DERIVING SPECIES-SPECIFIC BENEFITS MEASURES FOR EXPECTED CATCH IMPROVEMENTS IN A RANDOM UTILITY FRAMEWORK

A random utility model of site choice is applied to marine recreational fishing trips in North Carolina. Expectations of catch rates of different species groups are estimated using a Poisson specification. A likelihood ratio test is employed to separate the expected catch of red drum (Scianops ocellatus) from a larger species group. Per trip measures of compensating variation are measured for two alternative specifications of an improvement in red drum catch, and the catch of other species groups. Willingness-to-pay measures are reported by fishing mode according to target species. Anglers targeting a particular species have higher willingness-to-pay than anglers targeting a different species, and anglers with any target have higher willingness-to-pay than anglers with no target.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

THE VALUE OF INCREASING THE LENGTH OF DEER SEASON IN OHIO

Growing deer populations are controlled through changes in hunting regulations including changes in both hunter bag limits and season length. Such action results in direct benefits to hunters and indirect benefits to motorists and the agricultural sector as a lower deer population leads to fewer incidences of human-deer encounters. Traditional recreation demand models are often employed to examine the welfare implications of changes in daily hunting bag limits. Studies measuring the effects of changes in season length, however, are noticeably absent from the literature. This study uses a nested random utility model to examine hunter choice over site and season selection to derive the welfare implications of changes in season length.random utility models, recreation, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

A DYNAMIC EXERCISE IN REDUCING DEER-VEHICLE COLLISIONS: MANAGEMENT THROUGH VEHICLE MITIGATION TECHNIQUES AND HUNTING

The costs of deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) nationwide are estimated to be in excess of $1 billion annually. In this study, factors contributing to the abundance of DVCs are identified and the potential effectiveness of various deer management strategies in reducing DVCs is investigated. The added benefits of such strategies are also evaluated in a bioeconomic context by comparing alternative outcomes achievable from implementing DVC mitigation techniques. Focusing on Ohio, results suggest potentially large economic gains exist from reducing DVCs, especially with strategies that combine both deer management schemes and DVC mitigation techniques.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Thin-disk laser pump schemes for large number of passes and moderate pump source quality

Novel thin-disk laser pump layouts are proposed yielding an increased number of passes for a given pump module size and pump source quality. These novel layouts result from a general scheme which bases on merging two simpler pump optics arrangements. Some peculiar examples can be realized by adapting standard commercially available pump optics simply by intro ducing an additional mirror-pair. More pump passes yield better efficiency, opening the way for usage of active materials with low absorption. In a standard multi-pass pump design, scaling of the number of beam passes brings ab out an increase of the overall size of the optical arrangement or an increase of the pump source quality requirements. Such increases are minimized in our scheme, making them eligible for industrial applicationsComment: 16 pages, 9 figure

Electrocatalysis in confined space

The complex interplay of restricted mass transport leading to local accumulation or depletion of educts, intermediates, products, counterions and co-ions influences the reactions at the active sites of electrocatalysts when electrodes are rough, three-dimensionally mesoporous or nanoporous. This influence is important with regard to activity, and even more to selectivity, of electrocatalytic reactions. The underlying principles are discussed based on the growing awareness of these considerations over recent years

Great Sumatra Earthquake Registers on Electrostatic Sensor

Strong electrical signals that correspond to the Mw = 9.3 earthquake of 26 December 2004, which occurred at 0058:50.7 UTC off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, were recorded by an electrostatic sensor (a device that detects short-term variations in Earth’s electrostatic fi eld) at a seismic station in Italy, which had been installed to study the infl uence of local earthquakes on a new landslide monitoring system. Electrical signals arrived at the station practically instantaneously and were detected up to several hours before the onset of the Sumatra earthquake (Figure 1) as well as before local quakes. The corresponding seismic signals (p-waves) arrived 740 seconds after the start of the earthquake. Because the electrical signals travel at the speed of light, electrical monitoring for the global detection of very strong earthquakes could be an important tool in signifi cantly increasing the hazard alert window

The Influence of Nanoconfinement on Electrocatalysis

The use of nanoparticles and nanostructured electrodes are abundant in electrocatalysis. These nanometric systems contain elements of nanoconfinement in different degrees, depending on the geometry, which can have a much greater effect on the activity and selectivity than often considered. In this Review, we firstly identify the systems containing different degrees of nanoconfinement and how they can affect the activity and selectivity of electrocatalytic reactions. Then we follow with a fundamental understanding of how electrochemistry and electrocatalysis are affected by nanoconfinement, which is beginning to be uncovered, thanks to the development of new, atomically precise manufacturing and fabrication techniques as well as advances in theoretical modeling. The aim of this Review is to help us look beyond using nanostructuring as just a way to increase surface area, but also as a way to break the scaling relations imposed on electrocatalysis by thermodynamics

Apollo 14: Some geochemical aspects

Chemical analyses were obtained for five samples of Apollo 14 regolith fines, three 14230 core samples, soil clod 14049, breccias 14305 and 14319, 14310 basalt, and some separated phases. The chemical uniformity of these Apollo 14 samples indicates thorough mixing and/or uniform source rocks. Basalt 14310 can be matched well in composition by a four to one mixture of soil and plagioclase. The Eu(2+)/Eu(3+) ratios calculated for 14310 pigeonite and plagioclase are similar to those for Apollo 12 and 15 mare-type basalt phases; this indicates similar redox conditions. Apollo 14 samples are chemically similar to Apollo 12 and 15 KREEP as distinct from Apollo 11, 12, and 15 and Luna 16 mare-type basalts

Polymer-Based Batteries — Flexible and Thin Energy Storage Systems

Batteries have become an integral part of everyday life—from small coin cells to batteries for mobile phones, as well as batteries for electric vehicles and an increasing number of stationary energy storage applications. There is a large variety of standardized battery sizes (e.g., the familiar AA‐battery or AAA‐battery). Interestingly, all these battery systems are based on a huge number of different cell chemistries depending on the application and the corresponding requirements. There is not one single battery type fulfilling all demands for all imaginable applications. One battery class that has been gaining significant interest in recent years is polymer‐based batteries. These batteries utilize organic materials as the active parts within the electrodes without utilizing metals (and their compounds) as the redox‐active materials. Such polymer‐based batteries feature a number of interesting properties, like high power densities and flexible batteries fabrication, among many more

Amine-based solvents for exfoliating graphite to graphene outperform the dispersing capacity of N-methyl-pyrrolidone and surfactants

Four organic amine-based solvents were discovered which enable direct exfoliation of graphite to produce high-quality and oxygen-free graphene nanosheets. These solvents outperform previously used solvents and additives such as N-methyl-pyrrolidone and surfactants in terms of their dispersing capacity. The resulting dispersions allow the facile fabrication of zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)–graphene nanocomposites with remarkable CO2 storage capability