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Alexandre de Gusmão (1695-1753): O Estadista que desenhou o mapa do Brasil: By Synesio Sampaio Goes Filho. The second myth suggested that the territories that today make up Brazil formerly belonged to an immense indigenous Tupi-Guarani group and that the whole area from the confluence of the Paraguay River and the Guaporé River to the Amazon was their ancestral territory: I Pindorama i . The new Treaty of Madrid (1750) was instrumental for the legitimization of territories that had up until then been part of the Spanish Empire in South America. [Extracted from the article]

Despite the growing body of feminist research investigating the relationship between sports initiatives and gender development goals, the literature to date has almost exclusively focused on female participation within sport for development programs. The purpose of this paper is to examine men's behavior and provide novel insights into the perspectives and roles of men in sport for development work. This paper draws upon 11 months of ethnographic research undertaken between 2017 and 2018 in two organizations in São Paulo, Brazil, which use football as a tool to empower women. The findings reveal the diversity of roles men play in gender equality efforts and indicate issues men face, specifically the impact of ideas of manhood that hinder their ability to support broader social justice. The author ends the paper by outlining the necessity to explore masculinity and manhood in more depth to broaden the current understandings of the limitations and potential of sport for development initiatives to change the traditional model of male dominance and, consequently, have a more profound effect on gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dengue, Zika, and chikungunya, whose viruses are transmitted mainly by Aedes aegypti, significantly impact human health worldwide. Despite the recent development of promising vaccines against the dengue virus, controlling these arbovirus diseases still depends on mosquito surveillance and control. Nonetheless, several studies have shown that these measures are not sufficiently effective or ineffective. Identifying higher-risk areas in a municipality and directing control efforts towards them could improve it. One tool for this is the premise condition index (PCI); however, its measure requires visiting all buildings. We propose a novel approach capable of predicting the PCI based on facade street-level images, which we call PCINet. Methodology: Our study was conducted in Campinas, a one million-inhabitant city in São Paulo, Brazil. We surveyed 200 blocks, visited their buildings, and measured the three traditional PCI components (building and backyard conditions and shading), the facade conditions (taking pictures of them), and other characteristics. We trained a deep neural network with the pictures taken, creating a computational model that can predict buildings' conditions based on the view of their facades. We evaluated PCINet in a scenario emulating a real large-scale situation, where the model could be deployed to automatically monitor four regions of Campinas to identify risk areas. Principal findings: PCINet produced reasonable results in differentiating the facade condition into three levels, and it is a scalable strategy to triage large areas. The entire process can be automated through data collection from facade data sources and inferences through PCINet. The facade conditions correlated highly with the building and backyard conditions and reasonably well with shading and backyard conditions. The use of street-level images and PCINet could help to optimize Ae. aegypti surveillance and control, reducing the number of in-person visits necessary to identify buildings, blocks, and neighborhoods at higher risk from mosquito and arbovirus diseases. Author summary: The strategies to control Ae. aegypti require intensive work and considerable financial resources, are time-consuming, and are commonly affected by operational problems requiring urgent improvement. The PCI is a good tool for identifying higher-risk areas; however, its measure requires a high amount of human and material resources, and the aforementioned issues remain. In this paper, we propose a novel approach capable of predicting the PCI of buildings based on street-level images. This first work combines deep learning-based methods with street-level data to predict facade conditions. Considering the good results obtained with PCINet and the good correlations of facade conditions with PCI components, we could use this methodology to classify building conditions without visiting them physically. With this, we intend to overcome the high cost of identifying high-risk areas. Although we have a long road ahead, our results show that PCINet could help to optimize Ae. aegypti and arbovirus surveillance and control, reducing the number of in-person visits necessary to identify buildings or areas at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deadbeat predictive current control (DPCC) is an effective model-based motor control method. However, due to the unbalanced inductance and parameter variations of the segmented powered linear motor stator, the conventional model of linear motors is not accurate, which ultimately affect the performance of the control. This paper proposes a novel DPCC based on the recursive least squares (RLS) method to identify the parameters of the dual three-phase segmented powered linear motor (SP-LM) model. First, the influence of unbalanced inductance caused by the segmented motor stator and parameter variations of the conventional DPCC are analyzed. Second, a discrete RLS model of the dual three-phase SP-LM is established, which is a common model for both linear induction motors (LIMs) and linear synchronous motors (LSMs). Finally, the model parameters are identified by the RLS method and the deadbeat principle is used to predict the current. The proposed method effectively eliminates the influence of unbalanced inductance and the parameter variation, improves the current control performance and reduces the thrust fluctuation. Experiments based on hardware-in-the-loop verify the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last years, Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has been receiving increasing attention and even if the first services are expected to be launched shortly, there is still uncertainty about which type of commercial services (e.g., airport shuttles or city-taxis) will be implemented at an early stage, as well as which price point will be perceived as affordable by travelers. Based on data collected through a large-scale survey campaign in the Milan metropolitan area (Italy), in this paper passengers' value of travel time savings for different UAM services are estimated using advanced discrete choice modeling. Estimated mixed logit models allowed to comparatively analyze the differences between the two potential use cases, i.e., airport shuttle and city-taxi services. Results show a willingness to pay for UAM services from/to airports that is greater (in a range of 44%–57%) than for travelling within the metropolitan area, and greater (in a range of 31%–44%) for business travels than for other purposes, indicating that the most financially sustainable UAM services will potentially be available for airport-shuttle connections from/to central business districts. • Willingness to pay for UAM airport shuttles (48–69 €/h) is greater than that for UAM city-taxis (34–44 €/h). • Business travelers are willing to pay 31%–44% more than non-business ones for UAM services. • In the early stages, UAM services connecting airports and central business districts will be the most financially sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the becoming of neoliberal cities, consumption can play an important role in the process of marking who is human, that is, fit for consumption, and who is not. This paper explores such processes as affective becomings and focuses on the workings of comfort and discomfort to highlight how some bodies are delegitimized in order for others to become legitimatized. Using an ethnographic approach with affective methodologies, I trace the process of erasing activism collectives that were resisting gentrification in São Paulo and advocating the 'right to the city'. The contribution of this paper is threefold. Firstly, it highlights how the becoming of the neoliberal city follows a neoliberal normativity in tandem with a colonial one. By exploring how spaces, bodies, and norms are always related to one another in this process, I highlight how 'the consumer' has become the body who counts (i.e. the human). Secondly, this paper shows how activism work refracts the dynamics of the neoliberal-colonial normativity, as it (re)acts to its mechanisms for sorting out bodies. Thirdly, this paper highlights the political dimensions of (dis)comfort that mark the splitting of legitimate and illegitimatebodies in a social reproduction for consumption. Consequently, it explores how discomfort has been used as a political-affective tool of delegitimization, subjugation, and oppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to describe some scenes performed by students from São Paulo public schools, especially from the peripheries, at the VIII Inter-School Slams of São Paulo, to discuss and analyze literary literacies practices. This poetic event was observed on site by the authors of this paper, specifically the poetic performance of elementary school student Manoella de Souza, from the state school called Dona Luiza Macuco. The authors of this research take the perspective of literary literacies (Amorim et al. 2022; Neves, 2021b), literacies of reexistence (Souza, 2011; Duboc; Menezes de Souza, 2021; Walsh, 2009, 2019) and critical literacies (Monte-Mór, 2015, 2019) in defense of Poetry Slam as a political-poetic-performative act by young people from the outskirts of São Paulo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study conducted in São Paulo, Brazil, where the planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) was determined using ceilometer data and the wavelet covariance transform method. The retrieved PBLH values were subsequently compared with the concentrations of CO2 and CH4 measured at three distinct experimental sites in the city. The period of study was July 2021. This study also included a comparison between ceilometer data and lidar data, which demonstrated the favorable applicability of the ceilometer data for PBLH estimation. An examination of the correlation between changes in average CO2 concentrations and PBLH values revealed stronger correlations for the IAG and UNICID stations, with correlation coefficients (ρ) of approximately −0.86 and −0.85, respectively, in contrast to the Pico do Jaraguá station, which exhibited a lower correlation coefficient of −0.42. When assessing changes in CH4 concentrations against variations in PBL height, the retrieved correlation coefficients were approximately −0.78 for IAG, −0.66 for UNICID, and −0.38 for Pico do Jaraguá. The results indicated that CO2/CH4 concentrations are negatively correlated with PBL heights, with CO2 concentrations showing more significant correlation than CH4. Additionally, among the three measurement stations, IAG measurements displayed the most substantial correlation. The results from this study contribute to the understanding of the relationship between PBLH and greenhouse gas concentrations, emphasizing the potential of remote sensing systems like ceilometers in monitoring and studying atmospheric processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an evaluation of the information literacies used by community representatives when engaging with participatory budgeting in São Paulo City, Brazil. Using questions established from context-setting interviews with stakeholders, a focus group was held in 2019 with eight participative councillors, with in situ interpretation, resulting in a translated transcript of the discussion. Thematic analysis was used to understand information issues faced by community representatives in relation to past research. It was found that the community representatives face informational barriers to their engagement with participatory budgeting, in (a) learning about their role (b) understanding the information needs of the communities served and (c) gathering and sharing information about local issues with stakeholders. These findings allow the refining of CILIP's definition of information literacy (IL) for citizenship and provide the basis for proposing a model for the IL of community representatives. It is also proposed that future IL research could further develop the role of digitally-enabled place and community in shaping the landscape of literacy and the role of hyperlocal representation. Additionally, the role of translation in cross-lingual IL research is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature has suggested that droughts and societies are mutually shaped and, therefore, both require a better understanding of their coevolution on risk reduction and water adaptation. Although the São Paulo Metropolitan Region drew attention because of the 2013–2015 drought, this was not the first event. This paper revisits this event and the 1985–1986 drought to compare the evolution of drought risk management aspects. Documents and hydrological records are analyzed to evaluate the hazard intensity, preparedness, exposure, vulnerability, responses, and mitigation aspects of both events. Although the hazard intensity and exposure of the latter event were larger than the former one, the policy implementation delay and the dependency of service areas in a single reservoir exposed the region to higher vulnerability. In addition to the structural and non-structural tools implemented just after the events, this work raises the possibility of rainwater reuse for reducing the stress in reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to contribute to the discussion on the publicness of public spaces by focusing on the uses of free access areas in urban mobility infrastructures such as subway stations, especially those uses not associated with mobility, transit and passenger flow – I call them 'non-transit uses'. I also focus specifically on people at the station whose behaviour differs from a 'typical passenger'. Instead of entering the station and heading to platforms, the ones I call 'non-passengers' do not ride the subway, do not arrive there by subway and remain at the station for long periods. To study the uses of space, I suggest an investigation framework that allows a focus on how these free access areas and their publicness are a product of these specific uses. The paper is based on Lefebvre's dialectic assumption on space, particularly his analytical triad of 'perceived', 'conceived' and 'lived' spaces, and Frehse's specific definition of uses (patterns of bodily behaviour and social interactions). I then investigate what the non-transit uses of non-passengers can reveal about the Sé subway station in downtown São Paulo by studying them in every aspect of Lefebvre's triad, thus revealing conceived, perceived and lived uses of the station. Finally, I conclude that the 'non-passengers' use the station in similar ways to a public square and that the 'publicness' of this station lies in the relation of its non-transit uses with the Sé square placed above the station. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper disrupts mistaken applications of multifractal approaches in financial time series. Specifically, we have examined the nonlinear cross-correlation between the São Paulo time series of the weekly price of ethanol and the other 14 Brazilian capitals' time series of the weekly price of the same biofuel using the Multifractal Detrended Cross-Correlation Analysis (MF-DCCA). Given the statistical peculiars of stationary and non-stationary financial time series, we suggest two possibilities for employing multifractal approaches to these time series. Our findings shed light and promote alignment between basic time series analysis techniques and multifractal dynamics. Also, we discover that the use of MF-DCCA is highly impacted by choice of time series (stationary or non-stationary). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil is one of the largest grain producers in the world, but its productive potential is threatened by the presence of stored product pests that compromise quality and quantity. The use of synthetic insecticides and selective pressure make many of these pests increasingly resistant to control. Concern for health and the environment requires the development of less toxic and persistent products for the management of these undesirable organisms. The insecticide activity of aqueous extracts of 15 vegetal species was evaluated to control grain beetles, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky in maize stored. The adult insects came from the laboratory at Biological Institute of São Paulo. They were fed with sterilized grains of maize and kept in a room at 25±2°C and 70±% of relative humidity. The plants for the aqueous extracts were crushed in distilled water and the vegetal mass was filtered next. The liquid resulting from the filtering process was stored in plastic containers and frozen for later use. Two tests were conducted: impregnation of filter paper and treatment of grains. Ten insects were evaluated in each batch. Only the aqueous extract of Dahlia pinnata Cavanilles was satisfactory in controlling S. zeamais showing an efficiency of 10.00% in the contact test and an efficiency of 56% in the treated corn kernels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the time, geotechnical engineering interventions require solutions that necessarily aim for better use of the available space. Many slope stabilization techniques were developed following that assumption, and one of the most applied procedures in Brazil is the soil nailing reinforcement. These engineering techniques are constantly improving. Consequently, a continuous study of the design and behavior of soil nails is important. The technique of vertical nails