Sulfur-Dioxide Control By Electric Utilities: What Are the Gains from Trade?

Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) established a market for transferable sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission allowances among electric utilities. This market offers firms facing high marginal abatement costs the opportunity to purchase the right to emit SO2 from firms with lower costs, and is expected to yield cost savings compared to a command and control approach to environmental regulation. This paper uses econometrically estimated marginal abatement cost functions for power plants affected by Title IV of the CAAA to evaluate the performance of the SO2 allowance market. Specifically, we investigate whether the much-heralded fall in the cost of abating SO2, compared to original estimates, can be attributed to allowance trading. We demonstrate that, for plants using low-sulfur coal to reduce SO2 emissions, technical changes and the fall in low-sulfur coal prices have lowered marginal abatement cost curves by over 50% since 1985. The flexibility to take advantage of these changes is the main source of cost reductions, rather than trading per se. In the long run, allowance trading may achieve cost savings of $700-$800 million per year compared to an "enlightened" command and control program characterized by a uniform emission rate standard. The cost savings would be twice as great if the alternative to trading were forced scrubbing. However, a comparison of potential cost savings in 1995 and 1996 with actual emissions costs suggests that most trading gains were unrealized in the first two years of the program.

Non-synaptic inhibition between grouped neurons in an olfactory circuit.

Diverse sensory organs, including mammalian taste buds and insect chemosensory sensilla, show a marked compartmentalization of receptor cells; however, the functional impact of this organization remains unclear. Here we show that compartmentalized Drosophila olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) communicate with each other directly. The sustained response of one ORN is inhibited by the transient activation of a neighbouring ORN. Mechanistically, such lateral inhibition does not depend on synapses and is probably mediated by ephaptic coupling. Moreover, lateral inhibition in the periphery can modulate olfactory behaviour. Together, the results show that integration of olfactory information can occur via lateral interactions between ORNs. Inhibition of a sustained response by a transient response may provide a means of encoding salience. Finally, a CO(2)-sensitive ORN in the malaria mosquito Anopheles can also be inhibited by excitation of an adjacent ORN, suggesting a broad occurrence of lateral inhibition in insects and possible applications in insect control

How to Create this Gynecological Task Trainer

This document contains instructions for how to create a gynecological task trainer with a 3D-printed uterus and silicone cervix.https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/com_obgyn_pres/1000/thumbnail.jp

FP-21-05 Median Age at Last Birth

Trends and differentials in the age at first birth are well-documented (FP-20-06). Given shifts and variation in completed family size (FP-20-04), it is also important to look at the age of last birth – that is, when do women stop having children – which has received very little attention. This profile investigates the median age at last birth among women at the end of their childbearing years, at 45-49 years old. Using the 2015-2019 cycles of the National Survey of Growth, this profile investigates the median age at last birth for mothers aged 45-49 by race/ethnicity, completed education, parity, and age at first birth

Impact of Providers’ Cultural Competence on Clients’ Satisfaction and Hopefulness in Rural Family Services: A Pilot Study

Cultural competence has been discussed in professional disciplines. However, previous studies focused on ethnic sensitivity in practice, and limited work has addressed the cultural competence of rural social work practitioners. This study examined relationships between families’ perceptions of cultural competence, therapeutic alliance, and practice outcomes in rural practice settings. Forty-five youth and their parents receiving intensive in-home family preservation services at Integrated Services of Appalachian Ohio completed a questionnaire regarding their providers’ cultural competence in rural settings, and their therapeutic alliance, hopefulness, and satisfaction with services. Families rated their provider as culturally competent in rural practice settings; and provider competence in rural culture was positively associated with practice outcomes – satisfaction and hopefulness. Suggestions for enhancing social work practitioners’ cultural competence in rural settings are provided

Financial Forest

Regular savings behavior is critical for low-income Americans to achieve financial mobility. New technology tools are being used to improve personal awareness and attention to financial goals. This thesis reviews mobile learning (mLearning) research and leading commercial personal finance smartphone apps, both of which inform the design of Financial Forest, a savings app. Participants in the 4-week Financial Forest savings study are found to have a statistically significant improved perception of the difficulty of building an emergency fund

Impact of High School Preparation on College Oral Communication Apprehension

This study examines the impact of high school public speaking skills training and public speaking experiences on college overall communication apprehension (CA) and public speaking context CA. The results show that public speaking skill-training in high school is significantly related to lower CA levels or students upon entering a college-level basic speech course. In addition, students who report more public speaking experiences both in high school setting and outside the high school setting, tend to report lower overall CA and lower CA in the public speaking context