Geoengineering and Non-Ideal Theory

The strongest arguments for the permissibility of geoengineering (also known as climate engineering) rely implicitly on non-ideal theory—roughly, the theory of justice as applied to situations of partial compliance with principles of ideal justice. In an ideally just world, such arguments acknowledge, humanity should not deploy geoengineering; but in our imperfect world, society may need to complement mitigation and adaptation with geoengineering to reduce injustices associated with anthropogenic climate change. We interpret research proponents’ arguments as an application of a particular branch of non-ideal theory known as “clinical theory.” Clinical theory aims to identify politically feasible institutions or policies that would address existing (or impending) injustice without violating certain kinds of moral permissibility constraints. We argue for three implications of clinical theory: First, conditional on falling costs and feasibility, clinical theory provides strong support for some geoengineering techniques that aim to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Second, if some kinds of carbon dioxide removal technologies are supported by clinical theory, then clinical theory further supports using those technologies to enable “overshoot” scenarios in which developing countries exceed the cumulative emissions caps that would apply in ideal circumstances. Third, because of tensions between political feasibility and moral permissibility, clinical theory provides only weak support for geoengineering techniques that aim to manage incoming solar radiation

Chip-firing groups of iterated cones

Let $\Gamma$ be a finite graph and let $\Gamma_n$ be the "$n$th cone over $\Gamma$" (i.e., the join of $\Gamma$ and the complete graph $K_n$). We study the asymptotic structure of the chip-firing group $\text{Pic}^0(\Gamma_n)$.Comment: 8 pages. v4: added Remark 1.

Loss-of-Mains Protection System by Application of Phasor Measurement Unit Technology with Experimentally Assessed Threshold Settings

Loss-of-mains protection is an important component of the protection systems of embedded generation. The role of loss-of-mains is to disconnect the embedded generator from the utility grid in the event that connection to utility dispatched generation is lost. This is necessary for a number of reasons, including the safety of personnel during fault restoration and the protection of plant against out-of-synchronism reclosure to the mains supply. The incumbent methods of loss-of-mains protection were designed when the installed capacity of embedded generation was low, and known problems with nuisance tripping of the devices were considered acceptable because of the insignificant consequence to system operation. With the dramatic increase in the installed capacity of embedded generation over the last decade, the limitations of current islanding detection methods are no longer acceptable. This study describes a new method of loss-of-mains protection based on phasor measurement unit (PMU) technology, specifically using a low cost PMU device of the authors' design which has been developed for distribution network applications. The proposed method addresses the limitations of the incumbent methods, providing a solution that is free of nuisance tripping and has a zero non-detection zone. This system has been tested experimentally and is shown to be practical, feasible and effective. Threshold settings for the new method are recommended based on data acquired from both the Great Britain and Ireland power systems

Long-Term Economic Model for Allocation of FACTS Devices in Restructured Power System Integrated Wind Generation

This study proposes an approach to optimally allocate multiple types of flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) devices in market-based power systems with wind generation. The main objective is to maximise profit by minimising device investment cost, and the system's operating cost considering both normal conditions and possible contingencies. The proposed method accurately evaluates the long-term costs and benefits gained by FACTS devices (FDs) installation to solve a large-scale optimisation problem. The objective implies maximising social welfare as well as minimising compensations paid for generation re-scheduling and load shedding. Many technical operation constraints and uncertainties are included in problem formulation. The overall problem is solved using both particle swarm optimisations for attaining optimal FDs allocation as main problem and optimal power flow as sub-optimisation problem. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated on modified IEEE 14-bus test system and IEEE 118-bus test system

The OpenPMU Platform for Open Source Phasor Measurements

OpenPMU is an open platform for the development of phasor measurement unit (PMU) technology. A need has been identified for an open-source alternative to commercial PMU devices tailored to the needs of the university researcher and for enabling the development of new synchrophasor instruments from this foundation. OpenPMU achieves this through open-source hardware design specifications and software source code, allowing duplicates of the OpenPMU to be fabricated under open-source licenses. This paper presents the OpenPMU device based on the Labview development environment. The device is performance tested according to the IEEE C37.118.1 standard. Compatibility with the IEEE C37.118.2 messaging format is achieved through middleware which is readily adaptable to other PMU projects or applications. Improvements have been made to the original design to increase its flexibility. A new modularized architecture for the OpenPMU is presented using an open messaging format which the authors propose is adopted as a platform for PMU research.</p

ECG Morphological Variability in Beat Space for Risk Stratification After Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background: Identification of patients who are at high risk of adverse cardiovascular events after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains a major challenge in clinical cardiology. We hypothesized that quantifying variability in electrocardiogram (ECG) morphology may improve risk stratification post‐ACS. Methods and Results: We developed a new metric to quantify beat‐to‐beat morphologic changes in the ECG: morphologic variability in beat space (MVB), and compared our metric to published ECG metrics (heart rate variability [HRV], deceleration capacity [DC], T‐wave alternans, heart rate turbulence, and severe autonomic failure). We tested the ability of these metrics to identify patients at high risk of cardiovascular death (CVD) using 1082 patients (1‐year CVD rate, 4.5%) from the MERLIN‐TIMI 36 (Metabolic Efficiency with Ranolazine for Less Ischemia in Non‐ST‐Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome—Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction 36) clinical trial. DC, HRV/low frequency–high frequency, and MVB were all associated with CVD (hazard ratios [HRs] from 2.1 to 2.3 [P<0.05 for all] after adjusting for the TIMI risk score [TRS], left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF], and B‐type natriuretic peptide [BNP]). In a cohort with low‐to‐moderate TRS (N=864; 1‐year CVD rate, 2.7%), only MVB was significantly associated with CVD (HR, 3.0; P=0.01, after adjusting for LVEF and BNP). Conclusions: ECG morphological variability in beat space contains prognostic information complementary to the clinical variables, LVEF and BNP, in patients with low‐to‐moderate TRS. ECG metrics could help to risk stratify patients who might not otherwise be considered at high risk of CVD post‐ACS

Changing and unchanging values in the world of the future, November 8, 9, and 10, 2001

This repository item contains a single issue of the Pardee Conference Series, a publication series that began publishing in 2006 by the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. This was the Center's Inaugural Conference that took place during November 8, 9, and 10, 2001. Organized by David Fromkin, Director Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. Co-Sponsored by Boston University and Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs.This conference brought together a discussion of different perspectives on what future paradigm shifts will look like – in government, in foreign policy, in what constitutes “classics,” in economic and religious modes, and changes in the interaction between these values. The conference agreed that today’s Western society values democracy, constitutionalism, liberalism, rule of law, open society, and market economy. These are not contingent upon one another and may change. But the “needs and aspirations” of humanity will at their most essential core remain the same. The amount and type of power given to governments is not a fixed thing, and developments in the meaning of democracy and how it is achieved may illustrate this

Over the moon or sick as a parrot? The effects of football results on a club's share price

International audienceThis paper considers the impact of match results on the stock returns of English football clubs. We propose that the magnitude of the response to a given result depends on the importance of the game, which is measured in two ways. First, we consider the extent to which the clubs are close rivals vying for similar league positions, as winning such games is particularly significant. Second, we argue that each individual game becomes more important for those clubs likely to be promoted or relegated as the season draws to a close, since a given match will have increasing information content concerning the final league position of the club. Using a fairly large panel comprising data for 19 clubs, we find some support for the notion that stock prices are more affected by the results of important matches than matches of lesser importance. We also observe that the difference between the number of points the club secures from a given match, and the number it was expected to secure, affects its stock price, as does the number of goals that the club under question scores in the match, relative to its competitor