Farmer's organizations and acess to innovations: pathways of socioeconomic change in Massaroca, Bahia State, Brazil.

This paper focuses on the recent development of smallholders' communities in the Massaroca region of Nordeste, Braziil. The socieconomic impact of extension service interventions and organizational responses of smallholders are discussed. The results of local development projects have highighted some collective benefits for rural communities, i.e. self-reliance, official representation, and access to equpiment; however, they have also revealed an increase in social differentiation amongsst farmers, based on rural credit politics and market integration. The main beneficiaries of these proects are leaders of farmers' organizations, through their empowerment, by which they also try to obtain benefits for their parents and friends in an often biased manner. Criticism of this situation and resulting social conflicts have prompted protest reactions within rural communities. especially form women and young people, with the support of extension agents

A Microsimulation Approach for Modelling the Future Human Capital of EU28 Member Countries

In knowledge-based economies, human capital is a major determinant of labor force participation and productivity and has received growing interest from researchers and policy makers alike. Recently, the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (WiC) performed macro-level projections by age, sex and education for all countries in the world. Projections of education in this model are computed based on past trends at the macro level by cohort and sex. This working paper uses data from five waves of the European Social Survey and ordered logistic regressions to estimate the impact of additional dimensions on educational attainment in EU28 countries. Variables included in the model are cohort year, sex, religion, language, immigration status and education of the mother. Cohort analysis allowed us to estimate educational trends net of individual characteristics. Analysis showed that the most important determinant of educational attainment was the education of the mother, but that other ethno-cultural factors such as religion and language spoken at home also played a role. Cohort trends net of individual characteristics varied significantly from country to country, with many countries having low or even null improvement in educational attainment for recent cohorts, most notably in Eastern Europe. The parameters derived from this analysis are used as inputs to a European microsimulation model including several dimensions beyond age, sex and education, many of which will be used to assess future immigrant integration in Europe. Preliminary results from the projections show that net and gross trends yield similar results in many countries where net trends are still dominant, but significant differences emerge in other countries in which net trends are low or null. The microsimulation model also allows for a better appreciation of dynamics in population sub-groups, for instance in rising concerns about potentially growing inequalities, notably for Muslims

Implementing dynamics of immigration integration in labor force participation projection in EU28

Many developed countries have turned to immigration in order to mitigate the consequences of population aging, particularly the expected decline in the labor force population. Yet, few projection models take in consideration explicitly the differentials in labor force participation of population sub-groups. This paper describes the labor force participation module of CEPAM-Mic, which is a microsimulation model that projects several demographic, ethnocultural and socioeconomic dimensions of the EU28 member countries population. Then, the microsimulation model is used to project EU labor force population for the period 2015-2060 under different scenarios illustrating how implementing sex- and country-specific dynamics of immigrants’ integration may affect the future labor force in terms of size, rates and gender composition. We estimated the parameters of the labor force module using logistic regressions based on the EU-Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS). In addition to age, sex and education, immigrant-related variables are also included, such as immigrant status, place of birth, age at immigration and duration of residence in the estimation of the probability of being active. Our results demonstrate the importance of taking into account differentials in labor force participation of population sub-groups when asserting the potential of immigration as a tool for managing population aging. In the European context, adding immigration differentials in labor force participation affects mainly downward the number of female immigrants in the labor force, while smaller differences are observed for male immigrants. An increase in immigration levels leads obviously to an increase in the total labor force size, but may also widen gender inequalities in labor force participation and has limited impact on the total labor force participation rate. Our findings suggest that relying on immigration as a tool to alleviate economic issues arising from population aging must imperatively be accompanied by strong and efficient measures to promote a full economic integration of immigrants

Removal of infected cemented hinge knee prostheses using extended femoral and tibial osteotomies: Six cases

SummaryExtended femoral and tibial osteotomies were performed to remove infected cemented hinged knee prostheses in five patients (six knees) with a mean age of 72 years (44–85) and a history of multiple knee surgeries. A tibial osteotomy was used to mobilise the distal quadriceps insertion and to release the tibial extension. The femoral component was extracted by downward traction and its cement mantle was cleared through an anterior osteotomy (n=4) or via the distal approach (n=2). The bone flaps were re-approximated by wire cerclage over articulating acrylic spacers. Mean time to re-implantation of a new knee prosthesis was 11 months (6–24). Revision prostheses with cement fixation restricted to the epiphyseal-metaphyseal region were used. Infection recurred in two cases at 16 and 4 months after the prosthetic re-implantation, and was managed by joint fusion for one and irrigation/lavage for the other, respectively. At last follow-up after a mean of 53 months, the mean Parker score was 4±2, the mean IKS knee score was 66±25 (28–93), and the mean IKS function score was 7±16 (0–40). This technique facilitates the removal of infected cemented components of hinge prostheses and of the cement mantle, most notably in the absence of loosening, without compromising re-implantation of a new knee prosthesis

Inovação institucional, planejamento municipal e organização dos produtores no Nordeste brasileiro: análise comparativa de três experiencias.

O planejamento em nivel municipal mostra-se cada vez mais necessario, no entanto, carece referencias, metodos e instrumentos que permitam a elaboracao de projetos com base em uma negociacao a partir de um dialogo entre os diferentes atores do desenvolvimento. O trabalho apresenta algumas reflexoes sobre a participacao das organizacoes de produtores nos processos de decisao em projetos municipais, a partir do estudo de tres casos caracteristicos da agricultura nordestina: Juazeiro,BA, Pintadas, BA, Taua, CE. O estudo comparativo considera em particular as condicoes de participacao dos produtores nas acoes de planejamento nunicipal e as respectivas estrategias dos diferentes atores envolvidos (produtores, liderancas pliticas, instituicoes, entre outros). As principais conclusoes evidenciam: a condicao da organizacao dos produtres em todo processo de planejamento do desenvolvimento rural municipal; a necessidade e os limites das relacoes de parceria ou de aliancas com outros grupos sociais no contexto nordestino: o papel da intervencao da pesquisa, particularmente na contribuicao para a producao e difusao da informacao, e elaboracao de metodos e instrumentos de apoio a tomada de decisao: a importancia da apropriacao do processo de decisao peloa conjunto dos produtores via espacos de negociacao. A pesquisa agronomica pode ter um papel fundamental junto aos atores locais e as organizacoes de produtores

Organisation des agriculteurs familiaux et developement municipal: trois experiences au Nordeste du Bresil.

Trois expériencie de planification municipale; L´Unité de Planification Agricole de Juazeiro-Bahia - UPAGRO; Tauá-CE; Les stratégies des principaux acteuras;Conditions du dialogue entre acteurs municipaux; Le role de le recherche: elaboration de références et d´intruments d´aide á la décision

Estudo de trajetorias de desenvolvimento local e da construcao do espaco rural no Nordeste semi-arido.

O estudo das trajetórias de desenvolvimento é um instrumento elaborado para poder explicitar e representar as transformações dos sistemas de produção e das formas de organização dos atores na escala local. O exemplo da pequena região de Massaroca (Juazeiro-Bahia) apresenta uma ilustração desta metodologia que valoriza a história agrária, a abordagem espacial e apóia-se em entrevistas de agricultores e técnicos locais. Resultados dos estudos de trajetórias de desenvolvimento efetuados em várias local idades do Nordeste Semi-àrido são objeto de uma análise comparativa. Ela é realizada por meio: (I) da interpretação da diversidade ou da semelhança das evoluções em locais distintos para épocas dadas e, (2) da interpretação de evoluções parecidas em locais e momentos diferentes. A comparação evidencia mecanismos diferenciados de evolução das dinâmicas rurais. Ela contribui para o entendimento e a representação das condições e dos processos de diferenciação das situações agrárias. A caracterização das situações estudadas permite a identificação de "tipos de espaço" diferenciados. A cada "tipo" correspondem formas de organização local específicas, estratégias e práticas semelhantes. A análise dos mecanismos de transição entre estas situações leva à identificação de um modelo de evolução das pequenas regiões. Cadeias de evolução dos espaços locais são assim evidenciadas. Finalmente, os autores tratam da vai idade do modelo aplicado ao caso da agricultura familiar do Nordeste Semi-Árido com a perspectiva de identificar as possibilidades de ação de apoio ao desenvolvimento rural

Augmentation de la production d'hydrogène par l'expression hétérologue d'hydrogénase et la production d’hydrogène à partir de résidus organiques

La recherche de sources d’énergie fiables ayant un faible coût environnemental est en plein essor. L’hydrogène, étant un transporteur d’énergie propre et simple, pourrait servir comme moyen de transport de l’énergie de l’avenir. Une solution idéale pour les besoins énergétiques implique une production renouvelable de l’hydrogène. Parmi les possibilités pour un tel processus, la production biologique de l’hydrogène, aussi appelée biohydrogène, est une excellente alternative. L’hydrogène est le produit de plusieurs voies métaboliques bactériennes mais le rendement de la conversion de substrat en hydrogène est généralement faible, empêchant ainsi le développement d’un processus pratique de production d’hydrogène. Par exemple, lorsque l’hydrogène est produit par la nitrogénase sous des conditions de photofermentation, chaque molécule d’hydrogène constituée requiert 4 ATP, ce qui rend le processus inefficace. Les bactéries photosynthétiques non sulfureuses ont la capacité de croître sous différentes conditions. Selon des études génomiques, Rhodospirillum rubrum et Rhodopseudomonas palustris possèdent une hydrogénase FeFe qui leur permettrait de produire de l’hydrogène par fermentation anaérobie de manière très efficace. Il existe cependant très peu d’information sur la régulation de la synthèse de cette hydrogénase ainsi que sur les voies de fermentation dont elle fait partie. Une surexpression de cette enzyme permettrait potentiellement d’améliorer le rendement de production d’hydrogène. Cette étude vise à en apprendre davantage sur cette enzyme en tentant la surexpression de cette dernière dans les conditions favorisant la production d’hydrogène. L’utilisation de résidus organiques comme substrat pour la production d’hydrogène sera aussi étudiée.The search for alternative energy sources with low environmental impact is in great expansion. Hydrogen, an elegant and simple energy transporter, could serve as means of transporting energy in the future. An ideal solution to the increasing energy needs would imply a renewable production of hydrogen. Out of all the existing possibilities for such a process, the biological production of hydrogen, also called biohydrogen, is an excellent alternative. Hydrogen is the end result or co-product of many pathways in bacterial metabolism. However, such pathways usually show low yields of substrate to hydrogen conversion, which prevents the development of efficient production processes. For example, when hydrogen is produced via nitrogenase under photofermentation conditions, each hydrogen molecule produced requires 4 molecules of ATP, rendering the process very energetically inefficient. Purple non-sulfur bacteria are highly adaptive organisms that can grow under various conditions. According to recent genomic analyses, Rhodospirillum rubrum and Rhodopseudomonas palustris possess, within their genome, an FeFe hydrogenase that would allow them to produce hydrogen via dark fermentation quite efficiently. Unfortunately, very little information is known on the regulation of the synthesis of this enzyme or the various pathways that require it. An overexpression of this hydrogenase could potentially increase the yields of substrate to hydrogen conversion. This study aims to increase our knowledge about this FeFe hydrogenase by overexpressing it in conditions that facilitate the production of hydrogen. The use of organic waste as substrate for hydrogen production will also be studied