Social preferences for ecosystem services in a biodiversity hotspot in South America

Identifying which ecosystem services are relevant to different stakeholders and understanding stakeholders’ perceptions of such services is useful for making informed decisions, especially in regions of the world where the achievement of biodiversity conservation goals is threatened by economically productive activities. In this article, we assess social preferences for ecosystem services in a biodiversity hotspot in central Chile. We use a consultative case study to ask local stakeholders (n = 70) from the Campana Peñuelas Biosphere Reserve to identify the most important ecosystem services the area provides for them and inquire about the perceived vulnerability of the services to changes in the future. We also explore the association between the perceived importance of ecosystem services and the sociodemographic and cultural characteristics of the respondents, which allows us to identify contrasting stakeholder perceptions of different ecosystem services. The most important services for local actors were the drinking water, fresh air and climate change control, genetic pool of plant communities in central Chile, and educational value. From the perspective of local actors, the services that could be threatened by negative changes in the future in terms of their provision included the possibilities of developing conservation activities focused on iconic threatened animal and plant species, water regulation, food from agriculture, and drinking water. Contrasting perceptions about the importance of ecosystem services emerged among stakeholders. While small farmers and members of local organizations attributed higher importance values to provisioning services, scientists and rangers and administrators of protected areas as well as teachers, NGO members and local government employees attributed more importance to the regulating and cultural services associated with threatened species. Our results can serve as a source of information for the planning and decision-making processes related to the search for socially and ecologically sustainable solutions for land use managemen

O Conselho de Aviação Civil e a Teoria Processual Administrativa da Regulação

Purpose ”“ The article analyzes the decision-making process of the Brazilian Civil Aviation Council from the perspective of the Administrative Process Theory of Regulation. Methodology/approach/design ”“ The methodology will compare the empirical basis of Brazilian Civil Aviation Council’s regulatory action, between 2014 and 2019, and the procedural assumptions of the Administrative Process Theory of Regulation. It aims to identify the similarities, differences and omissions between practice and regulatory theory. Findings ”“ From the comparison, the model currently adopted by the Brazilian Civil Aviation Council does not meet the characteristics expected by the Administrative Process Theory of Regulation. The model has low predictability and transparency in the decision-making process, as well as little interaction and rare opportunities for criticism and adjustment of the proposal. Practical implications ”“ The regulatory process carried out by the Brazilian Civil Aviation Council should be improved to incorporate greater objectivity, predictability and transparency, in order to provide greater publicity and efficiency, in compliance with the constitutional principles of public administration, as well as to improve the institutional environment with external control bodies and the judiciary. Originality/value ”“ The originality of the article lies in the unprecedented analysis and comparison between the procedural-administrative theory of regulation and the regulatory practice of the Brazilian Civil Aviation Council. Its relevance lies in the possibility of improving the decision-making process in the civil aviation sector based on regulatory theory.Purpose ”“ The article analyzes the decision-making process of the Brazilian Civil Aviation Council from the perspective of the Administrative Process Theory of Regulation. Methodology/approach/design ”“ The methodology will compare the empirical basis of Brazilian Civil Aviation Council’s regulatory action, between 2014 and 2019, and the procedural assumptions of the Administrative Process Theory of Regulation. It aims to identify the similarities, differences and omissions between practice and regulatory theory. Findings ”“ From the comparison, the model currently adopted by the Brazilian Civil Aviation Council does not meet the characteristics expected by the Administrative Process Theory of Regulation. The model has low predictability and transparency in the decision-making process, as well as little interaction and rare opportunities for criticism and adjustment of the proposal. Practical implications ”“ The regulatory process carried out by the Brazilian Civil Aviation Council should be improved to incorporate greater objectivity, predictability and transparency, in order to provide greater publicity and efficiency, in compliance with the constitutional principles of public administration, as well as to improve the institutional environment with external control bodies and the judiciary. Originality/value ”“ The originality of the article lies in the unprecedented analysis and comparison between the procedural-administrative theory of regulation and the regulatory practice of the Brazilian Civil Aviation Council. Its relevance lies in the possibility of improving the decision-making process in the civil aviation sector based on regulatory theory.Resumo  Propósito  - O artigo analisa a regulação realizada pelo Conselho de Aviação Civil (CONAC), na perspectiva da Teoria Processual Administrativa da Regulação. Metodologia/abordagem/design  - A metodologia adotada será a análise comparativa entre as bases empíricas da atuação regulatória do CONAC, entre os anos de 2014 e 2019 e os pressupostos da teoria processual-administrativa da regulação.  Buscar-se-á identificar as semelhanças, diferenças e omissões existentes entre a prática e a teoria regulatória. Resultados - Da comparação entre a prática regulatória e a teoria processual administrativa da regulação, constata-se que o modelo atualmente adotado pelo CONAC não atende aos pressupostos estabelecidos pela teoria, na medida em que possui baixas previsibilidade e transparência no processo decisório, pouca interação e raras oportunidades de críticas e ajustes às propostas regulatórias. Implicações práticas (opcional) - O processo regulatório realizado pelo CONAC deve ser aprimorado para incorporar maior objetividade, previsibilidade e transparência, de forma a conferir maior publicidade, impessoalidade e eficiência, em atendimento aos princípios constitucionais da administração pública, bem como deve aperfeiçoar o ambiente institucional com os órgãos de controle externo e o Poder Judiciário. Originalidade/relevância do texto (opcional) - A originalidade do artigo reside na inédita análise e comparação da teoria processual-administrativa da regulação com a prática regulatória do CONAC e o setor de aviação civil.  Sua relevância reside na possibilidade de aprimorar o processo de tomada de decisão no setor de aviação civil com base em teoria regulatória. Palavras-chave: Teorias Jurídicas da Regulação. Teoria Processual Administrativa da Regulação, Processo de tomada de decisão regulatória, Conselho de Aviação Civil.

