Geoparks in Brazil-strategy of Geoconservation and Development

Within the framework of the potential of geopark development and the interest of the geological community in creating new areas for geoconservation in Brazil, the aim of this contribution is to show the importance of geoscience education as a strategy for both geoconservation and development, and for the success and maintenance of new geoparks. A historical and evolutionary approach to the theme reveals the current status of geoscience education in Brazil and offers a panorama of the challenges inherent in preparing for the creation of new geoconservation areas. Proposals that aim to promote geoconservation and sustainability in Brazil include projects that capitalize on geological heritage and its relationship with local communities, proposals that form partnerships between the government, universities, businesses, and non-governmental organizations for the development of education, and changes in the law specifically aimed at geoconservation. Improvement in the educational system, including Earth science education, is undoubtedly one of the best strategies to promote the preservation of our natural heritage, and a cultural change in education will certainly promote changes in other areas.

Safety performance models for urban intersections in Brazil

This paper presents a modeling effort for developing safety performance models (SPM) for urban intersections for three major Brazilian cities. The proposed methodology for calibrating SPM has been divided into the following steps: defining the safety study objective, choosing predictive variables and sample size, data acquisition, defining model expression and model parameters and model evaluation. Among the predictive variables explored in the calibration phase were exposure variables (AADT), number of lanes, number of approaches and central median status. SPMs were obtained for three cities: Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte and Brasilia. The SPM developed for signalized intersections in Fortaleza and Belo Horizonte had the same structure and the most significant independent variables, which were AADT entering the intersection and number of lanes, and in addition, the coefficient of the best models were in the same range of values. For Brasilia, because of the sample size, the signalized and unsignalized intersections were grouped, and the AADT was split in minor and major approaches, which were the most significant variables. This paper also evaluated SPM transferability to other jurisdiction. The SPM for signalized intersections from Fortaleza and Belo Horizonte have been recalibrated (in terms of the COx) to the city of Porto Alegre. The models were adjusted following the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) calibration procedure and yielded C-x of 0.65 and 2.06 for Fortaleza and Belo Horizonte SPM respectively. This paper showed the experience and future challenges toward the initiatives on development of SPMs in Brazil, that can serve as a guide for other countries that are in the same stage in this subject. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Survey of the nutritional recommendations and management practices adopted by feedlot cattle nutritionists in Brazil

Thirty-three feedlot cattle nutritionists were surveyed to evaluate the management practices and nutritional recommendations adopted by feedlots in Brazil. The web-based survey consisted of 81 questions that included: general information (n = 10); general commodity information (n = 15); use of coproducts (n = 5), roughage source and level (n = 5); adaptation methods (n = 7); feed mixers (n = 6); feeding management (n = 6); cattle management and type of cattle fed (n = 13); formulation practices (n = 9); information resources used for nutritional recommendations (n = 2); and additional questions (n = 3). In total, the 33 nutritionists were responsible for approximately 2,658,000 animals, and moreover, 65.5% of those participants had clients that feed less than 5000 animals yearly. Corn was the primary source of grain used in feedlot diets (87.9%) and cracking was the primary processing method recommended by nutritionists (57.6%). The average concentrate and roughage inclusion in finishing diets was 79.0% and 21.0%, respectively. The main challenges faced by nutritionists are the lack of available and precise equipment and lack of trained employees with respiratory diseases as the main health problem. This survey of nutrition and management practices should aid in the development of research for the feedlot industry in Brazil and similar tropical climates, as well as provide data to facilitate the broader application of future NRC models. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A comparative evaluation of the CF:CS and CRS models in Pb-210 chronological studies applied to hydrographic basins in Brazil

The Constant Flux: Constant Sedimentation (CF:CS) and Constant Rate of Supply (CRS) of unsupported/excess Pb-210 models have been applied to a Pb-210 data set providing of eighteen sediments profiles sampled at four riverine systems occurring in Brazil, South America: Corumbatai River basin (S1=Site 1, Sao Paulo State), Atibaia River basin (S2=Site 2, Sao Paulo State), Ribeirao dos Bagres basin (S3=Site 3, Sao Paulo State) and Amazon River mouth. (S4=Site 4, Amapa State). These sites were chosen for a comparative evaluation of the performance of the CF:CS and CRS models due to their pronounced differences on the geographical location, geological context, soil composition, biodiversity, climate, rainfall, and water flow regime, among other variable aspects. However, all sediments cores exhibited a common denominator consisting on a database built from the use of the same techniques for acquiring the sediments major chemical composition (SiO2, Al2O3, Na2O, K2O, CaO, MgO, Fe2O3, MnO, P2O5, TiO2 and LOI-Loss on Ignition) and unsupported/excess 210Pb activity data. In terms of sedimentation rates, the performance of the CRS model was better than that of the CF:CS model as it yielded values more compatible with those expected from field evidences. Under the chronological point of view, the CRS model always provided ages within the permitted range of the Pb-210-method in the studied sites, whereas the CF:CS model predicted some values above 150 years. The SiO2 content decreased in accordance with the LOI increase in all cores analyzed and such inverse relationship was also tracked in the SiO2-LOI curves of historical trends. The SiO2-LOI concentration fluctuations in sites S1 and S3 also coincided with some Cu and Cr inputs in the drainage systems. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the procedures used to evaluate suicide crime scenes in Brazil: A statistical approach to interpret reports

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

Molecular and phylogenetic characterization based on the complete genome of a virulent pathotype of Newcastle disease virus isolated in the 1970s in Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Mixed methodology to analyze the relationship between maturity of environmental management and the adoption of green supply chain management in Brazil

The aim of this research is to verify the relationship between the maturity levels of environmental management and the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices by electro-electronic companies in Brazil. In this work a two-phase research was conducted, with one quantitative and the other qualitative. The quantitative phase aimed to test whether a relationship between the maturity levels of environmental management and GSCM exists, while the qualitative phase tried to detail the characteristics of this relationship. The quantitative phase was conducted through a survey with 100 Brazilian electro-electronic companies and the collected data were processed using Structural Equation Modeling. For the qualitative phase, a multiple case study was conducted with three companies located in Brazil. The results indicate that: (1) The main hypothesis was confirmed and considered statistically valid, indicating that, indeed, the maturity level of environmental management influences the adoption of GSCM practices; (2) a coevolution tends to occur between the environmental maturity and the GSCM practices; that is, the more developed is the company's environmental management, more complex GSCM practices are adopted; and (3) the GSCM internal practices tend to present a greater relative adoption than the external practices; these external practices of GSCM tend to be adopted when the company is inserted in a higher environmental stage and/or operates under a scenario of stronger normative environmental pressure. By the way, this is the first research mixing survey and case studies on GSCM in Brazil. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Arthropod-borne pathogens circulating in free-roaming domestic cats in a zoo environment in Brazil

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

Wickerhamiella kiyanii f.a., sp nov and Wickerhamiella fructicola f.a., sp nov., two yeasts isolated from native plants of Atlantic rainforest in Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Morphological and molecular evidence for the occurrence of three Hippocampus species (Teleostei: Syngnathidae) in Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

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)