A Life-Cycle Approach to Characterising Environmental and Economic Impacts of Multifunctional Land-Use Systems: An Integrated Assessment in the UK

An integrated environmental and economic assessment of land use for food, energy and timber in the UK has been performed using environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and economic Life Cycle Costing (LCC), to explore complementary sustainability aspects of alternative land uses. The environmental assessment includes impacts on climate change, ecosystem services and biodiversity, all of which include soil carbon emissions. The systems explored include all processes from cradle to farm ¿gate¿. The crops assessed were wheat and oilseed rape (under both organic and conventional farming systems), Scots Pine, and willow and Miscanthus. Food crops, particularly conventional food crops, are shown to have the highest climate-changing emissions per ha, whereas energy and forestry crops show negative net emissions. The same situation applies to impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity, with carbon storage in biomass playing a larger role than carbon in soils. The energy and forestry crops in this study show an overall beneficial environmental impact, in particular due to soil carbon sequestration, making these land uses the lowest contributors to climate change. Combining this with the non-renewable CO2 emissions displaced will mean that energy crops have an even lower impact.JRC.DDG.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

Sustainability assessment of future-oriented scenarios: a review of data modelling approaches in Life Cycle Assessment

Steering policy-making processes and business long term strategies entails tasks such as e.g. setting up sound environmental long term objectives and targets, assessing implications, and comparing options. To best run these tasks in the context of sustainability assessment, two fundamental ingredients are indispensable: life cycle thinking and analysis of future-oriented scenarios. Considering the whole life cycle of goods and services is necessary to avoid the shifting of problems from one life cycle stage to another, from one geographic area to another and from one environmental medium or protection target to another. Given the proliferation of life cycle thinking-based data modelling approaches, a review was conducted to detect where we stand in defining and framing life cycle thinking-based approaches and related data modelling approaches, what their key features are, and how mature they are. In addition, a scientific workshop was arranged to further discuss data modelling approaches and to screen how Environmental Footprint methodologies can be used to assess future-oriented scenarios. This review represents a stepping stone towards recommendations for sustainability assessment of future-oriented scenarios.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

From science to support decision making: recommendations and challenges in Life Cycle Impact Assessment

In the last years, several methodologies have been developed for Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) and some efforts have been made towards their harmonisation. In this context, JRC led a “science to decision support” process which resulted in the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook. The Handbook provides guidelines to methods and assessments to assess emissions into air, water and soil, as well as the natural resources consumed in terms of their contributions to different impacts on human health, natural environment, and availability of resources. Those guidelines come from a comprehensive process of selection of methods based on a set of scientific and stakeholder acceptance criteria and involving experts, advisory groups and the public. In this “from science to decision support” process a number of research needs, critical issues and challenges for LCIA emerged and are presented here.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

Evidence from cross-border mergers and acquisitions

Funding agencies: European Research Council, Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (grant nr.: PTDC/IIM-FIN/2977/2014) and Mayo Center for Asset ManagementWe test the hypothesis that foreign direct investment promotes corporate governance spillovers in the host country. Using firm-level data from 64 countries during the period 2005-2014, we find that cross-border M&A activity is associated with subsequent improvements in the governance of nontarget firms when the acquirer country has stronger investor protection than the target country. The effect is more pronounced when the target industry is more competitive. Cross-border M&As are also associated with increases in investment and valuation of nontarget firms. Alternative explanations, such as access to global financial markets and cultural similarities, do not appear to explain our findings.authorsversionpublishe

The Effects of Increased Demand for Biofuels Feedstocks on the World Agricultural Markets and Areas - Outcomes of a Workshop 10-11 February 2010, Ispra (Italy)

This study is performed under request of DG CLIMA, in support to the preparation of the policy proposal on the assessment of the effects of Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC). Agro-economic models are used to provide estimates of how much cropland area increases in response to an increase in crop demand, but they often differ in their structure (i.e. partial or full equilibrium, agro-economic, bioenergy and biophysical models etc), in the input parameters, baseline and scenarios studied. The European Commission (EC) is debating internally how to address ILUC emissions in biofuels legislation. Legislators need to understand how ILUC differs between biofuels from different feedstocks and regions. In fact, if ILUC emissions are to be added to direct emissions in legislation, they need to be quantitatively assessed for all biofuels/feedstocks. Anyway, to compare model results it is necessary at least to compare the results vs. baseline per unit quantity of biofuel. For these reasons the JRC proposed to carry out a survey of marginal calculations from various models/methods developed by the relevant consortia in EU and US, to compare results from marginal shocks along the lines of recommended common scenarios discussed with the involved experts: A marginal extra ethanol demand in EU B marginal extra biodiesel demand in EU C marginal extra ethanol demand in US D marginal extra palm oil demand in EU (for biodiesel or pure plant oil use) For modelling the GHG efficiency of different feedstock, the experts agreed that the extra biofuels scenarios should optimally be marginal increases in demand for different biofuels-feedstock in different regions. These results would be relatively easy to compare between scenarios. Results of this survey were discussed during a workshop organized by the JRC in Ispra on 10th and 11th of February 2010, and this report presents the outcomes of the workshop, highlighting the main results of the studies and key points raised in the concluding discussion.JRC.DDG.F.8-Renewable Energy (Ispra

Assessing Temporary Carbon Sequestration and Storage Projects through Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry: Comparison of Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment with Ton-Year Approaches

In order to properly assess the climate impact of temporary carbon sequestration and storage projects through land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), it is important to consider their temporal aspect. Dynamic life cycle assessment (dynamic LCA) was developed to account for time while assessing the potential impact of life cycle greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. In this paper, the dynamic LCA approach is applied to a temporary carbon sequestration project through afforestation, and the results are compared with those of the two principal ton-year approaches: the Moura-Costa and the Lashof methods. The dynamic LCA covers different scenarios, which are distinguished by the assumptions regarding what happens at the end of the sequestration period. In order to ascertain the degree of compensation of an emission through a LULUCF project, the ratio of the cumulative impact of the project to the cumulative impact of a baseline GHG emission is calculated over time. This ratio tends to 100% when assuming that, after the end of the sequestration project period, the forest is maintained indefinitely. Conversely, the ratio tends to much lower values in scenarios where part of the carbon is released back to the atmosphere. The comparison of the dynamic LCA approach with the Moura-Costa and the Lashof methods shows that dynamic LCA is a more flexible approach as it allows the consideration of every life cycle stage of the project and it gives decision makers the opportunity to test the sensitivity of the results to the choice of different time horizons.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

Concepts of indirect calorimetry on metabolic disorders: a narrative review

Introdução: A calorimetria indireta continua sendo um padrão ouro na avaliação do gasto energético de repouso no campo clínico. Por meio de suas medições, é possível oferecer as necessidades energéticas de um paciente para maximizar os benefícios da terapia nutricional. No entanto, os conceitos e as bases metodológicas dos dados coletados podem ser dificultosos para serem interpretados pelos usuários na prática clínica. Objetivo: abordar os conceitos de gasto energético diário total e seus componentes, e, apresentar os aspectos metodológicos da calorimetria indireta que podem servir como guia no campo clínico. Método: Revisão bibliográfica narrativa, realizada pelas bases de dados eletrônicas Pubmed (US National Library of Medicine), SCOPUS e Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). A pesquisa foi realizada no período entre 1905-2019, utilizando os seguintes identificadores em Descritores em Ciências da Saúde: Metabolismo Basal, Metabolismo Energético e Calorimetria Indireta. Foram selecionadas 55 pesquisas publicadas que apresentaram conteúdos relacionados aos objetivos deste estudo. Resultado: O gasto energético total diário (GETD) é composto por três componentes principais, tais como: atividade física (AF), efeito térmico dos alimentos (TEF) e taxa metabólica basal (TMB) e / ou gasto energético de repouso (GER). O GER é geralmente avaliado por calorimetria indireta, que também fornece informações sobre o coeficiente respiratório (CR) e oxidação de substratos, que pode variar de acordo com o metabolismo do paciente, como algum distúrbio metabólico, obesidade ou desnutrição. Portanto, o manejo adequado dos aspectos metodológicos da calorimetria indireta e sua posterior interpretação nos distúrbios metabólicos é fundamental para garantir a qualidade dos resultados. Conclusão: Os conceitos de gasto energético e as bases metodológicas da calorimetria indireta são relevantes para fornecer uma atenção individualizada aos pacientes com distúrbios metabólicos. As descrições desta revisão podem ser utilizadas como um guia prático, auxiliando a compreensão da aplicação correta da técnica de calorimetria indireta, em estudos relacionados ao gasto energético com ênfase nos distúrbios metabólicos.Introduction: Indirect calorimetry remains a gold standard in measuring resting energy expenditure in the clinical field. Through its measurements, it is possible to offers a patient’s energy needs to maximize nutritional therapy benefits. However, the concepts and methodological basis of collected data can be difficult to be interpreted by users in clinical practice. Objective: To address the concepts of total daily energy expenditure and its components and present the methodological aspects of indirect calorimetry that can guide the clinical field. Method: Narrative bibliographic review using the electronic Pubmed (US National Library of Medicine), SCOPUS, and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO) databases. The research was carried out in the period between 1905-2019, using the following identifiers in Health Sciences Descriptors: Basal Metabolism, Energy Metabolism and Indirect Calorimetry. We selected 55 researches published that presented contents related to the objectives of this study. Result: The total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is comprised of three main components, such as physical activity (PA), thermic effect of food (TEF) and basal metabolic rate (BMR) and/or resting energy expenditure (REE). The REE is generally evaluated by indirect calorimetry, which also provides information on the respiratory coefficient (RQ) or oxidation of substrates. Its result varies depending on the existence of some metabolic disorders such as obesity or malnutrition. Therefore, the proper management of the methodological aspects of indirect calorimetry and its subsequent interpretation in metabolic disorders is essential to guarantee the results’ quality. Conclusion: Energy expenditure concepts and the methodological basis of indirect calorimetry are relevant to providing individualized attention to patients with metabolic disorders. This review can be used as a practical guide, helping to understand the correct application of the indirect calorimetry technique in studies related to energy expenditure with an emphasis on metabolic disorders

Desenhando as novas fronteiras para a compreensão do transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo: uma revisão de sua relação com o medo e a ansiedade

Anxiety is an important component of the psychopathology of the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). So far, most interventions that have proven to be effective for treating OCD are similar to those developed for other anxiety disorders. However, neurobiological studies of OCD came to conclusions that are not always compatible with those previously associated with other anxiety disorders. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to review the degree of overlap between OCD and other anxiety disorders phenomenology and pathophysiology to support the rationale that guides research in this field. RESULTS: Clues about the neurocircuits involved in the manifestation of anxiety disorders have been obtained through the study of animal anxiety models, and structural and functional neuroimaging in humans. These investigations suggest that in OCD, in addition to dysfunction in cortico-striatal pathways, the functioning of an alternative neurocircuitry, which involves amygdalo-cortical interactions and participates in fear conditioning and extinction processes, may be impaired. CONCLUSION: It is likely that anxiety is a relevant dimension of OCD that impacts on other features of this disorder. Therefore, future studies may benefit from the investigation of the expression of fear and anxiety by OCD patients according to their type of obsessions and compulsions, age of OCD onset, comorbidities, and patterns of treatment response

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe