Análise dos microssismos registrados no arquipélago de São Pedro e São Paulo (ASPSP) e suas relações com variáveis oceanográficas

Microseisms are continuous vibrations pervasively recorded in the mili Hertz to 1 Hz frequency range. These vibrations are mostly composed of Rayleigh waves and are strongest in the 0.04 to 1 Hz frequency band. Their precise source mechanisms are still a matter of debate but it is agreed that they are related to atmospheric perturbations and ocean gravity waves. The Saint Peter Saint Paul Archipelago (SPSPA) is located in the equatorial region of the Atlantic Ocean about 1,100 km distant from the Brazilian northeastern coast. The SPSPA is composed by a set of several small rocky formations with a total area of approximately 17,000 m². Due to its remote distance from the continent and the lack of cultural noise, this location is a unique location for measuring microseismic noise and to investigate its relation with some climate and oceanographic variables. In the SPSPA we have recorded both primary microseisms (PM) at 0.04 – 0.12 Hz and the secondary microseisms (SM) at 0.12 – 0.4 Hz during 10 months in 2012 and 2013. Our analysis indicates a good correlation between the microseismic noise in the region and a seasonal dependency. In particular, the winter in the northern hemisphere. We have also shown that most of the PM is generated in the SPSPA itself. The SM source location depends with the seasonal climatic and oceanographic variables in the northern hemisphere

Três alternativas estocásticas para modelar morbimortalidade por doenças respiratórias e cardiovasculares via variáveis atmosféricas

Climate and air pollution, among others, are responsible factors for increase of health vulnerability of the populations that live in urban centers. Climate changes combined with high concentrations of atmospheric pollutants are usually associated with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. In this sense, the main objective of this research is to model in different ways the climate and health relation, specifically for the children and elderly population which live in São Paulo. Therefore, data of meteorological variables, air pollutants, hospitalizations and deaths from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases a in 11-year period (2000-2010) were used. By using modeling via generalized estimating equations, the relative risk was obtained. By dynamic regression, it was possible to predict the number of deaths through the atmospheric variables and the betabinomial-poisson model was able to estimate the number of deaths and simulate scenarios. The results showed that the risk of hospitalizations due to asthma increases approximately twice for children exposed to high concentrations of particulate matter than children who are not exposed. The risk of death by acute myocardial infarction in elderly increase in 3%, 6%, 4% and 9% due to high concentrations CO, SO2, O3 and PM10, respectively. Regarding the dynamic regression modeling, the results showed that deaths by respiratory diseases can be predicted consistently. The beta-binomial-poisson model was able to reproduce an average number of deaths by heart insufficiency. In the region of Santo Amaro the observed number was 2.462 and the simulated was 2.508, in the Sé region 4.308 were observed and 4.426 simulated, which allowed for the generation of scenarios that may be used as a parameter for decision. Making with these results, it is possible to contribute for methodologies that can improve the understanding of the relation between climate and health and proved support to managers in environmental planning and public health policies.

Influência de variáveis arquitetônicas no desempenho energético de hotéis no clima quente e úmido da cidade de Natal/RN

This master thesis aims to assess the influence of the design decisions on the energy building performance of hotels. The research is based on the integration of field study and computer simulation. Firstly, a detailed field study is carried out to identify the characteristics of hotels in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. The items assessed are occupancies, light and equipment densities, types of air conditioning, total and monthly energy consumption, among others. A second and more comprehensive field study is carried out to identify the range of occurrence of architectural variables, with a larger number of buildings. A base case is modelled in VisualDOE, based on the first field study. Then, a first set of simulations are run to explore the sensitivity of the variables on the energy consumption. The results analyses were the base of a second set of simulations, which combined the most influential variables. The results of 384 models were assessed, and the impacts of design decisions were quantified. The study discusses tendencies and recommendations, as well as the methods advantages and disadvantages

Efeito das variáveis laboratoriais protéticas na adesão da porcelana com ligas de níquel-cromo

The metalceramic crowns are usually used in dentistry because they provide a resistant structure due to its metallic base and its aesthetics from the porcelain that recovers this structure. To manufacture these crowns, a series of stages should be accomplished in the prosthetic laboratories, and many variables can influence its success. Changes in these variables cause alterations in the metallic alloy and in the porcelain, so, as consequence, in the adhesion between them. The composition of the metal alloy can be modified by recasting alloys, a common practice in some prosthetic laboratories. The aim of this paper is to make a systematic study investigating metalceramic crowns as well as analyzing the effect of recasting Ni-Cr alloys. Another variable which can influence the mechanism of metalceramic union is the temperature used in firing porcelain procedure. Each porcelain has to be fired in a fixed temperature which is determined by the manufacturer and its change can cause serious damages. This research simulate situations that may occur on laboratory procedures and observe their consequences in the quality of the metalceramic union. A scanning eletron microscopy and an optic microscopy were accomplish to analyse the metal-ceramic interface. No differences have been found when remelting alloys were used. The microhardness were similar in Ni-Cr alloys casted once, twice and three times. A wettability test was accomplished using a software developed at the Laboratório de Processamento de Materiais por Plasma, on the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. No differences were found in the contact angle between the solid surface (metallic substratum) and the tangencial plane to the liquid surface (opaque). To analyse if the temperature of porcelain firing procedure could influence the contact area between metal and porcelain, a variation in its final temperature was achieve from 980° to 955°C. Once more, no differences have been found

Um sistema para a inferência de variáveis usando redes neurais artificiais

This work aims to obtain a low-cost virtual sensor to estimate the quality of LPG. For the acquisition of data from a distillation tower, software HYSYS ® was used to simulate chemical processes. These data will be used for training and validation of an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). This network will aim to estimate from available simulated variables such as temperature, pressure and discharge flow of a distillation tower, the mole fraction of pentane present in LPG. Thus, allowing a better control of product quality

Térmitas como bioindicadores de qualidade de habitat na caatinga, Brasil: há uma sintonia entre as variáveis estruturais dos habitats e as taxocenoses amostradas?

The composition of termite assemblages was analyzed at three Caatinga sites of the Seridó Ecological Station, located in the municipality of Serra Negra do Norte, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. These sites have been subjected to selective logging, and cleared for pasture and farming. A standardized sampling protocol for termite assemblages (30h/person/site) was conducted between September 2007 and February 2009. At each site we measured environmental variables, such as soil granulometry, pH and organic matter, necromass stock, vegetation height, tree density, stem diameter at ankle height (DAH) and the largest and the smallest crown width. Ten species of termites, belonging to eight genera and three families, were found at the three experimental sites. Four feeding-groups were sampled: wood-feeders, soil-feeders, wood-soil interface feeders and leaf-feeders. The wood-feeders were dominant in number of species and number of encounters at all sites. In general, the sites were not significantly different in relation to the environmental variables measured. The same pattern was observed for termite assemblages, where no significant differences in species richness, relative abundance and taxonomic and functional composition were observed between the three sites. The agreement between the composition of assemblages and environmental variables reinforces the potential of termites as biological indicators of habitat quality