Crystal growth and spectroscopic characterization of Tm3+-doped KYb(WO4)2 single crystals.

In this paper we present the crystal growth and optical characterization of thulium-doped KYb(WO4)2 ~hereafter KYbW!. We grew thulium-doped KYbW monoclinic single crystals with optimal crystalline quality by the top-seeded-solution-growth ~TSSG! slow-cooling method. Thulium spectroscopy was characterized in this host. The Judd-Ofelt parameters determined were V250.14310220 cm2, V450.21310220 cm2, and V650.10310220 cm2. The room temperature lifetimes measured for KYbW:Tm 1% were t(1G4) 560–70 ms, t(3H4)590 ms and t(3F4)5200 ms. We calculated the emission cross section for several channels. There was an important blue emission after pumping resonantly to the stoichiometric ytterbium at 980 nm, and we studied the emission channels of thulium. The presence of thulium luminescence is proof of the large transfer of energy in this compound

Self assessments of participants on enterprise training courses

This paper discusses research which was stimulated by the controversial question of the educability of entrepreneurial characteristics and the economic value of enterprise training. The research focuses on participants on enterprise training courses within the Irish Republic which aim to help people to set up and run businesses. An attempt was made to develop a technique, that is an adapted Osgood's Sematic Differential Technique, for use in the exploration of participants’ perceptions of entrepreneurial characteristics. This technique could represent a useful assessment technique for appraising participants’ attitudes to themselves as entrepreneurs and any changes over the duration of a training course in participants’ identification with entrepreneurial characteristic. Although, this technique would require self assessments, it could be used to establish the conditions for the development of entrepreneurial characteristics and explore questions of whether entrepreneurial characteristics may be developed. Despite methodological limitations, the reported study lends support to the thesis that many entrepreneurial characteristics may be developed over the duration of enterprise training courses in the view of participants

Predição do consumo de pasto de capim-elefante (Pennisetum purpureum, Schumack) por vacas mestiças Holandês x Zebu em lactação Prediction of the voluntary intake of elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum, Schumack) grazing by Holstein x Zebu lactating dairy cows

Foram desenvolvidas equações de predição de consumo de pasto de capim-elefante (Pennisetum purpureum, Schumack) por vacas mestiças Holandês x Zebu em lactação, utilizando-se procedimentos de stepwise em regressões múltiplas, aplicados a um banco de dados de experimentos conduzidos ao longo de três anos na Embrapa Gado de Leite (Coronel Pacheco, MG). As variáveis independentes disponíveis foram relacionadas a características inerentes às vacas (dias em lactação; teores de proteína, gordura e extrato seco total e produções destes componentes no leite; produção de leite in natura ou corrigida para 4% de gordura; ordem de lactação; peso vivo atual; peso vivo ao parto e grau de sangue Holandês x Zebu); ao manejo (dias de pastejo; disponibilidade de forragem e período de descanso da pastagem); ao ambiente (estação do ano e precipitação pluviométrica) e à alimentação (digestibilidade in vitro e parâmetros da composição química do pasto de capim-elefante e da cana-de-açúcar - Saccharum officinarum (L.) corrigida com 1% de uréia; consumos de suplemento volumoso (cana corrigida com uréia) e concentrado; concentrações fecais de proteína bruta e de fibras em detergente neutro e ácido). Efeitos linear e quadrático e transformações logarítmicas foram adicionalmente incluídos no banco de dados. Foram obtidas equações de predição de consumo de pasto de capim-elefante (expresso em kg/vaca/dia ou % do peso vivo) com coeficientes de determinação de 65,2 a 67,0%. As principais variáveis independentes incluídas nas equações foram o consumo do suplemento volumoso usado na estação seca do ano (cana corrigida com uréia); a digestibilidade in vitro do pasto de capim-elefante; a precipitação pluviométrica; a produção de leite corrigida para 4% de gordura; o peso vivo atual ou, em alternativa a este, o valor da pesagem realizada após o parto da vaca; além do consumo de suplemento concentrado, que evidenciou um efeito de substituição àquele do pasto de capim-elefante.<br>Equations for predicting elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum, Schumack) dry matter intake (DMI) by Holstein x Zebu lactating dairy cows under grazing were developed by stepwise regression analysis. The dataset consisted of results of trials carried out at Embrapa Gado de Leite (Coronel Pacheco, MG, Brazil). The independent variables related to animal factors (days in milk; milk protein, fat and total solids contents and yields; live weight; live weight at calving; milk and fat-corrected milk yield; Holstein x Zebu gene fraction; order of parturition); management factors (occupation day of paddock; forage allowance and availability; resting periods); environmental factors (season of the year; rainfall) and feed factors (in vitro digestibility and parameters of chemical composition of elephantgrass herbage and sugarcane - Saccharum officinarum (L.) plus 1% urea; supplement intake - concentrate and sugarcane plus urea; fecal crude protein, neutral and acid detergent fiber concentration). Logarithmic and quadratic functions for some variables were also considered. The main independent variables selected at the best-fit regressions models (R2 = 65.2-67.0%) for elephantgrass herbage DMI were roughage supplement (sugarcane plus urea) DMI; elephantgrass in vitro digestibility; rainfall; fat-corrected milk yield; live weight (or alternatively live weight at calving) and concentrate intake that showed substitution effect to intake of elephantgrass in supplementing grazing cows