The status of millennium development goals: monitoring and reporting in selected Caribbean countries

In spite of various initiatives, Caribbean countries continue to have difficulties in addressing demands of monitoring and measuring progress towards the fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other Internationally Agreed upon Development Goals (IADGs)1. To address this gap, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has received funding for a technical assistance project, Strengthening the capacity of National Statistical Offices (NSOs) in the Caribbean Small Island Developing States to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals and other Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs). The main imperative of the project is to support the strengthening of national institutional capabilities for generating reliable data to meet these monitoring and reporting requirements. The project seeks to build on past and current initiatives directed towards broadening and improving statistics and indicators through the use of already available knowledge, experience and expertise at the national and regional level. In an effort to avoid duplication of present or repetition of past activities in this field, ECLAC considered it important to conduct a thorough assessment of the status and structure of MDG and IADG monitoring and reporting at the national and regional levels as well as to provide an overview of initiatives undertaken by other regional development partners and intergovernmental bodies in the subregion. This paper is composed as follows: The first chapter of the document will present an overview of the statistical infrastructure at the national level, followed by a summary of the results of a survey administered to Caribbean NSOs that gathered information on the status of and mechanisms in place in MDG and IADG monitoring and reporting at the national level. Then, an attempt will be made to provide a briefing on activities carried out by intergovernmental bodies and development partners in the region. The fourth section presents a brief summary of data sources for secondary data and introduces concepts for metadata collection and reporting. It further discusses major challenges with poverty measurements and monitoring in the subregion. The paper ends with a summary and recommendations for the way forward.

A política salarial para os professores da educação básica da rede municipal no contexto do FUNDEB nos municípios de Óbidos e Oriximiná-Pará

A dissertação trata sobre a política salarial dos professores municipalizados do município de Tucuruí do Estado do Pará. Objetiva avaliar a política salarial dos professores no contexto da municipalização do ensino e tenta contribuir com a avaliação da política educacional no Pará, no período entre 1997 a 2008. Procuramos analisar dinamicamente, a política salarial face ao caráter da política educacional do programa de "descentralização", desenvolvido nas reformas do Estado brasileiro, executado pelo Ministério da Educação, desde o governo de Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Assim, a investigação atentou para modelos de políticas de financiamento de orientação nacional concentrada no MEC. O estudo aponta contradições na relação do projeto nacional de municipalização com a gestão local em que a política salarial dos professores sofre perdas na remuneração. A questão norteadora do estudo acontece frente à instigação da existência de alterações nos salários dos professores a partir do momento que foram cedidos da rede estadual para o município de Tucuruí, local da pesquisa. A partir deste local, analisamos documentos, fatos cotidianos da escola; realizamos entrevistas com os sujeitos da pesquisa como os professores, técnicos, secretário de educação e sindicalistas do SINTEPP. Então, o estudo indicou que a política salarial dos professores sofreu alterações; progressiva extinção destes da folha ativa de pagamento da SEDUC e marcas de ilegalidade frente ao ato de cedência ao município que nos fizeram observar um modo imposto na condução da política municipalista no Pará. No contexto desta política avaliamos haver ajustes ideológicos de cunho conservador e neoliberal concretizados nos acordos entre o governo do Estado e a prefeitura.

Revisiting AFLP fingerprinting for an unbiased assessment of genetic structure and differentiation of taurine and zebu cattle

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

Three-point functions and su(1 vertical bar 1) spin chains

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

Toxoplasmosis: morphological and morphometric evaluation of spinal cord neurons from nonsymptomatic seropositive dogs

The aim of this work was to analyze the neuron morphology and morphometry of cervical, thoracic and lumbar areas of nonsymptomatic seropositive dogs’ spinal cord for toxoplasmosis. Twenty indefinite-breed adult dogs were used; ten dogs were healthy, with negative serology for toxoplasmosis, and were used as the control group (group 1), and ten dogs were nonsymptomatic but seropositive for toxoplasmosis (group 2). After the microtomy, with interval of 100 micrometers (µm), the histological 5-µm-thick cuts were dyed by hematoxylin-eosin and Masson's trichrome techniques. The glass slides were analyzed under light microscope to examine the neuron morphology. The parameters considered for the morphometric analysis were area, perimeter, maximum diameter, minimum diameter and shape factor of cytoplasm and nucleus of neuron. The results were statistically analyzed by Student’s t test at 5% probability level. The morphological characteristics between the two groups were similar and according to literature. The morphometric results showed that there were changes in neurons size and structure, and increase and loss of star shape were noticed in seropositive animals. The results suggest that the neurons of these dogs, yet nonsymptomatic, can have lost their conductor function.

Dominant predators mediate the impact of habitat size on trophic structure in bromeliad invertebrate communities

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

On soft limits of large-scale structure correlation functions

We study soft limits of correlation functions for the density and velocity fields in the theory of structure formation. First, we re-derive the (resummed) consistency conditions at unequal times using the eikonal approximation. These are solely based on symmetry arguments and are therefore universal. Then, we explore the existence of equal-time relations in the soft limit which, on the other hand, depend on the interplay between soft and hard modes. We scrutinize two approaches in the literature: the time-flow formalism, and a background method where the soft mode is absorbed into a locally curved cosmology. The latter has been recently used to set up (angular averaged) 'equal-time consistency relations'. We explicitly demonstrate that the time-flow relations and 'equal-time consistency conditions'are only fulfilled at the linear level, and fail at next-to-leading order for an Einstein de-Sitter universe. While applied to the velocities both proposals break down beyond leading order, we find that the 'equal-time consistency conditions'quantitatively approximates the perturbative results for the density contrast. Thus, we generalize the background method to properly incorporate the effect of curvature in the density and velocity fluctuations on short scales, and discuss the reasons behind this discrepancy. We conclude with a few comments on practical implementations and future directions.

Effect of starch-based supplementation level combined with oil on intake, performance, and methane emissions of growing Nellore bulls on pasture

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

The effect of power-ultrasound on the pretreatment of acidified aqueous solutions of banana flower-stalk: Structural, chemical and statistical analysis

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Redox-active biflavonoids from Garcinia brasiliensis as inhibitors of neutrophil oxidative burst and human erythrocyte membrane damage

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

Structure-semantics interplay in complex networks and its effects on the predictability of similarity in texts

The classification of texts has become a major endeavor with so much electronic material available, for it is an essential task in several applications, including search engines and information retrieval. There are different ways to define similarity for grouping similar texts into clusters, as the concept of similarity may depend on the purpose of the task. For instance, in topic extraction similar texts mean those within the same semantic field, whereas in author recognition stylistic features should be considered. In this study, we introduce ways to classify texts employing concepts of complex networks, which may be able to capture syntactic, semantic and even pragmatic features. The interplay between various metrics of the complex networks is analyzed with three applications, namely identification of machine translation (MT) systems, evaluation of quality of machine translated texts and authorship recognition. We shall show that topological features of the networks representing texts can enhance the ability to identify MT systems in particular cases. For evaluating the quality of MT texts, on the other hand, high correlation was obtained with methods capable of capturing the semantics. This was expected because the golden standards used are themselves based on word co-occurrence. Notwithstanding, the Katz similarity, which involves semantic and structure in the comparison of texts, achieved the highest correlation with the NIST measurement, indicating that in some cases the combination of both approaches can improve the ability to quantify quality in MT. In authorship recognition, again the topological features were relevant in some contexts, though for the books and authors analyzed good results were obtained with semantic features as well. Because hybrid approaches encompassing semantic and topological features have not been extensively used, we believe that the methodology proposed here may be useful to enhance text classification considerably, as it combines well-established strategies. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Echinococcus granulosus Antigen B Structure: Subunit Composition and Oligomeric States

Background: Antigen B (AgB) is the major protein secreted by the Echinococcus granulosus metacestode and is involved in key host-parasite interactions during infection. The full comprehension of AgB functions depends on the elucidation of several structural aspects that remain unknown, such as its subunit composition and oligomeric states. Methodology/Principal Findings: The subunit composition of E. granulosus AgB oligomers from individual bovine and human cysts was assessed by mass spectrometry associated with electrophoretic analysis. AgB8/1, AgB8/2, AgB8/3 and AgB8/4 subunits were identified in all samples analyzed, and an AgB8/2 variant (AgB8/2v8) was found in one bovine sample. The exponentially modified protein abundance index (emPAI) was used to estimate the relative abundance of the AgB subunits, revealing that AgB8/1 subunit was relatively overrepresented in all samples. The abundance of AgB8/3 subunit varied between bovine and human cysts. The oligomeric states formed by E. granulosus AgB and recombinant subunits available, rAgB8/1, rAgB8/2 and rAgB8/3, were characterized by native PAGE, light scattering and microscopy. Recombinant subunits showed markedly distinct oligomerization behaviors, forming oligomers with a maximum size relation of rAgB8/3 >rAgB8/2>rAgB8/1. Moreover, the oligomeric states formed by rAgB8/3 subunit were more similar to those observed for AgB purified from hydatid fluid. Pressure-induced dissociation experiments demonstrated that the molecular assemblies formed by the more aggregative subunits, rAgB8/2 and rAgB8/3, also display higher structural stability. Conclusions/Significance: For the first time, AgB subunit composition was analyzed in samples from single hydatid cysts, revealing qualitative and quantitative differences between samples. We showed that AgB oligomers are formed by different subunits, which have distinct abundances and oligomerization properties. Overall, our findings have significantly contributed to increase the current knowledge on AgB expression and structure, highlighting issues that may help to understand the parasite adaptive response during chronic infection.

Judiciary as the last resort to protect children and adolescents: intersectoral actions, investment in human resources, and structuring of services

This study aimed to identify the work developed by the Judiciary to prevent sexual violence against children and adolescents within the family. The approach to social representations in a cultural perspective was used. The field study consisted in the 1st and 2nd Court of Crimes against Children and Adolescents, at the State Supreme Court of Pernambuco, Brazil. Participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus group with 17 subjects were the techniques for data collection, analyzed through the interpretation of meanings, allowing the identification of the category "The Judiciary as the ultimate level" and the following subcategories: "The public policies to prevent violence" and "The structure and dynamics of Courts". This study allows the visualization of the Judiciary's limitations with regard to the full protection and absolute priority, and that the work along with the victims demands investments in structure and human resources.

Synthesis and properties of substituted Hg-based superconductors

This thesis is focused on studies of substituted Hg-based superconducting copper oxides ((Hg1-xMx)Ba2Can-1CunO2n+2+δ). These compounds are promising objects of investigation, not only from a fundamental point of view but also because of their high values of superconducting transition temperature (Tc) and irreversibility field (Hirr). The first part of the thesis is devoted to optimization of the synthesis procedure for Hg-based cuprates. The influence of different parameters (T, t, p(Hg), p(O2)) on the synthesis of these compounds in sealed silica tubes was studied. Optimal conditions yielded samples containing up to 95% of HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+δ (Hg-1223). The formation of solid solutions with the formula (Hg1-xCux)Ba2Ca2Cu3O8+δ (where x <= 0.5) was also established. Another technique was developed, using LiF as a flux, for synthesis of samples containing up to 90% of the HgBa2CaCu2O6+δ (Hg-1212) phase. The second part concerns synthesis and studies of oxyfluorides using Hg-1212 and Hg-1223 as starting materials together with XeF2 as a fluorinating agent. It was found that oxyfluorides of both phases have a parabolic dependence of Tc vs. a parameter as well as enhanced Tc values (ΔT ≈ 3-4 K) in comparison with optimally doped non-fluorinated analogues. The crystal structure of Hg-1223 oxyfluoride was studied by X-ray powder and neutron diffraction methods. It is suggested that chemical modification of the crystal structure leads to a decrease in Cu-O distance without noticeable change in Cu-O-Cu angle (in the (CuO2) layers), which may be the significant factors influencing this Tc increase. Hg-1223 oxyfluoride was also studied under high pressure for first time. It was found that this compound has a record-high Tc value (≈ 166 K) at P ≈ 23 GPa. The last part describes the investigation of substituted Hg-based superconductors in the series (Hg0.9M0.1)Ba2CuO4+δ {(Hg,M)-1201}, where M = Tl, Pb, W, Mo, Nb and V. A comprehensive study of these compounds by various methods (X-ray powder diffraction, EDX, IR-, EXAFS- and XANES -spectroscopy) indicated that the change of charge carrier doping level is a crucial factor determining the irreversibility line. (Hg0.9Mo0.1)Ba2CuO4+δ showed the most improved irreversibility line position among the (Hg,M)-1201 compounds studied in this series.

Essays on Personnel Economics and Gender Issues

This thesis consists of four self-contained essays in economics. Tournaments and unfair treatment. This paper introduces the negative feelings associated with the perception of being unfairly treated into a tournament model and examines the impact of these perceptions on workers’ efforts and their willingness to work overtime. The effect of unfair treatment on workers’ behavior is ambiguous in the model in that two countervailing effects arise: a negative impulsive effect and a positive strategic effect. The impulsive effect implies that workers react to the perception of being unfairly treated by reducing their level of effort. The strategic effect implies that workers raise this level in order to improve their career opportunities and thereby avoid feeling even more unfairly treated in the future. An empirical test of the model using survey data from a Swedish municipal utility shows that the overall effect is negative. This suggests that employers should consider the negative impulsive effect of unfair treatment on effort and overtime in designing contracts and determining on promotions. Late careers in Sweden between 1970 and 2000. In this essay Swedish workers’ late careers between 1970 and 2000 are studied. The aim is to examine older workers’ career patterns and whether they have changed during this period. For example, is there a difference in career mobility or labor market exiting between cohorts? What affects the late career, and does this differ between cohorts? The analysis shows that between 1970 and 2000 the late careers of Swedish workers comprised of few job changes and consisted more of “trying to keep the job you had in your mid-fifties” than of climbing up the promotion ladder. There are no cohort differences in this pattern. Also a large fraction of the older workers exited the labor market before the normal retirement age of 65. During the 1970s and first part of the 1980s, 56 percent of the older workers made an early exit and the average drop-out age was 63. During the late 1980s and the 1990s the share of old workers who made an early exit had risen to 76 percent and the average drop-out age had dropped to 61.5. Different factors have affected the probabilities of an early exit between 1970 and 2000. For example, skills did affect the risk of exiting the labor market during the 1970s and up to the mid-1980s, but not in the late 1980s or the 1990s. During the first period old workers in the lowest occupations or with the lowest level of education were more likely to exit the labor market than more highly skilled workers. In the second period old workers at all levels of skill had the same probability of leaving the labor market. The growth and survival of establishments: does gender segregation matter? We empirically examine the employment dynamics that arise in Becker’s (1957) model of labor market discrimination. According to the model, firms that employ a large fraction of women will be relatively more profitable due to lower wage costs, and thus enjoy a greater probability of surviving and growing by underselling other firms in the competitive product market. In order to test these implications, we use a unique Swedish matched employer-employee data set. We find that female-dominated establishments do not enjoy any greater probability of surviving and do not grow faster than other establishments. Additionally, we find that integrated establishments, in terms of gender, age and education levels, are more successful than other establishments. Thus, attempts by legislators to integrate firms along all dimensions of diversity may have positive effects on the growth and survival of firms. Risk and overconfidence – Gender differences in financial decision-making as revealed in the TV game-show Jeopardy. We have used unique data from the Swedish version of the TV-show Jeopardy to uncover gender differences in financial decision-making by looking at the contestants’ final wagering strategies. After ruling out empirical best-responses, which do appear in Jeopardy in the US, a simple model is derived to show that risk preferences, the subjective and objective probabilities of answering correctly (individual and group competence), determine wagering strategies. The empirical model shows that, on average, women adopt more conservative and diversified strategies, while men’s strategies aim for the greatest gains. Further, women’s strategies are more responsive to the competence measures, which suggests that they are less overconfident. Together these traits make women more successful players. These results are in line with earlier findings on gender and financial trading.