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A process was developed combining two natural-based products to obtain bio-based films. Industrial cellulose pulp was dissolved and mixed with epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO), which acts as an internal plasticizer. A distillable and recyclable ionic liquid-based solvent was used to dissolve the cellulose. Appropriate distribution of the cellulose/ESBO solution on glass surfaces and careful regeneration of the cellulose enabled the development of solvent-free and flexible cellulose films. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed the presence of the triglyceride structure and the absence of the epoxide ring in the films, confirming the chemical reaction between the hydroxyl and epoxide groups of cellulose. The resulting films were further characterized by scanning electron microscopy, dynamic scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and mechanical tensile tests. The films were also evaluated by contact angle measurement, swelling ability, in vitro degradability and cytotoxicity. The results showed that the presence of ESBO can adjust both the flexibility and hydrophilicity of the cellulose films, resulting in materials suitable for a variety of applications.

Electrochemically mediated atom transfer radical polymerization (eATRP) is developed in dispersion conditions to assist the preparation of cellulose-based films. Self-degassing conditions are achieved by the addition of sodium pyruvate (SP) as a ROS scavenger, while an aluminum counter electrode provides a simplified and more cost-effective electrochemical setup. Different polyacrylamides were grown on a model cellulose substrate which was previously esterified with 2-bromoisobutyrate (-BriB), serving as initiator groups. Small-scale polymerizations (15 mL) provided optimized conditions to pursue the scale-up up to 1000 mL (scale-up factor ~67). Cellulose-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) was then chosen to prepare the tunable, thermoresponsive, solvent-free, and flexible films through a dissolution/regeneration method. The produced films were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).

This paper is devoted to the resolution of singularities of holomorphic vector fields and one-dimensional holomorphic foliations in dimension three, and it has two main objectives. First, within the general framework of one-dimensional foliations, we build upon and essentially complete the work of Cano, Roche, and Spivakovsky (2014). As a consequence, we obtain a general resolution theorem comparable to the resolution theorem of McQuillan–Panazzolo (2013) but proved by means of rather different methods. The other objective of this paper is to consider a special class of singularities of foliations containing, in particular, all the singularities of complete holomorphic vector fields on complex manifolds of dimension three. We then prove that a much sharper resolution theorem holds for this class of holomorphic foliations. This second result was the initial motivation for this paper. It relies on combining earlier resolution theorems for (general) foliations with some classical material on asymptotic expansions for solutions of differential equations. Bibliography: 34 titles.

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Purpose Cardiovascular disease (CVD) as it is known, is a multifactorial disease that needs to be addressed exactly in that way. Knowledge deficit regarding symptoms and unadjusted lifestyles are still the most relevant nursing diagnoses identified as main causes for readmissions in patients with CVD (1). Recent guidelines evidenced that after a CVD event, patients should attend to their lifestyle choices and health behaviors, in order to avoid future events, as this works in a cardioprotective way (2). Having programs structured in a way that makes it possible to involve both population and person-centered strategies all teamed up, could be a way of involving patients in their own care, tackling several recommendations at the same time. Our aim is to describe the implementation of a cardiovascular disease prevention program with a multidisciplinary approach and identify the most prevalent CVD risk factors during the first trimester of its implementation. Methods In order to improve patient outcomes post-discharge, the program was outlined as follows: firstly. a Multidisciplinary Appointment was structured, with a Cardiologist and a Nurse, where also family is invited, to assess risk factors, therapeutic adherence and quality of life. According to the patient's needs and preferences they can be assigned to the Cardiac Rehabilitation Lab, to the Education Group Sessions on CVD risk factors where a Nutritionist, Psychiatrist and Physiatrist also participate according to the sessions' topic. For more personalized approach it also comprises: Therapeutic Groups and Mental Health Appointment; Nutrition Appointment; and Nursing Counseling at Outpatient clinics for family and person-centered approach. To assess the program at its third month baseline the focus group method was used for patients and professionals perspectives. Results The program was implemented from October to December 2021. During that time 24 patients were admitted. Nursing Counseling was needed for almost all patients for different reasons. Out of those, 50% were assigned to the group sessions, 33.33% were assigned to the Cardiac Rehab, 12.5% were oriented to the Nutrition consults and 20,83% to the Mental Health consults. Even though we offered therapeutic groups as an option for some patients, none of them were willing to go. Regarding the modifiable risk factors, 70% of patients had 3 or more risk factors, showing that we do have a high risk population to tackle. Putting it into perspective, the most prevalent risk factors were dyslipidemia (70.83%), tobacco use (70.83%), obesity (54.17%) and hypertension (50%). Conclusions Managing a multidisciplinary program can be demanding, and there were several challenges to this program’s implementation such as: short-staffing, structural issues, covid-19 prevention issues, digital systems, agendas, etc.). But focusing on patients' needs and preferences, helped us to do our utmost to make this program happen.

