Economic determinants of citizens’ support for the European Union

We investigate the determinants of public support for EU membership using a panel of fifteen countries over the 1974 - 2008 period. The results indicate that increases in inflation and unemployment rate generate a decrease in support for EU membership, while growth of GDP growth increases support. There is evidence of erosion in citizens’ support as time in the Union accumulates and when the country is under the excessive deficit procedure. Splitting the sample into different periods reveals that real economic variables were more influential in shaping citizens’ support for the EU than nominal variables during the first years of the Community, but inflation became the most relevant variable after implementation of the Treaty of the European Union.European integration, public support, economic performance, panel-data

Economic determinants of the European Union's popularity

Dissertação de mestrado em EconomiaThe purpose this dissertation is to test the impact of macroeconomic outcomes on citizens’ support for the European integration process. Citizens’ support is vital for the European integration process mainly because without their support, national governments’ will not endorse increases in the levels of integration. In order to analyse the impact of the economic conditions on the European Union’s popularity at an aggregate level, a popularity function was estimated for a panel of the first fifteen EU members, between 1974 and 2008. To control for countries’ different characteristics at different levels, a fixed effects estimation method was used. The results indicate a negative impact of unemployment variations on EU’s citizen support for the EU, and a positive impact of the degree of openness of the economies and of the percentage of trade with other EU countries. There is also evidence of the existence of a honeymoon effect in the first three years of each countries EU membership, and of a decrease in citizens’ support for the EU as time in the Union increases. When the sample is split into different integration stages, econometric results suggest that significant departures of the economic variables from what citizens consider to be ‘acceptable’ levels increase the weight citizens attribute to them in their evaluations of the EU’s performance. These results can have important implications on the EU’s policies since they reveal which variables the EU should focus on when it considers increasing its integration levelsO objectivo desta dissertação é analisar o impacto da performance económica de cada país na opinião dos seus cidadãos sobre o processo de integração europeia. O apoio dos cidadãos é vital para o processo de integração europeia principalmente porque sem ele os governos nacionais não endossarão aumentos nos níveis de integração europeia. De modo a analisar o impacto das condições económicas na popularidade da União Europeia (UE) a um nível agregado, foi estimada uma função popularidade para um painel composto pelos quinze primeiros membros da UE, entre 1974 e 2008. Para controlar para as diferentes características dos países aos mais diversos níveis, foi usado um método de estimação de efeitos fixos. Os resultados indicam um impacto negativo das variações do desemprego na opinião dos cidadãos sobre a UE, e um impacto positivo do nível de abertura da economia e da percentagem de comércio realizada com outros países da UE. Existe também evidência da existência de um efeito lua-de-mel nos primeiros três anos após a entrada de cada país na UE, e de uma diminuição da popularidade da UE em cada país ao longo do tempo. Quando a amostra é dividida em diferentes fases de integração, os resultados econométricos sugerem que desvios significativos de uma variável económica daquilo que os cidadãos consideram valores ‘aceitáveis’ aumentam o peso que os indivíduos lhes atribuem nas suas avaliações da performance da UE. Estes resultados podem ter implicações importantes nas políticas da UE dado que revelam em que variáveis a UE se deve concentrar quando considerar aumentar os seus níveis de integração

O princípio, o meio e o fim do mundo moderno: uma análise comparada de Immanuel Wallerstein, Giovanni Arrighi e José Luis Fiori

RESUMO A constituição de um pensamento brasileiro em Economia Política Internacional (EPI) teve início na década de 80 (século XX) com o objetivo de buscar uma visão crítica e autônoma com relação à matriz anglo-saxônica dominante. Com base no diálogo entre a História e a EPI, este artigo propõe uma chave de leitura comparada entre as formulações teóricas em EPI dos seguintes autores: Immanuel Wallerstein, Giovanni Arrighi e José Luis Fiori. Ainda que guardem semelhanças, suas teorias apresentam importantes distinções do ponto de vista da leitura histórica do capitalismo.   Palavras-chave: capitalismo, poder, hegemonia.     ABSTRACT The constitution of a Brazilian thought in International Political Economy (IPE) had begun during the 80’s in search of a critical and autonomous perspective in relation to the Anglo-Saxon dominant view. Based on the dialog between History and IPE, this article intends to propose a compared point of view between the IPE theories of the following authors: Immanuel Wallerstein, Giovanni Arrighi and Jose Luis Fiori. Although those theories have similarities, they also have important distinctions in relation to the historical interpretation of capitalism.   Keywords: capitalism, power, hegemony

Smartphone-based photo analysis for the evaluation of anemia, jaundice and COVID-19

Anemia and jaundice are common health conditions that affect millions of children, adults, and the elderly worldwide. Recently, the pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that leads to COVID-19, has generated an extreme worldwide concern and a huge impact on public health, education, and economy, reaching all spheres of society. The development of techniques for non-invasive diagnosis and the use of mobile health (mHealth) is reaching more and more space. The analysis of a simple photograph by smartphone can allow an assessment of a person's health status. Image analysis techniques have advanced a lot in a short time. Analyses that were previously done manually, can now be done automatically by methods involving artificial intelligence. The use of smartphones, combined with machine learning techniques for image analysis (preprocessing, extraction of characteristics, classification, or regression), capable of providing predictions with high sensitivity and specificity, seems to be a trend. We presented in this review some highlights of the evaluation of anemia, jaundice, and COVID-19 by photo analysis, emphasizing the importance of using the smartphone, machine learning algorithms, and applications that are emerging rapidly. Soon, this will certainly be a reality. Also, these innovative methods will encourage the incorporation of mHealth technologies in telemedicine and the expansion of people's access to health services and early diagnosis

Mobile Health (mHealth) and Advances in Noninvasive Diagnosis of Anemia: An Overview

Anemia is a public health problem that can have different causes, such as iron deficiency, vitamin deficiency, inflammation, hemolytic anemias, and anemias associated with bone marrow disease. Anemia shows a decrease in the concentration of hemoglobin, a pigmented molecule in the erythrocytes. The objectives of this review were to highlight the impact of nutritional factors on morbidity and mortality caused by anemia and to present different non-invasive approaches that use a smartphone to analyze hemoglobin levels to detect anemia. According to the records of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS, in the Portuguese acronym), ∼ 440,000 people checked in hospitals due to anemia between January 2015 and April 2020, with 215,000 deaths. The government spent ∼ 294 million Brazilian Reais (more than 50 million US dollars) on anemia hospitalization cases during this period. There is a worldwide search to provide noninvasive diagnostics and mobile health (mHealth) tools to help diagnosing anemia. The smartphone appears to be a viable device to detect anemia by a camera with colorimetric analysis of images providing a quantitative, instantaneous, and noninvasive result. These images can be obtained as a photograph or extracted from video frames. The review presents three different methods of detecting anemia using a smartphone: i) photoplethysmograph from video obtained from the tip of the index finger, ii) photo of the palpebral conjunctiva, and iii) fingernail photo app. Therefore, it seems urgent that these approaches may be applied in routine clinical diagnosis to allow remote, needy, low-tech locations to have access to anemia screening

