Thursday, 18 March 2021, 8:38 am | Business NZ Energy Council The twelfth annual World Energy Council (WEC) Issues Monitor for New Zealand shows
climate change, renewable energy and energy efficiency are hot issues for energy
executives. This year energy leaders see carbon abatement as a critical uncertainty, . More
UNAIDS
Stakeholders of the Caribbean HIV response have launched the In Your Hands HIV self-testing campaign, which advocates for self-testing policies to be developed and implemented as part of a comprehensive strategy to ensure that HIV diagnosis does not decline during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even before COVID-19, the Caribbean was not on track to achieve the 90% testing target due at the end of 2020. In 2019, 77% of all people living with HIV in the Caribbean knew their HIV status. A survey conducted by the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) showed that during 2020 facility- and community-based HIV testing services were reduced in 69% of countries due to COVID-19.
University of Amsterdam
Ilse Denekamp, a PhD student working under the supervision of Prof. Gadi Rothenberg at the University of Amsterdam’s Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, has ‘translated’ her PhD research in a short film. The one-minute animation highlights the advantages of novel tailor-made single-site catalytic materials for heterogeneous catalysis. Ilse Denekamp will defend her PhD thesis on 7 April.
Using a combination of computer-animation techniques, Denekamp produced an ‘instruction manual’ explaining her research in the language of Lego. In her PhD thesis she describes a building-block approach for making covalently-bonded polymers with tailored catalytic properties. These polymers are stable up to 400 °C, combining the specific metal sites of organometallic complexes with the stability and ease of separation of solid catalysts. While developing these materials, Denekamp and co-workers used Lego bricks as models. This gave her the idea of prese
CHINA / SOCIETY By Global Times Published: Mar 18, 2021 12:28 AM
Taiwan Photo: Pixabay
The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council has responded to questions over whether Taiwan residents who have received COVID-19 vaccines will be exempted from quarantines upon arrival in the mainland, saying that multiple factors will be taken into consideration for further approval.
Spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said at a press briefing on Wednesday that the related authorities need to take various aspects into consideration comprehensively before making any decisions to adjust COVID-19 control measure for compatriots in the island of Taiwan coming to the mainland. However, Taiwan s entry ban for mainland residents remains the biggest obstacle that hinders the normal communication between the island and the mainland, added Zhu, expressing her willingness to bring the communication between the compatriots across the Taiwan Straits back to normal.
ITU
Experts in quantum information technology and standardization are set to convene next week to discuss modes of cooperation capable of ensuring harmonized standards development.
The symposium will share insight into three key dimensions of quantum technologies: quantum communication, quantum computation, and quantum measurement. Presentations will be followed by a panel discussion among representatives of standards bodies including ITU, ISO, IEC, NIST, ETSI, and CEN-CENELEC.
The discussion aims to establish panelists’ opinion on the appropriate shape of ‘standardization roadmap’ for quantum information technologies.
A variety of standards bodies are developing guidance on the expected evolution of quantum information technologies and associated terminology, testing and evaluation methodologies, interoperability requirements, and quantum-safe security measures.