Participation, Mutation and Political Transition: New Democratic Spaces in Peri-Urban Angola

This chapter examines participation spaces in peri-urban Luanda, Angola – a context very different from those that have originated most recent studies in this field and which presents a series of apparently highly adverse conditions for the development of citizen participation. Sometimes labelled a ‘fragile ’ or ‘failed ’ state, Angola coul

Wavelets: a powerful tool for studying rotation, activity, and pulsation in Kepler and CoRoT stellar light curves

Aims. The wavelet transform has been used as a powerful tool for treating several problems in astrophysics. In this work, we show that the time-frequency analysis of stellar light curves using the wavelet transform is a practical tool for identifying rotation, magnetic activity, and pulsation signatures. We present the wavelet spectral composition and multiscale variations of the time series for four classes of stars: targets dominated by magnetic activity, stars with transiting planets, those with binary transits, and pulsating stars. Methods. We applied the Morlet wavelet (6th order), which offers high time and frequency resolution. By applying the wavelet transform to the signal, we obtain the wavelet local and global power spectra. The first is interpreted as energy distribution of the signal in time-frequency space, and the second is obtained by time integration of the local map. Results. Since the wavelet transform is a useful mathematical tool for nonstationary signals, this technique applied to Kepler and CoRoT light curves allows us to clearly identify particular signatures for different phenomena. In particular, patterns were identified for the temporal evolution of the rotation period and other periodicity due to active regions affecting these light curves. In addition, a beat-pattern signature in the local wavelet map of pulsating stars over the entire time span was also detected.Comment: Accepted for publication on A&

Modelação da adequabilidade de habitat do Asphodelus bento-rainhae P. Silva com recurso ao Processo Analítico Hierárquico (AHP)

Asphodelus bento-rainhae P. Silva is a plant species belonging to the order of Liliales. This endemic plant occurs in central Portugal in an area of only 700 hectare on the northern slopes of the Serra da Gardunha (Fundão, Portugal). It is mainly present in north to northeast facing slopes and found in deep soils and open areas, where it is found at higher densities. It occurs along the edges of oak (Quercus robur and Quercus pyrenaica) and chestnut (Castanea sativa) forests, often reaching the herbaceous edges of these woods. Sometimes, it survives in pine forests of Pinus pinaster, mixed woods and slopes or roadsides and in lower abundances in scrubby vegetation. This species survival is threatened by forest fires and the conversion of woodland into cherry orchards, and the fruit growers’ extensive use of herbicides. The tree plantations, as well as urban sprawl, have decreased the extent and quality of its habitat. It is also confronted with invasive plants, such as Acacia dealbata. The mapping of the A. bento-rainhae habitat suitability index results on the integration of a set of biophysical factors using the ArcGIS 10.3 software, based on the Sectorial Plan for Natura 2000 Network and other literature concerning the species ecology. The data used included bioclimatic, soil and topographic variables, based on a digital terrain model (DTM). All the geographic themes (criteria) were classified into three suitability levels: unfavorable, less favorable and favorable. Based on the resulting reclassified themes, the habitat suitability index (HSI) for A. bento-rainhae P. Silva was calculated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The fundamental concept of AHP lies in proceeding from a pairwise comparison of criteria to evaluate the weights that assign relative importance to these criteria. In the end, a map algebra was performed in order to obtain the final theme representing the habitat suitability for A. bento-rainhae. The results regarding the actual species distribution, obtained in the aim of fied work performed in the LIFE-Nature project “Asphodelus bento-rainhae - Measures to manage and preserve it" show a high correlation with the values of HSI

Mathematical models of bipolar disorder

We use limit cycle oscillators to model bipolar II disorder, which is characterized by alternating hypomanic and depressive episodes and afflicts about 1% of the United States adult population. We consider two non-linear oscillator models of a single bipolar patient. In both frameworks, we begin with an untreated individual and examine the mathematical effects and resulting biological consequences of treatment. We also briefly consider the dynamics of interacting bipolar II individuals using weakly-coupled, weakly-damped harmonic oscillators. We discuss how the proposed models can be used as a framework for refined models that incorporate additional biological data. We conclude with a discussion of possible generalizations of our work, as there are several biologically-motivated extensions that can be readily incorporated into the series of models presented here

A longitudinal developmental analysis of students' causality beliefs about school performance

