Aplicando análise de envoltória de dados -DEA à avaliação de desempenho acadêmico: um estudo em programas de pós-graduação em engenharia mecânica e produção no Brasil

This Master of Science Thesis deals with applying DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) to the academic performance evaluation of graduate programs in Brazil, exploring it on a Mechanical and Production Engineering Program 2001-2003 data. The data used is that of the national assessment carried by CAPES, the governmental body in charge for graduate program assessment and certification. It is used the CCR output oriented DEA model, the CCR-Output with Assurance Region, and Window Analysis. The main findings are first that the CCR has the concerning problem of zero values of weights of outputs that is not appropriate in a sense that a graduate program has the higher efficiency score zeroing some output (e.g., number of academic papers published). Secondly, the Assurance Region method proved useful. Third, the Window Analysis also gave some light to the consistency of the performance in the time frame analysed. Also, the analysis results in the understanding that the Mechanics and Production Engineering should not be assessed jointly like currently applied by CAPES and rather should be assessed in its own field separately. Finally, the result of the DEA analysis showed some serious inconsistencies with the CAPES method. Graduate programs considered excellent has got low performance score and vice versa. This Thesis provides a strong argument in order to use DEA at least as a complimentary methodology for graduate program performance evaluation in Brazil

A biotecnologia e a educação ambiental no resguarde a duas espécies em vias de extinção na flora da Mata Atlântica Brasileira

The anthropical action caused destruction of great part of the Atlantic forest remaining today around 7% to 8% of the original portion. A classical example of the degradation is the situation of the Pau-Brasil (Caesalpinia echinata Lam.) which appellant exploration summarized abruptly decreased the wild occurrence of the species. Besides the economic exploration and the threat of extinction, the plant shows some characteristics that its own physiology makes difficult the survival in natural conditions. For this reason, any strategy developed to conserve it should also guarantee ways for its multiplication. In these conditions, the only reasonable technology is micropropagation in vitro based on immature segments of Catullus (explants or internodes). However, in virtue of the threat of extinction, extractivism and fenology, the disponibility of the sources of explants are reduced. Then, to turn this around, the present research showed the hypothesis that arrange these explants would have as a solution to elaborate a bank of matrixes and the utilization of produced seedlings as source of explant. Then, assuming that the soil is a fundamental element for a good formation of the seedlings, there were tests in a greenhouse on the Laboratory of plant biotechnology at UFRN, from May to June of 2008 that showed the influence of the four different soils on the production of Pau-Brasil. The objective of this work was to make possible the seedlings production of the specie and from them to establish a bank of matrixes as source of explant to guarantee the continuity of the process of micropropagation, contributing with the preservation of the specie

Isótopos de Nd na proveniência de rochas e sedimentos da bacia potiguar, ne do Brasil

Nd ISOTOPES IN THE PROVENANCE OF TERRIGENOUS AND CARBONATE ROCKS AND SEDIMENTS OF THE POTIGUAR BASIN, NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL. Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks from the Potiguar Basin, including terrigenous and carbonate sediments have been investigated to identify their isotopic signature and source areas. Additionally, this study aims to determine the provenance of terrigenous and carbonate sediments on the Brazilian Continental shelf adjacent to Potiguar Basin. The Sm-Nd isotopic signatures of the rocks yielded model ages (TDM) in the range of 2,19- 2,88 Ga, indicating archean to paleoproterozoic sources from the basement. The terrigenous sediments yielded model ages (TDM) in the range of 2,31-2,26 Ga, from 17,5 to 0 cm depth. Despite the small number of samples, limited variations of provenance ages indicates the homogenization of the sediments, probably due to the strong influence of the basement, as the main source of sediments to the shelf. The Sm-Nd isotopic signatures of the carbonate sediments yielded model ages (TDM) in the range of 2,09-2,61 Ga, indicating archean to paleoproterozoic sources from the basement. The results also indicate that the shelf sediments are mainly derived from the Açu River or other small rivers from the Setentrional Sector of Rio Grande do Norte State. The littoral drift doesn´t seem to contribute with sediments from the Oriental Sector since isotopic signatures from this sector were not detected.

Caracterização geológica, geoquímica e geocronológica da suíte plutônica enoproterozóica da região de Serrinha, porção centro-leste do maciço São José de Campestre, sudeste do RN

The of Serrinha plutonic suite, northeastern portion of the Borborema Province (NE Brazil), is characterized by a voluminous and diversified magmatism of Neoproterozoic age, intrusive in the Archean to Paleoproterozoic gneissic-migmatitic basement of the São José de Campestre massif. Field relations and petrographic and geochemical data allowed us to individualize different lithologic types among this plutonic suite, which is represented by intermediate to mafic enclaves, porphyritic diorites, porphyritic granitoids, porphyritic granodiorites, microporphyritic granites and dykes/sheets of microgranite. The intermediate-to-mafic enclaves occur associated with porphyritic granitoids, showing mixture textures. The porphyrytic diorites occur as isolated bodies, generally associated with intermediate-to-mafic enclaves and locally as enclaves within porphyritic granites. The granodiorites represent mixing between an intermediate to mafic magma with an acidic one. The micropophyritic granites occur as isolated small bodies, generally deformed, while the microgranite dykes/sheets crosscut all the previous granitoids. A U-Pb zircon age of 576 + 3 Ma was obtained for the Serrinha granite. This age is interpreted as age of the peak of the regional ductile deformational event (D3) and of the associated the E-W Rio Jacu shear zone, which control the emplacement of the Neoproterozoic syntectonic plutons. The porphyrytic granitoids show monzogranitic composition, transitional between peraluminous and metaluminous types, typically of the high potassium subalkaline-calc-alkaline series. The intermediate-to-mafic enclaves present vary from quartz diorite to tonalite/granodiorite, with metaluminous, shoshonitic affinity. The diorites are generally quartz-monzodiorite in composition, with metaluminous, subalkaline affinity. They display coarse-grained, inequigranular, porphyrytic texture, with predominance of plagioclase phenocrystals immersed in a matrix composed of biotite and pyroxenes. The microporphyrytic granites are essentially monzogranites of fine- to medium-grained texture, whereas microgranite dikes/sheets varying from monzogranites to syenogranites, with fine to media texture, equigranular. The diversified magmatism occurring at a relatively small surface associated with shear zones, suggests lithospheric dimensions for such structures, with magma extractions from different depths within the lower crust and upper mantle. The geological, geochemical and geochronological characteristics of the Serrinha plutonic suite suggest a pos-collisional geodynamic context for the Neoproterozoic magmatism. Thermobarometric data show emplacement conditions in the range 5-6 kbar (AlTamphibole) and 730-740°C (plagioclase-amphibole) for the porphyrytic granitoids (Serrinha body) and the intermediate-to-mafic enclaves

Desenvolvimento de um sistema de captura de baixo custo destinado a determinação da cinemática humana

The motion capture is a main tool for quantitative motion analyses. Since the XIX century, several motion caption systems have been developed for biomechanics study, animations, games and movies. The biomechanics and kinesiology involves and depends on knowledge from distinct fields, the engineering and health sciences. A precise human motion analysis requires knowledge from both fields. It is necessary then the use of didactics tools and methods for research and teaching for learning aid. The devices for analysis and motion capture currently that are found on the market and on educational institutes presents difficulties for didactical practice, which are the difficulty of transportation, high cost and limited freedom for the user towards the data acquisition. Therefore, the motion analysis is qualitatively performed or is quantitatively performed in highly complex laboratories. Based is these problems, this work presents the development of a motion capture system for didactic use hence a cheap, light, portable and easily used device with a free software. This design includes the selection of the device, the software development for that and tests. The developed system uses the device Kinect, from Microsoft, for its low cost, low weight, portability and easy use, and delivery tree-dimensional data with only one peripheral device. The proposed programs use the hardware to make motion captures, store them, reproduce them, process the motion data and graphically presents the data.