Greening extractivism: Environmental discourses and resource governance in the ‘Lithium Triangle’

The lithium extractive industry is expanding, as technological and economic shifts associated with climate change mitigation goals drive global demand for lithium-ion batteries. This article explores the case of the ‘Lithium Triangle’, a region of Latin America (spanning Bolivia, Chile and Argentina) that contains the world’s largest reserves, and where environmental conflicts associated with lithium mining have proliferated. Emphasising the centrality of discourse in resource governance, we analyse the discursive strategies employed by institutional actors seeking to promote and render acceptable lithium extraction in the region. We argue that such strategies reproduce imaginaries of prosperity and modernisation long attached to oil and mineral wealth, while at the same time introducing a novel association of mining with high-tech industries, ‘green jobs’ and ‘climate-friendly’ extraction, seeking to obscure the social and ecological costs of lithium production. This inaugurates an era of ‘green extractivism’, whereby intensive resource exploitation is framed not only as compatible with climate change, but indeed as necessary to its mitigation. Our findings contribute to ongoing conversations regarding post-fossil fuel ‘transitions’, by highlighting the contradictory character of mitigation strategies that rely on mineral-intensive development

Greening extractivism: Environmental discourses and resource governance in the ‘Lithium Triangle’

The lithium extractive industry is expanding, as technological and economic shifts associated with climate change mitigation goals drive global demand for lithium-ion batteries. This article explores the case of the ‘Lithium Triangle’, a region of Latin America (spanning Bolivia, Chile and Argentina) that contains the world’s largest reserves, and where environmental conflicts associated with lithium mining have proliferated. Emphasising the centrality of discourse in resource governance, we analyse the discursive strategies employed by institutional actors seeking to promote and render acceptable lithium extraction in the region. We argue that such strategies reproduce imaginaries of prosperity and modernisation long attached to oil and mineral wealth, while at the same time introducing a novel association of mining with high-tech industries, ‘green jobs’ and ‘climate-friendly’ extraction, seeking to obscure the social and ecological costs of lithium production. This inaugurates an era of ‘green extractivism’, whereby intensive resource exploitation is framed not only as compatible with climate change, but indeed as necessary to its mitigation. Our findings contribute to ongoing conversations regarding post-fossil fuel ‘transitions’, by highlighting the contradictory character of mitigation strategies that rely on mineral-intensive development

Molecular characterization of Malassezia nana isolates from cats

Nanoindentation experiments on tricalcium phosphate (TCP) bioceramic sintered at different temperatures were performed with a Berkovich indenter for determining hardness and elastic modulus from load and displacement data. The hardness and Young's modulus increased with the increase of sintering temperature up to 1300 °C, but the Young's modulus decreased with the further increase of sintering temperatures at 1400 and 1500 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that the transformation β→α-TCP happened when the sintering temperature reached around 1400 °C, which contributed to the decreases of modulus at 1400 and 1500 °C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that the sintering effect was improved with the increase in sintering temperature. © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Angiostrongylus vasorum causing meningitis and detection of parasite larvae in the cerebrospinal fluid of a pug dog

This case report describes the presence of Angiostrongylus vasorum larvae in cerebrospinal fluid in an 11-month-old pug dog and the relative magnetic resonance images compatible with a focal meningitis. Clinical signs were compatible with a cerebellar lesion, and diagnosis was confirmed by parasitological analysis on faecal and endotracheal lavage samples. Treatment with fenbendazole and prednisolone resulted in a complete resolution of the clinical signs in two months time. A vasorum infection should be considered a possible aetiology of intracranial inflammation in dogs

Reliability coefficients from the Inventory of Learning patterns of Students (ILS)

Reliability coefficients of the Inventory of Learning patterns of Students (ILS; Vermunt, 1998), retrieved from articles and research reports of studies that met the eligibility criteria detailed in the prospective register: Anna Ciraso-Calí, J. Reinaldo Martínez-Fernández, Laura García Ravidà, Antonio Vega Martínez, Carla Quesada-Pallarès, Jan D. Vermunt. Reliability generalization of Vermunt’s Inventory of Learning Patterns: a meta-analysis of alpha coefficients. PROSPERO 2021 CRD42021239103 Available from: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021239103 It contains variables that describe each study, and all the available alpha coefficients for each subscale (with the corresponding information about number of item for each subscale). It is intented to be useful for reliability generalization studies (meta-analysis of alpha coefficients)