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The transformation of the energy system is a highly complex process involving many dimensions. Energy system models help to understand the process and to define either target systems or policy measures. Insights derived from the social sciences are not sufficiently represented in energy system models, but address crucial aspects of the transformation process. It is, therefore, necessary to develop approaches to integrate results from social science studies into energy system models. Hence, as a result of an interdisciplinary discourse among energy system modellers, social scientists, psychologists, economists and political scientists, this article explains which aspects should be considered in the models, how the respective results can be collected and which aspects of integration into energy system models are conceivable to provide an overview for other modellers. As a result of the discourse, five facets are examined: Investment behaviour (market acceptance), user behaviour, local acceptance, technology innovation and socio-political acceptance. Finally, an approach is presented that introduces a compound of energy system models (with a focus on the macro and micro-perspective) as well as submodels on technology genesis and socio-political acceptance, which serves to gain a more fundamental knowledge of the transformation process.

In order to achieve long-term targets for energy savings and emission reductions, substantial savings will be needed from existing buildings. For example, a recent analysis for the USA examines aggressive strategies to cut carbon emissions in half by 2040 and finds that in order to achieve this emission reduction target, more than half of existing buildings will need comprehensive energy efficiency retrofits. Germany is targeting an overall primary energy consumption reduction of 50% in 2050 including increasing building renovation rate to 2% per year. In France, ambitious targets have also been set for existing buildings: 50% reduction of primary energy consumption in 2050 compared to the 2012 level. Multiple countries have realized the importance of comprehensive building retrofits and have begun to adopt policies to spur these improvements. For example, Germany is emphasizing grants and loans through the KfW Development Bank, complemented with building and heating system labels, a new “heating check” programme, and possible technical renovation requirements. France has established a goal of bringing all buildings up to “A” performance level (on their A–G scale) by 2050 in order for them to be sold or leased, with lower performance levels required as soon as 2020. In the USA, the focus has been on a combination of rating and disclosure of energy use, financing, and technical assistance. Focused community approaches show promise. This paper summarizes the efforts, successes and challenges, future directions, and savings of building retrofit policies in the three countries. We conclude by contrasting the three countries and discussing areas of opportunity for these and other countries.

At present, expanding the use of renewable energy sources for heating (RES-H) relies predominantly on publicly funded support instruments. As these are subject to subsidy cuts and suspensions, these instruments do not provide long-term security for investors and technology suppliers. Although feed-in tariffs and quota-based systems are the major support schemes for renewable energy sources in the electricity sector, similar policy designs have not been applied to RES-H. This paper presents and evaluates three different policy instruments which have the potential to finance RES-H without using public funds: a physical quota system for biomass, a technology-based quota system (Portfolio Model) and a remuneration-based system (Premium model). The assessment suggests that while the Portfolio Model and the Premium Model are both promising policies to enhance RES-H deployment, there is greater acceptance among stakeholders for the Premium Model.

[Einleitung ...] Dieses Kurzpapier diskutiert einige wichtige Optionen, mit welchen Maßnahmen die kurzfristigen Einsparpotenziale von Erdgas gehoben werden können, und die gleichzeitig geeignet sind, auch die mittel- und langfristigen Potenziale zu adressieren. Das Papier konzentriert sich dabei auf die Erdgasnachfrage im Gebäudesektor. Es erhebt nicht den Anspruch, alle Alternativen zu behandeln. Die folgenden Maßnahmen werden diskutiert: * Wirkung von Preissignalen auf die Erdgasnachfrage * Förderung von Informationskampagnen zu Energieeinsparmöglichkeiten * Anreizsysteme für Versorger und Endkund:innen zu Einsparmaßnahmen * Stärkung des Energieberatermarkts und Ausweitung Energieberatung und der Energie-Checks * Förderung von Fortbildungen in Heizungsunternehmen.

The increasing use of energy from renewable sources (RE) for the generation of heat and electricity in Germany has also led to an increasingly intensive debate on its advantages and disadvantages. The discussion mostly centers on the cost effects, because beneficial effects often are harder to quantify. Benefits comprise indirect effects or effects which lie far in the future. Scientific studies also frequently focus on single aspects, which cannot be aggregated easily, because they occur in different sectors and comprise technology system-wide effects, distributional effects or overall macro-economic effects. This study intends to answer questions refering to clear definitions of effects when increasing renewable energy, methods of adding and balancing the effects, the choice of methodological approach, support mechanisms, suitable time span or spatial system border. After a brief sketch of the basic methods applied, the contribution will present estimates for a wide range of effects. It closes with suggestions on possibilities how to add and balance the effects.

