The Economic and Environmental Effects of Eliminating the U.S. Tariff on Ethanol

The U. S. ethanol industry has grown dramatically over the last ten years to be a major supplier of liquid fuels and an even larger user of corn. However, a tariff and subsidy give the domestic ethanol industry a substantial advantage over its major competitor, Brazil. This thesis analyzes the effect of eliminating the tariff on imports of Brazilian ethanol and the subsequent economic and environmental effects. First, the paper provides a substantial review of the current state of ethanol production and a review of the literature to motivate and provide the necessary information for the analysis. This leads to a numerical assessment of the effect of eliminating the tariff on several key markets, including the U. S. ethanol market, the corn market, the Brazilian ethanol market, and the U. S. gasoline market. To provide intuition, the numerical analysis includes graphs to help demonstrate the changes in each market. The findings are that removing the tariff would increase U. S. welfare by $14 million, decrease greenhouse gases at a value of$36 million, and increase Brazilian welfare by $361 million, leading to a global welfare increase of$411 million. While the overall effect is positive but small, the redistributive effect of eliminating the tariff is large, with low-income groups gaining most. Despite the overall positive effect of eliminating the tariff, an analysis of the political economy indicates that the removal of the tariff is unlikely.Environment, Health and Safety, Regulatory Reform

Economic Value of the Oil and Gas Resources on the Outer Continential Shelf

A theoretical framework for estimating the economic value of the federal government's offshore oil and gas resources is developed. This framework is then applied to geological and economic data generated by the Minerals Management Service in support of their five-year leasing plan. With an 8 percent real discount rate and a 1 percent real price growth rate, the remaining economic rent as of 1987 on the reserves plus the undiscovered offshore oil and gas resources is estimated at $118.6 billion (1987 dollars). The present value of the government's receipts from cash bonus and royalty payments on these deposits is estimated at$37.2 billion. Over 80 percent of the remaining economic rent is derived from developed reserve deposits located in the Gulf of Mexico. The private sector has previously paid cash bonuses for the leases located on those deposits and financed the installation of the development platforms. Because of this, the government will collect only a small portion, approximately 22 percent, of the rent remaining on those reserves.Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Psychometric Validation of the Sexual Function Questionnaire in Poland

Questionnaires diagnosing sexual dysfunctions in women are important tools which can facilitate the diagnosis and therapy of individual female patients. The study is aimed at the adaptation of the Sexual Function Questionnaire, which was designed by Frances H. Quirk and associates for the American population, to Polish conditions (Quirk et al. in J Sex Med 4:469–77, 1). The study group consisted of 143 women aged 20–68 who were receiving gynaecological care and displayed various types of sexual dysfunction (e.g. female sexual arousal disorder, female orgasmic disorder, dyspareunia), or none of those. The good psychometric quality of the Sexual Function Questionnaire has been confirmed with the following results: convergent validity rs=0.62, p<0.01, construct validity was estimated by Principal Component Analysis with the promax rotation method. The 7 factors together explained 80.7% of total variance, and a reliability of 0.97 for the whole test, with that for particular domains ranging from 0.62 to 0.96 (estimated with Cronbach’s alpha). The obtained results are mostly consistent with results from studies conducted by the authors of the Questionnaire in the United States, and with the adaptation study carried out in Iran. There are, however, some differences in the assignment of questions to particular domains, as well as in the names of the domains

Amaranth: An Ancient and High-Quality Wholesome Crop

Amaranth was a staple of the Aztec diet and is described as a “superfood” in part because of its high protein content and well-balanced amino acid profile. In terms of nutrient content, amaranth surpasses many staple crops such as rice, corn, and wheat. Additionally, lysine content is twice as much than in rice and thrice as much than in corn. Along with desirable agronomic traits, this crop has been hugely applauded for its gluten-free nature. Not only can it benefit vegan and gluten allergy personals, but it also has the potential to supply high-quality proteins and at the same time provides antimicrobial activities in the packaged food items. Despite all of these properties, this crop is still not in the mainstream cultivation practices in North America and in many parts of the world. As the planet is expecting massive increase in human population and global climate change, we firmly believe that this widely distributed, ancient, protein-rich pseudo-cereal has a potential to augment our food system. In this book chapter, we aim to report the nutritional properties of grain amaranth

