Contribution to the study of agroindustrial organization: the case of chicken meat industry in the State of Sao Paulo)

Indexes of market concentration were calculated using data from inspected slaughterhouses in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, from 1978 to 1989. The Hirschman-Herfíndahl (H) and the Gini (G) indexes showed statistical tendency to increase. The four firms concentration index of the four greatest slaughterhouses (C4) showed no statistical tendency to increase while the concentration indexes of the eight greatest (C8) and of the sixteen greatest (C16) showed statistical tendency to increase from 1980 on. It can be concluded that the market concentration among the chicken slaughterhouses was more or less stable with small tendency to increase from the eigth smallest slaughterhouses below. For the analyzed time period, the retail's relative price and the producer's gain decreased.Analisaram-se indicadores de concentração no mercado de abate de frango de corte inspecionado no Estado de São Paulo desde 1978 até 1989. Os índices de concentração de Hirschman-Herfíndahl (H) e os índices de concentração de Gini (G) mostraram tendência estatística de se elevarem com o passar do tempo. O índice de concentração dos quatro maiores frigoríficos (C4) não apresentou tendência estatística para se elevar, enquanto que o índice de concentração das oito e das dezesseis maiores empresas (C8 e C16, respectivamente) mostraram tendência para se elevar a partir de 1980. Concluiu-se que a concentração do mercado de abate e processamento de frangos manteve-se mais ou menos estável com leve tendência a aumentar dos oito menores frigoríficos para baixo. Para todo o período analisado, o preço relativo no varejo e os ganhos do produtor diminuíram

Cooperativa-escola nas Escolas Técnicas Agrícolas

Some of the problems with the Brazilian public Agricultural Technical School systems (ETAs) are related to resource management and the need to improve teaching and learning conditions. Those deficiencies were partially corrected after setting up Cooperative-Schools that allow the ETAs to raise and to administrate funds. Administrative procedures of the ETAs and how the Cooperative-School could help solving their main educational and adminsitrative problems are discussed in this research. A case study using the management audit technique was developed in one ETA with a well known Cooperative-School. Some observed procedures are described with the intention of extending the practice of Cooperative-Schools to other Brazilian Agricultural Technical Schools.A dificuldade de gerenciar recursos e proporcionar melhores condições de ensino para os estudantes são algumas das deficiência das Escolas Técnicas Agrícolas (ETAs) brasileiras, problemas parcialmente superados por algumas escolas que adotaram a chamada Cooperativa-Escola. Neste trabalho, procura-se discutir alguns aspectos filosóficos referentes às ETAs e como a Cooperativa-Escola pode ajudar a solucionar seus principais problemas educativos e administrativos; um estudo de caso utilizando-se a técnica de auditoria administrativa foi desenvolvido numa ETA cuja Cooperativa-Escola é considerada um modelo de bom funcionamento e alguns procedimentos foram descritos, objetivando-se estender a prática de Cooperativa-Escola para outras escolas técnicas agrícolas brasileiras

Genomic analysis of two phlebotomine sand fly vectors of Leishmania from the New and Old World.

Phlebotomine sand flies are of global significance as important vectors of human disease, transmitting bacterial, viral, and protozoan pathogens, including the kinetoplastid parasites of the genus Leishmania, the causative agents of devastating diseases collectively termed leishmaniasis. More than 40 pathogenic Leishmania species are transmitted to humans by approximately 35 sand fly species in 98 countries with hundreds of millions of people at risk around the world. No approved efficacious vaccine exists for leishmaniasis and available therapeutic drugs are either toxic and/or expensive, or the parasites are becoming resistant to the more recently developed drugs. Therefore, sand fly and/or reservoir control are currently the most effective strategies to break transmission. To better understand the biology of sand flies, including the mechanisms involved in their vectorial capacity, insecticide resistance, and population structures we sequenced the genomes of two geographically widespread and important sand fly vector species: Phlebotomus papatasi, a vector of Leishmania parasites that cause cutaneous leishmaniasis, (distributed in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa) and Lutzomyia longipalpis, a vector of Leishmania parasites that cause visceral leishmaniasis (distributed across Central and South America). We categorized and curated genes involved in processes important to their roles as disease vectors, including chemosensation, blood feeding, circadian rhythm, immunity, and detoxification, as well as mobile genetic elements. We also defined gene orthology and observed micro-synteny among the genomes. Finally, we present the genetic diversity and population structure of these species in their respective geographical areas. These genomes will be a foundation on which to base future efforts to prevent vector-borne transmission of Leishmania parasites