O potencial da utilização da ferramenta de mapa de ruído em diferentes escalas de análise

The acoustic mapping is an important tool to plan and control urban noise. It can be used for various purposes, depending on the scale and objective of the study. In Brazil, despite the state of the art research in this area, the methods of computer simulation of impact sound are not required not even to large road infrastructure. Furthermore, it’s very commonly used in a level of municipal scale or an urban area, such as a neighbourhood. However, the use of noise mapping on the scale of the city block, as a tool to assistance in project decisions, is still enough scarce. Thus, the paper aims at demonstrating the potential of this tool in different scales of evaluation. The experimental field occurs in the neighborhood of Petrópolis, Natal / RN, which like other medium-sized cities, goes through rapid urban growth. Through the program SoundPLAN, studies were performed for all neighborhood, predictions with future models for part of the same were made and the influence of initial project decisions were verified. The research demonstrates that the current noise levels are already high in the neighborhood, principally along the arterial roads and the tendency of this situation is to worsen in the future. In addition, in urban areas, buildings can influence the propagation of sound as barriers, such as objects of reflection. To manage noise on the building, project decisions must be thought together, because the choice of form is intimately linked to the implantation of the building on the lot.O mapeamento acústico é uma importante ferramenta de planejamento e controle do ruído urbano. Pode ser utilizado para diversos fins, dependendo da escala e objetivo do estudo. No Brasil, apesar do estado da arte das pesquisas nesta área, os métodos de simulação computacional de impacto sonoro não são exigidos nem mesmo para infraestruturas rodoviárias de grande porte. Além disso, é bastante comum ser utilizado no nível da escala municipal ou de uma área urbana, como em um bairro. Entretanto, o uso do mapa de ruído na escala da quadra, como ferramenta de auxílio nas decisões projetuais, ainda é bastante escasso. Assim, o artigo tem o objetivo demonstrar o potencial dessa ferramenta em diferentes escalas de avaliação. O campo experimental ocorre no Bairro de Petrópolis em Natal/RN, que a exemplo de outras cidades de médio porte, passa por acelerado crescimento urbano. Através do programa SoundPLAN, foram realizados estudos para todo o Bairro, previsões com modelos futuros para uma parcela do mesmo e verificado a influência de decisões iniciais de projeto. A pesquisa demonstra que os níveis sonoros atuais no Bairro já estão elevados, principalmente ao longo das vias arteriais e que a tendência da situação é se agravar no futuro. Além disso, no meio urbano, as edificações podem influenciar a propagação sonora tanto como barreiras, como objetos de reflexão. Para a gestão do ruído no edifício, as decisões de projeto devem ser pensadas juntas, pois a escolha da forma está intimamente ligada à implantação do edifício no lote

As Relações de Trabalho nos Quilombos Campinho da Independência e São José da Serra

A apresentação direciona-se para a abordagem do projeto de pesquisa. A investigaçã abrange dois quilombos: São José, localizado em Valença/RJ e Campinho d Independência, em Paraty/RJ.O objetivo principal é verificar como se dão as relações d trabalho dos quilombolas e seus significados para essa população.Entre os objetivo específicos temos: apreender a história, o sentido de territorialidade e demais elemento de afirmação étnica dos quilombos estudados; identificar a relação com a natureza e manejo da terra e se estes são culturalmente orientados; identificar se há e como se dá mobilização em torno de demandas políticas e sociais; observar as relações sociais qu travam com outros grupos sociais, com o Estado e outros agentes locais ou regionais comparar os dois quilombos pesquisados. A pesquisa vai se valer da observaçã participante, associada ao levantamento documental e bibliográfico, com a possibilidad de eventuais entrevistas em caráter de história de vida. Os resultados alcançados até momento dizem respeito às leituras sobre o tema e às relações da pesquisadora junto à comunidades com a finalidade de explicar os objetivos da pesquisa. As conclusõe preliminares apontam para a organização das duas comunidades em torno da tomada d decisões coletivas e acerca dos desafios inerentes à pesquisa social

Considerando a questão da interoperabilidade

This article concerns the path taken during my scientific research related to the construction and management of digital assets for the design, development, and management of databases, within the scope of the INET-md in Portugal. Its general objective is to facilitate the interoperability, Web dissemination, search, and retrieval of the INET-md's digital collections. This investigation aims to reinforce the alliance between the areas of Information Science and Computer Science. From the Information Science, it brings the applications used for organization, management, and publication of digital assets collections on the Web; and from the Computer Science, it brings syntactic concepts (metadata and protocols) to communicate and exchange data and semantic concepts (ontologies and semantic annotations) to describe data. Both types of concepts can promote interoperability between distinct digital repositories and platforms, providing improvements in information search and retrieval activities.Este artigo diz respeito ao caminho percorrido durante a minha investigação científica relacionada à construção e gestão de ativos digitais para a conceção, desenvolvimento e gestão de bases de dados, no âmbito do INET-md em Portugal. Seu objetivo geral é facilitar a interoperabilidade, disseminação na Web, busca e recuperação das coleções digitais do INET-md. Esta investigação visa reforçar a aliança entre as áreas de Ciência da Informação e Ciência da Computação. Da Ciência da Informação, traz os aplicativos utilizados para organização, gestão e publicação de acervos de ativos digitais na Web; e da Ciência da Computação, traz conceitos sintáticos (metadados e protocolos) para comunicar e trocar dados e conceitos semânticos (ontologias e anotações semânticas) para descrever dados. Ambos os tipos de conceitos podem promover a interoperabilidade entre distintos repositórios e plataformas digitais, proporcionando melhorias nas atividades de busca e recuperação de informações.publishe

Administration of hCG on the seventh day after initiation of estrus may circumvent negative effects of cervical relaxation protocol in sheep: Preliminary results.

Cervical relaxation with association of estradiol benzoate, cloprostenol and oxytocin allows a cervical transposition and embryo collection in sheep by the non-surgical method (Fonseca et al., Theriogenology, 86: 144-151, 2016). However, in recipients, the use of this protocol becomes impracticable due to the use of cloprostenol, which is a luteolytic agent. Sheep are known to form accessory luteal bodies after hCG administration seven days after the onset of estrus (Castro et al., Anim. Reprod., 12: 148, 2015). Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a cervical relaxation protocol in embryo recipient ewes without compromising future gestation. The data were presented in a descriptive way. Thirteen ewes were observed in estrus out of 24 females submitted to the synchronization protocol. The pregnancy rate were 75.0% (3/4) in G1, 0.0% in G2 (0/5) and 50.0% in G3 (2/4). Preliminary results suggest that the association of estradiol benzoate and oxytocin may compromise the onset of pregnancy and that the use of hCG at the end of the protocol in D7 can circumvent partially these negative effects, allowing the establishment of pregnancy

Inflationary scalar spectrum in loop quantum cosmology

In the context of loop quantum cosmology, we consider an inflationary era driven by a canonical scalar field and occurring in the semiclassical regime, where spacetime is a continuum but quantum gravitational effects are important. The spectral amplitude and index of scalar perturbations on an unperturbed de Sitter background are computed at lowest order in the slow-roll parameters. The scalar spectrum can be blue-tilted and far from scale invariance, and tuning of the quantization ambiguities is necessary for agreement with observations. The results are extended to a generalized quantization scheme including those proposed in the literature. Quantization of the matter field at sub-horizon scales can provide a consistency check of such schemes.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figures. v2: typos corrected, discussion improved and extended, new section added. Conclusions are unchange

Administration of HCG seven days after estrous onset increases the pregnancy rate in Toggenburg goats subjected to induction of synchronized estrus and natural mating.

The dominant follicle reaches its maximum diameter on the sixth day after ovulation or seven days after the onset of estrus (Castro et al., Theriogenology, 52: 399-411, 1999). This study investigated the effect of hCG administration on the seventh day after the onset of estrus (D7) on pregnancy rate in Toggenburg goats. The study was conducted during December and January in Piau, MG, Brazil (latitude 21°35?S and longitude 43°15?W). For statistical analysis, the chi-square test was used with a significance level of 5%. The pregnancy rate of the animals receiving hCG was superior (P=0.047) than those receiving saline [90.7% (39/43) and 74.4% (32/43)]. We conclude that the use of hCG seven days after hormonally induced-estrus is an efficient strategy to increase the pregnancy rate in dairy goats

Contrasting patterns of RUNX2 repeat variations are associated with palate shape in phyllostomid bats and New World primates

Establishing the genetic basis that underlies craniofacial variability in natural populations is one of the main topics of evolutionary and developmental studies. One of the genes associated with mammal craniofacial variability is RUNX2, and in the present study we investigated the association between craniofacial length and width and RUNX2 across New World bats (Phyllostomidae) and primates (Catarrhini and Platyrrhini). Our results showed contrasting patterns of association between the glutamate/alanine ratios (Q/A ratio) and palate shape in these highly diverse groups. In phyllostomid bats, we found an association between shorter/broader faces and increase of the Q/A ratio. In New World monkeys (NWM) there was a positive correlation of increasing Q/A ratios to more elongated faces. Our findings reinforced the role of the Q/A ratio as a flexible genetic mechanism that would rapidly change the time of skull ossification throughout development. However, we propose a scenario in which the influence of this genetic adjustment system is indirect. The Q/A ratio would not lead to a specific phenotype, but throughout the history of a lineage, would act along with evolutionary constraints, as well as other genes, as a facilitator for adaptive morphological changes.Fil: Ferraz, Tiago. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Rossoni, Daniela M.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Althoff, Sérgio L.. Universidade Regional de Blumenau; BrasilFil: Pissinatti, Alcides. Universidade Federal da Bahia; BrasilFil: Paixão Cortês, Vanessa R.. Centro de Primatologia do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Bortolini, María Cátira. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: González José, Rolando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas; ArgentinaFil: Marroig, Gabriel. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Salzano, Francisco M.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Gonçalves, Gislene L.. Universidad de Tarapacá de Arica; Chile. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Hünemeier, Tábita. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasi

FSH dose and strategy of administration during ovarian stimulation alter the gene expression profile in ovine cumulus-oocyte complexes.

Ovarian stimulation is an important tool to increase the number of oocytes obtained by laparoscopy for the in vitro production of embryos (IVP). In sheep, different concentrations of FSH administered in single dose (SD) or multiple doses (MD) have been adopted. In parallel, the oocyte quality is fundamental for IVP success, so strategies to produce more competent oocytes have been evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the gene expression profile of BCB+ COC from different hormonal protocols of ovarian stimulation in Santa Inês ewes. To achieve that, a cross-over design was used, where 12 pluriparous ewes had their follicular wave synchronized (Balaro et al., Domest Anim Endocrinol, 54: 10-14, 2016). At 80 h after progestogen implant removal, all ewes received a new vaginal sponge and it started the stimulation by administration of: 80 (Group 1 - 80-SD) or 120 (Group 2 - 120-SD) mg FSH (Folltropin-V®, Bioniche Animal Health, Ontario, Canada) and 300 IU of eCG both in single dose, or 80 (Group 3 - 80-MD) or 120 (Group 4 - 120-MD) in decreasing doses (50/30/20%) every 12 h. The COCs were recovered by laparoscopy and classified morphologically in grade I / II (homogeneous ooplasm and more than 3 cumulus cells layers), III (homogeneous ooplasm and less than 3 cumulus cells layers or partially denuded) and IV (heterogeneous ooplasm or degenerate). For inference of the development competence GI, II and III COCs were stained with bright cresyl blue (BCB) and classified into: BCB+ (competent) and BCB- (non-competent). These variables were compared by ANOVA followed by Tukey test. The abundance of mRNA that encodes proteins associated with steroidogenesis (STAR, FSHr, LHr and ER?), oocyte quality (MATER, BMP15, GDF9 and ZAR1) and apoptosis (BAX and Bcl-2) was assessed by real-time qPCR normalized with GAPDH in BCB+ COCs. The abundance of gene transcripts associated with steroidogenesis was down-regulated (P <0.05) with increasing FSH concentration, when administration was performed in a single dose (80-SD and 120-SD). On the other hand, when the administration was performed in MD, only the LHr was down-regulated (80-MD and 120-MD). In the 80-MD group, FSHr and Er? were down-regulated (P <0.05) in comparison with 80-SD. For genes related with oocyte quality, 80-MD showed up-regulation (P <0.05) to MATER (when compared to 80-SD), ZAR1 and MATER (compared to 120-SD). Nonetheless, apoptosis genes were not affected. These data demonstrate that the FSH dose and strategy of administration affect the gene expression profile in ovine COCs. Subsequent studies are necessary to assess the effect of this change on maturation rate and developmental competence.Proceedings of the 31st Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Embryo Technology Society (SBTE), Cabo de Santo Agostinho, PE, Brazil, August 17 to 19, 2017

Intravaginal hCG administration increases pregnancy rate in artificially inseminated cyclic dairy goats subjected to estrous synchronization.

Pregnancy establishing after artificial insemination (AI) in goats depends on many important aspects, including time of AI, ovulation and premature luteal regression. The knowledge of ovulation in relation to estrus onset, ovulation induction and strategies to prevent PLR can be valuable tools to increase pregnancy rate. This study tested the effect of hCG administration on pregnancy rate in artificially inseminated dairy cyclic goats after estrus synchronization Results of this study showed that hCG administration associated to AI significantly increased pregnancy rates in goats after estrus synchronization with dcloprostenol, which can be a valuable and promising tool to be applied in field conditions

Dynamical Dark Energy or Simply Cosmic Curvature?

We show that the assumption of a flat universe induces critically large errors in reconstructing the dark energy equation of state at z>~0.9 even if the true cosmic curvature is very small, O(1%) or less. The spuriously reconstructed w(z) shows a range of unusual behaviour, including crossing of the phantom divide and mimicking of standard tracking quintessence models. For 1% curvature and LCDM, the error in w grows rapidly above z~0.9 reaching (50%,100%) by redshifts of (2.5,2.9) respectively, due to the long cosmological lever arm. Interestingly, the w(z) reconstructed from distance data and Hubble rate measurements have opposite trends due to the asymmetric influence of the curved geodesics. These results show that including curvature as a free parameter is imperative in any future analyses attempting to pin down the dynamics of dark energy, especially at moderate or high redshifts.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. To appear in JCA