Business Objectives For Trade Shows Aimed At Final Consumers

An exhibitors' attendance at any trade show calls for designing and developing a preliminary plan, which must in turn be a part of the company's overall marketing plan, so that the decisions that are taken before, during, and after attending the trade show are in keeping with the company's sales and overall objectives. To achieve the desired sales and business performance, trade show objectives have to be set and defined as part of the strategic plan for attending the event, and this definition can have an influence on the final outcome the company achieves after the show. Taking this into account, and bearing in mind the particular case of trade shows aimed at final consumers, this paper describes a study based on cluster analysis aimed at grouping the different objectives that lead companies to attend trade shows and determine which of these objectives are most important for participating firms

Influence Of Corporate Social Responsibility On Hotel Demand

The embrace of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by the Spanish hospitality industry is still in the early stages. Few hotel companies publish sustainability reports, although the number of tourism and distribution channel organizations (tour operators, online travel agencies, etc.) incorporating specific aspects of CSR is growing each year. In this paper, the authors analyze whether CSR has a direct effect on end-consumer demand in Spain, identifying those aspects that customers evaluate positively

Before a hotel room booking, do perceptions vary by gender? The case of Spain

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is implemented unevenly in the Spanish tourism industry. The hotel infrastructure of the country is not an exception. This study analyses the environmental, social and economic dimensions of initiatives with respect to the hotel offer which consumers living in Spain appreciate and value more based on their gender. Empirical analysis is approached using a model of structural equations in which the intensity and sign of differences between men and women can be seen. The main results show that aspects related to the environment are the most important for both genders. The dimensions in which differences are defined are the economic, more valued by men; and social, more valued by women. The document provides relevant information, filling a knowledge gap in this field

Effect Of Continuous Assessment Tests On Overall Student Performance In The Case Of The Spanish National Distance Education University (UNED)

This study aims to analyze the effect of the use of different types of continuous assessment tests on students participation, performance and final grades. To this end, it examines the case of a second-year course from the degree program in Business Administration and Management offered by the Faculty of Economics at the Universidad Nacional de Educaci a Distancia (National Distance Education University, UNED) in Spain during the first two academic years it was available (2011/12 and 2012/13). This period offered two distinct scenarios, with a total of 1,450 students participating the first year and 1,809 in the second, due to the use of two online continuous assessment tests with different scoring systems. The goal was to analyze the influence of each of the continuous assessment systems used on student participation in both the continuous assessment test itself and the final exam, as well as on the grades earned on these tests, and students overall performance in the course. As a result of this research, conclusions were reached regarding the educational nature of these tests and their suitability as a true tool for monitoring and assessment at a distance university

The Impact Of The Current Economic Crisis On The Demand For Higher Education: An Analysis Of Spanish Distance Education Universities

Spain is currently experiencing a difficult economic situation, and in recent years a significant change has been observed in the behavior of the demand for educational programs as a result of this situation. Recent studies reveal a change in student demand that does not have the same effect on all academic institutions. Bearing this behavior in mind, the present study focuses on providing an overview of the situation of the Spanish distance education university system over a six-year period, from the 2007/08 to the 2011/12 academic year, analyzing the different variables that influence the demand and new enrollment in official degree programs. We also conduct a comparative analysis of the patterns these variables follow depending on the methodology applied by the different universities examined in our study, making a distinction between classroom and distance education universities

Noble metal nanoparticles used as carriers systems for NSAIDs drugs: SEF, release and binding

Peer Reviewe

Caracterización molecular de nanoportadores de fármacos mediante espectroscopía intensificada por plasmones localizados: Fluorescencia (SEF) y Raman (SERS)

The combined application of SERS (Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering) and SEF (Surface Enhanced Fluorescence) to the molecular characterization of druǵs nanocarriers based on silver colloids is here shown for the antitumoral drug emodin, and the Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs indomethacin and ketorolac. The system >silver nanoparticles-emodin> was subsequently embedded in porous silicon and the new system also characterized. The joint analysis of the SERS, SEF and UV-Vis spectra of indomethacin and ketorolac at different pHs has also allowed to propose schemes for the approaching mechanisms of the drug molecules to the silver nanoparticles surface in the pH range studied.© Sociedad Española de Óptica.Se agradece al MINECO (proyecto FIS2010-15405), a la Comunidad de Madrid (proyecto MICROSERES II-S 2009TIC-1476) y al Grupo Investigación 950247 de la UCM, la financiación recibida para llevar a cabo este trabajo.Peer Reviewe

The cyanobacterial ribosomal-associated protein LrtA from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is an oligomeric protein in solution with chameleonic sequence properties

The LrtA protein of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 intervenes in cyanobacterial post-stress survival and in stabilizing 70S ribosomal particles. It belongs to the hibernating promoting factor (HPF) family of proteins, involved in protein synthesis. In this work, we studied the conformational preferences and stability of isolated LrtA in solution. At physiological conditions, as shown by hydrodynamic techniques, LrtA was involved in a self-association equilibrium. As indicated by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence, the protein acquired a folded, native-like conformation between pH 6.0 and 9.0. However, that conformation was not very stable, as suggested by thermal and chemical denaturations followed by CD and fluorescence. Theoretical studies of its highly-charged sequence suggest that LrtA had a Janus sequence, with a context-dependent fold. Our modelling and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations indicate that the protein adopted the same fold observed in other members of the HPF family ( - - - - - ) at its N-terminal region (residues 1–100), whereas the C terminus (residues 100–197) appeared disordered and collapsed, supporting the overall percentage of overall secondary structure obtained by CD deconvolution. Then, LrtA has a chameleonic sequence and it is the first member of the HPF family involved in a self-association equilibrium, when isolated in solution.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CTQ2015-64445-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad BIO2016-78020-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad FIS2014-52212-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad BIO2016-75634-PFundación Séneca 19353/PI/1

Surface enhanced fluorescence of anti-tumoral drug emodin adsorbed on silver nanoparticles and loaded on porous silicon

Fluorescence spectra of anti-tumoral drug emodin loaded on nanostructured porous silicon have been recorded. The use of colloidal nanoparticles allowed embedding of the drug without previous porous silicon functionalization and leads to the observation of an enhancement of fluorescence of the drug. Mean pore size of porous silicon matrices was 60 nm, while silver nanoparticles mean diameter was 50 nm. Atmospheric and vacuum conditions at room temperature were used to infiltrate emodin-silver nanoparticles complexes into porous silicon matrices. The drug was loaded after adsorption on metal surface, alone, and bound to bovine serum albumin. Methanol and water were used as solvents. Spectra with 1 μm spatial resolution of cross-section of porous silicon layers were recorded to observe the penetration of the drug. A maximum fluorescence enhancement factor of 24 was obtained when protein was loaded bound to albumin, and atmospheric conditions of inclusion were used. A better penetration was obtained using methanol as solvent when comparing with water. Complexes of emodin remain loaded for 30 days after preparation without an apparent degradation of the drug, although a decrease in the enhancement factor is observed. The study reported here constitutes the basis for designing a new drug delivery system with future applications in medicine and pharmacyThe Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion (MINECO) (Project FIS2010-15405: Plasmonics: Enhanced Molecular Sensing on Metal Nanostructures (POEMS), Comunidad de Madrid (MICROSERES Project, S2009TIC-1476) and grupo investigación 950247 of the UCM are gratefully acknowledged for their financial support. David Gomez (characterization service from the ICTP-CSIC) is also acknowledged for the FE-SEM image

Recurrent invasive pneumococcal disease in children: Underlying clinical conditions, and immunological and microbiological characteristics.

Purpose Clinical, immunological and microbiological characteristics of recurrent invasive pneumo-coccal disease (IPD) in children were evaluated, differentiating relapse from reinfection, in order to identify specific risk factors for both conditions. Methods All patients<18 years-old with recurrent IPD admitted to a tertiary-care pediatric center from January 2004 to December 2011 were evaluated. An episode of IPD was defined as the presence of clinical findings of infection together with isolation and/or pneumococcal DNA detection by Real-Time PCR in any sterile body fluid. Recurrent IPD was defined as 2 or more episodes in the same individual at least 1 month apart. Among recurrent IPD, we differentiated relapse (same pneumococcal isolate) from reinfection. Results 593 patients were diagnosed with IPD and 10 patients died. Among survivors, 23 episodes of recurrent IPD were identified in 10 patients (1.7%). Meningitis was the most frequent form of recurrent IPD (10 episodes/4 children) followed by recurrent empyema (8 episodes/4 children). Three patients with recurrent empyema caused by the same pneumococcal clone ST306 were considered relapses and showed high bacterial load in their first episode. In contrast, all other episodes of recurrent IPD were considered reinfections. Overall, the rate of relapse of IPD was 0.5% and the rate of reinfection 1.2%. Five out of 7 patients with rein- fection had an underlying risk factor: cerebrospinal fluid leak (n = 3), chemotherapy treatment (n = 1) and a homozygous mutation in MyD88 gene (n = 1). No predisposing risk factors were found in the remainder. Conclusions recurrent IPD in children is a rare condition associated with an identifiable risk factor in case of reinfection in almost 80% of cases. In contrast, recurrent IPD with pleuropneumonia is usually a relapse of infection