Socio-economic evaluation of sunflower agri-food chains in Brazil in view of the potential implementation of innovative plant protein ingredients for human consumption

This study aimed at performing a socio-economic analysis of an agri-food chain focused on a non-established crop in view of the potential implementation of food innovations, using sunflower agri-food chains in Brazil and upcoming sunflower high-quality food protein ingredients as a case study. Thus, fieldwork was carried out in the main sunflower-producing areas between April and August 2016 for data collection among sunflower chain agents from the input, farming, and processing segments, besides representatives from the research sector. Section 1 applied a multiple case study embedded design to describe and analyze the dynamics of operation of sunflower agri-food chains in Brazil. The analysis followed a theory-driven approach based on concepts from transaction costs economics and the social network approach. The findings indicated an environment of high transaction costs, in which the economic transactions are ruled by formal and relational governance structures, and made possible through knowledge diffusion, under the coordination of a processing company. Nevertheless, the sustainable long-term operation of the sunflower chains is constrained by typical limitations of non-established crops, such as restricted market structure, land use competition with well-established crops, and technological limitations regarding plant breeding, and control of pests and diseases. Moreover, Section 1 revealed that a farmer-led sunflower chain in the state of Mato Grosso (MT) stood out regarding the operational stability, suggesting a closer analysis of this farmers collective endeavor, which was performed in the subsequent section. Thus, Section 2 adopted a single case study embedded design to describe and analyze the establishment process of the leading Brazilian sunflower agri-food chain located in MT under the regime of farmers. The analysis followed a framework that regarded the agri-food chain establishment as an entrepreneurial process. The findings indicated that the process of establishment of this sunflower chain has been a complex social-economic endeavor stemming from a set of interconnected driving forces composed of entrepreneurial skills, social network, resource availability, and crop suitability. Furthermore, Section 2 suggested the existence of a supportive institutional environment for the establishment of new sunflower agri-food chains in MT among soybean farmers, besides indicating the need of examining the potential for sunflower production expansion in MT, which was the focus of the next section. Thus, Section 3 applied an integrated assessment approach that combines an agent-based model (ABM) with a crop growth model to investigate the potential for sunflower land use expansion in double-cropping systems prevailing in MT. The ABM was implemented using the software package Mathematical Programming-based Multi-Agent Systems (MPMAS), and the crop yields simulations were implemented using the process-based model for nitrogen and carbon in agro-ecosystems (MONICA). The findings indicated the existence of a potential for the expansion of the sunflower production in MT. Nevertheless, this potential is constrained by the distance between the producing areas and the processing facilities. Moreover, the simulations confirmed the land use competition between sunflower and maize, showing that sunflower land use is strongly associated with agents expectations regarding prices and yields of sunflower and maize. However, the results also revealed a complementary effect between these two crops due to the different water deficit tolerance of these crops. Section 3 also highlighted that the simulated potential production of sunflower would require further increases in the current processing capacity installed in MT. To conclude, the analyses performed in Sections 1, 2, and 3 indicated relevant aspects to be considered by innovators interested in implementing food innovations related to non-established crops. The scarcity of feedstock suppliers requires the adoption of contractual and relational governance structures coupled with the provision of technical assistance at the farming level. Moreover, farmers with a recognized professional and social reputation as well as leadership abilities play an important role in influencing other farmers to adopt a non-established crop. Finally, the suitability of the crop for the agricultural system prevailing in the region is essential for ensuring a minimum level of farmers willingness to adopt a non-established crop. In this regard, particular attention should be given to the land use competition with well-established crops.Die vorliegende Arbeit auf die Durchführung einer sozio-ökonomischen Analyse einer Agrar- und Lebensmittelkette unter Fokussierung auf eine nicht etablierte Feldfrucht und im Hinblick auf die potenzielle Implementierung von Lebensmittelinnovationen. Zu diesem Zweck werden die Agrar- und Lebensmittelkette der Sonnenblume in Brasilien und in der Entwicklung befindliche hochqualitative Proteininhaltsstoffe auf Basis dieser Pflanze als Fallstudie betrachtet. Abschnitt 1 verwendet als Untersuchungsmethode einen mehrfachen Fallstudienansatz, um die Funktionsdynamik der agrarischen Sonnenblumenwertschöpfungsketten in Brasilien zu beschreiben und zu analysieren. Die Analyse folgte einem auf der Theorie der Transaktionskosten und der Theorie von sozialen Netzwerken basierenden Ansatz. Die Ergebnisse zeigen ein Umfeld hoher Transaktionskosten, in welchem die Transaktionen von formalen und beziehungsgebundenen Governancestrukturen beherrscht werden, hervorgerufen durch Wissensdiffusion unter dem koordinierenden Einfluss eines verarbeitenden Unternehmens. Dennoch ist eine dauerhaft nachhaltige Funktion von Sonnenblumenwertschöpfungsketten, wie für nicht etablierte Feldfrüchte typisch, eingeschränkt: dies wird bedingt durch eine begrenzte Marktstruktur, Landnutzungskonkurrenzen mit gut etablierten Feldfrüchten und technologische Limitierungen im Hinblick auf die Pflanzenzucht sowie den Pflanzenschutz. Darüber hinaus zeigt Abschnitt 1, dass eine durch die Landwirte selbst organisierte Sonnenblumenwertschöpfungskette im Bundesstaat Mato Grosso (MT) sich durch ihre funktionale Stabilität hervortut. Entsprechend wird in Abschnitt 2 ein einfacher Fallstudienansatz gewählt, um den Entstehungsprozess der prominentesten Sonnenblumenwertschöpfungskette Brasiliens, ansässig in MT und organisiert von Landwirten, zu beschreiben und zu analysieren. Dabei folgt die Analyse der Vorstellung, dass die Entstehung der agrarischen Lebensmittelwertschöpfungskette einem unternehmerischen Prozess entspricht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Entstehungsprozess dieser Sonnenblumenwertschöpfungskette einer komplexen sozio-ökonomischen Anstrengung entspringt, resultierend aus einer Mischung untereinander verbundener Antriebe: unternehmerischer Kompetenzen, sozialer Netzwerke, vorhandener Ressourcen und passender Feldfrüchte. Im weiteren Verlauf deutet Abschnitt 2 die Existenz eines unterstützenden institutionellen Umfelds für die Etablierung neuer Sonnenblumenwertschöpfungsketten in MT unter den Landwirten an, die bislang Soja anbauen. Abschnitt 3 nutzt den Ansatz einer integrierten Abschätzung und kombiniert hierzu ein Agenten-basiertes Modell (ABM) mit einem Pflanzenwachstumsmodell, um das Potenzial der Anbauflächenausweitung für Sonnenblumen in den vorherrschenden Zweifruchtsystemen in MT zu untersuchen. Das ABM wurde mithilfe der Software Mathematical Programming-based Multi-Agent Systems (MPMAS) umgesetzt, die Ertragssimulation erfolgte mittels des prozessbasierten Models for nitrogen and carbon in agro-ecoystems (MONICA). Die Ergebnisse zeigen ein Potenzial der Produktionsausweitung von Sonnenblumen in MT an. Jedoch ist dieses Potenzial limitiert durch die Entfernungen zwischen Anbaugebieten und Verarbeitungsstätten. Darüber hinaus bestätigen die Simulationen die Landnutzungskonkurrenzen zwischen Sonnenblumen und Mais: es besteht ein starker Zusammenhang der Akteure im Hinblick auf erwartete Preise und Erträge dieser Feldfrüchte. Allerdings zeigen die Ergebnisse auch, dass ein komplementärer Effekt zwischen Sonnenblumen und Mais besteht, da unterschiedliche Toleranzen gegenüber Trockenstress existieren. Abschnitt 3 zeigt zudem, dass das simulierte Potenzial der Anbauausweitung von Sonnenblumen einen Ausbau der aktuell vorhandenen Verarbeitungskapazität in MT bedarf. Zusammenfassend beschreiben die Analysen der Abschnitte 1, 2 und 3 die von gestaltenden Akteuren zu beachtenden Aspekte, wenn Lebensmittelinnovationen durch nicht etablierte Feldfrüchte erfolgen sollen. Die Knappheit an Rohstofflieferanten erfordert den Einsatz vertraglicher und beziehungsgebundener Governancestrukturen, verknüpft mit der Bereitstellung technischer Unterstützung für die landwirtschaftliche Erzeugung. Zudem spielen Landwirte mit hoher Professionalität, sozialer Reputation und Führungsqualitäten eine wichtige Rolle im Einwirken auf andere Landwirte bezüglich des Anbaus von nicht etablierten Feldfrüchten. Schließlich ist die grundsätzliche Eignung dieser Feldfrüchte für das regional vorherrschende Anbausystem unverzichtbar, um ein Mindestmaß an Anbaubereitschaft für nicht etablierte Früchte bei den Landwirten sicherzustellen. In dieser Hinsicht ist besondere Aufmerksamkeit bezüglich der Landnutzungskonkurrenzen mit gut etablierten Feldfrüchten angezeigt

The Role of Trust, Knowledge Diffusion and Contracts in Sunflower Production Chains in Brazil

The replacement of animal protein by plant protein is a trend in human nutrition and sunflower appears as a promising raw material. Dealing with innovation in the food industry requires attention not only to the product development process, but to the whole production chain related to it. Within this context and in face of the potential participation of Brazil in the business of sunflower protein food ingredients, this study aims to describe and analyze the operational dynamics of sunflower production chains in Brazil. To deal with this issue, we adopted the multiple-case study approach based on three production chains of sunflower oil in Brazil. Transaction cost economics and social network are the theoretical background for the analysis. Our findings suggest an environment with high transaction costs in the operation of the production chains of sunflower oil in Brazil. The processing company is the chain coordinator agent, being responsible to attract the farmers to the business of sunflower, using the strategies of crop promotion and verticalization. Crop promotion is in some degree the pattern of chain operation for all cases. It refers to a set of actions generally coordinated by the processing company aiming to encourage and assist farmers in the growing of sunflower. Moreover, it serves as a trust building and supervision strategy. Regional features influence the chain operation in terms of crop promotion applied by the processing company and the role of agents from farm supply retail stores (FSRS). The strategies of crop promotion and verticalization have not been sufficient to easily guarantee the provision of sunflower to the processing companies. Our findings show that if investments in the production of sunflower protein food ingredients are to be made in Brazil, it is necessary to consider the complex institutional arrangements in which the sunflower production chains operate, seeking to guarantee the necessary provision of raw material for the processing company

Tracking and dynamic tuning of a wireless powered endoscopic capsule

This work presents an inductive wireless power transfer system for powering an endoscopy capsule supplying energy to power electronic devices allocated inside a capsule of ≈26.1 mm × 9 mm. A receiver with three coils in quadrature with dimensions of ≈9 mm × 9 mm × 10 mm is located inside the capsule, moving freely inside a transmitter coil with 380 mm diameter through translations and revolutions. The proposed system tracks the variations of the equivalent magnetic coupling coefficient compensating misalignments between the transmitter and receiver coils. The power on the load is estimated and optimized from the transmitter, and the tracking control is performed by actuating on a capacitance in the matching network and on the voltage source frequency. The proposed system can prevent load overheating by limiting the power via adjusting of the magnitude of voltage source VS. Experimental results with uncertainties analysis reveal that, even at low magnetic coupling coefficients k ranging from (1.7 × 10−3 , 3.5 × 10−3 ), the power on the load can be held within the range of 100–130 mW. These results are achieved with any position of the capsule in the space, limited by the diameter of the transmitter coil and height of 200 mm when adjusting the series capacitance of the transmitter in the range (17.4, 19.4) pF and the frequency of the power source in the range (802.1, 809.5) kHz

Preço internacional, taxa de câmbio e o preço pago aos produtores brasileiros de soja

O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar como o preço internacional da soja e a taxa de câmbio influenciaram a formação dos preços domésticos da soja nos estados de Mato Grosso, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul e Goiás, os maiores produtores dessa commodity no Brasil, de 1996 a 2011. Para isso, foram utilizados o modelo de correção de erro vetorial (VEC) e o Teste de Causalidade de Granger. Os resultados indicaram que variações no preço internacional da soja e na taxa de câmbio afetaram os preços da soja nos quatro estados e que Mato Grosso foi o único cujo preço não sofreu influência dos demais estados. Variações no mercado internacional de soja e no mercado de câmbio são repassadas integralmente aos preços domésticos no longo prazo, sendo estes preços mais influenciados pelo preço internacional. No curto prazo, os mercados seguiram a relação de preço de Mato Grosso com o preço internacional e a taxa de câmbio. Conclui-se que a preocupação dos produtores com variações na taxa de câmbio é pertinente, porém o preço internacional é o principal elemento da formação dos preços domésticos, que os mercados analisados são integrados e que Mato Grosso apresenta relevância na formação dos preços nos principais mercados dessa commodity

Avaliação da longevidade de espermatozoides equinos congelados e descongelados submetidos a centrifugação e filtração

A indústria do cavalo movimenta, no Brasil, aproximadamente R$16 bilhões de reaispor ano e gera 610 mil empregos diretos e indiretos. A demanda direcionada aos sistemasde criação viabilizou o desenvolvimento de biotécnicas que permitissem um maior e melhorpotencial produtivo e reprodutivo de várias espécies. Entretanto, o sêmen equino congeladoe descongelado apresenta, relativamente, baixas taxas de fertilidade. Isso ocorre devido aosdanos causados pela criopreservação dos gametas masculinos que fazem com que ocorraredução da longevidade espermática. Nesse contexto, técnicas foram criadas com o objetivode amenizar esses danos, tal como a separação do líquido seminal. A centrifugação efiltração aumentam a concentração por meio da retirada do líquido seminal, porém, podemcausar danos à sua viabilidade. Sendo assim, objetivou-se com esse estudo avaliar osprocedimentos de filtração e centrifugação dos espermatozoides congelados edescongelados, avaliando a longevidade das células pela observação das alterações dosaspectos físicos durante a incubação por até 90 minutos. Foram utilizadas partidas doesperma congelado de 10 equinos que foram divididas em 3 grupos: controle (CT),Centrífuga e Sperm Filter. O grupo controle não foi submetido a nenhum processo deseparação mas apenas às análises de motilidade, vigor e contagem de células commembrana íntegra, nos cinco diferentes tempos (T0= 0 minuto, T20= 20 minutos, T40= 40minutos, T60= 60 minutos e T90= 90 minutos) do Teste de Termorresistência (TTR). O grupoCentrífuga foi submetido à centrifugação por 10 minutos a 600 gravitacionais, ressuspendidoem meio crioprotetor com glicerol e analisado durante os cinco diferentes tempos do TTR. Ogrupo Sperm Filter foi submetido à filtração através da membrana hidrofílica sintética eressuspendido em meio crioprotetor com glicerol e analisado nos diferentes tempos do TTR.Nos 3 grupos foram analisados a motilidade total, vigor espermático e contagem de célulascom membrana íntegra. A análise dos dados foi feita utilizando ANOVA com teste de Tukeypara motilidade e contagem de células com membrana íntegra e Kruskal-Wallis para o vigor.Os resultados indicaram que a filtração espermática com auxílio da membrana hidrofílicasintética tendeu a conservar melhor a motilidade espermática nos dois primeiros momentos(T0: P= 0,082; T20: P= 0,088). Contudo, nas seguintes avaliações, percebeu-se uma variaçãona motilidade dos grupos (T40: 21,5 ± 6,402; T60= 16,33 ± 5,188; T90= 12,00 ± 4,719) e não diferiu entre eles (P0,05). Observou-se também que, com sêmen congelado, o grupoCentrífuga selecionou espermatozoides mais íntegros no primeiro momento (T0), emcomparação com o grupo Sperm Filter. Contudo, mais estudos devem ser feitos com oobjetivo de elucidar por quais motivos o grupo Centrífuga foi mais eficaz aos demais gruposcom relação aos demais grupos, no primeiro momento depois de descongelados

Endividamento de longo prazo e desempenho em tempos de crise: evidências de empresas no Brasil e América Latina

