<p>This dissertation has three essays that are focused on understanding smallholder farmers’ choices in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly, Malawi. The first essay uses a clustered randomized control trial (RCT) to evaluate the impact of storage and commitment constraints on farmers’ legume storage bevavior. The second essay is motivated by the incomplete quality information problem within informal markets that undermines consumers’ demand for quality and lead to lemons market. In this essay, we use a clustered RCT along with the Becker DeGroote Marshack auctions amongst 1,098 farm households to evaluate whether providing food safety (aflatoxins) information increases consumers’ demand for grain quality and whether that demand for quality varies depending on food availability. The third essay uses stochastic dynamic programming to explore the role of market risk and expenditure shocks on smallholder farmers’ storage and marketing behavior.</p>

En la actualidad la contaminación ha aumentado considerablemente, el mar se ha llenado de desperdicios y muchos animales se han visto perjudicados. Varios medios han informado que dicha situación va a ir aumentando si no se realizan cambios. Por lo tanto los diferentes países han coincidido en que se deben tomar medidas. En Perú por su parte se aprobó la ley N° 30884 que regula el plástico de un solo uso así como diferentes tipos de envases descartables. Debido a esto se creó Almibag que son la venta de bolsas biodegradables en base a almidón de yuca. Estas bolsas resultan beneficiosas para las personas debido a que ayudan al medio ambiente ya que se demoran en degradarse de 2 a 3 años y a su vez son fuertes para cargar los productos que sea necesario. Almibag se dedica a la tercerización, se ha conseguido personas que fabriquen este producto en bruto y así nosotros podemos personalizarlo y venderlo en diferentes lugares como son supermercados, tiendas, minimarkets, etc. Se espera que las ganancias aumenten año tras año con el fin de lograr rentabilidad para la empresa. Es importante considerar que Almibag al no ser fabricantes directos, deben poner empeño en sus acciones de marketing, como lo es las estrategias de las 4p así también los planes estratégicos internos e internos y por último cuáles van ser sus estrategias financieras como ya antes se mencionó ya que es importante generar rentabilidad. / Today, pollution has increased considerably, the sea has been filled with waste and many animals have been harmed. Various media have reported that this situation will increase if changes are not made. Therefore, the different countries have agreed that measures must be taken. In Peru, meanwhile, Law No. 30884 was approved, which regulates single-use plastic as well as different types of disposable packaging. Because of this Almibag was created, which is the sale of biodegradable bags based on cassava starch. These bags are beneficial for people because they help the environment since they take 2 to 3 years to degrade and are also strong enough to carry the products that are necessary. Almibag is dedicated to outsourcing, we have recruited people to manufacture this raw product and so we can customize it and sell it in different places such as supermarkets, stores, minimarkets, etc. Profits are expected to increase year after year in order to achieve profitability for the company. It is important to consider that Almibag, as they are not the direct manufacturers, must put effort into their marketing actions, as is the 4p strategies as well as the internal and external strategic plans and finally what will be their financial strategies as mentioned before because this is essential to be profitable. / Trabajo de investigación

Thesis (M. Tech. (Graphic Design)) -- Central University of Technology, free State, 2010 / Good package design entails employing appropriate yet attractive graphic attributes such as colour, typography and images with which the consumer can engage. Even the name of a colour plays a considerable part in the success of a new product or brand. Consumers use graphic attributes to associate different products with different income groups, to infer the weight of products and even use it as an indicator of the perceived change in temperature resulting from the use of certain products. Consumers develop colour preferences based on associations they have formed through experience which are influenced by factors such as age, gender, culture and demographics. Colour may also affect consumers’ respond to a product and may even have an effect on their emotional state. In order for consumers to involve themselves with store brands more readily, packaging has to be updated constantly to keep packaging fresh and exciting. A shopping bag, transformed with graphic attributes into a designer shopping bag, can, just as good packaging often does, contribute to the art and science of selling a product or promoting a brand. Consumers prefer designer paper shopping bags with attractive appearances and showed a willingness to even pay for the paper bags. This study determined if consumers will actually purchase a designer paper shopping bag as opposed to just indicate a willingness to do so. Semistructured interviews with 100 subjects provived insight into consumers’ perception of the designer paper shopping bag sold at a store selling higher priced items. Designer paper shopping bags were offered to consumers for sale. Two retail stores in Bloemfontein, South Africa, participated in the study. Consumers could choose whether to buy a designer paper shopping bag or to make use of the plastic bags provided by each of the stores. Consumers prefered to rather purchase a designer paper shopping bag sold at a well-known store, selling branded, higher priced items than purchase one from a store that sells lower priced items of which the brand names are unknown to them. Consumers are more likely to pay for a designer paper shopping bag when the amount spent by them in store is relatively high. It is recommended to introduce new packaging items via marketing strategies such as “buy one get one free” and to not test a new packaging item during a recession as consumers then tend to spend less than usual. Interviewees agree that the colour scheme of the designer paper shopping bag used in the study associate well with the clothes and accessories sold in the store. Subjects suggested a few general ideas, but agree that the illustrations used on the paper shopping bag are appropriate. The majority of the interviewees state that they can read all the typography easily and that they will feel confident when carrying the designer paper shopping bag.

<p>Successful adoption of biofortified orange maize in developing countries requires careful consideration of factors across the chain from farm to fork. This includes consideration of post-harvest storage conditions optimal for the retention of both proviatamin A carotenoids and cooking quality critical to consumers. In these considerations, identification of economical storage methods is critical considering the limitations within specific countries that biofortified maize is being disseminated. To address these points, this dissertation research focused on evaluation of the utility of the Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags as a post-harvest storage solution for biofortified maize. The specific focus of this research was to monitor retention of provitamin A and other carotenoids in two biofortified maize genotypes (OPVI and OPVII) as well as storage effect on flour functionality. Finally, a preliminary assessment of the impacts of storage on carotenoid bioaccessibility was completed to begin to translate findings to practice.</p><p>Maize grain from 2016 harvest was stored at ambient conditions for eight months in either PICS bags with or without an O₂ scavenger, (PICS-oxy) and (PICS-noxy), respectively and compared to storage in common polypropylene woven bags (control). After 4 months of storage carotenoid content was significantly higher (p<0.05) in PICS-oxy compared to PICS-noxy and woven bags demonstrating the importance of entrapped oxygen on maize carotenoid degradation. Furthermore, differences in carotenoid stability between maize genotypes were observed with OPVI having higher retention than OPVII. After 8 months, carotenoid retention remained dependent on storage bag and genotype with retention being greater in PICS-oxy and PICS-noxy compared to woven bags. However, final levels after 8 months were more similar between storage methods. Overall, oxygen content and genotype were found to be determining factors in the effectiveness of PICS to mitigate carotenoid degradation during post-harvest storage of maize.</p><p>While reducing the rate of carotenoid degradation during postharvest storage of biofortified maize is important, success of biofortified maize is also dependent on consumer adoption of these grains and their performance in traditional food preparation. Assessment of the rheological and functional properties of these two biofortified maize genotypes as a function of post-harvest storage was completed to assess the impact of post-harvest storage in PICS bags on flour functionality and rheological properties for the two biofortified orange maize genotypes and a control white maize genotype. Flour pasting profiles were assessed initially and at 4 and 8 months. After 8 month storage in woven and PICS bag, OPVI and OPVII produced porridges with similar viscosities to their initial viscosities regardless of postharvest storage type. White maize viscosities progressively decreased with storage and were significantly lower (p<0.05) in woven compared to PICS storage. Sequestration of oxygen (PICS-oxy) had modest but significant effects (p<0.05) on key pasting parameters including peak and final viscosities. These results suggest that oxygen sequestration has a critical effect on final flour functionality. DTT treatment partially restored flour pasting profiles suggesting disulfide linkages may modify pasting profiles of flour. There was also an increase in free ferrulic and <i>p</i>-coumaric acids during storage which may have contributed to observed decreases in porridge viscosities. Evidence of this was found through Raman spectroscopy with spectral intensity at both 478cm^-1 and 2911cm^-1 decreasing with storage suggesting the potential for structural changes induced by storage on starch polymer. While storage in PICS bags does not seem to adversely affect flour functionality it may provide some additional economic benefit resulting from requiring proportionally less flour to achieve similar final viscosities as flour from woven bag stored grains. </p><p>Finally, the effect of postharvest storage on bioaccessibility of carotenoids was explored using experimental wet cooked porridges made from ‘fresh’ and stored grains using an established three stage in-<i>vitro</i> digestion model. Relative carotenoid bioaccessibility (% micellarization) was generally higher in less viscous porridge made from grains stored in woven bags compared to porridge from initial or PICS bags stored grains suggesting that higher viscosity might partly explain lower relative bioaccessibility in porridge from grains stored in PICS bags. Absolute carotenoid bioaccessibility from experimental porridge was dependent on carotenoid species and storage system. Extrapolation of relative bioaccessibility (%) to absolute bioaccessibility (µg/g flour) suggests that fresh grains and their corresponding porridges would provide more absolute bioaccessible carotenoids compared to stored grains despite some improvement in relative accessibility. As such, storage losses remain the main factor impacting total available carotenoids and should continue to be an area of focus for future mitigation. With the potential to minimize post-harvest losses, improve carotenoid retention and provide a product with improved cooking performance, PICS bags do appear to offer a viable storage alternative to improve both food and nutrition security in developing countries.</p><p></p>

