Solar energy on the farm

Solar energy production accounts for less than one percent of energy produced in Maine, but nonetheless, the number of agricultural solar projects in the state is growing (ix, xi). While Maine currently lacks policies that encourage solar installations, such as tax credits and rebates, the next state administration could implement such policies, further resulting in an increase in the number of solar projects. The installation of commercial-scale solar projects is particularly attractive to farmers as it offers diversified income that protects against the unpredictable nature of farming. The Maine Legislature should consider adopting policies around the use of large-scale solar farms on agricultural lands before the installation of solar projects threatens the use of farmland for food production. The stringency of these regulations should consider the economic realities of farming in Maine while preventing the loss of farmland to solar energy production

Loss and Termination in the Development of a Resident Group

Separation and loss experiences are major issues in psychotherapy, but role identity and intimacy are considered the tasks of therapists in training. Experiential groups are advocated during training to enhance coping skills and to teach group process. Focusing on separations in a group setting can highlight that loss is inevitable at any stage of life. The group experience also adds personal meaning to the importance of loss as a training issue. If the group has sufficient time to develop, the members will be able to observe the wide range of responses possible in their peers. We describe the effects of loss, separation, and termination as experienced in a group of psychiatric residents during various stages of group development

Sunlight to Convert Carbon Dioxide into Transportation Fuels

The proposed plant to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide to transportation fuels will utilize a Counter-Rotating Ring Receiver Reactor Recuperator (CR5) to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide gas and oxygen gas. The CR5 is a solar chemical heat engine that provides an environment for the continuous reduction/oxidation of iron oxide, which allows for the reaction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and oxygen. The plant will contain 150 CR5s each attached to its own parabolic mirror dish in order to collect sunlight. A carbon dioxide feed of approximately 25,070 kg/hr will be used to produce 9,520 kg/hr carbon monoxide. The devices will then feed a mixture of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide gas to both a water gas shift reactor and a Fischer-Tropsch reactor. The Fischer- Tropsch reactor will use the carbon monoxide along with hydrogen gas produced from the water gas shift reactor to produce a range of hydrocarbon products following an Anderson- Schulz-Flory distribution centered around octane. The FT oil products (naphtha, gasoline, diesel, heavy ends) will be sold while the light-end products will be used to meet the utility requirements of the plant itself. The plant will be located in the western part of Texas in the Mojave Desert in order to take advantage of the high solar flux in this region. Due to the necessity of sunlight to provide energy for the CR5 reaction, the production of carbon monoxide will only take place during daylight hours and 2 hours worth of carbon monoxide production along with an excess of 10% of this amount will be stored in floating roof storage tanks. The storage of some extra carbon monoxide will keep the startup and shutdown production of petrol product constant as the sun rises and sets. The water gas shift reactions and Fischer- Tropsch reactors will operate for as long as carbon monoxide is available and will shut down once the carbon monoxide is depleted. Assuming a discount rate of 13%, the project yields a -$5.5 billion NPV over a 30 year time period. Based on this negative net present value, the plant proves to be economically unattractive. This result is primarily driven by high operating costs due to the high stress put on expensive catalysts that require frequent replacement as well as daily startup/shutdown costs. The largest negative economic factors in the plant projections are related to operating expenses. Specifically, the daily startup and shutdown costs associated with the CR5, WGS and FT reactors are significant. A related factor is the replacement cost of catalysts due to the high amounts of stress associated with daily shutdown, which requires 1 the catalysts to be replaced every 5 years. Storage tanks for continuous operation were considered, which would require 134 storage tanks total. This option is potentially more economically attractive; however, continuous operation was still discounted because the cost of maintenance, piping equipment costs, and other logistical challenges associated with housing the storage tanks. In addition, this option still produces a negative NPV after 30 years. Finally, the compressor operation requires significant electricity, factoring into the economic unattractiveness of the operation of this plant. These variables all lead to a negative net present value and negative cash on hand throughout thirty years of operation. Consequently, unless technological advancements can be made to change the fundamental operations of the sunlight to transportation fuel plant, the investment is not recommended

Youth-Reported School Connection and Experiences of a Middle SchooleBased Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Initiative: Preliminary Results From a Program Evaluation

Purpose This study aimed (1) to evaluate the feasibility of a school-based Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) program that expands on traditional SBIRT to support the mental health and well-being of middle school students and (2) to assess its effects on students’ connection with adults at school. Methods Focus group discussions were conducted with 26 students in grades 6–8 to understand student perspectives about an innovative school-based SBIRT program. A subset of middle school students from the SBIRT program who received a brief intervention (BI) after screening (n = 116) were asked to rate their experience meeting with the interventionist in terms of feeling comfortable, feeling listened to, and talking about their goals. Additionally, these students’ ratings of connection to adults at school was compared from the time of screening (baseline) to following BI using two-sided paired t-tests. Results Students who participated in focus groups expressed favorable opinions about universal screening and this school-based SBIRT model and noted that relationship building with adults at school was an important factor for open communication and motivating behavior change for students. Nearly all students who completed the post-BI survey rated their experiences with interventionists during BI as “Excellent,” “Very Good,” or “Good” in all categories (98%). Students’ reported mean school connection scores significantly higher after participation in school-based SBIRT than at baseline (5.9/8 vs. 7.0/8, p \u3c .001). Discussion Middle school students were satisfied with the school-based SBIRT model and participation in the program resulted in increased student connection with adults at school. These findings improve our understanding of the experience of SBIRT intervention with middle school students and on school connection in particular

Search for the neutral Higgs bosons of the minimal supersymmetric standard model in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for neutral Higgs bosons of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is reported. The analysis is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The data were recorded in 2011 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1 to 4.8 fb-1. Higgs boson decays into oppositely-charged muon or τ lepton pairs are considered for final states requiring either the presence or absence of b-jets. No statistically significant excess over the expected background is observed and exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level are derived. The exclusion limits are for the production cross-section of a generic neutral Higgs boson, φ, as a function of the Higgs boson mass and for h/A/H production in the MSSM as a function of the parameters mA and tan β in the mhmax scenario for mA in the range of 90GeV to 500 GeV. Copyright CERN

Adeno-Associated Viral Vector-Mediated Transgene Expression Is Independent of DNA Methylation in Primate Liver and Skeletal Muscle

Recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors can support long-term transgene expression in quiescent tissues. Intramuscular (IM) administration of a single-stranded AAV vector (ssAAV) in the nonhuman primate (NHP) results in a peak protein level at 2–3 months, followed by a decrease over several months before reaching a steady-state. To investigate transgene expression and vector genome persistence, we previously demonstrated that rAAV vector genomes associate with histones and form a chromatin structure in NHP skeletal muscle more than one year after injection. In the mammalian nucleus, chromatin remodeling via epigenetic modifications plays key role in transcriptional regulation. Among those, CpG hyper-methylation of promoters is a known hallmark of gene silencing. To assess the involvement of DNA methylation on the transgene expression, we injected NHP via the IM or the intravenous (IV) route with a recombinant ssAAV2/1 vector. The expression cassette contains the transgene under the transcriptional control of the constitutive Rous Sarcoma Virus promoter (RSVp). Total DNA isolated from NHP muscle and liver biopsies from 1 to 37 months post-injection was treated with sodium bisulfite and subsequently analyzed by pyrosequencing. No significant CpG methylation of the RSVp was found in rAAV virions or in vector DNA isolated from NHP transduced tissues. Direct de novo DNA methylation appears not to be involved in repressing transgene expression in NHP after gene transfer mediated by ssAAV vectors. The study presented here examines host/vector interactions and the impact on transgene expression in a clinically relevant model

Impact of caloric and dietary restriction regimens on markers of health and longevity in humans and animals: a summary of available findings

Considerable interest has been shown in the ability of caloric restriction (CR) to improve multiple parameters of health and to extend lifespan. CR is the reduction of caloric intake - typically by 20 - 40% of ad libitum consumption - while maintaining adequate nutrient intake. Several alternatives to CR exist. CR combined with exercise (CE) consists of both decreased caloric intake and increased caloric expenditure. Alternate-day fasting (ADF) consists of two interchanging days; one day, subjects may consume food ad libitum (sometimes equaling twice the normal intake); on the other day, food is reduced or withheld altogether. Dietary restriction (DR) - restriction of one or more components of intake (typically macronutrients) with minimal to no reduction in total caloric intake - is another alternative to CR. Many religions incorporate one or more forms of food restriction. The following religious fasting periods are featured in this review: 1) Islamic Ramadan; 2) the three principal fasting periods of Greek Orthodox Christianity (Nativity, Lent, and the Assumption); and 3) the Biblical-based Daniel Fast. This review provides a summary of the current state of knowledge related to CR and DR. A specific section is provided that illustrates related work pertaining to religious forms of food restriction. Where available, studies involving both humans and animals are presented. The review includes suggestions for future research pertaining to the topics of discussion

Our Cups Runneth Over

Survey of some favorite Portland watering holes with special happy hour deals

C is for Cookie (And Cookie is for Sea)

Very short piece about Holy Donut\u27s Leigh Kellis\u27 vegan cookies, Sweet Sea Cookies. Kellis is committed to reducing the use of ocean-polluting plastic in her packaging