Public attitudes, co-production and polycentric governance in energy policy

Highlights • Large-scale survey and comprehensive sampling of all social groups in two regions of Austria. • Results showing attitudes towards renewable energies. • Results showing level of awareness. • Results on willingness to engage into energy policy. • Recommendations on polycentric governance in energy policy

The Effects of Lesions in the Dorsolateral Pons on the Coordination of Swallowing and Breathing in Awake Goats

The purpose of this retrospective study was to gain insight into the contribution of the dorsolateral pons to the coordination of swallowing and breathing in awake goats. In 4 goats, cannulas were chronically implanted bilaterally through the lateral (LPBN) and medial (MPBN) parabrachial nuclei just dorsal to the Kölliker–Fuse nucleus (KFN). After \u3e2 weeks recovery from this surgery, the goats were studied for 5½ h on a control day, and on separate days after receiving 1 and 10 μl injections of ibotenic acid (IA) separated by 1 week. The frequency of swallows did not change during the control and 1 μl IA studies, but after injection of 10 μl IA, there was a transient 65% increase in frequency of swallows (P \u3c 0.05). Under control conditions swallows occurred throughout the respiratory cycle, where late-E swallows accounted for 67.6% of swallows. The distribution of swallow occurrence throughout the respiratory cycle was unaffected by IA injections. Consistent with the concept that swallowing is dominant over breathing, we found that swallows increased inspiratory (TI) and expiratory (TE) time and decreased tidal volume (VT) of the breath of the swallow (n) and/or the subsequent (n + 1) breath. Injections of 10 μl IA attenuated the normal increases in TI and TE and further attenuated VT of the n breath. Additionally, E and I swallows reset respiratory rhythm, but injection of 1 or 10 μl IA progressively attenuated this resetting, suggesting a decreased dominance over respiratory motor output with increasing IA injections. Post mortem histological analysis revealed about 50% fewer (P \u3c 0.05) neurons remained in the KFN, LPBN, and MPBN in lesioned compared to control goats. We conclude that dorsolateral pontine nuclei have a modulatory role in a hypothesized holarchical neural network regulating swallowing and breathing particularly contributing to the normal dominance of swallowing over breathing in both rhythm and motor pattern generation

Co-creating Policies on Societal Transformations as a Factor of Resilience of Modern Society

The goals of climate change mitigation or energy security policies might lead to societal transformations due to large-scale deployment of new technologies or changes in relations about generation, distribution and transmission of electricity. The goals are frequently developed at the national governance levels; however, their implementation takes place at the local governance level. The process of energy transition gives crucial importance to the participation of local communities and their positive attitudes. Such a process should include measures for active engagement of inhabitants and local government while providing a chance to participate in decision-making processes that affect the lives of these people. Currently, participatory governance of energy transition takes place mainly within the discussion about details of the projects and criteria for selection of possible alternatives. It does not include discussion about the need for energy transition or preferences for technologies for decarbonization of the electricity sector. This study investigated social factors linked to the transition of the Austrian energy sector towards a higher share of renewable energy sources. The empirical data show factors which influence the level of awareness about climate change mitigation and energy transition as well as differences in patterns of support for renewable energy sources from various social groups

μ-Opioid receptor agonist injections into the presumed pre-Bötzinger complex and the surrounding region of awake goats do not alter eupneic breathing

Opioids are clinically important in the alleviation of pain. An undesirable side effect of opioids is depression of breathing. Data from isolated preparations suggest this effect is due to attenuation of discharge activity of neurons in the pre-Bötzinger complex (preBötzC), a medullary area with respiratory rhythmogenic properties. The purpose of this study was to examine how [d-Ala(2),N-Me-Phe(4),Gly(5)-ol]-enkephalin (DAMGO), a μ-opioid receptor agonist, affected breathing after injection into the presumed preBötzC of the adult awake goat. We hypothesized that DAMGO would cause breathing to decrease and become irregular when injected into the presumed preBötzC and the surrounding region of the conscious animal. We further hypothesized that ventilatory sensitivity to CO2 and hypoxia would be blunted after the injection of DAMGO. Microtubules were bilaterally implanted into the presumed preBötzC of 10 adult female goats. After recovery from the surgery, DAMGO (0.5–10 μl, 1 nM–10 μM) was injected into the presumed preBötzC during the awake state. DAMGO had no effect on pulmonary ventilation [inspiratory minute ventilation (V̇i)], respiratory rhythm and pattern, the activation pattern of inspiratory and expiratory muscles, or arterial blood gases during eupneic breathing conditions (P > 0.10). However, DAMGO attenuated (P < 0.05) the evoked increase in breathing frequency when inspired CO2 was increased, and DAMGO attenuated the V̇i response to reduction of inspired O2 to 10.8% (P < 0.05). We conclude that our data do not provide support for the concept that in awake mammals opioid depression of breathing is due to a directed action of opioids on preBötzC neurons

A role for the Kölliker-Fuse nucleus in cholinergic modulation of breathing at night during wakefulness and NREM sleep

