On April 10, Baiao Chemical (603360. SH) issued a number of announcements on its own semiconductor layout. According to the announcement, the board of directors of Baiao Chemical appointed Liu Hongjun as the company's co-general manager and nominated non-independent directors to be responsible for managing the company's semiconductor business segment. In addition, Baiao Chemical also disclosed the construction of a semiconductor equipment production base in Wuxi Xidong New Town Business District, the capital increase of its holding company and the layout of the Pearl River Delta. In 2024, Baiao Chemical entered the semiconductor equipment industry through the acquisition of Xinhuilian. At present, Baiao Chemical is accelerating the layout of this new business area. "Veteran" Liu Hongjun is proposed to be the co-general manager It is worth noting that Baiao Chemical simultaneously issued an announcement on the revision of the Articles of Association and its annexes, clarifying that the joint general manager and the general manager have the same rights and obligations. Judging from Liu Hongjun's resume, he is a veteran in the semiconductor equipment industry, successively serving as the director of Dongdian Optoelectronics Semiconductor Equipment (Kunshan) Co., Ltd., the general manager of Beijing Yisheng Precision Semiconductor Co., Ltd., and the current chairman of Xinhuilianxin (Suzhou) Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xinhuilianxin"). It is understood that Liu Hongjun's Xinhuilian Xin mainly focuses on the field of wafer bonding equipment. Baiao Chemical told the Economic Observer that bonding equipment is the core link of chip manufacturing, and this market was previously monopolized by international giants. In November 2024, Xinwitlink shipped 2 new hybrid bonding equipment, which refreshed the accuracy level of this series of equipment in China. According to public information, Baiao Chemical has a stake in Xinhuilianxin. Started the construction of semiconductor equipment base In addition to announcing the above-mentioned important personnel arrangements, Baiao Chemical also disclosed the construction of the semiconductor equipment base. According to the announcement, Xinhuilian intends to agree that the Wuxi Xidong New Town Business District Management Committee will provide about 100,000 square meters of industrial carriers for Xinhuilian to use first, and Xinhuilian will invest in the construction of R&D and production bases in the carrier and build a FAB test line for semiconductor production line equipment verification and process research and development. It is understood that the production base project invested and built by Baiao Chemical in Wuxi will include the new semiconductor equipment production line of Xinhuilian and Xinhuilian, with a designed annual shipping capacity of about 150 units each, with a total annual output value of more than 10 billion yuan. This project will enable Xinhuilian and Xinhuilian to have large-scale production capacity of advanced semiconductor equipment. As of the first half of 2024, the lithography machine business revenue of Xinhuilian has reached 176 million yuan, with a gross profit margin of 89.01%, and the research and development of the company's gluing and developing equipment has entered the prototype trial production and verification stage, but the business has not generated revenue due to the lack of relevant production capacity. The construction of this production base may solve the dilemma of limited production capacity. Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Lisboa The market’s food hall is once again the meeting point for fans of the Brazilian musical genre forró in Lisbon. Espaço Baião invites everyone who likes to dance forró to join the party – whether or not they know how to dance. For those who don’t know, just before the dance begins, the basic steps are taught. instagramfacebooktwitteryoutubeAbout us Time Out Market Lisboa Time Out Lisbon Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Residents leave the village of Almofrela by car during a wildfire in Baiao 2024 at 4:16 AM EDTUpdated on September 17 2024 at 4:02 PM EDTBookmarkSaveFirefighters continue to battle blazes in the region of Aveiro and other areas of northern Portugal after temperatures increased in the last three days More than 4,000 firefighters as well as aircraft were facing active wildfires as of 8 p.m. in Lisbon, according to the website of Portugal’s civil protection authority. Four firefighters have died since Sunday. Text description provided by the architects. The land of the new Municipal Library of Baião faces to the south with Av. April 25 and offers views of the landscape to the north. There, was a small building, stripped of its original function, which had two floors: one facing the avenue and the other about 2.50m below it. © Alexander BogorodskiyThe pre-existing building was a primary school of utter importance for the city. Having been built around 1940 during the Estado Novo period, it was the intention of the municipality to preserve the memory of this small piece of equipment where so many generations have studied. © Alexander BogorodskiyThe intervention proposal went through with the premise of rehabilitating and integrating the existing building and adding to it a new volume with three floors. Plan - Ground floorThis solution allowed having wide glass windows facing North, taking advantage of the natural light that would this way enter generously, allowing ideal reading conditions. It seemed to make sense that the main entrance of the library should be made through the old entrance of the primary school, almost as a way of honoring the past generations, in some way bringing the past to the present and projecting it into the future. The new generations would follow the previous generations and would also come here to acquire knowledge. © Alexander BogorodskiyThe main entrance gives access to the lobby of the Library. where visitors and users can watch the horizon and the silhouette of the mountains leading us on a journey into the imagination of the book "The City and the Mountains" of Eça de Queiroz written precisely about this untamed landscape Going down to the lower floor we can find a warehouse to store documents which articulates with the inside to enable various educational activities The project tried to merge the two bodies in order to form a single entity and this is achieved through some formal and functional commitment and through the use of the same materials inside and outside of the two volumes seek the possible dialogue through volumetry You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email Canadian mining company Aura Minerals has celebrated high profits in recent years which will be directly affected by the company’s new gold mining project had their right to prior consultation ignored Aura Minerals’s value increased by almost 700% between 2019 and 2022 on the Toronto Stock Exchange — the best performance among 3,500 companies The reason for such extraordinary performance is simple: The company pays investors extremely well Residents of Baião — located a little more than 3 miles away from the mining site — in turn were not heard in the decision to resume the project that used to belong to mining company Vale The open-pit mine is located near the community and will affect them directly the only river to cross the Quilombola territory in the event of an accident with the dam used by the company the Baião community would be instantly engulfed and would disappear completely “The company claims that they are not in our territory but do they have an escape route to save the territory if the dam collapses The other communities will be affected in terms of water but Baião risks disappearing,” Maryellen Crisóstomo said to the Mining Observatory Crisóstomo is one of the leaders of quilombo Baião and serves as head of communication for the National Coordination of Rural Black Quilombola Communities (CONAQ) The Tocantins State Public Defender’s Office (DPE/TO) paid a technical visit to Baião in December 2022 to confirm the mining company’s lack of dialogue with locals Despite being so close to the site, the Quilombola were not consulted about the impacts of mining in the region Indigenous and traditional peoples’ right to free prior and informed consultation is provided for by Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization that right has been guaranteed by law since 2004 That means that the Brazilian state must consult Native and traditional peoples about enterprises and infrastructure works with potential to cause impacts on territories cultural practices and social dynamics of the communities affected by the activities The consultation must be transparent so communities understand the potential impacts on their lives doubts and decisions of communities consulted the Quilombola from Baião finished a protocol in which they detailed how the consultation should be conducted To avoid having their doubts and concerns ignored residents of Baião appealed to the Federal Prosecution Service in Tocantins (MPF/TO) in September 2021 the Quilombola reported the arbitrary way in which Aura Minerals approached the community in July of that year coercing them to answer questionnaires with personal information claiming that the questionnaire was “just like IBGE’s” [The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics The community refused to fill out any forms and turned to the Prosecution Service which questioned Brazil’s National Mining Agency the Palmares Cultural Foundation and the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) A 10-day deadline for feedback was set in August 2022 but the agencies had not responded by February 2023 the Prosecution Service claimed that it was looking into the facts and it needed concrete data in order to make any decision “If the impact on the Quilombola community is proved appropriate lawsuits will be filed,” says a representative In search of alternatives, the community resorted to the DPE/TO, which mediated a meeting on Jan 11 with representatives of the Quilombola communities of Baião and Poço Dantas Dianópolis and São Joaquim from Porto Alegre the meeting included the State Coordination of Quilombola Communities of Tocantins the Department of Environment and Tourism of Almas the Rural Development Institute of Tocantins and Aura Almas Mineração the Brazilian subsidiary of the Canadian mining company the meeting was not attended by technical staff from the mining company who could start a dialogue and speak honestly about the potential impacts on communities and the risks posed by the dams The company’s representatives only advertised the project’s alleged economic benefits “I’m particularly scared by their failure to mention the critical part The residents were presented with a slide show on the advantages of mining in the region — contrary to what they had expected which was the beginning of a transparent dialogue about the potential impacts on their communities “The big question is: What is the real threat to our territory?” Crisóstomo said The cornerstone of the venture was laid in December 2021 The Tocantins Court of Justice suspended the injunction granted in May 2021, which allowed the operation of the mining company after the Tocantins state government claimed, through the state attorney’s office, that it posed environmental risks to the region then acting Governor Wanderlei Barbosa granted Aura an environmental license to operate When asked by the Mining Observatory to comment on the exact content of the “agreement,” the government of Tocantins did not respond the State Court of Justice declared that 21 articles of the law on environmental licensing sanctioned in July 2021 during former Governor Mauro Carlesse’s administration which does not respond to the specific questions about the case Regarding their lack of consultation with the Quilombola and the fact that they ignored the presence of nearby communities in addition to safety and emergency protocols and the risks posed by the tailings dam the company said it “promotes responsible and sustainable growth in its businesses and adopts the best safety and ESG practices” and that “it respects the culture and well-being of the communities where it operates integrating best practices and environmental projects into its businesses and activities.” but the company chose to maintain its position The mining company’s lobby is strong in the municipality It promises a long-term enterprise with creation of jobs and an initial investment of 375 million reais ($71 million) “The proposals fascinate the local population,” said Crisóstomo The open-pit gold mine has an estimated useful life of 17 years and average production of 50,000 ounces a year  each ounce being equivalent to just over 28 grams the construction work will create 400 direct jobs and around 1,200 indirect ones Tax revenues for the municipality of Almas are estimated at 80.3 million reais ($15 million) under the systems known as Financial Compensation for the Exploitation of Mineral Resources (CFEM) and Service Tax (ISS) The state treasury should receive 30.3 million reais ($5.7 million) from CFEM and royalties In Brazil, in addition to Almas, Aura Minerals has copper and gold mining projects in the states of Rio Grande do Norte and Mato Grosso, and it also operates in Colombia, Mexico and Honduras. In an interview with newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo in September 2021 despite the political turmoil and threats to democracy already underway at the time and which have worsened since then as a result of the Jan “gold is immune to any crisis in Brazil” and Aura would be an “option” for investors when “everything goes wrong” because its operations are based on the U.S dollar and 80% of its revenues are in gold The Baião quilombo is certified by the Palmares Foundation and has been waiting since 2010 to be recognized as Quilombola territory by INCRA the “slow implementation of that policy gives rise to this type of violence and conflict in the territory It’s not just about mining; it’s also about deforestation and silted rivers,” she argued The Quilombola from Baião have documents proving their presence in the area since 1919 Contacted by the Mining Observatory to comment on the delay in the process and no deadline can be established for the procedures.” the duration of each process depends on the level of complexity and includes factors such as the degree of difficulty in accessing cartographic historical and anthropological information necessary to prepare the Technical Identification and Delimitation Report (RTID) The factors listed by INCRA to explain why it takes so long to provide a quilombo with a land title include the number of properties in the territory problems notifying all holders of real estate in the territories during the stages when the RTID can be challenged and notifications will be issued for inspection and evaluation of their properties total number of challenges as well as administrative and court appeals filed during the course of each process time for legal proceedings to expropriate rural properties and other variables aspiring presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro declared that he would not allow demarcation of any Indigenous or Quilombola territory during his term in office The promise was fulfilled with several budget cuts and the dismantling of agencies in charge of policies for Native and traditional communities In April 2022, INCRA had more than 1,800 open processes to regularize Quilombola territories the agency approved a rule that made it even more difficult to recognize Quilombola communities and The rule established that only communities with RTID would enjoy their territorial rights Under that rule, the research and studies necessary for a Quilombola territory to be recognized will only be carried out if funds are available. It also disregards the Quilombola’s right to consultation Living in the middle of the Agricultural Development Plan of Matopiba (an area comprising the Cerrado border of the states of Maranhão the Quilombola from Baião are directly impacted by the advance of agribusiness and suffer from land-grabbing families that could not afford digging artesian wells depend exclusively on the municipality’s water trucks the Quilombola say they fear they will have to leave the territory they have occupied for more than 90 years with so many environmental destruction fronts around them It is by remaining in the territory that they guarantee that traditional farming practices religion and ways of life keep persisting to this day which is located in southeastern Tocantins — a region affected by water shortages — has been historically marked by slavery and the gold rush technical director of civil society organization Alternatives for Small-Scale Agriculture in Tocantins pointed out several factors making water scarce in the region “There is the impact of agribusiness in the Matopiba region causing lack of water and the depletion of the Urucuia aquifer which is lowering the water discharge that supplies the entire southeastern region of Tocantins,” he said Scientists confirm the views expressed by Gonçalves, aka Paulão. The advance of agribusiness based on large-scale irrigation may be one of the main drivers of the depletion of the Urucuia aquifer, an immense reservoir that lies below the plateaus and rivers impacted by large farms The Quilombola issue is also historical in the region and is directly connected to mining The African diasporic population was trafficked to southeastern Tocantins to be exploited in the gold cycle of the 1700s “Southeastern Tocantins is a large Quilombola territory of Black populations that don’t have any land title,” Gonçalves explained “There is no conclusive action by INCRA to regularize the areas and the state government refuses to regulate the Quilombola territories,” he said “It is a large Black population — almost an Africa in Tocantins — and none of these communities can enjoy their territorial rights,” Gonçalves concluded Banner image: Aura Minerals’s mine in Almas Article originally published in Portuguese on Observatório da Mineração/The Mining Observatory The “fortress conservation” model is under pressure in East Africa as protected areas become battlegrounds over history and global efforts to halt biodiversity loss Mongabay’s Special Issue goes beyond the region’s world-renowned safaris to examine how rural communities and governments are reckoning with conservation’s colonial origins and trying to forge a path forward […] Read today's Portuguese stories delivered to your email More than 5,000 firefighters and 21 air assets are involved this morning in the firefighting and rescue operations that have caused four deaths and 40 injuries since Sunday forcing the displacement of a hundred people as a precaution According to the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) at 9:00 am there were 23 active rural fires with the highest incidence and causing the greatest concern in the Porto Metropolitan Area and the Aveiro region commander José Miranda said that at that time air assets had already been mobilised to help fight the flames explaining that the most significant fires are those in Oliveira de Azeméis The official added that the authorities were forced to evacuate around a hundred people as a precaution and that among the 40 injured were 23 civil protection agents and 17 civilians the municipal civil protection services of the municipalities of Baião Albergaria-a-Velha and Sever do Vouga are still assessing the damage The data available on the ANEPC website indicate that around 1,600 land vehicles and 21 air vehicles The Civil Protection estimated early Monday evening that at least 10,000 hectares had burned in the Porto Metropolitan Area and the Aveiro region the GNR reported that several roads had been closed or restricted in the districts of Aveiro The Government has extended the alert situation due to the risk of fires until Thursday and announced the creation of a multidisciplinary team to deal with the consequences of the fires of recent days based in Aveiro and coordinated by the Deputy Minister and Minister for Territorial Cohesion We appreciate that not everyone can afford to pay for our services but if you are able to we ask you to support The Portugal News by making a contribution – no matter how small You can change how much you give or cancel your contributions at any time Send us your comments or opinion on this article Reaching over 400,000 people a week with news about Portugal This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page By Bobby Reed  |   Published September 2019 Veteran guitarist Ricardo Peixoto is poised to broaden his fan base with the elegant on which the Rio de Janeiro native (and current Bay Area resident) excels in solo Peixoto’s discography includes work with the bands Terra Sul and the Berkeley Choro Ensemble, as well as Inverse Universe, a duo project with Brazilian vocalist Claudia Villela On Scary Beautiful he plays acoustic and electric seven-string guitars and works with a set of top-shelf collaborators Harvey Wainapel (clarinet and bass clarinet) who overdubs eight vocal tracks on the brief dreamscape “Nereids,” the only song here that isn’t an instrumental Nodding to Brazilian musical traditions, Peixoto offers a couple of songs in the baião style: “Santos E Demônios” opens with an ominous mood perhaps fitting for the demons in the song’s title and later is leavened by a flute solo from Bob Afifi On the lively “Baião De Três,” Peixoto changes the traditional baião rhythm from 2/4 to 3/4 time “Noturna” is a lovely solo guitar number, while “Simpática,” a guitar and piano duet with Silva, is based on the choro rhythm (which some jazz fans have heard clarinetist Anat Cohen navigate in her exploration of Brazilian styles) The samba “Morro Da Paixão” is a memorable hip shaker featuring horn arrangements by Luiz Brasil while “Velha Amizade” is somewhat reminiscent of the gentle ocean waves lapping the shore that one experiences in classic Jobim tunes Peixoto has absorbed the musical traditions of his homeland and utilized them to create original compositions that acknowledge the past while moving toward the future About|Terms of Use|PrivacyCopyright © 2025 Maher Publications. All rights reserved. DownBeat is an internationally registered trademark of Maher Publications. Volume 12 - 2018 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00715 This article is part of the Research TopicBridging the Gap in Neuroelectronic InterfacesView all 29 articles Extracellular microelectrodes have been widely used to measure brain activity yet there are still basic questions about the requirements for a good extracellular microelectrode One common source of confusion is how much an electrode’s impedance affects the amplitude of extracellular spikes and background noise Here we quantify the effect of an electrode’s impedance on data quality in extracellular recordings which is crucial for both the detection of spikes and their assignment to the correct neurons This study employs commercial polytrodes containing 32 electrodes (177 μm2) arranged in a dense array the same extracellular signals measured by modified low impedance (∼100 kΩ) microelectrodes with unmodified high impedance (∼1 MΩ) microelectrodes We begin with an evaluation of existing protocols to lower the impedance of the electrodes The poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT-PSS) electrodeposition protocol is a simple and reliable method for decreasing the impedance of a microelectrode up to 10-fold We next record in vivo using polytrodes that are modified in a ‘chess board’ pattern such that the signal of one neuron is detected by multiple coated and non-coated electrodes The performance of the coated and non-coated electrodes is then compared on measures of background noise and amplitude of the detected action potentials then the impedance of a microelectrode within the range of standard polytrodes (∼0.1 to 2 MΩ) does not greatly affect data quality and spike sorting This study should encourage neuroscientists to stop worrying about one more unknown Throughout the electrophysiology literature, an electrode’s impedance magnitude measured at 1 kHz in a saline solution is regularly used as a proxy for its ability to detect the activity of individual neurons (Nam, 2012; Alivisatos et al., 2013; Won et al., 2018) the impedance is a measure of the ability of the solution-electrode interface circuit to resist the flow of charge across the interface’s phases (i.e. Our goal was simply to answer the question: ‘should I reduce the impedance of my polytrode electrodes’ Despite the prevalence of this question in the field It is important to quantify the impact of an electrode’s impedance on the background noise and amplitude of extracellular spikes to determine if the effort to reduce impedance by electrodeposition is necessary All experiments were performed with a commercially available 32-channel probe (A1x32-Poly3-5mm-25s-177-CM32, NeuroNexus), with 177 μm2 area electrodes (iridium) and an inter-site pitch of 22–25 μm (see Supplementary Figure S1) NanoZ hardware and software (Neuralynx) was used to perform gold and PEDOT-PSS electrodepositions both coatings were galvanostatically deposited in a two electrode cell configuration consisting of the probe microelectrodes individually selected as the working electrode and a platinum wire as the reference electrode The reference wire was placed around the deposition cup while the probe was maintained at a fixed and equal distance to all points of the reference wire By selecting ‘Manual Control’ from the NanoZ software it is possible to select individual electrodes For gold coatings, a commercial non-cyanide gold solution was obtained from Neuralynx. The deposition solution for PEDOT-PSS consisted of 0.01 M of EDOT (Sigma-Aldrich, 97%, Mw = 142.18) and 0.1 M of PSS (Sigma-Aldrich, Mw = 1000000) dissolved in deionized water. The optimal deposition parameters were -30 nA during 120 s for gold and +30 nA during 5 s for PEDOT-PSS (Baião, 2014) electrode impedance magnitude at 1 kHz was measured in sterile phosphate buffer saline solution (PBS Post-deposition assessment of coating morphology was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM-FIB The electrochemical behavior of microelectrodes was studied in PBS (1 mM pH 7.4) by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) Gamry Instruments) was used with a three electrode cell configuration where probe microelectrodes were connected individually as the working electrode a platinum wire served as the counter electrode Gamry Instruments) as the reference electrode The impedance was measured in a frequency range from 1 Hz to 100 kHz by applying a sinusoidal signal with an amplitude of 10 mV both sexes) were anesthetized with a mixture of ketamine (60 mg/kg) and medetomidine (0.5 mg/kg) At the initial stage of each ketamine surgery atropine was given to suppress mucus secretion (0.1 mg/kg both sexes) of the Lister Hooded strain were anesthetized with urethane (1.6 g/kg) and placed in a stereotaxic frame At the initial stage of each urethane surgery the animal was injected with atropine (0.05 mg/kg) medetomidine and urethane were administered by intraperitoneal injection while temgesic and rimadyl were administered by subcutaneous injection Atropine was administered by intramuscular injection Animal experiments under urethane were approved by the local ethical review committee and conducted in accordance with Home Office personal and project (I67952617; 70/8116) licenses under the UK Animals (Scientific Procedures) 1986 Act Animal experiments under ketamine were approved by the Champalimaud Foundation Bioethics Committee and the Portuguese National Authority for Animal Health Direcção-Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária For the noise and signal (spikes amplitude) characterization a third order Butterworth filter with a band-pass of 250–9,500 or 14,250 Hz (95% of the Nyquist frequency) was used in the forward-backward mode in all datasets The magnitude of the background noise was estimated from the median absolute signal, assuming a normal noise distribution, σMedian = median(|signal(t)|/0.6745) avoiding contamination by spike waveforms (Quiroga et al., 2004). Alternatively, the noise was defined as the standard deviation (σRMS) of the signal (Scott et al., 2012) Some results are presented as mean ± standard deviation background noise and spikes amplitude from pristine and PEDOT coated electrodes were compared for significance using the Mann-Whitney test to evaluate coating stability the impedance magnitude from electrodes after the electrodeposition and after acute surgeries were also compared for significance using the Mann-Whitney test they have a ‘fuzzy’ coating and the impedance values after the deposition remained stable for a long period of time allowing for repeated acute surgeries (1 week taking into account the impedance value of PEDOT-PSS coated electrodes (values under 100 kΩ) and its stability this coating was considered ideal for reducing the polytrode microelectrodes impedance Comparison of gold coated electrodes and PEDOT-PSS coated electrodes SEM images showing the surface morphology of electrodes from a commercial polytrode in their original state (D) Impedance stability of gold coating for 8 electrodes from one polytrode before after the deposition and after one acute surgery SEM image insert of the gold coating from one electrode after the surgery (E) Impedance stability of PEDOT-PSS coating for 16 electrodes from one polytrode before and after acute surgeries performed 1 week Black points denote impedance magnitude measured at 1 kHz in saline solution for individual electrodes and boxplots show the distribution of these values and whiskers: 1.5× interquartile range above and below the box ∗p < 0.001 when compared with electrodes after deposition ‘NS’ not significant (p > 0.05) when compared with electrodes after deposition the PEDOT-PSS electrodeposition protocol is reliable across probes and electrodes (3 polytrodes (A) Schematic of a polytrode where electrodes were modified in a ‘chess board’ pattern Red circles represent PEDOT-PSS coated electrodes and blue circles represent pristine electrodes (B) Reliability of PEDOT-PSS electrodeposition protocol Impedance magnitude measured at 1 kHz in saline solution for 3 polytrodes (npristine = 48 and nPEDOT = 48) Black points denote individual measurement for each electrode (3 measurements for each electrode) (C) Noise σRMS and σMedian of recordings performed in saline solution (npristine = 48 and nPEDOT = 48) (D) Impedance spectroscopy of PEDOT-PSS coated (n = 3) and pristine (n = 3) electrodes shows a significant decrease in the impedance real value The light purple shaded area corresponds to the frequency range in which the thermal noise was computed (E) 1 s-long raw data traces from 6 electrodes from the recording ‘amplifier2014_11_25T23_00_08.bin’ This recording was carried out in cortex under ketamine anesthesia Top: signals correspond to the 0.1–7.5 kHz frequency band Bottom: high-pass filtered traces to highlight spontaneous spiking activity Green arrows indicate the time of spikes identified for a putative neuron (F) The same representation as in (E) for the recording ‘amplifier2017_02_02T15_49_35.bin’ This recording was carried out in cortex under urethane anesthesia (G) Representative putative neurons from each of the recordings shown above Left panel corresponds to the cortex/ketamine recording and right panel to the cortex/urethane recording Schematic of two polytrodes with red and blue colored waveforms and circles denoting the electrodes with the highest peak-to-peak amplitudes from each unit The asterisks indicates the electrode with the maximum amplitude P2P (H) σRMS and σMedian of 9 acute recordings performed in rat cortex (I) The maximum P2P amplitude average for coated electrodes and for non-coated is plotted for 103 sorted neurons ∗p < 0.001 when compared with pristine electrodes ∗∗p < 0.0001 when compared with pristine electrodes ‘NS’ not significant (p > 0.05) when compared with pristine electrodes for pristine electrodes was 5.7 ± 0.4 μV and for PEDOT coated electrodes was 3.9 ± 0.4 μV the σRMS and σMedian values are similar in saline solution The thermal noise depends on the real part of the measured impedance. The thermal noise computed in the 200–8,000 Hz frequency band for pristine (n = 3) microelectrodes was 5.0 μV and for PEDOT coated (n = 3) microelectrodes was 2.8 μV (Figure 2D and for a detailed description see Supplementary Material) the electronic noise due to the amplifier in our system We can predict the non-biological noise value as the square root of the sum of the squared thermal noise (5.0 μV and 2.8 μV for pristine and coated microelectrodes respectively) with the squared electronic noise (∼2.0 μV) The predicted values for the noise in saline (5.4 μV in non-coated and 3.4 μV in coated) were similar to the measured noise values (5.6 μV in non-coated and 3.9 μV in coated) the σMedian noise values were used to compare the noise between experiments the σMedian values from coated electrodes are smaller compared to the non-coated electrodes the σMedian value was reduced from 8.4 ± 0.4 μV in non-coated to 5.8 ± 0.5 μV in PEDOT coated microelectrodes Under ketamine the σMedian noise was 15.4 ± 1.2 μV in non-coated and 14.8 ± 1.3 μV in PEDOT coated microelectrodes The noise values found for in vivo recordings are highly variable (Figure 2H) and the noise reduction observed in saline is likely preserved in vivo yet masked by the much larger variation in background spiking activity Does the difference in noise observed between coated and non-coated electrodes matter for detecting spikes the negative voltage deflection of a well isolated unit exceeds 40–70 μV the benefits resulting from the ∼2 μV noise reduction achieved by coating electrodes would be irrelevant for detecting spikes Although not resulting in a major reduction of noise at relevant frequencies, it is still possible that coating electrodes might increase the amplitude of each spike (see Supplementary Figure S5 for more details about attenuation of signal). Figure 2G shows two examples of putative neurons where each waveform corresponds to the average of all the spikes from the respective neuron on a given recording electrode red and blue colored waveforms and circles denote electrodes where the peak-to-peak average amplitude is larger than half of the maximum peak-to-peak average amplitude of the isolated neuron they represent the electrodes with the highest peak-to-peak amplitude from each neuron there is no obvious relationship between impedance and the peak-to-peak amplitude of sorted neurons in this impedance range Electrophysiological studies report different views of the impedance impact on data quality Many studies show that decreasing the impedance improves the signal-to-noise ratio because of thermal noise reduction while others find that impedance reduction did not affect greatly the signal-to-noise ratio The datasets generated for this study can be found in the http://www.kampff-lab.org/polytrode-impedance/ and AK conceived and designed the research and AK interpreted the results of experiments All authors read and approved the submitted version of the manuscript This work was supported by funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Progr2013) Grant Agreement 600925 the Bial Foundation Grant 190/12 and the FCT-MCTES Doctoral Grant SFRH/BD/76004/2011 (to JN) The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest We would like to thank the institutional support and funding provided by the Champalimaud Foundation, CENIMAT/I3N and Sainsbury Wellcome Centre (funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the Wellcome Trust). An earlier version of this work has been released as a preprint (Neto et al., 2018) The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2018.00715/full#supplementary-material Nanotools for neuroscience and brain activity mapping Superior electrochemical performance of carbon nanotubes directly grown on sharp microelectrodes Organic electrode coatings for next-generation neural interfaces Baião, P. (2014). Nanostructuring Silicon Probes via Electrodeposition?: Characterization of Electrode Coatings for Acute in Vivo. Available at: https://run.unl.pt/handle/10362/14666 Google Scholar Carbon nanotube composite coating of neural microelectrodes preferentially improves the multiunit signal-to-noise ratio CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Bonsai (2017). Bonsai. 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Copyright © 2018 Neto, Baião, Lopes, Frazão, Nogueira, Fortunato, Barquinha and Kampff. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Joana P. Neto, ai5uZXRvQHVjbC5hYy51aw==; am9hbmEubmV0b0BuZXVyby5mY2hhbXBhbGltYXVkLm9yZw== Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish Scientists are rebuilding a seabird paradise on Lehua Island crescent-shaped volcanic cone 35 kilometers west of Kaua‘i Before the arrival of European explorers in the 1800s the island’s steep headlands teemed with hundreds of thousands of raucous seabirds whose guano oozed down bluffs to enrich waters brimming with fish Native Hawaiians traveled to the rugged island by canoe to fish and gather shellfish But the ecosystem began unraveling with the introduction of invasive rats that decimated seabird eggs and chicks rabbits that displaced birds from their burrows and mowed down native vegetation and plants that colonized the disturbed ground Hawai‘i’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife has led a concerted campaign of research and aerial poisoning to finally drive off the rabbits and rats conducted with help from the California-based nonprofit Island Conservation The number of ‘ā (the Hawaiian name for red-footed boobies) and other species that survived the invaders are increasing in the state sanctuary which is uninhabited by people and closed to most visitors Lehua’s newly rat-free status makes it a crucial refuge for seabirds the Hawai‘i Division of Forestry and Wildlife forester overseeing the restoration efforts too: its steep and rocky coastline climbs to the height of a 60-story building safeguarding seabird habitat even as seas continue to rise Mann and her colleagues are left with an entirely different challenge: how to bring back the seabirds that have long since abandoned Lehua Island the scientists have a sneaky plan to lure them in The restoration team is deploying wooden seabird decoys surrounded by mirrors and solar-powered speakers that broadcast bird calls from the island’s steep slopes. The sights and sounds are meant to trick passing birds into thinking the island is a busy breeding colony. Scientists have used artificial social signals to deceive birds elsewhere “We’re also throwing out calls of birds we’re not sure have ever been there,” says Mann The critically endangered ‘akē‘akē (band-rumped storm petrel) for instance has been picked up on the island’s listening devices but scientists aren’t sure if the species has ever lived on Lehua the rat-free island could be a boon to the petrel’s overall survival Mann and her colleagues are also restoring Lehua’s native vegetation as nesting and rearing habitat—vital for seabird recovery Botany crews travel to the island’s rough shores by boat or helicopter to remove weeds Some areas are so steep that crews pack native seeds into dissolvable clay balls then toss or slingshot them onto the bluffs favored by birds who has worked on Lehua since 2016 as a seabird expert with Island Conservation or the introduction of other invasive species Though access to Lehua is severely restricted Baiao’s team is drafting a biosecurity plan to prevent restoration crews from accidentally introducing invasives as people move between islands But barn owls don’t need to hitch a ride to Lehua Island The nonnative predators fly in from nearby islands at night to prey on eggs and chicks A single owl can do so much damage that restoration crews use infrared goggles and seabird recordings as lures to hunt the owls at night the return of seabirds—and their prodigious poop—should have trickle-down effects around the island and fish populations to understand how the marine ecosystem might benefit including Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner Sabra Kauka who has traveled to the island with scientists to provide traditional blessings say a healthier ocean environment will help maintain traditional fisheries that Native Hawaiians and others rely on today Baiao envisions Lehua as a predator-free island where seabirds are once again abundant and critically endangered species like ‘akē‘akē and ʻaʻo (Newell’s shearwater) find refuge Baiao hopes Lehua can be a model for how to tackle challenging restoration work on other important islands “The beauty of these projects is they build knowledge,” she says “Each project is a stepping stone to the next.” Part of the Tula Foundation and Hakai Institute family Investigative stories and local news updates Coverage of the Hawaiʻi State legislature in 2025 Award winning in-depth reports and featured on-going series Get the week’s news delivered straight to your inbox Officials continue to monitor closely for any sign of the rats as just one pregnant female could swiftly repopulate the island State officials and conservation groups are declaring their yearslong effort to rid Lehua Island of invasive rats a success — and a milestone that they hope will help restore the once-thriving seabird sanctuary The announcement Wednesday comes after multiple attempts to eradicate the rodents by dropping poison-laden pellets from the air helicopters carrying large buckets would scatter the bait across Lehua No rats have been detected on the island since December 2018, according to Patty Baiao The nonprofit group partnered with state and federal agencies to carry out the most recent operations in 2017 Drone aerials of Rat Free Lehua from Hawaii DLNR on Vimeo the partners in the effort are watching closely to see whether the endangered Newell’s Shearwater and Laysan Albatross will return to the traditional nesting grounds on Lehua joining the Red-Footed Boobie birds that have persisted there despite the rats It’s not clear when humans first introduced rats to Lehua which is a state-designated wildlife sanctuary but officials say the rodents have been there since at least the 1930s Crews rid the island of invasive rabbits in 2006 but the rats proved to be much harder to remove A previous attempt to eradicate the rodents in 2009 failed. Several years ago, Niihau co-owner Keith Robinson called the 2009 operation a “complete disaster” because it had taken place in the winter offering the rats plenty of vegetation to feed on other than the bait pellets The bait also had been dropped in heavy winds and officials checked that there would be light winds before sending the helicopters across Lehua according to the state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources Acoustic monitoring has detected the shearwaters and albatross getting closer to the island a step that would precede them using it as a nesting area The hope is that eventually more of Hawaii’s seabirds could use the island as a nesting refuge amid the sea level rise caused by climate change Nonetheless, the strategy to coat the entire island of Lehua with tons of bait laced with trace amounts of the rodenticide diphacinone concerned many in the community due to the potential harm to surrounding marine life was that the helicopters had to observe a 50-foot buffer zone with the shoreline where they couldn’t drop bait in order to prevent scores of it drifting into the water the bait buckets were equipped with deflectors designed to keep bait from drifting into the ocean Department of Agriculture did find traces of diphacinone in fish after the 2017 aerial drops but the agency concluded that the compound didn’t linger there and eventually disappeared the USDA monitoring didn’t detect any marine mortalities linked to the compound Muscle samples taken from dead mullet fish in tide pools showed traces of diphacinone but it wasn’t clear if the fish had actually ingested it “It’s only worth (it) if the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term risks” of exposure the team hopes the rats’ disappearance will help restore the island’s native plants and the broader ecosystem there Officials have continued to check closely for any signs of rats on Lehua Just a single pregnant female could swiftly repopulate the island Unfortunately, being named a finalist for a Pulitzer prize doesn’t make us immune to financial pressures. 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fearless and much-needed conversations about race—and Life Kit offers practical advice on things in life no one prepared you for Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX Reveal is public radio’s first one-hour radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting A weekly program presented by the New Yorker magazine’s editor killer beats and the edgiest new talent in storytelling come together for a weekly show that straps audiences into an audio rollercoaster Radiolab is known for its deep-dive journalism and innovative sound design Created in 2002 by former host Jad Abumrad the program began as an exploration of scientific inquiry Over the years it has evolved to become a platform for long-form journalism and storytelling Radiolab is hosted by Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser Joquinha Gonzaga plays accordion at New York’s Lincoln Center during a 1999 tribute to his uncle was the first figure to popularize the Northeastern Brazilian folk music called forro a fast and lively music driven by accordion This genre of Brazilian country dance music has not only influenced samba and bossa but has swept Brazil and New York City in the past few years I bet most of you picked bossa nova and samba They are after all the most known genres to come out of Brazil in the last 50-plus years What about forro? This genre of Brazilian music has not only influenced samba and bossa, but has swept Brazil and New York City in the past few years. Sadly there isn’t much of a presence here in Chicago, although the band Swing Brasileiro is a good example. They played a set for us on Eight Forty-Eight in June the letter "R" sounds more like an "H." Hence forro's pronunciation: FOH-hoe One theory behind the origins of the word forro is that it’s a mispronunciation of the phrase "for all." According to lore British landowners would throw dance parties "for all" who could come The music’s origins have more to do with cowboys and farmers than bastardized English Forro is the sound of the fertile farmland and desert of the northeast of Brazil known as sertao Forro’s syncopated rhythm is called the baiao and it has roots in African circle dances; it also incorporates polka and schottisches The main instrument is a drum called the zabumba — a bass drum that’s played with a mallet on one hand and a stick in the other The godfather of modern forro is Luiz Gonzaga (1912-1978) He’s credited with mixing the rural sound with a more urban feel and bringing instruments such as the accordion and triangle to the mix are now considered the classic forro line-up Gonzaga’s tune "Asa Branca" is perhaps the most popular and beloved forro song People from the Northeast would migrate to the favelas (slums) during the dry season and would often sing with nostalgia of returning to the land when the rains came The protagonist in "Asa Branca" sings of having to leave the land and his lover because there’s no rain and he can’t make a living. Yes it’s a sad song; but he does promise to return.  you can watch the great Luiz Gonzaga wears the traditional sertao cowboy outfit doing some fancy forro dance moves it’s good ol’ fashioned Brazilian country music for dancing Duo Choropo – Filippo Gambetta and Alessandro Scotto d’Aniello – Choropo (Visage Music s.a.s The album Choropo is a stimulating collaboration between Genoese musicians Filippo Gambetta (accordion and Brazilian mandolin) and Alessandro Scotto d’Aniello (seven-string Brazilian guitar). Together, they intertwine Brazilian choro, Venezuelan joropo and European folk traditions with original compositions Choropo is a dialog between instruments and cultures Gambetta and Scotto d’Aniello’s duo is augmented by guest musicians contributing percussion The album title itself brings together two beloved genres: Brazilian choro a music style born in Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century with roots in jazz and Afro-Brazilian rhythms a lively traditional dance music in triple time the duo reinterprets “Pagão” by Pixinguinha a foundational figure in choro; as well as ‘Sorriso de Cristal” by Luiz Americano “Louco por Música” by Portinho adds a jazz-infused twist while Gambetta’s original piece “Andorinhões” celebrates springtime in Genoa You can hear European folk influences on tracks like “Nany,” a homage to valse musette by Joseph Colombo; and “Lo Scapolo,” an Italian traditional waltz by accordion innovator Wolmer Beltrami The graceful slow mazurka Upupa evokes a dreamlike atmosphere with glockenspiel notes adding an ethereal touch You’ll find Venezuelan rhythms on a medley of Venezuelan merengue (Nicolasito and El Porfiao) and joropo pieces (Pa’ oriente compay and El Avispero / El Mercado Oriental) present intricate rhythms and dynamic compositions we have original compositions such as “Baião Mediterrão” by Scotto d’Aniello inspired by northeastern Brazilian traditions and “Tarantatré,” an energetic tarantella symbolizing the album’s culmination Musicians: Filippo Gambetta: accordion, bandolim, triangle, cajon, brushes, shaker, udu; Alessandro Scotto D’Aniello: seven-string classical guitar Guest Musicians: Saulo Giovannini: pandeiro Pagão); Fabio Vernizzi: electric piano (Louco por Música); Giulio Gianì: soprano sax (Sorriso de Cristal); Marco Moro: flute (Baião Mediterrão); Thomas J Milner: tambourine (Tarantatré); Rebecca Roger Cruz: maracas (Pa’ Oriente Compay); and Marco Spiccio: glockenspiel (Upupa) Spring 2024Mixing and Mastering: Alessandro MazzitelliArtwork: Fabio RuwettCover painting by: Marinella Saccuta Please enter an answer in digits:17 − 13 = Researchers Develop Transgene-free Edited Banana READ MORE Field Trials of Bt Cowpea Reveal Effective Resistance to Pest in Ghana READ MORE USDA-APHIS Designates Cibus' Disease Resistance Traits for Gene-Edited Canola as Not Regulated READ MORE Transgenic Cowpea Confers Insect Resistance and Herbicide Tolerance READ MORE Read Latest Issue (April 30, 2025) Read Latest Issue (February 22, 2023) Visit Science SpeaKs blog Visit GM APPROVAL DATABASE DONATE it may not be enough to prevent extreme warming.  