Regional approaches to e-government initiatives in the Caribbean

This paper examines the potential benefits and challenges of regionally managed e-government development initiatives. It examines the current state of e-government in four Caribbean countries – Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago – in order to establish a broader understanding of the challenges that face e-government initiatives in the region. It also reviews a number of e-government initiatives that have been undertaken through projects managed at a regional level. Based on this analysis, it presents a set of best practices that are recommended to agencies engaged in the task of coordinating the implementation of regionally-based e-government initiatives.

The current status of the new world monkey phylogeny

Four DNA datasets were combined in tandem (6700 bp) and Maximum parsimony and Neighbor-Joining analyses were performed. The results suggest three groups emerging almost at the same time: Atelidae, Pitheciidae and Cebidae. The total analysis strongly supports the monophyly of the Cebidae family, grouping Aotus, Cebus and Saimiri with the small callitrichines. In the callitrichines, the data link Cebuela to Callithrix, place Callimico as a sister group of Callithrix/Cebuella, and show Saguinus to be the earliest offshoot of the callitrichines. In the family Pithecidae, Callicebus is the basal genus. Finally, combined molecular data showed congruent branching in the atelid clade, setting up Alouatta as the basal lineage and Brachyteles-Lagothrix as a sister group and the most derived branch. Two major points remain to be clarified in the platyrrhine phylogeny: (i) what is the exact branching pattern of Aotus, Cebus, Saimiri and the small callitrichines, and (ii), which two of these three lineages, pitheciines, atelines or cebids, are more closely related?

Mineralogy and chemistry of the green stone artifacts (muiraquitãs) of the museums of the Brazilian State of Pará

Os muiraquitãs foram considerados de proveniência asiática ou, também, como peças esculpidas pelas lendárias mulheres guerreiras, as Amazonas. São peças, hoje, muito raras, encontradas em alguns acervos de Museus. Estudos mineralógicos e químicos de 23 peças do acervo dos Museus de Gemas e do Encontro em Belém, Brasil, mostraram que os muiraquitãs podem ser constituídos, tanto de quartzo, como de albita, ou microclínio, pirofilita, variscita, anortita e tremolita (equivalente ao jade nefrítico), minerais frequentes em formações geológicas do Brasil. No entanto quatro peças são constituídas de jadeíta, ou seja, em jade jadeítico, raro e desconhecido na Amazônia e Brasil. A constatação da presença desse mineral reacende a discussão em torno da origem mineralógica dos muiraquitãs encontrados na Amazônia. Essa origem, antes da atual descoberta, era defendida como amazônica, devido à ausência de jade jadeítico nas peças pesquisadas e pelo fato de jadeíta não ter sido encontrada no Brasil, mas na América Central e na Ásia.

An anatomopathological study of hepatic coccidiosis (Calyptospora sp.) in the Acará-pixuna, Aequidens plagiozonatus Kullander, 1984 from the Brazilian state of Pará

Descreveram-se as alterações anatomopatológicas provocadas pelo parasitismo por Calyptospora sp. em 40 espécimes de Aequidens plagiozonatus, provenientes do município de Peixe-boi, Pará, Brasil. Foram encontradas formas imaturas e oocistos característicos do gênero Calyptospora, nos exames frescos por compressão e cortes histológicos, além de um grande número de centros melanomacrofágicos dispersos por todo o órgão. Digna de nota foi a ausência de inflamação significativa no tecido hepático. Centros melanomacrofágicos e compressão dos hepatócitos estão envolvidos na resposta do hospedeiro ao parasito. Este é o primeiro registro de ocorrência de parasitismo por Calyptospora sp. na espécie estudada.

Gastrintestinal helminths Of Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766-Smith, 1839) from the caatinga area of the Paraiba State, Brazil

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

Thermal and spectroscopic study of the lanthanide 2-aminoterephthalate compounds in the solid state

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

Structure of P3HT in the solid state

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

The Th17 pathway in the peripheral lung microenvironment interacts with expression of collagen V in the late state of experimental pulmonary fibrosis

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

Synthesis, thermal and spectroscopic study of light lanthanide nicotinate, in the solid state

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

The current financial and economic crisis: empirical and methodological issues

In this paper we describe the main causes of the recent financial crisis as a result of many theoretical, methodological, and practical shortcomings mostly according to heterodox, but also including some important orthodox economists. At theoretical level, there are problems concerning teaching and using economic models with overly unrealistic assumptions. In the methodological front, we find the unsuspected shadow of Milton Friedman’s ‘unrealisticism of assumptions’ thesis lurking behind the construction of this kind of models and the widespread neglect of methodological issues. Of course, the most evident shortcomings are at the practical level: (i) huge interests of the participants in the financial markets (banks, central bankers, regulators, rating agencies mortgage brokers, politicians, governments, executives, economists, etc. mainly in the US, Canada and Europe, but also in Japan and the rest of the world), (ii) in an almost completely free financial and economic market, that is, one (almost) without any regulation or supervision, (iii) decision-taking upon some not well regarded qualities, like irresponsibility, ignorance, and inertia; and (iv) difficulties to understand the current crisis as well as some biases directing economic rescues by governments. Following many others, we propose that we take this episode as an opportunity to reflect on, and hopefully redirect, economic theory and practice.

Characterization of Hepatozoon spp. in Leptodactylus chaquensis and Leptodactylus podicipinus from two regions of the Pantanal, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The steady-state behavior of the synthetic and side-sensitive synthetic double sampling (X)over-bar charts

The steady-state average run length is used to measure the performance of the recently proposed synthetic double sampling (X) over bar chart (synthetic DS chart). The overall performance of the DS X chart in signaling process mean shifts of different magnitudes does not improve when it is integrated with the conforming run length chart, except when the integrated charts are designed to offer very high protection against false alarms, and the use of large samples is prohibitive. The synthetic chart signals when a second point falls beyond the control limits, no matter whether one of them falls above the centerline and the other falls below it; with the side-sensitive feature, the synthetic chart does not signal when they fall on opposite sides of the centerline. We also investigated the steady-state average run length of the side-sensitive synthetic DS X chart. With the side-sensitive feature, the overall performance of the synthetic DS X chart improves, but not enough to outperform the non-synthetic DS X chart. Copyright (C) 2014 John Wiley &Sons, Ltd.

Thermal and spectroscopic study of the 3,4-(methylenedioxy) cinnamate compounds of transition metals in the solid state

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

Thermal and crystalographic studies of mixture La2O3-SrO prepared via reaction in the solid state

The compound obtained via state solid reaction of the La2O3 and SrO oxides and expose the room atmosphere shows the crystallographic data of the compound reported as La2SrOx. However, thermogravimetric, differential thermal analysis and XRD with controlled temperature indicated that the stoichiometry of the compound is 2La(OH)(3)-SrCO3, which structural parameters were determined by using the Rietveld method. It was verified that when the compound exposed at room atmosphere, the mixture oxide absorbs H2O and CO2 producing hydroxide and carbonate of lanthanum and strontium, respectively, which thermal decomposition occurs by the same steps, producing the La2O3-SrO.

Production and Characterization of β-glucosidase Obtained by the Solid-State Cultivation of the Thermophilic Fungus Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae N31

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