Land Use Implications of Expanding Biofuel Demand

The Renewable Fuel Standard mandates in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will require 36 billion gallons of ethanol to be produced in 2022. The mandates require that 16 of the 36 billion gallons must be produced from cellulosic feedstocks. The potential land use implications resulting from these mandates were examined using two methods, the POLYSYS model and a general equilibrium model. Results of the POLYSYS analysis indicated that 72.1 million tons of corn stover, 23.5 million tons of wheat straw, and 24.7 million acres would be used to produce 109 million tons of switchgrass in 2025 to meet the mandate. Results of the CGE analysis indicated that 10.9 billion bushels of corn grain, 71 million tons of corn stover, and 56,200 tons of switchgrass is needed to meet the mandate.cellulosic ethanol, corn stover, grain ethanol, renewable fuel standard, switchgrass, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q15, Q42,

Editor\u27s Special Section-Larry Schnoor: A Celebration of His Impact on Intercollegiate Forensics

This panel is honoring Professor Larry Schnoor for his lifelong contribu-tions to Intercollegiate Forensics. National Individual Events Tournaments have continued to flourish under his direction. In addition, his constant mentoring has guaranteed the life of this activity. Panelists will describe Professor Schnoor‘s impact on the AFA-NIET, NFA, IOC and both his mentoring of forensic coaches and programs. Professor Schnoor will help to clarify and add to this oral history

Constraints on the perturbed mutual motion in Didymos due to impact-induced deformation of its primary after the DART impact

Binary near-Earth asteroid (65803) Didymos is the target of the proposed NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), part of the Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission concept. In this mission, the DART spacecraft is planned to impact the secondary body of Didymos, perturbing mutual dynamics of the system. The primary body is currently rotating at a spin period close to the spin barrier of asteroids, and materials ejected from the secondary due to the DART impact are likely to reach the primary. These conditions may cause the primary to reshape, due to landslides, or internal deformation, changing the permanent gravity field. Here, we propose that if shape deformation of the primary occurs, the mutual orbit of the system would be perturbed due to a change in the gravity field. We use a numerical simulation technique based on the full two-body problem to investigate the shape effect on the mutual dynamics in Didymos after the DART impact. The results show that under constant volume, shape deformation induces strong perturbation in the mutual motion. We find that the deformation process always causes the orbital period of the system to become shorter. If surface layers with a thickness greater than ~0.4 m on the poles of the primary move down to the equatorial region due to the DART impact, a change in the orbital period of the system and in the spin period of the primary will be detected by ground-based measurement.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA

Engaging National Guard and Reserve Families in Research

This study’s goal was to identify how to increase National Guard and Reserve military family participation in research. Compared to Active Duty, families of National Guard and Reserve members are more geographically dispersed and less connected to a military base which can prove problematic for research recruitment and participation. We conducted a focus group study with Service Members and spouses (N = 14) to ascertain their perspectives on (a) whether National Guard and Reserve families would be interested in participating in research studies, (b) potential effective strategies for recruitment, (c) ideal data collection procedures, and (d) how to retain these families in longitudinal studies. Information provided in the focus groups was assessed using open and axial coding for themes. The majority of participants indicated that National Guard and Reserve families would be interested and willing to participate in research. Participants delineated several perceived participation barriers, however. The most-cited obstacles were time constraints and limited proximity to research study locations. Service Members and spouses were unanimous in their noted preference for internet surveys and indicated that researchers need to build relationships with potential participants, particularly if they intend to retain military families in longitudinal studies

Exploring the effects of cigarette smoking on inflammatory bowel disease using Mendelian randomisation

Background. Previous observational evidence has suggested an association between smoking and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods. We used observational techniques followed by Mendelian randomisation (MR) to explore if smoking is a causal factor in the development of IBD and its subtypes.Results. In those who have ever smoked, we observed increased risk of IBD, and, in current smokers, we observed increased risk of Crohn’s disease and decreased risk of Ulcerative Colitis. However, our MR analyses found little evidence that smoking affects the development of IBD. Conclusion. Overall, our results suggest that smoking does not causally influence the risk of IBD

Absence of detectable pharmacological effects after oral administration of isoxsuprine

Isoxsuprine is reported to be a peripheral vasodilator used in human and veterinary medicine to treat ischaemic vascular disease. In horses, it is generally administered orally to treat navicular disease and other lower limb problems. To deflne the scope and duration of its pharmacological responses after oral administration, 6 horses were dosed with isoxsuprine HCI (1.2 mg/kg bwt) q. 12 h for 8 days and then tested to assess the duration and extent of pharmacological actions. There was no significant difference between isoxsuprine and control treatment values for heart rate, spontaneous activity, sweat production, anal muscle tone, core and skin temperatures, and cutaneous blood flow. The lack of pharmacological effect following oral administration was in sharp contrast to the marked response following i.v. dosing reported in earlier experiments

Heaviness, health and happiness: a cross-sectional study of 163 066 UK Biobank participants

<b>Background</b><p></p> Obesity is known to increase the risk of many diseases and reduce overall quality of life. This study examines the relationship with self-reported health (SRH) and happiness.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> <p></p>We conducted a cross-sectional study of the 163 066 UK Biobank participants who completed the happiness rating. The association between adiposity and SRH and happiness was examined using logistic regression. SRH was defined as good (excellent, good), or poor (fair, poor). Self-reported happiness was defined as happy (extremely, very, moderately) or unhappy (moderately, very, extremely). <p></p> <b>Results</b> <p></p>Poor health was reported by 44 457 (27.3%) participants. The adjusted ORs for poor health were 3.86, 2.92, 2.60 and 6.41 for the highest, compared with lowest, deciles of Body Mass Index, waist circumference, waist to hip ratio and body fat percent, respectively. The associations were stronger in men (p<0.001). Overall, 7511 (4.6%) participants felt unhappy, and only class III obese participants were more likely to feel unhappy (adjusted OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.53, p<0.001) but the associations differed by sex (p<0.001). Among women, there was a significant association between unhappiness and all levels of obesity. By contrast, only class III obese men had significantly increased risk and overweight and class I obese men were less likely to be unhappy. <p></p> <b>Conclusions</b><p></p>Obesity impacts adversely on happiness as well as health, but the association with unhappiness disappeared after adjustment for self-reported health, indicating this may be mediated by health. Compared with obese men, obese women are less likely to report poor health, but more likely to feel unhappy. <p></p&gt