This thesis is focused on the influence of money, that comes from oil export, on economy, politics and society of selected oil exporting countries: Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Ira nand Equatorial Guinea. The first part characterizes oil, its extraction, reserves, flows, and consumption . The influence of oil on economy, politics and society is explained on the example of Venezuela in the second chapter. In the third part the effects in the other countries are compared. The key question is: Is the oil wealth advantage or disadvantage for the country?

What are the policy-relevant factors that condition WASH sector performance in Sub-Saharan Africa? Close examination of three case study countries, Equatorial Guinea, Malawi, and Mauritania, reveals interesting insights. Delivery of WASH services is shaped to a large extent by the overall quality and structure of a country’s government. More specifically, having an excessive profusion of policy-making and policy-implementing actors can hinder WASH sector performance. Furthermore, governments may face strong incentives to invest more heavily in providing WASH services to urban areas over rural areas, and to invest more heavily in the water sub-sector than in the sanitation sub-sector. Adequate financing of WASH investment appears to be a necessary but not sufficient condition for performance in both the water and sanitation subsectors. Additionally, monitoring and evaluation appears to be a crucial factor in formulating and implementing effective policies. In the rural water subsector, a country’s institutional setup and technology choice can have a major impact on water source maintenance and operability.

published_or_final_version / Biochemistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Amnesties are a common feature in peace negotiations. Since the end of the Second World War, 45% of all bargained solutions to conflict included an amnesty provision (Binningsbø  et al., 2012:732). Even though it is such a common feature in modern conflicts, the research on amnesties in relation to peace is surprisingly scarce (ibid:732). Most scholars have studied the legality of amnesties, their legal implications, and their relation to human rights and democracy (Olsen et al., 2012; Bell, 2008; Freeman & Pensky, 2012). During recent years, a debate has sparked between peacemakers and human rights advocates within the transitional justice literature regarding the justifiability of amnesties as a tool in peace negotiations. The debate is commonly referred to as the peace v. justice debate (Sonnenberg & Cavallaro, 2012). Although several scholars have contributed to the debate, no consensus on if and how amnesties are beneficial for peacebuilding has been established. This paper will contribute to the debate by testing a newly developed theory in a comparative study, and strives to answer the question How do different types of amnesties affect prospects of peace?

Maternal cardiovascular adaptations appear to be essential in order to supply extra circulation to both the developing fetus and maternal system during a successful pregnancy. Since inadequate cardiovascular adjustments may produce abortions or maternal morbidity, the characterization of maternal cardiovascular changes during pregnancy and the elaboration of the underlying mechanism for these changes are essential to the understanding of how the heart enlarges during pregnancy and what significance this enlargement might have. To provide needed information regarding this time course and extent of maternal cardiac enlargement and the hormonal and hemodynamic changes which may be responsible for these changes, the guinea pig was used as an animal model to characterize the maternal cardiac, hemodynamic and hormonal changes during early, mid and late pregnancy.

Arthroderma benhamiae has been almost unknown among clinical mycologists but it is a cause of around 40 % of dermatophytic infections according to current studies in the Czech Republic. The species is primarily transmitted to humans from guinea pigs and other rodents. The epidemiological situation is similar in other countries in Central and Western Europe. The reason of significant increase in the incidence of infections has not been identified yet, and no sufficiently informative molecular markers have been developed for typification of the species that could help to resolve the cause of this problem. For the purposes of this study, isolates (n=268) from cases of human and animal dermatophytoses from the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Japan and USA were selected. Ten variable microsatellite markers were developed and sequence analysis of two genetic loci (ITS rDNA and gpdh gene) were performed to reveal intraspecific variation. Phenotype was also studied at the level of micro- and macromorphology of the strains and growth parameters at several temperatures and on several cultivation media. Mating type idiomorph of each isolate was determined and mating experiments were performed by crossing pairs of genetically related as well as genetically distant strains. Sequence...

The two end-member concept of mantle plume-driven versus far field stress-driven continental rifting anticipates high volumes of magma emplaced close to the rift-initiating plume, whereas relatively low magmatic volumes are predicted at large distances from the plume where the rifting is thought to be driven by far field stresses. We test this concept at the Guinea Plateau, which represents the last area of separation between Africa and South America, by investigating for rift-related volumes of magmatism using borehole, 3D seismic, and gravity data to run structural 3D inversions in two different data areas. Despite our interpretation of igneous rocks spanning large areas of continental shelf covered by the available seismic surveys, the calculated volumes in the Guinea Plateau barely match the magmatic volumes of other magma-poor margins and thus endorse the aforementioned concept. While the volcanic units on the shelf seem to be characterized more dominantly by horizontally deposited extrusive volcanic flows distributed over larger areas, numerous paleo-seamounts pierce complexly deformed pre and syn-rift sedimentary units on the slope. As non-uniqueness is an omnipresent issue when using potential field data to model geologic features, our method faced some challenges in the areas exhibiting complicated geology. In this situation less rigid constraints were applied in the modeling process. The misfit issues were successfully addressed by filtering the frequency content of the gravity data according to the depth of the investigated geology. In this work, we classify and compare our volume estimates for rift-related magmatism between the Guinea Fracture Zone (FZ) and the Saint Paul's FZ while presenting the refinements applied to our modeling technique.

