Analysis of the exterior colour of agroindustrial buildings: a computer aided approach to landscape integration

The visual and aesthetic aspects of any object are defined by its colour, form, line and texture, to which might be added compositional reference elements such as scale and, in the case of three dimensional scenes, spatial character. This paper investigates one of these colour and proposes a method for predicting the value of a building's integration into the landscape. Based on psychological aspects, the method uses computers to analyse and measure the pertinent attributes. The designer can analyse visual elements in terms of the properties that define them. For example, colour, the subject of this paper, is defined by its hue, saturation and lightness. Tables are proposed to study the relationship between buildings and their background using computers. This paper offers a tool, based on the digital examination of scenes and on people's integration preferences with respect to agroindustrial buildings, which it is hoped will help project designers select appropriate colour schemes.     

DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE SCALE GRIDDED RIVER NETWORKS FROM VECTOR STREAM DATA1

ABSTRACT: The Network Tracing Method (NTM) has been developed to determine gridded coarse river networks for modeling large hydrologic systems. For a coarse resolution grid, the NTM determines the downstream cell of each cell and the distance along the actual meandering flow paths between them. Unlike previously developed methods, the NTM uses fine resolution vector river networks as the source of information of the flow patterns rather than digital elevation models. The main advantage of using vector river networks as input is that they capture the hydrologic terrain features better than topographic data do, particularly in areas of low topographic relief. The NTM was applied to South America with a grid resolution of 1 degree by 1 degree and to the globe with a resolution of 2.815 degrees by 2.8125 degrees. Overall, the method captured the flow patterns well. Generated digital river networks and drainage divides showed minor disagreement with those obtained from existing maps, and most of them were consistent with the resolution of the coarse river network. The majority of estimated basin areas were also close to documented values. River lengths calculated with the NTM, however, were consistently underpredicted.     

Sustainability assessment in the Brazilian Amazon: the municipalities of the state of Amapá

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Although sustainability assessment is widely discussed at Brazil, in Brazilian Amazon its use is still little applied, considering this territory is...     

Assessment Of Trampling Simulation Impacts On Native Vegetation In Mediterranean Sclerophyllous Forest

This study examines the effects of visitors on vegetation of natural semi-arid areas of Mediterranean basin using controlled experimental trampling. Impacts were assessed on days 1, 5, 15 and 30 examining presence of plant species, their cover and height in linear transects suffering a constant trampling intensity (25, 75, 100 and 200 passes/day). In addition, the study included the analysis of factors such as plant species, trampling intensity, the cumulative impact (day effect) and the type of footwear on plant variables. The results showed a decrease on plant cover and height influenced by cumulative (day) effect, an effect of trampling intensity and a different effect for each species. In contrast, shoe type affected only slightly the decrease in plant height. The evolution of plant cover revealed which species were most resistant to trampling. The disappearance of plant individuals during trampling appeared to be an impact index better than plant cover, because cover increased in some species when they were trampled thus introducing a bias.     

Modified CDKN2B (p15) and CDKN2A (p16) DNA methylation profiles in urban pesticide applicators

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Gene-specific changes in DNA methylation by pesticides in occupationally exposed populations have not been studied extensively. Of particular concern...     

Respiratory health assessment and exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Mexican indigenous population

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Indoor air pollution is an important risk factor for the generation of lung diseases in developing countries. The indigenous population is...     

Organochlorine pesticides in feathers of three raptor species in southern Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, we determined the presence of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in back feathers from three raptor species, Phalcoboenus chimango,...     

Pyrosequencing reveals bacteria carried in different wind-eroded sediments

Little is known about the microbial communities carried in wind-eroded sediments from various soil types and land management systems. The novel technique of pyrosequencing promises to expand our understanding of the microbial diversity of soils and eroded sediments because it can sequence 10 to 100 times more DNA fragments than previous techniques, providing enhanced exploration into what microbes are being lost from soil due to wind erosion. Our study evaluated the bacterial diversity of two types of wind-eroded sediments collected from three different organic-rich soils in Michigan using a portable field wind tunnel. The wind-eroded sediments evaluated were a coarse sized fraction with 66% of particles >106 μm (coarse eroded sediment) and a finer eroded sediment with 72% of particles <106 μm. Our findings suggested that (i) bacteria carried in the coarser sediment and fine dust were effective fingerprints of the source soil, although their distribution may vary depending on the soil characteristics because certain bacteria may be more protected in soil surfaces than others; (ii) coarser wind-eroded sediment showed higher bacterial diversity than fine dust in two of the three soils evaluated; and (iii) certain bacteria were more predominant in fine dust (, , and ) than coarse sediment ( and ), revealing different locations and niches of bacteria in soil, which, depending on wind erosion processes, can have important implications on the soil sustainability and functioning. Infrared spectroscopy showed that wind erosion preferentially removes particular kinds of C from the soil that are lost via fine dust. Our study shows that eroded sediments remove the active labile organic soil particulates containing key microorganisms involved in soil biogeochemical processes, which can have a negative impact on the quality and functioning of the source soil.     

Smallholder land use in the southern Yucatan: how culture and history matter

A longitudinal survey was applied to 499 smallholder agriculturalist households in Mexico’s southern Yucatán region to determine whether different cultural expectations had led to the formation and coexistence of different types of human–environment interactions. A three center cluster analysis was used, and two agricultural adaptive strategies were found to coexist: a diversified subsistence strategy built largely by individuals who were smallholder agriculturalists in their place of origin, and one generated mostly by non-agriculturalists who migrated to the southern Yucatán to make agriculture their business during the last agrarian reform. Each strategy followed unique family trajectories and established distinct human–environment interactions. The findings suggest that those who emphasize commercial agriculture have a better standard of living. Nevertheless, their improved on-farm livelihoods—judged by material, physiological, and educational indicators—comes at the cost of higher risks to their adaptive system and adverse environmental consequences.