Tourism planning: impacts as benchmarks for sustainable development plans

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive list of indicators to be used in the tourism sector, in support of the development of sustainable strategic plans. Specific objectives include making a comprehensive assessment and categorization of those indicators and facilitating an easier to use system that guarantees the use of those benchmarks as a base for objectives definition and performance standards monitorization. Design/methodology/approach: This research adopted a descriptive design using secondary data. The data was analysed using content analysis and a posteriori categorization system, resulting in 87 indicators divided into positive and negative within six categories. Findings: The results showed that there are six key factors that may have a significant impact on tourism development suggesting they could be used for setting objectives and performance indicators when developing a strategic plan, and therefore, ensuring the sustainability of a destination and its stakeholders. Practical implications: The framework adopted in this study offers a practical tool to be used by destination and organizations planners to improve sustainable tourism performance in relation to economic, socio-cultural, psychological, political/administrative, tourism/commercial and environmental/physical measurement standards. This guidance may help decision-makers to design, manage and control sustainable strategic plans in a more effective way. Originality/value: This paper links the academic debate on the impacts of tourism with the designing and implementation of sustainable tourism policies and strategies.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

A Avaliação da usabilidade de um sistema médico inteligente: BCCT.core

A avaliação estética da mama é um requisito em diversas aplicações médicas, nomeadamente no tratamento conservador do cancro da mama. Para ultrapassar as limitações de reprodutibilidade e praticabilidade dos métodos subjectivos correntes, foi recentemente desenvolvido um sistema inovador, assistido por computador para uso médico, denominado BCCT.core (Breast Cancer Conservative Treatment.cosmetic results), que prevê, automaticamente, o resultado estético do tratamento conservador do cancro da mama após intervenção [1]. Um dos grandes desafios no desenvolvimento de qualquer sistema computacional é desenhar interfaces de utilizador eficazes — fáceis de aprender, efectivas e que conduzam a uma experiência agradável. Neste trabalho, analisamos alguns dos aspectos mais importantes do desenho da interface do BCCT.core, relacionados com o estudo da interacção com o utilizador, em relação à funcionalidade e usabilidade, através de um questionário dirigido a utilizadores reais dentro do domínio da aplicação. O desempenho do sistema pôde assim ser avaliado por critérios claros, apoiado numa base sólida que permitiu avaliar a percepção humana relativamente à interface, conduzindo ao desenvolvimento de um sistema que apoia efectivamente os utilizadores na realização de tarefas. De uma forma geral pode concluir-se que a utilização de técnicas de interacção homem-computador na avaliação da funcionalidade e usabilidade do BCCT.core foram essenciais no sentido de o tornar mais usável, eficiente e com elevado grau de satisfação, neste caso particular, para o utilizador médico

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water, using byproducts of cork industry

Os Hidrocarbonetos Aromáticos Policíclicos (HAPs) são contaminantes persistentes em meio aquoso. Estes compostos são conhecidos pelas suas propriedades carcinogénicas, mutagénicas e genotóxicas. O principal objetivo deste trabalho consistiu na avaliação das potencialidades de subprodutos da indústria corticeira, como adsorventes alternativos para a remoção de cinco HAPs em meio aquoso: benzo(a)pireno, benzo(ghi)perileno, benzo(b)fluoranteno, benzo(k)fluoranteno e indeno(1,2,3-cd)pireno. A metodologia analítica para quantificar os HAPs envolveu a preparação das amostras, através da técnica de extração em fase sólida (SPE), e a quantificação dos compostos analisados por cromatografia líquida com detetor de fluorescência (LC-FLD). O método foi otimizado e validado, obtendo-se limites de quantificação de 0,004 μg/L para todos os HAPs. Os estudos incidiram na utilização de uma amostra de cortiça, pó de aglomerado de cortiça expandida (PACE), obtida por aglutinação de cortiça em condições hidrotérmicas, a qual nos estudos preliminares revelou desempenho semelhante aos carvões ativados. Com exceção do benzo(ghi)perileno, os resultados mostram que o processo de adsorção dos HAPs na amostra PACE segue uma cinética de pseudo-segunda ordem e as isotérmicas ajustam-se ao modelo de Langmuir.Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent contaminants present in aqueous media. These compounds are known for their carcinogenic, mutagenic and genotoxic properties. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the potential of cork industry by-products as alternative adsorbents for the removal of five PAHs in aqueous media: benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(ghi)perylene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene e indeno( 1,2,3-cd)pyrene. The analytical methodology used to quantify PAHs consisted in the first step of sample preparation using solid phase extraction (SPE) technique, followed by quantification by liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector (LC-FLD). The method was optimized and validated, yielding limits of quantification of 0.004 μg L-1 for all PAHs. The studies have focused on the use of a sample cork (PACE), obtained by agglutination of cork under hydrothermal conditions, which in preliminary studies attained removal efficiencies similar to those of activated carbons. With the exception of benzo(ghi)perylene, the results reveal that adsorption process of PAHs on sample PACE obey to the pseudo-second order kinetic equation and to the Langmuir model.Este trabalho foi suportado financeiramente pelo programa QREN-COMPETE, através do projeto de investigação Watercork (nº 2009/5523)

