O objetivo desta dissertação é avaliar o impacto de mudanças de rating soberano sobre a taxa de câmbio de países emergentes. Embora a literatura relacionada já tenha estudado o impacto de mudanças de rating soberano sobre ações, títulos e até fluxo de capital, nada foi feito sobre taxas de câmbio. Todavia, taxas de câmbio devem responder de maneira interessante a mudanças de rating, pois além de serem ativos financeiros, as moedas desempenham a função de intermediar o investimento estrangeiro nos demais ativos domésticos. Empregamos a metodologia de estudo de evento acrescentando a ela uma modificação que nos permite controlar a análise por efeitos agregados. Utilizando uma base de dados diária de taxas de câmbio de 23 países emergentes encontramos, grosso modo, evidências de que downgrades estão associados a depreciações da moeda doméstica, ao passo que, upgrades não provocam nenhuma reação significativa na taxa de câmbio. Este resultado vai ao encontro da literatura que estuda o impacto de mudanças de rating em ações, títulos e fluxo de capitais. Além disso, dentre ainda outros resultados, encontramos evidências de que o mercado antecipa o evento relevante e que não há efeitos defasados. / The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the impact of sovereign rating changes on the exchange rate of emerging markets. Although the related literature has studied the impact of sovereign rating changes on stocks, bonds and even capital flows, nothing has been done on exchange rates. However, exchange rates should respond in an interesting way to rating changes because the currency is a financial asset and has a role in intermediating foreign investment in other domestic assets. We employ the event study methodology by adding to it an amendment that allows us to control the analysis by aggregate effects. Using a database of daily exchange rates of 23 developing countries, we found evidence that downgrades are associated with depreciations of the domestic currency, whereas, upgrades do not cause any significant reaction in the exchange rate. This result is consistent with the literature that studies the impact of rating changes on stocks, bonds and capital flows. Moreover, even among other results, we find evidence that the market anticipates the relevant event and there is no lagged effects on the market.

Doenças infecciosas emergentes se caracterizam como enfermidades cujos patógenos evoluíram para uma nova cepa ou genótipo capaz de infectar tanto o mesmo hospedeiro quanto uma nova espécie. A ocorrência de doenças emergentes tem sido correlacionada à destruição de habitats e à perda de biodiversidade. As aves marinhas têm sido consideradas bons indicadores e sentinelas do ecossistema aquático, e uma ampla variedade de enfermidades virais têm sido investigadas e descritas em aves no mundo todo. A caracterização e o entendimento das enfermidades virais que acometem as aves marinhas que habitam a costa brasileira são de fundamental importância para a compreensão de possíveis surtos de mortalidade dentre outros fatores que interferem na conservação das aves em geral. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi investigar a ocorrência de herpesvírus, avipoxvírus e coronavírus nas espécies de aves marinhas que foram reabilitadas em três centros localizados ao longo da costa brasileira e nas colônias reprodutivas de Sula sp. e Phaeton sp. localizadas no arquipélago de Abrolhos, Bahia, Brasil, e em quatro colônias de Spheniscus magellanicus localizadas na Patagônia argentina. As análises virais foram realizadas pela técnica de PCR e RT-PCR e confirmadas pela reação de sequenciamento do amplicon identificado. Nos casos de óbito, as alterações histopatológicas foram identificadas por meio de análise microscópica. O estudo revelou a ocorrência dos três agentes virais identificados em centros de reabilitação no Brasil, além da ocorrência de herpesvírus nas populações de vida livre e ativas em seus sítios reprodutivos. Foram identificados quatro novos herpesvírus denominados: Magellanic penguin herpesvirus 1 (MagHV -1) causador de um surto de mortalidade associado a traqueíte necrótico-hemorrágica em pinguins de Magalhães em reabilitação; Magellanic penguin herpesvirus 2 (MagHV-2), identificado em pinguins de Magalhães aparentemente saudáveis nas colônias reprodutivas da Patagônia argentina; Sulid herpesvirus 1 (SuHV -1), identificado em atobás (Sula sp.) e grazinas (Phaeton sp.) nas colônias reprodutivas de Abrolhos e Thalassarchid herpesvirus 1 (ThHV -1), identificados em um albatroz de nariz amarelo (Thalassarche chlororhynchos) nas praias de Rio Grande, RS, Brasil. Também foram identificados: um novo avipox, denominado Brazilian penguinpox, causador de lesões cutâneas, esofágicas e respiratórias nos pinguins de Magalhães cutâneas, esofágicas e respiratórias nos pinguins de Magalhães em reabilitação em Santa Catarina e a identificação de dois Gammacoronavirus em três diferentes espécies assintomáticas que estavam em reabilitação em Santa Catarina e no Rio Grande do Sul. Os dados obtidos constituem uma base de informação útil para estudos futuros no campo da patologia, virologia, epidemiologia e dos impactos antrópicos na saúde das aves marinhas do cone sul. / Emerging infectious diseases are characterized as disease whose pathogens progressed to a new strain ar genotype capable of infecting the same host or a new species. The occurrence of emerging diseases has been correlated to the destruction of habitats and loss of biodiversity. Seabirds have been considered as good indicators and sentinels of aquatic ecosystem, and a wide variety of viral diseases have been investigated and described in birds worldwide. The characterization and understanding of viral diseases that affect seabirds that inhabit the Brazilian coast are of fundamental importance for the understanding of possible mortality outbreaks among other factors that influence the conservation of birds in general. The objective of this research was to investigate the occurrence of herpesvirus, coronavirus and avipoxvirus in seabird species that were rehabilitated in three centres located along the Brazilian coast and in breeding colonies of Sula sp. and Phaeton sp. located at the Abrolhos’s archipelago, Bahia, Brazil and four Spheniscus magellanicus's colonies located at Argentina's Patagonia. Viral analyzes were performed by PCR and RT-PCR and confirmed by sequencing the identified amplicon. In cases of death, the histopathological alterations were identified through optical microscopic analysis. The study revealed the occurrence of the three investigated viral agents in the Brazilian rehabilitation centres, besides the occurrence of herpesvirus in the freeliving and reproductive active seabird’s populations. Four new herpesvirus were identified and called: Magellanic penguin herpesvirus 1 (MagHV -I), causing a mortality outbreak associated with necrotic-hemorrhagic tracheitis in Magellanic penguins in rehabilitation process; Magellanic penguin herpesvirus 2 (MagHV-2), identified in apparently healthy breeding Magellanic penguins at the Argentinean Patagonia’s colonies; Sulid herpesvirus 1 (SuHV-l), identified in boobies (Sula sp.) and tropicalseabirds (Phaeton sp.) breeding colonies at Abrolhos Archipelago, and Thalassarchid herpesvirus 1 (ThHV -1), identified in a yellow nose albatross (Thalassarche chlororhynchos) that appeared on the beaches of Rio Grande, RS, Brazil. Were. also identified: a new avipox named Brazilian penguinpox causing cutaneous, esophagus and respiratory lesions in rehabilitation penguins at Santa Catarina and the identification of two Santa Catarina and the identification of two Gammacoronavirus in three different asymptomatic seabirds species that were undergoing rehabilitation in Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. The data provi de a useful information basis for further studies related to pathology, virology, epidemiology and human impacts on southern hemispheres seabirds’ health.

Thesis advisor: Peter Ireland / The literature on real business cycles finds that one reason why emerging economies are more volatile than developed small open economies is that they face greater financial frictions. Indeed, according to several measures of financial depth and access, financial systems in emerging countries are on average less developed than those in developed small open economies. Despite the lag in financial development, private credit, particularly unsecured credit to households, has been steadily increasing during the last two decades in emerging countries in Latin America. During this period of rising credit, various countries in the region observed an increase in the size of their middle income class population and the emergence of the vendor financing channel in their consumption credit market. Estimates by the World Bank suggest that the share of middle class households increased from 20.9 % in 1995 to 40.7 % in 2010. In addition, the share of poor households was approximately halved and reached 23.4 % at the end of this 15 year period. This phenomenon not only increased credit demand but also motivated the entry of new suppliers in the consumer credit market in countries like Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Brazil. In spite of a significant decline in unemployment in recent years, the lack of formal employment and poor credit history were still impeding many individuals from gaining access to consumer finance from traditional financial institutions. In order to enable new middle class shoppers access items typically offered by large retail stores, the retailers themselves started offering credit. In this dissertation, I study the relationship between middle class size, unsecured credit markets and aggregate consumption volatility in emerging countries. In the first chapter of this thesis, we examine the link between middle class size and consumption growth volatility using a sample of middle income countries. In the second chapter, we study the effect of an expansion of the middle class on vendor financing incentives and unsecured credit supply on its extensive margin. In the third chapter, I study business cycle implications of a reduction in the share of financially excluded households in an emerging economy. In the first chapter, I empirically examine the effect of middle income class size on consumption growth volatility in emerging countries. Using a panel data of middle income countries, I find that a larger middle class size tends to increase aggregate consumption growth volatility, particularly at lower levels of financial system depth. Financial development plays a significant role in determining the sign of the marginal effect of middle class size on aggregate volatility. Unlike emerging countries, the effect of the size of the middle class and the role of financial development on consumption volatility in developed countries is ambiguous. The key message of this analysis is that as more households escape poverty thresholds and reach the middle income class status in developing and emerging economies, it becomes more important to deepen financial systems from the perspective of aggregate consumption volatility. In the second chapter, I explore through the lens of a theoretical model, potential reasons triggering an increase in credit supplied by the non traditional financial sector, i.e vendors, at the extensive margin. I find that a reduction in the average risk of default and an increase in the market size of credit customers raise vendor financing incentives. This model rationalizes the observation that the improvement of economic conditions of the low-income and financially constrained households potentially led to increased credit supply by vendors in several countries of Latin America. In the third chapter, I study business cycle implications of a decline in household financial exclusion in a dynamic general equilibrium model suitable for emerging economies. Using Mexico as a case study, I estimate the model with Bayesian methods for the period 1995 to 2014. Standard measures of predictive accuracy suggest that the extended business cycle model with limited credit market participation outperforms a model with zero financial exclusion. The results of the estimation suggest that a rise in credit market participation in an emerging economy increases aggregate volatility of key macroeconomic aggregates, and that financial frictions play a key role in this relationship. I confirm this prediction by re-estimating the model for Mexico after splitting the sample into two non- overlapping decades. A key implication derived in this chapter is that a reduction of financial exclusion within an emerging country may lead to higher consumption growth volatility and trade balance volatility, and that fewer financial frictions dampen the marginal effect. As household financial access increases in these countries, a greater need for improving broad financial development measures arises.

