Environmental stewardship and the fate of the Brazilian Amazon : a case study of the Madeira Complex

The present paper analyzes a case study of the Madeira Complex, which plans to build two massive dams on the Amazon River\u27s largest tributary, to identify religious discourse in ecological debates. Three sides of the debate are investigated in order to analyze the various perspectives of proper human relations with the rest of nature that emerge. The Brazilian government and large corporations support the project as a necessary step to meet future national energy needs, the indigenous groups settled in federal territories that are directly affected by the environmental impact of the project and have mixed opinions, and environmentalist organizations starkly opposed to the project because of its impact on the environment. Each perspective reflects a Christian model of stewardship, where humans are responsible for the management of the rest of nature, and even the indigenous worldview adapts this dominant perspective in order to gain visibility in the debate. This debate reveals how the stewardship model can be a subtle form of neo-colonization of indigenous people and of ecosystems

Necessary Optimality Conditions for Continuous-Time Optimization Problems with Equality and Inequality Constraints

The paper is devoted to obtain first and second order necessary optimality conditions for continuous-time optimization problems with equality and inequality constraints. A full rank type regularity condition along with an uniform implicit function theorem are used in order to establish such necessary conditions.Comment: 20 page

Exploração do Trabalho Infantil no Brasil: Consequências e Reflexões

O presente artigo procura alertar sobre os impactos negativos da inserção ocupacional precoce para o desenvolvimento humano (medido em nível de escolaridade) e produtivo do indivíduo (medido em termos de salário e condição de ocupação). Para tal, utilizaram-se informações colhidas nos microdados da PNAD de 1995 e 2005. A analise descritiva mostra que, apesar da relativa melhoria no que se refere ao retardamento da entrada do indivíduo no mercado de trabalho, o trabalho infantil é um fenômeno social ainda presente no Brasil e que atinge com maior intensidade e de forma discriminatória as regiões menos desenvolvidas. Por sua vez, a analise quantitativa comprova que o adiamento do ingresso ocupacional é fator decisivo na elevação da escolaridade, no salário recebido e no tipo de ocupação desempenhada na fase adulta.Inserção ocupacional, Trabalho infantil, Educação, Salário

Development of an integrated process of membrane filtration for harvesting microalgae and recovery of high-value compounds

The work presented in this PhD thesis aims at developing an integrated method for harvesting Dunaliella salina, both in the non-carotenogenic and in the carotenoid-rich phases, using membrane processes and centrifuges. Additionally, the ultimate goal is the recovery of high-value compounds for application in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Dunaliella salina is a halotolerant green microalga, which under low nitrogen and high salinity conditions, produces carotenoids. This microalga is very fragile due to lack of a rigid cell wall and, consequently, can be easily ruptured when an excessive shear stress is applied. Firstly, the pre-concentration of Dunaliella salina by membrane filtration prior to a final harvesting step by centrifugation was performed. The aim of the integrated harvesting process was to minimise the overall energy expenditure and reduce capital costs, while assuring a minimal loss of cell integrity. For the harvesting experiments the main parameters were optimised, namely: cross-flow velocity (vcross-flow), transmembrane pressure (TMP), membrane molecular weight cut-off (MWCO), backflush protocol and permeate volumetric flux (JV). The harvesting of non-carotenogenic Dunaliella salina by ultrafiltration, under controlled transmembrane pressure, allowed a final concentration factor of 5.9 and an average permeate flux of 31 L/(m2.h). The harvesting of carotenoid-rich Dunaliella salina, under controlled permeate flux, reached a concentration factor of 10, at a permeate volumetric flux of 21 L/(m2.h). The integrated process led to a reduction of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and energy consumption of 70% and 76%, respectively, when comparing with harvesting only with centrifuges (one-step approach). Additionally, several oxidation processes were studied for treatment of the permeate recovered, after membrane harvesting, in order to assess its recycle as cultivation medium for Dunaliella salina. The permeate was treated either by ozonation or by UV radiation, and the different types of permeate were tested as cultivation media. The results obtained indicate that the permeate treated by UV with addition of H2O2 was best suited for the growth of carotenoid-rich Dunaliella salina. Nevertheless, the use of untreated permeate seems a reasonable alternative, considering that it might be the most cost efficient solution. Finally, a Dunaliella salina biorefinery process was developed for the recovery and fractionation of added-value compounds, with a particular focus on the recovery of polar lipids. This work combined extraction with REACH solvents, a saponification reaction and organic solvent nanofiltration processes to obtain distinct fractions of compounds. Overall, high recoveries were obtained (85% of carotenoids, 86% of glycerol, 94% of polar lipids and 95% of proteins), as well as fractions with high product enrichment in polar lipids and in glycerol

Feasibility Study on the implementation of a Safety Management System at euroAtlantic airways under EASA Part M

In the last decades, it has been verified an exponential growth in commercial aviation, and there are predictions that the global fleet jets will duplicate in number over the next twenty years. In order to prevent the number of accidents from following the trend, it is necessary to ensure the safety level intended in accordance with industry standards. In this context, considering the improvements verified by the implementation of a Safety Management System in other aspects of the aeronautical sector and given the growing complexity of aircraft technology, as to the related continuing airworthiness requirements, the European Aviation Safety Agency considers a need that Continuing Airworthiness10 Management Organisations proceed with the implementation of a Safety Management System11 . This dissertation thus consists of a feasibility study on the adaptation of euroAtlantic’s Safety Management System so that its implementation incorporates the activities carried out under Part-M12 . It was carried out bibliographic research on safety management systems and management risk systems which helped to understand the processes previously implemented by the company. Subsequently, it was performed an analysis of Opinion 06/201613 issued by European Union Aviation Safety Agency that proposes the integration of a new Annex VC (Part-CAMO) into Regulation 1321/201414 (which contains Part-M requirements). Then it is conducted an individual questionnaire with each of the engineering and planning and operational control staff in order to understand their understanding regarding the companys safety and what it expects from them within that scope. After the initial investigation process, the present research identified different aspects that should be improved in management of airworthiness tasks in order for them to agree with the Safety standards intended by the company in accordance with the regulations that will be imposed; with that in view it proposed measures to achieve that improvement. At a final stage, with the intent of measuring the Safety performance of euroAtlantic respecting the effectiveness of the measures proposed and compliance with the Part-CAMO requirements considered relevant during this dissertation, the present research proposes to the Safety department and the DME, Safety Indicators to be evaluated in the future, as the metric that should be used to measure them and the method to collect the information.Nas últimas décadas tem-se verificado um crescimento exponencial na aviação comercial, sendo que existem previsões de que a frota global de jatos comerciais duplicará em número nos próximos vinte anos. De modo a evitar que o número de acidentes siga a mesma tendência, é necessário assegurar o nível de segurança operacional pretendido de acordo com os standards da industria. Neste contexto, considerando as melhorias sentidas pela implementação de um Sistema de Gestão de Segurança Operacional noutras vertentes do setor aeronáutico e dado o crescimento na complexidade da tecnologia das aeronaves, assim como dos requisitos de aeronavegabilidade continuada associados, a European Union Aviation Safety Agency considera necessário que as organizações que realizem atividades de gestão de aeronavegabilidade continuada1 procedam também à implementação de um Sistema de Gestão de Segurança Operacional2 . Esta dissertação consiste assim num estudo de viabilidade de adaptação do Sistema de Gestão de Segurança Operacional da euroAtlantic para que a sua implementação incorpore as atividades realizadas no âmbito da Parte-M3 . Foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica sobre sistemas de gestão de segurança operacional e sistemas de gestão de risco que serviu de auxílio no entendimento dos processos implementados previamente pela empresa. Posteriormente, foi efetuada uma análise ao parecer No 06/20164 emitido pela European Union Aviation Safety Agency que propõe a integração de um novo anexo VC (“Part-CAMO”) no regulamento No 1321/20145 (no qual constam os requisitos de Parte-M). Seguidamente é realizado um questionário individual a cada um dos funcionários dos departamentos de engenharia e do planeamento e controlo operacional com o intuito de perceber qual a sua perceção em relação à organização em termos de segurança operacional e o que a mesma espera deles neste âmbito. Após o processo de pesquisa inicial identificaram-se aspetos que deveriam ser melhorados nas tarefas de gestão de aeronavegabilidade para que estejam de acordo com os standards de Segurança Operacional pretendidos pela empresa de acordo com os regulamentos que lhe serão impostos; neste sentido efetuou-se uma proposta de medidas a tomar para atingir esta melhoria. Num estágio final de modo a medir a performance de Segurança Operacional da euroAtlantic no que diz respeito à efetividade das medidas propostas e do cumprimento dos requisitos da Parte-CAMO considerados relevantes durante esta dissertação, propõem-se, Indicadores de Segurança Operacional a serem avaliados no futuro, assim como a métrica segundo a qual os dados devem ser medidos e o método para a informação a ser recolhida

Analysis of constructed wetland performance for irrigation reuse

Most of the wastewater treatment systems in small rural communities of the Cova da Beira region (Portugal) consist of constructed wetlands (CW) with horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF). It is believed that those systems allow the compliance of discharge standards as well as the production of final effluents with suitability for reuse. Results obtained in a nine-month campaign in an HSSF bed pointed out that COD and TSS removal were lower than expected. A discrete sampling also showed that removal of TC, FC and HE was not enough to fulfill international irrigation goals. However, the bed had a very good response to variation of incoming nitrogen loads presenting high removal of nitrogen forms. A good correlation between mass load and mass removal rate was observed for BOD5, COD, TN, NH4-N, TP and TSS, which shows a satisfactory response of the bed to the variable incoming loads. The entrance of excessive loads of organic matter and solids contributed for the decrease of the effective volume for pollutant uptake and therefore, may have negatively influenced the treatment capability. Primary treatment should be improved in order to decrease the variation of incoming organic and solid loads and to improve the removal of COD, solids and pathogenic. The final effluent presented good physical–chemical quality to be reused for irrigation, which is the most likely application in the area

(INTER)PERSONAL STATEMENTS: A DISCURSIVE ANALYSIS OF COLLEGE APPLICATION ESSAYS WRITTEN IN ENGLISH BY US AMERICAN AND BRAZILIAN STUDENTS

The field of discourse analysis has produced extensive research on various aspects of genres that permeate everyday life as well as on the specialized discourses of academic and professional communities. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of studies on the personal statement, which, despite being a key genre of the admissions processes to globalized (and English language-dominated) institutions of higher education, remains unexplored in Brazilian educational culture. The present study addresses this gap by examining samples of this unique genre produced by US American and Brazilian students admitted to English-language universities. The analysis principally draws from Dominique Maingueneau’s scholarship on the “scene” of a genre and the Bakhtin Circle’s ideas on the social and generic nature of utterances. The main purpose is to compare and contrast rhetorical appeals to ethos and pathos made by both groups of students engaged in the high-stakes enterprise of writing about their values, beliefs, and goals with unknown readers/evaluators in mind. The results shed light on some of the linguistic and intercultural challenges that Brazilian students face when communicating in English within unfamiliar scenes of writing, the knowledge of which can shed light on ways to facilitate successful intercultural communication