Decentralization in Colombia

In the 1990’s descentralization in Colombia, a process which had begun a decade earlier, was sharply accelerated. The percentage of current Central Government revenues that are automatically transferred to the regional governments quickly jumped from about 20% to over 40%. Many analysts attribute the sharp fiscal deterioration experienced in the country to this decision. Regional governments, indeed, accumulated substantial amounts of debt and currently face serious financial difficulties. This paper is policy oriented. After a discussion of the central issues associated with descentralization in general, we turn to the specific case of Colombia. Our analysis highlights three aspects: (a) the rules that govern how a particular region’s transfers are defined. (b) the rules that govern how these resources must be spent and (c) the rules governing a regional government’s ability to issue debt. Rules governing how a region receives transfers from the central government have several problems. Firstly, they are not linked to any explicit and simple consideration of its contribution to total central government revenues, they lack simple redistributive criteria (from richer to poorer regions) and they do not sufficiently reward regional fiscal performance. Our proposals seek to correct these three deficiencies. Second, the rules that govern expenditures by the regional governments are too tight. We propose sharply reducing the constraints that face majors and governors. Third, the ability to run deficits and issue debt, in a context that includes moral hazard, has already become a source of problems. We propose a balanced budget rule for regional governments. We also argue in favor of reelection of the regional authorities (mayors and governors) as an incentive mechanism that enhances the effects of these reforms.Descentralización, Economía Institucional, Reformas Institucionales, Colombia

SERS study of different species of p-aminothiophenol adsorbed on silver nanoparticles

In the present work we have focused the discussion on the experimental and theoretical SERS spectra of the organic compound pATP recorded on silver colloids. The huge SERS of pATP on metal substrates is significantly different from its ordinary Raman spectra due to the formation of a new specie namely p,p’ –dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB). The features of the SERS spectra of pATP are strongly dependent on many factors as i.e. the laser power density or the laser wavelength but there are still important aspects to understand as, for example, the effect of the concentration that has already been studied before by our group. In this case we have analyzed the effect of the concentration at different wavelengths on the SERS spectra of pATP on silver nanoparticles.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Arteterapia, género y comunicación. Experiencias creativas emergentes

La Arteterapia como disciplina es facilitadora de activar nuevas funciones ejecutivas a través de los lenguajes en los que se expresa, incentivando la comunicación con el inconsciente y posibilitando otras alternativas al pensamiento lógico. Programas arteterapéuticos desarrollados desde una dimensión formativa, educadora, experimental y como intervención social y psicológica posibilitan reafirmar la interacción con el arte y la creatividad como una forma de inducción y actuación en materia de género. A través de la exploración de intervenciones realizadas en el ámbito educativo y social en materia de género desde la Arteterapia y del análisis y revisión de las revistas especializadas publicadas en nuestro país, se evidencian experiencias creativas emergentes como formas de construcción de la identidad, el género y su expresión

The tep1 gene of Sinorhizobium meliloti coding for a putative transmembrane efflux protein and N-acetyl glucosamine affect nod gene expression and nodulation of alfalfa plants

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Soil bacteria collectively known as <it>Rhizobium</it>, characterized by their ability to establish beneficial symbiosis with legumes, share several common characteristics with pathogenic bacteria when infecting the host plant. Recently, it was demonstrated that a <it>fadD </it>mutant of <it>Sinorhizobium meliloti </it>is altered in the control of swarming, a type of co-ordinated movement previously associated with pathogenicity, and is also impaired in nodulation efficiency on alfalfa roots. In the phytopathogen <it>Xanthomonas campestris</it>, a <it>fadD </it>homolog (<it>rpfB</it>) forms part of a cluster of genes involved in the <it>r</it>egulation of <it>p</it>athogenicity <it>f</it>actors. In this work, we have investigated the role in swarming and symbiosis of SMc02161, a <it>S. meliloti fadD</it>-linked gene.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The SMc02161 locus in <it>S. meliloti </it>shows similarities with members of the Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS) of transporters. A <it>S. meliloti </it>null-mutant shows increased sensitivity to chloramphenicol. This indication led us to rename the locus <it>tep1 </it>for <it>t</it>ransmembrane <it>e</it>fflux <it>p</it>rotein. The lack of <it>tep1 </it>does not affect the appearance of swarming motility. Interestingly, nodule formation efficiency on alfalfa plants is improved in the <it>tep1 </it>mutant during the first days of the interaction though <it>nod </it>gene expression is lower than in the wild type strain. Curiously, a <it>nodC </it>mutation or the addition of <it>N</it>-acetyl glucosamine to the wild type strain lead to similar reductions in <it>nod </it>gene expression as in the <it>tep1 </it>mutant. Moreover, aminosugar precursors of Nod factors inhibit nodulation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>tep1 </it>putatively encodes a transmembrane protein which can confer chloramphenicol resistance in <it>S. meliloti </it>by expelling the antibiotic outside the bacteria. The improved nodulation of alfalfa but reduced <it>nod </it>gene expression observed in the <it>tep1 </it>mutant suggests that Tep1 transports compounds which influence nodulation. In contrast to <it>Bradyrhizobium japonicum</it>, we show that in <it>S. meliloti </it>there is no feedback regulation of nodulation genes. Moreover, the Nod factor precursor, <it>N</it>-acetyl glucosamine reduces <it>nod </it>gene expression and nodulation efficiency when present at millimolar concentrations. A role for Tep1 in the efflux of Nod factor precursors could explain the phenotypes associated with <it>tep1 </it>inactivation.</p

Retos para la inclusión digital : propuestas de futuro

Los días 22 a 25 de septiembre de 2004 se celebró en Murcia el III Congreso Nacional de Tecnología, Diversidad y Educación (Tecnoneet 2004), un foro de encuentro y discusión de carácter pluridisciplinar y abierto a profesionales, usuarios y familias que trabajan, investigan o utilizan las nuevas tecnologías en el campo de la discapacidad y las necesidades educativas específicas. Con motivo de dicho evento, los Comités Científico y Organizador elaboraron un documento de conclusiones del que ofrecemos un extracto. Se puede consultar íntegro en http://www.tecnoneet.or

The Evaluation of Public Policies from the Perspective of the Agenda 21 of Culture: a Case Study

This research shows the results of the implementation of a public cultural policy at the municipal level and has as a main objective to evaluate, from the perspective of the agenda 21 of culture, the program "Art for social development" by the Municipal Institute of Art and Culture developed in a secondary-level boarding school located at the Topolobampo community, in the municipality of Ahome, Mexico. A QUAN-QUAL methodology was used with instruments like questionnaires applied to the young participants and interviews with the workshop facilitators and administrative staff. Guitar, painting and theatre workshops were given, through which the development of new artistic expression skills was achieved, as well as contributing to the strengthening of social behaviors such as tolerance, patience and interpersonal communication, among others. It was found the constant need of having permanent programs of integral training, both in the field of artistic training and socio-emotional, giving priority to groups at risk, such as students of the boarding school that mostly come from families of scarce resources, some of the low performance academic and aggressive behavior. The conclusion is that public policies are required to promote greater articulation of education and culture in order to have a stronger impact on the social and cultural inclusion of young people

Mil borradores de economía en veintitrés años

En junio de 2017 la serie Borradores de Economía llegó a su número 1.000. Veintitrés años después de su inicio, los documentos de trabajo de la Subgerencia de Estudios Económicos del Banco de la República han servido para incentivar y difundir la investigación realizada por los empleados de la institución. A lo largo de estos años Borradores de Economía se ha posicionado no solo en el ámbito nacional sino en el internacional como una serie de calidad y reconocimiento significativos

Volvimos al centro de Manizales

Nuestra visión de tener una actividad cultural con enfoque regional, incluyente, proyectada para las generaciones futuras y que contribuya a la formación de ciudadanos, acaba de cumplir un nuevo reto con la reapertura del Centro Cultural de Manizales. Desde 1981 plantamos una semilla en el centro de la ciudad cuando en el entonces edificio dedicado a la labor bancaria se abrió una biblioteca que se fue fortaleciendo a lo largo de los años. Es significativo que regresemos hoy a este lugar con un edificio diseñado especialmente para gestionar nuestras colecciones de arte y arqueología, nuestros servicios de biblioteca pública conectados a una red nacional y con nuestra actividad musical

Oralidad, sonido e imagen: las apuestas del Banco de la República en San Andrés, Manizales y Buenaventura

En San Andrés, Manizales y Buenaventura, los tres nuevos edificios inaugurados entre 2016 y 2017 han atendido 1.142.750 usuarios con actividades culturales diferenciadas.Esta nota editorial describe los espacios de creación colaborativa desarrollados para atender la vocación local determinada de estas tres ciudades, e incluye una historia de vida de un usuario, la cual ilustra el impacto de estos centros culturales en el entorno regional

Instrumentos de política macroprudencial en Colombia

Esta Nota tiene como objetivo presentar una definición comúnmente aceptada de lo que se conoce como políticas macroprudenciales y su medición a la luz de los diferentes desarrollos de la literatura en este tema. Asimismo, se compara la experiencia de Colombia en el uso de estas políticas con las de otros países. Para este efecto, se hace referencia a una nueva base de información del Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI) que tiene como objetivo reportar las diferentes prácticas internacionales en torno al uso de políticas macroprudenciales