Hydrogen energy technologies are forecasted to play a critical supporting role in global decarbonisation efforts, as reflected by the growth of national hydrogen energy strategies in recent years. ...Notably, the UK government published its Hydrogen Strategy in August 2021 to support decarbonisation targets and energy security ambitions. While establishing techno-economic feasibility for hydrogen energy systems is a prerequisite of the prospective transition, social acceptability is also needed to support visions for the ‘hydrogen economy’. However, to date, societal factors are yet to be embedded into policy prescriptions. Securing social acceptance is especially critical in the context of ‘hydrogen homes’, which entails replacing natural gas boilers and hobs with low-carbon hydrogen appliances. Reflecting the nascency of hydrogen heating and cooking technologies, the dynamics of social acceptance are yet to be explored in a comprehensive way. Similarly, public perceptions of the hydrogen economy and emerging national strategies remain poorly understood. Given the paucity of conceptual and empirical insights, this study develops an integrated acceptance framework and tests its predictive power using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Results highlight the importance of risk perceptions, trust dynamics, and emotions in shaping consumer perceptions. Foremost, prospects for deploying hydrogen homes at scale may rest with coupling renewable-based hydrogen production to local environmental and socio-economic benefits. Policy prescriptions should embed societal factors into the technological pursuit of large-scale, sustainable energy solutions to support socially acceptable transition pathways.
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•Environmental and socio-economic benefits underpin domestic hydrogen acceptance.•The UK public favour green hydrogen over blue hydrogen production.•Positive emotions towards the hydrogen transition outweigh negative emotions.•Prospects for hydrogen homes are undermined by a deficit in public trust.•Motivates the use of PLS-SEM in hydrogen acceptance studies.
The utility of heated and humidified high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) for severe COVID-19-related hypoxaemic respiratory failure (HRF), particularly in settings with limited access to intensive care ...unit (ICU) resources, remains unclear, and predictors of outcome have been poorly studied.
We included consecutive patients with COVID-19-related HRF treated with HFNO at two tertiary hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who were successfully weaned from HFNO, whilst failure comprised intubation or death on HFNO.
The median (IQR) arterial oxygen partial pressure to fraction inspired oxygen ratio (PaO2/FiO2) was 68 (54–92) in 293 enroled patients. Of these, 137/293 (47%) of patients PaO2/FiO2 76 (63–93) were successfully weaned from HFNO. The median duration of HFNO was 6 (3–9) in those successfully treated versus 2 (1–5) days in those who failed (p<0.001). A higher ratio of oxygen saturation/FiO2 to respiratory rate within 6 h (ROX-6 score) after HFNO commencement was associated with HFNO success (ROX-6; AHR 0.43, 0.31–0.60), as was use of steroids (AHR 0.35, 95%CI 0.19–0.64). A ROX-6 score of ≥3.7 was 80% predictive of successful weaning whilst ROX-6 ≤ 2.2 was 74% predictive of failure. In total, 139 patents (52%) survived to hospital discharge, whilst mortality amongst HFNO failures with outcomes was 129/140 (92%).
In a resource-constrained setting, HFNO for severe COVID-19 HRF is feasible and more almost half of those who receive it can be successfully weaned without the need for mechanical ventilation.
Decarbonising the global housing stock is imperative for reaching climate change targets. In the United Kingdom, hydrogen is currently being tested as a replacement fuel for natural gas, which could ...be used to supply low-carbon energy to parts of the country. Transitioning the residential sector towards a net-zero future will call for an inclusive understanding of consumer preferences for emerging technologies. In response, this paper explores consumer attitudes towards domestic cooking and heating technologies, and energy appliances of the future, which could include a role for hydrogen hobs and boilers in UK homes. To access qualitative evidence on this topic, we conducted ten online focus groups (N = 58) with members of the UK public between February and April 2022. The study finds that existing gas users wish to preserve the best features of gas cooking, such as speed, responsiveness and controllability, but also desire the potential safety and aesthetic benefits of electric systems, principally induction hobs. Meanwhile, future heating systems should ensure thermal comfort, ease of use, energy efficiency and smart performance, while providing space savings and noise reduction, alongside demonstrable green benefits. Mixed-methods multigroup analysis suggests divergence between support levels for hydrogen homes, which implies a degree of consumer heterogeneity. Foremost, we find that domestic hydrogen acceptance is positively associated with interest and engagement with renewable energy and fuel poverty pressures. We conclude that internalising the perspectives of consumers is critical to enabling constructive socio-technical imaginaries for low-carbon domestic energy futures.
•Existing gas users appear receptive to the prospect of hydrogen home appliances.•Safety assurances for hydrogen cooking are critical to fuel poor and young households.•Respondents favour the modernness, safety and aesthetics of induction hobs.•Hydrogen boilers need to be efficient, reliable, convenient, smart and green.•Residential decarbonisation pathways must account for consumer heterogeneity.
Hydrogen energy technologies are anticipated to play a fundamental role in securing a decarbonised energy future. While the deployment of low-carbon hydrogen energy systems remains nascent and is ...subject to a range of techno-economic constraints, potential scalability will also hinge on social acceptance. In response, this study draws on extensive national survey data to derive a comprehensive typology of domestic acceptance, which reflects multiple factors influencing consumer attitudes towards low-carbon hydrogen heating and cooking appliances. The proposed typology is developed through rigorous coding of over 1000 qualitative statements, leading to 12 core acceptance factors composed of a mix of positive, neutral, and negative sub-factors. The study finds that eight primary sub-factors account for close to 60 % of identified codes, with knowledge deficit (negative), environmental benefits (positive), and financial risks (negative) ranking highest. Critically, these three sub-factors are also the most statistically significant predictors of consumer heterogeneity. At the sub-group level, the analysis shows that engagement with renewable energy technology and climate change is associated with stronger perceptions of environmental benefits and lower financial concerns. By contrast, perceived financial risks and concerns over energy injustice constrain acceptance levels among fuel stressed respondents. Through mixed-methods analysis, the study transmits the value of advancing acceptance typologies as a critical mechanism for enacting a ‘just’ hydrogen economy. The analysis supports developing strategic measures which account for consumer heterogeneity to better support socially acceptable pathways for residential decarbonisation.
•Hydrogen futures are compromised by a deficit in public awareness and engagement.•Financial risks and equity concerns constrain consumer support for hydrogen homes.•Technology and environmental engagement support domestic hydrogen acceptance.•Consumer heterogeneity will influence the feasibility of deploying hydrogen homes.•Acceptance typologies provide a critical mechanism for energy transitions research.
The feasibility of South Africa's just energy transition, as dictated by the speed of phasing out coal and scaling up renewables, will rest on a range of techno-economic, socio-political, and ...socio-technical factors. Interactions between these dimensions of the transition carry significant implications for energy justice. In response, this paper proposes the Just Transition Feasibility Framework (JTFF) to better evaluate how feasibility constraints may impact South Africa's energy transition ambitions, and its more recent commitments to energy justice. Drawing on qualitative findings from interviews with South African energy experts, the study provides critical insights on the national- and community-scale implications of current energy policies. The analysis highlights socio-political constraints related to the Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme (REI4P) which aggravate energy vulnerabilities and misrecognition of places. In addition to strategically tackling a range of techno-economic and socio-technical constraints which are seen to exacerbate distributive injustice, the South African government should extend the 50 km radius scheme of the REI4P to a wider and more inclusive regional basis. Foremost, policy interventions must seek to realign South Africa's Minerals Energy Complex towards a just transition pathway committed to renewable electrification, community empowerment, and sustainable socio-economic structures.
•Techno-economic factors constrain South Africa's just transition ambitions.•Power struggles and corruption disrupt just transition mechanisms.•Distributive and recognition injustices are traced to place-based policies.•Opportunities for prosuming are spatially exclusive and constrained by social hierarchy.•Transnationalisation of renewable energy projects threatens the just transition.
Oceans emit large quantities of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) to the marine atmosphere. The oxidation of 60 DMS leads to the formation and growth of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) with consequent effects ...on Earth’s radiation balance and climate. Quantitative assessment of the impact of DMS emissions on CCN concentrations necessitates a detailed description of the oxidation of DMS in the presence of existing aerosol particles and clouds. In the unpolluted marine atmosphere, DMS is efficiently oxidized to hydroperoxymethyl thioformate (HPMTF), a stable intermediate in the chemical trajectory towards sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ultimately sulfate aerosol (Veres et al. 2020). Using direct airborne flux measurements, we demonstrate that irreversible loss of HPMTF to clouds in the marine boundary layer determines the HPMTF lifetime (τHPMTF < 2 hours) and terminates DMS oxidation to SO2 in the cloudy marine boundary layer. When accounting for HPMTF cloud loss in a global chemical transport model, we show that SO2 production from DMS is reduced by 35% globally and near surface (0-3km) SO2 concentrations over the ocean are lowered by 24%. This large, previously unconsidered loss process for volatile sulfur accelerates the timescale for conversion of DMS to sulfate, while limiting new particle formation in the marine atmosphere and changing the dynamics of aerosol growth. This loss process potentially reduces the spatial scale over which DMS emissions contribute to aerosol production and growth and weakens the link between DMS emission and marine CCN production with subsequent implications for cloud formation, radiative forcing, and climate.
Tau pathology is associated with a number of age-related neurodegenerative disorders. Few treatments have been demonstrated to diminish the impact of tau pathology in mouse models and none are yet ...effective in humans. Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) is an enzyme that removes acetyl groups from cytoplasmic proteins, rather than nuclear histones. Its substrates include tubulin, heat shock protein 90 and cortactin. Tubastatin A is a selective inhibitor of HDAC6. Modification of tau pathology by specific inhibition of HDAC6 presents a potential therapeutic approach in tauopathy.
We treated rTg4510 mouse models of tau deposition and non-transgenic mice with tubastatin (25 mg/kg) or saline (0.9%) from 5 to 7 months of age. Cognitive behavior analysis, histology and biochemical analysis were applied to access the effect of tubastatin on memory, tau pathology and neurodegeneration (hippocampal volume).
We present data showing that tubastatin restored memory function in rTg4510 mice and reversed a hyperactivity phenotype. We further found that tubastatin reduced the levels of total tau, both histologically and by western analysis. Reduction in total tau levels was positively correlated with memory improvement in these mice. However, there was no impact on phosphorylated forms of tau, either by histology or western analysis, nor was there an impact on silver positive inclusions histologically.
Potential mechanisms by which HDAC6 inhibitors might benefit the rTg4510 mouse include stabilization of microtubules secondary to increased tubulin acetylation, increased degradation of tau secondary to increased acetylation of HSP90 or both. These data support the use of HDAC6 inhibitors as potential therapeutic agents against tau pathology.
Heterogeneous chemical cycles of pyrogenic nitrogen and halides influence tropospheric ozone and affect the stratosphere during extreme Pyrocumulonimbus (PyroCB) events. We report field‐derived N2O5 ...uptake coefficients, γ(N2O5), and ClNO2 yields, φ(ClNO2), from two aircraft campaigns observing fresh smoke in the lower and mid troposphere and processed/aged smoke in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). Derived φ(ClNO2) varied across the full 0–1 range but was typically <0.5 and smallest in a PyroCB (<0.05). Derived γ(N2O5) was low in agricultural smoke (0.2–3.6 × 10−3), extremely low in mid‐tropospheric wildfire smoke (0.1 × 10−3), but larger in PyroCB processed smoke (0.7–5.0 × 10−3). Aged biomass burning aerosol in the UTLS had a higher γ(N2O5) of 17 × 10−3 that increased with sulfate and liquid water, but that was 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than values for aqueous sulfuric aerosol used in stratospheric models.
Plain Language Summary
The injection of reactive material into Earth's atmosphere from fires affects atmospheric composition at regional and hemispheric scales. Reported stratospheric ozone depletion during extreme events, such as the 2020 Australian wildfires, illustrates one example of fire impacts and the role of heterogeneous (gas‐particle) processes. We report field quantification of rates and product yields from airborne observations of smoke. Extremely slow heterogeneous reaction rates on young smoke increase with transport and aging, but upper atmospheric values are still a factor of 10 slower than parameterizations used in stratospheric models. Heterogeneous production of ClNO2, a major lower atmospheric chlorine activation pathway, may be active on biomass burning aerosol in the upper atmosphere.
Key Points
ClNO2 formation is active on biomass burning (BB) particles but decreases with transport to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS)
N2O5 uptake coefficients are low on young BB smoke and increase with transport through a PyroCB and UTLS aging
N2O5 uptake coefficients on aged BB particles in the UTLS are significantly lower than those used in model parameterizations
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