Incumbents, opposition and international lenders: governing Portugal in times of crisis

The Portuguese case provides a unique opportunity to study the opposition's behaviour in a variety of political conditions. It offers an insight into the impact of the financial crisis on the opposition's behaviour in both majority and minority political settings. It allows the comparison of the opposition's relationship with a minority government, during which non-collaboration could have dramatic consequences, and also with a majority government, when such a choice does not have major political or policy implications. Moreover, it enables us to study the effect of an additional veto player (the so-called troika composed of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund), which not only constrains both majority and opposition parties, but also gives political entrepreneurs a unique opportunity to push ahead with liberal measures \u2013 in this case, clearly in disagreement with the moderate and radical left programmes. Relying on quantitative data on the legislative behaviour of the parliamentary party groups in the period 1995\u20132012, and on qualitative process-tracking of the opposition's positions on key economic issues \u2013 such as the decision to vote against Prime Minister S\uf3crates' last austerity package after a series of approvals \u2013 this article aims to determine whether, and if yes how, the financial crisis has affected the behaviour of the Portuguese opposition parties in parliament, by examining and comparing their behaviour in hard and in normal times

Effective restoration of the U_A(1) symmetry with temperature and density

We investigate the full U(3)$\otimes$U(3) chiral symmetry restoration, at finite temperature and density, on the basis of a quark model which incorporates the most relevant properties of QCD in this context: explicit and spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry and axial U$_A$(1) symmetry breaking. A specific lattice-inspired behavior of the topological susceptibility, combined with the convergence of chiral partners, signals the onset of an effective chiral symmetry restoration. The results suggest that the axial part of the symmetry is restored before the possible restoration of the full U(3)$\otimes$U(3) chiral symmetry can occur. This conclusion is valid in the context of both finite temperature and density.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; PRD versio

Non-maximal sensitivity to synchronism in periodic elementary cellular automata: exact asymptotic measures

In [11] and [13] the authors showed that elementary cellular automata rules 0, 3, 8, 12, 15, 28, 32, 34, 44, 51, 60, 128, 136, 140, 160, 162, 170, 200 and 204 (and their conjugation, reflection, reflected-conjugation) are not maximum sensitive to synchronism, i.e. they do not have a different dynamics for each (non-equivalent) block-sequential update schedule (defined as ordered partitions of cell positions). In this work we present exact measurements of the sensitivity to synchronism for these rules, as functions of the size. These exhibit a surprising variety of values and associated proof methods, such as the special pairs of rule 128, and the connection to the bissection of Lucas numbers of rule 8

Pseudoscalars Mesons in Hot, Dense Matter

Phase transitions in hot and dense matter and the in--medium behavior of pseudoscalar mesons ($\pi^{\pm}, \pi^0, K^{\pm}, K^0 ,\bar K^0,\eta {and} \eta'$) are investigated, in the framework of the three flavor Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model, including the 't Hooft interaction, which breaks the $U_A(1)$ symmetry. Three different scenarios are considered: zero density and finite temperature, zero temperature and finite density in quark matter with different degrees of strangeness, and finite temperature and density. At T=0, the role of strange valence quarks in the medium is discussed, in connection with the phase transition and the mesonic behavior. It is found that the appearance of strange quarks, above certain densities, leads to meaningful changes in different observables, especially in matter with \beta$--equilibrium. The behavior of mesons in the$T-\rho$ plane is analyzed in connection with possible signatures of restoration of symmetries.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures, PRC versio

Transection of the superior sagittal sinus enables bilateral access to the rodent midline brain structures

Copyright © 2021 Dias et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided that the original work is properly attributed.Stereotaxic access to brain areas underneath the superior sagittal sinus (SSS) is notoriously challenging. As a major drainage vessel, covering the whole extension of the sagittal fissure, the SSS impedes direct bilateral access to underlying regions for recording and stimulation probes, drug-delivery cannulas, and injection devices. We now describe a new method for transection and retraction of the SSS in rats, that allows the accurate placement of microinjection devices, or chronic electrode probes, while avoiding hemorrhage and the ensuing deleterious consequences for local structures, animal health, and behavior. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach we evaluated its consequences acutely during surgery, and thereafter during surgical survival, recovery, behavioral testing, as well as postmortem analysis of histologic impact in the related brain structures of male rats. This method provides a new approach enabling direct access for manipulation and recording of activity in brain areas previously obstructed by the SSS.This work was supported by the Bial Foundation Grant 135/18; the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES) through Grant PTDC/MED-NEU/29325/2017); Prémio Santa Casa-Prémio Mantero Belard (MB-7-2018); and FCT PhD Fellowships PD/PB/114125/2015 and PD/128395/2017, Scientific Employment Contract CEECIND/01497/2017, and Exploratory Grant IF/00201/2013; and an IMM Director’s Fund Awardinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Influence of the rainfall in the content of nutrients in litter in agroforestry systems managed with burning and without burning in Amazon.

