575 research outputs found
Internet in the intermediation role of travel agents: The Portuguese case
This article attempts to assess the impact that Internet has in the intermediation of travel agencies operating in Portugal. Firstly, the study discusses theoretical concepts related to the topic such as: tourism, internet, characterization of tourism distribution, disintermediation, reintermediation and new integrated management systems for travel agents. Then, a questionnaire was developed which resulted in 125 valid responses. The data analysis showed that travel agencies are committed to a new type of intermediation based on new technologies, using new
technology platforms to distribute their tourism products and services and to adopt new business models. The study concludes that, only this way, organisations will achieve sustainable growth.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
I love you… but not unconditionally: Perceptions about luxury fashion brands
The Generation Y (1978-2000) live in a constant change and are always interacting among them
and the brands that they love. The current study aims to contribute to better understand the
perceptions that Y's have about Corporate Social Responsibility in fashion luxury brands.
Therefore, 31 in-depth interviews were conducted with a group of people belonging to Generation
Y. The findings reveal that Y's are concerned about transparent procedures and helping business
and society to improve as a consequence of their sustainable and responsible attitudes. The
environmental issues and labour practices are the most cited, commented and recommended
factors of corporate social responsibility (CSR) proposed by participants. The article provides a
framework presenting the seven core factors to incorporate CSR.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
Evaluación de las propiedades físico-mecánicas de morteros de albañilería producidos en base de cemento y cal con áridos reciclados mixtos
This study investigated the physical-mechanical effects of cement-lime mortars containing recycled aggregate of construction and demolition waste (CDW). The natural aggregate (NA) was replaced by volume at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% by mixed recycled aggregate (MRA) obtained from the CDW crushing. Five types of mortars were prepared with a volumetric ratio of 1:1:6 (cement, lime and aggregate) and water/binder ratio based on the fixed consistency of 260 mm. The effects of MRA on fresh and hardened mortars’ properties were analyzed. The results were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA. MRA incorporation improved most of the physical-mechanical properties of mortars tested, except for hardened bulk density, water absorption and porosity. In the long-run, mechanical strengths significantly increased in all compositions, especially those with higher percentages of MRA. The results obtained showed that the use of MRA in masonry mortars is an alternative to reduce the generation of waste and consumption of natural resources.Este estudio investigó los efectos físico-mecánicos de los morteros de cemento y cal con áridos reciclados de residuos de construcción y demolición (RCD). El árido natural (AN) se reemplazó en volumen al 25%, 50%, 75% y 100% por el árido reciclado mixto (ARM) obtenido de la trituración de RCD. Se prepararon cinco tipos de morteros con una relación volumétrica de 1: 1: 6 (cemento, cal y áridos) y una relación de agua / aglomerante en función de la consistencia fija de 260 mm. Se analizaron los efectos del ARM en las propiedades de los morteros frescos y endurecidos. Los resultados se analizaron utilizando un ANOVA-simple. La incorporación de ARM mejoró la mayoría de las propiedades físico-mecánicas de los morteros, excepto la densidad aparente endurecida, la absorción de agua y la porosidad. A largo plazo, las resistencias mecánicas aumentaron significativamente en todas las composiciones, especialmente en aquellas con porcentajes más altos de ARM. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron que el uso de ARM en morteros de albañilería es una alternativa para reducir la generación de residuos y el consumo de recursos naturales
Coupling of Cyclic Voltammetry and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy for Probing the Thermodynamics of Facilitated Ion Transfer Reactions Exhibiting Chemical Kinetic Hindrances
Mathematical models under conditions of cyclic staircase voltammetry and electrochemical impedance
spectroscopy (EIS), which consider the kinetic effects due to the complexation reaction by the facilitated
transfer of metal ions at polarized interfaces, are presented. Criteria for qualitative recognition of these kinetic
effects from the features of simulated cyclic voltammograms are given. In case of the existence of these
effects, only the EIS can bring access to the thermodynamics and kinetics of the complexation chemical
reaction. Analytical equations for estimating the thermodynamic parameters by such systems under EIS
conditions are evaluated. The theoretical results are compared with the experimental results of the facilitated
Cu2+ transfer at the polarized water-1,2-dichlorethane interface, assisted by two phenanthroline-containing
macrocycles. In the experimental case where kinetic effects due to the complexation step exist, we show how
elegantly EIS can be used as a tool for estimation of the complexation constant of Cu2+ and 5-oxo-2,8-dithia
[9],(2,9)-1,10-phenanthrolinophane (PhenOS2)
Sodium reduction in traditional dry-cured pork belly using glasswort powder (Salicornia herbacea) as a partial NaCl replacer
Sodium chloride (NaCl) is a key ingredient in the processing of traditional dry-cured meat products by improving microbial safety, sensory attributes and technological properties. However, increasing concern about the consumption of sodium and health has been supporting the development of low-sodium meat products. Several strategies to reduce sodium in dry-cured meat product have been tested, although the followed approaches sometimes result in undesirable characteristics concerning flavor, texture and mouthfeel. The use of halophytic plants such as glasswort (Salicornia herbacea) in food matrices has been suggested as a novel strategy to reduce sodium content, due its salty flavor. The main aim of the present study is to produce traditional dry-cured pork bellies from the Bísaro breed using glasswort as a NaCl partial replacer, and compare it with dry-cured bellies salted either with NaCl or a mix of NaCl + KCl. Control bellies (BC) were salted with 100% of NaCl, the second formulation (BK) had 50% of NaCl and 50% of KCl, and the third formulation (BG) had 90% of NaCl and 10% of glasswort powder (GP). After production, the bellies were evaluated for aw, pH, CIELab coordinates, weight loss, proximal composition, TBARS, collagen and chloride contents, fatty acid profile and sensory attributes. The use of BG in dry-cured pork bellies did not affect processing indicators such as weight loss, aw and pH. Concerning CIELab, only the coordinates L* and hue angle from the external surface color of BG were statistically different from BC and BK. As expected, ash and NaCl contents differed from BG to the other two formulations. SFA and indexes AI and TI were lower, whereas the MUFA and h/H ratio were higher in BG than other treatments, leading to a product with a healthier lipid profile. The sensory evaluation revealed differences in appearance, taste and flavor among treatments, but did not indicate any negative effects of BG in the product attributes. This study reinforces the potential of BG as a natural sodium reducer for the production of traditional dry-cured pork belliesThe authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal)
for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020
and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021). Grants of I.F., A.L. and L.V. are due to
NORTE-01-0247-FEDER-072234. P.E.S.M. acknowledges postdoctoral fellowship support from the
Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN, Spain) “Juan de la Cierva” program (IJC2020-043358-I).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Orchid bees: a new assessment on the rarity of diploid males in populations of this group of Neotropical pollinators
International audienceAbstractThe incidence of diploid males among 1457 individuals of different populations of six euglossine bee species (Eufriesea violacea, Eulaema cingulata, Euglossa annectans, Euglossa iopoecila, Euglossa pleosticta and Euglossa truncata) was investigated with microsatellite markers. Bees were surveyed in Atlantic Forest fragments showing different sizes and degrees of human interference. Our analyses revealed that, although the frequencies of diploid males remained below 10 % for five out of six species studied, the frequencies of these males in three populations of Eg. annectans were above 15.0 %. For this species, while the average estimate of diploid males was around 11.0 %, the highest percentage (27 %) of such males was found for the population from an island. Our findings indicate that the frequency of diploid males can vary substantially among species and this fact should be taking into consideration in studies and conservation actions involving different euglossine bees
Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies from Scaling Seeds: Global Defect Models
We investigate the global texture model of structure formation in cosmogonies
with non-zero cosmological constant for different values of the Hubble
parameter. We find that the absence of significant acoustic peaks and little
power on large scales are robust predictions of these models. However, from a
careful comparison with data we conclude that at present we cannot safely
reject the model on the grounds of present CMB data. Exclusion by means of
galaxy correlation data requires assumptions on biasing and statistics. New,
very stringent constraints come from peculiar velocities.
Investigating the large-N limit, we argue that our main conclusions apply to
all global O(N) models of structure formation.Comment: LaTeX file with RevTex, 27 pages, 23 eps figs., submitted to Phys.
Rev. D. A version with higher quality images can be found at
http://mykonos.unige.ch/~kunz/download/lam.tar.gz for the LaTeX archive and
at http://mykonos.unige.ch/~kunz/download/lam.ps.gz for the compiled
PostScript fil
Circulating microparticles and central blood pressure according to antihypertensive strategy
OBJECTIVES: This prospective, randomized, open-label study aimed to compare the effects of antihypertensive treatment based on amlodipine or hydrochlorothiazide on the circulating microparticles and central blood pressure values of hypertensive patients. METHODS: The effects of treatments on circulating microparticles were assessed during monotherapy and after the consecutive addition of valsartan and rosuvastatin followed by the withdrawal of rosuvastatin. Each treatment period lasted for 30 days. Central blood pressure and pulse wave velocity were measured at the end of each period. Endothelial, monocyte, and platelet circulating microparticles were determined by flow cytometry. Central blood pressure values and pulse wave velocity were recorded at the end of each treatment period. RESULTS: No differences in brachial blood pressure were observed between the treatment groups throughout the study. Although similar central blood pressure values were observed during monotherapy, lower systolic and diastolic central blood pressure values and early and late blood pressure peaks were observed in the amlodipine arm after the addition of valsartan alone or combined with rosuvastatin. Hydrochlorothiazide-based therapy was associated with a lower number of endothelial microparticles throughout the study, whereas a higher number of platelet microparticles was observed after rosuvastatin withdrawal in the amlodipine arm. CONCLUSIONS: Despite similar brachial blood pressure values between groups throughout the study, exposure to amlodipine was associated with lower central blood pressure values after combination with valsartan, indicating a beneficial interaction. Differences between circulating microparticles were modest and were mainly influenced by rosuvastatin withdrawal in the amlodipine arm
Theoretical description of deformed proton emitters: nonadiabatic coupled-channel method
The newly developed nonadiabatic method based on the coupled-channel
Schroedinger equation with Gamow states is used to study the phenomenon of
proton radioactivity. The new method, adopting the weak coupling regime of the
particle-plus-rotor model, allows for the inclusion of excitations in the
daughter nucleus. This can lead to rather different predictions for lifetimes
and branching ratios as compared to the standard adiabatic approximation
corresponding to the strong coupling scheme. Calculations are performed for
several experimentally seen, non-spherical nuclei beyond the proton dripline.
By comparing theory and experiment, we are able to characterize the angular
momentum content of the observed narrow resonance.Comment: 12 pages including 10 figure
Cosmology With Non-Minimally Coupled K-Field
We consider non-minimally coupled (with gravity) scalar field with
non-canonical kinetic energy. The form of the kinetic term is of
Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) form.We study the early evolution of the universe when
it is sourced only by the k-field, as well as late time evolution when both the
matter and k-field are present. For the k-field, we have considered constant
potential as well as potential inspired from Boundary String Field Theory
(B-SFT). We show that it is possible to have inflationary solution in early
time as well as late time accelerating phase. The solutions also exhibit
attractor property in a sense that it does not depend on the initial conditions
for a certain values of the parameters.Comment: 10 pages, Revtex style, 14 eps figures, to appear in General
Relativity and Gravitatio
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