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This paper examines how Chinese agribusiness firms are engaging with established systems of private governance in the Brazilian soybean sector and how that engagement is variously accommodated, contested, and configured by local realities that reflect the uneven history of transnational agribusiness development across the Brazilian agro‐export region. Using qualitative data collected at three research sites that represent different historical moments in the Brazilian agro‐export region (Mato Grosso, Goiás, and Bahia), the paper argues that the social structures underlying the particular agrarian histories of these three subregions create unique contexts Chinese firms must navigate, which in turn shapes their engagement with the private agribusiness regime across space. Although the private agribusiness regime is often portrayed as a top‐down system of governance that subjugates the polity to the demands of capital, this framing neglects to understand how that system of power is contested, negotiated, and reshaped on the ground. These three cases serve to historicize the uneven penetration of Chinese firms across the Brazilian soybean sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we analyse the effects of climate change on the recharge and the groundwater flow of the Urucuia Aquifer System in western Bahia State, Brazil (UAS‐BA) in the period 2041–2060. We assessed possible changes and impacts on groundwater recharge with four climate models from the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6): ACCESS‐ESM1‐5, CanESM5, EC‐Earth3 and MIROC6, under scenarios SSP1‐2.6 and SSP5‐8.5 (Shared Socioeconomic Pathways—SSP). Visual Balan 2.0 aquifer recharge assessment code, and the MODFLOW hydrogeological model were used to analyse the impact of future climate changes on the recharge. The projections of relative change in precipitation, under the SSP1‐2.6 scenario, show a precipitation reduction between 5% and 20%, using ACCESS‐ESM1‐5, CanESM5 and EC‐Earth3 models. Using SSP5‐8.5 scenario, these models behave differently, while the CanESM5 and EC‐Earth3 models indicate an even greater decrease in precipitation, with values up to 35%, the ACCESS‐ESM1‐5 projects an increase in precipitation of up to 25%. Using MIROC6, though, an increase of up to 10% in precipitation in the UAS‐BA is expected, under both scenarios. Regarding temperature, all the models agree with a warming in the future varying from 2 to 3°C. Recharge projections calculated using the Visual Balan 2.0 indicated in general a reduction between 8% and 43%. Using the MODFLOW model, the results show a reduction of recharge to the aquifer varying from 3% to 45% using CanESM5, EC‐Earth3 and MIROC6. The ACCESS‐ESM1‐5 has a 26% reduction (5% increase) under SSP1‐2.6 (SSP5‐8.5). Furthermore, projections indicate a downward trend in the water table in the northern portion of UAS‐BA, reaching a maximum drop of up to 12 m with the CanESM5, under SSP5‐8.5 scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Biotropica 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 American Ethnologist 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.)

Background Staged Diabetes Management (SDM) improves glycaemic control and reduces diabetes-related complications in primary care. Methods An 18-month randomized controlled cohort study was conducted in two municipalities in the state of Bahia, Brazil, involving 100 patients with Type 2 diabetes in each municipality. In one municipality, healthcare professionals were trained to use SDM customized protocols for clinical decisions and, in the other municipality, no protocols for diabetes care were implemented. We hypothesized that, in the municipality with SDM trained professionals, patients would have better outcomes, including a fall in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). Results Improvements in some metabolic parameters were observed in the SDM group, including a 22% decrease in mean random glucose, a significant 15% decrease in mean HbA1c, a 6% decrease in systolic blood pressure and an 11% decrease in diastolic blood pressure. There were no differences in body mass index and lipid profile. Conclusions SDM customized algorithms are effective, practical and easy to use in primary healthcare teams with very limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RESUMEN Este artigo analisa a relação entre política e religião no Recôncavo Baiano, região do Nordeste brasileiro, a partir da observação da festa afro-católica da Irmandade da Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte. No Brasil, religiões de origem africana têm sido consideradas exemplos idealizados de mistura cultural, especialmente quando combinadas às tradições européias. Entretanto, e mais recentemente, militantes que lutam contra desigualdades raciais têm tomado estas mesmas práticas religiosas como símbolos de resistência cultural. Enquanto os políticos da elite invocam a Irmandade como símbolo de mistura harmoniosa, militantes anti-racista a interpretam como demonstração de resistência negra à dominação. Neste contexto, o artigo investiga de que modo as praticantes interpretam esta apropriação simbólica em torno de suas práticas religiosas. Especificamente, examino de que modo as irmãs da Boa Morte se utilizam destes dois discursos, o da mistura harmoniosa e o da resistência negra, para o benefício de seus próprios objetivos. This article focuses on the intersection of religion and politics in the Recôncavo region of the state of Bahia in northeastern Brazil. African-derived religions, particular practices that combine African and European traditions, have long been cited as examples of the Brazilian ideal of cultural mixture. More recently, however, activists struggling against racial inequality have sought to claim African-derived religions as emblems of cultural defiance. Focusing on the Afro-Catholic festival of the Sisterhood of Our Lady of Boa Morte in the state of Bahia, I investigate how elite politicians invoke this sisterhood as a symbol of harmonious cultural and racial mixture while antiracist activists simultaneously claim it as an emblem of black resistance. Against this backdrop, I explore how practitioners have responded to and engaged politicized representations of their religion. In particular, I examine how the sisters of Boa Morte negotiate the discourses of harmonious mixture and black resistance for their own purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new species Mollugo viscosa Thulin & Harley is described from Minas Gerais in eastern Brazil. It was previously part of the recently published M. brasiliensis Thulin & Harley, a species that was found to be non‐monophyletic in molecular phylogenetic analyses. Mollugo brasiliensis is here divided into a northern species (M. brasiliensis s.str.) in Bahia and a southern species (M. viscosa sp. nov.) in Minas Gerais. The new species differs from M. brasiliensis in its denser and more viscous indumentum, and in its distinctly smaller seeds with smaller tubercles and a smaller hilar peg, and from its sister species M. ulei by being a perennial herb with bisexual flowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]