FORAMINIFERAL RECORD OF CHANGES IN SUMMER MONSOON PRECIPITATION AT THE SOUTHEASTERN BRAZILIAN CONTINENTAL MARGIN SINCE THE LAST GLACIAL MAXIMUM

Changes in the oxygen isotopic composition of the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber and in the foraminifera faunal composition in a core retrieved from the southeastern Brazilian continental margin were used to infer past changes in the hydrological balance and monsoon precipitation in the western South Atlantic since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The results suggest a first-order orbital (precessional) control on the South American Monsoon precipitation. This agrees with previous studies based on continental proxies except for LGM estimates provided by pollen records. The causes for this disagreement are discussed.

Eddy Formation in the Tropical Atlantic Induced by Abrupt Changes in the Meridional Overturning Circulation

The variability of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) in the upper tropical Atlantic basin is investigated using a reduced-gravity model in a simplified domain. Four sets of idealized numerical experiments are performed: (i) switch-on of the MOC until a fixed value when a constant northward flow is applied along the western boundary; (ii) MOC with a variable flow; (iii) MOC in a quasi-steady flow; and (iv) shutdown of the MOC in the Northern Hemisphere. Results from experiments (i) show that eddies are generated at the equatorial region by shear instability and detached northward; eddies are responsible for an enhancement of the mean flow and the variability of the MOC. Results from experiments (ii) show a transitional behavior of the MOC related to the eddy generation in interannual-decadal time scales as the Reynolds number varies due to the variations in the MOC. In experiments (iii), a critical Reynolds number Re(c) around 30 is found, above which eddies are generated. Experiments (iv) demonstrate that even after the collapse of MOC in the Northern Hemisphere, eddies can still be generated and carry energy across the equator into the Northern Hemisphere; these eddies act to attenuate the impact of the MOC shutdown on short time scales. The results described here may be particularly pertinent to ocean general circulation models in which the Reynolds number lies close to the bifurcation point separating the laminar and turbulent regimes.

New Zealand climate in the Neogene and implications for global atmospheric circulation

New Zealand has a good Neogene plant fossil record. During the Miocene it was without high topography and it was highly maritime, meaning that its climate, and the resulting vegetation, would be controlled dominantly by zonal climate conditions. Its vegetation record during this time suggests the climate passed from an ever-wet and cool but frostless phase in the Early Miocene in which Nothofagus subgenus Brassospora was prominent. Then it became seasonally dry, with vegetation in which palms and Eucalyptus were prominent and fires were frequent, and in the mid-Miocene, it developed a dry-climate vegetation dominated by Casuarinaceae. These changes are reflected in a sedimentological change from acidic to alkaline chemistry and the appearance of regular charcoal in the record. The vegetation then changed again to include a prominent herb component including Chenopodiaceae and Asteraceae. Sphagnum became prominent, and Nothofagus returned, but mainly as the subgenus Fuscospora (presently restricted to temperate climates). This is interpreted as a return to a generally wet, but now cold climate, in which outbreaks of cold polar air and frost were frequent. The transient drying out of a small maritime island and the accompanying vegetation/climate sequence could be explained by a higher frequency of the Sub-Tropical High Pressure (STHP) cells (the descending limbs of the Hadley cells) over New Zealand during the Miocene. This may have resulted from an increased frequency of 'blocking', a synoptic situation which occurs in the region today. An alternative hypothesis, that the global STHP belt lay at a significantly higher latitude in the early Neogene (perhaps 55degreesS) than today (about 30degreesS), is considered less likely because of physical constraints on STHP belt latitude. In either case, the difference between the early Neogene and present situation may have been a response to an increased polar-equatorial temperature gradient. This contrasts with current climate models for the geological past in which the latitude of the High Pressure belt impact is held invariant though geological time. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

O ���m��todo global��� e o ensino da leitura na escola prim��ria no Estado do Esp��rito Santo : (anos de 1960)

Esta pesquisa tematizou o ensino inicial da leitura na escola prim��ria, no estado do Esp��rito Santo, nos anos de 1960, com o objetivo de analisar princ��pios que fundamentam o ���m��todo global��� e sua apropria����o no campo da pol��tica educacional, para justificar a representa����o desse m��todo como eficaz para a alfabetiza����o de crian��as. Para tanto, nos debru��amos sobre manuais did��ticos elaborados para o ensino inicial da leitura, que prop��em o ���m��todo global��� por meio de contos e historietas, que circularam em escolas capixabas. Desse modo a quest��o central que norteou esta investiga����o foi: Que apropria����es foram feitas de princ��pios que fundamentavam o ���m��todo global��� pelas professoras autoras de manuais did��ticos (de contos e historietas) que circularam no Estado do Esp��rito Santo, nos anos de 1960? Os manuais did��ticos que integram o corpus documental da an��lise compreendem: as mais belas hist��rias: pr��-livro, parte do mestre [196?]; as mais belas hist��rias: pr��-livro (1964) e as mais belas hist��rias: pr��-livro, bloco de atividades [196?], de autoria L��cia Casasanta. O livro de Lil��: m��todo global, manual da professora (1940) e o livro de Lil��: cartilha (1961), de Anita Fonseca e o circo do Carequinha, manual do professor (1969), de Maria Serafina de Freitas. Al��m dessas fontes privilegiamos outras como revista pedag��gica, correspond��ncias oficiais, ata de reuni��o pedag��gica, jornal, orienta����es/prescri����es para pr��tica pedag��gica. Consideramos na an��lise o esquema conceitual apresentado por Roger Chartier: circula����o, representa����o, apropria����o e pr��ticas culturais e, ainda o conceito de cultura escolar de Dominique Julia. Compreende-se que foram feitas apropria����es inventivas, dos princ��pios te��ricos formulados por Jean-Ovide Decroly, pelas autoras dos manuais did��ticos e estes puseram em circula����o a representa����o de m��todo e de ensino da leitura que foi apropriada e legitimada pela pol��tica educacional capixaba. Entende-se que a proposta do ���m��todo global��� n��o provocou significativas modifica����es na condi����o de passividade do aluno no processo de aprendizagem da leitura, tendo em vista a naturaliza����o dos processos de desenvolvimento da crian��a e perman��ncia de procedimentos mecanicista e reducionista da l��ngua.

Reshaping European Union development policy: collective choices and the new global order

Abstract The European Union (EU) is one of the world��s leading donors in official development assistance (ODA) to give a strong weight in the relationship with recipient partner countries, in particular with those that are more dependent on it. Besides the material weight of its funding, the EU has retained historical ties and influence in diplomatic, political and economic terms in many of its ODA recipient partner countries (particular in Sub-Saharan Africa). Since the 2000s, the EU development policy has not only undergone major structural changes in its institutional framework but also has started to face a new international aid scenario. This paper explores why a normative-based EU development policy is being challenged by reformed EU institutions and a new global order, and how the EU is attempting to respond to this context in face of the deepest recession since the end of the Second World War.

Assessing the effects of global warming and local social and economic conditions on the malaria transmission

OBJECTIVE: To show how a mathematical model can be used to describe and to understand the malaria transmission. METHODS: The effects on malaria transmission due to the impact of the global temperature changes and prevailing social and economic conditions in a community were assessed based on a previously presented compartmental model, which describes the overall transmission of malaria. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: The assessments were made from the scenarios produced by the model both in steady state and dynamic analyses. Depending on the risk level of malaria, the effects on malaria transmission can be predicted by the temperature ambient or local social and-economic conditions.

Efetividade da reeduca����o postural global no tratamento de um caso de lombociatalgia de origem discal

A Reeduca����o Postural Global (RPG) �� um m��todo que promove o alongamento da musculatura est��tica (t��nica), incluindo a intervertebral, que est�� constantemente em contra����o, originando grandes for��as compressivas sobre o disco intervertebral. Apesar de ser uma modalidade de tratamento muito utilizada, existem poucos estudos que suportem a sua base te��rica e a sua efetividade cl��nica. Objetivo: Avaliar a efetividade do m��todo de RPG no tratamento de um caso de lombociatalgia de origem discal. M��todos: Estudo de caso cl��nico de um professor de 56 anos de idade, com sintomas de h��rnia discal lombar no n��vel de L4-L5, associada a uma anterolistesis de L5, confirmada por Resson��ncia Magn��tica. A avalia����o e tratamento centrou-se no m��todo de RPG realizado ao longo de duas sess��es. Na primeira sess��o foi utilizada uma postura de abertura de coxofemoral em dec��bito durante 30 minutos, enquanto que na segunda foi utilizada inicialmente essa postura durante 20 minutos, seguida de uma postura em fechamento de coxofemoral em carga durante 15 minutos. Foram analisados os dados relativos �� avalia����o postural (inspec����o visual), �� dor (Escala Visual Anal��gica), �� for��a muscular dos peroniais e extensores dos dedos (Teste Muscular Manual), �� presen��a de formigueiro e ao reflexo aquiliano antes e depois de cada uma das sess��es. Resultados: No final das duas sess��es, verificaram-se altera����es na avalia����o postural, principalmente com a diminui����o da hiperlordose lombar e da retrovers��o dos il��acos, normaliza����o do reflexo aquiliano e da for��a muscular, diminui����o da sensa����o de formigueiro e desaparecimento total da dor. Conclus��o: Os resultados obtidos neste estudo sugerem que a Reeduca����o Postural Global foi efectiva no tratamento de um caso de lombociatalgia com origem numa h��rnia discal lombar.

Dynamical analysis of the global warming

Global warming is a major concern nowadays. Weather conditions are changing, and it seems that human activity is one of the main causes. In fact, since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the burning of fossil fuels has increased the nonnatural emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that absorbs the infrared radiation produced by the reflection of the sunlight on the Earth���s surface, trapping the heat in the atmosphere. Global warming and the associated climate changes are being the subject of intensive research due to their major impact on social, economic, and health aspects of human life. This paper studies the global warming trend in the perspective of dynamical systems and fractional calculus, which is a new standpoint in this context. Worldwide distributed meteorological stations and temperature records for the last 100 years are analysed. It is shown that the application of Fourier transforms and power law trend lines leads to an assertive representation of the global warming dynamics and a simpler analysis of its characteristics.

Global-EDF scheduling of multimode real- time systems considering mode independent tasks

Embedded real-time systems often have to support the embedding system in very different and changing application scenarios. An aircraft taxiing, taking off and in cruise flight is one example. The different application scenarios are reflected in the software structure with a changing task set and thus different operational modes. At the same time there is a strong push for integrating previously isolated functionalities in single-chip multicore processors. On such multicores the behavior of the system during a mode change, when the systems transitions from one mode to another, is complex but crucial to get right. In the past we have investigated mode change in multiprocessor systems where a mode change requires a complete change of task set. Now, we present the first analysis which considers mode changes in multicore systems, which use global EDF to schedule a set of mode independent (MI) and mode specific (MS) tasks. In such systems, only the set of MS tasks has to be replaced during mode changes, without jeopardizing the schedulability of the MI tasks. Of prime concern is that the mode change is safe and efficient: i.e. the mode change needs to be performed in a predefined time window and no deadlines may be missed as a function of the mode change.

A synchronous transition protocol with periodicity for global scheduling of multimode real-time systems on multiprocessors

We consider the global scheduling problem of multimode real-time systems upon identical multiprocessor platforms. During the execution of a multimode system, the system can change from one mode to another such that the current task set is replaced with a new task set. Thereby, ensuring that deadlines are met requires not only that a schedulability test is performed on tasks in each mode but also that (i) a protocol for transitioning from one mode to another is specified and (ii) a schedulability test for each transition is performed. In this paper, we extend the synchronous transition protocol SM-MSO in order to take into account mode-independent tasks [1], i.e., tasks of which the execution pattern must not be jeopardized by the mode changes.

The First WORKS Conference on Transformation of Work in a Global Knowledge Economy

The relationship between the changes of the global economy and individual working conditions formed the background of the first WORKS conference ���The transformation of work in a global knowledge economy: towards a conceptual framework���, held in Chania, Greece from 21st ��� 22nd September, 2006 and attended by around 50 European researchers. Experts from academia and trade unions from all over the world were invited to give insights into their field of research, contributing to one of the main topics of the conference: (i) globalisation and organisational restructuring, (ii) workers��� organisation, the quality of working life and the gender dimension and (iii) global experiences and recommendations.

Are societal changes new? Questions or trends and future perceptions on knowledge-based economy

With the emergence of a global division of labour, the internationalisation of markets and cultures, the growing power of supranational organisations and the spread of new information technologies to every field of life, it starts to appear a different kind of society, different from the industrial society, and called by many as ���the knowledge-based economy���, emphasizing the importance of information and knowledge in many areas of work and organisation of societies. Despite the common trends of evolution, these transformations do not necessarily produce a convergence of national and regional social and economic structures, but a diversity of realities emerging from the relations between economic and political context on one hand and the companies and their strategies on the other. In this sense, which future can we expect to the knowledge economy? How can we measure it and why is it important? This paper will present some results from the European project WORKS ��� Work organisation and restructuring in the knowledge society (6th Framework Programme), focusing the future visions and possible future trends in different countries, sectors and industries, given empirical evidences of the case studies applied in several European countries, underling the importance of foresight exercises to design policies, prevent uncontrolled risks and anticipate alternatives, leading to different ���knowledge economies��� and not to the ���knowled

Internacionaliza����o de uma born global

Trabalho de Projeto apresentado ao Instituto de Contabilidade e Administra����o do Porto para a obten����o do grau de Mestre em Internacionaliza����o e Empreendedorismo, sob orienta����o da Professora Doutora Maria Clara Dias Pinto Ribeiro Esta vers��o n��o cont��m as cr��ticas e sugest��es dos elementos do j��ri.

EVALUATION OF METHODS IN DETECTING VANCOMYCIN MIC AMONG MRSA ISOLATES AND THE CHANGES IN ACCURACY RELATED TO DIFFERENT MIC VALUES

INTRODUCTION: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) presenting reduced susceptibility to vancomycin has been associated to therapeutic failure. Some methods used by clinical laboratories may not be sufficiently accurate to detect this phenotype, compromising results and the outcome of the patient. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the performance of methods in the detection of vancomycin MIC values among clinical isolates of MRSA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Vancomycin Minimal Inhibitory Concentration was determined for 75 MRSA isolates from inpatients of Mãe de Deus Hospital, Porto Alegre, Brazil. The broth microdilution (BM) was used as the gold-standard technique, as well as the following methods: E-test® strips (BioMérieux), M.I.C.E® strips (Oxoid), PROBAC® commercial panel and the automated system MicroScan® (Siemens). Besides, the agar screening test was carried out with 3 µg/mL of vancomycin. RESULTS: All isolates presented MIC ≤ 2 µg/mL for BM. E-test® had higher concordance (40%) in terms of global agreement with the gold standard, and there was not statistical difference among E-test® and broth microdilution results. PROBAC® panels presented MICs, in general, lower than the gold-standard panels (58.66% major errors), while M.I.C.E.® MICs were higher (67.99% minor errors). CONCLUSIONS: For the population of MRSA in question, E-test® presented the best performance, although with a heterogeneous accuracy, depending on MIC values.

The tight grip of a debt based global economy: A study on banking regulation and the implementation of the Basel II Accord in Portugal

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