Intentions and ambivalences in U.S. policies towards Europe

"Die Vereinigten Staaten wünschen sich von Europa eine stärkere Beteiligung in der internationalen Sicherheitspolitik, fürchten sich aber vor sinkendem Einfluss auf sich einigendes Europa." (Autorenreferat

Vitamin A and iron consumption and the role of indigenous vegetables: a household level analysis in the Philippines

Micronutrient malnutrition is a public health problem in many regions of the developing world. Severe vitamin A and iron deficiencies are of particular concern due to their high prevalence and their serious, multiple health effects on humans. This paper examines dietary patterns and nutrient intakes, as well as their socioeconomic determinants among households in the Philippines. Since promotion of indigenous vegetables is often considered as an avenue to reduce micronutrient malnutrition, special emphasis is placed on analyzing the contribution of this particular food group to household vitamin A and iron intakes. We use a sample consisting of 172 resource-poor households located in peri-urban areas of Laguna Province. A 24-hour food consumption recall allows for detailed, meal-specific examination of diets. Results of the dietary analysis suggest that fish is of major importance for vitamin A and iron intakes. But also vegetables, and especially indigenous vegetables, play an essential role for balanced household diets. In order to determine socioeconomic factors influencing vitamin A and iron intakes, we employ an econometric model, which shows that deficiencies are strongly associated with low household incomes and poverty. Thus, poverty alleviation will help reduce the problem of micronutrient malnutrition in the medium and long run. However, in the interim, more targeted interventions will be needed. Our results suggest that promotion of indigenous vegetables can play a role in this respect, especially among the poor, who can often not afford sufficient amounts of animal products

Experimental determination of ruthenium L-shell fluorescence yields and Coster-Kronig transition probabilities

The L-shell fluorescence yields and the Coster-Kronig factors of ruthenium (and the corresponding uncertainty) were determined for the first time experimentally by applying radiometrically calibrated instrumentation of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt. The resulting fluorescence yields ($\omega_{L_3}=0.0459(20)$, $\omega_{L_2}=0.0415(26)$, $\omega_{L_1}=0.0109(9)$) and the Coster-Kronig factors ($f_{23}=0.177(32)$, $f_{13}=0.528(90)$, $f_{12}=0.173(73)$) agree reasonable well with parts of the data from the literature

Vitamin A and iron consumption and the role of indigenous vegetables: a household level analysis in the Philippines

Micronutrient malnutrition is a public health problem in many regions of the developing world. Severe vitamin A and iron deficiencies are of particular concern due to their high prevalence and their serious, multiple health effects on humans. This paper examines dietary patterns and nutrient intakes, as well as their socioeconomic determinants among households in the Philippines. Since promotion of indigenous vegetables is often considered as an avenue to reduce micronutrient malnutrition, special emphasis is placed on analyzing the contribution of this particular food group to household vitamin A and iron intakes. We use a sample consisting of 172 resource-poor households located in peri-urban areas of Laguna Province. A 24-hour food consumption recall allows for detailed, meal-specific examination of diets. Results of the dietary analysis suggest that fish is of major importance for vitamin A and iron intakes. But also vegetables, and especially indigenous vegetables, play an essential role for balanced household diets. In order to determine socioeconomic factors influencing vitamin A and iron intakes, we employ an econometric model, which shows that deficiencies are strongly associated with low household incomes and poverty. Thus, poverty alleviation will help reduce the problem of micronutrient malnutrition in the medium and long run. However, in the interim, more targeted interventions will be needed. Our results suggest that promotion of indigenous vegetables can play a role in this respect, especially among the poor, who can often not afford sufficient amounts of animal products

Characterization of sub-monolayer coatings as novel calibration samples for X-ray spectroscopy

With the advent of both modern X-ray fluorescence (XRF) methods and improved analytical reliability requirements the demand for suitable reference samples has increased. Especially in nanotechnology with the very low areal mass depositions, quantification becomes considerably more difficult. However, the availability of suited reference samples is drastically lower than the demand. Physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques have been enhanced significantly in the last decade driven by the need for extremely precise film parameters in multilayer production. We have applied those techniques for the development of layer-like reference samples with mass depositions in the ng-range and well below. Several types of reference samples were fabricated: multi-elemental layer and extremely low (sub-monolayer) samples for various applications in XRF and total-reflection XRF (TXRF) analysis. Those samples were characterized and compared at three different synchrotron radiation beamlines at the BESSY II electron storage ring employing the reference-free XRF approach based on physically calibrated instrumentation. In addition, the homogeneity of the multi-elemental coatings was checked at the P04 beamline at DESY. The measurements demonstrate the high precision achieved in the manufacturing process as well as the versatility of application fields for the presented reference samples

Representações femininas em Memorial do Convento e Ponciá Vicêncio : as trajetórias de Blimunda e Ponciá

Dissertação de Mestrado em Estudos de Língua Portuguesa – Investigação e Ensino apresentada à Universidade AbertaEsta dissertação se ocupa da trajetória de duas personagens femininas das obras Memorial do Convento (1982) de José Saramago e Ponciá Vicêncio (2003) de Conceição Evaristo, respectivamente Blimunda e Ponciá Vicêncio. Trata-se de sujeitos femininos do discurso ficcional que ajudam a repensar a representação feminina e negra na literatura, as construções culturais, e também as estruturas e relações que se estabelecem entre poder; sociedade e literatura. Com base nestas reflexões, nos propomos ainda a reexaminar a formação do cânone literário em suas relações culturais, e o papel da escola como espaço de transformação social.The aim of this dissertation has to be to the trajectory of two female characters from Memorial do Convento (1982) by José Saramago and Ponciá Vicencio (2003) by Conceição Evaristo, respectively Blimunda and Ponciá Vicencio. They are female subjects fictional discourse that help us to rethink the female and black representation in literature, cultural buildings, and also the structures and relationships established between power; society and literature. From these considerations, we propose us to reexamine the formation of the literary canon in their cultural relations, and the role of the school as a social transformation space

Accurate experimental determination of gallium K- and L3-shell XRF fundamental parameters

The fluorescence yield of the K- and L3-shell of gallium was determined using the radiometrically calibrated (reference-free) X-ray fluorescence instrumentation at the BESSY II synchrotron radiation facility. Simultaneous transmission and fluorescence signals from GaSe foils were obtained, resulting in K- and L3-shell fluorescence yield values consistent with existing database values(omega_Ga_K=0.515 +- 0.019, omega_Ga_L3=0.013 +- 0.001). For the first time, these standard combined uncertainties are obtained from a properly constructed Uncertainty Budget. These K-shell fluorescence yield values support Bambynek's semi-empirical compilation from 1972: these and other measurements yield a combined recommended value of omega_Ga_K=0.514 +- 0.010. Using the measured fluorescence yields together with production yields from reference Ga-implanted samples where the quantity of implanted Ga was determined at 1.3% traceable accuracy by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, the K-shell and L3-subshell photoionization cross sections at selected incident photon energies were also determined and compared critically with the standard databases.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure

Characterization of ultra-shallow aluminum implants in silicon by grazing incidence and grazing emission X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

In this work two synchrotron radiation-based depth-sensitive X-ray fluorescence techniques, grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence (GIXRF) and grazing emission X-ray fluorescence (GEXRF), are compared and their potential for non-destructive depth-profiling applications is investigated. The depth-profiling capabilities of the two methods are illustrated for five aluminum-implanted silicon wafers all having the same implantation dose of 1016 atoms per cm2 but with different implantation energies ranging from 1 keV up to 50 keV. The work was motivated by the ongoing downscaling effort of the microelectronics industry and the resulting need for more sensitive methods for the impurity and dopant depth-profile control. The principles of GIXRF and GEXRF, both based on the refraction of X-rays at the sample surface to enhance the surface-to-bulk ratio of the detected fluorescence signal, are explained. The complementary experimental setups employed at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) for GIXRF and the University of Fribourg for GEXRF are presented in detail. In particular, for each technique it is shown how the dopant depth profile can be derived from the angular intensity dependence of the Al Kα fluorescence line. The results are compared to theoretical predictions and, for two samples, crosschecked with values obtained from secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) measurements. A good agreement between the different approaches is found proving that the GIXRF and GEXRF methods can be efficiently employed to extract the dopant depth distribution of ion-implanted samples with good accuracy and over a wide range of implantation energies

Titanium and titanium oxides at the K- and L-edges: validating theoretical calculations of X-ray absorption and X-ray emission spectra with measurements

Using well-calibrated experimental data we validate theoretical X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) as well as X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) calculations for titanium (Ti), titanium oxide (TiO), and titanium dioxide (TiO$_2$) at the Ti K- and L-edges as well as O K-edge. XAS and XES in combination with a multi-edge approach offer a detailed insight into the electronic structure of materials since both the occupied and unoccupied states, are probed. The experimental results are compared with ab initio calculations from the OCEAN package which uses the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) approach. Using the same set of input parameters for each compound for calculations at different edges, the transferability of the OCEAN calculations across different spectroscopy methods and energy ranges is validated. Thus, the broad applicability for analysing and interpreting the electronic structure of materials with the OCEAN package is shown