Brazilian Industry Research Articles

Industry workers with hypertension and diabetes mellitus, the prevalence of self-reported adherence, and disease control

To evaluate the prevalence of self-reported drug adherence and factors associated, as well as clinical health outcomes, for industry workers with hypertension (HTN) and diabetes mellitus (DM). This was a cross-sectional study of 137 Brazilian industry workers with HTN and/ or DM. Self-reported adherence was assessed, and the disease control was defined through blood pressure and capillary glycemia values. Data were descriptively analyzed and the factors associated with adherence were evaluated using the Poisson model with robust variance to calculate prevalence ratios. The prevalence of self-reported drug adherence was 79.6% and the prevalence of disease control was 53.8%. There was no statistically significant association between the two variables. In the controlled disease group, non-adherence was associated with being under 40 years of age, not having a partner, and having a risky alcohol consumption habit. In the uncontrolled disease group, adherence was highest for participants aged 40 years and older. The prevalence of self-reported drug adherence was high, but the prevalence of disease control was low and not associated with adherence, indicating that the self-reported adherence measure may be inaccurate. Our findings identify some factors that explain non-adherent behavior in the workforce.

Comparison of commercial disinfectants and an in loco-produced solution: free residual chlorine decay in human supply waters

Abstract The disinfection process is used in the treatment of water for human supply to promote sanitary safety and provide users with drinking water that meets potability standards. Thus, it is necessary to sustain a minimal concentration of free residual chlorine (FRC) throughout the entire distribution system. The present study investigated the decay process of FRC concentration in water destined for human supply. The decay was evaluated in bench-scale testing, using sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, sodium dichloroisocyanurate (organic chlorine) as disinfectant agents, and also an alternative disinfectant solution (ADS) produced in loco, with oxidizing and disinfectant properties, which is being used in Brazilian sanitation industry. To evaluate the decay, four models were fitted: first-order, nth-order, limited first-order and parallel first-order, hence determining the corresponding parameters which describe the decay speed of the FRC concentration in water. Achieved results demonstrated that all models were statistically significant and predictive. However, the parallel first-order model produced the best fit. Regarding the evaluated disinfectants, there was preeminence of the ADS solution when compared to the others, since it imparted a higher FRC over time, a behavior indicated by lower values for reaction rate constant in all models and when compared to other disinfectants used in this study.

Dormência e germinação de sementes em Psidium cattleyanum Sabine (araçá vermelho e amarelo)

Araçá has economic potential due to its fruits for consumption in natura or as feedstock for the food industry in Brazil. Despite the economic interest, there are few works in the literature and they conflict regarding araçá seed dormancy and procedures to overcome it, which could be a necessary requisite for large-scale production of this species. This work aimed to verify the existence of seed dormancy in fresh-collected red and yellow araçá seeds and, if dormancy exists, determine a possible dormancy release procedure for this species. The applied seed dormancy release treatments were: chemical scarification with concentrated sulfuric acid, thermal shock with hot water, chemically induced germination with gibberellic acid, a combination of sulfuric acid and gibberellic acid treatments, a combination of hot water and gibberellic acid treatments, and a control. The seeds were kept incubated in a BOD incubator for 60 days at 25±2 °C and a photoperiod of 16 h light and 8 h dark. The percentage of germination and the germination speed index (GSI) were evaluated. The data underwent ANOVA, followed by Tukey’s multiple range test at 5% probability. After 60 days of incubation, no treatment was statistically different from the controls for red and yellow araçá seeds. indicating that both red and yellow araçá fresh-collected seeds do not have dormancy. Thus, there is no need for dormancy overcoming treatment, saving time and costs in seedling production of this species.

University-industry collaboration importance in innovative brazilian industrial firms: a sectorial model


 
 This article examines empirically the university-industry collaboration (UIC) importance in innovative
 firms on Brazilian industry. This relation is considered an important tool for economic growth in innovation-led firms. It was used a hierarchical regression model for 25.667 innovative industrial firms in the year 2005, the innovation involves product, process, or organizational change. The Total Factor Productivity was introduced as independent variable, because it can be used in all firms as performance measure, and it was average centralized. The TFP is explained by firm’s internal capabilities, and in industry by the UIC importance. The found results are upward average (positive sign), and downward average (negative
 sign). The sectorial impact of UIC in the TFP is positive, but near zero. The internal capabilities present exchanged signs between the firm and the industry, only innovative labor have both signs positive. The random effects identify nine industries with upward productivity gains, 8,26 % of total Brazilian industry, and these industries are traditional, low-tech intensity, only the automotive industry is medium-technology. Twenty industries have downward productivity gains, 18,35 % of total Brazilian industry, and between them are high-technology industries, as diverse capital tools, and electronics.
 
 
 
 
 
 

The historical evolution of the Brazilian aeronautical sector: a combined approach based on mission-oriented innovation policy (MOIP) and sectoral innovation system (SIS)

ABSTRACT This study aims to present the evolution of the Brazilian aeronautical industry, focusing on mission-oriented innovation policy (MOIP) and sectoral innovation system (SIS) theories. We argue that a consolidated arrangement in national boundaries was useful to improve a leading national firm to compete at the international level. This was achieved through changes in MOIP over time, from a Type-1 strategy for a heterogeneous one, combining Type-1 and Type-2 features (Robinson, D. K. R., and M. Mazzucato. 2019. “The evolution of mission-oriented policies: Exploring changing market creating policies in the US and European space sector.” Research Policy 48: 936–948). We identify three main periods of industrial evolution from the 1930s until now. As main conclusions, we highlight that the joint observation through MOIP and SIS theories is important to explain the evolution of the aeronautical sector in Brazil. As technological, market, and institutional conditions shift, government policies change, new results are achieved, and new goals are being established, in line with the MOIP theory. Hence, the need for evaluation and adjustment over time would be seen as a more general lesson from this study, and the role of government intervention emerges as a particular strategy for each nation-state. Moreover, these responses to particular strategies need to be coherent with industry preconditions (each country’s internal features) and industry discontinuities.

Economic impact of biomaterials for bone regeneration in Brazil during the pandemic

Implantable devices are therapeutic options for oral rehabilitation, with several presentations available in the dental consumption market. The consumption power of health products is a little explored in the literature, particularly in the face of financial crises. The aim of this study was to evaluate the economic impact of biomaterials for bone regeneration in Brazil during the pandemic. A quantitative study was carried out through online document analysis, with publicly accessible secondary data extracted from IBGE and websites for the sale of dental products. Data collection in the second quarter of 2020 and 2021 of absolute values ​​of products, official GDP data and population estimates allowed the generation of a biomaterial/income coefficient. The categories obtained from grafts and membranes were stratified by composition, origin and industry. Statistical analysis used the Shapiro-Wilk test to assess normality, the non-parametric Kruskall-Wallis test to compare the means of variables and the Wilcoxon test for paired samples of medians according to the two periods, considering significant differences if p <0.05. Of 97 products analyzed, a higher frequency of bone grafts than barrier membranes was observed, with an average growth of 18.5% in the price of biomaterials, below 28.7% of GDP in the same period. The highest prevalence of biomaterials was the ceramic composition for bone grafts and resorbable polymeric for membranes, from the xenogenous source and Brazilian industry. There was a chronological decrease in the biomaterial/income coefficient in most categories, with a drop in the general average from 4.67±4.40% to 4.30±3.96%, accompanied by an increase in the median, demonstrating a trend towards homogeneity of this coefficient in the comparison between years. The drop in the coefficient indicates a greater purchasing power of biomaterials by the potential consumer. Market knowledge can contribute for the decision making in clinical planning involving bone regeneration.

Information and communication technology in the Brazilian banking industry: does functionality matter?

