Economic Methodology for Pasture Grass and Legume Seed Production

The importance and complexity of the industrial process of seed production is known. Thus, conditions should be established for achieving and efficiently controlling the activity in order to know production costs, selling prices and to guarantee economic efficiency. The objective of this paper was to evaluate from an economic point of view, seed production of species of tropical grasses and legumes based on a preliminary methodology facilitating the control of the whole activity

The Use of Multivariate Analysis in Tropical Grass and Legume Seed Production in Cuban Regions

Seed production is an important activity in developing countries where pastures are the main source for animal feeding (Febles et al. 2003). Another outstanding aspect is the mathematical analysis used when a large number of species, varieties and ecotypes are used in the same study. The objective of this paper was to examine the use of multivariate analysis in studies on the effects of edaphoclimatic factors on seed production from tropical grasses and legumes

The Normative Implication of the B Corp Movement in the Business and Human Rights Context (abstract)

Over the past decades, issues of corporate accountability and social responsibility have risen to the forefront of international debate. The U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Guiding Principles), endorsed by the U.N. HRC in June 2011, lays out authoritatively the state duty to protect and the corporate responsibility to respect human rights. In an effort to operationalize the Guiding Principles, the U.N. Working Group on Business and Human Rights has called on all states to develop a National Action Plan (NAP) regarding domestic implementation of the Guiding Principles. A key first-step in the creation of a NAP is the completion of a national baseline assessment, a taking of stock of the current conditions affecting the protection and promotion of human rights by the state and businesses alike. With over twenty-five countries now committed to the creation of a NAP, it is increasingly important to evaluate the existing corporate landscape, specifically structures that claim to be socially and ethically motivated. The B Corp movement began in 2006, through the work of California based non-profit B-Lab. A B Corp is a business certified by B-Lab as committed to creating and supporting social and environmental rights. The B Corp movement has grown in size and stature, spreading into over thirty countries and garnering a reputation for excellence. Boosts to the movement have recently come from the certification of large multinational companies, and the interest of others that followed. As the B Corp movement continues to proliferate, it’s normative value on the business and human rights field merits analysis. What are the normative implications of the B Corp movement?—Is it a tool that should be embraced by business and human rights activists or one that undermines the movement by enabling corporations to claim an inability to take into account ethical considerations without adoption of a special corporate form

Tunable Porous Organic Crystals: Structural Scope and Adsorption Properties of Nanoporous Steroidal Ureas

Previous work has shown that certain steroidal bis-(N-phenyl)ureas, derived from cholic acid, form crystals in the P61 space group with unusually wide unidimensional pores. A key feature of the nanoporous steroidal urea (NPSU) structure is that groups at either end of the steroid are directed into the channels and may in principle be altered without disturbing the crystal packing. Herein we report an expanded study of this system, which increases the structural variety of NPSUs and also examines their inclusion properties. Nineteen new NPSU crystal structures are described, to add to the six which were previously reported. The materials show wide variations in channel size, shape, and chemical nature. Minimum pore diameters vary from ∼0 up to 13.1 Å, while some of the interior surfaces are markedly corrugated. Several variants possess functional groups positioned in the channels with potential to interact with guest molecules. Inclusion studies were performed using a relatively accessible tris-(N-phenyl)urea. Solvent removal was possible without crystal degradation, and gas adsorption could be demonstrated. Organic molecules ranging from simple aromatics (e.g., aniline and chlorobenzene) to the much larger squalene (Mw = 411) could be adsorbed from the liquid state, while several dyes were taken up from solutions in ether. Some dyes gave dichroic complexes, implying alignment of the chromophores in the NPSU channels. Notably, these complexes were formed by direct adsorption rather than cocrystallization, emphasizing the unusually robust nature of these organic molecular hosts

Bases conceptuales para la estimación del vigor de las semillas a través de indicadores del crecimiento y el desarrollo inicial Conceptual bases for estimating seed vigor through growth indicators and initial development

Se evaluaron, con métodos apropiados, los aspectos de la calidad de la semilla a través del estudio de la germinación, la viabilidad, la dormancia y el envejecimiento. La forma de almacenamiento en condiciones no controladas fue la seleccionada, por su prevalencia en los almacenes convencionales existentes en el país. Los resultados del trabajo condujeron a evaluar los métodos de escarificación como elementos que contribuyen a la ruptura de la dormancia. Además, permitieron tener un conocimiento más objetivo y preciso del vigor, debido a que se logró un equilibrio aceptable entre los elementos biológicos y matemáticos que se utilizaron. Al valorar en su conjunto los diferentes elementos de los estudios realizados, se propone considerar las bases conceptuales para la estimación del vigor de las semillas de especies de leguminosas tropicales arbustivas y arbóreas, u otras especies con características seminales similares en cuanto a la morfología y el comportamiento.An evaluation was made, with adequate methods, of the seed quality aspects through the study of germination, viability, dormancy and ageing. Storage under uncontrolled conditions was the form selected, due to its prevalence in the existing conventional storehouses in the country. The results of the work led to evaluate the scarification methods as elements which contribute to dormancy breakup. In addition, they allowed having more objective and accurate knowledge of vigor, because acceptable balance was achieved between the biological and mathematical elements used. When evaluating as a whole the different elements of the studies conducted, to consider the conceptual bases for estimating the vigor of seeds from tropical shrub and tree leguminous species, or other species with similar seed characteristics regarding morphology and performance is proposed