SAO SEBASTIAO DO PARAISO (2011 FIBA Americas Championship) - Brazil didn't just hand the national team reins to Ruben Magnano to coach the team at FIBA World Championships and FIBA Americas Championships.\r\n\r\nNo, the South American giants also put their trust in the Argentinian, who guided his own country to an Olympic gold seven years ago in Athens, so he ... HomeNewsBRA – Magnano hard at work in ParadiseFIBA BasketballBRA – Magnano hard at work in ParadiseSAO SEBASTIAO DO PARAISO (2011 FIBA Americas Championship) - Brazil didn't just hand the national team reins to Ruben Magnano to coach the team at FIBA World Championships and FIBA Americas Championships the South American giants also put their trust in the Argentinian who guided his own country to an Olympic gold seven years ago in Athens Billy Donovan has established himself as one of the elite college basketball coaches in the country Donovan is taking that coaching acumen to the international stage this month he will serve as head coach of Team USA's 18-under team when it begins play at the FIBA Americas championships in Brazil His assistants include Gonzaga coach Mark Few and another familiar face was an assistant under Donovan at UF during the 2008-09 season And I think USA basketball does a great job explaining to these guys what they are playing for and you can see it in the kids that are out there playing.” Donovan's first taste of USA basketball came last summer when he spent a week as a floor coach during the Team USA's 19-under trials He worked with several players who tried out for and made the team including current Gator juniors Patric Young and Scottie Wilbekin USA Basketball men's national team director had approached Donovan in the past about getting involved and coaching teams in the program But Donovan was hesitant because he was concerned about how being overseas during the summer would impact recruiting “These tournaments take place in July and I've always been a little bit sensitive about missing recruiting days because it's such a big month for us,” Donovan said.”But this worked out great timing wise from a standpoint of it was taking place in the beginning of June Donovan spent last week at USA Basketball's training facilities in Colorado Springs Donovan can map out his roster years in advance through recruiting Donovan and his staff had a little more than a week to put together a team composed of the nation's most talented teen players “The first three days was pretty much these guys playing in front of (Team) USA committee members “But it's kind of exciting because none of these guys have played in college outside of (Tennessee early enrollee) Jarnell Stokes So every single day you go in double sessions they have never really been in a college environment.” Donovan had the team scrimmage with the Air Force Academy over the weekend to get accustomed to a higher level of competition “You are talking about kids who have no reference point of anything never really been in college and now we are putting in offenses and defenses “It's been so overwhelming and yet they also are trying to play and also work on things there's a lot to get in to get these guys prepared and ready to play.” Another adjustment is getting used to FIBA rules FIBA changed its trapezoid-shaped lane in 2010 to go with a more conventional rectangular-shaped lane But there are still some quirks when comparing the international game with the U.S “You're dealing with a 24-second shot clock,” Donovan said “You're dealing with a deeper 3-point line (22.1 feet) You're dealing with eight seconds getting the ball across halfcourt There's no goaltending once the ball is on the rim We'll sit down and try to get adjusted and acclimated as best we can going in there We'll have a couple of extra games so hopefully we'll get a better feel for it.” Donovan said he's pleased with how the team is taking shape The Team USA 18-under roster includes Stokes Louisville-bound forward Montrezl Harrell and standout Class of 2013 point guard Nathaniel Britt The team left for Brazil on Tuesday and will play its first tournament game Saturday in Sao Sebastiao do Paraiso against the Virgin Islands Host country Brazil and Mexico also are in Team USA's four-team pool The top two teams in the pool will advance to the semifinals June 19 I think we've got some unique kind of players we've got some explosive perimeter players “The biggest thing is just trying to get these guys to come together as a team and play and try to get them to execute.” Contact Kevin Brockway at 352-374-5054 or brockwk@gvillesun.com Also check out Brockway's blog at Gatorsports.com Working closely with Macalester’s professors happens in all departments at Macalester From mapping bamboo forests with drones to researching education policies during a pandemic ninety-six percent of students at Macalester engage in community-based learning or applied research during their four years at 1600 grand Below are just a few of the projects that you’ll find