"The simultaneous degradation of five organic contaminants: 1,4 dioxane, n-nitrosodimethylamine, tris-2-chloroethyl phosphate, gemfibrozil, and 17β estradiol, was investigated using a 1 L batch water-jacketed UV photoreactor utilizing titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (Degussa P-25) as a photocatalyst. The primary objectives of this research were: (1) to experimentally assess the feasibility of heterogeneous photocatalysis as a promising alternative for the degradation of organic compounds in water; and (2) to model the chemical reactions by the application of two different approaches based on adsorption – surface reactions (Langmuir–Hinshelwood) and its simplification to a first order rate reaction. These objectives were motivated by the lack of information regarding simultaneous degradation of organic compounds in different categories as found in real aqueous matrices, and generation of specific intermediates that could eventually represent a potential risk to the environment. Contaminants were chosen based on their occurrence in water sources, their representativeness of individual sub-categories, and their importance as part of the CCL3 as potential contaminants to be regulated. Contaminant degradation was evaluated over time, and the TiO2 concentration and solution pH were varied under constant UV irradiation, oxygen delivery rate, mixing gradient, and temperature. 

 Specific accomplishments of this study were: (1) reaction kinetics data were obtained from the UV/TiO2 experiments and showed the potential that this UV/TiO2 process has for effectively removing different types of organic compounds from water; (2) a good fit was obtained between photocatalytic reaction kinetics models and the contaminant data using pseudo first-order and Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) models; (3) results of the analytical methods developed in this study were validated by measurements performed by a certified laboratory; (4) the reaction kinetic parameters obtained in this study were normalized to electrical energy per order, reactor volume and surface area of the photocatalyst in order to provide rate constants with wider applicability for scale-up to more complex systems; and (5) degradation intermediates from the oxidation process and from interaction among compounds were identified and possible pathways for their formation suggested. This research has provided a better understanding of the photocatalytic process for the removal of organic contaminants from complex aqueous matrices."

