Welcome Address

This article is part of the NEDA-PIDS Seminar-Workshop on the Philippine System of National Accounts. It outlines the seminar’s major objectives and the problems and issues that need to be addressed. It argues that coordination among institutions can lead to effective resolution to sensitive issues.central bank, import commodities, export commodities, subsidy, balance of payments, national account, gross value added

Welcome Address

This article is part of the NEDA-PIDS Seminar-Workshop on the Philippine System of National Accounts. It outlines the seminar’s major objectives and the problems and issues that need to be addressed. It argues that coordination among institutions can lead to effective resolution to sensitive issues.central bank, import commodities, export commodities, subsidy, balance of payments, national account, gross value added

From Chávez to Maduro: Continuity and Change in Venezuelan Foreign Policy

This article addresses the transition from the presidency of Hugo Chávez to that of Nicolás Maduro, in the light of the effects of the dynamics in domestic politics and the changing international order on the formulation of Venezuela's foreign policy. We start from a central question: how does Maduro's government, amid a less favourable global scenario, face the international commitments made by its predecessor under complex and different domestic conditions? Our central hypothesis is that the historical currents of sociopolitical fragmentation, regional tensions and the energy market, pose difficulties to the continuation of an expansive foreign policy, but in turn act as a stimulus for greater centralisation of power internally, and the politicisation of the foreign policy agenda, in line with the objectives and general trends pursued by the governing party

"Sin mujeres no hay revolución" : transversal feminist politics in the digital mediated activism of the Argentine collective Ni una menos

Includes vitaWhile the advent of the Internet and digital social networks has opened opportunities for global connectivity, participation, and broadcasting to agents outside the media, corporations and the state, inequities structuring societies and transnational relations still organize the flows of power in digital environments. Media scholars who resist trends of technological determinism, have argued that, in the context of social movements, mediated activism is first propelled by the politics and positionalities of activists and second by the structural features of the media platforms they employ. Political praxis, then, informs the uses of media, guiding activists' narratives and strategies in mediated spaces. This dissertation examines such intersections of media and politics by conducting a case study about the Argentine feminist collective Ni Una Menos. The study shows that Ni Una Menos employed digital media discourses to focus activism on the single yet multifaceted issue of violencia machista whose many manifestations -- from femicide to gender discrimination in the workplace -- called for the articulation of transversal coalitions. The application of such politics to mediated activism, however, posed its own challenges. The findings suggest that inequities structuring power differentials among members of different chapters of the collective -- i.e., class and professional status -- shaped their mediated practices in a way that ensured the political and symbolic dominance of the Buenos Aires chapter of Ni Una Menos. The hypervisibility of NUM Buenos Aires nationally and internationally, despite contributing to global efforts against violencia machista, has also the potential to further marginalize the struggles of women outside the capitol who dwell more vulnerable nodes of intersectional oppression. These complicated entanglements call for critical examinations of the conditions under which mediated activism and transversal politics render emancipatory outcomes for some while undermining others. The case of Ni Una Menos offers an opportunity to engage in such reflections.Includes bibliographical reference

Immune recognition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa mediated by the IPAF/NLRC4 inflammasome

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes opportunistic infections in immunocompromised individuals. P. aeruginosa employs a type III secretion system to inject effector molecules into the cytoplasm of the host cell. This interaction with the host cell leads to inflammatory responses that eventually result in cell death. We show that infection of macrophages with P. aeruginosa results in activation of caspase-1 in an IPAF-dependent, but flagellin-independent, manner. Macrophages deficient in IPAF or caspase-1 were markedly resistant to P. aeruginosa–induced cell death and release of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1β. A subset of P. aeruginosa isolates express the effector molecule exoenzyme U (ExoU), which we demonstrate is capable of inhibiting caspase-1–driven proinflammatory cytokine production. This study shows a key role for IPAF and capase-1 in innate immune responses to the pathogen P. aeruginosa, and also demonstrates that virulent ExoU-expressing strains of P. aeruginosa can circumvent this innate immune response

Luminescent Devices Based on Silicon-Rich Dielectric Materials

Luminescent silicon‐rich dielectric materials have been under intensive research due to their potential applications in optoelectronic devices. Silicon‐rich nitride (SRN) and silicon‐rich oxide (SRO) films have been mostly studied because of their high luminescence and compatibility with the silicon-based technology. In this chapter, the luminescent characteristics of SRN and SRO films deposited by low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition are reviewed and discussed. SRN and SRO films, which exhibit the strongest photoluminescence (PL), were chosen to analyze their electrical and electroluminescent (EL) properties, including SRN/SRO bilayers. Light emitting capacitors (LECs) were fabricated with the SRN, SRO, and SRN/SRO films as the dielectric layer. SRN‐LECs emit broad EL spectra where the maximum emission peak blueshifts when the polarity is changed. On the other hand, SRO‐LECs with low silicon content (~39 at.%) exhibit a resistive switching (RS) behavior from a high conduction state to a low conduction state, which produce a long spectrum blueshift (~227 nm) between the EL and PL emission. When the silicon content increases, red emission is observed at both EL and PL spectra. The RS behavior is also observed in all SRN/SRO‐LECs enhancing an intense ultraviolet EL. The carrier transport in all LECs is analyzed to understand their EL mechanism

Nuevos registros para la flora vascular de Colombia presentes en la Orinoquia y reseña histórica de las expediciones botánicas a la región

18 new records to the vascular flora of Colombia found in the Orinoquia region are recorded: Duguetia riberensis Aristeg. ex Maas & Boon, Trigynaea duckei (R .E. Fr.) R. E. Fr. (Annonaceae); Tassadia medinae (Morillo) Morillo (Apocynaceae); Jaracanda orinocensis Sandw. (Bignoniaceae); Polycarpaea corymbosa (L.) Lam. var. brasiliensis (Cambess.) Chodat & Hassl. (Caryophyllaceae); Murdannia burchellii (C. B. Clarke) M. Pell. y M. aff. triquetra (Wall. ex C. B. Clarke) G.Brückn (Commelinaceae); Enterolobium barinense L. Cárdenas & Rodr.-Carr., Machaerium tovarense Pittier, Muellera crucisrubierae (Pittier) M. Sousa, and Tachigali davidsei Zarucchi & Herend. (Leguminosae); Nectandra bartlettiana Lasser (Lauraceae); Lindernia brachyphylla Pennell ex Steyerm. (Linderniaceae); Campomanesia aromatica (Aubl.) Griseb. (Myrtaceae); Christiana africana DC. (Malvaceae); Dulacia cyanocarpa Sleumer (Olacaceae); Phyllanthus microphyllus Kunth (Phyllanthaceae), and Gouania wurdackii Steyerm. (Rhamnaceae). These species were collected in the states of Arauca and Vichada in Colombia. Aspects related with the taxonomy and nomenclature of these new records, geographical distributions, and affinities with the flora of the Llanos of Venezuela as well as other regions with floristic similarities are discussed, and information about the exploration in the region is documented.Se registran 18 novedades para la flora vascular de Colombia a partir de ejemplares recolectados en la región dela Orinoquia. Los nuevos registros corresponden a: Duguetia riberensis Aristeg. ex Maas & Boon, Trigynaeaduckei (R. E. Fr.) R. E. Fr. (Annonaceae); Tassadia medinae (Morillo) Morillo (Apocynaceae); Jaracandaorinocensis Sandw. (Bignoniaceae); Polycarpaea corymbosa (L.) Lam. var. brasiliensis (Cambess.) Chodat &Hassl. (Caryophyllaceae); Murdannia burchellii (C. B. Clarke) M. Pell. y M. aff. triquetra (Wall. ex C. B. Clarke)G. Brückn (Commelinaceae); Enterolobium barinense L. Cárdenas & Rodr.-Carr., Machaerium tovarense Pittier,Muellera crucisrubierae (Pittier) M. Sousa y Tachigali davidsei Zarucchi & Herend. (Leguminosae), Nectandrabartlettiana Lasser (Lauraceae); Lindernia brachyphylla Pennell ex Steyerm. (Linderniaceae); Campomanesiaaromatica (Aubl.) Griseb. (Myrtaceae); Christiana africana DC. (Malvaceae); Dulacia cyanocarpa Sleumer(Olacaceae); Phyllanthus microphyllus Kunth (Phyllanthaceae) y Gouania wurdackii Steyerm. (Rhamnaceae).Estas especies fueron recolectadas en los departamentos de Arauca y Vichada. Se discuten aspectos relacionadoscon la taxonomía y nomenclatura de estos nuevos registros, su distribución geográfica, sus afinidades con la florapresente en la Orinoquia venezolana y regiones con características florísticas similares. Se agrega una reseñahistórica de las exploraciones en los llanos colombianos