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Abstract Oil production choices are influenced by the interaction of oilfield production costs and the global price of oil. What are the characteristics of less economic oilfields, fields whose profitably is at the margin? These oilfields may differ from average fields in terms of geographical location, crude type, production practices, and carbon intensity (CI). Because these economically-marginal fields are the ones likely to respond to drop in demand (e.g., due to 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, or a rapid shift to alternatives), they represent the likely sources of oil that would be displaced. The present paper links the field-by-field costs of 1933 oilfields (representing ~ 90% of 2015 worldwide crude production) with their production environmental footprint. We show that many marginal fields also have high CI. We estimate that the fields at margin due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic demand reduction have upstream CI and marginal cost of production ~ 35% and 3 times higher than global average, respectively. The production termination of these fields could result in 181 Mtonne CO2Eq. annual reduction in upstream emissions in the short-term. The marginal producers in a generic small demand shock (5% or ~ 3.6 mmbbl/d drop) have an upstream CI 26% higher than average global oil producers, and at our larger generic demand shock (20% or ~ 14.3 mmbbl/d drop) have CI that is 5% higher than average. Heavy oilfields have the highest volume share in marginal crudes in all scenarios. These results further suggest that life cycle benefits of alternative fuels or vehicles or regulations that lead to reduced oil consumption are systematically larger than those typically estimated when displaced emissions are modeled using average crudes. The results only cover the upstream production CI and do not include synergistic impacts of differences in refining CI of different types of crudes, and thus could underestimate the total life cycle differences between marginal and average crudes.

Alcohol and marijuana are two of the most widely used substances in the U.S, with rates of alcohol and marijuana co-use increasing in recent years. Despite this increase, little is known about the effects of alcohol and marijuana co-use patterns (e.g., simultaneous, concurrent) on intimate partner aggression (IPA) perpetration. The purpose of the current study was to examine differences in IPA among simultaneous and concurrent alcohol and marijuana use groups and an alcohol-only group. Participants were 496 individuals (57% identifying as a woman) recruited nationally in April 2020 via Qualtrics Research Services who reported being in a current relationship and recently consuming alcohol. Individuals completed an online survey that included demographics, measures of COVID-19 stress, alcohol and marijuana use, and physical and psychological IPA perpetration. Based on survey responses, individuals were categorized as belonging to the alcohol use only group (n = 300), the concurrent alcohol and marijuana use group (n = 129), or the regular simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use group (n = 67). Due to inclusion criteria, there was no marijuana use only group. Individuals with regular simultaneous or concurrent alcohol and marijuana co-use reported more frequent physical and psychological IPA perpetration compared to those who only used alcohol. Neither physical nor psychological IPA perpetration frequency differed between individuals who reported regular simultaneous versus concurrent alcohol and marijuana co-use. Results suggest that alcohol and marijuana co-use in general, and not the specific pattern of use, is associated with an increased likelihood of IPA perpetration.

Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) from overdose of tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) has been reported but is not well known. During a 1-year period, 81 patients with serious overdose from tranquilizers and other psychotropic drugs were examined. TCA alone induced overdose in 30 patients or were combined with other drugs in 26 patients. Twenty-five (31%) patients had overdose from drugs other than TCA. Chest radiography revealed that 30 (54%) patients with TCA overdose and six (24%) patients with non-TCA overdose had abnormalities. Clinical and radiographic findings consistent with ARDS were noted in five (9%) patients with TCA overdose and none of the patients with non-TCA overdose. Five patients with TCA overdose and one (4%) patient with non-TCA overdose had interstitial edema that never progressed to ARDS. TCA should be added to the list of drugs associated with the development of ARDS.

Gross anomalies of structure and/or function affect 2 to 4 per cent of all human newborns and are the leading cause of perinatal mortality in this country. Despite their significance, the etiology of most such defects remains unclear. A majority are unassociated with any identifiable cause; a small but significant percentage are attributed to heritable disorders of either a Mendelian (single gene) or chromosomal nature. Drugs and environmental exposures are currently implicated in only a small percentage of affected pregnancies. Nevertheless, an awareness of the principles of teratogenesis, an appreciation for the role--though imprecise--of placental transfer and fetal drug disposition, and avoidance of known teratogens currently offers our best hope for the study and prevention of birth defects.

The effects of nine separate inducers of cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenases on the hydroxylation of estradiol-17 beta (E2) were investigated in near-term pregnant rats. Isosafrole exhibited highly effective inducing properties in the maternal liver (20-fold and 5-fold increases in 4- and 2-hydroxylase activities respectively). Pregnenolone 16 alpha-carbonitrile produced approx 20- and 30-fold increases in measured respective rates of 4- and 2-hydroxylase activities in fetal hepatic tissues; isosafrole produced only 2-fold increases in the same reaction. Only minor changes or slight increases in estrogen hydroxylation rates were observed in maternal hepatic, fetal hepatic or placental tissues following treatment with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) or other potent 3-methylcholanthrene (MC)-like inducing agents (beta-naphthoflavone, MC, caffeine). Phenobarbital exhibited relatively weak inducing properties and exposure of pregnant rats to ethanol from days 3-19 of gestation was without statistically significant effects on the parameters investigated. Rat placentas exhibited extremely low estrogen hydroxylase activities irrespective of pre-exposure of pregnant rats to the inducers studied. The results suggested separate regulatory controls for estrogen 2- and 4-monooxygenase activities even though relatively high correlation between the two reaction were generally observed in all three tissues.

AbstractThe relationship between alcohol consumption and mortality generally exhibits a U-shaped curve. The longevity observed with moderate alcohol consumption may be explained by other confounding factors, and, if such a relationship is present, the mechanism is not well understood. Indeed, the optimal amount of alcohol consumption for health has yet to be determined. Leukocyte telomere length is an emerging quantifiable marker of biological age and health, and a shorter telomere length is a predictor of increased mortality. Because leukocyte telomere length is a quantifiable and objectively measurable biomarker of aging, we sought to identify the amount of alcohol consumption associated with the longest telomere length and least telomere length attrition. Among over 2,000 participants from two distinct cohort studies, we found no pattern of alcohol consumption that was associated with longer telomere length or less telomere length attrition over time. Binge drinking may reduce telomere length. Using telomere length as a marker of age and health, these data fail to demonstrate any benefits of alcohol consumption, even when consumed in moderation.

The influence of alcohol intoxication and arousal instructional set on psychophysiological measures of sexual responding was examined in a non-clinical sample of sexually abused (SA) and non-sexually abused (NSA) women. Participants (n=42) were randomly assigned to consume alcoholic (target blood alcohol level = .08%) or non-alcoholic drinks and to receive instructions to maximize or suppress their sexual response to erotic films. Measures included vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA), self-reported sexual arousal, and mood. SA classification interacted with instruction condition such that NSA women's VPA scores were higher under maximize than suppress instructions, but this did not occur for SA women. SA classification interacted with alcohol such that, compared to their sober counterparts, intoxicated NSA women reported less sexual arousal, whereas intoxicated SA women reported more sexual arousal than their sober counterparts. Moreover, positive mood ratings were highest among intoxicated SA women. Findings indicate that alcohol may affect women differently based on SA history and imply that SA history may be associated with differences in response to subsequent sexual situations.

Fast fashion, inexpensive and widely available of-the-moment garments, has changed the way people buy and dispose of clothing. By selling large quantities of clothing at cheap prices, fast fashion has emerged as a dominant business model, causing garment consumption to skyrocket. While this transition is sometimes heralded as the "democratization" of fashion in which the latest styles are available to all classes of consumers, the human and environmental health risks associated with inexpensive clothing are hidden throughout the lifecycle of each garment. From the growth of water-intensive cotton, to the release of untreated dyes into local water sources, to worker's low wages and poor working conditions; the environmental and social costs involved in textile manufacturing are widespread.In this paper, we posit that negative externalities at each step of the fast fashion supply chain have created a global environmental justice dilemma. While fast fashion offers consumers an opportunity to buy more clothes for less, those who work in or live near textile manufacturing facilities bear a disproportionate burden of environmental health hazards. Furthermore, increased consumption patterns have also created millions of tons of textile waste in landfills and unregulated settings. This is particularly applicable to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) as much of this waste ends up in second-hand clothing markets. These LMICs often lack the supports and resources necessary to develop and enforce environmental and occupational safeguards to protect human health. We discuss the role of industry, policymakers, consumers, and scientists in promoting sustainable production and ethical consumption in an equitable manner.

All modern hardware design makes use of hardware description languages like Verilog and VHDL. Thus these languages are presented very early in the curriculum, often in the first design course. Unfortunately, these languages often cause substantial confusion for students learning hardware design, particularly students that have experience writing programs in sequential languages like C and Java. To address this problem, we have defined a language called Abstract Verilog which is similar to Verilog, but which has well-defined, clean parallel execution semantics. Abstract Verilog has a somewhat restricted syntax in order to reduce the cognitive load for new students. However, almost any program that can be written in Verilog can be written in Abstract Verilog, where it is shorter and easier to understand. We have used Abstract Verilog successfully in both introductory and advanced design classes.