Global scale modelling of ozone deposition processes and interaction between surface ozone and climate change

Atmospheric concentrations of surface ozone (O3) are strongly affected by deposition to the biosphere. Deposition processes are very sensitive to turbulence, temperature, relative humidity and soil moisture deficit and are expected to respond to global climate change, with implications for both air quality (e.g. human health) and ecosystem services (e.g. crop yields). In this PhD study, the global chemistry aerosol model UKCA (United Kingdom Chemistry Aerosol model) dry deposition scheme was thoroughly investigated. Some errors in the existing implementation of the current UKCA stomatal resistance and in-canopy aerodynamic resistance terms for O3 and NOw (NO2, PAN, PPAN, MPAN) were identified and corrected (WES scheme). These model corrections led to a decrease of the total annual dry deposition of -150 Tg(O3) yr-1 (-13%) which brings UKCA more in line with multi-model inter-comparison estimates. This was associated with a large increase of surface O3 concentration over land in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) with values up to 12 ppb (+50%) higher on annual average. Many studies have shown that O3 stomatal uptake by vegetation, which is the pathway leading to damage, accounts for 40-60% of total deposition on average. The remaining non-stomatal deposition flux is to external foliar surfaces, and soil. A more mechanistic non-stomatal dry deposition approach along with a scheme to simulate the effect of moisture on foliar surfaces on the stomatal transport (ZHG scheme) was introduced in UKCA to study the relative contributions of O3 flux occurring to stomatal and non-stomatal pathways at the global scale, and to explore the sensitivity of simulated surface O3 and O3 deposition flux. The ZHG scheme, led to significant changes in the O3 dry deposition velocity (Vd) (+40% in the North Hemisphere over boreal forests and -30% over tropical regions on annual average). The results of this study show that the ZHG scheme significantly changes the partitioning between stomatal and non-stomatal O3 flux. The non-stomatal fraction increased throughout the year and considerably during the cooler season and in spring (with maxima values by up to 60% for C3 grass and by up to 70% for needle leaf trees). The performance of both UKCA dry deposition schemes were compared with measurements, focussing on the diurnal and seasonal variations of the dry deposition velocity terms and the partitioning of O3 fluxes between stomatal and non-stomatal sinks. Overall, both UKCA dry deposition schemes capture the diurnal variations of Vd reasonably well. However, this study highlighted difficulties in comparing large grid (~280 x 390 km at mid-latitudes) averaged modelled values with site and vegetation specific characteristics of the measured exchange processes (~1 km2) and the driving meteorological variables. These differences in scale are a large source of uncertainty in the comparison of measured and modelled O3 Vd. Off-line simulation tests conducted on the non-stomatal deposition component with the ZHG scheme demonstrated the importance of modelling some key environmental and meteorological factors accurately (e.g. relative humidity, friction velocity, leaf area index). This was found to be crucial in order to improve O3 Vd model performance as well as improving the representation of specific vegetation properties. A comparison of the modelled global surface O3 concentration against observations both in the NH and SH revealed that the model performs well in the NH using both schemes, capturing the observed surface O3 cycle and the absolute values. The ZHG scheme led to a reduction of the annual bias (up to -13.5% on average) in the NH monitoring sites considered for this study. This is associated with a decrease in O3 deposition simulated with ZHG (as much as of -20% on annual average). By contrast, the seasonal cycle and absolute values of the observed surface O3 are not well reproduced by the model across the SH monitoring sites used in this study and a larger bias was found using the ZHG scheme (60% on average) compared to WES scheme (47% on average), as a consequence of an increase in O3 deposition (as much as of +20% on annual average) calculated with ZHG. A future climate integration for the 2090s using RCP 8.5 scenario was used to investigate the response of UKCA modelled O3 to climate change. The effect of climate change (by altering only the GHG concentrations predicted with RCP 8.5) on the dry deposition sink of O3 was addressed contrasting the two non-stomatal deposition parameterizations, and ignoring the changes in land-use and anthropogenic emissions. The study showed that O3 Vd over land declines from 2000 to 2100, and most strongly over vegetated areas (up to -24% over S. America, -17% over N. America and -10% over Europe). Climate change led to an increase of surface O3 concentration over land (by up to 20%). Whilst the two schemes behave similarly, and an increase in turbulence has been identified as the main driver, the decrease in land Vd is generally stronger in ZHG. This effect is more important over N. America and Eurasia where ZHG exhibits larger differences in deposition compared to WES as a result of changing climate. The increase in surface O3 over Arctic and Antarctic regions shows the effect that changes in O3 deposition might have on the long-range transport of O3. Finally, the influence of climate change on the partitioning of the O3 deposition flux was examined. This analysis revealed that more O3 is predicted to deposit through stomatal pathways with ZHG over N. America, C. Europe and E. Asia (up to +30%) compared to WES as a result of changing climate. Given that ZHG scheme captures the influence of meteorology and changing climate on surface O3 better than WES, it was concluded that modelled surface O3 using ZHG scheme showed a larger sensitivity to a changing climate than WES. These results imply potentially important effects of climate change on tropospheric O3, degrading air quality through the later decades of this century

Internet addiction and related clinical problems: a study on italian young adults

The considerable prominence of internet addiction (IA) in adolescence is at least partly explained by the limited knowledge thus far available on this complex phenomenon. In discussing IA, it is necessary to be aware that this is a construct for which there is still no clear definition in the literature. Nonetheless, its important clinical implications, as emerging in recent years, justify the lively interest of researchers in this new form of behavioral addiction. Over the years, studies have associated IA with numerous clinical problems. However, fewer studies have investigated what factors might mediate the relationship between IA and the different problems associated with it. Ours is one such study. The Italian version of the SCL-90 and the IAT were administered to a sample of almost 800 adolescents aged between 16 and 22 years. We found the presence of a significant association between IA and two variables: somatization (\u3b2 = 7.80; p < 0.001) and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (\u3b2 = 2.18; p < 0.05). In line with our hypothesis, the results showed that somatization predicted the relationship between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and IA (\u3b2 = -2.75; t = -3.55; p < 0.001), explaining 24.5% of its variance (\u394R2 = 1.2%; F = 12.78; p < 0.01). In addition, simple slopes analyses revealed that, on reaching clinical significance (+1 SD), somatization showed higher moderation effects in the relationship between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and IA (\u3b2 = 6.13; t = 7.83; p < 0.001). These results appear to be of great interest due to the absence of similar evidence in the literature, and may open the way for further research in the IA field. Although the absence of studies in the literature does not allow us to offer an exhaustive explanation of these results, our study supports current addiction theories which emphasize the important function performed by the enteroceptive system, alongside the more cited reflexive and impulsive systems

ECLAIRE: Effects of Climate Change on Air Pollution Impacts and Response Strategies for European Ecosystems. Project final report

The central goal of ECLAIRE is to assess how climate change will alter the extent to which air pollutants threaten terrestrial ecosystems. Particular attention has been given to nitrogen compounds, especially nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia (NH3), as well as Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs) in relation to tropospheric ozone (O3) formation, including their interactions with aerosol components. ECLAIRE has combined a broad program of field and laboratory experimentation and modelling of pollution fluxes and ecosystem impacts, advancing both mechanistic understanding and providing support to European policy makers. The central finding of ECLAIRE is that future climate change is expected to worsen the threat of air pollutants on Europe’s ecosystems. Firstly, climate warming is expected to increase the emissions of many trace gases, such as agricultural NH3, the soil component of NOx emissions and key BVOCs. Experimental data and numerical models show how these effects will tend to increase atmospheric N deposition in future. By contrast, the net effect on tropospheric O3 is less clear. This is because parallel increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations will offset the temperature-driven increase for some BVOCs, such as isoprene. By contrast, there is currently insufficient evidence to be confident that CO2 will offset anticipated climate increases in monoterpene emissions. Secondly, climate warming is found to be likely to increase the vulnerability of ecosystems towards air pollutant exposure or atmospheric deposition. Such effects may occur as a consequence of combined perturbation, as well as through specific interactions, such as between drought, O3, N and aerosol exposure. These combined effects of climate change are expected to offset part of the benefit of current emissions control policies. Unless decisive mitigation actions are taken, it is anticipated that ongoing climate warming will increase agricultural and other biogenic emissions, posing a challenge for national emissions ceilings and air quality objectives related to nitrogen and ozone pollution. The O3 effects will be further worsened if progress is not made to curb increases in methane (CH4) emissions in the northern hemisphere. Other key findings of ECLAIRE are that: 1) N deposition and O3 have adverse synergistic effects. Exposure to ambient O3 concentrations was shown to reduce the Nitrogen Use Efficiency of plants, both decreasing agricultural production and posing an increased risk of other forms of nitrogen pollution, such as nitrate leaching (NO3-) and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O); 2) within-canopy dynamics for volatile aerosol can increase dry deposition and shorten atmospheric lifetimes; 3) ambient aerosol levels reduce the ability of plants to conserve water under drought conditions; 4) low-resolution mapping studies tend to underestimate the extent of local critical loads exceedance; 5) new dose-response functions can be used to improve the assessment of costs, including estimation of the value of damage due to air pollution effects on ecosystems, 6) scenarios can be constructed that combine technical mitigation measures with dietary change options (reducing livestock products in food down to recommended levels for health criteria), with the balance between the two strategies being a matter for future societal discussion. ECLAIRE has supported the revision process for the National Emissions Ceilings Directive and will continue to deliver scientific underpinning into the future for the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution

ECLAIRE third periodic report

The ÉCLAIRE project (Effects of Climate Change on Air Pollution Impacts and Response Strategies for European Ecosystems) is a four year (2011-2015) project funded by the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7)

The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques for the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders: A Narrative Review of Evidence

none7Substance use disorders (SUDs) are characterized by a recurrent and maladaptive use of drugs and/or alcohol. Cognitive behavioral therapies (CBTs) comprise different types of interventions: traditional CBT and the more recent "third wave" behavior therapies, such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and schema therapy (ST). We searched English-language articles published between 2014 and present. This review includes randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-RCTs, pilot studies, and reviews of CBTs for SUDs available on PubMed. Results seem to indicate that CBT and MBCT are effective interventions for SUDs; however, the studies showed a high degree of heterogeneity, so no exhaustive conclusions could be outlined at this time. ACT and DBT in SUD management are limited to few studies and results are therefore inconclusive.noneZamboni, Lorenzo; Centoni, Francesco; Fusina, Francesca; Mantovani, Elisa; Rubino, Francesca; Lugoboni, Fabio; Federico, AngelaZamboni, Lorenzo; Centoni, Francesco; Fusina, Francesca; Mantovani, Elisa; Rubino, Francesca; Lugoboni, Fabio; Federico, Angel