14 pp. / Originally published: 2007 / A primary expression of stocking levels on rangeland vegetation is utilization defined as the proportion or degree of current years forage production that is consumed or destroyed by animals (including insects). Utilization may refer either to a single plant species, a group of species, or the vegetation as a whole. Utilization is an important factor in influencing changes in the soil, water, animal, and vegetation resources. The impact of a specific intensity of use on a plant species is highly variable depending on past and present use, period of use, duration of use, inter-specific competition, weather, availability of soil moisture for regrowth, and how these factors interact. Utilization data can be used as a guideline for moving livestock within an allotment with due consideration to season, weather conditions and the availability of forage and water in pastures scheduled for use during the same grazing season. In combination with actual use and climatic data, utilization measurements on key areas and utilization pattern mapping are useful for estimating proper stocking levels under current management. Utilization studies are helpful in identifying key and problem areas, and in identifying range improvements needed to improve livestock distribution. Reviewed 10/2016. Originally published 5/2007.

Thesis is concerned by virtual worlds and possibilities of their utilization other than are their original purposes. The objectives of this paper are to confront virtual worlds with mass media and their utilization. The author wants to show that virtual worlds are in many aspects similar to mass media. The author also shows possible utilization of virtual worlds for commercial companies, non-profit organizations, research and individuals. Work shows possible options for usage of virtual worlds together with option to cooperate with providers of the virtual world. This cooperation may take two forms. Content alternation means that providers of the virtual world change items or places inside the virtual world into the form desired by client. Providers may even sell their data about events inside the virtual world, thus clients may obtain unique data about human behavior and reaction to e.g. propagation campaign. Confrontation of virtual worlds with the mass media and describing possible utilizations that come from this confrontation, make content of this paper is original.

Equacionar a problemática do aumento da geração de resíduos sólidos é tarefa complexa, que envolve entre outras, questões de ordem ambiental, de saúde pública e econômica. Quando se trata de disposição final de resíduos sólidos, o aterro sanitário é a única técnica utilizada ambientalmente correta, porém ainda são poucas as cidades que a emprega. Espera-se que nos próximos anos, aumente o número de municípios com aterro sanitário e deste modo, surge um outro problema de cunho ambiental, e em nível mais global, que se refere aos gases liberados pelos aterros sanitários, durante a decomposição anaeróbia da parte orgânica dos resíduos. Estão entre estes gases, o dióxido de carbono e o metano, que contribuem para o efeito estufa. Se por um lado o metano é prejudicial, quando se trata de efeito estufa, por outro lado, pode ser utilizado para fins energéticos como fonte de energia renovável e justamente substituindo os combustíveis fósseis, que representam a maior fonte dos chamados gases de efeito estufa. O presente trabalho, tem como objetivo inicial, levantar as alternativas para o uso de gases de aterro sanitário como fonte de energia, em um segundo momento do trabalho, relacionar as fases da digestão anaeróbia com a produção de metano, através da análise de amostras coletadas em diferentes pontos e profundidades do aterro do município de Piracicaba/SP. / Finding a solution to the problematic of increasing of solid waste is a complex task, which compromises several questions, of order environmental, public health and economic. Referring to the final disposal of solid waste, the landfill is the only right environmenty way use it. Some years from now, is expected a municipality number increasing with landfill and like that, there will be another environmental problem, and more world wide, because the release gases by landfills, during the anaerobic digestion there are. Among these gases carbon dioxide and methane, that contribute to the greenhouse effect. The methane is prejudicial, but on the other hand, it can be used to energetic purpose as renovable energy source in order to substitute fossil fuel. Those are the largest source of greenhouse gas. The goal of this research is to realize a bibliographical study about projects in using landfill gas as energy. Another purpose of it, is to relate the fases of the biodegradability with methane production, using as case study the landfill Pau Queimado (burned wood), located in Piracicaba/SP. According to the result of this research look forward to contributing with dates that can help to evaluate the use of methane as renovable energy source, and as a consequence, reducing the greenhouse effect.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-02T13:54:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Oberdan Everton Zerbinatti-Dissertacao.pdf: 1435178 bytes, checksum: 8b4c978e8193371e9d98209fed1e759a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-03 / Plant biomass is all material resulting from photosynthesis, whether or not processed by living beings, features disadvantages as for its irregular shape, low density and high humidity. As a solution to such problem a process consisting of biomass energy densification in a high calorific power solid fuel called referred to as "briquetting" is proposed. In this context coffee, which is one of Brazil's largest commodities and produces biomass in different amounts depending on cultural practices such as pruning, including what we refer to as Zero Harvest System of crop conduction in which such system is based on two types of pruning, one of which consisting of coffee crop collar done at a height ranging from 1.5 to 1.8 meters and primary branch skeletons on the four sides of the plants set 20 cm from the trunk. The main feature of the skeleton is the possibility of its renewing itself as well as increasing the number of productive branches per plant, thus increasing the next harvest. This present work aimed to investigate the feasibility of briquette production. Different percentages of crop residues obtained from Zero Harvest such as branches, leaves and straw were used. All the fresh material was grinded to 5-10mm particles and laid to natural under-shade drying in sheds until they reached 12% moisture content. From their undergoing the briquetting process near natural-wood calorific value briquettes which can even replace wood as fuel were obtained. / A biomassa vegetal é todo o material advindo de fotossíntese, processado ou não por seres vivos, detém desvantagens no que concerne a sua forma irregular, baixa densidade e alta umidade. Para solucionar esta questão propõe-se o processo de briquetagem que consiste na densificação energética da biomassa em um combustível sólido de alto poder calorífico denominado briquete. Neste contexto, a cafeicultura que é uma das maiores commodities brasileira e produzem biomassa em quantidades diferentes dependendo dos tratos culturais como tipos de podas incluindo o que chamamos de Sistema Safra Zero de condução da lavoura, onde este sistema se baseia em dois tipos de podas, ou seja, é feito o decote do cafeeiro a uma altura variando de 1,50 a 1,80 metros e o esqueletamento dos ramos plagiotrópicos nos quatro lados da planta a uma distância de 20 cm do tronco. A principal característica do esqueletamento é a possibilidade de renovar e aumentar o número de ramos produtivos por planta, potencializando a safra posterior. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo investigar a viabilidade de produção de briquetes onde foram utilizadas diferentes porcentagens de restos culturais obtidos no sistema safra zero como, galhos, folhas e palha, todo o material fresco colhido foi moído deixando partículas variando entre 5 a 10 mm, posteriormente colocado para secagem natural à sombra em galpões até que atingiram o teor de umidade 12%. Sendo passado pelo processo de briquetagem obtiveram-se briquetes de poder calorífico próximo ao da lenha natural. Podendo substituir a madeira como combustível.

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Packaging plays a crucial role in logistics as it has a significant effect on the efficiency of transportation. The shape and dimensions of packaging material has considerable impact on transport performance, whereas an optimal packaging system for products enables for improved utilization of the total volume on a load carrier. As a result of improved freight performance, transportation costs can be reduced. Improved vehicle utilization for shipments also has a positive impact on environmental aspects, as increased vehicle fill rate can lead to less required transports which ultimately lowers the overall carbon emissions caused by transports. Therefore, an optimization of the packaging model can lead to substantial benefits, both economically and environmentally. The purpose of this study was to create a cost estimation model for the company Machine Corporation that would illustrate what effects a new packaging strategy would have on transportation costs, fill rate and environmental aspects. To achieve this purpose, relevant data have been collected from the company together with suitable metrics found in the literature. The collected data was thereafter used to create a cost estimation model that served as a tool to determine the total costs and the potential savings. The outcome results of the model showed that Machine Corp. would have made a yearly saving of 2 341 353 SEK. The implementation of a new packaging strategy was estimated to increase the volume-based fill rate for truck loads by approximately 54% which enabled for a reduction of transportation costs by 32%. Furthermore, the results showed a positive impact on environmental aspects as the total amount of road freight shipments needed per year was estimated to reduce by 32% as well and the total tonnes-km per year would decrease by 31%.

Background: The underutilization of formal, facility-based maternal care is a major contributor to the high maternal mortality rates among women living in rural Africa. Increasing the use of formal maternal care requires exploration of important maternal health issues affecting community members and comprehension of how they perceive the use of formal and traditional maternal care. This thesis aimed to identify the key factors, challenges, and needs of rural populations for the uptake of formal maternal care. Paper 1 explored rural women's preferred choices for sources of maternal care as well as the factors that contribute to their preferences in Africa. Paper 2 explored elders' perceptions about reasons for the underutilization of maternal healthcare and maternal death, as well as potential solutions to improve formal care use in rural Nigeria. Methods: 1) In paper 1, a systematic search on Ovid Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and Global Health identified 40 qualitative studies that elicited women's preferences for maternal care in rural Africa. Reviewers collated the findings and reported on patterns identified across findings using the narrative synthesis method. 2) Data were collected through 9 community conversations with 158 elders in 9 rural Nigerian communities. The data were analyzed inductively through thematic analysis. Results: 1) A variety of preferences for formal, traditional and both formal and traditional maternal care during antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum periods were identified. The majority of the studies reported preferences for formal antenatal care or a combination of traditional and formal antenatal care. During intrapartum, rural women held a wide range of preferences, including facility-based births, traditional births in a domestic setting, as well as a combination of formal and traditional care depending on the onset of complications. The majority of the studies reported preferences for traditional postnatal care involving traditional attendants, self-care, and cultural rituals that fend off witchcraft. The factors that contributed to these preferences were related to the perceived need of formal or traditional maternal care, accessibility to formal or traditional care, and cultural and religious norms, beliefs and obligations. 2) The perceived reasons for the underuse of formal maternal care included poor qualities of care, physical and financial inaccessibility of facility-based services, and lack of knowledge and awareness. Reasons for women's maternal deaths included malaria and blood displacement, facility-based service deficiencies, uptake of traditional maternal care, and poor community awareness and negligence. Increased access to high-quality care, health promotion and education, community support and supernatural assistance were the proffered solutions. Conclusions: The major areas that need improvement across rural Africa include human and material resources availability, technical and interpersonal quality of care in health facilities, physical accessibility, financial accessibility, sociocultural accessibility, cultural and religious sensitivity, and community knowledge and awareness. Generally, the findings reflect the need for multifaceted interventions that engage target populations and consider local contexts, realities, and related needs in order to develop locally acceptable interventions. Such interventions will increase the likelihood of effective and long-lasting positive changes in healthcare utilization and maternal mortality.

Previous studies suggest that Medicaid-enrolled children have difficulties accessing dental care, which can lead to untreated dental disease, poor oral health, and compromised overall health status. While Medicaid-enrolled children with a chronic condition (CC) encounter additional barriers to dental care, most relevant studies on dental utilization fail to adopt risk adjustment methods. As such, the impact of CC status and CC severity on access to dental care for Medicaid-enrolled children is poorly understood. The main objectives of this dissertation were to: 1) compare dental utilization for Medicaid-enrolled children with and without a CC; 2) assess the relationship between CC severity and dental utilization; and 3) identify the other factors associated with dental utilization. The 3M Clinical Risk Grouping (CRG) Methods were applied to enrollee-level data from the Iowa Medicaid Program (2003-2008) to identify children with and without a CC and to classify children with a CC into a CC severity level. Three outcome measures were developed: 1) access to an annual dental visit; 2) use of dental services under general anesthesia (GA); and 3) time to the first dental visit after initial enrollment into the Medicaid program. We used multiple variable logistic regression models and survival analytic techniques to test our study hypotheses. Compared to Medicaid-enrolled children without a CC, those with a CC were more likely to have had an annual dental visit and earlier first dental visits. Having a CC was an important determinant of dental utilization under GA for older but not for younger Medicaid-enrolled children. In terms of CC severity, Medicaid-enrolled children with more severe CCs were less likely to have had an annual dental visit and more likely to have utilized dental services under GA. CC severity was not associated with the rate at which the first dental visit took place. Not residing in a dental Health Professional Shortage Area, previous use of dental care, and previous utilization of primary medical care were all positively associated with dental utilization. Identifying and understanding the determinants of access to dental care is an important first step in developing clinical interventions and policies aimed at improving access to dental care for all Medicaid-enrolled children. Future work should focus on identifying the socio-behavioral determinants of as well as the clinical outcomes associated with access to dental services for vulnerable children.

Even though the oral health of Americans has improved greatly in the last 50 years, some specific groups of the population have been left behind. Latinos, children and adults, bear a disproportionate burden of oral diseases. Latino children, the fastest growing minority group of children in the US, are affected disproportionately by oral diseases like dental caries compared to other groups. Understanding the difficulties and barriers that these children have to utilize dental care will help us in the future to develop effective programs to reduce health disparities in this segment of the population. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that determine dental services access and utilization by children in the state of Iowa. Emphasis will be given to differences in utilization of dental services among different racial/ethnic groups. Additionally, the study will describe and compare difficulties in utilization of care among Latino children whose parents answered the survey in English (LE) and those who answered it in Spanish (LS). In order to address these objectives existing data from the Iowa Child and Family Household Health Survey 2005 (HHS) were analyzed. The dependent variable for the study was utilization of dental services. This outcome variable was dichotomized as whether or not the child had a dental visit in the last year. Characteristics of study subjects were first analyzed through descriptive statistics. Bivariate analyses were conducted to assess associations between the dependent variable and independent variables. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with utilization of dental services in Iowa's children, and for each different racial and ethnic group. Seven factors were related to the time of the last dental visit for Iowa children: Having a regular source of dental care, dental insurance status, having a dental need in the past 12 months, brushing habits, the age of the children, and family income. The same seven factors were correlated to having a dental visit for white children. For African-American children, having a regular source of dental care, dental insurance status, and having a dental need in the last 12 months were the factors that were found associated to the time of the last dental check-up. For the Latino Spanish children, having a regular source of dental care and the age of the children were factors associated to dental utilization. Finally, for the Latino English children, the only factor associated with having a dental visit was having a regular source of dental care. Information from this research gives policy makers, public health workers, and clinicians an overview of oral health disparities affecting children in the state. For those agencies in Iowa interested in the improvement of access and utilization of dental services for minority children, this project gives important inside about the factors related to the use of services for different racial/ethnic groups in the state.

Over six million insured children belong to families where the parents in their household lack health insurance. Studies have indicated insured low-income children with uninsured parents are less likely to have physician visits and well-child visits than their counterparts with insured parents. However, self-selection may be responsible for the relationship found between parental insurance and well-child visits. No studies have been undertaken to examine the impact of parental insurance on the utilization of children with chronic conditions. Social Cognitive Theory was used to model children's health care utilization and explain the relationship between parental insurance and that utilization. The objectives of the study are to estimate the effect of health insurance for the primary parent on (1) insured children's well-child visits and (2) physician visits for asthma in insured children. This study used a cross-sectional design. The data source was the 2007 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Household Component. The sample consisted of children 17 years or less who were insured through the same source(s) for the entire year and had a primary parent who was either insured or uninsured the entire year. The dependent variable for the entire sample was whether or not the child had at least one well-child visit during the year. The dependent variables for the subsample of children with asthma were (1) whether or not the child had at least one asthma-related physician visit and (2) whether or not the child had at least two asthma-related physician visits. The independent variables were the same for the three analyses and were selected to represent the Social Cognitive Theory determinants. These included parent (insurance, sex, worry, education, language, employment, health use, health, risk aversion, and self care expectation), child (source of coverage, age, health, race, and oldest child), and household (Metropolitan Statistical Area, region, number of children, number of parents, and income) variables. Probit and bivariate probit models were estimated for each dependent variable. The percentage of children with insured parents that had a well-child visit during the year was significantly higher than the percentage of children with uninsured parents that had a well-child visit (50.6% vs. 42.8%, respectively). However, multivariate analyses revealed no significant relationship between parental insurance and well-child visits. The percentages of children with insured and uninsured parents that had an asthma-related physician visit were 29.6% and 32.6%, respectively. The percentages that had at least two asthma-related visits were 14.9% and 14.6%, respectively. No significant relationship was found between parental insurance and asthma-related physician visits. The region of the United States where the child lived and whether the child's parent was employed were associated with each type of utilization. Other determinants were also associated with children's utilization, but these varied with the type of utilization. In conclusion, insured children with insured parents are no more likely to have a well-child or asthma-related physician visit during the year than insured children with uninsured parents.