Thesis advisor: Fabio Ghironi / Thesis advisor: Christopher Baum / My dissertation focuses on the macroeconomics of emerging and developing nations. This group of economies is characterized by significant differences in terms of institutional quality, financial development, as well as other cultural, social, political parameters. In turn, these structural heterogeneities exert considerable influence on their domestic economic environment, specifically impacting key macroeconomic indicators such as output, investment, consumption, foreign capital flows, exchange rates etc. Understanding these nuanced relationships and analyzing them from various dimensions has served as the motivation and the foundation of my doctoral research. The first essay is an empirical and theoretical investigation of Business Cycles and Macroeconomic Dynamics in post-independence India. India's growth performance was touted as ordinary relative to the rest of the world during the first three decades after it gained independence in 1947. However, path-breaking deregulation and liberalization reforms in the 80s and 90s led to substantial growth acceleration and India's metamorphosis into a market-based economic system with strong international ties. This makes the Indian case study really unique and fascinating. Using annual time series data, we document key business cycle properties of the Indian economy. Output, consumption and investment are more volatile in India compared to its developed country counterparts. As in developed countries, consumption is less volatile and investment is more volatile than output in the Indian data. In contrast, investment is not highly correlated with output in India. Moreover, India's economic landscape has undergone significant changes, both in terms of the absolute level and cyclical fluctuations, across the planning horizon. The presence of structural break is reported for major macroeconomic variables when we decompose the data into pre- and post-reform categories. We also test whether a standard real business cycle (closed economy) model with India-specific parameters can replicate the stylized features of the business cycle. The model includes a tax on capital income which acts as a disincentive for future investment, and the results indicate that a high volatility of the tax shock is required to produce the low investment output correlation. The model performs reasonably well in matching the correlation dynamics observed in the data. In the second essay, I examine Foreign Reserve accumulation in Developing Countries through the lens of Institutional Quality and Financial Development. In recent times, several emerging markets have been providing the rest of the world, and especially the United States, with net resources in the form of current account surpluses. The most noteworthy aspect of the surge in upstream foreign capital flows has been the enormous increase in international reserves held by several emerging economies. Whereas private capital flows are broadly in sync with the standard neoclassical model, capital outflows from relatively high-productivity emerging markets can be explained by the accumulation of official reserve assets. I investigate the foreign reserve dynamics in developing countries; from both an empirical and theoretical dimension. Using a novel panel dataset combining aspects of openness, institutional quality, and financial development and an innovative clustering method; I present a new approach to identify cross-national structural heterogeneity and assess its relationship with foreign reserves. I use partition-based cluster analysis to document underlying reserve dynamics and identify systematic variation across and between different country groups. The resulting cluster outputs reflect the presence of cross-national variations in reserve accumulation. Moreover, a series of the scatter plots encapsulating various dimensions of institutional quality and financial development points towards the resounding presence of structural heterogeneity in foreign reserve dynamics in our developing country sample. Cross section and panel data regressions reinforce the initial hypotheses concerning the role of institutional and financial development in international reserve dynamics of the developing world. I also build a theoretical model embedding the key insights from the empirical analyses in order to propose a coherent framework for explaining the link between institutions, financial development reserve accumulation. The model underscores the importance of financial market efficiency and the institutional environment in explaining reserve dynamics of major developing countries. A series of comparative static exercises shed light on the impact of heterogeneity in institutional parameters and foreign reserve policy on select macroeconomic variables. In a nutshell, by going beyond the regional differences, we provide a unique vantage point to understand how disparities in institutional and financial conditions influence reserve dynamics in different country clusters. Our results indicate that income, openness, institutional quality and financial development play an instrumental role in explaining the underlying patterns of reserves accumulation in the developing world. However, the effects of these structural indicators are markedly different across clusters of relatively similar countries in terms of their magnitude as well as direction. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

