Implicit Prices of Soil Characteristics for Farmland in Iowa

Arguments have long persisted that purchasers pay too much for poor land (i.e., less productive, more erosive) relative to the higher quality counterpart. In other words, purchasers are either irrational or poorly in- formed relative to the differences in land productivity between poor and good farmland. Similar arguments have been advanced concerning the willingness-to-pay rent on the part of tenant operators

Macroeducação: metodologia de formação de educadores ambientais e sociedade sustentável.

Pressupondo a necessidade de tornar a sociedade apta a ?construir? um modelo de desenvolvimento sustentável, a educação ambiental tem por missão conscientizar os diversos setores e segmentos sociais a melhorar sua relação com a natureza. Cabe a Embrapa contribuir para melhorar a relação da sociedade com a agricultura. Neste sentido, os Projetos retratados validaram a Macroeducação como uma metodologia de capacitação téorico-vivencial de formação de educadores ambientais para atuarem como multiplicadores e articuladores de parcerias inter-institucionais, que viabilizam por meio da internalização das questões ambientais das respectivas comunidades internas, o melhor exercício socioambiental das competências institucionais e valorização da agricultura. Unidades da Embrapa, Prefeituras, Empresas Privadas, Comitê de Bacias, Redes de Ensino Pública e Comunidades conquistaram em poucos meses melhorias efetivas em processos e qualidade do espaço físico, com destaque nas questões de alimentação e agricultura. Desta forma, a Macroeducação se apresenta como uma linguagem metodológica comum para o estabelecimento de uma rede institucional voltada ao pleno exercício da cidadania da comunidade interna e da responsabilidade socioambiental das entidades envolvidas, contribuindo para a formação de sociedade sustentável. Observaçao

Evanescent-wave trapping and evaporative cooling of an atomic gas near two-dimensionality

A dense gas of cesium atoms at the crossover to two-dimensionality is prepared in a highly anisotropic surface trap that is realized with two evanescent light waves. Temperatures as low as 100nK are reached with 20.000 atoms at a phase-space density close to 0.1. The lowest quantum state in the tightly confined direction is populated by more than 60%. The system offers intriguing prospects for future experiments on degenerate quantum gases in two dimensions

High effiency small-size planar hyperbolical lenses

Planar hyperbolical lenses with an average efficiency of 85% for coupling a 40 μm wide beam into a 4 μm wide waveguide are realised. The total length required for the beam compression is 600 μm, with a lateral index contrast of 0.01. Good agreement is found between the BPM predicted and the measured lens efficiencies

High efficiency small-size planar hyperbolical lenses

Planar hyperbolical lenses with an average efficiency of 85% for coupling a 40 mu m wide beam into a 4 mu m wide waveguide are realised. The total length required for the beam compression is 600 mu m, with a lateral index contrast of 0.01. Good agreement is found between the BPM predicted and the measured lens efficiencie

High effiency small-size planar hyperbolical lenses

Planar hyperbolical lenses with an average efficiency of 85% for coupling a 40 μm wide beam into a 4 μm wide waveguide are realised. The total length required for the beam compression is 600 μm, with a lateral index contrast of 0.01. Good agreement is found between the BPM predicted and the measured lens efficiencies

Use of the Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment Program in Indiana Nursing Homes

OBJECTIVES: To assess the use of the Indiana Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) form to record nursing home (NH) resident treatment preferences and associated practices. DESIGN: Survey. SETTING: Indiana NHs. PARTICIPANTS: Staff responsible for advance care planning in 535 NHs. MEASUREMENTS: Survey about use of the Indiana POST, related policies, and educational activities. METHODS: NHs were contacted by telephone or email. Nonresponders were sent a brief postcard survey. RESULTS: Ninety-one percent (n=486) of Indiana NHs participated, and 79% had experience with POST. Of the 65% of NHs that complete POST with residents, 46% reported that half or more residents had a POST form. POST was most often completed at the time of admission (68%). Only 52% of participants were aware of an existing facility policy regarding use of POST; 80% reported general staff education on POST. In the 172 NHs not using POST, reasons for not using it included unfamiliarity with the tool (23%) and lack of facility policies (21%). CONCLUSION: Almost 3 years after a grassroots campaign to introduce the voluntary Indiana POST program, a majority of NHs were using POST to support resident care. Areas for improvement include creating policies on POST for all NHs, training staff on POST conversations, and considering processes that may enhance the POST conversation, such as finding an optimal time to engage in conversations about treatment preferences other than a potentially rushed admission process