Abstract A banking system is functional when it expands the potential to provide more liquidity to the economy, especially for development finance. The advances of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can contribute to increasing banks’ potential to offer more products and services, expanding their capacity to be more functional. Diversifying financial instruments can encourage them to operate with more profitable operations in the short term to the detriment of the supply of credit in the long term, decreasing their ability to be more functional. This article aims to analyze the relationship between ICT and the functionality of Brazilian banks between 1995 and 2016. We created an index of functionality. The Panel Data estimation verified an ambiguous impact of ICT on banks’ functionality. The use of electronic devices and services for software-driven data processing and transmission has had a positive effect on this index. However, the influence of ICT on functionality was to enhance the negative effects of financial innovations on the supply of credit by banks because of the agents” incentives to invest in short-term and more liquid assets, vis à vis of financing long-term investments, harming the capacity for financing Brazilian development.

The dynamics of industrial geographic distribution: evidence from Brazil (2002-2014)

ABSTRACT The geographical distribution of Brazilian industries changed between 2002 and 2014, and it was more significant for some industries. Based on Dumais et al. (2002), we explore the dynamics of these changes by a decomposition of the employment variation and concentration index for manufacturing industries grouped by technological intensity, and we identify the direction of the locational movements of the firms among microregions. In general., the results indicate that between 2002 and 2014, there was a trend of convergence among the microregions’ participation in industrial employment, contributing to industrial deconcentration in the country, with the exception of the group of high-technology industries, which became more concentrated. Components of the life cycle of industries, especially the growth of employment generated by new industries in non-metropolitan microregions, are identified as main propelling of this evidence. In general., the results are consistent with the importance of agglomeration economies over historic accidents to explain the industrial concentration in Brazil between 2002 and 2014.

Knowledge Articulation in Creative Media. Interactive, transmedia and immersive productions developed at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Interactive, transmedia and immersive nonfiction creations gain projection in Brazil from 2018 on, with the academy as a great ally. Universities, as spaces for innovation, manage to foster projects of excellence, despite the scarce and high investments required, bringing together people, technological resources and strategic partnerships. In the XR (extended realities) ecosystem of the Brazilian creative industry, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, one of the most prized, largest and oldest public institutions of higher education in the country, through its Post Graduate Program in Creative Media (PPGMC) becomes a reference center. The institution launches innovative and experimental creations, which would hardly receive private funding, due to the adverse economic situation that the creative sectors are currently facing. This article presents and analyzes recent productions in terms of thematic approaches, technologies and languages. Applied methodologies for the creation of interactive and immersive works are also discussed, from the perspective of how these creative methods have been fostering the practice-based research output at PPGMC, and the currently achieved results.

Estimating water input in the mining industry in Brazil: A methodological proposal in a data-scarce context

Metal mining plays a significant role in the Brazilian economy since its foundation as an overseas colony. The rapid increase in ore extraction brings along pressures on the country’s water resources, as mining is a particularly water-intensive activity. However, site-specific data on water input and management are scarce. We propose a methodology for estimating water input in mining at a high geographical resolution. We focus on the three key metals mined in Brazil: iron, aluminum (i.e. bauxite ore), and copper, and derive water input coefficients for all mines from governmental and corporate sources as well as from the literature. We estimate that overall, the sum of the water inputs estimated for Brazilian bauxite, copper, and iron ore mining decreased by 15% from an average of 506.5±62.4 hm3 in 2014 to an average of 408.4±67.2 hm3 in 2017. The regions where most water was appropriated were Northern (Pará state) and Southeast (Minas Gerais) for iron, Northern (Pará) for aluminum, and Northern (Pará) and Central West (Goiás) for copper. We show that there are still significant consistency and data availability gaps, and that further work is still necessary to improve site-specific reporting and open access to data collected by public institutions.

Fishlow, Albert, Filho, Vieira and Eustáquio Ribeiro, José (2020) Agriculture and Industry in Brazil: Innovation and Competitiveness, Columbia University Press (New York, NY), xiv + 244 pp. £58.00 hbk, £58.00 e‐bk.

Fishlow, Albert, Filho, Vieira and Eustáquio Ribeiro, José (2020) Agriculture and Industry in Brazil: Innovation and Competitiveness, Columbia University Press (New York, NY), xiv + 244 pp. £58.00 hbk, £58.00 e‐bk.

Activity of papaya (Carica papaya) latex on Rhipicephalus microplus (Acari: Ixodidae) under laboratory conditions

ABSTRACT Rhipicephalus microplus (Canestrini 1888) causes severe economic losses to the cattle industry in Brazil. Products alternative to chemical acaricides have been investigated for tick control, and the use of plant-derived products may be a promising approach. In the current study, we investigated the activity of the latex of Carica papaya L. fruit on larvae and engorged females of R. microplus. Decreased weight of egg mass was reported from females treated with active papaya latex or denatured latex in relation to their control group treated with distilled water only; however, females treated with the highest active latex concentration had the lowest weight of egg mass compared to the other treatment and control groups. Percent control of ticks treated with active latex ranged from 19.81% (25 mg mL−1) to 92.36% (100 mg mL−1). In addition, all concentrations of active latex caused significant mean mortality of R. microplus larvae. The present study indicated, for the first time, the acaricidal effect of the proteolytic activity of a plant latex on the tick cuticle. We concluded that active C. papaya latex is a promising candidate for developing a sustainable and ecofriendly bioacaricide to control R. microplus.

Policy, regulation, development and future of biodiesel industry in Brazil

This article provides a detailed analysis of the Brazilian biodiesel market and policies over the past 16 years. The biodiesel market faced distinct periods, from the initial non-mandatory 2% to the actual 13% mixture in diesel. The legal and regulatory basis of the Biodiesel Program, as well as the tax benefits to poorer regions and family farmers, was also explained. The biodiesel industry increased from almost no biodiesel production in 2005 to more than 4 billion liters at the end of 2017. Soybean oil is the major raw material in Brazilian biodiesel (around 90%), although fats are also important. Other materials, such as sunflower oil, peanut oil, castor oil, palm oil (mainly in North and Northeast regions) and used oil (especially in the Southeast region) showed increased participation. Biodiesel content could reach 15% in 2023. That increase can lead to an expansion in biodiesel demand to 9 billion liters in 2024, which will need soy processing improvement, in order not to take place at the expense of an increase in deforestation and smallholder agriculture. Some recent events, such as the reduction of oil prices and the pandemic of Covid-19 can diminish the rate of that expansion.

Domestic versus foreign origin of total energy use: An analysis for Brazil

Energy use is the major source of greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of this paper is to examine total domestic and foreign energy use across industries in Brazil over the period 1995–2015. We found that total energy use experienced an annual average growth rate close to 3%. In 2015 only three industries accounted for 37% of total energy use in Brazil: Transport, Food & Beverages, and Electricity, Gas, and Water. In these industries the share of the energy used and produced domestically was higher than the average (85.6%, 84.5% and 94.5% of the total, respectively). In contrast, other industries were increasingly reliant on foreign energy. Thus, the share of domestic use of energy produced abroad was higher than 20% in Textiles and Wearing Apparel, Electrical and Machinery, Transport Equipment and Construction. This fact extends the problem of energy-related emissions mitigation from the national to the global level.

Analysis of the bond stress when using GFRP bars

For most of the structural solutions, the construction industry in Brazil is based on the use of conventional reinforced concrete elements composed of concrete and steel bars. However, problems related to this traditional structural system, such as the corrosion of metallic bars exposed to aggressiveness environments, motivate the study of new materials to be used as a replacement of conventional bars. In this context, FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymers) bars can be viable due to their good mechanical properties and resistance to aggressive environmental agents. Thus, the main objective of this paper was the evaluation of the bond stress of GFRP bars using pullout tests. Thus, twenty specimens were analyzed with two concrete compressive strengths of 30 MPa and 60 MPa and two different GFRP bar diameters of 9.5 and 16.0 mm. According to the test results, it was verified a high variability of the adhesion between the GFRP bar and the concrete. Concerning the statistical analysis of pullout tests performed and considering the methodology proposed to analyze the quality control, the variation coefficient varied from 13.71% to 20.17%, classifying the pullout tests performed as medium or poor. These results demonstrate that the response of the GFRP bars obtained in the pullout tests was not reliable, demonstrating the need for new research to obtain adhesion coefficients and anchoring lengths for use in structural designs with such materials.

Goal programming and multiple criteria data envelopment analysis combined with optimization and Monte Carlo simulation: An application in railway components

AbstractThis work has been developed in a large steel industry in Brazil, which produces railway and industrial components, and whose aim was to reduce casting defects. Usually, in industrial processes, identifying the causes of defects and their control are relatively complex activities, due to the many variables involved. In this context, the production processes of seven products, involving 38 process variables (inputs and outputs), have been evaluated adopting a new and innovative procedure. Initially, using a Weighted Goal Programming ‐ Multiple Criteria Data Envelopment Analysis (WGP‐MCDEA) model, we identified the most relevant input and output variables, and the studied company validated the results. Next, using the multiple regression technique, empirical functions were constructed for two response variables chosen by the company – number of external cracks and number of internal cracks. Then, to model the real processes adequately, we introduced the occurrence of uncertainty on the coefficients of these functions, considering them as random variables, according to triangular probability functions. Finally, applying the optimizer Optquest, optimization via Monte Carlo simulation (OvMCS) was performed, and with the Ordinary Least Square technique, we obtained the best fit for the two response variables. Specialists from the company validated the proposed procedure. They found that the values of input and output variables obtained by OvMSC, as well as the values of the response variables, belonged to the database available in the ERP system of the company. These results showed that the procedure proposed herein provided feasible and useful solutions to improve the industrial processes under study.

Application of a predictive microbiological model for estimation of Salmonella behavior throughout the manufacturing process of salami in environmental conditions of small-scale Brazilian manufacturers

The microbiological quality of fermented products such as salami are highly dependent on the interaction of environmental conditions during its fabrication. These effects may be predicted by mathematical modeling, and this approach has been adopted in several occasions. The aim of this study was to validate the Gamma concept model to predict Salmonella behavior during salami manufacturing in environmental conditions found in small scale Brazilian manufacturer. Furthermore, we simulated the growth and inactivation of Salmonella in salami considering a Brazilian scenario of contamination level of pork. Salami pieces were elaborated with a cocktail of five strains of Salmonella and subjected to maturation. For the fitted model construction, temperatures of 30°C during fermentation and 20°C during drying were used; while 25°C (fermentation) and 18°C (drying) were used in the validation study. Water activity (aw) and pH were analyzed and Salmonella enumerated during maturation for fitting the curves. Salmonella isolates recovered at the end of the maturation were subjected to macrorestriction profiling (PFGE). The parameters obtained in the fitted Gamma concept model (μopt, δ1, δ2, α) were used to predict the bacteria behaviour in the validation study. During the maturation, Salmonella concentration decreased from 7.086 to 3.368 log10 cfu/g (after 941 horas), and from 7.751 to 2.749 log10 cfu/g (after 1121.5 horas) in the fitted model and validation study, respectively. The aw was determinant for starting the microbial inactivation in the fitted model. Strains belonging to all PFGE-profiles inoculated in the salami pieces were detected in the end of the maturation. Regarding the simulation in a Brazilian scenario of pork contamination, the model predicted, in the upper 95% confidence interval, zero log10 cfu/g of Salmonella after 670 h of maturation. The results indicate that the Gamma concept model provide a robust alternative to predict the concentration of Salmonella in salami considering the characteristics of production adopted in small industries in Brazil. The model predicted that in a scenario of higher environmental temperatures (30°C fermentation/ 20°C drying) Salmonella absence can be achieved after 15 days.

