Financial globalization: from crises-prone to development-friendly?

Includes bibliography

Information societies in Latin America and the Caribbean: development of techonologies and technologies for development

Includes bibliography

Monitoring eLAC2007: progress and current state of development of Latin American and Caribbean information societies

Includes bibliography

Monitoring Caribbean information societies

Includes bibliography

Social policies in transitional societies: is the Latin American experience useful?

Includes bibliography

Is it possible to make pixel-based radar image classification user-friendly?

In this paper we would like to shed light the problem of efficiency and effectiveness of image classification in large datasets. As the amount of data to be processed and further classified has increased in the last years, there is a need for faster and more precise pattern recognition algorithms in order to perform online and offline training and classification procedures. We deal here with the problem of moist area classification in radar image in a fast manner. Experimental results using Optimum-Path Forest and its training set pruning algorithm also provided and discussed. © 2011 IEEE.

A simple and environmentally friendly reflectometric method for the rapid quantitative analysis of captopril in pharmaceutical formulations

This paper describes a simple, environmentally friendly and rapid quantitative spot test procedure for the determination of captopril (CPT) in bulk drug and in pharmaceutical formulations by using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The proposed method is based on the reflectance measurements of the orange compound (λ max 490 nm) produced by the spot test reaction between CPT and p-chloranil (CL). Under optimal conditions, calibration curves were obtained for CPT by plotting the optical density of the reflectance signal (A R) vs. the log of the mol L -1 concentration, from 6.91×10 -3 to 1.17×10 -1, with a good coefficient of determination (R 2 = 0.9992). The common excipients used as additives in pharmaceuticals do not interfere in the proposed method. The method was applied to determine CPT in commercial pharmaceutical formulations. The results obtained by the proposed method are compared favorably with those obtained by an official procedure at 95% confidence level. The method validation results showed that the sensitivity and selectivity of the methods were adequated for drug monitoring in industrial quality control laboratories. © 2011 Moment Publication.

From coffee industry waste materials to skin-friendly products with improved skin fat levels

Spent coffee grounds (SCG), which are the residue obtained from the treatment of coffee with hot water or steam, can be used for industrial applications, due to the high content in lipids. The cosmetic products might be a suitable application for these types of residues because the barrier properties of the stratum corneum (SC) are largely dependent on the intactness of the lipid lamellae that surrounds the corneocytes. The purpose of this work was to assess the feasibility of using the lipid fraction of SCG extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide in the development of new cosmetic formulations with improved skin lipids (sebum) and hydration. The use of spent coffee lipid extract in cosmetic industry seems to be a suitable approach to recycle the wastes from coffee industry. Emulsion containing 10% of the lipid fraction of SCG (SpentCofOil cream) presented promising characteristics in the improvement of sebum skin levels with a good acceptance by consumers when compared to an emulsion containing 10% w/w of green coffee oil (GreenCofOil cream) and a placebo without coffee oil (NoCofOil cream). Practical applications: In this work, the authors develop and characterize a cream containing 10% of the lipid fraction of SCG extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide with improved skin lipids (sebum) and hydration. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Dependent societies and crisis in Latin America: the challenges of social and political transformation

Includes bibliography

Development and validation of an environmentally friendly attenuated total reflectance in the mid-infrared region method for the determination of ethanol content in used engine lubrication oil

Lubricating oils are crucial in the operation of automotive engines because they both reduce friction between moving parts and protect against corrosion. However, the performance of lubricant oil may be affected by contaminants, such as gasoline, diesel, ethanol, water and ethylene glycol. Although there are many standard methods and studies related to the quantification of contaminants in lubricant oil, such as gasoline and diesel oil, to the best of our knowledge, no methods have been reported for the quantification of ethanol in used Otto cycle engine lubrication oils. Therefore, this work aimed at the development and validation of a routine method based on partial least-squares multivariate analysis combined with attenuated total reflectance in the mid-infrared region to quantify ethanol content in used lubrication oil. The method was validated based on its figures of merit (using the net analyte signal) as follows: limit of detection (0.049%), limit of quantification (0.16%), accuracy (root mean square error of prediction=0.089% w/w), repeatability (0.05% w/w), fit (R 2 =0.9997), mean selectivity (0.047), sensitivity (0.011), inverse analytical sensitivity (0.016% w/w-1) and signal-to-noise ratio (max: 812.4 and min: 200.9). The results show that the proposed method can be routinely implemented for the quality control of lubricant oils. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Problemas y perspectivas de la integración de los jóvenes en las sociedades latinoamericanas = Integration of young people into Latin American societies: problems and prospects

Incluye Bibliografía

Economía política de la planificación de los sectores agrícola y rural en las sociedades del Caribe = Polítical economy of agricultural and rural sector planning in Caribbean societies

Incluye Bibliografía

Comparison of the socio-economic impacts of natural disasters on Caribbean societies in 2004

Includes bibliography

Transport, the poor and moving towards low-carbon societies

This FAL Bulletin discusses the challenges involved in creating equality in urban mobility and the need to reach towards a social sustainability framework, as existing policies often accentuate current inequities and inequalities in accessibility. Lack of access to mobility has wide-ranging effects across social groups, gender and particularly the urban poor.