Symmetry in Chaotic Systems and Circuits

Symmetry can play an important role in the field of nonlinear systems and especially in the design of nonlinear circuits that produce chaos. Therefore, this Special Issue, titled “Symmetry in Chaotic Systems and Circuits”, presents the latest scientific advances in nonlinear chaotic systems and circuits that introduce various kinds of symmetries. Applications of chaotic systems and circuits with symmetries, or with a deliberate lack of symmetry, are also presented in this Special Issue. The volume contains 14 published papers from authors around the world. This reflects the high impact of this Special Issue

Proceedings of the 35th International Workshop on Statistical Modelling : July 20- 24, 2020 Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain

466 p.The InternationalWorkshop on Statistical Modelling (IWSM) is a reference workshop in promoting statistical modelling, applications of Statistics for researchers, academics and industrialist in a broad sense. Unfortunately, the global COVID-19 pandemic has not allowed holding the 35th edition of the IWSM in Bilbao in July 2020. Despite the situation and following the spirit of the Workshop and the Statistical Modelling Society, we are delighted to bring you the proceedings book of extended abstracts

Proceedings of the 35th International Workshop on Statistical Modelling : July 20- 24, 2020 Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain

466 p.The InternationalWorkshop on Statistical Modelling (IWSM) is a reference workshop in promoting statistical modelling, applications of Statistics for researchers, academics and industrialist in a broad sense. Unfortunately, the global COVID-19 pandemic has not allowed holding the 35th edition of the IWSM in Bilbao in July 2020. Despite the situation and following the spirit of the Workshop and the Statistical Modelling Society, we are delighted to bring you the proceedings book of extended abstracts

Proceedings of the 36th International Workshop Statistical Modelling July 18-22, 2022 - Trieste, Italy

The 36th International Workshop on Statistical Modelling (IWSM) is the first one held in presence after a two year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This edition was quite lively, with 60 oral presentations and 53 posters, covering a vast variety of topics. As usual, the extended abstracts of the papers are collected in the IWSM proceedings, but unlike the previous workshops, this year the proceedings will be not printed on paper, but it is only online. The workshop proudly maintains its almost unique feature of scheduling one plenary session for the whole week. This choice has always contributed to the stimulating atmosphere of the conference, combined with its informal character, encouraging the exchange of ideas and cross-fertilization among different areas as a distinguished tradition of the workshop, student participation has been strongly encouraged. This IWSM edition is particularly successful in this respect, as testified by the large number of students included in the program

Statistical Modelling

The book collects the proceedings of the 19th International Workshop on Statistical Modelling held in Florence on July 2004. Statistical modelling is an important cornerstone in many scientific disciplines, and the workshop has provided a rich environment for cross-fertilization of ideas from different disciplines. It consists in four invited lectures, 48 contributed papers and 47 posters. The contributions are arranged in sessions: Statistical Modelling; Statistical Modelling in Genomics; Semi-parametric Regression Models; Generalized Linear Mixed Models; Correlated Data Modelling; Missing Data, Measurement of Error and Survival Analysis; Spatial Data Modelling and Time Series and Econometrics

ORGANIZATIONAL AND TRADE ISSUES IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN OF MAIZE AND SOYBEAN: THE ROLE OF GM AND NON-GM PRODUCTS

