Caribbean trade and integration: trends and future prospects

Includes Bibliography

The Mexican maquila industry and the environment: an overview of the issues

Includes bibliography

Agir ensemble pour une gestion plus efficace des services de l'eau potable et l'assainissement en Haïti

Inclut la bibliographie

Apocynin: Chemical and biophysical properties of a NADPH oxidase inhibitor

Apocynin is the most employed inhibitor of NADPH oxidase (NOX), a multienzymatic complex capable of catalyzing the one-electron reduction of molecular oxygen to the superoxide anion. Despite controversies about its selectivity, apocynin has been used as one of the most promising drugs in experimental models of inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we aimed to study the chemical and biophysical properties of apocynin. The oxidation potential was determined by cyclic voltammetry (Epa = 0.76V), the hydrophobicity index was calculated (logP = 0.83) and the molar absorption coefficient was determined (ε275nm = 1.1 × 104 M-1 cm-1). Apocynin was a weak free radical scavenger (as measured using the DPPH, peroxyl radical and nitric oxide assays) when compared to protocatechuic acid, used here as a reference antioxidant. On the other hand, apocynin was more effective than protocatechuic acid as scavenger of the non-radical species hypochlorous acid. Apocynin reacted promptly with the non-radical reactive species H2O2 only in the presence of peroxidase. This finding is relevant, since it represents a new pathway for depleting H2O2 in cellular experimental models, besides the direct inhibition of NADPH oxidase. This could be relevant for its application as an inhibitor of NOX4, since this isoform produces H 2O2 and not superoxide anion. The binding parameters calculated by fluorescence quenching showed that apocynin binds to human serum albumin (HSA) with a binding affinity of 2.19 × 104 M -1. The association did not alter the secondary and tertiary structure of HSA, as verified by synchronous fluorescence and circular dichroism. The displacement of fluorescent probes suggested that apocynin binds to site I and site II of HSA. Considering the current biomedical applications of this phytochemical, the dissemination of these chemical and biophysical properties can be very helpful for scientists and physicians interested in the use of apocynin.

Concentrations of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn in tropical soils amended with sewage sludge and composted sewage sludge

Sewage sludge may be used as an agricultural fertilizer, but the practice has been criticized because sludge may contain trace elements and pathogens. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of total and pseudototal extractants of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn, and to compare the results with the bioavailable concentrations of these elements to maize and sugarcane in a soil that was amended with sewage sludge for 13 consecutive years and in a separate soil that was amended a single time with sewage sludge and composted sewage sludge. The 13-year amendment experiment involved 3 rates of sludge (5, 10, and 20 t ha-1). The one-time amendment experiment involved treatments reflecting 50, 100, and 200 % of values stipulated by current legislation. The metal concentrations extracted by aqua regia (AR) were more similar to those obtained by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 3052 than to those obtained by EPA3051, and the strongest correlation was observed between pseudo(total) concentrations extracted by AR and EPA3052 and bioavailable concentrations obtained by Mehlich III. An effect of sewage sludge amendment on the concentrations of heavy metals was only observed in samples from the 13-year experiment. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Occurrence of Cu and Cr in the sedimentary humic substances and pore water from a typical sugar cane cultivation area in São Paulo, Brazil

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the interactions of sedimentary humic substances (SHS) from a sugarcane cultivation area with Cu(II) and Cr(III) and to evaluate the occurrence of these metals in the pore water and SHS. Materials and methods: For this study, the northwestern region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, which is considered the region with the highest production of sugar cane in the state, was selected. Samples of sediment were collected from four sampling sites in the Preto, Turvo, and Grande rivers. The SHS and pore water were extracted from the sediment using the method suggested by the International Humic Substances Society and centrifugation, respectively. The complexing capacity (CC) of the SHS for Cu(II) and Cr(III) was determined by individually titrating these metals with an ultrafiltration system using tangential flow. The total concentrations of Cr and Cu were determined for the pore water, sediments, and humic substances with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and Zeeman background correction after an acid digestion, according to the methods described in US EPA Method 3050B. Results and discussion: The SHS from a site in the Turvo River, which is typically cultivated with sugarcane, possessed the highest concentration of Cu bound to SHS (25.0%), the largest CC (0.63 mmol Cu g-1 HS) and the highest concentration of this metal in the pore water (1.38 mg Cu Kg-1 sed.). For Cr, the SHS collected from a location on the Preto River dam had the largest CC (0.90 mmol Cr g-1 HS) and the lowest Cr content in the pore water (0.29 mg Cr Kg-1 sed.), indicating that there was an inverse relationship between the CC and the concentration of metal available in the pore water. Conclusions: Sedimentary humic substances might be one of the regulatory factors controlling the availability of Cu and Cr in the sediments found in a typical region that has been planted with sugarcane. Distinct behaviors were observed between the two elements investigated; higher CC and a larger fraction of Cu(II) were found in the pore water of samples originating from sugarcane crops. The opposite behavior was observed for the Cr(III) species. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Dieta hiperlipídica e exercício físico: conseqüências sobre o metabolismo e a peroxidação lipídica - estudo em modelo animal

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Propriedades analíticas de materiais a base de sílica e óxido de titânio modificados

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

Avaliação da presença de vapores no solo em antiga área industrial contaminada por hidrocarbonetos: concentrações medidas e simuladas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo do uso de lodo de estações de tratamento de água e de esgoto urbano nas propriedades químicas do solo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Caracterização de hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos (HPA) em rios da bacia hidrográfica do Turvo/Grande

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

Estudo do comportamento térmico de hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos (HPAs) em fuligem de cana-de-açúcar

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Trade and Development Nexus: reflections on the performance of trade in goods under the Cariforum-European Union Partnership agreement a Cariforum perspective

Given the asymmetry in the levels of development and capacity which exist between the EU and CARIFORUM States, the architects of the CARIFORUM-European Union (EU) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)1 anticipated the need for review and monitoring of the impacts of implementation. Article 5 and other provisions in the Agreement therefore specifically mandate that monitoring be undertaken to ensure that the Agreement benefits a wide cross-section of the population in member countries. The paper seeks to provide a preliminary assessment of the impact of the EPA on CARIFORUM countries. In so doing, it highlights some critical information and implementation gaps and challenges that have emerged during the implementation process. The analysis however, is restricted to goods trade. The services sector will be the subject of a separate report. The paper draws on a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses. While the paper undertakes a CARIFORUM-wide analysis for the most part, five CARIFORUM member states including Barbados, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia are examined more closely in some instances. These economies were selected by virtue of economic structure and development constraints, as a representative subset of CARIFORUM, which comprises the CARICOM membership as well as the Dominican Republic.

Report of the expert group meeting on the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Pertnership Agreement

On 15 October 2008, the European Union (EU) and the CARIFORUM Group of Countries – the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic – assembled in Barbados to commemorate the beginning of a new chapter in their economic relationship by signing the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) after four and a half years of negotiation. In signing the Agreement, a joint declaration was also issued calling for a comprehensive, five-yearly review of the Agreement in order to determine its impact, including the costs and consequences of its implementation. During negotiations between the parties to the Agreement, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean undertook several studies directed at examining the implications of the EPA for the region as well as informing the process for the preparation of an implementation plan for CARIFORUM. The possible gender implications were also considered in collaboration with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

Desempenho reprodutivo do pintado, Pseudoplatystoma corruscans (Spix & Agassiz,1829), criado em sistema intensivo com dietas contendo diferentes níveis proteícos e suplementada com óleo de milho

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)