Efficiency: a key ingredient towards sustainable supply chains

This edition of the FAL Bulletin aims to help industry and policy makers see and embrace the direct link between sustainability and efficiency, so that action to make supply chains and businesses more efficient and sustainable can be taken.

The employment situation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Crisis in the labour markets and countercyclical responses

As predicted in the first bulletin, produced jointly by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), the impact of the economic crisis continued to be felt in Latin America and the Caribbean during the second quarter of 2009. Regional exports of goods and services contracted in response to sluggish demand on international markets, while remittances and foreign direct investment flows continued to fall, credit lost its buoyancy and the total wage bill diminished, owing mainly to job losses. As a result, the growth forecasts of many countries had to be adjusted downwards. Since the end of 2008, the countries of the region had started to implement countercyclical policies —albeit with significant differences— in an effort to use public spending to counter flagging investment and consumer-spending levels and boost aggregate demand. In this second bulletin, ECLAC and ILO show how the impact of the crisis has deepened in labour markets in the region in the first half of the year and examine existing options and the outcome of public-infrastructure and emergency employment programmes designed to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the labour market. The unemployment rate has risen in practically all countries compared with the previous year and this situation worsened further in the second quarter, when urban unemployment exceeded the rate of the corresponding period in 2008 by 1 percentage point (to stand at 8.5%, up from 7.5%), while in the first quarter, the variation was 0.6 of a percentage point. Labour indicators also point to an increase in informality, a decline in employment with social protection and a decrease in full-time employment. Labour-market trends observed in the first half-year, together with the forecast for a 1.9% decline in regional GDP in 2009, suggest that the average annual rate of urban unemployment in the region will be close to 8.5%. This forecast is slightly less pessimistic than the estimate given in the first bulletin; this is attributable to the fall in the participation rate in the first half-year to levels that are expected to remain low for the rest of the year. Without this reduction in the labour supply, due largely to the “discouragement effect”, the annual average urban unemployment rate would stand at between 8.8% and 8.9%. Thus, the open urban unemployment figure would increase by 2.5 million and if the “discouraged job-seekers” are included, then the number of additional persons not finding a niche in the urban labour market would climb to 3.2 million. In the region, as in the rest of the world, there are signs that the crisis may have reached bottom in the middle of the year. In many countries, production levels have ceased their decline and there are indications of an incipient recovery leading to cautious optimism that there may be a moderate upturn in labour markets in the fourth quarter. The pace of recovery will vary from one country to the next and is expected to be gradual at best. Even with the return to a growth path, there should be no illusion that the labour problems will immediately disappear. First, the recovery in employment is expected to lag behind the upturn in economic activity. Second, since economic growth is likely to remain moderate in the short term and well below the rates recorded between late 2003 and mid-2008, demand for labour and consequently the generation of good-quality jobs will continue to be weak. Thus, countries should not relax their efforts to defend and create decent jobs, but rather should take steps to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of available instruments. In this way, the region will be in a better position not only to confront the challenges of economic recovery, but also to strengthen the foundations for social inclusion and for advancing under more favourable conditions towards fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals.

Macauba palm (acrocomia aculeata) cake from biodiesel processing: an efficient and low cost substrate for the adsorption of dyes

The potential of natural and heat-treated Macauba palm cake as adsorbent for the removal of Methylene Blue (MB) and Congo Red (CR) from solution has been investigated. Equilibrium adsorption was attained in <7 h and the process was favored at pH 5.0 for MB and pH 6.5 for CR with an adsorbent (g):adsorbate (mL) ratio of 1:200 and an initial concentration of adsorbate of 25 mg L−1. The maximum adsorption capacities of the natural and heat-treated materials were, respectively, 25.80 and 32.30 mg g−1 for MB, and 32.00 and 20.30 mg g−1 for CR. The isotherm model proposed by Sips represented most adequately the adsorption of MB and CR. The adsorptions of the dyes were best described in terms of a pseudo second-order reaction. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔHo, ΔSo and ΔGo were calculated. The adsorption process was found to be endothermic and spontaneous. Macauba palm cake is adequate for the removal of waste dye from industrial effluents by virtue of its abundance, low cost and efficiency of adsorption.

An assessment of the economic and social impacts of climate change on the water sector in the Caribbean

The Caribbean is not homogenous with regard to water resources. The Caribbean climate can be characterized as tropical rainy, with two well-defined seasons, one, rainy, and another, less rainy: these characteristics have specificities according to the geographical location of each country. The rainy, tropical character of the Caribbean climate may suggest that there are enough water resources to satisfy life requirements. Notwithstanding, the availability and distribution of water depends on geological and geographical factors that—given the insular character and characteristics of each country—make water resources both vulnerable and limited.

Efeito do nitrogênio e da combinação das formas de nitrogênio na atividade das enzimas redutase do nitrato e glutamina sintetase em milho (Zea mays L.) e na produtividade

Pós-graduação em Agronomia - FEIS

Trocas gasosas e eficiência de uso da água da cultura do arroz irrigado por aspersão em função da aplicação de silício

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

Adubação fosfatada em cultivares de batata (Solanum tuberosum L.)

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

Valorização de serviços ancilares de reserva em geradores hidrelétricos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Eficiência econômica da produção de cana-de-açúcar de produtores independentes do Estado do Paraná

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Energia na Agricultura) - FCA

Estudo da emissão e do controle dos gases e particulados provenientes da queima de biomassa

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Mecânica - FEG

Respostas fisiológicas de genótipos de Eucalyptus grandis x E. urophylla à disponibilidade hídrica e adubação potássica

Conduziu-se este trabalho, com o objetivo de estudar as respostas fisiológicas de cinco genótipos de eucalipto à disponibilidade hídrica e adubação potássica. As mudas foram plantadas em vasos preenchidos com sete litros de um Neossolo Quartzarênico, com baixo teor natural de potássio (0,2 mmol c.dm-3 K), e submetidas a dois regimes de irrigação (RI1 - diário e RI2 - irrigação suspensa até o aparecimento de sintomas iniciais de murcha), sem (K0) e com suprimento de potássio (K1 - 200 mg.dm-3 K2O), em casa de vegetação. Avaliou-se a taxa fotossintética (A), condutância estomática (gs), transpiração (E), índice de conteúdo de clorofila (ICC), conteúdo relativo de água (CRA), eficiência fotoquímica (Fv/Fm), eficiência intrínseca (EUAintr) e instantânea no uso da água (EUAinst) e potencial hídrico foliar (Ψf). O experimento foi estabelecido no delineamento de blocos ao acaso, em esquema fatorial 5 x 2 x 2 (5 genótipos, 2 regimes de irrigação e 2 níveis de adubação potássica), com cinco repetições. À exceção da eficiência fotoquímica, as demais características apresentaram alterações significativas no regime RI2, com redução nos valores de A, gs e E e aumento em ICC e EUAinst. O suprimento de potássio nas plantas do RI2 proporcionou maiores valores de A, gs, E e CRA. Dos genótipos avaliados, o G1 é o mais resistente e o G2 o mais sensível à deficiência hídrica. Conclui-se que a adubação potássica pode amenizar os efeitos negativos da deficiência hídrica nos estádios iniciais de crescimento de eucalipto.

Genome-wide association analysis of feed intake and residual feed intake in Nellore cattle

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

Short-term effects of fire on small rodents in the Brazilian Cerrado and their relation with feeding habits

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

Dinâmica, eficácia e seletividade do diclosulam em condições de cana crua

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Rheological behavior of Peruvian carrot starch gels as affected by temperature and concentration

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