Desenvolvimento econômico, preferência pela liquidez e acesso bancário: um estudo de caso [Economic development, liquidity preference and access to bank services: a case study].

The aim of this paper is to study the access to bank services and the public liquidity preference in Minas Gerais. The theoretical approach will be post-keynesian, which suggests that in peripherical regions the liquidity preference would be higher, due to the uncertainty. This situation leads to fewer bank branches, less information within the peripheral region and lower willingness in lending by the bank system. In this way, regions with higher liquidity preferences and lower access to bank services are supposed to show credit problems, what make their development more difficult.economic development; financial system; post-Keynesian

Schools—District Liability: Political Subdivision Liability and School Duties Prevail Over Recreational Use Immunity

M.M. v. Fargo Public School District No. 1, 2010 ND 102, 783 N.W.2d 806In M.M. v. Fargo Public School District No. 1, the North Dakota Supreme Court held North Dakota’s recreational use immunity statutes were not applicable when a student was injured on school grounds during school hours. Thus, a school district, as a political subdivision, can be liable for a student’s injuries pursuant to section 32-12.1-03 of the North Dakota Century Code. Recreational use immunity statutes, or some variation of the statutes, can be found in all states and are in place to encourage landowners to open their property for recreational purposes without facing the risks of liability. While landowners do not have a duty to warn or keep the premises safe for recreational users, a willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a dangerous condition, use, structure, or activity may still result in liability. Since North Dakota’s enactment of the recreational use immunity statutes in 1965, the statutes have endured several modifications and judicial interpretations, including their applicability to political subdivisions. However, through consideration of the purpose of the recreational use immunity statutes, the location of the accident, other laws pertaining to the special relationship between schools and students, and the analysis provided by other courts, the North Dakota Supreme Court declined to immunize the school district under these statutes when M.M., a student, injured himself while performing a bike stunt in the school auditorium shortly after classes adjourned. By narrowing the use of the recreational use immunity statutes, more liability may result from the M.M. decision as contrary to the legislature’s policy decision behind enacting the statutes

Utility of Health Belief Model Constructs in Predicting Dietary Behaviors Among Female University Students: A Pilot Investigation

This study examined the relationship between Health Belief Model constructs as they related to dietary behaviors in a sample of university women 18-to-25 years of age (n=182). A cross-sectional, non-experimental design was utilized. Independent sample t-tests compared the mean of body mass indices (BMI) to dietary risk and race. Odds ratios amassed relationships between race and healthy food choices. Nearly one-third (32.4%) of participants were either overweight or obese. Black females had significantly higher BMI than white females; however, dietary risk from less-than-adequate fruit and vegetable consumption and consumption of high-fat foods were not related to race. Focus group participants (n=0) were not concerned about their risks of obesity and its sequelae, or appeared only somewhat concerned. However, all felt obesity-related illnesses were severe. None perceived a direct threat, although several admitted friends and fmaily members might be at-risk, ultimately resulting in a behavior change

OGLE-2005-BLG-071Lb, the Most Massive M-Dwarf Planetary Companion?

We combine all available information to constrain the nature of OGLE-2005-BLG-071Lb, the second planet discovered by microlensing and the first in a high-magnification event. These include photometric and astrometric measurements from Hubble Space Telescope, as well as constraints from higher order effects extracted from the ground-based light curve, such as microlens parallax, planetary orbital motion and finite-source effects. Our primary analysis leads to the conclusion that the host of Jovian planet OGLE-2005-BLG-071Lb is an M dwarf in the foreground disk with mass M= 0.46 +/- 0.04 Msun, distance D_l = 3.3 +/- 0.4 kpc, and thick-disk kinematics v_LSR ~ 103 km/s. From the best-fit model, the planet has mass M_p = 3.8 +/- 0.4 M_Jup, lies at a projected separation r_perp = 3.6 +/- 0.2 AU from its host and so has an equilibrium temperature of T ~ 55 K, i.e., similar to Neptune. A degenerate model less favored by \Delta\chi^2 = 2.1 (or 2.2, depending on the sign of the impact parameter) gives similar planetary mass M_p = 3.4 +/- 0.4 M_Jup with a smaller projected separation, r_\perp = 2.1 +/- 0.1 AU, and higher equilibrium temperature T ~ 71 K. These results from the primary analysis suggest that OGLE-2005-BLG-071Lb is likely to be the most massive planet yet discovered that is hosted by an M dwarf. However, the formation of such high-mass planetary companions in the outer regions of M-dwarf planetary systems is predicted to be unlikely within the core-accretion scenario. There are a number of caveats to this primary analysis, which assumes (based on real but limited evidence) that the unlensed light coincident with the source is actually due to the lens, that is, the planetary host. However, these caveats could mostly be resolved by a single astrometric measurement a few years after the event.Comment: 51 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, Published in Ap

Lactococcus lactis carrying the pValac DNA expression vector coding for IL-10 reduces inflammation in a murine model of experimental colitis

Background: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are intestinal disorders characterized by inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Interleukin-10 is one of the most important anti-inflammatory cytokines involved in the intestinal immune system and because of its role in downregulating inflammatory cascades, its potential for IBD therapy is under study. We previously presented the development of an invasive strain of Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis) producing Fibronectin Binding Protein A (FnBPA) which was capable of delivering, directly to host cells, a eukaryotic DNA expression vector coding for IL-10 of Mus musculus (pValac:il-10) and diminish inflammation in a trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced mouse model of intestinal inflammation. As a new therapeutic strategy against IBD, the aim of this work was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of two L. lactis strains (the same invasive strain evaluated previously and the wild-type strain) carrying the therapeutic pValac:il-10 plasmid in the prevention of inflammation in a dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)-induced mouse model. Results: Results obtained showed that not only delivery of the pValac:il-10 plasmid by the invasive strain L. lactis MG1363 FnBPA+, but also by the wild-type strain L. lactis MG1363, was effective at diminishing intestinal inflammation (lower inflammation scores and higher IL-10 levels in the intestinal tissues, accompanied by decrease of IL-6) in the DSS-induced IBD mouse model. Conclusions: Administration of both L. lactis strains carrying the pValac:il-10 plasmid was effective at diminishing inflammation in this murine model of experimental colitis, showing their potential for therapeutic intervention of IBD.Fil: Zurita Turk, Meritxell. Universidade Federal Do Minas Gerais. Instituto de Cs.biologicas; BrasilFil: del Carmen, Silvina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucuman. Centro de Referencia Para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Santos, Ana C. G.. Universidade Federal Do Minas Gerais. Instituto de Cs.biologicas; BrasilFil: Pereira, Vanessa Bastos. Universidade Federal Do Minas Gerais. Instituto de Cs.biologicas; BrasilFil: Cara, Denise C.. Universidade Federal Do Minas Gerais. Instituto de Cs.biologicas; BrasilFil: Leclercq, Sophie Y.. Fundaçao Ezequiel Dias. Laboratório de Inovaçao Biotecnológica; BrasilFil: de Moreno, Maria Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucuman. Centro de Referencia Para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Azevedo, Vasco. Universidade Federal Do Minas Gerais. Instituto de Cs.biologicas; BrasilFil: Chatel, Jean-Marc. Universidade Federal do Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Leblanc, Jean Guy Joseph. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucuman. Centro de Referencia Para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Miyoshi, Anderson. Universidade Federal Do Minas Gerais. Instituto de Cs.biologicas; Brasi

Reaction rates and transport in neutron stars

Understanding signals from neutron stars requires knowledge about the transport inside the star. We review the transport properties and the underlying reaction rates of dense hadronic and quark matter in the crust and the core of neutron stars and point out open problems and future directions.Comment: 74 pages; commissioned for the book "Physics and Astrophysics of Neutron Stars", NewCompStar COST Action MP1304; version 3: minor changes, references updated, overview graphic added in the introduction, improvements in Sec IV.A.