Trade policy in CARICOM: overview of the main trade policy measures

Includes bibliography

Selección de documentos y publicaciones de la CEPAL relacionados con la incorporación de la perspectiva de género en las principales áreas del desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe = Selected ECLAC documents and publications relating to mainstreaming the gender perspective in the main spheres of the regional development process in Latin America and the Caribbean

Publicación bilingüe

International migration from a regional and interregional perspective: Main conclusions, messages and recommendations from the United Nations Development Account project (6th Tranche), "Strengthening national capacities to deal with international migration: maximizing development benefits and minimizing negative impact"

Incluye bibliografía

Review of selected areas of research on the Caribbean subregion in the 2000s: identifying the main gaps

Includes bibliography

Export promotion policies in CARICOM: main issues, effects and implications

Includes bibliography

Price-based capital account regulations: the Colombian experience

Includes bibliography

Main maximum power point tracking strategies intended for photovoltaics

This paper presents evaluations among the most usual MPPT techniques, doing meaningful comparisons with respect to the amount of energy extracted from the photovoltaic panel (PV) (Tracking Factor - TF) in relation to the available power, PV voltage ripple, dynamic response and use of sensors. Using MatLab/Simulink® and DSpace platforms, a digitally controlled boost DC-DC converter was implemented and connected to an Agilent Solar Array E4350B simulator in order to verify the analytical procedures. The main experimental results are presented and a contribution in the implementation of the IC algorithm is performed and called IC based on PI. Moreover, the dynamic response and the tracking factor are also evaluated using a Friendly User Interface, which is capable of online program power curves and compute the TF. Finally, a typical daily insulation is used in order to verify the experimental results for the main PV MPPT methods. © 2011 IEEE.

Baccharis dracunculifolia, the main source of green propolis, exhibits potent antioxidant activity and prevents oxidative mitochondrial damage

Baccharis dracunculifolia DC (Asteraceae) is the main botanical source used by honeybees to produce Brazilian green propolis whose hepatoprotective properties have been already described. In this work we investigated the protective effects of the glycolic extract of B. dracunculifolia (GEBd) against oxidative stress in isolated rat liver mitochondria (RLM). The GEBd was prepared by fractionated percolation using propylene glycol as solvent. The total phenols and flavonoids, which are substances with recognized antioxidant action, were quantified in GEBd and the phytochemical analysis was carried out by HPLC. GEBd exhibited significant scavenger activity towards DPPH radicals and superoxide anions in a concentration-dependent manner, and also a Fe 2+ chelating activity. GEBd decreased the basal H 2O 2 generation and the Fe 2+- or t-BuOOH-induced ROS production in isolated mitochondria. Lipid oxidation of mitochondrial membranes, protein thiol groups and GSH oxidation were also prevented by GEBd. This shows that B. dracunculifolia exhibit potent antioxidant activity protecting liver mitochondria against oxidative damage and such action probably contribute to the antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects of green propolis. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Rhizoctonia solani GA-3PT es el principal patógeno asociado con el chancro del tallo y la sarna negra de la papa en Colombia

Stem canker and black scurf diseases of potatoes are caused by the basidiomycetous fungus Tanatephorus cucumeris (ana-morphic species complex Rhizoctonia solani). Tese diseases have worldwide distribution wherever potato is grown but their etiology varies depending on the predominance of distinct R. solani anastomosis groups (AGs) in a particular area. Within the species complex, several AGs have been associated with stem canker or black scurf diseases, including AG-1, AG-2-1, AG-2-2, AG-3, AG-4, AG-5 and AG-9. Tis article reports on the most comprehensive population-based study, providing evidence on the distribution of R. solani AGs in Colombian potato fields. A total of 433 isolates were sampled from the main potato cropping areas in Colombia from 2005 to 2009. Isolates were assigned to AGs by conventional PCR assays using specific primers for AG-3, sequencing of the ITS-rDNA and hyphal interactions. Most of the isolates evaluated were assigned to AG-3PT (88.45%), and a few to AG-2-1 (2.54%). Te remaining isolates were binucleate Rhizoctonia (AG-A, E, and I). Pathogenicity tests on the stems and roots of different plant species, including the potato, showed that AG-3PT affects the stems of solanaceous plants. In other plant species, damage was severe in the roots, but not the stems. AG-2-1 caused stem canker of Solanum tuberosum cv. Capiro and in R. raphanistrum and B. campestris subsp. Rapa plantlets and root rot in other plants. Te results of our study indicated that R. solani AG-3PT was the principal pathogen associated with potato stem canker and black scurf diseases of potatoes in Colombia.

Evaluation of the main MPPT techniques for photovoltaic applications

This paper presents evaluations among the most usual maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques, doing meaningful comparisons with respect to the amount of energy extracted from the photovoltaic (PV) panel [tracking factor (TF)] in relation to the available power, PV voltage ripple, dynamic response, and use of sensors. Using MatLab/Simulink and dSPACE platforms, a digitally controlled boost dc-dc converter was implemented and connected to an Agilent Solar Array E4350B simulator in order to verify the analytical procedures. The main experimental results are presented for conventional MPPT algorithms and improved MPPT algorithms named IC based on proportional-integral (PI) and perturb and observe based on PI. Moreover, the dynamic response and the TF are also evaluated using a user-friendly interface, which is capable of online program power profiles and computes the TF. Finally, a typical daily insulation is used in order to verify the experimental results for the main PV MPPT methods. © 2012 IEEE.

Social rifts in Colombia

Includes bibliography

Estimation of spontaneous blinking main sequence in normal subjects and patients with Graves' upper eyelid retraction

Purpose. We quantified the main sequence of spontaneous blinks in normal subjects and Graves' disease patients with upper eyelid retraction using a nonlinear and two linear models, and examined the variability of the main sequence estimated with standard linear regression for 10-minute periods of time. Methods. A total of 20 normal subjects and 12 patients had their spontaneous blinking measured with the magnetic search coil technique when watching a video during one hour. The main sequence was estimated with a power-law function, and with standard and trough the origin linear regressions. Repeated measurements ANOVA was used to test the mean sequence stability of 10-minute bins measured with standard linear regression. Results. In 95% of the sample the correlation coefficients of the main sequence ranged from 0.60 to 0.94. Homoscedasticity of the peak velocity was not verified in 20% of the subjects and 25% of the patients. The power-law function provided the best main sequence fitting for subjects and patients. The mean sequence of 10-minute bins measured with standard linear regression did not differ from the one-hour period value. For the entire period of observation and the slope obtained by standard linear regression, the main sequence of the patients was reduced significantly compared to the normal subjects. Conclusions. Standard linear regression is a valid and stable approximation for estimating the main sequence of spontaneous blinking. However, the basic assumptions of the linear regression model should be examined on an individual basis. The maximum velocity of large blinks is slower in Graves' disease patients than in normal subjects. © 2013 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.

Main challenges of social development in the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

The subsidiary role of direct foreign investment in industrialization: the Colombian manufacturing sector

Includes bibliography