Consequences of selecting technology pathways on cumulative carbon dioxide emissions for the United Kingdom

The UK has an ambitious target of an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, to be reached using a series of ‘carbon budgets’ to aid policy development. Current energy systems modelling methods do not explore, or are unable to account for, physical (thermodynamic) limits to the rate of change of infrastructure. The power generation sector has a variety of technological options for this low-carbon transition. We compare physically constrained scenarios that accentuate either carbon capture and storage, fastest plausible nuclear new build, or fastest plausible build rate of offshore wind. We set these in the context of the UK’s legislated fifth carbon budget, which has a comprehensive range of carbon reduction measures with respect to business-as-usual. The framework for our scenario comparison uses our novel system dynamics model to substantiate the policy’s ability to meet 2035 emissions targets while maintaining financial productivity and socially expected employment levels. For an ambitious nuclear new build programme we find that even if it stays on track it is more expensive than offshore wind generation and delays emissions reductions. This affects the cumulative emissions and impacts on the UK’s ability to contribute to international climate change targets. If delays or cancellation occur to the deployment programmes of carbon capture and storage technologies or nuclear new build, we suggest the electricity and decarbonisation targets can by met by a fast growth of offshore wind generation with no change to financial and employment levels.Arup’s internal Design and Technical Fun

Modelling socio-economic and energy data to generate business-as-usual scenarios for carbon emissions

The UK Government is legally committed to achieving an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared with 1990 by 2050. The use of scenarios is wide ranging to inform policy development and forming a businessas-usual scenario helps to understand possible effects of different policy interventions. However, the term business-as-usual is frequently misused. We show how econo-physical business-as-usual scenarios can be developed by examining the historical behaviour of coefficients which manifest the relationship between components of an economy. We endogenise economic growth by mimicking national level policies that focus on a target level of unemployment. Our case-study demonstrates the ‘trendability’ of coefficients which for one example coefficient is replicated for Australia, Colombia, Taiwan and the USA. We manifest a gross domestic product growth of 2% falling to 1% which contrasts with an exogenous growth of 2.3% of a comparator business-as-usual scenario. We suggest that it may be possible to achieve a greater reduction in the business-asusual carbon dioxide emissions in the UK fifth carbon budget than currently projected.Arup’s internal Design and Technical Fun

Preliminary genetic evidence of two different populations of Opisthorchis viverrini in Lao PDR

Opisthorchis viverrini is a major public health concern in Southeast Asia. Various reports have suggested that this parasite may represent a species complex, with genetic structure in the region perhaps being dictated by geographical factors and different species of intermediate hosts. We used four microsatellite loci to analyze O. viverrini adult worms originating from six species of cyprinid fish in Thailand and Lao PDR. Two distinct O. viverrini populations were observed. In Ban Phai, Thailand, only one subgroup occurred, hosted by two different fish species. Both subgroups occurred in fish from That Luang, Lao PDR, but were represented to very different degrees among the fish hosts there. Our data suggest that, although geographical separation is more important than fish host specificity in influencing genetic structure, it is possible that two species of Opisthorchis, with little interbreeding, are present near Vientiane in Lao PDR

The dark side of technologies: Technostress among users of information and communication technologies

This paper tests the structure and the predictors of two psychological experiences of technostress associated with the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), i.e., technostrain (users report feelings of anxiety, fatigue, scepticism and inefficacy beliefs related to the use of technologies) and technoaddiction (users feel bad due to an excessive and compulsive use of these technologies). The study included a sample of 1072 ICT users (N = 675 nonintensive ICT users and N = 397 intensive ICT users). Results from multigroup confirmatory factor analyses among non-intensive and intensive ICT users showed, as expected, the four-factor structure of technostrain in both samples. Secondly, and also as expected, confirmatory factorial analyses revealed that technostress experiences are characterized not only by technostrain but also by an excessive and compulsive use of ICT. Moreover, multiple analyses of variance showed significant differences between non-intensive and intensive ICT users (1) in the dimensions of technostress and (2) in specific job demands and job/personal resources. Finally, linear multiple regression analyses revealed that technostrain is positively predicted by work overload, role ambiguity, emotional overload, mobbing and obstacles hindering ICT use, as well as by lack of autonomy, transformational leadership, social support, ICT use facilitators and mental competences. Work overload, role ambiguity and mobbing, as well as the lack of emotional competences, positively predict technoaddiction. Theoretical and practical implications, in addition to future research, are discussed

Qualitative differences in psychiatric symptoms between high risk groups assessed on a screening test (GHQ-30)

Scores on five subscales derived from the GHQ-30 have been examined in various groups at risk for psychiatric disorder, to determine whether different patterns of symptoms are found. The subscales are based on a factor analysis of a population sample of over 6,000 adults (Huppert et al. 1989) which identified five robust factors corresponding to symptoms of anxiety, feelings of incompetence, depression, difficulty in coping and social dysfunction. Previous studies have identified certain groups of people who are vulnerable to mental illness and are therefore likely to obtain a high score on the GHQ. These include unemployed men, single women with dependent children, and elderly people in poor health. The results show marked differences in symptom patterns among these three at-risk groups. For example, while scores on anxiety and depression subscales were significantly raised in most at-risk groups, young unemployed men did not show significant anxiety whereas elderly men in poor health did not show significant depressive symptoms. However both these groups showed difficulty in coping, unlike older unemployed men or elderly women in poor health. Single women with dependent children reported the highest rate of psychiatric symptoms, particularly anxiety and depression, but had difficulty in coping only if they were also employed. These findings suggest that this method of analysing data from the GHQ-30 has potential value in yielding qualitative as well as quantitative information about psychiatric symptoms.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41738/1/127_2004_Article_BF00789216.pd

The observation of vibrating pear-shapes in radon nuclei (vol 10, 2473, 2019)

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

Phase Behavior of Amphiphilic Diblock Co-oligomers with Nonionic and Ionic Hydrophilic Groups

The synthesis of a series of co-oligomer amphiphiles by RAFT and their self-assembly behavior in water is described. These novel amphiphiles, comprised of styrene, butyl acrylate, and alkyl hydrophobes together with ionic acrylic acid and nonionic hydroxyethylacrylate hydrophilic moieties and with a total degree of polymerization from 5 to 17, represent a new class of small-molecule surfactants that can be formed from the immense potential library of all polymerizable monomers. Examples of micellar solutions and discrete cubic, hexagonal, lamellar, and inverted hexagonal lyotropic phases, as well as vesicle dispersions and coexisting lamellar phases, are reported and characterized by small-angle scattering. The variation of self-assembly structure with co-oligomer composition, concentration, and solution conditions is interpreted by analogy with the surfactant packing parameter used for conventional small-molecule amphiphiles.© 2013, American Chemical Society