A firefighter tackles a forest fire in Baiao Photographer: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images By the end of the century, a typical summer will be over 4 degrees Celsius hotter than pre-industrial levels, more than twice the 1.5 degree target set by the Paris Agreement according to a report by the Met Office Hadley Centre showcasing the harmonious blend of tradition and modernity all images by Fernando Guerra FG + SG FCC Arquitectura (see more here) aimed to create a story for this property fostering a deep connection between guests and the land’s rich regional traditions all the while preserving the environment and the memories it cradles offers wooden walkways for visitors to stroll around and enjoy the natural landscape and observe the regional flora and traditional buildings such as mills and residences Lavandeira Douro Nature & Wellness focuses on showcasing the property’s natural beauty while also providing a comfortable and modern accommodation for its guests The intervention plans involved the renovation of old buildings and the creation of a central hub featuring a restaurant the architects plan an ‘organic garden’ to supply fresh produce for the restaurant underscoring a commitment to sustainability in the construction process to minimize its environmental impact a wellness retreat amidst Baião’s lush oasis the cabins foster a deeper connection with nature visitors can stroll around and explore the natural beauty of the green setting the structures come in harmony with the pristine scenery generous amount of glazing frames scenic views name: Lavandeira Douro Nature & Wellness architecture: FCC Arquitectura | @fcc_arquitectura photography: Fernando Guerra FG + SG general builder: Armindo João Gomes Empreiteiro AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style Brazilian actress Elea Mercurio has created a song and video to inspire others to apply as a Rio 2016 Volunteer "I want to be part of this historic event in Brazil an event that probably will not be repeated in my lifetime.” Brazilian actress Elea Mercurio has signed up as a volunteer for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games and with the help of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee has created a new song and video the inspire the public to do the same “Sports encourage youngsters to choose a healthy lifestyle and pastimes instead of so many other less desirable activities,” said the 31-year-old who has appeared in Brazilian soap operas ‘O Rebu’ and ‘Avenida Brasil’ and as a presenter on Brazilian MTV “The Olympic and Paralympic Games are a great window for sports and that’s why I decided to make this commitment I want to be part of this historic event in Brazil The term ‘baiao-funk’ refers to a mix of two genres of Brazilian music: using rhyming lyrics ‘baiao’ is traditional style of music from the North East of Brazil while ‘funk carioca’ (pronounced “funky carioca”) is a modern hip-hop influenced genre that was born in Rio de Janeiro’s ‘favela’ communities along with fellow Brazilian actor Lucas Lautert who has also applied to become a volunteer in Rio portray 18 different characters in the video to reflect the diversity of those who have already applied to become a volunteer and to show that anybody is welcome to become part of the process The actress has applied to become a photographer at the Games and was inspired after taking part in September’s ‘two-years to go’ celebrations in Rio de Janeiro “There I saw the volunteers in action,” she said “They were so happy that I thought people need to know about this “This is an opportunity to participate in something I believe in The arts and sports have the potential to transform society.” Around 70,000 volunteers are needed for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Applicants must be 18 years of age by February 2016. To sign up, or for more information, visit the Rio 2016 website Civil Protection today anticipated that the next 24 hours will be “very complex and difficult” for the operatives and populations affected by the fires and is not expecting the situation to calm down in the next 48 hours “We are not expecting a calm in the next 48 hours what is expected is that windows of opportunity may arise to be able to start reversing the situation” the national emergency and civil protection commander told journalists At the press conference held at the headquarters of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) to provide an update on the fires that have been raging in the northern and central regions of Portugal since Sunday André Fernandes stated that “the weather situation is still quite unfavourable” meaning that it is still “adverse” and that in the next 48 hours “the risk of fire will not reduce significantly” “We will continue to face this risk in the next 48 hours but in particular the next 24 hours will be very complex and difficult for the firefighters and the population that is being affected” by the fires the fires that are currently causing concern continue to be those in the Porto metropolitan area complex and the Aveiro region André Fernandes reported that the situation in the Viseu region especially in the municipality of Castro Daire with the fire having already reached the municipality of Arouca Seven people died and around 120 were injured due to the fires that have been raging since Sunday in the North and Centre regions of the country which have destroyed dozens of houses and forced the closure of roads and motorways According to the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority of which 23 were considered significant occurrences supported by around a thousand land vehicles and 19 air vehicles The Government has declared a state of emergency in all municipalities affected by the fires in recent days THE FINAL body has been found after a helicopter returning from fighting a fire crashed into a Portuguese river Tourists are said to have watched in horror as the chopper dived into the Douro River in northern Portugal on Friday - killing five of the six on board The body of the fifth victim was found today after search and rescue divers had been frantically scouring the river for survivors It comes after the bodies of the two men were found inside the helicopter with two more bodies found near the aircraft's tail survived the crash and remains in hospital His injuries are not life-threatening but subsequent reports said he had sustained broken lower legs Maritime Police described the crash as having "great violence" leading to the aircraft's "total destruction". It is not yet clear what caused the crash, by the cop said it was unlikely a ditching. The victims, aged from 29 to 45, are all members of the Emergency Protection and Rescue Unit (UEPS) of the national police. Drones and troops from the army also supported the search Engineers built a dam further upstream of the river to try and slow its flow and make it easier for divers The helicopter was removed from the water at around 11am this morning with the wreckage taken to a hangar for inspection GNR (National Republican Guard) spokesperson in the certainty that the best way to honour their memory is to move forward with the same dedication and bravery they demonstrated." Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/ I send the invitation and stare at my face on the computer screen the smile of a relaxed conversation the glance at the notes document without looking like I need a cheat sheet We could have had this conversation in person but the mutual rotation between Lisbon and London favours an interview between a café in Chiado and a studio in Tower Bridge Theodore Ereira-Guyer has his first solo exhibition, Thicket, with Elizabeth Xi Bauer Gallery. From an English mother and Portuguese father, we exchange experiences between the two cities when I let him into my meeting room. Mariana Baião Santos: Tell me about the title of the exhibition, what’s a Thicket for you? Theodore Ereira-Guyer: I think a lot of the time I’ve been making work I’ve been interested in removing the horizon line, the Western aspect of the singular perspective, the vanishing point. So, I’ve been interested in these kinds of things like the forest, the desert. In the thicket you are fully immersed in the space, there isn’t one singular thing to focus on. MBS: I have to admit, the first few times I read the title of the exhibition, I thought it was “ticket”, as in a ticket to travel and I was trying to find the signs of a voyage, but it’s quite interesting you say that as it is the opposite, as you can feel stagnant without perspective. TEG: Yes, there’s a sense of not knowing where to travel. It’s like the desert, there are none of those topographical signs, a ‘turn left on the supermarket’ kind of thing, no man-made phenomena in order to locate ourselves. MBS: You talk a lot about memory and density and how that relates to the thicket… TEG: Because there’s less to look at in some ways, less for the mind to focus on visually, I feel there’s a chance for a mental landscape, for memory to be the focus. This Finnish architect, Juhani Pallasmaa, I am quite interested in, talks about the qualities of grey and I think I’ve extended that into mono colour and low contrast images. He talks about grey as in, because there is less to focus on, it allows more expansive space for the mind. MBS: When I first came in, what came to mind was theatre, staging, ancient greek culture and mythology, from the columns, the ruins, the setting… I liked that the drawings are two-dimensional but with the panelling they become a set, how did that come to be? How does the wood relate to the paper and the thicket? I’ve been thinking a lot about my landscapes how they inhabit the mental space but also how you can be physically in front of them, you as the viewer becoming that actor in space. And too about the performative qualities there are around an artwork, not from a sociological perspective but more of a ritualistic art experience. MBS: In that perspective, something that seems important to you is material, as an integrant part of the work. TEG: Definitely, using wood, paper, cotton, it’s not a completely ecological perspective of not wanting to use plastics, but there’s an aspect of only wanting to