The building stone of the Roman city of Lixus (NW Morocco) : provenance, petrography and petrophysical characterization

Characterization of building material is a key tool to assess deterioration processes and improve potential restoration works of archaeological sites. The aim of this paper is to identify and characterize the building stone used in the construction of the Phoenician-Roman city of Lixus (Larache, Morocco) by means of petrographic and petrophysical technics. Based on the visual analysis of the monuments, three major building stones (i.e., lithotypes) have been identified: (1) Oligocene sandstones, (2) Quaternary sandstones, and (3) Quaternary conglomerates. Based on the analysis of the regional geology and exploitation marks, these three lithotypes have been identified to crop out in the surroundings of Lixus and the quarries, presumably Roman in origin, recognized. The Oligocene sandstone is the primary building stone in Lixus as form and crop out extensively in the Tchemmis hill, at top of which the city is settled. The Quaternary sandstones and conglomerates, which represent nearshore deposits and eolianites, are less abundant as building rocks in Lixus and crop out along the Atlantic coast where form part pf the cliffs close to Larache. Petrographic results indicate that lithotypes differ notably in grain size, ratio of detrital to allochemical components, and the configuration of their porous system. Mechanical analysis show that the Oligocene sandstones are more resistant to compression than the Quaternary sandstones and conglomerates, the latter exhibiting low compressive strength. The Oligocene sandstones, which display scarce porosity and permeability, show a hydric behaviour characterized by a very low degree of absorbing and desorbing water, likely resulting from a poor connectivity of the pore network. Contrary to later lithotype, the Quaternary sandstones and conglomerates, which exhibit very high porosity and permeability, display a hydric behaviour characterized by high degree of both absorbing and desorbing water. This behaviour is attributed to both the low degree of cementation and excellent connectivity of the porous network of the lithotype typical of coastal deposists. Finally, the accelerated artificial aging test they do not show a significant weight loss after twelve cycles of salt crystallization, indicating that the three lithotypes are not vulnerable to sodium sulphate attacks. Results of this study indicate that the good state of conservation of the building rocks of Lixus is linked to intrinsic factors as mineralogy and petrophysical characteristics together with the favourable effect of the climatic condition of the study area

The building stone of the Roman city of Lixus (NW Morocco): provenance, petrography and petrophysical characterization

The characterization of building materials is a key tool to assess deterioration processes and improve potential restoration works of archaeological sites. The aim of this paper is to identify and characterize most important building stone used in the construction of the Roman city of Lixus (Larache, Morocco) by means of petrographic and petrophysical techniques. Based on the visual analysis of the monuments, three major building stones (i.e. lithotypes) have been identified: i) Oligocene sandstones, ii) Quaternary sandstones and iii) Quaternary conglomerates. Based on the analysis of the regional geology and exploitation marks, these three lithotypes have been recognised to crop out in the surroundings of Lixus and the quarries, presumably Roman in origin, recognized. The Oligocene sandstone is the primary building stone in Lixus as it forms and crops out extensively in the Tchemmis hill, at top of which the city is settled. The Quaternary sandstones and conglomerates, which represent nearshore deposits and eolianites, crop out along the Atlantic coast where they form part of the cliffs next to Larache. Petrographic results indicate that lithotypes differ notably in grain size, ratio of detrital to allochemical components, and the configuration of their porous system. Mechanical analysis show that the Oligocene sandstones are more resistant to compression than the Quaternary sandstones and conglomerates, the latter exhibiting relatively low compressive strength. The Oligocene sandstones, which display scarce porosity and permeability, show a hydric behaviour characterized by a very low degree of absorbing and desorbing water, likely resulting from a poor connectivity of the pore network. Contrary to the latter lithotype, the Quaternary sandstones, which exhibit very high porosity and permeability, display a hydric behaviour characterized by high degree of both absorbing and desorbing water. This is attributed to the low degree of cementation compared to porosity of this lithotype and the excellent connectivity of the porous network. Finally, the accelerated artificial aging test of the Oligocene and Quaternary sandstones do not show a significant weight loss after the accelerated artificial aging test, indicating that both are slightly affected by salt crystallization and presumably ice as well. Results indicate that the relatively fine state of conservation of the building rocks of Lixus is linked to intrinsic factors as mineralogy and petrophysical characteristics together with the favourable effect of the climatic condition of the study area.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

¿Es posible conseguir la lealtad de los clientes de establecimientos de comida rápida? Una aproximación con PLS

En la literatura sobre fast-food restaurants (FFRs), las investigaciones realizadas no han encontrado suficientes evidencias relacionadas con la lealtad en servicios de comida rápida debido principalmente a su carácter económico, rápido y de conveniencia. El objetivo de esta investigación es verificar la existencia de lealtad en consumidores de fast-food y su dependencia de la calidad percibida, diferenciando entre la calidad de la comida, la calidad del servicio ofrecido y/o la atmósfera presente en el local. Para ello, se propone un modelo compuesto estimado en modo B para analizar los elementos que constituyen la calidad del establecimiento, ya que esta variable ha sido utilizada previamente en la literatura como un constructo multidimensional compuesto de tres dimensiones correlacionadas. Además, se estudia el papel directo y mediador de constructos como la satisfacción y la confianza para la formación de lealtad en FFRs. Los resultados de este estudio aportarán recomendaciones para los responsables de restaurantes fast-food en el objetivo de mejorar la lealtad de los usuarios.Throughout the literature on fast-food restaurants (FFRs), existing studies have not found sufficient evidence of the role of loyalty in fast-food services, mainly due to their economical, quick, and convenient nature. The objective of this research is to verify the existence of loyalty in fast-food consumers and its dependence on perceived quality, differentiating between the quality of the food, the quality of the service provided, and/or the atmosphere present in the store. To that end, we propose a composite model estimated by mode B to analyze the elements that constitute establishment quality; this variable has been previously used in the literature as a multidimensional construct consisting of three dimensions that are correlated. Furthermore, we study the direct and mediating role of constructs such as satisfaction and trust in creating loyalty in FFRs. The results of this study will provide recommendations for those responsible for fast food restaurants in order to improve the loyalty of the consumers

Participación de los principales destinos turísticos europeos en buscadores: aplicación al ámbito español

Un importante desafío al que se enfrentan las organizaciones y destinos turísticos es poder ser visualizados por un buscador y, de esta forma, poder ser accesibles por los turistas potenciales en la planificación de su viaje. La accesibilidad y visualización por el buscador proporcionan, particularmente a los destinos, una oportunidad para promover y comercializar su página web e incluso el destino en sí, incentivando la competitividad del destino turístico. Por lo tanto, el presente trabajo tiene como objetivo determinar la representatividad del turismo online para los principales destinos turísticos europeos a través de cuatro buscadores. El trabajo extiende el estudio a nueve categorías turísticas que son analizadas para los principales destinos turísticos españoles. Los resultados del estudio revelan que los buscadores indexan una gran cantidad de páginas web relacionadas con el turismo, sin embargo, la presencia de páginas de destinos que es visible y accesible por los turistas es muy pequeña. La baja visibilidad de las páginas web turísticas en los buscadores analizados indica que las oportunidades para los turistas online de tener interacciones con organizaciones y destinos turísticos son escasas. Como implicación de los resultados obtenidos, se recomienda a las organizaciones y destinos turísticos su presencia en un número importante de buscadores. Para conseguir tal finalidad, los destinos turísticos deberían utilizar una serie de acciones que ayuden a incrementar la visibilidad de una página web en los resultados ofrecidos al turista potencial a través del buscador, esperando la perfecta solución a sus necesidades de viaje.Online visibility and accessibility is a challenge for tourist organizations and destinations. Potential tourists should be able to plan their journeys and completely satisfy their travel needs using online search engines and the websites of destinations. The accessibility and visibility of tourist destinations and organizations in a search engine are a great opportunity to promote and market both organizations and destinations, and many have a decisive influence on competitiveness. This article therefore aims to determine how four online search engines present the concept “tourism” in the most famous European tourist destinations. This study divides the concept of tourism into nine tourist categories which are used to analyze how tourism is represented in the main Spanish tourist destinations. The results of this research reveal that search engines index a great number of websites related to tourism, although the visibility and accessibility of tourist destinations for tourists is relatively low. The low visibility of tourist websites in the search engines used here suggests that the possibility of online interaction between tourists and tourist organizations and destinations is small. Results also indicate that tourist organizations and destinations should increase their presence in as many online search engines as possible. Tourist destinations should also take actions contributing to increase the visibility of their websites in the results found by search engines, so that potential tourists may satisfy their travel needs completely

