Leaf reflectance-nitrogen-chlorophyll relations among three south Texas woody rangeland plant species

Annual variations in the nitrogen-chlorophyll leaf reflectance of hackberry, honey mesquite and live oak in south Texas, were compared. In spring, leaf reflectance at the 0.55 m wavelength and nitrogen (N) concentration was high but leaf chlorophyll (chl) concentrations were low. In summer, leaf reflectance and N-concentration were low but lead chl concentrations were high. Linear correlations for both spring and summer of leaf reflectance with N and chl concentration or deviations from linear regression were not statistically significant

Comparison of LANDSAT-2 and field spectrometer reflectance signatures of south Texas rangeland plant communities

The accuracy was assessed for an atmospheric correction method that depends on clear water bodies to infer solar and atmospheric parameters for radiative transfer equations by measuring the reflectance signature of four prominent south Texas rangeland plants with the LANDSAT satellite multispectral scanner (MSS) and a ground based spectroradiometer. The rangeland plant reflectances produced by the two sensors were correlated with no significant deviation of the slope from unity or of the intercept from zero. These results indicated that the atmospheric correction produced LANDSAT MSS estimates of rangeland plant reflectances that are as accurate as the ground based spectroradiometer

Experimental phase functions of mm-sized cosmic dust grains

We present experimental phase functions of three types of millimeter-sized dust grains consisting of enstatite, quartz and volcanic material from Mount Etna, respectively. The three grains present similar sizes but different absorbing properties. The measurements are performed at 527 nm covering the scattering angle range from 3 to 170 degrees. The measured phase functions show two well defined regions i) soft forward peaks and ii) a continuous increase with the scattering angle at side- and back-scattering regions. This behavior at side- and back-scattering regions are in agreement with the observed phase functions for the Fomalhaut and HR 4796A dust rings. Further computations and measurements (including polarization) for millimeter sized-grains are needed to draw some conclusions about the fluffy or compact structure of the dust grains

Inclusion Program for Raising the Economic Income of the Wholesale Market Traders of Riobamba, Ecuador

The problems seen in the Riobamba Wholesale Market are related to the concentration of the financial system in urban areas. Large sectors in need have been relegated, either because of their economic condition or their place of residence. The difficulty for traders to get loans restricts them from taking steps toward business improvement and undertaking new projects. This study aims to propose a financial inclusion program to promote an increase in the economic income of wholesale traders in Riobamba. The study uses a qualitative and quantitative approach. The information was collected through structured surveys with multiple choice questions directed toward the sectoral distribution of traders. A representative sample was extracted from the total population of the traders registered in the Riobamba Wholesale Market. The results showed that traders are agents of entrepreneurship and require loans to expand or manage new businesses with the capacity to repay. Furthermore, there is a willingness for partnership and adoption of policies of a social and solidarity-based inclusive economy following the principles of plural economy, reciprocity, social sustainability, ecological sustainability, and social efficiency. In addition, they rely on cooperative work. The greatest interest in the Financial Inclusion Program is seen in the tomato, fruit, corn, and potato trades, which include the largest number of merchants. They expect the new program to include ATM services, mobile banking, and savings plans. In conclusion, the financial inclusion program acts by offering services that are related to the banks or credit unions, the ones that offer the greatest advantages. It is a great alternative to improve the economic incomes of traders in the Riobamba market. Keywords: financial inclusion, social and solidarity economy. Resumen Los problemas que se aprecian en el Mercado Mayorista de Riobamba están relacionados con la concentración del sistema financiero en centros urbanos, relegando a grandes sectores necesitados ya sea por su condición económica como por su lugar de residencia. La dificultad de los comerciantes para acceder a créditos no les permite mejorar sus negocios y menos aún emprender nuevos proyectos. El objetivo principal de la investigación fue plantear un programa de inclusión financiera que promueva el incremento de ingresos económicos, el mismo que estará sujeto a su hipótesis. Esta investigación tiene enfoque cuali-cuantitativo, cuya información se recabó por medio de encuestas estructuradas con preguntas de opción múltiple e información secundaria sobre la distribución sectorial de los comerciantes. La población total de comerciantes registrados en el Mercado Mayorista Riobamba de la cual se extrajo una muestra representativa, donde los resultados indican que los comerciantes son agentes de emprendimiento que requieren de créditos para ampliar o gestionar nuevos negocios, tienen capacidad para solventar pagos y que existe buena disposición para la asociatividad y las políticas de la economía social y solidaria e inclusiva, con base a la economía plural, la reciprocidad, la sustentabilidad social, la sostenibilidad ecológica y la eficiencia social, además, confían en el trabajo cooperativo. Quienes muestran mayor interés en el Programa de Inclusión Financiera son los sectores del comercio de tomates, frutas, choclos y papas, que corresponden al mayor número de mercaderes, los cuales esperan que el nuevo programa incluya los servicios de cajeros automáticos, banca móvil y planes de ahorros. En conclusión, el programa de inclusión financiera actúa mediante la oferta de servicios, los mismos que se relacionan con los bancos o cooperativas de ahorro y crédito que mayores ventajas ofrezcan. Es una magnífica alternativa para mejorar los ingresos económicos de los comerciantes del Mercado de Riobamba. Palabras Clave: economía social y solidaria, inclusión financiera

