Ergodic control of partially observed Markov chains

The ergodic or long-run average cost control problem for a partially observed finite-state Markov chain is studied via the associated fully observed separated control problem for the nonlinear filter. Dynamic programming equations for the latter are derived, leading to existence and characterization of optimal stationary policies.

Socio-economic and marketing aspects of Laila and Bottom Long Line fisheries in the Kalpitiya peninsula of Sri Lanka

Surrounding Net Fishery (laila) and Bottom Long Line Fishery which operate in the coastal waters of Kalpitiya Peninsula, compete for the same fish resources, resulting in a fishery dispute between the respective fishermen. Both fisheries target demersal as well as mid pelagic fishes, such as travellys (parava), mullets (galmalu) and barracudas (ulava). As the dispute had an adverse impact on the social harmony in the fishing community of the area, a socio-economic survey was conducted to study the underlying factors and to suggest policy measures to resolve the issue. The laila fishermen were resident fishermen in the Kalpitiya Peninsula while bottom long line fishermen were migratory fishermen from Negombo and Chilaw areas in the west coast of Sri Lanka. The Kalpitiya peninsula is located in the North West coast, some 50 km away from the west coast. Although the educational level and literacy rate of the laila community was below that of the bottom long line community, the laila community was economically better off. The net economic returns from laila fishery were superior to that from bottom long line fishery. The boat owner's and crew's share per operation of laila fishery were Rs.3,736 and Rs.947 respectively. The same figures for bottom long line fishery were Rs.588 and Rs.327 respectively. The resource rent from laila fishery was Rs.5,860, however, and much higher than that for bottom long line fishery (Rs.275), showing that the laila fishery exploits the targeted fish resource at a much higher rate compared to bottom long line fishery. This situation badly affects the equitable distribution of resources between the two fishing communities and results in unequal economic gains. Based on the findings of this study, certain input/output controls are proposed to address this problem, among which is the need to increase license fee for laila fishery units to offset the higher exploitation rate of fish resources.

TECNOLOGIAS de produção de soja - região central do Brasil 2003.

A importância da soja; Origens; Introdução no Brasil; Produção; Causas da expansão; Impactos; Perspectivas; Pesquisa; Exigências climáticas; Exigências hídricas; Exigências térmicas e fotoperiódicas; Rotação de culturas; Seleção de espécies para compor esquemas de rotação; Planejamento da propriedade; Sugestão de um esquema de rotação de culturas; Manejo de solo; Sistema plantio direto; Preparo do solo; Alternância do uso de implemento no preparo de solo; Rompimento da camada compactada; Correção e manutenção da fertilidade do solo; Amostragem e análise do solo; Acidez do solo; Calagem; Calagem no sistema de semeadura direta; Qualidade e uso do calcário; Correção da acidez subsuperficial; Exigências minerais e adubação para a cultura da soja; Adubação; Cultivares; Tecnologia de sementes e colheita; Qualidade da semente; Armazenamento das sementes; Padronização da nomenclatura do tamanho das sementes, após classificação por tamanho; Tratamento de sementes com fungicidas; Seleção do local para produção de sementes; Avaliação da qualidade na produção de sementes - DIACOM (Diagnóstico Completo da Qualidade da Semente de Soja); Metodologia alternativa para o teste de germinação de sementes de soja; Remoção de torrões para prevenir a disseminação do nematóide de cisto; Colheita; Inoculação das sementes com Bradyrhizobium; Qualidade e quantidade dos inoculantes; Aplicação de fungicidas às sementes junto com o inoculante; Aplicação de micronutrientes nas sementes; Aplicacão de fungicidas e micronutrientes nas sementes, junto com o inoculante; Inoculação em áreas com cultivo anterior de soja; Inoculação em áreas de primeiro cultivo com soja; Nitrogênio mineral; Instalação da lavoura; Umidade e temperatura do solo; Cuidados na semeadura; Época de semeadura; Diversificação de cultivares; População e densidade de semeadura; Cálculo da quantidade de sementes e regulagem da semeadora; Controle de plantas daninhas; Informações importantes; Semeadura direta; Disseminação; Resistência; Dessecação em pré-colheita da soja; Manuseio de herbicidas e descarte de embalagens; Manejo de insetos-pragas; Espécies de insetos que atacam a soja; Níveis de dano para tomada de decisão de controle; Medidas de controle; Pragas de difícil controle; Manuseio de inseticidas e descarte de embalagens; Doenças e medidas de controle; Considerações gerais; Doenças identificadas no Brasil; Principais doenças e medidas de controle; Manuseio de fungicidas e descarte de embalagem; Retenção foliar e haste verde.

L'Écho de Paris

1932/08/02 (Numéro 19282).

Com es fa?. '??C??mo se hace?'

Muestra de manera sencilla y clara la manera c??mo se trabajan y c??mo se obtienen, en este caso, cuatro tipos de materiales: la madera, el corcho, la cer??mica y el vidrio.

Acidentes do trabalho em pescadores artesanais da região do Médio Rio Araguaia, Tocantins, Brasil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Disseminated and sustained HIV infection in CD34+ cord blood cell-transplanted Rag2-/-gamma c-/- mice

Because of species selectivity, HIV research is largely restricted to in vitro or clinical studies, both limited in their ability to rapidly assess new strategies to fight the virus. To prospectively study some aspects of HIV in vivo, immunodeficient mice, transplanted with either human peripheral blood leukocytes or human fetal tissues, have been developed. Although these are susceptible to HIV infection, xenoreactivity, and short infection spans, resource and ethical constraints, as well as biased HIV coreceptor tropic strain infection, pose substantial problems in their use. Rag2(-/-)gamma(c)(-/-) mice, transplanted as newborns with human CD34(+) cells, were recently shown to develop human B, T, and dendritic cells, constituting lymphoid organs in situ. Here we tested these mice as a model system for HIV-1 infection. HIV RNA levels peaked to up to 2 x 10(6) copies per milliliter of plasma early after infection, and viremia was observed for up to 190 days, the longest time followed. A marked relative CD4(+) T cell depletion in peripheral blood occurred in CXCR4-tropic strain-infected mice, whereas this was less pronounced in CCR5-tropic strain-infected animals. Thymus infection was almost exclusively observed in CXCR4-tropic strain-infected mice, whereas spleen and lymph node HIV infection occurred irrespective of coreceptor selectivity, consistent with respective coreceptor expression on human CD4(+) T cells. Thus, this straightforward to generate and cost-effective in vivo model closely resembles HIV infection in man and therefore should be valuable to study virus-induced pathology and to rapidly evaluate new approaches aiming to prevent or treat HIV infection.

Nuevas cubiertas de madera para la iglesia de San Martín en Jiménez de Jamúz (León)

Nuevas cubiertas de madera para a iglesia de San Martín en Jiménez de Jamúz (León)

Thesaurus resolutionum Sacrae Congregationis Concilii : quae consentaneè ad Tridentinorum PP. decreta aliasque canonici juris sanctiones ... obeunte ... Prospero De Lambertinis ... prodierunt in causis ab anno 1727 usque ad 1729 ... : tomus quartus ... /

Mode of access: Internet.

Unique reporter-based sensor platforms to monitor signalling in cells

Introduction - In recent years much progress has been made in the development of tools for systems biology to study the levels of mRNA and protein, and their interactions within cells. However, few multiplexed methodologies are available to study cell signalling directly at the transcription factor level. Methods - Here we describe a sensitive, plasmid-based RNA reporter methodology to study transcription factor activation in mammalian cells, and apply this technology to profiling 60 transcription factors in parallel. The methodology uses two robust and easily accessible detection platforms; quantitative real-time PCR for quantitative analysis and DNA microarrays for parallel, higher throughput analysis. Findings - We test the specificity of the detection platforms with ten inducers and independently validate the transcription factor activation. Conclusions - We report a methodology for the multiplexed study of transcription factor activation in mammalian cells that is direct and not theoretically limited by the number of available reporters.