Lume 5.8
http://lume.ufrgs.br:80
O Repositório captura, armazena, indexa, preserva e distibui material de pesquisa em formato digital.2024-03-29T04:34:49ZProject risks and regulation in transport infrastructure : a study in Brazilian agencies concessions planning process
http://hdl.handle.net/10183/274366
Project risks and regulation in transport infrastructure : a study in Brazilian agencies concessions planning process
Roos, Erica Caetano; Souza, Joana Siqueira de; Kliemann Neto, Francisco Jose
Concession of transport assets has been widely adopted in transport infrastructure projects to improve efficiency. In developing countries, e.g., Brazil, many concessions have been conducted with the goal of contributing to improve the country’s competitiveness. The concession of transport infrastructure assets is complex and involves many stages, from planning to the end of the contract. In the planning stage, the project’s potential risks can be identified, and strategies to mitigate them can be defined. Many studies have been published recently discussing risks in transport concessions, however, the practices of regulatory agencies in risk identification and mitigation are incipient. In this scenario, this study debates the inclusion of potential project risks in real concession projects in a developing country. The first step to achieving our goal is identifying the main risks in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) published studies through a literature review. As a main result of this phase, 78 risks are presented and classified as measurable and unmeasurable. In a second step, we have selected recent Brazilian transport concession appraisal studies: an airport, a road, and a port terminal. Comparing the risks from the literature review with the Brazilian regulator’s appraisal studies, we have observed no pattern for items to be discussed in the studies and that the results are mainly presented as discrete variables in all cases. The results can give insights into improving the planning process for future concessions.
2024-01-01T00:00:00ZLow serum uric acid levels and levodopa-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease
http://hdl.handle.net/10183/274365
Low serum uric acid levels and levodopa-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease
Soares, Nayron Medeiros; Pereira, Gabriela Magalhães; Dutra, Ana Carolina Leonardi; Artigas, Nathalie Ribeiro; Monticelli, Bruno Elkfury; Schuh, Artur Francisco Schumacher; Almeida, Rosa Maria Martins de; Rieder, Carlos Roberto de Mello
Background Levodopa is the most used and effective medication for motor symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD), its long-term use is associated with the appearance of levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID). Uric acid (UA) is believed to play an important neuroprotective role in PD. Objective To investigate if serum UA levels are related with the presence of LIDs in PD patients. Also, we investigated the associations among UA levels and clinical features of PD. Methods We enrolled 81 PD patients (dyskinesia = 48; no dyskinesia = 33) in the present study. A blood sample was collected to evaluate serum UA levels, clinical evaluation included the following instruments: Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), Hoehn and Yahr (HY), and the sub-item 4.1 of MDS-UPDRS IV (score ≥ 1). Additional relevant clinical information was obtained by a clinical questionnaire. Results Serum UA levels were lower in the dyskinesia group when compared with the no dyskinesia group. The same result was found in the UA levels of both men and women. The multivariate analysis showed lower uric acid levels were significantly associated with having dyskinesia (odds ratio [OR] = 0.424; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.221-0.746; p= 0.005). Additional analysis verified that serum UA levels are inversely correlated with depressive symptoms, disease duration, MDS-UPDRS IV and time spent with dyskinesia. A positive correlation was found with age at onset of PD symptoms. Conclusions The present study provides a possible role of serum UA levels in LID present in PD patients.; A crescente disponibilidade de Internet, embora traga consigo inúmeros efeitos positivos para a maior parte da população, tem desencadeado efeitos aditivos para uma parcela dela. Devido ao uso excessivo da internet, essa fração da população experiencia isolamento social e sintomas de ansiedade, fissura e agitação psicomotora quando privados de Internet. Este estudo investiga associações entre a Dependência de Internet e variáveis demográficas e cognitivas como impulsividade, agressividade e sintomas depressivos e de ansiedade. Participaram do estudo 1485 jovens adultos universitários (67,9% mulheres), avaliados por meio de escalas psicológicas. Verificou-se que 19,1% apresentaram Dependência de Internet moderada ou grave, sendo que sujeitos do sexo masculino apresentaram prevalência 45,0% superior. A população de risco é composta ainda por indivíduos que utilizaram a internet para jogos e os residentes da região Nordeste do Brasil. Além disso, participantes com maior impulsividade motora e atencional e mais sintomas depressivos têm um aumento na prevalência de Dependência de Internet, e requerem maior atenção em estratégias preventivas.
2023-01-01T00:00:00ZAvaliação da reatividade de argilas calcinadas brasileiras utilizando o ensaio R3
http://hdl.handle.net/10183/274364
Avaliação da reatividade de argilas calcinadas brasileiras utilizando o ensaio R3
Py, Lucas Goldenberg; Andrade Neto, José da Silva; Kirchheim, Ana Paula
2023-01-01T00:00:00ZAre abandoned grasslands within forest plantations effective for the conservation of grassland birds?
http://hdl.handle.net/10183/274362
Are abandoned grasslands within forest plantations effective for the conservation of grassland birds?
Jacoboski, Lucilene Inês; Oliveira, Allan Oliveira de; Hartz, Sandra Maria
The decline and fragmentation of grasslands in recent years have stimulated efforts to preserve this ecosystem. However, even legally protected remnant grasslands are threatened by changes in the structure and composition of vegetation, which compromise their ecological functions. Shrub encroachment in grasslands is a global concern because it can reduce the occurrence of grassland birds. We evaluated the effectiveness of abandoned grassland areas under legal protection for the conservation of grassland avifauna, because the exclusion of disturbances, such as grazing and fire, favor the advancement of woody vegetation over grasslands. Birds were sampled during two periods in abandoned grasslands within farms of eucalyptus plantations. Significant differences in bird species composition were found between the two sampling periods as was a significant increase in species richness associated with shrubs and forests. There was no significant reduction in the number of grassland bird species between periods. Nineteen of the recorded species were recorded only in the second sampling period, of which only two are associated with grasslands. The results indicate that changes in vegetation mainly affect grassland specialist species and can lead to their local extinction in the long term. Furthermore, the studied grassland areas have, thus far, been effective for the conservation of birds. However, the results also demonstrate that the implementation of activities to manage woody vegetation can be a promising alternative for improving these areas for grassland birds over the medium and long term because shrub encroachment in these areas is evident.; El declive y la fragmentación de los pastizales en los últimos años han estimulado los esfuerzos por conservar este ecosistema. Sin embargo, incluso los remanentes de pastizales legalmente protegidos se ven amenazados por cambios en la estructura y composición de la vegetación, que comprometen sus funciones ecológicas. La invasión de arbustos en los pastizales es una preocupación mundial porque puede reducir la presencia de aves de pastizal. Evaluamos la efectividad de las zonas de pastizales abandonados, que se encuentran bajo protección legal, para la conservación de la avifauna de pastizales, ya que la exclusión de perturbaciones, como el pastoreo y el fuego, favorecen el avance de la vegetación leñosa sobre los pastizales. Se tomaron muestras de aves durante dos períodos en pastizales abandonados dentro de fincas de plantaciones de eucaliptos. Se encontraron diferencias significativas en cuanto a la composición de las especies de aves entre los dos períodos de muestreo, así como un aumento significativo de la riqueza de especies asociadas a los arbustos y los bosques. No hubo una reducción significativa en el número de especies de aves de pastizal entre los dos períodos. Diecinueve de las especies registradas sólo se registraron en el segundo período de muestreo, de las cuales sólo dos están asociadas a los pastizales. Los resultados indican que los cambios en la vegetación afectan principalmente a las especies especialistas de pastizal y pueden provocar su extinción local a largo plazo. Es más, las zonas de pastizales estudiadas han sido, hasta ahora, eficaces para la conservación de las aves. Sin embargo, los resultados también demuestran que la implementación de actividades de manejo de la vegetación leñosa puede ser una alternativa prometedora para mejorar estas zonas para las aves de pastizal a mediano y largo plazo, ya que la invasión de arbustos en estas zonas es evidente.
2022-01-01T00:00:00Z