Financial governance: the Brazilian experience on prudential regulation and its impacts on the effects of the 2008 financial crisis

The Brazilian economy was severely hit by the 2008 crisis. In the beginning of the crisis, the vast majorities of the economic agents and authorities thought that Brazil could face some sort of decoupling since some macroeconomic fundamentals were very good. What we saw, however, was that the Brazilian economy was not decoupled, and expectations faced a huge deterioration soon after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September 15th. Two aspects regarding the impact of crisis in Brazil, however, deserve a great deal of attention: (a) although deep, the impact did not last for a long time. Actually, the GDP growth experienced a good recovery in the second quarter of 2009, showing that the health of the Brazilian economy was good; (b) the Brazilian banking system performed very well during the crisis, although we cannot say the system was not in danger in the worst time of the crisis. In spite of the confidence crisis faced by the banking system 1, it showed a great deal of resilience. In this aspect, we argue that the restructure faced by the banking system in the aftermath of the Real Plan, as well as the development of a solid supervision regulation helped a lot the system to avoid the systemic crisis that was an open possibility to the Brazilian banking system in the end of 2008. These notes, thus, discusse why the Brazilian banking system performed pretty well in the 2008 financial crisis and how the Brazilian banking (and prudential) regulation can be taken as responsible for this good performance. More specifically, the paper back to the middle of the 1990s, when the Real Plan was implemented, in order to understand the role played by the restructuring of the Brazilian financial system in helping to pave the way to the great resilience experienced by the Brazilian banking system during the 2008 crisis. More specifically, the prudential regulation that was implemented in Brazil in the aftermath of the Real Plan seems to play a decisive role in the resilience of the system nowadays.

Gerenciamento de alarmes em plataformas marítimas de produção de hidrocarbonetos: metodologia e estudo de caso

In the operational context of industrial processes, alarm, by definition, is a warning to the operator that an action with limited time to run is required, while the event is a change of state information, which does not require action by the operator, therefore should not be advertised, and only stored for analysis of maintenance, incidents and used for signaling / monitoring (EEMUA, 2007). However, alarms and events are often confused and improperly configured similarly by developers of automation systems. This practice results in a high amount of pseudo-alarms during the operation of industrial processes. The high number of alarms is a major obstacle to improving operational efficiency, making it difficult to identify problems and increasing the time to respond to abnormalities. The main consequences of this scenario are the increased risk to personal safety, facilities, environment deterioration and loss of production. The aim of this paper is to present a philosophy for setting up a system of supervision and control, developed with the aim of reducing the amount of pseudo-alarms and increase reliability of the information that the system provides. A real case study was conducted in the automation system of the offshore production of hydrocarbons from Petrobras in Rio Grande do Norte, in order to validate the application of this new methodology. The work followed the premises of the tool presented in ISA SP18.2. 2009, called "life cycle alarm . After the implementation of methodology there was a significant reduction in the number of alarms

Accelerated ageing and controlled deterioration in beetroot seeds

It is fundamentally important that adequate tests are used to evaluate the physiological quality of produced and commercialized seeds. The objective of this work was to study accelerated ageing and controlled deterioration to evaluate seed vigour in beetroot, seeking to associate these results with seedling emergence in the field. Consequently, five seed lots of Top Tall Early Wonder cultivar were submitted to the tests of germination, seedling emergence in the field, accelerated ageing (using periods of 24, 48 and 72 hours at 42 degrees C) and controlled deterioration (seeds with moisture contents of 22, 24 and 26% at 41 degrees C and 45 degrees C for 12, 24 and 36 hours). Combinations of 72h at 42 degrees C for the accelerated ageing test and 45 degrees C with 24% moisture content for 24h for the controlled deterioration test were sensitive enough to evaluate the physiological potential of beetroot seeds, providing information that was compatible with results of the seedling emergence in the field.

Eletrical conductivity and deterioration of soybean seeds exposed to different storage conditions

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

Desenvolvimento de um sistema para análise de integridade estrutural de equipamentos estáticos baseado em cad vps micro cracks e ultrassom

In general, the designs of equipment takes into account the effects and processes of deterioration it will undergo and arrives at an approximate useful life. However, changes in operational processes and parameters, the action of external agents, the kind of maintenance conducted, the means of monitoring, and natural and accidental occurrences completely modify the desired performance of the equipment. The discontinuities that occur in anisotropic materials often and due to different factors evolve from being subcritical to critical acquiring the status of defect and compromising the physical integrity of the equipment. Increasingly sophisticated technological means of detection, monitoring and assessment of these discontinuities are required to respond ever more rapidly to the requirements of industry. This paper therefore presents a VPS (Virtual Pipe System) computational tool which uses the results of ultrasonic tests on equipment, plotting the discontinuities found in models created in the CAD and CAE systems, and then simulates the behavior of these defects in the structure to give an instantaneous view of the final behavior. This paper also presents an alternative method of conventional ultrasonic testing which correlates the integrity of an overlay (carbon steel and stainless steel attached by welding) and the reflection of ultrasonic waves coming from the interface between the two metals, thus making it possible to identify cracks in the casing and a shift of the overlay

Germinação de sementes armazenadas de guandu

O guandu (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp) é uma leguminosa arbustiva utilizada para adubação verde e como forrageira; seus grãos ricos em proteína servem de alimento animal e humano. No presente experimento objetivou-se estudar o comportamento da germinação de sementes de guandu de dois cultivares (um com e outro sem sementes duras) durante o armazenamento. As sementes recém-colhidas foram embaladas em sacos de papel e armazenadas durante seis anos em condições ambientais de laboratório, sem controle de temperatura e umidade relativa do ar. Logo após a colheita e depois anualmente, foi determinado o teor de água das sementes e realizado o teste de germinação. Os dados de germinação foram submetidos à análise estatística, em delineamento inteiramente ao acaso, considerando as sete avaliações durante o armazenamento como tratamentos, com quatro repetições. As análises de variância foram realizadas separadamente para cada cultivar e a seguir feita análise conjunta. Equações de regressão foram calculadas, escolhendo-se aquelas com melhor ajuste e maior coeficiente de determinação (R²). As sementes das duas cultivares se mantiveram viáveis durante três anos de armazenamento com germinação acima de 70%, seguido de queda, para no sexto ano estar próxima a 10%. A presença de sementes duras ocasiona diferença na germinação dos cultivares no transcorrer do período de armazenamento.

Use of Primary Sludge from Pulp and Paper Mills for Nanocomposites

Cellulose nanocrystals have been evaluated as reinforcement material in polymeric matrices due to their potential to improve the mechanical, optical, and dielectric properties of these matrixes. This work describes how high pressure defibrillation and chemical purification affect the sludge fiber morphology from micro to nanoscale. Microscopy techniques and X-ray diffraction were used to study the structure and properties of the prepared nanofibers and composites. Microscopic studies showed that the used individualization processes lead to a unique morphology of interconnected web-like structure of sludge fibers. The nanofibers are bundles of cellulose fibers having widths (5 to 30 nm) and estimated lengths of several micrometers.

Avaliação do desenvolvimento sustentável na bacia hidrográfica do Rio Seridó em face das políticas públicas e da gestão dos recursos hídricos

The reality of water resources management in semiarid regions, such as the Seridó region, has been shaped by a complex chain involving social-cultural, political, economic and environmental aspects, covering different spheres of activity - from local to federal. Because water is a scarce element, the most rational way pointed out by our recent history has been to move towards an increasing emphasis on the need for a truly rational, integrated, sustainable and participatory water resources management, supported by legislation and by a network of institutions that could materialize it. In this sense, despite all the advances in the formulation of public policies in water resources, which ones have indeed lead to significant changes that have occurred or are underway in semiarid regions such as Seridó? What factors may be preventing the realization of the desires rationality embedded in the framers of water policies intents? How to properly manage water resources if the current actors who promote their management and the political, human, cultural and institutional processes that intervene in this management, show strong traces of unsustainability? The research methodology adopted in this paper led to a breakdown of the traditional approach to water resource management, to integrate it into other areas of knowledge, especially to political science and public administration, catalyzed by the concept of "sustainable development". From a broad, interdisciplinary literature review, an exhaustive characterization of the river basin Seridó, a set of interviews with key people in the public administration acting in the region, a series of diagnoses and a set of propositions were made in order to correct the direction of current public policies for the region. From the point of view of public policies, it is in the deployment phase, not in its formulation, which lies a major problem of the lack of significant progress in water management. The lack of coordination between government programs are well characterized, as well as the lack of efficiency and effectiveness of their actions. The causes of this secular model are also discussed, including political factors and social relations of production, which led to a stalemate difficult, but of possible solution. It can be perceived there is a scenario of progressive deterioration of natural resources of the fragile ecosystem and a network of environmental and social consequences difficult to reverse, the result of a persistent and inertial sociopolitical culture, whose main factors reinforce itself. The work leads towards a characterization of the water resources management also from the perspective of environmental, institutional, political and human sustainability , the latter being identified, particularly as investment in the development of people as autonomous beings - not based in ideological directives of any kind - in the emancipation of the traditional figure of the poor man of the hinterland" to the "catalyst for change" responsible for their own decisions or omissions, based upon an education for free-thinking that brings each one as co-responsible epicenter of (self-) sustainable changes in their midst