reinforcement in soil nailing is recent in the Brazilian scenario. Nowadays, some constructors started to use them near the slope face when stabilizing huge excavations. This paper aims to verify the vertical nails' efficiency in reducing horizontal displacements. We present three numerical modeling analyses using the finite elements method (FEM). The proposed model is a soil nailing of approximately 18m high in a homogeneous subsoil in São Paulo city. Comparing situations with and without vertical nails, as if an inclined face (slope), the results showed that adding those nails could reduce horizontal displacements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a hierarchical Bayesian approach for modeling the evolution of the 7-day moving average for the number of deaths due to COVID-19 in a country, state or city. The proposed approach is based on a Gaussian process regression model. The main advantage of this model is that it assumes that a nonlinear function f used for modeling the observed data is an unknown random parameter in opposite to usual approaches that set up f as being a known mathematical function. This assumption allows the development of a Bayesian approach with a Gaussian process prior over f. In order to estimate the parameters of interest, we develop an MCMC algorithm based on the Metropolis-within-Gibbs sampling algorithm. We also present a procedure for making predictions. The proposed method is illustrated in a case study, in which, we model the 7-day moving average for the number of deaths recorded in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Results obtained show that the proposed method is very effective in modeling and predicting the values of the 7-day moving average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper approaches the relationship between the State and the environment, aiming to evaluate the inquiries opened by the Public Ministry of the State of São Paulo (MPSP) and by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) of Jales, of the 24th and 37th Federal Judiciary Subsection, the coercion and the sanction of environmental crimes of acts and/or omissions of municipal public agents (mayors) in the face of the administrative improbity law, arising from environmental damage. The study was carried out by collecting data from the MPSP and MPF from 48 municipalities in the northwest region of São Paulo, in procedures opened from January 2008 to August 2021 whose defendants were mayors and municipalities. After data collection, there was a tabulation and correlation with the bibliography, the legislation and the found jurisprudence. It has been identified that 120 proceedings were initiated, and the majority of these investigations lead to public civil actions by the MPSP, with most of them being civil inquiries, while the remaining ones were police inquiries. Additionally, the MPF in Jales opened a total of 606 proceedings, and the majority of them evolved into public civil actions. It is concluded that the MPSP of the districts and MPF of Jales have been fulfilling the constitutional duty in environmental protection; however, it was identified that the mayors end up not suffering sanctions from the Administrative Impropriety Law for environmental crimes. It was observed that the main objective of the MPSP and the MPF is the restoration of the damage and not the coercion of the agent who carries out or omits actions that lead to environmental damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public transport is essential to provide urban mobility, and cities need to offer a fast, comfortable, secure, and low-pollutant public transport mode to attract passengers and reduce private car use. Despite metros, trains, and light rail systems being desirable, the cost of implementation and low flexibility make bus services the best option for many cities. One solution for improving bus service systems is the implementation of bus rapid transit systems that are composed of buses running in segregated lines with pre-payment fares and level boarding platforms in stations. However, the main challenge of bus systems is the use of engines fueled by diesel, which is extremely polluted. One possible solution is the use of battery buses; but are they really feasible regarding daily operation cost? In this paper, we investigate the adoption of battery buses in comparison to diesel engines in a BRT system using municipal data from São Paulo, Brazil, as a reference. We collected operational data from the Sao Paulo city government transport agency and data from the literature to produce an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model, which allowed us to compare both systems. The AHP model considered a triple-bottom-line perspective using social, economic, and environmental impact criteria. The result showed that the initial costs of acquisition can be a barrier, but in the long run, cities adopting battery buses in their BRT system can benefit from the effects of reduction in gas emissions and longer lifetimes of electric bus components. Moreover, the results showed that the adoption of battery buses in BRT systems depends on local government subsidies being implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the scope for upscaling and transnational transfer of participatory landslide risk management strategies for informal settlements in Latin America. Drawing on lessons from transdisciplinary action-research in three neighbourhoods in Medellín, Colombia, and one in São Paulo, Brazil, the paper discusses how bottom-up approaches were developed to co-produce landslide risk management in both Global South cities, in a way that optimises the collaboration between communities and relevant governmental bodies. The analysis focuses on mitigation and 'agreement-seeking', from the perspectives of scale, power and knowledge, which help understand the parallels between co-production of landslide risk management and co-production of urban services. Two key conclusions are that landslide risk management should be built into neighbourhood upgrading and management, and that both community and the state have stronger roles to play in landslide risk management from their respective capacities. The paper also reflects on the role of academia in enabling co-production of landslide risk management through engaging with local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to assess the area of ethnoecology within funding provided by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) to projects and events in order to discuss the importance of this area for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the opportunity to advance this area of knowledge, The paper presents a retrospective analysis of the 75 projects and 21 events organized in the area of ethnoecology that received support from FAPESP in the last 60 years. For this purpose, a search was performed in the FAPESP databases using the keywords Ethnoecology, Ethnobiology, Ethnoscience, Ethnoichthyology, Ethnotaxonomy, Ecological Anthropology, Ethnobotany, Ethnozoology, Ethnopharmacology, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Indigenous Knowledge, Ethnography, Human Ecology and Ethnoarcheology. Research Support modality accounted for most of the projects (88%), with 45.3% of funding occurring in the decade of 2000--2009. No project was supported in the first two decades and only eight were part of the BIOTA Program. The main areas of submission were Biological Sciences (46.7% of projects and 47.6% of events) and Humanities (38.7% of projects). The research questions and methods of the projects developed over the last four decades were analyzed critically and comparatively. Given the data collected, an increase of ethnocecological projects supported by the BIOTA Program and through the thematic modality may contribute to advance this area of knowledge and to cross the path from inter to transdisciplinar science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the tension between development practice and postcolonial and decolonial theories. The postcolonial and decolonial critiques of development primarily criticise the Eurocentrism of the development discourse, which prevents so-called 'subalterns' from living politically self-determined lives. To evaluate both development policy and its post/decolonial critiques, the paper conducts a qualitative content analysis of song lyrics from the rap music of São Paulo, Brazil, comparing the political demands present in the lyrics with the most important aspects of development policy. São Paulo rap is chosen as it represents an organic politico-cultural movement from the peripheries of one of the largest metropolises in the so-called Global South. The paper concludes that, in terms of basic needs, the will of the 'subalterns' is not significantly different from what development practice offers. Beyond that, it also concludes that both development policy and postcolonialism overlook the problem of the political construction of inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the editorial for the virtual special issue (VSI) of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (RSER) dedicated to three Sustainable Development of Energy Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Conferences held in 2022, namely: (i) the 5th South East European Conference SEESDEWES 2022 held from May 22 to 26, 2022 in Vlore, Albania; (ii) the 3rd Latin American LASDEWES 2022 held from July 24 to 28, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil and (iii) the 17th SDEWES 2022 held from November 6 to 10, 2022 in Paphos, Cyprus. The VSI collected both high quality review papers and original research articles presented at these conferences, aligning with the aims and scope of RSER. Following a rigorous peer review process, seventeen articles were accepted and published. These articles explore techniques and technologies essential for advancing feasible Renewable and Sustainable Energy Systems. Spanning multidisciplinary topics, many of them address almost all the Sustainable Development Goals, offering feasible solutions for much-needed decarbonization pathways. • The VSI SDEWES 2022 presents the ready solutions for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Systems. • Five clusters for presenting the Renewable and Sustainable energy cutting edge solutions. • The positioning in the scientific context of the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Systems. • Feasible solutions for much-needed decarbonization pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a multi-temporal comparison of high-resolution 3D digital models from two urban areas susceptible to landslides in three time periods. The study areas belong to the São Paulo landslide risk mapping database and are named "CEU Paz" (CP) and "Parque Santa Madalena I" (PSM). For each area, a lidar digital surface model (DSM) (2017) and two structure-from-motion multi-view stereo DSMs (2019 and 2022) built from drone imagery were combined using raster algebra to generate three digital surface models of differences (DoDs). The DoDs were able to highlight changes in vegetation cover and buildings, which are important characteristics for evaluating geological risks in an urban context. Still, they were unable to highlight changes in the ground surface. The results demonstrate that the method greatly supports monitoring, allowing for greater detail and ease of detecting large-scale changes. Even with promising results, this technique should be understood as one more tool for mapping risk areas without replacing fieldwork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide for weed control in citrus orchards in Brazil; therefore, it is likely that several species have gained resistance to this herbicide and that more than one resistant species can be found in the same orchard. The objective was to identify weeds resistant to glyphosate in citrus orchards from different regions of the São Paulo State (SP) and determine how many resistant species are present within the same orchard. Seeds of Amaranthus deflexus, A. hybridus, Bidens pilosa, Chloris elata, Conyza bonariensis, Digitaria insularis, Solanum Americanum, and Tridax procumbens, which, as reported by growers, are suspected to be resistant to glyphosate, were collected from plants that survived the last application of this herbicide (>720 g of acid equivalent [ae] ha–1) in sweet orange and Tahiti acid lime orchards. Based on dose–response and shikimic acid accumulation assays, all populations of A. deflexus, A. hybridus, B. pilosa, and T. procumbens were sensitive to glyphosate. However, populations of B. pilosa from the Olimpia region (R-NS, R-PT and R-OdA) showed signs of resistance based on plant mortality rates by 50% within a population (LD50 = 355–460 g ae ha−1). All populations of C. bonariensis, C. elata, and D. insularis were resistant to glyphosate, presenting resistance ratios from 1.9 to 27.6 and low shikimate accumulation rates. Solanum americanum also showed resistance, with resistance ratios ranging from 4.3 to 25.4. Most of the citrus orchards sampled presented the occurrence of more than one species resistant to glyphosate: Nossa Senhora—one species; Olhos D'agua and Passatempo—two species; Araras—four species; and Cordeiropolis and Mogi-Mirim—up to five species. The results reported in this paper provide evidence of multiple species in citrus orchards from São Paulo that have exhibited resistance to glyphosate. This underscores the difficulties in managing glyphosate-resistant weeds which are prevalent throughout the country, such as C. bonariensis and D. insularis. The presence of these resistant species further complicates the control of susceptible species that may also develop resistance. In addition, the glyphosate resistance of S. americanum was identified for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States of America (USA) has been the world’s largest producer of ethanol since the late 2000s. In fact, the cultivation and production of corn, the main raw material for North American ethanol, has grown substantially. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships established between the ethanol industry and agriculture in Western Kansas, a rural region in the United States Midwest, in the context of the expansion of ethanol production in Western São Paulo. The methodological procedures adopted were based on bibliographic research, survey and analysis of secondary data and field research, with recognition of the area and interviews held with key people linked to companies that produce grain and ethanol, public officials, extension workers, and farmers. It was found that the production of ethanol in Western Kansas is a complementary activity to grain production and cattle confinement, which featured the characteristics of agriculture and regional economy. Nevertheless, the productive arrangement in which ethanol production is inserted is based on the cultivation of grain, particularly irrigated corn, and is part of a highly intensive agricultural system, which has resulted, over the past 70 years, in a sharp decline in underground water reserves and, consequently, irrigated agriculture. This framework contradicts the narratives of environmental benefits associated with agrofuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the 2000s onwards, Latin American cities São Paulo and Medellín experienced a significant drop in homicidal violence. Considering that the interpretations about this process are not consensual, the purpose of Reduction of Homicides in São Paulo and Medellín: What Does the Literature Say? is to reveal the two main explanatory strands, identified as institutional and criminal. For this, we have conducted a systematic literature review of papers published between 2003 and 2018 investigating the phenomenon's possible triggering factors. On the selection process of publications suitable for the methodological criteria, 66 works were identified, of which 39 refer to São Paulo and 27 to Medellín. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the example of the city of São Paulo (Brazil), in this paper, we analyze the temporal relation between human mobility and meteorological variables with the number of infected individuals by the COVID-19 disease. For the temporal relation, we use the significant values of distance correlation t 0 (DC), which is a recently proposed quantity capable of detecting nonlinear correlations between time series. The analyzed period was from February 26, 2020 to June 28, 2020. Fewer movements in recreation and transit stations and the increase in the maximal temperature have strong correlations with the number of newly infected cases occurring 17 days after. Furthermore, more significant changes in grocery and pharmacy, parks, and recreation and sudden changes in the maximal pressure occurring 10 and 11 days before the disease begins are also correlated with it. Scanning the whole period of the data, not only the early stage of the disease, we observe that changes in human mobility also primarily affect the disease for 0–19 days after. In other words, our results demonstrate the crucial role of the municipal decree declaring an emergency in the city to influence the number of infected individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious disease modeling plays an important role in understanding disease spreading dynamics and can be used for prevention and control. The well-known SIR (Susceptible, Infected, and Recovered) compartment model and spatial and spatio-temporal statistical models are common choices for studying problems of this kind. This paper proposes a spatio-temporal modeling framework to characterize infectious disease dynamics by integrating the SIR compartment and log-Gaussian Cox process (LGCP) models. The method's performance is assessed via simulation using a combination of real and synthetic data for a region in São Paulo, Brazil. We also apply our modeling approach to analyze COVID-19 dynamics in Cali, Colombia. The results show that our modified LGCP model, which takes advantage of information obtained from the previous SIR modeling step, leads to a better forecasting performance than equivalent models