Environmental requirements for furniture industry: the case study of Brazilian Southeast industry

Despite more than 20 years of economic progress, especially in emerging economies like Brazil, the gap between developed and developing countries is still large, and environment problems have risen significantly. In this context, this paper aims to make the Brazilian furniture production cleaner, analyzing the environmental requirements considered by the micro and small enterprises (SMEs) in made-to-order furniture industry during the product development process (PDP). Another attempt was to identify the internal and external factors that led to the incorporation of these requirements. In this regard, a comprehensive review of eco-design concept that consists of composing environmental requirements into the PDP, through methods, tools, guidelines and techniques, was carried out. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and in loco observations, analyzing each activity of the PDP and the environmental requirements on 18 SMEs in Brazil. The outcomes show that the economic factors determine the way in which the enterprises respond to the environmental issues and how adequate their companies according to laws and regulations. Moreover, the small number of qualified professionals in this field lead to difficulties to structure the sector, in other words, to produce with less environment impact.     

Insecticides biomarker responses on a freshwater fish Corydoras paleatus (Pisces: Callichthyidae)

This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of sublethal concentration of three different classes of insecticides (carbamate, organophosphate, and pyrethroid compounds) on the freshwater fish Corydoras paleatus. For this purpose, fish were exposed for 96 hours to commercial pesticides. Different biomarkers were analyzed as levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO), piscine micronucleus test, and enzymatic activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The brain AChE was inhibited with carbaryl and methyl parathion, but no inhibition was observed with deltamethrin. The insecticides did not cause oxidative stress or genotoxic effects at the tested concentrations. Further studies are needed to elucidate the biotransformation of Corydoras paleatus insecticides and a possible resistance mechanism.     

Abundance,population structure and claw morphology of the semi-terrestrial crab <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pachygrapsus marmoratus</Emphasis> (Fabricius, 1787) on shores of differing wave exposure

Wave action is known to influence the abundance and distribution of intertidal organisms. Wave action will also determine the duration and suitability of various foraging windows (high-tide and low-tide, day and night) for predation and can also affect predator behaviour, both directly by impeding prey handling and indirectly by influencing prey abundance. It remains uncertain whether semi-terrestrial mobile predators such as crabs which can access intertidal prey during emersion when the effects of wave action are minimal, are influenced by exposure. Here, we assessed the effect of wave action on the abundance and population structure (size and gender) of the semi-terrestrial intertidal crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus on rocky shores in Portugal. The activity of P. marmoratus with the tidal cycle on sheltered and exposed shores was established using baited pots at high-tide to examine whether there was activity during intertidal immersion and by low-tide searches. Because prey abundance varies along a wave exposure gradient on most Portuguese shores and because morphology of crab chelipeds are known to be related to diet composition, we further tested the hypothesis that predator stomach contents reflected differences in prey abundance along the horizontal gradient in wave exposure and that this would be correlated with the crab cheliped morphology. Thus, we examined phenotypic variation in P. marmoratus chelipeds across shores of differing exposure to wave action. P. marmoratus was only active during low-tide. Patterns of abundance and population structure of crabs did not vary with exposure to wave action. Stomach contents, however, varied significantly between shores of differing exposure with a higher consumption of hard-shelled prey (mussels) on exposed locations, where this type of prey is more abundant, and a higher consumption of barnacles on sheltered shores. Multivariate geometric analysis of crab claws showed that claws were significantly larger on exposed shores. There was a significant correlation between animals with larger claws and the abundance of mussels in their stomach. Variation in cheliped size may have resulted from differing food availability on sheltered and exposed shores.     

Multilevel approach to organizational and group safety climate and safety performance: Co-workers as the missing link

The aim of this study is to test a model on the relationships between organizational and group safety climate and safety performance, that highlights the importance of co-workers as a safety climate agent side by side supervisors at group level. The idea is to consider the co-workers’ safety climate as a necessary part of a multilevel model of safety climates’ framework associated to safety performance. Firstly, the assessment of the safety climates’ framework which consider organizational safety climate and at group level supervisor’s and co-workers’ safety climate was performed. Then, the mediating role of co-workers’ safety climate between organizational and supervisor’s safety climate, and worker’s safety behaviours was explored. From the literature, the importance to study safety climate in a multilevel perspective by a theoretical and methodological point of view is known. For these reasons the proposed models were tested with multilevel structural equation modelling. We used a two-level design which considered the individual level and the work-group level. Data collection involved 991 blue-collars, belonging to 91 work groups, from five Italian manufacturing companies. The research highlighted the importance of considering at group level not only climate referred to supervisor, but also climate referred to co-workers. Furthermore, results confirmed the mediating role of co-workers’ safety climate and revealed that co-workers’ safety climate had a stronger influence on safety behaviours, and in particular on safety participation, than supervisor’s safety climate, at individual level as well at group level.     

Precipitation and river water chemistry of the Piracicaba River basin, southeast Brazil

Annual precipitation and river water volumes and chemistry were measured from 1995 to 1998 in a mesoscale agricultural area of southeast Brazil. Precipitation was mildly acidic and solute concentrations were higher in the west than in the east of the basin. Combustion products from biomass burning, automobile exhaust, and industry typically accumulate in the atmosphere from March until October and are responsible for seasonal differences observed in precipitation chemistry. In river waters, the volume-weighted mean (VWM) concentrations of major solutes at 10 sites across the basin were generally lower at upriver than at downriver sampling sites for most solutes. Mass balances for major solutes indicate that, as a regional entity, the Piracicaba River basin was a net sink of H+, PO4(3-), and NH4+, and a net source of other solutes. The main stem of the Piracicaba River had a general increase in solute concentrations from upriver to downriver sampling sites. In contrast, NO3- and NH4+ concentrations increased in the mid-reach sampling sites and decreased due to immobilization or utilization in the mid-reach reservoir, and there was denitrification immediately downriver of this reservoir. Compared with tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay estuary, the Piracicaba River is affected more by point-source inputs of raw sewage and industrial wastes than nonpoint agricultural runoff high in N and P. Inputs of N and C are responsible for a degradation of water quality at downriver sampling sites of the Piracicaba River drainage, and water quality could be considerably improved by augmenting sewage treatment.     

Metabolism of aromatic hydrocarbons by the filamentous fungus Cyclothyrium sp

The metabolism of biphenyl, naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene by Cyclothyrium sp. CBS 109850, a coelomycete isolated for the first time in Brazil from industrially polluted estuarine sediment, was studied. The metabolites were extracted and separated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and characterized by UV spectral analyses and mass, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR) spectrometry. Cyclothyrium sp. transformed biphenyl to 4-hydroxybiphenyl and anthracene to anthracene trans-1,2-dihydrodiol. This isolate metabolized 90% of [9-(14)C]phenanthrene, producing phenanthrene trans-9,10-dihydrodiol as a major metabolite, phenanthrene trans-3,4-dihydrodiol, 1-hydroxyphenanthrene, 3-hydroxyphenanthrene, 4-hydroxyphenanthrene, and a novel metabolite, 2-hydroxy-7-methoxyphenanthrene. Circular dichroism spectra analyses indicated that the major enantiomers of phenanthrene trans-9, 10-dihydrodiol, phenanthrene trans-3,4-dihydrodiol and pyrene trans-4,5-dihydrodiol, a pyrene metabolite produced previously by Cyclothyrium sp. CBS 109850, were predominantly in the (R,R) configuration, revealing a high stereoselectivity for initial monooxygenation and enzymatic hydration of phenanthrene and pyrene by Cyclothyrium sp. CBS109850. The results also show a high regioselectivity since the K-regions of phenanthrene and pyrene were the major sites of metabolism.     

Mineralization of Poly(ɛ-caprolactone)/Adipate Modified Starch Blend in Agricultural Soil

The biodegradability properties of poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) and modified adipate-starch (AS) blends, using Edenol-3203 (E) as a starch plasticizer, were investigated in laboratory by burial tests of the samples in previously analyzed agricultural soil. The biodegradation process was carried out using the respirometric test according to ASTM D 5988-96, and the mineralization was followed by both variables such as carbon dioxide evolution and mass loss. The results indicated that the presence of AS-E accelerated the biodegradation rate as expected.     

