Numerical analysis of microwave assisted thermocatalytic decomposition of methane

assisted thermocatalytic decomposition of methane with activated carbon as the catalyst. A simple reaction kinetic model for methane conversion (accounting for catalyst deactivation)is developed from previously published experimental data and coupled with the governing equations for the microwaves, heat transfer, mass transfer and fluid flow physics. Temperature distribution and concentration profiles of CH4 & H2 in the catalyst bed are presented. The temperature profiles at different input power values predict a nonuniform temperature distribution with hot-spots near the top and bottom of the catalyst. The concentration profiles predict a linear variation of CH4 and H2 concentration along the length of the reactor and show a good agreement with experimental conversion values. The influence of volumetric hourly space velocity on methane conversion is also investigated

Journalists : to license or not to license…

The existence or absence of some legal or professional pre-conditions for someone to be allowed to work as a journalist has been a reason for many controversies along the last decades – actually, since the very beginning of the efforts to establish journalism as a legitimate (and legitimized) ‘profession’, rather than an ‘occupation’ or a craft. The obligation to have some kind of license to work as a professional journalist exists in some countries (in Portugal, for example) but doesn’t exist – and, moreover, that simple idea is strongly criticized – in other countries. Those who oppose to any kind of license emphasize the importance of keeping journalism as an ‘open’ profession, accessible to any citizen, under the main argument that it is an activity grounded on the right to freedom of expression – a fundamental and universal right. Those who favour some kind of license or pre-requisite to become a journalist underscore the social relevance and sensitiveness of this job in order to fulfil another fundamental right of every citizen – the right to information (to a truthful, independent, accurate and comprehensive information on the actuality). And, because of that, they stress the importance of having well-prepared, professionalized, ethically responsible and accountable people working as journalists, in order to properly meet such a demanding right. In this paper, we try to review and discuss the arguments for and against this subject, putting it in historical perspective and balancing it with the new questions faced by journalism in the digital Internet era we are living now. Furthermore, we argue that a decisive issue in this debate is ‘who’ might (if so) have the responsibility to grant this professional license and look for its adequate use. In our opinion, this seems to be typically a matter for professional self-regulation, rather than state or government regulation, in order to keep and safeguard the values of freedom of expression and freedom of the press. On the other hand, the values of responsibility and accountability in journalism must be somehow kept and safeguarded as well, if the journalists’ professional group – or those engaged in journalism in its multiple possible forms – really wants to recover some lost credibility and confidence by the public. For this purpose, a real commitment with some requirements usually associated to professionalism – commitment with professional standards and techniques, but, more than that, commitment with a public interest and with clear ethical principles, values and norms – is a major challenge for journalists

Jornalistas e saberes profissionais

Nesta comunicação defendo a necessidade de discutir em novos moldes a tradicional dicotomia (e oposição) entre teoria e prática, no que se refere aos saberes profissionais associados à actividade jornalística. Mais especificamente, argumento sobre a importância de revalorizarmos a componente prática da aprendizagem do jornalismo, não a tratando apenas como um conjunto de técnicas que reproduzem mecanicamente o que outros já se habituaram a fazer, mas como um “saber de acção” ou um “saber profissional” que comporta, necessariamente, dimensões reflexivas (teóricas, se se quiser) de grande importância. O aprofundamento de uma “epistemologia da prática”, defendida por alguns autores, pode ser um bom contributo para colocar em novos moldes a questão da formação dos jornalistas – e da sua própria identidade

O esgotamento (Burnout) nos professores

A palavra Esgotamento é já antiga e está vulgarizada no vocabulário de todos aqueles que se queixam de mal estar físico e, principalmente, psíquico, pelas mais variadas razões, e é quantas vezes a palavra que se leva ao médico para manifestar o seu sentir: "Dr., sinto-me esgotado", "Dr., tenho um esgotamento"

La expresión del joi en la escuela trovadoresca gallegoportuguesa

Si la poesía trovadoresca occitana viene definida por el joi como manifestación de un amor correspondido o, al menos, esperanzado, la poesía de los trovadores gallegoportugueses viene, al contrario, caracterizada por la expresión del dolor de saber que nunca serán amados y que en el plano léxico se define con el término coita. No obstante, hacia el último cuarto del s. xiii, algunos trovadores rompen con esta característica esencial a la cantiga de amor y en algunas composiciones expresan su alegría obtenida por diversas razones: amor esperanzado, amor correspondido o la simple posibilidad de ver a la amada. En este trabajo se analizarán los escasísimos textos en los que se manifiesta esa voluntad de distanciarse del conglomerado homogéneo de trovadores, con el deseo de ampliar el reducido abanico de temas y motivos que forjaron el modelo en los albores de la escuela, a través de un juego literario en el que estos pocos autores parecen haber continuado la estela del primero que se atrevió a transgredir las directrices asentadas por la tradición. Como es prácticamente imposible ordenar cronológicamente las cantigas que vamos a presentar, optaré por un criterio de mayor a menor reconocimiento de la expresión del contento amoroso, combinado con el cronológico (en la medida de lo posible).While Occitan trobadour poetry is defined by the ‘joi’, the poetical manifestation of requited or at least, hopeful love, the poetry of Galician-Portuguese trobadours, on the contrary, is characterized by the ‘coita’, that is, the expression of the grief of those who know they will never be loved. However, around the last quarter of the 13th century, some trobadours abandon this essential feature of ‘cantigas de amor’ (the ‘coita’), and express their joy, which they try to find in various sources (e.g. hopeful love, requited love, or just the possibility of beholding the beloved, etc.). In this paper I will analyse the scarce texts which show the trobadour’s intention to depart from the general trend, with the aim of widening the typically reduced range of topics and motifs present in the ‘cantiga de amor’ from its earliest manifestations. This is done through of a literary play which was adopted by those who followed the first author who dared to transgress the guidelines established by tradition. Given that it is practically impossible to chronologically order the cantigas that are the object of this study, I will adopt here a different criterion, that of the degree of the expression of the joy of love, combined, whenever possible, with the a chronological criterion

The role of neuroinflammatory modulation on POCD development following surgery

The effects of peripheral surgery-induced inflammation and the role of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β) on cognitive function in mouse in several different contexts are explored. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation, but not isoflurane-induced anaesthesia, results in memory impairment in mouse, causing a permanent retrograde amnesia in contextual fear-conditioning tests. Blocking the action of IL-1β reduces the hippocampal memory deficit induced by LPS. Peripheral orthopaedic surgery results in inflammation in the brain and cognitive impairment in a mouse model of orthopaedic surgery. Such surgery is associated with increased levels of IL-1β in the serum and in the hippocampus. It also induces hippocampal microgliosis without being associated with an increase in apoptosis. Injection of an interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL1-ra) results in reduced microgliosis and reduced IL-1β levels in the serum and in the hippocampus. The inflammatory response to such surgical insult also results in impairment of remote (pre-frontal cortex (PFC)) localised memory in mouse as assessed by two tests of contextual remote memory. Such impairment is not accompanied by an increase in IL-1β in the PFC. There is also a reduction in the level of hippocampal brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which may contribute to the impairment of memory after such surgery. The murine anxiety response to peripheral orthopaedic surgery, as assessed using the social interaction test, shows that surgery does not increase anxiety in our animal model of peripheral surgery. Nor does such surgery affect olfactory memory under the conditions presented on the olfactory habituation-dishabituation task. A sub-pyrogenic dose of LPS alone fails to impair memory function. However, when the same is administered prior to peripheral surgery, it exacerbates surgery-induced cognitive dysfunction as assessed by fear-conditioning tests. It causes a concomitant additional increase in the levels of IL-1β in both plasma and hippocampus of those animals

What is journalism and what only looks like it? Re-defining concepts, roles and rules in the wide field of communication

In today’s public information landscape, it seems to be increasingly difficult to draw a clear line between what is and what is not journalism (even if it appears as such). Under this cover, a lot of different practices are being developed in the wide field of communication, raising complex questions about what specifically defines journalism – whether it is carried out by formally recognized professionals or media companies, or by other kind of individuals and groups who now have easy access to public communication instruments (Internet sites, weblogs…) and commit themselves to gather, handle and diffuse some kind of information in the public sphere. We can say that professional journalists (and their institutional contexts) no longer have the monopoly of this activity – of this public service, we should say. Still, many new actors trying to enter this field – or to mix with it – very often don’t seem to respect some of the basic standards and ethical demands in which journalism is grounded, although they tend to use its technical tools and usual forms and models. In this paper, we present a case study of a Portuguese quality daily newspaper in which these questions were discussed (namely through the involvement of its ombudsman), following the publication of a piece of work presented just as a journalistic piece, but actually ordered and paid by an external advertiser. We argue for the need of a kind of back to basics effort, meaning specifically back to ethics, under the assumption that, particularly in our digital environment, the line defining the boundaries of journalism (and, therefore, distinguishing journalism from other forms of public communication) is, above all, not a matter of “who”, “what” and “where” things are done, but rather a matter of “how”, “why” and “what for” you do them. That is to say, only information gathered, designed and published according to the ethical principles and procedures of journalistic professionalism, genuinely aiming to serve the public interest and the need for the citizens to make sense of the world they live in, is really trustworthy information – which means that it is not an activity driven by some hidden, commercial, private interests of various kinds. We argue, furthermore, that these different kinds of information and communication in the public sphere should always be clearly identified and identifiable by the media users. In fact, this seems to be important in order to preserve the specific value and role that journalism can claim (and play) in contemporary societies, as well as to protect it from a sort of dilution in the broader and vague field of public communication activities and jobs

La gestación de las Cantigas de Santa Maria en el contexto de la escuela poética gallego-portuguesa

La corte de Alfonso X fue uno de los centros culturales más vivos del siglo XIII como lo demuestran las empresas literarias acometidas bajo la supervisión del monarca. Uno de los proyectos más originales es el de las Cantigas de Santa María, que el rey asumió en primera persona para, aparentemente, renunciar a la composición de otras manifestaciones poéticas. En este trabajo se pretende dar una explicación de los motivos que impulsaron al Rey Sabio a acometer la redacción de una colección de milagros marianos en gallego y cómo el programa inicial se fue desarrollando y evolucionando en el tiempo, influido tanto por cuestiones de orden meramente literario como por circunstancias que tuvieron que ver con asuntos de gobierno o personales. Se ofrecen detalles que permiten comprender en qué ambiente literario se gestaron las CSM así como los pasos dados en su scriptorium hasta llegar a los códices iluminados que hoy las preservan y las razones del tal empeño personal.The court of Alfonso X was one of the most brilliant cultural centres in Western Europe during the 13th century. The king himself supervised and promoted many important literary projects, one of the most original of which was that of the Cantigas de Santa María. The intention of this paper is to offer an explanation for the reasons that drove the king to attempt the writing, in the Galician tongue, of a collection of miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary. It also examines how the initial proposal evolved and developed with the passing of time, how it was influenced by literary events, by political circumstances, and by personal concerns. Likewise, we shall try to explain the literary atmosphere in which the CSM were written, along with the steps that led from work at the scriptorium to the accomplishment of the illuminated codices. We shall also try to explain the reasons why the king decided to personally undertake the supervision of the writing of the Cantigas

A real options approach to tender offers and acquisitions processes

Corporate control has added value for an investor since it gives degrees of freedom about the use of assets, sources of finance, salaries, etc. On the other hand, real options create value through the flexibility associated to the ability to react to some relevant uncertainty. The process of acquisition of corporate control can have two real options associated, a waiting option and a growth option. In the waiting option value is created through sequential investment instead of investing at once, while the growth option carries all the private benefits the investor can seize from control by making follow up investments, which can also justify premiums paid above the former market price. A relevant proposition of our paper is that the exercise price of the growth option (and hence the amount to be paid as the control premium) can be affected by the release of information. We develop a model for these two theoretical extremes, one where the exercise price fully reacts to events, and one where the exercise price does not react at all, and we obtain that the timing of the process of acquiring control would depend on the reaction of the price to be paid to obtain control, so would the size of the control premium over the former price.