Kinetics of crystal growth and equilibrium domains in eclogite of the Sesia Zone, Western Alps

Kinetics of crystal growth and equilibrium domains in eclogite of the Sesia Zone, Western Alps Darbellay Bastien Institut de Minéralogie et Géochimie Résumé grand public Comme toute matière, la roche est sensible à son environnement et cherche à s'adapter pour acquérir un état stable (état d'équilibre). Les changements des conditions physiques (température et pression) vont ainsi impliquer des modifications dans la roche. Le métamorphisme est l'étude de ces changements. Les minéraux qui constituent la roche peuvent modifier, leur structure, leur chimie ou être remplacer par d'autres minéraux plus stables. Il est ainsi crucial de déterminer les processus responsables et limitant de la croissance minérale. Trois processus permettent la croissance ; (1) la dissolution des éléments du réactant, (2) le transport de ces éléments vers le site de croissance, (3) l'incorporation de ces éléments dans la nouvelle structure. Cette thèse se focalise sur les structures des minéraux de haute pression (forme, zonation chimique, structure interne) pour essayer de déterminer les facteurs importants à l'origine de leur état final. Les zones d'étude se situent dans la zone de Sésia. La première partie traite de la problématique liée à l'incorporation d'un élément dans une structure minérale. A l'image de la croissance humaine, les irrégularités minéralogiques permettent de mettre en lumière un dysfonctionnement de la croissance due à un excès ou à une carence d'un élément. Bien dosé, cet élément est cependant essentiel à la croissance. Les zoisites (épidotes) des métabasites de la région de Cima di Bonze montrent une zonation chimique en sablier. Dans cette zonation la teneur en fer excède la capacité maximum que peut contenir la structure orthorhombique de la zoisite. Des défauts de structure permettent l'accommodation de cet excès. La zoisite peut ainsi adapter sa structure pour permettre l'incorporation d'une relativement grande quantité de fer. Les études précédentes montraient, pour des conditions similaires, la formation de deux épidotes distinctes. La deuxième partie se penche sur la compétition entre le minéral qui fait sa croissance et les minéraux (réactants) qui l'entourent. Les métapélites de la région du Monte Mucrone contiennent des grenats atollaires. Des études détaillées de la texture et de la zonation chimique du grenat ainsi qu'une modélisation thermodynamique ont permis de mieux cerner les facteurs importants responsables de la forme atollaire. Cette structure est obtenue par un changement du comportement de la croissance du grenat le long d'un chemin P-T hercynien. Dans un premier stade, le grenat croît rapidement et consume peu le quartz de la matrice. La croissance se fait ainsi le long des jointures des grains de quartz. Dans un second temps, les changements de conditions PT donnent une croissance lente du grenat et une forte consommation du quartz. Le grenat peut ainsi développer sa forme dodécaédrale classique. La troisième partie s'intéresse aux distances de transport par diffusion d'un élément (ici l'argon) durant la haute pression. Pour ce faire, un profile d'âges 40Ar/39Ar sur biotite a été mesuré depuis un veine de haute pression riche en argon jusque dans son encaissant (granitoïd du Monte Mucrone). Le profile montre une répartition des âges suivant une courbe de diffusion. Le transport se fait sur une longueur de deux centimètre avec l'aide d'un fluide. Il est réduit à une échelle millimétrique quand la phase fluide disparaît. Cette étude montre ainsi les difficultés de transport des éléments durant la haute pression ne permettant pas un rééquilibrage de la roche à grande échelle. Kinetics of crystal growth and equilibrium domains in eclogite of the Sesia Zone, Western Alps Darbellay Bastien Institut de Minéralogie et Géochimie Résumé de thèse Les processus de croissance (diffusion des éléments et les réactions d'interface) et les conditions dans lesquelles les minéraux grandissent (température, pression, fluide, composition chimique de la roche), déterminent la texture ainsi que la zonation des minéraux. Cette thèse se focalise, par le biais de textures peu communes, sur trois différents processus impliqués dans la croissance minérale à haute pression (Zone de Sésia, Alpes de l'Ouest, Italie). L'incorporation d'un élément dans une structure minérale ne peut se faire que dans des sites en accord avec la taille et la charge ionique de l'élément. De plus, la balance de charge doit être maintenue dans le minéral. La régularité de la structure cristalline fixe ainsi une limite maximum de concentration d'un élément donné. Les zoisites provenant des métabasites de la région de Cima di Bonze montrent des zonations en sablier caractérisées par une concentration anormale en fer. La zonation se marque par une différente teinte de biréfringence et par un plus grand angle d'extinction que le reste de la zoisite. Une inter-croissance de clinozoisite à l'intérieur de la structure orthorhombique de la zoisite peut ainsi être suspectée. Les analyses XRD (diffraction des rayons x) ainsi que les analyses Raman ne confirment pas cette suspicion. Seules les analyses TEM (microscope à électrons transmis) montrent des défauts de structure pouvant être interprétés comme des modules de clinozoisite. Ils ne peuvent cependant pas être considérés comme une phase thermodynamique. Un nouveau trou d'immiscibilité entre deux zoisite (X ep= 0.1 and Xep = 0.15) a ainsi pu être établi. Dans les métapélites la région du Monte Mucrone, des grenats fortement zonés montrent une évolution texturale singulière. Ils présentent une forme initiale de `champignon' qui se développe pour former une structure atollaire finale. L'étude conjuguée de la structure 3D et des zonations, ainsi que l'établissement d'un model thermodynamique, indiquent que ces structures proviennent de deux épisodes de croissances : (1) La croissance du grenat durant un chemin prograde hercynien (de 525 °C et 6.2 kbar à 640 °C et 9 kbar) permet la formation des textures atollaires. Elles sont le résultat d'une croissance poecilitique initiale suivie d'une croissance idiomorphique du grenat. (2) La structure est rendue plus complexe par la cristallisation d'un grenat homogène tout autour ainsi qu'à l'intérieur du grenat hercynien durant la haute pression alpine (550 °C and 20 kbar). L'arrivée de l'eau durant la haute pression facilite le transport d'éléments et permet une cristallisation rapide du grenat. La diffusion peut être un facteur limitant de la croissance minéralogique. Elle a aussi une grande importance pour la géochronologie. Une veine de haute pression à l'intérieur du granitoïde du Monte Mucrone a été étudiée dans le but de déterminer la distance de diffusion de l'argon. Le profile d'âges 40Ar/39Ar sur biotites, établi de la veine vers le métagranitoïde, suit une courbe de diffusion. Les âges sont élevés proche de la veine (800 Ma) puis décroissent jusqu'à des âges homogènes (170-150 Ma) à deux centimètres de la veine. La présence de fluide, marqué par de hautes concentrations en chlore, permet une diffusion centimétrique. Cependant, la distance est réduite à une échelle millimétrique quand le fluide est absent. Les très faibles distances de diffusion préservent les âges pré-alpins et impliquent un événement géologique pour les âges de 170-150 Ma. Kinetics of crystal growth and equilibrium domains in eclogite of the Sesia Zone, Western Alps Darbellay Bastien Institut de Minéralogie et Géochimie Thesis abstract Rock textures and zonings are the consequence of growth processes (element diffusion and interface reaction) steered by the environment in which they grew (pressure, differential stress, temperature, fluid and rock composition). The thesis presented here focuses on three different topics, each of it dealing with aspects of mineral growth processes during subduction, in a high-pressure environment. All studies were conducted in the Sesia Zone of the Western European Alps, Italy. The first study addresses the crystallography and geochemistry of element incorporation in zoisite, one of the major hydrous minerals found in subduction zone rocks. Elements can be incorporated into a mineral structure only on crystallographic sites that offer enough space for the ion and the overall charge balance has to be maintained. Element concentrations are hence limited. Incorporation of some elements produces complex zoning, including hourglass like patterns, which are the focus of the first contribution. Zoisites from Cima di Bonze (Sesia Zone) show spectacular hourglass zoning defined by Fe-content variations. The hourglass zones have a distinct birefringence and a different extinction angle than the regular part of the zoisite. We show by detailed XRD (X-ray diffraction) and confocal Raman analyses that the high Fe-zones are nevertheless zoisite, and not clinozoisite as one might expect. High resolution TEM (transmission electron microscopy) analyses show planar defects on (100) that can be interpreted as small-scale clinozoisite modules. However, these clinozoisites cannot be interpreted as a distinctive thermodynamic phase and the entire mineral has to be considered as zoisite. The miscibility gap between two zoisites (Xep = 0.1 and Xep = 0.15) can be then definite at 550 ± 50°C and 14 to 20 Kbar. Strongly zoned garnets in quartz rich metapelite from the Monte Mucrone area (Sesia Zone) show evolution form 3D mushroom to atoll structure. The second contribution presents textural investigations, garnet zoning and thermodynamic modeling that demonstrate that atoll garnets are the result of two distinctive growth events. (1) Garnet atoll structure is already formed during a prograde Hercynian path from 525 °C and 6.2 kbar to 640 °C and 9 kbar. It results in an initial poikilitic growth followed by a final idiomorphic growth event. (2) Alpine HP garnet are homogenous (550 °C and 20 kbar) and grew around and also inside the Hercynian garnet. Lack of prograde Alpine garnet and fast growth of the HP garnet is explained by the absence of water during much of the prograde path. Water saturation was only observed towards the end, close towards the peak metamorphic conditions. Diffusion could be a limiting factor for crystal growth. It has also a great importance in geochronology. HP vein inside the metagranitoide of the Monte Mucrone (~300 Ma) was investigated to determine argon diffusion scales during high-pressure metamorphism. 40Ar/39Ar biotite ages profile from the vein toward the metagranodiorite show a diffusion curve: old ages (800 Ma) located close to the vein decrease until homogenous 170-150 Ma ages are obtained, two centimeter away from the vein. Centimeter-scale diffusion occurs with help of a fluid phase marked by high chlorine concentrations. Argon diffusion is reduced to a millimeter scale when free fluid is absent. Very short diffusion distance permits to preserve pre-Alpine ages. The 170-150 Ma ages are considered to be geologic meaningful, probably resulting from the extensional tectonics linked to opening of the Tethian ocean.

Assessing psychosocial vulnerability and care needs of pretransplant patients by means of the INTERMED.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether the INTERMED, a generic instrument for assessing biopsychosocial case complexity and direct care, identifies organ transplant patients at risk of unfavourable post-transplant development by comparing it to the Transplant Evaluation Rating Scale (TERS), the established measure for pretransplant psychosocial evaluation. METHOD: One hundred nineteen kidney, liver, and heart transplant candidates were evaluated using the INTERMED, TERS, SF-36, EuroQol, Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), and Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale (HADS). RESULTS: We found significant relationships between the INTERMED and the TERS scores. The INTERMED highly correlated with the HADS,MADRS, and mental and physical health scores of the SF-36 Health Survey. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate the validity and usefulness of the INTERMED instrument for pretransplant evaluation. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate the different qualities of INTERMED and TERS in clinical practice. The advantages of the psychiatric focus of the TERS and the biopsychosocial perspective of the INTERMED are discussed in the context of current literature on integrated care.

Psychodynamic interventions in cancer care II: a qualitative analysis of the therapists' reports.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the focus of psychodynamic-oriented interventions in cancer patients by means of a qualitative analysis of the therapists' reports. METHODS: One hundred thirty-five reports collected within a controlled psychotherapy trial were analyzed; the themes addressed during the intervention were classified in categories reflecting the focus of the intervention and correlated with sociodemographic and medical data and type of intervention. RESULTS: Twenty main themes were identified and classified in two categories: category 1 corresponded to interventions based on expression and support, and category 2 to interventions based on introspection, with subcategory 2.1 focusing on the patient's psychological functioning and subcategory 2.2 focusing on his way to engage and communicate in relationships. While the most frequently addressed theme was related to the diagnosis of cancer (N = 102/576; 22.6%), the majority of themes were related to other concerns (N = 446/576; 77.4%). Half of the interventions (50.4%) were classified in category 1, 27.4% in category 2.1, and 9.6% in category 2.2. Patients of category 1 entered less often brief psychotherapy (step 2 of the intervention) and more frequently suffered from advances disease. CONCLUSIONS: A wide variety of themes are addressed in psychodynamic interventions in the oncology setting, illustrating that cancer is not the only focus of therapy. Other themes reflect different psychological difficulties triggered by the disease. This study illustrates that cancer patients have different needs, which surpass the event of the disease. Early clarification and comprehension of the demand may therefore be beneficial to adjust the therapeutic approach. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Tales of the City. Storytelling as a contemporary tool of urban planning and design

Almost thirty years ago, as the social sciences underwent their 'discursive turn', Bernardo Secchi (1984) drew, in what he called the 'urban planning narrative', the attention of planners to the production of myths, turning an activity often seen as primarily technical into one centred around the production of images and ideas. This conception of planning practice gave rise to a powerful current of research in English-speaking countries. Efforts were made to both combine the urban planning narrative with storytelling and to establish storytelling as a prescriptive or descriptive model for planning practice. Thus, just as storytelling is supposed to have led democratic communication off track through a pronounced concern for a good story, storytelling applied to the field of urban production may have led to an increasing preoccupation with staging and showmanship for projects to the detriment of their real inclusion in political debate. It is this possible transformation of the territorial action that will be the focus of the articles collected in this special issue of Articulo - Journal of urban research.

The role of the dopaminergic system in the production of ultrasonic calls in adult rats /

Ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) are emitted by rats in a number of social situations such as aggressive encounters, during sexual behavior, and during play in young rats, situations which are predominantly associated with strong emotional responses. These USV typically involve two distinct types of calls: 22 kHz calls, which are emitted in aversive situations and 50 kHz calls, which are emitted in non-aversive, appetitive situation. The 50 kHz calls are the focus of the present study and to date both the glutamatergic and the dopaminergic systems have been independently implicated in the production of these 50 kHz calls. The present study was conducted to examine a possible relationship between glutamate (GLU) and dopamine (DA) in mediating 50 kHz calls. It was hypothesized that the dopaminergic system plays a mediating role in 50 kHz calls induced by injections ofGLU into the anterior hypothalamic/preoptic area (AHPOA) in adult rats. A total of 68 adult male rats were used in this study. Rats' USV were recorded and analyzed in five experiments that were designed to test the hypothesis: in experiment 1, rats were treated with systemic amphetamine (AMPH) alone; in experiment 2, intra- AHPOA GLU was pretreated with systemic AMPH; in experiment 3, intra-AHPOA GLU was pretreated with intra-AHPOA AMPH; in experiment 4, rats were treated with high and low doses of intra-AHPOA AMPH only; in experiment 5, rats were treated with systemic haloperidol (HAL) as a pretreatment for intra-AHPOA GLU. Analysis of the results indicated that AMPH has a facilitatory effect on 50 kHz USV and that a relationship between DA and GLU in inducing 50 kHz calls does exist. The effect, however, was only observed when DA receptors were antagonized with HAL and was not seen with systemic AMPH pretreatments of intra-AHPOA GLU. The DAGLU relationship at the AHPOA was unclear.

A Qualitative Study of the Professional Experiences of Teachers With Mobility Challenges and Their Self-Perceptions of Professional Success

This qualitative investigation explored the professional experiences of 3 Ontario teachers who have mobility challenges. The study’s participants (2 male and 1 female) were Ontario teachers who have permanent physical disabilities that challenge their means of mobility. Each participant has an Ontario Certified Teaching License and has either taught or is currently teaching in an Ontario school. My primary source of data collection was a semi-structured face-to-face interview with each participant. The focus of the interview was participant perspectives. Data analysis was accomplished in 3 phases. Data analysis generated 5 prominent themes of commonality among participants: (a) independence and sacrifice, (b) living with pain, (c) barriers and obstacles, (d) the importance of communication, and (e) professional benefits and personal rewards.

L'évolution de la conception personnelle de la discipline infirmière d'étudiants en soins infirmiers

Peu d’écrits décrivent la conception personnelle de la discipline infirmière des étudiants ou son évolution. Pourtant, celle-ci guide la pratique des étudiants (Fawcett, 2002; Pepin, Kérouac, & Ducharme, 2010) et a des impacts sur leur persévérance dans leur formation (Spouse, 2000). Le but de cette recherche était d’explorer l’évolution de la conception personnelle de la discipline infirmière d’étudiants pendant leur formation collégiale. Ce mémoire présente une étude qualitative exploratoire fondée sur un cadre de référence liant le constructivisme radical (Glasersfeld, 1994) et le centre d’intérêt de la discipline (Pepin et al., 2010). Des entrevues individuelles ont été menées auprès de onze étudiants de première, troisième et cinquième sessions (n=11). Les données ont été analysées par questionnement analytique (Paillé & Mucchielli, 2010). Selon les participants, un soin « humain » est préalable aux « soins » de l’infirmier. Ils décrivent que l’infirmier guide une personne unique, détenant des capacités afin qu’elle accomplisse ses activités et prenne soin d’elle-même pour maintenir sa santé mentale et physique ; l’environnement hospitalier ne rejoint pas les conditions idéales identifiées par les participants. La compréhension des concepts centraux devient plus complexe durant leur formation. Les participants attribuent surtout ces changements à leurs expériences de stages. Finalement, la présente étude fournit des pistes aux enseignants afin qu’ils puissent soutenir l’apprentissage des conceptions de la discipline et orienter la construction d’une conception personnelle de la discipline infirmière utile à la pratique des étudiants.

The Gandarela Mountain Range and the “resistance space” against iron ore mining threat: a focus on the contrapositions

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Systematics and biology of Fishes of family of the hemiramphidae of Cochin coast

This overall focus of the thesis involves the systematics and biology of fishes of the family hemiramphidae of cochin coast.India is one of the leading fish producing nations in the world with an average annual production of 6.1 million tonnes of fish and shell fish from capture and culture fisheries in 2001 (Ayyappan and Biradar, 2002).Fisheries play a very significant role in the Indian economy by providing employment to nearly 7 million people directly or indirectly, supplying rich protein food and earning valued foreign exchange.Fishes of the family Hemiramphidae are commonly called ‘half beaks‘.In India, studies on hemiramphids commenced with the work of Day (1878,1889) who recorded thirteen species of hemiramphids from the Indian waters.The study area, which is part of Cochin coast is located between Lat.9°28’ and 10° N and Long.76° 13’ and 76° 31 E. Lying parallel to it is an estuary which is commonly called the Cochin backwaters which has a total area of about 200 sq.miles.The study area is subjected to wide variations in salinity from place to place, season and surface to bottom.The Cochin coast and the adjacent back water system of Kerala has a rich and diversified fish fauna. The hemiramphid fishes constitute a minor fishery of this area.The study on the distribution and availability of hemiramphid fishes present in the Cochin coast shows that they evince different patterns of distribution.In the present study it is noticed that fecundity has high correlation with weight than length of the fish.Histological studies revealed that the spermatogenesis in both H. (H) limbatus and H.(H) xanthopterus, consists of spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes secondary, spermatocytes, spermatids and spermatozoa whereas in the oogenesis of both the species.biological study will be useful in implementation of proper measures of conservation and management so that further devastation of the hemiramphids of Cochin Coast can be controlled.

Realism and politics in alienated space: Trevor Griffiths's plays of the 1970s in the television studio

The television studio play is often perceived as a somewhat compromised, problematic mode in which spatial and technological constraints inhibit the signifying and aesthetic capacity of dramatic texts. Leah Panos examines the function of the studio in the 1970s television dramas of socialist playwright Trevor Griffiths, and argues that the established verbal and visual conventions of the studio play, in its confined and ‘alienated’ space, connect with and reinforce various aspects of Griffiths's particular approach and agenda. As well as suggesting ways in which the idealist, theoretical focus of the intellectual New Left is reflexively replicated within the studio, Panos explores how the ‘intimate’ visual language of the television studio allows Griffiths to create a ‘humanized’ Marxist discourse through which he examines dialectically his dramatic characters' experiences, ideas, morality, and political objectives. Leah Panos recently completed her doctoral thesis, ‘Dramatizing New Left Contradictions: Television Texts of Ken Loach, Jim Allen, and Trevor Griffiths’, at the University of Reading and is now a Postdoctoral Researcher on the AHRC funded project, ‘Spaces of Television: Production, Site and Style’, which runs from July 2010 to March 2014.

Assessment of temperature, trace species, and ozone in chemistry-climate model simulations of the recent past

Simulations of the stratosphere from thirteen coupled chemistry-climate models (CCMs) are evaluated to provide guidance for the interpretation of ozone predictions made by the same CCMs. The focus of the evaluation is on how well the fields and processes that are important for determining the ozone distribution are represented in the simulations of the recent past. The core period of the evaluation is from 1980 to 1999 but long-term trends are compared for an extended period (1960–2004). Comparisons of polar high-latitude temperatures show that most CCMs have only small biases in the Northern Hemisphere in winter and spring, but still have cold biases in the Southern Hemisphere spring below 10 hPa. Most CCMs display the correct stratospheric response of polar temperatures to wave forcing in the Northern, but not in the Southern Hemisphere. Global long-term stratospheric temperature trends are in reasonable agreement with satellite and radiosonde observations. Comparisons of simulations of methane, mean age of air, and propagation of the annual cycle in water vapor show a wide spread in the results, indicating differences in transport. However, for around half the models there is reasonable agreement with observations. In these models the mean age of air and the water vapor tape recorder signal are generally better than reported in previous model intercomparisons. Comparisons of the water vapor and inorganic chlorine (Cly) fields also show a large intermodel spread. Differences in tropical water vapor mixing ratios in the lower stratosphere are primarily related to biases in the simulated tropical tropopause temperatures and not transport. The spread in Cly, which is largest in the polar lower stratosphere, appears to be primarily related to transport differences. In general the amplitude and phase of the annual cycle in total ozone is well simulated apart from the southern high latitudes. Most CCMs show reasonable agreement with observed total ozone trends and variability on a global scale, but a greater spread in the ozone trends in polar regions in spring, especially in the Arctic. In conclusion, despite the wide range of skills in representing different processes assessed here, there is sufficient agreement between the majority of the CCMs and the observations that some confidence can be placed in their predictions.

Reflections on the concept of the common good from an economic perspective

The chapter considers how the common good can be implemented when opinions differ within society about the nature of the common good. It explains how economic analysis can shed light on efficient conflict-management in these circumstances. The chapter argues, more generally, that virtue theorists make too little use of economics because they have an unduly restricted view of the nature and scope of the discipline

The actual status of the development of a Danish/Swedish system concept of a solar combisystem

At the beginning of 2003 the four year long research project REBUS on education, research, development and demonstration of competitive solar combisystems was launched. Research groups in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Latvia are working together with partners from industry on innovative solutions for solar heating in the Nordic countries. Existing system concepts have been analyzed and based on the results new system designs have been developed. The proposed solutions have to fulfill country specific technical, sociological and cost requirements. Due to the similar demands on the systems in Denmark and Sweden it has been decided to develop a common system concept for both countries, which increases the market potential for the manufacturer. The focus of the development is on systems for the large number of rather well insulated existing single family houses. In close collaboration with the industrial partners a system concept has been developed that is characterized by its high compactness and flexibility. It allows the use of different types of boilers, heating distribution systems and a variable store and collector size. Two prototypes have been built, one for the Danish market with a gas boiler, and one for the Swedish market with a pellet boiler as auxiliary heater. After intensive testing and eventual further improvements at least two systems will be installed and monitored in demonstration houses. The systems have been modeled in TRNSYS and the simulation results will be used to further improve the system and evaluate the system performance.

Voices of the Poor: Poverty and Growth in Albania

This paper uses three waves of panel surveys at the household level to study growth and poverty in Albania over the period 2002-2004. It attempts to answer two main questions. The first question is directed at finding the micro determinants of growth and aims to expose the obstacles households face to improve their economic situation. The main focus of the analysis is to investigate the importance of health, education, and infrastructure indicators for income growth. The second question asks whether growth in Albania during the period 2002-2004 has been pro-poor. I find that there is some evidence for a convergence of incomes and a pro-poor growth, which has led to a substantial decrease in the number of people living under the poverty line. I also find that infrastructure has not been an important determinant for income mobility, and neither has health. Only the higher education of poor urban households seems to have affected prospects for growing out of poverty, and unexpectedly, the relationship is negative.

Factors affecting the technical efficiency of production of the Brazilian banking system : a comparison of four statistical models in the context of data envelopment analysis

This paper uses an output oriented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) measure of technical efficiency to assess the technical efficiencies of the Brazilian banking system. Four approaches to estimation are compared in order to assess the significance of factors affecting inefficiency. These are nonparametric Analysis of Covariance, maximum likelihood using a family of exponential distributions, maximum likelihood using a family of truncated normal distributions, and the normal Tobit model. The sole focus of the paper is on a combined measure of output and the data analyzed refers to the year 2001. The factors of interest in the analysis and likely to affect efficiency are bank nature (multiple and commercial), bank type (credit, business, bursary and retail), bank size (large, medium, small and micro), bank control (private and public), bank origin (domestic and foreign), and non-performing loans. The latter is a measure of bank risk. All quantitative variables, including non-performing loans, are measured on a per employee basis. The best fits to the data are provided by the exponential family and the nonparametric Analysis of Covariance. The significance of a factor however varies according to the model fit although it can be said that there is some agreements between the best models. A highly significant association in all models fitted is observed only for nonperforming loans. The nonparametric Analysis of Covariance is more consistent with the inefficiency median responses observed for the qualitative factors. The findings of the analysis reinforce the significant association of the level of bank inefficiency, measured by DEA residuals, with the risk of bank failure.