As doenças de veiculação hídrica são causadas, principalmente, por micro-organismos patogênicos de origem entérica. A partir da década de 1980, as enfermidades causadas por protozoários parasitas emergiram e reemergiram e se tornaram um problema de saúde pública com relevância na atualidade, especialmente para grupos populacionais mais vulneráveis, como pessoas que vivem com HIV/aids. Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar a prevalência de parasitas emergentes e reemergentes em crianças que vivem com HIV/aids atendidas no HCFMRP-USP e os condicionantes socioambientais envolvidos. Foram coletadas 47 amostras de fezes de 17 crianças de quatro a 13 anos que vivem com HIV/aids atendidas no HCFMRP- USP, no período de março a setembro de 2013. Do total, 52,9% das crianças eram do sexo feminino e 47,1% do sexo masculino, sendo que 52.9% eram pardas, 35,3% brancas e 11,8% negras. A análise de coccídeos intestinais oportunistas, como Cryptosporidium spp., Cyclospora spp. e Cystoisospora spp. foi realizada pelo método de Ziehl Nielsen Modificado, enquanto que para a pesquisa de cistos de Giardia spp. e outros parasitas foi utilizado o método de sedimentação espontânea por meio do Kit Coproplus®. As presenças dos parasitas Giardia spp e Cryptosporidium spp. foram confirmadas por meio de ensaios imunoenzimáticos para detecção de antígenos (métodos de Elisa). Foi ainda aplicado um questionário referente às questões socioambientais, hábitos comportamentais e hábitos de higiene pessoal e alimentar adotados pelas crianças participantes do estudo e algumas informações adicionais foram coletadas dos prontuários. Os resultados obtidos revelaram uma alta frequência de parasitas em crianças que vivem com HIV/aids atendidas no HCFMRP- USP (76,5%), sendo representados por agentes patogênicos: Giardia spp. (35,3%), Cryptosporidium spp. (23,5%), Cyclospora spp. (5,9%); e agente comensal: Entamoeba coli (47,1%). Apesar de se tratar de protozoários de veiculação hídrica, considera-se que a água utilizada pelas crianças não seja a principal via de transmissão desses parasitas, tendo em vista as evidencias que existem da boa qualidade da água que abastece a região, procedente do Aquífero Guarani. Dessa forma, considera-se que as características socioambientais, os hábitos de higiene pessoal e alimentar adotados pelas crianças bem como o contato com outras pessoas e/ou animais podem ter contribuído para o quadro de enteroparasitoses. A alta prevalência de parasitas encontrada no presente estudo nos remete a grandes preocupações em termos de saúde pública, uma vez que, o quadro clínico para Giardia spp., Cryptosporidium spp, Cyclospora spp. pode evoluir para uma morbidade grave quando há uma supressão do sistema imunológico do indivíduo. Dessa forma, conclui-se que alguns aspectos são imprescindíveis para uma melhoria da qualidade de vida das crianças que vivem com HIV/aids, dentre os que se destacam: o diagnóstico precoce para enteroparasitas, a implementação da análise coprológica de protozoários emergentes e reemergentes na rotina da atenção desses pacientes, o uso correto da terapia antirretroviral, bem como o monitoramento das características imunológicas / The waterborne diseases are caused mainly by pathogenic microorganisms enteric origin. From the 1980s, the diseases caused by protozoan parasites emerged and re-emerged and have become a public health problem of relevance today, especially for the most vulnerable population groups such as people living with HIV/aids. This study objetived to assess the prevalence of emerging and re-emerging parasites in children living with HIV/aids followed at HCFMRP-USP and socioenvironmental constraints involved. Were collected 47 stool samples from 17 children aged four to 13 years living with HIV/aids followed at HCFMRP- USP, in the period from March to September 2013. Of the total, 52.9% of children were female and 47.1% male, and that 52.9% were brown, 35.3% white and 11.8% black. The analysis of intestinal coccidia opportunistic as Cryptosporidium spp. Cyclospora spp. and Cystoisospora spp. was performed by the modified Ziehl Nielsen method, while for the research of Giardia spp. and other parasites was used by spontaneous sedimentation method by means of Kit Coproplus®. The presence of Giardia spp and Cryptosporidium spp. were confirmed by enzyme immunoassays for the detection of antigens (ELISA methods). Was still applied a questionnaire relating to socioenvironmental issues, behavioral habits and personal hygiene habits and food adopted by the children participating in the study and some additional information was collected from medical records of children. The results revealed a high frequency of parasites in children living with HIV/aids followed at HCFMRP-USP (76.5%), being represented by pathogens: Giardia spp. (35.3%), Cryptosporidium spp. (23.5%), Cyclospora spp. (5.9%), and commensal agent: Entamoeba coli (47.1%). Although it being waterborne protozoa, is considered that the water used by children is not the main route of transmission of these parasites, in view of the evidence that there are good-quality water that supplies the region, coming from the Guarani Aquifer. Thus, it is considered that the socioenvironmental characteristics, personal hygiene and food adopted by children as well as contact with other people and / or animals may have contributed to the enteroparasitosis frame. The high prevalence of parasites found in this study leads us to great concern in terms of public health, since the clinical picture for Giardia spp., Cryptosporidium spp. e Cyclospora spp. may progress to severe morbidity when there is a suppression of the immune system of the individual. Thus, it is concluded that some aspects are essential to improving the quality of life for children living with HIV/aids, among which stand out: early diagnosis for intestinal parasites, the implementation of coprologic analysis of emerging and reemerging protozoan in routine care of these patients, the correct use of antiretroviral therapy, as well as monitoring of the immunological characteristics

Até a Crise do Subprime que teve início em 2008, o Crash da Bolsa de Nova York ocorrido em 1929 era considerado a crise de maior impacto. As repercussões desta crise entre vários mercados internacionais fez com que o termo \"contágio\" passasse a ser amplamente utilizado no contexto de turbulências do mercado financeiro que a partir de então, deixaram de ser locais e passaram a ter efeitos globais. Neste contexto, os países emergentes tem recebido bastante atenção, já que a maioria das crise que ocorreram antes da Crise do Subprime, tiveram início nestes mercados. Entre os países emergentes, o grupo do BRICS, composto por Brasil, Rússia, Índia, China e África do Sul se destacam, especialmente após 2008, como economias emergentes cujos desempenhos econômicos foram superiores aos dos mercados desenvolvidos. Sabe-se que os movimentos de contágio entre mercados financeiros tendem a ocorrer a partir dos desenvolvidos em direção aos emergentes. Porém, a partir da grande importância atribuída ao grupo de países emergentes pertencentes ao BRICS, a hipótese de que estes mercados se comportariam como mercados desenvolvidos quando analisadas suas relações de interdependência e contágio com outros mercados emergentes se tornou interessante de ser testada. Para que este objetivo fosse alcançado, foram definidos quinze países alocados a três grupos, incluindo o grupo do BRICS. O grupo dos países desenvolvidos foi composto por Estados Unidos, Japão, Alemanha, Inglaterra e França. México, Indonésia, Turquia, Irã e Polônia formaram o grupo dos países emergentes não pertencentes ao BRICS. As análises foram feitas a partir de séries temporais de retornos dos principais índices de cada país, de 2008 a 2013. Inicialmente foram feitas as análises das estatísticas descritivas de cada série e depois foram identificadas as relações entre as séries de retornos dos mercados, para que então os fenômenos de interdependência e contágio pudessem ser investigados. Apesar dos resultados dos testes não terem mostrado que os países do BRICS se comportam como mercados desenvolvidos quando analisada sua influência sobre o comportamento dos outros mercados emergentes, verifica-se que seus países têm maior influência sobre os demais mercados do que os países do grupo dos emergentes não pertencentes ao BRICS. / Financial crisis can be defined as periods in which the volatility of asset returns is too high. Until the Subprime Crisis that began in 2008, the Crash of the New York Stock Exchange in 1929 was considered the most important crisis. Significant changes have occurred over the years and among these changes, a phenomenon started influencing the way the crisis began to be spread across the markets: financial globalization. The impact of this crisis among various international markets has made the term contagion become widely used in the context of financial market turmoil. In this context, emerging countries have received much attention, since most of the crisis that occurred before the Subprime Crisis, started in these markets. Among the emerging countries, the BRICS group consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa stand out, especially after 2008, as emerging economies which economic performance was better than those of developed markets. It is known that the movements of contagion between financial markets tend to occur from the developed markets towards emerging markets. For this reason, it became interesting to test the hypothesis that BRICS markets would behave as developed markets when analyzing their interdependence and contagion to other emerging markets. This thesis aims to investigate if the relationship of interdependence and contagion between the BRICS countries and other emerging markets is similar to that observed between developed countries and emerging BRICS. For that proposal, fifteen countries were allocated to three groups, including the BRICS group. The group of developed countries consisted of the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain and France. Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey, Iran and Poland formed the group of emerging countries outside the BRICS. Time series were composed of the most importante stock indexes of each country, from 2008 to 2013. Although the results of the tests have not shown that the BRICS countries behave as developed markets it appears that their countries have a greater influence on other markets than the group of emerging countries outside the BRICS.

