THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MARKET AREA DETERMINATION FOR ESTIMATING AGGREGATE BENEFITS OF PUBLIC GOODS: TESTING DIFFERENCES IN RESIDENT AND NONRESIDENT WILLINGNESS TO PAY

A combined telephone contact-mail booklet-telephone interview of California and New England households regarding their willingness to pay for fire management in California and Oregon's old-growth forests was performed to test hypotheses regarding the spatial extent of the public goods market. Using a multiple-bounded contingent valuation question, the study found that New England households' annual willingness to pay for the California and Oregon programs was statistically different from zero. This analysis points out that households receive benefits from fire protection of old-growth forests in states other than their own. In this case study, limiting the survey sample to state residents where the National Forest is located would reflect about 20% of the national benefits. However, using resident values as a proxy for nonresidents would overstate the national benefits by 75%, since the values per household are significantly different. This finding suggests more emphasis in future surveys on selecting an institutionally and economically relevant sample frame rather than an expedient one.Consumer/Household Economics,

TESTING FOR DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF FOREST FIRES ON HIKING AND MOUNTAIN BIKING DEMAND AND BENEFITS

Surveys of visitors to National Forests in Colorado were conducted to determine whether different fire ages and presence of crown fires have different effects on hiking and mountain biking recreation visits and benefits. Actual and intended behavior data were combined using a count-data travel cost model. The intended behavior trip questions asked about changes in number of trips due to the presence of a high-intensity crown fire, prescribed fire, and a 20-year-old high-intensity fire at the area respondents were visiting. Using the estimated recreation demand function, years since a non-crown fire had statistically significant positive effect on the trip demand of hikers. In contrast, presence of crown fires had no statistically significant effect on the quantity of hiker trips, but had a significant and negative effect on mountain biking trips. Crown fires also had a large effect on the value per trip, with crown fires increasing the value per hiking trip but lowering the value per mountain biking trip.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Spatial Limits of the TCM revisited: Island Effects

The purpose of this paper is to address a problem that may arise with the assumption of a continuous spatial market in the TCM model. We find that this assumption can be challenged by geographical limitations that an area of study might have. Particularly for islands (or isolated island-like areas) that have a valuable non-market resource or good, the spatial market characteristic of the TCM model might be limited or truncated. The geographical truncation limits the observed maximum travel cost of the demand curve falsely implying a lower WTP than otherwise. The study uses a dichotomous choice CVM to confirm that the resulting demand schedules from the TCM underestimates WTP for day trips to the Caribbean National Forest in Puerto Rico. This results in a considerably smaller TCM WTP for the value of recreation sites at $17 to$29 versus $109 per day trip from the dichotomous choice CVM.Marketing,

Lorentz-covariant reduced spin density matrix and EPR-Bohm correlations

We show that it is possible to define a Lorentz-covariant reduced spin density matrix for massive particles. Such a matrix allows one to calculate the mean values of observables connected with spin measurements (average polarizations). Moreover, it contains not only information about polarization of the particle but also information about its average kinematical state. We also use our formalism to calculate the correlation function in the Einstein--Podolsky--Rosen--Bohm type experiment with massive relativistic particles.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur

Casimir effect for tachyonic fields

In this paper we examine Casimir effect in the case of tachyonic field, which is connected with particles with negative four-momentum square. We consider here only the case of one dimensional, scalar field. In order to describe tachyonic field, we use the absolute synchronization scheme preserving Lorentz invariance. The renormalized vacuum energy is calculated by means of Abel-Plana formula. Finaly, the Casimir energy and Casimir force as the functions of distance are obtained. In order to compare the resulting formula with the standard one, we calculate the Casimir energy and Casimir force for massive, scalar field.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figure

Lorentz-covariant, unitary evolution of a relativistic Majorana qubit

We formulate a covariant description of a relativistic qubit identified with an irreducible set of quantum spin states of a Majorana particle with a sharp momentum. We treat the particle’s four-momentum as an external parameter. We show that it is possible to define an interesting time evolution of the spin density matrix of such a qubit. This evolution is manifestly Lorentz covariant in the bispinor representation and unitary in the spin representation. Moreover, during this evolution the Majorana particle undergoes an uniformly accelerated motion. We classify possible types of such motions, and finally we illustrate the behaviour of the polarization vector of the Majorana qubit during the evolution in some special cases

Quantum correlations in Newtonian space and time: arbitrarily fast communication or nonlocality

We investigate possible explanations of quantum correlations that satisfy the principle of continuity, which states that everything propagates gradually and continuously through space and time. In particular, following [J.D. Bancal et al, Nature Physics 2012], we show that any combination of local common causes and direct causes satisfying this principle, i.e. propagating at any finite speed, leads to signalling. This is true even if the common and direct causes are allowed to propagate at a supraluminal-but-finite speed defined in a Newtonian-like privileged universal reference frame. Consequently, either there is supraluminal communication or the conclusion that Nature is nonlocal (i.e. discontinuous) is unavoidable.Comment: It is an honor to dedicate this article to Yakir Aharonov, the master of quantum paradoxes. Version 2 contains some more references and a clarified conclusio

A novel EGFR inhibitor acts as potent tool for hypoxia-activated prodrug systems and exerts strong synergistic activity with VEGFR inhibition in vitro and in vivo

Small-molecule EGFR inhibitors have distinctly improved the overall survival especially in EGFR-mutated lung cancer. However, their use is often limited by severe adverse effects and rapid resistance development. To overcome these limitations, a hypoxia-activatable Co(III)-based prodrug (KP2334) was recently synthesized releasing the new EGFR inhibitor KP2187 in a highly tumor-specific manner only in hypoxic areas of the tumor. However, the chemical modifications in KP2187 necessary for cobalt chelation could potentially interfere with its EGFR-binding ability. Consequently, in this study, the biological activity and EGFR inhibition potential of KP2187 was compared to clinically approved EGFR inhibitors. In general, the activity as well as EGFR binding (shown in docking studies) was very similar to erlotinib and gefitinib (while other EGFR-inhibitory drugs behaved different) indicating no interference of the chelating moiety with the EGFR binding. Moreover, KP2187 significantly inhibited cancer cell proliferation as well as EGFR pathway activation in vitro and in vivo. Finally, KP2187 proved to be highly synergistic with VEGFR inhibitors such as sunitinib. This indicates that KP2187releasing hypoxia-activated prodrug systems are promising candidates to overcome the clinically observed enhanced toxicity of EGFR-VEGFR inhibitor combination therapies

Filtration efficiency of air conditioner filters and face masks to limit exposure to aerosolized algal toxins

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) can generate toxins that can be aerosolized and negatively impact human health through inhalation. HABs are often found in waterways near residences, therefore, aerosolized HAB toxins can potentially affect both indoor and outdoor air quality. Given that HABs are predicted to increase worldwide, effective mitigation strategies are needed to prevent the inhalation of aerosolized HAB toxins. In this work, we characterized both the particle filtration efficiency using particle sizing instruments as well as the mass concentration of different congeners of aerosolized microcystin (MC) toxins that penetrate through commercially available face masks and air conditioner (AC) filters. Particles were generated from cultures of the toxin-producing cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa. Hydrophobic congeners of microcystin including MC-LF and MC-LW were enriched in aerosols compared to water, with MC-LR being the most abundant, which has implications for the toxicity of inhalable particles generated from HAB-contaminated waters. Particle transmission efficiencies and toxin filtration efficiencies scaled with the manufacturer-provided filter performance ratings. Up to 80% of small, microcystin-containing aerosols were transmitted through AC filters with low filter performance ratings. In contrast, both face masks as well as AC filters with high filter performance ratings efficiently removed toxin-containing particles to below limits of quantification. Our findings suggest that face masks and commercially available AC filters with high filtration efficiency ratings are suitable mitigation strategies to avoid indoor and outdoor air exposure to aerosolized HAB toxins. This work also has relevance for reducing airborne exposure to other HAB toxins, non-HAB toxins, pathogens, and viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic