An evaluation of direct seeding for reforestation of degraded lands in central São Paulo state, Brazil

As part of a larger study evaluating several silvicultural techniques for restoring tropical moist forests on abandoned agricultural lands in southeastern Brazil, direct seeding with five early-successional Atlantic forest species was tested at three degraded sites, characterized by different soil types and land-use histories, within the Environmental Protection Area at Botucatu, SP. The species used in this study were Chorisia speciosa, Croton floribundus, Enterolobium contorstisiliquum, Mimosa scabrella, and Schizolobium parahyba. Scarified seeds of each of these species were sown in prepared seed spots in replicated, 0.25 ha mixed-species plots at an initial espacement of 1 m x 1 m at each site. of the five species planted, only two, Enterolobium and Schizolobium, showed good seed germination, seedling survival, and early growth rates, averaging 4.1-4.6 cm stem diameter and 1.5-1.7 m height growth during the first 2 years after sowing. These two species constituted 88-100% of the total stand density, which ranged from 1050 to 1790 stems ha(-1) at 2 years. Despite the poor performance of the other species tested, we observed that the natural regeneration of native forest species originating from remnant forests in the general vicinity of our study sites was significantly greater within the direct-seeded plots than in unplanted control plots that were protected from fire and other disturbances. Published by Elsevier B.V. B.V.

What Role Should Government Regulation Play in Ecological Restoration? Ongoing Debate in São Paulo State, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Mamíferos de médio e grande porte e sua relação com o mosaico de habitats na cuesta de Botucatu, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Observational Characterization of the Downward Atmospheric Longwave Radiation at the Surface in the City of São Paulo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

The succession dynamics of a macroalgal community after a flood disturbance in a tropical stream from São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Correlação entre condições de saneamento básico e parasitoses intestinais na população de Assis, Estado de São Paulo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Ecological distribution of the shrimp Litopenaeus schmitti (Burkenroad, 1936) (Decapoda, Penaeoidea) in Ubatuba Bay, São Paulo, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Bee communities (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) of the Cerrado ecosystem in São Paulo State, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Increasing trends of sleep complaints in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Sex Trade Involvement in São Paulo, Brazil and Toronto, Canada: Narratives of Social Exclusion and Fragmented Identities

An extensive international literature has been developed regarding the risk trajectories of sex trade-involved children and youth. This literature has not, however, substantially incorporated the narratives of youths regarding their experiences. In this article, the contemporary literature on child and youth sex trade-involvement is reviewed and the findings of a qualitative analysis of the narratives of 14 youth from São Paulo, Brazil and 58 youth from Toronto, Canada are presented. Substantial similarities were found between the groups of narratives with respect to abusive and unstable home experiences, pathways into the sex trade, social exclusion, and the impacts of the sex trade on physical and mental health. Key areas of divergence included the roles of poverty and drug use in entering the sex trade. The implications of shared experiences of social exclusion and fragmented identity across differing sociocultural contexts for policy and intervention are discussed.

Modifiable risk factors for overweight and obesity in children and adolescents from São Paulo, Brazil

Background: Brazil is currently experiencing a nutrition transition: the displacement of traditional diets with foods high in saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol and an increase in sedentary lifestyles. Despite these trends, our understanding of child obesity in Brazil is limited. Thus, the aims of this study were (1) to investigate the current prevalence of overweight and obesity in a large sample of children and adolescents living in São Paulo, Brazil, and (2) to identify the lifestyle behaviors associated with an increased risk of obesity in young Brazilians.Methods: A total of 3,397 children and adolescents (1,596 male) aged 7-18 years were randomly selected from 22 schools in São Paulo, Brazil. Participants were classified as normal weight, overweight, or obese based on international age-and sex-specific body mass index thresholds. Selected sociodemographic, physical activity, and nutrition behaviors were assessed via questionnaire.Results: Overall, 19.4% of boys and 16.1% of girls were overweight while 8.9% and 4.3% were obese. Two-way analysis of variance revealed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was significantly higher in boys and in younger children when compared to girls and older children, respectively (P < 0.05 for both). Logistic regression analysis revealed that overweight was associated with more computer usage, parental encouragement to be active, and light soft drink consumption after controlling for differences in sex, age, and parental education (P < 0.05 for all). Conversely, overweight was associated with less active transport to school, eating before sleep, and consumption of breakfast, full-sugar soft drinks, fried food and confectionery (P < 0.05 for all).Conclusions: Our results show that obesity in São Paulo children and adolescents has reached a level equivalent to that seen in many developed countries. We have also identified three key modifiable factors related to obesity that may be appropriate targets for future intervention in Brazilian youth: transport mode to school, computer usage, and breakfast consumption.