O presente trabalho trata do desenvolvimento um novo material, diatomita modificada por ferro, como ativador dos oxidantes persulfato de sódio e peróxido de hidrogênio para degradar poluentes prioritários (fenantreno e antraceno), diesel e o poluente emergente ácido perfluoroctanóico (PFOA). Os objetivos deste estudo foram comparar esse novo método com métodos convencionais de ativação para esses oxidantes; e estudar, estatisticamente, a relação ótima entre a quantidade deste material e a concentração de oxidante para a degradação dos contaminantes. A diatomita bruta e as diatomitas modificadas (CAT-5 e CAT-20) foram caracterizadas por diferentes técnicas. Os principais resultados da caracterização mostraram que os materiais são amorfos e que a concentração de ferro foi 4%, 17% e 25% para diatomita bruta, CAT-5 e CAT-20, respectivamente. Os resultados mostraram que os materiais modificados apresentaram significativa atividade catalítica para ativar os oxidantes e degradar os poluentes, sendo a CAT-5 a mais reativa. Resultados satisfatórios foram obtidos utilizando 45 g L-1 de persulfato de sódio com 2,5 g de diatomita modificada (CAT-5), com degradação de 87% e 96% de fenantreno e antraceno, respectivamente, em 168 horas de tratamento. Para o tratamento de solo arenoso contaminado com diesel, os melhores resultados foram obtidos utilizando 41 g L-1 de persulfato de sódio e 1,56 g de CAT-5, obtendo decaimento de 91% de carbono total em 146 horas. A eficiência da decomposição de PFOA mostra que a reatividade dos sistemas seguiu a ordem: peróxido de hidrogênio em altas concentrações > peróxido de hidrogênio em paralelo com persulfato > persulfato alcalino, ambos ativados com CAT-5, atingindo 86%, 69% e 48%, respectivamente, após 6 horas de reação. / The present work deals with the development of a new materials, modified diatomite by iron, as an activator of the oxidants sodium persulfate and hydrogen peroxide to degrade priority pollutants (phenantherene and anthracene), diesel and emerging pollutant perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The aims of this study were to compare this new method with traditional activation method for these oxidants; and to study, statistically, the optimal ratio between the quantity of the material and the concentration of oxidant to the degradation of contaminants. The raw and modified materials were characterized by different techniques. The main characterization results showed that materials are amorphous, and that the iron concentrations were 4,78%, 17,65% and 25% for the raw diatomite, CAT-5 and CAT-20, respectively. The results showed that the modified material showed significant catalytic activity to activate the oxidants and to degrade pollutants, with CAT-5 being the most reactive. Satisfactory results were obtained using 2,5 g of modified diatomite (CAT-%) with sodium persulfate at 45 g L-1, with degradation of 87% and 96% of phenanthrene and anthracene, respectively, in 168 hours of treatment. For the treatment of sandy soil contaminated with diesel, the best result was obtained using 41 g L-1 of sodium persulfate sodium and 1,56 g of CAT-5, resulting in a decrease of 91% of total carbon present in diesel. The PFOA decomposition efficiency for the systems shows that hydrogen peroxide at high concentrations > hydrogen peroxide-activated persulfate > alkaline-activated persulfate, both with CAT-5, achieving 83%, 69% and 48% , respectively, after 6 hours of reaction.

Purpose: This thesis paper aims to understand how companies in the industrial automation sector can create value for the emerging technology ecosystem.  Design/methodology/approach: A single case study approach was taken to write this thesis, the case study was based on HMS Industrial Networks AB. Primary data were collected through in-depth interviews, various personnel from HMS were interviewed which facilitated to create the case study. Secondary data were also collected mainly from industry reports and other publicly available reports. To perform the analysis relevant literature were discussed in the literature review section.   Results: The study revealed that to create value in industrial automation sector companies need to evaluate their existing role in the ecosystem and adjust the role based on their industry competence and partnership capability with other platform participants. Through collaboration with the right partners, companies can create value for different stakeholders in the ecosystem. For HMS, we have suggested the role of ecosystem orchestrator, the conclusion was made based on their existing ecosystem role, extensive industry competencies, and high partnership capability.    Originality/value: Previously academic research has not been done on this topic as per the knowledge of the authors. This thesis paper can be useful for academics to do further research on different industries facing issues related to value creation and professionals can apply the suggested practical implications in their industry.

La tendance marquée de ces dernières années au niveau des systèmes informatiques est à l'Ubiquitous Computing. Ces plateformes pervasives ont des contraintes (environnementales et architecturales) qui leurs sont propre et influence la manière de les programmer. En se basant sur l'étude des réseaux de capteurs une approche orientée agents et bio-inspirée est proposée pour programmer les plateformes pervasives en assurant leur adaptabilité dans un environnement non maitrisé. La question se pose de savoir comment améliorer les performances de ce type de plateforme construites à partir de modules possédant peu de ressources de calcul. L'emploi de coprocesseurs parallèles est envisagé. L'utilisation de matériel spécifique à l'un ou l'autre des modules de la plateforme pose des problèmes de facilité de programmation. Une solution de programmation adaptée est proposée tirant partie de la portabilité de Java et de la flexibilité de l'environnement proposé précédemment. L'ensemble de ces deux contributions qui forme un environnement de programmation pour plateformes pervasives, a été testé sur la plateforme PERPLEXUS. / Ubiquitous Computing is the emerging trend in computing systems. These pervasives platforms have characteristic constraints (environmental and architectural). Such characteristics clearly impact the way pervasive platforms should be programmed. Base on Sensor Network programming experience an agent oriented and bio-inspired approach is proposed as a reliable programming framework for pervasive platforms. Nevertheless, how to improve performance of such platforms made of modules with small computing resources. The use of parallel coprocessors is then considered. Such distributed and locally hardware dependent programming does not ease platform programming. Taking advantage of Java's portability and of the proposed framework flexibility a coprocessor programming solution is proposed. These contributions are basic blocks of a pervasive platform programming environment that has been tested on the PERPLEXUS platform.

As doenças causadas por patógenos emergentes e oportunistas são uma grande preocupação para os profissionais de Saúde Pública. A criptosporidiose é uma doença cosmopolita, cujo agente etiológico é o protozoário coccídia Cryptosporidium. Este parasita emergiu como um importante patógeno de veiculação hídrica, responsável por surtos em diferentes países e atualmente é considerado um problema para indivíduos imunocomprometidos e imunocompetentes. A taxonomia do gênero, baseada em aspectos morfológicos, é de difícil realização devido ao reduzido tamanho dos oocistos e também devido à perda de suas características morfológicas, principalmente em amostras ambientais. Essa limitação estimulou a aplicação de métodos moleculares na identificação das espécies destes microrganismos. Neste estudo, amostras de águas superficiais foram submetidas à ested-PCR para detecção de Cryptosporidium. No total 30 amostras de águas de 10 pontos de coleta situados no estado de São Paulo foram analisadas. Cryptosporidium foi detectado em 30% das amostras analisadas e a genotipagem permitiu a identificação de C. hominis, C. meleagridis e C. andersoni. Embora a identificação de Cryptosporidium em amostras ambientais seja uma tarefa complexa, os métodos moleculares são essenciais para determinação de espécies, ajudando a elucidar a epidemiologia deste protozoário em nosso país. / The illnesses caused by emerging and opportunist pathogens are a great concern for Public Health professionals. Criptosporidiosis is a cosmopolitan disease, whose etiologic agent is the coccidian protozoan Cryptosporidium. This parasite has emerged as an important waterborne pathogen, responsible for outbreaks in different countries, and it is currently considered a problem for immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. The taxonomy of the genus, based on morphologic aspects, is of difficult accomplishment due to the small size of the oocysts, and also due to loss of its characteristics, mainly in environmental samples. This limitation has estimulated the application of molecular methods for species identification of these microorganisms. In this study, superficial water samples were submitted to nested-PCR to detect the presence of Cryptosporidium. A total of 30 water samples, from 10 points located in the state of São Paulo, were analyzed. Cryptosporidium was detected in 30% of the studied samples and genotyping allowed the identification of C. hominis, C. meleagridis and C. andersoni. Although the identification of Cryptosporidium in environmental samples is a complex task, molecular methods are essential for the species determination, helping to elucidate the epidemiology of this protozoan in our country.