Utilização da análise fatorial para determinar o potencial de crescimento econonômico em uma região do sudeste do Brasil

The objective of this research was to determine the potential for development among the municipalities in the southern region of the State of Minas Gerais (Brazil), using the statistical method known as Factor Analysis. The use of this methodology made it possible to establish a hierarchy among the municipalities of the ‘South of Minas’ region, as well as to define development potentials in areas such as industrial-commercial, agriculture, cattle raising and social. These results may facilitate raising and allocating resources for the region.O objetivo do presente trabalho foi a definição dos potenciais de desenvolvimento dos municípios da região Sul, do estado de Minas Gerais (Brasil), por meio do método estatístico da análise fatorial. Com o uso desse método foi possível estabelecer uma hierarquia entre os municípios da região Sul de Minas, assim como definir os municípios com maiores ou menores potenciais de desenvolvimento industrial, comercial e de serviços, desenvolvimento social e desenvolvimento agropecuário. Esses resultados podem facilitar o processo de tomada de decisão na área de promoção e alocação de investimentos regionais

ATLANTIC-PRIMATES: a dataset of communities and occurrences of primates in the Atlantic Forests of South America

Primates play an important role in ecosystem functioning and offer critical insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and emerging infectious diseases. There are 26 primate species in the Atlantic Forests of South America, 19 of them endemic. We compiled a dataset of 5,472 georeferenced locations of 26 native and 1 introduced primate species, as hybrids in the genera Callithrix and Alouatta. The dataset includes 700 primate communities, 8,121 single species occurrences and 714 estimates of primate population sizes, covering most natural forest types of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and some other biomes. On average, primate communities of the Atlantic Forest harbor 2 ± 1 species (range = 1–6). However, about 40% of primate communities contain only one species. Alouatta guariba (N = 2,188 records) and Sapajus nigritus (N = 1,127) were the species with the most records. Callicebus barbarabrownae (N = 35), Leontopithecus caissara (N = 38), and Sapajus libidinosus (N = 41) were the species with the least records. Recorded primate densities varied from 0.004 individuals/km 2 (Alouatta guariba at Fragmento do Bugre, Paraná, Brazil) to 400 individuals/km 2 (Alouatta caraya in Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Our dataset reflects disparity between the numerous primate census conducted in the Atlantic Forest, in contrast to the scarcity of estimates of population sizes and densities. With these data, researchers can develop different macroecological and regional level studies, focusing on communities, populations, species co-occurrence and distribution patterns. Moreover, the data can also be used to assess the consequences of fragmentation, defaunation, and disease outbreaks on different ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, species invasion or extinction, and community dynamics. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this Data Paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data. © 2018 by the The Authors. Ecology © 2018 The Ecological Society of Americ

HÁBITOS DE COMPRA DOS CLIENTES DA FEIRA LIVRE DE ALFENAS-MG

The objective of this work was to study the consumer habits of street market customers in the municipality of Alfenas, Minas Gerais state. More specifically, the aim was to characterize the customers according to their social and economic status and purchasing habits and to identify the variables that determine their attendance in the street market. Cluster analysis was done to group customers with similar characteristics and habits. The Logit model was then used to test the effects of the variables on the customer’s attendance. The results indicate that the street market presents a heterogeneous public as far as age, per capita income, schooling and occupation are concerned; it does present, however, similarities as to the reason for preferring the street market, the most purchased products and the attendance intervals. It was found that the habit of going to the street market to buy, essentially, fruits and vegetables, is regardless of the customer’s financial status, but is related to the idea that the street market is an appropriate place to obtain healthy foods, which lead to a healthier diet, besides being a leisure environment. The results reinforce the importance of understanding this popular environment more thoroughly because they can subsidize health and nutrition policies which aim to plan, diagnose and intervene in the situations raised

A exploração do pequi na região norte de Minas Gerais: abordagem por meio do Sistema Agroalimentar Localizado

The aim of the present work is the analysis of pequi extraction from North of Minas Gerais using the Agro-food Local Productive Systems (ALPS) approach, by the organization of growers and companies grouped by characteristics and functional areas in a specific region. The pequi fruit (Caryocar brasiliense), found in closed vegetation areas, is explored mainly in extractive manners. This exploration is an important socioeconomic activity for the people in north region of the state, which is devoid of modern systems and dynamic economic activities, with a low human development index. The north region of Minas Gerais was responsible for 25% of the national production of this fruit in 2009. In this context, the analysis of the aforementioned ALPS indicates several barriers to overcome: the precarious regional integration, impacting productivity, limiting access to raw inputs and outflow of products derived from pequi, precarious transmission systems, distance to large consumer cities, and the exoticity of this fruit bound to a unique territorial identity, which creates a particular form of product marketing.O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a extração do pequi no norte de Minas Gerais utilizando a abordagem do Sistema Agroalimentar Localizado (SIAL), pela organização de produtores e empresas associadas por suas características e seu funcionamento a um território específico. O fruto do pequizeiro (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.), com ocorrência no cerrado, é explorado, prioritariamente, de forma extrativista. Sua exploração tem importância socioeconômica para a população do norte de Minas, que é, por sua vez, uma das áreas mais desprovidas de sistemas técnicos modernos e atividades economicamente dinâmicas, apresentando baixos índices de desenvolvimento humano. O norte de Minas foi responsável por 25% da produção nacional do fruto em 2009. Neste contexto, a investigação do referido SIAL apresenta como entraves a serem desvendados: a precariedade da integração territorial da referida região, influenciando produção, obtenção de insumos e escoamento dos produtos derivados do pequi, bem como a precariedade das redes de transporte e a distância dos grandes centros consumidores somadas ao fruto exótico vinculado a uma identidade territorial privada, assim gerando uma particular forma de comercialização dos produtos

Higher environmental temperatures promote acceleration of spermatogenesis in vivo in mice (Mus musculus)

Temperature is considered a crucial modulator of reproductive activity and testis homeostasis. It is well known that elevated temperatures cause several effects on testicular components, particularly on germ cells, which might lead to the impairment of spermatogenesis and loss of male fertility. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of different environmental temperatures on several morphofunctional testis parameters, with emphasis on duration of spermatogenesis and spermatogenic efficiency. Thirty sexually mature Swiss mice (Mus musculus) were allocated in three different experimental groups, being kept in vivarium for three weeks at 16 °C, 23 °C (control group) and 32 °C. In order to estimate the duration of spermatogenesis, three animals per each group received intraperitoneal injections of tritiated thymidine and the testes were perfused-fixed and routinely processed for histological, morphometrical and immunoperoxidase analyses. Although the lower temperature (16 °C) did not change most of the evaluated testicular parameters, our findings showed that higher environmental temperature (32 °C) is able to alter important testis parameters, resulting for instance in acceleration of spermatogenesis, alterations in the stages frequencies, increased number of germ and Leydig cells apoptosis and reduced Sertoli cell and spermatogenic efficiencies. As in many conditions infertile men exhibit higher mean scrotal temperature, we believe that experimental studies with mice involving temperature might represent an interesting approach to better understand the mechanisms related to human testis function and sperm production. © 2018 Elsevier Lt