Integrating human and ecosystem health through ecosystem services frameworks

The pace and scale of environmental change is undermining the conditions for human health. Yet the environment and human health remain poorly integrated within research, policy and practice. The ecosystem services (ES) approach provides a way of promoting integration via the frameworks used to represent relationships between environment and society in simple visual forms. To assess this potential, we undertook a scoping review of ES frameworks and assessed how each represented seven key dimensions, including ecosystem and human health. Of the 84 ES frameworks identified, the majority did not include human health (62%) or include feedback mechanisms between ecosystems and human health (75%). While ecosystem drivers of human health are included in some ES frameworks, more comprehensive frameworks are required to drive forward research and policy on environmental change and human health

Assessment of impacts on ecosystem services provided by geodiversity in highly urbanised areas: a case study of the Taubaté Basin, Brazil

This work presents a method to identify, to evaluate and to quantify the losses of the offer of ecosystem services provided by geodiversity, using as a case study the Taubaté Basin region, a highly urbanized portion of southeastern São Paulo State, Brazil. Our method considers not only the qualitative analysis of the abiotic as- pects, but also the historical and cultural context, in which the geodiversity elements are crucial for local economy development. The method is based on: i) Qualitative evaluation and definition of six Essential Geodiversity Variables (EGVs), used as the basis for the identification of 53 ecosystem services distributed into four functions: regulating, supporting, provisioning, and cultural; ii) Definition of land use categories based on two land use maps elaborated in order to compare the transformation occurred in the region between 1986 and 2016; iii) Quantification and evaluation of the impacts on the offer of ecosystem services caused by land use transformations occurred in region in a 30–year gap. The results showed that anthropogenic action is the main factor that alter the availability of local services, with emphasis on the supply of water, soils and mineral resources, and its potentially influence on the quality of life of certain species. We reinforce the view that public policies on land management and planning should consider the ecosystem assessment, as it provides evidence to propose actions to mitigate impacts and for environmental compensation, favoring the sustainable use of re- sources by society.The authors would like to thank CAPES for the Academic Mobility Program PDSE Scholarship / Process Nr. 88,881.135227 / 2016–01 and for the PhD research scholarship in Brazil awarded to the first author

Evaluation of neuromotor development by means of the Harris Infant Neuromotor Test

Objective: To investigate the neuromotor development of at-risk children between three and 12 months of life, administering the Brazilian version of the Harris Infant Neuromotor Test (HINT).Method: A longitudinal study, with 78 children and 76 parents/guardians discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit in Fortaleza-CE/Brazil. Two instruments were administered: HINT and a socioeconomic questionnaire, between July/2009 to August/2010. Data from 55 preterm and 23 term children were analyzed. Results: The final mean scores ranged from 14.6 to 25.2 and from 11.2 to 24.7, for preterm and term, respectively, showing that 91% of children demonstrated good neuromotor performance; seven premature infants showed alterations which led to the referral of three children to a specialized clinic for examination and diagnostics.Conclusion: The test allowed nurses to assess infant development, identify deviations early, and plan interventions

UMA ANÁLISE DO AMBIENTE MERCADOLÓGICO DE UMA EMPRESA DO SETOR METAL MECÂNICO SOB AS PERSPECTIVAS DE PORTER

Em um mercado altamente competitivo, o qual os consumidores estão cada vez mais exigentes, as empresas, para manterem-se, buscam estratégias competitivas, apontando como alternativa a diferenciação na Qualidade de seus produtos. Para que esse objetivo seja alcançado, as empresas norteiam suas estratégias para um sistema de Qualidade adequado, elaborando, então, um Planejamento Estratégico da Qualidade. Este trabalho caracteriza-se por ser uma pesquisa exploratória, quali-quantitativa, que apresenta observações efetuadas em uma empresa do setor metalúrgico da cidade de Santa Maria-RS, e que tem como proposta descrever como o Planejamento Estratégico está comprometido com a Qualidade, além de observar os ambientes internos e externos da empresa, através da elaboração da Matriz SWOT e da percepção das cinco forças competitivas de Porter (1990). Foi observado o Custo da Má Qualidade na empresa, abordando as falhas e os defeitos causados por ela, e, ainda, o quanto isso representou no faturamento. Foi possível abordar o quanto a empresa perdeu em receita de vendas devido às falhas no processo operacional. Diante disto, este trabalho serve como um alerta aos administradores sobre os custos que a falta de um controle de Qualidade pode apresentar para a empresa, e sobre o fato de que a implantação de um sistema da Qualidade pode ser vista como uma ferramenta para a promoção de melhorias, e não só como um conjunto de normas que permitem a obtenção de um certificado

Phylogenomics of the recalcitrant Annonaceae subfamily Malmeoideae

Conference Theme: Classify, Cultivate, Conserv