Current Challenges to the Legitimacy of International Economic and Financial Arrangements

The importance of legitimacy to international arrangements is addressed, as are various approaches to the study of legitimacy. In so doing, attention is paid to important concepts that feature throughout the various contributions, namely legitimacy and illegitimacy, legitimation and delegitimation, audiences and consent, and the form and function of institutional change

Hiding in Plain Sight: The Legitimacy of Labour Standards Clauses in the EU-Ukraine Collaboration

Legitimacy is essential for compliance. Agreements between the European Union and Ukraine contain a commitment to enhance labour standards. Certain audiences view this commitment as just symbolic and reflective of the low degree of legitimacy the commitment has. All this could now change following Ukraine’s requested accession to the EU

Evaluación del Fondo para la Concesión de Microcréditos, BCIE

Bibliografía: p. 113-114Resumen: La presente evaluación analiza el desarrollo y desempeño del Programa de Microcréditos España - Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (PME – BCIE), con el fin de identificar aprendizajes y proveer recomendaciones para el mejoramiento de la efectividad de los fondos gestionados a través del Programa. El objetivo explícito del Programa es “fomentar la oferta de servicios financieros a la microempresa centroamericana y apoyar la incorporación al sistema regulado de las instituciones no supervisadas que operan en la actualidad atendiendo al sector”. La tarea principal es “consolidar y garantizar a largo plazo la oferta de servicios financieros a la microempresa centroamericana, apoyando la mejora en la capacidad de gestión y eficiencia operativa de las instituciones especializadas en desarrollar estos servicios, de forma que la autosuficiencia financiera esté plenamente asegurada”

Oxidation kinetics of a Ni-Cu based cermet at high temperature

The oxidation kinetics of a cermet composed of Ni–Cu alloy and nickel ferrite was studied by thermogravimetry at 960 °C under oxygen in the range 0.5–77 kPa. After an initial mass increase up to 15 g/m2 due to oxidation of surface metallic particles, the mass change was attributed to both outwards NiO growth and internal oxidation. Above 40 g/m2, the NiO scale thickness remained constant and the oxidation kinetics followed a complete parabolic law. The variations of the kinetic rate with oxygen partial pressure allowed to propose mechanisms, rate-controlling steps and kinetic laws in both transient and long term oxidation periods

Prevalence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutations in patients of african descent with early-onset and familial Colombian breast cancer

Q2Q1Familias afrocolombianas afectadas por cáncer de mama y ovarioBackground: Pathogenic germline mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) genes contribute to hereditary breast/ovarian cancer (OC) in White/mestizo Colombian women. As there is virtually no genetic data on breast cancer (BC) in Colombians of African descent, we conducted a comprehensive BRCA1/2 mutational analysis of 60 Afro-Colombian families affected by breast/OC. Materials and Methods: Mutation screening of the complete BRCA1/2 genes for small-scale mutations and large genomic alterations was performed in these families using next-generation sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification analysis. Results: Four pathogenic germline mutations, including one novel mutation, were identified, comprising 3 in BRCA1 and one in BRCA2. The prevalence of BRCA1/2 mutations, including one BRCA1 founder mutation (c.5123C>A) previously identified in this sample set, was 3.9% (2/51) in female BC-affected families and 33.3% (3/9) in those affected by both breast and OC. Haplotype analysis of 2 BRCA2_c.2701delC carriers (one Afro-Colombian and one previously identified White/mestizo Colombian patient with BC) suggested that the mutation arose in a common ancestor. Conclusion: Our data showed that 2/5 (40%) mutations (including the one previously identified in this sample set) are shared by White/mestizo Colombian and Afro-Colombian populations. This suggests that these 2 populations are closely related. Nevertheless, variations in the BRCA1/2 mutational spectrum among Afro-Colombian subgroups from different regions of the country were observed, suggesting that specific genetic risk assessment strategies need to be developed.https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1903-9621https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6444-7248https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3649-9515https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9879-9775Revista Internacional - IndexadaA1N