Bremen, Univ., Diss., 2009

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Astronomy and Astrophysics, March 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Actualmente, existe un incremento vehicular en Lima Metropolitana que perjudica la eficacia de las vías de comunicación terrestres. Por tal motivo, el presente tema de investigación tiene como finalidad reducir el grado de saturación en las intersecciones urbanas de la Av. Angamos Este con Av. Aviación, Av. Tomás Marsano y Av. República de Panamá ubicadas en Lima Metropolitana a través de la metodología Ramp Metering que considera desarrollar el algoritmo ALINEA. En primera instancia, se describió la situación actual de los cruces viales previamente mencionados, a partir del reconocimiento en campo. Posteriormente, se recopilaron los tiempos de verde efectivo vehicular y el ciclo semafórico peatonal. De igual manera, se contabilizó presencialmente el flujo de automóviles durante 13 horas continuas y el número de transeúntes en las intersecciones durante el mismo periodo. Subsiguientemente, se evaluaron las condiciones de circulación existente, donde el principal objetivo es determinar el grado de saturación por medio de flujogramas que permiten una mejor visualización del estado actual. Luego de lo mencionado, se empleó la estrategia ALINEA para diseñar una propuesta de mejora a partir los tiempos de verde efectivo calculados el algoritmo mencionado. Siguiendo con el procedimiento, se evaluó el diseño con el software PTV VISSIM 9.0, un programa de micro simulación acorde con los lineamientos planteados del proyecto, con la finalidad de verificar si existe una mejora relacionada al grado de saturación. Por último, se compararon las dos situaciones previstas, calculando el parámetro indicado con el programa VISSIM. / Currently, there is an exponential growth in the number of vehicles in Metropolitan Lima that harms the efficiency of the vehicle flow on the roads and highways of this city. For this reason, the present research topic aims to reduce the degree of saturation at the urban intersections of Av. Angamos Este with Av. Aviación, Av. Tomás Marsano and Av. República de Panamá located in Metropolitan Lima through the methodology of Ramp Metering that considers developing the ALINEA algorithm. In the first instance, the current situation of the previously mentioned crosses was described based on the recognition carried out in the field. Subsequently, the effective vehicular green times and the pedestrian traffic light cycle will be collected. In the same way, the traffic flow was collected for 13 consecutive hours and the number of passers-by at the intersections during the same period. Subsequently, the existing circulation conditions were evaluated, where the main objective is to determine the degree of saturation throughout flow charts that allow a better visualization of the current state. After the aforementioned, ALINEA strategy was used to design a proposal that improves the vehicle flow of the intersections based on the effective green times calculated by the algorithm mentioned. Following the procedure, the design is evaluated with the PTV VISSIM 9.0 software, a micro simulation program in accordance with the guidelines outlined in the project, with the purpose of verifying if there is an improvement related to the degree of saturation. Finally, the two situations foreseen were compared, calculating the indicated parameter with the arithmetic process of the micro simulator VISSIM. / Tesis

Coronaviruses (CoVs) comprise a family of enveloped viruses that cause respiratory disease in humans, including CoV disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe-acute respiratory syndrome CoV-2 (SARS-CoV-2). For CoV infection to occur, the CoV spike (S) protein must mediate fusion between the viral and host membranes. This entry process can also be repurposed during infection to promote cell-to-cell fusion, further contributing to viral spread. To trigger fusion, S must bind its cognate receptor and be cleaved by host proteases. Identifying cellular proteases capable of triggering CoV fusion is critical to understand CoV entry, tropism, and cell-cell spread, however the range of proteases capable of promoting CoV fusion has not been fully explored. Here, using fusion and entry assays, I provide evidence implicating matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) as a fusion trigger for SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E. Additionally, I show MMP-9 expression is upregulated during CoV infection, highlighting its potential relevance as a CoV triggering factor.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Environmental exposure to lead (Pb) and cannabis use are two of the largest public health issues facing modern society in the United States and around the world. Exposure to Pb in early life has been unequivocally shown to have negative impacts on development, and recent research is mounting showing that it may also predispose individuals for risk of developing substance use disorders (SUD). At the same time, societal and legal attitudes towards cannabis (main psychoactive component delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) have been shifting, and many American states have legalized the recreational use of cannabis. It is also the 3rd most widely used drug of abuse in the US, and rates of cannabis use disorder are on the rise. This thesis sets out to establish whether there is a link between early life Pb exposure and later THC-related behavior in C57BL6/J mice, as has been demonstrated for other drugs of abuse. The first aim seeks to answer whether Pb exposure affects physiological THC sensitivity (as measured by the cannabinoid-induced tetrad). The second aim seeks to answer whether Pb exposure affects edible THC self-administration and the development of THC tolerance (also measured by the tetrad). It was hypothesized that Pb exposure would decrease THC sensitivity (Aim 1), would enhance THC self-administration (Aim 2), enhance the development of THC tolerance (Aim 2), and finally that sex-dependent effects of Pb-exposure and THC would be observed (Aims 1 & 2). These hypotheses ended up not being supported, but Aim 1 produced findings indicating that THC sensitivity was increased by Pb exposure, but only in female mice. Future research will hopefully be able to fully explore the implications of these findings.

Heterochromatin variants of human chromosome 9 belong to the most common variabilities of human karyotype. The variability involves the large block of constitutive heterochromatin in the pericentric region of chromosome 9, which is composed of various types of repetitive DNA sequences. Those variants can be studied from population epidemiologic, molecular cytogenetic and clinical genetic point of view. We have performed a broad epidemiologic study of the incidence of pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 (inv(9)) and other variants of chromosome 9 in 6 different laboratory cohorts, which included the evaluation of more than 26.000 of cytogenetic reports, the study we published is currently the largest in the world. We expressed the overall incidence of inv(9) to be 1.6% and the total incidence of variants of chromosome 9 to be 3.3-3.9%. Inv(9) was more common in females, however the difference was not statistically significant. Molecular cytogenetic part of the project was based on our own diagnostic approach, which involved the combination of three different commercial FISH probes. Combination of those probes allowed us to differentiate particular subvariants of chromosome 9, which cannot be analyzed only by using G- or C-banding. Using our method, we tested 49 carriers of chromosome 9...

This dissertation examines Paul's statement in Romans 9:5 within the context of Romans 9-11. The thesis of the dissertation is that in the Christological passages in Romans 9-11, Paul spoke of Jesus in a manner that suggests that in Romans 9:5 he meant that Christ is God over all, that is, the God of Israel. In addition, the dissertation argues that the confession that Jesus is God over all is the fundamental confession that must be made by Israel for salvation. Chapter 1 considers the history of the discussion of New Testament Christology during the last century, and suggests that the question of whether any Palestinian Jew could refer to Jesus as God or even as Lord is the proper background against which the discussion of Paul's intent in Romans 9:5 must be undertaken. Chapter 2 undertakes an in-depth exegetical study of the syntax of Romans 9:5 and argues that the syntax is best understood as identifying Jesus as God. Chapter 3 acknowledges and answers objections from outside Romans 9:5 that Paul as a monotheistic Jew would not identify Jesus as God. Similarly, chapter 4 answers objections that Paul would not refer to Jesus as God in Romans 9:5 because he does not so identify Jesus elsewhere. Chapter 5 considers the importance of Paul's identification of Christ as the stone of stumbling and the end of the law in Romans 9:30-10:4, especially for how he understood Jesus. Chapter 6 argues that in Romans 10:5-13, Paul understood Jesus as the referent of the one on whom all call for salvation, assigning to Jesus an Old Testament reference to YHWH as the one who could save. Chapter 7 argues there is no separate way of salvation for Israel and that Jesus is YHWH, the redeemer from Zion, which Israel must join Gentiles in recognizing. / This item is under embargo until 2013-05-23

Nuestra investigación tiene como propósito fundamental caracterizar la cultura bushi (武士) como un sistema integral e internamente diferenciado. Esta caracterización está basada en el estudio del proceso de su desenvolvimiento histórico, de formación e integración de sus diversos componentes, a partir de las postrimerías de la época Heian. Nos interesa mostrar a lo largo de estas etapas su interacción con otras culturas y con la sociedad como conglomerado de relaciones sociales. De especial interés resultan para nuestro estudio las transformaciones estructurales y funcionales que experimenta la cultura bushi en los marcos de la sociedad Tokugawa, así como su ulterior destino desde los grandes cambios sociales de la época Meiji hasta la actualidad. En estrecha relación con esto, un aspecto particular de nuestra investigación es el estudio del desenvolvimiento histórico de las artes marciales japonesas, así como de su funcionamiento cultural. Nuestra tesis, además de la introducción y las conclusiones, consta de cinco capítulos: en el primero se examinan los orígenes históricos de los bushi; en el segundo, el establecimiento de los antecedentes