World City Network Expansion 2000-2004. An appraisal of the determinants of connectivity growth among world cities

The term “globalization” has long been vented indiscriminately everywhere with few being capable to either define or measure it. Cities are said to be at the forefront of the “works of globalization” by becoming coordinating centers for the transnational activities of multinational corporations. Ultimately, they become tied up to each other, as those activities require information inputs from different regions of the world. The article uses the advanced corporate service firms’ location patterns to measure the linkages between cities. As social, economical, cultural and political information about the cities flow through the firms’ network of branch offices, a highly connected city provides better corporate servicing to businessman wanting to do business elsewhere. By calculating the total connectivity of each city to the rest of the world, as well as total presence of global service firms within these cities, in the years 2000 and 2004, we produce a measure of the connectivity growth in the period. In a second moment, we use a linear regression model to test hypothesis concerning the determinants of connectivity growth in those cities. Results show us that connectivity growth in a city, in case of firm’s network expansion, display a “rich-get-rich” behavior on which well connected cities became even more connected. Furthermore, connectivity growth is responsive to competition, agglomeration economies, infrastructure, trade openness, human capital and the overall economic level of the country. Some of the variables behave differently according to the service firms’ sector being analyzed. In particular, we scrutinize the role of human capital as a determinant of connectivity growth in the management and banking sector, and interpret the results as a function of whether the sector is skilled-labor intensive (management) or capital intensive (banking).Globalization, World City Network, Interlock Network Model, Global City Model, Economic Geography, GaWC

Chinchillidae and Dolichotinae rodents (Rodentia: Hystricognathi: Caviomorpha) from the late Pleistocene of Southern Brazil

New records of rodents from the late Pleistocene Chuí Creek, Rio Grande do Sul State, southern Brazil, are here described. A partial dentary with fragmented cheek teeth is identified as Chinchillidae, Lagostomus Brookes cf. L. maximus (Desmarest). Other two specimens are identified as cheek teeth of Dolichotinae indet. (Caviidae). Pleistocene fossils of Lagostomus were previously reported for Argentina and Uruguay. The material of Lagostomus from Chuí Creek represents the first confidently record of this taxon Brazil. Pleistocene fossil remains of Dolichotinae have been found in Argentina, Uruguay and other areas of southern Brazil, though the Brazilian find lack precise stratigraphic information. These new records widen the paleobiogeographic distribution of Lagostomus and confirm the presence of Dolichotinae during the late Pleistocene of southern Brazil.Fil: Kerber, Leonardo. Fundação Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Pereira Lopes, Renato. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Vucetich, María Guiomar. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleontología Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Ribeiro, Ana Maria. Fundação Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Pereira, Jamil. Museu Coronel Tancredo Fernandes de Mello; Brasi

A reforma do Judiciário e processo constitucional

Analisa os pontos polêmicos da Emenda Constitucional 45/04 que trata sobre a reforma do Judiciário. Tece algumas concepções a respeito da ideia de poder advinda do Direito político. Faz uma breve releitura da teoria da Separação de Poderes de Montesquieu. Apresenta diversos pontos positivos da reforma do Judiciário e, em um segundo momento, destaca os pontos polêmicos da reforma, a saber: a súmula vinculante, o controle externo da magistratura e do Ministério Público e a federalização dos crimes cometidos contra os direitos humanos, procurando enfatizar as omissões do legislador constituinte, revelando temas cuja abordagem era essencial à modernização do Judiciário

Class action

Examina a questão da instituição das ações coletivas, 'class action' do direito norte-americano, em detrimento à demanda de natureza individual. Apresenta as espécies de class action, analisando situações em que serão aplicadas, tendo em conta os conflitos de interesses, apontando também as vantagens destas, como a maior celeridade nos processos

