Modelagem estatística e atribuições dos eventos de precipitação extrema na Amazônia brasileira

Intense precipitation events (IPE) have been causing great social and economic losses in the affected regions. In the Amazon, these events can have serious impacts, primarily for populations living on the margins of its countless rivers, because when water levels are elevated, floods and/or inundations are generally observed. Thus, the main objective of this research is to study IPE, through Extreme Value Theory (EVT), to estimate return periods of these events and identify regions of the Brazilian Amazon where IPE have the largest values. The study was performed using daily rainfall data of the hydrometeorological network managed by the National Water Agency (Agência Nacional de Água) and the Meteorological Data Bank for Education and Research (Banco de Dados Meteorológicos para Ensino e Pesquisa) of the National Institute of Meteorology (Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia), covering the period 1983-2012. First, homogeneous rainfall regions were determined through cluster analysis, using the hierarchical agglomerative Ward method. Then synthetic series to represent the homogeneous regions were created. Next EVT, was applied in these series, through Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) and the Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD). The goodness of fit of these distributions were evaluated by the application of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, which compares the cumulated empirical distributions with the theoretical ones. Finally, the composition technique was used to characterize the prevailing atmospheric patterns for the occurrence of IPE. The results suggest that the Brazilian Amazon has six pluvial homogeneous regions. It is expected more severe IPE to occur in the south and in the Amazon coast. More intense rainfall events are expected during the rainy or transitions seasons of each sub-region, with total daily precipitation of 146.1, 143.1 and 109.4 mm (GEV) and 201.6, 209.5 and 152.4 mm (GPD), at least once year, in the south, in the coast and in the northwest of the Brazilian Amazon, respectively. For the south Amazonia, the composition analysis revealed that IPE are associated with the configuration and formation of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone. Along the coast, intense precipitation events are associated with mesoscale systems, such Squall Lines. In Northwest Amazonia IPE are apparently associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone and/or local convection.

Influência da seca extrema na dinâmica fitoplanctônica de um reservatório da região tropical semiárida: uma abordagem morfofuncional

Droughts are climatic phenomena whose frequency has increased in the last decades and also compromised drinkable water supplies in semiarid regions. The lack of rain combined with high evaporation rates promotes a significant reduction of the volume of reservoirs in these regions. Shallower conditions favors nutrients concentration and phytoplankton overgrowth, including potentially toxic cyanobacteria blooming. Therefore, there is a tendency to the intensification of eutrophication in those reservoirs during drought periods. Phytoplankton can respond quickly to environmental conditions related to light and nutrient availability by changes in algal biomass and composition, therefore it is considered a good predictor of environmental variables. Two functional approaches - Reynolds’s Functional Groups (FG) and Kruk’s Morphologically Based Functional Groups (MBFG) - were used to assess which environmental variables were responsible for phytoplankton dynamics, in addition to compare which functional approach explains environmental changes better. This study highlights that the reduction of 90% in the volume of a tropical reservoir of Brazilian semi-arid region, as well as light limitation and nutrient increase, can promote phytoplankton overgrowth. Multivariate analyses using both functional approaches indicated a clear separation between high volumes and low volumes conditions, showing that light and nutrient availability were the main variables that better explained the combination of functional groups. The composition of phytoplankton assemblage changed from species of meso-eutrophic habitats (FG: F and J; MBFG: VI), to organisms of eutrophic and turbid environments (FG: SN and M; MBFG: VIII and VII) during shallower conditions. Both ecological approaches described properly the phytoplankton dynamics according to light and trophic state alterations related to the water volume reduction, therefore they can be considered as equivalent approaches for using in similar environments.

Os impactos na qualidade da água e do solo de um manancial tropical do semiárido devido ao uso e ocupação e evento de seca extrema

Human activities alter soil features, causing the deterioration of its quality. Land use and occupation in drainage basins of water supply reservoirs can change the environmental soil quality and, thus, lead to the expansion of the soil potential of being a diffuse pollution source. In the Brazilian semiarid region, the soils are generally shallow with high susceptibility to erosion, favoring the sediment and nutrients input into the superficial waterbodies, contributing to the eutrophication process. Moreover, this region has high temperatures and high evapotranspiration rates, that are generally higher than the precipitation rates, causing a negative hydric balance and big volume losses by evaporation. The water volume reduction increases the nutrients’ concentration and, therefore, exacerbates the eutrophication process, deteriorating the water quality. Thereby, we hypothesized that the eutrophication process of semiarid reservoirs is intensified both by the extreme climatic events of prolonged drought, and by the diffuse pollution due to the basin land use and occupation. The study aimed to test whether the land use and occupation activities of the basin and the severe drought events intensify the eutrophication process of a semiarid tropical reservoir. To verify the influence of human activities carried out in the water supply of drainage basin on the soil quality and the eutrophication process, we conducted the mapping of the kind of use and occupation, as well the calculation of erosion for each activity and the soil quality evaluation of the riparian zone and water quality of the water supply. For the water analyses, the samplings were carried out monthly in the deeper point, near dam. For the soil, deformed composite samples were taken for the physical and chemical attributes analysis, according to the identified land use and occupation classes. The results showed that extreme droughts drastically reduces the water volume and elevates the nutrients concentration, contributing, thus, to a bigger degradation of water quality. Furthermore, we verified that human activities in the drainage basin promote the diffuse pollution, by increasing the soil susceptibility to erosion and nutrients contents. Summarizing, our results support the investigated hypothesis that activities of land use and occupation and extreme drought generate a combined effect that provide the intensification of eutrophication process of semiarid reservoirs.

Representaciones y discursos locales sobre la "otredad extrema"

En el marco de un proyecto de investigación enfocado hacia el estudio de las relaciones interculturales y construcción de alteridad con respecto a inmigrantes extranjeros de origen boliviano y asiático en la sociedad local, esta ponencia tiene como finalidad presentar y poner en discusión algunos hallazgos surgidos de una primera aproximación al objeto de estudio. En particular enfocaremos sobre las representaciones presentes en el discurso de la prensa local respecto de los migrantes chinos. Se trata de un abordaje realizado a partir de algunas herramientas del Análisis Crítico de Discurso y cuyo objetivo fue registrar las modalidades de representación del colectivo chino en los medios de comunicación locales. En tal sentido, el acercamiento analítico al discurso mediático nos ha permitido detectar algunas correspondencias en la construcción de categorías de distinción y clasificación de la alteridad entre los medios de prensa analizados. Estas categorías, definidas como construcciones simbólicas productoras de sentido, tienen la capacidad de representar al colectivo chino a partir de la distinción de elementos culturales que lo visibilizan dentro de la sociedad receptora como "otro". De esta manera, entendemos que la difusión mediática de categorías clasificatorias en tanto atribución de determinadas características culturales hacia el colectivo chino, contribuye a una representación esencializada de "ellos" en términos de "otredad extrema"

Representaciones y discursos locales sobre la "otredad extrema"

En el marco de un proyecto de investigación enfocado hacia el estudio de las relaciones interculturales y construcción de alteridad con respecto a inmigrantes extranjeros de origen boliviano y asiático en la sociedad local, esta ponencia tiene como finalidad presentar y poner en discusión algunos hallazgos surgidos de una primera aproximación al objeto de estudio. En particular enfocaremos sobre las representaciones presentes en el discurso de la prensa local respecto de los migrantes chinos. Se trata de un abordaje realizado a partir de algunas herramientas del Análisis Crítico de Discurso y cuyo objetivo fue registrar las modalidades de representación del colectivo chino en los medios de comunicación locales. En tal sentido, el acercamiento analítico al discurso mediático nos ha permitido detectar algunas correspondencias en la construcción de categorías de distinción y clasificación de la alteridad entre los medios de prensa analizados. Estas categorías, definidas como construcciones simbólicas productoras de sentido, tienen la capacidad de representar al colectivo chino a partir de la distinción de elementos culturales que lo visibilizan dentro de la sociedad receptora como "otro". De esta manera, entendemos que la difusión mediática de categorías clasificatorias en tanto atribución de determinadas características culturales hacia el colectivo chino, contribuye a una representación esencializada de "ellos" en términos de "otredad extrema"

Representaciones y discursos locales sobre la "otredad extrema"

En el marco de un proyecto de investigación enfocado hacia el estudio de las relaciones interculturales y construcción de alteridad con respecto a inmigrantes extranjeros de origen boliviano y asiático en la sociedad local, esta ponencia tiene como finalidad presentar y poner en discusión algunos hallazgos surgidos de una primera aproximación al objeto de estudio. En particular enfocaremos sobre las representaciones presentes en el discurso de la prensa local respecto de los migrantes chinos. Se trata de un abordaje realizado a partir de algunas herramientas del Análisis Crítico de Discurso y cuyo objetivo fue registrar las modalidades de representación del colectivo chino en los medios de comunicación locales. En tal sentido, el acercamiento analítico al discurso mediático nos ha permitido detectar algunas correspondencias en la construcción de categorías de distinción y clasificación de la alteridad entre los medios de prensa analizados. Estas categorías, definidas como construcciones simbólicas productoras de sentido, tienen la capacidad de representar al colectivo chino a partir de la distinción de elementos culturales que lo visibilizan dentro de la sociedad receptora como "otro". De esta manera, entendemos que la difusión mediática de categorías clasificatorias en tanto atribución de determinadas características culturales hacia el colectivo chino, contribuye a una representación esencializada de "ellos" en términos de "otredad extrema"

Incidencia de la política pública para la superación de la pobreza extrema en el marco del desarrollo económico local en garzón Huila. Período 1994-2014.

El auge del estudio de políticas públicas tiene su apogeo en Estados Unidos en 1960 pero recobra importancia a nivel latinoamericano en 1980 y para el caso colombiano en los años de 1990 como lo afirma Salazar Vargas, (1995). Partiendo de este referente, la investigación, Incidencia de la política pública para la superación de la pobreza extrema en el marco del desarrollo económico local en el municipio de Garzón - Huila durante el período 1994-2014, propende por describir la política pública nacional para la superación de la pobreza extrema para el periodo referido y comprender como ha sido implementada a través de la arquitectura institucional en el marco de la dinámica económica local. El ejercicio investigativo se realiza a partir de un enfoque descriptivo e interpretativo que combino técnicas cualitativas y cuantitativas y permitió mediante procesos empíricos y críticos, dar respuesta a la pregunta de investigación ¿Cómo interactúa la política pública para superar la pobreza extrema, formulada en los últimos 20 años en Colombia, con los elementos determinantes del desarrollo económico local en el Municipio de Garzón - Huila? Así entonces, desde el enfoque cualitativo, fue posible contrastar información proveniente de fuentes primarias y secundarias; entre la información secundaria de tipo cualitativo están los planes de desarrollo nacional, departamental y municipal sistematizados y analizados a través de registros analíticos especializados -RAE´s-, y la información de tipo cuantitativa estuvo representada en las estadísticas e informes oficiales de las entidades del orden nacional, departamental y municipal. La información primaria de tipo cualitativo correspondió a la información generada a partir de una entrevista semi estructural implementada con un grupo de actores considerados relevantes en el territorio. Como resultado de la investigación se identifica un municipio con un bajo desempeño en la dinámica de sus indicadores en materia de pobreza y pobreza extrema, situación crítica considerando que fue el segundo municipio de importancia del departamento, y que actualmente ocupa el cuarto o quinto lugar con un escenario poco prometedor dada la pérdida de empleos, resultado de la puesta en operación de la represa el Quimbo, ameritando en términos de política pública para el desarrollo local, el diseño de estrategias en el corto y mediano plazo que generen empleos permanentes que absorban un porcentaje importante de mano de obra no calificada, la cual fácilmente podría ingresar en las estadísticas de pobres y pobres extremos.

De nuevo sobre la apócope extrema. Observaciones a la hipótesis de Lema (1997)

[es] El objetivo de nuestro artículo es presentar y discutir la explicación que sobre la apócope, tanto normal como extrema, ofrece el romanista mexicano Lema (1997). Lema asume como punto de partida de su hipótesis la ruina del sistema declinativo del latín clásico y la consolidación románica de la íntima asociación entre la vocal final y el género gramatical (/–a/ = femenino, /–o/ = masculino). Él opina que la ausencia de valor morfemático, en lo que respecta a la categoría de género gramatical, de la /–e/ provocó necesariamente su pérdida en posición final absoluta de palabra. Intentaremos mostrar que el razonamiento de Lema no es aceptable por varias razones. Nuestra idea sigue siendo que la correcta explicación de la apócope medieval ha de partir de parámetros fonéticos, en la línea expositiva desarrollada por Lapesa, no morfológicos. [en] The aim of our article is to expose and discuss the explanation offered by Lema (1997) for vocalic apocope in Medieval Spanish. Lema assumes that the starting point is the loss of Classical Latin declension system, which gives rise to the strong Romance association between final vowel and grammatical gender (/-a/ = feminine, /-o/ = masculine). He thinks that /-e/, because of its lack of morphological function as regards to grammatical gender, dropped, in word final position, in all instances, with no exception. We’ll try to show that Lema’s theory is unacceptable for several reasons. On the contrary, we consider that the adequate understanding of Old Spanish apocope depends on phonetic -not morphological- criteria, according to Lapesa’s hypotheses.

Evaluaci?n de los marcos conceptuales de pobreza en la fase de agenda de la pol?tica p?blica para la superaci?n de la pobreza extrema en Colombia desde el a?o 1995 hasta el 2003 [recurso electr?nico]

El trabajo presenta los resultados de la evaluaci?n normativa de las teor?as de pobreza en la fase de agenda de la Pol?tica P?blica de Superaci?n de la Pobreza Extrema en Colombia entre los a?os de 1995 a 2003. Los marcos conceptuales utilizados se orientaron a describir, significar y evaluar el tipo de pobreza que apunta erradicar la agenda pol?tica. La metodolog?a construida es cualitativa, el an?lisis es documental y las t?cnicas de recolecci?n de la informaci?n son mapas conceptuales, a fin de comprender la estructura y relaciones de las teor?as impl?citas de pobreza sobre la cual operar? la pol?tica. El principal resultado de esta investigaci?n reside en que el fen?meno de la pobreza trasciende al ?mbito de los valores del ser humano y plantea un dilema para la sociedad transnacional entre velar por el inter?s individual o el colectivo.

A propósito de un caso de malnutrición muy extrema en una paciente que presenta Anorexia Nerviosa Restrictiva de larga evolución y no recibía tratamiento

La anorexia nerviosa es un trastorno de la conducta alimentaria que con frecuencia ocasiona malnutrición y asocia riesgo de mortalidad. Requiere la colaboración de un equipo multidisciplinar con amplia experiencia clínica para obtener óptimos resultados, una exitosa educación nutricional y evitar el síndrome de realimentación. El caso que se presenta constituye la malnutrición más severa secundaria a anorexia nerviosa que hemos tratado en nuestra unidad: una paciente de 33 años con IMC de 8.8 kg/m² y elevación de enzimas hepáticas, que, a pesar de la situación de extrema gravedad en la que se encontraba, no presentó complicaciones durante el proceso de realimentación, que se detalla.

Magnitude and variability of loading on the osseointegrated implant of transfemoral amputees during walking

This study directly measured the load acting on the abutment of the osseointegrated implant system of transfemoral amputees during level walking, and studied the variability of the load within and among amputees. Twelve active transfemoral amputees (age: 54±12 years, mass:84.3±16.3 kg, height: 17.8±0.10 m) fitted with an osseointegrated implant for over 1 year participated in the study. The load applied on the abutment was measured during unimpeded, level walking in a straight line using a commercial six-channel transducer mounted between the abutment and the prosthetic knee. The pattern and the magnitude of the three-dimensional forces and moments were revealed. Results showed a low step-to-step variability of each subject, but a high subject-to-subject variability in local extrema of body-weight normalized forces and moments and impulse data. The high subject-to-subject variability suggests that the mechanical design of the implant system should be customized for each individual, or that a fit-all design should take into consideration the highest values of load within a broad range of amputees. It also suggests specific loading regime in rehabilitation training are necessary for a given subject. Thus the loading magnitude and variability demonstrated should be useful in designing an osseointegrated implant system better able to resist mechanical failure and in refining the rehabilitation protocol.

Wipert von Blücher und Finnland : Alternativpolitik und Diplomatie im 'Dritten Reich'

This dissertation explores the role of the German minister to Helsinki, Wipert von Blücher (1883-1963), within the German-Finnish relations of the late 1930s and the Second World War. Blücher was a key figure – and certainly one of the constants – within German Finland policy and the complex international diplomacy surrounding Finland. Despite representing Hitler’s Germany, he was not a National Socialist in the narrower sense of the term, but a conservative civil servant in the Wilhelmine tradition of the German foreign service. Along with a significant number of career diplomats, Blücher attempted to restrict National Socialist influence on the exercise of German foreign policy, whilst successfully negotiating a modus vivendi with the new regime. The study of his political biography in the Third Reich hence provides a highly representative example of how the traditional élites of Germany were caught in an cycle of conformity and, albeit tacit, opposition. Above all, however, the biographical study of Blücher and his behaviour offers an hitherto unexplored approach to the history of the German-Finnish relations. His unusually long tenure in Helsinki covered the period leading up to the so-called Winter War, which left Blücher severely distraught by Berlin’s effectively pro-Soviet neutrality and brought him close to resigning his post. It further extended to the German-Finnish rapprochement of 1940/41 and the military cooperation of both countries from mid-1941 to 1944. Throughout, Blücher developed a diverse and ambitious set of policy schemes, largely rooted in the tradition of Wilhelmine foreign policy. In their moderation and commonsensical realism, his designs – indeed his entire conception of foreign policy – clashed with the foreign political and ideological premises of the National Socialist regime. In its theoretical grounding, the analysis of Blücher’s political schemes is built on the concept of alternative policy and indebted to A.J.P. Taylor’s definition of dissent in foreign policy. It furthermore rests upon the assumption, introduced by Wolfgang Michalka, that National Socialist foreign policy was dominated by a plurality of rival conceptions, players, and institutions competing for Hitler’s favour (‘Konzeptionen-Pluralismus’). Although primarily a study in the history of international relations, my research has substantially benefited from more recent developments within cultural history, particularly research on nobility and élites, and the renewed focus on autobiography and conceptions of the self. On an abstract level, the thesis touches upon some of the basic components of German politics, political culture, and foreign policy in the first half of the 20th century: national belonging and conflicting loyalties, self-perception and representation, élites and their management of power, the modern history of German conservatism, the nature and practice of diplomacy, and, finally, the intricate relationship between the ethics of the professional civil service and absolute moral principles. Against this backdrop, the examination of Blücher’s role both within Finnish politics and the foreign policy of the Third Reich highlights the biographical dimension of the German-Finnish relationships, while fathoming the determinants of individual human agency in the process.

Archaea in the Mycorrhizosphere of Boreal Forest Trees

Archaea were long thought to be a group of ancient bacteria, which mainly lived in extreme environments. Due to the development of DNA sequencing methods and molecular phylogenetic analyses, it was shown that the living organisms are in fact divided into three domains; the Archaea, Bacteria and the Eucarya. Since the beginning of the previous decade, it was shown that archaea generally inhabit moderate environments and that these non-extremophilic archaea are more ubiquitous than the extremophiles. Group 1 of non-extreme archaea affiliate with the phylum Crenarchaeota. The most commonly found soil archaea belong to the subgroup 1.1b. However, the Crenarchaeota found in the Fennoscandian boreal forest soil belong to the subgroup 1.1c. The organic top layer of the boreal forest soil, the humus, is dominated by ectomycorrhizal fungal hyphae. These colonise virtually all tree fine root tips in the humus layer and have been shown to harbour distinct bacterial populations different from those in the humus. The archaea have also been shown to colonise both boreal forest humus and the rhizospheres of plants. In this work, studies on the archaeal communities in the ectomycorrhizospheres of boreal forest trees were conducted in microcosms. Archaea belonging to the group 1.1c Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota of the genera Halobacterium and Methanolobus were detected. The archaea generally colonised fungal habitats, such as ectomycorrhizas and external mycelia, rather than the non-mycorrhizal fine roots of trees. The species of ectomycorrhizal fungus had a great impact on the archaeal community composition. A stable euryarchaeotal community was detected especially in the mycorrhizas, of most of the tested Scots pine colonising ectomycorrhizal fungi. The Crenarchaeota appeared more sporadically in these habitats, but had a greater diversity than the Euryarchaeota. P. involutus mycorrhizas had a higher diversity of 1.1c Crenarchaeota than the other ectomycorrhizal fungi. The detection level of archaea in the roots of boreal trees was generally low although archaea have been shown to associate with roots of different plants. However, alder showed a high diversity of 1.1c Crenarchaeota, exceeding that of any of the tested mycorrhizas. The archaeal 16S rRNA genes detected from the non-mycorrhizal roots were different from those of the P. involutus mycorrhizas. In the phylogenetic analyses, the archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained from non-mycorrhizal fine roots fell in a separate cluster within the group 1.1c Crenarchaeota than those from the mycorrhizas. When the roots of the differrent tree species were colonised by P. involutus, the diversity and frequency of the archaeal populations of the different tree species were more similar to each other. Both Cren- and Euryarchaeota were enriched in cultures to which C-1 substrates were added. The 1.1c Crenarchaeota grew anaerobically in mineral medium with CH4 and CO2 as the only available C sources, and in yeast extract media with CO2 and CH4 or H2. The crenarchaeotal diversity was higher in aerobic cultures on mineral medium with CH4 or CH3OH than in the anaerobic cultures. Ecological functions of the mycorrhizal 1.1c Crenarchaeota in both anaerobic and aerobic cycling of C-1 compounds were indicated. The phylogenetic analyses did not divide the detected Crenarchaeota into anaerobic and aerobic groups. This may suggest that the mycorrhizospheric crenarchaeotal communities consist of closely related groups of anaerobic and aerobic 1.1c Crenarchaeota, or the 1.1c Crenarchaeota may be facultatively anaerobic. Halobacteria were enriched in non-saline anaerobic yeast extract medium cultures in which CH4 was either added or produced, but were not detected in the aerobic cultures. They may potentially be involved in anaerobic CH4 cycling in ectomycorrhizas. The CH4 production of the mycorrhizal samples was over 10 times higher than for humus devoid of mycorrhizal hyphae, indicating a high CH4 production potential of the mycorrhizal metanogenic community. Autofluorescent methanogenic archaea were detected by microscopy and 16S rRNA gene sequences of the genus Methanolobus were obtained. The archaeal community depended on both tree species and the type of ectomycorrhizal fungus colonising the roots and the Cren- and Euryarchaeota may have different ecological functions in the different parts of the boreal forest tree rhizosphere and mycorrhizosphere. By employing the results of this study, it may be possible to isolate both 1.1c Crenarchaeota as well as non-halophilic halobacteria and aerotolerant methanogens from mycorrhizospheres. These archaea may be used as indicators for change in the boreal forest soil ecosystem due to different factors, such as exploitations of forests and the rise in global temperature. More information about the microbial populations with apparently low cell numbers but significant ecological impacts, such as the boreal forest soil methanogens, may be of crucial importance to counteract human impacts on such globally important ecosystems as the boreal forests.