Expansão da agricultura orgânica e os desafios enfrentados por produtores brasileiros na produção e exportação de orgânicos

A agricultura orgânica baseia-se no uso de métodos de cultivos ecológicos, alternativos à agricultura convencional, com o intuito de preservar o meio ambiente. A expansão do mercado mundial de produtos orgânicos decorreu da preocupação com a degradação ambiental e com a segurança do alimento. Entretanto, os produtores orgânicos brasileiros enfrentam desafios tanto no processo produtivo quanto para acessarem o mercado internacional orgânico. Neste contexto, o objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a evolução da produção orgânica e os desafios para produção e exportação dos produtos orgânicos brasileiros, particularmente para o mercado europeu. Para analisar a evolução da produção orgânica foram coletados dados do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (MAPA) e Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) sobre a área agropecuária, número de estabelecimentos e de produtores, vendas no varejo, consumo per capita e exportações. Os dados disponíveis mostraram o crescimento contínuo da produção orgânica mundial entre 2000 e 2018. A análise do comércio mundial de orgânicos foi realizada por meio do Modelo Gravitacional. A equação gravitacional estimada utilizou como variável dependente as exportações mundiais de orgânicos. Já as variáveis independentes foram: o Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) e a população dos países exportadores de orgânicos, o PIB e a população da América do Norte e União Europeia, além da área agrícola destinada à produção orgânica tanto dos países exportadores quanto da América do Norte e União Europeia. De acordo com o resultado do modelo, as variáveis determinantes das exportações de orgânicos foram o PIB dos países exportadores, bem como o PIB, a população e a área agrícola orgânica da América do Norte e da União Europeia. Além disso, também foram realizadas entrevistas com agricultores familiares orgânicos brasileiros a fim de investigar os desafios que estes produtores tem encontrado na produção e comercialização de orgânicos. Eles responderam questões relacionadas à produção de orgânicos, aos desafios enfrentados, à importância das políticas públicas para o setor, à certificação e ao acesso ao mercado europeu. Em relação às dificuldades na produção, mencionaram fatores como alto custo e burocracia da certificação, falta de pagamento diferenciado pelo produto orgânico e indisponibilidade de insumos orgânicos. Já em relação aos desafios para exportação para o mercado orgânico europeu, relataram problemas como a falta de conhecimento do processo de exportação, dificuldade na obtenção da certificação orgânica europeia, falta de conhecimento da legislação orgânica europeia e do mercado europeu, bem como a escala de produção para exportação. Os produtores entrevistados consideram as políticas públicas importantes para o desenvolvimento da agricultura orgânica no Brasil, mas que necessitam ser aprimoradas para atender as necessidades dos produtores familiares orgânicos

Aromaticity in cyanuric acid

This study analyzes the aromatic nature of cyanuric acid (hexahydrotriazine) and some of its derivatives, in terms of aromatic stabilization energy (ASE) and electronic behavior. The simplest molecule (C3N3O3H3) is the most aromatic item out of the entire set, but some of the others also display aromatic character. The structure of all the rings is analyzed considering their molecular orbitals as well as studying the inductive effect

Characteristics and Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19 and Acute Ischemic Stroke: The Global COVID-19 Stroke Registry

Recent case-series of small size implied a pathophysiological association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and severe large-vessel acute ischemic stroke. Given that severe strokes are typically associated with poor prognosis and can be very efficiently treated with recanalization techniques, confirmation of this putative association is urgently warranted in a large representative patient cohort to alert stroke clinicians, and inform pre- and in-hospital acute stroke patient pathways. We pooled all consecutive patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and acute ischemic stroke in 28 sites from 16 countries. To assess whether stroke severity and outcomes (assessed at discharge or at the latest assessment for those patients still hospitalized) in patients with acute ischemic stroke are different between patients with COVID-19 and non-COVID-19, we performed 1:1 propensity score matching analyses of our COVID-19 patients with non-COVID-19 patients registered in the Acute Stroke Registry and Analysis of Lausanne Registry between 2003 and 2019. Between January 27, 2020, and May 19, 2020, 174 patients (median age 71.2 years; 37.9% females) with COVID-19 and acute ischemic stroke were hospitalized (median of 12 patients per site). The median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was 10 (interquartile range [IQR], 4-18). In the 1:1 matched sample of 336 patients with COVID-19 and non-COVID-19, the median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was higher in patients with COVID-19 (10 [IQR, 4-18] versus 6 [IQR, 3-14]), P=0.03; (odds ratio, 1.69 [95% CI, 1.08-2.65] for higher National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score). There were 48 (27.6%) deaths, of which 22 were attributed to COVID-19 and 26 to stroke. Among 96 survivors with available information about disability status, 49 (51%) had severe disability at discharge. In the propensity score-matched population (n=330), patients with COVID-19 had higher risk for severe disability (median mRS 4 [IQR, 2-6] versus 2 [IQR, 1-4], P<0.001) and death (odds ratio, 4.3 [95% CI, 2.22-8.30]) compared with patients without COVID-19. Our findings suggest that COVID-19 associated ischemic strokes are more severe with worse functional outcome and higher mortality than non-COVID-19 ischemic strokes

