Environmental and economic information for aggregates provision

This report describes a one-year research project entitled ‘Environmental and economic information systems for aggregates provision’. This project is an extension to previous research on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and future aggregates extraction, which was carried out by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and reported in early 2004 (Steadman, et al., 2004). Both phases of the research were co-funded by the BGS and the Mineral Industry Sustainable Technology Programme (MIST). Environmental, economic and social information are essential for sustainable planning for the provision of aggregates. There is a need to bring together disparate information relating to aggregate extraction. Datasets include the location of resources and their potential end-uses, as well as those on the environment and transport. Bringing this digital information together into one location or system will assist in supporting a more balanced and informed approach to the decision making process. A number of regulatory mechanisms are currently driving the gathering and compilation of relevant environmental, economic and social information. Current drivers for information relevant to aggregate provision include environmental appraisal of the provision of aggregates, SEA and Sustainability Appraisal (SA). The objective of this research was to provide an interactive ‘tool’ or information system for the minerals industry, land-use planners and other stakeholders to use when considering options for future aggregate provision. The study area for the research was the East Midlands Region of England. The project had three main deliverables: 1. To provide an online Geographic Information System (GIS) to access the ‘environmental sensitivity’ map which was developed for the East Midlands Region during the first phase of research; 2. to compile aggregate end-use suitability maps for the East Midland Region; and 3. to hold a stakeholder consultation exercise and dissemination seminars. Each of these was met within the agreed timeframe. The environmental sensitivity map information and associated attributes have been made available on the internet via the BGS ‘Minerals information online’ web GIS for the East Midlands Region (www.mineralsuk.com/web_gis). Accommodating these data in a web GIS environment has entailed some compromises on data resolution and system functionality. A methodology has been developed to integrate a range of aggregate technical property data. This can be used to summarise the distribution of aggregate resources suitable for particular end-uses. These summary technical data are useful in communicating issues of variable aggregate quality and economic value to non-technical stakeholders in the mineral planning process. Availability of appropriate technical property data for different aggregate resources across a wide geographical area is critical in developing these maps. Feedback from an extensive consultation and dissemination exercise has generally been very positive. Two critiques by independent consultants of the environmental sensitivity map were also undertaken. These were deemed an important aspect of the consultation process. Stakeholders raised several issues. There were some concerns about updating and maintenance of asset data and about the lack of social information. In addition, some fundamental issues of approach (particularly asset weighting) raised in the previous phase of this research resurfaced during this consultation. Environmental sensitivity mapping will be carried out for the whole of England by the BGS in the near future. The data will be made available online as each region becomes available. It is anticipated that the mineral GISs for all regions of England (except London) will be completed by December 2005. New datasets may be added to the environmental sensitivity layer as they become available. The research into end-use suitability maps will be carried on by the BGS under its Minerals Programme, with the support of co-funding where possible. The project team continue to welcome feedback and criticism of this research

A dietary feedback system for the delivery of consistent personalized dietary advice in the web-based multicenter Food4Me study

Background: Despite numerous healthy eating campaigns, the prevalence of diets high in saturated fatty acids, sugar, and salt and low in fiber, fruit, and vegetables remains high. With more people than ever accessing the Internet, Web-based dietary assessment instruments have the potential to promote healthier dietary behaviors via personalized dietary advice. Objective: The objectives of this study were to develop a dietary feedback system for the delivery of consistent personalized dietary advice in a multicenter study and to examine the impact of automating the advice system. Methods: The development of the dietary feedback system included 4 components: (1) designing a system for categorizing nutritional intakes; (2) creating a method for prioritizing 3 nutrient-related goals for subsequent targeted dietary advice; (3) constructing decision tree algorithms linking data on nutritional intake to feedback messages; and (4) developing personal feedback reports. The system was used manually by researchers to provide personalized nutrition advice based on dietary assessment to 369 participants during the Food4Me randomized controlled trial, with an automated version developed on completion of the study. Results: Saturated fatty acid, salt, and dietary fiber were most frequently selected as nutrient-related goals across the 7 centers. Average agreement between the manual and automated systems, in selecting 3 nutrient-related goals for personalized dietary advice across the centers, was highest for nutrient-related goals 1 and 2 and lower for goal 3, averaging at 92%, 87%, and 63%, respectively. Complete agreement between the 2 systems for feedback advice message selection averaged at 87% across the centers. Conclusions: The dietary feedback system was used to deliver personalized dietary advice within a multi-country study. Overall, there was good agreement between the manual and automated feedback systems, giving promise to the use of automated systems for personalizing dietary advice

Effective radiative forcing and adjustments in CMIP6 models

The effective radiative forcing, which includes the instantaneous forcing plus adjustments from the atmosphere and surface, has emerged as the key metric of evaluating human and natural influence on the climate. We evaluate effective radiative forcing and adjustments in 13 contemporary climate models that are participating in CMIP6 and have contributed to the Radiative Forcing Model Intercomparison Project (RFMIP). Present-day (2014) global mean anthropogenic forcing relative to pre-industrial (1850) from climate models stands at 1.97 (± 0.26) W m−2, comprised of 1.80 (± 0.11) W m−2 from CO2, 1.07 (± 0.21) W m−2 from other well-mixed greenhouse gases, −1.04 (± 0.23) W m−2 from aerosols and −0.08 (± 0.14) W m−2 from land use change. Quoted uncertainties are one standard deviation across model best estimates, and 90 % confidence in the reported forcings, due to internal variability, is typically within 0.1 W m−2. The majority of the remaining 0.17 W m−2 is likely to be from ozone. As determined in previous studies, cancellation of tropospheric and surface adjustments means that the traditional stratospherically adjusted radiative forcing is approximately equal to ERF for greenhouse gas forcing, but not for aerosols, and consequentially, not for the anthropogenic total. The spread of aerosol forcing ranges from −0.63 to −1.37 W m−2, exhibiting a less negative mean and narrower range compared to 10 CMIP5 models. The spread in 4 × CO2 forcing has also narrowed in CMIP6 compared to 13 CMIP5 models. Aerosol forcing is uncorrelated with equilibrium climate sensitivity. Therefore, there is no evidence to suggest that the increasing spread in climate sensitivity in CMIP6 models, particularly related to high-sensitivity models, is a consequence of a stronger negative present-day aerosol forcing

Dysregulated autoantibodies targeting vaso- and immunoregulatory receptors in Post COVID Syndrome correlate with symptom severity

Most patients with Post COVID Syndrome (PCS) present with a plethora of symptoms without clear evidence of organ dysfunction. A subset of them fulfills diagnostic criteria of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Symptom severity of ME/CFS correlates with natural regulatory autoantibody (AAB) levels targeting several G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR). In this exploratory study, we analyzed serum AAB levels against vaso- and immunoregulatory receptors, mostly GPCRs, in 80 PCS patients following mild-to-moderate COVID-19, with 40 of them fulfilling diagnostic criteria of ME/CFS. Healthy seronegative (n=38) and asymptomatic post COVID-19 controls (n=40) were also included in the study as control groups. We found lower levels for various AABs in PCS compared to at least one control group, accompanied by alterations in the correlations among AABs. Classification using random forest indicated AABs targeting ADRB2, STAB1, and ADRA2A as the strongest classifiers (AABs stratifying patients according to disease outcomes) of post COVID-19 outcomes. Several AABs correlated with symptom severity in PCS groups. Remarkably, severity of fatigue and vasomotor symptoms were associated with ADRB2 AAB levels in PCS/ME/CFS patients. Our study identified dysregulation of AAB against various receptors involved in the autonomous nervous system (ANS), vaso-, and immunoregulation and their correlation with symptom severity, pointing to their role in the pathogenesis of PCS

Energetic particle influence on the Earth's atmosphere

This manuscript gives an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the effects of energetic particle precipitation (EPP) onto the whole atmosphere, from the lower thermosphere/mesosphere through the stratosphere and troposphere, to the surface. The paper summarizes the different sources and energies of particles, principally galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), solar energetic particles (SEPs) and energetic electron precipitation (EEP). All the proposed mechanisms by which EPP can affect the atmosphere are discussed, including chemical changes in the upper atmosphere and lower thermosphere, chemistry-dynamics feedbacks, the global electric circuit and cloud formation. The role of energetic particles in Earth’s atmosphere is a multi-disciplinary problem that requires expertise from a range of scientific backgrounds. To assist with this synergy, summary tables are provided, which are intended to evaluate the level of current knowledge of the effects of energetic particles on processes in the entire atmosphere

Combination of searches for Higgs boson pairs in pp collisions at \sqrts = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This letter presents a combination of searches for Higgs boson pair production using up to 36.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy root s = 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The combination is performed using six analyses searching for Higgs boson pairs decaying into the b (b) over barb (b) over bar, b (b) over barW(+)W(-), b (b) over bar tau(+)tau(-), W+W-W+W-, b (b) over bar gamma gamma and W+W-gamma gamma final states. Results are presented for non-resonant and resonant Higgs boson pair production modes. No statistically significant excess in data above the Standard Model predictions is found. The combined observed (expected) limit at 95% confidence level on the non-resonant Higgs boson pair production cross-section is 6.9 (10) times the predicted Standard Model cross-section. Limits are also set on the ratio (kappa(lambda)) of the Higgs boson self-coupling to its Standard Model value. This ratio is constrained at 95% confidence level in observation (expectation) to -5.0 &lt; kappa(lambda) &lt; 12.0 (-5.8 &lt; kappa(lambda) &lt; 12.0). In addition, limits are set on the production of narrow scalar resonances and spin-2 Kaluza-Klein Randall-Sundrum gravitons. Exclusion regions are also provided in the parameter space of the habemus Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and the Electroweak Singlet Model. For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2019.135103</p