Delivery Time Slot Management Methods in Online Retail

During recent years, e-commerce and the convenience that it carries has allured consumers to opt for this service. Nonetheless, retailers are concerned about the narrow profitability margins that this activity yield, leading them to try to optimize their delivery processes. For the comfort of the customer, e-grocers normally practices attended home delivery (AHD). This implies that the client has to be at home to receive their package, hence, the delivery hours are an important feature of the service provided. Time slot management is necessary to maintain a good balance between the client impression towards the service and delivery fulfillment. To optimize the distribution cost, customers are presented with time slots to choose from when making a purchase, influencing the company's delivery schedule. Thanks to the existence of this choice, we can try to influence customers to choose a certain time slot, possibly resulting in a more optimized and cost-efficient delivery process. The selection of these slots can follow a dynamic slotting and/or dynamic pricing strategy. This dissertation will focus on a dynamic slotting strategy, investigating the benefits that different assumptions could bring, for instance, that the customer can be flexible with the delivery day

DIREITOS HUMANOS, DIVERSIDADE CULTURAL E O ENSINO RELIGIOSO

Religious Education contributes to the discussion about the diversity of religious manifestations at school in light of current legislation. The secularity of the State indicates that it is not an atheist State and must guarantee religious expression, without proselytism and with respect for Human Rights and constitutional guarantees. The National Curricular Guidelines define one of the objectives of Religious Education: to provide knowledge about the right to freedom of conscience and belief, with the constant purpose of promoting Human Rights, offering guidance for citizenship formation, as a pedagogical subsidy for the debate mediated by the Religious Education educator, on the limits of tolerance and intolerance. The article presents a brief overview of the legislation for the discipline based on the conception of the secularity of the State, in the educational field. Its objective is to demonstrate that a secular State is not an atheist State and must guarantee religious expression, without proselytism and with respect for human rights in a scenario of religious diversity. Methodology: documentary review about national legislation regarding the subject of Religious Education in the secular country in which we live.La Educación Religiosa contribuye a la discusión sobre la diversidad de manifestaciones religiosas en la escuela a la luz de la legislación vigente. La laicidad del Estado indica que no es un Estado ateo y debe garantizar la expresión religiosa, sin proselitismo y con respeto a los Derechos Humanos y las garantías constitucionales. Los Lineamientos Curriculares Nacionales definen uno de los objetivos de la Educación Religiosa: brindar conocimiento sobre el derecho a la libertad de conciencia y de creencias, con el propósito constante de promover los Derechos Humanos, ofreciendo orientación para la formación de la ciudadanía, como subsidio pedagógico para el debate mediado por el educador de Educación Religiosa, sobre los límites de la tolerancia y la intolerancia. El artículo presenta un breve panorama de la legislación para la disciplina basada en la concepción de la laicidad del Estado, en el ámbito educativo. Su objetivo es demostrar que un Estado laico no es un Estado ateo y debe garantizar la expresión religiosa, sin proselitismo y con respeto a los derechos humanos en un escenario de diversidad religiosa. Metodología: revisión documental sobre la legislación nacional en materia de Educación Religiosa en el país laico en el que vivimos.O Ensino Religioso contribui para a discussão sobre a diversidade das manifestações religiosas na escola diante da legislação vigente. A laicidade do Estado indica ele não é um Estado ateu e deve garantir a expressão religiosa, sem proselitismo e com respeito aos Direitos Humanos e às garantias constitucionais. As Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais definem um dos objetivos do Ensino Religioso: proporcionar conhecimentos sobre o direito à liberdade de consciência e de crença, no constante propósito de promoção dos Direitos Humanos, ofertando a orientação para a formação cidadã, como subsídio pedagógico para o debate mediado pelo educador do Ensino Religioso, sobre os limites da tolerância e da intolerância. O artigo apresenta um breve panorama da legislação para a disciplina a partir da concepção da laicidade do Estado, no campo educacional. Seu objetivo é demonstrar que um Estado laico não é um Estado ateu e deve garantir a expressão religiosa, sem proselitismo e com respeito aos DH em um cenário de diversidade religiosa. Metodologia: revisão documental acerca da legislação nacional no que tange à disciplina Ensino Religioso no país laico em que vivemos.O Ensino Religioso contribui para a discussão sobre a diversidade das manifestações religiosas na escola diante da legislação vigente. A laicidade do Estado indica ele não é um Estado ateu e deve garantir a expressão religiosa, sem proselitismo e com respeito aos Direitos Humanos e às garantias constitucionais. As Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais definem um dos objetivos do Ensino Religioso: proporcionar conhecimentos sobre o direito à liberdade de consciência e de crença, no constante propósito de promoção dos Direitos Humanos, ofertando a orientação para a formação cidadã, como subsídio pedagógico para o debate mediado pelo educador do Ensino Religioso, sobre os limites da tolerância e da intolerância. O artigo apresenta um breve panorama da legislação para a disciplina a partir da concepção da laicidade do Estado, no campo educacional. Seu objetivo é demonstrar que um Estado laico não é um Estado ateu e deve garantir a expressão religiosa, sem proselitismo e com respeito aos DH em um cenário de diversidade religiosa. Metodologia: revisão documental acerca da legislação nacional no que tange à disciplina Ensino Religioso no país laico em que vivemos

Os jornais evangélicos e a formação da mentalidade protestante no Brasil

Se é recente a implantação da imprensa no Brasil, em 1808, mais recente ainda é a atuação da imprensa protestante no país, iniciada em 1864 com a fundação do jornal Imprensa Evangélica pelo pioneiro presbiteriano Asbhel Green Simonton. A partir de então, vários outros jornais evangélicos circularam no país, como o ‘Norte Evangélico’ e ‘O Puritano’, órgãos oficiais da Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil. Em 1958, esses dois jornais se fundiram para formar o ‘Brasil Presbiteriano’. Após tal processo, também a mentalidade jornalística presbiteriana mudou. De 1958 a 1964, o ‘Brasil Presbiteriano’ foi um jornal pluralista e aberto a questionamentos sócio-políticos. Em 1964, acompanhando as mudanças políticas do país, transformou-se num jornal conservador, com tendência ao fundamentalismo. Em 1978, houve novo cisma na Igreja, quando a linha adotada pelo jornal vinha sofrendo grande oposição. Finalmente, em 1986, o jornal começou a mostrar certa abertura político-eclesiástica. O percurso dos periódicos de 1864 a 1986 mostra que eles espelham os avanços e retrocessos da nação também na caminhada eclesiástico-institucional da Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil. Palavras-chave: Ideologia. Igreja Presbiteriana. Imprensa evangélica. Protestantismo no Brasil

Composition and antibacterial activity of the lipophilic fraction of honeybee pollen from native species of Montesinho Natural Park

The lipophilic composition of honeybee pollen from Cistus ladanifer, Castanea sativa and Rubus sp. was analysed by GC-MS. The extracts are mainly composed by saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, sterols, long chain aliphatic alcohols, alkanes and alkenes. The profiles of chemical composition allow the chemical differentiation of pollen species. The biological activity of the lipophilic fractions against several Gram positive bacteria was demonstrated and related to the resistance of beehives to certain diseases when feed with such pollens

Comprehensive Insight into the Elderflowers and Elderberries (Sambucus nigra L.) Mono and Sesquiterpenic Metabolites: Factors that Modulate Their Composition

Plant secondary metabolites are synthesized for their protection and regulation purposes. Quite often, due to their properties, these metabolites have relevant organoleptic and biological properties and can play important roles in human health and general well-being. A relevant case study in this context is berries and flowers from Sambucus nigra L., which have been used for generations in folk medicine. Although those effects are mainly linked to phenolic compounds, mono and sesquiterpenic secondary metabolites may also play a key role. Despite their potential, S. nigra mono and sesquiterpenic compounds are yet largely unexplored. Complex and dynamic external and internal plant-related phenomena deeply affect terpenes profile, as metabolism, abiotic and biotic stresses, and understanding these phenomena is the first step for S. nigra berries and flowers’ valuation. This chapter will cover aspects linked to elder plant uses, mono and sesquiterpenic composition, and the influence of preharvest and postharvest effects over these metabolites. This knowledge is crucial for scientists and industries to understand and improve the quality of S. nigra-based products

Simultaneous analysis of some club drugs in whole blood using solid phase extraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

The use of psychoactive substances to improve social relations and increase body energy, in Rave Culture, has raised many legal and health public concerns, both for illicit trade and consumption. Therefore, forensic toxicology plays an important role in this area, mainly linked to the detection and quantitation of these substances, both in vivo and in post-mortem samples. In fact, at the moment, forensic sciences have been under public authorities’ scrutiny and critical look, due to the increasing attention of the media and public opinion, always applying for the use of scientific knowledge to help solving forensic cases. However, forensic toxicology results are only reliable to solve legal cases if all the analytical methodologies used are appropriately validated. In this work, a methodology for the extraction and analysis of 7-aminoflunitrazepam, buprenorphine, flunitrazepam, ketamine, methadone, phencyclidine (PCP) and d-propoxyphene was developed for whole blood samples, with Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE), using OASIS MCX SPE columns, and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The procedure presented here proved to be reliable, specific, selective and sensitive, with good LODs and LOQs and good precision.The adoption of a SPE procedure with an automatic SPE extraction device, allowed an increased level of automation in sample treatment, being contemporarily less time-consuming, increasing productiveness, and allowing good recovery and appropriate selectivity being, also, simple and reproducible. The simultaneous detection and quantitation of all compounds by the same extraction and detection methodology is crucial and has a great potential for forensic toxicology and clinical analysis.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Vivências do feminino no final de oitocentos : representação da mulher em alguns romances e periódicos da época

