Losses In Brazil Research Articles

Soil losses due to water erosion threaten the sustainability of agriculture and the food security of current and future generations. This study estimated potential soil losses and sediment production under different types of land uses in a subbasin in the Municipality of Alfenas, southern Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. The objective of this research was to evaluate the application of the Potential Erosion Method by the Intensity of Erosion and Drainage program and correlate the findings with the results obtained by the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation as well as geoprocessing techniques and statistical analyses. In the Potential Erosion Method, the coefficient indicating the mean erosion intensity was 0.37, which corresponded to erosion category IV and indicated weak laminar erosion processes, and the total soil loss was 649.31 Mg year-1 and the mean was 1.46 Mg ha-1 year-1. These results were consistent in magnitude with those obtained in the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, which estimated a mean soil loss of 1.52 Mg ha-1 year-1 and a total soil loss of 668.26 Mg year-1. The Potential Erosion Method suggests that 1.5% of the area presents potential soil losses above the soil loss tolerance limit, which ranged from 5.19 to 5.90 Mg ha-1 year-1, while the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation indicated that 7.3% of the area has potential soil losses above the limit. The maximum sediment discharge was 60 Mg year-1, meaning that 9.3% of the total soil loss reached the depositional areas of the river plains or watercourses. The Potential Erosion Method was efficient in the evaluation of water erosion in tropical soils, and the results were consistent with models widely employed in the estimation of soil losses. Thus, the model can support the evaluation of soil losses in Brazil and is a robust tool for evaluating the sustainability of agricultural activities.

Bacterial wilt caused by Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens is among the diseases that affect Phaseolus vulgaris L. This disease has been frequently detected in bean fields and causes severe production losses in Brazil. The aim of this research was to examine the genetic diversity existing among twenty-four isolates of C. flaccumfaciens collected from their native and alternative host, and a collection of sixty strains belonging to four phytopathogenic pathovars preserved at the French Collection for Plant-associated Bacteria (CIRM-CFBP) by multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) based on six housekeeping genes (atpD, dnaK, gyrB, ppK, recA and rpoB). A phylogenetic tree with the concatenated sequences of six genes showed high genetic diversity among the strains. For instance, strains belonging to C. f. pv. flaccumfaciens do not cluster together within the species. Similar results were obtained with a minimal MLSA scheme using gyrB and recA, which we propose for reliable identification at the species level of Curtobacterium isolates. No correlation was identified between phylogeny and pathogenicity in the Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens strains analyzed in this work. The specific primers CffFOR2 and CffREV4 designed by Tegli et al. (Letters in Applied Microbiology, 35(4), 331–337, 2002) to detect C. f. pv. flaccumfaciens in naturally infected bean seeds proved to be efficient for the detection of bean-pathogenic strains.

Maize stalk rot can lead to major corn yield losses in Brazil and worldwide. Maize stalks exhibiting tiny black specks or light brown lesions were collected in the city of Luis Eduardo Magalhaes. Based on morphological characteristics and molecular assays, the fungus was identified as Lasiodiplodia brasiliense. This is the first report of maize stalk rot caused by L. brasiliense.

Background: Cervical cancer collects the highest survival benefit from radiotherapy (RT) among all malignancies. A large gap between oncological demand and RT availability exists for cervical cancer in Brazilian Public Health System (BPHS). Aim: To evaluate cost-effectiveness of universal access to RT and chemo-radiation (CRT) for untreated cervical cancer patients in the BPHS. Methods: The incremental cost was calculated based on the direct medical cost from a payer's perspective and the proportion of new cases with unmet RT/CRT needs in 2016. The incremental effectiveness was evaluated by life-year (LY) gain based on life expectancy, cervical cancer incidence and the number of cancer deaths due to lack of RT/CRT access as previously described. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated from direct medical costs and LYs. The indirect costs from mortality-related productivity loss (MRPL) were estimated based on life expectancy, wage and labor force participation rate. The MRPL was compared with direct medical cost. All costs and effectiveness were age-adjusted based on 2016 Brazilian data and discounted at 3% per year. Costs were adjusted to 2016 U.S. dollars. One-way sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the robustness of the model. Results: The annual cost to close RT gap was $14.3 million, with additional cost of $4.1 million to close the CRT gap. The average years of potential life lost per death was 20.5. Cost per life saved was $10,820 for RT alone (ICER: $528/LY) and $18,919 for CRT (ICER: $584/LY), respectively. The MRPL due to shortage of RT/CRT were 70/81 million respectively. Conclusion: Providing universal access to RT/CRT for cervical cancer patients in the BPHS will incur low cost per life-year saved and provide large economical gain by saving thousands of lives.

Humid tropical forests provide numerous global ecosystem services, but are under continuing threat of clearing from economic drivers. Here, we report primary humid tropical forest extent for the year 2001, and primary forest loss and distance to loss from 2002–2014 for the largest rainforest countries of Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Indonesia. Brazil’s total area of primary forest loss is more than twice that of Indonesia and five times that of DRC. Despite unprecedented success in slowing deforestation along its forest frontier, Brazil’s most remote forests are increasingly nearer to loss, as extractive activities such as logging and mining intrude upon previously intact forests. In absolute terms, DRC has the lowest area of primary forest loss; however, its forests are increasingly encroached upon as smallholder agriculturalists move into remaining forests, often to escape conflict and insecurity. The decrease in DRC forests’ distance to loss as a function of area of forest loss was five times that of Brazil or Indonesia. In 2014, Indonesia had the least area of remaining primary forest. Despite an announced moratorium on concession licenses in 2011, Indonesia exhibited a rate of primary forest loss twice that of DRC and triple that of Brazil by the end of the study period. Forest loss dynamics in Indonesia range from industrial-scale clearing of coastal peatlands to logging of interior montane rainforests. While results illustrate considerable variation in forest loss dynamics between the three countries, the dominant narrative is of ongoing exploitation of primary humid tropical forests.

According to The Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency, Brazil reached a loss of approximately U.S.$ 4 billion in commercial losses during 2011, which correspond to more than 27 000 GWh. The strengthening of the smart grid has brought a considerable amount of research that can be noticed, mainly with respect to the application of several artificial intelligence techniques in order to automatically detect commercial losses, but the problem of selecting the most representative features has not been widely discussed. In this paper, we make a parallel among the problem of commercial losses in Brazil and the task of irregular consumers characterization by means of a recent meta-heuristic optimization technique called Black Hole Algorithm. The experimental setup is conducted over two private datasets (commercial and industrial) provided by a Brazilian electric utility, and it shows the importance of selecting the most relevant features in the context of theft characterization.

Floods cause big human and environmental losses in Brazil. In general, they occur for more than one variable, but their potentialization stems from the irregular occupation of the soil, especially in permanent preservation area. From this perspective, the article will observe the relationship between the right to housing, vulnerability and natural disasters”(with emphasis on floods and landslides) as well as the decision criteria adopted by the Rio Grande do Sul Court of Justice, from 2010 to the present moment, in relation to matter. With the guarantee of environmental protection, the Judiciary Branch contributes to the process of disaster prevention and mitigation, a position that over time tends to influence the improvement of the right to housing. The management of risk areas, attentive to vulnerability reduction and negative real estate speculation, is very important in this context. The article was based on hypothetical-deductive reasoning, through bibliographic and jurisprudential, descriptive and exploratory research. Keywords: Right to housing; Vulnerability; Risk Area Ocupation; Natural Disaster; Judicial Branch.

Helicoverpa armigera caterpillar causes serious economic crop losses in Brazil, mainly in the corn, cotton and soybean farming. The aim of this study was to compare the efficiency of bioinsecticide Spinosad in the form of suspension capsules and emulsifiable concentrate in the dosage of 48 g i.a. ha-1 for control of H. armigera. The experiment was conducted in three different groups treated separately with emulsifiable concentrate (EC) with 48% of spinosad; suspension capsules (SC) with 48% of spinosad; and control group treatment with deionized water. Caterpillars were used in the early stage (1 and 2 days old larvae), and maintained under laboratory conditions (24 ± 1°C, 65 ± 5% RH and a 12:12 h light: dark photoperiod). The mortality was recorded and the affected behavior of treated larvae was checked every 30 min for a period of 8 h. The results show the efficacy of spinosad for control of H. armigera in the emulsifiable concentrate group treatment at 92.6 and 88.9%, and in the suspension capsule group treatment at 88.9 and 87.0%, respectively, in the first and second bioassay. It was concluded that the spinosad 48 g i.a. ha-1 is efficient in the control of H. armigera in micro encapsulated formulations, promoting less environmental damage by reducing the level of pesticides in the environment by the smaller concentration of the active ingredient through capsule suspension formulation and revealed economic viability and promotion of extended release of active ingredients. Key words: Industrial biotechnology, biological control, biopesticide, caterpillar control, microcapsules, emulsifiable concentrate.

As sources of data for global forest monitoring grow larger, more complex and numerous, data analysis and interpretation become critical bottlenecks for effectively using them to inform land use policy discussions. Here in this paper, we present a method that combines big data analytical tools with Emerging Hot Spot Analysis (ArcGIS) to identify statistically significant spatiotemporal trends of forest loss in Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 2000 and 2014. Results indicate that while the overall rate of forest loss in Brazil declined over the 14-year time period, spatiotemporal patterns of loss shifted, with forest loss significantly diminishing within the Amazonian states of Mato Grosso and Rondônia and intensifying within the cerrado biome. In Indonesia, forest loss intensified in Riau province in Sumatra and in Sukamara and West Kotawaringin regencies in Central Kalimantan. Substantial portions of West Kalimantan became new and statistically significant hot spots of forest loss in the years 2013 and 2014. Similarly, vast areas of DRC emerged as significant new hot spots of forest loss, with intensified loss radiating out from city centers such as Beni and Kisangani. While our results focus on identifying significant trends at the national scale, we also demonstrate the scalability of our approach to smaller or larger regions depending on the area of interest and specific research question involved. When combined with other contextual information, these statistical data models can help isolate the most significant clusters of loss occurring over dynamic forest landscapes and provide more coherent guidance for the allocation of resources for forest monitoring and enforcement efforts.

This thematic series, entitled “Enhancing Stewardship in Latin America and Caribbean Small-Scale Fisheries”, emerged as part of a joint effort to bridge Latin-American scholars interested in networking on small-scale fisheries in the region. Built on results presented at two meetings (‘Too Big to Ignore’ (TBTI) Workshop in Curitiba, Brazil, and the 2nd World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress in Merida, Mexico), this issue combines a unique collection of emergent and pressing issues related to small-scale fisheries in Latin America. It comprises of theoretical, methodological and policy-related aspects across a range of topics such as co-management, biodiversity conservation, governance challenges, and territorial tenure, in seven countries - predominantly from South America. In this Introduction, we provide some background to the similarities and diversity within the Latin America and Caribbean region, and their relevance to small-scale fisheries stewardship. Subsequently, we briefly introduce the contributions that range from cross-scale governance in Chile, cooperativism in Mexico, species introduction in Bolivia, interactive governance in the Galapagos and co-management in Uruguay, Brazil and Colombia, to territorial losses in Brazil. Multiple contexts and processes, theoretical and analytical perspectives (multi-stakeholders, socio-ecological systems, cross-scale issues, territorial approach) are highlighted, as well as the policy challenges to safeguard small-scale fisheries from numerous pressures such as urbanization, industrial expansion, tourism, pollution, and conservation policies. This series aims at inciting further consideration of innovative perspectives to bridge local communities, academics, practitioners and policy makers in joint efforts to promote priority action on issues that require immediate attention and transdisciplinary multidimensional outlooks on that important sector.

We estimate deforestation and the carbon stock in 2740 (82 %) of the 3325 settlements in Brazil’s Legal Amazonia region. Estimates are made both using available satellite data and a carbon map for the “pre-modern” period (prior to 1970). We used data from Brazil’s Project for Monitoring Deforestation in Amazonia updated through 2013 and from the Brazilian Biomes Deforestation Monitoring Project (PMDBBS) updated through 2010. To obtain the pre-modern and recent carbon stocks we performed an intersection between a carbon map and a map derived from settlement boundaries and deforestation data. Although the settlements analyzed occupied only 8 % of Legal Amazonia, our results indicate that these settlements contributed 17 % (160,410 km2) of total clearing (forest + non-forest) in Legal Amazonia (967,003 km2). This represents a clear-cutting of 41 % of the original vegetation in the settlements. Out of this total, 72 % (115,634 km2) was in the “Federal Settlement Project” (PA) category. Deforestation in settlements represents 20 % (2.6 Pg C) of the total carbon loss in Legal Amazonia (13.1 Pg C). The carbon stock in remaining vegetation represents 3.8 Pg C, or 6 % of the total remaining carbon stock in Legal Amazonia (58.6 Pg C) in the periods analyzed. The carbon reductions in settlements are caused both by the settlers and by external actors. Our findings suggest that agrarian reform policies contributed directly to carbon loss. Thus, the implementation of new settlements should consider potential carbon stock losses, especially if settlements are created in areas with high carbon stocks.

The Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus tick is responsible for considerable economic losses in Brazil, causing leather damage, weight loss and reduced milk production in cattle and results in the transmission of pathogens. Currently, the main method for controlling this tick is using acaricides, but their indiscriminate use is one of the major causes of resistance dissemination. In this study, the adult immersion test (AIT) was used to evaluate resistance in ticks from 28 properties located in five different states (Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Ceará, São Paulo, e Minas Gerais) and the Distrito Federal (DF) of Brazil. The resistance was found in 47.64% of the repetitions demonstrating an efficacy of less than 90% in various locations throughout the country. The larvae packet test was used to evaluate samples from ten properties in four states (Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo). Spray products belonging to the main classes of acaricides, including combination formulations, were used in both types of test. New cases of resistance were found on properties within the states of Ceará, Espírito Santo and Mato Grosso, where such resistance was not previously reported.

Water utility companies often use Cole type Pitot tubes to map velocity profiles and thus measure flow rate. Frequent monitoring and measurement of flow rate is an important step in identifying leaks and other types of losses. In Brazil losses as high as 42% are common and in some places even higher values are found. When using Cole type Pitot tubes to measure the flow rate, the uncertainty of the calibration coefficient (Cd) is a major component of the overall flow rate measurement uncertainty. A common practice is to employ the usual value Cd = 0.869, in use since Cole proposed his Pitot tube in 1896. Analysis of 414 calibrations of Cole type Pitot tubes show that Cd varies considerably and values as high 0.020 for the expanded uncertainty are common. Combined with other uncertainty sources, the overall velocity measurement uncertainty is 0.02, increasing flowrate measurement uncertainty by 1.5% which, for the Sao Paulo metropolitan area (Brazil) corresponds to 3.5 × 107 m3/year.

Abstract Spodoptera frugiperda is a major pest causing maize yield loss in Brazil. There is therefore a need for control methods, notably for organic farming because classical pesticides are not allowed. A potential solution for organic maize is to apply the biological control agent Trichogramma pretiosum to reduce S. frugiperda populations. Here, we tested the application of one, two, or three releases of T. pretiosum. We measured plant damage ratings, egg masses parasitized, and grain yield. Results show that 79.2 % of egg masses were parasited. Maize yields for parasited plots increased of 701 kg/ha versus control plots. This result equals a 19.4 % gain of productivity and US$96.5 gain per hectare. Therefore, biological control with egg parasitoids is a promising alternative to control S. frugiperda in organic maize.

Objective: To identify novel genetic causes of syndromic hearing loss in Brazil. Design: To map a candidate chromosomal region through linkage studies in an extensive Brazilian family and identify novel pathogenic variants using sequencing and array-CGH. Study sample: Brazilian pedigree with individuals affected by BO syndrome characterized by deafness and malformations of outer, middle and inner ear, auricular and cervical fistulae, but no renal abnormalities. Results: Whole genome microarray-SNP scanning on samples of 11 affected individuals detected a multipoint Lod score of 2.6 in the EYA1 gene region (chromosome 8). Sequencing of EYA1 in affected patients did not reveal pathogenic mutations. However, oligonucleotide-array-CGH detected a duplication of 71.8Kb involving exons 4 to 10 of EYA1 (heterozygous state). Real-time-PCR confirmed the duplication in fourteen of fifteen affected individuals and absence in 13 unaffected individuals. The exception involved a consanguineous parentage and was assumed to involve a different genetic mechanism. Conclusions: Our findings implicate this EYA1 partial duplication segregating with BO phenotype in a Brazilian pedigree and is the first description of a large duplication leading to the BOR/BO syndrome.

Bovine cysticercosis in slaughtered cattle as an indicator of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and epidemiological risk factors

White mold is a common bean disease caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, resulting in economic losses in Brazil and worldwide. Lack of knowledge about the population structure of the pathogen makes it difficult to control the disease. The aim of this study was to characterize strains of S. sclerotiorum obtained from ex-perimental and commercial common bean fields in Brazil. We analyzed 50 strains of S. sclerotiorum collected at several locations in the state of Minas Gerais. The strains were characterized according to their ability and time for developing apothecia. Morphological and physiological analyses such as the mycelial growth index, colony color, the time re-quired to form the first sclerotia on media, the number of sclerotia per plate, average sclerotium size, and sclerotium shape were performed. We determined the mycelial compatibility, conducted molecular analy-sis of microsatellites, and evaluated the aggressiveness of 28 strains. Most strains had the ability to form apothecia. A small group of strains showed mycelial compatibility, and the strains showed different aggres-siveness levels. Overall, the population studied here demonstrated wide variability based on the morphological, physiological, and molecular traits analyzed. The average size and shape of sclerotia presented a cor-relation of 0.617, whereas the times required to form sclerotia and the number of sclerotia per plate showed a correlation of -0.455. The char-acterization of the pathogen population described herein will provide an important tool for promoting the development of bean cultivars re-sistant to white mold.

Economic analysis of vaccination to control bovine brucellosis in the States of Sao Paulo and Mato Grosso, Brazil

Extensive clearing of Indonesian primary forests results in increased greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss. However, there is no consensus on the areal extent and temporal trends of primary forest clearing in Indonesia. Here we report a spatially and temporally explicit quantification of Indonesian primary forest loss, which totalled over 6.02 Mha from 2000 to 2012 and increased on average by 47,600 ha per year. By 2012, annual primary forest loss in Indonesia was estimated to be higher than in Brazil (0.84 Mha and 0.46 Mha, respectively). Proportional loss of primary forests in wetland landforms increased and almost all clearing of primary forests occurred within degraded types, meaning logging preceded conversion processes. Loss within official forest land uses that restrict or prohibit clearing totalled 40% of all loss within national forest land. The increasing loss of Indonesian primary forests has significant implications for climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation efforts. Deforestation affects climate, biodiversity and other ecosystem services. This study quantifies Indonesia’s increasing rate of primary forest loss, which runs counter to the declining rates of loss in Brazil. The results highlight the value of thematically consistent and spatially and temporally explicit information in tracking forest change.

This study aims to determine whether the main items of the profit and loss (P&L) accounts of listed Brazilian companies have been modified, according to sector, after Brazil’s adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The sample is composed of 118 companies classified by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (SECB) as corporate governance for the year before (2007) and the year after (2010) the implementation of IFRS. The analysis is based on the interpretation of biplots developed by Gower and Hand. The study concludes that a change did occur in the P&L accounts in the periods studied, which is substantiated by an analysis of the evolution of the national added value and explained by the application of new IFRS. This suggests that, unless there has been a significant alteration of performance in all sectors of the economy, the confrontation between P&L in Brazil has undergone significant changes in the different sectors of the economy after the full adoption of IFRS.