A AGROINDÚSTRIA DE ALIMENTOS DE FRUTAS E HORTALIÇAS NO NORDESTE E NORTE DOS ESTADOS DE MINAS GERAIS E ESPÍRITO SANTO

A Região Nordeste tornou-se a maior produtora de frutas irrigadas e de sequeiro, resultando na instalação de unidades de processamento distribuídas em todos os estados da área de atuação do Banco do Nordeste do Brasil – BNB (Região Nordeste e norte dos Estados de Minas Gerais e Espírito Santo). Como principal órgão de desenvolvimento dessa Região, o BNB necessita conhecer as características e problemas do processamento agroindustrial de alimentos em sua área de atuação, contribuindo para suas ações e políticas em relação ao setor, sendo este o objetivo desta pesquisa. As fontes de informações para o trabalho foram entrevistas com agroindustriais, intermediários, produtores rurais, centros de pesquisa e supermercados. Os resultados permitem concluir que existem diferenças entre as categorias de agroindústria pesquisadas, principalmente no que diz respeito às formas de gestão, organização, linhas de produção, acesso à tecnologia, informações e participação no mercado. --------------------------------------------------The Northeast Region became it bigger producer of irrigated fruits and dry land, resulting in the installation of units of processing distributed in all the states of the area of performance of the Banco do Nordeste do Brasil - BNB (Northeast Region and north of the States of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo). As main agency of development of this Region, the BNB needs to know the characteristics and problems of the agro-industrial food processing in its area of performance, contributing for its action and politics in relation to the sector, being this the objective of this research. The sources of information for the work had been agro-industrial, intermediate, producing interviews with agricultural, centers of research and supermarkets. The results allow to conclude that differences between the searched categories of agroindustry exist, mainly in that it says respect to the management forms, organization, lines of production, access to the technology, information and participation in the market.Agroindústria de alimentos, Processamento de frutas e hortaliças, Região Nordeste, Foods’ agroindustry, Processing of fruits and vegetable. Northeast Region, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries,

A AGROINDÚSTRIA DE ALIMENTOS DERIVADOS DE CACAU NO NORDESTE BRASILEIRO

O objetivo deste artigo é caracterizar o setor agroindustrial de alimentos derivados de cacau no Nordeste Brasileiro. O trabalho foi desenvolvido com base na metodologia de pesquisa descritiva e explicativa, focado na identificação das características e nas inter-relações entre os elos dessa atividade econômica no Nordeste. A agroindústria de derivados de cacau no Nordeste tem se expandido e apresentado maior integração com as cadeias produtivas do setor rural. Porém, o fortalecimento do setor agroindustrial depende, ainda, do fornecimento de matérias-primas com qualidade e regularidade; estabelecimento, disseminação e fiscalização de controles de qualidade e de normas e padrões sanitários; profissionalização de dirigentes nas áreas administrativas e de agronegócios; qualificação da mão-de-obra; assistência técnica com qualidade; regulamentação da concorrência; simplificação de normas fitossanitárias; educação e conscientização de consumidores, além da elevação de renda da população.---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------The objective of this article is to characterize the agro-industrial food sector derived of cacao from Brazilian Northeast. The work was developed on the basis of the characteristics and the Inter-relations between the links of this economic activity from northeast. The agro-industry of derivatives of cacao in the Northeast if has expanded and presented bigger integration with the productive chains of the agricultural sector. However, to fortify the agro-industrial sector depends, still, of the raw material supply with quality and regularity; establishment, dissemination and fiscalization of norm and quality control and sanitary standards; professionalization of controllers in the administrative areas and agribusiness; qualification of the worker; assistance technique with quality; regulation of the competition; simplification of fitossanitaries norms; education and awareness of consumers, beyond the rise of income of the population.Agroindústria, Cacau, Nordeste Brasileiro, Agro-industry, Cacao, Brazilian Northeast, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries,

Citizen science and expert judgement: A cost-efficient combination to monitor and assess the invasiveness of non-indigenous fish escapees

Mapping the distribution and evaluating the impacts of marine non-indigenous species (NIS) are two fundamental tasks for management purposes, yet they are often time consuming and expensive. This case study focuses on the NIS gilthead seabream Sparus aurata escaped from offshore farms in Madeira Island in order to test an innovative, cost-efficient combined approach to risk assessment and georeferenced dispersal data collection. Species invasiveness was screened using the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK), and revealed a high invasion risk. Occurrences of S. aurata were assessed involving citizens in GIS participatory mapping and data from recreational fishing contests. A probability map showed that S. aurata is well dispersed around Madeira Island. This assessment proved to be a cost-efficient early warning method for detecting NIS dispersal, highlighting the urgent need for additional surveys that should search for sexually mature individuals and assess the direct and indirect impacts in the native ecosystemFundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Toxicological and anti-tumor effects of a linden extract (Tilia platyphyllos Scop.) in a HPV16-transgenic mouse model

Tilia platyphyllos Scop. is a popular broad-leaved tree, native to Central and Southern Europe. Hydroethanolic extracts rich in phenolic compounds obtained from T. platyphyllos Scop. have shown in vitro antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. The aim of this work was to evaluate the therapeutic properties of a hydroethanolic extract obtained from T. platyphyllos in HPV16-transgenic mice. The animals were divided into eight groups according to their sex and phenotype. Four groups of female: HPV+ exposed to linden (HPV linden; n = 6), HPV+ (HPV water; n = 4), HPV- exposed to linden (WT linden; n = 5) and HPV- (WT water; n = 4) and four groups of male: HPV+ exposed to linden (HPV linden; n = 5), HPV+ (HPV water; n = 5), HPV- exposed to linden (WT linden; n = 5) and HPV- (WT water; n = 7). The linden (Tilia platyphyllos Scop.) extract was orally administered at a dose of 4.5 mg/10 mL per animal (dissolved in water) and changed daily for 33 days. The hydroethanolic extract of T. platyphyllos consisted of protocatechuic acid and (-)-epicatechin as the most abundant phenolic acid and flavonoid, respectively, and was found to be stable during the studied period. In two male groups a significant positive weight gain was observed but without association with the linden extract. Histological, biochemical, and oxidative stress analyses for the evaluation of kidney and liver damage support the hypothesis that the linden extract is safe and well-tolerated under the present experimental conditions. Skin histopathology does not demonstrate the chemopreventive effect of the linden extract against HPV16-induced lesions. The linden extract has revealed a favourable toxicological profile; however, additional studies are required to determine the chemopreventive potential of the linden extract. This journal isThis work was supported by the project IBERPHENOL, project number 0377_IBERPHENOL_6_E; Interact R&D project, operation number NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017, National Funds by FCT – Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UIDB/04033/2020 (CITAB), and project UIDB/ CVT/00772/2020 (CECAV) and the post-graduation grant SFRH/ BD/136747/2018 and 2020.04789.BD; the authors are also grateful to FCT, Portugal and FEDER under programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020) and L. Barros acknowledges the national funding by FCT, P. I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract. The authors would like to thank Cantinho das Aromáticas organic farmers from Vila Nova de Gaia (Portugal) for providing the samples. This work was financially supported by: Base Funding - UIDB/00511/2020 of the Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy – LEPABE - funded by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

BALANÇO DE ONDAS CURTAS SOBRE FLORESTA SAZONALMENTE ALAGÁVEL DO PANTANAL MATO-GROSSENSE

A determinação e o entendimento do Balanço de Ondas Curtas (BOC) na interface biosfera-atmosfera é fundamental para se entender os principais processos de ordem física, química e biológica na superfície terrestre. O objetivo desse trabalho foi analisar a radiação solar global, o albedo superficial e o balanço de ondas curtas sobre uma área sazonalmente alagável no Pantanal. Os dados foram coletados em uma torre micrometeorológica instalada no Centro Avançado de Pesquisas da Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso, no Parque Baía das Pedras da Estância Ecológica SESC – Pantanal, entre novembro de 2013 até outubro de 2014. Houve influência direta do regime pluviométrico em todas as variáveis durante o período de estudo. A menor quantidade de precipitação durante a estação chuvosa e a maior durante a estação seca, em relação a normal climatológica, proporcionaram redução e aumento, respectivamente, na radiação solar incidente. Outra consequência do déficit pluviométrico na estação chuvosa e da anomalia positiva da precipitação na estação seca foi a inversão do albedo superficial entre as estações. As maiores médias do albedo superficial ocorreram durante a estação chuvosa e as menores na estação seca. A radiação solar incidente teve menor média durante o período vespertino que no período matutino ao longo de todo ano, o que indica que houve uma intensificação na formação de nuvens no período vespertino na região. Por fim, ressalta-se que o BOC foi fortemente influenciado pela variação sazonal e horária, tanto das componentes da radiação solar incidente quanto refletida