Magic mirror on the wall: Selfie-related behavior as mediator of the relationship between narcissism and problematic smartphone use

Objective: Recent research has suggested that problematic smartphone use is associated with several psychological factors and that mobile apps and smartphone-related behavior (i.e. selfi e behavior) may encourage the development of problematic smartphone use. However, little is known about how the interplay between dysfunctional personality characteristics and selfi e-related behavior can infl uence problematic smartphone use. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between narcissism and problematic smartphone use, as well as the mediating role of selfi e-related behavior in this relationship among young men and women. Method: In the current study, a total of 627 undergraduate students (283 males and 344 females) completed a cross-sectional survey. A structural equation model was tested separately for males and females in order to evaluate the associations between narcissism, selfi e-related behavior and problematic smartphone use. Results: The results showed that greater narcissism was related to increased selfi e-related behavior, which in turn were positively associated with problematic smartphone use both for males and females. However, selfi e-related behavior mediated the relationship between narcissism and problematic smartphone use only for females. Conclusions: The study provides fresh insight into our understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying problematic smartphone use, which may inform prevention and treatment interventions

Diagnóstico socioeconômico dos municípios da região noroeste do Estado do Rio de Janeiro.

O diagnóstico do noroeste fluminense tem por objetivo avaliar a situação atual de cada município da região, destacando os principais pontos socioeconômicos. Os resultados obtidos mostram a precariedade em diversos setores da sociedade, onde as estatísticas revelam números insatisfatórios. Na educação, foram registrados altos índices de analfabetismo, destacando ainda a presença significativa do trabalho infantil. O êxodo rural é uma realidade na região, onde todos os municípios vêm sofrendo sucessivas quedas nas populações de campo. Neste contexto, a produção agropecuária (lavoura e leite) é razoavelmente baixa no Noroeste, onde a produtividade nos diversos setores se encontra abaixo dos níveis estaduais. Melhorias nas condições de produção agropecuária, assim como projetos que visem atender às demandas sociais, tornam-se extremamente necessários para o desenvolvimento da região.bitstream/item/63326/1/bpd41-2003-socioeconomia-noroeste-rj.pd

Why do spatial abilities predict mathematical performance?

Spatial ability predicts performance in mathematics and eventual expertise in science, technology and engineering. Spatial skills have also been shown to rely on neuronal networks partially shared with mathematics. Understanding the nature of this association can inform educational practices and intervention for mathematical underperformance. Using data on two aspects of spatial ability and three domains of mathematical ability from 4174 pairs of 12-year-old twins, we examined the relative genetic and environmental contributions to variation in spatial ability and to its relationship with different aspects of mathematics. Environmental effects explained most of the variation in spatial ability (~70%) and in mathematical ability (~60%) at this age, and the effects were the same for boys and girls. Genetic factors explained about 60% of the observed relationship between spatial ability and mathematics, with a substantial portion of the relationship explained by common environmental influences (26% and 14% by shared and non-shared environments respectively). These findings call for further research aimed at identifying specific environmental mediators of the spatial–mathematics relationship

The development of a quantification method for measuring iridescence using sexually selected traits in the Gulf pipefish (Syngnathus scovelli)

Reliably quantifying the strength of visual sexual signals, such as iridescence, has been challenging across the field of evolutionary biology, but is critically important for studying biologically relevant trait variation. To address this issue, we present the Iridescence Detection and Isolation Algorithm (IDIA), which was designed to isolate the iridescent signal from photographs for quantification of ornamentation. The Gulf pipefish, Syngnathus scovelli, served as a model system for testing the limits of the algorithm, and was an ideal test case due to their female-specific iridescent bands on their abdomens with a large degree of among-individual variation. Specifically, we tested the repeatability of iridescence estimates in a variety of settings, including manual versus automated measurements, a gradient of lighting intensities, observational data from multiple populations, and in detecting exposure to synthetic estrogen. Using the IDIA, female iridescence was quantified in two ways with results indicating a manual measurement of each individual band may be more reliable than the automated measurement taken by drawing a polygon around all bands. However, the intensity of the lighting the photographs were taken in did not significantly affect repeatability of the measurement of iridescence no matter how it was taken. The IDIA was able to detect geographical variation in female ornamentation of S. scovelli, demonstrating that our automated approach can potentially replicate previously-described population-level variation. Differences in the iridescent signal were significant when comparing female pipefish from the Florida coast to females collected from the Texas coast, indicating the possibility that external factors, such as differing environmental conditions, could affect the strength of female visual signals. Lastly, the IDIA was applied in an ecotoxicology application to detect the development of iridescence in male pipefish exposed to synthetic estrogen. Exposed males began expressing banding patterns with iridescence levels within the range of females. The results from this study confirm the feasibility of using the IDIA for measuring iridescence in fish across a variety of applications

Competitividade do etanol em áreas tradicional e de expansão na região centro-sul.

A cadeia do agronegócio da cana-de-açúcar é uma das que mais tem contribuído para o crescimento econômico do Brasil, na safra de 2010-2011 foi plantado 8,1 milhões de hectares produzindo 28 bilhões de litros de etanol e para a safra de 2011-2012 a previsão é de 33 bilhões de litros de etanol, elevando o Brasil como o maior produtor mundial de etanol. Este trabalho tem como objetivo verificar a competitividade do etanol brasileiro através da Matriz de Análise Política- MAP considerando uma área de cultivo tradicional e outra área de expansão da cana-de-açúcar. O instrumental utilizado para essa análise foi a Matriz de Análise de Política - MAP desenvolvida por Monke e Pearson (1989), os resultados mostram que as lucratividades privada e social foram positivos, indicando competitividade e eficiência econômica, respectivamente, para as duas cadeias. A cadeia do etanol em área tradicional foi a mais competitiva e com maior eficiência econômica por apresentar maior valor em ambas lucratividades. As transferências associadas à produção para as cadeias apresentaram valores positivos. O maior valor positivo na cadeia da área de tradicional reflete os altos preços ou receitas privadas nessa cadeia, indicando que há transferência positiva da sociedade para o setor produtor

Valoração ambiental de serviço ecossistêmico da perda do solo no Município de Araras, SP.

O setor agropecuário é responsável por produzir grande quantidade de alimentos e de fibras. O uso de tecnologias inadequadas nesse setor tem ocasionado uma série de efeitos indesejáveis no sistema produtivo. Uma das formas de degradação ambiental em terras brasileiras é a erosão hídrica, considerada a mais importante, que tem causado graves prejuízos tanto em áreas agrícolas quanto nas cidades. Este trabalho foi realizado no Município de Araras, SP, e teve como objetivo valorar monetariamente as perdas de solos em termos de nutrientes perdidos para os usos e as ocupações das terras no espaço rural desse município. Utilizou-se a equação universal de perda de solo para quantificar a perda de solo e o método do custo de reposição para valorar os nutrientes perdidos. Os resultados mostram que a taxa de erosão da cana-de-açúcar queimada é 3,8 vezes superior à da cana-de-açúcar mecanizada, e o custo para a reposição de nutrientes perdidos foi de R$19,47 para a cana-de-açúcar mecanizada e de R$ 73,98 para a cana-de-açúcar queimada. Conclui-se que o método de cálculo da taxa de erosão pode ser um instrumental útil para a avaliação da sustentabilidade ambiental das atividades agrícolas.bitstream/item/57237/1/022-11.pd

Trajetória da pesquisa cafeeira no Brasil - 1932 a 2012.

A mensuração dos impactos das inovações tecnológicas é relevante para a revisão das diretrizes dos programas das Instituições de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento, bem como para as Instituições relacionadas à assistência técnica e extensão rural. Para avaliar os impactos das inovações, sejam ambientais ou socioeconômicos, é necessário estudar a evolução da pesquisa e identificar as tecnologias que resultaram em pontos de ruptura para o desenvolvimento setorial. Tendo em vista a relevância histórica do setor cafeeiro para a economia brasileira, este estudo identificou as tecnologias que representaram pontos de ruptura no desenvolvimento da cafeicultura nacional, delineou a trajetória da pesquisa com o café no Brasil, no período 1932 a 2012, e identificou regionalmente a evolução do emprego das tecnologias desenvolvidas para o setor

Erosão do solo e valoração de serviços ambientais.

Resumo: O setor agropecuário é o responsável por produzir grande parte de alimentos e de fibras, porém, dado ao uso de tecnologias inadequadas, uma série de efeitos indesejáveis no sistema produtivo tem ocorrido. Uma forma de degradação ambiental em terras brasileiras é a erosão hídrica, sendo considerada a mais importante e que tem causado graves prejuízos em áreas agrícolas e urbanas. O objetivo deste capítulo foi valorar monetariamente as perdas de solos em termos de nutrientes perdidos para as culturas da cana-de-açúcar (dois sistemas de manejo: colheitas crua e queimada) e citros, no espaço rural do município de Araras, SP. Utilizou-se a equação universal de perda de solo para quantificar a perda de solo e o método do custo de reposição para valorar os nutrientes perdidos. A taxa de erosão da cana-de-açúcar queimada foi 3,8 vezes superior ao da cana-de-açúcar crua, e o custo para a reposição de nutrientes perdidos por hectare foi, respectivamente, de R$73,98 e R$19,47. A cultura do citros apresentou baixa taxa de erosão, resultando num custo de reposição de apenas R$1,56 por hectare. Conclui-se que a taxa de erosão pode se constituir num importante indicador de análise ambiental, pois além de revelar a maior ou menor perda de solos e nutrientes, com reflexos diretos na produção e produtividade agrícola, pode também indicar riscos quanto a qualidade ambiental. Abstract: The agricultural sector is the responsible for producing a large proportion of food and fibers, however, due to the use of inappropriate technologies, it has led to many undesirable effects on the production system. Water erosion can be considered the most important form of environmental degradation of Brazilian soils and has caused serious losses in both agricultural and urban areas. The objective of this chapter was to quantify monetarily soil losses, considering nutrient losses in sugarcane (two management systems: raw and burnt harvest) and citrus plantations in rural areas of Araras country, São Paulo state. The Universal Soil Loss Equation was used to quantify soil loss and the Replacement Cost Method to value nutrient losses. The erosion rate of sugarcane when burned was 3.8 times higher than with green harvesting, and the cost for replacing nutrient losses was R$ 73.98 and R$19.47 per hectare, respectively. The citrus cultivation had a low soil erosion rate, resulting in replacement costs of only R$ 1.56 per hectare. It is concluded that the erosion rate can constitute an important indicator of environmental analysis, as it not only reveals larger or smaller soil and nutrient loss, with direct impacts on agricultural production and productivity, but it can also indicate risks related to environmental quality

A plant economics spectrum in Mediterranean forests along environmental gradients: Is there coordination among leaf, stem and root traits?

12 páginas..- 4 figuras.-- 70 referencias.--Supporting Information: Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article: Appendix S1. Species list.--Appendix S2. Functional traits list.--Appendix S3. Phylogenetic tree.-- Appendix S4. Pearson correlation coefficients between traits.-- Appendix S5. Relationships between morphologicaltraits, carbon isotope fraction and leaf chlorophyll.-- Appendix S6. Phylogenetic generalized least square analysis.-- Appendix S7. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis.-- Appendix S8. Illustration of the scale effects.Questions: Is there any evidence of coordination among leaf, stem and root traits, and thereby of the existence of a plant economics spectrum at the species and community level in Mediterranean forests? Are these traits related to plant size and seed mass? Location: Mediterranean forests and shrublands, Sierra Morena mountains, Córdoba, southern Spain. Methods: We selected nine woody plant communities along a natural local gradient of soil water and nutrient availability. We measured key leaf, stem, root and whole-plant traits for 38 dominant woody plant species. The variation across species of 15 functional traits (of the leaf, stem and root) was analysed and coordination among them was tested. We explored the relationships between these traits (hereafter 'resource-use traits' due to their close association with the acquisition-conservation trade-off) and plant height and seed mass. Finally, we compared results at species level with those calculated at community level, considering community-weighted means (CWMs). Results: We found a significant coordination between traits belonging to different plant organs, and propose the existence of a plant economics spectrum in Mediterranean forests along the environmental gradient. However, weaker relationships were found within groups of species under similar environmental conditions. We did not find the expected orthogonal relationships between plant height, seed mass and resource-use traits. Relationships among functional traits were stronger at the community level than at the species level. Conclusions: This study reveals a high degree of functional coordination between traits belonging to different plant organs at both species and community level, and suggests the existence of a plant economics spectrum across 38 Mediterranean woody plant species. However, this general trend of functional coordination between organs became weaker or disappeared when considering restricted groups of species belonging to environmentally similar sites (e.g. dry vs wet sites), suggesting that the diversification of strategies within communities is not related to the economics spectrum at a lower spatial scale. Interestingly, the high degree of coordination between resource-use traits and seed mass at the community level seems to support the tolerance-fecundity model, which predicts an inverse relationship between fecundity and stress tolerance. © 2015 International Association for Vegetation Science.We thank Miguel Verdú for help with the phylogenetic tree and analyses and Jose Rafael Vera for plant trait analyses. We also thank Jard ın Botánico de Córdoba (Francisca Herrera) and the Semillas Cantueso Company (José Angel Cantueso) for providing seedmass data. We are very grateful to Francesco de Bello for interesting comments on previous versions of the manuscript. This study was funded by the Spanish MEC coordinated project DIVERBOS (CGL2011-30285-C02-01 and C02-02), the Andalusian ANASINQUE project (PGC2010-RNM-5782), the Life + Biodehesa Project (11/BIO/ES/000726), ECO-MEDIT (CGL2014-53236-R) and European FEDER funds. Dr. DavidWalker revised the Englis