A ocorrência de produtos farmacêuticos e de cuidados pessoais no meio ambiente tem levado a preocupações sobre seu impacto ambiental e à saúde pública. O sulfametoxazol (SMX) é um fármaco que tem sido encontrado amplamente no ambiente. Neste estudo foi verificada a eficácia de vários processos, a saber eletroquímico, eletroquímico foto assistido, fotoquímico, Fenton e foto-Fenton, para a degradação de SMX em solução aquosa. A degradação eletroquímica e eletroquímica foto assistida foram realizadas em uma célula de fluxo do tipo filtro-prensa, usando um ânodo dimensionalmente estável comercial com composição nominal Ti/Ru0,3Ti0,7O2. Durante ambos os processos, efeitos de diferentes parâmetros foram analisados, como a natureza do eletrólito, a concentração de eletrólito suporte (NaCl) e a densidade de corrente aplicada. Os experimentos fotoquímicos, Fenton e foto-Fenton foram realizados em um reator de vidro cilíndrico de compartimento único. O efeito das concentrações inicias de Fe2+ e de H2O2 foram estudados para os processos Fenton e foto-Fenton. Similarmente, o efeito do pH inicial, a concentração inicial do SMX e a temperatura foram investigados para todos os processos. A variação da concentração de SMX foi determinada por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (CLAE) e a quantidade de matéria orgânica foi monitorada por análise de carbono orgânico total (COT). Os resultados obtidos indicaram que o SMX foi completamente degradado, porém, o COT foi apenas parcialmente removido em todos os processos. No período de tempo de ensaio estabelecido o aumento da densidade de corrente e da concentração de NaCl mais eficiente para a degradação e remoção de COT nos processos eletroquímicos. A quantidade de Fe2+ e H2O2 aumenta a eficiência do processo Fenton e foto-Fenton, e meio ácido foi favorável para todos os processos. O consumo de energia elétrica, baseado no parâmetro EEO (energia por ordem) mostrou que os processos eletroquímicos são energeticamente mais eficientes do que os fotoquímicos. As degradações acompanhadas por CLAE acoplado à espectrometria de massas, permitiu que vários intermediários fossem identificados, sendo então proposta uma sequência reacional para a degradação do SMX. O radical hidroxila e o cloro ativo atacam os anéis benzílico e isoxazólico, tendo sido demonstrado que os compostos iniciais formados foram os compostos hidrolisados e clorados. Os íons inorgânicos, tais como: NO3-, NH4+ e SO42-, também foram identificados durante os processos de degradação. / The occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment has raised concerns about their impact upon environmental and public health. Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is a pharmaceutical that has been found widely in the environment. This study investigated the effectiveness of various processes such as electrochemical, photo assisted electrochemical, photochemical, Fenton photo-Fenton to SMX degradation in aqueous solution. The electrochemical and photo-assisted electrochemical degradations were performed in a filter press type flow cell using a dimensionally stable anode with nominal composition of Ti/Ru0.3Ti0.7O2. During both these processes the effects of different parameters were analyzed, such as, nature of the electrolyte concentration of the supporting electrolyte (NaCl) and the applied current density. The photochemical, Fenton and photo - Fenton experiments were carried out in a single compartment cylindrical glass reactor. The effects initial iron concentrations and H2O2 were studied for Fenton and photo-Fenton processes. Similarly the effect of initial pH, initial concentration of SMX and temperature were investigated for all processes. The variation of SMX concentration was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the amount of organic matter was monitored by analysis of total organic carbon (TOC). The results indicated that SMX was completely degraded, but TOC was partially removed in all processes studied, during experimental period the increase of the current density and NaCl concentration enhanced the degradation and TOC removal in the electrochemical processes. The amount of iron and H2O2 increases the efficiency of Fenton and photo-Fenton processes and acidic media was favorable for all processes. The electrical energy consumption parameter based on EEO (energy per order) was also evaluated and it was observed that the electrochemical processes are more energetically efficient than the photochemical. The degradations followed by HPLC coupled with mass spectrometry, in which several intermediates were identified and proposed a reaction sequence for the degradation of SMX. The hydroxyl radical and active chlorine attack benzene and isoxazólico rings, and has been demonstrated that the initial compounds formed were hydrolyzed and chlorinated compounds. Inorganic ions such NO3-, NH4+ and SO42- were also identified during degradation processes.

Directors' remuneration has long attracted a great deal of attention from financial economists and academics due to its strategic role as a remedy to control agency problems. The key issue is the conflict between directors and shareholders on whether the remuneration is designed to maximise shareholders' value or to favour directors, who run the company on behalf of the investors. However, the conflict can never be detected when the disclosure of remuneration is not transparent. The study was conducted in Malaysia which provides a distinctive research setting different from other developing countries because Malaysia has a disclosure exercise that is still far below best practice as well as a unique Malaysian cultural and institutional environment. Thus, the unusual combination of politics (government) dominated by Malays and business dominated by the minority Chinese provides an interesting background to explore the determinants and consequences of directors' remuneration disclosure. This study's novelty stands on the exploration of ownership structure and board diversity in determining directors' remuneration disclosure, as well as the impact of disclosure towards firm value. The first chapter investigates the association between ownership structure and directors' remuneration disclosure. A significant and negative association is noted between family ownership and remuneration disclosure, suggesting that the traditional family control in Malaysia continue to be dominating outweighing the necessity of public disclosure. Moreover, this study encountered a non-linear relationship between government ownership and remuneration disclosure, indicating that the disclosure of directors' remuneration is positive up to a certain level of government ownership but reduces as government ownership increases. Evidently, directors in government-owned companies are being extra vigilant in disclosing their remuneration due to the political and personal security reasons, particularly post the 12th general election of Malaysia in 2008 that witnessed the government lose its two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time after 40 years. The second chapter examines how board diversity influences disclosure. The study found that only age diversity is significantly and negatively associated with directors' remuneration disclosure, supporting the age stereotype that characterised old directors who are wise and wisdom. Hence, the adverse disclosure behaviour can be explained by their ability to credibly withhold voluntary information and strategically disclose mandatory information on remuneration. Contrary to prior studies, this study found that ethnic diversity does not have a significant influence on directors' remuneration disclosure possibly due to the equal number of Malay and non-Malay directors on board throughout the period under review. Interestingly, cultural convergence is also known to be a contributing factor as both ethnics exercise their belief in determining the level of strategic remuneration disclosure. In line with upper echelon theory, the presence of female directors is found to be an insignificant determinant of remuneration disclosure possibly due to their risk-averse personality in the high-risk disclosure area. The third chapter aims to assess the extent to which directors' remuneration disclosure reflects information that is relevant to firm value. By using Tobin's Q, this chapter shows that directors' remuneration disclosure is value relevant in both financial and non-financial sectors among the FTSE30 companies. The finding implies that the market highly values directors' remuneration disclosure as it signals board transparency and provides a window to overall governance quality of an organisation. This chapter proposes that commitment to directors' remuneration disclosure has potential benefits that outweigh the risk of disclosing within the Malaysian context. Furthermore, this chapter explicitly addresses and justifies the potential endogeneity problem that has been ignored by typical accounting studies. Using the two-stage least squares (2SLS) technique to control for the endogeneity of voluntary remuneration disclosure in assessing its impact on firm value, findings from the robustness analysis carried out suggest that the empirical results reported are robust to potential endogeneity problems. Finally, this study provides two practical implications. First, it provides a disclosure incentive for directors to make better remuneration disclosure in the annual report. Despite that there is evidence of hesitancy to disclose due to the political volatility in Malaysia subsequent to the 12th general election in 2008, the market significantly values directors' remuneration disclosure as it signals good governance practice by the company as well as great reputation portrayed by the board members. More specifically, this study encourages disclosure on directors' remuneration as it positively affects firm value, in both financial and non-financial sectors. Secondly, this study offers essential guidelines for companies in determining the board composition. It suggests that a distinctive personality of each director can be a competitive advantage of a firm when it is properly transformed to make it congruent with the firm's objective, in achieving maximum efficiency of decision-making. While age diversity is found to be significantly associated with directors' remuneration disclosure, the remaining board diversity dimensions such as gender, and ethnicity are also significant in a condition when it is critically analysed using the upper echelon theory within the context of Malaysia. Overall, the study indicates the need to incorporate a diversified composition of the top decision-makers in deciding a strategic remuneration disclosure.

Central bank communication has become an important monetary policy tool. This is because it helps to improve the effectiveness of monetary policy by sharing information, which reduces uncertainty. Previous research on the topic has concentrated on central banks in developed economies, such as the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, and the Federal Reserve. This research contributes to the literature by providing insights from the perspective of emerging economies, where communications of Chinese and Indian central banks are examined. The first empirical chapter investigates the effectiveness of communication of People s Bank of China (PBOC) on Chinese financial markets: the interbank money market, the equity market, and foreign exchange markets, are analysed using time-series models. The main focus of the chapter includes an analysis of PBOC s credibility, construction of a new communication index on global economic outlook, more detailed communication indexes, and addressing how-to-communicate questions in the PBOC s communication strategies. The results indicate that the PBOC has credibility and its communication generally reduces volatility in these markets. The second empirical chapter looks at the role of the PBOC s communication in predicting policy rates, using an ordered probit model. The communication indexes constructed in the chapter cover both formal and informal communications of PBOC for 2009 to 2015 and a new communication index on money supply was also constructed. The main finding is that PBOC s communications (particularly on inflation) are useful for predicting PBOC s monetary policy stance. The money supply communication index has some, but not much predictability powers. Finally, the third empirical chapter compares central bank communications in China and India. The contribution of the chapter lies in the comparative analysis of two central banks communications of developing economies, which were overlooked in the extant literature. It shows that the communications on the countries monetary policy inclination have influence on macroeconomic variables of the countries, particularly, the short-term inflation expectations. The findings, therefore, suggest the effectiveness of communications as an unconventional monetary policy tool in emerging economies.

This aim of this research was to elucidate the genotypic diversity of the mycotoxigenic species Fusarium proliferatum associated with diverse hosts and distributed in wide geographic locations to gain new insights into the biology of this emerging pathogen. This study developed a novel molecular genetic marker FG1056. Multilocus typing of F. proliferatum isolates (52) using F. verticillioides (2) and F. oxysporum (3) as references was carried out with FG1056 and a set of known genetic markers (ITS, TEF1, CAL and FUM1). This distinguished up to 10 genetic groups, 2 clusters and 23 haplotypes among the F. proliferatum isolates. FG1056 marker showed the highest number of SNPs (169), informative sites (89) and haplotypes (23) relative to other markers used and was comparable to the multi locus typing. Varying patterns of relationships were observed between isolates represented in the genetic groups and their host and geographic origin. Considerable biological variability was recorded among the F. proliferatum isolates in morphology, growth, sporulation and most notably fumonisin production (up to 140-fold differences) with reference to variable temperature, water activity and duration. De novo genome assemblies with the size ranging from 43.96 - 50 Mb have been developed for four diverse F. proliferatum isolates. In silico analysis led to the identification of 12,980 genes common to all isolates and up to 134 genes potentially unique to an isolate. Using these resources, FUM gene cluster (~45.3 Kb) was identified for the first time in F. proliferatum. Order and orientation of the 16 FUM genes and the complete flanking genes (MSF1 and ZCB1 at 5’; ANK1 and GAT1 at 3’) have been determined. This study has provided new insights into the genetic and biological diversity of F. proliferatum and also developed new genetic and genomic resources, which will serve as a solid platform for further research particularly to understand the regulation of fumonisins production in the laboratory and in the field.

No description available.

The saturation of Western markets, strong and predatory competition, and the end of supranational state units, all these factors have contributed to eminent interest of multinational companies in the newly created markets of the Commonwealth of Independent States. For that reason, the thesis discusses marketing theories as well as a wide range of marketing strategies and tools tailored to local specific cosmetics markets based on executed situation analysis.

O objetivo desta tese é o de oferecer uma contribuição ao conhecimento teórico, nos campos da estratégia e do marketing internacionais, para empresas oriundas ou atuantes em países emergentes. Para atingir esse objetivo, foi desenvolvida uma síntese da literatura sobre o tema e conduzida uma pesquisa de campo, comparando empresas de países emergentes e desenvolvidos na sua atuação internacional, especificamente avaliando suas decisões estratégicas e de marketing durante o esforço exportador. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida com base na análise de dados secundários de comércio e estruturada a partir de modelos teóricos de gestão internacional disponíveis na literatura especializada. Os resultados encontrados indicam que existem diferenças entre os dois grupos (empresas de países emergentes e desenvolvidos) e que estas diferenças devem ser levadas em conta durante o desenvolvimento de modelos teóricos voltados a orientar empresas de países emergentes na sua gestão internacional. Ao mesmo tempo, os resultados da pesquisa não corroboram visões tradicionais sobre a pauta de exportação de empresas de países emergentes, supostamente associada à exportação de produtos pouco dinâmicos. Ao final do trabalho, são apresentados modelos teóricos extraídos da análise dos resultados da pesquisa. Esses modelos poderão apoiar o esforço de internacionalização de empresas de países emergentes, auxiliando na superação de barreiras mercadológicas e conceituais que obstruem seu sucesso. / The goal of this dissertation is to provide a contribution to the theoretical knowledge in the fields of international strategy and marketing for companies from or in emerging countries. To achieve this goal, it was conducted a synthesis of the literature on the subject and a field research, comparing companies from developed and emerging countries in its international performance, specifically evaluating their marketing and strategic decisions during the exporting effort. The research was developed based on the analysis of secondary data and structured on theoretical models available in the international management literature. The results found indicate that there are differences between the two groups (companies from emerging and developed countries) and that these differences should be taken into account during the development of theoretical models to guide companies in emerging countries in its international management. At the same time, the research results do not corroborate traditional views about the exports of emerging countries companies, supposedly associated with the export of non-dynamic products. At the end of the work, theoretical models are presented from the analysis of the research results. These models can support internationalization effort of emerging countries companies, helping them overcome market and conceptual barriers that impede their success.

Fast-evolving RNA viruses are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among human and animal populations, contributing significantly to both global health and economic burden. The advent and revolution of high-throughput sequencing has empowered phylogenetic analyses with increasing amounts of temporally and spatially sampled viral data. Moreover, the parallel advancement in molecular evolution and phylogenetic methods has provided investigators with a unique opportunity to gain detailed insight into the evolutionary and epidemiological dynamics of emerging viral pathogens. Using state-of-the-art statistical approaches, this thesis addresses some of the important but controversial questions in viral emergence. Chapter 2 introduces a new framework to quantify and investigate reassortment events in influenza A viruses. By developing a computationally efficient algorithm to calculate the largest common subtree for a pair of tree sets, which are estimated from diffe rent parts of the genome for the same taxa set, the level of phylogenetic incongruency due to reassortment can be appropriately ascertained. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 investigate the evolutionary origins of three diff erent viruses: the novel emergence and cross-species transmission of SARSCoV, the genesis and dissemination of the unique HCV circulating recombinant form, and the ancient divergence of all influenza viruses, respectively. Moreover, Chapter 4 presents an improved statistical framework, which provides more precise evolutionary estimates, by utilizing the hierarchical bayes approach to investigate recombination events in emerging RNA viruses. The last empirical study, presented in Chapter 6, applies the recently developed Bayesian phylogeography models to a large viral sequence dataset sampled from southern Viet Nam to examine the fine-scale spatiotemporal dynamics of endemic dengue in Southeast Asia. The work presented here reflects both the advancements made in sequencing technology and statistical phylogenetics, along with some of the challenges that remain in studying the emergence of fast-evolving RNA viruses. This thesis proposes new and improved solutions to these evolutionary problems, such as incorporating non-vertical evolution (i.e. homologous recombination and reassortment) into the phylodynamic framework, with the aim of facilitating future investigations of emerging viral diseases.

O objetivo desta tese é o de oferecer uma contribuição ao conhecimento teórico, nos campos da estratégia e do marketing internacionais, para empresas oriundas ou atuantes em países emergentes. Para atingir esse objetivo, foi desenvolvida uma síntese da literatura sobre o tema e conduzida uma pesquisa de campo, comparando empresas de países emergentes e desenvolvidos na sua atuação internacional, especificamente avaliando suas decisões estratégicas e de marketing durante o esforço exportador. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida com base na análise de dados secundários de comércio e estruturada a partir de modelos teóricos de gestão internacional disponíveis na literatura especializada. Os resultados encontrados indicam que existem diferenças entre os dois grupos (empresas de países emergentes e desenvolvidos) e que estas diferenças devem ser levadas em conta durante o desenvolvimento de modelos teóricos voltados a orientar empresas de países emergentes na sua gestão internacional. Ao mesmo tempo, os resultados da pesquisa não corroboram visões tradicionais sobre a pauta de exportação de empresas de países emergentes, supostamente associada à exportação de produtos pouco dinâmicos. Ao final do trabalho, são apresentados modelos teóricos extraídos da análise dos resultados da pesquisa. Esses modelos poderão apoiar o esforço de internacionalização de empresas de países emergentes, auxiliando na superação de barreiras mercadológicas e conceituais que obstruem seu sucesso. / The goal of this dissertation is to provide a contribution to the theoretical knowledge in the fields of international strategy and marketing for companies from or in emerging countries. To achieve this goal, it was conducted a synthesis of the literature on the subject and a field research, comparing companies from developed and emerging countries in its international performance, specifically evaluating their marketing and strategic decisions during the exporting effort. The research was developed based on the analysis of secondary data and structured on theoretical models available in the international management literature. The results found indicate that there are differences between the two groups (companies from emerging and developed countries) and that these differences should be taken into account during the development of theoretical models to guide companies in emerging countries in its international management. At the same time, the research results do not corroborate traditional views about the exports of emerging countries companies, supposedly associated with the export of non-dynamic products. At the end of the work, theoretical models are presented from the analysis of the research results. These models can support internationalization effort of emerging countries companies, helping them overcome market and conceptual barriers that impede their success.