Society-wide scenarios for effective integration of Paris-aligned climate mitigation and adaptation in national and regional policy

Climate science (IPCC 2018) and economics (Emmerling et al. 2019; Burke, Hsiang, and Miguel 2015) indicates that achieving far earlier and deeper mitigation than pledged to date is likely now critical to effective climate action – particularly to ensure limits to adaptation are not breached. However, clear and coherent comparisons of national and regional climate action have been lacking. Therefore, here we summarise a benchmarking method (McMullin et al. 2019) to establish a prudent, fair share of the remaining global CO2 budget for any Party to the Paris Agreement. Using Ireland as a case study, we analyse current policy ambition relative to this benchmarked national CO2 quota, demonstrate early emergence of CO2 debt, and show tacit mitigation policy reliance on future large scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Toward society-wide scenarios for effective climate action, we further examine the crucial roles of non-CO2 mitigation and safeguarding land carbon stocks

Wildflower pollen quality in roadside habitats, with particular emphasis on Hedera helix

The quality of air is of more significance today than ever before. Human population growth and pollutants emitted through fossil fuel consumption put pressures on air quality. It is widely acknowledged that atmospheric pollutants negatively impact human health; the same is also true for the health of wildlife and plants exposed to these pollutants (Brunekreef & Holgate, 2002; EEA, 2019; Schiavoni, et al., 2017). Pollen and seed formation of flowering plants have been affected when grown in areas of poor air quality (Azzazy, 2016; Sénéchal, et al., 2015). The purpose of this research was to assess pollen of Hedera helix (ivy), a native Irish wildflower (Devlin, 2019), growing in roadside habitats exposed to vehicular pollutants. Samples were collected in Sligo and Dublin; the anthers were removed from the flowers and dried at room temperature for 24 hours. The pollen was shaken from the dried anthers and mounted on to slides. Pollen grains were then observed under a compound light microscope and comparison microscope. Shape and size of the pollen grains were quantified. The findings were compared to typical shapes and sizes of H. helix pollen grains, found in literature and online pollen databases (Halbritter, 2016; PalDat, 2015). The results obtained from the study were examined in conjunction with air quality monitoring data from relevant local authorities and data from traffic count databases, to estimate the impacts of pollutants on pollen. Due to limited data available from the local authorities, no definite relationship between atmospheric pollutants and pollen grain shapes and sizes was established in this study. Proxy data was however used to be representative of the pollen sample sites, based on road density, traffic flow and nearby green space. Despite being preliminary work, the findings of this study showed variations exist between samples collected at different sites, either due to pollutant exposure or other environmental factors. This study also highlighted the current air quality monitoring situation in the Dublin and Sligo areas where the samples were collected

Measurement of defense against death anxiety : construction and partial validation of an objective instrument

This study involved the construction and partial validation of two scales (Ultimate Rescuer, UR and Specialness, SP) that Yalom (1960) suggests measure the beliefs one utilizes as a defense against death anxiety. Evidence for how they relate to cognitive fear of death measures (Threat Index, TI, Templer Death Anxiety Scale, DAS', and Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale, CL) was obtained. One hundred and twenty-nine items considered to best represent the two beliefs were counterbalanced and administered to 150 introductory psychology students. Those items with item-total correlation coefficients with a probability of .001 or better were retained. Two scales, with 15 items per scale, were constructed from these items. Each scale was found to have high internal consistency reliability, (UR, r = .89; SP, r = .82) and were cross validated on a second similar population (UR, r = 86; SP, r = .87). Factor analysis resulted in the UR items all loading on 1 factor, while the SP items loaded on 2 factors. Construct validation procedures revealed mixed results. The expected negative correlation between the defense scales and fear of death measures was only found for the SP Scale and the CL. No correlation was found for the UR Scale. T-tests for criterion groups revealed that the UR group had significantly higher UR scores and significantly lower fear of death scores. No differences were found for the SP group. In general, the results partrally establish a relationship between the Ultimate Rescuer and Specialness Scales and conscious fear of death, thus lending some support to Yalom's (1980) theory of death anxiety, implication for future research is discussed

Assessing society-wide national climate change mitigation scenarios using a warming-equivalent model to aggregate greenhouse gases including methane

Global climate action is not currently aligned with staying within remaining global carbon budgets (GCBs) corresponding to the Paris Agreement temperature limits of “well below 2ºC” and making efforts to limit to 1.5ºC over pre-industrial. Estimated CO2-only GCBs critically depend on achieving reductions in nitrous oxide (N2O) and in short-lived methane (CH4). Therefore, a nation’s “low carbon transition” needs to be completed within its ‘fair share’ quota of the aggregate global greenhouse gas (GHG) budget. For Ireland, assessing climate action including these non-CO2 gases is important because a comparatively large fraction of reported emissions is due to N2O and CH4, arising primarily from ruminant agriculture. However, the warming commitment of mitigation scenarios that include CH4 has been difficult to evaluate as the standard GHG equivalence metric, called GWP100, crucially fails to reflect the physical reality that sustained reductions in CH4 flow can result in a substantial reduction in its total warming-equivalent contribution within 10 to 20 years. A new metric, called GWP*, accurately approximates changes in the warming-equivalent (CO2-we) contribution of short-lived climate pollutants such as CH4. Incorporating the GWP* methodology, we have developed an open source model to project GHG warming-equivalent commitments (by gas and in aggregate) of policy-relevant national mitigation scenarios to 2100, relative to a Paris-aligned national GHG quota. Comparing illustrative scenarios for effective climate change mitigation reveals significant implications for Paris-aligned climate action. Complex but critical trade-offs between GHGs and sectors are clarified. Supplementing the primary requirement for radical CO2 mitigation, substantial and sustained reduction in total national methane emissions appears to be critical to the feasibility of achieving net zero CO2-we by 2050. In addition to radically limiting fossil fuel usage, reducing total usage of reactive nitrogen in agricultural and biogas production is argued to have a key role in overall climate mitigation for Ireland

Assessing the terrestrial capacity for negative emission technologies in Ireland

Negative emissions technologies (NETs) and their potential role in meeting emission targets is a rapidly growing and contentious area of climate change mitigation research. The literature ranges in scope from general reviews of NETs options to research and development through applied case studies. Within this field, a gap exists in the application of this growing body of research to the unique limitations and opportunities of a specific nation. Ireland is a small developed island nation in the EU with a unique emissions profile, as 32% of the total comes from agriculture due to the high number of cattle. In this study we aim to assess the potential capacity of terrestrial NETs options for Ireland and review the nation-specific context for their deployment. Despite the proportionally high representation of biochar and carbon capture and storage in the international NETs research, in an Irish context afforestation and bioenergy crops are much more established practices and could readily be considered in possible emission pathways that use NETs. Higher capacities were found for NETs options that are currently unavailable (direct air carbon capture and storage and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage), while options available to deploy at scale (afforestation, soil carbon management and biochar) have capacities limited by saturation of soil carbon stock and have higher risk of reversibility due to impermanence. Hence, while we estimate a reasonable technical capacity for NETs in Ireland, emission reduction remains the highest priority for feasibly meeting a Paris-aligned carbon quota for Ireland

Searching for the Kuhnian moment : the Black-Scholes-Merton formula and the evolution of modern finance theory

The Black-Scholes-Merton formula has been put to widespread use by options traders because it provides a means of calculating the theoretically 'correct' price of stock options. Traders can therefore see whether the market price of stock options undervalues or overvalues them compared with their hypothetical Black-Scholes-Merton price, before choosing to buy or sell options accordingly. As a consequence of this close relationship between options pricing theory and options pricing practice, a strong performativity loop was activated, whereby market prices quickly converged on the hypothetical Black-Scholes-Merton prices following the dissemination of the formula. The theory has therefore had significant real-world effects, but how should we characterize the initial instinct to derive the theory from a philosophy of science perspective? The two books under review suggest that a Kuhnian reading of the advancement of scientific knowledge might well be the most appropriate. But, on closer inspection, it becomes clear that the publication of the Black-Scholes-Merton formula should not be seen as a Kuhnian moment with paradigm-shaping attributes. It is shown that, at most, the formula acts as an important exemplar which, via its use in the training of options pricing theorists and options pricing practitioners, reinforces the entrenchment of finance theory within the orthodox economics worldview

Recovery of the Historical SN1957D in X-rays with Chandra

SN1957D, located in one of the spiral arms of M83, is one of the small number of extragalactic supernovae that has remained detectable at radio and optical wavelengths during the decades after its explosion. Here we report the first detection of SN1957D in X-rays, as part of a 729 ks observation of M83 with \chandra. The X-ray luminosity (0.3 - 8 keV) is 1.7 (+2.4,-0.3) 10**37 ergs/s. The spectrum is hard and highly self-absorbed compared to most sources in M83 and to other young supernova remnants, suggesting that the system is dominated at X-ray wavelengths by an energetic pulsar and its pulsar wind nebula. The high column density may be due to absorption within the SN ejecta. HST WFC3 images resolve the supernova remnant from the surrounding emission and the local star field. Photometry of stars around SN1957D, using WFC3 images, indicates an age of less than 10**7 years and a main sequence turnoff mass more than 17 solar masses. New spectra obtained with Gemini-South show that the optical spectrum continues to be dominated by broad [O III] emission lines, the signature of fast-moving SN ejecta. The width of the broad lines has remained about 2700 km/s (FWHM). The [O III] flux dropped precipitously between 1989 and 1991, but continued monitoring shows the flux has been almost constant since. In contrast, radio observations over the period 1990-2011 show a decline rate inf the flux proportional to t**-4, far steeper than the rate observed earlier, suggesting that the primary shock has overrun the edge of a pre-SN wind.Comment: 28 pages, including 3 tables and 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Vascular plant, bryophyte, and lichen biodiversity of Agguttinni Territorial Park, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada: an annotated species checklist of a new Arctic protected area

Agguttinni Territorial Park is a large, newly established park on the east-central coast of Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. Previous knowledge of the plant and lichen biodiversity was limited and based mostly on collections made during the 1950 Baffin Island Expedition. We conducted a floristic inventory of the park in 2021 and re-examined previous collections. We recorded 141 species of vascular plants belonging to 25 families, 69 species of bryophytes in 27 families, and 93 species of lichens in 23 families. Most of the vascular plant and bryophyte species are new records for the park area, and some vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens are newly reported for Baffin Island, Nunavut, or the Canadian Arctic or represent significant range extensions. Vascular plant species diversity varied greatly among localities, with inland valleys at the heads of fiords showing highest diversity and interior rocky barrens showing the lowest

Risk factors for poor health and performance in European broiler production systems

Background Conventional broilers are currently one of the most efficient protein converters. Although decades of progress in genetic selection and feed formulation have lead to high standards of efficient broiler production, still a lot of variability is found between farms and between successive flocks. The aim of this study was to investigate risk- and/or protective factors for poor health and performance in conventional broiler-farms in Europe by developing eight multivariable linear mixed models. Three different models were used to investigate mortality (overall, first week, after first week), three models for performance variables (growth, feed conversion, European production index) and two models were related to slaughterhouse data (i.e. dead on arrival and condemnation rate). Results Several factors related to management and housing were significantly associated with health and performance of broilers. The following factors were associated with increased mortality: floor quality, neonatal septicemia, ventilation type and other professional activities of the farmer. The factors associated with performance were chick sex, coccidiosis infections, necrotic enteritis, dysbacteriosis, light intensity adaptations, ventilation type, comparing daily flock results with previous flock results by farmer, daily check of feed and water system and type of feed. For dead on arrival three risk factors were identified i.e. daily growth, type of light adaptation and type of drinkers system. For condemnation rate seven risk factors were found, i.e. type of drinking system, daily growth, feed withdrawal time, type of ventilation, house size, septicemia after seven days and type of feed. Conclusions These results imply that a multifactorial approach is required with adaptations involving both improvements in management, housing, health programs and an increasing level of professionalism of the farmer in order to improve broiler performance and health

Exploiting a Rose Bengal-bearing, oxygen-producing nanoparticle for SDT and associated immune-mediated therapeutic effects in the treatment of pancreatic cancer

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is an emerging stimulus-responsive approach for the targeted treatment of solid tumours. However, its ability to generate stimulus-responsive cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS), is compromised by tumour hypoxia. Here we describe a robust means of preparing a pH-sensitive polymethacrylate-coated CaO2 nanoparticle that is capable of transiently alleviating tumour hypoxia. Systemic administration of particles to animals bearing human xenograft BxPC3 pancreatic tumours increases oxygen partial pressures (PO2) to 20 - 50 mmHg for over 40 min. RT-qPCR analysis of expression of selected tumour marker genes in treated animals suggests that the transient production of oxygen is sufficient to elicit effects at a molecular genetic level. Using particles labelled with the near infra-red (nIR) fluorescent dye, indocyanine green, selective uptake of particles by tumours was observed. Systemic administration of particles containing Rose Bengal (RB) at concentrations of 0.1 mg/mg of particles are capable of eliciting nanoparticle-induced, SDT-mediated antitumour effects using the BxPC3 human pancreatic tumour model in immuno-compromised mice. Additionally, a potent abscopal effect was observed in off-target tumours in a syngeneic murine bilateral tumour model for pancreatic cancer and an increase in tumour cytotoxic T cells (CD8+) and a decrease in immunosuppressive tumour regulatory T cells [Treg (CD4+, FoxP3+)] was observed in both target and off-target tumours in SDT treated animals. We suggest that this approach offers significant potential in the treatment of both focal and disseminated (metastatic) pancreatic cancer