ECOLABELS AND ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY: SOME PRELIMINARY RESULTS

The public provision of information about the environmental performance of firms and products has generated considerable enthusiasm and become a common instrument of environmental regulation, even though the economic analysis of the social welfare properties of these policies is quite limited. This paper proposes a model for examining these properties.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Recall and Recognition Tasks Within Facial Composite Production

Witnesses are routinely interviewed as part of police investigations in order to obtain a description of the offender. This description can take the form of a verbal, written statement or a visual statement that can consist of a facial composite. This thesis investigated the construction of facial composites and explored a variety of techniques aimed at improving the accuracy of the likeness produced. A survey of E-FIT operators in the UK was used to identify a variety of techniques which had the potential to affect the accuracy of the composite produced. The three most promising techniques were the use of an initial interview prior to composite construction, working through a list of facial descriptors with the witness prior to construction and instructing the witness to image the face of the offender during construction. The utility of these techniques was tested in two experiments conducted using trained police personnel. The results of these experiments showed that neither prior interviewing or use of facial descriptors appeared to affect the accuracy of the composites produced but that composites produced by witnesses instructed to image were identified less often than when no such instruction was employed. The negative effect of imaging during composite construction was explored in two further experiments by separating the instruction to image from seeing a facial composite, which revealed that imaging a face negatively affected recognition performance but that seeing a composite of a face had no effect on recognition. The results are considered in light of previous psychological research and theory and their potential impact on police procedures

In the 80\u27s: Will It Be World Peace or World War?

My subject today is a serious one. It is particularly serious to men and women in college. We must face up to events today, which are happening very rapidly. It is a truism, that if we wish to understand where we are today, we must look back and see where we have been. There is engraved in stone at the National Archives in Washington, the words, The Past Is Prologue. So in my allotted time, I believe we should first go back and see where we have been, then we must evaluate where we are today. Then, I would like to talk briefly about a program for the future

Do grandparents matter? : The impact of Grandparenting on the wellbeing of children

This timely and important report shows the immense value of grandparents in 21st century family life. It reveals a unique relationship that exists between the older generation and the youngest: a relationship of love and trust that enables the children to use their grandparents as confidantes and counsellors as well as playmates and cookery instructors. The report shows that children value the non-critical support, emotional advice and guidance that grandparents offer and enjoy the quality time their grandparents give them. It also found that the relationship has benefits for grandparents adding to their raison d’être and contributing to their health and longevity. The report also notes the change in the nature of family relationships in Britain throughout the 20th century, from the extended family to the nuclear family to the current variety of relationships, formal and informal, in which both the elderly and the young suffer neglect. With today’s increased incidence of divorce and family breakdown, grandparents can sometimes provide the only stable family relationship in a child’s life, and yet grandparents often lose contact with their grandchildren during or after a divorce or relationship breakup and have no legal rights through the Family Court to continue offering loving care and support to their grandchildren. The report concludes that there is need for much greater understanding of the role and function of grandparents in family life today.Final Published versio

Sequence variability of Campylobacter temperate bacteriophages

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prophages integrated within the chromosomes of <it>Campylobacter jejuni </it>isolates have been demonstrated very recently. Prior work with <it>Campylobacter </it>temperate bacteriophages, as well as evidence from prophages in other enteric bacteria, suggests these prophages might have a role in the biology and virulence of the organism. However, very little is known about the genetic variability of <it>Campylobacter </it>prophages which, if present, could lead to differential phenotypes in isolates carrying the phages versus those that do not. As a first step in the characterization of <it>C. jejuni </it>prophages, we investigated the distribution of prophage DNA within a <it>C. jejuni </it>population assessed the DNA and protein sequence variability within a subset of the putative prophages found.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Southern blotting of <it>C. jejuni </it>DNA using probes from genes within the three putative prophages of the <it>C. jejuni </it>sequenced strain RM 1221 demonstrated the presence of at least one prophage gene in a large proportion (27/35) of isolates tested. Of these, 15 were positive for 5 or more of the 7 <it>Campylobacter </it>Mu-like phage 1 (CMLP 1, also designated <it>Campylobacter jejuni </it>integrated element 1, or CJIE 1) genes tested. Twelve of these putative prophages were chosen for further analysis. DNA sequencing of a 9,000 to 11,000 nucleotide region of each prophage demonstrated a close homology with CMLP 1 in both gene order and nucleotide sequence. Structural and sequence variability, including short insertions, deletions, and allele replacements, were found within the prophage genomes, some of which would alter the protein products of the ORFs involved. No insertions of novel genes were detected within the sequenced regions. The 12 prophages and RM 1221 had a % G+C very similar to <it>C. jejuni </it>sequenced strains, as well as promoter regions characteristic of <it>C. jejuni</it>. None of the putative prophages were successfully induced and propagated, so it is not known if they were functional or if they represented remnant prophage DNA in the bacterial chromosomes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These putative prophages form a family of phages with conserved sequences, and appear to be adapted to <it>Campylobacter</it>. There was evidence for recombination among groups of prophages, suggesting that the prophages had a mosaic structure. In many of these properties, the Mu-like CMLP 1 homologs characterized in this study resemble temperate bacteriophages of enteric bacteria that are responsible for contributions to virulence and host adaptation.</p

Use of Intrinsic Volatile Compounds to Create Bird Resistance in Sorghum

The red-billed quelea is the most abundant bird in the world, with 1.5 million breeding pairs. They live in massive flocks in central Africa and cause significant damage to cereal crops, especially sorghum. The chemical compound methyl anthranilate (MA), a volatile produced in the leaves of sorghum, has been proven to be an effective bird repellent. While there are currently commercial MA spray treatments available for sorghum, they have to be applied frequently and are thus not cost effective for smallholder farmers. This work aims to produce a line of sorghum that produces the MA compound in its inflorescence, specifically during early seed development, to decrease bird predation. To produce MA in the seed head of sorghum, we have fused a sorghum anthranilate methyl transferase (AMT) gene (which encodes the enzyme that produces MA) to each of three candidate promoter sequences. Each one of these promoters signals gene expression in different stages of early seed development. Using these promoters, and the isolated AMT, constructs have been created that will be transformed into sorghum. Once these plants are generated, and in the early stages of growth, the concentration of headspace volatiles around the inflorescence will be analyzed by dynamic headspace sampling coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to determine if the levels of MA are adequate to repel birds. Establishing the optimal MA levels in the plant for bird resistance and deploying this trait can decrease the issues that spray repellents bring for smallholder farmers and reduce sorghum vulnerability to quelea predation

Factors Influencing Willingness-to-Pay for the Energy Star Label

In the United States, nearly 17 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from residential energy use. Increases in energy efficiency for the residential sector can generate significant energy savings and emissions reductions. Consumer labels, such as USEPA’s Energy Star, promote conservation by providing consumers with information on energy usage for household appliances. This study examines how the Energy Star label affects consumer preferences for refrigerators. An online survey of a national sample of adults suggest that consumers are, on average, willing to pay an extra $249.82 to$349.30 for a refrigerator that has been awarded the Energy Star label. Furthermore, the results provide evidence that willingness to pay was motivated by both private (energy cost savings) and public (environmental) benefits.Energy Star, willingness-to-pay, eco-label, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction by M(bpy-R)(CO)4 (M = Mo, W; R = H, tBu) complexes. Electrochemical, spectroscopic, and computational studies and comparison with group 7 catalysts

The tetracarbonyl molybdenum and tungsten complexes of 2,2′-bipyridine and 4,4′-di-tert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridine (M(bpy-R)(CO)4; R = H, M = Mo (1), W (2); R = tBu, M = Mo (3), W (4)) are found to be active electrocatalysts for the reduction of CO2. The crystal structures of M(bpy-tBu)(CO)4 (M = Mo (3), W (4)), the singly reduced complex [W(bpy)(CO)4][K(18-crown-6] (5) and the doubly reduced complex [W(bpy-tBu)(CO)3][K(18-crown-6)]2 (6) are reported. DFT calculations have been used to characterize the reduced species from the reduction of W(bpy-tBu)(CO)4 (4). These compounds represent rare examples of group 6 electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction, and comparisons are made with the related group 7 complexes that have been studied extensively for CO2 reduction

Dispersion of elastic waves in laminated glass

Elastic sandwich-type structures with high-contrast material and geometrical properties have numerous applications in modern engineering, including, in particular, laminated glass, photovoltaic panels, precipitator plates in gas filters, etc. Multi-parametric modelling of such structures assumes taking into consideration various types of contrast in stiffness, density and thickness. The present contribution is concerned with analysis of low-frequency dispersion of elastic waves in case of an antisymmetric motion of a three-layered symmetric plate, modelling laminated glass. The conditions on material and geometrical parameters, leading to the lowest non-zero thickness shear resonance frequency tending to zero, are formulated. In this case the dispersion relation possesses two low-frequency modes instead of a single fundamental low-frequency mode, which is typical for a homogeneous plate. A two-mode uniform asymptotic approximation is constructed, along with local approximations for the fundamental mode and the first shear harmonic

Chlorine inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7.

We analyzed isolates of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (which has recently caused waterborne outbreaks) and wild-type E. coli to determine their sensitivity to chlorination. Both pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains were significantly reduced within 1 minute of exposure to free chlorine. Results indicate that chlorine levels typically maintained in water systems are sufficient to inactivate these organisms