Cavity-Modulated Proton Transfer Reactions

Proton transfer is ubiquitous in many fundamental chemical and biological processes, and the ability to modulate and control the proton transfer rate would have a major impact on numerous quantum technological advances. One possibility to modulate the reaction rate of proton transfer processes is given by exploiting the strong light-matter coupling of chemical systems inside optical or nanoplasmonic cavities. In this work, we investigate the proton transfer reactions in the prototype malonaldehyde and Z-3-amino-propenal (aminopropenal) molecules using different quantum electrodynamics methods, in particular, quantum electrodynamics coupled cluster theory and quantum electrodynamical density functional theory. Depending on the cavity mode polarization direction, we show that the optical cavity can increase the reaction energy barrier by 10–20% or decrease the reaction barrier by ∼5%. By using first-principles methods, this work establishes strong light-matter coupling as a viable and practical route to alter and catalyze proton transfer reactions

Agir: planejamento estratégico da Associação dos Produtores de Morango de Atibaia e Jarinú (SP) para a implementação da produção integrada.

Em abril de 2006, a Embrapa Meio Ambiente em parceria com a Prefeitura da Estância de Atibaia (convênio nº 21300.04/0003-3) e a Associação dos Produtores de Morangos e Hortifrutigranjeiros de Atibaia, Jarinu e Região iniciou na região uma seqüência de eventos de educação e conscientização ambiental da cadeia produtiva visando estimular a implementação da Produção Integrada de Morangos (PIMo). Configurou-se um grupo representativo da cadeia produtiva de morango local formado por produtores, engenheiros agrônomos, técnicos agrícolas, gestores públicos e representantes de revendas de produtos agropecuários. De acordo com a Macroeducação (HAMMES, 2004), o processo construtivista e participativo de conscientização ambiental de um grupo proporciona a re-construção do conhecimento da realidade ambiental local, segundo a práxis socioambiental ?Ver, Julgar e Agir? e subsidia a tomada de decisão de ?mudança ou não de atitude?. Neste caso, orienta a decisão sobre a adoção ou não da PIMo, mais especificamente nas áreas temáticas de capacitação e organização de produtores conforme o Marco Legal da Produção Integrada de Frutas do Brasil (ANDRIGUETO; KOSOSKI, 2002). Após o ?Ver? da microrregião e das propriedades rurais e o ?Julgar? das vantagens e dificuldades da produção de morangos na região (CALEGARIO et al., 2006a, 2006b, 2006c, 2006d; HAMMES et al., 2006), realizou-se o ?Agir?, que corresponde à fase de decisão e planejamento do processo de mudança de atitude. Este trabalho visa descrever esta etapa, que resultou no Planejamento Estratégico da Associação dos Produtores de Morangos e Hortifrutigranjeiros de Atibaia, Jarinu e Região (SP) para a implementação da PIMo

LRP2 mediates folate uptake in the developing neural tube

The low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-related protein 2 (LRP2) is a multifunctional cell surface receptor expressed in the embryonic neuroepithelium. Loss of LRP2 in the developing murine central nervous system (CNS) causes impaired closure of the rostral neural tube at embryonic stage (E) 9.0. Similar neural tube defects (NTDs) have previously been attributed to impaired folate metabolism in mice. We therefore asked whether LRP2 might be required for delivery of folate to neuroepithelial cells during neurulation. Uptake assays in whole embryo cultures showed that LRP2 deficient neuroepithelial cells are unable to mediate uptake of folate bound to soluble folate receptor 1 (sFOLR1). Consequently, folate concentrations are significantly reduced in Lrp2(-/-) embryos compared to control littermates. Moreover, the folic acid dependent gene Alx3 is significantly down regulated in Lrp2 mutants. In conclusion, we show that LRP2 is essential for cellular folate uptake in the developing neural tube, a crucial step for proper neural tube closure