Candida and other yeast infections represent a major component of invasive mycoses globally, including the Arabian Peninsula. In this review, we present epidemiological features and trends, clinical manifestations, species distribution, antifungal resistance, and outcomes available for yeast-related infections in different countries of the Arabian Peninsula. We also discuss gaps in knowledge and provide recommendations for improving various aspects for better management of infections by these fungal pathogens. Candida species prevail, with Candida albicans being the most isolated organism in all countries but not in all time periods. The next most frequently isolated organism varied from country-to-country within the region. Generally, invasive infections by non- albicans Candida species are increasing. Candida auris is causing serious health risks in all countries including those with appropriate diagnostic capacity and awareness. A major goal of this collaborative work is to set-up a regional system to share information on the clinical, epidemiological and molecular characteristics of C. auris-related infections and share experiences on best management and infection control strategies in the region. Information is also reviewed on other yeast infections in the region which are less frequently observed and seem to differ between different countries, likely because of differences in clinical practices and research interests among individual countries.

Land use changes affect the carbon cycling process in terrestrial ecosystems. As a key conservation area in China, the impact of land use changes on carbon storage (CS) in Hainan Island is not yet known. Revealing the spatiotemporal patterns of CS under land use changes offers a reference for regional carbon management. This study couples the InVEST and GeoSOS-FLUS models to map historical and future CS spatial patterns, integrating optimal parameter geographic detectors and multi-scale geographically weighted regression models to reveal the driving forces of CS spatial pattern. Key findings include: (1) Hainan Island’s land use is predominantly cropland and woodland. From 1990 to 2020, construction land increased by 668.25 km 2, extensively encroaching on woodland and cropland, resulting in a cumulative decrease in CS by approximately 229.54×10 4 t, with especially notable declines in rapidly developing coastal regions. (2) Both natural and anthropogenic factors determine the spatial pattern of CS, with natural factors playing a dominant role. The interaction between natural and anthropogenic factors significantly enhances their impact, resulting in both bivariate enhancement and nonlinear enhancement. (3) The expansion of construction land will continue in the future. By 2050, under natural development and rapid development scenarios, CS is projected to decrease by 183.16×10 4 t and 283.09×10 4 t, respectively. However, in the ecological protection scenario, restrictions on the expansion of construction land and an increase in woodland areas will result in a carbon storage increase of 87.66×10 4 t. In the future land use planning for the Hainan free trade port, it is crucial to enhance the protection of key ecological areas such as the central mountainous regions and nature reserves, optimize the land-use pattern, strictly control the conversion of woodland and cropland to construction land, improve carbon sequestration capacity, and achieve regional sustainable development.

Mental spatial transformations such as rotation and folding have been well-characterised both behaviorally and electrophysiologically. However, the parity of mental rotation and mental folding mechanisms is an unresolved question. The neurophysiological signature of mental rotation is a late negative deflection over parietal regions that becomes more negative with greater rotation angles. The same negativity is present during mental folding, but typically does not change in amplitude with different folding difficulties. This dissociation suggests that the two processes may rely on separate mechanisms, or it could occur due to typical mental folding experiments utilising stimuli for which each fold involves a fixed 90° transformation angle . The aim of this study is to test the latter explanation. If varying the angle of folding required coincides with changes to the magnitude of the folding-related parietal negativity, mental folding can be viewed as a series of rotations for the component parts of an object. Participants will mentally fold a cube net to completion to decide whether two points on the net will meet. In a 2x2 design, the cube nets will require different numbers of folding (4 faces carried vs 6 faces carried), and the folds will require different degrees of rotation to complete (50° vs 90°). Electroencephalography data will be analysed to determine the presence of a transformation negativity over parietal leads between 400-800 ms. Greater negativity in this component for larger degrees of folding angle will be taken as evidence for a shared mechanism between mental folding and mental rotation.

not-yet-known not-yet-known not-yet-known unknown Background: Chronic musculoskeletal pain has been associated with changes at various levels regarding pain processing. One of the fields that has highlighted such differences between healthy individuals and people suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain is neuroimaging of the brain. The mixed results arising from the different pathologies in addition to the use of different brain imaging modalities do not offer a conclusive overview, implicating the interpretation of the findings and their relevance as a causal or a consequent factor to chronification of pain. The aim of this systematic review is to provide a comprehensive summary of the available evidence assessing chronic painful conditions against healthy populations per functional neuroimaging modality. Methods: The protocol for this systematic review was informed and reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews. The databases that will be searched from inception to 8 January 2024 include PubMed, EMBASE (Ovid Interface), Scopus, Cochrane Library and Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics). Risk of bias will be assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa tool, and the quality of the cumulative evidence assessed with the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation guidelines. Discussion: The results of this review will provide an up-to-date report on what the main findings of brain neuroimaging per pathological population and imaging modality are, assessing at the same time the quality of the evidence and indicating future directions in the field of neuroimaging assessment of the musculoskeletal patient.

A PDLIM7 variant in familial mitral valve prolapse: a case reportAniek L. van Wijngaarden, MD1; Tamara T. Koopmann, PhD2; Claudia A.L. Ruivenkamp, PhD2; Hoi W. Wu, MD1; Nina Ajmone Marsan, MD, PhD1; Daniela Q.C.M. Barge-Schaapveld, MD, PhD2Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the NetherlandsDepartment of Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the NetherlandsAddress for correspondence:Nina Ajmone Marsan, MD, PhDDepartment of CardiologyLeiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, the NetherlandsPhone: +31-71-5262020, Fax: +31-71-5266809E-mail: n.ajmone@lumc.nlStatement: the index patient and his family has given written consent to use their data for this clinical report.Words: 2475

A document by Tirhani Maluleke. Click on the document to view its contents.

Peach Leaf Curl Disease, caused by the fungus Taphrina deformans, is characterized by reddish hypertrophic and hyperplasic leaf areas. To comprehend the biochemical imbalances caused by the disease an integrated approach including metabolomics, lipidomics, proteomics and complementary biochemical techniques was undertaken. Symptomatic and asymptomatic areas were dissected from leaves with increasing extension of the disease. A differential metabolic behaviour was identified in symptomatic areas with respect to either asymptomatic areas or healthy leaves. Symptomatic areas showed an altered chloroplastic functioning and composition which differs from the typical senescence process and includes decrease in the photosynthetic machinery, alteration in plastidic lipids, and decreased starch, carotenoid and chlorophyll biosynthesis. In symptomatic areas, alteration in redox-homeostasis proteins and in triacylglycerols content, peroxidation and double bond index were observed. Proteomic data revealed induction of host enzymes involved in auxin and jasmonate biosynthesis together with up-regulation of phenylpropanoid and mevalonate pathways and down-regulation of the plastidic methylerythritol phosphate route. Amino acid pools were affected, with up-regulation of proteins involved in asparagine synthesis. Overall, we conclude that curled areas exhibited a metabolic shift towards functioning as a sink tissue importing sugars and producing energy through fermentation and respiration and reductive power via the pentose phosphate route.

Hyperbolic conservation law equations and convection-dominated convection-diffusion equations can be solved numerically using high-order weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) techniques in computational fluid mechanics. In this paper, we extend the modified WENO scheme to mixed-type equations. Numerical examples for the van der Waals equations and the corresponding viscosity-capillarity equations are presented to illustrate the efficiency and structure of our algorithm. The emphasis is on the Riemann problem of mixed equations under different pressure states.

Spontaneous Uterine Rupture in the Second Trimester: A Case Report

Title: Insights on Stillbirths in Africa using the Robson Classification System: Mini CommentaryAdeline A. BoatinDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General HospitalHarvard Medical School, Boston, USAContact:55 Fruit Street,Dept OB/GYNMassachusetts General HospitalBoston, MA 02114Email: adeline_boatin@mgh.harvard.eduTel: +1 617 726 1320Shortened Running title: Insights from Robson Classification on StillbirthDisclosures: I have no relevant disclosuresContribution to Authorship: AAB conceived, wrote, and edited this manuscript.Globally, stillbirths remain a largely neglected health crisis, with up to 2 million stillbirths annually and minimal progress in reduction.1 Despite several global initiatives targeting perinatal mortality, such as the Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) launched in 2014, efforts to decrease stillbirth rates have seen only a modest 2.3% decline over the last 20 years.1This underscores the urgent need for novel approaches to understand and addresse this global challenge.1,2Compounding this issue is a substantial lack of comprehensive data on the trends, timing and causes of stillbirths.1 Many classification systems for categorizing stillbirths have been developed to address this data gap.3 To be useful, classification systems should ideally use routinely collected data that does not require substantial input to collect, and that is already readily available. However, most stillbirth classification systems have failed to meet the criteria that allow widespread adoption, particularly in resource-constrained environments where stillbirth rates are the highest.4In this issue of the journal, Hanson et al use the Robson 10-group Classification system to explore stillbirth trends in four countries – Benin, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda – using data on over 80,000 births and just over 3000 stillbirths collected from 16 hospitals. Their use of the Robson Classification System across these four countries and hospitals of varying levels of care demonstrates the benefits of the chosen classification system: wide applicability across various settings, objective and easily standardizable classifications, and easy comparability across time and place.5 Although not used in this exploration, this classification system also benefits from being versatile in that it can be applied to understand not only stillbirths, but also cesarean delivery or other intrapartum outcomes of interest, thus gaining an efficiency with data collection.The findings from Hanson et al highlight leading contributors to stillbirth among the studied countries – group 10 (preterm births), group 3 (multipara in spontaneous labor) and births complicated by malpresentation and multiple gestations. While high rates of intrapartum stillbirths among preterm deliveries demand attention, they are not surprising. More surprising and warranting further investigation are the high rates of stillbirth seen in Group 3, which, under normal circumstances, should be at the lowest risk for mortality.Importantly, as pointed out by the authors, analysis using the Robson classification system serves as a starting point to pinpoint areas for focused investigation and quality improvement, while also offering valuable insights for each hospital on performance, guidance on where to concentrate efforts, and potentially where to seek lessons from “good performers.”Globally, we have far to go to combat high rates of stillbirths. Using versatile and standardized approaches, as done by Hanson et al offers the opportunity to facilitate targeted investigations and to promote cross-country learning and continuous improvement for maternal and perinatal care.References1 United Nations Children’s Fund. Never forgotten: The situation of stillbirth around the globe. Report of the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, 2022. New York, 2023 https://data.unicef.org/resources/never-forgotten-stillbirth-estimates-report/.2 World Health Organization. Every newborn: an action plan to end preventable deaths. 2014.3 Leisher SH, Teoh Z, Reinebrant H, et al. Seeking order amidst chaos: a systematic review of classification systems for causes of stillbirth and neonatal death, 2009–2014.BMC pregnancy and childbirth 2016; 16 : 1–17.4 Mukherjee A, Di Stefano L, Blencowe H, Mee P. Determinants of stillbirths in sub‐Saharan Africa: A systematic review. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology 2024; 131 : 140–50.5 Robson MS. The 10-Group Classification System-a new way of thinking.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology 2018; 219 : 1–4.

Mosquitoes, as temperature-sensitive ectothermic vectors, exhibit temperature-dependent traits like reproduction and survival. This study investigates Culex pallens (Cx. pallens) mosquito responses to abrupt temperature increases and their implications for mosquito control programs. Cx. pallens first instar larvae (24hr post hatching) and newly enclosed adults (24hr post emergence) were separately exposed to heat shock regimes of 33℃, 37℃, and 42℃ for 3 days alongside a control temperature of 27℃. Results showed that mortality was triggered at 42℃ within a day. Newly enclosed males were less tolerant to all temperatures than larvae and females (p < 0.05. Heat exposure significantly decreased larvae’s development time, growth and adult emergency (p < 0.05). Reproductive fitness was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in males emerging from larvae exposed to 37℃. Life table parameters showed significantly increased mortality rate, kill power and decreased life expectancy at the embryonic stage (p < 0.05). Sporadic heat deactivated the Transient receptor protein ankyrin 1 at 37℃ (p < 0.05) in larvae but not adults. Calmodium, Heat shock protein 90, and small heat shock protein expression was significantly decreased in larvae at 37℃ (p < 0.05) as compared to larvae raised at 33℃ and 27℃. In conclusion, we classified the heat waves into three categories: adaptable (33℃), critical (37℃), and fatal (42℃). Prolonged exposure of Cx. pallens larvae to heat affects the male reproductive output. These findings may serve as an important reference for forecasting vector and pest dynamics. They can be used to tailor mosquito prevention and control measures.

not-yet-known not-yet-known not-yet-known unknown In the face of ongoing habitat loss and fragmentation, examining the genetic dynamics of range ex-pansion provides important insights into the resilience and adaptability of large carnivore populations returning to parts of its former range. This study investigates the genetic structure of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) population during its natural range expansion into southern Sweden, an area from which it had been extirpated for over a century. We utilized genomic data from 600 individual lynx collected throughout the recolonization period to assess heterozygosity, inbreeding, and genetic dif-ferentiation. Our results indicate no significant genetic structure or barriers to gene flow during this recolonization event, despite potential physical barriers such as lakes, farmland, and human infra-structure. Observed and expected heterozygosity, as well as the inbreeding coefficient did not show significant variation over time or across latitude, suggesting that connectivity with the source popula-tion was maintained. Spatial principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis of principal components further supported these findings, showing little spatial or temporal structure. This lack of genetic structure contrasts with the experience of smaller and more isolated lynx popula-tions, which have become inbred. Our study, thus, provides valuable insights into the natural range expansion of a large carnivore in human-dominated landscapes and underscores the importance of ensuring genetic connectivity for successful recolonization and conservation efforts.

Here, we reported a rare case of linear porokeratosis (LP) treated topically with atorvastatin nanoemulgel for 12 weeks. The patient reported no obvious skin irritation and was delighted with the outcome. We evaluated the efficacy of topical atorvastatin as a monotherapy in this LP patient and reviewed the relevant studies on the application of topical statins/cholesterol in treating LP.

Background: Otorhinolaryngology traumas are common among patients with head and neck injuries. Most of this involves the facial region and to a lesser extent ear and throat. Etiology of Otorhinolaryngology trauma includes Motor traffic accidents, falls from height, assault and sports injury. Identification of this trauma by general practitioners is challenging because Otorhinolaryngology examination requires special instruments and skills. Study aim: To determine the prevalence, etiology and distribution of otorhinolaryngology trauma among patients with head and neck injury admitted at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center from November 2017 to May 2018. Methods: Hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center. A total of 384 patients with head and neck injuries were included. Relevant information was collected while interviewing patients and during the physical examination was noted and data was handled with SPSS version 20 and transferred to STATA version 13 for analysis. Result. Out of 384 patients, 340 (88.5%) were male, majority 197(51.3) were aged between 21 to 40 years. Out of 384 patients 238(62%) were having Otorhinolaryngology trauma, the majority are male and are between 21 to 40 years old. Motor traffic accident was a common etiology (77.3%) in this study. The maxillofacial area was the common ORL trauma site encountered (70.3%) followed by ear trauma (17.0%) and throat 2%. Conclusion The prevalence of Otorhinolaryngology trauma among patients with head and neck injuries admitted at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre is high, motor traffic accidents were the leading etiology and maxillofacial region was a common ORL trauma site encountered.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), a vital ecological security barrier in China, faces significant degradation due to climate change and anthropogenic activities. However, except grassland ecosystem, only a few studies have focused on a large forest ecosystem in China. This study detects forest degradation using some important landscape metrics (large patch index, aggregation index, Shannon’s evenness index, Shannon’s diversity index), maximum entropy model, and geographical detector. Results show that potential forest area on QTP is 29.30×10 4 km 2, with an improvement potential of 18% in the south, while 5.53×10 4 km 2 forest is scattered in the northeast QTP, which is fragmenting and degrading. Existing landscape metrics reveal a current large patch index (LPI) of 18.11, indicating some areas of forest ecosystem have a certain scale of the continuous habitat, but most areas may be composed of small patches or highly scattered habitat, and aggregation index (AI) of 52.54 indicating the distribution of vegetation landscape in this area is relatively balanced, with no obvious aggregation or discrete phenomenon, and predicted LPI and AI were increased to 25.95 and 61.92 with the potential forest ecosystem, respectively. Moreover, the geographic detector model, which was used to reveal the driving forces of forest change, showed among several environmental and human factors, biomass contributed most to the potential forest, with a permutation importance of 45.9%. Human activities especially road construction are the main drivers of degradation, while natural factors such as sand and clay also play a role in degradation. To address this problem, intensified afforestation is recommended for the southern area. Afforestation will enhance vegetation coverage and biomass and restore the forest ecosystem, strengthening the Plateau’s ecological barrier functions. Results presented here may provide a scientific basis for restoring QTP’s forest ecosystem and help mitigate its degradation.

Interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) is a key transcription factor regulating inflammatory cytokines and interferons, with its dysregulation linked to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Pseudogenes can exhibit gene regulatory functions. This study investigates the human IRF5 pseudogene 1 (IRF5P1) and its potential role in primate-specific innate immunity. We find that IRF5P1 is a chimeric processed pseudogene containing sequences derived from multiple sources and is specific to higher primates, such as apes and humans. Our analyses suggest that IRF5P1 arose through an ancient retroviral integration event, incorporating an IRF5-like sequence from a disparate organism. Interestingly, IRF5P1 resides within the triple QxxK/R motif containing (TRIQK) gene, and its antisense strand is predominantly expressed as part of the TRIQK pre-mRNA. We propose that the antisense IRF5P1 RNA may regulate IRF5 expression through complementary binding to the IRF5 mRNA, with variants in the IRF5 gene potentially modulating this interaction. The conservation of IRF5P1 in the primate lineage suggests its positive effects on primate evolution and innate immunity. This study highlights the importance of investigating pseudogenes and their potential regulatory roles in shaping lineage-specific immune adaptations.

The emergence of jaws in early vertebrates introduced a novel feeding apparatus and potent oral defenses but also increased the risk of physical injury and pathogen exposure. Innate immunity and inflammation constitute the body’s first line of defense against invading microbes and tissue damage, aiming to eliminate threats and restore internal homeostasis. Interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) plays a critical role in orchestrating innate immunity and inflammation by regulating the transcription of genes that encode type I interferons (IFNs) and pro-inflammatory cytokines. As the closest member of IRF5, IRF6 is involved in jaw development in humans and mice. However, the evolution of IRF5 and IRF6 has remained poorly understood. We have identified the IRF5 and IRF6 genes in cartilaginous fish, including sharks. As cartilaginous fish represent one of the oldest surviving jawed vertebrate lineages, the presence of these genes suggests that they have ancient origins potentially dating back hundreds of millions of years to early jawed vertebrates. Furthermore, our analysis shows that IRF5 has conserved nuclear export sequences and phosphorylation sites for activation throughout evolution from cartilaginous fish to humans, indicating that these regulatory elements evolved early and have been maintained across jawed vertebrates. Additionally, the shift in the subcellular localization of IRF5 from the nucleus to the cytosol, and of other interferon-related IRFs, aligns with functional enhancements of IRFs in innate immunity and the emergence of IFNs across jawed vertebrates. This analysis implies that the evolution of jaws may have driven the emergence of new IRF members, the expansion of their functions, and the development of a unique inflammation and innate immune system in vertebrates.

Letter to the editor:

Soybean ( Glycine max [L.] Merr) is among the most important agricultural seed crops and source of vegetable protein. Further yield improvements per unit land area are needed to meet future demand and avoid destruction of more natural lands. Mesophyll conductance ( gm) in C 3 crops quantifies the ease with which CO 2 can transfer from the sub-stomatal cavity to Rubisco within the mesophyll. Increasing gm is in theory most attractive as it would increase photosynthesis, yield potential and water-use efficiency. Most measurements of gm have been made during steady-state light saturated photosynthesis. However, in field crop canopies, light fluctuations are frequent and the speed with which gm can increase following shade to sun transitions is likely important to crop carbon gain. Is there variability in gm that could be used in breeding? If so, indirect selection could be expected to have already increased gm and be apparent when comparing wild ancestors of soybean ( Glycine soja) to a domesticated high-yielding cultivar. The elite LD11 was compared with four ancestor accessions collected from the assumed area of domestication by concurrent measurements of gas exchange and carbon isotope discrimination (∆ 13C). This allowed estimation of gm both through induction following transfer to high light and at steady-state. The results have shown 1) gm was a significant limitation to soybean photosynthesis both at steady-state and through light induction, especially when the major biochemical limitation was in vivo Rubisco activity and, 2) compared to the ancestral accessions, the elite LD11 showed a large and significant increase in gm at both steady-state and through light induction, which also corresponded to a substantial increase in leaf level CO2 assimilation and water use efficiency.

