La régulation des plateformes dans le secteur du transport de passagers au Portugal et en Espagne: Stratégies différentes, coalitions différentes

Digital Platform Work (DPW) is part of a new phase of capitalism, in which monopolistic digital platforms use algorithms to mediate labour supply and demand. As DPW grows, the share of atypical workers in the labour market increases and European Union states are pressed to regulate it, but the strategies adopted are different. This is the case with the regulation of DPW in the passenger transport sector approved by the governments of Portugal and Spain. This paper makes a comparative analysis of these case studies based on parliamentary debates and media reports. We argue that the centre-left parties which led the governments in both countries, adopted a distinct regulation strategy because they each have specific conceptions of solidarity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Public Awareness And Attitudes Toward Epilepsy In Different Social Segments In Brazil.

To assess public awareness and attitudes toward epilepsy in Brazilians of different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Several studies have examined public awareness and attitudes toward epilepsy in various countries but there are no equivalent data for Brazil or South America. We have applied the survey proposed by Caveness and Gallup, with some modifications and adaptations to four groups (I-IV) of subjects: I--105 individuals accompanying patients to the Ophthalmologic outpatient clinic of the Hospital das Clínicas of the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP); II--93 students recently admitted to medical and nursing school; III--101 senior non-medical students; and IV--69 senior medical students. Group II, III, and IV were students at UNICAMP. Individuals with a low socioeconomic standing had a poor profile of familiarity, knowledge and attitudes toward epilepsy. The pre-university and university students had a relatively good profile when compared to the published international polls. Senior medical students had an excellent level of familiarity and knowledge, but showed no change in their objection to having a son or a daughter marry an epileptic person. Our data suggest that there is a clear-cut relationship between the level of education and the individual's familiarity and attitudes toward epilepsy. Effective elimination of the prejudice toward epilepsy requires specific training and not just general, superficial information about the condition.5632-

Coccolithophore fluxes in the open tropical North Atlantic: influence of thermocline depth, Amazon water, and Saharan dust

Coccolithophores are calcifying phytoplankton and major contributors to both the organic and inorganic oceanic carbon pumps. Their export fluxes, species composition, and seasonal patterns were determined in two sediment trap moorings (M4 at 12 degrees N, 49 degrees W and M2 at 14 degrees N, 37 degrees W) collecting settling particles synchronously from October 2012 to November 2013 at 1200 m of water depth in the open equatorial North Atlantic. The two trap locations showed a similar seasonal pattern in total coccolith export fluxes and a predominantly tropical coccolithophore settling assemblage. Species fluxes were dominated throughout the year by lower photic zone (LPZ) taxa (Florisphaera profunda, Gladiolithus flabellatus) but also included upper photic zone (UPZ) taxa (Umbellosphaera spp., Rhabdosphaera spp., Umbilicosphaera spp., Helicosphaera spp.). The LPZ flora was most abundant during fall 2012, whereas the UPZ flora was more important during summer. In spite of these similarities, the western part of the study area produced persistently higher fluxes, averaging 241 x 10(7) +/- 76 x 10(7) coccoliths m(-2) d(-1) at station M4 compared to only 66 x 10(7) +/- 31 x 10(7) coccoliths m(-2) d(-1) at station M2. Higher fluxes at M4 were mainly produced by the LPZ species, favoured by the westward deepening of the thermocline and nutricline. Still, most UPZ species also contributed to higher fluxes, reflecting enhanced productivity in the western equatorial North Atlantic. Such was the case of two marked flux peaks of the more opportunistic species Gephyrocapsa muellerae and Emiliania huxleyi in January and April 2013 at M4, indicating a fast response to the nutrient enrichment of the UPZ, probably by wind-forced mixing. Later, increased fluxes of G. oceanica and E. huxleyi in October-November 2013 coincided with the occurrence of Amazon-River-affected surface waters. Since the spring and fall events of 2013 were also accompanied by two dust flux peaks, we propose a scenario in which atmospheric dust also provided fertilizing nutrients to this area. Enhanced surface buoyancy associated with the river plume indicates that the Amazon acted not only as a nutrient source, but also as a surface density retainer for nutrients supplied from the atmosphere. Nevertheless, lower total coccolith fluxes during these events compared to the maxima recorded in November 2012 and July 2013 indicate that transient productivity by opportunistic species was less important than "background" tropical productivity in the equatorial North Atlantic. This study illustrates how two apparently similar sites in the tropical open ocean actually differ greatly in ecological and oceanographic terms. The results presented here provide valuable insights into the processes governing the ecological dynamics and the downward export of coccolithophores in the tropical North Atlantic.Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) [822.01.008]; European Research Council (ERC) [311152]; University of Bremen; European Union [600411]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A high-resolution hydrodynamic-biogeochemical coupled model of the Gulf of Cadiz – Alboran Sea region.

