Beyond the UNFCCC North-South divide: How newly industrializing countries collaborate to innovate in climate technologies.

While the Global North is historically responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) are expected to overtake developed country emissions in the coming years. At the same time, NICs are climbing the ladder of the global economy, increasing their competitiveness on the global stage and catching up with technological competencies of developed economies. Against this background, this paper explores innovation and collaboration in Climate Change Mitigation Technologies (CCMTs) in NICs. The research question is whether the propensity to innovate and diffuse CCMTs is impacted by technological collaboration with two highly developed countries, Germany and The United States. The sample of NICs includes the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) plus Israel, Mexico, and Turkey, in a panel from 1995 to 2015. The empirical results suggest that collaboration with both Germany and the U.S. is highly significant for domestic CCMT innovation in NICs. These findings are important because, stepping beyond the literature on the merits and drawbacks of global climate governance tools such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and related UNFCCC processes, they show that collaboration for climate and environmental technologies could become a key tool to significantly improve the chances to stay in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. Finally, the policy advice for NICs and developing countries is to, above all else, focus on incubating strong technological innovation systems, including strengthening domestic Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), as well as to enhance technological collaboration with developed countries.

Sensibilidad al contraste en un grupo de diabéticos mexicanos / Contrast sensitivity in a group of Mexican diabetics

RESUMEN Objetivo: Comparar la sensibilidad al contraste evaluada en un grupo de mexicanos con diabetes mellitus contra uno sin diabetes como control. Métodos: Un total de 31 voluntarios, 14 participantes con DM con un tiempo de diagnóstico entre 2 y 20 años (sin retinopatía diabética), y 17 en el grupo control iniciaron el estudio; 4 diabéticos y 5 no diabéticos fueron excluidos por no cumplir con los criterios de inclusión. Por lo tanto, los datos analizados fueron de un grupo de 10 diabéticos (52 ± 10 años) y otro de 12 no diabéticos (52 ± 6 años). Se evaluó la sensibilidad al contraste con la cartilla Vector Vision CSV1000E a una distancia de 2,5 metros con una iluminación de 85 cd/m2. Resultados: Un mayor porcentaje de ojos diabéticos alcanzaron un mejor umbral de contraste en 3, 6 y 18 ciclos por grado en comparación con el grupo control. En 12 ciclos por grado solamente en los umbrales 1 y 5. Conclusiones: La sensibilidad al contraste de la población mexicana con diabetes mellitus presenta mejor percepción de contraste en las frecuencias evaluadas que el grupo control(AU)

ABSTRACT Objective: Compare contrast sensitivity as measured in a group of Mexican diabetes mellitus patients versus a control non-diabetic group. Methods: A group of 31 volunteers, 14 participants with DM with a diagnosis time between 2 and 20 years (without diabetic retinopathy), and 17 in the control group started the study; 4 diabetics and 5 non-diabetics were excluded because they did not meet the inclusion criteria. Therefore, the data analyzed were from a group of 10 diabetics (52 ± 10 years) and another of 12 non-diabetics (52 ± 6 years). Contrast sensitivity was evaluated with a Vector Vision CSV1000E chart at a distance of 2.5 meters and a luminance of 85 cd/m2. Results: A higher percentage of diabetic eyes reached a better contrast threshold at 3, 6 and 18 cycles per degree in comparison with the control group. At 12 cycles per degree only at thresholds 1 and 5. Conclusions: Contrast sensitivity in the Mexican population with diabetes mellitus displays better contrast perception at the frequencies evaluated than the control group(AU)

Ectopic expression of Chrysanthemum CDM19 in Arabidopsis reveals a novel function in carpel development

BACKGROUND: APETALA3 (AP3) has significant roles in petal and stamen development in accordance with the classical ABC model. RESULTS: The AP3 homolog, CDM19, from Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. Jinba was cloned and sequenced. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses revealed that CDM19 is of DEF/AP3 lineage possessing the characteristic MIKC-type II structure. Expression analysis showed that CDM19 was transcribed in petals and stamens of ray and disc florets with weak expression in the carpels. Ectopic expression of CDM19 in Arabidopsis wild-type background altered carpel development resulting in multi-carpel siliques. CDM19 could only partially rescue the Arabidopsis ap3­­3 mutant. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that CDM19 may partially be involved in petal and stamen development in addition to having novel function in carpel development.

Optimal Conditions for Streptococcus pneumoniae Culture: In Solid and Liquid Media.

Control of Streptococcus pneumoniae is mainly achieved by the use of existing vaccines. Capsular polysaccharides are the major antigenic component and are also the main virulence factor.Capsular polysaccharides must fulfill requirements of purity, uniformity, and an accurate molecular weight to be used as vaccine antigens. Vaccine production largely relies on cultivation of the pathogen in appropriate conditions.Here we describe widely used techniques to culture S. pneumoniae based on solid or complex liquid media, which are successfully applied in the diagnosis of the pathogen and in development and production of S. pneumoniae vaccines. Furthermore, we present a new chemically defined medium that can be used at lab scale.

A correction in the CDM methodological tool for estimating methane emissions from solid waste disposal sites.

Solid waste disposal sites (SWDS) - especially landfills - are a significant source of methane, a greenhouse gas. Although having the potential to be captured and used as a fuel, most of the methane formed in SWDS is emitted to the atmosphere, mainly in developing countries. Methane emissions have to be estimated in national inventories. To help this task the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published three sets of guidelines. In addition, the Kyoto Protocol established the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to assist the developed countries to offset their own greenhouse gas emissions by assisting other countries to achieve sustainable development while reducing emissions. Based on methodologies provided by the IPCC regarding SWDS, the CDM Executive Board has issued a tool to be used by project developers for estimating baseline methane emissions in their project activities - on burning biogas from landfills or on preventing biomass to be landfilled and so avoiding methane emissions. Some inconsistencies in the first two IPCC guidelines have already been pointed out in an Annex of IPCC latest edition, although with hidden details. The CDM tool uses a model for methane estimation that takes on board parameters, factors and assumptions provided in the latest IPCC guidelines, while using in its core equation the one of the second IPCC edition with its shortcoming as well as allowing a misunderstanding of the time variable. Consequences of wrong ex-ante estimation of baseline emissions regarding CDM project activities can be of economical or environmental type. Example of the first type is the overestimation of 18% in an actual project on biogas from landfill in Brazil that harms its developers; of the second type, the overestimation of 35% in a project preventing municipal solid waste from being landfilled in China, which harms the environment, not for the project per se but for the undue generated carbon credits. In a simulated landfill - the same amount of waste for 20 years -, the error would be an overestimation of 25% if the CDM project activity starts from the very first year or an underestimation of 15% if it starts just after the landfill closure. Therefore, a correction in the tool to calculate emissions from landfills as adopted by the CDM Executive Board is needed. Moreover, in countries not using the latest IPCC guidelines, which provides clear formulas to prevent misunderstandings, inventory compilers can also benefit from this paper by having more accurate results in national GHG inventories related to solid waste disposal, especially when increasing amounts of waste are landfilled, which is the case of the developing countries.

Mass-casualty Response to the Kiss Nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil.

On January 27, 2013, a fire at the Kiss Nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil led to a mass-casualty incident affecting hundreds of college students. A total of 234 people died on scene, 145 were hospitalized, and another 623 people received treatment throughout the first week following the incident.1 Eight of the hospitalized people later died.1 The Military Police were the first on scene, followed by the state fire department, and then the municipal Mobile Prehospital Assistance (SAMU) ambulances. The number of victims was not communicated clearly to the various units arriving on scene, leading to insufficient rescue personnel and equipment. Incident command was established on scene, but the rescuers and police were still unable to control the chaos of multiple bystanders attempting to assist in the rescue efforts. The Municipal Sports Center (CDM) was designated as the location for dead bodies, where victim identification and communication with families occurred, as well as forensic evaluation, which determined the primary cause of death to be asphyxia. A command center was established at the Hospital de Caridade Astrogildo de Azevedo (HCAA) in Santa Maria to direct where patients should be admitted, recruit staff, and procure additional supplies, as needed. The victims suffered primarily from smoke inhalation and many required endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. There was a shortage of ventilators; therefore, some had to be borrowed from local hospitals, neighboring cities, and distant areas in the state. A total of 54 patients1 were transferred to hospitals in the capital city of Porto Alegre (Brazil). The main issues with the response to the fire were scene control and communication. Areas for improvement were identified, namely the establishment of a disaster-response plan, as well as regularly scheduled training in disaster preparedness/response. These activities are the first steps to improving mass-casualty responses.

Contribution of cooperative sector recycling to greenhouse gas emissions reduction: a case study of Ribeirão Pires, Brazil.

Solid waste, including municipal waste and its management, is a major challenge for most cities and among the key contributors to climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced through recovery and recycling of resources from the municipal solid waste stream. In São Paulo, Brazil, recycling cooperatives play a crucial role in providing recycling services including collection, separation, cleaning, stocking, and sale of recyclable resources. The present research attempts to measure the greenhouse gas emission reductions achieved by the recycling cooperative Cooperpires, as well as highlight its socioeconomic benefits. Methods include participant observation, structured interviews, questionnaire application, and greenhouse gas accounting of recycling using a Clean Development Mechanism methodology. The results show that recycling cooperatives can achieve important energy savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and suggest there is an opportunity for Cooperpires and other similar recycling groups to participate in the carbon credit market. Based on these findings, the authors created a simple greenhouse gas accounting calculator for recyclers to estimate their emissions reductions.

Implementação e otimização de projeto para certificação do MDL em estação de tratamento de águas residuárias / Implementation and optimization project for CDM certification in wastewater treatment plant

O tratamento de águas residuárias pode ser um importante contribuinte para o acúmulo de gases de efeito estufa (GEE) na atmosfera. Com o objetivo de minimizar esse problema, estudou-se a implementação de um projeto de mecanismo de desenvolvimento limpo (MDL) em uma estação de tratamento de esgoto (ETE), mais especificamente a ETE Brasília Norte, por meio de mínimas modificações e otimização de parâmetros operacionais. A metodologia utilizada incluiu a investigação de alternativas para implantação de projetos de MDL em ETE, a análise do fluxograma da ETE, a modelagem matemática e a otimização do processo. Foram concebidos cenários operacionais da ETE, variando a eficiência de tratamento de DBO. Os resultados indicaram uma contradição entre o incentivo à sustentabilidade pelos projetos MDL e a qualidade do efluente tratado.

Wastewater treatment can produce an important contribution to greenhouse effect gases accumulation in the atmosphere. With the objective of minimizing this problem, this work studied the implementation and operational optimization of clear development mechanisms (CDM) in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), more precisely at the sewage treatment plant of North Brasilia, by applying minimal modifications and optimizing its operation parameters. The work methodology included review of CDM projects implantation alternatives, analysis of the flow diagram of the WWTP, mathematic modeling and process optimization. Some operation scenarios for the WWTP were constructed, with different BOD treatment efficiencies. The results indicate a contradiction between sustainability encouragement by CDM projects and quality of the WWTP treated effluent.

Anaerobic digestion of vinasse: energetic application of biogas and acquisition of credits of carbon a case / Biodigestão anaeróbia da vinhaça: aproveitamento energético do biogás e obtenção de créditos de carbono estudo de caso

The increase of the ethanol production in Brazil leads to growing of vinasse (main by-product of sugar and alcohol industry), worsing the problem related to its destinantion. Vinasse is rich in nutrients and has a high content of organic matter, which justifies its intense ferti-irrigation use in sugar cane crop areas. Thus, the anaerobic digestion of vinasse by UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket digestion) reactor emerges as an alternative treatment for this by-product, showing also an economic factor, the production of methane and its use. This work aimed to implement the system of anaerobic digestion of vinasse in UASB reactor and the use of energy generated by biogas. In this way, the design of UASB was based on organic volumetrical load of vinasse. The estimation of the baseline was based on the mass balance between the carbon present in the vinasse and CO2 emitted by the aerobic degradation of effluent into the environment. From the compute emissions, it was found that emissions from the baseline and the project implementation would be the same, and additionally it could be occur the production of electricity by biogas. In this way, biogas produced by anaerobic digestion has a competitive energy potential compared to other energy sources and presents additionality; however, carbon credits marked could not be a financial attractive in the development of this type of pro

A crescente produção de etanol no Brasil acarretou aumento na produção de vinhaça (principal subproduto da indústria sucroalcoleira), agravando o problema de sua destinação. A vinhaça é rica em nutrientes minerais e apresenta elevado teor de matéria orgânica, o que justifica sua intensa utilização na fertirrigação de áreas cultivadas com cana. Neste cenário, a biodigestão anaeróbia da vinhaça em reatores UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket digestion) surge como uma alternativa de tratamento deste subproduto apresentando, ainda, um fator econômico: a produção de metano e seu aproveitamento. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a aplicabilidade do sistema de digestão anaeróbia da vinhaça em reatores UASB, bem como o aproveitamento do biogás para geração de energia elétrica e obtenção de créditos de carbono. A estimativa da linha de base foi feita com base no balanço de massa entre o carbono presente na vinhaça e o CO2 emitido pela degradação aeróbia deste efluente no ambiente. Verificou-se que as emissões de linha de base e da implantação do projeto serão as mesmas, sendo que a adicionalidade é a produção de energia elétrica, uma vez que o biogás é uma fonte renovável de energia. Desta forma, pôde-se concluir que o biogás produzido pela biodigestão anaeróbia apresenta potencial energético competitivo com outras fontes energéticas e que o aproveitamento energético do biogás

Anaerobic digestion of vinasse: energetic application of biogas and acquisition of credits of carbon – a case / Biodigestão anaeróbia da vinhaça: aproveitamento energético do biogás e obtenção de créditos de carbono – estudo de caso

The increase of the ethanol production in Brazil leads to growing of vinasse (main by-product of sugar and alcohol industry), worsing the problem related to its destinantion. Vinasse is rich in nutrients and has a high content of organic matter, which justifies its intense ferti-irrigation use in sugar cane crop areas. Thus, the anaerobic digestion of vinasse by UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket digestion) reactor emerges as an alternative treatment for this by-product, showing also an economic factor, the production of methane and its use. This work aimed to implement the system of anaerobic digestion of vinasse in UASB reactor and the use of energy generated by biogas. In this way, the design of UASB was based on organic volumetrical load of vinasse. The estimation of the baseline was based on the mass balance between the carbon present in the vinasse and CO2 emitted by the aerobic degradation of effluent into the environment. From the compute emissions, it was found that emissions from the baseline and the project implementation would be the same, and additionally it could be occur the production of electricity by biogas. In this way, biogas produced by anaerobic digestion has a competitive energy potential compared to other energy sources and presents additionality; however, carbon credits marked could not be a financial attractive in the development of this type of pro

A crescente produção de etanol no Brasil acarretou aumento na produção de vinhaça (principal subproduto da indústria sucroalcoleira), agravando o problema de sua destinação. A vinhaça é rica em nutrientes minerais e apresenta elevado teor de matéria orgânica, o que justifica sua intensa utilização na fertirrigação de áreas cultivadas com cana. Neste cenário, a biodigestão anaeróbia da vinhaça em reatores UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket digestion) surge como uma alternativa de tratamento deste subproduto apresentando, ainda, um fator econômico: a produção de metano e seu aproveitamento. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a aplicabilidade do sistema de digestão anaeróbia da vinhaça em reatores UASB, bem como o aproveitamento do biogás para geração de energia elétrica e obtenção de créditos de carbono. A estimativa da linha de base foi feita com base no balanço de massa entre o carbono presente na vinhaça e o CO2 emitido pela degradação aeróbia deste efluente no ambiente. Verificou-se que as emissões de linha de base e da implantação do projeto serão as mesmas, sendo que a adicionalidade é a produção de energia elétrica, uma vez que o biogás é uma fonte renovável de energia. Desta forma, pôde-se concluir que o biogás produzido pela biodigestão anaeróbia apresenta potencial energético competitivo com outras fontes e

Anaerobic digestion of vinasse: energetic application of biogas and acquisition of credits of carbon a case / Biodigestão anaeróbia da vinhaça: aproveitamento energético do biogás e obtenção de créditos de carbono estudo de caso

The increase of the ethanol production in Brazil leads to growing of vinasse (main by-product of sugar and alcohol industry), worsing the problem related to its destinantion. Vinasse is rich in nutrients and has a high content of organic matter, which justifies its intense ferti-irrigation use in sugar cane crop areas. Thus, the anaerobic digestion of vinasse by UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket digestion) reactor emerges as an alternative treatment for this by-product, showing also an economic factor, the production of methane and its use. This work aimed to implement the system of anaerobic digestion of vinasse in UASB reactor and the use of energy generated by biogas. In this way, the design of UASB was based on organic volumetrical load of vinasse. The estimation of the baseline was based on the mass balance between the carbon present in the vinasse and CO2 emitted by the aerobic degradation of effluent into the environment. From the compute emissions, it was found that emissions from the baseline and the project implementation would be the same, and additionally it could be occur the production of electricity by biogas. In this way, biogas produced by anaerobic digestion has a competitive energy potential compared to other energy sources and presents additionality; however, carbon credits marked could not be a financial attractive in the development of this type of pro

A crescente produção de etanol no Brasil acarretou aumento na produção de vinhaça (principal subproduto da indústria sucroalcoleira), agravando o problema de sua destinação. A vinhaça é rica em nutrientes minerais e apresenta elevado teor de matéria orgânica, o que justifica sua intensa utilização na fertirrigação de áreas cultivadas com cana. Neste cenário, a biodigestão anaeróbia da vinhaça em reatores UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket digestion) surge como uma alternativa de tratamento deste subproduto apresentando, ainda, um fator econômico: a produção de metano e seu aproveitamento. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a aplicabilidade do sistema de digestão anaeróbia da vinhaça em reatores UASB, bem como o aproveitamento do biogás para geração de energia elétrica e obtenção de créditos de carbono. A estimativa da linha de base foi feita com base no balanço de massa entre o carbono presente na vinhaça e o CO2 emitido pela degradação aeróbia deste efluente no ambiente. Verificou-se que as emissões de linha de base e da implantação do projeto serão as mesmas, sendo que a adicionalidade é a produção de energia elétrica, uma vez que o biogás é uma fonte renovável de energia. Desta forma, pôde-se concluir que o biogás produzido pela biodigestão anaeróbia apresenta potencial energético competitivo com outras fontes energéticas e que o aproveitamento energético do biogás