Entrepreneurial Activity and Civil War in Colombia: Exploring the Mutual Determinants between Armed Conflict and the Private Sector

TAs elsewhere, the Colombian private sector has been accused of promoting or profiting from violence in the country. However, the private sector’s role in the armed conflict and the impact of conflict on entrepreneurial activity vary, as reflected by differences in political activism, in peacebuilding strategies and in costs endured according to company size, sector, and region of operations. At the same time, accounts of regional variation in conflict intensity suggest that an understanding of the Colombian confrontation requires a subnational approach. This paper explores whether and how differences in regional armed armed conflict can be attributed to differences in entrepreneurial make-up and activity associated with five natural resources, produced in different regions (oil, coffee, bananas, emeralds, and flowers). This paper suggests that company-specific traits, institutions of production, and the nature of international markets have a significant impact on the link between entrepreneurial activity and armed conflict in Colombian regions.Colombia, armed conflict, entrepreneurship, private sector, natural resources, multinational companies

Violencia política, democratización y acuerdos de paz: algunas lecciones de América Latina

Introducción La interconexión entre los regímenes y la violencia política constituye un fenómeno bastante complejo. En el nivel internacional, los defensores de la tesis de la"paz democrática" sostienen que las democracias tienden a no hacerle la guerra al otro. Pueden estar a favor de la guerra tanto como otros tipos de regímenes, pero usualmente luchan contra las no-democracias. En el nivel interno, la democracia también se ha propuesto como un método de no-violencia. Un reciente estudio he..

Agenda de paz y reformas:¿Qué se puede y qué se debe negociar? Rreflexiones para un debate

Este artículo explora qué elementos pueden y (probablemente) deben incluirse hacia el futuro en una agenda de negociaciones de paz entre el gobierno y los grupos guerrilleros en Colombia. A partir de un análisis de las tesis sobre el papel de la pobreza y la inequidad en la reproducción de la guerra colombiana, se argumenta que el conflicto armado colombiano no tiene causas económicas simples, ni soluciones económicas obvias. Por consiguiente, se proponen distintas alternativas de negociación a ser consideradas en materia de régimen político, en particular varios incentivos que pueden estimular a los grupos rebeldes para que dejen las armas y se incorporen a la democracia.This article explores various elements that could and (perhaps) should be included in a future peace negotiating agenda between the Colombian government and rebel groups. After analyzing the role of poverty and inequality in the reproduction of the armed conflict, it is argued that the Colombian war does not have clear-cut economic causes, or simple economic solutions. In consequence, the article establishes a series of distinct negotiating scenarios based upon changes to the political regime that might provide incentives to rebel groups to lay down their weapons and incorporate themselves into the democratic system

Non coding RNA and brain

Small non coding RNAs are a group of very different RNA molecules, present in virtually all cells, with a wide spectrum of regulatory functions which include RNA modification and regulation of protein synthesis. They have been isolated and characterized in all organisms and tissues, from Archaeobacteria to mammals. In mammalian brain there are a number of these small molecules, which are involved in neuronal differentiation as well as, possibly, in learning and memory. In this manuscript, we analyze the present knowledge about the function of the most important groups of small non-coding RNA present in brain: small nucleolar RNAs, small cytoplasmic RNAs, and microRNAs. The last ones, in particular, appear to be critical for dictating neuronal cell identity during development and to play an important role in neurite growth, synaptic development and neuronal plasticity

La guerra civil

Hoy se acepta que el conflicto armado interno en Colombia es una guerra, pero se discute si ésta puede calificarse de civil o no. ¿Considera usted que el conflicto armado que experimenta el país es una guerra civil? Si está de acuerdo, ¿qué elementos permiten calificarlo de esta manera? Si no, ¿qué aspectos impiden que lo sea? Carlo Nasi. El conflicto armado colombiano sí puede considerarse como una ‘guerra civil’. En ciencias sociales la formación de conceptos depende de acuerdos inter- subj..

Editorial

Que los grupos armados ilegales requieren alcanzar una viabilidad financiera para mantenerse y (excepcionalmente) tomarse el poder es un hecho ampliamente comprobado en diferentes contextos nacionales. De igual manera, hay un creciente consenso académico en lo que se refiere a que la búsqueda de lucro constituye una motivación insuficiente para dar cuenta de las múltiples formas que adoptan los conflictos armados internos en diferentes países. En pocas palabras, si antes la pregunta era ¿codi..

Emerging role of Lon protease as a master regulator of mitochondrial functions

Lon protease is a nuclear-encoded, mitochondrial ATP-dependent protease highly conserved throughout the evolution, crucial for the maintenance of mitochondrial homeostasis. Lon acts as a chaperone of misfolded proteins, and is necessary for maintaining mitochondrial DNA. The impairment of these functions has a deep impact on mitochondrial functionality and morphology. An altered expression of Lon leads to a profound reprogramming of cell metabolism, with a switch from respiration to glycolysis, which is often observed in cancer cells. Mutations of Lon, which likely impair its chaperone properties, are at the basis of a genetic inherited disease named of the cerebral, ocular, dental, auricular, skeletal (CODAS) syndrome. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'EBEC 2016: 19th European Bioenergetics Conference, Riva del Garda, Italy, July 2-6, 2016', edited by Prof. Paolo Bernardi

Guerra Civil

Hoy se acepta que el conflicto armado interno en Colombia es una guerra, pero se discute si ésta puede calificarse de civil o no. ¿Considera usted que el conflicto armado que experimenta el país es una guerra civil? Si está de acuerdo, ¿qué elementos permiten calificarlo de esta manera? Si no, ¿qué aspectos impiden que lo sea? Llamar "guerra civil" al conflicto que sufre Colombia me parece un error. Mayor equivocación es aún referirse a una supuesta "guerra civil" que los colombianos habríamo..

Role of interface and morphology in the magnetic behaviour of perpendicular thin films based on L10 FePt

FePt L10 ordered alloy is a promising material for high-density magnetic recording, since it allows the ferromagnetic stability in particles of few nanometers. Here we present our recent studies on the correlation between magnetic and morphological/interfacial properties of FePt -based thin films, nanostructures, and nano-composite bilayers. L10 FePt (001) epitaxial thin films with high structural quality were grown on (100) MgO by sputtering r.f., using the alternate-layer deposition method. By playing with growth temperature on the one hand and post-annealing temperature and time on the other, we have been able to finely control epitaxy, structural order, and morphology from 3D laterally confined structures to continuous film, with desired grain size. In particular we have been able to decrease grain size and to optimise magnetic properties (increase of anisotropy/coercivity ratio) at the same time, by post-annealing in situ [1]. Laterally confined magnetic structures were also obtained by focused ion beam (FIB). We have shown that for suitable Ga+ doses (1?1014 ion/cm2), it is possible to transform the L10 ordered phase to the A1 disordered one, without affecting morphology, giving rise to substantial modifications of magnetic properties from hard to soft. Perpendicular 2D magnetic patterns (dots, stripes) in a soft easy-plane matrix were realized in films of continuous morphology [2]. FePt L10 has also been exploited as the hard layer of nanostructured hard-soft nanocomposite bilayers. The exploitation of the exchange-coupling between hard and soft layers in exchange-coupled media represents a possible approach to overcome the so-called "recording trilemma" [3]. The samples were prepared by growing a magnetically soft Fe layer (2 and 3.5 nm) over a hard FePt(001) layer (10 nm). Three bilayers series have been grown based on FePt epitaxial layers with high degree of chemical order (S≥0.76) and different morphologies, corresponding to different interface characteristics. The resulting hard layer anisotropy is high (K>1?107 erg/cm3), and the coercivity is increased by the grains separation (from 1.7 to 3 T). In the Fe/FePt bilayers the coercivity HC is strongly reduced compared to the hard layer value (HC/HChard down to 0.37), indicating that high anisotropy perpendicular systems with moderate coercivity can be obtained [4]. Moreover, the control of the interface morphology allows to modify the magnetic regime at fixed Fe thickness (Rigid Magnet to Exchange-Spring), due to the nanoscale structure effect on the hard/soft coupling, and to tailor the hysteresis loop characteristics

Anti-TNF-α drugs differently affect the TNFa-sTNFR system and monocyte subsets in patients with psoriasis

TNF-a has a central role in the development and maintenance of psoriatic plaques, and its serum levels correlate with disease activity. Anti-TNF-a drugs are, however, ineffective in a relevant percentage of patients for reasons that are currently unknown. To understand whether the response to anti-TNF-a drugs is influenced by the production of anti-drug antibodies or by the modulation of the TNFa-TNFa receptor system, and to identify changes in monocyte phenotype and activity, we analysed 119 psoriatic patients who either responded or did not respond to different anti-TNF-a therapies (adalimumab, etanercept or infliximab), and measured plasma levels of TNF-a, TNF-a soluble receptors, drug and anti-drug antibodies. Moreover, we analyzed the production of TNF-a and TNF-α soluble receptors by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and characterized different monocyte populations. We found that: i) the drug levels varied between responders and non-responders; ii) anti-infliximab antibodies were present in 15% of infliximab-treated patients, while anti-etanercept or anti-adalimumab antibodies were never detected; iii) plasma TNF-a levels were higher in patients treated with etanercept compared to patients treated with adalimumab or infliximab; iv) PBMCs from patients responding to adalimumab and etanercept produced more TNF-a and sTNFRII in vitro than patients responding to infliximab; v) PBMCs from patients not responding to infliximab produce higher levels of TNF-a and sTNFRII than patients responding to infliximab; vi) anti- TNF-a drugs significantly altered monocyte subsets. A complex remodelling of the TNFa-TNFa receptor system thus takes place in patients treated with anti-TNF-α drugs, that involves either the production of anti-drug antibodies or the modulation of monocyte phenotype or inflammatory activity