Profitability and performance indicators: an analysis of the hotel industry in the perspective of the balanced scorecard

Nos últimos anos o setor hoteleiro vem crescendo de modo que a competitividade tem ficado cada dia mais acirrada, dentro deste contexto a medição de desempenho pode identificar além de problemas financeiros, outros envolvendo a satisfação dos clientes e de outros participantes (internos e/ou externos) da empresa. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste artigo foi analisar a relação entre níveis de rentabilidade e as perspectivas do Balanced Scorecard no âmbito do setor hoteleiro da cidade de João Pessoa. Esta pesquisa analisou 31 hotéis. Os procedimentos foram realizados através do auxílio do aplicativo estatístico STATISTICA for Windows. Os resultados apontaram evidências empíricas da existência de relações entre alguns dos indicadores investigados e níveis superiores de rentabilidade.In recent years the hotel industry is growing so much that competitiveness has become ever more fi erce, in this context the measurement of performance can identify besides fi nancial problems, others involving the satisfaction of customers and other stakeholders (internal and / or external) of the company. Therefore, the objective of this article was to analyze the relationship between levels of profi tability and prospects of the Balanced Scorecard within the hotel industry of João Pessoa. This research analyzed 31 hotels. The procedures were performed through STATISTICA for Windows. The results have shown empirical evidence of the existence of links between some of the indicators investigated and higher levels of profi tability

Hyperspectral non-destructive analyses of Martian return samples under quarantine

International audienceIn preparation for the upcoming sample return missions containing potential biohazards which may have withstood the rigors of space travel we present a hyperspectral method of in-situ analysis of grains combining several non-destructive imaging diagnostics, performed in BSL4 quarantine conditions. This offers an alternative to the analyses in facilities at large, using optimized experimental setups while keeping the samples in conditions of quarantine. Our methodology was tested during analyses of meteorites and cometary and interstellar grains from the recent NASA Stardust mission

Prognosis of breast cancer molecular subtypes in routine clinical care: A large prospective cohort study

Background: In Germany, most breast cancer patients are treated in specialized breast cancer units (BCU), which are certified, and routinely monitored. Herein, we evaluate up-to-date oncological outcome of breast cancer (BC) molecular subtypes in routine clinical care of a specialized BCU. Methods: The study was a prospectively single-center cohort study of 4102 female cases with primary, unilateral, non-metastatic breast cancer treated between 01 January 2003 and 31 December 2012. The five routinely used molecular subtypes (Luminal A-like, Luminal B/HER2 negative-like, Luminal B/HER2 positive-like, HER2-type, Triple negative) were analyzed. The median follow-up time of the whole cohort was 55 months. We calculated estimates for local control rate (LCR), disease-free survival (DFS), distant disease-free survival (DDFS), overall survival (OS), and relative overall survival (ROS). Results: Luminal A-like tumors were the most frequent (44.7%) and showed the best outcome with LCR of 99.1% (95% CI 98.5; 99.7), OS of 95.1% (95% CI 93.7; 96.5), and ROS of 100.0% (95% CI 98.5; 101.5). Triple negative tumors (12.3%) presented the poorest outcome with LCR of 89.6% (95% CI 85.8; 93.4), OS of 78.5% (95% CI 73.8; 83.3), and ROS of 80.1% (95% CI 73.8; 83.2). Conclusions: Patients with a favorable subtype can expect an OS above 95% and an LCR of almost 100% over 5 years. On the other hand the outcome of patients with HER2 and Triple negative subtypes remains poor, thus necessitating more intensified research and care

Viewing scenes of the history of chemistry through the opera glass

Artistic creation has always reflected the spirit of the moment and opera has not been an exception. There are several examples of operas which appeared at key moments of the development of science, portraying them. Additionally there are also operas that emerged after scientific events or the lifetime of the scientists they were inspired on. In what concerns chemistry, the first category could be exemplified by the apothecary operas (already discussed by the author in a previous paper of this journal) while the others could be illustrated by recent operas such as Dr. Atomic or Madame Curie. Continuing our endeavor of establishing relations between opera and chemistry, and considering that history of science plays an important role in the process of teaching and learning sciences, some milestones of the history of chemistry are here revisited through the opera glass. The operas analyzed have been grouped in the following categories: Operas of Fire and Metallurgy, Operas of the Philosophers of Antiquity, Operas of Alchemy, Operas of the Age of Enlightenment, Operas of the Revolutions and Operas of Entropy.Thanks are due to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT–Portugal) and FEDER (European Fund for Regional Development)-COMPETE/QREN/EU for financial support through the research unity PEst-C/QUI/UI686/2013.

High Levels of Susceptibility and T Helper 2 Response in MyD88-Deficient Mice Infected with Leishmania major Are Interleukin-4 Dependent

Myeloid differentiation protein 88 (MyD88) is a general adaptor for the signaling cascade through receptors of the Toll/IL-1R family. When infected with Leishmania major parasites, MyD88-deficient mice displayed a dramatically enhanced parasite burden in their tissues similar to that found in susceptible BALB/c mice. In contrast, MyD88 knockout mice did not develop ulcerating lesions despite a lack of interleukin-12 (IL-12) production and a predominant T helper 2 cell response. Blockade of IL-4 produced early (day 1) after infection restored a protective T helper 1 response in MyD88 knockout mice

An R package for an integrated evaluation of statistical approaches to cancer incidence projection

Background!#!Projection of future cancer incidence is an important task in cancer epidemiology. The results are of interest also for biomedical research and public health policy. Age-Period-Cohort (APC) models, usually based on long-term cancer registry data (> 20 yrs), are established for such projections. In many countries (including Germany), however, nationwide long-term data are not yet available. General guidance on statistical approaches for projections using rather short-term data is challenging and software to enable researchers to easily compare approaches is lacking.!##!Methods!#!To enable a comparative analysis of the performance of statistical approaches to cancer incidence projection, we developed an R package (incAnalysis), supporting in particular Bayesian models fitted by Integrated Nested Laplace Approximations (INLA). Its use is demonstrated by an extensive empirical evaluation of operating characteristics (bias, coverage and precision) of potentially applicable models differing by complexity. Observed long-term data from three cancer registries (SEER-9, NORDCAN, Saarland) was used for benchmarking.!##!Results!#!Overall, coverage was high (mostly > 90%) for Bayesian APC models (BAPC), whereas less complex models showed differences in coverage dependent on projection-period. Intercept-only models yielded values below 20% for coverage. Bias increased and precision decreased for longer projection periods (> 15 years) for all except intercept-only models. Precision was lowest for complex models such as BAPC models, generalized additive models with multivariate smoothers and generalized linear models with age x period interaction effects.!##!Conclusion!#!The incAnalysis R package allows a straightforward comparison of cancer incidence rate projection approaches. Further detailed and targeted investigations into model performance in addition to the presented empirical results are recommended to derive guidance on appropriate statistical projection methods in a given setting

Rentabilidade e indicadores de desempenho: uma análise do setor hoteleiro segundo as perspectivas do balanced scorecard

In recent years the hotel industry is growing so much that competitiveness has become ever more fi erce, in this context the measurement of performance can identify besides fi nancial problems, others involving the satisfaction of customers and other stakeholders (internal and / or external) of the company. Therefore, the objective of this article was to analyze the relationship between levels of profi tability and prospects of the Balanced Scorecard within the hotel industry of João Pessoa. This research analyzed 31 hotels. The procedures were performed through STATISTICA for Windows. The results have shown empirical evidence of the existence of links between some of the indicators investigated and higher levels of profi tability