Статья посвящена изучению разрешений особенностей голоморфных векторных полей и одномерных слоений в размерности 3 и преследует две основные цели. Во-первых, в рамках общей теории одномерных слоений мы опираемся на работу Ф. Кано, К. Роша и М. Спиваковского (2014) и по существу завершаем еe. Как следствие, мы получаем общую теорему о разрешении, сравнимую с теоремой о разрешении Мак-Квиллана-Панаццоло (2013), но доказываемую с помощью совершенно иных методов. Вторая цель статьи состоит в рассмотрении специального класса особенностей слоений, содержащего, в частности, все особенности полных голоморфных векторных полей на комплексных многообразиях размерности 3. Мы доказываем, что для этого класса голоморфных слоений имеет место гораздо более сильная теорема о разрешении. Этот второй результат был первоначальной мотивацией данной статьи, и он основан на комбинации ранее полученных нами результатов о разрешении особенностей (общих) слоений и некоторых классических методов асимптотических разложений для решений дифференциальных уравнений. Библиография: 34 названия.

Background and objectives: documentation is important for quality improvement, education, and research. There is currently a lack of recommendations regarding key aspects of documentation in regional anesthesia. The aim of this study was to establish recommendations for documentation in regional anesthesia. Methods: following the formation of the executive committee and a directed literature review, a long list of potential documentation components was created. A modified Delphi process was then employed to achieve consensus amongst a group of international experts in regional anesthesia. This consisted of 2 rounds of anonymous electronic voting and a final virtual round table discussion with live polling on items not yet excluded or accepted from previous rounds. Progression or exclusion of potential components through the rounds was based on the achievement of strong consensus. Strong consensus was defined as >= 75% agreement and weak consensus as 50%-74% agreement. Results: seventy-seven collaborators participated in both rounds 1 and 2, while 50 collaborators took part in round 3. In total, experts voted on 83 items and achieved a strong consensus on 51 items, weak consensus on 3 and rejected 29. Conclusion: by means of a modified Delphi process, we have established expert consensus on documentation in regional anesthesia., European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy (ESRA); ASRA Pain Medicine

The stringent control over the polymerization of less activated monomers remains one major challenge for Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerizations (RDRP), including Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP). Electrochemically mediated ATRP (eATRP) of a gaseous monomer, vinyl chloride (VC), was successfully achieved for the first time using a stainless-steel 304 (SS304) electrochemical reactor equipped with a simplified electrochemical setup. Controlled polymerizations were confirmed by the good agreement between theoretical and measured molecular weights, as well as the relatively narrow molecular weight distributions. Preservation of chain-end fidelity was verified by chain extension experiments, yielding poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) homopolymers, block and statistical copolymers. The possibility of synthesizing PVC by eATRP is a promising alternative to afford cleaner (co)polymers, with low catalyst concentration. The metal body of the reactor was also successfully used as a cathode. The setup proposed in this contribution opens an avenue for the polymerization of other gaseous monomers.

Cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer on earth, due to its renewability and biodegradability appears as an interesting alternative for the design of more eco-friendly materials. Despite some interesting results, the production of nanoscale cellulose still proves to be costly and difficult in order to industrialize the process. In this work, powdered cellulose from pulp hydrolysis was used to prepare composites with low-density polyethylene that present improved mechanical performance and could contribute to the reduction in the environmental impact of this polymer. The mechanical, thermal and water absorption properties of the composites were assessed and discussed. The results proved that it is possible to obtain a scalable process for the production of natural-based composites with improved mechanical properties.

Quantifying physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) of older people, has the potential to stimulate vital and healthy ageing by inducing behavioural changes and linking them to personal health gains. To be able to measure PAEE in everyday life, methods from wearable accelerometers have been developed, however, mainly targeted towards younger people. Since older subjects differ in energy requirements and range of physical activities, the current models may not be suitable for PAEE estimation. Because past activities influence present PAEE, we propose a modeling approach known for its ability to model sequential data, the Recurrent Neural Network (RNN). To train the RNN, we used the GOTOV dataset with 34 healthy participants of 60 years and older, performing 16 activities. We used accelerometers placed on the wrist and ankle, and measurements of indirect calorimetry. After optimization, we propose an architecture consisting of an RNN with 3 GRU layers and a feedforward network combining both accelerometer and participant-level data. In this paper, we describe our efforts to go beyond the standard facilities of a GRU-based RNN, with the aim of achieving accuracy surpassing the state of the art. These efforts include switching aggregation function from mean to dispersion measures, combining temporal and static data (person-specific details) and adding predicted symbolic activity data by a previously trained ML model. The resulting architecture increases its performance by approximately 10% while decreasing training input by a factor of 10. It can thus be employed to investigate associations of PAEE with vitality parameters related to healthy ageing.

Due to environmental concerns, more attention has been given to the development of bio-based materials for substitution of fossil-based ones. Moreover, paper use is essential in daily routine and several applications of industrial pulp can be developed. In this study, transparent films were produced by industrial cellulose pulp solubilization in tetramethylguanidine based ionic liquids followed by its regeneration. Films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV/Vis spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), dynamic scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal analysis (TG), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Mechanical tests showed that films have a good elongation property, up to 50%, depending on ionic liquid incorporation. The influence of the conjugated acid and dissolution temperature on mechanical properties were evaluated. These results revealed the potential of this methodology for the preparation of new biobased films.

