Why Environmental Policies Fail

Proposing environmental policy which is consistent with the laws of nature, this book is for those who are not just interested in the ways humans have harmfully altered their environment, but instead wish to learn why the many governmental policies in place to curb such behaviour have been unsuccessful. Since humans began to exploit natural resources for their own economic ends, we have ignored a central principle - nature and humans are not separate but are a unified interconnected system, where neither is superior to the other. Policy must reflect this reality. We failed to follow this principle in exploiting natural capital without expecting to pay any price and in hurriedly adopting environmental laws and policies that reflected how we wanted nature to work, instead of how it does work. This study relies on more accurate models for how nature works and humans behave

The Gardener and the Sick Garden: How Not to Address the Planet\u27s Environmental Issues

A truly workable environmental strategy would start by being grounded in better, more realistic and empirically accurate models of how nature works, how humans behave, and humankind\u27s relationship to nature. Such an environmental policy would realize that the gardener and the garden are not separate, but one. And this environmental policy would embrace two correlative legal norms: (1) we should recognize a positive right, held by both humans and their natural surroundings, to environmental conditions that may sustain human survivability\u27; and (2) we should impose an affirmative duty on humans to promote and support natural systems

Quantitative analysis of polycomb response elements (PREs) at identical genomic locations distinguishes contributions of PRE sequence and genomic environment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Polycomb/Trithorax response elements (PREs) are <it>cis</it>-regulatory elements essential for the regulation of several hundred developmentally important genes. However, the precise sequence requirements for PRE function are not fully understood, and it is also unclear whether these elements all function in a similar manner. <it>Drosophila </it>PRE reporter assays typically rely on random integration by P-element insertion, but PREs are extremely sensitive to genomic position.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We adapted the ΦC31 site-specific integration tool to enable systematic quantitative comparison of PREs and sequence variants at identical genomic locations. In this adaptation, a <it>miniwhite </it>(<it>mw</it>) reporter in combination with eye-pigment analysis gives a quantitative readout of PRE function. We compared the Hox PRE <it>Frontabdominal-7 </it>(<it>Fab-7</it>) with a PRE from the <it>vestigial </it>(<it>vg</it>) gene at four landing sites. The analysis revealed that the <it>Fab-7 </it>and <it>vg </it>PREs have fundamentally different properties, both in terms of their interaction with the genomic environment at each site and their inherent silencing abilities. Furthermore, we used the ΦC31 tool to examine the effect of deletions and mutations in the <it>vg </it>PRE, identifying a 106 bp region containing a previously predicted motif (GTGT) that is essential for silencing.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This analysis showed that different PREs have quantifiably different properties, and that changes in as few as four base pairs have profound effects on PRE function, thus illustrating the power and sensitivity of ΦC31 site-specific integration as a tool for the rapid and quantitative dissection of elements of PRE design.</p

Modulation of the Activity of a Polycomb-Group Response Element in Drosophila by a Mutation in the Transcriptional Activator Woc

Polycomb group response elements (PRE) are cis-regulatory elements that bind Polycomb group proteins. We are studying a 181-bp PRE from the Drosophila engrailed gene. This PRE causes pairing-sensitive silencing of mini-white in transgenes. Here we show that the 181-bp PRE also represses mini-white expression in flies with only one copy of the transgene. To isolate mutations that alter the activity of the 181-bp PRE, we screened for dominant suppressors of PRE-mediated mini-white repression. Dominant suppressors of mini-white repression were rare; we recovered only nine mutations out of 68,274 progeny screened. Two of the nine mutations isolated are due to the same single amino acid change in the transcriptional activator Woc (without children). Reversion experiments show that these are dominant gain-of-function mutations in woc. We suggest that Woc can interfere with the activity of the PRE. Our data have implications for how Polycomb group proteins act to either partially repress or completely silence their target genes

Energy spectrum, density of states and optical transitions in strongly biased narrow-gap quantum wells

We study theoretically the effect of an electric field on the electron states and far-infrared optical properties in narrow-gap lead salt quantum wells. The electron states are described by a two-band Hamiltonian. An application of a strong electric field across the well allows the control of the energy gap between the two-dimensional (2D) states in a wide range. A sufficiently strong electric field transforms the narrow-gap quantum well to a nearly gapless 2D system, whose electron energy spectrum is described by linear dispersion relations \epsilon_{\sigma} (k) ~\pm (k-k_{\sigma}), where k_{\sigma} are the field-dependent 2D momenta corresponding to the minimum energy gaps for the states with spin numbers \sigma. Due to the field-induced shift of the 2D subband extrema away from k=0 the density of states has inverse-square-root divergencies at the edges. This property may result in a considerable increase of the magnitude of the optical absorption and in the efficiency of the electrooptical effect.Comment: Text 18 pages in Latex/Revtex format, 7 Postscript figure

