Short and long run tests of the expectations hypothesis: the Portuguese case

The purpose of this paper is to test both short- and long-run implications of the (rational) expectations hypothesis of the term structure of interest rates using Portuguese data for the interbank money market. The results support only a very weak, long-run or "asymptotic" version of the hypothesis, and broadly agree with previous (but separate) evidence for other countries. Empirical evidence supports the cointegration of Portuguese rates and the "puzzle" well known in the literature: although its forecasts of future short-term rates are in the correct direction, the spread between longer and shorter rates fails to forecast future longer rates. Further short-run implications of the hypothesis in terms of the predictive ability of the spread are also clearly rejected, even for the more stable period which emerged in the middle nineties.Term structure; Expectations hypothesis; Hypothesis testing; Structural breaks; Portugal

Nuclear processes associated with plant immunity and pathogen susceptibility

Plants are sessile organisms that have evolved exquisite and sophisticated mechanisms to adapt to their biotic and abiotic environment. Plants deploy receptors and vast signalling networks to detect, transmit and respond to a given biotic threat by inducing properly dosed defence responses. Genetic analyses and, more recently, next-generation -omics approaches have allowed unprecedented insights into the mechanisms that drive immunity. Similarly, functional genomics and the emergence of pathogen genomes have allowed reciprocal studies on the mechanisms governing pathogen virulence and host susceptibility, collectively allowing more comprehensive views on the processes that govern disease and resistance. Among others, the identification of secreted pathogen molecules (effectors) that modify immunity-associated processes has changed the plant–microbe interactions conceptual landscape. Effectors are now considered both important factors facilitating disease and novel probes, suited to study immunity in plants. In this review, we will describe the various mechanisms and processes that take place in the nucleus and help regulate immune responses in plants. Based on the premise that any process required for immunity could be targeted by pathogen effectors, we highlight and describe a number of functional assays that should help determine effector functions and their impact on immune-related processes. The identification of new effector functions that modify nuclear processes will help dissect nuclear signalling further and assist us in our bid to bolster immunity in crop plants

Synthesis of titanate nanofibers co-sensitized with ZnS and Bi2S3 nanocrystallites and their application on pollutants removal

The synthesis of nanocomposite materials combining titanate nanofibers (TNF) with nanocrystalline ZnS and Bi2S3 semiconductors is described in this work. The TNF were produced via hydrothermal synthesis and sensitized with the semiconductor nanoparticles, through a single-source precursor decomposition method. ZnS and Bi2S3 nanoparticles were successfully grown onto the TNF's surface and Bi2S3-ZnS/TNF nanocomposite materials with different layouts were obtained using either a layer-by-layer or a co-sensitization approach. The samples' photocatalytic performance was first evaluated through the production of the hydroxyl radical using terephthalic acid as probe molecule. All the tested samples show photocatalytic ability for the production of this oxidizing species. Afterwards, the samples were investigated for the removal of methylene blue. The nanocomposite materials with best adsorption ability for the organic dye were the ZnS/TNF and Bi2S3ZnS/TNF. The removal of the methylene blue was systematically studied, and the most promising results were obtained considering a sequential combination of an adsorption-photocatalytic degradation process using the Bi2S3ZnS/TNF powder as a highly adsorbent and photocatalyst material.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figure

Some boundary effects in quantum field theory

We have constructed a quantum field theory in a finite box, with periodic boundary conditions, using the hypothesis that particles living in a finite box are created and/or annihilated by the creation and/or annihilation operators, respectively, of a quantum harmonic oscillator on a circle. An expression for the effective coupling constant is obtained showing explicitly its dependence on the dimension of the box.Comment: 12 pages, Late