Variação da área irrigada por pivôs centrais no Brasil entre 2013 e 2014.

Foram comparadas as áreas irrigadas por pivôs centrais no Brasil em 2013 e 2014, mapeadas através da identificação visual a partir de mosaicos formados por imagens do satélite Landsat 8 ? OLI / TRS de 2013 e 2014, respectivamente, exibidas no programa Google Earth. Em 2013 foram identificados 17.878 pivôs centrais, ocupando uma área irrigada de 1.179.176 ha. Em 2014, foi observado aumento de 11% no número de pivôs centrais e de 8% na área irrigada (19.928 pivôs centrais, 1.279.072 ha irrigados). Em 2013, praticamente 90% dos pivôs concentravam-se nos Estados de Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Goiás, Bahia e Rio Grande do Sul, situação também observada para o ano de 2014. Em alguns Estados foi verificado aumento maior do que 20% no número de pivôs entre 2013 e 2014, como em Alagoas (133%), Santa Catarina (50%), Mato Grosso (20,07%). Em outros Estados, porém, o número de pivôs diminuiu em mais do que 20%, como é o caso do Sergipe (-100%), Pernambuco (-75%) e Maranhão (-46,61%). Em 2013, aproximadamente 45% dos pivôs centrais do Brasil concentrava-se na Região Hidrográfica do Rio Paraná; e quase 30%, na do Rio São Francisco. Em 2014, a Região Hidrográfica do Rio Paraná passou a concentrar cerca de 50% dos pivôs centrais do país. Apesar das adversidades climáticas verificadas nos últimos anos, principalmente nas áreas de Cerrado, com o aumento de incentivos econômicos para a produção de alimentos prevê-se a expansão futura das áreas irrigadas no país. Apesar do benefício potencial da irrigação para a produção agrícola, estratégias para promover o aumento da produção agrícola irrigada devem considerar restrições relacionadas com a disponibilidade, qualidade e conflitos de uso da água das bacias hidrográficas em que estão inseridas. Ações estimulando a melhoria da qualidade da água, conservação de nascentes e áreas de preservação permanente, bem como o gerenciamento eficiente dos recursos hídricos, contribuirão para a melhoria da qualidade e quantidade de água disponível, fundamentais para possibilitar a sustentabilidade e expansão futura da agricultura irrigada no Brasil.

Aspects of Armageddon: An exploration of the role of volcanic eruptions in human history and civilization

Grattan, J.P. (2006) Aspects of Armageddon: An exploration of the role of volcanic eruptions in human history and civilization, Quaternary International 151, 10-18.

Vegetation and Topographic Control of Wind-blown Snow Distributions in Distributed and Aggregated Simulations for an Arctic Tundra Basin

Essery, RLH & JW, Pomeroy, (2004). Vegetation and topographic control of wind-blown snow distributions in distributed and aggregated simulations. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 5, 735-744.

Identifying the Aggressor under International Law: A Principles Approach

null RAE2008

Folklore Studies and Popular Film and Television: A Necessary Critical Survey

Koven, M. (2003). Folklore Studies and Popular Film and Television: A Necessary Critical Survey. Journal of American Folklore. 116(460), pp.176-195. RAE2008

Constructing Visual Taxonomies by Shape

Cook, Anthony; Gibbens, M.J., (2006) 'Constructing Visual Taxonomies by Shape', 18th International Conference on Pattern Recognition (ICPR'06) Volume 2, pp. 732 - 735 RAE2008

The nature of emotional support and counselling provision for people with sight loss in the United Kingdom

People with sight loss in the United Kingdom are known to have lower levels of emotional wellbeing and to be at higher risk of depression. Consequently ‘having someone to talk to’ is an important priority for people with visual impairment. An on-line survey of the provision of emotional support and counselling for people affected by sight loss across the UK was undertaken. The survey was distributed widely and received 182 responses. There were more services offering ‘emotional support’, in the form of listening and information and advice giving, than offered ‘counselling’. Services were delivered by providers with differing qualifications in a variety of formats. Waiting times were fairly short and clients presented with a wide range of issues. Funding came from a range of sources, but many felt their funding was vulnerable. Conclusions have been drawn about the need for a national standardised framework for the provision of emotional support and counselling services for blind and partially sighted people in the UK

Danieli Hodrovej mit i poetyka miasta

The author analyses the theoretical and historical work of the Czech literary theoretician entitled “Citlivé město (eseje z mytopoetiky”), Praha 2006, ss. 416. Hodrova’s work is focused on the topic of the city as an architectural creation and a complicated social and cultural phenomenon. In the post-modern anthropological thought the city is the subject of interest as an area that defines the identity of the human being through urban notions. The historical model of Hodrova’s reflection is the Czech Prague seen through the eyes of writers, artists, architects but also through the European tradition of presenting the city. Ipso facto, the monograph that reconstructs the artistic means of presenting Prague transforms into a dispute in the area of social psychology, mythical studies and anthropology.

Contributo para o desenvolvimento de um Instrumento de Investigação Neuropsicológica

Tese apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Doutor em Ciências Sociais, especialidade em Psicologia

Cinco (5) localidades asistidas en la identidad gráfica.

[176] hojas : ilustraciones, fotografías.

Diseño y desarrollo de productos de innovación y mejoramiento tecnológico.

176 hojas.

An energy efficient power controller switching methodology for an ambient healthcare network

A methodology for improved power controller switching in mobile Body Area Networks operating within the ambient healthcare environment is proposed. The work extends Anti-windup and Bumpless transfer results to provide a solution to the ambulatory networking problem that ensures sufficient biometric data can always be regenerated at the base station. The solution thereby guarantees satisfactory quality of service for healthcare providers. Compensation is provided for the nonlinear hardware constraints that are a typical feature of the type of network under consideration and graceful performance degradation in the face of hardware output power saturation is demonstrated, thus conserving network energy in an optimal fashion.

Pregnancy-specific glycoprotein function, conservation and receptor investigation

Pregnancy-specific glycoproteins (PSGs) are highly glycosylated secreted proteins encoded by multi-gene families in some placental mammals. They are carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family and immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily members. PSGs are immunomodulatory, and have been demonstrated to possess antiplatelet and pro-angiogenic properties. Low serum levels of these proteins have been correlated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Objectives: Main research goals of this thesis were: 1). To attempt to replicate previously reported cytokine responses to PSG-treatment of immune cells and subsequently to investigate functionally important amino acids within PSG1. 2). To determine whether candidate receptor, integrin αvβ3, was a binding partner for PSG1 and to investigate whether PSG1 possessed functionality in a leukocyte-endothelial interaction assay. 3). To determine whether proteins generated from recently identified putative PSG genes in the horse shared functional properties with PSGs from other species. Outcomes: 1). Sequential domain deletion of PSG1 as well as mutation of conserved residues within the PSG1 Ndomain did not affect PSG1-induced TGF-β1. The investigated response was subsequently found to be the result of latent TGF-β1 contaminating the recombinant protein. Protein further purified by SEC to remove this showed no induction of TGF-β1. The most N-terminal glycosylation site was demonstrated to have an important role in PSG N domain secretion. PSG1 attenuated LPS-induced IL-6 and TNF-α. Investigations into signalling underpinning this proved inconclusive. 2). Integrin αvβ3 was identified as a novel PSG1 receptor mediating an as yet unknown function. Preliminary investigations into a role for PSGs as inhibitors of leukocyte endothelial interactions showed no effect by PSG1. 3). Horse PSG protein, CEACAM49, was shown to be similarly contaminated by latent TGF-β1 particle and once removed did not demonstrate TGF-β1 release. Interestingly horse PSG did show anti-platelet properties through inhibition of the plateletfibrinogen interaction as previously published for mouse and human PSGs.

Optimal assessment of the ability of children with recurrent respiratory tract infections to produce anti-polysaccharide antibodies.

Specific anti-polysaccharide antibody deficiency (SPAD) is an immune disorder. Diagnostic criteria have not yet been defined clearly. One hundred and seventy-six children evaluated for recurrent respiratory tract infections were analysed retrospectively. For each subject, specific anti-pneumococcal antibodies had been measured with two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), one overall assay (OA) using the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23-PPSV) as detecting antigen and the other purified pneumococcal polysaccharide serotypes (serotype-specific assay, SSA) (serotypes 14, 19F and 23F). Antibody levels were measured before (n = 176) and after (n = 93) immunization with the 23-PPSV. Before immunization, low titres were found for 138 of 176 patients (78%) with OA, compared to 20 of 176 patients (11%) with the SSA. We found a significant correlation between OA and SSA results. After immunization, 88% (71 of 81) of the patients considered as responders in the OA test were also responders in the SSA; 93% (71 of 76) of the patients classified as responders according to the SSA were also responders in the OA. SPAD was diagnosed in 8% (seven of 93) of patients on the basis of the absence of response in both tests. Thus, we propose to use OA as a screening test for SPAD before 23-PPSV immunization. After immunization, SSA should be used only in case of a low response in OA. Only the absence of or a very low antibody response detected by both tests should be used as a diagnostic criterion for SPAD.