Oak Persistence in Mediterranean Landscapes: The Combined Role of Management, Topography, and Wildfires

Mediterranean ecosystems have been shaped by a history of human and ecological disturbances. Understanding the dynamics of these social-ecological systems requires an understanding of how human and ecological factors interact. In this study, we assess the combined role of management practices and biophysical variables, i.e., wildfire and topography, to explain patterns of tree persistence in a cork oak (Quercus suber L.) landscape of southern Portugal. We used face-to-face interviews with landowners to identify the management practices and the incentives that motivated them. We used aerial photographs and a Geographic Information System (GIS) to classify vegetation patch-type transitions over a period of 45 years (1958-2002) and logistic regression to explain such changes based on management and biophysical factors. The best model explaining vegetation transitions leading to cork oak persistence in the landscape included both biophysical and management variables. Tree persistence was more likely to occur on steeper slopes, in the absence of wildfires, and in the absence of understory management. We identified ecological, ideological, and economical barriers that preclude oak persistence and that are important to consider in implementing efficient environmental policies for adequate conservation and reforestation programs of Mediterranean cork oak landscape

The dynamics of cork oak systems in Portugal: the role of ecological and land use factors

Vegetation degradation and desertification occur in many semiarid ecosystems worldwide, particularly in the Western Mediterranean Basin. A peculiar semiarid Mediterranean land use system dominates the landscape of southern Portugal where cork oak (Quercus suber) is the main tree species. This system is the result of both ecological and land use dynamics that shaped the landscape for centuries and created a fine-grained mosaic landscape, which includes four main types of vegetation patches: cork oak woodlands (higher tree density), cork oak montados (lower tree density), shrublands and grasslands. Each patch can be conceived as a vegetation state that is reached and maintained in different ways. Transitions between states are triggered often by a combination of human management and climatic circumstances. I hypothesize that cork oak woodlands and shrublands in southern Portugal represent alternative stable states, which change slowly or not at all in the absence of human intervention. Failures in natural regeneration of cork oak trees triggered by grazing pressure and human overexploitation can be the cause of a shift to the alternative stable state of shrublands, especially in very dry conditions. Stable and expanding shrublands may therefore be a sign of land desertification in southern Portugal, representing an irreversible transition. This PhD proposal aims to evaluate if cork oak woodlands and shrublands represent alternative stable states in southern Portugal and what are the ecological and land use mechanisms underlying their resilience and persistence. Overall methodology The study area is located at Serra do Caldeirão, Algarve, southern Portugal. The persistence and dynamics of cork oak woodlands and shrublands, transition probabilities between vegetation states, and correlation between transitions and environmental variables will be analyzed through the observation of aerial photos between 1958 and 2002 for the study area with the help of a GIS (Geographical Information System). Markov matrix analysis and multivariate analysis will be used. Limitations for seedling establishment will be analysed through an experimental design carried out in different vegetation states. Finally, human management, motivations for land use decisions, behaviour towards the cork oak system, and sociological characterization of landowners will be investigated through landowner interviews

Diferenças no levantar induzido por apomorfina entre ratas virgens e ratas em estado puerperal.

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Departamento de Tocoginecologia, Curso de Medicina, Florianópolis, 197

Efeito da inclinação dos ramos no crescimento e formação de gomos florais na pereira ‘Rocha’

Relatório do Projeto Final apresentado à Escola Superior Agrária do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Fruticultura Integrada.Para estudar o efeito da inclinação dos ramos na entrada em produção, no vigor e nos hábitosdecrescimentodapereira‘Rocha’foiinstaladoem2013umensaionum pomar plantado em 2012 e conduzido em eixo central revestido, com uma modalidade sem intervenção (T0) e três modalidades (T50, T90 e T120) com inclinação dos ramos com ângulos de aproximadamente 50 (ascendente), 90 (horizontal) e 120º (descendente). Avaliou-se o vigor da planta, os hábitos de vegetação e crescimento dos ramos e os hábitos de frutificação. Dos resultados obtidos salienta-se a redução gradual (de acordo com o ângulo de inclinação) e significativa do alongamento ou crescimento terminal dos ramos previamente inclinados (pernadas). A emissão de ramificações laterais nas pernadas também foi superior nas modalidades em relação à testemunha, mas no global da planta, não se verificaram diferenças significativas no vigor. Nos hábitos de frutificação, houve um aumento significativo na formação de gomos florais com os tratamentos de inclinação dos ramos, quer em relação à globalidade da árvore, quer em relação às pernadas, mas não se observaram diferenças significativas entre os diferentes graus ou ângulos de inclinação dos ramos. Deste modo, a inclinação dos ramos representou uma operação com vantagens na entrada em produção relacionadas, preponderantemente com a maior abertura das copas e iluminação dos eixos.To study the effect of shoot bending on growth and flower bud formation in 'Rocha' pear, an experiment on an orchard planted in 2012 and conducted in vertical axe was installed in 2013, with the following treatments: T0 - Control not bended; T50 (ascendant bending); T 90 (horizontal bending) and T120 (descendent bending). T50, T90 and T120 represent the approximated angles (50, 90 and 120º) with the vertical position. There was a significant and gradual reduction (according to the angle of inclination) of branch growth or elongation previously bended. Lateral growth of bended branches was also greater than control, but overall vigour of the tree was not influenced by bending. Flower buds density was significantly enhanced by bending treatments in relation to both bended branches and whole tree, but no significant differences were observed between the different degrees or angles of bending. Thus, shoot bending appears to represent some advantage in fruiting precocity, related mainly with the opening and illumination of the canopy at the vertical trunk

The Causal Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics and The Singularity Problem in Quantum Cosmology

We apply the causal interpretation of quantum mechanics to homogeneous quantum cosmology and show that the quantum theory is independent of any time-gauge choice and there is no issue of time. We exemplify this result by studying a particular minisuperspace model where the quantum potential driven by a prescribed quantum state prevents the formation of the classical singularity, independently on the choice of the lapse function. This means that the fast-slow-time gauge conjecture is irrelevant within the framework of the causal interpretation of quantum cosmology.Comment: 18 pages, LaTe

China's impact on the world economy

The research developed in this dissertation historically analyses the degree of interdependence between the main global financial markets and the way in which they were affected by the various global crises from 1990 to 2019. It also presents the historical analysis of some of the main financial and macroeconomic indicators, contributing to in this way so that conclusions can be drawn regarding the performance of the markets and the trends that have occurred more recently. For this purpose, graphical analyses are developed that allow the visualization of the evolution of the main indicators, as well as analyses of multiple linear regressions in SPSS in order to verify the relevance and quantitative impact of the independent variables in the dependent variables. China assumes a distinctive role in this thesis, since it is the main country on which the analysis falls. It is concluded that there is a high correlation between all the financial markets under analysis. The Chinese market is a market that exhibits exponential growth, particularly with regard to the consumer market. With excellent performance indicators that point out that it is a country rich in opportunities for all companies that intend to be their exporters and/or investors in the domestic market, it is a market that stands out from the rest in analysis due to the business opportunities it represents.A investigação desenvolvida nesta dissertação analisa historicamente o grau de interdependência entre os principais mercados financeiros mundiais e a forma como os mesmos foram afetados pelas diversas crises mundiais desde 1990 até 2019. Apresenta ainda a análise histórica de alguns dos principais indicadores financeiros e macroeconómicos, contribuindo a mesma desta forma para que se possam tirar conclusões relativamente à performance dos mercados e às tendências que se têm verificado mais recentemente. Para o efeito, são desenvolvidas análises gráficas que permitem a visualização da evolução dos principais indicadores, bem como análises de regressões lineares múltiplas em SPSS de forma a permitir verificar a relevância e impacto quantitativo das variáveis independentes nas variáveis dependentes. A China assume um papel distintivo nesta tese, uma vez ser o principal país sobre o qual recai a análise. Conclui-se que existe uma correlação elevada entre todos os mercados financeiros em análise. O mercado Chinês é um mercado que apresenta um crescimento exponencial, nomeadamente no que toca ao mercado consumista. Com excelentes indicadores de performance que apontam para que seja um país rico em oportunidades para todas as empresas que se pretendam assumir como suas exportadoras e ou investidoras no mercado interno, é um mercado que se destaca dos restantes em análise pelas oportunidades de negócio que representa

Are drought and wildfires turning Mediterranean cork oak forests into persistent shrublands?

In the Iberian Peninsula Mediterranean oak forests have been transformed into a mosaic landscape of four main patch-types: forests, savannas, shrublands and grasslands. We used aerial photographs over a period of 45 years (1958-2002) to quantify the persistence and rates of transitions between vegetation patch-types in southern Portugal, where cork oak is the dominant tree species. We used logistic regression to relate vegetation changes with topographical features and wildfire history. Over the 45 years, shrublands have been the most persistent patch-type (59%), and have been expanding; forests are also persistent (55%) but have been decreasing since 1985; savannas and grasslands were less persistent (33% and 15%, respectively). Shrublands persistence was significantly correlated with wildfire occurrence, particularly on southern exposures after 1995. In contrast, forest persistence decreased with wildfire occurrence, and forests were more likely to change into shrublands where wildfire had occurred after 1995

Private equity investment committee paper on Sogrape, S.A. investment thesis & business plan

This work project aims to study a private equity deal using a Leverage Buy out Model of the Portuguese company Sogrape, operating in the win sector. The evaluation of the deal includes the studying of the company and the inherent industry, followed by the description of the investment thesis and the business plan. Then, it is performed a valuation of the company by several methods such as the Discounted Cash Flow, Comparables Multiples and Precedent Transaction Multiples. Later, it is defined the capitals tructure of the deal, particularly both sources and uses. Next, it is presented the returns for the management and the fund, subject to a sensibility analysis taking in to account the various model in puts. To conclude it is evaluated the different exit options regarding the attractiveness and like lihooda long with the different matters to be further studied in a due diligence. In this specific part is defined the investment thesis and the forecasted business plan for the next 7 years. The starting point was the market and company analysis where it was concluded it is needed to take advantage of Sogrape’s positioning as a leader in the Portuguese market, promoting consolidation through an acquisition and empower the company positioning as a distributor. Regarding the international markets, partof the strategy involves to change the route-to-marketin USA ,akey market to this sector. In the other market clusters as growth platformss and mature markets ,the plan involves the promotion of sales through an increase in marketing expenses as well as focusing on the segments tha tis expected to face a higher growth rate in the following years and where Sograpeholds more competitive advantages such as ligh twines. This strategy also involves costreduction duetos ynergies coming from the above mentioned acquisition .In the presented in vestment case, from the entry year of 2020 until the exitin 2026, there venues have a CAGR of 12% while EBITDA is growing at 15%CAGR

Novel techniques for the design and practical realization of switched-capacitor circuits in deep-submicron CMOS technologies

Dissertação apresentada para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores pela Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e TecnologiaSwitches presenting high linearity are more and more required in switched-capacitor circuits,namely in 12 to 16 bits resolution analog-to-digital converters. The CMOS technology evolves continuously towards lower supply voltages and, simultaneously, new design techniques are necessary to fulfill the realization of switches exhibiting a high dynamic range and a distortion compatible with referred resolutions. Moreover, with the continuously downing of the sizes, the physic constraints of the technology must be considered to avoid the excessive stress of the devices when relatively high voltages are applied to the gates. New switch-linearization techniques, with high reliability, must be necessarily developed and demonstrated in CMOS integrated circuits. Also, the research of new structures of circuits with switched-capacitor is permanent. Simplified and efficient structures are mandatory, adequate to the new demands emerging from the proliferation of portable equipments, necessarily with low energy consumption while assuring high performance and multiple functions. The work reported in this Thesis comprises these two areas. The behavior of the switches under these new constraints is analyzed, being a new and original solution proposed, in order to maintain the performance. Also, proposals for the application of simpler clock and control schemes are presented, and for the use of open-loop structures and amplifiers with localfeedback. The results, obtained in laboratory or by simulation, assess the feasibility of the presented proposals