Some insights for a relationship marketing model integrating SERVQUAL and customer loyalty in dental clinics

The demand of new services, the emergence of new business models, insufficient innovation, underestimation of customer loyalty and reluctance to adopt new management are evidence of the deficiencies and the lack of research about the relations between patients and dental clinics. In this article we propose the structure of a model of Relationship Marketing (RM) in the dental clinic that integrates information from SERVQUAL, Customer Loyalty (CL) and activities of RM and combines the vision of dentist and patient. The first pilot study on dentists showed that: they recognize the value of maintaining better patients however they don't perform RM actions to retain them. They have databases of patients but not sophisticated enough as compared to RM tools. They perceive that the patients value "Assurance" and "Empathy" (two dimensions of service quality). Finally, they indicate that a loyal patient not necessarily pays more by the service. The proposed model will be validated using Fuzzy Logic simulation and the ultimate goal of this research line is contributing a new definition of CL

Recommendations for the selection of in situ measurement techniques for radiological characterization in nuclear/radiological installations under decommissioning and dismantling processes

[EN] In this paper, in-situ radiological characterisation by means of non-destructive techniques is studied and analysed in the context of the different constrained environments (identified as radioactivity, materials, accessibility and other hazards) that may be encountered in the nuclear facilities undergoing decommissioning and dismantling. As a complement to a previous paper (Aspe et al., 2020), the present one gives a global guidance to assist with the decision making process regarding the selection of in-situ measurement techniques that could be applied in such constrained environments. In addition, from the definition of the investigation objectives, and for each one of the most common in-situ measurement techniques, a brief description is given about the impact of the above constraints and how to integrate them onto the system definition, including the experimental design, the mechanical integration and the data management, to properly define the best radiological characterization methodology. Moreover, complementing this general view, all the phases – from initial to final – of a D&D programme were taken into account to provide basic recommendations, together with some particular dispositions, for the appropriate implementation of the chosen instruments. Strengths and weaknesses of the common detectors used for the different in-situ measurement techniques, as well as their recommended applications in nuclear facilities are also outlined.The research leading to these results has been carried out in the framework of the European INSIDER project and has received funding from the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2014–2018 under grant agreement no. 755554

Murciélagos de los "campos y malezales" de Argentina: aspectos taxonómicos, corológicos y ecológicos

Los murciélagos son los únicos mamíferos que se desplazan mediante el vuelo batido. Tienen amplia distribución a nivel mundial, son particularmente abundantes en el Ecuador, disminuyendo su diversidad a mayores latitudes. Constituyen el segundo grupo más diverso de mamíferos luego de los roedores. En Argentina se encuentran representados por 66 especies pertenecientes a cuatro familias (Noctilionidae, Phyllostomidae, Vespertilionidae y Molossidae, Díaz et al., 2016; Urquizo et al., 2017). Si bien existe un creciente interés en el estudio de este grupo en la Región Neotrópical, el conocimiento sobre la geonemia e historia natural de las especies que habitan en el noreste de Argentina es escaso, siendo desconocidos los aspectos más básicos de su biología. Teniendo en cuenta esto, se delimitó como área de estudio la ecorregión de Campos y Malezales en las provincias de Corrientes y Misiones, Argentina. Históricamente esta región ha sido relegada por los investigadores, tal vez por centrar su atención en la Selva Paranaense propiamente dicha y considerar a los Campos como una subregión empobrecida de ésta. No obstante, en virtud de su fisonomía heterogénea producto de la alternancia de pastizales, isletas de monte, sabanas y selvas ribereñas que bordean los cursos de agua, se genera una gran diversidad de ambientes, que se refleja en su quiropterofauna. Los objetivos del presente trabajo han sido: -Realizar un inventario sistemático de la quiropterofauna de la ecorregión Campos y Malezales, de Argentina. -Generar conocimientos y recopilar información sobre aspectos de la historia natural de las especies de la ecorregión. -Caracterizar el ensamble a escala ecorregional. Para ello se estudiaron ejemplares depositados en las principales colecciones de mastozoología de Argentina y se realizaron campañas de colecta y toma de datos. La principal técnica de captura empleada fue la utilización de redes de niebla y de manera complementaria a esta metodología se realizó la búsqueda activa de refugios y análisis de egagrópilas de aves estrigiformes, para complementar el inventario de especies presentes en la zona. Dando como resultado que la quiropterofauna de los Campos y Malezales está integrada por 38 especies. Durante los relevamientos se capturaron con redes ejemplares de 19 especies, y adicionalmente la búsqueda de refugios permitió agregar cuatro especies, probando de este modo la importancia de combinar metodologías cuando se realizan inventarios de la fauna de murciélagos. Entre los resultados más relevantes se destacan los registros de nuevas especies tanto para la Argentina (Myotis izecksohni Moratelli, Peracchi, Dias y Oliveira, 2011) como para la provincia de Misiones y la Mesopotamia en general (Cynomops planirostris (Peters, 1865)). El ensamble de murciélagos de los Campos y Malezales caracterizado a partir de ejemplares capturados con redes de niebla está constituido por una especie dominante (A. lituratus) otras especies de abundancias medias (S. lilium, E. furinalis, M. rufus, M. temminckii, P. lineatus, P. bilabiatum, D. rotundus), especies con abundancias bajas ( C. perspicillata, A. fimbriatus, M. riparius, E. patagonicus, M. levis) y pocas especies con escasos registros ( C. auritus, V. pussila, T. brasiliensis, M. albescens, M. izecksohni). Como complemento de los muestreos mencionados se realizó el análisis de egagrópilas de lechuzas, metodología que fue particularmente interesante, ya que todos los restos identificados correspondieron a especies de vespertiliónidos y molósidos, las cuales son generalmente subestimadas con la metodología de trampeo estandar. Esta metodología permitió registrar por primera vez para la provincia de Formosa a Eumops auripendulus (Shaw, 1800) y brindó el tercer registro de Eumops bonariensis (Peters, 1874) para Corrientes. Finalmente es importante mencionar que el esclarecimiento de numerosos interrogantes biogeográficos, evolutivos, de poblaciones y la delimitación precisa de las especies y razas geográficas requiere en buena medida del estudio de ejemplares de colecciones y la obtención de una cantidad mayor de muestras de manera planificada. En ese contexto la realización de trabajos de campo y la adquisición de nuevos ejemplares de estudio adopta particular relevancia.Bats are the only known flying mammals, which present a widespread global distribution and are particularly abundant in the Equator, with a decrement in diversity towards higher latitudes. Bats represent the second-most diverse group of mammals after rodents. In Argentina they are represented by 66 species belonging to 4 taxonomic families (i.e., Noctilionidae, Phyllostomidae, Vespertilionidae and Molossidae, Díaz et al., 2016; Urquizo et al., 2017). Despite an increasing interest on this group in the Neotropical Region, current knowledge on the distribution range and natural history of species from NE Argentina is scarce, with a lack of knowledge on basic aspects of their biology. Thus, the study area for this thesis was limited to the Campos & Malezales ecoregion in Argentina (translating as “open fields and undergrowth”). This ecoregion has been historically understudied, perhaps due to attention that has been paid to the Paranaense forest proper, and considering the open fields as an impoverished sub-region within the former one. Despite this, due to its heterogeneous physiognomy created by a mosaic of grasslands, savannas, rocky outcrops and gallery forests, there exists a great environmental complexity, reflected in the bat fauna. The objectives of this thesis were: -to make an inventory of the bat fauna of the Campos & Malezales ecoregion in Argentina; -to produce scientific knowledge and gather information on the natural history of bat species from this ecoregion; and -to characterize the bat assemblage at the ecoregion scale. Specimens from mammalian collections in several Argentine institutions were studied, and several data-collecting field campaigns were carried out. The most used method for inventorying species consisted in capture with mist net; this was supplemented by active search for roost and the analysis of pellets from strigiform birds. As a result, the chiropterofauna of the “Campos y Malezales” is composed of 38 species. The assemblage of bats of the “Campos & Malezales” characterized from samples collected with mist nest is constituted by a dominant species (A. lituratus), others witch medium abundances (S. lilium, E. furinalis, M. rufus, M. temminckii, P. lineatus, P. bilabiatum and D. rotundus) species with low abundances (C. perspicillata, A. fimbriatus, M. riparius, E. patagonicus and M. levis) and few species with few records (C. autitus, V. pussila, T, brasiliensis, M. albescens and M. izecksohni) The analysis of owl pellets yielded interesting results, with all remains belonging to species of vespertilionid and molossid bats, which are commonly underestimated with traditional methods. This methodology produced the first record of Eumops auripendulus (Shaw, 1800) for Formosa province, and the third record of Eumops bonariensis (Peters, 1874) for Corrientes province. Finally, through this thesis work it has become clear that the clarification of numerous aspects of bat species such as biogeographic, evolutionary, population ones, and the delimitation of species and geographic races, largely requires the study of collection specimens and systematic sampling. In that sense, field work and the acquisition of new specimens are of particular significance.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Aportes de la Calidad del Servicio en clínicas dentales

Debido a la necesidad de gestionar los nuevos modelos de negocios de las clínicas dentales y la demanda de nuevos servicios requeridos por el paciente, el conocimiento sobre la “calidad del servicio” del sector dental necesita ser ampliado. En la evaluación de la calidad del servicio dental y sanitario, al paciente le es difícil valorar los aspectos técnicos (calidad técnica). El paciente (cliente) de estos servicios se diferencia de otros clientes por su renuencia a recibir el servicio (tratamiento). En la investigación sobre calidad del servicio dental, desde la perspectiva del marketing, existe una tendencia a centrarse en la relación entre las expectativas del paciente y la calidad del servicio, así como también, en investigar el servicio al cliente y el pronto servicio (responsiveness), siendo el SERVQUAL el instrumento más utilizado. También, desde la perspectiva del dentista, se ha investigado sobre la satisfacción del cliente, incluso como sinónimo de calidad. En este artículo, proponemos la configuración del sector dental español y la tipología de las clínicas dentales españolas para luego identificar una serie de líneas de investigación relevantes: enseñar al paciente a evaluar la calidad técnica de la clínica dental, enseñar al dentista a demostrar su calidad técnica, determinar diferencias -en la evaluación de la calidad del servicio del paciente- cuando su enfermedad es grave y cuando no lo es, determinar cuánto afecta la renuencia del paciente a la percepción de la calidad del servicio, entre otra

NUEVO ENFOQUE DEL NEGOCIO DE LAS TARJETAS BANCARIAS EN ESPAÑA Y EL NUEVO PAPEL A DESARROLLAR POR EL COMERCIANTE

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar los elementos básicos del nuevo enfoque de las entidades financieras españolas para su negocio de tarjetas bancarias, así como el nuevo papel que podría tener el comerciante para su desarrollo. Para ello se envió un cuestionario a 60 responsables de este negocio en dichas entidades. De las respuestas recogidas en los 44 cuestionarios recibidos, se concluye que este nuevo enfoque deberá hacer más hincapié en las operaciones de financiación al consumo mediante tarjeta bancaria. Así mismo, se verifica que el comerciante deberá tener un papel relevante y retribuido como prescriptor de estas operaciones

Uncertainty and detection limits of Pu-241 determination by liquid scintillation counting (LSC)

[EN]Determination of Pu-241 is an essential issue for radiation protection, as it is the precursor of some nuclides with high radiotoxicity. Pu-241 is a low energy beta emitter, which makes its measurement more challenging than that of Pu alpha emitters. The most widely used method for the measurement of Pu-241 is liquid scintillation counting (LSC). In this method, the assessment of Pu radiochemical yield is done by measuring the sample by alpha spectrometry before being lixiviated and measured by LSC. This double measurement affects uncertainty analysis, as well as decision threshold and detection limit, considering that both components of the total yield (radiochemical and lixiviation) should be contemplated. In this paper, and for quality assurance (QA) purposes, in-depth uncertainty and detection limit formulae for the proposed method, controlling correlations and considering all the parameters involved including chemical and lixiviation yields, have been developed. A sensitivity analysis of the uncertainty budget together with an assessment of Pu-242 tracer quantity to be used, ensuring a total yield of at least 50% and a relative uncertainty of the leaching yield of at most 5%, have been carried out. In addition, an analysis of the impact of the real lixiviation yield value and its uncertainty on the results has been done. As a general conclusion, and considering the values of the parameters chosen for this work (samples of 1 g measured for 24 h by LSC), the Pu-241 uncertainties range from 5% to 30% depending on the activity concentration values and the detection limits range from 14 to 30 Bq kg(-1), depending on yield values. The main components of the uncertainty budget are the net Pu-241 and background counts obtained in the LSC measurement for low contaminated samples while this is the case for the alpha gross count rate in LSC measurement of the alpha calibration source for highly contaminated samples. In addition, an analysis of possible interference by Pu alpha emitters in the Pu-241 signal and a comparison of quench standard curves of H-3 and Pu-241 are also performed.Open Access funding provided by University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU

KANT, Immanuel (2016): Lecciones de Filosofía Moral Mrongovius II. Salamanca: Sígueme. Edición bilingüe de Alba Jiménez.

Reseña del libro: KANT, Immanuel (2016): Lecciones de Filosofía Moral Mrongovius II. Salamanca: Sígueme. Edición bilingüe de Alba Jiménez

Possibilities of the use of CeBr3 scintillation detectors for the measurement of the content of radionuclides in samples for environmental monitoring

The investigation of radioactivity in samples is an application of gamma-ray spectrometry dealing with low and very low level gamma-ray activities of different isotopes. Gamma-ray spectrometry performed in the framework of radiological environmental monitoring may be done after selective sampling processes or after a chemical purification of a sample. Both cases imply that only some specific radionuclides should contribute to the obtained spectrum. Gamma-ray spectrometry performed with medium energy resolution detectors may allow the possible distinction of their photopeaks. Therefore, a cerium bromide (CeBr3) detector can be particularly attractive for routine tasks in radiological environmental monitoring as it has a high efficiency, medium energy resolution and it can work at room temperature. This study describes the conditions under which a CeBr3 detector can serve for some routine analysis in radiological analysis of samples collected in the environment or collected by airsamplers in environmental radiological monitoring programmes

Two new species of Myotis (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) for Argentina

Seven new species of Myotis have been recently described from South America, elevating to 20 the total number of species of the genus recognized for the region. Myotis izecksohni and Myotis lavali were recently described from the States of Río de Janeiro, Paraná and Pernambuco, Brazil. These are clearly different from all other known species of the genus in their external and cranial characters, which are exactly comparable with our specimens collected in Argentina. This allows to greatly expand the known geographic distributions for these two species. The addition to Argentina of Myotis lavali with specimens collected in the Yungas ecoregion of Salta Province, and Myotis izecksohni with specimens collected in the Fields and Weedlands ecoregion of Misiones Province, increases the known ecoregions to date for the distribution of the two species.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Ectoparasite insects of bats from the fields and weedlands eco-region of Argentina

New information is presented for bats and their ectoparasite insects from the Argentine Field and Weedlands Ecoregion. Bats of the families Molossidae, Phyllostomidae and Vespertilionidae containing ectoparasites belonging to families Polyctenidae (Hemiptera), Nycteribiidae and Streblidae (Diptera) were collected. Here is presented the first record of Hesperoctenes cartus Jordan, 1922 for Argentina. Basilia plaumanni Scott, 1940 and H. vicinus Jordan, 1922 are added to the province of Misiones and Paratrichobius longicrus (Miranda Ribeiro, 1907) is added to the province of Corrientes.Additionally, the distributions of some ectoparasite insects are extended and new host-ectoparasite associations are reported.Fil: Autino, Analia Gladys. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Programa de Investigación de Biodiversidad Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Claps, Guillermo Luis. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Dirección de Zoología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Programa de Investigación de Biodiversidad Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Idoeta, Fabricio Miguel. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Programa de Investigación de Biodiversidad Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Barquez, Ruben Marcos. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Programa de Investigación de Biodiversidad Argentina; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentin