Influence of social status, physical activity, and socio-demographics on willingness to pay for a basket of organic foods

Consumers are known to signal social status through their purchasing behaviors. As the food industry continually expands its use of strategic marketing to reach customers, understanding food’s connection to this kind of status signaling may open the door to explore new markets for farmers. This study explored the influence of social status, physical activity, and socio-demographics on an individual’s willingness to pay for a basket of high-quality organic foods. Over 3 days, participants had their physical activity measured by a pedometer, and they were randomly assigned to a social status condition and subsequently placed bids for the organic food basket using a second-price auction to measure their willingness to pay. High-status individuals were publicly recognized in order to test our hypothesis that individuals will not be motivated to pay more for an organic food basket than low-status counterparts when they have already received recognition for their high status. The results showed that on average non-students were willing to pay significantly more for an organic food basket than student counterparts. Hispanic and Asian shoppers were willing to pay more for an organic food basket than White counterparts. However, physical activity had no significant impact on willingness to pay. Ultimately, our hypothesis was confirmed that recognizing high-status individuals eliminated or reduced the need to showcase social status through higher bids for the organic food baskets

Como o espaço contribui para o desenvolvimento: uma proposta de aplicação da Pedagogia Waldorf no Norte da Ilha de Florianópolis

TCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Tecnológico. ArquiteturaDesde os primórdio dos tempos a educação é pauta de discussão em todas as culturas, com o passar do tempo foram sendo desenvolvidos novos métodos de ensino conforme a sociedade ia se modificando. Sob um olhar crítico em cima desses métodos, questionamentos em relação à eles foram surgindo e gerando novas discussões sobre a forma de se ensinar e a importância da relação entre as pedagogias aplicadas e o desenvolvimento das crianças. Atualmente a educação no mundo é algo feito em um sistema bem semelhante ao Fordismo, um modelo de produção em massa, onde todos entram “crus” e se moldam de forma semelhante, entrando por fim numa caixa fechada e saindo todos com pensamentos iguais. “A criança está, finalmente, formada, isto é, transformada num produto igual a milhares de outros ISO-12.000: está formada, isto é, de acordo com a fôrma.” (ALVES, 2001 - pág. 26) Diante disso e por considerar a educação uma saída para os problemas atuais da nossa sociedade, resolvi desenvolver neste trabalho um estudo sobre as metodologias de ensino não tradicionais, com enfoque na metodologia Waldorf e na aplicação prática desta na criação de um projeto de uma escola com esse método na região norte da Ilha de Florianópolis. Demonstrando a partir deste como a arquitetura influencia e pode ser um agente impulsionador no processo de desenvolvimento da criança

Clima organizacional y alineamiento estratégico del personal médico y asistencial en un Centro de Salud de Guayaquil, 2021

La investigación realizada tiene como objetivo determinar la correlación entre el clima organizacional en el alineamiento estratégico del personal médico y asistencial en un Centro de Salud de Guayaquil, 2021. Es una investigación aplicada donde se usó un diseño no experimental descriptivo correlacional. La población de estudio abarco 70 trabajadores de un Centro de Salud de Guayaquil, con una muestra de 50 informantes como resultado de criterios de selección. Durante la toma de datos se elaboró un cuestionario sobre clima organizacional y un cuestionario sobre alineamiento estratégico del personal médico y asistencial conformado de 20 preguntas cada uno. Para el procesamiento de datos se uso la estadística descriptiva, la presentación de resultados se realizó en tablas; para la comprobación de hipótesis se uso la estadística inferencial. Del procesamiento de datos los resultados determinaron un coeficiente de correlación de Pearson de r=0,939 que indica la existencia de correlación del clima organizacional en el alineamiento estratégico del personal médico y asistencial en un Centro de Salud de Guayaquil, 2021, es decir que se cumple, con un buen clima organizacional y además le corresponde un óptimo alineamiento estratégico del personal médico y asistencial, y viceversa

Propuesta de estrategias de marketing para fortalecer la atención al cliente en Gruvalcorp S.A.

Para que una empresa logre sus objetivos debe diseñar planes estratégicos a corto, mediano o largo plazo, dependiendo la actividad y magnitud del negocio. El presente estudio fue elaborado en la empresa Gruvalcorp S.A. en el sur de la ciudad de Guayaquil, cuyo objetivo es desarrollar métodos estratégicos que permitan potenciar la atención al cliente, con la finalidad de sea implementado cuando se requiera, a fin de optimizar y alinear los procesos de marketing en Gruvalcorp SA. , mediante un análisis general para conocer la situación actual de la empresa y de ésta forma definir parámetros para el desarrollo de propuestas, la metodología empleada se encuentra basada en un estudio de campo realizado con evaluaciones a los clientes y al personal que labora para identificar factores, es necesario recalcar que los clientes a su vez realizan evaluaciones visuales con la finalidad de identificar la experiencia en la atención. Establecida la situación actual de la empresa, se ha procedido al desarrollo de las Propuestas Estratégicas de Marketing, es necesario mencionar que los clientes no solo se fijan en marcas, sino también por el trato que se le brinda al cliente. Una vez obtenido los resultados, se concluye que inmerso en el presente estudio resaltan situaciones en las que causas de complacencia de las marcas que sobresalen en el mercado son equivalentes, y que la atención que brinda el personal de ventas es muy importante ya que es considerado como la imagen en la empresa y la calidad de atención debe ser representativa.or a company to achieve its objectives must devise strategic plans to short, medium or long term, depending on the activity and size of deal. This study was prepared in the company Gruvalcorp S.A. in the south of the city of Guayaquil, whose aim is to develop strategic methods to enhance the customer service, in order to be implemented when required, to optimize and align marketing processes in Gruvalcorp SA., through a general analysis was conducted to know the current situation of the company and thus define the parameters to be used in the development of the proposals, the methodology is based on a field study conducted to customers, the object of study and to staff working to identify factors, it is necessary to stress that customers make the same assessments visual in order to identify the care experience. Established the current status of company, has carried out the development of strategic marketing proposals, it is necessary to mention that customers do not just look at brands, but also for the treatment that is offered to client. After obtaining the results, it is concluded that immersed in this study highlight situations where the causes of complacency brands that stand out in the market are equivalent with regard to the care provided by the sales staff, it is noteworthy that the seller role is very important because it is considered as the picture on the company and the quality of care must be representative

Batch studies on the biodegradation potential of Paracetamol, Fluoxetine and 17α-Ethinylestradiol by the Micrococcus yunnanensis Strain TJPT4 recovered from marine organisms

The emerging pollutants paracetamol, fluoxetine and ethinylestradiol are inefficiently removed by conventional wastewater treatments, entering in aquatic environments in which they are hazardous. Aiming for the obtention of bacteria with the capacity for environmental bioremediation, eight bacteria were isolated from two consortia recovered from Hymedesmia versicolor and Filograna implexa marine organisms which exhibited a high-paracetamol-removal capacity. The isolates that displayed the ability to grow in the presence of 100 mg/L paracetamol as the sole carbon source were assigned to Paenibacillus, Micrococcus and Microbacterium genera. The isolate assigned to the Micrococcus yunnanensis strain TJPT4 presented the best performance, degrading 93 ± 4% of 15 mg/L paracetamol as the sole carbon source after 360 h, and was also apparently able to degrade the produced metabolites. This strain was able to remove 82.1 ± 0.9% of 16 mg/L fluoxetine after 504 h, mainly by adsorption, but apparently a biodegradation contribution also occurred. This strain was able to remove 66.6 ± 0.2% of 13 mg/L 17α-ethinylestradiol after 360 h. As far as is known, Micrococcus yunnanensis is for the first time recovered/identified in Filograna implexa, presenting a high drug removal efficiency, thereby becoming a great candidate for treatment processes (e.g., bioaugmentation), especially in the presence of saline intrusions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The G protein-coupled receptor heterodimer network (GPCR-HetNet) and its hub components

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) oligomerization has emerged as a vital characteristic of receptor structure. Substantial experimental evidence supports the existence of GPCR-GPCR interactions in a coordinated and cooperative manner. However, despite the current development of experimental techniques for large-scale detection of GPCR heteromers, in order to understand their connectivity it is necessary to develop novel tools to study the global heteroreceptor networks. To provide insight into the overall topology of the GPCR heteromers and identify key players, a collective interaction network was constructed. Experimental interaction data for each of the individual human GPCR protomers was obtained manually from the STRING and SCOPUS databases. The interaction data were used to build and analyze the network using Cytoscape software. The network was treated as undirected throughout the study. It is comprised of 156 nodes, 260 edges and has a scale-free topology. Connectivity analysis reveals a significant dominance of intrafamily versus interfamily connections. Most of the receptors within the network are linked to each other by a small number of edges. DRD2, OPRM, ADRB2, AA2AR, AA1R, OPRK, OPRD and GHSR are identified as hubs. In a network representation 10 modules/clusters also appear as a highly interconnected group of nodes. Information on this GPCR network can improve our understanding of molecular integration. GPCR-HetNet has been implemented in Java and is freely available at http://www.iiia.csic.es/similar to ismel/GPCR-Nets/index.html

