A gestão da informação sob a luz do Enterprise Content Management (ECM): um estudo de caso em uma universidade pública

This work involves the organization and content perspectives on Enterprise Content Management (ECM) framework. The case study at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte was based on ECM model to analyse the information management provided by the three main administrative systems: The Integrated Management of Academic Activities (SIGAA), Integrated System of Inheritance, and Contracts Administration (SIPAC) and the Integrated System for Administration and Human Resources (SIGRH). A case study protocol was designed to provide greater reliability to research process. Four propositions were examined in order to reach the specific objectives of identification and evaluation of ECM components from UFRN perspective. The preliminary phase provided the guidelines for the data collection. In total, 75 individuals were interviewed. Interviews with four managers directly involved on systems design were recorded (average duration of 90 minutes). The 70 remaining individuals were approached in random way in UFRN s units, including teachers, administrative-technical employees and students. The results showed the presence of many ECM elements in the management of UFRN administrative information. The technological component with higher presence was "management of web content / collaboration". But initiatives of other components (e.g. email and document management) were found and are in continuous improvement. The assessment made use of eQual 4.0 to examine the effectiveness of applications under three factors: usability, quality of information and offered service. In general, the quality offered by the systems was very good and walk side by side with the obtained benefits of ECM strategy adoption in the context of the whole institution

Nutrients affecting food choice by the pest subterranean termite Coptotermes gestroi (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Weed-soybean interference studies in Brazil

Recently, a notable shift in weed patterns has occurred in some soybean growing regions, as a result of tillage system change and herbicide use. The weed communities are very diversified and strongly interfere with soybean growth and productivity, especially when the shading of superior leaves of the canopy occurs. Some changes to certain agricultural practices, such as cultivars, row spacing and sowing density, were studied and were considered suitable for the establishment of an integrated weed management system under Brazilian conditions. -from Author

Effect of Alternaria cassiae, Pseudocercospora nigricans, and soybean (Glycine max) planting density on the biological control of sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia)

The interactions of two fungal biocontrol agents, Alternaria cassiae and Pseudocercospora nigricans, and soybean planting density on sicklepod mortality and dry weight were studied in the field over 2 yr. The experimental field was divided into three equal areas: one without soybean and two where the soybean was sown in densities of 20 and 36 seeds per meter row with a 0.95-m row spacing. The fungi were sprayed alone or in a mixture at three growth stages of sicklepod plants grown at three levels of crop interference resulting from the three soybean planting densities. The fungal treatments were: an untreated control, A. cassiae (105 spores/m2), P. nigricans (3.3 g mycelium/m2), and the mixture of these two fungi. Sicklepod was at the cotyledonary leaf, two-leaf, and four-leaf stages when treated. Alternaria cassiae was most effective in reducing both sicklepod survival and dry weight. The mixture of P. nigricans and A. cassiae was generally comparable to but not better than A. cassiae alone in killing the weed (mortality) and reducing its growth (dry weight). Soybean density did not have significant effects on the mortality or the dry weight of sicklepod. Thus, there is no advantage to combining the highly effective biocontrol agent A. cassiae with the less effective P. nigricans or with soybean interference to control sicklepod. However, the results validate the efficacy of A. cassiae by itself as a bioherbicide.

Potencial do controle biológico para o controle de Pseudoplusia includens (Walker, 1857) e Anticarsia gemmatalis Hubner, 1818 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) em soja

The soybean (Glycine max) is of great importance to national economic scenario being a major Brazilian agribusiness products. In most regions, the caterpillar-of-soy (Anticarsia gemmatalis) and caterpillar-false-Medideira (Pseudoplusia includes), act as defoliators, with the highest incidence, usually during the growing season, until the end of flowering, and thus causing a significant reduction in the production, which requires control measures. Due to market demands and the large external environmental awareness exists today, the methods of ecological management have been highlighted in modern agriculture. The use of chemical insecticides, besides being harmful to the environment and man, is, in most cases, the high cost to the farmer. The biological pest control using natural enemies can be used as an alternative control method. Thus this literature review is intended to provide the updated information about these pests and biological control as an alternative form of control, as well as one more tool in the integrated pest of soybean.

Dynamic SLA management with forecasting using multi-objective optimization

Cost-efficient operation while satisfying performance and availability guarantees in Service Level Agreements (SLAs) is a challenge for Cloud Computing, as these are potentially conflicting objectives. We present a framework for SLA management based on multi-objective optimization. The framework features a forecasting model for determining the best virtual machine-to-host allocation given the need to minimize SLA violations, energy consumption and resource wasting. A comprehensive SLA management solution is proposed that uses event processing for monitoring and enables dynamic provisioning of virtual machines onto the physical infrastructure. We validated our implementation against serveral standard heuristics and were able to show that our approach is significantly better.

Service Level Agreements-Driven Management of Distributed Applications in Cloud Computing Environments

Cloud Computing enables provisioning and distribution of highly scalable services in a reliable, on-demand and sustainable manner. However, objectives of managing enterprise distributed applications in cloud environments under Service Level Agreement (SLA) constraints lead to challenges for maintaining optimal resource control. Furthermore, conflicting objectives in management of cloud infrastructure and distributed applications might lead to violations of SLAs and inefficient use of hardware and software resources. This dissertation focusses on how SLAs can be used as an input to the cloud management system, increasing the efficiency of allocating resources, as well as that of infrastructure scaling. First, we present an extended SLA semantic model for modelling complex service-dependencies in distributed applications, and for enabling automated cloud infrastructure management operations. Second, we describe a multi-objective VM allocation algorithm for optimised resource allocation in infrastructure clouds. Third, we describe a method of discovering relations between the performance indicators of services belonging to distributed applications and then using these relations for building scaling rules that a CMS can use for automated management of VMs. Fourth, we introduce two novel VM-scaling algorithms, which optimally scale systems composed of VMs, based on given SLA performance constraints. All presented research works were implemented and tested using enterprise distributed applications.

Ecotoxicology of pesticides on natural enemies of olive groves. Potential of ecdysone agonists for controlling Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Pesticide applications are still one of the most common control methods against the main olive grove pests and diseases: the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), the olive moth, Prays oleae (Bernard), the black scale, Saissetia oleae (Olivier), and the olive leaf spot, caused by the fungus Spilocaea oleagina Fries. However, and because the new pesticide legislation is aimed at an integrated pest and disease management, it is still important to evaluate and to know the ecotoxicology of pesticides on the natural enemies of the different agrosystems. A part of this work has been focusses on evaluating the direct and indirect effects of kaolin particle films and two copper-based products (Bordeaux mixture and copper oxychloride) through different laboratory, extended laboratory and semi-field experiments. Two natural enemies have been chosen: Psyttalia concolor (Szèpligeti), a parasitoid of the olive fruit fly, and Chilocorus nigritus (F.), predator of Diaspididae. This predator has been used instead of C. bipustulatus (L.), which is the species found in olive orchards. Kaolin mainly acts as a repellent of insects and/or as an oviposition deterrent. It is used in olive groves to control the olive fruit fly and the olive moth. Copper is applied against fungal and bacterial diseases. In olive groves it is used against the olive leaf spot and other diseases. No statistical differences were found in any of the experiments performed, compared to the controls, except when the oral toxicity of the products was evaluated on P. concolor females. In this case, kaolin and copper oxychloride caused a higher mortality 72 hours after the treatments, and both kaolin and the two copper formulations decreased females’ life span. Reproductive parameters were only negatively affected when kaolin was ingested. Apart from these experiments, due to the uncommon mode of action of kaolin, two extra experiments were carried out: a dual choice and a no-choice experiment. In this case, both P. concolor females and C. nigritus adults showed a clear preference for the untreated surfaces when they had the possibility of choosing between a treated surface and an untreated one. When there was no choice, no statistical differences were found between the treatments and the controls. Furthermore, the efficacy and the selectivity of three insect growth regulators (methoxyfenozide, tebufenozide and RH-5849) on B. oleae and P. concolor, respectively, have also been evaluated. In addition to laboratory experiments to evaluate the toxicity of the insecticides, also molecular approaches were used. RNA of both insects was isolated. cDNA was subsequently synthesized and the complete sequences of the ligand biding domain (LBD) of the ecdysone receptor of each insect were then determined. Afterwards the three dimensional structures of both LBDs were constructed. Finally, the docking of the insecticide molecules in the cavity delineated by the 12 α-helix that composed the LBD was performed. Both toxicity assays and molecular docking approaches showed that either methoxyfenozide or tebufenozide had no negative effects nor on B. oleae nor on P. concolor. In contrast, RH-5849 had no deleterious effect to the parasitoid but decreased olive fruit fly adults’ life span, especially when they were in contact with the fresh residue of the insecticide applied on a glass surface. The docking study of RH-5849 molecule has shown a very light hindrance with the wall of the LBD pocket. This means that this molecule could more or less adjust in the cavity. Thus, searching of new insecticides for controlling the olive fruit fly could be based on the basic lead structure of RH-5849 molecule.

Integrated economic-hydrologic analysis of policy responses

Water is a vital resource, but also a critical limiting factor for economic and social development in many parts of the world. The recent rapid growth in human population and water use for social and economic development is increasing the pressure on water resources and the environment, as well as leading to growing conflicts among competing water use sectors (agriculture, urban, tourism, industry) and regions (Gleick et al., 2009; World Bank, 2006). In Spain, as in many other arid and semi-arid regions affected by drought and wide climate variability, irrigated agriculture is responsible for most consumptive water use and plays an important role in sustaining rural livelihoods (Varela-Ortega, 2007). Historically, the evolution of irrigation has been based on publicly-funded irrigation development plans that promoted economic growth and improved the socio-economic conditions of rural farmers in agrarian Spain, but increased environmental damage and led to excessive and inefficient exploitation of water resources (Garrido and Llamas, 2010; Varela-Ortega et al., 2010). Currently, water policies in Spain focus on rehabilitating and improving the efficiency of irrigation systems, and are moving from technocratic towards integrated water management strategies driven by the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD).

Integrated plant monitoring to improve plant operation strategy and results

The more and more demanding conditions in the power generation sector requires to apply all the available technologies to optimize processes and reduce costs. An integrated asset management strategy, combining technical analysis and operation and maintenance management can help to improve plant performance, flexibility and reliability. In order to deploy such a model it is necessary to combine plant data and specific equipment condition information, with different systems devoted to analyze performance and equipment condition, and take advantage of the results to support operation and maintenance decisions. This model that has been dealt in certain detail for electricity transmission and distribution networks, is not yet broadly extended in the power generation sector, as proposed in this study for the case of a combined power plant. Its application would turn in direct benefit for the operation and maintenance and for the interaction to the energy market

Noxious Weed Management: A Review of Herbicide Use at Colorado State Parks

Weed control in recreation areas is a complex public land management issue. Colorado State Parks are managed for both recreation and conservation, which often conflict. Noxious weeds affect both recreation and conservation efforts, and Parks often use herbicides to control these weeds. While herbicides are effective, they can be harmful to the environment and human health. Herbicide use at State Parks was reviewed to determine if chemical control is effective, safe, and efficient. The results revealed that many Parks are not using effective herbicides to treat noxious weeds and that some weed management plans lack pertinent information on chemical control. The results and recommendations provided can be used to improve the success of noxious weed control and create healthier Parks.

A report on a seminar and workshop in pesticide management /

Cover title: Proceedings of the UC/AID-University of Alexandria, A.R.E., Seminar/Workshop in Pesticide Management, March 5-10, 1977, University of Alexandria.

Growing healthy seedlings : identification and management of pests in Northwest forest nurseries /

"R6-PNW-019-90."

Geographic information system : a computer assisted approach to managing forest pest area.

"October 1983"--P. [1]

Do predators aggregate in response to pest density in agroecosystems? Assessing within-field spatial patterns

1. The spatial heterogeneity of predator populations is an important component of ecological theories pertaining to predator-prey dynamics. Most studies within agricultural fields show spatial correlation (positive or negative) between mean predator numbers and prey abundance across a whole field over time but generally ignore the within-field spatial dimension. We used explicit spatial mapping to determine if generalist predators aggregated within a soybean field, the size of these aggregations and if predator aggregation was associated with pest aggregation, plant damage and predation rate. 2. The study was conducted at Gatton in the Lockyer Valley, 90 km west of Brisbane, Australia. Intensive sampling grids were used to investigate within-field spatial patterns. The first row of each grid was located in a lucerne field (10 m from interface) and the remaining rows were in an adjacent soybean field. At each point on the grid the abundance of foliage-dwelling and ground-dwelling pests and predators was measured, predation rates [using sentinel Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) egg cards] and plant damage were estimated. Eight grids were sampled across two summer cropping seasons (2000/01, 2001/02). 3. Predators exhibited strong spatial patterning with regions of high and low abundance and activity within what are considered to be uniform soybean fields. Ground-dwelling and foliage-dwelling predators were often aggregated in patches approximately 40 m across. 4. Lycosidae (wolf spiders) displayed aggregation and were consistently more abundant within the lucerne, with a decreasing trap catch with distance from the lucrene/soybean interface. This trend was consistent between subsequent grids in a single field and between fields. 5. The large amount of spatial variability in within-field arthropod abundance (pests and predators) and activity (egg predation and plant damage) indicates that whole field averages were misleading. This result has serious implications for sampling of arthropod abundance and pest management decision-making based on scouting data. 6. There was a great deal of temporal change in the significant spatial patterns observed within a field at each sampling time point during a single season. Predator and pest aggregations observed in these fields were generally not stable for the entire season. 7. Predator aggregation did not correlate consistently with pest aggregation, plant damage or predation rate. Spatial patterns in predator abundance were not associated consistently with any single parameter measured. The most consistent positive association was between foliage-dwelling predators and pests (significant in four of seven grids). Inferring associations between predators and prey based on an intensive one-off sampling grid is difficult, due to the temporal variability in the abundance of each group. 8. Synthesis and applications. This study demonstrated that generalist predator populations are rarely distributed randomly and field edges and adjacent crops can have an influence on within-field predator abundance. This must be considered when estimating arthropod (pest and predator) abundance from a set of samples taken at random locations within a field.