The strength and content of climate anger

Climate-related anger is present in Greta Thunberg’s speeches and the acts of Extinction Rebellion, but also in the rise of movements protesting climate policies, such as the Yellow Vests. The current study (N = 2,046) gives insight into the content of climate anger among the Norwegian public, as well as the relationship between anger and climate change engagement. Analyzing responses to the open-ended survey question “What is it about climate change that makes you angry?”, we find that the most common reason was human actions causing climate change. Respondents also frequently pointed to responsible agents, especially politicians. Controlling for other climate emotions, as well as socio-demographics, anger strength was differentially related to three types of climate change engagement; it was the strongest predictor of self-reported activism, positively related to policy support, but not related to individual mitigation efforts. Among those reporting anger, directing it towards human qualities or actions was consistently and positively related to individual behavior, policy support, and activism while referring to responsible agents was not related to either. 'Contrarian' anger, reflecting skepticism towards the threat of climate change or dissatisfaction with mitigation measures, constituted 10% of the responses and had a negative effect on all outcomes. Overall, we find that both the strength and content of climate anger are relevant for climate change engagement. Our findings illustrate the need to avoid simplistic discussions of climate emotions and their motivational potential.publishedVersio

Both introns and long 3′-UTRs operate as cis-acting elements to trigger nonsense-mediated decay in plants

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a eukaryotic quality control mechanism that identifies and eliminates aberrant mRNAs containing a premature termination codon (PTC). Although, key trans-acting NMD factors, UPF1, UPF2 and UPF3 are conserved in yeast and mammals, the cis-acting NMD elements are different. In yeast, short specific sequences or long 3′-untranslated regions (3′-UTRs) render an mRNA subject to NMD, while in mammals' 3′-UTR located introns trigger NMD. Plants also possess an NMD system, although little is known about how it functions. We have elaborated an agroinfiltration-based transient NMD assay system and defined the cis-acting elements that mediate plant NMD. We show that unusually long 3′-UTRs or the presence of introns in the 3′-UTR can subject mRNAs to NMD. These data suggest that both long 3′-UTR-based and intron-based PTC definition operated in the common ancestors of extant eukaryotes (stem eukaryotes) and support the theory that intron-based NMD facilitated the spreading of introns in stem eukaryotes. We have also identified plant UPF1 and showed that tethering of UPF1 to either the 5′- or 3′-UTR of an mRNA results in reduced transcript accumulation. Thus, plant UPF1 might bind to mRNA in a late, irreversible phase of NMD

μDIC: An open-source toolkit for digital image correlation

We here present a Digital Image Correlation toolkit, formulated as a Python package. This package aims at providing a complete toolkit for performing DIC analysis on experimental data, performing virtual experiments, as well as a framework for further development. A suite of tools for generating synthetic speckle images, modelling of sensor artefacts and deformation of images by displacement fields, are included. The virtual experiments are used as a part of the accuracy assessment of the toolkit as well as for testing during development. B-spline elements are employed for the discretisation of the displacement fields and allow the polynomial order and degree of continuity to be controlled by the user.publishedVersio

Volumetric strain measurement of polymeric materials subjected to uniaxial tension

A novel method for measuring and calculating volumetric strain in circular cylindrical uniaxial tension samples made from polymeric materials is proposed. It is shown that special considerations must be taken when calculating volumetric strain when a sample is in a postnecking state. Solely based on surface data, the key feature of the proposed correction is that it allows for an inhomogeneous distribution of longitudinal strain through the diameter of the sample, where a more traditional approach would be to assume a homogeneous distribution. These two approaches are evaluated by applying them to data from a close‐to‐incompressible steel sample. Whereas the proposed method indicates only a small positive increase in volume, the assumption of a homogeneous distribution results in substantial negative volumetric strains. Applying the two methods to tension samples made from HDPE and PVC, where plastic dilatation is nonlinear, again shows an initial negative volumetric strain for HDPE with the assumption of a homogeneous longitudinal strain. The proposed method predicts close‐to‐zero early‐stage volumetric strain for the same test. The differences are more subtle for samples of PVC. Micrographs obtained with scanning electron microscope show that the dilatation of PVC is related to voiding of the material around filler particles, while the underlying mechanism for HDPE is less clear. The results indicate that earlier reports of negative volumetric strain in polymers subjected to uniaxial tension might be artefacts of the implicit assumption made when calculating the volumetric strain.acceptedVersio

Synthesis report on public perceptions from WP 3

This deliverable synthesizes the results from WP 3 on public perceptions of marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). The main purpose is to inform the overall synthesis report of OceanNets. It also helps inform the other work packages and stakeholders about our results in a timely and brief manner about the ways members of the public view marine CDR specificall

Report on public perceptions in cross-country survey

This deliverable synthesizes the first results on public perceptions of marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) methods from a cross-country survey in Canada, China, France, Germany, Norway, and Taiwan. The purpose is to inform the other work packages in OceanNets and stakeholders about our results in a timely and brief manner about the ways members of the public view marine CDR specifically. The survey was fielded in April 2023, has approximately 2000 observations in each country, and aims to be representative for the population active online in the respective country. It covers the marine CDR approaches ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), macroalgae farming with BECCS (mBECCS) or macroalgae farming with biomass sinking. Our analysis found notable differences in perceptions of the three methods and between the countries. OAE received the largest shares of negative assessments in all countries, mBECCS received the highest shares of positive assessments. Overall, respondents in the Asian countries assess ocean-based CDR approaches more positively than respondents in Western countries. We also find differences in self-reported familiarity. In Western countries, a majority (55-84%) report never having heard of these approaches; in Asian countries, a majority (56-75%) report having heard of the approaches before. Results on the associations with the methods confirm the results for the general question and add more nuanced insights into how the methods are perceived. The survey also included an experimental design that indicates a potential spillover effect, wherein presenting OAE first negatively influenced perceptions of the subsequent technology

μDIC: An open-source toolkit for digital image correlation

We here present a Digital Image Correlation toolkit, formulated as a Python package. This package aims at providing a complete toolkit for performing DIC analysis on experimental data, performing virtual experiments, as well as a framework for further development. A suite of tools for generating synthetic speckle images, modelling of sensor artefacts and deformation of images by displacement fields, are included. The virtual experiments are used as a part of the accuracy assessment of the toolkit as well as for testing during development. B-spline elements are employed for the discretisation of the displacement fields and allow the polynomial order and degree of continuity to be controlled by the user

Lead isotope ratios for bullets, forensic evaluation in a Bayesian paradigm

Forensic science is a discipline concerned with collection, examination and evaluation of physical evidence related to criminal cases. The results from the activities of the forensic scientist may ultimately be presented to the court in such a way that the triers of fact understand the implications of the data. Forensic science has been, and still is, driven by development of new technology, and in the last two decades evaluation of evidence based on logical reasoning and Bayesian statistic has reached some level of general acceptance within the forensic community. Tracing of lead fragments of unknown origin to a given source of ammunition is a task that might be of interest for the Court. Use of data from lead isotope ratios analysis interpreted within a Bayesian framework has shown to be suitable method to guide the Court to draw their conclusion for such task. In this work we have used isotopic composition of lead from small arms projectiles (cal. .22) and developed an approach based on Bayesian statistics and likelihood ratio calculation. The likelihood ratio is a single quantity that provides a measure of the value of evidence that can be used in the deliberation of the court

Volumetric strain measurement of polymeric materials subjected to uniaxial tension

A novel method for measuring and calculating volumetric strain in circular cylindrical uniaxial tension samples made from polymeric materials is proposed. It is shown that special considerations must be taken when calculating volumetric strain when a sample is in a postnecking state. Solely based on surface data, the key feature of the proposed correction is that it allows for an inhomogeneous distribution of longitudinal strain through the diameter of the sample, where a more traditional approach would be to assume a homogeneous distribution. These two approaches are evaluated by applying them to data from a close‐to‐incompressible steel sample. Whereas the proposed method indicates only a small positive increase in volume, the assumption of a homogeneous distribution results in substantial negative volumetric strains. Applying the two methods to tension samples made from HDPE and PVC, where plastic dilatation is nonlinear, again shows an initial negative volumetric strain for HDPE with the assumption of a homogeneous longitudinal strain. The proposed method predicts close‐to‐zero early‐stage volumetric strain for the same test. The differences are more subtle for samples of PVC. Micrographs obtained with scanning electron microscope show that the dilatation of PVC is related to voiding of the material around filler particles, while the underlying mechanism for HDPE is less clear. The results indicate that earlier reports of negative volumetric strain in polymers subjected to uniaxial tension might be artefacts of the implicit assumption made when calculating the volumetric strain

Volumetric strain measurement of polymeric materials subjected to uniaxial tension

A novel method for measuring and calculating volumetric strain in circular cylindrical uniaxial tension samples made from polymeric materials is proposed. It is shown that special considerations must be taken when calculating volumetric strain when a sample is in a postnecking state. Solely based on surface data, the key feature of the proposed correction is that it allows for an inhomogeneous distribution of longitudinal strain through the diameter of the sample, where a more traditional approach would be to assume a homogeneous distribution. These two approaches are evaluated by applying them to data from a close‐to‐incompressible steel sample. Whereas the proposed method indicates only a small positive increase in volume, the assumption of a homogeneous distribution results in substantial negative volumetric strains. Applying the two methods to tension samples made from HDPE and PVC, where plastic dilatation is nonlinear, again shows an initial negative volumetric strain for HDPE with the assumption of a homogeneous longitudinal strain. The proposed method predicts close‐to‐zero early‐stage volumetric strain for the same test. The differences are more subtle for samples of PVC. Micrographs obtained with scanning electron microscope show that the dilatation of PVC is related to voiding of the material around filler particles, while the underlying mechanism for HDPE is less clear. The results indicate that earlier reports of negative volumetric strain in polymers subjected to uniaxial tension might be artefacts of the implicit assumption made when calculating the volumetric strain