de su cultura durante la época Kamakura; en el tercero, la consolidación de la cultura bushi durante la época Muromachi; en el cuarto, el desenvolvimiento de la técnica combativa o bujutsu (武術) durante el período Sengoku (戦国), en el tránsito hacia la época Edo; y en el quinto, las metamorfosis que experimenta esa cultura, consolidada en la época Muromachi, cuando comienza a funcionar en los marcos de la sociedad Tokugawa durante una prolongada época de paz, así como en el período bakumatsu (幕末) con el arribo a Japón de las potencias extranjeras de Europa y Norteamérica. El trasfondo conceptual de la tesis es el análisis de nociones comúnmente usadas en la bibliografía como “clase guerrera”, “clase samurái”, “sociedad buke” (buke shakai [武家社会]) y “arte marcial”. Colateralmente, a lo largo de la tesis se efectúa un estudio histórico-morfológico de las artes marciales japonesas y de las principales regularidades de su desenvolvimiento. Se han empleado básicamente materiales escritos en japonés, tanto por autores contemporáneos como antiguos. Entre estos, los códigos de los clanes buke (武家家訓), dos de los cuales aparecen examinados y traducidos como parte del tercer capítulo. En la medida en que el enfoque culturológico, como complemento del sociológico, busca estudiar el papel de los individuos en la historia en su esfuerzo por tratar de controlar conscientemente los procesos sociales, a lo largo de la tesis se efectúa el estudio de varias personalidades representativas, tanto del mundo del bushi en general, como de las artes marciales japonesas en particular, y se analiza el surgimiento y desenvolvimiento del sistema educativo del samurái. / Our research aims to characterize bushi (武士) culture as an integrated and internally differentiated system. This characterization is based on the study of the process of its historical development, formation and integration of its various components, from the end of the Heian period. We want to show along these stages its interaction with other cultures and society as a conglomeration of social relations. Of particular interest for our study are structural and functional changes experienced by the bushi culture within the framework of Tokugawa society and its further destination from the great social changes of the Meiji era to the present. Closely related to this, one particular aspect of our research is the study of the historical development of Japanese martial arts, and their cultural performance. Our doctoral thesis, besides the introduction and conclusions, consists of five chapters: the first examines the historical origins of the bushi warriors; the second, the establishment of the historical precedents of their culture during the Kamakura period; the third, the consolidation of bushi culture during the Muromachi period; the fourth, the development of combative technique or bujutsu (武術) during the Sengoku period (戦 国), in transit to the Edo period; and the fifth, the metamorphosis, experienced by that culture, consolidated in the Muromachi period, when it starts functioning in the frames of Tokugawa society, during a long period of peace, as well as in the bakumatsu (幕末) period with the arrival in Japan of the representatives from powerful countries of Europe and North America. The conceptual background of our doctoral thesis is the analysis of notions commonly used in the academic literature such as “warrior class”, “samurai class”, “buke society” (buke shakai [武家社会]) and “martial art”. Collaterally, throughout our thesis we make a historical-morphological study of Japanese martial arts and the main regularities of its development. Materials have been used primarily written in Japanese by both contemporary and ancient authors, among these, some codes of buke clans (武家家訓), two of which are examined and translated as part of the third chapter. To the extent that culturological approach, as a complement of the sociological one, aims to study the role of individuals in history when consciously trying to manage social processes, throughout our thesis we study several representative personalities of both bushi world in general and Japanese martial arts as well, and, in relation to this, we analyze the emergence and development of the educational system of the samurai.

