Norms, rules and policy tools:Understanding Article 5.3 as an instrument of tobacco control governance

INTRODUCTION: Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, elaborated via its implementation guidelines, can be understood as a policy instrument comprising norms, rules and policy tools designed to shape practices of policy making and minimise tobacco industry interference. METHODS: This qualitative research is based on in-depth interviews with officials from diverse government sectors and non-governmental organisations across countries (Ethiopia, India, Uganda) that have adopted measures to implement Article 5.3. RESULTS: The data highlight varied perceptions and knowledge of Article 5.3 norms between health and non-health sectors. Health officials typically link its norm of a fundamental conflict between public health and industry interests to the norm of protecting public health policies from industry interference. While officials in sectors beyond health broadly endorsed this core norm, they exhibited more limited awareness of Article 5.3 and its model of governance. The results examine how rules to implement Article 5.3 have been codified, but identify the absence of policy tools necessary to operationalise rules and norms. This limitation, alongside restricted awareness beyond health departments, suggests that political commitments to implement Article 5.3 will have limited impact on practices of stakeholder consultation and policy engagement with the tobacco industry. CONCLUSION: Conceptualising Article 5.3 as a policy instrument helps to explain how its rules and policy tools interact with each other and with broader governance processes. This framework has the potential to enhance understanding of Article 5.3 and help identify opportunities and constraints in its implementation

Resolução integrada de problemas do planejamento do transporte público: foco na tabela de horários e no escalonamento de veículos com frota heterogênea

In this paper, we propose a new Integer Linear Programming model, based on a time-space network that integrates the timetable generation problem and the vehicle scheduling problem with heterogeneous fleet. A difference of this approach consists in considering the demand for the timetable redefinition and the vehicle scheduling, factor rarely applied in optimization models of the transportation system. We applied real and large random instances. The results indicate that the model may contribute to optimizing the public transport planning leading to significant savings in terms of scheduled vehicles. Moreover, as the timetable changes are fairly short, it is slightly modified, minimally modifying the passengers routine, which enables the application of these approaches to real context.Neste artigo, propõe-se um novo modelo de Programação Linear Inteira, baseado em uma rede tempo-espaço, que integra os problemas de geração da tabela de horários e o escalonamento de veículos com frota heterogênea. Um diferencial dessa abordagem consiste na consideração da demanda para a redefinição da tabela de horários e para o escalonamento dos veículos, fator raramente aplicado nos modelos de otimização do sistema de transporte. Foram utilizadas instâncias reais e aleatórias de grande porte. Os resultados indicam que o modelo pode contribuir para a otimização do planejamento do transporte público, tendo em vista que possibilita economias significativas no número de veículos escalonados. Além disso, como os intervalos de alteração da tabela de horários são bastante curtos, obtêm-se alterações sutis, modificando minimamente a rotina dos passageiros, o que possibilita a aplicação dessa abordagem ao contexto real

Linkage and mapping of quantitative trait loci associated with angular leaf spot and powdery mildew resistance in common beans

Angular leaf spot (ALS) and powdery mildew (PWM) are two important fungi diseases causing significant yield losses in common beans. In this study, a new genetic linkage map was constructed using single sequence repeats (SSRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in a segregating population derived from the AND 277 x SEA 5 cross, with 105 recombinant inbred lines. Phenotypic evaluations were performed in the greenhouse to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with resistance by means of the composite interval mapping analysis. Four QTLs were identified for ALS resistance. The QTL ALS11AS, linked on the SNP BAR 5054, mapped on chromosome Pv11, showed the greatest effect (R2 = 26.5%) on ALS phenotypic variance. For PWM resistance, two QTLs were detected, PWM2AS and PWM11AS, on Pv2 and Pv11, explaining 7% and 66% of the phenotypic variation, respectively. Both QTLs on Pv11 were mapped on the same genomic region, suggesting that it is a pleiotropic region. The present study resulted in the identification of new markers closely linked to ALS and PWM QTLs, which can be used for marker-assisted selection, fine mapping and positional cloning

Properties of experimental resins based on synthesized propoxylated bis-GMA with different propionaldehyde ratios

The effect of different propionaldehyde ratios on the properties of bis-GMA-based comonomers and copolymers diluted with propoxylated bis-GMA (CH3bis-GMA) was evaluated. Five experimental comonomers were prepared combining bis-GMA with CH3bis-GMA and propionaldehyde at 0, 2, 8, 16, 24 mol%. Light polymerization was effected with the use of 0.2 wt. (%) each of camphorquinone and N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine. Resin degrees of conversion (%DC) were evaluated by FT-IR spectrophotometry and Tg by Differential Scanning Calorimeter. Complex viscosity (η*), the effect of temperature on η*, and Microhardness (H) for dry and wet samples were also determined. Data were analyzed by Student's t-test, one-way ANOVA and Tukey-Kramer test (α = 0.05). The group with 24 mol% additive had a significant increase in %DC and H, and the lowest comonomer Tg and η*. No remarkable variation was noted in copolymers Tg s. All resins presented Newtonian behavior of viscosity, which linearly decreased with increased temperature. The η* decreased sigmoidally as the additive ratio increased

Physiological and transcriptional analyses of developmental stages along sugarcane leaf

Abstract\ud \ud Background\ud Sugarcane is one of the major crops worldwide. It is cultivated in over 100 countries on 22 million ha. The complex genetic architecture and the lack of a complete genomic sequence in sugarcane hamper the adoption of molecular approaches to study its physiology and to develop new varieties. Investments on the development of new sugarcane varieties have been made to maximize sucrose yield, a trait dependent on photosynthetic capacity. However, detailed studies on sugarcane leaves are scarce. In this work, we report the first molecular and physiological characterization of events taking place along a leaf developmental gradient in sugarcane.\ud \ud \ud Results\ud Photosynthetic response to CO2 indicated divergence in photosynthetic capacity based on PEPcase activity, corroborated by activity quantification (both in vivo and in vitro) and distinct levels of carbon discrimination on different segments along leaf length. Additionally, leaf segments had contrasting amount of chlorophyll, nitrogen and sugars. RNA-Seq data indicated a plethora of biochemical pathways differentially expressed along the leaf. Some transcription factors families were enriched on each segment and their putative functions corroborate with the distinct developmental stages. Several genes with higher expression in the middle segment, the one with the highest photosynthetic rates, were identified and their role in sugarcane productivity is discussed. Interestingly, sugarcane leaf segments had a different transcriptional behavior compared to previously published data from maize.\ud \ud \ud Conclusion\ud This is the first report of leaf developmental analysis in sugarcane. Our data on sugarcane is another source of information for further studies aiming to understand and/or improve C4 photosynthesis. The segments used in this work were distinct in their physiological status allowing deeper molecular analysis. Although limited in some aspects, the comparison to maize indicates that all data acquired on one C4 species cannot always be easily extrapolated to other species. However, our data indicates that some transcriptional factors were segment-specific and the sugarcane leaf undergoes through the process of suberizarion, photosynthesis establishment and senescence.We thank Lucia Daniela Wolf for excellent technical support in HPAEC-PAD analysis. We thank Cristina Rodrigues G. Sales for the support during RubisCO and PEPcase activity assays. We thank Tom Brutnell’s group for kindly providing the read counts and gene lengths used in the analysis of leaf development in maize. RVR is a research fellow of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil). This work was supported by FAPESP as a Regular Research Grant (2012/23345-0)