The Influence of Quality on eWOM: A Digital Transformation in Hotel Management

612324There is no doubt that the use of Internet for purchasing products and services has constituted a crucial change in how people go about buying them. In the era of digital transformation, the possibility of accessing information provided by other users about their personal experiences has taken on more weight in the selection and buying processes. On these lines, traditional word-of-mouth (WOM) has given way to electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), which constitutes a major social change. This behavior is particularly relevant in the services area, where potential users cannot in advance assess what is on offer. There is an abundant literature analyzing the effects of eWOM on different variables of interest in this sector. However, little is known about the factors that determine eWOM. Thus, the main objective of the present paper is to analyze the impact of two variables (objective quality and perceived quality) on eWOM. Both of them are crucial for potential customers in the process of finding hotel accommodations and they can motivate people to make such comments. The results demonstrate that these variables truly have a significant impact on whether or not users make comments on line. Moreover, it proved possible to observe certain differences according to the profile of the tourist involved and the destination where the hotel is located. In the current changing environment, this information is of great use for hotel managers in order to design strategies according to the type of guest they wish to attract.S

Determinants of interest rate exposure of Spanish banking industry

Interest rate risk represents one of the key forms of financial risk faced by banks. It has given rise to an extensive body of research, mainly focused on the estimation of sensitivity of bank stock returns to changes in interest rates. However, the analysis of the sources of bank interest rate risk has received much less attention in the literature. The aim of this paper is to empirically investigate the main determinants of the interest rate exposure of Spanish commercial banks by using panel data methodology. The results indicate that interest rate exposure is systematically related to some bank-specific characteristics. In particular, a significant positive association is found between bank size, derivative activities, and proportion of loans to total assets and banks¿ interest rate exposure. In contrast, the proportion of deposits to total assets is significantly and negatively related to the level of bank¿s interest rate risk. El riesgo de interés representa una de las principales fuentes de riesgo financiero a las que se enfrentan las entidades bancarias. Este riesgo ha dado lugar a un extenso cuerpo de investigación, centrado básicamente en la estimación de la sensibilidad del rendimiento de las acciones bancarias ante las variaciones de los tipos de interés. Sin embargo, el análisis de los determinantes del riesgo de interés ha recibido mucha menos atención en la literatura.El objetivo de este trabajo es investigar empíricamente los principales determinantes de la exposición al riesgo de interés de las entidades bancarias españolas utilizando metodología de datos de panel. Los resultados obtenidos indican que la exposición al riesgo de interés se encuentra sistemáticamente relacionada con varias características bancarias. En particular, se ha constatado una significativa asociación positiva entre el tamaño de la entidad, el volumen de operaciones con activos derivados y el ratio de préstamos sobre activos bancarios totales y el grado de exposición al riesgo de interés. Por el contrario, se ha observado una relación negativa significativa entre el ratio de depósitos sobre activos bancarios totales y el nivel del riesgo de interés de las entidades bancarias.riesgo de interés, entidades bancarias, acciones, características bancarias. interest rate risk, banking firms, stocks, balance sheet characteristics.

Análisis sectorial de la exposición al riesgo de interés de las empresas españolas

Este trabajo analiza la exposición al riesgo de interés de las empresas españolas a nivel sectorial durante el período 1993-2001 utilizando una técnica de regresión móvil que permite identificar posibles variaciones en el tiempo en la sensibilidad de los sectores bursátiles ante los cambios de los tipos de interés. Los resultados obtenidos muestran un significativo grado de exposición para los sectores bancario, eléctrico y de construcción. Asimismo, su sensibilidad ante los tipos de interés no se mantiene estable en el tiempo, cobrando una especial intensidad en el escenario de tipos de interés históricamente bajos vigente desde finales de los años [email protected]; [email protected]

On the justification of intergroup violence: The roles of procedural justice, police legitimacy and group identity in attitudes towards violence among indigenous people

