Consumption Patterns for Selected Fruits in La Union, Philippines

With the economic, ethical, and environmental consequences of human consumption patterns, understanding its dynamics is essential in setting suitable development direction for industries and formulating environmental policies. Focusing on fruits, the study was designed to determine the consumption and marketing practices and factors affecting consumption, as well as analyze the demand and supply situation, of selected fruints in La Union, Philippines. The data, drawn from 150 consumers and 150 sellers who were randomly selected using the stratified proportionate random sampling, were statistically analyzed using central tendencies, correlation, and regression analysis. Results revealed that consumers preferred fruits that are fresh; classified according to size, color, or variety; and without chemical treatment, even at a high price. Among the major fruits produced in La Union (banana, mango, watermelon, and guapple), banana is most preferred by consumers and guapple the least preferred, while mango was perceived as the most nutritious. The average per capita consumption of these fruits in La Union at 7.69 kg is higher than the national average (6.90 kg). The factors that had significant influence on consumption included the socio-economic characteristics of consumers such as age, income, and education and the characteristics of the product such as taste and price. Based on market supply and demand analysis, there was a huge market shortage of these fruits, except for mango, throughout 2015. This suggests that domestic production can be intensified through the adoption of organic farming practices; grading and standardization according to size, variety, color, and freshness of products; the development of other value-added product forms for the industrial market; and the provision of support systems in the form of trainings, marketing, and financial assistance for farmers

Filipino Women in Cooperative Management

In response to the twin policies aligned towards cooperative development and the empowerment of women, this study was conducted to assess the competency of women in cooperative management. The data was drawn from 24 registered cooperatives in La Union Province, Philippines, using complete enumeration and analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, and weighted mean. Results revealed that more women than men were involved in cooperative management. The women were perceived to be better than men in managerial, interpersonal, and intellectual competencies. Men on the other hand, were perceived to be better than women in organization and leadership. The women were extremely competent along interpersonal and managerial competencies, and highly competent along leadership, entrepreneurial, intellectual and organizational aspects. With the management competencies, the women therefore are to be accorded with privileges and opportunities to assume positions along managerial and entrepreneurial positions in cooperative, government and nongovernment organizations

SN 1988Z: Spectro-photometric catalogue and energy estimates

We present a spectro-photometric catalogue of the evolution of supernova 1988Z which combines new and published observations in the radio, optical and X-ray bands, with the aim of offering a comprehensive view of the evolution of this object and deriving the total energy radiated since discovery. The major contribution to the total radiated energy comes at optical to X-ray frequencies, with a total emission of at least $2 \times 10^{51}$ erg (for Ho=50 km/s) in 8.5 years. A model-dependent extrapolation of this value indicates that the total radiated energy may be as high as $10^{52}$ erg. The high value of the radiated energy supports a scenario in which most of the kinetic energy of the ejecta is thermalized and radiated in a short interaction with a dense circumstellar medium of nearly constant density. In this sense, 1988Z is not a supernova but a young and compact supernova remnant.Comment: Accepted to be published in MNRAS (14 pages, 10 figures). Also available at http://www.inaoep.mx/~itzia

B-type natriuretic peptide as a predictor of anterior wall location in patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVE: Involvement of the left ventricular anterior wall in ST-elevation myocardial infarction has a worse prognosis compared with other regions. In non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, noninvasive methods of locating the ischemic myocardial territory have been limited. The objective of this report is therefore to determine what factors are predictive of the anterior location of the ischemic myocardial territory. METHODS: This study included 170 patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Clinical, echocardiographic, and laboratory characteristics, including B-type natriuretic peptide measured within 24 hours of hospitalization, and coronary angiographic features were analyzed. RESULTS: The mean age was 64.5 ± 12.3 years, and 112 of the patients were male (66%). The median follow-up was 23 months. The territory involved, as determined from the angiogram, was divided into anterior [n = 80 (47%)] regions and inferior and lateral [n = 90 (53%)] regions. Multivariate analysis showed that B-type natriuretic peptide was the only independent predictor of an anterior wall infarct [OR = 3.70 (95% CI: 1.61 - 8.53); P = 0.002] in non-STelevation myocardial infarction patients. Multivariate analysis also showed that B-type natriuretic peptide was an independent predictor of in-hospital cardiac events during index admission [OR = 5.05 (95% CI: 1.49 - 17.12); P = 0.009] and of cardiac events occurring during follow-up [HR = 1.79 (95% CI: 1.05 - 3.04); P = 0.032]. CONCLUSIONS: B-type natriuretic peptide was the only factor independently associated with anterior wall involvement in non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, and the peptide levels upon admission predicted in-hospital and subsequent cardiac events

Pesquisa e implementação de programas de educação ambiental em ONGs: o caso do IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas

As Organizações Não Governamentais (ONGs) vêm adotando caminhos inovadores e ousados no campo da educação ambiental. Este trabalho analisa algumas razões desse processo e descreve o exemplo de uma ONG brasileira, o IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas, que desde a sua fundação tem na educação um de seus principais pilares. A evolução da educação ambiental dentro da própria instituição é também analisada, assim como as metodologias desenvolvidas.Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been adopting daring venues in the field of environmental education. This paper analyzes some reasons why this process occurs, and describes the example of a Brazilian NGO, IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (Institute for Ecological Research), which, since its foundation, has environmental education as one of its main pillars. The evolution of environmental education within the institution itself is also analyzed, as are the methodologies developed

Repetibilidade da idade ao primeiro parto, intervalo de partos e peso ao parto em bovinos da Rraça Nelore.

Utilizaram-se 407 observações de idade ao primeiro parto, 971 de intervalo de partos e 587 de peso ao parto de vacas da raça Nelore, para avaliar os efeitos de alguns fatores sobre essas características e estimar seus coeficientes de repetibilidade

Fontes e modos de aplicação de fósforo na produção e nutrição mineral do milho em primeiro cultivo.

Com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito de fontes de P, em diferentes modos de aplicacao, sobre a producao e nutricao mineral do milho, foi conduzido um experimento em condicoes de campo, num Argissolo Vermelho tipico, textura argilosa, sob vegetacao de cerrado. Os tratamentos constituiram-se das fontes de P: superfosfato triplo, termofosfato magnesiano, fosfato reativo de Arad e fosfato de Araxa, aplicadas em area total ou no sulco de plantio, na dose 180 kg ha-1 de P2O5, considerando-se o teor total de P2O5 das fontes. Utilizou-se ainda um tratamento adicional sem aplicação de P. foram analisados os teores de nutrientes nas folhas do milho no florescimento e em diferentes partes da planta na colheita. Determinaram-se tambem a producao de materia seca da parte aerea e de graos e o acumulo de nutrientes. maiores producoes foram obtidas com as fontes mais soluveis (superfosfato triplo e termofosfato magnesiano) aplicadas em area total e com o fosfato reativo no sulco de plantio. O uso localizado de superfosfato triplo no sulco de plantio comprometeu a produtividade da cultura, provocando desordens metabolicas devido a interação P x Zn. a análise foliar no florescimento mostrou-se adequada para avaliacao do equilíbrio P/Zn no milho