Thermochronology of the South American platform in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, through apatite fission tracks

The fission-track method (FTM) in apatite was applied to 45 samples collected in the Serra da Mantiqueira (Mantiqueira mountain range), the Serra do Mar (Mar mountain range), regions next to these mountain ranges and the coastal region between Ubatuba and Santos in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, to study the thermochronology of the South American Platform in southeast Brazil and its influence on Santos and Campos basins. The data presented in this work complement the previously presented data on the same region (Tello Saenz et al., 2003. J. S. Am. Earth Sci. 15, 765-774) with 31 new samples analyzed. The weighted mean of the corrected ages from high Mantiqueira (around 1000 m), (121 +/- 6) Ma, coincides with the South Atlantic opening. The fact that its thermal history starts at a relatively low temperature (similar to 80 degrees C) suggests that the age of similar to 120 Ma would be the formation age of Serra da Mantiqueira due to a rapid pulse, in which tracks had no time to be retained at the closure temperature, that is similar to 120 degrees C. The Serra do Mar presents a more complicated thermal history, with several reactivations indicated by the changes in the slope of its cooling curve. The thermal histories obtained in the regions next to these mountain ranges are compatible with the results mentioned above. The Santos Basin has unconformities that agree with changes in the slope thermal histories of the studied region. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crescimento e estado nutricional de crianças e adolescentes de Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, Brasil

OBJETIVOS: avaliar peso, altura, índice de massa corporal (IMC) e prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade de crianças e adolescentes de Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, Brasil. MÉTODOS: foram avaliados 1327 jovens (692 masculino e 635 feminino) com idade de 7 a 19 anos. Os dados foram coletados com o mesmo equipamento e seguindo procedimento padrão descrito na literatura. O teste t de Student para variáveis independentes foi utilizado para as comparações entre sexo (p<0,05), e foram calculados os percentis para cada idade. Utilizou-se o programa SPSS, versão-10.0. A plotagem das curvas foi realizada no programa Minitab, versão-14.0. Os percentis 85 e 95 serviram para classificação de sobrepeso e de obesidade e foram analisados em relação aos dois estudos mais aceitos internacionalmente. RESULTADOS o peso e a altura estão acima dos valores encontrados em outras regiões brasileiras e semelhantes a dos países desenvolvidos. O IMC revelou alta prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade, principalmente no sexo masculino, entre 7 e 10 anos. Esta prevalência foi menor no grupo feminino, especialmente entre as adolescentes. CONCLUSÕES: a amostra apresenta padrão de crescimento acima de outras regiões brasileiras e comparáveis a países desenvolvidos, entretanto o IMC indica alta prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade.

Análise da distribuição espacial da hanseníase no Estado de São Paulo, 1991-2002

A hanseníase no Brasil ainda é um problema a ser equacionado e, no Estado de São Paulo, há varias regiões com altas taxas de detecção. O presente estudo objetivou analisar a distribuição e quantificar a dependência espacial das taxas médias de detecção da hanseníase no Estado de São Paulo, no período de 1991-2002, empregando técnicas geoestatísticas. Verificou-se tendência levemente decrescente das taxas médias de detecção para o Estado de São Paulo. Altos índices do indicador podem ser visualizados nas regiões oeste e noroeste de São Paulo. A dependência espacial encontrada foi de aproximadamente 30 km. Com os resultados encontrados, conclui-se que a análise de superfície das taxas médias de detecção pode auxiliar na escolha de áreas prioritárias visando aos exames de coletividade e ao incremento dos exames nos contatos dos casos detectados.