Global Development and Climate Change: A Game Theory Approach

The increasing concern with climate change is one of the main issues of our time, and thus we aim to theoretically and mathematically analyse its causes. However our approach follows a different stream of thought, presenting the reasoning and decision-making processes between technical and moral solutions. We have resorted to game theory models in order to demonstrate cooperative and non-cooperative scenarios, ranging from the traditional to the evolutionary within game theory. In doing so we are able to glimpse the development of modern society and a paradigm shift regarding human control over nature and to what extent it is harmful to the sustainability of our environment and the survival of future generations. Merging different fields of knowledge, we present a theoretical-philosophical approach, combined with empirical-mathematical solutions taking into account the agent-based behaviour guided blindly by instrumental rationality

Coronary Artery Calcium Scores: Current Thinking and Clinical Applications

Most incident coronary disease occurs in previously asymptomatic individuals who were considered to be at a lower risk by traditional screening methods. There is a definite advantage if these individuals could be reclassified into a higher risk category, thereby impacting disease outcomes favorably. Coronary artery calcium scores have been recognized as an independent marker for adverse prognosis in coronary disease. Multiple population based studies have acknowledged the shortcomings of risk prediction models such as the Framingham risk score or the Procam score. The science behind coronary calcium is discussed briefly followed by a review of current thinking on calcium scores. An attempt has been made to summarize the appropriate indications and use of calcium scores

Sexual dimorphism and seasonal changes of leaf gas exchange in the dioecious tree Ilex paraguariensis grown in two contrasted cultivation types

Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis, Aquifoliaceae) is a Subtropical, evergreen, dioecious, South American tree. In one preliminary study, it was observed that file functional strategy of yeirba mate females, aiming to finish reproductive process, was increased transpiration relative to photosynthetic rates compared with males, oil self-shaded leaves. We hypothesised that the long-term gas exchange response of males and females call evolve independently of phenological stage and cultivation type. In this spirit, the primary aim of the study was to analyse the physiological sexual dimorphism of this species, evaluating fluctuations of gas exchanges related to microclimate and phenological stages. A field study was conducted oil adult plants of yerba mate cultivated ill monoculture (MO) and in forest understorey (FUS), and measurements carried Out in situ oil microclimate and leaf gas exchange parameters. The photosynthetic photon flux density that was attained at leaf level in FUS was reduced roughly 10-fold compared with that in MO. Various leaf age Populations were observed during a 2-year period at 2-month intervals and grouped into four categories: young, young-fully-expanded, fully-expanded and old. Young and youngfully-expanded leaves were the most active in photosynthesis. Leaves of female plants showed greater photosynthetic rate than those of male plants, which was expressed oil all leaf age categories in MO, but Only during vegetative stages previous to flowering and fruit ripening. The photosynthesis of young-fully-expanded leaves of females grown in FUS Was Superior to males but only during winter growth pause. The stomatal conductance differed ill relation to cultivation type and leafage but did not show the sexual differentiation. Physiological sexual dimorphism in yerba mate is shown to be plastic, responding to environmental conditions. The cost associated to the reproduction of yerba mate could be most easily met showing physiological differentiation of both sexes. A higher reproductive investment of females might be compensated for by exhibiting greater leaf photosynthesis than males that occurs in vegetative stages that precede flowering and fruit ripening.154229130

Estimation of dry spells in three Brazilian regions - Analysis of extremes

The aim of this study was to model the occurrence of extreme dry spells in the Midwest, Southeast and Southern regions of Brazil and estimate the return period of the phenomenon indicating the time when the occurrence is more severe. The generalized extreme value distribution was the best fit for a series of maximum dry spell number and the parameters estimated by the maximum likelihood method. The data series adherence to the probability distribution was verified by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the percentile-percentile charts. The positive trend of dry spells was verified by the Mann-Kendall test and non-stationarity rejected by Dickey-Fuller and augmented Dickey-Fuller tests. The irregular distribution of rainfall in the growing season for the Midwest region has increased the number of dry spells. The increase of rainy days in the Southeast and the South resulted in a decrease of dry spells in these regions. Regarding the return period of one year, dry spells occurred from 5 to 25 days in the Midwest region meaning a loss of productivity for Brazilian agriculture if it happened between the flowering and grain filling phases, making it, therefore the region with the largest agricultural risk. When the intensity of the dry spells was analyzed for different return periods, the Southern region was the most vulnerable. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.132122

POESIA: An ontological workflow approach for composing Web services in agriculture

This paper describes the POESIA approach to systematic composition of Web services. This pragmatic approach is strongly centered in the use of domain-specific multidimensional ontologies. Inspired by applications needs and founded on ontologies, workflows, and activity models, POESIA provides well-defined operations (aggregation, specialization, and instantiation) to support the composition of Web services. POESIA complements current proposals for Web services definition and composition by providing a higher degree of abstraction with verifiable consistency properties. We illustrate the POESIA approach using a concrete application scenario in agroenvironmental planning.12435236

Evaluation of geostatistics methods for interpolation of agrometeorological indices used to define climatic risks

The definition of the best sowing dates for corn, adopted in the Zoning of Climatic Risks,of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was based on space-temporary variations of the water stress index (ISNA), using the pondered average as the interpolation method to spatialize this parameter. This method does not consider the spatial propagation of errors, leading to imprecise interpretations of the best sowing dates, mainly at the beginning and at the end of the cycle. The objective of this work was to compare methods of spatializing numeric values of agrometeorological indices and to evaluate their spatial space variation. The methods of the pondered means ordinary kriging and indication kriging were used. The indication kriging was the most suitable method for spatializing ISNA and to define the best sowing date for corn, in the State of Sao Paulo.38216117