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The rapid spread of shared micromobility services e.g. e-scooters raises questions about their ecological impacts. Previous Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) show that the ecological impacts of shared mobility services vary significantly depending on the sharing mode, the charging concept and the corresponding operating mode. Even though e-scooters could mitigate environmental issues of urban transportation due to their low energy consumption, studies show that service trips for charging and relocation and non-swappable batteries have overall negative environmental impacts. To identify key factors for an environmentally friendly e-scooter sharing infrastructure and operating mode, we conducted a comparative LCA in this study. We developed a method considering a holistic product service system (PSS) of e-scooter sharing including the whole life cycle to cover all environmentally relevant aspects of the sharing operation. In different scenarios, we compared electric stand-up scooters and electric moped scooters for different operational modes. These include free-float, station-based and hybrid sharing. Furthermore, charging methods and the underlying infrastructure with battery swapping stations are varied. The results show that greenhouse gas emissions are the lowest for two scenarios: A free-float sharing mode where batteries are swapped using an e-cargo bike and a hybrid sharing mode using self-service battery swapping stations (BSS).

Access to affordable, reliable and clean energy is an important sustainability goal of the United Nations. In areas where the public electricity grid is unreliable or unavailable, photovoltaic systems can be a solution. However, they are cost-intensive, mainly because of the energy storage systems. Mini-grids can be an answer for reducing upfront investment and overall system lifetime costs while increasing electricity availability. The mini-grid technology is mature, nevertheless, there are downsides when it comes to integrating existing solar systems of different manufacturers. The system topology is usually predefined and a central instance controls the mini-grid. Thus, the integration of existing power systems is difficult due to the communication constraints of these systems with the mini-grid controller. Including existing power systems into a decentralized mini-grid, can highly increase cost-efficiency. In a decentralized approach payments for the consumed energy between mini-grid actors are required. Accounting is, however, a complex administrative procedure, if the respective power systems are owned by different individuals and organizations. A transparent blockchain-based temper-proof approach can be a solution to automate metering and billing, allowing automatic payments between independent subsystem owners using smart contracts. In order to further optimize the smart mini-grid, an artificial intelligence learning algorithm for a dynamic electricity price needs to be developed. This smart and decentralized approach for building Mini-Grids is a novelty bringing solar systems one step closer to self-sufficiency. This paper describes how a smart mini-grid solution can be implemented using the Don Bosco Solar & Renewable Energy Center campus mini-grid in Tema, Ghana as a case study.

A virus isolated from a Natterer's bat (Myotis nattererii) in Germany was differentiated from other lyssaviruses on the basis of the reaction pattern of a panel of monoclonal antibodies. Phylogenetic analysis supported the assumption that the isolated virus, Bokeloh bat lyssavirus, may represent a new member of the genus Lyssavirus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges of climate change and lack of access to electricity create an urgent need for sustainable energy infrastructure projects in developing countries. Sustainable impact investment schemes are a potential catalyst to finance such projects. A particularly sustainable financing option can be the Consumer Stock Ownership Plan (CSOP), combining the interests of impact investors and the local population. The infrastructure, e.g., a sustainable energy mini-grid, is owned by the investors and the local population at the same time. The population thus benefits from access to electricity and active participation in energy supply, while investors benefit from new forms of investment with social impact. However, CSOP is a complex model that requires a secure organisation and infrastructure. By integrating blockchain technology, the organisational structure of the model can be automatically managed via smart contracts, reducing the influence of intermediary institutions. This makes the investment more secure, transparent, and efficient. The paper outlines a concept for an impact investment CSOP model coupled with blockchain-based smart contracts as a scalable solution for sustainable energy infrastructure projects, in which the ownership of the infrastructure is transferred to the community over time. The model considers all relevant parameters before, during and after the life cycle of the energy infrastructure and aims to secure a sustainable long-term energy supply in developing countries through self-administration, educational measures, and participation of all stakeholders. In the next step, the concept developed in this paper will be applied to an energy infrastructure pilot project at the Don Bosco Solar and Renewable Energy Centre in Ghana.

Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells have been shown to eradicate established tumors in a SCID mouse–human lymphoma model. CIK cells depend on exogenous addition of cytokines such as interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-7 (IL-7) or interleukin-12 (IL-12) for proliferation. In this study, we used the adenovirus-enhanced CD3 receptor-mediated gene transfer for transfection with the IL-7 gene. An episomally replicating plasmid was used containing cDNA of the human IL-7 gene under the control of a CMV promoter for transfection of CIK cells. Biosynthesis of IL-7 was demonstrated by RT-PCR, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and using a bioassay. Transfected cells produced IL-7 in the range between 200 and 1100 pg/106 cells in 24 h. IL-7 was shown to be biologically active, since transfected CIK cells showed an improved proliferation rate as compared with nontransfected cells. Expression of IL-7 altered the secretion of other cytokines by CIK cells, in particular the production of TNFα increased after transfection. In contrast, nontransfected CIK cells fed with IL-7 showed no increase in TNFα secretion. No significant differences were found in expression of surface antigens linked to the cytotoxic activity of CIK cells. Cytotoxic activity against various tumor cell lines (eg renal cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma and colon carcinoma) was tested. Transfected cells possessed a significantly higher cytotoxic activity as compared with nontransfected cells. Receptor-mediated gene transfer effectively delivers expression plasmids for therapeutic genes into CIK cells and CIK cells transfected with an IL-7 gene expression construct may be valuable for adoptive immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]