Emprego de indicadores socioeconômicos na avaliação financeira de cooperativas agropecuárias

Most ofthe Brazilian cooperatives are concerned with evaluating periodically only its economical and financial environment, forgetting to consider thatthis kind ofenterprise is also a society ofpeople which have one main purpose: the assistance to its membership. The social indicators, which reflect the social performance of cooperatives, were introduced to improve the existent models of financial evaluation, developed for rural cooperatives. The importance ofthis study comes from the high amount of credit allocated on the Brazilian rural cooperatives system. Starting with the "Agency Theory " three social indicators were choosen and a logit model was adjusted to test their influence on default prediction of rural cooperatives. The results indicated that these social indicators actually interfere on default prediction of those cooperatives and that their introduction in a model which have only economic indicators, increase the number of events correctly classified

Coeficientes de difusão de metais em materiais não convencionais (agarose e acetato de celulose) usados na técnica de difusão em filmes finos por gradientes de concentração

The DGT technique allows one to measure quantitatively free and labile metal species in aquatic systems. Nevertheless, for this approach, knowledge is required of the diffusion coefficients of the analytes in a diffusive layer. In this study, the diffusion coefficients of Hg(II), As(III), Mn(II), Mg(II), Cu(II), Cd(II) were determined in agarose gel and those of Ba(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), Mg(II), Mn(II) e Zn(II) in cellulose acetate membranes. These materials presented good performance and the reported results can be used as a data base for further DGT studies

Use of diffusive gradient in thin films for in situ measurements:a review on the progress in chemical fractionation, speciation and bioavailability of metals in waters

Chemical fractionation, speciation analysis and bioavailability of metals and metalloids in waters have received increased attention in recent years. However, this interest is not matched by progress in improving species integrity during standard ‘grab’ sample collection, processing and storage. Time-averaged, low disturbance sampling, in situ, of trace element species, in particular, is a more reliable approach for environmental chemical surveillance and methods based on the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique stand out as one of the most widely used of the passive sampler classes, and hence will be the primary focus of this review. The DGT technique was initially developed to sample metals and semi-metals in freshwaters, and later was extended to include marine settings as well as the measurement of metal fluxes in sediments/soils. Nowadays, DGT based technologies are used extensively in a variety of geochemical and environmental health research disciplines. This review specifically surveys the application of the DGT measurement for fractionation and speciation analysis (as defined by IUPAC) of metal or metalloids in aqua. Use of DGT in fresh, estuarine and marine waters, as well as effluents has improved the knowledge base of in situ data related to fractionation processes (e.g. labile and inert species; organic and inorganic species; dissolved and nanoparticles), and speciation analysis. This supports not only the calculations underpinning numerous software speciation models for cation and anion behavior, but also our understanding of the bioavailability and toxicity of these species. The measurement of metals by DGT are easy to obtain, which is core to its popular use, but often the results require sophisticated interpretation and a wide spectrum of chemical knowledge to really explain in full, which is why the method has and continues to capture the interest of researchers

Sulfur isotope measurement of sulfate and sulfide by high-resolution MC-ICP-MS

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V. , 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Chemical Geology 253 (2008): 102-113, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2008.04.017.We have developed a technique for the accurate and precise determination of 34S/32S isotope ratios (δ34S) in sulfur-bearing minerals using solution and laser ablation multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). We have examined and determined rigorous corrections for analytical difficulties such as instrumental mass bias, unresolved isobaric interferences, blanks, and laser ablation- and matrix-induced isotopic fractionation. Use of high resolution sector-field mass spectrometry removes major isobaric interferences from O2+. Standard–sample bracketing is used to correct for the instrumental mass bias of unknown samples. Blanks on sulfur masses arising from memory effects and residual oxygen-tailing are typically minor (< 0.2‰, within analytical error), and are mathematically removed by on-peak zero subtraction and by bracketing of samples with standards determined at the same signal intensity (within 20%). Matrix effects are significant (up to 0.7‰) for matrix compositions relevant to many natural sulfur-bearing minerals. For solution analysis, sulfur isotope compositions are best determined using purified (matrix-clean) sulfur standards and sample solutions using the chemical purification protocol we present. For in situ analysis, where the complex matrix cannot be removed prior to analysis, appropriately matrix-matching standards and samples removes matrix artifacts and yields sulfur isotope ratios consistent with conventional techniques using matrix-clean analytes. Our method enables solid samples to be calibrated against aqueous standards; a consideration that is important when certified, isotopically-homogeneous and appropriately matrix-matched solid standards do not exist. Further, bulk and in situ analyses can be performed interchangeably in a single analytical session because the instrumental setup is identical for both. We validated the robustness of our analytical method through multiple isotope analyses of a range of reference materials and have compared these with isotope ratios determined using independent techniques. Long-term reproducibility of S isotope compositions is typically 0.20‰ and 0.45‰ (2σ) for solution and laser analysis, respectively. Our method affords the opportunity to make accurate and relatively precise S isotope measurement for a wide range of sulfur-bearing materials, and is particularly appropriate for geologic samples with complex matrix and for which high-resolution in situ analysis is critical.Support was provided by National Science Foundations grants OCE-0327448 to P.R.C. and W.B. and OCE-0622982 to O.J.R. Support for L.A.B. was provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Plasma Facility Development Grant (NSF-EAR/IF-0318137)

A Nanostructured Lipid System to Improve the Oral Bioavailability of Ruthenium(II) Complexes for the Treatment of Infections Caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious, airborne disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis that mainly affects the lungs. Fortunately, tuberculosis is a curable disease, and in recent years, death rates for this disease have decreased. However, the existence of antibiotic-resistant strains and the occurrence of co-infections with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), have led to increased mortality in recent years. Another area of concern is that one-third of the world′s population is currently infected with M. tuberculosis in its latent state, serving as a potential reservoir for active TB. In an effort to address the failure of current TB drugs, greater attention is being given to the importance of bioinorganic chemistry as an ally in new research into the development of anti-TB drugs. Ruthenium (Ru) is a chemical element that can mimic iron (Fe) in the body. In previous studies involving the following heteroleptic Ru complexes, [Ru(pic)(dppb)(bipy)]PF6 (SCAR1), [Ru(pic)(dppb)(Me-bipy)]PF6 (SCAR2), [Ru(pic)(dppb)(phen)]PF6 (SCAR4), cis-[Ru(pic)(dppe)2]PF6 (SCAR5), and [Ru(pic)(dppe)(phen)]PF6 (SCAR7), we observed excellent anti-TB activity, moderate cell-toxicity, and a lack of oral bioavailability in an in vivo model of these complexes. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the toxicity and oral bioavailability of these complexes by loading them into a nanostructured lipid system. The nanostructured lipid system was generated using different ratios of surfactant (soybean phosphatidylcholine, Eumulgin®, and sodium oleate), aqueous phase (phosphate buffer with a concentration of 1X and pH 7.4), and oil (cholesterol) to generate a system for the incorporation of Ru(II) compounds. The anti-TB activity of the compounds was determined using a microdilution assay with Resazurin (REMA) against strains of M. tuberculosis H37Rv and clinical isolates resistant. Cytotoxicity assay using J774.A1 cells (ATCC TIB-67) and intra-macrophage activity were performed. The oral bioavailability assay was used to analyze blood collected from female BALB/C mice. Plasma collected from the same mice was analyzed via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to quantify the number of Ru ions. The complexes loaded into the nanostructured lipid system maintained in vitro activity and toxicity was found to be reduced compared with the compounds that were not loaded. The complexes showed intra-macrophagic activity and were orally bioavailable

Application of social indicatores on financial evalution of rural cooperatives.

A maioria das cooperativas brasileiras preocupa-se em avaliar periodicamente apenas sua dimensão econômico-financeira, esquecendo-se de considerar que esse tipo de empresa é também uma sociedade de pessoas que tem, como objetivo principal, a prestação de serviços a seus associados. A introdução de indicadores sócio-econômicos, entendido como aqueles que refletem o desempenho social das cooperativas, visa justamente aprimorar os modelos, hoje existentes, de avaliação financeira de cooperativas agropecuárias. O presente estudo adquire importância na medida em que se fundamenta no elevado volume de crédito alocado no segmento cooperativista agropecuário brasileiro, acima de 3 bilhões de reais, em 1997, somente através de seu maior credor, o Banco do Brasil, onde cerca de 50% encontravam-se, à época, em situação de inadimplência. Utilizou-se, como embasamento teórico para este estudo, a Teoria da Agência, enfocando a relação entre administradores da cooperativa e associados como uma típica relação \"agente-principal\". Partindo-se dessa teoria, foram escolhidos três indicadores sócio-econômicos e um modelo logit oi ajustado com a finalidade de testar a influência dos mesmos na previsão de nadimplência de cooperativas agropecuárias paranaenses. Os resultados mostram que esses indicadores realmente interferem na previsão de inadimplência das cooperativas analisadas e que sua introdução num modelo que tem, como variáveis independentes, apenas indicadores econômico-financeiros, melhora o índice de acerto, expresso pelo número de casos classificados corretamente. Futuros estudos relacionados à avaliação financeira de cooperativas agropecuárias devem, portanto, considerar a inclusão de indicadores sócio-econômicos.Most of the brazilian cooperatives are concerned with evaluating periodically only its economical and financial dimension, forgetting to consider that this kind of enterprise is also a society of people which have one main purpose: the assistance to its membership. The social indicators, which reflect the social performance of cooperatives, were introduced to improve the existent models of financial evaluation, developed for rural cooperatives. The importance of this study is based on the high amount of credit alocated on the Brazilian rural cooperativist segment. Only within the Banco do Brasil, its major creditor, this amount exceeded, in 1997, the sum of US$ 2,6 billion, with a default rate of about 50%. Using the theoretical basis of the \"Agency Theory\", this dissertation focused the relation between the managers of the cooperative and their membership, as a typical principal-agent relation. Starting with this theory, three social indicators were choosen and a logit model was adjusted to test the influence of the selected indicators on default prediction of rural cooperatives. The results indicated that these social indicators actually interfere on default prediction of rural cooperatives and that their introduction in a model which have only economic indicators, increase the number of events correctly classified. Therefore, future studies related to the financial evaluation of rural cooperatives should consider the introduction of social indicators

Determinants of long-term credit availability in Brazil: an analysis of the Finem line of credit from BNDES

A busca por maior disponibilidade de crédito de longo prazo para investimentos produtivos vem adquirindo importância no Brasil, pois possibilita que empresas se lancem em empreendimentos de média e grande escala, alimentando o processo de crescimento econômico e desenvolvimento do País. A modalidade Financiamento a Empreendimentos (Finem) do BNDES é uma das poucas linhas de crédito bancário interna que oferece a possibilidade de financiamento de projetos de investimento de montantes elevados e longo prazo de maturação. No entanto, o montante disponibilizado por essa linha vem apresentando pequena evolução em relação ao PIB. Esperava-se aumento dessa disponibilidade com o Plano Real e a criação de um ambiente econômico propício ao planejamento de longo prazo, o que não ocorreu. Assim, este estudo tem por objetivo avaliar os principais fatores que influenciam a disponibilidade de crédito de longo prazo no Brasil destinado a investimentos produtivos, visando não somente expandir essa disponibilidade como também criar condições para que bancos múltiplos venham a atuar com maior vigor nesse processo. No modelo estudado, foram incluídas como variáveis, além daquela de maior interesse, os desembolsos da linha Finem, representando a disponibilidade desse tipo de crédito, outras relacionadas a questões macroeconômicas, ao arcabouço teórico de falhas de mercado e intervenção do Estado e ao desempenho do BNDES, com dados coletados entre 2001 e 2011. Utilizando um Modelo Autorregressivo Vetorial com Correção de Erro (VEC), este estudo constata a importância da intervenção do Estado, via alocação de recursos, no processo de disponibilização desse tipo de crédito, confirmando a hipótese de que mesmo o BNDES apresentando bons índices de desempenho e buscando diversificar suas fontes de recursos, a intervenção do Estado ainda se mostra como alternativa essencial para elevar a disponibilidade dessa linha de crédito. O estudo evidencia ainda que a estabilidade econômica também é fator relevante, por permitir planejamento de longo prazo, comprovando de forma empírica estudos anteriores sobre o tema. Outros fatores, como crescimento econômico, disponibilidade de alternativas e desempenho do BNDES na concessão de crédito também se mostram diretamente relacionados à disponibilidade desse tipo de crédito. Por outro lado, o lucro líquido do BNDES tem pouca importância nos desembolsos da linha Finem, resultado que se justifica pela folga no Índice de Basileia que a instituição teve no período analisado. O resultado referente à influência do Risco-Brasil, por sua vez, mostra que as captações de recursos externos do BNDES podem estar sendo guiadas por outros fatores, como questões orçamentárias ou políticas governamentais. Os resultados indicam que seria de se considerar a intervenção do Estado na alocação de recursos aos bancos múltiplos para que esses possam atuar com maior vigor na disponibilização desse tipo de crédito. Por fim, o presente estudo expõe a necessidade de se dedicar maior atenção à destinação dos recursos oriundos desse tipo específico de crédito, para que ele possa efetivamente colaborar com a promoção do crescimento e desenvolvimento do País.The search for greater availability of long-term credit for productive investments in Brazil has been gaining importance since it enables companies to engage in medium and large-scale businesses, feeding the economic growth and development processes. The line of credit provided by BNDES, called Financing to Enterprises (Finem), is one of the few lines existing in Brazil which offers the possibility of financing investment projects with large amounts and long-term maturity. However, the amount provided by this line has shown little progress in relation to GDP. It was expected an increase of that availability with the Real Plan and the creation of an economic environment favorable to long-term planning, which did not occur. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the main factors influencing the availability of long-term credit in Brazil for productive investments, not only in order to expand it but also creating conditions for multiple banks to effectively participate in that process. The model specified for this study included variables such as the disbursements of the Finem line of credit, representing the availability of that credit, and others related to macroeconomic issues, theoretical framework of market failures and government intervention and BNDES performance, with data collected between 2001 and 2011. Using an Autoregressive Model with Vector Error Correction (VEC), this study notes the importance of government intervention, through allocation of resources, in providing this type of credit, confirming the hypothesis that although BNDES presents good levels of performance and seeks to diversify its funding sources, government intervention is still an essential alternative to increase the availability of that line of credit. This study also shows that economic stability is a relevant factor, for allowing long-term planning, by empirically confirming previous studies on the subject. Other factors such as economic growth, availability of alternatives and BNDES lending performance are directly related to the availability of such credit. On the other hand, BNDES profits have little importance on Finem disbursements, a result that is justified by the BNDES Basel Ratio ascertained in that period. The result concerning the influence of Brazil Risk index, in turn, shows that the external funds obtained by BNDES may have been guided by other factors such as budgetary issues or government policies. The results indicate that policy makers would consider government intervention in the allocation of resources to multiple banks, so that they can intensify the availability of such credit. Finally, this study exposes the necessity to dedicate more attention to the destination of resources from this particular type of credit, so that it can effectively contribute to promote growth and development in Brazil

Application of social indicatores on financial evalution of rural cooperatives.

A maioria das cooperativas brasileiras preocupa-se em avaliar periodicamente apenas sua dimensão econômico-financeira, esquecendo-se de considerar que esse tipo de empresa é também uma sociedade de pessoas que tem, como objetivo principal, a prestação de serviços a seus associados. A introdução de indicadores sócio-econômicos, entendido como aqueles que refletem o desempenho social das cooperativas, visa justamente aprimorar os modelos, hoje existentes, de avaliação financeira de cooperativas agropecuárias. O presente estudo adquire importância na medida em que se fundamenta no elevado volume de crédito alocado no segmento cooperativista agropecuário brasileiro, acima de 3 bilhões de reais, em 1997, somente através de seu maior credor, o Banco do Brasil, onde cerca de 50% encontravam-se, à época, em situação de inadimplência. Utilizou-se, como embasamento teórico para este estudo, a Teoria da Agência, enfocando a relação entre administradores da cooperativa e associados como uma típica relação \"agente-principal\". Partindo-se dessa teoria, foram escolhidos três indicadores sócio-econômicos e um modelo logit oi ajustado com a finalidade de testar a influência dos mesmos na previsão de nadimplência de cooperativas agropecuárias paranaenses. Os resultados mostram que esses indicadores realmente interferem na previsão de inadimplência das cooperativas analisadas e que sua introdução num modelo que tem, como variáveis independentes, apenas indicadores econômico-financeiros, melhora o índice de acerto, expresso pelo número de casos classificados corretamente. Futuros estudos relacionados à avaliação financeira de cooperativas agropecuárias devem, portanto, considerar a inclusão de indicadores sócio-econômicos.Most of the brazilian cooperatives are concerned with evaluating periodically only its economical and financial dimension, forgetting to consider that this kind of enterprise is also a society of people which have one main purpose: the assistance to its membership. The social indicators, which reflect the social performance of cooperatives, were introduced to improve the existent models of financial evaluation, developed for rural cooperatives. The importance of this study is based on the high amount of credit alocated on the Brazilian rural cooperativist segment. Only within the Banco do Brasil, its major creditor, this amount exceeded, in 1997, the sum of US$ 2,6 billion, with a default rate of about 50%. Using the theoretical basis of the \"Agency Theory\", this dissertation focused the relation between the managers of the cooperative and their membership, as a typical principal-agent relation. Starting with this theory, three social indicators were choosen and a logit model was adjusted to test the influence of the selected indicators on default prediction of rural cooperatives. The results indicated that these social indicators actually interfere on default prediction of rural cooperatives and that their introduction in a model which have only economic indicators, increase the number of events correctly classified. Therefore, future studies related to the financial evaluation of rural cooperatives should consider the introduction of social indicators