A nexus perspective on competing land demands: Wider lessons from a UK policy case study

As nations develop policies for low-carbon transitions, conflicts with existing policies and planning tools are leading to competing demands for land and other resources. This raises fundamental questions over how multiple demands can best be managed. Taking the UK as an empirical example, this paper critiques current policies and practices to explore the interdependencies at the water-energy-food nexus. It considers how current land uses and related policies affect the UK’s resilience to climate change, setting out an agenda for research and practice relevant to stakeholders in land-use management, policy and modelling. Despite recent progress in recognising such nexus challenges, most UK land-related policies and associated science continue to be compartmentalised by both scale and sector and seldom acknowledge nexus interconnections. On a temporal level, the absence of an over-arching strategy leaves inter-generational trade-offs poorly considered. Given the system lock-in and the lengthy policy-making process, it is essential to develop alternative ways of providing dynamic, flexible, practical and scientifically robust decision support for policy-makers. A range of ecosystem services need to be valued and integrated into a resilient land-use strategy, including the introduction of non-monetary, physical-unit constraints on the use of particular services.     

Electrical performance of laser braze-welded aluminum–copper interconnects

The reported investigation is related to laser beam braze-welding technology for dissimilar aluminum–copper interconnects for Li-ion battery assembly. The correlation between the brittle and high-resistivity intermetallic compounds and the electrical contact resistance showed that a thin intermetallic layer is highly desirable. It was proved that highest shear strength and lowest contact resistance can be achieved within the same parameter set which is of particular interest to battery electrical vehicle applications requiring both high mechanical reliability and electrical performance.A study on the weld seam layout further showed that two parallel weld seams with optimized spacing and overlap design provide lowest contact resistance.     

Prenatal diagnosis of Pierre–Robin sequence as part of Stickler syndrome

Stickler syndrome or hereditary progressive arthro-ophthalmopathy, is an autosomal dominant condition characterized by ocular manifestations, arthritic changes, orofacial features and deafness, in variable degrees. We report the first case of prenatal diagnosis of Stickler syndrome in a child with a Pierre–Robin sequence (PRS) causing a polyhydramnios. When isolated polyhydramnios is not explained by immunological, metabolic or infectious causes, swallowing difficulty due to PRS must be considered. As PRS is aetiologically heterogenous, the prognosis depends on the cause. Genetic investigations and familial history must be taken into account. Here, in a context of familial Stickler syndrome, making the prenatal diagnosis of PRS as part of Stickler syndrome allowed us to reassure the parents and to anticipate airway trouble at the child's birth. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

<正>Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment,Print ISSN 1004-2857,Online ISSN 2325-4262,Volume 11,2013.Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment(www.tandfonline.com/tpre)is a peer-reviewed journal published in March,June,September,and December by TaylorFrancis,4 Park Square,Milton Park,Abingdon,Oxon,OX14 4RN,UK.     

Carbon price impacts on sector cost: based on an input–output model of Beijing

Under the pressure of sustained growth in energy consumption in China, the implementation of a carbon pricing mechanism is an effective economic policy measure for promoting emission reduction, as well as a hotspot of research among scholars and policy makers. In this paper, the effects of carbon prices on Beijing’s economy are analyzed using input–output tables. The carbon price costs are levied in accordance with the products’ embodied carbon emission. By calculation, given the carbon price rate of 10 RMB/t-CO₂, the total carbon costs of Beijing account for approximately 0.22–0.40% of its gross revenue the same year. Among all industries, construction bears the largest carbon cost. Among export sectors, the coal mining and washing industry has much higher export carbon price intensity than other industries. Apart from traditional energy-intensive industries, tertiary industry, which accounts for more than 70% of Beijing’s economy, also bears a major carbon cost because of its large economic size. However, from 2007 to 2010, adjustment of the investment structure has reduced the emission intensity in investment sectors, contributing to the reduction of overall emissions and carbon price intensity.