Enhancement layer inter frame coding for 3D dynamic point clouds

In recent years, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) applications have seen a drastic increase in commercial popularity. Different representations have been used to create 3D reconstructions for AR and VR. Point clouds are one such representation that are characterized by their simplicity and versatil

Physiological Measurement on Students’ Engagement In a Distributed Learning Environment

Measuring students’ engagement in a distributed learning environment is a challenge. In particular, a teacher gives a lecture at one location, while at the same time the remote students watch the lecture through a display screen. In such situation, it is difficult for the teacher to know the reaction at the remote location. In this paper, we conducted a field study to measure students’ engagement by using galvanic skin response (GSR) sensors, where students simultaneously watched the lecture at the two locations. Our results showed the students’ GSR response was aligned with the surveys, which means that during a distributed learning environment, GSR sensors can be used as an indicator on students’ engagement. Furthermore, our user studies resulted in non-engaging student learning experiences that would be difficult obtained at a lab condition. Based on the findings, we found that the patterns of GSR readings were rather different when compared to the previous relevant studies, where users were engaged. In addition, we noticed that the density of GSR response at the remote location was higher when compared to the one at the lecture room. We believe that our studies are beneficial on physiological computing, as we first presented the patterns of GSR sensors on non-engaging user experiences. Moreover, as an alternative method, GSR sensors can be easily implemented in a distributed learning environment to provide feedback to teachers

Activation of β 3 adrenergic receptor decreases DNA synthesis in human skin fibroblasts via cyclic GMP/nitric oxide pathway

Background: Evidences have shown that β 1 and β 2 adrenoceptors co-exist in human fibroblasts, but it is not yet clear the functional expression of β 3 adrenoceptor in these cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and biological effect of β 3 adrenoceptor activation in human skin fibroblast and the different signaling pathways involved in its effect. Methods: For this purpose in vitro cultures of human skin fibroblast were established from human foreskin and grown in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium. The effect of ZD 7114 (β 3 agonist) on cell DNA synthesis, radioligand binding assay, cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP accumulation and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity were evaluated. Results: 3 H-CGP binding to human fibroblast membranes was a saturable process to a single class of binding site. The equilibrium parameters were: Kd 20±3 pM and Bmax 222±19 fmol/mg protein. Ki values showed that these cells express a high number of β 3 adrenoceptor subtypes. ZD 7114 stimulation of β 3 adrenoceptor exerts a concentration-dependent inhibition of DNA synthesis and cAMP accumulation with parallel increase in NOS activity that led to cGMP accumulation. All these effects were blocked by the β 3 adrenoceptor antagonist (SR 59230A). The effect of ZD 7114 on DNA synthesis significantly correlated with its action either on cAMP or NOS-cGMP signaling system. Inhibitors of NOS activity and NO-sensitive guanylate cyclase prevented the inhibitory effect of ZD 7114 on DNA synthesis. In addition, the β 3 adrenoceptor-dependent increase in cGMP and activation of NOS were blocked by the inhibition of phospholipase C (PLC), calcium/calmodulin (CaM), endothelial NOS activity and cGMP accumulation. Conclusions: β 3 adrenoceptor activation exerts inhibitory effect on human fibroblast DNA synthesis as a result of the activation of NO-cGMP pathway and the inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity. The mechanism appears to occurs secondarily to stimulation of PLC and CaM. This in turn triggers cascade reaction leading to increase production of NO-cGMP with decrease in cAMP accumulation.Fil: Furlán, César. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Sterin Borda, Leonor. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Borda, Enri Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Odontología; Argentin

Interaction design for online video and television

This course will teach attendees how to design and evaluate interaction with online video and television. It provides attendees a pragmatic toolset, including techniques and guidelines, which can be directly applied in practice. The different tools will be contextualized based on current developments, giving participants a complete overview of the state of the art and industry

Análisis estratégico aplicado a una empresa privada del sector industrial

En el presente trabajo se aplica un modelo de estrategia a una empresa del sector privado industrial que fabrica pinturas látex y revestimientos en base acuosa, en la orovincia de La Pampa, su nombre de fantasía es Pampacryl. Se analiza su capacidad empresaria, sector de negocios y competencia, para formular estrategias a aplicar como recomendación a dicha empresa y dar una conclusión a ello.Fil: Álvarez, Santiago César. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas

IP-Based TV Technologies, Services and Multidisciplinary Applications

The move to Internet Protocol (IP)-based content delivery services has challenged the television industry by allowing high-quality television content to be delivered using the Internet, wired and wireless, private and public. The new convergence paradigm is already playing out its disruptive role as television is now associated with both a personal and social experience using an ecosystem of devices. The unidirectional flow of content from an operator to a device has thus morphed into a much richer combination of real-time on-demand web and user generated content complementing traditional programming