Radiotherapy is the standard care in elderly patients with malignant astrocytoma and the role of primary chemotherapy is poorly defined. We did a randomised trial to compare the efficacy and safety of dose-dense temozolomide alone versus radiotherapy alone in elderly patients with anaplastic astrocytoma or glioblastoma. Between May 15, 2005, and Nov 2, 2009, we enrolled patients with confirmed anaplastic astrocytoma or glioblastoma, age older than 65 years, and a Karnofsky performance score of 60 or higher. Patients were randomly assigned 100 mg/m2 temozolomide, given on days 1–7 of 1 week on, 1 week off cycles, or radiotherapy of 60·0 Gy, administered over 6–7 weeks in 30 fractions of 1·8–2·0 Gy. The primary endpoint was overall survival. We assessed non-inferiority with a 25% margin, analysed for all patients who received at least one dose of assigned treatment. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01502241. Of 584 patients screened, we enrolled 412. 373 patients (195 randomly allocated to the temozolomide group and 178 to the radiotherapy group) received at least one dose of treatment and were included in efficacy analyses. Median overall survival was 8·6 months (95% CI 7·3–10·2) in the temozolomide group versus 9·6 months (8·2–10·8) in the radiotherapy group (hazard ratio [HR] 1·09, 95% CI 0·84–1·42, pnon-inferiority=0·033). Median event-free survival (EFS) did not differ significantly between the temozolomide and radiotherapy groups (3·3 months [95% CI 3·2–4·1] vs 4·7 [4·2–5·2]; HR 1·15, 95% CI 0·92–1·43, pnon-inferiority=0·043). Tumour MGMT promoter methylation was seen in 73 (35%) of 209 patients tested. MGMT promoter methylation was associated with longer overall survival than was unmethylated status (11·9 months [95% CI 9·0 to not reached] vs 8·2 months [7·0–10·0]; HR 0·62, 95% CI 0·42–0·91, p=0·014). EFS was longer in patients with MGMT promoter methylation who received temozolomide than in those who underwent radiotherapy (8·4 months [95e% CI 5·5–11·7] vs 4·6 [4·2–5·0]), whereas the opposite was true for patients with no methylation of the MGMT promoter (3·3 months [3·0–3·5] vs 4·6 months [3·7–6·3]). The most frequent grade 3–4 intervention-related adverse events were neutropenia (16 patients in the temozolomide group vs two in the radiotherapy group), lymphocytopenia (46 vs one), thrombocytopenia (14 vs four), raised liver-enzyme concentrations (30 vs 16), infections (35 vs 23), and thromboembolic events (24 vs eight). Temozolomide alone is non-inferior to radiotherapy alone in the treatment of elderly patients with malignant astrocytoma. MGMT promoter methylation seems to be a useful biomarker for outcomes by treatment and could aid decision-making. Merck Sharp & Dohme.

Cerebral gliomas of World Health Organization (WHO) grade II and III represent a major challenge in terms of histological classification and clinical management. Here, we asked whether large-scale genomic and transcriptomic profiling improves the definition of prognostically distinct entities. We performed microarray-based genome- and transcriptome-wide analyses of primary tumor samples from a prospective German Glioma Network cohort of 137 patients with cerebral gliomas, including 61 WHO grade II and 76 WHO grade III tumors. Integrative bioinformatic analyses were employed to define molecular subgroups, which were then related to histology, molecular biomarkers, including isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 or 2 ( IDH1/2 ) mutation, 1p/19q co-deletion and telomerase reverse transcriptase ( TERT ) promoter mutations, and patient outcome. Genomic profiling identified five distinct glioma groups, including three IDH1/2 mutant and two IDH1/2 wild-type groups. Expression profiling revealed evidence for eight transcriptionally different groups (five IDH1/2 mutant, three IDH1/2 wild type), which were only partially linked to the genomic groups. Correlation of DNA-based molecular stratification with clinical outcome allowed to define three major prognostic groups with characteristic genomic aberrations. The best prognosis was found in patients with IDH1/2 mutant and 1p/19q co-deleted tumors. Patients with IDH1/2 wild-type gliomas and glioblastoma-like genomic alterations, including gain on chromosome arm 7q (+7q), loss on chromosome arm 10q (−10q), TERT promoter mutation and oncogene amplification, displayed the worst outcome. Intermediate survival was seen in patients with IDH1/2 mutant, but 1p/19q intact, mostly astrocytic gliomas, and in patients with IDH1/2 wild-type gliomas lacking the +7q/−10q genotype and TERT promoter mutation. This molecular subgrouping stratified patients into prognostically distinct groups better than histological classification. Addition of gene expression data to this genomic classifier did not further improve prognostic stratification. In summary, DNA-based molecular profiling of WHO grade II and III gliomas distinguishes biologically distinct tumor groups and provides prognostically relevant information beyond histological classification as well as IDH1/2 mutation and 1p/19q co-deletion status.

Individual differences in reading ability have been linked to characteristics of functional connectivity in the brain in both children and adults. However, many previous studies have used single or composite measures of reading, leading to difficulty characterizing the role of functional connectivity in discrete subskills of reading. The present study addresses this issue using resting-state fMRI to examine how resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) related to individual differences in children's reading subskills, including decoding, sight word reading, reading comprehension, and rapid automatized naming (RAN). Findings showed both positive and negative RSFC-behaviour relationships that diverged across different reading subskills. Positive relationships included increasing RSFC among left dorsal and anterior regions with increasing decoding proficiency, and increasing RSFC between the left thalamus and right fusiform gyrus with increasing sight word reading, RAN, and reading comprehension abilities. In contrast, negative relationships suggested greater functional segregation of attentional and reading networks with improved performance on RAN, decoding, and reading comprehension tasks. Importantly, the results suggest that although reading subskills rely to some extent on shared functional networks, there are also distinct functional connections supporting different components of reading ability in children.

This study proposes a fully automated gearbox fault diagnosis approach that does not require knowledge about the specific gearbox construction and its load. The proposed approach is based on evaluating an adaptive filter’s prediction error. The obtained prediction error’s standard deviation is further processed with a support-vector machine to classify the gearbox’s condition. The proposed method was cross-validated on a public dataset, segmented into 1760 test samples, against two other reference methods. The accuracy achieved by the proposed method was better than the accuracies of the reference methods. The accuracy of the proposed method was on average 9% higher compared to both reference methods for different support vector settings.