The Clean Power Plan: Issues to Watch

Although the Clean Air Act is an imperfect tool for addressing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is the only available federal mechanism for directly addressing power plant carbon emissions. The Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan, published in final form in August 2015, tackles the challenge. This paper from the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) compiles 13 separately authored essays from 11 CPR Member Scholars, each addressing a different topic related to the Clean Power Plan, and each representing the expertise and views of its individual author(s). Published in July 2015, just before the release of the final rule, the essays tee up key questions about the rule’s legality, implications for the energy sector, and a series of discrete implementation questions, including the role of cap-and-trade (and offsets), the nature and distribution of state targets, and implications for environmental justice

The Clean Power Plan: Issues to Watch

Although the Clean Air Act is an imperfect tool for addressing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is the only available federal mechanism for directly addressing power plant carbon emissions. The Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan, published in final form in August 2015, tackles the challenge. This paper from the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) compiles 13 separately authored essays from 11 CPR Member Scholars, each addressing a different topic related to the Clean Power Plan, and each representing the expertise and views of its individual author(s). Published in July 2015, just before the release of the final rule, the essays tee up key questions about the rule’s legality, implications for the energy sector, and a series of discrete implementation questions, including the role of cap-and-trade (and offsets), the nature and distribution of state targets, and implications for environmental justice

Quantum shot-noise at local tunneling contacts on mesoscopic multiprobe conductors

New experiments that measure the low-frequency shot-noise spectrum at local tunneling contacts on mesoscopic structures are proposed. The current fluctuation spectrum at a single tunneling tip is determined by local partial densities of states. The current-correlation spectrum between two tunneling tips is sensitive to non-diagonal density of states elements which are expressed in terms of products of scattering states of the conductor. Thus such an experiment permits to investigate correlations of electronic wave functions. We present specific results for a clean wire with a single barrier and for metallic diffusive conductors.Comment: 4 pages REVTeX, 2 figure

Comparison of baricitinib, upadacitinib, and tofacitinib mediated regulation of cytokine signaling in human leukocyte subpopulations

BACKGROUND: The in vitro pharmacology of baricitinib, upadacitinib, and tofacitinib was evaluated to understand differences among these JAK inhibitors (JAKis) at the cellular level. METHODS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors were incubated with different JAKis, levels of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription (pSTAT) were measured following cytokine stimulation, and half maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were calculated in phenotypically gated leukocyte subpopulations. Therapeutic dose relevance of the in vitro analysis was assessed using calculated mean concentration-time profiles over 24 h obtained from JAKi-treated subjects. Time above IC50 and average daily percent inhibition of pSTAT formation were calculated for each JAKi, cytokine, and cell type. RESULTS: Distinct JAKis displayed different in vitro pharmacologic profiles. For example, tofacitinib and upadacitinib were the most potent inhibitors of the JAK1/3-dependent cytokines tested (interleukin [IL]-2, IL-4, IL-15, and IL-21) with lower IC50 values and increased time above IC50 translating to a greater overall inhibition of STAT signaling during the dosing interval. All JAKis tested inhibited JAK1/2-dependent cytokines (e.g., IL-6 and interferon [IFN]-γ), the JAK1/tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2)-dependent cytokines IL-10 and IFN-α, the JAK2/2-dependent cytokines IL-3 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and the JAK2/TYK2-dependent cytokine granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), but often to significantly differing degrees. CONCLUSIONS: Different JAKis modulated distinct cytokine pathways to varying degrees, and no agent potently or continuously inhibited an individual cytokine signaling pathway throughout the dosing interval. Notably, baricitinib inhibited JAK1/3 signaling to a lesser extent than upadacitinib and tofacitinib, while upadacitinib, baricitinib, and tofacitinib inhibited the signaling of JAK2/2-dependent cytokines, including GM-CSF and IL-3, as well as the signaling of the JAK2/TYK2-dependent cytokine G-CSF

Intonation and Compensation of Fretted String Instruments

In this paper we present mathematical and physical models to be used in the analysis of the problem of intonation of musical instruments such as guitars, mandolins and the like, i.e., we study how to improve the tuning on these instruments. This analysis begins by designing the placement of frets on the fingerboard according to mathematical rules and the assumption of an ideal string, but becomes more complicated when one includes the effects of deformation of the string and inharmonicity due to other string characteristics. As a consequence of these factors, perfect intonation of all the notes on the instrument can never be achieved, but complex compensation procedures are introduced and studied to minimize the problem. To test the validity of these compensation procedures, we have performed extensive measurements using standard monochord sonometers and other basic acoustical devices, confirming the correctness of our theoretical models. In particular, these experimental activities can be easily integrated into standard acoustics courses and labs, and can become a more advanced version of basic experiments with monochords and sonometers.Comment: Improved version, with minor changes. 25 pages, including 6 figures and 2 tables. Accepted for publication in the American Journal of Physics (AJP