El objetivo general de esta Propuesta de Negocio es la formación de una empresa agroindustrial que se dedique a la producción de una modalidad “nueva” de uva de mesa con característica de exportación cuya demanda esté asegurada por que se trabaja bajo el sistema de “royalti”. El Perú tiene una diversidad de climas y suelos que son una ventaja competitiva con respecto a otros países de la región que hacen atractivo y ventajoso invertir aquí, es en ese contexto que vemos en los últimos años un crecimiento en la cantidad de hectáreas que se dedican a la siembra de uva de mesa (Red Globe, Thompson entre otras), al igual que el Perú otros países también han visto en la uva de mesa una excelente oportunidad de negocio, orientando sus productos al mercado Norteamericano, Europa y en menor medida Asia. El reto principal de esta Propuesta de Negocio es buscar diferenciarnos de los demás productores de uvas de mesa local, al trabajar una modalidad “nueva” llamada Arra 15; y por qué nos hemos enfocado en este tipo de uva, por que el 80% de la uva de mesa que se siembra en el Perú es Red Globe y la tendencia a nivel mundial es la misma, lo que trae como consecuencia una sobre producción y una caída del precio. Además buscamos que nuestra propuesta sea innovadora y rentable en todo aspecto, queremos distinguirnos de los demás productores de uva de mesa del país y porque no decirlo de una buena parte de los productores mundiales, lo mismo que paso con el caso de la manzana “Delicia” que se inundó el mercado con esta modalidad y para mantener la hegemonía mundial salieron nuevas modalidades de manzana que contribuyeron con eso. Qué ofrecemos nosotros con Arra 15, una uva de mesa con características superiores a las actuales como: . Uva de mesa sin pepa. . De buena firmeza y tamaño. . Más dulce y con mejor presencia que aguanta mucho más tiempo refrigerada. Además de aprovechar las ventajas competitivas que ofrece el Perú, en lo concerniente a la diversidad de climas y suelos, así como la oferta comercial que ofrecemos al salir en diferentes meses que nuestra competencia (Chile, California, entre otros) lo que lleva a obtener un mejor precio por nuestro producto. Esta modalidad de uva de mesa, no requiere implementar mucha mano de obra para realizar el “raleo” de la planta antes de la cosecha lo que es un gran ahorro y mejora la rentabilidad del proyecto, otro aspecto a resaltar dentro de lo innovador del proyecto es el sistema de riego, el propuesto es el sistema de riego por pulso, que le da a la planta la cantidad de agua que necesita evitando así el desperdicio del líquido elemento. El mercado norteamericano constituye el mejor destino de nuestra uva de mesa, por su cercanía y facilidad para el transporte y tiempo de viaje y fundamentalmente por una demanda insatisfecha que la misma producción de California no puede cubrir, además de explotar nuestra ventaja competitiva de salir en diferentes meses que nuestra competencia y con un mejor producto por todo lo expuesto.

The purpose of the study was to examine relationships which existed between selected demographics and college grade point averages “GPAs” for dislocated workers and non dislocated workers enrolled in career-technical courses at a rural community college. The variables included in the study are age, gender, and marital status. The study also reports identified educational goals of dislocated workers as well as the perceived enhancements and barriers to achieving the goals. This study was conducted to assist workforce investment network “WIN” personnel and college counselors in the advisement of dislocated workers interested in the pursuit of career-technical training. A survey research design was used to collect data from first semester career-technical students within a program at East Central Community College in Decatur, MS. An instrument designed by the researcher utilized three demographic items and three open-ended questions to collect the data within a two-week period. A total of 274 surveys were collected. The data were analyzed through the use of descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study indicated the variables of age and gender were shown to have significant relationships with college GPA. Dislocated workers were found to be older, female, and to maintain a higher GPA than non-dislocated worker students. Responses to the open-ended questions revealed that the majority of dislocated workers stated graduation to be a primary goal. Enhancements included support from family and financial aid, most commonly in the form of Workforce Investment Act “WIA” funding. Dislocated workers responded that personal finances and time management skills were the most difficult barriers to overcome in regards to meeting educational goals.

Les bactéries jouent un rôle majeur dans la mobilité de l’arsenic (As) dans l’environnement. L’objectif de cette thèse était d’identifier les acteurs bactériens clés de la biotransformation de l’As pouvant être utilisés comme bioindicateurs du devenir de l’As dans les sites pollués. De nouveaux outils moléculaires ont été développés sur les gènes aoxB, codant la sous-unité catalytique de l’AsIII-oxydase, et validés pour analyser qualitativement et quantitativement les communautés AsIII-oxydantes. La pertinence de l’usage de ce gène comme marqueur fonctionnel a été démontrée par sa détection exclusive chez toutes les bactéries AsIII-oxydantes testées et une phylogénie AoxB cohérente et similaire à celle de l’ARNr 16S. Les approches de DGGE et de PCR en temps réel appliquées aux gènes aoxB ont permis d’évaluer rapidement et sensiblement les variations de communautés AsIII-oxydantes associées à différentes teneurs et spéciations d’As dans des eaux. La coexistence de diverses bactéries AsIII-oxydantes et AsV-réductrices a également été démontrée dans des sols industriels et agricoles. La microflore indigène est ainsi capable d’influencer la spéciation/mobilité de l’As initialement présent et/ou adsorbé sur des oxy-hydroxydes de fer selon les conditions redox du milieu. L’usage des gènes fonctionnels aoxB et arrA, marqueurs des bactéries AsIII-oxydantes et respirant l’AsV, est pertinent pour évaluer les transformations potentielles de l’As. L’effet de bactéries agissant indirectement sur la mobilité de l’As a également été révélé. La détection de ces activités bactériennes à l’aide d’outils moléculaires est prometteuse pour évaluer la mobilité de l’As dans un écosystème donné. / Bacteria can play a major role in the environmental mobility of arsenic (As). The aim of this study was to identify key bacterial players involved in the biotransformation of As and to use them as bioindicators or predictive tools of As behaviour in polluted sites. Novel molecular tools were developed based on the aoxB gene which encodes the catalytic subunit of AsIII-oxidase, and validated for use in the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the AsIII-oxidizing bacterial community. The aoxB gene was exclusively detected in all tested AsIII-oxidizing bacteria and AoxB and 16S rRNA gene phylogenies were broadly coherent, demonstrating the usefulness of the aoxB gene as a powerful functional marker. The application of DGGE and real-time PCR on aoxB genes allowed the rapid and sensitive evaluation of changes in the AsIII-oxidizing community as a function of As speciation and pollution level in surface and groundwaters. AsIII-oxidizers and AsV-reducers were found to coexist in tested soils. The crucial role of indirectly As-mobilizing bacteria was also revealed. Indigenous microflorae affected the speciation and mobility of As inherent within the environmental matrix and/or adsorbed on iron oxy-hydroxydes, according to redox conditions. The relevance of the use of aoxB and arrA genes, as functional markers of AsIII-oxidizers and AsV-reducers, respectively, to evaluate potential As transformation was demonstrated. The detection of these bacterial communities using molecular tools was shown to have great promise in the prediction of As mobility in the environment.

Submitted by Rodrigo Martins Cruz (rodrigo.cruz@ufvjm.edu.br) on 2014-12-24T13:04:07Z No. of bitstreams: 2 maria_leticia_fernandes_dias.pdf: 672599 bytes, checksum: c55d44797a365bab5bdf54cac6e2743e (MD5) license_rdf: 23898 bytes, checksum: e363e809996cf46ada20da1accfcd9c7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Martins Cruz (rodrigo.cruz@ufvjm.edu.br) on 2014-12-24T13:04:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 maria_leticia_fernandes_dias.pdf: 672599 bytes, checksum: c55d44797a365bab5bdf54cac6e2743e (MD5) license_rdf: 23898 bytes, checksum: e363e809996cf46ada20da1accfcd9c7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Martins Cruz (rodrigo.cruz@ufvjm.edu.br) on 2014-12-24T13:04:55Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 maria_leticia_fernandes_dias.pdf: 672599 bytes, checksum: c55d44797a365bab5bdf54cac6e2743e (MD5) license_rdf: 23898 bytes, checksum: e363e809996cf46ada20da1accfcd9c7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-24T13:04:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 maria_leticia_fernandes_dias.pdf: 672599 bytes, checksum: c55d44797a365bab5bdf54cac6e2743e (MD5) license_rdf: 23898 bytes, checksum: e363e809996cf46ada20da1accfcd9c7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) / Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) / O presente estudo foi realizado durante 24 dias, em janeiro de 2013, CODEVASF, em Tr?s Marias, Minas Gerais. O primeiro experimento teve como objetivo verificar o momento adequado para a transi??o alimentar, de art?mia para ra??o, no desempenho das larvas de curimat?. O experimento foi realizado em delineamento experimental inteiramente ao acaso, com cinco tratamentos e seis repeti??es. As larvas foram alimentadas com n?uplios de art?mia nos dois (ART2), quatro (ART4), seis (ART6) e oito (ART8) primeiros dias e posteriormente ra??o at? 24? dia e somente com ra??o durante todo o per?odo experimental (Ra??o). Ao t?rmino foi observada a taxa de sobreviv?ncia, biomassa, taxa de crescimento espec?fico e fator de condi??o de Fulton. Tamb?m verificou-se o oxig?nio dissolvido, pH, condutividade el?trica, temperatura, concentra??o de ?ons am?nio e fosfato da ?gua de cada tanque no 7?, 14? e 21? dia do experimento. J? o segundo experimento foi dividido em duas partes: a primeira parte teve como objetivo verificar o tempo de digest?o no 14? e 24? dia de experimento das larvas submetidas ao alimento vivo. E a segunda parte avaliou o desempenho de larvas alimentadas 2, 3 e 4 vezes ao dia. Para compara??o entre o tempo de digest?o nos diferentes dias de amostragem foi utilizada uma regress?o linear e para o experimento de diferentes frequ?ncias alimentares um delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado com tr?s tratamentos e quatro repeti??es. Ao t?rmino do experimento foi observada a taxa de sobreviv?ncia, biomassa, fator de condi??o de Fulton, n?mero de itens no trato, largura e comprimento da boca das larvas. Verificou-se o oxig?nio dissolvido, pH, condutividade el?trica, temperatura, concentra??o dos ?ons am?nio e fosfato da ?gua de cada tanque no 14? e 24? dia do experimento. Tais an?lises de qualidade de ?gua tamb?m foram feitas para o estudo de frequ?ncia alimentar no 7?, 14? e 21? dia do per?odo experimental. Concluiu-se que a oferta de alimento vivo at? o quarto dia de experimenta??o foi o que apresentou melhores resultados para a larvicultura do curimat?. Al?m disso, tempo de digest?o no 14? dia foi estimado em 15 h e 29 min e no 24? dia 11 h e 44 min, verificou-se ainda a utiliza??o de diferentes frequ?ncias de arra?oamento n?o interferem no desempenho dos animais. / Disserta??o (Mestrado) ? Programa de P?s-Gradua??o em Zootecnia, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, 2014. / ABSTRACT This study was conducted during 24 days in January 2013 in Codevasf in Tr?s Marias, Minas Gerais. The first trial aimed to determine the appropriate time for the food transition, brine shrimp to feed, the larvae performance curimat?. The trial was conducted in a completely randomized experimental design with five treatments and six replications. The larvae were fed brine shrimp nauplii in the first two (ART2), four (ART4), six (ART6) eight (ART8) days and subsequently ration until 24th day and only with feed throughout the experimental period (ration). At the end of the survival rate, biomass, specific growth rate and Fulton condition factor was observed. Also there was the dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, temperature, concentration of ammonium and phosphate ions of each water tank on the 7th, 14th and 21st day of the experiment. The second experiment was divided into two parts: the first part aimed to verify the digestion time in the 14th and 24th day of the experiment the larvae subjected to the live feed. The second part assessed the performance fed larvae 2, 3 and 4 times per day. For comparison of the digestion time in different days of sampling linear regression was used for the experiment and different feeding frequencies an experimental randomized design with three treatments and four replications. At the end of the trial the survival rate, biomass, Fulton condition, number of items in the tract, mouth width and length of the larval mouth factor was observed. It was found dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, temperature, concentration of ammonium and phosphate ions from each tank of water on the 14th and 24th day of the experiment. Such analyzes of water quality were also made to the study of feeding frequency on the 7th, 14th and 21st day of the experimental period. It is concluded that the supply of live food until the fourth day of trial showed the best results for the larval rearing of curimat?. Furthermore, digestion time on the 14th day was estimated at 15 h and 29 min and at 24 th on 11 h 44 min there was also the use of different frequencies do not interfere with feeding of animal performance.

The purpose of this study was to determine how Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B funds in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) were initially budgeted for sustainable or unsustainable purposes by the 50 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in East Tennessee in 2009-2010. Federal guidance for use of ARRA funds suggested funds should be spent quickly to create or save jobs and support education reforms. Thoughtful investment in order to avoid the funding cliff when ARRA funds ended was also stressed. The one-time funds presented a substantial increase in federal dollars and provided opportunity for LEAs to reduce maintenance of effort, the level of state and local funds an LEA must maintain in order to receive federal funds. The study was conducted to determine if significant relationships existed among the percentage of economically disadvantaged students, the percentage of dollars taken in reduction of maintenance of effort, geographic demographics of the LEAs, and the percentage of dollars budgeted for sustainable purposes. Data sources included the 2009-2010 IDEA Part B ARRA budget applications and 2009-2010 IDEA Special Education Services LEA Budget Applications as approved by the Tennessee Department of Education. The LEA Report Card Profiles were the source for the percentage of economically disadvantaged population. Significant results were found in the difference in dollars budgeted for unsustainable and sustainable purposes with more funds for unsustainable efforts. No significant relationships were found among the percentage of dollars budgeted for sustainable purposes, the percentage of reduction in maintenance of effort, the percentage of economically disadvantaged students, and the rural-urban index classifications of the LEAs. The study indicates the importance of careful long-term planning by LEAs to identify and prioritize needs in order to appropriately budget short-term funds to the best advantage for students. There may also be implications for state and federal entities that underscore the importance of specific structuring and clear communication of parameters for use of short-term funds.

This dissertation examined transportation grants provided to states under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Some states acquired more grants and utilized them in a timelier manner than others. This dissertation examined why this is the case, utilizing System Theory and Resource Based Theory as the intellectual framework. Human resource and financial resource capacities were viewed as the principal drivers of success and studying this managerially controllable variables underpin the analysis. Though many studies have examined ARRA since 2009, my dissertation is the first to simultaneously examine the three stages of the ARRA transportation grant process: acquisition, implementation, and impact. There are three research questions, aligned with the three stages: (1) what factors affect state governments in the acquisition of competitive grants? (2) what factors affect state governments in the implementation of competitive and formula grants? and (3) what factors affect state governments in expenditure recovery and transportation investment? Government Capacity consists of four components, namely human resources, financial resources, general management, and experience. I used three regression models (log-linear for the first, and panel corrected standard error for the last two) to test the impact of the government capacity on grant acquisition, implementation, and impact. Overall, the test results showed that three dimensions of government capacity played a significant role to varying extents with respect to ARRA: human resource, financial resource, and experience. States with higher government capacity [strength (S) of capacity] turned the threat (T) of the Great Recession into an opportunity (O) for the restoration and development of transportation, and compensated for their weakness (W). The dissertation concluded that specific aspects of Government Capacity were thus relevant predictors of the acquisition, implementation, and impact of ARRA grants. Findings also support prior research that quality, not quantity of personnel may of signal import to organizational capacity during times of fiscal stress.

The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed under the Obama administration, mandated physicians to complete certification for electronic medical records (EMRs). Despite these mandates and the increased access to information technology, slow adoption rates persist on the use of EMRs. Guided by the theory of planned behavior and the technology acceptance model, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the independent variables perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived behavioral control, perceived social influence, attitudes toward EMR, and the dependent variable user acceptance. This study identified physicians in the United States as end-users of EMRs. In this study, 76 randomly selected physicians in the United States, identified as end-users of EMRs, completed an electronic survey requiring responses to a 5-point Likert Scale model. Standard multiple regression analysis served as the means used to analyze the regression model. Despite the regression model being statistically significant, none of the individual independent variables had statistical significance in predicting user acceptance. Interdependence and homoscedasticity likely contributed to this phenomenon. Social change implications include understanding of physician perceptions and beliefs--how physician perceptions and beliefs affect EMR adoption. Because adoption rates did not achieve 100% certification by end-users, another social change implication includes the necessity of examining how end-user acceptance could decrease medical errors, increase efficiencies in physician workload, and improve communication within the health care industry.

No description available.

Multielectrode arrays may have several advantages compared to the traditional single macroelectrode brain electrical stimulation technique including less tissue damage due to implantation and the ability to deliver several spatio-temporal patterns of stimulation. Prior work on cell cultures has shown that multielectrode arrays are capable of completely stopping seizure-like spontaneous bursting events through a distributed asynchronous multi-site approach. In my studies, I used a similar approach for controlling seizures in a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy. First, I developed a new method of electroplating in vivo microelectrode arrays for durably improving their impedance. I showed that microelectrode arrays electroplated through the new technique called sonicoplating, required the least amount of voltage in current controlled stimulation studies and also produced the least amplitude and duration of stimulation artifact compared to unplated, DC electroplated or pulse-plated microelectrodes. Second, using c-fos immunohistochemistry, I showed that 16-electrode sonicoplated microelectrode arrays can activate 5.9 times more neurons in the dorsal hippocampus compared to a single macroelectrodes while causing < 77% the tissue damage. Next, through open-loop multisite asynchronous microstimulation, I reduced seizure frequency by ~50% in the rodent model of temporal lobe epilepsy. Preliminary studies aimed at using the same stimulation protocol in closed-loop responsive and predictive seizure control did not stop seizures. Finally, through an internship at Medtronic Neuromodulation, I worked on developing and implementing a rapid algorithm prototyping research tool for closed-loop human deep brain stimulation applications.

In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law. This legislation provided for monetary rewards for those acute-care hospitals that meet "meaningful use" computerization and reporting criteria. The study used a descriptive, nonexperimental design to answer three research questions (1) What is the level of readiness to meet "meaningful use" criteria in the Tennessee Hospital Association (THA) member hospitals; (2) What is the level of readiness to meet "meaningful use" criteria in the rural THA member hospitals; and (3) Is there a difference in the readiness to meet "meaningful use" criteria between rural and urban THA member hospitals?. A survey was sent to 115 THA member hospital, with a return rate of 83% (N=95). The inclusion criteria focused on acute-care hospitals, with rehabilitation, psychiatric and long-term care hospitals falling into the exclusion criteria. The Readiness Score was determined for the total survey respondents (N=95), as well as for the rural (N=41) hospitals and urban (N=54) hospitals in the Tennessee Hospital Association member hospitals meeting the inclusion criteria. Z-scores of the readiness score were examined and indicated that there was one outlier with z>3.0. Therefore, that case was removed from the comparison in the t-test (N=94). The t-test comparison of rural and urban hospital found a significant difference at (p=.002), two tailed. To ensure that the slightly nonnormal distribution of the readiness scores did not explain the difference found with the t-test, an additional nonparametric test was also conducted. The Mann Whitney U-test showed that even with the assumption of a normal distribution is not made, the difference in readiness between urban and rural hospitals is still statistically significant at p=0.026.