Forest conservation through markets? A discourse network analysis of the debate on funding mechanisms for REDD+ in Brazil

One of the most contentious issues surrounding the forest conservation program REDD+ is the question whether it should be funded via international carbon markets. The controversy between market supporters and opponents has been especially marked in the public debate in Brazil, one of the main potential beneficiaries of REDD+ payments. In a remarkable shift of policy, the Brazilian Federal Government gave up its long-standing opposition to market-based funding in the run-up to the COP15, following several years of competition between two main discourse coalitions and their preferred story lines. These were analyzed here with discourse network analytical techniques. Brazil’s policy change may in part be explained by the failure of market opponents to employ positive arguments about alternative funding mechanisms, such as a public fund model; and by the increasing discursive dominance of a third emerging discourse coalition, which adopted major arguments of both sides in the debate. The research presented here thus provides more general insights on the dynamics of public debates, discourse coalitions, and the impacts of discursive strategies on policy-making, as well as on the value of discourse network analysis as a research method.PostprintPeer reviewe

Water governance

Postprin

Money or pride? On the why and how of traditional knowledge protection in India and China

The interest in traditional knowledge (TK) and its importance as a source for innovation in science and medicine have been rising and so have conflicts around it. In this article, the policies on TK of India and China are reviewed and analysed. While India put emphasis on preventing the unauthorized use of its TK, China is mainly concerned about integrating its TK into modern Western science. China’s economy and research facilities are growing at a faster pace and TK policy is centred on traditional Chinese medicine. In turn, India has a great variety of equally important TK traditions, which are more vulnerable to misappropriation thus explaining the differences between the two countries’ policies.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Cellobiose dehydrogenase on electrodes - an electrochemical biosensor for various analytes tunable by positive charges

Cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) is a sugar oxidizing enzyme secreted by various species of wood degrading fungi to assist the process of wood degradation. It can oxidise analytically relevant sugars as cellobiose, lactose or glucose leading to a gain of two electrons per sugar molecule. CDH consists of a flavin containing catalytic domain (DH) and a haem containing electron mediating domain (CYT). CDH is able to directly communicate with electrode surfaces via the CYT delivering its gained electrons making it a suitable candidate for the construction of mediatorless biosensors and biofuel cell anodes being applicable either for the detection of sugars or for the generation of electricity out of sugar containing solutions. In the present thesis the ability of CDH to electrically communicate with silver, gold and graphite electrode surfaces was investigated and employed mainly by electrochemical techniques as cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry and was complemented by spectroscopic techniques. The central finding is the ability of cations to enhance the electro-catalytic activity of CDH. Especially divalent cations as Ca2+ were found to increase the internal electron transfer (IET) from the DH to the electron mediating CYT leading to higher current outputs. The effect was ascribed to a yet unknown, transient, electrostatic interaction of Ca2+ with negative charges present on the DH and CYT decreasing their repulsion leading to a faster IET. Similar effects were observed for CDH electrodes premodified with immobilised polycations as polyethylenimine (PEI) or polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDADMAC) or premodified with PEI covered gold nanoparticles. The polycations were found to enhance the enzyme load onto electrode surfaces by electrostatic interactions but were also suggested to increase the IET comparable to Ca2+. The beneficial effect of cations and polycations on the electro-catalytic activity of CDH was employed to construct various biosensors to detect lactose, glucose, adenosine triphosphate and Ca2+ in various sensing schemes and analytes. A further observation regarding the electrochemistry of CDH could be obtained only recently. We could finally prove unequivocally, after more than a decade of efforts, that a direct electronic communication is also possible between electrodes and the DH domain occurring at lower voltages than the DET with CYT. This potentially increases the voltage of biofuel cells and lowers the problematic oxidation of common interferents of biosensors pushing the commercial exploitation of CDH as a bioelectrocatalyst to a new level

Money or pride? On the why and how of traditional knowledge protection in India and China

The interest in traditional knowledge (TK) and its importance as a source for innovation in science and medicine have been rising and so have conflicts around it. In this article, the policies on TK of India and China are reviewed and analysed. While India put emphasis on preventing the unauthorized use of its TK, China is mainly concerned about integrating its TK into modern Western science. China’s economy and research facilities are growing at a faster pace and TK policy is centred on traditional Chinese medicine. In turn, India has a great variety of equally important TK traditions, which are more vulnerable to misappropriation thus explaining the differences between the two countries’ policies

Cooperative Control Simulation Validation Using Applied Probability Theory

Several research simulations have been created to support development and refinement of teamed autonomous agents using decentralized cooperative control algorithms. Simulation is the necessary tool to evaluate the performance of decentralized cooperative control algorithms, however these simulations lack a method to validate their output. This research presents a method to validate the performance of a decentralized cooperative control simulation environment for an autonomous Wide Area Search Munition (WASM). Rigorous analytical methods for six wide area search and engagement scenarios involving Uniform, Normal, and Poisson distributions of N real targets and M false target objects are formulated to generate expected numbers of target attacks and kills for a searching WASM. The mean value based on the number of target attack and kills from Monte Carlo simulations representative of the individual scenarios are compared to the analytically derived expected values. Emphasis is placed on Wide Area Search Munitions (WASMs) operating in a multiple target environment where a percentage of the total targets are either false targets or may be misconstrued as false by varying the capability of the WASM’s Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) capability

Rotorcraft Smoothing Via Linear Time Periodic Methods

This research presents the development of an on line linear time periodic rotor vibration controller. The Cramer-Rao bound is developed for a linear time periodic system in order to identify the quality of identified system parameters, which are used in system models for controller development. The methods developed in this work allow model parameters can be verified for accuracy and likewise adjusted to improve controller accuracy

The World Commission on Dams: then and now

On 16 November 2000, the World Commission on Dams (WCD) launched its final report in London, in the presence of Nelson Mandela. This event marked the conclusion of an unlikely process. WCD was composed of 12 eminent personalities whose mandate was to review the global evidence base on dams and development and make recommendations for best practices in dam planning, construction, operation, and decommissioning. They were activists, engineers, academics, and government officials covering a diverse range of perspectives on dams and development. Theirs was no simple task. The 1990s had seen tensions and conflicts around dams all around the world. The World Bank was a frequent target of campaigns against dams, whose reservoirs would submerge villages and flood indigenous territories, disrupt rural people’s livelihoods, and irreversibly modify riverine ecosystems. In a number of cases, these protests led to a review of projects, and even the withdrawal of World Bank support, as for example in the case of the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Indian Narmada River. In this context, uniting supporters and opponents of large dams to debate their differences in one commission seemed, at best, risky. Yet, Cape Town-based WCD did fulfil its mandate. Its report covered insights from an enormous number of studies conducted on its behalf, as well as from all kinds of stakeholders who had been consulted on all continents. WCD also made recommendations for best practice, which would mitigate negative social and environmental impacts and improve decision-making around large dams more broadly. To mark WCD’s 20th anniversary, we share here some insights from the FutureDAMS research with people who were part of WCD: former commissioners, staff, consultants, and observers of WCD. How do they remember WCD, and what impacts have they seen? Much has been said and written about WCD, but some lessons have become clearer over time

Multi-plant Coordination in the Beef Packing Industry: Why it Matters, and What Questions Remain?

The spread between fed cattle prices and wholesale beef values made headlines when it widened dramatically, albeit temporarily, following the August 2019 fire at the packing plant near Holcomb, Kansas, and again in 2020 due to packing plant disruptions in the wake of COVID-19 (Lusk et al. 2021; USDA-AMS 2020). Though seemingly paradoxical, these divergent price movements had a straightforward economic explanation and were consistent with perfect competition in the marketplace (Lusk et al. 2021; Azzam and Dhoubhadel 2022)

Is NO the Answer? The Nitric Oxide Pathway Can Support Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 Mediated Signaling

The growth factor bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) plays an important role in bone development and repair. Despite the positive effects of BMP2 in fracture healing, its use is associated with negative side effects and poor cost effectiveness, partly due to the large amounts of BMP2 applied. Therefore, reduction of BMP2 amounts while maintaining efficacy is of clinical importance. As nitric oxide (NO) signaling plays a role in bone fracture healing and an association with the BMP2 pathway has been indicated, this study aimed to investigate the relationship of BMP2 and NO pathways and whether NO can enhance BMP2-induced signaling and osteogenic abilities in vitro. To achieve this, the stable BMP reporter cell line C2C12BRELuc was used to quantify BMP signaling, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and gene expression were used to quantify osteogenic potency. C2C12BRELuc cells were treated with recombinant BMP2 in combination with NO donors and substrate (Deta NONOate, SNAP & L-Arginine), NOS inhibitor (LNAME), soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) inhibitor (LY83583) and activator (YC-1), BMP type-I receptor inhibitor (LDN-193189), or protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor (H89). It was found that the NOS enzyme, direct NO application, and sGC enhanced BMP2 signaling and improved BMP2 induced osteogenic activity. The application of a PKA inhibitor demonstrated that BMP2 signaling is enhanced by the NO pathway via PKA, underlining the capability of BMP2 in activating the NO pathway. Collectively, this study proves the ability of the NO pathway to enhance BMP2 signaling