We take great pleasure in introducing this supplement dedicated to management of head neck squamous cell cancer from an unknown primary (HSCCUP).

not-yet-known not-yet-known not-yet-known unknown Paper mulberry is a fiber resource for paper making. Washi, a traditional paper in Japan, has been produced from Broussonetia kajinoki, which is a hybrid between B. monoica and B. papyrifera. Elite strains have been vegetatively propagated and distributed within Japan. In this study, the complete chloroplast (cp) genomes of these three strains were reconstructed as pseudomolecules consisting of 160,861, 160,868, and 160,878 bp, respectively. They were compared with other strains in databases to detect insertion/deletion (INDEL) polymorphisms. There were 25 INDELs identified in these cp genomes. ISSR based MIG-seq polymorphisms were applied to determine whether varieties or regional groups can be discriminated. Although various types of cultivars exhibiting different appearances are hard to discriminate, PCA-analysis distinguished major two groups. Maternal lineages reflecting the diverse origins of Japanese paper mulberry were determined using hypervariable maternal markers. NGS-oriented nuclear markers systems revealed the heterogeneous nature of cultivars, reflecting the complex origins of Japanese B. kajinoki.

COVID-19 and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection cause serious public health problems. The management and follow-up of co-infection with these diseases is uncertain. İmmunosuppressive therapies used during the treatment of COVID-19 disease can cause HBV reactivation(HBVr). This study sought to determine HBVr incidence, risk and rate in COVID-19 patients receiving corticosteroids. Between 1.March.2020 and 1.January.2022, in patients with positive HBsAg and/or anti-HBc-IgG tests who were hospitalised for COVID-19, the dose and duration of systemic corticosteroids used, pre/post-treatment haemogram, liver function tests, ELISA and HBV DNA tests, and mortality were evaluated. During the study period, there were 13673 hospitalisations for COVID-19 infection and 184 deaths(1.34%). 145 patients (125 HBsAg[+], 20 HBsAg[-]/anti-HBc-IgG[+]) were included in the study. Fourteen patients died from COVID-19-induced respiratory failure, mortality 9.6%. Mortality was proportionally higher compared to COVID-19 infection without HBV. Seventy-five(51.7%) patients received methylprednisolone. The median dose of methylprednisolone used was 520(240-1400) mg, and the median duration was 6(4-10) days. HBVr developed in 7 of the patients. The days and doses of steroid use were significantly higher in patients who developed reactivation compared to the group who did not develop reactivation (Methylprednisolone; day 8[2-25], 0[0-6], p=0.007, total dose 440[80-2620], 0[0-400], p=0.021). Chronic hepatitis B treatment was initiated in 5 patients with HBVr and 2 patients had exitus.Corticosteroid treatments used during COVID-19 treatment may cause HBVr. According to the results of our study, patients who will be given steroid treatment should be examined for HBV co-infection, and high-risk patients should be carefully monitored for HBVr.

The IEC 61853 standard series define the Climate Specific Energy Rating (CSER) which can be used within the Photovoltaic (PV) community as a reliable and accurate tool to predict a PV module’s energy output for specific climate and allows to differentiate between PV modules according to their specific performance for representative locations. The CSER power rating parameter is assumed to represent the PV device performance in real-world operation. So far, research has mainly focused on the implementation of different algorithms to determine the input parameters and to calculate the CSER values based on indoor measurement performance rating data. There is lack of information and technical specification how to obtain these parameters from outdoor field operating PV module data that reflects better the module performance behaviour. In the present study, we analysed long-term outdoor field data for a period of 36 consecutive months of a PV module in order to understand how the length (and seasonality) of the data acquisition period impacts the reliability of irradiance and temperature power matrix values, particularly in relation to CSER calculations. The PV outdoor performance data has been validated against its indoor counterpart. The results concluded that a period of 9 or 12 months provides a good compromise between accuracy and time-resources. This may be reduced to 6-month provided the meteorological conditions are sufficiently diverse in this time frame. The study provides important insights to the PV community since the CSER parameter may become a compulsory requirement for each PV module produced, imported or sold in Europe if the potential EU Ecodesign Directive and the Energy Labelling Regulation will be implemented.

A document by Peter Bager. Click on the document to view its contents.