Showing 411 - 420 of 2040 Items

The Impact of Ride-Hailing Services on Public Transportation Use: A Discontinuity Regression Analysis

Date: 2017-05-26

Creator: Nicole Sadowsky

Erik Nelson

Access: Open access

Since 2011, the private ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft have expanded into more and more US cities. We use regression discontinuity design to examine the impact of Uber and Lyft’s entry on public transportation use in the US’ largest urban areas. In most cases, entry into cities by the two ride-hailing companies was staggered: Uber entered first followed some months later by Lyft. We find that public transportation use increased in an urban area, all else equal, immediately following the first entry. However, we find that the spike in public transportation use after first entry disappeared following the entry of the second company. In fact there is some evidence that monthly public transportation ridership levels fell below their pre-first entry levels. In other words, the joint presence of the two major private ride-hailing services transformed ride-hailing services from a public transportation complement to a public transportation substitute, at least in the studied urban areas. We speculate that the first entrant complemented public transportation use for some in an urban area by solving the “last-mile” problem and by providing a potentially safer option at night when public transportation service has been reduced. However, we speculate the second entrant is likely to have spurred price competition in the urban area’s ride-hailing duopoly market and an increase in ride-hailing car supply. This competitive effect could have tipped the scales, making an entire trip with a ride-hailing service more cost-effective and convenient than splitting a trip between a ride-share company and public transportation.


The distributional impact of a green payment policy for organic fruit

Date: 2019-02-01

Creator: Erik Nelson

John Fitzgerald

Nathan Tefft

Access: Open access

Consumer spending on organic food products has grown rapidly. Some claim that organics have ecological, equity, and health advantages over conventional food and therefore should be subsidized. Here we explore the distributive impacts of an organic fruit subsidy that reduces the retail price of organic fruit in the US by 10 percent. We estimate the impact of the subsidy on organic fruit demand in a representative poor, middle income, and rich US household using three analytical methods; including two econometric and one machine learning. We do not find strong evidence of regressive redistribution due to our simulated organic fruit subsidy; the poor household’s relative reaction to the subsidy is not much different than the reaction at the other two households. However, the infra-marginal savings from the subsidy tend to be larger in richer households.


Analysis of the yeast arginine methyltransferase Hmt1p/Rmt1p and its in vivo function. Cofactor binding and substrate interactions

Date: 2000-02-04

Creator: Anne E. McBride

Valerie H. Weiss

Heidi K. Kim

James M. Hogle

Pamela A., Silver

Access: Open access

Many eukaryotic RNA-binding proteins are modified by methylation of arginine residues. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains one major arginine methyltransferase, Hmt1p/Rmt1p, which is not essential for normal cell growth. However, cells missing HMT1 and also bearing mutations in the mRNA-binding proteins Np13p or Cbp80p can no longer survive, providing genetic backgrounds in which to study Hmt1p function. We now demonstrate that the catalytically active form of Hmt1p is required for its activity in vivo. Amino acid changes in the putative Hmt1p S-adenosyl-L-methionine-binding site were generated and shown to be unable to catalyze methylation of Np13p in vitro and in vivo or to restore growth to strains that require HMT1. In addition these mutations affect nucleocytoplasmic transport of Np13p. A cold- sensitive mutant of Hmt1p was generated and showed reduced methylation of Np13p, but not of other substrates, at 14 °C. These results define new aspects of Hmt1 and reveal the importance of its activity in vivo.


Optical proxy for phytoplankton biomass in the absence of photophysiology: Rethinking the absorption line height

Date: 2013-01-01

Creator: Collin S. Roesler

Andrew H. Barnard

Access: Open access

The pigment absorption peak in the red waveband observed in phytoplankton and particulate absorption spectra is primarily associated with chlorophyll-a and exhibits much lower pigment packaging compared to the blue peak. The minor contributions to the signature by accessory pigments can be largely removed by computing the line height absorption at 676 nm above a linear background between approximately 650 nm and 715 nm. The line height determination is also effective in removing the contributions to total or particulate absorption by colored dissolved organic matter and non-algal particles, and is relatively independent of the effects of biofouling. The line height absorption is shown to be significantly related to the extracted chlorophyll concentration over a large range of natural optical regimes and diverse phytoplankton cultures. Unlike the in situ fluorometric method for estimating chlorophyll, the absorption line height is not sensitive to incident irradiance, in particular non-photochemical quenching. The combination of the two methods provides a combination of robust phytoplankton biomass estimates, pigment based taxonomic information and a means to estimate the photosynthetic parameter, , the irradiance at which photosynthesis transitions from light limitation to light saturation. © 2013 The Authors. E K


Statement by Anonymous (Paula) collected by Erika Bjorum on October 5, 2018 [part 1]

Date: 2018-10-05

Creator: Anonymous (Paula)

Access: Open access

Transcription of statement includes parts 1 and 2, recorded on October 5 and October 9, 2018. This statement was given privately.


Statement by Sarah Mary (Anne) McCarron collected by Rachel George on May 1, 2014

Date: 2014-05-01

Creator: Sarah Mary McCarron

Access: Open access



Statement by Sandra Pictou collected by Marcie Lister on October 16, 2014

Date: 2014-10-16

Creator: Sandra Pictou

Access: Open access



Interview with Jenna Burton (Class of 1994) by Emma Kellogg

Date: 2019-05-31

Creator: Jenna Burton

Access: Open access

Jenna Burton (Class of 1994) describes the process of making friends through Hyde Hall and the sailing team. She also speaks about her experience being part of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and becoming its first female president. Burton reminisces about the hurdles and triumphs of starting the women’s rugby team and discusses the camaraderie and support she found within the team. Additionally, Burton talks about her on-campus job as a Resident Assistant, her Biology major, and reflects on working with Safe Space to critically examine the College’s sexual harassment policy. Finally, she touches on some of her favorite memories, like long brunches in Thorne Dining Hall and broom hockey on the quad.


A semester-long project-oriented biochemistry laboratory based on Helicobacter pylori urease

Date: 2015-09-01

Creator: Kate R. Farnham

Danielle H. Dube

Access: Open access

Here we present the development of a 13 week project-oriented biochemistry laboratory designed to introduce students to foundational biochemical techniques and then enable students to perform original research projects once they have mastered these techniques. In particular, we describe a semester-long laboratory that focuses on a biomedically relevant enzyme-Helicobacter pylori (Hp) urease-the activity of which is absolutely required for the gastric pathogen Hp to colonize the human stomach. Over the course of the semester, students undertake a biochemical purification of Hp urease, assess the success of their purification, and investigate the activity of their purified enzyme. In the final weeks of the semester, students design and implement their own experiments to study Hp urease. This laboratory provides students with an understanding of the importance of biochemistry in human health while empowering them to engage in an active area of research.


Post-coring entrapment of modern air in some shallow ice cores collected near the firn-ice transition: Evidence from CFC-12 measurements in Antarctic firn air and ice cores

Date: 2010-06-18

Creator: M. Aydin

S. A. Montzka

M. O. Battle

M. B. Williams

W. J., De Bruyn

J. H. Butler

K. R. Verhulst

C. Tatum

B. K. Gun

D. A. Plotkin

B. D. Hall

E. S. Saltzman

Access: Open access

In this study, we report measurements of CFC-12 (CCl2F2) in firn air and in air extracted from shallow ice cores from three Antarctic sites. The firn air data are consistent with the known atmospheric history of CFC-12. In contrast, some of the ice core samples collected near the firn-ice transition exhibit anomalously high CFC-12 levels. Together, the ice core and firn air data provide evidence for the presence of modern air entrapped in the shallow ice core samples that likely contained open pores at the time of collection. We propose that this is due to closure of the open pores after drilling, entrapping modern air and resulting in elevated CFC-12 mixing ratios. Our results reveal that open porosity can exist below the maximum depth at which firn air samples can be collected, particularly at sites with lower accumulation rates. CFC-12 measurements demonstrate that post-drilling closure of open pores can lead to a change in the composition of bubble air in shallow ice cores through purely physical processes. The results have implications for investigations involving trace gas composition of bubbles in shallow ice cores collected near the firn-ice transition. © Author(s) 2010.