A decade of climate change negotiations almost ended in failure because of the different policy approaches of the industrialized states. Japan, Germany, and the United States exemplify the deep ...divisions that exist among states in their approaches to environmental protection. Germany is following what could be called the green social welfare state approach to environmental protection, which is increasingly guided by what is known as the precautionary principle. In contrast, the US is increasingly leaning away from the use of environmental regulations, towards the use of market-based mechanisms to control pollution and cost-benefit analysis to determine when environmental protection should take precedence over economic activities. Internal political divisions mean that Japan sits uneasily between these two approaches. Miranda A. Schreurs uses a variety of case studies to explore why these different policy approaches emerged and what their implications are, examining the differing ideas, actors, and institutions in each state.
Microneedle patches are a promising source for transdermal diffusion of macromolecules and are designed to painlessly penetrate the skin. In this study, a biodegradable chitosan microneedle patch to ...deliver meloxicam for managing pain in cattle was tested. The potential of reuse of the polymeric solution to fabricate the patches, optimization of fabrication, morphological analysis of the microneedle patch and analysis of preservation of the chemical composition after sterilization were evaluated. In-vitro analysis consisted of studying in-vitro penetration mechanical properties, compression testing analysis of microneedle patch, and in-vitro drug release analysis. In-vivo studies were performed to analyze the dissolution capability of the microneedle patch. Results regarding the physical characteristics, chemical composition, and mechanical properties confirmed that rheological properties of the chitosan solution, present significant differences over time, demonstrating that reusing the solution on the fourth day results in failure patches. Morphological characteristics and chemical composition studies revealed that the process of sterilization (ethylene oxide gas) needed for implanting the patches into the skin did not affect the properties of microneedle patches. In-vitro studies showed that approximately 33.02 ± 3.88% of the meloxicam was released over 7 days. A full penetration of the microneedles into the skin can be obtained by applying approximately 3.2 N. In-vivo studies demonstrated that microneedle patches were capable of swelling and dissolving, exhibiting a dissolution percentage of more than 50% of the original height of microneedle after 7 days. No abnormal tissue, swelling, or inflammation was observed in the implanted area. The results of this work show that chitosan biodegradable microneedle patches may be useful to deliver meloxicam to improve pain management of cattle with positive effects for commercial manufacturing.
Sensitive skin has been described as unpleasant sensory responses to stimuli that should not provoke such sensations. Objectively measurable signs of irritation are not always present in individuals ...with sensitive skin, however, subjective sensory effects such as, itching, burning, stinging, tightness, and dryness, are consistently present. Given the subjective nature of the phenomenon known as sensitive skin, surveys have been a popular approach to evaluating the prevalence of this condition among the general population, and a number of them have been conducted worldwide. Overall, ~60-70% of women and 50-60% of men report having some degree of sensitive skin. However, there are differences between populations in various geographies, and perceptions of sensitive skin at specific anatomic sites. This article is a review of survey data on the prevalence of self-declared sensitive skin in various geographies, among different gender and age groups, and at various anatomic sites. In addition, we review the factors that may contribute to sensitive skin, and the physiological characteristics associated with this condition, including impaired barrier function and heightened neural reactions.
The colours of fleshy fruits play a critical role in plant dispersal by advertising ripe fruits to consumers. Fruit colours have long been classified into syndromes attributed to selection by animal ...dispersers, despite weak evidence for this hypothesis. Here, we test the relative importance of biotic (bird and mammal frugivory) and abiotic (wet season temperatures, growing season length and UV‐B radiation) factors in determining fruit colour syndrome in 3163 species of fleshy‐fruited plants. We find that both dispersers and environment are important, and they interact. In warm areas, contrastive, bird‐associated fruit colours increase with relative bird frugivore prevalence, whereas in cold places these colours dominate even where mammalian dispersers are prevalent. We present near‐global maps of predicted fruit colour syndrome based on our species‐level model and our newly developed characterisations of relative importance of bird and mammal frugivores.
Fruit colour is a critical ecological trait, because the colours of fleshy fruits attract animal dispersers. We find that fruit colour is best explained by an interaction between biotic variables (relative disperser prevalence, weighted by diet) and abiotic variables (wet season temperatures). Historically, fruit colour has been assumed to result from selection by animal dispersers, but we provide evidence that dispersers alone are insufficient and abiotic variables are essential to explaining fruit colour variation.
Background
Pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) are disorders of brain‐gut dysregulation. Psychological factors are known to be related to etiology, maintenance, and exacerbation of ...pediatric FAPDs. With the evolving literature in the past two decades, a better understanding has emerged of precisely which psychological factors are associated with childhood FAPDs.
Purpose
This narrative literature review summarizes the literature of both child and parent psychological factors in pediatric FAPD. Where anxiety and depression were major targets in the older literature, present‐day focus is increasingly on pain‐specific cognitions and coping strategies including disease threat and catastrophizing. In addition, parental reaction to a child's pain is increasingly recognized as an important moderator of a child's outcomes and has become an area for clinical intervention. Screening for these factors and integrative treatment approaches are recommended in childhood FAPD.
Summary
Structural color is poorly known in plants relative to animals. In fruits, only a handful of cases have been described, including in Viburnum tinus where the blue color results from a ...disordered multilayered reflector made of lipid droplets. Here, we examine the broader evolutionary context of fruit structural color across the genus Viburnum.
We obtained fresh and herbarium fruit material from 30 Viburnum species spanning the phylogeny and used transmission electron microscopy, optical simulations, and ancestral state reconstruction to identify the presence/absence of photonic structures in each species, understand the mechanism producing structural color in newly identified species, relate the development of cell wall structure to reflectance in Viburnum dentatum, and describe the evolution of cell wall architecture across Viburnum.
We identify at least two (possibly three) origins of blue fruit color in Viburnum in species which produce large photonic structures made of lipid droplets embedded in the cell wall and which reflect blue light.
Examining the full spectrum of mechanisms producing color in pl, including structural color as well as pigments, will yield further insights into the diversity, ecology, and evolution of fruit color.
Humidity has been an important factor, in both negative and positive ways, in the development of perovskite solar cells and will prove critical in the push to commercialize this exciting new ...photovoltaic technology. The interaction between CH3NH3PbI3 and H2O vapor is investigated by characterizing the ground-state and excited-state optical absorption properties and probing morphology and crystal structure. These undertakings reveal that H2O exposure does not simply cause CH3NH3PbI3 to revert to PbI2. It is shown that, in the dark, H2O is able to complex with the perovskite, forming a hydrate product similar to (CH3NH3)4PbI6·2H2O. This causes a decrease in absorption across the visible region of the spectrum and a distinct change in the crystal structure of the material. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopic measurements show the effect that humidity has on the ultrafast excited state dynamics of CH3NH3PbI3. More importantly, the deleterious effects of humidity on complete solar cells, specifically on photovoltaic efficiency and stability, are explored in the light of these spectroscopic understandings.
Air pollution is a global threat leading to large impacts on human health and ecosystems. In Europe, air quality remains poor in many areas, despite reductions in emissions and ambient ...concentrations. Air pollution and climate change are the biggest environmental concerns for Europeans, implying concerted and integrated actions to tackle them. The revised 2016 European National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD) enforces Member States to implement strategies, based on emission reduction measures, aimed to comply with targets by 2030 and achieve European Union (EU) and World Health Organization air quality objectives for environment and health protection. Despite those strategies are designed for 2030, the influence of climate change on air quality is not accounted for. In this sense, the purpose of this paper is the evaluation of the climate change impact on future air quality, taking into consideration emission reduction measures. The WRF-CAMx air quality modelling system was applied over Europe for one year selected as representative of a short-term changing climate (around 2030), and compared to a base case year, to estimate to what extent the climate variables by themselves could positively or negatively influence air quality. Results indicate that meteorological conditions may be decisive for the air quality state in the future. Differences between future and present simulations pointed to a global decrease of ozone levels in the future; increases and decreases in particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide concentrations over different seasons and European regions.
This work is intended to contribute to a better understanding of the influence of climate variables on air quality improvement strategies as an additional support to European environmental authorities in developing the National Air Pollution Control Programmes in the scope of NECD.
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•EU National Emission Ceilings Directive does not consider future climate impacts.•Meteorological conditions may be decisive for the air quality state in the future.•In average, an increase of PM and NO2 and a reduction of O3 levels are estimated in EU due to future climate.•Results support the improvement of air quality strategies for the future.
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