Offshoring Clinical Trials: The Mutable Ethics, Weak Protections and Vulnerable Subjects of EU Law

In this paper I engage with science and technology studies work on pharmaceuticalisation to explore how European Union (EU) law helps to produce and support the preference for pharmaceutical responses in public health governance, while authorising the production of vulnerable subjects through the growing off-shoring of clinical trials. Drawing on the analysis of legal and policy documents, I demonstrate how EU law allows and legitimates the use of data procured from vulnerable subjects abroad for market authorisation and corporate profitability at home. This is possible because the EU has (de)selected international ethical frameworks in order to support the continued and growing use of clinical trials data from abroad. This has helped to stimulate the revision of international ethical frameworks in light of market needs, inscribing EU public health law within specific politics (that often remained obscured by the joint workings of legal and technological discourses). I suggest that law operates as part of a broader ‘technology’ – encompassing ethics and human rights discourses – that functions to optimise life through resort to market reasoning. Law is thereby reoriented, instrumentalised and deployed as part of a broader project aimed at (re)defining and limiting the boundaries of the EU's responsibility for public health, including the broader social production of public health problems and the unequal global order that the EU represents and helps to depoliticise and perpetuate. Overall, this limits the EU's responsibility and accountability for these failures, as well as another: the weak and mutable protections and insecure legacies for vulnerable trial subjects abroad.

Voyage(s) to Sarajevo: Jean-Luc Godard and the Image of War

This essay discusses Jean-Luc Godard’s artistic response to the Bosnian War (1992-95), and its representations in the Western mass media. For Godard, the reluctance of Europe’s advanced liberal democracies to intervene meaningfully in Bosnia – their insistence that 'humanitarianism' rather than protective intervention was the order of the day – was tantamount to supporting Serbian fascism, and – a fortiori – regressing to a policy of appeasement reminiscent of the days of the Munich Agreement. Although Godard's stance set him against some of his former compatriots on the left, speculating on his ideological motivations is beside the point. Rather, it is is in his filmmaking, in his vision of cinema, and how it relates to other histories of the image, that Godard’s sensibility can be most keenly felt and understood. As the essay points out, even his recent contribution to Jean-Michel Frodon's compilation film, Bridges of Sarajevo/Les ponts de Sarajevo (2014, 114 mn.), persists in posing questions about how the past continues to shape the present, and how Sarajevo and its contemporary history still delineates the identity of Europe. 

OPTIMIZATION OF THE SLOW-MODE PLASMON POLARITON IN LIGHT-EMITTING TUNNEL-JUNCTIONS

Light emitted from metal/oxide/metal tunnel junctions can originate from the slow-mode surface plasmon polariton supported in the oxide interface region. The effective radiative decay of this mode is constrained by competition with heavy intrinsic damping and by the need to scatter from very small scale surface roughness; the latter requirement arises from the mode's low phase velocity and the usual momentum conservation condition in the scattering process. Computational analysis of conventional devices shows that the desirable goals of decreased intrinsic damping and increased phase velocity are influenced, in order of priority, by the thickness and dielectric function of the oxide layer, the type of metal chosen for each conducting electrode, and temperature. Realizable devices supporting an optimized slow-mode plasmon polariton are suggested. Essentially these consist of thin metal electrodes separated by a dielectric layer which acts as a very thin (a few nm) electron tunneling barrier but a relatively thick (several 10's of nm) optically lossless region. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.

The rise of the digital citizen-stakeholder: rebalancing multistakeholder governance

The principle feature in the evolution of the internet has been its ever growing reach to include old and young, rich and poor. The internet’s ever encroaching presence has transported it from our desktop to our pocket and into our glasses. This is illustrated in the Internet Society Questionnaire on Multistakeholder Governance, which found the main factors affecting change in the Internet governance landscape were more users online from more countries and the influence of the internet over daily life. The omnipresence of the internet is self- perpetuating; its usefulness grows with every new user and every new piece of data uploaded. The advent of social media and the creation of a virtual presence for each of us, even when we are not physically present or ‘logged on’, means we are fast approaching the point where we are all connected, to everyone else, all the time. We have moved far beyond the point where governments can claim to represent our views which evolve constantly rather than being measured in electoral cycles.
The shift, which has seen citizens as creators of content rather than consumers of it, has undermined the centralist view of democracy and created an environment of wiki democracy or crowd sourced democracy. This is at the heart of what is generally known as Web 2.0, and widely considered to be a positive, democratising force. However, we argue, there are worrying elements here too. Government does not always deliver on the promise of the networked society as it involves citizens and others in the process of government. Also a number of key internet companies have emerged as powerful intermediaries harnessing the efforts of the many, and re- using and re-selling the products and data of content providers in the Web 2.0 environment. A discourse about openness and transparency has been offered as a democratising rationale but much of this masks an uneven relationship where the value of online activity flows not to the creators of content but to those who own the channels of communication and the metadata that they produce.
In this context the state is just one stakeholder in the mix of influencers and opinion formers impacting on our behaviours, and indeed our ideas of what is public. The question of what it means to create or own something, and how all these new relationships to be ordered and governed are subject to fundamental change. While government can often appear slow, unwieldy and even irrelevant in much of this context, there remains a need for some sort of political control to deal with the challenges that technology creates but cannot by itself control. In order for the internet to continue to evolve successfully both technically and socially it is critical that the multistakeholder nature of internet governance be understood and acknowledged, and perhaps to an extent, re- balanced. Stakeholders can no longer be classified in the broad headings of government, private sector and civil society, and their roles seen as some sort of benign and open co-production. Each user of the internet has a stake in its efficacy and each by their presence and participation is contributing to the experience, positive or negative of other users as well as to the commercial success or otherwise of various online service providers. However stakeholders have neither an equal role nor an equal share. The unequal relationship between the providers of content and those who simple package up and transmit that content - while harvesting the valuable data thus produced - needs to be addressed. Arguably this suggests a role for government that involves it moving beyond simply celebrating and facilitating the on- going technological revolution. This paper reviews the shifting landscape of stakeholders and their contribution to the efficacy of the internet. It will look to critically evaluate the primacy of the individual as the key stakeholder and their supposed developing empowerment within the ever growing sea of data. It also looks at the role of individuals in wider governance roles. Governments in a number of jurisdictions have sought to engage, consult or empower citizens through technology but in general these attempts have had little appeal. Citizens have been too busy engaging, consulting and empowering each other to pay much attention to what their governments are up to. George Orwell’s view of the future has not come to pass; in fact the internet has insured the opposite scenario has come to pass. There is no big brother but we are all looking over each other’s shoulder all the time, while at the same time a number of big corporations are capturing and selling all this collective endeavour back to us.

Interspecific competition in honeybee intracellular gut parasites is asymmetric and favours the spread of an emerging infectious disease

There is increasing appreciation that hosts in natural populations are subject to infection by multiple parasite species. Yet the epidemiological and ecological processes determining the outcome of mixed infections are poorly understood. Here, we use two intracellular gut parasites (Microsporidia), one exotic and one co-evolved in the western honeybee (Apis mellifera), in an experiment in which either one or both parasites were administered either simultaneously or sequentially. We provide clear evidence of within-host competition; order of infection was an important determinant of the competitive outcome between parasites, with the first parasite significantly inhibiting the growth of the second, regardless of species. However, the strength of this ‘priority effect’ was highly asymmetric, with the exotic Nosema ceranae exhibiting stronger inhibition of Nosema apis than vice versa. Our results reveal an unusual asymmetry in parasite competition that is dependent on order of infection. When incorporated into a mathematical model of disease prevalence, we find asymmetric competition to be an important predictor of the patterns of parasite prevalence found in nature. Our findings demonstrate the wider significance of complex multi-host–multi-parasite interactions as drivers of host–pathogen community structure

A new sensory organ in "primitive" molluscs (Polyplacophora Lepidopleurida), and its context in the nervous system of chitons

Introduction: Chitons (Polyplacophora) are molluscs considered to have a simple nervous system without cephalisation. The position of the class within Mollusca is the topic of extensive debate and neuroanatomical characters can provide new sources of phylogenetic data as well as insights into the fundamental biology of the organisms. We report a new discrete anterior sensory structure in chitons, occurring throughout Lepidopleurida, the order of living chitons that retains plesiomorphic characteristics.

Results: The novel "Schwabe organ" is clearly visible on living animals as a pair of streaks of brown or purplish pigment on the roof of the pallial cavity, lateral to or partly covered by the mouth lappets. We describe the histology and ultrastructure of the anterior nervous system, including the Schwabe organ, in two lepidopleuran chitons using light and electron microscopy. The oesophageal nerve ring is greatly enlarged and displays ganglionic structure, with the neuropil surrounded by neural somata. The Schwabe organ is innervated by the lateral nerve cord, and dense bundles of nerve fibres running through the Schwabe organ epithelium are frequently surrounded by the pigment granules which characterise the organ. Basal cells projecting to the epithelial surface and cells bearing a large number of ciliary structures may be indicative of sensory function. The Schwabe organ is present in all genera within Lepidopleurida (and absent throughout Chitonida) and represents a novel anatomical synapomorphy of the clade.

Conclusions: The Schwabe organ is a pigmented sensory organ, found on the ventral surface of deep-sea and shallow water chitons; although its anatomy is well understood, its function remains unknown. The anterior commissure of the chiton oesophagial nerve ring can be considered a brain. Our thorough review of the chiton central nervous system, and particularly the sensory organs of the pallial cavity, provides a context to interpret neuroanatomical homology and assess this new sense organ.

The effect of ionization on the populations of excited levels of C IV and C V in tokamak edge plasmas

The main populating and depopulating mechanisms of the excited energy levels of ions in plasmas with densities <10²³-10²⁴ m^-3 are electron collisional excitation from the ion's ground state and radiative decay, respectively, with the majority of the electron population being in the ground state of the ionization stage. Electron collisional ionization is predominately expected to take place from one ground state to that of the next higher ionization stage. However, the question arises as to whether, in some cases, ionization can also affect the excited level populations. This would apply particularly to those cases involving transient events such as impurity influxes in a laboratory plasma. An analysis of the importance of ionization in populating the excited levels of ions in plasmas typical of those found in the edge of tokamaks is undertaken for the C IV and C V ionization stages. The emphasis is on those energy levels giving rise to transitions of most use for diagnostic purposes (n ≤ 5). Carbon is chosen since it is an important contaminant of JET plasmas; it was the dominant low Z impurity before the installation of the ITER-like wall and is still present in the plasma after its installation. Direct electron collisional ionization both from and to excited levels is considered. Distorted-wave flexible atomic code calculations are performed to generate the required ionization cross sections, due to a lack of atomic data in the literature. Employing these data, ionization from excited level populations is not found to be significant in comparison with radiative decay. However, for some energy levels, ionization terminating in the excited level has an effect in the steady-state of the order of the measurement errors (±10%). During transient events, ionization to excited levels will be of more importance and must be taken into account in the calculation of excited level populations. More accurate atomic data, including possible resonance contributions to the cross sections, would tend to increase further the importance of these effects. 

Insight of the interface of electroless Ni-P/SiC composite coating on aluminium alloy, LM24

Electroless nickel composite coatings with silicon carbide, SiC, as reinforcing particles deposited with Ni–P onto aluminium alloy, LM24, having zincating as under layer were subjected to heat treatment using air furnace. The changes at the interface were investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) to probe the chemistry changes upon heat treatment. Microhardness tester with various loads using both Knoop and Vickers indenters was used to study the load effect clubbed with the influence of second phase particles on the coating at the vicinity of the interface. It was observed that zinc was absent at the interface after elevated temperature heat treatment at 400–500 °C. Precipitation of copper and nickel with a distinct demarcation (copper rich belt) along the coating interface was seen with irregular thickness of the order of 1 μm. Migration of copper from the bulk aluminium alloy could have been the factor. Brittleness of the coating was confirmed on heat treatment when indented with Vickers. However, in composite coating the propagation of the microcrack was stopped by the embedded particles but the microcracks continue in the matrix when not interrupted by second phase particles (SiC).

Fluxes of organic contaminants from the river catchment into, through and out of the Humber Estuary, UK

This paper summarises the work done on the distribution and reactivity of organic contaminants (simazine, atrazine, lindane, fluoranthene, pyrene, PCB 77, PCB 118) in the Humber Estuary and associated major rivers, as part of the LOIS programme. The preliminary flux calculations show that the most important contributors of selected organic contaminants were the rivers Trent (45% of simazine, 20% of atrazine), Aire (30% of simazine and 33% of atrazine), Don (36 and 37% of fluoranthene and pyrene) and Ouse (18% of fluoranthene and pyrene). For lindane and PCBs, the Aire and Ouse were the key sources. The water flow in all the rivers shows strong seasonal variations, as do the contaminant concentrations. As a result, the mean daily fluxes of these contaminants displayed a strong seasonality. Annual mean concentrations of simazine and atrazine decreased by more than 50% over the period 1994-1995 in most of the rivers, probably as a result of their restricted use in the UK. Mass balance calculations show that the Humber is a sink for atrazine, lindane, PCB 77 and PCB 118, although the degree of removal is generally much lower for atrazine and lindane than for PCB 77 and PCB 118. Mass balance results also show that the Humber can either be a source of fluoranthene and pyrene (in the suspended particulate phase), or a sink (in the dissolved phase), although overall the Humber acts as sink. The budget exercise represents an attempt to quantify the input and output of selected organic contaminants from catchment to ocean. However, due to limited data and assumptions involved in calculations, the estimates should be considered as an order of magnitude approximation. Further improvement both in resolution and accuracy is required.

The challenge of MNCs and development: oil extraction, CSR, Nigeria and corruption

Globalisation has led to a shift in world order with the rise of the corporate non-state actor. This rise has led to an assumption that Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) must assume responsibilities beyond profit maximisation for shareholders. With the rise of the MNC as a corporate non-state actor there have been discussions around the role of business with regard to human rights.

This article looks at the case of oil extraction in Nigeria. Focussing on the historical dependency of Nigeria and the evolution of the state into a resource-dependent country, it looks at the limitations of existing human rights obligations as they relate to business. This article proposes that corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies of MNCs can act as a preliminary stage in the quest for wider human rights protections. It is in motivating MNCs to design and implement effective CSR policies in dependent states like Nigeria, that the challenge lies.

Electron-impact ionization of the C atom

Time-dependent close-coupling (TDCC), R-matrix-with-pseudostates (RMPS), and time-independent distorted-wave (TIDW) methods are used to calculate electron-impact ionization cross sections for the carbon atom. The TDCC and RMPS results for the 1s22s22p2 ground configuration are in reasonable agreement with the available experimental measurements, while the TIDW results are 30% higher. Ionization of the 1s22s2p3 excited configuration is performed using the TDCC, RMPS, and TIDW methods. Ionization of the 1s22s22p3l (l=0–2) excited configurations is performed using the TDCC and TIDW methods. The ionization cross sections for the excited configurations are much larger than for the ground state. For example, the peak cross section for the 1s22s22p3p excited configuration is an order of magnitude larger than the peak cross section for the 1s22s22p2 ground configuration. The TDCC results are again found to be substantially lower than the TIDW results. The ionization cross-section results will permit the generation of more accurate, generalized collisional-radiative ionization coefficients needed for modeling moderately dense carbon plasmas.

Electron-impact ionization of the boron atom

Accurate knowledge of the electron-impact ionization of the B atom is urgently needed in current fusion plasma experiments to help design ITER wall components. Since no atomic measurements exist, nonperturba- tive time-dependent close-coupling (TDCC) calculations are carried out to accurately determine the direct ionization cross sections of the outer two subshells of B. Perturbative distorted-wave and semiempirical binary encounter calculations are found to yield cross sections from 26% lower to an order of magnitude higher than the current TDCC results. Unlike almost all neutral atoms, large excitation-autoionization contributions are found for the B atom. Nonperturbative R matrix with pseudostates (RMPS) calculations are also carried out to accurately determine the total ionization cross section of B. Previous 60 LS-term RMPS calculations are found to yield cross sections up to 40% higher than the current more extensive 476 LS-term RMPS results

Modeling the Rossiter-McLaughlin Effect: Impact of the Convective Center-to-limb Variations in the Stellar Photosphere

bservations of the Rossiter–McLaughlin (RM) effect provide information on star–planet alignments, which can inform planetary migration and evolution theories. Here, we go beyond the classical RM modeling and explore the impact of a convective blueshift that varies across the stellar disk and non-Gaussian stellar photospheric profiles. We simulated an aligned hot Jupiter with a four-day orbit about a Sun-like star and injected center-to-limb velocity (and profile shape) variations based on radiative 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations of solar surface convection. The residuals between our modeling and classical RM modeling were dependent on the intrinsic profile width and v sin i; the amplitude of the residuals increased with increasing v sin i and with decreasing intrinsic profile width. For slowly rotating stars the center-to-limb convective variation dominated the residuals (with amplitudes of 10 s of cm s−1 to ~1 m s−1); however, for faster rotating stars the dominant residual signature was due a non-Gaussian intrinsic profile (with amplitudes from 0.5 to 9 m s−1). When the impact factor was 0, neglecting to account for the convective center-to-limb variation led to an uncertainty in the obliquity of ~10°–20°, even though the true v sin i was known. Additionally, neglecting to properly model an asymmetric intrinsic profile had a greater impact for more rapidly rotating stars (e.g., v sin i = 6 km s−1) and caused systematic errors on the order of ~20° in the measured obliquities. Hence, neglecting the impact of stellar surface convection may bias star–planet alignment measurements and consequently theories on planetary migration and evolution.

Geochemical study of the rehabilitation of a shallow anoxic reservoir, in volcanic terrains, under semi-arid climate, in Cape Verde Archipelago

Poilão dam reservoir (Cape Verde Archipelago) is in critical conditions, owing the excessive silting up, the high concentration of nitrates and the pronounced anoxia all over the lake. Considering that the most suitable remediation strategy is the removal of the bottom sediments where nutrients are preferentially concentrated, we have done a geochemical study, in order of evaluating their suitability to agricultural use. Analyses indicate that sediments are rich in a few key nutrients, when compared with parent soils. Thus, adding suitable sediments to nearby degraded soils can improve food crops for smallholder farmers living in close proximity to this system.

Bottom up strategies for the morphology control of BaTiO3 particulates

As propriedades funcionais dos materiais ferroeléctricos tais como a polarização reversível, piroelectricidade, piezoelectricidade, elevada actividade óptica não linear e comportamento dieléctrico não linear são fundamentais para a sua aplicação em sensores, microactuadores, detectores de infravermelhos, filtros de fase de microondas e memórias não-voláteis. Nos últimos anos, motivado pelas necessidades industriais de redução do tamanho dos dispositivos microelectrónicos, aumentando a eficiência volumétrica, tem sido feito um grande esforço ao nível da investigação para desenvolver estruturas ferroeléctricas à escala micro- e nano- métrica. É sabido que a redução de tamanho em materiais ferroeléctricos afecta significamente as suas propriedades. Neste sentido e considerando que foi previsto teoreticamente por cálculos ab initio que estruturas do tipo nanocilindros e nanodiscos apresentariam um novo tipo de ordem ferroeléctrica e, na expectativa de alcançar conhecimento para o desenvolvimento de uma nova geração de dispositivos microelectróncos, existe um grande interesse em desenvolver métodos de fabrico de nanoestruturas ferroeléctricas unidimensionais (1D) tais como nanocilindros e nanotubos. As estratégias de fabrico de nanoestruturas 1D até agora descritas na literatura indicam claramente as dificuldades inerentes à sua preparação. Existem duas grandes vias de síntese destas nanoestruturas: i) o método “topdown” que consiste na redução de tamanho de um dado material até à obtenção duma estrutura 1D; e ii) o método “bottom-up” em que átomos, iões e moléculas são agrupados para formar um material 1D. O método “top down” envolve em geral técnicas de desgaste, como o uso do feixe de electrões, que apesar de permitirem elevada precisão no posicionamento e no controlo do tamanho, falham em termos de resolução, exigem muito tempo e causam facilmente defeitos que deterioram as propriedades físicas destes materiais. Na metodologia “bottom up” a utilização de moléculas ou estruturas “molde” tem sido a mais explorada. As estructuras 1D podem também ser preparadas sem recorrer a “moldes”. Neste caso a agregação orientada é promovida pelo recurso a aditivos que controlam o crescimento dos cristais em direcções preferenciais. Neste contexto, neste trabalho utilizaram-se duas estratégias “bottom up” de baixo custo para a preparação de nanopartículas de titanato de bário (BaTiO3) com morfologia controlada: 1) síntese química (em solução e em fase vapor) com utilização de nanotubos de titanato TiNTs) como “moldes” e precursores de titânio 2) síntese química em solução com presença de aditivos. Os nanotubos de titanato de sódio foram preparados por síntese hidrotermal. Como existiam muitas dúvidas acerca da natureza estrutural e do mecanismo de formação dos NTs, a parte inicial do trabalho foi dedicada à realização de um estudo sistemático dos parâmetros intervenientes na síntese e à caracterização da sua estrutura e microestrutura. Foi demonstrado que os NTs têm a fórmula geral A2Ti2O5 (A = H+ or Na+), e não TiO2 (anátase) com defendido por vários autores na literatura, e podem ser preparados por método hidrotermal em meio fortemente alcalino usando como fonte de titânio TiO2 comercial na forma de anátase ou rútilo. A menor reactividade do rútilo exige temperaturas de síntese superiores ou tempos de reacção mais longos. A forma tubular resulta do tratamento hidrotermal e não de processos de lavagem e neutralização subsequentes. Se os NTs forem tratados após a síntese hidrotérmica em água a 200 ºC, transformam-se em nanocilindros. Uma das partes principais desta tese consistiu na investigação do papel dos NTs de titanato no crescimento anisotrópico de BaTiO3. O potencial funcionamento dos NTs como “moldes” para além de precursores foi testado em reacção com hidróxido de bário em síntese em solução e por reacção com um precursor orgânico de bário em fase vapor. Tendo por base os estudos cinéticos realizados, bem como as alterações estruturais e morfológicas das amostras, é possível concluir que a formação do BaTiO3 a partir de NTs de titanato de sódio, ocorre por dois mecanismos dependendo da temperatura e tempo de reacção. Assim, a baixa temperatura e curto tempo de reacção verifica-se que se formam partículas dendríticas de BaTiO3 cuja superfície é bastante irregular (“wild”) e que apresentam estrutura pseudo-cúbica. Estas partículas formam-se por reacção topotáctica na fronteira dos nanotubos de titanato de sódio. A temperaturas mais altas e/ou reacções mais longas, a reacção é controlada por um mecanismo de dissolução e precipitação com formação de dendrites de BaTiO3 tetragonais com superfície mais regular (“seaweed”). A microscopia de força piezoeléctrica mostrou que as dendrites “seaweeds“ possuem actividade piezoeléctrica superior à das dendrites “wild”, o que confirma o papel desempenhado pela estrutura e pela concentração de defeitos na rede na coerência e ordem ferroeléctrica de nanoestruturas. Os nossos resultados confirmam que os NTs de titanato não actuam facilmente como “moldes” na síntese em solução de BaTiO3 já que a velocidade de dissolução dos NTs em condições alcalinas é superior à velocidade de formação do BaTiO3. Assumindo que a velocidade de reacção dos NTs com o precursor de bário é superior em fase vapor, efectuou-se a deposição de um precursor orgânico de bário por deposição química de vapor sobre um filme de NTs de titnato de sódio depositados por deposição electroforética. Estudou-se a estabilidade dos NTs nas diferentes condições do reactor. Quando os NTs são tratados a temperaturas superiores a 700 ºC, ocorre a transformação dos NTs em nanocilindros de anatase por um mecanismo de agregação orientada. Quando se faz a deposição do precursor de bário, seguida de calcinação a 700 ºC em atmosfera oxidante de O2, verifica-se que a superficie dos NTs fica coberta com nanocristais de BaTiO3 independentemente da concentração de bário. O papel dos NTs de titanato no crescimento anisotrópico de BaTiO3 em fase vapor é assim descrito pela primeira vez. Em relação à metodologias de crescimento de partículas na ausência de “moldes” mas com aditivos fez-se um estudo sistemático utilizando 5 aditivos de natureza differente. As diferenças entre aditivos foram sistematizadas tendo em conta as diferenças estruturais e morfológicas verificadas. Está provado que os aditivos podem funcionar como modificadores de crescimento cristalino por alteração do seu padrão de crescimento ou por alteração da cinética de crescimento das faces cristalográficas do cristal. Entre os aditivos testados verificou-se que o ácido poliacrilíco adsorve em faces específicas do BaTiO3 alterando a cinética de crescimento e induzindo a agregação orientada das partículas. O polivinilpirrolidona, o docecilsulfato de sódio e hidroxipropilmetilcelulose actuam mais como inibidores de crescimento do que como modificadores do tipo de crescimento. A D-frutose aumenta a energia de activação da etapa de nucleação não ocorrendo formação de BaTiO3 para as mesmas condições dos outros aditivos. Esta tese clarifica o papel dos NTs de titanato de sódio enquanto precursores e “moldes” no crescimento anisotrópico de BaTiO3 em solução e em fase vapor. É feita também a abordagem do controlo morfológico do BaTiO3 através do uso de aditivos. As estratégias de preparação de BaTiO3 propostas são de baixo custo, reprodutíveis e fáceis de efectuar. Os resultados contribuem para uma melhor compreensão da relação tamanho – morfologia – propriedade em materiais ferroeléctricos nanométricos com vista à sua potencial aplicação.