Federal Terrorism Risk Insurance

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 represented a loss for commercial property & casualty insurers that was both unprecedented and unanticipated. After sustaining this record capital loss, the availability of adequate private insurance coverage against future terrorist attacks came into question. Concern over the potential adverse consequences of the lack of availability of insurance against terrorist incidents led to calls for federal intervention in insurance markets. This paper discusses the economic rationale for and against federal intervention in the market, and concludes that the benefits from establishing a temporary transition program, during which the private sector can build capacity and adapt to a dramatically changed environment for terrorism risk, may provide benefits to the economy that exceed the direct and indirect costs.

Mathematical Models for Natural Gas Forecasting

It is vital for natural gas Local Distribution Companies (LDCs) to forecast their customers\u27 natural gas demand accurately. A significant error on a single very cold day can cost the customers of the LDC millions of dollars. This paper looks at the financial implication of forecasting natural gas, the nature of natural gas forecasting, the factors that impact natural gas consumption, and describes a survey of mathematical techniques and practices used to model natural gas demand. Many of the techniques used in this paper currently are implemented in a software GasDayTM, which is currently used by 24 LDCs throughout the United States, forecasting about 20% of the total U.S. residential, commercial, and industrial consumption. Results of GasDay\u27sTM forecasting performance also is presented

The detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia by electrical impedance spectroscopy: The effects of acetic acid and tissue homogeneity

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy of an electrical impedance probe (Epitheliometer) in the diagnosis of high grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in women referred with cervical smear abnormalities and to assess the effect of acetic acid (AA) and tissue boundaries on the measurements. Methods. A prospective observational study was undertaken in the colposcopy clinic. One hundred and sixty-five women, either with a clinical indication or abnormal cervical cytology, were recruited into the study. A pencil type probe was used to record impedance spectra from 12 points on the cervix before and after the application of 5% AA. Spectra were also recorded from tissue boundaries. Colposcopic examinations, including probe positioning, were video recorded to allow for correlations between histopathological diagnosis of colposcopically directed biopsies, colposcopic impression and the diagnosis based on impedance measurements. Results. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were derived. The areas under the curves (AUCs) to discriminate original squamous from high grade CIN were 0.80 (pre AA) and 0.79 (post AA). Comparison of these curves showed no significant difference, indicating that application of AA does not produce a large change in spectra. The probe Could distinguish tissue boundaries from homogeneous tissue points. Conclusion. The Epitheliometer has the potential to be used as an adjunct to colposcopy in the diagnosis of high grade CIN. It has the advantage of real time results, decreasing the need for diagnostic cervical biopsies, and facilitates a wider use of the 'see and treat' policy without the risk of overtreatment. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Age validation of quillback rockfish (Sebastes maliger) using bomb radiocarbon

Rockfishes (Sebastes spp.) support one of the most economically important f isheries of the Pacific Northwest and it is essential for sustainable management that age estimation procedures be validated for these species. Atmospheric testing of thermonuclear devices during the 1950s and 1960s created a global radiocarbon (14C) signal in the ocean environment that scientists have identified as a useful tracer and chronological marker in natural systems. In this study, we first demonstrated that fewer samples are necessary for age validation using the bomb-generated 14C signal by emphasizing the utility of the time-specific marker created by the initial rise of bomb-14C. Second, the bomb-generated 14C signal retained in fish otoliths was used to validate the age and age estimation method of the quillback rockfish (Sebastes maliger) in the waters of southeast Alaska. Radiocarbon values from the first year’s growth of quillback rockfish otoliths were plotted against estimated birth year to produce a 14C time series spanning 1950 to 1985. The initial rise in bomb-14C from prebomb levels (~ –90‰) occurred in 1959 [±1 year] and 14C levels rose relatively rapidly to peak Δ14C values in 1967 (+105.4‰) and subsequently declined through the end of the time series in 1985 (+15.4‰). The agreement between the year of initial rise of 14C levels from the quillback rockfish time series and the chronology determined for the waters of southeast Alaska from yelloweye rockfish (S. ruberrimus) otoliths validated the aging method for the quillback rockfish. The concordance of the entire quillback rockfish 14C time series with the yelloweye rockfish time series demonstrated the effectiveness of this age validation technique, confirmed the longevity of the quillback rockfish up to a minimum of 43 years, and strongly confirms higher age estimates of u

Review of Residential Low-Load HVAC Systems

In support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Building America Program, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted an investigation to inventory commercially available HVAC technologies that are being installed in low-load homes. The first step in this investigation was to conduct a review of published literature to identify low-load HVAC technologies available in the United States and abroad, and document the findings of existing case studies that have evaluated the performance of the identified technologies. This report presents the findings of the literature review, identifies gaps in the literature or technical understanding that must be addressed before low-load HVAC technologies can be fully evaluated, and introduces PNNL’s planned research and analysis for this project to address identified gaps and potential future work on residential low-load HVAC systems