Solar energy conversion into electricity by photovoltaic modules is now a mature technology. We discuss the need for materials and device developments using conventional silicon and other materials, pointing to the need to use scalable materials and to reduce the energy payback time. Storage of solar energy can be achieved using the energy of light to produce a fuel. We discuss how this can be achieved in a direct process mimicking the photosynthetic processes, using synthetic organic, inorganic, or hybrid materials for light collection and catalysis. We also briefly discuss challenges and needs for large-scale implementation of direct solar fuel technologies. 相似文献
Forests play a fundamental role in the global carbon cycle and can be managed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and conserve or sequester carbon. Global policy and environmental changes can affect regional consumption of forest products, as well as inter-regional trade of forest goods and services. This study analyzes global and regional change impacts on the production, consumption and trade of forest products in two Nordic countries, Finland and Sweden. Annual data on removal and trade (1964–2012) for roundwood and sawnwood is used to identify structural breaks based on Chow tests. According to the analysis, the time period is divided into two periods: t1 (1964–1980) and t2 (1981–2012). In the first period, breaks occurred in 1975 and 1976 in the Finnish model and no break is found in the Swedish model. In the second period, we identify breaks in 1991 and 1992 for the Finnish model and in 2004, 2005 and 2006 for the Swedish model. Although our findings have broad empirical support, we do not identify any specific incident as a direct cause of the changes in the consumption and trade patterns of the two types of wood in these countries. The models and analysis presented here can serve as methodological tools for policymakers to better understand the effects of structural changes in the production of forest goods and services in the Nordic region and globally. 相似文献
Much of our understanding of physiology and metabolism is derived from investigating mouse mutants and transgenic mice, and
open-access platforms for standardized mouse phenotyping such as the German Mouse Clinic (GMC) are currently viewed as one
powerful tool for identifying novel gene-function relationships. Phenotyping or phenotypic screening involves the comparison of wild-type control mice with their mutant or transgenic littermates. In our study, we explored
the extent to which standardized phenotyping will succeed in detecting biologically relevant phenotypic differences in mice
generated and provided by different collaborators. We analyzed quantitative metabolic data (body mass, energy intake, and
energy metabolized) collected at the GMC under the current workflow, and used them for statistical power considerations. Our
results demonstrate that there is substantial variability in these parameters among lines of wild-type C57BL/6 (B6) mice from
different sources. Given this variable background noise in mice that serve as controls, subtle phenotypes in mutant or transgenic
littermates may be overlooked. Furthermore, a phenotype observed in one cohort of a mutant line may not be reproducible (to
the same extent) in mice coming from a different environment or supplier. In the light of these constraints, we encourage
researchers to incorporate information on intrastrain variability into future study planning, or to perform advanced hierarchical
analyses. Both will ultimately improve the detectability of novel phenotypes by phenotypic screening.
Carola W. Meyer and Ralf Elvert contributed equally to this work. 相似文献
The neonatal incidence rate of Down syndrome (DS) is well-known to accelerate strongly with maternal age. This non-linearity
renders mere accumulation of defects at recombination during prolonged first meiotic prophase implausible as an explanation
for DS rate increase with maternal age, but might be anticipated from chromosomal drive (CD) for trisomy 21. Alternatively,
as there is selection against genetically disadvantaged embryos, the screening system that eliminates embryos with trisomy
21 might decay with maternal age. In this paper, we provide the first evidence for relaxed filtering stringency (RFS) to represent
an adaptive maternal response that could explain accelerating DS rates with maternal age. Using historical data, we show that
the proportion of aberrant live births decrease with increased family size in older mothers, that inter-birth intervals are
longer before affected neonates than before normal ones, and that primiparae exhibit elevated levels of DS incidence at higher
age. These findings are predicted by adaptive RFS but cannot be explained by the currently available alternative non-adaptive
hypotheses, including CD. The identification of the relaxation control mechanism and therapeutic restoration of a stringent
screen may have considerable medical implications. 相似文献
Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (N) stocks in an agroforestry system with water harvesting were analysed in a field experiment and the results compared with those of other crop management systems in the Mediterranean zone of central Chile. Agroforestry with water harvesting showed higher positive effects on N stocks, mainly in the upper soil layer, than the other crop management systems. However, soil analysis revealed a lack of differences between treatments, a fact that might be related mainly to the short study time (12 years) and the high spatial variability in these soil properties at the experimental site. In addition, the Introductory Carbon Balance Model that simulates N processes (ICBM/N) was evaluated for simulating trends in SOC and N stocks in the field experiment. Soil data collected between 1996 and 2008 in the field experiment and primarily literature data sets were used to test ICBM/N and its performance was evaluated by considering uncertainty in model inputs using Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) methodology. The GLUE estimates (5% and 95%) and measured SOC and N stocks were in satisfactory agreement. The observed SOC and N stocks were bracketed by the uncertainty bands in 70% and 80% of the simulations, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed the model to be most sensitive to C parameters, such as the humification coefficient (h). The results of this study show that ICBM/N can be an effective tool for estimating SOC and N stocks from agroforestry combined with water harvesting systems in the Mediterranean zone of central Chile over the medium term. However, they also indicate that additional data sets are needed to redefine the parameter distributions in the model and thus to predict trends in SOC and N stocks in the future. 相似文献
Ambio - Before the mid-twentieth century, there was no comprehensive narrative about empirical conditions in Swedish seas. Around 1970, this view changed profoundly. In line with growing research... 相似文献
Human-induced urban growth and sprawl have implications for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that may not be included in conventional GHG accounting methods. Improved understanding of this issue requires use of interactive, spatial-explicit social–ecological systems modeling. This paper develops a comprehensive approach to modeling GHG emissions from urban developments, considering Stockholm County, Sweden as a case study. GHG projections to 2040 with a social–ecological system model yield overall greater emissions than simple extrapolations in official climate action planning. The most pronounced difference in emissions (39% higher) from energy use single-residence buildings resulting from urban sprawl. And this difference is not accounted for in the simple extrapolations. Scenario results indicate that a zoning policy, restricting urban development in certain areas, can mitigate 72% of the total emission effects of the model-projected urban sprawl. The study outcomes include a decision support interface for communicating results and policy implications with policymakers.
Ambio - In the original published article, the sentence “Nevertheless, semi-natural forest remnants continue to be harvested and fragmented (Svensson et al. 2018; Jonsson et al. 2019), and... 相似文献