Servicio de asesoramiento grupal agropecuario

Outreach activities, along with teaching and research, are part of the educational mission of higher education institutions. All three must be integrated into the policies and strategies of the institutions, interacting and enriching each other through channels of communication and mutual support. The objective of this work was to contribute to the training and development of agricultural producers, considering good agricultural practices. In order to do this, we worked in the districts of Serrezuela, Caminiaga and Sebastian Elcano. We worked to consolidate groups of producers and to promote behavioural changes; to this end, two aspects were exploited: i) the group dynamics, which consists of an active, participatory and reflective methodology through gradual, intentional and continuous work, and ii) the space-workshop, through which the learning of new behaviors related to livestock production was generated. The training, action and management of three groups of producers were consolidated. Producers and young coordinators of the groups created a space where knowledge was exchanged through an informal educational process.La extensión, a la par de la docencia y la investigación, forma parte de la misión educativa de las instituciones de educación superior. Todas deben estar presentes en las políticas y estrategias de las instituciones, interrelacionándose y enriqueciéndose recíprocamente a través de canales de comunicación y de apoyo mutuo. El objetivo de este trabajo fue contribuir a la capacitación y desarrollo de los productores agropecuarios, considerando las buenas prácticas agropecuarias. Para ello, se trabajó en las localidades Serrezuela, Caminiaga y Sebastián Elcano. Se trabajó en consolidar la formación de grupos de productores y promover cambios de conductas; para esto, se utilizaron dos ejes: la dinámica de grupo, que consiste en una metodología activa, participativa y reflexiva a través de un trabajo gradual, intencional y continuo y el espacio-taller, a través del cual se generó el aprendizaje de nuevas conductas referidas a la producción pecuaria. Se consolidó la formación, acción y autogestión de tres grupos de productores. Los productores y los jóvenes profesionales coordinadores de grupo generaron un espacio donde se intercambiaron saberes mediante un proceso educativo no formal

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012

The 'causes' of teenage pregnancy: review of South African research - Part 2

This article forms the second of a two-part series in which South African research on teenage pregnancy is reviewed. Part 1 of the series dealt with the consequences of teenage pregnancy; this paper reviews the 'causes' thereof. International literature is incorporated in the discussion by way of comparison. Contributory factors which have been investigated by South African researchers include: reproductive ignorance; the earlier occurrence of menarche; risktaking behaviour; psychological problems; peer influence; co-ercive sexual relations; dysfunctional family patterns; poor health services; socio-economic status; the breakdown of cultural traditions; and the cultural value placed on children. Preston-Whyte and colleagues present a revisionist argument, stating that early pregnancy may represent a rational life choice for certain adolescent women. The article is concluded with comments on methodological problems encountered in the South African research, and a discussion on the implications in terms of policy formulation

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters