Cooperatives have the potential to develop an economic, social and environmental activity in a sustainable manner. In particular, social management is aimed at meeting the needs of its partners, families and community in an efficient and effective way. A study of social management was carried out in 60 savings and credit cooperatives in Pichincha, Ecuador, to determine if this is carried out under sustainability principles, with the determination that the recognition of social responsibility and the integral management of the economic and social issues, depends on the segment to which they belong, in which the non-definition of the social budget has a negative influence. The ignorance of the partners about the principles of Cooperativism; the inexistence of Cooperative Education Committees, specifically environmental education and action programs; the lack of granting credits for partner undertakings and the non-application of the cooperative social balance sheet are also other issues that damage the correct functioning of these associative forms. There were recognized areas to be strengthened to guarantee the sustainability of cooperatives as an associative form, such as the definition of social objectives; the active participation of the partners in decision-making and of another two interest groups (families and community).
Methane (CH4) is a natural by-product of microbial fermentation in the rumen and is a powerful greenhouse gas. An open-circuit indirect calorimetry system for continuous determination of CH4 and CO2 production and O2 consumption and, thereafter, heat production (HP) calculation for small ruminants was described and validated. The system consisted of a computerized control, data acquisition and recording system for gases and air flux. The average value ± standard deviation for the calibration factors in the system were 1.005 ± 0.0007 (n = 6), 1.013 ± 0.0012 (n = 6) and 0.988 ± 0.0035 (n = 6) for O2, CO2 and CH4, respectively. Calibration factors close to 1 confirmed the absence of leaks in the indirect calorimetry system. In addition, an experimental test with 8 goats at mid lactation was conducted to validate the system. The repeatability for CH4 and heat production measured with the open-circuit indirect calorimetry system was 79% and 61%, respectively. Daily average HP measured by indirect calorimetry (Respiration Quotient method) was close to the average HP determined from Carbon-Nitrogen balance (CN method), accounting for 685 and 667 kJ per kg metabolic body weight, respectively. Therefore, discrepancies averaged 1.92%, a rather satisfactory value considering the substantial amount of technical and analytical work involved. The close agreement found between both methods can be considered as being indicative of the absence of systematic error. Two diets with different forage were tested: 40% was either alfalfa hay (HAY) or alfalfa silage (SIL), and the proportion of concentrate was the same in both groups (60%). The experimental trial shown that HP and CH4 were higher in HAY than SIL diet (differences between treatments of 28 kJ of HP per kg of metabolic body weight and 7.1 L CH4/day were found). The data acquisition and recording device developed improved the accuracy of the indirect calorimetry system by reducing the work involved in managing output data and refining the functionality for measuring gas exchange and energy metabolism in small ruminants.
Tourism sustainability evaluation has become an important issue in the development of this economic industry due to its dependence on natural environment quality and social acceptance. The study shows different ways to measure sustainability by means of composite indicators obtained from an initial set of quantitative and qualitative information. The use of different aggregation methods makes it possible to create rankings and offers remarkable contributions to the decision making process. We use the combination of dissimilar algorithms such as DP 2 distance, Data Envelopment Analysis, Principal Component Analysis and Goal Programming to achieve these rankings and Borda Count to merge them into a single order to compare these destinations. Results shows & Víctor Pérez different ways to measure sustainability using the overall information contained in a set of initial indicators and represent an important contribution to composite indicator's building and for the formulation of new strategic actions, politics or other territorial or national projections.
The objective was to determine the effect forage to concentrate (F:C) ratio and stage of lactation on methane emissions, digestibility, nutrient balance, lactation performance, and metabolic responses in lactating goats. Twenty Murciano-Granadina dairy goats were used in an experiment divided into three periods: early (30 d), mid (100 d) and late (170 d) lactation. All goats were fed a diet with 35:65 F:C (FCL) during early-lactation. Then, one group (n = 10 goats) remained on FCL through mid and late-lactation while the other group (n = 10 goats) was fed a diet with 50:50 F:C at mid-lactation (FCM) and 65:35 (FCH) at late lactation. A greater proportion of concentrate in the diet was associated with greater overall intake and digestibility (P < 0.05). Energy balance was negative in early-lactation (-77 kJ/kg of BW 0.75, on average) and positive for FCL at mid and late-lactation (13 and 35 kJ/kg of BW 0.75, respectively). Goats fed FCM and FCH maintained negative energy balance throughout lactation. Plasma concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) at mid-lactation were greater for FCM than FCL (680 mEq/L), and at late-lactation concentrations were greater for FCH and FCL (856 mEq/L). A similar response was detected for plasma ß-Hydroxybutyrate (BHB). Methane emission was greater (P < 0.05) for FCM than FCH (1.7 g CH4/d). This study demonstrated that differences in F:C across stages of lactation lead to distinct metabolic responses at the level of the rumen and tissues.
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