Pets like dogs and cats have a considerable importance for humans and research demonstrate a variety of positive economic and social effects in society due to our pet companions. The presences of pets are increasing on a global scale with correlation to economic development in low- and middle income countries. For example dogs have doubled in India over a five year period. The feed industry for dogs and cats is also the fastest growing sector in the food industry and certain pets have a significant animal protein intake which, depending on the choice of resources may provide a high ecological footprint. Examples of environmental effects with distribution and manufacturing of pet food are increased greenhouse gas emissions, waste, use of water and energy. Pet food producers have an important role to play in terms of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development efforts, especially in their choice of sustainable protein resources as by-products from sustainable fisheries and livestock production. The purpose of this study was to investigate how pet food industry for dogs and cats generally working on sustainable development and CSR from primarily an ecological perspective in terms of ingredients, communication and production process. Ecological sustainability within pet food industry is more or less unexplored, and this study aims to create a broader understanding and interest for further studies in this field. This study was conducted using the multi method research including qualitative and quantitative methods on a global and national scale.   The result is not possible to generalize, but some conclusions can be drawn. In relation to resources, by-products from food industry are a commonly used pet food content. But several companies are also marketing pet food containing “real meat, fish, poultry” with no or less byproducts. This seems to be a consumer driven trend. Indications that resources in pet food partly competes with human food system, give further considerations how to feed a growing human and pet population within planetary boundaries. All national and multinational cooperation’s in this study work more or less with CSR and sustainability from an ecological perspective. Generally there is visibly a weak relationship between companies’ sustainability activities and animal protein which should be a prerequisite in a production that is largely made of this resource, in relation to acute environmental degradation like climate change and depletion of fish stocks. Another conclusion is that corporate communication of environmental CSR and sustainability efforts on different pet food brand websites are almost non-existent. Finally, working with this study gave rise to many further questions and study subjects in relation to ecological sustainability within Pet food industry, not at least it´s relation to food industry and how this may effect global human meat consumption. / Sällskapsdjur i form av hund och katt har stor betydelse för människan och forskning påvisar en mängd positiva ekonomiska och sociala effekter som dessa ger oss. Förekomsten av sällskapsdjur visar en tydlig korrelation med ekonomisk utveckling och hundägandet har exempelvis fördubblats i Indien under en femårs period. Foderindustrin för hund och katt är samtidigt den snabbast växande sektorn inom livsmedelsindustrin. Hund och katt har som regel ett högt intag av animaliskt protein vilket beroende på resursval kan ge ett påtagligt ekologiskt fotavtryck. Själva foderproduktionen samt transporter ger också upphov till miljöpåverkan i form av t.ex. ökade  utsläpp av växthusgaser,  ökad vatten- och energianvändning samt avfall.  Foderproducenterna har en viktig roll att fylla vad gäller sitt företagsansvar (CSR) samt arbete med hållbar utveckling ur ett ekologiskt perspektiv. Exempel på detta kan vara val av proteinresurser som biprodukter ifrån hållbart fiske och animalieproduktion. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur foderindustrin för hund och katt generellt arbetar med hållbar utveckling samt CSR ur framförallt ett ekologiskt perspektiv vad gäller produktionsförfarande, kommunikation samt om foderingredienser kompletterar eller konkurrerar med livsmedelsingredienser. Området är relativt outforskat och studien syftar till att skapa en bredare förståelse samt intresse för djupare studier inom området. Undersökningen har utförts med hjälp av flermetodsforskning i form av kvalitativ samt kvantitativ metod på global och nationell nivå.  Resultatet går inte att generalisera på foderindustrin globalt även om vissa slutsatser kan dras. I relation till resurser är förekomsten av biprodukter ifrån livsmedelsindustrin vanligt foderinnehåll men flera företag marknadsför också foder som innehåller ”riktigt kött, fisk, fågel” med frånvaro av eller lägre innehåll av biprodukter. Detta verkar vara en konsumentdriven trend. Både nationella samt multinationella företag i studien arbetar mer eller mindre med CSR och hållbarhet ur ett ekologiskt perspektiv. Generellt är det dock en svag koppling mellan miljöarbetet och animaliskt protein, vilket borde vara en förutsättning i en produktion som till stor del består av denna resurs i relation till akuta miljöproblem som klimatförändringen samt utfiskning. Ytterligare en slutsats är att företagens kommunikation av miljömässigt CSR- och hållbarhetsarbete på sina varumärkens hemsidor är närmast obefintlig. Slutligen väckte arbetetet med uppsatsen ett antal djupare frågeställningar samt ideér till fortsatta studier i relation till ekologisk hållbarhet inom foderindustrin. Inte minst avseende foderindustrins relation till livsmedelsindustrin och hur detta samband eventuellt kan påverka global köttkonsumtion. Foder för hund och katt konkurrerar dessutom till viss del med livsmedel vilket skapar utmaningen att föda både en ökande befolkning samt population av sällskapsdjur som skall livnära sig inom planetens gränser i framtiden.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-10-17Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:21:06Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 rodrigues_la_dr_arafcf.pdf: 878561 bytes, checksum: 1b0302d7b78c8400814eb99c68c33070 (MD5) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / O choque séptico, que é a maior causa de morte no Brasil e no Mundo, consequência de trauma infeccioso, a indução da óxido nítrico sintase (NOS) do endotélio vascular por produtos originados da parede de bactérias é considerado a causa, mas também parte da ativação de mecanismos de defesa do hospedeiro contra a infecção. Uma pronunciada hipotensão seguida de redução da reatividade vascular a mediadores vasoconstritores é determinada pela intensa liberação de mediadores relaxantes, como o próprio óxido nítrico (NO), que podem progredir para a morte do hospedeiro. Em ratos, este fenômeno é igualmente observado. O quadro de choque séptico ou Sepsis pode ser reproduzido pela injeção parenteral de endotoxina de várias bactérias Gram-negativas, como a endotoxina de E. coli (Etx), que produz intensa hipotensão aguda e prolongada, com pronunciada hiporreatividade a angiotensina II (AII)... / In septic schock that is major cause of death folowing in infeccious trauma, the induction of nitric oxide sinthase (NOS) of vascular endothelium by bacterial products is considered to be part of the defense mechanism of hosp against infection. But the hypotension and vascular hyporeactivity determinated by intense release of relaxing factors essentially from endothelial cells, in response to substances, released from walls bcteria which can progress to death of hosp. The hyporreactivity to angiotensin II (AII) is observed in Etx-induced hypotension. The current study show that the vasoconstriction response of AII in rats is reversed by an inhibitor of NOS (N NLA) in control rats, but in adrenalectomized rats these inhibitor did not reversed the hyporreactivity. The dexamethasone impaired the protective effect of N NLA against Etx-induced hyporreactivity . In adrenalectomized rats the N NLA not reverts vascular hyporreactivity to AII. The involvement of antiinflammatory nonsteroids drugs (diclofenac [Diclo] and nimesulide [Nime]) not was involved in reversion of vascular hyporreactivity to AII. Dextran injection, produced hypotension but not produced vascular hyporreactivity to AII. These mechanism is not clarified...(Complete abstract, access undermentioned eletronic address)

Resumo: O choque séptico, que é a maior causa de morte no Brasil e no Mundo, consequência de trauma infeccioso, a indução da óxido nítrico sintase (NOS) do endotélio vascular por produtos originados da parede de bactérias é considerado a causa, mas também parte da ativação de mecanismos de defesa do hospedeiro contra a infecção. Uma pronunciada hipotensão seguida de redução da reatividade vascular a mediadores vasoconstritores é determinada pela intensa liberação de mediadores relaxantes, como o próprio óxido nítrico (NO), que podem progredir para a morte do hospedeiro. Em ratos, este fenômeno é igualmente observado. O quadro de choque séptico ou Sepsis pode ser reproduzido pela injeção parenteral de endotoxina de várias bactérias Gram-negativas, como a endotoxina de E. coli (Etx), que produz intensa hipotensão aguda e prolongada, com pronunciada hiporreatividade a angiotensina II (AII)...(Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In septic schock that is major cause of death folowing in infeccious trauma, the induction of nitric oxide sinthase (NOS) of vascular endothelium by bacterial products is considered to be part of the defense mechanism of hosp against infection. But the hypotension and vascular hyporeactivity determinated by intense release of relaxing factors essentially from endothelial cells, in response to substances, released from walls bcteria which can progress to death of hosp. The hyporreactivity to angiotensin II (AII) is observed in Etx-induced hypotension. The current study show that the vasoconstriction response of AII in rats is reversed by an inhibitor of NOS (N NLA) in control rats, but in adrenalectomized rats these inhibitor did not reversed the hyporreactivity. The dexamethasone impaired the protective effect of N NLA against Etx-induced hyporreactivity . In adrenalectomized rats the N NLA not reverts vascular hyporreactivity to AII. The involvement of antiinflammatory nonsteroids drugs (diclofenac [Diclo] and nimesulide [Nime]) not was involved in reversion of vascular hyporreactivity to AII. Dextran injection, produced hypotension but not produced vascular hyporreactivity to AII. These mechanism is not clarified...(Complete abstract, access undermentioned eletronic address) / Orientador: Maria Teresa Pepato / Coorientador: José Francisco Fracasso / Banca: José Ranali / Banca: Neoclair Molina / Banca: Wilson Abrão Saad / Banca: Iguatemy Lourenço Brunetti / Doutor

Les marais de l'Ouest ont été gagnés sur les sédiments fluvio-marins par poldérisation débutée dès le moyen âge. Les aménagements hydrauliques avaient, initialement, des objectifs sanitaires et d'élevage. A partir des endiguements, ils ont divisé les territoires en marais mouillés et marais desséchés. Depuis les années 1970 le développement des cultures intensives de céréales a nécessité un rabaissement complémentaire de la nappe par drainage en partie pour augmenter la désalinisation de surface et limiter l’engorgement des sols. Néanmoins, ces territoires restent caractérisés par des nappes proches de la surface. En conséquence les profils hydriques vont être gouvernés par les conditions météorologiques y compris l'évapotranspiration, la pluviométrie, mais également par les remontées capillaires issues d'une nappe salée. D'autre par la nature argileuse des sols et ses propriétés de retrait conditionnent énormément le fonctionnement hydrodynamique et les évolutions de structure.La première partie du travail a été de suivre les évolutions des profils hydriques et de salinité en parcelles non drainées (prairies) et en parcelles drainées (Maïs, Blé, Tournesol). Ces suivis ont été complétés par les mesures des niveaux de nappes et par des mesures tensiométriques via des bougies poreuses implantées à différentes profondeurs. L'objectif final a été de calculer et modéliser les profils de réserve utile (RU) et de RU "résiduelle" utilisable par les plantes. Dans ces systèmes alimentés par les remontées capillaires, le réseau racinaire puise l'eau dans la zone non saturée de surface (vadose) puis dans la zone saturée sous-jacente. La teneur en eau caractéristique de l'interface zone non saturée - zone saturée a été déterminée par analogie entre les chemins d'état de la matrice argileuse le long de sa courbe de retrait et du sol le long de sa courbe de compaction. Les profils de RU résiduelle utilisable par les plantes ont été calculés à partir des profils de teneurs en eau puis comparés aux profils de RU obtenus via les données de station météorologique. Ces profils de RU résiduelle ont pu être écrits sous forme d'équation polynomiale du second degré puis modélisés. Dans cet environnement alimenté par les remontées capillaires, ces profils de RU résiduelles peuvent être modélisés à partir d'un paramètre facilement mesurable en surface qui prend en compte la structure du sol et les conditions météorologique : soit la teneur en eau à 10 cm de profondeur. Cette modélisation reste suffisamment réaliste pour être utilisée comme un outil prédictif face à la pédodiversité et/ou les rendements de culture.A ce travail s'ajoute deux études préliminaires : - les mesures des conductivités thermiques effectives de ces sols par la méthode du fil chaud et leurs modélisations dans les systèmes biphasés : eau - argile et air - argile, mais également pour les systèmes triphasés non saturés : eau - air - argile. Les perspectives sont la modélisation des transferts thermiques et hydriques dans le sol à partir de la surface, - et l'élaboration d'un protocole d'imprégnation-polymérisation des sols argileux humides par des résines de type HEMA. Cette imprégnation permet d'envisager la confection de lames minces dans le matériau argileux induré avec conservation de sa structure initiale humide. Les perspectives sont la pétrographie quantitative à l'interface racine - sol le long de profils verticaux dans les environnements argileux à degrés de saturation et structure évolutives. / The coastal marshlands are territories generally reclaimed on primary fluvio-marine sediments. They result from hydraulic managements and/or polderization which may date from the Middle Ages. Historically these hydraulic managements were built for goals of wholesomeness, breeding and farming. They isolate two territories: the dried marshes and the wet marshes. For the intensive cereal crops the slow drying caused by land reclamation was recently improved by the drainage, in part for increase the depth of desalinization and decrease waterlogging. Nevertheless, these territories remain characterized by shallow ground water of initial salt water. Consequently, the hydric profiles are governed by the meteoric conditions including the Evapotranspiration, the rainfall, but also the capillarity rises from the salt groundwater. Moreover, the clay dominated nature of the soils and their drastic shrinkage properties govern the hydrodynamic functioning and the soil structure behavior.The first part of the work was the monitoring of the water content and salinity profiles in drained cereal crops and in undrained grasslands. These measurements have been completed by the ground water level and tensiometric monitoring. The final goal was the calculation and modeling of the available water capacity (AWC) and plant available water (PAW) profiles. In these systems mainly supplied by the capillarity rises, the root network gets water in the subsurface vadose zone and then in the deeper saturated groundwater zone. The water content characteristic of the interface between the vadose and saturated zone was determined by comparison between the clay material state paths along its shrinkage curve and along its compaction curve. The PAW profiles were calculated from the water content profiles and then compared to the AWC profiles. The PAW profiles have been equated as polynomial second degree equations. In these shallow groundwater environments the PAW profiles have been modeled taking into account an easy measurable surface parameter which includes the soil structure behavior and the meteoric conditions: i.e. the water content measured at 10 cm depth. The PAW modelling remains sufficiently realistic to be used as a tool for farming management. Two preliminary studies were added to this work: - the measurement of effective thermal conductivity of the clayey soils by the transient hot wire method, and the modeling of the effective thermal conductivity of biphasic air-clay and water-clay media, but also triphasic unsaturated air-water-clay media. The prospect is the modeling of thermal and hydric transfer from the surface to the depth. - and the elaboration of a protocol of impregnation - hardening for wet clay dominated soils by HEMA resins. This impregnation allows the making of thin sections in these clay materials with conservation of their initial wet structures. The prospective is the quantitative petrography at the root - clay matrix interface along vertical profiles in clayey soils at different degrees of saturation and different structures.