Citizens’ support for the energy transition. The influence of policy and politics on citizens’ opinions towards renewable energy promotion

As a result of climate change and several countries’ decisions to phase out nuclear power, several countries are currently facing the question of how to take effective action to secure energy provision for the future. However, reducing CO2 and replacing non-renewable energies with renewables to provide electricity faces a barrier of ‘social acceptance’, i.e., support for targets and measures from both the political elite and the public. This dissertation focuses on the role of citizens. It answers the questions of why citizens matter in energy policy, how they form opinions on different policies, and how their opinions can be influenced and manipulated. It provides insights into how the political elite can design energy policy proposals in order to ensure public support, and also discusses the degree to which citizens participate in this conversation. Furthermore, this work shows which political processes are behind these energy policies, argues for a multidimensional approach to decision-making, and analyses which policy elements are relevant for citizens.Viele Länder stehen aufgrund des Klimawandels und der Entscheidung, aus der Kernenergie auszusteigen vor der Herausforderung, wirksame Massnahmen zur Sicherung der Energieversorgung der Zukunft umzusetzen. Die Reduktion des CO2-Ausstosses sowie der Ersatz von nicht-erneuerbaren Energien mit sauberen Energiequellen steht allerdings vor der Herausforderung der ‘sozialen Akzeptanz’. Dies bedeutet, dass die Unterstützung der Ziele und Massnahmen durch die politische Elite und der Bevölkerung ein zentraler Faktor für den Erfolg einer Energiewende darstellt. In dieser Dissertation wird die Rolle der Bevölkerung näher betrachtet. Die Dissertation bietet Antworten auf die Fragen, wieso die Stimmberechtigten in der Energiepolitik relevant sind, wie sie ihre Meinung zu den verschiedenen Vorlagen bilden, und welche Faktoren diese Meinung beeinflussen können. Daraus ergeben sich Einblicke, wie zukünftige Vorlagen im Bereich der Energiepolitik ausgestaltet werden können, um nicht an der Hürde der Zustimmung der Bevölkerung zu scheitern. Zudem wird der Grad diskutiert, zu welchem die Stimmberechtigten in den Prozess einbezogen werde sollten. Weiter zeigt die Dissertation auf, welche politischen Prozesse hinter politischen Vorlagen im Energiebereich stehen, argumentiert für eine multidimensionale Betrachtung von Entscheidungssituationen und analysiert welche Elemente einer Vorlage die Bevölkerung als wichtig erachtet.Chaschunà da la midada dal clima e la decisiun da renunziar a l’energia nucleara èn plirs pajais al mument confruntads cun la sfida da chattar soluziuns effectivas che segireschan la provisiun d’energia dal futur. Ma la reducziun da CO2 ed il remplazzament d’energias betg regenerablas cun energias regenerablas dovra ‘l’acceptanza sociala’; q.v.d. l’elita politica e la populaziun ston sustegnair las finamiras e las mesiras per producir tala electricitad. En questa dissertaziun è la rolla da la populaziun en il focus. La lavur dat respostas a las dumondas, pertge ch’ils votants e las votantas èn relevants en la politica d’energia, co ch’els furman in’opiniun tar las differentas propostas, e co che quest’opiniun po vegnir influenzada e manipulada. Tras quai èsi pussaivel per l’elita politica d’avair invistas, co che propostas futuras en la tematica da la politica d’energia pon vegnir concepidas per betg far naufragi causa l’approvaziun da la populaziun mancanta, e tge inclusiun da votantas e votants ch’è necessaria. Plinavant mussa la dissertaziun tge process politics ch’èn davos questas propostas, argumentescha per ina perspectiva multidimensiunala da situaziuns da decisiun, ed analisescha tge elements d’ina proposta ch’èn relevants per la populaziun

The Ectoparasites of Some of the Rodents in the Vicinity of Brookings, South Dakota

The animals known as rodents furnish very satisfactory material for the study of parasite infestations. Because parasites of rodents as well as the rodents themselves are unusually interesting, many examinations have been made, by students, of the parasites and their hosts. These investigations have, no doubt, been facilitated by the small size, abundance, and comparative ease with which these rodents can be captured. Rodents are economically important in that they themselves are injurious in doing damage to fields, crops, and forests and are responsible for looses running into the thousands of dollars annually. Also many rodents harbor parasites which are and have been responsible for the spread of infectious diseases through bacteria and fungi

An eight year retrospective study investigating tooth survival after primary non-surgical root canal treatment in a United Kingdom military cohort

Introduction: Root canal treatment plays an important role in preserving the dentition by deferring other invasive treatments. Data on tooth survival and predictive factors for tooth loss after root canal treatment in the military cohort is lacking. This investigation aimed to determine the proportion of teeth surviving in an 8 year period after root canal treatment (RCT) and identify potential predictive factors for tooth loss, in a United Kingdom military cohort. / Methodology: A retrospective review of an integrated electronic health record (iHR) for military patients who had received RCT was performed in a random sample of 205 patients (n = 219 root-filled teeth) that had received RCT between 01 January 2011 and 01 January 2012. Tooth survival was defined as tooth presence, regardless of signs or symptoms, and measured from the point of root-filling until either the end of the designated study period or time of extraction. Survival was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier estimates and association with tooth loss using the Chi-squared test. Potentially significant predictive factors were investigated using univariate Cox regression. / Results: Tooth survival following RCT was: 98% after 24 months; 88% after 48 months; 83% after 72 months and 78% after 96 months. Four predictive factors were found to affect tooth loss as follows: pre-operative pain (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.2; P < 0.001), teeth with less than 2 proximal contacts (HR = 3.0; P = 0.01), teeth with cores involving more than two surfaces (HR = 2.0; P = 0.03); and post-operative unscheduled dental attendances (UDA) (HR = 2.7; P = 0.01). / Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, the presence of pre-operative pain; teeth with less than two proximal contacts or with cores involving more than two tooth surfaces; and occurrence of post-operative unscheduled dental attendance were found to significantly increase the hazard of tooth loss

Pregnancy gestation impacts on HIV-1-specific granzyme B response and central memory CD4 T cells

Pregnancy induces alterations in peripheral T-cell populations with both changes in subset frequencies and anti-viral responses found to alter with gestation. In HIV-1 positive women anti-HIV-1 responses are associated with transmission risk, however detailed investigation into both HIV-1-specific memory responses associated with HIV-1 control and T-cell subset changes during pregnancy have not been undertaken. In this study we aimed to define pregnancy and gestation related changes to HIV-1-specific responses and T-cell phenotype in ART treated HIV-1 positive pregnant women. Eleven non-pregnant and 24 pregnant HIV-1 positive women were recruited, peripheral blood samples taken, fresh cells isolated, and compared using ELISpot assays and flow cytometry analysis. Clinical data were collected as part of standard care, and non-parametric statistics used. Alterations in induced IFNγ, IL-2, IL-10, and granzyme B secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in response to HIV-1 Gag and Nef peptide pools and changes in T-cell subsets between pregnant and non-pregnant women were assessed, with data correlated with participant clinical parameters and longitudinal analysis performed. Cross-sectional comparison identified decreased IL-10 Nef response in HIV-1 positive pregnant women compared to non-pregnant, while correlations exhibited reversed Gag and Nef cytokine and protease response associations between groups. Longitudinal analysis of pregnant participants demonstrated transient increases in Gag granzyme B response and in the central memory CD4 T-cell subset frequency during their second trimester, with a decrease in CD4 effector memory T cells from their second to third trimester. Gag and Nef HIV-1-specific responses diverge with pregnancy time-point, coinciding with relevant T-cell phenotype, and gestation associated immunological adaptations. Decreased IL-10 Nef and both increased granzyme B Gag response and central memory CD4 T cells implies that amplified antigen production is occurring, which suggests a period of compromised HIV-1 control in pregnancy

Der Wahlkampf 2019 in traditionellen und digitalen Medien

Die Selects Medienstudie 2019 erforscht den Wahlkampf in den traditionellen und digitalen Medien in der Schweiz. Dabei setzt sie auf eine automatisierte Themenklassifizierung bei den Zeitungsartikeln sowie auf einen in dieser Form erstmaligen Zugang zu den Online-Auftritten der Kandidierenden in den sozialen Medien Facebook und Twitter. Erste Erkenntnisse zeigen, dass der Online-Wahlkampf zwar stattfindet – allerdings weniger zentral ist als die politische Debatte in den Zeitungen. Die traditionelle Debatte in den Zeitungen berücksichtigt stärker bereits etablierte AkteurInnen und folgt klarer den zentralen Themen des Wahlkampfes, im Wahljahr 2019 die Umwelt und das Klima sowie die Frauenvertretung. Online ist die Reichweite meist noch eingeschränkt und die Debatte häufig genereller auf den Wahlkampf fokussiert. Zusammengefasst zeigt sich so erst ein Aufkommen eines digitalen Wahlkampfes, welcher noch nicht die Führung in der Themensetzung übernommen hat

Measuring the severity of prescribing errors: a systematic review.

Prescribing errors are common. It has been suggested that the severity as well as the frequency of errors should be assessed when measuring prescribing error rates. This would provide more clinically relevant information, and allow more complete evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce errors

Effects of Pretreatment and Drying on the Volatile Compounds of Sliced Solar-Dried Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) Rhizome

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) rhizomes are mostly used as spice and medicine due to their high aroma intensity and medicinal bioactive compounds. However, the volatile compounds of ginger, partly responsible for its aroma and medicinal properties, can be affected by the pretreatment, drying method, and extraction processes employed. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of pretreatment and drying on the volatile compounds of yellow ginger variety at nine months of maturation. The effect of potassium metabisulfite (KMBS) and blanching pretreatment and drying on the volatile compounds of ginger using head space solid-phase microextraction with GCMS/MS identification (HS-SPME/GCMS/MS) was investigated. KMBS of concentrations 0.0 (control), 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, and 1.0% and blanching at 50°C and 100°C were used for pretreatment and dried in a tent-like concrete solar (CSD) dryer and open-sun drying (OSD). The different concentrations of KMBS-treated fresh ginger rhizomes did not result in any particular pattern for volatile compound composition identification. However, the top five compounds were mostly sesquiterpenes. The 0.15% KMBS-treated CSD emerged as the best pretreatment for retaining α-zingiberene, β-cubebene, α-farnesene, and geranial. The presence of β-cedrene, β-carene, and dihydro-α-curcumene makes this study unique. The 0.15% KMBS pretreatment and CSD drying can be adopted as an affordable alternative to preserve ginger