Overlapped Sequence Types (STs) and Serogroups of Avian Pathogenic (APEC) and Human Extra-Intestinal Pathogenic (ExPEC) Escherichia coli Isolated in Brazil

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

Diversity and Localization of Bacterial Endosymbionts from Whitefly Species Collected in Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Balance-of-payments-constrained growth in Brazil: 1951-2008

The aim of this study is to determine whether Brazil's economic growth has been constrained by the balance of payments in the long run. The question underpinning the analysis can be expressed as follows: Was economic growth in the period 1951-2008 constrained by the balance of payments? To answer this question, the study employs the externally constrained growth methodology developed by Lima and Carvalho (2009), among others. The main statistical method used is vector error correction. The conclusion is that the rate of economic growth in Brazil was restricted by the external sector in the period concerned, validating the theory of balance-of-payments growth constraint with regard to the economic history of Brazil.

Reintroducing the red-billed curassow in Brazil: Population viability analysis points to potential success

Reintroduction can be enhanced by data from long-term post-release monitoring, which allows for modeling opportunities such as population viability analysis (PVA). PVA-relevant data were gathered via long-term monitoring of reintroduced red-billed curassows at the Guapiacu Ecological Reserve (REGUA), located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, over 25 months. In the present article, we (1) assess the robustness of the reintroduction plan, (2) evaluate the viability of the current reintroduced population, and (3) examine mitigation options to increase the viability of this population. VORTEX indicates that the initial plan, fully implemented, was likely to establish a viable population at REGUA. The current population is unviable; the best mitigation strategies are to eliminate hunting altogether, or at least reduce it by half, and to supplement ten immature pairs in 2015. A positive long-term outcome at REGUA is still possible; we encourage the Brazilian government and private stakeholders to consider population supplementation, both to achieve success at REGUA and to improve the evidence base for future reintroductions. (C) 2014 Associacao Brasileira de Ciencia Ecologica e Conservacao. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.

Production and Use of Heteroptera Predators for the Biological Control of Eucalyptus Pests in Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

LASIODERMA SERRICORNE (COLEOPTERA: ANOBIIDAE) IN STORED MATRICARIA RECUTITA (ASTERACEAE) IN BRAZIL

Insects pests of stored products and by-products are extending their feeding preferences to new items. We report for the first time in Brazil the feeding and reproduction of the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne F. (Coleoptera: Anobiidae) on stored chamomile, Matricaria recutita L. (Asteraceae). One intact package (10 cm wide x 15 cm long) of M. recutita infested by L. serricorne was purchased in a supermarket in Vicosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. In this sample this insect had fed on the dried parts (inflorescences and rods), which made the product unfit for human consumption. This 20 g sample included 101 live and 4 dead Lasioderma serricorne. Circumstantial evidence suggested that the infested material was probably harvested from an infested field in Apr 2013 and packaged with L. serricorne eggs, and that these had developed into the adults found in the package.

TACTILE CARTOGRAPHY EXPERIENCES IN BRAZIL: METHODOLOGIES AND DIDACTICAL MATERIAL WITH TECHNOLOGICAL RESOURCES FOR INCLUSION OF BLIND AND LOW VISION STUDENTS

The tactile cartography is an area of Cartography that aims the development of methodologies and didactical material to work cartographic concepts with blind and low vision people. The main aim of this article is to present the experience of Tactile Cartography Research Group from Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), including some didactical material and courses for teachers using the System MAPAVOX. The System MAPAVOX is software developed by our research group in a partnership with Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) that integrates maps and models with a voice synthesizer, sound emission, texts, images and video visualizing for computers. Our research methodology is based in authors that have in the students the centre of didactical activity such as Ochaita and Espinosa in [1], which developed studies related to blind children's literacy. According to Almeida the child's drawing is, thus, a system of representation. It isn't a copy of objects, but interpretation of that which is real, done by the child in graphic language[2]. In the proposed activities with blind and low vision students they are prepared to interpret reality and represent it by adopting concepts of graphic language learned. To start the cartographic initialization it is necessary to use personal and quotidian references, for example the classroom tactile model or map, to include concepts in generalization and scale concerning to their space of life. During these years many case studies were developed with blind and low vision students from Special School for Hearing Impaired and Visually Impaired in Araras and Rio Claro, Sao Paulo - Brazil. The most part of these experiences and others from Brazil and Chile are presented in [3]. Tactile material and MAPAVOX facilities are analysed by students and teachers who contribute with suggestions to reformulate and adapt them to their sensibility and necessity. Since 2005 we offer courses in Tactile Cartography to prepare teachers from elementary school in the manipulation of didactical material and attending students with special educational needs in regular classroom. There were 6 classroom and blended courses offered for 184 teachers from public schools in this region of the Sao Paulo state. As conclusion we can observe that methodological procedures centred in the blind and low vision students are successful in their spatial orientation if use didactical material from places or objects with which they have significant experience. During the applying of courses for teachers we could see that interdisciplinary groups can find creative cartographic alternatives more easily. We observed too that the best results in methodological procedures were those who provided concreteness to abstract concepts using daily experiences.

Outcome of the agrarian reform in Brazil during the last two decades

The agrarian reform allows for land redistribution and gives rural workers the opportunity to develop their life projects, rescuing the dignity of a historically excluded population. The conquest of the land carries significances that span from the rescue of citizenship to the improvement of living conditions due to the acquisition of goods, products and services. It is pointed out that in Brazil there still exists a marked concentration of large-landed estates. In this sense, this work had the objective of analyzing the Brazilian agrarian reform process during the last two decades. In this period the country had three Presidents, two of them elected with the support of the Rural Landless Workers Movement, increasing the expectations in relation to the fulfillment of the agrarian reform. The advances in the policies of rural settlements are notable; however, the structure of large-land estates remains unaltered. In the last two years (2011 and 2012) the number of settled families, as well as the number of settlements accomplished, were the worst since 2006. The priority of the current government is the eradication of extreme poverty and, in this sense, the agrarian reform becomes an essential policy to contribute to such goal, since with the distribution of the property of the land also diminishes the concentration of wealth.

Systematics of the section Virescentia of the genus Batrachospermum (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) in Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Mites (Arthropoda: Acari) associated with three species of the genus Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae) in Brazil, with emphasis on Jatropha curcas L.

The physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.) (Euphorbiaceae) has emerged as a new option in cultivation aimed at biodiesel production. In order to provide information that may be useful to further develop management plans for that specific crop, samples of mites were collected from cultured and wild J. curcas plants in various regions of the country and from two other species of the same genus, Jatropha gossypiifolia L. and Jatropha mollissima (Pohl) Baill. in the northeastern region of Brazil. Altogether 31 species belonging to 10 families were recorded. The family Phytoseiidae presented the largest number of species (17). Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks (Tarsonemidae) was the most abundant species (8,503 specimens). A dichotomous key was prepared to identify all the sampled species. At least four mite species of the samples deserve attention as showing potential for being pests in the crops of J. curcas, Brevipalpus phoenicis, Brevipalpus obovatus, Polyphagotarsonemus latus and Tetranychus bastosi, the latter two often found in great abundance.

Online distance mathematics education in Brazil: research, practice and policy

In this article, we address online distance mathematics education research and practice in Brazil, which are relative newcomers to the educational scene. We present the national context of education in Brazil, highlighting the organization of the educational system, and also a summary of national legislation on distance education and an overview of digital inclusion in the country. We outline the potential and relevance of distance education for the Brazilian educational system and show how it could intervene in the system. With respect to research and practice in online mathematics education, we present support for research, examples of studies and highlight different aspects being addressed, including its essential components. In addition, we discuss the synergy between distance education and teacher education, and mathematics distance education and modeling, as well as other initiatives in the national scenario.

Phylogeography of the freshwater red alga Sirodotia (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) in Brazil

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