Are central bank independence reforms necessary for achieving low and stable inflation?

Using data on the occurence of central bank independence (CBI) reforms in 131 countries during 1980-2005, we test whether they were important in reducing inflation and maintaining price stability. CBI reforms are found to have reduced inflation on average 3.31% when countries with historically high inflation rates are included. But countries with lower inflation have reduced it without institutional reforms granting central banks more independence, undermining the theoretical time-inconsistency case for CBI. There is furthermore no evidence that CBI reforms have helped reduce inflation variability.

A Higher order and stable method for the numerical integration of Random Differential Equations

Trabalho apresentado no Congresso Nacional de Matemática Aplicada à Indústria, 18 a 21 de novembro de 2014, Caldas Novas - Goiás

Scales of critically stable few-body halo systems

We review the scaling properties of few-body observables near the critical conditions for binding, with particular attention to light exotic nuclei, molecules and ultracold atoms.

Seasonal variations in chemical composition and stable isotopes of farmed and wild Brazilian freshwater fish

This study examined variations in the Fulton condition factor, chemical composition, and stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in the Brazilian freshwater fish cachara (Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum), comparing farmed and wild fish in different seasons. Values for energy, protein, moisture, and Fulton's condition factor were higher for farmed than for wild fish in the rainy season, indicating better nutritional quality; however, these differences were not observed in the dry season. Likewise, we found significant enhancement of delta(15)N in farmed fish in the rainy season but not in the dry season, whereas enhancement of delta(13)C was observed in both seasons. The combined measurement of delta(13)C and delta(15)N provided traceability under all conditions. Our findings show that stable isotope analysis of C and N can be used to trace cachara origin, and that seasonal variations need to be considered when applying chemical and isotopic authentication of fish and fish products. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The use of stable isotopes for authentication of gadoid fish species

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Carbohydrate Composition and Water-Stable Aggregation of an Oxisol as Affected by Crop Sequence under No-Till

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

The stable archipelago in the region of the Pallas and Hansa dynamical families

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

Poultry offal meal in chicken: Traceability using the technique of carbon (C-13/C-12)- and nitrogen (N-15/N-14)-stable isotopes

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Traceability of bovine meat and bone meal in poultry by stable isotope analysis

Bovine meat and bone meal (MBM) was widely used in animal diets until outbreaks of Bovine Spongiform Encefalopathy (BSE) occurred in some countries. It has not been confirmed yet whether or not BSE may be transmitted to man through chicken meat originated from poultry that had been fed diets containing MBM. Therefore, consumers nowadays express preference for meat originated from birds fed exclusively vegetable diets. This study analyzed samples of major breast muscle (Pectoralis major) using mass spectrometry of stable isotopes (carbon and nitrogen) as a means to assess the presence of MBM in broiler diets, a technique that might be used in the certification of poultry quality. A total of 150 day-old chicks were reared in five randomized treatments with increasing MBM dietary inclusion levels (0, 1, 2, 4 and 8%). on day 42, breast muscle samples were collected from three birds per treatment and used in the determination of 13C/12C and 15N/14N isotope ratios. The breast muscle isotope values were expressed as delta in parts per thousand (delta ). The following carbon isotope values (13C) were found: 18.74 ±0.11, 18.51 ±0.19, 18.24 ±0.10, -17.79 ±0.12, and -17.15 ±0.15 for 0, 1, 2, 4 and 8% MBM dietary levels, respectively. Nitrogen isotope values (15N) were 1.65 ±0.14, 1.65 ±0.28, 1.72 ±0.08, 1.95 ±0.16, and 2.52 ± 0.09 for 0, 1, 2, 4 and 8% MBM dietary levels, respectively. This study showed important differences in delta13C and delta15N values in breast meat, evidencing a simultaneous enrichment of this isotopic pair, which allowed tracing MBM in bird diets. Analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes may be used to ensure feeding with exclusively vegetable diets, and might also be used as a reliable evaluation tool in broiler meat certification. The diet with 1% inclusion level of MBM and the exclusively vegetable diet showed similar results.

Traceability of animal byproducts in quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) tissues using carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N) stable isotopes

Consistent information on meat products consumed by the public is essential. The technique of stable isotopes is a powerful tool to recover consumers' confidence, as it allows the detection of animal byproduct residues in poultry meat, particularly in quail meat. This study aimed at checking the presence of poultry byproduct mixtures in quail diets by applying the technique of carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N) stable isotopes in quail breast muscle, keel, and tibia. Sixty four one-day-old male quails were obtained from a commercial farm. Birds were housed in an experimental house from one to 42 days of age, and were randomly distributed into 8 experimental treatments, and fed diets containing poultry offal meal (POM), bovine meat and bone meal (MBM) or poultry feather meal (PFM), or their mixtures. Four birds per treatment were slaughtered at 42 days of age, and breast (Pectoralis major), keel, and tibia were collected for analyses. The inclusion of animal byproducts in quail diets was detected by 13C e 15N analyses in the tissues of the birds; however, it was not possible to specify which byproducts were used. It was concluded that quail meat can be certified by the technique of stable isotopes.

Stable isotopes for determining carbon turnover in sheep feces and blood

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

The traceability of animal meals in layer diets as detected by stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of eggs

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

Traceability of animal by product meals in broilers fed sugarcane yeast using stable isotopes

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Stable carbon (delta(13)C) and nitrogen (delta(15)N) isotopes as natural indicators of live and dry food in Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887) larval tissue

This study proposed the use of the stable isotope technique to track the type of food utilized by pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus larvae during their development, and to identify the moment when the larvae start using nutrients from the dry diet by retaining its carbon and nitrogen atoms in their body tissues. Five-day-old pacu larvae at the onset of exogenous feeding were fed Artemia nauplii or formulated diet exclusively; nauplii+formulated diet during the entire period; or were weaned from nauplii to a dry diet after 3, 6 or 12 days after the first feeding. delta(13)C and delta(15)N values for Artemia nauplii were -15.1 parts per thousand and 4.7 parts per thousand, respectively, and -25.0 parts per thousand and 7.4 parts per thousand for the dry diet. The initial isotopic composition of the larval tissue was -20.2 parts per thousand and 9.5 parts per thousand for delta(13)C and delta(15)N respectively. Later, at the end of a 42-day feeding period, larvae fed Artemia nauplii alone reached values of -12.7 parts per thousand and 7.0 parts per thousand for delta(13)C and delta(15)N respectively. Larvae that received the formulated diet alone showed values of -22.7 parts per thousand for delta(13)C and 9.6 parts per thousand for delta(15)N. The stable isotope technique was precise, and the time at which the larvae utilized Artemia nauplii, and later dry diet as a food source could be clearly defined.