Public Perception on Corporate Social Responsibilities of Various Agricultural Industries in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, Philippines

Recent influx of multinational agri-companies (PMFT, Del Monte, Dole) has changed the socio-economic and agro-ecosystems dynamics of the municipality of Claveria, Misamis Oriental. Conventional cropping systems, such as vegetable and corn production, have been replaced by corporate-dictated commodities, namely, tobacco, pineapple, and banana. These firms operate with the corporate social responsibility (CSR) as the company’s commitment to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, the local community, and society at large to improve their quality of life. However, to have a real impact among locals, CSR must be thoroughly understood and local perception must be gauged. A series of focus group discussions involving key stakeholders and local officials and a survey involving more than 200 respondents within the study site were conducted. Survey questionnaires were translated to local dialect, pretested, and administered. Responses were collated and analyzed using central tendencies (mean, median, mode) and revalidated. Results show that the companies’ existence made a positive impression with the local government, but low to very low awareness on the issue of CSR within the general public was shown. Perceived awareness of any initiatives at improving social or environmental conditions in the community was indeed very low and most respondents claimed to have no idea at all. The community has not fully appreciated the efforts of these companies and failed to fully understand that the scope of corporate responsibility may operate beyond the companies’ normal commercial environment or traditional business operations and can thus benefit the community

Avaliação do uso de agrotóxicos em áreas cultivadas com feijão comum sob os sistemas de produção integrada (PI) e convencional (PC), em Cristalina, GO.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo evidenciar a racionalização do uso de agrotóxicos e seu reflexo econômico na produção do feijoeiro comum produzido no sistema de Produção Integrada (PI) em comparação ao sistema de Produção Convencional (PC), em Cristalina-GO.CONAFE

Raleamento de frutos de goiabeira cv. rica em Juazeiro, BA, Brasil.

Com o objetivo de determinar o numero de frutos de goiabeira (Psidium guajava L.), por planta, tendo em vista a colheita de frutos de melhor qualidade, para consumo in natura, foi desenvolvido um estudo, com a cultivar Rica, num delineamento de blocos ao acaso, com cinco tratamentos (plantas em raleio e com 200, 300, 400 e 500 frutos), em cinco repeticoes. Foram utilizadas tres plantas uteis por parcela, nas quais se observou: producao por planta (kg), produtividade (t/ha) e peso medio do fruto (g). A maior producao (76,5 kg) e a maior produtividade foram obtidas quando se conduziu a planta com 500 frutos/safra; os maiores idices de raleamento proporcionaram aumento significativo no peso medio dos frutos classificados como de primeira (acima de 120 g)

Determinação de minerais em amostras de músculo bovino e castanhas empregando ácido diluído e sistemas de alta pressão (HPA).

Em uma análise química, a amostra deve ser submetida a um tratamento adequado visando a sua preparação para a determinação dos analitos. Essa etapa de preparo de amostras é fundamental para que a quantificação seja precisa. No caso de amostras orgânicas ou biológicas é necessário transformar os elementos de interesse em formas inorgânicas simples. Comumente são utilizadas digestões empregando ácidos concentrados, seja em chapas de aquecimento, em blocos digestores, com radiação microondas, ou em sistemas de alta pressão. Araújo et al.1 propuseram o preparo de amostras com a decomposição de plantas empregando ácido diluído e radiação microondas. Nesse trabalho foi avaliada a possibilidade da utilização de ácidos diluídos na digestão de amostras complexas (músculo bovino e castanhas) empregando sistemas de alta pressão (HPA)

Food Security, Depression and Quality of Life in Northern Plains Indians

Major health disparities, high levels of poverty and food insecurity exist in many Native American and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) communities. Relatively little research has been done on these issues and possible relationships between them. A research program was designed with the objective of exploring the relationships between these various issues, if any existed, in one sub-group of AI/AN. In the study, the incidence of food insecurity was determined in a convenience sample of Northern Plains Indians (NPI) and correlated with measures of physical and mental health, body composition, quality of life, cultural identification and dietary intakes. Participants were 458 adult attendees at summer powwows and health fairs held at 5 reservations and 3 tribal colleges in North Dakota and western Minnesota. Participants completed various measurements and assessments and pertinent health and demographic data were recorded. Observed incidences of “food insecurity” overall and “very low food security” in particular (26.4% and 10.4%, respectively) were in sharp contrast to recently reported rates for North Dakota (8.7% and 3.4%) and the U.S. population as a whole (14.7% and 5.6%). In this manuscript, analysis revealed a positive relationship between food insecurity and depression and a negative relationship between food insecurity and quality of life. The findings emphasize the need to address food insecurity when designing research and service programs to address depression in AI/AN populations

Teores dos micronutrientes em áreas com feijoeiro irrigado no município de Cristalina, Goiás.

Este trabalho teve por objetivo a avaliação da fertilidade do solo de áreas com feijoeiro irrigado por meio das concentrações de micronutrientes determinadas por análise do solo e interpretadas pelo método dos níveis críticos, em áreas manejadas homogeneamente

Relação do teor de clorofila em feijoeiro irrigado com variáveis de solo e de folha.

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi correlacionar os teores de nutrientes de solo e de folha com os teores de clorofila das folhas do feijoeiro irrigado no município de Cristalina, GO.CONAFE

Effect of heat treatment on rheological properties of mixed nectars based on cashew apple, mango and acerola pulps

The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of heat treatment on the rheological properties of mixed nectars, based on cashew apple, mango, and acerola pulps. Ten different formulations with different mass fractions of cashew apple, mango, and acerola pulps were prepared using a simplex centroid design [with a total of 35% (w/w) pulp] and submitted to heat treatment at 90 °C for 1 min. Samples were collected before and after heat treatment and characterization of their rheological properties was carried out. The rheological behaviour was obtained at 25 °C, with shear rate ranging from 108 to 500 s−1 (upward curve) and from 500 to 108 s−1 (downward curve) for 1 min with 25 readings for each curve. The Ostwald de Waele model showed to be a good fit for all formulations studied, which showed a non-Newtonian behaviour and a pseudoplastic character. Results of apparent viscosity for the non-heated formulations were well fitted by the linear model and the heat treated formulations by the cubic model. The heat treated formulations had higher (P<0.05) values of consistency index and apparent viscosity, as well as lower (P<0.05) values of flow behaviour index compared to non-heated formulations. The rheological characterization of these formulations is a very useful tool during product development and processing control of mixed nectars of fruit juice