Quality of work life in the hotel industry

This study provides hotel organizations with information that reveals the feelings, perceptions, and attitudes of it\u27s employees. By examining an employee\u27s quality of work life, an organization can determine how they are doing internally, from an employee\u27s point of view, which ultimately effects their moments of truth externally, with their customers. A nine item, five point scale, Quality of Work Life Survey was administered to the employees and managers from four hotel properties. These properties, located in different geographical locations and each targeting a specific market segment, provided an interesting and diverse 292 person sample. Results revealed agreement and disagreement between managers and employees from the same properties, as well as, reviewed management results and employee results, as a whole. Survey feedback pinpointed areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, which should be addressed by the organizations. Recommendations for corrective action may be found in the conclusions, along with implications for future research

Detailed dimethylacetal and fatty acid composition of rumen content from lambs fed lucerne or concentrate supplemented with soybean oil

Articles in International JournalsLipid metabolism in the rumen is responsible for the complex fatty acid profile of rumen outflow compared with the dietary fatty acid composition, contributing to the lipid profile of ruminant products. A method for the detailed dimethylacetal and fatty acid analysis of rumen contents was developed and applied to rumen content collected from lambs fed lucerne or concentrate based diets supplemented with soybean oil. The methodological approach developed consisted on a basic/ acid direct transesterification followed by thin-layer chromatography to isolate fatty acid methyl esters from dimethylacetal, oxo- fatty acid and fatty acid dimethylesters. The dimethylacetal composition was quite similar to the fatty acid composition, presenting even-, odd- and branched-chain structures. Total and individual odd- and branched-chain dimethylacetals were mostly affected by basal diet. The presence of 18:1 dimethylacetals indicates that biohydrogenation intermediates might be incorporated in structural microbial lipids. Moreover, medium-chain fatty acid dimethylesters were identified for the first time in the rumen content despite their concentration being relatively low. The fatty acids containing 18 carbon-chain lengths comprise the majority of the fatty acids present in the rumen content, most of them being biohydrogenation intermediates of 18:2n26 and 18:3n23. Additionally, three oxo- fatty acids were identified in rumen samples, and 16-O-18:0 might be produced during biohydrogenation of the 18:3n23

Non a Dan sed a Scioldo Odini filio: Arngrímur Jónsson e il dibattito genealogico in Rerum Danicarum Fragmenta

Il lavoro propone un’analisi e una revisione delle fonti manoscritte di carattere narrativo e genealogico sulla figura di Skjǫldr, mitico capostipite della dinastia danese. Le fonti catalogate erano disponibili in Scandinavia prima del 1596, anno di stesura dell’opera Rerum Danicarum Fragmenta di Arngrímur Jónsson, il principale umanista islandese, e verosimilmente adottate come fonte del suo lavoro in parallelo alla perduta *Skjǫldunga saga. Si mira in questo modo a una più dettagliata contestualizzazione del panorama storiografico danese nella prima Età Moderna, sottolineando il ruolo svolto dalle genealogie erudite nelle due tradizioni islandese e danese. Si propone infine una traduzione e un commento dei primi quattordici capitoli di Rerum Danicarum Fragmenta. This thesis proposes an analysis and review of the narrative and genealogical manuscript sources on the figure of Skjǫldr, the mythical progenitor of the Danish dynasty, available in Scandinavia before 1596. The year marks the drafting of Rerum Danicarum Fragmenta by Arngrímur Jónsson, the main Icelandic humanist, likely to have consulted several other sources for his historiographical work in parallel to the lost *Skjǫldunga saga. In this way, a more detailed contextualisation of the Danish historiographical background in the Early Modern Age is aimed, emphasising the role played by learned genealogical traditions in Denmark and Iceland. To conclude, a translation and commentary of the first fourteen chapters of Rerum Danicarum Fragmenta is offered

Characterization of Sarda sheep carcasses used in the processing of meat products

Meat quality is perceived by consumers as being connected with certain sensory characteristics. These are colour, texture, fragrance and tenderness (Ruiz De Huidobro et al., 2003). Some authors have studied the relationship between the different productive parameters such as rearing system, age, sex, etc., and the biological characteristics of muscles, sensory parameters, or those of economic interest such as carcass conformation and slaughter yield (Mandell et al., 1998; Byrne et al., 2000; Maltin et al., 2001; Maher et al., 2004; Sami et al., 2004). The research on sheep has concentrated on evaluating the quality of lamb meat (Arsenos et al., 2002; Priolo et al., 2002; Santos-Silva et al., 2002). There is a dearth of information on adult ovine meat, which is little appreciated and economically undervalued. This study is designed to evaluate some quality aspects of Sarda sheep carcasses used in the processing of meat products, in order to meet producer demand for a system that is able to measure meat quality. The technology and characteristics of adult sheep meat products have been described in previous studies (Mazzette et al., 2001)

Total Lipids of Sarda Sheep Meat that Include the Fatty Acid and Alkenyl Composition and the CLA and Trans-18:1 Isomers

The total lipids of the longissimus dorsi muscle were analyzed from commercial adult Sarda sheep in Sardina taken from local abattoirs, and in the subsequent year from three local farms in the Sassari region that provided some information on the amount and type of supplements fed to the pasture-fed sheep. The complete lipid analysis of sheep meat included the fatty acids from O-acyl and N-acyl lipids, including the trans- and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers and the alk-1-enyl ethers from the plasmalogenic lipids. This analysis required the use of a combination of acid- and base-catalyzed methylation procedures, the former to quantitate the O-acyl, N-acyl and alkenyl ethers, and the latter to determine the content of CLA isomers and their metabolites. A combination of gas chromatographic and silver-ion separation techniques was necessary to quantitate all of the meat lipid constituents, which included a prior separation of the trans-octadecenoic acids (18:1) and a separation of fatty acid methyl esters and the dimethylacetals (DMAs) from the acyl and alk-1-enyl ethers, respectively. The alk-1-enyl moieties of the DMAs were analyzed as their stable cyclic acetals. In general, about half of the meat lipids were triacylglycerols, even though excess fat was trimmed from the meat. The higher fat content in the meat appears to be related to the older age of these animals. The variation in the trans-18:1 and CLA isomer profiles of the Sarda sheep obtained from the abattoirs was much greater than in the profiles from the sheep from the three selected farms. Higher levels of 10t-18:1, 7t9c-18:2, 9t11c-18:2 and 10t12c-18:2 were observed in the commercial sheep meat, which reflected the poorer quality diets of these sheep compared to those from the three farms, which consistently showed higher levels of 11t-18:1, 9c11t-18:2 and 11t13c-18:2. In the second study, sheep were provided with supplements during the spring and summer grazing season, which contributed to higher levels of 11t-18:1 and 9c11t-18:2. The farm that provided a small amount of supplements during the spring had the better lipid profile at both time periods. The polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content was higher in the meat from Sarda sheep from the three farms than in the meat from those sheep obtained from commercial slaughter operations. The plasmalogenic lipid content ranged from 2 to 3% of total lipids, the alk-1-enyl ethers consisted mainly of saturated and monounsaturated moieties, and the trans-18:1 profile was similar to that of the FA. The n-6 (6-8%) and n-3 PUFA (2-3%) contents, the n-6/n-3 ratio (3:1), as well as the saturated fatty acid (SFA) content (42-45%) and the SFA to PUFA ratio (4:1 to 5:1) of the Sarda sheep from the three farms were comparable to sheep meat lipids found in similar commercial operations in Europe. Inclusion of small amounts of supplements for the grazing Sarda sheep resulted in improved quality of sheep meat lipids

Chemical Synthesis and Gas Chromatographic Behaviour of γ-Stearidonic (18:4n-6) Acid

γ-Stearidonic acid, 18:4n-6, a potential product of β-oxidation of arachidonic acid (20:4n-6), was only recently positively identified in a living organism—a thermophilic cyanobacterium Tolypothrix sp., albeit at low levels, whilst some indirect evidence suggests its wider presence, e.g. in a unicellular marine alga. We have prepared 18:4n-6 using an iodolactonisation chain-shortening approach from 22:5n-6 and obtained its 1H-, 13C-, COSY- and HSQC NMR spectra, with 18:5n-3 spectra also recorded for a comparison. The GC and GC-MS behaviour of its methyl ester was also studied. Like another Δ3 polyunsaturated acid, octadecapentaenoic (18:5n-3), 18:4n-6 rapidly yields 2-trans isomer upon formation of dimethyloxazoline derivative. On a polar ionic liquid phase (SLB-IL100, 200 °C) the methyl ester could be mistaken for 18:3n-3, while on methylsilicone phase (BP1, 210 °C) it eluted ahead of 18:3n-6 and 18:4n-3, suggesting that when present it may be easily misidentified during GC analysis of fatty acids

Detailed fatty acid profile of serum lipid classes in lactating women and their relationship with milk fat

Little is known about fatty acid (FA) distribution among triacylglyceride (TG), cholesterol ester (CE), and phospholipid (PL) plasma lipid fractions in lactating women, and the relationships between these fractions and the FA profile of the milk that mothers produce. Milk fat and serum lipid FA compositions in lactating women were compared to investigate which serum lipids are the source of FA in milk fat. A TLC methodology was used to fractionate serum lipids including PL subclasses, that is, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC), and sphingomyelin (SM). Plasma lipids consisted of CE (36.4%), TG (19.1%), PE (1.40%), PC (39.80%), and SM (3.29%). With regard to PL fractions, PE was characterized by the highest levels of 18:0, 20:4 n‐6, 22:6 n‐3, and alkenyl ethers. PC revealed 16:0 as the predominant FA, followed by 18:2 n‐6, 18:0, cis‐9 18:1, and 20:4 n‐6, whereas saturated FA from 16:0 to 24:0 were characteristic of SM. Although n‐6 and n‐3 polyunsaturated FA were mostly found in PE and PC, strong correlations were found for 18:2 n‐6 and 18:3 n‐3 between plasma TG and milk lipids. This study also shows that trans 18:1 isomers may be selectively incorporated into milk fat from specific serum fractions.This work was supported by Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada (Project AAFC‐253) and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (Project AGL2005‐04760‐C02‐01) through a mobility grant to Pilar Gómez‐Cortés.Peer reviewe