This study aimed at examining the effect of long-term debt on the performance of Brazilian and Latin American companies, encompassing the previous economic scenario, during and after the global crisis of 2008. It was considered in this study the accounting data from public companies listed in stock exchanges of Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Peru within the period of 2007 to 2015. It was elaborated a multiple linear regression model with panel data based on the literature of the subject. It was used Stata software for data analysis. The results indicated that for companies from Latin America, except Brazilians, there is a negative relationship between long-term debt and performance. In the case of Brazilian companies, for such relationship, the results were inconclusive.Este trabalho teve como objetivo examinar o efeito do endividamento de longo prazo no desempenho de empresas brasileiras e latino-americanas, de modo a abranger o cenário econômico anterior, durante e após a crise mundial de 2008. Considerou-se no estudo os dados contábeis referentes às companhias abertas listadas nas Bolsas de Valores do Brasil, Chile, Argentina, Colômbia, México e Peru, durante o período compreendido entre 2007 e 2015. Foi elaborado um modelo de regressão linear múltipla com dados em painel baseados na literatura sobre o tema. O software Stata foi utilizado para a análise dos dados. Os resultados indicaram que para as empresas da América Latina, exceto para as do Brasil, existe relação negativa entre o endividamento de longo prazo e o desempenho. No caso das empresas brasileiras, para tal relação, os resultados se mostraram inconclusivos

Dimensionamento hidrológico para reservatório a fim de sanar as necessidades hídricas de Itabuna-BA

O presente estudo objetivou dimensionar um reservatório de regularização de vazão para atender as demandas no município de Itabuna – Bahia a partir de imagens de satélites. Para tal, foi estimada a população no ano de 2037 e sua demanda hídrica. A classificação supervisionada da carta do Landsat 8 de 2017 foi produzida para avaliação da área de estudo. O dimensionamento do reservatório foi realizado a partir da análise das curvas de nível. O mapa gerado a partir dessa análise foi sobreposto ao mapa de uso do solo para identificação e quantificação das classes alagadas. A população estimada para o ano de 2037 foi de 246.755 habitantes, para atender essa população o reservatório deve armazenar um volume de 53,29 hm³ e altura de 14 metros, mantendo uma vazão de 1,33 m³/s. A área alagada do reservatório foi de 1548 ha sendo que 1449 ha são áreas de pastagem e 99 ha de fragmentos florestais. O dimensionamento proposto, além de atender a demanda da população estimada, apresenta uma área de alagamento que 96,8% da cobertura vegetal, composta por pastagem, desta forma o trecho é o mais recomendado para construção do reservatório

Finding Software Vulnerabilities in Open-Source C Projects via Bounded Model Checking

Computer-based systems have solved several domain problems, including industrial, military, education, and wearable. Nevertheless, such arrangements need high-quality software to guarantee security and safety as both are mandatory for modern software products. We advocate that bounded model-checking techniques can efficiently detect vulnerabilities in general software systems. However, such an approach struggles to scale up and verify extensive code bases. Consequently, we have developed and evaluated a methodology to verify large software systems using a state-of-the-art bounded model checker. In particular, we pre-process input source-code files and guide the respective model checker to explore them systematically. Moreover, the proposed scheme includes a function-wise prioritization strategy, which readily provides results for code entities according to a scale of importance. Experimental results using a real implementation of the proposed methodology show that it can efficiently verify large software systems. Besides, it presented low peak memory allocation when executed. We have evaluated our approach by verifying twelve popular open-source C projects, where we have found real software vulnerabilities that their developers confirmed.Comment: 27 pages, submitted to STTT journa

PRICE TRANSMISSION ON THE MILK PORTUGUESE MARKET

This paper aims to analyze the milk prices transmission along the food chain in Portugal, temporally and spatially. The analysis will be carried out with feed prices, farm gate milk prices and with the index prices of package milk out of factory. The results show that the volatility on retail prices is small but after 2008 the prices outside industry show a real increase. Beside that evolution, farm gate price does not change when the price of package milk changes. In mainland, price transmission from retail to farm price does not happen but for Azores the transmission is effective. In the intensive systems, the risk to collapse is bigger than in the extensive systems, where the volatility of prices reflects the process of markets adjustment to changes in supply and demand conditions