h3 gourmet: not so fast food

The h3 case study focuses on the development and offer of a new chain of hamburger restaurants that began in Portugal and is spreading to other countries like Spain, Brazil and Poland. The general idea of the business venture is to grow quickly and occupy an unconventional place in the fast food burger business: a food chain with a gourmet touch, taking a high profile approach with natural ingredients, customization and quality service, where hamburgers are served on heated plates with cutlery and may be accompanied by a glass of wine, homemade lemonade or iced tea. The client can finish the meal with ice cream or chocolate coulant desserts with quality ingredients. H3 now has more than 40 restaurants; it is preparing to conquer the world and challenge the big players both in malls and street restaurants. Competitive advantages and critical success factors will play a vital role in this case

New record of parasitic isopod (Isopoda: Bopyridae) infecting the branchial chamber of blue swimming crab Portunus pelagicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda: Portunidae) in the Philippines

A parasitic disease causing swollen carapace in commercially important blue swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus L.) has not received considerable attention; neither its causative agent is identified nor its seasonality is recorded. This study aimed to identify the parasite in P. pelagicus inhabiting the Manila Bay. Parasite found in the branchial chamber were isolated, preserved in ethanol and examined. A total of 292 crab specimens were examined and ten were found to be infected (3.42% prevalence with 0–2 parasites per host). Infections were only observed in November 2014 and between January and June 2015. The highest prevalence of infection (10.34%) was recorded in January 2015 whereas the greatest intensity of infection (up to two parasites per infected crab individual) was recorded from February to April 2015. The parasite, based on morphology, was identified as Allokepon monodi. This study presents the third record of female and second record of male A. monodi infecting a crab species. It also represents the first record of male A. monodi in P. pelagicus and in the Philippines. We recommend further studies on the impacts and economic implications of the disease

Successful organizational learning in the management of agricultural research and innovation: The Mexican produce foundations

"Since the 1980s, developing countries' agriculture has become more complex and diversified. In general, the public research and extension institutions in these countries were criticized for not participating in the emergence of the most dynamic agricultural markets. In recent years, many of these institutions have struggled to adapt to the new environment but they could not overcome the hurdles posed by organizational rigidities, strict public regulations, deteriorating human capital, shrinking budgets and a model of science that hampered their integration into dynamic innovation processes. In general, developing countries applied similar agricultural research policies: separation of financing and implementation of research, reductions in direct budgetary allocations to research and extension institutions, elimination or major reduction of public extension, and introduction of competitive grants programs to induce a transformation of research organizations. Strong anecdotal information suggests that these policies had limited impact on the quality and pertinence of research, and on the performance of the public research institutions. Using a different set of instruments, the Mexican Produce Foundations (PF) had major and diverse impacts on the agricultural innovation and research systems. These impacts resulted mostly from activities the PF introduced as they learned to manage funds for research and extension, and to a lesser extent from the activities they were created for, i.e., manage a competitive fund for agricultural research and extension. The PF were able to introduce these activities because they developed strong abilities to learn, including identifying knowledge gaps and defining strategies to fill them. The questions this report seeks to answer are how an organization that manages public funds for research and extension could sustain organizational innovations over extended periods, and how it could learn and adapt to maximize its impact on the agricultural innovation system. Previous studies found that human resources, organizational cultures and governance structures are three of the most important factors influencing institutional change and innovative capabilities. Despite their importance, these factors have been largely neglected in the literature on agricultural research and extension policies. This document analyzes what role these factors played in the Mexican experience." from textAgricultural research, Agricultural innovation, Developing countries,

Analysis of the European Directive 98/83/EC: Paradigm of the Justification and Establishment of Parametric Values. The Specific Case of Pesticides

La protección de la salud a la vez que se garantiza el acceso al agua potable a toda la población es uno de los objetivos principales a nivel mundial. En ese sentido, la Unión Europea, a través de la Directiva 98/83/CE, establece los parámetros y valores paramétricos máximos admisibles para garantizar la calidad del agua destinada al consumo humano. El objetivo de este artículo es dar una visión global de los valores establecidos en la Directiva Europea en comparación con otros países y organizaciones, como la Organización Mundial de la Salud, en base a su justificación toxicológica, haciendo especial mención al caso concreto de los plaguicidas, en los que existe una gran diferencia entre los valores paramétricos fijados. Asimismo, se presenta una comparativa con los valores establecidos por la Directiva 91/414/CEE para límites máximos de residuos de plaguicidas en alimentos, destacando la importancia de aunar criterios.The health protection while ensuring the access to safe drinking water to the entire population is one of the main objectives all over the world. In this regard, the European Union, through Directive 98/83/EC, sets the parameters and maximum allowable parametric values to ensure the quality of water intended for human consumption. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the values established in the European Directive in comparison with other countries and organizations, such as the World Health Organization, based on toxicological justification, doing special mention to the case of pesticides, in which there is great difference between the parametric values set. It also presents a comparison with the values fixed by the Directive 91/414/EEC concerning maximum residue limits of pesticides in food, highlighting the importance of joining criteria

Rice Molecular Breeding Laboratories in the Genomics Era: Current Status and Future Considerations

Using DNA markers in plant breeding with marker-assisted selection (MAS) could greatly improve the precision and efficiency of selection, leading to the accelerated development of new crop varieties. The numerous examples of MAS in rice have prompted many breeding institutes to establish molecular breeding labs. The last decade has produced an enormous amount of genomics research in rice, including the identification of thousands of QTLs for agronomically important traits, the generation of large amounts of gene expression data, and cloning and characterization of new genes, including the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms. The pinnacle of genomics research has been the completion and annotation of genome sequences for indica and japonica rice. This information—coupled with the development of new genotyping methodologies and platforms, and the development of bioinformatics databases and software tools—provides even more exciting opportunities for rice molecular breeding in the 21st century. However, the great challenge for molecular breeders is to apply genomics data in actual breeding programs. Here, we review the current status of MAS in rice, current genomics projects and promising new genotyping methodologies, and evaluate the probable impact of genomics research. We also identify critical research areas to “bridge the application gap” between QTL identification and applied breeding that need to be addressed to realize the full potential of MAS, and propose ideas and guidelines for establishing rice molecular breeding labs in the postgenome sequence era to integrate molecular breeding within the context of overall rice breeding and research programs

A educação superior em portugal e no brasil: caminhos diferentes entre o público e o privado / Higher education in portugal and brazil: different paths between public and private

Esse trabalho sobre educação superior objetiva estabelecer um paralelo entre Brasil e Portugal analisando a trajetória das categorias administrativas público e privada nos dois países. Trata-se de um estudo bibliográfico acerca do tema que utiliza documentos e autores além de séries históricas, principalmente entre os anos 2008 a 2018. A pesquisa é composta por uma breve introdução além de que se fundamenta em 3 (três) tópicos principais, quais sejam: o aspecto central do conhecimento, as orientações internacionais para a educação superior e um comparativo da evolução das matrículas entre os setores público e privado no Brasil e em Portugal. Considera que a educação superior ganha preponderância cada vez maior na sociedade atual, a qual se fundamenta no conhecimento, sendo, portanto de grande importância para o desenvolvimento da sociedade o que o torna cada vez mais fundamental para a produção de riquezas. Essa ênfase é destacada através de documentos dos organismos multilaterais como o Banco Mundial (2000) e Organização Mundial do Comércio - OMC (1998).  além de autores da área como Schultz (1961), Cerdeira (2014), Castells (1999), Bernheim e Chauí (2008), dentre outros. Analisa séries históricas e constata que no Brasil a predominância é pelo ensino superior privado, enquanto em Portugal os números se invertem com predominância da categoria administrativa pública. Entende-se que essa configuração da categoria administrativa, dentre outras, influencia nos resultados que os dois países ocupam no cenário mundial, como apontam dados da Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico – OCDE (2019)

O crescimento da educação superior em Portugal e no Brasil: o público e o privado de 2010 – 2020/ The growth of higher education in Portugal and Brazil: the public and the private from 2010 - 2020

Esse artigo sobre a educação superior faz uma comparação com foco nas diferenças do crescimento entre o setor privado e o público entre o Brasil e Portugal. Consiste em um estudo bibliográfico que vem sendo atualizado periodicamente pelos autores e analisa os índices dos dois países acerca do tema. O artigo recorre a documentos e autores além de séries históricas entre os anos 2010 a 2020. A pesquisa é composta por uma breve introdução além de que se fundamenta em 3 (três) tópicos principais, quais sejam: a crescente centralidade do conhecimento, as orientações internacionais para a educação superior e um comparativo da evolução das matrículas entre os setores público e privado no Brasil e em Portugal. Considera que a educação superior ganha preponderância cada vez maior na sociedade atual, a qual se fundamenta no conhecimento, sendo, portanto de grande importância para o desenvolvimento da sociedade o que o torna cada vez mais fundamental para a produção de riquezas. Essa ênfase é destacada através de documentos dos organismos multilaterais como o Banco Mundial (2000) e Organização Mundial do Comércio - OMC (1998),  além de autores da área como Schultz (1961), Cerdeira (2014), Castells (1999), Bernheim e Chauí (2008), Cerdeira e Araújo (2021), dentre outros. Analisa séries históricas e constata que no Brasil a predominância é pelo ensino superior privado, enquanto em Portugal os números se invertem com domínio da categoria administrativa pública, havendo inclusive decréscimo de estudantes no setor privado naquele pais neste período na ordem de -18,5%. Entende-se que essa configuração da categoria administrativa, dentre outras, influencia nos resultados que os dois países ocupam no cenário mundial dada a importância que ocupa a educação superior