The marine topshell Phorcus sauciatus is currently found along the temperate-subtropical shores of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. Although present in the Iberian Peninsula, Madeira, and Canaries for centuries, P. sauciatus has only recently reached another oceanic volcanic archipelago in the region. In 2013, a small population was recorded for the first time in Santa Maria Island (Azores), widening its distribution around the entire island and to the neighbouring island of SAo Miguel in a short period of time. The success of such colonization of the remote archipelago by P. sauciatus still awaits an explanation. To better understand the populational dynamics of the species in the NE Atlantic Ocean, we used a molecular approach to evaluate the genetic structure of P. sauciatus aiming at the determination of a potential origin for the first individuals that reached the Azores. On the foundations of detailed oceanographic, palaeontological, and ecological data, we discuss the impact of climate change as a trigger for colonization of remote oceanic islands and suggest a mechanism that might explain the long-distance dispersal of the non-planktotrophic gastropod P. sauciatus across important biogeographical barriers in the NE Atlantic. Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, IP [SFRH/BD/135918/2018, IF/00465/2015, SFRH/BPD/117810/2016, UID/BIA/50027/2013, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006821]; FRCT/Acores 2020 by Fundo Regional para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FRCT) [M3.1.a/F/100/2015]; FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors - COMPETE; Direcao Regional para a Ciencia e Tecnologia [DRCTM1.1.a/005/Funcionamento-C-/2016]; FEDER fundsEuropean Commission; Regional Government of the Azores through Programa Operacional Acores 2020 [ACORES-010145-FEDER-000078, ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000072]; FCTPortuguese Foundation for Science and TechnologyEuropean Commission [IF/01500/2014, UIDB/04326/2020] POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006821 info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Modern and palaeo-shores from Pleistocene Marine Isotope Substage 5e (MIS 5e) featuring prominent cobble/boulder deposits from three locations, on the southern and eastern coast of Santa Maria Island in the Azores Archipelago, were compared, in order to test the idea of higher storminess during the Last Interglacial. A total of 175 basalt clasts from seven transects were measured manually in three dimensions perpendicular to one another. Boulders that exceeded the minimum definitional diameter of 25 cm contributed to 45% of the clasts, with the remainder falling into the category of large cobbles. These were sorted for variations in shape, size, and weight pertinent to the application of two mathematical formulas to estimate wave heights necessary for traction. Both equations were based on the &ldquo, Nott-Approach&rdquo, one of them being sensitive to the longest axis, the other to the shortest axis. The preponderance of data derived from the Pleistocene deposits, which included an intertidal invertebrate fauna for accurate dating. The island&rsquo, s east coast at Ponta do Cedro lacked a modern boulder beach due to steep rocky shores, whereas raised Pleistocene palaeo-shores along the same coast reflect surged from an average wave height of 5.6 m and 6.5 m. Direct comparison between modern and Pleistocene deposits at Ponta do Castelo to the southeast and Prainha on the island&rsquo, s south shore produced contrasting results, with higher wave heights during MIS 5e at Ponta do Castelo and higher wave heights for the modern boulder beach at Prainha. Thus, our results did not yield a clear conclusion about higher storminess during the Last Interglacial compared to the present day. Historical meteorological records pit the seasonal activity of winter storms arriving from the WNW-NW against the scant record of hurricanes arriving from the ESE-SE. The disparity in the width of the marine shelf around Santa Maria Island with broad shelves to the north and narrow shelves to the south and east suggested that periodic winter storms had a more regular role in coastal erosion, whereas the rare episodic recurrence of hurricanes had a greater impact on southern and southeastern rocky shores, where the studied coastal boulder deposits were located.

A seabed sediment-sampling survey conducted on the Pico insular shelf found abundant rhodoliths between −64 and −73 m off the south coast of the island. These were small and mainly ellipsoidal in shape with a maximum diameter of 3.75 cm. Granules and small pebbles of eroded basalt were also a typical component of these samples. Thin algal crusts were secreted on basalt pebbles by the coralline red algae Phymatolithon calcareum which, in turn, were covered by Lithophyllum incrustans. Additional samples were collected by snorkelling at Mare (Lajes do Pico), a shallow lagoon (2–4 m in depth) on the south coast. Here, rhodoliths are mostly spheroidal and bigger (maximum diameter of 4.75 cm), formed by thin thalli of P. calcareum. Based on these results (distribution of shapes and species) and previous work on the characteristics of fossil specimens from Neogene deposits on Santa Maria Island (Azores) and other North Atlantic Archipelagos, an empirical depositional model is proposed for the development of rhodoliths on the Pico Island shelf: (1) Nearshore rhodoliths, formed solely by P. calcareum, are subjected to a wide range of currents and waves resulting in their spheroidal shapes. However, those of Mare lagoon are protected from offshore transport and tend to grow larger than deep-water rhodoliths; (2) Although not sampled, there must be middle shelf rhodoliths formed solely by P. calcareum that tend to form more ellipsoidal shapes due to seafloor oscillatory movements caused by waves crossing the shelf; (3) During storms, these middle shelf rhodoliths are then transported to the outer shelf, where L. incrustans overgrows the initial cover of P. calcareum. Shallow associations are normally larger, reflecting therefore, a longer life span than the deeper associations. Transport by storms appears to be an important factor in the formation of some deep-water rhodoliths around volcanic oceanic islands subjected to high-wave energy. However, their exposure to an energetic environment and likely frequent offshore transport does not allow them to grow as large as those from shallow-water.

The bowl-shaped trace fossil Piscichnus waitemata Gregory 1991 appears in Pliocene sandstones from Santa Maria Island (Azores Archipelago), extensively excavated during a stage of island evolution when the volcanic edifice was a guyot (flat-topped seamount) isolated in the NE Atlantic. The host sediments were deposited at depths from the intertidal zone to fair-weather wave base in a tropical climate under the influence of periodic storms and hurricanes. The traces were produced by ray fishes hunting for polychaetes, crustaceans and bivalves living in the sediment, similar to present-day nearshore, warm waters in the Azores, Baja California Sur (Mexico), and New Zealand, from which examples of feeding depressions are drawn (incipient Piscichnus). While P. waitemata is abundantly present in planar sediments on top of the guyot, far fewer trace fossils occur in sandstone deposited on the guyot's margins. Presumably, the different densities of ray holes in the two sedimentary bodies were a response to lesser availability of prey, lower seawater temperatures (due to greater depths), and a more dynamic environment in which life conditions were less favorable. Moreover, the potential preservation of bowl-shaped depressions was lower in this setting, given the steepness of the seafloor, stronger currents, and constant sediment mobility. The top of the guyot was a more favorable habitat, refuge and/or nursery ground for many ray fishes. Measurement of the diameters of the ray holes indicate three distinct size classes, which may suggest that several species were responsible for their formation.

Past climate changes provide important clues for advancement of studies on current global change biology. We have tested large-scale biogeographic patterns through four marine groups from twelve Atlantic Ocean archipelagos and searched for patterns between species richness/endemism and littoral area, age, isolation, latitude and mean annual sea-surface temperatures. Species richness is strongly correlated with littoral area. Two reinforcing effects take place during glacial episodes: i) species richness is expected to decrease (in comparison with interglacial periods) due to the local disappearance of sandy/muddy-associated species; ii) because littoral area is minimal during glacial episodes, area per se induces a decrease on species richness (by extirpation/extinction of marine species) as well as affecting speciation rates. Maximum speciation rates are expected to occur during the interglacial periods, whereas immigration rates are expected to be higher at the LGM. Finally, sea-level changes are a paramount factor influencing marine biodiversity of animals and plants living on oceanic islands.

In this work, hydroxypropyl cellulose esters (HPCE) with long aliphatic chains were prepared and innovatively used in electrospinning to obtain hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC)-based mats with enhanced resistance to moist environments. The described approach is very simple and does not require any post-treatment (e.g. cross-linking step) to overcome a major problem concerning the premature loss of properties of cellulose-based materials when in contact with moisture. HPCE-based electrospun mats were characterized in terms of their morphology, swelling ability and in vitro hydrolytic degradation. The mats exhibited a swelling capacity of over 115%, depending on the degree of substitution. The in vitro hydrolytic degradation tests showed the high structural integrity of the mats (5% weight loss) over a period of 30 days. The in vitro cytotoxicity tests showed that the mats of HPC esters are cytocompatible and promote the adhesion, proliferation and spreading of NIH3T3 fibroblast cells. These data suggest that the HPCE mats may be interesting materials for wound dressings, as well as for other tissue engineering applications.

The world-wide study of the geological record of the Last Interglacial is key to reconstruct the climatic and oceanographic conditions during that time interval. Here we present preliminary results of a comprehensive field analysis of one of the most extensive and least studied Quaternary fossiliferous sequences in Cabo Verde attributed to the Last Interglacial. It is located at Nossa Senhora da Luz, which is a protected inlet at the SE coast of Santiago Island. The studied sequence shows a set of transitions between fluvial and marine environments, and emersion and immersion events within a confined, highly protected bay environment. The presence, in the upper part of the sequence, of a thick layer of very fine-branched rhodoliths indicates particular ecological conditions within this bay (e.g., shallow and turbidity free waters, stable environmental conditions and/or fast growth) that are absent today and presumably played an important role for the presence of particular invertebrate species during that time. The presence of tidal specimens of the clam Senilia senilis in life position at an altitude of ~12m above sea-level allowed a re-interpretation of relative sea-level changes, suggesting that the uplift trend of Santiago Island for the Last Interglacial period onwards (3m/100ky) is possibly 70% lower than previously calculated (10m/100ky). Fossils include five phyla, with molluscs being the most diverse and abundant. Despite the abundance of some species (e.g., the bivalves Saccostrea cuccullata, S. senilis, and Aequipecten opercularis, and the gastropods Persististrombus latus and Thais nodosa), the general biodiversity is low. The presence of S. cuccullata and S. senilis, absent from extant Cabo Verdean faunas, indicates a more humid climate, unlike the dry climate found today. Some horizons are intensively bioturbated with the crustacean burrow Thalassinoides suevicus. Our new data agree with the hypothesised palaeoclimatic framework of more wet conditions than today for the Last Interglacial in the archipelago.Keywords: Eemian, Cabo Verde Archipelago, sheltered bay, Senilia senilis, volcanic oceanic islands, NE AtlanticAcknowledgmentsC.S.M. and A.C.R. acknowledge, respectively, his PhD grant M3.1.a/F/100/2015 from FRCT/Açores 2020 and her Post-Doc grant SFRH/BPD/117810/2016 by FCT. R.R. and S.Á. acknowledges his IF/01641/2015 and IF/ 00465/2015 grants funded by FCT. A.R. and M.R. were supported by the by DFG grant RA1597/3-1. This work was supported by FCT project PTDC/CTA-GEO/28588/2017 and LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-028588 UNTIeD and DRCT 2019-2022 – ACORES-01-0145_FEDER-000078 – VRPROTO.

