Are rural accommodation enterprises efficiently present online?

This study regards rural accommodation enterprises (RAE) and how much of their business is made online and what can be done to improve it. This work focus on 10 enterprises from the northeast of Portugal, since it is a more deprived and isolated region and far from the touristic centres. As such, these companies need to attract the visitors through their online presence. We analysed their use of ICT, if they had a digital marketing strategy and what could be done to improve their presence and their results through online marketing tools. It was possible to understand that the majority of the companies only have a minimal investment in online presence through the Booking platform and with their website. They do not work efficiently the social networks and they do not use, or know, most of the marketing online tools. As a result, even though the studied companies are willing to evolve digitally and to enhance their presence in a more efficient way, this is limited to the investment that is required since they all feel they cannot invest at the time. It is clear that for these companies and specially in these regions it is vital to bring European funds to help them evolve to the digital market in a knowledgeable and efficient way.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Are enterprises from lagging regions digitally connected?

This study focuses on how enterprises located on lagging regions are using online resources and how can they enhance their usage. Most companies have transitioned to the “online world”, however, in rural and more deprived regions, it is perceived that companies still have difficulties accessing some online resources or accessing qualified workers in ICT areas. As such, this paper focus on 29 enterprises from the northeast of Portugal, a recognized lagging region. In the context of an international project, CRECEER creation of business cooperation networks in rural cross-border regions between companies in the gourmet agri-food and tourism sectors, the use of ICT was analysed, what online tools were used and what could be done to improve their ICT use in their business.As a result, it was found that the majority of the companies only had a minimal investment in business online tools, they are not aware of the majority of cloud computing software, and they do not use it in their business. Even though the studied companies were willing to evolve digitally, they recognized the severe restrictions they had, namely the requirement of specific currently unavailable knowledge, the necessity of qualified workers that they couldn’t afford, and even the hardware necessity they couldn’t supress.It is clear that for these companies had it not been the CRECEER project, even the smallest changes and improvements, would not be achieved in a short period. It is rather crucial to have European funds dedicated to enhance the ICT competencies of these businesses.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Denitrifying potential of an activated sludge derived consortium

The aim of this work was the evaluation of the denitrification potential of a consortium of activated sludge adapted to anoxic conditions. As the carbon source is the main parameter influencing the denitrification process, in the first stage three carbon sources (acetate, citrate and glucose) were assayed in batch activity tests. The highest denitrification efficiency was attained with acetate, being nitrate and nitrite completely reduced. The adapted sludge was then used as a potential denitrifying consortium on an anoxic rotating biological contactor (RBC) with acetate as carbon source. Two C/N ratios were assayed (2 and 3) as well as two nitrate loads (220 and 300 mg/L). At the highest nitrate concentration, the best denitrification efficiency (nitrate removal higher than 99% without nitrite or acetate accumulation) was attained at C/N=3. From the results it can be concluded that the activated sludge possesses high denitrifying capacity and can easily be adapted to anoxic conditions. Moreover, the RBC revealed to be a good alternative solution to the conventional processes.Pilar Teixeira fully acknowledge the financial support of Fundacao pars a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) through the grant SFRH/BPD/26803/2006

The Portuguese version of the body investment scale: psychometric properties and relationships with disordered eating and emotion dysregulation

Background This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Body Investment Scale (BIS) in a nonclinical sample of students and a clinical sample of outpatients with eating disorders, to analyse the differences in the BIS factors between the samples and to explore the relationships among body investment, eating disorder symptoms and difficulties in emotion regulation. Methods The clinical (n = 93) and nonclinical (n = 448) samples completed self-report measures. Results In contrast to the nonclinical sample, confirmatory factor analysis showed an acceptable fit for the original four-factor solution of the BIS in the clinical sample. This scale also demonstrated adequate internal consistency in both samples. Significant differences in BIS factors were found between the samples; outpatients with eating disorders presented more negative feelings about the body, less comfort with touch and lower levels of body protection than those of the students. In the clinical sample, significant relationships were found between these factors and a higher severity of disordered eating, as well as between these factors and higher difficulties in emotion regulation. Conclusions The Portuguese version of the BIS is a psychometrically sound measure for the assessment of body investment, and it is especially appropriate in a clinical setting of outpatients with eating disorders.- This work was supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology under Grant [SFRH/BD/116974/2016]

Embedding a competitive ranking method in the artificial fish swarm algorithm for global optimization

Nonlinear programming problems are known to be difficult to solve, especially those that involve a multimodal objective function and/or non-convex and at the same time disjointed solution space. Heuristic methods that do not require derivative calculations have been used to solve this type of constrained problems. The most used constraint-handling technique has been the penalty method. This method converts the constrained optimization problem to a sequence of unconstrained problems by adding, to the objective function, terms that penalize constraint violation. The selection of the appropriate penalty parameter value is the main difficulty with this type of method. To address this issue, we use a global competitive ranking method. This method is embedded in a stochastic population based technique known as the artificial fish swarm (AFS) algorithm. The AFS search for better points is mainly based on four simulated movements: chasing, swarming, searching, and random. For each point, the movement that gives the best position is chosen. To assess the quality of each point in the population, the competitive ranking method is used to rank the points with respect to objective function and constraint violation independently. When points have equal constraint violations then the objective function values are used to define their relative fitness. The AFS algorithm also relies on a very simple and random local search to refine the search towards the global optimal solution in the solution space. A benchmarking set of global problems is used to assess this AFS algorithm performance

Sandy beaches as biogeochemical hotspots : the metabolic role of macroalgal wrack on low-productive shores

Sandy beaches, which represent the most common type of land-sea interface, harbor distinctive biotic communities and regulate the flow of energy between marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Accumulations of sea wrack on sandy beaches are of crucial importance for recycling beach nutrients and for regulating trophic connectivity and coastal functioning. We investigated the role of beaches as biogeochemical hotspots by examining the metabolic activity in accumulations of different species of wrack on two exposed beaches affected by different levels of human pressure. Experimental wrack patches provided large amounts of different sedimentary nutrients over time due to remineralization of the algae. Unsurprisingly, the variation in the nutrients present in the beach sediments was related to the species of wrack considered. Macroalgal wrack was metabolically very active and supported high respiration rates represented by intense CO2 fluxes. Importantly, we demonstrated that the wrack metabolic rate differed significantly depending on the algal species considered. Different macrofauna and bacterial assemblages were identified in the different wrack patches and on the different beaches. We suggest that human activities such as beach grooming can modify the wrack-associated communities, thus contributing to the variability in the biogeochemical processes and metabolic rates. Significant changes in the type and amount of wrack deposited on beaches can change fundamental processes related to the marine-terrestrial transfer of nutrients and energy and to the marine-atmospheric transfer of CO2 emissions, with ecological consequences for nearshore environments.Peer reviewe

Photocatalytic Bi2O3/TiO2:N thin films with enhanced surface area and visible light activity

Bi2O3 nanocone films functionalized with an overlayer of TiO2 were deposited by d.c. reactive magnetron sputtering. The aforementioned nanocone structures were formed via a vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) growth, starting from a catalytic bismuth seed layer. The resultant nanocones exhibit an improved surface area, measured by atomic force microscopy, when compared to non-VLS deposition of the same metal oxide. X-ray diffraction texture analysis enabled the determination of the crystallographic β-phase of Bi2O3. A very thin TiO2 overlayer (6 nm thick), undoped and doped with nitrogen, was deposited onto the nanocones template, in order to functionalize these structures with a photocatalytic, self-cleaning, cap material. N-doped TiO2 overlayers increased the selective absorption of visible light due to nitrogen doping in the anatase cell, thus, resulting in a concomitant increase in the overall photocatalytic efficiency.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the project “NANOPURIFY—Development of photocatalytic panels for air treatment units, Vieira & Lopes Lda.”, with the reference 024121, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (COMPETE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement. Filipe C. Correia acknowledges the financial support from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) for the Ph.D grant SFRH/BD/111720/2015

