Mercury contamination in fanned fish setup on former garimpo mining areas in the Northern Mato Grosso State, Amazonian region, Brazil

The garimpo gold mining activity has released about 2.500 tons of mercury in the Brazilian Amazonian environment in the 1980-1995 period. The northern region of Mato Grosso State, an important gold mining and trading area during the Arnazonian gold rush is now at a turning point regarding its economic future. Nowadays, the activities related to gold mining have only a low relevance on its economy. Thus, the local communities are looking for economic alternatives for the development of the region. Cooperative fish farming is one of such alternatives. However, some projects are directly implemented on areas degraded by the former garimpo activity and the mercury left behind still poses risks, especially by its potential accumulation in fish. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the levels of mercury contamination in two fish farming areas, Paranaita and Alta Floresta, with and without records of past gold-washing activity, respectively. Data such as mercury concentration in fish of different trophic level, size, and weight as well as the water physical and chemical parameters were measured and considered. These preliminary data have shown no significant difference between these two fish fanning areas, relatively to mercury levels in fish. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Normas - o estabelecimento dos direitos humanos

Habermas entende os direitos humanos como produtos do mundo da vida; e é no interior do debate público, com a participação efetiva dos cidadãos, que deve ocorrer a produção deles como normas e princípios. A questão central abordada inicialmente no texto concerne ao status dessas normas e ao seu modo de instituição, dependente das relações de reciprocidade entre os sujeitos. Uma vez que, em sociedades complexas, apenas idealmente parece ser possível sustentar a participação de todos os sujeitos no processo de elaboração de normas, o texto procura analisar a viabilidade da concepção de Habermas. Ao considerar os elementos conceituais que orbitam essa questão, processa-se no curso do texto um deslocamento para outra, a saber, a relativa ao quanto o modo de sustentação da normatividade jurídica de um ordenamento social o determina como democrático ou não. Este é o ponto decisivo ao tratamento das normas relativas aos direitos humanos: a análise de Habermas é ideal, mas o pêndulo entre moral e empiria se mantém sempre, de modo que, pelo escopo conceitual, se não há como confirmar a identificação entre legitimidade dos direitos humanos e direitos humanos produzidos democraticamente, torna-se impossível querer negá-la.

NUCLEAR ALIGNMENT - CLASSICAL DYNAMIC-MODEL FOR THE U-238 U-238 SYSTEM

Dynamical properties of the U-238-U-238 system at the classical turning point, specifically the distance of closest approach, the relative orientations of the nuclei, and deformations have been studied at the sub-Coulomb energy of E(lab) = 6.07 MeV/nucleon using a classical dynamical model with a variable moment of inertia. Probability of favorable alignment for anomalous positron-electron pair emission through vacuum decay is calculated. The calculated small favorable alignment probability value of 0.116 is found to be enhanced by about 16% in comparison with the results of a similar study using a fixed moment of inertia as well as the results from a semiquantal calculation reported earlier.

A questão de gênero nos sindicatos de Presidente Prudente - SP

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

Vozes periféricas: expansão, imersão e diálogo na obra dos Racionais MC's

This paper presents a reflection on the work of the rap group from São Paulo Racionais MC's, highlighting points of dialogue between his last two studio albums: Sobrevivendo no inferno, 1997, and Nada como um dia após o outro, 2002. We found, in this discursive course, the presence of voices which intertwine and indicate a collectivized speech, seeking the identification between the slums and the group's rhetoric, but they also point out to an immersion into the subjectivity, to the problematization of the discourse itself, acting as a form of debugging of the social experience in the favela. We argue further that Sobrevivendo no inferno represents a turning point in the thinking of the quartet. Thus, themes and perspectives present, although embryonically, in the first focused album, point to dramas that take shape in the second one.

Em Cristo, poetas denunciam a podridão da modernidade: uma análise da obra Tempo e eternidade

This assignment aims to do a critical and interpretative review of the masterpiece Tempo e Eternidade, published by the Brazilian poets Jorge de Lima and Murilo Mendes in 1935. It is a result of a project called Restaurando a poesia em Cristo, created by many different Brazilian poets as Tristão de Ataíde, Augusto Schimdt, and others. It is worth highlighting the importance of these poems, because of the period when they were published and for the modern proposal, as the theme, which the poets denounce the bad aspects of modernity of the century through the Holly Bible, as also for the new esthetics. In the 30s, Brazil was passing through many changes; in aspects of history - the transition between the governments of Oligarchy to the New State, in governance of Getúlio Vargas; and in the literary context, it was the beginning of the second phase of Modernism, from 1930 to 1945. This period remains the consolidation of the literary movement, in terms of esthetics, since the major proposal of Modernism is freedom of the verse and, in this second phase, the search for a renovation of the language and the enlargement of the themes in poetry, such in the religious aspect or the social-political' themes. In this perspective, it aims to show the importance of the masterpiece for the history of Brazilian literature, coated as part of a turning point between the first and second phase of Modernism, also for the thematic renovation in religious poetry and esthetics, with a new proposal of esthetics. The methodology for the analyses of the poems will be through Antonio Candido's proposal, in O estudo analítico do poema, based on interpretation and comments. Therefore it intends showing through the analyses the relevance of the masterpiece written by the Brazilian poets, to the area of religious poetry and for the literary movement of that time

Revista Senhor: a influência da ilustração na formação do design editorial no Brasil

Senhor Magazine’s editorial project was used as basis for several scientific studies as its content represents a turning point to national culture and it marks the decade of 1960 as one of the most significant projects of graphic design in Brazil. The present paper aims to analyze the illustration’s significance to the development of Brazilian’s editorial design and its object of study is Senhor Magazine due to the relevant connection between design and illustration. Therefore, a literature research addressing the history of editorial design in Brazil, as well as the influence of illustration in these projects was conducted. It was concluded that illustration was crucial for editorial design evolution in Brazil, and this relationship has been established since the early twentieth century. Therefore, only in the sixties it was accepted, and Senhor Magazine has become the biggest representation of this period.

Surface amorphization in diamond turning of silicon crystal investigated by transmission electron microscopy

Silicon crystal exhibits a ductile regime during machining prior to the onset of fracture when appropriate cutting conditions are applied. The present study shows that the ductile regime is a result of a phase transformation which is indirectly evidenced by the amorphous phase detected in the machined surface. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) planar view studies were successfully performed on monocrystalline silicon (1 0 0) single point diamond turned. TEM electron diffraction patterns show that the machined surface presents diffuse rings along with traces of crystalline material. This is attributed to crystalline silicon immersed in an amorphous matrix. Furthermore, only diffuse rings in the diffraction patterns of the ductile chip are detected, indicating that it is totally amorphous. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the performance of α-SiAlON tool when turning Ti-6Al-4V alloy without coolant

Due to their high hardness and wear resistance, Si3N4 based ceramics are one of the most suitable cutting tool materials for machining cast iron, nickel alloys and hardened steels. However, their high degree of brittleness usually leads to inconsistent results and sudden catastrophic failures. This necessitates a process optimization when machining superalloys with Si3N4 based ceramic cutting tools. The tools are expected to withstand the heat and pressure developed when machining at higher cutting conditions because of their high hardness and melting point. This paper evaluates the performance of α-SiAlON tool in turning Ti-6Al-4V alloy at high cutting conditions, up to 250 m min-1, without coolant. Tool wear, failure modes and temperature were monitored to access the performance of the cutting tool. Test results showed that the performance of α-SiAl0N tool, in terms of tool life, at the cutting conditions investigated is relatively poor due probably to rapid notching and excessive chipping of the cutting edge. These facts are associated with adhesion and diffusion wear rate that tends to weaken the bond strength of the cutting tool.