Eficiência técnica e de escala dos custos de produção das cidades produtoras de soja do Brasil

The cultivation of soybeans plays an important role in the Brazilian agricultural scenario, being one of the main products that compose the Brazilian trade balance. This research aimed to verify the technical and scale efficiencies, of the main Brazilian cities that produced soybean in the crops from 2012/2013 to 2014/2015. The research is characterized as descriptive and applied, using documentary and bibliographic technical procedures and quantitative approach. It was performed the statistical tests of Anderson-Darling, Tukey and Kruskal-Wallis (non-parametric ANOVA), as well as the t-test and Mann-Whitney’s test (non-parametric t-test), to identify which costs have undergone statistically significant variations between observed cities. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was input-oriented to observe the efficiency of soybean-producing cities, ranked them, and indicating which costs to reduce. The DEA output was the quantities of traditional and genetically modified organism (GMO) soybean produced by each city. The inputs were the incurred costs for the soybeans yields. Regarding the ANOVA, the results showed that only the variables of pesticides, agricultural insurance, administrative expenses, periodic maintenance of improvements / facilities, social charges and land presented a behavior of statistically equal costs between the observed cities. The other variables presented statistically different results. In the t-test it was possible to verify that, except for the seed variable, there was no statistical differences regarding the use of the others variables of production costs observed, when was used traditional or GMOs seeds. As for the DEA, the city of Cristalina / GO, in the 2012/2013 crop was the most efficient, presenting efficiency score equal to 1.00. Technical and scale efficiency problems were found in 65% of the observed DMUs, 20% presented problems on scale efficiency, 2% problems on technical efficiency and 14% were classified as efficient. On average, the scale efficiency was 92%, and the pure (technical) efficiency was 95%. In this way, the inefficient cities (DMUs) could, on average, reduce 5% of the inputs that would return the same output. In addition, these cities, to operate at a yield optimal scale, should increase the amount of soybeans produced by 8%.Dissertação (Mestrado)O cultivo da soja desempenha um papel importante no cenário agropecuário brasileiro, sendo um dos principais produtos que compõem a balança comercial brasileira. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar a eficiência técnica e de escala das cidades produtoras de soja nas safras 2012/2013 à 2014/2015 no Brasil. A pesquisa caracteriza-se como descritiva e aplicada, com utilização de procedimento técnico documental e bibliográfico, além de abordagem quantitativa. Foram realizados os testes estatísticos de Anderson-Darling, Tukey e Kruskal-Wallis (ANOVA não paramétrica), bem como o teste t de Student e Mann-Whitney (t de Student não paramétrico) para identificar quais custos sofreram variações estatisticamente significativas entre as cidades observadas. A Análise Envoltória de Dados (DEA) foi orientada a inputs para observar a eficiência das cidades produtoras de soja, ranqueado-as, e indicar quais custos a ser reduzidos. O output observado foi a quantidade de soja tradicional e organismo geneticamente modificado (OGM) produzidos por cada cidade. Os inputs foram os custos incorridos para a produção da soja. Quanto a realização da ANOVA, os resultados mostraram que apenas as variáveis de agrotóxicos, seguro agrícola, despesas administrativas, manutenção periódica de benfeitorias/instalações, encargos sociais e terra apresentaram comportamento de custos estatisticamente iguais entre as cidades observadas. As demais variáveis apresentaram resultados estatisticamente diferentes. No teste t de Student foi possível verificar que, com exceção da variável de sementes, não houve diferenças quanto à utilização das demais variáveis de custos de produção, ao se utilizar sementes do tipo tradicional ou OGM. Quanto ao DEA, a cidade de Cristalina/GO, na safra 2012/2013 foi a mais eficiente, apresentando escore de eficiência igual a 1,00. Problemas de eficiência técnica e de escala foram encontrados 65% das DMUs Observadas, 20% das DMUs apresentaram problemas de eficiência de escala, 2% problemas de eficiência técnica e 14% foram classificadas como eficientes. Em média, a eficiência de escala foi de 92%, e a eficiência pura, de 95%. Assim, as cidades (DMUs) ineficientes poderiam, em média, diminuir 5% dos insumos que teriam como retorno a mesma produção. Além disso, estas cidades, para operarem em escala ótima de produção, deveriam aumentar a quantidade produzida de soja em 8%

Особливості сучасних форм вчинення шахрайств та їх криміналістичне значення

Заяць, К. Особливості сучасних форм вчинення шахрайств та їх криміналістичне значення / Костянтин Заяць // Підприємництво, господарство і право. - 2017. - № 11. - С. 207-210.У статті аналізуються особливості форм вчинення шахрайства та їх криміналістичне значення. Викладено думку про необхідність перегляду визначення предмета сучасного шахрайства. Автором запропоновано розширити коло об’єктів власності, що можуть виступати предметом сучасних розкрадань. У представленій статті досліджено особливості шахрайства, що вчиняється у формі заволодіння майном і у формі придбання права на майно. Акцентовано увагу на відмінностях цих двох форм та їх криміналістичному значенні.The features of forms of feasance of swindle, and their criminalistics value, are analysed in the scientific article. Opinion opens up in relation to the necessity of revision of category of the article of modern thefts. An author suggests to extend the circle of property objects that can come forward the article of mercenary crimes. In the article features are investigational swindles that is accomplished in form laying hands on property, and in form acquisition of right on property. Attention on the differences of these two forms of crimes is accented, and their criminalistics value.В статье анализируются особенности форм совершения мошенничества и их криминалистическое значение. Излагается мнение о необходимости пересмотра категории предмета современных хищений. Автор предлагает расширить круг объектов собственности, которые могут выступать предметом корыстных преступлений. В статье исследованы особенности мошенничества, совершаемого в форме завладения имуществом и в форме приобретения права на имущество. Акцентировано внимание на отличиях этих двух форм преступления и их криминалистическом значении

Facial Point Graphs for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Identification

Identifying Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in its early stages is essential for establishing the beginning of treatment, enriching the outlook, and enhancing the overall well-being of those affected individuals. However, early diagnosis and detecting the disease's signs is not straightforward. A simpler and cheaper way arises by analyzing the patient's facial expressions through computational methods. When a patient with ALS engages in specific actions, e.g., opening their mouth, the movement of specific facial muscles differs from that observed in a healthy individual. This paper proposes Facial Point Graphs to learn information from the geometry of facial images to identify ALS automatically. The experimental outcomes in the Toronto Neuroface dataset show the proposed approach outperformed state-of-the-art results, fostering promising developments in the area.Comment: 7 pages and 7 figure

TNF-alpha-induced microglia activation requires miR-342: impact on NF-kB signaling and neurotoxicity

Growing evidences suggest that sustained neuroinflammation, caused by microglia overactivation, is implicated in the development and aggravation of several neurological and psychiatric disorders. In some pathological conditions, microglia produce increased levels of cytotoxic and inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), which can reactivate microglia in a positive feedback mechanism. However, specific molecular mediators that can be effectively targeted to control TNF-α-mediated microglia overactivation, are yet to be uncovered. In this context, we aim to identify novel TNF-α-mediated micro(mi)RNAs and to dissect their roles in microglia activation, as well as to explore their impact on the cellular communication with neurons. A miRNA microarray, followed by RT-qPCR validation, was performed on TNF-α-stimulated primary rat microglia. Gain- and loss-of-function in vitro assays and proteomic analysis were used to dissect the role of miR-342 in microglia activation. Co-cultures of microglia with hippocampal neurons, using a microfluidic system, were performed to understand the impact on neurotoxicity. Stimulation of primary rat microglia with TNF-α led to an upregulation of Nos2, Tnf, and Il1b mRNAs. In addition, ph-NF-kB p65 levels were also increased. miRNA microarray analysis followed by RT-qPCR validation revealed that TNF-α stimulation induced the upregulation of miR-342. Interestingly, miR-342 overexpression in N9 microglia was sufficient to activate the NF-kB pathway by inhibiting BAG-1, leading to increased secretion of TNF-α and IL-1β. Conversely, miR-342 inhibition led to a strong decrease in the levels of these cytokines after TNF-α activation. In fact, both TNF-α-stimulated and miR-342-overexpressing microglia drastically affected neuron viability. Remarkably, increased levels of nitrites were detected in the supernatants of these co-cultures. Globally, our findings show that miR-342 is a crucial mediator of TNF-α-mediated microglia activation and a potential target to tackle microglia-driven neuroinflammation.We would like to thank Dr. João Relvas laboratory for the help with N9 microglia cell culture; Dr. Sofia Lamas for the guidance on the animal welfare and support with animal experiments (Animal facility, i3S); and to LC Sciences for the miRNA microarray data and analysis. The mass spectrometry technique was performed by Hugo Osório at the i3S Proteomics Scientific Platform with support from the Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Network, integrated in the National Roadmap of Research Infrastructures of Strategic Relevance (ROTEIRO/0028/2013; LISBOA-01–0145-FEDER-022125). This work was funded by project NORTE-01–0145-FEDER-000012, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). J.P.B. and J.B. are supported by FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, through BiotechHealth PhD program fellowship (PD/BD/135490/2018) and Areas of Basic and Applied Biology PhD program fellowship (PD/BD/135450/2017), respectively.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

THE ADOPTION OF SISU AND EVASION AT THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF UBERLÂNDIA

The main objective of this study was to determine the percentage of the behavior of dropout students in the years before (2006-2010) and after (2011-2014) the adoption of the Brazilian Unified Selection System (SISU) in the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU). This is a documentary research. The Data about evasion were obtained with the Dean of Graduate (PROGRAD). In the first part of the verification of information it was held the organization of data on dropout students of the UFU in the period analyzed, and treated 15,088 occurrences. Then the data were classified and summarized and after the binomial statistical test was applied. In the results, the Applied Social Sciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences and Earth areas were those with the highest percentages of dropout students. By analyzing the average by areas, the Agricultural Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, Exact Sciences and Earth and Health Sciences areas presents significant increase in the percentage of dropout students after the SISU. While the Humanities, Linguistics, Literature and Arts and Social Sciences areas showed significant reductions in the percentage of dropout students

Effectiveness of business strategies in Brazilian textile industry

ABSTRACTEffectiveness of business strategies in Brazilian textile industryThis research analyses how the interaction between strategy capabilities, strategy types, strategy formulation quality and implementation capability affect organizational performance in Brazilian textiles companies. This article proposes and tests a conceptual framework, using a structural equation modeling of a set of 211 valid questionnaires on Brazilian textiles firms. The results support links between focus strategy and marketing capabilities, and between cost leadership strategy and management capabilities. However, the relationship between technologic capabilities and differentiation strategy was not statistically significant. The existence of an inter-relationship between generic strategies of focus, cost leadership and differentiation indicates the use of combined strategies. Concerning the firms’ financial performance, the results show that management capability and market performance have a statistically significant relationship with financial performance

DILEMAS DO AGRONEGÓCIO: AMPLIAR OU NÃO A COMERCIALIZAÇÃO DE GRÃOS?

A empresa GRAN Agro, no final do ano de 2014, tinha como meta definir novas estratégias a serem adotadas na área de comercialização de grãos. Antônio Silveira, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), foi pressionado fortemente pelos acionistas da organização em uma reunião estratégica. Os mesmos cobraram do CEO melhores resultados financeiros, tendo em vista que eles desejam maiores lucros, incluindo o aumento das distribuições de dividendos, para que a empresa se torne mais atrativa aos investidores no mercado. Analisando então esse desafio e a trajetória de negócios da empresa, bem como pesquisando o cenário do mercado de agronegócios brasileiro e internacional, Antônio verificou que havia chegado o momento de a GRAN Agro ampliar sua atuação no mercado de grãos. Assim, ele optou por analisar a viabilidade de comercialização do milho, pois considerou que esse tenderia a se manter como excelente alternativa de produção no Brasil. Além disso, poderia ser aproveitada a infraestrutura que a empresa já possuía, existindo, ainda, a opção de exportação, dependendo das condições econômicas do cenário mundial, haja vista que o milho é um grão bastante consumido. O desafio do CEO é verificar a viabilidade da comercialização desse grão. Para isso, ele contará com o auxilio da diretora financeira e o diretor de operações, em conjunto com suas equipes, para analisar informações sobre o mercado do ‘milho safrinha’ em três principais estados brasileiros, envolvendo custos e despesas. O objetivo será analisar a viabilidade da escolha do mercado para adquirir o milho para a comercialização da GRAN Agro. Os diretores envolvidos deverão utilizar métodos quantitativos para analisar o mercado (estado) que trará melhores resultados.

Social and collective catering in the context of COVID-19

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Scientific and cultural events in the context of COVID-19

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio