Insights into the evolution of a cryptic radiation of bats: dispersal and ecological radiation of Malagasy Miniopterus (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae)

The past decade has seen a proliferation of new species of Miniopterus bats (family Miniopteridae) recognized from Madagascar and the neighboring Comoros archipelago. The interspecific relationships of these taxa, their colonization history, and the evolution of this presumed adaptive radiation have not been sufficiently explored. Using the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene, we present a phylogeny of the Malagasy members of this widespread Old World genus, based on 218 sequences, of which 82 are new and 136 derived from previous studies. Phylogenetic analyses recovered 18 clades, which divide into five primary lineages: (1) M. griveaudi; (2) M. mahafaliensis, M. sororculus and X3; (3) M. majori, M. gleni and M. griffithsi; (4) M. brachytragos; M. aelleniA, and M. aelleniB; and (5) M. manavi and M. petersoni recovered as sister species, which were in turn linked to a group comprising M. egeri and five genetically distinct populations referred to herein as P3, P4, P5, P6 and P7. Beast analysis indicated that the initial divergence within the Malagasy Miniopterus radiation took place 4.5 Myr; most species diverged between 4 and 2.5 Myr, and a secondary period was between 1.25 and 1 Myr. DNA K2P-distances between recognized taxa ranged from 12.9% to 2.5% and intraspecific variation was less than 1.8%. Of the 18 identified clades, Latin binomials are only associated with 11, which indicates much greater differentiation than currently recognized for Malagasy Miniopterus. These data are placed in a context of the dispersal history of this genus on the island and patterns of ecological diversity.

A clustering-based failure mode and effect analysis model and its application to the edible bird nest industry

Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is a popular safety and reliability analysis tool in examining potential failures of products, process, designs, or services, in a wide range of industries. While FMEA is a popular tool, the limitations of the traditional Risk Priority Number (RPN) model in FMEA have been highlighted in the literature. Even though many alternatives to the traditional RPN model have been proposed, there are not many investigations on the use of clustering techniques in FMEA. The main aim of this paper was to examine the use of a new Euclidean distance-based similarity measure and an incremental-learning clustering model, i.e., fuzzy adaptive resonance theory neural network, for similarity analysis and clustering of failure modes in FMEA; therefore, allowing the failure modes to be analyzed, visualized, and clustered. In this paper, the concept of a risk interval encompassing a group of failure modes is investigated. Besides that, a new approach to analyze risk ordering of different failure groups is introduced. These proposed methods are evaluated using a case study related to the edible bird nest industry in Sarawak, Malaysia. In short, the contributions of this paper are threefold: (1) a new Euclidean distance-based similarity measure, (2) a new risk interval measure for a group of failure modes, and (3) a new analysis of risk ordering of different failure groups. © 2014 The Natural Computing Applications Forum.

Amiodarone, anticoagulation, and clinical events in patients with atrial fibrillation: insights from the ARISTOTLE trial

Amiodarone is an effective medication in preventing atrial fibrillation (AF), but it interferes with the metabolism of warfarin.

A proposed approach to systematically identify and monitor the corporate political activity of the food industry with respect to public health using publicly available information.

Unhealthy diets represent one of the major risk factors for non-communicable diseases. There is currently a risk that the political influence of the food industry results in public health policies that do not adequately balance public and commercial interests. This paper aims to develop a framework for categorizing the corporate political activity of the food industry with respect to public health and proposes an approach to systematically identify and monitor it. The proposed framework includes six strategies used by the food industry to influence public health policies and outcomes: information and messaging; financial incentive; constituency building; legal; policy substitution; opposition fragmentation and destabilization. The corporate political activity of the food industry could be identified and monitored through publicly available data sourced from the industry itself, governments, the media and other sources. Steps for country-level monitoring include identification of key food industry actors and related sources of information, followed by systematic data collection and analysis of relevant documents, using the proposed framework as a basis for classification of results. The proposed monitoring approach should be pilot tested in different countries as part of efforts to increase the transparency and accountability of the food industry. This approach has the potential to help redress any imbalance of interests and thereby contribute to the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.