Characteristics and Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19 and Acute Ischemic Stroke: The Global COVID-19 Stroke Registry.

Recent case-series of small size implied a pathophysiological association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and severe large-vessel acute ischemic stroke. Given that severe strokes are typically associated with poor prognosis and can be very efficiently treated with recanalization techniques, confirmation of this putative association is urgently warranted in a large representative patient cohort to alert stroke clinicians, and inform pre- and in-hospital acute stroke patient pathways. We pooled all consecutive patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and acute ischemic stroke in 28 sites from 16 countries. To assess whether stroke severity and outcomes (assessed at discharge or at the latest assessment for those patients still hospitalized) in patients with acute ischemic stroke are different between patients with COVID-19 and non-COVID-19, we performed 1:1 propensity score matching analyses of our COVID-19 patients with non-COVID-19 patients registered in the Acute Stroke Registry and Analysis of Lausanne Registry between 2003 and 2019. Between January 27, 2020, and May 19, 2020, 174 patients (median age 71.2 years; 37.9% females) with COVID-19 and acute ischemic stroke were hospitalized (median of 12 patients per site). The median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was 10 (interquartile range [IQR], 4-18). In the 1:1 matched sample of 336 patients with COVID-19 and non-COVID-19, the median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was higher in patients with COVID-19 (10 [IQR, 4-18] versus 6 [IQR, 3-14]), P=0.03; (odds ratio, 1.69 [95% CI, 1.08-2.65] for higher National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score). There were 48 (27.6%) deaths, of which 22 were attributed to COVID-19 and 26 to stroke. Among 96 survivors with available information about disability status, 49 (51%) had severe disability at discharge. In the propensity score-matched population (n=330), patients with COVID-19 had higher risk for severe disability (median mRS 4 [IQR, 2-6] versus 2 [IQR, 1-4], P&lt;0.001) and death (odds ratio, 4.3 [95% CI, 2.22-8.30]) compared with patients without COVID-19. Our findings suggest that COVID-19 associated ischemic strokes are more severe with worse functional outcome and higher mortality than non-COVID-19 ischemic strokes

Spatial patterns of the epipelagic species caught incidentally in the tuna fishery on floating objects, in the eastern Pacific Ocean

The spatial pattern of the fauna associated with floating objects in the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) was analyzed. Different presence indexes for the groups of species caught incidentally in log sets were estimated, using information from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission database (1993–1997). These indexes allowed a preliminary grouping of species in relation to the percentage of presence in the log sets on floating objects and to school type (solitary or schooling fish). They were then classified using quadratic discriminant functions, with diverse classification criteria: zone, annual period, groups of species and type of floating object. The models were based on several variance and covariance matrices. Three models were selected to classify the associated fauna, using the likelihood ratio test and the reduction observed in the error rates. The results show two zones in the ETP with different composition of groups of species and floating objects of different origin. The Equatorial Countercurrent, located around 4ºN, is the border between these zones. The northern zone presents an associated fauna dominated by adults and recruits of the silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) and of the blacktip shark (C. limbatus); by recruits of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares); and, to a lesser extent, by yellowtail (Seriola lalandi). In the southern zone, the recruits of bigeye tuna (T. obesus) predominate. Both zones share fauna that is only found far from the coast, such as the whitetip shark (C. longimanus)