Suchergebnisse

The topic Sustainable Development has brought a wide discussion across a number of sectors in our society, namely in Power Systems. Given the need to address other concerns than the economic ones, decision makers must take into account the rationale that lies beneath strategic choices, such as investing in generation technologies using renewable energy or rather doing business as usual and installing fossil fuel power plants. In this paper logic models were used as a decision-aid supporting tool, with the aim of contributing to explain the connection between building a given power plant and assessing its possible impacts in terms of sustainable development. All the electricity generation technologies were grouped in thermal, renewable energy sources (RES) and nuclear. The literature review fed the construction of three technology generation groups inference and relational diagrams to allow the visualization of environmental, social and economic causes and effects. The results of the literature review and of a set of interviews with experts, based on the diagrams, allowed to conclude that the use of RES have wider positive social impacts on the long run, despite their short-term higher costs compared to the traditional groups (nuclear and thermal). ; This work was financed by: the QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, the European Union – European Regional Development Fund and National Funds- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-011377 and Project ...

This paper overviews previous research addressing the inclusion of the, social dimension of sustainable development on power systems planning. Consequences of the recent energy policies and strategies are already being felt in, developed countries' power systems, with the integration of rising quotas in renewable, energy technologies. However, while the tools that aid decision making on power, planning show that economic and environmental issues are easily quantifiable and thus, modeled, social concerns have been addressed in a less extensive and more, subjective way, implying in most cases expert participation on multi-criteria decision aid, techniques. A survey of recent papers providing public perceptions on electricity, generation technologies and projects is presented. These papers were chosen and, reviewed in order to present a representative array of methodologies that are used to, assess social acceptance of technologies. According to some of the reviewed papers, this issue is suggested to be fundamental to increase project success. As a conclusion, stands the fact that further discussion is still needed in order to achieve solid, agreement, among experts, over what are the positive and the negative drivers to, social sustainability; otherwise models will not be able to translate reality and improve it, under this point of view. ; This work was financed by: the QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, the European Union – European Regional Development Fund and National Funds - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-011377 and Project ...

Renewable energy technologies are part of the solution to meet future increasing demand of electricity and decommissioning of power plants in the European Union. Public opinion surveys indicate general support of these technologies, but particular projects face local opposition, a phenomenon known in the literature as the NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) hypothesis. In this study, the public opinion on renewable energy technologies was analyzed by means of a survey implemented in Portugal. The survey addresses four technologies: hydro, wind, biomass and solar power. The study has three main purposes: firstly, to recognize if the people acknowledges the existence of these technologies, secondly, to study the validity of the NIMBY hypothesis in Portugal while realizing in which technology it is more pronounced, and thirdly to perceive the levels of acceptance of each technology, under Sustainable Development aspects (Economy, Ecology and Society). The results suggest that acknowledgement of technology decreases with age, increases with educational degree and is greater in males. There is a generally positive attitude towards new projects of all technologies, and this tendency is more pronounced for solar power. Solar power plants are regarded by the Portuguese public as the most desirable technology in terms of economic and environmental aspects, while hydro power is perceived as the RES technology that can contribute the most to local residents' welfare. ; This work was financed by: the QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, the European Union – European Regional Development Fund and National Funds- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-011377 and Project ...

The objective of this study was to characterize the paste profile of basmati-style aromatic rice accessions. The evaluation of the 56 rice accessions by the Mean of Distances Method yielded seven groups of rice accessions based on the evaluated parameters (elongation, apparent amylose content (AAC), aroma, and paste properties). Group 1 was represented by the control sample IRGA417, a non-aromatic cultivar with the highest AAC (22.5%). The aromatic cultivars Jasmine, Empasc 104, IAC500, and Jasmine85 constituted the third group. Group 4 consisted of 41 Basmati accessions and exhibited the highest average elongation ratio (greater than 2.0). Groups 3 and 4 exhibited comparable aroma scores (2.9 and 2.8, respectively) and retrogradation processes (final viscosity: 285.37 and 291.26 RVU, and setback: 136.84 and 166.01 RVU, respectively). Group 5 was constituted with seven Basmati accessions, while groups 6 and 7 were formed with one and two Basmati accessions, respectively. Groups 5 and 6 exhibited comparable paste properties, with peak viscosities of 186.06 and 153.1 RVU, respectively, and final viscosities of 210.27 and 236.7 RVU, respectively, which were lower than those observed in the other groups. In contrast, group 7 exhibited intermediate parameters between the control IRGA417 and groups 3 and 4. Groups 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 were classified as low amylose grains, with an AAC of 12-20%. The Basmati accession (group 4) exhibited a comparable paste profile, with a notable distinction in its high elongation, aroma, and low AAC. Consequently, these cultivars may be well accepted by consumers of aromatic rice.

Este trabalho objetiva fornecer subsídios à discussão sobre a melhor maneira de reduzir o nível de proteção no Brasil sobre produtos industrializados: se através de uma redução tarifária unilateral ou se por meio da celebração de acordos comerciais. Os resultados sugerem que, em geral, os dezenove países de América Latina e Caribe, Europa e Ásia Central, leste da Ásia e Pacífico e sul da Ásia firmaram a maioria dos acordos comerciais após o processo de redução de tarifas. Nesse sentido, os acordos comerciais não parecem ter sido usados como estratégia para promover maior liberalização em lugar da abertura unilateral. Portanto, há indicações de que os países optaram pela abertura unilateral, com os acordos comerciais desempenhando um papel complementar.

ABSTRACTDystonia is a neurological disorder that can cause constant muscle contractions and motor limitations. This work reports a clinical case of periodontal treatment in a patient with generalized idiopathic dystonia. The intraoral clinical examination was focused on the presence of caries and periodontal diseases. The plaque index (PI), probing depth (PD), and bleeding on probing (BOP) were measured. Initially, oral hygiene instruction was provided using a soft conventional toothbrush and dental floss, but the clinical results achieved using these methods were inadequate. Alternative methods of plaque removal were offered, such as the use of a power toothbrush and a dental floss fork, which resulted in improvement in the PI, PD, and BOP and allowed the patient to undergo periodontal surgery for the restoration of subgingival caries. Our results suggested that generalized idiopathic dystonia leads to motor limitations that may cause difficulty with regard to plaque control, but adaptations of the methods used for oral hygiene may improve the oral health conditions in these patients.

AbstractThe University of São Paulo Twin Panel (Painel USP de Gêmeos), based at the Institute of Psychology of the University of São Paulo, started formally in 2017. Our registry is new, but in only two years of formal existence, it comprises a volunteer sample of 4826 registered individuals (98% twins and 2% higher-order multiples), recruited at the University of São Paulo and by social media campaigns. Our main aim is to conduct and promote research with twins on psychological processes and behavior. The University of São Paulo is the largest higher education and research institution in South America, and the Painel USP de Gêmeos has great potential for fostering research on twin-related issues from a psychological perspective in Brazil and South America.