Avaliação otimizada técnica e econômica do ponto de conexão de geração distribuída em redes de média tensão

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Elétrica - FEIS

Validation of a measuring instrument for the perception of oral health in women

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Generalized interval vector spaces and interval optimization

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise da suscetibilidade a corridas de massa aplicada a dutovias: estudo de caso na bacia do Ribeirão do Roque

This scientific research aimed at to analyse the susceptibility to debris flow of the watershed of Ribeirão do Roque (SP), focusing on the upstream areas of OSBRA pipeline. This is because, mass flow can cause damage to pipes, mainly due to conditioning hydro erosion of the land in the drainage crossings, including the undermining the banks of streams. Firstly, It was conducted a literature review, aiming to identify and understand the principal characteristics and conditions of debris flow. Secondly, the physical and anthropic factors and their respective weights of influence were selected and used to determine the mass flow susceptibility. It was selected the following physical factors: type and thickness of rocks, soil and unconsolidated materials; textural density; amplitude relief; relief slope; shaped valley; and shape of slopes. Such factors are present in the physiographic subdivision map of the study area. In addition, the anthropic attributes correspond to the classes contained in the land use map. Therefore, the physical and anthropic factors were integrated through the multi-criteria analysis in a GIS environment, generating a total susceptibility map of debris flow on the scale 1:50,000. The results showed that a significative part of the study area was classified as average susceptibility. However, it was identified areas with high susceptibility in the region in which the pipe cross the Ribeirão do Roque. Moreover, at which point the river presents a closed valley and a meander shape, without a fluvial plain that would be useful to attenuate the development of the process. Consequently, if a mass flow begins in any of these most susceptible regions located upstream of the pipe, the chances that the process develops by the river and causes the excavations of his bed are quite large. However, the pipelines cross these critical areas directly on the rock (diabase), which provides additional protection against possible ...

Estudo da dinâmica de populações utilizando a técnica de polinômios de colocação

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Elétrica - FEB

Estrutura populacional e parâmetros genéticos da característica classe de tempo em corridas de equinos da raça Quarto de Milha

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise multicriterial aplicado na definição de áreas prioritárias ao uso agrícola da terra da bacia do Rio Capivara, Botucatu, SP

The use of geographic information systems (GIS), combined with advanced analysis technique, enables the standardization and data integration, which are usually from different sources, allowing you to conduct a joint evaluation of the same, providing more efficiency and reliability in the decision-making process to promote the adequacy of land use. This study aimed to analyze the priority areas of the basin agricultural use of the Capivara River, Botucatu, SP, through multicriterial analysis, aiming at conservation of water resources. The results showed that the Geographic Information System Idrisi Selva combined with advanced analysis technique and the weighted linear combination method proved to be an effective tool in the combination of different criteria, allowing the determination of the adequacy of agricultural land use less subjective way. Environmental criteria were shown to be suitable for the combination and multi-criteria analysis, allowing the preparation of the statement of suitability classes for agricultural use and can be useful for regional planning and decision-making by public bodies and environmental agents because the method takes into account the rational use of land and allowing the conservation of hydrics resources.

Adequação territorial com abordagem multicriterial pela análise da combinação linear ponderada

From the characterization of biophysical attributes of the watershed (slope, soil types, capacity to land use and land cover), this article, used the multi-criteria analysis method – Weighted Linear Combination, defined priority areas for adaptation to the use of land as to its capacity of use. With this methodological approach, were created for the watershed under study, four classes, formed by different combinations of biophysical attributes (discrete data), representing levels of priorities for agricultural land use. The Multicriteria Evaluation in a GIS is suitable for the mapping of priority areas to the suitability of land use in watersheds. The geospatial information on the biophysical environment, generated from the methodological procedures described in this article, has a high positive potential to guide the rational planning of the use of natural resources and territorial occupation, besides serving as a powerful instrument to guide policies and collective processes of decision on the use and land cover.

Determination of trace elements in bovine semen samples by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and data mining techniques for identification of bovine class

The reproductive performance of cattle may be influenced by several factors, but mineral imbalances are crucial in terms of direct effects on reproduction. Several studies have shown that elements such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, selenium, and zinc are essential for reproduction and can prevent oxidative stress. However, toxic elements such as lead, nickel, and arsenic can have adverse effects on reproduction. In this paper, we applied a simple and fast method of multi-element analysis to bovine semen samples from Zebu and European classes used in reproduction programs and artificial insemination. Samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP-MS) using aqueous medium calibration and the samples were diluted in a proportion of 1:50 in a solution containing 0.01% (vol/vol) Triton X-100 and 0.5% (vol/vol) nitric acid. Rhodium, iridium, and yttrium were used as the internal standards for ICP-MS analysis. To develop a reliable method of tracing the class of bovine semen, we used data mining techniques that make it possible to classify unknown samples after checking the differentiation of known-class samples. Based on the determination of 15 elements in 41 samples of bovine semen, 3 machine-learning tools for classification were applied to determine cattle class. Our results demonstrate the potential of support vector machine (SVM), multilayer perceptron (MLP), and random forest (RF) chemometric tools to identify cattle class. Moreover, the selection tools made it possible to reduce the number of chemical elements needed from 15 to just 8.

Optimization of Large-Scale Hydrothermal System Operation

This paper presents the development of a mathematical model to optimize the management and operation of the Brazilian hydrothermal system. The system consists of a large set of individual hydropower plants and a set of aggregated thermal plants. The energy generated in the system is interconnected by a transmission network so it can be transmitted to centers of consumption throughout the country. The optimization model offered is capable of handling different types of constraints, such as interbasin water transfers, water supply for various purposes, and environmental requirements. Its overall objective is to produce energy to meet the country's demand at a minimum cost. Called HIDROTERM, the model integrates a database with basic hydrological and technical information to run the optimization model, and provides an interface to manage the input and output data. The optimization model uses the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) package and can invoke different linear as well as nonlinear programming solvers. The optimization model was applied to the Brazilian hydrothermal system, one of the largest in the world. The system is divided into four subsystems with 127 active hydropower plants. Preliminary results under different scenarios of inflow, demand, and installed capacity demonstrate the efficiency and utility of the model. From this and other case studies in Brazil, the results indicate that the methodology developed is suitable to different applications, such as planning operation, capacity expansion, and operational rule studies, and trade-off analysis among multiple water users. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000149. (C) 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Sleep disorders in climacteric women

Introduction: This paper examines the various factors that contribute to the occurrence of sleep alterations during peri and post climacteric and thus produce significant imperil to women's quality of life. Among the probable causes of insomnia or sleep disorders associated to climacteric stand out the occurrence of vasomotor symptoms, depressive state and respiratory distress during sleep, such as sleep apnea, along with chronic pain, although psychosocial factors related to the climacteric bear major influence on such clinical status. Method: The bibliographic analysis was carried out using several electronic data base namely: Cochrane, Medline, Embase, Bni Plus, Biological Abstracts, Psycinfo, Web Of Science, Sigle, Dissertation Abstracts and ZETOC published in English, Spanish and Poruguese. The key terms used were: sleep, REM sleep, slow wave sleep polysomnography; electroencephalogram; sleep disturbances; disturbances of sleep onset and maintenance; excessive somnolence disturbances; climacteric; menopause; depression; neurobiology; biologic models; circadian rhythm; mental health and epidemiology. Case studies and letters to the editor were excluded. The summaries of the identified studies found in the data base were analyzed and assessed, and the data analyzed separately according to the subjective or objective criteria for data collection. Results: The climacteric transition constitutes a period of major risk for the development of depressive, vasomotor and insomnia symptoms although not caused solely by hypoestrogenism. The diagnostic methods used in the study of sleep disorders range from subjective assessment by means of response to specific questionnaires to the objective analysis of actigraphic or polissonographic daytime and nocturnal reports. Polissonographic studies of the whole night, performed at the laboratory, are the golden method of choice for diagnostic of sleep disorders. Studies point to the high prevalence of sleep disorders in the climacteric, especially insomnia, apnea and periodic movement of legs and also to the fact that this phase of life presents decrease in the quality of sleep. Women in peri and post climacteric show higher sleep latency and difficulty in its maintenance and refer being less satisfied with its quality even when compared to those who are not climacteric. Exception made to the vasomotor symptomatology, the other climacteric complaints such as mood disturbances, libido alterations, cognitive deficit, articular pain and sleep disorders are markedly associated to psychosocial factors, lifestyle and especially to women's perception of what the climacteric means to their lives. Conclusion: The analysis of the available studies revealed a proneness to deterioration of quality of life of climacteric women markedly in the sleep disturbances, depressed mood and anxiety domains and should not to be basically attributed to the climacteric. It is necessary that the professionals consider the need of assessment of such pathologies as complex phenomena and the literature lacks studies contemplating such dimensions.

Paleolimnologically inferred eutrophication of a shallow, tropical, urban reservoir in southeast Brazil

We studied the eutrophication history of a tropical shallow reservoir in the So Paulo metropolitan region, southeast Brazil. We analyzed grain size, geochemistry, diatom assemblages, and land-use records in a sediment core from the reservoir to infer its trophic state history during the last similar to 110 years (1894-2005). Eighty diatom species were observed in the core and shifts in the relative abundances of planktonic and benthic taxa indicate major limnological changes associated with complex interactions between hydrologic factors and eutrophication. Discostella stelligera was associated with deforestation and water physical changes whereas Aulacoseira granulata, a species abundant throughout the core, was mostly associated with high flux conditions and erosion events, regardless of trophic state. Eutrophication was triggered by construction of the city zoo (1958) and installation of the So Paulo State Department of Agriculture (1975) within the Gar double dagger as watershed, and increasing loads of untreated sewage from these institutions. The data suggest that deterioration in water quality began after similar to 1975 and markedly accelerated after similar to 1990. The reservoir has been hypereutrophic since 1999. Steady increases in geochemical proxies for trophic state, along with a decrease in C/N ratios, indicated higher nutrient concentrations and the prevalence of autochthonous production towards the core top. Appearance of Achnanthidium catenatum similar to 1993 highlighted the onset of a marked eutrophication phase. The subsequent dominance of Planothidium rostratum and Cyclotella meneghiniana suggested a sharp shift to a hypereutrophic state since 1999. Land-use history proved valuable for validating the chronology and interpreting anthropogenic impacts. Multi-proxy analysis of the sediment record provided an effective tool for tracking ecological shifts in the reservoir ecosystem. This study provides the first reconstruction of lake eutrophication history in Brazil and highlights the importance of hydrological/physical changes as drivers of diatom assemblage shifts in reservoirs, which may confound trophic state inferences based on shifts in the planktonic/benthic diatom ratio.

Genotype by environment interaction for birth and weaning weights of composite beef cattle in different regions of Brazil

The objectives of the present study were to characterize and define homogenous production environments of composite beef cattle in Brazil in terms of climatic and geographic variables using multivariate exploratory techniques and to use them to assess the presence of G x E for birth weight (BW) and weaning weight (WW). Data from animals born between 1995 and 2008 on 36 farms located in 27 municipalities of the Brazilian states were used. Fifteen years of climate observations (mean minimum and maximum annual temperature and mean annual rainfall) and geographic (latitude, longitude and altitude) data were obtained for each municipality where the farms were located for characterization of the production environments. Hierarchical and nonhierarchical cluster analysis was used to group farms located in regions with similar environmental variables into clusters. Six clusters of farms were formed. The effect of sire-cluster interaction was tested by single-trait analysis using deviance information criterion (DIC). Genetic parameters were estimated by multi-trait analysis considering the same trait to be different in each cluster. According to the values of DIC, the inclusion of sire-cluster effect did not improve the fit of the genetic evaluation model for BW and WW. Estimates of genetic correlations among clusters ranged from -0.02 to 0.92. The low genetic correlation among the most studied regions permits us to suggest that a separate genetic evaluation for some regions should be undertaken. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Algoritmos evolutivos e modelo HP para predição de estruturas de proteínas

Predição de estruturas de proteínas (PSP) é um problema computacionalmente complexo. Modelos simplificados da molécula proteica (como o Modelo HP) e o uso de Algoritmos Evolutivos (AEs) estão entre as principais técnicas investigadas para PSP. Entretanto, a avaliação de uma estrutura representada pelo Modelo HP considera apenas o número de contatos hidrofóbicos, não possibilitando distinguir entre estruturas com o mesmo número de contatos hidrofóbicos. Neste trabalho, é apresentada uma nova formulação multiobjetivo para PSP em Modelo HP. Duas métricas são avaliadas: o número de contatos hidrofóbicos e a distância entre os aminoácidos hidrofóbicos, as quais são tratados pelo AE Multiobjetivo em Tabelas (AEMT). O algoritmo mostrou-se rápido e robusto.

Application of evolutionary algorithms and the boundary element method in the optimization of noise barrier profiles

[EN]This Ph.D. thesis presents a general, robust methodology that may cover any type of 2D acoustic optimization problem. A procedure involving the coupling of Boundary Elements (BE) and Evolutionary Algorithms is proposed for systematic geometric modifications of road barriers that lead to designs with ever-increasing screening performance. Numerical simulations involving single- and multi-objective optimizations of noise barriers of varied nature are included in this document. results disclosed justify the implementation of this methodology by leading to optimal solutions of previously defined topologies that, in general, greatly outperform the acoustic efficiency of classical, widely used barrier designs normally erected near roads.