For many years, acetylcholine has been known to contribute to the control of breathing and sleep. To probe further the contributions of cholinergic rostral pontine systems in control of breathing, we designed this study to test the hypothesis that microdialysis (MD) of the muscarinic receptor antagonist atropine into the pontine respiratory group (PRG) would decrease breathing more in animals while awake than while in NREM sleep. In 16 goats, cannulas were bilaterally implanted into rostral pontine tegmental nuclei (n = 3), the lateral (n = 3) or medial (n = 4) parabrachial nuclei, or the Kölliker-Fuse nucleus (KFN; n = 6). After >2 wk of recovery from surgery, the goats were studied during a 45-min period of MD with mock cerebrospinal fluid (mCSF), followed by at least 30 min of recovery and a second 45-min period of MD with atropine. Unilateral and bilateral MD studies were completed during the day and at night. MD of atropine into the KFN at night decreased pulmonary ventilation and breathing frequency and increased inspiratory and expiratory time by 12–14% during both wakefulness and NREM sleep. However, during daytime studies, MD of atropine into the KFN had no effect on these variables. Unilateral and bilateral nighttime MD of atropine into the KFN increased levels of NREM sleep by 63 and 365%, respectively. MD during the day or at night into the other three pontine sites had minimal effects on any variable studied. Finally, compared with MD of mCSF, bilateral MD of atropine decreased levels of acetylcholine and choline in the effluent dialysis fluid. Our data support the concept that the KFN is a significant contributor to cholinergically modulated control of breathing and sleep

Site-specific effects on respiratory rhythm and pattern of ibotenic acid injections in the pontine respiratory group of goats

To probe further the contributions of the rostral pons to eupneic respiratory rhythm and pattern, we tested the hypothesis that ibotenic acid (IA) injections in the pontine respiratory group (PRG) would disrupt eupneic respiratory rhythm and pattern in a site- and state-specific manner. In 15 goats, cannulas were bilaterally implanted into the rostral pontine tegmental nuclei (RPTN; n = 3), the lateral (LPBN; n = 4) or medial parabrachial nuclei (MPBN; n = 4), or the Kölliker-Fuse nucleus (KFN; n = 4). After recovery from surgery, 1- and 10-μl injections (1 wk apart) of IA were made bilaterally through the implanted cannulas during the day. Over the first 5 h after the injections, there were site-specific ventilatory effects, with increased (P < 0.05) breathing frequency in RPTN-injected goats, increased (P < 0.05) pulmonary ventilation (V̇i) in LPBN-injected goats, no effect (P < 0.05) in MPBN-injected goats, and a biphasic V̇i response (P < 0.05) in KFN-injected goats. This biphasic response consisted of a hyperpnea for 30 min, followed by a prolonged hypopnea and hypoventilation with marked apneas, apneusis-like breathing patterns, and/or shifts in the temporal relationships between inspiratory flow and diaphragm activity. In the awake state, 10–15 h after the 1-μl injections, the number of apneas was greater (P < 0.05) than during other studies at night. However, there were no incidences of terminal apneas. Breathing rhythm and pattern were normal 22 h after the injections. Subsequent histological analysis revealed that for goats with cannulas implanted into the KFN, there were nearly 50% fewer neurons (P < 0.05) in all three PRG subnuclei than in control goats. We conclude that in awake goats, 1) IA injections into the PRG have site-specific effects on breathing, and 2) the KFN contributes to eupneic respiratory pattern generation

Hochstromanwendungen mit Hochtemperatursupraleitern - technische Leiterentwicklung und Bau von Funktionsmodellen. YBCO Plattenleiterfertigung und Bau von Strombegrenzermodellen bis zu 1 MVA Abschlussbericht

In terms of materials, the main focus of the work was on the manufacture of large-area YBCO plate-type conductors with homogeneous properties and maximum current densities of j_c&gt;1 MA/cm&quot;2. j_c values of better than 3 MA/cm&quot;2 were achieved reproducibly on sapphire substrates of 100 mm diameter and 10 x 20 cm&quot;2 in size with a homogeneity of 10%; on polycrystalline substrates of 10 x 20 cm&quot;2 in size, homogeneous j_c values of up to 2 MA/cm&quot;2 were also successfully demonstrated. Of the total of four methods of coating available at the start of the project, thermal co-evaporation (TCE) proved best for YBCO thin films and the IBAD method best for quasi single-crystal buffer films. The latter are necessary to achieve high j_c on polycrystalline substrates such as ZrO_2(Y), glass and Al_2O_3. Polycrystalline substrates are essential in order to make the HTS current limiter as a future product commercially feasible. The favoured solutions ZrO_2(Y) and glass have not come up to expectations, because present investigations into quench propagation are showing that, with this approach, the high values of power density required for the switching process (1600 VA/cm&quot;2) cannot be achieved. Towards the end of the project, polycrystalline Al_2O_3 began to be seen as a successful alternative; the work is being pursued further within the context of a follow-on project. The coating processes were stabilized successfully and, when combined with strict quality control, allowed the yield of tested, ready-to-use plate-type conductors to be improved to 85%. This success was an essential prerequisite for the building of a 3-phase, 1.2 MVA model (7.2 kV) comprising a total of sixty-three 100 mm plate-type conductors. At the Berlin factory the model has been successfully tested up to a prospective short-circuit current of 5 kV. This has demonstrated the basic suitability of HTS thin-film technology for use in current limiters. So far the model has been switched a total of 43 times without any problems at all. At present the model is the first resistive 3-phase HTS current limiter in the world. It has been installed in a factory-assembled container together with all the necessary supply and protection equipment for further long-term tests. However, it has taken several fresh starts to actually arrive at this milestone of development. The causes for this were initially the inadequate reproducibility of the coating process and subsequently new insights on the stresses that the plate-type conductors are exposed to during quenching, which only became apparent from the three-phase model tests. These unforeseen delays were also the reason why the 10 MVA model (that was planned at the beginning of the project) was not brought to fruition. (orig.)Available from TIB Hannover: F02B1638 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEBundesministerium fuer Bildung und Forschung, Berlin (Germany)DEGerman