Critical reappraisal of Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic Central and North Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean evolution

(l) The Pacific basin (Pacific area) may be regarded as moving eastwards like a double zip fastener relative to the continents and their respective plates (Pangaea area): opening in the East and closing in the West. This movement is tracked by a continuous mountain belt, the collision ages of which increase westwards. (2) The relative movements between the Pacific area and the Pangaea area in the W-EfE-W direction are generated by tidal forces (principle of hypocycloid gearing), whereby the lower mantle and the Pacific basin or area (Pacific crust = roof of the lower mantle?) rotate somewhat faster eastwards around the Earth's spin axis relative to the upper mantle/crust system with the continents and their respective plates (Pangaea area) (differential rotation). (3) These relative West to East/East to West displacements produce a perpetually existing sequence of distinct styles of opening and closing oeean basins, exemplified by the present East to West arrangement of ocean basins around the globe (Oceanic or Wilson Cycle: Rift/Red Sea style; Atlantic style; Mediterranean/Caribbean style as eastwards propagating tongue of the Pacific basin; Pacific style; Collision/Himalayas style). This sequence of ocean styles, of which the Pacific ocean is a part, moves eastwards with the lower mantle relative to the continents and the upper-mantle/crust of the Pangaea area. (4) Similarly, the collisional mountain belt extending westwards from the equator to the West of the Pacific and representing a chronological sequence of collision zones (sequential collisions) in the wake of the passing of the Pacific basin double zip fastener, may also be described as recording the history of oceans and their continental margins in the form of successive Wilson Cycles. (5) Every 200 to 250 m.y. the Pacific basin double zip fastener, the sequence of ocean styles of the Wilson Cycle and the eastwards growing collisional mountain belt in their wake complete one lap around the Earth. Two East drift lappings of 400 to 500 m.y. produce a two-lap collisional mountain belt spiral around a supercontinent in one hemisphere (North or South Pangaea). The Earth's history is subdivided into alternating North Pangaea growth/South Pangaea breakup eras and South Pangaea growth/North Pangaea breakup eras. Older North and South Pangaeas and their collisional mountain belt spirals may be reconstructed by rotating back the continents and orogenic fragments of a broken spiral (e.g. South Pangaea, Gondwana) to their previous Pangaea growth era orientations. In the resulting collisional mountain belt spiral, pieced together from orogenic segments and fragments, the collision ages have to increase successively towards the West. (6) With its current western margin orientated in a West-East direction North America must have collided during the Late Cretaceous Laramide orogeny with the northern margin of South America (Caribbean Andes) at the equator to the West of the Late Mesozoic Pacific. During post-Laramide times it must have rotated clockwise into its present orientation. The eastern margin of North America has never been attached to the western margin of North Africa but only to the western margin of Europe. (7) Due to migration eastwards of the sequence of ocean styles of the Wilson Cycle, relative to a distinct plate tectonic setting of an ocean, a continent or continental margin, a future or later evolutionary style at the Earth's surface is always depicted in a setting simultaneously developed further to the West and a past or earlier style in a setting simultaneously occurring further to the East. In consequence, ahigh probability exists that up to the Early Tertiary, Greenland (the ArabiaofSouth America?) occupied a plate tectonic setting which is comparable to the current setting of Arabia (the Greenland of Africa?). The Late Cretaceous/Early Tertiary Eureka collision zone (Eureka orogeny) at the northern margin of the Greenland Plate and on some of the Canadian Arctic Islands is comparable with the Middle to Late Tertiary Taurus-Bitlis-Zagros collision zone at the northern margin of the Arabian Plate.

A view of Teresa Ambr��sio's work and life (1936-2007)

Proceedings of the 4th international conference Hands - on Science - Development, Diversity and Inclusion in Science Education, 109-115

Critical reappraisal of Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic Central and North Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean evolution

(l) The Pacific basin (Pacific area) may be regarded as moving eastwards like a double zip fastener relative to the continents and their respective plates (Pangaea area): opening in the East and closing in the West. This movement is tracked by a continuous mountain belt, the collision ages of which increase westwards. (2) The relative movements between the Pacific area and the Pangaea area in the W-E/E-W direction are generated by tidal forces (principle of hypocycloid gearing), whereby the lower mantle and the Pacific basin or area (Pacific crust = roof of the lower mantle?) rotate somewhat faster eastwards around the Earth's spin axis relative to the upper mantle/crust system with the continents and their respective plates (Pangaea area) (differential rotation). (3) These relative West to East/East to West displacements produce a perpetually existing sequence of distinct styles of opening and closing ocean basins, exemplified by the present East to West arrangement of ocean basins around the globe (Oceanic or Wilson Cycle: Rift/Red Sea style; Atlantic style; Mediterranean/Caribbean style as eastwards propagating tongue of the Pacific basin; Pacific style; Collision/Himalayas style). This sequence of ocean styles, of which the Pacific ocean is a part, moves eastwards with the lower mantle relative to the continents and the upper-mantle/crust of the Pangaea area. (4) Similarly, the collisional mountain belt extending westwards from the equator to the West of the Pacific and representing a chronological sequence of collision zones (sequential collisions) in the wake of the passing of the Pacific basin double zip fastener, may also be described as recording the history of oceans and their continental margins in the form of successive Wilson Cycles. (5) Every 200 to 250 m.y. the Pacific basin double zip fastener, the sequence of ocean styles of the Wilson Cycle and the eastwards growing collisional mountain belt in their wake complete one lap around the Earth. Two East drift lappings of 400 to 500 m.y. produce a two-lap collisional mountain belt spiral around a supercontinent in one hemisphere (North or South Pangaea). The Earth's history is subdivided into alternating North Pangaea growth/South Pangaea breakup eras and South Pangaea growth/North Pangaea breakup eras. Older North and South Pangaeas and their collisional mountain belt spirals may be reconstructed by rotating back the continents and orogenic fragments of a broken spiral (e.g. South Pangaea, Gondwana) to their previous Pangaea growth era orientations. In the resulting collisional mountain belt spiral, pieced together from orogenic segments and fragments, the collision ages have to increase successively towards the West. (6) With its current western margin orientated in a West-East direction North America must have collided during the Late Cretaceous Laramide orogeny with the northern margin of South America (Caribbean Andes) at the equator to the West of the Late Mesozoic Pacific. During post-Laramide times it must have rotated clockwise into its present orientation. The eastern margin of North America has never been attached to the western margin of North Africa but only to the western margin of Europe. (7) Due to migration eastwards of the sequence of ocean styles of the Wilson Cycle, relative to a distinct plate tectonic setting of an ocean, a continent or continental margin, a future or later evolutionary style at the Earth's surface is always depicted in a setting simultaneously developed further to the West and a past or earlier style in a setting simultaneously occurring further to the East. In consequence, ahigh probability exists that up to the Early Tertiary, Greenland (the ArabiaofSouth America?) occupied a plate tectonic setting which is comparable to the current setting of Arabia (the Greenland of Africa?). The Late Cretaceous/Early Tertiary Eureka collision zone (Eureka orogeny) at the northern margin of the Greenland Plate and on some of the Canadian Arctic Islands is comparable with the Middle to Late Tertiary Taurus-Bitlis-Zagros collision zone at the northern margin of the Arabian Plate.

Critical Velocity obtained using Simplified Models of the Railway Track: Viability and Applicability

Increased demands on the capacity of the railway network gave rise to new issues related to the dynamic response of railway tracks subjected to moving vehicles. Thus, it becomes important to evaluate the applicability of traditionally used simplified models which have a closed form solution. Regarding simplified models, transversal vibrations of a beam on a visco-elastic foundation subjected to a moving load are considered. Governing equations are obtained by Hamilton���s principle. Shear distortion, rotary inertia and effect of axial force are accounted for. The load is introduced as a time varying force moving at a constant velocity. Transversal vibrations induced by the load are solved by the normal-mode analysis. Reflected waves at the extremities of the full beam are avoided by introduction of semi-infinite elements. Firstly, the critical velocity obtained from this model is compared with results of an undamped Euler- Bernoulli formulation with zero axial force. Secondly, a finite element model in ABAQUS is examined. The new contribution lies in the introduction of semi- infinite elements and in the first step to a systematic comparison, which have not been published so fa

Yeast as a model system to study genetic and post-translational regulation of metabolic pathways in mammals

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in Biology

Structural and functional studies of PpcA: a key protein in the electron transfer pathways of Geobacter sulfurreducens

Disserta����o para obten����o do Grau de Doutor em Bioqu��mica, ramo de Biotecnologia

Signal transduction pathways involving the hypertension-related WNK1 and WNK4 protein kinases

Disserta����o apresentada para obten����o do Grau de Doutor em Biologia, na especialidade de Gen��tica Molecular, pela Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ci��ncias e Tecnologia

Critical analysis: Portuguese 9th grade exam results and socioeconomic factors

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Economics from the NOVA ��� School of Business and Economics

Why management consultants? : Between functionalist and critical perspectives

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA ��� School of Business and Economics

The effectiveness of the Media Smart Program on promoting the critical thinking of children towards the use of celebrities in television advertising

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA ��� School of Business and Economics

Interplay of Exoribonucleases, Hfq and Small RNAs Structural Determinants in the Control of Gene Expression

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in Biology

Interaction of malaria parasites with host late endocytic and autophagic pathways is essential for Plasmodium liver stage development

RESUMO: A Mal��ria �� causada por parasitas do g��nero Plasmodium, sendo a doen��a parasit��ria mais fatal para o ser humano. Apesar de, durante o s��culo passado, o desenvolvimento econ��mico e a implementa����o de diversas medidas de controlo, tenham permitido erradicar a doen��a em muitos pa��ses, a Mal��ria continua a ser um problema de sa��de grave, em particular nos pa��ses em desenvolvimento. A Mal��ria �� transmitida atrav��s da picada de uma f��mea de mosquito do g��nero Anopheles. Durante a picada, os esporozo��tos s��o injetados na pele do hospedeiro, seguindo-se a fase hep��tica e obrigat��ria do ciclo de vida. No f��gado, os esporozo��tos infetam os hepat��citos onde se replicam, dentro de um vac��olo parasit��rio (VP) e de uma forma imunit��ria silenciosa, em centenas de merozoitos. Estas novas formas do parasita s��o as respons��veis por infetar os eritr��citos, iniciando a fase sangu��nea da doen��a, onde se os primeiros sintomas se manifestam, tais como a caracter��stica febre c��clica. A fase hep��tica da doen��a �� a menos estudada e compreendida. Mais ainda, as intera����es entre o VP e os organelos da c��lulas hospedeira est��o ainda pouco caracterizados. Assim, neste estudo, as intera����es entre os organelos endoc��ticos e autof��gicos da c��lula hospedeira e o VP foram dissecados, observando-se que os anfisomas, que s��o organelos resultantes da intersec����o do dois processos de tr��fego intracelular, interagem com o parasita. Descobrimos que a autofagia tem tamb��m uma importante fun����o imunit��ria durante a fase hep��tica inicial, ao passo, que durante o desenvolvimento do parasita, j�� numa fase mais tardia, o parasita depende da intera����o com os endossomas tardios e anfisomas para crescer. Vesiculas de BSA, EGF e LC3, foram, tamb��m, observadas dentro do VP, sugerindo que os parasitas s��o capazes de internalizar material endoc��tico e autof��gico do hospedeiro. Mais ainda, mostramos que esta intera����o depende da cinase PIKfyve, respons��vel pela convers��o do fosfoinositidio-3-fosfato no fosfoinositidio-3,5-bifosfato, uma vez que inibindo esta cinase o parasita n��o �� capaz de crescer normalmente. Finalmente, mostramos que a prote��na TRPML1, uma prote��na efetora do fosfoinositidio-3,5-bifosfato, e envolvida no processo de fus��o das membranas dos organelos endoc��ticos e autof��gicos, tamb��m �� necess��ria para o crescimento do parasita. Desta forma, o nosso estudo sugere que a membrana do VP funde com vesiculas endoc��ticas e autof��gicas tardias, de uma forma dependente do fositidio-3,5-bifosfato e do seu effetor TRPML1, permitindo a troca de material com a c��lula hospedeira. Concluindo, os nossos resultados evidenciam que o processo autof��gico que ocorre na c��lula hospedeira tem um papel duplo durante a fase hep��tica da malaria. Enquanto numa fase inicial os hepat��citos usam o processo autof��gico como forma de defesa contra o parasita, j�� durante a fase de replica����o o VP funde com vesiculas autof��gicas e endoc��ticas de forma a obter os nutrientes necess��rios ao seu desenvolvimento.--------- ABSTRACT: Malaria, which is caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium, is the most deadly parasitic infection in humans. Although economic development and the implementation of control measures during the last century have erradicated the disease from many areas of the world, it remains a serious human health issue, particularly in developing countries. Malaria is transmitted by female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. During the mosquito blood meal, Plasmodium spp. sporozoites are injected into the skin dermis of the vertebrate host, followed by an obligatory liver stage. Upon entering the liver, Plasmodium parasites infect hepatocytes and silently replicate inside a host cell-derived parasitophorous vacuole (PV) into thousands of merozoites. These new parasite forms can infect red blood cells initiating the the blood stage of the disease which shows the characteristic febrile malaria episodes. The liver stage is the least characterized step of the malaria infection. Moreover, the interactions between the Plasmodium spp. PV and the host cell trafficking pathways are poorly understood. We dissected the interaction between Plasmodium parasites and the host cell endocytic and autophagic pathways and we found that both pathways intersect and interconnect in the close vicinity of the parasite PV, where amphisomes are formed and accumulate. Interestingly, we observed a clearance function for autophagy in hepatocytes infected with Plasmodium berghei parasites at early infection times, whereas during late liver stage development late endosomes and amphisomes are required for parasite growth. Moreover, we found the presence of internalized BSA, EGF and LC3 inside parasite vacuoles, suggesting that the parasites uptake endocytic and autophagic cargo. Furthermore, we showed that the interaction between the PV and host traffic pathways is dependent on the kinase PIKfyve, which converts the phosphoinositide PI(3)P into PI(3,5)P2, since PIKfyve inhibition caused a reduction in parasite growth. Finally, we showed that the PI(3,5)P2 effector protein TRPML1, which is involved in late endocytic and autophagic membrane fusion, is also required for parasite development. Thus, our studies suggest that the parasite parasitophorous vacuole membrane (PVM) is able to fuse with late endocytic and autophagic vesicles in a PI(3,5)P2- and TRPML1-dependent manner, allowing the exchange of material between the host cell and the parasites, necessary for the rapid development of the latter that is seen during the liver stage of infection. In conclusion, we present evidence supporting a specific and essential dual role of host autophagy during the course of Plasmodium liver infection. Whereas in the initial hours of infection the host cell uses autophagy as a cell survival mechanism to fight the infection, during the replicative phase the PV fuses with host autophagic and endocytic vesicles to obtain nutrients required for parasite growth.

Using cilia mutants to study left-right asymmetry in zebrafish

A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of the Masters in Molecular Genetics and Biomedicine

Study of novel energy metabolism pathways in anaerobic bacteria

Energy conservation in chemotrophic anaerobic bacteria is achieved by two possible processes, substrate level phosphorylation (SLP) and electron transfer phosphorylation (ETP). This second mechanism, also known as respiration, involves chemiosmotic coupling. However, a third mechanism for energy coupling was recently proposed: the flavin-based electron bifurcation (FBEB). (...)

Design, implementation, and performance of a distributed and scalable sensor system for critical distance measurements in the CMS detector at LHC

The ���CMS Safety Closing Sensors System��� (SCSS, or CSS for brevity) is a remote monitoring system design to control safety clearance and tight mechanical movements of parts of the CMS detector, especially during CMS assembly phases. We present the different systems that makes SCSS: its sensor technologies, the readout system, the data acquisition and control software. We also report on calibration and installation details, which determine the resolution and limits of the system. We present as well our experience from the operation of the system and the analysis of the data collected since 2008. Special emphasis is given to study positioning reproducibility during detector assembly and understanding how the magnetic fields influence the detector structure.