Parameter estimates for fishes of the upper Paraná river floodplain and Itaipu reservoir (Brazil)

Estimates of the growth (K), natural mortality (M), consumption/biomass (Q/B) rate and trophic level (TL) for 35 species in the upper Paraná river floodplain and the Itaipu reservoir (interconnected ecosystems) are presented. A compilation of these biological statistics is made for comparison purposes and some general trends are briefly discussed

Inflation and Budget Deficit: What is the Relationship in Portugal?

The main causes of Portuguese inflation, based on annual data from 1954 to 1995, using the Johansen method, allows us to conclude that variation in Portuguese inflation is determined essentially by foreign inflation and by variation in the effective exchange rate of the Portuguese Escudo (PTE). In the long-term, the relationship between inflation rate and the growth rate of unit labour costs is almost unitary. However, the response of inflation change to the equilibrium error between inflation rate and changes in unit labour costs is slow and almost insignificant, while the response of unit labour costs to this disequilibrium is fast and significant, what suggests that the direction of causality is much more evident from the inflation rate on unit labour costs, than the reverse. The budget deficit as a percentage of GDP, are not significant in the short-term, in relation to variation in inflation as a dependent variable. However, it is significant in the relation to unit labour costs as a dependent variable, so we can have an indirect positive relation between inflation and lagged budget deficit.Inflation, Budget Deficit, Unit Roots, and Cointegration

Learning objects and learning designs: an integrated system for reusable, adaptive and shareable learning content

This paper proposes a system, the Smart Learning Design Framework, designed to support the development of pedagogically sound learning material within an integrated, platform-independent data structure. The system supports sharing, reuse and adaptation of learning material via a metadata-driven philosophy that enables the technicalities of the system to be imperceptible to the author and consumer. The system proposes the use of pedagogically focused metadata to support and guide the author and to adapt and deliver the content to the targeted consumer. A prototype of the proposed system, which provides proof of concept for the novel processes involved, has been developed. The paper describes the Smart Learning Design Framework and places it within the context of alternative learning object models and frameworks to highlight similarities, differences and advantages of the proposed system

Simulations of Antigenic Variability in Influenza A

Computational models of the immune system (IS) and pathogenic agents have several applications, such as theory testing and validation, or as a complement to first stages of drug trials. One possible application is the prediction of the lethality of new Influenza A strains, which are constantly created due to antigenic drift and shift. Here, we present several simulations of antigenic variability in Influenza A using an agent-based approach, where low level molecular antigen-antibody interactions are explicitly described. Antigenic drift and shift events are analyzed regarding the virulence of emergent strains against the IS. Results are discussed from a qualitative point of view taking into account recent and generally recognized immunology and influenza literature

Digital Materialities and Incompatible Institutional Logics

No abstract available

Non compact symmetric spaces and the toda molecule equations

Imperial Users onl