Orientador: Paulina Setti Riedel / Banca: Paulo Milton Barbosa Landim / Banca: Diana Sarita Hamburger / Resumo: O presente trabalho, desenvolvido no município de Americana, estado de São Paulo, teve como objetivo avaliar a adequabilidade à disposição de resíduos sólidos através da utilização dos métodos da lógica Difusa, comparando-os aos resultados obtidos através da aplicação da análise booleana e da análise multicriterial ponderada, gerados por ARAÚJO(1999). As variáveis utilizadas na análise foram: permeabilidade relativa, capacidade de troca catiônica (CTC), potencial hidrogeniônico (pH), profundidade do lençol freático, espessura do material inconsolidado, declividade, distância das áreas urbanas, distância das estações de captação de água, distância dos principais corpos d'água e distância das áreas de proteção ambiental. Os resultados obtidos foram discutidos em termos de vantagens de aplicação dos métodos e mostraram que as áreas com adequabilidade crescente à disposição de resíduos sólidos, encontradas através dos métodos de lógica Difusa, são territorialmente mais restritas que as obtidas pelos métodos mais tradicionais. Dentre os operadores Difusos, o mais otimista foi o Operador Difuso Máximo, enquanto que o Gama Difuso o mais restritivo, os demais operadores produziram mapas intermediários. Entretanto, o mapa gerado a partir do Operador Difuso Mínimo pode ser empregado em posteriores estudos voltados à seleção de áreas para disposição de resíduos sólidos. / Abstract: This study, developed in the municipal district of Americana, São Paulo State, had the aim to evaluate the waste disposal suitability, through the application of fuzzy logic methods and to compare the obtained results to those generated by boolean analysis and weighted multi- criteria analysis, produced by ARAUJO (1999). The factors used were: relative permeability, pH scale, cationic exchange capacity, unconsolidated material thickness, static level depth, slope, distance from urban perimeter, distance from water reservoir, distance from city water source and from environmental protection areas. The obtained results were discussed based on the advantages and disadvantages of the applied method and showed that the indicated areas with increasing suitability to waste disposal , produced by fuzzy logic methods, are smaller than those produced by the traditional methods. Comparing the different fuzzy operators used, the less restrictive one was the Fuzzy OR, on the other hand, the Gamma Operation was the most restrictive one and the others generated intermediary results. The map generated by the Fuzzy AND can be applied to further studies directed to site selection to waste disposal. / Mestre

In this study, increasing electricity demand requires considerable attention to increasing the diversity of power generation. Alternative energy can produce heating and power systems and thermal storage. Our objective and every organization’s objectives are to minimize its energy consumption cost under electricity demand uncertainty. In rural areas, heat and power availability and stability are also crucial. Combined heat and power have proven their effectiveness as a subsequent to Electricity. This paper identified four criteria and eleven sub-criteria to determine the most appropriate structure location for combined heat and power in the rural community. The Bayesian Network technology has been applied to analyze these criteria comprehensively. A case study including multiple sites across the Mississippi state was used to validate the proposed approach, and propagation and sensitivity analysis were used to evaluate performance. Results showed the summarized eleven criteria proposed Bayesian Network approach could aid location selection for Combined heat and power location in the rural area. Supplementary, the created model can support decision-makers to select the best alternatives under different electricity demand variability levels.

Artificial beach nourishment, the most common method to mitigate coastal erosion in the United States, is also considered the most ecologically friendly alternative for shoreline stabilization. However, this habitat alteration has the potential to impact nesting marine turtles and developing hatchlings. The first objective of this study was to determine how nourishing beaches with two different design templates affects loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nesting success, the ratio of nests to the total number of nests and non-nesting emergences, and reproductive success, the ratio of hatched and emerged hatchlings to the total number of eggs deposited. Two types of restoration designs exist along the southern Brevard County, FL coastline, which supports some of the highest density loggerhead and green turtle nesting worldwide. Since 2005, approximately 35 kilometers of beach have undergone 1) fullscale restoration (typically called nourishment), where sand was added above and below the mean high tide line (2005, 2010) or 2) dune restoration, where sand was placed on the dune (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009). To quantify the effects of these restoration types, we used a Before-After-ControlImpact-Paired Series (BACIPS) model, which tests for significance between the difference in nesting success rates at the impact (engineered) and control sites (natural beach) before and after restoration ( ). For loggerheads, there was a significant difference in after dune restoration during the years of construction (2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009; p

No description available.

No description available.

<p>A critical factor in transit mode share analysis is the level of accessibility to transit services. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationships between accessibility and the built environment, and the use of transit. To do so, the proportion of transit users is modeled as a function of socio-economic characteristics, transit level of service, and built environment characteristics. While accessibility to transit has been the object of previous research, accessibility <em>by</em> transit is a factor that has received only limited attention in prior transit modal share research. The case study is the city of Hamilton, and the geographic unit of analysis is the Dissemination Area. A logistic model for proportions with a spatial filter (for spatial autocorrelation) and an over-dispersion parameter is found to provide the best fit and statistical properties. The results of analysis at the meso-scale show that accessibility by transit contributes positively to usage of transit. The possibility that factors at the micro-scale may also influence use of transit, suggests the development of a methodology, based on the use of spatial filtering, to systematically select walkability audit sites. The proposed methodology is demonstrated by means of a case study of neighborhoods in Hamilton. Statistical analysis of walkability audit information shows that the proposed selection strategy can be used to better target limited resources for field-based work, and produce valuable insights into the micro-level factors that may affect transit use.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

Environmental Impact Assessment stands as a crucial tool in the realm of sustainable development, serving to evaluate the potential environmental implications of proposed projects. While Environmental Impact Assessment processes are widely adopted across nations, their efficacy continually evolves in response to contemporary challenges. This study delves into the effectiveness of EIA procedures, focusing on the Environmental Impact Assessment report of the Mullikulam on-shore wind farm project in Sri Lanka. Initially, the research scrutinizes the criteria for assessing the effectiveness of EIA through desk review and content analysis. Subsequently, it employs a comprehensive checklist to evaluate the effectiveness of the Environmental Impact Assessment report of the said wind farm project, analyzing its adherence to key effectiveness criteria. This evaluation extends to comparative analysis, encompassing two additional Environmental Impact Assessment reports concerning on-shore wind farms in other countries. While the study's objective is to critically evaluate the effectiveness of the Environmental Impact Assessment report of the Mullikulam wind farm project, findings indicate notable deficiencies, particularly concerning site selection, mitigation strategies, and stakeholder engagement. By highlighting these shortcomings, the research underscores the imperative for improvements in EIA practices to enhance effectiveness. The study contributes valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders involved in EIA processes, advocating for enhancements to ensure stronger environmental assessments in future projects.

Land, water and natural resources are under increasing pressure due to rising demands for food and energy from the rapidly growing global population. Across a catchment there can be multiple stakeholders with conflicting opinions over how space and resources should be used and managed. Consequently, it is important to consider the suitability of a catchment for a particular purpose to optimise use of the area and minimise potential conflicts and impacts on the wider environment. Aquaculture is a significant contributor to world food supply and as fisheries are unlikely to increase it is expected that the industry will continue to grow and expand in the future to help meet food security requirements. As a result, it is essential that the sector aims for sustainable development within the most suitable locations. However, it can be difficult to assess the suitability of multiple large catchments and some issues may not be immediately apparent. This project aimed to show how spatial models could be used as decision support tools to evaluate the suitability of large catchments for sustainable aquaculture. Four large areas of importance to aquaculture were selected; covering 10,148km2, 26,225km2, 48,319km2 and 66,283km2 in Bangladesh, China, Thailand and Vietnam respectively. Asia is by far the most dominant aquaculture region in the world and each of the four study areas contribute to local, regional and global food supplies. The study area in Bangladesh was located in Khulna region in the south west of the country and the main species of focus were prawn and shrimp. The Chinese study area was located in the south eastern province of Guangdong and the main species covered were tilapia and shrimp. Similarly, in Thailand, the main species evaluated were tilapia and shrimp whilst the study area extended across the Central region. Finally, the largest study area was the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and the main species of focus in this area were pangasius catfish and shrimp. One of the challenges in modelling large catchments is model applicability and data availability. Often, the required data are not available (or accessible) and it would be difficult, time consuming and expensive to collect new information. Furthermore, when assessing multiple areas is it vital that a representative and unbiased approach is used where no one catchment is favoured over the other due to higher quality data. Therefore, this study used data that are available for almost any area in the world; allowing future application of the models and enabling effective and unbiased decision support. Four modelling stages were employed in this study to evaluate the suitability of large catchments for sustainable aquaculture development. The first stage was the classification of seasonal land use models from satellite imagery. This provides information on what the land is used for and how aquaculture could impact or be impacted by the wider environment. The second step was the development of seasonal models of site suitability using optimal values within a GIS-based multi-stage framework. These models identify which locations are best for culture and can also be used to estimate the availability of areas for food production. The next stage investigated the use of Maxent as a novel approach in site suitability modelling to evaluate the conditions experienced by existing farms. The information from Maxent can be used to identify trends, opportunities and concerns related to sustainable management and farm locations. Finally, qualitative models of non-point source pollution (NPSP) were developed which assess the risk of NPSP within a catchment. NPSP is an issue which can impact both aquaculture and the wider environment. Thus, it is important to understand the areas within a catchment where NPSP risk is higher enabling the establishment of monitoring and/or mitigation procedures. The models support the ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EAA) and enable objective planning and management strategies to enhance productivity across large catchments without negatively impacting the environment. In order to meet growing food requirements, large areas will need to be used for agriculture and aquaculture; therefore, analysis at a wider catchment level, which complements assessment at a local scale, is required as it allows a holistic view of the situation. The work presented here illustrates the potential use of spatial models across large catchments and considers the suitability of the areas for aquaculture development.

Alternative splicing is one of the mechanisms how to regulate gene expression. Under different conditions, different mRNAs encoding proteins with different function, localization or stability can be made from one cellular transcript. The human hSlu7 protein affects the alternative splicing of some genes through alternative 3'splice site (3'SS) selection. Although it was thought that alternative splicing is absent from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, recent results argue against such conclusion. We therefore decided to characterize the function of the yeast Slu7 protein, which participates in the second step of splicing and is closely associated with the 3'SS selection. We focused on a highly conserved uncharacterized motif in the essential part of the Slu7 protein named the RED motif. Mutations in this motif caused second step splicing defects with some substrates and altered the alternative 3'SS usage ratio of some splicing constructs. Our results implicate a role for the RED motif in selecting proper 3'splice sites, especially the distal ones. Genetic interactions of slu7 mutations with PRP22 and PRP45 mutant alelles add to the intricate interaction network of splicing factors and suggest a possible role of Slu7p in facilitating the Prp22p association with the spliceosome.

Beekeepers in Appalachia market varietal honeys derived from particular species of deciduous trees; however, finding places in a mountainous landscape to locate new beeyards is difficult. Site selection is hindered by the high up-front costs of negotiating access to remote areas with limited knowledge of the available forage. Remotely sensed data and species distribution modeling (SDM) of trees important to beekeepers could aid in locating apiary sites at the landscape scale. The objectives of this study are i) using publicly available forest inventory data, to model the spatial distribution of three native tree species that are important to honey producers in eastern Kentucky: American Basswood, Sourwood and Tulip Poplar, and to assess the accuracy of the models, ii) to incorporate a method for discounting the value of a nectar resource as a function of distance based on an energetic model of honeybee foraging, and iii) to provide an example by ranking potential apiary locations around the perimeter of a mine site in the study area based on their proximity to probable species habitat using a GIS model. Logistic regression models were trained using presence-absence records from 1,059 USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) sub-plots distributed throughout a 9,000 km2 portion of the Kentucky River watershed. The models were evaluated by applying them to a separate dataset, 950 forest inventory sub-plots distributed over a 40.5 km2 research forest maintained by the University of Kentucky. Weights derived from an energic model of honeybee foraging were then applied to the probabilities of tree species occurrence predicted by the SDM. As an example, 24 potential apiary locations around the perimeter of a reclaimed mine site were selected and then ranked according to a site suitability index. Three tributary areas corresponding to different honeybee flight ranges were considered: 500m, 700m, and 1,200m. Results confirm that rankings are dependent on the foraging range considered, suggesting that the number of colonies at an apiary location would be an important factor to consider when choosing a site. However, the methodology makes assumptions that are only anecdotally supported, notably i) that colonies will forage preferentially at the target species when it is in bloom and, ii) that foragers will exhaust resources closest to the hive first, regardless of patch size. Additional study of how bees deplete the nectar resources surrounding an apiary is needed to verify the usefulness of SDM in site selection for varietal honey production.