O fidalgo-mercador Francisco Pinheiro e o “negócio da carne humana”, 1707-1715

A descoberta de ouro nas Minas Gerais, no final do século XVII, promoveu uma intensa procura pelo trabalho escravo nas minas e lavouras do Brasil, o que provocou uma corrida dos negociantes portugueses em direção à África em busca de escravos. Essa disputa, que atraiu também ingleses e holandeses, fez com que a Coroa portuguesa autorizasse legalmente o comércio negreiro na região, contribuindo para um acirramento das rivalidades entre as praças mercantis de Lisboa, Salvador e Rio de Janeiro pelo exclusivo do comércio dos escravos da Costa a Sotavento da Mina, ou Costa da Mina. As concessões de “licenças reais” pela Coroa para o acesso à região consistiram, também, numa tentativa de controle por parte da mesma do referido comércio, tentando evitar o “tráfico ilegal”, ainda mais com a presença dos negociantes de outras nações. Com o comércio legal, a Coroa poderia, também, arrecadar mais com as taxações sobre o referido comércio1

O caso do Fidalgo de Chaves

UID/HIS/04666/2013 UID/HIS/04666/2019 UID/HIS/00749/2013 UID/HIS/00749/2019 DL 57/2016/CP1453/CT0015A 21 de Maio de 1510, um anónimo fidalgo parte da cidade portuguesa de Chaves em direcção a Roma, para só regressar ao reino de origem em Setembro de 1517. Com base nessa jornada pela península itálica redige, posteriormente, uma ampla relação que tem por único destinatário D. Jaime (1479-1532), 4º duque de Bragança, de quem é criado e ao serviço do qual muito provavelmente se dirigiu à capital do mundo cristão. É nossa intenção explorar nas páginas que se seguem o “olhar” deste viajante flaviense em relação à dimensão espiritual da mirabili urbe, em particular na forma de primeira rota peregrinativa no quadro da Cristandade europeia. Pretendemos igualmente explorar a sua plausível faceta de agente-peregrino, ou seja, alguém que se dirige à Cidade Santa com uma missão de agente de diplomacia paralela, mas que não desperdiça a ocasião para, como todos os sinceros cristãos no fundo desejavam e aspiravam, buscar os santuários e as relíquias locais que lhe permitiam obter graças e protecções celestes.publishersversionpublishe

Factors that affect the vertical distribution of Olympia oyster larvae in Fidalgo Bay, WA

Restoring viable, self-sustaining populations of the native Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) in the Salish Sea is ecologically and socially valuable. Olympia oysters are sessile adults, so they rely entirely upon their free-swimming planktonic larvae for dispersal. Larval dispersal affects the size of local populations and connectivity between metapopulations, so understanding dispersal patterns can help managers prioritize habitat restoration efforts to achieve the ultimate goal of establishing a self-sustaining network of Olympia oyster populations throughout the Salish Sea. Olympia oyster larvae actively control their vertical position in the water column with swimming and sinking behaviors, which can affect which currents carry them and can ultimately determine dispersal and population connectivity. The purpose of this study was to determine which factors (temperature, chlorophyll-a, larval size, current speed, tidal stage) influence the vertical distribution of Olympia oyster larvae in Fidalgo Bay, which is a Washington state priority restoration area for the species. On four consecutive days in July 2017, we collected, counted, and measured the length of Olympia oyster larvae from four depths over the tidal cycle in combination with salinity, temperature, and chlorophyll-a measurements. In addition, we deployed an acoustic Doppler current profiler to measure current velocities in the bay’s main channel. Mixed effects modelling results indicate that larvae were distributed significantly shallower when current speeds exceeded ~25 cm s-1 and deeper when current speeds were less than ~25 cm s-1, but it is unclear whether distribution was due to passive or active larval movement. If larvae were actively controlling their depth, they did not distribute at depth-specific temperature or chlorophyll-a conditions, which was likely due to vertically well-mixed conditions. Results indicated larvae did not perform tidally-timed vertical migrations as predicted and it remains unclear whether O. lurida larvae in Fidalgo Bay exhibit an ontogenetic vertical migration strategy. Fidalgo Bay does not exhibit a two-way flow or strong vertical shear, so Olympia oyster larval vertical distribution likely has little to no effect on their transport through the main channel of the bay. Results from this study should not be generalized to other restoration areas due to the unique conditions of this location and the possibility of larval behavioral plasticity between distinct populations of Olympia oysters. Results can inform a Fidalgo Bay larval transport model to predict areas of likely settlement within the bay and determine how much of the Fidalgo Bay population will self-recruit versus become a source population for the surrounding region

A comparison of general-purpose optimization algorithms forfinding optimal approximate experimental designs

Several common general purpose optimization algorithms are compared for findingA- and D-optimal designs for different types of statistical models of varying complexity,including high dimensional models with five and more factors. The algorithms of interestinclude exact methods, such as the interior point method, the Nelder–Mead method, theactive set method, the sequential quadratic programming, and metaheuristic algorithms,such as particle swarm optimization, simulated annealing and genetic algorithms.Several simulations are performed, which provide general recommendations on theutility and performance of each method, including hybridized versions of metaheuristicalgorithms for finding optimal experimental designs. A key result is that general-purposeoptimization algorithms, both exact methods and metaheuristic algorithms, perform wellfor finding optimal approximate experimental designs

Nikishin systems are perfect

K. Mahler introduced the concept of perfect systems in the general theory he developed for the simultaneous Hermite-Pade approximation of analytic functions. We prove that Nikishin systems are perfect providing, by far, the largest class of systems of functions for which this important property holds. As consequences, in the context of Nikishin systems, we obtain: an extension of Markov's theorem to simultaneous Hermite-Pade approximation, a general result on the convergence of simultaneous quadrature rules of Gauss-Jacobi type, the logarithmic asymptotics of general sequences of multiple orthogonal polynomials, and an extension of the Denisov-Rakhmanov theorem for the ratio asymptotics of mixed type multiple orthogonal polynomials.Comment: 39 page