Synergistic Activation of Dopamine D1 and TrkB Receptors Mediate Gain Control of Synaptic Plasticity in the Basolateral Amygdala

Fear memory formation is thought to require dopamine, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and zinc release in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), as well as the induction of long term potentiation (LTP) in BLA principal neurons. However, no study to date has shown any relationship between these processes in the BLA. Here, we have used in vitro whole-cell patch clamp recording from BLA principal neurons to investigate how dopamine, BDNF, and zinc release may interact to modulate the LTP induction in the BLA. LTP was induced by either theta burst stimulation (TBS) protocol or spaced 5 times high frequency stimulation (5xHFS). Significantly, both TBS and 5xHFS induced LTP was fully blocked by the dopamine D1 receptor antagonist, SCH23390. LTP induction was also blocked by the BDNF scavenger, TrkB-FC, the zinc chelator, DETC, as well as by an inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), gallardin. Conversely, prior application of the dopamine reuptake inhibitor, GBR12783, or the D1 receptor agonist, SKF39393, induced robust and stable LTP in response to a sub-threshold HFS protocol (2xHFS), which does not normally induce LTP. Similarly, prior activation of TrkB receptors with either a TrkB receptor agonist, or BDNF, also reduced the threshold for LTP-induction, an effect that was blocked by the MEK inhibitor, but not by zinc chelation. Intriguingly, the TrkB receptor agonist-induced reduction of LTP threshold was fully blocked by prior application of SCH23390, and the reduction of LTP threshold induced by GBR12783 was blocked by prior application of TrkB-FC. Together, our results suggest a cellular mechanism whereby the threshold for LTP induction in BLA principal neurons is critically dependent on the level of dopamine in the extracellular milieu and the synergistic activation of postsynaptic D1 and TrkB receptors. Moreover, activation of TrkB receptors appears to be dependent on concurrent release of zinc and activation of MMPs

Foreign corporate groups with the largest share in Polish electricity market

W artykule przedstawiono dwie zagraniczne grupy energetyczne mające największy udział w wytwarzaniu energii elektrycznej na polskim rynku. Są to grupy EDF oraz GDF Suez. Na wstępie przedstawiono udział wszystkich liczących siê na polskim rynku energii grup energetycznych w wolumenie energii elektrycznej wprowadzonej do sieci w Polsce w 2013 roku. W kolejnych rozdziałach obszernie omówiono aktywa wspomnianych wcześniej zagranicznych grup występujące na wielu kontynentach, ich zaangażowanie w rozwój energetyki, zarówno konwencjonalnej, jak i odnawialnej, oraz planowane inwestycje. Zwrócono uwagę na ogromne znaczenie, jakie posiada energetyka jądrowa zwłaszcza w grupie EDF we Francji oraz wWielkiej Brytanii. Dużo uwagi poświęcono energetyce odnawialnej. Zarówno EDF, jak i GDF Suez ogromną wagę przywiązują do rozwoju tych źródeł energii, co jest zgodne z prowadzoną przez Unię Europejską polityką energetyczno-klimatyczną. Na tym tle przedstawiono działalność wymienionych firm w Polsce funkcjonujących pod nazwami EDF Polska oraz GDF Suez Polska Energia S.A. Obydwa przedsiębiorstwa mają znaczący udział w produkcji energii elektrycznej w naszym kraju, EDF Polska – 9,7%, natomiast GDF Suez Polska Energia S.A. – 5,1%. Rozwijają zarówno energetykę konwencjonalną, jak i odnawialną. Na uwagę zasługuje zwłaszcza oddany do eksploatacji w 2013 roku przez GDF Suez Polska Energia S.A. największy na świecie, tzw. Zielony Blok, o mocy 205 MW, opalany biomasą.The paper discusses two foreign corporate groups with the largest share in electricity generation in Polish market, namely EDF and GDF Suez groups. As an introduction, the share of all important corporate groups in the Polish energy market in the volume of electricity introduced into the grid in Poland in 2013 is presented. In the following chapters, the aforementioned foreign groups’ assets on multiple continents, their involvement in the development of energy, both conventional and renewable, and planned investments are extensively discussed. Attention is drawn to a great importance of the nuclear energy, especially in the case of EDF group in France and in the UK. Much attention is paid to the renewable energy sector. Both EDF and GDF Suez attach great importance to the development of these energy sources, which is consistent with the EU energy and climate policy. The activity of these companies in Poland, operating under the names of EDF Poland and GDF Suez Polish Energy S.A., is presented against this background. Both companies have a significant share in the production of electricity in our country: EDF Poland – 9.7% and GDF Suez Polish Energy S.A. – 5.1%. They develop both conventional and renewable energy. Of particular note is the world’s largest biomass-fired power plant, the so-called “Green Block”, with a capacity of 205 MW, commissioned in 2013 by GDF Suez Polish Energy S.A