Greenhouse gas benefits of fighting obesity

Obesity has become a serious public health problem in both industrialized and rapidly industrializing countries. It increases greenhouse gas emissions through higher fuel needs for transportation of heavier people, lifecycle emissions from additional food production and methane emissions from higher amounts of organic waste. A reduction of average weight by 5 kg could reduce OECD transport CO2 emissions by more than 10 million t, while a reduction of consumption of energy-rich food to 1990 levels would lead to life-cycle emissions savings of more than 100 million t CO2 equivalent and by more than 2 million t through reduction of associated food waste. Due to the intimate behavioural nature of the obesity problem, policies to reduce obesity such as food taxation, subsidization of human-powered transport, incentives to reduce sedentary leisure and regulation of fat in foodstuffs have not yet been implemented to any extent. The emissions benefits of fiscal and regulatory measures to reduce obesity could accelerate the tipping point where a majority of voters feels that the problem warrants policy action. --public health,food production,transport,waste management,greenhouse gas emissions

O USO DE RECURSOS AUDIOVISUAIS NAS AULAS DE SOCIOLOGIA: O VÍDEO NAS AULAS DE UMA TURMA DE ENSINO MÉDIO DO COLÉGIO DE APLICAÇÃO-UFSC

TCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Curso de Ciências Sociais.Este trabalho pretende abordar o uso didático do vídeo nas aulas de Sociologia no Ensino Médio, pesquisando uma turma de 2º ano do Colégio de Aplicação da UFSC. Especificamente, aborda a recepção dos vídeos pelos alunos e a apropriação deles pelos alunos e pela professora. Justifica-se este trabalho devido a presença cada vez maior da tecnologia na sociedade atual e na educação em particular. Foram aplicados questionários aos alunos, e a professora foi entrevistada. Os questionários e a entrevista continham perguntas relacionadas à frequência do uso do vídeo, a aceitação do vídeo pelos alunos e o porquê de usar o vídeo. Foi constatado que o vídeo tem boa aceitação dos alunos, e que eles se apropriam de maneira crítica, e que além de ajudar os alunos a entenderem o conteúdo ensinado, explicando ou ilustrando o conteúdo, a professora utiliza o vídeo como forma de avaliação da aprendizagem deles

Analysis of Possible New Market Mechanisms Pilot Activities beyond the PMR

This report analyses activities developed outside of the Partnership for Market Readiness (PMR) that could evolve to become possible NMM pilot activities. It assesses a number of initiatives that can provide lessons for the design of market mechanisms, ranging from the Japanese Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) to the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) of the World Bank. This assessment is done on the basis of a set of criteria covering the mitigation contribution, MRV ability and practicality. The study concludes that NMM pilot activities could take many sizes and shapes, and should ideally cover Least Developed Countries (LDCs) as well as large emerging economies. The majority of the initiatives assessed did not envisage to generate credits, but aimed to provide credible proof of achieved greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. Open questions include how to safeguard environmental integrity through conservative and credible baselines and post-NMM emission level determination methodologies and how to ensure that incentives reach the entities that can mobilize mitigation. Still, a number of such activities can provide valuable lessons for mechanisms that have the primary aim of generating Carbon credits

Irish Fish and Fisheries

The Irish monitoring programme for Descriptor 3 “Commercial fish and shellfish” and fish biodiversity (D1, D4 and D6) is based on the monitoring required under the obligation of the Data Collection Framework Directive (EC 665/2008; 2010/93/EU) for the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy and for additional stocks/species of national importance. There are two main sources of data collected as part of Ireland’s monitoring programme; fishery independent and fishery dependent data. The first involves monitoring the temporal and spatial changes in the fish populations using fisheries surveys on research vessels and commercial vessels. Fishery dependant data involves collecting and analysing biological data (age, length etc.) of the fish caught, together with data on the quantities of fish caught and the fishing effort. The fish and fisheries monitoring programme includes the evaluation of the fishing sector using capacity and activity, pressure monitoring of contributing activities in terms of distribution and intensity of effort, landings and discards of fish and shellfish and accidental bycatch of other species. Pressure on habitats is partially monitored based on the spatial and temporal distribution of bottom contacting fishing gear within mapped habitats. The monitoring programme also covers status monitoring through the use of dedicated scientific fish and shellfish surveys which estimate the distribution and relative abundance of different fish and shellfish species and the collection of biological parameters

Synergetic Exploitation of the Sentinel-2 Missions for Validating the Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Color Instrument Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index Over a Vineyard Dominated Mediterranean Environment

[EN] Continuity to the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (MTCI) will be provided by the Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OLCI) on-board the Sentinel-3 missions. To ensure its utility in a wide range of scientific and operational applications, validation efforts are required. In the past, direct validation has been constrained by the need for costly airborne hyperspectral data acquisitions, due to the lack of freely available high spatial resolution imagery incorporating appropriate spectral bands. The Multispectral Instrument (MSI) on-board the Sentinel-2 missions now offers a promising alternative. We explored the synergetic use of MSI data for validation of the OLCI Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (OTCI) over the Valencia Anchor Station, a large agricultural site in the Valencian Community, Spain. Using empirical and machine learning techniques applied to MSI data, in situ measurements were upscaled to the moderate spatial resolution of the OTCI. An RMSECV of 0.09 g.m(-2) (NRMSECV = 20.93%) was achieved, highlighting the valuable information MSI data can provide when used in synergy with OLCI data for land product validation. Good agreement between the OTCI and upscaled in situ measurements was observed (r = 0.77, p < 0.01), providing increased confidence to users of the product over vineyard dominated Mediterranean environments.This work was supported in part by the European Space Agency and European Commission through the Sentinel-3 Mission Performance Centre.Brown, LA.; Dash, J.; Lidón, A.; Lopez-Baeza, E.; Dransfeld, S. (2019). Synergetic Exploitation of the Sentinel-2 Missions for Validating the Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Color Instrument Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index Over a Vineyard Dominated Mediterranean Environment. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing. 12(7):2244-2251. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2019.28999982244225112

Extraction of electrons from quantized vortex lines

If electrons are trapped in vortex lines of rotating He II, they can emerge into the vapor phase without overcoming any detectable energy barrier. This observation of the extraction of electrons from straight vortex lines above 1.1°K agrees very well with the evaporation of electrons from vortex rings studied by Surko and Reif below 0.7°

Protective effect of ultrathin alumina film against diffusion of iron into carbon fiber during growth of carbon nanotubes for hierarchical composites investigated by ptychographic X-ray computed tomography

Composite materials based on carbon fiber (CF) are prone to failure at the fiber-matrix interface upon compression or stress transverse to the fiber axis. The direct growth of carbon nanotubes on CF constitutes a novel approach to enhance the mechanical properties of the interface. However, the challenge is that, during the growth, tensile properties of the fiber are altered due to the diffusion effect of iron nanoparticles used in the process, leading to CF surface defect formation. In this work, we deliver and discuss an analysis methodology on ptychographic X-ray computed tomography (PXCT) images in order to assess the iron nanoparticle abundance within CFs. PXCT provides 50 nm - resolved 3D electron density maps of the CFs. We evidence the protective effect of an ultrathin alumina film against iron infiltration into CF during the CNT growth. This method potentially allows to evaluate the efficiency of other diffusion-minimizing approaches. The conclusions of the PXCT examination are validated by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy carried out on thin sample slices cut with a focused ion beam. The results provide a new insight into the mechanical performance of CFs and therefore constitute valuable knowledge for the development of hierarchical composites

Fish species recorded during deepwater trawl surveys on the continental shelf and the Porcupine Bank, 2006-2008

The Marine Institute and the National University of Ireland, Galway conducted a deepwater survey each September from 2006-2008 from the RV Celtic Explorer using BT184 deepwater nets with type-D ground gear (ICES 2006). Fish, benthic and hydrographic data were collected. Two-hour fishing trawls (time on bottom) took place in three locations on the continental slope to the north and west of Ireland, and on the Porcupine Bank. The survey objectives were to collect biological data on the main deepwater fish species and invertebrates. In total 166 taxa were recorded over the three years, with a maximum of 129 in 2008