Achieving net-zero emissions through the reframing of UK national targets in the post-Paris Agreement era

The Paris Agreement provides an international framework aimed at limiting average global temperature rise to well below 2 ∘C, implemented through actions determined at the national level. As the Agreement necessitates a ‘net-zero’ emissions energy system by 2100, decarbonization analyses in support of national climate policy should consider the post-2050 period. Focusing solely on mitigation objectives for 2030 or 2050 could lead to blindsiding of the challenge, inadequate ambition in the near term, and poor investment choices in energy infrastructure. Here we show, using the UK as an example, that even an ambitious climate policy is likely to fall short of the challenge of net-zero, and that analysis of the post-2050 period is therefore critical. We find that the analysis of detailed, longer-term national pathways that achieve net-zero is important for future reassessment of ambition under nationally determined contributions (NDCs)

Spironolactone treatment attenuates vascular dysfunction in type 2 diabetic mice by decreasing oxidative stress and restoring NO/GC signaling

Type 2 diabetes (DM2) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Aldosterone, which has pro-oxidative and pro-inflammatory effects in the cardiovascular system, is positively regulated in DM2. We assessed whether blockade of mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) with spironolactone decreases reactive oxygen species (ROS)-associated vascular dysfunction and improves vascular nitric oxide (NO) signaling in diabetes. Leptin receptor knockout [LepRdb/LepRdb (db/db)] mice, a model of DM2, and their counterpart controls [LepRdb/LepR+, (db/+) mice] received spironolactone (50 mg/kg body weight/day) or vehicle (ethanol 1%) via oral per gavage for 6 weeks. Spironolactone treatment abolished endothelial dysfunction and increased endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation (Ser1177) in arteries from db/db mice, determined by acetylcholine-induced relaxation and Western Blot analysis, respectively. MR antagonist therapy also abrogated augmented ROS-generation in aorta from diabetic mice, determined by lucigenin luminescence assay. Spironolactone treatment increased superoxide dismutase-1 and catalase expression, improved sodium nitroprusside and BAY 41-2272-induced relaxation, and increased soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) β subunit expression in arteries from db/db mice. Our results demonstrate that spironolactone decreases diabetes-associated vascular oxidative stress and prevents vascular dysfunction through processes involving increased expression of antioxidant enzymes and sGC. These findings further elucidate redox-sensitive mechanisms whereby spironolactone protects against vascular injury in diabetes

Digital Signal Processing procedures of Ultrasonic and 3-D Terrestrial Laser Scanner data in the diagnostics of monumental structures

A new non-destructive methodology based on the experimental application of integrated use of 3-D terrestrial laser scanning (3-D TLS) and ultrasonic techniques in the range (54-82 kHz) in evaluating the quality of stone building materials in monumental structures has provided satisfactory results. In this paper our target is to evaluate the state of conservation of the previously described materials by correlating the ultrasonic measurement results with the reflectivity of the reflected 3-D laser scanner beam pulse transmitted to the target of an investigated surface. Ultrasonic methods are very effective in detecting the elastic characteristics of stone materials and thus their mechanical behaviour even though data interpretation is very complex as elastic wave velocity depends on moisture, heterogeneity, porosity and other physical properties. The study of the propagation of the longitudinal ultrasonic pulses is improved from the digital signal processing which allows to obtain information from the wavetrains. Therefore accurate ultrasonic analyses based not only on longitudinal pulse velocity analysis but also on frequency spectra and cross-spectra analyses allowed to improve the results of the diagnostics in assessing and monitoring the status of the investigated materials. In a 3D Terrestrial Laser Scanner the travelling time of coherent light laser pulse is converted into the distance between the instrument and the investigated object. The result of a laser scanning survey is a very dense cloud of points whose positions are known in a reference frame located in an arbitrary point inside the instrument. For each point of the surveyed target surface, the X, Y, Z coordinates and the reflectivity value are acquired and recorded, providing the area coverage necessary for the 3-D reconstruction and characterisation of the surveyed structure. In general an interesting correlation between the spectral changes observed in the analysis of ultrasonic signals acquired in different sectors (damaged and intact) of the investigated monumental structure and those observed in the analysis of the 3-D TLS reflectivity data acquired in the same sectors was found. The changes in spectral frequency composition of the ultrasonic and 3-D TLS data seem to be related to changes in stone material properties, but the relationship between frequency composition and rock-properties is not early as definitive. Taking these results into account further digital processing procedures and analyses on the ultrasonic and 3-D TLS data and their comparison with petrophysical aspects are now scheduled

Metabolomics and lipid profile analysis of Coccomyxa melkonianii SCCA 048

With an unsupervised GC–MS metabolomics approach, polar metabolite changes of the microalgae Coccomyxa melkonianii SCCA 048 grown under standard conditions for seven weeks were studied. C. melkonianii was sampled at the Rio Irvi River, in the mining site of Montevecchio-Ingurtosu (Sardinia, Italy), which is severely contaminated by heavy metals and shows high concentrations of sulfates. The partial-least-square (PLS) analysis of the GC–MS data indicated that growth of C. melkonianii was characterized by an increase of the levels of threonic acid, myo-inositol, malic acid, and fumaric acid. Furthermore, at the sixth week of exponential phase the lipid fingerprint of C. melkonianii was studied by LC-QTOF-MS. C. melkonianii lipid extract characterized through an iterative MS/MS analysis showed the following percent levels: 61.34 ± 0.60% for triacylglycerols (TAG); 11.55 ± 0.09% for diacylglyceryltrimethyl homoserines (DGTS), 11.34 ± 0.10% for sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerols (SQDG) and, 5.29 ± 0.04% for lysodiacylglyceryltrimethyl homoserines (LDGTS). Noteworthy, we were able to annotate different fatty acid ester of hydroxyl fatty acid, such as FAHFA (18:1_20:3), FAHFA (18:2_20:4), FAHFA (18:0_20:2), and FAHFA (18:1_18:0), with relevant biological activity. These approaches can be useful to study the biochemistry of this extremophile algae in the view of its potential exploitation in the phycoremediation of polluted mining areas

Application of acoustic techniques in the evaluation of heterogeneous building materials

In this paper, we present the results of an application of in situ non-destructive acoustic techniques to analyse the state of preservation of a colonnade of an ancient church in the Central Sardinia (Italy). In particular, low frequency ultrasonic tests and seismic longitudinal wave transmission tomography (SLWTT) techniques were applied on the columns of the church in order to provide information on their state of preservation and to detect possible defects, such as zones of weakness, damages and cracks in its inner parts that cannot be visually examined. In order to improve the velocity input model for the SLWTT, a new experimental procedure based on the calculation of the cross-correlation function was proposed and usefully applied. An estimate of the accuracy of the longitudinal wave velocity measurements by SLWTT methods was carried out by application of a standard error analysis based on the law of propagation of uncertainty. Based on the results obtained with the ultrasonic and seismic investigations, we located microcores that confirmed information from the above non invasive investigations

Exosome levels in human body fluids: A tumor marker by themselves?

Despite considerable research efforts, the finding of reliable tumor biomarkers remains challenging and unresolved. In recent years a novel diagnostic biomedical tool with high potential has been identified in extracellular nanovesicles or exosomes. They are released by the majority of the cells and contain detailed molecular information on the cell of origin including tumor hallmarks. Exosomes can be isolated from easy accessible body fluids, and most importantly, they can provide several biomarkers, with different levels of specificity. Recent clinical evidence shows that the levels of exosomes released into body fluids may themselves represent a predictive/diagnostic of tumors, discriminating cancer patients from healthy subjects. The aim of this review is to highlight these latest challenging findings to provide novel and groundbreaking ideas for successful tumor early diagnosis and follow-up

Template Entrance Channel as Possible Allosteric Inhibition and Resistance Site for Quinolines Tricyclic Derivatives in RNA Dependent RNA Polymerase of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus

The development of potent non-nucleoside inhibitors (NNIs) could be an alternate strategy to combating infectious bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), other than the traditional vaccination. RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is an essential enzyme for viral replication; therefore, it is one of the primary targets for countermeasures against infectious diseases. The reported NNIs, belonging to the classes of quinolines (2h: imidazo[4,5-g]quinolines and 5m: pyrido[2,3-g] quinoxalines), displayed activity in cell-based and enzyme-based assays. Nevertheless, the RdRp binding site and microscopic mechanistic action are still elusive, and can be explored at a molecular level. Here, we employed a varied computational arsenal, including conventional and accelerated methods, to identify quinoline compounds' most likely binding sites. Our study revealed A392 and I261 as the mutations that can render RdRp resistant against quinoline compounds. In particular, for ligand 2h, mutation of A392E is the most probable mutation. The loop L1 and linker of the fingertip is recognized as a pivotal structural determinant for the stability and escape of quinoline compounds. Overall, this work demonstrates that the quinoline inhibitors bind at the template entrance channel, which is governed by conformational dynamics of interactions with loops and linker residues, and reveals structural and mechanistic insights into inhibition phenomena, for the discovery of improved antivirals

The Importance of Erosion Concrete Tests for Hydraulic Surfaces

The population growth requires improvements in water availability for consumption, food and energy. There are many challenges to achieve this. However, in many cases, one solution resolves all needs: reserving the water for supply, irrigation of crops and energy generation. In particular, the current demand for clean energy generation has encouraged some governments to invest in the construction of new hydropower plants. This scenario results in building a dam and its appurtenances. The concept of accumulating water for human use dates back to antiquity, but it was only during the 19th century that the technological development allowed the advent of hydropower plants. Since then, ongoing efforts on this field have developed technologies and the systematic construction of dams. More recently, there has been an increasing concern regarding the safety of dams. In Brazil, the safety legislation began to operate only in 2010. Malfunctioning of dams can lead to failure and even to catastrophic consequences. When an accident occurs, not only are the costs for repairing high, but it also compromises operation and the environment. A dam failure may be related to a poor performance of the spillway. Erosion is one of the main causes of spillways failure. In this sense, it is essential to characterize the composition and resistance of the concrete to be used in the spillway. Cavitation and water solid mixture are among the main causes of erosion that put spillways into risk. Cavitation is the formation of bubbles within the liquid, if the vapor pressure is reached. Once the pressure rises, the bubbles implode and eventually cause damage, noise, vibration and pressure fluctuation. Water solid mixture causes erosion by the impact of particles. The particles are carried in the flow, and it is especially important, because the damage is irreversible and progressive. The objective of this paper is to show the importance of testing concrete samples to erosion before using them in prototype. The concrete samples are submitted to erosion due to cavitation and water-solid mixture. The tests were performed at the Laboratory of Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics at Unicamp, Brazil. The method for evaluating cavitation erosion resistance is based on the use of a high velocity cavitating jet. The other method, for evaluating water solid mixture erosion resistance, is based on the use of a mixing tank, where an impeller propels solid particles in the water over the sample. In both cases, the erosion resistance is associated with the mass loss of the sample through time. The results highlight the erosion that can occur in prototypes and the importance of testing concretes before construction or repairing of concrete spillways

Impact of Transformational Leadership on Psychological Empowerment and Job Satisfaction Relationship: a Case of Yemeni Banking

The banking sector of Yemen is under threat due to the lack of confidence and trust of the prospective clients that hindered economic development of the country. The study aimed to measure a moderating effect of transformational leadership on employees\u27 psychological empowerment and job satisfaction relationship so that attitudes of the Yemeni can be bumped towards banking. In this study, 160 employees were surveyed in different branches of four banks in Yemen. The data were analyzed in four stages namely, reliability and validity analysis, descriptive analysis, multivariate analysis, and hypotheses testing analysis. The study revealed a significant positive relationship between employees\u27 psychological empowerment and transformational leadership towards their job satisfaction level. If the policy makers consider the findings and undertake necessary measures, the Yemeni banking is expected to be accelerated which will contribute to the economy of the country