Energy Primer

The paper introduces basic concepts and terms of energy that deal with adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. Descriptions are also provided of the more commonly used energy units and measurements. The global energy system is described, and energy consumption patterns and CO2 emissions data are presented. The concept of energy efficiency improvement potential is introduced. A historical perspective of energy consumption and CO2 emissions for the world is made, with a comparison of current energy consumption and estimates of fossil and nuclear energy reserves and resources, and the potential of renewable energy sources

A new evaluation of the uncertainty associated with CDIAC estimates of fossil fuel carbon dioxide emission

Three uncertainty assessments associated with the global total of carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuel use and cement production are presented. Each assessment has its own strengths and weaknesses and none give a full uncertainty assessment of the emission estimates. This approach grew out of the lack of independent measurements at the spatial and temporal scales of interest. Issues of dependent and independent data are considered as well as the temporal and spatial relationships of the data. The result is a multifaceted examination of the uncertainty associated with fossil fuel carbon dioxide emission estimates. The three assessments collectively give a range that spans from 1.0 to 13% (2 σ). Greatly simplifying the assessments give a global fossil fuel carbon dioxide uncertainty value of 8.4% (2 σ). In the largest context presented, the determination of fossil fuel emission uncertainty is important for a better understanding of the global carbon cycle and its implications for the physical, economic and political world

Exact spectra, spin susceptibilities and order parameter of the quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the triangular lattice

Exact spectra of periodic samples are computed up to $N=36$. Evidence of an extensive set of low lying levels, lower than the softest magnons, is exhibited. These low lying quantum states are degenerated in the thermodynamic limit; their symmetries and dynamics as well as their finite-size scaling are strong arguments in favor of N\'eel order. It is shown that the N\'eel order parameter agrees with first-order spin-wave calculations. A simple explanation of the low energy dynamics is given as well as the numerical determinations of the energies, order parameter and spin susceptibilities of the studied samples. It is shown how suitable boundary conditions, which do not frustrate N\'eel order, allow the study of samples with $N=3p+1$ spins. A thorough study of these situations is done in parallel with the more conventional case $N=3p$.Comment: 36 pages, REVTeX 3.0, 13 figures available upon request, LPTL preprin

In vivo validation of a miniaturized electrochemical oxygen sensor for measuring intestinal oxygen tension

Recent advances in the fields of electronics and microfabrication techniques have led to the development of implantable medical devices for use within the field of precision medicine. Monitoring visceral surface tissue O2 tension (ptO2) by means of an implantable sensor is potentially useful in many clinical situations including the peri-operative management of patients undergoing intestinal resection and anastomosis. This concept could provide a means by which treatment could be tailored to individual patients. This study describes the in vivo validation of a novel miniaturised electrochemical O2 sensor to provide real-time data on intestinal ptO2. A single O2 sensor was placed onto the serosal surface of the small intestine of anaesthetised rats that were exposed to ischaemic (superior mesenteric artery occlusion) and hypoxaemic (alterations in inspired fractional O2 concentrations) insults. Control experiments demonstrated that the sensors function and remain stable in an in vivo environment. Intestinal ptO2 decreased following superior mesenteric artery occlusion and with reductions in inspired O2 concentrations. These results were reversible after reinstating blood flow or increasing inspired O2 concentrations. We have successfully developed an anaesthetised rat intestinal ischaemic and hypoxic model for validation of a miniaturised O2 sensor to provide real-time measurement of intestinal ptO2. Our results support further validation of the sensors in physiological conditions using a large animal model to provide evidence of their use in clinical applications where monitoring visceral surface tissue O2 tension is important

Permanent Campaigning: A Meta-Analysis and Framework for Measurement

Permanent campaigning emerged as a concept in the 1970s in studies of US politics but is now recognized as a universal phenomenon. Despite its long history, there has been no attempt to build a holistic picture of the elements that constitute a permanent campaign. Generally, researchers focus on tactical elements, situating their use within an overall strategy, but there is a lack of a broader methodological framework for holistically measuring adherence to the permanent campaigning. This article presents results of a meta-analysis of relevant research to provide a framework to understand how permanent campaigning is practiced. Our study showed there were three reasonably discrete forms of campaigning activities that had been identified: those in which permanent campaign strategies are related to capacity building and strategy; a second, in which permanent campaigning relates to paid and owned media; and a third in which earned media is the main focus. In mapping these studies, we identify the common features of permanent campaigning, identifying strong and weak indicators and the extent these are employed by the government, parties, or elected representatives and within which political systems: parliamentarism or presidentialism. Our framework can be applied in future comparative research to understand trends in political communication

The Bridgwater Infant Welfare Centre, 1922-1939: from an authoritarian concern with 'welfare mothers' to a more inclusive community health project?

The infant welfare movement in Britain has received considerable scholarly attention but continues to generate controversy and debate. Many of the services began with nineteenth-century voluntary initiative but were later developed by local authorities. Critics have drawn attention to the limitations of such provision; arguing that it was predicated on unattractive assumptions about class and gender roles. Under this interpretation working-class mothers were viewed with suspicion and targeted for advice aimed at inculcating middle-class standards of childcare and housekeeping. This paper accepts that there was an authoritarian character to much of the early welfare work but suggests that over time this gave way to more inclusive approaches that sought to provide clients with the services that met their real rather than assumed needs. This paper reviews the recent historiography, develops an overview of national trends, and then takes a detailed look at the Bridgwater Infant Welfare Centre. The case study benefi ts from unusually comprehensive records and, by drawing on evidence from a small Somerset town, adds to our understanding of infant welfare work that has previously been developed from research on major urban centres.Wellcome Trust Fellowshi

The importance of crop growth modeling to interpret the Δ14CO2 signature of annual plants

[1] The 14C/C abundance in CO2(¿14CO2) promises to provide useful constraints on regional fossil fuel emissions and atmospheric transport through the large gradients introduced by anthropogenic activity. The currently sparse atmospheric ¿14CO2 monitoring network can potentially be augmented by using plant biomass as an integrated sample of the atmospheric ¿14CO2. But the interpretation of such an integrated sample requires knowledge about the day¿to¿day CO2 uptake of the sampled plants. We investigate here the required detail in daily plant growth variations needed to accurately interpret regional fossil fuel emissions from annual plant samples. We use a crop growth model driven by daily meteorology to reproduce daily fixation of ¿14CO2 in maize and wheat plants in the Netherlands in 2008. When comparing the integrated ¿14CO2 simulated with this detailed model to the values obtained when using simpler proxies for daily plant growth (such as radiation and temperature), we find differences that can exceed the reported measurement precision of ¿14CO2(~2‰). Furthermore, we show that even in the absence of any spatial differences in fossil fuel emissions, differences in regional weather can induce plant growth variations that result in spatial gradients of up to 3.5‰ in plant samples. These gradients are even larger when interpreting separate plant organs (leaves, stems, roots, or fruits), as they each develop during different time periods. Not accounting for these growth¿induced differences in ¿14CO2 in plant samples would introduce a substantial bias (1.5–2¿ppm) when estimating the fraction of atmospheric CO2 variations resulting from nearby fossil fuel emission