Variability associated to the insertion and expression of transgenes in plants

Amb la finalitat de garantir la seguretat dels consumidors i del medi ambient, a la UE els aliments modificats genèticament (MG) estan sotmesos a un rigorós procés d'autorització que inclou: caracterització molecular del transgèn i anàlisis comparatives a nivell nutricional i agronòmic. L'ús de tècniques de profiling per avaluar la possible existència d'efectes no esperats derivats de la inserció i/o expressió del transgèn s'ha proposat com a una eina complementària per l'avaluació de la seguretat alimentària. L'objectiu de la present tesis és avaluar la variabilitat associada a la inserció i expressió de transgens en plantes, utilitzant com a exemple el blat de moro MON810. Es pretén complementar les aproximacions ja existents basades en l'estudi de paràmetres concrets mitjançant les tècniques de profiling. Des del punt de vista transcriptòmic i proteòmic, les varietats de blat de moro MON810 semblen ser substancialment equivalents a les seves varietats comparables no-MG. En conseqüència, és possible la producció de plantes MG amb el mínim d'efectes no esperats.

Estrategias empresariales para afrontar la competencia internacional: el caso del cluster de confecciones de la industria textil de Atuntaqui

El comercio mundial tiene múltiples actores que está sumamente bien posicionados y otros que buscan nuevas estrategias para mejorar su posicionamiento. Asimismo, las diferencias entre los mercados internacionales, nacionales y/o locales son notables, mientras los unos se expanden a pasos agigantados, los otros lo hacen paso a paso. Por lo tanto, el presente trabajo tiene como objetivo fundamental determinar las estrategias que las empresas del sector de las confecciones del cluster textil de Atuntaqui pueden implementar para hacer frente a la competencia internacional. Con esta referencia, el trabajo se ha dividido en tres capítulos. El primer capítulo, está conformado por un análisis de los principales elementos conceptuales (cadena global de valor, managment dentro de la CGV y cluster industriales); seguido, se presenta un breve recuento de la industria, el comercio mundial y los principales importadores y exportadores. Luego, se analiza las tendencias globales utilizadas por los países de América Latina y el Caribe, entre los que están: plataforma de exportación, clusters y logística internacional. En el segundo capítulo, se analizan las principales estadísticas sobre el comportamiento histórico de las importaciones y exportaciones, la caracterización de las empresas, el ámbito tecnológico, los costos y gastos en los que se ha incurrido en algunos cantones y sobre el mercado laboral. Para finalizar, el tercer capítulo, cuenta con una perspectiva local de la industria en Atuntaqui, con temas, como: el “cluster” de la industria, la caracterización de las empresas, el clima de negocios, el diagnostico FODA y las principales estrategias.

Europe’s New Post-Trade Infrastructure Rules. ECMI Policy Brief No. 20, 8 November 2012

After more than a decade of indecision, the EU is finally now set to implement a consistent regulatory architecture for clearing and settlement. Following the agreement on a European market infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), the European Commission has proposed harmonised rules for centralised settlement depositaries (CSDs), while the European Central Bank is moving forward with its plans for a central eurozone settlement engine. This paper analyses three components of the new post-trade infrastructure measures: 1) the regulatory framework for and supervision of central counterparties under the new EMIR legislation, 2) the authorisation requirements of trade repositories and 3) the draft CSD Regulation and the progress with the ECB’s Target 2 Securities project. It then discusses the impact of the new rules, and argues that, analogous to the unexpected impact of MiFID on trading infrastructures, a similar EMIR revolution may be on its way.

The comparative toxicity to soil invertebrates of natural chemicals and their synthetic analogues

The introduction of Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH), requires companies to register and risk assess all substances produced or imported in volumes of >1 tonne per year. Extrapolation methods which use existing data for estimating the effects of chemicals are attractive to industry, and comparative data are therefore increasingly in demand. Data on natural toxic chemicals could be used for extrapolation methods Such as read-across. To test this hypothesis, the toxicity of natural chemicals and their synthetic analogues were compared using standardised toxicity tests. Two chemical pairs: the napthoquinones, juglone (natural) and 1,4-naphthoquinone (synthetic); and anthraquinones, emodin (natural) and quinizarin (synthetic) were chosen, and their comparative effects on the survival and reproduction of collembolans, earthworms, enchytraeids and predatory mites were assessed. Differences in sensitivity between the species were observed with the predatory mite (Hypoaspis aculeifer) showing the least sensitivity. Within the chemical pairs, toxicity to lethal and sub-lethal endpoints was very similar for the four invertebrate species. The exception was earthworm reproduction, which showed differential sensitivity to the chemicals in both naphthoquinone and anthraquinone pairs. Differences in toxicity identified in the present study may be related to degree of exposure and/or subtle differences in the mode of toxic action for the chemicals and species tested. It may be possible to predict differences by identifying functional groups which infer increased or decreased toxicity in one or other chemical. The development of such techniques would enable the use of read-across from natural to synthetic chemicals for a wider group of compounds. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Economic analysis of international supply chains: an internalization perspective

Offshoring and outsourcing in global value chains have been extensively analyzed from a strategic management perspective (Gereffi & Li, 2012; Gereffi, Humphrey & Sturgeon, 2005; Mudambi & Venzin, 2010). This paper examines these issues from an internalization theory perspective by summarizing the contribution of internalization theory to supply chain analysis; considering how a division of labor is coordinated and comparing coordination by management with coordination by the market; and discussing the formal models of supply chains developed by economists. Supply chain researchers possessing an interest in economic principles and good mathematical skills can make an important contribution to internalization theory, and it is hoped that this paper will encourage them to do so.

The medieval papacy and holy war: General crusading letters and papal authority, 1145-1213

Chapter in an edited collection on the twelfth-century papacy and its authorisation of crusades to the Near East.

No asylum for “Infiltrators”: the legal predicament of Eritrean and Sudanese nationals in Israel

This article explores the precarious status of Eritrean and Sudanese nationals in Israel. Having crossed the Israeli-Egyptian border without authorisation and not through an official border crossing, Israeli law defines such individuals as ‘infiltrators’, a charged term which dates back to border-crossings into Israel by Palestinian Fedayeen in the 1950s. Eritreans and Sudanese nationals constitute over 90 percent of ‘infiltrators’ in Israel. Their livelihood is curtailed through hostility, sanctions, and detention, while (at the time of writing) Israel refrains from deporting them to their respective countries of origin, recognising that such forced removal could expose them to risks to their lives and/or freedom. Israel was the 10th state to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention, and has acceded to its 1967 Protocol which removed the 1951 Convention’s temporal and geographic restrictions, yet it has not incorporated these treaties into its domestic law not has it enacted primary legislation that sets eligibility criteria for ‘refugee’ status and regulates the treatment of asylum-seekers. Israeli law also fails to accord subsidiary protection status to persons that the state considers to be non-removable, whether or not they satisfy the definition of a ‘refugee’ under the 1951 Convention. Absent legal recognition of ‘refugee’, ‘asylum-seeker’, and ‘beneficiary of subsidiary protection’ statuses, Eritreans and Sudanese nationals are left in legal limbo for an indefinite period qua irregular non-removable persons. This article takes stock of their legal predicament.

The meta-object facility typed

The Object Managment Group’s Meta-Object Facility (MOF) is a semiformal approach to writing models and metamodels (models of models). The MOF was developed to enable systematic model/metamodel interchange and integration. The approach is problematic, unless metamodels are correctly specified: an error in a metamodel specification will propagate throughout instantiating models and final model implementations. An important open question is how to develop provably correct metamodels. This paper outlines a solution to the question, in which the MOF metamodelling approach is formalized within constructive type theory.

Uma opção para administrar empresas publicas: o contrato de gestão entre o governo do Brasil e a Companhia Vale do Rio Doce

Durante os últimos anos, a sociedade contemporânea encara as conseqüências não desejáveis da estatização da economia. Para lidar com esses problemas e, garantir algum nível de sucesso no modelo liberal de desenvolvimento econômico, as autoridades do Brasil tem idealizado reformas administrativas. adotado programas de privatização e de saneamenlo das finanças públicas e. implementado novos métodos de decisão, como estratégias para modernizar a gestão do Estado. A CVRD, empresa estatal brasileira de largo sucesso nacional c internacional, toi a primeira a assinar um Contrato de Gestllo com o Governo da União. em junho de 1991. Seus propósitos fundamentais são melhorar o relacionamento entre as partes assinantes. ceder maior autonomia operacional à empresa para aumentar seus níveis de competitividade e produtividade e, aperfeiçoar o cumprimento da função de controle por parte do Governo. Igual do que outros países do mundo que tem adotado Contratos de Gestão, a prática brasileir~ embora precária, tem apresentado sucesso para amhas as partes assinantes. A empresa, conseguiu a autonomia necessária para consolidar seu novo Sistema de Gerência Econômica, aperfeiçoou seu desempenho e passou a ser melhor compreendida pelos organismos de fiscalização. O Governo em primeiro lugar. legalizou um novo mecanismo para administrar as empresas estatais, que lhe permitirá aprimorar no cumprimento das funções de planejamento c controle c, em scgundo lugar, ofereceu um precedente importante e um exemplo de sucesso dos Contratos de Gestão como instrumentos para administrar organizações públicas.

Contrato de gestão : considerações sobre a sua viabilidade na administração educacional

Esta dissertação parte da hipótese de que a estrutura atual da educação é altamente rígida, burocrática e centralizada e entende que a saída pode estar num tipo de gestão que contemple uma maior descentralização e autonomia da escola. Por outro lado, admite que a participação de todos os profissionais envolvidos no processo educacional, bem como de alunos, pais de alunos e outros segmentos representativos da comunidade é fundamental para que se tenha uma escola eficiente, eficaz e que ofereça, como produto, um ensino de qualidade, atendendo, dessa forma, as expectativas da sociedade. Sendo assim, este trabalho busca investigar a viabilidade de implantação de contrato de gestão na área educacional, o enxergando como uma ferramenta que pode possibilitar a descentralização administrativa e conceder maior autonomia às escolas com a participação social enquanto permite, ao mesmo tempo, que o governo tenha instrumentos capazes de garantir a equidade de todo o sistema.