An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Curaçao

The current energy systems within Curaçao depend primarily on high cost, imported fossil fuels, and typically constitute power sectors that are characterized by small, inefficient generation plants which result in high energy prices. As a consequence of its dependence on external fuel supplies, Curaçao is extremely vulnerable to international oil price shocks, which can impact on economic planning and foreign direct investment within their industrial sectors. The ability of the successive governments to source capital for economic stimulation and social investment is therefore significantly challenging. Additionally, there is over-dependence on two of the most climate-sensitive economic sectors, namely the tourism and fisheries sectors, but the vulnerabilities of the country to the effects of climate change make adaptation difficult and costly. It is within this context that this report focuses on identification of the fiscal and regulatory barriers to implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Curaçao with a view of making recommendations for removal of these barriers. Consultations with key Government officials, the private sector as well as civil society were conducted to obtain information and data on the energy sector in the country. Desktop research was also conducted to supplement the information gathered from the consultations. The major result of the assessment is that Curaçao is at an early stage in the definition of its energy sector. Despite some infrastructural legacies of the pre-independence era, as well as a number of recent developments including the modernization and expansion of its windfarms and completion of a modern Electricity Policy, there are still a number of important institutional and policy gaps within the energy sector in Curaçao. The most significant deficiency is the absence of a ministry or Government agency with portfolio responsibility for the energy sector as a whole; this has: limited the degree to which the activities of energy sector stakeholders are coordinated and retarded the development and implementation of a comprehensive national energy policy. The absence of an energy policy, which provides the framework for energy planning, increases investor risk. Also, the lack of political continuity that has emanated from the frequent changes in Government administrations is a concern among stakeholders and has served to reduce investor confidence in particular, and market confidence in general.

Enriched environment contributes to recovery of visual acuity and increases perineuronal nets in monocular-deprived animals

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of enriched environment on the distribution of perineuronal nets (PNNs) using a stereogically based unbiased protocol and visual acuity in adult Swiss albino mice that underwent monocular deprivation during the critical period of postnatal development. Eight female Swiss albino mice were monocular deprived were removed and cut at 70 µm thickness in a vibratome and processed for lectin histochemical staining with Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA). Architectonic limits of area 17 were conspicuously defined by WFA histochemical staining, and the optical fractionator stereological method was applied to estimate the total number of PNNs in the supragranular, granular, and infragranular layers. All groups were compared using Student's t-test at a 95% confidence level. Comparative analysis of the average PNN estimations revealed that the EE group had higher PNNs in the supragranular layer (2726.33 ± 405.416, mean ± standard deviation) compared with the SE group (1543.535 ± 260.686; Student's t-test, p = .0495). No differences were found in the other layers. Visual acuity was significantly lower in the SE group (0.55 cycles/degree) than in the EE group (1.06 cycles/degree). Our results suggest that the integrity of the specialized extracellular matrix PNNs of the supragranular layer may be essential for normal visual acuity development.

Multidisciplinary approach to identification of fishery production systems on the northern coast of Brazil

A pesca artesanal na costa Norte do Brasil é caracterizado por um conjunto de modalidades de pesca diferentes. Utilizando uma abordagem multidisciplinar, 20 sistemas de produção pesqueira foram identificados, com características distintas em relação à tecnologia e finalidade. As características de cada sistema foram classificados em cinco dimensões (ecológicas, económicas, sociais, tecnológicos e políticos). A análise de escalonamento multidimensional revelou que alguns destes 20 sistemas têm semelhanças maiores. Assim, um total de 10 grupos distintos foram identificados.

Epigenetic and expression analysis of TRAIL-R2 and BCL2: on the TRAIL to knowledge of apoptosis in ovarian tumors

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Cardiovascular responses to injections of angiotensin II or carbachol into the rostral ventrolateral medulla in rats with AV3V lesions

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

Resistance to impact of cross-linked denture base biopolymer materials: Effect of relining, glass flakes reinforcement and cyclic loading

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effect of interval from induction of puberty to initiation of a timed AI protocol on pregnancy rate in Nellore heifers

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Metabolic profile response to administration of epigallocatechin-3-gallate in high-fat-fed mice

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

A novel automated alternating current biosusceptometry method to characterization of controlled-release magnetic floating tablets of metronidazole

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

Does the Method of Caries Induction Influence the Bond Strength to Dentin of Primary Teeth?

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

Total bacterial counting and the response to treatment of bacterial vaginosis with metronidazole

Objective: To evaluate if the total bacterial count of vaginal samples with bacterial vaginosis assessed by flow cytometry influences the response to treatment with metronidazol. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 273 low-risk reproductive aged women were enrolled. Vaginal samples were taken to evaluate the pattern of vaginal flora according to Nugent’s criteria, as well as the presence of trichomoniasis and candidosis. Cases identified of bacterial vaginosis were treated with metronidazole and controlled after 45 days. Cervical infection by Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae were also assessed. Flow cytometry for total bacterial counting was performed in propidium iodide stained cervicovaginal samples, using fluorescent beads at a known concentration. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney test was used to compare total bacterial count between groups of interest, at p<0.05. Results: From the total of 273 women enrolled, 50 were excluded as they presented at least one of the infections investigated. Bacterial vaginosis was detected in 79 women (35.4%), of which 33 (41.8%) returned for re-evaluation after treatment, being 21 cases successfully treated and 12 with persistent abnormal vaginal flora. Flow cytometric data showed that total bacterial counting does not differ between normal flora and bacterial vaginosis samples (p=0.14). Also, no difference was found between the cases of treated and persistent bacterial vaginosis (p=0.48). Conclusion: Total bacterial counting does not influence the response to metronidazole treatment of bacterial vaginosis

Treatment of severe facial asymmetry secondary to osteochondroma of the mandibular condyle: case report

Osteochondroma (OC) is the most common benign tumor of long bones. However it is rarely found in the facial skeleton, being the coronoid process and mandibular condyle the most affected sites in this region. It basically consists in bone growth covered by cartilage. The etiology is still controversial: neoplastic, developmental, reparative and traumatic origins have been discussed in literature. The treatments of these lesions include total condylectomy or local resection of the lesion. This paper aims to report a case of a patient with history of trauma and possible fracture of the mandibular condyle in childhood, which in youth developed dentofacial deformity with severe facial asymmetry. The treatment consisted of resection of lesion both with maxillary and mandibular osteotomies associated with graft from the iliac crest bone. Actually, the patient is with a favorable aesthetic, without functional deficit and absence of lesion’s recurrence.

Ultrasonography of the conceptus development from days 15 to 60 of pregnancy in non-cyclic recipient mares

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