE is between 0.10 and 0.14. As for the intercomparison to MODIS AOD, correlations values were generally lower (r = 0.33–0.39). Biases of −0.06 to 0.24 and RMSE of 0.04 to 0.28 were in good agreement with the ground–stations retrievals. The validation of SEVIRI AOD with AERONET results in the best correlations followed by the Poland–AOD network and MODIS retrievals. The average uncertainty estimates are evaluated resulting in most of the AOD values falling above the expected error range. A revised uncertainty estimate is proposed by including the observed bias form the AERONET validation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]