Content analysis and assessment of deontological codes of franchising associations

The objective of this work is to run the content analysis and assessment of deontological codes of national and international franchising associations. To do this, we compared the content of 46 deontological codes of franchising associations from five continents to the standards established in the so-called C-40 or model of franchising deontological codes. Results show that, in general, ethical content included in deontological codes of franchising associations are not very large, requiring progress in improving its structure and content. In any case, according to the contents of their deontological codes, there are two groups of franchising associations worldwide. On the one hand, those taking the archetype of the European Franchise Federation code (30 associations), which show a greater number of ethical issues and have a better structured code than the other group that do not follow the European Code (16 associations)

First report of Crumillospongia (Demospongea) from the Cambrian of Europe (Murero biota, Spain)

The demosponge genus Crumillospongia, originally described from the Burgess Shale (middle Cambrian of Canada), has only been cited from lower and middle Cambrian localities of North America and China. The taxon is now also described from uppermost lower Cambrian rocks of the Murero Lagerstätte (Zaragoza Province, NE Spain). Crumillospongia mureroensis sp. nov. is a small to medium sized sack-shaped to elongate demosponge characterized by the presence of densely packed pores of three sizes, considerably larger than those in any other species of the genus. The Spanish material represents a link in the chronostratigraphical gap between the Chinese and North American material.Peer reviewe

Modelling uncertainty in production processes using non-singleton fuzzification and fuzzy cognitive maps - a virgin olive oil case study

Decision support systems (DSSs) are a convenient tool to aid plant operators in the selection of process set points. Inputs to these systems for variables that are not easily measured online often come from assessments made by experts, with an associated degree of uncertainty. The application of fuzzy sets and systems as part of DSSs provides a systematic approach to addressing the uncertainty in its variables. This paper builds on prior work on DSSs utilising fuzzy cognitive maps and introduces a non-singleton fuzzification stage which directly addresses uncertainty in system inputs. The motivation of the proposed system is grounded in the real world challenges of producing high-quality olive oil and the paper provides promising application and analysis results as part of the Virgin Olive Oil Production Process

Razones que impulsan a los empresarios a expansionarse a través de franquicia

El objetivo general de este trabajo consiste en estudiar y analizar las razones que impulsan a los empresarios a expansionarse mediante el formato de franquicia. En segundo lugar, determinar si para explicar la confianza o uso de la franquicia dentro del sistema de franquicia español se pueden identificar clases latentes. Es decir, grupos de franquiciadores cuyas variables explicativas tienen relaciones distintas con el porcentaje de unidades franquiciadas. La metodología empleada es la regresión de clases latentes (RCL) que ha sido poco utilizada en la investigación de franquicia

Biocompatibility and osseointegration study of new prosthetic materials

Objetivos Los implantes óseos son utilizados cada vez con mayor frecuencia en la práctica clínica y, entre los materiales, el Ti o sus aleaciones son los de mejor rendimiento por sus propiedades fisicoquímicas. Aleaciones como TiNbTa han demostrado mejorar las características biomecánicas del Ti puro comercial (c.p.), sin embargo, su capacidad osteointegradora necesita ser evaluada. El objetivo del presente estudio fue valorar la citotoxicidad y la capacidad de adhesión, proliferación y diferenciación de células osteoblásticas en cultivo, influida por discos de material TiNbTa frente a Ti c.p. Material y métodos Analizamos a los 4 y 7 días del cultivo la línea celular MC3T3, la viabilidad celular (AlamarBlue Cell Viability Reagent. Invitrogen, España), así como la proliferación y diferenciación celular (actividad de fosfatasa alcalina (ALP) y microscopía electrónica de barrido (Fijación para SEM). Se realizó la prueba t de Student para determinar diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los dos grupos de discos de estudio. Resultados Los resultados obtenidos demuestran muy buena viabilidad celular durante el periodo de estudio, sin diferencias significativas para ambos materiales. Así mismo, detectamos una caída en los niveles de ALP que fue significativa para ambos componentes entre los días 4 y 7 del estudio (p<0,05). Las imágenes de microscopía electrónica revelaron buena capacidad de adhesión al material, así como diferenciación celular frente a ambos tipos de discos. Conclusiones La aleación de TiNbTa como material para implantes óseos cuenta con una buena capacidad osteointegradora, además de resolver problemas de biomecánica que presenta el titanio puro como componente.Objetive Bone implants are increasingly used in clinical practice and, among the materials, Ti or its alloys are offer the best performance given their physicochemical properties. Alloys such as TiNbTa have been shown to improve the biomechanical characteristics of commercial pure Ti (c.p.), however, its osseointegration capacity needs to be evaluated. The objective of the present study was to assess the cytotoxicity and the adhesion, proliferation and differentiation capacity of osteoblastic cells in culture, influenced by discs of TiNbTa material versus Ti c.p. Material and methods At 4 and 7 days after culture, we analyzed the MC3T3 cell line, cell viability (AlamarBlue Cell Viability Reagent. Invitrogen, Spain), as well as cell proliferation and differentiation (alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) and scanning electron microscopy (Fixation for SEM) Student's t test was performed to determine statistically significant differences between the two groups of study discs. Results The results obtained show very good cell viability during the study period, with no significant differences for both materials. Likewise, we detected a drop in ALP levels that was significant for both components between days 4 and 7 of the study (p <0.05). Electron microscopy images revealed good adhesion capacity to the material, as well as cell differentiation against both types of discs. Conclusions The TiNbTa alloy as a material for bone implants offers good osseointegrative capacity, in addition to solving biomechanical problems that pure titanium presents as a component

Efficiency of Antimicrobial Electrospun Thymol-Loaded Polycaprolactone Mats in Vivo

Due to the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant pathogens, natural products with long-term antimicrobial activities are considered as potential alternatives. In this work, polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun fibers with mean diameters around 299 nm and loaded with 14.92 ± 1.31% w/w thymol (THY) were synthesized. The mats had appropriate elongation at break (74.4 ± 9.5%) and tensile strength (3.0 ± 0.5 MPa) to be potentially used as wound dressing materials. In vivo studies were performed using eight to ten week-old male SKH1 hairless mice. The infection progression was evaluated through a semiquantitative method and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The analyses of post-mortem samples indicated that THY-loaded PCL fibers acted as inhibitors of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 strain growth being as efficient as chlorhexidine (CLXD). Histopathological and immunohistochemical studies showed that the PCL-THY-treated wounds were almost free of an inflammatory reaction. Therefore, wound dressings containing natural compounds can prevent infection and promote wound healing and prompt regeneration. Copyrigh

Medición de la responsabilidad social corporativa. Propuesta de medición para el ámbito del sistema de franquicia

El presente trabajo de investigación trata de conocer el estado de la responsabilidad social corporativa, su concepto y dimensiones. La revisión de la literatura nos indica que se trata de un constructo complejo multidimensional, difícil de medir. Ello conlleva la falta de consenso entre los investigadores en la forma de medir la responsabilidad social corporativa. A partir de esta multidimensionalidad se propone una forma de medición en el ámbito del sector de la franquicia en España. Para ello se ha medido la responsabilidad social corporativa de una importante muestra de cadenas franquiciadoras que operan en España, incluyendo componentes que intentan recoger las responsabilidades ética, legal, filantrópica, medioambiental, frente a clientes y a empleados. No es frecuente encontrar una medida de la responsabilidad social corporativa, en el ámbito de la franquicia, que recoja todas las componentes anteriores, lo que supone una aportación relevante de esta investigación.This research paper seeks to know the state of corporate social responsibility, which are their concepts and dimensions. The literature review indicates that this is a complex multidimensional construct, difficult to measure. This implies a lack of consensus among researchers on how to measure corporate social responsibility. From this multidimensional topic we propose a form of measurement in the field of the Spanish franchising sector. Corporate Social Responsibility has been measured in an important sample of franchise chains operating in Spain, including components that try to gather the ethical, legal, philanthropic, environmental, to customers and employees, responsibilities. It is rare to find a measure of corporate social responsibility in the field of franchising containing all the above mentioned components, representing a significant contribution of this research

Correlation between microstructure and temperature dependence of magnetic properties in Fe 60 Co 18 ( Nb , Zr ) 6 B 15 Cu 1 alloy series

Temperature dependence of magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe60Co18Cu1B15Nb6−xZrx (x =0, 3, 6) alloys has been studied at different stages of devitrification. Transmission electron microscopy shows nanocrystals of the size �5 nm, which remains almost constant along the nanocrystallization process. Curie temperature of the residual amorphous phase decreases as nanocrystallization progresses for all the studied alloys. Thermal dependence of the exchange stiffness constant is obtained from the measurement of specific magnetization and coercivity as a function of crystalline fraction and temperature for the three studied alloys

Theoretical Foundation of the Control of Pollination by Hoverflies in a Greenhouse

We propose a conceptual model for pollination and fertilization of tomato flowers in greenhouses crops by hoverflies, when the maximal number of adult pollinators maintained by the crops is less than what is needed for an economically successful pollination in greenhouses. The model consists of a two-stage process for additional feeding of hoverfly to maintain the pollinator density at the economically desired level. First, with a stochastic model, we calculate the density of flies necessary for the economically successful pollination, determined according to the economically expected yield. Second, using a deterministic optimal control model, we find a minimum cost supplementary feeding strategy. In summary, we theoretically demonstrate, at the present stage of the research without validations in case studies, that optimal supplementary feeding can maintain the economically desired hoverfly density

Iron–Gold Nanoflowers: A Promising Tool for Multimodal Imaging and Hyperthermia Therapy

The development of nanoplatforms prepared to perform both multimodal imaging and combined therapies in a single entity is a fast-growing field. These systems are able to improve diagnostic accuracy and therapy success. Multicomponent Nanoparticles (MCNPs), composed of iron oxide and gold, offer new opportunities for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed To-mography (CT) diagnosis, as well as combined therapies based on Magnetic Hyperthermia (MH) and Photothermal Therapy (PT). In this work, we describe a new seed-assisted method for the synthesis of Au@Fe Nanoparticles (NPs) with a flower-like structure. For biomedical purposes, Au@Fe NPs were functionalized with a PEGylated ligand, leading to high colloidal stability. Moreover, the as-obtained Au@Fe-PEG NPs exhibited excellent features as both MRI and CT Contrast Agents (CAs), with high r2 relaxivity (60.5 mM-1·s-1 ) and X-ray attenuation properties (8.8 HU mM-1·HU). In addition, these nanoflowers presented considerable energy-to-heat conversion under both Alternating Magnetic Fields (AMFs) (¿T ˜ 2.5¿C) and Near-Infrared (NIR) light (¿T ˜ 17¿C). Finally, Au@Fe-PEG NPs exhibited very low cytotoxicity, confirming their potential for theranostics applications. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland