An investigation of the supply chain of fisheries products in Greece

The present study provides an empirical investigation of the supply chain of fisheries products in Greece, through the implementation of the Structure – Conduct and Performance (SCP) methodological approach. The determinants of market performance have been analyzed considering the causal relationship of industry structure and firm conduct, and consecutively the causal relationship of firm conduct and market performance. Primary data were collected from Greek fisheries products stakeholders through personal interviews. The findings reveal that firm conduct is affected by industry structure and sequentially both have a bearing upon market performance. As concerns the impact of firm conduct on market performance, quality assurance has the most significant positive effect, which reveals the significance of product differentiation strategy in determining the market performance of Greek fisheries firms. According to the total effects on each dependent variable as a whole, the industry structure has greater impact on market performance than the firm conduct. The most important factor that affects firm conduct is international competition while the most important factors that affect market performance are those pertaining to industry structure – namely competitive advantage and C.F.P measures. The most positive and significant effect of competitive advantage that is reflected to customer demand, trade barriers and competition illustrates that it is a prerequisite to improve levels of market performance. These findings may assist all involved parties to confront impediments and develop efficient marketing strategies to compete more successfully in the global marketplace.market analysis, Structure – Conduct – Performance, fisheries products, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

One size does (obviously not) fit all: Using product attributes for wine market segmentation

The intense competition affecting the wine industry in recent decades has forced wineries and retailers to reshape their marketing strategies on the basis of consumer preferences. The current study aims to identify such preferences and the effects they might have in influencing consumer decisions. Preferences for different wine attributes as well as the psychographic traits of respondents were revealed through a web-based questionnaire administered to 504 wine consumers living in the wider metropolitan area of New York. Best-worst scaling (BWS) was used to detect consumer preferences for eleven wine attributes. Based on individual best-worst scores, a latent class segmentation analysis was implemented to classify consumers into four segments on the basis of psychographic characteristics such as involvement, subjective knowledge, innovativeness and loyalty proneness. The four segments identified (i.e. experientials, connoisseurs, risk minimizers and price-sensitive) differ significantly in terms of their preferences towards wine and psychographic characteristics, suggesting that a mass marketing approach is no longer suitable. Accordingly, managers need to adapt their marketing strategies to meet the preferences of different target groups. The results provide broad implications for marketers, wineries and retailers interested in successfully targeting consumers in a highly competitive market

Traceability: European consumers' perceptions regarding its definition, expectations and differences by product types and importance of label schemes

Given the heterogeneity of European consumers it is not unsurprising that they have different perceptions and expectations regarding (but also understanding thereof) 'traceability'. A large number of individuals may not even have a memory anchor for the concept. Consumers may also perceive traceability differently among different product types. The present study is based upon focus groups analysis of 12 countries across Europe. It presents an explanation of traceability's understanding by European consumers. It also presents consumer's expectations towards traceability and its differences according to different product types.Focus groups, Traceability, Cross-national, Perceptions, Food products, Labels, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Fisheries policies impacts consideration towards the development of rural coastal areas

The current study aims to examine the effectiveness of fisheries policies and specifically of the Greek Operational Programme for Fisheries, 2007-13. In specific, aims to examine and assess possible impacts generated, in the regional economy of Voreio and Notio Aigaio from its four axis, with particularity to the forth one. For this a regional Input-Output model was built in order to capture direct and indirect impacts in terms of output, employment and income. Results indicate that the dynamics of the fisheries sector in the regional economy are very weak and along with the continuous shrinking of the sector, leads to the necessity of supporting alternative vocational activities for the development of coastal rural areas. Though, results indicate that the funds attributed to such policies are very small, resulting in very weak generated impacts in the regional economy. And thus it is not expected current policies to seriously affect the development of such regions through the promotion of alternative to fishing activities.rural coastal areas, operational fisheries programme, impact analysis, regional analysis, Community/Rural/Urban Development, R11, R15, R58, Q22,

WinPSSP: a revamp of the computer program PSSP and its performance solving the crystal structures of small organic compounds and solids of biological and pharmaceutical interest

The direct-space methods software Powder Structure Solution Program (PSSP) [Pagola & Stephens (2010). J. Appl. Cryst. 43, 370-376] has been migrated to the Windows OS and the code has been optimized for fast runs. WinPSSP is a user-friendly graphical user interface that allows the input of preliminary crystal structure information, integrated intensities of the reflections and FWHM, the definition of structural parameters and a simulated annealing schedule, and the visualization of the calculated and experimental diffraction data overlaid for each individual solution. The solutions are reported as filename. cif files, which can be used to analyze packing motifs and chemical bonding, and to input the atomic coordinates into the Rietveld analysis software GSAS. WinPSSP performance in straightforward crystal structure determinations has been evaluated using 18 molecular solids with 6-20 degrees of freedom. The free-distribution program as well as multimedia tutorials can be accessed at http://users.uoi.gr/nkourkou/winpssp/

Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis as an Onset Symptom of Crohn's Disease

We report the case of an octagenerian who presented with leukocytoclastic vasculitis as the first symptom of Crohn's disease. The patient was admitted with skin rash on the lower extremities and ankles and episodes of bloody diarrhea. Skin and colon biopsies revealed acute leukocytoclastic vasculitis and moderate Crohn's disease, respectively. The patient was treated with intravenous corticosteroids in conjunction with antibiotics and per os mesalazine. Symptoms resolved rapidly within 5 days, and the patient was still asymptomatic on follow-up 3 months later

Generalized Pyoderma Gangrenosum Associated with Ulcerative Colitis: Successful Treatment with Infliximab and Azathioprine

No abstract available</p

A cross-cultural study on consumer preferences for olive oil

In this paper, we study consumer preferences for olive oil across four countries (Denmark, France, Tunisia, and the US). Based on a large-scale study with olive oil consumers (N = 3,462), we use the Best-Worst Scaling method to measure perceived importance for product attributes known to influence consumer choice. Our results show that consumers across all countries rate type, price, prior experience, and country of origin as important product attributes. On the other hand, packaging, label design, and brands are considered as less important product attributes. While the perceived importance for olive oil attributes differs across countries, the order of importance is almost similar for all countries. We further derive a three-segment solution and describe each segment based on its attitudinal beliefs, usage, and socio-demographic profile. We discuss implications for the study of consumer preferences for olive oil and provide managerial insights.© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Platinum recycling going green via induced surface potential alteration enabling fast and efficient dissolution

The recycling of precious metals, for example, platinum, is an essential aspect of sustainability for the modern industry and energy sectors. However, due to its resistance to corrosion, platinum-leaching techniques rely on high reagent consumption and hazardous processes, for example, boiling aqua regia; a mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acid. Here we demonstrate that complete dissolution of metallic platinum can be achieved by induced surface potential alteration, an 'electrode-less' process utilizing alternatively oxidative and reductive gases. This concept for platinum recycling exploits the so-called transient dissolution mechanism, triggered by a repetitive change in platinum surface oxidation state, without using any external electric current or electrodes. The effective performance in non-toxic low-concentrated acid and at room temperature is a strong benefit of this approach, potentially rendering recycling of industrial catalysts, including but not limited to platinum-based systems, more sustainable