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HEDON newsletter (31/07/2006)
Do you have household energy news, events, publications, website links or market information relevant to HEDON members? Please send them to us by simply replying to this email. [top] [end]In this issue
[top] [end]FEATURED HEDON SUBSCRIBERIn this month's HEDON Subscriber Profile, we look at the efforts of Dr. Karabi Dutta, who, despite being a biotechnologist by trade, takes a multi-disciplinary (including architecture and economics, just to name a few) approach to improving indoor air quality in India. Her methods have paid off, with real benefits being felt by those households she has worked with. To learn more about Dr. Dutta and her work, visit: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/view/750/news.htm [top] [end]LATEST NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Carbon Positive has secured financing to design and distribute clean burning stoves in a pilot project in Uganda and Ethiopia. During the pilot project, various stove designs and distribution and monitoring models will be tested. More details online at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/748/news.htm
Due to the concerns about the short submission period for the EU Energy Facility Call for Proposals, the deadline has been extended. The new deadline, as of 27 July 2006, is Friday the 6th of October 2006 at 16h00. More details online at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/746/news.htm
Call for papers for the 3rd Future Environmental Trends Conference to be held in Bangalore, India. The conference will focus on challenges for sustainable development that arise from the nexus between energy, environment, and poverty. More details online at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/743/news.htm
Research data gathered from solar cooking projects in Bolivia, Ethiopia and Kenya validates long-held theories concerning solar cooking's potential. More details online at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/735/news.htm
This issue of ENERGIA News focuses on the gender-energy-poverty nexus in urban areas and tries to throw some light on this little researched area. More details online at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/733/news.htm
A very interesting article on indoor air pollution discussing household concentrations of multiple pollutants in typical rural Chinese homes and the uses of smoke from traditional cookstoves. More details online at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/731/news.htm
Informative article in which the authors discuss how the construction of biogas digesters leads to an obvious decrease of per capita energy consumption in rural families ... More details online at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/730/news.htm
An article from the journal 'Energy Policy', 2005, vol. 33, no14, pp. 1833-1851, in which the authors discuss the advantages and disadvantages of introducing modern fuels and appliances into rural African villages. More details online at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/729/news.htm
In this 'Frontline' article (Volume 22, Issue 12, June 4-17 2005), Asha Krishnakumar writes about how public interest and a growing body of knowledge is evolving about low-cost technologies that allow communities themselves to monitor pollution. More details online at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/728/news.htm
A popular newspaper article and an interesting read because it shows how the general population is gradually becoming aware of the quality of the air we breathe. More details online at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/727/news.htm
The programme has been successful in fast popularising and disseminating the technology in different parts of Nepal while also replacing the traditional fuel. More details online at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/726/news.htm
In both papers, Dr. Siddhartha Sarkar also makes recommendations on how to improve related policies and actions. More details online at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/725/news.htm Do you have relevant household energy news? Please send your household energy news items us by return email! [top] [end]PUBLICATION LIBRARY
Available to download at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/251/library.htm
Available to download at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/250/library.htm
Available to download at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/249/library.htm
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Available to download at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/246/library.htm Do you have relevant household energy publications? We are happy to include your papers and reports on our database. Please email them to us! [top] [end]LINKS
A case-crossover study was conducted in 36 US cities to evaluate the effect of ozone and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 5m (PM10) on respiratory hospital admissions and to identify which city characteristics may explain the heterogeneity in risk estimates. Respiratory hospital admissions and air pollution data were obtained for 1986-1999. In a meta-analysis based on the city-specific regression models, several city characteristics were evaluated as effect modifiers. During the warm season, the 2-day cumulative effect of a 5-ppb increase in ozone was a 0.27% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.08, 0.47) increase in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease admissions and a 0.41% (95% CI: 0.26, 0.57) increase in pneumonia admissions. Similarly, a 10-5g/m3 increase in PM10 during the warm season resulted in a 1.47% (95% CI: 0.93, 2.01) increase in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at lag 1 and a 0.84% (95% CI: 0.50, 1.19) increase in pneumonia at lag 0. Percentage of households with central air conditioning reduced the effect of air pollution, and variability of summer apparent temperature reduced the effect of ozone on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The study confirmed, in a large sample of cities, that exposure to ozone and PM10 is associated with respiratory hospital admissions and provided evidence that the effect of air pollution is modified by certain city characteristics. Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; PM10, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 5m; PM2.5, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 5m Online link at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/768/links.htm
Reproducible Epidemiologic Research Roger D. Peng, Francesca Dominici and Scott L. Zeger From the Biostatistics Department, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD The replication of important findings by multiple independent investigators is fundamental to the accumulation of scientific evidence. Researchers in the biologic and physical sciences expect results to be replicated by independent data, analytical methods, laboratories, and instruments. Epidemiologic studies are commonly used to quantify small health effects of important, but subtle, risk factors, and replication is of critical importance where results can inform substantial policy decisions. However, because of the time, expense, and opportunism of many current epidemiologic studies, it is often impossible to fully replicate their findings. An attainable minimum standard is 'reproducibility', which calls for data sets and software to be made available for verifying published findings and conducting alternative analyses. The authors outline a standard for reproducibility and evaluate the reproducibility of current epidemiologic research. They also propose methods for reproducible research and implement them by use of a case study in air pollution and health. Abbreviations: NMMAPS, National Morbidity, Mortality, and Air Pollution Study Online link at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/767/links.htm
Individual-Level Modifiers of the Effects of Particulate Matter on Daily Mortality Ariana Zeka, Antonella Zanobetti and Joel Schwartz From the Environmental Health Department, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA Consistent evidence has shown a positive association between particulate matter with an aerodiameter of less than or equal to 10 5m (PM10) and daily mortality. Less is known about the modification of this association by factors measured at the individual level. The authors examined this question in a case-crossover study of 20 US cities. Mortality events (1.9 million) were obtained for nonaccidental, respiratory, heart disease, and stroke mortality between 1989 and 2000. PM10 concentrations were obtained from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The authors examined the modification of the PM10-mortality association by sociodemographics, location of death, season, and secondary diagnoses. They found different patterns of PM10-mortality associations by gender and age but no differences by race. The level of education was inversely related to the risk of mortality associated with PM10. PM10-related, out-of-hospital deaths were more likely than were in-hospital deaths, as were those occurring during spring/fall versus summer/winter. A secondary diagnosis of diabetes modified the effect of PM10 for respiratory and stroke mortality. Pneumonia was a positive effect modifier for deaths from all causes and stroke, while secondary stroke modified the effects for all-cause and respiratory deaths. The findings suggest that more attention must be paid to population characteristics to identify greater likelihood of exposures and susceptibility and, as a result, to improve policy making for air pollution standards. Online link at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/766/links.htm
Abstract: Time series models relating short-term changes in air pollution levels to daily mortality counts typically assume that the effects of air pollution on the log relative rate of mortality do not vary with time. However, these short-term effects might plausibly vary by season. Changes in the sources of air pollution and meteorology can result in changes in characteristics of the air pollution mixture across seasons. The authors developed Bayesian semiparametric hierarchical models for estimating time-varying effects of pollution on mortality in multisite time series studies. The methods were applied to the database of the National Morbidity and Mortality Air Pollution Study, which includes data for 100 US cities, for the period 1987-2000. At the national level, a 10-5g/m3 increase in particulate matter less than 10 5m in aerodynamic diameter at a 1-day lag was associated with 0.15% (95% posterior interval (PI): -0.08, 0.39), 0.14% (95% PI: -0.14, 0.42), 0.36% (95% PI: 0.11, 0.61), and 0.14% (95% PI: -0.06, 0.34) increases in mortality for winter, spring, summer, and fall, respectively. An analysis by geographic region found a strong seasonal pattern in the Northeast (with a peak in summer) and little seasonal variation in the southern regions of the country. These results provide useful information for understanding particle toxicity and guiding future analyses of particle constituent data. Online link at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/765/links.htm
Online link at: http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/764/links.htm Do you have relevant household energy links? Please send details to us by return email! -- This newsletter was brought to you by the HEDON Household Energy Network. For further information please visit our website at http://www.hedon.info/goto.php/index.htm or email us with your contributions, comments and suggestions. Categories: HEDON Newsletters | |
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02 April 2007; Last edited:
02 April 2007; Version: 3 | |
Pagename: HEDONNewsletter(31072006) @HEDON: PEEA | |