The aim of this work was to find out the social behaviour and interactions among the established group of guinea pigs (Cavia aperea var. porcellus) and the newly assembled groups, with each group being monitored three times, always for 24 hours. A total of 12 short-haired guinea pigs of smooth coat breed with balanced age distribution, divided into three groups, were monitored. The behaviour and activities of guinea pigs were recorded on a camcorder followed with subsequent evaluation of video recordings by means of ethograms and verbal description. Among monitored and evaluated activities were rest and sleep, feed and water intake, comfort behaviour, movement and conflict. In guinea pigs, there were proven differences in behaviour for all of the activities monitored. The individuality of individuals and their different behaviours manifested themselves, with each of them behaving a little bit differently from the others. By comparing the groups, significant differences in behaviour were found. Each individual behaved a little bit differently, but the same pattern of behaviour was not repeated among the groups. Also, it was found that the number of conflicts among guinea pigs decrease overtime for which the guinea pigs are together.

Thesis advisor: Paul Gray / This thesis is a study of inter-sectoral collaboration and the impact of crises and social learning and cooperation initiatives on corporate change. The main purpose is to demonstrate how governments, corporations, and non-governmental organizations can most effectively work together to solve some of the world's most pressing development problems. Using case studies of extractive multinational corporations operating in Colombia, Papua New Guinea, and Nigeria, this paper presents support for the fact that crises are essential catalysts for corporate change. Moreover, analysis of these cases reinforces the critical role social learning and cooperation initiatives play in driving longterm improvements in corporate practice. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies Honors Program.

INTRODUÇÃO: Vários estudos têm mostrado a importância da Rho quinase na modulação da contração do músculo liso, hiperresponsividade das vias aéreas e inflamação. Entretanto, os efeitos do tratamento crônico com um inibidor específico desta via não haviam sido previamente investigados. MÉTODOS: No presente estudo, foram avaliados os efeitos do tratamento crônico com Y-27632, um inibidor altamente seletivo Rho quinase, sobre a hiperresponsividade das vias aéreas, a ativação do estresse oxidativo, o remodelamento da matriz extracelular, a inflamação eosinofílica e a expressão de citocinas em um modelo animal de inflamação crônica das vias aéreas. As cobaias foram submetidas a sete inalações com ovalbumina ou solução salina (duas vezes por semana durante quatro semanas). Inalações com o inibidor da Rho quinase (Y-27632; 1mM) foram realizadas 10 min antes de cada exposição ao antígeno, começando na quinta inalação. Setenta e duas horas após a 7ª inalação, a avaliação da mecânica pulmonar foi realizada e o óxido nítrico exalado foi coletado. Os pulmões foram então removidos e a análise histológica foi realizada utilizando morfometria. RESULTADOS: O tratamento com Y-27632 em animais sensibilizados reduziu o óxido nítrico exalado, as respostas máximas de resistência e elastância do sistema respiratório, o número de eosinófilos, o conteúdo colágeno e fibras elásticas, o número de células positivas para IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, iNOS, MMP -9, TIMP-1, TGF-, NFkappa B e IFN-, e o conteúdo de 8-iso-PGF2 em relação ao grupo não tratado (p<0,05). Houve correlação positiva entre as respostas funcionais e os marcadores de inflamação, remodelamento e ativação da via de estresse oxidativo avaliados. CONCLUSÕES: A ativação da vida da Rho quinase contribui para a potencialização da hiperresponsividade, inflamação, processo de remodelamento da matriz extracelular e ativação do estresse oxidativo. Estes resultados sugerem que os inibidores da Rho quinase podem ser uma ferramenta farmacológica em potencial para o controle da asma / INTRODUCTION: Several studies have shown the importance of Rho-kinase in the modulation of smooth muscle contraction, airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation. However, the effects of chronic treatment with a specific inhibitor of this pathway had not been previously investigated. METHODS: We evaluated the effects of chronic treatment with Y-27632, a highly selective Rho-kinase inhibitor, on airway hyperresponsiveness, oxidative stress activation, extracellular matrix remodeling, eosinophilic inflammation and cytokines expression in an animal model of chronic airway inflammation. Guinea pigs were submitted to seven ovalbumin or saline exposures (twice a week for four weeks). Rho-kinase inhibitor (Y-27632; 1mM) was aerosolized 10 min before each antigen exposure, beginning at the 5th inhalation. Seventy-two hours after the 7th inhalation, pulmonary mechanics evaluation was performed and exhaled nitric oxide was collected. Lungs were removed and histological analysis was performed using morphometry. RESULTS: Treatment with Y-27632 in sensitized animals reduced exhaled nitric oxide, maximal responses of resistance and elastance of respiratory system, eosinophils, collagen and elastic fibers content, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, iNOS, MMP-9, TIMP-1, TGF-, NFkappa B and IFN- positive cells, and 8-iso-PGF2 content compared to the non-treated group (P<0.05). There were positive correlations among the functional responses and the markers of inflammation, remodeling and oxidative stress pathway activation evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: Rho-kinase pathway activation contributes to the potentiation of the hyperresponsiveness, inflammation, extracellular matrix remodeling process and oxidative stress activation. These results suggest that Rho-kinase inhibitors may be a potential pharmacological tool for controlling asthma