Brazil nuts: Benefits and risks associated with contamination by fungi and mycotoxins

The monotypic type genus Bertholletia produces commercially nutritionally harvested edible seeds, Brazil nuts. It is an important product from the Amazon forest in the food production chain, with a 2008 annual world production of 78,000 tonnes, being Brazil responsible for approximately 40% of it. Although there are beneficial nutritional properties, the prevailing mycobiota of Brazil nuts include fungi that are producers of aflatoxins, such as Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A. nomius. Aflatoxins have deleterious effects in consumption considering the global distribution chain, affecting major exporting countries. The present review is focused on the importance of Brazil nuts for the Amazon rainforest, emphasizing on the social and environmental impact of its production, on the mycobiota contamination of seeds, and on the presence of mycotoxins and related food safety aspects.     

How a Pareto frontier complements scenario projections in land use change impact assessment

To evaluate the sustainability of potential agricultural land developments, scenario projections with land use change models are often combined with environmental impact assessments. Although this allows inter-scenario comparison of impacts, it does not permit interpretation of scenarios in the light of theoretically optimal impacts. A Pareto frontier provides this information. We demonstrate this for ethanol production in Goiás, Brazil, in 2030. For a Business-as-Usual scenario projection, the spatial configuration, production costs, and GHG emissions of the production chain are compared with those obtained from spatial optimization and summarized by the Pareto frontier. Projected production costs are 729 $/m³ ethanol, with GHG emissions of 40 kg CO₂-eq/m³ ethanol. The Pareto frontier indicates an improvement potential of ∼50 $/m³ ethanol when keeping emissions fixed, or ∼250 kg CO₂-eq/m³ ethanol when keeping costs fixed. Robust locations having low costs and emissions show where and how improvements are reached, offering instruments for policy (re)design.     

Multi-agent simulator for urban segregation (MASUS): A tool to explore alternatives for promoting inclusive cities

Urban segregation represents a significant barrier to achieving social inclusion in cities. To mitigate this problem, it is necessary to implement policies founded upon a better understanding of segregation dynamics. This paper proposes MASUS, a multi-agent simulator for urban segregation, which provides a virtual laboratory for exploring the impacts of different contextual mechanisms on the emergence of segregation patterns. We illustrate the potential of MASUS through three experiments on segregation in São José dos Campos, a medium-sized city in southeast Brazil. The first experiment compares simulated outputs with empirical data, the second exemplifies the ability of MASUS to test theories, and the third tests an anti-segregation policy. We also discuss limitations of the current version of the model, and we recommend directions for further research.     

Regulatory mechanism for biomass renewable energy in Brazil,a case study of the Brazilian Babassu oil extraction industry

Brazil has launched the PROINFA program, a regulatory mechanism to incentivize renewable electricity generation. In the light of this new framework, the best economical option for cogeneration was analyzed using one of the biomass resources available in Brazil-Babassu. Thus not only the possible power production but also the potential of such a regulatory tool to enhance the electricity production based on this biomass source, was analyzed. The power production was based on a steam power cycle cogeneration technology within the Babassu palm oil extraction industry in Brazil (Orbignya ssp. (Palmae)). Was used as base for this study: the energetic matrix for the oil extraction plants (for the two main profiles: oil extraction and refining only, and greater vertical integration with the production of other associated products obtained from the Babassu palm oil), utilization of an extraction–condensation turbine, and steam production operating at three levels of temperature and pressure (2.06 MPa/350 °C, 4.56 MPa/420 °C and 6.2 MPa/450 °C). To analyze the economic performance, the framework drawn up by the PROINFA was taken. From the analysis, the best economical/technical option for the design of the cogeneration system was found to be in industrial units with extraction and treatment of crude Babassu oil—steam generation at 4.56 MPa and 420 °C and, for units with a more vertically integrated production scheme—steam generated at 6.2 MPa and 450 °C. As a result, it became clear that the given framework may help the development of new renewable energy sources, but it does not give the necessary threshold to start new projects, neither does it incentive the maximization of the power production for this specific biomass resource.     

Substitution and price elasticity estimates using inter-country pooled data in a translog cost model

Pooled data across several developing countries and the U. S. were used to estimate long-run substitution and price elasticities in a translog framework for the paper, iron and steel, and aggregate manufacturing industries. While the quality of the estimates varies across the several industry-specific models, the results suggest higher values for these elasticities than appear commonly used in integrated assessment models. Estimates of own-price elasticities of energy range from − 0.80 to − 1.76 and are comparable to estimates from previous econometric studies in the context of developed countries (− 0.77 to − 0.87). Substitution elasticities show wider variation across countries and industries. For energy and capital they range from − 1.96 to 9.80, for labor and energy from 2.61 to 7.11, and for energy and material from − 0.26 to 2.07.     

巴西矿业投资法律制度概述

文章以巴西海外矿业投资为角度,主要从巴西的矿业资源概况、矿业权管理体系和外商投资法律体系3个方面为主要内容,比较系统地阐释了巴西矿业投资的法律环境,为投资者提供了具有时效性和实用性的相关信息,并给出了关于投资巴西矿业的若干建议。     

Adaptations of renewable energy policies to unstable macroeconomic situations—Case study: Wind power in Brazil

Despite the massive cost reduction in the last decade, wind power generation is generally still more expensive than conventional energy sources which benefit from the exclusion of externality costs in the price structure. Support policies for renewable energies guarantee the economic viability of this type of electrical power generation in many European countries. In Latin America, Brazil has become the pioneer state for renewable energy with the implementation of the PROINFA programme that supports, among other sources, wind power development of 1100 MW. This article presents an overview of the differences between the German and Brazilian wind power promotion policies with a special focus on how PROINFA can be adapted to the unstable macroeconomic situation of Brazil. The document specifically examines the adaptation of wind power promotion policies to large inflation and interest rates in Brazil.     

Situating Fortaleza: Urban space and uneven development in northeastern Brazil

The academic literature on Brazilian cities focuses overwhelmingly upon the metropolises of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. While fruitful in its own right, this research confronts scholars of Latin American cities elsewhere with two ongoing limitations: (1) Despite estimates that nearly one quarter of Brazil’s urban population inhabits the conurbation of Rio and São Paulo, at least 75% of urban space in Brazil, an area populated by roughly 120 million people, is consistently overlooked; and (2) the findings from these two megacities are often (and unfairly) extrapolated across other urban contexts in Brazil, perpetuating lingering misgivings about the overall ‘nature’ of Brazilian cities.In this paper, I consider the Northeast of Brazil, drawing upon my own research from the favela (slum) community of Pirambu, located in the city of Fortaleza, to help understand urban development outside of the Rio/São Paulo corridor. By considering historical circumstances, geographic specificity, theoretical implications, and the course of Brazilian development, I highlight informal urban growth in an oft-overlooked region of Latin America while, at the same time, revealing many of the geographic attributes that give Rio and São Paulo their truly exceptional character. My goal in this work is not to refute the work of others, but rather to underscore the importance of geographic context to socio-spatial processes of urban development.     

深水盐下湖相碳酸盐岩缝洞地震预测

桑托斯盆地F油田位于巴西深水区域的盐岩之下,具有埋藏深、岩性多样、非均质性强的特点。与常规的以孔隙型为主的储层和中国西部“串珠状”的大型溶洞储层不同,研究区碳酸盐岩为深水盐下湖相碳酸盐岩,其溶蚀孔洞孔径小、裂缝类型多,导致地震响应特征极其不明显,常规缝洞预测方法不适用。另外,受上覆巨厚盐岩层的影响,缝洞发育储层段的地震资料分辨率低,增加了利用叠后地震方法预测其分布规律的难度。因此,针对研究区缝洞发育特点,采取井震相结合的思路,以消除泥岩及火成岩岩性干扰为前提,首先进行地震资料优化处理,然后充分利用岩心、FMI测井等资料以及生产漏失等信息,综合分析地震异常可能表达的地质信息,探索了一套适用于深水盐下多种岩性发育背景的小尺度湖相碳酸盐岩缝洞储层地震预测方法。该方法明确了裂缝与孔洞的敏感地震属性,通过联合构造应力场进行裂缝预测,结合波阻抗、孔隙度及CGR等地震反演结果,开展溶蚀孔洞预测,取得了良好的预测效果,对湖相碳酸盐岩缝洞储层预测研究有借鉴意义。     

Lessons learned from Brazilian natural gas industry reform

Over the past decades many countries have reformed their infrastructure industries. Although these reforms have been broadly similar for the most part, aiming at introducing competition in potentially competitive segments, the contexts in which they have been carried out differ. This is due to the past regulatory experience in each country, the maturity of the industry and/or the number of agents when the reform process started. The Brazilian natural gas reform stands out due to the country's singular conditions. The development of the natural gas industry in Brazil was grounded on stepping up supplies through integration with neighboring nations (particularly Bolivia) and establishing a competitive environment by lowering the barriers hampering the arrival of new investors. However, natural gas is located at the crossroads of two main energy chains: oil and hydroelectricity. This article analyzes the Brazilian natural gas reform, and extracts lessons from this process. The low capillarity of transportation and distribution systems continues to be the main bottleneck of the country's natural gas industry. The challenges of the new legal framework are to encourage investments in networks and guarantee supply, to allow the industry to consolidate and mature, against a backdrop of rapid changes in the world market.