scholarly journals Resources, Production Scales and Time Required for Producing RNA Vaccines for the Global Pandemic Demand

Vaccines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Zoltán Kis ◽  
Cleo Kontoravdi ◽  
Robin Shattock ◽  
Nilay Shah
Keyword(s):  
Production Process ◽  
Messenger Rna ◽  
Vaccination Campaign ◽  
Vaccine Dose ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Production Scale ◽  
Working Volume ◽  
Global Demand ◽  
The Impact

To overcome pandemics, such as COVID-19, vaccines are urgently needed at very high volumes. Here we assess the techno-economic feasibility of producing RNA vaccines for the demand associated with a global vaccination campaign. Production process performance is assessed for three messenger RNA (mRNA) and one self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccines, all currently under clinical development, as well as for a hypothetical next-generation saRNA vaccine. The impact of key process design and operation uncertainties on the performance of the production process was assessed. The RNA vaccine drug substance (DS) production rates, volumes and costs are mostly impacted by the RNA amount per vaccine dose and to a lesser extent by the scale and titre in the production process. The resources, production scale and speed required to meet global demand vary substantially in function of the RNA amount per dose. For lower dose saRNA vaccines, global demand can be met using a production process at a scale of below 10 L bioreactor working volume. Consequently, these small-scale processes require a low amount of resources to set up and operate. RNA DS production can be faster than fill-to-finish into multidose vials; hence the latter may constitute a bottleneck.

scholarly journals Light or Dark Greywater for Water Reuse? Economic Assessment of On-Site Greywater Treatment Systems in Rural Areas

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 3637
Author(s):  
Eduardo Leiva ◽  
Carolina Rodríguez ◽  
Rafael Sánchez ◽  
Jennyfer Serrano
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Central Zone ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Operating Costs ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
The Impact

Water scarcity is causing a great impact on the population. Rural areas are most affected by often lacking a stable water supply, being more susceptible to the impact of drought events, and with greater risk of contamination due to the lack of appropriate water treatment systems. Decentralized greywater treatment systems for water reuse in rural areas can be a powerful alternative to alleviate these impacts. However, the economic feasibility of these systems must be thoroughly evaluated. This study reports an economic analysis carried out on the viability of greywater reuse considering scenarios with light greywater or dark greywater to be treated. For this, data obtained from the assembly and monitoring of greywater treatment systems located in the north-central zone of Chile, supplemented with data obtained from the literature were used. The results showed that both scenarios are not economically viable, since the investment and operating costs are not amortized by the savings in water. In both evaluated cases (public schools), the economic indicators were less negative when treating light greywater compared with the sum of light greywater and dark greywater as the inlet water to be treated. The investment and operating costs restrict the implementation of these water reuse systems, since in the evaluation period (20 years) a return on the initial investment is not achieved. Even so, our results suggest that the best alternative to reuse greywater in small-scale decentralized systems is to treat light greywater, but it is necessary to consider a state subsidy that not only supports capital costs but also reduces operating and maintenance costs. These findings support the idea that the type of water to be treated is a factor to consider in the implementation of decentralized greywater treatment systems for the reuse of water in rural areas and can help decision-making on the design and configuration of these systems.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Brazilian small-scale farmers about genetically modified crops

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Almeida ◽  
Luisa Massarani ◽  
Ildeu de Castro Moreira
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Genetically Modified Crops ◽  
Free Food ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
The Impact ◽  
To Receive

The aim of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of small-scale farmers in Brazil towards genetically modified (GM) crops based on a sample of 15 focus groups involving 111 individuals. The analysis of the corpus shows heterogeneous perceptions regarding these crops, shaped by diverse factors, including economic prospects and concerns with the impact on health and the environment. There are many misgivings about these effects among the farmers, who are keen to receive unbiased information on the topic. These uncertainties affect them more as consumers, as most would prefer eating GM-free food, than as producers, as they consider other aspects, especially economic feasibility, when deciding what to grow. Although most farmers believe they should have a voice in decision-making on agricultural issues, few have made concerted efforts to be heard.

scholarly journals Elapsed time since BNT162b2 vaccine and risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a large cohort

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel Israel ◽  
Eugene Merzon ◽  
Alejandro A Schäffer ◽  
Yotam Shenhar ◽  
Ilan Green ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Messenger Rna ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Health Care Organization ◽  
Vaccination Campaign ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Vaccine Dose ◽  
Care Organization ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Pcr Test

Importance: Israel was among the first countries to launch a large-scale COVID-19 vaccination campaign, and quickly vaccinated its population, achieving early control over the spread of the virus. However, the number of COVID-19 cases is now rapidly increasing, which may indicate that vaccine protection decreases over time. Objective: To determine whether time elapsed since the second BNT162b2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) injection is significantly associated with the risk of post-vaccination COVID-19 infection. Design: This is a retrospective cohort study performed in a large state-mandated health care organization in Israel. Participants: All fully vaccinated adults who have received a RT-PCR test between May 15, 2021 and July 26, 2021, at least two weeks after their second vaccine injection were included. Patients with a history of past COVID-19 infection were excluded. Main Outcome and Measure: Positive result for the RT-PCR test. Results: The cohort included 33,993 fully vaccinated adults, 49% women, with a mean age of 47 years (SD, 17 years), who received an RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 during the study period. The median time between the second dose of the vaccine and the RT-PCR test was 146 days, interquartile range [121-167] days. 608 (1.8%) patients had positive test results. There was a significantly higher rate of positive results among patients who received their second vaccine dose at least 146 days before the RT-PCR test compared to patients who have received their vaccine less than 146 days before: odds ratio for infection was 3.00 for patients aged over 60 (95% CI 1.86-5.11); 2.29 for patients aged between 40 and 59 (95% CI 1.67-3.17); and 1.74 for patients aged between 18 and 39 (95% CI 1.27-2.37); P<0.001 in each age group. Conclusions and Relevance: In this large population study of patients tested for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR following two doses of mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine, we observe a significant increase of the risk of infection in individuals who received their last vaccine dose since at least 146 days ago, particularly among patients older than 60.

scholarly journals Intensity of Khasi Production: Understanding the Challenges of Modern Agriculture System in Betel Leaf Cultivation

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 630-642
Author(s):  
Farhana Jhuma Choudhury ◽  
Md. Ashraful Haque
Keyword(s):  
Production Process ◽  
Production System ◽  
Scale Economy ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Economic Resource ◽  
Betel Leaf ◽  
Intensive Production ◽  
Traditional Production ◽  
Economic Expectations ◽  
The Impact

The intensive agriculture system is prominent in the mainstream production technique of Bangladesh. The paper illustrates the contests of the traditional production system of Khasi about mainstream social and economic expectations of resource use. The specific Khasi adaptation process and the patterned dependency on available environmental resources can be observed in the traditional Khasi production practices. Meanwhile, the logic on the need for intensive production has been rising in the changing socio-economic resource maximization process towards sustainability. The impact of the mainstream trends of agriculture practices on a small-scale economy has been analyzed here with the changes in labor mobility, mechanism of labor control, production cost, and hierarchy issues of the traditional production system. The research findings reflect that modernity initiatives have changed the social and natural support system in production, and changes occur in the system through the market-induced priority of development. The production process is trending towards intensive cultivation. Whether a generalized community, i.e., dependent on multiple natural yielding, diversified forest resources, and social value-oriented cultivation system, can continue the traditional living in a staple food dominated mainstream agro-economy. The study shows that intensive production is growing in the traditional production field of Khasi with modern technologies. As the ongoing production process is found segmented and capital intensive, the research suggests the community-based production behavior to defend the vulnerability of the economic capital-poor Khasis of Bangladesh.

scholarly journals Delayed systemic urticarial reactions following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination

2022 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchell M. Pitlick ◽  
Avni Y. Joshi ◽  
Alexei Gonzalez-Estrada ◽  
Sergio E. Chiarella
Keyword(s):  
Messenger Rna ◽  
Skin Testing ◽  
Vaccination Campaign ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Vaccine Dose ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mean ◽  
To Receive

Background: As the vaccination campaign in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues, concerns with regard to adverse reactions to the vaccine remain. Although immediate hypersensitivity reactions have received much attention, delayed systemic urticarial reactions after vaccination can occur. Objective: To describe the clinical presentation, vaccine excipient skin testing results, and outcomes of subsequent COVID-19 vaccination in patients who experienced delayed systemic urticarial reactions after messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccination. Methods: This was a retrospective case series of 12 patients referred to the Mayo Clinics in Rochester, Minnesota, and Jacksonville, Florida, between January 19, 2021, and April 30, 2021, for evaluation of delayed systemic urticarial reactions after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. Demographics, medical and allergic history, reaction details, vaccine excipient skin testing results (when performed), and the outcome after subsequent vaccination were collected for each patient. Results: The mean age of the patients was 52 years, all were white, and 9 (75%) were women. Half of the patients had a history of drug allergy, and one had a history of chronic spontaneous urticaria. Seven patients reacted to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and five reacted to the Moderna vaccine. Seven patients developed symptoms between 8 and 24 hours after vaccination. Nine patients required antihistamines for treatment. The median time to symptom resolution was 4 days. Nine patients underwent allergist-directed COVID-19 vaccine excipient skin testing, all of which were negative. Ten patients chose to receive their next mRNA COVID-19 vaccine dose, and four patients experienced recurrent delayed urticaria. Conclusion: Delayed systemic urticarial reactions after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination were not life-threatening, could be treated with antihistamines, and were not predicted with vaccine excipient skin testing. They were not a contraindication to subsequent vaccination, although patients should be counseled with regard to the possibility of recurrence.

Economic feasibility analysis of small-scale aquaculture of the endemic snail Pomacea patula catemacensis (Baker 1922) from southeast Mexico

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Miguel Ángel Mejía-Ramírez ◽  
Verónica Valadez Rocha ◽  
Carlos Iván Pérez-Rostro
Keyword(s):  
Production System ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Return Rate ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Present Value ◽  
Base Scenario ◽  
The Impact

The snail Pomacea patula catemacensis is an endemic mollusk from the southeast Gulf of Mexico, which is commercially exploited and in decline since 2010. This decline is associated with an increasing market demand and illegal capture. We designed a small-scale production system for P. p. catemacensis and determined its financial feasibility for a base scenario. We used information gathered from stakeholders and stochastic modeling to predict the impact of uncertain variables on the economic indicators to assess the financial viability under varying conditions. The small-scale intensive production system, designed to yield 3.9 tons/year of unshelled product, requires an investment of about US $65,000. The production unit was financially assessed using the Modified Internal Return Rate and The Net Present Value of cash flow, considering a 14% discount rate and a 7% reinvestment rate. We obtained a Net Present Value of $67,000 and a Modified Internal Return Rate of 20% for the base scenario, which indicates the viability of the project. A Monte Carlo simulation was run to assess the robustness of the project to variability of three parameters: labor cost, energy cost, and market price; with random and simultaneous variation, resulting in 95% probability of getting a Modified Internal Return Rate larger than the current interest rate (8%) and a low probability (2.8%) to be financially unviable. This production system is worthy of consideration as an option to reduce the fishing pressure on the tegogolo natural populations of the Catemaco Lake while satisfying the market demand.

scholarly journals Estimating the effectiveness of first dose of COVID-19 vaccine against mortality in England: a quasi-experimental study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Bermingham ◽  
Jasper Morgan ◽  
Daniel Ayoubkhani ◽  
Myer Glickman ◽  
Nazrul Islam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vaccination Campaign ◽  
Vaccine Dose ◽  
Vaccine Effectiveness ◽  
Confounding Factors ◽  
Unmeasured Confounding ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Roll Out

Background: Estimating real-world vaccine effectiveness is vital to assess the impact of the vaccination programme on the pandemic and inform the ongoing policy response. However, estimating vaccine effectiveness using observational data is inherently challenging because of the non-randomised design and the potential for unmeasured confounding. Methods: We used a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) to estimate vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 mortality in England, exploiting the discontinuity in vaccination rates resulting from the UK's age-based vaccination priority groups. We used the fact that people aged 80 or over were prioritised for the vaccine roll-out in the UK to compare the risk of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 death in people aged 75-79 and 80-84. Findings: The prioritisation of vaccination of people aged 80 or above led to a large discrepancy in vaccination rates in people 80-84 compared to those 75-79 at the beginning of the vaccination campaign. We found a corresponding difference in COVID-19 mortality, but not in non-COVID-19 mortality, suggesting that our approach appropriately addresses the issue of unmeasured confounding factors. Our results suggest that the first vaccine dose reduced the risk of COVID-19 death by 70.5% (95% CI 18.2-117.7) in those aged 80. Interpretations: Our results support existing evidence that a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has a strong protective effect against COVID-19 mortality in older adults. The RDD estimate of vaccine effectiveness is comparable to previously published studies using different methods, suggesting that unmeasured confounding factors are unlikely to substantially bias these studies.

Influence of export of the macadamia on economy of Сolombia

10.12737/1473 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-27
Author(s):  
Мора П. ◽  
Santiago E. Mora P. ◽  
Гуэвара А. ◽  
Sebastian A. Guevara A. ◽  
Баутиста В. ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Production Process ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Global Demand ◽  
Formal Employment ◽  
Employment Generation ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Impact

Macadamia is one of the most potential export products of Colombia, due of its high global demand, and a generator of economic growth and formal employment. Therefore, this article will discuss about the impact of this crop in the GDP’s growth of the major producing regions and employment generation in the same, through statistical data and primary information, that will make an approach in measuring the analyzed variables, and thus develop strategies that allow the crop’s optimization and the creation of a higher added throughout the production process.

scholarly journals Socio-Economic Determinants of Small Family Farms’ Resilience in Selected Central and Eastern European Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10362
Author(s):  
Michał Borychowski ◽  
Sebastian Stępień ◽  
Jan Polcyn ◽  
Aleksandra Tošović-Stevanović ◽  
Dragan Ćalović ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Market Integration ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Agricultural Producers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Production Scale ◽  
Economic Determinants ◽  
Scale Family ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
The Impact

We investigated the resilience of small-scale family farms because of the contemporary importance of both the farms’ resilience and the role of these farms in five countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The authors addressed a research gap concerning cross-sectional research on the resilience of farms by combining determinants from various fields. Thus, the primary goal of this article was to identify microeconomic and political factors and links to markets that affect the resilience of small-scale family farms in Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Serbia. Using a database of over 3500 farms, the resilience of the farms was calculated, and then the impact of selected factors on that resilience was determined. The research showed that the production scale was the key determinant of the resilience of farms. To achieve higher benefits, increasing the production should be combined with strengthening the market integration of agricultural producers. The position of the producer in the food supply chain determined the income situation of the farm (economic stability). This shaped the quality of life of the family members (social stability). Identifying the effects of those dependencies may provide recommendations for the policy of supporting small-scale family farms in the analysed countries.

scholarly journals Pandemic-response adenoviral vector and RNA vaccine manufacturing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltan Kis ◽  
Kyungjae Tak ◽  
Dauda Ibrahim ◽  
Maria M Papathanasiou ◽  
Benoit Chachuat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Messenger Rna ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Vaccine Production ◽  
Resource Requirement ◽  
Cost Performance ◽  
Feasibility Assessment ◽  
Future Technology ◽  
Production Platform ◽  
Pandemic Response ◽  
The Impact

Rapid global COVID-19 pandemic response by mass vaccination is currently limited by the rate of vaccine manufacturing. This study presents a techno-economic feasibility assessment and comparison of three vaccine production platform technologies deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) adenovirus-vectored (AVV) vaccines, (2) messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, and (3) the newer self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccines. Besides assessing the baseline performance of the production process, the impact of key design and operational uncertainties on the productivity and cost performance of these vaccine platforms were also evaluated using variance-based global sensitivity analysis. Cost and resource requirement projections were also computed for manufacturing multi-billion vaccine doses for covering the current global demand shortage and for providing annual booster immunizations. This model-based assessment provides key insights to policymakers and vaccine manufacturers for risk analysis, asset utilisation, directions for future technology improvements and future epidemic/pandemic preparedness, given the disease-agnostic nature of these vaccine production platforms.

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