Aquesta investigació es centra en reconstruir la història del Canal d’Aragó i Catalunya, inicialment denominat Canal de Tamarit de Llitera, des dels seus primers projectes fins la seva construcció i posada en funcionament a partir de fonts molt diverses (memòries i projectes tècnics, disposicions legislatives, fulletons propagandístics, informes jurídics, articles periodístics, etc.). Els resultats indiquen que en els seus inicis sols buscava garantir les collites de la comarca de la Llitera, després fracassaren diverses iniciatives privades que esperaven obtenir grans beneficis abastint de cereals al mercat barceloní i, en darrer lloc, jugà un paper clau en la creixent implicació de l’Estat espanyol en el procés de modernització agrària mitjançant la política de foment als regs. L’arribada de l’aigua no fou la panacea que va resoldre la “qüestió agrària” que molts esperaven. No obstant, permeté un sensible increment de la producció agrícola i potencià una creixent articulació econòmica i espacial de la zona regable. / Esta investigación se centra en reconstruir la historia del Canal de Aragón y Cataluña, inicialmente llamado Canal de Tamarite de Litera, desde sus primeros proyectos hasta su construcción y puesta en funcionamiento a partir de fuentes muy diversas (memorias y proyectos técnicos, disposiciones legislativas, folletos propagandísticos, informes jurídicos, artículos periodísticos, etc.). Los resultados indican que en sus inicios solo buscaba garantizar las cosechas de la comarca de la Litera, después fracasaron diversas iniciativas privadas que esperaban obtener grandes beneficios abasteciendo de cereales el mercado barcelonés y, por último, jugó un papel clave en la creciente implicación del Estado español en el proceso de modernización agraria a través de la política de fomento a la irrigación. La llegada del agua no fue la panacea para resolver la “cuestión agraria” que muchos esperaban. Sin embargo, permitió un sensible incremento de la producción agrícola y potenció una progresiva articulación económica y espacial de la zona regable. / This research focuses on reconstructing the history of the Canal of Aragon and Catalonia, initially called Tamarite de Litera Canal, in the years between the first projects, the construction and the start up. A wide range of documentary sources has been used: technical memories and projects, legislative orders, advertising leaflets, legal pleas, newspaper articles, etc. The evidence points out that initially its mere use was only to ensure the crops of the Litera area. Later, some private enterprises which wanted to obtain big benefits by means of providing Barcelona market with cereals failed, and finally it had a key role in the growing involvement of the Spanish Government in the agricultural modernization process through foster the irrigation policy. The results demonstrate that the water arrival was not the expected panacea to solve the "agrarian question". Nevertheless, the Canal allowed a noticeable increase of the agricultural production and it enhanced progressive economic and spatial articulation of the irrigated area.

La sequera, una amenaça natural i insidiosa, és un fenomen complex que involucra processos climàtics i genera grans impactes ambientals i socioeconòmics. En els últims anys l’interès en el seguiment i en els efectes de les sequeres ha incrementat a causa de les situacions climàtiques extremes esdevingudes. Aquests episodis de sequera tenen implicacions sobre moltes Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs) abordades pel GEOSS (Global Earth Observation Systems of Sytems) de manera que es genera una interconnexió entre les diferents disciplines, com per exemple la sostenibilitat agrícola, la seguretat alimentaria, les funcions i serveis dels ecosistemes, la biodiversitat, les reserves de carboni, els recursos hídrics i els incendis forestals, entre d’altres. Segons el cinquè i últim informe publicat pel Grup Intergovernamental d’ Experts sobre el Canvi Climàtic (IPCC), les projeccions de futur indiquen una disminució de les precipitacions en la conca Mediterrània que, juntament amb temperatures més càlides, pot desencadenar més episodis de sequera i reduir la disponibilitat d’aigua tant per sistemes naturals com per recursos humans. Tot i que la recerca en sequera progressa adequadament, el fenomen encara no està prou ben caracteritzat i per tant la gestió adequada d’aquest tipus d’esdeveniments i de les seves conseqüències encara es fa difícil. Per exemple, a l’Espanya Peninsular la sequera és un fenomen recurrent que en les últimes dècades ha causat importants impactes naturals i socioeconòmics. D’altra banda, la Península Ibèrica Espanyola és un cas d’estudi prou interessant atesa la seva situació a la conca Mediterrània i pel seu complex i heterogeni territori. Amb quasi el 90 % de la seva superfície (35 % dedicada al sector agrícola i un 55 % a boscos) amenaçada per la sequera, la caracterització espacio-temporal de la sequera en aquesta àrea és fonamental pel seguiment, previsió i gestió de les seves conseqüències. Les dades climàtiques i la teledetecció són el nucli de la present tesi, la qual contribueix al coneixement dels patrons espacials multitemporals de les sequeres a la Península i els seus efectes, des de la perspectiva de la Ciència de la Informació Geogràfica. En aquesta tesi s’aborda la identificació i caracterització de la sequera a diferents escales espacio-temporals i es demostra la necessitat d’un nou marc conceptual on la sequera forestal tingui el seu reconeixement. També contribueix a un millor coneixement dels episodis passats de sequeres a la Península Ibèrica Espanyola i dels seus possibles desencadenants gràcies al desenvolupament d’una nova base cartogràfica climàtica (precipitació i temperatura) i de sequera (Standardized Precipitation Index- SPI and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index- SPEI) per al període 1950- 2012, a 8 escales temporals diferents, que inclou més de 14 000 mapes continus a una resolució espacial de 100 m. Les anàlisis dels mapes de sequera continus a nivell espacial i temporal ofereixen una visió espacial innovadora de la sequera que permet identificar la distribució espacial de les zones més afectades i quantificar la intensitat i l’extensió temporal d’aquestes, sovint revelant com a àrees afectades aquelles que no s’esperava i per tant suggerint una revisió de les unitats climàtiques actualment definides per l’àrea. Aquest enfocament multidimensional permet seguir la dinàmica espacio-temporal de les sequeres, les anomenades sequeres en moviment, i facilita la identificació d’esdeveniments simultanis, la present en un moment donat i la resident d’un episodi anterior, en l’espai i el temps. Les tendències de les sèries temporals del SPEI a diferents escales temporals ha identificat un canvi de règim sobtat entre el 1979 i el 1981 que afecta la part central i de l’est de la Península Ibèrica, i que és anticipat per senyals d’alerta de forma consistent. L’Oscil·lació Multidecadal Atlàntica (AMO) n’ha resultat ser el predictor més significatiu. L’avaluació dels impactes d’aquest canvi abrupte en la fixació de carboni dels boscos mediterranis de Pinus halepensis identifiquen disminucions significatives en els guanys de les reserves de carboni en la majoria de parcel·les forestals avaluades. Tanmateix, els patrons de sequera basats en clima no poden explicar l’estat real de la vegetació. En canvi, les observacions remotes de satèl·lit proporcionen una visió complementaria amb una gran cobertura espacial i temporal de les condicions de sequera en la vegetació. Així doncs, s’ha calculat i usat diversos índexs de vegetació derivats del sensor MODIS (MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer) com a possibles indicadors de paràmetres de l’estat fisiològic de la vegetació dels boscos. L’anàlisi exploratòria basada en series temporals de dades de clima i índexs de vegetació de MODIS mostra les capacitats de la integració d’ambdós tipus de dades a l’hora d’identificar i caracteritzar els patrons de sequera en els boscos a diferents escales temporals. Per exemple, els índexs de vegetació que tenen en compte la temperatura presenten una correlació de R2~0.56 amb SPEI en escales temporals més curtes, mentre que si s’examinen escales temporals més llargues (al voltant d’un any) les correlacions més altes es troben amb els índexs que tenen en compte verdor i contingut d’aigua de la vegetació. Aquesta resultats mostren la robustesa de la integració de les dades de teledetecció i del SPEI i el sentit d’usar aquest últim índex en estudis de detecció de sequeres previs als que contemplen dades de teledetecció. Finalment, s’ha desenvolupat un nou algorisme per tal de generar compostos de reflectàncies de 8 dies a partir d’imatges diàries, basat en una correcció topogràfica i una aproximació geostadística, amb la finalitat de millorar l’heterogeneïtat espacial que presenta el producte de 8 dies actual de MODIS (MOD09A1). Els resultats mostren que aquest nou producte, no només millora en gran mesura el producte actual sinó que també presenta una alta correlació amb els productes obtinguts mitjançant compostos del producte diari (MOD09GA), esdevenint un possible substitut d’aquest en processaments que requereixin molt de temps de càlcul. En resum, la investigació duta a terme en aquesta tesi avança en diversos aspectes de l’estudi de la sequera, tant a nivell climàtic com a nivell forestal, i consolida un avenç en la investigació d’aquests fenòmens. / Drought, an insidious natural hazard, is a complex phenomenon involving climate processes that has large environmental and socioeconomic impacts. In recent years there has been an increasing interest in droughts effects and monitoring due to the current situations of extreme climatic events. Such drought events have implications on many of the Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs) that GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) addresses; and this phenomenon set up an interconnection between different fields, such as agriculture sustainability, food security, ecosystem functions and services, biodiversity, carbon stocks, water resources, and wildfires, among others. According to the recently published IPCC 5th Assessment Report, a decrease in precipitation coupled with warmer temperatures associated to drought events is projected especially in the Mediterranean Basin, which will result in reductions on water availability for natural and agricultural systems and human needs. Although research on drought is progressing, the phenomenon is still not well understood, and this fact makes difficult to adequately manage this type of events and their derived consequences. For instance, in the Spanish Iberian Peninsula droughts are recurring phenomena which in recent decades have led to major natural and socioeconomic impacts. Moreover, the Spanish Iberian Peninsula is an interesting case study due to its situation in the Mediterranean Basin and its heterogeneous complex territory. With around 90 % of its land surface (35 % agriculture and 55 % forest areas) highly threatened by droughts, understanding the spatial and temporal characteristics of drought in this area is essential for monitoring, forecasting and managing of its consequences. Both climate and remote-sensing data are the core of this thesis that wants to contribute to the knowledge of the multitemporal spatial patterns of droughts in the Iberian Peninsula and their effects, especially on forests, from a Geographic Information Science perspective. This thesis addresses drought identification and characterization at different spatiotemporal scales and demonstrates the need for a new conceptual framework where forest drought has its own recognition. A better understanding of past droughts events affecting the Spanish Iberian Peninsula and their possible drivers has been achieved through the development of a monthly climate (precipitation and temperature) and drought (Standardized Precipitation Index- SPI and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index- SPEI) cartographic Big Data base for the period 1950-2012 at 8 different timescales, which includes more than 14 000 continuous maps at a detailed spatial resolution of 100 m. The analyses of spatiotemporally continuous SPEI maps offers an innovative spatial vision of drought, identifies the spatial distribution of most affected areas, and quantifies the intensity and time extent of drought events, often unveiling areas more affected than previously expected and suggesting new future climatic units for the area. This multidimensional approach has enabled monitoring the spatiotemporal dynamics evolution of droughts, the so-called drought moving waves, which facilitates the identification of several simultaneous present and long-term drought events. Trends of SPEI time-series at different timescales identifies an abrupt regime shift between 1979 and 1981 affecting the central-eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, which was consistently anticipated by early warning signals. The analysis indicates that the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) is the strongest predictor of the shift. The evaluation of potential impacts of drought regime shifts in forest carbon sequestration of Mediterranean Pinus halepensis forests has also resulted in reduction in carbon stock accumulation rates in most of the evaluated areas. However, climate-based patterns do not entirely explain the real state of vegetation. Instead, satellite observations potentially provide a complementary view with greater spatial and temporal coverage of drought conditions. Therefore, vegetation indices derived from MODIS (MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer) sensor has been calculated as possible indicators of physiological forest parameters. An exploratory analysis based on time-series of climate and MODIS data has been carried out showing the capabilities of integrated climate and remote-sensing data to identify and characterize drought patterns on forests at different timescales. For instance, remote-sensing temperature indices exhibit R2~0.56 with SPEI at the shortest timescales, while when examining timescales of about 1 year, the higher correlations are found with water and vegetation indices (R2~0.38). These results show both the robustness of SPEI and remote-sensing data working together, and the sense of using SPEI for pre-remotesensing drought studies. Finally, a new methodology for generating MODIS 8-day surface reflectance products based on a topographic correction and a geostatistical analysis approach has been developed in order to address several issues related to the spatial heterogeneity of current MODIS 8-day composites (MOD09A1). Results show that this new product not only greatly improves the current product, but also presents a high monthly correlation with products obtained by the compilation of the daily product (MOD09GA), being a possible substitute of high processing time analysis of daily products. In summary, the research carried out in this thesis covers many aspects of drought studies, meteorological studies and forest studies, consolidating progress in the investigation of the drought phenomenon.