VALUING CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSFERABLE DEER HUNTING PERMITS IN KANSAS

The novel use of transferable deer hunting permits in Kansas has altered property rights to a traditionally government rationed good, providing the institutional framework and incentives for competitive market activity. This paper investigates how attributes of the permit itself, spatial determinants, and the socioeconomic characteristics of the consumer-hunter influence market price. Findings provide valuable insight into factors that are important to Kansas interest groups, its economy, and to structuring transferable permits for wildlife programs.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

DERIVED DEMAND FOR WHEAT BY CLASS

To quantify price responsiveness and economic substitutability among wheat classes, derived demand functions were specified from a normalized quadratic profit function. Own-price and cross-price elasticities were estimated for hard red winter, hard red spring, soft wheat (combined red and white), and durum wheat. In general, soft wheat varieties were less responsive to their own price than were hard wheat varieties. Cross-price elasticities indicate that hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat, and soft wheat varieties are economic substitutes. Cross-price elasticities are different from those previously reported, which can have important policy implications.elasticities, normalized quadratic, substitution, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis,

The Impact of Changing the Size of Aircraft Radar Displays on Visual Search in the Cockpit

Advances in sensor technology have enabled our fighter aircraft to find, fix, track, target, engage (F2T2E) at greater distances, providing the operator with more data within the battlefield. Modern aircraft are designed with larger displays while our legacy aircraft are being retrofitted with larger cockpit displays to enable display of the increased data. While this modification has been shown to enable improvements in human performance of many cockpit tasks, this effect is often not measured nor fully understood at a more generalizable level. This research outlines an approach to comparing human performance across two display sizes in future F-16 cockpits. The results show that increases in display size can increase search times under some circumstances even when the displays include a large number of tracks, actually reducing human performance

Coastal River Basins Water Resource Assessment An Evaluation of Water Use and Availability in Seven Coastal River Basins

Georgia has experienced a persistent drought for the last four years. While the drought conditions have subsided, the need for effective river basin planning continues. Effective water planning for our river basins will ensure adequate resource availability for the immediate future as well as over the long run.Basin planning consists of four primary steps: 1) understanding current and future water demands, 2) understanding existing resources (water supply), 3) anticipating potential shortfalls and other issues that might arise from the discrepancies between supply and demand, and 4) devising policy solutions which adequately resolve items identified in step 3).This report explores the available data for water demands and supplies across the seven river basins that make up the coastal region served by the Coastal Rivers Water Planning and Policy Center at Georgia Southern University. The permit issuing and water use reporting processes have made it difficult to accurately estimate water demand across the region. Moreover, the river data is sparse, sporadic, and insufficient to determine the unimpaired flows for any of our rivers. Our intent is to highlight the areas for future data collection such that our state policy makers may successfully establish river basin water use plans that ensure sustainable economic growth, with minimal environmental impacts. Working Paper # 2003-00

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase in higher plants

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPc) is a ubiquitous enzyme in higher plants. Several isoforms of PEPc exist in plants. They carry out a variety of roles including the anapleurotic role of re-supplying the tricarboxylic acid cycle with four- carbon intermediates that are depleted by aminoacid biosynthesis. PEPc is also involved in processes requiring four-carbon acid accumulation, such as ripening. In C4 and CAM plants, PEPc has a further photosynthetic role in performing the primary fixation of CO2. PEPc is regulated by reversible phosphorylation, which modulates the allosteric properties of the enzyme. The phosphorylated form is less sensitive to negative feedback inhibition by malate. The phosphorylation state of PEPc is primarily controlled by the activity of its kinase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase (PPCK). This Ca2+-independent kinase, with minimal N- or C-terminal extensions is in turn dependent upon de novo protein synthesis for its activity. This activity is controlled by a circadian oscillator in CAM plants and induction by light in C4 and C3 plants. The aim of this work was to identify and characterise PPCK in C3 and C4 plants. A partial maize PPCK was identified by est database mining. A full-length clone was obtained by RACE PCR and the cDNA clone was sequenced, revealing high similarity to other known PPCKs. To prove function, the cDNA clone was in vitro transcribed and translated and shown to phosphorylate PEPc. The gene expression was then studied in mature leaves by RT-PCR. Analysis revealed that this PPCK was not upregulated in the light. It is therefore thought not to be the photo synthetic relevant PPCK but a separate isoform with a possible house-keeping role in vivo. Several other ests from the maize database show similarity to PPCK and are in the process of being investigated by members of our lab. A similar database mining approach revealed two putative PPCK in the tomato database. Full-length genomic and cDNA clones were generated and sequenced. The cDNA clones were tested for PPCK activity as the maize PPCK was. The first of these, LePPCK1, showed PPCK activity. It bears high similarity to other PPCKs genes with a small 3' end intron. The second, LePPCK2, appears to be a novel PPCK gene. RT-PCR analysis and sequencing show that a second intron exists in this gene that is subject to alternative splicing. This intron, near the middle of the gene, allows the introduction of a premature stop codon into the open reading frame, truncating the kinase, thereby preventing PPCK activity. Correct splicing of this intron though. allows PPCK activity. This is demonstrated in a similar fashion to the aforementioned maize PPCK. Expression analysis of these genes was undertaken by semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis over a range of tissues and compartments of the tomato plant. This revealed that LePPCK1 is expressed at similar rates across tissues suggesting that its role is anapleurotic. The expression of LePPCK2 is induced in post-breaker fruit. In combination, the alternative splicing of the pre-mRNA appears to be dependent upon tissue type and compartment type as suggested by semi-quantitative RT-PCR transcript ratios and transcripts in red-ripe fruit compartments. Furthermore, these types of PPCK genes appear to exist in other Solanaceae plants, suggesting a PPCK sub-family. A phylogenetic analysis of all known PPCKs (and ones recently identified by myself and members of our lab) is also undertaken. This reveals a number of interesting traits. Perhaps the most interesting is the above average GC content of monocot PPCKs of ~70%. Collectively these results indicate that monocots and dicots probably hold multigene PPCK families

Pulsations of the Low Mass ZZ Ceti Star HS 1824+6000

Measuring g-mode pulsations of isolated white dwarfs can reveal their interior properties to high precision. With a spectroscopic mass of ~0.51 M_{\odot} (log g = 7.82), the DAV white dwarf HS 1824+6000 is near the transition between carbon/oxygen core and helium core white dwarfs, motivating our photometric search for additional pulsations from the Palomar 60-inch telescope. We confirmed (with much greater precision) the three frequencies: 2.751190 +/- 0.000010 mHz (363.479 sec), 3.116709 +/- 0.000006 mHz (320.851 sec), 3.495113 +/- 0.000009 mHz (286.114 sec), previously found by B. Voss and collaborators, and found an additional pulsation at 4.443120 +/- 0.000012 mHz (225.067 sec). These observed frequencies are similar to those found in other ZZ Ceti white dwarfs of comparable mass (e.g. log g < 8). We hope that future observations of much lower mass ZZ Ceti stars (< 0.4 M_{\odot}) will reveal pulsational differences attributable to a hydrogen covered helium core.Comment: 8 Pages; 4 Figures; Accepted to PASP (scheduled to appear in October issue

CSBF Requirements & Recommendations for Balloon Gondola Design

Presentation will cover new high level requirement changes for gondolas launched by Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF), and discuss recommendations for the design and design process

Determination of Allergen Levels, Isoforms, and Their Hydroxyproline Modifications Among Peanut Genotypes by Mass Spectrometry

The recently published reference genome of peanuts enables a detailed molecular description of the allergenic proteins of the seed. We used LC-MS/MS to investigate peanuts of different genotypes to assess variability and to better describe naturally occurring allergens and isoforms. Using relative quantification by mass spectrometry, minor variation of some allergenic proteins was observed, but total levels of Ara h 1, 2, 3, and 6 were relatively consistent among 20 genotypes. Previously published RPHPLC methodology was used for comparison. The abundance of three Ara h 3 isoforms were variable among the genotypes and contributed to a large proportion of total Ara h 3 where present. Previously unpublished hydroxyproline sites were identified in Ara h 1 and 3. Hydroxylation did not vary significantly where sites were present. Peanut allergen composition was largely stable, with only some isoforms displaying differences between genotypes. The resulting differences in allergenicity are of unknown clinical significance but are likely to be minor. The data presented herein allow for the design of targeted MS methodology to allow the quantitation and therefore control of peanut allergens of clinical relevance and observed variability

The Binary Fraction of Low Mass White Dwarfs

We describe spectroscopic observations of 21 low-mass (<0.45 M_sun) white dwarfs (WDs) from the Palomar-Green Survey obtained over four years. We use both radial velocities and infrared photometry to identify binary systems, and find that the fraction of single, low-mass WDs is <30%. We discuss the potential formation channels for these single stars including binary mergers of lower-mass objects. However, binary mergers are not likely to explain the observed number of single low-mass WDs. Thus additional formation channels, such as enhanced mass loss due to winds or interactions with substellar companions, are likely.Comment: 9 pages, accepted to Ap

Underperforming policy networks : the biopesticides network in the United Kingdom

Loosely integrated and incomplete policy networks have been neglected in the literature. They are important to consider in terms of understanding network underperformance. The effective delivery and formulation of policy requires networks that are not incomplete or underperforming. The biopesticides policy network in the United Kingdom is considered and its components identified with an emphasis on the lack of integration of retailers and environmental groups. The nature of the network constrains the actions of its agents and frustrates the achievement of policy goals. A study of this relatively immature policy network also allows for a focus on network formation. The state, via an external central government department, has been a key factor in the development of the network. Therefore, it is important to incorporate such factors more systematically into understandings of network formation. Feedback efforts from policy have increased interactions between productionist actors but the sphere of consumption remains insufficiently articulated