História do controle da constitucionalidade das leis no Brasil : percursos do pensamento constitucional no século XIX (1824-1891)

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Direito, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Direito, 2014.Texto parcialmente liberado pelo autor. Conteúdo disponível: capa, sumário, resumo e abstract.A presente tese objetiva formular uma crítica historiográfica à teoria do direito constitucional brasileiro, que tem notoriamente ignorado a história da formação do controle da constitucionalidade das leis no Brasil. Nela, contesta-se a escassa história constitucional que se sedimentou sobre o mito de que o controle da constitucionalidade não se teria configurado na vigência da Constituição do Império de 1824 e somente teria sido introduzido na ordem constitucional brasileira com a instauração da República por força da intervenção de Rui Barbosa nos trabalhos constitucionais. Afirma-se que a prática do controle da constitucionalidade configurou-se sob a vigência da Constituição de 1824 além de ter expressa previsão constitucional; a competência para exercê-la, porém, não pertencia ao Poder Judiciário. A prática do controle pressupunha uma decisão política sobre quem seria a autoridade investida de poder para dizer o significado do direito em última instância. Desse modo, reconhece-se que a inexistência do controle judicial da constitucionalidade não afastou a instituição de um complexo mecanismo jurídico-constitucional de controle das leis no Império. Em consequência, o problema da pesquisa evoluiu para a compreensão das transformações constitucionais no período de 1824 a 1891, as quais acarretaram o deslocamento da autoridade de dizer o direito em última instância para o Poder Judiciário por meio da previsão que lhe conferiu a atribuição de exercer o controle da constitucionalidade das leis. Parte-se do pressuposto de que, a partir do estudo contextual do pensamento constitucional brasileiro do século XIX, particularmente daquele produzido no período entre as Constituições de 1824 e de 1891, é possível elaborar outra explicação histórica bem diversa da tradicional narrativa constitucional sobre a formação do controle da constitucionalidade no Brasil, considerados três pressupostos complementares: (a) a independência judicial; (b) a interpretação das leis; (c) a semântica do princípio da separação dos poderes à luz do contexto histórico-político. Conclui-se que o controle da constitucionalidade foi uma prática existente à luz da Constituição do Império e que a introdução do controle judicial da constitucionalidade das leis na Constituição de 1891 decorreu de uma conjunção de fatores configurados no curso de um processo histórico-político altamente complexo, que vão muito além da genialidade, do conhecimento ou da vontade de um homem só. ___________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThis thesis aims to establish a historiographical critique of Brazilian constitutional theory, which has significantly disregarded the history of constitutional review in Brazil. It challenges the scarce literature on the subject that was built upon the myth that the idea of constitutional review did not emerge during the imperial constitution but rather at the beginning of the Republic, during the crafting of the new constitution, by the hands of Rui Barbosa. It is argued that the idea of constitutional review arouse under the Imperial Constitution. Such idea was literally established in the written text of the Constitution, notwithstanding the courts had no power to review the constitutionality of legislation. The idea of constitutional review presupposes a political decision on who has the authority to say the last word on matters of legislation. Such decision was clearly taken in the Imperial Constitution. Henceforth, contrary to what many constitutional theorists have argued, a complex mechanism of constitutional review was created during the years of the Brazilian Empire. Taking that picture into account, my research focused on the process of constitutional transformation from 1824 to 1891. During those years, the authority to say the last word on matters of legislation shifted from the Parliament to the courts, by conferring the latter the power of constitutional review. This way, another historical explanation, deeply different from the traditional one, can be deployed to understand the origins of the idea of constitutional review in Brazil. It is based upon three inter-dependent elements: (a) judicial independency; (b) legal interpretation; (c) the semantics of the separation of powers principle according its political-historical context. By way of conclusion, it is argued that constitutional review was an institutional practice that came out under the Imperial Constitution. The introduction of constitutional review in the Republican Constitution of 1891 is better explained as a complex sum of factors that happened in the course of a complex political process. Such explanation goes far beyond that one that insists on resting the origins of Brazilian constitutional review upon the genius, the knowledge and the will of a single man

Depression and adherence to antiretroviral treatment in HIV-positive men in São Paulo, the largest city in South America: Social and psychological implications

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of depression and adherence to antiretroviral treatment in two groups of individuals: men who have sex with men (MSM) and men who have sex with women (MSW). METHODS: Two hundred and sixteen participants (MSM=116; MSW=100) who visited the Clinics Hospital of the School of the Medicine of the University of São Paulo completed two independent surveys (the BECK Depression Inventory and an adherence self-declared questionnaire) to evaluate their depression status and adherence to antiretroviral treatment, respectively. RESULTS: The study highlighted a positive relationship between depression and low adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in these patients regardless of age and sexual orientation. In addition, MSM subjects were two times more prone than MSW subjects to develop depression symptoms. White or mixed race men showed 7.6 times greater adherence to treatment than black men. The probability of complete adherence to treatment was 3.8 times higher in non-depressed subjects than in depressed subjects regardless of their ethnicity. The chance of developing depression was 4.17 times higher for an individual with non-adherent behavior than for an adherent individual. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with low adherence rates have proportionally higher depression rates. Depressed men tend to show less adherence to treatment. Black but not mixed race or white men show less adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy and have a greater chance of developing depression, which directly interferes with adherence. The chances of developing depression are four times greater for a patient with non-adherent behavior than for a patient with adherent behavior

A INDISSOCIÁVEL RELAÇÃO ENTRE INDÚSTRIA, DESENVOLVIMENTO ECONÔMICO E POLÍTICAS INDUSTRIAIS NO BRASIL

Este trabalho tem por base epistemológica a indústria, sendo subjacente à discussão que estamos propondo, o fato de ser ela um ente dinâmico que acelera o crescimento econômico de uma região e ajuda na sua inserção em um mundo cada vez mais sem peias ou barreiras. Sua ausência ou carência vetam o acesso ao planeta globalizado em constante processo de transformação. A rapidez com que as necessidades e anseios mudam está hoje intimamente associada à velocidade espantosa com a qual os bens industrializados acedem a novas tecnologias. A sociedade contemporânea transforma- se em espaços curtos de tempo antes inimagináveis. No epicentro dessas transformações, o vetor impreterível, o grande condutor das mudanças, indispensável – única via – para ter acesso às benesses das transformações tecnológicas é a indústria. Caminho indelével para o desenvolvimento. É a escala global que, hoje, em última análise, modela as atividades produtivas das mais diferentes nações. Dessa perspectiva, a análise da economia industrial e das políticas que lhes são subjacentes envolve não apenas a decifração sobre os movimentos de circulação de bens, mas também os fenômenos ligados a sua produção. A formação e posterior desenvolvimento dos movimentos de internacionalização de indústrias devem perpassar impreterivelmente por temáticas tais como a teoria da localização das atividades produtivas, a teoria do investimento direto, a teoria da internacionalização da produção e do capital, dentre outras

The Pathogenesis Of Tropical Spastic Paraparesis/human T-cell Leukemia Type I-associated Myelopathy

Tropical spastic paraparesis/human T-cell leukemia type I-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM) is caused by a human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) after a long incubation period. TSP/HAM is characterized by a chronic progressive paraparesis with sphincter disturbances, no/mild sensory loss, the absence of spinal cord compression and seropositivity for HTLV-I antibodies. The pathogenesis of this entity is not completely known and involves a multivariable phenomenon of immune system activation against the presence of HTLV-I antigens, leading to an inflammatory process and demyelination, mainly in the thoracic spinal cord. The current hypothesis about the pathogenesis of TSP/HAM is: 1) presence of HTLV-I antigens in the lumbar spinal cord, noted by an increased DNA HTLV-I load; 2) CTL either with their lytic functions or release/production of soluble factors, such as CC-chemokines, cytokines, and adhesion molecules; 3) the presence of Tax gene expression that activates T-cell proliferation or induces an inflammatory process in the spinal cord; 4) the presence of B cells with neutralizing antibody production, or complement activation by an immune complex phenomenon, and 5) lower IL-2 and IFN-γ production and increased IL-10, indicating drive to a cytokine type 2 pattern in the TSP/HAM subjects and the existence of a genetic background such as some HLA haplotypes. All of these factors should be implicated in TSP/HAM and further studies are necessary to investigate their role in the development of TSP/HAM.331213951401Aboulafia, D.M., Clinical implications of human T-cell leukemia virus type I/II-associated diseases (1995) AIDS Reader, 5, pp. 118-125Uchiyama, T., Yodoi, J., Sagawa, K., Takatsuki, K., Uchino, H., Adult T-cell leukemia: Clinical and hematologic features of 16 cases (1977) Blood, 50, pp. 481-492Osame, M., Janssen, R., Kubota, H., Nishitani, H., Igata, A., Nagataki, S., Mori, M., Khabbaz, R., Nationwide survey of HTLV-I-associated myelopathy in Japan: Association with blood transfusion (1990) Annals of Neurology, 28, pp. 50-56Gessain, A., Barin, F., Vernant, J.C., Gout, O., Maurs, L., Calender, A., De The, G., Antibodies to human T-lyrnphotropic virus type-I in patients with tropical spastic paraparesis (1985) Lancet, 2, pp. 407-410Osame, M., Usuku, J., Izumo, S., Ijichi, N., Amitani, H., Igata, A., Matsumoto, M., Tara, M., HTLV-I-associated myelopathy: A new clinical entity (1985) Lancet, 1, pp. 1031-1032Gessain, A., Gout, O., Chronic myelopathy with human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) (1992) Annals of Internal Medicine, 117, pp. 933-946Iwasaki, Y., Pathology of chronic myelopathy associated with HTLV-I infection (TSP/HAM) (1990) Journal of Neurological Sciences, 96, pp. 103-123Seiki, M., Hattori, S., Hirayama, Y., Yoshida, M., Human adult T-cell leukemia virus: Complete nucleotide sequence of the provirus genome integrated in leukemia cell DNA (1983) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 80, pp. 3618-3622Murphy, E.L., Blattner, W.A., HTLV-I-associated leukemia: A model for chronic retroviral diseases (1988) Annals of Neurology, 23, pp. S174-S180Piccardo, P., Ceroni, M., Rodgers-Johnson, P., Mora, C., Asher, D.M., Char, G., Gibbs C.J., Jr., Gajdusek, D.C., Pathological and immunological observations on tropical spastic paraparesis in patients from Jamaica (1988) Annals of Neurology, 23, pp. 156-160Azizuki, S., Nakasato, O., Higuchi, Y., Tanabe, K., Setoguchi, M., Yoshida, S., Miyazaki, Y., Okajima, T., Necropsy findings in HTLV-I associated myelopathy (1987) Lancet, 1, pp. 156-157Tendler, G.L., Greenberg, S.J., Blattner, W.A., Manns, A., Murphy, E., Fleisher, T., Hanchard, B., Waldmann, T.A., Transactivation of mterleukin 2 and its receptor induces immune activation in human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I-associated myelopathy: Pathogenic implications and a rationale for immunotherapy (1990) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 87, pp. 5218-5222Cheng, H., Tranok, J., Parks, W.P., Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 genome activation induced by human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 tax protein is through cooperation of NF-kB and tat (1998) Journal of Virology, 72, pp. 6911-6916Gessain, A., Saal, F., Gout, O., Daniel, M.T., Flandrin, G., De The, G., Peries, J., Sigaux, F., High human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I proviral DNA load with polyclonal integration in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of French West Indian, Guianese, and African patients with tropical spastic paraparesis (1990) Blood, 75, pp. 428-433Nagai, M., Usuku, K., Matsumoto, W., Kodama, D., Takenouchi, T.M., Hashiguchi, S., Ichinose, M., Osame, M., Analysis of HTLV-I proviral load in 202 TSP/HAM patients and 243 asymptomatic HTLV-I carriers: High proviral load strongly predisposes to TSP/HAM (1998) Journal of Neurovirology, 4, pp. 586-593Manns, A., Miley, J.W., Wilks, J.R., Morgan, O.C., Hanchard, B., Warfe, G., Cranston, B., Waters, D., Quantitative proviral DNA and antibody levels in the natural history of HTLV-I infection (1999) Journal of Infectious Diseases., 180, pp. 1487-1493Hara, H., Autoimmune mechanism in TSP/HAM (1994) Nippon Rinsho, 52, pp. 2919-2925Levin, M.C., Krichavsky, M., Berk, J., Foley, S., Rosenfeld, M., Dalmau, J., Chang, G., Jacobson, S., Neuronal molecular mimicry in immune-mediated neurologic disease (1998) Annals of Neurology, 44, pp. 87-98Hoffman, T.L., Doms, R.W., Chemokines and coreceptors in HIV/SIV-host interactions (1998) AIDS, 12 (SUPPL. A), pp. S17-S26Copeland, K.F.T., Heeney, J.L., T helper cell activation and human retroviral pathogenesis (1996) Microbiological Reviews, 60, pp. 722-742Oliva, A., Kinter, A.L., Vaccarezza, M., Rubbert, A., Catanzaro, A., Mo'r, S., Monaco, J., Fauci, A.S., Natural killer cells from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-in-fected individuals are an important source of CC-chemokines and suppress HIV-1 entry and replication in vitro (1998) Journal of Clinical Investigation, 102, pp. 223-231Umehara, F., Izumo, S., Takeya, M., Takahashi, K., Sato, E., Osame, M., Expression of adhesion molecules and monocyte chemcattractant protem-1 (MCP-1) in the spinal cord lesions in HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (1996) Acta Neuropathologica, 91, pp. 343-350Giraudon, P., Buart, S., Bernard, A., Belin, M.F., Cytokines secreted by glial cells infected with HTLV-I modulate the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their natural inhibitor (TIMPs): Possible involvement in neurodegenerative processes (1997) Molecular Psychiatry, 2, pp. 107-110Greten, T.F., Slansky, J.E., Kubota, R., Soldan, S.S., Jaffee, E.M., Leist, T.P., Pardoll, D.M., Schneck, J.P., Direct visualization of antigen-specific T cells: HTLV-1 Taxi11-19-specific CD8(+) T cells are activated in peripheral blood and accumulate in cerebrospinal fluid from TSP/ HAM patients (1998) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 95, pp. 7568-7573Biddison, W.E., Kubota, R., Kawanishi, T., Taub, D.D., Cruikshank, W.W., Center, D.M., Connor, E.W., Jacobson, S., Human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I)-specific CD8+ CTL clones from patients with HTLV-I-associated neurologic disease secrete proinflammatory cytokines, chemokmes, and matrix metalloproteinase (1997) Journal of Immunology, 159, pp. 2018-2025Hoffman, P.M., Dhib-Jalbut, S., Mikovits, J.A., Robbins, D.S., Wolf, A.L., Bergey, G.K., Lohrey, N.C., Ruscetti, F.W., Human T-cell leukemia virus type I infection of monocytes and microglial cells in primary human cultures (1992) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 89, pp. 11784-11788Fox, R.J., Levin, M.C., Jacobson, S., Tumor necrosis factor alpha expression in the spinal cord of human T-cell lymphotrophic virus type I associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis patients (1996) Journal of Neurovirology, 2, pp. 323-329Nagai, M., Ijichi, S., Hall, W.W., Osame, M., Differential effect of TGF-beta 1 on the in vitro activation of HTLV-I and the proliferates response of CDS+ T lymphocytes in patients with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM) (1995) Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology, 77, pp. 324-331Saarloos, M.N., Koenig, R.E., Spear, G.T., Elevated levels of iC3b and C4d, but not Bb, complement fragments from plasma of persons infected with human T cell leukemia virus HTLVI with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (1995) Journal of Infectious Diseases, 172, pp. 1095-1097Lira, J., Nakamura, M., Sawada, Y., Ohori, N., Itoyama, Y., Yamamoto, N., Sakaki, Y., Goto, I., Antibody titers to HTLV-Ip40tax protein and gag-env hybrid protein in HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis: Correlation with increased HTLV-I proviral DNA load (1992) Journal of Neurological Sciences, 107, pp. 98-104Usuku, K., Sonoda, S., Osame, M., Yashiki, S., Takahashi, K., Matsumoto, M., Sawada, T., Igata, A., HLA haplotype-linked high immune responsiveness against HTLV-I in HTLV-I-associated myelopathy: Comparison with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (1988) Annals of Neurology, 23, pp. 143-150Godoy, A.J., Itoyama, Y., Tokunaga, K., Hara, H., Kawaga, Y., Kiyokawa, H., Maeda, Y., Goto, I., Allolymphocytotoxic antibodies in sera from HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis patients-putative anti-HLA antibodies (1994) Journal of Neurological Sciences, 125, pp. 62-69Uchiyama, T., Human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) and human diseases (1997) Annual Review of Immunology, 15, pp. 15-37Manns, A., Hanchard, B., Morgan, O.S., Wilks, R., Cranston, B., Nam, J.M., Blank, M., Sonoda, S., Human leukocyte antigen class II alleles associated with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I infection and adult T-cell leukemia/ lymphoma in a Black population (1998) Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 90, pp. 617-622Jeffery, K.J.M., Usuku, K., Hall, S.E., Matsumoto, W., Taylor, G.P., Procter, J., Bunce, M., Bangham, C.R.M., HLA alleles determine human T-lymphotropic virus-I (HTLV-I) proviral load and the risk of HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (1999) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 96, pp. 3848-3853Bangham, C.R.M., Kermode, A.L., Hall, S.E., Daenke, S., The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response to HTLV-I: The main determinant of disease? (1996) Seminars in Virology, 7, pp. 41-48Höllsberg, P., Pathogenesis of chronic progressive myelopathy associated with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (1997) Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 169 (SUPPL.), pp. 86-93Elovaara, I., Koenig, S., Brewah, A.Y., Woods, R.M., Lehky, T., Jacobson, S., High human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-specific precursor cytotoxic T lymphocyte frequencies in patients with HTLV-1-associated neurological disease (1993) Journal of Experimental Medicine, 177, pp. 1567-1573Casseb, J., Hong, M.A., Salomão, S., Duarte, A.J.S., Gallo, D., Hendry, R.M., Comfection with human immunodeficiency virus and human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I: Reciprocal activation with clinical and immunological consequences (1997) Clinical Infectious Diseases, 25, pp. 1259-1260Casseb, J., Is HTLV-I more clever than HIV-I? (1998) Clinical Infectious Diseases, 27, pp. 1309-131

POLÍTICA INDUSTRIAL OU ISENÇÃO FISCAL? UMA ANÁLISE DA ATRAÇÃO DE INVESTIMENTOS INDUSTRIAIS PARA A BAHIA NO PERÍODO 1991-2006

Esse artigo tem o objetivo de debater o papel desempenhado pelos incentivos fiscais enquanto elementos dinamizadores da industrialização de regiões periféricas ou de economias deprimidas, e mensurar as possibilidades por eles apresentados de dinamização e reconfiguração da realidade econômica de locais específicos. Procurou-se discutir as teorias que embasam os discursos dos economistas que apregoam os supostos benefícios das políticas de incentivos, bem como os argumentos que fundamentam o pensamento de seus críticos. Enfatiza-se o caso dos incentivos fiscais na Bahia tendo- se por base os quinze anos mediados entre o começo da década de 90 do século XX e o início da segunda metade da década de 10 do século XXI

Humoral immune response of buffalo heifers (Bubalus bubalis) vaccinated with B19 strain of Brucella abortus

RESUMO: A brucelose se encontra distribuída mundialmente. No Brasil apresenta maior prevalência para a espécie Brucella abortus que apesar de ser endêmica, encontra-se distribuída de forma heterogênea entre as diferentes regiões do Brasil. O presente estudo teve por objetivo avaliar a resposta imune humoral de bezerras bubalinas criadas na Mesorregião do Médio Amazonas, vacinadas com a cepa B19 de B. abortus na idade preconizada pelo Programa Nacional de Controle e Erradicação da Brucelose e Tuberculose (PNCEBT). Os animais selecionados foram 36 fêmeas (grupo teste) e 6 machos (grupo controle) com idades entre 3-8 meses. No dia 0 foi realizada a colheita de sangue em todos os animais, em seguida as fêmeas receberam vacina comercial com amostra B19 em dose padrão, com posteriores coletas de sangue ate aos 390 dias. Os soros sanguíneos foram avaliados nas provas de soro aglutinação: Antígeno Acidificado Tamponado - AAT e 2- Mercaptoetanol - 2ME. Os resultados para todas as amostras coletas no dia 0 apresentaram resultado negativo na reação. Aos 30 e 60 dias todas as fêmeas apresentaram 100% de reação na prova AAT e titulação de 200, iniciando o declínio da reação aos 90 dias nas duas provas. Durante o estudo um animal se mante reativo nas duas provas até 360 dias e, somente aos 390 dias 100% das fêmeas obtiveram reação negativa nas duas provas, durante todo o estudo os machos foram não reativos. A vacinação mostrou-se eficaz para a imunização, sendo uma ferramenta importante na profilaxia da brucelose na espécie estudada, bem como as provas aplicadas para o diagnostico dessa enfermidade em búfalos a nível regional

Sexual transmission of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is endemic in many parts of the world and is primarily transmitted through sexual intercourse or from mother to child. Sexual transmission occurs more efficiently from men to women than women to men and might be enhanced by sexually transmitted diseases that cause ulcers and result in mucosal ruptures, such as syphilis, herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2), and chancroid. Other sexually transmitted diseases might result in the recruitment of inflammatory cells and could increase the risk of HTLV-1 acquisition and transmission. Additionally, factors that are associated with higher transmission risks include the presence of antibodies against the viral oncoprotein Tax (anti-Tax), a higher proviral load in peripheral blood lymphocytes, and increased cervicovaginal or seminal secretions. Seminal fluid has been reported to increase HTLV replication and transmission, whereas male circumcision and neutralizing antibodies might have a protective effect. Recently, free virions were discovered in plasma, which reveals a possible new mode of HTLV replication. It is unclear how this discovery might affect the routes of HTLV transmission, particularly sexual transmission, because HTLV transmission rates are significantly higher from men to women than women to men.FINANCIAL SUPPORT Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) and Fundação Faculdade de Medicina (FFM)

Human T-Lymphotropic viruses evolution possibly explained by primate deltaretrovirus geographical segregation

The primate T cell lymphotropic virus group comprises pathogenic and apathogenic agents found in human and simian hosts. Up to date, three types of the simian T cell lymphotropic virus/STLV and four types of the human T cell lymphotropic virus/HTLV have been isolated and characterized from non human primates and from human hosts respectively. We have not found evidences of STLV-1 infection among new world monkeys and besides findings of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infection among brazilian mixed ethnic populations and Amerindians respectively, some unresolved HTLV indeterminate-Western blot results prevailed among human groups of different ethnic background. Based on recent serologic detection, isolation and characterization of HTLV-3 and HTLV-4 among African populations in central Africa and additional unrefutable evidences of early human migration from Africa and Australia to the American continent previously of Asiatic population migration lead us to hypothesize that human descendents of mixed Amerinds and Africans or remaining Africans explain the very frequent presence of Western blot-indeterminate results for HTLV-1/2 that we and other groups have been detecting and also the unusual absence of HTLV-2 infection among some relatively homogeneous ethnic native human populations in the American continent