Biggest Cities In Brazil Research Articles

Analysis of the Attributes of Memorable Tourism Experiences (MTE) on Airbnb

This work aims to analyze and identify the attributes present in Airbnb Experiences. For this, it considered the seven attributes of Memorable Tourism Experiences (MTE) proposed by Kim & Ritchie (2014): hedonism, refreshment, meaningfulness, novelty, local culture, knowledge, and involvement. With a qualitative and quantitative approach, the method comprising the collection of 500 reviews from 100 experiences offered in the two biggest cities in Brazil generated a corpus of 25,742 words. The content analysis technique (Bardin, 2011) was applied to identify those attributes of the MTE based on categories defined a priori and then show the descriptive statistics of the frequencies of the identified attributes and the crossings between the variables. A new attribute was identified, named "welcoming", referring to the attitude of the "host" who offers the experience; being the most evidenced by users in 351 reviews as a positive aspect of the experience

Occurrence and distribution of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in surface and groundwaters in an urbanized and agricultural area, Southern Brazil.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, are emerging contaminants detected in surface water, groundwater, drinking water, air, and food. Due to its chemical stability and high hydrophobicity, these compounds are used as surfactants, surface protectors, flame retardants, textile impregnation, fire-fighting foam, and pesticides and may be a risk for human health in the long-term exposure. Currently, a little research has been carried out for these compounds in Brazil. In this study, the concentration and distribution of 23 PFAS were analyzed in groundwater samples collected from water wells in urbanized areas and in surface water samples from Porto Alegre, one of the biggest cities in Brazil. The total concentrations of PFAS (ΣPFAS) in a groundwater sample varied between 22 and 718 ng L-1. Eleven PFAS species were detected in groundwater, including PFOA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFBA, PFDA, PFNA, and PFOS. Most of PFAS were quantified in samples located in the aquifer formed by medium to coarse sands intercalated with silty-sandy lenses and low organic matter content that could facilitate the percolation of these compounds. The total concentrations of PFAS (ΣPFAS) in a surface water sample varied between 11 and 17 ng L-1. Ten species were founded in surface water being PFOA, PFOS, and PFHpA the most dominant. Considering all the samples, PFOA was the predominant species in the study. In addition, tributary water bodies had higher concentrations of PFAS than the main water body (Guaiba Lake) probably due dilution process.

Roadkill risk for capybaras in an urban environment

Wildlife vehicle-collision is one of the most visible negative effects that roads exerts on animals and has increased dramatically across the world. Despite its conspicuousness, studies about roadkills in cities have been neglected lacking in road ecology. We developed new approach for estimating capybara roadkill hotspots in Campo Grande, a big city in Brazil. We also investigated potential driving factors correlated with roadkill occurrence, to build a predictive roadkill map for the entire city and propose mitigation measures. We monitored capybara roadkills for thirteen years and found hotspots using a graph-based kernel density estimation. We tested four predictors to identify which characteristics influence roadkill occurrence: distance from water bodies, distance from parks, vegetation cover, and traffic flow. We used a generalized linear mixed model to test for significant effects and to predict roadkill occurrences. Hotspots analysis showed four hotspots surrounding large green areas and water bodies, probably due to capybara habitat and physiological requirements. The predictive map shows latent hotspots, locations that have the characteristics necessary for a capybara to live but where we do not have observed deaths. To mitigate risk, we recommend using speed reduction tools around parks. A decrease in capybaras roadkills could positively impact human population welfare and material damage caused by these collisions.

Entry barriers in the Brazilian bus market: A contractual prospect

Brazil has a long tradition of considering its urban bus systems as a public service. Almost a quarter of the Brazilian population rely only on them to perform daily activities. In 2015 urban transport was guaranteed as a fundamental social right in the Federal constitution, putting it in the same level of importance as public health and education. The Brazilian legislation establishes that the concession for private firms to provide public services is subject to competitive bidding criteria and must be regulated by a contract. This paper aims to identify entry barriers that are embedded in the concession contracts from the biggest cities in Brazil. Firstly, a literature review about the main entry barriers in the urban bus section was conducted. Subsequently, the eight most significant Brazilian contracts were compared and discussed vis-à-vis to the review findings. We concluded that all contracts considered in this study had aspects that gave local operators a substantial advantage in the bidding processes. Long term contracts, private depot ownership and tight deadlines to prepare the proposals contributed to driving out newcomers. Future competitive tendering procedures should seek to overcome these shortfalls as a way to reopen the market and promote fair competition among bidders.

Multiple Change Point Analysis for the Regular Exponential Family using the Product Partition Model

As an extension to previous research efforts, the PPM is applied to the identification of multiple change points in the parameter that indexes the regular exponential family. We define the PPM for Yao’s prior cohesions and contiguous blocks. Because the exponential family provides a rich set of models, we also present the PPM for some particular members of this family in both continuous and discrete cases and the PPM is applied to identify multiple change points in real data. Firstly, multiple changes are identified in the rates of crimes in one of the biggest cities in Brazil. In order to illustrate the continuous case, multiple changes are identified in the volatility (variance) and in the expected return (mean) of some Latin America emerging markets return series.

Crime and COVID-19 in Rio de Janeiro: How does organized crime shape the disease evolution?

The city of Rio de Janeiro is one of the biggest cities in Brazil. Drug gangs and paramilitary groups called milícias control some regions of the city where the government is not present, specially in the slums. Due to the characteristics of such two distinct groups, it was observed that the evolution of COVID-19 is different in those two regions, in comparison with the regions controlled by the government. In order to understand qualitatively those observations, we divided the city in three regions controlled by the government, by the drug gangs and by the milícias, respectively, and we consider a Susceptible-Infected-Recovered-Dead (SIRD)-like epidemic model where the three regions are coupled. Considering different levels of exposure, the model is capable to reproduce qualitatively the distinct evolution of the COVID-19 disease in the three regions, suggesting that the organized crime shapes the COVID-19 evolution in the city of Rio de Janeiro. This case study suggests that the model can be used in general for any metropolitan region with groups of people that can be categorized by their level of exposure.

Factors Affecting the Choice of Urban Freight Vehicles: Issues Related to Brazilian Companies

In this paper, we present the attributes that influence the choice of an urban freight vehicle by using a systematic literature review and a survey conducted with logistics operators that perform urban deliveries in some of the biggest cities in Brazil. The results obtained facilitate the analysis and determination of the main attributes of vehicle selection in some cities of Brazil. Descriptive statistics are used to describe the characteristics of the companies, and a principal component analysis identifies the dependent variables, in order to evaluate the importance of each attribute. Also, an ordered logistic regression model is used to identify if the characteristics of the companies influence the choice of an urban freight vehicle. The results of this analysis indirectly indicate the dependence of the decision-making process on the logistics policies implemented in a given city. These attributes agree with those in the literature review. These results, despite of being evident, are different from the present selection criteria, which depend on local city policies.

Food insecurity and overweight among government-backed economy restaurant workers

Abstract Objective The objective was to analyze the occurrence and the associated factors with food insecurity and overweight among government-backed economy restaurant workers in one of the biggest cities in Brazil. Methods A sample comprised of 180 individuals and represented 76.0% of all economy restaurant workers in the city of Belo Horizonte. Food insecurity was identified through the Brazilian Food Security Scale, and excess weight was identified by the body mass index. Data collection included sociodemographic and occupational information, and also health and quality of life perception. Logistic regression models were applied to identify the association. Results Food insecurity and overweight prevalence levels were 24.0% and 66.7%, respectively. The odds of identifying food insecurity were 2.34 times higher among workers that perceived their quality of life to be regular/poor/very poor and 62.0% and 74.0% lower among workers from the 2nd and 3rd tertile of per capita income, respectively. Individuals ≥40 years old (Odds Ratio=2.69, Confidence Interval 95%:1.33-5.43) and food handlers (Odds Ratio=3.62, Confidence Interval 95%:1.68-7.81) had higher odds of being classified as overweight compared to reference categories. Workers with higher per capita income presented lower odds of being classified as overweight (Odds Ratio=0.40, Confidence Interval 95%:0.17-0,96). Conclusion It was evidenced an occurrence of overweight among government-backed economy restaurant workers, which was associated with age, income and job position. Food insecurity prevalence was associated with income and quality of life perception. Although the sample work in a food and nutritional security promotion program, it is necessary to recommend actions aimed at the promotion of healthy eating habits.

Active control for traffic lights in regions and corridors: an approach based on evolutionary computation

The growth of vehicles’ fleet circulating on urban streets constitutes a very strong tendency in recent years. The main consequence of this phenomenon refers to the increase of urban congestions, of average delays caused by vehicles waiting on traffic lights and of number of stops. Finding strategies to achieve efficient active traffic control in urban centers is a challenge for engineers and analysts. Recently, important research on dynamic networks and Intelligent Transportation Systems using computational intelligence modeling techniques has been done. This paper proposes a new scheme of active control, using optimization algorithms, to dynamically find traffic signal control plans that optimize traffic conditions in delimited networks and corridors. The proposed system includes a time delay predictive model, used in conjunction with evolutionary approaches like genetic algorithms and differential evolution techniques. Conceptual and applied computational representations necessary for the construction of models are presented. Data collected from a big city in Brazil were fed into the commercial microscopic simulator AIMSUN and were used for the practical experiments. Two main experiments were undertaken and statistically compared in order to decide which method is more efficient in optimizing the active traffic signal timing control for the region under study.

The state of the surgical workforce in Brazil

A critical insufficiency of surgeons, anesthesiologists, and obstetricians exists around the world, leaving billions of people without access to safe operative care. The distribution of the surgical workforce in Brazil, however, is poorly described and rarely assessed. Though the surgical workforce is only one element in the surgical system, this study aimed to map and characterize the distribution of the surgical workforce in Brazil in order to stimulate discussion on future surgical policy reforms. The distribution of the surgical workforce was extracted from the Brazilian Federal Medical Board registry as of July 2014. Included in the surgical workforce were surgeons, anesthesiologists, and obstetricians. There are 95,169 surgeons, anesthesiologists, and obstetricians in the surgical workforce of Brazil, creating a surgical workforce density of 46.55/100,000 population. This varies from 20.21/100,000 population in the North Region up to 60.32/100,000 population in the South Region. A total of 75.2% of the surgical workforce is located in the 100 biggest cities in Brazil, where only 40.4% of the population lives. The average age of a physician in the surgical workforce is 46.6years. Women make up 30.0% of the surgical workforce, 15.8% of surgeons, 36.6% of anesthesiologists, and 53.8% of obstetricians and gynecologists. Brazil has a substantial surgical workforce, but inequalities in its distribution are concerning. There is an urgent need for increased surgeons, anesthesiologists, and obstetricians in states like Pará, Amapá, and Maranhão. Female surgeons and anesthesiologists are particularly lacking in the surgical workforce, and incentives to recruit these physicians are necessary. Government policies and leadership from health organizations are required to ensure that the surgical workforce will be more evenly distributed in the future.

Avaliação da política urbana na luta contra a exclusão social, com exemplos das cidades do Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo

AN EVALUATION OF THE URBAN PUBLIC POLICY CONCERNING THE SOCIAL EXCLUSION, WITH EXAMPLES FROM THE CITIES OF RIO DE JANEIRO AND SÃO PAULO
 The aim of this article is to analyze and evaluate the urban policies concerning the social exclusion. Analyzed polices have been introduced in the two biggest cities in Brazil: Sao Paulo, the most populated city in South America and Rio de Janeiro, the iconic city of this country.

Technical potential of electricity production from municipal solid waste disposed in the biggest cities in Brazil: landfill gas, biogas and thermal treatment.

This article presents an analysis of possibilities for electrical energy production by using municipal solid waste disposed in the biggest Brazilian cities. Currently, the municipal solid waste in Brazil is collected and disposed of at landfills, but there are also other technologies, which in addition to dealing with the garbage can also provide benefits in terms of energy provision. The following scenarios were studied in this work: electricity production from landfill gas (reference scenario); incineration of all municipal solid waste; anaerobic digestion of organic waste and incineration of refuse-derived fuel fractions after being separated in separation plants. According to this study, the biggest cities in Brazil generate about 18.9 million tonnes of municipal solid waste per year (2011), of which 51.5% is biogenic matter. The overall domestic consumption of electricity is 480,120 GWh y(-1) in Brazil and the municipal solid waste incineration in the 16 largest cities in the country could replace 1.8% of it using incinerators. The city of São Paulo could produce 637 GWh y(-1) with landfill gas, 2368 GWh y(-1) with incineration of municipal solid waste and 1177 GWh y(-1) with incineration of refuse-derived fuel. The latter two scenarios could replace 27% and 13.5% of the residential electrical energy consumption in the city. This shows that thermal treatment might be a viable option of waste-to-energy in Brazil.

Desempenho de serviços de saúde no tratamento diretamente observado no domicílio para controle da tuberculose

Este é um estudo exploratório de natureza quantitativa e qualitativa, que avalia o desempenho dos serviços de saúde na execução do DOT no domicílio em um município de grande porte. Para a análise quantitativa foram construídos indicadores que avaliaram a otimização dos recursos materiais/humanos e a efetivação da observação da ingestão da medicação. Identificou-se que o desempenho dos serviços é influenciado pela disponibilidade de recursos humanos/materiais, organização interna dos serviços e ausência do doente no domicílio. Para a análise qualitativa, utilizou-se a técnica de análise de conteúdo, modalidade temática. A Debilidade de recursos materiais e humanos dos serviços de saúde e o Contexto sócio-cultural e econômico do doente foram identificados como os principais fatores que influenciam no desempenho dos serviços de saúde. Considera-se necessário uma permanente qualificação gerencial, organizativa e técnico-assistencial dos profissionais no controle da TB.

Uso de drogas psicotrópicas no Brasil: pesquisa domiciliar envolvendo as 107 maiores cidades do país - 2001

O objetivo foi estimar a prevalência do uso de drogas, álcool, tabaco e o uso não médico de medicamentos psicotrópicos. Este estudo abrangeu as 107 maiores cidades do Brasil; amostra: idades entre 12 e 65 anos. Amostragem em três estágios; setores censitários; domicílios e o respondente. Entrevistadas 8.589 pessoas. O uso na vida de álcool com 68,7% foi próximo aos 70,8% do Chile. O uso na vida de tabaco foi de 41,1%, inferior aos EUA (70,5%). O uso na vida de maconha foi de 6,9% próximo ao da Colômbia (5,4%) e abaixo dos EUA (34,2%). O uso na vida de cocaína foi 2,3%, inferior aos EUA (11,2%). O uso de solventes foi de 5,8%, bem menor que no Reino Unido (20,0%). Os estimulantes tiveram 1,5% de uso na vida e os benzodiazepínicos com 3,3%. Estes achados permitirão a implantação de políticas públicas adequadas à nossa realidade no campo das drogas psicotrópicas.