Contemporary trends in Brazilian human resource management studies over the last decade (2001–2010)

In seeking to detail what is new in the lesser-known field of Brazilian Human Resource Management (HRM) research, this study analyzes 136 recent Brazilian HRM articles over the last decade from 2001 until 2010. Findings reveal that contemporary Brazilian HRM research contains: a wide range of HRM topics; the isomorphic use of some Western HRM themes; and case-based, descriptive methodologies using non-probability sampling. While the number of recently published Brazilian HRM studies has increased, such research seems ripe for further empirical and theoretical development. Our contributions to knowledge lie in: surfacing and classifying recent Brazilian HRM research trends and identifying potentially fruitful areas for future research. Implications for practitioners include the need to attract and retain expert staff, to use more localized pay and reward systems, and to assess the usefulness of HR interventions in the public sector

Study of the vertical transport in p-doped superlattices based on group III-V semiconductors

The electrical conductivity σ has been calculated for p-doped GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As and cubic GaN/Al0.3Ga0.7N thin superlattices (SLs). The calculations are done within a self-consistent approach to the k→⋅p→ theory by means of a full six-band Luttinger-Kohn Hamiltonian, together with the Poisson equation in a plane wave representation, including exchange correlation effects within the local density approximation. It was also assumed that transport in the SL occurs through extended minibands states for each carrier, and the conductivity is calculated at zero temperature and in low-field ohmic limits by the quasi-chemical Boltzmann kinetic equation. It was shown that the particular minibands structure of the p-doped SLs leads to a plateau-like behavior in the conductivity as a function of the donor concentration and/or the Fermi level energy. In addition, it is shown that the Coulomb and exchange-correlation effects play an important role in these systems, since they determine the bending potential

Innovative Metallic Microfluidic Device for Intensified Biodiesel Production

We present a strategy for intensified biodiesel production in a novel metallic microdevice. Additive manufacturing using Selective Laser Melting (SLM) was employed to build the metallic device consisting of multiple micro reactors monolithically integrated with multiple micro heat exchangers. This device allows high conversion rate of biodiesel production with concomitant use of the rejected heat from external source to enhance the reaction temperature and, thereby, its output. The biodiesel production was carried out using soybean oil, ethanol and NaOH as the catalyst. The influences of the reaction temperature and the residence time in the biodiesel production was examined. Biodiesel yield increased with the reaction temperature and a rate of conversion of 99.6% was achieved with a reactor residence time of less than 35 seconds. The work opens up a pathway to exploit waste heat to intensify biodiesel production and contribute significantly to global sustainability

Genomic characterization, high-density mapping and anchoring of DArT markers to the reference genome of Eucalyptus

Genetic linkage maps have been essential tools to examine the inheritance of qualitative and quantitative traits, to carry out comparative mapping and to provide markers for molecular breeding applications. Linkage maps for species of Eucalyptus have been reported for several pedigrees using different molecular marker technologies [1]. However improved marker density, throughput and transferability across species are necessary to increase resolution of current maps for a variety of genomic applications. We report the development of a high density linkage map for Eucalyptus based on microsatellites and DArT (Diversity Arrays Technology) markers generated by a standardized genotyping microarray [2]. DNA probes that constitute the DArT microarray were sequenced and positioned on the reference Eucalyptus genome providing information about their sequence content, their distribution relative to annotated genes as well as the relationship between physical and recombination distance in the Eucalyptus genome. [Poster Presentation

Genome of the Avirulent Human-Infective Trypanosome—Trypanosoma rangeli

Background: Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite infecting humans and other wild and domestic mammals across Central and South America. It does not cause human disease, but it can be mistaken for the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. We have sequenced the T. rangeli genome to provide new tools for elucidating the distinct and intriguing biology of this species and the key pathways related to interaction with its arthropod and mammalian hosts.  Methodology/Principal Findings: The T. rangeli haploid genome is ,24 Mb in length, and is the smallest and least repetitive trypanosomatid genome sequenced thus far. This parasite genome has shorter subtelomeric sequences compared to those of T. cruzi and T. brucei; displays intraspecific karyotype variability and lacks minichromosomes. Of the predicted 7,613 protein coding sequences, functional annotations could be determined for 2,415, while 5,043 are hypothetical proteins, some with evidence of protein expression. 7,101 genes (93%) are shared with other trypanosomatids that infect humans. An ortholog of the dcl2 gene involved in the T. brucei RNAi pathway was found in T. rangeli, but the RNAi machinery is non-functional since the other genes in this pathway are pseudogenized. T. rangeli is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, a phenotype that may be explained by a smaller number of anti-oxidant defense enzymes and heatshock proteins.  Conclusions/Significance: Phylogenetic comparison of nuclear and mitochondrial genes indicates that T. rangeli and T. cruzi are equidistant from T. brucei. In addition to revealing new aspects of trypanosome co-evolution within the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, comparative genomic analysis with pathogenic trypanosomatids provides valuable new information that can be further explored with the aim of developing better diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets

Cosmology of the selfaccelerating third order Galileon

In this paper we start from the original formulation of the galileon model with the original choice for couplings to gravity. Within this framework we find that there is still a subset of possible Lagrangians that give selfaccelerating solutions with stable spherically symmetric solutions. This is a certain constrained subset of the third order galileon which has not been explored before. We develop and explore the background cosmological evolution of this model drawing intuition from other even more restricted galileon models. The numerical results confirm the presence of selfacceleration, but also reveals a possible instability with respect to galileon perturbations.Comment: 30 pages, 24 figure

Bayesian inference in genetic parameter estimation of visual scores in Nellore beef-cattle

The aim of this study was to estimate the components of variance and genetic parameters for the visual scores which constitute the Morphological Evaluation System (MES), such as body structure (S), precocity (P) and musculature (M) in Nellore beef-cattle at the weaning and yearling stages, by using threshold Bayesian models. The information used for this was gleaned from visual scores of 5,407 animals evaluated at the weaning and 2,649 at the yearling stages. The genetic parameters for visual score traits were estimated through two-trait analysis, using the threshold animal model, with Bayesian statistics methodology and MTGSAM (Multiple Trait Gibbs Sampler for Animal Models) threshold software. Heritability estimates for S, P and M were 0.68, 0.65 and 0.62 (at weaning) and 0.44, 0.38 and 0.32 (at the yearling stage), respectively. Heritability estimates for S, P and M were found to be high, and so it is expected that these traits should respond favorably to direct selection. The visual scores evaluated at the weaning and yearling stages might be used in the composition of new selection indexes, as they presented sufficient genetic variability to promote genetic progress in such morphological traits

The ρ(1S,2S)\rho(1S,2S), ψ(1S,2S)\psi(1S,2S), Υ(1S,2S)\Upsilon(1S,2S) and ψt(1S,2S)\psi_t(1S,2S) mesons in a double pole QCD Sum Rule

We use the method of double pole QCD sum rule which is basically a fit with two exponentials of the correlation function, where we can extract the masses and decay constants of mesons as a function of the Borel mass. We apply this method to study the mesons: $\rho(1S,2S)$, $\psi(1S,2S)$, $\Upsilon(1S,2S)$ and $\psi_t(1S,2S)$. We also present predictions for the toponiuns masses $\psi_t(1S,2S)$ of m(1S)=357 GeV and m(2S)=374 GeV.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures in Braz J Phys (2016

Synthetic Peptides Mimic gp75 from Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in the Diagnosis of Paracoccidioidomycosis

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic granulomatous disease, endemic in Latin America, caused by the thermal dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. Although some fungal antigens have already been characterized and used for serological diagnosis, cross-reactions have been frequently observed. Thus, the examination of fungal forms in clinical specimens or isolation of P. brasiliensis by culture is still the most frequent method for the diagnosis of this mycosis. In this study, a random peptide phage display library was used to select mimotopes of P. brasiliensis, which were employed as antigens in an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The protective monoclonal antibody against experimental PCM (anti-gp75) was used as molecular target to screen a phage display library. That approach led to a synthetic peptide named P2, which was synthesized and tested against PCM patients’ sera to check whether it was recognized. There was significant recognition of P2 by sera of untreated PCM patients when compared with normal human sera. Sera from treated PCM group, patients with other mycosis or co-infected with HIV had much lower recognition of P2 than untreated patient group. The test showed a sensitivity of 100 and 94.59% of specificity in relation to human sera control. These data indicate a potential use of P2 as diagnostic tool in PCM. Its application for serological diagnosis of PCM may contribute to the development and standardization of simpler, faster and highly reproducible immunodiagnostic tests at low cost