Does electing women reduce corruption? A regression discontinuity approach

Previous studies uncovered a negative relationship between the proportion of women in public office and corruption. These findings have inspired anti-corruption programs around the world. It remains unclear, however, whether there is a causal link between the share of women in office and malfeasance. For instance, gender differences in political experience or access to corruption networks might explain this relationship. We leverage the gradual implementation of gender quotas in Spain to isolate the effects of female descriptive representation on public misconduct and adjudicate between alternative explanations. The analyses suggest a causal link between gender and malfeasance in office: the reform generated an exogenous increase in the share of women elected, which led to a decrease in corruption that was sustained over time. This finding enhances our understanding of the effect of public officials' characteristics on policy outcomes, and of the role of parity laws in promoting political change

The alternative complex III of Rhodothermus marinus and its structural and functional association with caa3 oxygen reductase

AbstractAn alternative complex III (ACIII) is a respiratory complex with quinol:electron acceptor oxidoreductase activity. It is the only example of an enzyme performing complex III function that does not belong to bc1 complex family. ACIII from Rhodothermus (R.) marinus was the first enzyme of this type to be isolated and characterized, and in this work we deepen its characterization. We addressed its interaction with quinol substrate and with the caa3 oxygen reductase, whose coding gene cluster follows that of the ACIII. There is at least, one quinone binding site present in R. marinus ACIII as observed by fluorescence quenching titration of HQNO, a quinone analogue inhibitor. Furthermore, electrophoretic and spectroscopic evidences, taken together with mass spectrometry revealed a structural association between ACIII and caa3 oxygen reductase. The association was also shown to be functional, since quinol:oxygen oxidoreductase activity was observed when the two isolated complexes were put together. This work is thus a step forward in the recognition of the structural and functional diversities of prokaryotic respiratory chains

The portuguese self-administered computerised 24-hour dietary recall

Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.Rationale: Measuring the diets of school-aged children is a challenging process. Technology offers the opportunity to automate more accurate methods of dietary assessment, making them less expensive, easier to use and an alternative to nutritionist interviews.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Piezoelectric Device for Measurement and Power Harvesting Applications

Com o apoio RAADRI.With the fast growth of wireless communications between nodes/sensor units, devices installed in remote places require power energy supply solutions to assure their functionally and data communication capabilities. For these applications energy harvesting takes place as a good solution, to increase the availability of energy, in opposition to the conventional systems of energy supply. Regenerative energy sources like thermoelectric, magnetic, piezoelectric, and/or renewable sources such as photovoltaic, wind, among others, allowed the development of different powering solutions for sensor units. The purpose of this work is to characterize a piezoelectric device to measure and capture mechanical vibrations from equipments, structures and piping vibrations, as well as from other sources. The study is carried out taking into account the power supply capabilities of piezoelectric devices as a function of the amplitude and frequency of the vibration stimulus, as well as, the electrical characteristics of the load circuit

Narrative and clinical change in Cognitive Behavior Therapy: a comparison of two recovered cases

Psychotherapy research suggests that therapeutic change is associated with the emergence and development of innovative moments (IMs)—that is, exceptions to the problematic self-narrative that brought the client to therapy. This study compares two recovered cases of major depression, according to symptom measures, that presented contrasting profiles of evolution of IMs: one typical of successful therapy (Barbara), and another typical of unsuccessful therapy (Claudia). The core conflictual relationship theme (CCRT) was used to study narrative change independently of the innovative moments coding system (IMCS). The results suggest a high congruence between the IMCS and the CCRT profiles. Although Barbara presented changes in the IMCS and the CCRT in a similar way, Claudia’s self-narratives (IMs and CCRT), despite symptom change, did not change. The results are discussed, considering the importance of narrative changes in recovery from depression and the maintenance of therapeutic gains.This article was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), by the Grant PTDC/PSI-PCL/121525/2010 (Ambivalence and unsuccessful psychotherapy, 2012- 2015) and by the PhD Grant SFRH/BD/77324/2011. This study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre, University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Minister of Education and Science through national funds and when applicable co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (UID/PSI/01662/2013)

An efficient muscle fatigue model for forward and inverse dynamic analysis of human movements

AbstractThe aim of this work is to present the integration of a simple and yet efficient dynamic muscle fatigue model in a multibody formulation with natural coordinates. The fatigue model considers the force production history of each muscle to estimate its fitness level by means of a three-compartment theory approach. The model is easily adapted to co-operate with standard Hill-type muscle models, allowing the simulation and analysis of the redundant muscle forces generated in the presence of muscular fatigue. This has particular relevance in the design of orthotic devices to support human locomotion and manipulation

Local Luminous Infrared Galaxies. III. Co-evolution of Black Hole Growth and Star Formation Activity?

Local luminous infrared (IR) galaxies (LIRGs) have both high star formation rates (SFR) and a high AGN (Seyfert and AGN/starburst composite) incidence. Therefore, they are ideal candidates to explore the co-evolution of black hole (BH) growth and star formation (SF) activity, not necessarily associated with major mergers. Here, we use Spitzer/IRS spectroscopy of a complete volume-limited sample of local LIRGs (distances of <78Mpc). We estimate typical BH masses of 3x10^7 M_sun using [NeIII]15.56micron and optical [OIII]5007A gas velocity dispersions and literature stellar velocity dispersions. We find that in a large fraction of local LIRGs the current SFR is taking place not only in the inner nuclear ~1.5kpc region, as estimated from the nuclear 11.3micron PAH luminosities, but also in the host galaxy. We next use the ratios between the SFRs and BH accretion rates (BHAR) to study whether the SF activity and BH growth are contemporaneous in local LIRGs. On average, local LIRGs have SFR to BHAR ratios higher than those of optically selected Seyferts of similar AGN luminosities. However, the majority of the IR-bright galaxies in the RSA Seyfert sample behave like local LIRGs. Moreover, the AGN incidence tends to be higher in local LIRGs with the lowest SFRs. All this suggests that in local LIRGs there is a distinct IR-bright star forming phase taking place prior to the bulk of the current BH growth (i.e., AGN phase). The latter is reflected first as a composite and then as a Seyfert, and later as a non-LIRG optically identified Seyfert nucleus with moderate SF in its host galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Stress response of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) fed plant-based diets supplemented with swine blood hydrolysates

To improve fish welfare, it is essential that aquafeeds are designed to help fish cope with the stressful conditions of fish farms. One effective strategy to achieve this goal is to supplement the diet with bioactive hydrolysates. Here, diet supplementation to modulate oxidative stress after air exposure was investigated in European seabass, using swine blood hydrolysates (BH), obtained either by autohydrolysis (AH) or enzymatically. The enzymatically produced BH were further submitted to a micro- (RMF) and nanofiltration (RNF). Four isolipidic, isoproteic and isoenergetic diets were developed: a plant-based diet with low (12.5%) fishmeal levels (control, CTRL) and three diets where 3% of each BH (RMF, RNF and AH) was added to the CTRL. Diets were assigned to triplicate groups of 71 European seabass juveniles (initial weight 12.3 ± 1.4 g). After 12 weeks, 9 fish per treatment were either immediately sampled or air-exposed for 1 min and let to recover in a new system for 6 h prior to sampling. Stress response increased cortisol levels, followed by an increment in plasma lactate. The challenge increased liver lipid peroxidation (LPO) due to reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Carbonyls decreased post-stress, maybe due to a possible interaction with the LPO radicals, reducing protein oxidation. None of the BH improved plasma stress response. By reducing catalase levels without increasing LPO, the RNF treatment appears to adjust European seabass' antioxidant defences, indicating its potential to supply exogenous antioxidants to combat oxidative stress induced by ROS. However, this impact was not sufficient to lower LPO levels compared to a control plant-based diet. The tested diets seemed to affect the fish oxidative stress response in the liver, possibly due to the presence of bioactive peptides, which aided in the non-enzymatic modulation of stress response, as observed by the total antioxidant capacity values in the liver.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Continued tobacco consumption during pregnancy and women's depression and anxiety symptoms

Objectives This study aimed to analyse depression and anxiety symptoms changes from the first to the third trimester of pregnancy in non-smokers versus quitters versus continuous smokers, and the contribution of depression and anxiety symptoms to continued tobacco consumption during pregnancy. Methods The sample comprises 850 Spanish pregnant women (595 non-smokers, 123 quitters, and 132 continuous smokers), assessed at the first and the third trimester of pregnancy with a questionnaire concerning socio-demographic, obstetric, and tobacco consumption information, and measures of depression and anxiety. Results Continuous smokers during pregnancy showed more depression and anxiety symptoms than both non-smokers and quitters and no changes from the first trimester to the third trimester of pregnancy, while both non-smokers and quitters revealed a decrease in depression and anxiety symptoms. More anxiety symptoms at the first trimester (OR 1.03) and depression symptoms at the third trimester (OR 1.14) were associated with continued smoking during pregnancy. Conclusions Anxiety and depression symptoms need to be considered to screening for women at risk of smoking during pregnancy. Future prenatal smoking cessation interventions must take into account these variables.We would like to express our gratitude to the midwives at the surveyed Primary Health Care Centers for their valuable assistance. We sincerely appreciate the support by research contract inherent to a predoctoral research training funded by Axudas de Apoio a Etapa Predoctoral do Plan Galego 2011/2015 (Plan 12C) to the second author (Beatriz Pereira). Lastly, we would like to show our gratitude especially to the pregnant women for their patience and generous collaboration in this study