students working on with professors in the sciences. Most students work on projects that professors have led for several years in the hopes of finding new discoveries and also to hone their skills as researchers. (Want to know about research projects at Macalester? Visit macalester.edu/summer-showcase.) Studying Minnesota’s ocean-dwelling animals  “I used the scanning electron microscope and the micro-XRT to analyze the chemical composition of these unusual fossils.” My work continues, as I prospect for phosphate-rich fossils amidst the calcite skeletons of countless invertebrates on the slabs. I am documenting the occurrence and morphology of each phosphatic element in order to test the hypothesis that these fossils represent vertebrate skeletal elements. I am also distributing the data that I’ve taken and the descriptions I’ve made to experts in early vertebrates to hear their thoughts and see what their opinion is of these unusual fossils. Professor Tonnis ter Veldhuis and I joined a scientific project that is probing the nature of neutrinos.  A neutrino is an elementary particle that is neutrally charged and has a mass so tiny that it was once thought to be massless. A neutrino only interacts via the weak force which has a very short range, and because of its small mass, interacts only negligibly via gravity. Therefore, it has been difficult to fully understand its nature, and research into this area is very active today.  “We are currently working on a manuscript to get published in a medical journal.” I worked on a quality improvement research project at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. Our project examined the effectiveness of a novel treatment for prosthetic joint infections known as debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention (DAIR) paired with oral rifampin and another antibiotic, which has been used since the 1990s but has never been systematically investigated at the VA. We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients treated with DAIR and rifampin over the past twenty years.  We found an overall success rate of 82 percent, with a statistically significant difference in the success rate between participants with acute and non-acute infection onset. We also found multiple areas where the VA could improve its approach to treating prosthetic joint infections with rifampin. We are currently working on a manuscript to get published in a medical journal, and we have presented our findings to the ID staff to inform further practice. “We made many improvements and fixed several bugs in the interface … to make it fully accessible and functional for people who use screen readers.” “This work will help inform studies for diseases caused by copper misregulation.” The RING Domain has four zinc ions coordinated to it in its native state, and we show that when a substantial concentration of Cu(I) is introduced, the Zn(II) is released and copper becomes the new coordinated metal within the protein. Furthermore, we show that the disrupted protein has a change in structure, which also likely impacts its function. Together this work will help inform studies for diseases caused by copper misregulation. From champagne showers to draft day drills, a Macalester grad's relentless data-driven vision fuels the Celtics' championship dynasty, proving that behind every title team, there's a front office mastermind already plotting the next victory. From suburban sitcoms to civil rights showdowns to reality TV's brand-building, this course reveals how television isn't just a screen, but a cultural mirror reflecting—and shaping—who we are. Iceland, caught in the Cold War's sonar whispers, reveals how a nation can be neither spy nor target, yet still intimately shaped by the unseen eyes of global surveillance. A sociology course deepens classroom knowledge through voter outreach and community engagement.  Macalester is one of the colleges and universities with the highest number of students selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Macalester's Live It Fund projects span a variety of issues which provide a smoother and sweeter taste constitute nearly two-thirds of the world's coffee More bitter and stronger robusta beans largely make up the rest of global supply much of them hailing from Vietnam.A warehouse owned by Vietnamese coffee exporter Simexco Dak Lak Ltd in the town of Di An illustrates the scale of Vietnam's coffee operation.Coffee is stacked in neat piles several metres high The warehouse has enough capacity to store 20,000 tonnes during the harvest season having enough space to create an aisle to walk through the warehouse becomes a luxury," said Thai Anh Tuan who manages one of three warehouses for Simexco which exports over 80,000 tonnes of robusta a year."Every tiny bit of space will be taken up by these little beans," Tuan added "We have to hire additional warehouses nearby for extra storage."    Tuan also credited the steady increase of Vietnamese coffee exports over the last four to five years to an increase in innovative farming techniques including intercropping - growing different crops together - and the use of better technology in irrigation and cultivation    Coffee is still the key cash crop for Dak Lak Vietnam's largest coffee-producing province mangoes and avocado trees have all been intercropped with coffee trees to maximise income in recent years said intercropping coffee with durian trees resulted in better protection from direct sunlight and pests."Farmers here have experimented with intercropping for nearly a decade," Tung told Reuters    "Peppers used to be the most popular tree when it comes to intercropping but for the past three years almost all farmers have turned to fruit trees instead," said Tung adding that farmers who intercrop can triple their income per hectare       CRISIS IN COLOMBIAFarmers in Colombia face a far different future some are contemplating switching to other crops or selling up despite tens of millions of dollars in government aid has farmed coffee for three decades but low prices have forced him to look at alternatives - Hass avocados and cattle among them    "Avocados are in high demand abroad and it's one of the options," he said standing amid some of his 41,000 coffee trees on a mist-shrouded mountainside near Pueblorrico    "Another very tempting option that people are thinking about is cattle - knocking down coffee trees and planting grass for cows," said Sierra    It is not the first time Colombian coffee growers have looked to other crops for a better living Many in the south - sometimes under pressure from armed groups - abandoned it for the more lucrative coca who worked for more than 30 years as a house painter in the United States dreamed of coming home to Colombia to grow coffee    "I'm up to my neck in debt," the 52-year-old said gazing up the steep hill where his 30,000 coffee trees are planted    "Brazil has a huge advantage over us - the land is flat and they have machinery," Posada said "Here I have to pay a human being to go tree by tree branch by branch and pick the red berries."    Avocados and cattle are good alternatives but require start-up funds and transition time that many local growers do not have End my Colombian dream."Marcelo Teixeira reported from Sao Joao da Boa Vista in BRAZIL Phuong Nguyen from Ho Chi Minh City in VIETNAM and Julia Symmes Cobb from Pueblorrico in COLOMBIA; Writing and additional reporting by Nigel Hunt in London; Editing by Veronica Brown and Pravin Char Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved A farmer shows an irrigation management system app on his mobile phone at a coffee plantation in Sao Sebastiao do Paraiso LONDON:  What does online streaming giant Netflix have in common with smallholder farmers according to one of this year's Nobel prize winners Much as entertainment service Netflix bases recommendations on what viewers have watched mobile phone-based tools could be used to mine information from some of the world's poorest farmers in return for customised advice The growth in mobile phone use means such crowdsourced information could be easily distributed co-winner of the 2019 Nobel in economic sciences "Some of the real gains from this will come from customisation," the Harvard professor told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Stockholm where he picked up his award this week "If you can customise information so farmers are getting information on the weather for their particular local area you can start to see some of the potential." A rush of innovation aimed at helping the smallholder farmers who provide most of the world's food has seen the development of a range of phone-based agricultural advice tools by governments Farmers who use the services see their yields raise by an average of about 4% - and technology developments will make them even more effective predicted Kremer and two co-authors in a research paper published in the journal Science on Thursday The services could also offer a chance to gather information for far-flung and disparate smallholders which highlight shared issues or opportunities and allow the tools' creators to hone their advice in response Farmers could be incentivised by the offer of advice tailored to the information they send A farmer who reports a bug attacking their crops could be used to warn other farmers and create a map of the infestation one of three people awarded the 2019 economic Nobel for an "experimental approach to alleviating global poverty" said the spread of digital advice tools was growing rapidly and could have a real impact on small farmers "There's two billion people who live in households engaged in smallholder farming - almost a third of humanity and two thirds of the world's poor," he said the number of people who are reached is a small fraction of the potential There is a lot of interest and a lot of growth in this area because more and more of the farmers have phones and more and more will have smartphones over time."