Agricultural research and poverty reduction:

International agricultural research has contributed enormously to increasing world food supplies to their current state of plenty. Yet poverty remains a major problem and the challenge for agricultural research now lies in developing strategies that more explicitly address the needs of the poor. This paper, based on the study commissioned by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the CGIAR system, addresses this issue. Based on an analysis of the links between agricultural research and poverty alleviation in different types of countries and rural regions, Peter Hazell and Lawrence Haddad identify six key priorities for a pro-poor agricultural research agenda and discuss strategies for achieving each of these goals with the least trade-off in national agricultural growth. (Excerpted from Forward by Per Pinstrup-Andersen and Emil Javier)agricultural research, poverty, food supply,

A new methodology called dice game optimizer for capacitor placement in distribution systems

Purpose. Shunt capacitors are installed in power system for compensating reactive power. Therefore, feeder capacity releases, voltage profile improves and power loss reduces. However, determination optimal location and size of capacitors in distributionsystems is a complex optimization problem. In order to determine the optimum size and location of the capacitor, an objective function which is generally defined based on capacitor installation costs and power losses should be minimized According to operational limitations. This paper offers a newly developed metaheuristic technique, named dice game optimizerto determine optimal size and location of capacitors in a distribution network. Dice game optimizer is a game based optimization technique that is based on the rules of the dice game.Цель. Шунтирующие конденсаторы в энергосистеме устанавливаются для компенсации реактивной мощности. Следовательно, снижается емкость фидера, улучшается профиль напряжения и снижаются потери мощности. Однако определение оптимального местоположения и размера конденсаторов в системах распределения является сложной задачей оптимизации. Чтобы определить оптимальный размер и расположение конденсатора, целевую функцию, которая обычно определяется на основе затрат на установку конденсатора и потерь мощности, следует минимизировать в соответствии с эксплуатационными ограничениями. Данная статья предлагает недавно разработанный метаэвристический метод, называемый оптимизатором игры в кости, для определения оптимального размера и расположения конденсаторов в распределительной сети. Оптимизатор игры в кости – это игровой метод оптимизации, основанный на правилах игры в кости

Off line Parallax Correction for Neutral Particle Gas Detectors

In a neutral particle gas detector, the parallax error resulting from the perpendicular projection on the detection plane or wire of the radial particle trajectories emanating from a point like source (such as a scattering sample) can significantly spoil the apparent angular resolution of the detector. However, as we will show, the information is not lost. We propose an off line data treatment to restore as much as possible the original scattering information in the case of a one-dimensional parallax effect. The reversibility of parallax follows from the algebraic structure of this effect, which is different from the resolution loss which is essentially irreversible. The interplay between finite resolution and parallax complicates the issue, but this can be resolved

Bite by moray eel

Copyright © 2008 CEVAP.Injuries caused by moray eels are not a common problem, but are distributed throughout the globe, affecting mainly fishermen while manipulating hooked or netted fish. On a lesser scale, scuba divers and snorkelers, practicing or not spear fishing, are occasional victims of bites. With more than 185 species distributed among 15 genera, mostly in tropical to temperate shallow water, moray eels easily come into contact with humans and occasional injuries are not uncommon. The current study reports one case of moray eel bite and discusses the circumstances in which the accident happened, as well as wound evolution and therapy

Animais aquáticos venenosos e perigosos da Europa com ênfase em Portugal Continental e Ilhas

A listagem abaixo, tecnicamente desenvolvida ao longo de um trabalho de pesquisa de cerca de seis anos, pretende descrever e informar o leitor sobre dados adicionais que complementam o livro acima mencionado. Os acidentes com animais marinhos são uma realidade que, na Europa em geral e em Portugal, incluindo Madeira e Açores, tem sido pouco ou nada estudada embora cause, anualmente, um número elevado – mas não devidamente quantificado – de acidentes com diversos graus de gravidade que podem ir desde pequenas lesões benignas até óbitos por causa directa ou indirecta, nomeadamente, afogamentos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Alignment in total knee arthroplasty : what’s in a name?

Dissatisfaction following total knee arthroplasty is a well-documented phenomenon. Although many factors have been implicated, including modifiable and nonmodifiable patient factors, emphasis over the past decade has been on implant alignment and stability as both a cause of, and a solution to, this problem. Several alignment targets have evolved with a proliferation of techniques following the introduction of computer and robotic-assisted surgery. Mechanical alignment targets may achieve mechanically-sound alignment while ignoring the soft tissue envelope; kinematic alignment respects the soft tissue envelope while ignoring the mechanical environment. Functional alignment is proposed as a hybrid technique to allow mechanically-sound, soft tissue-friendly alignment targets to be identified and achieved

Relativistic linear stability equations for the nonlinear Dirac equation in Bose-Einstein condensates

We present relativistic linear stability equations (RLSE) for quasi-relativistic cold atoms in a honeycomb optical lattice. These equations are derived from first principles and provide a method for computing stabilities of arbitrary localized solutions of the nonlinear Dirac equation (NLDE), a relativistic generalization of the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation. We present a variety of such localized solutions: skyrmions, solitons, vortices, and half-quantum vortices, and study their stabilities via the RLSE. When applied to a uniform background, our calculations reveal an experimentally observable effect in the form of Cherenkov radiation. Remarkably, the Berry phase from the bipartite structure of the honeycomb lattice induces a boson-fermion transmutation in the quasi-particle operator statistics.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Modeling Interjurisdictional Tax Competition in a Federal System

Interjurisdictional tax competition is a controversial theme little studied in an empirical approach in spite of the great advance in the theoretical debate at last decades. This paper aims to build a bridge between such theoretical issues and the empirical tools using an interregional general equilibrium model to evaluate the welfare effects of an experimental game of tax competition between two regional governments of the Brazilian federal system. The model recognizes the horizontal and vertical fiscal linkages underlying the Brazilian federalism. The results imply in a welfare-improving Nash equilibrium, in opposition with many theoretical issues. It can be seen that the fiscal externalities of tax competition does matter for such output not only due the mobility of the regional tax base but also because the substitution effect between regional goods and international goods since tax competition reduces the domestic prices. Additionally, the constitutional rules impose a rigid mechanism of fiscal transfers from central government to regional governments and contribute to alleviate the reduction pressures on the regional public goods because the increase in central government's tax base also increase the regional government revenues. Then, interjurisdicional tax competition in the Brazilian federal system can be associated with gains in private consumption that overcome the reduction in regional public good provisions, reinforcing the welfare-improving equilibrium

Caracterização molecular de populações de Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense em regiões produtoras de banana na Bahia.

O mal-do-Panamá, causado pelo fungo Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), é uma das doenças mais destrutivas da bananeira, sendo considerada entre as cinco doenças economicamente mais importantes de todos os tempos. O fato de ser causada por um fungo do solo que, mesmo na ausência da cultura, sobrevive por períodos prolongados, faz com que a medida de controle mais efetiva seja o uso de variedades resistentes. Desta forma, o projeto tem como objetivo caracterizar populações brasileiras de Foc por meio de marcadores SSR