On making choices: some thoughts on an ethnographic film screening

In this paper we describe, analyse and reflect on our first-hand experiences as members of the jury of the Ethnographic Film Screening of the 6th Meeting of the Portuguese Anthropological Association (APA), which took place in the University of Coimbra, in June 2016 (http://vicongresso.apantropologia.org/mostra-de-filme-etnografico/). To quote from our call for the ethnographic films, our “simple invitation” was to “show through images how ‘Disputed Futures’ [the topic of the general meeting] mean the diversity of presents and pasts; because the world is made on different rhythms, impulses, desires towards the uncertainty and incompleteness of history.” Our criteria for the film selection process was divided into (1) cinematic quality and originality (cinematography, sound, etc.) and (2) the anthropological character of the films. In the end, we selected 21 out of a total number of 101 films received, among short, medium and feature-length formats. The selection proved a difficult process, raising important issues, namely: was this ‘practical’ division between ‘cinematic quality’ and ‘anthropology’ theoretically (and even empirically) sound? Was it able to overcome the separation between content and form? To what extent were our preferences determined by our different professional backgrounds? Is it possible to assess fairly the ‘ethnographicity’ of such a large number of films, originating from a wide range of geographical and even academic contexts? How did the context of the event – a meeting of anthropologists – impact on our viewings and final choices? Lastly, how did the cinema-going conventions and expectations associated with this kind of film exhibition frame constrain the films’ ‘ethnographicity’? Are there any exhibition alternatives?info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Charge Influence On Mini Black Hole's Cross Section

In this work we study the electric charge effect on the cross section production of charged mini black holes (MBH) in accelerators. We analyze the charged MBH solution using the {\it fat brane} approximation in the context of the ADD model. The maximum charge-mass ratio condition for the existence of a horizon radius is discussed. We show that the electric charge causes a decrease in this radius and, consequently, in the cross section. This reduction is negligible for protons and light ions but can be important for heavy ions.Comment: 4 pages, 0 figure. To be published in Int. J. Mod. Phys. D

Early versus late conversion from immediate to prolonged-release tacrolimus after renal transplantation: Clinical effects and treatment costs

Introduction. Prolonged-release tacrolimus (PR-TAC) was associated with improved renal function after transplantation when compared to immediate-release tacrolimus (IR-TAC) although evidence is still scarce. This study aimed to compare clinical outcomes and treatment costs in patients who converted from IR-TAC to PR-TAC during the first year after renal transplantation (RT) (early converters [EC]) or after that period (late converters [LC]). Methods. We performed a retrospective study including 79 patients (EC, 39; LC, 41) which were followed up over 60 months. A mixed-effects approach was used to investigate the differences between both groups regarding renal and metabolic outcomes as well as treatment costs. Results. The median time from RT to conversion was 3 months for EC and 25 months for LC. For both EC and LC, a significant increase in estimated glomerular filtration rate was observed after conversion (5.2 and 4.9 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 , respectively). During the first year after RT, EC presented a higher estimated glomerular filtration rate and inferior tacrolimus trough levels when compared to LC, with higher mean treatment costs associated. However, thereafter, these outcomes were similar between groups over the remaining time. At the end of follow-up, no significant differences were found regarding allograft acute rejection (2.6% and 2.4%), new-onset diabetes (15.7% vs 12.2%) or cardiovascular events (5.2% vs 7.3%). Conclusions. There was a significant benefit on renal function after conversion from IR-TAC to PR-TAC. During the first year after RT, EC presented improved renal function, but higher treatment costs. None of these differences persisted at the end of follow-up.This work was financed by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) funds through the COMPETE 2020—Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/ Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior in the framework of the project "Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences" (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274)

Tramas Criativas (ou o que não nos deixam ver as imagens)

Introdução ao número especial dos Cadernos de Arte e Antropologia, "O documentário como contraponto", dedicado à Mostra de Filme Etnográfico do V Congresso da Associação Portuguesa de Antropologia. Enquanto membros do júri de selecção, achámos útil desafiar os realizadores a reflectir sobre as suas obras a partir de uma „arqueologia“ e de uma „anatomia“ capazes de revelar e revisitar opções estéticas, antropológicas, fílmicas e idiossincráticas. Os cinco artigos seleccionados ensinam, se não directamente como se pode fazer antropologia através de imagens, pelo menos como lidar com os imprevistos e os imponderáveis do quotidiano – um pouco na esteira dos pressupostos malinowskianos que marcam a especificidade metodológica da antropologia. Ensinam-nos ainda a ver, dando-nos pistas para a apreciação destes filmes enquanto objectos artísticos

Scalar Casimir Effect on a D-dimensional Einstein Static Universe

We compute the renormalised energy momentum tensor of a free scalar field coupled to gravity on an (n+1)-dimensional Einstein Static Universe (ESU), RxS^n, with arbitrary low energy effective operators (up to mass dimension n+1). A generic class of regulators is used, together with the Abel-Plana formula, leading to a manifestly regulator independent result. The general structure of the divergences is analysed to show that all the gravitational couplings (not just the cosmological constant) are renormalised for an arbitrary regulator. Various commonly used methods (damping function, point-splitting, momentum cut-off and zeta function) are shown to, effectively, belong to the given class. The final results depend strongly on the parity of n. A detailed analytical and numerical analysis is performed for the behaviours of the renormalised energy density and a quantity `sigma' which determines if the strong energy condition holds for the `quantum fluid'. We briefly discuss the quantum fluid back-reaction problem, via the higher dimensional Friedmann and Raychaudhuri equations, observe that equilibrium radii exist and unveil the possibility of a `Casimir stabilisation of Einstein Static Universes'.Comment: 37 pages, 15 figures, v2: minor changes in sections 1, 2.5, 3 and 4; version published in CQ

World state of quality: a frontier approach to benchmark the performance of countries worldwide

Purpose - The World State of Quality (WSQ) Project aims to evaluate, analyse, rank and categorise countries according to their performance in quality as a multidimensional concept. The Project involves the computation of an overall score for each country, obtained as a weighted average of ranking positions of 16 metrics, with weights determined by a panel of experts. Methodology-This work proposes an alternative strategy for that procedure, using a Benefit-of-the-Doubt (BoD) Composite Indicator approach under the framework of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). This strategy avoids the need of using subjective weights and normalising data by rank positions, using a more objective procedure to obtain the countries’ ranking. A new overall score of the World State of Quality is proposed, which allows the categorisation of countries’ performance. The novel insights resulting from the use of this methodology are discussed, including the identification of strengths and weaknesses of the various countries, and the peers that can be used for facilitating continuous improvements policies. Findings - The results show that the BoD approach and the original method used by the WSQ Project present comparable results. Countries’ strengths and weaknesses and their suitable peers and targets for benchmarking are presented with illustrative examples. Originality/value – A novel frontier approach for countries’ benchmarking regarding their performance in quality is proposed, incorporating new insights into the current method.FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia(2021.05244)The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by FCT- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology) through PhD research grants and SFRH/BD/131285/2017. This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020