Opportunities for trade and investment between Latin America and Asia-Pacific: the link with APEC

Includes bibliography

Integrated analysis of halogenated organic pollutants in sub-millilitre volumes of venous and umbilical cord blood sera

A rapid, robust and economical method for the analysis of persistent halogenated organic compounds in small volumes of human serum and umbilical cord blood is described. The pollutants studied cover a broad range of molecules of contemporary epidemiological and legislative concern, including polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), polychlorobenzenes (CBs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), DDTs, polychlorostyrenes (PCSs) and polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Extraction and clean-up with n-hexane and concentrated sulphuric acid was followed with analysis by gas chromatography coupled to electron capture (GC-ECD) and GC coupled to negative ion chemical ionisation mass spectrometry (GC-NICI-MS). The advantages of this method rest in the broad range of analytes and its simplicity and robustness, while the use of concentrated sulphuric acid extraction/clean-up destroys viruses that may be present in the samples. Small volumes of reference serum between 50 and 1000 μL were extracted and the limits of detection/quantification and repeatability were determined. Recoveries of spiked compounds for the extraction of small volumes (≥300 μL) of the spiked reference serum were between 90% and 120%. The coefficients of variation of repeatability ranged from 0.1-14%, depending on the compound. Samples of 4-year-old serum and umbilical cord blood (n = 73 and 40, respectively) from a population inhabiting a village near a chloro-alkali plant were screened for the above-mentioned halogenated pollutants using this method and the results are briefly described. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.

The United States and Latin America and the Caribbean: Highlights of economics and trade

Foreword by Alicia Bárcena

Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union: striving for a renewed partnership

Includes bibliography

Latin America's experience in dispute settlement within WTO: the cases of technical standards, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and intellectual property

Includes Bibliography

Trade and investment promotion between Asia-Pacific and Latin America: present position and future prospects

Includes bibliography

Regional integration in Latin America and dynamic gains from macroeconomic cooperation

Includes bibliography

The relations between different levels of government in Argentina

Includes bibliography

Seasonal variation in leaf traits between congeneric savanna and forest trees in Central Brazil: Implications for forest expansion into savanna

The ecology of forest and savanna trees species will largely determine the structure and dynamics of the forest-savanna boundaries, but little is known about the constraints to leaf trait variation imposed by selective forces and evolutionary history during the process of savanna invasion by forest species. We compared seasonal patterns in leaf traits related to leaf structure, carbon assimilation, water, and nutrient relations in 10 congeneric species pairs, each containing one savanna species and one forest species. All individuals were growing in dystrophic oxisols in a fire-protected savanna of Central Brazil. We tested the hypothesis that forest species would be more constrained by seasonal drought and nutrient-poor soils than their savanna congeners. We also hypothesized that habitat, rather than phylogeny, would explain more of the interspecific variance in leaf traits of the studied species. We found that throughout the year forest trees had higher specific leaf area (SLA) but lower integrated water use efficiency than savanna trees. Forest and savanna species maintained similar values of predawn and midday leaf water potential along the year. Lower values were measured in the dry season. However, this was achieved by a stronger regulation of stomatal conductance and of CO2 assimilation on an area basis (A area) in forest trees, particularly toward the end of the dry season. Relative to savanna trees, forest trees maintained similar (P, K, Ca, and Mg) or slightly higher (N) leaf nutrient concentrations. For the majority of traits, more variance was explained by phylogeny, than by habitat of origin, with the exception of SLA, leaf N concentration, and A area, which were apparently subjected to different selective pressures in the savanna and forest environments. In conclusion, water shortage during extended droughts would be more limiting for forest trees than nutrient-poor soils. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

The United States and Latin America and the Caribbean: highlights of economy and trade

Document prepared on the occasion of the visit of President Barack Obama to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador in March 2011

First Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC): Exploring opportunities for cooperation on trade and investment

This document is a contribution by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to the First Forum of China and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC),(Beijing, 8 and 9 January 2015). The document consists of three parts. The first part summarizes the main components of the international economic scenario for Latin America and the Caribbean. The second part provides a brief overview of trade and investment relations between the region and China. And the third part sets out conclusions and recommendations for improving the quality of economic ties between the two trading partners..

Latin America and the Caribbean and China: towards a new era in economic cooperation

Foreword by Alicia Bárcena

Review of CARIFORUM-EU EPA in development cooperation and WTO compatability

The Cotonou Agreement which succeeded the Lomé IV Agreement and was signed in Cotonou in June 2000 established a comprehensive framework to govern social, economic and political relations between the Africa, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) grouping and the European Union (EU). At the centre of the partnership are objectives relating to economic development, the reduction and eventual eradication of poverty, and the smooth and gradual integration of ACP States into the world economy. In order to accomplish these objectives, the Cotonou Agreement provides for the conclusion between the ACP and the EU of “new World Trade Organization (WTO) compatible trading arrangements, removing progressively barriers to trade between them and enhancing cooperation in all areas relevant to trade” (Article 36.1). The conclusion of economic partnership agreements (EPAs) represented one way to achieve a WTO compatible instrument and had to be negotiated during the period starting from September 2002 until 31 December 2007 to replace the trade provisions of the Cotonou Agreement. After three and half years of negotiations, CARIFORUM and the European Commission (EC) finally concluded a comprehensive EPA with the EC on 16 December 2007 when an Agreement was initialed. The EPA Parties agreed to sign it later after a review of the provisions at both the national and regional levels. In CARIFORUM, various comments have been made from governments, Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector and the labour movement about the strengths and weaknesses of the EPA. This review comes in this context and is confined to the development cooperation provisions and the question of WTO compatibility and consistency with the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations and existing WTO provisions on special and differential treatment.

Ascensão e queda do gabinete de 20 de novembro de 1827 (1827-1829)

Pós-graduação em História - FCHS

O processo de criação de uma universidade para a Amazônia: os bastidores da construção da UFOPA

Este estudo se propôs a realizar uma análise sobre o processo de criação da Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará (UFOPA) para a Amazônia, compreendendo o papel dos atores institucionais na construção do projeto de criação desta Universidade, cujo compromisso era de a oficializarem como um bem patrimonial para o desenvolvimento da Amazônia. Nesse jogo de poder ficou em evidência o papel da burocracia e da política, e de suas relações de poder (Executivo e Legislativo) no processo decisivo da criação da uma Instituição Federal de Ensino Superior (IFES). Nesse sentido, as relações de poder no alto escalão (entre políticos e burocratas) configuraram-se na UFPA e nas três esferas de governo. Para a realização deste estudo foi feita uma pesquisa qualitativa utilizando-se dos instrumentos das notas taquigráficas e entrevistas, investigando burocratas e políticos. Os resultados apontam que a criação da UFOPA é resultado de uma ação coletiva e estratégica dos atores institucionais, e que o papel desempenhado foi de fundamental importância na elaboração, na defesa e na aprovação do Projeto de Lei de criação da UFOPA, como também apontam que esta universidade será de grande relevância para o desenvolvimento da região Oeste do Pará e para a Amazônia.