Capitalismo e direitos humanos de solidariedade: elementos para uma crítica

Nosso estudo busca identificar a conexão material entre o capitalismo e os direitos humanos de solidariedade. Esses direitos, segundo a teoria jurídica e as declarações internacionais, ao contemplarem toda a humanidade, ao conceberem o gênero humano como sujeito de direito, são a mais elevada expressão do progresso da consciência humana no que concerne a dignidade do homem e as ameaças contra a vida coletiva na Terra. Nós propomos, ao contrário, que os direitos humanos de terceira geração exprimem as formas mais abstratas do capitalismo depois da Segunda Guerra Mundial, especialmente aquelas que correspondem à finança e à mundialização do capital. A sociedade burguesa internacionalizada tornou-se ela mesma, em suas categorias fundamentais, mais abstrata, e as categorias jurídicas seguiram este mesmo movimento. E de modo similar ao que sucede com os direitos humanos de primeira geração e de segunda geração, as palavras charmosas apresentadas pelo humanismo jurídico portam, discretamente, a exploração capitalista. Os direitos ao patrimônio comum da humanidade, ao meio ambiente sadio, ao desenvolvimento e mesmo o direito à paz, cada um deles reproduz os meios de apropriação e organização capitalista do imperialismo os mesmos meios que dão suporte aos lucros privados sobre os bens coletivos, que mantêm a dominação imperialista e que preparam as guerras no interior do sistema de Estados. O idealismo e a visão romântica sobre os direitos humanos escondem esta contradição, e é preciso expô-la, é preciso superar a ideologia jurídica. Nossa crítica marxista, realizada pela crítica do capital e de sua forma jurídica em escala internacional, é um esforço nesta direção.

Estudo sobre a interação de métodos anti-ilhamento para sistemas fotovoltaicos conectados à rede de distribuição de baixa tensão com múltiplos inversores.

Este trabalho estuda a interação entre os métodos anti-ilhamento aplicados em sistemas fotovoltaicos residenciais, operando simultaneamente em uma rede de distribuição de baixa tensão. Os sistemas fotovoltaicos em geral interagem entre si, com a rede de distribuição da concessionária e com outras fontes de geração distribuída. Uma consequência importante dessa interação é a ocorrência do ilhamento, que acontece quando as fontes de geração distribuída fornecem energia ao sistema elétrico de potência mesmo quando esta se encontra eletricamente isolada do sistema elétrico principal. A função anti-ilhamento é uma proteção extremamente importante, devendo estar presente em todos os sistemas de geração distribuída. Atualmente, são encontradas diversas técnicas na literatura. Muitas delas oferecem proteção adequada quando um inversor está conectado à linha de distribuição, mas podem falhar quando dois ou mais funcionam simultaneamente, conectados juntos ou próximos entre si. Dois destes métodos são analisados detalhadamente nesse estudo, avaliados em uma rede de distribuição residencial de baixa tensão. Os resultados obtidos mostram que a influência de um método sobre o outro é dependente da predominância de cada um deles dentro do sistema elétrico. Contudo, nas condições analisadas o ilhamento foi detectado dentro do limite máximo estabelecido pelas normas pertinentes.

The Case Law of the ECJ concerning the Free Provision of Services : 2000 - 2005. Research Papers in Law, 2/2006

Introduction. The present overview covers the period starting from 2000 until the end of 2005.1 This is the follow-up to our overview covering the 1995-1999 period.2 The first striking feature of the present contribution is that it has to deal with almost 3,5 times as many cases as the previous one. Hence, the ECJ has gone from deciding 40 cases in the five year period between 1995- 1999 to deciding over 140 cases based on Art 49 between 2000-2005. This confirms, beyond any doubt, the tendency already observed in our previous overview, that a “third generation” case law on services is being developed at a very rapid pace by the ECJ. This third generation case law is based on the idea that Article 49 EC is not limited to striking down discriminatory measures but extends to the elimination of all hindrances to the free provision of services. This idea was first expressed in the Tourist Guide cases, the Greek and Dutch TV cases and most importantly in the Säger case.3 It has been confirmed ever since. As was to be expected, this broad brush approach of the Court’s has led to an ever-increasing amount of litigation reaching Luxemburg. It is clear that, if indicators were used to weight the importance of the Court’s case law during the relevant period, services would score much higher than goods, both from a quantitative and from a qualitative perspective.4 Hence, contrary to the previous overview, this one cannot deal in detail with any of the judgments delivered during the reference period. The aim of the present contribution is restricted to presenting the basic trends of the Court’s case law in the field of services Therefore, the analysis follows a fundamentally horizontal approach, fleetingly considering the facts of individual cases, with a view to identifying the conceptual premises of the Court’s approach to the free movement of services. Nonetheless, the substantial solutions adopted by the Court in some key topics, such as concession contracts, healthcare services, posted workers and gambling, are also presented as case studies. In this regard, the analysis is organized in four sections. First we explore the (ever expanding) scope of the freedom to provide services (Section 2), then we go on to identify the nature of the violations and of justifications thereto (Section 3), before carrying out some case studies to concretely illustrate the above (Section 4). Then, for the sake of completeness, we try to deduce the general principles running through the totality of the relevant case law (Section 5). Inevitably, some concluding remarks follow (Section 6).5

Round the red lamp : being facts and fancies of medical life /

Behind the times -- His first operation -- A straggler of '15 -- The third generation -- A false start -- The curse of Eve -- Sweethearts -- A physiologist's wife -- The case of Lady Sannox -- A question of diplomacy -- A medical document -- Lot no. 249 -- The Los Amigos fiasco -- The doctors of Hoyland -- The surgeon talks.

Vrouw Grobelaar and her leading cases,

Unto the third generation.--The dream-face.--The avenger of blood.--The hands of the pitiful woman.--Piet Naude's trek.--Like unto like.--Counting the colors.--The king of the baboons.--Morder drift.--A good end.--Vasco's sweetheart.--The Peruvian.--Tagalash.--The home kraal.--The sacrifice.--The coward.--Her own story.

Experimental characterization of continuous-variable entanglement

We present an experimental analysis of quadrature entanglement produced from a pair of amplitude squeezed beams. The correlation matrix of the state is characterized within a set of reasonable assumptions, and the strength of the entanglement is gauged using measures of the degree of inseparability and the degree of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox. We introduce controlled decoherence in the form of optical loss to the entangled state, and demonstrate qualitative differences in the response of the degrees of inseparability and EPR paradox to this loss. The entanglement is represented on a photon number diagram that provides an intuitive and physically relevant description of the state. We calculate efficacy contours for several quantum information protocols on this diagram, and use them to predict the effectiveness of our entanglement in those protocols.

Australian and New Zealand practice in intensive care (ANZPIC II: The spectrum of practice in the diagnosis and management of pneumonia in patients requiring mechanical ventilation

This study of ventilated patients investigated current clinical practice in 476 episodes of pneumonia (48% community-acquired pneumonia, 24% hospital-acquired pneumonia, 28% ventilator-associated pneumonia) using a prospective survey in 14 intensive care units (ICUs) within Australia and New Zealand. Diagnostic methods and confidence, disease severity, microbiology and antibiotic use were assessed. All pneumonia types had similar mortality (community-acquired pneumonia 33%, hospital-acquired pneumonia 37% and ventilator-associated pneumonia 24%, P = 0.15) with no inter-hospital differences (P = 0.08-0.91). Bronchoscopy was performed in 26%, its use predicted by admission hospital (one tertiary: OR 9.98, CI 95% 5.11-19.49, P < 0.001; one regional: OR 629, CI 95% 3.24-12.20, P < 0.001), clinical signs of consolidation (OR 3.72, CI 95% 2.09-662, P < 0.001) and diagnostic confidence (OR 2.19, CI 95% 1.29-3.72, P = 0.004). Bronchoscopy did not predict outcome (P = 0.11) or appropriate antibiotic selection (P = 0.69). Inappropriate antibiotic prescription was similar for all pneumonia types (11-13%, P = 0.12) and hospitals (0-16%, P = 0.25). Blood cultures were taken in 51% of cases. For community-acquired pneumonia, 70% received a third generation cephalosporin and 65% a macrolide. Third generation cephalosporins were less frequently used for mild infections (OR 0.38, CI 95% 0.16-0.90, P = 0.03), hospital-acquired pneumonia (OR 0.40, CI 95% 0.23-0.72, P < 0.01), ventilator-associated pneumonia (OR 0.04, CI 95% 0.02-0.13, P < 0.001), suspected aspiration (OR 0.20, CI 95% 0.04-0.92, P = 0.04), in one regional (OR 0.26, CI 95% 0.07-0.97, P = 0.05) and one tertiary hospital (OR 0.14, CI 95% 0.03-0.73, P = 0.02) but were more commonly used in older patients (OR 1.02, CI 95% 1.01-1.03, P = 0.01). There is practice variability in bronchoscopy and antibiotic use for pneumonia in Australian and New Zealand ICUs without significant impact on patient outcome, as the prevalence of inappropriate antibiotic prescription is low. There are opportunities for improving microbiological diagnostic work-up for isolation of aetiological pathogens.

Long-term persistence of multi-drug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Newport in two dairy herds

Objective - To evaluate the association between maintaining joint hospital and maternity pens;and persistence of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica serovar Newport on 2 dairy farms. Design - Observational study. Sample Population - Feces and environmental samples from 2 dairy herds. Procedure - Herds were monitored for fecal shedding of S enterica Newport after outbreaks of clinical disease. Fecal and environmental samples were collected approximately monthly from pens housing sick cows and calving cows and from pens containing lactating cows. Cattle shedding the organism were tested serially on subsequent visits to determine carrier status. One farm was resampled after initiation of interventional procedures, including separation of hospital and maternity pens. Isolates were characterized via serotyping, determination of antimicrobial resistance phenotype, detection of the CMY-2 gene, and DNA fingerprinting. Results - The prevalence (32.4% and 33.3% on farms A and B, respectively) of isolating Salmonella from samples from joint hospital-maternity pens was significantly higher than the prevalence in samples from pens housing preparturient cows (0.8%, both farms) and postparturient cows on Farm B (8.8%). Multi-drug-resistant Salmonella Newport was isolated in high numbers from bedding material, feed refusals, lagoon slurry, and milk filters. One cow excreted the organism for 190 days. Interventional procedures yielded significant reductions in the prevalences of isolating the organism from fecal and environmental samples. Most isolates were of the C2 serogroup and were resistant to third-generation cephalosporins. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance - Management practices may be effective at reducing the persistence of MDR Salmonella spp in dairy herds, thus mitigating animal and public health risk.

Population dynamics and gene flow of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) on cotton and grain crops in the Murrumbidgee Valley, Australia

The population dynamics of Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the Murrumbidgee Valley, Australia, has been characterized using five highly variable microsatellite loci. In the 2001-2002 growing season, there were very high levels of migration into the Murrumbidgee Valley with no detectable genetic structuring, consistent with previous analyses on a national scale. By contrast, there was significant genetic structuring over the 2002-2003 growing season, with three distinct genetic types detected. The first type corresponded to the first two generations and was derived from local individuals emerging from diapause and their progeny. The second genetic type corresponded to generation 3 and resulted from substantial immigration into the region. There was another genetic shift in generation 4, which accounts for the third genetic type of the season. This genetic shift occurred despite low levels of immigration. During the third generation of the 2002-2003 growing season, different population dynamics was characterized for H. armigera on maize, Zea mays L., and cotton Gossipium hirsutum L. Populations on cotton tended to cycle independently with very little immigration from outside the region or from maize within the region. Maize acted as a major sink for immigrants from cotton and from outside the region. If resistance were to develop on cotton under these circumstances, susceptible individuals from maize or from other regions would not dilute this resistance. In addition, resistance is likely to be transferred to maize and be perpetuated until diapause, from where it may reemerge next season. If low levels of immigration were to occur on transgenic cotton, this may undermine the effectiveness of refugia, especially noncotton refugia.

Overcoming the problem of loss-in-capacity of calcium oxide in CO2 capture

Calcium oxide has been identified to be one of the best candidates for CO2 capture in zero-emission power-generation systems. However, it suffers a well-known problem of loss-in-capacity (i.e., its capacity of CO2 capture decreases after it undergoes cycles of carbonation/decarbonation). This problem is a potential obstacle to the adoption of the new technologies. This paper proposes a method of fabricating a CaO-based adsorbent without the problem of loss-in-capacity. An adsorbent was fabricated using the method and tested on a thermogravimetric analyzer. It was shown that the sorbent attained a utilization efficiency of more than 90% after 9 cycles of carbonation/decarbonation.

