ABSTRACT:The aim of this work was to evaluate the energy flows of a commercial production system of swine deep bed in its finishing phase, located in Juiz de Fora, in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Thus, an energy efficiency study was carried out by monitoring a lot of animals, during a 94-day period. The energy rate of each compound involved in the production process was quantified and the matrixes of energy consumption were determined in the form of animal feeding, electrical energy, piglets, material used as deep bed, human labor, equipment, swine buildings, production of alive swine for slaughter, organic fertilizer production (swine deep bed or swine deep litter). From the direct input energy, 80.57% correspond to animal feeding, 11.90% to pigs for slaughter and 6.76% to piglets, while from the energy output 53.45% correspond to the terminating swine and 46.55% to organic fertilizer (swine deep bed). By the results obtained, we can conclude that such production system has corresponded to an industrial and highly specialized agro ecosystem, importing a great part of the energy consumed in the production process, with 41% of energy efficiency. KEYWORDS:Energy input and output, swine buildings, alternative management, sustainability of biosystems. EFICIÊNCIA ENERGÉTICA DE UM SISTEMA DE PRODUÇÃO DE SUÍNOS EMCAMA SOBREPOSTA RESUMO: O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os fluxos de energia de um sistema comercial de produção de suínos em cama sobreposta da fase de terminação, localizado em Juiz de Fora -MG. Para tanto, realizou-se estudo de eficiência energética, por meio do acompanhamento de um lote de animais, durante o período de 94 dias. Quantificou-se o coeficiente energético de cada componente envolvido no processo de produção e determinaram-se as matrizes de consumo energético nas formas de ração, energia elétrica, leitões, material usado como cama, mão de obra, equipamentos, instalações, produção de suínos vivos, e produção de adubo orgânico (cama sobreposta de suíno). Da energia direta de entrada, 80,57% correspondem à ração, 11,90% à serragem e 6,76% aos leitões. Da energia de saída, 53,45% referem-se aos suínos para abate e 46,55% ao adubo orgânico (cama sobreposta de suíno). Pelos resultados obtidos, pode-se concluir que o sistema de produção em questão se enquadrou nas características de um agroecossistema industrial, altamente especializado, importando grande parte da energia consumida no processo de produção e apresentando eficiência energética de 41%. PALAVRAS-CHAVE:Balanço de energia, instalações para suínos, manejo alternativo, sustentabilidade de biossistemas.

Tendo em vista a crescente demanda por alimentos e uma agricultura cada vez mais desenvolvida, é importante avaliar os impactos causados pelos agroecossistemas no que se refere à sustentabilidade ambiental. Nesse contexto, o balanço energético constitui uma importante ferramenta para essa avaliação, pois permite contabilizar os "inputs" e "outputs" referentes ao sistema produtivo na forma de energia e determinar a eficiência de cada um. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os fluxos de energia do processo de produção do milho para silagem, cultivado em três espaçamentos, 0,90 m, 0,75 m e 0,60 m. A análise foi feita por meio do acompanhamento da cultura em um período de 204 dias (12/11/2013 a 6/6/2014), sendo cada componente envolvido (direta e indiretamente), quantificado e multiplicado por seus respectivos coeficientes energéticos. Em todos os espaçamentos houve a predominância da energia direta sobre a energia indireta. As eficiências para os espaçamentos 0,90 m, 0,75 m e 0,60 m foram respectivamente 9,50%, 9,30% e 9,69%. A análise energética constitui-se em importante instrumental para avaliação da sustentabilidade dos sistemas de produção.

Quail breeding is a viable alternative for animal production and due to its low investment, fast return of invested capital, use of small areas and creation of jobs has aroused much interest in Brazil. The aim of this study was to develop a model based on fuzzy set theory to predict the weight of eggs from Japanese quails. The proposed fuzzy model was based on data from field measurement experiments, as well as from literature referring to the influence of environment over the weight of eggs. To develop the fuzzy system, air dry-bulb temperature (t db, ° C) and relative air humidity (RH, %) were defined as input variables and trapezoidal and triangular membership functions were used, respectively. The absolute deviation between the values for observed egg weight and egg weight estimated by the fuzzy system, varied between 0.01 g and 0.32 g, and the average deviation was 0.14 g. The average error found was 2.33%, and the determination coefficient (R²) was equal to 0.668. The fuzzy system developed to estimate the weight of Japanese quail eggs, based on the t db and RH provided low values for absolute deviation and percentage error, allows a realistic estimate of the weight of eggs in different environmental conditions.

This study is anchored on two fundamental ideas: i) promoting intergenerational solidarity, relations and communication is a key factor for social development in an aging world; and ii) understand how different generations interact with and around digital media and technology is crucial to reconfigure design methods, so we may enhance intergenerational communication, learning and understanding. In particular, we aim to study how tablet’s devices and applications are jointly and collaboratively used by older adults/grandparents and (grand)children and the perceived impact that those interactions may have on: i) intergenerational relationships; ii) children and older adult’s digital literacy; and iii) attitude towards the other. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews and exploratory studies will be conducted, in the context of which «Joint Media Engagement» (Takeuchi & Stevens, 2011) sessions between selected cases of older adults and children (with and without parental relations) will be promoted, in order to observe, describe and characterize their «in-medium» (Takeuchi & Stevens, 2011) and «in-room» (Stevens, Satwicz & McCarthy, 2008) activities and interactions. We expect to be able to propose a set of guidelines for the design of contents for tablets, intended for intergenerational and collaborative use by older adults and/or grandparents and children and/or grandchildren.

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in using virtual reality (VR) to (re)create different scenarios and environments with interactive and immersive experiences. Although VR has been popular in the tourism sector to reconfigure tourists’ relationships with places and overcome mobility restrictions, its usage in senior cyclotourism has been understudied. VR is suggested to positively impact tourism promotion, cycling simulation, and active and healthy ageing due to physical and mental rehabilitation. The purpose of this study is to assess the senior citizens’ perceived experience and attitudes toward a designed 360° VR cyclotouristic experiment, using a head-mounted display (HMD) setting within a laboratory context. A total of 76 participants aged between 50 and 97 years old were involved in convergent parallel mixed-method research, and data were collected using a questionnaire based on the technology acceptance model, as well as the researchers’ field notes. Findings suggest that 360° VR with HMD can be an effective assistive technology to foster senior cyclotourism by promoting tourism sites, simulating the cycling pedaling effect, and improving senior citizens’ general wellbeing and independence with physical and mental rehabilitation.