Some major impacts of the national space program. 6 - Public health, medicine, and biological research

Major impacts of manned space missions and related technology on public health, medicine, and biological researc

ENERGY JUSTICE AND U.S. ENERGY POLICY: CASE STUDY APPLICATIONS EXPLORING U.S. ENERGY POLICY THROUGH AN ENERGY JUSTICE FRAMEWORK

This thesis presents three examples of U.S. energy policy and demonstrates how these policies violate the principles of energy justice. First, requiring only Federal agencies to obtain a percentage of energy production from renewables violates the distributive energy justice principle through a lack of a federal renewable energy policy which distributes the potential for unequal electrical grid failure to populations. Second, U.S. energy policy violates the procedural energy justice principle through inequitable participation and poor knowledge dissemination that, in some cases, contributes to stagnant renewable targets during the decision-making process and inequitable distribution of the benefits associated with renewable energy arguably resulting from differential representation of economic groups in policy decision making. Third, the United States’ continued reliance on and subsidization of fossil fuel extraction and use, violates the prohibitive energy justice principle by causing physical harm to humans and the environment. Finally, a lack of federal renewable energy policy hinders comprehensive energy policy including diversifying the U.S. renewable energy portfolios. Considering energy policy through the framework of energy justice offers a means of evaluating existing policy and can improve future energy policy decision-making. Demanding energy justice ensures that all populations have equitable distribution, participation, and access to affordable, efficient, and clean energy technologies that contribute to obtaining basic needs

COMMUNITY SOLAR ENERGY PROGRAMS: A BRIGHT SPOT FOR JUST ENERGY POLICY?

Energy systems are complex, and this complexity requires diverse regulatory forms and strategies of management. Michigan’s energy system is situated within a multi-scalar governance structure reaching from national to local levels. As a result, the process of energy system decision-making can leave out smaller, remote communities and those without the economic, political, and knowledge capital necessary to engage in complex bureaucratic processes. These communities can become subject to high electricity prices and unreliable electrical service from long transmission and distribution lines, raising energy justice concerns. Additionally, resulting from utility regulatory practices, small remote communities are often not afforded the opportunity to explore alternative, local, and environmentally friendly energy generation sources. This dissertation utilizes data collected from two case study sites in Michigan to examine how decisions are made regarding energy system management, who participates in what forms of decision-making, what implications community solar can have for improving energy justice, and the role of energy policy. Specifically, the research attempts to examine how community solar may create more just energy systems and the particular policy and governance dimensions that shape the use of community solar for the pursuit of energy justice. Chapter 2 explores how Michigan investor-owned utilities interpret and implement energy laws to hinder distributed generation proliferation in Michigan. Chapter 3 reflects on the community engaged research process used to determine the viability of a community solar program. It argues for incorporating collaborative governance principles to further improve the community engaged research process to help insert local control and affordability into energy systems. Finally, chapter 4 utilizes and analyzes interview, focus group discussion, and survey data to understand from a community perspective what factors are important for community solar viability. It situates this data within the community social context as it recognizes that perceptions alone do not explain program viability. Energy justice does not apply to just one level of policy making. The subsequent implementation and decision-making process of these existing policies can be determined through collaborative governance strategies, such as community solar, that align with energy justice values

Patient Education: Sexual Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, and Healthy Relationships

Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence are a public health crisis across the United States. In Vermont alone, nearly 7% of the population experiences sexual and/or domestic violence annually. Despite these numbers, less than 20% of those affected seek assistance. Increased access to education materials regarding these topics will serve to increase dialogue with at risk patients who might otherwise refrain from discussions on home or social environment. By increasing discourse and education, we hope to more frequently identify and assist patients who are experiencing violence in their relationships as well as prevent the formation of unhealthy relationships at the level of adolescence.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1884/thumbnail.jp

Cell Polarity: Keeping Worms LeGaL

SummaryThe protein Lethal giant larvae (LGL) regulates cell polarity in diverse animal models. Now, an LGL orthologue has been identified in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans and is shown to function redundantly with a worm-specific polarity protein, PAR-2

Could 79 people solarize the U.S. electric grid?

Although wealth inequality has many established negatives, this study investigates a potential positive, unprecedented wealth concentration makes it possible for solutions to large and seemingly intractable problems to be deployed by convincing a relatively small number of individuals to invest. In order to probe this potential outcome of inequality, this study quantifies the number of people necessary to radically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global climate destabilization from the U.S. electric grid, which is one of the largest sources of emissions. Specifically, this study determined that 1544 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology must be deployed to eliminate the use of fossil fuels on the U.S. electric grid, if PV is conservatively deployed as a function of population density. The results showed that only 79 American multi-billionaires would need to invest in PV. This investment would still leave each investor with a billion dollars of liquid assets as well as substantial long-term profits from PV. The analysis also concluded that 79 people is a conservative upper estimate of those that would need to be convinced of the usefulness of moving to a solar U.S. grid and that this estimate is likely to decrease further in the future

aPKC Phosphorylates Miranda to Polarize Fate Determinants during Neuroblast Asymmetric Cell Division

SummaryBackgroundAsymmetric cell divisions generate daughter cells with distinct fates by polarizing fate determinants into separate cortical domains. Atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) is an evolutionarily conserved regulator of cell polarity. In Drosophila neuroblasts, apically restricted aPKC is required for segregation of neuronal differentiation factors such as Numb and Miranda to the basal cortical domain. Whereas Numb is polarized by direct aPKC phosphorylation, Miranda asymmetry is thought to occur via a complicated cascade of repressive interactions (aPKC −| Lgl −| myosin II −| Miranda).ResultsHere we provide biochemical, cellular, and genetic data showing that aPKC directly phosphorylates Miranda to exclude it from the cortex and that Lgl antagonizes this activity. Miranda is phosphorylated by aPKC at several sites in its cortical localization domain and phosphorylation is necessary and sufficient for cortical displacement, suggesting that the repressive-cascade model is incorrect. In investigating key results that led to this model, we found that Y-27632, a Rho kinase inhibitor used to implicate myosin II, efficiently inhibits aPKC. Lgl3A, a nonphosphorylatable Lgl variant used to implicate Lgl in this process, inhibits the formation of apical aPKC crescents in neuroblasts. Furthermore, Lgl directly inhibits aPKC kinase activity.ConclusionsMiranda polarization during neuroblast asymmetric cell division occurs by displacement from the apical cortex by direct aPKC phosphorylation. Rather than mediating Miranda cortical displacement, Lgl instead promotes aPKC asymmetry by regulating its activity. The role of myosin II in neuroblast polarization, if any, is unknown

Putting research to action: Integrating collaborative governance and community-engaged research for community solar

Community solar involves the installation of a solar electricity system that is built in one central location with the costs and benefits distributed across voluntary investors who choose to subscribe and receive credits based on the generated energy. Community solar is gaining attention because of its potential to increase access to renewable energy and to democratize energy governance. This paper reflects on community-engaged research experiences in two rural community case studies in Michigan, USA, focusing on obstacles that were experienced during the research process rather than empirical findings from the research. We highlight difficulties we experienced to help advance a conceptual argument about incorporating collaborative governance strategies to improve community-engaged research for community energy projects. Our reflections illustrate challenges in community-engaged research that are associated with identifying who should be included in the decision-making process, sustaining participation and avoiding exploitation, establishing and communicating final decision-making power, and giving attention to outputs and outcomes of the research. We argue that collaborative governance strategies can help to address these challenges, as we experienced firsthand in our project