SILEX: la Infraestructura de Datos Espaciales del yacimiento arqueológico de Casa Montero

El objetivo es presentar la experiencia de utilización del Software Libre y de Código Abierto en el desarrollo e implantación del Sistema de Información (SI) del yacimiento arqueológico de Casa Montero. Se muestra el potencial de combinar las Infraestructuras de Datos Espaciales y las bases de datos orientadas a grafos en la gestión, investigación y difusión del Patrimonio Arqueológico (PA). Se ejemplifica la propuesta tecnológica a través del ejemplo de SI del yacimiento arqueológico de Casa Montero (Madrid), SILEX (Sistema de Información Locacional en XML). La implementación de sistemas de información para la gestión de PA colabora fuertemente en tres actividades básicas que han de ser realizadas sobre él. En primer lugar, la gestión, con el objetivo de protegerlo y conservarlo; en segundo término, la investigación, de cara a elaborar conocimiento histórico mediante el análisis arqueológico de los restos materiales del pasado; y en tercer lugar, la difusión, con la pretensión de divulgar el PA y el conocimiento histórico generado a partir del mismo entre la sociedad

Food crops in a changing climate

Changes in both the mean and the variability of climate, whether naturally forced, or due to human activities, pose a threat to crop production globally. This paper summarizes discussions of this issue at a meeting of the Royal Society in April 2005. Recent advances in understanding the sensitivity of crops to weather, climate and the levels of particular gases in the atmosphere indicate that the impact of these factors on crop yields and quality may be more severe than previously thought. There is increasing information on the importance to crop yields of extremes of temperature and rainfall at key stages of crop development. Agriculture will itself impact on the climate system and a greater understanding of these feedbacks is needed. Complex models are required to perform simulations of climate variability and change, together with predictions of how crops will respond to different climate variables. Variability of climate, such as that associated with El Niño events, has large impacts on crop production. If skilful predictions of the probability of such events occurring can be made a season or more in advance, then agricultural and other societal responses can be made. The development of strategies to adapt to variations in the current climate may also build resilience to changes in future climate. Africa will be the part of the world that is most vulnerable to climate variability and change, but knowledge of how to use climate information and the regional impacts of climate variability and change in Africa is rudimentary. In order to develop appropriate adaptation strategies globally, predictions about changes in the quantity and quality of food crops need to be considered in the context of the entire food chain from production to distribution, access and utilization. Recommendations for future research priorities are given.

Design and management of sustainable built environments

The United Nation Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes it clear that climate change is due to human activities and it recognises buildings as a distinct sector among the seven analysed in its 2007 Fourth Assessment Report. Global concerns have escalated regarding carbon emissions and sustainability in the built environment. The built environment is a human-made setting to accommodate human activities, including building and transport, which covers an interdisciplinary field addressing design, construction, operation and management. Specifically, Sustainable Buildings are expected to achieve high performance throughout the life-cycle of siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance and demolition, in the following areas: • energy and resource efficiency; • cost effectiveness; • minimisation of emissions that negatively impact global warming, indoor air quality and acid rain; • minimisation of waste discharges; and • maximisation of fulfilling the requirements of occupants’ health and wellbeing. Professionals in the built environment sector, for example, urban planners, architects, building scientists, engineers, facilities managers, performance assessors and policy makers, will play a significant role in delivering a sustainable built environment. Delivering a sustainable built environment needs an integrated approach and so it is essential for built environment professionals to have interdisciplinary knowledge in building design and management . Building and urban designers need to have a good understanding of the planning, design and management of the buildings in terms of low carbon and energy efficiency. There are a limited number of traditional engineers who know how to design environmental systems (services engineer) in great detail. Yet there is a very large market for technologists with multi-disciplinary skills who are able to identify the need for, envision and manage the deployment of a wide range of sustainable technologies, both passive (architectural) and active (engineering system),, and select the appropriate approach. Employers seek applicants with skills in analysis, decision-making/assessment, computer simulation and project implementation. An integrated approach is expected in practice, which encourages built environment professionals to think ‘out of the box’ and learn to analyse real problems using the most relevant approach, irrespective of discipline. The Design and Management of Sustainable Built Environment book aims to produce readers able to apply fundamental scientific research to solve real-world problems in the general area of sustainability in the built environment. The book contains twenty chapters covering climate change and sustainability, urban design and assessment (planning, travel systems, urban environment), urban management (drainage and waste), buildings (indoor environment, architectural design and renewable energy), simulation techniques (energy and airflow), management (end-user behaviour, facilities and information), assessment (materials and tools), procurement, and cases studies ( BRE Science Park). Chapters one and two present general global issues of climate change and sustainability in the built environment. Chapter one illustrates that applying the concepts of sustainability to the urban environment (buildings, infrastructure, transport) raises some key issues for tackling climate change, resource depletion and energy supply. Buildings, and the way we operate them, play a vital role in tackling global greenhouse gas emissions. Holistic thinking and an integrated approach in delivering a sustainable built environment is highlighted. Chapter two demonstrates the important role that buildings (their services and appliances) and building energy policies play in this area. Substantial investment is required to implement such policies, much of which will earn a good return. Chapters three and four discuss urban planning and transport. Chapter three stresses the importance of using modelling techniques at the early stage for strategic master-planning of a new development and a retrofit programme. A general framework for sustainable urban-scale master planning is introduced. This chapter also addressed the needs for the development of a more holistic and pragmatic view of how the built environment performs, , in order to produce tools to help design for a higher level of sustainability and, in particular, how people plan, design and use it. Chapter four discusses microcirculation, which is an emerging and challenging area which relates to changing travel behaviour in the quest for urban sustainability. The chapter outlines the main drivers for travel behaviour and choices, the workings of the transport system and its interaction with urban land use. It also covers the new approach to managing urban traffic to maximise economic, social and environmental benefits. Chapters five and six present topics related to urban microclimates including thermal and acoustic issues. Chapter five discusses urban microclimates and urban heat island, as well as the interrelationship of urban design (urban forms and textures) with energy consumption and urban thermal comfort. It introduces models that can be used to analyse microclimates for a careful and considered approach for planning sustainable cities. Chapter six discusses urban acoustics, focusing on urban noise evaluation and mitigation. Various prediction and simulation methods for sound propagation in micro-scale urban areas, as well as techniques for large scale urban noise-mapping, are presented. Chapters seven and eight discuss urban drainage and waste management. The growing demand for housing and commercial developments in the 21st century, as well as the environmental pressure caused by climate change, has increased the focus on sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS). Chapter seven discusses the SUDS concept which is an integrated approach to surface water management. It takes into consideration quality, quantity and amenity aspects to provide a more pleasant habitat for people as well as increasing the biodiversity value of the local environment. Chapter eight discusses the main issues in urban waste management. It points out that population increases, land use pressures, technical and socio-economic influences have become inextricably interwoven and how ensuring a safe means of dealing with humanity’s waste becomes more challenging. Sustainable building design needs to consider healthy indoor environments, minimising energy for heating, cooling and lighting, and maximising the utilisation of renewable energy. Chapter nine considers how people respond to the physical environment and how that is used in the design of indoor environments. It considers environmental components such as thermal, acoustic, visual, air quality and vibration and their interaction and integration. Chapter ten introduces the concept of passive building design and its relevant strategies, including passive solar heating, shading, natural ventilation, daylighting and thermal mass, in order to minimise heating and cooling load as well as energy consumption for artificial lighting. Chapter eleven discusses the growing importance of integrating Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) into buildings, the range of technologies currently available and what to consider during technology selection processes in order to minimise carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels. The chapter draws to a close by highlighting the issues concerning system design and the need for careful integration and management of RETs once installed; and for home owners and operators to understand the characteristics of the technology in their building. Computer simulation tools play a significant role in sustainable building design because, as the modern built environment design (building and systems) becomes more complex, it requires tools to assist in the design process. Chapter twelve gives an overview of the primary benefits and users of simulation programs, the role of simulation in the construction process and examines the validity and interpretation of simulation results. Chapter thirteen particularly focuses on the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation method used for optimisation and performance assessment of technologies and solutions for sustainable building design and its application through a series of cases studies. People and building performance are intimately linked. A better understanding of occupants’ interaction with the indoor environment is essential to building energy and facilities management. Chapter fourteen focuses on the issue of occupant behaviour; principally, its impact, and the influence of building performance on them. Chapter fifteen explores the discipline of facilities management and the contribution that this emerging profession makes to securing sustainable building performance. The chapter highlights a much greater diversity of opportunities in sustainable building design that extends well into the operational life. Chapter sixteen reviews the concepts of modelling information flows and the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), describing these techniques and how these aspects of information management can help drive sustainability. An explanation is offered concerning why information management is the key to ‘life-cycle’ thinking in sustainable building and construction. Measurement of building performance and sustainability is a key issue in delivering a sustainable built environment. Chapter seventeen identifies the means by which construction materials can be evaluated with respect to their sustainability. It identifies the key issues that impact the sustainability of construction materials and the methodologies commonly used to assess them. Chapter eighteen focuses on the topics of green building assessment, green building materials, sustainable construction and operation. Commonly-used assessment tools such as BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED) and others are introduced. Chapter nineteen discusses sustainable procurement which is one of the areas to have naturally emerged from the overall sustainable development agenda. It aims to ensure that current use of resources does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Chapter twenty is a best-practice exemplar - the BRE Innovation Park which features a number of demonstration buildings that have been built to the UK Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes. It showcases the very latest innovative methods of construction, and cutting edge technology for sustainable buildings. In summary, Design and Management of Sustainable Built Environment book is the result of co-operation and dedication of individual chapter authors. We hope readers benefit from gaining a broad interdisciplinary knowledge of design and management in the built environment in the context of sustainability. We believe that the knowledge and insights of our academics and professional colleagues from different institutions and disciplines illuminate a way of delivering sustainable built environment through holistic integrated design and management approaches. Last, but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the chapter authors for their contribution. I would like to thank David Lim for his assistance in the editorial work and proofreading.

Fire in the Earth System

Fire is an important component of the Earth System that is tightly coupled with climate, vegetation, biogeochemical cycles, and human activities. Observations of how fire regimes change on seasonal to millennial timescales are providing an improved understanding of the hierarchy of controls on fire regimes. Climate is the principal control on fire regimes, although human activities have had an increasing influence on the distribution and incidence of fire in recent centuries. Understanding of the controls and variability of fire also underpins the development of models, both conceptual and numerical, that allow us to predict how future climate and land-use changes might influence fire regimes. Although fires in fire-adapted ecosystems can be important for biodiversity and ecosystem function, positive effects are being increasingly outweighed by losses of ecosystem services. As humans encroach further into the natural habitat of fire, social and economic costs are also escalating. The prospect of near-term rapid and large climate changes, and the escalating costs of large wildfires, necessitates a radical re-thinking and the development of approaches to fire management that promote the more harmonious co-existence of fire and people.

An enhanced fall detection system for elderly person monitoring using consumer home networks

Various fall-detection solutions have been previously proposed to create a reliable surveillance system for elderly people with high requirements on accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. In this paper, an enhanced fall detection system is proposed for elderly person monitoring that is based on smart sensors worn on the body and operating through consumer home networks. With treble thresholds, accidental falls can be detected in the home healthcare environment. By utilizing information gathered from an accelerometer, cardiotachometer and smart sensors, the impacts of falls can be logged and distinguished from normal daily activities. The proposed system has been deployed in a prototype system as detailed in this paper. From a test group of 30 healthy participants, it was found that the proposed fall detection system can achieve a high detection accuracy of 97.5%, while the sensitivity and specificity are 96.8% and 98.1% respectively. Therefore, this system can reliably be developed and deployed into a consumer product for use as an elderly person monitoring device with high accuracy and a low false positive rate.

Trends in Morbid Obesity and in Bariatric Surgeries Covered by the Brazilian Public Health System

Obesity is an increasingly serious public health problem on a global level. Morbid obesity, defined as a body mass index greater than 40 kg/m(2), is associated with increased mortality and a high burden of obesity-related morbidities. To study the prevalence of morbid obesity in Brazil, three national anthropometric surveys were reanalyzed. Data about bariatric surgeries were obtained from the Ministry of Health Hospital Information System, which is available online. A 255% rise in the prevalence of morbid obesity was observed, starting at 0.18% in 1975-1976 and growing to 0.33% in 1989 and 0.64% in 2002-2003. There was a higher rate in the South in the first two surveys, but the prevalence in the Southeast rose steadily, reaching 0.77% in 2002-2003 and overtaking the South. Since 1999, the Brazilian Unified Health System has covered surgical treatment for morbid obesity. From 2000 to 2006, there was a sixfold increase in the number of surgeries, which topped the 2,500 mark in 2006. The geographic distribution of these surgeries is heavily concentrated in the Southeast, the most developed region of Brazil, where there is also the highest prevalence of morbid obesity. This was followed by the Southern region. The figures for the rise in morbid obesity in Brazil are startling, especially the increase among men. This is a situation that calls for further study, alongside measures to encourage the adoption of healthy lifestyles. Preventive measures aimed at slowing down or reversing the obesity epidemic are urgently required.

