Quality management, environmental management maturity, green supply chain practices and green performance of Brazilian companies with ISO 14001 certification: Direct and indirect effects

This study aims to test a new conceptual model based on the relationship between quality management (QM), environmental management maturity (EMM), adoption of external practices of green supply chain management (GSCM) (green purchasing and collaboration with customers) and green performance (GP) with data from 95 Brazilian firms with ISO 14001. To our knowledge, such links and relationships are not simultaneously identified and tested in the literature. The results indicate the validation of all of the research hypotheses. This paper highlights that an improvement in green performance will require attention to quality management, environmental management maturity, and green supply chain. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pancreatic Alpha-Cell Dysfunction Contributes to the Disruption of Glucose Homeostasis and Compensatory Insulin Hypersecretion in Glucocorticoid-Treated Rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Magnetoelastic couplings in the distorted diamond-chain compound azurite

We present results of ultrasonic measurements on a single crystal of the distorted diamond-chain compound azurite Cu-3(CO3)(2)(OH)(2). Pronounced elastic anomalies are observed in the temperature dependence of the longitudinal elastic mode c(22) which can be assigned to the relevant magnetic interactions in the system and their couplings to the lattice degrees of freedom. From a semiquantitative analysis of the magnetic contribution to c(22) the magnetoelastic coupling G = partial derivative J(2)/partial derivative epsilon(b) can be estimated, where J(2) is the intradimer coupling constant and epsilon(b) the strain along the intrachain b axis. We find an exceptionally large coupling constant of | G| similar to 3650 K highlighting an extraordinarily strong sensitivity of J(2) against changes of the b-axis lattice parameter. These results are complemented by measurements of the hydrostatic pressure dependence of J2 by means of thermal expansion and magnetic susceptibility measurements performed both at ambient and finite hydrostatic pressure. We propose that a structural peculiarity of this compound, in which Cu2O6 dimer units are incorporated in an unusually stretched manner, is responsible for the anomalously large magnetoelastic coupling.

Myrcia bella Leaf Extract Presents Hypoglycemic Activity via PI3k/Akt Insulin Signaling Pathway

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Aerobic Training Prevents Dexamethasone-Induced Peripheral Insulin Resistance

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Preparation and characterization of PEG-coated silica nanoparticles for oral insulin delivery

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Mannose-binding lectin gene polymorphism and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Mixed methodology to analyze the relationship between maturity of environmental management and the adoption of green supply chain management in Brazil

The aim of this research is to verify the relationship between the maturity levels of environmental management and the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices by electro-electronic companies in Brazil. In this work a two-phase research was conducted, with one quantitative and the other qualitative. The quantitative phase aimed to test whether a relationship between the maturity levels of environmental management and GSCM exists, while the qualitative phase tried to detail the characteristics of this relationship. The quantitative phase was conducted through a survey with 100 Brazilian electro-electronic companies and the collected data were processed using Structural Equation Modeling. For the qualitative phase, a multiple case study was conducted with three companies located in Brazil. The results indicate that: (1) The main hypothesis was confirmed and considered statistically valid, indicating that, indeed, the maturity level of environmental management influences the adoption of GSCM practices; (2) a coevolution tends to occur between the environmental maturity and the GSCM practices; that is, the more developed is the company's environmental management, more complex GSCM practices are adopted; and (3) the GSCM internal practices tend to present a greater relative adoption than the external practices; these external practices of GSCM tend to be adopted when the company is inserted in a higher environmental stage and/or operates under a scenario of stronger normative environmental pressure. By the way, this is the first research mixing survey and case studies on GSCM in Brazil. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact of gestational diabetes and lactational insulin replacement on structure and secretory function of offspring rat ventral prostate

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Origin and Evolution of B Chromosomes in the Cichlid Fish Astatotilapia latifasciata Based on Integrated Genomic Analyses

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Quantum coherence and uncertainty in the anisotropic XY chain

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Fuzzy rule-based system for evaluation of uncertainty transaction in cassava chain

A fuzzy ruled-based system was developed in this study and resulted in an index indicating the level of uncertainty related to commercial transactions between cassava growers and their dealers. The fuzzy system was developed based on Transaction Cost Economics approach. The fuzzy system was developed from input variables regarding information sharing between grower and dealer on “Demand/purchase Forecasting”, “Production Forecasting” and “Production Innovation”. The output variable is the level of uncertainty regarding the transaction between seller and buyer agent, which may serve as a system for detecting inefficiencies. Evidences from 27 cassava growers registered in the Regional Development Offices of Tupa and Assis, São Paulo, Brazil, and 48 of their dealers supported the development of the system. The mathematical model indicated that 55% of the growers present a Very High level of uncertainty, 33% present Medium or High. The others present Low or Very Low level of uncertainty. From the model, simulations of external interferences can be implemented in order to improve the degree of uncertainty and, thus, lower transaction costs.