Embalagens Flexíveis: estudo do processo de reticulação de adesivos e do coeficiente de atrito

A dissertação foi realizada em ambiente industrial, mais precisamente na empresa Monteiro, Ribas – Embalagens Flexíveis, S.A.. Esta empresa dedica-se à impressão e laminagem de filmes, assim como à confeção de sacos. Os seus produtos são direcionados na sua maioria para a indústria alimentar, exportando mais de 50% da sua produção, e dizem respeito a complexos (dois ou mais filmes unidos pela presença de um adesivo) que podem possuir impressão ou não. Estes complexos podem ser enviados para o cliente em bobina ou já em saco. Os objetivos propostos pela empresa diziam respeito a estudos relacionados com a força de laminagem dos complexos, com o coeficiente de atrito dos mesmos e com a identificação dos espetros dos componentes dos adesivos, assim como o estudo do processo de reticulação dos mesmos por espetrofotometria de Infravermelho. Relativamente aos resultados obtidos verificou-se que tanto a tinta como os metalizados influenciam negativamente a força de laminagem. Por sua vez o coeficiente de atrito é afetado por vários fatores. Através dos ensaios experimentais verificou-se que o adesivo, a tinta e o verniz mate favorecem o aumento do valor do COF. Além disso, nos complexos em que se utilizaram filmes de polietileno de maior espessura obtiveram-se valores de COF mais baixos, e no que diz respeito à temperatura e à tensão de enrolamento, verificou-se que valores mais elevados e muito baixos da primeira traduzem-se num aumento do valor do COF e uma tensão de enrolamento maior também tem o mesmo efeito. Relativamente ao tipo de filme impresso, substratos com maior energia superficial atraem mais o agente de deslizamento (slip). Por último, não se conseguiu perceber qual o tipo de adesivo (com ou sem solvente) que tem maior impacto no COF uma vez que em 55% dos casos o valor do COF é superior nas amostras que foram complexadas com adesivo sem solvente e em 45% o COF era superior nas amostras complexadas com adesivo base solvente. No que diz respeito aos espetros obtidos verificou-se que a reticulação dos adesivos é identificada pela diminuição da extensão do pico correspondente à ligação N=C=O.

Avaliação das melhores técnicas disponíveis relativas à refrigeração industrial e às emissões resultantes da armazenagem

Esta dissertação foi realizada em colaboração com o grupo empresarial Monteiro, Ribas e teve como principais objetivos efetuar uma avaliação das melhores técnicas disponíveis relativas à refrigeração industrial e às emissões resultantes da armazenagem. O primeiro objetivo teve como alvo todas as instalações da Monteiro, Ribas enquanto que o segundo objetivo se debruçou sobre Monteiro, Ribas, Embalagens Flexíveis, S.A.. Para cumprir estes objetivos, inicialmente efetuou-se um levantamento das melhores técnicas disponíveis apresentadas nos respetivos documentos de referência. Em seguida selecionaram-se as técnicas que se adequavam às condições e às instalações em estudo e procedeu-se a uma avaliação de forma a verificar o grau de implementação das medidas sugeridas no BREF (Best Available Techniques Reference Document). Relativamente aos sistemas de refrigeração industrial verificou-se que estão implementadas quase todas as medidas referenciadas no respetivo documento de referência. Isto prende-se com o facto dos sistemas de refrigeração existentes no complexo industrial Monteiro, Ribas serem relativamente recentes. Foram implementados no ano de 2012, e são caracterizados por apresentarem uma conceção moderna com elevada eficiência. No que diz respeito à armazenagem de produtos químicos perigosos, a instalação em estudo, apresenta algumas inconformidades, uma vez que a maioria das técnicas mencionadas no BREF não se encontram implementadas, pelo que foi necessário efetuar uma avaliação de riscos ambientais, com recurso à metodologia proposta pela Norma Espanhola UNE 150008:2008 – Análise e Avaliação do Risco Ambiental. Para isso procedeu-se então à formulação de vários cenários de riscos e à quantificação de riscos para à Monteiro, Ribas Embalagens Flexíveis S.A., tendo-se apurado que os riscos estavam avaliados como moderados a altos. Por fim foram sugeridas algumas medidas de prevenção e de minimização do risco que a instalação deve aplicar, como por exemplo, o parque de resíduos perigosos deve ser equipado com kits de contenção de derrames (material absorvente), procedimentos a realizar em caso de emergência, fichas de dados de segurança e o extintor deve ser colocado num local de fácil visualização. No transporte de resíduos perigosos, para o respetivo parque, é aconselhável utilizar bacias de contenção de derrames portáteis e kits de contenção de derrames. Relativamente ao armazém de produtos químicos perigosos é recomendado que se proceda a sua reformulação tendo em conta as MTD apresentadas no subcapítulo 5.2.3 desta dissertação.

Melhoria do processo produtivo de embalagem numa empresa do ramo automóvel

Este estudo foi desenvolvido no âmbito da Unidade curricular de Dissertação / Projeto / Estágio do Mestrado em Engenharia Mecânica – Ramo de Gestão Industrial do Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, com aplicação em ambiente industrial numa empresa metalomecânica da indústria automóvel. O projeto desenvolveu-se na secção de inspeção e embalagem de produto acabado da empresa IETA S.A., fornecedora de estruturas metálicas, com o objetivo de minimizar as reclamações recebidas por defeitos originados no processo de fabrico. A abordagem a este estudo iniciou-se pelo registo e análise de dados e consequente formulação e implementação de melhorias ao processo de fabrico, com recurso a metodologias e ferramentas Lean. A existência de um problema relacionado com o processo de fabrico em vigor permitiu o conhecimento dos hábitos de trabalho e a apresentação de propostas de melhoria ao layout fabril e ao método de trabalho em vigor na secção. A análise dos problemas existentes possibilitou a identificação de oportunidades de melhoria em outras áreas do processo, revelando-se o poder das ferramentas utilizadas na análise de dados. Este estudo de investigação revelou ser muito enriquecedor e motivador tendo proporcionado a aplicação de conteúdos científicos Lean em ambiente industrial ficando provada a mais-valia da sua implementação. A aplicação das ferramentas e metodologias Lean estudadas permitiram efetuar uma análise cuidada dos dados conduzindo a propostas de melhoria vantajosas e compatíveis com as necessidades da empresa. As propostas apresentadas, apesar de não terem sido todas implementadas, resultaram num impacto positivo no processo de fabrico com uma eliminação expectável de 38% dos defeitos reclamados.

Improved polymeric medical devices for active substances delivery

The work presented in this thesis was developed in collaboration with a Portuguese company, BeyonDevices, devoted to pharmaceutical packaging, medical technology and device industry. Specifically, the composition impact and surface modification of two polymeric medical devices from the company were studied: inhalers and vaginal applicators. The polyethylene-based vaginal applicator was modified using supercritical fluid technology to acquire self-cleaning properties and prevent the transport of bacteria and yeasts to vaginal flora. For that, in-situ polymerization of 2-substituted oxazolines was performed within the polyethylene matrix using supercritical carbon dioxide. The cationic ring-opening polymerization process was followed by end-capping with N,N-dimethyldodecylamine. Furthermore, for the same propose, the polyethylene matrix was impregnated with lavender oil in supercritical medium. The obtained materials were characterized physical and morphologically and the antimicrobial activity against bacteria and yeasts was accessed. Materials modified using 2-substituted oxazolines showed an effective killing ability for all the tested microorganisms, while the materials modified with lavender oil did not show antimicrobial activity. Only materials modified with oligo(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) maintain the activity during the long term stability. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of the materials was tested, confirming their biocompatibilty. Regarding the inhaler, its surface was modified in order to improve powder flowability and consequently, to reduce powder retention in the inhaler´s nozzle. New dry powder inhalers (DPIs), with different needle’s diameters, were evaluated in terms of internal resistance and uniformity of the emitted dose. It was observed that they present a mean resistance of 0.06 cmH2O0.5/(L/min) and the maximum emitted dose obtained was 68.9% for the inhaler with higher needle´s diameter (2 mm). Thus, this inhaler was used as a test and modified by the coating with a commonly-used force control agent, magnesium stearate, dried with supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) and the uniformity of delivered dose tests were repeated. The modified inhaler showed an increase in emitted dose from 68.9% to 71.3% for lactose and from 30.0% to 33.7% for Foradil.

Viscofan SA: Equity research

UNL - NSBE

Ethical consumption (in)decisons

Consumers’ indecisions about the ethical value of their choices are amongst the highest concerns regarding ethical products’ purchasing. This is especially true for Fair Trade certified products where the ethical attribute information provided by the packaging is often unacknowledged by consumers. While well-informed consumers are likely to generate positive consumer reactions to ethical products and increase its ethical consumption, less knowledgeable buyers show different purchasing patterns. In such circumstances, decisions are often driven by socio-cultural beliefs about the low functional performance of ethical or sustainable attributes. For instance, products more congruent with sustainability (e.g., produce) are considered to be simpler but less tasty than less sustainable products. Less sustainable products instead, are considered to be more sophisticated and to provide consumers with more hedonic pleasures (e.g., chocolate mousse). The extent that ethicality is linked with experiences that provide consumers with more pain than pleasure is also manifested in pro-social social behaviors. More specifically through conspicuous self-sacrificial consumption experiences like running for charity in marathons with wide public exposure. The willingness of consumers to engage in such costly initiatives is moderated by gender differences and further, mediated by the chronic productivity orientation of some individuals to use time in a productive manner. Using experimental design studies, I show that consumers (1) use a set of affective and cognitive associations with on-package elements to interpret ethical attributes, (2) implicitly associate ethicality with simplicity, and that (3) men versus women show different preferences in their forms of contribution to pro-social causes.

Drivers and Barriers of Collaboration in the Value Chain of Paperboard-Packed Consumer Goods

Value chain collaboration has been a prevailing topic for research, and there is a constantly growing interest in developing collaborative models for improved efficiency in logistics. One area of collaboration is demand information management, which enables improved visibility and decrease of inventories in the value chain. Outsourcing of non-core competencies has changed the nature of collaboration from intra-enterprise to cross-enterprise activity, and this together with increasing competition in the globalizing markets have created a need for methods and tools for collaborative work. The retailer part in the value chain of consumer packaged goods (CPG) has been studied relatively widely, proven models have been defined, and there exist several best practice collaboration cases. The information and communications technology has developed rapidly, offering efficient solutions and applications to exchange information between value chain partners. However, the majority of CPG industry still works with traditional business models and practices. This concerns especially companies operating in the upstream of the CPG value chain. Demand information for consumer packaged goods originates at retailers' counters, based on consumers' buying decisions. As this information does not get transferred along the value chain towards the upstream parties, each player needs to optimize their part, causing safety margins for inventories and speculation in purchasing decisions. The safety margins increase with each player, resulting in a phenomenon known as the bullwhip effect. The further the company is from the original demand information source, the more distorted the information is. This thesis concentrates on the upstream parts of the value chain of consumer packaged goods, and more precisely the packaging value chain. Packaging is becoming a part of the product with informative and interactive features, and therefore is not just a cost item needed to protect the product. The upstream part of the CPG value chain is distinctive, as the product changes after each involved party, and therefore the original demand information from the retailers cannot be utilized as such – even if it were transferred seamlessly. The objective of this thesis is to examine the main drivers for collaboration, and barriers causing the moderate adaptation level of collaborative models. Another objective is to define a collaborative demand information management model and test it in a pilot business situation in order to see if the barriers can be eliminated. The empirical part of this thesis contains three parts, all related to the research objective, but involving different target groups, viewpoints and research approaches. The study shows evidence that the main barriers for collaboration are very similar to the barriers in the lower part of the same value chain; lack of trust, lack of business case and lack of senior management commitment. Eliminating one of them – the lack of business case – is not enough to eliminate the two other barriers, as the operational model in this thesis shows. The uncertainty of the future, fear of losing an independent position in purchasing decision making and lack of commitment remain strong enough barriers to prevent the implementation of the proposed collaborative business model. The study proposes a new way of defining the value chain processes: it divides the contracting and planning process into two processes, one managing the commercial parts and the other managing the quantity and specification related issues. This model can reduce the resistance to collaboration, as the commercial part of the contracting process would remain the same as in the traditional model. The quantity/specification-related issues would be managed by the parties with the best capabilities and resources, as well as access to the original demand information. The parties in between would be involved in the planning process as well, as their impact for the next party upstream is significant. The study also highlights the future challenges for companies operating in the CPG value chain. The markets are becoming global, with toughening competition. Also, the technology development will most likely continue with a speed exceeding the adaptation capabilities of the industry. Value chains are also becoming increasingly dynamic, which means shorter and more agile business relationships, and at the same time the predictability of consumer demand is getting more difficult due to shorter product life cycles and trends. These changes will certainly have an effect on companies' operational models, but it is very difficult to estimate when and how the proven methods will gain wide enough adaptation to become standards.

Construction of bovine adenovirus type 3 E1 and E3, substitution plasmids and the sequencing analysis of DNA pol and pTP /

The relative ease to concentrate and purify adenoviruses, their well characterized mid-sized genome, and the ability to delete non-essential regions from their genome to accommodate foreign gene, made adenoviruses a suitable candidate for the construction of vectors. The use of adenoviral vectors in gene therapy, vaccination, and as a general vector system for expressing foreign genes have been documented for some time. In this study, the objective was to rescue a BAV3 E1 or E3 recombinant vector carrying the kanamycin resistant gene, a dominant selectable marker with useful applications in studying vectored gene expression in mammalian cells. To accomplish the objective of this study, more information about BAV3 DNA sequences was required in order to make the manipulation of the virus genome accessible. Therefore, sequencing of the BAV3 genome from 1 1 .7% to 30.8% was carried out. Analysis of the determined sequences revealed the primary structure of important viral gene products coded by E2 including BAV3 DNA pol and precursor to terminal protein. Comparative analysis of these proteins with their counterparts from human and non human adenoviruses revealed important insights as to the evolutionary lineage of BAV3. In order to insert the kanamycin resistance gene in either E1 or E3, it was necessary to delete BAV3 sequences to accommodate the foreign gene so as not to exceed the limit of the packaging capacity of the virus. To construct a recombinant BAV3 in which a foreign gene was inserted in the deleted E1 region, an E1 shuttle vector was constructed. This involved the deletion from the viral sequences a region between 1.3% to 9% and inserting the kanamycin resistance gene to replace the deletion. The E1 shuttle vector contained the left (0%- 53.9%) segment of the genome and was expected to generate BAV3 recombinants that can be grown and propagated in cells that can complement the missing E1 functions. To construct a similar shuttle vector for E3 deletion, DNA sequences extending from 78.9% to 82.5% (1281 bp) were deleted from within the E3 region that had been cloned into a plasmid vector. The deleted region corresponds to those that have been shown to be non-essential for viral replication in cell culture. The resulting plasmid was used to construct another recombinant plasmid with BAV3 DNA sequences extending from 37.1% to 100% and with a deletion of E3 sequences that were replaced by kanamycin resistance gene. This shuttle plasmid was used in cotransfections with digested viral DNA in an attempt to rescue a recombinant BAV3 carrying the kanamycin resistance gene to replace the deleted E3. In spite of repeated attempts of transfection, El or E3 recombinant BAV3 were not isolated. It seems that other approaches should be applied to make a final conclusion on BAV3 infectivity.

Analytical strategies for the comprehensive profiling of histone post translational modifications by mass spectrometry and implications for functional analyses

