Search results for " selection"

Gaining Competitive Advantage through Standardization and Differentiation of Services

2015

The goal of the paper is to study the question of whether or not differences between cultural groups influence the decision of a consumer wishing to avail himself of a particular service. Therefore we have developed a semiotic extension of the means-end approach as the theoretical basis for elaborating a solution to this problem. The conjoint analysis specifies the results of the meansend analysis.

Design and optimisation of an innovative two-hub-and-spoke network for the Mediterranean short-sea-shipping market

2020

Abstract Short Sea Shipping (SSS) is generally considered as a privileged transport mode in terms of reducing road congestion and related external costs. In the last two decades, SSS has attracted a lot of attention in the European Union, where it is also regarded as a key factor for economic and social cohesion between countries. In this regard, the present study proposes a new network design that aims at improving and increasing freight traffic between the north-western and the south-eastern shores of the Mediterranean Basin. The proposed model, designed for Ro-Ro (Roll-on Roll-off) freight transport, tries to overcome the limits of the existing multi-port-calling services through an inno…

INTRA-CULTIVAR DIVERSITY IN SOUTHERN ITALY OLIVE CULTIVARS DEPICTED BY MORPHOLOGICAL TRAITS AND SSR MARKERS

2014

In this study, SSR analysis was performed on a large number of putative clones of the main olive cultivars from two Italian regions, Sicily and Calabria, in order to study the genetic relatedness, and to detect any degree of genetic diversity, which can be used to unambiguously identify possible superior clones. These putative clones have been collected and observed in the last ten years, following an extensive investigation carried out in traditional olive growing areas, thanks to the reports of farmers, millers, technician, growers and nurseries. The set of microsatellite (SSR) markers used allowed the detection of the genetic diversity, resulting from somatic mutation, indicating the pre…

Intra-cultivar Diversity in sicilian and calabrian olive (olea europaea L.) Cultivars Depicted by Morphological Traits and SSR Markers

2012

In this study, SSR analysis was performed on a large number of putative clones of the main olive cultivars from two Italian regions, Sicily and Calabria, in order to study the genetic relatedness, and to detect any degree of genetic diversity, which can be used to unambiguously identify possible superior clones. These putative clones have been collected and observed in the last ten years, following an extensive investigation carried out in traditional olive growing areas, thanks to the reports of farmers, millers, technician, growers and nurseries. The set of microsatellite (SSR) markers used allowed the detection of the genetic diversity, resulting from somatic mutation, indicating the pre…

Il settore dell’olivicoltura da tavola in Italia: Situazione e prospettive

2020

Table olive Industry in Italy The Italian table olive industry is almost completely located in the southern regions: Sicily and Apulia together account for about two thirds of the entire national production. “Nocellara del Belice”, “Nocellara etnea”, “Bella di Cerignola”, “Ascolana” and “Itrana” are the leading cultivars, together with a large number of other local traditional varieties, often utilised for a double purpose (table olives and oil production). Although Italy is nowadays largely dependent (more than 50%) on importations from other countries (mainly Spain, Greece and Morocco) the domestic production has been declining in the last thirty years and currently accounts for about 2-3…

Behavioral responses of the parasitoid Melittobia digitata to volatiles emitted by its natural and laboratory hosts

2010

Responses of macropterous females of the ectoparasitoid Melittobia digitata Dahms (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) to direct and indirect cues emitted by its natural hosts as well as laboratory hosts were investigated using a Y-tube olfactometer. To locate the nest ofmud dauber wasps, Trypoxylon politum Say (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae), and one of their inquilines, Anthrax spec., parasitoids exploit volatiles from the freshly built nest mud and the empty cocoon constructed by the wasps, as well as their meconium. However, the parasitoids did not respond to odors emitted by older nest mud or by the host stages that are attacked (T. politum prepupae and Anthrax spec. larvae). Melittobia digitata was n…

Evolution and functional differentiation of recently diverged phytochelatin synthase genes from Arundo donax L.

2019

Plant phytochelatin synthases undergo evolutionarily rapid functional differentiation after duplication, allowing fast and precise adjustment of metal detoxification capacity by modulation of both transcription and enzymatic activity.

Avian brood parasitism in the new and old worlds

Nest attendance, extended phenotype and social selection in multispecies colonies

2017

Colonial species interact not only with conspecifics but often with other species nesting in the same site. The effect of conspecific traits have been measured recently with a multilevel selection analysis, but the effect of social traits of heterospecifics on individual fitness remain unquantified. We recorded nest attendance effort of two species, lesser kestrels (Falco naumanni) and jackdaws (Corvus monedula), nesting on the Gela Plain (Sicily, Italy). Both species are secondary-cavity nesters breeding in abandoned rural buildings where they form single-species or mixed-species colonies. By correlating reproductive success as a measure of fitness to conspecific and heterospecific nest at…

Scuba diver behaviour and its effects on the biota of a Mediterranean marine protected area

2009

The effects of diving activity in different Mediterranean subtidal habitats are scarcely known. This study evaluates diver behaviour (for example time spent in each habitat), use (contacts made with the substrate) and immediate effects of diver contact on benthic species in a marine protected area (MPA) in Sicily. Over a two-year period, intentions of 105 divers were observed within seven subtidal habitats: algae on horizontal substrate, algae on vertical substrate, Posidonia oceanica, encrusted walls, caves, sand and pebbles. Divers selected a habitat in proportion to its availability along the scuba trail. On average, each diver made 2.52 contacts every seven minutes, and no differences w…