Clones de Hevea brasiliensis de alta productividad caracterizados por resistencia a Microcyclus ulei en jardin clonal en el magdalena medio colombiano

Con el objetivo de introducir en la región del magdalena medio de Colombia nuevos clones de caucho (Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex A. Juss.) Müll. Arg.) de alta productividad y con resistencia al Mal de las Hojas, se evaluaron materiales un jardín clonal establecido en Cimitarra, Colombia en la región del magdalena medio. Se evaluó la incidencia y la severidad del ataque de Microcyclus ulei (P. Henn.) von Arx. según Garcia et al. (1). Se encontró resistencia completa al mal de las hojas para los clones CDC 312, FDR 4575, FDR 5597, FDR 5788 y MDF 180 y resistencia parcial para los clones FX 3864 y CDC 32. Los clones RRIM 901, PB 235 y PB 260 se mostraron como susceptibles. De acuerdo con los resultados, los clones con resistencia total y parcial se podrán recomendar para zonas preferenciales con restricción para el cultivo, una vez este comportamiento se corroboré en campo clonal. En cuanto a los clones susceptibles se pueden recomendar para zonas de escape al mal de las hojas en el Magdalena Medio Colombiano.

Flutuação populacional e sintomas de dano por ácaros (Acari) em seringueira no Estado do Mato Grosso, Brasil

Apesar da grande importância da cultura da seringueira (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.) para o Brasil, pouco se conhece sobre a flutuação populacional dos ácaros nessa cultura. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a flutuação populacional de ácaros na seringueira no Estado do Mato Grosso, bem como observar a evolução dos sintomas de ataque de tais pragas nessa planta. O estudo foi conduzido em campos de seringueira de Itiquira e Pontes e Lacerda, Estado do Mato Grosso, com seis clones: FX 3864, RRIM 600, IAN 873, IAN 713, PB 260 e PR 255, cujas coletas foram realizadas de agosto de 1998 a julho de 2000. Na safra de 1998/1999, a amostragem foi de 150 folhas de cada um dos estratos basal, mediano e apical, em 10 plantas ao acaso. A metodologia de coleta na safra de 1999/2000 foi alterada devido aos resultados da parcial anterior de cinco folhas do estrato mediano de cada uma das 15 plantas ao acaso. Calacarus heveae Feres foi a espécie mais freqüente em Itiquira e Phyllocoptruta serigueirae Feres em Pontes e Lacerda. A queda prematura das folhas foi observada apenas em Itiquira.

Interdependence of Emerging Eastern European stock markets

One of the main developments in the global economy during the past decades has been the growth of emerging economies. Projections for their long-term growth, changes in the investment climate, corporate transparency and demography point to an increasing role for these emerging economies in the global economy. Today, emerging economies are usually considered as financial markets offering opportunities for high returns, good risk diversification and improved return-to-risk ratios. However, researchers have noted that these advantages may be in decline because of the increasing market integration. Nevertheless, it is likely that certain financial markets and specific sectors will remain partially segmented and somewhat insulated from the global economy for the year to come. This doctoral dissertation investigates several stock markets in Emerging Eastern Europe (EEE), including the ones in Russia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovenia. The objective is to analyze the returns and financial risks in these emerging markets from international investor’s point of view. This study also examines the segmentation/integration of these financial markets and the possibilities to diversify and hedge financial risk. The dissertation is divided into two parts. The first includes a review of the theoretical background for the articles and a review of the literature on EEE stock markets. It includes an overview of the methodology and research design applied in the analysis and a summary of articles from the second part of this dissertation and their main findings. The second part consists of four research publications. This work contributes to studies on emerging stock markets in four ways. First, it adds to the body of research on the pricing of risk, providing new empirical evidence about partial stock market segmentation in EEE. The results suggest that the aggregate emerging market risk is a relevant driver for stock market returns and that this market risk can be used to price financial instruments and forecast their performance. Second, it contributes to the empirical research on the integration of stock markets, asset prices and exchange rates by identifying the relationships between these markets through volatility and asset pricing. The results show that certain sectors of stock markets in EEE are not as integrated as others. For example, the Polish consumer goods sector, the Hungarian telecommunications sector, and the Czech financial sector are somewhat isolated from their counterparts elsewhere in Europe. Nevertheless, an analysis of the impact of EU accession in 2004 on stock markets suggests that most of the EEE markets are becoming increasingly integrated with the global markets. Third, this thesis complements the scientific literature in the field of shock and volatility spillovers by examining the mechanism of spillover distribution among the EU and EEE countries. The results illustrate that spillovers in emerging markets are mostly from a foreign exchange to the stock markets. Moreover, the results show that the effects of external shocks on stock markets have increased after the enlargement of the EU in 2004. Finally, this study is unique because it analyzes the effects of foreign macroeconomic news on geographically closely related countries. The results suggest that the effects of macroeconomic announcements on volatility are significant and have effect that varies across markets and their sectors. Moreover, the results show that the foreign macroeconomic news releases, somewhat surprisingly, have a greater effect on the EEE markets than the local macroeconomic news. This dissertation has a number of implications for the industry and for practitioners. It analyses financial risk associated with investing in Emerging Eastern Europe. Investors may use this information to construct and optimize investment portfolios. Moreover, this dissertation provides insights for investors and portfolio managers considering asset allocation to protect value or obtain higher returns. The results have also implications for asset pricing and portfolio selection in light of macroeconomic news releases.

Exchange rate volatility and the use of foreign currency derivatives: Impact of 2008 global financial crisis

This thesis examines the impact of foreign exchange rate volatility to the extent of use of foreign currency derivatives. Especially the focus is on the impacts of 2008 global financial crisis. The crisis increased risk level in the capital markets greatly. The change in the currency derivatives use is analyzed by comparing means between different periods and in addition, by linear regression that enables to analyze the explanatory power of the model. The research data consists of financial statements figures from fiscal years 2006-2011 published by firms operating in traditional Finnish industrial sectors. Volatilities of the chosen three currency pairs is calculated from the daily fixing rates of ECB. Based on the volatility the sample period is divided into three sub-periods. The results suggest that increased FX market volatility did not increase the use foreign currency derivatives. Furthermore, the increased foreign exchange rate volatility did not increase the power of linear regression model to estimate the use foreign currency derivatives compared to previous studies.

Fotossíntese e relações hídricas de duas cultivares jovens de seringueira

Este trabalho teve como objetivo comparar aspectos das trocas gasosas e das relações hídricas foliares da cultivar Fx 3864 e da cultivar RRIM 600, já estabelecida em larga escala no pólo produtor de borracha de São José do Rio Preto, SP. As cultivares foram mantidas em condições de campo, onde foram realizadas medidas das trocas gasosas e do potencial osmótico e hídrico, durante dois meses, dentro dos períodos chuvoso e seco, nos anos de 2001 e 2002. Valores integralizados das trocas gasosas foliares mostraram que, entre os períodos chuvoso e seco, ocorreu um decréscimo da taxa fotossintética de 32% e 22%, da transpiração de 44% e 38% e da condutância estomática de 29% e 17% para RRIM 600 e Fx 3864, respectivamente. Durante o período seco os valores médios de potencial osmótico decresceram 41% para RRIM 600, e 36% para Fx 3864. Os resultados sugerem que o desempenho da cultivar Fx 3864 foi equivalente à de RRIM 600 durante a fase jovem estudada.

Evidence of interaction between fluoxetine and isosorbide dinitrate on neuroleptic-induced catalepsy in mice

Drugs which influence 5-HTergic mechanisms can modify neuroleptic-induced catalepsy (NC) in rodents, a phenomenon produced by striatal dopamine (DA) receptor blockade. Previous research also suggests a role for endogenous nitric oxide (NO) in the modulation of striatal DAergic neurotransmission; in addition, NO seems to play a role in the 5-HT reuptake mechanism. It is known that clomipramine potentiates NC in mice, but the reported effects of selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in this model are rather contradictory. We then decided to re-address this issue, investigating the effect of fluoxetine (FX), an SSRI, on NC. In view of the ubiquitous role of NO as a central neuromodulator, we also studied the effect of isosorbide dinitrate (ID), a centrally active NO donor, and how both drugs interact to affect the phenomenon of NC. Catalepsy was induced in male albino mice with haloperidol (H; 1 mg/kg, ip) and measured at 30-min interval by means of a bar test. Drugs (FX, ID and FX + ID) or saline (controls) were injected ip 30 min before H, with each animal used only once. FX (5 mg/kg) significantly reduced NC, with maximal attenuation (about 74%) occurring at 150 min after H. ID (5 mg/kg) also inhibited NC (150 min: 62% attenuation). The combined drugs (FX + ID group), however, caused a great potentiation of NC (4.7-fold at its maximum, at 90 min). The effect observed with ID is compatible with the hypothesis that NO increases DA release in the striatum. The attenuation of NC observed with FX may be due to a preferential net effect on the raphe somatodendritic synapse, where inhibitory 5-HT1A autoreceptors are operative. The enhancement of NC caused by combined administration of FX and ID suggests the presence of a pharmacodynamic interaction, whose mechanism, still unclear, may be related to a decrease in striatal DA release

Value at Risk in Foreign Exchange Risk Management

This thesis examines the suitability of VaR in foreign exchange rate risk management from the perspective of a European investor. The suitability of four different VaR models is evaluated in respect to have insight if VaR is a valuable tool in managing foreign exchange rate risk. The models evaluated are historical method, historical bootstrap method, variance-covariance method and Monte Carlo simulation. The data evaluated are divided into emerging and developed market currencies to have more intriguing analysis. The foreign exchange rate data in this thesis is from 31st January 2000 to 30th April 2014. The results show that the previously mentioned VaR models performance in foreign exchange risk management is not to be considered as a single tool in foreign exchange rate risk management. The variance-covariance method and Monte Carlo simulation performs poorest in both currency portfolios. Both historical methods performed better but should also be considered as an additional tool along with other more sophisticated analysis tools. A comparative study of VaR estimates and forward prices is also included in the thesis. The study reveals that regardless of the expensive hedging cost of emerging market currencies the risk captured by VaR is more expensive and thus FX forward hedging is recommended

Avaliação da sensibilidade de cepas de Escherichia coli isoladas de mexilhões (Perna perna linnaeus, 1758) à antimicrobianos

Foram avaliadas 44 cepas de Escherichia coli isoladas de amostras cárneas de mexilhões capturados no município de Niterói, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, quanto a sua sensibilidade a antimicrobianos. Vinte e quatro antimicrobianos foram testados e padrões variáveis de comportamento frente aos mesmos foram observados. Todas as cepas avaliadas apresentaram sensibilidade total a apenas 41,66% dos antimicrobianos (R, Ac, C, To, Fx, Cz, Ct, Nt, Cp, Ge) e resistência total a 4,16% dos antimicrobianos (Ca). A cepa número 18 apresentou sensibilidade a 95,83% dos antimicrobianos, enquanto que a cepa número 30 aduziu resistência a 41,66% dos antimicrobianos. Frente aos resultados obtidos é importante ponderarmos sobre o risco à Saúde Pública associado ao hábito de ingerir pescado cru ou insuficientemente cozido, especialmente bivalves filtradores contaminados por bactérias com comprovada resistência a diferentes antimicrobianos, alimentos potencialmente envolvidos em processos de reinfecção do homem, no qual desencadeiam quadros de gastroenterite.

Orientation of Non-Native 2-Monosubstituted and 2,3-Disubstituted 1,4-Naphthoquinones in the A1 binding site of PSI and the effect on the rate of electron transfer : an electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy study

The proce-ss ofoxygenic photosynthesis is vital to life on Earth. the central event in photosynthesis is light induced electron transfer that converts light into energy for growth. Ofparticular significance is the membrane bound multisubunit protein known as Photosystem I (PSI). PSI is a reaction centre that is responsible for the transfer of electrons across the membrane to reduce NADP+ to NADPH. The recent publication ofa high resolution X-ray structure of PSI has shown new information about the structure, in particular the electron transfer cofactors, which allows us to study it in more detail. In PSI, the secondary acceptor is crucial for forward electron transfer. In this thesis, the effect of removing the native acceptor phylloquinone and replacing it with a series of structurally related quinones was investigated via transient electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments. The orientation of non native quinones in the binding site and their ability to function in the electron transfer process was determined. It was found that PSI will readily accept alkyl naphthoquinones and anthraquinone. Q band EPR experiments revealed that the non-native quinones are incorporated into the binding site with the same orientation of the headgroup as in the native system. X band EPR spectra and deuteration experiments indicate that monosubstituted naphthoquinones are bound to the Al site with their side group in the position occupied by the methyl group in native PSI (meta to the hydrogen bonded carbonyl oxygen). X band EPR experiments show that 2, 3- disubstituted methyl naphthoquinones are also incorporated into the Al site in the same orientation as phylloquinone, even with the presence of a halogen- or sulfur-containing side chain in the position normally occupied by the phytyl tail ofphylloquinone. The exception to this is 2-bromo-3-methyl --.- _. -. - -- - - 4 _._ _ _ - _ _ naphthoquinone which has a poorly resolved spectrum, making determination of the orientation difficuh. All of the non-native quinones studied act as efficient electron acceptors. However, forward electron transfer past the quinone could only be demonstrated for anthraquinone, which has a more negative midpoint potential than phylloquinone. In the case of anthraquinone, an increased rate of forward electron transfer compared to native PSI was found. From these results we can conclude that the rate ofelectron transfer from Al to Fx in native PSI lies in the normal region ofthe Marcus Curve.

A DYNAMIC FRAMEWORK FOR THE RELATIONS BETWEEN FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES, SAVINGS AND INVESTMENTS

The Meese-Rogoff forecasting puzzle states that foreign exchange (FX) rates are unpredictable. Since one country’s macroeconomic conditions could affect the price of its national currency, we study the dynamic relations between the FX rates and some macroeconomic accounts. Our research tests whether the predictability of the FX rates could be improved through the advanced econometrics. Improving the predictability of the FX rates has important implications for various groups including investors, business entities and the government. The present thesis examines the dynamic relations between the FX rates, savings and investments for a sample of 25 countries from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. We apply quarterly data of FX rates, macroeconomic indices and accounts including the savings and the investments over three decades. Through preliminary Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root tests and Johansen cointegration tests, we found that the savings rate and the investment rate are cointegrated with the vector (1,-1). This result is consistent with many previous studies on the savings-investment relations and therefore confirms the validity of the Feldstein-Horioka puzzle. Because of the special cointegrating relation between the savings rate and investment rate, we introduce the savings-investment rate differential (SID). Investigating each country through a vector autoregression (VAR) model, we observe extremely insignificant coefficient estimates of the historical SIDs upon the present FX rates. We also report similar findings through the panel VAR approach. We thus conclude that the historical SIDs are useless in forecasting the FX rate. Nonetheless, the coefficients of the past FX rates upon the current SIDs for both the country-specific and the panel VAR models are statistically significant. Therefore, we conclude that the historical FX rates can conversely predict the SID to some degree. Specifically, depreciation in the domestic currency would cause the increase in the SID.

Electron Transfer Involving the Phylloquinone (A1) Cofactor of Photosystem I Examined with Time Resolved Absorbance and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

The dependence of the electron transfer (ET) rate on the Photosystem I (PSI) cofactor phylloquinone (A1) is studied by time-resolved absorbance and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Two active branches (A and B) of electron transfer converge to the FX cofactor from the A1A and A1B quinone. The work described in Chapter 5 investigates the single hydrogen bond from the amino acid residue PsaA-L722 backbone nitrogen to A1A for its effect on the electron transfer rate to FX. Room temperature transient EPR measurements show an increase in the rate for the A1A- to FX for the PsaA-L722T mutant and an increased hyperfine coupling to the 2-methyl group of A1A when compared to wild type. The Arrhenius plot of the A1A- to FX ET in the PsaA-L722T mutant suggests that the increased rate is probably the result of a slight change in the electronic coupling between A1A- and FX. The reasons for the non-Arrhenius behavior are discussed. The work discussed in Chapter 6 investigates the directionality of ET at low temperature by blocking ET to the iron-sulfur clusters FX, FA and FB in the menB deletion mutant strain of Synechocyctis sp. PCC 6803, which is unable to synthesize phylloquinone, by incorporating the high midpoint potential (49 mV vs SHE) 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone (Cl2NQ) into the A1A and A1B binding sites. Various EPR spectroscopic techniques were implemented to differentiate between the spectral features created from A and B- branch electron transfer. The implications of this result for the directionality of electron transfer in PS I are discussed. The work discussed in Chapter 7 was done to study the dependence of the heterogeneous ET at low temperature on A1 midpoint potential. The menB PSI mutant contains plastiquinone-9 in the A1 binding site. The solution midpoint potential of the quinone measures 100 mV more positive then wild-type phylloquinone. The irreversible ET to the terminal acceptors FA and FB at low temperature is not controlled by the forward step from A1 to FX as expected due to the thermodynamic differences of the A1 cofactor in the two active branches A and B. Alternatives for the ET heterogeneity are discussed.

Figures of Time : Preemptive Narratives in Recent Television Series

Faute de droits d'auteurs pour les captures d'écrans, mon document ne contient pas d'images. Si vous voudriez consulter ma thèse avec les images, veuillez me contacter.

Concomitants of Order Statistics from Morgenstern Family

The study deals with the distribution theory and applications of concomitants from the Morgenstern family of bivariate distributions.The Morgenstern system of distributions include all cumulative distributions of the form FX,Y(X,Y)=FX(X) FY(Y)[1+α(1-FX(X))(1-FY(Y))], -1≤α≤1.The system provides a very general expression of a bivariate distributions from which members can be derived by substituting expressions of any desired set of marginal distributions.It is a brief description of the basic distribution theory and a quick review of the existing literature.The Morgenstern family considered in the present study provides a very general expression of a bivariate distribution from which several members can be derived by substituting expressions of any desired set of marginal distributions.Order statistics play a very important role in statistical theory and practice and accordingly a remarkably large body of literature has been devoted to its study.It helps to develop special methods of statistical inference,which are valid with respect to a broad class of distributions.The present study deals with the general distribution theory of Mk, [r: m] and Mk, [r: m] from the Morgenstern family of distributions and discuss some applications in inference, estimation of the parameter of the marginal variable Y in the Morgestern type uniform distributions.

¿Qué factores inciden en la hospitalización de pacientes con cálculos ureterales menores a 10 mm en Fundación Santa Fe?

Debido a que el 12% de la población tendrá un cálculo en uréter hacia la mitad de su vida y a que las tasas de recurrencia en los que ya lo presentan son del 50% es necesario estudiar esta patología para aproximarse a un manejo adecuado en el servicio de urgencias. La literatura identifica un conjunto de factores que pueden contribuir a un cambio en el manejo médico. Objetivo: El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar los factores demográficos y clínicos asociados a manejo hospitalario en los pacientes con diagnóstico de cálculo ureteral menor de 10 mm. Métodos: Se diseñó un estudio de casos y controles no emparejados. Un caso fue definido como un paciente de 18 o más años con diagnóstico de urolitiasis con cálculo menor a 10 mm realizado por urotac que consultó (por primera vez para ese episodio) al servicio de urgencias de la Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá entre el 1 de marzo de 2007 y 30 de abril de 2012. Se indagaron factores como edad, sexo, tamaño y localización del cálculo, respuesta a los analgésicos, evidencia de obstrucción e infección urinaria, además de otros antecedentes medicamentosos y clínicos. Se utilizó regresión logística no condicional bivariada y multivariada para evaluar la asociación entre tipo de manejo (hospitalario o ambulatorio) y las variables recolectadas, calculando odds ratio (OR) e intervalos de confianza al 95% (IC95%). Resultados: El riesgo de hospitalización se incrementó con: 1. La localización del cálculo en tercio superior o medio (OR=1.49; IC95%: 0.751-2.966) al comparar con el inferior, 2. El aumento del tamaño del cálculo (OR=1.49; IC95%: 0.751-2.966, por cada milímetro de incremento), y 3: Por la evidencia de obstrucción o infección urinaria y elevación de azoados. Por el contrario, hubo menos riesgo de hospitalización en aquellos pacientes con una respuesta analgésica apropiada en urgencias.

El problema de conceptualización del terrorismo dentro de la disciplina de las Relaciones Internacionales: Un análisis desde la perspectiva histórico conceptual

Los hechos ocurridos durante el 11 de septiembre de 2001 se constituyeron como un momento fundamental en los intentos de conceptualización del terrorismo internacional dentro de la disciplina de las Relaciones Internacionales. A raíz del 9/11 tuvo lugar la resemantización del concepto de terrorismo internacional en función del terrorismo religioso y del fundamentalismo islámico. Lo anterior, marco una ruptura en el campo de experiencia y en el horizonte de expectativas del concepto mismo, pues este último adquirió un nuevo uso discursivo, y por ende, político. Por eso, ante la necesidad de emprender un análisis discursivo de los usos del concepto de terrorismo internacional, se evidencia cómo al estar inmersos en determinados juegos del lenguaje, el uso discursivo de este concepto termina por convertirse en una herramienta de acción política que promueve una forma de vida.