Mass-wasting episodes in the geological evolution of the Azores islands : timing, recurrence, mechanisms and consequence

Tese de doutoramento (co-tutela), Geologia (Geodinâmica Interna), Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Faculté des Sciences D’Orsay-Université Paris-Sud, 2014

Programming multicores safely : handling barrier deadlocks

Tese de doutoramento, Informática (Ciências da Computação), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2015

Good Practice in EU Public Service Media and Contemporary Practice in Jordan: A Comparative Analysis

UNESCO Amman Office Foreword: UNESCO Amman office is pleased to publish a comparative analysis between good Public Service Media (PSM) practices in Europe and the contemporary practice in Jordan. The study is part of the Support to Media in Jordan project, funded by the European Union, aiming to increase media freedom, media independence and journalistic professionalism in Jordan. The state owned broadcaster, Jordan Radio and Television (JRTV), has informed, entertained and educated Jordanians for decades. JRTV reaches almost every corner of the Kingdom and has the potential to serve all Jordanians with balanced, impartial and accurate news and programmes relevant to their day-to-day lives.Based on this potential there has been a long standing ambition to transform the JRTV from a state broadcaster to a public service broadcaster; from a TV and radio that predominately serves the state, to a broadcaster that serves the public and is independent from the Government of the day. This ambition is expressed also in the Support to Media in Jordan project, agreed between the Government an the EU, under which UNESCO has been asked to produce two studies: The comparative PSM analysis and a broader media landscape assessment based on UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators (MDI’s). The Jordanian MDI assessment was carried out by a team of national and international researchers during the first six months of 2015, and builds on the rich flora of recent studies on the Jordanian media landscape, as well as on original research. The study is available in Arabic and English. Professor Naomi Sakr carried out the comparative PSM analysis parallel to the MDI study, and in close cooperation with the MDI research team and UNESCO Amman office.

European information users: topics from a comparative analysis within the European Union

Purpose – The aim of this article is to present some results from research undertaken into the information behaviour of European Documentation Centre (EDC) users. It will reflect on the practices of a group of 234 users of 55 EDCs covering 21 Member States of the European Union (EU), used to access European information. Design/methodology/approach – In order to collect the data presented here, five questionnaires were sent to users in all the EDCs in Finland, Ireland, Hungary and Portugal. In the remaining EU countries, five questionnaires were sent to two EDCs chosen at random. The questionnaires were sent by post, following telephone contact with the EDC managers. Findings – Factors determining access to information on the European Union and the frequency of this access are identified. The information providers most commonly used to access European information and the information sources considered the most reliable by respondents will also be analysed. Another area of analysis concerns the factors cited by respondents as facilitating access to information on Europe or, conversely, making it more difficult to access. Parallel to this, the aspects of accessing information on EU that are valued most by users will also be assessed. Research limitations/implications – Questionnaires had to be used, as the intention was to cover a very extensive geographical area. However, in opting for closed questions, it is acknowledged that standard responses have been obtained with no scope for capturing the individual circumstances of each respondent, thus making a qualitative approach difficult. Practical implications – The results provide an overall picture of certain aspects of the information behaviour of EDC users. They may serve as a starting point for planning training sessions designed to develop the skills required to search, access, evaluate and apply European information within an academic context. From a broader perspective, they also constitute factors which the European Commission should take into consideration when formulating its information and communication policy. Originality/value – This is the first piece of academic research into the EDCs and their users, which aimed to cover all Members State of the EU.

Avaliação de qualidade de energia de um sistema fotovoltaico numa rede elétrica

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica Ramo de Energia

Power law and entropy analysis of catastrophic phenomena

Catastrophic events, such as wars and terrorist attacks, tornadoes and hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and landslides, are always accompanied by a large number of casualties. The size distribution of these casualties has separately been shown to follow approximate power law (PL) distributions. In this paper, we analyze the statistical distributions of the number of victims of catastrophic phenomena, in particular, terrorism, and find double PL behavior. This means that the data sets are better approximated by two PLs instead of a single one. We plot the PL parameters, corresponding to several events, and observe an interesting pattern in the charts, where the lines that connect each pair of points defining the double PLs are almost parallel to each other. A complementary data analysis is performed by means of the computation of the entropy. The results reveal relationships hidden in the data that may trigger a future comprehensive explanation of this type of phenomena.

Hopping conduction and persistent photoconductivity in Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films

The temperature dependence of electrical conductivity and the photoconductivity of polycrystalline Cu2ZnSnS4 were investigated. It was found that at high temperatures the electrical conductivity was dominated by band conduction and nearest-neighbour hopping. However, at lower temperatures, both Mott variable-range hopping (VRH) and Efros–Shklovskii VRH were observed. The analysis of electrical transport showed high doping levels and a large compensation ratio, demonstrating large degree of disorder in Cu2ZnSnS4. Photoconductivity studies showed the presence of a persistent photoconductivity effect with decay time increasing with temperature, due to the presence of random local potential fluctuations in the Cu2ZnSnS4 thin film. These random local potential fluctuations cannot be attributed to grain boundaries but to the large disorder in Cu2ZnSnS4.

Smart Plastic Antibody Material for Hemoglobin Tailored by Silica Surface Imprinting and with Charged Binding Sites: Its use as Ionophore in Potentiometric Transduction

JORNADAS DE ELECTROQUÍMICA E INOVAÇÃO 2013

The tectonically controlled emplacement of a vertically sheeted gabbro-pyroxenite intrusion: Feeder-zone of an ocean-island volcano (Fuerteventura, Canary Islands)

The Miocene PX1 gabbro-pyroxenite pluton, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, is a 3.5 x 5.5 km shallow-level intrusion (0.15-0.2 GPa and 1100-1120 degrees C), interpreted as the feeder-zone to an ocean-island volcano. It displays a vertical magmatic banding expressed in five 50 to 100 metre-wide NNE-SSW trending alkaline gabbro sequences alternating with pyroxenites. This emplacement geometry was controlled by brittle to ductile shear zones, generated by a regional E-W extensional tectonic setting that affected Fuerteventura during the Miocene. At a smaller scale, the PX1 gabbro and pyroxenite bands consist of metre-thick differentiation units, which suggest emplacement by periodic injection of magma pulses as vertical dykes that amalgamated, similarly to a sub-volcanic sheeted dyke complex. Individual dykes underwent internal differentiation following a solidification front parallel to the dyke edges. This solidification front may have been favoured by a significant lateral/horizontal thermal gradient, expressed by the vertical banding in the gabbros, the fractionation asymmetry within individual dykes and the migmatisation of the wall rocks. Pyroxenitic layers result from the fractionation and accumulation of clinopyroxene +/- olivine +/- plagioclase crystals from a mildly alkaline basaltic liquid. They are interpreted as truncated differentiation sequences, from which residual melts were extracted at various stages of their chemical evolution by subsequent dyke intrusions, either next to or within the crystallising unit. Compaction and squeezing of the crystal mush is ascribed to the incoming and inflating magma pulses. The expelled interstitial liquid was likely collected and erupted along with the magma flowing through the newly injected dykes. Clinopyroxene mineral orientation - as evidenced by EBSD and micro X-ray tomography investigations - displays a marked pure-shear component, supporting the interpretation of the role of compaction in the generation of the pyroxenites. Conversely, gabbro sequences underwent minor melt extraction and are believed to represent crystallised coalesced magma batches emplaced at lower rates at the end of eruptive cycles. Clinopyroxene orientations in gabbros record a simple shear component suggesting syn-magmatic deformation parallel to observed NNE-SSW trending shear zones induced by the regional tensional stress field. This emplacement model implies a crystallisation time of 1 to 5 years for individual dykes, consistent with PX1 emplacement over less than 0.5 My. A minimum amount of approximately 150 km(3) of magma is needed to generate the pluton, part of it having been erupted through the Central Volcanic Centre of Fuerteventura. If the regional extensional tectonic regime controls the PX1 feeder-zone initiation and overall geometry, rates and volumes of magma depend on other, source-related factors. High injection rates are likely to induce intrusion growth rates larger than could be accommodated by the regional extension. In this case, dyke intrusion by propagation of a weak tip, combined with the inability of magma to circulate through previously emplaced and crystallised dykes could result in an increase of non-lithostatic pressure on previously emplaced mushy dyke walls; thus generating strong pure-shear compaction within the pluton feeder-zone and interstitial melt expulsion. These compaction-dominated processes are recorded by the cumulitic pyroxenite bands. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Phenotypic consequences of copy number variation: insights from Smith-Magenis and Potocki-Lupski syndrome mouse models.

A large fraction of genome variation between individuals is comprised of submicroscopic copy number variation of genomic DNA segments. We assessed the relative contribution of structural changes and gene dosage alterations on phenotypic outcomes with mouse models of Smith-Magenis and Potocki-Lupski syndromes. We phenotyped mice with 1n (Deletion/+), 2n (+/+), 3n (Duplication/+), and balanced 2n compound heterozygous (Deletion/Duplication) copies of the same region. Parallel to the observations made in humans, such variation in gene copy number was sufficient to generate phenotypic consequences: in a number of cases diametrically opposing phenotypes were associated with gain versus loss of gene content. Surprisingly, some neurobehavioral traits were not rescued by restoration of the normal gene copy number. Transcriptome profiling showed that a highly significant propensity of transcriptional changes map to the engineered interval in the five assessed tissues. A statistically significant overrepresentation of the genes mapping to the entire length of the engineered chromosome was also found in the top-ranked differentially expressed genes in the mice containing rearranged chromosomes, regardless of the nature of the rearrangement, an observation robust across different cell lineages of the central nervous system. Our data indicate that a structural change at a given position of the human genome may affect not only locus and adjacent gene expression but also "genome regulation." Furthermore, structural change can cause the same perturbation in particular pathways regardless of gene dosage. Thus, the presence of a genomic structural change, as well as gene dosage imbalance, contributes to the ultimate phenotype.

Quantification of clenbuterol at trace level in human urine by ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Clenbuterol is a β2 agonist agent with anabolic properties given by the increase in the muscular mass in parallel to the decrease of the body fat. For this reason, the use of clenbuterol is forbidden by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in the practice of sport. This compound is of particular interest for anti-doping authorities and WADA-accredited laboratories due to the recent reporting of risk of unintentional doping following the eating of meat contaminated with traces of clenbuterol in some countries. In this work, the development and the validation of an ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method for the quantification of clenbuterol in human urine is described. The analyte was extracted from urine samples by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) in basic conditions using tert butyl-methyl ether (TBME) and analyzed by UHPLC-MS/MS with a linear gradient of acetonitrile in 9min only. The simple and rapid method presented here was validated in compliance with authority guidelines and showed a limit of quantification at 5pg/mL and a linearity range from 5pg/mL to 300pg/mL. Good trueness (85.8-105%), repeatability (5.7-10.6% RSD) and intermediate precision (5.9-14.9% RSD) results were obtained. The method was then applied to real samples from eighteen volunteers collecting urines after single oral doses administration (1, 5 and 10μg) of clenbuterol-enriched yogurts.

Garnet growth in the Nufenen Pass area (Swiss Alps)

Abstract : Textural division of a mineral in pyramids, with their apices located at the centre of the mineral and their bases corresponding to the mineral faces is called textural sector zoning. Textural sector zoning is observed in many metamorphic minerals like andalousite and garnet. Garnets found in the graphite rich black shales of the Mesozoic cover of the Gotthard Massif display textural sector zoning. The morphology of this sector zoning is not the same in different types of black shales observed in the Nufenen pass area. Garnets in foliated black shales display a well developed sector zoning while garnets found in cm-scale layered black shales display well developed sectors in the direction of the schistosity plane. This sector zoning is always associated with up to 30μm sized birefringent lamellae emanating radial from the sector boundaries. They alternate with isotrope lamellae. The garnet forming reaction was determined using singular value decomposition approach and results compared to thermodynamic calculations. It is of the form chl + mu + cc + cld = bt + fds + ank + gt + czo and is similar in both layered and foliated black shales. The calculated X(O) is close to 0.36 and does not significantly vary during the metamorphic history of the rock. This corresponds to X CO2, X CH4, and X H2O BSE imaging of garnets on oriented-cuts revealed that the orientation of the lamellae found within the sectors is controlled by crystallography. BSE imaging and electron microprobe analysis revealed that these lamellae are calcium rich compared to the isotropic lamellae. The addition of Ca to an almandine rich garnet causes a small distortion of the X site and potentially, ordering. Ordered and disordered garnet might have very similar free energies for this composition. Hence, two garnets with different composition can be precipitated with minor overstepping of the reaction. It is enough that continued nucleation of a new garnet layer slightly prefers the same structure to assure a fiber-like growth of both garnet compositions side by side. This hypothesis is in agreement with the thermodynamic properties of the garnet solid solution described in the literature and could explain the textures observed in garnets with these compositions. To understand the differences in sector zoning morphology, and crystal growth kinetics, crystal size distribution were determined in several samples using 2D spatial analysis of slab surfaces. The same nucleation rate law was chosen for all cases. Different growth rate law for non-layered black shales and layered black shales were used. Garnet in layered black shales grew according to a growth rate law of the form R=kt ½. The transport of nutrient is the limiting factor. Transport will occur preferentially on the schistosity planes. The shapes of the garnets in such rocks are therefore ovoid with the longest axis parallel to the schistosity planes. Sector zoning is less developed with sectors present only parallel to the schistosity planes. Garnet in non-layered blackshales grew according to a growth rate law of the form R=kt. The limiting factor is the attachment at the surface of the garnet. Garnets in these rocks will display a well developed sector zoning in all directions. The growth rate law is thus influenced by the texture of the rock. It favours or hinders the transport of nutrient to the mineral surface. Résumé : La zonation sectorielle texturale consiste en la division d'un cristal en pyramides dont les sommets sont localisés au centre du minéral. La base de ces pyramides correspond aux faces du minéral. Ce type de zonation est fréquemment observé dans les minéraux métamorphiques tels que l'andalousite ou le grenat. Les grenats présents dans les marnes riches en graphites de la couverture Mésozoïque du Massif du Gotthard présent une zonation sectorielle texturale. La morphologie de cette zonation n'est pas la même dans les marnes litées et dans les marnes foliées. Les grenats des marnes foliées montrent des secteurs bien développés dans 3 directions. Les grenats des marnes litées montrent des secteurs développés uniquement dans la direction des plans de schistosité. Cette zonation sectorielle est toujours associée à des lamelles biréfringentes de quelques microns de large qui partent de la limite des secteurs et qui sont perpendiculaires aux faces du grenat. Ces lamelles alternent avec des lamelles isotropes. La réaction de formation du grenat a été déterminée par calcul matriciel et thermodynamique. La réaction est de la forme chl + mu + cc + cld= bt + fds + ank + gt + czo. Elle est similaire dans les roches litées et dans les roches foliées. L'évaluation des conditions fluides montrent que le X(O) est proche de 0.36 et ne change pas de façon significative durant l'histoire métamorphique de la roche. Des images BSE sur des coupes orientées ont révélé que l'orientation de lamelles biréfringentes est contrôlée parla crystallographie. La comparaison des analyses à la microsonde électronique et des images BSE révèle également que les lamelles biréfringentes sont plus riches en calcium que les lamelles isotropes. L'addition de calcium va déformer légèrement le site X et ainsi créer un ordre sur ce site. L'énergie interne d'un grenat ordré et d'un grenat désordonné sont suffisamment proches pour qu'un léger dépassement de l'énergie de la réaction de formation permette la coexistence des 2 types de grenat dans le même minéral. La formation de lamelles est expliquée par le fait qu'un grenat préférera la même structure. Ces observations sont en accord avec la thermodynamique des solutions solides du grenat et permet d'expliquer les structures similaires observées dans des grenats provenant de lithologies différentes. Une étude de la distribution des tailles des grenats et une modélisation de la croissance a permis de mettre en évidence 2 mécanismes de croissance différents suivant la texture de la roche. Dans les 2 cas, la loi de nucléation est la même. Dans les roches litées, la loi de croissance est de forme R=kt½. Le transport des nutriments est le facteur limitant. Ce transport a lieu préférentiellement dans la direction des niveaux de schistosité. Les grenats ont une forme légèrement allongée car la croissance des secteurs est facilitée sur les niveaux de schistosité. La croissance des grenats dans les roches foliées suit une loi de croissance de la forme R=kt. Les seuls facteurs limitant la croissance sont les processus d'attachement à la surface du grenat. La loi de croissance de ces grenats est donc contrainte par la texture de la roche. Cela se marque par des différences dans la morphologie de la zonation sectorielle.

Significant decrease in in-hospital mortality and major adverse cardiac events in Swiss STEMI patients between 2000 and December 2007.

To evaluate the in-hospital outcome of STEMI (ST elevation myocardial infarction) patients admitted to Swiss hospitals between 2000 and December 2007, and to identify the predictors of in-hospital mortality and major cardiac events. Data from the Swiss national registry AMIS Plus (Acute Myocardial Infarction and Unstable Angina in Switzerland) were used. All patients admitted between January 2000 and December 2007 with STEMI or a new LBBB (left bundle branch block) were included in the registry. We studied 12 026 STEMI patients admitted to 68 hospitals. The mean age was 64 +/- 13 years and 73% of the patients were male. Incidence of in-hospital death was 7.6% in 2000 and 6% in 2007. Reinfarction fell from 3.7% in 2000 to 0.9% in 2007. Thrombolysis decreased from 40.2% in 2000 to 2% in 2007. Clinical predictors of mortality were: age >65 years, Killips class III or IV, diabetes, Q wave myocardial infarction (at presentation). Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) had lower mortality and reinfarction rates (3.9% versus 11.2% and 1.1% versus 3.1% respectively, p <0.001) over time, although their numbers increased from 43% in 2000 to 85% in 2007. Patients admitted to hospitals with PCI facilities had lower mortality than patients hospitalised in hospitals without it, but the demographic characteristics differ widely between the two groups. Both in-hospital mortality and reinfarction decreased significantly over the time, parallel to an increased number of PCI. PCI was also the strongest predictor of survival. In-hospital mortality and reinfarction rate have decreased significantly in Swiss STEMI patients in the last seven years, parallel to a significant increase in the number of percutaneous coronary interventions in addition to medical therapy. Outcome is not related to the site of admission but to PCI access.

Far infrared reflectance and optical properties of organic superconductor (TMTSF)2ClO4 /

Polarized reflectance measurements of the quasi I-D charge-transfer salt (TMTSFh CI04 were carried out using a Martin-Puplett-type polarizing interferometer and a 3He refrigerator cryostat, at several temperatures between 0.45 K and 26 K, in the far infrared, in the 10 to 70 cm- 1 frequency range. Bis-tetramethyl-tetraselena-fulvalene perchlorate crystals, grown electrochemically and supplied by K. Behnia, of dimensions 2 to 4 by 0.4 by 0.2 mm, were assembled on a flat surface to form a mosaic of 1.5 by 3 mm. The needle shaped crystals were positioned parallel to each other along their long axis, which is the stacking direction of the planar TMTSF cations, exposing the ab plane face (parallel to which the sheets of CI04 anions are positioned). Reflectance measurements were performed with radiation polarized along the stacking direction in the sample. Measurements were carried out following either a fast (15-20 K per minute) or slow (0.1 K per minute) cooling of the sample. Slow cooling permits the anions to order near 24 K, and the sample is expected to be superconducting below 1.2 K, while fast cooling yields an insulating state at low temperatures. Upon the slow cooling the reflectance shows dependence with temperature and exhibits the 28 cm- 1 feature reported previously [1]. Thermoreflectance for both the 'slow' and 'fast' cooling of the sample calculated relative to the 26 K reflectance data indicates that the reflectance is temperature dependent, for the slow cooling case only. A low frequency edge in the absolute reflectance is assigned an electronic origin given its strong temperature dependence in the relaxed state. We attribute the peak in the absolute reflectance near 30 cm-1 to a phonon coupled to the electronic background. Both the low frequency edge and the 30 cm-1 feature are noted te shift towards higher frequcncy, upon cntering the superconducting state, by an amount of the order of the expected superconducting energy gap. Kramers-Kronig analysis was carried out to determine the optical conductivity for the slowly cooled sample from the measured reflectance. In order to do so the low frequency data was extrapolated to zero frequency using a Hagen-Ru bens behaviour, and the high frequency data was extended with the data of Cao et al. [2], and Kikuchi et al. [3]. The real part of the optical conductivity exhibits an asymmetric peak at 35 cm-1, and its background at lower frequencies seems to be losing spectral weight with lowering of the temperature, leading us to presume that a narrow peak is forming at even lower frequencies.

Structural studies and gabbro mylonitization within the Barton Bay Deformation Zone, Geraldton, Ontario /

Structures related to ductile siMple shear parallel to the Bankf ield-Tonbill Fault, define a 5km wide zone, the Barton Bay Deformation Zone. Structures present within this zone Include; simple shear fabrics S, C and C , asymmetric Z shaped folds with rotated axes, boudinage and pinch and swell structures and a subhorlzontal extension llneation. The most highly deformed rock is a gabbro mylonite which occurs in the fault zone. The deformation of this gabbro has been traced in stages from a protomylonite to an ultramylonite In which feldspar and chlorite grainslze has been reduced from over 100 microns to as little as 5 microns. Evidence from the mylonite and the surrounding structure indicates that deformation within the Barton Bay Deformation Zone is related to a regional simple shear zone, the Bankf ield-Tombill Fault. Movement along this shear zone was in a south over north oblique strike slip fashion with a dextral sense of displacement.