Análise da vulnerabilidade ambiental no estuário do Rio Curimataú/Cunhaú, Baía Formosa e Canguaretama - RN

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior

Relação entre a biodiversidade de plantas e os serviços do ecossistema na caatinga

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Plant diversity influencing structure and functioning of Caatinga vegetation

O estudo dos efeitos que a diversidade de espécies pode causar nos processos ecossistêmicos tem crescido vertiginosamente nas últimas duas décadas. Diversos trabalhos experimentais realizados no mundo todo têm demonstrado que uma maior diversidade de plantas contribui para o aumento da produtividade de ecossistemas terrestres. Além disso, esse efeito pode influenciar processos em diversos níveis tróficos, contribuindo assim para a estabilidade dos processos ecossistêmicos a longo prazo. Paralelamente com os estudos do efeito da diversidade, muita atenção tem sido dada para desvendar o papel das características funcionais das espécies no funcionamento dos ecossistemas. Isto porque as características funcionais das espécies têm se mostrado importantes "peças" no entendimento dos efeitos que espécies individuais podem exercer nos ecossistemas e suas respostas ao ambiente. Nesta tese de doutorado eu explorei algumas lacunas de conhecimento dentro dessa área em crescente desenvolvimento conhecida na literatura ecológica como "biodiversidade e funcionamento dos ecossistemas". No primeiro capítulo, eu busquei evidências para mecanismos que podem explicar a relação positiva entre diversidade e funcionamento com foco em cinco mecanismos relacionados às interações entre plantas, tendo como parâmetro de funcionamento a produtividade primária. No segundo capítulo, eu utilizei técnicas para a estimativa de padrões de diversidade em escalas biogeográficas e bases de dados de satélites com longa duração para desvendar se a biodiversidade em escalas macroecológicas promove a estabilidade da produtividade dos ambientes terrestres no semiárido brasileiro. Por fim, o objetivo do terceiro capítulo foi entender como a perda da cobertura vegetal originária do uso da terra por comunidades tradicionais no semiárido brasileiro influenciaria os processos de interações entre plantas e o papel das características funcionais das espécies nessas interações. Acredito que a contribuição individual de cada capítulo preenche lacunas de conhecimento importantes dessa área da Ecologia que ainda se encontra em expansão.

Evolução da paisagem do baixo curso do rio de Piranhas-Assu (1988-2024): uso de autômatos celulares em modelo dinâmico espacial para simulação de cenários futuros

The lower course of Piranhas-Assu river, located in the north coast of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, arouses a keen interest as a study field, once it concentrates, besides petroleum and gas exploration, activities related to shrimp culture, salt and horticulture, factors that also deserve special attention. Thus, the awareness of the study field environmental stage demands studies from researchers and discernment from society, as a way of understanding the inter-relation between environment and men. Therefore, this work attempts at understanding and studying the dynamics of land use in the lower course of Piranhas-Assu river, through a multitemporal analysis of present and past, accomplishing future projections through simulation models. The work is divided in stages that include the research, analysis, interpretation of results, and the generation of simulation models, to analyze the landscape tendencies, making possible to identify indicators which cause such changes in the lower course of the river. From Geographical Database, the necessary exploratory analyses were accomplished to the following items: land use evolution, natural and environmental vulnerability, multiple geodiversity indexes, and preparation of the data to be used in the simulation model. Later, the construction of the landscape simulation model was conducted. Sequentially, simulations of future sceneries were accomplished through the execution of the model in a specific software environment. Last, the analyses of landscape tendencies in the study field were carried out. The lower course of Piranhas-Assu River didn't show any intense dynamics in landscape changing, once in the period taken into account (from 1988 to 2004) class stability proved to be superior to its transformations. Activities related to agriculture and livestock are the ones that influence, mostly, the landscape dynamics. The production of sea shrimp and petroleum also infers in the landscape, although in smaller proportion. INCRA s public policies excessively determined the dynamics of the landscape in the lower course of Piranhas-Assu River, RN. In respect to its natural vulnerability, the lower course of Piranhas-Assu River, RN, features more vulnerable than stable areas. The landscape simulation, in the first taken period (2004-2009), indicated considerable increases and decreases of antropic activities, if compared to its sequent periods (2009-2014, 2014-2019 and 2019-2024). The simulation, in a wider analysis, showed that the determining factors for the space mobility of antropic activities, in the focused area, are related to the pre-existence of communities with agricultural capability and to the existence of access routes and drainage. Considering the area that features fixed and mobile dunes, located in Porto do Mangue district, we recommend its conversion into a conservation area

Estudo de tensoativos na organofilização de argila bentonítica para uso em fluido de perfuração à base de óleo

Due to the great challenges encountered in drilling wells, there is a need to develop fluids with appropriated properties and able to meet all the requirements of drilling operations. The physicochemical and rheological properties must be carefully controlled so that a fluid can exercise all its functions. In perforations sensitive to contact with water and "offshore", it becomes necessary the use of oil based drilling fluids, but the bentonite clay cannot be used without a previous surface modification so that their surfaces become hydrophobic. Lately, the oil companies in Brazil use imported organoclays in the preparation of oil-based drilling fluids. The study aimed to modify a calcium clay to increase the affinity of the same organic phase of oil-based drilling fluids, applying three surfactants (OCS, CTAB and UTM 150) at different concentrations. The results indicated that the surfactants UTM 150 and CTAB showed better results compared to OCS. Considering the type of surfactant and concentration as variables used in the statistical analysis, the results indicated that only the surface tension and concentration of calcium oxide in response to organophilization process showed statistically significant effects. The organophilizated clay has potential for application in oil-based drilling fluids.

Parâmetros urbanísticos na regulação do uso e ocupação do solo: estudo da densidade e do coeficiente de aproveitamento nos planos diretores de Natal de 1994 e 2007

A Constituição Federal de 1988 e o Estatuto da Cidade estabelecem o Plano Diretor como instrumento básico da política de ordenamento territorial, tendo como princípio fundamental o cumprimento da função social da propriedade e do direito à cidade. Na perspectiva de adequação às diretrizes e objetivos da política urbana estabelecidos em 1988, o município de Natal elaborou os Planos Diretores de 1994 e 2007, definindo instrumentos e parâmetros de regulação do uso e ocupação do solo possíveis de assegurar o cumprimento da função social da propriedade urbana e de gerar subsídios ao planejamento e à gestão da cidade. Apesar de Natal ter sido um dos municípios brasileiros pioneiros na adoção desses princ pios, antecipando e incorporando os instrumentos que em 2001 viriam a ser definidos no Estatuto da Cidade, identifica-se que alguns desses instrumentos e parâmetros direcionados à regulação do uso e ocupação do solo não tiveram sua aplicação plena, a exemplo do mecanismo de acompanhamento e controle dado pelo Estoque de Área Edificável e da Densidade, que foi substituída pelo Coeficiente de Aproveitamento no Plano Diretor de 2007. Questionando esse procedimento, busca-se na presente pesquisa investigar de que maneira essa substituição do parâmetro densidade pelo coeficiente de aproveitamento influenciou na capacidade da gestão pública de regular os processos de uso e ocupação do solo, de forma a adequar a sua intensificação ao suporte da infraestrutura instalada. Foram tomadas como referência teórico-conceitual as contribuições sobre a prática de planejamento urbano no Brasil, nos marcos do ideário da reforma urbana, com destaque para as reflexõe s de Flávio Villaça, Orlando Alves Santos Junior e Daniel Todtmann Montandon, Luiz César de Q. Ribeiro, Raquel Rolnik, Ermínia Maricato, Laura Machado de Bueno e Renato Cymbalista, José Roberto Bassul e Carlos F. Lago Burnett, e, com relação aos parâmetros de controle urbanístico, o estudo identifica as diferentes abordagens sobre a densidade urbana e o coeficiente de aproveitamento com base nas reflexões de Claudio Acioly Jr., Forbes Davidson, Juan Luis Mascaró, Ricardo Ojima, Marcelo de Souza, José Rámon Navarro Vera e Armando Ortuño Padilla, Nestor Goulart Reis, Marta Dora Grostein e Susana Ricardo Alves. Como conclusão, discute-se a hipótese formulada, inicialmente, de que a mudança de parâmetros verificada colocou limites para o município realizar uma gestão adequada do solo urbano e, portanto, de fazer cumprir a função social da propriedade, considerando a necessidade de adequação entre a intensificação do uso e ocupação do solo e a infraestrutura instalada

Estudo de Matérias-Primas do Rio Grande do Norte para Uso em Revestimento Poroso: Influência do teor de dolomita e temperatura de calcinação nas propriedades físico-mecânicas

The state of Rio Grande do Norte presents a great potentiality for the production of ceramic tiles because of having natural raw material in quantity and quality making its economical exploration possible, beyond the great energetic differential of the state, the natural gás. This works aims to study the influence of the dolomite and granulometry concentration and calcinations temperature in the obtaining of formulations for porous coverings which have to be coherent to the project,s specifications. The experiments have involved the physical-chemical and mineralogical characterizations of raw materials and mechanical tests in the dry and burnt proof bodies preceding a mixture experiment planning with the use of the response surface methodology, in order to get the best raw materials combinations to produce a ceramic mass with specific properties. The twelve ceramic masses studied in this work were prepared by the via dry process, characterized, shaped by uniaxial pressing and sinterized in the temperatures of 940ºC, 1000ºC, 1060ºC, 1120ºC and 1180ºC, using a fast burning cycle. The crystalline phases formed during the sintering in the temperatures in study have revealed the presence of anorthite and diopside beyond quartz with a remaining phase. These phases were the main responsible ones by the physical- mechanical properties of the sinterized proof bodies. The proof bodies after the sintering stage have presented water absorption higher than 10% and a good dimensional stability in all studied temperatures. However, the flexural breaking strength results in the temperatures of 940ºC, 1000ºC and 1060ºC, under the temperature zone of the vitrification of ceramic whiteware do not reach the flexural breaking strength specific for the porous wall tile (15 MPa), but in the temperature of 1120ºC next to the vitrification temperature zone, some whiteware ceramic (formulations) has reached the specified value for the porous wall tile. The results of this work have showed that the studied raw materials have great importance for used in the production of porous wall tiles (BIII)

Vivendo do mar: tradição, memória e mudança na vida pesqueira de Pitangui-RN

This research focuses on the fishery activity, aligned to knowledge of past generations, and the transformation to those who depend on this activity for their livelihood, at the seashore community of Pitangui in Extremoz municipality, which lies 40 km away from Natal, seat of the state of Rio Grande do Norte. The intense modernization which has taking place during the last few years may be considered the result of a number of economic, social and cultural factors, as the introduction of new fishery technology. On the other hand, the present study seeks to show how this changing process happened, and to what extent those affected understand and evaluate this transformation. The methodology to carry out the ethnographic work was mainly adopted by qualitative methods and techniques - by participant observation, oral history, photography and the audiovisual records besides reference to data extracted under quantitative methods, as an important instrument of analyses. This induces a conclusion that the transformation of the community is a consequence of the globalized market, though still tied up to specific local relations. The emerging results are: the use of new fishery technology, and new ways of orientation and navigation; the opening to new jobs and occupational activity, the re-order of space s appropriation; changing sociability, larger access to consumer goods, besides bringing on some new conflicts land appropriation and the fishery and the protection of the environment. All this comprehended as a result of the movement of the local relations participating in the global spaces

Robótica e educação: uma possibilidade de inserção sócio-digital

This paper presents a reflection on the use of robotics in education technology and the fostering of social and digital inclusion, unveiling a new field that has been outlined today. Robotics constitutes a tool still little known and not regulated at national level in education, there is little experience involving the tool in the Northeast. This research aims to reveal one of the first experiments with educational level robotics in Rio Grande do Norte. We present a field research conducted in a public school chancellor for a major institute of science and technology education of the state from seeking review of the robotics course, understand how they work and show their use in school and shows that contributions were generated for digital inclusion category students, based on speeches by teachers, engineers, management and students. As part of gathering information, we used the focus group technique, applied in two stages, one with groups of students, teachers and other school administration, as well as comments directed to the times when the robotics course was being finalized. As a result, we found that the school, through the robotics course is a provider of social and digital inclusion, since it awakens in the sample of students in this research knowledge enabler of social change. And that despite the student category do not understand the depth of meaning of inclusion, the same report in daily actions that integrate technology into their social context in harmony, enjoying its cultural citizenship in full

Uso de técnicas de otimização baseadas em derivadas como suporte do planejamento operacional de redes de distribuição de energia elétrica

The usual programs for load flow calculation were in general developped aiming the simulation of electric energy transmission, subtransmission and distribution systems. However, the mathematical methods and algorithms used by the formulations were based, in majority, just on the characteristics of the transmittion systems, which were the main concern focus of engineers and researchers. Though, the physical characteristics of these systems are quite different from the distribution ones. In the transmission systems, the voltage levels are high and the lines are generally very long. These aspects contribute the capacitive and inductive effects that appear in the system to have a considerable influence in the values of the interest quantities, reason why they should be taken into consideration. Still in the transmission systems, the loads have a macro nature, as for example, cities, neiborhoods, or big industries. These loads are, generally, practically balanced, what reduces the necessity of utilization of three-phase methodology for the load flow calculation. Distribution systems, on the other hand, present different characteristics: the voltage levels are small in comparison to the transmission ones. This almost annul the capacitive effects of the lines. The loads are, in this case, transformers, in whose secondaries are connected small consumers, in a sort of times, mono-phase ones, so that the probability of finding an unbalanced circuit is high. This way, the utilization of three-phase methodologies assumes an important dimension. Besides, equipments like voltage regulators, that use simultaneously the concepts of phase and line voltage in their functioning, need a three-phase methodology, in order to allow the simulation of their real behavior. For the exposed reasons, initially was developped, in the scope of this work, a method for three-phase load flow calculation in order to simulate the steady-state behaviour of distribution systems. Aiming to achieve this goal, the Power Summation Algorithm was used, as a base for developing the three phase method. This algorithm was already widely tested and approved by researchers and engineers in the simulation of radial electric energy distribution systems, mainly for single-phase representation. By our formulation, lines are modeled in three-phase circuits, considering the magnetic coupling between the phases; but the earth effect is considered through the Carson reduction. It s important to point out that, in spite of the loads being normally connected to the transformer s secondaries, was considered the hypothesis of existence of star or delta loads connected to the primary circuit. To perform the simulation of voltage regulators, a new model was utilized, allowing the simulation of various types of configurations, according to their real functioning. Finally, was considered the possibility of representation of switches with current measuring in various points of the feeder. The loads are adjusted during the iteractive process, in order to match the current in each switch, converging to the measured value specified by the input data. In a second stage of the work, sensibility parameters were derived taking as base the described load flow, with the objective of suporting further optimization processes. This parameters are found by calculating of the partial derivatives of a variable in respect to another, in general, voltages, losses and reactive powers. After describing the calculation of the sensibility parameters, the Gradient Method was presented, using these parameters to optimize an objective function, that will be defined for each type of study. The first one refers to the reduction of technical losses in a medium voltage feeder, through the installation of capacitor banks; the second one refers to the problem of correction of voltage profile, through the instalation of capacitor banks or voltage regulators. In case of the losses reduction will be considered, as objective function, the sum of the losses in all the parts of the system. To the correction of the voltage profile, the objective function will be the sum of the square voltage deviations in each node, in respect to the rated voltage. In the end of the work, results of application of the described methods in some feeders are presented, aiming to give insight about their performance and acuity

Viabilidade do uso de secadores solar de convecção natural e forçada para a secagem do coco Licuri

Licuri is a palm tree from the semiarid regions of Bahia State, Brazil. It is an important source of food and feed in that region, since their nuts are commonly eaten by humans and used as maize substitute for poultry feeding. The aim of this dissertation is to study the feasibility for use of natural convection solar dryers and forced being compared with the traditional drying outdoors for drying coconut licuri Syagrus coronate. The study led to the construction of two prototype solar dryer for carrying out experiments proving: model Solar Drying System Direct Exposure to Natural Convection built with wood, has a drying chamber with direct cover transparent glass laminates 4 mm, using techniques for proper isolation of the drying chamber. The two prototypes were comparatively analyzed for performance and drying efficiency with traditional extractive use by the community. Were evaluated the variables: time and drying rates and quality of the final samples of coconut licuri. The fruits were harvested and brought the town of Ouricuri, in the city of Caldeirão Grande, BA for the experiments comparing the three methods of drying was used a standard load of 4.0 kg The quantitative analysis for the result of the drying rate was found in 74% yield and 44% for natural and forced convection respectively compared with the traditional drying. These drying rates represent variation 3-5 times lower. Drying using forced convection licuri showed better quality, was found in a reddish pulp, representing the quantities that were kept of the nutrient beta carotene, and not notice the flavor change from the previous system, the final cost of construction of this system were higher . The prototypes built competitive advantage and had testified fully to resolve the technical difficulties previously encountered in the production of products made of coconut licuri. Allowing add value and increase their potential use for the fruit extractive communities of semi-arid region of Bahia

Modelagem da transferência de massa na remoção do óleo da água produzida por flotação em coluna com uso de tensoativos de origem vegetal

The treatment of oil produced water and its implications are continually under investigation and several questions are related to this subject. In the Northeast Region Brazil, the onshore reservoirs are, in its majority, mature oil fields with high production of water. As this oil produced water has high levels of oil, it cannot be directly discarded into the environment because it represents a risk for contamination of soil, water, and groundwater, or even may cause harm to living bodies. Currently, polyelectrolytes that promote the coalescence of the oil droplets are used to remove the dispersed oil phase, enhancing the effectiveness of the flotation process. The non-biodegradability and high cost of polyelectrolytes are limiting factors for its application. On this context, it is necessary to develop studies for the search of more environmentally friendly products to apply in the flotation process. In this work it is proposed the modeling of the flotation process, in a glass column, using surfactants derived from vegetal oils to replace the polyelectrolytes, as well as to obtain a model that represents the experimental data. In addition, it was made a comparative study between the models described in the literature and the one developed in this research. The obtained results showed that the developed model presented high correlation coefficients when fitting the experimental data (R2 > 0.98), thus proving its efficiency in modeling the experimental data.

Números complexos: uma proposta de mudança metodológica para uma aprendizagem significativa no ensino médio

This work presents a proposal of a methodological change to the teaching and learning of the complex numbers in the Secondary education. It is based on the inquiries and difficulties of students detected in the classrooms about the teaching of complex numbers and a questioning of the context of the mathematics teaching - that is the reason of the inquiry of this dissertation. In the searching for an efficient learning and placing the work as a research, it is presented a historical reflection of the evolution of the concept of complex numbers pointing out their more relevant focuses, such as: symbolic, numeric, geometrical and algebraic ones. Then, it shows the description of the ways of the research based on the methodology of the didactic engineering. This one is developed from the utilization of its four stages, where in the preliminary analysis stage, two data surveys are presented: the first one is concerning with the way of presenting the contents of the complex numbers in math textbooks, and the second one is concerning to the interview carried out with High school teachers who work with complex numbers in the practice of their professions. At first, in the analysis stage, it is presented the prepared and organized material to be used in the following stage. In the experimentation one, it is presented the carrying out process that was made with the second year High school students in the Centro Federal de Educação tecnológica do Rio Grande do Norte CEFET-RN. At the end, it presents, in the subsequent and validation stages, the revelation of the obtained results from the observations made in classrooms in the carrying out of the didactic sequence, the students talking and the data collection

Desenvolvimento de um programa de ensino de Física Térmica para o nível médio

Neste trabalho de mestrado, detemos nossa pesquisa na elaboração e implementação de planos de aula, que pudessem contribuir para estimular a participação e o interesse dos alunos nas aulas de física. Utilizamos como principal recurso didático, textos provenientes da Internet, que proporcionasse aos estudantes acesso a leitura envolvendo conteúdos científicos, tentando amenizar a falta de qualquer forma de material didático de ciências para os alunos. Pudemos constatar também, deficiências por parte dos educandos, em atividades que envolviam leitura e interpretação de textos, o que nos preocupou bastante enquanto educador e nos motivou a provocar mudanças neste quadro. As atividades aqui propostas foram elaboradas e aplicadas numa turma do segundo ano do nível médio, atendendo conteúdos de física térmica mas com um enfoque interdisciplinar. Cada plano de aula proporcionou participação ativa de cada estudante, seja na realização de tarefas solicitadas ou na participação de discussões em sala de aula. Os resultados mais expressivos desta pesquisa foram aumento na participação dos alunos nas atividades fora e dentro da classe e uma mudança na forma de pensar e elaborar soluções para determinados problemas

A formação inicial do professor de química e o uso das novas tecnologias para o ensino: um olhar através de suas necessidades formativas

La disertación, desarrollada en el Programa de PostGraduación en Enseñanza de las Ciencias Naturales y de la Matemática de la UFRN, estudia las necesidades formativas de licenciandos en Química sobre el uso de las nuevas tecnologías de la información y de las comunicaciones (NTIC), en especial, las relacionadas con la utilización de programas computacionales para la enseñanza de la química. En la actual sociedad del conocimiento, se torna imperativo la eclosión de nuevas formas de aprender y de enseñar, que requieren de nuevas concepciones del trabajo pedagógico. En ese sentido, se exige de los profesores el desarrollo de nuevas habilidades y competencias. El presente trabajo está comprometido con la búsqueda de elementos que puedan nortear los procesos formativos de profesores de química con el objetivo de contribuir con una mejor preparación de la formación inicial, tomando en cuenta sus necesidades de formación. Fue utilizado el cuestionario como instrumento de investigación para diagnosticar y caracterizar las necesidades fomativas, buscando establecer correlaciones entre diferentes variables que cacarterizan el estudio, con el fin de establecer semenazas y discrepancias entre las habilidades docentes en estudio y las necesidades formativas. Los analises de los datos tomo elementos de la estadistica descriptivo e inferencial, con analises multivariados, lo que posibilitó identificar las necesidades formativas. Los resultados muestran ue de forma general los licenciandos evaluan como de bajo, el grado de desarrollo de las habilidades para enseñar usando las NTIC, así como manifiestan sentir necesidades formativas en todas las habilidades referentes a esa esfera del trabajo docente