Search results for "EBS"
showing 10 items of 270 documents
Chronic alcohol feeding induces biochemical, histological, and functional alterations in rat retina.
2008
Aims: Ethanol consumption originates a wide spectrum of disorders, including alteration of visual function. Oxidative stress is included among the mechanisms by which alcohol predisposes nervous tissue to injury. Retina, which is the neurosensorial eye tissue, is particularly sensitive to oxidative stress. Methods: In this study we analyze the effect of long-term alcohol consumption on oxidative stress parameters of the rat retina, and its correlation to retinal function, as well as to the expression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. We also study the protective effect of ebselen, a synthetic selenoorganic antioxidant. Results: Herein we show that ethanol has a toxic effect on rat retina …
Effect of Divalent Cations on the Contractile Response of Rat Aorta to Depolarization before and after Nifedipine Treatment
1996
The influence of the divalent cations, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Ba2+, on the contractile response of the rat aorta to KCl and on the recovery of this response after nifedipine treatment was analyzed. KCl (80 mmol/l) promoted a two-phase (phasic and tonic) contractile response in Krebs solution but, as expected, no contractile response in Ca(2+)-free medium. In Mg(2+)-free medium, the phasic response to KCl was unaffected but the tonic one decreased slowly, suggesting that a long incubation time in the absence of Mg2+ (65 min) promotes a loss of or a change in the intracellular distribution of this ion that modifies Ca2+ entry through L channels or Ca2+ handling. Ba2+ (1.8 mmol/l) contracted the rat a…
The quality of websites and their impact on economic performance: The case of nurseries and gardening companies in the Italian 'Mezzogiorno' regions
2014
The aim of this paper is to examine the quality of websites and the entrepreneurial perception of the importance of the website to improve the business performance in nurseries and gardening companies adopting web-marketing strategies. On this purpose, the paper firstly analyses which structural features enable a potential website to be labelled as 'good'; the awareness of these aspects is pivotal to define effective web-marketing solutions. Secondly, it examines whether the plant nursery entrepreneurs perceive the company website as a tool of additional sales able to increase the firm turnover. The results show that the websites are well framed and with a well-groomed design, but lacking i…
Small and medium enterprises web page design: a qualitative study
2012
The present paper is based on the results of seven consumer focus groups developed in Spain. The results are interpreted using an ethnographic summary of each focus group (qualitative approach) and a systematic coding procedure (quantitative approach). The research pursued two major objectives. Firstly, to identify the key design variables for building a successful transactional small and medium enterprises (SME) website. Secondly, the transactional relevance of each key design variable was tested in order to establish priorities according to Spanish online buyers’ preferences. The findings indicate that a SME transactional website should have three main strong points: 1 it must be secure 2…
Effects of message appeal and service type in CSR communication strategies
2015
Abstract Studies highlight the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for companies' stakeholders. Consumers, however, are often unaware of such initiatives. Understanding how to effectively communicate socially responsible initiatives is an important challenge for both researchers and managers, who invest considerable resources in CSR initiatives. This study examines consumers' responses to two types of CSR initiatives (environment-related and employee-based) using two types of message appeals (emotional and rational) across two service types (hedonic and utilitarian). Responses provide data on consumers' awareness of CSR initiatives, attitudes toward the company, perceived co…
Website design and e-consumer: effects and responses
2007
This research is focused on the study of the effects of different web layouts ? related to navigational structure and presentation of products ? on internal and behavioural consumer responses within an online shopping situation. Moreover, in our model we have introduced two types of variables ? involvement and atmospheric responsiveness ? which mediate the relationships between the constructs analysed. A website and a tracking behaviour methodology for a fictitious apparel retailer have been developed in order to carry out a 2?2 between-subjects experimental study. Our results show that if web marketers design stores without restrictive navigation cues (offering, in consequence, freedom of …
Relaxation of wet paper by simulations and laboratory-scale experiments
2009
Numerical studies of fiber networks and experiments on wet paper show that tensile force relaxes linearly as a function of logarithmic time. Relaxation rate is faster for wet than dry paper. Simulated permanent deformation after relaxation is clearly higher than that measured in wet paper.
Powder metallurgy processing and deformation characteristics of bulk multimodal nickel
2014
cited By 7; International audience; Spark plasma sintering was used to process bulk nickel samples from a blend of three powder types. The resulting multimodal microstructure was made of coarse (average size ∼ 135 μm) spherical microcrystalline entities (the core) surrounded by a fine-grained matrix (average grain size ∼ 1.5 μm) or a thick rim (the shell) distinguishable from the matrix. Tensile tests revealed yield strength of ∼ 470 MPa that was accompanied by limited ductility (∼ 2.8% plastic strain). Microstructure observation after testing showed debonding at interfaces between the matrix and the coarse entities, but in many instances, shallow dimples within the rim were observed indica…
Enabling the full participation of university students with disabilities: seeking best practices for a barrier-free language centre
2015
Recent research has shown that 3.4% of university students in Finland have a diagnosed or observed illness or disability that affects their learning at the university level. The University of Jyväskylä Language Centre embarked on an organised, ongoing research and intervention project to enable appropriate teaching practices to suit the needs of all students. The process, thus far, has shown there is a need to clarify the rights and obligations of students and teachers to enable an atmosphere of mutual trust. A survey of the Language Centre teachers showed that all had taught students with disabilities during their university careers. Teachers wanted more information about disabilities, suc…
Analysis of the trophic role of Mediterranean seagrasses in marine coastal ecosystems: a review
2009
Abstract Seagrasses form high-productivity coastal ecosystems, providing habitats for many organisms, including species of commercial value. They play a significant role as a direct food source for herbivores and also enter detrital food webs. In this review, the trophic ecology of Mediterranean seagrass ecosystems is revised, with major emphasis on Posidonia oceanica, the most extensively studied seagrass. The major topics are the role of herbivory and detritus, the contribution to littoral fish production, exportation to other ecosystems and the seagrass role as a vector of anthropogenic nutrients into food webs. Topics are discussed by analysing both conventional knowledge and new insigh…