Brazil's rise on the international scene: Brazil and the World

Since Cardoso and during Lula's Administration, the international order has undergone significant changes. These changes have allowed the Brazilian foreign policy to mitigate internal effects of an order established by others and, at the same time, to become an active participant in the formulation of the new order. To democratize globalization became the mainspring of Brazilian foreign policy. In the scope, President Lula has maintained the tradition of formulating and programming foreign policy as a State policy, and also has fostered the logistic strategy of incorporation of Brazil into the international scene.

The tale of a Trojan horse or the quest for market access? China and the World Trade Organization

In 2001, China finally joined the WTO. The accession of China was looked forward to by many WTO members and China itself. However, observers had some fears that the Chinese accession would prove to be a Trojan horse, disrupting the working of the WTO. This paper looks into the Chinese accession and its involvement in the WTO Dispute Settlement and argues that these fears seem so far to be unfounded.

Boulevard to broken dreams, Part 1: the Polonoroeste road project in the Brazilian Amazon, and the World Bank's environmental and indigenous peoples' norms

ABSTRACT Before the mid 1980s the World Bank conceived "nature" as something to be "conquered" and "environment" as a source of resources for "development". By the late 1980s the Bank incorporated norms of environmental sustainability and indigenous peoples' protection into its mandate, and other development-oriented IOs followed. This two-part paper describes how a fight over the Polonoroeste road project in the Brazilian Amazon - inside the Bank, between the Bank and NGOs supported by the US Congress, and between the Bank and the government of Brazil -helped to generate the far-reaching change of policy norms. The first part describes how the project was designed as an innovation in sustainable development in rainforests; and how it provoked a firestorm inside the Bank as it moved towards project approval.

Assessment of physical impairments in leprosy patients: a comparison between the world health organization (who) disability grade and the Eye-Hand-Foot Score

This cross-sectional study assessed the grade of physical impairments in 61 individuals with leprosy receiving multidrug therapy (MDT) under the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), and residing in Campina Grande, Paraíba State, Brazil. Impairments were assessed using the disability grade (DG) standardized by the WHO, and the EHF score (Eye-Hand-Foot sum of impairment scores). Impairments were detected in 25 (41%) of the subjects. A total of 14 (23%) patients scored DG 1, while 11 (18%) were assigned DG 2. The EHF score ranged from 1 to 10 points in the group of patients with physical impairments, with a mean score of 3.6 points. The majority of individuals with impairments were affected in at least two sites. We conclude that the EHF score showed overlapping impairments in the segments examined and may be more appropriate than the DG classification system for describing the degree of physical impairment of leprosy patients.

Evaluation of the World Health Organization 2009 classification of dengue severity in autopsied individuals, during the epidemics of 2011 and 2012 in Brazil

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: The dengue classification proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2009 is considered more sensitive than the classification proposed by the WHO in 1997. However, no study has assessed the ability of the WHO 2009 classification to identify dengue deaths among autopsied individuals suspected of having dengue. In the present study, we evaluated the ability of the WHO 2009 classification to identify dengue deaths among autopsied individuals suspected of having dengue in Northeast Brazil, where the disease is endemic. METHODS: This retrospective study included 121 autopsied individuals suspected of having dengue in Northeast Brazil during the epidemics of 2011 and 2012. All the autopsied individuals included in this study were confirmed to have dengue based on the findings of laboratory examinations. RESULTS: The median age of the autopsied individuals was 34 years (range, 1 month to 93 years), and 54.5% of the individuals were males. According to the WHO 1997 classification, 9.1% (11/121) of the cases were classified as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and 3.3% (4/121) as dengue shock syndrome. The remaining 87.6% (106/121) of the cases were classified as dengue with complications. According to the 2009 classification, 100% (121/121) of the cases were classified as severe dengue. The absence of plasma leakage (58.5%) and platelet counts <100,000/mm3 (47.2%) were the most frequent reasons for the inability to classify cases as DHF. CONCLUSIONS: The WHO 2009 classification is more sensitive than the WHO 1997 classification for identifying dengue deaths among autopsied individuals suspected of having dengue.

Immunodetection of Helicobacter sp. and the associated expression of ABO blood group antigens in the gastric mucosa of captive and free-living New World primates in the Amazon region

The histo-blood group ABH antigens were first described in humans. These antigens are only present on erythrocytes from great apes and humans, while in more primitive animals they are found in tissues and body fluids. The ABH antigens are mainly distributed in tissues exposed to the external environment and potentially serve as ligands for pathogens or inhibitors of tissue connections. The objective of this paper was two-fold: (i) to determine the presence of Helicobacter sp. in the gastric mucosa of 16 captive and 24 free-living New World monkeys and (ii) to evaluate the presence of histopathological alterations related to bacterial infection and the associated expression of ABH antigens in the tissue. Stomach tissues from 13 species of monkey were assessed using haematoxylin-eosin and modified Gram staining (Hucker) methods. An immunohistochemical analysis of the tissue revealed the presence of infectious bacteria that were characteristic of the genus Helicobacter sp. The results demonstrate that various species of monkey might be naturally infected with the Helicobacter sp. and that there is an increased susceptibility to infection. This study serves as a comparative analysis of infection between human and non-human primates and indicates the presence of a new species of Helicobacter.

The kiwifruit in Chile and in the world

The kiwi is a fruit that, has only been in Europe for about 60 years, which signifies a great potential for the development of its consumption and great difficulty in the educational process of the product. Currently there is a growing increase in world production, which to date is above the growth in demand. This means that the kiwi categories are not growing significantly and, on the contrary, the kiwi is at a crossroad that will be resolved in the coming years. The changing global economic scenario affects high-value products such as kiwis, making it hard to predict their commercial results. The worldwide market has clearly indicated through the demand and the prices that it is interested in the sweeter yellow varieties. Asian markets have been and are expected to continue to grow. The increase in world production has also generated overlap in stocks between the hemispheres, which makes it necessary to closely monitor commercial strategies regarding the start and end of the season. In this way, the market entry of the southern hemisphere kiwifruit is conditioned according to the presence of fruit from the Northern Hemisphere. The unique features and uses of the kiwi make it one of the most interesting fruits present in the world. For this reason it is also a fruit with high purchase value. In spite of the described variables and market trends, there is a growing demand for consuming better quality kiwis and willingness to pay a higher price.

Prevalence of child malnutrition at a university hospital using the World Health Organization criteria and bioelectrical impedance data

Malnutrition constitutes a major public health concern worldwide and serves as an indicator of hospitalized patients’ prognosis. Although various methods with which to conduct nutritional assessments exist, large hospitals seldom employ them to diagnose malnutrition. The aim of this study was to understand the prevalence of child malnutrition at the University Hospital of the Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São, Brazil. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to compare the nutritional status of 292 hospitalized children with that of a healthy control group (n=234). Information regarding patients’ weight, height, and bioelectrical impedance (i.e., bioelectrical impedance vector analysis) was obtained, and the phase angle was calculated. Using the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, 35.27% of the patients presented with malnutrition; specifically, 16.10% had undernutrition and 19.17% were overweight. Classification according to the bioelectrical impedance results of nutritional status was more sensitive than the WHO criteria: of the 55.45% of patients with malnutrition, 51.25% exhibited undernutrition and 4.20% were overweight. After applying the WHO criteria in the unpaired control group (n=234), we observed that 100.00% of the subjects were eutrophic; however, 23.34% of the controls were malnourished according to impedance analysis. The phase angle was significantly lower in the hospitalized group than in the control group (P<0.05). Therefore, this study suggests that a protocol to obtain patients’ weight and height must be followed, and bioimpedance data must be examined upon hospital admission of all children.

New-consensus macroeconomic governance in a Keynesian world, and the Keynesian alternative

The paper presents both the New Consensus and Keynesian equilibrium within the usual four competitive macro-markets structure. It gives theoretical explanations of the pernicious effects that the NCM governance, which has been designed for ergodic stationary regimes, brings about in Keynesian non-ergodic regimes. It put forward Keynesian principles of governance which include monetary, budgetary and fiscal instruments, and suggest new directions for the positive and normative analysis of macro-policies.