In search of work. International migration of women in Latin America and the Caribbean. Selected bibliography

Includes bibliography

Humanization of health care: a reflexive theoretical essay based on the philosophy of Emmanuel Lévinas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Study of final-state radiation in decays of Z bosons produced in pp collisions at 7 TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efficiency in Brazil's industrial sectors in terms of energy and sustainable development

This article evaluates the efficiency of Brazil's industrial sectors from 1996 to 2009, taking into account energy consumption and respective contributions to the country's economic and social aspects. This analysis used a mathematical programming method called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which enabled, from the SBM model and the window analysis, to evaluate the ability of industries to reduce energy consumption and fossil-fuel CO2 emissions (inputs), as well as to increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by sectors, the persons employed and personnel expenses (outputs). The results of this study indicated that the Textile sector is the most efficient industrial sector in Brazil, according to the variables used, followed by these sectors: Foods and Beverages, Chemical, Mining, Paper and Pulp, Nonmetallic and Metallurgical.

Hadronic correlation functions with quark-disconnected contributions in lattice QCD

One of the fundamental interactions in the Standard Model of particle physicsrnis the strong force, which can be formulated as a non-abelian gauge theoryrncalled Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). rnIn the low-energy regime, where the QCD coupling becomes strong and quarksrnand gluons are confined to hadrons, a perturbativernexpansion in the coupling constant is not possible.rnHowever, the introduction of a four-dimensional Euclidean space-timernlattice allows for an textit{ab initio} treatment of QCD and provides arnpowerful tool to study the low-energy dynamics of hadrons.rnSome hadronic matrix elements of interest receive contributionsrnfrom diagrams including quark-disconnected loops, i.e. disconnected quarkrnlines from one lattice point back to the same point. The calculation of suchrnquark loops is computationally very demanding, because it requires knowledge ofrnthe all-to-all propagator. In this thesis we use stochastic sources and arnhopping parameter expansion to estimate such propagators.rnWe apply this technique to study two problems which relay crucially on therncalculation of quark-disconnected diagrams, namely the scalar form factor ofrnthe pion and the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to the anomalousrnmagnet moment of the muon.rnThe scalar form factor of the pion describes the coupling of a charged pion torna scalar particle. We calculate the connected and the disconnected contributionrnto the scalar form factor for three different momentum transfers. The scalarrnradius of the pion is extracted from the momentum dependence of the form factor.rnThe use ofrnseveral different pion masses and lattice spacings allows for an extrapolationrnto the physical point. The chiral extrapolation is done using chiralrnperturbation theory ($chi$PT). We find that our pion mass dependence of thernscalar radius is consistent with $chi$PT at next-to-leading order.rnAdditionally, we are able to extract the low energy constant $ell_4$ from thernextrapolation, and ourrnresult is in agreement with results from other lattice determinations.rnFurthermore, our result for the scalar pion radius at the physical point isrnconsistent with a value that was extracted from $pipi$-scattering data. rnThe hadronic vacuum polarization (HVP) is the leading-order hadronicrncontribution to the anomalous magnetic moment $a_mu$ of the muon. The HVP canrnbe estimated from the correlation of two vector currents in the time-momentumrnrepresentation. We explicitly calculate the corresponding disconnectedrncontribution to the vector correlator. We find that the disconnectedrncontribution is consistent with zero within its statistical errors. This resultrncan be converted into an upper limit for the maximum contribution of therndisconnected diagram to $a_mu$ by using the expected time-dependence of therncorrelator and comparing it to the corresponding connected contribution. Wernfind the disconnected contribution to be smaller than $approx5%$ of thernconnected one. This value can be used as an estimate for a systematic errorrnthat arises from neglecting the disconnected contribution.rn

Marx and the Bible: José Miranda’s Critique of the Philosophy of Oppression

This paper critically examines the liberation theology of José Porfirio Miranda, as expressed in his Marx and the Bible (1971), with a focus on the central idea (and subtitle) of this work: the “Critique of the Philosophy of Oppression.” Miranda’s critique is examined via certain key tropes such as “power,” “justice,” and “freedom,” both in the context of late twentieth-century Latin American society, and in the state of the “post-Christian” and “post-Marxist” world more generally, vis-à-vis contemporary liberal justice theory. Close examination of the potentialities, paradoxes and subtle evasions in Miranda’s critique leads not to the conclusion that Miranda does not go far enough in his application of Christian principles to justice theory.

Challenges for Participatory Conservation in Times of Global Change: Lessons from a Comparative Analysis and New Developments

Participatory approaches to conservation have been applied worldwide by governments and non-governmental organisations. However, results from a comparative analysis of the impacts of global change on management issues in 13 protected areas in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Europe show that in many cases the involvement of local people has remained limited, and economic gains for local livelihoods have been limited or non-existent. Viewed from a ‘new institutionalist’ perspective and focusing on power relations and ideologies, the results of this study carried out within the framework of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South show that in African cases local people do not feel part of the process and, therefore, become disengaged. In Asia, and even more so in Latin America, local indigenous peoples and their leaders support protected areas as a means to gain political rights over areas threatened by immigration. The European (Swiss) case is the only one where political rights and economic incentives present a context in which participation is of direct interest to local people. Meanwhile, recent debates on new global conservation developments in the context of climate change policy indicate a growing tendency to treat conservation as a commodity. We argue that this can have problematical effects on efforts to devolve power to the local level in the context of conservation.

Gasoline emissions dominate over diesel in formation of secondary organic aerosol mass

Although laboratory experiments have shown that organic compounds in both gasoline fuel and diesel engine exhaust can form secondary organic aerosol (SOA), the fractional contribution from gasoline and diesel exhaust emissions to ambient SOA in urban environments is poorly known. Here we use airborne and ground-based measurements of organic aerosol (OA) in the Los Angeles (LA) Basin, California made during May and June 2010 to assess the amount of SOA formed from diesel emissions. Diesel emissions in the LA Basin vary between weekdays and weekends, with 54% lower diesel emissions on weekends. Despite this difference in source contributions, in air masses with similar degrees of photochemical processing, formation of OA is the same on weekends and weekdays, within the measurement uncertainties. This result indicates that the contribution from diesel emissions to SOA formation is zero within our uncertainties. Therefore, substantial reductions of SOA mass on local to global scales will be achieved by reducing gasoline vehicle emissions.

Role of Acetylcholine in Control of Sexual Behavior of Male and Female Mammals

The results of studies using systemic or central applications of cholinergic drugs suggest that acetylcholine makes important contributions to the neurochemical control of male- and female-typical reproductive behaviors. In males, cholinergic control seems largely specific to some elements or aspects of copulatory behavior that can vary significantly across species. Synapses in or near the medial preoptic area represent part of this mechanism, but the entire system appears to extend more widely, perhaps especially to one or more structures flanking some part of the lateral ventricle. In females, the lordosis response that essentially defines sexual receptivity is clearly responsive to cholinergic drugs. The same seems likely to be true of other elements of female sexual behavior, but additional studies will be needed to confirm this. Changes in cholinergic activity may help to mediate estrogenic effects on female sexual behavior. However, estrogen exposure can increase or decrease cholinergic effects, suggesting a relationship that is complex and requires further analysis. Also presently unclear is the localization of the cholinergic effects on female sexual responses. Though periventricular sites again have been implicated, their identity is presently unknown. This review discusses these and other aspects of the central cholinergic systems affecting male and female sexual behaviors. Copyright 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Physicians' philosophy of care: a comparison of complementary and conventional medicine

BACKGROUND: This project is part of an evaluation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) aimed at providing a scientific basis for the Swiss Government to include 5 CAM methods in basic health coverage: anthroposophic medicine, homeopathy, neural therapy, phytotherapy and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). OBJECTIVES: The objective was to explore the philosophy of care (convictions and values, priorities in medical activity, motivation for CAM, criteria for the practice of CAM, limits of the used methods) of conventional and CAM general practitioners (GPs) and to determine differences between both groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 623 GPs who provide complementary or conventional primary care. A mailed questionnaire with open-ended questions focusing on the philosophy of care was used for data collection. An appropriate methodology using a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was developed. RESULTS: Significant differences between both groups include philosophy of care (holistic versus positivistic approaches), motivation for CAM (intrinsic versus extrinsic) and priorities in medical activity. Both groups seem to be aware of limitations of the therapeutic methods used. The study reveals that conventional physicians are also using complementary medicine. DISCUSSION: Our study provides a wealth of data documenting several aspects of physicians' philosophy of care as well as differences and similarities between conventional and complementary care. Implications of the study with regard to quality of care as well as ethical and health policy issues should be investigated further.

A KEL gene encoding serine at position 193 of the Kell glycoprotein results in expression of KEL1 antigen

BACKGROUND: The KEL2/KEL1 (k/K) blood group polymorphism represents 578C>T in the KEL gene and Thr193Met in the Kell glycoprotein. Anti-KEL1 can cause severe hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. Molecular genotyping for KEL*1 is routinely used for assessing whether a fetus is at risk. Red blood cells (RBCs) from a KEL:1 blood donor (D1) were found to have abnormal KEL1 expression during evaluation of anti-KEL1 reagents. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Kell genotyping methods, including KEL exon 6 direct sequencing, were applied. KEL cDNA from D1 was sequenced. Flow cytometry was used to assess KEL1 and KEL2 RBC expression. RESULTS: RBCs from the donor, her mother, and an unrelated donor gave weak or negative reactions with some anti-KEL1 reagents. Other Kell-system antigens appeared normal. The three individuals were homozygous for KEL C578 (KEL*2) but heterozygous for a 577A>T transversion, encoding Ser193. They appeared to be KEL*2 homozygotes by routine genotyping methods. Flow cytometry revealed weak KEL1 expression and normal KEL2, similar to that of KEL*2 homozygotes. CONCLUSION: Ser193 in the Kell glycoprotein appears to result in expression of abnormal KEL1, in addition to KEL2. The mutation is not detected by routine Kell genotyping methods and, because of unpredicted KEL1 expression, could lead to a misdiagnosis.

Experimental models of CNS infections. Contributions to concepts of disease and treatment

Lessons learned from studies of experimental meningitis and brain abscess in animal models of infection represent major, highly significant contributions to our understanding of the pathogenesis and antimicrobial chemotherapy of these infections. For example, studies of experimental meningitis in rabbits demonstrated that the subarachnoid space is deficient in local host defenses, a finding that explains why only bactericidal antibiotic regimens are effective in treating this disease; studies of the efficacy of corticosteroids as adjunctive therapy for meningitis yielded data indicating that both beneficial and detrimental effects on the host are imparted by these compounds. These and a number of other key investigations of experimental meningitis and brain abscess, the results of these investigations, and the clinical significance of these results are presented in this article.

On how high performers keep cool brains in situations of cognitive overload

What happens in the brain when we reach or exceed our capacity limits? Are there individual differences for performance at capacity limits? We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the impact of increases in processing demand on selected cortical areas when participants performed a parametrically varied and challenging dual task. Low-performing participants respond with large and load-dependent activation increases in many cortical areas when exposed to excessive task requirements, accompanied by decreasing performance. It seems that these participants recruit additional attentional and strategy-related resources with increasing difficulty, which are either not relevant or even detrimental to performance. In contrast, the brains of the high-performing participants "keep cool" in terms of activation changes, despite continuous correct performance, reflecting different and more efficient processing. These findings shed light on the differential implications of performance on activation patterns and underline the importance of the interindividual-differences approach in neuroimaging research.