Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2024-10-28"
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- On the identity of the elusive pantherine from the Algar da Manga Larga, Portugal: a computed tomographic study of inner cranial cavitiesPublication . Estraviz-López, Dario; Jiangzuo, Q.; Madurell-Malapeira, J.; Cardoso, João Luis; Rios, M.; Grandal-d'Anglade, A.The pantherine partial skeleton from the Algar da Manga Larga (MG1355.0001-9), was discovered at the Natural Park of Serras d´Aire e Candeeiros and published in 2006. It comprises a nearly complete cranium and mandible, a damaged distal half of right humerus, a complete left metacarpal III, proximal epiphyses of left metacarpals II and IV and three damaged cervical vertebrae. The nearly pristine conservation of the skull makes it a perfect candidate for the virtual reconstruction of the cranial cavities. Both cranium and hemimandibles were scanned through a medical CT-scan. The resulting data was segmented with the help of the software 3DSlicer 5.6.1 in order to virtually extract the endocast (cerebrum + cerebellum + brain stem). This was a time-consuming process due to the clay adhered to the inner walls of the cranium, which obscured the real volume of the cranial cavity, as well as the collapsed bone in some areas of the interior of the cranium. The resulting endocast of the leopard of Manga Larga has been preliminary morphologically compared with the endocast of a modern African leopard, revealing some interesting differences in the overall structure. The Manga Larga specimen presents a dorso-ventral torsion of the telencephalon relative to the brain stem, while the modern African leopard presents a more antero-posteriorly straight brain cavity, revealing also a relatively more ventral position of the foramen magnum in the specimen from Manga Larga. Further work on this specimen is necessary to clarify the implications of these differences, including the virtual reconstruction of the frontal sinuses, the study of the cranial and postcranial skeleton with both traditional and geometric morphometrics and the use molecular techniques to clarify its age and details about its ecology.
- From mass marketing to personalized digital marketing in tourism: a 2050 horizon paperPublication . Kozak, Metin; Correia, AntóniaPurpose - The academic background of tourism marketing dates back to the 1960s. There had been a slight increase in its capacity until the early 1990s. However, since then, it has boomed, reaching thousands of scientific journal articles and tens of scientific books published only in English each year. Therefore, this study aims to present how tourism marketing has progressed academically within the past 60 years over four waves and how this progress may move forward as the next wave. Design/methodology/approach - A bibliometric analysis grounds this study, which characterizes the past and present of tourism marketing research and anticipates the future. Content analysis, such as word clouds and social network analysis, was adopted to identify topic clusters and their connections. A total of 9,239 articles published between 1969 and 2024 were extracted from Scopus. Software packages such as VOSviewer were used to determine connections within topics. Findings - The authors have assessed the findings broadly. Four waves were from the late 1960s to the first quarter of 2000. In spite of the limited size of papers at the early stage, the last wave saw a boom and a diversified number and category of subjects studied. In each wave, new subjects were added to broaden the picture. Research limitations/implications - The discussion of findings is based only on those scientific papers published in English since 1969 but excludes the whole list of textbooks. Subsequent research should also consider all papers and textbooks released in different languages to have the broadest picture assessment worldwide. Practical implications - The study conveys various suggestions for industry practitioners and policymakers to focus on carefully assessing trends in marketing tourism services and how these may be shaped shortly. This may help practitioners and policymakers redesign their services and marketing strategies in light of future developments. Originality/value - This study continues a recent study published by Kozak (2023) that has been elaborated, particularly from the industry perspective. The current study examines the academic profile of all subjects investigated in the case of tourism marketing, but mainly in an academic sense. Accordingly, this paper outlines the facts and trends researchers may follow throughout the research frame published in the past six decades.
- X-tackling the path to closure: post-endoscopic submucosal dissection defect resolution strategiesPublication . Neves, João A. Cunha; Chaves, Jéssica; Ribeiro, Mário Dinis; Libânio, DiogoMucosal defect closure after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) may reduce the likelihood of delayed bleeding and perforation [1]. Several devices are currently available for the closure of mucosal defects, including through-the-scope (TTS) and over-the-scope (OTS) clips, and OTS endoscopic suturing devices. However, defect closure can be technically demanding, with TTS clips typically limited to defects up to 20 mm, whereas OTS clips and suturing equipment require endoscope removal for device placement. More recently, the X-Tack Endoscopic HeliX Tacking System™, a novel TTS suturing device, has emerged as a potential tool for overcoming technical issues related to previous closure devices. We present 2 cases of gastric post-ESD defect closure with X-Tack, highlighting the technical challenges and main steps required to achieve high-quality closure without exposed submucosal tissue.
- The contribution of tourism experiences to eudaimonic well-being: insight from Generation ZPublication . Bagheri, Fatemeh; Martins Guerreiro, Maria Manuela; Pinto, Patrícia; Ghaderi, ZahedDespite the growing interest in exploring the tourism experiences of Generation Z and their significant influence on the tourism industry, there is a dearth of investigation into the eudaimonic consequences of tourism among this cohort. Eudaimonic well-being refers to understanding yourself, having a meaningful life, and actively pursuing excellence. Drawing on the psychological well-being approach, this study explores how Generation Z describes the long-term eudaimonic effects of tourism experiences in their lifetime. The qualitative findings reveal seven key themes that elucidate the eudaimonic dimensions of travel experiences among Generation Z, categorised into three more general and interconnected groups: individual characteristics, interpersonal experiences, and societal influences. The seven central themes include authentic self-development, mastery of challenges, interpersonal bonds, spirituality and mindfulness, future professional advancement, conscientiousness, and hedonic happiness. This study advances existing eudaimonic well-being frameworks and contributes to 'tourism and well-being'. Additionally, implications for tourism academics and practitioners are provided.
- Accessible trail tourism: trail accessibility and difficulty rating approach designed for individuals, including with mobility impairmentsPublication . Lukoseviciute, Goda; Nelson, Mark AndrewThis study introduces a novel approach to trail accessibility and difficulty rating tailored specifically for individuals, including those with mobility impairments, aiming to promote accessible trail tourism. Grounded in theoretical frameworks of inclusive outdoor recreation, equality, and complex adaptive systems, the proposed rating system incorporates criteria addressing physical access, terrain challenges, and amenities to accommodate diverse user needs. This study employed a sensor technology, called wheeled instrumentation sensor package (WISP) within the framework of the high‐efficiency trail assessment process (HETAP) to develop a new quantitatively based trail classification scheme. A case study trail and two hypothetical synthetic data trails were used to demonstrate both the trail wheelchair accessibility binary classification approach and the proposed trail difficulty classification approach. This research pioneers trail accessibility and difficulty rating and underscores the importance of integrating accessibility considerations into trail management practices to create truly inclusive outdoor recreational experiences.
- Estudo numérico da influência de jatos confluentes verticais no conforto térmico e qualidade do arPublication . Souza, Rodrigo Figueiredo de; Conceição, Eusébio Z. E.O presente trabalho apresenta um estudo numérico e experimental relativamente à influência de jatos confluentes verticais no conforto e qualidade do ar para habitáculos de veículos direcionados ao transporte de passageiros, onde sua geometria pode ser utilizada em vagão de comboio, aeronaves ou autocarros. O habitáculo em estudo foi desenvolvido tendo em consideração dezesseis passageiros, sendo organizados em dois grupos iguais dando espaço a um corredor ao centro do habitáculo. O ambiente é composto por um banco para cada passageiro e duas mesas posicionadas ao centro do habitáculo. O sistema de ventilação do habitáculo possui oito conjuntos de jatos de insuflação (Jatos Confluentes Verticais), sendo posicionados quatro deles rente a parede esquerda e os outros quatro rente a parede direita, cada jato localizado a frente dos ocupantes, próximo a zona de respiração. Neste trabalho é avaliado a eficiência dos jatos no nível de conforto, nomeadamente a qualidade do ar e níveis de resfriamento local devido a velocidade do ar. Neste estudo foram utilizados métodos numéricos para determinar o comportamento do ar no interior das condutas e modelo numérico CFD para avaliar o escoamento de ar em todo o habitáculo. Houve a realização de ensaios experimentais no intuito de validação do moledo CFD, sendo desenvolvido a geometria da malha CFD em escala real de forma similar em uma câmara climática para que seja analisado comparativamente resultados obtidos numericamente e experimentalmente. Foi concluído que os modelos numéricos apresentam uma previsão do comportamento do fluido similar ao comportamento real, tanto para escoamento do ar, como para taxa de renovações do ar. Também foi concluído que o sistema de ventilação por jatos confluentes verticais proporciona uma distribuição do ar de maneira uniforme e uma renovação do ar ambiente de maneira ascendente, mas que o sistema de ventilação é insuficiente para o número de ocupantes, com um caudal volúmico de ar suficiente apenas para três pessoas.
- Development and optimization of seaweed cultivation in IMTAPublication . Soares, Jéni Cândido; Quintã, Raquel; Santos, RuiIn aquaculture, discharges of wastewater from fed species can lead to eutrophication of the receiving aquatic environment. The nutrient-rich wastewater can be reused in Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), which enhances cultivation efficiency by combining species from different trophic levels to minimize waste. The macroalgae have numerous benefits, and their cultivation in aquaculture wastewater results in more sustainable and profitable aquaculture. This study involved two experiments. The first evaluated the effect of cultivation density and method (with and without substrate – 2 mm twisted nylon twine) on growth of Codium tomentosum and Halopteris scoparia under controlled conditions (18°C, light intensity of 70- 100 μmol photons m-2 s -1 , with a 12:12 photoperiod) over six weeks. The second evaluated the cultivation and bioremediation potential of H. scoparia in an IMTA system, analyzing the effect of four cultivation densities (5, 10, 15, and 20 g/L) over nine weeks. In the first experiment, both cultivation methods and species experienced significant contamination by epiphytic algae. In tumble cultivation, C. tomentosum had a higher SGR at 4 g/L, while 8 g/L had a higher average yield. H. scoparia showed higher SGR and yield at 2 g/L but greater average length at 4 g/L. Regarding substrate cultivation, according to visual observation, there may have been attachment of C. tomentosum; however, longer cultivation is required to confirm it. In contrast, H. scoparia did not demonstrate attachment or development of new individuals from spores. In H. scoparia cultivation within an IMTA system, the lowest densities (5 and 10 g/L) had the highest average SGR and yield but also a higher presence of epiphytic algae, potentially explaining the increased values. These densities also showed significantly higher N-yield. In contrast, the higher densities (15 and 20 g/L) had a significantly higher C:N ratio, suggesting nitrogen limitations that may have affected growth.