Search results for "SAMPLE"
showing 10 items of 2270 documents
Assessing persistent organic pollutants (POPS) in the sicily island atmosphere, mediterranean, using PUF disk passive air samplers
2016
In this study, PUF disk passive air samplers were deployed at eight sites, during two sampling periods, on the Island of Sicily in the Mediterranean basin. Samples were screened for a number of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (n = 28 congeners), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) (n = 16 compounds), and polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs n = 28) using GC-MS. PCB concentrations in air ranged ~10-300 pg m-3. The PCB pattern was dominated by lower to middle molecular weight PCBs (Cl3-5) and PCB-28 and PCB-52 were the most abundant congeners. α- and γ-Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) concentrations in air were relatively high ~420 ± 320 (50-1000) an…
Contrasting quality of service experience for northern and southern Mediterranean tourists
2015
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine quality of service experience as reported by tourists in seven northern and southern Mediterranean cities. Design/methodology/approach – A self-report study was used to gather data from 1,362 tourists. Once validity of Otto and Ritchie’s (1996) scale had been confirmed, ANOVA and the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test were used to analyse the data. Findings – Tourists in all destinations highlighted the importance of the dimension peace of mind. Significant differences between tourists in the northern Mediterranean and those in the southern Mediterranean were observed in two quality of service experience dimensions: hedonics and involvement…
Perspectives on the Impact of Sampling Design and Intensity on Soil Microbial Diversity Estimates
2019
Soil bacterial communities have long been recognized as important ecosystem components, and have been the focus of many local and regional studies. However, there is a lack of data at large spatial scales, on the biodiversity of soil microorganisms; national or more extensive studies to date have typically consisted of low replication of haphazardly collected samples. This has led to large spatial gaps in soil microbial biodiversity data. Using a pre-existing dataset of bacterial community composition across a 16-km regular sampling grid in France, we show that the number of detected OTUs changes little under different sampling designs (grid, random, or representative), but increases with t…
Bactericidal activity of human milk: stability during storage
2016
Human milk provides infants with defensive factors against many illnesses. This study aims to analyse global bactericidal activity in fresh human milk and evaluate its stability in relation to milk manipulation and its possible alteration following refrigeration. Nineteen milk samples (mature milk) from 19 healthy women are analysed. Viability testing involving a strain of Escherichia coli NCTC 9111, serovar O111:K58(B4):H- was used to determine the bactericidal effect of human milk. Degree of bacteriolysis is calculated as the difference between E. coli counts in controls and in milk samples, expressed as a percentage of the control sample counts. An evaluation of the effect of refrigerati…
Early Diagnosis of Acanthamoeba Infection during Routine Cytological Examination of Cerebrospinal Fluid
2006
ABSTRACT Early identification of Acanthamoeba in cerebrospinal fluid is mandatory to prevent fatal granulomatous amebic encephalitis. In the case presented here amebic trophozoites were detected in a routine cerebrospinal fluid sample. The antibiotic treatment and the apparently low virulence of this isolate were responsible for the benign progression of the infection.
Importance of dogs as sentinels of West Nile Virus activity in urban and suburban areas
2012
Background: West Nile Virus (WNV) is a virus included in the Japanese encephalitis sero-complex within the genus Flavivirus. In August 2010, cases of West Nile disease were reported for the first time in Sicily. Neurological symptomswere observed in native horses resident in the rural areas around the province of Trapani, in the western part of the island. During the epidemic, important critical questions onwhen the viruswas introduced in the area and aboutwhether the virus had circulated/was circulating in theurban area, emerged and needed to be answered. A retrospective study using dog serum samples was designed to answer these questions. Methods: Between January 2009 and September 2010, …
Returns to scale in a matching model: evidence from disaggregated panel data
2005
The returns to scale in the matching function play an important role in models with endogenous search effort. Due to positive externalities, increasing returns to scale in matching can support high or low activity equilibrium in the labour market. In this study, we examine this issue using panel data from Finnish employment offices. The study finds that the results from the Cobb–Douglas and translog specification are qualitatively different. The CD specification of the matching function exhibits constant returns to scale. The translog specification, in turn, exhibits increasing returns to scale. The elasticity estimate for returns, using the preferred specification and minimum and maximum s…
Determining the indicators of social capital theory to social network sites
2014
The authors theoretical research provided a framework to define and measure social capital in social network sites. This paper determining with a qualitative method the theoretical dimensions of this framework. The result of this paper is the explanation of social capital theory in social network sites under the consideration of the identified indicators. The sample for this case is students, and the research needs further confirmation by other samples and methods. But this paper gives a first interesting insight in social network sites explained with the social capital theory and provides a first guidance for further research projects.
The validity of collective climates
1999
The objective of this study is to test the validity of the collective climate concept. It was expected that membership in collective climates was related to membership in the collectivities defined by departmental membership, hierarchical level, shift, job location and organizational tenure. The study sample was composed of 195 employees from a central administration agency. Using a combination of hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering methods, three different collective climates were obtained. The results showed that only hierarchical level was related to collective climate membership. Based on all the results obtained, the debate on the validity of collective climates is reconsidere…
Exploring Microfinance Clients with Disabilities: A Case Study of an Ecuadorian Microbank
2016
AbstractUsing a unique sample from an Ecuadorian microfinance institution that has focused on increasing its outreach to disabled clients, we present a comparative analysis of the characteristics of disabled versus non-disabled clients. The study shows that disabled clients are more often male, are less likely to be living with a partner, have fewer children, and are older compared to their non-disabled counterparts. Moreover, we observe differences in repayment statistics between clients with and without disabilities, as well as differences within the disability sample. Our findings illustrate the importance of adapting microloans to the special needs of persons with disabilities.