First report on dung beetles in intra-Amazonian savannahs in Roraima, Brazil

This is the first study to address the dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) diversity in intra-Amazonian savannahs in the state of Roraima, Brazil. Our aim was to survey the dung beetle fauna associated with these savannahs (regionally called 'lavrado'), since little is known about the dung beetles from this environment. We conducted three field samples using pitfall traps baited with human dung in savannah areas near the city of Boa Vista during the rainy seasons of 1996, 1997, and 2008. We collected 383 individuals from ten species, wherein six have no previous record in intra-Amazonian savannahs. The most abundant species were Ontherus appendiculatus (Mannerheim, 1829), Canthidium aff. humerale (Germar, 1813), Dichotomius nisus (Olivier, 1789), and Pseudocanthon aff. xanthurus (Blanchard, 1846). We believe that knowing the dung beetles diversity associated with the intra-Amazonian savannahs is ideal for understanding the occurrence and distribution of these organisms in a highly threatened environment, it thus being the first step towards conservation strategy development

Evidence for a Conserved Quantity in Human Mobility

Recent seminal works on human mobility have shown that individuals constantly exploit a small set of repeatedly visited locations. A concurrent study has emphasized the explorative nature of human behaviour, showing that the number of visited places grows steadily over time. How to reconcile these seemingly contradicting facts remains an open question. Here, we analyse high-resolution multi-year traces of ~40,000 individuals from 4 datasets and show that this tension vanishes when the long-term evolution of mobility patterns is considered. We reveal that mobility patterns evolve significantly yet smoothly, and that the number of familiar locations an individual visits at any point is a conserved quantity with a typical size of ~25. We use this finding to improve state-of-the-art modelling of human mobility. Furthermore, shifting the attention from aggregated quantities to individual behaviour, we show that the size of an individual’s set of preferred locations correlates with their number of social interactions. This result suggests a connection between the conserved quantity we identify, which as we show cannot be understood purely on the basis of time constraints, and the ‘Dunbar number’ describing a cognitive upper limit to an individual’s number of social relations. We anticipate that our work will spark further research linking the study of human mobility and the cognitive and behavioural sciences

ESTRATÉGIA COMO PRÁTICA EM AMBIENTE DINÂMICO: ESTUDO DE CASO EM UM TABELIONATO DE PROTESTO

The agents involved in the strategy formation process and how they act have been the focus of strategy studies at a micro level. This study aims to understand how the strategy formation occurs under the perspective of strategy-as-practice in a dynamic environment. A qualitative research was carried out through a case study in a Notary Public of Protest inserted in a dynamic environment, undergoing economic, technological, and legislative changes at a time of high indebtedness in the country. The data were analyzed using pattern matching and narrative analysis techniques. It was found that the strategy formation occurs in the continuous adjustment of the interaction between practice, praxis, practitioner and environment, at a time of default, in the actions that seek its reduction. The perspective of strategy-as-practice in this organization contributes in the search to elucidate the performance of the Notary Public, as a legal device of control and support facing the growing “culture of default” and indebtedness of the population.Os agentes envolvidos no processo de formação da estratégia e no modo como eles atuam têm sido foco dos estudos da estratégia em um âmbito micro. Este estudo objetiva compreender como ocorre a formação da estratégia sob a perspectiva da estratégia-como-prática em ambiente dinâmico. Foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa por meio de um estudo de caso em um Tabelionato de Protesto inserido em ambiente dinâmico, passando por mudanças econômicas, tecnológicas, legislativas em tempo de elevado endividamento no país. Os dados foram analisados por meio das técnicas pattern matching e análise narrativa. Constatou-se que a formação da estratégia ocorre no ajuste contínuo da interação entre a prática, práxis, praticante e ambiente, em momento de inadimplência, nas ações que buscam sua redução. A perspectiva da estratégia-como-prática nesta organização contribui na busca de elucidar a atuação do Tabelionato, como dispositivo legal de controle e apoio diante da crescente “cultura da inadimplência” e endividamento da população

Impact of milk protein type on the viability and storage stability of microencapsulated Lactobacillus acidophilus using spray drying

Three different milk proteins — skim milk powder (SMP), sodium caseinate (SC) and whey protein concentrate (WPC) — were tested for their ability to stabilize microencapsulated L. acidophilus produced using spray drying. Maltodextrin (MD) was used as the primary wall material in all samples, milk protein as the secondary wall material (7:3 MD/milk protein ratio) and the simple sugars, d-glucose and trehalose were used as tertiary wall materials (8:2:2 MD/protein/sugar ratio) combinations of all wall materials were tested for their ability to enhance the microbial and techno-functional stability of microencapsulated powders. Of the optional secondary wall materials, WPC improved L. acidophilus viability, up to 70 % during drying; SMP enhanced stability by up to 59 % and SC up to 6 %. Lactose and whey protein content enhanced thermoprotection; this is possibly due to their ability to depress the glass transition and melting temperatures and to release antioxidants. The resultant L. acidophilus powders were stored for 90 days at 4 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C and the loss of viability calculated. The highest survival rates were obtained at 4 °C, inactivation rates for storage were dependent on the carrier wall material and the SMP/d-glucose powders had the lowest inactivation rates (0.013 day−1) whilst the highest was observed for the control containing only MD (0.041 day−1) and the SC-based system (0.030 day−1). Further increase in storage temperature (25 °C and 35 °C) was accompanied by increase of the inactivation rates of L. acidophilus that followed Arrhenius kinetics. In general, SMP-based formulations exhibited the highest temperature dependency whilst WPC the lowest. d-Glucose addition improved the storage stability of the probiotic powders although it was accompanied by an increase of the residual moisture, water activity and hygroscopicity, and a reduction of the glass transition temperature in the tested systems

CONSTRUCTION OF A METRIC OF QUALITY OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSTS

Este estudo objetivou construir uma Métrica de Qualidade da Informação Contábil (MQIC) sob a ótica de analistas fundamentalistas, os quais, enquanto intermediários informacionais, utilizam informações públicas para fazer suas previsões e recomendações, mostrando por meio de seus relatórios as melhores oportunidades de investimentos. O estudo é classificado como exploratório e utilizou abordagem qualitativa. Para atingir o objetivo foi utilizada a técnica Delphi, com a aplicação aos analistas fundamentalistas de um questionário elaborado a partir da literatura sobre qualidade da informação contábil. Os resultados do estudo possibilitaram construir uma MQIC com 17 componentes, cuja nota varia entre 0 (pior nota) e 100 (melhor nota). A média geral dos 17 componentes da métrica final é 4,3, indicando uma concordância elevada entre os analistas sobre os itens que compõem a MQIC. Além disso o Coeficiente de Variação é de 18,4% o que indica uma dispersão média dos dados. O resultado do Alfa de Cronbach, de 0,89, mostra que a MQIC possui consistência interna.This study aimed to set up a Metric of Quality of Accounting Information (MQIC) validated by fundamental analysts, which, as informational intermediaries, use public information to make their forecasts and recommendations about the best investment opportunities. To achieve the study’s objective, the Delphi technique was used through the application of a survey drawn from the literature on quality of accounting information to a group of fundamental analysts. The results of the study led to set up a MQIC with 17 components whose score ranges from 0 (worst score) up to 100 (best score). The overall average of the 17 components of the final metric was 4.3, indicating a high agreement among the fundamental analysts about the items of the MQIC. Moreover, the Coefficient of Variation was 18.4 %, which indicates average data dispersion. Finally, the Cronbach’s Alpha result of 0.89 attested that MQIC has internal consistenc

Tri-trophic effects of inter- and intra-population variation in defence chemistry of wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea)

The effect of direct chemical defences in plants on the performance of insect herbivores and their natural enemies has received increasing attention over the past 10 years. However, much less is known about the scale at which this variation is generated and maintained, both within and across populations of the same plant species. This study compares growth and development of the large cabbage butterfly, Pieris brassicae, and its gregarious pupal parasitoid, Pteromalus puparum, on three wild populations [Kimmeridge (KIM), Old Harry (OH) and Winspit (WIN)] and two cultivars [Stonehead (ST), and Cyrus (CYR)] of cabbage, Brassica oleracea. The wild populations originate from the coast of Dorset, UK, but grow in close proximity with one another. Insect performance and chemical profiles were made from every plant used in the experiment. Foliar glucosinolates (GS) concentrations were highest in the wild plants in rank order WIN > OH > KIM, with lower levels found in the cultivars. Caterpillar-damaged leaves in the wild cabbages also had higher GS levels than undamaged leaves. Pupal mass in P. brassicae varied significantly among populations of B. oleracea. Moreover, development time in the host and parasitoid were correlated, even though these stages are temporally separated. Parasitoid adult dry mass closely approximated the development of its host. Multivariate statistics revealed a correlation between pupal mass and development time of P. brassicae and foliar GS chemistry, of which levels of neoglucobrassicin appeared to be the most important. Our results show that there is considerable variation in quantitative aspects of defensive chemistry in wild cabbage plants that is maintained at very small spatial scales in nature. Moreover, the performance of the herbivore and its parasitoid were both affected by differences in plant quality