Are acceptance, support, and the factors that affect them, different? Examining perceptions of U.S. fuel economy standards

Understanding the acceptance of and support for transportation policies focused on the environment, such fuel economy standards, is important because of the positive impact policies can have on the environment and overall sustainability goals. This study investigates the acceptance of and support for fuel economy standards through an online survey of Maine residents. Specifically, we assess the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which aim to increase fuel economy of vehicles, while decreasing greenhouses gas emissions and foreign fuel dependence in the United States. We assess how perceptions of the policy and economic views of the market affect acceptance and support. We differentiate acceptance and support on two dimensions, a temporal and attitudinal–behavioral dimension. In doing so, we improve upon traditional measures of these variables and provide evidence that acceptance and support are distinct constructs. We find that perceived fairness, perceived effectiveness, and a subscription to a free-market ideology play a role in acceptance and support. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to survey methods, policy communications, and an interdisciplinary understanding of environmental policy

Universal role of correlation entropy in critical phenomena

In statistical physics, if we successively divide an equilibrium system into two parts, we will face a situation that, within a certain length $\xi$, the physics of a subsystem is no longer the same as the original system. Then the extensive properties of the thermal entropy $S($AB$)= S($A$)+S($B$)$ is violated. This observation motivates us to introduce the concept of correlation entropy between two points, as measured by mutual information in the information theory, to study the critical phenomena. A rigorous relation is established to display some drastic features of the non-vanishing correlation entropy of the subsystem formed by any two distant particles with long-range correlation. This relation actually indicates the universal role of the correlation entropy in understanding critical phenomena. We also verify these analytical studies in terms of two well-studied models for both the thermal and quantum phase transitions: two-dimensional Ising model and one-dimensional transverse field Ising model. Therefore, the correlation entropy provides us with a new physical intuition in critical phenomena from the point of view of the information theory.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

Will Offshore Energy Face “Fair Winds and Following Seas”?: Understanding the Factors Influencing Offshore Wind Acceptance

Most offshore energy studies have focused on measuring or explaining people’s perceptions of, and reactions to, specific installations. However, there are two different types of acceptance: one surrounds the siting of projects while the other surrounds a more general acceptance of offshore energy. Understanding what drives this second type of acceptance is important as governments have implemented new financial incentives and policies to support renewable energy development; however, citizens and government officials may be increasingly opposed to some of these support mechanisms. Our paper fills a void in the literature by using regression approaches to better understand how people’s evaluations of the benefits and costs of offshore wind impact their level of general acceptance for offshore wind, while controlling for other factors (e.g., demographics). This analysis should help policy makers, and individuals attempting to educate the general public about renewable energy, to better understand the important factors influencing people’s support or opposition to offshore wind energy initiatives

Associations of weight stigma with cortisol and oxidative stress independent of adiposity.

OBJECTIVE: Weight discrimination is associated with increased risk of obesity. The mechanism of this relationship is unknown, but being overweight is a highly stigmatized condition and may be a source of chronic stress that contributes to the development and pathophysiology of obesity. The objective of this study was to test whether weight stigma is associated with physiological risk factors linked to stress and obesity, including hypercortisolism and oxidative stress, independent of adiposity. METHOD: We examined the frequency of experiencing situations involving weight stigma and consciousness of weight stigma in relation to hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity and oxidative stress (F(2)-isoprostanes) in 45 healthy overweight to obese women. RESULTS: Independent of abdominal fat, weight stigma was significantly related to measures of cortisol (including salivary measures of cortisol awakening response and serum morning levels) as well as higher levels of oxidative stress. Perceived stress mediated the relationship between weight stigma consciousness and the cortisol awakening response. CONCLUSION: These preliminary findings show that weight stigma is associated with greater biochemical stress, independent of level of adiposity. It is possible that weight stigma may contribute to poor health underlying some forms of obesity

A climatology of clouds in marine cold air outbreaks in both hemispheres

A climatology of clouds within marine cold air outbreaks, primarily using long-term satellite observations, is presented. Cloud properties between cold air outbreaks in different regions in both hemispheres are compared. In all regions marine cold air outbreak clouds tend to be low level with high cloud fraction and low-to-moderate optical thickness. Stronger cold air outbreaks have clouds that are optically thicker, but not geometrically thicker, than those in weaker cold air outbreaks. There is some evidence that clouds deepen and break up over the course of a cold air outbreak event. The top-of-the-atmosphere longwave cloud radiative effect in cold air outbreaks is small because the clouds have low tops. However, their surface longwave cloud radiative effect is considerably larger. The rarity of cold air outbreaks in summer limits their shortwave cloud radiative effect. They do not contribute substantially to global shortwave cloud radiative effect and are, therefore, unlikely to be a major source of shortwave cloud radiative effect errors in climate models

A Dose-Dependent Relationship between Exposure to a Street-Based Drug Scene and Health-Related Harms among People Who Use Injection Drugs

While the community impacts of drug-related street disorder have been well described, lesser attention has been given to the potential health and social implications of drug scene exposure on street-involved people who use illicit drugs. Therefore, we sought to assess the impacts of exposure to a street-based drug scene among injection drug users (IDU) in a Canadian setting. Data were derived from a prospective cohort study known as the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study. Four categories of drug scene exposure were defined based on the numbers of hours spent on the street each day. Three generalized estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression models were constructed to identify factors associated with varying levels of drug scene exposure (2–6, 6–15, over 15 hours) during the period of December 2005 to March 2009. Among our sample of 1,486 IDU, at baseline, a total of 314 (21%) fit the criteria for high drug scene exposure (>15 hours per day). In multivariate GEE analysis, factors significantly and independently associated with high exposure included: unstable housing (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 9.50; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6.36–14.20); daily crack use (AOR = 2.70; 95% CI, 2.07–3.52); encounters with police (AOR = 2.11; 95% CI, 1.62–2.75); and being a victim of violence (AOR = 1.49; 95 % CI, 1.14–1.95). Regular employment (AOR = 0.50; 95% CI, 0.38–0.65), and engagement with addiction treatment (AOR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.45–0.75) were negatively associated with high exposure. Our findings indicate that drug scene exposure is associated with markers of vulnerability and higher intensity addiction. Intensity of drug scene exposure was associated with indicators of vulnerability to harm in a dose-dependent fashion. These findings highlight opportunities for policy interventions to address exposure to street disorder in the areas of employment, housing, and addiction treatment

Action to protect the independence and integrity of global health research

Storeng KT, Abimbola S, Balabanova D, et al. Action to protect the independence and integrity of global health research. BMJ GLOBAL HEALTH. 2019;4(3): e001746

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure