South-South Cooperation in Times of Global Economic Crisis

For South-South cooperation, the current moment of global economic downturn is one of anxiety. South-South cooperation was born with the Non-Aligned Movement. It went through a latent period, but re-emerged in the 1990s and early 2000s. The momentum gathered when a handful of middle-income countries such as Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa were set to improve their position as global players. They had developed some relatively successful social programmes, which they sought to share with other developing countries. Considering that conventional North-South cooperation had turned out to be of limited effectiveness, South-South cooperation gained further impetus.South-South Cooperation in Times of Global Economic Crisis

New York?s Brand-new Conditional Cash Transfer Programme: What if it Succeeds?

In 2007, emulating the Mexican experience, Mayor Bloomberg decided that New York City should also have its own conditional cash transfer programme (CCT). He named the programme Opportunity NYC after the Mexican Oportunidades. Is Opportunity NYC just one more CCT in the plethora of existing programmes? Or will it influence the way educational reforms have been traditionally conceptualized?New York?s Brand-new Conditional Cash Transfer Programme: What if it Succeeds?

Enhancement of the anaerobic digestion of nitrogenous substrate by implementing the approach of microbial electrolysis cell to force a microbial change

openAnaerobic digestion is a natural biochemical process that can convert organic materials into combustible biogas. However, high ammonia levels can inhibit the process of methanogenesis and cause the failure of biogas production. For that reason, this study aimed to improve the stability and efficiency of anaerobic digestion in the presence of high ammonia concentrations and the production of biogas, through the implementation of microbial electrolysis cells (MEC) and direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET). The application of MEC to anaerobic digestion can accelerate the degradation of a substrate by enriching exoelectrogens and methanogens thus increasing biogas production. DIET has been recognized as faster and more stable means to transport reducing equivalents between bacteria and archaea, demonstrating the potential to enhance the rate-limiting steps during anaerobic digestion. The study was conducted with two independent experiments, one lasting 92 days and the other 34 days following the VDI 4630 and DIN 38414-8. Four reactors in each experiment were supplied with electrical energy, while two served as controls with no energy supply. The substrate used in the first experiment was aged, while the substrate in the second experiment had higher ammonia concentrations. The results suggest that the implementation of microbial electrolysis cells had a slightly positive effect on both experiments. However, these technologies did not significantly increase methane production compared to the control reactors.Anaerobic digestion is a natural biochemical process that can convert organic materials into combustible biogas. However, high ammonia levels can inhibit the process of methanogenesis and cause the failure of biogas production. For that reason, this study aimed to improve the stability and efficiency of anaerobic digestion in the presence of high ammonia concentrations and the production of biogas, through the implementation of microbial electrolysis cells (MEC) and direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET). The application of MEC to anaerobic digestion can accelerate the degradation of a substrate by enriching exoelectrogens and methanogens thus increasing biogas production. DIET has been recognized as faster and more stable means to transport reducing equivalents between bacteria and archaea, demonstrating the potential to enhance the rate-limiting steps during anaerobic digestion. The study was conducted with two independent experiments, one lasting 92 days and the other 34 days following the VDI 4630 and DIN 38414-8. Four reactors in each experiment were supplied with electrical energy, while two served as controls with no energy supply. The substrate used in the first experiment was aged, while the substrate in the second experiment had higher ammonia concentrations. The results suggest that the implementation of microbial electrolysis cells had a slightly positive effect on both experiments. However, these technologies did not significantly increase methane production compared to the control reactors

Constitutional Challenges to Washington\u27s Limit on Noneconomic Damages in Cases of Personal Injury and Death

This Comment considers the constitutionality of the Washington cap on noneconomic damages. The Comment briefly reviews the recent legislation of medical malpractice and tort reform damages ceilings and judicial decisions on the constitutionality of such ceilings. The Comment then analyzes the constitutionality of the Washington limit under the substantive due process and equal protection guarantees of the federal and state constitutions. Because under the federal constitution a court should give the statute only minimal scrutiny, the statute probably does not offend fourteenth amendment protections. Under the Washington Constitution, however, a court should give the statute intermediate scrutiny. Under intermediate scrutiny a court probably will hold that the limit violates the state equal protection guarantee, but a court probably will not hold the limit violative of substantive due process. Under the right of trial by jury guarantee of the state constitution, the statute also is unconstitutional

