US-Pakistan Relations in the Summer of 2011

This ARI discusses the current crisis in US-Pakistan relations and analyses the interaction between Washington and Islamabad since the events of 9/11. In the wake of Osama bin Laden’s killing, relations between the US and Pakistan have deteriorated. Islamabad has reduced military and intelligence cooperation and demanded an end to drone attacks. In Washington, members of Congress have sharply criticised Pakistan’s ambiguous stance towards terrorist groups. The Obama Administration has suspended the disbursement of US$800 million of military aid. Just before retiring as Defense Secretary, Robert Gates described US-Pakistan relations as a bad marriage. Does this mean that the two countries are headed for a messy divorce? I think not. The US and Pakistan need each other too much for that to happen. Relations are likely to continue to rock along as they have ever since Pakistan and the US became allies in 1954

Remote sensing data applied to the evaluation of soil erosion caused by land-use. Ribeirao Anhumas Basin Area: A case study

Formerly covered by a tropical forest, the study area was deforested in the early 40's for coffee plantation and cattle raising, which caused intense gully erosion problems. To develop a method to analyze the relationship between land use and soil erosion, visual interpretations of aerial photographs (scale 1:25.000), MSS-LANDSAT imagery (scale 1:250,000), as well as automatic interpretation of computer compatible tapes by IMAGE-100 system were carried out. From visual interpretation the following data were obtained: land use and cover tapes, slope classes, ravine frequency, and a texture sketch map. During field work, soil samples were collected for texture and X-ray analysis. The texture sketch map indicate that the areas with higher slope angles have a higher susceptibilty to the development of gullies. Also, the over carriage of pastureland, together with very friable lithologies (mainly sandstone) occuring in that area, seem to be the main factors influencing the catastrophic extension of ravines in the study site

Evaluation of SIR-A (Shuttle Imaging Radar) images from the Tres Marias region (Minas Gerais State, Brazil) using derived spatial features and registration with MSS-LANDSAT images

Two image processing experiments are described using a MSS-LANDSAT scene from the Tres Marias region and a shuttle Imaging Radar SIR-A image digitized by a vidicon scanner. In the first experiment the study area is analyzed using the original and preprocessed SIR-A image data. The following thematic classes are obtained: (1) water, (2) dense savanna vegetation, (3) sparse savanna vegetation, (4) reforestation areas and (5) bare soil areas. In the second experiment, the SIR-A image was registered together with MSS-LANDSAT bands five, six, and seven. The same five classes mentioned above are obtained. These results are compared with those obtained using solely MSS-LANDSAT data. The spatial information as well as coregistered SIR-A and MSS-LANDSAT data can increase the separability between classes, as compared to the use of raw SIR-A data solely

LANDSLIDE RISK MANAGEMENT USING THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL TRIGRS: Gestão de riscos a deslizamentos de terra utilizando o modelo matemático TRIGRS

Landslides are recurrent events in Brazil, usually triggered by intense rainfall. When these events occur in urban areas, they end up becoming disasters due to economic damage, social impact, and loss of human life. The identification and monitoring of landslide-prone areas are crucial to avoid fatalities. Therefore, the aims of this work are a temporal analysis of the Factor of Safety variation in Campos do Jordão, using the mathematical model TRIGRS. During the analyzed period, two heavy rainfall events were recorded in the area and triggered landslides. The results show TRIGRS efficiency in correctly identify landslide-prone areas and its applicability to become a useful tool for urban planning and early warning systems

Automatic interpretation of MSS-LANDSAT data applied to coal refuse site studies in southern Santa Catarina State, Brazil

The coal mining district in southeastern Santa Catarina State is considered one of the most polluted areas of Brazil. The author has identified significant preliminary results on the application of MSS-LANDSAT digital data to monitor the coal refuse areas and its environmental consequences in this region

Hybride Optimierungsstrategien für komplexe technische Aufgabenstellungen

Im Entwicklungsprozess komplexer, technischer Systeme spielen Simulationsmethoden, denen parametrische Modelle zugrunde liegen, eine wichtige Rolle. Diese Modelle bilden physikalische oder technische Eigenschaften von Bauteilen oder ganzen Funktionssystemen ab und ermöglichen deren Simulation und virtuelle Entwicklung. Durch den Einsatz geeigneter mathematischer Optimierungsmethoden ist es möglich, das Potential dieser Systeme besser auszuschöpfen und wichtige Teile dieses Prozesses zu automatisieren. Die Kombination verschiedener Verfahren ist einer der erfolgversprechendsten Trends in der Optimierung. Dabei spielt insbesondere die Hybridisierung naturinspirierter, heuristischer Verfahren eine wichtige Rolle. Mit hybriden Optimierungsstrategien wird beispielsweise das Ziel verfolgt, die guten Eigenschaften verschiedener Verfahren zu vereinen, vorhandene Informationen besser auszunutzen oder Verfahrensparameter der Optimierungsverfahren adaptiv im Verlauf einer Optimierung geeignet anzupassen. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit werden verschiedene hybride Strategien untersucht und bewertet. Als Ergebnis wird das neue hybride Optimierungsverfahren AHMOS (Adaptive Hybride Multicriterion Optimization Strategy) konstruiert

Die traumatische vordere Erstluxation der Schulter und die Möglichkeiten des Krafttrainings mit proprio-zeptiven Komponenten für Überkopfsportler/innen

Die traumatische Schulterluxation ist eine häufige Verletzung bei Sportlern(innen). Wie kann daher eine optimale Therapie aufgebaut sein? Ist eine Operation notwendig, welche Chancen hat ein Sportler der sich für eine nicht invasive Therapie entscheidet und wie erfolgreich kann propriozeptives Training als Komponente des Krafttrainings bei dieser Verletzung sein? Die vorliegende qualitative Studie untersucht die Chancen der konserva-tiven Therapiewahl und zeigt gegensätzliche Standpunkte der medizinischen und physio-therapeutischen Literatur auf. Eine umfangreiche Übungssammlung, die neue proprio-zeptive und koordinative Elemente einschließt, wird als alternatives Therapiekonzept vor-gestellt. Durch Befragung von Ärzten und Physiotherapeuten, werden in der Studie aktuelle Ergebnisse mit dem derzeitigen Forschungsstand verglichen.One of the most common physical injuries with athletes is the traumatic shoulder-luxation. Hence what would be an appropriate therapy? Is a surgical intervention necessary, which chances stand for sportsmen who decide against an invasive therapy and how successful is a proprioceptive training as a complimentary part of strength-training with this type of injury? This qualitative study focuses on the possibilities of an alternative therapy i.e. a conserva-tive therapy and demonstrates oppositional point of views on the part of medical and physical-therapy literature. An extensive collection of exercises, including new propriocep-tive and coordinative elements is being introduced as an alternative concept of therapy. Various interviews with medical practitioners and physical therapists were conducted in order to compare recent literature review to this current paper

Como a Democracia pode Sobreviver?

Em 2018, o brasileiro se depara com um importante processo democrático na Nova República representado pelas eleições, que irão definir os rumos do Brasil para os próximos anos. Este artigo tem por objetivo propor soluções para resolver ou atenuar os problemas teóricos e práticos encontrados em um regime democrático. Para tal, foram utilizadas as ferramentas metodológicas do núcleo de pesquisa da Escola Austríaca, incorporando nas instituições democráticas aqueles elementos presentes no processo de livre mercado que o tornam desejável. Ficou demonstrado como as soluções propostas tornam o sistema democrático mais adequado para atender aos interesses dos cidadãos