Antecedents of the Sharing Economy in a Pandemic Scenario: Prosocial Attitudes, Past Behaviour and Transformation Expectations

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a significant impact on most sharing economy activities, and at present, it is particularly challenging to achieve a consensual model to predict sharing economy behaviour. Based on empirical and theoretical premises established before the pandemic, we intend to explore the association between a set of psychosocial variables (i.e., cooperation, environmental awareness, past behaviour) and sharing economy behaviour, particularly the use of shared assets (i.e., cars and accommodation) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the present study analyses the mediating role of transformation expectations, as the decision to engage or not in sharing behaviour may be influenced by beliefs about the consequences of those actions from the user’s perspective. This study comprised a total of 596 participants. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire and was statistically analysed and interpreted using PLS 3.0. Structural Equation Modelling statistical software. Contrary to our predictions, the results show that cooperation negatively influenced the willingness to participate in sharing activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, that environmental awareness was not a significant predictor, and that past sharing behaviour has the strongest influence on the willingness to share during pandemic times. Finally, the mediating effect of transformation expectations was significant in both associations, i.e., pro-environmental consciousness and past sharing experiences, and the willingness to adopt sharing behaviour during COVID-19.Se espera que la pandemia de COVID-19 tenga un impacto importante en la mayoría de las actividades de la economía colaborativa, y en la actualidad, es particularmente difícil lograr un modelo consensual para predecir el comportamiento de la economía colaborativa. Sobre la base de premisas empíricas y teóricas establecidas antes de la pandemia, pretendemos explorar la asociación entre un conjunto de variables psicosociales (es decir, cooperación, consciencia ambiental, comportamiento pasado) y el comportamiento de la economía colaborativa, en particular el uso de activos compartidos (automóviles y alojamiento), durante la pandemia de COVID-19. Además, el presente estudio analiza el papel mediador de las expectativas de transformación, ya que la decisión de participar o no en el comportamiento de compartir puede estar influenciada por creencias sobre las consecuencias de esas acciones desde la perspectiva del usuario. Este estudio comprendió un total de 596 participantes. Los datos se recopilaron a través de un cuestionario autoadministrado y se analizaron e interpretaron estadísticamente utilizando el PLS 3.0., un software estadístico de modelación de ecuaciones estructurales. Contrariamente a nuestras predicciones, los resultados muestran que la cooperación influyó negativamente en la voluntad de participar en actividades compartidas durante la pandemia de COVID-19, que la conciencia ambiental no fue un predictor significativo y que el comportamiento de compartir en el pasado tiene la influencia más fuerte en la voluntad de compartir durante tiempos de pandemia. Finalmente, el efecto mediador de las expectativas de transformación fue significativo en ambas asociaciones, es decir, la conciencia proambiental y las experiencias pasadas de intercambio, y la disposición a adoptar un comportamiento de intercambio durante COVID-19.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of a rare analphoid supernumerary marker chromosome in mosaic

Abstract publicado em: Chromosome Research. 2015;23(Suppl 1):67-8. doi:10.1007/s10577-015-9476-6Analphoid supernumerary marker chromosomes (SMCs) are a rare subclass of SMCs C-band-negative and devoid of alpha-satellite DNA. These marker chromosomes cannot be identified unambiguously by conventional banding techniques alone being necessary to apply molecular cytogenetic methods in favour of a detailed characterization. In this work we report an analphoid SMC involving the terminal long arm of chromosome 7, in 9 years-old boy with several dysmorphic features and severe development delay. Cytogenetic analysis revealed a mosaic karyotype with the presence of an extra SMC, de novo, in 20 % of lymphocytes and 73 % of fibroblast cells. FISH analysis with alpha-satellite probes for all chromosomes, whole chromosome painting probe for chromosome 7, and D7S427 and TelVysion 7q probes, allowed establishing the origin of the SMC as an analphoidmarker resulting of an invdup rearrangement of 7q36-qter region. Affimetrix CytoScan HD microarray analysis, redefined the SMC to arr[hg19] 7q35(143696249-159119707)×2~3, which correspond to a gain of 15.42 Mb and encloses 67 OMIM genes, 16 of which are associated to disease. This result, combined with detailed clinical description, will provide an important means for better genotype-phenotype correlation and a more suitable genetic counselling to the patient and his parents, despite the additional difficulty resulting from being a mosaic (expression varies in different tissues). Analphoid SMCs derived from chromosome 7 are very rare, with only three cases reported so far. With this case we hope contribute to a better understanding of this type of chromosome rearrangements which are difficult for genetic counselling

The extended gaussian ensemble and metastabilities in the Blume-Capel model

The Blume-Capel model with infinite-range interactions presents analytical solutions in both canonical and microcanonical ensembles and therefore, its phase diagram is known in both ensembles. This model exhibits nonequivalent solutions and the microcanonical thermodynamical features present peculiar behaviors like nonconcave entropy, negative specific heat, and a jump in the thermodynamical temperature. Examples of nonequivalent ensembles are in general related to systems with long-range interactions that undergo canonical first-order phase transitions. Recently, the extended gaussian ensemble (EGE) solution was obtained for this model. The gaussian ensemble and its extended version can be considered as a regularization of the microcanonical ensemble. They are known to play the role of an interpolating ensemble between the microcanonical and the canonical ones. Here, we explicitly show how the microcanonical energy equilibrium states related to the metastable and unstable canonical solutions for the Blume-Capel model are recovered from EGE, which presents a concave "extended" entropy as a function of energy.Comment: 6 pages, 5 eps figures. Presented at the XI Latin American Workshop on Nonlinear Phenomena, October 05-09 (2009), B\'uzios (RJ), Brazil. To appear in JPC

Partition Function Zeros and Finite Size Scaling of Helix-Coil Transitions in a Polypeptide

We report on multicanonical simulations of the helix-coil transition of a polypeptide. The nature of this transition was studied by calculating partition function zeros and the finite-size scaling of various quantities. Estimates for critical exponents are presented.Comment: RevTex, 4 eps-files; to appear in Phys. Rev. Le

Chemical abundances for 11 bulge stars from high-resolution, near-IR spectra

It is debated whether the Milky Way bulge has the characteristics of a classical bulge sooner than those of a pseudobulge. Detailed abundance studies of bulge stars is a key to investigate the origin, history, and classification of the bulge. The aim is to add to the discussion on the origin of the bulge and to study detailed abundances determined from near-IR spectra for bulge giants already investigated with optical spectra, the latter also providing the stellar parameters which are very significant for the results of the present study. Especially, the important CNO elements are better determined in the near-IR. High-resolution, near-infrared spectra in the H band are recorded using the CRIRES spectrometer on the Very Large Telescope. The CNO abundances can all be determined from the numerous molecular lines in the wavelength range observed. Abundances of the alpha elements are also determined from the near-IR spectra. [O/Fe], [Si/Fe] and [S/Fe] are enhanced up to metallicities of at least [Fe/H]=-0.3, after which they decline. This suggests that the Milky Way bulge experienced a rapid and early star-formation history like that of a classical bulge. However, a similarity between the bulge trend and the trend of the local thick disk seems present. Such a similarity could suggest that the bulge has a pseudobulge origin. Our [C/Fe] trend does not show any increase with [Fe/H] which could have been expected if W-R stars have contributed substantially to the C abundances. No "cosmic scatter" can be traced around our observed abundance trends; the scatter found is expected, given the observational uncertainties.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Black hole formation in bidimensional dilaton gravity coupled to scalar matter systems

This work deals with the formation of black hole in bidimensional dilaton gravity coupled to scalar matter fields. We investigate two scalar matter systems, one described by a sixth power potential and the other defined with two scalar fields containing up to the fourth power in the fields. The topological solutions that appear in these cases allow the formation of black holes in the corresponding dilaton gravity models.Comment: Latex, 9 pages. Published in Mod. Phys. Lett. A14 (1999) 268

Danos e alternativas de controle do percevejo-de-renda na cultura da mandioca no estado do Rio Grande do Norte.

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