Designing a mobile augmented memory system for people with traumatic brain injuries

Augmented memory systems help people remember events in their lives. Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) often have memory impairments. We conducted a user study to learn about strategies individuals with TBI use to remember events in their lives. We explored what characteristics individuals with TBI expect of an augmented memory system. We then investigated these aspects in an initial mobile app design, and propose here a concept for a rehearsal application that addresses the issues found in our studies

Adhesion of Three Brands of Elastic Therapeutic Tape

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare, over a period of 5 days, the rate of adhesion of TheraBand® Kinesiology Tape (TKT) with either KT Tape® (KT) or Kinesio® Tex Gold (KTEX) under 25% elongation among healthy adults. Methods: In this study, 2 independent cohorts of 20 healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to simultaneously receive applications of 2 brands of deidentified elastic therapeutic tape (ETT) applied to their lower back at 25% elongation. Cohort 1 received TKT and KTEX tape, whereas cohort 2 received TKT and KT. Data were collected at 1 h (D1), 3 days (D3), and 5 days (D5) following the initial application of the ETT. Data collected included 3 digital photographs of the subjects’ lower back. The percentage of the tape that remained adhered (0%–100%) was assessed independently by 3 evaluators and then averaged to arrive at a percentage of tape adhesion for each brand of tape at each data collection point. Results: Repeated-measures ANOVA of cohort 1 indicated no differences (P \u3e .05) in adhesion between the TKT and KTEX at any data collection point, although post hoc analysis of the significant time effect indicated that the rate of adhesion of the KTEX brand declined from D1 (97%) to D3 (74%) to D5 (59%), whereas that of the TKT tape did not change over the duration of the study (97%, D1; 86%, D2; 70%, D3). In cohort 2, the analysis indicated a significant interaction effect with the KT brand (99%, D1; 67%, D2; 35%), declining over the course of the study and exhibiting lower rate of adhesion than the TKT (99%, D1; 83%, D2; 76%, D3) brand at D3 and D5. The rate of adhesion of the TKT tape did not significantly decline in cohort 2. Conclusions: Clinicians can use evidence from this study when choosing different ETT brands

The Effect of Kinesiology Tape on Pain and Neck Range of Motion After Cervical Manipulation

Background: Annually, 30%–50% of adults will experience some form of debilitating neck pain. One approach to treating neck pain is cervical manipulation. This treatment modality has, at times, been reported to result in a short-term increase in pain, which in turn has been linked to reduced neck range of motion (ROM). Elastic therapeutic tape (ETT) has been shown to reduce musculoskeletal pain, although limited research has been conducted to determine if ETT can mitigate pain and facilitate neck ROM following cervical manipulation. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the pain and neck ROM among patients with acute neck pain who do and do not receive ETT following cervical manipulation. Methods: A convenience sample of 50 patients between 18 and 64 years of age presented with acute noncomplicated neck pain was recruited from an outpatient chiropractic clinic. Patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups. In the tape group (n = 27), ETT was applied to their neck immediately following cervical manipulation for neck pain. In the control group (n = 23), cervical manipulation was performed with no application of ETT following the procedure. Pain and neck ROM were recorded at the following 3 different intervals: pre-cervical manipulation (T1), within 5 minutes of cervical manipulation (T2), and 24–48 hours after manipulation (T3). In total, 6 cervical ROM values were recorded with dual inclinometers. Pain was measured by asking of each patient to rate their neck pain using the numeric pain rating scale from 0 to 10. Results: The tape group demonstrated a significant decline (P \u3c 0.00) in pain between T1 (x = 6.15) and T2 (x = 5.37) and between T1 and T3 (x = 4.89). The control group did not report significant changes in their pain over the duration of the study. Neither group reported any significant change in any measure of neck ROM over the duration of the study. Clinical Relevance: Results from this study support the use of ETT to reduce pain immediately and 24–48 hours following cervical manipulation among patients presenting with acute neck pain

