O presente trabalho tem por objetivo propor um modelo para estimação da produtividade de grãos de milho para o Estado de São Paulo com base nos valores mensais de temperatura, radiação solar e chuva, no intuito de disponibilizar ferramenta para o planejamento regional (identificação das épocas do ano e dos locais mais indicados para o cultivo de milho). O uso de modelos de crescimento e desenvolvimento vegetal possibilita uma economia de tempo, trabalho e quantidade de recursos para tomada de decisões referentes ao manejo no setor agrícola por possibilitar uma previsão do processo de interesse e/ou um melhor entendimento do sistema em estudo. O conhecimento da quantidade de energia solar disponível às plantas, bem como da capacidade de conversão da mesma em energia química metabólica, possibilita prever produtividade de grãos, no caso do milho, quanto à eficiência de conversão em biomassa, através de um modelo geral mecanístico, levando em consideração aspectos agrometeorológicos, fisiológicos, genéticos e edáficos. A assimilação de CO2 pode ser convertida em massa de carboidrato, produzida durante o processo de fotossíntese, em função do índice de área foliar, temperatura e radiação solar absorvida. Estimando-se os valores de radiação solar absorvida, fotoperíodo, índice de área foliar e duração do ciclo, considerando as correções quanto à respiração de manutenção e crescimento, bem como a variação temporal da área foliar, pode-se transformar esse valor em massa líquida de carboidrato total final produzida durante o ciclo. O balanço hídrico foi utilizado com a finalidade de estimar a deficiência hídrica durante o ciclo da cultura de milho, sendo adotado o método de Thornthwaite & Mather (1955), sendo a evapotranspiração de referência estimada pelo método de Thornthwaite (1948). A produtividade deplecionada de grãos de milho foi estimada a partir dos dados de produtividade potencial predita pelo modelo, considerando-se a depleção em função da evapotranspiração relativa (relação entre evapotranspiração real e evapotranspiração da cultura). A partir de dados climáticos obtidos de estações e postos meteorológicos localizados em diversas partes do estado de São Paulo, foram elaborados mapas de superfície no programa TNTmips, com a identificação, por município, das localidades com potencial para o desenvolvimento da cultura de milho. Através destes mapas, é possível identificar restrições quanto à deficiência hídrica, temperatura, radiação solar, produtividade potencial e produtividade de grãos de milho no estado de São Paulo. / The present work has the objective to suggest a model to estimate potential yield and corn yield for São Paulo state based on monthly values of temperature, solar radiation and rainfall, in order to dispose a tool for regional planning (identification of sites and timing during the year more indicated for maize cropping). The use of growing and development models allows savings in time, work and resources needed for making decisions regarding agricultural management, by enabling a preview of the process of interest and/or a better understanding of the system being studied. The knowledge of the available amount of solar energy to plants and the capability of those to convert it into metabolic chemical energy, allows to preview grain yield, in the case of corn, regarding to biomass converting efficiency, through a general mechanistic model, considering agro-meteorological, physiological, genetical and edaphological aspects. The carbon dioxide (CO2) assimilation can be converted into mass of carbohydrates produced during photosynthesis process, as a function of leaf area index, air temperature and absorbed solar radiation. By estimating the values of solar radiation, the photoperiod, the leaf area index, and the cycle length, and considering the corrections related to growing and maintenance respiration, as well as the temporal variation of leaf area, it is possible to transform those value into final net mass of total carbohydrate produced during the cycle. The hydric balance, as proposed by Thornthwaite & Mather (1955), was used with the objective to estimate the hydric deficit during maize cycle, being the reference evapotranspiration being estimated by Thornthwaite (1948). Corn yield was estimated up from potential yield predicted by the model, considering the depletion from the relative evapotranspiration (relation between real evapotranspiration and crop evapotranspiration). Starting from climatic data obtained from several meteorological station located at different sites in São Paulo State, Brazil, surface maps were elaborated using TNTmips software, with the identification, by county, of those sites with maize development potential. Through those maps it is possible to identify restriction regarding hydric deficit, temperature, solar radiation, potential yield, and corn yield in São Paulo State.

Neste trabalho abordamos o problema de programação de tarefas em um ambiente flow shop permutacional com mais de duas máquinas. Restringimos o estudo para o caso em que todas as tarefas têm uma data de entrega comum e restritiva, e onde o objetivo é minimizar a soma total dos adiantamentos e atrasos das tarefas em relação a tal data de entrega. É assumido também um ambiente estático e determinístico. Havendo soluções com o mesmo custo, preferimos aquelas que envolvem menos tempo de espera no buffer entre cada máquina. Devido à dificuldade de resolver o problema, mesmo para instâncias pequenas (o problema pertence à classe NP-difícil), apresentamos uma abordagem heurística para lidar com ele, a qual está baseada em busca local e faz uso de um algoritmo linear para atribuir datas de conclusão às tarefas na última máquina. Este algoritmo baseia-se em algumas propriedades analíticas inerentes às soluções ótimas. Além disso, foi desenvolvida uma formulação matemática do problema em programação linear inteira mista (PLIM) que vai permitir validar a eficácia da abordagem. Examinamos também o desempenho das heurísticas com testes padrões (benchmarks) e comparamos nossos resultados com outros obtidos na literatura. / In this work we approach the permutational flow shop scheduling problem with more than two machines. We restrict the study to the case where all the jobs have a common and restrictive due date, and where the objective is to minimize the total sum of the earliness and tardiness of jobs relative to the due date. A static and deterministic environment is also assumed. If there are solutions with the same cost, we prefer those that involve less buffer time between each machine. Due to the difficulty of solving the problem, even for small instances (the problem belongs to the NP-hard class), we present a heuristic approach to dealing with it, which is based on local search and makes use of a linear algorithm to assign conclusion times to the jobs on the last machine. This algorithm is based on some analytical properties inherent to optimal solutions. In addition, a mathematical formulation of the problem in mixed integer linear programming (MILP) was developed that will validate the effectiveness of the approach. We also examined the performance of our heuristics with benchmarks and compared our results with those obtained in the literature.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-25T19:30:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabricio Passini.pdf: 1507090 bytes, checksum: 826f7bba535f87d3e863773bee392e0c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-07-25 / This dissertation reports three researches carried out at Ponta Grossa State University. The elaboration and validation of a diagrammatic scale to assess Asian rust severity in common bean crops; the verification of commonly used cultivars in Paraná resistance levels to Asian rust disease; and the sowing date influence on Asian rust severity levels. To elaborate the diagrammatic scale, fifty leaflets from JALO PRECOCE and RADIANTE cultivars were collected. Based on the Quant program, the maximum severity levels were determined (77,10%) as well as the minimum levels (1,02%) and through the “Weber and Fechener’s stimulus law” six other intermediate severity levels were obtained (2,3%)-(5,11%)-(10,97%)-(21,99%)- (39,19%)-(59,58%). The real severity determination was done through the randomly collection of fifty leaflets with different severity levels. Scale validation was performed by ten raters only five of them were experienced in phytopathology. The leaflets assessment was firstly carried out without the scale and later with the use of it. As a result, they not only improved their precision, as well as presented absolute errors levels lower than 10% when supported by the scale, agreeing with Nutter’s data. Seven among the ten raters were accurate. Aiming at assessing cultivars resistance levels to Asian rust disease, under natural infection conditions, twenty-three common bean cultivars were submitted to assessment, PRETO, CARIOCA and MANTEIGÃO. Based on the results, it may be seen that the cultivars from MANTEIGÃO group (JALO PRECOCE and RADIANTE) presented a high severity level to the disease with severity levels of 40%, while CARIOCA and PRETO group cultivars demonstrated levels varying from resistant to susceptible. Among the cultivars, the lowest severity levels were found in the IPR-36 (2,6%), FTBONITO (3,7%) and IPR-CHOPIM (3,8%) cultivars. Concerning to the cultivars cycle, it could be observed that the earliest mature were the ones which presented the highest severity levels to Asian rust. In conclusion, it may be affirmed that the common bean resistance levels to Asian rust vary from resistant to susceptible. The MANTEIGÃO group cultivars presented the highest resistance levels to the disease. In order to assess two common bean cultivars response to Asian rust (IPR SARACURA e IPRUIRAPURU),sowed in ten different dates, an experiment was conducted. The first season was sowed on 04/10/2005 and the nine others followed a fifteen-day break until the last one sowed on 15/02/2006. Severity assessments were carried out in all phenological stages in each sowing date. The results show that only in the seventh season, when the common bean plants were in the R-8 phenological stage, the Asian rust presence could be confirmed. There were statistics differences among the sowing date, however no meaningful differences could be observed in the first nine seasons among the cultivars according to the severity percentage or to the AACPD. The IPR-SARACURA cultivar was, nevertheless, statistically higher to IPR-UIRAPURU in the tenth season. In conclusion, the later the sowing is done, the earlier the Asian rust is found in the beans crop. In addition, Asian rust negatively influenced on the cultivars bean yield potential, considering that the weight of 1000 bean was the only component to be affected. / Nesta pesquisa três trabalhos foram desenvolvidos: a elaboração e validação de uma escala diagramática para avaliação da ferrugem asiática na cultura do feijão; a verificação dos níveis de resistência à ferrugem asiática das cultivares de feijão freqüentemente utilizadas no estado do Paraná; e a influência de épocas de semeadura do feijão em relação à severidade da ferrugem asiática. Para elaborar a escala diagramática, foram coletados 50 folíolos das cultivares JALO PRECOCE e RADIANTE. Com o programa Quant foram determinados os níveis de severidade máxima (77,10%) e mínima (1,02%) encontradas no campo e através da “lei do estimulo visual de Weber e Fechner” foram determinados mais seis níveis intermediários de severidade (2,3)-(5,11)-(10,97)-(21,99)-(3 9,19)-(59,58). Para determinação da severidade real foram coletados aleatoriamente 50 folíolos de feijão com diferentes níveis de severidade. Dos 10 avaliadores participantes, apenas cinco possuíam experiência em quantificação de doenças de plantas . Primeiramente, a avaliação dos 50 folíolos foi realizada sem a escala e posteriormente com o auxilio desta. Os avaliadores não apenas melhoraram sua precisão, como também apresentaram, ao utilizar a escala, erros absolutos inferiores a 10%. Sete dos dez avaliadores foram considerados acurados. Objetivando avaliar os níveis de resistência de cultivares à ferrugem asiática, sob condições naturais de infecção, 23 cultivares de feijão dos grupos PRETO, CARIOCA e MANTEIGÃO foram avaliadas. Com base nos resultados, percebe-se que cultivares do grupo MANTEIGÃO (JALO PRECOCE e RADIANTE) apresentaram alta severidade da doença, com níveis de até 40% de severidade, enquanto feijões dos grupos CARIOCA e PRETO demonstraram níveis variando de resistentes a suscetíveis. Dentre as cultivares, os menores níveis de severidade foram encontrados nas ultivares IPR-31 (2,6%), FT-BONITO (3,7%) e IPR-CHOPIM (3,8%). Quanto ao ciclo das cultivares, observou-se que as mais precoces foram aquelas que apresentaram maiores níveis de severidade à ferrugem asiática. Conclui-se que os níveis de resistência das cultivares de feijão à ferrugem asiática variaram de resistentes a suscetíveis. As cultivares do grupo MANTEIGÃO foram as que apresentaram maiores níveis de resistência à ferrugem asiática. A fim de avaliar o comportamento quanto à ferrugem asiática, de duas ultivares de feijão (IPR SARACURA e IPR-UIRAPURU), semeadas em 10 diferentes épocas realizou-se o experimento. A primeira época foi semeada no dia 04/10/2005 e outras nove épocas com intervalo de 15 dias, até o dia 15/02/2006. Foram realizadas avaliações de severidade em todos os estádios fenológicos em cada uma das épocas de semeadura. Quanto aos resultados, percebe-se que somente na sétima época, quando as plantas de feijão encontravam-se no estádio fenológico R8, a presença da ferrugem asiática foi confirmada. Houve diferenças estatísticas entre as épocas de semeadura, entretanto não foram observadas diferenças significativas nas nove primeiras épocas entre as cultivares em relação à porcentagem de severidade e na área abaixo da curva do progresso da doença. Contudo, na décima época a severidade da ferrugem asiática na cultivar IPR-SARACURA foi superior estatisticamente a cultivar IPR-UIRAPURU. Pode-se concluir que quanto mais tarde se realiza a semeadura, mais cedo se manifesta a ferrugem asiática no feijão. Conclui-se, ainda, que a ferrugem asiática influenciou negativamente na produtividade de grãos das cultivares de feijão, sendo que o componente do rendimento afetado foi o peso de 1000 grãos.

Cette thèse aborde la question du régime de l’obligation consumériste au travers de l’exemple de la prescription. Elle s’intéresse à la réception par le droit de la consommation, droit par essence inégalitaire, de la prescription en tant que mécanisme du régime général de l’obligation. Le délai biennal de l'action en paiement du professionnel peut-il être interrompu ? Quels sont les effets des pourparlers sur le court délai de l'action en inexécution du consommateur ? Comment s'impute le paiement d'une dette prescrite en droit de la consommation ? Ce travail s'attache à démontrer l'inadéquation du recours au régime de droit commun dans les rapports consuméristes, mais aussi les conséquences dommageables des solutions actuelles apportées par le droit de la consommation. Il se propose d'étudier, par une analyse systématique et détaillée de la jurisprudence du fond et de la Cour de cassation, le traitement de la prescription dans les contrats de consommation classiques, et dans les contrats de consommation inversés. Il s’intéresse également à la prescription des actions en nullité et en répétition de l’indu. L'étude de la jurisprudence accessible et du précontentieux disponible révèle que le consommateur est pénalisé à deux égards :– l'application des mécanismes de droit commun (computation, interruption, suspension, interversion des délais et prescription présomptive de paiement) confère en réalité au professionnel la maîtrise des délais, que celui-ci agisse en qualité de créancier ou de débiteur ;– la coexistence de plusieurs délais de nature et de régime différents (prescription, prescription présomptive et forclusion) est source de confusion tant pour les parties que pour les juridictions. La comparaison des courants jurisprudentiels des cours d'appel dans le contentieux de masse met en relief des pratiques opposées qui, outre l'enjeu économique important pour le consommateur, privent celui-ci d'un accès égal à la justice.La démonstration des déséquilibres induits par le régime de la prescription s’accompagne de pistes de réflexions prospectives. Théorisant les pratiques actuelles, l'étude sert de base à la construction d'un modèle raisonné de prescription de l'obligation consumériste et de son régime, fondé sur le traitement différencié des parties / While Civil law is traditionally based on equality between contractors, Consumer protection Law was built around the notion of unbalanced contractual relationship, the consumer being the weaker party. This study revolves around limitation periods and foreclosure, known to be Civil law mechanisms, and their use and reception by Consumer Law. Is the two year period granted to the professional to seek specific performance likely to be interrupted ? Do negociations revolving around a purchased good’s hidden defects suspend the brief period granted to the consumer to claim for specific performance ? How does French Consumer Protection Law allocate late payment of debts that have been extinguished by the statute of limitations ? This study consists in systematic analyses of available litigations obtained through courts' Open data. It aims to highlight phenomena such as rules resumption, rules adjustment or rules creation through the problematic of unbalanced, B to C, contractual relationships.Three sights were fixed for this purpose : - demonstrating how inadequate Civil Law, Consumer Law and Commercial Law are considering the contractual unbalances inherent to B to C relationships, through some examples of mass litigations (nature of the statute of limitations, commencement date of the limitation period, causes for interruption and suspension of the limitation period, court’s function) ; - highlighting the lack of strong, unchanging jurisprudence on the subject, at the expense of legal safety and legal rules quality ; - offering a new, rational model of limitation period for Consumer Law, taking into account the very specific problematics of each parties. The result of the above study could provide the basis for a reflection on a new Consumer legislation

Le palmier-dattier constitue une des rares cultures à vocation alimentaire adaptées aux conditions climatiques extrêmes (sécheresse, salinité), telles que rencontrées à Djibouti. Dans un contexte de ressources en eau fortement limitées, la connaissance des modalités de l’alimentation hydrique du palmier dattier est essentielle. L’objectif de ce travail de recherche est d’acquérir cette connaissance, dans le contexte pédoclimatique de Djibouti, par la réalisation d’un suivi in situ du fonctionnement hydrique du système sol-palmier, à l’échelle d’un individu, et la quantification du puits racinaire du palmier-dattier. Un palmier-dattier, pleinement développé, a été instrumenté à l’échelle de la cuvette d’irrigation, à l’aide de plusieurs tubes d’accès de sonde à neutrons, pour le suivi de la teneur en eau volumique du sol, et de plusieurs tensiomètres, répartis de 10 à 160 cm de profondeur. Trois expériences d’infiltration/redistribution a été réalisées successivement, la première sans altérer le fonctionnement du système sol-palmier, la seconde après avoir coupé le palmier, tout en permettant l’évaporation de la surface du sol, la dernière après avoir couvert la surface du sol afin d’empêcher l’évaporation. Les résultats mettent en évidence une forte hétérogénéité des propriétés hydriques du sol, avec une stratification liée au contexte sédimentaire littoral. L’impact du puits racinaire sur la dynamique hydrique du sol est observé jusqu’à 80 cm de profondeur. Pour la période fraîche, les besoins en eau du palmier dattier sont estimés à 130 L par jour, avec une fréquence d’irrigation d’une fois toutes les 2 semaines. Pour la première fois, le coefficient cultural du palmier dattier (kc = 1,39) a été établi dans les conditions climatiques de Djibouti. Les résultats obtenus contribueront à une meilleure gestion de l’irrigation et à une meilleure maîtrise du risque de salinisation du sol dans le contexte pédoclimatique de la République de Djibouti. / Date palm is one of the few food crops adapted to the extreme weather conditions (drought, salinity), such as encountered in Djibouti. In the context of highly limited water resources, knowledge of the date palm water requirements is essential. The objective of this research was to determine the date palm water requirements, in the Djibouti pedoclimatic context, using in situ monitoring of water transport in the soil-plantatmosphere system, at the scale of a single date palm tree, and to quantify the date palm root water uptake. A fully developed date palm tree was instrumented at the irrigation basin scale, using several access tubes for neutron probe for monitoring the soil volumetric water content, and several tensiometers, installed from 10 to 160 cm depth. Three infiltration/redistribution experiments have been performed successively, the first without alteration of the soil-plant system, the second after cutting off a date palm tree while allowing the surface evaporation, the last with covering the soil surface to avoid evaporation. The results show large heterogeneity in soil hydraulic properties, with stratification linked to the coastline sedimentary context. The root water uptake is observed up to 80 cm depth. The date palm water requirements in the fresh period are estimated at 130 liters per day with a frequency of irrigation of one time every two weeks. For the first time, the date palm cultural coefficient has been established in the Djibouti climatic conditions (kc = 1.39). The obtained results will contribute to better management of irrigation and to improve the control of soil salinization in the pedoclimatic context of the Republic of Djibouti.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:58:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda de Mello Garcia.pdf: 1582979 bytes, checksum: 4aef5034a5f4500d0e0d481e36d26840 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-10-23 / Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo / The National Curricular Parameters, published in 1997, introduce for the first time in the primary and secondary school curriculum a set of concepts named Information Handling , with issues regarding to statistic, probability, and combining analyses. Hereby, springs the need for mathematic teachers working with these new concepts. Current researches reveal the little knowledge teachers hold on the subject, since in their initial graduation they didn t study these new concepts or if they did, it was with a very technical approach. This work seeks to answer the following question: What are the meanings attributed by 8th year students from secondary school to the variability when worked in a schooling context of mathematic classes? What are the contributions to the understanding of the statistic s content when the learning takes place in an exploratory way, making use of the separatrix measures and focusing in the variability? For that, we elaborated and applied a sequence of didactics that approached the idea of variability by using the separatrix measures. Our objects of research were 8th year students from the 9 year length current primary/secondary school. We noticed that the involved students were able to attribute meaning to the data variation, to the values observed in the determination of measures. It was also noticed the need for more specific activities that develop the graphic Box-plot comprehension associated with other graphic representations / Os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais, publicados em 1997, inserem, pela primeira vez no currículo da Escola Básica, um Bloco de conteúdos denominado Tratamento da Informação , contendo assuntos relacionados a Estatística, a Probabilidade e a Análise Combinatória. Surge assim a necessidade dos professores de Matemática trabalhar com esses novos conteúdos. Pesquisas atuais indicam o pouco conhecimento dos professores sobre esse tema, uma vez que em sua formação inicial não o estudaram, ou fizeram-no em uma abordagem tecnicista. Neste trabalho, buscamos responder a seguinte questão: Quais os significados atribuídos por alunos de 8º ano do Ensino Fundamental, para a variabilidade quando trabalhada num contexto escolar em aulas de Matemática? Que contribuições há na compreensão de conteúdos Estatísticos quando os alunos os apreendem em um enfoque exploratório, com uso das medidas separatrizes e com foco na variabilidade? Para isso, elaboramos e aplicamos uma seqüência didática que abordou a idéia de variabilidade pelo uso das medidas separatrizes. Nossos sujeitos de pesquisa foram alunos do 8º ano do atual Ensino Fundamental de 9 anos. Pudemos observar que os alunos envolvidos atribuíram significados à variação dos dados, aos valores observados na determinação das medidas. Observou-se também a necessidade de mais atividades específicas que trabalhem a compreensão do gráfico Box-plot, associando-o a outras representações gráficas

Submitted by Mariana Dornelles Vargas (marianadv) on 2015-05-04T14:37:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ecologia_reprodutiva.pdf: 5894767 bytes, checksum: fbc8661025167b9eb4559c7b3bbbb661 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-04T14:37:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ecologia_reprodutiva.pdf: 5894767 bytes, checksum: fbc8661025167b9eb4559c7b3bbbb661 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Nenhuma / A variação nos padrões de larga escala, como o clima e a disponibilidade de recursos, podem influenciar a fenologia e o sucesso reprodutivo dos indivíduos. Em menor escala, características como qualidade do adulto, composição e localização dos ninhos são cruciais para o sucesso reprodutivo. O objetivo do estudo é descrever a fenologia e avaliar o sucesso reprodutivo de Skua Marrom na Ilha Elefante, Arquipélago das Shetlands do Sul, além de avaliar algumas características dos ninhos que podem influenciar a variação destes fatores. Os dados foram coletados em 2009/10 e 2010/11, em Stinker Point, Ilha Elefante, sendo monitorados periodicamente 37 e 40 pares reprodutivos, respectivamente. A cada visita foram registradas as datas de postura, de nascimento, o número de ovos e filhotes nos ninhos. A posição geográfica dos ninhos e das colônias de aves reprodutivas (recursos) foi registrada com receptor de GPS. As distâncias dos ninhos para os recursos e para o vizinho mais próximo (DVProx) foram calculadas no software Arcgis. A proporção dos componentes dos ninhos (musgos, líquens e rochas) foi obtida através do processamento das fotografias dos ninhos no software Envi. Nenhum padrão, que relacione estes componentes às datas de postura e ao sucesso reprodutivo, foi constatado. A postura dos ovos ocorreu, em média, na primeira quinzena de dezembro. O sucesso reprodutivo variou significativamente entre estações (χ2=20,25 P<0,001) e a probabilidade de sobrevivência dos filhotes em relação a data de postura dos ovos (Nagelkerke R²=0.137 P=0,01), sendo maior nos meses de dezembro, independente do período (Nagelkerke R²= 0.137 P= 0,01). Observou-se uma relação significativa entre o sucesso reprodutivo e a distância da colônia de Pygoscelis antarctica em 2009/10 (Nagelkerke R2=0,20 P=0,03) e em 2010/11 (Nagelkerke R²=0.177 P=0,02). A DVProx influenciou negativamente na sobrevivência dos filhotes (Nagelkerke R2=0,30 P=0,02). As distâncias dos recursos e DVProx não variaram em relação às datas de postura. A menor probabilidade de sobrevivência dos filhotes mais próximos aos recursos não corrobora com o descrito na literatura, porém, dois fatores observados podem justificar tal padrão: ninhos próximos aos recursos estão mais agregados, aumentando a competição e predação intraespecífica; e o acesso à informação social, observado através da diferença nas datas de postura, resulta na maior concentração de indivíduos nestes locais, e consequentemente em diferentes probabilidades de sobrevivência dos filhotes. / Large scale patterns, as climate and resources show time fluctuations, what can influence individuals phenology and reproductive success. On a smaller scale, factors like adult quality, nest composition and location are also important to reproductive success. We aim to describe and evaluate Brown Skua phenology and reproductive success at Elephant Island, South Shetlands, and to evaluate how some nests characteristics can influence those factors fluctuations. Data were collected at 2009/10 and 2010/11 reproductive seasons at Stinker Point, Elephant Island, where 37 and 40 reproductive pairs were monitored each season. Laying and hatching date, number of chicks and eggs were recorded each nest visit. Nests and other seabird colonies (resources) location were recorded using a handheld GPS receiver. Distances of the nests to resources and to the nearest neighbor (NND) were calculated by means of Arcgis software. Nest components proportion (mosses, lichens and rocks) were obtained through photo classification at Envi software. There is no pattern on egg laying date and reproductive success in relation to nest components. Mean egg laying date were at early December. Reproductive success differed between seasons (χ2=20,25 P<0,001) and chick survival probability varied according to laying order (Nagelkerke R²=0.137 P=0,01), being higher at December both seasons (Nagelkerke R²= 0.137 P= 0,01). Reproductive success was related to the distance from nests to Pygoscelis antarctica breeding colonies at 2009/10 (Nagelkerke R2=0,20 P=0,03) and 2010/11 (Nagelkerke R²=0.177 P=0,02). NND were negatively correlated to chick survival (Nagelkerke R2=0,30 P=0,02). Egg laying date did not differ according to NND neither according to nest distance from other seabirds breeding colonies. We found a lower chick survival probability at nests closer to recourses, what differ from what is described at literature, nevertheless, two factors observed could explain this pattern, which are: nests located near to resources are found to be densely distributed, what increases competition and conspecific predation; social information access, based on egg laying date, results on a higher nests concentration and consequently on different chick survival probabilities.

BACKGROUND: Screening rates for colorectal cancer (CRC) are increasing nationwide including Tennessee (TN); however, their up-to-date status is unknown. The objective of this study is to determine the trends and characteristics of TN adults who are up-to-date status with CRC screening during 2002-2008. METHODS: We examined data from the TN Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 to estimate the proportion of respondents aged 50 years and above who were up-to-date status with CRC screening, defined as an annual home fecal occult blood test and/or sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy in the past 5 years. We identified trends in up-to-status in all eligible respondents. Using multivariable logistic regression models, we delineated key characteristics of respondents who were up-to-date status. RESULTS: During 2002-2008, the proportion of respondents with up-to-date status for CRC screening increased from 49% in 2002- 55% in 2006 and then decreased to 46% in 2008. The screening rates were higher among adults aged 65-74 years, those with some college education, those with annual household income ≥$35,000 and those with health-care access. In 2008, the respondents who were not up-to-date status with CRC screening included those with no health-care coverage (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.33-0.63), those aged 50-54 years (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.46-0.82) and those with annual household income CONCLUSIONS: TN adults who are up-to-date status with CRC screening are increasing, but not across all socio-demographic subgroups. The results identified specific subgroups to be targeted by screening programs, along with continued efforts to educate public and providers about the importance of CRC screening.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Agriculture (Crop Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2004. / Canon Collins Educational Trust of Southern Africa (CCETSA), and the National Research Foundation (NRF)

Sexual assault is a growing concern across college campuses in the United States. According to the Sexual Victimization of College Women study, the victimization rate is 27.7 rapes per 1,000 ­­­­women students (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000). In response to the high prevalence of sexual assault, college campuses are now mandated to implement various forms of sexual assault prevention programming. Sexual assault prevention programming is intended to promote awareness of sexual assault and reduce the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses. Numerous studies have examined the short term effectiveness of sexual assault prevention programs (e.g., Anderson & Whiston, 2005). However, few studies have explored the effectiveness of repeated, annual prevention program participation on rape supportive beliefs. In addition, studies that have explored the efficacy of prevention programs have tended to rely exclusively on self-report measures and some have only focused on outcomes among men or women groups only. The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of level of participation and gender in sexual assault prevention training on rape myth acceptance (RMA) and response latency to a hypothetical date rape scenario among a sample of Western college students. Results revealed no significant relationships between higher levels of sexual assault prevention programming participation and RMA scores and latency times. Additionally, there were no gender differences on IRMA scores or response latency. Findings have important implications for future sexual assault prevention programming efforts on college campuses and community settings.