PENGARUH MEKANISME GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE DAN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TERHADAP KINERJA KEUANGAN DENGAN MANAJEMEN LABA SEBAGAI VARIABEL MEDIASI (Studi Empiris pada Perusahaan Manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia tahun 2014)

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh langsung antara mekanisme Good Corporate Governance (GCG) dan Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) terhadap kinerja keuangan maupun melalui manajemen laba sebagai variabel mediasi. Data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini merupakan data sekunder yang melibatkan 102 perusahaan manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI) untuk periode 2014. Data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini dianalisis menggunakan Partial Least Square (PLS) dan dilakukan dengan bantuan software WarpPLS 5.0. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan mekanisme GCG berpengaruh positif terhadap kinerja keuangan begitu juga dengan CSR terhadap kinerja keuangan. Mekanisme GCG berpengaruh negatif terhadap manajemen laba sedangkan CSR berpengaruh positif terhadap manajemen laba. Manajemen laba berpengaruh negatif terhadap kinerja keuangan. Manajemen laba juga terbukti mampu memediasi pengaruh mekanisme GCG terhadap kinerja keuangan dengan bentuk mediasi sebagian sedangkan dalam memediasi pengaruh CSR terhadap kinerja keuangan, manajemen laba terbukti dapat menjadi mediasi penuh

Modelling the Radiative Effects of Biomass Burning Aerosols on Carbon Fluxes in the Amazon Region

Every year, a dense smoke haze covers a large portion of South America originating from fires in the Amazon Basin and central parts of Brazil during the dry/biomass-burning season between August and October. Over a large portion of South America, the average aerosol optical depth at 550 nm exceeds 1.0 during the fire season while the background value during the rainy season is below 0.2. Biomass burning aerosol particles increase scattering and absorption of the incident solar radiation. The regional-scale aerosol layer reduces the amount of solar energy reaching the surface, cools the near surface air, and increases the diffuse radiation fraction over a large disturbed area of the Amazon rainforest. These factors affect the energy and CO2 fluxes at the surface. In this work, we applied a fully integrated atmospheric model to assess the impact of biomass burning aerosols in CO2 fluxes in the Amazon region during 2010. We address the effects of the attenuation of the global solar radiation and the enhancement of the diffuse solar radiation flux inside the vegetation canopy. Our results indicate that the biomass burning aerosols led to increases of about 27% of gross primary productivity of Amazonia, 10% of plant respiration and a decline in soil respiration of 3%. Consequently, in our model Amazonia, became a net carbon sink; net ecosystem exchange during September 2010 dropped from +101 to -104 TgC when the aerosol effects are considered, mainly due to the aerosol diffuse radiation effect. For the forest biome, our results point to a dominance of the diffuse radiation effect on CO2 fluxes, reaching a balance of 50% - 50% between the diffuse and direct aerosol effects for high aerosol loads. For C3 grasses and Savanna (cerrado), as expected, the contribution of the diffuse radiation effect is much lower, tending to zero with the increase of aerosol load. Taking all biomes together, our model shows the Amazon during the dry season, in the presence of high biomass burning aerosol loads, changing from being a source to being a sink of CO2 to the atmosphere

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

Antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens and immunomodulatory effects and toxicity of geopropolis produced by the stingless bee Melipona fasciculata Smith

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Native bees of the tribe Meliponini produce a distinct kind of propolis called geopropolis. Although many pharmacological activities of propolis have already been demonstrated, little is known about geopropolis, particularly regarding its antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens. The present study aimed at investigating the antimicrobial activity of <it>M. fasciculata </it>geopropolis against oral pathogens, its effects on <it>S. mutans </it>biofilms, and the chemical contents of the extracts. A gel prepared with a geopropolis extract was also analyzed for its activity on <it>S. mutans </it>and its immunotoxicological potential.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Antimicrobial activities of three hydroalcoholic extracts (HAEs) of geopropolis, and hexane and chloroform fractions of one extract, were evaluated using the agar diffusion method and the broth dilution technique. Ethanol (70%, v/v) and chlorhexidine (0.12%, w/w) were used as negative and positive controls, respectively. Total phenol and flavonoid concentrations were assayed by spectrophotometry. Immunotoxicity was evaluated in mice by topical application in the oral cavity followed by quantification of biochemical and immunological parameters, and macro-microscopic analysis of animal organs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two extracts, HAE-2 and HAE-3, showed inhibition zones ranging from 9 to 13 mm in diameter for <it>S. mutans </it>and <it>C. albicans</it>, but presented no activity against <it>L</it>. <it>acidophilus</it>. The MBCs for HAE-2 and HAE-3 against <it>S. mutans </it>were 6.25 mg/mL and 12.5 mg/mL, respectively. HAE-2 was fractionated, and its chloroform fraction had an MBC of 14.57 mg/mL. HAE-2 also exhibited bactericidal effects on <it>S. mutans </it>biofilms after 3 h of treatment. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in total phenol and flavonoid concentrations were observed among the samples. Signs toxic effects were not observed after application of the geopropolis-based gel, but an increase in the production of IL-4 and IL-10, anti-inflammatory cytokines, was detected.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In summary, geopropolis produced by <it>M. fasciculata </it>can exert antimicrobial action against <it>S. mutans </it>and <it>C. albicans</it>, with significant inhibitory activity against <it>S. mutans </it>biofilms. The extract with the highest flavonoid concentration, HAE-2, presented the highest antimicrobial activity. In addition, a geopropolis-based gel is not toxic in an animal model and displays anti-inflammatory effect.</p

Genomics and epidemiology for gastric adenocarcinomas (GE4GAC): a Brazilian initiative to study gastric cancer

Abstract Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common type of cancer worldwide with high incidences in Asia, Central, and South American countries. This patchy distribution means that GC studies are neglected by large research centers from developed countries. The need for further understanding of this complex disease, including the local importance of epidemiological factors and the rich ancestral admixture found in Brazil, stimulated the implementation of the GE4GAC project. GE4GAC aims to embrace epidemiological, clinical, molecular and microbiological data from Brazilian controls and patients with malignant and pre-malignant gastric disease. In this letter, we summarize the main goals of the project, including subject and sample accrual and current findings

Educomunicação e alfabetização midiática: conceitos, práticas e interlocuções

O livro organizado por Ismar de Oliveira Soares, Claudemir Edson Viana e Jurema Brasil Xavier apresenta uma série de artigos sobre o tema divididos em quatro partes: 1-Atualizando conceitos e práticas; 2-A educação midiática em diálogo com o currículo escolar; 3-A Educomunicação em interlocução com as políticas públicas; e, 4-A Educomunicação em interlocução com as políticas públicas. A obra dedica seus 24 artigos especificamente aos saberes e às práticas inerentes ao tema da alfabetização midiática. Numa perspectiva multidisciplinar, os leitores aqui encontrarão experiências alimentadas tanto pelos referenciais da mídia-educação quanto pelo paradigma da Educomunicação, que emerge dos movimentos sociais da América Latina, na confluência entre a comunicação alternativa e a educação popular freiriana, a partir dos anos de 1960 e 1970