DNA-psoralen: single-molecule experiments and first principles calculations

The authors measure the persistence and contour lengths of DNA-psoralen complexes, as a function of psoralen concentration, for intercalated and crosslinked complexes. In both cases, the persistence length monotonically increases until a certain critical concentration is reached, above which it abruptly decreases and remains approximately constant. The contour length of the complexes exhibits no such discontinuous behavior. By fitting the relative increase of the contour length to the neighbor exclusion model, we obtain the exclusion number and the intrinsic intercalating constant of the psoralen-DNA interaction. Ab initio calculations are employed in order to provide an atomistic picture of these experimental findings.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures in re-print format 3 pages, 4 figures in the published versio

Three-body description of direct nuclear reactions: Comparison with the continuum discretized coupled channels method

The continuum discretized coupled channels (CDCC) method is compared to the exact solution of the three-body Faddeev equations in momentum space. We present results for: i) elastic and breakup observables of d-12C at E_d=56 MeV, ii) elastic scattering of d-58Ni at E_d=80 MeV, and iii) elastic, breakup and transfer observables for 11Be+p at E_{11Be}/A=38.4 MeV. Our comparative studies show that, in the first two cases, the CDCC method is a good approximation to the full three-body Faddeev solution, but for the 11Be exotic nucleus, depending on the observable or the kinematic regime, it may miss out some of the dynamic three-body effects that appear through the explicit coupling to the transfer channel.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Human Activity Recognition using Max-Min Skeleton-based Features and Key Poses

Human activity recognition is still a very challenging research area, due to the inherently complex temporal and spatial patterns that characterize most human activities. This paper proposes a human activity recognition framework based on random forests, where each activity is classified requiring few training examples (i.e. no frame-by-frame activity classification). In a first approach, a simple mechanism that divides each action sequence into a fixed-size window is employed, where max-min skeleton-based features are extracted. In the second approach, each window is delimited by a pair of automatically detected key poses, where static and max-min dynamic features are extracted, based on the determined activity example. Both approaches are evaluated using the Cornell Activity Dataset [1], obtaining relevant overall average results, considering that these approaches are fast to train and require just a few training examples. These characteristics suggest that the proposed framework can beuseful for real-time applications, where the activities are typicallywell distinctive and little training time is required, or to be integrated in larger and sophisticated systems, for a first quick impression/learning of certain activitie

Hydrological and erosion response at micro-plot to -catchment scale following forest wildfire, north-central Portugal

Wildfires can have important impacts on hydrological and soil erosion processes, due to the destruction of vegetation cover and changes to soil properties. According to Shakesby and Doerr (2006), these wildfire effects are: i) much better known at small spatial scales (especially erosion plots) than at the scale of catchments; ii) much better studied with respect to overland flow and streamflow (and, then, especially peak discharges) than to soil erosion. Following up on a precursor project studying runoff generation and the associated soil losses from micro-plot to slope-scale in Portuguese eucalypt forests, the EROSFIRE-II project addresses the connectivity of these processes across hillslopes as well as within the channel network. This is done in the Colmeal study area in central Portugal, where the outlet of an entirely burnt catchment of roughly 10 ha was instrumented with a gauging station continuously recording water level and tubidity, and five slopes were each equipped with 4 runoff plots of < 0,5 m2 (“micro-plot”) and 4 slope-scale plots as well as 1 slope-scale sediment fence. Starting one month after the August 2008 wildfire, the plots were monitored at 1- to 2-weekly intervals, depending on the occurrence of rainfall. The gauging station became operational at the end of November 2008, since the in-situ construction of an H-flume required several weeks. A preliminary analysis of the data collected till the end of 2008, focusing on two slopes with contrasting slope lengths as well as the gauging station: revealed clear differences in runoff and erosion between: (i) the micro-plot and slope-scale plots on the same hillslope; (ii) the two slopes; (iii) an initial dry period and a subsequent much wetter period; (iv) the slopes and the catchment-scale, also depending on the sampling period. These results suggest that the different processes govern the hydrological and erosion response at different spatial scales as well as for different periods, with soil water repellency playing a role during the initial post-fire period. The current presentation will review these preliminary results based on the data collected during the first year after the wildfire

Runoff at the micro-plot and slope scale following wildfire, central Portugal

Through their effects on soil properties and vegetation/litter cover, wildfires can strongly enhance overland flow generation and accelerate soil erosion [1] and, thereby, negatively affect land-use sustainability as well as downstream aquatic and flood zones. Wildfires are a common phenomenon in present-day Portugal, devastating in an average year some 100.000 ha of forest and woodlands and in an exceptional year like 2003 over 400.000 ha. There therefore exists a clear need in Portugal for a tool that can provide guidance to post-fire land management by predicting soil erosion risk, on the one hand, and, on the other, the mitigation effectiveness of soil conservation measures. Such a tool has recently been developed for the Western U.S.A. [3: ERMiT] but its suitability for Portuguese forests will need to be corroborated by field observations. Testing the suitability of existing erosion models in recently burned forest areas in Portugal is, in a nutshell, the aim of the EROSFIRE projects. In the first EROSFIRE project the emphasis was on the prediction of erosion at the scale of individual hill slopes. In the ongoing EROSFIRE-II project the spatial scope is extended to include the catchment scale, so that also the connectivity between hill slopes as well as channel and road processes are being addressed. Besides ERMiT, the principal models under evaluation for slope-scale erosion prediction are: (i) the variant of USLE [4] applied by the Portuguese Water Institute after the wildfires of 2003; (ii) the Morgan–Morgan–Finney model (MMF) [5]; (iii) MEFIDIS [6]. From these models, MEFIDIS and perhaps MMF will, after successful calibration at the slope scale, also be applied for predicting catchment-scale sediment yields of extreme events

Germinação de sementes de dendê (Elaeis guineensis, Jacq.), utilizando o método de calor seco.

Informações sobre a germinacao de sementes de dende pelo método de calor seco, envolvendo desde o tratamento das sementes até a recomendação de armazenamento.bitstream/CPAA-2009-09/2728/1/IT_12_98.pd

Are spectroscopic factors from transfer reactions consistent with asymptotic normalisation coefficients?

It is extremely important to devise a reliable method to extract spectroscopic factors from transfer cross sections. We analyse the standard DWBA procedure and combine it with the asymptotic normalisation coefficient, extracted from an independent data set. We find that the single particle parameters used in the past generate inconsistent asymptotic normalization coefficients. In order to obtain a consistent spectroscopic factor, non-standard parameters for the single particle overlap functions can be used but, as a consequence, often reduced spectroscopic strengths emerge. Different choices of optical potentials and higher order effects in the reaction model are also studied. Our test cases consist of: $^{14}$C(d,p)$^{15}$C(g.s.) at $E_d^{lab}=14$ MeV, $^{16}$O(d,p)$^{17}$O(g.s.) at $E_d^{lab}=15$ MeV and $^{40}$Ca(d,p)$^{41}$Ca(g.s.) at $E_d^{lab}=11$ MeV. We underline the importance of performing experiments specifically designed to extract ANCs for these systems.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, Phys. Rev. C (in press

The inequality effect in the well-being of European OECD countries: a new perspective on data addressing the multidimensionality of the concepts

Social inequality refers to the uneven distribution of resources in a society that can lead to systematically and unfair advantages/disadvantages in peoples’ life circumstances and opportunities. In populations all over the world, people with fewer resources have worse chances in life, health and well-being. Additionally, inequality hinders not only the people on the bottom of the social rank, but also the general population: in more unequal societies there is a higher incidence of a wide range of health and social problems such as criminality and poverty, fewer chances of economic growth, and higher unbalances in political representation, that can seriously undermine the fairness of political and economic institutions. Despite the consistence of its implications, social inequality is not a one-dimensional construct. Addressing social inequalities, implies not only addressing the degree of concentration or dispersion of valued goods, but also the correlation among these valuable features, and their plural implications in peoples' life circumstances – a multidimensional approach of social inequality is therefore advised. We explore the well-being inequalities in Europe building upon the OECD Framework For Measuring Well-Being And Progress. In this scope, well-being is understood as a multidimensional concept, framed by material conditions, quality of life and sustainability, and expressed by eleven well-being dimensions – income and wealth, jobs and earnings, housing, health, education, work-life balance, environment, social connections, civic engagement, safety and subjective well-being. Taking European Social Survey as the main empirical source, the interplay between key distributional (education, income) and categorical (gender, social class) dimensions of social inequalities in well-being and well-being profiles was studied, under two levels of analysis of the OECD European social space – transnational (across individuals) and national (across countries). Social inequalities on well-being scores and well-being profiles were identified. Higher education, higher income, and belonging to a more privileged social class positively influence well-being; men tend to present higher well-being than women. The four well-being profiles identified among Europeans were shown to be clearly structured by social inequalities, opposing higher- and lower- qualified socio-occupations, and males and females' life circumstances (Low-wage earners well-being profile, Elite well-being profile, Female well-being profile, Male well-being profile). At a country level, profiles are mostly defined in terms of volume of well-being, expressing regional affiliations (with a exception of one profile) and asymmetries of income, education, and class structures (Nordic high-rank well-being profile; Central Europe medium-rank well-being profile; Southern Europe medium-rank well-being profile; Eastern Europe low-rank well-being profile; Social disengagement low-rank well-being profile). The developed analysis confirms the existence of multidimensional intersections between well-being and categorical and distributive social structuring variables.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The left and right hands of the Portuguese state: Welfare retrenchment of public employment

This article focuses on welfare retrenchment in Portugal by analysing the evolution of public sector employment up until 2013. A multidimensional analysis of the structure of public employment in the Portuguese state was developed, theoretically guided by the ‘hands of the state’ model proposed by Bourdieu, which divides the main functions of contemporary states between its left hand (more redistributive) and its right hand (more rational economic-oriented). Bourdieu’s approach is especially useful in addressing the transformations of the Portuguese public employment between 1979 and 2013, characterized by specific economic, social and political changes. In 2013 – a year in which the adjustment measures agreed by the Portuguese government, the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund during the global crisis were especially intense – we observed the tendency towards the disqualification of public employment and the shrinking of the left hand of the Portuguese state. Public policy orientations in the areas of education and science were particularly troubling, considering the structural backwardness the country faces in these fields in the context of the European Union.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Ocorrência de carvão-da-folha (Etyloma oryzae) na cultura do arroz irrigado no Rio Grande do Sul.

bitstream/item/36421/1/comunicado-237.pd