Performance of Latin America and the Caribbean during the first years of the Decade of Action for Road Safety

This issue of the FAL Bulletin examines the performance of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean during the first years of the decade of action for road safety. This document is part of the activities being undertaken by ECLAC as a United Nations regional commission in preparation for the Second Global High-Level Conference on Road Safety, which is to take place in Brasilia on 18 and 19 November 2015.

Tocantins river as an effective barrier to gene flow in Saguinus niger populations

The Saguinus represent the basal genus of the Callitrichinae subfamily. Traditionally this genus is divided into three groups: Hairy, Mottled and Bare-face, however, molecular data failed to validate these groups as monophyletic units, as well as raised some subspecies to the species status. This is the case of the former subspecies Saguinus midas midas and S. midas niger, which are now considered as different species. In the present study, we sequenced a portion of the D-loop mtDNA region in populations from the East bank of the Xingu and from both banks of the Tocantins river, in order to test the effectiveness of large rivers as barriers to the gene flow in Saguinus. According to our results, the populations from the East and West banks of the Tocantins river are more divergent than true species like S. mystax and S. imperator. The Tocantins river may be acting as a barrier to gene flow, and consequently these very divergent populations may represent distinct taxonomic entities (species?).

Vozes dissonantes: estado, discurso e conflito no Oeste do Pará

A área de influência da rodovia Santarém-Cuiabá, na Amazônia brasileira, desde a década de 1970 vem sofrendo um processo de ocupação desordenada e avanço ilegal sobre os estoques naturais da região. Neste século, setores econômicos ligados à agricultura, pecuária e madeira passaram a fazer pressão sobre o governo federal para que fosse asfaltada grande parte da rodovia, o que permitiria novos fluxos econômicos e acesso mais lucrativo da produção ao mercado, inclusive o internacional. A essas pressões somaram-se outros problemas: crescente desmatamento, intensos conflitos fundiários, práticas econômicas ilegais, ineficácia do Estado. Diante desse quadro, o governo federal elaborou o Plano BR-163 Sustentável, entre 2004 e 2005, como experiência piloto de uma política de desenvolvimento da região, consolidada no Plano Amazônia Sustentável. Entre os objetivos daquele Plano, encontram-se o desenvolvimento sustentável, a redução das desigualdades sociais e um novo modelo de gestão democrática e integrada de políticas públicas. A pesquisa busca compreender, a partir do oeste do Estado do Pará, de que modo se inter-relacionam as dinâmicas de atores sociais importantes, após as primeiras medidas decorrentes do Plano. Os atores inseridos na pesquisa foram representações ligadas ao Estado, nos três níveis de gestão, madeireiros, fazendeiros e trabalhadores rurais. A análise parte dos discursos desses atores para avaliar se o governo federal conseguiu institucionalizar os conflitos e obter reconhecimento político externo. Os resultados obtidos confirmam a hipótese de que as condições para o sucesso das medidas ainda não estão dadas, em função de problemas estruturais do Estado, da falta de coesão política em torno dos objetivos do Plano, entre as próprias instituições federais, e também da ausência de novos mecanismos institucionais de gestão que apontem para a mediação dos conflitos e indiquem adesão às novas medidas. O débil capital político do governo federal, no campo de acirradas disputas, ainda constitui empecilho à redução das graves desigualdades sociais e ao retorno à legalidade, que deve se impor não apenas pela força das leis, mas, principalmente, pela legitimidade de novas dinâmicas e do próprio Estado.

Atropelamento de vertebrados nas rodovias MG-428 e SP-334 com análise dos fatores condicionantes e valoração econômica da fauna

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Treatment of polycarbonate by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure

Generally most plastic materials are intrinsically hydrophobic, low surface energy materials, and thus do not adhere well to other substances. Surface treatment of polymers by discharge plasmas is of great and increasing industrial application because it can uniformly modify the surface of sample without changing the material bulk properties and is environmentally friendly. The plasma processes that can be conducted under ambient pressure and temperature conditions have attracted special attention because of their easy implementation in industrial processing. Present work deals with surface modification of polycarbonate (PC) by a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure. The treatment was performed in a parallel plate reactor driven by a 60Hz power supply. The DBD plasmas at atmospheric pressure were generated in air and nitrogen. Material characterization was carried out by contact angle measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The surface energy of the polymer surface was calculated from contact angle data by Owens-Wendt method using distilled water and diiodomethane as test liquids. The plasma-induced chemical modifications are associated with incorporation of polar oxygen and nitrogen containing groups on the polymer surface. Due to these surface modifications the DBD-treated polymers become more hydrophilic. Aging behavior of the treated samples revealed that the polymer surfaces were prone to hydrophobic recovery although they did not completely recover their original wetting properties.

Superconducting State of a Disk with a Pentagonal/Hexagonal Trench/Barrier

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

Rest stops during road transport: Impacts on performance and acute-phase protein responses of feeder cattle

Angus x Hereford steers (n = 42) and heifers (n = 21) were ranked by gender and BW on d 0 of the experiment and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: 1) no transport and full access to feed and water (CON); 2) continuous road transport for 1,290 km (TRANS), or 3) road transport for 1,290 km, with rest stops every 430 km (STOP; total of 2 rest stops). Treatments were applied from d 0 to 1 of the experiment. Cattle from TRANS and STOP treatments were transported in separate commercial livestock trailers, within a single 2.1 x 7.2 m compartment, but through the exact same route. During each rest stop, STOP cattle were unloaded and offered mixed alfalfa-grass hay and water for ad libitum consumption for 2 h. Upon arrival of STOP and TRANS on d 1, cattle were ranked by sex and BW within each treatment and assigned to 21 feedlot pens (7 pens/treatment; 2 steers and 1 heifer/pen). Full BW was recorded before (d -1 and 0) treatment application and at the end of experiment (d 28 and 29). Total DMI was evaluated daily from d 1 to 28. Blood samples were collected on d 0 (before loading of TRANS and STOP cattle), 1 (immediately after unloading of TRANS and STOP cattle), 4, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28. Body weight shrink from d 0 to d 1 was reduced (P < 0.01) in CON compared to TRANS and STOP, and reduced in STOP compared to TRANS. Mean ADG was greater (P < 0.05) in CON compared to TRANS and STOP, but similar (P = 0.68) between TRANS and STOP. No treatment effects were detected (P >= 0.18) on hay, concentrate, and total DMI. Mean G: F was greater (P = 0.05) in CON compared to STOP, tended to be greater (P = 0.08) in CON compared to TRANS, and similar (P = 0.85) between TRANS and STOP. Plasma cortisol concentrations were greater (P <= 0.04) in TRANS compared to CON and STOP on d 1, and greater (P = 0.04) in TRANS compared to CON on d 4. Serum NEFA concentrations were greater (P < 0.01) in TRANS compared to CON and STOP on d 1, and greater (P <= 0.05) in TRANS compared to CON on d 4 and 7. Mean plasma ceruloplasmin concentrations were similar (P = 0.19) among treatments. Plasma haptoglobin concentrations were greater (P <= 0.04) in TRANS compared to CON and STOP on d 1, and in STOP compared to CON on d 1. In conclusion, inclusion of rest stops during a 1,290-km transport prevented the increase in circulating cortisol and alleviated the NEFA and haptoglobin response elicited by transport, but did not improve feedlot receiving performance of transported cattle.

Evaluation of Insecticides for the Control of Linepithema micans (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

eIF5A and EF-P: two unique translation factors are now traveling the same road

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

Treatment of Reticulated Vitreous Carbon by Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma for Electrodes Production

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

Acetylene plasma polymer treated by atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge

Plasma polymer films are very attractive for industrial applications in several sectors such as in the electronic, mechanic, biomedic, coating and others, due to its good adhesion, being insoluble in mild acids and bases and having a high crosslinking structure. This work reports the physical, structural, and surface properties of the polymer obtained from an acetylene plasma polymerization technique and treated by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). The film was deposited in a reactor supplied by a radio-frequency power source at low pressure. After deposition, the nanofilms were treated in a DBD plasma reactor operating in air. The treatment times varied from 1 to 5 min. The analysis of molecular structure of the samples was investigated by FTIR spectroscopy, showing absorption bands in 3480, 2930, 1720, 1450 and 1380 cm(-1). The water contact-angle was investigated by goniometric technique and presented values from 5 to 65 degrees. The aging effect of these films was also studied. The alteration in the films surface morphology was assessed by an atomic force microscopy (AFM) which indicated that the roughness increased from 60 nm to 160 nm as a result of the DBD treatment. The refractive index of the samples presented values near 1.7, measured by UV-Visible spectroscopy. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efeito da proximidade de estradas e da paisagem sobre a frugivoria em fragmentos florestais, utilizando frutos artificiais

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