Modelling evapotranspiration of soilless cut roses "Red Naomi" based on climatic and crop predictors

Original PaperThis study aimed to estimate the daily crop evapotranspiration (ETc) of soilless cut ‘Red Naomi’ roses, cultivated in a commercial glass greenhouse, using climatic and crop predictors. A multiple stepwise regression technique was applied for estimating ETc using the daily relative humidity, stem leaf area and number of leaves of the bended stems. The model explained 90% of the daily ETc variability (R2 = 0.90, n = 33, P < 0.0001) measured by weighing lysimeters. The mean relative difference between the observed and the estimated daily ETc was 9.1%. The methodology revealed a high accuracy and precision in the estimation of daily ETcinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Viagem a um reino maravilhoso

Adolfo Correia da Costa, nascido a 12 de Agosto de 1907 em São Martinho de Anta, foi um dos muitos trasmontanos que, deixando cedo os estudos, emigrou para o Brasil, onde viria a trabalhar na apanha do café, na fazenda de um tio seu. Alguns anos depois regressa ao seu país de origem, matricula-se em 1928 na Universidade de Coimbra, e no mesmo ano lança o seu primeiro livro de poesia: Ansiedade. Lança, anos depois, um livro em prosa, A Terceira Voz, e é neste momento que surge Miguel Torga, o pseudónimo escolhido pelo poeta, homenageando os seus ídolos escritores espanhóis (Miguel de Cervantes e Miguel Unamuno) e a planta urze (também chamada ‘torga’) que predominava na sua terra natal

Drivers of customer satisfaction and loyalty in swimming pools

Purpose It is widely accepted that doing exercise regularly is essential to promote physical, psychological and social well-being. Yet, often dropout rates tend to be high. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model to understand the potential drivers of satisfaction and loyalty in the sports and fitness context looking in particular at four main dimensions of service quality: infrastructures/physical environment, relationship with instructors/staff, outcomes achieved and customer-to-customer interaction. Design/methodology/approach An extensive literature review was conducted to identify potential drivers of customer satisfaction and loyalty in sports. The proposed model was estimated using data collected from a sample of 384 users of four Portuguese swimming pools facilities by means of a survey questionnaire. Findings The majority of the hypotheses tested found support in the data. In particular, the quality of the interaction with instructors and the results obtained from exercising have a strong impact on satisfaction, which, in turn, is highly correlated with psychological commitment and positive word-of-mouth communication. Research limitations/implications Based on the findings some managerial implications can be derived. Such recommendations can enhance users’ perceptions of service quality and indirectly contribute to a more regular and effective sports practice. Originality/value The importance of enhancing loyalty has been emphasised in sports management literature. Yet, few studies have empirically investigated the simultaneous relationships among service quality dimensions, customer satisfaction and loyalty. This research partially addresses this gap.Patrícia Moura e Sá acknowledges support for this research by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through national funds to the Research Centre in Political Science (UID/CPO/00758/2019), University of Minho

The role of leptin in obesity and diabetes mellitus in dog

Canine obesity is a serious breeding and health issue. Recent studies reported that 34-59% of dogs visiting veterinary are overweight and 5-20% are obese. Recent studies have shown that during the development of obesity there is several alterations at the cellular and molecular levels that contribute to the secretion of local and systemic molecules, called adipokines. These molecules contribute to the existence of a chronic low grade inflammatory state, to angiogenesis, to the control of appetite and satiety and to the control of the glucose and lipid metabolism. Together, these alterations may explain the reduced life span of obese animals and the development of several pathologies. One of main adipokines is leptin that plays a key role in the regulation of body weight, energy balance and feeding behaviour. Leptin is mainly regulated by adiposity, existing a positive correlation between the degree of adiposity and the plasma leptin concentration. In addition to adiposity, others factors regulate the leptin production such as insulin, glucocorticoids, endotoxin, and cytokines. Due to the contribution of leptin to the metabolism of glucose and lipids, several studies suggested that it may to establish an association between obesity, insulin resistance and ultimately diabetes. In fact, in humans the occurrence of obesity, dyslipidaemia and hypertension has been long associated to the development of insulin resistance and diabetes. However, the association between canine obesity and diabetes is not well understood, and there is no consensus whether obesity induces diabetes. Considering that obesity and diabetes reduce life span and the mechanisms underlying its development are not clearly understood, in this article we review the current knowledge on the association between obesity, diabetes and leptin.A obesidade canina é uma grave questão de bem-estar. Estudos recentes mostram que 34-59% dos cães que visitam o veterinário têm excesso de peso e 5-20% são considerados obesos. Estudos recentes mostram que, durante o desenvolvimento da obesidade há várias alterações a nível celular e molecular que contribuem para a secreção de moléculas locais e sistémicas, chamadas adipocinas. Estas moléculas contribuem para a existência de um estado inflamatório crónico, para a angiogénese, para o controlo do apetite e saciedade e para o controlo do metabolismo da glucose e dos lípidos. Em conjunto, estas alterações podem explicar a redução do tempo de vida dos animais obesos e o desenvolvimento de várias patologias. Uma das principais adipocinas é a leptina que desempenha um papel fundamental na regulação do peso corporal, balanço energético e comportamento alimentar. A leptina é regulada principalmente pela adiposidade, existindo uma correlação positiva entre o grau de adiposidade e a concentração de leptina no plasma. Além da adiposidade, outros factores regulam a produção de leptina, tais como a insulina, os glucocorticóides, endotoxinas e citoquinas. Devido à contribuição da leptina para o metabolismo da glicose e dos lípidos, vários estudos sugerem que esta adipocina pode estabelecer uma associação entre obesidade, resistência à insulina e, finalmente, diabetes. De facto, nos humanos a ocorrência de obesidade, dislipidemia e hipertensão têm sido associados com o desenvolvimento de resistência à insulina e com a diabetes. No entanto, a associação entre a obesidade canina e diabetes não é bem compreendida, e não há consenso se a obesidade induz diabetes. Considerando que a obesidade e a diabetes reduzem o tempo de vida e os mecanismos subjacentes ao seu desenvolvimento não são claramente compreendidos, neste artigo vamos rever o conhecimento atual sobre a associação entre obesidade, diabetes e leptina

