VALUING RISK TRADEOFFS AND VOLUNTARY INSECTICIDE REDUCTION

Farmer's willingness to voluntarily reduce insecticide use is not considered when regulatory approaches to environmental protection are proposed. Regulations that require behavior that would voluntarily be undertaken are excessive and economically inefficient. Using survey data from a contingent valuation scenario, we demonstrate the willingness of crop producers in four Midwestern states in the U.S. to trade yield losses for environmental risk reduction by eliminating an insecticide application. The mean acceptable yield loss for a sample of 1,138 producers in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Ohio is $8.25 per acre. Acceptable yield loss increases with the rated importance of environmental goods (fish, birds, mammals, native plants and endangered species), with formal education and with farming experience. Willingness to pay increase with total expenditure on herbicides and insecticides up to$89 per acre, then decreases as total expenditure continues to rise. We approximate that crop farmers in the four states are willing to give up over $420 million in yield losses, or about 4 percent of total sales of corn and soybeans, to guarantee protection of eleven environmental goods from moderate insecticide risk. Uncertainty about risks, dominance of regulatory approaches and economic pressures undercut voluntary reductions in insecticide use.decision models, agriculture, environmental protection, risk, contingent valuation, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Selective Service Law—In Providing for Conscientious Objector Exemption, Free Exercise of Religion Clause of First Amendment Precludes Discrimination in Favor of Those With Formal Religious Beliefs

United States v. Sisson, 297 F. Supp. 902 (D. Mass. 1969), prob. juris. noted, 396 U.S. 812, 90 S. Ct. 92 (1969)

All-optical generation and detection of sub-picosecond ac spin current pulses in GaAs

Sub-picosecond ac spin current pulses are generated optically in GaAs bulk and quantum wells at room temperature and 90K through quantum interference between one-photon and two-photon absorptions driven by two phase-locked ultrafast laser pulses that are both circularly polarized. The dynamics of the current pulses are detected optically by monitoring in real time and real space nanoscale motion of electrons with high-resolution pump-probe techniques.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Using the World Wide Web to Educate and Inform the Public about Risk and Agricultural Biotechnology

The University of Nebraska and AgBios, Inc. launched the AgBiosafety website (http://agbiosaftzy.unl.edu) with the purpose of educating the public about agricultural biotechnology risk and safezy issues through science-based content. This article discusses the creation ofthe website, its components, and data gathered from usage statistics and a web-delivered survey. Also included is a discussion of the results ofdata gathered and recommendations for future web-based educational efforts in biotechnology safety and risk assessment

Using the World Wide Web to Educate and Inform the Public about Risk and Agricultural Biotechnology

The University of Nebraska and AgBios, Inc. launched the AgBiosafety website (http://agbiosaftzy.unl.edu) with the purpose of educating the public about agricultural biotechnology risk and safezy issues through science-based content. This article discusses the creation ofthe website, its components, and data gathered from usage statistics and a web-delivered survey. Also included is a discussion of the results ofdata gathered and recommendations for future web-based educational efforts in biotechnology safety and risk assessment

Simultaneous mesoscopic and two-photon imaging of neuronal activity in cortical circuits.

Spontaneous and sensory-evoked activity propagates across varying spatial scales in the mammalian cortex, but technical challenges have limited conceptual links between the function of local neuronal circuits and brain-wide network dynamics. We present a method for simultaneous cellular-resolution two-photon calcium imaging of a local microcircuit and mesoscopic widefield calcium imaging of the entire cortical mantle in awake mice. Our multi-scale approach involves a microscope with an orthogonal axis design where the mesoscopic objective is oriented above the brain and the two-photon objective is oriented horizontally, with imaging performed through a microprism. We also introduce a viral transduction method for robust and widespread gene delivery in the mouse brain. These approaches allow us to identify the behavioral state-dependent functional connectivity of pyramidal neurons and vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing interneurons with long-range cortical networks. Our imaging system provides a powerful strategy for investigating cortical architecture across a wide range of spatial scales

Diameter quality control of Nb3Sn wires for MQXF cables in the USA

The 0.850 ± 0.003 mm Nb3Sn wires for the low-beta quadrupole magnets 'MQXFA' procured for the U.S. LHC Accelerator R&D Program (LARP) and the U.S. High Luminosity LHC Accelerator Upgrade Project (US HL-LHC AUP, or simply AUP) are received at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). There, the wires are respooled and then fabricated into Rutherford cables for winding coils. As part of the quality control program, AUP obtains from the wire manufacturer values of the maximum, average, minimum, and standard deviation of the two orthogonal axes, which are assessed prior to shipment approval. At LBNL, a dual-axis optical micrometer is used to measure the wire diameter of each spool every ∼30 cm prior to cabling. This helps decide whether wire pieces with abnormal diameters should be distributed across the cable cross section, in order to improve cable parameter quality and mechanical stability consistency. This paper presents: 1) diameter data of LARP cables and of the first AUP cables made using wires acquired under LARP; 2) our deviation acceptance/rejection justification; and 3) the impact of wire diameter statistics on cable fabrication