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Background The 69th World Health Assembly approved the Global Health Sector Strategy to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection by 2030, which can become a reality with the recent launch of direct acting antiviral therapies. Reliable disease burden estimates are required for national strategies. This analysis estimates the global prevalence of viraemic HCV at the end of 2015, an update of—and expansion on—the 2014 analysis, which reported 80 million (95% CI 64–103) viraemic infections in 2013. Methods We developed country-level disease burden models following a systematic review of HCV prevalence (number of studies, n=6754) and genotype (n=11 342) studies published after 2013. A Delphi process was used to gain country expert consensus and validate inputs. Published estimates alone were used for countries where expert panel meetings could not be scheduled. Global prevalence was estimated using regional averages for countries without data. Findings Models were built for 100 countries, 59 of which were approved by country experts, with the remaining 41 estimated using published data alone. The remaining countries had insufficient data to create a model. The global prevalence of viraemic HCV is estimated to be 1·0% (95% uncertainty interval 0·8–1·1) in 2015, corresponding to 71·1 million (62·5–79·4) viraemic infections. Genotypes 1 and 3 were the most common cause of infections (44% and 25%, respectively). Interpretation The global estimate of viraemic infections is lower than previous estimates, largely due to more recent (lower) prevalence estimates in Africa. Additionally, increased mortality due to liver-related causes and an ageing population may have contributed to a reduction in infections. Funding John C Martin Foundation. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Factors influencing the morbidity and mortality associated with viremic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection change over time and place, making it difficult to compare reported estimates. Models were developed for 17 countries (Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Colombia, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Qatar and Taiwan) to quantify and characterize the viremic population as well as forecast the changes in the infected population and the corresponding disease burden from 2015 to 2030. Model inputs were agreed upon through expert consensus, and a standardized methodology was followed to allow for comparison across countries. The viremic prevalence is expected to remain constant or decline in all but four countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan and Oman) ; however, HCV-related morbidity and mortality will increase in all countries except Qatar and Taiwan. In Qatar, the high-treatment rate will contribute to a reduction in total cases and HCV- related morbidity by 2030. In the remaining countries, however, the current treatment paradigm will be insufficient to achieve large reductions in HCV- related morbidity and mortality.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic was forecasted through 2030 for 17 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, and interventions for achieving the Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis targets —“WHO Targets” (65% reduction in HCV-related deaths, 90% reduction in new infections and 90% of infections diagnosed by 2030) were considered. Scaling up treatment and diagnosis rates over time would be required to achieve these targets in all but one country, even with the introduction of high SVR therapies. The scenarios developed to achieve the WHO Targets in all countries studied assumed the implementation of national policies to prevent new infections and to diagnose current infections through screening.

Many agricultural food products undergo some form of drying before they are available for purchase. This paper describes the progress of a liquid desiccant solar crop drying system (LDSCD), which is currently being tested in Queensland, Australia. The prototype consists of batch grain drying bin, air-drying sub-system and a regeneration sub-system. In the liquid desiccant system technology the use of electricity is limited to circulating air and liquids. The weak desiccant is regenerated using thermal energy provided by a solar collector and a heat exchanger. Initial results show that the LDSCD is an achievable alternative to conventional drying techniques. The drying system can deliver air at very low relative humidity (RH)regardless of ambient conditions and with small increase in drying temperature. On completion, the proposed project would make drying grain and other agricultural products more viable in the tropics (Atherton Tableland), where high ambient relative humidity makes heated-air dryers expensive to operate. The system would also have appeal in the colder parts of the country (such as in Victoria and Tasmania) where high humidity and low temperatures also make drying more expensive.

Electrolysis takes place in a solution by an electrolytic cell usually at low voltage and high current. An example is a chlorinator used in salt-water swimming pools to produce in situ chlorine for disinfection. This paper deals with the modelling and analysis of a photovoltaic (PV) electro-chlorination system and compares the amount of electric charge and chlorine output delivered to systems when operating with and without a maximum power point tracker (MPPT). Results show that good performance of the electrolytic system load is obtained if the intersection is to the left of the maximum power locus of the PV array. Based on this property a simple rule of sizing the PV array may be adopted. Using an MPPT in the system would be advantageous to boost chlorine production. Field trials indicated that the daily and seasonal variations in solar radiation and ambient temperature match well the need for chlorine production during the day. It is believed that the application of PV into salt-water chlorination is an effective way to semi-automate the chlorine supply into swimming and spa pools and would save cost.

Chlorine is widely used in swimming pools to control algae, kill bacteria and to oxidize organic matter. In this research, photovoltaic (PV) power was applied to an electrolytic cell to produce liquid chlorine using brine of sodium chloride. The amount of chlorine production depends on the electric charge and on the salinity level, and for a good matching system maximum charge is obtained if the load line intercepts the PV characteristic at high current as possible. Based on this property a simple rule of sizing the PV array may be based on the short circuit current. Detailed analyses were made to compare the system performance with and without a maximum power point tracker (MPPT). Results show that incorporating a MPPT would be advantageous to boost chlorine production. Field testing indicated that the variation in solar radiation and temperature matches well the need for chlorine production. The use of PV in salt-water chlorination is an effective way to semi-automate the chlorine supply to the swimming pool.