Desempenho inovativo das empresas Brasileiras do setor de tecnologia de informação no período de 2013 – 2015: uma abordagem dos serviços intensivos em conhecimento / Innovative performance of Brazilian companies in the information technology sector in the period 2013 – 2015: an approach to knowledge-intensive services

Companies that make intensive use of knowledge play an important role in the process of innovation generation and diffusion (Morikawa, 2016). This paper discusses the partial results of a survey conducted by the Federation of Brazilian Information Technology Business Associations (ASSESPRO, 2015). Its goal is to analyze the characteristics of the information technology industry in Brazil, specifically comparing the data from the 2013, 2014 and 2015 editions of this same survey, regarding innovation. The percentage of new products in sales, consistent with previous data, is considered low, since approximately 10% of the surveyed companies state these products make up an important share of sales. The data also shows many of these companies do not adopt aggressive innovation strategies and point to a low level of radical innovation in the IT companies, with approximately 30% of them making no investment in this area whatsoever while most of the others spend little in R&D.

Metagenomic analyses, isolation and characterization of endophytic bacteria associated with Eucalyptus urophylla BRS07-01 in vitro plants.

Eucalyptus is the main species for the forestry industry in Brazil. Biotechnology and, more recently, gene editing offer significant opportunities for rapid improvements in Eucalyptus breeding programs. However, the recalcitrance of Eucalyptus species to in vitro culture is also a major limitation for commercial deployment of biotechnology techniques in Eucalyptus improvement. We evaluated various clones of Eucalyptus urophylla for their in vitro regeneration potential identified a clone, BRS07-01, with considerably higher regeneration rate (85%) in organogenesis, and significantly higher than most works described in literature. Endophytic bacteria are widely reported to improve in vitro plant growth and development. Hence, we believe that inclusion of endophytic plant growth promoting bacteria enhanced was responsible for the improved plantlets growth and development of this clone under in vitro culture. Metagenomic analysis was performed to isolate and characterize the prominent endophytic bacteria on BRS07-01 leaf tissue in vitro micro-cultures, and evaluate their impact on plant growth promotion. The analysis revealed the presence of the phyla Firmicutes (35%), Proteobacteria (30%) and much smaller quantities of Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Gemmatimonadetes, Crenarchaeota, Euryarchaeota and Acidobacteria. Of the thirty endophytic bacterial strains isolated, eleven produced indole-3-acetic acid. Two of the isolates were identified as Enterobacter sp. and Paenibacillus polymyxa, which are nitrogen-fixing and capable of phosphate and produce ammonium. These isolates also showed similar positive effects on the germination of common beans (Phaseolus spp.). The isolates will now be tested as a growth promoter in Eucalyptus in vitro cultures. Graphical abstract for the methodology using cultivation independent and dependent methodologies to investigate the endophytic bacteria community from in vitro Eucalyptus urophylla BRS07-01.

Climate Change Policies and the Carbon Tax Effect on Meat and Dairy Industries in Brazil

This study analyzes the impacts of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the meat and dairy industries. To achieve this goal, the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database was used in a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) setting, which allows for the inclusion of carbon taxes and the definition of four alternative environmental policies scenarios using both Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Global Temperature Potential (GTP) as GHG emissions measures. All scenarios analyze the main effects of carbon-based tax economic instruments on the industry and national production, trade, and emissions, comparing the results for different measures of GHG, GWP, and GTP from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation System (SEEG) sectoral Brazilian emissions database. In contrast with other industries, relatively lower taxes on the meat and dairy industries seem to be the most adequate in terms of cost distribution in the Brazilian economic structure when only the GWP measure is considered. Urban activities and less-methane-intensive industries benefit from climate change policies designed using GWP-based rather than GTP-based carbon taxes. The article also highlights the importance of a gradual introduction of carbon taxes, allowing the most vulnerable industries a transition moment to adopt clean technologies and/or redirect economic activity to less-GHG-emitting segments.