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Copyright of Tropical Medicine & International Health is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: Despite a recent drive to increase diversity, the global academic workforce is skewed in favor of authors from high‐income countries, and women are under‐represented in the published medical literature. Objectives: To explore the trends in authorship of three high‐impact otolaryngology journals over a ten‐year period (2011–2020). Methods: Journals selected: JAMA Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, The Laryngoscope and Rhinology. Articles were reviewed from four issues per journal per year, and data was collected on: time of publication; subspeciality; number of authors; sex of first and last authors; country of practice of first author and country where each study was conducted. Trends were examined though univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Results: 2998 articles were included. 93.9% of first authors and 94.2% of studies were from high‐income countries. Women were first authors in 31.5% (n = 912) and senior authors in 18.4% (n = 524) of articles. Female first authorship significantly increased between 2011 and 2020 however female senior authorship remained the same. There have been no significant changes in the proportion of published articles from low‐and middle‐income countries (LMIC) over time (p =.65). Amongst the LMIC articles, 72% came from Brazil, Turkey or China and there were no published papers from countries with a low‐income economy (gross national income per capita of $1085 or less). Conclusions: Although female first authorship has increased in the last decade, there has been minimal other demographic change in authorship over this time. High‐impact otolaryngology journals poorly represent academia in low‐and‐middle income countries. There is a need for increased advocacy promoting gender and geographical research equity in academic medicine. Level of Evidence: III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the history of contractual choice in coffee plantations of São Paulo, Brazil. It focuses on the consolidation of non‐captive labour markets in the early phases of the transition from slavery in the country, particularly in the 1840s–50s. Vis‐à‐vis the alternatives of fixed rents and fixed payments per time worked or piece rates, the paper examines the rationale for the adoption of sharecropping arrangements with European bonded labourers. New archival evidence suggests that sharecropping had no obvious productivity advantage over alternative labour–rental arrangements in this period, and that the adoption of sharecropping arrangements resulted from the positional advantage of its first proposers, who influenced later choices of contractual design. A credit‐labour tie‐up long outlived the original sharecropping arrangements, in turn allowing for the immigration of poor and credit‐constrained Europeans, paving the way to insert Brazil into the circuits of mass migration without promoting institutional reforms to attract non‐bonded immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper estimates the impact of Brazilian soybean area expansion on US and Brazilian soybean exports to China by projecting these countries' exports for various Brazilian soybean area growth scenarios. The results indicate that the Brazilian area expansion does not significantly affect US soybean exports to China but positively impacts Brazil's soybean exports to China. Ex‐post analysis of the impacts of Chinese tariff during the US–China trade war indicates that China significantly diverted its imports from the United States to Brazil. We conclude that the US soybean trade policy should focus on mitigating the adverse effects of import demand changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Numerical models have been developed to investigate and understand responses of biogeochemical cycle to global changes. Steady state, when a system is in dynamic equilibrium, is generally required to initialize these model simulations. However, the spin‐up process that is used to achieve steady state pose a great burden to computational resources, limiting the efficiency of global modeling analysis on biogeochemical cycles. This study introduces a new Semi‐Analytical Spin‐Up (SASU) to tackle this grand challenge. We applied SASU to Community Land Model version 5 and examined its computational efficiency and accuracy. At the Brazil site, SASU is computationally 7 times more efficient than (or saved up to 86% computational cost in comparison with) the traditional native dynamics (ND) spin‐up to reach the same steady state. Globally, SASU is computationally 8 times more efficient than the accelerated decomposition spin‐up and 50 times more efficient than ND. In summary, SASU achieves the highest computational efficiency for spin‐up on site and globally in comparison with other spin‐up methods. It is generalizable to wide biogeochemical models and thus makes computationally costly studies (e.g., parameter perturbation ensemble analysis and data assimilation) possible for a better understanding of biogeochemical cycle under climate change. Plain Language Summary: Land carbon cycle models, a critical component of earth system models, have been developed to investigate and understand ecological responses to global changes. However, the model spin‐up process to achieve steady state are usually time‐consuming and pose great computational burden. The spin‐up problem hinders our ability to study some key issues in land carbon cycle modeling, such as sensitivity analysis. This paper applies a new SASU framework to accelerate spin‐up of Community Land Model matrix version 5. Compared with traditional native dynamic approach, SASU speeds up the spin‐up by approximately 50 times, achieving the fastest spin‐up speed than all the previously recorded methods. Our SASU method is applicable to biogeochemical models and, therefore, liberates the models for computationally costly studies, such as parameter perturbation ensemble analysis and data assimilation. Key Points: A new semi‐analytical spin‐up (SASU) framework combines the default accelerated spin‐up method and matrix analytical algorithmSASU accelerates CLIM5 spin‐up by tens of times, becoming the fastest method to our knowledgeSASU is applicable to most biogeochemical models and enables computationally costly study, for example, sensitivity analysis [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Quantifying the contributions of distinct mineral populations in bulk magnetic experiments greatly enhances the analysis of environmental and rock magnetism studies. Here, we develop a new method of parametric unmixing of susceptibility components in hysteresis loops. Our approach is based on a modified Gamma‐Cauchy exponential model that accounts for variable skewness and kurtosis. The robustness of the model is tested with synthetic curves that examine the effects of noise, sampling, and proximity (similar coercivities) of susceptibility components. We provide a Python‐based script, the Hist‐unmix, which allows the user to adjust a forward model of up to three ferromagnetic components as well as a dia/paramagnetic contribution. Optimization of all the parameters is achieved through least squares fitting (Levenberg‐Marquardt method), with uncertainties of each inverted parameter calculated through a Monte Carlo error propagation approach. For each ferromagnetic component, it is possible to estimate the saturation magnetization (Ms), saturation remanent magnetization (Mrs) and the mean coercivity (Bc ${B}_{c}$). Finally, Hist‐unmix was applied to a set of weakly magnetic carbonate rocks from Brazil, which typically show distorted hysteresis loops (wasp‐waisted and potbellied). For these samples, we resolved two components with distinct coercivities. These results are corroborated by previous experimental data, showing that the lower branch of magnetic hysteresis can be modeled by the presented approach and might offer important mineralogical information for rock magnetic and paleomagnetic studies. Plain Language Summary: Rocks contain magnetic minerals that record Earth's varying magnetic field morphology and intensity and provide information on our planet's evolution, as well as the ancient environmental conditions where the rocks formed. To study these magnetic minerals, we need to identify and quantify them, but this is challenging because of the complex mixture of such minerals that a rock may contain. Magnetic hysteresis curves are a simple and quick measurement that provide information on the magnetic properties of a rock, reflecting the combined effects of different minerals. In this paper, we propose a mathematical model that can separate the individual contributions of each magnetic population. We also provide an open‐source Python script for users to apply our model to their own data. Key Points: A new method for the parametric unmixing of magnetic hysteresis data based on a modified Gamma‐Cauchy exponential model is presentedThe model accounts for curves with variable skewness/kurtosis, allowing the separation of dia/para and ferromagnetic contributionsAn open‐source Python script (Hist‐unmix) allows users to import, process and model their data via a friendly interface [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a new interpretation of Brazil's independence that relates the process of political emancipation to the Portuguese empire's fiscal crisis at the beginning of the nineteenth century. We discuss the origins and impact of the fiscal crisis that followed the Napoleonic invasion of Portugal in 1807 and the transfer of the government to Rio de Janeiro. Quantitative evidence shows that expenditures with the palace and the army in Brazil were higher than those discussed in the previous literature. Moreover, the government was only able to finance itself by increasing loans via paper money issuances from the Bank of Brazil. Real wages show that the inflationary policy in the 1810s led to a rapid decline in living standards, fuelling dissatisfaction with the government. Our findings are consistent with views expressed in contemporary official correspondence and parliamentary debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a novel, easy to execute, mindfulness‐based solution to the waiting time problem at healthcare facilities in particular, with the potential to enhance consumers' experience within a waiting time scenario. Findings of four studies—one in‐class experiment with undergraduates, one field study among adults in a doctor's office, one online experiment in the US, and one online experiment in Brazil—revealed that variations on a 5‐min mindfulness‐based intervention led to more positive perceptions and greater loyalty intentions towards the service. The findings confirm that offering mindfulness interventions to consumers while they are waiting may help reduce dissatisfaction and other negative outcomes that longer than expected waiting times might evoke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global value chains for commodity agriculture have been the target of a broad array of sustainability governance efforts led by both public and private actors. In this paper, we ask: how do public policies and private standards interact in commodity‐exporting countries? To answer this question, we examine the interactions between voluntary sustainability standards and domestic public policies in three cases: soybean farming in Brazil, palm oil production in Indonesia, and pangasius aquaculture in Vietnam. We find that in each case, public and private governance interactions go through a period of competition before ending in a state of reluctant complementarity. We argue that this reluctant complementarity results from the need of governments in commodity‐producing countries to maintain export markets for their goods. This finding challenges the idea that complementarity between public and private sustainable commodity governance is driven by goal alignment and tempers expectations that standards and certifications can mitigate deforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The subduction and export of Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) is important for the heat, freshwater, carbon, and nutrient budgets of the world's oceans. Three types of AAIW are identified by applying an unsupervised machine learning approach to individual Argo profiles. The likely sources and pathways of these AAIWs are indicated by the locations and magnitudes of the salinity and oxygen extrema. The Southeast Pacific AAIW forms north of the Subantarctic Front (SAF) in the west corner of the Drake Passage and is exported north into the subtropical gyre. The South Pacific AAIW forms in the South Pacific along the SAF and is transported through the Drake Passage, thereby becoming a saliter and denser AAIW. The circumpolar AAIW, the coldest and freshest AAIW, has a circumpolar source and is injected into the ocean interior in the Brazil‐Malvinas confluence. The results clarify different types of AAIW have different origins. Plain Language Summary: The formation and export of Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) strongly influence the global climate system by redistributing heat, freshwater, carbon, and nutrients from high latitudes to the tropics. Thanks to an increasing number of observations from autonomous instruments and Argo floats, our understanding of the sources and pathways of AAIW has deepened in recent decades. Even so, there is controversy about the formation of AAIW. Unlike previous studies using traditional property‐driven classification, we apply an unsupervised classification technique to automatically classify the Argo temperature and salinity profiles and identify three types of AAIWs from the regimes in the Southern Ocean. The classification results are consistent with previous studies. Moreover, we find that different types of AAIW form in different regions. This paper shows that the machine learning technique benefits us in dealing with a large data set and identifying AAIW classes that is hard to distinguish by the traditional property‐driven classification method. Key Points: An unsupervised learning approach, the profile classification model (PCM), is applied to classify Argo temperature and salinity profilesPCM identifies three types of Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) in the Southern Ocean and reveals their locations and boundariesThe Polar Frontal Zone in the South Pacific sector is established as the source region for AAIW formation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, we present a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the location patterns of manufacturing industries in Brazil using a distance‐based measure and micro‐geographic panel data for a 10‐year period. Our results show that 89.9% and 91% of manufacturing at the 3‐digit level have statistically significant localization for 2006 and 2015, respectively, and that these patterns remain high when we consider 4‐digit classification. High‐tech industries have location patterns at short distances, being localized mainly in large urban areas, while low‐tech industries are also localized at long distances. We also present evidence that agglomeration economies affect the degree of spatial concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to report on the use of the soft systems methodology (SSM) to enhance the role of the higher education institution (HEI) stakeholder's action networks in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). We review the literature on sustainable development in HEIs, in particular the role of stakeholder networks for the implementation of SDGs in HEI. We outline some of the features of SSM as an approach to help make sense of this complexity. CATWOE analysis, a conceptual SSM tool, is applied to a stakeholder's network hosted by a Brazilian university with the purpose of achieving the SDGs as part of the community projects (HEI external engagement). Findings of the systemic application suggest that the use of some elements of SSM helps clarify and make sense of the role of the stakeholders and assists in formalising action networks to achieve SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Corporate environmental sustainability requires two complementary types of green practices—environmental protection hardware (EPH) and environmental protection software (EPS). Stakeholder greening pressures drive implementation; however, corporate responses vary, often lacking the balance and intensity of EPS and EPH needed. This paper explores the role of green human resource management (GHRM) in explaining variations in the implementation of EPH and EPS in response to stakeholders' pro‐environmental pressures. Drawing on stakeholder theory and the ability, motivation, and opportunity (AMO) framework, a mediating role is hypothesized. Empirical findings from Brazil using structural equation modeling reveal that increased green pressure from stakeholders drives the adoption of both types of green practices through a partial mediating role of GHRM that is stronger for EPH than for EPS. The value of this study lies in the consideration of EPH and EPS practices in the same model and expanding stakeholder theory on how stakeholders can improve environmental protection through GHRM. Implications are that organizations can level the field for the balanced application of EPS and EPH with a system of green human resource management practices—training, assessment, rewards, and teamwork—to channel the translation of stakeholder pressures into workplace green outcomes. Limitations, future research ideas, and policy and practice implications are detailed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A coincidence in the timing of floods and their drivers can be used as a proxy for the causality of flood generation. Here, we investigate the relationship between the seasonality of floods, maximum annual rainfall, and maximum annual soil moisture data of 886 basins in Brazil for 1980–2015 to shed light on process controls of flood generation. Floods tend to occur at the same time of year as soil moisture peaks and lag behind rainfall peaks by 3 weeks. In Amazonia, central and northern Brazil, flood timing is more correlated with the timing of soil moisture peaks than with that of rainfall peaks, which is interpreted as resulting from high subsurface water storage capacities. In southern and southeastern Brazil, on the other hand, flood timing is highly correlated with both soil moisture and rainfall because of low subsurface water storage capacities. These findings can support flood forecasting and climate impact studies. Plain Language Summary: In warm regions, floods are usually generated by a combination of intense rainfall and wet soils. In this paper, we analyze the average timing within the year of floods, extreme rainfall, and soil moisture to elucidate how floods come about in the main Brazilian rivers. We find that in some regions, such as Amazonia and central Brazil, floods tend to occur when soils are wet. In other regions, such as southern Brazil, floods tend to occur when rainfall is most extreme. We believe that these differences are related to differences in the soil water storage capacity. The understanding of the regional importance of each of these components helps increase the efficiency of flood prevention measures and climate change adaptation. Key Points: Flood peaks tend to occur at the same time of year as annual soil moisture peaks and lag behind annual rainfall peaks by 3 weeksFlood seasonality is linked mainly with soil moisture peaks in Amazonia and central Brazil, where soil storage capacity is highFlood timing is highly correlated with rainfall and soil moisture peaks in the south and southeast, where soil storage capacity is low [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our main goal in this paper is to understand the fuel market's spatial price competition. While most of the literature uses the density of gas stations and proximity to rivals as proxies for spatial competition, we measured the marginal increase in spatial competition by the entrance of a new rival nearby. The empirical results indicate that a new firm's entrance reduces prices, and the reduction is more significant the closer the new rival is. A new rival less than 100 meters away is related to a reduction of 2.6% on the typical incumbent firm price. When the new rival is located farther than 250 meters, the incumbent response is lower than 1%. For even greater distances, the effects were significant only when incumbents are unbranded. The extent of spatial competition matters for the outcome; while firms that already faced intense spatial competition are not impacted by having an entrant seller nearby, those facing low spatial competition had a significant price reduction. The pattern, entry of rivals closer matters more, remains when investigating the gasoline price, the ethanol price, and the gasoline wholesale‐retail margins in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the influence of agglomeration and spatial sorting on wages in Brazilian cities. The empirical strategy is based on a two‐step estimation. The first step estimates a wage equation with the observed characteristics of workers and firms and location effects. The second step decomposes the location effects into employment density and fixed effects of firm and worker. We estimate an urban wage premium for a developing country with the simultaneous inclusion of worker and firm fixed effects, instrumental variables, and nighttime lights. We find agglomeration effects of 4.3–5.7%, which are larger than those obtained for developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important strategy for commodity trading firms is geographical diversification through acquisitions and greenfield development, often justified with the quest for multiple origins. This strategy can be interpreted as a "switching option" which tend to be undervalued using traditional valuation techniques. This paper develops a stochastic binomial real options model to value networks of export elevators. It is applied to soybean trading for shipments from ports in the United States, Brazil, and Ukraine. The paper estimates the value of the option of being able to switch origins in export trade. This option value is substantial and is determined partly by margin distributions and correlations among these. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to understand how the determinants of economic growth in Brazil may manifest themselves differently on various spatial scales between 1991 and 2000. Analysing this issue sheds light on the modifiable areal unit problem (a measurement issue). In addition, it also suggests potential explanations for the origin of this variability. This latter issue relates to the scale-dependent determinants of economic growth (a structural issue). The analysis reveals that the results change as the scale level changes and suggests a general framework for dealing with multiple spatial scales and model uncertainty. Moreover, the extent of the effects of spatial externalities and the issue of spatial heterogeneity are investigated. Resumen El objetivo de este artículo es entender como los factores determinantes del crecimiento económico de Brasil pueden mostrarse de manera diferente según la escala espacial entre 1991 y 2000. El análisis de este tema ilustra el problema de la unidad de superficie modificable (problema de medición). Además, sugiere también posibles explicaciones para el origen de esta variabilidad. Este último asunto esta relacionado con los factores dependientes de la escala que determinan el crecimiento económico (un problema estructural). El análisis revela que los resultados cambian a medida que lo hace la escala y sugiere un marco general para tratar con escalas espaciales múltiples y modelización de incertidumbre. Además, se investiga el alcance de los efectos de las externalidades espaciales y el problema de la heterogeneidad espacial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a comparative analysis of the distribution effects of the increase in the real value of the minimum wage in Latin America during the 2000s in four Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. Using semiparametric techniques to estimate counterfactual density functions, the authors find that the increase in the minimum wage had an equalizing effect in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, but not in Chile. This increase accounted for a considerable part of the decline in wage inequality, which was the result of compression at the lower tail of the wage distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper investigates the impact of the incidence of the Zika virus on birth rates in Brazil. We estimated a difference‐in‐differences model that explicitly considers the spatial interaction of virus incidence, measuring its impact on the affected municipalities and their neighbours—not directly affected. Our results show that directly affected municipalities experienced a 1.7% decrease in birth rates in 2016 and 2.5% in 2017, while municipalities close to those affected—but not directly affected—showed reductions of 1.2% and 2.1% for the same periods. Moreover, the evidence shows that the effect was not guided by biological effects and was concentrated among younger women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive ionospheric studies were conducted to support the initial phase of system design approval for the existing SLS‐4000 GBAS installed at Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (formerly Galeão International Airport) (GIG) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This paper focuses on determining the broadcast value of the standard deviation of vertical ionospheric gradients (or σvig) that is required to bound ionospheric spatial gradients in Brazil under nominal conditions during daytime hours. The time‐step method is useful for gaining sufficient samples at distances less than the physical separation distance of ground stations and was utilized to estimate ionospheric spatial gradients. A new method called "geometric similarity" was developed to estimate ionospheric temporal gradients and evaluate the temporal effect added to the bounding σvig values. As a result, a σvig of 13 mm/km, including a temporal gradient contribution of approximately 2 mm/km, is conservative enough to bound ionospheric spatial decorrelation for daytime GBAS operations in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city of Fernandópolis, located in the countryside of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, imposed a juvenile curfew in 2005. This decision was not made at the municipal or state level, but in a courtroom. Subsequently, other municipalities in the state of São Paulo decided to adopt a juvenile curfew. To assess the effect of the curfew on reducing crime, this paper uses the difference‐in‐differences estimation to compare its impact, relative to municipalities that did not adopt a curfew. The results suggest that the curfew led to a decrease of 17.9% in thieves per thousand inhabitants in municipalities that adopted it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amphibians are one of the most species‐rich vertebrate taxa, with diverse and complex reproductive behaviors. Even though mate recognition plays a vital role in reproductive success, unusual amplexus with non‐suitable mates (misdirected amplexus) have been reported to occur in the wild. Misdirected amplexus may decrease fitness, thus likely having ecological and evolutionary consequences and their frequency might increase with human‐induced changes in habitat. However, it is still unclear what promotes this unusual behavior and how widespread it is at spatial and phylogenetic scales. To fill this gap, we compiled a global database of misdirected amplexus events from literature and personal observations, with detailed information on environmental, geographical, and behavioral aspects of reported events. Furthermore, we discuss its spatial, temporal, and phylogenetic patterns. We provide a data set of 378 misdirected amplexus events for 156 amplectant species distributed across 69 genera and 18 families distributed in 52 countries in all continents except Antarctica. We collected data published or collected during the last 100 years, from 1920 to 2020, with information on the hour, month, and year of the misdirected amplexus events. We recorded a total of 282 interspecific amplexus, 46 necrophiliac amplexus, and 50 amplexus with objects or non‐amphibian species, with the United States and Brazil being the countries with the highest number of records. Misdirected amplexus did not occur equally in all zoogeographical realms, with most events occurring in the Neotropical and Nearctic realms. Interspecific amplexus was especially represented in the Neotropical and Mediterranean regions. Most events involved three species‐rich globally distributed families (Bufonidae, Ranidae, and Hylidae) but misdirected amplexus was widespread in the phylogeny. We provide a comprehensive data set of misdirected amplexus for anurans, with our results showing that it occurs extensively in the wild and across the globe. This data set provides a baseline for understanding misdirected amplexus and their spatial, temporal, and phylogenetic patterns. Likewise, this data set offers a baseline to test the environmental, ecological, and ethological drivers behind this reproductive behavior and we encourage researchers to report detailed observations of misdirected amplexus to better understand this process and its potential costs at the individual and population levels. The data are not copyright restricted; this data paper should be cited when data are used for publication, and the authors would appreciate being notified of research projects or teaching purposes when these data are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates a structural dynamic equilibrium model of the Brazilian labor market in order to study trade-induced transitional dynamics. The model features a multi-sector economy with overlapping generations, heterogeneous workers, endogenous accumulation of sector-specific experience, and costly switching of sectors. The model's estimates yield median costs of mobility ranging from 1.4 to 2.7 times annual average wages, but a high dispersion of these costs across the population. In addition, sector-specific experience is imperfectly transferable across sectors, leading to additional barriers to mobility. Using the estimated model for counterfactual trade liberalization experiments, the main findings are: (1) there is a large labor market response following trade liberalization but the transition may take several years; (2) potential aggregate welfare gains are significantly reduced due to the delayed adjustment; (3) trade-induced welfare effects depend on initial sector of employment and on worker demographics such as age and education. The experiments also highlight the sensitivity of the transitional dynamics with respect to assumptions regarding the mobility of capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neophysopella tropicalis, one of the causal agents of Asian grapevine leaf rust (AGLR), can cause severe epidemics in Brazil that lead to yield losses in commercial vineyards. An early detection of the pathogen by air sampling of urediniospores on spore traps or in symptomless leaves would be valuable to multiple studies, such as epidemics modelling, risk forecasting, monitoring of pathogen introductions in rust‐free areas, and predicting the beginning of epidemics. This study developed a quantitative PCR (qPCR) protocol to quantify N. tropicalis urediniospores attached to adhesive tapes and in grapevine leaves before symptom appearance. A specific primer pair was designed based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence region of the AGLR pathogen. Standard amplification curves using genomic DNA from urediniospores of N. tropicalis and from urediniospores attached to adhesive tapes were established. Grapevine leaves inoculated with N. tropicalis were collected at 2, 5, and 7 days postinoculation (dpi). One primer pair (580F/720R) amplified a 140 bp product in all AGLR isolates but did not amplify products of other rust genera, such as Phakopsora, Puccinia, Hemileia, Tranzschelia, Cerotelium, and Coleosporium. As little as 0.1 pg DNA and 10 urediniospores of N. tropicalis attached to adhesive tapes could be detected. qPCR enabled the detection of the pathogen as early as 2 dpi, before symptom appearance. This method can be used to monitor N. tropicalis inoculum in grapevine‐growing areas and to quantify symptomless infections of the AGLR pathogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food security and nutrition is a multidimensional theme consisting of three pillars: food access, availability, and sufficiency. Given food security and nutrition's extent, its measures are usually limited. To address these limitations, this paper proposes the creation of a disaggregated food insecurity index for Brazilian states, with the three dimensions in mind. The results show that while food availability elevates the average of the index, the sufficiency still is a problem. Even though the distribution of and access to food in Brazil has increased in the last years, it was not combined with policies that guarantee its safety and quality, reinforcing the need for specific interventions considering regional particularities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Astyanax brucutu is a peculiar species of Neotropical tetra endemic from the Chapada Diamantina, a large plateau in northeastern Brazil. Individuals of this species undergo a dramatic ontogenetic shift in their diet that is accompanied by equally remarkable changes in their feeding apparatus. Whereas juveniles of A. brucutu feed mostly on algae, adults feed almost exclusively on an endemic species of hydrobiid snail and other associated living organisms that inhabit their dead shells (including infaunal invertebrates and algae). Skeletal adaptations associated with this change in diet were previously reported, but until now, the changes in the musculature remained mostly unknown. The present paper describes the facial and gular muscles, as well as the buccal ligaments of A. brucutu in different life stages, and identifies the major ontogenetic changes in these systems associated with the diet shift in the species. Such changes primarily involve expansions of specific portions of the adductor mandibulae and associated tendons and ligaments that likely represent adaptations to increase the biting power necessary to crush copious amounts of shells ingested by larger individuals of A. brucutu. Those adaptations are absent in specimens of any size of Astyanax cf. fasciatus, a sympatric congener lacking durophagous feeding habits. Anatomical comparisons and landmark‐based principal components analysis (PCA) suggest that most specializations to durophagy in A. brucutu arose by peramorphosis. We also found that several of the muscular specializations of adults of A. brucutu are paralleled in species of Creagrutus and Piabina, two other characid genera distantly related to Astyanax, but that also feed on hard food items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have focused on vegetation across forest edges to study impacts of edges created by human activities on forest structure and composition, or patterns of vegetation at inherent natural edges. Our objective was to create a database of plant‐related variables across different types of edges from various studies (mainly from across Canada, but also in Brazil and Belize) to facilitate edge research. We compiled data on vegetation along more than 300 transects perpendicular to forest edges adjacent to clear‐cuts, burned areas, bogs, lakes, barrens, insect disturbances, and riparian areas from 24 studies conducted over the past three decades. Data were compiled for more than 400 plant species and forest structure variables (e.g., trees, logs, canopy cover). All data were collected with a similar sampling design of quadrats along transects perpendicular to forest edges, but with varying numbers of transects and quadrats, and distances from the edge. The purpose for most of the studies was either to determine the distance of edge influence (edge width) or to explore the pattern of vegetation along the edge to interior gradient. We provide data tables for the cover of plant species and functional groups, the species and size of live and dead trees, the density of saplings, maximum height of functional groups and shrub species, and the cover of functional groups at different heights (vertical distribution of vegetation). The Forest Edge Research Network (FERN) database provides extensive data on many variables that can be used for further study including meta‐analyses and can assist in answering questions important to conservation efforts (e.g., how is distance of edge influence from created edges affected by different factors?). We plan to expand this database with subsequent studies from the authors and we invite others to contribute to make this a more global database. The data are released under a CC0 license. When using these data, we ask that you cite this data paper and any relevant publications listed in our metadata file. We also encourage you to contact the first author if you are planning to use or contribute to this database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses multiple cointegration analysis to estimate simultaneously a monetary reaction function and the determinants of expected inflation for Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. In addition, M-GARCH modeling is used to test for the presence of volatility spillovers between the monetary stance and inflation expectations. The analysis shows that there are long-term relationships between the interest rate, expected inflation, and the inflation target, and that greater volatility in the monetary stance increases the volatility of expected inflation in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates species richness and species occupancy frequency distributions (SOFD) as well as patterns of abundance–occupancy relationship (SAOR) in Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) in a subtropical area. A total of 82 species and 1983 individuals were noted from 73 permanent and temporal water bodies (lakes and ponds) in the Pampa biome in southern Brazil. Odonate species occupancy ranged from 1 to 54. There were few widely distributed generalist species and several specialist species with a restricted distribution. About 70% of the species occurred in <10% of the water bodies, yielding a surprisingly high number of rare species, often making up the majority of the communities. No difference in species richness was found between temporal and permanent water bodies. Both temporal and permanent water bodies had odonate assemblages that fitted best with the unimodal satellite SOFD pattern. It seems that unimodal satellite SOFD pattern frequently occurred in the aquatic habitats. The SAOR pattern was positive and did not differ between permanent and temporal water bodies. Our results are consistent with a niche‐based model rather than a metapopulation dynamic model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key assumption in regression discontinuity analysis is that the distribution of potential outcomes varies smoothly with the running variable around the cutoff. In many empirical contexts, however, this assumption is not credible; and the running variable is said to be manipulated in this case. In this paper, we show that while causal effects are not point identified under manipulation, one can derive sharp bounds under a general model that covers a wide range of empirical patterns. The extent of manipulation, which determines the width of the bounds, is inferred from the data in our setup. Our approach therefore does not require making a binary decision regarding whether manipulation occurs or not, and can be used to deliver manipulation‐robust inference in settings where manipulation is conceivable, but not obvious from the data. We use our methods to study the disincentive effect of unemployment insurance on (formal) reemployment in Brazil, and show that our bounds remain informative, despite the fact that manipulation has a sizable effect on our estimates of causal parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to provide measurement properties evaluation and factor analysis of the Brazilian version of the diabetic foot ulcer scale‐short form (DFS‐SF). This methodological study evaluated the measurement properties of the DFS‐SF by ceiling and floor effect reliability, responsiveness, and structural construct validity. The study included 290 people with diabetic foot under regular follow‐up in a specialised outpatient clinic in inland São Paulo. Reliability was assessed by internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability. Ceiling and floor effects were assessed by the percentage of participants who scored the 15% worst (floor) and 15% best (ceiling) possible scale results. Validity was tested by correlating the instrument values with the domains of the Brazilian version of the Short Form Health Survey (SF‐36). Responsiveness (n = 34) was accessed through the wound area obtained by photography and evaluated by the Image J Features program and the DFS‐SF score at two moments, with a 4‐week interval between them. The instrument had good evidence of reliability, shown by adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha in domains >0.70) and compound reliability (0.84 > CC > 0.92); and of convergent validity, by significant positive correlations of moderate to strong magnitude with SF‐36. Structural construct validity was examined by applying the DFS‐SF confirmatory factor analysis, which indicated that the Brazilian version of the instrument is properly fitted to the original dimensional structure. The ceiling and floor effect analysis showed no ceiling or floor effects. Responsiveness was observed in the wound area, but not in the DFS‐SF scores in the times. The Brazilian version of the DFS‐SF presented evidence of validity and reliability, suggesting that this instrument is a valid tool for assessing the quality of life of people with diabetic foot in the Brazilian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reuse of water in mining helps reduce the volume of tailings directed to dams, avoiding overloads and ruptures, as occurred in Brumadinho, Brazil. Water reuse in mining requires treatment mainly for removing the surfactant substances used. Photo‐Fenton and UV/H2O2 showed 96% to 98% degradation results of anionic surfactants within 5 minutes, suggesting this technique is faster than biological systems that can take days. This paper aims to study the degradation of a surfactant used in the flotation process by UV/H2O2, Fenton, and photo‐Fenton oxidation techniques. The compound was characterized by FTIR and MALDI‐TOF. In degradation experiments, the variation in reactants concentrations was evaluated with hydrogen peroxide, iron sulphate heptahydrate, and oxalic acid. We used a synthetic solution of surfactant in the reverse flotation of ore with 180 mg/L. The reaction was monitored with TOC analysis and a spectrophotometer throughout the reaction. The UV/H2O2 and Fenton system were studied by varying peroxide and iron concentrations, with 120 minute tests. Additionally, photo‐Fenton concentrations, the pH variation (1.5‐8.0), temperature (15°C, 21°C, and 60°C), and time were evaluated. The results showed the most efficient degradation was that using photo‐Fenton, which achieved total TOC removal using 4500 mg/L of peroxide and 364 mg/L of iron for 330 minutes, while the UV/H2O2 system achieved 29% and 49% TOC removal of the Fenton. It is verified that the oxidative processes can be applied to degrade the surfactants present in the water recovered from the flotation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters have many consequences in terms of human lives, material, economic, and/or environmental damages. Among preventive and mitigation measures, it is recognized that early warning systems (EWS) are an effective and essential tool to minimize damages caused by natural disasters. Using the experience of CEMADEN (National Early Warning and Monitoring Centre of Natural Disasters) in Brazil, this paper aims to investigate, through a systems approach, what factors may interfere with the effectiveness of EWSs. A case study was developed based on interviews with experts from CEMADEN. Those interviews generated cognitive maps that translated the perceptions of the experts and were used to structure the problem and to support the construction of a systemic model. The model allowed the analysis of the EWS, identifying behaviors, as reinforcement and balancing loops, not always intuitive, to support better management and planning decisions to improve the system effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In Latin America, and particularly Brazil, inequality and social exclusion continue to plague the quality of democracy despite two decades of transition and consolidation. Still, in Brazil, the Workers’ Party has been remarkably successful over the past decade, explicitly addressing the problem of social exclusion and ‘incomplete citizenship‘. This paper provides an analysis of the case of Porto Alegre covering the four Workers’ Party municipal administrations from 1989 to the present in order to assess the significance of social incorporation and citizenship for the quality of democracy in Brazil. The paper discusses some conceptual notions that are relevant for the question of democracy in Brazil, particularly the role of citizenship and civil society in ‘deepening’ democracy. Then the paper goes into the evolution and dynamics of Porto Alegre's system of ‘participatory budgeting’. The paper's assessment of this experience with respect to its performance, depth and robustness shows that ‘participatory budgeting’ has had positive effects with respect to the provision of public goods services, the quality of governance, and citizens’ participation in what is seen as a new ‘public space’ shared by the local state and grass roots organisations. The paper concludes by relating the case experience to the question of citizenship, civil society and democracy and by reflecting upon its wider implications for the current and future quality of democracy in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) from different home regions now routinely confront one another in third markets. There is, however, little conceptual or theoretical literature on the determinants of outcome patterns in these contests. This paper offers a first attempt at systematic and parsimonious conceptualization of the issue. In Brazil, for instance, while U.S.-based MNEs such as Coca-Cola and IBM lead in their sectors, other leading U.S. MNEs including Citibank,GE, and Pfizer are outsold by European rivals that appear less competitive globally. Extending theory on the liability of foreignness and firm-specific advantages, we contend that (i) the MNE whose home nation has greater ties to the focal host nation (along geographic, colonial, immigration, linguistic, and institutional dimensions) will lead in that host nation; and (ii) ties notwithstanding, if an MNE's firm-specific advantages are so superior that it outsells a rival MNE in that rival's home market, then it will outsell that rival as well in the focal host market. Based on this we develop a conceptual framework, statistical analysis pertaining to MNE competition in Brazil, and three avenues for fruitful new research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Diversity & Distributions is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Between 2013 and 2017, we carried out nine field missions in the Lago Grande de Curuai floodplain, located in Pará state – North of Brazil – to collect samples for monitoring surface water quality. This site separated from the river by a narrow bank is composed of a network of channels and shallow lakes, a morphology shared by the floodplains of the lower Amazon. A multiparameter probe was used in situ to measure electrical conductivity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, turbidity, depth and a Secchi disk to estimate transparency. Water grab samples were analysed for suspended material, alkalinity, humic acid, phosphorus, nitrogen, carbon and chlorophyll. Sampling stations were distributed over the seven larger lakes in the floodplain and sampled at different periods of the hydrological cycle. The number of samples varied with the floodplain water level, with a minimum of 25 samples for each field visit. This data set is a collection of water quality data to assist in the limnological or biogeochemical studies of surface waters in Amazonian floodplain lakes, and the product of successive French‐Brazilian projects: (1) the Clim‐FABIAM 'Climate changes and Floodplain lake biodiversity in the Amazon Basin: how to cope and help the ecological and economic sustainability' funded by the French Foundation for biodiversity research (FRB), (2) the project Bloom‐ALERT –'Environmental sensitivity and population health vulnerability to cyanobacteria in the Amazon: towards shared indicators' funded by the French‐Brazilian research program GUYAMAZON 2014, and the project (3) 'Ecossistemas das várzeas e biodiversidade: Impactos das mudanças ambientais e climáticas considerando cenários de desenvolvimento sustentáveis' (Project number 490634/2013‐3) funded by the Brazilian National scientific Research Council CNPq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The efficiency of animal‐mediated seed dispersal is threatened by the decline of animal populations, especially in tropical forests. We hypothesise that large‐seeded plants with animal‐mediated dispersal tend to have limited geographic ranges and face an increased risk of extinction due to the potential decline in seed dispersal by large‐bodied fruit‐eating and seed‐dispersing animals (frugivores). Location: Atlantic Forest, Brazil, South America. Taxon: Angiosperms. Methods: First, we collected dispersal‐related traits (dispersal syndrome, fruit size, and seed size), growth form (tree, climber, and other) and preferred vegetation type (open and closed) data for 1052 Atlantic Forest plant species. Next, we integrated these with occurrence records, extinction risk assessments, and phylogenetic trees. Finally, we performed phylogenetic generalised least squares regressions to test the direct and interactive effects of dispersal‐related traits and vegetation type on geographical range size. Results: Large‐seeded species had smaller range sizes than small‐seeded species, but only for species with animal‐mediated dispersal, not for those dispersed by abiotic mechanisms. However, plants with abiotic dispersal had overall smaller range sizes than plants with animal‐mediated dispersal. Furthermore, we found that species restricted to forests had smaller ranges than those occurring in open or mixed vegetation. Finally, at least 29% of the Atlantic Forest flora is threatened by extinction, but this was not related to plant dispersal syndromes. Main Conclusions: Large‐seeded plants with animal‐mediated dispersal may be suffering from dispersal limitation, potentially due to past and ongoing defaunation of large‐bodied frugivores, leading to small range sizes. Other factors, such as deforestation and fragmentation, will probably modulate the effects of dispersal on range size, and ultimately extinction. Our study sheds light on the relationship between plant traits, mutualistic interactions, and distribution that are key to the functioning of tropical forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the impact of economic externalities on the local growth emphasizing the industrial, geographic, and temporal scope of agglomeration economies. Thus, we estimated a spatial dynamic panel model using GMM associated with the use of data at different levels of sectoral aggregation. Estimation takes into account the endogeneity of agglomeration economies. Our database consists of 558 Brazilian regions for 1995–2015. The main results suggest that while externalities act in a local dimension they also have a regional scale. These externalities are determined by their temporal trajectory. The effects of agglomeration economies on local growth are sensitive to the choice of sectoral aggregation. Local growth exhibits positive specialization effects and negative diversity effects. However, greater industrial diversity of neighbouring regions has a positive impact on local growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat fragmentation remains a major focus of research by ecologists decades after being put forward as a threat to the integrity of ecosystems. While studies have documented myriad biotic changes in fragmented landscapes, including the local extinction of species from fragments, the demographic mechanisms underlying these extinctions are rarely known. However, many of them—especially in lowland tropical forests—are thought to be driven by one of two mechanisms: (1) reduced recruitment in fragments resulting from changes in the diversity or abundance of pollinators and seed dispersers or (2) increased rates of individual mortality in fragments due to dramatically altered abiotic conditions, especially near fragment edges. Unfortunately, there have been few tests of these potential mechanisms due to the paucity of long‐term and comprehensive demographic data collected in both forest fragments and continuous forest sites. Here we report 11 years (1998–2009) of demographic data from populations of the Amazonian understory herb Heliconia acuminata (LC Rich.) found at Brazil's Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP). The data set comprises >66,000 plant × year records of 8586 plants, including 3464 seedlings established after the first census. Seven populations were in experimentally isolated fragments (one in each of four 1‐ha fragments and one in each of three 10‐ha fragments), with the remaining six populations in continuous forest. Each population was in a 50 × 100 m permanent plot, with the distance between plots ranging from 500 m to 60 km. The plants in each plot were censused annually, at which time we recorded, identified, marked, and measured new seedlings, identified any previously marked plants that died, and recorded the size of surviving individuals. Each plot was also surveyed four to five times during the flowering season to identify reproductive plants and record the number of inflorescences each produced. These data have been used to investigate topics ranging from the way fragmentation‐related reductions in germination influence population dynamics to statistical methods for analyzing reproductive rates. This breadth of prior use reflects the value of these data to future researchers. In addition to analyses of plant responses to habitat fragmentation, these data can be used to address fundamental questions in plant demography and the evolutionary ecology of tropical plants and to develop and test demographic models and tools. Though we welcome opportunities to collaborate with interested users, there are no restrictions on the use of this data set. However, we do request that those using the data for teaching or research purposes inform us of how they are doing so and cite this paper and the data archive when appropriate. Any publication using the data must also include a BDFFP Technical Series Number in the Acknowledgments. Authors can request this series number upon the acceptance of their article by contacting the BDFFP's Scientific Coordinator or E. M. Bruna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]