Climate protection in aviation and maritime transport: Roadmaps for achieving the climate goal

The climate neutrality of air and sea transport can hardly be achieved without the accelerated use of al-most GHG-neutral fuels. Such fuels are generated from renewable electricity and are thus called electro fuels or (synthetic) e-fuels. To illustrate how these e-fuels can be made available and how to ensure that in both sectors only such fuels are used, several policy roadmaps have been sketched. In terms of e-fuel supply, there are significant differences between aviation and maritime transport: While e-kerosene is widely identified and accepted as future fuel for aviation, a single prospective fuel has not yet emerged for maritime transport. Currently, there is a challenging dilemma for policy makers. On the one hand, the transition towards defossilizing international transport should be accomplished by 2050, requiring that the right decisions are made sooner rather than later. Particularly for shipping, the main goal for the years ahead is, on the other hand, to limit the number of e-fuels pursued. Unless a dominant fuel or fuels are supported by a critical mass of countries, it will hardly be possible to trigger the economies-of-scale dynamics required to accomplish the transition. Our assessment also shows that the first regulatory steps must be taken immediately on all levels. National governments need to ensure that the policies which provide incentives and guidance to investors and operators are adopted as soon as possible and are actively supported by policy initiatives at European and international level. The years up to 2025 are decisive for achieving defossilization of aviation and maritime transport. If appropriate policies are not set in place by then, at least at national and European level, it will be difficult to achieve the goal of defossilization by 205

Paris Agreement: development of measures and activities for climate-friendly aviation and maritime transport

Der Luft-und Seeverkehr ist im Übereinkommen von Paris nicht explizit erwähnt, in Artikel 4 streben die Staaten jedoch an, in der 2. Hälfte dieses Jahrhunderts einen Ausgleich zwischen anthropogenen Treibhausgasemissionen und Senken oder mit anderen Worten die vollständige Dekarbonisierung bzw. Klimaneutralität zu erreichen. Da die Emissionen des Luft-und Seeverkehrs eindeutig anthropogen sind, fallen sie auch ohne explizite Erwähnung unter die Ziele des Paris Agreements. Im Rahmen des Vorhabens wurden BMU und UBA umfangreich und zeitnah zu vielen Fragen im Kontext Treibhausgasminderung im internationalen Luft-und Seeverkehr unterstützt. Die Un-terstützung reichte von der quantitativen Analyse von aktuellen Vorschlägen für Politiken oder Instrumente über die Ad-hoc-Unterstützung bei und zwischen den Verhandlungen internationaler Gremien (ICAO, IMO, EU, etc.) bis hin zur Weiterentwicklung bestehender Instrumente oder Entwicklung eigener Politikvorschläge. Die Diskussion um Treibhausgasminderungen im Luft-und Seeverkehr konnte während der Laufzeit dieses Vorhabens ein Stück weit in Richtung des mit dem Übereinkommen von Paris kompatiblen Minderungspfades vorangetrieben werden. Das Vorhaben hat dazu eigene Beiträge geleistet und somit seine ursprüngliche Zielsetzung erfüllt. Gleichwohl sind der Internationale Luft-und Seeverkehr noch weit vom Paris-kompatiblen Minderungspfad entfernt. Insofern dür-fen die Anstrengungen, internationale Vereinbarungen mit ambitionierten Zielen und Instrumenten abzuschließen, nicht nachlassen

Present state and future perspectives of using pluripotent stem cells in toxicology research

The use of novel drugs and chemicals requires reliable data on their potential toxic effects on humans. Current test systems are mainly based on animals or in vitro–cultured animal-derived cells and do not or not sufficiently mirror the situation in humans. Therefore, in vitro models based on human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have become an attractive alternative. The article summarizes the characteristics of pluripotent stem cells, including embryonic carcinoma and embryonic germ cells, and discusses the potential of pluripotent stem cells for safety pharmacology and toxicology. Special attention is directed to the potential application of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for the assessment of developmental toxicology as well as cardio- and hepatotoxicology. With respect to embryotoxicology, recent achievements of the embryonic stem cell test (EST) are described and current limitations as well as prospects of embryotoxicity studies using pluripotent stem cells are discussed. Furthermore, recent efforts to establish hPSC-based cell models for testing cardio- and hepatotoxicity are presented. In this context, methods for differentiation and selection of cardiac and hepatic cells from hPSCs are summarized, requirements and implications with respect to the use of these cells in safety pharmacology and toxicology are presented, and future challenges and perspectives of using hPSCs are discussed

Validation of cartilage volume and thickness measurements in the human shoulder with quantitative magnetic resonance imaging.

AbstractObjective: To validate quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) for the assessment of cartilage volume and thickness in thin and curved cartilage layers, such as the shoulder.Methods: Eight shoulder specimens from healthy individuals (aged 31–69 years) were investigated using a 3D gradient echo sequence with selective water excitation. After segmentation with a B-spline Snake algorithm, the cartilage volume and thickness were determined three dimensionally. The cartilage volume data were compared with water displacement of surgically removed tissue, and the thickness with A-mode ultrasound.Results: The glenoid and humeral head cartilage volume from qMRI agreed highly with that from water displacement (systematic difference, ±1 to ±3%; absolute difference, 4 to 7%). For the cartilage thickness, the mean systematic difference ranged from −17% (mean cartilage thickness of the glenoid) to +7% (maximal cartilage thickness of the glenoid); the standard error of the estimate was 3.7% for the humeral head, and 6.4% for the glenoid.Conclusions: The applied technique can be used for accurate determination of cartilage volume and thickness in human joints with highly curved and thin cartilage layers, such as the shoulder. In vivo application of this method will depend on the development of efficient surface coils that allow high resolution imaging under in situ conditions