Human melanoblasts in culture: Expression of BRN2 and synergistic regulation by fibroblast growth factor-2, stem cell factor, and endothelin-3

The BRN2 transcription factor (POU3F2, N-Oct-3) has been implicated in development of the melanocytic lineage and in melanoma. Using a low calcium medium supplemented with stem cell factor, fibroblast growth factor-2, endothelin-3 and cholera toxin, we have established and partially characterised human melanocyte precursor cells, which are unpigmented, contain immature melanosomes and lack L-dihydroxyphenylalanine reactivity. Melanoblast cultures expressed high levels of BRN2 compared to melanocytes, which decreased to a level similar to that of melanocytes when cultured in medium that contained phorbol ester but lacked endothelin-3, stem cell factor and fibroblast growth factor-2. This decrease in BRN2 accompanied a positive L-dihydroxyphenylalanine reaction and induction of melanosome maturation consistent with melanoblast differentiation seen during development. Culture of primary melanocytes in low calcium medium supplemented with stem cell factor, fibroblast growth factor-2 and endothelin-3 caused an increase in BRN2 protein levels with a concomitant change to a melanoblast-like morphology. Synergism between any two of these growth factors was required for BRN2 protein induction, whereas all three factors were required to alter melanocyte morphology and for maximal BRN2 protein expression. These finding implicate BRN2 as an early marker of melanoblasts that may contribute to the hierarchy of melanocytic gene control.

Criando valor p??blico por meio de parcerias p??blico- privadas

O prop??sito deste trabalho ?? avan??ar em dire????o ao desenvolvimento de um marco anal??tico que ajude a avaliar as parcerias p??blico-privadas, tanto ?? luz do conceito geral, como de propostas espec??ficas concretas. Para isso, inicia-se o artigo com um breve caso para ilustrar o problema de modo geral e, em seguida, desenvolve-se um marco anal??tico para ajudar o setor p??blico a aprender como realizar suas responsabilidades de due diligence (checagem) de forma mais eficiente.

Gest??o p??blica e pesquisa operacional: avalia????o de desempenho em ag??ncias da Previd??ncia Social

O presente trabalho utiliza a metodologia DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis ), para avaliar a efici??ncia das 22 Ag??ncias da Previd??ncia Social ??? Ger??ncia Executiva Fortaleza (APS-GEXFOR). DEA utiliza programa????o linear cujo n??cleo das estruturas anal??ticas ?? formado a partir do modelo original CCR (Charnes, Cooper, e Rhodes). Aplicada ??s DMU (Decision Making Units), define uma Fronteira de Efici??ncia identificando Unidades Eficientes e Ineficientes. Foi utilizado o modelo DEA-CCR implementado pelo software DEA Solver??. A Previd??ncia Social (INSS) disp??e de indicadores de desempenho. Algumas vari??veis utilizadas no modelo implementado derivam desses indicadores, outras informa????es foram disponibilizadas pelos sistemas de informa????o da institui????o. A avalia????o de efici??ncia DEA das APS-GEXFOR permitiu identificar as melhores pr??ticas, mensurar a participa????o de cada vari??vel envolvida na avalia????o da unidade e projetar as unidades ineficientes na fronteira de efici??ncia, identificando metas a serem atingidas para torn??-las eficientes no conjunto observado.

Gerenciamento proteano de carreira entre universit��rios

A partir da segunda metade do s��culo XX, mudan��as no modo de produ����o capitalista come��aram a afetar a rela����o que as empresas estabeleciam com o trabalhador. Diante de um mercado imprevis��vel, a carreira tradicional, marcada, entre outros aspectos, por empregos duradouros e com possibilidade de ascens��o na hierarquia da organiza����o, tornou-se menos recorrente. Paralelamente, come��aram a despontar novas concep����es sobre carreira, tendo a maioria um enfoque individualista. Dentre as novas proposi����es, o presente estudo tomou como refer��ncia a concep����o de carreira proteana. Esse modelo, de origem norte-americana, tem como ideia central a no����o de uma carreira que �� gerida pelo indiv��duo, e tem como meta o alcance do sucesso psicol��gico. Desta forma, ancora-se em duas principais dimens��es: autogerenciamento e direcionamento para valores. Considerando os diversos estudos que descrevem as dificuldades enfrentadas por estudantes na transi����o da universidade para o mercado de trabalho, esta pesquisa objetivou compreender aspectos do gerenciamento proteano de carreira entre universit��rios brasileiros que j�� tinham conclu��do, pelo menos, a primeira metade do curso de gradua����o. Para tanto, o estudo foi dividido em dois artigos. O primeiro foi destinado ao desenvolvimento e valida����o da Escala de Atitudes de Carreira Proteana para universit��rios, tendo sido realizado com uma amostra de 1016 estudantes de 37 cursos diferentes, com idade variando entre 18 e 65 anos, e m��dia de 24,52 (DP = 6,69 anos). O instrumento, denominado neste estudo de Escala de Gerenciamento Proteano de Carreira para Universit��rios (EGPC-U) atestou a estrutura de duas dimens��es, evidenciada tamb��m na vers��o original da medida. Os ��ndices de confiabilidade foram satisfat��rios e superiores a 12 0,61, tendo o instrumento a possibilidade de ser utilizado em servi��os de orienta����o profissional ou de carreira. O segundo artigo objetivou compreender como as dimens��es do modelo proteano se relacionam com vari��veis s��ciodemogr��ficas e com construtos psicossociais: personalidade, l��cus de controle, sa��de e satisfa����o com a vida, e envolveu alunos de duas ��reas de conhecimento: humanas e exatas. A amostra foi composta por 525 alunos, sendo 245 da ��rea de humanas e 280 de exatas, sendo 52% do sexo masculino. A idade dos participantes variou entre 18 e 30 anos e m��dia de 22,59 anos (DP = 2,66 anos). A partir dos resultados do estudo 2, constatou-se que alunos da ��rea de humanas, quando comparados a estudantes de exatas, tendem a apresentar m��dia superior na dimens��o de direcionamento para valores. Verificou-se ainda que os aspectos de conscienciosidade e l��cus de controle interno s��o preditores significativos do autogerenciamento tanto entre alunos de humanas como de exatas e que a ado����o de atitudes proteanas tende a impactar positivamente aspectos da sa��de e da satisfa����o com a vida do indiv��duo. O estudo, de um modo geral, permitiu verificar a exist��ncia de caracter��sticas proteanas entre universit��rios, como tamb��m possibilitou conhecer vari��veis relacionadas ��s atitudes de autogerenciamento e direcionamento para valores. Destaca-se, por��m, a necessidade de pesquisas complementares com a explora����o de outras vari��veis psicossociais que possam estar relacionadas ao gerenciamento proteano entre graduandos.

As pol��ticas da inseguran��a : da Scuderie Detetive Le Cocq ��s masmorras do novo Esp��rito Santo

A presente disserta����o tem como objetivo a an��lise das pol��ticas de seguran��a p��blica e justi��a criminal no Esp��rito Santo entre 1989 e 2013, utilizando metodologia historiogr��fica e observando a dist��ncia entre os objetivos oficiais e as consequ��ncias pr��ticas. No primeiro cap��tulo, me concentro na contextualiza����o hist��rica das pol��ticas criminais, analisando a forma����o organizacional do sistema punitivo brasileiro. Coloco ��nfase, de um lado, no processo de militariza����o, isto ��, a ado����o de hierarquia, disciplina e forma����o militares nas ag��ncias de seguran��a p��blica, e de outro lado, e nas sucessivas legisla����es penais aprovadas pelo Congresso Nacional. Tais processos nacionais se refletem no Esp��rito Santo, onde se difundiram ���grupos de exterm��nio��� como a Scuderie Le Cocq, mas n��o havia pol��tica de seguran��a p��blica. A primeira surge em meio a grave crise pol��tica, entre 1999 e 2002. Mas os seus prop��sitos s��o mais avan��ados com o processo de reforma administrativa ap��s 2003, quando o governo se esfor��a por imp��r modelos de gest��o empresariais e parcerias p��blico privadas �� administra����o estadual, incluindo a seguran��a p��blica e sistema penitenci��rio. Com isto, ocorre uma r��pida expans��o do encarceramento seletivo em condi����es extremas de superlota����o e viol��ncia, desenvolvendo uma ind��stria carcer��ria. No segundo cap��tulo, realizo uma an��lise na qual relaciono informa����es criminais, penitenci��rias, econ��micas e demogr��ficas, tanto no contexto do Brasil quanto do Esp��rito Santo. Constato que a repress��o estatal tem ���prefer��ncia��� por homens, negros, jovens e de baixa escolaridade; por crimes de drogas e contra o patrim��nio, com a utiliza����o cada vez maior da pris��o provis��ria. No Esp��rito Santo o encarceramento seletivo cresce em maior velocidade que na m��dia nacional, o que se reflete no perfil da popula����o carcer��ria, sendo esta ainda mais negra, jovem, de baixa escolaridade e presa por tr��fico e drogas e em regime provis��rio, com frequentes den��ncias fundamentadas de torturas, mortes e desaparecimentos for��ados entre as popula����es criminalizadas.

