Nas últimas décadas, a ocorrência de atividade estrogênica e interferentes endócrinos (IEs) no ambiente aquático têm se tornado uma crescente preocupação. Dentre as diversas substâncias classificadas como IEs, destacam-se os fármacos, produtos de higiene e cuidados pessoais, hormônios naturais e sintéticos, produtos químicos industriais, praguicidas e muitos outros compostos que atingem o ambiente aquático por meio de descargas de esgoto doméstico, industrial ou de escoamento agrícola. Os objetivos deste estudo foram determinar a atividade estrogênica em amostras de águas superficiais, e avaliar seus efeitos biológicos no desenvolvimento de embriões de Danio rerio, a fim de propor faixas baseadas em valores de desencadeamento de efeitos para categorizar a atividade estrogênica. As amostras ambientais também foram analisadas por cromatografia líquida acoplada com a espectrometria de massas para identificar as substâncias que são suspeitas de causar alteração endócrina. Os compostos analisados foram: praguicidas, hormônios, triclosan, bisfenol A, octilfenol, nonilfenol, e a cafeína como indicador de atividade antrópica. A atividade estrogênica foi medida pelo ensaio Bioluminescent Yeast Estrogen (BLYES), que fornece os resultados em equivalente de 17β-estradiol (EEQ). No entanto, este ensaio não é capaz de prover informações sobre os efeitos adversos em organismos aquáticos. Para observação de possíveis efeitos na biota, os embriões foram expostos a amostras de águas superficiais com resultados acima de 0,1 EEQ no BLYES. Os ensaios foram realizados de acordo com a OECD No. 236 (2013), verificando efeitos agudos como: ausência de batimento cardíaco, não formação de somitos, não desprendimento da cauda, e embrião coagulado. Malformações embrionárias tais como: redução do tamanho do organismo, edema cardíaco e vitelínico, curvatura da coluna vertebral, também foram avaliadas. As informações obtidas pelo ensaio com embriões de Danio rerio foram adequadas para mostrar os efeitos da mistura de contaminantes em organismos não-alvo. A atividade estrogênica medida pelo BLYES ficou abaixo do limite de quantificação (0,1 EEQ) em 44,8% do total de 116 amostras analisadas, e a faixa de atividade estrogênica variou de 0,11 a 14,6 EEQ. Além disso, a presença de contaminantes mesmo que em concentrações baixas ressalta a necessidade de mais estudos para entender os efeitos dessas substâncias nos organismos aquáticos. / Over the last few decades, the occurrence of estrogenic activity and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in aquatic environment has become a worldwide issue of increasing environmental concern. The EDCs have the ability to alter the endocrine system of organisms, and includes pharmaceuticals, personal care products, steroid hormones, industrial chemicals, pesticides and many other compounds. Such compounds are present in several industrial and domestic activities and reach the aquatic environment via wastewater discharges or agricultural runoff. The aim of this study was to determine the overall estrogenic activity of surface water, evaluate biological effects on fish embryos development, in order to propose concentrations range based on trigger value to categorize estrogenic activity. Environmental samples were also analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to identify substances that are suspected to be an endocrine disruptor. The analyzed compounds were: pesticides, hormones, triclosan, bisphenol A, octylphenol, nonylphenol, and caffeine as an indicative of anthropic activity. The estrogenic activity was measured by Bioluminescent Yeast Estrogen assay (BLYES), with the results expressed in 17β-estradiol equivalent quotient (EEQ). However, this assay is not able to provide information about adverse effects to aquatic organisms. In order to observe effects on aquatic organisms, organic extracts of surface water with results ≥ 0.1 EEQ in BLYES were tested in a bioassay using Danio rerio embryos. The methodology was conducted according OECD No. 236 and verified effects such as: lack of heart beat, lack of somites formation, non-detachment tail and coagulated embryo. Embryonic malformations were also evaluated, such as: reduction of organism size, edema and spine curvature, which are chronic effects. These effects probably are associated with contaminants mixtures. The obtained information by embryonic assay with Danio rerio was suitable to show the effects of contaminants mixture and was used to a categorization proposal of estrogenic activity. Estrogenic activity was below the limit of quantification (0.1 EEQ) in 44.8% of 116 analyzed samples, and range of estrogenic activity was from 0.11 to 14.6 EEQ. The tested samples in FET test were analyzed for acute or chronic toxicity in Danio rerio embryos. Based on the obtained results, even when estrogenic activity is present in surface water, the contaminants mixture can cause toxic effects in non-target organisms. Besides this, the widespread presence of these chemicals highlight the need for further studies in order to understand the harmfulness of these contaminants to aquatic organisms.

Independente do aquecimento da economia Brasileira dos últimos anos, a década passada foi marcada por um crescente número de produtos de consumo de massa lançados no mercado, a grande maioria não tendo sobrevivido a um ano de existência. Concomitantemente o consumidor brasileiro apresenta-se com maior poder aquisitivo, expectativa de consumo ampliada por novos direcionadores de consumo e maior acesso à informação de toda natureza. Num ambiente cada vez mais competitivo, com mais lojas, tipos e formatos no varejo, mais concentração de vendas e mais difusão entre as fronteiras de canais de distribuição, o processo de definição do sortimento é considerado crítico e uma importante decisão estratégica das empresas. Esta dissertação buscou avaliar a influência e a relação entre o sortimento e as vendas ao consumidor de bens não duráveis de massa, bem como quais são os critérios considerados mais importantes e mais frequentemente utilizados pelas redes de supermercados na definição desse sortimento. Os critérios escolhidos foram obtidos a partir da literatura sobre o tema sortimento presente na revisão bibliográfica e da prática no mundo dos negócios, referendada pela fase de pré-teste do questionário aplicado. Neste trabalho inicialmente foram utilizados dados do painel de lojas Scantrack da Nielsen, referentes a 116 semanas coletadas na região da Grande São Paulo, para análise da correlação entre vendas e sortimento de um grupo de vinte e sete categorias de produtos muito relevantes no consumo. Essas categorias pesam mais de cinquenta e cinco por cento do total de consumo estudado pela Nielsen. Posteriormente foi realizada uma pesquisa quantitativa com base em um questionário eletrônico estruturado, junto a responsáveis pela definição de sortimento, em empresas supermercadistas que representam mais de dois-terços do setor no Brasil. Foi possível determinar que em um conjunto significativo de categorias de produtos estudadas regularmente por Nielsen, a variável média do número de itens, assumida como proxy de sortimento-profundidade, apresentou alta correlação com a variável dependente vendas em volume e relevantes coeficientes de determinação . Tal evento ocorre em diferentes tipos/formatos de supermercados, demonstrando assim, a grande influência do sortimento nos níveis de vendas de produtos de largo consumo independentemente do tamanho e do formato de loja. Complementarmente, na avaliação de um processo formal de definição do sortimento por parte dos executivos, bem como da importância e frequência dos critérios utilizados no mesmo, ficou evidenciado que o tamanho da empresa (grande versus médio-pequena) tem impacto significativo tanto na estruturação do processo quanto no ranking de importância e frequência dos critérios utilizados, sendo que de modo geral, existem critérios que são mais frequentemente usados do que a importância que lhe são atribuídas. As conclusões deste trabalho oferecem oportunidade para novas aberturas e ampliação do escopo em análises futuras. / Even before the heating of the Brazilian economy in recent years, the past decade was marked by a growing number of products launched in the mass consumer market, the vast majority not having survived a year of existence. At the same time the Brazilian consumers are presented with greater purchasing power, increased consumer expectations and increased access to different sources of information. Within a fierce competitive environment, with more shops and different retail formats, more concentration of sales in top retailers and increasing of channel blurring, the process of defining the assortment is considered critical and an important strategic decision. In essence, the assortment is a critical success factor, which summarizes the strategic value proposition of the store / chain to the consumer target. The present dissertation aimed to evaluate the influence and the relationship between assortment and consumer sales of fast moving consumer goods , and what are the criteria considered most important and most frequently used by supermarket chains in the definition of that assortment. The criteria were obtained from the literature on the subject of this assortment in the literature review and practice in business, approved by the pre-test questionnaire. In this study we initially used Scantrack Nielsen data for the region of Greater Sao Paulo, to analyze the correlation between sales price and assortment of a group of twenty-seven categories of products very relevant for consumption. These categories weigh more than fifty-five percent of total consumption studied by Nielsen. Subsequently, was performed a quantitative study using a structured electronic questionnaire, addressed to executives responsible for defining the assortment in supermarkets, from companies representing more than two-thirds of the sector in Brazil. It was found out that for a significant number of product categories studied regularly by Nielsen, the average number of items, taken as a proxy for assortment-depth, showed the highest correlation with the dependent variable showed sales volume. This event occurs in different types / format supermarkets, thus demonstrating the great influence of the assortment in the fast moving consumer goods sales\' level. In addition, the evaluation of a formal process of definition of the assortment by executives as well as the importance and frequency of the criteria used, it was concluded that company size (large versus small-medium) has significant impact on the structuring of the process itself, as well as the ranking of importance and frequency of the criteria used, and generally, there are criteria that are more frequently used than the importance assigned to it. The findings of this study offer an opportunity for new openings and expansion of scope in future analysis.