User's experience in the visualization of architectural images in different environments

The visualization of images, both photographic and infographic, is a process that depends on a series of features that define the user (user profile: age, sex, culture or experience, etc.), the visual message (type of image, resolution, content, quality, etc.), and the display (size, resolution, type of screen immersive or not, etc.). When we can determine how the tree features relate, the communicative messages based on visual aspects will be more efficient for both the user and the technological output. The main objective of the research work presented in this paper is to determine whether differences in the visualization (immersive or not) of specific types of images (real and virtual) related to the architecture framework, differ depending on the gender of the user. The reflection of the existence of such differences in the future will allow us to define the characteristics of the image and the medium, and maximize the emotional communication of architectural ideas, depending on the type of user.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Plan estratégico para la empresa Transportes El Sol de Piura año 2018-Piura

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo principal formular un plan estratégico para la empresa Transportes el Sol de Piura S.A.C siguiendo la metodología propuesta por David (2017), con la finalidad de dar direccionamiento a su gestión a los próximos cuatro años. Metodología que consta de las siguientes etapas; desarrollo de la declaración de la visión y misión; etapa de insumos, establecimiento de objetivos, etapa de adecuación y etapa de decisión. En este sentido, se empezó por el desarrollo de la declaración de la visión y misión, donde se identificó la situación futura deseada por la empresa, además de esclarecer quienes son sus clientes, que servicio brinda, cuál es su mercado, cuál es su filosofía, entre otros elementos, que sirven como guía al comportamiento para la empresa. Seguido de esto se empezó con la etapa de insumos que consistió en el análisis de tendencias externas como el alza en los precios del petróleo, el aumento del parque automotor, crecimiento poblacional, normas legales que establecen el nuevo anillo vial o el Reglamento Nacional de Vehículos entre otros, así como también el análisis de fuerzas competitivas como las tarifas en medios de transporte, participación de mercado, razones de uso de las modalidades de transporte, y finalmente el análisis de situaciones internas de la empresa como son el, nivel de formalización de empleados, clima organizacional y desempeño, ratios financieros, sistemas de control, medios de ingreso y almacenamiento de información, entre otros. Al término de los análisis, se hizo uso de las matrices de evaluación de factores externos e internos, así como la matriz del perfil competitivo, donde se identificaron los principales factores clave de éxito. Los resultados de estas matrices revelaron que las estrategias empleadas por la empresa tienen un bajo desempeño en la evasión de amenazas y aprovechamiento de oportunidades, pero también una posición competitiva fuerte frente a su competencia y una posición interna media. En la etapa de adecuación se usó la información obtenida de las matrices en la etapa de insumos, para el desarrollo de las matrices FODA, matriz de la posición estratégica, matriz de la estrategia interna externa, cuya finalidad fue el desarrollo de estrategias adecuadas para la situación de la empresa, dichas estrategias formuladas fueron de tipo competitivo, conservador y de mantener. Los objetivos formulados fueron, seis en total, estos son: el logro de la prórroga de la concesión de la ruta U-04, la modernización de la flota con vehículos eléctricos, aumento progresivo del número de unidades con mayor capacidad, implementar nuevas tecnologías de recojo de pasajes y control de frecuencia de unidades, formalizar y capacitar al personal en su totalidad, lograr la satisfacción de los usuarios. Para la etapa de decisión se hizo uso de la matriz cuantitativa de planeación estratégica, que toma las estrategias formuladas en la etapa de adecuación, para crear una lista jerarquizada según calificación de atractivo para la empresa, entre las primeras estrategias se encuentra, la creación de un área de planificación, el desarrollo de proyectos de modernización de flota que impulsen el uso de vehículos eléctricos, renovación de unidades con más de 8 años de antigüedad a la vez que se mejora historial crediticio.Tesi

