Preliminary integrated magnetostratigraphic and biostratigraphic correlation in the Miocene Lorca Basin (Murcia, SE Spain).

The Lorca basin is one of the Neogene basins OS South Eastern Spain. The infilling Tortonian-Messinian deposits are mainly composed OS marls and reach up to 1,200 m in thickness. A biostratigraphic survey OS these deposits, assisted by the determination OS the magnetic polarity reversal pattern Sor most OS these deposits (900 m), has enabled the Tortonian-Messinian chronostratigraphy to be precised. The close sampling space for biostratigraphic determination has enabled the accurate location OS Sour main biostratigraphic events than can be correlated with charactenstic events of the Mediterranean biostratigraphic Zones. In addition, the location OS the TortonianNessinian boundary has been accurately placed at some 150 m below the main gypsurn unit outcropping in the basin. The integrated bio-magnetostratigraphic data fiom the studied section allows a tentative interpretation OS the identified magnetozones. Thus, a correlation to the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale is presented for more than 900 m of pre-evaporite Miocene stratigraphic succession fiom the Lorca basin. Moreover, about 15' OS anticlockwise rotation has been detected. Its significance is evaluated in the basin geodynamic framework.

Proportionality and Party Success in Europe

This thesis consists of four articles and an introductory section. The main research questions in all the articles are about proportionality and party success in Europe, at European, national or district levels. Proportionality in this thesis denotes the proximity of seat shares parties receive compared to their respective vote shares, after the electoral system’s allocation process. This proportionality can be measured through numerous indices that illustrate either the overall proportionality of an electoral system or a particular election. The correspondence of a single party’s seat shares to its vote shares can also be measured. The overall proportionality is essential in three of the articles (1, 2 and 4), where the system’s performance is studied by means of plots. In article 3, minority party success is measured by advantage-ratios that reveal single party’s winnings or losses in the votes to seat allocation process. The first article asks how proportional are the European parliamentary (EP) electoral systems, how do they compare with results gained from earlier studies and how do the EP electoral systems treat different sized parties. The reasons for different outcomes are looked for in explanations given by traditional electoral studies i.e. electoral system variables. The countries studied (EU15) apply electoral systems that vary in many important aspects, even though a certain amount of uniformity has been aspired to for decades. Since the electoral systems of the EP elections closely resemble the national elections, the same kinds of profiles emerge as in the national elections. The electoral systems indeed treat the parties differentially and six different profile types can be found. The counting method seems to somewhat determine the profile group, but the strongest variables determining the shape of a countries’ profile appears to be the average district magnitude and number of seats allocated to each country. The second article also focuses on overall proportionality performance of an electoral system, but here the focus is on the impact of electoral system changes. I have developed a new method of visualizing some previously used indices and some new indices for this purpose. The aim is to draw a comparable picture of these electoral systems’ changes and their effects. The cases, which illustrate this method, are four elections systems, where a change has occurred in one of the system variables, while the rest remained unchanged. The studied cases include the French, Greek and British European parliamentary systems and the Swedish national parliamentary system. The changed variables are electoral type (plurality changed to PR in the UK), magnitude (France splitting the nationwide district into eight smaller districts), legal threshold (Greece introducing a three percent threshold) and counting method (d’Hondt was changed to modified Sainte-Laguë in Sweden). The radar plots from elections after and before the changes are drawn for all country cases. When quantifying the change, the change in the plots area that is created has also been calculated. Using these radar plots we can observe that the change in electoral system type, magnitude, and also to some extent legal threshold had an effect on overall proportionality and accessibility for small parties, while the change between the two highest averages counting method had none. The third article studies the success minority parties have had in nine electoral systems in European heterogeneous countries. This article aims to add more motivation as to why we should care how different sized parties are treated by the electoral systems. Since many of the parties that aspire to represent minorities in European countries are small, the possibilities for small parties are highlighted. The theory of consociational (or power-sharing) democracy suggests that, in heterogeneous societies, a proportional electoral system will provide the fairest treatment of minority parties. The OSCE Lund Recommendations propose a number of electoral system features, which would improve minority representation. In this article some party variables, namely the unity of the minority parties and the geographical concentration of the minorities were included among possible explanations. The conclusions are that the central points affecting minority success were indeed these non-electoral system variables rather than the electoral system itself. Moreover, the size of the party was a major factor governing success in all the systems investigated; large parties benefited in all the studied electoral systems. In the fourth article the proportionality profiles are again applied, but this time to district level results in Finnish parliamentary elections. The level of proportionality distortion is also studied by way of indices. The average magnitudes during the studied periodrange from 7.5 to 26.2 in the Finnish electoral districts and this opens up unequal opportunities for parties in different districts and affects the shape of the profiles. The intra-country case allows the focus to be placed on the effect of district magnitude, since all other electoral systems are kept constant in an intra-country study. The time span in the study is from 1962 to 2007, i.e. the time that the districts have largely been the same geographically. The plots and indices tell the same story, district magnitude and electoral alliances matter. The district magnitude is connected to the overall proportionality of the electoral districts according to both indices, and the profiles are, as expected, also closer to perfect proportionality in large districts. Alliances have helped some small parties to gain a much higher seat share than their respective vote share and these successes affect some of the profiles. The profiles also show a consistent pattern of benefits for the small parties who ally with the larger parties.

Clean development mechanism and joint implementation in China and Russia as related to industrial energy projects

Being highly discussed the problem of climate change and global warming has been keeping importance for several of decades. As a response to the world’s need in solution for climate change disasters, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted in 1992 and supplemented with the Kyoto protocol in 1997. This work is aimed to give better understanding of the Convention, Kyoto Protocol with its mechanisms and their function, related to energy projects in such case countries, as Russia and China, in order to assist evaluation of projects cost-effectiveness. It provides basic information about the Convention and the Protocol with their regulations, overview of present situation and future post-Kyoto forecasts, while the most attention is concentrated on the clean development mechanism and joint implementation step-by-step project cycles and specific regulations in given countries. The current study disclosed that CDM and JI project cycles are resulting in a complicated process. By the moment it requires step-by-step following of a number of methodologies, spending time and finance to particular project development. Uncertainties about post-Kyoto period bring additional risk to the projects and complicate any business decision concerning Kyoto Protocol.

Cross-Cultural Communication in Oncology: Challenges and Training Interests.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To survey oncology nurses and oncologists about difficulties in taking care of culturally and linguistically diverse patients and about interests in cross-cultural training.
. DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional.
. SETTING: Web-based survey.
. SAMPLE: 108 oncology nurses and 44 oncologists. 
. METHODS: 31-item questionnaire derived from preexisting surveys in the United States and Switzerland.
. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Self-rated difficulties in taking care of culturally and linguistically diverse patients and self-rated interests in cross-cultural training.
. FINDINGS: All respondents reported communication difficulties in encounters with culturally and linguistically diverse patients. Respondents considered the absence of written materials in other languages, absence of a shared common language with patients, and sensitive subjects (e.g., end of life, sexuality) to be particularly problematic. Respondents also expressed a high level of interest in all aspects of cross-cultural training (task-oriented skills, background knowledge, reflexivity, and attitudes). Nurses perceived several difficulties related to care of migrants as more problematic than physicians did and were more interested in all aspects of cross-cultural training. 
. CONCLUSIONS: The need for cross-cultural training is high among oncology clinicians, particularly among nurses.
. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: The results reported in the current study may help nurses in decision-making positions and educators in introducing elements of cross-cultural education into oncology curricula for nurses. Cross-cultural training should be offered to oncology nurses.

Regional differences of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in Swiss children are not explained by socio-demographics or the built environment.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated whether regional differences in physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) existed along language boundaries within Switzerland and whether potential differences would be explained by socio-demographics or environmental characteristics. METHODS: We combined data of 611 children aged 4 to 7 years from four regional studies. PA and SB were assessed by accelerometers. Information about the socio-demographic background was obtained by questionnaires. Objective neighbourhood attributes could be linked to home addresses. Multivariate regression models were used to test associations between PA and SB and socio-demographic characteristics and neighbourhood attributes. RESULTS: Children from the German compared to the French-speaking region were more physically active and less sedentary (by 10-15 %, p < 0.01). Although German-speaking children lived in a more favourable environment and a higher socioeconomic neighbourhood (differences p < 0.001), these characteristics did not explain the differences in PA behaviour between French and German speaking. CONCLUSIONS: Factors related to the language region, which might be culturally rooted were among the strongest correlates of PA and SB among Swiss children, independent of individual, social and environmental factors.

Effects of Enriched Physical and Social Environments on Motor Performance, Associative Learning, and Hippocampal Neurogenesis in Mice.

We have studied the motor abilities and associative learning capabilities of adult mice placed in different enriched environments. Three-month-old animals were maintained for a month alone (AL), alone in a physically enriched environment (PHY), and, finally, in groups in the absence (SO) or presence (SOPHY) of an enriched environment. The animals' capabilities were subsequently checked in the rotarod test, and for classical and instrumental learning. The PHY and SOPHY groups presented better performances in the rotarod test and in the acquisition of the instrumental learning task. In contrast, no significant differences between groups were observed for classical eyeblink conditioning. The four groups presented similar increases in the strength of field EPSPs (fEPSPs) evoked at the hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapse across classical conditioning sessions, with no significant differences between groups. These trained animals were pulse-injected with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) to determine hippocampal neurogenesis. No significant differences were found in the number of NeuN/BrdU double-labeled neurons. We repeated the same BrdU study in one-month-old mice raised for an additional month in the above-mentioned four different environments. These animals were not submitted to rotarod or conditioned tests. Non-trained PHY and SOPHY groups presented more neurogenesis than the other two groups. Thus, neurogenesis seems to be related to physical enrichment at early ages, but not to learning acquisition in adult mice.

Smoking cessation and the incidence of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes: a cohort study.

AIMS: Smoking cessation has been suggested to increase the short-term risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study aimed at assessing the association between smoking cessation and incidence of T2DM and impaired fasting glucose (IFG). METHODS: Data from participants in the CoLaus study, Switzerland, aged 35-75 at baseline and followed for 5.5years were used. Participants were classified as smokers, recent (≤5years), long-term (>5years) quitters, and non-smokers at baseline. Outcomes were IFG (fasting serum glucose (FSG) 5.6-6.99mmol/l) and T2DM (FSG ≥7.0mmol/l and/or treatment) at follow up. RESULTS: 3,166 participants (63% women) had normal baseline FSG, of whom 26.7% were smokers, 6.5% recent quitters, and 23.5% long-term quitters. During follow-up 1,311 participants (41.4%) developed IFG (33.6% women, 54.7% men) and 47 (1.5%) developed T2DM (1.1% women, 2.1% men). Former smokers did not have statistically significant increased odds of IFG compared with smokers after adjustment for age, education, physical activity, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and alcohol intake, with OR of 1.29 [95% confidence interval 0.94-1.76] for recent quitters and 1.03 [0.84-1.27] for long-term quitters. Former smokers did not have significant increased odds of T2DM compared with smokers with multivariable-adjusted OR of 1.53 [0.58-4.00] for recent quitters and 0.64 [0.27-1.48] for long-term quitters. Adjustment for body-mass index and waist circumference attenuated the association between recent quitting and IFG (OR 1.07 [0.78-1.48]) and T2DM (OR 1.28 [0.48-3.40]. CONCLUSION: In this middle-aged population, smoking cessation was not associated with an increased risk of IFG or T2DM.

Perceived Barriers to Physical Activity and Related Factors in Spanish University Students

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of readiness of change for physical activity (PA), sociodemographic factors, lifestyle and physical activity status (PAS) on perceived barriers among Spanish university students. Participants: Seven hundred and seventy two (n = 772) men and women ages 17 - 39 at a north-west regional university in Spain participated in the study. Methods: The International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the States of Change for Physical Activity Behaviour Questionnaire and the Self-perceived Barriers for Physical Activity Questionnaire were used. Description, correlation and multiple regression analyses were completed. Results: Participants self-perceived low average-score barriers (2.6 ± 1.4 over 10.0). The 3-higher scores barriers corresponded to “too much work”; “lack of time for exercise” and “laziness”. Gender, PAS and self-perceived health were shown to be associated with perceived barriers. Conclusions: University institutions should consider those factors that predict barriers to PA to develop effective intervention programs.

Courts and Courtly Cultures in Early Modern Italy and Europe: Models and Languages

This volume deals with the forms of propaganda and self-representation, through words and images, during the rise of the 'civiltà delle corti' and through processes typical of the time, such as confrontation, adaptation, competition and rivalry. This period, which marked the passage of Italian and European culture from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, is fundamental in the development of Modern Europe, and it lasted up to the XVIII century and beyond. At the heart of many matters debated here lies the relationship between culture and politics. The formation of a 'Lombard identity', central to the Sinergia project which was the frame of the whole research and its conferences, is closely linked to this broad general context. It places the so called 'questione milanese' - above the traditional hierarchies 'Toscana oriented' - at the centre of many questions regarding Northern Italy as a whole, starting from the dissolution of the Medieval communes, through to the rise of the signorie, from the end of the XIII century and the beginning of the XIV century up to the early XVI century.

Spatial and Temporal Trends in Sunshine Duration over Western Europe

This work analyzes sunshine duration variability in the western part of Europe (WEU) over the 1938– 2004 period. A principal component analysis is applied to cluster the original series from 79 sites into 6 regions, and then annual and seasonal mean series are constructed on regional and also for the whole WEU scales. Over the entire period studied here, the linear trend of annual sunshine duration is found to be nonsignificant. However, annual sunshine duration shows an overall decrease since the 1950s until the early 1980s, followed by a subsequent recovery during the last two decades. This behavior is in good agreement with the dimming and brightening phenomena described in previous literature. From the seasonal analysis, the most remarkable result is the similarity between spring and annual series, although the spring series has a negative trend; and the clear significant increase found for the whole WEU winter series, being especially large since the 1970s. The behavior of the major synoptic patterns for two seasons is investigated, resulting in some indications that sunshine duration evolution may be partially explained by changes in the frequency of some of them

Performance and Methodological Aspects in Positron Emission Tomography

Performance standards for Positron emission tomography (PET) were developed to be able to compare systems from different generations and manufacturers. This resulted in the NEMA methodology in North America and the IEC in Europe. In practices, the NEMA NU 2- 2001 is the method of choice today. These standardized methods allow assessment of the physical performance of new commercial dedicated PET/CT tomographs. The point spread in image formation is one of the factors that blur the image. The phenomenon is often called the partial volume effect. Several methods for correcting for partial volume are under research but no real agreement exists on how to solve it. The influence of the effect varies in different clinical settings and it is likely that new methods are needed to solve this problem. Most of the clinical PET work is done in the field of oncology. The whole body PET combined with a CT is the standard investigation today in oncology. Despite the progress in PET imaging technique visualization, especially quantification of small lesions is a challenge. In addition to partial volume, the movement of the object is a significant source of error. The main causes of movement are respiratory and cardiac motions. Most of the new commercial scanners are in addition to cardiac gating, also capable of respiratory gating and this technique has been used in patients with cancer of the thoracic region and patients being studied for the planning of radiation therapy. For routine cardiac applications such as assessment of viability and perfusion only cardiac gating has been used. However, the new targets such as plaque or molecular imaging of new therapies require better control of the cardiac motion also caused by respiratory motion. To overcome these problems in cardiac work, a dual gating approach has been proposed. In this study we investigated the physical performance of a new whole body PET/CT scanner with NEMA standard, compared methods for partial volume correction in PET studies of the brain and developed and tested a new robust method for dual cardiac-respiratory gated PET with phantom, animal and human data. Results from performance measurements showed the feasibility of the new scanner design in 2D and 3D whole body studies. Partial volume was corrected, but there is no best method among those tested as the correction also depends on the radiotracer and its distribution. New methods need to be developed for proper correction. The dual gating algorithm generated is shown to handle dual-gated data, preserving quantification and clearly eliminating the majority of contraction and respiration movement

The summer North Atlantic Oscillation in CMIP3 models and related uncertainties in projected summer drying in Europe

This paper discusses uncertainties in model projections of summer drying in the Euro-Mediterranean region related to errors and uncertainties in the simulation of the summer NAO (SNAO). The SNAO is the leading mode of summer SLP variability in the North Atlantic/European sector and modulates precipitation not only in the vicinity of the SLP dipole (northwest Europe) but also in the Mediterranean region. An analysis of CMIP3 models is conducted to determine the extent to which models reproduce the signature of the SNAO and its impact on precipitation and to assess the role of the SNAO in the projected precipitation reductions. Most models correctly simulate the spatial pattern of the SNAO and the dry anomalies in northwest Europe that accompany the positive phase. The models also capture the concurrent wet conditions in the Mediterranean, but the amplitude of this signal is too weak, especially in the east. This error is related to the poor simulation of the upper-level circulation response to a positive SNAO, namely the observed trough over the Balkans that creates potential instability and favors precipitation. The SNAO is generally projected to trend upwards in CMIP3 models, leading to a consistent signal of precipitation reduction in NW Europe, but the intensity of the trend varies greatly across models, resulting in large uncertainties in the magnitude of the projected drying. In the Mediterranean, because the simulated influence of the SNAO is too weak, no precipitation increase occurs even in the presence of a strong SNAO trend, reducing confidence in these projections.