How equal is equality? Discussions about same-sex marriage in Portugal

In Portugal, public and political discussions about same-sex marriage have been going on since the 1990s. In 2010, same-sex marriage was legalized under intense dispute since it excludes same-sex couples from adoption and reproductive rights. During parliamentary debates, political parties and civil organizations linked to the Catholic Church resorted to conflicting ideas of ‘equality’ and ‘difference’ to advance their claims. In this article, we analyse the contents of petitions, bills and parliamentary proceedings concerning the legal recognition of same-sex unions, highlighting the presence of conflicting notions of equality linked to pervasive beliefs about the inadequacy of homo-erotic desire and practices

Conservation of geosites as a tool to protect geoheritage: the inventory of Ceará Central Domain, Borborema Province - NE/Brazil

The Ceará Central Domain, in the northern Borborema Province/NE Brazil, encompasses important geological records (geosites) which allow understanding a relevant period of the Earth’s evolution, mainly associated to Neoproterozoic Brazilian/Pan-African Cycle and West Gondwana amalgamation, besides Neoarchean to Ordovician records. The presented geoheritage inventory aims to characterise the geosites with scienti c relevance of Ceará Central Domain. By applying a method for large areas, the nal selection resulted in eight geological frameworks represented by 52 geosites documented in a single database. This is the rst step for a geoconservation strategy based on systematic inventories, statutory protection, geoethical behaviour and awareness about scienti c, educational and/or cultural relevance of geosites.We specially thank all experts that helped us with this inventory: Afonso Almeida, Carlos E.G. de Araújo, César Veríssimo, Christiano Magini, Clóvis Vaz Parente, Felipe G. Costa, Irani C. Mattos, Neivaldo de Castro, Otaciel de Melo, Sebástian G. Chiozza, Ticiano Santos and Stefano Zincone. We are also thankful to Kátia Mansur, Ricardo Fraga Pereira and anonymous reviewers for their valuable contributions. PM is grateful to Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for PhD mobility scholarship PDSE Program/Process n 88881.132168/2016-01info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Movimentos naturais de massa na Serra do Divisor no extremo oeste da Amazônia Ocidental.

Os movimentos de massa, também conhecidos como deslizamento, escorregamentos e erosões, que causam a desagregação e transporte do solo, ocasionado por fatores naturais como precipitação, terremotos ou ventos. Estes eventos têm impactos ambientais e/ou sociais, dependendo do contexto geográfico que estão inseridos. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo analisar a dinâmica espaço-temporal do movimento natural no Complexo Fisiográfico da Serra do Divisor e sua modificação da paisagem. Para tanto fez-se um resgate de imagens Landsat e avaliou-se a extensão das alterações ao longo de 18 anos e sua correlação com precipitação e eventos tectônicos. Os resultados revelaram que houve incremento de até oito vezes na perda de solo após o ano de 2010. Este fato está associado as condições íngremes do relevo, precipitação mensal acima de 300 mm (milímetros) e eventos tectônicos de magnitude superior a 6 mb (magnitude de ondas primárias). Os movimentos naturais de massa na região norte do Complexo Fisiográfico da Serra do Divisor fazem parte da dinâmica natural de evolução da paisagem da região, entretanto quando eventos de precipitação e terremotos de alta magnitude mesmo que em altas profundidades, tiveram resultados no desencadeamento de processos movimento de massa de mais de 3.000 ha. A região de estudo, formado por rochas de arenito, solos rasos e pedogeniticamente jovens, mesmo que sob a cobertura florestal nativa, é vulnerável a processo erosivos do solo por movimentos de massa. Mass movements, also known as landslides, landslides and erosions, cause the soil to break down and transport, caused by natural factors such as precipitation, earthquakes or winds. These events have environmental and/or social impacts, depending on the geographic context in which they are inserted. The present work aimed to analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of natural movement in the Serra do Divisor Physiographic Complex and its modification of the landscape. For this purpose, Landsat images were retrieved and the extent of changes over 18 years and their correlation with precipitation and tectonic events were evaluated. The results revealed that there was an increase of up to eight times in soil loss after the year 2010. This fact is associated with steep relief conditions, monthly precipitation above 300 mm (millimeters) and tectonic events of magnitude greater than 6 mb (magnitude of primary waves). The natural mass movements in the northern region of the Serra do Divisor Physiographic Complex are part of the natural dynamics of landscape evolution in the region, however when precipitation events and high magnitude earthquakes, even at high depths, had results in triggering movement processes of mass of more than 3,000 ha. The study region, formed by sandstone rocks, shallow and pedogenically young soils, even under native forest cover, is vulnerable to soil erosion by mass movements. Los movimientos masivos, también conocidos como deslizamientos de tierra, deslizamientos de tierra y erosiones, hacen que el suelo se rompa y se transporte, causado por factores naturales como precipitaciones, terremotos o vientos. Estos eventos tienen impactos ambientales y / o sociales, dependiendo del contexto geográfico en el que se insertan. El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo analizar la dinámica espacio-temporal del movimiento natural en el Complejo Fisiográfico Serra do Divisor y su modificación del paisaje. Para ello, se recuperaron imágenes Landsat y se evaluó la extensión de los cambios a lo largo de 18 años y su correlación con la precipitación y los eventos tectónicos. Los resultados revelaron que hubo un aumento de hasta ocho veces en la pérdida de suelo después del año 2010. Este hecho está asociado con condiciones de relieve abrupto, precipitación mensual superior a 300 mm (milímetros) y eventos tectónicos de magnitud superior a 6 mb (magnitud de ondas primarias). Los movimientos naturales de masas en la región norte del Complejo Fisiográfico Serra do Divisor son parte de la dinámica natural de la evolución del paisaje en la región, sin embargo, cuando los eventos de precipitación y los terremotos de gran magnitud, incluso a grandes profundidades, tuvieron como resultado el desencadenamiento de procesos de movimiento de masas. de más de 3.000 ha. La región de estudio, formada por rocas areniscas, suelos poco profundos y pedogénicamente jóvenes, incluso bajo la cubierta forestal nativa, es vulnerable a la erosión del suelo por movimientos masivos

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors

Monitoring Adherence to Asthma Inhalers Using the InspirerMundi App: Analysis of Real-World, Medium-Term Feasibility Studies

Background: Poor medication adherence is a major challenge in asthma and objective assessment of inhaler adherence is needed. InspirerMundi app aims to monitor inhaler adherence while turning it into a positive experience through gamification and social support. Objective: We assessed the medium-term feasibility of the InspirerMundi app to monitor inhaler adherence in real-world patients with persistent asthma (treated with daily inhaled medication). In addition, we attempted to identify the characteristics of the patients related to higher app use. Methods: Two real-world multicenter observational studies, with one initial face-to-face visit and a 4-month telephone interview, were conducted in 29 secondary care centers from Portugal. During an initial face-to-face visit, patients were invited to use the app daily to register their asthma medication intakes. A scheduled intake was considered taken when patients took a photo of the medication (inhaler, blister, or others) using the image-based medication detection tool. Medication adherence was calculated as the number of doses taken as a percentage of the number scheduled. Interacting with the app ≥30 days was used as the cut-off for higher app use. Results: A total of 114 patients {median 20 [percentile 25 to percentile 75 (P25-P75) 16-36] years, 62% adults} were invited, 107 (94%) installed the app and 83 (73%) completed the 4-month interview. Patients interacted with the app for a median of 18 [3-45] days, translated on a median use rate of 15 [3-38]%. Median inhaler adherence assessed through the app was 34 [4-73]% when considering all scheduled inhalations for the study period. Inhaler adherence assessed was not significantly correlated with self-reported estimates. Median adherence for oral and other medication was 41 [6-83]% and 43 [3-73]%, respectively. Patients with higher app use were slightly older (p = 0.012), more frequently taking medication for other health conditions (p = 0.040), and more frequently prescribed long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA, p = 0.024). After 4 months, Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) scores improved (p < 0.001), but no differences between patients interacting with the app for 30 days or less were seen. Conclusions: The InspirerMundi app was feasible to monitor inhaler adherence in patients with persistent asthma. The persistent use of this mHealth technology varies widely. A better understanding of characteristics related to higher app use is still needed before effectiveness studies are undertaken.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Search for anomalous t t-bar production in the highly-boosted all-hadronic final state

A search is presented for a massive particle, generically referred to as a Z', decaying into a t t-bar pair. The search focuses on Z' resonances that are sufficiently massive to produce highly Lorentz-boosted top quarks, which yield collimated decay products that are partially or fully merged into single jets. The analysis uses new methods to analyze jet substructure, providing suppression of the non-top multijet backgrounds. The analysis is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns. Upper limits in the range of 1 pb are set on the product of the production cross section and branching fraction for a topcolor Z' modeled for several widths, as well as for a Randall--Sundrum Kaluza--Klein gluon. In addition, the results constrain any enhancement in t t-bar production beyond expectations of the standard model for t t-bar invariant masses larger than 1 TeV.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physics; this version includes a minor typo correction that will be submitted as an erratu

Search for New Physics with Jets and Missing Transverse Momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for new physics is presented based on an event signature of at least three jets accompanied by large missing transverse momentum, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns collected in proton--proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. No excess of events is observed above the expected standard model backgrounds, which are all estimated from the data. Exclusion limits are presented for the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Cross section limits are also presented using simplified models with new particles decaying to an undetected particle and one or two jets

Measurement of the Z/gamma* + b-jet cross section in pp collisions at 7 TeV

The production of b jets in association with a Z/gamma* boson is studied using proton-proton collisions delivered by the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and recorded by the CMS detector. The inclusive cross section for Z/gamma* + b-jet production is measured in a sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.2 inverse femtobarns. The Z/gamma* + b-jet cross section with Z/gamma* to ll (where ll = ee or mu mu) for events with the invariant mass 60 < M(ll) < 120 GeV, at least one b jet at the hadron level with pT > 25 GeV and abs(eta) < 2.1, and a separation between the leptons and the jets of Delta R > 0.5 is found to be 5.84 +/- 0.08 (stat.) +/- 0.72 (syst.) +(0.25)/-(0.55) (theory) pb. The kinematic properties of the events are also studied and found to be in agreement with the predictions made by the MadGraph event generator with the parton shower and the hadronisation performed by PYTHIA.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physic