One important subject related to structural integrity studies of bridges is to assess the fatigue behaviour of its materials and structural components. A fatigue crack initiates in zones where there is a concentration of stresses and then it may propagate at an increasing growth rate leading to structural failure. Normally, a rehabilitation campaign is associated with lower costs and time when compared to the replacement by a new bridge. The application of externally-bonded fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) plates has been used in the repair and strengthening operations of steel structures with fatigue damages. Within this subject, an experimental program was carried out to assess the fatigue crack growth (FCG) rates of old metallic materials from a centenary bridge strengthened with FRP composites. FCG tests were performed under pure-mode I loading conditions. This investigation allowed to determine the a-N curve as well as to assess the fatigue crack growth rates of reinforced and non-reinforced old metallic materials.

The Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary Islands and Cabo Verde are commonly united under the term “Macaronesia”. This study investigates the coherency and validity of Macaronesia as a biogeographic unit using six marine groups with very different dispersal abilities: coastal fishes, echinoderms, gastropod molluscs, brachyuran decapod crustaceans, polychaete annelids, and macroalgae. We found no support for the current concept of Macaronesia as a coherent marine biogeographic unit. All marine groups studied suggest the exclusion of Cabo Verde from the remaining Macaronesian archipelagos and thus, Cabo Verde should be given the status of a biogeographic subprovince within the West African Transition province. We propose to redefine the Lusitanian biogeographical province, in which we include four ecoregions: the South European Atlantic Shelf, the Saharan Upwelling, the Azores, and a new ecoregion herein named Webbnesia, which comprises the archipelagos of Madeira, Selvagens and the Canary Islands., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Pliocene body fossils from Santa Maria Island, Azores, have been studied for decades, but only more recently have ichnofossils received their due attention. Calcareous Pliocene deposits from the Baia de Nossa Senhora section contain numerous, diverse, well-preserved natural casts of invertebrate borings. The study of this type of fossils adds to knowledge on the dispersal of benthic faunas across oceans to volcanic oceanic islands. The borings belong to seven ichnogenera and twenty-two ichnotaxa at the ichnospecies level with more than half pertaining to Entobia, which is produced by clionaid sponges. Other borings found were produced by bivalves (Gastrochaenolites), polychaete worms (Caulostrepsis and Maeandropolydora), sipunculid worms (Trypanites), phoronid worms (Talpina) and ctenostome bryozoans (Iramena). The occurrence, ichnogeny, distribution and preservational state of the borings suggest that the bearing bioclasts have been exposed for several years on the sea floor. The borings derive from different bathymetric zones on the shelf, and their formation took place during several bioerosional phases. The association of borings belongs to the Entobia ichnofacies, which is typical of carbonate rocky shores, and shows close similarity to those described from the Paratethys, Mediterranean and partly the eastern Atlantic regions. This fits the idea that most of the Neogene shallow-water marine fauna in the Azores is biogeographically related to the eastern Atlantic shores.

The trace fossil Macaronichnus segregatis is interpreted to be produced by opheliid polychaetes that feed on epigranular microbes and organic matter commonly abundant in shallow-marine foreshore sands. Resulting traces are horizontal and typically random in orientation, but sometimes perpendicular to the shoreline. However, M. segregatis in Neogene sandy sediments from Santa Maria Island in the Azores shows a vertical or sub-vertical orientation. This is explained by vertical flow of pore waters and oxygenation fluctuations within the mixing zone between interstitial marine and freshwater aquifers–where epigranular microbes and organic matter are most enriched. On reefless volcanic oceanic islands like the Azores, insular shelves are invariably steep, narrow, and exposed to strong swell. Aquifers in this setting respond rapidly to small changes on account of limited shelf space and a high potential differential that stimulates a vertical shift in habitats. Freshwater aquifers on small, low-relief oceanic islands form a thin lens, the edges of which are wedged against marine interstitial waters and migrate up and down in response to changes caused by tides, storm surges and precipitation. During the Late Miocene–Early Pliocene, Santa Maria was an island fitting this description. Due to a waning volcanism, intense marine erosion and gradual submersion, the island developed a wide shallow platform covered by sandy shoals, as exemplified by the Malbusca section with vertical Macaronichnus. The process, however, is more acute on small, reflective beaches perched on rocky island coasts. Here, sand blankets cover small ramps cut in the basaltic bedrock, resulting in very limited freshwater aquifers subject to strong changes due to the low permeability of basalts. The mixing zone is therefore forced to migrate chiefly up and down, mostly due to tides. The same response is dramatic in sandy fillings trapped in basalt fissures. As a consequence, the producer of Macaronichnus was tightly constrained in movement. Both situations occur in the “Pedra-que-pica” section on Santa Maria.

Between Lagos and Albufeira, the Algarve coast of southern Portugal is marked by outcrops of the lower Miocene Lagos-Portimao Formation (LPF) consisting of yellow sandstone and coarse skeletal-rhodolithic limestone. This contribution focuses on the rhodoliths, their paleoecology, taphonomy, and biological composition, in the Lagos Biocalcarenite, the lower member of the LPF. Special attention is paid to the unusual occurrence of numerous rhodoliths nucleated around articulated bivalve shells, as well as to the nature of their biological interactions and taphonomic features. The calcareous algae of the rhodoliths (Phymatolithon calcareum and Spongites sp.) are commonly interlayered with thin bands of bryozoans and serpulids. Thick beds of non-nucleated spheroidal rhodoliths first appear at approximately 5–6 m above the base of the LPF as a result of a storm event that shifted rhodoliths in a shoreward direction. The bioeroded surface at the top of the Cretaceous Porto de Mos Formation, at the base of the overlying LPF succession, is a wave-cut platform representing the Miocene transgressive surface.

Given a pair of commuting holomorphic vector fields defined on a neighborhood of (0,0) in C^2, we discuss the problem of globalizing them as an action of C^2 on a suitable complex surface along with some related questions. A review of Palais' theory about globalization of local transformation groups is also included in our discussion., The first author was partially supported by FCT (Portugal) through the sabbatical grant SFRH/BSAB/135549/2018 and through CMAT (UID/MAT/00013/2013). The second author was partially supported by CIMI - Labex Toulouse - through the grant "Dynamics of modular vector fields, Dwork family, and applications". The third author was partially supported by CMUP (UID/MAT/00144/2013), which is funded by FCT (Portugal) with national (MEC) and European structural funds through the programs FEDER, under the partnership agreement PT2020. Finally all the three authors benefited from CNRS (France) support through the PICS project "Dynamics of Complex ODEs and Geometry"., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The present study proposes a framework of key skills to improve the HEIs current curricula through entrepreneurship and innovative education. The approach is based on a questionnaire applied to key stakeholders, students (from economics, business and engineering subject field of studies) and academics, from five European countries. The results allow to identify the graduates' skills shortages and the best covered skills in current curricula. Those skills are in accordance with the 21st century skills and constitute the foundation of the proposed framework that suggests that this mix of skills should be integrated and implemented into the curricula degrees of HEIs, through a group of innovative and entrepreneurship education initiatives to promote graduates' employability.

We prove a global topological rigidity theorem for locally \begin{document}$ C^2 $\end{document} -non-discrete subgroups of \begin{document}$ {\rm {Diff}}^{\omega} (S^1) $\end{document} .

The disease status and thromboembolic events in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), with and without anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS), were evaluated before and after placement of the 52-mg levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS). A retrospective cohort study, with review of medical records of SLE women, who received an LNG-IUS placement between January 2007 and December 2016, carried out at the University of Campinas Medical School, Brazil. The outcomes included the disease activity (SLEDAI-2K) and damage index scores (SLICC/ACR-DI) presented for each year of device use, as well as venous/arterial thrombotic events, insertion up to a median of 5 years. The author’s used χ2, Fisher’s exact and the Mann–Whitney tests for analysis and generalized estimating equations for score comparison. The study evaluated 46 women with SLE, 18 with and 28 without APS; the mean age (± standard deviation [SD]) was 31.8 (SD ± 8.3) years old. The length of follow-up after LNG-IUS placement was 5.6 (SD ± 2.7) and 4.1 (SD ± 2.3) years for the groups with and without APS, respectively. Comparison of the groups found that the SLEDAI and SLICC mean scores were low for both at baseline, without variations through the follow-up. After LNG-IUS placement, two women presented three thrombotic arterial events, and one of them died from causes unrelated to LNG-IUS use. Our results, although restricted, provide information to policymakers and health professionals that the use of a 52 mg LNG-IUS over a 5-year median did not increase disease activity or damage index scores among women with SLE, with and without APS.

O Regime Jurídico das Instituições de Ensino Superior decorre da materialização de uma ampla reforma da administração pública, justificada pela necessidade de implementação de modelos de otimização da despesa, especificamente, ao nível da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (Branco, 2011). A criação de novos modelos de gestão no Ensino Superior, reforçando a autonomia das instituições ao nível da gestão patrimonial, financeira e de recursos humanos, tornou-se um apelativo substancial para diversas instituições e respetivos agentes tomarem diligencias para aderir ao novo modelo de gestão criado pelo quadro jurídico de 2007, o regime fundacional. O RJIES na generalidade, e o regime fundacional em particular, vieram permitir uma nova realidade no cosmos destas universidades, transformando, indubitavelmente, as relações de poder, gestão e governabilidade destes espaços públicos. Volvidos dez anos de implementação deste novo quadro regulatório, o presente projeto avalia a medida de política pública, procurando identificar as motivações dos agentes decisórios e responsáveis pela fase de formulação e concretização. The Legal Regime of Higher Education Institutions (RJIES) appears from the materialization of a reform of public administration, justified by the need to implement optimization models, specifically at the level of Science, Technology and Higher Education (Branco, 2011). The creation of new management models in Higher Education, reinforcing the autonomy of institutions in terms of wealth management, financial and human resources, has become a substantial appeal for several institutions and their agents to take steps to adhere to the new management model created by the legal framework of 2007, the foundation regime. RJIES in general, and the foundation regime in particular, allowed a new reality in the universities, undoubtedly transforming the relations of power, management and governance of these public spaces. This project evaluates the impact of public policy, interests and motivations that were inherent to policy makers and responsible for the formulation and implementation phase, after ten years of this new regulatory framework.

We show that holomorphic vector fields on ( C 3 , 0 ) have separatrices provided that they are embedded in a rank 2 representation of a two-dimensional Lie algebra. As an application of this result we show, in particular, that the second jet of a holomorphic vector field defined on a compact complex manifold M of dimension 3 cannot vanish at an isolated singular point provided that M carries more than a single holomorphic vector field.

We discuss the local dynamics of a subgroup of \({{\mathrm{Diff}}\, ({{\mathbb {C}}}^2, 0)}\) possessing locally discrete orbits as well as the structure of the recurrent set for more general groups. It is proved, in particular, that a subgroup of \({{\mathrm{Diff}}\, ({{\mathbb {C}}}^2, 0)}\) possessing locally discrete orbits must be virtually solvable. These results are of considerable interest in problems concerning integrable systems.

The diagenetic history of calcareous fossils is required for their application as palaeoenvironmental indicators. In this study, cathodoluminescence-microscopy (CL microscopy) and back scatter electron image-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (BSE-EDS microscopy) were applied to Pliocene rhodoliths from the Azores Archipelago (NE Atlantic) in order to gain additional insight regarding the trace element content distribution throughout the algae thalli, and to ascertain palaeoenvironmental interpretations. Two types of luminescence were obtained: (1) high and (2) low luminescence. Rhodoliths with high luminescence are related with high concentrations of Mn(2+) in seawater and low luminescence rhodoliths are related with low concentrations of Mn(2+) in seawater. When the rhodoliths were deposited at about 4.0-4.5 Ma, the shoreline configuration of Santa Maria Island was much different than today. The influence of volcanic activity due to the extrusion of lavas and associated products and/or the presence of active shallow-water hydrothermal vents, was reflected in the sea water chemistry, with penecontemporaneous palaeoshores of the island featuring a high sea water concentration of Mn(2+), which mirrored on the rhodolith Mn(2+) high concentration. By contrast, rhodoliths located about 2.8 and 2.9 km from the shore, in areas with low seawater Mn(2+) concentration, had low luminescence, reflecting the low Mn(2+) concentration in seawater. Rhodoliths chemical data and the geological history of the island proved to be congruent with the palaeogeographical reconstruction of Santa Maria Island at the time of the formation of the rhodoliths.

Massive fossil shell accumulations require particular conditions to be formed and may provide valuable insights into the sedimentary environments favouring such concentrations. Shallow-water shell beds appear to be particularly rare on reefless volcanic oceanic islands on account of narrow, steep and highly-energetic insular shelves where the potential for preservation is limited. The occurrence of an exceptional coquina (Pedra-que-pica) within the Miocene–Pliocene deposits of Santa Maria Island (Azores), therefore provides a rare opportunity to understand the conditions that led to the formation and preservation of a massive shell bed at mid-ocean insular setting. This study provides a detailed analysis regarding a 10–11-m-thick bivalve-dominated fossil assemblage exposed at Pedra-que-pica on Santa Maria Island in the Azores. Integration of taphonomical, palaeoecological and sedimentological observations are used to reconstruct the genesis of the coquina bed and related events, and to discuss why such exceptional sedimentary bodies are so rare on shelves around reefless volcanic oceanic islands. The sequence at Pedra-que-pica demonstrates a complex succession of sedimentary environments in response to the drowning of an existing coastline during a period of rapid sea-level rise. The Pedra-que-pica shell bed incorporates storm-related materials and possible debris falls that originated nearby in a shallow and highly productive carbonate factory. Deposition took place below fair-weather wave base, at around 50 m depth, as inferred from the overlying volcanic succession. The preservation of this coquina was favoured by deposition on a platform laterally protected by a rocky spur, combined with rapid burial by water-settled volcanic tuffs and subsequent volcanic effusive sequences. The recent exhumation of the deposit is the result of island uplift and subsequent erosion.