Le long bio-polymère d'ADN est condensé à l’intérieur du noyau des cellules eukaryotes à l'aide de petites protéines appelées histones. En plus de leurs fonctions condensatrices,ces histones sont également la cible de nombreuses modifications post-traductionnelles(MPT), particulièrement au niveau de leur section N-terminale. Ces modifications réversibles font partie d’un code d’histones épi-génétique transmissible qui orchestre et module dynamiquement certains événements impliquant la chromatine, tels l’activation et la désactivation de gènes ainsi que la duplication et la réparation d’ADN. Ces modifications sont impliquées subséquemment dans la signalisation et la progression de cancers, tels que la leucémie. En conséquence, l'élucidation des modifications d’histones est importante pour comprendre leurs fonctions biologiques. Une méthodologie analytique a été mise au point en laboratoire pour isoler, détecter, et quantifier les MPT d’histones en utilisant une approche rapide à deux volets à l’aide d’outils bioinformatiques spécialisés. La méthodologie développée en laboratoire a été validée en utilisant des histones de souche sauvage ainsi que deux types d’histones mutants déficients en enzymes acétyltransferase. Des trois sources d’histones utilisées, la seule MPT qui a démontré un changement significatif est l’acétylation de l’histone H3 à lysine 56 (H3K56ac). L’expression et la stoechiométrie de cette MPT, issue de cellules de souche sauvage et de cellules mutantes, ont été déterminées avec précision et comparées. Les fonctions de balayage polyvalentes d'un instrument à trappe ionique quadrupôle linéaire hybride ont été utilisées pour améliorer la détection de protéines intactes. Le mode de balayage « enhanced multiply charged » (EMC) a été modifié pour contenir et détecter les ions de protéines intactes situées dans la trappe ionique linéaire. Ce mode de balayage nommé « targeted EMC » (tEMC) a permis de quadrupler le niveau de sensibilité (signal/interférence), et quintupler la résolution du mode de balayage conventionnel. De plus, la capacité de séparation des charges du tEMC a réduit de façon significative les effets de « space charge » dans la trappe ionique linéaire. La résolution supérieure du mode tEMC a permis de différencier plusieurs isoformes modifiées, particulièrement pour l’histone H3. L’analyse des peptides d’histones trypsiques à l’aide du mode de balayage « MRM » a permis le séquençage et la quantification de MPT avec un haut degré de précision. La seule MPT qui était sous-exprimée entre l’histone de souche sauvage et le mutant DOT1L fut la méthylation de l’histone H3 lysine 79(H3K79me1). Les effets de deux inhibiteurs d’enzymes HDAC (HDACi) sur l’expression de MPT d’histone ont été évalués en utilisant la méthodologie analytique mentionnée. Les histones extraites de cellules normales et cancéreuses ont été exposées à du Vorinostat(SAHA) ou du Entinostat (MS-275) pour une période de 24 à 72 heures. Deux histones furent principalement affectées, soit H3 et H4. Étonnamment, les mêmes effets n'ont pas été détectés lorsque les cellules normales ont été traitées avec le HDACi pour une période de 48 à 72 heures. Une méthode absolue de quantification avec une courbe d’étalonnage a été développée pour le peptide H3K56ac. Contrairement à certaines publications, nos résultats démontrent que cette MPT est présente dans les cellules mammifères avec une stoechiométrie très basse (< 0,1%) et n'est pas surexprimée de façon significative après le traitement au HDACi.

Étude de la variante d’histone H2A.Z et du cycle de phosphorylation de l’ARN polymérase II chez Saccharomyces cerevisiae

