Previous studies indicate that “hesitation” and “skepticism” are important barriers to the development of renewable energy industries in the United States. We examine whether key pecuniary and nonpecuniary characteristics of bioenergy crops underlie the hesitation argument. Based on a stated choice experiment, we find that Midwestern producers appreciate certain crop attributes that are found in switchgrass, but not in conventional crops. We also find that producers would be willing to grow switchgrass-like crops for net margins between $222/acre/year and $247/acre/year in marginal counties. We argue that farmers’ hesitation and skepticism toward bioenergy crops can be overcome.

An interested and engaged electorate is widely believed to be an indicator of democratic health. As such, the aggregate level of political interest of an electorate – macrointerest – is an essential commodity in a democracy, and understanding the forces that change macrointerest is important for diagnosing the health of a democracy. Because being interested in politics requires time and effort, the article theorizes that the electorate's level of political interest will be highest when the electorate believes the government cannot be trusted or is performing poorly. To test hypotheses derived from a proposed theory against rival explanations, the study develops a measure of macrointerest using a quarterly time series of aggregated survey items (1973–2014) of political interest. The authors find support for the theory that the electorate responds as reasonable agents when determining how closely to monitor elected officials: interest is positively related to decreases in trust in government.

Prospectively acquired Canadian cerebrospinal fluid samples were used to assess the performance characteristics of three ante-mortem tests commonly used to support diagnoses of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. The utility of the end-point quaking-induced conversion assay as a test for Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease diagnoses was compared to that of immunoassays designed to detect increased amounts of the surrogate markers 14-3-3γ and hTau. The positive predictive values of the end-point quaking-induced conversion, 14-3-3γ, and hTau tests conducted at the Prion Diseases Section of the Public Health Agency of Canada were 96%, 68%, and 66%, respectively.

Field experiments were conducted in 1997 and 1998 near Rossville in northeast Kansas to evaluate control of imazethapyr-resistant common sunflower with selected herbicides in corn and soybean. In soybean, common sunflower control was unacceptable with imazethapyr, chlorimuron, CGA-277476, and cloransulam applied alone. Lactofen or acifluorfen applied with these herbicides slightly improved control, whereas glyphosate applied with them controlled more than 97% of common sunflower. All herbicides reduced common sunflower populations in the corn. The greatest reductions occurred when atrazine was applied with dicamba, 2,4-D, RPA 201772, or CGA-152005 plus primisulfuron. These herbicide combinations also stunted common sunflower that survived treatment. Several herbicide alternatives are available to control imazethapyr-resistant common sunflower in corn. However, glyphosate was the only herbicide that gave adequate control in soybean.

We reconstructed a 10,500-yr fire and vegetation history of a montane site in the North Cascade Range, Washington State based on lake sediment charcoal, macrofossil and pollen records. High-resolution sampling and abundant macrofossils made it possible to analyze relationships between fire and vegetation. During the early Holocene (> 10,500 to ca. 8000 cal yr BP) forests were subalpine woodlands dominated by Pinus contorta. Around 8000 cal yr BP, P. contorta sharply declined in the macrofossil record. Shade tolerant, mesic species first appeared ca. 4500 cal yr BP. Cupressus nootkatensis appeared most recently at 2000 cal yr BP. Fire frequency varies throughout the record, with significantly shorter mean fire return intervals in the early Holocene than the mid and late Holocene. Charcoal peaks are significantly correlated with an initial increase in macrofossil accumulation rates followed by a decrease, likely corresponding to tree mortality following fire. Climate appears to be a key driver in vegetation and fire regimes over millennial time scales. Fire and other disturbances altered forest vegetation at shorter time scales, and vegetation may have mediated local fire regimes. For example, dominance of P. contorta in the early Holocene forests may have been reinforced by its susceptibility to frequent, stand-replacing fire events.

Field studies were conducted in 2000 and 2001 to evaluate corn yield-loss predictions generated by WeedSOFT, a computerized weed management decision aid. Conventional tillage practices were used to produce corn in 76-cm rows in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. A total of 21 site-years from these seven states were evaluated in this study. At 4 wk after planting, weed densities and size, crop-growth stage, estimated weed-free yield, and environmental conditions at the time of application were entered into WeedSOFT to generate POST treatments ranked by percent maximum yield (PMY). POST treatments were chosen with yield losses ranging from 0 to 20%. Data were subjected to linear regression analysis by state and pooled over all states to determine the relationship between actual and predicted yield loss. A slope value equal to one implies perfect agreement between actual and predicted yield loss. Slope value estimates for Illinois and Missouri were equal to one. Actual yield losses were higher than the software predicted in Kansas and lower than predicted in Michigan, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Slope value estimate from a data set containing all site years was equal to one. This research demonstrated that variability in yield-loss predictions occurred at sites that contained a high density of a single weed specie (>100/m2) regardless of its competitive index (CI); at sites with a predominant broadleaf weed with a CI greater than five, such as Palmer amaranth, giant ragweed, common sunflower, and common cocklebur; and at sites that experience moderate to severe drought stress.

We present here the low-dispersion optical spectra of 295 QSO candidates. The great majority of the objects were originally selected as QSOs from the Parkes 2700 MHz radio survey, although we have also included spectra of several optically selected QSOs. A few of the QSO candidates are now better described as radio galaxies and BL Lac objects. This collection of spectra is not suitable for statistical studies unless due consideration is given to selection effects.

Savage et al. (1977) found that the radio source PKS 1448-232 coincided with a stellar object of about magnitude 16.4 having an ultraviolet excess. A low resolution spectrum obtained with the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) confirmed this object as a QSO with zem = 2.22 and revealed many absorption lines short-ward of the La emission. Consequently this object was included in a programme of spectroscopy at intermediate resolution with the AAT to investigate QSO absorption lines. Savage et al. have given a finding chart with an optical position of 14h48m09s.3, −23°17′10″ (1950.0). The radio fluxes are 0.40 Jy at 2.7 GHz and 0.31 Jy at 5.0 GHz.

This paper provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) hydrogen and fuel cell activities within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), focusing on key targets, progress towards meeting those targets, and materials-related issues that need to be addressed. The most recent, state-of-the-art data on metrics such as cost, durability, and performance of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies are presented. Key technical accomplishments to date include a 50% reduction in the modeled high volume cost of fuel cells since 2006, and an 80% cost reduction for electrolyzers since 2002. The statuses of various hydrogen production, delivery, and storage technologies are also presented along with a summary of materials-related challenges for hydrogen infrastructure technologies such as compression, dispensing, seals, pipeline materials/embrittlement, and storage materials. Specific examples and areas requiring more research are discussed. Finally, future plans including EERE’s lab consortium approach such as HyMARC (Hydrogen Storage Materials Advanced Research Consortium) and FC-PAD (Fuel Cell Performance and Durability) Consortia, are summarized.

The emergence of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in transportation and stationary power sectors offers the world important and potentially transformative environmental and energy security benefits. In recent years, research supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office has contributed substantially to the development of these technologies. Enhanced performance and reduced cost in automotive fuel cells are important examples of achievement. The research investments are clearly paying off, as commercial fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are being rolled out by major car manufacturers today. With increasing market penetration of FCEVs, enabling technologies for the affordable and widespread production, storage and delivery of renewable hydrogen are becoming increasingly important. Long term commercial viability of hydrogen and fuel cells in the commercial marketplace will rely on continued materials research on several important fronts. Examples include the discovery and development of: (1) non-platinum-group-metal catalysts for next-generation fuel cells; (2) durable, high-performance photocatalytic materials systems for direct solar water splitting; (3) advanced materials-based systems for low-pressure, high-volumetric-density hydrogen storage; and (4) low-cost, hydrogen-compatible pipeline materials for hydrogen delivery and distribution. Research innovations in macro-, meso- and nano-scale materials are all needed for pushing forward the state-of-the-art in these areas. New approaches in accelerated materials development facilitated by a national Energy Materials Network of advanced scientific resources in theory, computation and experimentation are being adopted at DOE. Application of these approaches to address the key materials challenges in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are discussed.

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office has made significant progress in fuel cell technology advancement and cost reduction. Encouragingly, rollouts of fuel-cell vehicles by major automotive manufacturers are scheduled over the next several years. With these rollouts, enabling technologies for the widespread production of affordable renewable hydrogen becomes increasingly important. Near-term utilization of current reforming and electrolytic processes is necessary for early hydrogen markets, but transitioning to industrial-scale renewable hydrogen production remains essential to the longer term. Central to the long term vision is a portfolio of renewable hydrogen conversion processes, including, for example, the direct photoelectrochemical and thermochemical routes, as well as photo-assisted electrochemical routes. DOE utilizes technoeconomic analyses to assess the long-term viability of these emerging hydrogen production pathways and to help identify key materials- and system-level cost drivers. Sensitivity analysis from the technoeconomic studies will be discussed in connection with the metrics and fundamental materials properties that have direct impact on hydrogen cost. It is clear that innovations in macro-, meso- and nano-scale materials are all needed for pushing forward the state-of-the-art. These innovations, along with specific research and development pathways for advancing materials systems for the renewable hydrogen conversion technologies are discussed.

The wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), is an insect pest in dryland wheat cropping systems in the southern Canadian Prairies and the northern Great Plains of the United States (Morrill 1997). Yield losses caused by C. cinctus are due to reduced head weight (Holmes 1977; Morrill et al. 1992) and lodging, which decreases harvest efficiency. Estimates of yield losses in Montana alone are about US$25 million per year.