Enforcing International Law: Implications for an Effective Global Warming Regime

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka den antibakteriella effekten hos ett polyestertyg med tunna invävda koppartrådar. Frågeställningen som skulle besvaras var ifall koppartyget hade en baktericid eller bakteristatisk effekt. Koppartyget är ännu i prototypstadie och om det visar sig ha antibakteriella egenskaper är det tänkt att användas inom klinisk verksamhet för att förhindra bakterietillväxt i sår och andra känsliga lokaler. Koppar är ett essentiellt spårämne, men har också antimikrobiella egenskaper som utövas genom ett brett spektra av mekanismer där skador på cellmembranet är en av de viktigare. Metoderna som användes för att inokulera bakterier på tyget var absorptionsmetoden, där en näringsbuljong innehållande Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 pipetterades på tygproverna, och transfermetoden där tygproverna trycktes mot en agar som racklats med peptonsaltlösning innehållande S. aureus. Totalantalet viabla bakterier per tygprov beräknades efter kort kontakt (<1min) och inkubering (18-24 h vid 37±2°C) genom att räkna viable count. Resultaten efter inkubering visade signifikant skillnad i totalantal bakterier mellan koppartyget och negativ kontroll i tre av fyra försök. Kort kontakt visade tendens till viss antibakteriell effekt. Slutsatsen är att koppartyget skadade och dödade bakterier då de fick inkubera på tyget, medan fler försök behövs för att säkerställa effekten av kort kontakt med koppartyget. The purpose of this study was to test the antibacterial effect of thin copper treads woven into a polyester fabric. The investigation was done by inoculation of Staphylococcus aureus strain ATCC 6538 to the fabric and evaluation of the number of viable cells post exposure by viable count. The issue to be answered was whether the copper fabric had a bactericide or bacteriostatic effect? The fabric is still in prototype stage, and if proven to have antibacterial properties the aim is to use it to prevent bacterial growth in wounds and other vulnerable locations in clinical care. Copper is an essential trace element, but also has antimicrobial properties through a wide range of mechanisms where cell membrane damage is one of the more important. Methods used for inoculation was the absorption method, where a nutrient broth containing S. aureus was pipetted on to the fabric specimens, and the transfer method where the fabric specimens were pressed onto an agar plate that had previously been spread with peptone salt solution containing S. aureus. Total number of bacteria per fabric specimen after short contact (<1 min) and incubation (18-24 h at 37±2°C) was calculated. Incubation showed significant difference in total number of bacteria between the copper fabric and negative control in three of four tests. Short contact showed a tendency of antibacterial effect. The conclusion was that the copper fabric harmed and killed bacteria during incubation but that more records would be needed to be sure about the effects of short contact on bacteria

Politics and Economics of Second-Best Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: The Importance of Regulatory Credibility

Modellers have examined a wide array of ideal-world scenarios for regulation of greenhouse gases. In this ideal world, all countries limit emissions from all economic sectors; regulations are implemented by intelligent, well-informed forward-looking agents; all abatement options, such as new energy technologies and forestry offsets, are available; trade in goods, services and emission credits is free and unfettered. Here we systematically explore more plausible second-best worlds. While analysts have given inordinate attention to which countries participate in regulation—what we call “variable geometry”—which has a strikingly small impact on total world cost of carbon regulations if international trade in emission credits allows economies to equilibrate. Limits on emission trading raise those costs, but by a much smaller amount than expected because even modest amounts of emission trading (less than 15% of abatement in a plausible scenario that varies the geometry of effort) have a large cost-reducing impact. Second best scenarios that see one sector regulated more aggressively and rapidly than others do not impose much extra burden when compared with optimal all-sector scenarios provided that regulations begin in the power sector. Indeed, some forms of trade regulation might decrease the financial flows associated to a carbon policy thus increasing political feasibility of the climate agreement. Much more important than variable geometry, trading and sectors is another factor that analysts have largely ignored: credibility. In the real world governments find it difficult to craft and implement credible international regulations and thus agents are unable to be so forward-looking as assumed in ideal-world modelling exercises. As credibility declines the cost of coordinated international regulation skyrockets—even in developing countries that are likely to delay their adoption of binding limits on emissions. Because international institutions such as treaties are usually weak, governments must rely on their own actions to boost regulatory credibility—for example, governments might “pre-commit” international regulations into domestic law before international negotiations are finally settled, thus boosting credibility. In our scenarios, China alone would be a net beneficiary of pre-commitment that advances its carbon limits two decades (from 2030, in our scenario, to today) if doing so would make international regulations more credible and thus encourage Chinese firms to invest with a clearer eye to the future. Overall, low credibility is up to 6 times more important in driving higher world costs for carbon regulations when compared with variable geometry, limits on emission trading and variable sectors. In this paper, we have not explored the other major dimension to the second-best: the lack of timely availability of the full range of abatement options, although our results suggest that even this will be less consequential than credibility.Greenhouse Gases, Second-best Regulation

Unintended Effects of Residential Energy Storage on Emissions from the Electric Power System.

In many jurisdictions, policy-makers are seeking to decentralize the electric power system while also promoting deep reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). We examine the potential roles for residential energy storage (RES), a technology thought to be at the epicenter of these twin revolutions. We model the impact of grid-connected RES operation on electricity costs and GHG emissions for households in 16 of the largest U.S. utility service territories under 3 plausible operational modes. Regardless of operation mode, RES mostly increases emissions when users seek to minimize their electricity cost. When operated with the goal of minimizing emissions, RES can reduce average household emissions by 2.2-6.4%, implying a cost equivalent of $180 to$5160 per metric ton of carbon dioxide avoided. While RES is costly compared with many other emission-control measures, tariffs that internalize the social cost of carbon would reduce emissions by 0.1-5.9% relative to cost-minimizing operation. Policy-makers should be careful about assuming that decentralization will clean the electric power system, especially if it proceeds without carbon-mindful tariff reforms

Minimal invasive decompression for lumbar spinal stenosis.

Lumbar spinal stenosis is a common condition in elderly patients and may lead to progressive back and leg pain, muscular weakness, sensory disturbance, and/or problems with ambulation. Multiple studies suggest that surgical decompression is an effective therapy for patients with symptomatic lumbar stenosis. Although traditional lumbar decompression is a time-honored procedure, minimally invasive procedures are now available which can achieve the goals of decompression with less bleeding, smaller incisions, and quicker patient recovery. This paper will review the technique of performing ipsilateral and bilateral decompressions using a tubular retractor system and microscope

How to Fix the Climate

Can the world meet the challenge of climate change? After more than three decades of global negotiations, the prognosis looks bleak. The most ambitious diplomatic efforts have focused on a series of virtually global agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 and the Paris Agreement of 2015. With so many diverse interests across so many countries, it has been hard to get global agreement simply on the need for action; meaningful consensus has been even more elusive. Profound uncertainty about the effectiveness of various mitigation measures has made it difficult to estimate the cost of deep cuts in emissions