La chromatine est plus qu’un système d’empaquetage de l’ADN ; elle est le support de toutes les réactions liées à l’ADN dans le noyau des cellules eucaryotes et participe au contrôle de l’accès de l’ARN polymérase II (ARNPolII) à l’ADN. Responsable de la transcription de tous les ARNm des cellules eucaryotes, l’ARNPolII doit, suivant son recrutement aux promoteurs des gènes, transcrire l’ADN en traversant la matrice chromatinienne. Grâce au domaine C-terminal (CTD) de sa sous-unité Rpb1, elle coordonne la maturation de l’ARNm en cours de synthèse ainsi que les modifications de la chromatine, concomitantes à la transcription. Cette thèse s’intéresse à deux aspects de la transcription : la matrice, avec la localisation de la variante d’histone H2A.Z, et la machinerie de transcription avec le cycle de phosphorylation du CTD de l’ARNPolII. Suivant l’introduction, le chapitre 2 de cette thèse constitue un protocole détaillé et annoté de la technique de ChIP-chip, chez la levure Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Cette technique phare dans l’étude in vivo des phénomènes liés à l’ADN a grandement facilité l’étude du rôle de la chromatine dans les phénomènes nucléaires, en permettant de localiser sur le génome les marques et les variantes d’histones. Ce chapitre souligne l’importance de contrôles adéquats, spécifiques à l’étude de la chromatine. Au chapitre 3, grâce à la méthode de ChIP-chip, la variante d’histone H2A.Z est cartographiée au génome de la levure Saccharomyces cerevisiae avec une résolution d’environ 300 paires de bases. Nos résultats montrent que H2A.Z orne un à deux nucléosomes au promoteur de la majorité des gènes. L’enrichissement de H2A.Z est anticorrélé à la transcription et nos résultats suggèrent qu’elle prépare la chromatine pour l’activation des gènes. De plus H2A.Z semble réguler la localisation des nucléosomes. Le chapitre suivant s’intéresse à la transcription sous l’angle de la machinerie de transcription en se focalisant sur le cycle de phosphorylation de l’ARN polymérase II. Le domaine C-terminal de sa plus large sous-unité est formé de répétitions d’un heptapeptide YSPTSPS dont les résidus peuvent être modifiés au cours de la transcription. Cette étude localise les marques de phosphorylation des trois résidus sérine de manière systématique dans des souches mutantes des kinases et phosphatases. Nos travaux confirment le profil universel des marques de phosphorylations aux gènes transcrits. Appuyés par des essais in vitro, ils révèlent l’interaction complexe des enzymes impliqués dans la phosphorylation, et identifient Ssu72 comme la phosphatase de la sérine 7. Cet article appuie également la notion de « variantes » des marques de phosphorylation bien que leur étude spécifique s’avère encore difficile. La discussion fait le point sur les travaux qui ont suivi ces articles, et sur les expériences excitantes en cours dans notre laboratoire.

Les biens communs sans tragédie : effets de la pression sociale et des convictions

Pourquoi faire un effort pour la communauté sans rien recevoir en retour? C’est habituellement par conviction ou pour répondre à une norme sociale. En s’intéressant au problème du recyclage, nous définissons un modèle de comportement qui intègre ces deux facteurs. Nous déterminons sous quelles conditions un individu décide d’agir bénévolement, puis nous étudions comment ce comportement se propage dans la population. Cela nous permet de déduire comment un gouvernement doit pondérer ses efforts entre la publicité et la consigne pour tendre vers un taux de recyclage parfait au coût minimal. Nous prouvons aussi que dans certaines circonstances, il est préférable de ne pas encourager la participation au bien public. En effet, à mesure que plus de gens y participent, des tensions sociales émergent entre ceux qui font un effort et ceux qui n’en font pas. Celles-ci peuvent être assez fortes pour contrebalancer les bénéfices attendus du bien public

L'anticipation syndicale des restructurations d'entreprise : une étude de cas dans le secteur de la fabrication et l'emballage de verre

