Enhanced financial mechanisms for post 2012 mitigation

Despite the many calls to reform the CDM, its conceptual underpinnings are strong and it will most likely survive in the post-2012 climate regime. Some modifications may be considered in the short term to strengthen the effectiveness and transparency of the mechanism without modifying the Marrakesh Accords. In the medium term substantially increased mitigation efforts in developing countries may require a combination of three possible financial mechanisms: the current activity-based CDM albeit improved, a second market mechanism that would seek to improve the long term emission trends of developing countries by promoting broad based emission reduction programs primarily in the private sector, and a third financial mechanism outside of the market which would be an incentive for the adoption of policy changes leading to a low carbon path, but where emission reductions would not be used as international offsets.Environmental Economics&Policies,Carbon Policy and Trading,Montreal Protocol,Energy and Environment,Environment and Energy Efficiency

Behavior of the collective rotor in wobbling motion

The behavior of the collective rotor in wobbling motion is investigated within the particle-rotor model for the nucleus $^{135}$Pr by transforming the wave functions from the $K$-representation to the $R$-representation. After reproducing the experimental energy spectra and wobbling frequencies, the evolution of the wobbling mode in $^{135}$Pr, from transverse at low spins to longitudinal at high spins, is illustrated by the distributions of the total angular momentum in the intrinsic reference frame (azimuthal plot). Finally, the coupling schemes of the angular momenta of the rotor and the high-$j$ particle for transverse and longitudinal wobbling are obtained from the analysis of the probability distributions of the rotor angular momentum ($R$-plots) and their projections onto the three principal axes ($K_R$-plots).Comment: 21 pages, 9 page

Antioxidant status in acute stroke patients and patients at stroke risk

Background and Purpose: Antioxidant enzymes like copper/ zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and gluthatione peroxidase (GSHPx) are part of intracellular protection mechanisms to overcome oxidative stress and are known to be activated in vascular diseases and acute stroke. We investigated the differences of antioxidant capacity in acute stroke and stroke risk patients to elucidate whether the differences are a result of chronic low availability in arteriosclerosis and stroke risk or due to changes during acute infarction. Methods: Antioxidant enzymes were examined in 11 patients within the first hours and days after acute ischemic stroke and compared to risk- and age-matched patients with a history of stroke in the past 12 months ( n = 17). Antioxidant profile was determined by measurement of glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), SOD, GSHPx and minerals known to be involved in antioxidant enzyme activation like selenium, iron, copper and zinc. Results: In comparison to stroke risk patients, patients with acute ischemic stroke had significant changes of the GSH system during the first hours and days after the event: GSH was significantly elevated in the first hours (p < 0.01) and GSHPx was elevated 1 day after the acute stroke (p < 0.05). Selenium, a cofactor of GSHPx, was decreased (p < 0.01). GSHPx levels were negatively correlated with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores on admission (r = - 0.84, p < 0.001) and NIHSS scores after 7 days ( r = - 0.63, p < 0.05). MDA levels showed a trend for elevation in the first 6 h after the acute stroke ( p = 0.07). No significant differences of SOD, iron, copper nor zinc levels could be identified. Conclusions: Differences of antioxidant capacity were found for the GSH system with elevation of GSH and GSHPx after acute stroke, but not for other markers. The findings support the hypothesis that changes of antioxidant capacity are part of acute adaptive mechanisms during acute stroke. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

La cultura del contraste. Sobre la diferencia y el sentido de pertenencia. El caso de los gitanos.

Actualmente, en la Antropología y en la Sociología, existen discursos sobre los gitanos en los que confluyen formas muy distintas de entenderlos. El punto de vista que se defiende en este artículo se centra en las relaciones culturales que se establecen entre las poblaciones mayoritarias y las minorías. Para explicar estas relaciones se parte del concepto de «cismogénesis» de Gregory Bateson, y del «Modelaje antagónico de estilo» de Wilhelm Emil Mühlmann. Únicamente cuando se conoce profundamente a la otra parte, se puede dar un distanciamiento cultural deliberado: sólo tiene sentido «separar mesa y cama» si se vive en un espacio común. Un rasgo muy característico de la cultura gitana del contraste consiste en eludir el conflicto por medio de la evasión, es decir, recurriendo a la movilidad. Otros rasgos culturales han sido estudiados por Judith Okely (1983) en su conocida obra Complejo de pureza. Se trata de características en apariencia un tanto arcaicas, a las que no pocos relacionan con la India. En la sociedad industrial occidental, en la que son muchos los que desconocen este «complejo», la separación de lo puro y de lo impuro se convierte en un recurso excelente para construir fronteras sociales. En el próximo oriente, por el contrario, donde está muy extendida en la sociedad mayoritaria una concepción igual o similar de la pureza, los gitanos pueden obtener beneficios para la propia cultura transgrediendo reiteradamente esos tabúes

The splintered art world of Contemporary Christian Music

...More than twenty years after CCM was begun, the Evangelical world still does not entirely trust rock music - Christian or otherwise - and in the context of this controversy CCM was born, has taken shape, and continues to evolve (Cusic 1990, p. 197). Consequently, out of the necessity to respond to the suspicions of the church (as well as the pressures of the rock music industry), the CCM art world has been forced to develop rationales for the acceptance of the rock idiom as a means for communicating a Christian message. While young fans have had to find rationales to justify their musical preferences to parents, pastors, and friends, it is the artist who has been most often expected to articulate these ration- ales. In addition to defending themselves from the attacks of their \u27Rock music is inherently evil\u27 opponents, artists also must justify their product to their record buying audience. John Styll (1993), editor of Contemporary Christian Music magazine, argues that it has been the audience which, from the beginning, has resisted the artists\u27 attempts to expand their range of subject matter beyond the gospel itself (p. 42). Hence, the artist must play the role of critic, as well as artist, in the CCM art world. Therefore, in our examination of the splintered art world of Contemporary Christian Music we pay particular attention to the rationales developed by artists, as well as those of the \u27pure\u27 critic..

La tolerancia del infiel. Sobre la relación entre monoteísmo y derechos humanos

Los Derechos Humanos universales no pudieron surgir del sustrato de las religiones del Libro, pues éstas sólo aceptan a no creyentes e infieles tras haberse convertido. Sólo cuando las creencias de cada persona son igual de válidas, pierden su carácter amenazador o blasfemo. Parece que este estadio se ha alcanzado en el Occidente secularizado. En todas las demás regiones del mundo, las creencias han conservado e incluso aumentado su carácter vinculante. Así, fuera del mundo moderno los Derechos Humanos se hallan en mala situación. Además, en su interior los inmigrantes creyentes cuestionan de nuevo la recién alcanzada tolerancia y despiertan a un nuevo fundamentalismo. Las tendencias mesiánicas, investigadas por Riesebrodt, Kepel et al., representan hoy la mayor amenaza de las sociedades modernas y su idea de unos Derechos Humanos universales.The Human Rights could not arise on the ground of expanding book religions, because these accept others or non–believers only after their conversion. Only if belief itself has become indifferent it looses its threatening and blasphemy. In the secularized western countries this stadium seems to be reached. In all other world regions the belief has conserved much of its . obligation or has even grown in it. Therefore the Human Rights find bad conditions outside the modern world, and even inside the believers among the immigrants question the newly established tolerance or challenge a new fundamentalism. The messianic movements studied by Riesebrodt, Kepel and others are the main danger for the modern societies and their idea of general human rights.Die allgemeinen Menschenrechte konnten nicht auf dem Boden expandierender Schriftreligionen entstehen, da diese Anders— und Ungläubige erst nach ihrer Konversion akzeptieren. Nur wenn der jeweilige Glaube gleich–gültig ist, verliert er seine Bedrohlichkeit oder Frevelhaftigkeit. Dieses Stadium scheint im säkularen Westen erreicht zu sein. In allen anderen Weltregionen hat der Glaube viel von seiner Verbindlichkeit bewahrt oder ist darin sogar gewachsen. Damit steht es außerhalb der modernen Welt schlecht um die Menschenrechte und auch innerhalb stellen gläubige Immigranten die erst vor kurzem errungene Toleranz wieder in Frage, bzw. wecken einen neuen Fundamentalismus. Die von Riesebrodt, Kepel u.a. untersuchten messianistischen Richtungen stellen heute die größte Bedrohung der modernen Gesellschaft und ihrer Idee allgemeiner Menschenrechte dar

Population dynamic of porcine parvovirus indicates decrease of variability

Projeto/Plano de Ação: 02.11.10.600-03

Climate readiness in smallholder agricultural systems: lessons learned from REDD+

The debate around the role that agriculture should play in mitigating climate change and sequestering greenhouse gases is politically complex and technically complicated. In many countries, and particularly in developing countries with a large smallholder population, the agricultural sector faces competing priorities, such as national food security goals, poverty alleviation, addressing natural resource degradation and adapting to the already visible effects of climate change. Many of these goals are closer to the immediate, short-term priorities of national decision-makers, relegating climate change mitigation to a secondary priority. It is therefore essential to implement mitigation strategies in concert with strategies that increase the resilience and increase the productivity of agricultural systems. Despite differences in the forestry and the agricultural sectors, experiences from the REDD+ process, and particularly its readiness phase, can offer useful lessons for an agricultural readiness process. The REDD+ readiness process created an overall coherent structure, framework and process of guiding countries towards developing the technical and institutional ability to integrate mitigation activities into their forestry sectors. An overview of the lessons learned from REDD+ Readiness, organized by objectives, governance, process, scope and finance, is provided in this working paper