Viabilidade da regulação subnacional dos serviços de abastecimento de água e esgotamento sanitário sob a Lei 11.445/2007

Objetiva-se neste trabalho discutir a viabilidade da regulação subnacional do saneamento básico no País de acordo com o estabelecido na Lei no 11.445/2007. Foi analisada a viabilidade da regulação municipal em 2.523 municípios, com base na amostra do Sistema Nacional de Informações em Saneamento (SNIS) referente a 2005, mediante a aplicação de taxas de regulação de 1 a 3% do faturamento das concessionárias. Concluiu-se que a regulação local não apresenta viabilidade em 97% dos municípios pesquisados.

Protection against tuberculosis by a single intranasal administration of DNA-hsp65 vaccine complexed with cationic liposomes

Background: The greatest challenges in vaccine development include optimization of DNA vaccines for use in humans, creation of effective single-dose vaccines, development of delivery systems that do not involve live viruses, and the identification of effective new adjuvants. Herein, we describe a novel, simple technique for efficiently vaccinating mice against tuberculosis (TB). Our technique consists of a single-dose, genetic vaccine formulation of DNA-hsp65 complexed with cationic liposomes and administered intranasally. Results: We developed a novel and non-toxic formulation of cationic liposomes, in which the DNA-hsp65 vaccine was entrapped (ENTR-hsp65) or complexed (COMP-hsp65), and used to immunize mice by intramuscular or intranasal routes. Although both liposome formulations induced a typical Th1 pattern of immune response, the intramuscular route of delivery did not reduce the number of bacilli. However, a single intranasal immunization with COMP-hsp65, carrying as few as 25 mu g of plasmid DNA, leads to a remarkable reduction of the amount of bacilli in lungs. These effects were accompanied by increasing levels of IFN-gamma and lung parenchyma preservation, results similar to those found in mice vaccinated intramuscularly four times with naked DNA-hsp65 (total of 400 mu g). Conclusion: Our objective was to overcome the significant obstacles currently facing DNA vaccine development. Our results in the mouse TB model showed that a single intranasal dose of COMP-hsp65 elicited a cellular immune response that was as strong as that induced by four intramuscular doses of naked-DNA. This formulation allowed a 16-fold reduction in the amount of DNA administered. Moreover, we demonstrated that this vaccine is safe, biocompatible, stable, and easily manufactured at a low cost. We believe that this strategy can be applied to human vaccines to TB in a single dose or in prime-boost protocols, leading to a tremendous impact on the control of this infectious disease.

INFLUENCE OF ROOF MATERIAL ON THERMAL COMFORT IN BROILER HOUSINGS IN THE STATE OF SAO PAULO

This paper presents a different roof tiles influence study on the thermal comfort for broiler housings. The research was conducted at UNESP`s Experimental Campus at Dracena, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Four prototypes in real scale were built, each with an area of 28 m(2). The prototype was covered with roof tiles made of recycled long-life packing material, ceramic tiles, ceramic tiles painted with white coating, and fiber/cement tiles. Temperatures inside the structures were recorded in the winter 2007 over a 90-day period. The results obtained indicated that recycled tile thermal behavior was similar to ceramic tiles. However for the winter period all the prototypes had presented comfort thermal index not in the broilers thermo neutral zone.

Relationship between installation torque and uplift capacity of deep helical piles in sand

Le facteur empirique de correlation du torque K(T), qui represente la capacite de soulevement du torque d`installation de pieux helicoidaux, est generalement utilise comme instrument de controle de la qualite sur le terrain pour ce type de fondations. Dans cet article, une relation theorique entre la capacite de soulevement et le torque d`installation de pieux helicoidaux places profondement dans du sable est presentee. Un programme experimental, qui comprend des essais centrifuge et de cisaillement direct a l`interface, a ete effectue dans le but de valider cette relation theorique. Les resultats experimentaux ont ete compares aux resultats predits par l`approche suggeree, et les resultats montrent une bonne concordance. Puisque le modele developpe depend de l`angle de friction residuel a l`interface delta(r) entre la surface de l`helice du pieu et le sable, les resultats de delta(r) obtenus a partir de differents echantillons de sable sont presentes afin d`etre utilises lors de l`application sur le terrain de la relation theorique proposee. De plus, les valeurs de K(T) obtenues dans ces travaux ont ete comparees a celles reportees dans la litterature; celles-ci ayant ete obtenues lors d`essais sur le terrain et en laboratoire sur des pieux helicoidaux dans le sable. Cette analyse a permis de demontrer que les valeurs mesurees de K(T) diminuent lorsque la dimension des pieux augmente, ainsi qu`avec une augmentation de l`angle de friction du sable, dans la plupart des cas. Ces derniers resultats ont aussi ete demontres avec le modele presente.

