A contractor empire : public-private partnerships and overseas expansion in Habsburg Portugal (1580-1640)

A Contractor Empire looks at government contracting in Portugal and its overseas empire during the so called Iberian ‘Union of the Crowns’ (1580-1640). It places 17th century Portugal at the centre of the latest historiographic debates on the interplay between business oriented groups and state formation during the early modern period. This dissertation clarifies why and to what extent the Portuguese Crown underwrote government contracts with business firms to handle tasks of public utility. On the other hand, it looks at the ethos and praxis of what was simultaneously an effective financial and administrative tool (for the state) and a compelling economic, social and political investment (for private businessmen).I argue that a major distinctive feature of the Portuguese contractor state was the multitude of public-private partnerships pertaining to the overseas offshoots. It is also emphasized how contracts did not always involve military logistics, as the secondary literature assumes. Among these other tasks were tax-farming and the outsourcing of royal monopolies over colonial commodities. In addition to considering the needs of the Crown and the terms and conditions of various public contracts, public-private partnerships are also analysed from the vantage point of their recipients. Light is shed on how entrepreneurs and partnerships met their obligations to the state and secured a compelling return on their investment, but also on the reasons why they took part in these potentially lucrative but equally risky endeavours.Cities, Migration and Global Interdependenc

Aspetos bioecológicos de flebotomíneos (Diptera, Psychodidae), vetores de Leishmania sp., capturados no Velho e no Novo Mundo: Alentejo, Portugal e Volta Redonda, Brasil, 2016-2017

Aspectos bioecológicos de flebotomíneos no Novo e Velho mundo: Brasil e POrtuga

Gesneriaceae da Serra do Relógio, Descoberto, Estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil

The Serra do Relógio is located in the municipality of Descoberto, Zona da Mata in the State of Minas Gerais. There is two important conservation units in this region, Reserva Biológica da Represa do Grama and Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Alto da Boa Vista. Both Conservation Units together cover a total area of ~403 ha of vegetation, mainly semi-deciduous seasonal forest. The Gesneriaceae is represented in the area by eight species, distributed in the genus Besleria (2 spp.), Nematanthus (3 spp.), Paliavana (1 spp.), Sinningia (1 spp.) and Vanhouttea (1spp.). We present descriptions, identification key, comments on taxonomy, distribution and ecology as well as photos of all recorded species.A Serra do Relógio está localizada no município de Descoberto, Zona da Mata no Estado de Minas Gerais. Há duas importantes Unidades de Conservação, a Reserva Biológica da Represa do Grama (RBRG) e a Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Alto da Boa Vista (RPPNABV). Juntas abrangem uma área total de 402,6 hectares, sendo composta, predominantemente pela Floresta Estacional Semidecidual baixo-montana. Gesneriaceae está representada na área por oito espécies, distribuídas nos gêneros Besleria (2 spp.), Nematanthus (3 spp.), Paliavana (1 spp.), Sinningia (1 spp.) e Vanhouttea (1 spp.). Neste trabalho são apresentadas descrições, chave de identificação, comentários sobre taxonomia, distribuição e ecologia assim como fotos para todas as espécies

Additive Manufacturing of a Point-of-Care “Polypill:” Fabrication of Concept Capsules of Complex Geometry with Bespoke Release against Cardiovascular Disease

YesPolypharmacy is often needed for the management of cardiovascular diseases and is associated with poor adherence to treatment. Hence, highly flexible and adaptable systems are in high demand to accommodate complex therapeutic regimens. A novel design approach is employed to fabricate highly modular 3D printed “polypill” capsules with bespoke release patterns for multiple drugs. Complex structures are devised using combined fused deposition modeling 3D printing aligned with hot-filling syringes. Two unibody highly modular capsule skeletons with four separate compartments are devised: i) concentric format: two external compartments for early release while two inner compartments for delayed release, or ii) parallel format: where nondissolving capsule shells with free-pass corridors and dissolution rate-limiting pores are used to achieve immediate and extended drug releases, respectively. Controlling drug release is achieved through digital manipulation of shell thickness in the concentric format or the size of the rate limiting pores in the parallel format. Target drug release profiles are achieved with variable orders and configurations, hence confirming the modular nature with capacity to accommodate therapeutics of different properties. Projection of the pharmacokinetic profile of this digital system capsules reveal how the developed approach can be applied in dose individualization and achieving multiple desired pharmacokinetic profiles

. FIRST MOLECULAR DETECTION OF LEISHMANIA INFANTUM IN SERGENTOMYIA MINUTA (DIPTERA, PSYCHODIDAE) IN ALENTEJO, SOUTHERN PORTUGAL

One Sergentomyia minuta female was positive for L. infantum infection and another for human blood as a meal source