use timeless materials, so they can be a conversation with antiquity, in the sense that there is a longer, durational human experience. It’s not about assuming modernity but about creating a longer dialogue. MBS: I was thinking about the conversation between the trees in the thicket, the wood and the paper, as stages of production or decomposition. TEG: It’s not something I thought about, maybe on an unconscious level but I like that as a thought. MBS: What’s the fascination with etchings? As they are reproducible but you make them unique. TEG: I like the quality of the mark-making, there’s a sense of rich depth and texture which is at the same time incredibly flat. I’m doing it to achieve a specific quality, by making one and making them unique I feel it’s an extension of a painting practice. I like the aspect of working on the etching plate for this singular moment of revelation. When you’re painting you make a mark and you can see what it is straight away, with an etching you’re not going to see what it looks like until it goes to print. MBS: Is there a certain kind of relief in letting go of the final result? TEG: Definitely, definitely. I’m working day in and day out, how can you keep that energy alive? One of the ways I do that is by relying on the etching print process. MBS: I really liked this quote you mentioned “Here everything looks like it is under construction, but it is already in ruins”, Claude Lévi-Strauss declared when he visited Sao Paulo, Brazil, in the 1930s. The ambiguity and the co-existence of two conflicting realities, is this an idea that revolves in your practise? Or is it more specific to this exhibition? TEG: There’s a Proust quote I was thinking about a lot, as I’ve been thinking about frescos, he talks about when a fresco begins to disappear, a new image is created, so I get this duality about appearing and disappearing, ruins and construction. This has definitely been a prolonged preoccupation over the years. This is too one of the exciting things about the art object, I’m not making videos or 3D work, I love this ephemeral part of the art experience, how it changes over the years. MBS: Finally, any upcoming exciting projects you can tell us about? TEG: I’m going to São Paulo, I have a solo show with The Bridge Project. And then I’ll have a two person show with a Dutch artist, who makes lovely tapestries, in October in Lisbon. We continue to discuss banalities, conjuring up a possible time when we might meet in person in one country or another. Ereira-Guyer’s exhibition is on show until 30th June. with one foot in London and her heart in Lisbon she currently works in an art gallery in the United Kingdom She is co-founder of Coletivo Corrente de Ar which focuses on promoting emerging artists and democratising Contemporary Art Subscribe to the Newsletter (EN Version)! I accept the Privacy Policy Subscribe Umbigo The song: Barbatuques - Baiao Destemperado The action: Each advert in the seemingly interminable Joga Bonito series has its own song punk-funk protest rockers Radio 4 would be reaping the benefits of featuring in the Rooney spot Another features Sergio Mendes and the Black Eyed Peas covering Mas Que Nada the samba classic used in Nike's classic 1998 ad uncovers a tape of the young Ronaldinho playing in his school gym which the present-day Ronaldinho reenacts with a big goofy grin The moral of the tale: "Never grow up." Do footballers need telling not to grow up Why they chose the song: "The more we talked with the players featured in our Joga Bonito spots the more we realised how much their current game was shaped by the influences they were surrounded by as kids It seemed appropriate to have music which was as sunny and light-hearted and Brazilian as his game." (Mark Hunter two South American kids pick a dream team of Adidas-affiliated football stars the portly kid's first choice is the profoundly useless Djibril Cissé I'm going to tell my dad on you." Angry mum stops play Why they chose the song: "We wanted the track we chose to be cool simple and catchy enough to be sung on the terraces It has a childlike quality that we thought suits the tone and pace of the ad perfectly." (Lee Hempstock and Chris Lany What it says: Although we are a multinational sportswear giant The song: The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again a stadium goes on a War of the Worlds-style rampage and Frank Lampard realises everybody in the world is watching him a retiree drafts a supercilious letter to the BBC questioning whether expensive special effects are the best use of his licence fee the Who grumble about how "the party on the left/ Is now the party on the right" Is the BBC slipping anti-New Labour messages into its sports coverage Why they chose the song: "There's a story to tell and you need music to drive it along but let the dialogue be heard. Also, the World Cup is such a big event Won't Get Fooled Again is an enduring classic - it prickles the hairs on the back of your neck I don't think people are going to hear the lyrics." (Simon Riley What it says: We are the BBC and we are classic The mood: Maddeningly catchy Japanese surf-rock The action: In this repeat of Carling's 2004 Big Match spot a bedroom shirts-and-skins kickabout spills out into the streets Quentin Tarantino used Woo Hoo in the first part of Kill Bill Why they chose the song: "Woo Hoo very nearly wasn't the Big Match music We had been developing the ad with another track in mind as soon as we heard Woo Hoo we knew its nutty infectiousness would make it the perfect soundtrack for a city-wide kickabout." (Leith London What it says: Thought you'd got this song out of your head after last time The action: A face-painted fan applies Sure's dependable musk and promptly transforms into a baboon bounding into streets filled with howling chimps like some 70s disaster movie in which the animals turn on their human masters The message being that Sure enables you to act like a monkey without reeking like one Why they chose the song: "Songs about monkeys and football were probably going to be a little obvious What we needed was an off-beat little zinger about chickens By a band called the Bees." (Tom Hudson The action: In Mark Gustafson's stop-motion animation a football match reconciles natural enemies a chef makes peace with a plucked chicken and a cuckolded husband dances a jig with his wife's lover Why they chose the song: "The music had to reflect the triumph of the goal and the uplifting spirit of the togetherness that the characters experience." (Coca-Cola spokesperson) What it says: We don't need trendy pop music The action: Crazed by their thirst for caffeinated soda Henry et al enter a beer tent to face comely Mädchen and lederhosen-wearing Bavarians set to an irritating oompah version of Trio's 1982 synth-pop hit Da Da Da possibly wondering if they're being paid enough Henry appears to be searching for the exit The head of the German tourist board hangs his head in despair Why they chose the song: Pepsi would not comment The song: Pete Lawlor - Coming Around Again The action: Fans from different countries demonstrate their devotion via regrettable facial topiary as a suitably macho voiceover is delivered in the style of an Andy McNab audiobook The Gillette M3 Power Nitro is presented as some kind of futuristic killing device with incomprehensible special features: "Microwave pulses are sent to the blades!" A square-jawed Brazilian has a shave gives his chin an approving rub and goes to the match with his girl-friend blending in with all the ease of an undercover policeman at a reggae club Why they chose the song: "Because our ad aims to capture the raw excitement at the stadium before (and during) a game Do you like hugging other men - in a sporting context Does shaving without cutting yourself fill you with manly self-congratulation Would you like to do all these things simultaneously The action: Following the same logic that Peter Pan applied to fairies Mars asserts that believing in an English victory will make it so having rejected the initial suggestion of Fantasise Wildly A fan in a St George's cross shirt marches through town backed by a brass band singing a specially commissioned anthem about England winning the final in Berlin He finds himself at the heart of a red-and-white throng that bears an unfortunate resemblance to a nationalist coup Scots discard their deep-fried Believe bars in protest Why they chose the song: "The choice of music grew from the tone of the overall Believe campaign - positive The ads feature the character Bill Lever - an everyman - and we chose the music to really bring this to life and resonate with fans." (Jonathan Rodd AT least two people have been killed after a firefighting helicopter crashed into a river in Portugal as horrified tourists watched on The chopper pilot was rescued but three out of the six passengers onboard are still missing The bodies of the two men who died were found inside the helicopter which is underwater in the Douro river in Cambres near the city of Lamego Although police initially said the helicopter pilot had suffered only minor injuries subsequent reports said he had sustained broken lower limbs He remains in hospital and his injuries are not life-threatening The search effort for the remaining three passengers is ongoing both underwater and on the banks of the River Duoro The alarm was raised around 12.30pm this afternoon. The search and rescue operation includes resources from the maritime police, firefighters, divers, fishing boats and GNR (National Republican Guard) military personnel assisting. GNR chief Mafalda Gomes de Almeida earlier confirmed the only person rescued so far is the helicopter pilot. recreational boats and GNR military personnel are involved “The causes of the accident are as yet unknown “The pilot of the helicopter was rescued alive with minor injuries.” The chopper had been tackling a fire in Baiao near to the crash scene when it went down may be declared part of the country’s intangible heritage by 2020 The National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage is conducting a study to identify this form of expression is linked to festivities and traditional social interactions that