The southern Iberia regional seas comprise the Gulf of Cadiz and the Alboran Sea sub-basins connected by the narrow Strait of Gibraltar. Both basins are very different in their hydrological and biological characteristics but are, also, tightly connected to each other. Integrative studies of the whole regional oceanic system are scarce and difficult to perform due to the relative large area to cover and the different relevant time-scales of the main forcings in each sub-basin. Here we propose, for the first time, a fully coupled, 3D, hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model that covers, in a single domain (~2km resolution) both marine basins for a 20 years simulation (1989-2008). Model performance is assessed against available data in terms of spatial and temporal distributions of biological variables. In general, the proposed model is able to represent the climatological distributions of primary and secondary producers and also the main seasonality of primary production in the different sub-regions of the analyzed basins. Potential causes of the observed mismatches between model and data are identified and some solutions are proposed for future model development. We conclude that most of these mismatches could be attributed to the missing tidal forcing in the actual model configuration. This model is a first step to obtain a meaningful tool to study past and future oceanographic conditions in this important marine region constituting the unique connection of the Mediterranean Sea with the open world’s ocean

Serum Zn Levels in Dysphagic Patients Who Underwent Endoscopic Gastrostomy for Long Term Enteral Nutrition

Background and aims: Dysphagic patients who underwent endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) usually present protein-energy malnutrition, but little is known about micronutrient malnutrition. The aim of the present study was the evaluation of serum zinc in patients who underwent endoscopic gastrostomy and its relationship with serum proteins, whole blood zinc, and the nature of underlying disorder. Methods: From patients that underwent gastrostomy a blood sample was obtained minutes before the procedure. Serum and whole blood zinc was evaluated using Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Serum albumin and transferrin were evaluated. Patients were studied as a whole and divided into two groups: head and neck cancer (HNC) and neurological dysphagia (ND). Results: The study involved 32 patients (22 males), aged 43-88 years: HNC = 15, ND = 17. Most (30/32) had low serum zinc, 17/32 presented normal values of whole blood zinc. Only two, with traumatic brain injury, presented normal serum zinc. Serum zinc levels showed no differences between HNC and ND patients. There was no association between serum zinc and serum albumin or transferrin. There was no association between serum and whole blood zinc. Conclusions: Patients had low serum zinc when gastrostomy was performed, similar in HNC and ND, being related with prolonged fasting and unrelated with the underlying disease. Decrease serum zinc was unrelated with low serum proteins. Serum zinc was more sensitive than whole blood zinc for identifying reduced zinc intake. Teams taking care of PEG-patients should include zinc evaluation as part of the nutritional assessment, or include systematic dietary zinc supply

Caracterização de linhagens comerciais de café através de marcadores moleculares.

Estudos sobre a diversidade genética de espécies com finalidade de melhoramento genético representam importante preocupação dos melhoristas. Diversas técnicas moleculares têm permitido revelar uma diversidade genética presente no genoma que até então era desconhecida pelos cientistas. Muitas espécies de interesse agronômico têm sido alvo de estudos que abordam a diversidade genética em nível molecular. De uma maneira geral, os resultados obtidos a partir do uso dos marcadores têm sido bastante satisfatórios, principalmente para aquelas espécies que apresentam ampla base genética e insuficiente número de descritores botânicos para diferenciação de genótipos, como é o caso da mandioca. A base genética formada pelos cultivares de C. arabica, principal espécie cultivada, é considerada estreita. Em relação ao Brasil, principal produtor mundial desta cultura, a própria história explica em parte a ausência de variação genética nos materiais atualmente em cultivo. Historicamente, as primeiras plantações de café formaram-se há mais de dois séculos a partir de poucas plantas, constituindo material muito uniforme e de pouca variabilidade genética. De fato, estudos sobre a diversidade genética de cafeeiros em cultivo realizados no IAC utilizando descritores botânicos e agronômicos têm revelado baixo nível de variação genética entre as diferentes linhagens que compõem um cultivar. Entre diferentes cultivares esta variação é mais notória, mão não tão acentuada como se pensava, mesmo quando diferentes espécies participam da genealogia destes cultivares. Desta maneira, este trabalho teve como objetivo principal a avaliação das técnicas de RAPD e AFLP para a identificação e caracterização de diversas linhagens comerciais de C. arabica selecionadas pelo IAC. Os resultados obtidos com estes marcadores confirmam os dados obtidos anteriormente de que a variabilidade genética entre as linhagens é pequena. Além disso, os dados sugerem que a técnica de RAPD não é eficiente para a identificação e determinação da distância genética entre as linhagens avaliadas, apesar de representar uma ferramenta adequada para avaliação da variabilidade no cafeeiro. No entanto, embora o nível de variação observado através dos marcadores moleculares seja baixo, sabe-se que estas linhagens apresentam comportamento agronômico bastante diferenciado. Isso nos leva a pensar que poucos genes diferenciam os principais materiais genéticos de cafeeiro de importância agronômica e que o uso de marcadores moleculares para estudos de diversidade genética e localização de genes de interesse agronômico deve ser repensada

FLUVIAL LIMESTONE TUFFS FROM THE S. PORTUGAL (LOULE-TAVIRA) AND N. MOROCCO (TETUAN): COMPARISON AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

Limestone tuff deposits precipitated in fluvial environments are widespread in the northern Morocco and the S Portugal. These deposits represent environmental conditions prone for the carbonate precipitation mainly in areas of Mesozoic limestone substratum with active water seepage from the aquifers. The mesoscopic and microscopic characteristics of tuff deposits from Tetouan (Morocco) and Loule and Tavira (Portugal) are very alike; namely on deposit types (e.g. phytoherm barriers; banded limestones with abundant vegetation macro-remains; carbonates precipitation as cement of some early alluvial conglomerates or interbedded alluvial deposits). The common textural features and macro-facies (e.g. banded calcite in regular layers ; moldic porosity; textures resulting from carbonate precipitation mediated by bacteriological activity) point to a similar origin of these limestone tuffs on both sides of Gibraltar Strait despite their slightly different climatic conditions that are influenced by the active inflow of surface Atlantic water towards the Mediterranean (for the Tetouan region) and by the Azores anticyclone (for the Loulé-Tavira region). The field observations show that the limestone tuffs precipitation is nowadays residual and radiocarbon dating of Portuguese deposits points to a chronological framework for their formation starting in the beginning of the post-Younger Dryas climatic recovery and ending around 2.5 ky BP. The oxygen stable isotopes data show a gradual change in the tuffs isotopic signature through the time interval during which the system remained active, without any particular record of climate events such as the 8.2 ka. The available data and those from monitored modern pluvial characteristics allow the speculation on the parameters controlling the limestone tuffs deposition on both northern and southern sides of the Gibraltar Strait during the Holocene. The carbonate deposition on fluvial systems, such as the studied ones, probably depends on the precipitation / evaporation balance leading to the availability and turbulence of the flowing water along the streams. Acknowledgments: This works was done with the financial support of the FCT Proc. 441.00 CNRST- MARROCOS and PTDC/CTE-GIX/117608/2010 projects and the SFRH/BD/62323/2009 grant

Reprodução assexuada de carobinha em função do tipo de estaca e uso de fito-hormônio.

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar o surgimento de folhas e/ou raízes em função do tipo de estaca e solução de fito-hormônio na planta medicinal carobinha (Jacaranda decurrens). O experimento teve 4 tratamentos e 8 repetições totalizando 32 parcelas