Determination of heavy metals by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry in fish from the Piracicaba River in Southern Brazil

A total of 202 fish, representing 16 species, were collected during 2008 (March-October) in the Tanquan region of the Piracicaba River using nets. Flesh samples were collected and analyzed, using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy for Al, As, Cd, Co Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Ph, Se, Sn, Sr, and Zn. The results showed that the flesh of these fish all contained extremely high levels of Al and Sr, and moderately high levels of Cr, As, Zn, Ni. Mn and Pb. The metals were higher in these fish during rainy season, with fish collected during the months of March and October being the highest. In addition, the accumulation of metals was species-dependent. Cascudos (Hypostomus punctatus) and piranhas (Serrasalmus spilopleura) exhibited high levels of almost all of the metals, while curimbata (Prochilodus lineatus) had moderate levels. A few species, including pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) and dourado (Salminus maxillosus), had very low levels of most metals. The results show that the Piracicaba River Basin is widely contaminated with high levels of many toxic heavy metals, and that human consumption of some fish species is a human health concern. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A modernização do atraso : os fundamentos da urbanização de Vitória-1889-1930

Esta dissertação volta-se para a investigação da modernização da cidade de Vitória durante a passagem do século XIX ao XX. Trata-se, especificamente, da tentativa de compreender a modernização de Vitória no seu conteúdo arcaico, no sentido de, no conjunto das estratégias do poder, preservarem-se interesses de estruturas sociais anteriores, para um novo contexto econômico e sociopolítico. O referencial teórico de análise pressupôs apreender a cidade (seu espaço construído) articulada à estrutura econômica, enquanto condições urbanas necessárias à reprodução do capital. Para tal efeito, foi necessário compreender as implicações da metamorfose da riqueza, representada anteriormente pela propriedade do escravo e transferida para a propriedade da terra. Nessa tarefa, investigamos a hegemonia dos interesses da instância mercantil-exportadora do capital que dominou o aparelho de Estado e dirigiu o processo. A interferência dessa fração do capital no processo foi compreendida a partir da estruturação do poder no Espírito Santo processada na reorganização das bases da produção de café na transição do trabalho escravo para o livre. Através da modernização da cidade, foram criadas novas alternativas de valorização do capital por intermédio da construção da cidade (habitações, edifícios públicos, infraestrutura e serviços urbanos). Contudo, não se verificou de forma significativa desdobramento do excedente acumulado na esfera do comércio em atividades produtivas modernas (multiplicadoras da riqueza). Nesse processo, surge a perspectiva de a valorização da propriedade imobiliária como expressão do desenvolvimento das condições gerais da produção e da reprodução do trabalho possibilitar rendas futuras crescentes ao capital. O que indica uma urbanização fundamentalmente dominada pelos interesses mercantil-exportadores e patrimonialistas, revelando um forte traço de atraso da modernização da cidade em seu papel de centro comercial da economia regional.

A New Account of the Diamond Mines of the Deccan

This account is drawn from a manuscript in Madrid National Library and till recently unpublished. It is an autobiographical account of a diamond trader who lived in Goa in the 17th century and travelled to various regions of India and elsewhere in Asia in search of diamonds. Jacques de Couttre, a flemish merchant, was a victim of the Goa Inquisition, but his diamonds won him freedom!

Business model analysis of Mobitto: How to solve the chicken and egg problem of a multi-sided platform?

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Genetic algorithm for shipping route estimation with long-range tracking data : automatic reconstruction of shipping routes based on the historical ship positions for maritime safety applications

Ship tracking systems allow Maritime Organizations that are concerned with the Safety at Sea to obtain information on the current location and route of merchant vessels. Thanks to Space technology in recent years the geographical coverage of the ship tracking platforms has increased significantly, from radar based near-shore traffic monitoring towards a worldwide picture of the maritime traffic situation. The long-range tracking systems currently in operations allow the storage of ship position data over many years: a valuable source of knowledge about the shipping routes between different ocean regions. The outcome of this Master project is a software prototype for the estimation of the most operated shipping route between any two geographical locations. The analysis is based on the historical ship positions acquired with long-range tracking systems. The proposed approach makes use of a Genetic Algorithm applied on a training set of relevant ship positions extracted from the long-term storage tracking database of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The analysis of some representative shipping routes is presented and the quality of the results and their operational applications are assessed by a Maritime Safety expert.