Dissertação de Mestrado em Estudos Portugueses e Interdisciplinares apresentada à Universidade AbertaEsta dissertação versa sobre as diversas representações e vivências do universo feminino no último quartel do século XIX, em Portugal. Para tal estudo recorreu-se comparativamente a algumas obras de Eça de Queirós, seleccionadas tendo em conta a temática abordada, entre as quais O Primo Basílio, Os Maias e As Cidades e as Serras, a determinados periódicos de época como Branco e Negro, Ilustração Portuguesa, Gazeta das Salas, O Mundo Elegante e o Jornal das Damas. No término de Oitocentos as mulheres libertam-se das amarras do ideal burguês e começam elas próprias a edificar uma nova identidade, afirmando o seu estatuto e tomando as rédeas do seu próprio destino. Ao longo desta marcha pela emancipação feminina assistimos a marcantes metamorfoses na relação das mulheres com elas mesmas, com as restantes, com os elementos masculinos e com a própria sociedade em si.Abstract: This dissertation deals with the representations and experiences of the female population in the last quarter of the nineteenth century in Portugal. For this study, we made use of some Works of Eça de Queiroz, selected in view of the adressed subjected, including O Primo Basílio, Os Maias and A Cidade e as Serras and some of the regular season as Branco e Negro, a Ilustração Portuguesa, Gazeta das Salas, O Mundo Elegante and O Jornal das Damas. At the end of the eighteenth century, women released of the bourgeois ideal and they begin to build a new identity, stating their status and taking the reins of their own destiny. Alongside the march for female emancipation we assist a remarkable metamorphosis in the relationship of women with themselves, with the others, with the male elements and with the society itself

Determination of the Hydroxy and Carboxylic Acid Groups in Natural Complex Mixtures of Hydroxy Fatty Acids by (1)H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

The use of trichloroacetyl isocyanate (TAI) to mark both hydroxyl and carboxyl groups borne by the hydrolysis or methanolysis of suberin fragments (a complex mixture of hydroxy fatty acids), allowed the quantitative assessment of the ratio between carboxyl and hydroxy groups, as well as the ratio between primary and secondary hydroxy groups, to be carried out reliably by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. All the samples thus analyzed displayed an excess of CO(2)H (or CO(2)CH(3)) functions with respect to the OH counterparts, albeit to a variable extent, depending on the procedure adopted to isolate the suberin fragments. The precise knowledge of the molar ratio of these two reactive moieties is fundamental for the correct utilization of suberin monomers in polymerization reactions leading to aliphatic polyesters.FCT - SFRH/ BD/38890/200

Layer-by-layer coated imidazolium – styrene copolymers fibers for improved headspace-solid phase microextraction analysis of aromatic compounds

The design of poly(ionic liquids) (PILs) and their application as solid phase microextraction (SPME) fibers has been attracting enormous attention mainly due to the need for new SPME coating materials with improved analytical sensitivity. In this work, the tunability of PILs is explored by preparing different imidazolium monomers bearing benzyl, naphtylmethyl or pentyl pending groups that were subsequently co-polymerized, by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization with styrene. The obtained co-polymers showed excellent thermal stability up to 275 °C, with no melting point up to 250 °C. SPME fibers were prepared by an innovative approach based on layer-by-layer spray coating. The thin (<10 μm) SPME coatings were tested in GC-FID for the detection of volatile aromatic compounds such as benzene (B), toluene (T), ethylbenzene (E) and xylene (X) present in aqueous samples and the extraction parameters optimized. Superior results were obtained when comparing these LbL PILS-based SPME fibers with a commercial fiber composed of poly(dimethylsiloxane), with an increase in the detectable areas of 83%, 69%, 57% and 58% for B, T, E and X, respectively. Low relative standard deviations were obtained for the same fiber (< 5.6%) and also for different fibers (< 9.8%). Furthermore, a spiked soil sample was used to mimic a real contaminated soil sample and excellent recovery results, ranging from 67.0% to 102.2%, were obtained.publishe

Analysis of organophosphorus pesticides in whole blood by GC-MS-μECD with forensic purposes

In the present work, two multi-residue methods for the determination of ten organophosphorus pesticides (OPs), namely chlorfenvinphos, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, dimethoate, fenthion, malathion, parathion, phosalone, pirimiphos-methyl and quinalphos, in post-mortem whole blood samples are presented. The adopted procedure uses GC-MS for screening and quantitation, and GC-µECD (electron capture detector) for compound confirmation. Three different Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) procedures for OPs with Oasis® hydrophilic lipophilic balanced (HLB) and Sep-Pak® C18 cartridges were tested, and followed by GC-µECD and GC-MS analysis. The Sep-Pak® C18 cartridges extraction procedure was selected since it generated analytical signals 5 times higher than those obtained with the two different Oasis® HLB cartridges extraction procedures. The method has shown to be selective for the isolation of selected OPs as well as to the chosen internal standard (ethion) in postmortem blood samples. Calibration curves between 50 and 5000 ng/mL were prepared using weighted linear regression models (1/x2). It was not possible to establish a working range for fenthion by GC-µECD due to the lower sensitivity of the detector to this compound, whereas for pirimiphos-methyl it was set between 500 and 5000 ng/mL. The limit of quantitation was established at 50 ng/mL for all analytes, except for pirimiphos-methyl by GC-µECD analysis (500 ng/mL). The average extraction efficiency ranged from 72 to 102%. The developed methods were considered robust and fit for the purpose, and had already been adopted in the laboratory routine analysis.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio