Avec l'accroissement du nombre de génomes séquencés, l'organisation de ces données brutes et des données dérivées, l'extraction de l'information et des connaissances associées défie l'imagination. La notion de voisinage a été d'abord été introduite pour l'organisation des données dans des bases de données relationnelles. Pour extraire des informations pertinentes à partir de données massives, différents types de voisinages ont été étudiés ici. Tout d'abord, avec l'analysedes correspondances (CA) et en utilisant le regroupement supervisé ("model clustering" MBC), la proximité mutuelle des éléments formant deux entités biologiques centrales, les gènes (codant les protéines) et les acides aminés a été analysée. Nous montrons par exemple que les protéines de Psychromonas ingrahamii, bactérie psychrophile extrêmes, sont regroupées en six classes, et qu'il y a une forte opposition entre le comportement de l'asparagine (N) et des acides aminés sensibles à l'oxygène, ce que nous expliquons en terms de résistance au froid. Ensuite, nous avons analysé la répartition entre les îlots génomiques (GI) et le squelette du génome de base à partir d'une nouvelle méthode combinant composition en bases et en gènes, caractéristiques GI et de briser les synténies. L'application de cette approche à E. coli et B. subtilis a révélé que cette nouvelle méthode permet d'extraire certaines régions significative, non publiées auparavant.Enfin, pour illustrer un voisinage fin, la régulation de l'expression d'un gène et son évolution, nous avons étudié la relation entre les régions en amont du gène et la zone codante du gène thrS de façon approfondie. Nous avons constaté que ces deux régions associées à un gène, se sont comportés différemment dans l'histoire évolutive. Certaines des régions en amont porteuses de la fonction non-essentielle de régulation (qui contrôle l'expression de gène) ont évoluédifféremment de la région codante. / With more and more genomes being sequenced, the organization of those raw data and the derived data, the extraction of information and knowledge from these data has become a challenge. A key concept in this field is that of the neighborhood, especially with respect to the organization of data in relational databases. To extract information from bulk data, different kinds of neighborhoods were studied and each show interesting results in current study. .Firstly, through the Correspondence Analysis (CA) and later Model Based Clustering (MBC), two kinds of neighbors i.e. the genes (proteins) and amino acids were analyzed respectively, and it was found that proteins from Psychromonas ingrahamii are clustered into six classes, and there is strong opposition between asparagine (N) and the oxygen-sensitive amino acids. Secondly, the relationship between genomic islands and core genome (i.e. two closely linked neighbors withlarge range on the chromosome) was studied by a new method combining composition, GI features and synteny break. On applying to E. coli and B. subtilis it was revealed that this new method can extract some meaningful regions not published before. Thirdly, the relationship between upstream and coding regions of thrS gene (i.e. a case for two closely linked neighbors with small range on the chromosome) was studied extensively. It was found that these two regions associated to one gene, behaved differently in the evolutionary history.. Some of the upstream regions bearing non-essential function (i.e. regulation of gene expression) evolved more slowly than the coding region.

City governments across the United States are struggling to keep housing and services affordable for lower-income households as neighborhood conditions improve in previously disinvested areas. Despite considerable fiscal and political constraints, numerous cities are tackling this challenge through policy tools that protect the stock of low-cost housing and support lower-income residents’ ability to remain in place when reinvestment raises the threat of displacement. Drawing on a framework informed by theories of equity planning, the Just City, and redistributive policy action, this study examines how cities are mitigating displacement in neighborhoods at risk of gentrification and analyzes the conditions that motivate, facilitate, and shape their policy responses. Data were collected through an original survey of housing, planning, and community development officials, a systematic review of policy documents, and semi-structured interviews with city officials and community advocates. Through sequential quantitative and qualitative analyses, I show that although city governments possess and are using diverse tools to create more equitable outcomes in neighborhoods at risk of gentrification, their tendency to delay action until market appreciation is advanced, dependence on market-based tools amid fiscal constraint, and need to balance neighborhood-based and city-wide goals weaken their capacity to tackle displacement. This study concludes that proactive approaches that address reinvestment and long-term affordability concurrently would minimize the tensions associated with the timing, form, and scale of intervention. Cities’ demonstrated responsiveness to community organizing suggests one key channel through which such a policy shift could be activated.

Este trabalho configura-se como um esforço para se discutir a inclusão da participação social na prática do Gerenciamento Costeiro Integrado. Tem como objetivo principal uma análise das associações de bairro existentes nos quatro municípios do Litoral Norte do Estado de São Paulo a fim de avaliar a atuação destas como um ator do gerenciamento costeiro integrado. A análise partiu de um contexto teórico, sobre as diferentes formas de organização da sociedade civil, entre elas os movimentos sócio ambientais e as associações de bairro. Realizou-se uma análise institucional das associações, com a identificação de seu potencial de ação como agentes do movimento sócio ambiental e de sua e efetiva participação em processos de discussão e elaboração de políticas públicas, utilizando o Litoral Norte como área de estudo. Observou-se que o principal objetivo, das 248 associações identificadas, é a busca por melhorias de infra-estrutura urbana, e que questões ambientais são marginais. Grande parcela das associações apresenta problemas estruturais e jurídicos, 96% estão com seus estatutos em desacordo com o atual Código Civil Brasileiro. Observou-se uma visão compartimentalizada e biocêntrica de meio ambiente e um entendimento praticamente inexistente de desenvolvimento sustentável. A participação em políticas públicas é pequena, o que pode ser uma evidência da falta de interesse, mobilização e/ou informações destas instituições sobre os espaços de participação pública. Conclui-se que as associações, possuem potencial para atuar na gestão da zona costeira, entretanto não atuam de fato, sendo necessário um intenso processo de fortalecimento comunitário considerando iniciativas que promovam sua motivação e capacitação. / The present study is configured as an effort to discuss the inclusion of social issues in Integrated Coastal Management practices. Its major purpose was to analyze neighborhood associations existing in the four municipalities the northern coast of São Paulo State, Brazil, in order to identify whether they participate in Integrated Coastal Management processes. The analyses started with a theoretical approach to the different forms of civil organizations, including socio environmental movements and neighborhood associations. An institutional analysis of these associations was performed, identifying their role as stakeholders in socio environmental movements and their effective participation in public policies\' discussion and elaboration processes, setting the northern coast of São Paulo State as the study area. We could observe that the main objective, considering the 248 identified associations, was the search for improvements on the urban infra-structure, with environmental problems appearing as a marginal concern. A considerable number of associations presented organizational, structural and juridical problems, 96% had their statutes in disagreement with the current Brazilian Civil Code. It was possible to note that they share a compartmentalized biocentric concept of environment and were generally unaware of the sustainable development definition. Their participation in public policies development processes was minimal, what may evidence a lack of interest, mobilization and/or information that these institutions have about forums for public and social participation. We could conclude that neighborhood associations can be potential stakeholders in coastal zone management, nevertheless they are not presently playing their role, being necessary an effort towards community empowerment, considering initiatives to promote their motivation and build their capacity for participatory processes.

Orientador: Rubén Augusto Romero Lázaro / Banca: José Roberto Sanches Mantovani / Banca: Antonio Padilha Feltrin / Banca: Luiz Carlos Pereira da Silva / Banca: Eduardo Nobuhiro Asada / Resumo: O Problema de Planejamento da Expansão de Sistemas de Transmissão de Energia Elétrica consiste em se escolher, entre um conjunto pré-definido de circuitos candidatos, aqueles que devem ser incorporados ao sistema de forma a minimizar os custos de investimento e operação ao e atender a demanda de energia futura ao longo de um horizonte de planejamento com confiabilidade, assumindo como conhecido o plano de geração. É considerado um problema muito complexo e difícil por se tratar de um problema não linear inteiro misto, não convexo, multimodal e altamente combinatório. Este problema tem sido solucionado usando técnicas clássicas como Decomposição ao de Benders e Branch and Bound, assim como também algoritmos heurísticos e metaheurísticas obtendo diversos resultados, mais com uma série de problemas como, por exemplo, alto esforço computacional e problemas de convergência. Neste trabalho apresentam-se duas novas técnicas de solução para o problema, a saber, as metaheurísticas Busca em Vizinhança Variável e a Busca Dispersa. A Busca em Vizinhança Variável é uma técnica baseada em trocas de estruturas de vizinhança dentro de um algoritmo de busca local, e a metaheurística Busca Dispersa, um método evolutivo que combina sistematicamente conjuntos de soluções para se obter solucões melhores. Essas técnicas de solução oferecem novas alternativas de solução que oferecem solução aos problemas encontrados com outros métodos, como é um baixo esforço computacional é uma melhor convergência, sendo este o principal aporte do trabalho. Os algoritmos são apresentados sistematicamente, explicando os seus algoritmos e a forma como são adaptados para resolver o problema do planejamento da expansão de sistemas de transmissão considerando-se a modelagem matemática conhecida com o modelo de transporte e o modelo DC. São realizados testes com os sistemas... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Electric Energy Transmission Network Expansion Problem consist in choose among a set of pre-defined circuits candidates, who must be incorporated into the system so as to minimize the investment costs and operation and meet the future energy demand over a planning horizon with reliability, assuming the generation plan is known. It is a very complex and difficult problem because it is non linear, non convex, multimodal and highly combinatorial. This problem has been solved using traditional techniques such as Benders decomposition and Branch and Bound, as well as heuristic algorithms and metaheuristics getting different results, but with a series of problems such as high computational effort and convergence problems. This paper tests out two new techniques for solving the problem as are the metaheuristics Variable Neighborhood Search and Scatter Search. The Variable Neighborhood Search is a technique based on trading structures within a neighborhood of a local search algorithm, and the Scatter Search metaheuristic is a method which combines systematically sets of solutions in an evolutionary way to achieve better solutions. These solution techniques offer new alternatives to solve the problems encountered with other methods, such as a low computational effort and better convergence, which is the main contribution of this work. The techniques are presented systematically, explaining their algorithms and the way they are adapted to solve the network expansion planning problem based on the mathematical model known as the transportation model and the DC model. They are tested with the systems Southern Brazilian with 46 buses and the IEEE 24 buses system, results are compared with those obtained with other metaheuristics, obtaining excellent results with a best performance both in processing speed as in computational effort. / Doutor

The purpose of this qualitative and empirical study was to study a group of young women and how they shaped their identites through their experiences and selfrealisation in the suburb Tensta. The main focus of the study was to find what significance and impact the environment had and how much it effetct the individuals’ self image and place in society. Further more the study was done through semi-structured interviews. The different kinds of theories used in this study were mainly Goffman's theory on stigma, Link and Phelan’s explanation model for the process of stigmatization, Skegg’s theory on effeminately as a norm, and the author Sobring etc. as the source to understand the different identity concepts. With the help of these explanation models we learned to comprehend and get a better view of what these young women felt in their stigmitized area called Tensta and how it affected their identity and behaviour. Also, in how they saw themselves and their self image we could draw real life conclusions and what we found out was that these women had ambitious feelings about the future with a general positivity despite their location. Even though they have been and are still being discriminated and stigmitized against, they still keept a postive outlook on life. / Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att studera unga kvinnors upplevelser av identitet och självuppfattning i uppväxtmiljön Tensta. Studiens fokus ligger främst på vilken betydelse uppväxtmiljön har för individens självbild och vidare undersöktes fenomenet genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Olika teorier som tillämpats i denna studie är Goffmans teori om stigma, Link och Phelans förklaringsmodell för stigmatiseringsprocessen, Skeggs teori om kvinnan som norm samt författaren Sorbring m.fl. som förklaring på identitetsbegreppet. Med hjälp av dessa förklaringsmodeller kunde vi tolka och förstå hur unga kvinnor som är bosatta i ett stigmatiserat område som Tensta upplever sin identitet och självbild. Utifrån det empiriska materialet kunde vi dra slutsatsen att unga kvinnor bosatta i Tensta visar sig ha en mer positiv självuppfattning fastän de utsätts för stigmatisering och diskriminering.

Since the end of World War II, American cities have been stuck in the development trend of urban sprawl. The suburban ideal and proliferation of the automobile have fostered this trend, as well as several other negative issues in our society including inefficient land use and isolation of lower social and economic groups. After fifty years as the model by which American cities grow, it has proven itself to be both inefficient in land use and ineffective in bridging the social gaps that have existed since its inception. A new model for city growth is necessary, one that encourages steady and denser development, and the evolution of such a model should begin in a place in which the core of many American cities are built upon: the neighborhood. This thesis will research the ideas present in many traditional American neighborhoods, ideas that have allowed many of these neighborhoods to exist as integrated urban microcosms within cities even into the modern era in which we now live. The goal is not to simply mimic these ideas and the situations which encouraged them, but to reestablish them with consideration to modern issues, lifestyles, and cultures that exist today. Research will be conducted into the nature of neighborhoods as social phenomena as a way to understand, and therefore respond to, how we interact with one another in the places in which we live. Research will also be conducted specific to the city of Tampa, Florida; exploring the structure of existing neighborhoods in Tampa as well as housing types commonly found in the city. The case study of Radburn, New Jersey will be examined as well as New Urbanism ideas to understand how others have approached the idea of neighborhood. Neighborhoods were once the dominant method of development in the United States prior to the Great Depression and World War II. Urban sprawl and suburbia abandoned the idea of neighborhood in favor of a different ideal for living; an ideal which, whether intentional or not, encouraged private living and design decisions which centered around the automobile rather than people and social situations. While design investigations will include macro and micro strategies, a specific goal will be to explore how the design and planning of single family homes can be rethought to provide more frequent opportunities for social interactions with ones neighbor as well as improved relationships with the street. The conclusions of this thesis will aim to prove that reestablishing this phenomenon in urban planning can provide positive growth, encourage social interaction, as well as allow our basic nature as humans to take root.

Energy efficient houses benefit communities not only to provide renewable energy shares and generating surplus electricity supporting local economic development. Also, residents in energy efficient houses have less energy usage that reduces household budget expenses. However, one of the obstacles of energy efficient technology installment of residential buildings is high investment cost, which can be solved with the usage of modular housing. In Europe, housing costs have a large share, especially for Sweden, housing expenses is a burden mostly for people who are at the risk of poverty. Also, high investment costs of energy efficient housing are combined with high construction prices leading a large share of budgets and effort to make houses affordable for low income groups. This study develops a scenario to find solutions for affordable housing problem in Sweden with a design proposal. The aim of this study is to investigate if there are ways of achieving socio-economic mix by the production of energy efficient affordable housing and urban gardening to develop a strategy for resource efficiency in Jakobsgårdarna. To achieve the aim, energy efficient affordable housing designed as modular units to achieve a local economic development. This study uses a design-based research method consisting of learning from background cases to transfer lesson learned in design phase of the sustainable neighborhood consisting of energy efficient technologies. Background cases were analyzed with literature review to define sustainable neighborhood, which was then used to develop a hypothesis. Findings of this thesis generates definition of sustainability tools consisting of a collaborative ownership; designing common kitchens; producing electricity and biogas from renewable energy sources; practicing urban agriculture; managing waste and storm and methods to cross subsidize energy efficient affordable housing production. The outcome of this research provides a sustainable neighborhood design proposal for Jacobsgårdarna, Borlänge.

Small business owners can suffer fluctuations in profitability during the entrance of big box stores within their neighborhood that grab market share with more recognizable brands and change the retail environment. A multiple case study was completed to explore the strategies small business owners use to stay profitable during retail gentrification, looking specifically at the neighborhoods of Adams Morgan and Congress Heights in Washington, DC. Porter's five forces and the resource-based view served as the conceptual framework for the study. Seven small business owners with over 80 years of experience in their locations provided input through semistructured interviews and identified effects of gentrification on their neighborhoods and strategies they used to combat retail gentrification. The thematic approach to data analysis was used to organically code the data based upon reoccurring themes. As a result, 5 strategies were identified within the data: pricing, advertising, customer acquisition, shopkeeper mentality, and neighborhood engagement. The results of this study might provide small business owners with a toolkit of strategies to assist in staying profitable during a time of change. The implications for social change include the potential for maintaining small business profitability during gentrification, encouraging entrepreneurship, employing local residents, and retaining the authentic culture of the neighborhood.

In the United States, over two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, and the number of children and adolescents who are overweight is increasing. Obesity is a significant issue as obesity-related chronic diseases can result in diminished quality or life, high morbidity and mortality, and substantial healthcare costs. The purpose of this study was to examine neighborhood social capital and how it relates to adolescent obesity. The socio-ecological model was used as the theoretical framework of this study to examine how the environment and social contexts influence health behaviors. Utilizing a quantitative cross-sectional research design, bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted on 43864 10 to 17 year-olds using secondary data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health. Controlling for age, gender, race, and overall health status, logistic regression analysis indicated that supportive environments predict the odds of adolescent overweight and obesity, while safer communities did not significantly predict the odds of adolescent overweight or obesity. The results of this study showed that there was a significant association between living in a supportive neighborhood and a decreased likelihood of an adolescent being overweight or obese (OR = 0.797). Associations were also found in demographic variables such as race, gender, and age. Positive social change implications from this study may include use of the findings by public health practitioners to better understand the factors that influence adolescent obesity in general, and the role of the social neighborhood environment in particular. In turn, public health workers can use this improved understanding to improve the quality of interventions, programs, and policies, resulting in positive social change among adolescents.

The stroke rate in Virginia is above the national rate. Stroke results in poor quality health, morbidity, and mortality. This quantitative epidemiological study was conducted to investigate whether a significant association exists between stroke and (a) socioeconomic and (b) neighborhood factors among people who were admitted to Virginia hospitals between 2010 and 2015. An ecological design, including ecosocial theory, was used to examine associations between environmental factors and stroke. Data (746 census output areas) were acquired using patients' billing zip codes from the Virginia Health Information System in combination with socioeconomic and neighborhood data by Zip Code Tabulation Area from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Results of linear regression analysis showed a significant association between stroke hospitalization rate and educational attainment, per capita income, and Gini coefficient for income distribution. Also, a significant association emerged between stroke and neighborhood risk factors such as food access, Walkability Index, and population density. Findings from a one-way ANOVA showed a significant geographic difference in stroke hospitalization rate with the highest stroke rate in eastern Virginia and the lowest stroke rate in northern Virginia. Results may help stakeholders, policymakers, and public health agencies design, prioritize, and implement community-based prevention programs to reduce stroke rates in Virginia.