An Investigation of Two Contemporary Influences on Ecuadorian Native Culture and Environment

The condition of native culture and the natural environment in Ecuadortoday were investigated through library research, firsthand observation, andin-country interviews conducted in the context of a study abroad experience.Twenty individuals including native Ecuadorians, missionaries working withindigenous tribes, field station representatives, and an oil company employeewere interviewed and their responses recorded. It was found that thepresence of foreign and national oil companies and Christian missionaries inEcuador had a noticeable impact on both the native culture and naturalenvironment of Ecuador. The native culture of Ecuador is in a state oftransition between traditional and modern lifestyles. While the native peoplerecognize this upheaval,they unexpectedly do not appear to be making aneffort to preserve their traditional ways. The natural environment of Ecuadorhas sustained much damage during this cultural transition period and time ofoil exploration, but efforts are now being made to restore and preserve thisbiologically rich area

Sequential Desynchronization in Networks of Spiking Neurons with Partial Reset

The response of a neuron to synaptic input strongly depends on whether or not it has just emitted a spike. We propose a neuron model that after spike emission exhibits a partial response to residual input charges and study its collective network dynamics analytically. We uncover a novel desynchronization mechanism that causes a sequential desynchronization transition: In globally coupled neurons an increase in the strength of the partial response induces a sequence of bifurcations from states with large clusters of synchronously firing neurons, through states with smaller clusters to completely asynchronous spiking. We briefly discuss key consequences of this mechanism for more general networks of biophysical neurons

Formação e ministério pastoral na Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil (IECLB); informações e comentários sobre uma pesquisa social

Sem relação direta com o tema “Catecumenato Permanente”, mas ainda dentro do tema “formação”, apresentamos na sequência um artigo sobre “Formação e Ministério Pastoral na Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil (IECLB)”, que traz o subtítulo “Informações e Comentários sobre uma Pesquisa Social”, escrito por Nelson Kirst e Mauro Schwalm (Mauro é doutorando do Instituto Ecumênico de Pós-graduação da EST)

Transcriptional profile of maize roots under acid soil growth

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is one of the most important yield-limiting factors of many crops worldwide. The primary symptom of Al toxicity syndrome is the inhibition of root growth leading to poor water and nutrient absorption. Al tolerance has been extensively studied using hydroponic experiments. However, unlike soil conditions, this method does not address all of the components that are necessary for proper root growth and development. In the present study, we grew two maize genotypes with contrasting tolerance to Al in soil containing toxic levels of Al and then compared their transcriptomic responses

Reform of High School Mathematics and Science and Opportunity to Learn

This brief concerns the nature of the high school mathematics and science curriculum in the United States. It draws from a large study which documented instructional practices and content using novel methodologies. This research approach is a promising step toward the development of indicators of opportunity to learn. The study also provides encouraging news about the effects of increased standards in math and science - they did not result in a watering down of the curriculum. However, practice in the schools studied is a far cry from the ambitious goals for math and science instruction now being developed by the profession

Nucleon-Nucleon Optical Model for Energies to 3 GeV

Several nucleon-nucleon potentials, Paris, Nijmegen, Argonne, and those derived by quantum inversion, which describe the NN interaction for T-lab below 300$ MeV are extended in their range of application as NN optical models. Extensions are made in r-space using complex separable potentials definable with a wide range of form factor options including those of boundary condition models. We use the latest phase shift analyses SP00 (FA00, WI00) of Arndt et al. from 300 MeV to 3 GeV to determine these extensions. The imaginary parts of the optical model interactions account for loss of flux into direct or resonant production processes. The optical potential approach is of particular value as it permits one to visualize fusion, and subsequent fission, of nucleons when T-lab above 2 GeV. We do so by calculating the scattering wave functions to specify the energy and radial dependences of flux losses and of probability distributions. Furthermore, half-off the energy shell t-matrices are presented as they are readily deduced with this approach. Such t-matrices are required for studies of few- and many-body nuclear reactions.Comment: Latex, 40 postscript pages including 17 figure