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.

ABSTRACT IMPACT: We conducted a study to understand how a patient’s report of a new diagnosis compares with what was documented in the electronic medical record, since it is critical to the diagnostic process that the patient both understands and agrees with a new diagnosis. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: We sought feedback on patient’s understanding of their diagnosis and health status follow Emergency Department discharge. We compared patient report of a new diagnosis to documentation in the electronic medical record. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: To compare patient reported diagnoses to documented diagnoses, we employed a longitudinal cohort study design at 3 of emergency departments in an academic health system in the Mid-Atlantic. Patients consented to complete questionnaires regarding their understanding of their diagnosis and/or follow-up steps and their health status at 2 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months following emergency department discharge. Inclusion criteria: adult ED patients aged 18 and older seen within the last 7 days with one or more of the following common chief complaints: chest pain, upper back pain, abdominal pain, shortness of breath/cough, dizziness, and headache. We compared patient report of a new diagnosis following discharge to documentation in the electronic medical record. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Of the sample recruited (n=137), the majority were women (66%, n=91), the average age was 42 (SD 16). A third (n=45) were black and 56% (n=76) were white. The majority of participants (84%, n=115) reported that they either understood the diagnosis they received on ED discharge, or were not given a diagnosis but they understood follow-up steps. At two weeks following discharge, 25% of participants (n=36) had a new diagnosis identified after discharge and 33% (n=45) reported that their health status stayed the same or worsened. There was 85% agreement (kappa 0.49) between patient report of a new diagnosis and a new diagnosis identified in the electronic medical record. Only one of the participants who reported a new diagnosis also reported seeking healthcare outside of the health system. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: Patient report of a new diagnosis following emergency department discharge had moderate agreement with new diagnoses identified in the electronic medical record, and differences in agreement were not explained by outside healthcare visits.

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.