This study evaluated the nutrient content of the litter, testing different treatments with burning and no burning, of the vegetation, to identify which one provides better efficiency in operation and production of nutrients in different seasonal conditions. The study area is located on the property of the family farmer, initially selected by a diagnosis socioeconomic, community Benjamin Constant, in northeastern Para. Litter was collected during two periods: dry season (November) and rainy (March) in 2009. For the collection of litter samples, we used collectors measuring (0.25 × 0.25 m2), which were placed directly on the soil surface. The collected material was stored in paper bags and taken to the laboratory for Chemical Analysis of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), which was determined by analyses of macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na) and micronutrients (Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn). The highest concentrations of macronutrients were found in N for agroforestry systems with and without burning in two seasons (wet and dry). All macronutrients showed influence of seasonality, which was verified by the wide variation in nutritional behavior. The decreasing concentration of nutrients was presented N > Ca > Mg > Na > K > P in agroforestry system with burning, with maximum values of all nutrients in the rainy season, and N, P, K, Ca, Na in higher concentrations in agroforestry system without burning, and showed only the Mg peak in agroforestry system with burning. The behavior of the concentration of nutrients was opposite to that observed one, for all elements analyzed showed a reduction in the concentrations of nutrients in the dry season. The decreasing concentration of nutrients was presented Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu

Características químicas de um gleissolo sob diferentes sistemas de uso, nas margens do rio Guamá, Belém, Pará.

Foram estudados os efeitos do uso do solo sobre a fertilidade, em Gleissolo sob três diferentes sistemas de manejo. As coletas foram feitas antes do período chuvoso nos seguintes sistemas de manejo: área cultivada com arroz (Oriza sativa L.) há aproximadamente 40 anos, com algumas interrupções ao longo deste período, com o cultivo algumas vezes mecanizado e uso de aração e gradagem; área sob pastagem de canarana erecta lisa (Echinochloa pyramidalis Hitch.), formada há cerca de 20 anos sem uso de adubações ou calagens; e área sob vegetação natural de floresta típica das áreas de várzea alta. As amostras de solo foram coletadas em dez pontos a partir de um transecto nas áreas, em quatro profundidades 0-10, 10-20, 20-30 e 30-40 cm. Os resultados demonstraram que o solo em condições naturais, de modo geral, apresentou atributos químicos que variaram de bons a muito bons, o que demonstra um grande potencial para o uso agrícola. O cultivo agrícola dos solos das várzeas do rio Guamá provocou uma redução da concentração de P e de K. O sistema de uso com pastagem apresentou maior sustentabilidade da fertilidade do que o sistema sob cultivo com arroz, visto que, além da melhoria das características químicas, a matéria orgânica elevou-se, também, em relação ao sistema natural

YouTube as a branding tool for Agencia EFE. Pillars to succeed in web video platforms

En este estudio se ha planteado analizar cómo la Agencia EFE se vale de la plataforma de vídeos digitales YouTube para la reproducción de contenidos multimedia propios de este tipo de web y cómo puede utilizarlos para el mantenimiento y refuerzo de su marca y presencia en línea a través de contenidos dirigidos a la audiencia final. Se observa un patrón en las publicaciones de los canales virtuales de las agencias de noticias, con formatos similares, resultado de una transformación de Internet que es ahora más audiovisual debido a la consolidación de plataformas de vídeos. Se detecta asimismo una tendencia, por parte de las agencias, a no crear contenidos diferentes a los que se envían a los abonados. Las agencias de noticias se han mantenido bajo el anonimato frente al gran público, pero la clave para incrementar su visibilidad parece encontrarse en las nuevas plataformas digitales como YouTube.In this study, we intended to analyze how Agencia EFE (Spanish news agency) uses the digital video platform YouTube to reproduce multimedia contents specially made to these kinds of web and how it’s possible to use them for to maintain and reinforce its brand and online presence through contents directed to final audience. There seems to be a pattern on the publications on the virtual channels of the news agencies, with similar formats, due to a transformation of the Internet that is now more audiovisual for the consolidation of video platforms. It’s also detected, by the agencies, the tendency of not creating contents that are different than those presented to the subscribers (clients). The news agencies have been under the anonymity to the audience, but the key to increase their visibility seems to be on new platforms such as YouTube