O procedimento de esterilização do sangue é adotado para que sejam mínimas as condições necessárias de manifestação da doença do enxertoversus- hospedeiro associada à transfusão de sangue (DECHT), síndrome, geralmente fatal. Neste trabalho foi utilizada a solução Fricke gel desenvolvida no IPEN para a obtenção de um objeto simulador de bolsa de sangue empregada no processo de irradiação para esterilização de sangue em um irradiador Gammacell Elan. O objetivo desse trabalho é determinar a homogeneidade da dose aplicada no processo de esterilização de bolsas de sangue. Foram utilizadas as técnicas de Espectrofotometria de Absorção Óptica (EAO), Densitometria Óptica (DO), Termoluminescência (TL) e Ressonância Magnética por Imagem (RMI) e os softwares Numaris® versão 4 (Syngo-MR-A30) e MatLab® (versão 9.0) para a aquisição e reconstrução das imagens. O estudo foi realizado posicionando no canister do irradiador inicialmente uma bolsa e, posteriormente, duas bolsas e três bolsas e aplicando uma dose nominal de 25 Gy. O fabricante do irradiador Gammacell Elan recomenda que seja irradiado em cada procedimento o valor máximo de três bolsas de sangue. Os resultados obtidos indicam que o irradiador Gammacell Elan não demostrou homogeneidade na distribuição da dose. Irradiando uma bolsa de sangue foi obtida uma diferença de dose de 3,65 %, enquanto para duas bolsas de sangue essa diferença caiu para 2,65 % e quando posicionadas três bolsas de sangue a diferença de dose foi de 1,88 %. O tempo de abertura de fechamento do equipamento de irradiação é responsável pela diferença de dose 3,17 % acima da dose prevista à realização das irradiações de bolsas de sangue. Os resultados obtidos usando o filme radiocrômico Grafchromic MD-55 de dupla face aplicada à avaliação de dose no sistema de rotação de irradiação não apresentou resultados reproduzíveis. / The blood sterilization procedure is adopted so that the necessary conditions of manifestation of graft-versus-host syndrome, disease associated with blood transfusion (AT-GVHD), usually a fatal disease, are minimal. In this work the Fricke gel solution developed in IPEN was used for obtaining a phantom of blood bag used in the irradiation process for sterilization of blood in a Gammacell irradiator Elan. The objective of this study was to evaluate the homogeneity of the applied radiation sterilization dose in the blood bags. Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (OAS), Optical Densitometry (OD), Thermoluminescence (TL) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technics and Numaris® software version 4 (Syngo-MR-A30) and MatLab® (version 9.0) softwares were used to images acquisition and reconstruction. The study was conducted positioning one bag in the canister irradiator initially and subsequently two and three bags together and applying a nominal dose of 25 Gy. The Elan Gammacell irradiator manufacturer recommends that the maximum values of three blood bags are irradiated in each procedure. The results indicate that the Gammacell irradiator Elan did not presents homogeneous dose distribution. Radiating a blood bag a dose difference of 3.65 % was obtained, while for two bags of blood that difference dropped to 2.65% and when positioned three blood bags the difference in dose was 1.88 %. The opening and closing times of the irradiation source is responsible for an increasing in the planned irradiation dose of 3.17%. The results obtained using radiochromic double-sided Grafchromic MD-55 film applied to dose evaluation in the rotation irradiation system did not present reproducible results.

Este trabalho objetivou relacionar a produtividade agroindustrial da cana-de-açúcar com o aproveitamento do nitrogênio (N) das adubações sucessivas em cana-planta e soqueiras, em sistema de cultivo mínimo sem o revolvimento do solo ou escarificações das entrelinhas na reforma do canavial ou após os cortes, respectivamente - e quantificar a contribuição da palhada proveniente da colheita mecanizada na nutrição da cultura. O experimento foi instalado em março de 2005, em um Latossolo Vermelho Eutrófico muito argiloso da Fazenda Santa Terezinha, Jaboticabal, SP e foi conduzido durante quatro ciclos agrícolas consecutivos até julho de 2009. O delineamento experimental na cana-planta foi blocos casualizados, com quatro tratamentos (doses de N-uréia 0, 40, 80 e 120 kg ha-1 no sulco de plantio, juntamente com 120 kg ha-1 de P2O5 e K2O) e quatro repetições (parcelas de 48 sulcos x 15 m). Nos ciclos de 1ª a 3ª soqueiras, as parcelas de cana-planta foram subdivididas em outros quatro tratamentos (0, 50, 100 e 150 kg ha-1 de N) e quatro repetições (subparcelas de 12 linhas x 15 m). Na 3ª soqueira a adubação com N foi de 100 kg ha-1 em todas as parcelas, visando detectar efeitos residuais das fertilizações anteriores na produtividade da cana no 4º ciclo. Em todas as parcelas dos ciclos de soqueiras também aplicou-se 150 kg ha-1 de K2O como KCl. Na dose 80 kg ha-1 de N em cana-planta, foram instaladas microparcelas contendo uréia e/ou material vegetal marcado com 15N, simulando os resíduos anteriores à reforma (palhada, PAR ou rizomas, RAR da variedade RB855536) remanescentes no solo após o cultivo mínimo. O objetivo foi avaliar a contribuição do fertilizante-15N e dos resíduos vegetais-15N na nutrição nitrogenada da cultura em ciclos consecutivos. Após o corte da cana-planta, novas microparcelas contendo palhada pós colheita (PPC-15N, variedade SP81-3250) foram dispostas nos tratamentos 800 e 80150 kg ha-1 de N em cana-planta e soqueiras, respectivamente, para avaliar a contribuição do N-PPC na nutrição da cultura e a influência do N aplicado em soqueiras na disponibilização do N-PPC. Um estudo complementar foi desenvolvido em sacos telados contendo PAR-15N em cana-planta (dose 80 kg ha-1 de N) e PPC- 15N em soqueiras (doses 80-0 e 80-150 kg ha-1 de N), visando quantificar a decomposição dos resíduos durante os ciclos agrícolas e possíveis diferenças na intensidade da decomposição devido às aplicações de N em cana-planta e em soqueiras respectivamente. Nos quatro ciclos consecutivos avaliou-se a: i) produtividade agroindustrial (TCH, Mg de cana ha-1 de colmos e TPH, Mg ha-1 de pol) e características tecnológicas da matéria-prima (pol % cana e fibra %) em função dos tratamentos de N em cana-planta e soqueiras; ii) recuperação do 15Nuréia, 15N-PAR, 15N-RAR e 15N-PPC pela parte aérea da cultura (colmos, folhas secas e ponteiro) e o balanço de carbono (C) e N no sistema solo-planta e iii) decomposição da PAR e PPC pela redução da matéria seca (MS), do C, 10 macronutrientes (N, P, K, Ca, Mg e S) e carboidratos estruturais (lignina, celulose e hemicelulose). A TCH e TPH foram influenciadas pelas doses de N no plantio e nas soqueiras subseqüentes. Houve resposta linear na produtividade agroindustrial da cana-planta às doses de N do plantio e na média dos quatro ciclos agrícolas. Porém, não houve interação entre as doses de N em cana-planta e soqueiras. O tratamento 120100 kg ha-1 de N em cana-planta e soqueiras proporcionou a maior TCH acumulada nos quatro ciclos consecutivos, porém o tratamento 12050 kg ha-1 de N foi o mais viável economicamente. A recuperação do N-uréia de plantio foi mais alta no primeiro ciclo (24, 7 kg ha-1 ou 31% da dose aplicada) decrescendo ao longo ciclos agrícolas subsequentes (5%; 4% e 3%, respectivamente). O balanço de N após os quatro ciclos (2006 a 2009) indicou 43% (34,4 kg ha-1) de recuperação do Nuréia pela parte aérea da cultura, 0,2% permaneceu nos rizomas, 20% no solo e 37% foram contabilizados como perdas. Para os resíduos vegetais PAR e RAR as recuperações na parte aérea foram de 28% e 23% da quantidade inicial (14,2 e 7,4 kg ha-1, respectivamente). Em média, 0,2% do N-resíduos vegetais permaneceu nos rizomas, 52% no solo e 22% foram perdas. A soma da recuperação do N-PAR e NRAR de foi de 24,4 kg, ou seja, 39% da contribuição total de N destes resíduos, indicando serem fontes de N a longo prazo para a cana-de-açúcar. Houve correlação entre a recuperação acumulada do N-uréia e N-resíduos vegetais com a evapotranspiração acumulada dos quatro ciclos agrícolas. A recuperação do N-PPC pela parte aérea da cultura praticamente dobrou após três ciclos, devido à aplicação de N em soqueiras, 17% vs. 31% (6,9 e 12,6 kg ha-1 de N, respectivamente). O restante do N-PPC permaneceu nos rizomas (0,3% e 0,4%), no solo (69% e 61%) ou resultaram em perdas (13,4% e 7,6%). Não houve alterações nos estoques de C e N do solo com a adição de N-uréia ou N-resíduos vegetais. A decomposição da PAR e PPC foi influenciada pelas aplicações de N em cana-planta e soqueiras e pela ação biológica ao longo dos ciclos agrícolas avaliados. Essa degradação ocorreu devido à redução da relação C:N, do crescimento de raízes sob a palhada, perdas de MS, C, N, macronutrientes e carboidratos estruturais da palhada ao longo dos ciclos agrícolas. Para a PAR e PPC, a degradação da MS foi de 96% e 73% após quatro e três anos, respectivamente. Os macronutrientes que apresentaram maiores liberações foram o K 98% e 92%; Mg 97% e 70% e o Ca 95% e 55%, da quantidade inicial dos nutrientes (kg ha-1) aplicadas via PAR e PPC, respectivamente. Após quatro ciclos agrícolas os teores (g kg-1) de lignina, celulose e hemicelulose da PAR decresceram 60%, 29% e 70%. Para a PPC a redução foi de 47%, 35% e 70% em três ciclos. A degradação dos carboidratos estruturais foi influenciada pelas condições climáticas ocorridas durante os ciclos agrícolas e pela composição bioquímica inicial dos resíduos (carboidratos e nutrientes totais). Não houve diferença na degradação da MS da PPC devido à aplicação de N em soqueiras, porém houve diferença na degradação do C, na liberação de Ca, na concentração de raízes e na decomposição da lignina quando se realizou a adubação com N sobre a palhada em soqueiras / This work aimed to relate the agroindustrial yield of sugarcane with nitrogen (N) fertilization in successive cropping cycles in plant-cane and ratoons under minimum tillage system - without soil plowing or interows scarification in crop renewal and after the harvesting seasons, respectively - and to quantify the contribution of straw from mechanical harvesting on crop N nutrition. The field trial was planted in March 2005 in a very clayey Rhodic Eutrustox at Santa Terezinha Farm, Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo State and was conducted during four consecutive cropping cycles until July 2009. The plant-cane trial was designed as randomized blocks with four treatments (N-urea in increasing rates 0, 40, 80 and 120 kg ha-1 at planting added to 120 kg ha-1 P2O5 and K2O) and four replicates (48 furrows of 15 m length). For the ratoon-cane trial, (1st to 3rd ratoons) the plant-cane plots were subdivided into other four treatments (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg ha-1 N) and four replicates (12 rows x 15 m). The N fertilization of the 3rd ratoon was leveled to 100 kg ha-1 in all plots in order to detect residual effects of previous N fertilizations on sugarcane yield in this cycle. All ratoon cycles also received 150 kg ha-1 K2O as KCl. It has been installed microplots containing 15N-urea and/or 15N-labeled plant material at the 80 kg ha-1 N dose in plant-cane, simulating the crop residues prior to renewal (trash PAR or rhizomes, RAR of RB855536 variety) and which remained in soil after minimum tillage. The objective was to assess the contribution of N-fertilizer and N-residues in sugarcane N nutrition in consecutive cycles. After the plant-cane harvesting, new microplots containing post harvest trash (PPC-15N, variety SP81-3250) were placed in treatments 80-0 and 80- 150 kg N ha-1 in plant-cane and ratoons, respectively, aiming to assess the contribution of N-PPC in crop nutrition and the influence of N applied to ratoons in the N-PPC availability for sugarcane uptake. An additional study was conducted in litter bags containing PAR-15N in plant-cane (dose 80 kg ha-1 N) and PPC-15N in ratoons (doses 80-0 and 80-150 kg N ha-1) in order quantify the decomposition of trash during the crop cycles and possible differences in the decomposition rates due to N applications in plant-cane (PAR) and ratoons (PPC), respectively. In the four consecutive cycles were evaluated: i) Agroindustrial yields (TCH, Mg cane ha-1 stalks and TPH, Mg ha-1 of sugar) and raw material quality (pol% cane and fiber%) in plantcane and ratoon treatments; ii) Recovery of urea-15N, PAR-15N, 15N- RAR and 15NPPC by crop above ground parts (stalks, dry leaves and tips) and carbon (C) and N balances in the soil-plant system and iii) decomposition of PAR and PPC as reduction of dry matter (DM), C, nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S) and structural carbohydrates (lignin cellulose and hemicellulose). The agroindustrial yields (TCH and TPH) were influenced by N rates at planting and subsequent ratoons. It hás been found linear response in crop yield due to N rates at planting and in the average of four crop cycles. However, no responses were detected in the interaction between 12 N doses in plant or ratoon cane. The highest accumulated yield (TCH) in four consecutive cycles was obtained in treatment 120-100 kg ha-1 N in plant-cane and ratoons, but treatment 120-50 kg ha-1 N has been found as the more economically viable. The recovery of N-urea applied in plant-cane was higher in the first cycle (24, 7 kg ha-1 or 31% of the applied dose) and decreased over subsequent crop cycles (5%, 4% and 3% respectively). The N balance after four cycles (2006-2009) showed 43% (34.4 kg ha-1) of total N-urea recovery by the crop above ground parts, 0.2% was found in the rhizomes, 20% in soil and 37% were counted as losses. Cane trash N-PAR and N-RAR recoveries in the above ground parts were 28% and 23% of the initial amount of N applied as crop residues (14.2 and 7.4 kg ha-1, respectively). On average, 0.2% of N-plant residues remained in the rhizomes, 52% in the soil and 22% were accounted as losses. The total recovery of N-PAR N-and RAR was 24.4 kg, or 39% of the total N of these residues, indicating that they are long term N sources for the sugarcane crop. There had been found a close correlation between the cumulative recovery of N-urea and N-residues with the accumulated evapotranspiration of the four crop cycles. The N-PPC recovery by sugarcane above ground parts almost doubled after three cycles due to N application in ratoons, 17% vs. 31% (6.9 and 12.6 kg ha-1 N, respectively). In other compartments, 0.3% and 0.4% of N-PPC remained in the rhizomes, 69% and 61%) in the soil and 13.4% and 7.6%) resulted in losses. There was detected no major changes in soil C and N stocks C due to the addition of N-urea and N-residues. The decomposition of PAR and PPC was influenced by N fertilizations in plant-cane and ratoons cane and by biological action over the cropping cycles. The major effects detected as trash decomposed over the agricultural cycles were the reduction in residues C:N ratio, sugarcane root growth under the trash blanket, and losses of DM, C, N, macronutrients and structural carbohydrates. The DM degradation of PAR and PPC was 96% and 73% after four and three years respectively. The nutrients that showed higher release rates were K 98% to 92%, Mg 97% to 70% Ca and 95% to 55% of the initial amount of nutrients (kg ha-1) sourced by PAR and PPC residues, respectively. After four agricultural cycles, the levels (g kg-1) of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose from PAR decreased 60%, 29% and 70%, and for PPC the reduction was 47%, 35% and 70% in three cycles. The degradation of structural carbohydrates was influenced by climatic conditions that occurred during the agricultural cycles and the initial biochemical composition those residues (total carbohydrates and nutrients content). There was no difference in DM degradation of PPC due to N application in ratoons, however there were differences in C degradation, in the release of Ca, concentration of roots and in the decomposition of lignin when N- fertilizer has been applied over the trash blanket

O procedimento de esterilização do sangue é adotado para que sejam mínimas as condições necessárias de manifestação da doença do enxertoversus- hospedeiro associada à transfusão de sangue (DECHT), síndrome, geralmente fatal. Neste trabalho foi utilizada a solução Fricke gel desenvolvida no IPEN para a obtenção de um objeto simulador de bolsa de sangue empregada no processo de irradiação para esterilização de sangue em um irradiador Gammacell Elan. O objetivo desse trabalho é determinar a homogeneidade da dose aplicada no processo de esterilização de bolsas de sangue. Foram utilizadas as técnicas de Espectrofotometria de Absorção Óptica (EAO), Densitometria Óptica (DO), Termoluminescência (TL) e Ressonância Magnética por Imagem (RMI) e os softwares Numaris® versão 4 (Syngo-MR-A30) e MatLab® (versão 9.0) para a aquisição e reconstrução das imagens. O estudo foi realizado posicionando no canister do irradiador inicialmente uma bolsa e, posteriormente, duas bolsas e três bolsas e aplicando uma dose nominal de 25 Gy. O fabricante do irradiador Gammacell Elan recomenda que seja irradiado em cada procedimento o valor máximo de três bolsas de sangue. Os resultados obtidos indicam que o irradiador Gammacell Elan não demostrou homogeneidade na distribuição da dose. Irradiando uma bolsa de sangue foi obtida uma diferença de dose de 3,65 %, enquanto para duas bolsas de sangue essa diferença caiu para 2,65 % e quando posicionadas três bolsas de sangue a diferença de dose foi de 1,88 %. O tempo de abertura de fechamento do equipamento de irradiação é responsável pela diferença de dose 3,17 % acima da dose prevista à realização das irradiações de bolsas de sangue. Os resultados obtidos usando o filme radiocrômico Grafchromic MD-55 de dupla face aplicada à avaliação de dose no sistema de rotação de irradiação não apresentou resultados reproduzíveis. / The blood sterilization procedure is adopted so that the necessary conditions of manifestation of graft-versus-host syndrome, disease associated with blood transfusion (AT-GVHD), usually a fatal disease, are minimal. In this work the Fricke gel solution developed in IPEN was used for obtaining a phantom of blood bag used in the irradiation process for sterilization of blood in a Gammacell irradiator Elan. The objective of this study was to evaluate the homogeneity of the applied radiation sterilization dose in the blood bags. Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (OAS), Optical Densitometry (OD), Thermoluminescence (TL) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technics and Numaris® software version 4 (Syngo-MR-A30) and MatLab® (version 9.0) softwares were used to images acquisition and reconstruction. The study was conducted positioning one bag in the canister irradiator initially and subsequently two and three bags together and applying a nominal dose of 25 Gy. The Elan Gammacell irradiator manufacturer recommends that the maximum values of three blood bags are irradiated in each procedure. The results indicate that the Gammacell irradiator Elan did not presents homogeneous dose distribution. Radiating a blood bag a dose difference of 3.65 % was obtained, while for two bags of blood that difference dropped to 2.65% and when positioned three blood bags the difference in dose was 1.88 %. The opening and closing times of the irradiation source is responsible for an increasing in the planned irradiation dose of 3.17%. The results obtained using radiochromic double-sided Grafchromic MD-55 film applied to dose evaluation in the rotation irradiation system did not present reproducible results.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T15:14:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 _Marcos_F_Martins.pdf: 1223784 bytes, checksum: 76c7bc7ba3e56163da07738160894089 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-26 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The aim of this study is to evaluate the rate of decomposition of straw on crambe cover crop based on no-tillage system under different soil management practices and usages. We attempt to approach the practice adopted by farmers in the western region of Paraná. The experiment was conducted in the experimental area of the Agronomic Institute of Paraná - IAPAR, regional center of Santa Tereza do Oeste, Paraná, Brazil. The experiment consisted of four soil management practices: Traditional Tillage System - SPDT - Scarified Tillage System - SPDE - Gypsum Agricultural Tillage System - SPDG - and Tillage System with Quality - SPDQ. The treatments were distributed in randomized order on portions subdivided on time with fifteen macro-plots of 20 m x 25 m. The assessments took place on 0 (zero), 7, 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days after the harvest of crambe. Decomposition was determined quantitatively by the analysis of the rate of decomposition of crop residues using litterbags. The average loss of phytomass of crambe crop was significantly different (p>0,05), specially for SPDE and SDPG, which had reduction of around 0,63% day-1 and 0,71% day-1, respectively. The longest half-life period was observed on system SPDQ-12, with 66 days. The shortest half-life period was observed on system SPDE, with 45 days. / O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a velocidade de decomposição da palha em cobertura da espécie do crambe em diferentes usos e manejos do solo com base no sistema plantio direto. Buscou-se aproximar da prática adotada pelos produtores rurais da região oeste paranaense. O experimento foi conduzido na área experimental do Instituto Agronômico do Paraná - IAPAR, pólo regional de Santa Tereza do Oeste, Paraná, Brasil. Os tratamentos foram constituídos de quatro sistemas de manejo do solo, sendo estes: Sistema Plantio Direto Tradicional - SPDT -, Sistema Plantio Direto Escarificado - SPDE -, Sistema Plantio Direto Gessado - SPDG -, e Sistema Plantio Direto com Qualidade - SPDQ. Os tratamentos foram distribuídos de modo inteiramente casualizados em parcelas subdivididas no tempo com quinze macro-parcelas de 20 m x 25 m. As avaliações no tempo ocorreram aos 0 (zero), 7, 15, 30, 60, 90 e 120 dias após colheita do crambe. A determinação da decomposição seguiu-se de forma quantitativa, por meio da análise da taxa de decomposição dos resíduos culturais com o uso de litter bags . A perda média de fitomassa da cultura do crambe foi significativamente diferente (p>0,05) principalmente para o manejo SPDE e SDPG, a qual tiveram reduções respectivamente de 0,63 % dia-1 e 0,71 % dia-1. Para o tempo de meia vida o maior tempo constatado foi no sistema tratamento que continha como manejo o consórcio composto de Aveia preta cabocla + Tremoço branco, com 66 dias, já o menor tempo de meia vida foi observado para o sistema SPDE, com 45 dias. O sistema de manejo influenciou no tempo de meia-vida dos resíduos reduzindo em até 21 dias.

Neste trabalho, foram estudadas blendas de poliésteres sintéticos e de fonte renovável - poli(tereftalato de butileno-co-adipato de butileno) - PBAT e poli(ácido láctico) - PLA, respectivamente, utilizados em sacolas de supermercado. Amostras destes materiais foram pesadas e enterradas em solo simulado por quatro meses para simular uma compostagem tradicional. As amostras foram então analisadas por Calorimetria Exploratória Diferencial (DSC), Termogravimetria e Termogravimetria Derivada (TG e DTG, incluindo uma Análise Cinética não isotérmica comparativa com sacolas de PE aditivadas com agente pró-degradante, Espectroscopia Vibracional Raman com Transformada de Fourier (FT-Raman), Difração de Raios X e Cromatografia de exclusão por tamanho. Embora não tenha havido perda de massa significativa no período do envelhecimento por compostagem tradicional, foram constatadas importantes alterações estruturais nas amostras, tais como a redução nas energias de ativação (Ea) para os processos de decomposição térmica, a redução na intensidade da banda relativa ao estiramento da carbonila presente nos poliésteres e também uma drástica redução da massa molecular dos polímeros. Em paralelo, a aceleração do processo de biodegradação com Vermicompostagem foi investigado, com resultados bastante promissores, incluindo a degradação total da amostra após um tratamento prévio de exposição à luz solar. / In this study, blends of the synthetic polyester poly(butylene adipate-cotherephtalate) - PBAT - and the natural one poly(lactic acid) - PLA - used as biodegradable plastic shopping bags were studied. Samples of these materials were weighed and buried in simulated soil for four months to simulate domestic composting. These samples were then studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetry (TG, including a comparative non-isothermal Kinetic Analysis with PE shopping bags containing prodegradation agents), Transformed Fourier Raman Vibrational Spectroscopy (FT-Raman), Wide Angle X-Ray Diffraction (WAXD) and Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC). It was observed that even though there was no significant mass loss in the period of the ageing when using conventional home composting, important structural changes were detected in the samples, such as the reduction of activation energies (Ea) for the thermal decomposition processes, the reduction of intensity of the peak associated with the stretching of the carbonyl present in both polyesters and also a dramatic decrease in molecular weights. In parallel, the acceleration of the biodegradation process with vermicomposting was investigated, with very promising results, including the total disintegration of the samples when submitted to a previous treatment of sun light exposure.

Ständig förändring är strakt förknippat med modeindustrin, då nya trender och stilar tenderar att förändras kontinuerligt. I västvärlden konsumerar människor betydligt mer modeprodukter än vad naturens resurser tillåter. Modekonsumenterna fick dock en insyn av textilbranschens negativa miljöpåverkan år 2017. Det skrevs då en ny lag som föreskriver att modeföretag måste informera sina modekonsumenter om bärkassarnas, speciellt plastbärkassens, negativa påverkan. I samband med att lagen stiftades, skapades organisationen One Bag Habit som fick modekonsumenterna att tänka en extra gång innan de konsumerar bärkassar i modebutikerna. På grund av bland annat One Bag Habit avstår modekonsumenter numera att konsumera bärkassar på grund av miljöaspekter, dock fortsätter de att konsumera mängder av modeprodukter utan att blicka. Modekonsumenter har sedan år 2017 blivit medvetna om de problem som bärkassen medför och väljer då att avstå dessa, men när det kommer till modeprodukter finns troligtvis en medvetenhet om problemet där också men konsumtionen fortsätter ändå. Detta har lett till att denna uppsats belyser hur denna kontrast bildas mellan att konsumera modeprodukter och att avstå från bärkassen på grund av miljöskäl. Denna studie undersöker detta gap genom att fokusera på hur modekonsumenter förhåller sig till konsumtion av bärkassar i förhållande till modeprodukter. Resultatet ger en förståelse för varför det blir en kontrast mellan konsumtion av bärkassar och modeprodukter. Därav kommer resultatet resultera i en djupare förståelse kring varför ett attityd-beteende gap skapas och en stadig grund för vidare forskning. För att förstå och tolka det empiriska materialet modifierades en modell av attityd-beteende gapet. Utöver det kommer behovsidentifikation att ligga till grund för den teoretiska referensramen. En kvalitativ intervju, tre fokusgruppsintervjuer och en observation utgör det empiriska materialet. Urvalet bestod av studenter från tre olika högskolor i Sverige (Textilhögskolan i Borås, Göteborgs Universitet och Mälardalens högskola i Västerås). Slutsatserna av studien är att modeföretagen måste börja informera modekonsumenterna varför och hur de kan agera hållbart, istället för att informera att de ska agera hållbart. Utöver det måste de hållbara modeprodukterna vara prismässigt jämförbart med inte hållbara modeprodukter, för att modekonsumenterna ska agera hållbar. Slutligen krävs det att de hållbara modeprodukterna har tillräckligt attraktiv design för att modekonsumenterna ska investera i hållbara modeprodukter. / Constant change is closely associated with the fashion industry, as new trends and styles tent to change continuously. In the Western world, people consume considerably more fashion products than what the natural resources allow. The fashion consumers, however, gained an insight into the fashion industry´s negative environmental impact in 2017. A new law was founded to alert the fashion consumers of the negative effect of the shopping bags, especially made with plastic. In association with the new law, an organization, naming One Bag Habit was created. This led the fashion consumers to think extra before deciding to consume a shopping bag when they made a purchase of fashion item. Due to One Bag habit, fashion consumers now avoid from consuming shopping bags because of environmental aspects. The reluctance to consuming a shopping bag in addition to the fashion purchase has decreased yet impacts on the actual fashion consumption have not changed. Previous research has identified an attitude-behaviour gap between how fashion consumers value sustainable products and their actual behaviour in accordance with these values. This has led to this paper highlighting how this contrast is formed between consuming fashion products and refraining from the shopping bags because of environmental reasons. This study has a textile management approach, which means that the study is primarily aimed at companies in order to help them understand how fashion consumers value and act in different purchasing situations. This study will examine how fashion consumers consume shopping bags in relation to fashion products. The findings will contribute to creating an understanding of the created contrast between sustainable consumption regarding shopping bags and non-sustainable one regarding fashion consumption itself. Moreover, the findings will contribute to a deeper understanding of why the attitude-behaviour gap has created such a contrast among the fashion consumer. In order to understand and interpret the empirical material of this study, a theoretical model of attitude-behaviour gap was created. In addition, an understanding of how needs are created among consumers will be contributing to the formation of the theoretical framework. Furthermore, data was collected through qualitative interviews, three focus groups, and an observation. The data sample frame consisted of students from three different universities in Sweden (the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås, University of Gothenburg and Mälardalens University in Västerås). The findings of the study show that fashion companies need to be more specific when informing the fashion consumers on why and how they can act more sustainably when consuming fashion and shopping bags. In addition, the sustainable fashion products should be comparable in prices terms to non-sustainable fashion products in order for fashion consumers to act sustainable. Finally, it is suggested that the sustainable fashion products have an appealing designs in order for the fashion consumers to invest in sustainable fashion products.