Systematic examination of publicly-available information reveals the diverse and extensive corporate political activity of the food industry in Australia

BACKGROUND: The political influence of the food industry, referred to as corporate political activity (CPA), represents a potential barrier to the development and implementation of effective public health policies for non-communicable diseases prevention. This paper reports on the feasibility and limitations of using publicly-available information to identify and monitor the CPA of the food industry in Australia. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted for information from food industry, government and other publicly-available data sources in Australia. Data was collected in relation to five key food industry actors: the Australian Food and Grocery Council; Coca Cola; McDonald's; Nestle; and Woolworths, for the period January 2012 to February 2015. Data analysis was guided by an existing framework for classifying CPA strategies of the food industry. RESULTS: The selected food industry actors used multiple CPA strategies, with 'information and messaging' and 'constituency building' strategies most prominent. CONCLUSIONS: The systematic analysis of publicly-available information over a limited period was able to identify diverse and extensive CPA strategies of the food industry in Australia. This approach can contribute to accountability mechanisms for NCD prevention.

From legal commons to social commons: Brazil and the cultural industry in the 21st century

This article describes some of the current transformations regarding the processes by which information and culture are generated, from the point of view of developing countries. In this brief analysis, the article discusses the role of projects such as Creative Commons for developing countries. It also discusses the idea of legal commons and social commons. While the idea of legal commons can be understood as the voluntary use of licenses such as Creative Commons in order to create a “commons”, the idea of social commons has to do with the tensions between legality and illegality in developing countries. These tensions appear prominently in the so-called global “peripheries”, and in many instances make the legal structure of intellectual property irrelevant, unfamiliar, or unenforceable, for various reasons. With the emergence of digital technology and the Internet, in many places and regions in developing countries (especially in the “peripheries”), technology ended up arriving earlier than the idea of intellectual property. Such a de facto situation propitiated the emergence of cultural industries that were not driven by intellectual property incentives. In these cultural businesses, the idea of “sharing” and of free dissemination of the content is intrinsic to the social circumstances taking place in these peripheries. Also, the appropriation of technology on the part of the “peripheries” ends up promoting autonomous forms of bridging the digital divide, such as the “LAN house” phenomenon discussed below. This paper proposes that many lessons can be learned from the business models emerging from social commons practices in developing countries. The tension between legality and illegality in “peripheral” areas in developing countries is not new. The work of Boaventura de Sousa Santos and others in the 1970s was paradigmatic for the discussion of legal pluralism regarding the occupation of land in Brazil. This paper aims to follow in that same pioneer tradition of studies about legal pluralism, and to apply those principles to the discussion of “intellectual property” rather than the ownership of land.

Need and opportunity: what are the main security threats to the pharmaceuticals industry in Latin America?

Os preços altos de produtos farmacêuticos patenteados sempre têm sido uma polêmica na América Latina. Considerando as disparidades económicas na região e a falta histórica do desenvolvimento, muitas vezes os preços altos servem como barreiras contra o acesso aos medicamentos essenciais. Por um lado, as companhias farmacêuticas dizem que os preços elevados são necessários para financiar os processos de pesquisa e desenvolvimento e para gerar um retorno do investimento lucrativo. Por outro lado, os consumidores, tanto privados como públicos, dizem que os preços altos têm resultado em uma falta histórica de medicamentos baratos. Neste debate, ambos lados têm realizado uma série de manobras e contramanobras que têm exposto algumas das vulnerabilidades do setor. Utilizando vários métodos de análise e entrevistas com profissionais no setor, este projeto analisa as vulnerabilidades do setor para determinar o risco, ao mesmo tempo tentando a responder à pergunta: Quais são as ameaças principais na segurança da indústria farmacêutica na América Latina? Justificação deste projeto é o aumento dos crimes relacionados aos produtos farmacêuticos na última década, que têm exposto os pacientes a um número de riscos mais alto. Uma compreensão das ameaças principais é necessária para melhor mitigar o risco, garantir a integridade de produtos e preservar a saúde pública.

A comparative study of internationalization potential for Italian SMEs in the fashion industry in Brazil and Russia

Este estudo tem como objetivo desenvolver uma análise comparativa do potencial de internacionalização na Rússia e no Brasil para as PME italianas que operam na indústria da moda. Depois de apresentar ao leitor as principais áreas cobertas, tais como, o contexto, a metodologia e revisão da literatura, é fornecido um panorama macroeconômico das áreas geográficas composto, englobando um estudo específico sobre o estado atual da economia e da demanda para os bens italianos. O estudo, introduzindo o leitor na indústria de moda italiana, suas principais características e o desempenho atual, já evidencia a busca pela internacionalização. As conclusões decorrentes das análises macroeconômicas funcionam como introdução à visão geral da indústria de moda italiana, uma indústria que representa, fortemente, o "Made in Italy" no exterior. A breve análise da história desta indústria, principais características e situação atual irão, então, sugerir que a internacionalização é o caminho mais viável às PME, para se recuperarem dos anos turbulentos da crise. Entre o vasto conjunto de opções geográficas que as PME têm para abraçar internacionalização, este estudo tem como objetivo fornecer duas análises sobre a indústria da moda: o mercado russo e o brasileiro. A análise, com base no quadro de capacidade de ‘resposta internacional’ proposto por Bartlet e Ghoshal (1989), apresenta os resultados de um conjunto de pesquisas e entrevistas realizadas no Brasil, na Itália e na Rússia, sob a forma de uma análise comparativa dos dois mercados-alvo. A análise evidenciará os drivers de mercado, custo, competitividade e legislação que justificam o processo de internacionalização em ambos os mercados. Os resultados levam à conclusão e às recomendações que os dois mercados representam duas oportunidades muito diferentes para as PME da indústria da moda italiana.

The growing importance of the ETF industry - the pros and cons of passive management

O objectivo deste projecto é a comparação entre os prós e contras de gestão passiva e ativa através da realização de um estudo estatístico de várias estratégias através dos Exchange-Traded Funds. Em particular, a análise vai passar pela estratégia mais passiva, ou seja, buy and hold, para um grau diferente de active indexing management, tais como rotações do sector e / ou classe de ativos com base no bottom-up, top-down e indicadores técnicos. A análise mostra que as estratégias ativas, se forem devidamente aplicadas, conseguem obter retornos ajustados ao risco substancialmente superiores quando comparados com uma abordagem passiva, superando as questões de custos de transação e diversificação que normalmente são reivindicadas por uma gestão passiva.

Content marketing and brand engagement on social media: a study of Facebook´s posts in the ecommerce industry in Brazil

Content marketing refers to marketing format that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers. It is focused not on selling, but on communicating with customers and prospects. In today world´s, a trend has been seen in brands becoming publishers in order to keep up with their competition and more importantly to keep their base of fans and followers. Content Marketing is making companies to engage consumers by publishing engaging and value-filled content. This study aims to investigate if there is a link between brand engagement and Facebook Content Marketing practices in the e-commerce industry in Brazil. Based on the literature review, this study defines brand engagement on Facebook as the numbers of "likes" "comments" and "shares" that a company receives from its fans. These actions reflect the popularity of the brand post and leads to engagement. The author defines a scale where levels of Content Marketing practices are developed in order to analyze brand posts on Facebook of an ecommerce company in Brazil. The findings reveal that the most important criterion for the company is the one regarding the picture of the post, where it examines whether the photo content is appealing to the audience. Moreover, it was perceived that the higher the level of these criterion in a post, the greater the number of likes, comments and shares the post receives. The time when a post is published does not present a significant role in determining customer engagement and the most important factor within a publication is to reach the maximum level in the Content Marketing Scale.

Insights into the Specificity of Thioredoxin Reductase-Thioredoxin Interactions. A Structural and Functional Investigation of the Yeast Thioredoxin System

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

Susceptibility of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and lactic acid bacteria from the alcohol industry to several antimicrobial compounds

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Novel insights into the genomic basis of citrus canker based on the genome sequences of two strains of Xanthomonas fuscans subsp aurantifolii

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

Celecoxib treatment does not alter recruitment and activation of osteoclasts in the initial phase of experimental tooth movement

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