The spillover effect of mandatory renewable portfolio standards.

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPSs) are one of the most prevalent and impactful clean energy policies implemented by states in the United States. This paper investigates the regional spillover effect of RPS policies using a directed dyad panel dataset of renewable electricity generation in US states from 1991 to 2021. Regional spillover effect is measured in two ways: by considering the influence of an RPS enacted in neighboring states and in states in the same regional transmission organization or independent system operator region. We use dyadic fixed effects estimation and conclude that the neighboring state's RPS stringency score is a strong determinant of a state's total renewable electricity generation. For states without an RPS, the positive influence of an RPS in a neighboring state is larger when the non-RPS state has more abundant renewable energy resources than the neighboring RPS state. Our findings suggest that past RPS policy evaluation research using a confined within-state focus may have underestimated the holistic impact of an RPS, as the impacts of an RPS policy can extend beyond the enacting state's borders. Overall, this study contributes to an improved understanding of the holistic impact of state RPS policies.

Achieving Decentralized, Electrified, and Decarbonized Ammonia Production.

The rapid reduction in the cost of renewable energy has motivated the transition from carbon-intensive chemical manufacturing to renewable, electrified, and decarbonized technologies. Although electrified chemical manufacturing technologies differ greatly, the feasibility of each electrified approach is largely related to the energy efficiency and capital cost of the system. Here, we examine the feasibility of ammonia production systems driven by wind and photovoltaic energy. We identify the optimal regions where wind and photovoltaic electricity production may be able to meet the local demand for ammonia-based fertilizers and set technology targets for electrified ammonia production. To compete with the methane-fed Haber-Bosch process, electrified ammonia production must reach energy efficiencies of above 20% for high natural gas prices and 70% for low natural gas prices. To account for growing concerns regarding access to water, geospatial optimization considers water stress caused by new ammonia facilities, and recommendations ensure that the identified regions do not experience an increase in water stress. Reducing water stress by 99% increases costs by only 1.4%. Furthermore, a movement toward a more decentralized ammonia supply chain driven by wind and photovoltaic electricity can reduce the transportation distance for ammonia by up to 76% while increasing production costs by 18%.

A framework for localizing global climate solutions and their carbon reduction potential.

Localized carbon reduction strategies are especially critical in states and regions that lack top-down climate leadership. This paper illustrates the use of coupled systems in assessments of subnational climate solutions with a case study of Georgia, a state located in the southeastern United States that does not have statewide climate goals or plans. The paper illustrates how robust place-specific plans for climate action could be derived from foundational global and national work and by embedding that research into the context of socio-ecological-technological systems. Our replicable methodology advances the traditional additive sectoral wedge analysis of carbon abatement potential by incorporating solution interdependencies and by spanning both carbon sources and sinks. We estimate that a system of 20 solutions could cut Georgia's carbon footprint by 35% in 2030 relative to a business-as-usual forecast and by 50% relative to Georgia's emissions in 2005. We also produce a carbon abatement cost curve that aligns private and social costs as well as benefits with units of avoided CO2-e. The solutions are affiliated with various social co-costs and co-benefits that highlight societal concerns extending beyond climate impacts, including public health, environmental quality, employment, and equity.

Relocating Industrial Plants Delivers Win-Win Emission Reduction Benefits to Origin and Destination Regions.

Relocating pollution-intensive factories is one of the most effective measures to meet mandatory environmental regulations in developed cities while simultaneously imposing environmental pressure on the receiving cities. Existing studies often assume that relocated plants produce the same or higher emissions when relocated. However, the current pollution mitigation policies enforce even higher emission standards in the destination after plant relocation. We employ a bottom-up pollution accounting approach to assess the impact of intraregional or interregional relocation of iron and steel plants in China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) area on various air pollutants; specifically, seven policy scenarios are modeled, based on stringency, implementation scope, and production technologies. We find that relocation combined with emission standards enforcement and shifts from BOF (basic oxygen furnace) to EAF (electric arc furnace) production technology may significantly reduce emissions within and outside BTH areas by as much as 28.8% compared to business as usual. The observed reduction is mainly due to the requirement of meeting ultralow emission standards directly or indirectly after relocation. Both origin and destination cities benefit from the relocation, with limited emission spillovers (+9.1%) for destinations outside BTH and even a net reduction (9.4%) in Tangshan. We conclude that combining factory relocation with stricter emission standards and production technological innovation could circumvent the Pollution Haven Hypothesis and deliver win-win air pollution reduction benefits for both origins and destinations.