Objective Why do people justify intergroup violence? In this paper we examine attitudes towards violence perpetrated by indigenous activists to claim for rights and violence by pólice officers against indigenous people. We assess the role that perceived pólice legitimacy, procedurally just policing towards the indigenous minority group and group identity play in the justification of intergroup violence. Method We present findings from two surveys (Study 1, n=1493, Study 2, n=198) and an experiment (Study 3, n=76) conducted among indigenous people in Chile. Studies 1 and 2 measure perceptions of police procedural justice towards indigenous people. Study 3 manipulates the fairness with which police officers treat indigenous people. Effects of procedural justice on police legitimacy (Studies 2 and 3) and attitudes towards violence for social change and social control (Studies 1-3) are analyzed. Result Higher perceptions of procedurally just policing towards indigenous people predict more support for police violence and less support for violence perpetrated by indigenous activists. These effects are mediated by perceived police legitimacy and moderated by identification with the minority group. Among people who identify strongly with their indigenous group, perceiving high procedural justice predicts greater police legitimacy, greater support for police violence, and lesser support for violence perpetrated by indigenous activists

Voriconazole MICs are predictive for the outcome of experimental disseminated scedosporiosis

Scedosporiosis is associated with a mortality rate of up to 90% in patients suffering from disseminated infections. Recommended first-line treatment is voriconazole, but epidemiological cut-off values and clinical breakpoints have not been determined. Objectives: To correlate voriconazole treatment response in mice suffering from disseminated scedosporiosis with MIC values determined using CLSI broth microdilution, Etest (bioMe´rieux) and disc diffusio

Microbiological and Molecular Characterization of Staphylococcus hominis Isolates from Blood

Background: Among Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci (CoNS), Staphylococcus hominis represents the third most common organism recoverable from the blood of immunocompromised patients. The aim of this study was to characterize biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, define the SCCmec (Staphylococcal Chromosomal Cassette mec) type, and genetic relatedness of clinical S. hominis isolates. Methodology: S. hominis blood isolates (n = 21) were screened for biofilm formation using crystal violet staining. Methicillin resistance was evaluated using the cefoxitin disk test and the mecA gene was detected by PCR. Antibiotic resistance was determined by the broth microdilution method. Genetic relatedness was determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and SCCmec typed by multiplex PCR using two different methodologies described for Staphylococcus aureus. Results: Of the S. hominis isolates screened, 47.6% (10/21) were categorized as strong biofilm producers and 23.8% (5/21) as weak producers. Furthermore, 81% (17/21) of the isolates were methicillin resistant and mecA gene carriers. Resistance to ampicillin, erythromycin, and trimethoprim was observed in .70% of isolates screened. Each isolate showed a different PFGE macrorestriction pattern with similarity ranging between 0–95%. Among mecA-positive isolates, 14 (82%) harbored a non-typeable SCCmec type: eight isolates were not positive for any ccr complex; four contained the mec complex A ccrAB1 and ccrC, one isolate contained mec complex A, ccrAB4 and ccrC, and one isolate contained the mec complex A, ccrAB1, ccrAB4, and ccrC. Two isolates harbored the association: mec complex A and ccrAB1. Only one strain was typeable as SCCmec III. Conclusions: The S. hominis isolates analyzed were variable biofilm producers had a high prevalence of methicillin resistance and resistance to other antibiotics, and high genetic diversity. The results of this study strongly suggested that S. hominis isolates harbor new SCCmec structural elements and might be reservoirs of ccrC1 in addition to ccrAB1 and mec complex A

PENGEOM - A general-purpose geometry package for Monte Carlo simulation of radiation transport in material systems defined by quadric surfaces

The Fortran subroutine package pengeom provides a complete set of tools to handle quadric geometries in Monte Carlo simulations of radiation transport. The material structure where radiation propagates is assumed to consist of homogeneous bodies limited by quadric surfaces. The pengeom subroutines (a subset of the penelope code) track particles through the material structure, independently of the details of the physics models adopted to describe the interactions. Although these subroutines are designed for detailed simulations of photon and electron transport, where all individual interactions are simulated sequentially, they can also be used in mixed (class II) schemes for simulating the transport of high-energy charged particles, where the effect of soft interactions is described by the random-hinge method. The definition of the geometry and the details of the tracking algorithm are tailored to optimize simulation speed. The use of fuzzy quadric surfaces minimizes the impact of round-off errors. The provided software includes a Java graphical user interface for editing and debugging the geometry definition file and for visualizing the material structure. Images of the structure are generated by using the tracking subroutines and, hence, they describe the geometry actually passed to the simulation code

PENGEOM A general-purpose geometry package for Monte Carlo simulation of radiation transport in complex material structures (New Version Announcement)

A new version of the code system pengeom, which provides a complete set of tools to handle different geometries in Monte Carlo simulations of radiation transport, is presented. The distribution package consists of a set of Fortran subroutines and a Java graphical user interface that allows building and debugging the geometry-definition file, and producing images of the geometry in two- and three-dimensions. A detailed description of these tools is given in the original paper [Comput. Phys. Commun. 199 (2016) 102-113] and in the code manual included in the distribution package. The present new version corrects a bug in the Fortran subroutines, and it includes various improvements of the Java graphical user interface

Glutathione biosynthesis in Arabidopsis trichome cells

In Arabidopsis thaliana, trichome cells are specialized unicellular structures with uncertain functions. Based on earlier observations that one of the genes involved in cysteine biosynthesis (Atcys-3A) is highly expressed in trichomes, we have extended our studies in trichome cells to determine their capacity for glutathione (GSH) biosynthesis. First, we have analyzed by in situ hybridization the tissue-specific expression of the genes Atcys-3A and sat5, which encode O-acetylserine(thio)lyase (OASTL) and serine acetyltransferase (SAT), respectively, as well as gsh1 and gsh2, which encode γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase and glutathione synthetase, respectively. The four genes are highly expressed in leaf trichomes of Arabidopsis, and their mRNA accumulate to high levels. Second, we have directly measured cytoplasmic GSH concentration in intact cells by laser-scanning microscopy after labeling with monochlorobimane as a GSH-specific probe. From these measurements, cytosolic GSH concentrations of 238 ± 25, 80 ± 2, and 144 ± 19 μM were estimated for trichome, basement, and epidermal cells, respectively. Taking into account the volume of the cells measured using stereological techniques, the trichomes have a total GSH content more than 300-fold higher than the basement and epidermal cells. Third, after NaCl treatment, GSH biosynthesis is markedly decreased in trichomes. Atcys-3A, sat5, gsh1, and gsh2 mRNA levels show a decrease in transcript abundance, and [GSH](cyt) is reduced to 47 ± 5 μM. These results suggest the important physiological significance of trichome cells related to GSH biosynthesis and their possible role as a sink during detoxification processes.Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica PB96-1367Junta de Andalucía CVI011

Intratumoral injection of dendritic cells transduced by an SV40-based vector expressing interleukin-15 induces curative immunity mediated by CD8+ T lymphocytes and NK cells

Cancer immunotherapy has been extensively attempted by gene transfer of cytokines with viral vectors. In this work, we compared the therapeutic effects of interleukin 12 and 15 (IL-12 and IL-15) genes transferred to tumor cells or to dendritic cells (DCs), which were subsequently injected into established tumors. For this purpose, we used viral vectors based on simian virus 40 (rSV40). Importantly, we observed that nonmatured DCs infected with rSV40 vectors remained phenotypically immature. Infection of CT-26 tumor cells with rSV40 expressing IL-12 (rSVIL-12) or IL-15 (rSVIL-15) failed to inhibit tumor development. In contrast, the intratumoral administration of syngeneic DCs transduced with rSVIL-12 or rSVIL-15 was associated with a strong antitumor response; up to 40% tumor remissions were achieved with DCs transduced by rSVIL-12 and 73% with DCs expressing IL-15. This antitumor effect correlated with the in vivo priming of tumor-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes. Depletion studies showed that rSVIL-15-mediated antitumor efficacy was mediated mainly by CD8+ T lymphocytes and NK cells. We conclude that (i) SV40-derived vectors are an advantageous alternative to transduce genes into DCs and (ii) DCs transferred with IL-15 have an enhanced capability to induce curative antitumor immunity when injected into malignant lesions