Global Implications of U.S. Biofuels Policies in an Integrated Partial and General Equilibrium Framework

With the increasing research interests in biofuels, global implications of biofuels production have been generally examined either in a partial equilibrium (PE) or general equilibrium (GE) frameworks. Though both of these approaches have unique strengths, they also suffer from many limitations due to complexity of addressing all the relevant aspects of biofuels. In this paper we have exploited the strengths of both PE and GE approaches for analyzing the economic and environmental implications of the U.S. policies on corn-ethanol and biodiesel production. In this study, we utilize the Forest and Agricultural Sector Optimization Model (FASOMGHG: Adams et al. 1996, 2005; Beach et al. 2009), a non-linear programming, PE model for the United States. We also use the GTAP-BIO model (Birur et al. 2008), a multi-region, multi-sector CGE model for global-scale assessment of biofuels policies. Following Britz and Hertel (2009), we link the GTAP-BIO model through a static, quadratic restricted revenue function obtained from perturbing crop prices from the FASOMGHG model. With this linkage we implement the U.S. Corn ethanol and biodiesel scenarios in the GTAP-BIO model and obtain the FASOMGHG-consistent, global land use changes. The resulting crop price changes from the GE model are fed back into the FASOMGHG model to obtain the disaggregated impacts in the U.S.Biofuels, Indirect land use change, Land use emissions, Partial Equilibrium, Computable General Equilibrium, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Postcard: Best Wishes, Robert & Helen Baughman, 1966, Liberal Kansas

This color printed postcard features stamp collection materials on the bottom left of the card. The card contains a border of holly and poinsettias in green and red. Printed text is in the middle of the card. Printed text with black, green and red ink are on the back of the card. An illustration of green holly and a red poinsettia decorate the left and top of the card. Two emblems, one of the Society of Philatelic Americans and one of the Kansas Precancel Society are on the center of the card. Typed text is on the right side of the card.https://scholars.fhsu.edu/tj_postcards/1832/thumbnail.jp

Partial purification and characterization of a jasmonic acid conjugate cleaving amidohydrolase from the fungus Botryodiplodia theobromae

AbstractA protein preparation from the mycelium of the tropical pathogenic fungus Botryodiplodia theobromae revealed a novel peptidase activity. This enzyme was capable of cleaving conjugates of jasmonic acid with α-amino acids. The protein was enriched 108-fold by gel filtration, ion exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. The enzyme was found to be a glycoprotein with a molecular mass of about 107 kDa. The amidohydrolase seems to be very specific with regard to (−)-jasmonic acid and α-amino acids with (S)-configuration

Predispositions and the Political Behavior of American Economic Elites: Evidence from Technology Entrepreneurs

Economic elites regularly seek to exert political influence. But what policies do they support? Many accounts implicitly assume economic elites are homogeneous and that increases in their political power will increase inequality. We shed new light on heterogeneity in economic elites' political preferences, arguing that economic elites from an industry can share distinctive preferences due in part to sharing distinctive predispositions. Consequently, how increases in economic elites' influence affect inequality depends on which industry's elites are gaining influence and which policy issues are at stake. We demonstrate our argument with four original surveys, including the two largest political surveys of American economic elites to date: one of technology entrepreneurs—whose influence is burgeoning—and another of campaign donors. We show that technology entrepreneurs support liberal redistributive, social, and globalistic policies but conservative regulatory policies—a bundle of preferences rare among other economic elites. These differences appear to arise partly from their distinctive predispositions

A retrospective case–control study for the comparison of 5-year survival rates: the role of adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy in craniofacial bone sarcoma in adults

Background: The impact of adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of craniofacial bone sarcomas has not been clarified. This study aimed to assess whether survival outcomes differed between patients who underwent adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: A retrospective search for adult patients diagnosed with malignant neoplasms of the craniofacial bones (International Classification of Diseases 10 codes C41.0-C41.1), within the past 20 years from the access date 28 April 2022, was conducted using the TriNetX network (TriNetX, Cambridge, MA, USA). Cohort I included patients who underwent adjuvant chemotherapy and cohort II included patients with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. A refined search for individuals that received common chemotherapeutic agents, such as methotrexate, doxorubicin, cisplatin, and/or ifosfamide, was conducted and patients were assigned to cohort A (adjuvant chemotherapy) and cohort B (neoadjuvant chemotherapy). Following matching for age and sex, Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed, and risk ratio, odds ratio (OR), and hazard ratio were calculated. Results: Patients were assigned to two cohorts, with 181 patients each after matching. In cohorts I and II, 55 and 41 patients died, respectively. No significant differences were found between the two cohorts regarding the 5-year survival probability (I: 59.87% versus II: 68.45%; p = 0.076; log-rank test), or the risk of dying (I: 0.304 versus II: 0.227; risk difference: 0.077; p = 0.096). The risk analysis before matching for age and sex showed a significant survival benefit in cohort II (OR: 1.586; p = 0.0295; risk difference: 0.093). After a refined query to identify patients treated with methotrexate, doxorubicin, cisplatin, and/or ifosfamide, the two cohorts included 47 patients, respectively. In cohort A (adjuvant chemotherapy), 19 patients died, whereas 12 patients died in cohort B (neoadjuvant chemotherapy) within 5 years after diagnosis. Further analysis indicated a greater survival in cohort B, but the survival probability between the cohorts did not differ significantly (A: 43.55% versus B: 54.49%; p = 0.171). Conclusion: The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy may improve survival rates in patients with surgically treated craniofacial bone sarcomas. Due to the retrospective nature of this study, randomized controlled studies are required to derive treatment recommendations

Reversible conjugation of a CBASS nucleotide cyclase regulates bacterial immune response to phage infection

Funding: This work was funded by a European Research Council Advanced Grant (grant number 101018608) to M.F.W. L.K. was funded by an EMBO postdoctoral fellowship (grant number ALTF 234-2022). L.G.-M. was funded by the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) (grant number BB/T00875X/1).Prokaryotic antiviral defence systems are frequently toxic for host cells and stringent regulation is required to ensure survival and fitness. These systems must be readily available in case of infection but tightly controlled to prevent activation of an unnecessary cellular response. Here we investigate how the bacterial cyclic oligonucleotide-based antiphage signalling system (CBASS) uses its intrinsic protein modification system to regulate the nucleotide cyclase. By integrating a type II CBASS system from Bacillus cereus into the model organism Bacillus subtilis, we show that the protein-conjugating Cap2 (CBASS associated protein 2) enzyme links the cyclase exclusively to the conserved phage shock protein A (PspA) in the absence of phage. The cyclase–PspA conjugation is reversed by the deconjugating isopeptidase Cap3 (CBASS associated protein 3). We propose a model in which the cyclase is held in an inactive state by conjugation to PspA in the absence of phage, with conjugation released upon infection, priming the cyclase for activation.Peer reviewe