As Relações União Europeia-China: o impacto da Nova Rota da Seda

As modificações dos atores internacionais têm imprimido novas dinâmicas regionais, sobretudo na condução das suas políticas externas. Neste quadro, o contexto das relações entre a União Europeia (UE) e a República Popular da China (RPC) não está alheio às alterações referidas e revela-se especialmente importante se considerarmos que falamos de duas das maiores economias globais atuais. A afirmação internacional da RPC, nos últimos anos, tem sido objeto de estudo de inúmeros académicos e investigadores das mais variadas áreas. A sua condição demográfica, geográfica, política, militar e, mais recentemente, económica, tem impulsionado o interesse sobre a sua ação e posição no sistema internacional. Neste sentido, o lançamento do projeto de cooperação internacional Belt&Road Initiative (BRI) por parte do governo de Pequim, em 2013, aumentou quer esse interesse, quer as expetativas em relação àquele que será o seu desempenho no contexto internacional. Paralelamente a isto, num quadro de redefinição do equilíbrio internacional e de procura de estreitamento de laços com parceiros estratégicos, a União Europeia apresenta-se como um ator global cuja relação com a RPC tem conhecido momentos de proximidade e afastamento ao longo dos anos. Não obstante, o entendimento entre as partes tem subsistido até hoje, tanto que são múltiplos os países europeus que integram o projeto chinês para o novo século, dinamizando assim as relações entre a UE e a RPC. Deste modo, o objeto desta investigação passa pela análise do impacto da BRI nas relações entre a União Europeia e a República Popular da China, atendendo à evolução das relações entre ambos nos últimos vinte anos. Depois de uma crise económica, em 2008, que assolou praticamente todos os Estados-membros da UE, Pequim prosseguiu a sua estratégia externa orientada para ocidente, ao mesmo tempo que Bruxelas procurou estreitar e dinamizar parcerias estratégicas com outros atores regionais, onde se insere a República Popular da China. Através da análise das relações UE-China durante as últimas duas décadas, avaliamos a evolução da relação após o lançamento da BRI, em 2013, tendo como propósito da nossa análise a compreensão da influência do projeto chinês no relacionamento entre os atores.The changes made by international actors have created new regional dynamics, especially in the conduct of their foreign policies. In this context, the scope of relations between the European Union (EU) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) it is related to the aforementioned changes and proves to be especially important if we consider that we are talking about two of the recent largest global economies. The international statement of the People's Republic of China in recent years has been the subject of study by countless academics and researchers from the most varied areas. Its demographic, geographical, political, military and, more recently, economic condition, has increased interest in its action and position in the international system. In this sense, the launch of the international cooperation project Belt & Road Initiative by the government of Beijing, in 2013, increased both interest and expectations regarding what will be the performance of the PRC in the international context. Parallel to this, in a framework of redefining the international balance and seeking to strengthen ties with strategicpartners, the European Union presents itself as a global actor whose relationship with the PRC has known moments of proximity and distance over the years. Nevertheless, the understanding between the parties has persisted until today, so much that there are multiple European countries that are part of the Chinese project for the new century, thus boosting relations between the EU and the PRC. The object of this investigation is to analyze the impact of BRI on relations between the European Union and the People's Republic of China, taking into account the evolution of relations between both, over the past twenty years. After an economic crisis in 2008, which affected virtually all EU member states, Beijing continued its external strategy oriented towards the west, while Brussels sought to strengthen and boost strategic partnerships with other regional actors, where PRC is included. Through the analysis of EU-China relations over the past two decades, we observed the evolution of the relationship after the launch of BRI in 2013, with the purpose to analyze and understand the influence of the Chinese project on the relationship between the actors

Arboviruses in Free-Ranging Birds and Hematophagous Arthropods (Diptera, Nematocera) from Forest Remnants and Urbanized Areas of an Environmental Protection Area in the Amazon Biome

The rapid and disorderly urbanization in the Amazon has resulted in the insertion of forest fragments into cities, causing the circulation of arboviruses, which can involve hematophagous arthropods and free-ranging birds in the transmission cycles in urban environments. This study aimed to evaluate the circulation of arboviruses in free-ranging birds and hematophagous arthropods captured in an Environmental Protection Area in the Belem metropolitan area, Brazil. Birds were captured using mist nets, and hematophagous arthropods were collected using a human protected attraction technique and light traps. The birds’ sera were subjected to a hemagglutination inhibition test to detect antibodies against 29 arbovirus antigens. Arthropod macerates were inoculated into C6/36 and VERO cell cultures to attempt viral isolation and were tested using indirect immunofluorescence, subsequent genetic sequencing and submitted for phylogenetic analysis. Four bird sera were positive for arbovirus, and one batch of Psorophora ferox was positive for Flavivirus on viral isolation and indirect immunofluorescence. In addition, the Ilheus virus was detected in the sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The presence of antibodies in sera from free-ranging birds and the isolation of Ilheus virus in Psorophora ferox indicate the circulation of arboviruses in forest remnants in the urban center of Belem

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified