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Proposta de um espaço educador virtual para o CECFAU – Centro de Conservação de Fauna Do Estado de São Paulo
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2024-12-16) Bueno, Giovanna Cristine de Sena; Cardoso-Leite, Eliana; https://lattes.cnpq.br/2186623269243747; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3152-2576; Silva, Rosana Louro Ferreira; https://lattes.cnpq.br/2635824351245453; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5787-2331; https://lattes.cnpq.br/3981653930777152; https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5613-5321
This study addresses the importance of environmental education in the context of biodiversity conservation, with a focus on endangered species maintained by the Wildlife Conservation Center of the State of São Paulo (CECFau). The main objective was to understand the perspectives and experiences of the CECFau technical team in order to develop a Virtual Educational Space, a tool aimed at raising public awareness about wildlife conservation by integrating key conservation concepts. To achieve this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with CECFau technicians to identify essential themes for shaping the educational space, emphasizing the need to increase public knowledge about the existence and goals of CECFau, as highlighted by the interviewees. The Virtual Educational Space serves as a resource to increase CECFau's visibility by utilizing virtual, audiovisual, and interactive tools, and by developing interactive materials that provide access to the center’s technical-scientific knowledge while encouraging community involvement. Activities include a 3D virtual tour, a video, and a game. The virtual tour offers an immersive experience of the habitats and introduces the animals of CECFau. The video clarifies concepts related to ex-situ and in-situ conservation in an integrated manner, while the game, using a "conflict theater" methodology, promotes the development of concepts related to wildlife conservation through the interactive and dynamic resolution of problem-based scenarios. Thus, the project has demonstrated its potential for CECFau’s educational actions, which can foster greater integration between science, community, and conservation policies.
Desenvolvimento de matrizes carbonáceas derivadas de casca de arroz e CMK-3 para baterias de lítio-enxofre: caracterização e aplicação em coin cells
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2024-12-16) Ruellas, Thamara Machado de Oliveira; Agostini, Marco; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4152-8894; Paris, Elaine Cristina; https://lattes.cnpq.br/8475640212486290; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8599-9674; https://lattes.cnpq.br/0568433261494124; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7192-6068
Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) emerge as a promising alternative for energy storage, gaining renewed international interest due to their high theoretical energy density and the low cost of sulfur. However, they still face challenges, such as sulfur’s low electrical conductivity, the shuttle effect caused by soluble polysulfides, and volumetric expansion during cycling, which can compromise performance and lifespan. In this thesis, first- and second-generation carbonaceous materials derived from rice husk (RHC) and mesoporous carbon (CMK-3), respectively, were developed and characterized, focusing on their application as cathode materials in LSBs. For the development of CMK-3, SBA-15 was used as a mesoporous template, followed by an optimized washing protocol that ensured efficient removal of residual silica, resulting in a carbonaceous matrix with high surface area and suitable porosity for sulfur infiltration. Sulfur infiltration studies showed that silica content influences the optimal infiltration temperature, which is 155 °C for CMK-3 with low silica content and 165 °C for both CMK-3 with high silica content (CMK-3_SiO2) and RHC. Electrochemical characterization demonstrated that CMK-3 with low silica content achieved a specific capacity of up to 771 mAh/g, with a capacity retention of around 75% after 150 cycles at C/10. In contrast, RHC, even without additional treatments for silica removal, exhibited significant cycle stability, maintaining a capacity close to 500 mAh/g over prolonged cycling. The addition of Nb2O5 nanofibers as a coating on RHC/S electrodes promoted faster stabilization of specific capacity and sustained stability over 150 cycles. Optimizing cell assembly parameters, including the selection of a Whatman glass fiber separator and proper electrolyte distribution, was essential for enhancing electrochemical performance. The results obtained demonstrate the potential of the developed materials for applications in lithium-sulfur batteries and provide new insights into the underlying mechanisms, paving the way for future research and technological innovations in the field.
O projeto crítico de Samuel Johnson no The Rambler: uma crítica literária entre os antigos e os modernos
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2024-12-16) Castro, Diego de; Ferreira, Carla Alexandra; https://lattes.cnpq.br/5522506928191940; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2706-5766; https://lattes.cnpq.br/3895196547774076; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5522-5811
The aim of this thesis is to conduct a political reading of Samuel Johnson's literary criticism in his series of essays titled The Rambler (1750-52), initially published as a periodical. This analysis will demonstrate that the argumentative structure of Johnson’s literary criticism, in addressing the aesthetic debates of his era - particularly the quarrel between the ancients and the moderns - constitutes a critical project that, in its form, dramatizes the bourgeois intellectual’s attempt to reclaim an idealized sphere of early 18th-century England. This ideal space was represented by a bourgeois public sphere, a symbol of a historical moment characterized by an intimate connection between the literary critic and his reading public, a context increasingly eroded by the advancing productive forces of a new phase of capitalism and the dissolution of the Ancien Régime. As the central object of this study is Johnson’s literary criticism, this analysis will center on essays from Rambler numbers 1, 3, 4, 36, 37, and 156.
Analysis of 24-hour physical behaviours among office workers: approaches, impacts of the pandemic, and methodological considerations
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2024-12-16) Silva, Luiz Augusto Brusaca de Azevedo Laureano da; Oliveira, Ana Beatriz de; https://lattes.cnpq.br/1049547759186556; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2081-0292; https://lattes.cnpq.br/4947421197401973; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8201-6433
Introduction: Physical behaviours over a 24-hour day—including sitting, standing, moving, and sleeping—are critical to health. Office workers, particularly those who are overweight or obese, are at risk of developing health issues due to prolonged sedentary time. The COVID-19 pandemic further complicated physical behaviour patterns, especially with the shift to remote work. While interventions to change physical behaviours exist, little is known about their effectiveness in high-risk populations or how study design factors influence the accuracy of observed group differences in physical behaviours. This thesis aimed at addressing these gaps through three different studies: (1) evaluating the effectiveness of different intervention approaches to improve 24-hour time-use (e.g., decrease sitting), (2) investigating the impact of work location and weight status on temporal patterns of physical behaviours during the pandemic, and (3) examining the methodological factors influencing the accuracy of group differences in 24-hour time-use. Study 1 – Objective: To compare the effectiveness of the traditional “reduce sitting at work approach” and the “24-hour time-use approach” in modifying 24-hour time-use compositions of physical behaviours among overweight and obese office workers. Methods: A non-randomized pilot study was conducted with 45 office workers assigned to three groups: “Reduce sitting at work” (n=15) receiving an intervention focused on reducing sitting time at work; the “24-hour” (n=15) receiving an intervention aiming to reduce sitting at work as well as promoting behavioural changes around 24 hours (e.g., sedentary lifestyle, benefits of physical activity, and healthy sleep hygiene); or “control” (n=15) without any intervention. Daily time spent in physical behaviours (sitting, standing, active, and in bed) was monitored for 7 days using a thigh-worn accelerometer at baseline, and at the 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Intervention effects were analysed using linear mixed models, with a compositional data analysis approach. Results and Conclusion: No significant advantage of the “24-hour time-use approach” over the “reduce sitting at work approach” was observed. Both intervention approaches resulted in reduced sitting time and increased standing time compared to the control group at 3-month follow-up, but these effects were not sustained at 6-month follow-up. Domain-specific (i.e., work and leisure) analysis revealed that minimal changes occurred during leisure hours. Workplace-delivered interventions remain limited in promoting consistent behaviour changes throughout the entire day. Study 2 – Objective: To examine differences in temporal patterns of physical behaviours, assessed using accelerometry, on working and non-working days among normal-weight (body mass index [BMI] <25 kg/m2) and overweight (BMI ≥25 kg/m2) office workers who were either working exclusively at the office (WAO) or exclusively from home (WFH) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 43 workers WAO (21 normal-weight and 22 overweight) and 73 workers WFH (33 normal-weight and 40 overweight). Physical behaviours were assessed for 7 days using a thigh-worn accelerometer, and compositions were analysed using compositional data analysis approach. Two-way analysis of covariance was used to test differences in behaviours during working days and non-working days, with workplace and weight status entered as between-subject factors, controlling for gender and age. Results and Conclusion: During working days, workers WFH spent more time sitting and in bed, with less temporal variation in behaviours, compared to workers WAO. Overweight workers spent more time sitting and exhibited less temporal variability in sitting behaviours than normal-weight workers. On non-working days, behaviours did not differ significantly by work location, while overweight workers spent more time sitting in total, and less time sitting in short and moderate uninterrupted bouts compared to normal-weight workers. These findings highlight the need for interventions to address prolonged sitting and low variability in behaviours, particularly among workers WFH and overweight workers. Study 3 – Objective: To determine how the number of participants in an overweight and a normal-weight group, the number of measurement days per participant, and balancedness of group sizes influence the accuracy of group differences in 24-hour physical behaviours. Methods: Simulated datasets based on real accelerometry data from 225 office workers (103 overweight and 122 normal-weight) were used to examine 96 (8x4x3) sampling strategies. Trueness (the size of the difference), precision (the 95% confidence interval width), and likelihood of significant group differences were evaluated under varying the total number of participants (8 alternatives: 18, 36, 54, 72, 90, 108, 126, 144), the number of working days per participant (4 alternatives: 1, 2, 3, 4), and the balance between populations (3 alternatives: ratios 1:1 [balanced], 1:2 [unbalanced favouring normal-weight], and 2:1 [unbalanced favouring overweight]). Results and Conclusion: Trueness (i.e., bias) was influenced by the number of measurement days but not by the number of participants. Precision improved with more participants and days, and balanced samples provided more precise estimates. Future studies should carefully balance participant recruitment and measurement days to optimize accuracy and cost-efficiency.
Mulheres negras na construção do movimento Pan-Africano do início do século XX
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2024-12-16) Santos, Fernanda Vieira da Silva; Rodrigues, Tatiane Cosentino; https://lattes.cnpq.br/8361431964064731; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4402-2805; https://lattes.cnpq.br/2007812280080118; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1197-2775
Pan-Africanism was a cultural, philosophical, social, and political movement that sought to unify the Black diaspora and advocate for their return to the African continent. Prominent figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Kwame Nkrumah, and George Padmore are widely recognized within this movement. However, lesser-known contributors, including Addie Waites Hunton, Ida Alexander Gibbs Hunt, and Amy A. Garvey, remain underrepresented in historical narratives. This research aims to systematize their participation and highlight their contributions to Pan-Africanism. The central hypothesis posits that these women made significant contributions to the movement, particularly within the academic and political domains of Black feminism. Grounded in the theoretical perspectives of Collins (2016) and Perry (2009), this study examines the marginalization of Black women in intellectual discourse and their political engagement in such movements. The life trajectories of Addie, Ida, and Amy provide a foundation for reflecting on these themes. Methodologically, the study adopts an approach likened to embroidery, stitching together narratives that position these women as pivotal actors in the Pan-African movement. This process reconstructs the "framework" of their historical presence and significance. In conclusion, the findings reveal that these women played indispensable roles in the development of Pan-Africanism. They articulated a distinct perspective that interconnected race, gender, and class in the broader struggle for political and cultural liberation. This research contributes to the field of diaspora studies and Black agency by integrating their overlooked contributions into the larger narrative of Pan-Africanism.
Unraveling the mechanism of CH3CH2OH dehydrogenation on m-ZrO2(111) surface, Au13 cluster, and Au13 cluster/m-ZrO2(111) surface: a DFT and microkinetic modeling study
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2024-12-16) Morais, Leonardo Henrique de; Andres, Juan; Gouveia, Amanda Fernandes; https://lattes.cnpq.br/5922614139360461; https://lattes.cnpq.br/1053052803420461; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0232-3957; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3441-3674; López-Castillo, Alejandro; https://lattes.cnpq.br/2599181118729458; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9579-7005; https://lattes.cnpq.br/0579755316973719; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0515-9198
In this study, we investigate the dehydrogenation of ethanol and the production of CH3CHO and H2 on the m-ZrO2(111) surface, an Au13 cluster, and Au13/m-ZrO2(111) surface, using density functional theory simulations. Our primary objective is to elucidate the reaction mechanisms through thermodynamic and kinetic analysis of these catalytic processes, identifying the transition states. To further validate these findings, we employ a microkinetic model to calculate the rate constants, offering a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the reaction pathways involved. First-principles calculations were conducted using the Quantum ESPRESSO package, applying the BEEF-vdW functional for exchange and correlation interactions. The model systems were constructed in a two-dimensional supercell with periodic boundary conditions in the x and y directions, while a vacuum layer of 15 Å was introduced along the z direction to avoid interactions between periodic supercell slabs. The ethanol dehydrogenation process on both the m-ZrO2(111) surface and the Au13 cluster proceeds via two fundamental steps: the initial cleavage of the O–H bond in ethanol, yielding a CH3CH2O intermediate, followed by the formation of H2. The O–H bond dissociation occurs through interactions with lattice oxygen on the m-ZrO2(111) surface or low-coordination Au atoms in the Au13 cluster. While microkinetic modeling reveals relatively low rate constants for this pathway, the Au13/m-ZrO2(111) composite introduces an additional step in which a hydrogen atom migrates from the m-ZrO2(111) surface to the Au13 cluster. Despite this added step, our analysis shows that the activation energies for all three transition states are comparable, with the Au13/m-ZrO2(111) system demonstrating lower energy barriers and more favorable rate constants for ethanol dehydrogenation. These findings highlight the potential of Au13 clusters supported on m-ZrO2(111) for efficient and selective production of CH3CHO and H2, offering key insights for the design of advanced catalytic systems.
Detecção precoce de atraso neuromotor e déficits neurológicos em lactentes de risco biológico nos primeiros quatro meses de vida: estudo longitudinal
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2024-12-16) Paz, Monique Maria Silva da; Tudella, Eloisa; https://lattes.cnpq.br/3207258034860219; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0824-7350; https://lattes.cnpq.br/1587172056553425; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5366-5984
Typical motor development can be negatively influenced by biological risk factors. Monitoring the neuromotor development of these infants is essential to perform early detection of neuromotor delays and/or deficits in a qualitative and quantitative manner to predict future neuromotor outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the first study to simultaneously use the GMA, MOS-R, HINE, and IMP to understand neuromotor development. Thus, the objective of this study was to detect neuromotor delays or deficits early in the first four months of life in infants at biological risk. To this end, a cohort study was carried out, in which 30 infants were included in the risk group and 30 healthy full-term infants were included in the control group. The infants were assessed at two, three and four months and reassessed at six months of age. In addition to the Identification Form and the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development – Infant Scale questionnaire, four other assessment instruments were used: the General Movements Assessment, The Motor Optimaly Score – Revised, Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination and Infant Motor Profile. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and R Studio, with a significance level of 5%. It was possible to clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of early detection of neuromotor delays and/or deficits in the first four months of life in infants at biological risk to predict neuromotor outcome at six months. Signs of neuromotor alterations were observed in the first months, allowing us to infer which deficits in neuromotor performance are present in the biological risk groups and in full-term infants during the sixth month. In addition to the total scores of the instruments used at two, three, and four months of age, their subscores/domains were able to predict the risk of developmental delay. Among the four instruments, the HINE presented the best predictive capacity, being included as a predictor variable in all six regression models conducted in this study. Furthermore, the correlations between the environmental factors assessed by AHEMD-IS and the neuromotor results highlighted the importance of environmental enrichment for neuromotor development in the first six months of life. Given this, the need for early detection of neuromotor delays or deficits in infants at biological risk before four months of age is undeniable, enabling the implementation of early intervention programs during periods of greatest neuroplasticity.
Avaliação da compatibilização de planos de bacia hidrográfica, diretor urbanístico e saneamento básico. Estudo de caso: municípios da bacia hidrográfica do rio Pardo
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2024-12-16) Rezende, Danilo; Ventura, Katia Sakihama; https://lattes.cnpq.br/0765182109837821; https://lattes.cnpq.br/0212306491897703
The river basin plans, urban master plans and basic sanitation plans are planning instruments provided for, respectively, in Federal Laws No. 9,433/97, 10,257/01 and 11,445/07. These laws determine that the plans must be compatible with each other, however, they do not provide means to assess this condition. In this sense, the objective of this research was to propose a conceptual model for assessing the compatibility between river basin plan, urban master plan and basic sanitation plan and to apply it in 7 municipalities of the Pardo River Basin (BH-Pardo). The methodology is exploratory, with an inductive approach and application in a case study. The model developed was called the Plan Compatibility Assessment System (SACP), and is composed of compatibility indexes between the Urban Master Plan (PDU) x River Basin Plan (PBH), Municipal Basic Sanitation Plan (PMSB) x PBH, PMSB x PDU and PMSB x PDU x PBH. The application of the SACP in BH-Pardo allowed to verify that Brodowski's plans are “compatible” and the plans of the other municipalities (Cravinhos, Jardinópolis, Ribeirão Preto, São José do Rio Pardo, Tambaú and Vargem Grande do Sul) are “satisfactorily compatible”, when assessing the three plans together (PMSB x PDU x PBH). The compatibility between the various planning instruments helps to minimize the environmental impacts resulting from urbanization, seeking a balance between human actions, the preservation of the environment and water resources.
Escolha do ladrilhamento para um simulador de ondas acústicas em gpus por meio de aprendizado de máquina
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2024-12-16) Silva, Tiago da; Senger, Hermes; https://lattes.cnpq.br/3691742159298316; https://lattes.cnpq.br/9807548046251584; Senger, Hermes; Guardia, Hélio Crestana; Pedrino, Emerson Carlos; Matias, Paulo; Bruschi, Sarita Mazzini; https://lattes.cnpq.br/3691742159298316; https://lattes.cnpq.br/1780902767520967; https://lattes.cnpq.br/6481363465527189; https://lattes.cnpq.br/3792055796261017; https://lattes.cnpq.br/4694142315497364
The simulation of acoustic wave propagation is crucial in fields such as geophysics and seismic imaging, being modeled by numerical methods such as finite difference methods (FDM). These simulations are resource-intensive, especially in large-scale problems with 3D grids and multiple time steps. The use of GPUs has shown promise due to their parallel processing power, but one challenge is the memory access overhead. Tiling, which divides the grid into smaller blocks, improves data locality, optimizing memory access and increasing performance. However, selecting the optimal tile size for a given computation is not a trivial task. The optimal tile size depends on a variety of factors, including the specific architecture of the GPU, the size of the problem being solved, and the characteristics of the data being processed. In practice, the optimal tile size can vary significantly depending on the GPU’s memory hierarchy, the bandwidth between the processor and memory, and the computational intensity of the kernel. Moreover, the choice of tile size can also affect the parallelism and load balancing of the computation, making it a complex trade-off that requires careful tuning. In this study, we used machine learning to predict optimized tile sizes for acoustic wave simulations. We evaluated six algorithms (KNN, Decision Tree, Random Forest, XGBoost, LightGBM, and J48), and the results showed significant improvement, with the best model achieving improvement coefficients of 1.17 for the Turing GPU (RTX2080) and 1.11 for the Volta GPU (V100), as well as a success rate of over 75% for both GPUs.