The Effects of the Coffee Trademarking Initiative and Starbucks Publicity on Export Prices of Ethiopian Coffee

The Ethiopian government initiated the Ethiopian Coffee Trademarking and Licensing Initiative in 2004 for three coffee origins: Sidama, Yirgacheffe and Harar. Following a court case between Starbucks and the Ethiopian government regarding this initiative, Oxfam organized a publicity campaign. This paper evaluates the effect of these interventions on the export prices of trademarked Ethiopian coffees. We find that the prices of the trademarked coffees increased by about 10\% following these interventions. The magnitude of this change is comparable with the farm gate prices reported in the literature; however, we cannot establish direct causation or observe the passthrough into farm gate prices. --Trademarks,coffee prices,Ethiopia

Effect of Ionizing Radiation on the Crystalline Morphology of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE)

The two main applications of ionizing radiation and Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) are in space radiation shielding and articulating orthopedic implants (hips and knees). Samples are exposed to both proton and gamma irradiation. Proton irradiation doses are varied from 0-8.7 kGy. Proton Irradiation showed significant increases in crosslinking on the surface, which interferes with recrystallization of the polymer. Gamma Irradiation is conducted at a high (2.9 kGy/hr) and low (0.25 kGy/hr) dose rate at integral doses of 75 and 150 kGy. Gamma irradiation shows significant crosslinking and recrystallization in the center of the sample where oxygen diffusion is limited

Rocket Cratering in Simulated Lunar and Martian Environments

With NASA's planned return to the moon and possibly with lunar outposts being formed, repeated landings at the same site will be necessary. Understanding rocket plume interaction with lunar and Martian surfaces is of paramount importance in order to safely land and protect hardware surrounding the landing site. This work will report on results of three small experiments intended to explore plume impingement onto lunar and Martian surfaces: Handheld Observation of Scour Holes (HOOSH), Handheld Angle of Repose Measurements of Lunar Simulants (HARMLuS), and Mars Architecture Team study (MATS). The first two experiments were performed during two sorties of reduced gravity flights. HOOSH was designed to investigate crater formation as a function of gravitational level (lunar and Martian gravity). HARMLuS was designed to measure the Angle of Failure (related to the angle of repose) at lunar and Martian gravity. Both experiments have complex findings indicative of the hysteretic behavior of granular materials, especially resulting from reduced gravity. The MATS experiment was designed to investigate the effects of regolith compaction on the granular mechanics of crater formation . In general, the granular mechanics is a much stronger function of compaction than gravitation acceleration. Crater formation is greatly enhanced at reduced gravity (resulting in much larger craters). The angle of failure of the lunar simulants increases with decreasing gravitational acceleration, and occasionally becomes infinite for some compactions at lunar gravity. The angle of failure also increases with increasing compaction. While compaction does play a role in the time development of crater formation, the asymptotic behavior is largely unaffected

A novel DRD2 single-nucleotide polymorphism associated with schizophrenia predicts age of onset: HapMap tag-sincle-nucleotide polymorphism analysis

Background: Dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) is thought to be critical in regulating the dopaminergic pathway in the brain which is known to be important in the aetiology of schizophrenia. It is therefore not surprising that most antipsychotic medication acts on the Dopamine D2 receptor. DRD2 is widely expressed in brain, levels are reduced in brains of schizophrenia patients and DRD2 polymorphisms have been associated with reduced brain expression. We have previously identified a genetic variant in DRD2, rs6277 to be strongly implicated in schizophrenia susceptibility. Methods: To identity new associations in the DRD2 gene with disease status and clinical severity, we genotyped seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DRD2 using a multiplex mass spectrometry method. SNPs were chosen using a haplotype block-based gene-tagging approach so the entire DRD2 gene was represented. Results: One polymorphism rs2734839 was found to be significantly associated with schizophrenia as well as late onset age. Individuals carrying the genetic variation were more than twice as likely to have schizophrenia compared to controls. Conclusions: Our results suggest that DRD2 genetic variation is a good indicator for schizophrenia risk and may also be used as a predictor age of onset

Neighborhood Development Team

poster abstractThe Neighborhood Development Team worked to address the public problem of payday loans in Central Indiana. The economic disadvantaged in Indianapolis commonly utilize payday loans. Payday loans average $300-$400 at 390% interest. An average payday loan customer will take out nine loans in a given year. Research stated that borrowers generate 90% of the payday lending business with five or more loans per year the problem is that borrowers have an issue repaying loans within a limited period due to these high interest rates and are in need of another loan to pay back the original loan. Our model provides the same loans as the payday loans but at a much smaller, 36%, interest rate for a longer duration, thirty days instead of fourteen days. Our loans will also contribute to the borrower’s credit score. The greater goal is economic empowerment

Air quality monitoring and anthropogenic correlations in Northwest Indiana

Currently, there are seven PurpleAir sensors deployed throughout Lake and Porter counties in cities including Gary, Chesterton, Valparaiso, and Schererville as part of the North Lake County Environmental Partnership (NLCEP). Communities have been partnering with Valparaiso University in order to set up and help maintain the PurpleAir sensors in their municipalities. In addition to setup and monitoring, communities are learning about their local air quality and the monitoring systems in place. We additionally observe air quality metrics for these sensors with attention to particulate concentrations and compare to spatial and meteorological factors. Within the Gary and Valparaiso areas, sensors have qualitative trends. Relative to a 5-mile radius in the Gary area, the distributions of particulates are not the same within the 95% confidence interval. Meteorological factors like humidity and pressure have an effect on the particulate concentrations and trends in pressure where particulate concentrations data show a transposed relationship. Anthropogenic spikes in particulate matter (PM1.0) are modeled with meteorological data with the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model (HYSPLIT) to evaluate particulate origin

Rh single atoms on TiO2 dynamically respond to reaction conditions by adapting their site.

Single-atom catalysts are widely investigated heterogeneous catalysts; however, the identification of the local environment of single atoms under experimental conditions, as well as operando characterization of their structural changes during catalytic reactions are still challenging. Here, the preferred local coordination of Rh single atoms is investigated on TiO2 during calcination in O2, reduction in H2, CO adsorption, and reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction conditions. Theoretical and experimental studies clearly demonstrate that Rh single atoms adapt their local coordination and reactivity in response to various redox conditions. Single-atom catalysts hence do not have static local coordinations, but can switch from inactive to active structure under reaction conditions, hence explaining some conflicting literature accounts. The combination of approaches also elucidates the structure of the catalytic active site during reverse water gas shift. This insight on the real nature of the active site is key for the design of high-performance catalysts