The political economy of European Monetary Union after the end of the Bretton Woods financial system

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-139).The post-Bretton Woods financial system and the globalisation of financial markets have pronounced the unequal distribution of financial power across nation states. The majority of member countries in the eurozone with previously little financial power have chosen monetary integration as a response to globalisation. On the other hand, countries with substantial financial power such as Germany agreed to monetary integration for the sake of a mercantilist economic agenda and broader political goals

Synthesis, variable temperature NMR investigations and solid state characterisation of novel octafluorofluorene compounds

The preparation of a number of new 9-substituted octafluorofluorene derivatives, solution NMR studies, and the first examples of solid state structures of octafluorofluorenes [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octafluorofluorene, C13H2F8, 1; 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octafluoro-9-(pentafluoro)phenylfluorene, C19HF13, 8; 1,1′,2,2′,3,3′,4,4′,5,5′,6,6′,7,7′,8,8′-hexadecafluoro-9,9′-bifluorenyl, C26H2F16, 11] are reported. Variable temperature 19F NMR investigations have been performed on the 9-aryl substituted compounds 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octafluoro-9-(pentafluoro)phenyl-9-hydroxyfluorene, C19HF13O, 4, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octafluoro-9-(nonafluoro-4′-biphenylyl)-9-hydroxyfluorene, C25HF17O, 5, and 8, and the energetic barriers to rotation of the aryl have been determined. A lower rotational barrier is observed for compound 4 with respect to compound 8, while 5 does not show fluxional behaviour below 338 K. The results of the variable temperature experiments performed on 8 have been rationalized by 2D NMR studies, and compared to the solid state data resulting from the X-ray structural analysis

Prescrição intercorrente

Resumo: O presente trabalho pretende analisar individualmente a recepção do instituto da prescrição intercorrente nas Justiças Cível e do Trabalho, para concluir a partir de uma comparação qual a razão dos entendimentos contrários. Primeiramente, busca-se traçar um panorama geral sobre o conceito, fundamentos e requisitos da prescrição, diferenciando-a de institutos correlatos, para em seguida introduzir a espécie da prescrição intercorrente e suas peculiaridades. Parte-se para a análise dentro do direito civil, com abordagem teórica doutrinária e da prática jurisprudencial, com o intuito de estabelecer a base para a comparação com a Justiça do Trabalho. Em seguida, busca-se realizar a mesma análise com relação ao direito trabalhista, focando sempre nas questões relevantes à recepção da prescrição intercorrente. Finalmente, conclui-se com a comparação das razões e argumetnos que levam às diferentes áreas jurídicas possuírem entendimentos contrários, com a aceitação praticamente unânime da prescrição intercorrente pela Justiça Cível e a rejeição, ainda majoritária, por parte da Justiça do Trabalh

Pre-lift Valve Actuation Strategy for the Performance Improvement of a DISI VVA Turbocharged Engine

Abstract Modern internal combustion engines (ICEs) are becoming more and more complex in order to achieve not only better power and torque performance, but also to respect the pollutant emissions and the fuel consumption (CO 2 ) limits. The turbocharger, advanced valve actuation systems (VVA) and the EGR circuit allow the ICE's load control together with the traditional throttle valve and spark advance. Thus, an higher number of operating parameters are available for the calibration engineer to achieve the required performance target (minimum fuel consumption at part load, maximum power and torque at full load, etc.). On the other hand, the increased degrees of freedom may frustrate the potentialities of so complex systems because of the effort needed to identify the optimal engine control strategies. The development of proper numerical models may assist and direct the experimental activity in order to reduce the related times and costs. Although VVA solutions could bring a reduction in the specific fuel consumption thanks to an important de-throttling of the intake system, unfortunately they can simultaneously lead to higher noise levels radiated by the intake mouth. In fact, in this case, the pressure waves travelling through the intake ducts are not properly damped by the throttle valve. In this paper a numerical methodology is developed to define the engine calibration and the intake valve lift profile that simultaneously minimize the BSFC and the noise at part load. The engine object of the study is a turbocharged Spark-Ignition Direct Injection (SIDI) ICE equipped by a lost motion valve actuation system for the intake valves. In this study, the commercial 1D thermo fluid-dynamic code GT-PowerTM is provided with user routines for the description of the combustion process and the handing of variable valve lift profiles. The engine model is thus integrated with a commercial optimization code (modeFRONTIERTM) to identify the optimized load control strategies to achieve the set objectives. The proposed methodology is also used for the definition of unconventional valve lift profiles. Particularly, the advantages related to the use of a small pre-lift before the main valve lift profile are estimated compared to a conventional EIVC strategy

A polarization modulator unit for the mid- and high-frequency telescopes of the LiteBIRD mission

The LiteBIRD mission is a JAXA strategic L-class mission for all sky CMB surveys which will be launched in the 2020s. The main target of the mission is the detection of primordial gravitational waves with a sensitivity of the tensor-to-scalar ratio δr<0.001. The polarization modulator unit (PMU) represents a critical and powerful component to suppress 1/f noise contribution and mitigate systematic uncertainties induced by detector gain drift, both for the high-frequency telescope (HFT) and for the mid-frequency telescope (MFT). Each PMU is based on a continuously-rotating transmissive half-wave plate (HWP) held by a superconducting magnetic bearing in a 5K environment. In this contribution we will present the design and expected performance of the LiteBIRD PMUs and testing performed on every PMU subsystem with a room-temperature rotating disk used as a stand-in for the cryogenic HWP rotor