Methods for identifying relevant policy impacts for valuation in benefit-cost analyses (BCAs) have received relatively little attention in academic research, applied policy analyses, and guidance documents. In this paper, we develop a systematic, transparent, and replicable process that draws upon information contained in records of Congressional hearings to identify relevant policy impacts for valuation in a BCA. Our approach involves classifying – and subsequently analyzing – statements from witnesses testifying in Congressional hearings on the topic of the BCA. By using Congressional hearings as the basis for our approach, we are identifying potential policy impacts from information provided during the very process the BCA is intended to inform. However, because this approach is quite resource-intensive and would be somewhat burdensome for agencies to implement, it may be best applied in the academic realm, with identified impacts resulting from such applications then made available to agency personnel for potential inclusion in BCAs. Using the case of the Glen Canyon Dam, we demonstrate the approach and its resulting improvements in the quality and transparency of the BCA it was intended to inform.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Background: Delirium is a well described form of acute brain organ dysfunction characterized by decreased or increased movement, changes in attention and concentration as well as perceptual disturbances (i.e., hallucinations) and delusions. Catatonia, a neuropsychiatric syndrome traditionally described in patients with severe psychiatric illness, can present as phenotypically similar to delirium and is characterized by increased, decreased and/or abnormal movements, staring, rigidity, and mutism. Delirium and catatonia can co-occur in the setting of medical illness, but no studies have explored this relationship by age. Our objective was to assess whether advancing age and the presence of catatonia are associated with delirium. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Methods: We prospectively enrolled critically ill patients at a single institution who were on a ventilator or in shock and evaluated them daily for delirium using the Confusion Assessment for the ICU and for catatonia using the Bush Francis Catatonia Rating Scale. Measures of association (OR) were assessed with a simple logistic regression model with catatonia as the independent variable and delirium as the dependent variable. Effect measure modification by age was assessed using a Likelihood ratio test. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Results: We enrolled 136 medical and surgical critically ill patients with 452 matched (concomitant) delirium and catatonia assessments. Median age was 59 years (IQR: 52–68). In our cohort of 136 patients, 58 patients (43%) had delirium only, 4 (3%) had catatonia only, 42 (31%) had both delirium and catatonia, and 32 (24%) had neither. Age was significantly associated with prevalent delirium (i.e., increasing age associated with decreased risk for delirium) (p=0.04) after adjusting for catatonia severity. Catatonia was significantly associated with prevalent delirium (p<0.0001) after adjusting for age. Peak delirium risk was for patients aged 55 years with 3 or more catatonic signs, who had 53.4 times the odds of delirium (95% CI: 16.06, 176.75) than those with no catatonic signs. Patients 70 years and older with 3 or more catatonia features had half this risk. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Conclusions: Catatonia is significantly associated with prevalent delirium even after controlling for age. These data support an inverted U-shape risk of delirium after adjusting for catatonia. This relationship and its clinical ramifications need to be examined in a larger sample, including patients with dementia. Additionally, we need to assess which acute brain syndrome (delirium or catatonia) develops first.

The Spurgia esulae gall midge was introduced in North Dakota in 1986 as a biocontrol agent for leafy spurge. Spurgia esulae causes stem tip galls thereby decreasing seed production and it has been most successful near wooded areas. However, a second control method is needed to reduce the leafy spurge infestation and prevent spread from roots. Imazethapyr, 2,4-D, or picloram application did reduce the number of S. esulae galls but not the number of larvae per gall. Long-term S. esulae population was not affected by herbicide application. The integration of herbicides with S. esulae would prevent leaf spurge spread from a wooded area and would reduce seed production within an area where herbicides generally cannot be used.

A tractor-mounted, air-pressurized, herbicide application system was designed and constructed for use in weed management research on cropland, pastures, and rangeland. The spray system was designed to minimize wind-induced spray pattern distortion, to enable accurate application of multiple treatments, to withstand the stresses of use on uneven and rough terrain, to apply herbicide treatments reliably, to be easy to transport, to be constructed with readily available spray system components, and to enable quick diagnosis and resolution of operational problems. The spray system has a total shield frame length of 5.2 m. The shielded frame comprises three sections. The two outside sections are connected to the center section by hinges so that they can be folded up and over the center section for transport or storage. Four spray booms are mounted inside the shield with a 50-cm distance between nozzles. Herbicides are usually applied with the bottom of the shield placed 20 cm above the soil or plant surface. This height provides 100% overlap of the spray pattern between adjacent nozzle tips. The spray system has been a durable and reliable tool that accurately and quickly applies herbicide treatments.

Survey-based contingent valuation (CV) techniques are commonly used to value the potential effects of a policy change when market-based valuation of those effects is not possible. The results of these analyses are often intended to inform policy decisions, which are made within the context of formal policymaking institutions. These institutions are typically designed to reduce the large number of potential options for addressing any given policy problem to a binary choice between the continuation of current policy and a single, specified alternative. In this research we develop an approach for conducting CV exercises in a manner consistent with the decision structure typically faced by policymakers. The data generated from this approach allow for an estimate of willingness to pay (WTP) for a defined policy alternative, relative to leaving policy unchanged, which we argue is of direct interest to policymakers. We illustrate our approach within the context of policy governing the storage of used nuclear fuel in the United States. We value the policy option of constructing an interim storage facility relative to continuation of current policy, wherein used nuclear fuel is stored on-site at or near commercial nuclear generating plants. We close the paper with a discussion of the implications for future research and the role of CV in the policymaking process.