Commercial Perspective Research Articles

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: Part II—Cost of Care Among Patients in Advanced Phases or Later Lines of Therapy in Chronic Phase in the United States from a Commercial Perspective

Background: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are the standard-of-care treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP). Despite advances in therapy, there remains a proportion of patients with CML-CP that are refractory/intolerant to TKIs, and these patients cycle through multiple lines of therapy. Moreover, even with TKIs, some patients progress to accelerated phase/blast crisis (AP/BC), which is associated with particularly poor clinical outcomes. Objectives: To describe real-world treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization (HRU), and costs of patients with CML-CP reaching later lines of therapy or progressing to AP/BC in the United States. Methods: Adult CML patients from administrative claims data (January 1, 2000–June 30, 2019) were classified by health state: on third-line (CML-CP On Treatment), on fourth or later lines (CML-CP Post-Discontinuation), or progressed to AP/BC (CML-AP/BC). Outcomes were assessed by health state. Results: There were 296 (4620 patient-months), 83 (1644 patient-months), and 949 (25 593 patient-months) patients classified in the CML-CP On Treatment, CML-CP Post-Discontinuation, and CML-AP/BC cohorts, respectively. Second-generation TKIs (nilotinib, dasatinib, and bosutinib) were most commonly used in the CML-CP On Treatment (69.1% of patient-months) and CML-CP Post-Discontinuation cohorts (59.1% of patient-months). Three-month outpatient incidence rates (IRs) were 7.6, 8.3, and 7.0 visits in the CML-CP On Treatment, CML-CP Post-Discontinuation, and CML-AP/BC cohort, respectively, with mean costs of $597 per service. Three-month inpatient IRs were 0.6, 0.7, and 1.4 days in the CML-CP On Treatment, CML-CP Post-Discontinuation, and CML-AP/BC cohort, respectively, with mean costs of $5892 per day. Mean hematopoietic stem cell transplantation cost was $352 333; mean 3-month terminal care cost was $107 013. Discussion: Cost of CML care is substantial among patients with CML reaching third-line, fourth or later lines, or progressing to AP/BC, suggesting that the disease is associated with a significant economic and clinical burden. From third-line to fourth or later lines, HRU was observed to increase, and the incidence of inpatient days was particularly high for those who progressed to AP/BC. Conclusion: In this study, patients with CML cycling through TKIs in later lines of therapy or progressing to AP/BC experienced substantial HRU and costs, suggesting unmet treatment needs.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: Part II-Cost of Care Among Patients in Advanced Phases or Later Lines of Therapy in Chronic Phase in the United States from a Commercial Perspective.

Background: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are the standard-of-care treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP). Despite advances in therapy, there remains a proportion of patients with CML-CP that are refractory/intolerant to TKIs, and these patients cycle through multiple lines of therapy. Moreover, even with TKIs, some patients progress to accelerated phase/blast crisis (AP/BC), which is associated with particularly poor clinical outcomes.Objectives: To describe real-world treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization (HRU), and costs of patients with CML-CP reaching later lines of therapy or progressing to AP/BC in the United States.Methods: Adult CML patients from administrative claims data (January 1, 2000–June 30, 2019) were classified by health state: on third-line (CML-CP On Treatment), on fourth or later lines (CML-CP Post-Discontinuation), or progressed to AP/BC (CML-AP/BC). Outcomes were assessed by health state.Results: There were 296 (4620 patient-months), 83 (1644 patient-months), and 949 (25 593 patient-months) patients classified in the CML-CP On Treatment, CML-CP Post-Discontinuation, and CML-AP/BC cohorts, respectively. Second-generation TKIs (nilotinib, dasatinib, and bosutinib) were most commonly used in the CML-CP On Treatment (69.1% of patient-months) and CML-CP Post-Discontinuation cohorts (59.1% of patient-months). Three-month outpatient incidence rates (IRs) were 7.6, 8.3, and 7.0 visits in the CML-CP On Treatment, CML-CP Post-Discontinuation, and CML-AP/BC cohort, respectively, with mean costs of $597 per service. Three-month inpatient IRs were 0.6, 0.7, and 1.4 days in the CML-CP On Treatment, CML-CP Post-Discontinuation, and CML-AP/BC cohort, respectively, with mean costs of $5892 per day. Mean hematopoietic stem cell transplantation cost was $352 333; mean 3-month terminal care cost was $107 013.Discussion: Cost of CML care is substantial among patients with CML reaching third-line, fourth or later lines, or progressing to AP/BC, suggesting that the disease is associated with a significant economic and clinical burden. From third-line to fourth or later lines, HRU was observed to increase, and the incidence of inpatient days was particularly high for those who progressed to AP/BC.Conclusion: In this study, patients with CML cycling through TKIs in later lines of therapy or progressing to AP/BC experienced substantial HRU and costs, suggesting unmet treatment needs.

