O trabalho procura compreender o processo de estagnação urbana do distrito do Pari, um fenômeno que ocorre em determinadas áreas da metrópole como uma forma de criarem fronteiras de expansão ao capital imobiliário. Para compreender como esse processo ocorreu no distrito do Pari foi analisada a história da formação geográfica do bairro, a história social e demográfica, a história da atividade imobiliária e econômica e a história da Política pública do espaço. O processo ocorrido no Pari mostrou que o distrito concentra diversas atividades, usos, estrutura e população que, na verdade, podem ser considerados estagnados. Mas, mais importante do que a estagnação, é o fato que a sociedade considera essas atividades, usos, estrutura e população com desprezo e isso é uma forma ideológica que traz este conceito, uma vez que é associado com as classes mais pobres. / This thesis seeks the understanding the process of urban stagnation that took place in the District of Pari, São Paulo, Brazil. Urban stagnation is understood as a process which occurs in certain areas of a metropolis as a means of establishing barriers for the expansion of real estate capital. For the purpose of understanding how this process has occurred in that district it is analyzed its demographic, geographic, urban-spatial, economic, social and governmental history. Similarities and differences between different central districts of São Paulo are studied in order to understand the process Pari has undergone. It was shown that the district concentrates several activities, land uses, structures and population which, in fact, may be considered stagnant, but more important than that is the fact that society as a whole looks upon such activities, population, structures and land uses, with scorn and that stagnation is an ideological way of conveying that contempt, since they are associated with lower social classes.

Pattern discovery in protein structures is a fundamental task in computational biology, with important applications in protein structure prediction, profiling and alignment. We propose a novel approach for pattern discovery in protein structures using Particle Swarm-based flying windows over potentially promising regions of the search space. Using a heuristic search, based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is, however, easily trapped in local optima due to the sparse nature of the problem search space. Thus, we introduce a novel fitness-based stagnation detection technique that effectively and efficiently restarts the search process to escape potential local optima. The proposed fitness-based method significantly outperforms the commonly-used distance-based method when tested on eight classical and advanced (shifted/rotated) benchmark functions, as well as on two other applications for proteomic pattern matching and discovery. The main idea is to make use of the already-calculated fitness values of swarm particles, instead of their pairwise distance values, to predict an imminent stagnation situation. That is, the proposed fitness-based method does not require any computational overhead of repeatedly calculating pairwise distances between all particles at each iteration. Moreover, the fitness-based method is less dependent on the problem search space, compared with the distance-based method. The proposed pattern discovery algorithms are first applied to protein contact maps, which are the 2D compact representation of protein structures. Then, they are extended to work on actual protein 3D structures and interaction networks, offering a novel and low-cost approach to protein structure classification and interaction prediction. Concerning protein structure classification, the proposed PSO-based approach correctly distinguishes between the positive and negative examples in two protein datasets over 50 trials. As for protein interaction prediction, the proposed approach works effectively on complex, mostly sparse protein interaction networks, and predicts high-confidence protein-protein interactions — validated by more than one computational and experimental source — through knowledge transfer between topologically-similar interaction patterns of close proximity. Such encouraging results demonstrate that pattern discovery in protein structures and interaction networks are promising new applications of the fast-growing and far-reaching PSO algorithms, which is the main argument of this thesis. / Thesis (Ph.D, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2014-04-21 12:54:03.37

Submitted by Felipe Dexheimer (felipe.dex@gmail.com) on 2017-08-30T17:01:27Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissertacaoEnvio.pdf: 1900582 bytes, checksum: 347a4791d6eeac1e6b4919e40e275ffa (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Joana Martorini (joana.martorini@fgv.br) on 2017-08-30T19:13:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissertacaoEnvio.pdf: 1900582 bytes, checksum: 347a4791d6eeac1e6b4919e40e275ffa (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-31T12:32:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissertacaoEnvio.pdf: 1900582 bytes, checksum: 347a4791d6eeac1e6b4919e40e275ffa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-11 / The objective of this paper is to seek insights into the Great Recession, which started after the Financial Shock of 2008 and still casts a shadow on the growth of Developed Economies. Common features such as near zero interest rates, disappointing growth and low inflation - with a constant fear of deflation - have been observed in most of these countries in the last few years. The Secular Stagnation Hypothesis argues that the causes are a depressed demand, both for investments and finished products and services, and that to avoid a deflation trap governments should step in, helping economies reach their potential again. The Credit Supercycle Hypothesis puts the deleveraging cycle on focus: the large credit expansion that happened prior to the shock must be dealt with, through inflation, growth, restructuring or a combination of those, before economic agents go back to their normal behavior. The analysis of their main differences leads to the investigation of the credit cycle and its impact on productivity growth. Two approaches are used, with the time frame ranging from 1995 to 2014: a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) analysis focused on twenty developed countries and a Real Business Cycle analysis of the American Economy, both replicated from previous studies with similar focus, but different context. The results show the importance of credit formation to the growth of productivity, both directly and through fixed capital investment, and also that the low productivity growth on recent years may be not a symptom of slow technological improvement, but instead caused by the lack of credit access, notwithstanding the low interest rates and credit spreads. Policy makers overlooking this evidence might be surprised by an unforeseen rise in productivity growth after the financial system returns to a more normal behavior. / O objetivo deste artigo é buscar informações sobre a Grande Recessão, que começou após o Choque Financeiro de 2008 e ainda gera uma sombra sobre o crescimento das Economias Desenvolvidas. Características comuns, como taxas de juros próximas de zero, decepções de crescimento e baixa inflação - com um medo constante da deflação - foram observados na maioria desses países nos últimos anos. A Hipótese da Estagnação Secular argumenta que as causas é uma demanda deprimida, tanto para investimentos quanto para produtos e serviços finais, e para evitar uma armadilha de deflação, os governos devem intervir, ajudando as economias a alcançar seu potencial novamente. A Hipótese do Superciclo de Crédito coloca o processo de desalavancagem em foco: a grande expansão de crédito que aconteceu antes do choque deve ser tratada, por meio da inflação, crescimento, reestruturação ou uma combinação desses, antes que os agentes econômicos voltem ao seu comportamento normal. A análise das principais diferenças dessas hipóteses leva à investigação acerca do ciclo do crédito e seu impacto no crescimento da produtividade. São utilizadas duas abordagens, com o intervalo de tempo entre 1995 e 2014: um modelo Vetorial Autoregressivo (VAR) focado em vinte países desenvolvidos e uma análise de Ciclo Real de Negócios (Real Business Cycle) da economia americana, ambas replicadas de estudos anteriores que tinham foco semelhante, mas contexto diferente. Os resultados mostram a importância da formação de crédito para o crescimento da produtividade, tanto diretamente como através do investimento em capital fixo, e também que o baixo crescimento da produtividade nos últimos anos pode não ser um sintoma de melhoria tecnológica lenta, mas sim causado pela falta de acesso a crédito, não obstante as baixas taxas de juros e spreads de crédito. Ao negligenciar essas evidências formadores de políticas econômicas podem se surpreender com um aumento imprevisto do crescimento da produtividade após o sistema financeiro retornar a um comportamento mais normal.

This dissertation of limited scope traces the attempts by Gorbachev (1985-1991) to reform an economic, political and social system which was in a state of terminal decline. The origins of its demise, it is argued, lay in the ossified command economy inherited from Stalin. The enormous damage inflicted on Soviet agriculture during collectivisation in the 1930s~ when millions of productive peasants died, proved to be a fatal blow to that sector. Tlms, Gorbachev followed a two-fold strategy ofrefonn. Glasnost (openness) was introduced to allow constructive debate on economic and social matters. Despite a hesitant beginning, the right to criticise allowed the emergence of more radical campaigners, such as Yeltsin who demanded greater democracy. Significantly, the revival of ethnic nationalist demands in the republics led to disintegration. Perestroika (restructuring) was intended to modernise and boost living standards. The economy faltered but the market was not yet in place / History / M.A. (History)

Enligt Socialstyrelsen år 2019 var hjärt-och kärlsjukdomar den vanligaste dödsanledningen i Sverige och svarade för 31 % av alla dödsfall i landet. Akut kranskärlssjukdom tillhör hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar och är en folksjukdom som drabbar både kvinnor och män i hela västvärlden med högst mortalitet till följd. Kliniska studier har visat att den västerländska kosten med för högt animaliskt proteinintag, för högt intag av raffinerat socker och fett är den primära bakomliggande orsaken till dödsfall i hjärt-kärlsjukdom. Största riskfaktorn för kranskärl-och andra hjärtsjukdomar är arterioskleros (åderförkalkning). En växtbaserad 10 % lågfetthaltig Whole Food Plant Based-diet (WFPB) har visat sig ha en positiv effekt på arteriosklerosprocessen och vidare på hjärt-kärlsjukdomars utveckling. Syftet med detta projekt var att genom en systematisk litteraturstudie undersöka om hjärtsjukdomar, framförallt kranskärlsjukdomar (CAD) kan stagneras och/eller reverseras med hjälp av en lågfetthaltig WFPB-diet. Studien är baserad på 10 vetenskapliga artiklar framtagna ur databaserna CINAHL, PubMed, Google Scholar samt från referenslistan på två av de redan utvalda artiklarna. Samtliga tio artiklar som inkluderats i litteraturstudien valdes genom datainsamling, relevansbedömning och kvalitetsgranskning. För att säkerställa artiklarnas kvalité kvalitetsgranskades de relevanta artiklarna utifrån frågor skapade från en mall från Statens beredning för medicinsk och social utvärdering, SBU. De analyserade mätparametrarna i artiklarna var bl. a. angiografiparametrar, lipidbiomarkörer, anginasymtom, Flödesmedierat vasodilatationstest (FMD) samt Positronemissions tomografi (PET). De flesta granskade studierna visade reversering av CAD, två artiklar visade både reversering och stagnering och en artikel kunde inte bedömas. Stagnering eller reversering av kranskärlsjukdomar kan åstadkommas antingen genom en kombination av dietintervention och andra livstilförändringar som komplement till lipidsänkande medicinsk behandling eller genom endast diet-och andra livstilförändringar. / According to the National Board of Health and Welfare in 2019, cardiovascular disease was the most common cause of death in Sweden and accounted for 31% of all deaths in the country. Acute coronary heart disease belongs to cardiovascular disease and is a common disease that affects both women and men throughout the Western world with the highest mortality as a result. Clinical studies have shown that the Western diet with too high animal protein intake, too high intake of refined sugar and fat is the primary underlying cause of death in cardiovascular disease. The biggest risk factor for coronary heart disease and other heart diseases is arteriosclerosis (atherosclerosis). A plant-based 10% low-fat Whole Food Plant Based Diet (WFPB) has been shown to have a positive effect on the arteriosclerosis process and further on the development of cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this project was to investigate through a systematic literature study whether heart disease, especially coronary heart disease (CAD) can be stagnated and / or reversed with the help of a low-fat WFPB diet. The study is based on 10 scientific articles produced from the databases CINAHL, PubMed, Google Scholar and from the reference list of two of the already selected articles. All ten articles included in the literature study were selected through data collection, relevance assessment and quality review. To ensure the quality of the articles, the relevant articles were quality examined on the basis of questions created from a template from the Swedish Agency for Medical and Social Evaluation, SBU. The analyzed measurement parameters in the articles were for example angiography parameters, lipid biomarkers, angina symptoms, Flow-mediated vasodilation test (FMD) and Positron emission tomography (PET). Most of the studies examined showed reversal of CAD, two articles showed both reversal and stagnation and one article could not be assessed. Stagnation or reversal of coronary heart disease can be achieved either through a combination of dietary intervention and other lifestyle changes in addition to lipid-lowering medical treatment or through dietary and other lifestyle changes only.

Denna avhandling presenterar experimentella studier av polyelektrolytadsorption på motsatt laddade ytor, där substrat av både kiseloxid och blekt barrsulfatmassa har använts. Ett huvudsakligt syfte med denna forskning var att karaktärisera konformationen hos adsorberade skikt av katjonisk polyakrylamid (CPAM) i jämförelse med katjonisk dextran (Cdextran) och relatera denna information till inbindningskapaciteten av kolloidal kiselsyra. Ett andra syfte i denna avhandling var att studera kinetiken för sekventiell adsorption av polyamidamin epiklorhydrin (PAE) och karboxymetyl cellulosa (CMC) på massafibrer och att bestämma adsorptionsisotermer för deponering av polyelektrolyter skikt för skikt på massafibrer. Adsorptionen av CPAM på kiseloxidytor studeras med stagnationspunkts-reflektometri och kvartskristalls-mikrogravimetri för att bestämma adsorptionskinetiken och mättnadsadsorptionens beroende av polyelektrolytens laddningstäthet, pH och NaCl koncentration. Konformationen hos adsorberade skikt av CPAM och Cdextran bestämdes både före och efter sekundär tillsats av kolloidal kiselsyra (CS) och adsorptionen av CS kvantifierades också som funktion av yttäckningen av polyelektrolyt. Resultaten indikerar att laddningstätheten hos CPAM kontrollerar den adsorberade mängden på kiseloxidytor vid låga NaCl koncentrationer. Både adsorptionen av CPAM och Cdextran på kiseloxid visades vara effektiv i NaCl koncentrationer upp till 1 M, vilket indikerar ett signifikant bidrag av icke-jonisk interaktion mellan polyelektrolyterna och kiseloxid. Adsorptionen av CS var högre på föradsorberad CPAM än Cdextran. Konformationen hos de adsorberade skikten efter tillsats av CS sågs expandera signifikant för skikt baserade på CPAM medan skikt av Cdextran vid låga salthalter verkade återta sin konformation efter en temporär expansion. I den andra delen av avhandlingen studerades sekventiell adsorption av PAE och CMC på massafibrer. Adsorptionsisotermer skikt för skikt på avkryllad massa visade att PAE adsorberade i större mängd än CMC, både i hänseende av massa och laddning. Adsorptionen av PAE var signifikant långsammare än CMC och adsorptionstiden till 90% av mättnadsadsorptionen bestämdes till 3 respektive 1 minut. Zetapotentialen för kryll bestämdes för adsorption av de två första polyelektrolytskikten och resultaten tydde på att kryllmaterialet omladdade inom en minut efter tillsatserna av polyelektrolyt. Reflektometriförsök inom sekventiell adsorption av PAE och CMC på kiseloxid antydde att den låga molekylviktsfraktionen av PAE störde uppbyggnaden av polyelektrolyt-multiskikten. / This thesis presents experimental studies of polyelectrolyte adsorption on oppositely charged surfaces, where substrates of both silica and bleached softwood kraft pulp were used. A major aim of this research was to characterise the conformation of adsorbed layers of cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM), in comparison to cationic dextran (Cdextran), and relate this information to the binding capacity of colloidal silica. A second aim in this thesis was to study the kinetics of the sequential adsorption of polyamide epichlorohydrine (PAE) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) on pulp fibres, and to determine the adsorption isotherms for the layer-by-layer deposition of polyelectrolytes on pulp fibres. The adsorption of CPAM on silica surfaces was studied using stagnation point adsorption reflectometry and quartz crystal microgravimetry to determine its adsorption kinetics as well as the dependencies of polyelectrolyte charge densities, pH, and NaCl concentration on saturation adsorption. The conformation of adsorbed layers of CPAM and Cdextran, analysed in terms of amount of water and layer thickness, was determined both before and after the secondary adsorption of colloidal silica (CS), and the adsorption of CS was also quantified as a function of the surface coverage of the polyelectrolyte. Results indicate that the charge density of CPAM controlled the amount of the polyelectrolyte adsorbed on silica surfaces at low NaCl concentrations. The adsorption of both CPAM and Cdextran on silica was shown to be effective at up to 1 M NaCl concentrations, which indicates that non-ionic interactions between the polyelectrolytes and silica contribute significantly. CS adsorption was higher on pre-adsorbed CPAM than on Cdextran. The conformation of the adsorbed layer after CS addition was seen to expand significantly in CPAM-based layers, while the Cdextran layer appeared to restore its conformation after a temporary expansion at low salt concentrations. In the second part of the thesis, the sequential adsorption of PAE and CMC on pulp fibres was determined using the polyelectrolyte titration technique. Layer-by-layer adsorption isotherms derived on fractionated pulp showed that PAE adsorbed in higher amounts than CMC did, both in terms of adsorbed mass and adsorbed charge. The adsorption of PAE was significantly slower compared to CMC, and the adsorption times required to reach 90% of the saturation adsorption were 3 and 1 min, respectively. The zeta potential of pulp fines was determined for the adsorption of the two first polyelectrolyte layers, and data indicated that the fines recharge within one minute after the polyelectrolyte additions. Reflectometry experiments regarding the sequential adsorption of PAE and CMC on silica indicated that the low-molecular-weight fraction of PAE disturbed the formation of polyelectrolyte multilayers. / QC 20101112

<p>  </p> <p>The pandemic prompted buildings globally to transition to low or no occupancy as social distancing to reduce the spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). This consequence prompted concerns about the chemical and microbiological safety of building drinking water due to stagnation. At the same time, microplastic (MP) pollution received increasing global attention due to their presence in the environment and recent discoveries within water distribution systems and at building faucets. MP sources have primarily been targeted as originating within the drinking water sources, but plastic plumbing components are less discussed and known to deteriorate into fragments and smaller pieces that reach faucets. Literature at the time of this work as sparse on stagnation impacts to drinking water quality and the fate of MPs in plumbing. In particular, health officials and building owners issued and received many differed guidance documents telling building owners do different things and no standard guideline was available to reduce the health risks caused by stagnant building drinking water. This dissertation  examined three different types of buildings during closed to low water use conditions and conducted bench-scale testing to explore the phenomena observed in the field. Chapter 1 describes water quality impacts during a 7 year old ‘green’ middle school as it transitioned from Summer (low water use) to Fall (normal use). Field experiments revealed that more than half of first draw water samples exceeded the copper (acute) health-based action limit during low water use. Copper concentration within the school increased as distance from building entry point increased. Chapter 2 and 3 describe report on chemical and microbiological water quality in buildings at a university buildings (Chapter 2), and elementary school (Chapter 3). Chapters 2 and 3 revealed that stagnation negatively impacted chemical and microbiological building water quality (cold and hot) but flushing was effective at remediating high concentration of heavy metals and <em>Legionella pneumophila</em> at most locations. But in large buildings, where building plumbing system was more complicated, flushing did not always result in improved water quality. Also discovered was that water quality again deteriorated even after whole building water system was flushed. It is important to understand own building systems to maintain water quality as each building complexity requires specific knowledge and solutions. Chapter 4 describes current knowledge associated with MPs in drinking water and results of bench scale experiments on MP fate and transport in building plumbing. This work identified that while MPs have been reported at building faucets, sampling details lacking from available studies often resulted in study results not being comparable across others. Based on the review of the issue, it was found that MPs have likely reached building faucets for decades but have received no characterization until recently. Bench-scale testing using two MPs, of different density, in copper and crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) pipes revealed size influenced the amount of MPs retained in a pipe. Research needs were identified to determine the fundamental factors that control MP fate in plumbing and their presence at building faucets. </p>

Strong opposing views exist with the popularly held notion that a midlife crisis is a normative phenomenon whilst a number of international researchers assert that the evidence shows the opposite to be true. It is nevertheless acknowledged that the psychology of midlife was one of the least researched areas internationally until the 1990s when certain aspects of midlife were investigated in the United States. Findings from these studies did not include the impact of a multiplicity of factors in combination at midlife. A new approach to the study of the life course using a combination model taking account of the influence of societal structures as well as the interplay between parts has been suggested. Such an approach to midlife transition and crisis research is not known to have taken place in South Africa or internationally. A conceptual model of midlife transition and crisis was constructed from known research and relevant literature and tested using a sample of 220 individuals aged between 30 and 65. The validity of the model was established and a methodologically sound measuring instrument was validated as a more accurate measurement of midlife crisis than a self-described experience. Two factors provisionally named stagnation and death and aging anxiety were found to exist. A true midlife crisis was experienced by a minority of individuals (IS percent) but an additional 31 percent had a troublesome but manageable experience. A neurotic disposition. the absence of good parental relationships, and the use of inappropriate coping skills such as wishful thinking were in combination related to high scores on the midlife crisis scales. A qualitative study revealed that over 90 percent of respondents were able to define a midlife crisis accurately although they tended to overstate the occurrence thereof. This replicates the research findings in the United States. Stagnation was experienced more acutely by individuals aged between 40 and 50 years whilst death and aging anxiety was the primary experience for those over 50 years. The validated conceptual model and measuring instruments can be used by therapists and coaches to facilitate the counselling or coaching process with clients experiencing midlife crisis. / Psychology / D. Comm. (Consulting Psychology)

Strong opposing views exist with the popularly held notion that a midlife crisis is a normative phenomenon whilst a number of international researchers assert that the evidence shows the opposite to be true. It is nevertheless acknowledged that the psychology of midlife was one of the least researched areas internationally until the 1990s when certain aspects of midlife were investigated in the United States. Findings from these studies did not include the impact of a multiplicity of factors in combination at midlife. A new approach to the study of the life course using a combination model taking account of the influence of societal structures as well as the interplay between parts has been suggested. Such an approach to midlife transition and crisis research is not known to have taken place in South Africa or internationally. A conceptual model of midlife transition and crisis was constructed from known research and relevant literature and tested using a sample of 220 individuals aged between 30 and 65. The validity of the model was established and a methodologically sound measuring instrument was validated as a more accurate measurement of midlife crisis than a self-described experience. Two factors provisionally named stagnation and death and aging anxiety were found to exist. A true midlife crisis was experienced by a minority of individuals (IS percent) but an additional 31 percent had a troublesome but manageable experience. A neurotic disposition. the absence of good parental relationships, and the use of inappropriate coping skills such as wishful thinking were in combination related to high scores on the midlife crisis scales. A qualitative study revealed that over 90 percent of respondents were able to define a midlife crisis accurately although they tended to overstate the occurrence thereof. This replicates the research findings in the United States. Stagnation was experienced more acutely by individuals aged between 40 and 50 years whilst death and aging anxiety was the primary experience for those over 50 years. The validated conceptual model and measuring instruments can be used by therapists and coaches to facilitate the counselling or coaching process with clients experiencing midlife crisis. / Psychology / D. Comm. (Consulting Psychology)

The diploma thesis is based on the personal experience of burnout and stagnation in artistic practice. It is a personal reflection of boredom and work with unpredictability. Works in several layers with art theory, existential subtext and subliminal humor.