The export performance of the 2004 EU enlargement economies since the 1990s : a constant market share analysis

This study focuses the export performance of the 2004 EU enlargement economies between 1990 and 2013. The long time span analysed allows to capture different stages in the relationship of these new members with the EU before and after accession. The study is based on the Constant Market Share methodology of decomposing an ex-post country’s export performance into different effects. Two different Constant Market Share Analysis (CMSA) were selected in order to disentangle, for the exports of the new members to the EU15, (i) the growth rate of exports and (ii) the growth rate of exports relatively to the world. Both approaches are applied to manufactured products first without disaggregating results by sectors and then grouping all products into two different classification of sectors: one considering the technological intensity of manufactured exports and another evaluating the specialization factors of the products exported. Results provide information not only on the ten economies’ export performance as a group but also individually considered and on the importance of each EU15 destination market to the export performance of these countries.

Exploration of Ground Penetrating Radar and Time Domain Reflectometry Methods for the Determination of Pavement Dielectric Constant

Traditionally, densities of newly built roadways are checked by direct sampling (cores) or by nuclear density gauge measurements. For roadway engineers, density of asphalt pavement surfaces is essential to determine pavement quality. Unfortunately, field measurements of density by direct sampling or by nuclear measurement are slow processes. Therefore, I have explored the use of rapidly-deployed ground penetrating radar (GPR) as an alternative means of determining pavement quality. The dielectric constant of pavement surface may be a substructure parameter that correlates with pavement density, and can be used as a proxy when density of asphalt is not known from nuclear or destructive methods. The dielectric constant of the asphalt can be determined using ground penetrating radar (GPR). In order to use GPR for evaluation of road surface quality, the relationship between dielectric constants of asphalt and their densities must be established. Field measurements of GPR were taken at four highway sites in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties, Michigan, where density values were also obtained using nuclear methods in the field. Laboratory studies involved asphalt samples taken from the field sites and samples created in the laboratory. These were tested in various ways, including, density, thickness, and time domain reflectometry (TDR). In the field, GPR data was acquired using a 1000 MHz air-launched unit and a ground-coupled unit at 200 and 500 MHz. The equipment used was owned and operated by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and available for this study for a total of four days during summer 2005 and spring 2006. The analysis of the reflected waveforms included “routine” processing for velocity using commercial software and direct evaluation of reflection coefficients to determine a dielectric constant. The dielectric constants computed from velocities do not agree well with those obtained from reflection coefficients. Perhaps due to the limited range of asphalt types studied, no correlation between density and dielectric constant was evident. Laboratory measurements were taken with samples removed from the field and samples created for this study. Samples from the field were studied using TDR, in order to obtain dielectric constant directly, and these correlated well with the estimates made from reflection coefficients. Samples created in the laboratory were measured using 1000 MHz air-launched GPR, and 400 MHz ground-coupled GPR, each under both wet and dry conditions. On the basis of these observations, I conclude that dielectric constant of asphalt can be reliably measured from waveform amplitude analysis of GJPR data, based on the consistent agreement with that obtained in the laboratory using TDR. Because of the uniformity of asphalts studied here, any correlation between dielectric constant and density is not yet apparent.

Locating the maximum power point for thermoelectric generators for constant heat operation

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are solid-state devices that can be used for the direct conversion between heat and electricity. These devices are an attractive option for generating clean energy from heat. There are two modes of operation for TEGs; constant heat and constant temperature. It is a well-known fact that for constant temperature operation, TEGs have a maximum power point lying at half the open circuit voltage of the TEG, for a particular temperature. This work aimed to investigate the position of the maximum power point for Bismuth Telluride TEGs working under constant heat conditions i.e. the heat supply to the TEG is fixed however the temperature across the TEG can vary depending upon its operating conditions. It was found that for constant heat operation, the maximum power point for a TEG is greater than half the open circuit voltage of the TEG.

One-dimensional Model for Fluids of Third-grade in Tubes with Constant Radius

Our goal in this paper is to extend previous results obtained for Newtonian and secondgrade fluids to third-grade fluids in the case of an axisymmetric, straight, rigid and impermeable tube with constant cross-section using a one-dimensional hierarchical model based on the Cosserat theory related to fluid dynamics. In this way we can reduce the full threedimensional system of equations for the axisymmetric unsteady motion of a non-Newtonian incompressible third-grade fluid to a system of equations depending on time and on a single spatial variable. Some numerical simulations for the volume flow rate and the the wall shear stress are presented.

Competitividade e parcelas de mercado: um estudo do modelo Constant Market Share para as exportações do melão brasileiro.

Terceiro maior produtor de frutas frescas do mundo, o Brasil se destaca no mercado agrícola por apresentar um clima tropical favorável à produção de diversas frutas. O melão e a manga são exemplos de frutas frescas que apresentam grandes índices de exportação. Os estados do Ceará e do Rio Grande do Norte são responsáveis pela maior parte da produção do melão brasileiro, já o mercado da União Europeia, é responsável quase que pela totalidade da importação do melão brasileiro. O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar a competitividade e as parcelas de mercado do melão brasileiro no mercado mundial, no período de 2003 a 2011, tomando como base o modelo Constant Market Share. Os resultados mostram a diferença de direção dos subperíodos analisados. No primeiro subperíodo, têm-se o crescimento da exportação ocasionado pelo crescimento do comércio mundial e pelo fator competitividade, diferente do segundo período em que há uma queda principalmente na competitividade ocasionando o declínio na exportação da fruta produzida no Brasil

Towards a full cosmological exploitation of cosmic voids

A stately fraction of the Universe volume is dominated by almost empty space. Alongside the luminous filamentary structures that make it up, there are vast and smooth regions that have remained outside the Cosmology spotlight during the past decades: cosmic voids. Although essentially devoid of matter, voids enclose fundamental information about the cosmological framework and have gradually become an effective and competitive cosmological probe. In this Thesis work we present fundamental results about the cosmological exploitation of voids. We focused on the number density of voids as a function of their radius, known as void size function, developing an effective pipeline for its cosmological usage. We proposed a new parametrisation of the most used theoretical void size function to model voids identified in the distribution of biased tracers (i.e. dark matter haloes, galaxies and galaxy clusters), a step of fundamental importance to extend the analysis to real data surveys. We then applied our built methodology to study voids in alternative cosmological scenarios. Firstly we exploited voids with the aim of breaking the degeneracies between cosmological scenarios characterised by modified gravity and the inclusion of massive neutrinos. Secondly we analysed voids in the perspective of the Euclid survey, focusing on the void abundance constraining power on dynamical dark energy models with massive neutrinos. Moreover we explored other void statistics like void profiles and clustering (i.e. the void-galaxy and the void-void correlation), providing cosmological forecasts for the Euclid mission. We finally focused on the probe combination, highlighting the incredible potential of the joint analysis of multiple void statistics and of the combination of the void size function with different cosmological probes. Our results show the fundamental role of the void analysis in constraining the fundamental parameters of the cosmological model and pave the way for future studies on this topic.

Unveiling the expansion history of the universe with cosmic chronometers and gravitational waves

This Thesis explores two novel and independent cosmological probes, Cosmic Chronometers (CCs) and Gravitational Waves (GWs), to measure the expansion history of the Universe. CCs provide direct and cosmology-independent measurements of the Hubble parameter H(z) up to z∼2. In parallel, GWs provide a direct measurement of the luminosity distance without requiring additional calibration, thus yielding a direct measurement of the Hubble constant H0=H(z=0). This Thesis extends the methodologies of both of these probes to maximize their scientific yield. This is achieved by accounting for the interplay of cosmological and astrophysical parameters to derive them jointly, study possible degeneracies, and eventually minimize potential systematic effects. As a legacy value, this work also provides interesting insights into galaxy evolution and compact binary population properties. The first part presents a detailed study of intermediate-redshift passive galaxies as CCs, with a focus on the selection process and the study of their stellar population properties using specific spectral features. From their differential aging, we derive a new measurement of the Hubble parameter H(z) and thoroughly assess potential systematics. In the second part, we develop a novel methodology and pipeline to obtain joint cosmological and astrophysical population constraints using GWs in combination with galaxy catalogs. This is applied to GW170817 to obtain a measurement of H0. We then perform realistic forecasts to predict joint cosmological and astrophysical constraints from black hole binary mergers for upcoming gravitational wave observatories and galaxy surveys. Using these two probes we provide an independent reconstruction of H(z) with direct measurements of H0 from GWs and H(z) up to z∼2 from CCs and demonstrate that they can be powerful independent probes to unveil the expansion history of the Universe.

Modelling the Halo mass number counts in modified gravity cosmological scenarios

In this Thesis work we investigate some of different cosmological background scenarios using one of the main probes used in cosmology: the halo mass function. The observed abundance of galaxy clusters (or similarly DM haloes) can indeed be compared to its theoretical predictions to derive fundamental constrains on the cosmological scenario assumed. Given the importance of exploring and constraining models degenerate with the ΛCDM one, we test the applicability of some notable halo mass function models to these scenarios. To this purpose, we made use of the DUSTGRAIN-pathfinder N-body simulations, which assume cosmological scenarios that include modified gravity in the form of f(R) models and massive neutrinos. We carried on the analysis of 3 simulation snapshots at different redshifts, z = 0, 0.5, 1, building multiple samples of dark matter haloes by applying different overdensity thresholds during the procedure of halo identification. We started our analysis by considering the halo mass function model introduced by Despali et al. (2016), who proposed a parametrization that encapsulates the effect of the different halo mass definitions and the relative evolution with the redshift. We calibrated the main parameters of this relation by using the ΛCDM halo catalogues extracted from the DUSTGRAIN-pathfinder simulations, fitting the measured halo abundances at all redshifts and density thresholds. Afterwards we tested the same model parametrization with halo catalogues extracted from the simulations implementing both modified gravity and massive neutrinos. We repeated therefore the calibration procedure on these data to search for discrepancies with respect to the ΛCDM model. Finally we focused the analysis on the cosmological models implementing modified gravity only. We took our ΛCDM calibrated halo mass function and we modified it with the additional f (R) gravity form proposed by Gupta et al. (2022).

Exploiting the clustering of cosmic voids as a novel cosmological probe

The investigations of the large-scale structure of our Universe provide us with extremely powerful tools to shed light on some of the open issues of the currently accepted Standard Cosmological Model. Until recently, constraining the cosmological parameters from cosmic voids was almost infeasible, because the amount of data in void catalogues was not enough to ensure statistically relevant samples. The increasingly wide and deep fields in present and upcoming surveys have made the cosmic voids become promising probes, despite the fact that we are not yet provided with a unique and generally accepted definition for them. In this Thesis we address the two-point statistics of cosmic voids, in the very first attempt to model its features with cosmological purposes. To this end, we implement an improved version of the void power spectrum presented by Chan et al. (2014). We have been able to build up an exceptionally robust method to tackle with the void clustering statistics, by proposing a functional form that is entirely based on first principles. We extract our data from a suite of high-resolution N-body simulations both in the LCDM and alternative modified gravity scenarios. To accurately compare the data to the theory, we calibrate the model by accounting for a free parameter in the void radius that enters the theory of void exclusion. We then constrain the cosmological parameters by means of a Bayesian analysis. As far as the modified gravity effects are limited, our model is a reliable method to constrain the main LCDM parameters. By contrast, it cannot be used to model the void clustering in the presence of stronger modification of gravity. In future works, we will further develop our analysis on the void clustering statistics, by testing our model on large and high-resolution simulations and on real data, also addressing the void clustering in the halo distribution. Finally, we also plan to combine these constraints with those of other cosmological probes.

Amplification mechanisms of inflationary spectra in induced gravity

Inflation is the primordial stage of accelerated expansion of the Universe which solves the issues of the initial conditions of a decelerating Universe (horizon, flatness and entropy problems). Moreover, it is supposed that quantum fluctuations originated during the first moments after the Big Bang gave rise to the formation of galaxies and other structures of the Universe when inflation ends. Among these structures also primordial black holes (PBHs) may have been generated. The interest in PBHs relies on their possible connection with dark matter: they could constitute a portion or even the whole dark matter content of our Universe.\\ In this work we consider inflation in the Induced Gravity (IR) context and study possible mechanisms of amplification of the curvature perturbations generated during the cosmic acceleration. In particular we consider the possibility of a period of Constant Roll (CR). Starting from the previous work of Starobinsky et al. Our final purpose is to analyse the power spectrum of the scalar perturbations and to find in which conditions there is an enhancement of the power spectrum possibly leading to PBHs formation.

Relativistic Hydrodynamics in Isotropic and Anisotropic Cosmological Backgrounds

A seguito di recenti risultati nel campo dell’Astrofisica, con questo elaborato ci si propone di approfondire il ruolo della viscosità in una classe di modelli cosmologici. La discussione ha lo scopo di generalizzare delle tecniche applicate con successo nello studio dei fluidi ideali a sistemi dove anche la viscosità é un parametro che necessita di essere largamente preso in considerazione. Nello specifico, ci si serve di strumenti computazionali e geometrici e di teoria delle equazioni differenziali alle derivate parziali per comprendere, da un punto di vista matematico, come associare le Equazioni di Einstein ai fluidi in specifici background cosmologici. Questo elaborato parte dallo studio dei fluidi ideali in un background di tipo FLRW al fine di generalizzarlo a fluidi viscosi che scorrono in un background di tipo Bianchi I. Infine si indicano alcuni problemi ancora aperti relativi al caso dissipativo e le possibili strategie risolutive di tali questioni.

Melhoria da Detecção e Prevenção do Câncer de Colo de Útero e Mama na UBS Benjamin Constant do Sul, no Município de Benjamin Constant do Sul /RS

A saúde da mulher foi o foco escolhido devido à importância que tem o câncer no Brasil e no mundo, pela sua magnitude social, as condições de acesso da população brasileira à atenção oncologia, os custos cada vez mais elevados na alta complexidade refletem a necessidade de estruturar uma rede de serviços regionalizada e hierarquizada que garanta atenção integral à mulher. A Unidade Básica de Saúde de Benjamin Constant do Sul de tipo SEDE, urbana e rural, vinculada ao Sistema Único de Saúde, conta com uma população de 1200 habitantes. Neste trabalho desenvolvemos um projeto de intervenção junto à população feminina da unidade de Saúde com o objetivo de qualificar o programa de Prevenção do Câncer de Colo de útero e mama à saúde da mulher, foi baseada nos protocolos do Ministério da Saúde. Realizamos uma intervenção durante um período de 12 semanas para as mulheres na faixa etária 25 a 64 anos sendo um total de 421 mulheres e 102 mulheres na faixa etária de 50 a 69 anos pertencente à área de abrangência. O detalhamento das ações foi estruturado em quatro eixos: Monitoramento e avaliação, Organização e gestão do serviço, Engajamento público e Qualificação da prática clínica. Os resultados mais significativos foram o aumento da cobertura do programa. Na intervenção foram cadastradas 183 mulheres, correspondendo 67,8% das mulheres para prevenção do câncer de colo de útero. Em relação à qualidade da atenção das mulheres cadastradas, as 183 (100%) realizaram a coleta da mostra do exame citopatológico de colo de útero satisfatoriamente, monitoramos os resultados de todos os exames para detecção de câncer de colo de útero, bem como o cumprimento da periodicidade de realização dos exames prevista nos protocolos adotados pela unidade de saúde. Para prevenção do câncer de mama cadastramos 76 mulheres ou 96%. Os exames para detecção de câncer de mama foram feitos a 100% das mulheres cadastradas, assim como seu registro. Pesquisaram-se os sinais de alerta para câncer de colo de útero em 100% das mulheres entre 25 e 64 anos. A avaliação de risco para câncer de mama 100% das mulheres entre 50 e 69 anos. Em relação às mulheres faltosas a consultas se realizou 100% a busca ativa, sendo que os registros ao terminar a intervenção, foram atualizados. O projeto está incorporado na rotina de trabalho da unidade de saúde e constitui uma guia para outros projetos de trabalho sendo este o primeiro trabalho de intervenção feito com a participação da equipe e da comunidade. O diálogo com a comunidade serviu para levar a saúde da família á porta da casa dos brasileiros. A ESF foi fortalecida e o engajamento público foi um dos resultados mais importantes, além de melhorar a atenção da saúde da mulher.

The Applicability Of Ordered Mesoporous Sba-15 And Its Hydrophobic Glutaraldehyde-bridge Derivative To Improve Ibuprofen-loading In Releasing System.

The mesoporous SBA-15 silica with uniform hexagonal pore, narrow pore size distribution and tuneable pore diameter was organofunctionalized with glutaraldehyde-bridged silylating agent. The precursor and its derivative silicas were ibuprofen-loaded for controlled delivery in simulated biological fluids. The synthesized silicas were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, (13)C and (29)Si solid state NMR spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffractometry, thermogravimetry and scanning electron microscopy. Surface functionalization with amine containing bridged hydrophobic structure resulted in significantly decreased surface area from 802.4 to 63.0 m(2) g(-1) and pore diameter 8.0-6.0 nm, which ultimately increased the drug-loading capacity from 18.0% up to 28.3% and a very slow release rate of ibuprofen over the period of 72.5h. The in vitro drug release demonstrated that SBA-15 presented the fastest release from 25% to 27% and SBA-15GA gave near 10% of drug release in all fluids during 72.5 h. The Korsmeyer-Peppas model better fits the release data with the Fickian diffusion mechanism and zero order kinetics for synthesized mesoporous silicas. Both pore sizes and hydrophobicity influenced the rate of the release process, indicating that the chemically modified silica can be suggested to design formulation of slow and constant release over a defined period, to avoid repeated administration.