Les sols représentent environ 63% des émissions de N2O et à eux seuls les sols tropicaux représentent 23% de ce budget soit une contribution bien plus élevé que les sols tempérés. Ces sols sont connus pour abriter une grande biodiversité d'invertébrés dominés par quatre types i.e. termites, vers de terre, fourmis et larves de scarabaeid. Ces groupes macrofaunal sont considérés comme des ingénieurs des sols via notamment leurs actions de régulation de la disponibilité des ressources chimiques, tels que l'azote minéral pour les micro-organismes. Cette régulation est due à leurs capacités de digestion spécifiques de la matière organique ainsi que la création et/ou la modification des habitats des sols. Cette étude est basée sur l'hypothèse suivante (i) l'environnement digestif et les structures biogéniques de ces ingénieurs du sol sont considérées comme des « hot spot » d' émissions de N2O (ii) les taux d'émission de N2O varient en fonction de leurs régimes alimentaires, cette macrofaune ingérant des substrats avec différents C:N (iii) le taux d'émission de N2O de chaque invertébré est corrélé à la densité des communautés bactériennes digestives impliquées dans l'émission de N2O (bactéries nitrifiantes et dénitrifiantes) et à leur teneur en azote minéral dans leur tube digestif. Pour évaluer ces différentes hypothèses, des mesures des taux d'émission de N2O ont été effectuées in vitro en aérobiose pour la macrofaune (30 espèces différentes en provenance d'Afrique, d'Amérique du Sud et d'Europe) et leurs matériels biogéniques associées (nids, turricules). L'abondance des gènes fonctionnelles des bactéries nitrifiantes (AOA et AOB) et dénitrifiantes (nirK, nirS, nosZ) ont été quantifiés par PCR quantitative. Les termites humivores et champignonnistes ainsi que les larves de scarabaeid émettent des quantités significatives de N2O alors que les fourmis n'en émettent pas. Quand aux termites xylophages et litièrivore, ils absorbent le N2O. Les structures biogéniques des vers de terre (turricules) et des fourmis (nid) émettent des quantités importantes de N2O ce qui n'est pas le cas des nids de termites. La faune du sol et leurs structures biogéniques associées, sont donc, dans la majorité des cas étudiés, un lieu d'émission de N2O, confirmant ainsi notre première hypothèse. Ce travail a également démontré qu'il y a avait une étroite corrélation entre régime alimentaire et intensité de l'émission de N2O au sein de chaque type de macrofaune étudié. En revanche, l'abondance des gènes des communautés digestive nitrifiantes et dénitrifiantes et le contenu en N minéral au sein du tube digestif ne semblent pas être des proxies pertinents des émissions de N2O. A partir de ces mesures, des calculs ont été effectuées pour déterminer l'importance de ces émissions à l'échelle des écosystèmes tropicaux étudiés (forêt et savane). Ces calculs suggèrent que la macrofaune du sol dans ces écosystèmes pourrait contribuer entre 0,1 à 11,7% et 0,1 à 8,8% du budget total des émissions de N2O, respectivement. Les résultats de ces travaux devraient contribuer à une meilleure prise en compte de la composante biotique dans la modélisation des émissions de gaz à effet de serre provenant des sols en milieu tropical. / Soils account for about 63% of N2O emissions. Tropical soils are estimated to emit 23% of global N2O emission budget which is much higher than temperate soil N2O emissions. These soils also harbor a huge biodiversity of invertebrates dominated by four types of macrofauna i.e. termites, earthworms, ants and scarabaeid grubs. These macrofaunal groups are considered as soil engineers because they regulate the availability of chemical resources, like mineral nitrogen, for the microorganisms via their specific digestion capabilities and/or by creating and modifying soil habitats. This study is based on the following hypothesis (i) the gut environment or biogenic structures of these soil engineers are considered as hotspots of N2O emission (ii) the N2O emission rates will vary according to their feeding behavior as these macrofauna thrive on diverse substrates with different C:N ratio (iii) the rate of N2O emission in each soil fauna will also depend on the gut density of the bacterial communities involved in the N2O emission (nitrifiers and denitrifiers) and on the mineral nitrogen content within the gut. To assess these different hypotheses in-vitro short-term N2O emission rates were assessed for either live macrofauna (30 species collected from Africa, South America and Europe) or their biogenic materials or both under aerobic incubations. Genes abundance of nitrifiers (AOA and AOB) and denitrifiers (nirK, nirS, nosZ) were quantified by real time quantitative PCR. Soil-feeders and fungus-growing termites and scarabaeid grubs emitted in-vivo N2O while ants did not. Surprisingly, wood- and grass-feeding termites revealed an uptake of N2O. Biogenic structures of earthworms and ants emitted substantial amount of N2O while those of termites did not. The emission difference between macrofauna or their biogenic materials and their control materials was significant for most of the macrofaunal groups studied confirming our first hypothesis. We also confirmed that the feeding behavior (total N content and C:N ratio of food material) is the main factor explaining the observed N2O emission pattern of each macrofaunal group investigated whereas genes abundances, particularly of denitrifiers and gut N mineral content did not appear to be relevant proxies of the N2O emissions rates. A back-on-the-envelope data upscaling suggests that soil macrofauna could contribute from 0.1–11.7% and 0.1–8.8% of the total soil N2O emissions, respectively, for the tropical rainforest and dry savanna ecosystems. This work should contribute to a better estimation of the soil biotic compartment in the different models of greenhouse gas emissions from tropical soils.

Dans ce travail, nous nous proposons d'étudier la cognition sociale chez les sourds en distinguant les aspects perceptifs et cognitifs selon le modèle proposé par Tager-Flusberg et Sullivan (2000). La surdité nous permet d'aborder l'influence des facteurs environnementaux sur le développement des composantes socio-perceptive et socio-cognitive ; nous ciblons nos recherches sur les enfants sourds nés de parents entendants, éduqués dans des écoles ordinaires et portants des prothèses auditives. La première question à laquelle nous tenterons de répondre est la suivante : le manque de communication avec l'entourage familial pendant les premiers mois de vie, en lien avec le contexte particulier de la surdité dans un milieu entendant, a-t-il une influence sur le développement de la composante socio-perceptive ? Nous étudions cette question avec deux expériences impliquant la perception des visages et des émotions ; ces tests nous permettent de mettre en évidence les performances et les stratégies de traitement utilisées. Nous recherchons d'une part, l'utilisation du processus configural et l'effet de focalisation de l'attention sur la région des yeux au cours d'une tâche de jugement de similarité entre visages et d'autre part, l'effet de traitement automatique de la colère avec une tâche de recherche visuelle. La deuxième question soulevée est relative au développement de la composante socio-cognitive, et notamment aux capacités liées à la théorie de l'esprit. Les possibilités croissantes d'intégration du discours, notamment grâce aux prothèses auditives, permettraient-elles le développement des capacités nécessaires à la compréhension des états mentaux d'autrui ? / In this thesis, we aimed to study the socio-perceptive and the socio-cognitive components of social cognition (Tager-Flusberg et Sullivan, 2000) in deaf children. Deafness give us the possibility to assess environmental factors' influence on the development of these components. To do so, we focus our studies on deaf children born from hearing parents, equipped with auditory protheses, and educated in ordinary schools. First, one of the main issue of the current studies is to assess whether the lack of communication with family during the first months of life, in line with the particular context of deafness in a hearing environment, have a significant impact on the socio-perceptive component. Experiments 1 and 2 were designed to assess this issue. Participants had to respond with two experiences related to faces and emotion perceptions ; those tests allow us to show the performances and the strategies of the treatment used. On a side, we are looking for the inversion effect and the eyes area focus effect during a test of faces' similarities judgment, and another side the angry automatic effect with a visual search test. The second question studied is related to the development of the socio-cognitive component, and especially on capacities of theory of mind. Could the improvement of internalization of speech, using auditory protheses, permit the development of the capacities needed to understand the state of mind of another? Or in contrary, are the possibilities to exchange precociously about his own state of mind needed to develop socio-cognitive component?

Three separate studies of the effect of plant pathogen on population biology of its host are presented in the thesis. Two are using field data about a widespread system of plant Falcaria vulgaris and its systemic rust fungus Puccinia sii-falcariae. The first study shows, that the disease prevalences in 40 populations of the plant were correlated with the moisture, the soil reaction and the cover of the herb layer at the localities. This was probably a result of the interaction of the life history of the plant and different effect the disease has at various localities. Similar pattern was found in the second study that aimed to determine long-term effect of the disease at the population level at four chosen localities over 4-5 years. Population growth rates were only rarely predicted to be higher for the healthy part of the population when compared with the whole population. Other analyses have however found big differences among years and localities. The locality type (slope vs. field populations) was important factor influencing population stage composition and importance of life cycle transitions for the growth of the population. Finally, the last study explores the possibility that systemic infection in clonal plants might be able to select against clonality. The result of the modelling showed that more...

Vector-borne diseases are an increasing global threat to humans due to climate changes, elevating the risk of infections transmitted by mosquitos, ticks, and other arthropod vectors. Ixodes ricinus, a common tick in Europe, transmits dangerous tick-borne pathogens to humans. Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a vector-borne disease caused by TBE virus (TBEV). Climate change has contributed to increased tick abundance and incidence of tick-borne diseases, and between 10,000 and 15,000 human TBE cases are reported annually in Europe and Asia. TBEV shows a patchy geographical distribution pattern where each patch represents a natural focus. In nature, TBEV is maintained within the tick-rodent enzootic cycle. Co-feeding is the main route for TBEV transmission from infected to uninfected ticks and for maintenance within the natural foci. The increasing number of TBE cases in Scandinavia highlights the importance of characterizing additional TBEV sequences and of identifying novel natural foci, and in this work we sequenced and phylogenetically characterized four TBEV strains: Saringe-2009 (from a blood-fed nymph), JP-296 (from a questing adult male), JP-554 (from a questing adult male), and Mandal-2009 (from a pool of questing nymphs, n = 10). Mandal-2009 represents a TBEV genome from a natural focus in southern Norway. Saringe-2009 is from a natural endemic focus in northern Stockholm, Sweden, and JP-296 and JP-554 originate from a natural focus “Torö” in southern Stockholm. In addition, we have studied the effect of different biotic and abiotic factors on population dynamics of I. ricinus in southern Stockholm and observed significant spatiotemporal variations in tick activity patterns. Seasonal synchrony of immature stages and total tick abundance are important factors for the probability of horizontal transmission of TBEV among co-feeding ticks. We found that the probability of co-occurrence of larvae, nymphs, and female adults was highest during early summer whereas increasing vegetation height and increasing amounts of forest and open water around the study sites had a significant negative effect on co-occurrence of larvae, nymphs, and female adults. The proximal part of the 3 ́non-coding region (3 ́NCR) of TBEV contains an internal poly(A) tract, and genomic analysis of Saringe-2009 revealed variability in the poly(A) tract indicating the existence of different variants within the TBEV pool of Saringe-2009. Like other RNA viruses, TBEV exists as swarms of unique variants called quasispecies. Because Saringe-2009 came from an engorged nymph that had been feeding on blood for >60 h, we propose that Saringe-2009 represents a putative shift in the TBEV pool when the virus switches from ectothermic/tick to endothermic/mammalian environments. We investigated the role of poly(A) tract variability in replication and virulence of TBEV by generating two infectious clones of the TBEV strain Toro-2003, one with a short/wild-type (A)3C(A)6 poly(A) tract and one with a long (A)3C(A)38 poly(A) tract. The infectious clone with the long poly(A) tract showed poor replication in cell culture but was more virulent in C57BL/6 mice than the wild-type clone. RNA folding predictions of the TBEV genomes suggested that insertion of a long poly(A) tract abolishes a stem loop structure at the beginning of the 3 ́NCR. Next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis of the TBEV genomes after passaging in cell culture and/or mouse brain revealed molecular determinants and quasispecies structure that might contribute to the observed differences in virulence. Our findings suggest that the long poly(A) tract imparts instability to the TBEV genome resulting in higher quasispecies diversity that in turn contributes to TBEV virulence. Phylogenetic analysis of Saringe-2009, JP-296, JP-554, and Mandal-2009 predicted a strong evolutionary relationship among the four strains. They clustered with Toro-2003, the first TBEV strain from Torö, demonstrating a Scandinavian clade. Except for the proximal part of the 3 ́NCR, TBEV is highly conserved in its genomic structure. Genomic analysis revealed that Mandal-2009 contains a truncated 3 ́NCR similar to the highly virulent strain Hypr, whereas JP-296 and JP-554 have a genomic organization identical to Toro-2003, the prototypic TBEV strain from the same natural focus. NGS revealed significantly higher quasispecies diversity for JP-296 and JP-554 compared to Mandal-2009. In addition, single nucleotide polymerphism (SNP) analysis showed that 40% of the SNPs were common between quasispecies populations of JP-296 and JP-554, indicating the persistence and maintenance of TBEV quasispecies within the natural focus. Taken together, these findings indicate the importance of environmental factors for the occurrence pattern of the different life-stages of the tick vector, which are important for the persistence of TBEV in nature. Our findings also show that the selection pressure exerted by specific host also affects the population structure of the TBEV quasispecies. In addition, our results further demonstrate that the evolution of quasispecies has effect on TBEV virulence in mice. / Vektorburna sjukdomar är ett växande globalt hot mot både människor och djur. De pågående klimatförändringarna kan leda till förhöjda risker för infektioner överförda av myggor, fästingar och andra leddjursvektorer. Ixodes ricinus är en vanlig fästing i Europa som överför fästingburna patogener som är farliga för människor. Fästingburen encefalit (TBE) är en vektorburen sjukdom som orsakas av TBE-virus (TBEV). De pågående klimatförändringarna har bidragit till en ökning både av vektorn och sjukdomsfrekvensen. Mellan 10 000 och 15 000 mänskliga TBE-fall rapporteras årligen i Europa och Asien. Den geografiska fördelningen av TBEV visar ett ojämnt fördelningsmönster där viruset är koncentrerat till vissa fokusområden. TBEV återfinns i naturen i en livscykel där viruset hela tiden överförs mellan fästingar och däggdjur. Spridningen sker dels från en infekterad fästing till ett ryggradsdjur när fästingen äter på värddjuret. Spridning mellan fästingar sker troligen främst genom så kallad “co-feeding”, det vill säga att flera fästingar suger blod samtidigt från samma värddjur. Viruset kan då passera från en infekterad fästing, genom värddjuret till oinfekterade fästingar. Virus kan identifieras och studeras med genetiska metoder. Det ökande antalet TBE-fall i Skandinavien styrker vikten av att hitta och karakterisera ytterligare TBEV-stammar och identifiera nya naturliga fokusområden. Vi har sekvenserat och fylogenetiskt beskrivit fyra TBEV-stammar: Saringe-2009 (blodfylld nymf), JP-296 (födosökande vuxen hane), JP-554 (födosökande vuxen hane) och Mandal-2009 (födosökande nymfer, n = 10). Mandal-2009 är ett TBEV från ett naturligt fokusområde i södra Norge. Saringe-2009 kommer från ett naturligt fokusområde i norra Stockholms län, Sverige. JP-296 och JP-554 härstammar från Torö som är ett naturligt fokusområde i södra Stockholms län, Sverige. Förutom den genetiska sekvenseringen av TBEV har vi också studerat effekten av olika biotiska och abiotiska faktorer på populationsdynamik av I. ricinus i södra Stockholm och observerade variation i fästingsaktivitetsmönster både temporalt och spatialt. Förekomstmönster av fästinglarver, nymfer och vuxna honor, och det totala antalet fästingar är viktiga faktorer för sannolikheten för horisontell överföring av TBEV mellan fästingar. Vi fann att sannolikheten för synkron förekomst av larver, nymfer och honor var högst under försommaren. Vegetationshöjd, mängden skog och mängd öppet vatten runt undersökningsområden hade signifikanta negativa effekter på sannolikheten för att larver, nymfer och honor skulle förekomma samtidigt. Den variabla delen av den icke-kodande 3 ́regionen (3'NCR) av TBEV-genomet innehåller ofta en intern poly(A)-sekvens. Liksom andra RNA-virus, förekommer TBEV som så kallade ”quasispecies” vilka definieras som grupper av olika genetiska varianter av virus. Genom analysen av TBEV-stam Saringe-2009 avslöjades variation i poly(A)-sekvensen vilket indikerar förekomst av ”quasispecies”. Eftersom Saringe-2009 kom från en blodfylld nymf som hade sugit blod i > 60 timmar, föreslår vi att Saringe-2009 visar en förändring i ”quasispecies”-poolen när viruset överförs från exoterm fästingmiljö till endoterm däggdjursmiljö. Vi undersökte poly(A)-ekvensens variabilitet och dess roll vid replikering och för virulens hos TBEV, genom att skapa två infektiösa kloner av Torö-2003 stammen; en med en kort/vild-typ (A)3C(A)6 poly(A)-sekkvens, och en med en lång (A)3C(A)38 poly(A)-sekvens. Den infektiösa klonen med lång poly(A)-sekvens replikerade sämre än vildtypklonen i cellkultur, men (A)3C(A)38 poly(A) var mer virulent i C57BL/6-möss än (A)3C(A)6 poly(A). Datasimulering av TBEV-genomets sekundär-RNA-struktur visade att de längre poly(A)-sekvenserna påverkar veckningen av en specifik sekundärstruktur (SL14) i början av 3 ́NCR. Djupsekvenseringsanalys av TBEV-gnomen avslöjade skillnader för specifika gener och ”quasispecies”-strukturen efter passering i cellkultur och/eller mushjärna. Dessa förändringar föreslås bidra till de observerade skillnaderna i virulens. Våra resultat indikerar att den långa poly(A)-sekvensen ger instabilitet i TBEV-genomet, vilket resulterar i ökad mångfald av ”quasispecies”-populationen som i sin tur kan bidra till TBEV-virulens. Fylogenetisk analys av Saringe-2009, JP-296, JP-554 och Mandal-2009 visade på ett nära släktskap mellan de fyra skandinaviska TBEV-stammarna. De nya stammarna formerade ett kluster med en tidigare TBEV-stam identifierad på Torö (Toro-2003), vilket skapade ett skandinaviskt klad. Genetisk analys visade att Mandal-2009 innehåller en trunkerad 3 ́NCR som liknar den högvirulenta stammen HYPR. JP-296 och JP-554 hade däremot samma genetiska struktur som den längre Torö-2003 stammen från samma fokusområde. Djupsekvensering visade höge mångfald av ”quasispecies”-populationen för JP-296 och JP- 554 jämfört med Mandal-2009. Analys av enkel nukleotid polymorfism (SNP) visade att 40 % av alla SNP var gemensamma mellan ”quasispecies”-populationen för JP-296 och JP-554. Detta indikerar att TBEV-”quasispecies”-strukturen kan vara konserverad för närbesläktade virus vilken kan leda till att den bevaras inom specifika fokusområden. Sammantaget så visar dessa studier att miljöfaktorer påverkar förekomsten av fästingvektorn och dess olika livsstadier, vilket är en bakomliggande faktor för utbredning av TBEV i naturliga fokusområden. Det visar även på att värdmiljön påverkar strukturen för ”quasispecies”-populationen. Dessutom visar våra studier att evolution och utveckling av ”quasispecies”-strukturen kan påverka virulensen för TBEV i möss.

Este trabalho é um estudo ecológico descritivo sobre a leishmaniose tegumentar americana (LTA) na região do Vale do Ribeira paulista (composto por 23 municípios), que teve como objetivo correlacionar a incidência da doença com fatores determinantes ambientais e sociais. O trabalho se refere ao período de 1998 a 2006 o qual foi divido em três triênios, o primeiro de 1998 a 2000, o segundo de 2001 a 2003 e o terceiro de 2004 a 2006. Os coeficientes de incidência da LTA foram calculados para estes períodos (Coefmtr1, Coefmtr2 e Coefmtr3) segundo Szklo. Essa divisão de triênios se deu de acordo com as características gráficas dos coeficientes de incidência da LTA no período, que demonstraram haver num primeiro período uma fase endêmica da doença, no segundo período (2001 a 2003) a análise mostra picos de incidência que caracteriza um período epidêmico acentuado. No terceiro período alguns municípios mostram picos de incidência de proporções menores que os observados no período anterior, contudo ainda característicos de fase epidêmica. Os coeficientes de incidência são as variáveis dependentes dos três modelos de regressão realizados. As variáveis independentes foram obtidas de fontes de dados secundários e são de natureza sócio-demográfica, relacionadas as condições climáticas, de natureza político-geográficas e físico-biológicas. Essas variáveis foram separadas em qualitativas e quantitativas e analisadas respectivamente por testes não paramétricos de Mann Whitney e Spearman e selecionou-se para o processo de modelagem múltipla, as variáveis com p<0,20. Houve a necessidade de três modelos diferentes para verificar se os fatores determinantes que levaram as séries a se comportar de maneira diferenciada, seriam os mesmos ou não. O que se percebe é que há uma mudança no padrão do primeiro para os dois outros períodos. O trabalho aponta para fatores sócio-demográficos como determinantes na incidência de LTA, bem como a presença do vetor / This work is an ecological descriptive study on the American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in the Ribeira Valley region of Sao Paulo (composed of 23 municipalities), which aimed to correlate the incidence of the disease with environmental and social factors. The paper refers to the period 1998 to 2006 which was divided into three years, the first from 1998 to 2000, the second from 2001 to 2003 and the third from 2004 to 2006. The rates of incidence of ACL were calculated for these periods (Coefmtr1, Coefmtr2 and Coefmtr3) Szklo seconds. This division was made in accordance with the graphics characteristics of the coefficients of incidence of ACL in the period, which has shown a period in a first stage of the disease endemic in the second period (2001 to 2003) the peak incidence analysis shows that characterizes a epidemic period strong. In the second period some municipalities show peaks of incidence of proportions lower than those observed in the previous period, yet still features the epidemic stage. The rates of incidence are dependent variables of the three regression models performed. The independent variables were obtained from sources in secondary databases, and are: in nature and socio-demographic, related climatic conditions, a political-geographical and physical and biological. These variables were separated in quality and quantity respectively and analyzed by non-parametric tests for Spearman and Mann Whitney and selected for the process of regress multiple model, the variables with p <0.20. There was a need for three different models to see if the determining factors that led to the series to behave in a different way, would be the same or not. What we understand is that there is a change in the pattern of the first to the other two periods. The study points to socio-demographic factors as determinants in the incidence of ACL and the presence of vector

The purpose of this study was to investigate the environmental factors that impact on childhood diarrhoea in children under five years old in Akakikality sub city Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of diarrhoea and to determine the environmental factors that impact on diarrhoea in children under five years old. A survey was done and a non-experimental approach was used in this descriptive and analytical quantitative study using a cross sectional study design. The instrument was a self-designed questionnaire. The target population for this study was all mothers or caretakers of children under five years found in the described study context – the sample size was 299. In this study 12.7% of the children had diarrhoea during the survey. Proper utilization of toilets, hand washing and safe storage of water in the households using narrow mouthed water containers were significant predictors of diarrhoea in the children. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

The purpose of this research is to develop a model of organizational capacity that can potentially lead wine cooperatives to achieve success, exploring the factors in the environment that affect their performance and present preliminary criteria to evaluate organizational capacity based on the model. Cooperatives are organizations with particular characteristics. Apart from having sharing cooperative principles and values, there is a dual nature to their purpose that has been noted in the literature. Cooperatives have both an economic and a social dimension: they are simultaneously a business and non-profit driven organizations owned by their members and controlled by them democratically. The aim of cooperatives is to maximise members’ service and satisfaction. Financial indicators alone are not suitable to assess cooperatives’ performance since they are not for-profit organization. So, the construct of organizational capacity, developed to assess the potential of non-profit organizations (NPO) to achieve their goals, was adapted to wine cooperatives in Portugal. Although there are models of organizational capacity for NPO, they do not fit the reality of cooperatives mainly because of their economic role. Cooperatives are also economically oriented businesses. A grounded theory approach was adopted for this research, which is a qualitative methodology that intends to systematically obtain and analyse data in social research to generate theory. Cooperatives were selected through theoretical sampling, aiming to reach cooperatives that could represent the diversity of the universe of 67 wine cooperatives in Portugal in 2015. Twenty-three people (members and managers) were interviewed in 19 wine cooperatives and unions in different regions of the country. The model of organizational capacity in the environment of wine cooperatives was developed taking into account the categories that emerged from data. The model provides a systemic view of the wine cooperative environment and has three sets of categories: members, environmental factors and the cooperative itself. The two categories that compose this last set are cooperative identity and organizational capacity. The core category in the model of organizational capacity in wine cooperatives is management because it is the required ability of managers that allows them to coordinate the environmental factors and other capacities of the cooperative. / O objetivo desta pesquisa é desenvolver um modelo de capacidade organizacional capaz de gerar o potencial de conduzir as adegas cooperativas ao sucesso, identificando os fatores ambientais que afectam o seu desempenho e propor critérios para avaliar a capacidade organizacional das adegas cooperativas a partir do modelo. As cooperativas são organizações com características muito próprias. Para além de partilharem os princípios e valores cooperativos, uma dualidade de propósito tem sido identificada na literatura. As cooperativas têm tanto uma dimensão económica como uma dimensão social: são simultaneamente um negócio e organizações sem fins lucrativas que pertencem e são controladas pelos seus associados, democraticamente. A finalidade das cooperativas é maximizar os serviços e a satisfação dos associados. Indicadores financeiros não são adequados para avaliar o desempenho das cooperativas, pois estas não são organizações que visam lucro. Assim, o constructo capacidade organizacional, desenvolvido para avaliar o potencial das organizações sem fins lucrativos (OSFL) de atingir seus objetivos, foi adaptado para as adegas cooperativas Portuguesas. Embora existam modelos de capacidade organizacional para OSFL, eles não se adequam à realidade das cooperativas dado o seu papel económico. As cooperativas são também negócios com orientação económica. A abordagem de pesquisa foi a teoria fundamentada, uma metodologia qualitativa que pretende obter e analisar dados sistematicamente em pesquisa social para gerar teoria. As cooperativas foram selecionadas através da amostragem teórica, buscando incluir cooperativas que pudessem representar a diversidade do universo de 67 adegas cooperativas existentes em Portugal em 2015. Vinte e três pessoas (associados e gestores) foram entrevistados em 19 adegas cooperativas e uniões, em diferentes regiões do país. O modelo de capacidade organizacional no ambiente das adegas cooperativas foi desenvolvido levando em consideração as categorias que surgiram nas entrevistas. O modelo proporciona uma visão sistêmica do ambiente das adegas cooperativa e apresenta três conjuntos de categorias: associados, factores ambientais e a cooperativa. As duas categorias que compõem este último grupo são a identidade cooperativa e a capacidade organizacional. A categoria central do modelo de capacidade organizacional em adegas cooperativas é gestão pois é a habilidade necessária aos gestores que lhes permite coordenar os factores ambientais e as outras capacidades da cooperativa.

A curva de lactação é a descrição gráfica da produção de leite em dado período de tempo, normalmente descrita por modelos matemáticos dos quais podem ser obtidos fatores multiplicativos de predição e estimativas de interesse econômico como o pico, persistência e produção acumulada aos 305 dias. Entretanto, faz-se necessário a seleção de funções de curvas para que as estimativas obtidas apresentem o menor erro de predição associado, bem como, identificar os fatores que influenciam a curva de lactação para que essas estimativas sejam desprovidas de tais fontes de variação. Desta forma, foram utilizadas cinco funções não lineares para modelar 10.679 lactações pertencentes a vacas holandesas, de grupo genético PCOD (puro por cruza de origem desconhecida), PCOC (puro por cruza de origem conhecida) e PO (puro de origem), pertencentes a 38 rebanhos agrupados em três níveis de produção, situados nos estados de São Paulo e Minas Gerais no período de 1997 a 2009. A seleção da função baseou-se simultaneamente no maior valor do coeficiente de determinação e nos menores valores do quadrado médio do erro de predição, raiz quadrada do quadrado médio do erro de predição, critério bayesiano de informação e percentual de curvas atípicas. Independente do nível de produção e ordem de lactação, dentre os modelos avaliados, a função de Wood obteve o melhor ajuste e, portanto, foi utilizada para obter estimativas de pico, tempo de ascensão ao pico, persistência e produção acumulada aos 305 dias. Posteriormente, avaliou-se a influência de fatores ano de parto, época de parto, ordem de lactação, rebanho, nível de produção e duração da lactação sobre os parâmetros a (produção inicia), b (taxa de acréscimo na produção até o pico) e c (taxa de decréscimo na produção após o pico de lactação) e estimativas de pico, tempo de pico, persistência e produção acumulada aos 305 dias das curvas de lactação modeladas pela função de Wood. Em seus respectivos níveis de produção, as médias dos parâmetros e estimativas aumentaram proporcionalmente às classes de duração da lactação e maiores estimativas foram observadas para multíparas na época seca do ano. Dado o exposto, para os rebanhos em estudos, fatores de predição da produção de leite aos 305 dias podem ser construídos de acordo com o nível de produção, ordem, época e duração da lactação. / The lactation curve is a graphic depiction of milk production in a given period of time, usually described by mathematical models which can be obtained by multiplicative factors of prediction and estimates of economic interest as the peak, persistence and cumulative production to 305 days. However, it is necessary to select the functions of curves obtained for the estimates have the smallest prediction error associated, as well as to identify factors that influence the lactation curve for these estimates are devoid of these sources of variation. Thus, five were used to model nonlinear functions belonging to 10,679 lactations Holsteins, genetic group PCOD (pure by crosses of unknown origin), PCOC (pure by crosses of known origin) and PO (pure original), belonging to 38 herds grouped in three levels of production, located in São Paulo and Minas Gerais from 1997 to 2009. The function selection was based on both the greater coefficient of determination and lower values of mean square prediction error, the square root of mean square prediction error, Bayesian information criterion and the percentage of atypical curves. Regardless of the level of production and parity among the models evaluated, the function of Wood obtained the best fit and therefore was used to estimate the peak, rise time to peak, persistence and cumulative production to 305 days. Subsequently, we evaluated the influence of year of birth, season of calving, lactation order, herd production level and duration of lactation on the parameters a (production starts), b (rate of increase in production to peak) and c (rate of decline in production after peak lactation) and estimates of peak, peak time, persistence and cumulative production to 305 days of lactation curves modeled by the function of Wood. In their production levels, the mean estimates of parameters and increased proportionally to the classes of lactation length and higher estimates were observed for multiparous in the dry season. Given the above, for livestock studies, predictors of milk production to 305 days can be constructed according to the level of production, order, timing and duration of lactation.

Introdução: A hanseníase, doença infecciosa crônica, causada pelo bacilo Mycobacterium leprae, tem seu mecanismo de transmissão não totalmente esclarecido. A transmissão ativa pode estar associada a movimentos migratórios, condições sociais ou outras fontes de infecção (como a manutenção do bacilo no ambiente). Objetivos: Descrever o padrão espacial do risco relativo da hanseníase em menores de 15 anos no estado da Bahia; identificar possíveis agrupamentos espaciais e investigar a possível associação entre o risco relativo da hanseníase e fatores socioeconômicos e ambientais. Metodologia: Este estudo ecológico utilizou dados do Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (SINAN) de 2005 a 2011, do Censo Demográfico do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística de 2010, da Federação das Indústrias do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Informações Demográficas e Socioeconômicas do Departamento de Informática do SUS, bases cartográficas digitais de dados ambientais do IBGE e bases cartográficas digitais do estado da Bahia e estados vizinhos. Os riscos relativos por município foram padronizados pela covariável gênero. A análise de varredura espacial com o programa SaTScan permitiu verificar a existência de agrupamentos espaciais do tipo alto e/ou baixo. O segundo estágio da análise consistiu em verificar a possível associação entre risco relativo da hanseníase como variável dependente e variáveis socioeconômicas e ambientais como explicativas, através de análises de regressão hierárquica multivariada não espacial e espacial, de acordo com quadro conceitual definido previamente. Resultados: Durante o período de estudo foram notificados 1.674 casos, que representam 7,87% dos casos totais. As taxas em menores de 15 anos, padronizadas por gênero, diminuiu de 0,89/10.000 em 2005 para 0,57 em 2011. A estatística de varredura espacial identificou 4 agrupamentos de risco alto e 6 de risco baixo. No modelo de regressão hierárquica, o risco relativo foi associado positivamente com porcentagem de corpos dágua, Índice de Gini, porcentagem de população urbana, número médio de moradores em domicílios particulares permanentes, e negativamente com o número de residentes nascidos na Bahia. Conclusão: Este estudo mostrou que a hanseníase ainda está ativa no Nordeste do Brasil, principalmente em ambientes urbanos. Embora o risco relativo da hanseníase tenha diminuído, ele ainda permanece muito alto. Migrações de assentamentos rurais para as cidades, bem como mais pessoas vivendo em domicílios e desigualdades sociais são resultados de um processo histórico no nordeste do Brasil, que dão suporte para a continuidade do processo de transmissão da doença. A associação entre o risco relativo da hanseníase e corpos dágua na escala geográfica proposta, indica que a hipótese que associa a M. leprae e ambientes úmidos ainda não pode ser descartada. / Background: Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae. Its mechanism of transmission has not been completely understood. The active transmission may be associated with people migration, social conditions or other sources of infection (such as maintenance of bacilli in the environment). Objectives: To describe the spatial pattern of the relative risk of leprosy in children under 15 years old in the State of Bahia; to identify possible spatial clusters and to investigate the possible association between the relative risk of leprosy with socioeconomic and environmental factors. Methods: This ecological study used data from the Brazilian Disease Notification System (Sistema Nacional de Informação de Agravos de Notificação SINAN) for the studied period of 2005 to 2011; Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatstica (IBGE 2011), Department of Data and Information Technology (Informações Demográficas e Socioeconômicas do Departamento de Informática do SUS DATASUS, 2010) and the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro FIRJAN (2010), Cartographic base of municipalities in Bahia and surrounding States corresponded to the shape files from the Brazilian Demographic Census. Relative risks were calculated accounting for the respective covariate gender. The spatial scan analysis with SaTScan program allowed to verify the existence of high and/or low spatial clusters. The second stage of the analysis consisted of verifying possible associations between the relative risks of leprosy as a dependent variable, and socio-economic and environmental variables as independent. This was performed using a multivariate regression analysis according to a previously defined conceptual framework. Results: During the study period, 1,674 cases were reported, representing 7.87% of the total cases. Overall rates have decreased from 0.88/10 000 in 2005 to 0.52 in 2011. Spatial scan statistics identified 4 high-risk and 6 low-risk clusters. In the regression model, after allowing for spatial dependence, relative risks were associated with higher percentage of water bodies, higher Gini index, higher percentage of urban population, larger average number of dwellers by permanent residence and smaller percentage of residents born in Bahia. Conclusions: This study showed that leprosy is still active in the Northeast of Brazil, especially in urban environments. Although relative risks of leprosy in Bahia have been decreasing, they remain very high. Migration of rural settlements to the cities, more people living in households and social inequalities are the result of a historical process in northeastern Brazil, that support the continuity of the disease transmission process. The association between relative risks of leprosy and water bodies in the proposed geographic scale indicates that hypothesis linking M. leprae and humid environments cannot be discarded.

[pt] Um amplo rearranjo institucional e de mercado decorreu das privatizações de concessões de serviços públicos no Brasil em diversos setores econômicos. Tornou-se evidente, assim, uma crescente necessidade de estabelecer ações de gestão que produzam o desempenho esperado dessas concessões. Inseridos num ambiente de incertezas, setores regulados, como o de distribuição de gás canalizado, têm sido pouco investigados por pesquisadores no âmbito da gestão estratégica. A presente pesquisa procurou, sob as óticas integrativa e relacional, estudar o efeito dos fatores macro ambientais no desempenho da CEG e da CEG RIO, distribuidoras de gás canalizado do Estado do Rio de Janeiro privatizadas em julho de 1997. De acordo com a metodologia de estudo de caso de Yin, foi adotada a estratégia de triangulação dos métodos. Os dados foram coletados por meio de investigação documental/telematizada, pesquisa de percepções tipo survey via questionário predominantemente estruturado e entrevistas complementares. A interpretação e a análise dos dados foram realizadas com base no referencial teórico apropriado e com o auxílio dos modelos genérico integrativo e relacional de Macedo-Soares. Os resultados evidenciaram a adequação estratégica das empresas, embora os fatores macro ambientais pudessem ser mais estrategicamente orientados. Ainda que o estabelecimento de alianças não seja uma prática estratégica, a análise relacional agrega valor à análise tradicional, contribuindo com novos insights para a tomada de decisão estratégica da CEG e da CEG RIO. O estudo também trouxe contribuições aos referidos modelos de análise estratégica e à gestão de concessões de serviços públicos. / [en] A wide institutional and market reorganization derived from the privatizations of public services concessions in Brazil in economic sectors. It became evident an increasing need to establish business management actions in order to produce the expected performance from those concessions. Embbeded in uncertainties, regulated sectors like piped gas distribution have been underestimated by researchers in respect of strategic management issues. The present research focused, under integrative and relational perspectives, the effect of the environmental factors to the performance of CEG and CEG RIO - gas distribuiton companies in Rio de Janeiro State, privatized in july, 1997. According to Yin´s case study methodology, a triangulation of methods was adopted. Therefore, data was collected through documental/telematized investigation, survey of management perceptions using a mostrly structured questionnaire and complementary interviews. The interpretation and analysis of data were based on the appropriate theoretical reference aided by the generic integrative and the relational models from Macedo-Soares (2000 e 2002). The results highlighted a strategic fit by the companies, although environmental factors could be more strategically oriented. Despite the establishment of alliances not being a strategic practice, the relational perspective added value to the traditional perspective, contributing with new insights to the companies´ strategic decision making processes. The study also brought contributions to the mentioned strategy analysis models and to the management of public services concessions.