Today, many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) either go out of business or see their growth being stalled due to poor activity management and organization, which is why they are often unprepared to engage against large companies leading their competitive markets. This study aims to develop a comprehensive management model, exclusively designed for SMEs in the jewellery sector, which may encompass all areas that create value and make them competitive. The development of this comprehensive management model was deployed in 21 steps classified into three tiers based on three major philosophies. This study uses lean manufacturing to identify activities that add value and reduce waste, and lean green was used to provide the environmental care and culture approach required for a friendly and fair workplace environment. The selected scenario is a jewelry workshop, wherein techniques and tools were completely applied and yielded a 20% increase in operating performance and a 15% increase in annual return.

Abstract available on the file 00front / Thesis (PhD (Plant Production and Soil Science))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

The fabrication of electrospun nanofibers has sparked great interest in both academia and industry owing to their unique properties, such as a high surface area to volume ratio, porosity, interconnected porous structure, or controllable fiber morphology. They are highly desired in numerous application areas such as filtration, biotechnology, and energy storage. Cellulose acetate is an ester of cellulose, one of the most abundant natural polymers, that is biodegradable, non-toxic, and has good stability. Electrospinning of cellulose acetate has received significant interest in a broad spectrum of applications, including membranes and air filters, drug-delivery systems, scaffolds for tissue engineering, sensors, and batteries. The electrospinning of cellulose acetate predominantly suffers from the use of toxic and hazardous solvents, which makes the final products less suitable for application in biosystems. In this work, the sustainable electrospinning of cellulose acetate has been shown using renewable-based green solvents, dimethyl carbonate, and cyclopentanone. A binary system consisting of these solvents has been applied. The addition of green salts and biosurfactants substantially improved the spinnability of the cellulose-based solutions. Altering the composition of the solvents allowed tuning of the fiber texture from highly porous to smooth fiber morphology. The thermal analysis revealed that the polymer’s thermal behavior had not been influenced by the salt in nanofibers. Incorporating additives into the polymer matrix resulted in enhanced mechanical properties of nanofibers. Uniform cellulose acetate-based porous nanofibers from green solvents and additives could be successfully fabricated, which has not been reported yet. Based on the reported advantageous properties of electrospun CA nanofibers, it may serve as a possible green and biodegradable porous support layer in thin-film composite membranes replacing the conventional fossil-derived polymeric membrane supports.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The testes play a central role in the male reproductive system, as they represent the sites of male sex steroidogenesis and of spermatogenesis. Leydig cells, located at the testicular interstitium, produce predominantly testosterone upon stimulation with either chorionic gonadotropin (CG) or luteinising hormone by a series of enzymatic modifications of cholesterol. Sertoli cells respond to testosterone and follicle stimulating hormone to secrete inhibin and facilitate spermatogenesis by additional activities like maintaining Sertoli cell barrier (SCB) integrity and lactate secretion. Ultimately the Leydig cells, Sertoli cells etc. all work together to confer male fertility. However, infertility occurs globally; leading to the pursuit of treatment, including herbal medicines.

In response to growing concerns about environmental degradation and climate change,demand for green products and services has increased. The use of environmental claimsas a marketing tool in order to gain a competitive advantage has also increased.The goal of this study is to close this gap by understanding how perceptions ofgreenwashing influence Angolan consumers of Generation Z's green trust and greenpurchasing intention. Through a qualitative approach, with 20 semi-interviews, thisresearch reveals that greenwashing perception has a negative impact on green trust, butthe same is not true for green purchase intention. Nonetheless, green trust has a positiveinfluence on green purchase intention, and green concern, in turn, has a positive influenceon greenwashing perception, green trust, and green purchase intention. Since consumerconcern over the environment is on growing, it is critical for businesses to be aware ofthis development, while still meeting customer expectations. This alteration should beseen as a challenge for both general organizational management and the marketingdepartment in particular.

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This study investigates current green restaurant certifications as well as developing a new more user certification. First, a fact finding investigation to find the most established and commonly utilized green restaurant certifications were compared. Second, a new green certification was developed. Third, chosen green restaurant certifications were compared. Lastly, the new green certification analyzed whether restaurants in the central Florida area utilized green practices. Data were collected in face to face sessions with restaurant managers during nonpeak hours of operation. There were numerous surveys utilized in this research study. The statistical methodology utilized in this study was average means and factor analysis in SPPS 20. The statistical results indicated that the newly developed green certification was ranked closely to the two established certification of the Green Restaurant Association and the Green Seal. Furthermore, when inquiring about restaurant green practices the result strongly indicated that restaurants are not utilizing green practices. As a side note there were restaurants that were not even using the more basic green practices such as energy efficient light bulbs. Implications, limitations and suggestions for future research were discussed in the final chapter.

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Three issues were investigated; first, the influence of virus on pigment production in diseased plants; second, the increase of virus as indicated by a resulting change in carotene concentration; third, the function of pigments other than chlorophyll in photosynthesis in young potato leaves. Results on the first issue demonstrated an increase in carotene and xanthophyll concentration, and a decrease in chlorophyll concentration in diseased relative to normal plants. Evidence on the second issue suggested a close relationship between virus increase and carotene concentration. Data on the third issue indicated a soil and possibly significant photosynthesis due to leaf carotenoids / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

This doctoral thesis explores the use of Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional solvents in common organic transformations and formulation processes within the pharmaceutical industry. For this purpose, the thesis has been divided into five distinct chapters: Chapter I details the development of a sustainable approach for the synthesis of amides, using Reactive Deep Eutectic Solvents (RDESs) that serve both as a reaction medium and as reagents. This innovative method aims to eliminate hazardous solvents, allowing efficient product recovery and avoiding the need for additional chromatographic purifications. The sustainability of the developed method was estimated through the assessment and comparison of sustainability metrics on a large scale compared to conventional industrial strategies. Chapter II delineates a pioneering use of a simple and commercially available ruthenium catalyst to carry out the photocatalytic amide synthesis in DES. Even in this case, the environmental impact of the new methodology has been assessed using green metrics. Chapter III presents an eco-sustainable method for the removal of the tert-butyl carbamate (Boc) group, widely used in organic chemistry for the protection of amine functionalities. The N-Boc deprotection procedure was carried out in the absence of organic solvent, using a DES based on choline chloride and p-toluenesulfonic acid, which acts both as a reaction medium and catalyst. This approach was tested for the deprotection of various N-Boc derivatives. Furthermore, the impact of the developed methodology was valuated using green metrics. Chapter IV aims to propose a green, "one-pot" synthesis in two stages of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) Atenolol. Currently, Atenolol ranks among the top five best-selling drugs worldwide, belonging to a class of beta-blockers commonly used for treating angina, hypertension, and reducing the risk of mortality after a heart attack. The novel synthetic methodology for Atenolol involves a DES which acts both as reaction medium and catalyst, providing a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional industrial synthetic routes. The environmental impact of this synthetic strategy has been assessed using sustainability metrics and compared with traditional procedures. Finally, Chapter V aims to delve into how DESs can be sustainably utilized as alternative solvents in the pharmaceutical sector due to their extraordinary ability to significantly enhance the solubilization and delivery of poorly water-soluble Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) belonging to Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) Classes II and IV. This exploration holds potential positive implications for the pharmaceutical, chemical, and other related industries. / This project has received funding from the University of Alicante (VIGROB-316FI), the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PID2021-127332NB-I00), and the Valencian Department of Innovation, Universities, Science, and Digital Society (APOSTD/2020/235 and AICO/2021/013).