Impact of United States Corn-Based Ethanol Production on Land Use

This study measures the impact of corn-based ethanol production in the United States on land use in other countries, or indirect land use. Indirect land use is a change from non-cropland to cropland (e.g. deforestation) that may occur in response to increasing scarcity of cropland. As farmers worldwide respond to higher crop prices in order to maintain the global food supply and demand balance, pristine lands are cleared and converted to new cropland to replace the crops for feed and food that were diverted elsewhere to biofuel production. The results show that increasing ethanol production in the US has a positive and significant relation to U.S corn price. However, U.S. corn price does not have a significant impact on changes in corn acreage in Brazil and other countries such as Canada, Japan and China. Although many authors have hypothesized that increased ethanol production in the U.S. will increase corn prices, which will result in increased change in land use in other countries, these results suggest that the effect is minimal at best. This is important because although production of ethanol for fuel is often criticized for negatively impacting the environment because of indirect land use, this study was unable to prove the existence of indirect land use.ethanol, indirect land use, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Land Economics/Use, Marketing,

Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008: Commodity program choice

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008: Disaster Assistance Programs

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

Land Use Implications of Expanding Biofuel Demand

The Renewable Fuel Standard mandates in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will require 36 billion gallons of ethanol to be produced in 2022. The mandates require that 16 of the 36 billion gallons must be produced from cellulosic feedstocks. The potential land use implications resulting from these mandates were examined using two methods, the POLYSYS model and a general equilibrium model. Results of the POLYSYS analysis indicated that 72.1 million tons of corn stover, 23.5 million tons of wheat straw, and 24.7 million acres would be used to produce 109 million tons of switchgrass in 2025 to meet the mandate. Results of the CGE analysis indicated that 10.9 billion bushels of corn grain, 71 million tons of corn stover, and 56,200 tons of switchgrass is needed to meet the mandate.cellulosic ethanol, corn stover, grain ethanol, renewable fuel standard, switchgrass, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q15, Q42,

The Presence of Essential and Non-Essential Stratum Corneum Proteases: The Vital Need for Protease Inhibitors

Dry skin is one of the most important concerns of consumers worldwide. Despite huge efforts over several decades, the personal care industry still does not offer complete solutions that satisfy the unmet needs of consumers for moisturizing treatments. The paucity of data for the underlying biochemical problems in and the effects of moisturizers on facial skin biology and physiology may partly explain this. Our recent color mapping studies based on bio-instrumental evaluations of skin capacitance and transepidermal water loss have revealed the complexity of facial skin. However, the biomolecular reasons for these subtle differences in the different zones of the face are unknown so far. As the maturation of the stratum corneum is vital for skin moisturization and optimal barrier function, we believe that the protease / proteaseinhibitor balance particularly of the plasminogen system may be key in these processes. Thus, our aim was to develop a specific dual plasmin and urokinase inhibitor for topical application to barrier-impaired skin and demonstrate its efficac

Trends, Persistence, and Volatility in Energy Markets

This paper makes a threefold contribution to the underlying dynamic properties and causal effects of energy prices. Firstly, the paper makes a study of the underlying trends to help identify the time series path of nonrenewable energy resources, which can have far reaching consequences for economists and policy makers alike. The analysis is extended to also determine the persistence of oil price shocks. Secondly, the study examines the causal relation between oil prices and the macroeconomy allowing for nonlinear models that have been recently advocated in the literature. Finally, this study describes the relation between oil prices and agricultural commodities. From a policy perspective, these interrelationships of agricultural and oil prices warrant careful consideration in the context of the recent energy crisis, which may very well continue in the future

Numerical modelling of CFS two-storey sheathing-braced building under shaking-table excitations

The recent seismic events have highlighted the need of tools for predicting the performance until collapse and hence assisting to minimize the damages and losses. A European project, named ELISSA, has been recently finished, in which the University of Naples Federico II has explored the seismic behaviour of a Cold Formed Steel (CFS) full-scale two-storey building, via shake-table tests on bare structure and complete construction phases of specimen. Starting from experimental results, advanced numerical models have been developed using the OpenSees software, which consider both structural and non-structural elements and their contribution to the response. The comparison between experimental and numerical results showed that the proposed approach can capture the seismic behaviour of tested building, with acceptable prediction of the response in terms of inter-storey drift peaks and time history if structural and non-structural components are explicitly considered. A further task showed that the earthquake sequence effect can affect the results and it should be taken into account for a better numerical prediction

Numerical modelling of CFS two-storey sheathing-braced building under shaking-table excitations

The recent seismic events have highlighted the need of tools for predicting the performance until collapse and hence assisting to minimize the damages and losses. A European project, named ELISSA, has been recently finished, in which the University of Naples Federico II has explored the seismic behaviour of a Cold Formed Steel (CFS) full-scale two-storey building, via shake-table tests on bare structure and complete construction phases of specimen. Starting from experimental results, advanced numerical models have been developed using the OpenSees software, which consider both structural and non-structural elements and their contribution to the response. The comparison between experimental and numerical results showed that the proposed approach can capture the seismic behaviour of tested building, with acceptable prediction of the response in terms of inter-storey drift peaks and time history if structural and non-structural components are explicitly considered. A further task showed that the earthquake sequence effect can affect the results and it should be taken into account for a better numerical prediction

Pareti sismo-resistenti controventate con barre pretese in acciaio ultra-alto resistenziale per le costruzioni leggere in acciaio: il progetto “eccelsa”

In linea con le tendenze degli ultimi anni, che prevedono l’utilizzo di costruzioni altamente performanti ed a basso impatto, è appena terminato un progetto di ricerca dal nome “ECCElSA”, svolto in collaborazione tra l’Università di Napoli “Federico II” e l’azienda calabrese Lamieredil S.p.A. Il progetto ha avuto come principale obiettivo lo sviluppo di soluzioni innovative per le costruzioni leggere in acciaio, finalizzate all’ottenimento di elevate prestazioni strutturali, termiche e ambientali. A tal fine è stato concepito un nuovo sistema parete sismo-resistente, che consiste principalmente in una parete costituita da profili in acciaio formato a freddo controventata da barre di acciaio ultra-alto resistenziale pre-tese, poste in configurazione a “V”. Oltre allo sviluppo del sistema sismo-resistente, nell’ambito del progetto sono state studiate anche diverse soluzioni per l’involucro edilizio, che riducono i ponti termici e migliorano le prestazioni energetiche dell’intero edificio. Lo sviluppo del sistema parete sismo-resistente è stato condotto attraverso un approccio basato principalmente sulla sperimentazione fisica, che ha previsto un’ampia campagna sperimentale con prove di trazione sui materiali strutturali, prove di rilassamento sull’acciaio ultra-alto resistenziale, prove di trazione sull’assemblaggio barra-dado e prove su pareti in scala reale. Le prove sperimentali sono state condotte presso il Laboratorio del Dipartimento di Strutture per l’Ingegneria e l’Architettura dell’Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”. I risultati sperimentali ottenuti hanno evidenziato una risposta soddisfacente della parete in termini di rigidezza, resistenza e capacità di deformazione, confermando le previsioni teoriche. Come step conclusivo del progetto, al fine di validare le soluzioni sviluppate nonché analizzare i processi produttivi e la fase esecutiva, è stato costruito un edificio prototipo di due piani, progettato interamente in ambiente BIM e realizzato con l’ausilio di tecnologie di produzione CAD/CAM. termico ed acustico, lo studio delle combinazioni di accoppiamento tipiche dei sistemi a multistrato e a sandwich