Ectonucleotidase activities are altered in serum and platelets of L-NAME-treated rats

It is well known that hypertension is closely associated to the development of vascular diseases and that the inhibition of nitric oxide biosynthesis by administration of N omega-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) leads to arterial hypertension. In the vascular system, extracellular purines mediate several effects: thus, ADP is the most important platelet agonist and recruiting agent, while adenosine, all end product Of nucleotide metabolism, is a vasodilator and inhibitor of platelet activation and recruitment. Members of several families of enzymes, known as ectonucleotidases, including E-NTPDases (ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase), E-NPP (ecto-nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase) and 5`-nucleotidase are able to hydrolyze extracellular nucleotides until their respective nucleosides. We investigated the ectonuclectidase activities of serum and platelets from rats made hypertensive by oral administration of L-NAME (30 mg/kg/day for 14 days or 30 mg/kg/day for 14 days Plus 7 days of L-NAME washout, in the drinking water) in comparison to normotensive control rats. L-NAME promoted a significant rise in systolic blood pressure from 112 +/- 9.8 to 158 +/- 23 mmHg. The left ventricle weight index (LVWI) was increased in rats treated with L-NAME for 14 days when compared to control animals. In Serum samples, ATP, ADP and AMP hydrolysis were reduced by about 27%, 36% and 27%, respectively. In platelets, the decrease in ATP, ADP and AMP hydrolysis Was approximately 27%, 24% and 32%, respectively. All parameters recovered after 7 days of L-NAME washout. HPLC demonstrated a reduction in ADP, AMP and hypoxanthine levels by about 64%, 69% and 87%, respectively. In this study, we showed that ectonucleotidase activities are decreased in serum and platelets from L-NAME-treated rats, which should represent an additional risk for the development of hypertension. The modulation of ectonucleotidase activities may represent an approach to antihypertensive therapy via inhibition of spontaneous platelet activation and recruitment, as well as thrombus formation. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A gestão da informação sob a luz do Enterprise Content Management (ECM): um estudo de caso em uma universidade pública

This work involves the organization and content perspectives on Enterprise Content Management (ECM) framework. The case study at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte was based on ECM model to analyse the information management provided by the three main administrative systems: The Integrated Management of Academic Activities (SIGAA), Integrated System of Inheritance, and Contracts Administration (SIPAC) and the Integrated System for Administration and Human Resources (SIGRH). A case study protocol was designed to provide greater reliability to research process. Four propositions were examined in order to reach the specific objectives of identification and evaluation of ECM components from UFRN perspective. The preliminary phase provided the guidelines for the data collection. In total, 75 individuals were interviewed. Interviews with four managers directly involved on systems design were recorded (average duration of 90 minutes). The 70 remaining individuals were approached in random way in UFRN s units, including teachers, administrative-technical employees and students. The results showed the presence of many ECM elements in the management of UFRN administrative information. The technological component with higher presence was "management of web content / collaboration". But initiatives of other components (e.g. email and document management) were found and are in continuous improvement. The assessment made use of eQual 4.0 to examine the effectiveness of applications under three factors: usability, quality of information and offered service. In general, the quality offered by the systems was very good and walk side by side with the obtained benefits of ECM strategy adoption in the context of the whole institution

Evaluation of the Cartographic Communication Performance of a Route Guidance and Navigation System

This study evaluates the influence of different cartographic representations of in-car navigation systems on visual demand, subjective preference, and navigational error. It takes into account the type and complexity of the representation, maneuvering complexity, road layout, and driver gender. A group of 28 drivers (14 male and 14 female) participated in this experiment which was performed in a low-cost driving simulator. The tests were performed on a limited number of instances for each type of representation, and their purpose was to carry out a preliminary assessment and provide future avenues for further studies. Data collected for the visual demand study were analyzed using non-parametric statistical analyses. Results confirmed previous research that showed that different levels of design complexity significantly influence visual demand. Non-grid-like road networks, for example, influence significantly visual demand and navigational error. An analysis of simple maneuvers on a grid-like road network showed that static and blinking arrows did not present significant differences. From the set of representations analyzed to assess visual demand, both arrows were equally efficient. From a gender perspective, women seem to took at the display more than men, but this factor was not significant. With respect to subjective preferences, drivers prefer representations with mimetic landmarks when they perform straight-ahead tasks. For maneuvering tasks, landmarks in a perspective model created higher visual demands.

Retrospective analysis of post-exposure to human anti-rabies treatment in Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil

This analysis aimed to identify characteristics of accidents that would, probably, provoke rabies infection. A total of 14,409 survey questionnaires for surveillance of human rabies from the Brazilian Information System for Disease Notification (SINAN), from 2000 to 2005, were analyzed. Regarding demographics, it was observed that 7,377 (51.5%) of the victims were white, 4,458 (30.93%) were children and 8,008 (55.58%) were males. Urban cases were prevalent (88.10%) while dogs were the animals most frequently involved in accidents, in 11,700 cases (81.19%). Bites (84.35%) and scratches (19.15%) were the most prevalent exposure types, and occurred predominantly on victims' extremities (38.79%). The prophylactic measure taken in 6,179 cases comprised anti-rabies vaccine; of these victims, 421 (2.92%) showed systemic reactions while 693 (4.80%) reported no response. The importance of developing awareness in professionals that should correctly report post-exposure immunoprophylaxis cases is emphasized given the high number of individuals who receive this type of treatment annually.

Análise multitemporal dos elementos geoambientais da região da Ponta do Tubarão, área de influência dos campos petrolíferos de Macau e Serra, município de Macau/RN

The study area is inserted in Ponta do Tubarão region, Macau City, setentrional littoral of Rio Grande do Norte State, composed of Tertiary and Quatemary sedimentary rocks and sediments. This region is characterized for the intense action of the coastal processes, causing the morphologic instability in part of the area, beyond the interference of human activities, as the Petroliferous Industrial Polo, salt companies and shrimp farms. This justifies the integration of multidisciplinary and multitemporal detailed scientific studies dealing with the evaluation of the changing behavior of this coastal environment by geoenvironments elements characterization, identifying protected and recuperation areas, mainly those under socioeconomic intervention. The main objective was the coastal monitoring using geoprocessing techniques to prepare thematic maps useful for oil spilling environment risk areas survey. The methodology was based on multitemporal interpretation of remote sensing images and field checking, integrated in a Geographical Information System (GIS). The Geologic, Geomorphologic, Vegetation, Soil and Land Use maps were prepared, and later on they allowed the generation of the Natural Vulnerability and Environmental Vulnerability maps. These maps had been classified in accordance with vulnerability degrees: very low, low, medi um, high and very high. Beyond these maps the GIS allowed the analysis of the shoreline evolution for 10 distinct dates, using Landsat 5 TM and 7 ETM+ and SPOT-HRVIR images. This analysis made possible the attendance of the coastal morphodynamic evolution, where the results had been represented by areasof erosion and accretion (or deposition) of sediments, pointing critical areas under erosive process to the petroliferous industry (Macau and Serra fields). The GIS also provided to prepare the Environmental Sensitivity Maps of Oil Spill (SAO Maps) in operational scale (1: 10.000), according to the norms ofthe Ministério do Meio Ambiente (MMA 2002). The SAO Map in operational scale was based on IKONOS images mosaic where the ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index) was represented according with two tides phases of theregion. Therewere recognizedfiveESI (3, 4,7,9, 1O) for the low tide; to the high tide the ESI number increased to seven (3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10). All these information are necessary to the decisions making about oi! spill and its derivatives containment. These techniques application makes possible the optimization and implantation ofnew socioeconomics activities of low environmental impact, indicates areas for better productivity and security exploration, and benefits local communities with fauna and flora preservation. The development of these activities is inserted in the scope of Monitoramento Ambiental de Áreas de Risco a Derrames de Petróleo e Seus Derivados Cooperation Project (Rede 05/01 - PETRORISCO, FINEP/CTPETRO/PETROBRAS) of multidisciplinary and interinstitucional characteristics dealing with subjects involving the environmental monitoring and the petroliferous activity

Inferência geográfica para delimitação de corredores ecológicos: um estudo de caso para a Mata Atlântica do município de Tibau do Sul/RN

The Atlantic Forest biome occupies much of the Atlantic coast of Brazil, in addition to portions of Paraguay and Argentina. Due mainly to its biodiversity which falls in the group of global hotspots, i.e., areas that have high priority for conservation. Although currently there are some available devices that assist in their protection in the course of the history of occupation and exploitation of the Brazilian territory, this biome has gone, and is still going through, an intense process of devastation, caused mainly by the pressure from economic activities, culminating in a significant reduction of its area and consequent fragmentation of the landscape, which brings with hosts a series of problems at various scales and aspects. As in most municipalities included in the reach area of the biome, the situation of forest fragmentation in Tibau do Sul / RN is quite critical, reflecting on a truly diverse landscape with broad typology of land uses. Among the alternatives aimed at the conservation of this biome include the creation of protected areas and the creation of ecological corridors, the latter being more efficient by connecting the remaining forests, increasing landscape connectivity, providing significant gains in relation to biodiversity. However, a major problem on implementation of Ecological Corridors projects is related to the selection of areas for this purpose, in this sense Geography can provide important contributions through the integrated study of landscape in the light of the geosystemic approach and the use of Geographical Information System (GIS) in order to permit assessment of reality having as a base the integration of ecological, biological and man-made aspects. Thus, this research aims to indicate potential areas and propose scenarios delimitation of Ecological Corridors in the municipality of Tibau do Sul / RN through Geographic Inference techniques in GIS platform. Therefore, the methodology adopted is based on the Geosystemic approach. From these elements were created 4 models to indicate potential areas for implementation of Ecological Corridors from the environmental perspective (potential erosion), socioeconomic (cover and land prices), legislative (areas protected by environmental legislation) and integrated (combination of environmental factors, socioeconomic and legislative), which in turn served as a basis for proposing scenarios aimed at this purpose. The results showed that all models can be quite useful in indicating potential areas for the establishment of ecological corridors, especially when based on an integrated approach between environmental and anthropogenic. The Corridors delimitation proposes shown may perform duties beyond the establishment of connectivity between fragments, since they also may have usefulness in controlling erosion and protecting fragile environments. Among the models developed, the integrated constituted itself as the best option because it enabled the interconnection of a larger number of fragments from a better use of the potentialities present in the landscape

Análise da transformação do uso da terra, vegetação e impactos ambientais por meio de sensoriamento remoto e geoprocessamento

The mapping of the land use, vegetation and environmental impacts using remote sensing and geoprocessing allows detection, spatial representation and quantifying all alterations due to the human action in the nature, contributing to the monitoring and planning of those activities that cause damages to the environment. The aim of this research is analyze the transformation ocurred with the land use and vegetation in order to detect environmental impacts during the period from 1962 to 1995, considering a test area in the district of Assistência and surroundings, in the Rio Claro (SP) region. In order to archieve such aim the authors used boolean operations available in the Geographical Information System (GIS) - Idrisi. The maps were obtained through the ordinary (conventional) interpretation of aerial photos, later digitized in the software CAD Overlay and georeferenced in AutoCAD Map. It's observed that operations such as crossing digitized maps of one specific area in two differents dates, using GIS, produce overall results that might point out expansion or retraction's trends of the mapped classes, as well as quantify the intensity of the phenomena.

Abductive reasoning, information, and mechanical systems

We investigate, from a philosophical perspective, the relation between abductive reasoning and information in the context of biological systems. Emphasis is given to the organizational role played by abductive reasoning in practical activities of embodied embedded agency that involve meaningful information. From this perspective, meaningful information is provisionally characterized as a selforganizing process of pattern generation that constrains coherent action. We argue that this process can be considered as a part of evolutionarily developed learning abilities of organisms in order to help with their survival. We investigate the case of inorganic mechanical systems (like robots), which deal only with stable forms of habits, rather than with evolving learning abilities. Some difficulties are considered concerning the hypothesis that mechanical systems may operate with meaningful information, present in abductive reasoning. Finally, an example of hypotheses creation in the domain of medical sciences is presented in order to illustrate the complexity of abduction in practical reasoning concerning human activities. © 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Ergonomia de quadras urbanas: condição térmica do pedestre

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)