Pediatric pharmacogenomics: challenges and opportunities: on behalf of the Sanford Children's Genomic Medicine Consortium.

The advent of digital, electronic, and molecular technologies has allowed the study of complete genomes. Integrating this information into drug development has opened the door for pharmacogenomic (PGx) interventions in direct patient care. PGx allows clinicians to better identify drug of choice and optimize dosing regimens based on an individual's genetic characteristics. Integrating PGx into pediatric care is a priority for the Sanford Children's Genomic Medicine Consortium, a partnership of ten children's hospitals across the US committed to the innovation and advancement of genomics in pediatric care. In this white paper, we review the current state of PGx research and its clinical utility in pediatrics, a largely understudied population, and make recommendations for advancing cutting-edge practice in pediatrics.

Translating a Global Emission-Reduction Framework for Subnational Climate Action: A Case Study from the State of Georgia.

Subnational entities are recognizing the need to systematically examine options for reducing their carbon footprints. However, few robust and comprehensive analyses are available that lay out how US states and regions can most effectively contribute. This paper describes an approach developed for Georgia-a state in the southeastern United States called "Drawdown Georgia", our research involves (1) understanding Georgia's baseline carbon footprint and trends, (2) identifying the universe of Georgia-specific carbon-reduction solutions that could be impactful by 2030, (3) estimating the greenhouse gas reduction potential of these high-impact 2030 solutions for Georgia, and (4) estimating associated costs and benefits while also considering how the solutions might impact societal priorities, such as economic development opportunities, public health, environmental benefits, and equity. We began by examining the global solutions identified by Project Drawdown. The resulting 20 high-impact 2030 solutions provide a strategy for reducing Georgia's carbon footprint in the next decade using market-ready technologies and practices and including negative emission solutions. This paper describes our systematic and replicable process and ends with a discussion of its strengths, weaknesses, and planned future research.

Understanding access to genomics in an ethnically diverse south Florida population: A comparison of demographics in odyssey and rapid whole genome sequencing programs.

Advances in genomic medicine have evolved to include rapid whole genome sequencing (rWGS) in pediatric intensive care settings. Traditionally, genetic testing was conducted in outpatient clinics, with stepwise genetic testing occurring over several years. This delayed the time to diagnosis, making it more difficult to include underrepresented groups, such as those who identify as Black and Latinx. National genetic sequencing programs have also struggled to engage these participants in their studies, leading to a significant disparity in access to new genetic technologies. The purpose of our study was to compare the demographic characteristics of families enrolled in both an Odyssey Program (N = 46), defined as outpatients in the Genetics Clinic who have had prior genetic testing, and a newly implemented rWGS (N = 52) sequencing program. Despite living in a large, ethnically diverse city, our results indicated that parents in the Odyssey program differed significantly from parents in the rWGS program in level of education, family income, and insurance status. For example, 71.5% of parents in the diagnostic Odyssey program had a college or advanced degree, whereas 42% of parents in the rWGS program had this level of education. Family income and insurance also differed, with 48.6% of families in the Odyssey program earning $100,000 or more versus 28.2% in rWGS; 56% of parents in the Odyssey program had private insurance with 26% on Medicaid whereas only 23% of parents in rWGS had private insurance, with the vast majority of children on Medicaid (69%). Thus, our Odyssey program illustrates some of the common pitfalls in implementing genomic testing in an ethnically diverse community, including lack of referrals, travel to outpatient visits, and a cultural mismatch with providers. The successful enrollment of underrepresented groups in the rWGS program demonstrates that given the opportunity to participate in genetic testing, families are interested and aware of the potential benefits of this testing for their child. As genomic sequencing transitions from outpatient to inpatient settings, an opportunity arises to close the health disparity gap. Recommendations for implementing rWGS in pediatric, intensive care settings that address the common barriers faced by underrepresented families are discussed.

Climate research priorities for policy-makers, practitioners, and scientists in Georgia, USA.

Climate change has far-reaching effects on human and ecological systems, requiring collaboration across sectors and disciplines to determine effective responses. To inform regional responses to climate change, decision-makers need credible and relevant information representing a wide swath of knowledge and perspectives. The southeastern U. S. State of Georgia is a valuable focal area for study because it contains multiple ecological zones that vary greatly in land use and economic activities, and it is vulnerable to diverse climate change impacts. We identified 40 important research questions that, if answered, could lay the groundwork for effective, science-based climate action in Georgia. Top research priorities were identified through a broad solicitation of candidate research questions (180 were received). A group of experts across sectors and disciplines gathered for a workshop to categorize, prioritize, and filter the candidate questions, identify missing topics, and rewrite questions. Participants then collectively chose the 40 most important questions. This cross-sectoral effort ensured the inclusion of a diversity of topics and questions (e.g., coastal hazards, agricultural production, ecosystem functioning, urban infrastructure, and human health) likely to be important to Georgia policy-makers, practitioners, and scientists. Several cross-cutting themes emerged, including the need for long-term data collection and consideration of at-risk Georgia citizens and communities. Workshop participants defined effective responses as those that take economic cost, environmental impacts, and social justice into consideration. Our research highlights the importance of collaborators across disciplines and sectors, and discussing challenges and opportunities that will require transdisciplinary solutions.

Uncertainties in mapping forest carbon in urban ecosystems.

Spatially explicit urban forest carbon estimation provides a baseline map for understanding the variation in forest vertical structure, informing sustainable forest management and urban planning. While high-resolution remote sensing has proven promising for carbon mapping in highly fragmented urban landscapes, data cost and availability are the major obstacle prohibiting accurate, consistent, and repeated measurement of forest carbon pools in cities. This study aims to evaluate the uncertainties of forest carbon estimation in response to the combined impacts of remote sensing data resolution and neighborhood spatial patterns in Charlotte, North Carolina. The remote sensing data for carbon mapping were resampled to a range of resolutions, i.e., LiDAR point cloud density - 5.8, 4.6, 2.3, and 1.2 pt s/m2, aerial optical NAIP (National Agricultural Imagery Program) imagery - 1, 5, 10, and 20 m. Urban spatial patterns were extracted to represent area, shape complexity, dispersion/interspersion, diversity, and connectivity of landscape patches across the residential neighborhoods with built-up densities from low, medium-low, medium-high, to high. Through statistical analyses, we found that changing remote sensing data resolution introduced noticeable uncertainties (variation) in forest carbon estimation at the neighborhood level. Higher uncertainties were caused by the change of LiDAR point density (causing 8.7-11.0% of variation) than changing NAIP image resolution (causing 6.2-8.6% of variation). For both LiDAR and NAIP, urban neighborhoods with a higher degree of anthropogenic disturbance unveiled a higher level of uncertainty in carbon mapping. However, LiDAR-based results were more likely to be affected by landscape patch connectivity, and the NAIP-based estimation was found to be significantly influenced by the complexity of patch shape.

Electric urban delivery trucks: energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and cost-effectiveness.

We compare electric and diesel urban delivery trucks in terms of life-cycle energy consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and total cost of ownership (TCO). The relative benefits of electric trucks depend heavily on vehicle efficiency associated with drive cycle, diesel fuel price, travel demand, electric drive battery replacement and price, electricity generation and transmission efficiency, electric truck recharging infrastructure, and purchase price. For a drive cycle with frequent stops and low average speed such as the New York City Cycle (NYCC), electric trucks emit 42-61% less GHGs and consume 32-54% less energy than diesel trucks, depending upon vehicle efficiency cases. Over an array of possible conditions, the median TCO of electric trucks is 22% less than that of diesel trucks on the NYCC. For a drive cycle with less frequent stops and high average speed such as the City-Suburban Heavy Vehicle Cycle (CSHVC), electric trucks emit 19-43% less GHGs and consume 5-34% less energy, but cost 1% more than diesel counterparts. Considering current and projected U.S. regional electricity generation mixes, for the baseline case, the energy use and GHG emissions ratios of electric to diesel trucks range from 48 to 82% and 25 to 89%, respectively.

Pharmaceutical toxicology: designing studies to reduce animal use, while maximizing human translation.

Evaluation of the safety of new chemicals and pharmaceuticals requires the combination of information from various sources (e.g. in vitro, in silico and in vivo) to provide an assessment of risk to human health and the environment. The authors have identified opportunities to maximize the predictivity of this information to humans while reducing animal use in four key areas; (i) accelerating the uptake of in vitro methods; (ii) incorporating the latest science into safety pharmacology assessments; (iii) optimizing rodent study design in biological development and (iv) consolidating approaches in developmental and reproductive toxicology. Through providing a forum for open discussion of novel proposals, reviewing current research and obtaining expert opinion in each of the four areas, the authors have developed recommendations on good practice and future strategy.

Association of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resilience With Obesity, High Blood Pressure, and Parental Report of Behavioral Health Symptoms in Children: A Cross Sectional Study.

The interplay between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and resilience on health in children is not well understood. Parents completed 3 questionnaires: ACEs, Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM), and the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17(PSC-17). BMI and blood pressure were measured. 19.8% of children had 4 or more ACEs, resilience ranged from 25 to 51, 14.3% had a positive PSC-17 score, 25.6% were obese, 3.1% had systolic hypertension, and 1.2% had diastolic hypertension. Higher ACEs (ACE OR: 1.398, 95% CI = 1.044-1.893, P = .026) and lower resilience (Resilience OR: 0.740, 95% CI 0.668-0.812; P = 1.13 × 10-9) were predictive of increased reports of behavioral health symptoms, but not obesity or hypertension. The personal resilience subscale was a predictor of positive PSC-17 score (OR 0.646, 95% CI = 0.546-0.749, P = 3.18 × 10-8); relationship subscale was not. Cultivating resilience, especially personal aspects, may provide an effective intervention for behavioral health symptoms in children.

Isolation and Characterization of Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria from Paddy Field Soils in Japan.

Phosphorus (P) is abundant in soil and is essential for plant growth and development; however, it is easily rendered insoluble in complexes of different types of phosphates, which may lead to P deficiency. Therefore, increases in the amount of P released from phosphate minerals using microbial inoculants is an important aspect of agriculture. The present study used inorganic phosphate solubilizing bacteria (iPSB) in paddy field soils to develop microbial inoculants. Soils planted with rice were collected from different regions of Japan. Soil P was sequentially fractionated using the Hedley method. iPSB were isolated using selective media supplemented with tricalcium phosphate (Ca-P), aluminum phosphate (Al-P), or iron phosphate (Fe-P). Representative isolates were selected based on the P solubilization index and soil sampling site. Identification was performed using 16S rRNA and rpoB gene sequencing. Effectiveness was screened based on rice cultivar Koshihikari growth supplemented with Ca-P, Al-P, or Fe-P as the sole P source. Despite the relatively homogenous soil pH of paddy field sources, three sets of iPSB were isolated, suggesting the influence of fertilizer management and soil types. Most isolates were categorized as ß-Proteobacteria (43%). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the genera Pleomorphomonas, Rhodanobacter, and Trinickia as iPSB. Acidovorax sp. JC5, Pseudomonas sp. JC11, Burkholderia sp. JA6 and JA10, Sphingomonas sp. JA11, Mycolicibacterium sp. JF5, and Variovorax sp. JF6 promoted plant growth in rice supplemented with an insoluble P source. The iPSBs obtained may be developed as microbial inoculants for various soil types with different P fixation capacities.

Parenteral fish oil-associated burr cell anemia.

We report the development of burr cell anemia in an infant with short bowel syndrome who received parenteral fish oil (Omegaven, Fresenius-Kabi, Graz, Austria) after development of total parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease. Parenteral fish oil was discontinued, and the burr cell anemia disappeared, suggesting that parenteral fish oil might be associated with hemolytic anemia.

Estimating employment from energy-efficiency investments.

We develop a methodology for estimating the number and types of jobs that would result from investments in energy efficiency in homes, businesses, and industry. The methodology involves the development of input-output (I-O) bills of goods that characterize how energy-efficiency funds would be spent across sectors of the economy. The methodology builds on and adds greater articulation to the research conducted in prior studies of U.S. energy-efficiency policies.•The first two steps involve estimating the magnitude of investments in energy-efficient technologies and systems required to produce a unit of energy consumption reduction, and then identifying how these investments are expensed across the broad investment categories, which creates the preliminary "bills of goods" for investments in energy efficiency in homes, businesses, and industry.•The third step involves soliciting feedback on the preliminary bills of goods from experts in delivering and evaluating energy-efficiency programs, and then making necessary modifications.•In the final step we apply the input-output coefficients representing the bills of goods to estimate the direct, indirect and induced employment per million dollars of investment in energy efficiency.

The persistence of high energy burdens: A bibliometric analysis of vulnerability, poverty, and exclusion in the United States.

Using bibliometric methods, we examine the persistently high energy bills borne by low-income households in the U.S. This is a mystifying problem in today's age of abundant and low-priced electricity and fossil fuels. After decades of energy-efficiency programs and targeted policies, the average low-income household still spends a disproportionately large percentage of its income on energy bills. Issues of equity, race and justice are increasingly linked to the problem of persistent energy burdens. In the complex ecosystem of stakeholders that influence energy burden, key gaps still exist in the understanding of causes and solutions. In particular, limited research has examined the role of landlords and property managers in multifamily housing. Over the past decade, research has increasingly illuminated (1) the link between energy burden and health, (2) promising pathways to democratize energy efficiency and rooftop solar, and (3) issues of equity, justice, and African-American populations. Sustainable and affordable household energy is critical today as Covid-19 and climate change introduce new layers of stress that challenge the transition to a clean energy future.

Reflections on improved health status of rodents bred for research: contributions to the reduction and refinement of animal use.

Reductions and refinements in the use of animals have steadily occurred over the last century. The need for improved health status has been a catalyst for much of this effort. This has also driven improvements in the housing and husbandry techniques required to maintain the health status of animals produced or used for biomedical research. This has decreased the number of animals used in biomedical research studies, contributed to refinements in animal care and use, and has resulted in better science as well as better animal welfare.

Challenges and opportunities in graduate nursing education by distributed learning in Canada and Brazil.

In this paper, the authors share their experience related to graduate nursing programs offered by distributed learning (DL) in Canada and Brazil. Although degrees offered by DL are often the subject of criticism, the authors' experience has been that learning outcomes have been very good. Nevertheless, a number of challenges and opportunities have been encountered including those associated with flexibility of the program, delivering practice courses at a distance, facilitating interaction, faculty workload and preparation and student support, Newer technologies that may assist in this effort are identified. Despite the challenges encountered, students rate the program highly and ongoing efforts are underway to ensure excellence of such flexible innovative graduate programs in nursing. The authors argue that despite the challenges, DL programs offer high quality graduate education that meets the needs of many nurses.