Case Study: An international study on CSR in five countries (Portugal, Bulgaria, Brazil, India and Greece): Effects on economic development, environmental sustainability and social welfare

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to companies'policies and actions aimed at achieving a positive impact on environment, consumers, employees or communities. It requires a set of duties self-regulating mechanisms and obligations, in relation to the society and to the communities in which the organization is operating. Corporate Social Responsibility is nowadays important enough to make that organizations put very challenging objectives in this area. In this Framework Companies shall ensure that law is guaranted as far as ethical standards and international norms shall be assured as well. There are many studies in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility but the presentation of several cases in one study reveals some particular aspects to be considered and to be had in account when CSR is studied. This study discusses the implications of CSR for economic development, environmental sustainability and social welfare in five countries.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Modelo para estimativa de produtividade da cultura do milho no Estado do Piauí.

Modelo para Estimativa de Produtividade da Cultura do Milho no Estado do Piauí; Desenvolvimento do modelo; Conversão de CO2 em CH2 O; Correção para respiração de manutencão e crescimento; CRMCI; Correcão para interceptação de radiação solar (CRs); índice de colheita (IC); Produtividade potencial de grãos (PPgr); Balanco hídrico; Evapotranspiracão de referência; índice térmico e coeficiente empírico composto; Evapotranspiração da cultura; Capacidade de água disponível; Saldo (SI e negativo acumulado (L); Variaçao do armazenamento; Evapotranspiracao real; Deficiência hidrica; Fator de depleção de produtividade (Fd); Produtividade deplecionada de grãos (Pgrãos).bitstream/item/35900/1/Doc157.pd

Segurança.

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The Far-Infrared Properties of Spatially Resolved AKARI Observations

We present the spatially resolved observations of IRAS sources from the Japanese infrared astronomy satellite AKARI All-Sky Survey during the performance verification (PV) phase of the mission. We extracted reliable point sources matched with IRAS point source catalogue. By comparing IRAS and AKARI fluxes, we found that the flux measurements of some IRAS sources could have been over or underestimated and affected by the local background rather than the global background. We also found possible candidates for new AKARI sources and confirmed that AKARI observations resolved IRAS sources into multiple sources. All-Sky Survey observations are expected to verify the accuracies of IRAS flux measurements and to find new extragalactic point sources.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted publication in PASJ AKARI special issu

Protocolo para extração de DNA genômico de Ochroma Pyramidale.

PT-BR: A espécie Ochroma pyramidale, conhecida como pau-de-balsa, é utilizada na recuperação de áreas degradadas. Na análise genética de populações de plantas, são essenciais o isolamento e a purificação de ácidos nucléicos de boa qualidade. Neste sentido, o objetivo deste estudo foi padronizar um protocolo para extração de DNA de folhas de O. pyramidale, viabilizando análises moleculares através de marcadores moleculares. Os testes de extração do DNA partiram do protocolo padrão de CTAB (brometo de cetiltrimetilamônio), utilizando concentrações de CTAB no tampão de extração (3 e 4%), concentrações de β-mercaptoetanol (0.2, 0.5, 1 e 2%) e, a maceração do tecido vegetal manual e mecânica ?fest-prep? por 1, 2 e 3 minutos. Os resultados demonstram que a maceração manual não é viável, devido à formação de consistência muito pastosa, enquanto a maceração em ?fest-prep? mostrou-se eficiente extraindo DNA em boa qualidade e quantidade. A concentração de CTAB a 4% mostrou-se mais eficiente, portanto, é indicada para extração de DNA. As concentrações de β-mercaptoetanol não revelaram diferenças. Os primers ISSRs avaliados amplificaram regiões do genoma de O. pyramidale. Os protocolos de extração e amplificação testados foram eficientes para a espécie e podem ser utilizados em estudos de diversidade genética de O. pyramidale. EN: The species Ochroma pyramidale, known as balsa wood, is used in the recovery of degraded areas. In the genetic analysis of plant populations, isolation and purification of good quality nucleic acids are essential. In this sense, the objective of this study was to standardize a protocol for extracting DNA from leaves of O. pyramidale, enabling molecular analyzes through molecular markers. The DNA extraction tests were based on the standard CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) protocol, using concentrations of CTAB in extraction buffer (3 and 4%), β-mercaptoethanol concentrations (0.2, 0.5, 1 and 2%) and, the maceration of the vegetable tissue manual and mechanical "fest-prep" for 1, 2 and 3 minutes. The results demonstrate that manual maceration is not feasible due to the formation of very pasty consistency, while maceration in fest-prep was efficient in extracting DNA in good quality and quantity. The concentration of 4% CTAB was more efficient, therefore, it is indicated for DNA extraction. The concentrations of β-mercaptoethanol showed no differences. Primers evaluated were amplified regions of the O. pyramidale genome. The extraction and amplification protocols tested were efficient for the species and can be used in O. pyramidale genetic diversity studies

Juxtaposition of system dynamics and agent-based simulation for a case study in immunosenescence

Advances in healthcare and in the quality of life significantly increase human life expectancy. With the aging of populations, new un-faced challenges are brought to science. The human body is naturally selected to be well-functioning until the age of reproduction to keep the species alive. However, as the lifespan extends, unseen problems due to the body deterioration emerge. There are several age-related diseases with no appropriate treatment; therefore, the complex aging phenomena needs further understanding. It is known that immunosenescence is highly correlated to the negative effects of aging. In this work we advocate the use of simulation as a tool to assist the understanding of immune aging phenomena. In particular, we are comparing system dynamics modelling and simulation (SDMS) and agent-based modelling and simulation (ABMS) for the case of age-related depletion of naive T cells in the organism. We address the following research questions: Which simulation approach is more suitable for this problem? Can these approaches be employed interchangeably? Is there any benefit of using one approach compared to the other? Results show that both simulation outcomes closely fit the observed data and existing mathematical model; and the likely contribution of each of the naive T cell repertoire maintenance method can therefore be estimated. The differences observed in the outcomes of both approaches are due to the probabilistic character of ABMS contrasted to SDMS. However, they do not interfere in the overall expected dynamics of the populations. In this case, therefore, they can be employed interchangeably, with SDMS being simpler to implement and taking less computational resources

Synthesis of delafossite CuCrO2 via solution combustion method and its acid functionalization for biodiesel production

Abstract CuCrO2 was synthesized by solution combustion synthesis (SCS) and applied as a heterogeneous catalyst to produce soybean biodiesel. The combustion reaction was carried out using urea as a fuel, and copper (II) and chromium (III) nitrates as precursors. After the powders’ obtention, these were calcined and functionalized in an acidic medium. The powders were characterized by thermogravimetry (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and infrared spectroscopy (IR) techniques. The TG curve revealed that the formation of the CuCrO2 in the combustion reaction remained stable up to 1000 °C. The XRD results confirmed the formation of the CuCrO2 compound. The SEM images showed that the crystallinity of the samples increased after the calcination process. The IR spectra showed the presence of delafossite characteristic bands. After the transesterification reaction, biodiesel was obtained with a yield of around 80%. Thus, catalysts based on delafossite synthesized through the combustion method and functionalized showed to be promising for the transesterification reaction of vegetable oils