Scanning Electron Microscopy of Cyclosporine-Induced Gingival Overgrowth

Overgrown human gingival specimens were examined histologically and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study structural changes caused by cyclosporine. The biopsy specimens were from organ transplant recipients receiving cyclosporine to suppress the rejection of the transplanted organ. The epithelium of the overgrown gingiva was thickened, acanthotic and parakeratotic. Retepegs were anastomosing and extending into connective tissue. The SEM examination of the outer surface of the attached gingival showed loss of cellular attachments and cells were exfoliating. The normal honeycomb structure formed by interconnecting microvilli surrounding the pits was distorted. Outer gingival cell surface showed numerous round, ovoid and dome-like structures instead of parallel, reticular or fingerprint-like microridges. It was concluded that cyclosporine not only caused hyperplasia but also changed the structure of the outer epithelial cell surface

Morphological characterization of wheat genetic resources from the Island of Madeira, Portugal

This paper presents the first comprehensive morphological characterization and identification of the wheat populations collected on the Archipelago of Madeira and preserved at the ISOPlexis Germplasm Bank, the University of Madeira, Funchal. Fifty-two wheat populations representing Madeira’s Triticum diversity and a wide range of ecological conditions were evaluated based on the biometrical and cytometrical traits. Forty-six traits related to plant morphology, cytological and grain characteristics were included in a multivariate analysis. Taxonomic identification of the collected materials revealed the presence of 3 species, 2 subspecies and 16 botanical varieties among the Madeiran wheat germplasm. The obtained results were confirmed by the multivariate analysis since all accessions were grouped in clusters corresponding also to different taxonomic levels. The detailed description of the Madeiran wheat landraces may contribute also to the protection of the existing Triticum diversity as well as support efforts of conservation of landraces, proper germplasm preservation and utilization.Portuguese Foundation for the Science and Technology (FCT, Fundac¸a˜o para a Cieˆncia e Tecnologia) and the European Community have sponsored this work, through the Centre of Macaronesian Studies (CEM) and the projects POCTI no. 35003/AGR/2001 and INTERREG IIIB, Germobanco. The authors are grateful to the Madeiran farmers who assisted with collection of wheat samples.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Stable isotope natural abundances (δ13C and δ15N) and carbon-water relations as drought stress mechanism response of taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott)

Taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott) is an important staple food crop in tropical and developing countries, having high water requirements. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition (δ13C and δ15N) as a physiological indicator of taro response to drought, and elucidation of the relationship between the water use efficiency (WUE) under drought conditions and carbon isotope discrimination (Δ13C). As an alternative to WUE determination, obtained by measuring plant growth and water loss during an entire vegetative cycle, we have used Δ13C to determine the tolerance of C3 taro plants to drought. Seven taro accessions from Madeira, Canary Islands and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (Fiji) collections were grown under greenhouse conditions and subjected to different watering regimes during a one-year cycle. Total plant biomass (TPB), WUE and δ15N were determined at the whole-plant level (WP). Corms and shoots were evaluated separately for nitrogen content (N), δ13C, Δ13C and δ15N. WUE showed positive correlation with TPB (r = 0.4) and negative with Δ13C (r = -0.3); Corm δ15N showed positive correlations with WP δ15N (r = 0.6) and corm N (r = 0.3). Accordingly, the taro plants with enhanced WUE exhibited low Δ13C and δ15N values as a physiological response to drought stress. The approach used in the present study has developed new tools that could be used in further research on taro response to environmental stresses.This work was supported by the Programa Operacional da Região Autónoma da Madeira – PO Madeira 14–20 [grant number M1420-01- 0145-FEDER-000011, CASBio] and the Agência Regional para o Desenvolvimento da Investigação Tecnologia e Inovação – ARDITI [grant number M1420-09-5369-FSE-000001].info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio