Análise dos Processos de Flotação e Oxidação Avançada para o Tratamento de Efluente Modelo da Indústria do Petróleo

The generation of wastes in most industrial process is inevitable. In the petroleum industry, one of the greatest problems for the environment is the huge amount of produced water generated in the oil fields. This wastewater is a complex mixture and present great amounts. These effluents can be hazardous to the environmental without adequate treatment. This research is focused in the analysis of the efficiencies of the flotation and photo-oxidation processes to remove and decompose the organic compounds present in the produced water. A series of surfactants derivated from the laurilic alcohol was utilized in the flotation to promote the separation. The experiments have been performed with a synthetic wastewater, carefully prepared with xylene. The experimental data obtained using flotation presented a first order kinetic, identified by the quality of the linear data fitting. The best conditions were found at 0.029 g.L-1 for the surfactant EO 7, 0.05 g.L-1 for EO 8, 0.07 g.L-1 for EO 9, 0.045 g.L-1 for EO 10 and 0.08 g.L-1 for EO 23 with the following estimated kinetic constants: 0.1765, 0.1325, 0.1210, 0.1531 and 0.1699 min-1, respectively. For the series studied, the most suitablesurfactant was the EO 7 due to the lower reagent consumption, higher separation rate constant and higher removal efficiency of xylene in the aqueous phase (98%). Similarly to the flotation, the photo-Fenton process shows to be efficient for degradation of xylene and promoting the mineralization of the organic charge around 90% and 100% in 90 min

Electrical and Optical Properties of Conductive and Transparent ITO@PMMA Nanocomposites

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

Craqueamento térmico e termocatalítico do óleo de girassol (Hellianthus annus L.) sobre materiais micro e mesoporosos

Microporous materials zeolite type Beta and mesoporous type MCM-41 and AlMCM-41 were synthesized hydrothermally and characterized by methods of X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, surface acidity, nitrogen adsorption, thermal analysis TG / DTG. Also we performed a kinetic study of sunflower oil on micro and mesoporous catalysts. The microporous material zeolite beta showed a lower crystallinity due to the existence of smaller crystals and a larger number of structural defects. As for the mesoporous materials MCM-41 and AlMCM-41 samples showed formation of hexagonal one-dimensional structure. The study of kinetic behavior of sunflower oil with zeolite beta catalysts, AlMCM-41 and MCM-41 showed a lower activation energy in front of the energy of pure sunflower oil, mainly zeolite beta. In the thermal cracking and thermocatalytic of sunflower oil were obtained two liquid fractions containing an aqueous phase and another organic - organic liquid fraction (FLO). The FLO first collected in both the thermal cracking as the thermocatalytic, showed very high level of acidity, performed characterizations of physicochemical properties of the second fraction in accordance with the specifications of the ANP. The second FLO thermocatalytic collected in cracking of sunflower oil presented results in the range of diesel oil, introducing himself as a promising alternative for use as biofuel liquid similar to diesel, either instead or mixed with it

Melhorando a estimação de pose com o RANSAC preemptivo generalizado e múltiplos geradores de hipóteses

The camera motion estimation represents one of the fundamental problems in Computer Vision and it may be solved by several methods. Preemptive RANSAC is one of them, which in spite of its robustness and speed possesses a lack of flexibility related to the requirements of applications and hardware platforms using it. In this work, we propose an improvement to the structure of Preemptive RANSAC in order to overcome such limitations and make it feasible to execute on devices with heterogeneous resources (specially low budget systems) under tighter time and accuracy constraints. We derived a function called BRUMA from Preemptive RANSAC, which is able to generalize several preemption schemes, allowing previously fixed parameters (block size and elimination factor) to be changed according the applications constraints. We also propose the Generalized Preemptive RANSAC method, which allows to determine the maximum number of hipotheses an algorithm may generate. The experiments performed show the superiority of our method in the expected scenarios. Moreover, additional experiments show that the multimethod hypotheses generation achieved more robust results related to the variability in the set of evaluated motion directions

Uma abordagem para promover o alinhamento entre a estratégia de negócio e a tecnologia de informação

Currently with the increase in complexity in doing business, organizations are seeking information systems that help to quickly respond to new demands in the processes of production of products and services. An information system is no longer just a support tool and has become an integral part of doing business. However, in spite of significant technological evolution in recent years, information systems that support business do not respond efficiently to the constant alterations that occur in many organizations. One of the main problems faced by information systems currently is the lack of strategic alignment between business strategy and information technology. The concept of strategic alignment can be defined as a way between business strategies and objectives and the strategies, objectives and functions of information technology in such as way as to contribute to the increase in competitivity of the organization over time. Strategic alignment together with strategic planning are important management instruments. Approaches for operationalizing this alignment are being developed currently but are still in their initial stages due to the fact that it is a relatively new concept in the literature. Another point that needs to be taken into consideration during the strategic alignment is the question of trackability between the business elements and IT. Trackability (Tracking) is necessary for example when one wishes to know exactly which goal defined in the business strategy was left out or not accepted due to a modification made in the IT strategy. Very few proposals present concrete ways supported by software systems in order to obtain strategic alignement while taking into consideration this trackability. Therefore the objective of this work is to propose the creation of a strategic alignment process supported by a software system which is capable of permitting trackability between the organizational objectives and the business processes based on formalization standards defined through a model oriented approach

Propriedades críticas do processo epidêmico difusivo com interação de Lévy

The diffusive epidemic process (PED) is a nonequilibrium stochastic model which, exhibits a phase trnasition to an absorbing state. In the model, healthy (A) and sick (B) individuals diffuse on a lattice with diffusion constants DA and DB, respectively. According to a Wilson renormalization calculation, the system presents a first-order phase transition, for the case DA > DB. Several researches performed simulation works for test this is conjecture, but it was not possible to observe this first-order phase transition. The explanation given was that we needed to perform simulation to higher dimensions. In this work had the motivation to investigate the critical behavior of a diffusive epidemic propagation with Lévy interaction(PEDL), in one-dimension. The Lévy distribution has the interaction of diffusion of all sizes taking the one-dimensional system for a higher-dimensional. We try to explain this is controversy that remains unresolved, for the case DA > DB. For this work, we use the Monte Carlo Method with resuscitation. This is method is to add a sick individual in the system when the order parameter (sick density) go to zero. We apply a finite size scalling for estimates the critical point and the exponent critical =, e z, for the case DA > DB

Comitês de Classificadores para o Reconhecimento Multibiométrico em Dados Biométricos Revogáveis

This work discusses the application of techniques of ensembles in multimodal recognition systems development in revocable biometrics. Biometric systems are the future identification techniques and user access control and a proof of this is the constant increases of such systems in current society. However, there is still much advancement to be developed, mainly with regard to the accuracy, security and processing time of such systems. In the search for developing more efficient techniques, the multimodal systems and the use of revocable biometrics are promising, and can model many of the problems involved in traditional biometric recognition. A multimodal system is characterized by combining different techniques of biometric security and overcome many limitations, how: failures in the extraction or processing the dataset. Among the various possibilities to develop a multimodal system, the use of ensembles is a subject quite promising, motivated by performance and flexibility that they are demonstrating over the years, in its many applications. Givin emphasis in relation to safety, one of the biggest problems found is that the biometrics is permanently related with the user and the fact of cannot be changed if compromised. However, this problem has been solved by techniques known as revocable biometrics, which consists of applying a transformation on the biometric data in order to protect the unique characteristics, making its cancellation and replacement. In order to contribute to this important subject, this work compares the performance of individual classifiers methods, as well as the set of classifiers, in the context of the original data and the biometric space transformed by different functions. Another factor to be highlighted is the use of Genetic Algorithms (GA) in different parts of the systems, seeking to further maximize their eficiency. One of the motivations of this development is to evaluate the gain that maximized ensembles systems by different GA can bring to the data in the transformed space. Another relevant factor is to generate revocable systems even more eficient by combining two or more functions of transformations, demonstrating that is possible to extract information of a similar standard through applying different transformation functions. With all this, it is clear the importance of revocable biometrics, ensembles and GA in the development of more eficient biometric systems, something that is increasingly important in the present day

Praia de Ponta Negra: uma abordagem da paisagem costeira de 1970 a 2010, Natal/RN

With process urbanization process the Brazilian cities have been goin through, Natal/RN does not differ from the other ones, it has had a fast, inordinate and planned urbanization, but not applied, it has caused a high increase of social environmental problems. One of the worrying problems observed is the change in the coastal landscape, which has caused serious damage to the city‟s population, more specifically, of Ponta Negra beach neighborhood. For the geographical studies, the issue, concerning the occupation of the beaches that has been getting higher and higher in the last decades is extremely important because these, in addition to being used as homes in the new urban configuration, have incorporated new ways of environmental interference, without a simultaneous advance of knowledge which would be necessary for a more suitable and rational use of litoral spaces. Thus, the current assignment aimed to focus the coastal landscape of Ponta Negra Beach, in the city of Natal/RN, checking and analyzing the effects caused by anthropic and natural action, and the way it reflects in the quality of life of the resident, working population and of the frequenters as well as the landscape transformations in the area which is object of study, from 1970 through 2010. The methodology used followed to stages, the first concerned the theoretical work bibliographic surveying and composition; and second one the empirical work marking of the environmental characterization and application of the questionnaires. So, we can measure that Ponta Negra, is very susceptible to environmental changes, the ones caused by the natural dynamics of the beach, as well as the human actions (society) in this really fragile and mutable space, so it needs, a more profound systematic study about the coastal landscape. In order to reach a minimization of the change of the landscapes in the coastal zones there must be an integrated management of the environments, based on the planning of actions and territorial reordination of the occupations of these so important spaces, environmentally, as well as socioeconomically. Whereas, only this way, we will have a sustentable development and a suitable use of that space

O Circuito inferior da economia urbana em Mossoró: a dinâmica do comércio ambulante

This study was based on the analysis and understanding of the dynamics of the lower circuit of the economy and the size of the street trading in the city of Mossoro (RN). The operationalization of the theory of the two circuits of the urban economy, based on Santos (2008a) was essential to understand the street trading as part of the entire city of Mossoro. It was given emphasis on the study of the lower circuit of the economy and its coverage in the street trading in the commercial center of the city, specifically in street trading in Coronel Gurgel. The dynamics of that street reveals the different ways that the territory is used simultaneously by different social actors as pedestrians, consumers, business owners, and especially by street vendors. These vendors occupy the spaces along the streets of the city commercial center, placing their tents or stalls, especially on sidewalks, excellent strategic locations for the marketing of their products, due to the large influx of people seeking goods and services nearby. As methodological and technical procedures for gathering primary data, we opted for the use of questionnaires and interviews, with many users of the lower circuit, both consumers and vendors. The analysis of these questionnaires, along with the theoretical background, has revealed that there are several social and political conflicts related to the use of public spaces, such as sidewalks and flowerbeds, in the city commercial center, and that these conflicts are increasingly demonstrating that vendors need a space endowed with infrastructure to conduct their activities. The lack of efficiency of the government, as well as the slowness of their actions to organize a space that is able to properly fit salespersons, constitutes one of the main problems faced by these small traders who have limited financial resources and materials to get their activities through in the globalized world. At the same time, this study revealed the importance of these agents, as the last link of the urban economy, in the distribution of various consumer goods, enabling the satisfaction of some needs of the population, especially the poorer people

Heparin-binding proteins of canine seminal plasma

Heparin-binding proteins (HBP) from seminal plasma have been expected to participate in modulation of the acrosomal reaction, and have been correlated with fertility in some species. However, they have not been described in the dog. The aim of this study was to document the HBPs of canine seminal plasma. Six pooled samples of seminal plasma from three crossbred dogs were used. The HBPs were isolated by heparin affinity chromatography and the fractions recovered were pooled. One-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was carried out on 12 and 18% vertical minigels. The stained gels were scanned and the molecular weight (kDa) values for each band within a lane were calculated by image analysis software. The electrophoresis analysis of the pooled eluded fractions identified 19 bands, with molecular weights varying from 61.5 to 5.2 kDa. Previous studies, using one-dimensional SDS-PAGE, identified two bands (67 and 58.6 kDa), which were positively correlated with some semen parameters (sperm motility, sperm vigor, percentage of morphologically normal sperm and plasma membrane integrity). The 61.5 kDa band detected in the present study apparently corresponded to the 58.6 kDa band identified previously. Canine seminal plasma contained HBP; since HBP modulate the acrosome reaction in other species, they may have the same function in the dog. Further studies are necessary to better characterize this protein and determine if it is associated with fertility in the dog. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural and Functional Studies of a Bothropic Myotoxin Complexed to Rosmarinic Acid: New Insights into Lys49-PLA(2) Inhibition

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

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.

Heparin-binding proteins of seminal plasma in Nellore bulls

O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar proteínas ligadoras à heparina no plasma seminal de touros Nelore (Bos taurus indicus). Para tanto, foram selecionados quatro touros entre 30 e 36 meses de idade e peso aproximado de 500-550kg. Após centrifugação, amostras do plasma seminal foram misturadas e as proteínas ligadoras à heparina foram isoladas por meio da cromatografia por afinidade. As frações após a eluição foram agrupadas para caracterização das bandas protéicas (SDSPAGE, 12,5%). Foram identificadas oito bandas protéicas variando entre 15 e 63kDa. Duas proteínas com 22 e 25kDa foram similares às descritas em touros Bos taurus taurus. Outras proteínas identificadas com 39, 53, 58 e 63kDa ainda não foram descritas e possivelmente sejam específicas para Bos taurus indicus.

A simplified Fermi Accelerator Model under quadratic frictional force

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

Nonlinear Lattice Within Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics Formalism

In the last decades, the study of nonlinear one dimensional lattices has attracted much attention of the scientific community. One of these lattices is related to a simplified model for the DNA molecule, allowing to recover experimental results, such as the denaturation of DNA double helix. Inspired by this model we construct a Hamiltonian for a reflectionless potential through the Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics formalism, SQM. Thermodynamical properties of such one dimensional lattice are evaluated aming possible biological applications.