Rural Competitiveness: Results of the 1996 Rural Manufacturing Survey

Establishments in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan locations are surprisingly similar in their adoption of new technologies, worker skill requirements, use of government programs and technical assistance, exports, and sources of financing, according to the results of a nationwide survey of 3,909 manufacturing businesses. The most widespread concern of both metro and nonmetro businesses appears to be with quality of labor. Survey respondents report rapidly increasing skill requirements, and many report problems finding qualified workers. Quality of local labor is the most frequently cited problem associated with nonmetro business locations. Access to credit, transportation, and telecommunications infrastructure is a problem of secondary importance for both metro and nonmetro respondents. Rural communities face a considerable challenge in supplying workers with needed skills. The fastest-growing skill requirements -- computer, interpersonal/teamwork, and problem-solving skills -- are not central to traditional academic instruction.rural manufacturing, sample survey, worker skills, manufacturing location, credit availability, technology adoption, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Nanostructured Systems Containing Rutin: In Vitro Antioxidant Activity and Photostability Studies

The improvement of the rutin photostability and its prolonged in vitro antioxidant activity were studied by means of its association with nanostructured aqueous dispersions. Rutin-loaded nanocapsules and rutin-loaded nanoemulsion showed mean particle size of 124.30 ± 2.06 and 124.17 ± 1.79, respectively, polydispersity index below 0.20, negative zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency close to 100%. The in vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated by the formation of free radical ·OH after the exposure of hydrogen peroxide to a UV irradiation system. Rutin-loaded nanostructures showed lower rutin decay rates [(6.1 ± 0.6) 10−3 and (5.1 ± 0.4) 10−3 for nanocapsules and nanoemulsion, respectively] compared to the ethanolic solution [(35.0 ± 3.7) 10−3 min−1] and exposed solution [(40.1 ± 1.7) 10−3 min−1] as well as compared to exposed nanostructured dispersions [(19.5 ± 0.5) 10−3 and (26.6 ± 2.6) 10−3, for nanocapsules and nanoemulsion, respectively]. The presence of the polymeric layer in nanocapsules was fundamental to obtain a prolonged antioxidant activity, even if the mathematical modeling of the in vitro release profiles showed high adsorption of rutin to the particle/droplet surface for both formulations. Rutin-loaded nanostructures represent alternatives to the development of innovative nanomedicines

A História da Alimentação: balizas historiográficas

Os M. pretenderam traçar um quadro da História da Alimentação, não como um novo ramo epistemológico da disciplina, mas como um campo em desenvolvimento de práticas e atividades especializadas, incluindo pesquisa, formação, publicações, associações, encontros acadêmicos, etc. Um breve relato das condições em que tal campo se assentou faz-se preceder de um panorama dos estudos de alimentação e temas correia tos, em geral, segundo cinco abardagens Ia biológica, a econômica, a social, a cultural e a filosófica!, assim como da identificação das contribuições mais relevantes da Antropologia, Arqueologia, Sociologia e Geografia. A fim de comentar a multiforme e volumosa bibliografia histórica, foi ela organizada segundo critérios morfológicos. A seguir, alguns tópicos importantes mereceram tratamento à parte: a fome, o alimento e o domínio religioso, as descobertas européias e a difusão mundial de alimentos, gosto e gastronomia. O artigo se encerra com um rápido balanço crítico da historiografia brasileira sobre o tema

Upgrading Workers' Skills Not Sufficient to Jump-Start Rural Economy

Enhanced job skills benefit rural individuals, but a high-quality rural labor force by itself will not guarantee rural development. Data from the past two decades show a decreasing rate of growth in demand by employers for quantifiable skills (like level of education). Although policymakers predict an increasingly skilled and service-oriented workforce in the 1990's, a rural development strategy based solely on upgrading workforce skills may still miss the point

Nonmetro Student Achievement on Par with Metro

Nonmetro 17-year-old students score only slightly lower than metro students in reading and mathematics and at the same level as metro students in science. While Southern scores are consistently lower than for the other regions (where nonmetro scores are frequently higher than metro scores), Southern nonmetro scores have been improving faster than scores in any other region and, in 1992, converged with Southern metro scores. Finally, we compare availability of advanced courses between metro and nonmetro schools and find that rural schools do not provide the advanced curriculum that urban schools do