Da oltre vent’anni l’Unione Europea (UE) è protagonista di un acceso dibattito circa l’orami vasta adozione di OGM in agricoltura. Laddove la maggior parte dei paesi Nord e Sud americani ha già largamente introdotto tali colture, l’UE è invece in forte ritardo, complice una legislazione basata sul Principio di Precauzione. Queste discrepanze nei i processi legislativi hanno portato a galla alcune problematiche di carattere commerciale: primo, la riduzione delle disponibilità di materia prima non-OGM costituisce un problema per la stabilità delle filiere ad essa dedicate; secondo, il commercio di prodotti convenzionali è compromesso dalla possibilità di riscontrare varietà OGM non approvate in UE all’interno delle partite provenienti da paesi terzi. In ultimo, data l’ampia diffusione di OGM nelle Americhe, è lecito porsi il quesito di come tale tendenza abbia influito sui prezzi delle materie prime agricole. In questa tesi si cercherà di analizzare queste tematiche. Per prima cosa, ci occupiamo di capire come la filiera della soia non-OGM italiana sia organizzata e gestita in modo da minimizzare i rischi di presenza avventizia. La conclusione è che le forme di governance ibride garantiscono la migliore forma di gestione. Successivamente ci domandiamo se le diversità legislative in materia di OGM abbiamo un impatto sull’import Europeo di mais e soia. Utilizzando l’analisi della domanda, riscontriamo che i paesi esportatori competono o sul prezzo o in base alla disponibilità stagionale di prodotto. In ultimo, utilizzando serie storiche, analizziamo il ruolo del tasso di adozione di soia OGM sui prezzi reali; ciò che osserviamo indica che questo ha un effetto deflattivo di breve periodo, ma di scarso peso.The debate on the increasing adoption of GMOs in agriculture has been in vogue for the last twenty years. Whereas most North and South American countries have largely adopted GMOs, the European Union (EU) has not. Since the EU legislation is based on the Precautionary Principle, the introduction of new GM varieties has been slow. These discrepancies put forward some fundamental issues: first, the decreasing availability of non-GM raw materials poses the sustainability of these supply chains at risk; second, the trade of conventional products is undermined by the possible occurrence of unauthorized GMOs in overseas. Last, the wide adoption of GM crops in North and Latin America poses the question of what effect the spreading of biotechnology in agriculture has exerted on market prices. In this thesis, we try to answer these three research questions. First of all, we investigate how the Italian supply chain for non-GM soybean meal is framed and managed in order to reduce the risk of adventitious presence. We find that hybrid organizations represent the best governance form. Next, we assess the role of legislative diversities (regarding GMOs) on EU import decisions through import demand analysis. We conclude that competition among exporters is solely based on price and seasonality. Last, we disentangle the role of GMOs adoption on the variability of US soybean prices. Results indicate that a higher rate of adoption reduces real soybean market prices, yet the effect is short lived and not much relevant

Representations of Nonhuman Nature by Environmental Activists: Fostering Less Anthropocentric Planning in the More-than-human City

This research investigated the role of environmental activists in controversial development proposals, and whether their other-than-scientific representations of species and natures can produce less-anthropocentric, more ecologically considered planning outcomes. The research illustrates the more-than-human relations within planning practice and the agency of nonhumans, in particular charismatic ‘flagship’ species. The research found increased representation of nonhumans using local knowledge can reduce the impact of human chauvinism and develop more ecologically considered more-than-human cities

The Ecology and Evolution of Human Reproductive Behavior

The complexity of human reproductive behavior has necessitated its examination through a variety of scientific disciplines, each focusing on specific elements of our biology, behavior, and society. However, this complexity also necessitates that we reintegrate the information learned from each discipline into a single framework, one rooted in the evolutionary principles that have shaped the development of all life on earth. In this dissertation, I use this framework to explore human reproductive behavior, with a particular focus on sexual coercion and fertility-mediated sexual behavior. In Chapter 1, I introduce the approach taken in this document, identify several key limitations, and outline the general structure. In Chapter 2, I conduct a comprehensive and interdisciplinary review that includes the fundamentals of sexual conflict and reproductive strategies; the evolution of human reproductive characteristics in response to socio-cognitive demands; the aspects of human sociality expected to influence reproductive behavior; the identified trends in human mating behavior; the proposed pressures behind concealed ovulation in primates; the essentials of the menstrual cycle; and the existing evidence for behavioral fertility in humans. In Chapter 3, I use a game-theory model to investigate the emergence of sexually coercive behavior across a variety of species, including humans, in which male coercion is a non-developmentally-determined reproductive strategy to identify several ecological and behavioral characteristics that predict the emergence of coercive behavior generally consistent with observed trends. In Chapter 4, I use face-trait research to investigate the degree to which women recognize and discriminate between images of men with personality traits associated with different male reproductive strategies as well as how these preferences might be mediated by her relationship and fertility status. In Chapter 5, explore the intersection of fertility, fertility belief, and sexuality, specifically testing the hypothesis that a woman’s sexual interest shifts in response to her fertility while taking into consideration her beliefs regarding her fertility. Finally, in Chapter 6, I review the primary take-home messages of this work and recommend that future research take these into consideration as they move forward. By taking an interdisciplinary approach rooted in evolutionary biology, this work reveals the need for an understanding of human reproductive behavior that incorporates a wider view of reproductive ecology. In doing so, we can gain a more accurate, comprehensive, and nuanced understanding of human reproductive behavior

Finishing Global Farm Trade Reform: implications for developing countries

This study reviews policy developments in recent years and, in the light of that, explores ways in which further consensus might be reached among WTO members to reduce farm trade distortions — and thereby also progress the multilateral trade reform agenda. Particular attention is given to ways that would boost well-being in developing countries, especially for those food-insecure households still suffering from poverty and hunger