Scenarios and possible futures for hospitality and tourism

Purpose - This paper seeks to discuss the process and results of a scenario exercise applied to the Portuguese tourism and hospitality industries with a 2020 horizon. Design/methodology/approach - Through an intuitive-logical process adapted to the specific purposes of the research, four alternative scenarios of the evolution of the industry were developed. The exercise involved three workshops, with the participation of a group of experts, academics, representatives from industry and local government. Findings - Based on the nature and dynamics of the key forces and trends, the four scenarios identified are: southern experience; global emotions; "sin surprise"; and non-charming Portugal. In all scenarios there is increased global competition amongst tourist destinations. A desire for authenticity opens the opportunity for Portugal as a tourist destination but it also poses challenges for managers and policy makers. These scenarios are of practical use for managers, policy makers and other practitioners as they provide a framework for the development and assessment of robust strategies and policies, i.e. strategies that will survive several kinds of external development. Originality/value - The paper contributes to the knowledge of scenario methods in practice and to help policy planners and managers recognize, consider and reflect on uncertainties they are likely to face. The work is also valuable for the international foresight community by discussing the method and addressing some drawbacks of the scenario exercise and recommendations for practice. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Instituto de Investigação from University of Aveiro for the Project Enterprise of the Futur

Synthesis, photophysical characterisation and photostability studies of NIR probes with aliphatic, aromatic and chlorinated terminals in 5- and 9-amino positions of benzo[a]phenoxazines

A new series of benzo[a]phenoxazinium chlorides possessing mono- or disubstituted amines with 3-chloropropyl groups at the 9-position, isopropyl, cyclohexyl and phenyl groups as terminals at 5-postion was synthesised. Photophysical studies were performed in dry ethanol and aqueous solutions. The terminals at the 5-amino position were found to influence the acid-base equilibrium. The presence of hydroxyl functionality at 2-position was found to introduce an additional basic form that is the one in equilibrium with the cationic acid form in dry ethanol solutions. The photostability of these compounds in different media was also investigated and a high resistance to photobleaching in model biological membranes was observed. In proteins a moderate of 20% photobleaching occurs in 1h 30min, while in water more than 60% of the compound molecules are photodegraded during the same time interval.Thanks are due to the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) for financial support to the NMR portuguese network (PTNMR, Bruker Avance III 400-Univ. Minho), FCT and FEDER (European Fund for Regional Development)-COMPETE-QREN-EU for financial support to Research Centres CQ/UM [PEst-C/QUI/UI0686/2013 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-037302)] and CFUM [PEst-C/FIS/UI0607/2013 (F-COMP-01-0124-FEDER-022711)]. Post-doctoral grant to B. R. Raju (SFRH/BPD/62881/2009) is also acknowledged to FCT, POPH-QREN, FSE

Evaluation of diabetic foot amputation rate

Acta Med Port. 2003 Nov-Dec;16(6):373-80. Epub 2003 Dec 1. [Evaluation of diabetic foot amputation rate]. [Article in Portuguese] Horta C, Vilaverde J, Mendes P, Gonçalves I, Serra L, Pinto PS, Almeida R, Carvalho R, Dores J, Serra MB. Serviços de Endocrinologia, Ortopedia e Cirurgia Vascular, Hospital Geral de Santo António, Porto. Abstract In 1987, it was created the first portuguese Diabetic Foot Clinic in Oporto, at the Hospital Geral de Santo António. The distinction between neuropathic and ischaemic foot was the key stone to reduce drastically the rate of major amputations in the first two years of activity. Since then and until 1995 the rate of major amputations had stabilised around 8%. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if there was any change in the last three years. A retrospective study was performed reviewing the clinical files of 843 new patients between 1998 and 2000. The 593 patients who presented with a foot ulcer with or without infection were selected: 60.4% with neuropathic foot and 39.6% with ischaemic one. Overall, 31 of the 593 patients with ulcer or infection were treated with major amputation (5.2%). There was a statistical difference between the major amputation outcome among the two types of foot (p < 0.001). Necrosis showed to carry a poor prognosis (30.7% in ischaemic foot vs 8,3% in neuropathic, p = 0.024). There was no further statistical significance for age, sex, type or duration of diabetes as risk factors for major amputation. This retrospective study has showed a slight reduction in the rate of major amputations since 1995. Poor prognosis was related to necrosis and ischaemic foot. Further improvement requires harder investment in patients' education, as well as in alerting the primary health care physicians, for the most unpredictable catastrophic complication of diabetes. PMID: 15631847 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

How Much Sugarcane Trash Should Be Left On The Soil?

[No abstract available]70

Constraining the dark energy with galaxy clusters X-ray data

The equation of state characterizing the dark energy component is constrained by combining Chandra observations of the X-ray luminosity of galaxy clusters with independent measurements of the baryonic matter density and the latest measurements of the Hubble parameter as given by the HST key project. By assuming a spatially flat scenario driven by a "quintessence" component with an equation of state $p_x = \omega \rho_x$ we place the following limits on the cosmological parameters $\omega$ and $\Omega_{\rm{m}}$: (i) $-1 \leq \omega \leq -0.55$ and $\Omega_{\rm m} = 0.32^{+0.027}_{-0.014}$ (1$\sigma$) if the equation of state of the dark energy is restricted to the interval $-1 \leq \omega < 0$ (\emph{usual} quintessence) and (ii) $\omega = -1.29^{+0.686}_{-0.792}$ and $\Omega_{\rm{m}} = 0.31^{+0.037}_{-0.034}$ ($1\sigma$) if $\omega$ violates the null energy condition and assume values $< -1$ (\emph{extended} quintessence or ``phantom'' energy). These results are in good agreement with independent studies based on supernovae observations, large-scale structure and the anisotropies of the cosmic background radiation.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, LaTe

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Assessing Dental Health

The present study investigated the distribution profile of dental caries and its association with areas of social deprivation at the individual and contextual level. The cluster sample consisted of 1,002 12-year-old schoolchildren from Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. The DMFT Index was used for dental caries and the Care Index was used to determine access to dental services. On the individual level, variables were associated with a better oral status. On the contextual level, areas were not associated with oral status. However, maps enabled determining that the central districts have better social and oral conditions than the deprived outlying districts

FRW Cosmology with Variable G and Lambda

We have considered a cosmological model of the FRW universe with variable $G$ and $\Lambda$. The solutions have been obtained for flat model with particular form of cosmological constant. The cosmological parameters have also been obtained for dust, radiation and stiff matter. The statefinder parameters are analyzed and have shown that these depends only on $w$ and $\epsilon$. Further the lookback time, proper distance, luminosity distance and angular diameter distance have also been calculated for our model.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure