Faturamento de novos produtos na indústria do estado de São Paulo: análise dos fatores de influência

Diversos estudos têm sido realizados no intuito de analisar os impactos da inovação tecnológica no desempenho comercial das empresas. Com isso, este estudo visa analisar os fatores de influência sobre o percentual do faturamento com a venda de novos produtos na indústria do Estado de São Paulo. Trata-se de uma pesquisa com características descritivas e explicativas, cuja abordagem é quantitativa, utilizando dados secundários provindos da Pesquisa de Atividade Econômica Paulista (PAEP), realizada pela Fundação SEADE. Os resultados mostram que os fatores de influência sobre o faturamento provindo de novos produtos são: a origem do capital controlador; a empresa pertencer a um grupo empresarial; o total de pessoal em pesquisa e desenvolvimento; o pessoal alocado diretamente na produção; as fontes de informação para atividades inovativas; e o apoio governamental para a inovação tecnológica.

Development of corn and flaxseed snacks with high-fibre content using response surface methodology (RSM)

With the increasing emphasis on health and well-being, nutrition aspects need to be incorporated as a dimension of product development. Thus, the production of a high-fibre content snack food from a mixture of corn and flaxseed flours was optimized by response surface methodology. The independent variables considered in this study were: feed moisture, process temperature and flaxseed flour addition, as they were found to significantly impact the resultant product. These variables were studied according to a rotatable composite design matrix (-1.68, -1, 0, 1, 1.68). Response variable was the expansion ratio since it has been highly correlated with acceptability. The optimum corn-flaxseed snack obtained presented a sevenfold increase in dietary fibre, almost 100% increase in protein content compared to the pure corn snack, and yielded an acceptability score of 6.93. This acceptability score was similar to those observed for corn snack brands in the market, indicating the potential commercial use of this new product, which can help to increase the daily consumption of dietary fibre.

Use of cellulose fibers from hemp core in fiber-cement production. Effect on flocculation, retention, drainage and product properties

The aim of this paper is to study the feasibility of using cellulose fibers obtained from an agricultural waste, hemp core (Cannabis Sativa L), through different new environmental friendly cooking processes for fiber-cement production. The physical and mechanical properties of the fiber reinforced concrete, which depend on the nature and morphology of the fibers, matrix properties and the interactions between them, must be kept between the limits required for its application. Therefore, the morphology of the fibers and how its use affects the flocculation, retention and drainage processes in the fiber-cement manufacture, and the mechanical and physical properties of the fiber-cement product have been studied. The use of pulp obtained by means of the hemp core cooking in ethanolamine at 60% concentration at 180 degrees C during 90 min resulted in the highest solids retention and the best mechanical properties among the studied hemp core pulps. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.