that do not do that. Finally, the proposed method also allows the incorporation of age-stratified contact information, which provides valuable decision-making insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Universal Design (UD) of products for people with physical disabilities, such as adults with cerebral palsy is lacking in scientific evidence. The objective of this paper is to know the perceptions of the use of support designs for smartphones, taking the seven principles of the UD as a framework by analyzing a focus group. Face-to-face interviews were performed with adults with cerebral palsy from the countryside of São Paulo, Brazil. Six support designs were taken as an example to use the smartphone on a flat surface or another type of surface, which were evaluated by the group of participants. One design was selected that was useful for everyone regardless of their disability and that showed additional functions for using the smartphone. In conclusion, the study based on the DU model is a valuable theoretical and practical tool to identify the perspectives of people with disabilities, as well as to reflect on the improvements of the product that can be adapted to their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the use of regression models with random effects has made great progress. Among these models' attractions is the flexibility to analyze correlated data. In various situations, the distribution of the response variable presents asymmetry or bimodality. In these cases, it is possible to use the normal regression with random effect at the intercept. In light of these contexts, i.e. the desire to analyze correlated data in the presence of bimodality or asymmetry, in this paper we propose a regression model with random effect at the intercept based onthe generalized inverse Gaussian distribution model with correlated data. The maximum likelihood is adopted to estimate the parameters and various simulations are performed for correlated data. A type of residuals for the new regression is proposed whose empirical distribution is close to normal. The versatility of the new regression is demonstrated by estimating the average price per hectare of bare land in 10 municipalities in the state of São Paulo (Brazil). In this context, various databases are constantly emerging, requiring flexible modeling. Thus, it is likely to be of interest to data analysts, and can make a good contribution to the statistical literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an innovative comparison that works creatively with the entangled spatialities of policy mobilities, drawing on a city-to-city cooperation between São Paulo (Brazil) and eThekwini (South Africa) municipalities for the exchange of slum upgrading expertise. The proposed comparative tactic entails tracing the establishment of this connection in order to disassemble the constituent flows and localities merged within it. Subsequently, by posing questions to one another, a relational comparison of the trajectory of slum upgrading policy in each locality is composed, unearthing the political and institutional conditions that preceded the existence of the connection per se. In that sense, both eThekwini and São Paulo are considered equivalent starting points from which local actors engaged in circulating ideas and mobilised slum upgrading policies. This paper not only brings a fresh approach to comparative methods – incorporating political contexts and their extensive overlapping networks of relations alongside a focus on particular policy trajectories – but also contributes to furthering global urban studies in two other ways. First, it provides insight into the processes by which policies are put on the move and localised (or not). Second, it demonstrates how repeated instances of urban practice may be unravelled by allowing each context of policy formation, with its distinctive trajectory of slum upgrading, to speak to one another. In this regard, the comparative analysis identified how, in both São Paulo and eThekwini, the consolidation of democracy was followed by the development of more technocratic approaches to the detriment of earlier slum upgrading initiatives focussed on community empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores how indigenous knowledge and hybridity were displayed at the exhibition to celebrate the fourth centennial of São Paulo city in 1954. The exhibition was curated by the Portuguese scholar Jaime Cortesão, who spent seventeen years exiled in Brazil and actively participated in intellectual controversies about territorial exploration and colonial encounters. Considering Cortesão's mobilities and his dialogues with Brazilian scholars, the paper proposes a critical and decolonial gaze to texts, images and objects selected to depict encounters in São Paulo exhibition. Drawing on sources from the National Library of Portugal and media reports published in the Brazilian press, the paper explored two categories incorporated in Cortesão's curation work to reconcile local, national and colonial identities: Tupi and Bandeirante. By exploring how Cortesão used these categories to reinforce Portuguese colonial agency in Brazilian territorial exploration, this paper suggested that critical studies of hybridism could provide essential insights for contemporary postcolonial and decolonial scholarship. • Highlights the display of encounters and hybridity at São Paulo exhibition in 1954. • Examines mobilities as an essential aspect to investigate Cortesão's curation work. • Explores how local categories were displayed to support national and colonial claims. • Demonstrate how controversies with Brazilian historians were silenced in the display. • Shows that critical studies on hybridisms provide insights for decolonial approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the indirect evidential markers dizque in American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese by focusing on the Spanish varieties of Guayaquil (Ecuador) and Lima (Peru), and the Brazilian Portuguese variety of São Paulo (Brazil). I adopt a comparative approach in which I discuss their syntax, semantics and pragmatics. To thoroughly document their properties in a theoretically driven approach, a comprehensive questionnaire building on previous literature was used, and data from five consultants per variety were gathered--fieldwork practices were followed. The purpose of such an approach is to complement previous studies, which have mainly focused on corpora. As for the syntactic properties, I discuss their distribution in connection to a number of different elements, such as modal and evidential adverbs, among many others; the use as an illocutionary evidential is, in general, disallowed in these varieties. As for the semantic and pragmatic properties, I discuss the types of evidence with which these evidentials are compatible, the at-issue vs. not-at-issue distinction and the doubt implication that sentences with these elements normally have. This study attempts to provide a comprehensive overview of these evidentials in these varieties, so that future research can build on it to single out different properties in controlled (e.g., experimental) settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To relate the recovery of the main rivers in São Paulo city with the impacts on its urban mobility through ports and river transport routes. Method: A documental research of the main data (trace, width, depth and location) and a bibliographical survey of the main researches on the theme in articles, theses and reports issued, mainly, by public organs such as CET (Traffic Engineering Company), Government of the State of São Paulo and IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) were carried out. Originality/Relevance: The paper in question becomes relevant due to the fact that it analyzes an alternative to solve the problem of urban mobility from a different perspective: integrating the well-known rivers that cut the urban environment of São Paulo in order to take advantage of their hydric potential. Results: From the information gathered, it was possible to elaborate a strategic plan identifying possibilities for the installation of intermodal cargo terminals, besides verifying which vessels could be used. Social/Management Contributions: São Paulo's management constantly seeks to find solutions to the negative impacts of disorderly urbanization on the city's infrastructure and urban mobility, in addition to the problems of polluting its rivers. Evaluating the restoration of rivers in the region from the perspective of using them as an alternative to already saturated roads can bring benefits in various government spheres, in addition to improving the quality of life of the population of São Paulo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Green Belt Biosphere Reserve, with 2.33 million hectares and its internal urban area with 220 thousand hectares, is configured as a water security territory and expresses a direct relationship between urban development and areas that ensure well-being and ecosystem services for 12% of Brazil's population. With seventy-eight municipalities that fully or partially integrate the GBBR, the socioeconomic differences and the different contexts of urbanization and governance reflect on territorial management at the local level and impact the environmental and regional sustainable development agendas. Objective: Based on a survey of environmental policies and correlations between economic and socio-environmental indicators on a municipal scale for the entire study area, this article assesses the level of development of the main environmental public policies and identifies the relationship between these policies and socio-environmental indicators. Originality: Although the Green Belt Biosphere Reserve is an area recognized by the United Nations (UN), the management of its territory depends on municipal actions that comprise it. Little attention has been paid to environmental management, especially in terms of public environmental policies and a broad and ongoing understanding of the conservation of this area. Results: The analysis shows that the different municipalities in the GBBR have different levels of implementation regarding Environmental Agenda. When considering the Municipal Plans for Urban Afforestation, Adaptation to Climate Change, Atlantic Forest and Solid Waste, only Guarujá, Mogi das Cruzes, Santos and São Paulo have these four policies in preparation or completed, while for 33.3% (n=25) of the municipalities, none of these agendas was developed, and a positive correlation was identified between the HDI and the largest number of implemented policies. Contribution: Large and medium-sized cities in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, present studies addressing ecological patterns and processes, however, they do not address specific questions on the environmental sector itself, which this paper aimed at providing. Conclusion: As the Green Belt accounts for 72% of the volume of drinking water in all of São Paulo, the disparities between the municipal indicators analyzed reinforce the need to adopt the GBBR as a platform for adequate governance to integrate policies at different scales for sustainable regional development. Systemic efforts are needed, especially at the municipal scale, in order to carry out adequate environmental management of the GBBR territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates if the equity stake, along with hedge funds, generates value for target companies in highly concentrated markets, such as the Brazilian one. In a sample with 324 Brazilian companies listed in São Paulo Stock Market (B3) that are actively participating in the Anbima Hedge Fund Index (IHFA), between 2007 and 2016, we found that the equity stake of hedge funds generates value in Brazilian invested companies, despite the market being more concentrated. We capture the hedge fund effect on invested companies in terms of: (i) how much the firms' market capitalization is maintained by hedge funds and its percentage change between t and t-1; (ii) how many funds invest in a determined company each period and its percentage change between t and t-1. We defined target firm value creation using two proxies: abnormal return and effective stock return. To derive our results, we performed linear regressions with funds' fixed effects and a set of fund characteristics acting as controls. We found a positive and significant relationship between the equity stake of hedge funds and the value generation in invested companies, despite the Brazilian market being more concentrated. Our results suggest that the hedge fund activism is increasing in Brazil, with fund managers influencing firms' decisions and corporate governance mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an interactive episode analysis which was resulted from a music lesson for children. The idea was to point out the attentional process, in a perspective of Vygotsky and Luria. The study involved a group of three children who weekly had participated in Group Piano lessons at a social project developed in São Paulo State, Brazil. The data were documented by means of a field diary and the transcription of a video recording, and the analyzes were based on studies of historical-cultural approach. It is emphasized that the attention process happens depending on the apparently individual volitional acts but notoriously established during social relationship. Social genesis and perceptions which are expressed in gestures, looks, and speeches point to a complex construction perception of oneself, of the other and of the music in teaching relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most transport equity and transport-related social exclusion (TRSE) studies assume that increasing accessibility levels lead to increased activity participation and, therefore, a reduction in social exclusion. Although this assumption makes sense from a theoretical point of view, this causal relationship has not yet been validated in practice. Previous studies investigating the accessibility-participation relationship were inconclusive, indicating that increasing accessibility has a limited impact on activity participation levels, if any. Moreover, the existing empirical evidence in the literature in the Global South context is scarce, is merely correlational and fails to infer causality between both variables. The contributions of the paper are threefold. First, (a) to provide a conceptual model of the causal relationship between accessibility, activity participation and risk of transport-related social exclusion (TRSE); second, (b) to summarise the available empirical evidence about the accessibility-activity participation relationship through a systematic literature review; and third, (c) to provide evidence of the causal relationship between accessibility and activity participation levels in a Global South context. Three Poisson regression models associated with an instrumental variable identification strategy were used to assess the causal effect between accessibility and participation in total, mandatory and discretionary activities in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The three models showed a highly significant, strong correlation between an individual's accessibility level and their actual participation in total, mandatory and discretionary activities. Models that ignore the possible endogeneity present in the relationship between accessibility and activity participation may underestimate the effect of accessibility. Based on our results, we argue that low accessibility levels may severely restrict individuals' life chances and add evidence that accessibility has to be an important instrument to support transport policies' decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the process of gendering platform co-operativism through a case study of two rider co-operatives owned and managed by women: Señoritas Courier in São Paulo, Brazil and Les Mercedes in Barcelona, Spain. While both co-operatives arose in response to similar concerns and have adopted a common approach, one is located in the global South, while the other is in the global North. This allows for a comparison of how prefigurative politics have shaped the terms of platform co-operativism, as well as an analysis of the transnational character of worker struggle. The article is particularly interested in: What was the impetus for the formation of the two women-owned platform co-operatives? How have the co-operatives sought to redefine the relationship between gender, work, and technologies? The paper argues that the expansion of women-owned platform co-operatives constitutes an opportunity to advance a more inclusive, feminist digital economy. Members see co-operatives as an important dimension of collective organisation and the articulation between paid and unpaid care work. Both co-operatives strive to create a safe environment which provides support in work and motherhood. However, platform co-operatives have struggled to expand amidst a highly competitive market. The article concludes with a discussion on the need for public policies that can support platform co-operativism among women delivery workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to present the stages of the Brazilian startups' organizational life cycle (OLC), identifying and describing the main factors related to the entrepreneurial and organizational perspectives, as well as the factors related to external relationship agents and the associated risks at each OLC stage. In addition, the variables that comprised the three perspectives above were used for a descriptive reading of the evolutionary process from the perspective of intellectual capital during the stages. Design/methodology/approach: The type of research used was quantitative with a descriptive character. For data collection, the authors have used the survey method and two complementary questionnaires were used as research tools. The measurement scale used in these instruments was the 11-point Likert scale. In total, 100 Brazilian startups registered in the STARTUPBASE and residents in São Paulo comprised the sample of this research. For the data processing, it was used the exploratory factor analysis techniques, to identify the analysis factors, and the cluster analysis, to identify the OLC stages. Findings: Based on the results obtained, four stages were identified and described to build the OLC model of this research: Stage I – conception and development; Stage II – organization and traction; Stage III – growth and scale; and Stage IV – consolidation and transition. In addition, the authors described the main lines of evidence found at each stage. Practical implications: This research contributes to academic studies of the OLC in startups and the evolution of risks that originate from the relationship between external agents in the business environment and startups. Thus, a management map is built, which helps entrepreneurs and managers construct these businesses since such a management map allows identifying the risks and challenges that a startup needs to overcome to grow and develop. Originality/value: The originality of this research lies in the adaptation of the OLC approach, which is widely used in studies analyzing the growth and development of mature organizations. The authors used this adaptation to analyze the growth and development of startups in Brazil. In addition, the identification and analysis of external agents that make up the business environment, as well as the analysis of the risks, originated from the relationships between the startup and these agents, brought original and essential results and discussions, both for OLC studies and for risk analysis studies in startups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, our aim is to present the results of our researchs about the anaphoric accusative object in the Spanish variety of Madrid and in the Brazilian Portuguese variety of São Paulo and to propose a theoretical analysis to these constructions based on minimalist developments (CHOMSKY, 1999, 2000, 2004). Interviews of the Spanish variety of Madrid (CESTERO MANCERA et al. 2014) and Brazilian Portuguese variety of São Paulo (LIMA-HERNANDES; VICENTE, 2012) were analysed. Regarding the theoretical approach, the biological (CHOMSKY, 1981, 1986) and social (LABOV, 2008; WEINREICH; LABOV; HERZOG, 2009) perspectives on language were combined. We observed the effect of the antecedent referenciality, of the determinant indefinite features, of the bare nouns, of the structure and lexical aspect of verbs on possibility of elipsis in the Spanish variety of Madrid. Concerning the Brazilian Portuguese variety of São Paulo, the null objects were almost categorical and the lexical pronoun presented restrictions to less referencial antecedents. These results ressemble the tendencies of our previous research (SIMÕES, 2015) and the Spanish varieties of País Vasco (LANDA, 1993) and Quito (SUÑER; YÉPEZ, 1988). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze social innovation through the implementation of an initiative of the Municipal city hall of São Paulo, focused on active mobility, in the homeschool walking commute: the Safe Route to School (Rota Escolar Segura) program. Documentary research and semi-structured interviews were carried out. Categories and variables for social innovation analysis were applied, relating them to the Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs. Social innovation involves the co-creation of new services/products and is shaped by the interactions between the main stakeholders. In the case studied, participation in co-construction and codesign occurred through feedback and ideas. The co-creation is highlighted in the actions to obtain community involvement, evaluate the acceptance of the project proposal and identify potential points of improvement not foreseen in the pilot project, participatory workshops, informative and interactive panels, preparation and approval of the temporary intervention project, and joint discussion and analysis involving third sector organizations and municipal agencies. The new urban design, with requalification and redistribution of the road space, consolidated the reduction of speeds, prioritizing active mobility, ensuring that society is the beneficiary by appropriating the results of innovation. The results of the research are aligned, above all, with SDG 16, with regard to transparency and social participation, with SDG 11, by the search for improvement of spaces for active and sustainable mobility, and with SDG 13 by the tendency to improve environmental quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents reflections from ethnographic data obtained during a master's degree research in a mental health service for immigrants, refugees and deaf people in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. During this research, I worked as a collaborating anthropologist for the service, and this was a dynamic and incessant process of invention and counter-invention as to what an anthropologist would do in a mental health service for people with what was defined as "linguistic and cultural vulnerabilities". From this, I present the logic of the machinery of production and assimilation (or not) of differences by separating the world between those who believe and those who know, or the premodern and the modern. Finally, I propose to populate these contexts and scenarios by anthropologists, taking seriously the symbolic dimensions in health contexts and producing data and care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to discuss the relations between the built environment and the patient's health, considering the context of the pandemic experienced since 2020. We assessed the results of a systematic literature review to create a theoretical framework. Based on that, we evaluated the performance of five diagnostic facilities sited in São Paulo, Brazil, during the occupation phase. These buildings share a similar design programme in a way that enables a systematic qualitative assessment. We organised the design requisites in a Table of Diagnostics and Recommendations. Based on the gathered evidence, we proposed reviewing the existing guidelines to promote healthier indoor environments. Among the leading design guidelines updates are issues regarding the management of contamination risk, such as the strategic planning of circulation routes, increasing outdoor air rates, and the specification of disinfection systems. We also present measures to promote healthiness and well-being for both patients and the medical team, including improving solar access to indoor environments and physical and visual access to the outdoors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a companion paper, Ojeda-Rojas et al. (2021) [1] describe a stochastic agent-based simulation (ABS) model of a cow-calf operation on a commercial farm in São Paulo, Brazil. The model's parameterization was based on data collected from two sources: a real beef cattle herd and related scientific literature. Based on the mentioned simulation model, this study aims to assess the economic outcome of 10 different reproductive scenarios: Natural mating only (ONM); one timed artificial insemination (TAI) plus natural mating (NM) (1TAI + NM); two TAI plus NM, with 24, 32, and 40 days between TAI (2TAI/24 + NM, 2TAI/32 + NM, and 2TAI/40 + NM, respectively); three TAI without NM, with 24, 32, and 40 days between TAI (3TAI/24, 3TAI/32, and 3TAI/40, respectively); and three TAI plus NM, with an interval between TAI of 24 (3TAI/24 + NM) and 32 days (3TAI/32 + NM). The simulation was performed on an animal-by-animal basis over a time horizon of 5000 days. Each scenario had 32 farms, and each farm kept up to 400 adult females. According to the scenario, a bull population was composed of 0, 7, or 15 individuals. The outcomes, represented as means ± standard deviations, were assessed after reaching a steady-state (1825 days). The model outcomes showed that the 3TAI/24 + NM scenario resulted in higher incomes (US$ 96,479.19 ± 709.81), whereas the ONM scenario had the lowest incomes (US$ 79,753.37 ± 741.87). The 3TAI/24 + NM (US$ 101.720.63 ± 79.21) and ONM (US$ 90.898.58 ± 59.17) scenarios presented the highest and lowest total operating costs (TOC), respectively. However, when TOC was evaluated per kg of the weaned calf, the highest and lowest costs were associated with the ONM (US$ 2.81 ± 0.03/kg) and 2TAI/24 + NM (US$ 2.17 ± 0,04/kg) scenarios, respectively. Our model suggests that reproductive strategies that use TAI have a better economic performance than those under NM. However, when performing three TAI with an interval of 40 days, the benefit was lower; in some cases, it was even worse than the ONM. Combining TAI with early pregnancy diagnosis resulted in better economic performance than other TAI programs and NM. The 2TAI/24 + NM scenario outperformed the others due to the contrast between its high income and moderate costs. Beef cattle production is a highly complex system. Simulations models, specifically ABS models, could make the decision-making process on complex systems straightforward and effective. Furthermore, ABS models can overcome the limitations of conventional research approaches, such as high costs and long experimentation periods. • A stochastic agent-based model was used to simulate a cow-calf operation. • We evaluate the economic performance of using natural mating alone or with TAI. • The analysis considers the number of TAIs (1, 2, or 3), days between them (24, 32, and 40), and early pregnancy diagnosis. • Combining TAI with early pregnancy diagnosis resulted in a better economic performance. • The 2TAI/24 + NM scenario outperformed the others due to its high income and moderate costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the association between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and internalising symptoms (IS) among adolescents.Design: It is a cross-sectional study. Paper-pencil survey was completed in classroom with information on UPF consumption, IS and selected covariates. IS were assessed with the Internalizing Symptoms sub-scale from the Social Behaviour Questionnaire (IS-SBQ). UPF was evaluated with a FFQ extracted from the Brazilian National School Health Survey. Crude and adjusted association between UPF and IS was investigated with structural equation models.Setting: São Paulo, SP, Brazil.Participants: A total of 2680 students, Mage = 14·85; (95 % CI 14·81, 14·88).Results: UPF consumption was associated with higher scores in IS in the crude (β = 0·14; P < 0·001) and adjusted (β = 0·12; P < 0·001) models. The higher the consumption of UPF, the higher is the IS score. The following variables were associated with a lower risk of UPF consumption: male sex, public school and having more meals with parents. The change in the magnitude of the standardised score was almost negligible, but the model was significantly improved with the inclusion of covariates.Conclusions: Our results provide evidence about the positive association between UPF consumption and IS among adolescents. The association, despite its low magnitude, remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders. These results are relevant considering the increase in UPF consumption worldwide and in low- and middle-income countries. Also, our study emphasises the importance of a healthy diet with a reduction in UPF consumption among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional approach to characterize extreme rainfall events is based on using past observed data to fit a probability distribution, which is used to associate a certain probability of occurrence to a rainfall magnitude, under a stationary assumption. Observed series, however, may exhibit trends and abrupt changes, resulting from the natural hydro climatic variability and the climate change context, which are not usually considered in the stationary modelling procedure and which may affect the characterization of extreme events. In this paper, it was evaluated the presence of these temporal changes in rainfall series and their impact to estimate design quantiles, using rainfall data of 317 stations, located in São Paulo State, Brazil. The results showed that extreme rainfall events are changing in the state. Low-return period events (up to 10 years) are intensifying. Moderate- and high-return period events, on the other hand, did not present a clear spatial pattern. Trends and abrupt changes may significantly influence the estimation of design quantiles. The presence of the former in rainfall series exhibited more influence on low-return period events, showing, however, no clear relationship with high-return period design quantiles. The presence of the latter seems to influence the characterization process, affecting estimated quantiles of all evaluated return periods. Such findings highlight the need to consider the presence of trends and abrupt changes and their influence on design quantiles for a more reliable characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the time, geotechnical engineering interventions require solutions that necessarily aim for better use of the available space. Many slope stabilization techniques were developed following that assumption, and one of the most applied procedures in Brazil is the soil nailing reinforcement. These engineering techniques are constantly improving. Consequently, a continuous study of the design and behavior of soil nails is important. The technique of vertical nails reinforcement in soil nailing is recent in the Brazilian scenario. Nowadays, some constructors started to use them near the slope face when stabilizing huge excavations. This paper aims to verify the vertical nails' efficiency in reducing horizontal displacements. We present three numerical modeling analyses using the finite elements method (FEM). The proposed model is a soil nailing of approximately 18m high in a homogeneous subsoil in São Paulo city. Comparing situations with and without vertical nails, as if an inclined face (slope), the results showed that adding those nails could reduce horizontal displacements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the study of the execution speed influence on displacements of soil-nailed structures with a vertical face in urban areas, intended as the basements of buildings. Fifteen structures in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, Brazil, were evaluated. The main objective was to demonstrate the evolution of the construction technique, making its application possible in conditions considered by the technical community to be unfeasible due to the inevitable resulting displacements. The studied structures ranged from 6.8 to 22.7 m high. Soil-nailed walls were instrumented with displacement gauges (deflectometers) positioned near the top, which monitored the structures' horizontal displacements. The execution time of each work was evaluated in terms of the sectoral excavation advancement, which was 3, 4, or 5 days, as well as the production in square meters per day. The results showed works that were less displaceable than the estimates proposed in the literature. The impact of execution speed also was evidenced, showing that the opening interval of new work fronts resulted in significant differences, with displacements ranging from 20 to 23 mm, from 10 to 15 mm, and from 0 to 6 mm, respectively. Two equations proposed to predict horizontal displacement based on the retaining structure height and daily work productivity are presented. The study can enable works that may be considered impractical if analyzed from the displacement premises of the literature; moreover, this study disseminates design and execution standards to obtain less-displaceable works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspidoras comprises 25 species currently considered as valid, being widely distributed in Brazil, occurring from the upper rio Paraná basin in São Paulo to coastal basins of Ceará. After Nijssen, Isbrücker's review more than 40 years ago, no extensive work regarding the taxonomy of Aspidoras was conducted. Our paper presents a comprehensive taxonomic revision of the genus, based primarily on the extensive material that has been collected since then. Considering the new diagnosis plus the available phylogenetic data, A. pauciradiatus and A. virgulatus are transferred to Corydoras and Scleromystax, respectively. New synonymies are proposed: A. eurycephalus and A. taurus with A. albater; A. menezesi and A. spilotus with A. raimundi; and A. microgalaeus and A. marianae with A. poecilus. Additionally, a new species from the Araguaia and Paraguay river basins is described, which can be distinguished from its congeners by the morphology of its complex vertebra and infraorbital 1. Thereby, the number of valid species within Aspidoras was reduced from 25 to 18. Redescriptions for A. albater, A. belenos, A. depinnai, A. fuscoguttatus, A. lakoi, A. maculosus, A. poecilus, A. psammatides, A. raimundi, and A. velites are provided. An identification key to the species of Aspidoras is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was carried out in the city of Penápolis/SP, in the Experimental Field of the Educational Foundation of Penápolis -- FUNEPE, with the objective of evaluating the bromatological composition of elephant grass silage (Pennisetum purpureum Schum) cv. BRS Capiaçu, using additive or inoculants in the silage process. A completely randomized design with five treatments (T) and three replications was used: T1 - elephant grass without fresh additive; T2 - ensiled without the use of additives; T3 - ensiled with 7% com bran; T4 - ensiled with 10% citrus pulp and T5 - ensiled with bacterial inoculant 20 mL/kg¹ of dry matter (DM). The ensiled samples were packed in plastic bags with a density of 20 kg of natural material (MN) per package and the analyzes were made from material obtained from 110-day-old plants. For the ensiled materials, the time of 30 days for the bromatological analysis was observed, where the following parameters were evaluated: dry matter (DM), total digestible nutrients (NDT) and Crude Protein (PB). The BRS Capiaçu grass ensiled with 7% in the natural matter of corn bran has higher contents of dry matter and protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]