Implications of HGV charging for the UK

Road transport taxation in Europe is undergoing a major and radical shift away from fixed charges and fuel duties towards pricing according to distance travelled and externalities produced. Implementation is underway in some states, change being led by national schemes for the freight sector only. The UK is considering such a system for implementation by 2008, to use global positioning system technology. The paper reviews the current developments and considers charging scenarios, including a scenario for covering the full external costs of the UK freight industry. Implications for taxation policy are considered, including whether the doctrine of revenue neutrality is consistent with 'sustainable mobility'. Consideration is given to a transition strategy which could bridge between the current level and structure of prices and a future, more economically efficient approach

On the electrical double layer contribution to the interfacial tension of protein crystals

We study the electrical double layer at the interface between a protein crystal and a salt solution or a dilute solution of protein, and estimate the double layer's contribution to the interfacial tension of this interface. This contribution is negative and decreases in magnitude with increasing salt concentration. We also consider briefly the interaction between a pair of protein surfaces.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, revtex

Workshop on Moon in Transition: Apollo 14, KREEP, and Evolved Lunar Rocks

Lunar rocks provide material for analyzing lunar history and now new evaluation procedures are available for discovering new information from the Fra Mauro highlands rocks, which are different from any other lunar samples. These and other topics were discussed at this workshop, including a new evaluation of the nature and history of KREEP, granite, and other evolved lunar rock types, and ultimately a fresh evaluation of the transition of the moon from its early anorthosite-forming period to its later stages of KREEPy, granitic, and mare magmatism. The summary of presentations and discussion is based on notes taken by the respective summarizers during the workshop

Self-tuning flowcharts: a priority-based approach to optimize diagnostic flowcharts

Flowcharts have been used in problem diagnosis for a long time because of their effectiveness during process representation. However, with time, diagnostic flowcharts can become unmanageably complex and incomprehensible, thus leading to longer decision paths. A lengthy decision path also implies a time consuming diagnosis process while at the same time being boring to end users utilizing systems containing diagnostic flowcharts. This study investigates the extent to which diagnostic flowcharts can be made dynamic so as to optimize the decision making process without reducing the number of nodes. In this endeavor, the Dynamic Flowchart Parser Algorithm has been proposed using a priority-based approach to optimize diagnostic flowcharts within a diagnostic tool named Self Tuning Flowcharts

Foreign Bond Markets and Financial Market Development: International Perspectives

The domestic bond markets of the Asia and Pacific region have grown considerably since the Asian financial crisis of 1997, although they remain undeveloped relative to the region's weight in the world economy. This paper proposes that in order to encourage further development of these markets, regulators should make them more accessible to foreign borrowers. To that end we offer insights into the nature and mechanics of foreign bond issuance by investigating the key characteristics of 3,132 foreign bonds issued in 14 countries (other than the United States) between July 1928 and June 2009. We found that the foreign borrowers that tap domestic markets are overwhelmingly of high credit quality and comprise sovereigns, supranationals, and major financial institutions. There is a preference for simple fixed-rate payment structures, which can then be swapped into the currency and coupon type of choice using currency and interest rate derivatives. On the whole, the long-term viability of foreign bond markets appears linked to the presence of highly liquid foreign exchange and derivatives markets that facilitate risk management and transformation, enabling regulation that facilitates cooperation with market participants, the presence of benchmark issues, and competitive pricing between alternate market segments.bond markets; financial market development; foreign bonds

The use of the Continuously Regenerating Trap (CRT^TM) and SCRT^TM Systems to meet future emissions legislation

The progressive tightening of particulate matter (PM) legislation presents challenges to the engine development and aftertreatment communities. The Continuously Regenerating Trap (CRTTM) has been developed to enable diesel engines to meet the proposed future legislation. This passive filter system combines an oxidation catalyst with a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF); the filter traps the PM and the oxidation catalyst generates NO2 which combusts the trapped PM at substantially lower temperatures than is possible using oxygen. This paper outlines the operating principle of the CRTTM, and describes the performance of the system. It has been shown that the very high PM conversions obtained with the CRTTM can enable even Euro 1 engines to meet the PM limits proposed for introduction in Europe in 2005. In addition, the system removes PM across the whole particle size range, including ultrafine particulates. These results will be discussed, as will in-field durability studies which have shown that the system is still capable of converting 90% of PM after very high mileage operation (up to 600,000 km). In addition to requiring very high PM conversion, the proposed future legislation requires substantial reductions in NOx emissions form heavy duty diesel vehicles. To meet these challenges the SCRTTM has been developed. This combines the CRTTM with SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology, and enables very high simultaneous conversions of CO, HC, PM and NOx to be achieved. The SCRTTM system is described, and its operating characteristics are discussed. It has been shown that the SCRTTM can potentially meet the legislative limits proposed for introduction in Europe in 2008

Unpacking the determinants of cross-border private investment in renewable energy in developing countries

Private finance has emerged as a fundamental catalyst of the clean energy transition, an urgent and necessary step that must be taken in order to avert catastrophic climate change. Yet, private investment in renewable energy, although gaining momentum, remains limited in reaching some developing countries, where it is most needed. Previous research has provided some insights into the drivers and barriers faced by investors in this sector; however, these remain understudied in the context of developing country markets. This study contributes to this body of knowledge by systematically testing the effects that a variety of factors have on foreign investment in renewable power generation in developing countries, and by investigating how these effects may vary according to the source of finance. The determinants include the implementation of domestic renewable energy policies, the provision of international public finance and the wider business environment. Using panel data covering 62 countries over a 7-year period, this analysis relied on linear and logistic fixed effects models to determine what best explains the decision to invest and the volume of foreign private capital flows in the renewable energy sector. Results suggested that the provision of international public finance, regulatory support measures and feed-in tariffs, coupled with political stability, are strong drivers of cross-border investment in renewable energy in developing countries. Finally, evidence was presented that the effects of public interventions and business environment factors on investment may vary according to the source of finance, shedding light on the importance of breaking down investment flows to fully understand private financing decisions in renewable energy

Raising the Dead: Clues to Type Ia Supernova Physics from the Remnant 0509-67.5

We present Chandra X-ray observations of the young supernova remnant (SNR) 0509-67.5 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), believed to be the product of a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia). The remnant is very round in shape, with a distinct clumpy shell-like structure. Our Chandra data reveal the remnant to be rich in silicon, sulfur, and iron. The yields of our fits to the global spectrum confirm that 0509-67.5 is the remnant of an SN Ia and show a clear preference for delayed detonation explosion models for SNe Ia. We study the spectrum of the single brightest isolated knot in the remnant and find that it is enhanced in iron by a factor of roughly two relative to the global remnant abundances. This feature, along with similar knots seen in Tycho's SNR, argues for the presence of modest small-scale composition inhomogeneities in SNe Ia. The presence of both Si and Fe, with abundance ratios that vary from knot to knot, indicates that these came from the transition region between the Si- and Fe-rich zones in the exploded star, possibly as a result of energy input to the ejecta at late times due to the radioactive decay of 56Ni and 56Co. Two cases for the continuum emission from the global spectrum were modeled: one where the continuum is dominated by hydrogen thermal bremsstrahlung radiation; another where the continuum arises from non-thermal synchrotron radiation. The former case requires a relatively large value for the ambient density (~1 cm^-3). Another estimate of the ambient density comes from using the shell structure of the remnant in the context of dynamical models. This requires a much lower value for the density (<0.05 cm^-3) which is more consistent with other evidence known about 0509-67.5. We therefore conclude that the bulk of the continuum emission from 0509-67.5 has a non-thermal origin.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figures (1 color), accepted to ApJ (10 June 2004 issue); correction made to calculation of magnetic field, small sentence change

Beam Based Alignment of Interaction Region Magnets

In conventional beam based alignment (BBA) procedures, the relative alignment of a quadrupole to a nearby beam position monitor is determined by finding a beam position in the quadrupole at which the closed orbit does not change when the quadrupole field is varied. The final focus magnets of the interaction regions (IR) of circular colliders often have some specialized properties that make it difficult to perform conventional beam based alignment procedures. At the HERA interaction points, for example, these properties are: (a) The quadrupoles are quite strong and long. Therefore a thin lens approximation is quite imprecise. (b) The effects of angular magnet offsets become significant. (c) The possibilities to steer the beam are limited as long as the alignment is not within specifications. (d) The beam orbit has design offsets and design angles with respect to the axis of the low-beta quadrupoles. (e) Often quadrupoles do not have a beam position monitor in their vicinity. Here we present a beam based alignment procedure that determines the relative offset of the closed orbit from a quadrupole center without requiring large orbit changes or monitors next to the quadrupole. Taking into account the alignment angle allows us to reduce the sensitivity to optical errors by one to two orders of magnitude. We also show how the BBA measurements of all IR quadrupoles can be used to determine the global position of the magnets. The sensitivity to errors of this method is evaluated and its applicability to HERA is shown