MODELING OF AN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR WINE TRACEABILITY BASED ON A SERVICE ORIENTED ARCHITECTURE

The purpose is to present a scientific research that led to the modeling of an information system which aimed at the maintenance of traceability data in the Brazilian wine industry, according to the principles of a service-oriented architecture (SOA). Since 2005, traceability data maintenance is an obligation for all producers that intend to export to any European Union country. Also, final customers, including the Brazilian ones, have been asking for information about food products. A solution that collectively contemplated the industry was sought in order to permit that producer consortiums of associations could share the costs and benefits of such a solution. Following an extensive bibliographic review, a series of interviews conducted with Brazilian researchers and wine producers in Bento Goncalves - RS, Brazil, elucidated many aspects associated with the wine production process. Information technology issues related to the theme were also researched. The software was modeled with the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and uses web services for data exchange. A model for the wine production process was also proposed. A functional prototype showed that the adopted model is able to fulfill the demands of wine producers. The good results obtained lead us to consider the use of this model in other domains.

Hybrid and multi-field variational principles for geometrically exact three-dimensional beams

This paper addresses the development of several alternative novel hybrid/multi-field variational formulations of the geometrically exact three-dimensional elastostatic beam boundary-value problem. In the framework of the complementary energy-based formulations, a Legendre transformation is used to introduce the complementary energy density in the variational statements as a function of stresses only. The corresponding variational principles are shown to feature stationarity within the framework of the boundary-value problem. Both weak and linearized weak forms of the principles are presented. The main features of the principles are highlighted, giving special emphasis to their relationships from both theoretical and computational standpoints. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PERFORMANCE OF THE MODEL CALLED ACQUANETXL IN THE ALLOCATION OF WATER IN COMPLEX WATER RESOURCE SYSTEMS

This article presents a tool for the allocation analysis of complex systems of water resources, called AcquaNetXL, developed in the form of spreadsheet in which a model of linear optimization and another nonlinear were incorporated. The AcquaNetXL keeps the concepts and attributes of a decision support system. In other words, it straightens out the communication between the user and the computer, facilitates the understanding and the formulation of the problem, the interpretation of the results and it also gives a support in the process of decision making, turning it into a clear and organized process. The performance of the algorithms used for solving the problems of water allocation was satisfactory especially for the linear model.

Measuring Dynamic Oscillations of a Small Span Cable-Stayed Footbridge: Case Study Using L1 GPS Receivers

Highly redundant or statically undetermined structures, such as a cable-stayed bridge, have been of particular concern to the engineering community nowadays because of the complex parameters that must be taken into account for healthy monitoring. The purpose of this study was to verify the reliability and practicability of using GPS to characterize dynamic oscillations of small span bridges. The test was carried out on a cable-stayed wood footbridge at Escola de Engenharia de Sao Carlos-Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil. Initially a static load trial was carried out to get an idea of the deck amplitude and oscillation frequency. After that, a calibration trial was carried out by applying a well known oscillation on the rover antenna to check the environment detectable limits for the method used. Finally, a dynamic load trial was carried out by using GPS and a displacement transducer to measure the deck oscillation. The displacement transducer was used just to confirm the results obtained by the GPS. The results have shown that the frequencies and amplitude displacements obtained by the GPS are in good agreement with the displacement transducer responses. GPS can be used as a reliable tool to characterize the dynamic behavior of large structures such as cable-stayed footbridges undergoing dynamic loads.