Influence of dual-task on sit-to-stand-to-sit postural control in Parkinson's disease

Postural control deficits are the most disabling aspects of Parkinson's disease (PD), resulting in decreased mobility and functional independence. The aim of this study was to assess the postural control stability, revealed by variables based on the centre of pressure (CoP), in individuals with PD while performing a sit-to-stand-to-sit sequence under single- and dual-task conditions. An observational, analytical and cross-sectional study was performed. The sample consisted of 9 individuals with PD and 9 healthy controls. A force platform was used to measure the CoP displacement and velocity during the sit-to-stand-to-sit sequence. The results were statistically analysed. Individuals with PD required greater durations for the sit-to-stand-to-sit sequence than the controls (p < 0.05). The anteroposterior and mediolateral CoP displacement were higher in the individuals with PD (p < 0.05). However, only the anteroposterior CoP velocity in the stand-to-sit phase (p = 0.006) was lower in the same individuals. Comparing the single- and dual-task conditions in both groups, the duration, the anteroposterior CoP displacement and velocity were higher in the dual-task condition (p < 0.05). The individuals with PD presented reduced postural control stability during the sit-to-stand-to-sit sequence, especially when under the dual-task condition. These individuals have deficits not only in motor performance, but also in cognitive performance when performing the sit-to-stand-to-sit sequence in their daily life tasks. Moreover, both deficits tend to be intensified when two tasks are performed simultaneously

A carboxyl-functionalized covalent organic polymer for the efficient adsorption of saxitoxin

Saxitoxin (STX), the most widely distributed neurotoxin in marine waters and emerging cyanotoxin of concern in freshwaters, causes paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans upon consumption of contaminated shellfish. To allow for the efficient monitoring of this biotoxin, it is of high importance to find high-affinity materials for its adsorption. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a covalent organic polymer for the efficient adsorption of STX. Two β-keto-enamine-based materials were prepared by self-assembly of 2,4,6-triformylphloroglucinol (Tp) with 2,5-diaminobenzoic acid (Pa-COOH) to give TpPa-COOH and with 2,5-diaminotoluene (Pa-CH3) to give TpPa-CH3. The carboxylic acid functionalized TpPa-COOH outperformed the methyl-bearing counterpart TpPa-CH3 by an order of magnitude despite the higher long-range order and surface area of the latter. The adsorption of STX by TpPa-COOH was fast with equilibrium reached within 1 h, and the Langmuir adsorption model gave a calculated maximum adsorption capacity, Qm, of 5.69 mg g-1, making this material the best reported adsorbent for this toxin. More importantly, the prepared TpPa-COOH also showed good reusability and high recovery rates for STX in natural freshwater, thereby highlighting the material as a good candidate for the extraction and pre-concentration of STX from aquatic environments.publishe

Cooperation or conflict? Impact of intraspecific diversity on Escherichia coli biofilms

Intraspecific diversity in biofilm communities is associated with enhanced survival and growth of the individual biofilm populations. In here, we assess if this apparent cooperative behavior still holds as the number of different strains in a biofilm increases. Using E. coli as a model organism, the influence of intraspecific diversity in biofilm populations composed of up to six different E. coli strains, was assessed. Biofilm quantification was evaluated by crystal violet (CV) staining and colony forming units (CFU) counts. In general, with the increasing number of strains in a biofilm, an increase in cell counts and a decrease in matrix production was observed. This observation was confirmed by cluster analysis that indicated that after 24h of biofilm formation the best model, according to the Bayesian information criterion (BIC), consisted of three clusters that grouped together biofilms with an equal number of strains. It hence appears that increased genotypic diversity in a biofilm leads E. coli to maximize the production of its offspring, in detriment of the production of public goods (i.e. matrix components), that would be beneficial to all strains individually and the consortium as a whole. Apart from the ecological implications, these results can be explored in the area of clinical biofilms, as a decrease in matrix production might render these intraspecies biofilms more sensitive to antimicrobial agents