Judicial presence and rent extraction

We estimate the effect of state judiciary presence on rent extraction in Brazilian local governments.We measure rents as irregularities related to waste or corruption uncovered by auditors.Our unique dataset at the level of individual inspections allows us to separately examine extensiveand intensive margins of rent extraction. The identification strategy is based on an institutionalrule of state judiciary branches according to which prosecutors and judges tend to be assigned tothe most populous among contiguous counties forming a judiciary district. Our research designexploits this rule by comparing counties that are largest in their district to counties with identicalpopulation size from other districts in the same state, where they are not the most populous. IVestimates suggest that state judiciary presence reduces the share of inspections with irregularitiesrelated to waste or corruption by about 10 percent or 0.3 standard deviations. In contrast, we findno effect on the intensive margin of rent extraction. Finally, our estimates suggest that judicialpresence reduces rent extraction only for first-term mayors.

Characterization of hydroxyapatite laser ablation plumes by fast intensified CCD-imaging

ArF excimer laser pulses (193 nm, 20 ns, 150 mJ) have been focused on a hydroxyapatite (HA) target in similar conditions to those normally used for thin film deposition. Fast intensified CCD images of HA laser ablation plumes have been taken in vacuum and under different water vapor pressures ranging from 0.01 mbar to 1 mbar. Images of HA ablation in vacuum have shown a plume freely expanding at a constant velocity of 2.3 106 cm/s. HA ablation under a water vapor pressure of 0.01 mbar has revealed an expansion behavior very similar to that of ablation in vacuum. Images taken under a water vapor pressure of 0.1 mbar have shown the formation of a shock structure in the plume. Finally, HA ablation under a water vapor pressure of 1 mbar has revealed the development of some irregularities in the shape of the plume.

Constructive micritic envelope developed in the vadose continental environment in the Pleistocene eoliantes of Mallorca (Spain)

In this study we analyze and explain the formation of the constructive micrite envelope in the vadose continental environment. This constructive micrite envelope shows a wide variety of textural components. The principal textural components are: microorganisms, micritic and microspar LMC cement, whisker crystals, microfibres and aggregates of LMC acicular crystals. The main microorganisms are hyphae fungi, although actynomicetes and bacteries also occur. The constructive micrite envelope is due to the action of calcified filaments (hyphae fungi) which collapse and coalesce forming an intertwined mesh as well as due to the precipitation of micritic and microspar cement. The whisker crystals, microfibres and aggregates of LMC acicular crystals are secondary microtextures. Constructive micrite envelopes does not indicate a specific diagenetic environment. The constructive micrite envelopes present irregularities or bumps at the outer surface of the grains, and the destructive micrite envelopes present irregularities towards the grain interior. This morphologic criterion is useful to differenciate the micrite envelope origin, constructive or destructive, in the fossil record.

Axial spondylometaphyseal dysplasia: Additional reports.

Axial spondylometaphyseal dysplasia (SMD) (OMIM 602271) is an uncommon skeletal dysplasia characterized by metaphyseal changes of truncal-juxtatruncal bones, including the proximal femora, and retinal abnormalities. The disorder has not attracted much attention since initially reported; however, it has been included in the nosology of genetic skeletal disorders [Warman et al. (2011); Am J Med Genet Part A 155A:943-968] in part because of a recent publication of two additional cases [Isidor et al. (2010); Am J Med Genet Part A 152A:1550-1554]. We report here on the clinical and radiological manifestations in seven affected individuals from five families (three sporadic cases and two familial cases). Based on our observations and Isidor's report, the clinical and radiological hallmarks of axial SMD can be defined: The main clinical findings are postnatal growth failure, rhizomelic short stature in early childhood evolving into short trunk in late childhood, and thoracic hypoplasia that may cause mild to moderate respiratory problems in the neonatal period and later susceptibility to airway infection. Impaired visual acuity comes to medical attention in early life and function rapidly deteriorates. Retinal changes are diagnosed as retinitis pigmentosa or pigmentary retinal degeneration on fundoscopic examination and cone-rod dystrophy on electroretinogram. The radiological hallmarks include short ribs with flared, cupped anterior ends, mild spondylar dysplasia, lacy iliac crests, and metaphyseal irregularities essentially confined to the proximal femora. Equally affected sibling pairs of opposite gender and parental consanguinity are strongly suggestive of autosomal recessive inheritance. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Eficacia e ineficacia de la comunicación horizontal en los movimientos sociales. Caso análisis: Oposiciones justas en Cataluña 2011

Las redes sociales están generando un amplio entramado de comunicaciones, a distintos niveles y con distintos objetivos. En este artículo analizamos un caso concreto, fruto de la observación y el seguimiento de un grupo creado para la defensa de unas oposiciones justas para el acceso a la función pública de docentes para educación secundaria. Se trata de un grupo creado como reacción a una serie de posibles irregularidades. Interesa observar tanto la creación del grupo, como las distintas fases que sigue la evolución, muy ligada a la efectividad de los procesos de comunicación, y la vinculación de estos últimos a las posibilidades de acción y resolución del conflicto que existe en la base del grupo

Entropic transport: kinetics, scaling, and control mechanisms

We show that transport in the presence of entropic barriers exhibits peculiar characteristics which makes it distinctly different from that occurring through energy barriers. The constrained dynamics yields a scaling regime for the particle current and the diffusion coefficient in terms of the ratio between the work done to the particles and available thermal energy. This interesting property, genuine to the entropic nature of the barriers, can be utilized to effectively control transport through quasi-one-dimensional structures in which irregularities or tortuosity of the boundaries cause entropic effects. The accuracy of the kinetic description has been corroborated by simulations. Applications to different dynamic situations involving entropic barriers are outlined.

Entropic transport in confined media: a challenge for computational studies in biological and soft-matter systems

Transport in small-scale biological and soft-matter systems typically occurs under confinement conditions in which particles proceed through obstacles and irregularities of the boundaries that may significantly alter their trajectories. A transport model that assimilates the confinement to the presence of entropic barriers provides an efficient approach to quantify its effect on the particle current and the diffusion coefficient. We review the main peculiarities of entropic transport and treat two cases in which confinement effects play a crucial role, with the appearance of emergent properties. The presence of entropic barriers modifies the mean first-passage time distribution and therefore plays a very important role in ion transport through micro- and nano-channels. The functionality of molecular motors, modeled as Brownian ratchets, is strongly affected when the motor proceeds in a confined medium that may constitute another source of rectification. The interplay between ratchet and entropic rectification gives rise to a wide variety of dynamical behaviors, not observed when the Brownian motor proceeds in an unbounded medium. Entropic transport offers new venues of transport control and particle manipulation and new ways to engineer more efficient devices for transport at the nanoscale.

Abnormal meiotic behavior in three species of Crotalaria

The objective of this work was to compare the meiotic behavior and pollen grain viability of three species of Crotalaria. Slides for meiotic analysis were prepared by the air-drying technique. Pollen grain viability was measured by three staining procedures (Alexander's solution, tetrazolium chloride and fluorescein diacetate) and in vitro germination in a sucrose solution. Eight bivalents were observed, confirming previous reports on populations from other regions of Brazil, as well as from other countries. All species showed abnormal meiotic behavior as follows: in Crotalaria micans, cytomixis and abnormal chromosome pairing in diakinesis; in C. spectabilis, abnormal chromosome pairing in diplotene; in C. zanzibarica, shrunk nuclei in leptotene and zygotene. Pollen grains of all three species show low viability, which may be associated with the irregularities of the meiotic behavior.

Evaluation of a novel biomaterial in the suprachoroidal space of the rabbit eye.

PURPOSE: Drug delivery to treat diseases of the posterior segment of the eye, such as choroidal neovascularization and its complications, is hampered by poor intraocular penetration and rapid elimination of the drug from the eye. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and tolerance of suprachoroidal injections of poly(ortho ester) (POE), a bioerodible and biocompatible polymer, as a biomaterial potentially useful for development of sustained drug delivery systems. METHODS: After tunnelization of the sclera, different formulations based on POE were injected (100 microL) into the suprachoroidal space of pigmented rabbits and compared with 1% sodium hyaluronate. Follow-up consisted of fundus observations, echography, fluorescein angiography, and histologic analysis over 3 weeks. RESULTS: After injection, POE spread in the suprachoroidal space at the posterior pole. It was well tolerated and progressively disappeared from the site of injection without sequelae. No bleeding or retinal detachment occurred. Echographic pictures showed that the material was present in the suprachoroidal space for 3 weeks. Angiography revealed minor pigment irregularities at the site of injection, but no retinal edema or necrosis. Histology showed that POE was well tolerated in the choroid. CONCLUSIONS: POE suprachoroidal injections, an easy, controllable, and reproducible procedure, were well tolerated in the rabbit eye. POE appears to be a promising biomaterial to deliver drugs focally to the choroid and the retina.

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The present article examines the final part of the regnal formulas in the Book of Kings, i.e. the epilogue formulary. Most reports of the kings of Israel and Judah end with an epilogue containing formulaic statements about the death of the king and his succession. Typically, the epilogue formula is introduced by the phrase (source reference): 'Now the rest of the acts of PN1, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah (of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel)?' and consists of three elements: 1. Dynastic notice ('PN1 slept with his fathers'); 2. Statement of burial; 3. Statement of succession. Sometimes one, two or all three of these elements are altered or lacking. The epilogue formulae of the Judean kings are more consistent than those of the Israelite kings; the latter often lacks a burial notice. Interestingly, the accounts of the deported (arrested) kings (Hoshea: 2 Kgs 17:6, Jehoahaz: 23:34, Zedekiah:25:7 and Jehoiachin: 25:27-30) do not contain an epilogue at all, nor the accounts of the reigns of Ahaziah and Athaliah which mark an episode of disruption in the history of the Davidic kingdom. For all these kings even the phrase 'Now the rest of the acts of PN1, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of... ?' is lacking. The absence of an epilogue in these cases is probably due to the fact that the king's succession (cf. element 3) is considered a constitutive and indispensable component of the epilogue. In the first instance, the approach of this study is descriptive and philological; it aims to contribute to the understanding of the notices. Secondly, the study addresses the question how the irregularities and variations within the formulae are to be explained. In particular, the study will pay attention to differences between the epilogue formulae concerning the kings of Israel and those concerning the Judean kings. At the end, questions concerning the epilogues formula's provenance and its formation date and concerning further redactional developments will be considered.

COMPARAÇÃO DE MÉTODOS POR CROMATOGRAFIA LÍQUIDA NA DETERMINAÇÃO DE MULTIRRESÍDUOS DE AGROTÓXICOS EM MORANGOS

Liquid chromatography is often used for the determination of pesticide multiresidues in foods. In Brazil, the strawberry crop is an example of a food with high levels of irregularities because of the application of pesticides. This is a major concern from the perspective of food safety, environmental protection, and certification for food export. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare chromatographic separation and detection methods in relation to a newly developed and validated method using ultra high performance liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for the analytical determination of pesticides in strawberries. The comparisons were based on evaluations of the analysis time, consumption of the solvent in the mobile phase, injection volume, detectability, matrix effect, and recovery. The results showed that the LC–MS/MS and UHPLC–MS/MS techniques were both extremely efficient at analyzing pesticide residues with different physico-chemical parameters that were present at low concentrations in a complex matrix. The UHPLC separation method provided better chromatographic performance and productivity, which contributed favorably to routine analytical determinations. Detection by MS/MS had better detectability and selectivity compared with the diode array detector.

Development of capacitive sensor for measuring soil water content

The irrigation management based on the monitoring of the soil water content allows for the minimization of the amount of water applied, making its use more efficient. Taking into account these aspects, in this work, a sensor for measuring the soil water content was developed to allow real time automation of irrigation systems. This way, problems affecting crop yielding such as irregularities in the time to turn on or turn off the pump, and excess or deficit of water can be solved. To develop the sensors were used stainless steel rods, resin, and insulating varnish. The sensors measuring circuit was based on a microcontroller, which gives its output signal in the digital format. The sensors were calibrated using soil of the type “Quartzarenic Neosoil”. A third order polynomial model was fitted to the experimental data between the values of water content corresponding to the field capacity and the wilting point to correlate the soil water content obtained by the oven standard method with those measured by the electronic circuit, with a coefficient of determination of 93.17%, and an accuracy in the measures of ±0.010 kg kg-1. Based on the results, it was concluded that the sensor and its implemented measuring circuit can be used in the automation process of irrigation systems.

Numerical evaluation of the modulus of longitudinal elasticity in structural round timber elements of the Eucalyptus genus

Currently, the standards that deal with the determination of the properties of rigidity and strength for structural round timber elements do not take in consideration in their calculations and mathematical models the influence of the existing irregularities in the geometry of these elements. This study has as objective to determine the effective value of the modulus of longitudinal elasticity for structural round timber pieces of the Eucalyptus citriodora genus by a technique of optimization allied to the Inverse Analysis Method, to the Finite Element Method and the Least Square Method.

Fraud detection in the banking sector : a multi-agent approach

Fraud is an increasing phenomenon as shown in many surveys carried out by leading international consulting companies in the last years. Despite the evolution of electronic payments and hacking techniques there is still a strong human component in fraud schemes. Conflict of interest in particular is the main contributing factor to the success of internal fraud. In such cases anomaly detection tools are not always the best instruments, since the fraud schemes are based on faking documents in a context dominated by lack of controls, and the perpetrators are those ones who should control possible irregularities. In the banking sector audit team experts can count only on their experience, whistle blowing and the reports sent by their inspectors. The Fraud Interactive Decision Expert System (FIDES), which is the core of this research, is a multi-agent system built to support auditors in evaluating suspicious behaviours and to speed up the evaluation process in order to detect or prevent fraud schemes. The system combines Think-map, Delphi method and Attack trees and it has been built around audit team experts and their needs. The output of FIDES is an attack tree, a tree-based diagram to ”systematically categorize the different ways in which a system can be attacked”. Once the attack tree is built, auditors can choose the path they perceive as more suitable and decide whether or not to start the investigation. The system is meant for use in the future to retrieve old cases in order to match them with new ones and find similarities. The retrieving features of the system will be useful to simplify the risk management phase, since similar countermeasures adopted for past cases might be useful for present ones. Even though FIDES has been built with the banking sector in mind, it can be applied in all those organisations, like insurance companies or public organizations, where anti-fraud activity is based on a central anti-fraud unit and a reporting system.

Histopathology of dairy cows' hooves with signs of naturally acquired laminitis

The purpose of this study was to investigate histological changes in dairy cows' hooves with or without injuries from naturally acquired laminitis. Cull cows with no clinical signs of hoof abnormalities (G1, n=9) and those with macroscopic lesions associated with laminitis without (G2, n=23) or with lameness (G3, n=7) were used in the study. After slaughter, samples of dermo-epidermal junctions of sole, axial and dorsal regions of the hoof were obtained and histologically processed using HE and PAS staining. Congestion, hemorrhage and inflammatory infiltrate in the dermis of sole, axial and dorsal regions were blindly and semiquantitatively evaluated by the same researcher. Inflammatory infiltrate was evaluated in the dermal laminae of axial and dorsal regions. The morphology of epidermal cells and the presence of irregularities in three regions of the basement membrane (BM) length were examined using PAS staining. Scores of lesions in different regions of the hoof in the same group and in different groups for each region of the hoof were compared using non-parametric analyses. Inflammatory infiltrate in the dermis of all regions of the hoof was detected in all groups with no significant statistical difference. Cows with no clinical signs of hoof abnormalities secondary to laminitis (G1) have inflammation scores and epidermal cell changes similar to those of groups with laminitis injuries, suggesting the existence of a prodromal phase for this disease in bovines. BM had irregularities with a variable intensity along its length, however, with no difference among groups. The pattern of BM irregularities found has not been reported so far and does not resemble the BM collapse described in horses and cattle with induced acute laminitis. Is it concluded that even in the absence of macroscopic hoof signs associated to laminitis, dairy cows have histological injuries compatible with inflammation of the dermo-epidermal junction as in affected animals. Basement membrane of cows with or without laminitis associated lesions had irregularities with an irregular distribution along its length which need to be further studied.