O papel do Criminólogo na problemática do absentismo escolar

Projeto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciada em CriminologiaO Absentismo Escolar é considerado um fenómeno complexo, visto que existem diversos fatores e condições sociais inerentes ao mesmo. Considera-se o Absentismo Escolar como sendo a falta de assistência à escola de forma reiterada e consecutiva, quer seja por vontade do aluno ou dos pais. É, portanto um problema que afeta negativamente a formação dos alunos e se reflete no seu desenvolvimento. O objetivo deste estudo é conhecer melhor este fenómeno apostando na prevenção, de modo a conseguir realizar uma intervenção mais eficaz. Produziu-se um estudo de carater quantitativo com alunos do 10.º, 11.º e 12.º anos da Escola Secundária de Alexandre Herculano no Porto. Utilizamos como instrumento um inquérito por questionário que nos vai permitir conhecer de uma melhor forma este fenómeno. O Criminólogo tem um papel de extrema importância nesta problemática, uma vez que vai procurar conhecer melhor o fenómeno, fazer uma análise mais detalhada sobre o mesmo para o conseguir interpretar e explicar. Tendo também um papel fundamental ao nível da prevenção do Absentismo Escolar. É expetável, que com este projeto se consiga realizar um trabalho mais eficaz no combate ao absentismo escolar. Os resultados esperados vão ao encontro dos objetivos traçados.Truancy is considered to be a complex phenomenon, because there are numerous social factors and terms inherent to this subject. Truancy can be defined by the lack of school attendance consecutively, whether by the parents’ or the students’ will. Therefore, it is an issue that affects the education of students, in a negative way, and is reflected in their development. The goal of this study is to know more about this phenomenon, and to focus on its prevention, so that a more effective intervention can take place. A quantitative study was carried out that included 10th, 11th and 12th grade students of Alexandre Herculano high school in Oporto. We used as tool a questionnaire survey that will allow us to better understand this phenomenon. The Criminologist has a decisive role in this issue because he will try to better understand the phenomenon, elaborate a detailed analysis on the subject so that he can, later on, interpret and explain it. That being said, it is easy to understand the essential role of the Criminologist when it comes to preventing truancy. With this project it is expected a more effective work on the fight against truancy. The expected results meet the goals that were set

A ESTABILIZAÇÃO EM DOIS REGISTROS

This paper explores the contribution and evolution of Pérsio Arida concept about the stabilization of high and chronic inflation in the brazilian economy. He was an important economist of the team responsible for the formulation of Cruzado Plan and Real Plan. In the beginning, the heterodox stabilization with indexed money was presented as better than others stabilizations alternatives because of two stressed characteristics: the stabilization program would be almost painless and guided by the neutrality principle. However, both the neutrality and almost painless notions will be abandoned in yours reflections after several failed stabilizations in Brazil.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Analysis of Mocoffee’s Single-Serve Coffee Capsule System

The aim of this work was to apply computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to Mocoffee’s single-serve coffee capsule system in order to predict the hydrodynamics of water inside the extraction chamber, as well as to determine the impact of certain model parameters and design features on the fluid flow and, consequently, on the efficiency of the extraction. The geometries of the extraction chamber of the coffee machine were built using the software Solidworks 2016, while the computational mesh and 3D numeric calculations were done using the software Ansys Fluent 16.0. The experimental data used to validate the CFD model was obtained through a set of extractions of different coffee blends, all of them performed in a custom made machine that replicated the very same extraction process as seen in a Mocoffee patented espresso machine (Bossa). Different turbulence models and near-wall treatments were tested to capture the significant features of the fluid flow, such as mixing and the formation of eddies in the more unstable regions of the domain. The CFD results and measured data from the experiments were compared, with a reasonable agreement found with the experimental data for pressure and mass flow rate, but only for a coffee bed resistance that was higher than its predicted theoretical value

Tipología e implantación hotelera en el proceso de transformación del litoral portugués en los años 50 y 60 del siglo XX

Esta investigación – que resulta del Proyecto de Investigación Arquitectura Hotelera en Portugal, desarrollado en la Facultad de Arquitectura de la Universidad de Lisboa en 2008 – se centra en el hotel moderno del litoral de las décadas del 50 y 60 del siglo XX, entendido como fundador de un conjunto de asentamientos urbanos de la costa portuguesa y como un importante agente de la difusión del Movimiento Moderno en Portugal. En su mayoría, estos hoteles tienen una relación privilegiada con el mar y con la costa y se constituyen como iconos en el paisaje. Se posicionan junto a las playas y acantilados, disfrutando de excepcionales vistas hacia el mar y del fácil acceso a las actividades de veraneo. Responden a las particularidades de una línea de costa en bruto, y podrían ser considerados casi como un acto pre-urbano. Contribuyen, así, para la diseminación de la Arquitectura Moderna en lugares que, en aquella época, se encontraban lejos de los puntos de llegada de turistas – como Ofir, Praia da Rocha, Armação de Pêra, Sesimbra y Praia dos Três Irmãos. Este escrito rinde homenaje a estos edificios pioneros, diseminadores de una arquitectura de vanguardia en su contexto