Investments and Financial Flows Induced by Climate Mitigation Policies

In this paper we use the hybrid integrated model WITCH to quantify and analyze the investments and financial flows stimulated by a climate policy to stabilize Greenhouse Gases concentrations at 550ppm CO2-eq at the end of the century. We focus on investments to decarbonize the power sector and on investments in knowledge creation. We examine the financial flows associated with the carbon market and the implications for the international trade of oil. Criticalities in investment requirements will emerge when coal power plants with carbon capture and sequestration and nuclear power plants are deployed around 2020-2040, both in high and low income regions. Investments in energy related R&D increase sharply and might cause stress in the short term. However, the transition to a low-carbon world, although costly, appears to be manageable from a financial point of view. In particular, R&D financial needs can easily be accommodated using revenues from the carbon market, which is expected to eventually become more important than the oil market in terms of traded value.Climate Change, Mitigation, Carbon Finance, Emission Trading, Energy Investments

EXPANSÃO DOS GASES

Os gases possuem características muito particulares, assim fizemos um estudo sobre esses compostos. Os gases podem constituir moléculas (CO2, CO) ou se apresentarem como átomos isolados. Fisicamente, os gases podem se expandir ou sofrer compressão, dependendo do local onde estiverem. Em recipientes fechados, adquirem formato específico, mas em espaços livres tendem a ocupar todo o espaço disponível. Esse grau de liberdade das moléculas gasosas faz com que se movimentem de forma desordenada, mas ao mesmo tempo contínua. Se, por exemplo, um gás estiver em local fechado, suas moléculas em movimento passam a exercer certa força sobre as paredes internas na tentativa de escaparem, é o que chamamos de pressão, que é diretamenteproporcional ao número de choques por unidade de área, ou seja, quanto maior o volume de gás maior será a pressão exercida. Existe um agravante para o movimento contínuo dos gases: A temperatura. Se aquecermos um gás, suas moléculas passarão a se movimentar mais rapidamente. Dizemos então que a Energia cinética (Ecin) desse gás aumentou. Ecin = KT, onde K = constante e T =temperatura. A temperatura de um gás aumenta se aumentarmos sua energia cinética, e são grandezas diretamente proporcionais. A equação acima representa essa relação. O gás que obedece a essas condições é denominado de Gás perfeito, exemplo: gás Hélio (He), gás Criptônio (Kr), gás Xenônio (Xe). Mas vamos direto ao ponto, vocês já ouviram falar sobre a SERPENTE DO FARAÓ? Estaexperiencia é um tipo de “fogos de artifício”. “Serpente de Faraó” é o nome dado a uma experiência clássica de Química em que se queima uma mistura de açúcar e Bicarbonato de Sódio juntamente com um líquido inflamável, normalmente o álcool comum. Faz-se uma mistura homogênea com o açúcar e o Bicarbonato, e depois uma pastilha com a mistura. A partir de uma pequena amostra,começam a crescer estruturas semelhantes a uma cobra de cinzas. Materiais e reagentes: Almofariz e pistilo (ou um pilão com socador, igual ao que os cozinheiros usam para amassar alho); Bicarbonato de sódio; Açúcar; Álcool; Colher; Fósforos; Recipiente com areia. Explicação do experimento: Quando colocamos fogo na pastilha, várias reações químicas diferentes ocorrem, formando assim uma massa preta cilíndrica que lembra uma serpente, que é constituída por substâncias oriundas da reação. Quando você queima esta mistura, alguns componentes do açúcar e do Bicarbonato de Sódio, irão se transformar em gases, porém, as cinzas de carbono irão envolver estes gases, formando assim uma “serpente” que se expande até exaurir os componentes da mistura

A multi-element psychosocial intervention for early psychosis (GET UP PIANO TRIAL) conducted in a catchment area of 10 million inhabitants: study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial

Multi-element interventions for first-episode psychosis (FEP) are promising, but have mostly been conducted in non-epidemiologically representative samples, thereby raising the risk of underestimating the complexities involved in treating FEP in 'real-world' services

Trade of Woody Biomass for Electricity Generation under Climate Mitigation Policy

Bio-energy has the potential to be a key mitigation option if combined with carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS) because it generates electricity and absorbs emissions at the same time. However, biomass is not distributed evenly across the globe, and regions with a potentially high demand might be constrained by limited domestic supply. Therefore, climate mitigation policies might create the incentive to trade biomass internationally. This paper uses scenarios generated by the integrated assessment model WITCH to study trade of woody biomass from multiple perspectives: the volume of biomass traded, its value, the impact on other power generation technologies and on marginal abatement costs. The policy scenarios consist of three representative carbon tax policies (4.8 W/m2, 3.8 W/m2 and 3.2 W/m2 radiative forcing in 2100) and a cap-and-trade scheme (3.8 W/m2 in 2100). Results show that the incentive to trade biomass is high: at least 50% of biomass consumed globally is from the international market. Regions trade 13-69 EJ/yr of woody biomass in 2050 and 55-81 EJ/yr in 2100. In 2100 the value of biomass traded is equal to US$ 0.7-7.2 Trillion. Trade of woody biomass sensibly reduces marginal abatement costs. In the tax scenarios, abatement increases by 120-323 Gt CO2 over the century. In the cap-and-trade scenario biomass trade reduces the price of emission allowances by 34% in 2100 and cumulative discounted policy costs by 14%

Investments and Financial Flows Induced by Climate Mitigation Policies

In this paper we use the hybrid integrated model WITCH to quantify and analyze the investments and financial flows stimulated by a climate policy to stabilize Greenhouse Gases concentrations at 550ppm CO2-eq at the end of the century. We focus on investments to decarbonize the power sector and on investments in knowledge creation. We examine the financial flows associated with the carbon market and the implications for the international trade of oil. Criticalities in investment requirements will emerge when coal power plants with carbon capture and sequestration and nuclear power plants are deployed around 2020-2040, both in high and low income regions. Investments in energy related R&D increase sharply and might cause stress in the short term. However, the transition to a low-carbon world, although costly, appears to be manageable from a financial point of view. In particular, R&D financial needs can easily be accommodated using revenues from the carbon market, which is expected to eventually become more important than the oil market in terms of traded value

Selvicoltura per la protezione dai disturbi

Questo manuale tratta delle attivit\ue0 che la Selvicoltura pu\uf2 fare per prevenire le conseguenze di azioni perturbative di fattori ecologici biotici e abiotici sul \u201cnormale\u201d funzionamento dei boschi e per accelerare il ripristino delle situazioni presenti prima dell\u2019evento. Data la complessit\ue0 del tema da trattare si \ue8 ritenuto opportuno dedicare una prima parte del manuale alla descrizione di argomenti di carattere generale, con particolare attenzione agli aspetti concettuali e nomenclaturali, non sempre chiari e univoci. In particolare, proprio nel primo Sottocapitolo \ue8 illustrato il significato dei principali termini che saranno utilizzati nel testo. I successivi due Sottocapitoli, il secondo e il terzo, descrivono in generale le caratteristiche dei fattori che interagiscono con il bosco e come la loro attivit\ue0 costituisca il motore dei sistemi stessi, permettendone la conservazione della complessit\ue0 e della biodiversit\ue0. Il quarto Sottocapitolo entra pi\uf9 nel dettaglio considerando come i sistemi naturali interagiscono con le perturbazioni in relazione alla loro resistenza e resilienza. Ancora pi\uf9 in profondit\ue0 nell\u2019argomento entra il quinto Sottocapitolo che descrive le condizioni dei boschi che possono essere considerate critiche nei confronti delle perturbazioni. Si tratta di un argomento fondamentale poich\ue9 permette di evidenziare e di stabilire le priorit\ue0 di eventuali interventi selvicolturali di prevenzione dei danni. Ovviamente in questo Sottocapitolo sono considerati solo i disturbi verso i quali sia possibile fare delle attivit\ue0 selvicolturali di prevenzione. La terza parte \ue8 dedicata alle varie attivit\ue0 selvicolturali che possono essere adottate soprattutto in due scenari: dei boschi di protezione diretta e di quelli produttivi. Per ogni scenario sono esposte le principali conseguenze dei disturbi, gli interventi selvicolturali di prevenzione, qualora possibili, e quelli di ripristino dello stato ante evento. Merita precisare che nelle due situazioni considerate non cambia molto la tipologia degli interventi possibili, ma la loro priorit\ue0, ovvero l\u2019opportunit\ue0 o meno di applicarli nel contesto di due diversi obiettivi strategici: la sicurezza e l\u2019economicit\ue0

Serological follow-up of SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic subjects

SARS-CoV-2 symptoms are non-specific and can range from asymptomatic presentation to severe pneumonia. Asymptomatic subjects carrying SARS-CoV-2 often remain undiagnosed and it is still debated whether they develop immunoglobulins (Ig) and how long they persist. The aim of this study was to investigate the development and persistence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic subjects infected by the virus. This follow-up study was performed on the 31 asymptomatic subjects who presented a positive nasal swab or serology against SARS-CoV-2 (Ig against Spike-RBD) in the first part of the UNICORN study (March 2020) aimed at attesting previous or current contacts with the virus in the personnel of the University of Milan. Eight weeks after the first Ig measure, these subjects were invited to donate a second blood sample for testing serum antibodies (IgM, IgG and total antibodies) and to fill-in a structured questionnaire. About 80% of asymptomatic subjects did not present circulating immunoglobulins against SARS-CoV-2 after 8 weeks from a positive nasal swab against the virus. Moreover, in more than 40% of these subjects, no Ig against SARS-CoV-2 were detected at any time. Finally, about two third of subjects with immunoglobulins at baseline did not present IgG against SARS-CoV-2 after 8 weeks. The majority of subjects who developed an asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection do not present antibodies against the RBD-spike protein after 8 weeks of follow-up. These data should be taken into account for the interpretation of the serological evidences on SARS-CoV-2 that are emerging nowadays

Venezia Expo Gate 2015: Padiglione espositivo Aquae

Il nuovo spazio per esposizioni, congressi ed eventi culturali accoglierà in primis “Aquae Venezia 2015” l’esposizione collaterale di Expo Milano 2015. Il padiglione, costituito da strutture portanti metalliche e pannelli di rivestimento, ospiterà gli stand che racconteranno, in modo semplice, esperienziale, didattico ed interattivo come e perché l’acqua incida così profondamente sulle nostre vite e i modi in cui questo tema sarà sviluppato nell’industria, nell’alimentazione, nella cultura nei prossimi decenni

Mechanical behavior of infrapatellar fat pad of patients affected by osteoarthritis

The infrapatellar fat pad (IFP) is an adipose tissue present in the knee that lies between the patella, femur, meniscus and tibia, filling the space between these structures. IFP facilitates the distribution of the synovial fluid and may act to absorb impulsive actions generated through the joint. IFP in osteoarthritis (OA) pathology undergoes structural changes characterized by inflammation, hypertrophy and fibrosis. The aim of the present study is to analyze the mechanical behavior of the IFP in patients affected by end-stage OA. A specific test fixture was designed and indentation tests were performed on IFP specimens harvested from OA patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty. Experiments allowed to assess the typical features of mechanical response, such as non-linear stress–strain behavior and time-dependent effects. Results from mechanical experimentations were implemented within the framework of a visco-hyperelastic constitutive theory, with the aim to provide data for computational modelling of OA IFP role in knee mechanics. Initial and final indentation stiffness were calculated for all subjects and statistical results reveled that OA IFP mechanics was not significantly influenced by gender, BMI and sample preparation. OA IFP mechanical behavior was also compared to that of other adipose tissues. OA IFP appeared to be a stiffer adipose tissue compared to subcutaneous, visceral adipose tissues and heel fat pads. It is reasonable that fibrosis induces a modification of the tissue destabilizing the normal distribution of forces in the joint during movement, causing a worsening of the disease