Short-term temporal changes in the spatial variability model of CO2 emissions from a Brazilian bare soil

In this work, the spatial variability model of CO2 emissions and soil properties of a Brazilian bare soil were investigated. Carbon dioxide emissions were measured on three different days at contrasted soil temperature and soil moisture conditions, and soil properties were investigated at the same points where emissions were measured. One spatial variability model of soil CO2 emissions was found for each measurement day, and these models are similar to the ones of soil properties studied in an area of 100 x 100 m. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial and temporal profiles for anti-inflammatory gene expression in leukocytes during a resolving model of peritonitis

The recent appreciation of the role played by endogenous counterregulatory mechanisms in controlling the outcome of the host inflammatory response requires specific analysis of their spatial and temporal profiles. In this study, we have focused on the glucocorticoid-regulated anti-inflammatory mediator annexin 1. Induction of peritonitis in wild-type mice rapidly (4 h) produced the expected signs of inflammation, including marked activation of resident cells (e.g., mast cells), migration of blood-borne leukocytes, mirrored by blood neutrophilia. These changes subsided after 48-96 h. In annexin 1null mice, the peritonitis response was exaggerated (∼40% at 4 h), with increased granulocyte migration and cytokine production. In blood leukocytes, annexin 1 gene expression was activated at 4, but not 24, h postzymosan, whereas protein levels were increased ai both time points. Locally, endothelial and mast cell annexin 1 gene expression was not detectable in basal conditions, whereas it was switched on during the inflammatory response. The significance of annexin 1 system plasticity in the anti-inflammatory properties of dexamethasone was assessed. Clear induction of annexin 1 gene in response to dexamethasone treatment was evident in the circulating and migrated leukocytes, and in connective tissue mast cells; this was associated with the steroid failure to inhibit leukocyte trafficking, cytokine synthesis, and mast cell degranulation in the annexin 1null mouse. In conclusion, understanding how inflammation is brought under control will help clarify the complex interplay between pro- and anti-inflammatory pathways operating during the host response to injury and infection. Copyright © 2006 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

Braneworlds scenarios in a gravity model with higher order spatial three-curvature terms

In this work we study a Hořava-like 5-dimensional model in the context of braneworld theory. The equations of motion of such model are obtained and, within the realm of warped geometry, we show that the model is consistent if and only if λ takes its relativistic value 1. Furthermore, we show that the elimination of problematic terms involving the warp factor second order derivatives are eliminated by imposing detailed balance condition in the bulk. Afterwards, Israel's junction conditions are computed, allowing the attainment of an effective Lagrangian in the visible brane. In particular, we show that the resultant effective Lagrangian in the brane corresponds to a (3 + 1)-dimensional Hořava-like model with an emergent positive cosmological constant but without detailed balance condition. Now, restoration of detailed balance condition, at this time imposed over the brane, plays an interesting role by fitting accordingly the sign of the arbitrary constant β, insuring a positive brane tension and a real energy for the graviton within its dispersion relation. Also, the brane consistency equations are obtained and, as a result, the model admits positive brane tensions in the compactification scheme if, and only if, β is negative and the detailed balance condition is imposed. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg and Società Italiana di Fisica.

A Spatial and Temporal Prediction Model of Corn Grain Yield as a Function of Soil Attributes

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Determining spatial resolution in spatial load forecasting using a grid-based model

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A non-homogeneous poisson model with spatial anisotropy applied to ozone data from Mexico City

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Transfer function-noise modeling and spatial interpolation to evaluate the risk of extreme (shallow) water-table levels in the Brazilian Cerrados

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Semiparametric modeling of the spatial distribution of occupational accident risk in the casual labor market, Piracicaba, southeast Brazil

The objective of this study was to estimate the spatial distribution of work accident risk in the informal work market in the urban zone of an industrialized city in southeast Brazil and to examine concomitant effects of age, gender, and type of occupation after controlling for spatial risk variation. The basic methodology adopted was that of a population-based case-control study with particular interest focused on the spatial location of work. Cases were all casual workers in the city suffering work accidents during a one-year period; controls were selected from the source population of casual laborers by systematic random sampling of urban homes. The spatial distribution of work accidents was estimated via a semiparametric generalized additive model with a nonparametric bidimensional spline of the geographical coordinates of cases and controls as the nonlinear spatial component, and including age, gender, and occupation as linear predictive variables in the parametric component. We analyzed 1,918 cases and 2,245 controls between 1/11/2003 and 31/10/2004 in Piracicaba, Brazil. Areas of significantly high and low accident risk were identified in relation to mean risk in the study region (p < 0.01). Work accident risk for informal workers varied significantly in the study area. Significant age, gender, and occupational group effects on accident risk were identified after correcting for this spatial variation. A good understanding of high-risk groups and high-risk regions underpins the formulation of hypotheses concerning accident causality and the development of effective public accident prevention policies.

Estimating abundance and spatial distribution patterns of the bubble crab Dotilla fenestrata (Crustacea : Brachyura)

The bubble crab Dotilla fenestrata forms very dense populations on the sand flats of the eastern coast of Inhaca Island, Mozambique, making it an interesting biological model to examine spatial distribution patterns and test the relative efficiency of common sampling methods. Due to its apparent ecological importance within the sandy intertidal community, understanding the factors ruling the dynamics of Dotilla populations is also a key issue. In this study, different techniques of estimating crab density are described, and the trends of spatial distribution of the different population categories are shown. The studied populations are arranged in discrete patches located at the well-drained crests of nearly parallel mega sand ripples. For a given sample size, there was an obvious gain in precision by using a stratified random sampling technique, considering discrete patches as strata, compared to the simple random design. Density average and variance differed considerably among patches since juveniles and ovigerous females were found clumped, with higher densities at the lower and upper shore levels, respectively. Burrow counting was found to be an adequate method for large-scale sampling, although consistently underestimating actual crab density by nearly half. Regression analyses suggested that crabs smaller than 2.9 mm carapace width tend to be undetected in visual burrow counts. A visual survey of sampling plots over several patches of a large Dotilla population showed that crab density varied in an interesting oscillating pattern, apparently following the topography of the sand flat. Patches extending to the lower shore contained higher densities than those mostly covering the higher shore. Within-patch density variability also pointed to the same trend, but the density increment towards the lowest shore level varied greatly among the patches compared.

Spatial analysis of the distribution of Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and losses in maize crop productivity using geostatistics

A lagarta-do-cartucho, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), é uma das principais pragas do milho nas Américas. O estudo de sua distribuição espacial é fundamental para a utilização de estratégias de controle, otimização de técnicas de amostragens, determinação de danos econômicos e incorporação de um programa de agricultura de precisão. em uma área cultivada com milho foram realizadas amostragens com intervalo semanal, correspondendo ao estádio vegetativo que compreende desde a germinação até o pendoamento. Foram amostradas 10 plantas ao acaso por parcela, no total de 2000 plantas em cada amostragem. A produtividade foi obtida através da colheita de todas as parcelas que eram pesadas separadamente no campo e em cada parcela foram coletadas 15 espigas aleatoriamente para estimar o comprimento e o diâmetro médio. As análises espaciais, utilizando geoestatística, mostraram que o modelo esférico apresentou o melhor ajuste às lagartas pequenas. À medida que as lagartas foram se desenvolvendo sua distribuição foi tornando aleatória, representada por um modelo ajustado por uma reta, não tendo sido detectado nenhum tipo de dependência espacial nos pontos de amostragem. A produtividade e o diâmetro e comprimento da espiga foram descritos por modelos esféricos, indicando uma variabilidade espacial nos parâmetros de produtividade na área cultivada. A geoestatística mostrou-se promissora para a aplicação de métodos precisos no controle integrado de pragas.

Self-energies for interacting fields with a compactified spatial dimension

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Multi-Agent Simulation of Urban Social Dynamics for Spatial Load Forecasting

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A Cellular Automaton Approach to Spatial Electric Load Forecasting

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A Generalized Log-Normal Model for Grouped Survival Data

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)