As rela����es produzidas no cotidiano da gest��o na estrat��gia sa��de da fam��lia num dos munic��pios da regi��o metropolitana da grande vit��ria: os discursos dos gestores

Este trabalho aborda aspectos referente �� produ����o do processo de trabalho no cotidiano da gest��o da Estrat��gia Sa��de da Fam��lia (ESF) em um munic��pio do Esp��rito Santo, a partir dos discursos dos pr��prios gestores envolvidos no processo. Valoriza a discuss��o sobre a produ����o das rela����es institucionais neste contexto, assim como quest��es que dizem respeito ao processo de trabalho no dia a dia deste servi��o. O percurso metodol��gico foi orientado pela abordagem qualitativa, sendo utilizado como instrumento metodol��gico para a coleta de dados a observa����o direta de uma equipe de ESF, a constru����o de um di��rio de campo e entrevistas individuais semiestruturadas aos gestores (secret��rio municipal de sa��de, coordenador da aten����o b��sica, integrante do n��cleo da ESF e coordenador de unidade de sa��de da fam��lia) da ESF desse munic��pio. A partir do trabalho de campo e da an��lise do material produzido, pode-se apreender um cotidiano marcado pelas subjetividades pr��prias de cada profissional, um cotidiano constru��do a partir das rela����es produzidas em cada espa��o de atua����o dos gestores com os profissionais de sa��de e com os usu��rios. De maneira geral, os discursos dos gestores evidenciam um dia a dia complexo de operar. Al��m disso, observa-se as que as atividades voltadas para as tomadas de decis��o s��o centradas no papel do gestor formal da institui����o de sa��de. O organograma da secretaria de sa��de do munic��pio refor��a a hierarquiza����o das rela����es, principalmente as que se referem ��s tomadas de decis��o, de forma que, pode-se observar que �� um dia a dia marcado por tens��es, conflitos e controle. As rela����es produzidas s��o baseadas em rela����es de poder, perpetuando caracter��sticas de uma gest��o cl��ssica, apesar da concep����o e da tentativa de realizar uma gest��o pautada na cogest��o.

Aproxima����o num��rica ��� anal��tica para a modelagem da convers��o termoqu��mica de combust��veis s��lidos

Um algoritmo num��rico foi criado para apresentar a solu����o da convers��o termoqu��mica de um combust��vel s��lido. O mesmo foi criado de forma a ser flex��vel e dependente do mecanismo de rea����o a ser representado. Para tanto, um sistema das equa����es caracter��sticas desse tipo de problema foi resolvido atrav��s de um m��todo iterativo unido a matem��tica simb��lica. Em fun����o de n��o linearidades nas equa����es e por se tratar de pequenas part��culas, ser�� aplicado o m��todo de Newton para reduzir o sistema de equa����es diferenciais parciais (EDP���s) para um sistema de equa����es diferenciais ordin��rias (EDO���s). Tal processo redu����o �� baseado na uni��o desse m��todo iterativo �� diferencia����o num��rica, pois consegue incorporar nas EDO���s resultantes fun����es anal��ticas. O modelo reduzido ser�� solucionado numericamente usando-se a t��cnica do gradiente bi-conjugado (BCG). Tal modelo promete ter taxa de converg��ncia alta, se utilizando de um n��mero baixo de itera����es, al��m de apresentar alta velocidade na apresenta����o das solu����es do novo sistema linear gerado. Al��m disso, o algoritmo se mostra independente do tamanho da malha constituidora. Para a valida����o, a massa normalizada ser�� calculada e comparada com valores experimentais de termogravimetria encontrados na literatura, , e um teste com um mecanismo simplificado de rea����o ser�� realizado.

Padr��es espa��o-temporais da mortalidade por c��ncer de mama em mulheres no Estado do Esp��rito Santo - um estudo ecol��gico

O c��ncer de mama �� a principal neoplasia maligna que acomete o sexo feminino no Brasil. O c��ncer de mama �� hoje uma doen��a de extrema import��ncia para a sa��de p��blica nacional, motivando ampla discuss��o em torno das medidas que promova o seu diagn��stico precoce, a redu����o em sua morbidade e mortalidade. A presente pesquisa possui tr��s objetivos, cujos resultados encontram-se organizados em artigos. O primeiro objetivo buscou analisar a completude dos dados do Sistema de Informa����o de Mortalidade sobre os ��bitos por c��ncer de mama em mulheres no Esp��rito Santo, Sudeste e Brasil (1998 a 2007). Realizou-se um estudo descritivo anal��tico baseado em dados secund��rios, onde foi analisado o n��mero absoluto e percentual de n��o preenchimento das vari��veis nas declara����es de ��bitos. Adotou-se escore para avaliar os graus de n��o completude. Os resultados para as vari��veis sexo e idade foram excelentes tanto para o Esp��rito Santo, Sudeste e Brasil. O preenchimento das vari��veis ra��a/cor, grau de escolaridade e estado civil apresentam problemas no Esp��rito Santo. Enquanto no Sudeste e Brasil as vari��veis ra��a/cor e escolaridade t��m tend��ncia decrescente para a n��o completude, no Esp��rito Santo a tend��ncia se mant��m est��vel. Para a vari��vel estado civil, a n��o completude tem tend��ncia crescente no Estado do Esp��rito Santo. O segundo objetivo foi analisar a evolu����o das taxas de mortalidade por c��ncer de mama, em mulheres no Esp��rito Santo no per��odo de 1980 a 2007. Estudo de s��rie temporal, cujos dados sobre ��bitos foram obtidos do Sistema de Informa����o de Mortalidade e as estimativas populacionais segundo idade e anos-calend��rio, do Instituto Brasileiro Geografia e Estat��stica. Os coeficientes espec��ficos 9 de mortalidade, segundo faixa et��ria, foram calculados anualmente. A an��lise de tend��ncia foi realizada por meio da padroniza����o das taxas de mortalidade pelo m��todo direto, em que a popula����o do senso IBGE-2000, foi considerada padr��o. No per��odo de estudo, ocorreram 2.736 ��bitos por c��ncer de mama. O coeficiente de mortalidade neste per��odo variou de 3,41 a 10,99 por 100.000 mulheres. Os resultados indicam que h�� tend��ncia de mortalidade por c��ncer de mama ao longo da s��rie (p=0,001 com crescimento de 75,42%). Todas as faixas et��rias a partir de 30 anos apresentaram tend��ncia de crescimento da mortalidade estatisticamente significante (p=0,001). Os percentuais de crescimento foram aumentando, segundo as idades mais avan��adas, sendo 48,4% na faixa de 40 a 49 anos, chegando a 92,3%, na faixa de 80 anos e mais. O terceiro objetivo foi realizar a an��lise espacial dos ��bitos em mulheres por c��ncer de mama no estado do Esp��rito Santo, nos anos de 2003 a 2007, com an��lise das correla����es espaciais dessa mortalidade e componentes do munic��pio. O cen��rio foi o Estado do Esp��rito Santo, composto por 78 munic��pios. Para an��lise dos dados, utilizou-se a abordagem bayesiana (m��todos EBest Global e EBest Local) para corre����o de taxas epidemiol��gicas. Calculou-se o ��ndice I de Moran, para depend��ncia espacial em n��vel global e a estat��stica Moran Local. As maiores taxas est��o concentradas em 19 munic��pios pertencentes ��s Microrregi��es: Metropolitana (Fund��o, Vit��ria, Vila Velha, Viana, Cariacica e Guarapari), Metr��pole Expandida Sul (Anchieta, Alfredo Chaves), P��lo Cachoeiro (Vargem Alta, Rio Novo do Sul, Mimoso do Sul, Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Castelo, Jer��nimo Monteiro, Bom Jesus do Norte, Apiac�� e Muqui) e Capara�� (Alegre e S��o Jos�� do Cal��ado). Os resultados da Estima����o Bayesiana (��ndice de Moran) dos ��bitos por c��ncer de mama em mulheres ocorridos no estado do Esp��rito Santo, segundo os dados brutos e 10 ajustados indicam a exist��ncia de correla����o espacial significativa para o mapa Local (I = 0,573; p = 0,001) e Global (I = 0,118; p = 0,039). Os dados brutos n��o apresentam correla����o espacial (I = 0,075; p = 0,142).

A blockmodel study of managerial hierarchies, verbal networks, and organizational culture in four hospitals

This study demonstrates and applies a social network methodology for studying the dynamics of hierarchies in organizations. Social network (blockmodel) analysis of verbal networks in four hospitals contrasted hierarchical and structurally equivalent partitions of the sociomatrices of frequent ties and perceptions of organizational culture. It was found that the verbal networks in these organizations follow a center periphery pattern rather than a hierarchical logic and that perceptions of culture vary more by verbal network than by formal hierarchy. The perceptions of culture of central groups in one organization are much like those of peripheral groups in another. In all four hospitals, structurally equivalent social networks are more important in predicting subcultures than are hierarchical groupings and hierarchy has a limited impact on the development of verbal networks. These findings suggest the value of an amoeba rather than a pyramid metaphor in interpreting the cultures and relational structures of organizations.

Conselho escolar: uma perspectiva de constru����o da democratiza����o da escola p��blica

As reformas educacionais implantadas nas ��ltimas d��cadas no Brasil elegem a gest��o democr��tica como um dos princ��pios b��sicos da educa����o em defesa da descentraliza����o da educa����o. A forte influ��ncia do processo de globaliza����o torna estas reformas unificadas. O presente estudo objetiva analisar o Conselho Escolar como instrumento da gest��o democr��tica em duas escolas p��blicas do munic��pio de Cajazeiras -PB-BR. De acordo com evid��ncias, o Estado Brasileiro institucionalizou este colegiado, que se tornou deslocado de uma pol��tica mais ampla de democratiza����o da escola, ressaltando mais sua face burocr��tica. Na tentativa de compreender como se materializou este proces so de democratiza����o �� que surgiu a motiva����o para a realiza����o deste trabalho, que tem como principais refer��ncias: Paulo Freire (1987, 1992, 1993), Vitor Paro (1986, 1996, 2001), Helo��sa L��ck (2006), Moacir Gadotti (1997), Boaventura Santos (1998, 1999, 2007), Lic��nio Lima (2002, 2006), entre outros. A investiga����o foi realizada atrav��s de uma amostra intencional, incluindo 12 membros da comunidade escolar. Na constru����o do material emp��rico e an��lise de dados foram utilizadas t��cnicas documentais, entrevistas n��o diretivas, o programa inform��tico ALCESTE e a t��cnica da an��lise de conte��do. Os resultados evidenciados na investiga����o revelam que a contribui����o do conselho escolar para a democratiza����o da gest��o, ainda est�� em fase embrion��ria. S��o causas: as ra��zes hist��ricas sedimentadas em princ��pios autocr��ticos, a aus��ncia de uma cultura de participa����o, as condi����es de implanta����o. No entanto, j�� se tem consci��ncia de que este �� um relevante instrumento para efetiva����o de pr��ticas democr��ticas, e j�� se materializam v��rias iniciativas nesse sentido.

O conceito de valor para o consumidor : uma an��lise sob a ��ptica da metodologia Laddering

RESUMO: O constructo de customer value �� aquele que melhor explica o comportamento do consumidor, uma vez que o seu objectivo �� o de entender como os consumidores traduzem os atributos e consequ��ncias do uso de um produto em valores pessoais relevantes. A metodologia laddering, que tem como base a teoria das cadeias meios-fim, �� um elemento te��rico que se considera consistente para estabelecer a rela����o entre os atributos e os valores do consumidor. Esta disserta����o pretende demonstrar a exequibilidade da metodologia laddering em estudos sobre o valor para o consumidor, percebendo quais s��o as vantagens e limita����es do seu uso. �� conclusivo que este m��todo, atrav��s da constru����o de cadeias A-C-V, proporciona elementos de estudo que permitem a visualiza����o de hierarquia de valores produzida pelos consumidores, fun����o dos crit��rios de escolha destes durante e ap��s um processo de compra. A aplicabilidade desta metodologia na perspectiva do valor para o cliente, permite a utiliza����o dos seus resultados num conjunto de ��reas espec��ficas do marketing, das quais destacamos a segmenta����o e an��lise de mercado, a avalia����o do posicionamento de produtos e marcas, a avalia����o da publicidade e o desenvolvimento de estrat��gias de comunica����o. ABSTRACT: The customer value construct is the one that best explains the consumer behavior, since its purpose is to understand how consumers translate the attributes and consequences of the use of a product in relevant personal values. The laddering methodology, which is based on the theory of means-end chains, is a theoretical element that is considered consistent for establish the relationship between attributes and consumer values. This thesis attempts to demonstrate the feasibility of the laddering methodology in studies about the value for the consumer, knowing what are the advantages and limitations of its use. It is conclusive that this method, by building chains A-C-V, provides elements of study that allows the visualization of the values hierarchy produced by consumers, according to the criteria of their choice during and after a purchase process. The applicability of this methodology from the perspective of customer value, allows the use of their results in a number of specific areas of marketing, which we emphasize the segmentation and market analysis, evaluation of product and branding positioning, evaluation of advertising and development of communication strategies.

An investigation into support for restrictions on HIV carriers in the Chicago metropolitan area

An investigation into support for restrictions on people testing seropositive for HIV is reported on. Data were collected during telephone interviews with two-hundred adults aged eighteen to sixty-five in the Chicago metropolitan area. Using the analytic technique of LISREL, six models which attempt to explain support for restrictions were tested. It was found that the model best supported by the data indicates that two groups contribute to support for restrictions on HIV carriers - one due to intolerance of homosexuality and one to mistrust of public health officials regarding their control and management of the AIDS epidemic. The relevance of these findings for public health policy makers is discussed.

On differentiability and analyticity of positive definite functions

We derive a set of differential inequalities for positive definite functions based on previous results derived for positive definite kernels by purely algebraic methods. Our main results show that the global behavior of a smooth positive definite function is, to a large extent, determined solely by the sequence of even-order derivatives at the origin: if a single one of these vanishes then the function is constant; if they are all non-zero and satisfy a natural growth condition, the function is real-analytic and consequently extends holomorphically to a maximal horizontal strip of the complex plane.

Eastwards / westwards: which direction for gender studies in the 21st century?

Eastwards / Westwards: Which Direction for Gender Studies in the XXIst Century? is a collection of essays which focus on themes and methods that characterize current research into gender in Asian countries in general. In this collection, ideas derived from Gender Studies elsewhere in the world have been subjected to scrutiny for their utility in helping to describe and understand regional phenomena. But the concepts of Local and Global ��� with their discoursive productions ��� have not functioned as a binary opposition: localism and globalism are mutually constitutive and researchers have interrogated those spaces of interaction between the ���self��� and the ���other���, bearing in mind their own embeddedness in social and cultural structures and their own historical memory. Contributors to this collection provided a critical transnational perspective on some of the complex effects of the dynamics of cultural globalization, by exploring the relation between gender and development, language, historiography, education and culture. We have also given attention to the ideological and rhetorical processes through which gender identity is constructed, by comparing textual grids and patterns of expectation. Likewise, we have discussed the role of ethnography, anthropology, historiography, sociology, fiction, popular culture and colonial and post-colonial sources in (re)inventing old/new male/female identities, their conversion into concepts and circulation through time and space. This multicultural and trans-disciplinary selection of essays is totally written in English, fully edited and revised, therefore, it has a good potential for an immediate international circulation. This project may trace new paths and issues for discussion on what concerns the life, practices and narratives by and about women in Asia, as well as elsewhere in the present day global experience. Academic readership: Researchers, scholars, educators, graduate and post-graduate students, doctoral students and general non-fiction readers, with a special interest in Gender Studies, Asia, Colonial and Post-Colonial Literature, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, History, Historiography, Politics, Race, Feminism, Language, Linguistics, Power, Political and Feminist Agendas, Popular Culture, Education, Women���s Writing, Religion, Multiculturalism, Globalisation, Migration. Chapter summary: 1. ���Social Gender Stereotypes and their Implication in Hindi���, Anjali Pande, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. This essay looks at the subtle ways in which gender identities are constructed and reinforced in India through social norms of language use. Language itself becomes a medium for perpetuating gender stereotypes, forcing its speakers to confirm to socially defined gender roles. Using examples from a classroom discussion about a film, this essay will highlight the underlying rigid male-female stereotypes in Indian society with their more obvious expressions in language. For the urban woman in India globalisation meant increased economic equality and exposure to changed lifestyles. On an individual level it also meant redefining gender relations and changing the hierarchy in man-��woman relationships. With the economic independence there is a heightened sense of liberation in all spheres of social life, a confidence to fuzz the rigid boundaries of gender roles. With the new films and media celebrating this liberated woman, who is ready to assert her sexual needs, who is ready to explode those long held notions of morality, one would expect that the changes are not just superficial. But as it soon became obvious in the course of a classroom discussion about relationships and stereotypes related to age, the surface changes can not become part of the common vocabulary, for the obvious reason that there is still a vast gap between the screen image of this new woman and the ground reality. Social considerations define the limits of this assertiveness of women, whereas men are happy to be liberal within the larger frame of social sanctions. The educated urban woman in India speaks in favour of change and the educated urban male supports her, but one just needs to scratch the surface to see the time tested formulae of gender roles firmly in place. The way the urban woman happily balances this emerging promise of independence with her gendered social identity, makes it necessary to rethink some aspects of looking at gender in a gradually changing, traditional society like India. 2. ���The Linguistic Dimension of Gender Equality���, Alissa Tolstokorova, Kiev Centre for Gender Information and Education, Ukraine. The subject-matter of this essay is gender justice in language which, as I argue, may be achieved through the development of a gender-related approach to linguistic human rights. The last decades of the 20th century, globally marked by a ���gender shift��� in attitudes to language policy, gave impetus to the social movement for promoting linguistic gender equality. It was initiated in Western Europe and nowadays is moving eastwards, as ideas of gender democracy progress into developing countries. But, while in western societies gender discrimination through language, or linguistic sexism, was an issue of concern for over three decades, in developing countries efforts to promote gender justice in language are only in their infancy. My argument is that to promote gender justice in language internationally it is necessary to acknowledge the rights of women and men to equal representation of their gender in language and speech and, therefore, raise a question of linguistic rights of the sexes. My understanding is that the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights in 1996 provided this opportunity to address the problem of gender justice in language as a human rights issue, specifically as a gender dimension of linguistic human rights. 3. ���The Rebirth of an Old Language: Issues of Gender Equality in Kazakhstan���, Maria Helena Guimar��es, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal. The existing language situation in Kazakhstan, while peaceful, is not without some tension. We propose to analyze here some questions we consider relevant in the frame of cultural globalization and gender equality, such as: free from Russian imperialism, could Kazakhstan become an easy prey of Turkey���s ���imperialist dream���? Could these traditionally Muslim people be soon facing the end of religious tolerance and gender equality, becoming this new old language an easy instrument for the infiltration in the country of fundamentalism (it has already crossed the boarders of Uzbekistan), leading to a gradual deterioration of its rich multicultural relations? The present structure of the language is still very fragile: there are three main dialects and many academics defend the re-introduction of the Latin alphabet, thus enlarging the possibility of cultural ���contamination��� by making the transmission of fundamentalist ideas still easier through neighbour countries like Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan (their languages belong to the same sub-group of Common Turkic), where the Latin alphabet is already in use, and where the ground for such ideas shown itself very fruitful. 4. ���Construction of Womanhood in the Bengali Language of Bangladesh���, Raasheed Mahmood; University of New South Wales, Sydney. The present essay attempts to explore the role of gender-based language differences and of certain markers that reveal the status accorded to women in Bangladesh. Discrimination against women, in its various forms, is endemic in communities and countries around the world, cutting across class, race, age, and religious and national boundaries. One cannot understand the problems of gender discrimination solely by referring to the relationship of power or authority between men and women. Rather one needs to consider the problem by relating it to the specific social formation in which the image of masculinity and femininity is constructed and reconstructed. Following such line of reasoning this essay will examine the nature of gender bias in the Bengali language of Bangladesh, holding the conviction that as a product of social reality language reflects the socio-cultural behaviour of the community who speaks it. This essay will also attempt to shed some light on the processes through which gender based language differences produce actual consequences for women, who become exposed to low self-esteem, depression and systematic exclusion from public discourse. 5. ���Marriage in China as an expression of a changing society���, Elisabetta Rosado David, University of Porto, Portugal, and Universit�� Ca���Foscari, Venezia, Italy. In 29 April 2001, the new Marriage Law was promulgated in China. The first law on marriage was proclaimed in 1950 with the objective of freeing women from the feudal matrimonial system. With the second law, in 1981, values and conditions that had been distorted by the Cultural Revolution were recovered. Twenty years later, a new reform was started, intending to update marriage in the view of the social and cultural changes that occurred with Deng Xiaoping���s ���open policy���. But the legal reform is only the starting point for this case-study. The rituals that are followed in the wedding ceremony are often hard to understand and very difficult to standardize, especially because China is a vast country, densely populated and characterized by several ethnic minorities. Two key words emerge from this issue: syncretism and continuity. On this basis, we can understand tradition in a better way, and analyse whether or not marriage, as every social manifestation, has evolved in harmony with Chinese culture. 6. ���The Other Woman in the Portuguese Colonial Empire: The Case of Portuguese India���, Maria de Deus Manso, University of ��vora, Portugal. This essay researches the social, cultural and symbolic history of local women in the Portuguese Indian colonial enclaves. The normative Portuguese overseas history has not paid any attention to the ���indigenous��� female populations in colonial Portuguese territories, albeit the large social importance of these social segments largely used in matrimonial and even catholic missionary strategies. The first attempt to open fresh windows in the history of this new field was the publication of Charles Boxer���s referential study about Women in lberian Overseas Expansion, edited in Portugal only after the Revolution of 1975. After this research we can only quote some other fragmentary efforts. In fact, research about the social, cultural, religious, political and symbolic situation of women in the Portuguese colonial territories, from the XVI to the XX century, is still a minor historiographic field. In this essay we discuss this problem and we study colonial representations of women in the Portuguese Indian enclaves, mainly in the territory of Goa, using case studies methodologies. 7. ���Heading East this Time: Critical Readings on Gender in Southeast Asia���, Clara Sarmento, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal. This essay intends to discuss some critical readings of fictional and theoretical texts on gender condition in Southeast Asian countries. Nowadays, many texts about women in Southeast Asia apply concepts of power in unusual areas. Traditional forms of gender hegemony have been replaced by other powerful, if somewhat more covert, forms. We will discuss some universal values concerning conventional female roles as well as the strategies used to recognize women in political fields traditionally characterized by male dominance. Female empowerment will mean different things at different times in history, as a result of culture, local geography and individual circumstances. Empowerment needs to be perceived as an individual attitude, but it also has to be facilitated at the macro��level by society and the State. Gender is very much at the heart of all these dynamics, strongly related to specificities of historical, cultural, ethnic and class situatedness, requiring an interdisciplinary transnational approach.

Evaluation of intermolecular interactions in thioxanthone derivatives: substituent effect on crystal diversity

A family of 9H-thioxanthen-9-one derivatives and two precursors, 2-[(4-bromophenyl) sulfanyl]-5-nitrobenzoic acid and 2-[(4-aminophenyl) sulfanyl]-5-nitrobenzoic acid, were synthesized and studied in order to assess the role of the different substituent groups in determining the supramolecular motifs. From our results we can conclude that Etter's rules are obeyed: whenever present the -COOH head to head strong hydrogen bonding dimer, R-2(2)(8) synthon, prevails as the dominant interaction. As for -NH2, the best donor when present also follows the expected hierarchy, an NH center dot center dot center dot O(COOH) was formed in the acid precursor (2) and an NH center dot center dot center dot O(C=O) in the thioxanthone (4). The main role played by weaker hydrogen bonds such as CH center dot center dot center dot O, and other intermolecular interactions, pi-pi and Br center dot center dot center dot O, as well as the geometric restraints of packing patterns shows the energetic interplay governing crystal packing. A common feature is the relation between the p-p stacking and the unit cell dimensions. A new synthon notation, R`, introduced in this paper, refers to the possibility of accounting for intra- and intermolecular interactions into recognizable and recurring aggregate patterns.