Au cours des dernières années, la mondialisation des marchés a radicalement modifié les activités économiques des entreprises et le tissu productif à travers la planète. Les restructurations deviennent dès lors des options avantageuses pour les entreprises afin de demeurer concurrentielles. Alors qu’auparavant les restructurations consistaient essentiellement en une réduction d’effectifs dans un site considéré peu rentable, elles sont aujourd’hui polymorphes: fermeture de site, délocalisations, sous-traitance, ouverture de nouvelles unités au pays et hors pays, relocalisation et fusions-acquisitions (Rouleau, 2000) et (AgirE, 2008). Or, les restructurations posent un problème pour l’action syndicale qui doit composer avec ces processus complexes en raison de leur caractère multidimensionnel, multi niveaux et multi acteurs. Les réponses syndicales aux restructurations s’élaborent toujours dans un contexte d’asymétrie de pouvoirs dans la mesure où l’employeur est maître des dimensions spatiales et temporelles des restructurations. L'anticipation syndicale des restructurations apparaît être une stratégie innovante qui permet aux syndicats de réduire ou mieux, de prévenir les conséquences négatives qui découlent des restructurations. Cette recherche a pour objectif d’examiner les facteurs influençant l’anticipation des restructurations en vue d’en dégager les conditions se rattachant à un tel exercice pour les syndicats. À cette fin, deux modèles d'analyse ont été mobilisés. En premier lieu, les ressources de pouvoir syndicales de Lévesque et Murray (2003) permettent d'expliquer l'anticipation syndicale des restructurations dans la mesure où la capacité d'action du syndicat local constitue un facteur qui ne dépend que du syndicat lui-même. Puis, le modèle d'analyse d'AgirE (2008) permet d'expliquer l'espace et le temps d'action alloués au syndicat par l'employeur pour anticiper les restructurations. Les variables indépendantes provenant de ce modèle d'analyse sont les suivantes: les caractéristiques de l'entreprise, les caractéristiques du territoire et la stratégie patronale de restructuration. Cette présente recherche a été réalisée sous la forme d'une étude de cas. Il s'agit ici de l'étude d'un cas critique d'anticipation syndicale d'une restructuration ayant eu cours en 2004-2005 dans une usine du secteur manufacturier québécois. Des entrevues ont été effectuées auprès de représentants syndicaux de l'usine, d'un ex-cadre de l'usine et de deux intervenants importants du milieu communautaire. Les résultats de notre recherche montrent sans équivoque que la capacité d'action du syndicat local est un facteur-clé qui a permis d'expliquer l'anticipation stratégique et opérationnelle de la restructuration interne ayant eu lieu dans l'usine de fabrication et d'emballage de verre. En dépit des caractéristiques de l'entreprise et de la stratégie patronale de restructuration défavorable à l'implication syndicale, le syndicat local a su lui-même se créer un espace d'action lui ayant permis de sauver l'établissement d'une possible fermeture à moyen-long terme. Les caractéristiques territoriales favorables à une action concertée entre les différents acteurs du territoire où est située l'usine se sont également avérées une condition importante pour l'anticipation syndicale de la restructuration. Mots-clés: (1) anticipation, (2) mondialisation, (3) Québec, (4) restructuration, (5) secteur manufacturier , (6) stratégie, (7) syndicat

La contrefaçon de médicaments dans le monde, étude exploratoire

TRAVAIL DIRIGÉ PRÉSENTÉ À LA FACULTÉ DES ARTS ET SCIENCES EN VUE DE L’OBTENTION DU GRADE DE MAÎTRE ÈS SCIENCES (M.SC.) EN CRIMINOLOGIE OPTION CRIMINALISTIQUE ET INFORMATION

Fabrication and Characterization of All-Fiber Components for Optical Access Networks

This Thesis deals with the fabrication and characterization of novel all-fiber components for access networks. All fiber components offer distinctive advantages due to low forward and backward losses, epoxy free optical path and high power handling. A novel fabrication method for monolithic 1x4 couplers, which are vital components in distributed passive optical networks, is realized. The fabrication method differs from conventional structures with a symmetric coupling profile and hence offers ultra wideband performance and easy process control. New structure for 1x4 couplers, by fusing five fibers is proposed to achieve high uniformity, which gives equivalent uniformity performance to 1x4 planar lightwave splitters, isolation in fused fiber WDM is improved with integration of long period gratings. Packaging techniques of fused couplers are analyzed for long term stability.

Studies on new processing aids and other compounding ingredients in special purpose rubbers

In the first part of the study we probed the effectiveness of rice bran oil as a multipurpose compounding ingredient for nitrile (NBR) and chloroprene (CR) rubbers. This oil has already been successfully employed in the compounding of NR and SBR in this laboratory.In this context we thought it worthwhile to try this oil in the polar rubbers viz, NBR and CR also. The principle of like dissolves like as applicable to solvents is equally applicable while selecting a plasticiser, elastomer combination. Because of the compatibility considerations polar plasticisers are preferred for polar rubbers like NBR and CR. Although plasticisation is a physical phenomenon and no chemical reaction is involved, the chemical structure of plasticisers determines how much physical attraction there is between the rubber and the plasticiser. In this context it is interesting to note that the various fatty acids present in rice bran oil have a long paraffinic chain, characteristic of waxes, with an acid group at the end of the molecule. The paraffinic end of the molecule contributes lubricating effects and limits compatibility whereas the acid end group contributes some polarity and is also chemically reactive. Because of absorption of acid group on the surface of pigments, these acids will have active pigment wetting characteristics also. These factors justifies the role of rice bran oil as a co-activator and lubricating agent for NBR and CR. In fact in our study we successfully replaced stearic acid as co-activator and aromatic oillDOP as processing aid for CR and NBR with rice bran oil.This part of the study has got special significance in the fact that rubber industry now heavily depends on petroleum industry for process oils. The conventional process oils like aromatic, naphthenic and paraffinic oils are increasingly becoming costlier, as its resources in nature are fast depleting. Moreover aromatic process oils are reported to be carcinogenic because of the presence of higher levels of polycyclic aromatic compounds in these oils.As a result of these factors, a great amount research is going on world over for newer processing aids which are cost effective, nontoxic and performanance wise at par with the conventional ones used in the rubber industry. Trials with vegetable oils in this direction is worth trying.Antioxidants are usually added to the rubber compound to minimise ageing effects from heat, light, oxygen etc. As rice bran oil contains significant amount of tocopherols and oryzanol which are natural antioxidants, we replaced a phenolic antioxidant like styrenated phenol (SP) from the compound recipe of both the rubbers with RBO and ascertained whether this oil could function in the role of antioxidant as well.Preparation and use of epoxidised rice bran oil as plasticiser has already been reported.The crude rice bran oil having an iodine value of 92 was epoxidised in this laboratory using peracetic acid in presence of sulphuric acid as catalyst. The epoxy content of the epoxidised oil was determined volumetrically by treating a known weight of the oil with excess HCI and back titrating the residual HCI with standard alkali solution. The epoxidised oil having an epoxy content of 3.4% was tried in the compounding of NBR and CR as processing aids. And results of these investigations are also included in this chapter. In the second part of the study we tried how RBO/ERBO could perform when used as a processing aid in place of aromatic oil in the compounding of black filled NRCR blends. Elastomers cannot have all the properties required for a particular applications, so it is common practice in rubber industry to blend two elastomers to have desired property for the resulting blend.In this RBO/ERBO was tried as a processing aid for plasticisation, dispersion of fillers, and vulcanisation of black filled NR-CR blends.Aromatic oil was used as a control. The results of our study indicate that these oils could function as a processing aid and when added together with carbon black function as a cure accelerator also.PVC is compatible with nitrile rubber in all proportions, provided NBR has an acrylonitrile content of 25 to 40%. Lower or higher ACN content in NBR makes it incompatible with PVC.PVC is usually blended with NBR at high temperatures. In order to reduce torque during mixing, additional amounts of plasticisers like DOP are added. The plasticiser should be compatible both with PVC and NBR so as to get a homogeneous blend. Epoxidised soyaben oil is reported to have been used in the compounding of PVC as it can perfonn both as an efficient plasticiser and heat stabilizer.At present DOP constitute the largest consumed plasticiser in the PVC compounding. The migration of this plasticiser from food packaging materials made of PVC poses great health hazards as this is harmful to human body. In such a scenario we also thought it worthwhile to see whether DOP could be replaced by rice bran oil in the compounding of NBR-PVC blends Different blends of NBR-PVC were prepared with RBO and were vulcanized using sulphur and conventional accelerators. The various physical and mechanical properties of the vulcanisates were evaluated and compared with those prepared with DOP as the control plasticiser. Epoxidised rice bran oil was also tried as plasticiser for the preparation of NBR-PVC blends. A comparison of the processability and cure characteristics of the different blends prepared with DOP and ERBO showed that ERBO based blends have better processability and lower cure time values. However the elastographic maximum torque values are higher for the DOP based blends. Almost all of the physical properties evaluated are found to be slightly better for the DOP based blends over the ERBO based ones. However a notable feature of the ERBO based blends is the better percentage retention of elongation at break values after ageing over the DOP based blends. The results of these studies using rice bran oil and its epoxidised variety indicated that they could be used as efficient plasticisers in place of DOP and justifies their role as novel, nontoxic, and cheap plasticisers for NBR-PVC blends.