Can Dispersed Biomass Processing Protect the Environment and Cover the Bottom Line for Biofuel?

This paper compares environmental and profitability outcomes for a centralized biorefinery for cellulosic ethanol that does all processing versus a biorefinery linked to a decentralized array of local depots that pretreat biomass into concentrated briquettes. The analysis uses a spatial bioeconomic model that maximizes predicted profit from crop and energy products, subject to the requirement that the biorefinery must be operated at full capacity. The model draws upon biophysical crop input-output coefficients simulated with the EPIC model, as well as input and output prices, spatial transportation costs, ethanol yields from biomass, and biorefinery capital and operational costs. The model was applied to 82 cropping systems simulated across 37 sub-watersheds in a 9-county region of southern Michigan in response to ethanol prices simulated to rise from $1.78 to$3.36 per gallon. Results show that the decentralized local biomass processing depots lead to lower profitability but better environmental performance, due to more reliance on perennial grasses than the centralized biorefinery. Simulated technological improvement that reduces the processing cost and increases the ethanol yield of switchgrass by 17% could cause a shift to more processing of switchgrass, with increased profitability and environmental benefits.Biomass production, bioenergy supply, cellulosic ethanol, environmental trade-off analysis, bioeconomic modeling, EPIC, spatial configuration, local biomass processing, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q16, Q15, Q57, Q18,

A Longitudinal Examination of African American Adolescents’ Attributions about Achievement Outcomes

Developmental, gender and academic domain differences in casual attributions and the influence of these attributions on classroom engagement were explored in 115 African American adolescents. Adolescents reported their attributions for success and failure in math, English/writing, and science, and their classroom engagement in eighth grade and eleventh grade. Ability attributions for math became more maladaptive from eighth to eleventh grade, and across grades, boys were generally more likely than girls to report adaptive math ability attributions. Compared to girls, boys were more likely to attribute English failure to low ability. Eighth grade success ability attributions were positively related to Grade 11 classroom engagement, whereas eighth and eleventh grade failure ability attributions were negatively related to engagement. Implications of the results in regard to the relationship between gender stereotypes and attributions are discussed

African American Boys' and Girls' Causal Attributions about Math, English, and Science are Shaped by Gender Stereotypes, Influence Classroom Engagement, and Change across the High School Years

This doctoral dissertation investigates developmental, gender, and academic domain differences in causal attributions; the influence of perceptions of gender group competence on attributions; and the impact of attributions on classroom engagement in a sample of African American adolescents (N = 381). Two studies were conducted using attribution theory as the guiding framework. The first study utilized a variable-centered approach to assess attributions, while the second study utilized a person-centered clustering approach. Data for the study were drawn from the Youth Identity Project, a longitudinal project with measurement waves in Grades 5, 7 and 10. In the first study, results from the latent curve models accounting for the influence of gender and achievement indicated that there was no significant decline over time in ability attributions. There were some gender-stereotypic differences in the intercepts of math and science attributions, with boys having more adaptive math and science ability attributions than girls in Grades 7 and 10. Results from the path models demonstrated that Grade 7 math and science ability attributions influenced domain-specific classroom engagement in Grade 10, while Grade 7 English ability attributions were not related to Grade 10 English engagement. Lastly, accounting for domain-specific achievement, seventh grade boys' perception of the competence of boys in math and science was related to their endorsement of ability in explaining math success and science failure. In addition, girls' perception of girls' math competence was negatively related to their math failure ability attributions. In the second study, results from the latent profile models indicated that at least two clusters of attributions emerged within each academic domain. The adaptive clusters were characterized by high levels of success ability and success effort attributions, and the maladaptive clusters were characterized by relatively low levels of success ability attributions and high levels of failure ability attributions. Significant gender differences for the math and English clusters emerged, with boys more likely to be in the adaptive math clusters in Grade 5 and Grade 7 and girls more likely to be in the adaptive English cluster in Grade 5. Higher classroom engagement in all domains was typically associated with membership in the adaptive clusters compared to the maladaptive clusters

Theodicy and End-of-Life Care

Acknowledgments The section on Islamic perspective is contributed by information provided by Imranali Panjwani, Tutor in Theology & Religious Studies, King's College London.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Quantifying the effects of acute hypoxic exposure on exercise performance and capacity: A systematic review and meta-regression

Objective: To quantify the effects of acute hypoxic exposure on exercise capacity and performance, which includes continuous and intermittent forms of exercise. Design: A systematic review was conducted with a three-level mixed effects meta-regression. The ratio of means method was used to evaluate main effects and moderators providing practical interpretations with percentage change. Data Sources: A systemic search was performed using 3 databases (Google scholar, PubMed and SPORTDiscus). Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: Inclusion was restricted to investigations that assessed exercise performance (time trials, sprint, and intermittent exercise tests) and capacity (time to exhaustion test (TTE)) with acute hypoxic (< 24 hrs) exposure and a normoxic comparator. Results: Eighty-two outcomes from 53 studies (N = 798) were included in this review. The results show an overall reduction in exercise performance/capacity -17.8 ± 3.9% (95% CI -22.8% to -11.0%), which was significantly moderated by -6.5 ± 0.9% per 1000 m altitude elevation (95% CI -8.2% to -4.8%) and oxygen saturation (-2.0 ± 0.4% 95% CI -2.9% to -1.2%). Time trial (-16.2 ± 4.3%; 95% CI -22.9% to -9%) and TTE (-44.5 ± 6.9%; 95% CI -51.3% to -36.7%) elicited a negative effect, whilst indicating a quadratic relationship between hypoxic magnitude and both TTE and TT performance. Furthermore, exercise < 2-min exhibited no ergolytic effect from acute hypoxia. Summary/ Conclusion: This review highlights the ergolytic effect of acute hypoxic exposure; which is curvilinear for TTE and TT performance with increasing hypoxic levels, but short-duration intermittent and sprint exercise seem to be unaffected

Kinematic and kinetic analysis of maximal velocity deadlifts performed with and without the inclusion of chain resistance.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the deadlift could be effectively incorporated with explosive resistance training (ERT) and to investigate whether the inclusion of chains enhanced the suitability of the deadlift for ERT. Twenty-three resistance trained athletes performed the deadlift with 30, 50, and 70% 1-repetition maximum (1RM) loads at submaximal velocity, maximal velocity (MAX), and MAX with the inclusion of 2 chain loads equal to 20 or 40% of the subjects' 1RM. All trials were performed on force platforms with markers attached to the barbell to calculate velocity and acceleration using a motion capture system. Significant increases in force, velocity, power, rate of force development, and length of the acceleration phase (p < 0.05) were obtained when repetition velocity increased from submaximal to maximal. During MAX repetitions with a constant resistance, the mean length of the acceleration phase ranged from 73.2 (±7.2%) to 84.9 (±12.2%) of the overall movement. Compared to using a constant resistance, the inclusion of chains enabled greater force to be maintained to the end of the concentric action and significantly increased peak force and impulse (p < 0.05), while concurrently decreasing velocity, power, and rate of force development (p < 0.05). The effects of chains were influenced by the magnitude of the chain and barbell resistance, with greater increases and decreases in mechanical variables obtained when heavier chain and barbell loads were used. The results of the investigation suggest that the deadlift can be incorporated effectively in ERT programs. Coaches and athletes should be aware that the inclusion of heavy chains may have both positive and negative effects on kinematics and kinetics of an exercise

Remote Hiring Innovation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Extension\u27s in-person hiring processes have been complicated in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. To prevent delays in hiring for three vacant county faculty positions, our search committee conducted remote interviews using a variety of innovative techniques, such as a live we\u27re hiring webinar, an icebreaker session, and live and recorded candidate presentations. The results of our innovative efforts included a larger pool of applicants, relaxed web-based video interviews, and savings in time and expenses. These strategies could be considered as new and effective approaches and practices to hiring and interviewing in Extension as the pandemic continues and into the future

Including supramaximal verification reduced uncertainty in VO2peak response rate.

Many reports describe using a supramaximal verification phase - exercising at a power output higher than the highest power output recorded during an incremental cardiopulmonary test - to validate VO2max. The impact of verification phases on estimating the proportion of individuals who increased VO2peak in response to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) remains an underexplored area in the individual response literature. This analysis investigated the influence of same-day and separate-day verification phases during repeated measurements (incremental tests – INCR1 and INCR2; incremental tests + supramaximal verification phases – INCR1+ and INCR2+) of VO2peak on typical error (TE) and the proportion of individuals classified as responders (i.e. the response rate) following four weeks of HIIT (n=25) or a no-exercise control period (n=9). Incorporation of supramaximal verification consistently reduced the standard deviation of individual response, typical error, and confidence interval widths. However, variances were statistically similar across all groups (p>0.05). Response rates increased when incorporating either one (INCR1 to INCR1+; 24% to 48%, p=0.07) or two (INCR2 to INCR2+; 28% to 48%, p=0.063) supramaximal verification phase(s). However, response rates remained unchanged when either zero-based thresholds or smallest worthwhile difference response thresholds were used (50% and 90% confidence intervals, all p>0.05). Supramaximal verification phases reduced random variability in VO2peak response to HIIT. Compared with separate-day testing (INCR2 and INCR2+), the incorporation of a same-day verification (INCR1+) reduced CI widths the most. Researchers should consider using a same-day verification phase to reduce uncertainty and better estimate VO2peak response rate to HIIT

Exercise therapy for the treatment of tendinopathies: a scoping review.

Purpose: Tendinopathy is a common condition leading to pain, disability and reduced quality of life/participation. Due to many tendinopathies having a chronic or recurrent course, there is a need to identify effective, evidence based practice for this condition. Exercise is the mainstay of conservative management for tendinopathy however, due to the heterogeneity of tendinopathy, populations affected and variation in exercise approaches a mapping of this area is required to inform future research, both primary and secondary and ultimately practice. The aim of this scoping review was therefore to map the existing evidence on exercise interventions and outcomes for the treatment of any tendinopathy. Methods: JBI Scoping Review methodology and an apriori protocol guided this review. Inclusion criteria included i). Participants - studies including any age or gender with any tendinopathy, ii). Concept – Exercise therapy (any type or format) intervention, delivered in any setting by any professional with any outcomes related to evaluating exercise interventions for tendinopathy, iii). Context – any setting in any developed nation listed as having very high human development. Nine databases, five clinical trial registries and six grey literature sources were searched. Results were uploaded to Covidence for screening. All screening (title/abstract and full text) were conducted by two reviewers independently with conflicts resolved by a third reviewer. A data extraction tool was iteratively developed and piloted by the review team prior to data extraction. As per scoping review methodology, no critical appraisal was conducted. Data was synthesised to present a map of tendinopathy exercise interventions and outcomes (related to ICON health related domains) alongside an accompanying narrative. Results: 22,547 studies were identified and after de-duplication and screening 554 studies were included in the review representing 25,687 participants. Studies were predominantly randomised controlled trials or systematic reviews conducted in the UK, Turkey, USA & Australia. The main tendinopathies reported were rotator cuff, achilles, lateral elbow and patellar. The majority of studies included a range of strength training approaches followed by flexibility and motor re-training /proprioception exercise. There was a range in quality of reporting of exercise across tendinopathies, assessed using the TIDieR checklist with 65.8% partially reproducible and 28% not reproducible. There was variation across tendinopathies in domains (disability, pain and physical function capacity) reported with corresponding variation in primary outcome measures related to these. Conclusion(s): This scoping review has mapped the evidence on exercise for tendinopathies. There is a range of exercise approaches across different tendinopathies and a need for future research to strictly adhere to reporting guidelines. There are a range of outcomes and domains reported across tendinopathies and future research would benefit from the development of core outcome sets for each tendinopathy. Impact: This scoping review adds to the body of evidence on tendinopathy rehabilitation. The results have informed systematic reviews currently being conducted on effectiveness of exercise for tendinopathies and the acceptability and feasibility of exercise interventions for tendinopathies. These reviews will provide guidance on exercise for tendinopathy rehabilitation, which can be adopted internationally. Funding acknowledgements: This project is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) [Health Technology Assessment (HTA) 129388 Exercise therapy for the treatment of tendinopathies]. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care