A eliminação do mosquito do dengue em ambientes residenciais: uma questão de cuidado ambiental?

Dengue is currently considered one of the most relevant public health problems worldwide. Studies indicate the surroundings of the houses as the preferred sites for the proliferation of Aedes aegypti. The residential areas are privileged environments for human development and contribute to the formation of the individual s identity and for the establishment of affective, social and cultural bonds. The purpose of this study was to investigate possible links between psychological indicators of pro-environmentalism and conservation status of residential backyards. Data collection was performed in 147 homes and methodological strategy involved the use of interview, the Scale of Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Environmentalism, Scale of Consideration of Future Consequences and a tool for environmental evaluation. It was found that the participants expressed as environmental practices the garbage recycling, besides they had the knowledge of how the transmission of dengue occurs. These residents showed ecofriendly motivated commitment: pro-environmentalist ecocentric and anthropocentric. In evaluating the backyard it was verified that the conservation conditions, in almost half of the homes, appeared as carelessness on the part of residents and those conditions are conducive to the proliferation of Aedes aegypti. The pro-environmentalists and guidance for the future identified by the scales were not associated with the conservation status of the backyards. However, it was found that the trends of reduction and stability of infestation levels are associated with self-reported environmental care. These results can contribute to the discussion and design of new mosquito control actions and practices of education and health information among the population

Alterações ambientais em Parelhas, Rio Grande do Norte: metais pesados em sedimentos de drenagens e percepção de comunidades rurais em relação a mudanças na paisagem

The conservation of natural resources is essential and constitutes the main subject of many researches, which characterize important aspects concerning the environmental alterations in the ground, water, landscape and socioeconomic information. This study aimed to investigate the anthropogenic input of heavy metals in the environment, in the area of the Parelhas dump site and in part of the Seridó River and to determine the concentration of heavy metals in the sediments. This can result in risk to the environment and human health. In addition, we sought to establish the socioeconomic profile of rural communities adjacent to Seridó River and to comprehend the perception of these dwellers about the changes in the places they live. The area of this study is located in the city of Parelhas/RN, in the centralsouthern part of the State, in the micro-region of the Oriental Seridó. This area comprehends the place where the dump site is located, next to RN 086, the Caldeirão dam, the Quintos river called by local citizens Caldeirão creek and part of Seridó river, perpetuated by the Boqueirão dam, which crosses the city and it includes the rural communities of Almas, Domingas, Sussuarana II and Colonos. Regarding the study with bottom sediments, the samples were collected and taken to the laboratory of geochemistry, where they were dried, sieved, weighted and submitted to weak acid attack. The analysis of heavy metals was held by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer - Flame AAS. We applied 23 closed questionnaires constituted by 38 questions to collect informations in the rural communities, oriented to establish the socioeconomic profile and the environmental perception of the participants. The participants were distributed in the communities of Almas (1), Domingas (2), Sussuarana II (10) and Colonos (10). Most of them presented similar socioeconomic profiles. They are from 45 to 60 years old and live in these localities for 20 to 30 years or more. The families are composed by 3 or 4 people; the agriculture is the main activity, livestock is the secondary and 48% of them earn the minimal wage. Regarding the environmental perception, the participants can realize some changes in vegetation, soil, water and landscape. People living longer in the community, and with more years of experience on the local reality can perceive the depletion of the soil, pastures and changes in the landscape. These changes portray how the place was previously and what it represents today. The perception of these changes, besides the environmental ones, includes others concerning the increasing number of dwellers in the last years, as well as the number of houses. The changes happened through activities developed by the dwellers over the years, including agricultural practices, livestock, grass planting and even the cultivation of cotton. The study provided the acquisition of new data about the environmental reality of this region. It can subsidize the definition of public policies that can be implemented from the perspective of conservation of water resources and of the coexistence and survival of man in the semi-arid

Benefícios econômicos agregados às propriedades urbanas pelas paisagens naturais

Amenities value provided by green areas, sea, river and natural landscapes are hardly perceived and incorporated on urban planning and development. In this work, distance and view to protected and non-protected green areas, sea and river were evaluated as to how they increase the housing prices in Natal. Hedonic pricing methods were used with linear models to estimate the marginal implicit value of environmental, residential and neighborhood features. Results on Chapter 1 demonstrate the view to the sea and protected natural areas were largely capitalized on housing prices, while non-protected natural areas didn t display such effect. Housing prices also increase when close to the sea or to parks entrance. However, housing prices fall when houses are near non-protected natural areas. When estates with sea view were excluded, the protected natural areas view and a longer distance to non-protected natural areas increased dwelling prices. Results on Chapter 2 point the sea view as an hedonic variable the contributes strongly to the property selling prices, even though not always as the greatest contributor; furthermore, the property proximity to Dunas Park or City of the Park entrance increases its price, as does closeness to Dunas Park, view to City of the Park or Dunas Park. On the other hand, selling prices diminish if properties are close to City of the Park or Morro do Careca. Results on this study confirm the hedonic pricing methods is an important intrument, capable of revealing to popullation the importance of enviromental amenities and can be used by public managers for creating public policies for conservation and restoration projects

Processos sócio-ambientais relacionados às situações de degradação na região do Rio Doce, Natal/RN

Natal is a medium-sized coastal city (800.000 inhabitants), capital of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, in the Northeast of Brazil. According to statistics published by the IBGE (2000), the area of Natal that stretches from Redinha to Lagoa Azul holds about 12% of the municipal population. Part of this area is bordered by a watercourse, the Rio Doce, which has been afflicted by a range of socio-environmental problems over the years. This study was carried out with the aims of 1) identifying the socio-environmental processes related to urban expansion, with an emphasis on those causing environmental degradation in this region; b) analysing the perception of the target population in relation to the environment it occupies; and c) determining the socioeconomic profile of the local residents and the sanitary facilities available to them. A survey was carried out by conducting interviews and completing questionnaires with the residents to assess the situation both qualitatively and quantitatively in the communities of Caiana, Pajussara Sítio, Gramoré Povoado and Gramoré Sítio, as well as by conducting bibliographical and documentary research. It was discovered that the sanitary conditions of the riverside dwellers are precarious and only 1% of the houses in the suburbs mentioned are connected to the public sewers. It was established that the Rio Doce is intensively exploited through the extraction of sand for the building trade, irrigation of riverside vegetable plots and use of the water for bathing, washing of clothes and leisure. It was also found that about 40% of the population resident in this area has migrated from the rural zone, which is one of the factors rendering it difficult for them to adapt to the urban setting. Such information can be of use to the authorities in the environmental planning of these districts and their sustainable development

Análise da evolução costeira do litoral setentrional do estado do rio grande do norte, região sob influência da indústria petrolífera

The northern coast of Rio Grande do Norte State is characterized by strong changes in coastal morphology, caused by various geological and climatic factors. In this region are installed the main socio-economic activities of the State, highlighting the oil industry, which exerts much of its activities in the coastal area studied. Erosion is a constant problem in this region because it affects the entire local populace to the destruction of houses and trade, rendering tourism, affecting the livelihood activities and industrial activities. The greatest risk is related to environmental damage that can be caused by the oil spill in this region. To understand what determines the changes in coastal morphology this Doctoral Thesis is proposed to identify the factors at local, regional and even global corroborate coastal dynamics to this coast in question. For this study, used several different products and tools for interpreting the conditions of the erosive effect that dominates the whole northern coast of the State, in an attempt to quantify and describe the causes and effects that affect the entire coastal zone monitored. The development of activities is built into the projects Rede 05 PETROMAR (CTPETRO-FINEP/PETROBRAS/CNPq), PETRORISCO, HIDROSEMA, PETROMAR e Rede 05/04 POTMAR (FNDCT/CTPETROFINEP/ CNPq), in the activities of multidisciplinary and inter-features in issues involving environmental monitoring and oil activity

Vende-se uma vila: análise intra-urbana das vilas na Vila de Ponta Negra e no bairro de Nova Descoberta - Zona Sul de Natal

This dissertation is about low-income rental housing vilas in the South Zone in the city of Natal. Vilas are a string of houses, built privately in an urban plot of land, usually a backyard, facing a narrow street beco. This type of housing is originated in the 19th century in the Brazilian scenario. In Natal, this has become more popular since the late 1960s. This study is aimed at analyzing the urban integration of the vilas, considering that these house a low income population, vis à vis the speedy development of Natal s most economically dynamic area. The study starts with a discussion of the production of space, taking into consideration categories such as use value, exchange value, commodity and land rent. Field work was undertaken through structured interviews with dwellers of vilas in Nova Descoberta and Ponta Negra neighbourhoods. Owners of vilas were also interviewed. Data collected indicated worrisome housing conditions. Vilas, in the areas researched, are increasingly becoming unwelcome, constituting guetos in a place where landscape is changing rapidly. Gentrification is fast under way, first because of rise in rent and taxes; second because of general rise in living costs

Short report: Application of an alternative Aedes species (Diptera : Culicidae) surveillance method in Botucatu City, São Paulo, Brazil

One of the main problems with dengue is the control of Aedes aegypti, its major vector. In Brazil, the current control program for Ae. aegypti and Aedes albopictus populations includes larval density surveys. An interesting alternative is the use of a distinct index, the Premise Condition Index (PCI). This tool relates conditions of property, such as houses and yards, and the degree of shade with the occurrence of Aedes sp. oviposition, and is calculated as scores from 3 to 9. The lowest score indicates property in good condition and an unfavorable breeding environment, while the highest score indicates property at high risk for infestation by Aedes sp. The present study is based on the application of the PCI in an urban area of Botucatu, Brazil to confirm its effectiveness.

Attractiveness of different sweet and fatty substances to three neotropical tramp ant species (Hymenoptera : Formicidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Rhyncophorus palmarum L. (Linnaeus, 1758): A Morphological and Histological Study of the Female Reproductive System

Rhyncophorus palmarum (Coleoptera) is a pest of great economic importance because of the damage caused in the plants of the Palmae family. This study showed that the female reproductive system of this beetle is composed of two ovaries of the telotrophic meroistic type invariably containing two ovarioles per ovary. Each ovariole is home to about 50 oocytes at different stages of maturation. The proximal region of the ovary is rather peculiar because it houses inside it a large quantity of bacilliform structures immersed in a glycolipoprotein substance, which has never before been described in the literature. The function of these structures is still unknown. However, it is suggested that they can function as a method of neutralizing the resistance of the plant because these insects are responsible for the transmission of the red ring disease to the palm plants. Microsc. Res. Tech. 74: 853-862, 2011. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Evaluation of recycled tiles and OSB ceiling materials in closed broiler house prototypes

This study aimed at evaluating the thermal performance of a modular ceiling system for poultry houses. The reduced- and distorted-scale prototypes used ceiling modules made of reforested wood and were covered with recycled long-life package tiles. The following parameters were measured for 21 days: tile internal surface temperature (ST), globe temperature and humidity index (WBGT), and radiant heat load (RHL). Measurements were made at times of highest heat load (11:00 am, 13:00 pm, and 03:00 pm). Collected data were analyzed by R statistics software. Means were compared by multiple comparison test (Tukey) and linear regression was performed, both at 5% significance level. The results showed that the prototype with the ceiling was more efficient to reduce internal tile surface temperature; however, this was not sufficient to provide a comfortable environment for broilers during the growout. Therefore, other techniques to provide proper cooling are required in addition to the ceiling.

Use of vitamin D to reduce lameness in broilers reared in harsh environments

In tropical poultry-producing countries, poultry houses usually have little environmental control. This study investigated the effect of dietary vitamin D on the incidence of leg abnormalities of a fast-growing broiler strain reared under harsh conditions. In this study, 300 one-day-old male broilers were distributed in two treatments with three replicates of 50 birds each. One group was fed a placebo and the other group was fed 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D3) in a soluble form. The environmental variables were weekly recorded during until birds were 49 days old. Birds were weekly gait scored, and their walking speed and vertical force while walking were assessed. Post-mortem examination was performed and skeletal lesions were assessed. Control birds presented more leg problems than those that ingested 25-OH-D3. These results suggest that dietary vitamin D is effective in decreasing the severity of lameness by reducing tibial dyschondroplasia and other leg abnormalities.

Broiler litter reutilization applying different composting concepts

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Políticas públicas e voz do professor: caracterização das leis brasileiras

OBJETIVO: Caracterizar as leis sobre saúde vocal publicadas em todo território nacional até o ano de 2006. MÉTODOS: Foram feitas buscas da documentação em sites oficiais, assim como um questionário elaborado pelas autoras foi divulgado no meio fonoaudiológico, por correio eletrônico, para captar o maior número de leis possível. Obtiveram-se 22 documentos que foram analisados quanto ao raio de abrangência, ações propostas, natureza dessas ações, público-alvo, secretarias envolvidas, iniciativa e promulgação das leis. Tais dados foram analisados de maneira absoluta (numérica) e relativa (percentualmente). RESULTADOS: Os documentos são, em sua maioria, leis de abrangência estadual, mais numerosas na região sudeste, propostas pelo poder legislativo, cuja viabilização compete a uma parceria entre secretarias de saúde e educação estaduais. As ações propostas, de modo geral, preconizam a implementação de assistência preventiva por meio de cursos teórico-práticos (90,91%), com periodicidade anual, ministrados por fonoaudiólogos, com a ressalva de que será oferecido, ao professor com distúrbio vocal, acesso ao tratamento fonoaudiológico e/ou médico (77,27%). em apenas três documentos (13,64%) avança-se para além de cursos, com propostas de ações de promoção à reabilitação, inclusive com menção ao ambiente de trabalho. Dois deles (9,09%) consideram os direitos do professor trabalhador. CONCLUSÃO: Levando-se em conta o grande número de casas legislativas no Brasil, poucas são as leis propostas a favor da saúde do professor, especialmente em relação à voz. Além disso, para que sejam aplicadas e transformadas em programas de saúde vocal, tais iniciativas devem partir de competência constitucional própria, a fim de garantir os recursos financeiros necessários para a sua viabilização.

Efeitos da densidade de plantio sobre a produção de cravos, Dianthus caryophyllus L.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a influência de diferentes densidades populacionais de craveiros, cultivados em casa de vegetação, sobre a produção das flores. As densidades populacionais estudadas, 233.333, I75.000 e 116.667 plantas por hectare, foram obtidas pela utilização de espaçamentos de respectivamente 0 ,15 m x 0,15 m; 0,20 m x 0,20 m e 0,30 m x 0,20 m. Scania Red foi o cultivar utilizado. Concluiu-se que o aumento da densidade de plantio causou um acréscimo na produção total de cravos por área e uma diminuição da produção de cravos por planta.

Efeitos da densidade de plantio sobre a qualidade de cravos, Dianthus caryophyllus L.

O trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a influência de diferentes densidades populacionais de craveiros, cultivados em casa de vegetação sobre a qualidade das flores. As densidades de plantio estudadas foram de 233.333, 175.000 e 116.667 plantas por hectare, obtidas da utilização dos seguintes espaçamentos: 0,15 m x 0,20 m; 0,20 mx 0,20m e 0,30 m x 0,30 m. Scania Red foi o cultivar utilizado. Os parâmetros analisados foram o número de cravos com cálice inteiro e rachado por planta e por hectare, bem como comprimento da haste com flor, peso da haste com flor e diâmetro da corola. Concluiu-se que o aumento da densidade de plantio ocasionou um acréscimo na produção de cravos com cálice inteiro por hectare, uma diminuição da produção de cravos com cálice rachado por planta, uma diminuição do peso da haste com flor e uma diminuição do diâmetro da corola. Não houve influência da densidade de plantio sobre a produção de cravos com cálice inteiro por planta, sobre a produção de cravos com cálice rachado por hectare e sobre o comprimento da haste com flor.