Scientific systems in Latin America: performance, networks, and collaborations with industry

In this paper, we use a combination of bibliometric, social network and econometric approaches to increase our knowledge of how research institutions interact with the private sector in Latin America (LA). We first study recent trends in scientific output and specialization. On average, LA countries have been reducing the gap with the world leading regions. They have also tended to specialize in fields related to economic activities based on natural resources, such as Agricultural and Plant and Animal Sciences. However, collaborations with the private sector remain scarce. In this paper, we have built scientific networks composed by what we define as Research Departments (RD). These RDs belong to universities, research institutes and government agencies. We model the intensity of collaboration of a RD with industry as a function of its size, previous performance, and its position in the LA and national scientific networks. Our results show that the RDs with higher diversity of research partners in their national scientific network work more intensively with industry. Additionally, collaborations with industry are influenced by previous interactions with the private sector

The Wal-Mart Tax: A Review of Studies Examining Employers\u27 Health Care Cost-Shifting

[Excerpt] As job-based health coverage declines and employers shift ever-growing health costs onto employees, workers increasingly must turn to taxpayer-funded programs like Medicaid to get health care for themselves and their families. Meanwhile, Medicaid is wrestling with explosive cost growth, increasing 56 percent since 2000. Medicaid is the second largest expense for most states, accounting for around 16 percent of state budgets, on average. States’ spending on the program is expected to grow almost 12 percent this year, four times faster than the increase in states’ general fund spending. Recent studies in 13 states have examined the extent to which employers’ workers utilize public health programs to secure health coverage for themselves and their families. As the following summary of those analyses reflects, in each one of these states, Wal-Mart ranks at or near the very top of the list of employers that are shifting to the public the cost of providing health care for their workers. In so doing, Wal-Mart is directly contributing to the nation’s Medicaid crisis

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Faltan las h. 1 y 2 del índice, 3 h. de los preliminares y I, II, y de XXII a XXV.Enc. piel sobre tabla con hierros dorados, cantos dorados con cabujones, falto de broches. Deteriorado.Texto en valenciano.admtvo.01Sig. : []8, A-L8, M3Títulos de los capítulos y fileteado en rojoCapitales decoradas18 líneasLetra góticaLa h. 1 vª., il. con la imagen de la Purísima Concepció

miRNAs mediate SnRK1-dependent energy signaling in Arabidopsis

The SnRK1 protein kinase, the plant ortholog of mammalian AMPK and yeast Snf1, is activated by the energy depletion caused by adverse environmental conditions. Upon activation, SnRK1 triggers extensive transcriptional changes to restore homeostasis and promote stress tolerance and survival partly through the inhibition of anabolism and the activation of catabolism. Despite the identification of a few bZIP transcription factors as downstream effectors, the mechanisms underlying gene regulation, and in particular gene repression by SnRK1, remain mostly unknown. microRNAs (miRNAs) are 20-24 nt RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally by driving the cleavage and/or translation attenuation of complementary mRNA targets. In addition to their role in plant development, mounting evidence implicates miRNAs in the response to environmental stress. Given the involvement of miRNAs in stress responses and the fact that some of the SnRK1-regulated genes are miRNA targets, we postulated that miRNAs drive part of the transcriptional reprogramming triggered by SnRK1. By comparing the transcriptional response to energy deprivation between WT and dcl1-9, a mutant deficient in miRNA biogenesis, we identified 831 starvation genes misregulated in the dcl1-9 mutant, out of which 155 are validated or predicted miRNA targets. Functional clustering analysis revealed that the main cellular processes potentially co-regulated by SnRK1 and miRNAs are translation and organelle function and uncover TCP transcription factors as one of the most highly enriched functional clusters. TCP repression during energy deprivation was impaired in miR319 knockdown (MIM319) plants, demonstrating the involvement of miR319 in the stress-dependent regulation of TCPs. Altogether, our data indicates that miRNAs are components of the SnRK1 signaling cascade contributing to the regulation of specific mRNA targets and possibly tuning down particular cellular processes during the stress response.FCT fellowships: (SFRH/BPD/47280/2008, SFRH/BD/33563/2008), EMBOLong-Term Fellowship, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Award, Max Planck Society funds, Marie Curie IRG grant, EMBO Installation grant (FCT), Marie Curie Actions FP7-People-2010-ITN

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Dissection of miRNA Pathways Using Arabidopsis Mesophyll Protoplasts

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control gene expression mostly post-transcriptionally by guiding transcript cleavage and/or translational repression of complementary mRNA targets, thereby regulating developmental processes and stress responses. Despite the remarkable expansion of the field, the mechanisms underlying miRNA activity are not fully understood. In this article, we describe a transient expression system in Arabidopsis mesophyll protoplasts, which is highly amenable for the dissection of miRNA pathways. We show that by transiently overexpressing primary miRNAs and target mimics, we can manipulate miRNA levels and consequently impact on their targets. Furthermore, we developed a set of luciferase-based sensors for quantifying miRNA activity that respond specifically to both endogenous and overexpressed miRNAs and target mimics. We demonstrate that these miRNA sensors can be used to test the impact of putative components of the miRNA pathway on miRNA activity, as well as the impact of specific mutations, by either overexpression or the use of protoplasts from the corresponding mutants. We further show that our miRNA sensors can be used for investigating the effect of chemicals on miRNA activity. Our cell-based transient expression system is fast and easy to set up, and generates quantitative results, being a powerful tool for assaying miRNA activity in vivo.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia fellowships: (SFRH/BD/33563/2008, SFRH/BPD/47280/2008, SFRH/BPD/79255/2011) and grant: (PTCD/BIA-BCM/107924/2008); EMBO fellowship & EMBO Installation program; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft grant: (SPP1530); Max Planck Society grant

Politicians, regulators, viceroys and 5G auctions

Under a positive view, underlying this paper, independent regulation has been widely accepted in the European Union to solve some problems created by the discretionary power of politicians. However, independent regulators also enjoy substantial discretion. This is constrained by widely accepted good regulation practices, at least in part enshrined in law. Failure to comply with good regulatory practices is a source of regulatory discretion that jeopardizes the case for independent regulation. It is argued that the process followed by Anacom to issue the 5G auction regulation misses important steps inherent to good regulatory practice and so it risks weakening, or wipe out, social support for regulatory independence in electronic communications markets. This outcome is not inevitable. Improving regulatory governance is still an option, eventually supported by the public, and some proposals are offered along these lines

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Algunas capitales decoradas a col.Texto en valenciano y latín.Faltan las h. de I a VIII y de LII a LXIII.Títulos de los cap. en rojo

Mechanical Behaviour of Materials for External Biomechanics Application: Study on the Fatigue of Polymers: PLA and PETG

This study investigates the mechanical behaviour of various polymeric materials pro- cessed through fused filament fabrication (FFF) for potential external applications in biome- chanics. The research objectives were twofold: firstly, to assess the materials' suitability for bio- mechanical use through uniaxial tensile testing, and secondly, to evaluate their fatigue re- sistance, specifically focusing on PLA and PETG materials. The uniaxial tensile tests provided insights into parameters, such as maximum tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and strain at failure values, suggesting the materials' potential for general biomechanical applications. However, fatigue testing unveiled limitations in PETG, as indicated by the low fatigue resistance depicted in Wöhler curves. These findings suggest that this material may not be well-suited for continuous and long-term use in biomechanical components. Fractography analysis further revealed critical features, such as fibre arrangements, com- pression issues between layers and inadequate adhesion, voids in fibre connections, and frac- ture zones, shedding light on failure mechanisms.Este estudo incide sobre o comportamento mecânico de diversos materiais poliméricos processados através da fabricação de filamentos fundidos (FFF) para potenciais aplicações em biomecânica. Os objetivos da pesquisa foram: primeiro, avaliar a adequação dos materiais para uso biomecânico por meio de ensaios de tração uniaxial e, segundo, avaliar sua resistência à fadiga, com foco específico nos materiais PLA e PETG. Os testes de tração uniaxial forneceram informações sobre parâmetros como tensão de cedência, módulo de elasticidade e valores de deformação, sugerindo o potencial dos materi- ais para aplicações biomecânicas gerais. No entanto, os testes de fadiga revelaram limitações no PETG, devido à baixa resistência à fadiga representada nas curvas de Wöhler. Essas descobertas sugerem que esses materiais podem não ser adequados para uso contínuo e de longo prazo em componentes biomecâni- cos. A análise da fractografia revelou ainda características críticas, como arranjos de fibras, problemas de compressão entre camadas e adesão inadequada, vazios nas conexões das fibras e zonas de fratura, esclarecendo os mecanismos de falha