ECONOMICS AND ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT: DISCUSSION

Environmental Economics and Policy,

VALUATION OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY CONTINGENT VALUES, PUBLIC POLICY NEEDS, AND DAMAGE FUNCTIONS

In a departure from past contingent valuation research of groundwater quality, this paper estimates a damage function for nitrate exposures based on actual water test results of individual wells. From the perspective of reliability, it is argued that such a full information approach more closely represents the goal of valuation research in this area -to estimate the economic values that people would place on improving water quality if they were actually experiencing contaminated water. The adoption of a damage function approach linking willingness to pay to actual exposures is also more useful to policy makers at the study site because it potentially provides benefit information to a broad range of policy options. Finally, because the damage function is based on objective data that could be obtained from other sources such as local well test programs, such an approach may be desirable from a benefits transfer perspective. Damages, as measured by willingness to pay for protecting individual well supplies within a 10 mg/L NO,-N health standards are estimated to be a concave function of nitrate exposure levels.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

THE IMPORTANCE OF SPATIAL DATA IN MODELING ACTUAL ENROLLMENT IN THE CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM (CREP)

This paper uses actual enrollment and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data in six geographically diverse states to demonstrate that enrollment rates in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) are a function of the incentives offered. If aggregate county land use data were used, as has been done previously, incentives appear insignificant.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Simple Computational Methods for Measuring the Difference of Empirical Distributions: Application to Internal and External Scope Tests in Contingent Valuation

This paper develops a statistically unbiased and simple method for measuring the difference of independent empirical distributions estimated by bootstrapping or other simulation approaches. This complete combinatorial method is compared with other unbiased and biased methods that have been suggested in the literature, first in Monte Carlo simulations and then in a field test of external and internal scope testing in contingent valuation. Tradeoffs between methods are discussed. When the empirical distributions are not independent a straightforward difference test is suggested.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

CONNECTING TAXES AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR FARMLAND PROTECTION: A COMPARISON OF LOCAL AND STATE FUNDED ALTERNATIVES IN NEW YORK

The costs of tax relief for New York agricultural landowners is compared with the willingness-to-pay for farmland protection as measured in valuation research. Under an income tax rebate, the program cost is positively related with the perceived household benefits, whereas this trend is reversed under a local property tax exemption.Agricultural and Food Policy, Public Economics,

STAT1-Regulated Lung MDSC-like Cells Aid Resolution of Inflammation After Bacterial Pneumonia

We have recently identified a CD11b+Gr1intF4/80+ (Gr1int) regulatory, non-migratory, cell type in the lung that is able to suppress a Th2 effector response via secretion of Interleukin-10 (IL-10), arginase 1 (Arg1) and nitric oxide (NO). These regulatory lung Gr1int cells also secrete Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), but low levels of Interleukin-12 (IL-12). Our studies show that although Gr1int cells are present in the lung of naïve mice, their frequency increases in the interstitium following endotoxin/lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure in a TLR4/MyD88-dependent fashion. The suppressive function of these Gr1int cells is significant in the context of allergic inflammation, and because this suppressive cell type accumulates in the lung in response to a bacterial cell wall component, they may be a mechanism underlying the hygiene hypothesis, which was postulated in 1989 to describe the observation that despite increased sanitation in westernized countries, the prevalence of allergies is steadily increasing. Because of the potent suppressive capacity of lung Gr1int, they are now recognized as lung myeloid derived suppressor cells (lung-MDSCs)1. We sought to gain a better understanding of their development to allow for improved therapeutic targets during allergic inflammation. Secondly, the rapid appearance of these cells in response to a TLR ligand, combined with their non-migratory nature and their anatomical location in the lung interstitium, suggests a unique function during host defense against bacterial infections. Much is already known about the role of alveolar macrophages and neutrophils in host defense against Klebsiella pneumoniae, but little is known about host defense mechanisms in the lung tissue/interstitium. Therefore, we have also examined the role of MDSC-like cells in defense against K. pneumoniae. Briefly, although an inflammatory response in the lung is required to fight the causative agent, persistent tissue-resident neutrophils can induce collateral tissue damage and precipitate acute lung injury during non-resolving pneumonia. Little is known about mechanisms orchestrated in the lung tissue that remove apoptotic neutrophils to restore tissue homeostasis. We show that these MDSC-like cells increase following exposure to K. pneumoniae, are able to efferocytose apoptotic neutrophils and are a major source of IL-10 in the lung late after infection. Furthermore, using IL-10-/- mice, we show that IL-10 is critical for the control of neutrophilia and restoration of homeostasis. Finally, because IFNγ-STAT1 signaling is known to inhibit IL-10, we examined the lungs of STAT1-/- mice. The lung neutrophil burden was attenuated in infected STAT1-/- mice with concomitant increase in the frequency of the MDSC-like cells and lung IL-10 levels. Thus, inhibiting STAT1 in combination with antibiotics may be a novel therapeutic strategy to address inefficient resolution of bacterial pneumonia. The inhibition of STAT1 may also be relevant in the context of allergic inflammation when a greater immunosuppressive force, or increased numbers of lung MDSCs, would be advantageous to temper lung inflammation

Care Coordination: Using a Nurse Navigator in an Endoscopy Unit

Compliance with colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in Kentucky is low. This is substantiated by Kentucky having the highest rate of new CRC cases in the nation and being the fourth highest in CRC-related mortality. Kentucky’s colorectal screening rate in 2012 was 62.9%. The incidence rate for colorectal cancer in Kentucky is 49.2 per 100,000 which is the highest rate in the United States. Patient navigation has shown promise in increasing compliance with CRC screening and reducing health disparities. The adoption of a patient navigation model in an endoscopy unit can increase efficiency, reduce patient cancellations and same day no show rates, provide patient education, and increase patient, physician and staff satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is outline the process for creating a business plan which will provide evidence to support a nurse navigation model in an endoscopy unit

CAN HYPOTHETICAL, QUESTIONS PREDICT ACTUAL, PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC PROGRAMS? A FIELD VALIDITY TEST USING A PROVISION POINT MECHANISM

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation utilized a demand revealing public good mechanism to implement a green electricity program for provision of renewable energy and planting trees. This GreenChoiceTM program provided an opportunity to test the reliability of contingent valuation for predicting actual participation levels. In this study, participation levels predicted by hypothetical open-ended and dichotomous choice questions are compared to a reference level obtained from the actual GreenChoiceTM program. This approach represents an important improvement over past public goods contingent valuation validity tests which have relied on voluntary contribution mechanisms to elicit actual willingness to pay, and thus are likely to overestimate hypothetical bias because of free riding. Yet, even with a demand revealing mechanism and controlling for awareness, hypothetical participation levels obtained from dichotomous choice responses are found to significantly exceed actual contributions. In contrast, open-ended responses predict actual contribution levels, in that hypothetical open-ended responses are not significantly different from actual responses. Calibration of hypothetical responses is also explored.Public Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

VOLUNTARY REVELATION OF THE DEMAND FOR PUBLIC GOODS USING A PROVISION POINT MECHANISM

public goods, voluntary contributions, provision point, experiments, information, group size, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, H41, C92,

A META ANALYSIS OF CONTINGENT VALUES FOR GROUNDWATER QUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES

This paper provides an overview and a meta analysis of existing US contingent valuation studies of groundwater quality. Using 108 observations from 14 studies, core economic variables, risk variables, and elicitation effects are found to systematically influence groundwater values. Other research design features are also investigated.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,