Brand equity in the Pakistani hotel industry

Brand equity is considered as the most important aspect of branding, which is a set of brands' assets and liabilities, its symbol or name that subtracts from or adds the value provided by a product or service to a firm and customers. The current research endeavor was to identify the interrelationship of customer-based brand equity dimensions (brand awareness, brand loyalty, brand image, and service quality) in Pakistani hotel industry. Data was collected from 821 consumers who experienced the services of Pakistani five star hotels from multiple locations. Mediating regression and stepwise regression analyses were applied for investigation of study hypotheses. Results pointed out positive and significant influences of service quality on all other dimensions of brand equity whereas partial mediations were endorsed among the variables. Researchers and practitioners implications are discussed.

Current trends in the global tourism industry: evidence from the United States

Tourism is one of the largest U.S. industries, serving millions of international and domestic tourists yearly. Tourists visit the U.S. to see natural wonders, cities, historic landmarks, and entertainment venues. Americans seek similar attractions as well as recreation and vacation areas. Tourism competes in the global market, so it is important to understand current trends in the U.S. travel industry. Therefore, this article offers insight into important trends and suggests strategies for policy makers involved in the travel and tourism industry.

Public health and the knowledge industry

Knowledge plays an important role in health care. The production and diffusion of health-related knowledge are increasingly under the control of private commercial interests, which are characterized by conflicts of interests that result in abuses of power. Considerable research has been done on the medical-industrial complex and its role in the production of power imbalances and the consequent abuses, but little attention has been dedicated to the role played by the publishing industry, which can be subject to the same problems. The widely diffused idea that "frequent and major changes" occur in medicine, albeit unsupported by clearcut evidence, is an effective marketing tool for both the pharmaceutical and publishing industries, who feed and thrive on physicians' insecurities. The production and distribution of knowledge should be addressed as a strategic component of public health.

SURVIVAL CAPACITY OF Arcobacter butzleri INOCULATED IN POULTRY MEAT AT TWO DIFFERENT REFRIGERATION TEMPERATURES

Arcobacter spp. are emerging enteropathogens and potential zoonotic agents that can be transmitted by food and water, being considered a public health risk. The high isolation rate of these bacteria from poultry products suggests that it may be a major source of human infections. One hallmark for differentiating the genus Arcobacter fromCampylobacter includes their growing capacity at low temperatures (15-30 °C) under aerobic conditions. However, little is known about the population density variation of these bacteria at different refrigeration temperatures. The aim of this study was to determine the survival behavior of two different Arcobacter butzleri concentrations (104 CFU/mL and 107 CFU/mL) inoculated on chicken legs and held at two different refrigeration temperatures (4 and 10 °C) throughout storage time. Results have shown that A. butzleri had growing capacity both at 4 and 10 °C. No statistical difference between the survival trends was found for both bacterial concentrations and temperatures tested. This study shows that A. butzleri is a robust species with regard to storage temperature, and represents a potential health risk for poultry meat consumers.

Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Acari, Macrochelidae) and a species of Uroseius (Acari, Polyaspididae) phoretic on Musca domestica (Diptera, Muscidae): effects on dispersal and colonization of poultry manure

Differences in the phoresy of the mites Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Scopoli, 1972) (Macrochelidae) and Uroseius sp. (Polyaspidae) on the house fly, Musca domestica (Linnaeus, 1758) and the similarities in their phoretic dispersal and parasitism are discussed, altogether with the effects on predator-prey interactions. The prevalence and intensity of phoresy in the mite species were significantly related to the attachment site on the hosts. The phoresy of Uroseius sp. was correlated with temperature but not with rainfall and relative humidity. Selective pressure in the environment resulted in displacement and the emergence of local and regional populations. These results suggest that in each habitat the populations will use different resources and will show several relationships with other species, as well as a selection for morphological and behavioral types.

Opportunities and constraints in schistosomiasis vaccine development: infection characteristics and industry realities

The notes provided in this article relate to two components of the development of vaccines against schistosomiasis: (1) The characteristics of schistosome infections (eg. features of the schistosome life cycle), and the parasite itself, that have implications for vaccination strategies; (2) The characteristics of the biopharmaceutical industry that have implications for product development. As will be seen, these two topic areas are not vastly disparate.

The interaction between Poultry and Triatoma infestans Klug, 1834 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in an experimental model

This paper compares the predation pressure that ducks and chickens exert on triatomines. For the tests, these birds were placed in individual boxes together with a known number of Triatoma infestans and left to interact from 6 p.m. till the next morning, involving a long lasting period of complete darkness limited by two short-term periods of semi-darkness. There was a shelter which could prevent the bugs from being predated. The number of live and dead triatomines was recorded, considering missing bugs as predated by the birds. Ducks exhibited a greater predatory activity than chickens, that could be due to a long term active period at night while chickens sleep motionless from sunset to dawn. Surviving triatomines that had fed on chickens outnumbered those fed on ducks suggesting that these were less accessible to the triatomine biting. If ducks are better than chickens to detect and eat bugs and to interfere with their feeding in the field, an increase in duck number might help to diminish triatomine density. Further research is needed to determine the feasibility of application of these experimental results.

Age structure and abundance in populations of muscoid flies from a poultry facility in Southeast Brazil

Muscina stabulans, M. domestica, Chrysomya putoria, C. megacephala and Stomoxys calcitrans were the most abundant muscoid flies captured in a poultry facility in southeastern Brazil. We examined the gonadotrophic profiles of the females caught at different sites and different times and found that Mu. stabulans and M. domestica, the predominant species, presented similar gonadotrophic profiles only when captured on the manure under the cages, but very different and sometimes opposite gonadotrophic profiles when sampled from wooden posts, vegetation or electric cords. We also determined sex ratios and relative abundance for these two species and found significant differences between them. More than 50% of the females of both species of Chrysomya captured on manure carried eggs or exhibited signs of recent oviposition. The vast majority of S. calcitrans presented ovaries with eggs or signs of recent oviposition. A small proportion of them had ovaries in the recent emerged condition. Our data on ovarian stages, sex ratio and relative abundance allowed us to associate different gonadotrophic profiles with each site and characterize each site as a resting, ovipositing or mating site.

Antimicrobial resistance profiles of enterococci isolated from poultry meat and pasteurized milk in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The enterococci are important nosocomial pathogens with a remarkable capacity of expressing resistance to several antimicrobial agents. Their ubiquitous nature and resistance to adverse environmental conditions take account for their ability to colonize different habitats and for their potential for easy spreading through the food chain. In the present study we evaluated the distribution of species and antimicrobial susceptibility among enterococcal isolates recovered from food obtained in retail stores in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The following species were identified among 167 isolates obtained from poultry meat and 127 from pasteurized milk: Enterococcus faecalis (62.6%), E. casseliflavus (17.3%), E. durans (6.5%), E. gallinarum (3.0%), E. gilvus (2.4%), E. faecium (2.0%), E. hirae (1.4%), and E. sulfureus (1.0%). The overall percentages of antimicrobial resistant isolates were: 31.2 % to tetracycline, 23.8% to erythromycin, 11.3% to streptomycin, 4.3% to chloramphenicol, 3.9% to gentamicin, 1.4% to norfloxacin, 1.1% to imipenem, 0.7% to ciprofloxacin, nitrofurantoin, and penicillin, and 0.4% to ampicillin. Intermediate resistance was detected in frequencies varying from 0.5% for linezolid to 58.2% for erythromycin. None of the isolates showed resistance to glycopeptides. High-level resistance to aminoglycosides was observed in 13.1% of the isolates. Multiresistance was observed in E. faecalis, E. casseliflavus, E. faecium, E. gallinarum, E. durans and E. gilvus.

From print to screen: changes and challenges facing the Brazilian publishing industry

The publishing industry is at a turning point. Facing the first major disruptive innovation in five centuries, its long-established structure and business model are at stake. Building on literature based on the pitfalls for incumbents, we interviewed key executives from the major publishers in Brazil to understand their perspective. We find that not only are they facing those pitfalls, but we also propose a new one, The Industry View Trap, concerning challenges created by convergence, the difficulty to deal with changes in the ecosystem and the fact that the very definition of the industry you're part of might have changed.

Potential use of a chemical leaching reject from a kaolin industry as agricultural fertilizer

The industrial refining of kaolin involves the removal of iron oxides and hydroxides along with other impurities that cause discoloration of the final product and depreciate its commercial value, particularly undesirable if destined to the paper industry. The chemical leaching in the industrial processing requires treatments with sodium hyposulfite, metallic zinc, or sulfuric and phosphoric acids, in order to reduce, dissolve and remove ferruginous compounds. To mitigate the environmental impact, the acidic effluent from the leaching process must be neutralized, usually with calcium oxide. The resulting solid residue contains phosphorous, zinc, and calcium, among other essential nutrients for plant growth, suggesting its use as a macro and micronutrient source. Samples of such a solid industrial residue were used here to evaluate their potential as soil fertilizer in an incubation greenhouse experiment with two soil samples (clayey and medium-textured). The small pH shift generated by applying the residue to the soil was not a limiting factor for its use in agriculture. The evolution of the concentrations of exchangeable calcium, and phosphorous and zinc extractability by Mehlich-1 extractant during the incubation period confirms the potential use of this industrial residue as agricultural fertilizer.

Mobility of inorganic and organic phosphorus forms under different levels of phosphate and poultry litter fertilization in soils

The eutrophication of aquifers is strongly linked to the mobility of P in soils. Although P mobility was considered irrelevant in a more distant past, more recent studies have shown that P, both in organic (Po) and inorganic forms (Pi), can be lost by leaching and eluviation through the soil profile, particularly in less weathered and/or sandier soils with low P adsorption capacity. The purpose of this study was to determine losses of P forms by leaching and eluviation from soil columns. Each column consisted of five PVC rings (diameter 5 cm, height 10 cm), filled with two soil types: a clayey Red-Yellow Latosol and a sandy loam Red-Yellow Latosol, which were exposed to water percolation. The soils were previously treated with four P rates (as KH2PO4 ) to reach 0, 12.5, 25.0 and 50 % of the maximum P adsorption capacity (MPAC). The P source was homogenized with the whole soil volume and incubated for 60 days. After this period the soils were placed in the columns; the soil of the top ring was mixed with five poultry litter rates of 0, 20, 40, 80, and 160 t ha-1 (dry weight basis). Treatments consisted of a 4 x 5 x 2 factorial scheme corresponding to four MPAC levels, five poultry litter rates, two soils, with three replications, arranged in a completely randomized block design. Deionized water was percolated through the columns 10 times in 35 days to simulate about 1,200 mm rainfall. In the leachate of each column the inorganic P (reactive P, Pi) and organic P forms (unreactive P, Po) were determined. At the end of the experiment, the columns were disassembled and P was extracted with the extractants Mehlich-1 (HCl 0.05 mol L-1 and H2SO4 0.0125 mol L-1) and Olsen (NaHCO3 0.5 mol L-1; pH 8.5) from the soil of each ring. The Pi and Po fractions were measured by the Olsen extractant. It was found that under higher poultry litter rates the losses of unreactive P (Po) were 6.4 times higher than of reactive P (Pi). Both the previous P fertilization and increasing poultry litter rates caused a vertical movement of P down the soil columns, as verified by P concentrations extracted by Mehlich-1 and NaHCO3 (Olsen). The environmental critical level (ECL), i.e., the P soil concentration above which P leaching increases exponentially, was 100 and 150 mg dm-3 by Mehlich-1 and 40 and 60 mg dm-3 by Olsen, for the sandy loam and clay soils, respectively. In highly weathered soils, where residual P is accumulated by successive crops, P leaching through the profile can be significant, particularly when poultry litter is applied as fertilizer.