Nas últimas décadas, a ocorrência de atividade estrogênica e interferentes endócrinos (IEs) no ambiente aquático têm se tornado uma crescente preocupação. Dentre as diversas substâncias classificadas como IEs, destacam-se os fármacos, produtos de higiene e cuidados pessoais, hormônios naturais e sintéticos, produtos químicos industriais, praguicidas e muitos outros compostos que atingem o ambiente aquático por meio de descargas de esgoto doméstico, industrial ou de escoamento agrícola. Os objetivos deste estudo foram determinar a atividade estrogênica em amostras de águas superficiais, e avaliar seus efeitos biológicos no desenvolvimento de embriões de Danio rerio, a fim de propor faixas baseadas em valores de desencadeamento de efeitos para categorizar a atividade estrogênica. As amostras ambientais também foram analisadas por cromatografia líquida acoplada com a espectrometria de massas para identificar as substâncias que são suspeitas de causar alteração endócrina. Os compostos analisados foram: praguicidas, hormônios, triclosan, bisfenol A, octilfenol, nonilfenol, e a cafeína como indicador de atividade antrópica. A atividade estrogênica foi medida pelo ensaio Bioluminescent Yeast Estrogen (BLYES), que fornece os resultados em equivalente de 17β-estradiol (EEQ). No entanto, este ensaio não é capaz de prover informações sobre os efeitos adversos em organismos aquáticos. Para observação de possíveis efeitos na biota, os embriões foram expostos a amostras de águas superficiais com resultados acima de 0,1 EEQ no BLYES. Os ensaios foram realizados de acordo com a OECD No. 236 (2013), verificando efeitos agudos como: ausência de batimento cardíaco, não formação de somitos, não desprendimento da cauda, e embrião coagulado. Malformações embrionárias tais como: redução do tamanho do organismo, edema cardíaco e vitelínico, curvatura da coluna vertebral, também foram avaliadas. As informações obtidas pelo ensaio com embriões de Danio rerio foram adequadas para mostrar os efeitos da mistura de contaminantes em organismos não-alvo. A atividade estrogênica medida pelo BLYES ficou abaixo do limite de quantificação (0,1 EEQ) em 44,8% do total de 116 amostras analisadas, e a faixa de atividade estrogênica variou de 0,11 a 14,6 EEQ. Além disso, a presença de contaminantes mesmo que em concentrações baixas ressalta a necessidade de mais estudos para entender os efeitos dessas substâncias nos organismos aquáticos. / Over the last few decades, the occurrence of estrogenic activity and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in aquatic environment has become a worldwide issue of increasing environmental concern. The EDCs have the ability to alter the endocrine system of organisms, and includes pharmaceuticals, personal care products, steroid hormones, industrial chemicals, pesticides and many other compounds. Such compounds are present in several industrial and domestic activities and reach the aquatic environment via wastewater discharges or agricultural runoff. The aim of this study was to determine the overall estrogenic activity of surface water, evaluate biological effects on fish embryos development, in order to propose concentrations range based on trigger value to categorize estrogenic activity. Environmental samples were also analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to identify substances that are suspected to be an endocrine disruptor. The analyzed compounds were: pesticides, hormones, triclosan, bisphenol A, octylphenol, nonylphenol, and caffeine as an indicative of anthropic activity. The estrogenic activity was measured by Bioluminescent Yeast Estrogen assay (BLYES), with the results expressed in 17β-estradiol equivalent quotient (EEQ). However, this assay is not able to provide information about adverse effects to aquatic organisms. In order to observe effects on aquatic organisms, organic extracts of surface water with results ≥ 0.1 EEQ in BLYES were tested in a bioassay using Danio rerio embryos. The methodology was conducted according OECD No. 236 and verified effects such as: lack of heart beat, lack of somites formation, non-detachment tail and coagulated embryo. Embryonic malformations were also evaluated, such as: reduction of organism size, edema and spine curvature, which are chronic effects. These effects probably are associated with contaminants mixtures. The obtained information by embryonic assay with Danio rerio was suitable to show the effects of contaminants mixture and was used to a categorization proposal of estrogenic activity. Estrogenic activity was below the limit of quantification (0.1 EEQ) in 44.8% of 116 analyzed samples, and range of estrogenic activity was from 0.11 to 14.6 EEQ. The tested samples in FET test were analyzed for acute or chronic toxicity in Danio rerio embryos. Based on the obtained results, even when estrogenic activity is present in surface water, the contaminants mixture can cause toxic effects in non-target organisms. Besides this, the widespread presence of these chemicals highlight the need for further studies in order to understand the harmfulness of these contaminants to aquatic organisms.

Problembakgrund: Marknaden för profilkläder består idag av många aktörer, företag medfokus på enbart profilkläder och företag som huvudsakligen fokuserar på yrkeskläder. Detskapas en viss problematik inom profilbranschen som ligger i hur företag väljer att profilerasitt företag. Kläder som skulle kunna fungera som profilplagg finns tillgängligt i helakonfektionsbranschen och detta leder till en stor och splittrad profilklädesmarknad. Dåaktörerna är många och därmed också företagens val av profilering blir det alltmer viktigt förföretag att hitta nya idéer och lösningar för att följa med i konkurrensen. Uppdraget ochutgångspunkten i studien har varit att redogöra hur en framtida utveckling avkonfektionsföretaget Blåkläders profilsortiment skulle kunna se ut.Syfte: Vårt övergripande syfte med studien är att undersöka och kartlägga Blåklädersprofilsortiment. Syftet med uppsatsen är även att undersöka hur man kan användadifferentiering som ett verktyg vid sortimentsutveckling samt att ge förslag till hur Blåklädersprofilsortiment kan utvecklas.Metod: Studien har utförts genom en kvalitativ undersökning. Vårt empiriska material bestårav intervjuer med konkurrenter för att granska hur företaget Blåkläder står sig gentemot dessa.Vidare har vi gjort en undersökning med slutkunder där slumpvis utvalda företag tillfrågats.Teoretisk referensram: Vi har valt att använda oss av olika modeller och teorier för attkunna uppnå studiens syfte; Porters femkraftsmodell, konkurrentanalys,produktkonceptmodellen samt Swot-analys.Analys och slutsats: Studiens slutsatser visar att de belysta företagens profilsortimentinnehåller liknande produkter, men skiljer sig åt vad det gäller design, bredd och paketering avsortimentet. Företaget Fristads har valt att benämna sortimentet med ett eget varumärkesnamnoch skapat en tydlig differentiering på marknaden. Björnkläder har också valt att namnge delarav sortimentet, men de har inte gjort en tydlig paketering av sortimentet. Utifrån studiensresultat presenterades möjligheter för Blåkläder att utveckla sitt profilsortiment. Möjlighetersåsom att göra en tydligare produktdifferentiering, att skapa ett unikt koncept som skiljer sigfrån konkurrenter, hitta kärnan och en röd tråd i sortimentet, och skapa plagg med bättrepassform då detta efterfrågas av slutkunderna. Företag kan, oavsett i vilken bransch manverkar, tillämpa differentiering som ett verktyg vid sortimentsutveckling.Sammanfattning på engelska: Background and problem discussion: The market of profile clothing consists of differentactors; companies that only produce profile clothing and companies that produce bothprofile clothing and work wear. A common issue in the profile market is how companieschoose to profile their company. There are many products in the clothing industry that couldact as profile clothes. That is why the market for profile clothing today is fragmented.Because of the large amount of actors it is important to find new ideas and solutions forcompanies to develop their assortment of profile clothing. The starting point of this paperwas to give suggestions and describe how a future range of products for Blåkläder wouldlook like.Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to study and analyze the profile assortment ofBlåkläder. Moreover the purpose was also to analyze how to use product differentiation todevelop the assortment. We also wanted to give Blåkläder suggestions regarding how todevelop their profile assortment.Method: This paper has been based on a qualitative research. The empirical researchconsists of interviews with competitors of Blåkläder. The paper also includes a researchwith final costumers.Theoretical frame of reference: To achieve the purpose of this paper we have usedseveral models and theories; the five forces (Porter), competitor analysis, product conceptmodel and a swot-analysis.Analysis and conclusions: The conclusion presents possibilities for Blåkläder regardinghow to develop their profile assortment. We believe that product differentiation is one ofthe most important steps in this process. It is critical for Blåkläder to find a unique conceptand to find a main thread through the assortment. The result from our survey shows thatthere is a demand for more fitted profile clothing. Furthermore, companies regardless ofwhat kind of industry they are in can apply differentiation in the work to develop anassortment. / Program: Textil produktutveckling med entreprenörs- och affärsinriktning

Some firms focus on few products with broad appeal, whereas others leverage variety as an important part of their offering. This study investigates the conditions under which each of these product line length strategies is optimal in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. It does so by focusing on the relationship between product line length strategy and firm top-line performance, in the light of a discrete framework derived from the strategic fit paradigm and the strategic triangle. Results show that customer factors (i.e., variety per household and value per purchase) and competitor factors (i.e., concentration and proliferation) drive the strategic fit of a firm's product line length strategy to the market in which it competes, so that firms deploying market-fitting strategies face higher odds of market share growth than firms deploying contrarian strategies. Firms with certain company factors (i.e., innovativeness and brand equity), however, face higher odds of market share growth by challenging the market fit and deploying contrarian strategies than by deploying market-fitting strategies. This study offers a stepping stone towards addressing product line length strategy as a discrete choice on product line positioning, an innovative approach with potential to generate concrete business impact.

My diploma thesis is dedicated to the analysis of the product assortment of the KEB-EGE ltd. company that concentrates on producing autodiagnostics and steel constructions. The theoretical part involves basic marketing terms and the practical part introduces the company itself, its customers, competition and suppliers, the analysis of the company macro environment and the analysis of the marketing mix as for its four tools, which is product, price, distribution and marketing communication.

Recently many academic researchers have become interested in the retailers as part of the distribution channel. Today retailers have grown so influential, that sometimes they take the functions of the wholesalers. The retailers constitute the road for manufacturers to the end market. Therefore, knowing retailers’ decision variables and assortment considerations is important for manufacturers when designing upon their marketing strategies. The study is conducted with focus on the Bulgarian office products retail industry. The purpose of the present research is to get a deeper understanding of retailers’ assortment criteria and analyze how the latter relates to market coverage strategy. Retailers’ assortment criteria concern decision variables such as profitability and sales, economic conditions, assortment considerations, consumer evaluation, marketing, supplier characteristics, competitive considerations, distributive factors, tactical considerations. The meaning underlying the assortment criteria is applied for arguing what market coverage strategy would best serve the Bulgarian retailers of office products. The research is performed employing qualitative method, in particular, in-depth semi- structured interviews providing the possibility for a broad discussion. The results of the study revealed some common patterns pertaining to four main inductive categories including product, brand positioning, promotion and distributor’s attributes. The patterns corresponding to the categories were further related to the market coverage strategy alternatives, namely, intensive, selective and exclusive coverage strategy. The results of the study showed that the nature of the product requires considerable effort from the distributors’ side to persuade the retailers to become customers who are aware of the products’ attributes. In other words, the nature of the office products calls for certain knowledge and skills that the retailers have to gain in order to be successful as traders to their own customers and that can be best achieved if selective coverage strategy is employed. Further, the results of the study reveal that manufacturers of office products that would like to position their brands on the high quality dimension should pursue highly selective distribution as this creates a superior product image. The results of the study also show that greater selectivity is suitable since it guarantees that the retailers’ requirements related to promotion are met. Last, the authors suggest that higher degrees of selectivity is the most appropriate way for a manufacturer to follow the performance of distributors and thus, to ensure that the desired by the retailers distributor’s attributes are present.

The study aims at investigating how revenue management techniques can be applied in industries which offer multiple products. Most of the companies nowadays trend to produce multiperoducts and they try to find the best method of selling. Therefore, revenue management can be considered as a new direction which should be developed for these firms. In this study, multi-product firms are mainly referred as firms offering a bundle of products or substitute products. In this regard, models and techniques applied in multiproduct firms are discussed and it is tried to provide basic models to better understand the problems, variables, customer choice models and constraints. The main methodology in this study is literature review. In order to carry out the research first revenue management applications and techniques are discussed to find a fit to this kind of industries. The main findings of this study are (1) identifying and analyzing the most important factors affecting decision making regarding managing of bundling and substitute products and ultimately total revenue of multiproduct firms. (2) Summarizing the results and knowledge obtained from various studies within fields of bundling and substitute products. (3) Discussing the possibility of applying different revenue management techniques to these fields. (4) Identifying potentials and new directions for future study with respect to both revenue management techniques and multiproduct firms.

<p>Recently many academic researchers have become interested in the retailers as part of the distribution channel. Today retailers have grown so influential, that sometimes they take the functions of the wholesalers. The retailers constitute the road for manufacturers to the end market. Therefore, knowing retailers’ decision variables and assortment considerations is important for manufacturers when designing upon their marketing strategies. The study is conducted with focus on the Bulgarian office products retail industry. The purpose of the present research is to get a deeper understanding of retailers’ assortment criteria and analyze how the latter relates to market coverage strategy. Retailers’ assortment criteria concern decision variables such as profitability and sales, economic conditions, assortment considerations, consumer evaluation, marketing, supplier characteristics, competitive considerations, distributive factors, tactical considerations. The meaning underlying the assortment criteria is applied for arguing what market coverage strategy would best serve the Bulgarian retailers of office products. The research is performed employing qualitative method, in particular, in-depth semi- structured interviews providing the possibility for a broad discussion.</p><p>The results of the study revealed some common patterns pertaining to four main inductive categories including product, brand positioning, promotion and distributor’s attributes. The patterns corresponding to the categories were further related to the market coverage strategy alternatives, namely, intensive, selective and exclusive coverage strategy. The results of the study showed that the nature of the product requires considerable effort from the distributors’ side to persuade the retailers to become customers who are aware of the products’ attributes. In other words, the nature of the office products calls for certain knowledge and skills that the retailers have to gain in order to be successful as traders to their own customers and that can be best achieved if selective coverage strategy is employed. Further, the results of the study reveal that manufacturers of office products that would like to position their brands on the high quality dimension should pursue highly selective distribution as this creates a superior product image. The results of the study also show that greater selectivity is suitable since it guarantees that the retailers’ requirements related to promotion are met. Last, the authors suggest that higher degrees of selectivity is the most appropriate way for a manufacturer to follow the performance of distributors and thus, to ensure that the desired by the retailers distributor’s attributes are present.</p>

Aim of the work – to analyze the regularities of quality rates variation and to make the evaluation models of birch assortment structure, concerted with Europe Union standard’s requirements. Object of the work – semi mature and mature birch forests. During research there were used measurement data of birch stems quality rates (diameter, bark thickness at full stem length) and round wood defects. Methodology of the research – there were measured pruned birch stems, filled in the model wood card, indicating the forest and the model wood characteristics. After this empirical database was structured and normatives were made, which allow to evaluate the volume of timbers of various diameter and high trees A, B, C and D quality classes, paper wood, firewood and waste wood. Results of the research – birch - grove felling sorting – grading structure prognosis method was prepared. Sorting – grading tables in MS “Excel” computer program make its essence.