Análisis de las propiedades mecánicas del concreto f’c 210 kg/cm2 con adición de óxido de grafeno, Lima, 2022

Este trabajo de investigación, tiene como objetivo determinar la influencia de la incorporación del óxido de grafeno en las propiedades mecánicas del concreto con f'c 210 kg/cm2 en Lima, 2022. El tipo de investigación fue aplicada, de diseño preexperimental, y de enfoque cuantitativo. Previo a los ensayos, se realizó el estudio granulométrico de los agregados (fino y grueso), seguido del diseño de 5 mezclas del concreto con adición del 0.00%, 0.03%, 0.06%, 0.09%, 0.12% de óxido grafeno con tiempos de curado de 7, 14 y 28 días. Las muestras de 75 especímenes fueron sometidas a métodos de ensayo de resistencia a la compresión, según la NTP 339.034 bajo norma ASTM C39, y el método de ensayo de resistencia a la flexión del concreto según la NTP 339.078 bajo norma ASTM C293. Los resultados de los ensayos demuestran que la adición de óxido de grafeno al 0.03% en la mezcla de concreto incrementa en 271.60 kg/cm2 equivalente al 44.06% de la resistencia a la compresión, mientras que la adición de óxido de grafeno al 0.12% incrementa en 42.15 kg/cm2 equivalente al 18.33% de la resistencia a la flexión. Seguidamente, se realizó la discusión de los antecedentes con los resultados obtenidos. Finalmente, se concluye que la adición de óxido de grafeno en poco porcentaje incrementa la resistencia a la compresión, mientras que, para obtener un incremento en la resistencia a la flexión se requiere una mayor adición en porcentaje de óxido de grafeno

Have Astronauts Visited Neptune? Student Ideas About How Scientists Study The Solar System

The nature of students’ ideas about the scientific practices used by astronomers when studying objects in our Solar System is of widespread interest to discipline-based astronomy education researchers.  A sample of middle-school, high-school, and college students (N=42) in the U.S. were interviewed about how astronomers were able to learn about properties of the Solar System as a follow-up question after specific questions about the nature of the Solar System and its objects.  These students often held naive ideas about the practices of astronomy, and 19% of them proposed that humans or robots have returned samples of the planets to Earth for analysis.  While the college students provided more sophisticated responses to the questions than the younger students, we found that even they held naive ideas about human sample return and infrequently appealed to studying objects at a distance using telescopes.  We propose that students are not receiving specific instruction that allows them to investigate the tools and practices of astronomy, which leads them to rely on their prior knowledge about science practices in other disciplines (e.g., geoscience) when queried about how scientists study the Solar System.  This result implies that instruction around the limits of human and robotic spaceflight is needed to allow students to have a more scientific understanding of the practices of astronomy in studying the Solar System

Albendazole solid dispersions against alveolar echinococcosis: a pharmacotechnical strategy to improve the efficacy of the drug

Alveolar echinococcosis is a neglected parasitic zoonosis caused by Echinococcus multilocularis. The pharmacological treatment is based on albendazole (ABZ). However, the low water solubility of the drug produces a limited dissolution rate, with the consequent failure in the treatment of the disease. Solid dispersions are a successful pharmacotechnical strategy to improve the dissolution profile of poorly water-soluble drugs. The aim of this work was to determine the in vivo efficacy of ABZ solid dispersions using poloxamer 407 as a carrier (ABZ:P407 solid dispersions (SDs)) in the murine intraperitoneal infection model for secondary alveolar echinococcosis. In the chemoprophylactic efficacy study, the ABZ suspension, the ABZ:P407 SDs and the physical mixture of ABZ and poloxamer 407 showed a tendency to decrease the development of murine cysts, causing damage to the germinal layer. In the clinical efficacy study, the ABZ:P407 SDs produced a significant decrease in the weight of murine cysts. In addition, the SDs produced extensive damage to the germinal layer. The increase in the efficacy of ABZ could be due to the improvement of water solubility and wettability of the drug due to the surfactant nature of poloxamer 407. In conclusion, this study is the basis for further research. This pharmacotechnical strategy might in the future offer novel treatment alternatives for human alveolar echinococcosis.Fil: Fabbri, Julia. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología. Laboratorio de Zoonosis Parasitarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pensel, Patricia Eugenia. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología. Laboratorio de Zoonosis Parasitarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Albani, Clara Maria. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología. Laboratorio de Zoonosis Parasitarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lopez, Lurdes Milagros. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología. Laboratorio de Zoonosis Parasitarias; ArgentinaFil: Simonazzi, Analía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Bermudez, José María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Palma, Santiago Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Elissondo, María Celina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología. Laboratorio de Zoonosis Parasitarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentin