Rather than abandoning integration, the Greek crisis should be the impetus for improving European democracy

Does the Greek crisis prove the limitations of European integration? Cristina Ares Castro-Conde writes that the real question facing Europe is not whether integration should be rolled back, but how European democracy can be improved. She suggests that a first step could be to create a parallel European Parliament composed of MEPs from Eurozone states which has the power to subject the decisions of the Eurogroup and the European Central Bank to proper democratic scrutiny

Una región, una forma de participación en la Unión Europea: La estrategia alsaciana de influencia en Bruselas

L’objectiu d’aquest treball és posar de manifest la manera en què Alsàcia,regió administrativa pertanyent a un estat unitari tradicionalment centralista com França, tracta de defensar els seus interessos en la presa de decisions de la Unió Europea. A més de l’anàlisi de fonts primàries i secundàries, es van fer entrevistes personals a membres de l’elit política alsaciana responsable d’assumptes europeus durant una estada d’investigació a la regió el febrer de 2007. La dada més significativa és la focalització de l’estratègia d’influència d’Alsàcia a Brussel•les en l’accés a persones clau, la qual cosa possibilita el dens capital social que caracteritza aquesta regió.The aim of this paper is to explain the way in which Alsace, an administrative region belonging to a traditionally centralist unitary State like France, attempts to defend its interests concerning decisions by the European Union .In addition to analysis of primary and secondary sources, personal interview shave been conducted with members of the Alsatian political elite responsible for European affairs during a research visit to the region in February 2007.The most significant factor is the focus of the strategy of Alsatian influence in Brussels on access to key persons, something that is enabled by the dense social capital this region features.El objetivo de este trabajo es dar a conocer el modo en que Alsacia, región administrativa perteneciente a un Estado unitario tradicionalmente centralista como Francia, trata de defender sus intereses en la toma de decisiones de la Unión Europea. Además del análisis de fuentes primarias y secundarias, se han realizado entrevistas personales a miembros de la elite política alsaciana responsable de asuntos europeos durante una estancia de investigación en la región en febrero de 2007. El dato más significativo es la focalización de la estrategia de influencia de Alsacia en Bruselas en el acceso a personas clave, algo que posibilita el denso capital social que caracteriza a esta región

The Golden Age in Cancer Nanobiotechnology: Quo Vadis?

Since Richard Feynman and his famous talk “There’s plenty of room at the bottom” in an American Physical Society meeting at Caltech in 1959, Nanotechnology has led to the development of novel materials and devices with a wide-range of applications, especially in imaging, diagnostics, and therapy, which contributed to the early detection and treatment of cancer and metastasis (Ferrari, 2005; Conde et al., 2012a; Schroeder et al., 2012).Marie Curie International Fellowship (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IOF, Project 626386

Pharmacokinetic Aspects of Statins

Statins are the most used therapeutic group in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and reduce the risk of cardiovascular events and mortality. Long prescription periods and their pharmacokinetic characteristics increase the possibility of interactions, especially at the metabolism level. Simvastatin, lovastatin, and atorvastatin are metabolized by CYP3A4 isoenzymes, so they will have more significant interactions than fluvastatin, pitavastatin, and rosuvastatin that require CYP2C9. The main interactions are with macrolides, azole antifungals, antiretrovirals, platelet antiaggregants, anticoagulants, oral antidiabetics, calcium channel blockers, immunosuppressants, and other hypolipidemic agents, among others. A review of all medications that are taken by patients treated with statins should be performed at each medical consultation and during all healthcare transitions

Cancer theranostics: multifunctional gold nanoparticles for diagnostics and therapy

Doctorate in Biology, Specialty in BiotechnologyThe use of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has been gaining momentum in molecular diagnostics due to their unique physico-chemical properties these systems present huge advantages, such as increased sensitivity, reduced cost and potential for single-molecule characterisation. Because of their versatility and easy of functionalisation, multifunctional AuNPs have also been proposed as optimal delivery systems for therapy (nanovectors). Being able to produce such systems would mean the dawn of a new age in theranostics (diagnostics and therapy)driven by nanotechnology vehicles. Nanotechnology can be exploit for cancer theranostics via the development of diagnostics systems such as colorimetric and imunoassays, and in therapy approaches through gene therapy, drug delivery and tumour targeting systems. The unique characteristics of nanoparticles in the nanometre range, such as high surface-tovolume ratio or shape/size-dependent optical properties, are drastically different from those of their bulk materials and hold pledge in the clinical field for disease therapeutics This PhD project intends to optimise a gold-nanoparticle based technique for the detection of oncogenes’ transcripts (c-Myc and BCR-ABL) that can be used for the evaluation of the expression profile in cancer cells, while simultaneously developing an innovative platform of multifunctional gold nanoparticles (tumour markers, cell penetrating peptides, fluorescent dyes) loaded with siRNA capable of silencing the selected proto-oncogenes, which can be used to evaluate the level of expression and determine the efficiency of silencing. This work is a part of an ongoing collaboration between Research Centre for Human Molecular Genetics, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal and Biofunctional Nanoparticles and Surfaces Group, Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragón, Spain within a European project [NanoScieE+ - NANOTRUCK]. In order to achieve this goal we developed effective conjugation strategies to combine, in a highly controlled way, biomolecules to the surface of AuNPs with specific functions such as: ssDNA oligos to detect specific sequences and for mRNA quantification; Biofunctional spacers: Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) spacers used to increase solubility and biocompatibility and confer chemical functionality; Cell penetrating peptides: to overcome the lipophilic barrier of the cellular membranes and deliver molecules into cells using TAT peptide to achieve cytoplasm and nucleus; Quaternary ammonium: to introduce stable positively charged in gold nanoparticles surface; and RNA interference: siRNA complementary to a master regulator gene, the proto-oncogene c-Myc, that is implicated in cell growth, proliferation, loss of differentiation, and cell death. In order to establish that they are viable alternatives to the available methods, these innovative nanoparticles were extensively characterized on their chemical functionalization, ease of uptake, cellular toxicity and inflammation, and knockdown of MYC protein expression in several cancer cell lines and in in vivo models.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - (SFRH/BD/62957/2009); PTDC/BIO/66514/2006; NANOLIGHT-PTDC/QUI-QUI/112597/2009; Silencing the silencers via multifunctional gold nanoconjugates towards cancer therapy - PTDC/BBB-NAN/1812/201

The Crystal and Molecular Structure of 2-Formylpyridine Selenosemicarbazone

The structure of 2-formylpyridine selenosemicarbazone, SeN4CTH8, has been determined from threedimensional X-ray photographic data. The crystals are monoclinic, space group P2t/e, with unit-cell dimensions a=9.320, b=6-524 and c= 16-275 ,&, fl=90.53 °. There are four formula units in the cell. The structure was solved by the two-dimensional minimum Patterson function and the heavy atom method. It was refined by a full-matrix least-squares method to a final residual R value of0.11 for 1180 observed reflexions. The Se-C bond length of 1.83 ,~ possesses only partial double-bond character. The molecules are linked by N-H...Se hydrogen bonds to form dimer-like units, which are held together by N-H...N hydrogen bonds

Management Accounting and Control Systems and Gender: A Literature Review

En este artículo, se justifica, de forma teórica, el interés de realizar un estudio amplio, desde una perspectiva de género, sobre el diseño, presentación y percepción de los Sistemas de Contabilidad y Control de Gestión (SCCG). Como primer paso hacia esa meta, el objetivo de este trabajo consiste en identificar los aspectos relacionados con el género, presentes en revistas contables de las últimas cuatro décadas. Se registraron 74 estudios publicados en 10 revistas de referencia en contabilidad entre los años 1983 y el primer semestre del año 2013. La revisión incluye un análisis del tema de investigación, el sector, el marco teórico, la metodología de recogida de datos, la técnica de análisis de datos y una descripción de los elementos de género que abordados. Los resultados muestran la situación actual de esta perspectiva en la investigación contable, y permite identificar lagunas y oportunidades para plantear futuros trabajos en torno a la contabilidad y el género.This paper justified, theoretically, the interest to conduct a comprehensive study from a gender perspective on the design, presentation and perception of the Management Accounting and Control Systems (MACS). As a first step toward this goal, the main objective of this paper is to identify gender-related aspects present in accounting journals over the past four decades. In this work were registered 74 studies published in 10 impact journals in accounting between 1983 and the first half of 2013. The review includes an analysis of the research topic, the sector, the theoretical framework, methodology, data analysis technique and a description of the elements addressed gender. The results shows the current status of this perspective in accounting research and allows to identify gaps and opportunities for developing future works on the accounting environment and gender

Apuntes económicos de pesca en colombia i.

La piscicultura pertenece al sector agrícola. Una pesquería se establece comúnmente sobre bases comerciales y de subsistencia y tiene una continuidad por lo menos estacional.La característica principal que distingue a la pesca de las otras industrias, tanto manufactureras como extractivas, es su naturaleza comunal; es decir, la propiedad común del recurso.Sus problemas económicos no están limitados sólo a evitar el agotamiento de las zonas pesqueras; sino además, cómo utilizar incluso los recursos que no son propiedad privada para su mejor aprovechamiento