Cassava Residues Could Provide Sustainable Bioenergy for Cassava Producing Nations

Many cassava producing nations lack suitable energy availability and sufficiency. Just 10% of the population in Haiti receive power from the national electric grid. The proportion is 7% for Mozambique. In both countries, deforestation is extensive due to dependence on wood and charcoal for 70 and 85% of energy requirement respectively. In the case of Ghana, although biomass accounts for 64% of national energy supply, the dependence on primary biomass energy sources like wood and charcoal has led to increased loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and health problems. Prospects for the use of cassava peeling residues as a source of biomethane to mitigate these constraints have received little attention. In this chapter, the advantages and benefits of biomass energy, along with the potential for cassava as a feedstock and rationale for anaerobic digestion are highlighted. Depending on the quantity of cassava root processed by individual countries, the energy recovered from cassava peeling residues could satisfy up to 100% of national energy requirements

Ideologia de gênero e escola sem partido: Das proposições legislativas aos desdobramentos nas políticas do livro e curriculares.

This paper aims to gather the main issues identified in the development of the Scientific Initiation Project that dealt with the legislative proposals that have impacted on the debate on Education in the last three years. Our initial objective was to understand how the political scenario (thought from the Chamber of Deputies), marked by a discourse against the "gender ideology", would cross the National Program of Didactic Book - Sciences and Biology. However, in addition, with the study, we perceive the setbacks in relation to the defense of human rights and democracy that have reverberated in the School in order to put under threat the autonomy of the teacher, defining the knowledge that must be considered legitimate from a supposed "nonpartisan school". It was documentary research with primary source and the main basis for data collection was the Legislative Information System of the Chamber of Deputies. We established the period from February 1, 2015, which corresponds to the beginning of the 55th Legislature until the last movement of the process before the end of this text, on November 20, 2018. The results of the project were translated in this work, through two articles that contemplate the seemingly separate issues: the first emphasizes the No Party School Bill and the second the propositions that aim to prohibit "gender ideology" in school. We affirm, however, that the separation is for the purpose of understanding the process once the subjects are intertwined, and, not by chance, they are processed in the Federal Chamber. In this way, we recovered the case AriquemesRO, a municipality that was highlighted in the media after the mayor banned the circulation of textbooks to highlight the effects of the speeches delivered in the Federal Chamber and their ways of producing certainties against the school and the knowledge that promote the autonomy and freedom.CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoTrabalho de Conclusão de Curso (Graduação)Esse trabalho tem como objetivo reunir as principais questões identificadas ao desenvolver o Projeto de Iniciação Científica (IC) que tratou sobre as proposições legislativas que têm impactado no debate sobre a Educação nos últimos três anos. Nosso objetivo inicial era o de compreender como o cenário político (pensado a partir da Câmara dos Deputados), marcado por um discurso contra a “ideologia de gênero”, atravessaria o Programa Nacional do Livro Didático - Ciências e Biologia. No entanto, para além disso, com o estudo percebemos os retrocessos em relação à defesa dos direitos humanos e democracia que tem reverberado na Escola de modo a colocar sob ameaça a autonomia do/a professor/a, definindo os saberes que devem ser considerados legítimos a partir de uma suposta “escola sem partido”. Tratou-se de pesquisa documental com fonte primária e a principal base para a coleta de dados foi o Sistema de Informações Legislativas da Câmara dos Deputados. Estabelecemos o período de 01 de fevereiro de 2015 que corresponde ao início da 55ᵃ Legislatura até a última movimentação do processo antes da finalização desse texto, em 20 de novembro de 2018. Os resultados da IC foram traduzidos neste trabalho, por meio de dois artigos que contemplam as questões de forma aparentemente separadas: o primeiro enfatiza o Projeto de Lei Escola Sem Partido e o segundo as proposições que visam proibir a “ideologia de gênero” na escola. Afirmamos, no entanto, que a separação é para fins de compreensão do processo uma vez que os temas estão imbricados, e, não por acaso, tramitam apensados na Câmara Federal. Desse modo, recuperamos o caso Ariquemes-RO, município que recebeu destaque na mídia após o prefeito proibir a circulação de livros didáticos para evidenciar os efeitos dos discursos proferidos na Câmara Federal e suas formas de produzir certezas contra a escola e os saberes que promovem a autonomia e liberdade

Estimação do ângulo de direção por vídeo para veículos autônomos utilizando redes neurais convolucionais multicanais

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (graduação)— Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Ciência da Computação, 2017.A tecnologia de navegação em veículos autônomos consiste em uma aplicação de inteligência artificial ainda em aberto, e tem sido significantemente explorada pela indústria automobilística e tecnológica nos últimos anos devido ao potencial impacto que tal inovação trará ao cotidiano humano. A partir dessa motivação, este trabalho propõe uma metodologia baseada em redes neurais convolucionais (CNN) multicanais capazes de prever o ângulo de direção de um veículo, tendo como única entrada imagens capturadas por uma câmera acoplada na região frontal do veículo. São propostas cinco arquiteturas de redes convolucionais: de 1 canal, 2 canais e 3 canais na etapa de convolução. A partir dos testes realizados utilizando uma base de imagens públicas são apresentadas comparações quantitativas entre os modelos propostos.The navigation technology in autonomous vehicles is an artificial intelligence application which remains unsolved and has been significantly explored by the automotive and technological industries in the last years due to the potential impact that such innovation will bring in the near future. Based on this motivation, this work proposes a methodology grounded on multichannel convolutional neural networks (CNN) capable of predicting the steering angle of an autonomous vehicle, having as only input images captured by a camera attached to the vehicle’s frontal area. It is proposed five convolutional network architectures: 1-channel, 2-channel and 3-channel in the convolution step. Based on the performed tests using a public image dataset, it is presented a quantitative comparison between the proposed models

O “tech” do agro: uma revisão bibliográfica sobre o impacto da aplicação de tecnologias no agronegócio brasileiro

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (Graduação)Este estudo começou a partir de um questionamento sobre a tecnologia e sua implementação no agronegócio brasileiro, dessa forma, verifica que o agronegócio vem crescendo ainda mais no Brasil, pois sua participação é equivalente a 27,4% do PIB brasileiro, e assim, buscou-se verificar os fatores tecnológicos que impulsionam este crescimento, apontando quais seus benefícios e maiores dificuldade na implantação. O objetivo geral deste estudo visa, por meio de uma revisão bibliográfica, apontar os impactos do uso crescente da tecnologia para o agronegócio brasileiro e, além disso, busca-se apresentar algumas das principais ferramentas tecnológicas que podem auxiliar o trabalhador rural, a fim de reduzir custos e minimizar riscos nas produções. A metodologia utilizada neste artigo será a pesquisa bibliográfica, descritiva e exploratória, assim, foram definidos os termos abordados para que sirvam como auxílio na pesquisa sobre os impactos e a importância do uso da tecnologia no agronegócio brasileiro. Dessa forma, pode-se resumir que esta área possui potencial de crescimento, visto que, com a demanda mundial por alimento aumentando gradativamente, muitos países terão dificuldade para suprir essa necessidade

Chemically Assisted Photocatalytic Oxidation System

The chemically assisted photocatalytic oxidation system (CAPOS) has been proposed for destroying microorganisms and organic chemicals that may be suspended in the air or present on surfaces of an air-handling system that ventilates an indoor environment. The CAPOS would comprise an upstream and a downstream stage that would implement a tandem combination of two partly redundant treatments. In the upstream stage, the air stream and, optionally, surfaces of the air-handling system would be treated with ozone, which would be generated from oxygen in the air by means of an electrical discharge or ultraviolet light. In the second stage, the air laden with ozone and oxidation products from the first stage would be made to flow in contact with a silica-titania photocatalyst exposed to ultraviolet light in the presence of water vapor. Hydroxyl radicals generated by the photocatalytic action would react with both carbon containing chemicals and microorganisms to eventually produce water and carbon dioxide, and ozone from the first stage would be photocatalytically degraded to O2. The net products of the two-stage treatment would be H2O, CO2, and O2

Genotypic Diversity and Virulence Traits of Streptococcus mutans

The aim of this study was to compare the genotypic diversity and virulence traits of Streptococcus mutans isolated from carious dentin before and after partial dentin caries removal (PDR) and sealing. Carious dentin samples were obtained three months before and after the PDR and cavity sealing. Up to seven isolates of each morphological type of S. mutans were selected and strain identity was confirmed using gtfB primer. Genotyping was performed by arbitrary primer-PCR (AP-PCR). Acidogenesis and acidurance of the genotypes were evaluated as virulence traits. A paired t-test and a Wilcoxon test were used to compare the virulence of genotypes. A total of 48 representative S. mutans isolates were genotyped (31 before and 17 after the sealing). At least one of the genotypes found before the sealing was also found on dentin after the sealing. The number of genotypes found before the sealing ranged from 2 to 3 and after the sealing from 1 to 2 genotypes. No difference was observed in the acidogenesis and acidurance between genotypes isolated before and after the sealing. In conclusion, genotypic diversity of S. mutans decreased after the PDR and sealing, but the virulence traits of S. mutans remained unchangeable

O oligopólio das Big Four no setor da auditoria externa nas empresas mais negociadas da Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo e a eficiência da Instrução 308/99 da CVM

O objetivo do presente artigo é a análise do mercado de auditoria no Brasil, sua concentração, com foco nas empresas participantes da carteira Ibovespa. É importante salientar que se parte do pressuposto no qual esse mercado no Brasil fica concentrado nas mãos das quatro firmas de auditoria denominadas Big Four, são elas: Ernst Young, Deloitte & Touche, KPMG e PricewaterhouseCoopers. O trabalho introduz o tema trazendo o contexto histórico em que se formou a citada concentração, além de apresentar e relacionar a instrução normativa número 308 da CVM. O texto aborda, ainda, sobre a eficácia da mencionada normativa como também os resultados relevantes de estudos anteriores e a explicação do que se trata o Índice Bovespa. Ao final, esse estudo apresenta os resultados que confirmam a existência da concentração de mercado no âmbito da prestação de serviços de auditoria. Os resultados também põem em dúvida a eficácia da instrução 308 da CVM, pois comprovam que, apesar da obrigatoriedade do rodízio de firmas, essa troca ocorre quase que somente entre quatro empresas diferentes. O texto em pauta foi realizado a partir de análises de referenciais bibliográficos e de pesquisa contábil

Entre sexualidade e jurisdição: discursos sobre homossexualidade nos penitenciais dos séculos XI-XII

A homossexualidade está envolta em diversos conceitos e discursos que se alteram continuamente ao longo da narrativa histórica. Nos séculos XI-XII, os discursos envolvendo as relações sexuais entre indivíduos do sexo masculino eram compreendidas pela Sodomia; apesar desse termo não comportar a totalidade das relações homossexuais, é o vocábulo que mais se aproxima. As relações estabelecidas entre a Sodomia e as práticas de confissão e penitência são parte de um discurso de natureza repressiva, que condena as práticas sodomíticas. A repressão das relações sexuais são parte de uma faceta específica do discurso confessional neste período, dialogando extensamente com os movimentos de reforma no século XI e a passagem da Igreja monástica para a administração bispal. O objetivo deste artigo é explorar as relações de poder que se estabeleceram na tradição dos séculos XI-XII referente às práticas sodomíticas. Para tanto, será utilizado como base documental o "Liber Gomorrhanius" de Pedro Damiano, bem como as fontes penitenciais que o autor se vale para a escrita do seu tratado. Será traçada uma comparação da repressão em diferentes contextos penitenciais, assim como o impacto que a mudança na expressão do poder eclesiástico provocou para a confissão da Sodomia

Eucalyptus sp. seedling response to potassium fertilization and soil water.

A considerable portion of Brazil‘s commercial eucalypt plantations is located in areas subjected to periods of water deficit and grown in soils with low natural fertility, particularly poor in potassium. Potassium is influential in controlling water relations of plants. The objective of this study was to verify the influence of potassium fertilization and soil water potential (Ψw) on the dry matter production and on water relations of eucalypt seedlings grown under greenhouse conditions. The experimental units were arranged in 4x4x2 randomized blocks factorial design, as follow: four species of Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus grandis, Eucalyptus urophylla, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and hybrid Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla), four dosages of K (0, 50, 100 and 200 mg dm-3) and two soil water potentials (-0.01MPa and -0.1 MPa). Plastic containers with 15 cm diameter and 18 cm height, with Styrofoam base, containing 3.0 dm3 of soil and two plants per container were used. Soil water potential was kept at –0.01MPa for 40 days after seeding. Afterward, the experimental units were divided into two groups: in one group the potential was kept at -0.01MPa, and in the other one, at -0.10 MPa. Soil water potential was controlled gravimetrically twice a day with water replacement until the desired potential was reestablished. A week before harvesting, the leaf water potential (Ψ), the photosynthetic rate (A), the stomatal conductance (gs) and the transpiration rate were evaluated. The last week before harvesting, the mass of the containers was recorded daily before watering to determine the consumption of water by the plants. After harvesting, total dry matter and leaf area were evaluated. The data were submitted to analysis of variance, to Tukey's tests and regression analyses. The application of K influenced A, gs and the transpiration rate. Plants deficient in K showed lower A and higher gs and transpiration rates. There were no statistical differences in A, gs and transpiration rates in plants with and without water deficit. The addition of K reduced the consumption of water per unit of leaf area and, in general, plants submitted to water deficit presented a lower consumption of water.A considerable portion of Brazil‘s commercial eucalypt plantations is located in areas subjected to periods of water deficit and grown in soils with low natural fertility, particularly poor in potassium. Potassium is influential in controlling water relations of plants. The objective of this study was to verify the influence of potassium fertilization and soil water potential (Ψw) on the dry matter production and on water relations of eucalypt seedlings grown under greenhouse conditions. The experimental units were arranged in 4x4x2 randomized blocks factorial design, as follow: four species of Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus grandis, Eucalyptus urophylla, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and hybrid Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla), four dosages of K (0, 50, 100 and 200 mg dm-3) and two soil water potentials (-0.01MPa and -0.1 MPa). Plastic containers with 15 cm diameter and 18 cm height, with Styrofoam base, containing 3.0 dm3 of soil and two plants per container were used. Soil water potential was kept at -0.01MPa for 40 days after seeding. Afterward, the experimental units were divided into two groups: in one group the potential was kept at -0.01MPa, and in the other one, at -0.10 MPa. Soil water potential was controlled gravimetrically twice a day with water replacement until the desired potential was reestablished. A week before harvesting, the leaf water potential (Ψ), the photosynthetic rate (A), the stomatal conductance (gs) and the transpiration rate were evaluated. The last week before harvesting, the mass of the containers was recorded daily before watering to determine the consumption of water by the plants. After harvesting, total dry matter and leaf area were evaluated. The data were submitted to analysis of variance, to Tukey's tests and regression analyses. The application of K influenced A, gs and the transpiration rate. Plants deficient in K showed lower A and higher gs and transpiration rates. There were no statistical differences in A, gs and transpiration rates in plants with and without water deficit. The addition of K reduced the consumption of water per unit of leaf area and, in general, plants submitted to water deficit presented a lower consumption of water