The locomotion pattern of Baurusuchus salgadoensis Carvalho, Nobre & Campos, 2005 and the distribution of Baurusuchidae in Gondwanaland

Baurusuchus salgadoensis Carvalho, Nobre & Campos, 2005 is a ziphodont mesoeucrocodylian closely related to the Sebecosuchia. Cranial features indicate that this species had terrestrial predatory habits. The postcranial skeleton of B. salgadoensis show distinctive characteristics when compared to extant Crocodylomorpha. The dorsal vertebrae are close articulated with short and craniocaudally expanded neural spines, specially the posterior ones. The sacral vertebrae are robust and have the lateral processes highly fused to the ilium. The anterior caudal vertebrae are robust as the sacral ones but their neural spines are more stout, anteriorlly expanded and higher. The close articulation of the dorsal vertebrae may indicate a less flexible dorsal spine, ideal to limb-driven methods of locomotion. The high and expanded neural spines of the posterior dorsal and sacral vertebrae are associated to muscle attachment from the osteoderms and the pelvic musculature, all used in the limb-driven locomotion. The appendicular bones of B. salgadoensis are long and stout. They show a straight aspect of their diaphysis and very well- developed epiphysis. The femur is long when compared to extant crocodilians, showing a straight aspect in lateral view and a slight sigmoid aspect in frontal view. There is a small axial torsion at its proximal end. The fourth trochanter is pronouced and posteriorlly oriented. The proximal end possess a mesial projection that articulates itself to the illium, similar to those of Protosuchia and thecodont archosaurs as the Rauisuchia. The illium of B. salgadoensis present a lateral and posteriorlly expanded postaccetabular crest, similar to those observed in Rauisuchia and Protosuchia, referred as overhanging ilium. This pattern of articulation is observed in the rauisuchian thecodonts and interpreted as a characteristic trait of those able erect-posture and limb-driven predators of Triassic environments. B. salgadoensis exoskeleton has only two dorsal osteoderm rows that run from the neck to the tip of the tail. Most of the osteoderms are wider than longer, with a round lateral portion that does not articulate to any flank osteoderm. The only morphological difference appears at the caudalmost portion of the tail, where the osteoderms are craniocaudally elongated. The medial portion has little variation along the scutes rows and may bear medial lamellar dorsoventral structures of articulation to the adjacent bony plate. The anterior articular facet is discreet and the osteoderms are not as imbricated as occur in other crocodyliforms and even may not be imbricated at all. The pelvic region osteoderms have the tallest keel of the row that runs from the anterior articular facet to posteriosmost portion of the osteoderm. B. salgadoensis has a light exoskeleton and then is less encumbranced by it. Therefore, becaming more agile. The imbrication of dorsal armor assists the limb-driven locomotion of many crocodyliform by reducing the flexibility of the dorsal spine during the high-walk (erect stance). Therefore the long and stout limb bones, overhanging crest of the illium and the light weighted armor, also allowed to B. salgadoensis to have the limb-driven locomotion without this pattern of osteoderms. These anatomical data may indicate how the Baurusuchidae had a wide distribution in Gondwanaland as they were able to move across large distances

Occurrence of Gastroliths in _Baurusuchus_ (Baurusuchidae, Mesoeucrocodylia) from Adamantina Formation, Bauru Basin

The fossil record of Baurusuchidae Mesoeucrocodylia in the General Salgado county and its surroundings is one of the best regarding preservation, completeness and articulation of skull and skeleton remains, including specimens that shown even the most delicate bone structures and cartilaginous tissues. 

One of them, UFRJ DG 288-R, has preserved its skull and about 80% of its skeleton. During the removal of the rock matrix, on what should be the specimen’s abdominal region, together with fragments of gastralia were observed some small well-polished weathered angulous to subrounded clasts, presumed to be gastroliths. 

These xenoliths occur in a restrict cluster, where at least four peeble-sized stones are visible in the surface of the specimen. The texture and fabrics of these rock fragments differs from the surrounding matrix, presenting darker purplish tones. In thin section, one of the fragments revealed isotropic texture, with opaque minerals in abundance, of euhedric to subhedric habits. The mineralogical composition presents mainly clay minerals as weathering products; biotite and chlorite are common, being the last the result of hidratation of the first. Although highly altered, the low quartz content, small-sized and well-formed crystals suggests maphic composition in volcanic context, possibly representing a basalt fragment. 

In extant Crocodyliformes, the occurrence of gastroliths is commonly associated with food processing in the stomach, diving ballast, hunger stress and/or supplementary mineral ingestion. 

