The impact of economic policies over the agricultural sector in the southern hemisphere: The case of Argentina, 1980 - 2006

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of the economic policies on the Argentinean Agricultural sector for the period 1980-2007. By evaluating the changes that have been taken place in the production styles and the role played by the rise in profitability of cereals, oleaginous crops and beef cattle, we seek to identify the main elements that will allow us to understand the general path that the sector has taken for the period under analysis. After explaining the general evolution of the sector, we end up our analysis identifying the future challenges that the country will face regarding food security, health regulations and environmental problems.agriculture, livestock, profitability, food security, Argentina.,

Preparation, Characterization and NO-CO Redox Reaction Studies over Palladium and Rhodium Oxides Supported on Manganese Dioxide

The catalytic activity of PdO/MnO2 and Rh2O3/MnO2 is investigated for NO-CO redox reaction. Supported catalysts are prepared by wet impregnation method. Among the tested catalysts, PdO/MnO2 shows higher activity for this reaction. Active metal dispersion on MnO2 enhances the selectivity for N2 over N2O in this reaction. The XRD substantiate the formation of MnO2 monophasic phase. SEM images show the formation of elongated particles. TEM images indicate nano-size rod-like morphologies. An increase in the catalytic activity is observed on supported Pd and Rh oxides on MnO2. Temperature programed desorption studies with NO and CO are undertaken to investigate the catalytic surface studies. © 2015 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserve

Giant magnetoimpedance: new electrochemical option to monitor surface effects?

Magnetoimpedance, MI, change due to surface modification of the sensitive element caused by biofluids was studied with the aim of creating a robust sensor capable of separating the chemical surface modification from the sensing process. A MI sensor prototype with an as-quenched FeCoSiB amorphous ribbon sensitive element was designed and calibrated for a frequency range of 0.5 to 10 MHz at an intensity of the current of 60 mA. Measurements as a function of the exposure time were made, first, in a regime where chemical surface modification and sensing were separated and then, in a regime where they were not separated (in a bath for fluids). The MI variation was explained by the change of the surface magnetic anisotropy. It was shown that the magnetoimpedance effect can be successfully employed as a new electrochemical option to probe the electric features of surface-modified magnetic electrodes when the biofluid, the material of the sensitive element, and the detection conditions are properly selected and synergetically adjusted.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure

Abstracts der Tagung "Aktuelle Forschungsthemen des Biolandbaues" vom 06.04.05 an der FAL

Abstracts der Tagung "Aktuelle Forschungsthemen des Biolandbaues" vom 06.04.05 an der FAL - Ersatz von Kupfer im biologischen Kartoffelanbau: BLIGHT-MOP (2001-2005) Lucius Tamm und Bert Smit, FiBL (pdf-Datei, 4 MB) - Krankheiten und Schädlinge im Bio-Ackerbau Eindrücke von der 8. Wissenschaftstagung in Kassel – Ende der Nische? Hans-Rudolf Forrer, Agroscope FAL Reckenholz (pdf-Datei, 3 MB) - Anbaussysteme, Bodenfruchtbarkeit und Nährstoffversorgung im Bioackerbau Ausgewählte Themen der Tagungen von Kassel und Newcastle David Dubois und Jochen Mayer, Agroscope FAL Reckenholz (pdf-Datei, 1.8 MB) - Wo steht die Forschung zum pfluglosen Bio-Ackerbau? David Dubois, Agroscope FAL Reckenholz (pdf-Datei, 345 KB) - Systemversuch mit Bioackerbau am Standort Burgrain - Auswirkungen des Bioanbaus auf Boden, Ertrag,Biodiversität, Ökobilanz und Wirtschaftlichkeit Urs Zihlmann, Agroscope FAL Reckenholz und Ruedi Tschachtli, LBBZ Schüpfheim LU sowie weitere Mitwirkende von FAL, FAT und LBBZ (pdf-Datei, 1.4 MB) - Graslandsysteme: Beiträge zur 8. Wissenschaftstagung ökologischer Landbau 2005 ausgewählt, zusammengefasst und gewertet durch Andreas Lüscher, Agroscope FAL Reckenholz (pdf-Datei, 700 KB) - Qualitätssicherung im Biolandbau: EU-Projekt „OrganicHACCP“: Analyse kritischer Punkte in ausgewählten Wertschöpfungsketten Gabriela S. Wyss, FiBL (pdf-Datei, 1.3 MB) - Wo steht die Qualitätsforschung? Thomas Alföldi, FiBL (pdf-Datei, 1.4 MB) - Delphi Expertenumfrage im Bereich Verarbeitung von biologischen Lebensmitteln: Resultate der ersten Umfrage Ursula Kretzschmar und Otto Schmid, FiBL (pdf-Datei, 483 KB) - Herkunftsbestimmung von Käse mit Bio-Kulturen von ALP. Aktueller Stand - Perspektiven Daniel Wechsler, Agroscope ALP Posieux (pdf-Datei, 2.6 MB

Symmetry of boundary conditions of the Dirac equation for electrons in carbon nanotubes.

We consider the effective mass model of spinless electrons in single wall carbon nanotubes that is equivalent to the Dirac equation for massless fermions. Within this framework we derive all possible energy independent hard wall boundary conditions that are applicable to metallic tubes. The boundary conditions are classified in terms of their symmetry properties and we demonstrate that the use of different boundary conditions will result in varying degrees of valley degeneracy breaking of the single particle energy spectrum

Predominant Golgi-residency of the plant K/HDEL receptor is essential for its function in mediating ER retention

Accumulation of soluble proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of plants is mediated by a receptor termed ER RETENTION DEFECTIVE 2 (ERD2) or K/HDEL receptor. Using two gain-of-function assays and by complementing loss of function in Nicotiana benthamiana we discovered that compromising the lumenal N-terminus or the cytosolic C-terminus with fluorescent fusions abolishes its biological function and profoundly affects its subcellular localization. Based on the confirmed asymmetrical topology of ERD2 we engineered a new fluorescent ERD2 fusion protein that retains biological activity. Using this fusion, we show that ERD2 is exclusively detected at the Golgi apparatus, unlike non-functional C-terminal fusions which also label the ER. Moreover, ERD2 is confined to early Golgi compartments and does not show ligand-induced redistribution to the ER. We show that the cytosolic C-terminus of ERD2 plays a crucial role in its function. Two conserved Leucine residues that do not correspond to any known targeting motifs for ER-Golgi trafficking were shown to be essential for both ERD2 Golgi residency and its ability to mediate ER retention of soluble ligands. The results suggest that anterograde ER to Golgi transport of ERD2 is either extremely fast, well in excess of the bulk flow rate, or that ERD2 does not recycle in the way originally proposed

Hydrokinetic turbine composite blades and sandwich structures: Damage evaluation and numerical simulation

“Composite materials are gaining interest due to their high strength to weight ratio. This study deals with both experimental and numerical approaches to cover the aspects of the failure of composite materials in hydrokinetic turbine applications. In Part I, the location and magnitude of failure in the horizontal axis water turbine carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite blades with different laminate stacking sequences were investigated. Two lay-up orientations were adopted for this work ([0⁰]4 and [0⁰/90⁰]2s). A finite element analysis model was generated to examine the stresses along the blade. Five angles were introduced to study the effect of pitch angle on the CFRP blades. The numerical results showed very good agreement with the experimental results. In Part II, an experimental setup was developed to test the delamination progression in CFRP blades under hydrodynamic loads in a water tunnel. Thermography analysis was employed to scrutinize the propagation of delamination. In addition, a computational fluid dynamics and one-way fluid-structure interaction were developed to predict the stresses along the blade. The unidirectional ([0⁰]4) blades showed the best performance while the cross-ply blades ([0⁰/90⁰]2s) are prone to delamination. In Part III, the effect of increasing the contact area between the core and facesheet was studied. Two tests (impact and flat-wise tension) were carried out to examine the integrity of the structure. A finite element model was developed to study the damage due to localized load, such as impact load. The results obtained from both the tests (impact and flatwise tension) showed that increasing surface area had improved the structural integrity in regards to damage resistance due to impact, and delamination resistance between the facesheet and the core due to tension”--Abstract, page iv

Imbibition in Disordered Media

The physics of liquids in porous media gives rise to many interesting phenomena, including imbibition where a viscous fluid displaces a less viscous one. Here we discuss the theoretical and experimental progress made in recent years in this field. The emphasis is on an interfacial description, akin to the focus of a statistical physics approach. Coarse-grained equations of motion have been recently presented in the literature. These contain terms that take into account the pertinent features of imbibition: non-locality and the quenched noise that arises from the random environment, fluctuations of the fluid flow and capillary forces. The theoretical progress has highlighted the presence of intrinsic length-scales that invalidate scale invariance often assumed to be present in kinetic roughening processes such as that of a two-phase boundary in liquid penetration. Another important fact is that the macroscopic fluid flow, the kinetic roughening properties, and the effective noise in the problem are all coupled. Many possible deviations from simple scaling behaviour exist, and we outline the experimental evidence. Finally, prospects for further work, both theoretical and experimental, are discussed.Comment: Review article, to appear in Advances in Physics, 53 pages LaTe

Making women’s voices count – what does the move from “more” to “meaningful” participation look like in peace negotiations?

The move from “more” to “meaningful” participation is urgently needed – not only in peacekeeping operations, but across the international efforts to build and sustain peace, including – crucially – peace negotiations. In this piece, Agnieszka Fal-Dutra Santos demonstrates what such a move might practically look like in the context of a peace process