take place to the sound of instruments like the accordion The initiative was welcomed by musicians like conductor Marcos Faria son of singer Marinês (1935–2007) and godson of “King of Baião” Luiz Gonzaga (1912–1989) numerous groups and artists who describe their music as forró actually combine cumbia and zouk from South American and Caribbean countries We were deprived of the title and cast under those music styles with Latino features,” he said Iphan’s Intangible Heritage Department Director Hermano Queiroz said the recognition will make it possible for “vulnerabilities and the need for positive promotion to be mapped out.” “The purpose of the recognition,” he said “is not to provide its narrative with authenticity.” There are many narratives in circulation: “Cultural heritage is dynamic,” he declared is not to ascertain exactly where forró was born The title of intangible heritage makes room for intercultural dialogue between several forms of expression,” he argued Iphan’s research “will survey all perspectives and narratives about this intangible asset and enable musicians from different locations to meet and understand that Even the word’s etymology is discussed differently in different narratives Conductor Farias pointed out that songwriter and instrumentalist Sivuca (1930–2006) argued that forró stems from the English phrase “for all.” The term is believed to have been coined as long ago as the 19th century as a result of the influence of British workers at railway facilities and weaving factories in the Northeast “More cotton was produced in Campina Grande than in Liverpool,” Farias quoted Sivuca as saying The word’s history was revised in the 20th century Some argue the term arose during World War II capital city of Rio Grande do Norte—a state that received 10 thousand US soldiers at the time This is the version seen in the film For All: Springboard to Victory (1997) the professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) in charge of the research with Iphan the word "forró" “to mean a popular party with dance and drinking,” has been around since the 19th century Sandroni notes that “the 1912 edition of a dictionary includes the headword 'forrobodó.' In the next edition there are 'forrobodó' and 'forró.' By all accounts the latter is short for the former.” Philologist Evanildo Bechara believes 'forrobodó' comes from 'forbodó,' a Galician word Geography and history of music are said to further debunk the connection between "forró" and "for all." Sandroni advocated the theory according to which forró was born away from the coast of Natal The original roots may lie further into the country in the Northeast Sandroni also argues that “forró has become an expression of the people of the Brazilian Northeast along with other characteristics and values.” the meaning of the word "forró" shifted to designate not just a specific genre in addition to forró itself,” he went on to explain Chief in Sandroni’s melting pot of genres is Luiz Gonzaga’s baião The specialist mentioned the central role played by Gonzagão in the 40s when Northeastern culture was asserting itself “The baião is an enterprise deliberately embarked upon by Luiz Gonzaga and his partners Humberto Teixeira [1915-197] Farias says that even how musicians are positioned on stage for a forró show is Gonzagão’s doing He was very particular about that,” he revealed The three instruments are European in origin It’s what you do with the instruments,” he said “The accordion is obviously European.” The same can be said of zambumba even though common sense identifies it as an African drum you find this assembling and tying style in the Iberian Peninsula,” he added other forms of musical expression were recognized by Iphan as intangible material and the bell tolls in historical Minas Gerais state is a musician and a researcher of blues music African Sufism is a core element of the genre São Paulo – Bluesman Adriano Grineberg from São Paulo is about to release his third solo album The music is influenced by the East and Sufism a branch of Islam popular in West African countries like Mauritania King in São Paulo – is a researcher of blues music as well as of the Tuaregs (Sahara Desert dwellers) informed the blues rhythmically features influence from Africa and its extensions The music of Islam in North Africa travelled to the United States and it’s the Islam-influenced music of the Sufis Sufism is a key element of Middle East music which doesn’t employ the tempered scale that’s used in Greek or classical music,” said Grineberg One vocal technique on showcase in his album is the slide or portamento It’s a very widespread thing across the Middle East and the melodies travelled to North Africa through the amalgamation of Sub-Saharan African peoples which embraced Islam,” he explained Grineberg’s soon-to-be-released CD 108 features a syncretic combination of religions and spirituality “I descend from many races,” says the musician part of whose family descends from places in the Middle East and through the blues I found the influence of Sufism It’s a conflation of the spiritual paths that I’m on one of the nations that appealed to him the most And nowadays they have the so-called ‘desert blues,’ a style which brings the roots back to the desert,” said Grineberg Even though he hasn’t written a song in Arabic yet this is a challenge he wants to take on for his next record “The track on this album that’s closest to Arabic is ‘Alla Hoo,’ a poem about the Prophet Muhammed It’s a text from the Koran,” said Grineberg whose music is also infused with Brazilian styles “Northeast Brazil is permeated by Moor culture The Northeast’s baião is really similar to African blues This goes to show how influential Arab culture is.” Another connection between Arab traditions and the blues is orality And blues music is passed on orally through storytelling which transformed all of Africa,” he explained 108 will be released July 27 at Sesc Belezinho in a concert featuring eight brand new songs Grineberg will play regional rhythms from Maranhão Here’s a live performance of a track from the Blues for Africa album: Professionals will be hired all over the world to fly Boeing and Airbus aircraft A roadshow is set to take place in São Paulo in June The Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA) is the news website of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce Its goal is to promote communication between Brazilians and Arabs Southwest Europe endured a sixth day of a summer heatwave on Saturday that has triggered devastating forest fires as parts of the continent braced for new temperature records early next week Spain and Greece battled forest blazes that have ravaged thousands of hectares of land and killed several personnel since the start of the week It is the second heatwave engulfing parts of southwest Europe in weeks as scientists blame climate change and predict more frequent and intense episodes of extreme weather Firefighters in the coastal town of Arcachon in France's southwestern Gironde region were fighting to control two forest blazes that have devoured more than 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) since Tuesday "It's a Herculean job," said Lieutenant-Colonel Olivier Chavatte from the fire and rescue service which has 1,200 firefighters and five planes in action Further evacuation orders were given on Saturday for a few hundred residents firefighter spokesman Arnaud Mendousse told AFP more than 14,000 people in total -- residents and tourists combined -- have been forced to decamp with seven emergency shelters set up in order to receive evacuees Meteo France forecast temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of southern France on Sunday France late on Saturday placed 22 more departments Authorities in the French Alps urged climbers bound for Mont Blanc to postpone their trip due to repeated rock falls caused by "exceptional climatic conditions" and "drought" The call comes after a section of Italy's biggest Alpine glacier gave way at the start of the month in a disaster officials blamed on climate change the meteorological institute forecast temperatures of up to 42C with no respite before next week took advantage of a slight drop in temperatures after a July record of 47C on Thursday to try to stamp out one remaining major fire in Portugal's north "The risk of fires remains very high," civil defence chief Andre Fernandes warned although media reports said mainland fires still active were down to 11 from 20 earlier "This is a weekend of extreme vigilance," he added after a week which saw two people killed and more than 60 injured and up to 15,000 hectares of forest and brushwood incinerated The Lisbon government was to decide on Sunday whether to extend a week-long state of contingency.  the national meteorological agency maintained various levels of alert across the nation Dozens of forest fires were raging on Saturday in different parts of the country from the sweltering south to Galicia in the far northwest which saw blazes lay waste to some 3,500 hectares "So sad to see part of our natural heritage ablaze," tweeted Spain's Economy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Nadia Calvino One blaze in the south caused the authorities to cordon off for more than 12 hours a section of a key highway connecting Madrid to the Portuguese capital Lisbon The fires have scorched thousands of hectares in the Spanish region of Extremadura while one near the southern city of Malaga forced the preventive evacuation of more than 3,000 people the civil defence rushed to douse flames raging on the Mediterranean island of Crete while Morocco was battling a deadly forest fire in its northern mountains government ministers were to hold crisis talks after the state meteorological agency issued a first-ever "red" warning for extreme heat The Met Office said in southern England temperatures could exceed 40C on Monday or Tuesday for the first time leading some schools to say they will stay closed next week Mayor Sadiq Khan advised Londoners to use public transport only if "absolutely necessary" National train operators also warned passengers to avoid travel please register for free or log in to your account.