Search Results (7)

The role of methane (CH₄) in the 21st century presents a critical dilemma. Its abundance and clean-burning nature make it a promising energy source, while its potent greenhouse effect threatens climate stability. Despite its potent greenhouse gas (GHG) nature, CH₄ remains a crucial energy resource. However, advancements in CH₄ capture, utilization, and emissions mitigation are rapidly evolving, necessitating a critical assessment of the advances, their potential, and challenges. This study aims to comprehensively evaluate the current state of the art in these advancements, particularly focusing on the emissions trends, with corresponding global warming potentials of projected CH₄ emissions, and a discussion on the advances that have been made towards reducing the impacts of CH₄ emissions. The areas of these advances include measurement, computational, numerical modeling, and simulation studies for CH₄, emerging technologies for CH₄ production, management and control, the nexus of CH₄ –X, and case study applications in countries. This study reports on these advances, which involves a technical review of studies, mainly from the last decade, discussing the technical feasibility, economic viability, and environmental impact of these advancements. Our trend analysis reveals that even though the share of CH₄ in the GHG mix has been around 19% compared with carbon dioxide (CO₂), still, CH₄ reduction would need to be highly subsidized because of the high global warming potential it has, compared with CO₂. We conclude that while significant progress has been made, further research and development are essential to optimize the performance, scalability, and affordability of these advancements. Additionally, robust policy frameworks and international collaborations are crucial to ensure widespread adoption and maximize the potential that comes with the advancements in the mitigation of the impact of CH₄ emission. This study contributes to the ongoing dialogue on balancing the potentials of CH₄ with its environmental footprint, paving the way for a future where this versatile resource can be utilized sustainably. Full article

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by pathophysiological deposits of extracellular amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles of tau. The central role of Aβ in AD pathology is well-established, with its increased deposition attributed mainly to its decreased cerebral clearance. Here, it is noteworthy that apolipoprotein E (ApoE), the most significant risk factor for AD, has been shown to play an isoform-specific role in clearing Aβ deposits (ApoE2 > ApoE3 > ApoE4), owing mainly to its lipidation status. In addition to the pathophysiological Aβ deposits, AD is also characterized by abnormal glucose metabolism, which is a distinct event preceding Aβ deposition. The present study established, for the first time, a possible link between these two major AD etiologies, with glucose metabolism directly influencing ApoE lipidation and its secretion by astrocytes expressing human ApoE4. Specifically, glucose dose-dependently activated liver X receptor (LXR), leading to elevated ABCA1 and ABCG1 protein levels and enhanced ApoE lipidation. Moreover, co-treatment with a glycolytic inhibitor significantly inhibited this LXR activation and subsequent ApoE lipidation, further supporting a central role of glucose metabolism in LXR activation leading to enhanced ApoE lipidation, which may help against AD through potential Aβ clearance. Therefore, we hypothesized that pharmacological agents that can target cellular energy metabolism, specifically aerobic glycolysis, may hold significant therapeutic potential against AD. In this context, the present study also led to the discovery of novel, small-molecule stimulants of astrocytic glucose metabolism, leading to significantly enhanced lipidation status of ApoE4 in astrocytic cells. Three such newly discovered compounds (lonidamine, phenformin, and berberine), owing to their promising cellular effect on the glycolysis-ApoE nexus, warrant further investigation in suitable in vivo models of AD. Full article

Hydrogen has recently been proposed as a versatile energy carrier to contribute to archiving universal access to clean cooking. In hard-to-reach rural settings, decentralized produced hydrogen may be utilized (i) as a clean fuel via direct combustion in pure gaseous form or blended with Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), or (ii) via power-to-hydrogen-to-power (P2H2P) to serve electric cooking (e-cooking) appliances. Here, we present the first techno-economic evaluation of hydrogen-based cooking solutions. We apply mathematical optimization via energy system modeling to assess the minimal cost configuration of each respective energy system on technical and economic measures under present and future parameters. We further compare the potential costs of cooking for the end user with the costs of cooking with traditional fuels. Today, P2H2P-based e-cooking and production of hydrogen for utilization via combustion integrated into the electricity supply system have almost equal energy system costs to simultaneously satisfy the cooking and electricity needs of the isolated rural Kenyan village studied. P2H2P-based e-cooking might become advantageous in the near future when improving the energy efficiency of e-cooking appliances. The economic efficiency of producing hydrogen for utilization by end users via combustion benefits from integrating the water electrolysis into the electricity supply system. More efficient and cheaper hydrogen technologies expected by 2050 may improve the economic performance of integrated hydrogen production and utilization via combustion to be competitive with P2H2P-based e-cooking. The monthly costs of cooking per household may be lower than the traditional use of firewood and charcoal even today when applying the current life-line tariff for the electricity consumed or utilizing hydrogen via combustion. Driven by likely future technological improvements and the expected increase in traditional and fossil fuel prices, any hydrogen-based cooking pathway may be cheaper for end users than using charcoal and firewood by 2030, and LPG by 2040. The results suggest that providing clean cooking in rural villages could economically and environmentally benefit from utilizing hydrogen. However, facing the complexity of clean cooking projects, we emphasize the importance of embedding the results of our techno-economic analysis in holistic energy delivery models. We propose useful starting points for future aspects to be investigated in the discussion section, including business and financing models. Full article

Food security and energy transition are among the current major global environmental challenges. Although these issues individually are significant in their own right, they are connected to each other in a nexus with different interrelationships and dependencies. In the quest for non-fossil alternatives for energy, cultivation of bioenergy crops has become an important part of the energy policy in many countries. In this regard, the use of fertile agricultural land for growing crops for energy production rather than for food supply affects the global food security. Recent conflicts and the geopolitical crisis in Europe, leading to increased food, fuel, and fertiliser prices, the existing climate crisis, and the crisis caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have further reinforced the understanding of this nexus, with certain countries mulling limiting biofuel production from agricultural land and others banning food grain exports to safeguard food supply. The idea of growing non-food energy crops on marginal lands in general and closed landfill sites in particular is hence ever more relevant, to avoid land-use concurrence between food needs and energy needs. Landfilling has been the dominant waste management strategy until recently in European countries and is still the dominant mode of waste management in low-income regions like South Asia. This paper provides a review of the economic as well as environmental benefits of growing Ricinus communis L., Jatropha curcas L., and Populus deltoides as energy crops on closed landfill sites in the South Asian context. While as the cultivation of Miscanthus X Giganteus, Silphium perfoliatum L., and Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass) is reviewed in the European context. The cultivation of non-food energy crops like these on closed landfill sites and marginal lands is presented as a potential component of an integrated food-energy policy, with an increased relevance in the current times. In the current times of multiple crises, this measure is of increasing relevance as a part of the overall strategy to achieve resilience and environmental sustainability. Full article

Finding a balance between the capacity for production and the rising demand for food is the first step toward achieving food security. To achieve sustainable development on a national scale, decision-makers must use an energy, water, and food nexus approach that considers the relationships and interactions among these three resources as well as the synergies and trade-offs that result from the way they are handled. Therefore, this paper evaluates the Energy–Water–Food Nexus Profile of Qatar at a superstructural level by applying the Business-As-Usual (BAU) storyline; thus, trends of past data have been used to provide future projections to 2050 using the statistical prediction tools such as the compound annual growth rates of food demand (${CAGR}_{FD}$), international supply (${CAGR}_{FI}$), and the average local food supply change factor ($\overline{c}$). Once the BAU storyline has been generated, the source-to-demand correlations have been defined for each food category. Such correlations include the annual and average ratios of the local food supply to the total demand (i.e., ${\mathsf{\alpha }}_i$ and $\overline{\mathsf{\alpha }}$) and the ratios of the local food supply to the international supply (i.e., ${\mathsf{\beta }}_i$ and $\overline{\mathsf{\beta }}$). In addition, as an effort to identify the required action to reach food self-sustainability, the additional local food supply to achieve ($x_{i,add})$ and its ratio to the local demand ($\mathsf{\gamma }$) have been defined. The highest average ratio of the local food supply to the total demand (${\mathsf{\alpha }}_i$) was found for the meat category, which was estimated to be 48.3%. Finally, to evaluate the feasibility of attaining food self-sustainability in Qatar, the water consumption ($V_{w,i}$) and its corresponding required energy for each food category have been estimated. Full article

Heidegger tries to explain our emotional life applying three schemes: causal explanation, mental internalisation of emotions and metaphorical expression. None of the three schemes explains emotion though. Either because the causal nexus does not always occur or because objects and people in the external world are carriers of emotional agents or because language is already on a metaphorical level. Moreover, how is it possible that there are presently emotions constituting our life without our being aware of their existence? From the analysis of boredom in its three varieties (“bored by X”, “get oneself bored”, and “it is boring”) we will get to the depth where emotions lie, trying to rouse them and to keep them awake. Although it surfaces with the force and energy of the present, every emotion has its past and future constitution. How can we understand the future of a present emotion along with its past? Full article

A vast number of the energy-growth nexus researchers, as well as other “X-variable-growth nexus” studies, such as for example the tourism-growth nexus, the environment-growth nexus or the food-growth nexus have used the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) bounds test approach for cointegration testing. Their research papers rarely include all the ARDL procedure steps in a detailed way and thus they leave other researchers confused with the series of steps that must be followed and the best implementation paradigms so that they not allow any obscure aspects. This paper is a comprehensive review that suggests the steps that need to be taken before the ARDL procedure takes place as well as the steps that should be taken afterward with respect to causality investigation and robust analysis. Full article