Immunization Using a Parametric Model of the Term Structure

In this paper, we develop a new immunization model based on a parametric specification of the term structure of interest rates. The model extends traditional duration analysis to account for both parallel and non-parallel term structure shifts that have an economic meaning. Contrary to most interest rate risk models, we analyse both first-order and second-order conditions for bond portfolio immunization and conclude that the key to successful protection will be to build up a bond portfolio such that the gradient of its future value is zero, and such that its Hessian matrix is positive semidefinite. In addition, we provide explicit formulae for new parametric interest rate risk measures and present alternative approaches to implement the immunization strategy. Furthermore, we provide useful expressions for the sensitivity of interest rate risk measures to changes in term structure shape parameters

Effect of the North Equatorial Counter Current on the Generation and Propagation of Internal Solitary Waves Off the Amazon Shelf (SAR Observations)

. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery from the Amazon shelf break region in the tropical west Atlantic reveals for the first time the two-dimensional horizontal structure of an intense Internal Solitary Wave (ISW) field, whose first surface manifestations are detected several hundred kilometres away from the nearest forcing bathymetry. Composite maps and an energy budget analysis (provided from the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model – HYCOM) help to identify two major ISW pathways emanating from the steep slopes of a small promontory (or headland) near 44◦ W and 0 ◦ N, which are seen to extend for over 500 km into the open ocean. Further analysis in the SAR reveals propagation speeds above 3 m s−1 , which are amongst the fastest ever recorded. The main characteristics of the ISWs are further discussed based on a statistical analysis, and seasonal variability is found for one of the ISW sources. This seasonal variability is discussed in light of the North Equatorial Counter Current. The remote appearance of the ISW sea surface manifestations is explained by a late disintegration of the internal tide (IT), which is further investigated based on the SAR data and climatological monthly means (for stratification and currents). Acknowledging the possibility of a late disintegration of the IT may help explain the remote-sensing views of other ISWs in the world’s oceans

A ORGANIZAÇÃO DA INFORMAÇÃO E A AGENDA 2030: A INTEROPERABILIDADE E O DESENVOLVIMENTO SUSTENTÁVEL

This article seeks to understand the relationship between the technological and semantic interoperability (metadata) of information systems with sustainability, a global proposal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for the development of our societies. Through a systematic literature review and an analysis of the results, it intends to understand the contribution of organization of information and interoperability to the enhancement of sustainable development. Two research questions were addressed: What is the role of interoperable systems in environmental, social, and economic development? How can organization of information and interoperability contribute to sustainable development? The results show that interoperability is seen as fundamental to sustainable development, especially when building integrated and standardized information systems. The role of interoperable systems in environmental, social, and economic development is relevant, as organization of information and interoperability contribute, indirectly but decisively, to sustainable development. They enable the exchange of information, encourage the construction of global communities of practice and overcome local limitations and deficits. It is concluded that the organization of information plays a cross-cutting role in projects, which aim to implement the sustainable development goals.Este artigo procura compreender a relação entre a interoperabilidade tecnológica e semântica (metainformação) dos sistemas de informação com a sustentabilidade, proposta global da Agenda 2030 das Nações Unidas para o desenvolvimento das nossas sociedades. Através de uma revisão sistemática da literatura e de uma análise dos resultados, pretende-se perceber o contributo da organização da informação e da interoperabilidade para o incremento do desenvolvimento sustentável. Foram colocadas duas questões de investigação: Qual o papel dos sistemas interoperáveis no desenvolvimento ambiental, social e económico? De que forma a organização da informação e a interoperabilidade podem contribuir para o desenvolvimento sustentável? Os resultados mostram que a interoperabilidade é considerada como fundamental para o desenvolvimento sustentável, sobretudo na construção de sistemas de informação integrados e normalizados. O papel dos sistemas interoperáveis no desenvolvimento ambiental, social e económico é relevante, pois a organização da informação e a interoperabilidade contribuem, de forma indireta, mas decisiva, para o desenvolvimento sustentável. Viabilizam a permuta de informação, incentivam a construção de comunidades globais de prática e ultrapassam as limitações e os défices locais. Conclui-se que a organização da informação desempenha um papel crucial e transversal nos projetos, que visam implementar os objetivos do desenvolvimento sustentável

Built Heritage Research and Education

The University of Beira Interior (UBI) is one of the most recent Portuguese universities (1986). First polytechnic and then university it is structured in five faculties. The existing knowledge fields include engineering, social sciences, humanities, arts and letters, communication and health sciences. The Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DECA) is part of the Faculty of Engineering. The main degrees in the DECA-UBI are the Integrated Master degrees in Architecture and in Civil Engineering. These are a five year program which combines undergraduate and postgraduate study into a single course. The interdisciplinarity and interrelation, which link both research and education, are the basis for the production of knowledge at DECA-UBI. Built heritage is a very important cultural asset as the evidence of any society development and it is a field of interest at DECA-UBI. It refers to all aspects of the man-made environment such as houses, places of worship, commercial and office buildings, monuments and other places of historical significance. Built heritage helps to define a sense of place and identity for communities. It is not only about monuments of exceptional value but also includes small modest vernacular buildings that represent other equally important historical, social and cultural values. The attention paid to the built heritage has increased in Portugal. It should be emphasized that some of these buildings are now used for functions that did not exist when they were built. Furthermore, the actual technical requirements are not always compatible with the former building. A regular maintenance of these buildings may include preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, reconstruction, adaptation and interpretation. Balance needs to be achieved. The future of built heritage conservation is focused on the sustainable built environment. Conservation does not require buildings to be preserved in their original condition to accept contemporary use. It may change over time as community values evolve. However it is important, as a cultural asset, to retain its original heritage features. While heritage conservation is a key player in sustainability planning, interdisciplinary skills that are needed to deliver the heritage studies and projects of the new generation architects which combine aspects of cultural heritage with the best preventive conservation, projects, methodologies and practices. For this purpose it is important to link with engineering sciences. In this paper, the authors describe their experience concerning this link between research and education in the Integrated Master degree in Architecture, which is emphasized by the specific and multidisciplinary research performed as members of the faculty staff at DECA-UBI linking with other sciences of engineering as thermal comfort, acoustics and daylighting. A few examples presented are the analysis of the performance of acoustics and daylight of Cistercians churches, the acoustic analysis as a support for the architectural rehabilitation of an outdated theatre, the thermal performance of new housing of an adapted monastery, to perceive the user’s satisfaction of a vernacular housing through a post occupancy inquiry, the rehabilitation from vernacular ruins.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impacto Económico e Social da Sinistralidade Rodoviária em Portugal

Silva, C. M., Bravo, J. M., Gonçalves, J. (2021). Impacto Económico e Social da Sinistralidade Rodoviária em Portugal. Lisboa: CEGE - Centro de Estudos de Gestão do ISEG e Autoridade Nacional de Segurança Rodoviária (ANSR). Acesso: http://www.ansr.pt/Documents/Impacto_Economico_Social_Sinistralidade_Rodoviaria.pdfpublishersversionpublishe

O contributo das bibliotecas para a “vida do laboratório”: uma cartografia internacional teórica e prática

Objective. The need for access to scientific information, as an indispensable condition for the generation of new knowledge, places the information problem in a central role in the production and dissemination of science. In the relation between information and science, we questioned the place that libraries occupy. Design/Methodology/Approach. International literature on the role of libraries in scientific research was retrieved and analyzed. From a content analysis, the literature was grouped into five categories that form the theoretical framework. Given its relevance, special attention was paid to empirical work carried out in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Spain.Results/Discusion. It presented a bipartite structure —theoretical framework and empirical studies— that gives shape to the state of the art. In the first part, the dimensions converging to a theoretical definition of the problem of the role of libraries in scientific research are briefly presented. In the second part, we presented international work focusing particularly on empirical investigation regarding the support that these information systems provide for scientific research.Conclusions. Libraries occupy a place that is in deep reconfiguration. On the one hand, the generalized provision of information seems to render the role of libraries unnecessary, but on the other hand, libraries remain on their mission to add value, offer new services and products, and contribute to scientific development. The state of the art on the relationship between libraries and research demonstrates the robustness and relevance of this research line, and underlines the importance of empirical studies which allows an approximation to the relational complexity present in “laboratory life”. Originality/Value. It is a systematic analysis of literature relevant to the topic, where it is built a dialogue between the theoretical and empirical dimensions, from the studies that dealt with the relationship between libraries and scientific research.Objetivo. A necessidade do acesso à informação científica, enquanto condição indispensável para a geração de novo conhecimento, confere à informação um papel central na produção e disseminação da ciência. Na relação entre informação e ciência, interroga-se o lugar que as bibliotecas ocupam. Desenho/Metodologia/Enfoque. Foi realizada uma recolha e análise da literatura internacional sobre o papel das bibliotecas na investigação científica. A partir da análise do seu conteúdo, a literatura foi agrupada em cinco categorias que formam o enquadramento teórico. Pela sua relevância, foi dada especial atenção aos trabalhos empíricos desenvolvidos no Reino Unido, Estados Unidos da América e Espanha. Resultados/Discussão. É apresentada uma estrutura bipartida —enquadramento teórico e estudos empíricos—que dá forma ao estado da arte. Na primeira parte, apresentam-se de forma breve as dimensões que convergem para uma definição teórica do problema do papel das bibliotecas na investigação científica. Na segunda parte, são apresentados os trabalhos internacionais que incidem particularmente na investigação empírica do apoio que estes sistemas de informação prestam à investigação científica. Conclusão. As bibliotecas ocupam um lugar que está em profunda reconfiguração. Por um lado, a oferta generalizada de informação parece tornar dispensável o papel das bibliotecas, mas por outro as bibliotecas permanecem na sua missão de acrescentar valor, oferecendo novos serviços e produtos, e contribuindo para o desenvolvimento científico. O estado da arte sobre a relação entre as bibliotecas e a investigação demonstra, de forma cabal, a robustez e a pertinência desta linha de investigação e sublinha a importância dos estudos empíricos como a melhor forma de nos aproximarmos da complexidade relacional que está presente na “vida do laboratório”.Originalidade/Valor. É uma análise sistemática da literatura relevante para o tema, onde se pretende construir um diálogo entre as dimensões teórica e empírica, a partir dos estudos que abordaram a relação entre as bibliotecas e a investigação científica

Women's attachment as a predictor of pain during labour and post-delivery: a prospective observational study

Labour is considered to be one of the most painful and significant experiences in a woman's life. The aim of this study was to examine whether women's attachment style is a predictor of the pain experienced throughout labour and post-delivery

Raman Spectroscopy Studies on the Barocaloric Hybrid Perovskite [(CH₃)₄N][Cd(N₃)₃]

[Abstract] Temperature-dependent Raman scattering and differential scanning calorimetry were applied to the study of the hybrid organic-inorganic azide-perovskite [(CH₃)₄N][Cd(N₃)₃], a compound with multiple structural phase transitions as a function of temperature. A significant entropy variation was observed associated to such phase transitions, |∆S| ~ 62.09 J·kg⁻¹ K⁻¹, together with both a positive high barocaloric (BC) coefficient |δTt/δP| ~ 12.39 K kbar⁻¹ and an inverse barocaloric (BC) coefficient |δTt/δP| ~ −6.52 kbar⁻¹, features that render this compound interesting for barocaloric applications. As for the obtained Raman spectra, they revealed that molecular vibrations associated to the NC₄, N₃⁻ and CH₃ molecular groups exhibit clear anomalies during the phase transitions, which include splits and discontinuity in the phonon wavenumber and lifetime. Furthermore, variation of the TMA⁺ and N₃⁻ modes with temperature revealed that while some modes follow the conventional red shift upon heating, others exhibit an unconventional blue shift, a result which was related to the weakening of the intermolecular interactions between the TMA (tetramethylammonium) cations and the azide ligands and the concomitant strengthening of the intramolecular bondings. Therefore, these studies show that Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool to gain information about phase transitions, structures and intermolecular interactions between the A-cation and the framework, even in complex hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites with highly disordered phases.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (Brasil); 431943/2016-8Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Maranhão (Brasil); COOPI-07771/17Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; MAT2017-86453-RXunta de Galicia; ED431G/0

Mechanical pruning and soil organic amending in two terroirs. Effects on wine chemical composition and sensory profile

The knowledge about the interaction between mechanical pruning and soil organic amending is still scarce. This study aimed to examine the effects of the interaction between these two practices on wine quality. Syrah grapes from two trial fields in Portugal subjected to two different pruning systems (mechanical pruning; hand spur pruning) and five different organic amendment treatments (control, biochar, municipal solid waste compost, cattle manure, and sewage sludge) were harvested and vinified for four years. Mechanical pruning significantly reduced wine alcoholic strength, pH, and total anthocyanins. Mechanical pruning and organic amendments, tendentially reduced wine total phenols and tannin power, known as an “estimation of the astringency potential of the wines”. Tasters found low but significant differences in global appreciation with the pruning system. Sludge tended to reduce wine global appreciation more than municipal solid waste compost and cattle manure, while biochar had no effect on tasters’ preference when compared to the control. There was strong relation between yield and tasters’ preference only above 6 kg/vine and 8 kg/vine depending on the terroir. Mechanical pruning tendentially has significant effects on wine quality when yield raises above a certain level. Thus, with this pruning system, the choice of the organic amendment and its amount must be done considering the destiny of the produced grapes. To the best of our knowledge, effects of the interaction of mechanical pruning with soil organic amending on wine quality are a noveltyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

INFECCIÓN CON PSEUDOACANTHOCEPHALUS LUTZI (HAMANN, 1891) (ACANTHOCEPHALA: ECHINORHYNCHIDAE) EN RHINELLA MARINA (LINNAEUS, 1758) (AMPHIBIA: BUFONIDAE) EN PERU

Este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar un caso de alto nivel de infección con acantocéfalos para comprender si el patrón de infección está relacionado con las características biológicas de los hospederos. Se recolectaron acantocéfalos de 33 ejemplares de Rhinella marina (Linnaeus, 1758) de Huanuco, Perú, y luego se utilizó la prueba de rango de Spearmans (r ) para calcular posibles correlaciones entre el tamaños del cuerpo del hospedero y la abundancia de parásitos, y el tamaño del cuerpo del parásito y la abundancia de parásitos. Los helmintos fueron identificados como Pseudoacanthocephalus lutzi (Hamann, 1891). La prevalencia de infección fue del 97,1%. Se recuperó un total de 874 helmintos, con una abundancia media de 24,1 ± 4,7 y una intensidad media de infección de 24,8 ± 4,8. El tamaño del cuerpo del huésped y el tamaño del cuerpo del parásito no se correlacionaron significativamente con la abundancia del parásito. El presente estudio, además de contribuir a nuestro conocimiento de la fauna helmíntica de anfibios en Perú, ha demostrado que R. marina tiene una alta tasa de infección por helmintos con P. lutzi en esa región