Contributions of U.S. Crop Subsidies to Biofuel and Related Markets

The U.S. crop subsidies provide incentives for farmers to expand feedstock production, which benefits the biofuel producers by lowering input costs. This study develops a general equilibrium model to analyze the effects of a reduction in the U.S. crop subsidy on biofuel industries and social welfare. The impacts of feedstock policies on the biofuel market are marginal. In contrast, the biofuel mandate has a larger impact and counteracts the effects of the crop subsidy reduction. The mandate increases the demand for feedstock and causes not only grain ethanol, but also cellulosic ethanol production to rise. The mandate exacerbates the distortion, and government spending increases significantly, leading to greater welfare loss.biofuel, environmental impacts, farm supports, welfare analysis, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Land Economics/Use, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q18, Q27,

An Analysis of the Economic Performance between Nations that made up the 2004 Enlargement of the EU

The 2004 enlargement of the European Union was the largest single acceptance of members to the organization at a single time in its history. Many EU members were opposed to the enlargement because many of the nations that were being considered for acceptance were thought to have inferior economies to the other EU members, and 8 of the 10 were former communistic states. The hypothesis of this study was that acceptance to the EU was not beneficial for the member nations of the 2004 enlargement in relation to their annual GDP mean performance, which was found to be true. This article discusses the impact of the global financial crisis of 2008, and its impact on all EU members. It also discusses problems surrounding euro adoption of nations within the Eurozone and the flawed design of the EU, specifically the ECB and the EMU

A Measurement of Annual GDP Performance of the 162 WTO Members between 1989-2001 and 2002-2014

The annual GDP performance mean between all 162 World Trade Organization countries was measured between two time periods: 1989-2001 and 2002 and 2014. The 10 best and worst performing nations were measured and analyzed against each other for each time period. The 10 nations with the largest positive and negative annual GDP mean performance shift was compiled and discussed. Discussion regarding the data, WTO membership, and external trade networks is included, and the article incorporates an analysis effective austerity measures, lack of diversification, and membership in trade and political organizations, which have led to both positive and negative outcomes in relation to annual GDP mean economic performance for WTO member nations over the two time periods measured. Analysis regarding the annual GDP mean performance concludes that the WTO has promoted world trade throughout the world, and this has directly resulted in an increase of annual GDP mean performance by 29% over the two time periods studied for WTO member nations

Obesity Treatment Alternatives: Foods to Surgery

The purpose of these studies was to explore the roles of dietary strategies and bariatric surgery in obesity treatment. The breakfast study was a randomized, crossover trial used to evaluate the role of egg proteins, and a retrospective chart review was conducted to obtain comparative information about two different bariatric surgeries. The breakfast study included 20 subjects who were randomized to receive an egg breakfast (EB) or a cereal breakfast (CB) matched for energy density and macronutrient composition but different protein quality for one week. Following a washout period, each subject was crossed over to receive the opposite breakfast for one week. The EB resulted in lower cumulative lunchtime food intake (p=0.05), reduced hunger on day 1 (p=0.001), greater feelings of fullness on days 1 and 7 (p=0.02), and decreased desire to eat on day 1 (p=0.03). Acylated ghrelin was lower on day 1 of the EB compared to the CB (p=0.005) but not on day 7. PYY was greater at 120 minutes (p=0.006) and 180 minutes (p=0.001) on day 1 and at 180 minutes on day 7 (p=0.03) after the EB. The bariatric surgery studies examined 835 Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) patients and 766 vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) patients. Study one focused on patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The acute effect bariatric surgery had on resolving T2D was measured by calculating the number of patients who discontinued their hypoglycemic medication use post-operatively. Upon discharge, 95 of the 123 (77.2%) RYGB patients and 107 of the 139 (77.0%) VSG patients had been taken off their medication. Eight weeks post-operatively, 30 of the 38 (~79%) RYGB patients and 59 of the 71 (83%) VSG patients with follow-up data remained off medication. Study two examined differences in weight loss, early post-operative surgical complications, and insurance coverage between RYGB and VSG patients. RYGB patients lost more weight at one and two years (p\u3c0.001 for both). There was no significant difference in the percentage of weight loss or complications in insured versus self-pay patients. RYGB patients experienced a higher incidence of major complications than VSG patients (p\u3c0.001)

Promoting Lies through Regulation: Deterrence Impacts of Flexible versus Inflexible Policy

This paper investigates the signaling role of tax policy in promoting or hindering the ability of a monopolist to practice entry deterrence. We study contexts in which tax policy is Flexible and inflexible. We show that not only an informative equilibrium can be supported where information is conveyed to the entrant, but also an uninformative equilibrium where information is concealed. In addition, inflexible policies promote information transmission. Therefore, our results identify a potential benefit of inflexible policies, namely, hampering the practice of entry deterrence.Entry deterrence; Signaling; Emission fees; Perfect commitment

The synthesis and characterisation of pH responsive polymers, understanding their self-assembly and their development as ashless detergents

Chapter 1 is an introduction to the hierarchy in block copolymer self-assembly from a bottom up approach. To begin with, the control at each hierarchical level is introduced and the influences are reviewed. This chapter is concluded by reviewing some techniques to understand self-assembled block copolymers and the applications from bottom up self-assembly of block copolymers is presented. Chapter 2 reports the synthesis of a range of amine homopolymers and copolymers by RAFT polymerisation. These amino polymers are then explored further as lubricant additives and their solution self-assembly in non-polar media is explored. Chapter 3 investigates the performance of the amino polymers from Chapter 2 as ashless detergents in lubricant formulations using a range of industrial testing methods. Chapter 4 reports the synthesis and self-assembly of a range of pH responsive P(DMAEMA-co-DEAEMA)-b-PDMAEMA diblock copolymers, where the composition of the P(DMAEMA-co-DEAEMA) block was varied by copolymerisation, in aqueous solution studied by a range of scattering methods and microscopy. Chapter 5 reports the initial copolymer blending method protocol, here two P(DMAEMA-co-DEAEMA)-b-PDMAEMA diblock copolymers with varying P(DMAEMA-co-DEAEMA) block compositions are blended together. The structures formed on the nanoscale are analysed and further compared to the structures formed by a pure P(DMAEMA-co-DEAEMA)-b-PDMAEMA diblock copolymer with the same composition as the blend. Chapter 6 reports on the extension of the copolymer blending method protocol, here a range of neutral polymers and different self-assembly pathways are explored and the structures formed are analysed by detailed light scattering techniques and cryo-TEM

Ensuring the continued functionality of essential critical infrastructure industries by estimating the workforce impacts of COVID-19

This economic impact assessment was compiled on April 9, 2020 for the Colorado Food Supply Task Force by Jude Bayham and Alexandra E. Hill. Last updated April 9, 2020.Food Systems, Colorado State University

Operating experience of a 50kwth methane chemical looping reactor

Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) has the potential to efficiently capture CO2 from the combustion of fossil fuels at an affordable price. CLC is a process that produces a flue gas primarily consisting of CO2 and H2O. The CO2 can be easily separated and captured by condensing the H2O, similar to an oxy-fuel process. Although the process looks promising on paper, the challenge is to make chemical looping a reality by demonstrating that the process can work economically. To help achieve this goal, the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), has constructed and tested a 50kWth chemical looping reactor (CLR). The general arrangement of the process consists of a bubbling fluidized bed fuel reactor and a fluidized bed/riser air reactor. Three different metal oxide based oxygen carriers have been successfully tested during week-long test campaigns; a hematite ore, promoted hematite ore, and a manufactured copper based oxygen carrier. These three carriers have demonstrated various levels of performance including conversion of natural gas to CO2 and durability. The goal of these tests is to better understand real process metrics so that appropriate economic analysis can be performed

Applications of tribology and fracture mechanics to determine wear and impact attrition of particulate solids in CFB systems

In recent years, much attention has been focused on the development of novel technologies for carbon capture and chemicals production that utilize a circulating fluidized bed configuration; examples include chemical looping combustion and circulation of temperature swing adsorbents in a CFB configuration for CO2 capture. A major uncertainty in determining the economic feasibility of these technologies is the required solids makeup rate, which, among other factors, is due to impact and wear attrition at various locations, including standpipes, cyclones, and the gas jets in fluid beds. While correlations have been developed that estimate the attrition rates at these areas, these correlations are dependent on constants that are an unknown function of the solid properties and system. Thus, it is difficult to determine the attrition rate a priori without performing extensive experiments on the materials or scaling up entirely. In this work, the authors apply knowledge of fundamental material properties from fields of tribology (the study of wear) and fracture mechanics to the knowledge of forces and sliding distances determined from hydrodynamic models to develop basic attrition models for novel CFB systems. The equations are derived for common equipment found in CFBs, and the equations are compared to experimental data of attrition in the literature

The Allocation of Time and Risk of Lyme: A Case of Ecosystem Service Income and Substitution Effects

Forests are often touted for their ecosystem services, including outdoor recreation. Historically forests were a source of danger and were avoided. Forests continue to be reservoirs for infectious diseases and their vectors�a disservice. We examine how this disservice undermines the potential recreational services by measuring the human response to environmental risk using exogenous variation in the risk of contracting Lyme Disease. We find evidence that individuals substitute away from spending time outdoors when there is greater risk of Lyme Disease infection. On average individuals spent 1.54 fewer minutes per day outdoors at the average, 72 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed cases of Lyme Disease. We estimate lost outdoor recreation of 9.41 h per year per person in an average county in the Northeastern United States and an aggregate welfare loss on the order $2.8 billion to$5.0 billion per year