The changing politics of foreign policy

Em processament

Polymorphism analysis of the CTLA-4 gene in paracoccidioidomycosis patients

The CTLA-4 protein is expressed in activated T cells and plays an essential role in the immune response through its regulatory effect on T cell activation. Polymorphisms of the CTLA-4 gene have been correlated with autoimmune, neoplastic and infectious illnesses. This work aimed to verify possible associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CTLA-4, -318C/T in the promoter and +49A/G in exon 1 and paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) caused by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. For this purpose, 66 chronic form PCM patients and 76 healthy controls had their allele, genotype and haplotype frequencies determined. The genetic admixture structure of the patients and controls was evaluated to eliminate ancestral bias. The comparison of frequencies indicated no significant differences between patients and controls that could link the SNPs to PCM. Groups were admixture matched with no difference observed in population ancestry inference, indicating that the absence of association between CTLA-4 polymorphisms and PCM could not be attributed to ancestral bias. This study showed that there was no association between the CTLA-4 SNPs -318 and +49 and the resistance or susceptibility to PCM

A Lei de Terras no Brasil Império e os índios do Planalto Meridional: a luta política e diplomática do Kaingang Vitorino Condá (1845-1870)

RESUMO O presente estudo tem por objetivo analisar a legislação de terras do Brasil Império com base na sua principal lei, a Lei de Terras - as condições em que foi forjada, bem como sua influência sobre as terras indígenas do Planalto Meridional. O foco da investigação é a luta do Kaingang Vitorino Condá por suas terras, a partir de seu encontro político com o Conde de Caxias em 1845, até sua morte em 1870. As ações políticas e diplomáticas dos povos originários, que atuavam dentro da legislação e fora dela, se não dominavam totalmente as estratégias jurídicas dos invasores de suas terras, tiravam proveito delas em suas possibilidades de interpretação, o que permitiu a permanência de linhas de ações com estabelecimento de um espaço onde foi possível criar as próximas gerações e afirmar a continuidade de seu povo

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Estruturas domésticas e grupos de interesse: a formação da posição Brasileira para Seattle Domestic structures and interest groups: the building up of the Brazilian position to Seattle

O artigo examina o papel dos grupos de interesse dos empresários e dos trabalhadores na formação da posição oficial brasileira para a III Conferência Ministerial da OMC, em Seattle, em 1999. Argumenta-se que esse desempenho deve ser explicado considerando-se a influência de dois fatores: a internacionalização da economia a partir da década de 90 - que tornou a sociedade mais permeável ao ambiente externo - e as estruturas domésticas - que filtraram as preferências das organizações representativas do setor privado. Por um lado, a liberalização econômica e o desenvolvimento de um sistema de regulação internacional do comércio mais interventor desencadearam a mobilização dos grupos de interesse; por outro, a formulação do posicionamento do país esteve concentrada no Executivo, onde vínculos entre o setor empresarial e a burocracia governamental constituíram-se, contribuindo para a convergência de suas preferências. As centrais sindicais, por sua vez, agiram via alianças transnacionais, e suas preferências - divergentes das do empresariado e do governo - não estiveram presentes na posição negociadora do país. Estes resultados indicam que as estruturas domésticas para as negociações multilaterais de comércio na OMC não foram inclusivas. O artigo conclui ressaltando que a participação maior do Congresso nesse processo, por meio de mecanismos ex-ante, poderá contribuir para aumentar a representatividade da posição brasileira bem como a sua credibilidade externa.<br>The article shows the role that business interest group and worker unions had in building up the Brazilian position for the Third Ministerial Summit of WTO, in Seattle, 1999. It argues that that role should be explained by considering two factors: the internationalization of Brazilian economy since the 90's - making the society more sensitive to the events developing in the external environment - and the domestic political structures - filtering the preferences of the representative organizations of the private sector. On one hand, the economic liberalization and the development of a more interventionist system of international trade regulation prompted the mobilization of the interest groups; on the other hand, the formulation of Brazilian position was concentrated in the Executive branch where ties between the business sector and the governmental bureaucracy were set up helping for the convergence of their preferences. The worker unions acted through transnational coalitions and their preferences were not included in the country negotiation position. These findings point out that the domestic structures for multilateral trade negotiations were not inclusive. The article ends up stressing that the participation of Congress in trade negotiations by ex-ante mechanisms could make the Brazilian position more representative as well as its external credibility