Contribution à l’étude du nannoplacton du leg 12, «sites» 118-119 (Ocean Atlantique)

This paper reports a Scanning Electron Microscopy study of some samples from the leg 12, Deep Sea Drilling Project, sites 118 and 119. The chronostratigraphic distribution, the frequency of the species identified and the datation of the samples studied are presented. In accordance with the calcareous nannofossil zonation proposed by E. MARTINI (1971) the samples from site 118 are ascribed to the Upper Miocene while the samples from site 119 are located between the Lower (NN1) and the Upper Miocene (NN10).

Contribution à l’étude du nannoplacton du leg 12, «sites» 118-119 (Ocean Atlantique)

This paper reports a Scanning Electron Microscopy study of some samples from the leg 12, Deep Sea Drilling Project, sites 118 and 119. The chronostratigraphic distribution, the frequency of the species identified and the datation of the samples studied are presented. In accordance with the calcareous nannofossil zonation proposed by E. MARTINI (1971) the samples from site 118 are ascribed to the Upper Miocene while the samples from site 119 are located between the Lower (NN1) and the Upper Miocene (NN10).

Paralophiodon cf. leptorhynchum (tapiroidea, mammalia) à Vale Furado: contribution à la connaissance de l’éocène au Portugal

A canine tooth from Vale Furado is classified as Paralophiodon cf. leptorhynchum. The genus Paralophiodon indicates an age from Lower Lutetian to Auversian, Middle Eocene. As it belongs in the lineage of P. leptorhynchum, possible age span is furth~L~uced from Middle Lutetian to Auversian. This conclusion remains valid or nearly so even in the less probable case of confusion with some form included in P. isselensis lineage. Our previous (1975) datation for sandstones and pelites from Vale Furado is thus confirmed, and more accurately recognized. Paralophiodon and the crocodilian Iberosuchus are a rather sound basis for correlation with stratigraphical units near Zamora and Salamanca in Spain.

Intraplate seismicity across the Cape Verde swell: a contribution from a temporary seismic network

We present an analysis and characterization of the regional seismicity recorded by a temporary broadband seismic network deployed in the Cape Verde archipelago between November 2007 and September 2008. The detection of earthquakes was based on spectrograms, allowing the discrimination from low-frequency volcanic signals, resulting in 358 events of which 265 were located, the magnitudes usually being smaller than 3. For the location, a new 1-D P-velocity model was derived for the region showing a crust consistent with an oceanic crustal structure. The seismicity is located mostly offshore the westernmost and geologically youngest areas of the archipelago, near the islands of Santo Antao and Sao Vicente in the NW and Brava and Fogo in the SW. The SW cluster has a lower occurrence rate and corresponds to seismicity concentrated mainly along an alignment between Brava and the Cadamosto seamount presenting normal faulting mechanisms. The existence of the NW cluster, located offshore SW of Santo Antao, was so far unknown and concentrates around a recently recognized submarine cone field; this cluster presents focal depths extending from the crust to the upper mantle and suggests volcanic unrest No evident temporal behaviour could be perceived, although the events tend to occur in bursts of activity lasting a few days. In this recording period, no significant activity was detected at Fogo volcano, the most active volcanic edifice in Cape Verde. The seismicity characteristics point mainly to a volcanic origin. The correlation of the recorded seismicity with active volcanic structures agrees with the tendency for a westward migration of volcanic activity in the archipelago as indicated by the geologic record. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reshaping higher education systems in the MENA region: the contribution of remote and virtual labs

Learning is not only happening in school or university; it is also an important aspect of the daily life that allows students to remain in their biological and physical environment helping to reshape it, by applying what they have learnt. Today, the higher education sector is a part of important strategies used by countries in order to foster their development. Despite its geographical location, i.e. its closeness to Europe and Asia, the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region still needs an integrated strategy for the advancement, reform, and update of its higher educational landscape. Although some solutions have been experimented in the region in the field of higher education, they have not been able to raise the quality of education to the level comparable that observed in developed countries. In other words, many MENA higher education systems are facing problems, for which solution ought to be sought. We analyse the situation of higher education systems in the MENA countries and the factors that affect the delay in achieving the level of education existing in other world regions, e.g. Europe, especially in the higher education sector. During the discussion, the impact of new technology-enhanced tools, such as remote laboratories, in the process of development and consolidation of MENA universities, is particularly stressed.

The contribution of multitemporal information from multispectral satellite images for automatic land cover classification at the national scale

Thesis submitted to the Instituto Superior de Estatística e Gestão de Informação da Universidade Nova de Lisboa in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Management – Geographic Information Systems

A contribution to the e-framework: a specification of a programming exercise evaluation service

This work is a contribution to the e-Framework, arguably the most prominent e-learning framework today, and consists of the definition of a service for the automatic evaluation of programming exercises. This evaluation domain differs from trivial evaluations modelled by languages such as the IMS Question & Test Interoperability (QTI) specification. Complex evaluation domains justify the development of specialized evaluators that participate in several business processes. These business processes can combine other type of systems such as Programming Contest Management Systems, Learning Management Systems, Integrated Development Environments and Learning Object Repositories where programming exercises are stored as Learning Objects. This contribution describes the implementation approaches used, more precisely, behaviours & requests, use & interactions, applicable standards, interface definition and usage scenarios.

The contribution of cellblock – histogel – in bronchial washing samples

Introduction: The cellblock is a technique that enables the pathologist to study the morphological detail of residual samples and can be used when it is necessary to perform additional diagnostic techniques. Objective: Demonstrate the processing of bronchial washings in liquid based cytology to cellblock using HistoGel in residual samples, evaluating the morphology and preservation of cytological material. Methods: There were used 40 residual samples from bronchial washings in liquid based cytology, after determination of the clinical diagnosis, being made subsequently 40 cellblocks using HistoGel. For each cellblock there was made one histological section for analysis of cell morphology, which was subsequently stained with the routine histological staining. After microscope observation, the morphology was evaluated by 3 experts in the field of pathology, based on the parameters: Cellularity, Preservation and Background. Results: The average final score of 3 evaluators, on a scale of 0 to 100, in assessing the morphology of the 40 samples was 55.6. From the 40 histological sections, 5 of them were considered not viable for evaluation. Conclusions: The results obtained indicate median quality maintenance of morphology. However, it is noted that in only 5 cases it was not possible to determine an evaluation, knowing from the outset that these are residual samples with a very scant cellularity. Thus, it is possible to say that the processing of bronchial washings to cellblock using HistoGel contributes to a concentration of the cytological material, allowing its evaluation and subsequent diagnosis. Additional diagnostic techniques are shown equally viable in these cellblocks.

Experimental study on polyester based concretes filled with glass fibre reinforced plastic recyclates – a contribution to composite materials sustainability

The development and applications of thermoset polymeric composites, namely fibre reinforced plastics (FRP), have shifted in the last decades more and more into the mass market [1]. Despite of all advantages associated to FRP based products, the increasing production and consume also lead to an increasing amount of FRP wastes, either end-of-lifecycle products, or scrap and by-products generated by the manufacturing process itself. Whereas thermoplastic FRPs can be easily recycled, by remelting and remoulding, recyclability of thermosetting FRPs constitutes a more difficult task due to cross-linked nature of resin matrix. To date, most of the thermoset based FRP waste is being incinerated or landfilled, leading to negative environmental impacts and supplementary added costs to FRP producers and suppliers. This actual framework is putting increasing pressure on the industry to address the options available for FRP waste management, being an important driver for applied research undertaken cost efficient recycling methods. [1-2]. In spite of this, research on recycling solutions for thermoset composites is still at an elementary stage. Thermal and/or chemical recycling processes, with partial fibre recovering, have been investigated mostly for carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) due to inherent value of carbon fibre reinforcement; whereas for glass fibre reinforced plastics (GFRP), mechanical recycling, by means of milling and grinding processes, has been considered a more viable recycling method [1-2]. Though, at the moment, few solutions in the reuse of mechanically-recycled GFRP composites into valueadded products are being explored. Aiming filling this gap, in this study, a new waste management solution for thermoset GFRP based products was assessed. The mechanical recycling approach, with reduction of GFRP waste to powdered and fibrous materials was applied, and the potential added value of obtained recyclates was experimentally investigated as raw material for polyester based mortars. The use of a cementless concrete as host material for GFRP recyclates, instead of a conventional Portland cement based concrete, presents an important asset in avoiding the eventual incompatibility problems arisen from alkalis silica reaction between glass fibres and cementious binder matrix. Additionally, due to hermetic nature of resin binder, polymer based concretes present greater ability for incorporating recycled waste products [3]. Under this scope, different GFRP waste admixed polymer mortar (PM) formulations were analyzed varying the size grading and content of GFRP powder and fibre mix waste. Added value of potential recycling solution was assessed by means of flexural and compressive loading capacities of modified mortars with regard to waste-free polymer mortars.

Paleoclimatic correlations between Western european continental and marine areas Contribution of big villafranchian fauna

It is very difficult to make paleoclimatic correlations between continental and marine areas, but it is possible with biostratigraphic data. Reliable correlations can be made only between broad periods: between 3.5 and 3 Ma, around 2.4 Ma, until 1.6 Ma and after 1.6 Ma. The arid Mediterranean phases led to the disappearance of the European Villafranchian fauna (1.0 Ma).

Slaughterhouses fungal burden assessment: a contribution for the pursuit of a better assessment strategy

In slaughterhouses, the biological risk is present not only from the direct or indirect contact with animal matter, but also from the exposure to bioaerosols. Fungal contamination was already reported from the floors and walls of slaughterhouses. This study intends to assess fungal contamination by cultural and molecular methods in poultry, swine/bovine and large animal slaughterhouses. Air samples were collected through an impaction method, while surface samples were collected by the swabbing method and subjected to further macro- and micro-scopic observations. In addition, we collected air samples using the impinger method in order to perform real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) amplification of genes from specific fungal species, namely A. flavus, A. fumigatus and A. ochraceus complexes. Poultry and swine/bovine slaughterhouses presented each two sampling sites that surpass the guideline of 150 CFU/m3. Scopulariopsis candida was the most frequently isolated (59.5%) in poultry slaughterhouse air; Cladosporium sp. (45.7%) in the swine/bovine slaughterhouse; and Penicillium sp. (80.8%) in the large animal slaughterhouse. Molecular tools successfully amplified DNA from the A. fumigatus complex in six sampling sites where the presence of this fungal species was not identified by conventional methods. This study besides suggesting the indicators that are representative of harmful fungal contamination, also indicates a strategy as a protocol to ensure a proper characterization of fungal occupational exposure.

Modelling the Contribution of 40K, 232Th and 226Ra to Radiation Dose and Risk from Airborne Discharges of Coal-Fired Power Plants

Coal contains trace elements and naturally occurring radionuclides such as 40K, 232Th, 238U. When coal is burned, minerals, including most of the radionuclides, do not burn and concentrate in the ash several times in comparison with their content in coal. Usually, a small fraction of the fly ash produced (2-5%) is released into the atmosphere. The activities released depend on many factors (concentration in coal, ash content and inorganic matter of the coal, combustion temperature, ratio between bottom and fly ash, filtering system). Therefore, marked differences should be expected between the by-products produced and the amount of activity discharged (per unit of energy produced) from different coal-fired power plants. In fact, the effects of these releases on the environment due to ground deposition have been received some attention but the results from these studies are not unanimous and cannot be understood as a generic conclusion for all coal-fired power plants. In this study, the dispersion modelling of natural radionuclides was carried out to assess the impact of continuous atmospheric releases from a selected coal plant. The natural radioactivity of the coal and the fly ash were measured and the dispersion was modelled by a Gaussian plume estimating the activity concentration at different heights up to a distance of 20 km in several wind directions. External and internal doses (inhalation and ingestion) and the resulting risk were calculated for the population living within 20 km from the coal plant. In average, the effective dose is lower than the ICRP’s limit and the risk is lower than the U.S. EPA’s limit. Therefore, in this situation, the considered exposure does not pose any risk. However, when considering the dispersion in the prevailing wind direction, these values are significant due to an increase of 232Th and 226Ra concentrations in 75% and 44%, respectively.

The contribution of performance evaluation to the professionalization

Comunicação apresentada na IASIA Annual Conference no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, de 3 a 8 de Agosto de 2009.

Contribution towards understanding the categorisation of landforms.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.