Working towards a future on alternative fuels : the role of the automotive industry

Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)-- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-84).Complementarity of vehicles and fuels has posed significant barrier for increasing the use of alternative fuels in place of traditional ones. An initial positive number of either alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) users or alternative fueling stations are needed for the diffusion of both. This research examines the incentive of the automotive industry, in particular automobile companies focusing on AFVs, to create a positive number of AFV users by demand-side promotion which increases environmental awareness of consumers, and a positive number of alternative fueling stations by supply-side promotion including funding part of the upfront or operating costs of alternative fueling stations. I first build a static microeconomic model of the vehicle and fuel market and find that the demand-side promotion is helpful in creating a positive number of AFVs and alternative fueling stations under a wider range of situations than is supply-side promotion. AFV companies are found to have incentive to do these promotions given affordable promotion costs. Furthermore, using data on vehicle purchase and characteristics of U.S. consumer units from 2005 to 2010 merged with information on state-level fuel prices, fueling stations, and designation of clean cities, I find that the addition of 1 clean city or 100 refueling stations of E85, an alternative fuel used in flex-fuel vehicles, is equivalent to a reduction of $0.04 or$0.19 in the E85 price on the effect of increasing flex-fuel vehicle choice probability respectively. Both the theoretical and empirical results suggest that AFV companies evaluate business opportunities in supply- and demand-side promotions, and that policy makers consider potential contributions of the market to bringing about a future on alternative fuels.by Cuicui Chen.S.M.in Technology and Polic

Colluding against environmental regulation

We study collusion among rms in response to imperfectly monitored environmental regulation. Firms improve market prots by shading pollution and evade noncompliance penalties by shading jointly. We quantify the welfare eects of alleged collusion among three German automakers to reduce the size of diesel exhaust uid (DEF) tanks, an emission control technology used to comply with air pollution standards. We develop a structural model of the European automobile industry (2007-2018), where smaller DEF tanks create more pollution damages, but improve buyer and producer surplus by freeing up valuable trunk space and reducing production costs. We nd that choosing small DEF tanks jointly reduced the automakers' expected noncompliance penalties by at least 560 million euros. Antitrust and noncompliance penalties would reach between 1.46 and 14.63 billion euros to remedy the welfare damages of the alleged collusion

Colluding against environmental regulation

We study collusion among rms in response to imperfectly monitored environmental regulation. Firms improve market prots by shading pollution and evade noncompliance penalties by shading jointly. We quantify the welfare eects of alleged collusion among three German automakers to reduce the size of diesel exhaust uid (DEF) tanks, an emission control technology used to comply with air pollution standards. We develop a structural model of the European automobile industry (2007-2018), where smaller DEF tanks create more pollution damages, but improve buyer and producer surplus by freeing up valuable trunk space and reducing production costs. We nd that choosing small DEF tanks jointly reduced the automakers' expected noncompliance penalties by at least 560 million euros. Antitrust and noncompliance penalties would reach between 1.46 and 14.63 billion euros to remedy the welfare damages of the alleged collusion

Small RNA zippers lock miRNA molecules and block miRNA function in mammalian cells.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) loss-of-function phenotypes are mainly induced by chemically modified antisense oligonucleotides. Here we develop an alternative inhibitor for miRNAs, termed \u27small RNA zipper\u27. It is designed to connect miRNA molecules end to end, forming a DNA-RNA duplex through a complementary interaction with high affinity, high specificity and high stability. Two miRNAs, miR-221 and miR-17, are tested in human breast cancer cell lines, demonstrating the 70∼90% knockdown of miRNA levels by 30-50 nM small RNA zippers. The miR-221 zipper shows capability in rescuing the expression of target genes of miR-221 and reversing the oncogenic function of miR-221 in breast cancer cells. In addition, we demonstrate that the miR-221 zipper attenuates doxorubicin resistance with higher efficiency than anti-miR-221 in human breast cancer cells. Taken together, small RNA zippers are a miRNA inhibitor, which can be used to induce miRNA loss-of-function phenotypes and validate miRNA target genes

Gray matter asymmetry atypical patterns in subgrouping minors with autism based on core symptoms

Abnormal gray matter (GM) asymmetry has been verified in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is characterized by high heterogeneity. ASD is distinguished by three core symptom domains. Previous neuroimaging studies have offered support for divergent neural substrates of different core symptom domains in ASD. However, no previous study has explored GM asymmetry alterations underlying different core symptom domains. This study sought to clarify atypical GM asymmetry patterns underlying three core symptom domains in ASD with a large sample of 230 minors with ASD (ages 7–18 years) and 274 matched TD controls from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange I (ABIDE I) repository. To this end, the scores of the revised autism diagnostic interview (ADI-R) subscales were normalized for grouping ASD into three core-symptom-defined subgroups: social interaction (SI), verbal communication (VA), and restricted repetitive behaviors (RRB). We investigated core-symptom-related GM asymmetry alterations in ASD resulting from advanced voxel-based morphometry (VBM) by general linear models. We also examined the relationship between GM asymmetry and age and between GM asymmetry and symptom severity assessed by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). We found unique GM asymmetry alterations underlying three core-symptom-defined subgroups in ASD: more rightward asymmetry in the thalamus for SI, less rightward asymmetry in the superior temporal gyrus, anterior cingulate and caudate for VA, and less rightward asymmetry in the middle and inferior frontal gyrus for RRB. Furthermore, the asymmetry indexes in the thalamus were negatively associated with ADOS_SOCIAL scores in the general ASD group. We also showed significant correlations between GM asymmetry and age in ASD and TD individuals. Our results support the theory that each core symptom domain of ASD may have independent etiological and neurobiological underpinnings, which is essential for the interpretation of heterogeneity and the future diagnosis and treatment of ASD

The distributive and structural characteristics of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) in Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus)

Background Bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT), distributed in the bronchial mucosa, plays a critical role in maintaining the mucosal immune homeostasis of the lower respiratory tract. The bronchial tree is a functional structure for gas exchange with the outside environment and maintains basic lung morphology. Methods To explore the structural and distributive characteristics of BALT in Bactrian camels, twelve healthy adult Bactrian camels were divided into two groups (six in each group). The lungs, bronchial tree and BALT were observed and analysed systematically through anatomical and histological methods. Results The results showed that Bactrian camel lungs were constituted by the left cranial lobe, left caudal lobe, right cranial lobe, right caudal lobe and accessory lobe, but lacked the middle lobe. The cranial lobe was narrow and small, the caudal lobe was extremely developed (almost four times the cranial lobe in size), and the accessory lobe was smaller than the cranial lobe; the bronchial tree, an unequal dichotomy with a tracheobronchial branch, was composed of dorsal, ventral, lateral and medial bronchiole systems. Isolated lymphoid follicles (the chief type) and aggregates of lymphoid follicles revealed two types of BALT, and germinal centres, follicle-associated epithelium and high endothelial venules could be observed in some well-developed BALT. Additionally, BALT was scattered along the bronchial tree in the entire lung, and the density increased from the trachea to the lower graded branches (densest in the bronchioles) and then decreased, with the occasional location around respiratory bronchioles or among the pulmonary mesenchyme. In the conducting portion, BALT was primarily located in the mucosa lamina propria but was also found in the submucosa, under the muscular layer, and around the submucosal glands and cartilage. Conclusion The results demonstrated that the lung morphology of Bactrian camels was similar to that of horses, but the bronchial branches were more closely related to those of ruminants. These characteristics were in accordance with the morphological and structural variation regularity of lungs with species evolution. BALT was mainly scattered in the conducting portion, and bronchioles, as the final “checkpoint” in the surveillance, capture and recognition of antigens before pulmonary exchange, were the pivotal locational position of BALT. However, BALT at different depths of the bronchial wall of the conducting portion might be at different developmental stages. Our study provided evidence for further insight into the mucosal immunomodulatory mechanism of BALT in the respiratory system of Bactrian camels