Self-Organized Criticality in a Bulk Driven One-Dimensional Deterministic System

We introduce a deterministic self-organized critical system that is one dimensional and bulk driven. We find that there is no universality class associated with the system. That is, the critical exponents change as the parameters of the system are changed. This is in contrast with the boundary driven version of the model [M. de Sousa Vieira, Phys. Rev. E 61 (2000) 6056] in which the exponents are unique. This model can be seen as a discretized version of the conservative limit of the Burridge-Knopoff model for earthquakes.Comment: In honor of Constantino Tsallis in the celebration of his 60th birthday (5 pages, 3 figures)- corrected typo

A Growth model for DNA evolution

A simple growth model for DNA evolution is introduced which is analytically solvable and reproduces the observed statistical behavior of real sequences.Comment: To be published in Europhysics Letter

the role of intercultural mediation

Migration is generally described as a process that is nationally specific and that have features common to several countries. This has been shown by several authors through comparative research that compares the migration process of the same immigrant group to several countries (among others, Engbersen, Snel, & de Boom, 2010) or which scrutinises the migration realities of different countries (Zimmermann, 2005). Most of these studies are about geographically near countries, which are part of the same political system (the EU), and that have an established (albeit differentiated) welfare system. These proximities (geographical, but also political and social) allowed the authors of these studies to conceptualise the existence of several migration models or regimes: the southern European model (Baldwin-Edwards, 2012), the Iberian model of Migration (Malheiros, 2012); the intra-EU mobility regime (Engbersen et al., 2017). These migratory regimes are intertwined by migrant integration models or by different approaches to increasingly diverse populations. Although these are often identified as ‘national models of integration’, they do not fail to integrate the developments that have been recorded in the last decades in the international contexts in which the countries are inserted. Throughout the present text, the Portuguese experience in dealing with immigrant integration is used to reflect on the development of intercultural policies and practices, and on the role of intercultural mediation. The article is structured in the following way: in the introductory section we will review the discussion on interculturalism; in a second section the Portuguese immigration context will be presented; in a third section the integration of immigrants in the country will be analysed, given special attention to the development of policies that support immigrants’ integration process. In the fourth section, the role of intercultural mediation for the integration of immigrants will be considered.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Intrarow Plant Spacing and Family by Environment Interaction Effects on Sugarcane Cross Evaluation.

Progeny testing is practiced to select the best crosses (families) prior to individual plant selection and to guide decisions relative to hybridizing and seedling planting in many crops including sugarcane (Saccharum sp. hyb.). Research to optimize the progeny testing methodology examined its effectiveness relative to family, within family, environment, replication, and intrarow plant spacing. Variance-component analysis indicated that family by environment (locations, years) interaction was a minor inhibitor of selection effectiveness. Within-family variance was the largest source of variation for the five traits considered. For stalk weight, stalk length, and stalk diameter, a small majority of this variance was due to genetic within-family plant-to-plant variation. Partitioning genetic from environmental plant-to-plant variation for plant weight and stalks per plant was not possible. Family by spacing interaction was not important. Genetic correlations of family means of the same trait at different spacings essentially equaled unity. Response to selection estimates indicated family selection among wider spaced families (82 cm between plants) was up to 31% more effective than family selection using narrow plant spacing (41 cm between plants). Since family by environment variances were minor compared to other sources of variation, effectiveness of testing was mostly a function of plant number and spacing. Replication across environments only marginally improved selection effectiveness. Predicted family gain demonstrated a 20 to 31% increase in selection effectiveness by using wider plant spacing. Repeatability values were higher in wide than in narrow spaced families. Stalk number was the least repeatable trait. Genetic mechanisms acting upon plant weight and its components were similar in each of the three environments. Phenotypic and genotypic path analyses direct effect coefficients were all positive and similar in magnitude indicating that selection for any plant weight component would result in an increase in plant weight. The relative efficiency of selection indices was higher when all plant weight contributing traits were included along with plant weight. Results from this study strongly suggest that family selection for plant weight and its components using widely spaced plants would be more accurate than selection using narrowly spaced plants