EVALUATION OF FIVE SUGAR CANE PLANTERS

Brazil is the world biggest producer of sugar cane with an area of 7x10(6) hectares. Mainly the system used for planting is the semi-mechanized one, which consists in opening the furrows with a machine, manually allocating the fractioned stalks and then covering the furrows done by the machines. The great amount of human labor used in the semi-mechanized system is becoming harder to find and also more expensive, indicating the need of a fully mechanized operation. Currently in Brazil these agriculture machines industries offers six different types of fully mechanized sugar cane planters (two types of whole stalks for planting and four using mechanized harvested stalks known as billets). All of them plant in two furrows simultaneously in 1.5 m row spacing. This study analyzed five different machines and the following variables: Working Speed (km h(-1)); Effective Capacity (ha h(-1)), Drawbar Force (kgf), Draw Bar Power (in HP), Fuel Consumption (L h(-1)) and Costs (US$ ha(-1)) comparing them with the semi-mechanized system. This research also characterized the stalks for planting as viable gems number (%), non viable gems number (%) and billet length (m). And lastly the mechanized planting system is cheaper than the conventional one and none of the machines has an adequate mechanism for placing the right amount of sugar cane seed.

PROPOSAL OF A PERFORMANCE MEASURING SYSTEM APPLIED TO AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION

The leaders` organizations of several different sectors have as characteristic to measure their own performance in a systematic way. However, this concept is still unusual in agricultural enterprises, including the mechanization sector. Mechanization has an important role on the production costs and to know its performance is a key factor for the agricultural enterprise success. This work was generated by the importance that measurement of performance has for the management and the mechanization impact on the production costs. Its aim is to propose an integrated performance measurement system to give support to agricultural management. The methodology was divided in two steps: adjustment of a conceptual model based on Balanced Score Card - BSC; application of the model in a study case at sugar cane mill. The adjustment and the application of the conceptual model allowed to obtain the performance index in a systematic way, that are associated to: costs and deadline ( traditionally used); control and improvement on the quality of operations and support process; environmental preservation; safety; health; employees satisfaction; development of information systems. The adjusted model helped the development of the performance measurement system for the mechanized management systems and the index allows an integrated view of the enterprise, related to its strategic objectives.

WATER RESOURCES SITUATION AT PIRACICABA, CAPIVARI AND JUNDIAI WATERSHEDS USING A DYNAMIC SYSTEMS MODEL

Using a dynamic systems model specifically developed for Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundia River Water Basins (BH-PCJ) as a tool to help to analyze water resources management alternatives for policy makers and decision takers, five simulations for 50 years timeframe were performed. The model estimates water supply and demand, as well as wastewater generation from the consumers at BH-PCJ. A run was performed using mean precipitation value constant, and keeping the actual water supply and demand rates, the business as usual scenario. Under these considerations, it is expected an increment of about similar to 76% on water demand, that similar to 39% of available water volume will come from wastewater reuse, and that waste load increases to similar to 91%. Falkenmark Index will change from 1,403 m(3) person(-1) year(-1) in 2004, to 734 m(3) P(-1) year(-1) by 2054, and the Sustainability Index from 0.44 to 0.20. Another four simulations were performed by affecting the annual precipitation by 90 and 110%; considering an ecological flow equal to 30% of the mean daily flow; and keeping the same rates for all other factors except for ecological flow and household water consumption. All of them showed a tendency to a water crisis in the near future at BH-PCJ.

Boletim eletr??nico de bibliografias especializadas: meio ambiente e sustentabilidade

A 3a edi????o de 2013 do Boletim Eletr??nico de Bibliografias Especializadas re??ne publica????es do acervo da Biblioteca Graciliano Ramos com a tem??tica Meio Ambiente e Sustentabilidade, por ocasi??o do Dia Mundial do Meio Ambiente, comemorado anualmente em 5 de junho. A data busca chamar a aten????o e a a????o pol??tica de povos e pa??ses a fim de aumentar a conscientiza????o e a preserva????o ambiental. A divulga????o das publica????es a seguir - que tratam de ecologia, saneamento b??sico, polui????o, desenvolvimento sustent??vel, economia verde, gest??o ambiental, entre outros - tem como expectativa apoiar a forma????o e a capacita????o de servidores p??blicos, bem como a aplica????o desse conhecimento em pol??ticas p??blicas, em benef??cio da popula????o

Mudan??a organizacional em busca da excel??ncia

Este trabalho apresenta a experi??ncia do programa de mudan??as em busca da excel??ncia do Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN), unidade da Comiss??o Nacional de Energia Nuclear, implementado por meio de uma abordagem baseada na teoria dos sistemas complexos. Foi desenvolvido um sistema adaptativo de gest??o para organiza????es que lidam com tecnologia perigosa, como a nuclear, baseado no Modelo de Excel??ncia do Pr??mio Nacional da Qualidade e na cultura de seguran??a, sendo a seguran??a tratada como dimens??o estrat??gica para a excel??ncia. A implementa????o pr??tica do sistema foi conduzida por meio de uma interven????o do tipo mudan??a facilitada, que proporcionou certo grau de governan??a ao programa. Foi obtida uma evolu????o de 119% no n??vel de excel??ncia da gest??o do IEN no per??odo entre 2000 e 2003, assim como aprimoramentos na cultura de seguran??a do instituto

Qualidade de vida no trabalho: a perspectiva dos servidores e colaboradores de uma institui????o p??blica do poder executivo federal

O presente trabalho buscou identificar os aspectos que tecem o conceito de Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho ??? QVT sob a ??tica dos trabalhadores, no contexto de trabalho de um ??rg??o p??blico do Poder Executivo federal. A abordagem metodol??gica fundamentou-se na Ergonomia da Atividade Aplicada ?? Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho. O instrumento utilizado na pesquisa foi a parte qualitativa do macrodiagn??stico Invent??rio de Avalia????o de Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho/IA_QVT, validado no ??mbito da Administra????o P??blica brasileira. Participaram da pesquisa 37 trabalhadores de diferentes ??reas e v??nculos funcionais da Institui????o p??blica. A an??lise qualitativa dos dados, feita com base na an??lise de conte??do das representa????es dos respondentes, evidenciou que os trabalhadores relacionam QVT com os seguintes fatores: Rela????es socioprofissionais de trabalho harmoniosas; Condi????es adequadas de trabalho; Organiza????o eficaz do trabalho; Reconhecimento e crescimento profissional; Elo entre trabalho e vida social. A pesquisa ainda permitiu identificar os principais fatores que interferem nas representa????es de bem-estar e mal-estar da amostra de trabalhadores da institui????o. Este diagn??stico pode ensejar o interesse da Institui????o pelo aprofundamento da pesquisa para subsidiar a constru????o da pol??tica e do programa de QVT, calcado na ??tica de quem nela trabalha

Economicidade do projeto de amplia????o do aeroporto de Guarulhos

O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de propor alternativas para orientar a solu????o ao atendimento da demanda do aeroporto de Guarulhos de forma a reduzir os custos (de investimento e operacionais) or??ados, prazo de implanta????o do projeto e tamb??m o de melhorar a qualidade do projeto, de modo que a opera????o do aeroporto se tornasse a mais otimizada poss??vel. O projeto de amplia????o do aeroporto de Guarulhos, conhecido como projeto do Terminal de Passageiros-3 (TPS-3) era, e ainda ??, o maior da carteira de investimentos da INFRAERO. Outro assim, ele se encontrava com o Projeto B??sico encerrado em meados de 2000, fase bastante adequada para o in??cio de um processo de otimiza????o. Em paralelo, h?? nos ??rg??os centrais do Governo Federal, em especial no Minist??rio do Planejamento, Or??amento e Gest??o, uma tentativa de se implantar nos projetos governamentais ferramentas de gest??o que possibilitem avaliar, por exemplo, a real necessidade das obras, a funcionalidade do projeto e a otimiza????o econ??mica dos mesmos