Land parceling and neighborhood impacts in Brazil

The proposal and implementation of parceling real estate into smaller lots in Brazil is done according to legal and technical formalities. However, these instruments have proved inefficient in reducing the resulting environmental impacts. The ambiguities of the federal, state and municipal laws and regulations have limited the effectiveness of the actions of urban administrators. Law 10257/2001 emerged as an alternative to overcome these difficulties, proposing the adoption of neighborhood impact studies as an instrument to evaluate new proposals of urban occupation for purposes of environmental licensing. Thus, the purpose of this law is to provide the foundations for municipal public authorities to establish criteria for the assessment, mitigation and compensation of impacts resulting from new occupations. However, the very vagueness of the generic nature of this federal law and its incorrect application in the municipal sphere has posed the greatest obstacles to the good use of this instrument of urban environmental management. These deficiencies are classified herein in the categories of philosophical, technical and operational problems. The problems of a philosophical nature lead to technical difficulties, which in turn trigger operational deficiencies. This article discusses these deficiencies and points out ways to reduce them. © 2009 Journal of Urban and Environmental Engineering (JUEE). All rights reserved.

Lidar observation campaign of sugar cane fires and industrial emissions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Brazil has an important role in the biomass burning, with the detection of approximately 100,000 burning spots in a single year (2007). Most of these spots occur in the southern part of the Amazon basin during the dry season (from August to november) and these emissions reach the southeast of the country, a highly populated region and with serious urban air pollution problems. With the growing demand on biofuels, sugarcane is considerably expanding in the state of São Paulo, being a strong contributor to the bad air quality in this region. In the state of São Paulo, the main land use are pasture and sugarcane crop, that covers around 50% and 10% of the total area, respectively. Despite the aerosol from sugarcane burning having reduced atmospheric residence time, from a few days to some weeks, they might get together with those aerosol which spread over long distances (hundreds to thousands of kilometers). In the period of June through February 2010 a LIDAR observation campaign was carried in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in order to observe and characterize optically the aerosols from two distinct sources, namely, sugar cane biomass burning and industrial emissions. For this purpose 2 LIDAR systems were available, one mobile and the other placed in a laboratory, both working in the visible (532 nm) and additionally the mobile system had a Raman channel available (607 nm). Also this campaign counted with a SODAR, a meteorological RADAR specially set up to detect aerosol echoes and gas-particle analyzers. To guarantee a good regional coverage 4 distinct sites were available to deploy the instruments, 2 in the near field of biomass burning activities (Rio Claro and Bauru), one for industrial emissions (Cubatão) and others from urban sources (São Paulo). The whole campaign provide the equivalent of 30 days of measurements which allowed us to get aerosol optical properties such as backscattering/extinction coefficients, scatter and LIDAR ratios, those were used to correlate with air quality and meteorological indicators and quantities. In this paper we should focus on the preliminary results of the Raman LIDAR system and its derived aerosol optical quantities. © 2010 Copyright SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering.

Correlation between oral health perception and clinical factors in a Brazilian community

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyse associations between self-perception of oral health and relevant clinical, personal and socio-demographic factors in a Brazilian community. Material And Methods: Urban adults living in a city in southern Brazil were interviewerd and examined. Individuals with acute pain and who needed multiple extractions of teeth were excluded. Self-perception and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) were applied to measure the impact of oral conditions on the quality of life. Socio-demographic and clinical indicators were also analysed. Results: The clinical examination revealed a high dental caries experience (DMFT = 18.9) and a high prevalence of periodontal disease. Oral condition was considered normal by 42% of respondents. The variables associated with the OHIP-14 were: education, age, self-assessment, dental caries and the DMFT index. Conclusions: Self-perception of oral health was associated with OHIP-14 and the clinical indicators had low influence in the self-perception. Therefore, the development of educational initiatives and preventive strategies for the adult population is recommended. © BASCD 2011.

Is the environmental policies procedures a barrier to development of inland navigation and port management? A case of study in Brazil

The main objective of this article is to discuss the Brazilian environmental legislation and policies towards the development of navigation and port management. The research illustrated some difficulties faced by the country and make suggestions to overcome it. The construction of the environmental legal framework began in the early 1960s and resulted in a very complex system, as a consequence of policies adopted by the country. Nowadays Brazilian environmental policies are developed in democratic and participative way, although with elevated degree of bureaucracy and lack of integration among the several governmental agencies, which makes the approval of environmental certifications demand several years for new port projects or improvements, which delays the economic development of the country. Efforts have been made to simplify the licensing process. As result of this research two flowchart for environmental licenses of ports installation are shown: The first shows the process until 2009 and the second shows the process nowadays. This become an important issue due the fact that inland navigation is one of the less pollutant modes of transportation, and although, the process of environmental certification was simplified, if compare with 2009, it is still complex and time-consuming, delaying the development of the infrastructure. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Coordination of spinal motion in the transverse and frontal planes during walking in people with and without recurrent low back pain

STUDY DESIGN. Observational cohort study. OBJECTIVE. To investigate spinal coordination during preferred and fast speed walking in pain-free subjects with and without a history of recurrent low back pain (LBP). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA. Dynamic motion of the spine during walking is compromised in the presence of back pain (LBP), but its analysis often presents some challenges. The coexistence of significant symptoms may change gait because of pain or adaptation of the musculoskeletal structures or both. A history of LBP without the overlay of a current symptomatic episode allows a better model in which to explore the impact on spinal coordination during walking. METHODS. Spinal and lower limb segmental motions were tracked using electromagnetic sensors. Analyses were conducted to explore the synchrony and spatial coordination of the segments and to compare the control and subjects with LBP. RESULTS. We found no apparent differences between the groups for either overall amplitude of motion or most indicators of coordination in the lumbar region; however, there were significant postural differences in the mid-stance phase and other indicators of less phase locking in controls compared with subjects with LBP. The lower thoracic spinal segment was more affected by the history of back pain than the lumbar segment. CONCLUSION. Although small, there were indicators that alterations in spinal movement and coordination in subjects with recurrent LBP were due to adaptive changes rather than the presence of pain. © 2013, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Indicadores do potencial de gestão municipal de recursos hídricos

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

O ensino do design no Mercosul: uma proposta para a integração

Pós-graduação em Design - FAAC

Degradação ambiental e qualidade de vida na microbacia do Córrego do Gramado – Presidente Prudente/São Paulo

The late industrialization, together with other factors, ended up directing much of the rural population to cities, without adequate planning, resulting in high density and irregular settlements in risk areas to low-income population. The man settled in the urban site to break environmental laws that eventually causing an imbalance in the natural environment, causing or exacerbating the shortage in availability of water resources. This situation also happened in Presidente Prudente, especially in the east, the focus of this research. Therefore, this study aims to understand the causes of degradation of waterways in urban areas, focusing on society's relationship with nature and its consequences on environmental quality and quality of life of urban population located in the watershed of stream of Gramado, Presidente Prudente - São Paulo. In this catchment there is the irregular deposition of solid waste in the valley, remnants of old pollution release of domestic sewage and industrial (currently collected and intended for treatment), accelerated processes of erosion in some areas of intensive use of the relief and consequently, the bed siltation of streams that are part of the basin. The quality of urban life was seen through socioeconomic and environmental indicators, which were identified through questionnaires to residents, according to local residence in the landscape, divided into three segments: the tops 60 residents, 90 residents and 112 residents in the areas in valley bottoms. With these data we can relate them to the degradation of the basin and aggregate them to the quality of life of residents. Field studies were needed to visualize the changes that occurred in the watershed over the past three years, with the implementation of works aimed at improvements to the community as the conduit stream of Gramado and construction and operation of Sewage Pumping Stations... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Identidade das Ciências Humanas e métricas de avaliação: qualis periódicos e classificação de livros

This article aims to discuss the evaluation metrics adopted by Capes in the evaluation process of national graduate programs in the field of the Human Sciences, especially with respect to the classifications of scientific journals and books.

Grouping of countries according to indicators of standard of living

The position of 125 countries is studied on the basis of a collection of 26 basic, health, economic and educational indicators. Multivariate statistical methods were used, including Cluster Analysis, Principal Component Analysis and Multivariate Analysis of Variance. The most discriminating variables were life expectancy the child mortality rate, the mortality rate of children of less than five years of age, the birth and fertility rates and the high-school female matriculation rate. The first principal component was interpreted as a measure of the living standard which made it possible to place the countries in order. Five clusters of countries are suggested.

Indicadores cientométricos normalizados: um estudo na produção científica brasileira internacional (1996 a 2011)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Environmental conservation and the Cerrado Biome: investigating knowledge and attitudes of Bauru residents

In today’s context of environmental degradation, environmental issues have increasingly become a focus of global discussion. Although many researchers emphasize the importance of knowledge and information in promoting environmental protection, research involving people’s notions about and attitudes toward the environment and establishing their connection with such knowledge is scarce. This lack of research led to the following inquiry: Is it possible to relate conservation actions and concern about a biome – in this case, the Cerrado – to the population’s level of knowledge about the environment in which they live? This research presents results from an investigation conducted in a representative population sample in Bauru, where there are fragments of a Cerrado Legal Reserve. The sampling approach used was probabilistic; it is based on random laws and can be submitted to statistical methods. The total sample (450 people) was divided into 90 people per Bauru region, 45 people female and 45 males. Each gender group was divided into three age groups: the first from 16 to 30 years, the second from 31 to 55 years and the third above 56 years. Through the questionnaire, we collected the following data from respondents: personal data such as salary, gender, age, level of education, notions/actions and intentions related to environmental conservation and general knowledge about the Cerrado. The result of the chi-square analysis is consistent with this finding, as it is less than 0.05, demonstrating a significant association between these two variables.