New results on the spectroscopy of XYZ states from LHC experiments

The main results from LHC experiments on XYZ charmonium-like candidates are summarized.Comment: to appear in the proceedings of The 5th International Workshop on Charm Physics (Charm 2012

Strategies for Optimize Off-Lattice Aggregate Simulations

We review some computer algorithms for the simulation of off-lattice clusters grown from a seed, with emphasis on the diffusion-limited aggregation, ballistic aggregation and Eden models. Only those methods which can be immediately extended to distinct off-lattice aggregation processes are discussed. The computer efficiencies of the distinct algorithms are compared.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures and 3 tables; published at Brazilian Journal of Physics 38, march, 2008 (http://www.sbfisica.org.br/bjp/files/v38_81.pdf

INTERRELATED BANK STRATEGIES, FINANCIAL FRAGILITY AND CREDIT EXPANSION: A POST KEYNESIAN APPROACH

This paper aims at clarifying the relationship between individual bank and banking industry behavior in credit expansion. We argue that the balance sheet structure of an individual bank is only partially determined by its management decision about how aggressively to expand credit; it is also determined by the balance sheet positions of other banks. This relationship is explicitly shown by a disaggregation of the variable that enters into the simple money multiplier. The approach developed here opens a way to integrating the micro and macro levels in a Keynesian banking-system analysis.

Effekten av selektiv hogst på viltpopulasjoner i Amazonas

Selective logging of tropical forests is rapidly expanding, making it inevitable that future tropical landscapes will be dominated by production forests. Any biodiversity conservation strategy must consider the potential and limitations of these forests for conservation. This thesis investigates the prospects of wildlife conservation in forest landscapes subjected to contrasting logging regimes in the Brazilian Amazon. Data comes from two case studies representing legally and illegally logged landscapes: Jamari National Forest, where forest concessions operate under reduced-impact logging (RIL), and Gurupi Biological Reserve, which was illegaly logged for several decades until very recently. Manuscript 1 uses camera traps to investigate RIL effects on the medium- to large-sized mammal assemblage in Jamari. Site-level species richness was negatively related to logging intensity, and positively related to density of logging roads. However, no individual species responded significantly to these factors and all species were retained in the landscape, suggesting that RIL may be a reasonable compromise between production and conservation. Manuscript 2 uses camera traps to assess effects of past illegal logging on the assemblage of medium- to large-sized mammals and birds in Gurupi. Illegal logging had a negligible effect on species relative abundances, suggesting that even illegally logged forests retain conservation value, provided they are protected from further impacts. Manuscript 3 uses a five-year camera-trap monitoring data to assess the status and trends of a Critically Endangered bird, the Black-winged Trumpeter (Psophia obscura), at Gurupi. Results show that the species is a habitat specialist that prefers areas with more than a decade of post-logging recovery and with a structure like mature forest. In addition, occupancy rates of the species remained stable throughout the study, demonstrating that even illegally logged forests can play a role in the conservation of this forest specialists. The fourth and final chapter uses data from forest inventories conducted by concession companies to estimate losses of animal-dispersed trees resulting from direct harvest in Jamari RIL concessions. Animal-dispersed trees dominate the forest but are significantly less targeted for logging than abiotically-dispersed trees. Still, at least ten percent of the large animal-dispersed trees were lost in the landscape, indicating that even low logging intensities can reduce frugivore resources. Taken together, the results indicate that although both legal and illegal harvesting have impacts on medium- to large-sized vertebrates, these are generally moderate so that logged forest landscapes retain their full species complement. However, the case studies are best-case scenarios coming from protected areas, which underlines the importance of protecting logged forests from additional anthropogenic impacts to maintain their conservation value.Selektiv hogst av tropiske skoger utvides raskt, noe som gjør det uunngåelig at fremtidige tropiske landskap vil bli dominert av produksjonsskog. Enhver strategi for bevaring av biologisk mangfold må ta hensyn til potensialet og begrensningene til disse skogene. Denne oppgaven undersøker utsiktene for bevaring av dyreliv i skoglandskap utsatt for kontrasterende hogstregimer i den brasilianske Amazonas. Data kommer fra to case-studier som representerer landskap med lovlig og ulovlig tømmerhogst: Jamari National Forest, hvor skogkonsesjoner opererer under bærekraftig tømmerhogst, og Gurupi Biological Reserve, som ble ulovlig hugget i flere tiår inntil helt nylig. Manuskript 1 bruker kamerafeller for å undersøke effekter av bærekraftig hogst på mellomstore til store pattedyr i Jamari. Artsrikdom på stedsnivå var negativt relatert til hogstintensitet, og positivt relatert til veitetthet. Imidlertid reagerte ingen individuelle arter signifikant på de samme faktorene, og alle arter ble beholdt i landskapet, noe som tyder på at bærekraftig tømmerhogst kan være et rimelig kompromiss mellom produksjon og bevaring. Manuskript 2 bruker kamerafeller for å vurdere effekten av tidligere ulovlig hogst på mellomstore og store pattedyr og fugler i Gurupi. Ulovlig hogst hadde en ubetydelig effekt på artssamfunnet og arters relative abundans, noe som tyder på at selv ulovlig hogst beholder sin bevaringsverdi, forutsatt at de er beskyttet mot ytterligere påvirkninger. Manuskript 3 bruker en femårig kamerafelle-studie for å vurdere statusen og trendene til en kritisk truet fugl, den svartvingede trompetisten (Psophia obscura), i Gurupi. Resultatene bekrefter at arten er en habitatspesialist som foretrekker områder der gjenveksten har kommet lengst etter hogst og som har en struktur som moden skog. I tillegg forble arten stabil gjennom hele studien, noe som viser at til og med ulovlig hogd skog kan spille en rolle i bevaringen av denne skogspesialisten. Det fjerde og siste kapittelet bruker data fra skogregistreringer utført av tømmerhogstselskaper for å estimere tap av trær som har frukt og frø spredt av dyr, som følge av tømmerhogst i Jamari. Trær som har frø spredt av dyr dominerer skogen, men er betydelig mindre utsatt for hogst enn trær som har frø som blir spredt abiotisk. Likevel gikk minst ti prosent av de store dyrespredte trærne tapt i landskapet, noe som indikerer at selv lave hogstintensiteter kan redusere frukt-ressursene. Samlet indikerer resultatene at selv om både lovlig og ulovlig tømmerhogst har innvirkning på middels til store virveldyr, er disse generelt moderate slik at skoglandskapet beholder sitt fulle artskomplement. Case-studiene er imidlertid best-case-scenarier som kommer fra verneområder, noe som understreker viktigheten av å beskytte hugget skog mot ytterligere menneskeskapte påvirkninger for å opprettholde deres bevaringsverdi.Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade - ICMBio; Programa Áreas Protegidas da Amazônia - ARPApublishedVersio

Cities: continuity, transformation, and emergence

Cities can be regarded as the quintessential example of complexity. Insofar as we can define a hidden hand determining their morphology, this is based on the glue that stitches together the actions of individuals and organizations who build the city from the ground-up, so-to-speak. When general systems theory entered the lexicon of science in the mid- 20th century, cities were regarded as being excellent examples of systems with interactions between basic elements that demonstrated the slogan of the field: the ‘whole is greater than the sum of the parts’. Since then, as complexity theory has evolved to embrace systems theory and as temporal dynamics has come onto the agenda, cities once again have been used to illustrate basic themes: global organization from local action, emergent morphology from simple spatial decision, temporal order at global levels from volatile, seemingly random change at the level of individual decision-making, evolution and progress through coevolution, competition, and endless variety. Here we will sketch these ideas with respect to cities illustrating particularly three key ideas which involve the tension between continuously changing systems, qualitative transformations, and radical change based on emergent properties of the whole. Our analysis has many implications for a new theory of urban planning which is built from the bottom up, rather than from the top down which is the traditional way in which such interventions are currently carried out in the name of making better cities. Contemporary problems such as ethnic segregation, urban sprawl, traffic congestion, urban decline, and regeneration are all informed by the perspective on complexity theory that we bring to bear here