Modeling and learning from the design recommendations for California's Greenhouse Gas Cap-and-Trade System

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 71).Climate Change has become a Major issue beginning with our generation. Governments the world over are now recognizing that industry cannot continue to pollute in a business-as-usual manner. Emitting Greenhouse gases has a global impact, unlike pollutants that are released into soil or water. Global warming created by the Greenhouse effect, amongst other things is causing an increase in the ambient global temperature, causing glaciers to melt and global weather patterns to change. At the same time the world population is increasing, the standard of living for an increasing percentage of the population is improving, and with that the global energy usage is going up and up. Currently, a large portion of the global energy is derived from fossil fuels. Combusting fossil fuels are the primary source of Greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge for governments then is two-fold. One is how to cap and/or reduce the Greenhouse gases from industry, and second, how to achieve this first goal without being detrimental to the industry in a large way, or as some say with the least cost. In the USA, due to lack of a federal standard, several states have either banded together or gone it alone, in defining their own attempt to address the Greenhouse gas problem. The state of California is one such state that has put together a committee of experts, to advise the state on how best to design a system with the two afore-said challenges in mind. A model has been put together to model Option A, Program Design 1 of the California Cap-and-Trade system.(cont.) The goal of the model is to give the regulator an understanding of how by varying the main lever, which is the cap set, the regulator can influence the covered Electric entities in optimally meeting the cap, based on the headroom they have for abatement, and their actual ability to act and the degree to which they can act in abatement; and secondly how this main lever, can create a thriving market for trading allowances, by trying to have almost an equal number of players that want to buy the requisite number of allowances to meet the cap, or sell their excess allowances.by Chester Fernandes.S.M

Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK.

BACKGROUND: A safe and efficacious vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), if deployed with high coverage, could contribute to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in a pooled interim analysis of four trials. METHODS: This analysis includes data from four ongoing blinded, randomised, controlled trials done across the UK, Brazil, and South Africa. Participants aged 18 years and older were randomly assigned (1:1) to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine or control (meningococcal group A, C, W, and Y conjugate vaccine or saline). Participants in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group received two doses containing 5 × 1010 viral particles (standard dose; SD/SD cohort); a subset in the UK trial received a half dose as their first dose (low dose) and a standard dose as their second dose (LD/SD cohort). The primary efficacy analysis included symptomatic COVID-19 in seronegative participants with a nucleic acid amplification test-positive swab more than 14 days after a second dose of vaccine. Participants were analysed according to treatment received, with data cutoff on Nov 4, 2020. Vaccine efficacy was calculated as 1 - relative risk derived from a robust Poisson regression model adjusted for age. Studies are registered at ISRCTN89951424 and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04324606, NCT04400838, and NCT04444674. FINDINGS: Between April 23 and Nov 4, 2020, 23 848 participants were enrolled and 11 636 participants (7548 in the UK, 4088 in Brazil) were included in the interim primary efficacy analysis. In participants who received two standard doses, vaccine efficacy was 62·1% (95% CI 41·0-75·7; 27 [0·6%] of 4440 in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group vs71 [1·6%] of 4455 in the control group) and in participants who received a low dose followed by a standard dose, efficacy was 90·0% (67·4-97·0; three [0·2%] of 1367 vs 30 [2·2%] of 1374; pinteraction=0·010). Overall vaccine efficacy across both groups was 70·4% (95·8% CI 54·8-80·6; 30 [0·5%] of 5807 vs 101 [1·7%] of 5829). From 21 days after the first dose, there were ten cases hospitalised for COVID-19, all in the control arm; two were classified as severe COVID-19, including one death. There were 74 341 person-months of safety follow-up (median 3·4 months, IQR 1·3-4·8): 175 severe adverse events occurred in 168 participants, 84 events in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group and 91 in the control group. Three events were classified as possibly related to a vaccine: one in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group, one in the control group, and one in a participant who remains masked to group allocation. INTERPRETATION: ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 has an acceptable safety profile and has been found to be efficacious against symptomatic COVID-19 in this interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials. FUNDING: UK Research and Innovation, National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lemann Foundation, Rede D'Or, Brava and Telles Foundation, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Thames Valley and South Midland's NIHR Clinical Research Network, and AstraZeneca

Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK

Background A safe and efficacious vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), if deployed with high coverage, could contribute to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in a pooled interim analysis of four trials. Methods This analysis includes data from four ongoing blinded, randomised, controlled trials done across the UK, Brazil, and South Africa. Participants aged 18 years and older were randomly assigned (1:1) to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine or control (meningococcal group A, C, W, and Y conjugate vaccine or saline). Participants in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group received two doses containing 5 × 1010 viral particles (standard dose; SD/SD cohort); a subset in the UK trial received a half dose as their first dose (low dose) and a standard dose as their second dose (LD/SD cohort). The primary efficacy analysis included symptomatic COVID-19 in seronegative participants with a nucleic acid amplification test-positive swab more than 14 days after a second dose of vaccine. Participants were analysed according to treatment received, with data cutoff on Nov 4, 2020. Vaccine efficacy was calculated as 1 - relative risk derived from a robust Poisson regression model adjusted for age. Studies are registered at ISRCTN89951424 and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04324606, NCT04400838, and NCT04444674. Findings Between April 23 and Nov 4, 2020, 23 848 participants were enrolled and 11 636 participants (7548 in the UK, 4088 in Brazil) were included in the interim primary efficacy analysis. In participants who received two standard doses, vaccine efficacy was 62·1% (95% CI 41·0–75·7; 27 [0·6%] of 4440 in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group vs71 [1·6%] of 4455 in the control group) and in participants who received a low dose followed by a standard dose, efficacy was 90·0% (67·4–97·0; three [0·2%] of 1367 vs 30 [2·2%] of 1374; pinteraction=0·010). Overall vaccine efficacy across both groups was 70·4% (95·8% CI 54·8–80·6; 30 [0·5%] of 5807 vs 101 [1·7%] of 5829). From 21 days after the first dose, there were ten cases hospitalised for COVID-19, all in the control arm; two were classified as severe COVID-19, including one death. There were 74 341 person-months of safety follow-up (median 3·4 months, IQR 1·3–4·8): 175 severe adverse events occurred in 168 participants, 84 events in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group and 91 in the control group. Three events were classified as possibly related to a vaccine: one in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group, one in the control group, and one in a participant who remains masked to group allocation. Interpretation ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 has an acceptable safety profile and has been found to be efficacious against symptomatic COVID-19 in this interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials

Grazing angle x-ray photoemission system for depth-dependent analysis

We have developed an x‐ray photoelectron spectrometer system which combines an adjustable grazing incidence angle source with reflected beam detection. When operated about the critical angle, this combination permits a variation of the x‐ray penetration depth which can be monitored by means of the reflectivity. At angles of incidence less than the critical angle, the sampling depth of the photoemission is diminished, but the photoemission from the surface is enhanced due to the constructive interference of the incident and reflected x‐ray beams. When used with Mg Kα radiation (Eγ=1253.6 eV), the spectrometry system obtains useful distributions of chemical species in surface layers of 10–40 Å thickness. We present data showing the depth dependence obtained with the spectrometer of different oxides in a sulfide‐treated, oxidized GaAs (100) surface

Grazing incidence X-ray photoemission and its implementation on synchrotron light source X-ray beamlines

Grazing incidence X-ray photoemission spectroscopy provides a method of obtaining information about surface chemical composition as well as the variation of composition with depth. Photoemission spectra are taken as X-rays are directed onto a surface over a range of incidence angles near the critical angle for total external reflection. The technique is particularly suited to the study of surface layers in the thickness range 10-40 Å, using X-rays in the energy range of 1-2 keV. We have implemented the technique in a geometry that minimizes distortion of the spectral lineshape by keeping a fixed relationship between the sample and the electron spectrometer. We present data taken in the laboratory that illustrate its application to the study of oxide films on Ge. The counting time for a spectrum would be shortened considerably by implementing the method on a soft X-ray beamline at a synchrotron light source. We present a method for doing so that retains the advantages of a fixed geometry between the sample and the electron spectrometer

Why do the poor save so little?

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:3553.800(98-20) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Structural insights into hybrid immiscible blends of metal-organic framework and sodium ultraphosphate glasses

Recently, increased attention has been focused on amorphous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and, more specifically, MOF glasses, the first new glass category discovered since the 1970s. In this work, we explore the fabrication of a compositional series of hybrid blends, the first example of blending a MOF and inorganic glass. We combine ZIF-62(Zn) glass and an inorganic glass, 30Na2O-70P2O5, in an effort to combine the chemical versatility of the MOF glass with the mechanical properties of the inorganic glass. We investigate the interfacial interactions between the two components using pair distribution function analysis and solid state NMR spectroscopy, and suggest potential interactions between the two phases. Thermal analysis of the blend samples indicated that they were less thermally stable than the starting materials, and had a Tg shifted relative to the pristine materials. Annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy tomography, X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), nanoindentation and 31P NMR all indicated close mixing of the two phases, suggesting that immiscible blends had formed