A PASSAGEM DO BASTÃO PARA HERDEIRAS: O CASO DE UMA EMPRESA DO ABC PAULISTA EM FASE DE PREPARAÇÃO PARA A SUCESSÃO FAMILIAR

Este estudo tem como finalidade primeira contribuir com o debate especializado que enfrenta o desafio de apontar caminhos que auxiliem as empresas familiares a garantirem a própria continuidade a partir da segunda geração de dirigentes. Embora imprecisas e desatualizadas, as estatísticas mostram que 70% dos negócios familiares sucumbem ao alcançarem a segunda geração e, em média, apenas 15% conseguem sobreviver até a terceira geração. A sucessão constitui o tema de maior atenção dos especialistas. Entretanto, há indicações de que, embora as pesquisas se multipliquem a cada ano, existe uma relativa estagnação teórica do campo. Nos últimos anos observa-se um discreto aumento de participação de mulheres em cargos de presidência das empresas familiares que, historicamente,influenciadas pela cultura patriarcal,elegem seus filhos herdeiros como sucessores. Este estudo, portanto, foi orientado pelo objetivo geral de identificar elementos do processo sucessório que permitam o aprofundamento da aparente mudança que está ocorrendo nas empresas familiares, evidenciada pelo discreto aumento do repasse do comando às mulheres, o que, a princípio, contraria a tradição patriarcal. De modo específico, este estudo foi orientado pelos seguintes objetivos: i) analisar a práxis de determinada família empresária que, tendo inaugurado o processo sucessório em sua empresa, encontra-se em fase de preparação de uma filha para assumir o comando do negócio no lugar do pai/fundador; ii) à luz do conhecimento teórico acumulado e da práxis da família empresária investigada reunir um conhecimento que permita a formulação de hipóteses que contribuam com o aprofundamento da problemática tratada neste estudo. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de caráter exploratório que emprega os seguintes métodos: qualitativo, monográfico/estudo de caso e dialético. A unidade de análise é a família proprietária de uma empresa sediada na região do ABC Paulista há 30 anosque se encontra em fase de preparação de uma filha (herdeira) para assumir o comando no lugar do pai/fundador. Existem evidências de que a decisão sucessória foi tomada estrategicamente com afinalidade de garantir que o patrimônio familiar continue sendo controlado pelo fundador, conforme preconiza o modelo de patrimonialismo patriarcal que se faz presente na sociedade brasileira.

Childhood ethnic differences in ametropia and ocular biometry:the Aston Eye Study

Purpose: To describe the methodology, sampling strategy and preliminary results for the Aston Eye Study (AES), a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of refractive error and its associated ocular biometry in a large multi-racial sample of school children from the metropolitan area of Birmingham, England. Methods: A target sample of 1700 children aged 6–7 years and 1200 aged 12–13 years is being selected from Birmingham schools selected randomly with stratification by area deprivation index (a measure of socio-economic status). Schools with pupils predominantly (>70%) from a single race are excluded. Sample size calculations account for the likely participation rate and the clustering of individuals within schools. Procedures involve standardised protocols to allow for comparison with international population-based data. Visual acuity, non-contact ocular biometry (axial length, corneal radius of curvature and anterior chamber depth) and cycloplegic autorefraction are measured in both eyes. Distance and near oculomotor balance, height and weight are also assessed. Questionnaires for parents and older children will allow the influence of environmental factors on refractive error to be examined. Results: Recruitment and data collection are ongoing (currently N = 655). Preliminary cross-sectional data on 213 South Asian, 44 black African Caribbean and 70 white European children aged 6–7 years and 114 South Asian, 40 black African Caribbean and 115 white European children aged 12–13 years found myopia prevalence of 9.4% and 29.4% for the two age groups respectively. A more negative mean spherical equivalent refraction (SER) was observed in older children (-0.21 D vs +0.87 D). Ethnic differences in myopia prevalence are emerging with South Asian children having higher levels than white European children 36.8% vs 18.6% (for the older children). Axial length, corneal radius of curvature and anterior chamber depth were normally distributed, while SER was leptokurtic (p < 0.001) with a slight negative skew. Conclusions: The AES will allow ethnic differences in the ocular characteristics of children from a large metropolitan area of the UK to be examined. The findings to date indicate the emergence of higher levels of myopia by early adolescence in second and third generation British South Asians, compared to white European children. The continuation of the AES will allow the early determinants of these ethnic differences to be studied.

Digital video transmission over wireless networks

The advent of the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) led to the standardisation of the first video codecs for interpersonal video communications, followed closely by the development of standards for the compression, storage and distribution of digital video in the PC environment, mainly targeted at CD-ROM storage. At the same time the second-generation digital wireless networks, and the third-generation networks being developed, have enough bandwidth to support digital video services. The radio propagation medium is a difficult environment in which to deploy low bit error rate, real time services such as video. The video coding standards designed for ISDN and storage applications, were targeted at low bit error rate levels, orders of magnitude lower than the typical bit error rates experienced on wireless networks. This thesis is concerned with the transmission of digital, compressed video over wireless networks. It investigates the behaviour of motion compensated, hybrid interframe DPCM/DCT video coding algorithms, which form the basis of current coding algorithms, in the presence of high bit error rates commonly found on digital wireless networks. A group of video codecs, based on the ITU-T H.261 standard, are developed which are robust to the burst errors experienced on radio channels. The radio link is simulated at low level, to generate typical error files that closely model real world situations, in a Rayleigh fading environment perturbed by co-channel interference, and on frequency selective channels which introduce inter symbol interference. Typical anti-multipath techniques, such as antenna diversity, are deployed to mitigate the effects of the channel. Link layer error control techniques are also investigated.

Variability of the permetric response in normals and in glaucoma

This study investigated the variability of response associated with various perimetric techniques, with the aim of improving the clinical interpretation of automated static threshold perirnetry. Evaluation of a third generation of perimetric threshold algorithms (SITA) demonstrated a reduction in test duration by approximately 50% both in normal subjects and in glaucoma patients. SITA produced a slightly higher, but clinically insignificant, Mean Sensitivity than with the previous generations of algorithms. This was associated with a decreased between-subject variability in sensitivity and hence, lower confidence intervals for normality. In glaucoma, the SITA algorithms gave rise to more statistically significant visual field defects and a similar between-visit repeatability to the Full Threshold and FASTPAC algorithms. The higher estimated sensitivity observed with SITA compared to Full Threshold and FASTPAC were not attributed to a reduction in the fatigue effect. The investigation of a novel method of maintaining patient fixation, a roving fixation target which paused immediately prior lo the stimulus presentation, revealed a greater degree of fixational instability with the roving fixation target compared to the conventional static fixation target. Previous experience with traditional white-white perimetry did not eradicate the learning effect in short-wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP) in a group of ocular hypertensive patients. The learning effect was smaller in an experienced group of patients compared to a naive group of patients, but was still at a significant level to require that patients should undertake a series of at least three familiarisation tests with SWAP.

Integrated assessment of bioelectricity technology options

Power generation from biomass is a sustainable energy technology which can contribute to substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, but with greater potential for environmental, economic and social impacts than most other renewable energy technologies. It is important therefore in assessing bioenergy systems to take account of not only technical, but also environmental, economic and social parameters on a common basis. This work addresses the challenge of analysing, quantifying and comparing these factors for bioenergy power generation systems. A life-cycle approach is used to analyse the technical, environmental, economic and social impacts of entire bioelectricity systems, with a number of life-cycle indicators as outputs to facilitate cross-comparison. The results show that similar greenhouse gas savings are achieved with the wide variety of technologies and scales studied, but land-use efficiency of greenhouse gas savings and specific airborne emissions varied substantially. Also, while specific investment costs and electricity costs vary substantially from one system to another the number of jobs created per unit of electricity delivered remains roughly constant. Recorded views of stakeholders illustrate that diverging priorities exist for different stakeholder groups and this will influence appropriate choice of bioenergy systems for different applications.