Search results for " Models"
showing 10 items of 4240 documents
Host-Nonspecific Iron Acquisition Systems and Virulence in the Zoonotic Serovar of Vibrio vulnificus
2014
ABSTRACT The zoonotic serovar of Vibrio vulnificus (known as biotype 2 serovar E) is the etiological agent of human and fish vibriosis. The aim of the present work was to discover the role of the vulnibactin- and hemin-dependent iron acquisition systems in the pathogenicity of this zoonotic serovar under the hypothesis that both are host-nonspecific virulence factors. To this end, we selected three genes for three outer membrane receptors ( vuuA , a receptor for ferric vulnibactin, and hupA and hutR , two hemin receptors), obtained single and multiple mutants as well as complemented strains, and tested them in a series of in vitro and in vivo assays, using eels and mice as animal models. Th…
Vertical take-off and landing air transport to provide tourist mobility.
2012
Abstract This paper examines helicopter transfer services to reach attractive and not very accessible tourist areas, taking Sicily and its minor islands, in the South of Italy, as a case study. We investigate the viability of helicopter scheduled services for tourists moving from/to airports or doing one day tours to visit far away places. The mode choice of tourists is simulated using random utility models employing stated preference data. Heli-shuttle service is planned in terms of fleet size, frequency, fare and location pattern of heliports. The paper also analyses how a public subsidy reducing fares might change the set of feasible connections.
Systemic Development of Service Innovation
2015
This chapter explores the intrinsic characteristics of services and service systems and presents systemic approach to produce service innovations. The chapter consists of elaborating the characteristics of services and the principles of systemic development, discussing service matrixes, service systems, service strategies and business models, and special challenges related to the development of services and service innovations. Services are always produced in service systems consisting of combination of service personnel and information systems. Customers are involved in these systems by interacting with the front end of service organization. The key issue in service development and innovat…
Modeling Ordinal Item Responses via Binary GLMMs and Alternative Link Functions: An Application to Measurement of a Perceived Service Quality
2010
Evaluation of a service on the basis of consumer opinion is a widespread practice in many fields. The assessment of perceived quality [7] of a service is generally carried out through administration of a questionnaire, composed of several items with responses posed on an ordinal scale, whereby each item represents an important feature of the evaluated service [3, 7]. In this context, the aim is to evaluate something similar to the external effectiveness, that is the part of efficacy related to the satisfaction expressed by the service users for the provided service. A particular and important example of service users is represented by students’ responses measuring the perceived quality of s…
Sensitivity of Regional Water Supply Systems Models to the Level of Skeletonization – A Case Study from Apulia, Italy
2015
AbstractSimulation models supported by state-of-the-art software packages are nowadays available to explore operation rules of regional water supply systems or to select structural alternatives for improving long-term service performances.Given the, sometimes high, complexity of these systems, model calibration can become a lengthy procedure and many runs are necessary before obtaining convincing results. However, even after calibration, depending on system's complexity and the number of time steps investigated, a single run can take up to several minutes, even on state-of-the-art computers, so that simulation time can become a true bottleneck if such models are to be coupled with metaheuri…
Innovative public governance through cloud computing
2014
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze challenges and to discuss proposed solutions for innovative public governance through cloud computing. Innovative technologies, such as federation of services and cloud computing, can greatly contribute to the provision of e-government services, through scaleable and flexible systems. Furthermore, they can facilitate in reducing costs and overcoming public information segmentation. Nonetheless, when public agencies use these technologies, they encounter several associated organizational and technical changes, as well as significant challenges. Design/methodology/approach – We followed a multidisciplinary perspective (social, be…
Political Consumerism and Food Community Networks
2011
European society, with its steadily increased welfare levels, is not only concerned about food (safety, prices), but also on other aspects such as biodiversity loss, landscape degradation, pollution of water, soil and atmosphere. To a large extent these concerns can be translated into a wider concept named sustainable development defined as a normative concept by Morgan and Sonnino (2008). Sustainability in the food chain means approaching a new emerging vision of a sustainable agro-food system introducing an institutional dimension to take into account. Among different attempts to conjugate such concepts, there is one that is taking place in many Regions of Italy. In the last years spontan…
Estimation of chilling and heat requirements of six sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars
2022
Warmer winters without sufficient chilling due to climate change in Mediterranean regions represent a threat for deciduous fruit tree species such as sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) with high chilling requirement, since it will affect fruit tree phenology leading to dramatic yield reduction and fruit industry income loss. Quantifying chilling requirements to overcome winter dormancy is crucial for identifying suitable cultivars for a given site, for predicting the necessity and timing applications of rest-breaking chemicals and the possible consequences of climate change. The aim of the following study was to determine the chilling and heat requirements of six sweet cherry cultivars grown in…
Agro-hydrological models to schedule irrigation of Mediterranean tree crops
2010
In this paper a comparison between two agro-hydrological models, used to schedule irrigation of typical Mediterranean tree crops, is assessed. In particular the comparison between the model proposed by FAO, using a black box processes schematization, and the SWAP model based on the numerical analysis of Richards’ equation is initially presented for two irrigation seasons, 2005 and 2006, and two Mediterranean tree crops, i.e. grapevine (Vitis vinifera, L.) and olive oil (Olea europea, L.). The comparison mainly focuses on hydrological balance components and on soil water contents. After investigating and setting the scheduling parameters ordinarily practiced by the framers in the area (i.e o…