Constitutional Challenges to Washington\u27s Limit on Noneconomic Damages in Cases of Personal Injury and Death

This Comment considers the constitutionality of the Washington cap on noneconomic damages. The Comment briefly reviews the recent legislation of medical malpractice and tort reform damages ceilings and judicial decisions on the constitutionality of such ceilings. The Comment then analyzes the constitutionality of the Washington limit under the substantive due process and equal protection guarantees of the federal and state constitutions. Because under the federal constitution a court should give the statute only minimal scrutiny, the statute probably does not offend fourteenth amendment protections. Under the Washington Constitution, however, a court should give the statute intermediate scrutiny. Under intermediate scrutiny a court probably will hold that the limit violates the state equal protection guarantee, but a court probably will not hold the limit violative of substantive due process. Under the right of trial by jury guarantee of the state constitution, the statute also is unconstitutional

Beyond ordinary policy change: Authoritarian policy dismantling in Brazil

From a normative perspective, policy change is seen as crucial to improving social conditions, reducing inequality, and promoting sustainability. However, what about change that implies the dismantling of previously successful policies? How can one differentiate between democratic policy change and policy dismantling? In order to shed light on these questions, this article analyzes changes occurred in Brazil since Jair Bolsonaro took office in January 2019. The paper addresses those changes from the perspective of the federal bureaucracy spread across different agencies and professional careers. The research design involved quantitative and qualitative data collected using the following methods: i) a survey with former and current federal employees; ii) semi-structured interviews with civil servants who have worked or are still working in the federal government. Research findings indicate that, in Brazil, policy dismantling is no ordinary policy change, as it has been marked by authoritarian dynamics that have disarranged the federal bureaucracy and eroded state capacity

Acarbose promotes remission of both early and late dumping syndromes in post-bariatric patients

Objective: Acarbose is a glucosidase inhibitor that slows carbohydrate digestion. It could thus be effective to promote remission of dumping syndrome (DS). Previous studies associating acarbose and late dumping, although not early dumping, have been reported. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the role of acarbose in dumping syndrome prevention and treatment and in resistive exercises resistance in bariatric subjects. Methods: Bariatric patients with DS and complete adherence to diet plan and resistive exercises were included (n=25). Number of early and late episodes, self-referred intensity of each episode, and ability to increase intensity of resistive exercise were evaluated, on a 0-10 scale. Acarbose was administered orally (50 mg) for 6 months, 4-5 times a day before meals. Results: Acarbose administration was associated with a decrease in the number of early (2.18-0.31) and late (2.79-0.12) episodes per week and intensity of each episode (6.10-1.65) and an increase in the ability to perform resistive exercises (3.03-7.12). Complete remission of DS was seen in 21 patients (84%), which persisted for 6 months with the use of acarbose. Conclusion: Acarbose prevented dumping in almost all studied subjects and helped improve exercise capacity.Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SPCorpometria Institute, an Obesity and Endocrinology Center, Brasilia, DF, BrazilDivision of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, R Pedro de Toledo 781, BR-04039032 Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.Web of Scienc

Operational optimisation of water supply networks using a fuzzy system

This paper presents a fuzzy system to control the pressure in a water distribution network, by using valves and controlling the rotor speed of the pumping systems. The variable frequency drive tracks the minimum head of the pumping system, while the control valves have the function of eliminating the excess pressure at various points of the network. The control system can track any reference pressure value and there is no limit for the number of monitored points. Experiments were carried out to demonstrate the fuzzy system’s efficiency. By extrapolating the results achieved in the experimental setup to a real hydraulic network with leakages and no pressure control, the volumetric losses could be reduced by more than 56%. The experiments showed that the system is robust enough to control the pressure of an experimental setup of water distribution. Besides, the proposed system can be easily applied to similar water supply systems and would help to reduce the consumption of water and electricity, as well as to reduce the maintenance costs

O Programa Novinho em Folha de Nova Iorque para Transferência Condicional de Renda: E se for bem Sucedido?

O Programa Novinho em Folha de Nova Iorque para Transferência Condicional de Renda: E se for bem Sucedido?