THE ENTROPIC ANALYSIS OF ELECTORAL RESULTS: THE CASE OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Entropy is a measure of information and uncertainty which has been used recently in different areas, besides of its original utilization in physics. Finance, microeconomics, macroeconomics, utility functions or even psychology are approached areas, using analogies between the areas physics and nature, creating a new research area: Econophysics (see, for example, Ausloos et al, 1999 or Bouchaud, 2002). This paper intends to explore the utilization of entropy through politics and election results, an area just slightly explored (Gill, 2005). It generalizes interpretation of entropy, considering it a measure of dissatisfaction and disillusion of populations in relation to politics. Some phenomena like the increase of abstention in a country, consequence of the dissatisfaction of population and of their alienation in relation to politics could be detected and analysed. This discontentment could result, for example, in the appearance of new political parties, with more division of votes and increasing entropy (result of the discontentment and uncertainty by electors). Absolute majorities, while imply less dispersion of votes, are synonym of more confidence in a given party, making a reduction of entropy. Electoral results could also be influenced by particular phenomena, like those terrorist attacks made in vespers of the two last elections in Spain, with consequences on the affluence to the polls by electors, and influencing levels of entropy. Elections' dates could also influence results: for example, elections on summer season suffer from more abstention. Elections' results could also be connected with aspects like safety feeling of citizens, with unpopular socio-economic policies taken by government or even with the economic performance of a country. One of the purposes of this paper is to find these types of phenomena and try to relate them with the concept of entropy. Another objective is to analyse the reality in different European countries.Entropy, electoral results, satisfaction and dissatisfaction of population

Assessment of 48 Stock markets using adaptive multifractal approach

Stock market comovements are examined using cointegration, Granger causality tests and nonlinear approaches in context of mutual information and correlations. Underlying data sets are affected by non-stationarities and trends, we also apply AMF-DFA and AMF-DXA. We find only 170 pair of Stock markets cointegrated, and according to the Granger causality and mutual information, we realize that the strongest relations lies between emerging markets, and between emerging and frontier markets. According to scaling exponent given by AMF-DFA, $h(q=2)>1$, we find that all underlying data sets belong to non-stationary process. According to EMH, only 8 markets are classified in uncorrelated processes at $2\sigma$ confidence interval. 6 Stock markets belong to anti-correlated class and dominant part of markets has memory in corresponding daily index prices during January 1995 to February 2014. New-Zealand with $H=0.457\pm0.004$ and Jordan with $H=0.602\pm 0.006$ are far from EMH. The nature of cross-correlation exponents based on AMF-DXA is almost multifractal for all pair of Stock markets. The empirical relation, $H_{xy}\le [H_{xx}+H_{yy}]/2$, is confirmed. Mentioned relation for $q>0$ is also satisfied while for $q<0$ there is a deviation from this relation confirming behavior of markets for small fluctuations is affected by contribution of major pair. For larger fluctuations, the cross-correlation contains information from both local and global conditions. Width of singularity spectrum for auto-correlation and cross-correlation are $\Delta \alpha_{xx}\in [0.304,0.905]$ and $\Delta \alpha_{xy}\in [0.246,1.178]$, respectively. The wide range of singularity spectrum for cross-correlation confirms that the bilateral relation between Stock markets is more complex. The value of $\sigma_{DCCA}$ indicates that all pairs of stock market studied in this time interval belong to cross-correlated processes.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures and 4 tables, major revision and match to published versio

Phage display as a tool for generation of bio-therapeutic agents for breast cancer

Notch is a conserved signalling pathway, which plays a crucial role in a multiple cellular processes such as stem cell self-renewal, cell division, proliferation and apoptosis. In mammalian, four Notch receptors and five ligands are described, where interaction is achieved through their extracellular domains, leading to a transcription activation of different target genes. Increased expression of Notch ligands has been detected in several types of cancer, including breast cancer suggesting that these proteins represent possible therapeutic targets. The goal of this work was to generate quality protein targets and, by phage display technology, select function-blocking antibodies specific for Notch ligands. Phage display is a powerful technique that allows the generation of highly specific antibodies to be used for therapeutics, and it has also proved to be a reliable approach in identifying and validating new cancer-related targets. Also, we aimed at solving the tri-dimensional structure of the Notch ligands alone and in complex with selected antibodies. In this work, the initial phase focused on the optimization of the expression and purification of a human Delta-like 1 ligand mutant construct (hDLL1-DE3), by refolding from E. coli inclusion bodies. To confirm the biological activity of the produced recombinant protein cellular functional studies were performed, revealing that treatment with hDLL1-DE3 protein led to a modulation of Notch target genes. In a second stage of this study, Antibody fragments (Fabs) specific for hDLL1-DE3 were generated by phage display, using the produced protein as target, in which one good Fab candidate was selected to determine the best expression conditions. In parallel, multiple crystallization conditions were tested with hDLL1-DE3, but so far none led to positive results

A "saída do armário": um estudo exploratório com mães e pais de lésbicas e gays

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Psicologia (área de especialização em Psicologia Escolar e da Educação)As reações parentais, em relação à “saída do armário”, envolvem percursos que, ainda, não estão totalmente compreendidos. A evolução social permitiu que emergissem novas conceções dos pais e mães em relação à orientação sexual dos progenitores, superando-se assim, as visões mais tradicionais de família. Este estudo empírico teve como principais objetivos avaliar o modo como pais e mães gerem a “saída do armário” dos seus filhos; as reações parentais que marcam este processo e que estratégias são utilizadas na aceitação e integração da orientação sexual dos filhos e filhas. Os participantes são seis figuras parentais (cinco mães e um pai) cujos filhos já tenham feito o coming out. A idade da amostra, no momento da entrevista, varia entre os 52 e os 70 anos (M=59.33; DP=7.37). O instrumento aplicado para a recolha de dados foi a entrevista semiestruturada, através da utilização de um guião, previamente estruturado. Este continha oito questões fundamentadas nas seguintes linhas: (1) avaliar se existe um padrão de resposta dos progenitores, no modo como gerem o coming out dos filhos e filhas; (2) que estratégias usam durante este processo e (3) que mudanças ocorrem nas relações da família nuclear, durante e após o processo de “saída do armário” dos filhos e filhas. As entrevistas foram analisadas seguindo os pressupostos da Análise temática. Os dados recolhidos sugerem que existem reações parentais comuns em quase todos os casos avaliados (negação, medos, aceitação). No entanto, verificaram-se diferenças individuais e situacionais, pelo facto das reações não ocorrerem segundo um continuum ou ordem específica, mas sim consoante o contexto/situação. O associativismo, a partilha de experiências e a procura de informação acerca da orientação sexual foram as estratégias mais recorrentes. Relativamente à mudança, a maioria das figuras parentais refere que ainda se encontra a adaptar às questões do casamento homossexual e da possibilidade da adoção. Finalmente sugere-se que em investigações futuras haja um maior enfoque no papel que a família nuclear desempenha na vida das minorias sexuais.The parental reactions in relation to "coming out", involve pathways that also are not fully understood. Social evolution has allowed the appearance of new concepts from parents regarding the sexual orientation of their descendents, thus surpassing more traditional views of family. The main purposes of this empirical study, is to show how the parents handle the out-coming of their descendants; parental reactions that characterize this process and strategies that are used in the acceptance and integration of the sexual orientation of their sons and daughters. Participants are six parental figures (five mothers and one father), who´s son´s or daughter’s already had done their own “coming out”. The age of the sample, at the time of interview, varies between 52 and 70 years old. The instrument used for collecting data was the semi-structured interview using a script, previously designed. This was composed by eight questions based on the fallowing guideline: (1) to evaluate whether there is a pattern of response of the parents, in the way they manage the “coming out” of the sons and daughters (2) what strategies do they use doing this process and (3). changes that occur in the relations of the nuclear family, during and after the process of "coming out" of their sons and daughters. The interviews were analyzed following the assumptions of Thematic Analysis. The data collected suggests that there are common parental reactions in all cases evaluated (denial, fears and acceptance). However, there were individual differences and situational, in that the reactions do not occur according to a continuum or specific order, but are influenced by the context/situation. Sharing the information, experiences in associations, and the search for information about the sexual orientation were the strategies more used. Regarding the change, most of the parental figures are still adapting to issues of gay marriage and the possibility of adoption. Finally it is suggested that in future investigations there is a greater focus on the role that the nuclear family plays in the lives of sexual minorities

An application to general maximum entropy to utility

Methodologies related to information theory have been increasingly used in studies in economics and management. In this paper, we use generalised maximum entropy as an alternative to ordinary least squares in the estimation of utility functions. Generalised maximum entropy has some advantages: it does not need such restrictive assumptions and could be used with both well and ill-posed problems, for example, when we have small samples, which is the case when estimating utility functions. Using linear, logarithmic and power utility functions, we estimate those functions and confidence intervals and perform hypothesis tests. Results point to the greater accuracy of generalised maximum entropy, showing its efficiency in estimation

Revisiting Covered Interest Parity in the European Union: the DCCA Approach

This paper analyzes the evidence of financial integration, with covered interest parity (CIP), for a group of countries that have already adopted the euro and another group of countries that kept their currencies. We use detrended crosscorrelation analysis, which allows analyzing the behavior of time series even when they are not stationary. The main results indicate that countries that adopted the euro do not show much evidence in favor of CIP, before joining the Eurozone, which could imply they will not benefit from all common currency advantages. In the group of countries that did not adopt the euro, Denmark, Sweden, the UK and the Czech Republic are the ones presenting better conditions for financial integration with the euro, while Bulgaria has also some evidence of this. Some possible explanations of CIP deviations are agents not considering all countries’ assets as similar and also the underdevelopment of markets and liquidity problems (more pronounced due to periods of turmoil)

A importância das emoções sócio-afectivas no pré-escolar

Relatório Final de Prática de Ensino Supervisionada do Mestrado em Educação Pré-escolar apresentado na Escola Superior de Educação do Instituto Politécnico de Viana do CasteloO tema desta investigação é as emoções sócio-afectivas no jardim-de-infância. O presente estudo foi realizado no Jardim-de-Infância da Meadela, na sala 1 com crianças com idades compreendidas entre o 3/4 anos, onde a investigadora estava a realizar a sua Prática Educativa Supervisionada. Foi utilizado o método investigação – acção, com uma metodologia predominantemente qualitativa, onde se procedeu a uma recolha de informação acerca do reconhecimento e identificação das emoções por parte das crianças, tendo a investigadora um papel de observadora participante. Esta investigação debruçasse sobre o quão importante é as crianças perceberem as suas emoções, sendo tal aspecto essencial para a sua envolvência e contacto com a sociedade. Foram realizadas cinco actividades, duas em grande grupo e as restantes em pequeno grupo, para verificar se as crianças ao serem estimuladas e caso haja uma maior abordagem desta temática, as crianças identifiquem e percebam as suas emoções de uma forma mais fácil e mais esclarecedora. Com este estudo pode-se verificar que a abordagem das emoções sócio-afectivas no meio jardim-de-infância é muito importante para a vida social das crianças. Mas esta abordagem não se pode restringir apenas ao jardim, pois o papel do Encarregado de Educação e do meio familiar é bastante importante, porque se este for um assunto abordado as crianças compreende muito melhor as suas emoções e assim torna-se mais fácil a socialização com outras crianças e adultos.The theme of this research is the socio-affective emotions in the garden-care. The study was conducted in the Garden-of-the Meadela Children in a room with children aged between 3 / 4 years, where the researcher was conducting its Supervised Practice Education. Method was used for research - action, with a predominantly qualitative methodology, which held a collection of information about the recognition and identification of emotions by children, the researcher has a participatory role as an observer. This research explored about how important the children understand their emotions, this aspect is essential to your surroundings and contact with society. Were carried out five activities, two large group and the other in small groups to see if the children are encouraged and if there is a greater approach to this theme, the children identify and understand their emotions in a way easier and enlightening. This study can be seen that the approach of socio-affective emotions among garden-care is very important for the social life of children. But this approach can not be restricted only to the garden, for the role of the Guardian and the family is very important because if this is a subject matter much better children understand their emotions and so it becomes easier to socialize with other children and adults

Cyto- and genotoxicity assessment of manufactured nanomaterials in the A549 cell line

A number of nanomaterials (NMs) have been applied in different fields due to their unique physico-chemical properties. As the use and applications have increased in some industries, serious concerns about their potential impact on the environment and the human health have been raised and have been a challenge for the regulatory authorities. This work aimed at assessing the toxicity of three classes of NMs, namely cerium dioxide, CeO2 (NM-212), titanium dioxide, TiO2 (NM-101 and NM-100) and barium sulphate, BaSO4 (NM-220) since they already have a broad range of applications in industry and consumer products. A standardized protocol for NMs dispersion was followed and the quality of the dispersion in the culture medium was evaluated by the dynamic light scattering technique. Different concentrations (0, 1, 3, 10, 30, 75 and 100 μg/cm2) of each nanomaterial were used to expose A549 cells (human lung carcinoma cells) for cytotoxic evaluation through the MTT and clonogenic assays and genotoxicity assessment through the comet and the cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus (CBMN) assays. The results showed a decrease in cell proliferation after exposure to cerium dioxide nanomaterials for 8 days, at the highest concentrations tested and a slight increase in the level of DNA breaks. Concerning the TiO2 NMs, a statistically significant increase in the level of DNA breaks was found for both NMs; however the CBMN assay did not show any increase in the frequency of chromosomal breaks. BaSO4 was the NM that showed the lowest toxicity in cyto- and genotoxicity assays. Even though the present results contribute to assess the hazard of the tested NMs, the real effects of nanomaterials’ exposure to human health are still unclear and an unequivocal conclusion is difficult to present, given the inconsistent and often conflicting results found in the literature. Thus, the application of some nanomaterials in consumer products should be carefully evaluated until definite conclusions about their safety are available

Nurturing lifestyles: the determinants of health prevention behaviors in Portugal

The Portuguese National Health Surveys were used to answer the question “What are the determinants of health prevention behaviors?”. The health behaviors considered were exercise, healthy diet, no smoking and prudent alcohol consumption. The variables of interest included demographic information, socio-economic factors and healthcare related variables. A maximum likelihood estimation was performed using a multivariate probit model. The results point to the importance of secondary education, while also highlighting the importance of income for a healthy diet. Differences were found between the NUTS II regions, which, alongside the influence of General Practitioners, should be considered when developing healthcare policie