Out With the Old, In With the New: Education in the Hospitality Industry

What does it mean to be Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the largest hotel group in the world outside of the United States? How do you effectively lead a company that manages so many different brands and franchises? And how is it best to train new employees to be part of that shared vision? Accor is one of the largest hospitality companies in the world, with resorts, hotels and vacation properties across the globe. current CEO Sebastien Bazin is hoping to bring together the world of hospitality and education to build a bright and sustainable future for the company. Rosen College Ph.D. student Louis A. Lenglet caught up with Bazin to find out how

Les produits de terroir : vecteurs de valorisation des aménités

Ce travail constitue une première approche des aménités et de leur valorisation potentielle via les produits alimentaires. Plus exactement, il s’agit de savoir si la valeur accordée à un produit issu d’une région bénéficiant d'un environnement naturel typé est plus importante que celle accordée à un produit issu d’une région dont l'environnement est moins attractif. Pour répondre à cette question, nous recourrons à une analyse en laboratoire qui compare deux fromages issus de deux territoires des Alpes françaises. Les résultats montrent notamment que les aménités d’un territoire, même si elles participent de la valeur affective d’un produit, ne peuvent être valorisées économiquement que s’il y a congruence entre le territoire et le produit.AMENITES;CONSENTEMENT A PAYER;EVALUATION HEDONIQUE;PRODUIT DE TERROIR; AMENITIES;WILLINGNESS TO PAY;HEDONIC VALUATION;LOCAL PRODUCT

Detection of brain functional-connectivity difference in post-stroke patients using group-level covariance modeling

Functional brain connectivity, as revealed through distant correlations in the signals measured by functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), is a promising source of biomarkers of brain pathologies. However, establishing and using diagnostic markers requires probabilistic inter-subject comparisons. Principled comparison of functional-connectivity structures is still a challenging issue. We give a new matrix-variate probabilistic model suitable for inter-subject comparison of functional connectivity matrices on the manifold of Symmetric Positive Definite (SPD) matrices. We show that this model leads to a new algorithm for principled comparison of connectivity coefficients between pairs of regions. We apply this model to comparing separately post-stroke patients to a group of healthy controls. We find neurologically-relevant connection differences and show that our model is more sensitive that the standard procedure. To the best of our knowledge, these results are the first report of functional connectivity differences between a single-patient and a group and thus establish an important step toward using functional connectivity as a diagnostic tool

Estimated glomerular filtration rate is a poor predictor of the concentration of middle molecular weight uremic solutes in chronic kidney disease

Background: Uremic solute concentration increases as Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) declines. Weak associations were demonstrated between estimated GFR (eGFR) and the concentrations of several small water-soluble and protein-bound uremic solutes (MW500Da). Materials and Methods: In 95 CKD-patients (CKD-stage 2-5 not on dialysis), associations between different eGFR-formulae (creatinine, CystatinC-based or both) and the natural logarithm of the concentration of several LMWP's were analyzed: i.e. parathyroid hormone (PTH), Cystatin C (CystC), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), leptin, retinol binding protein (RbP), immunoglobin light chains kappa and lambda (Ig-kappa and Ig-lambda), beta-2-microglobulin (beta M-2), myoglobin and fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23)). Results: The regression coefficients (R-2) between eGFR, based on the CKD-EPI-Crea-CystC-formula as reference, and the examined LMWP's could be divided into three groups. Most of the LMWP's associated weakly (R-2 0.7). Almost identical R-2-values were found per LMWP for all eGFR-formulae, with exception of CystC and beta M-2 which showed weaker associations with creatinine-based than with CystC-based eGFR. Conclusion: The association between eGFR and the concentration of several LMWP's is inconsistent, with in general low R-2-values. Thus, the use of eGFR to evaluate kidney function does not reflect the concentration of several LMWP's with proven toxic impact in CKD

Jasmonate Precursor Biosynthetic Enzymes LOX3 and LOX4 Control Wound-Response Growth Restriction.

Wound-response plant growth restriction requires the synthesis of potent mediators called jasmonates (JAs). Four 13-lipoxygenases (13-LOXs) produce JA precursors in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) leaves, but the 13-LOXs responsible for growth restriction have not yet been identified. Through loss-of-function genetic analyses, we identified LOX3 and LOX4 as the principal 13-LOXs responsible for vegetative growth restriction after repetitive wounding. Additional genetic studies were carried out in the gain-of-function fatty acid oxygenation 2 (fou2) mutant that, even when undamaged, shows JA-dependent leaf growth restriction. The fou2 lox3 lox4 triple mutant suppressed the fou2 JA-dependent growth phenotype, confirming that LOX3 and LOX4 function in leaf growth restriction. The fou2 mutation affects the TWO PORE CHANNEL1 (TPC1) ion channel. Additional genetic approaches based on this gene were used to further investigate LOX3 function in relation to leaf growth. To activate LOX3-dependent JA production in unwounded plants, we employed hyperactive TPC1 variants. Expression of the TPC1ΔCa <sub> i </sub> variant in phloem companion cells caused strongly reduced rosette growth in the absence of wounding. Summarizing, in parallel to their established roles in male reproductive development in Arabidopsis, LOX3 and LOX4 control leaf growth rates after wounding. The process of wound-response growth restriction can be recapitulated in unwounded plants when the LOX3 pathway is activated genetically using a hyperactive vacuolar cation channel

Link between the microstructure and the durability of polycrystalline materials: a fatigue damage model in an aluminium alloy

In polycrystalline alloys, fatigue damage is strongly influenced by the microstructure. Nowadays crystal plasticity models are used in order to take into account the crystallography and microstructural mechanisms but there is no consensus on crack initiation sites and their most significant mechanisms. The present work combines experimental tests and numerical simulations in order to understand and predict the physical mechanisms that lead to crack formation in high cycle fatigue in high-strength aluminium alloys for aerospace applications. The numerical simulations include a two parameters kinematic hardening. Experiments highlight the importance of two phenomena in fatigue crack initiation in connection with the microstructure. The first aspect is the surface roughness [1]; and our simulations succeed in putting forward the intrusion/extrusion phenomenon. The interest of large deformations in simulations is also discussed because of their effect on grain re-orientation and thus in surface roughness. The second phenomenon is progressive deformations; and the model achieves to account for it through local ratchetting and its effect on the crack initiation. We also intend to model stress relaxation, as its role is yet to be determined. In order to be able to extrapolate the mechanical behaviour over a large number of cycles, it is important to find the stabilized cycle [2]. Parallel simulations allow this to be done for representative crystalline aggregates. Finally, different macroscopic and mostly microscopic fatigue initiation parameters [3] are compared such as the Fatemi-Socie parameter, the stored energy or the commonly used cumulative plastic strain. It leads us to multiple fatigue site initiations, which we can compare with experimental results. The aim is to more accurately predict the site of fatigue crack initiation and the predominant mechanisms in fatigue crack initiation

Mortality Rates above Emergency Threshold in Population Affected by Conflict in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, July 2012-April 2013

The area of Walikale in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, is intensely affected by conflict and population displacement. Médecins-Sans-Frontières (MSF) returned to provide primary healthcare in July 2012. To better understand the impact of the ongoing conflict and displacement on the population, a retrospective mortality survey was conducted in April 2013. A two-stage randomized cluster survey using 31 clusters of 21 households was conducted. Heads of households provided information on their household make-up, ownership of non-food items (NFIs), access to healthcare and information on deaths and occurrence of self-reported disease in the household during the recall period. The recall period was of 325 days (July 2012-April 2013). In total, 173 deaths were reported during the recall period. The crude mortality rate (CMR) was of 1.4/10,000 persons/day (CI95%: 1.2-1.7) and the under-five- mortality rate (U5MR) of 1.9/10,000 persons per day (CI95%: 1.3-2.5). The most frequently reported cause of death was fever/malaria 34.1% (CI95%: 25.4-42.9). Thirteen deaths were due to intentional violence. Over 70% of all households had been displaced at some time during the recall period. Out of households with someone sick in the last two weeks, 63.8% sought health care; the main reason not to seek health care was the lack of money (n = 134, 63.8%, CI95%: 52.2-75.4). Non Food Items (NFI) ownership was low: 69.0% (CI95%: 53.1-79.7) at least one 10 liter jerry can, 30.1% (CI95%: 24.3-36.5) of households with visible soap available and 1.6 bednets per household. The results from this survey in Walikale clearly illustrate the impact that ongoing conflict and displacement are having on the population in this part of DRC. The gravity of their health status was highlighted by a CMR that was well above the emergency threshold of 1 person/10,000/day and an U5MR that approaches the 2 children/10,000/day threshold for the recall period

A multistate epidemic outbreak of Salmonella Goldcoast infection in humans, June 2009 to March 2010: the investigation in Italy.

After an urgent inquiry into a suspected international outbreak of Salmonella Goldcoast infection was launched by Hungary in October 2009 a nation-wide multidisciplinary investigation was carried out in Italy. The aims were to verify whether the higher than expected number of cases of S. Goldcoast infection that had occurred in Italy in the previous months were linked to the outbreak in Hungary and to determine their origin. Between June 2009 and March 2010, 79 confirmed cases of S. Goldcoast infection were identified. Of these, 17 were part of three different point-source outbreaks probably associated with the consumption of salami. Eating salami was also reported by 20 of the 39 sporadic cases that could be interviewed. Fifteen strains of S. Goldcoast isolated from the cases were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. They shared more than 90% homology with the Hungarian epidemic strain and were also highly similar to S. Goldcoast strains that had been isolated in Italy from pigs and pork-containing food items in 2009 and 2010. Although the origin of the outbreak and the common source linking the Hungarian and the Italian cases could not be definitively identified, our results suggest a possible zoonotic connection of the outbreak cases with the pork production chain

Manganese pigmented anodized copper as solar selective absorber

The study concerns the optical and structural properties of layers obtained by a new efficient surface treatment totally free of chromium species. The process is made up of an anodic oxidation of copper in an alkaline solution followed by an alkaline potassium permanganate dipping post-treatment. Coatings, obtained at the lab and pilot scales, are stable up to 220 °C in air and vacuum, present low emissivity (0.14 at 70 °C) and high solar absorptivity (0.96), i.e. a suitable thermal efficiency (0.84 at 70 °C)

Antibiotic Resistance (ABR) in Neonates with Suspected Sepsis admitted to a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) supported Medium Care Unit in Quetta, Pakistan

BACKGROUND: Neonatal Sepsis is a major cause of infant death, especially if associated with ABR. Choice of empirical antibiotics is particularly challenging without access to culture/DST, as in most resource limited settings. MSF care included blood cultures (BCs) since 2015. Here we describe the characteristics of babies, etiologies, ABR, treatment and outcomes