Transnational Institutions and Networks

This chapter reviews the literature on transnational institutions and networks in earth system governance research over the past decade. The chapter focuses in particular on the issues of emergence, effectiveness and legitimacy of transnational governance and outlines key debates and controversies surrounding the shifting authority between public and private actors. The chapter also identifies major research lines and open questions and provides an outlook towards the most promising directions in future research. The review is based on 215 articles identified in the Web of Science (co)authored by fellows of the Earth System Governance Project from 2008 to 2018

Nerve injury induced by vibration: prevention of the effect of a conditioning lesion by D600, a Ca2+ channel blocker.

OBJECTIVES: Exposing a hind leg of a rat to vibration induces an injury to the sciatic nerve--a so called conditioning lesion. After such injury induced by vibration the regenerative capacity of the nerve is improved and can be detected as an increased axonal outgrowth from a test crush lesion to the same nerve. The purpose was to study whether the effect of a conditioning lesion induced by vibration can be prevented by local treatment with a Ca2+ channel blocker D600. METHODS: D600 (methoxyverapamil) or Ringer's solution was locally applied to the sciatic nerve on one side through a silicone tube connected to a miniosmotic pump, which was implanted subcutaneously. During the same period the hind leg was exposed to vibration (80 Hz; 32 m/s2 root mean squared) for five hours daily for five consecutive days. The other hind leg was not vibrated. After the end of exposure to vibration the sciatic nerves were crushed bilaterally (test crush lesions) and three or six days later the regeneration distances of sensory axons were measured by the pinch reflex test. RESULTS: Nerves in the control animals (without implanted miniosmotic pumps and nerves on to which Ringer's solution was locally applied) that were exposed to vibration showed a significantly increased outgrowth length of sensory axons from the test crush lesion compared with the non-vibrated side. Such an effect of a conditioning lesion from the exposure to vibration was suppressed by local application of D600. CONCLUSIONS: Local administration of a Ca2+ channel blocker D600 can prevent the effect of a conditioning lesion-that is, the nerve injury induced by vibration can be inhibited by D600. This may have implications for the treatment of patients with neuropathy of the hand induced by vibration

Finding synergies and trade-offs when linking biodiversity and climate change through cooperative initiatives

The causes and consequences of biodiversity loss and climate change are deeply intertwined. Hundreds of existing cooperative initiatives—gathering thousands of states, regions, cities, companies, civil society organisations and communities—are potentially bending the curve on biodiversity loss and tackling climate change simultaneously. More research is needed to understand if, how and under what conditions cooperative initiatives are delivering on their promises and importantly how they can contribute to both ‘biodiversity positive outcomes’ and ‘net-zero emissions’ at the same time