This study examined the development of school-related causality beliefs which are children’s generalized perceptions of the utility or power of different categories of specific means in producing school outcomes. Based on the action theory perspective, we analyzed the developmental model of these beliefs as well as the trajectories of the five perceived causes of school success and failure: ability, effort, luck, teacher’s help, and unknown causes. On a 5-year longitudinal study, following a group of 63 students over an 8-year period (from the second to the ninth grades), using hierarchical linear models, intraindividual changes and interindividual differences in these changes were identified; also, factors that might account for this variability were tested. The results showed a decrease of the effectiveness attributed to the various causes, but their differentiated trajectories, and a relative independence of gender and achievement factors (engagement and school grades) in the evolution of these beliefs. School children in the lower grades value most highly ability and effort as causes of school success. Student’s beliefs about the causes of school performance become both more conservative and more differentiated along schooling, which is probably a normative general tendency. Findings from this longitudinal study corroborate, to a large extent, a consistent set of important developmental findings based on previous cross-sectional designs.8C1E-AFB9-6BE1 | Maria Teresa Martins GonçalvesN/

System for Identifying Pests and Diseases in Soybean Crop through Natural Language Processing

The presence of technologies in the agronomic field has the purpose of proposing the best solutions to the challenges found in agriculture, especially to the problems that affect cultivars. One of the obstacles found is to apply the use of your own language in applications that interact with the user in Brazilian Agribusiness. Therefore, this work uses Natural Language Processing techniques for the development of an automatic and effective computer system to interact with the user and assist in the identification of pests and diseases in soybean crop, stored in a non-relational database repository to provide accurate diagnostics to simplify the work of the farmer and the agricultural stakeholders who deal with a lot of information. In order to build dialogues and provide rich consultations, from agriculture manuals, a data structure with 108 pests and diseases with their information on the soybean cultivar and through the spaCy tool, it was possible to pre-process the texts, recognize the entities and support the requirements for the development of the conversacional system

Processo de constituição do Nó Local de Castelo Branco da IDE-OTALEX

Com a constituição da Euroregião EUROACE, houve a necessidade de ampliar o âmbito territorial do Observatório Territorial Alentejo-Extremadura (OTALEX), de forma a incluir a região Centro. Assim, surgiu o Observatório Territorial Alentejo-Extremadura-Centro (OTALEX C), possibilitando a integração da informação produzida pelas diversas instituições que desenvolvem as suas competências nestas três regiões. Nesse sentido a Infraestrutura de Dados Espaciais IDE-OTALEX passou a abranger todo o território da Euroregião EUROACE, com o IPCB a constituir-se como nó local, tendo como objetivo a monitorização e análise de alterações decorrentes de fenómenos naturais e da atividade humana sobre o território, bem como a disponibilização de dados e Indicadores aos agentes que atuam nesse território. O Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco (IPCB) juntou-se, deste modo, ao grupo de trabalho consolidado em projetos anteriores (GEOALEX, OTALEX e OTALEX II), contribuindo com o conhecimento e os dados do seu território, necessários para esta ampliação de âmbito geográfico. De modo a completar os Dados e Indicadores (territoriais, ambientais, socioeconómicos e de sustentabilidade), especialmente os correspondentes à região Centro mas também os correspondentes a toda a área de atuação da EUROACE, foram desenvolvidos trabalhos de pesquisa e de tratamento de informação. De entre os trabalhos realizados no processo de compatibilização e atualização de informação, destacam-se: a recolha, análise e tratamento de dados alfanuméricos e geográficos, no âmbito do grupo de trabalho “Dados e indicadores”; e a elaboração de cartografia para a região Centro e para a área OTALEX C, adstrita ao grupo de trabalho de “WebGIS”. A informação conjunta disponível na IDE-OTALEX, obtida para as três regiões, passou ainda por processos de harmonização, tanto a nível gráfico como alfanumérico, de modo a permitir a criação de bases cartográficas contínuas para a totalidade da área. Foram ainda desenvolvidos um conjunto de estudos parcelares para o território da região Centro, designadamente a definição de áreas homogéneas de desenvolvimento com recurso a ferramentas de estatística espacial e a categorização de unidades de paisagem com base na agregação de um conjunto de métricas representativas da configuração geométrica do uso.POCTE