Sustainability and Competitiveness in the Tourism Industry and Tourist Destinations: A Bibliometric Study

This article presents an analysis of the state of the art on the relationship between tourism, sustainability and competitiveness (TSC); moreover, the analysis also includes a focus on tourism destination (TSCD). To that end, information on the publications in these fields from recent years was sourced from the Web of Science database. In addition, the VOSviewer software program was used to enable a more in-depth bibliometric study, allowing the results to be clustered by authors, institutions, countries, and journals. The study carried out revealed that 808 articles have been published on aspects relating to TCS and 409 regarding TSCD. The results obtained underscore the greater scientific output on aspects related to sustainability than on aspects related to competitiveness and also that there has been a significant and exponential increase in both cases in recent years. These three fields of study (tourism, sustainability and competitiveness) are rarely combined in the literature, highlighting the lack of a comprehensive overview of this trinity. The evidence reported here suggest that the trend identified represents a future line of work for the coming year

Enzymatic hydrolysis at high lignocellulosic content: Optimization of the mixing system geometry and of a fed-batch strategy to increase glucose concentration

Working at high values of lignocellulosic Dry Matter (DM), as wheat straw, increases the reaction medium viscosity, making the mixing inefficient with the traditional agitators. Batch and fed-batch tests were conducted using different impellers: i) inclined blades, ii) marine impeller, iii) anchor, iv) paravisc and v) double helical impeller. Inclined blades appeared an inadequate device for batch and fed-batch tests. On contrary, double helical impellers and anchor gave optimal performances. An alternative to improve the reactor\u2019s rheology is the modification of the feeding strategy. A particular fed-batch strategy allowed keeping low the reaction medium viscosity by a gradual increasing of the DM content in the reactor. In this way, three main benefits were achieved: i) a very good performances in terms of glucose concentration (85 g/L), ii) a strong reduction of the energetic consumption compared to batch test and iii) the adoption of a simple mixing devise

Leverage and family firms: A multi-theoretical approach

This chapter analyses the relationship between ownership structure and leverage, providing an integrated theoretical approach that combines traditional financial theories, agency theory, and recently developed theories relating to non-financial preferences. The results show that, after controlling for endogeneity, being a family firm has a positive effect on the propensity to incur debt. These findings add to the existing body of literature and underline the need for a multi-theoretical approach when explaining the capital structure of family firms. The authors apply panel data methodology to control for individual heterogeneity of family firms. The chapter uses a sample of Spanish firms operating in the tourism industry

Chemoenzymic synthesis of an original arabinofuranosyl cluster: optimization of the enzymatic conditions.

International audienceThe evaluation of a mutated glycosidase as a major, renewable and eco-friendly partner (green chem. method) of a glycosylation reaction permitted a one-step synthesis of an arabinofuranosyl cluster in 38% yield. A mutated biocatalyst was able to perform coupling to a multivalent bulky substituent with 80% yield on each arm and pave the way for the further development of enzymic means of ligation of carbohydrates onto org. scaffolds. The title compd. thus formed was a tetramer (I) [i.e., 4-[(α-L-arabinofuranosyl)thio]benzeneacetic acid 2,2-bis[[[[4-[(α-L-arabinofuranosyl)thio]phenyl]acetyl]oxy]methyl]-1,3-propanediyl ester]. The synthesis of the target compd. was achieved by a reaction of 4-(mercapto)benzeneacetic acid 2,2-bis[[[(4-mercaptophenyl)acetyl]oxy]methyl]-1,3-propanediyl ester with 1H-benzimidazol-2-yl 1-thio-α-L-arabinofuranoside. [on SciFinder(R)

Splenic Myelolipomas in the Domestic Cat—To Operate or Not to Operate?

Myelolipoma is a benign, typically inert neoplasm of uncertain aetiology that is rarely reported in cats. Although commonly asymptomatic, in some cases, myelolipomas can cause abdominal discomfort or present with rupture and haemorrhage. Here, we describe a rare case of a splenic myelolipoma in a Domestic Long Hair cat in which, after extensive diagnostic investigations, clinical signs of hyporexia and weight loss were attributable to the presence of an intra-abdominal mass. The patient was treated by splenectomy and unexpectedly died during the post-operative period. Although splenectomy appears to be a sensible intervention in symptomatic patients, the optimal management of splenic myelolipomas in cats remains unknown. The risk–benefit ratio of surgical management needs to be carefully considered, and therapeutic intervention should be tailored individually to each patient

Specific and non-specific enzymes for furanosyl-containing conjugates: biosynthesis, metabolism, and chemo-enzymatic synthesis.

There is no doubt now that the synthesis of compounds of varying complexity such as saccharides and derivatives thereof continuously grows with enzymatic methods. This review focuses on recent basic knowledge on enzymes specifically involved in the biosynthesis and degradation of furanosyl-containing polysaccharides and conjugates. Moreover, and when possible, biocatalyzed approaches, alternative to standard synthesis, will be detailed in order to strengthen the high potential of these biocatalysts to go further with the preparation of rare furanosides. Interesting results will be also proposed with chemo-enzymatic processes based on nonfuranosyl-specific enzymes