Effects of litter manipulation in a tropical Eucalyptus plantation on leaching of mineral nutrients, dissolved organic nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon

Although many studies have shown that soil solution chemistry can be a reliable indicator of biogeochemical cycling in forest ecosystems, the effects of litter manipulations on the fluxes of dissolved elements in gravitational soil solutions have rarely been investigated. We estimated the fluxes of NH4-N, NO3-N, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) over the first two years after re-planting Eucalyptus trees in the coastal area of Congo. Two treatments were replicated in two blocks after clear-cutting 7-year-old stands: in treatment R, all the litter above the mineral soil was removed before planting, and in a double slash (DS) treatment, the amount of harvest residues was doubled. The soil solutions were sampled down to a depth of 4 m and the water fluxes were estimated using the Hydrus 1D model parameterized from soil moisture measurements in 4 plots. Isotopic and spectroscopic analytical techniques were used to assess the changes in dissolved organic matter (DOM) properties throughout the transfer in the soil. The first year after planting, the fluxes of NH4-N, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Cl and DOC in the topsoil of the DS treatment were 2-5 times higher than in R, which showed that litter was a major source of dissolved nutrients. Nutrient fluxes in gravitational solutions decreased sharply in the second year after planting, irrespective of the soil depth, as a result of intense nutrient uptake by Eucalyptus trees. Losses of dissolved nutrients were noticeably low in these Eucalyptus plantations despite a low cation exchange capacity, a coarse soil texture and large amounts of harvest residues left on-site at the clear cut in the DS treatment. All together, these results clarified the strong effect of litter manipulation observed on eucalypt growth in Congolese sandy soils. DOM fluxes, as well as changes in delta C-13, C:N and aromaticity of DOM throughout the soil profile showed that the organic compounds produced in the litter layer were mainly consumed by microorganisms or retained in the topsoil. Below a depth of 15 cm, most of the DOC and the DON originated from the first 2 cm of the soil and the exchanges between soil solutions and soil organic matter were low. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inverse Modeling of GPS Multipath for Snow Depth Estimation-Part I: Formulation and Simulations

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Transição para um novo centro de distribuição logístico em uma indústria de confecção

In a highly competitive environment for manufacturers and retailers in the garment sector, flexible solutions for warehousing, distribution and exhibition of products directly influence the cost and responsiveness to market demands. This work refers to a Textile/Clothing, which undergoes a process of restructuring and growth, where we evaluated the need for professionalism in all its processes, so that the high demands were met in a sales perennial. Thus, this study aims to identify and analyze possible improvements in the process of transition from a logistics/manufacturing force in a Textile/Clothing in existence since 1998, located in São Paulo, a framework for a new logistics Center Distribution Logistics. The theoretical basis of the research literature addresses as Distribution Center and its basic functions, layout and performance indicators. As result it was mapped the current logistics processes, contributing directly to the development of the layout of the new Distribution Center. Have also been established KPI,s ( Key Performance Indicator) and Logistics Performance Indicators showing the actual process performance, helping professionals in make decisions

Utilização de água pluvial para fins não potáveis: análise do atendimento da demanda pelo método de eficiências para dimensionamento de reservatório para diferentes regimes pluviométricos brasileiros

Brazil has about 12 % of a life´s essential resource: the superficial fresh water of the planet. However, today it is possible to observe the bad management of this resource, generating serious consequences on the quality that results in the loss of the use´s availability. In this scenario, the catchment of rainwater for undrinkable use is an alternative that has been broadly studied for the scientific community. When planning a system of rainwater catchment, the sizing of the required volume of the tank that will keep the water has a fundamental importance for the project, seeing that the supersizing of the tank can bring high costs and the undersizing can bring shortage in the water supply. This paper used a methodology based on two concepts: the harvesting efficiencies and the attending efficiencies of the system. This method takes as principle that exist a perfect demand that minimize the repayment time, condition that happened when the efficiencies are equal. Brazilian’s cities with different weathers and different rainfalls where chosen to simulate the attending for different demands for a typical residence. The data where parameterized according to the roof area and the number of residents, that way is possible that a future conference can be easily done and it also ensure results closer to the reality. The results showed that cities with a lower period of drought, even those with high level of rainfall on the raining mouths, have lower potential of water supply. The cities where the rainfall is more constant and also more high, even small roofs areas and small tank´s volumes – about half of the size compare to the cities with less propitious conditions – can generate high levels of water saving. With an eye to promote the environmental sustainability, the investment on projects for the catchment of rainwater is a good alternative

Parametrização de modelo para simulação de distribuição de combustíveis em um terminal

A great competition between companies happens nowadays, due to, among other factors, the globalized economic system, the growing consumer demand and the technological advances. This fact implies the need for fast and efficient tools in decision making. A validated simulation model is able to perform this task. Thus, it was parameterized a simulation model of a fuel distribution terminal. It is a complex system because of its great variability. The model´s data input were collected, however the model was not statistically validated, in other word, does not adequately represent the real system. A search was made for the possible causes of this fact: dividing the compartments of tanker trucks, data collection may have been insufficient, inefficient model for unloading of biofuels

Proposta de traçado de alcoolduto ligando a hidrovia Tietê Paraná à refinaria do planalto paulista com uso de avaliação multicritérios e geotecnologias

From the beginning of the century, with the advent of the flex fuel car, successor fluctuations in oil prices and the rise of awareness of the impending shortage of fossil fuels, the alcohol sector begins to reappear in the panorama of national economy making Brasill reaches the point of becoming a leading exporter of this product. Ethanol assumed the role of such importance in Brazilian exports, which Petrobras through the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) has made investments in the Brazilian pipeline network to better ensure the production of ethanol to major ports. The means of transport in pipelines are safe and inexpensive, but require careful evaluation in its implementation, they may lead to negative social and environmental impacts. Thus, the purpose of this project is to propose the best route for an ethanol pipeline connectin the Tietê-Paraná, leaving the municipality of Santa Maria da Serra (SP), to the Planalto Paulista Refinery (REPLAN), located in Paulinia (SP), belonging to the passage of ethanol export corridor, currently under revelopment. The technique used for the development of the stroke is the association of multicriteria evaluation, the geographical information system (SIG) and geotechnologies. This study presented three possible layouts for the ethanol pipeline, highlighting the best option, in addition, demonstrated the suitability of the area to receive projects of similar nature to a pipeline

Estimativa das emissões de monóxido de carbono por veículos automotivos na cidade de Campinas/SP utilizando o modelo CAL3QHCR

Air pollution is an environmental issue worldwide and frequently cause negative effects on population health and ecosystems on cities. The relationship between climate and atmospheric pollution can be used as a surrogate to the intensity of air pollution. The present and quantity of some gases can be used as indicators to air quality: particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Among those gases, CO has its major source within the cities, where automobiles are the main emitter. But measure pollutant concentration are challenging, sometimes because the lack of good equipments due to high costs and of the large variability of models that varies in precision, way of measure and distribution of sellers. Modeling are useful when there are an intend to evaluate air pollution, its sources and evaluate scenarios. This work aims to use CAL3QHCR model developed by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to generate predictive surfaces of CO concentration distribution on a site within Campinas city, located in São Paulo state, Brazil. CAL3QHCR model use data urban automobile circulation to generate spatial results for CO distribution. We observed that the pollution concentration was lower on our modeling than the concentrations measured by Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo (CETESB), the main environmental company on the São Paulo state. Also the correlation between average estimates of our model and the measure by CETESB was weak, indicating that the model used on this study need to be or better parameterized, or the scale we measured of CO emissions need to be rescaled. Although the model failed to correlate to CETESB data, maybe one that explore the estimated emissions distributed within the sites to understand spatial distributions of CO on the regions. Also, the generated information can also be used to other studies, and come to be useful to explain heat island

Desenvolvimento de modelos para flavonoides e cumarinas utilizando o campo de força CGenFF

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Measured and modeled interactive effects of potassium deficiency and water deficit on gross primary productivity and light-use efficiency in Eucalyptus grandis plantations

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Bulas e Cartelas de Medicamentos: Possíveis soluções de leiturabilidade através do Design Gráfico

The package inserts for drugs represent the main source of written information provided to patients, but the deficiency in the page layouts of informational texts (readability), the excess of information and use of techno-scientific language hamper the effectiveness of communication between the author (manufacturer) and player (patient) in addition to the physiological conditions of patients are often elderly. This article discusses these issues from theoretical predictions, and proposes solutions to the adequacy of information graphics package inserts of drugs and facilitating the identification of drug cards.

