An Evolutionary Game Approach to the Issues of Migration, Nationalism, Assimilation and Enclaves

I use evolutionary game theory to address the relation between nationalism and immigration, studying how two different populations in a country, one composed of national citizens and the other of immigrants, evolve over time. Both populations depart from some polymorphic initial state. A national citizen may behave either nationalistically or may welcome immigrants. Immigrants may have an interest in learning the host country language or not. I also account for the presence of enclaves, which make the immigrants� own population effects important. The results show that six types of evolutionary equilibria are possible, although they never co-exist in the state space. A low cost of learning the host country language leads to complete assimilation of immigrants over time. Enclaves make assimilation a less competitive strategy. A high cost of learning may lead to peaceful multiculturalism or to political instability depending on the ability of policy makers to prevent nationalistic attitudes.

Replicator Dynamics and Evolutionary Stable Strategies in Heterogeneous Games.

We generalise and extend the work of Iñarra and Laruelle (2011) by studying two person symmetric evolutionary games with two strategies, a heterogenous population with two possible types of individuals and incomplete information. Comparing such games with their classic homogeneous version vith complete information found in the literature, we show that for the class of anti-coordination games the only evolutionarily stable strategy vanishes. Instead, we find infinite neutrally stable strategies. We also model the evolutionary process using two different replicator dynamics setups, each with a different inheritance rule, and we show that both lead to the same results with respect to stability.

An Evolutionary Game Approach to the Issues of Migration, Nationalism, Assimilation and Enclaves

I use evolutionary game theory to address the relation between nationalism and immigration, studying how two different populations in a country, one composed of national citizens and the other of immigrants, evolve over time. Both populations depart from some polymorphic initial state. A national citizen may behave either nationalistically or may welcome immigrants. Immigrants may have an interest in learning the host country language or not. I also account for the presence of enclaves, which make the immigrants’ own population effects important. The results show that six types of evolutionary equilibria are possible, although they never co-exist in the state space. A low cost of learning the host country language leads to complete assimilation of immigrants over time. Enclaves make assimilation a less competitive strategy. A high cost of learning may lead to peaceful multiculturalism or to political instability depending on the ability of policy makers to prevent nationalistic attitudes

Evaluation of the Simulated Annealing and the Discrete Artificial Bee Colony in the Weight Tardiness Problem with Taguchi Experiments Parameterization

Meta-Heuristics (MH) are the most used optimization techniques to approach Complex Combinatorial Problems (COPs). Their ability to move beyond the local optimums make them an especially attractive choice to solve complex computational problems, such as most scheduling problems. However, the knowledge of what Meta-Heuristics perform better in certain problems is based on experiments. Classic MH, as the Simulated Annealing (SA) has been deeply studied, but newer MH, as the Discrete Artificial Bee Colony (DABC) still need to be examined in more detail. In this paper DABC has been compared with SA in 30 academic benchmark instances of the weighted tardiness problem (1 parallel to Sigma w(j)T(j)). Both MH parameters were fine-tuned with Taguchi Experiments. In the computational study DABC performed better and the subsequent statistical study demonstrated that DABC is more prone to find near-optimum solutions. On the other hand SA appeared to be more efficient.This work is supported by FEDER Funds through the "Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade - COMPETE" program and by National Funds through FCT "Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia" under the project: PEst-OE/EEI/UI0760/2014, and PEst2015-2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reliability of reflectance measures in passive filters

Measurements of optical reflectance in passive filters impregnated with a reactive chemical solution may be transformed to ozone concentrations via a calibration curve and constitute a low cost alternative for environmental monitoring, mainly to estimate human exposure. Given the possibility of errors caused by exposure bias, it is common to consider sets of m filters exposed during a certain period to estimate the latent reflectance on n different sample occasions at a certain location. Mixed models with sample occasions as random effects are useful to analyze data obtained under such setups. the intra-class correlation coefficient of the mean of the m measurements is an indicator of the reliability of the latent reflectance estimates. Our objective is to determine m in order to obtain a pre-specified reliability of the estimates, taking possible outliers into account. To illustrate the procedure, we consider an experiment conducted at the Laboratory of Experimental Air Pollution, University of São Paulo, Brazil (LPAE/FMUSP), where sets of m = 3 filters were exposed during 7 days on n = 9 different occasions at a certain location. the results show that the reliability of the latent reflectance estimates for each occasion obtained under homoskedasticity is k(m) = 0.74. A residual analysis suggests that the within-occasion variance for two of the occasions should be different from the others. A refined model with two within-occasion variance components was considered, yielding k(m) = 0.56 for these occasions and k(m) = 0.87 for the remaining ones. To guarantee that all estimates have a reliability of at least 80% we require measurements on m = 10 filters on each occasion. (C) 2014 the Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).INAIRA - Instituto Nacional de Avaliacao Integrada de Risco AmbientalConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Univ São Paulo, Inst Math & Stat, BR-05508 São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Sch Med, BR-05508 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilCNPq: 15/2008FAPESP: 2008/57717-6CNPq: 308613/2011-2Web of Scienc

D1 and D2 inhibitions of the soleus H-reflex are differentially modulated during plantarflexion force and position tasks

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Presynaptic inhibition (PSI) has been shown to modulate several neuronal pathways of functional relevance by selectively gating the connections between sensory inputs and spinal motoneurons, thereby regulating the contribution of the stretch reflex circuitry to the ongoing motor activity. In this study, we investigated whether a differential regulation of Ia afferent inflow by PSI may be associated with the performance of two types of plantarflexion sensoriomotor tasks. The subjects (in a seated position) controlled either: 1) the force level exerted by the foot against a rigid restraint (force task, FT); or 2) the angular position of the ankle when sustaining inertial loads (position task, PT) that required the same level of muscle activation observed in FT. Subjects were instructed to maintain their force/position at target levels set at similar to 10% of maximum isometric voluntary contraction for FT and 90 degrees for PT, while visual feedback of the corresponding force/position signals were provided. Unconditioned H-reflexes (i.e. control reflexes) and H-reflexes conditioned by electrical pulses applied to the common peroneal nerve with conditioning-to-test intervals of 21 ms and 100 ms (corresponding to D1 and D2 inhibitions, respectively) were evoked in a random fashion. A significant main effect for the type of the motor task (FT vs PT) (p = 0.005, eta(2)(p) = 0.603) indicated that PTs were undertaken with lower levels of Ia PSI converging onto the soleus motoneuron pool. Additionally, a significant interaction between the type of inhibition (D1 vs D2) and the type of motor task (FT vs PT) (p = 0.038, eta(2)(p) = 0.395) indicated that D1 inhibition was associated with a significant reduction in PSI levels from TF to TP (p = 0.001, eta(2)(p) = 0.731), whereas no significant difference between the tasks was observed for D2 inhibition (p = 0.078, eta(2)(p) = 0.305). These results suggest that D1 and D2 inhibitions of the soleus H-reflex are differentially modulated during the performance of plantarflexion FT and PT. The reduced level of ongoing PSI during PT suggests that, in comparison to FT, there is a larger reliance on inputs from muscle spindles primary afferents when the neuromuscular system is required to maintain position-controlled plantarflexion contractions.PPresynaptic inhibition (PSI) has been shown to modulate several neuronal pathways of functional relevance by selectively gating the connections between sensory inputs and spinal motoneurons, thereby regulating the contribution of the stretch reflex circu1011FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)FAPESP [2011/17193-0, 2011/13222-6, 2013/10433-1, 2012/09321-1, 2013/14667-7]CNPq [303313/2011-0]2011/17193-0; 2011/13222-6; 2013/10433-1; 2012/09321-1; 2013/14667-7303313/2011-

Avaliação econômica comparativa de sistemas de produção de gado de corte sob condições de risco no Mato Grosso do Sul

The present work aimed to analyze the economical efficiency and the risk associated with three different cattle production systems (Cow-calf, Rearing and Finishing) in the Alto Pantanal (MS) Area. For that, the economical efficiency of each system was assessed and then the Monte Carlo risk simulation method was performed. The deterministic analysis showed that the Rearing system was the most profitable while the Finishing system presented the worst profit result. The Cow-calf system obtained an intermediate profit result. The risk economical analysis revealed the Cow-calf system as the lower risky system. On the other hand, the Finishing system showed the higher risk, presenting 28,7% of probability to obtain negative profit. The Rearing system showed the better level of profits (R$/ha) follow by Finishing and Cow-calf system. Considering the risk and profitable aspects, the results suggest that farmers who develop the three systems together (full cycle) would be adopting a kind of business that would provide more risk stability and intermediary gains.Cattle production systems, Economic efficiency, Monte Carlo risk simulation, Livestock Production/Industries,

CAN STEP EXERCISE PREVENT GAIT IMPAIRMENTS IN ELDERLY WOMEN? A KINETIC ANALYSIS

This research aimed to investigate lower limb motion whiJe a subject negotiated a raised surface to study the effects of age-related declines in gait. We selected foot-ground force variables to highlight possible differences between the young and elder SUbjects. The gait of ten post-menopause women that took part in a step exercise program and ten skiJled young female were analyzed with a two force-platforms during an unobstructed walking and when subjects were stepping on and off a raised surface of 17.5 cm height. The results suggest that older subjects possess GRF patterns similar to youngsters during unobstructed walking. It can be concluded that senior step exercise programs are capable to prevent gait impairments in the elderly but this positive effect is lessened in the case of more demanding walking tasks which should be taken into account in the development of senior step exercise programs

Mapeamento da susceptibilidade à inundação em áreas urbanas: o caso da cidade de Montes Claros/MG

O Brasil tem registrado nas últimas décadas aumento populacional gradativo, com incremento evidente de sua população urbana, em comparação com sua população rural. Paralelamente a isso, o Banco de Dados de Desastres Internacionais do Centro para Pesquisa em Epidemiologia dos Desastres (EM – DATA/CRED, 2013)permite avaliar que desde o início do século XX os registros de desastres naturais, principalmente as inundações em cidades em processo de urbanização tiveram aumento progressivo. O município de Montes Claros/MG, nesse aspecto, foi identificado em estudo realizado pelo Centro Universitário de Estudos e Pesquisas sobre Desastres da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (CEPED/UFSC, 2011) com alta taxa de ocorrências de inundações graduais. Nesse contexto, o presente estudo objetivou,usando de técnicas de Sistemas de Informação Geográfica (SIG) e de Estatística,analisar as áreas propensas a inundação na cidade de Montes Claros, a partir da geração do modelo de susceptibilidade a inundação urbana.Como resultante, o modelo constatou que embora a CEPED/UFSC (2011) identifique Montes Claros com maior número de Inundações Graduais do Estado, menos de 8% do perímetro de estudoé propenso aos efeitos do fenômeno descrito; observando que a maior parte da área de estudo (70,6%) possui média ou média-baixa susceptibilidade ao evento. O estudo aponta que tal caráter de risco às inundações graduais apresentado pelo mencionado órgão a cidade possa estar associado à distribuição da população que, possivelmente, está alocada próxima aos canais fluviais e, nesse sentido susceptível aos efeitos de inundações graduais