Economic Policies and Bankruptcy Institutions: Brazil in a Period of Transition from Colony to Independent Nation

This paper studies the legislation on bankruptcy introduced into Brazil by D.João VI (1808-1821) and shows how this legislation was used in this period as an instrument of protection for certain specific economic activities. On one hand, this work deliberately seeks to incorporate institutions into the study of Brazilian economic history, based on the assumption that the lack of interest in the role played by these institutions has hindered a better understanding of the country’s economic development during the Nineteenth Century. On the other hand, this paper introduces new material for the purpose of re-assessing the economic policies enforced in this period. In fact the study of the bankruptcy legislation suggests that one of the Government’s main concern at the time was to promote the development of activities directly related to gold and sugar exports. Therefore the general and popular acceptance of the revolutionary character of the economic policy in this period is challenged.Institutions, Bankruptcy, D. João VI, Legislation

Aspectos Tafonômicos de Testudines da Formação Santana (Cretáceo Inferior),Bacia do Araripe, Nordeste do Brasil.

Araripe Basin is worldwide famous by diverse and exquisitely well preserved fossil assemblages in antana Formation. This lithostratigraphic unit is subdivided into three members: Crato, Ipubi and Romualdo. Up to date six species of turtles are known: Araripemys barretoi Price, 1973; Santanachelys gaffneyi, Hirayama,1998; Brasilemys josai Lapparent de Broin, 2000; Cearachelys placidoi Gaffney, Campos & Hirayama, 2001, Euraxemys essweini Gaffney, Tong & Meylan, 2006 and Caririemys violetae Oliveira & Kellner, 2007.Taphonomical features of turtles from Crato and Romualdo members are presents here. One specimen was examined in the Crato lagerstätte, (MN 4893-V) Araripemys sp. (partial skull, axial and apendicular skeleton). This exemplar is preserved in light-beige colored laminated limestone from the Crato Member. Three specimenswere analized (MN 6743-V, MN 6744-V and MN 6760-V) in the Romualdo lagerstätte, the two first are Araripemys barretoi specimens (shell and cervical vertebrae) and the later is a Cearachelys placidoi specimen (fragmented shell). They are preserved in calcareous nodules. No data of collection of these specimens areavailable, however are possible to infer on aspects of preservation of these exemplares, since that these are preserved in the original sedimentary matrix. All specimens have shown the surface of bones without abrasion, what it allows to infer these turtles as autocthonous

Little-Parks oscillations near a persistent current loop

We investigate the Little-Parks oscillations caused by a persistent current loop set on the top edge of a mesoscopic superconducting thin-walled cylinder with a finite height. For a short cylinder the Little-Parks oscillations are approximately the same ones as the standard effect, as there is only one magnetic flux piercing the cylinder. For a tall cylinder the inhomogeneity of the magnetic field makes different magnetic fluxes pierce the cylinder at distinct heights and we show here that this produces two distinct Little-Parks oscillatory regimes according to the persistent current loop. We show that these two regimes, and also the transition between them, are observable in current measurements done in the superconducting cylinder. The two regimes stem from different behavior along the height, as seen in the order parameter, numerically obtained from the Ginzburg-Landau theory through the finite element methodComment: 13 pages, 12 figure

When the shifting agriculture is gone: functionality of Atlantic Coastal Forest in abandoned farming sites

Slash-and-burn agriculture has been practiced for a very long time by the traditional populations (caiçaras) on Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. After a few years of use the plots are abandoned to fallow. We examined the processes of litter production and decomposition and the relationships between forest lands used by caiçara populations and landscape functionality. Five and 25-year-old forests growing on areas once used for subsistence agriculture were compared to a near-climax forest site. No significant differences between the three areas were noted in terms of litter production over a 2-yr period; the average litter productions were 9,927, 8,707 and 10,031 kg/ha/yr for the 5-year, 25-year and climax forests respectively. N and K nutrient input through litter was greatest in the climax forest; P and Mg input was greatest in the 5-yr forest; and Na greatest in the 25-yr forest. Ground litter accumulation (3,040-3,730 kg/ha/yr) was not significantly different in the three areas. Litter turnover times (1/K) were 0.33, 0.42 and 0.38 for the 5-yr, 25-yr and climax forests respectively. These secondary forests cover almost all of Ilha Grande and demonstrate low species diversity, but they have production and decomposition systems similar to those of mature forests

Protein-carbohydrate recognition in the biodegradation of the plant cell wall: Functional and structural studies using carbohydrate microarrays and X-ray crystallography

The plant cell wall is, in its majority, constituted by complex and structurally diverse polysaccharides that are valuable resources for industrial and biotechnological applications. Anaerobic microbial organisms are highly efficient for plant cell wall polysaccharide biodegradation and have evolved a multi-enzyme complex system, the Cellulosome, where catalytic enzymes have non-catalytic Carbohydrate Binding Modules (CBMs) appended that highly potentiate the enzymes’ catalytic efficiency. Deciphering at molecular level the mechanisms underlying plant cell wall carbohydrate recognition and deconstruction by different cellulolytic bacteria is crucial to elucidate these complex biological systems, as well as to further promote novel potential applications. The work developed in this Thesis focused on the unique approach of combining carbohydrate microarrays with X-ray crystallography, to uncover carbohydrate ligands for CBMs and to structurally characterize novel CBM-carbohydrate interactions of two anaerobic bacteria that reside in different ecological niches: Clostridium thermocellum, found in soils, and Ruminococcus flavefaciens FD-1, present in the rumen of herbivorous. To this end, microarrays featuring carbohydrate probes with polysaccharide and oligosaccharide sequences representative of the structural diversity found on plant cell walls, but also in fungal and bacterial cell walls, were developed and then used to screen the carbohydrate-binding and ligand-specificity of 150 CBMs of C. thermocellum and R. flavefaciens CBMomes. The groups of polysaccharides that are differentially recognised were revealed for 59 CBMs and novel CBM-ligand specificities were identified for 23 modules from C. thermocellum and 21 from R. flavefaciens. Overall, the two bacteria differentially expressed CBM families with different carbohydrate-binding specificities, which may reflect adaptation to substrate availability in their specific ecological niche or the complexity of their Cellulosome. Using the information derived from the high-throughput microarray analysis, and according to their biotechnological relevance or novelty, CBMs and the respective ligands were selected for further structural studies. The novel CBM structures solved, complemented with biochemical and biophysical data, enabled the characterization of the molecular determinants for the recognition of mixed-linked β1,3-1,4-glucans by C. thermocellum family 11 CBM, chitin and peptidoglycan-derived sequences by a novel LysM domain from C. thermocellum family 50 CBMs, and pectic arabinans by R. flavefaciens family 13 CBM. The results reported here allow to assign a functional role for these CBMs and CBM families and contribute to the classification of the novel CBMs identified in the genome of the two bacteria, particularly those from R. flavefaciens FD1. Furthermore, the information derived from this integrative study, can promote a better understanding of cellulolytic capabilities of these bacteria, as well as to potentiate biotechnological applications of CBMs

Using gold nanoparticles in protein crystallography: studies in crystal growth and derivatization

Dissertation for the Master Degree in Structural and Functional BiochemistryIn the field of protein structural analysis, X-ray crystallography plays a major role to expand the knowledge on how proteins function, as well as their interactions with other molecules. However, several obstacles can be present when attempting to grow protein crystals and subsequently determine its structure. Therefore, strategies that facilitate the production of suitable crystals for X-ray diffraction techniques, such as nucleating agents, or that allow overcoming the phase problem, as the production of heavy atom derivatives, are highly sought for. Additionally, coupling gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with proteins is of emerging interest and a field that has been growing in recent years, for the development of bionanosystems that benefit of the advantages presented by AuNPs. Understanding these processes at the atomic level, would facilitate the study of the interactions between proteins and AuNPs, and allow a deeper insight into these bionanosystems for their development and optimization. The number of studies reported in the literature combining protein crystallography and AuNPs is, up to date, very limited. The work developed in this Dissertation aimed to study the crystallization of proteins in the presence of AuNPs, associated to the study of its structural interactions with the AuNPs and gold atoms, and also to investigate the hypothesis of producing gold derivatives of protein crystals using AuNPs. To accomplish this, crystallization studies of HEWL (hen egg-white lysozyme) were carried out in the presence of gold nanoparticles capped with Polyvinylpyrrolidone (AuNP-PVP) and in the presence of a Au(I) compound. X-ray diffraction data from the resultant crystals were then measured at one of the X-ray absorption edges of gold, in order to take advantage of the gold‟s scattering properties. HEWL structures were then determined exhibiting several binding sites for gold atoms at the protein‟s surface that were unambiguously identified by recurring to an electron density map calculated from the anomalous differences of the measured intensities. In addition, TEM analyses were carried out to verify the assembly and formation of the AuNPs within HEWL crystals. Zeta-potential and optic spectroscopic measurements were also used to study the AuNP-PVP stability alone and in solution with HEWL. The potential of gold nanoparticles-induced crystal growth was also explored by using differently functionalised AuNPs as nucleant agents in co-crystallization studies with several proteins. Quite positive results were obtained with the test proteins, HEWL and RNase A (ribonuclease A), and a slight improvement of human phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) crystallization was also observed

Formal methods for reconfigurable assembly systems

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores (Automação). Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Engenharia. 201

Brazilian Readings of British Decadentism: Abgar Renault and Pedro Nava Recreate W. B. Yeats and A. V. Beardsley

The paper focuses on a double affinity, which concerns Literature and the Visual Arts, involving Brazilian and Anglo/Irish works. The text likewise traces the affinities between Pedro Nava’ s illustrations of Renault’s poems and Beardley’s drawings for Salome. Centring on Abgar Renault’s translations of poems by Yeats and Wilde, the essay tries to trace the process of appropriation and re-invention which enables the Brazilian poet to transtextualize the Irish writers’ poetry, interweaving source and translated texts. The Brazilian poet’s choice of poems, which concentrates on different stages of Yeats’ production, further reflects Renault’s own stylistic choices: like Yeats, he starts as a symbolist, but moves on to a post-symbolist poetics, more attuned to modern taste. The paper relies on Augusto de Campos’ notion of translation as a persona, in which the translator gets into the foreign text’s skin, so as to “re-pretend everything again”. A parallel is also drawn with Machado de Assis’ translation tactics in Ocidentais: the appropriation of European poetry illustrates Machado’s own project for the construction of Brazilian literary identity.The paper focuses on a double affinity, which concerns Literature and the Visual Arts, involving Brazilian and Anglo/Irish works. The text likewise traces the affinities between Pedro Nava’ s illustrations of Renault’s poems and Beardley’s drawings for Salome. Centring on Abgar Renault’s translations of poems by Yeats and Wilde, the essay tries to trace the process of appropriation and re-invention which enables the Brazilian poet to transtextualize the Irish writers’ poetry, interweaving source and translated texts. The Brazilian poet’s choice of poems, which concentrates on different stages of Yeats’ production, further reflects Renault’s own stylistic choices: like Yeats, he starts as a symbolist, but moves on to a post-symbolist poetics, more attuned to modern taste. The paper relies on Augusto de Campos’ notion of translation as a persona, in which the translator gets into the foreign text’s skin, so as to “re-pretend everything again”. A parallel is also drawn with Machado de Assis’ translation tactics in Ocidentais: the appropriation of European poetry illustrates Machado’s own project for the construction of Brazilian literary identity

Maintenance Energy Requirements of Free Ranging Goats and Sheep

Measurements of energy expenditures for domestic animals are used as a basis to determine the total energy requirements for maintenance and for production. Most studies on energy metabolism have been conducted under controlled, confinement conditions, and the results extrapolated to free - ranging animals. Such approaches do not always represent the real energy costs of free existence in the range or pasture environment. This study compared energy expenditures of sheep and goats under free-grazing conditions and assessed the accuracy of the carbon dioxide entry rate technique (CERT) as compared to the oxygen consumption method. In addition, 24-hour activity budgets were used to construct energy budgets for both animal species. These estimates were compared to CERT measurements. Dietary organic matter, crude protein, gross energy, digestible protein, and digestible energy intakes, as well as the apparent digestibility coefficients for crude protein and gross energy were compared for both species in one of the grazing trials. The validation of CERT yielded the linear regression equation: Y = 0.878 + 5.333 ER where Y energy expenditure in Kcal·min-1, and ER is the C02 entry rate in grams of C02 carbon·min-1. The coefficient of determination (r2) was 0.979, and the residual standard deviation of ± 0.12 Kcal·min-1. Daily energy expenditure of goats was higher (P High ambient temperatures during one of the grazing trials apparently caused heat stress to the grazing animals. Both species responded to this situation by using behavioral adaptations and avoidance mechanisms. The energy budget method over-estimated energy expenditures of sheep by 9 percent, and grossly underestimated the energy expenditures of goats by 39 percent. The nutritive value of the diets selected by both species was similar . However, goats had higher (P\u3c .OS) organic matter, crude protein, gross energy, digestible protein and digestible energy intakes. The apparent crude protein digestibility coefficient for goats was 20 percent higher (P CERT can predict energy expenditures within ± 8 percent of the mean. It is a feasible technique for assessing energy expenditures of small ruminants under range conditions. The energy budget method was not reliable for estimating energy costs in small ruminants, especially goats