Thermal inkjet printing of polyaniline on paper

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

The benefits of ethanol use for hydrogen production in urban transportation

The purpose of this paper is to describe the benefits of sugar cane ethanol in Brazil, appointing the productivity of this type of fuel based on hectares of plantation, its carbon dioxide cycle and the contribution to reduce the greenhouse effect. In the following step the uses of ethanol for hydrogen production by steam reforming is analyzed and some comparison with natural gas steam reforming is performed. The sugar cane industry in Brazil, in a near future, in the hydrogen era, could be modified according to our purpose, since besides the production of sugar, and ethylic and anhydric alcohol, Brazilian sugar cane industry will also be able to produce biohydrogen.Fuel cells appear like a promising technology for energy generation. Among several technologies in the present, the PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) is the most appropriate for vehicles application, because it combines durability, high power density, high efficiency, good response and it works at relatively low temperatures. Besides that it is easy to turn it on and off and it is able to support present vibration in vehicles. A PEMFC's problem is the need of noble catalysts like platinum. Another problem is that CO needs to be in low concentration, requiring a more clean hydrogen to avoid fuel cell deterioration.One part of this paper was developed in Stockholm, where there are some buses within the CUTE (clean urban transport for Europe) project that has been in operation with FC since January 2004. Another part was developed in Guaratingueta, Brazil. Brazil intends to start up a program of FC buses. As conclusion, this paper shows the economical analysis comparing buses moved by fuel cells using hydrogen by different kinds of production. Electrolyze with wind turbine, natural gas steam reforming and ethanol steam reforming. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of pigment, disinfection, and accelerated aging on the hardness and deterioration of a facial silicone elastomer

The failure of facial prostheses is caused by limitations in their flexibility and durability. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of disinfection and aging on Shore A hardness and deterioration of a facial silicone with different pigmentations. Twenty samples with addition of each pigment (ceramic (C), make-up (M)) and without pigment (L) were made. For each pigment type and no pigment, 10 samples were subjected to two types of disinfectant solution (soap (S) and Efferdent (E)), totaling sixty samples. The specimens were disinfected three times per week for 60 days, and subjected to accelerated aging for 1008 h. The hardness of the facial silicone was measured with a durometer, and its deterioration was evaluated by obtaining the weight difference over time. Both the hardness and weight of the samples were measured at baseline, after chemical disinfection, and periodically during accelerated aging (252, 504, and 1008 h). Deterioration was calculated during the periods between baseline and chemical disinfection, and between baseline and each aging period. The results were analyzed using three-way repeated measures ANOVA and the Tukey's HSD Post-hoc test (alpha = 0.05). Specifically, samples containing pigment exhibited significantly higher hardness and deterioration values than those lacking pigment (P < 0.05). In addition, period of time (disinfection and accelerated aging) statistically increased the hardness and deterioration values of the silicone (P < 0.05). It can be concluded that both pigment and time statistically affected the hardness and deterioration of the silicone elastomer. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of toothbrush bristles' deterioration used by preschool children

The toothbrush is an effective instrument for oral diseases prevention. The flexibility and status of bristles, as well as the size of the handle are fundamental for an effective toothbrushing. Thus, the assessment of physical characteristics of toothbrushes is important. This study evaluated the deterioration and wear of bristles of toothbrushes used by preschool children. For the sample selection, five elementary schools were assorted from a city of the São Paulo State northwest region, one from each city area. All toothbrushes used by preschool children who aged between 5 and 6 years old and who attended the assorted schools were visually analysed by two calibrated examiners, according to the criteria proposed by Rawls HR, Mkwayi-Tulloch NJ, Casella R, Cosgrove R (J Dent Res 1989; 12: 1781): 0 - it is impossible to state if the toothbrush was used or not; 1 - the bristles seem to be separated within some tufts; 2 - most tufts are separated, many cover other tufts and present a large number of curved and inclined bristles; 3 - most tufts are covered by others and bristles are folded and tipped. In total, 333 toothbrushes were evaluated. The data obtained revealed that 57.96% of the toothbrushes presented adequate condition for utilization (scores 0 and 1), whereas 42.04% presented inadequate bristles for their function (scores 2 and 3). It was concluded that a great number of toothbrushes presented deterioration of the bristles. Thus, there is the need to guide and promote awareness among teachers, parents and children as well as the need to replace toothbrushes.

Morphological features and occurrence of degenerative characteristics in the hypopharyngeal glands of the paper wasp Polistes versicolor (Olivier) (Hymenoptera : Vespidae)

Different histochemical techniques were applied to examine the morphological features of the secretory cells of hypopharyngeal glands in the wasp Polistes versicolor. The results showed that most analyzed individuals present active glands with secretion stored in the cytoplasm. In some glands, morphological analyses revealed the presence of degenerative characteristics. Analyses of cellular integrity, however, did not detect dead cells. The results showed that, in P. versicolor, the development and regression of the hypopharyngeal glands were not age related, unlike glands of social bees. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.