As baurusuchids are characterized as medium to large size fully terrestrial predator/scavengers, based on skeletal data, the ballast function of gasthroliths is excluded in this case. As mentioned above, extant crocodyliforms such as _Caiman_ and _Crocodylus_ ingest stones when under stressful conditions of lack of food, water or when in high population density. Osteoderms are one of the primary sources for calcium and a reservoir for the homeostasis. The hunger stress can be observed in the osteoderms histological cuts as an abnormal concentration of osteoclasts at its inner region overwhelming the presence of osteoblasts and consuming the osteocytes. The preservation of osteoderms associated with gasthroliths may reveal if the stone ingestion in baurusuchids is a normal or driven by hunger behavior. 

The paleoenvironmental conditions dominating the Adamantina Formation during the Late Cretaceous are considered mainly arid, marked with strong seasonality, alternating long droughts and short rainy periods, associated with flashflood events. The stressful condition created during the dry season would cause famine and mass mortality, thus forcing animals to endure or escape. The baurusuchids underwent the dry seasons through behavorial responses of self burial and probably stone ingestion, although natural bahavior cannot be eliminated as a cause. 

Financial support provided by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, grant no 305780/2006–9), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Instituto Virtual de Paleontologia/ Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (IVP/FAPERJ, grant no E–26/152.541/2006).
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Interrelation of geomorphology and fauna of Lavrado region in Roraima, Brazil – suggestions for future studies

In der vorgelegten Arbeit wird die Abhängigkeit von Geomorphologie und biologischen Interaktion unter Verwendung des Konzeptes morphoklimatischer Regionen Brasiliens vorgestellt. Die Diskussion fokussiert hierbei auf biogeographische und ökologische Aspekte. Die vorgelegte Studie wurde in den offenen Bereichen von Roraima – Lavrado – zwischen Brasilien, Venezuela und Guyana durchgeführt. Dieses Gebiet liegt im nördlichen Teil der morphoklimatischen Region Amazoniens. Zur Anwendung kamen Techniken der Fernerkundung, um das Relief der Region zu ermitteln und biologische Charakterisierungen durchzuführen. Die hierdurch erzielten Ergebnisse wurden genutzt, um Lebensräume der Region und die Verteilung der Lavrado Fauna zu beschreiben.researc

On a variational problem related to the Cwikel-Lieb-Rozenblum and Lieb-Thirring inequalities

We explicitly solve a variational problem related to upper bounds on the optimal constants in the Cwikel--Lieb--Rozenblum (CLR) and Lieb--Thirring (LT) inequalities, which has recently been derived in [Invent. Math. 231 (2023), no.1, 111-167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00222-022-01144-7 ] and [J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 23 (2021), no.8, 2583-2600. https://doi.org/10.4171/jems/1062 ]. We achieve this through a variational characterization of the $L^1$ norm of the Fourier transform of a function and duality, from which we obtain a reformulation in terms of a variant of the Hadamard three lines lemma. By studying Hardy-like spaces of holomorphic functions in a strip in the complex plane, we are able to provide an analytic formula for the minimizers, and use it to get the best possible upper bounds for the optimal constants in the CLR and LT inequalities achievable by the method of [Invent. Math. 231 (2023), no.1, 111-167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00222-022-01144-7 ] and [J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 23 (2021), no.8, 2583-2600. https://doi.org/10.4171/jems/1062 ]

Corporate venture capital: geração e acompanhamento de oportunidades de investimento em empresas inovadoras

O objetivo deste trabalho é compreender a utilização de estruturas corporate venture capital - CVC (capital de risco corporativo), identificando as motivações e as dificuldades no processo de implementação, com foco nos estágios de geração e acompanhamento de oportunidades de investimentos. A abordagem metodológica pautou-se inicialmente por uma revisão de literatura, seguida de um estudo de caso em uma empresa com unidade de novos negócios voltada ao CVC. Finalmente, foi utilizado um painel de especialistas da área de VC, composto por três grupos de especialistas: Mercado, Empreendedores e Neutro (acadêmicos, consultores em inovação e gerentes de incubadoras). Com o auxílio do software ATLAS.ti foi feita a análise de conteúdo dos discursos dos entrevistados, gerando um interessante painel a respeito das práticas de venture capital que poderá orientar não só a organização estudada, como também aos envolvidos na indústria de capital de risco, inovação e empreendedorismo. O trabalho aponta para a busca de opções de investimentos alinhadas aos mercados alvo, mas também de empreendedores alinhados à filosofia da organização. Também se observou diferenças na percepção entre os atores do painel de especialistas. Finalmente, foi destacada a importância de intermediários na aproximação das empresas inovadoras e o CVC.This study aims to understand the use of corporate venture capital structures (CVCs), identifying the motivations and difficulties in the implementation process, with focus on the generation and monitoring of investment opportunities. The methodological approach was based on a literature review, followed by an exploratory study performed in a service firm, especially in the new business unit dedicated to CVCs. Finally, we used a panel of specialists of the VC, composed of three groups of experts: Market, Entrepreneurs, and Neutral (academics, consultants, and managers of innovation incubators). The analysis of the interviews was performed using the software ATLAS.ti and content analysis, generating an interesting panel about the Venture Capital practices, which may lead not only to the organization studied, but also to those involved in the venture capital industry innovation and entrepreneurship. The study shows the importance of the alignment between the investment options and organization's target markets, as well as the alignment between the entrepreneur and the organization's philosophy. Differences in perception between the actors of the panel of specialists were identified. Finally, the importance of intermediaries as a bridge between innovative companies and CVC was highlighted

The Master Equation: reaching the equilibrium

In the last years, a great interest in nonequilibrium systems has been witnessed. Although the Master Equations are one of the most common methods used to describe these systems, the literature about these equations is not straightforward due to the mathematical framework used in their derivations. The goals of this work are to present the physical concepts behind the Master Equations development and to discuss their basic proprieties via a matrix approach. It is also shown how the Master Equations can be used to model typical nonequilibrium processes like multi-wells chemical reactions and radiation absorption processes.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Pellicle Modification with Casein and Mucin Does Not Affect Surface Loss from Erosion and Abrasion.

AIM A combination of the proteins casein and mucin is known to modify the salivary pellicle and improve its protection of the underlying enamel from erosion. It is so far not known if this protection is confined solely to erosion, or if it also extends to abrasion, and this in vitro study aimed at investigating this question. METHODS A total of 72 human enamel specimens were prepared and randomly assigned to four groups: pellicle (P), casein/mucin (CM), pellicle + casein/mucin (PCM), and control (Ctrl). Each specimen underwent five cycles, each cycle consisting of a pellicle/treatment part, an erosion part (3 min in 1% citric acid, pH 3.6, 25°C, 70 rpm), and an abrasion part (50 toothbrush strokes within 25 s in toothpaste slurry with a 200-g load). The pellicle/treatment part consisted of 2 h of incubation in whole human saliva for group P, 2 h of incubation (25°C, 70 rpm) in a protein mixture of 1% casein and 0.27% mucin for group CM, and 2 h of incubation in saliva followed by 2 h of incubation in the protein mixture for group PCM. The fourth group (Ctrl) served as the control and was kept in a humid chamber without saliva or protein treatment. The enamel surfaces were scanned with an optical profilometer initially and after the final cycle, and surface loss was analyzed. Furthermore, the surface microhardness (SMH) was measured initially, after each pellicle/treatment part and each erosion cycle, and after the final abrasion cycle. The results were analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon tests with Bonferroni corrections. RESULTS The different treatments did not show differences in surface loss and therefore did not protect enamel from surface loss by abrasion. Nonetheless, we observed differences in the SMH values, namely the Ctrl group being significantly softer than the experimental groups. CONCLUSION The observed differences in SMH suggest that a different abrasion protocol could lead to differences in surface loss, and further investigation of whether and under which conditions pellicle modification leads to increased resistance to abrasion remains worthwhile

The influence of the external factors on touristic destinations

O objetivo deste ensaio teórico foi identificar, a partir da estrutura do mercado turístico, as influências causadas por elementos macroambientais na gestão e planejamento de destinos turísticos (DTs). O argumento defendido aqui é o de que o posicionamento do destino turístico no ambiente externo condiciona suas possibilidades de crescimento, organização e desenvolvimento. Por meio de um levantamento teórico, indutivo, identificou-se um conjunto de elementos externos que podem influir sobre as decisões e ações tomadas no âmbito interno de um DT. Como resultado, é apresentado um framework teórico de fatores condicionantes da realização da atividade turística em escala local a partir de estratégias baseadas na análise macroambiental. Tais fatores trazem, por extensão, consequências diretas também para o planejamento de destinos turísticos, condicionando as possibilidades de ação, os recursos passíveis de ser efetivamente utilizados, bem como os mercados a serem atingidos. Conclui-se propedeuticamente com a apresentação de um framework sistêmico e integrado, evidenciando sua necessária consideração como um pré-requisito fundamental do processo de planejamento do destino turístico, pois sua desconsideração pode inviabilizar qualquer plano elaborado.This theoretical essay aims to identify, from the standpoint of touristic market structure, the influence caused by macro-environmental factors in the management and planning of tourist destinations (TDs). The idea defended here is that the position of the tourist destination in the external environment affects its possibilities of growing, organizing and development. Through a theoretical, inductive, survey it was identified an arrangement of external factors that can affect the decisions and actions taken as within a TD. As result, it is presented a theoretical framework of environmental conditioning factors the tourism on local level from strategies based on the macro environmental analysis. These factors also bring, by extension, direct consequences for the planning of tourist destinations, affecting the possibilities of action, the resources that could be effectively used, as well as the markets to be achieved. In conclusion, we present an integrative and systemic framework, demonstrating its necessary consideration as an elementary prerequisite of the tourist destination planning process, because their disregard can do practicable whatever plan elaborated