Relationships between Campi Flegrei and Mt. Somma volcanism: evidence from melt inclusions in clinopyroxene phenocrysts from volcanic breccia xenoliths

We present compositions of reheated melt inclusions in clinopyroxene phenocrysts from three mafic xenoliths in Breccia Museo, Campi Flegrei, Italy. Melt inclusion compositions are remarkably different from the compositions of known contemporary Campi Flegrei lavas, being significantly enriched in K2O and depleted in Na2O. Some differences are also evident in FeO (total Fe as FeO) and TiO2 contents. The clinopyroxene phenocrysts could not have crystallised from Campi Flegrei magmas. We suggest that they originated from a volcanic system genetically very similar to, and possibly linked with, the > 14 ka volcanic system of Mt. Somma, another Campanian volcano ~30km east from Campi Flegrei, from which Vesuvius subsequently developed. This result indicates a close relationship (or link) between the two volcanic systems which have until now been considered separate. We speculate that the link was established prior to eruption of the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (NYT) (~12 ka). The xenoliths were derived from a volcanic system older than the host breccias themselves. We suggest that this older volcanism had close similarities with the volcanism of the older products of Mt. Somma (~25 ka)

Polarized recombination of acoustically transported carriers in GaAs nanowires

The oscillating piezoelectric field of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) is employed to transport photoexcited electrons and holes in GaAs nanowires deposited on a SAW delay line on a LiNbO3 crystal. The carriers generated in the nanowire by a focused light spot are acoustically transferred to a second location where they recombine. We show that the recombination of the transported carriers occurs in a zinc blende section on top of the predominant wurtzite nanowire. This allows contactless control of the linear polarized emission by SAWs which is governed by the crystal structure. Additional polarization-resolved photoluminescence measurements were performed to investigate spin conservation during transport

Surface modification of a polyethersulfone microfiltration membrane with graphene oxide for reactive dyes removal

Polyethersulfone microfiltration membranes (mPES) were modified with polyethilenimine (PEI) and graphene oxide (GO) by layer-by-layer self-assembly method via electrostatic interaction using a pressurized filtration system. The high positively charge of PEI allowed it to be easily assembled on the polyethersulfone substrate, and also to receive the negative layer of GO. Several techniques were applied to characterize the modified membranes (i.e. ATR-FTIR, SEM, water angle contact and zeta potential), and proved that the modification was successfully achieved. The effect of PEI and GO concentrations in the modification was investigated, and the best performance of all membranes was achieved with a Blue Corazol (BC) dye rejection of 97.8% and a pure water permeability of 99.4 L m−2 h−1 bar−1. The membrane also presented a flux recovery ratio of >80% after being hydraulically cleaned for 30 min. Moreover, the membrane performance was evaluated in terms of rejection of BC dye in a real dye bath wastewater, and an excellent performance with a maximum rejection rate of 96% was observed. Therefore, the proposed study may provide an efficient alternative to feasible the use of microfiltration membranes, by modifying them, in order to improve its surface characteristics and its filtration capacity, aiming to apply it in the removal of dyes of textile industries wastewater.This work was funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), project n° POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136 (UID/CTM/00264/2013). The authors would also like to thank Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for the financial support and for scholarships awarded, and Universidade do Minho (UMinho) for the availability of laboratories and equipment

Gut Bacterial Communities in the Giant Land Snail Achatina fulica and Their Modification by Sugarcane-Based Diet

The invasive land snail Achatina fulica is one of the most damaging agricultural pests worldwide representing a potentially serious threat to natural ecosystems and human health. This species is known to carry parasites and harbors a dense and metabolically active microbial community; however, little is known about its diversity and composition. Here, we assessed for the first time the complexity of bacterial communities occurring in the digestive tracts of field-collected snails (FC) by using culture-independent molecular analysis. Crop and intestinal bacteria in FC were then compared to those from groups of snails that were reared in the laboratory (RL) on a sugarcane-based diet. Most of the sequences recovered were novel and related to those reported for herbivorous gut. Changes in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were observed when the snails were fed a high-sugar diet, suggesting that the snail gut microbiota can influence the energy balance equation. Furthermore, this study represents a first step in gaining a better understanding of land snail gut microbiota and shows that this is a complex holobiont system containing diverse, abundant and active microbial communities

Climate change research and policy in Portugal

This article offers a review of research and policy on climate change in Portugal and is organized into three main themes: scientific knowledge and assessment of climate change; policy analysis and evaluation; and public engagement. Modern scientific research on meteorology and climatology started in Portugal in the 1950s and a strong community of researchers in climate science, vulnerabilities, impacts, and adaptation has since developed, particularly in the last decade. Nevertheless, there are still many gaps in research, especially regarding the economic costs of climate change in Portugal and costs and benefits of adaptation. Governmental policies with a strong emphasis on mitigation were introduced at the end of the 1990s. As greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise beyond its Kyoto target for 2012, the country had to resort to the Kyoto Flexibility Mechanisms in order to comply. Climate change adaptation policies were introduced in 2010 but are far from being fully implemented. Regarding public engagement with climate change, high levels of concern contrast with limited understanding and rather weak behavioral dispositions to address climate change. Citizens display a heavy reliance on the media as sources of information, which are dominated by a techno-managerial discourse mainly focused on the global level. The final part of the article identifies research gaps and outlines a research agenda. Connections between policy and research are also discussed

Institutionalisation of Social Movements: Co-option And Democratic Policy-making

Over the past 30 years, urban policy in Brazil has undergone a major transformation, both in terms of regulatory frameworks and the involvement of citizens in the process of policy-making. As an intense process of institutional innovation and mobilisation for decent publicservices took place, academics started to consider the impact of institutionalisation on the autonomy of social movements. Using empirical evidence from a city in the northeast of Brazil, this article addresses the wider literature on citizen participation and social movements to examine specifically the problem with co-optation. I examine the risks linked to co-optation, risks that can undermine the credibility of social movements as agents of change, and explore the tensions that go beyond the ‘co-optation versus autonomy’ divide, an issue frequently found in the practices of social movements, in their dealings with those in power. In particular, this article explores the learning processes and contentious relationships between mainly institutionally oriented urban movements and local government. This study found that the learning of deliberative skills not only led to changes in the objectives and repertoires of housing movements, but also to the inclusion of new components in their objectives that provide room for creative agency and which, in some cases, might allow them to maintain their autonomy from the state

Substantial extracellular metabolic differences found between phylogenetically closely related probiotic and pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli

Since its first isolation a century ago, the gut inhabitant Escherichia coli strain Nissle 1917 has been shown to have probiotic activities; however, it is yet not fully elucidated which differential factors play key roles in its beneficial interactions with the host. To date, no metabolomics studies have been reported investigating the potential role of small molecules in functional strain differentiation of Nissle from its genetically close neighbors. Here, we present results of liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry characterization of extracellular metabolomes of E. coli strains as a proxy of their bioactivity potential. We found that phylogroup B2 strains exported a more diverse arsenal of metabolites than strains of other phylogroups. Zooming into the phylogroup B2 metabolome identified consistent substantial differences between metabolic output of E. coli Nissle and other strains, particularly in metabolites associated to the Argimine biosynthesis pathway. Nissle was found to release higher levels of Ornithine and Citrulline whilst depleting greater amounts of Arginine from the medium. Moreover, a novel Nissle-specific metabolite not reported before in bacteria, 5-(Carbamoylamino)-2-hydroxypentanoic acid (Citrulline/Arginic Acid related) was observed. Finally, Nissle, CFT073 and NCTC12241/ATCC25922 shared the excretion of N5-Acetylornithine, whereas other strains released N2-Acetylornithine or no N-Acetylornithine at all. Thus, we found substantial metabolic differences in phylogenetically very similar E. coli strains, an observation which suggests that it is justified to further investigate roles of small molecules as potential modulators of the gut environment by probiotic, commensal, and pathogenic strains, including E. coli Nissle 1917