The promises and challenges of biofuels for the poor in developing countries: IFPRI 2005-2006 Annual Report Essay

"In the past several years the changing world energy situation has generated intensive discussion about biofuels, much of it promising a source of environment-friendly energy that would also be a boon to the world's farmers. At the same time skeptics argue that biofuel production will threaten food supplies for the poor and fail to achieve the environmental benefits claimed. Based on the analyses below, we conclude that in order to make a difference in the lives of poor people as both energy producers and consumers, and to make strong environmental and economic contributions, biofuel technology needs further advancement, and investments and policies facilitating agricultural innovation and trade will have to be considered." from TextBiofuels, Poor Developing countries, Small farmers,

First Results from the Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey (TERMS)

Transiting planet discoveries have yielded a plethora of information towards understanding the structure and atmospheres of extra-solar planets. These discoveries have been restricted to the short-period or low-periastron distance regimes due to the bias inherent in the geometric transit probability. Through the refinement of planetary orbital parmaters, and hence reducing the size of transit windows, long-period planets become feasible targets for photometric follow-up. Here we describe the TERMS project which is monitoring these host stars at predicted transit times

Fixed-N Superconductivity: The Crossover from the Bulk to the Few-Electron Limit

We present a truly canonical theory of superconductivity in ultrasmall metallic grains by variationally optimizing fixed-N projected BCS wave-functions, which yields the first full description of the entire crossover from the bulk BCS regime (mean level spacing $d \ll$ bulk gap $\tilde\Delta$) to the ``fluctuation-dominated'' few-electron regime ($d\gg\tilde\Delta$). A wave-function analysis shows in detail how the BCS limit is recovered for $d\ll \tilde \Delta$, and how for $d \gg \tilde \Delta$ pairing correlations become delocalized in energy space. An earlier grand-canonical prediction for an observable parity effect in the spectral gaps is found to survive the fixed-N projection.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTeX, V2: minor charges to mach final printed versio

The LAEX and NASA portals for CoRoT public data

* Aims. We describe here the main functionalities of the LAEX (Laboratorio de Astrofisica Estelar y Exoplanetas/Laboratory for Stellar Astrophysics and Exoplanets) and NASA portals for CoRoT Public Data. The CoRoT archive at LAEX was opened to the community in January 2009 and is managed in the framework of the Spanish Virtual Observatory. NStED (NASA Star and Exoplanet Database) serves as the CoRoT portal for the US astronomical community. NStED is a general purpose stellar and exoplanet archive with the aim of providing support for NASA planet finding and characterisation goals, and the planning and support of NASA and other space missions. CoRoT data at LAEX and NStED can be accessed at http://sdc.laeff.inta.es/corotfa/ and http://nsted.ipac.caltech.edu,respectively. * Methods. Based on considerable experience with astronomical archives, the aforementioned archives are designed with the aim of delivering science-quality data in a simple and efficient way. * Results. LAEX and NStED not only provide access to CoRoT Public Data but furthermore serve a variety of observed and calculated astrophysical data. In particular, NStED provides scientifically validated information on stellar and planetary data related to the search for and characterization of extrasolar planets, and LAEX makes any information from Virtual Observatory services available to the astronomical community.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

M dwarf stars in the light of (future) exoplanet searches

We present a brief overview of a splinter session on M dwarf stars as planet hosts that was organized as part of the Cool Stars 17 conference. The session was devoted to reviewing our current knowledge of M dwarf stars and exoplanets in order to prepare for current and future exoplanet searches focusing in low mass stars. We review the observational and theoretical challenges to characterize M dwarf stars and the importance of accurate fundamental parameters for the proper characterization of their exoplanets and our understanding on planet formation.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. Summary of the splinter session "M dwarf stars in the light of (future) exoplanet searches" held at the 17th Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun, June 28th 2012, Barcelona, Spain. Submitted for publication in Astronomische Nachrichten - Astronomical Notes (AN) 334, Issue 1-2, Eds Klaus Strassmeier and Mercedes L\'opez-Morale

Actions needed to halt deforestation and promote climate-smart agriculture

Integrated action across Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) and agriculture is necessary to achieve mitigation and food security outcomes