Does Hazardous Waste Matter? Evidence from the Housing Market and the Superfund Program

Approximately $30 billion (2000$) has been spent on Superfund clean-ups of hazardous waste sites, and remediation efforts are incomplete at roughly half of the 1,500 Superfund sites. This study estimates the effect of Superfund clean-ups on local housing price appreciation. We compare housing price growth in the areas surrounding the first 400 hazardous waste sites to be cleaned up through the Superfund program to the areas surrounding the 290 sites that narrowly missed qualifying for these clean-ups. We cannot reject that the clean-ups had no effect on local housing price growth, nearly two decades after these sites became eligible for them. This finding is robust to a series of specification checks, including the application of a quasi-experimental regression discontinuity design based on knowledge of the selection rule. Overall, the preferred estimates suggest that the benefits of Superfund clean-ups as measured through the housing market are substantially lower than the $43 million mean cost of Superfund clean-ups.

Does Hazardous Waste Matter? Evidence from the Housing Market and the Superfund Program

Approximately $30 billion (2000$) has been spent on Superfund clean-ups of hazardous waste sites, and remediation efforts are incomplete at roughly half of the 1,500 Superfund sites. This study estimates the effect of Superfund clean-ups on local housing price appreciation. We compare housing price growth in the areas surrounding the first 400 hazardous waste sites to be cleaned up through the Superfund program to the areas surrounding the 290 sites that narrowly missed qualifying for these clean-ups. We cannot reject that the clean-ups had no effect on local housing price growth, nearly two decades after these sites became eligible for them. This finding is robust to a series of specification checks, including the application of a quasi-experimental regression discontinuity design based on knowledge of the selection rule. Overall, the preferred estimates suggest that the benefits of Superfund clean-ups as measured through the housing market are substantially lower than the $43 million mean cost of Superfund clean-ups.Valuation of environmental goods, Hazardous waste sites, Environmental regulation, Regression discontinuity, Superfound, Externalities

Does Hazardous Waste Matter? Evidence from the Housing Market and the Superfund Program

This paper uses the housing market to develop estimates of the local welfare impacts of Superfund sponsored clean-ups of hazardous waste sites.We show that if consumers value the clean-ups, then the hedonic model predicts that they will lead to increases in local housing prices and new home construction, as well as the migration of individuals that place a high value on environmental quality to the areas near the improved sites. We compare housing market outcomes in the areas surrounding the first 400 hazardous waste sites chosen for Superfund clean-ups to the areas surrounding the 290 sites that narrowly missed qualifying for these clean-ups.We find that Superfund clean-ups are associated with economically small and statistically indistinguishable from zero local changes in residential property values, property rental rates, housing supply, total population, and the types of individuals living near the sitesThese findings are robust to a series of specification checks, including the application of a quasi-experimental regression discontinuity design based on knowledge of the selection rule. Overall, the preferred estimates suggest that the local benefits of Superfund clean-ups are small and appear to be substantially lower than the $43 million mean cost of Superfund clean-ups.

Intermolecular hydrogen bonding of the two independent molecules of N-3,5-dinitrobenzoyl-L-leucine

The title compound, C₁₃H₁₅N₃O₇, crystallizes as two independent molecules which differ in their conformation. Intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the amide and carboxylic acid groups as N-H...O=C interactions results in the formation of one-dimensional chains with N...O distances of 2.967 (6) and 3.019 (6) Å. Neighbouring chains are linked by C=O...H-O interactions to form a two-dimensional network, with O...O distances of 2.675 (6) and 2.778 (6) Å

Understanding The Relationship Between Perceived Levels Of Stress, Mindfulness, And Meditation Practices

Mindfulness meditation has become increasing popular in the Western world the last few decades. Although the research in the area of mindfulness is just beginning, many studies report positive benefits to individuals who learn this type of meditation. This study compares the perceived stress levels of college students who report common characteristics of individuals who practice mindfulness meditation against college students who do not report those common characteristics of mindfulness. The student’s level of mindfulness was measured using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire while the Measurement of Stressful Life Events was used to determine the student’s perceived stress levels to recent events. Results showed that mindfulness is inversely correlated with current stress levels for recent life events. In addition, meditation experience was also found to be inversely correlated with current stress levels for recent life events. Finally, the results indicated a gender difference with respect to mindfulness but not a gender difference with respect to stress. Specifically, males scored higher than females in mindfulness but males and females reported similar levels of stress. There is still much to learn about mindfulness and stress. This study serves as a small part of the many studies being conducted to better understand these variables and their relationship to one another

A Better Predictor of NFL Success: Collegiate Performance or the NFL Draft Combine?

NFL teams spend massive sums to ensure they are prepared for the future, but how should they determine whom that future includes? This study set out to find what predicts NFL success more accurately – collegiate in-game performance or the NFL Draft Combine. In the sample of 2007-2012 first-round picks, 191 athletes were measured in three NFL Draft Combine drills, two physical components, and a varying amount of ingame collegiate and NFL performance statistical categories, dependent on position. Secondarily, this work examined Power 5 and non-Power 5 players to determine if attending a more prolific program was predictive of NFL success. Findings included that 40-yard dash and vertical jump are predictive of offensive linemen and cornerback NFL success, that in-game collegiate statistics are most indicative of NFL success amongst defensive players, and that Power 5 prospects are no more prepared for NFL success than those coming from non-Power 5 schools

These Stubborn Ones

An original play written by a member of the University Theatre, The Stubborn Ones is set in East Berlin where an ex-Nazi general is living incognito. The Communists find him and offer him a choice of helping them or being turned over to the West as a war criminal.https://collected.jcu.edu/plays/1008/thumbnail.jp

Genetic Regulation Of Tmem106b In The Pathogenesis Of Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration

Neurodegenerative diseases are an emerging global health crisis, with the projected global cost of dementia alone expected to exceed $1 trillion, or \u3e1% of world GDP, by 2018. However, there are no disease-modifying treatments for the major neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a better understanding of the pathophysiology underlying these diseases. While genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified ~200 genetic variants that are associated with risk of developing neurodegenerative disease, the biological mechanisms underlying these associations are largely unknown. This dissertation investigates the mechanisms by which common genetic variation at TMEM106B, a GWAS-identified risk locus for FTLD, influences disease risk. First, using genetic and clinical data from thirty American and European medical centers, I demonstrate that the TMEM106B locus acts as a genetic modifier of a common Mendelian form of FTLD. Second, I investigate the role of increased TMEM106B expression levels, which have been reported both in FTLD patients and in individuals carrying the TMEM106B risk allele, in FTLD pathogenesis. I demonstrate that microRNA-132, the most dysregulated microRNA in a genome-wide screen of FTLD and control brains, directly represses TMEM106B expression in human cells, and likely contributes to the elevated TMEM106B levels seen in disease. I then combine statistical approaches, bioinformatics, and experimental approaches in order to functionally characterize all candidate GWAS causal variants at the TMEM106B locus. This approach identifies a noncoding variant, rs1990620, which affects CTCF-mediated long-range chromatin interactions between distal regulatory elements, as the likely causal variant responsible for altering TMEM106B expression levels and disease risk. These results provide a plausible mechanism by which TMEM106B genotype and expression levels influence FTLD risk and clinical progression, and provide a general framework for elucidating the biological mechanisms underlying a disease-associated risk locus. Such an approach will be necessary in order to translate the thousands of loci associated with disease risk by GWAS into mechanistic understanding and therapeutic advances