Essence and Cause: Making Something Be What It Is

Aristotle frequently describes essence as a “cause” or “explanation”, thus ascribing to essence some sort of causal or explanatory role. This explanatory role is often explicated by scholars in terms of essence “making the thing be what it is” or “making it the very thing that it is”. I argue that this is problematic, at least on the assumption that “making” expresses an explanatory relation, since it violates certain formal features of explanation. I then consider whether Aristotle is vulnerable to this problem by examining the explanatory role of essence in Posterior Analytics and Metaphysics Z 17

O pensamento social de universitários sobre beleza e cirurgia estética

O estudo objetivou identificar as representações sociais de homens e mulheres com diferentes formações acadêmicas, a respeito de beleza e da cirurgia estética. Pesquisa de natureza descritiva e comparativa, com delineamento transversal, com a participação de 120 universitários; plano de investigação multimétodo desenhado por A.S. de Rosa através de questionário semiestruturado, autoaplicável, dividido em cinco par- tes; envolvendo análise estatística descritiva, relacional e análise textual de redes associativas. Os resultados destacam diferenças significativas nas representações sociais dos grupos em relação aos objetos sociais, beleza e cirurgia estética, em termos de conteúdo, avaliações e dimensões sociopsicológicas. A proximidade dos indivíduos e grupos com o corpo confirma parcialmente as evidências das variáveis influentes em termos de gênero e formação acadêmica dos participantes nas repre- sentações dos objetos pesquisados. The study aimed to identify the social representations of men and women with different academic backgrounds, regarding beauty and aesthetic surgery. This study is a descriptive and comparative research, with cross-sectional design, based on the par- ticipation of 120 university students; Multi-method research plan designed by A.S. de Rosa through a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire, divided into five parts; involv- ing descriptive and relational statistical analysis, and textual analysis of associative networks. The results highlight significant differences in the social representations of the groups in relation to social objects, beauty and aesthetic surgery, in terms of contents, assessments and socio-psychological dimensions. The proximity of individuals and groups to the body partially confirms the evidence of influential variables in terms of gender and academic training of the participants in the representations of the objects surveyed

Porotaxia em larvas de Anocentor nitens e Haemaphysalis leporispalustris.

Estruturas tegumentares de larvas de Anocentor nitens e Haemaphysalis leporispalustris foram estudadas por microscopia óptica. Três tipos de estruturas tegumentares foram identificadas nas larvas das duas espécies: lirifissuras, pequenas glândulas e grandes glândulas de cera. Estas estruturas foram observadas isoladas ou associadas cobrindo todo o idiossoma, exceto no escudo onde não foram encontrados grandes glândulas de cera. Grandes glândulas de cera foram o tipo de estrutura mais estável dentro e entre as espécies, seguido pelas lirifissuras e pequenas glândulas. Pequenas glândulas, embora relativamente estáveis, mostraram um grande número de variações numéricas entre as espécies de carrapatos. Os padrões de lirifissuras, pequenas glândulas e grandes glândulas de cera mostraram diferenças marcantes quando comparadas entre si e com larvas de algumas espécies do gênero Amblyomma. Estas diferenças foram suficientes para diferenciar as larvas das espécies dos três gêneros.bitstream/item/24655/1/bpd51-carrapato.pd

Employment generation in Brazilian coffee regions

Due to the specific characteristics of coffee production on each of the main Brazilian states producers of arabica (Coffea arabica) and robusta coffee (Coffea canephora), a better understanding of the structural links between production and industrialization of coffee on those states and the national economy can provide subsides for implementation of public policies, essential to plan the coffee production and increase the sector competitiveness. Therefore, this study analyzed the employment generation in production and coffee industrialization in the major Brazilian production regions, based on an inter-regional input-output model, with seven regions, which represent the main coffee-producing states - Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo, São Paulo, Paraná, Bahia and Other States - with 44 sectors each, in a system of 308 sectors. The results indicated that the production of robusta coffee is the sector that generates more employments (total) per currency unit, and that arabica production sector is the fourth largest generator of employments, among the 44 sectors considered for the country. The results for each state emphasized the importance of farming and coffee industry for national and state economies.Coffee; Coffee Production; Input-Output

Copper phytoextraction and phytostabilization by Brachiaria decumbens Stapf. in vineyard soils and a copper mining waste.

Brachiaria decumbens is a high biomass plant with great potential for phytoremediation of copper-polluted soils. The current study aimed to evaluate B. decumbens plants for phytoextraction and phytostabilization use in two different copper contaminated vineyard soils and a copper mining waste. Also, the macro and micronutrients uptake were evalu- ated after plants growth in copper contaminated soils. B. decumbens was cultivated in two vineyard soils (Inceptisol and Mollisol) and a copper mining waste for 47 days of growth in greenhouse. Then, B. decumbens?s nutrient uptake was evaluated, and it?s potential application in phytoremediation techniques for the phytoextraction and phytostabilization of copper contamination. B. decumbens exhibited high levels of biomass production at contaminated soils and no negative effect on macronutrients uptake was found. Copper contaminated soils affected micronutrients uptake by Brachiaria plants. This Brachiaria specie showed high potential on copper phytoextraction with accumulation of copper concentra- tions in the shoots and roots of 70 and 585 mg·kg?1 of dry mass, respectively, in the vineyard Inceptisol soil, after 47 days of growth. Mollisol soil and copper mining waste also exhibited high copper concentration in the biomass in the entire plant with 371 and 466 mg·kg?1, respectively. Although Brachiaria exhibited low levels of translocation factor for copper, this specie showed high potential for copper phytoextraction on Inceptisol, Mollisol and copper mining waste with 1900, 1156 and 1363 g·ha?1 of copper, respectively. In summary, B. decumbens plants showed high potential for copper phytoextraction and phytostabilization of copper on contaminated vineyard soils and copper mining waste

Virulence factors in vancomycin-resistant and vancomycin- susceptible Enterococcus faecalis from Brazil

Enterococci are members of commensal flora of animals and insects, but are also important opportunistic pathogens. Our objective was to observe if there was any difference of virulence in several groups of E. faecalis, mainly between vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis (VREFS) of colonization and infection. VREFS and vancomycin-sensitive E. faecalis from Brazil were screened for the presence of virulence factor genes. Phenotypic assays were used to assess in vitro expression, to understand the pathogenic potential of these isolates and to determine whether a correlation exists between virulence and antibiotic resistance. Different virulence profiles were found suggesting that the disseminating clone may have generated several variations. However, our study showed that one constellation of traits appeared most commonly: gelatinase, aggregation substance and esp (GEA). These factors are important because they have been implicated in cell aggregation and biofilm formation. Biofilm formation may promote the conjugation of plasmids harboring resistance and virulence genes, enhancing the probability of entry of new resistance genes into species. Curiously, the profile GEA was not exclusive to VREFS, it was the second most observed in VSEFS isolates from colonization and infection in hospitalized patients and also from rectal swabs of healthy volunteers. Such strains appear to represent the entry gateway to new resistance genes into E. faecalis and may contribute to the spreading of E. faecalis mainly in hospitals

Análise econômica mensal sobre o setor de mandioca e derivados: maio/2010.

Menor oferta sustenta cotação em maio – O mês de maio foi caracterizado pela menor oferta de mandioca para a indústria de fécula, levando à diminuição na quantidade de mandioca processada pelas fecularias. Ainda que seja período de safra, a disponibilidade de mandioca de segundo ciclo é menor em relação a anos anteriores e, além disso, agricultores mantiveram-se retraídos em relação à colheita. Esses produtores não tiveram necessidade de caixa e aguardam preços ainda maiores nos próximos meses. O excesso de chuvas em alguns períodos de maio prejudicou a colheita, dificultando os trabalhos e diminuindo a quantidade ofertada à indústria. Vale destacara, também, que houve menor número de mão-de-obra disponível para a colheita, visto que parte dos agricultores já começou o preparo de solo para o plantio da safra 2010/11. Apesar da menor oferta em maio, o preço médio mensal da raiz de mandioca, considerando as regiões pesquisadas pelo Cepea, foi de R$217,61/tonelada (R$ 0,3785/grama de amido na balança hidrostática de 5 kg), ligeira baixa de 0,5% frente à de abril. Já entre a última semana de abril e a última de maio, o preço médio subiu 18,8%, passando para R$ 237,81/t.Os preços médios mensais nos estados de São Paulo e Mato Grosso do Sul tiveram respectivas quedas de 4,9% e de 2,7% entre abril e maio.bitstream/item/23998/1/05MaiCEPEA.pd