‘Export Led Growth’ x ‘Growth Led Exports’: What Matters for the Brazilian Growth Experience after Trade Liberalization?

In this paper we study the Brazilian growth experience after trade liberalization by testing both the Export Led Growth (ELG) and the Growth Led Exports (GLE) hypotheses through a causality test between exports and gross domestic output (GDP). The paper provides further evidence that after openness both ELG and GLE hypotheses are useful to explain the Brazilian growth experience.Export led growth, Growth Led Exports, Thirlwall’s law, Granger causality test.

Mapping the risk of anaemia in preschool-age children: the contribution of malnutrition, malaria, and helminth infections in West Africa

BACKGROUND Childhood anaemia is considered a severe public health problem in most countries of sub-Saharan Africa. We investigated the geographical distribution of prevalence of anaemia and mean haemoglobin concentration (Hb) in children aged 1-4 y (preschool children) in West Africa. The aim was to estimate the geographical risk profile of anaemia accounting for malnutrition, malaria, and helminth infections, the risk of anaemia attributable to these factors, and the number of anaemia cases in preschool children for 2011. METHODS AND FINDINGS National cross-sectional household-based demographic health surveys were conducted in 7,147 children aged 1-4 y in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Mali in 2003-2006. Bayesian geostatistical models were developed to predict the geographical distribution of mean Hb and anaemia risk, adjusting for the nutritional status of preschool children, the location of their residence, predicted Plasmodium falciparum parasite rate in the 2- to 10-y age group (Pf PR(2-10)), and predicted prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium and hookworm infections. In the four countries, prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe anaemia was 21%, 66%, and 13% in Burkina Faso; 28%, 65%, and 7% in Ghana, and 26%, 62%, and 12% in Mali. The mean Hb was lowest in Burkina Faso (89 g/l), in males (93 g/l), and for children 1-2 y (88 g/l). In West Africa, severe malnutrition, Pf PR(2-10), and biological synergisms between S. haematobium and hookworm infections were significantly associated with anaemia risk; an estimated 36.8%, 14.9%, 3.7%, 4.2%, and 0.9% of anaemia cases could be averted by treating malnutrition, malaria, S. haematobium infections, hookworm infections, and S. haematobium/hookworm coinfections, respectively. A large spatial cluster of low mean Hb (95%) was predicted for an area shared by Burkina Faso and Mali. We estimate that in 2011, approximately 6.7 million children aged 1-4 y are anaemic in the three study countries. CONCLUSIONS By mapping the distribution of anaemia risk in preschool children adjusted for malnutrition and parasitic infections, we provide a means to identify the geographical limits of anaemia burden and the contribution that malnutrition and parasites make to anaemia. Spatial targeting of ancillary micronutrient supplementation and control of other anaemia causes, such as malaria and helminth infection, can contribute to efficiently reducing the burden of anaemia in preschool children in Africa.Funded by the University of Queensland and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australia

Spatial aspects of infant mortality and informal workers: The case of Ceara State -Brazil

High levels of infant mortality and high participation of informal workers in the labor market are living conditions faced by many developing countries. In Ceara State - Brazil, their trends during the last three decades have followed opposite directions. Whereas infant mortality has decreased substantially since the 1980s, suggesting that the country is on the right path to development, the labor market has presented increasing levels of informality, which challenges traditional theories of development. The essays of this thesis aim to investigate some aspects of these two phenomena. In particular, the first essay offers an approach to analyze if the health care program known as the Community Health Worker Program has been an important factor explaining the downward trend in infant mortality. Moreover, it provides a framework to identify if the effectiveness of this program is under-estimated when traditional methods of evaluation do not consider its spatial spillover effect. This effect occurs when improvements in this health care program in one municipality affect not only infant mortality in that municipality but also the infant mortality of neighboring municipalities. The second essay studies heterogeneity among informal workers and investigates possibilities of social interactions and spatial segmentation among different types of workers. Besides sharing the same study site (Ceara Sate - Brazil), both essays incorporate and empirically verify the hypotheses that neighborhood conditions (at city or urban sector levels) play an important role in: (i) amplifying the benefits of health care programs, and (ii) affecting workers\u27 behavior in the labor market

Internship experience in a contract research organization (CRO)

Mestrado em Biomedicina FarmacêuticaO presente documento relata a experiência de trabalho desenvolvida durante 10 meses de estágio na Unidade de Estudos Clínicos da Keypoint CRO, a empresa que me acolheu ao longo deste período, e o seu impacto na aquisição de ferramentas e competências pessoais e profissionais. Esta experiência profissional permitiu-me consolidar e reavivar todos os conceitos e conhecimentos teóricos adquiridos ao longo de 5 anos de formação académica, e em especial o programa curricular que constitui o Mestrado em Biomedicina Farmacêutica, da Universidade de Aveiro, facilitando a minha integração em todas as actividades da empresa que me foram sendo propostas. Todas estas actividades realizadas durante o estágio estão descritas ao longo deste documento, seguindo-se depois uma parte de discussão/reflexão que pretende fazer um balanço de toda a aprendizagem, destacando os seus pontos fortes e pontos fracos. Com este relatório, pretendo assim dar a conhecer a minha adaptação ao meio laboral, após aquela que foi a minha primeira experiência profissional na área em que me formei. Uma experiência repleta de verdadeiros desafios e obstáculos mas também de sucessos que só a plena sintonia entre o estudante, a empresa acolhedora e a instituição de ensino permitiram alcançar.This document reports the professional experience developed over 10 months of internship in the Clinical Operations Unit of Keypoint CRO, the company which took me throughout this time, and its impact in the acquisition of tools and personal and professional skills. This professional experience allowed me to consolidate and revive all the concepts and theoretical knowledge gained over 5 years of academic training at University of Aveiro, making facilitated my inclusion into all activities of the company that have been proposed for me. All of these activities performed during the internship are described throughout this document, followed by a later part of discussion/reflection which aims to make a balance of all learning, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. With this report, I want to let known my adaptation to the labor field, after my first professional experience in the field where I have been graduated. A true experience not only full of challenges and obstacles but also full of successes which only the full understanding between the student, the company and the educational institution allowed to achieve

Restructuring the European VAT tax system: advantages and disadvantages of the adoption of a single-rate model - a study based on the Portuguese case

The common VAT system adopted by EU member states comprises a set of various rates, which differentiate the goods and services subject to this tax. However, from a technical and management point of view, it would be preferable to adopt a single tax rate as it reduces distortions and facilitates tax compliance and management. This research seeks to analyse the benefits and disadvantages of adopting a single VAT as a means of simplifying the European VAT model. It takes Portugal as a case study. The main objective of this research is to contribute to the academic debate around the theme of the single rate of VAT versus differentiated rates, through the achievement of a series of analyses and statistical tests to revenues and percentages of GDP that they correspond, in the three scenarios considered in the study: differentiated rates, single rate of 17% and single rate of 21%.In the empirical part, hypotheses were developed, the effects on tax revenue of a differential collection system were analyzed and compared to a possible single rate regime on consumption to verify which one would be more efficient. data comparison permits to verify that the estimated revenue of the single rate of VAT is higher than the values ​​obtained by the system of differentiated rates, in any of the proposed models (17% or 21%). The results of this research are valid for all countries that adopt VAT or general tax transactions

Toxicidade de pesticidas para Chironomus riparius: alterações no proteoma, marcadores bioquímicos e respostas individuais

The application of pesticides in agricultural fields leads to inevitable contamination of adjacent freshwater systems, representing a serious threat to non-target aquatic invertebrate communities. The study of the impact of these stressors on ecologically relevant species is crucial for risk assessment. Traditionally, toxicity testing focuses on organism and population-level responses (e.g. mortality, growth, behavior, and reproduction). However, these responses are often preceded by changes at lower levels of biological organization. In this sense, there is a need to develop sensitive tools that can be used to predict ecological adverse effects of sub-lethal concentrations of pesticides. Assessing sub-organismal endpoints may therefore provide early indicators of pesticide exposure and their possible impacts on natural populations. In this thesis, larvae of Chironomus riparius (Meigen) were exposed to four insecticides with distinct modes of action: amitraz, spinosad, indoxacarb, and fipronil, and their effects evaluated in terms of life-history responses using standard laboratory ecotoxicological tests, and at biochemical level by monitoring specific oxidative stress, neuronal, and energy metabolism biomarkers. Moreover, the effects of spinosad, indoxacarb, and fipronil were assessed at the molecular level using proteomic tools, to determine if proteomics and biochemical biomarkers can be used as reliable and sensitive tools in ecological risk assessment. The results presented here indicate that environmentally relevant concentrations of the insecticides tested can significantly affect several C. riparius life-history traits, with reductions in the larval growth and impairment of emergence endpoints observed for all compounds tested, which ought to compromise the ecological integrity of freshwater ecosystems. At the biochemical level, very distinct responses were observed for each pesticide, probably due to their distinct modes of action. Nonetheless, evidences of high metabolic costs (as indicated by the increase of electron transport system (ETS) and/or lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities) were observed for all insecticides, which are probably associated with the activation of antioxidant defenses and detoxification processes. Additionally, evidences of oxidative damage were found in C. riparius larvae under exposure to amitraz and spinosad, as indicated by the increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels. At the proteome level, no significant changes were found in C. riparius proteome between exposed and non-exposed larvae for the concentrations of indoxacarb tested. Fipronil exposure induced alterations in the expression of globins, cytoskeleton and motor proteins, as well as in proteins involved in protein synthesis. Exposure to spinosad resulted in alterations in globins, actin, and cuticle proteins’ expression. These changes observed at the proteome level revealed potential mechanisms of action that lead to the effects observed at the individual level. The potential of C. riparius globins expression in environmental monitoring studies has been previously stated and are here sustained. The generalized downregulation of these proteins observed under exposure to spinosad and fipronil may be related to the toxic effects of these insecticides. This study highlights the importance of complementing standard ecotoxicological approaches with biochemical and molecular tools in an integrative manner. The analyses of biochemical biomarkers and of the proteome can be useful in risk assessment, contributing to the knowledge of the sub-lethal effects of pesticides, thus aiding the comprehensive and mechanistically understanding of the mechanisms that lead to higher level responses. It is also demonstrated that the pesticides tested here pose a potential risk to non-target aquatic invertebrates, and therefore their application near freshwater systems should be reviewed. Chironomus riparius, a model organism in aquatic toxicology, is also presented as a promising model organism for environmental proteomics.O uso de pesticidas em campos agrícolas resulta na inevitável contaminação dos sistemas de água doce adjacentes, representando uma séria ameaça para as comunidades de invertebrados aquáticos não alvo. O estudo do impacto destes compostos em espécies ecologicamente relevantes é crucial para a avaliação de risco. Tradicionalmente, os testes ecotoxicológicos baseiam-se em respostas ao nível do organismo e da população (ex. mortalidade, crescimento, comportamento e reprodução). No entanto, estas respostas observadas ao nível do organismo e população são usualmente precedidas por alterações nos níveis mais baixos de organização biológica. Nesse sentido, existe a necessidade de desenvolver ferramentas sensíveis que possam ser usadas para prever potenciais efeitos adversos ecológicos de concentrações sub-letais de inseticidas. A avaliação de efeitos ao nível subindividual pode assim fornecer informação prévia da exposição a pesticidas e os seus possíveis impactos em populações naturais. Nesta tese, larvas da espécie modelo em ecotoxicologia Chironomus riparius (Meigen) foram expostas a quatro inseticidas com diferentes modos de ação: amitraz, spinosad, indoxacarb e fipronil, e os seus efeitos avaliados em termos de respostas do ciclo de vida utilizando testes ecotoxicológicos padronizados, e ao nível bioquímico monitorizando biomarcadores específicos de stress oxidativo, neurotoxicidade e metabolismo energético. Além disso, os efeitos do spinosad, indoxacarb e fipronil ao nível molecular foram avaliados usando ferramentas de proteómica, com o objetivo de determinar se a proteómica e os marcadores bioquímicos podem ser ferramentas sensíveis na avaliação de risco ecológico. Os resultados aqui apresentados indicam que concentrações ambientalmente relevantes dos pesticidas testados, podem comprometer significativamente vários indicadores do ciclo de vida de C. riparius. Foram observadas reduções no crescimento larval e alterações nos parâmetros relacionados com a emergência dos insectos em resposta à exposição a todos os inseticidas testados, o que pode comprometer a integridade ecológica dos ecossistemas de água doce. Ao nível bioquímico, foram observadas respostas muito distintas para cada pesticida, provavelmente devido aos seus diferentes modos de ação. No entanto, foram observados indícios de elevados custos metabólicos (indicados pelo aumento das atividades da cadeia transportadora de eletrões (ETS) e/ou da enzima lactato desidrogenase (LDH) para todos os inseticidas. Estes aumentos estão provavelmente relacionados com a ativação de mecanismos de defesa antioxidantes e de processos de destoxificação. Além disso, foram observados indícios de dano oxidativo em larvas expostas a amitraz e spinosad, indicado pelo aumento nos níveis de peroxidação lipídica (LPO). Ao nível do proteoma, não foram observadas alterações significativas nas larvas expostas a indoxacarb em comparação com larvas não expostas. A exposição ao fipronil causou alterações na expressão de globinas, de proteínas motoras e do citoesqueleto, bem como em proteínas envolvidas na síntese proteica. A exposição ao spinosad resultou em alterações na expressão de globinas, actinas e de proteínas da cutícula. Estas alterações observadas ao nível do proteoma revelaram potenciais mecanismos de ação que levam aos efeitos observados ao nível do organismo. O potencial da expressão das globinas de C. riparius em estudos de monitorização ambiental foi previamente afirmado e é aqui sustentado. O decréscimo generalizado observado na expressão destas proteínas sob exposição ao spinosad e ao fipronil pode estar relacionado com os efeitos tóxicos destes inseticidas. Esta tese destaca a importância de complementar de uma forma integrada os ensaios ecotoxicológicos padronizados com ferramentas bioquímicas e moleculares. A análise de marcadores bioquímicos e do proteoma pode ser útil na avaliação de risco, contribuindo para o conhecimento dos efeitos sub-letais dos pesticidas, auxiliando na compreensão dos mecanismos que conduzem às respostas observadas nos níveis mais elevados de organização biológica. Este estudo revela também que os pesticidas testados representam um risco para os invertebrados aquáticos não alvo, e, portanto, a sua aplicação próxima de sistemas de água doce deve ser revista. Chironomus riparius, um organismo modelo em toxicologia aquática, é também aqui apresentando como um modelo promissor em estudos de proteómica ambiental.Programa Doutoral em Biologi

Design of a Class-D RF power amplifier in CMOS technology

In this thesis an RF Class-D Power Amplifier is presented. The analysis of the Class-D amplifier considering ideal components has shown that the drain efficiency of 100% can be achieved. The output power and the drain efficiency are degraded by the internal resistance of each component. A driver is used to drive the gate capacitances of the Class-D amplifier. Both driver and amplifier are implemented with CMOS inverters. The size of the inverters in the driver is scaled down by a factor of 3 relatively to the preceding stage. The first being the inverter of the Class-D amplifier. At the output a 3rd order Butterworth bandpass filter is implemented. A non-ideal analysis of the Class-D amplifier is performed to create a base model which is used to aid in the design of the circuit. The RF Class-D Power Amplifier with the operation frequency of 2.4GHz was implemented with standard 130 nm CMOS technology. Two simulations were taken into account considering ideal and pre-layout components in the output filter. The following results were obtained when using ideal components: the output power of 6.91 dBm, the drain efficiency of 40% and the overall efficiency of 23%. Using pre-layout components the results were the following: the output power of 0.317 dBm the drain and overall efficiency of 8.6% and 4.9%, respectively