California Carbon Market Watch: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Golden State's Cap-and-Trade Program, Year One - 2012-2013

January 1, 2014 marked one year since the start of California's landmark cap-and-trade program, a market-based system to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution. The program will be the second-largest carbon market in the world, after the European Union's, and will cover 85% of all carbon pollution in the state by 2015. It is the most discussed program in a suite of strategies being deployed to achieve the goal of California's Global Warming Solutions Act -- also known as Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32) -- a 2006 law requiring the state to reduce GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. California is the eighth-largest economy in the world and the first state in the nation to employ an economy-wide cap-and-trade program. While no state or country can stop climate change alone, California's environmental policies have a history of success and replication. The importance of California's program is thus magnified by the example it sets, and the world is watching to see whether the state's carbon market will succeed.One year into the program, the outlook is positive. California's cap-and-trade system weathered legal challenges and demonstrated a successful launch and viability during its initial year. In the first five auctions, all of the offered emission allowances usable for compliance in 2013 were sold. Similarly, the secondary market for carbon allowances has shown stability, and carbon prices close to the floor indicate the long-term possibility of low marginal abatement costs for regulated entities. Contrary to some predictions of harsh economic damage, capping carbon pollution in California has occurred amidst sustained and promising economic recovery and growth, including a stronger housing market and lower unemployment rate.This report provides an overview and analysis of California's carbon market after one year in operation. Included are a background on the cap-and-trade program, an account of the carbon market's progress to date, and an analysis of what the market's performance means for California's environmental and economic goals. This analysis includes in-depth summaries and trends observed from the quarterly auctions and secondary market activity, along with evaluations of market performance by industry experts and academics. Updates regarding litigation, proposed regulatory amendments, and international agreements are also discussed

Psychosocial predictors of the use of enhanced podcasting in student learning

The current study examined the influence of psychosocial constructs, from a theory of planned behavior (TPB) perspective, to predict university students’ (N = 159) use of a newly offered on-line learning tool, enhanced podcasts. Pre-semester, students completed questionnaires assessing the TPB predictors (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control) related to intended enhanced podcast use until the middle of semester. Mid-semester, students completed similar items relating to podcast use until the end of semester. Self-report measures of podcast use were obtained at the middle and end of semester. At both time points, students’ attitudes predicted their intentions and, at the initial time point, subjective norm also predicted intended podcast use. An examination of the beliefs underlying attitudes, the only construct to predict intentions at both time points, revealed differences between those students higher, rather than lower on intentions to use the podcasts, especially for the perceived educational benefits of podcast use later in the semester. Intentions to use enhanced podcasting only predicted self-reported use in the second half of the semester. Overall, this study identified some of the determinants which should be considered by those aiming to encourage student use of novel on-line educational tools

Exploring the various options for the treatment of osteomyelitis

Osteomyelitis, or an infection of the bone, is a common morbidity associated with traumatic bone injuries. These infections can be challenging to diagnose and treat, due to the variable nature of the clinical symptoms as well as the abundance of potential sources of the infection. It is estimated that treatment for implant-associated infections will cost $1.26 billion. 9 Infections in the body can be caused by a number of pathogens including viruses, fungi, and bacteria. Bacterial infections are typically treated with antibiotics that are delivered to the target via the body’s blood supply. However, infections located in the bone or around orthopedic hardware are more difficult to treat due to a lack of blood supply to the hardware itself. Treatment is also hindered by the formation of a protective biofilm layer by the bacteria. Physicians have struggled to find the most effective course of antibiotic therapy for treating such infections. In order to conquer the problem, it is crucial to understand the mechanism by which bacteria attach themselves to orthopedic implants. By investigating how bacteria cause an infection and create a defense against the body’s immune system, antibiotic therapies can be tailored to specifically treat the pathogen. Only then can new antibiotics be developed to deliver targeted therapy at the source of the infection. The goal of this new direction in antibiotic therapy is to prevent infections of the bone, as well as relapses, and decrease the morbidity and mortality of the patients affected

Management Factors Associated with Operation-Level Prevalence of Antibodies to Cache Valley Virus and Other Bunyamwera Serogroup Viruses in Sheep in the United States

A cross-sectional study was performed to identify operation-level risk factors associated with prevalence of antibody to Bunyamwera (BUN) serogroup viruses in sheep in the United States. Sera were obtained from 5150 sheep in 270 operations located in 22 states (three in the west, nine central states, and 10 in the east) and tested at a dilution of 1:20 by a plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) using Cache Valley virus (CVV). Antibodies that neutralized CVV were identified in 1455 (28%) sheep. Animal-level seroprevalence was higher in the east (49%) than the central (17%) and western (10%) states. A convenient subset (n = 509) of sera with antibodies that neutralized CVV was titrated and further analyzed by PRNT using all six BUN serogroup viruses that occur in the United States: CVV, Lokern virus (LOKV), Main Drain virus (MDV), Northway virus (NORV), Potosi virus (POTV), and Tensaw virus (TENV). Antibodies to CVV and LOKV were identified in sheep in all three geographic regions; MDV and POTV activity was detected in the central and eastern states, NORV activity was restricted to the west, and antibodies to TENV were not detected in any sheep. Several management factors were significantly associated with the presence of antibodies to BUN serogroup viruses. For instance, sheep housed during the lambing season inside structures that contained four walls and a roof and a door closed most of the time were more likely to be seropositive than other sheep. In contrast, herded/open-range sheep were less likely to be seropositive than their counterparts. These data can be used by producers to implement strategies to reduce the likelihood of BUN serogroup virus infection and improve the health and management practices of sheep

Testing mood-activated psychological markers for suicidal ideation

To what extent are death- and life-oriented psychological processes among suicidal individuals activated by mood? According to Teasdale’s (1988) Differential Activation Hypothesis, we would expect that negative mood-activated psychological processes are maladaptive among suicide ideators (vs. non-ideators) and predictive of subsequent suicidal ideation. This, however, has never been prospectively studied. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a prospective study assessing psychological risk factors via the Death/Life Implicit Association Test (IAT) and the Suicide Stroop task before and after a temporary negative mood induction. Suicidal ideation was assessed one and six months later. Results based on Death/Life IAT performance largely supported hypotheses, such that suicide ideators demonstrated significantly weaker implicit identification with life after (vs. before) the negative mood induction. Non-ideators demonstrated no significant change, maintaining strong identification with life irrespective of mood. Of note, this baseline interaction may have been accounted for by depressive symptoms. Identification with death (vs. life) predicted greater likelihood of suicidal ideation one month later, controlling for depressive symptoms and baseline suicidal ideation. Only negative mood-activated identification with death predicted suicidal ideation six months later. Suicide Stroop scores did not change as a function of mood or predict subsequent suicidal ideation. Death/Life IAT findings support the Differential Activation Hypothesis and suggest that suicide ideators’ identification with life is more variable and easily weakened by negative mood relative to non-ideators. We encourage future work to consider the potential role of transient mood and the importance of measuring psychological processes that pertain to both death and life

A Gravitationally Lensed Supernova with an Observable Two-Decade Time Delay

When the light from a distant object passes very near to a foreground galaxy or cluster, gravitational lensing can cause it to appear as multiple images on the sky. If the source is variable, it can be used to constrain the cosmic expansion rate and dark energy models. Achieving these cosmological goals requires many lensed transients with precise time delay measurements. Lensed supernovae (SN) are attractive for this purpose because they have relatively simple photometric behavior, with well-understood light curve shapes and colours $-$ in contrast to the stochastic variation of quasars. Here we report the discovery of a multiply-imaged supernova, AT2016jka ("SN Requiem"). It appeared in an evolved galaxy at $z=1.95$, gravitationally lensed by a foreground galaxy cluster. It is likely a Type Ia supernova $-$ the explosion of a low-mass stellar remnant, whose light curve can be used to measure cosmic distances. In archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging, three lensed images of the supernova are detected with relative time delays of $<$200 days. We predict a fourth image will appear close to the cluster core in the year 2037$\pm$2. Observation of the fourth image could provide a time delay precision of $\approx$7 days, $<1\%$ of the extraordinary 20 year baseline. The SN classification and the predicted reappearance time could be improved with further lens modelling and a comprehensive analysis of systematic uncertainties.Comment: Accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Main text = 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; Full document = 28 pages, 12 figures with Methods, Supplemental Info and references. v2: reformatted; minor corrections in S