In its latest report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that global climate change can still be slowed down if greenhouse gas emissions are rapidly and strongly reduced. ...We present a detailed regional CO2 budget for the Alpine tourist region of Davos, Switzerland, including emissions and potential sinks. The aim of the study was (1) to estimate the most important CO2 sources and sinks, (2) to identify the most efficient reduction measures and (3) to assess the feasibility of different reduction targets. The results show that the emissions due to heating contribute to a proportion of 86.3% to the total budget, which is mainly due to the harsh local climate and the tourism-focused local economy. They also show that the yearly CO2 emissions per capita in Davos exceed the Swiss average of 6 tonnes by 25%. The augmentation of the carbon pool through the natural environment compares to 10.3% of the total emissions, and further afforestation of the community forest can contribute to an improvement of the total budget by 2.6%. The reduction aim of -15% until 2015 (compared with 2004), as set by the municipality itself, could be easily reached through better building insulation and the use of renewable energy sources. More ambitious aims, such as a 2000 W-society or CO2 neutrality, however, will not be realised without major drawbacks in living standards.
Integrated numerical modelling, scenario analysis and participatory approaches have become common approaches to investigate possible future regional development in sustainability research. But in ...accordance with disciplinary backgrounds, the literature on specific case studies shows still great biases towards either qualitative social science or the numerical modelling perspective. By presenting a comprehensive case study on changes in agriculture for the Alpine region of Davos, Switzerland, the role of the participatory involvement and to what degree it was found instrumental in defining the scenarios for numerical simulation are discussed, and methodological benefits and limitations are outlined in this contribution. In the presented case study, the participatory process was intended to fulfil two functions: First, it aimed to support the elaboration of regional scenarios including their preparation for numerical simulation through an Input–Output Model, a Resource Flux Model, a Land Use Allocation Model and Ecosystem Service Validation; second, raising the issue of long-term development and capacity-building within the region and amongst key stakeholders was an important goal. In the course of the project, the participatory process proved very useful with regard to interest raised amongst the local participants. However, it could not contribute to the elaboration of scenarios for numerical simulation as much as expected. Reasons for that were (1) limitations in the numerical models so that the complexity of the system and the range of possible scenarios had to be reduced for scenario simulation, (2) the “bottleneck” between qualitative and quantitative data which had to be overcome, and (3) a shift in priorities for the participatory process towards capacity building in the course of the project which hindered the in-detail elaboration of scenarios for numerical simulation to some extent. From the presented case study and the relevant literature, recommendations to improve the integration of qualitative participatory and quantitative, model-based techniques are finally drawn.
In its latest report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that global climate change can still be slowed down if greenhouse gas emissions are rapidly and strongly reduced. ...We present a detailed regional CO... budget for the Alpine tourist region of Davos, Switzerland, including emissions and potential sinks. The aim of the study was (1) to estimate the most important CO... sources and sinks, (2) to identify the most efficient reduction measures and (3) to assess the feasibility of different reduction targets. The results show that the emissions due to heating contribute to a proportion of 86.3% to the total budget, which is mainly due to the harsh local climate and the tourism-focused local economy. They also show that the yearly CO... emissions per capita in Davos exceed the Swiss average of 6 tonnes by 25%. The augmentation of the carbon pool through the natural environment compares to 10.3% of the total emissions, and further afforestation of the community forest can contribute to an improvement of the total budget by 2.6%. The reduction aim of -15% until 2015 (compared with 2004), as set by the municipality itself, could be easily reached through better building insulation and the use of renewable energy sources. More ambitious aims, such as a 2000 W-society or CO... neutrality, however, will not be realised without major drawbacks in living standards. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
In its latest report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that global climate change can still be slowed down if greenhouse gas emissions are rapidly and strongly reduced. ...We present a detailed regional CO
2 budget for the Alpine tourist region of Davos, Switzerland, including emissions and potential sinks. The aim of the study was (1) to estimate the most important CO
2 sources and sinks, (2) to identify the most efficient reduction measures and (3) to assess the feasibility of different reduction targets. The results show that the emissions due to heating contribute to a proportion of 86.3% to the total budget, which is mainly due to the harsh local climate and the tourism-focused local economy. They also show that the yearly CO
2 emissions per capita in Davos exceed the Swiss average of 6 tonnes by 25%. The augmentation of the carbon pool through the natural environment compares to 10.3% of the total emissions, and further afforestation of the community forest can contribute to an improvement of the total budget by 2.6%. The reduction aim of −15% until 2015 (compared with 2004), as set by the municipality itself, could be easily reached through better building insulation and the use of renewable energy sources. More ambitious aims, such as a 2000
W-society or CO
2 neutrality, however, will not be realised without major drawbacks in living standards.
Study objective: To estimate the association between driver nationality and the risk of causing a collision between vehicles in motion. Design: Retrospective, matched by collision, case-control ...study. Setting: Collisions that occurred in Spain during the period from 1990 to 1999 were studied. Participants: Responsible (case) and non-responsible (control) drivers identified in the databases of the Dirección General de Tráfico (General Traffic Directorate) who were involved in a collisions between two or more four wheeled vehicles in motion, in which only one of the drivers had committed a traffic violation. Main results: Crude odds ratios (ORs) for the effect of driver nationality on the risk of causing a collision were significantly higher for foreign drivers than for Spanish drivers, and ranged from a minimum of 1.19 (95% CI 1.09 to 1.29) for Portuguese drivers to a maximum of 2.06 (1.88 to 2.27) for British drivers. Corresponding adjusted ORs were slightly lower, but were still significantly higher than 1 for all nationalities except Italian, Belgian, and American (USA). Adjusted ORs were usually higher for collisions that occurred in urban areas than on open roads. Conclusions: Authorities responsible for traffic safety, and drivers in general, should consider foreign drivers in Spain at particularly high risk for causing collisions, especially in urban areas.
HnRNPA2B1 encodes an RNA binding protein associated with neurodegeneration. However, its function in the nervous system is unclear. Transcriptome-wide crosslinking and immunoprecipitation in mouse ...spinal cord discover UAGG motifs enriched within ∼2,500 hnRNP A2/B1 binding sites and an unexpected role for hnRNP A2/B1 in alternative polyadenylation. HnRNP A2/B1 loss results in alternative splicing (AS), including skipping of an exon in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-associated D-amino acid oxidase (DAO) that reduces D-serine metabolism. ALS-associated hnRNP A2/B1 D290V mutant patient fibroblasts and motor neurons differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-MNs) demonstrate abnormal splicing changes, likely due to increased nuclear-insoluble hnRNP A2/B1. Mutant iPSC-MNs display decreased survival in long-term culture and exhibit hnRNP A2/B1 localization to cytoplasmic granules as well as exacerbated changes in gene expression and splicing upon cellular stress. Our findings provide a cellular resource and reveal RNA networks relevant to neurodegeneration, regulated by normal and mutant hnRNP A2/B1.
Display omitted
•HNRNPA2B1 interacts with UAGG in 3′ UTRs to affect alternative polyadenylation•HNRNPA2B1 affects alternative splicing of ALS-associated D-amino acid oxidase•HNRNPA2B1 D290V causes widespread splicing changes in fibroblasts and motor neurons•ALS mutant motor neurons display abnormal molecular and cellular stress responses
HNRNPA2B1 is associated with neurodegeneration, but its role in the nervous system and effects of mutations are unclear. Martinez et al. discover HNRNPA2B1-dependent alternative splicing and polyadenylation in spinal cord. Stressed mutant motor neurons exhibit abnormal molecular responses and aggregation.
Deadenylases are best known for degrading the poly(A) tail during mRNA decay. The deadenylase family has expanded throughout evolution and, in mammals, consists of 12 Mg
-dependent 3'-end RNases with ...substrate specificity that is mostly unknown. Pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 7 (PCH7) is a unique recessive syndrome characterized by neurodegeneration and ambiguous genitalia. We studied 12 human families with PCH7, uncovering biallelic, loss-of-function mutations in TOE1, which encodes an unconventional deadenylase. toe1-morphant zebrafish displayed midbrain and hindbrain degeneration, modeling PCH-like structural defects in vivo. Surprisingly, we found that TOE1 associated with small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) incompletely processed spliceosomal. These pre-snRNAs contained 3' genome-encoded tails often followed by post-transcriptionally added adenosines. Human cells with reduced levels of TOE1 accumulated 3'-end-extended pre-snRNAs, and the immunoisolated TOE1 complex was sufficient for 3'-end maturation of snRNAs. Our findings identify the cause of a neurodegenerative syndrome linked to snRNA maturation and uncover a key factor involved in the processing of snRNA 3' ends.
EFFECT OF WATER LEVEL ON MIGRATORY BIRDS HABITAT AT LAKE MAGGIORE Tattoni, C.; Giuntini, S.; Gagliardi, A. ...
International archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences.,
08/2022, Volume:
XLVIII-4/W1-2022
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Peer reviewed
Open access
Migratory birds need to stop along their route to rest and feed at so called stopover sites. “Bolle di Magadino” is a protected wetland located near lake Maggiore (CH), an internationally recognized ...nesting and stop-over site for birds. The waters of Lake Maggiore are important resources for multiple usages, and are artificially regulated through a dam. Even slight variations in the water level are sufficient to cause flooding and draining of large portions of the wetlands, affecting foraging and resting opportunities for birds. We use open data and FOSS4G to study the effect of water level on bird migration. We compared the extent and type of flooded habitat using two approaches: Sentinel-1 remote sensing imagery and simulations based on the measured water level. The effect of type and extent of submerged vegetation obtained with both methods was tested against a time series of bird captures. Both methods had a similar temporal pattern of flooding in autumn, but nearly opposite in spring. The total extent and the type of submerged habitats showed significant differences. The results obtained by simulations based on water level were more correlated to birds captures and species richness than the estimations of flooded habitat derived by with Sentinel-1. The results presented here will contribute to the definition sustainable management tools of water management of lake Maggiore taking into account the effect of lake level on biodiversity.
To evaluate neoadjuvant trabectedin (1.5 mg/m2 24-h i.v. infusion every 3 weeks; three to six cycles) in patients with locally advanced myoxid liposarcoma (ML) previously untreated with chemotherapy ...or radiation.
Primary efficacy end point was pathological complete response (pCR) or tumoral regression rate. Objective response according to RECIST (v.1.0) was a secondary end point.
Three of 23 assessable patients had pCR 13%; 95% confidence interval (CI), 3% to 34%. Furthermore, very good and moderate histological responses were observed in another 2 and 10 patients, respectively. Histological decrement in the cellular and vascular tumor component and maturation of tumor cells to lipoblasts were observed in both myoxid and myoxid/round cell variants. Seven patients had partial response according to RECIST (objective response rate of 24%; 95% CI, 10% to 44%). No disease progression was reported. Neoadjuvant trabectedin was usually well tolerated, with a safety profile similar to that described in patients with soft tissue sarcoma or other tumor types.
Trabectedin 1.5 mg/m2 given as a 24-h i.v. infusion every 3 weeks is a therapeutic option in the neoadjuvant setting of ML.
PDF
