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Fossil-fuel-related carbon dioxide emissions have risen dramatically since 1800. We identify the long-run drivers of CO2 emissions for a sample of twelve developed economies using an extended Kaya decomposition. By considering biomass and carbon-free energy sources along with fossil fuels we are able to shed light on the effects of past and present energy transitions on CO2 emissions. We find that at low levels of income per capita, fuel switching from biomass to fossil fuels is the main contributing factor to emission growth. Scale effects, especially income effects, become the most important emission drivers at higher levels of income and also dominate the overall long-run change. Technological change is the main offsetting factor. Particularly in the last decades, technological change and fuel switching have become important contributors to the decrease in emissions in Europe. Our results also individualize the different CO2 historical paths across parts of Europe, North America and Japan.

BackgroundAs the climate and environmental crises unfold, eco-anxiety, defined as anxiety about the crises’ devastating consequences for life on earth, affects mental health worldwide. Despite its importance, research on eco-anxiety is currently limited by a lack of validated assessment instruments available in different languages. Recently, Hogg and colleagues proposed a multidimensional approach to assess eco-anxiety. Here, we aim to translate the original English Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS) into German and to assess its reliability and validity in a German sample.MethodsFollowing the TRAPD (translation, review, adjudication, pre-test, documentation) approach, we translated the original English scale into German. In total, 486 participants completed the German HEAS. We used Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess whether the four-factorial model of the original English version could be replicated in the German sample. Furthermore, associations with a variety of emotional reactions towards the climate crisis, general depression, anxiety, and stress were investigated.ResultsThe German HEAS was internally consistent (Cronbach’s alphas 0.71–0.86) and the Bayesian CFA showed that model fit was best for the four-factorial model, comparable to the factorial structure of the original English scale (affective symptoms, rumination, behavioral symptoms, anxiety about personal impact). Weak to moderate associations were found with negative emotional reactions towards the climate crisis and with general depression, anxiety, and stress.DiscussionOur results support the original four-factorial model of the scale and indicate that the German HEAS is a reliable and valid scale to assess eco-anxiety in German speaking populations.

The US government proposes to impose tariffs on up to $50 billion of Chinese imports leading to significant concerns over the Trade War between the US and China. The article evaluates and examines the market responses of companies in both countries, depending on their direct and indirect exposures to US-China trade. Moreover, this paper fills the gap in literature about deglobalization in Energy and Resources Sectors in Africa. This paper proves the idea that US companies that are more dependent on exports and imports from China have lower stock and bond returns, and, at the same time, higher default risks in the short time aspect. The article found Trade War effects in energy and resources companies in Africa in the last years: on ownership rank, on credit country rank, on default risks and on their profitability. The paper also demonstrates that companies' indirect exposure to US-China trade through domestic input-output links affects their responses to news on the subject matter. These findings suggest that the state of US-China trade of energy and resources is much more complex than the simplistic view of global trade that was in the beginning of Trade War with China. As a result of the Trade War, the real changes in stock prices of China companies (-0.07%) in energy and resource sectors is less than the same changes in US companies in Africa (-0.32%) in 2019. Also, the probability of default of Chinese companies (average default probability changed in -0.08%) in energy and resource sectors changed less than the same rank of US companies in Africa (average default probability changed by -0.84%).

We read with interest the review article entitled “Imaging features of extrapulmonary tuberculosis” (EPTB), which rightly concludes that imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and follow-up of EPTB (Gambhir et al., 2017). However, rather than a systematic review of all available modalities, this review appears to have focused on promoting the potential role of positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET–CT) imaging, as the authors concluded that it may play a role in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients, especially in developing countries.

Urban planning has become increasingly consistent in leading cities toward an uncertain and chaotic future. Urban Planner needs to provide the basic needs for the growing population yet they face major challenges. Conventional Construction has compromised the green environment. Ecological Construction is being practiced to reduce the industry’s impact on the environment by utilizing sustainable development practices. Sustainable built environment is relatively important to urban growth management that deals with environmental problems, housing issues, and community well-being. In modern world all countries are trying to attain Sustainable Development. This paper is a little contribution in efforts of attaining green environment. This paper will discuss main issues of urban planning, importance of Ecological Construction and attaining sustainability in built environment.

AbstractThis study examines whether climate change-associated environmental stressors, including air and noise pollution, local heat levels, as well as a lack of surrounding greenspace, mediate the effects of local poverty on mental health, using the 28-item General Health Questionnaire. We recruited 478 adults who were representative of eleven of Berlin’s inner-city neighborhoods. The relationship of individual-level variables, neighborhood-level sociodemographic and environmental data from the Berlin Senate (Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing) to mental health was assessed in a multilevel model using SPSS. We found that neither local exposure to environmental stressors, nor available greenspace as a protective factor, mediated the effects of local poverty on variance in mental health (all p values > 0.2). However, surrounding greenspace (r = -0.24, p < 0.001), nitrogen dioxide levels (r = 0.10, p < 0.05), noise pollution (rho = 0.15, p < 0.01), and particle pollution (r = 0.12, p < 0.001) were associated with local poverty, which, more strongly than individual factors, accounted for variance in mental health (β = 0.47, p < 0.001). Our analysis indicates that the effects of local poverty on mental health are not mediated by environmental factors. Instead, local poverty was associated with both an increased mental health burden and the exposure to climate-related environmental stressors.

The effects of diphenylhydantoin [phenytoin (PHT)] on both the acute withdrawal syndrome (AWS) and the asthenic-autonomic syndrome associated with chronic alcoholism were evaluated in a single-blind, controlled, clinical, and comprehensive multiparameter psychophysiological and neurophysiological study. Twenty-four patients were treated with PHT (100 mg, PO, tid) and our standard detoxification therapy (intravenous fluids and vitamins as an antihistamine and a vasodilator; cognitive psychotherapy; and occupational therapy) and their progress was compared to that of 12 patients receiving only our standard detoxification therapy. The use of PHT and standard detoxification therapy resulted in an amelioration or cessation of the main symptoms of acute alcohol withdrawal within a mean of 3 +/- 1 days. Vital fear, psychomotor excitation, sense of shortness of breath, pronounced chill-like state, and pronounced perspiration disappeared within 3 days. In the control group, the same improvements were found in a mean of 11 +/- 3 days. After the acute withdrawal period, PHT (50-100 mg, bid-tid) was continued in all 24 patients of the PHT group to evaluate its effects on the asthenic-autonomic syndrome. PHT's most marked therapeutic effects (improvements in mood, aggression, ability to react appropriately to surroundings, attention, active vigilance, and autonomic parameters) were seen in eight patients with the sympathetic-adrenal type of autonomic disorders. Dynamic EEG and infraslow physiological processes showed confirmatory improvement. A reduction in alcohol craving and longer alcohol-free remission times were also seen. Although there were some benefits in the 16 patients with the parasympathetic type of autonomic disorders, they were smaller and less stable. There were no beneficial effects of PHT or standard therapy in a group of five young patients with a malignant, rapidly progressive form of alcoholism. We conclude that PHT is useful in acute alcohol withdrawal and in the treatment of the asthenic-autonomic syndrome (during the rehabilitative phase) in patients with sympathetic type of autonomic disorder. Further clinical evaluation and use of PHT in alcohol withdrawal and rehabilitation are indicated.