Russia's role in the Kyoto Protocol

Abstract in HTML and technical report in PDF available on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change website (http://mit.edu/globalchange/www/).As a result of the allocation of emissions reductions, and the differential willingness of countries to ratify, it turns out that Russia is a central player in the Kyoto Protocol. With the U.S. out and Japan and the EU ratifying, the Protocol cannot enter into force without Russian ratification. In part, U.S. rejection of the Kyoto Protocol resulted from the fact that, had the U.S. been in, its least costly road to implementation would have involved large purchases of emissions credits from Russia. With the U.S. out, Russian credits are worth much less but Russia may be able to exploit monopoly power to increase the value of those permits, or Russia could bank permits on the expectation that prices will rise in the future, perhaps as a result of the U.S. reentry into the Protocol in later periods. The Russian decision is more complex, however, in that it is also a major fossil fuel exporter. To the extent it withholds permits from the market, fossil energy prices are depressed further, and the value of its exports of energy are reduced. Thus, Russia faces a tradeoff between maximizing its permit revenue and its revenue from fossil energy exports. We develop this problem as a simple dynamic optimization problem and calibrate the model to the results of two CGE models (EPPA and GEMINI-E3) that fully capture interactions of energy trade, permit trade, and permit and energy prices. We show that carbon prices are relatively insensitive to Russia's behaviors when the U.S. is assumed to participate. It also shows that, in the absence of U.S. participation, the impact of market power by Russia and Ukraine is largely dependent on the elasticity of demand for permits. Finally, we focus on the uncertainty about the supply of CDM by developing countries. It is shown that permit prices are relatively insensitive to CDM supply in the short run but not in the long run

Heart rate recovery after constant-load exercise tests is decreased in proportion to the importance (severity and diffusion) of exercise-induced lower-limb ischaemia

BACKGROUND: Conditions that may influence heart rate recovery at 1 min of recovery from exercise (HRR1: end-exercise heart rate minus heart rate 1 min after exercise) are not fully understood. We hypothesized that the \u27importance\u27 (both local severity and regional diffusion) of peripheral skeletal muscle ischaemia is associated with low HRR1. DESIGN AND METHODS: In 529 patients with suspected or confirmed peripheral vascular disease not receiving beta-blockers (61.4 +/- 11.3 years old), we retrospectively studied the relationship of HRR1 to exercise-induced changes in transcutaneous oxygen DROP index (limb changes minus chest changes from rest). The sum of DROP indices observed on both calves and both buttocks (DROPtot) provides the unique opportunity to estimate both the severity and the diffusion of exercise-induced ischaemia on the right and left side simultaneously. It was used during a constant-load treadmill test (3.2 km h(-1) ; 10% grade) to classify patients in quartiles, the fourth quartile representing the more \u27important\u27 ischaemias.RESULTS: There was an inverse relationship between quartiles of DROPtot and HRR1, even after adjustment for heart rate reserve (Delta HR: end-exercise minus resting heart rate), age (60 years), gender, body mass index, treadmill maximal walking distance and ankle brachial index: adjusted R = 0.629; P<0.0001. CONCLUSIONS: During constant-load treadmill testing, DROPtot, an index of the \u27importance\u27 of exercise-induced lower-limb ischaemia, correlates with HRR1. Whether HRR1 is improved in proportion of DROPtot improvement in patients undergoing surgery or rehabilitation for peripheral artery disease is a fascinating issue for future studies

Objective determination of the predefined duration of a constant-load diagnostic tests in arterial claudication

OBJECTIVE: The predefined duration to arbitrarily stop the tests during constant-load treadmill exercise is a subject of debate and widely variable in the literature. We hypothesized that the upper and lower limits for predefined durations of constant-load 3.2 km/hour 10% grade tests could be derived from the distribution of walking distances observed on a treadmill in a population of subjects referred for claudication or from the optimal cutoff point distance on a treadmill to confirm a limitation self-reported by history.METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis using a referral center, institutional practice, and ambulatory patients. We studied 1290 patients (86% male), 62.1 +/- 11.2 years of age, 169 +/- 8 cm height, 75.7 +/- 14.2 kg weight. Patients performed a standard constant-load treadmill test: 3.2 km hour(-1), 10% slope, maximized to 1000 meters (approximately 20 minutes). We analyzed the maximal walking distance self-reported (MWD(SR)) by history and the maximal walking distance measured on the treadmill (MWD(TT)). Patients reporting MWD(SR) >or=1000 meters were considered unlimited by history. RESULTS: Only 197 patients (15.3%) completed the 20-minute treadmill test. Among the 504 patients who did not stop before 250 meters, 47.8% stopped within the next 250 meters (were unable to walk 500 meters). This proportion falls to 7.5% among the 213 patients who did not stop before 750 meters. When the final goal was to estimate whether the treadmill test can discriminate patients with or without limitation by history, area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.809 +/- 0.016 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.778-0.841; P < .0001), the best diagnostic performance was attained for an MWD(TT) of 299 meters (approximately 6.15 minutes). CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing constant-load treadmill exercise with a protocol of 3.2 km hour(-1) and 10% slope: a predefined duration of 7 minutes could be proposed as a lower limit for the predefined duration of the tests specifically if one aims at confirming the limitation by history with treadmill testing. Owing to the low risk that patients that could walk 750 meters (approximately 15 minutes) will have to stop in the next 250 meters, 15 minutes seems a reasonable upper limit for the predefined test duration in clinical routine

CHR11, a chromatin-remodeling factor essential for nuclear proliferation during female gametogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana

Chromatin-remodeling factors regulate the establishment of transcriptional programs during plant development. Although 42 genes encoding members of the SWI2/SNF2 family have been identified in Arabidopsis thaliana, < 10 have been assigned a precise function on the basis of a mutant phenotype, and none have been shown to play a specific role during the gametophytic phase of the plant life cycle. A. thaliana chromatin-remodeling protein 11 (CHR11) encodes an imitation of switch (ISWI)-like chromatin-remodeling protein abundantly expressed during female gametogenesis and embryogenesis in Arabidopsis. To determine the function of CHR11 in wild-type plants, we introduced a hairpin construct leading to the production of double-stranded RNA, which specifically degraded the endogenous CHR11 mRNA by RNA interference (RNAi). Transcription of the RNAi-inducing hairpin RNA was driven by either a constitutive cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (CaMV35S) acting at most stages of the sporophytic phase or a newly identified specific promoter acting at the onset of the female gametophytic phase (pFM1). All adult trans-formants that constitutively lacked sporophytic CHR11 activity showed reduced plant height and small cotyledonary embryos with limited cell expansion. In contrast, RNAi lines in which CHR11 was specifically silenced at the onset of female gametogenesis (megagametogenesis) had normal height and embryo size but had defective female gametophytes arrested before the completion of the mitotic haploid nuclear divisions. These results show that CHR11 is essential for haploid nuclear proliferation during megagametogenesis and cell expansion during the sporophytic phase, demonstrating the functional versatility of SW12/SNF2 chromatin-remodeling factors during both generations of the plant life cycle

LAF1, a MYB transcription activator for phytochrome A signaling

The photoreceptor phytochrome (phy) A has a well-defined role in regulating gene expression in response to specific light signals. Here, we describe a new Arabidopsis mutant, laf1 (long after far-red light 1) that has an elongated hypocotyl specifically under far-red light. Gene expression studies showed that laf1 has reduced responsiveness to continuous far-red light but retains wild-type responses to other light wavelengths. As far-red light is only perceived by phyA, our results suggest that LAF1 is specifically involved in phyA signal transduction. Further analyses revealed that laf1 is affected in a subset of phyA-dependent responses and the phenotype is more severe at low far-red fluence rates. LAF1 encodes a nuclear protein with strong homology with the R2R3-MYB family of DNA-binding proteins. Experiments using yeast cells identified a transactivation domain in the C-terminal portion of the protein. LAF1 is constitutively targeted to the nucleus by signals in its N-terminal portion, and the full-length protein accumulates in distinct nuclear speckles. This accumulation in speckles is abolished by a point mutation in a lysine residue (K258R), which might serve as a modification site by a small ubiquitin-like protein (SUMO)

Increased release and activity of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in patients with mandibuloacral dysplasia type A, a rare premature ageing syndrome

Mandibuloacral dysplasia type A (MADA; OMIM 248370), a rare disorder caused by mutation in the LMNA gene, is characterized by post-natal growth retardation, craniofacial and skeletal anomalies (mandibular and clavicular hypoplasia, acroosteolysis, delayed closure of cranial sutures, low bone mass and joint contractures), cutaneous changes and partial lipodystrophy. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms by which LMNA mutations produce bone alterations. An altered bone extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling could play a pivotal role in this disorder and influence part of the typical bone phenotype observed in patients. Therefore, we have focused our investigation on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which are degradative enzymes involved in ECM degradation and ECM remodelling, thus likely contributing to the altered bone mineral density and bone metabolism values seen in five MADA patients. We evaluated the serum levels of several MMPs involved in bone development, remodelling and homeostasis, such as MMP-9, -2, -3, -8 and -13, and found that only the 82 kDa active enzyme forms of MMP-9 are significantly higher in MADA sera compared with healthy controls (n = 16). The serum level of MMP-3 was instead lower in all patients. No significant differences were observed between controls and MADA patients for the serum levels of MMP-2, -8 and -13 and of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2, a natural inhibitor of MMP-9. Similarly, normal serum levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1beta were detected. These data suggest a possible involvement of MMP-9 in MADA disease, underlying the potential use in diagnosis and therapy

Expert perceptions of game-changing innovations towards net zero

Current technological improvements are yet to put the world on track to net-zero, which will require the uptake of transformative low-carbon innovations to supplement mitigation efforts. However, the role of such innovations is not yet fully understood; some of these ‘miracles’ are considered indispensable to Paris Agreement-compliant mitigation, but their limitations, availability, and potential remain a source of debate. We evaluate such potentially game-changing innovations from the experts' perspective, aiming to support the design of realistic decarbonisation scenarios and better-informed net-zero policy strategies. In a worldwide survey, 260 climate and energy experts assessed transformative innovations against their mitigation potential, at-scale availability and/or widescale adoption, and risk of delayed diffusion. Hierarchical clustering and multi-criteria decision-making revealed differences in perceptions of core technological innovations, with next-generation energy storage, alternative building materials, iron-ore electrolysis, and hydrogen in steelmaking emerging as top priorities. Instead, technologies highly represented in well-below-2°C scenarios seemingly feature considerable and impactful delays, hinting at the need to re-evaluate their role in future pathways. Experts' assessments appear to converge more on the potential role of other disruptive innovations, including lifestyle shifts and alternative economic models, indicating the importance of scenarios including non-technological and demand-side innovations. To provide insights for expert elicitation processes, we finally note caveats related to the level of representativeness among the 260 engaged experts, the level of their expertise that may have varied across the examined innovations, and the potential for subjective interpretation to which the employed linguistic scales may be prone to

Application and comparison of large-scale solution-based DNA capture-enrichment methods on ancient DNA

The development of second-generation sequencing technologies has greatly benefitted the field of ancient DNA (aDNA). Its application can be further exploited by the use of targeted capture-enrichment methods to overcome restrictions posed by low endogenous and contaminating DNA in ancient samples. We tested the performance of Agilent's SureSelect and Mycroarray's MySelect in-solution capture systems on Illumina sequencing libraries built from ancient maize to identify key factors influencing aDNA capture experiments. High levels of clonality as well as the presence of multiple-copy sequences in the capture targets led to biases in the data regardless of the capture method. Neither method consistently outperformed the other in terms of average target enrichment, and no obvious difference was observed either when two tiling designs were compared. In addition to demonstrating the plausibility of capturing aDNA from ancient plant material, our results also enable us to provide useful recommendations for those planning targeted-sequencing on aDNA

Simultaneous pain intensity rating and quantification of ischemia throughout exercise and recovery in proximal versus distal arterial claudication

Data on simultaneous hemodynamic changes and pain rating estimation in arterial claudication while walking are lacking. This study was conducted to determine if a difference in transcutaneous oxygen pressure (tcpO2) exists between proximal and distal localization at pain appearance (PAINapp), maximal pain (PAINmax) and pain relief (PAINrel) in proximal or distal claudication and if a relationship exists between tcpO2 changes and pain intensity. We analyzed the pain rating (Visual Analog Scale (VAS)) to lower limb ischemia, measured with the decrease from rest of oxygen pressure (DROP) tcpO2 index during constant-load treadmill tests in patients with calf (n = 41) or buttock (n = 19) claudication. Calves versus buttocks results were analyzed with ANOVA tests. The R2 correlation coefficient between individual VAS versus DROP was calculated. Ischemia intensity versus pain rating changes were correlated. Significant ischemia was required for pain appearance, but pain disappeared despite the persistence of ischemia. We observed no statistical difference for DROP at PAINapp, PAINmax or PAINrel between proximal or distal claudication. A significant correlation between pain rating versus DROP was found: from PAINapp to PAINmax, R2 = 0.750 (calves) and 0.829 (buttocks), and from PAINmax to PAINrel, R2 = 0.608 (calves) and 0.560 (buttocks); p&lt;0.05. Pain appeared after a significant decrease of hemodynamic parameters but disappeared while parameters were not normalized. No difference in pain rating was found in proximal versus distal claudication

COVID-19 recovery packages can benefit climate targets and clean energy jobs, but scale of impacts and optimal investment portfolios differ among major economies

To meet the Paris temperature targets and recover from the effects of the pandemic, many countries have launched economic recovery plans, including specific elements to promote clean energy technologies and green jobs. However, how to successfully manage investment portfolios of green recovery packages to optimize both climate mitigation and employment benefits remains unclear. Here, we use three energy-economic models, combined with a portfolio analysis approach, to find optimal low-carbon technology subsidy combinations in six major emitting regions: Canada, China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, and the United States (US). We find that, although numerical estimates differ given different model structures, results consistently show that a >50% investment in solar photovoltaics is more likely to enable CO2 emissions reduction and green jobs, particularly in the EU and China. Our study illustrates the importance of strategically managing investment portfolios in recovery packages to enable optimal outcomes and foster a post-pandemic green economy