Ohio Utica Shale Gas Monitor

This report analyzes aggregate indicators of economic activity related to the early stages of Utica and Marcellus shale development in the State of Ohio from January through August 2013, reviewing sales receipts as a leading indicator of economic activity, total employment based upon where people live rather than work, well activity, and gas prices

Opportunities for Stationary Fuel Cell Applications in Ohio: Public Finance and Other Strategies

Ohio has not, heretofore, been a major player in the deployment of stationary fuel cell applications, notwithstanding its status as a leader in developing fuel cell technology. One reason for this is that in the years since fuel cells became commercially available, fuel cell power generation had struggled to be cost effective in Ohio due to a combination low electricity prices and high natural gas prices, the latter being the most common fuel for stationary fuel cell applications. By 2015, this had changed. The Mid-Atlantic region was enjoying the lowest natural gas prices in North America as a result of regional shale development. Meanwhile, wholesale electricity prices in the PJM Interconnect regional transmission organization (Mid-Atlantic region) are among the highest in the nation. This has created therein a historically high “spark spread” -- the term used to describe the price differential between wholesale natural gas and electricity. What’s more, fuel cell generation qualifies for net metering, and may be valued at retail costs. Finally, additional new value for the avoided costs of carbon and other emissions may be derived from new ultra-efficient fuel cell technologies. As for other nascent technologies, early adoption will likely require public-private financing partnerships. There are available federal, state and local financing strategies to enable the deployment of fuel cells in Ohio. Loan programs such as the Energy Loan Fund and Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds can be used to support fuel cell demonstration with low interest loans. Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) bonds may also soon be available to support fuel cell deployment, depending upon pending Ohio legislation. In addition, the Public Utility Commission of Ohio has within its authority to support power purchase agreements or special arrangements for buyers to support generation that is in the interest of Ohio ratepayers (such as when it promotes economic development). The best places to acquire natural gas for power generation on long-term, fixed prices will be at gathering points along the natural gas pipeline and processing system. Such points offer natural gas producers the most flexibility to supply natural gas long term. Most of the gathering and processing points are currently located in southeastern Ohio, however new interstate pipelines are being built across northern Ohio. This new infrastructure may provide opportunities to locate stationary fuel cells in the generation, transmission and capacity-constrained northern Ohio market. Low gas prices may also provide opportunities for stationary fuel cell applications using low temperature fuel cells. Such fuel cells run directly on hydrogen, and heretofore, the costs of manufacturing, transporting and storing hydrogen has made the economics for such generation difficult. Low hydrogen feedstock costs, together with the ability low temperature fuel cells have to supply the lucrative peak loading market, may make such applications cost effective in the near term

Spirit, mind and body: the archaeology of monastic healing

Archaeology and material culture are used in this chapter to consider how monastic experience responded to illness, ageing and disability. The approach taken is influenced by the material study of religion, which interrogates how bodies and things engage to construct the sensory experience of religion, and by practice-based approaches in archaeology, which examine the active role of space and material culture in shaping religious agency and embodiment. The archaeology of monastic healing focuses on the full spectrum of healing technologies, from managing the body in order to prevent illness, through to the treatment of the sick and preparation of the corpse for burial

Opportunities for Stationary Fuel Cell Applications in Ohio: Public Finance and Other Strategies

Ohio has not, heretofore, been a major player in the deployment of stationary fuel cell applications, notwithstanding its status as a leader in developing fuel cell technology. One reason for this is that in the years since fuel cells became commercially available, fuel cell power generation had struggled to be cost effective in Ohio due to a combination low electricity prices and high natural gas prices, the latter being the most common fuel for stationary fuel cell applications. By 2015, this had changed. The Mid-Atlantic region was enjoying the lowest natural gas prices in North America as a result of regional shale development. Meanwhile, wholesale electricity prices in the PJM Interconnect regional transmission organization (Mid-Atlantic region) are among the highest in the nation. This has created therein a historically high “spark spread” -- the term used to describe the price differential between wholesale natural gas and electricity. What’s more, fuel cell generation qualifies for net metering, and may be valued at retail costs. Finally, additional new value for the avoided costs of carbon and other emissions may be derived from new ultra-efficient fuel cell technologies. As for other nascent technologies, early adoption will likely require public-private financing partnerships. There are available federal, state and local financing strategies to enable the deployment of fuel cells in Ohio. Loan programs such as the Energy Loan Fund and Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds can be used to support fuel cell demonstration with low interest loans. Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) bonds may also soon be available to support fuel cell deployment, depending upon pending Ohio legislation. In addition, the Public Utility Commission of Ohio has within its authority to support power purchase agreements or special arrangements for buyers to support generation that is in the interest of Ohio ratepayers (such as when it promotes economic development). The best places to acquire natural gas for power generation on long-term, fixed prices will be at gathering points along the natural gas pipeline and processing system. Such points offer natural gas producers the most flexibility to supply natural gas long term. Most of the gathering and processing points are currently located in southeastern Ohio, however new interstate pipelines are being built across northern Ohio. This new infrastructure may provide opportunities to locate stationary fuel cells in the generation, transmission and capacity-constrained northern Ohio market. Low gas prices may also provide opportunities for stationary fuel cell applications using low temperature fuel cells. Such fuel cells run directly on hydrogen, and heretofore, the costs of manufacturing, transporting and storing hydrogen has made the economics for such generation difficult. Low hydrogen feedstock costs, together with the ability low temperature fuel cells have to supply the lucrative peak loading market, may make such applications cost effective in the near term

What do we need to know about speciation?

Speciation has been a major focus of evolutionary biology research in recent years, with many important advances. However, some of the traditional organising principles of the subject area no longer provide a satisfactory framework, such as the classification of speciation mechanisms by geographical context into allopatric, parapatric and sympatry classes. Therefore, we have asked where speciation research should be directed in the coming years. Here, we present a distillation of questions about the mechanisms of speciation, the genetic basis of speciation and the relationship between speciation and diversity. Our list of topics is not exhaustive; rather we aim to promote discussion on research priorities and on the common themes that underlie disparate speciation processes.

Herpesvirus Antibody Levels in the Etiologic Diagnosis of the Acute Retinal Necrosis Syndrome

Quantitative antibody levels to three herpesviruses in acute and chronic sera from six patients with clinical signs of the acute retinal necrosis syndrome were consistent with a specific etiologic diagnosis only in the two cases associated with cutaneous herpes zoster. Available data on acute and convalescent antibody titers to herpes group viruses from these six patients in addition to data from 27 acute retinal necrosis cases from the literature disclosed that only 13 of the 33 patients (39%) had a diagnostic increase or decrease in herpes group viral antibody levels on serial sampling. Three patients had nondiagnostic changes in viral antibody levels despite positive vitreous cultures for herpesviruses. In contrast, a review of 25 cases from the literature with paired antiviral serum and intraocular fluid antibody levels suggested a more promising approach to the etiologic diagnosis of the acute retinal necrosis syndrome. By calculating the ratio of antiviral antibodies in intraocular fluid and serum, an etiologic diagnosis could be made in 12 of 14 (86%) of subacute and convalescent samples. The sensitivity of this method decreased to 72% (13 of 18) when fluids were obtained earlier in the course of the disease