Impact of Missouri's E10 Standard on Consumer Fuel Usage, Public Health, & the Environment*

On January 1, 2008, the Missouri Renewable Fuel Standard Act (RFSA) became effective; mandating that all gasoline sold in the state contain 10% ethanol. The fuel with 90% gas and 10% ethanol is commonly referred to as "10."Proponents of the law claim that "Missouri's [RFSA] benefits consumers, our economy, the environment, and Missouri farmers." Others celebrate the new standard for reducing Missouri's dependence on foreign oil, developing a new production industry, and providing greater demand for locally grown crops. Some consumers however believe that E10 noticeably decreases their fuel-economy. In a Columbia newspaper article, one man said, "I think it's idiotic, my car runs worse with it. I don't like [E10]. It's not nearly as good." Regardless of one's viewpoint, it is important to evaluate Missouri RFSA's impacts on consumers, the environment and the economy.Includes bibliographical reference

Economic Impacts of US Ethanol Mandates and Their Implications for Missourians

On January 1, 2008, the Missouri Renewable Fuel Standard Act (MO RFSA) became effective; mandating that all gasoline sold in the state contain 10% ethanol. The fuel with 90% conventional gasoline and 10% ethanol is commonly referred to as “E10.” Proponents of the law believe that “Missouri's [RFSA] benefits consumers, our economy, the environment, and Missouri farmers.” Others celebrate the new standard for reducing Missouri's dependence on foreign oil, developing a new in state production industry, and providing greater demand for locally grown crops.Includes bibliographical reference

Determination of energy barrier profiles for high-k dielectric materials utilizing bias-dependent internal photoemission

We utilize bias-dependent internal photoemission spectroscopy to determine the metal/dielectric/silicon energy barrier profiles for Au/HfO2/Si and Au/Al2O3/Si structures. The results indicate that the applied voltage plays a large role in determining the effective barrier height and we attribute much of the variation in this case to image potential barrier lowering in measurements of single layers. By measuring current at both positive and negative voltages, we are able to measure the band offsets from Si and also to determine the flatband voltage and the barrier asymmetry at 0 V. Our SiO2 calibration sample yielded a conduction band offset value of 3.03+/-0.1 eV. Measurements on HfO2 give a conduction band offset value of 2.7+/-0.2 eV (at 1.0 V) and Al2O3 gives an offset of 3.3+/-0.1 (at 1.0 V). We believe that interfacial SiO2 layers may dominate the electron transport from silicon for these films. The Au/HfO2 barrier height was found to be 3.6+/-0.1 eV while the Au/Al2O3 barrier is 3.5+/-0.1 eV

Magnesium oxide doping reduces acoustic wave attenuation in lithium metatantalate and lithium metaniobate crystals

Single crystals of lithium metatantalate and lithium metaniobate, grown from melts having different stoichiometries and different amounts of magnesium oxide, show that doping lowers temperature-independent portion of attenuation of acoustic waves. Doped crystals possess optical properties well suited for electro-optical and photoelastic applications

Land Management Decisions and Agricultural Productivity in the Hillsides of Honduras

Increasing land degradation and concomitant low agricultural productivity are important determinants of rural poverty in the hillside areas of Honduras. Using data at the levels of the farm household, parcel and plot, we develop an econometric modeling framework to analyze land management decisions and their impact on crop productivity. Our econometric model allows for endogenous household decisions regarding livelihood strategy choice, use of labor and external inputs, and participation in organizations. We found support for the inverse farm size-land productivity relationship which suggests that improved land access could increase total crop production. Land tenure has no impact on crop productivity, but adoption of soil conservation practices is higher on owner-operated than leased plots. Ownership of machinery and equipment and livestock ownership both positively influence crop productivity. Education positively affects perennial crop productivity. The gender of the household head has no significant effect on crop productivity, but does influence some land management and input use decisions. Even though household participation in training programs and organizations has only limited effects on crop productivity, agricultural extension plays a key role in promoting adoption of soil conservation practices. Location assets have limited impacts on crop productivity but do influence land management decisions. Road density and better market access have a positive effect on perennial crop productivity. Population density has limited direct impact on crop productivity, though it may have indirect effects by affecting farm size and livelihood strategies.agricultural productivity, hillsides, Honduras, land management, soil conservation, Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis,

Melatonin as a potential therapy for sepsis : a phase I dose escalation study and an ex vivo whole blood model under conditions of sepsis

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This study was funded by the Chief Scientist Office, NHS Scotland. We would like to thank all the volunteers who gave up their time and blood to take part in the study and the data monitoring committee and staff of the intensive care unit for their support. In addition, thanks to Dr Malachy Columb for performing Page's trend test for us and to Annette Fearnley at Nu-Pharm Ltd for her advice.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Dual Gate Graphene FETs with fT of 50 GHz

A dual-gate graphene field-effect transistors is presented, which shows improved RF performance by reducing the access resistance using electrostatic doping. With a carrier mobility of 2700 cm2/Vs, a cutoff frequency of 50 GHz is demonstrated in a 350-nm gate length device. This fT value is the highest frequency reported to date for any graphene transistor, and it also exceeds that of Si MOSFETs at the same gate length, illustrating the potential of graphene for RF applications