Search results for "Excellence"
showing 10 items of 123 documents
Fine‐grain beta diversity of Palaearctic grassland vegetation
2021
QUESTIONS: Which environmental factors influence fine-grain beta diversity of vegetation and do they vary among taxonomic groups? LOCATION: Palaearctic biogeographic realm. METHODS: We extracted 4,654 nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes between 0.0001 m² and 1,024 m² from the GrassPlot database, covering a wide range of different grassland and other open habitat types. We derived extensive environmental and structural information for these series. For each series and four taxonomic groups (vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, all), we calculated the slope parameter (z-value) of the power law species–area relationship (SAR), as a beta diversity measure. We tested whe…
Predators' consumption of unpalatable prey does not vary as a function of bitter taste perception
2020
Many prey species contain defensive chemicals that are described as tasting bitter. Bitter taste perception is, therefore, assumed to be important when predators are learning about prey defenses. However, it is not known how individuals differ in their response to bitter taste, and how this influences their foraging decisions. We conducted taste perception assays in which wild-caught great tits (Parus major) were given water with increasing concentrations of bitter-tasting chloroquine diphosphate until they showed an aversive response to bitter taste. This response threshold was found to vary considerably among individuals, ranging from chloroquine concentrations of 0.01 mmol/L to 8 mmol/L.…
How selection of collaborating partners impact on the green performance of global businesses? An empirical study of green sustainability
2020
In recent days, both collaboration and sustainability have become an integral part of many global supply chains to achieve business excellence. Although previous literature and actual practices confirmed the successful implementation of sustainability practices through supply chain collaborations, it is not clear how collaborating partners can support financial and environmental performance, and hence strengthen the partnership performance in the global supply chains. To address this practice-based research question, we test the theoretical underpinning of suppliers and logistics partners in relation to required skills selection. We capture the depth of interdependencies in collaborations f…
Strategies for structuring interdisciplinary education in Systems Biology: an European perspective
2016
Systems Biology is an approach to biology and medicine that has the potential to lead to a better understanding of how biological properties emerge from the interaction of genes, proteins, molecules, cells and organisms. The approach aims at elucidating how these interactions govern biological function by employing experimental data, mathematical models and computational simulations. As Systems Biology is inherently multidisciplinary, education within this field meets numerous hurdles including departmental barriers, availability of all required expertise locally, appropriate teaching material and example curricula. As university education at the Bachelor’s level is traditionally built upon…
Pasta experience: Eating with the five senses - a pilot study
2018
Dried pasta is the Italian food “par excellence”. Traditional foods have characteristics that can stimulate or evoke in the consumer sensorial stimuli and experiences, especially when these foods are consumed in a typical-traditional restaurant. Traditional restaurants can use sensory marketing as a promotional advantage, creating a unique and original atmosphere that can represent their main way of differentiation. The aims of this paper are to know consumer liking with regard to two high quality types of Sicilian pasta, common dried pasta, and whole-wheat pasta, consumed in three different venues of a typical-traditional Italian franchised restaurant, and to measure the influence of envir…
Text mining and expert curation to develop a database on psychiatric diseases and their genes
2017
Psychiatric disorders constitute one of the main causes of disability worldwide. During the past years, considerable research has been conducted on the genetic architecture of such diseases, although little understanding of their etiology has been achieved. The difficulty to access up-to-date, relevant genotype-phenotype information has hampered the application of this wealth of knowledge to translational research and clinical practice in order to improve diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric patients. PsyGeNET (http://www.psygenet.org/) has been developed with the aim of supporting research on the genetic architecture of psychiatric diseases, by providing integrated and structured accessi…
Galerías de «mujeres ilustres» o el sinuoso camino de la excepción a la norma cotidiana (ss. XV-XVIII).
2000
Between the fifteenth and the eighteenth centuries, collections of «illustrious women» were a very widely spread genre all over Europe. Humanistic and courtly in their origins, they were linked to the discourse of women´s «excellence» and they transmitted the values of privilege and aristocratic ethics. At the same time, they showed ambivalent, disturbing and powerful images of «women on top». The fact that its popularity seems to have increased during the eighteenth century and that they took more widespread forms such as articles in the periodicals raises interesting questions about the meanings those images, opposed in many ways to Enlightenment values and attitudes, could have for eight…
Culturas de escola e excelência: entre a integração de todos e a distinção dos melhores
2018
Sem perder de vista a multidimensionalidade inerente aos percursos escolares, este texto procura refletir sobre a importância dos fatores organizacionais na construção dos resultados académicos. O enfoque incide sobre as dimensões intra-escolares, designadamente os efeitos da cultura de escola (nas suas diferentes facetas) e dos processos de liderança sobre a socialização dos estudantes. Optando por uma linha de pesquisa reflexiva, procura-se compreender os processos de construção de habitus (no sentido de Bourdieu) e os sistemas de disposições (na ótica de Lahire) estruturadores da cultura organizacional de escola. Do ponto de vista metodológico recorre-se a dados recolhidos no âmbito de u…
Effect of organizational features on patient satisfaction with care in Italian multiple sclerosis centres
2017
Background and purpose Receiving clear, complete and up-to-date information and having a satisfying relationship with the health professional (HP) are of primary importance for MS patients. Healthcare organization plays a key role in promoting an effective relationship and communication between patients and HPs. The present study aims to explore which care organization and service characteristics provided by Italian MS centres best predict patients’ satisfaction with healthcare. Methods Eighty-one centres and 707 patients (502 women, mean age 40.5 years, SD 10.2; mean education 12.2 years, SD 3.6; time since diagnosis 5.9 years, SD 1.5) were included in the analysis. The care organization a…
Blue Optical Observations of Narrow Bipolar Events by ASIM Suggest Corona Streamer Activity in Thunderstorms
2020
While narrow bipolar events (NBEs) could be related with lightning initiation, their intrinsic physics remains in question. Here we report on optical measurements by the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) on the International Space Station (ISS) of blue flashes associated with NBEs. They are observed in a narrow blue band centered at 337 nm, with no simultaneous activity at 777.4 nm, considered a strong lightning emission line. From radio waves measured from the ground, we find that 7 of 10 single-pulse blue events can be identified as positive NBEs. The source altitudes estimated from optical and radio signals agree and indicate that the sources of the blue flashes are located be…