Fixation of bioactive compounds to the cuticle of Artemia

Artemia is extensively used in aquaculture to feed early stages of cultured marine species. A problem associated with this practice is that Artemia fails to supply some essential nutrients. As a possible solution, we have devised a procedure to make Artemia a vehicle for exogenous nutrients and other bioactive compounds. It consists of the construction of chimeric proteins composed of a chitin-binding domain, which binds to the cuticle of Artemia, and a carrier domain that conveys a functional property. As confirmatory examples, we describe the successful fixation to Artemia's metanauplii of two hybrid proteins: a β-galactosidase from the thermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima and the jellyfish green fluorescent protein (GFP), both linked to the CBM2 chitin-binding domain from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus. Positive results of experiments carried out ex vivo and in vivo show the validity of this approach. The methodology used could become a general procedure for the attachment of different kinds of bioactive compounds, such as enzymes, hormones, antibiotics, etc., to the cuticle of Artemia as well as other arthropods. Statement of relevance: Our results overcome shortcomings of Artemia as a feedstock.En prensa2,04

Challenges of accessibility of a community heritage tourist route: The Route of the Caste War

This article presents the results of an accessibility analysis of The Caste War Route (RGC), prior to its commercialization as a community heritage product. The analysis consists of a diagnosis of the resource to establish destination-planning strategies. The accessibility diagnosis goes beyond adapting physical spaces for transit, considering that the resource is accessible to all types of people, including economic, spatial and temporal accessibility, criteria on which the research focuses. The diagnosis was prepared through a multidisciplinary investigation that collected information from different sectors with qualitative and quantitative tools that combined the recording of data and the opinion of the residents of the area, key informants; Government officials, museum workers, tourism service providers, non-governmental organizations and visitors were included in this research. Accessibility is a multivariate concept; its analysis required an instrument with cultural indicators distributed in categories, which provides objective, rigorous and relevant information. The research approach was qualitative, including Participatory Action Research and ethnographic techniques such as participant observation (PAR), interviews and document review as part of the process. It is necessary to propose promotional strategies focused on rural cultural products, that disseminate the sites and activities considered heritage by the community, and that the inhabitants are willing to share with visitors, so that local hosts are the ones who offer this service. The necessary strategies are the equal participation and involvement of women and men, the participation of students and academics in training courses and orientation to local service providers. These products face important challenges: they must differentiate themselves from others to build a unique local identity, and at the same time, form alliances with other local communities to create and strengthen local tourism products and services to create a complete touristic experience versus isolated experiences in individual communities. Achieving integration is essential for a successful project and the regional growth and development of the localities involved

Native bradyrhizobia isolated from Lupinus mariae-josephae possess an essential T3SS for symbiosis

Analysis of the genome sequence of bradyrhizobia strains isolated from root nodules of Lupinus mariae-josephae revealed the presence of a type III secretion system (T3SS). Mutagenesis of ttsI gene that codes for the transcriptional activator (TtsI) resulted in the formation of white, non-fixing nodules in L. mariae-josephae. The T3SS cluster includes a gene coding for a NopE-like protein with an autocleavage motif. The NopE protein is an effector in the Bradyrhizobium-soybean symbiosis (Wenzel et al., 2010). The autocatalytic properties of the purified NopE-like protein have been studied