Heterodox Autonomy Doctrine: realism and purposes, and its relevance

The Autonomy Doctrine, elaborated by Juan Carlos Puig, is a realist point of view of International Relations. It is an analysis, from the periphery, about the structure of world power, and a roadmap (from a theoretical point of view) for the longing process of autonomization-regarding hegemonic power-for a country whose ruling class would decide to overcome dependency. The elements its author took into account when analyzing its own context are explained in this text and, afterwards, are reflected over its relevance nowadays. For that purpose, it is necessary to answer certain questions, such as which are the concepts and categories that may explain its relevance, its applicability to regional integration and cooperation models and projects, and what would be the analytical method to compare reality versus ideas, among others. The methodological proposal to analyze the relevance of Puig's doctrine is to compare it to different visions of regionalism that are currently in effect in Latin America.

Peripheral Realism Revisited

Abstract In this article we summarize the precepts of Peripheral Realism, its place in the intellectual history of International Relations Theory, its contributions to interpreting Latin American international politics and its insights for the future. After revising the intellectual merits and tenets of the theory in the four initial sections, we show how it predicted the behavior of Latin American states under unipolarity. Finally, we review its implications for a world where China may hold economic primacy.

Perfil químico de cultivares de feijão (phaseolus vulgaris) pela técnica de high resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS)

The application of one-dimensional proton high-resolution magic angle spinning (¹H HR-MAS) NMR combined with a typical advantages of solid and liquid-state NMR techniques was used as input variables for the multivariate statistical analysis. In this paper, different cultivars of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) developed and in development by Embrapa - Arroz e Feijão were analyzed by ¹H HR-MAS, which have been demonstrated to be a valuable tool in its differentiation according chemical composition and avoid the manipulation of the samples as used in other techniques.

Models, truth and realism: assessing Bas van Fraassen's views on scientific representation

This paper is devoted to an analysis of some aspects of Bas van Fraassen's views on representation. While I agree with most of his claims, I disagree on the following three issues. Firstly, I contend that some isomorphism (or at least homomorphism) between the representor and what is represented is a universal necessary condition for the success of any representation, even in the case of misrepresentation. Secondly, I argue that the so-called "semantic" or "model-theoretic" construal of theories does not give proper due to the role played by true propositions in successful representing practices. Thirdly, I attempt to show that the force of van Fraassen's pragmatic - and antirealist - "dissolution" of the "loss of reality objection" loses its bite when we realize that our cognitive contact with real phenomena is achieved not by representing but by expressing true propositions about them.

UN Security Council decision-making: testing the bribery hypothesis

Liberal-Institutionalism and Structural Realism expectations about international organizations are confronted by looking at if and how US-controlled international aid is granted, and particularly if it is related or not to political affinity and to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) non-permanent membership. A preliminary assessment suggests that these relations only hold for the period of the Cold War, and, even then, only when UNSC non-permanent membership is in years in which the Security Council was deemed very important.

TRANSFERTS DE QUANTITE DE MOUVEMENT AU-DESSUS ET A L'INTERIEUR DE LA VEGETATION

The aborptlon of momentum by the vegetation Is studied In this work through an analytical approach which also provides the appropriate formulations to describe wind velocity and drffusivities profiles above and Inside the space occupied by the foliage elements. A first comparison between the observed and calculated profiles of wind volocity for Amazonian forest (Réserva Pucke, Manaus - AM) is presented to test the realism of the model.

Transformations in occluded light fraction organic matter in a clayey oxisol: evidence from 13C-CPMAS-NMR and delta13C Signature

We hypothesised that, during occlusion inside granular aggregates of oxide-rich soils, the light fraction organic matter would undergo a strong process of decomposition, either due to the slow process of aggregate formation and stabilisation or due to digestion in the macro- and meso-fauna guts. This process would favour the accumulation of recalcitrant materials inside aggregates. The aim of this study was to compare the dynamics and the chemical composition of free and occluded light fraction organic matter in a natural cerrado vegetation (woodland savannah) and a nearby pasture (Brachiaria spp.) to elucidate the transformations during occlusion of light fraction in aggregates of a clayey Oxisol. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of the 13C, with Cross Polarisation and Magic Angle Spinning (13C-CPMAS-NMR), and 13C/12C isotopic ratio were combined to study organic matter composition and changes in carbon dynamics, respectively. The occluded light fraction had a slower turnover than the free light fraction and the heavy fraction. Organic matter in the occluded fraction also showed a higher degree of decomposition. The results confirm that processes of soil organic matter occlusion in the typical "very fine strong granular" structure of the studied oxide-rich soil led to an intense transformation, selectively preserving stable organic matter. The small amount of organic material stored as occluded light faction, as well as its stability, suggests that this is not an important or manageable sink for sequestration of atmospheric CO2.

CHARACTERIZATION OF BULK SOIL HUMIN AND ITS ALKALINE-SOLUBLE AND ALKALINE-INSOLUBLE FRACTIONS

Humic substances are the major components of soil organic matter. Among the three humic substance components (humic acid, fulvic acid, and humin), humin is the most insoluble in aqueous solution at any pH value and, in turn, the least understood. Humin has poor solubility mainly because it is tightly bonded to inorganic soil colloids. By breaking the linkage between humin and inorganic soil colloids using inorganic or organic solvents, bulk humin can be partially soluble in alkali, enabling a better understanding of the structure and properties of humin. However, the structural relationship between bulk humin and its alkaline-soluble (AS) and alkaline-insoluble (AIS) fractions is still unknown. In this study, we isolated bulk humin from two soils of Northeast China by exhaustive extraction (25 to 28 times) with 0.1 mol L-1 NaOH + 0.1 mol L-1 Na4P2O7, followed by the traditional treatment with 10 % HF-HCl. The isolated bulk humin was then fractionated into AS-humin and AIS-humin by exhaustive extraction (12 to 15 times) with 0.1 mol L-1 NaOH. Elemental analysis and solid-state 13C cross-polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (13C CPMAS NMR) spectroscopy were used to characterize and compare the chemical structures of bulk humin and its corresponding fractions. The results showed that, regardless of soil types, bulk humin was the most aliphatic and most hydrophobic, AS-humin was the least aliphatic, and AIS-humin was the least alkylated among the three humic components. The results showed that bulk humin and its corresponding AS-humin and AIS-humin fractions are structurally differed from one another, implying that the functions of these humic components in the soil environment differed.

Lipossomas: a bala mágica acertou?

Efficient drug delivery systems are as important as drug themselves. A powerful drug unable to reach the target cell is useless in practice. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet was the first carrier system to be proposed. The evolution in this domain has been quite slow as the natural mechanisms of mammals against foreign products are hard to overcome. However, lipid-based systems (liposomes and related vesicles) have attained reasonable success. The basic preparations and structural features of liposomes and related vesicles as well as their applications are addressed from the chemist's and biochemist's point of view.

TUNGSTOPHOSPHORIC ACID HETEROGENIZED ONTO NH4ZSM5 AS AN EFFICIENT AND RECYCLABLE CATALYST FOR THE PHOTOCATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF DYES

Materials based on tungstophosphoric acid (TPA) immobilized on NH4ZSM5 zeolite were prepared by wet impregnation of the zeolite matrix with TPA aqueous solutions. Their concentration was varied in order to obtain TPA contents of 5%, 10%, 20%, and 30% w/w in the solid. The materials were characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, XRD, FT-IR, 31P MAS-NMR, TGA-DSC, DRS-UV-Vis, and the acidic behavior was studied by potentiometric titration with n-butylamine. The BET surface area (SBET) decreased when the TPA content was raised as a result of zeolite pore blocking. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the solids modified with TPA only presented the characteristic peaks of NH4ZSM5 zeolites, and an additional set of peaks assigned to the presence of (NH4)3PW12O40. According to the Fourier transform infrared and 31P magic angle spinning-nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, the main species present in the samples was the [PW12O40]3- anion, which was partially transformed into the [P2W21O71]6- anion during the synthesis and drying steps. The thermal stability of the NH4ZSM5TPA materials was similar to that of their parent zeolites. Moreover, the samples with the highest TPA content exhibited band gap energy values similar to those reported for TiO2. The immobilization of TPA on NH4ZSM5 zeolite allowed the obtention of catalysts with high photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methyl orange dye (MO) in water, at 25 ºC. These can be reused at least three times without any significant decrease in degree of degradation.

Truth, laws and the progress of science

In this paper I analyze the difficult question of the truth of mature scientific theories by tackling the problem of the truth of laws. After introducing the main philosophical positions in the field of scientific realism, I discuss and then counter the two main arguments against realism, namely the pessimistic meta-induction and the abstract and idealized character of scientific laws. I conclude by defending the view that well-confirmed physical theories are true only relatively to certain values of the variables that appear in the laws.

Caution and necessity

In this paper I examine Crispin Wright's modal anti-realism as based on the availability of a certain attitude of Caution towards judgements of necessity. I think that Wright's account should be attractive in several ways for modal theorists with an anti-realist bend. However, the attitude of Caution to which it appeals has attracted some controversy. Wright himself has later come to doubt whether Caution is ultimately coherent. Here I first address Wright's worries concerning the coherence of Caution and show that they are unfounded. But then I argue that although the attitude of Caution is coherent, it cannot provide a suitable basis for a non-eliminativist account of necessity. I offer two different objections against Caution. (1) I argue that Wright's appeal to Caution, if successful, would show not only that modal judgement is non-objective but also that it is dispensable. Thus, I claim that appeal to Caution would seem to serve more as a threat against a non-eliminativist account of necessity, rather than as a potential adequate basis for it. However, (2) I argue that Wright's appeal to Caution is unsuccessful, for there is no genuine Caution: Caution is a mere verbal attitude.

Membrane proteins: functional and structural studies using reconstituted proteoliposomes and 2-D crystals

Reconstitution of membrane proteins into lipid bilayers is a powerful tool to analyze functional as well as structural areas of membrane protein research. First, the proper incorporation of a purified membrane protein into closed lipid vesicles, to produce proteoliposomes, allows the investigation of transport and/or catalytic properties of any membrane protein without interference by other membrane components. Second, the incorporation of a large amount of membrane proteins into lipid bilayers to grow crystals confined to two dimensions has recently opened a new way to solve their structure at high resolution using electron crystallography. However, reconstitution of membrane proteins into functional proteoliposomes or 2-D crystallization has been an empirical domain, which has been viewed for a long time more like "black magic" than science. Nevertheless, in the last ten years, important progress has been made in acquiring knowledge of lipid-protein-detergent interactions and has permitted to build upon a set of basic principles that has limited the empirical approach of reconstitution experiments. Reconstitution strategies have been improved and new strategies have been developed, facilitating the success rate of proteoliposome formation and 2-D crystallization. This review deals with the various strategies available to obtain proteoliposomes and 2-D crystals from detergent-solubilized proteins. It gives an overview of the methods that have been applied, which may be of help for reconstituting more proteins into lipid bilayers in a form suitable for functional studies at the molecular level and for high-resolution structural analysis.

Aloe vera extract as a promising treatment for the quality maintenance of minimally-processed table grapes

The effect of an edible film obtained from a commercial Aloe vera extract, on the quality maintenance of minimally processed grapes belonging to three different cultivars (Sugar One, Victoria and Black Magic) was evaluated by enzymatic (PPO, PME, β-GAL), physicochemical (pH, acidity, °Brix), and sensorial methods. All the analyzed parameters were measured in extracts obtained from minimally processed grapes packaged in ordinary atmosphere and stored at 4 °C for 15 days. Samples dipped into Aloe vera showed significant differences (p≤0.05) compared to untreated ones. The determination of such parameters and the evaluation of consumer acceptability were helpful to determine the effectiveness of the post-harvest treatment with Aloe vera for a storage period of 15 days.