'Create the future': an environment for excellence in teaching future-oriented Industrial Design Engineering

In 2001, the University of Twente started a new course on Industrial Design Engineering. This paper describes the insights that have been employed in developing the curriculum, and in developing the environment in which the educational activities are facilitated. The University of Twente has a broad experience with project-oriented education [1], and because one of the goals of the curriculum is to get the students acquainted with working methods as employed in e.g. design bureaus, this project-oriented approach has been used as the basis for the new course. In everyday practice, this implies a number of prerequisites to be imposed on the learning environment: instead of focusing on the sheer transfer of information, this environment must allow the students to imbibe the knowledge and competences that make them better designers. Consequently, a much more flexible environment has to be created, in which working as a team becomes habitual, and where cutting-edge technologies are available to facilitate the process. This can be realized because every student owns a laptop, with all relevant software and a full-grown course management system within reach. Moreover, the learning environment provides the fastest possible wireless network and Internet access available [2]. This obviously has its repercussions on the way the education is organized. On the one hand, e.g. virtual reality tools, CAD software and 3D printing are addressed in the curriculum, whereas on the other hand more traditional techniques (like sketching and model making) are conveyed explicitly as well. Together with a sound footing in basic disciplines ranging from mathematics to design history, this course offers the students a profound education in Industrial Design Engineering. The paper describes in more detail the curriculum and the education environment, based on which it is assessed if the course on Industrial Design Engineering can live up to its motto: ‘Create the future’, and what can be done to further enable the students to acquire the full denotation of that motto

Occurrence of the Old World bug Megacopta cribraria (Fabricius) (Heteroptera: Plataspidae) in Georgia: a serious home invader and potential legume pest

Specimens of Megacopta cribraria (Fabricius) were collected in northern Georgia in late October 2009, where they were invading homes in large numbers. This is the first known occurrence of this species and the family Plataspidae in the New World. Megacopta cribraria was previously known from Asia and Australia. A key is provided to separate Plataspidae from other families of Pentatomoidea in America North of Mexico. A diagnosis and figures are provided to facilitate recognition of M. cribraria. Reported host plants and other aspects of the biology of this species are reviewed. Megacopta cribraria is considered a pest of numerous legumes in Asia, has the potential to provide biological control of kudzu, Pueraria montana var. lobata (Willd.) Ohwi, (Fabaceae) and likely will continue to be a household pest in the vicinity of kudzu fields as well as become a pest of North American legume crops

Religious Attitudes and Charitable Donations

Forthcoming Journal of Applied Business and EconomicsNonprofit organizations play a vital role in the United States, often providing goods and services to populations where no alternative is available. We expand the understanding of nonprofit management by focusing on the influence of an individual’s religious attitude on their charitable donations. Using a survey of 1,530 households, we find that religiously conservative individuals contribute more than liberals both in terms of support to religiously affiliated nonprofits and total donations to nonprofit organizations. The findings of this study hold important implications for nonprofits in terms of the types of services they provide and the stipulations placed upon service recipients

Definição da folha a ser amostrada para monitoramento de Mosca Branca (Bemisia tuberculata) na cultura da mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz).

A mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) é uma cultura com crescente importância no mundo tropical, sendo a terceira fonte de calorias, atrás apenas do arroz e do milho, sendo utilizada na alimentação de cerca de 600 milhões de pessoas. No Brasil, aproximadamente 90% da produção da mandioca é obtida em propriedades de base familiar, sendo o país o terceiro produtor mundial, depois da Nigéria e da Tailândia, com uma produção de 26,52 milhões de toneladas de raízes, obtidas em uma área de cerca de 1,89 milhão de ha, o que corresponde a 12,37% da produção mundial e 10,20% da área, respectivamente (FAOSTAT, 2009). Essa é provavelmente a espécie vegetal mais disseminada pelo país, numa demonstração da profunda identificação entre essa cultura e o povo brasileiro. A cultura se caracteriza pela baixa necessidade de uso de insumos e agroquímicos, tem alta tolerância a períodos de seca, além de poder permanecer no solo até seu consumo, desempenhando papel importante na alimentação da população brasileira (CAMARGO, 2009). No entanto, por apresentar um longo ciclo vegetativo, está sujeita a uma grande diversidade de artrópodes que dela se alimentam (BELLOTTI et al., 1999). Dentro do complexo de insetos praga que atacam a cultura atualmente no Brasil, relata-se o crescimento da importância das espécies de mosca branca. Os gêneros mais importantes descritos atacando a cultura da mandioca no Brasil são Aleurothrixus aepim, Bemisia tuberculata, Trialeurodes variabilis e Bemisia tabaci biótipo B (OLIVEIRA & LIMA, 2006). No Centro-Sul do Brasil a espécie predominante é B. tuberculata, enquanto que no Nordeste destaca-se a espécie A. aepim (OLIVEIRA & LIMA, 2006). As moscas brancas causam danos diretos e indiretos, resultantes da sucção da seiva e transmissão de viroses, respectivamente (OLIVEIRA & LIMA, 2006). Para a supressão das populações desses insetos, apesar da existência de diversos inimigos naturais (BELLOTTI et al., 1999), tem-se predominado a utilização de inseticidas químicos, ainda que sem registros para essa cultura (AGROFIT, 2013) e ineficientes no controle do complexo de moscas brancas (MOREIRA et al., 2006). A utilização de variedades resistentes é outra estratégia de controle dessa praga, pois a mandioca é uma das poucas culturas onde se têm identificado níveis de resistência ao complexo de moscas brancas (CARABALI et al, 2010; OMONGO et al, 2012). Esta estratégia apresenta baixo custo e longa manutenção da população da praga abaixo do nível de dano econômico, além de reduzir perdas no rendimento, sendo uma importante ferramenta para ser incluída em um programa de manejo integrado de pragas (BELLOTTI et al., 1999). Para o estabelecimento de um eficiente programa de manejo integrado de pragas, além de utilizar várias estratégias de controle, é de suma importância um bom monitoramento da população da praga, visando à adoção de medidas de controle no momento ideal. Para a cultura da mandioca não se tem estabelecido um método de monitoramento preciso, eficiente e de baixo custo, principalmente para mosca branca. Observa-se que na cultura da mandioca os adultos de moscas brancas são encontrados principalmente nos ponteiros das plantas, onde se observa que o número de adultos presentes nas três primeiras folhas abertas, onde estes se alimentam e depositam seus ovos, é maior. Já as ninfas e 'pupas' são encontradas no terço apical e médio. Visando estabelecer um método de amostragem, que efetivamente seja representativo da população de mosca branca na cultura da mandioca, e considerando as características de localização dos adultos, se realizou este trabalho, cujo objetivo foi definir qual folha de mandioca deve ser amostrada durante o monitoramento de mosca branca em cultivos comerciais de mandioca, que expressem o nível populacional desta praga no cultivo

Spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy and modeling of the nonthermal emission of the PWN in G0.9+0.1

We performed a spatially resolved spectral X-ray study of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) in the supernova remnant G0.9+0.1. Furthermore we modeled its nonthermal emission in the X-ray and very high energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray regime. Using Chandra ACIS-S3 data, we investigated the east-west dependence of the spectral properties of G0.9+0.1 by calculating hardness ratios. We analyzed the EPIC-MOS and EPIC-pn data of two on-axis observations of the XMM-Newton telescope and extracted spectra of four annulus-shaped regions, centered on the region of brightest emission of the source. A radially symmetric leptonic model was applied in order to reproduce the observed X-ray emission of the inner part of the PWN. Using the optimized model parameter values obtained from the X-ray analysis, we then compared the modeled inverse Compton (IC) radiation with the published H.E.S.S. gamma-ray data. The spectral index within the four annuli increases with growing distance to the pulsar, whereas the surface brightness drops. With the adopted model we are able to reproduce the characteristics of the X-ray spectra. The model results for the VHE gamma radiation, however, strongly deviate from the H.E.S.S. data.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Discovery of new TeV supernova remnant shells in the Galactic plane with H.E.S.S

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are prime candidates for efficient particle acceleration up to the knee in the cosmic ray particle spectrum. In this work we present a new method for a systematic search for new TeV-emitting SNR shells in 2864 hours of H.E.S.S. phase I data used for the H.E.S.S. Galactic Plane Survey. This new method, which correctly identifies the known shell morphologies of the TeV SNRs covered by the survey, HESS J1731-347, RX 1713.7-3946, RCW 86, and Vela Junior, reveals also the existence of three new SNR candidates. All three candidates were extensively studied regarding their morphological, spectral, and multi-wavelength (MWL) properties. HESS J1534-571 was associated with the radio SNR candidate G323.7-1.0, and thus is classified as an SNR. HESS J1912+101 and HESS J1614-518, on the other hand, do not have radio or X-ray counterparts that would permit to identify them firmly as SNRs, and therefore they remain SNR candidates, discovered first at TeV energies as such. Further MWL follow up observations are needed to confirm that these newly discovered SNR candidates are indeed SNRs

The XMM-Newton survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud: XMMUJ005011.2-730026 = SXP214, a Be/X-ray binary pulsar

In the course of the XMM-Newton survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a region to the east of the emission nebula N19 was observed in November 2009. To search for new candidates for high mass X-ray binaries the EPIC PN and MOS data of the detected point sources were investigated and their spectral and temporal characteristics identified. A new transient (XMMUJ005011.2-730026= SXP214) with a pulse period of 214.05 s was discovered; the source had a hard X-ray spectrum with power-law index of ~0.65. The accurate X-ray source location permits the identification of the X-ray source with a ~15th magnitude Be star, thereby confirming this system as a new Be/X-ray binary.Comment: 8 pages 11 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Broadband amplitude squeezing in a periodically poled KTiOPO_4 waveguide

We generated -2.2 dB of broadband amplitude squeezing at 1064 nm in a periodically poled KTiOPO_4 (PPKTP) waveguide, by coupling of the fundamental and second harmonic continuous-wave fields. This is the largest amount of squeezing obtained to date in a KTP waveguide, limited by propagation losses. This result paves the way for further improvements by use of lower-loss buried ion-exchanged waveguides.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, submitted for publicatio