Genetics and Epigenetics in Personalized Nutrition: Evidence, Expectations, and Experiences.

With the presentation of the blueprint of the first human genome in 2001 and the advent of technologies for high-throughput genetic analysis, personalized nutrition (PN) becomes a new scientific field and the first commercial offerings of genotype-based nutrition advice emerge at the same time. Here, the state of evidence for the effect of genetic and epigenetic factors in the development of obesity, the metabolic syndrome, and resulting illnesses such as non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases is summarized. This study also critically value the concepts of PN that are built around the new genetic avenue from both the academic and a commercial perspective and their effectiveness in causing sustained changes in diet, lifestyle, and for improving health. Despite almost 20 years of research and commercial direct-to-consumer offerings, evidence for the success of gene-based dietary recommendations is still generally lacking. This calls for new concepts of future PN solutions that incorporate more phenotypic measures and provide a panel of instruments (e.g., self- and bio-monitoring tools, feedback systems, algorithms based on artificial intelligence) that increases compliance based on the individual´s physical and social environment and value system.

Recent Progress on Hydrogen Storage and Production Using Chemical Hydrogen Carriers

Depleting fossil fuel resources and anthropogenic climate changes are the reasons for the intensive development of new, sustainable technologies based on renewable energy sources. One of the most promising strategies is the utilization of hydrogen as an energy vector. However, the limiting issue for large-scale commercialization of hydrogen technologies is a safe, efficient, and economical method of gas storage. In industrial practice, hydrogen compression and liquefaction are currently applied; however, due to the required high pressure (30–70 MPa) and low temperature (−253 °C), both these methods are intensively energy consuming. Chemical hydrogen storage is a promising alternative as it offers safe storage of hydrogen-rich compounds under ambient conditions. Although many compounds serving as hydrogen carriers are considered, some of them do not have realistic perspectives for large-scale commercialization. In this review, the three most technologically advanced hydrogen carriers—dimethyl ether, methanol, and dibenzyltoluene—are discussed and compared. Their potential for industrial application in relation to the energy storage, transport, and mobility sectors is analyzed, taking into account technological and environmental aspects.

The Liability Regime for the Transportation of Goods by Drones: Is There a Need for a European Union Initiative?

The use of civil Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) is becoming more common place, and the application and development of this technology open the door for numerous opportunities, particularly from a commercial perspective. This article first provides an overview of the liability regime applicable in the European Union for the transportation of goods by UAS (otherwise known as drones), or more precisely, emphasises the lack of a liability regime adapted to unmanned aircraft operations within the Single European Sky. Second, an overview of the liability regime for the transportation of goods under the Montreal Convention of 1999 will be studied for its potential applicability to unmanned aircraft operations which will further underscore the lack of any such adaptability of that regime to unmanned aircraft operations. Finally, this article raises the question of whether the creation of a liability regime specially designed for the use of unmanned aircraft in the transportation of goods is needed – one which would take into account all of the specificities related to this advancing technology that cannot be adequately encompassed within the existing regimes governing manned aviation. Unmanned Aircraft System, Cargo, Liability, European Union

Corporate Social Responsibility: A Commercial Law Perspective

The disparity between the affluent and the poor in Pakistani society has widened. Although the state's "invisible hand" control is the cause of sustainability, there are numerous places where it may be improved. This study investigates the tight relationship between Commercial laws, social responsibility, and systematic development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from a commercial law viewpoint. It also examines a correlation between CSR and Corporate Governance about Corporate Financial Performance, as well as the impacts of corporate strategies, Board resolutions, and decisions on corporate performance through various aspects of the 4Ps (People, Purpose, Process, and Performances). The study concludes that we can only get better results by combining all with the law, mainly through CSR activities. This research aims to enhance Pakistan's long-term commercial and social growth.

Trace Element Concentrations and Mineralogy of Quartz Vein Deposits from Southeastern Hubei Province, China

Hydrothermal quartz samples collected from the Fujiashan and Yipanqiu quartz deposits in southeastern Hubei Province, China have been investigated by analytical combination of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, in conjunction with conventional beneficiation processing to evaluate their potential as sources of high purity quartz (HPQ) from a commercial perspective. Microscopy efforts reveal that major mineral impurities associated with quartz are K-feldspar, muscovite, iron oxides, rutile with accessory kaolinite. Bulk trace element concentrations of the processed quartz products demonstrate that the Fujiashan-II quartz vein with cumulative impurities of less than 50 μg g−1 with <30 μg g−1 Al and <10 μg g−1 Ti fits with the lattice-bound criteria for HPQ, meeting the requirement by a HPQ deposit. However, the Yipanqiu quartz deposits are not promising for HPQ production due to high fluid inclusion contents, intimate intergrowth texture with highly variable crystal size, and probably high lattice-bound element contents. The early Neoproterozoic Fujiashan quartz deposits have likely been experienced long-term retrograde metamorphism-related recrystallisation which might contribute to high-purity quartz formation. Due to a much younger crystallization age compared to the Fujiashan deposits, quartz grains in the middle Cretaceous Yipanqiu quartz vein retain high trace elements, leading to exclusion of being a HPQ deposit.

EE274 Estimated Costs of Adverse Event Management in NSCLC Patients with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Exon 20 Insertion Mutations Treated with Amivantamab or Mobocertinib after Progression on Platinum-Based Chemotherapy

To estimate the costs of grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs) related to amivantamab or mobocertinib among patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring epidermal growth factor receptor exon 20 insertion mutation with disease progression despite prior platinum-based chemotherapy, from a Commercial or Medicare payer perspective.

EE158 Budget Impact of LYBALVI® for the Treatment of Schizophrenia and Bipolar I Disorder from a US Payer Perspective

There is a need for effective medications to treat patients living with schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder (BD-I). LYBALVI®, a combination of olanzapine and samidorphan, was recently approved for the treatment of adults with schizophrenia or BD-I. We estimated the budgetary impact of adding LYBALVI to the formulary from Commercial, Medicaid, and Medicare perspectives in the United States (US).

EE143 Cost-Effectiveness of Belantamab Mafodotin (BELAMAF) VS. Melphalan Flufenamide in Combination with Dexamethasone (MEL+DEX) in Heavily PRE-Treated Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma Patients: A U.S. Payer Perspective

Belantamab mafodotin (belamaf) and melphalan flufenamide in combination with dexamethasone (MEL+DEX) have been approved for heavily pretreated relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) patients. Hefty price tags of each highlight the need to evaluate the relationship between the costs and outcomes achieved by these therapies. The objective of the research is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of belamaf compared with MEL+DEX in RRMM patients who have received at least four prior lines of therapy from a U.S. commercial payer perspective.

Strong, tough, ionic conductive, and freezing-tolerant all-natural hydrogel enabled by cellulose-bentonite coordination interactions

Ionic conductive hydrogels prepared from naturally abundant cellulose are ideal candidates for constructing flexible electronics from the perspective of commercialization and environmental sustainability. However, cellulosic hydrogels featuring both high mechanical strength and ionic conductivity remain extremely challenging to achieve because the ionic charge carriers tend to destroy the hydrogen-bonding network among cellulose. Here we propose a supramolecular engineering strategy to boost the mechanical performance and ionic conductivity of cellulosic hydrogels by incorporating bentonite (BT) via the strong cellulose-BT coordination interaction and the ion regulation capability of the nanoconfined cellulose-BT intercalated nanostructure. A strong (compressive strength up to 3.2 MPa), tough (fracture energy up to 0.45 MJ m−3), yet highly ionic conductive and freezing tolerant (high ionic conductivities of 89.9 and 25.8 mS cm−1 at 25 and −20 °C, respectively) all-natural cellulose-BT hydrogel is successfully realized. These findings open up new perspectives for the design of cellulosic hydrogels and beyond.

Identifying and unlocking the value from heat decarbonisation in the United Kingdom

Decarbonisation of heat is critical to the UK achieving its net zero emissions target by 2050. With the low rate of asset turn-over in the heat sector, decarbonisation needs to start immediately. However, the risk and uncertainty regarding the most ‘cost optimal pathway’ across the range of technology options and the lack of a holistic UK heat policy is failing to provide a clear directive as to how market actors should address UK heat decarbonisation. This research applies a novel commercial perspective to provide additional insight beyond that which traditional cost optimal tools are able to offer. The value pool approach is used to determine the magnitude of economic opportunities and map their resilience across multiple net zero scenarios in decadal timesteps to 2050. Our work indicates that by 2050 an annual value of £28 billion potentially exists in decarbonising heat in the UK. Realising this value, however, is subject to significant path-dependency. Unlocking the value will require substantial additional policy and regulatory support, business model innovation and unprecedented levels of consumer engagement and protection in the history of the energy sector.

Single-Cell Technologies: Advances in Single-Cell Migration and Multi-Omics

Single-cell responses to different cues are crucial for identifying the mechanisms underlying biological processes to facilitate disease detection and therapeutic development. The migration of single cells due to various stimuli is a key way in which single cells respond to changes in the microenvironment. In this review, we first discuss different single-cell migration stimuli and recent advances in the research of combined cues for finding the dominant stimulus. Then, we examine recent technologies for studying single-cell signaling and migration, their advantages and limitations, and the applications of recent single-cell technologies in multi-omics. In addition, we discuss the application of machine-learning techniques in data acquisition from molecular and cellular data. Finally, we review the latest efforts of commercialization, remaining challenges, and future perspectives for technologies to study single-cell responses to multi-cues.

Motivations, barriers, and enablers for demand response programs: A commercial and industrial consumer perspective

Increasing variable renewable generation and consumer peak demand has brought about challenges for electricity utilities to balance supply and demand efficiently and economically. Consumer demand response is one solution for providing balancing services, with large industrial businesses providing these services in many electricity markets. However, there are many barriers to commercial and industrial consumers participating in demand response. Reported barriers are presented from utility and market perspectives, with a gap in understanding the barriers for consumers participation. This article presents the results of a literature review and interviews with commercial and industrial consumers participating in demand response, to identify the barriers and motivations for participation, and factors that enable action. This article contributes to the literature on demand response by presenting empirical evidence, which identifies new, and confirms and challenges previously reported motivations and barriers. We confirm financial benefits are the primary motivation with few consumers making the link between their participation in demand response and providing balancing services to prevent blackouts and manage variable renewable generation. With growing investor focus on environmental sustainability we assert there is opportunity to communicate these non-financial benefits providing additional value to existing and potential customers. Finally, we identify businesses are overcoming some barriers using enabling strategies however need further assistance with barriers which prevent participation, including awareness of demand response programs with flexible requirements. Understanding these motivations and barriers, and enabling strategies used to overcome these barriers, will assist market participants to develop interventions and better engage consumers in demand response.

Towards socialVR: evaluating a novel technology for watching videos together.

Social VR enables people to interact over distance with others in real-time. It allows remote people, typically represented as avatars, to communicate and perform activities together in a shared virtual environment, extending the capabilities of traditional social platforms like Facebook and Netflix. This paper explores the benefits and drawbacks provided by a lightweight and low-cost Social VR platform (SocialVR), in which users are captured by several cameras and reconstructed in real-time. In particular, the paper contributes with (1) the design and evaluation of an experimental protocol for Social VR experiences; (2) the report of a production workflow for this new type of media experiences; and (3) the results of experiments with both end-users (N = 15 pairs) and professionals (N = 22 companies) to evaluate the potential of the SocialVR platform. Results from the questionnaires and semi-structured interviews show that end-users rated positively towards the experiences provided by the SocialVR platform, which enabled them to sense emotions and communicate effortlessly. End-users perceived the photo-realistic experience of SocialVR similar to face-to-face scenarios and appreciated this new creative medium. From a commercial perspective, professionals confirmed the potential of this communication medium and encourage further research for the adoption of the platform in the commercial landscape.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10055-022-00651-5.

The Rise and Fall of United Grain Growers: Cooperatives, Market Regulation, and Free Enterprise

In The Rise and Fall of United Grain Growers, Paul D. Earl traces the history of that powerful western Canadian farmer cooperative and places it in the context of the broader grain industry between 1906 and 2006. This book is more than a standard business or agricultural history, however. The history of “The Company,” as Earl refers to it across its several iterations, is a window into farmers' movements, competing ideologies, corporate takeovers, legal maneuverings, economics, and government power. In addition to traditional source material, Earl leverages his experiences as a former employee of the company and his access to interviews with upper management in the early twenty-first century to produce a unique examination into what was one of the world's largest farmer-owned grain marketing entities and its transition from cooperative to shareholder-dominated corporation.In parts 1 and 2, Earl traces the history of the company and the prairie grain industry from 1906 to 1990, identifying the economic and ideological contours within which wheat marketing operated. Between 1906, when the company began operations in Winnipeg, and 1945, the grain industry shifted from a relatively open and privately controlled market in which free trade predominated to a highly regulated and centralized arena dominated by state and cooperative control. The farming and cooperative community found itself divided between advocates of laissez-faire and government marketing controls. In this period, the company, generally successful, managed to straddle the two positions and embrace elements of both. From the postwar period through the 1980s, pressures to deregulate and return to private control of the grain industry increased, caused by outdated transportation, marketing, and handling arrangements and the concomitant need to modernize and rationalize railway and elevator systems. There were no easy answers to these challenges, as the company, the wheat pools, and various government administrations wrestled with how to enact systemic reforms. The company struggled with its own modernization efforts, and its growth slowed and financial issues mounted.Part 3 of the book examines the end of the company between 1991 and 2006, when the Saskatchewan wheat pool succeeded in a takeover bid. This final third of the book is the meat of Earl's argument, where he investigates the takeover from multiple angles. He ultimately concludes that, though all sides acted in good faith, the sale of the company to the pool was not a fait accompli, and its traditional and historical cooperative role was worth saving. In this period the grain industry underwent a long, overdue massive transformation characterized by deregulation, modernization, and consolidation of grain handling systems and transportation networks. The company adapted to these changes, becoming Agricore United after a merger with the Alberta and Manitoba wheat pools in the late 1990s, and it created a hybrid management and financial structure based on public shareholding and a cooperative farmer/member-dominated board.In 2006 the Saskatchewan pool launched a takeover bid of the company. Within Agricore United, two perspectives developed, and their adherents debated the merits of the takeover. Senior management argued for the “commercial perspective”: shareholder primacy is predominant, and the company should acquiesce to the takeover on grounds that it would increase shareholder returns. Farmer-directors on the board put forth the “traditional perspective”: shareholder primacy took a back seat to preserving the company's historic role as a farmer-controlled cooperative, a business that advocated for the rural community, its members, and its customers. Earl contends that the sale of the company to the pool, which ended a century of farmer control and created a shareholder-dominated corporation, was avoidable and remains regrettable. He explains how the takeover ultimately succeeded because of a lack of leadership, internal divisions, and broader acceptance of the commercial perspective within the company.As a historian, the history of the company within the context of the western Canadian grain industry interested me greatly. This section of the book is the best current analysis of the topic. In addition, I found myself fascinated by Earl's careful delineation of the intricacies of modern corporate law, the internal workings of large-scale businesses, and the complexities and emotions tied up in takeovers and mergers. The Rise and Fall of United Grain Growers is a useful book for scholars of agriculture and business, as well as those seeking insight into policy making, the Canadian grain industry, and corporate law.

Autoclave and pulsed ultrasound cavitation based thermal activation of persulfate for regeneration of hydrogen titanate nanotubes as recyclable dye adsorbent.

In the dye removal application, regeneration of hydrogen titanate nanotubes (HTN, H2Ti3O7) has been achieved via thermal activation of persulfate anion (PS, S2O82-) by using the conventional hot plate technique which has limitations from the commercial perspective since it does not provide any precise control over the thermal generation process typically during the scale-up operation. To overcome this drawback, HTN have been synthesized via hydrothermal process which exhibit the methylene blue (MB) adsorption of 93% at the initial dye concentration and solution pH of 90µM and 10 respectively. HTN have been regenerated via the thermal activation of PS by varying its initial concentration and regeneration temperature, within the range of 0.27-1 wt% and 40-80°C, under the thermal conditions set by the autoclave and pulsed ultrasound (US) cavitation process. The results of recycling experiments suggest that the optimum values of initial PS concentration and temperature, for the regeneration of HTN under the autoclave conditions, are 1 wt% and 70°C with the maximum MB adsorption of 92%, while, the corresponding values for the pulsed US cavitation process are 1 wt%, 80°C, and 91% respectively. Thus, the regeneration and recycling of HTN have been successfully demonstrated by using the autoclave and pulsed US cavitation process. Under the optimum conditions, MB degradation involves the generation and attack of SO4•- for both the thermal generation techniques. The regeneration techniques developed here may be utilized in future during the scale-up operation and also for the regeneration of adsorbents besides HTN.

Credit Risk Early Warning of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Based on Blockchain Trusted Data

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are now growing rapidly and playing an important role in the development of the national economy. As the economy grows, the contradiction between the credit risk of SMEs and the credit risk early warning mechanism of traditional supply chain financing has become increasingly important. In response to the issues of a single source of business information, the high investment cost of the existing early risk early warning mechanism, etc., from a commercial bank credit risk management perspective, this paper proposes to build an SMEs credit risk early warning system based on reliable blockchain data. The reliability of the data obtained is assessed utilising a hierarchical analysis and a vague overall judgement method. The results show that the use of blockchain technology can enhance the credibility and accuracy of the data, which provides a data guarantee for more rapid risk alert.

Recent advances in eco-friendly quantum dots-based solar energy conversion applications

<p indent="0mm">Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are nanocrystals with three-dimensional confined excitons, showing size/shape/composition-dependent optical properties with broadband absorption from ultraviolet to near infrared, high quantum yield, large Stokes shift and good photo/chemical stability, which have been widely applied in solar energy conversion applications such as solar cells (SCs), luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) and photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells. However, most of the high-performance QDs-solar energy conversion devices are still based on QDs containing highly toxic heavy metals (such as Pb, Cd, Hg-based chalcogenides), which can inevitably induce the human health and environmental pollution issues, thus hindering their future commercialization. Developing high-efficiency solar energy conversion devices based on environmentally friendly QDs is a promising research direction to promote the practical application. Towards this effort, a new generation of environment-friendly semiconductor QDs (such as carbon QDs, silicon QDs, III-V compound QDs, I-III-VI compound QDs and lead-free perovskite QDs) has recently attracted extensive research interests. Here, notable advances and developments of solar cells, luminescent solar concentrators and photoelectrochemical cells based on these environmentally friendly QDs are summarized. Various strategies including band gap engineering, core/shell structure construction, doping, defect states tuning and alloying of these eco-friendly QDs as well as relevant QDs-based device performance are discussed in detail. Specifically, growing core/shell structure can effectively passivate the surface defect states, inhibit the non-radiative recombination and improve the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) as well as photo-/chemical-stability of QDs. The optical absorption and PL spectra of QDs can be precisely tuned by altering the concentration of dopants and chemical compositions of QDs to match the solar spectrum for high-efficiency utilization of solar energy. Alloying strategy also enables the realization of optimized intrinsic and surface defects, tailored band structure and improved photo-/chemical-stability of QDs, thus enhancing the performance of corresponding QDs-solar conversion devices. Furthermore, the current existing challenges and drawbacks are analyzed, providing guidelines for future developments of eco-friendly QDs-based solar energy conversion devices. In summary, the rational design and synthesis of eco-friendly QDs with broad light absorption, highly efficient charge separation/transfer and outstanding photo-/chemical-stability are beneficial to improve the performance of “green” QDs-solar energy conversion devices. For QD’s synthesis, low-temperature, less toxic and large-scale synthetic technology with reduced energy consumption and eliminated toxic organic solvents/surfactants should be developed to achieve future cost-effective and high quality QDs. For QDs-SCs, the best reported power conversion efficiency of state-of-the-art QDs-SCs is still much lower than that of the commercialized silicon SCs. It is of great significance to explore more SCs device performance and stability optimization strategies. For QDs-LSCs, the balance between reabsorption loss and PLQY should be further studied and the standard measurement methodology needs to be refined. For QDs-PEC devices, the long-term durability of QDs under device operation needs to be largely improved for real-life application. Besides, the electrolyte used in most of the current QDs-PEC systems contains sacrificial agents (e.g., Na₂S/Na₂SO₃) with highly corrosive feature, which may induce environmental issues and should be properly replaced by neutral solution for future commercial perspectives.

Global Health Jurisprudence: COVID-19 Pandemic and Pharmaceutical Patents

The onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed millions of lives across the globe, and since its emergence, it has brought to the fore the urgency of addressing public health issues from a global perspective. Notwithstanding the calls for collective action and ambitious global initiatives launched under the aegis of the World Health Organization (WHO), the search for effective new drugs and vaccines and their equitable and affordable access remain captive to the contentious issue of balancing the commercial (intellectual property) rights of the medicine manufacturers and the basic right to health of the vast majority of humankind. There has been a divide among the governments of the developed and developing countries as they jockey to seek trade concessions and intellectual property (IP) waivers in multilateral Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) forums to ensure affordable treatment for their population. Neither the multilateral trade talks nor the parallel global initiatives, especially the ambitious COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) project, has made the promised progress, thus showing that the ground reality is a far cry from the appealing ideas of global solidarity. The pandemic continues to take its toll; calls for a global response to global challenges are getting louder and shriller by the day. The present study attempts to trace the history of collective action in the realm of public health from the social and commercial perspectives. It is to seek a globalized approach to global health issues within the framework of distributive justice. It is observed that the present global framework found a sound economic sense with little scope for global health jurisprudence.