Empowering Brazilian Northeast rural communities to desalinated drinking water access: Programa Água Doce.

Abstract: The Programa Água Doce-PAD(in English: Fresh Water Program) promoted by the Brazilian Federal Government under the coordinationof the Environmental Ministry, seeks to promote sustainable use of groundwater resources and provide potable water for human consumption in areas withcriticalwater scarcity in the Brazilian Semiarid region, through the use of the Reverse Osmosis Technique. The Program is guided by the following principles: community empowerment, environmental sustainability and technicalcapacity building. The methodology that led the Program to becomea success case was conceived in 2003, through a participatory process with the contribution of public Brazilian institutions such as: Federal University of Campina Grande-UFCG (Social Engagement Procedure); Brazilian Geologic Service-CPRM (Ground Water information), Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation ?EMBRAPA (Methodology for the reuse of desalinated water concentrate), besides 10 Brazilian State ?s Governments and the civil society. The Program was launched in 2004.Ithas, presently,more than 460 installed Desalination Plants, which, together,can producea total of approximately 1.5 million liters (around 400,000 gallons) of potable water per day (considering a 8h/per dayproduction).It has,so far,benefited about 184,000 people in over 460 rural communities spread throughout the Brazilian semiarid region, ensuring safe water access to its residents. The program has already trained more than 1,000 people, including state technicians and operators of desalination systems. The Program contributes to improving the health and life quality of people in the semiarid regionas it takesinto account the naturaland socialpotential of each communitie, ensuring ways to address the vulnerabilities to which they are subjected becauseof climate variability. Social engagement is a mandatory aspect for the Program?s success. Local communities are stimulated to gain their independence by having, through the PAD methodology, their empowerment encouraged and demanded.The ultimate goal of the first large scaleplan is to take Desalination Systems to at least 1,300 communities throughout the Brazilian Semiaridregion. The Environmental Ministry is seeking to improve the systems with solar energy and automatized machinery,looking forward to improve local communities? independence

Pressure-induced collapsed-tetragonal phase in SrCo2As2

We present high-energy x-ray diffraction data under applied pressures up to p = 29 GPa, neutron diffraction measurements up to p = 1.1 GPa, and electrical resistance measurements up to p = 5.9 GPa, on SrCo2As2. Our x-ray diffraction data demonstrate that there is a first-order transition between the tetragonal (T) and collapsed-tetragonal (cT) phases, with an onset above approximately 6 GPa at T = 7 K. The pressure for the onset of the cT phase and the range of coexistence between the T and cT phases appears to be nearly temperature independent. The compressibility along the a-axis is the same for the T and cT phases whereas, along the c-axis, the cT phase is significantly stiffer, which may be due to the formation of an As-As bond in the cT phase. Our resistivity measurements found no evidence of superconductivity in SrCo2As2 for p <= 5.9 GPa and T >= 1.8 K. The resistivity data also show signatures consistent with a pressure-induced phase transition for p >= 5.5 GPa. Single-crystal neutron diffraction measurements performed up to 1.1 GPa in the T phase found no evidence of stripe-type or A-type antiferromagnetic ordering down to 10 K. Spin-polarized total-energy calculations demonstrate that the cT phase is the stable phase at high pressure with a c/a ratio of 2.54. Furthermore, these calculations indicate that the cT phase of SrCo2As2 should manifest either A-type antiferromagnetic or ferromagnetic order.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Estimativa de custo de coleta e rentabilidade para sistema extrativo de castanha-do-brasil na Amazônia.

São escassos os conhecimentos relativo ao desempenho econômico dos sistemas de produção extrativistas que podem oferecer subsídios a políticas públicas para o setor. Este trabalho teve como objetivo apresentar uma estimativa dos custos de produção para extração de castanha-do-brasil (Bertholletia excelsa H. B. K.), safra 2001/2002, no estado do Acre. A metodologia utilizada foi a análise de rentabilidade com base na propriação dos custos de oportunidade dos recursos empregados, determinando-se os custos, resultado líquido e remuneração à mão-de-obra familiar empregada pelas famílias extrativistas. Para o período analisado, o sistema apresentou rentabilidade positiva, com as receitas superando em cerca de 50% os custos totais, mesmo sendo apropriadas as despesas com a mão-de-obra familiar. No entanto, o sistema não gera renda suficiente para manter a família extrativista durante o ano

Agronomic, anatomic and physiological characterization of Coffea arabica L. genotypes on irrigated system in the Central Cerrado.

The objective is to verify the behavior of Coffea arabica L. genotypes in the Cerrado of the Brazilian Central Plateau through anatomical and physiological characterization and yield

Assessment of leaf anatomic and physiological characteristics and genetic divergence among Coffea arabica L. cultivars in the Brazilian Savanna.

The knowledge on cultivars is essential for parental choosing on breeding programs. This research aimed to study the genetic divergence of Coffea arabica L. cultivars from a germoplasm bank of the Embrapa Cerrados, Brazil, for leaf anatomic and physiological characteristics. A total of 23 cultivars were evaluated: Acaiá Cerrado MG1474, Araponga MG1, Catiguá MG1, Catiguá MG2, Catiguá MG3, Catiguá MG3 P4, Catiguá MG3 P5, Catiguá MG3 P7, Catiguá MG3 P9, Catiguá MG3 P23, Catiguá MG3 P51, Catuaí Amarelo IAC 62, Catuaí Vermelho IAC 15, Catuaí Vermelho IAC 81, Catuaí Vermelho IAC 99, Caturra Vermelho MG0187, Guatenano Colis MG0207, Mundo Novo IAC 379-19, Paraíso MG1, Pau Brasil MG1, Sacramento MG1, San Ramon MG0198 and Topázio MG1190. In addition to the genetic divergence, the broad sense heritability and coefficient of genetic and environmental variation were also evaluated. All characteristics showed high coefficients of genetic variation and heritability values greater than 70 %, indicating a predominance of genetic over environmental factors, and that these are characteristics likely to obtain genetic gain. Catiguá MG1, Catiguá MG3 P51 and Topázio MG1190 stood out, with superior gas exchange characteristics. Attributes related to gas exchange were important for cultivar differentiation, demonstrating that they can be used in the early selection of Coffea arabica L. genotypes

Anatomia foliar do genótipo Catimor UFV 386-105 em condições de cerrado do Planalto Central do Brasil.

A anatomia foliar é uma tecnologia que pode auxiliar na caracterização de genótipos de cafeeiro, dessa forma colaborar em programas de melhoramento genético. Genótipos de café podem apresentar diferenças na sua estrutura anatômica e fisiológica em função do ambiente, o que pode indicar adaptação a condições climáticas, tolerância a estresses ambientais, patógenos, entre outras (QUEIROZ-VOLTAN et al., 2014; SILVA et al., 2013; SILVA et al., 2015). Objetivou-se no presente trabalho caracterizar a anatomia foliar do genótipo Catimor UFV 386-105 em condições climáticas de Cerrado do Planalto Central do Brasil