Documento de Estratégia de Crescimento e de Redução da Pobreza

2. A elaboração do presente Documento de Estraté gia de Crescimento e de Redução da Pobreza (DECRP) inscreve-se nos objectivos de política do governo, de assumir o combate à pobreza segundo uma abordagem integrada e horizontal relativamente aos diferentes domínios da governação, em estreita articulação com as políticas que procuram promover o crescimento econó mico. Reflecte também a preocupação de assumir a dimensão social como uma dimensão incontorná vel do processo de desenvolvimento econó mico, na base do entendimento de que aquelas duas esferas são insepará veis, sobretudo ao nível das suas consequências sobre o desenvolvimento humano. 3. Esta nova abordagem representa uma reorientação das anteriores políticas de combate à pobreza, centradas sobretudo em acçõ es ao nível das comunidades locais, visando os grupos mais vulnerá veis da população, na base de intervençõ es de cariz pluri-sectorial. Esta perspectiva, que é já materializada atravé s do Plano Nacional de Luta contra a Pobreza (PNLP), demonstra que a luta contra a pobreza em Cabo Verde é uma preocupação já antiga, antecipando mesmo a tendência que se veio a generalizar recentemente nos países em vias de desenvolvimento, de elaboração de estraté gias de crescimento e de redução da pobreza1. 4. A actual abordagem dá todavia uma nova relevância à estraté gia de combate à pobreza, posicionando-a explicitamente, e de forma determinada, no cerne das políticas públicas, quer a nível global (governação, política macroeconó mica), quer a nível sectorial, quer ainda a nível regional e local, valorizando a maior eficá cia das políticas descentralizadoras no combate à pobreza. Do iPRSP ao Documento de Estraté gia de Crescimento e de Redução da Pobreza 5. Em Dezembro de 2001, o Governo de Cabo Verde aprovou a Estraté gia de Crescimento e de Redução da Pobreza, na sua versão preliminar2. Esta estraté gia foi apreciada conjuntamente pelo staff do Banco Mundial e do FMI de onde resultaram algumas recomendaçõ es para a versão definitiva. 6. No essencial, o iPRSP apresentava um perfil da pobreza com uma natureza ainda preliminar, dado que não se dispunha ainda dos resultados do Inqué rito à s Despesas e Receitas Familiares (IRDF 2001-2002). Esta limitação foi entretanto ultrapassada com a recente divulgação dos resultados do referido inqué rito, permitindo elaborar um perfil da pobreza em Cabo Verde como base para a preparação quer da estraté gia global, quer das estraté gias sectoriais de combate à pobreza. 7. No tempo entretanto decorrido apó s a finalização do PRSP intercalar, registou-se uma evolução significativa ao nível da elaboração de alguns planos estraté gicos sectoriais de onde decorrem novas orientaçõ es nem sempre previstas no PND. (...)

Degradation of pathogen quorum-sensing molecules by soil bacteria: a preventive and curative biological control mechanism.

Abstract The plasmid pME6863, carrying the aiiA gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus sp. A24 that encodes a lactonase enzyme able to degrade N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs), was introduced into the rhizosphere isolate Pseudomonas fluorescens P3. This strain is not an effective biological control agent against plant pathogens. The transformant P. fluorescens P3/pME6863 acquired the ability to degrade AHLs. In planta, P. fluorescens P3/pME6863 significantly reduced potato soft rot caused by Erwinia carotovora and crown gall of tomato caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens to a similar level as Bacillus sp. A24. Little or no disease reduction was observed for the wild-type strain P3 carrying the vector plasmid without aiiA. Suppression of potato soft rot was observed even when the AHL-degrading P. fluorescens P3/pME6863 was applied to tubers 2 days after the pathogen, indicating that biocontrol was not only preventive but also curative. When antagonists were applied individually with the bacterial plant pathogens, biocontrol activity of the AHL degraders was greater than that observed with several Pseudomonas 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol-producing strains and with Pseudomonas chlororaphis PCL1391, which relies on production of phenazine antibiotic for disease suppression. Phenazine production by this well characterized biological control strain P. chlororaphis PCL1391 is regulated by AHL-mediated quorum sensing. When P. chlororaphis PCL1391 was co-inoculated with P. fluorescens P3/pME6863 in a strain mixture, the AHL degrader interfered with the normally excellent ability of the antibiotic producer to suppress tomato vascular wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Our results demonstrate AHL degradation as a novel biocontrol mechanism, but also demonstrate the potential for non-target interactions that can interfere with the biocontrol efficacy of other strains.

Endosymbiotic bacteria associated with nematodes, ticks and amoebae.

Endosymbiosis is a mutualistic, parasitic or commensal symbiosis in which one symbiont is living within the body of another organism. Such symbiotic relationship with free-living amoebae and arthropods has been reported with a large biodiversity of microorganisms, encompassing various bacterial clades and to a lesser extent some fungi and viruses. By contrast, current knowledge on symbionts of nematodes is still mainly restricted to Wolbachia and its interaction with filarial worms that lead to increased pathogenicity of the infected nematode. In this review article, we aim to highlight the main characteristics of symbionts in term of their ecology, host cell interactions, parasitism and co-evolution, in order to stimulate future research in a field that remains largely unexplored despite the availability of modern tools.

Archives curieuses de l'histoire de France.... 1re série. Tome 8e

Comprend : Histoire contenant un abrégé de la vie, moeurs et vertus du roy... Charles IX... ; La Prinse du Comte de Montgommery, dedans le chasteau de Donfron, par monsieur de Matignon, lieutenant en la basse Normandie, en l'absence du Duc de Bouillon, le Ieudy XXVII de May, mil cinq cens soixante et quatorze. A Paris, pour Nicolas du Mont demeurant auprès le Collège de Reims 1574 ; Arrest contre Geoffroy Vallée. 8 février 1574. (Extrait des Registres du Parlement) ; Discours de la mort et exécution de Gabriel Comte de Montgommery, par arrest de la Court, pour les conspirations et menées par luy commises, contre le Roy et son estat, qui fut à Paris, le vingsixième de Iuing, 1574. A Paris, par Michel Buffet... 1574 ; Choses notables et qui semblent digne de l'histoire, advenues aux premiers troubles et qui peuvent estre adjoustées aux discours qui en on esté escrits ; Histoire de Charles IX ; Le Tumulte de Bassigni... ; Discours de la famine de Sancerre. Mars 1573 ; Lettre... au roy, 27 septembre 1572 ; Des mines d'argent trouvées en France, ouvrage et police d'icelles... ; Ordonnances... sur la discipline militaire

Institutional constraints on organizations: The case of Spanish car dealerships

We study the effect of organizational choice and institutions on the performance ofSpanish car dealerships. Using outlet-level data from 1994, we find that verticallyintegrateddealerships showed substantially lower labor productivity, higher labor costs andlower profitability than franchised ones. Despite these gaps in performance, no verticallyintegratedoutlet was separated until 1994, yet the few outlets that were eventuallyseparated systematically improved their performance. We argue that the conversion ofintegrated outlets into franchised ones involved significant transaction costs, due to aninstitutional environment favoring permanent, highly-unionized employment relations. Inline with this argument, we find that the observed separations occurred in distributionnetworks that underwent marked reductions in worker unionization rates, following thelegalization of temporary labor contracts.

Designing institutions for financial stability: Regulation and supervision by objective for the Euro area

In this paper, we discuss pros and cons ofdifferent models for financial market regulationand supervision and we present a proposal forthe re-organisation of regulatory and supervisoryagencies in the Euro Area. Our arguments areconsistent with both new theories and effectivebehaviour of financial intermediaries inindustrialized countries. Our proposed architecturefor financial market regulation is based on theassignment of different objectives or "finalities"to different authorities, both at the domesticand the European level. According to thisperspective, the three objectives of supervision- microeconomic stability, investor protectionand proper behaviour, efficiency and competition- should be assigned to three distinct Europeanauthorities, each one at the centre of a Europeansystem of financial regulators and supervisorsspecialized in overseeing the entire financialmarket with respect to a single regulatoryobjective and regardless of the subjective natureof the intermediaries. Each system should bestructured and organized similarly to the EuropeanSystem of Central Banks and work in connectionwith the central bank which would remain theinstitution responsible for price and macroeconomicstability. We suggest a plausible path to buildour 4-peak regulatory architecture in the Euro area.

Financial intermediation and equity investment with costly monitoring

This paper studies the efficiency of equilibria in a productive OLG economy where the process of financial intermediation is characterized by costly state verification. Both competitive equilibria and Constrained Pareto Optimal allocations are characterized. It is shown that market outcomes can be socially inefficient, even when a weaker notion than Pareto optimality is considered.

Identification of active oxalotrophic bacteria by Bromodeoxyuridine DNA labeling in a microcosm soil experiments

The oxalate-carbonate pathway (OCP) leads to a potential carbon sink in terrestrial environments. This process is linked to the activity of oxalotrophic bacteria. Although isolation and molecular characterizations are used to study oxalotrophic bacteria, these approaches do not give information on the active oxalotrophs present in soil undergoing the OCP. The aim of this study was to assess the diversity of active oxalotrophic bacteria in soil microcosms using the Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) DNA labeling technique. Soil was collected near an oxalogenic tree (Milicia excelsa). Different concentrations of calcium oxalate (0.5%, 1%, and 4% w/w) were added to the soil microcosms and compared with an untreated control. After 12days of incubation, a maximal pH of 7.7 was measured for microcosms with oxalate (initial pH 6.4). At this time point, a DGGE profile of the frc gene was performed from BrdU-labeled soil DNA and unlabeled soil DNA. Actinobacteria (Streptomyces- and Kribbella-like sequences), Gammaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria were found as the main active oxalotrophic bacterial groups. This study highlights the relevance of Actinobacteria as members of the active bacterial community and the identification of novel uncultured oxalotrophic groups (i.e. Kribbella) active in soils.

Inequality over the business cycle: Estimating income risk using micro-data on consumption

We use CEX repeated cross-section data on consumption and income, to evaluate the nature of increased income inequality in the 1980s and 90s. We decompose unexpected changes in family income into transitory and permanent, and idiosyncratic and aggregate components, and estimate the contribution of each component to total inequality. The model we use is a linearized incomplete markets model, enriched to incorporate risk-sharing while maintaining tractability. Our estimates suggest that taking risk sharing into account is important for the model fit; that the increase in inequality in the 1980s was mainly permanent; and that inequality is driven almost entirely by idiosyncratic income risk. In addition we find no evidence for cyclical behavior of consumption risk, casting doubt on Constantinides and Duffie s (1995) explanation for the equity premium puzzle.

Heterogeneous life-cycle profiles, income risk and consumption inequality

Was the increase in income inequality in the US due to permanent shocks or merely to an increase in the variance of transitory shocks? The implications for consumption and welfare depend crucially on the answer to this question. We use CEX repeated cross-section data on consumption and income to decompose idiosyncratic changes in income into predictable life-cycle changes, transitory and permanent shocks and estimate the contribution of each to total inequality. Our model fits the joint evolution of consumption and income inequality well and delivers two main results. First, we find that permanent changes in income explain all of the increase in inequality in the 1980s and 90s. Second, we reconcile this finding with the fact that consumption inequality did not increase much over this period. Our results support the view that many permanent changes in income are predictable for consumers, even if they look unpredictable to the econometrician, consistent withmodels of heterogeneous income profiles.

Association between the A-2518G polymorphism in the monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 gene and insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The molecular mechanisms of obesity-related insulin resistance are incompletely understood. Macrophages accumulate in adipose tissue of obese individuals. In obesity, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), a key chemokine in the process of macrophage accumulation, is overexpressed in adipose tissue. MCP-1 is an insulin-responsive gene that continues to respond to exogenous insulin in insulin-resistant adipocytes and mice. MCP-1 decreases insulin-stimulated glucose uptake into adipocytes. The A-2518G polymorphism in the distal regulatory region of MCP-1 may regulate gene expression. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of this gene polymorphism on insulin resistance. METHODS: We genotyped the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC) cohort ( n=3307). Insulin resistance, estimated by homeostasis model assessment, and Type 2 diabetes were diagnosed in 803 and 635 patients respectively. RESULTS: Univariate analysis revealed that plasma MCP-1 levels were significantly and positively correlated with WHR ( p=0.011), insulin resistance ( p=0.0097) and diabetes ( p<0.0001). Presence of the MCP-1 G-2518 allele was associated with decreased plasma MCP-1 ( p=0.017), a decreased prevalence of insulin resistance (odds ratio [OR]=0.82, 95% CI: 0.70-0.97, p=0.021) and a decreased prevalence of diabetes (OR=0.80, 95% CI: 0.67-0.96, p=0.014). In multivariate analysis, the G allele retained statistical significance as a negative predictor of insulin resistance (OR=0.78, 95% CI: 0.65-0.93, p=0.0060) and diabetes (OR=0.80, 95% CI: 0.66-0.96, p=0.018). CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: In a large cohort of Caucasians, the MCP-1 G-2518 gene variant was significantly and negatively correlated with plasma MCP-1 levels and the prevalence of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. These results add to recent evidence supporting a role for MCP-1 in pathologies associated with hyperinsulinaemia.

Monetary policy shocks and transmission in Italy: A VAR analysis

This paper provides updated empirical evidence about the real and nominal effects of monetary policy in Italy, by using structural VAR analysis. We discuss different empirical approaches that have been used in order to identify monetary policy exogenous shocks. We argue that the data support the view that the Bank of Italy, at least in the recent past, has been targeting the rate on overnight interbank loans. Therefore, we interpret shocks to the overnight rate as purely exogenous monetary policy shocks and study how different macroeconomic variables react to such shocks.

[Phot. de Venise par G. Sommer, phot. à Naples, don Alice Martin en 1887]

Donateur : Martin, Alice (18..-18..?)