Avaliação da distribuição das forças produzidas com arco lingual removível pelo método de elementos finitos

Pós-graduação em Ciências Odontológicas - FOAR

Parameterization of bio-optical models for estimating chlorophyll-a concentration in a tropical eutrophic reservoir

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Deer-Vehicle Crash Patterns Across Ecoregions in Michigan

Deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) impact the economic and social well being of humans. We examined large-scale patterns behind DVCs across 3 ecoregions: Southern Lower Peninsula (SLP), Northern Lower Peninsula (NLP), and Upper Peninsula (UP) in Michigan. A 3 component conceptual model of DVCs with drivers, deer, and a landscape was the framework of analysis. The conceptual model was parameterized into a parsimonious mathematical model. The dependent variable was DVCs by county by ecoregion and the independent variables were percent forest cover, percent crop cover, mean annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and mean deer density index (DDI) by county. A discriminant function analysis of the 4 independent variables by counties by ecoregion indicated low misclassification, and provided support to the groupings by ecoregions. The global model and all sub-models were run for the 3 ecoregions and evaluated using information-theoretic approaches. Adjusted R2 values for the global model increased substantially from the SLP (0.21) to the NLP (0.54) to the UP (0.72). VMT and DDI were important variables across all 3 ecoregions. Percent crop cover played an important role in DVCs in the SLP and UP. The scale at which causal factors of DVCs operate appear to be finer in southern Michigan than in northern Michigan. Reduction of DVCs will likely occur only through a reduction in deer density, a reduction in traffic volume, or in modification of sitespecific factors, such as driver behavior, sight distance, highway features, or speed limits.

Feature-oriented regional modeling and simulations (FORMS) for the western South Atlantic: Southeastern Brazil region

The multi-scale synoptic circulation system in the southeastern Brazil (SEBRA) region is presented using a feature-oriented approach. Prevalent synoptic circulation structures, or ""features,"" are identified from previous observational studies. These features include the southward-flowing Brazil Current (BC), the eddies off Cabo Sao Tome (CST - 22 degrees S) and off Cabo Frio (CF - 23 degrees S), and the upwelling region off CF and CST. Their synoptic water-mass (T-S) structures are characterized and parameterized to develop temperature-salinity (T-S) feature models. Following [Gangopadhyay, A., Robinson, A.R., Haley, PJ., Leslie, W.J., Lozano, C.j., Bisagni, J., Yu, Z., 2003. Feature-oriented regional modeling and simulation (forms) in the gulf of maine and georges bank. Cont. Shelf Res. 23 (3-4), 317-353] methodology, a synoptic initialization scheme for feature-oriented regional modeling and simulation (FORMS) of the circulation in this region is then developed. First, the temperature and salinity feature-model profiles are placed on a regional circulation template and objectively analyzed with available background climatology in the deep region. These initialization fields are then used for dynamical simulations via the Princeton Ocean Model (POM). A few first applications of this methodology are presented in this paper. These include the BC meandering, the BC-eddy interaction and the meander-eddy-upwelling system (MEUS) simulations. Preliminary validation results include realistic wave-growth and eddy formation and sustained upwelling. Our future plan includes the application of these feature models with satellite, in-situ data and advanced data-assimilation schemes for nowcasting and forecasting the SEBRA region. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An algorithm for the strip packing problem using collision free region and exact fitting placement

The irregular shape packing problem is approached. The container has a fixed width and an open dimension to be minimized. The proposed algorithm constructively creates the solution using an ordered list of items and a placement heuristic. Simulated annealing is the adopted metaheuristic to solve the optimization problem. A two-level algorithm is used to minimize the open dimension of the container. To ensure feasible layouts, the concept of collision free region is used. A collision free region represents all possible translations for an item to be placed and may be degenerated. For a moving item, the proposed placement heuristic detects the presence of exact fits (when the item is fully constrained by its surroundings) and exact slides (when the item position is constrained in all but one direction). The relevance of these positions is analyzed and a new placement heuristic is proposed. Computational comparisons on benchmark problems show that the proposed algorithm generated highly competitive solutions. Moreover, our algorithm updated some best known results. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.