Urbanização colonial na América Latina : cidade planejada versus desleixo e caos

Com um enfoque comparativo, esse artigo analisa a urbanização colonial da América Latina realizada pela Espanha e Portugal, acompanhando a localização, a fundação e o traçado de suas vilas, povoados e cidades com o objetivo de verificar se o traçado urbano desses assenta-mentos coloniais constitui a diferença mais importante entre as cidades espanholas e as portuguesas na América. De acordo com a autora, a urbanização incipiente do Brasil Colônia está intimamente ligada ao fato de o seu dinamismo estar localizado no campo, da mesma forma que o ímpeto fundacional da América Espanhola decorre de seu dinamismo ser basicamente urbano. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThis article focalises, comparatively, the colonial urbanization in Latin America realized by the spanish and portuguese metropolis, following the localization, foundation and the design of their vilas and cities, in order to verify wheter the urban design of these settlements would be the most signifying difference between the spanish and portuguese cities. According the author, the incipient urbanization in Brazil is caused by the consolidation of a land dynamics, when in Spanish America is basically a city dinamics

Laboratory Measurements of Bed Shear Stress in Open Channel Flow and Soil Erosion Rate in Cohesive Soils

The relationship between soil erosion rate and bed shear stress is an important problem in sediment transport and scour. However, reliable measurements of the soil erosion function are challenging, both in the field and in the laboratory. The objective of this study is to investigate an experimental setup for conducting bed shear stress and soil erosion rate measurements using an open channel flume with a rough bed. These experiments were performed in an A-8 Hydraulic Channel with a fixed gravel bed. The flow discharge was kept constant at 0.158 ft.3/s, and bed shear stress was varied by changing the channel slope. A soil specimen was placed in a circular cutout in the gravel bed. Soil samples with a range of unconfined compressive strengths were prepared by changing the water content. The soil erosion rate was found from the difference in the mass of the sample before and after the test. Two different methods were used to estimate bed shear stress: from the measured velocity profile using the logarithmic law, and from the measured flow depth and channel slope. The velocity profiles were measured using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. The measured data showed that the equivalent grain roughness correlated well with the size of the large grains in the gravel bed. The equivalent grain roughness decreased with the flow-depth-to-grain-diameter ratios (h/d90). The bed shear stress in the sediment recess was not significantly different from the bed shear stress on the surrounding gravel bed. It was also found that the measured soil erosion rate correlated well with the unconfined compressive strength or water content

Review of the Bangladesh Female Secondary School Stipend Project Using a Social Exclusion Framework

The Female Secondary School Stipend Project in Bangladesh was established to increase the enrollment of girls in secondary schools, thereby delaying marriage and childbearing. This analysis examined the existing data using the social exclusion framework to clarify the primary exclusionary factors that have kept girls from education: harassment, poverty, and the primacy of marriage and childbirth and explored the extent to which the project has diminished such barriers. While causality is difficult to establish, data suggest that the stipend programme has contributed to the rise in enrollment of girls in secondary schools. Questions remain as to the impact of the stipend programme on delaying marriage, empowerment of girls and women, and enhancing employment opportunities. A thorough assessment of the impact is required. The case study suggests that, if the programme design had focused on the quality and content of education and the broader economic and social context, more opportunities would have been created for social and economic participation of girls

Automatic flowchart displays for software visualisation

Understanding large software projects and maintaining them can be a time consuming process. For instance, when changes are made to source code, corresponding changes have to be made to any related documentation. One large section of the documentation process is the creation and management of diagrams. Currently there are very few automated diagramming systems that can produce diagrams from source code, and the majority of these diagramming systems require a significant amount of time to generate diagrams. This research aims at investigating the process of creating flowchart diagrams from source code and how this process can be fully automated. Automating the diagrams creation process can save the developer both time and money. By saving the developer time we allow the developer to concentrate on more critical areas of their project. This thesis will involve the design and implementation of a prototype software tool that will allow the user to quickly and easily construct meaningful diagrams from source code. The project will focus directly on the interpretation of the Pascal language into Flowcharts. The emphasis of the project will be on the arrangement of the flowchart, with a goal to create clear and understandable diagrams

FUNCTIONAL ADAPTATION OF THE RUMINAL EPITHELIUM

Short chain fatty acids (SCFA) synthesized in the rumen from carbohydrate fermentation are an essential energy source for ruminants. Current literature supports that SCFA are absorbed across the rumen epithelium via passive diffusion or protein-mediated transport, however, the rate and degree to which these pathways adapt to a change in diet fermentability is unknown. Furthermore, Na+ flux is partially determined by SCFA absorption, and thus is a key indicator of functional changes in the rumen epithelium. The objectives of this study were to determine the time required for a change in SCFA and Na+ absorption across the bovine rumen epithelium and to evaluate the rate and degree to which absorption pathways adapt to an increase in diet fermentability relative to changes in surface area. Twenty-five weaned Holstein steer calves were blocked by body weight and randomly assigned to either the control diet (CON; 91.5% hay and 8.5% vitamin/mineral supplement) or a moderately fermentable diet (50% hay; 41.5% barley grain, and 8.5% vitamin/mineral supplement) fed for 3 (G3), 7 (G7), 14 (G14), or 21 d (G21). All calves were fed at 2.25% BW at 0800 h. Reticular pH was recorded every 5 min for 48 h prior to killing (1000 h). Ruminal tissue was collected for Ussing chamber, barrier function, surface area measurements, and gene expression. Net 22Na+ flux (JNET-Na; 80 kBq/15 mL), the rate and pathway of mucosal to serosal 3H-acetate (JMS-acetate; 37 kBq/15 mL) and 14C-butyrate (JMS-butyrate; 74 kBq/15 mL) flux, and serosal to mucosal flux of 3H-mannitol (JSM-mannitol; 74 KBq/15 mL) and tissue conductance were measured. Half of the chambers assigned to measure JMS-acetate and JMS-butyrate were further assigned to 1 of 2 acetate and butyrate concentration treatments: 10 mM (Low) and 50 mM (High). Furthermore, JSM-mannitol flux was also measured during an acidotic and hyperosmotic challenge (CHAL) and recovery (REC) to measure barrier function of ruminal tissue. Mean reticular pH, which was positively correlated with ruminal pH (R2 = 0.5477), decreased from 6.90 for CON to 6.59 for G7 then increased. Net Na+ flux increased 125% within 7 d. Total JMS-acetate and JMS-butyrate increased from CON to G21, where passive diffusion was the primary SCFA absorption pathway. Total JMS-acetate and JMS-butyrate were greater when incubated in High vs. Low. Effective surface area of the ruminal epithelium was not affected by dietary treatment. Increased JSM-mannitol, tissue conductance, and increased expression of IL-1β and TLR2 (tendencies) with increased days fed the moderate grain diet indicated reduced rumen epithelium barrier function. Furthermore, the CHAL treatment reduced barrier function, which was not reversible during REC. This study indicates that a moderate increase in diet fermentability increases rumen epithelium absorptive function in the absence of increased SA, but reduces barrier function. Data from this study also suggests that absorption and barrier function follow different timelines, posing a challenge for ruminant diet adaptation to moderately to highly fermentable diets

Risky business: growers' perceptions of organic and biodynamic farming in the tropics

Organic and biodynamic farming has emerged as a growing, niche sector in the agricultural industry. Research into stakeholders' risk perceptions of organic and biodynamic farming is surprisingly scarce. This paper uses qualitative data from a series of 32 interviews with growers and key respondents to illuminate how risk is interpreted in the agricultural community. This study showed that despite the diversity of the sample, there was broad consensus on the risks facing organic farmers. However, risk perceptions seemed to vary depending on personal values and institutional trust. Some of these farmers lacked confidence in agricultural institutions, were strongly opposed to the use of chemicals in farming on health and environmental grounds and perceived risk differently from their counterparts in conventional agriculture

Civil Society, Health, and Social Exclusion in Bangladesh

Civil society has the potential to have a positive impact on social exclusion and health equity through active monitoring and increased accountability. This paper examines the role of civil society in Bangladesh to understand why this potential has not been realized. Looking at two models of civil society action—participation in decentralized public-sector service provision and academic think-tank data analysis—this analysis examines the barriers to positive civil society input into public policy decision-making. The role of non-governmental organizations, political, cultural and economic factors, and the influence of foreign bilateral and multilateral donors are considered. The paper concludes that, with a few exceptions, civil society in Bangladesh replicates the structural inequalities of society at large