Contested landscapes: territorial conflicts and the production of different ruralities in Brazil

ABSTRACT

From the perspective of Brazilian agrarian geography, the conflicts generated by land tenure disputes have as protagonists the families of the Landless Workers’ Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra), traditional landowners, and agribusiness corporations. In this article, we present a reflection on land conflicts and the spatial and territorial production of latifundia, peasant smallholders, and large-scale agribusiness through studies of the landscapes of two municipalities in the state of São Paulo. Among the various tools for analysing territorial disputes, Google Earth can be used for local, regional, and international comparative studies of how landscapes have been transformed. Informed by traditional research, the article analyses a diversity of photographs, from satellite to field shots, as evidence of landscapes that express conflicting social relations in disputes over different models of social and territorial development.     

Developing English domestic occupancy profiles

ABSTRACT

Occupancy patterns are necessary to estimate energy demand and evaluate thermal comfort in households. Because of this, many European countries are developing representative domestic schedules to replace outdated criteria. This paper evaluates the state of knowledge of UK domestic occupancy patterns and develops new domestic occupancy profiles for England. The presented research (1) characterizes methods for collecting occupancy data and inferring patterns; (2) identifies and assesses the quality of categories of occupancy patterns used in building simulation; and (3) develops updated occupancy profiles. A systematic scoping review identified social and monitoring surveys as the most deployed data-collection methods. A systematic literature review also established that the occupancy categories most frequently used in UK building simulation are (a) a family with dependent children where the parents work full time; and (b) a retired elderly couple who spend most of their time indoors. The interview sample from the English Housing Survey 2014–15 was used to map household typologies. Results show that categories (a) and (b) combined amount to only 19% of England’s households, which suggest models are over-reliant on these groups. Considering this result, the paper develops occupancy patterns for England derived from 2015 UK Time Use Survey diaries for each household typology previously identified.     

Starch‐poly(acrylamide‐co‐2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonic acid) graft copolymers prepared by reactive extrusion

Graft copolymers of starch with acrylamide and 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS) were prepared by reactive extrusion in a twin‐screw extruder. The weight ratio of total monomer to starch was fixed at 1 : 3, while the molar fraction of AMPS in the monomer feed ranged from 0 to 0.119. Monomer to polymer conversions were 85% or greater, with grafting efficiencies of 68% (highest AMPS content) to 85% (no AMPS). Absorbency in distilled water at pH 7 increased linearly with the mole fraction AMPS in the grafted polymer, while absorbencies in 0.9% NaCl were independent of AMPS content. When swollen in water/ethanol mixtures, swelling decreased gradually with increasing ethanol volume fraction, followed by a large decrease over a narrow ethanol concentration. This behavior is similar to that observed for AMPS‐acrylamide gels. The swelling properties suggest these graft copolymers may have applications as responsive materials. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42405.     

Troubleshooting in geoelectrical prospecting using real‐coded genetic algorithm with chromosomal extrapolation

This work presents a genetic operator developed from mathematical methods of curve extrapolation applied in solving problems in geoelectrical prospection. This operator will assist the production of fitter individuals in the population of a genetic algorithm in which inherent patterns of the best individuals of each generation are recognized. The proposed operator in conjunction with a real‐coded genetic algorithm is compared to five alternative optimization techniques known and used in the application to problems in geoelectrical prospection. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Porous,Sintered Glass‐Ceramics from Inorganic Polymers Based on Fayalite Slag

The present paper deals with the synthesis of porous, sintered glass‐ceramics obtained at temperatures below 1150°C, originating from inorganic polymers based on fayalite slag. Firing led to the evaporation of water, dehydroxylation, and oxidation of Fe²⁺ above 345°C. For heating >700°C, the Si–O stretching band shifted from the 1160 and 750 cm^?1 to the 1255 and 830 cm^?1 region, due to a structural reorganization of the amorphous phase, whereas Fe–O bands appeared at 550 cm^?1. The final microstructure consisted predominantly of an amorphous phase, hematite, and franklinite. The open porosity and compressive strength decreased and increased, respectively, as the firing temperature increased. The final values suggest properties comparable to that of structural lightweight concrete, still, the materials synthesized herein, are lighter, and made primarily from secondary resources.     

Direct Ink Writing of a Preceramic Polymer and Fillers to Produce Hardystonite (Ca2ZnSi2O7) Bioceramic Scaffolds

The direct ink writing of an ink composed of a preceramic polymer and fillers was used to produce hardystonite (Ca₂ZnSi₂O₇) bioceramic scaffolds. Suitable formulations were developed for the extrusion of fine filaments (350 μm diameter) through a nozzle. The preceramic polymer was employed with the double purpose of contributing to the rheology of the ink by increasing its viscosity and of forming the hardystonite phase upon heat treatment by reacting with the fillers. A control of the rheology is essential when spanning features have to be produced, and therefore the main rheological characteristics of the inks were measured (flow curves, dynamic oscillation tests, viscosity recovery tests) and compared to models reported in the literature. Highly porous scaffolds (up to 80% total porosity) were produced and heat treated in air or in nitrogen atmosphere. The influence of the heat‐treatment atmosphere on the morphology, crystalline phase assemblage, and compressive strength of the scaffolds was investigated.     

Inhibition of Hydroperoxy-, Keto- and Hydroxy-FAME by Alpha- and Delta-Tocopherol at Rancimat Conditions

The effects of α‐ and δ‐tocopherol on inhibition of hydroperoxides, keto and hydroxy compounds under Rancimat conditions, i.e. 100 °C and air bubbling, were studied in samples of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) obtained from high linoleic (HL) and high oleic (HO) sunflower oils. Primary hydroperoxides from methyl linoleate and methyl oleate and secondary keto and hydroxy compounds derived from methyl linoleate hydroperoxides were analyzed by HPLC–UV‐ELS. Different tocopherol concentrations, namely, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg, were tested. Irrespective of the lipid substrate and the initial concentration of tocopherol, results showed that the content of hydroperoxides accumulated during the induction period was remarkably higher in the samples containing δ‐tocopherol. The relative concentrations of oleate hydroperoxides in the HO samples were also higher in the presence of δ‐tocopherol. α‐Tocopherol was more effective in inhibiting hydroperoxides at low levels, with 100 mg/kg as optimal concentration, while δ‐tocopherol displayed optimal protection at 1000 mg/kg. Under the oxidation conditions applied, neither α‐ nor δ‐tocopherol showed a protective effect on hydroperoxide decomposition at any level assayed. Formation of keto‐ and hydroxy‐dienes was more related to the concentration of their hydroperoxide precursors. Furthermore, both tocopherols gave rise to increased concentrations of ketodienes at 500 and 1000 mg/kg compared to the controls. Such an effect was more pronounced for α‐tocopherol and in the HL samples.     

Capture‐Tag‐Release: A Strategy for Small Molecule Labeling of Native Enzymes

A strategy for labeling native enzymes in a manner that preserves their activity is reported: capture–tag–release (CTR). Key to this approach is the small molecule CTR probe that contains an enzyme inhibitor, benzophenone crosslinker, and aryl phosphine ester. After UV‐derived capture of the enzyme, addition of an azide‐containing tag triggers a Staudinger ligation that labels the enzyme. A further consequence of the Staudinger ligation is fragmentation of the CTR probe, thus releasing the inhibitor and restoring enzymatic activity. As a proof‐of‐principle, the CTR strategy was applied to the hydrolase β‐galactosidase. The enzyme was efficiently labeled with biotin, and the kinetic data for the biotinylated enzyme were comparable to those for unlabeled β‐galactosidase. The CTR probe exhibits excellent targeting specificity, as it selectively labeled β‐galactosidase in a complex protein mixture.     

Sequence analysis of a 14·6 kb DNA fragment of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome VII reveals SEC27, SSM1b,a putative S-adenosylmethionine-dependent enzyme and six new open reading frames

The nucleotide sequence of a fragment from the left arm of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome VII has been determined. Analysis of the 14,607 bp DNA segment reveals nine open reading frames (ORFs) longer than 300 bp. G2827 is the SEC 7 gene, an essential coatomer complex subunit. G2834 encodes SSM1b, a ribosomal protein. The G2838 product shows homology to hypothetical yeast proteins, YIF0 and YE09, of unknown function. The G2830 product shows homology with the cell division protein FtsJ from Escherichia coli, with two hypothetical proteins from yeast, YCF4 and YBR1, and with R74.7, a hypothetical protein from Caenorhabditis elegans. Two of the ORFs are completely internal to longer ones and a third is partially embedded in G2850. The remaining ORFs give no significant homology with proteins in the databases. The sequence has been deposited at the EMBL database under Accession Number X92670.