The application of geoconservation concepts and methodologies to the Azores archipelago led to the implementation of the Geopark Azores, recognized as such by the European and Global Geoparks Network. The current work re-evaluates and stresses the scientific and touristic value of the palaeontological sites of Santa Maria Island. Two new geosites (the Ponta do Castelo tempestite deposit and the Pedra-que-pica coquina) are proposed for classification as ‘Regional Natural Monuments’ by the Regional Government of the Azores, due to their international relevance. The tempestite deposit of Ponta do Castelo was overlain by a contemporary coastal lava delta, which enables the inference of the precise water depth of the geosite at the time of deposition, a very rare condition worldwide; and Pedra-que-pica is the most extensive multispecific fossiliferous coquina ever reported in the literature from the shelf of any of the ∼20,000 known volcanic oceanic islands in the world. Relevant geosites reported for this island are increased from 15 to 26. Additional palaeontological heritage contributions to the sustainable tourism of Santa Maria are suggested, with a focus on two recent projects: the ‘Fossil Trail’ and the future ‘PalaeoPark Santa Maria’.

Oceanic islands – such as the Azores in the mid-North Atlantic – are periodically exposed to large storms that often remobilize and transport marine sediments along coastlines, and into deeper environments. Such disruptive events create deposits – denominated tempestites – whose characteristics reflect the highly dynamic environment in which they were formed. Tempestites from oceanic islands, however, are seldom described in the literature and little is known about storm-related sediment dynamics affecting oceanic island shelves. Therefore, the geological record of tempestite deposits at oceanic islands can provide invaluable information on the processes of sediment remobilization, transport and deposition taking place on insular shelves during and after major storms. In Santa Maria Island (Azores), a sequence of Neogene tempestite deposits was incorporated in the island edifice by the ongoing volcanic activity (thus preserved) and later exposed through uplift and erosion. Because it was overlain by a contemporary coastal lava delta, the water depth at the time of deposition could be inferred, constituting an excellent case-study to gain insight on the still enigmatic processes of insular shelf deposition. Sedimentological, palaeontological, petrographic and palaeo-water depth information allowed the reconstruction of the depositional environment of these sediments. The sequence typifies the characteristics of a tempestite (or successive tempestites) formed at ca 50 m depth, in a steep, energetic open insular shelf, and with evidence for massive sediment remobilization from the nearshore to the middle or outer shelf. The authors claim that cross-shelf transport induced by storm events is the main process of sediment deposition acting on steep and narrow shelves subjected to high-energetic environments, such as the insular shelves of open-sea volcanic islands.

Consider a pseudogroup on $( \mathbb{C} , 0)$ generated by two local diffeomorphisms having analytic conjugacy classes a priori fixed in $\mathrm{Diff} \hspace{0.167em} ( \mathbb{C} , 0)$. We show that a generic pseudogroup as above is such that every point has a (possibly trivial) cyclic stabilizer. It also follows that these generic groups possess infinitely many hyperbolic orbits. This result possesses several applications to the topology of leaves of foliations, and we shall explicitly describe the case of nilpotent foliations associated to Arnold’s singularities of type ${A}^{2n+ 1} $.

BACKGROUND Haemophilus influenzae (Hi) serotype b (Hib) conjugate vaccine was incorporated into the infant immunisation schedule in Brazil in 1999, where Hib was one of the major etiologic sources of community-acquired bacterial meningitis. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to describe the molecular epidemiology of invasive Hi disease in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, before and after vaccine introduction. METHODS Surveillance data from 1986 to 2014 were analysed. Hi isolates recovered from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood from 1993 to 2014 were serotyped by slide agglutination, genotyped by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and the capsule type evaluation, differentiation of serologically non-typeable isolates, and characterisation of the capsule (cap) locus was done by polymerase chain reaction. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using E-test. FINDINGS From 1986 to 1999 and from 2000 to 2014, 2580 and 197 (42% without serotype information) confirmed cases were reported, respectively. The case fatality rate was 17% and did not correlate with the strain. Hib and b- variant isolates belonged to ST-6, whereas serotype a isolates belonged to the ST-23 clonal complex. Serotype a appeared to emerge during the 2000s. Non-encapsulated isolates were non-clonal and distinct from the encapsulated isolates. Ampicillin-resistant isolates were either of serotype b or were non-encapsulated, and all of them were β-lactamase-positive but amoxicillin-clavulanic acid susceptible. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Although Hi meningitis became a relatively rare disease in Rio de Janeiro after the introduction of the Hib conjugate vaccine, the isolates recovered from patients have become more diverse. These results indicate the need to implement an enhanced surveillance system to continue monitoring the impact of the Hib conjugate vaccine.