Doping of inorganic materials in microreactors – preparation of Zn doped Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles

Microreactor systems are now used more and more for the continuous production of metal nanoparticles and metal oxide nanoparticles owing to the controllability of the particle size, an important property in many applications. Here, for the first time, we used microreactors to prepare metal oxide nanoparticles with controlled and varying metal stoichiometry. We prepared and characterised Zn-substituted Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with linear increase of Zn content (ZnxFe₃−xO₄ with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.48), which causes linear increases in properties such as the saturation magnetization, relative to pure Fe₃O₄. The methodology is simple and low cost and has great potential to be adapted to the targeted doping of a vast array of other inorganic materials, allowing greater control on the chemical stoichiometry for nanoparticles prepared in microreactors

Guarana fertilization.

bitstream/item/210626/1/Guarana-Fertilization.pd

Designed to fail : a biopolitics of British Citizenship.

Tracing a route through the recent 'ugly history' of British citizenship, this article advances two central claims. Firstly, British citizenship has been designed to fail specific groups and populations. Failure, it argues, is a design principle of British citizenship, in the most active and violent sense of the verb to design: to mark out, to indicate, to designate. Secondly, British citizenship is a biopolitics - a field of techniques and practices (legal, social, moral) through which populations are controlled and fashioned. This article begins with the 1981 Nationality Act and the violent conflicts between the police and black communities in Brixton that accompanied the passage of the Act through the British parliament. Employing Michel Foucault's concept of state racism, it argues that the 1981 Nationality Act marked a pivotal moment in the design of British citizenship and has operated as the template for a glut of subsequent nationality legislation that has shaped who can achieve citizenship. The central argument is that the existence of populations of failed citizens within Britain is not an accident of flawed design, but is foundational to British citizenship. For many 'national minorities' the lived realities of biopolitical citizenship stand in stark contradistinction to contemporary governmental accounts of citizenship that stress community cohesion, political participation, social responsibility, rights and pride in shared national belonging

Application of Design of Experiments (DOE) on the Processing of Rapid Prototyped Samples

The purpose of this experiment was to improve the Fused Deposition Modeling Process by examining the tensile strength of samples fabricated in a Stratasys FDM 1650 Machine utilizing the methods of Design of Experiments. A two-level, four-factor, full factorial experiment was conducted. The selected factors were temperature, air gap, slice thickness, and raster orientation. A regression equation determined the level each factor should be set in order to optimize the FDM machine settings. It was found that single factors - small air gap, small layer thickness and low raster orientation, as well as the interaction between high temperature and small layer thickness yielded the greatest effect the response.Mechanical Engineerin