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In this paper, the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, and China) countries, which play an increasingly significant role in combating climate change, are selected as the research objects. First, we investigate the driving factors of the evolution of carbon emissions in the BASIC group from 2000 to 2016. Second, we use the Monte Carlo simulation to analyze the potential evolution trend of carbon emissions in the benchmark scenario, optimization scenario, and enhanced scenario in the BASIC group from 2017 to 2030 to judge whether the countries can achieve their own autonomous contribution goals. Third, we evaluate whether the BASIC INDC can provide practical support for making the global temperature control goals described in the Paris Agreement. The results show that first, the contribution rate of the energy consumption structure and population size to the carbon emissions of the BASIC are low, and the contributions of R&D efficiency, R&D intensity, and investment intensity to the carbon emission change in the BASIC group are more prominent. Second, under the benchmark scenario, Brazil, South Africa, India, and China from the difference between the complete INDC targets respectively is 265.50 Mt, 207.86 Mt, 1034.70 Mt, and 4660.82 Mt. Under the optimization scenario, China could meet the INDC goals. The gap between Brazil, South Africa, and India is 60.06 Mt, 9.50 Mt, and 413.74 Mt, respectively. Under the enhanced scenario, China and South Africa could meet the INDC target, while Brazil and India are 15.69 Mt and 228.28 Mt away from the INDC target, respectively. Third, although the INDC goals of Brazil and India can achieve the carbon reduction allocated under the 2 °C targets, the INDC targets submitted by the BASIC are not enough to reach the carbon reduction allocated under the global 1.5 °C destination; Brazil, South Africa, India, and China's gap is 64.14 Mt, 246.15 Mt, 236.84 Mt, 3399.64 Mt, respectively. Fourth, Brazil, South Africa, and China should increase its R&D on energy-saving and emission reduction technologies, and India should develop reasonable population policies and green economic development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The related literature reveal that the papers on environmental pollution do not sufficiently analyse the cement production which is an important determinant of air pollution and health problems by using econometric methods. To fill this gap, this paper aims to examine the relationship between cement production, air pollution, mortality rate, and economic growth by employing MS Bayesian Vector Autoregressive (MScBVAR) and Markov Switching Bayesian Granger causality (MScBGC) approaches from 1960 to 2017 for China, Brazil, India, Turkey and the USA. MSIA(2)-BVAR(1) model for China, MSIAH(2)-BVAR(3) models for India, MSIAH(3)-BVAR(2) for Brazil, and MSIAH(3)-BVAR(1) for Turkey, and MSIAH(2)-BVAR(2) for the USA were selected. The MScBGC results revealed that the cement production is granger cause of mortality rate, air pollution, and economic growth in all regimes for China, India, Brazil, Turkey, and the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofloc technology (BFT) is an aquaculture technology that uses microbial communities to produce a balanced aquatic environment for fish and crustaceans. This study evaluated the global research trends and measured the performance of researchers, organizations or research centers, countries, and funding agencies participating in BFT research in the last decade. Scientific knowledge mapping was also performed to understand the social and conceptual structure of the research publications. The study was conducted based on journal article publications indexed in the Scopus database between 2013 and 2022. The analysis showed that BFT research was increasing steadily, with a total of 911 documents published in the past 10 years. Brazil, China, and India were the three most productive countries in the field. The most productive journals were Aquaculture, Aquaculture Research, and Aquaculture International. Regarding research topics, the largest share of documents was related to bioflocs and their technologies, followed by Litopenaeus vannamei, water quality, growth performance, shrimp, Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, etc. Co-authorship network analysis revealed that the largest cluster comprised researchers from Brazil, China, and India. Moreover, the study of societal attention revealed that the BFT research needs more public attention as the research was discussed and mentioned only a few social media platforms. However, the BFT research had significant readers on Mendeley. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of BFT research and the research performance of scientific actors. It can serve as a valuable reference for researchers and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Productivity of coffee plantations is threatened by both climate change and decreasing revenues of coffee growers. Using shade trees might protect against temperature variability, erosion and excessive radiation but there may be trade-offs in productivity and quality. While impacts of shade trees on arabica (Coffea arabica) have been reviewed, a global synthesis on robusta (Coffea canephora) coffee is lacking. We assessed how shade affects robusta growth and productivity, and what are the interactions and trade-offs. We conducted a systematic literature search in Web of Science and CAB Abstracts on 16 December 2019. Thirty papers fulfilled our inclusion criteria of being experimental studies on the impact of overstory trees with approximately half being from Brazil or India. Shade improved robusta tree growth and yield with some contrasting effects on physicochemical and biochemical properties. Shade (> 30%) was associated with reduced beverage quality. Significant interactions between shade and location, rainfall level and robusta clone were found. Among the clones tested, 06V, C153, LB1, GG229 and JM2 showed a higher productivity and growth (from + 17 to + 280%) under moderate shade (41–65%). This is the first meta-analysis of the effects of shade on robusta coffee. By synthesizing data from different studies, we highlight for the first time that the effect of shade on robusta coffee depends on tree age. Shade had positive impacts on older robusta trees (mean of 16 years), while the impact of shade on younger trees was either insignificant or negative. We highlight the importance of both clone type and tree ages. Research gaps included a lack of knowledge on the effects of shade with respect to coffee and shade tree age as well as interactive effects. More in-depth studies are needed to understand the mechanisms of how shade trees affect robusta coffee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper scrutinizes the asymmetric impact of education and education expenditure on clean energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the BRICS economies using annual data for the period 1991–2019. The analysis employs a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) framework. Findings unfold that a positive change in education contributes to increasing clean energy consumption in Brazil, Russia, India, and China. This finding implies that a negative change in education contributes to reducing clean energy consumption in Brazil, Russia, and India in the long run. Nonetheless, a positive change in education expenditure increased the clean energy consumption in Brazil, Russia, and India, while it has decreased in South Africa. On the dark side, a negative change in education expenditure degrades clean energy consumption in India, China, and South Africa in the long run. The asymmetric empirical results of CO2 emissions are mixed, economy-specific, and vary across group countries in the long run. We find that the education and education expenditure has long-run asymmetric effects in BRICS industries. Thus empirical findings give us robust policy implications for BRICS economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of government size and digitization in the process of environmental quality is a matter of considerable debate in the field of environmental economics. BRICS economies have suffered from environmental pollution. This paper scrutinizes that how CO2 emissions respond to government size and digitization in BRICS economies. Empirical estimates of the ARDL approach show that government size has a positive impact on CO2 in Brazil, India, and China, while negative impact on CO2 in Russia in the long run. The long-run estimates reveal a negative and significant effect of digitization on CO2 in Brazil, India, and China. Education and e-learning activities have a favorable and crucial role played in environmental quality in Brazil, India, and China. Based on these findings, BRICS authorities should improve the efficiency of government expenditures and invest more in digitization to improve the quality of the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the nonlinear impacts of fiscal balances on interest rates, exchange rates and inflation in large emerging economies. The paper applies asymmetric cointegration modelling in a nonlinear autoregression distributed lag framework to discriminate the effects of negative and positive changes in the fiscal balance on monetary variables in BRICs. This approach is advantageous to the analysis of dynamic asymmetric relationships in both the long and short run regardless of whether variables are a mix of I(0) and I(1). A distinctive feature of this study is that the main result indicates that monetary variables react differently to negative and positive changes in fiscal balances over the long run for Brazil and India, but not for the others. Since interest rates and inflation are more sensitive to worsening fiscal position, fiscal consolidation is an essential criterion for the effectiveness of monetary policy in the economies characterised with large fiscal imbalance and debt stocks, such as Brazil and India. The implementation of expansionary fiscal policy should be reconsidered carefully in economies with a better fiscal performance like China and Russia, since the persistently rising budget deficits eventually countered the effectiveness of monetary policy by keeping market interest rates and inflation at high levels. This paper provides evidence in favour of the dominant role of fiscal policy to stabilise monetary variables in large emerging economies. We also highlight the importance of long-term fiscal sustainability to improve the monetary policy effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast-growing developing countries have emerged as an important destination and source of trade, investments and technology. Furthermore, trade between developing countries has grown rapidly over the last decades, and is becoming more diversified, where exchange includes from primary commodities to manufactures and high-end services. The aim of the special issue is to look at these dynamics and how the leading developing countries have turn into growth engines and technology drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agroecological resource management system is defined as a network of components aiming to acquire, format and disseminate operational information related to precision farming. As precision farming is gaining popularity in the industrialized countries, now it is advancing toward the countries like India, China, Brazil and even some of the African countries. Features of several commercial and prototype sensor platforms designed and implemented for agricultural applications have been described, in many of the recent research publications, globally. This paper describes a conceptual framework for a low-cost agroecological resource management system suitable in Indian context. It presents an empirical investigation on the performance of this prototype system. This work highlights the advantages of multi-sink approach with the lightweight communication protocols for wireless sensor networks. This approach helps in handling the key issues like bottleneck problem and energy efficient data transmission to prolong the overall network lifetime with improved network performance. Validation of network and traffic performance is carried out using OMNeT++ simulation environment. The proposed model is based on IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee protocol stack with Chipcon CC2420 radio transceiver interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Green Revolution is often seen as epitomising the dawn of scientific and technological advancement and modernity in the agricultural sector across developing countries, a process that unfolded from the 1940s through to the 1980s. Despite the time that has elapsed, this episode of the past continues to resonate today, and still shapes the institutions and practices of agricultural science and technology. In Brazil, China, and India, narratives of science-led agricultural transformations portray that period in glorifying terms—entailing pressing national imperatives, unprecedented achievements, and heroic individuals or organizations. These "epic narratives" draw on the past to produce meaning and empower the actors that deploy them. Epic narratives are reproduced over time and perpetuate a conviction about the heroic power of science and technology in agricultural development. By crafting history and cultivating a sense of scientific nationalism, exceptionalism, and heritage, these epic narratives sustain power-knowledge relations in agricultural science and technology, which are underpinned by a hegemonic modernization paradigm. Unravelling the processes of assemblage and reproduction of epic narratives helps us make sense of how science and technology actors draw on their subjective representations of the past to assert their position in the field at present. This includes making claims about their credentials to envision and deliver sustainable solutions for agriculture into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the patterns of export productivity and trade specialization profiles in Brazil, China, India and South Africa, and in other economic groupings and regions. Various measures of trade specialization and a time varying export productivity indicator are estimated using highly disaggregated export data. The findings reveal that there are important differences in the export productivity and specialisation patterns across countries and regions. Export productivity-and export sophistication-are in line to that of wealthier and more advance economies. The results further confirm the importance of not just the volume of exports, but the type of specialisation patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we discuss relationship between export diversity and economic performance, focusing on Brazil, China, India and South Africa (BCIS). Using time data on exports over the period 1962-2000 and Applied General Equilibrium (AGE) models for each country, we note the similarities as well as differences in the patterns of diversification in these countries. We find evidence of a U-shape relationship between per capita income and export specialization in at least China and South Africa, and given that the results from Granger causality testing are inconclusive and not robust with regards to export diversification measures, some preliminary evidence from the results suggest that export diversification Granger causes GDP per capita in Brazil, China and South Africa, but not in India, where it is rather GDP per capita changes that are driving export diversification. From AGE modeling we find that South Africa differs from the other economies in that it is the only case where export diversification has an unambiguously positive impact on economic development while in contrast in Brazil, China and India, it is rather export specialization that is preferred. We show that the manner in which export diversification is obtained may be important: if it is obtained with less of a reduction in traditional exports, the impacts are better (less negative). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a number of ideas on how climate change policy implementation in developing countries can be supported by alternative international cooperation mechanisms that are based on stakeholder interests and policy priorities including broader economic and social development issues. It includes a brief review of current development policies, technological research and promotion efforts, and climate change that demonstrates that mutual policy initiatives undertaken by governments and the private sector actually have major positive impacts on climate change without being initiated by this global policy concern. Furthermore a number of examples are given on how future development objectives in Brazil, China, and India jointly can support economic and social goals and global climate change concerns if these goals are taken into consideration and supported by international cooperative mechanisms. The paper proposes international cooperative mechanisms that can support the implementation of integrated development and climate change policies. The mechanisms include an international sustainable development (SD) and Climate Finance Mechanism (SDCFM), technology development and transition programmes, technology standards, and other measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the health, economy, and all aspects of human lives around the world. Accurate prediction of the daily new cases of COVID-19 is critical for precise programming and taking needed measures to prevent the outbreak of it. Hence, in the present study, a new hybrid intelligent model is developed by hybridizing the artificial neural network (ANN) with the honey badger algorithm (HBA) to accurately predict the daily new cases of COVID-19 in Brazil, India, Russia, and the US. The performance of the hybrid model, namely HBA-ANN, was compared with the stand-alone ANN and gene expression programming (GEP) model using statistical criteria, such as correlation coefficient (R), root mean square error, scatter index (SI), and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and graphical criteria, such as Taylor diagram, scatter plot, and box plot. According to the Taylor diagram, in each data series, the predicted values with the HBA-ANN model have the lowest distance from the observation points, indicating the high accuracy of the HBA-ANN model compared to the ANN and GEP models. Furthermore, the HBA-ANN model has high values for R (0.999, 0.899, 0.853, and 0.993 for Brazil, Russia, India, and the US, respectively) and could reduce the errors of the ANN model by 97.22, 43.68, 85.41, and 93.83% for Brazil, Russia, India, and the US, respectively. For each data series, the SI for the HBA-ANN model is less than 0.1, and the NSE is between 0 and 1, indicating a very good performance in predicting the COVID-19 cases with the developed model. Based on the superior performance of the HBA-ANN model, it is recommended to implement the HBA algorithm to increase the prediction accuracy of the models in medicine and other scientific fields. Moreover, it is suggested to investigate the accuracy of the hybridized HBA algorithm with other artificial intelligence (AI) models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Global understanding of the epidemiological landscape of non-affective psychotic disorders (NAPD) is predominantly based on studies from high-income countries. We sought to systematically review and meta-analyse all incidence studies conducted in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: We systematically searched four databases using terms for NAPD, incidence and LMICs. Citations were eligible for inclusion if: published between 1 January 1960 and 31 May 2022; wholly or partially conducted in an LMIC, and; containing data on NAPD incidence in the general adult population. Two independent raters assessed study quality according to previously published criteria. We conducted a narrative synthesis and random-effects meta-analyses where sufficient studies were available (N ≥ 5). Results: We retrieved 11 421 records, of which 23 citations met inclusion criteria from 18 unique studies across 19 settings in 10 LMICs. Median study quality was 4 out of 7 (interquartile range: 3–6). The crude incidence of NAPD varied around 4.2 times, from 10.0 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.7–11.4) in Brazil to 42.0 (95%CI 32.2–54.8) in India, with marked heterogeneity in methodologies and rates. Our 60-year review highlights the dearth of robust evidence on the incidence of psychotic disorders in LMICs. Conclusion: Without reliable, contemporary estimates of this fundamental cornerstone of population health, it is impossible to understand the true burden, distribution or causes of psychotic disorders in over 87% of the world's population. A new, more equitable global mental health evidence base for NAPD is now urgently required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a foodborne pathogen, which causes various health conditions in humans, including fatigue, nausea, bloody diarrhoea and in some cases, even death. In 2017, 15.71% of the total imported food products in Saudi Arabia (SA) were meat-based. India and Brazil are two of the top five countries from where SA imports meat. According to the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, in 2017, at least 562, 280, and 50 samples of imported beef, chicken and sheep meat, respectively, were tested for the presence of E. coli O157:H7. Amongst these, E. coli O157:H7 was detected in respectively 6.80% and 2.20% of the tested beef meat samples imported from India and Brazil as well as in respectively 6.96% and 3.57% of the tested chicken samples imported from Brazil and Ukraine. Moreover, the pathogen was detected in 2.13% of the tested sheep meat samples imported from India. The present report provides evidence that imported meat can serve as the carrier of E. coli O157:H7, which may lead to epidemics within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the antecedents of human rights infringements (HRIs) by emerging market firms (EFs). We used fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to examine HRIs in 245 firms based in eight emerging markets, between 2003 and 2012. Our findings disclose three equifinal configurations of high levels of HRIs, all involving EFs that have expanded to a high number of foreign markets: (i) large, old, low performing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) operating in high quality institutions' home and host markets, (ii) small, young, over-performing EFs operating in low quality institutions' home and host markets, and finally (iii) large, old, high performing SOEs, operating in low quality institutions' home and host markets. We contribute to the literature by examining a novel dataset on HRIs by EFs, and by building a configurational explanation of HRIs that bridges the arguments of the institutional theory and strain theory literatures on corporate wrongdoing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to develop an assumption-free data-driven model to accurately forecast COVID-19 spread. Towards this end, we firstly employed Bayesian optimization to tune the Gaussian process regression (GPR) hyperparameters to develop an efficient GPR-based model for forecasting the recovered and confirmed COVID-19 cases in two highly impacted countries, India and Brazil. However, machine learning models do not consider the time dependency in the COVID-19 data series. Here, dynamic information has been taken into account to alleviate this limitation by introducing lagged measurements in constructing the investigated machine learning models. Additionally, we assessed the contribution of the incorporated features to the COVID-19 prediction using the Random Forest algorithm. Results reveal that significant improvement can be obtained using the proposed dynamic machine learning models. In addition, the results highlighted the superior performance of the dynamic GPR compared to the other models (i.e., Support vector regression, Boosted trees, Bagged trees, Decision tree, Random Forest, and XGBoost) by achieving an averaged mean absolute percentage error of around 0.1%. Finally, we provided the confidence level of the predicted results based on the dynamic GPR model and showed that the predictions are within the 95% confidence interval. This study presents a promising shallow and simple approach for predicting COVID-19 spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we discuss the tensions surrounding science, biopower, and citizenship that have been thrown into sharp relief by the COVID 19 pandemic. We situate these tensions in the epistemological and political conflict between science, public health education, and alternative medical systems that has been rekindled by the pandemic in India. To do so, we critically examine media articles and health education documents in the form of illustrated narratives/posters to show how education, science, and biopower are inseparable; and must therefore be considered an important part of any programme of critical justice-oriented science education. We employ a biopolitical framework, drawing largely from the work of Michel Foucault, to expose relevant sociopolitical tensions between tradition and modernity, truth and power, governance and science, which are invoked in times of crisis (such as pandemics) and give shape to fundamentals issue of science and citizenship. This article attempts to add to the conversation begun by Flavia Rezende et al.'s (2021) "South Epistemologies to invent post-pandemic science education", who related the COVID-19 pandemic to the political situation in Brazil emphasizing the necessity to reclaim indigenous ways of being and relating to nature. We draw implications for science education research and praxis that exceed any one pandemic or political crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression accounts for a large share of the global disease burden, with an estimated 264 million people globally suffering from depression. Despite being one of the most common kinds of mental health (MH) disorders, much about depression remains unknown. There are limited data about depression, in terms of its occurrence, distribution, and wider social determinants. This work examined the use of novel data sources for assessing the scope and social determinants of depression, with a view to informing the reduction of the global burden of depression.This study focused on new and traditional sources of data on depression and its social determinants in two middle-income countries (LMICs), namely, Brazil and India. We identified data sources using a combination of a targeted PubMed search, Google search, expert consultations, and snowball sampling of the relevant literature published between October 2010 and September 2020. Our search focused on data sources on the following HEALTHY subset of determinants: healthcare (H), education (E), access to healthy choices (A), labor/employment (L), transportation (T), housing (H), and income (Y).Despite the emergence of a variety of data sources, their use in the study of depression and its HEALTHY determinants in India and Brazil are still limited. Survey-based data are still the most widely used source. In instances where new data sources are used, the most commonly used data sources include social media (twitter data in particular), geographic information systems/global positioning systems (GIS/GPS), mobile phone, and satellite imagery. Often, the new data sources are used in conjunction with traditional sources of data. In Brazil, the limited use of new data sources to study depression and its HEALTHY determinants may be linked to (a) the government's outsized role in coordinating healthcare delivery and controlling the data system, thus limiting innovation that may be expected from the private sector; (b) the government routinely collecting data on depression and other MH disorders (and therefore, does not see the need for other data sources); and (c) insufficient prioritization of MH as a whole. In India, the limited use of new data sources to study depression and its HEALTHY determinants could be a function of (a) the lack of appropriate regulation and incentives to encourage data sharing by and within the private sector, (b) absence of purposeful data collection at subnational levels, and (c) inadequate prioritization of MH. There is a continuing gap in the collection and analysis of data on depression, possibly reflecting the limited priority accorded to mental health as a whole. The relatively limited use of data to inform our understanding of the HEALTHY determinants of depression suggests a substantial need for support of independent research using new data sources. Finally, there is a need to revisit the universal health coverage (UHC) frameworks, as these frameworks currently do not include depression and other mental health-related indicators so as to enable tracking of progress (or lack thereof) on such indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed a new method for the interpretation of a magnetic anomaly profile by idealized-geometrical bodies using the variance analysis. This method is based on estimating the fourth horizontal derivative of the magnetic data profile. The advantage behind the use of the fourth horizontal derivative method is to reduce the regional background effect. The model parameters estimated are the depth and shape of the buried body using all available window lengths (s-value). Then, the variance value for the calculated depth at each shape value is estimated using all available s-values. The minimum variance is considered as the best criterion for determining the best-inverted parameters (depth and shape). The developed method has been verified on some noise free examples. Following that, the accuracy of the method was assessed by studying the impact of synthetic data with 5%, 10%, and 15% random noise, the effect of the regional background, the influence of interfering structures, and the selection for the wrong origin of the body. The presented method has been successfully applied to three real case studies from Brazil and India from mineral exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study which examines large-scale observational evidence of cross-cultural differences in facial behavior using advanced in computer science. Topics discussed include the automated facial coding used, the reliability of the facial action unit detection algorithms across different testing subsets, multilevel regression estimates predicting each facial action's base rate percentage.

This article compares national approaches towards secondary pharmaceutical patents. Because secondary patents can extend periods of exclusivity and delay generic competition, they can raise prices and reduce access to medicines. Little is known about what measures and policies countries have enacted to address applications for secondary pharmaceutical patents, how they function, and whether, in practice, these measures limit secondary patents. We analyse the cases of India and Brazil. We assemble data on pharmaceutical patent applications filed in the two countries, code each application to identify which constitute secondary applications and examine outcomes for each application in both countries. The data indicate that Brazil is less likely to grant applications than India, but in both countries, the measures designed to limit secondary patents are having little direct effect. This suggests, on the one hand, that critics of these policies, such as the transnational pharmaceutical sector and foreign governments, may be more worried than they should be. On the other hand, champions of the policies, such as NGOs and international organizations, may have cause for concern that laws on the books are not having the expected impact on patent outcomes in practice. Our findings also suggest that, at the drug level, the effects of countries' approaches towards secondary patents need to be understood in the context of their broader approaches towards Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) implementation, including when and how they introduced pharmaceutical patents in the 1990s and 2000s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pseudomorphic transformation of magnetite into hematite (martitization) is widespread in geological environments, but the process and mechanism of this transformation is still not fully understood. Micro- and nano-scale techniques-scanning electron microscopy, focused ion bean transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy-were used in combination with X-ray diffraction, Curie balance and magnetic hysteresis analyses, as well as Mössbauer spectroscopy on martite samples from a banded iron formation (2.9 Ga, Dharwar Craton, India), and from lateritic soils, which have developed on siliciclastic and volcanic rocks previously affected by metamorphic fluids (Minas Gerais, Brazil). Octahedral crystals from both samples are composed of hematite with minor patches of magnetite, but show different structures. The Indian crystals show trellis of subhedral magnetite hosting maghemite in sharp contact with interstitial hematite crystals, which suggests exsolution along parting planes. Grain boundary migrations within the hematite point to dynamic crystallization during deformation. Dislocations and fluid inclusions in hematite reflect its precipitation related to a hydrothermal event. In the Brazilian martite, dislocations are observed and maghemite occurs as Insel structures and nano-twin sets. The latter, typical for the hematite, are a transformation product from maghemite into hematite. For both samples, a deformation-induced hydrothermally driven transformation from magnetite via maghemite to hematite is proposed. The transformation from magnetite into maghemite comprises intermediate non-stoichiometric magnetite steps related to a redox process. This study shows that martite found in supergene environment may result from earlier hypogene processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: India's biofuel programme relies on ethanol production from sugarcane molasses. However, there is limited insight on environmental impacts across the Indian ethanol production chain. This study closes this gap by assessing the environmental impacts of ethanol production from sugarcane molasses in Uttar Pradesh, India. A comparative analysis with south-central Brazilian sugarcane ethanol is also presented to compare the performance of sugarcane molasses-based ethanol with sugarcane juice-based ethanol. Methods: The production process is assessed by a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment. The multifunctionality problem is solved by applying two variants of system expansion and economic allocation. Environmental impacts are assessed with Impact 2002+ and results are presented at the midpoint level for greenhouse gas emissions, non-renewable energy use, freshwater eutrophication and water use. Furthermore, results include impacts on human health and ecosystem quality at the damage level. Sensitivity analysis is also performed on key contributing parameters such as pesticides, stillage treatment and irrigation water use. Results and discussion: It is found that, compared to Brazilian ethanol, Indian ethanol causes lower or comparable greenhouse gas emissions (0.09-0.64 kgCO/kg, 0.46-0.63 kgCO/kg), non-renewable energy use (−0.3-6.3 MJ/kg, 1-4 MJ/kg), human health impacts (3.6 · 10 DALY/kg, 4 · 10 DALY/kg) and ecosystem impairment (2.5 PDF · m · year/kg, 3.3 PDF · m · year/kg). One reason is that Indian ethanol is exclusively produced from molasses, a co-product of sugar production, resulting in allocation of the environmental burden. Additionally, Indian sugar mills and distilleries produce surplus electricity for which they receive credits for displacing grid electricity of relatively high CO emission intensity. When economic allocation is applied, the greenhouse gas emissions for Indian and Brazilian ethanol are comparable. Non-renewable energy use is higher for Indian ethanol, primarily due to energy requirements for irrigation. For water use and related impacts, Indian ethanol scores worse due groundwater irrigation, despite the dampening effect of allocation. The variation on greenhouse gas emissions and non-renewable energy use of Indian mills is much larger for high and low performance than the respective systems in Brazil. Conclusions: Important measures can be taken across the production chain to improve the environmental performance of Indian ethanol production (e.g. avoiding the use of specific pesticides, avoiding the disposal of untreated stillage, transition to water efficient crops). However, to meet the targets of the Indian ethanol blending programme, displacement effects are likely to occur in countries which export ethanol. To assess such effects, a consequential study needs to be prepared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the effectiveness and efficiency of the two principal United Nations (UN) climate change mitigation finance mechanisms, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The realised abatement and costs of the two mechanisms in India and Brazil (using data from 28 GEF and 233 CDM project documents) are compared with theoretical marginal abatement cost curves, based on bottom-up technology studies. We find that both mechanisms have focused on negative and low-cost abatement potential but still leave substantial theoretical potential in this cost range untapped. CDM has more effectively harvested abatement potential of industrial gases and methane emissions, whereas GEF has more successfully targeted demand-side energy efficiency (EE) and transport emission reduction opportunities. CDM has excelled at capturing abatement potential in areas with a limited understanding of abatement, highlighting the shortcomings of theoretical estimates (such as Marginal Abatement Cost Curves) and the benefits of a market mechanism. In some sectors and technologies (particularly renewable energy), the two mechanisms overlapped, which suggests a need for better coordination in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some research suggests that the risk of physical aggression by an intimate partner is related to marital status, but this relationship may vary across cultures and by gender. In the present study, we systematically examine the relationship between marital status and physical partner aggression by gender across 19 countries. Logistic and multilevel regression confirmed previous findings of lower rates of physical aggression for legally married versus cohabiting and separated/divorced women and men across most, but notably, not all countries. Single status was associated with higher risk in some countries and lower in others reflecting possible cultural differences in risk for different marital statuses. For example, single women had significantly lower rates of victimization than did married women in India where violence against wives is often accepted. The variation in the cross-cultural findings highlights the importance of examining both men and women and considering the cultural context when interpreting the relationship between partner aggression and marital status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which examined the indirect impact of host on home location with reference to research and development (R&D) internationalisation in emerging economies. A maximum likelihood spatial lag model was employed in this study. Results of the study showed that innovative regions are those with great domestic R&D intensity and conducting any kind of R&D activities in Brazil, Russia, India, China, Singapore and Taiwan.

The article discusses a study which examined whether emerging market firms' international experience and home-country characteristics influence their acquisition behaviour in developed countries. During the 1999-2008 period, the study gathered data from acquisitions made by firms from the Brazil, Russia, India and China countries. Results of the study showed that there is a link between international acquisition experience and the likelihood of related acquisitions.

We compare economic efficiencies in Brazil, India, and China, where economic efficiency measures the gap between potential and actual output for a given input combination and technological factor. We use stochastic production frontier models to measure the contributions of factors of production and technology to growth and estimate non-positive error terms that capture production inefficiencies in each country. The results suggest that China and India had relatively inefficient production in the early 1980s but have since improved production efficiency substantially. In the same period, production efficiency in Brazil has lagged those of China and India. The gap between Brazil's production efficiency and those of its Asian peers has narrowed in recent years. However, production remains more efficient in China and India, supporting more rapid growth in these countries relative to Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the mid-1990s, a new form of tourism was established in metropolises of several developing countries or emerging nations. This type of tourism consists in visits to the most disadvantaged parts of the respective city. Poverty tours or slum tours are offered on a relatively large scale in the South African cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, as well as in Indian metropolises, to name some important examples. The target group of these tours consists primarily of international tourists. It is estimated that 40,000 such tourists visit favelas in Rio de Janeiro each year, around 300,000 the townships in Cape Town. This contribution refers to and comments on these developments and insights regarding poverty tourism or slumming, based on empirical research and experiences in South Africa, Brazil, and India. It will be shed light on the phenomenon from an observational-theoretical perspective. It is aimed to open a discussion on the ways poverty tours or slumming observes and simultaneously programmatically charges poverty. And, it will be considered in which way poverty tourism is observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study examines how country-level, industry-level, and firm-level factors affect the extent of corporate communications about CSR in Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). In particular, using data from the 105 largest MNCs in BRIC, we investigate CSR motives, processes, and stakeholder issues discussed in corporate communications. • At the country level, based on a newly developed governance environment framework that differentiates between rule-based and relation-based governance, our study reveals that a country's governance environment is the most important driving force behinds CSR communications intensity. • Our results show that firms communicating more CSR tend to be larger firms in the manufacturing industry in more rule-based societies. These firms also tend to have stronger corporate governance as measured by a high proportion of outside board directors and a separation of the roles of the chairman and the CEO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on a survey of entrepreneurial collaborations among health biotechnology firms in developing countries. According to the survey, though there is a high level of collaboration, there is also a lack of emphasis on new or improved health biotechnology products and processes. Countries included in the survey are Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, and South Africa and the number of firms surveyed is 467 wherein a total of 288 firms completed the survey. Survey authors recommend the integration of more South-South collaboration in their innovation policies and provide support for firms that want to promote innovation in health biotechnology.

By means of a theoretical model, bootstrap resampling and data provided by the International Commission On Large Dams (ICOLD (2003) World register of dams. http://www.icold-cigb.org) we found that global large dams might annually release about 104 ± 7.2 Tg CH4 to the atmosphere through reservoir surfaces, turbines and spillways. Engineering technologies can be implemented to avoid these emissions, and to recover the non-emitted CH4 for power generation. The immediate benefit of recovering non-emitted CH4 from large dams for renewable energy production is the mitigation of anthropogenic impacts like the construction of new large dams, the actual CH4 emissions from large dams, and the use of unsustainable fossil fuels and natural gas reserves. Under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol, such technologies can be recognized as promising alternatives for human adaptations to climate change concerning sustainable power generation, particularly in developing nations owning a considerable number of large dams. In view of novel technologies to extract CH4 from large dams, we estimate that roughly 23 ± 2.6, 2.6 ± 0.2 and 32 ± 5.1 Tg CH4 could be used as an environmentally sound option for power generation in Brazil, China and India, respectively. For the whole world this number may increase to around 100 ± 6.9 Tg CH4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five natural samples of a recent South America invader, the drosophilid Zaprionus indianus, were investigated with the isofemale line technique. These samples were compared to five African mainland populations, investigated with the same method. The results were also compared to data obtained on mass cultures of other populations from Africa and India. Three quantitative traits were measured on both sexes, wing and thorax length and sternopleural bristle number. We did not find any latitudinal trend among the American samples, while a significant increase in body size with latitude was observed in the Indian and, to a lesser degree, in the African populations. American populations were also characterized by their bigger size. Genetic variability, estimated by the intraclass correlation among isofemale lines, was similar in American and African populations. The intraline, nongenetic variability was significantly less in the American samples, suggesting a better developmental stability, the origin of which is unclear. A positive relationship was evident between intraline variability of size traits and the wing–thorax length correlation. Altogether, our data suggest that the colonizing propagule introduced to Brazil had a fairly large size, preventing any bottleneck effect being detected. The big body size of American flies suggests that they came from a high-latitude African country. The lack of a latitudinal cline in America seems to be related to the short time elapsed since introduction. The very rapid spread of Z. indianus all over South America suggests that it might rapidly invade North America.Heredity (2006) 96, 53–62. doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6800753; published online 12 October 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a study on the relationship of environmental exposure to p,p'-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (p,p'-DDE) and human fertility. The study used the 1992 to 1995 data of tree bark p,p'-DDE to gauge the 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl) ethane contamination in the environment related to the past use of the pesticide and drifting of volatile compounds through the atmosphere. The study showed that Romania ranked first in terms of tree bark p,p'-DDE concentration followed by India and Brazil. It indicated that birthrate declined with increasing use of oral contraceptives, per capita gross domestic product (GDP), percent urban population, and tree bark p,p'-DDE. The study found that sperm counts also diminished with increasing per capita GDP and tree bark p,p'-DDE.