Development of cationic polymeric nanoparticles for plasmid DNA vaccine delivery

Cancer is the second most prevalent cause of death in the world and does not yet have a universal cure. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is among the main carcinogenic pathogens and its infection is related to several cancers, such as cervical and oropharyngeal cancers. Cervical cancer is the 4th largest cause of cancer in women worldwide. Nowadays it is considered one of the most common public health issue, principally in middle-aged women group, especially in less developed countries. The two major infectious papillomavirus genotypes are HPV16 and HPV18, and they are considered to be the most oncogenic and responsible for more than 70% of cervical cancers. Among the HPV virus oncoproteins the E7 oncoprotein inhibits the activity of the retinoblastoma protein (pRb), leading to a deregulation of the cell cycle and consequent uncontrolled growth of cells. Vaccination is considered to be the greatest contribution to global public health interventions of the latest centuries. The evolution and consequent contribution of vaccines are responsible for an impressive increase in general life expectancy. However, the current vaccines against the HPV do not have a therapeutic effect when the patient is already infected. This means that the vaccine can only prevent the infection by the HPV, but cannot treat or revert cancers induced by pre-existing and persistent HPV infections. In this way, DNA vaccines can be a promising solution for the effective treatment of HPV-infected individuals, since they can induce preventive and therapeutic immune responses. In order to be effective, the naked DNA needs to be internalized into the eukaryotic cell nucleus without degradation and the target gene expression is also dependent on the non-degradation of the DNA molecule. However, the internalization efficiency is low, due to the repulsion of the DNA by the membrane. Intramuscular delivery is one of the main routes for DNA vaccine administration. Nevertheless, it requires large amounts of the DNA administered and external stimulation to encourage the internalization of the DNA into the eukaryotic cells. In this work, we consider biocompatible drug delivery systems that can protect, carry and help the cellular internalization of DNA vaccines. This can lead to alternative and less invasive administration routes, such as intranasal administration. In this context, Chitosan (CS) polyplexes using sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as a crosslinker were designed and prepared using the ionotropic gelation method. Several parameters that may affect the systems formulation were investigated, including different TPP and CS volumes and concentrations, DNA concentrations, flow rate speed addition of TPP/DNA/pDNA solution. These nanocarriers were characterized in terms of size, surface charge, encapsulation efficiency, morphology, stability and cellular viability exploring two different cell lines. Ultimately, the verification of cell internalization and consequent target gene expression encoded in the DNA vaccine was also verified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and reverse transcription-quantitative real-time. The results showed that the variation of parameters allowed to overcome an ordinary challenge regarding the CS systems achieving monodisperse nanoparticles (NPs) with good size, bellow 200 nm and encapsulation efficiency higher than 60%. The nanoparticles analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) present spherical or oval shapes in nano sizes. Stability studies demonstrated that the polyplexes are able to protect encapsulated DNA from serine proteases, trypsin, DMEM-F12 medium supplemented with 10% of fetal bovine serum, and Dulbecco´s Modified Eagle´s Medium with High Glucose (DMEM-HG) supplemented with 10% not inactivated fetal bovine serum. Resazurin assay showed that the systems are biocompatible supporting that no cytotoxicity is induced. In addition, the PCR and RT-qPCR results showed that produced nanoparticles have the desired and intended effect, showing that they are suitable for cell uptake, internalization, and gene expression. In conclusion, the presented results revealed that the CS-TPP-pDNA polyplexes are suitable as a good nanocarrier for plasmid DNA vaccine delivery.O cancro é a segunda causa de morte mais prevalente no mundo e ainda não tem cura universal. O papilomavírus humano (HPV) está entre os principais patógenos carcinogénicos e a sua infecção está relacionada com diversos tipos de cancro, como cancro do colo do útero e orofaríngeo. O cancro do colo do útero é a quarta maior causa de cancro em mulheres em todo o mundo. Atualmente é considerado um dos problemas mais comuns de saúde pública, principalmente no grupo de mulheres de meia-idade, principalmente nos países menos desenvolvidos. Os dois principais genótipos infecciosos do papilomavirus são HPV16 e HPV18, e são considerados os mais oncogénicos e responsáveis por mais de 70% dos cancros de colo do útero. Entre as oncoproteínas do vírus HPV a oncoproteína E7 inibe a atividade da proteína retinoblastoma (pRb), levando à desregulação do ciclo celular e consequente crescimento descontrolado de células. A vacinação é considerada a maior contribuição para as intervenções de saúde pública global dos últimos séculos. A evolução e consequente contribuição das vacinas são responsáveis por um aumento assentuado da expectativa geral de vida. No entanto, as vacinas atuais contra o vírus do HPV não têm efeito terapêutico quando o paciente já está infectado. Isso significa que a vacina só pode prevenir a infecção pelo HPV, mas não pode tratar ou reverter os cancros induzidos por infecções por HPV pré-existentes e persistentes. Dessa forma, as vacinas de DNA podem ser uma solução promissora para o tratamento eficaz de indivíduos infectados pelo HPV, uma vez que podem induzir respostas imunes preventivas e terapêuticas. Para ser eficaz, o DNA precisa ser internalizado no núcleo da célula eucariótica sem degradação e a expressão do gene alvo também depende da não degradação da molécula de DNA. Porém, a eficiência de internalização é baixa, devido à repulsão do DNA pela membrana. A administração intramuscular é uma das principais vias de administração da vacina de DNA. No entanto, requer grandes quantidades de DNA a ser administrado e estimulação externa para aumentar a internalização do DNA nas células eucarióticas. Neste trabalho, consideramos sistemas de entrega de fármacos biocompatíveis que irão proteger, transportar e auxiliar a internalização celular das vacinas de DNA. Isto pode oferecer uma via de administração alternativa e menos invasiva, como a administração intranasal. Neste contexto, poliplexos de quitosano usando tripolifosfato de sódio (TPP) como um agente reticulante foram desenvolvidos e aperfeiçoados usando o método de gelificação ionotrópica. Vários parâmetros que podem afetar a formulação do sistema foram investigados, incluindo diferentes volumes e concentrações de TPP e quitosano, concentrações de DNA, taxa de fluxo de adição de solução de TPP/DNA/pDNA. Esses nano-transportadores foram caracterizados em termos de tamanho, carga de superfície, eficiência de encapsulação, morfologia, estabilidade, viabilidade celular explorando duas linhagens celulares diferentes. Por fim, a verificação da internalização celular e consequente expressão do gene alvo codificado na vacina de DNA também foi verificada pelas técnicas de reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) e reverse transcription-quantitative real-time (RT-qPCR). Os resultados mostraram que a variação dos parâmetros permitiu superar um desafio comum em relação aos sistemas de quitosano, obtendo nanopartículas monodispersas com tamanhos reduzidos, abaixo de 200nm, e eficiência de encapsulação superior a 60%. As nanopartículas analisadas por microscopia eletrónica de varrimento apresentam formas esféricas ou ovais em nano tamanhos. Estudos de estabilidade demonstraram que os poliplexos são capazes de proteger o DNA encapsulado de proteases, tripsina, meio DMEM-F12 suplementado com 10% de soro fetal bovino e meio de Eagle modificado por Dulbecco com alta glicose (DMEM-HG) suplementado com 10% de soro fetal bovino não inativado. O ensaio de resazurina mostrou que os sistemas são biocompatíveis, garantindo que nenhuma citotoxicidade será induzida. Além disso, os resultados de PCR e RT-qPCR mostraram que as nanopartículas produzidas têm o efeito desejado e pretendido, mostrando que são adequadas para captação celular, internalização e expressão génica. Em conclusão, os resultados apresentados revelaram que os poliplexos quitosano-TPPpDNA são adequados como um bom nano-transportador para a entrega de vacina de DNA plasmídico

Assessing the state of implementation of the National Archives and Records Management act at Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique

Archival legislation is a crucial tool for the public sector to ensure the management, preservation and access of a country’s national documentary heritage. In Mozambique, archival legislation has been enacted which sets the scene for records appraisal and disposition, as well as classification schemes and retention schedules for administrative records of governmental bodies falling under the auspices of the Act. As a result, public agencies in Mozambique are required by the archival legislation to adopt a systematic and organized approach to the management of their records from creation to disposal. Despite this, the records management processes of many public entities in Mozambique have remained ineffective and inefficient. This study utilized the record life cycle concept as a framework to assess the state of implementation of the National Archives and Records Management Act at Eduardo Mondlane University (EMU) in Mozambique. The study applied a quantitative research approach with triangulation of data collection tools, namely, questionnaire and document analysis. The study revealed that EMU has only established one central records appraisal and disposal committee for its directorate units, which has not coped with the records management demands from other academic units such as faculties, schools and research centers. In most of the academic units the records management staff were not involved in the training, records appraisal and disposal processes, as well as in the destruction and/or transfer of records to the Mozambique Historical Archives (MHA), as required by legislation. The study concludes that most EMU units do not comply with archival legislation resulting in few provisions of the Act being implemented. The study therefore recommends that the records management function at EMU should put in place the basic procedures of control for records management systems with the leadership taking a proative role in the strategic planning, budgeting and monitoring. A further empirical study on the assessment of the state of implementation of the National Archives and Records Management Act throughout the entire public sector in Mozambique is recommended.Information ScienceM. Inf. (Archival Science

Coupled electronic and morphologic changes in graphene oxide upon electrochemical reduction

Peer reviewedPostprin