Particle size of Saharan dust in the Atlantic Ocean, from October 2012 to November 2013

Mineral dust has a large impact on regional and global climate, depending on its particle size. Especially in the Atlantic Ocean downwind of the Sahara, the largest dust source on earth, the effects can be substantial but are poorly understood. This study focuses on seasonal and spatial variations in particle size of Saharan dust deposition across the Atlantic Ocean, using an array of submarine sediment traps moored along a transect at 12° N. We show that the particle size decreases downwind with increased distance from the Saharan source, due to higher gravitational settling velocities of coarse particles in the atmosphere. Modal grain sizes vary between 4 and 33 µm throughout the different seasons and at five locations along the transect. This is much coarser than previously suggested and incorporated into climate models. In addition, seasonal changes are prominent, with coarser dust in summer, and finer dust in winter and spring. Such seasonal changes are caused by transport at higher altitudes and at greater wind velocities during summer than in winter. Also the latitudinal migration of the dust cloud, associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone, causes seasonal differences in deposition as the summer dust cloud is located more to the north, and more directly above the sampled transect. Furthermore, increased precipitation and more frequent dust storms in summer coincide with coarser dust deposition. Our findings contribute to understanding Saharan dust transport and deposition relevant for the interpretation of sedimentary records for climate reconstructions, as well as for global and regional models for improved prediction of future climate.

Marketing aan de Top:10 Problemen, Oorzaken, Oplossingen

Binnen veel organisaties staat de marketingafdeling onder druk. Resultaten moeten op korte termijn zichtbaar zijn en de afdeling krijgt intern soms een slechte pers. In dit boek worden de tien belangrijkste, meest actuele problemen van marketing, hun oorzaken én mogelijke oplossingen besproken. Marketing aan de top biedt zo een beknopte, maar sterk onderbouwde handreiking voor iedere marketeer en marketingmanager die zijn vak relevanter en waardevoller wil maken. Ook voor topmanagers en managers actief in functionele gebieden buiten de marketing biedt het boek inzicht in de rol die de marketingfunctie kan spelen om de organisatie als geheel succesvoller te maken.

Genome-wide association analysis identifies novel loci for chronotype in 100,420 individuals from the UK Biobank

Our sleep timing preference, or chronotype, is a manifestation of our internal biological clock. Variation in chronotype has been linked to sleep disorders, cognitive and physical performance, and chronic disease. Here we perform a genome-wide association study of self-reported chronotype within the UK Biobank cohort (n=100,420). We identify 12 new genetic loci that implicate known components of the circadian clock machinery and point to previously unstudied genetic variants and candidate genes that might modulate core circadian rhythms or light-sensing pathways. Pathway analyses highlight central nervous and ocular systems and fear-response-related processes. Genetic correlation analysis suggests chronotype shares underlying genetic pathways with schizophrenia, educational attainment and possibly BMI. Further, Mendelian randomization suggests that evening chronotype relates to higher educational attainment. These results not only expand our knowledge of the circadian system in humans but also expose the influence of circadian characteristics over human health and life-history variables such as educational attainment.

A kiskereskedelmi stratégiai szövetségek hatása a kiskereskedelmi marketing tevékenységére és teljesítményére = Effects of the retail strategic alliances to the retailers' marketing activity and performance

A kilencvenes évek második felétől egyre jelentősebb szerepet játszanak a vállalatközi együttműködések, hosszabb távú kooperációk a hazai élelmiszer- és napi cikk kiskereskedelemben. A társulások szintjén a piaci siker egyértelmű, amely jól nyomon követhető az évente megjelenő kiskereskedői rangsorokban. A cikk viszont a tagkereskedők szemszögéből vizsgálja a kérdést, vajon a társuláshoz való csatlakozás ténylegesen javítja-e a kiskereskedő teljesítményét és milyen dimenziókon keresztül. _____________ From the second half of the ’90s the strategic alliances, the long term cooperations have been increasingly role in the domestic food and FMCG retail. On the level of the alliances the market success has been obvious, which has well presented in the annual retail rankings. The article examines the issue from the retailers’ point of view: whether the accession to the alliance has effectively improved the retalier’s performance and which dimensions through.

A CRM hazai gyakorlatának feltáró elemzése

A CRM-elnevezés alig két évtizeddel ezelőtt vált általánossá a marketing köznyelvben. Az azóta eltelt időszakban azonban óriási mértékű fejlődés ment végbe ezen a területen, elsősorban a beszállítói oldalon. A CRM technológiai, informatikai oldalát képviselő partnerek és az alkalmazásokat üzleti szemszögből értelmező tanácsadók egyre inkább összehangolódtak, és komplex, integrált rendszereket képesek ajánlani a vállalatoknak. A felhasználói oldalon azonban nem ennyire egyértelmű a kép. A CRM adaptálása a vállalatok által alkalmazott, szerteágazó eszközrendszerbe nem mindig egyértelmű, és ezekre eltérő gyakorlati megoldások születnek. A tanulmány arra törekszik, hogy feltárja azokat a faktorokat, amelyek a fent említett divergenciát okozzák, megértse azok hatásmechanizmusait és kísérletet tegyen olyan mintázatok kialakítására, amelyek jól leírják egy egyes vállalatcsoportok viszonyát a CRM-mel. A kutatás 20 feltáró interjúra épül, amely öt iparág Magyarországon (is) működő vállalatainak CRM-felelőseivel készült. Az eredmények azt jelzik, hogy a CRM vállalati gyakorlata mögött mind iparági, mind vállalati sajátosságok is megjelenhetnek, egyben számos fejlesztési lehetőség adódik a CRM eredményesebb felhasználása érdekében.

Vállalatközi kapcsolatok és a versenyképesség összefüggései: Projektzáró tanulmány

Tanulmányunk a Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem Versenyben a világgal c. kutatási program Vállalatközi kapcsolatok c. projektjének zárótanulmánya, amely a projekt keretében készült résztanulmányok szintézise. Kutatásunkban a vállalatközi kapcsolatokat elemeztük, a kapcsolatokat motiváló tényezőkre, s a kapcsolatok értékelésére, a vállalatvezetők által értékesnek tartott jellemzők elemzésére helyezve a hangsúlyt, majd a kapcsolatokat támogató teljesítménymérési eszközöket vettük röviden górcső alá. Összességében a vállalatok többsége a megbízhatóságot, kiszámíthatóságot tartja a leginkább fontos, alapvető értéknek mind a vevői, mind a beszállítói kapcsolatok tekintetében. A tanulmány második kérdéscsoportja a vállalati működés egyes területeinek sajátosságaival foglalkozott. Az elemzésben megvizsgáltuk, hogy a vállalatközi kapcsolatok egyes területein, a disztribúciós, logisztikai, export, banki kapcsolatok, e-business, stratégiai szövetségek, önkormányzatokkal való kapcsolatok valamint a vevőkiszolgálás terén, milyen jellegű kapcsolatokat építenek a vállalatok, ezek milyen fontossággal bírnak, és hogyan befolyásolják őket a vállalati alapjellemzők (méret, tulajdonviszonyok), Eredményeink szerint a vállalatközi kapcsolatokat leginkább a vállalati méret befolyásolja, kisebb mértékben a tulajdonosi háttér. Végül pedig a vállalati hálózatok szerepét elemeztük.

Formação profissional do cuidador de idosos em instituições de longa permanência

The old caretaker's work seeks to minimize suffering and morbidity resulting from physical, cognitive and emotional limitations of these individuals, being a practice permeated by the uniqueness of the subjects involved, therefore, a process in constant construction. In this notion, the caregiver's role is crucial to assist the elderly in everyday life, aiming at improving their quality of life. This study has descriptive and analytical character with quantitative and qualitative approach aimed to investigate the professional training of active caregivers in long-term stay institutions for the Elderly (ILPIs) in Natal/RN in the year 2014. For this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 63 caregivers employed in nine ILPIs, representing 75% of the professionals performing activities in these institutions. The interviews captured data on the socioeconomic profile, the perception about the profession and training of caregivers. Data were analyzed by observation of absolute and relative measures of central tendency of the numeric variables frequencies. It was found that most caregivers had poor socioeconomic status and had no specific training course to practice caregiver role. However, among those who carried out courses, most reported that the content covered during the training gave security to perform the practice, although they have shown a contradiction when referred to the need to build capacity. The perception of care is mainly related to love and care for the other while the choice of profession is associated with care practice itself. The results also indicate the presence of a low level of formal training for the exercise of the occupation, also revealing the weaknesses ranging from the absence of a core curriculum that can guide the formation, compounded by the low educational professionals in focus.

Coastline evolution rates of Portugal

Regional/global-scale information on coastline rates of change and trends is extremely valuable, but national-scale studies are scarce. A widely accepted standardized methodology for analysing long-term coastline change has been difficult to achieve, but is essential to conduct an integrated and holistic approach to coastline evolution and hence support coastal management actions. Additionally, databases providing knowledge on coastline evolution are of key importance to support both coastal management experts and users. The main objective of this work is to present the first systematic, global and consistent long-term coastline evolution data of Portuguese mainland low-lying sandy. The methodology used quantifies coastline evolution using an unique and robust coastline indicator (the foredune toe), which is independent of short-term changes. The dataset presented comprises: 1) two polyline sets, mapping the 1958 and 2010 sandy beach-dune systems coastline, both optimized for working at 1:50 000 scale or smaller, and 2) one polyline set representing long-term change rates between 1958 and 2010, estimated at each 250 m. Results show beach erosion as the dominant trend, with a mean change rate of -0.24 ± 0.01 m/year for all mainland Portuguese beach-dune systems. Although erosion is dominant, this evolution is variable in signal and magnitude in different coastal sediment cell and also within each cell. The most relevant beach erosion issues were found in the coastal stretches of Espinho - Torreira and Costa Nova - Praia da Mira, both at sub-cell 1b; Cova Gala - Leirosa, at sub-cell 1c and Cova do Vapor - Costa da Caparica, at cell 4. Cells 1 and 4 exhibit a history of major human interventions interfering with the coastal system, many of which originated and maintained a sediment deficit. In contrast, cells 5 and 6 have been less intervened and show stable or moderate accretion behaviour.

Sedimentary record of the western Amundsen Sea Embayment after the last glacial maximum

Reliable dating of glaciomarine sediments deposited on the Antarctic shelf since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is very challenging because of the general absence of calcareous (micro-) fossils and the recycling of fossil organic matter. As a consequence, radiocarbon (14C) ages of the acid-insoluble organic fraction (AIO) of the sediments bear uncertainties that are very difficult to quantify. In this paper we present the results of three different chronostratigraphic methods to date a sedimentary unit consisting of diatomaceous ooze and diatomaceous mud that was deposited following the last deglaciation at five core sites on the inner shelf in the western Amundsen Sea (West Antarctica). In three cores conventional 14C dating of the AIO in bulk sediment samples yielded age reversals down-core, but at all sites the AIO 14C ages obtained from diatomaceous ooze within the diatom-rich unit yielded similar uncorrected 14C ages ranging from 13,517±56 to 11,543±47 years before present (yr BP). Correction of these ages by subtracting the core-top ages, which are assumed to reflect present-day deposition (as indicated by 21044 Pb dating of the sediment surface at one core site), yielded ages between ca. 10,500 and 8,400 calibrated years before present (cal yr BP). Correction of the AIO ages of the diatomaceous ooze by only subtracting the marine reservoir effect (MRE) of 1,300 years indicated deposition of the diatom-rich sediments between 14,100 and 11,900 cal yr BP. Most of these ages are consistent with age constraints between 13.0 and 8.0 ka BP for the diatom-rich unit, which we obtained by correlating the relative palaeomagnetic intensity (RPI) records of three of the sediment cores with global and regional reference curves for palaeomagnetic intensity. As a third dating technique we applied conventional 53 radiocarbon dating of the AIO included in acid-cleaned diatom hard parts that were extracted from the diatomaceous ooze. This method yielded uncorrected 14C ages of only 5,111±38 and 5,106±38 yr BP, respectively. We reject these young ages, because they are likely to be overprinted by the adsorption of modern atmospheric carbon dioxide onto the surfaces of the extracted diatom hard parts prior to sample graphitisation and combustion for 14C dating. The deposition of the diatom-rich unit in the western Amundsen Sea suggests deglaciation of the inner shelf before ca. 13 ka BP. The deposition of diatomaceous oozes on other parts of the Antarctic shelf around the same time, however, seems to be coincidental rather than directly related.