Pesticides in surface water,sediment, and rainfall of the northeastern Pantanal basin,Brazil

Within the last 25 years an intensive agriculture has developed in the highland regions of Mato Grosso state (Brazil), which involves frequent pesticide use in highly mechanized cash-crop cultures. To provide information on pesticide distribution and dynamics in the northeastern Pantanal basin (located in southern Mato Grosso), we monitored 29 pesticides and 3 metabolites in surface water, sediment, and rainwater of the study area during the main application season. In environmental samples, 19 pesticides and 3 metabolites were detected in measurable quantities, resulting in at least one pesticide detection in 68% of surface water samples (n = 139), 62% of sediment samples (n = 26), and 87% of rainwater samples (n = 91). Surface water samples were most frequently contaminated by endosulfan compounds (alpha-, beta-, -sulfate), ametryn, metolachlor, and metribuzin, although in low (< 0.1 microgram L-1) concentrations. Sediment samples exhibited concentrations up to 4.5 micrograms kg-1 of p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, endosulfan-sulfate, beta-endosulfan, and ametryn. In contrast, rainwater was polluted with substantial amounts of endosulfan, alachlor, metolachlor, trifluralin, monocrotofos, and profenofos (maximum concentrations = 0.3 to 2.3 micrograms L-1) in the highlands. Lowland rainwater samples taken 75 km from the next application area contained 5- to 10-fold lower mean pesticide concentration than in the highlands. Cumulative deposition rates of the pesticide sum within the study period ranged from 423 micrograms m-2 in the highlands to 14 micrograms m-2 in the lowlands. The atmospheric input of pesticides to ecosystems seemed to be of higher relevance in the tropical study area than known from temperate regions.     

Carbohydrate metabolism during anoxia and post-anoxia recovery in Chasmagnathus granulata crabs maintained on high-protein or carbohydrate-rich diets

We assessed the effects of anoxia exposure and recovery on glycogen synthesis and mobilization, glucose uptake, and on the enzymes that control carbohydrate metabolism in the hepatopancreas of Chasmagnathus granulata crabs receiving either a carbohydrate-rich (HC) or a high-protein diet (HP). In both dietary groups, anoxia led to a reduction in glucose uptake and in glycogen synthesis, and to an increase in hepatopancreas glycogen mobilization and in hemolymph glucose concentration. During the first 4 h of exposure to anoxia, total glycogen phosphorylase (GPT) and a form activity increased in HP and HC crabs, leading to a decrease in hepatopancreas glycogen concentration. During recovery, HP and HC crabs rapidly restored the hemolymph glucose levels to pre-anoxia concentrations. In HC crabs, incorporation of ¹⁴C from glucose into glycogen increased gradually after 12 h in normoxia, leading to restoration of glycogen concentration. Also during recovery, the ratio of glycogen synthase I (GSI) to glycogen phosphorylase a (GPa) increased in the HC group. In turn, recovering HP crabs had two peaks of glycogen synthesis, related with two peaks in the ratio of GSI to GPa. Consequently, no mobilization of ¹⁴C-glycogen occurred in recovering HP animals. Anoxia in C. granulata induces a marked decrease in the synthesis of carbohydrate reserves that is accompanied by an increase in glycogen mobilization and in circulating glucose levels. During the recovery period, there is an activation of endergonic processes which cause a decrease in hemolymph glucose levels. In C. granulata, glycogen metabolism seems to be controlled by the ratio of the GSI form to the GPa form. In field conditions, theses changes in the metabolic pattern may result from environmental PO₂ availability. In the winter, C. granulata stays in its holes, where environmental PO₂ falls to zero. The carbohydrate or protein content of the diets administrated to the crabs seem to induce different metabolic adjustments during anoxia and recovery.     

Prospects for the co‐management of mangrove ecosystems on the North Brazilian coast: Whose rights,whose duties and whose priorities?

This article describes the co‐management approach in situations of open access to and of increasing pressure on resources, using a mangrove coastal zone in North Brazil as an example. Co‐management clearly has the potential to turn nonviable, de facto open access to mangroves into effective common property management. Alliances of different political and ideological groups have been formed under the RESEX (reservas extrativistas — natural resource user reserve) model of coastal co‐management. Local economic interests have been mobilized as client constituencies. The RESEX system of co‐management assigns additional duties to both co‐managing parties, i.e., the state administration and the local users, in exchange for new rights. The authors argue that local support for the RESEX model has been gained on partially distorted premises. As the public authority passes on responsibility for management to local users under the RESEX model, this entails a number of duties for the local users. Thus local users assume the duty to implement and monitor resource management; they also appear to gain the right to take local decisions, such as excluding outsiders from resource access, and designing local resource management rules. However, as this article shows with two examples, some important new rights for local users under the RESEX co‐management concept are contrary to environmental legislation in force. This conflict is at present unresolved. It is argued that increased transparency about their precise rights for local resource co‐managers will considerably improve the prospects of coastal co‐management in Brazil.