Understanding the role of media and food labels to disseminate food related information in Lebanon

Today’s consumers are becoming more aware of what they consume and the implications that a proper diet can have for their health. This work aimed to understand how Lebanese people get information about foods, and which communication media they consider the most appropriate. Also, the attitudes toward food labelling were assessed. This was a cross-sectional study undertaken by means of a questionnaire survey on a sample of 258 Lebanese participants. Data analysis used statistical tools such as T-test and ANOVA with post hoc to test possible group differences or Cronbach’s alpha to assess internal scale reliability. The results showed that radio was the first choice as a media tool used by Lebanese people for gathering food information (29.1%), followed by hospitals (23.3%), and the participants also considered that these are the most appropriate means to communicate information (28.3 and 22.5%, respectively). Regarding the Lebanese behaviour on nutrition labelling, nearly half of the participants (44.6%) very frequently or always check the food labels but some showed no interest in the components and the fibres they contain. Reliability analysis showed that the items used to assess the food labelling scale have a very high internal consistency (α = 0.847). So, the Lebanese people tend to rely on radio for information about food and the labels are considered as important source of information as well. Nevertheless, Lebanese don’t consult the nutritional composition as often as desirable in order to adjust their purchases or compare to different items, aimed at healthier food choices. So in order to inform Lebanese people about related food rich in fibres and to instigate their purchasing intentions, the producing companies must rely on marketing campaigns through radio and on labels not just the information in nutritional composition.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

INFLUENCE OF EMOTIONAL DETERMINANTS ON THE FOOD CHOICES OF THE PORTUGUESE

Food choices are influenced by many factors, such as emotional. When people eat, driven by emotional factors, they often lose control, which may lead to eating disorders. Therefore, this work aimed at studying the influence that emotional determinants had on people’s food choices. It was undertaken a descriptive cross-sectional study by means of a questionnaire on a non-probabilistic sample of 1314 participants. The data was collected among a sample of the Portuguese population and measured if people´s food choices were influenced by emotional determinants.The results revealed that the participants’ food choices were, in general, slightly influenced by emotional determinants (mean scores between –0.5 and 0.5, on a scale from –2 to +2). There were found significant differences in all of the variables under study. The participants, who already experienced an episode of binge-eating, were the ones that obtained the highest mean score (0.63±0.79), meaning that in this case those participants’ food choices were influenced by emotional determinants. These results support the premise that emotional determinants are influenced by the characteristics of each individual and also the existence of a positive association between emotional eating and the presence of eating disorders, especially, binge-eating

Disseminated Well-Differentiated Gastro-Entero-Pancreatic Tumors Are Associated with Metabolic Syndrome

The association of well-differentiated gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (WD GEP-NETs) with metabolic syndrome (MetS), abdominal obesity, and fasting glucose abnormalities was recently described. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the presence of MetS or any MetS individual component was also influenced by GEP-NET characteristics at diagnosis. A cohort of patients with WD GEP-NETs (n = 134), classified according to primary tumor location (gastrointestinal or pancreatic), pathological grading (G1 (Ki67 ≤ 2%) and G2 (>3 ≤ 20%) (WHO 2010), disease extension (localized, loco-regional, and metastatic), and presence of hormonal secretion syndrome (functioning/non-functioning), was evaluated for the presence of MetS criteria. After adjustment for age and gender, the odds of having MetS was significantly higher for patients with WD GEP-NET grade G1 (OR 4.35 95%CI 1.30-14.53) and disseminated disease (OR 4.52 95%CI 1.44-14.15). GEP-NET primary tumor location or secretory syndrome did not influence the risk for MetS. None of the tumor characteristics evaluated were associated with body mass index, fasting plasma glucose category, or any of the individual MetS components. Patients with GEP-NET and MetS depicted a higher risk of presenting a lower tumor grade and disseminated disease. The positive association between MetS and GEP-NET characteristics further highlights the potential link between the two conditions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The force method to calculate stress intensity factors for arbitrary meshes

The force method is a simple and accurate technique to obtain the stress intensity factors (SIF) for both modes I, II and also mixed I+II modes of fracture. The method uses the summation of internal nodal forces in the vicinity of the crack tip to compute SIFs. Recently, de Morais1 showed that the force method is able to yield accurate SIF values from FE models constructed with regular meshes of linear elements. In this paper, the force method is applied successfully to general finite element meshes, in such a way that it can be used on crack propagation algorithms with arbitrary crack paths

An Interactive WebGIS Integrating Environmental Susceptibility Mapping in a Self-Burning Waste Pile Using a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Approach

Mining activities promote resulting wastes, so coal mines are prone to release contaminants to the environment, namely to the soil and water. Therefore, the analysis of this type of risk is crucial in waste pile management. The Sao Pedro da Cova (Porto, Portugal) coal waste pile has been studied in recent years, with several data acquired from 2019-2021 under a research project using distinct methodologies. These results are now combined in a multi-approach method to estimate the environmental impacts of the waste pile and identify the contamination. With the integration of all the data in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment, and to fulfill a scientific gap, this study aims: (i) to create a susceptibility map of contamination in the areas surrounding the self-burning coal waste pile in Sao Pedro da Cova, using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy AHP approaches; and (ii) to develop a webGIS application incorporating all the information acquired that can be useful for the residents of Sao Pedro da Cova and also to the decision-making public entities and researchers. The results obtained show that the contamination susceptibility is higher surrounding the abandoned mine, particularly along the waste piles and the corresponding runoff areas, which can be especially sensitive

Antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii and Leishmania spp. in domestic cats from Luanda, Angola

Toxoplasma gondii and Leishmania spp. are zoonotic protozoa of importance to animal and public health. The present study aimed to assess for the first time the seroprevalence of these zoonotic parasites in a domestic feline population living in Luanda, Angola. One hundred and two cats were sampled at a veterinary medical centre, from May 2014 to February 2016. The age of the cats ranged from 2.5 to 143 months (median: 12 months; interquartile range: 7.5–24). Serum samples were tested for immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibodies to T. gondii at two-fold dilutions of 1:20 to 1:2560 with a modified agglutination test (MAT) commercial kit. The direct agglutination test (DAT) for titration of IgG antibodies specific to Leishmania spp. used a standard freeze-dried antigen at a concentration of 5 × 10 7 promastigotes per milliliter, following a predefined protocol. Two-fold dilution series ranging from 1:25 to 1:800 were tested, with a cut-off titre of 100 chosen for seropositivity. Four out of 102 cats (3.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1–9.7) had antibodies to T. gondii: one had a titer of 20, one a titer of 160, and two had a titer ≥ 2560. No cat (0.0%; CI: 0.0–3.5) was found seropositive for Leishmania spp. A statistically significant difference was found between T. gondii seroprevalence and Leishmania spp. seroprevalence (p = 0.043). The odds of a cat being seropositive to T. gondii increased by an average factor of 1.58 for each 1-year increase in age (p = 0.003). The sampled cats were well-cared animals and may not represent the overall feline population of Angola at the national and city levels. The fact that only 12 out of the 102 sampled cats ate or had access to raw or undercooked meat and/or viscera may have reduced the likelihood of finding seropositive results. Under these circumstances, additional studies, including a larger number of cats, are necessary for a more comprehensive assessment of the zoonotic risk posed by these animals in Angola.The authors would like to express their gratitude to Hugo Vilhena for his logistic support. This work was sponsored by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Ministry of Education and Science, Portugal, under the Projects UID/CVT/00772/2013 and UID/CVT/ 0772/2016.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio