Scheduled Service Versus Personal Transportation: The Role of Distance

This paper presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of the relationship be- tween frequency of scheduled transportation services and their substitutability with personal transportation (using distance as a proxy). We study the interaction between a monopoly firm providing a high-speed scheduled service and private transportation (i.e., car). Interestingly, the carrier chooses to increase the frequency of service on longer routes when competing with personal transportation because by providing higher frequency (at extra cost) it can also charge higher fares which can boost its profits. However, in line with the results of earlier studies, frequency decreases for longer flights when driving is not a viable option. An empirical application of our analysis to the European airline industry confirms the predictions of our theoretical model. Keywords: short-haul routes; long-haul routes; flight frequency; distance JEL Classification Numbers: L13; L2; L93

The Impacts of Temporary and Anticipated Tourism Spending.

Part of the local economic impact of a major sporting event comes from the associated temporary tourism expenditures. Typically demand-driven Input-Output (IO) methods are used to quantify the impacts of such expenditures. However, IO modelling has specific weaknesses when measuring temporary tourism impacts; particular problems lie in its treatment of factor supplies and its lack of dynamics. Recent work argues that Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) analysis is more appropriate and this has been widely applied. Neglected in this literature however is an understanding of the role that behavioural characteristics and factor supply assumptions play in determining the economic impact of tourist expenditures, particularly where expenditures are temporary (i.e. of limited duration) and anticipated (i.e. known in advance). This paper uses a CGE model for Scotland in which agents can have myopic- or forward-looking behaviours and shows how these alternative specifications affect the timing and scale of the economic impacts from anticipated and temporary tourism expenditure. The tourism shock analysed is of a scale expected for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow in 2014. The model shows how “pre-shock” and “legacy” effects – impacts before and after the shock – arise and their quantitative importance. Using the forward-looking model the paper calculates the optimal degree of pre-announcement.

Itinéraires : les guides de voyage en Suisse de la fin du XVIIIe siècle à 1914 : contribution à une histoire culturelle du tourisme

Menée dans une approche d'histoire culturelle, cette thèse de doctorat prend pour objet un corpus de guides de voyage en Suisse entre la fin du XVIIIe et le début du XXe siècle. Centrée sur les guides, ces livres qui entretiennent plus que d'autres des liens étroits avec le monde physique, elle a deux grands axes. Le premier est une lecture interdisciplinaire des guides de voyage, qui mêle littérature, bibliographie matérielle, histoire et histoire de l'art. Elle a cherché à comprendre les raisons et logiques du genre, en s'attachant particulièrement à ses fonctions et à ses formes (tant structurelles que textuelles et iconographiques). Cette partie de l'étude est importante, car elle n'a encore jamais été menée. Elle s'articule en deux volets : un volet théorique qui s'intéresse à l'histoire et à la forme des guides de voyage ; et une étude de cas qui s'attache à la lecture plus rapprochée de 6 guides : ceux de Thomas Martyr (1788, 1790 & 1794), Heinrich August Ottokar Reichard (1793 & 1802) et Johann Gottfried Ebel (1793, 1805, 1810-11 & 1817-18) pour la fin du XVIIIe siècle et le tournant du XIXe, et ceux de John Murray (1838 & 1886), Adolphe Joanne (1841, 1865, 1874, 1882 & 1908) et Karl Baedeker (1844, 1852, 1859, 1869, 1876, 1883, 1893, 1901 & 1913) pour le XIXe et la Belle Epoque. Le second axe de cette recherche est une réflexion sur les manières de mettre en scène l'espace dans un texte. En étudiant les itinéraires de voyage en Suisse (mais jusqu'au début du XXe siècle, « la Suisse »est pour les guides de voyage indifféremment un pays et une région supranationale : «les Alpes »), quatre types de mises en forme ont pu être identifiés : le voyage en boucle (linéaire, il part d'un point A pour y revenir), le voyage en marguerite (linéaire avec excursions), le voyage éclaté de l'ordre alphabétique, et enfin le voyage par «routes », fragments d'espace que l'on combine comme les pièces d'un puzzle, créant son chemin au fur et à mesure de sa progression. Ce faisant, on peut affirmer que les guides de voyage modernes (dont la forme se fixe dans les années 1830-1840 avec les premiers Murray, Baedeker et Joanne) se sont construits -malgré tout ce que l'on a pu dire sur la normativité prescriptive du tourisme -autour d'une liberté de plus en plus grande accordée aux voyageurs. Chacune de ces formes et chacun de ces types ayant une histoire et des conditions de possibilités, c'est en s'appuyant sur celles-ci que l'on peut mieux comprendre non seulement l'évolution du voyage et de ses pratiques, mais aussi la constitution de la forme littéraire qui l'a accompagné et permis. Ce faisant, des jalons pour une histoire culturelle du tourisme ont aussi été posés, histoire culturelle que j'appelle maintenant de mes voeux : il est quand même surprenant que, dans le pays de tourisme qu'est la Suisse, quand on s'est jusqu'à présent attaché à l'histoire du tourisme, on n'ait parlé qu'économie, société, infrastructures, loisirs ou santé, voire, plus récemment, écologie et bien-être. Redonner son creuset culturel à ce phénomène, c'est aussi retrouver une part du nôtre, car ces mémoires s'entremêlent indissociablement.

Experimental Chagas' disease in dogs

This paper describes the development of experimental Chagas' disease in 64 out-bred young dogs. Twenty-nine animals were inoculated with the Be-62 and 35 with Be-78 Trypanosoma cruzi strains. Twenty-six were infected with blood trypomastigotes by different inoculation routes and 38 with metacyclic trypomastigotes from the vector via the conjunctival route. Twenty of the 26 dogs infected with blood trypomastigotes were autopsied during the acute phase. Eleven died spontaneously and nine were sacrificed. Six remained alive until they died suddenly (two) or were autopsied (four). Twelve of the 38 dogs infected with metacyclic trypomastigotes evolved naturally to the chronic phase and remained alive for 24-48 months. The parasitemia, clinical aspects and serology (IgM and IgG) as well as electrocardiogram, hemogram and heart anatomo-histopathologic patterns of acute and chronic cardiac forms of Chagas' disease as seen in human infections, were reproduced. The most important finding is the reproductibility of diffuse fibrosing chronic chagasic cardiopathy in all dogs infected with Be-78 T. cruzi strain autopsied between the 90th and 864th days of infection. Thus, the dog can be considered as a suitable experimental model to study Chagas' disease according to the requisites of the World Health Organization (1984). Futhermore the animal is easily obtained and easy to handle and maintain in experimental laboratory conditions.

On the current existence of a coccidial line of development in the malaria parasites: a theory

Most opinion favors the origin of the malaria parasites from a coccidial ancestor. It is assumed that whatever the process through which the coccidia differentiated into a Plasmodium this phenomenon very probably occured millions of year ago, and during that differentiation process the original coccidia vanished. Therefore it has never repeated. At the light of some experiments the existence, at the present time, of a coccidial cycle of development in the malaria parasites, is proposed. The conection routes and mechanisms through which the malaria parasite changes to a coccidial life, and the routes in reverse are exposed. Transmission of the malaria-coccidial forms is suggested.

Monographies on drugs, which are frequently analysed in the course of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring

In 1995 the working group "Drug Monitoring" of the Swiss Society of Clinical Chemistry (SSCC) has already published a printed version of drug monographs, which are now newly compiled and presented in a standardised manner. The aim of these monographs is to give an overview on the most important informations that are necessary in order to request a drug analysis or is helpful to interpret the results. Therefore, the targeted audience are laboratory health professionals or the receivers of the reports. There is information provided on the indication for therapeutic drug monitoring, protein binding, metabolic pathways and enzymes involved, elimination half life time and elimination routes as well as information on therapeutic or toxic concentrations. Because preanalytical considerations are of particular importance for therapeutic drug monitoring, there is also information given at which time the determination of the drug concentration is reasonable and when steady-state concentrations are reached after changing the dose. Furthermore, the stability of the drug and its metabolite(s), respectively, after blood sampling is described. For readers with a specific interest, references to important publications are given. The number of the monographs will be continuously enlarged. The updated files are presented on the homepage of the SSCC (www.sscc.ch).

Pharmacokinetics and posterior segment biodistribution of ESBA105, an anti-TNF-alpha single-chain antibody, upon topical administration to the rabbit eye.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to characterize local distribution and systemic absorption of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha inhibitory single-chain antibody fragment (scFv) ESBA105 following topical administration to the eye in vivo. METHODS: Rabbits received ESBA105 as topical eye drops in two dosing regimens. First, pharmacokinetics after the topical route of administration was compared to the intravenous (i.v.) route by means of applying the identical cumulative daily dose of ESBA105. In a second study rabbits received five eye drops daily for six consecutive days in a lower frequency topical dosing regimen. Kinetics and biodistribution of ESBA105 in ocular tissues and fluids as well as in sera were determined in all animals. RESULTS: After topical administration to the eye, ESBA105 quickly reaches therapeutic concentrations in all ocular compartments. Systemic exposure after topical administration is 25,000-fold lower than exposure after i.v. injection of the identical cumulative daily dose. ESBA105 levels in vitreous humor and neuroretina are significantly higher on topical administration than after i.v. injection. Absolute and relative intraocular biodistribution of ESBA105 is different with topical and systemic delivery routes. Compared to its terminal half-life in circulation (7 hours), the vitreal half-life of ESBA105 is significantly enhanced (16-24 hours). CONCLUSIONS: On topical administration, ESBA105 is efficiently absorbed and distributed to all compartments of the eye, whereby systemic drug exposure is very low. Based on its unique intraocular biodistribution and pharmacokinetics and the absolute intraocular levels reached, topical ESBA105 appears highly attractive for treatment of various ophthalmological disorders.

Systemic effects of epidural Methylprednisolone injection on glucose tolerance in diabetic patients.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that in diabetic patients, the glycemic profile was disturbed after intra-articular injection of corticosteroids. Little is known about the impact of epidural injection in such patients. The goal of this study was double, at first comparing the glycaemic profile in diabetic patients after a unique injection of 80 mg of acetate methylprednisolone either intra-articular or epidural and secondly to compare the amount of systemic diffusion of the drug after both procedures. METHODS: Seventeen patients were included. Glycemic changes were compared in 9 diabetic patients following intra-articular (4 patients) and epidural injections (5 patients). Epidural injections were performed using the sacral route under fluoroscopic control in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. Diabetes control had to stable for more than 10 days and the renal function to be preserved. Blood glucose was monitored using a validated continuous measuring device (GMS, Medtronic) the day before and for two days following the injection. Results were expressed in the form of daily glycemic profiles and as by mean, peak and minimal values +/ SD. The urinary excretion of methylprednisolone after the 2 routes of injection was analyzed in 8 patients (4 in each group). Urine samples were cropped one hour before the injections, then 4 times during the first day and 3 times a week for 2 weeks. The measurements included the free and conjugated fraction RESULTS: The glycaemic profile remains unchanged with no significant changes in the group of the 5 diabetic patients receiving epidural injections. On the other end, the average peak and mean values were enhanced up to 3 mmol/l above baseline two days after the infiltration in the groups of the 4 diabetic patients infiltrated intra-articular. The mean urinary excretion of the steroid was about ten times higher in the intra-articular versus epidural group: 7000 ng/ml versus 700 ng/ml. Looking at each individual there were marked differences especially after intra-articular injections. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to show that a single epidural steroid injection of 80 mg depot methylprednisolone had no effect on the glycemic control in diabetic patients. The absence of glycemic control changes correlated well with the very low urinary excretion of the drug after epidural injection. Trial registration NCT01420497.

Canvi climàtic i malalties infeccioses

El canvi climàtic és una realitat i té efectes, tant directes com indirectes, sobre la salut. Són necessàries actuacions concertades per abordar aquestes qüestions de salut pública plantejades pel canvi climàtic, així com també disposar de mecanismes per predir quina serà la seva evolució. En aquest projecte es discuteixen les malalties infeccioses adquirides a través de diferents vies (artròpodes vectors, rosegadors, aigua, aliments i aire) en referència al canvi climàtic al món i també a Catalunya. Basat en una extensa revisió dels treballs i articles publicats, i de comentaris d’experts, es presenta una avaluació dels canvis de les malalties infeccioses: incidència, prevalença i distribució dels patògens i vehicles transmissors en un entorn canviant. En el present estudi es detallen alguns dels casos més estudiats i demostrats d’emergència i reemergència de brots infecciosos a diferents zones del planeta associats a certes variacions en les variables climàtiques. Degut a l’alt nivell d’incertesa sobre el ritme del canvi climàtic i el seu impacte sobre les malalties infeccioses, es proposa un seguit de línies de futur. Una de les propostes és crear una xarxa integrada de dades ambientals i epidemiològiques, amb capacitat de connectar aquestes dades amb la vigilància dels patògens, vectors i de la qualitat de l’aigua, entre d’altres factors. Aquestes anàlisis podrien orientar les estratègies d’actuació en un futur per la protecció de la salut de la població.

Diagnosi socioambiental del litoral de Torredembarra, Creixell i Roda de Berà

El litoral comprés entre els municipis de Torredembarra, Creixell i Roda de Berà és una platja sorrenca situada al nord de la comarca del Tarragonès. Aquest espai allotja la platja natural protegida més ben conservada entre el Delta del Llobregat i el Delta de l'Ebre, sent caracteritzada per les seves dunes de sorra i les llacunes salabroses. Al ser una zona costanera el principal problema són els impactes generats per la freqüentació turística que s'han avaluat en el present treball. La freqüentació ha generat nombrosos petits camins entre les dunes, afavorint la fragmentació, el sorgiment de la vegetació al·lòctona i la molèstia i canvi de comportament a espècies de fauna importants com el corriol camanegre (Charadrius alexandrinus).

Anàlisi ambiental de les platges de Sitges: evolució de la qualitat del litoral i estudi d'impactes

L’explosió del sector turístic experimentat en les costes catalanes des de principis dels anys 60 ha provocat un important impacte sobre el medi litoral català i el seu principal atractiu turístic, les platges. Sitges és un municipi annex a una important zona urbana (Barcelona), i s'ofereix com a indret de segona residència i ciutat de vacances, sobretot a l’estiu, incrementant fortament la pressió sobre el medi. L'objectiu principal d'aquest projecte ha estat estudiar les pertorbacions sobre alguns aspectes del sistema litoral Sitgetà: el perfil litoral i la dinàmica sedimentària, la qualitat microbiològica de les aigües i la sorra, els cabals d'aigües residuals tractades i els residus de les platges. A partir dels registres de neteja en platges, proposem el rebuig i envasos en sorra (concentració de residus, kg/m2) com a nou indicador de presència d’usuaris a les platges (usuaris/m2). La diagnosi realitzada indica que l'estat físic de les platges de Sitges respon a les actuacions en matèria d'obres marítimes en interacció amb les dinàmiques sedimentaries. Pel que fa als anàlisis microbiològics de l'aigua i la sorra trobem una situació regulada a excepció de pics provocats per pluges puntuals. Malauradament hem vist com es podrien potenciar el valors ambientals de totes les parts treballades si es fomentessin figures de protecció del medi, la regeneració d’espècies vegetals tan fora com dins de l'aigua i es garantís una gestió de l’aigua 100% eficient i sense causar intromissions en el desenvolupament dels ecosistemes.

Technology, business models and network structure in the airline industry

Network airlines have been increasingly focusing their operations on hub airports through the exploitation of connecting traffic, allowing them to take advantage of economies of traffic density, which are unequivocal in the airline industry. Less attention has been devoted to airlines? decisions on point-to-point thin routes, which could be served using different aircraft technologies and different business models. This paper examines, both theoretically and empirically, the impact on airlines ?networks of the two major innovations in the airline industry in the last two decades: the regional jet technology and the low-cost business model. We show that, under certain circumstances, direct services on point-to-point thin routes can be viable and thus airlines may be interested in deviating passengers out of the hub.

Evaluation of the rabbit as a model for Chagas disease - II: histopathologic studies of the heart, digestive tract and skeletal muscle

In order to investigate the value of the rabbit as an experimental model for Chagas' disease, seventy one animals were inoculated with different Trypanosoma cruzi strains and routes. The rabbits were submitted to necropsy in acute (earlier than three months of infection), recent chronic (three to six months) and late chronic (later than six months) phases. Myocarditis, generally focal and endomysial, occurred in 94.1%, 66.7% and 70.8% of the infected rabbits respectively in the acute, recent chronic and late chronic phases. The myocardial inflammatory exudate was composed by mononuclear cells, and also polymorphonuclear cells in the acute phase. In most cases of the late chronic phase, the myocarditis was similar to that described in the indeterminate form of human chagasic patients. Initial fibrosis occurred in the three phases but was more severe and frequent in the early chronic. Advanced fibrosis occurred only in the late chronic phase. Tissue parasites occurred only in the acute phase. The digestive tract and skeletal muscles showed mild and occasional lesions. Our data indicate that experimentally infected chagasic rabbits repeat some lesions similar to that of humans chagasic patients, specially that of the indeterminate form. So, it may be a useful, however not an ideal, model.

Trypanosoma cruzi in the anal glands of urban opossums: I- isolation and experimental infections

Opossums (Didelphis marsupialis) captured in intensely urbanized areas of the city of Caracas, Venezuela, were found infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. The developmental cycle of trypomastigote-epimastigote-metacyclic infective trypomastigote, usually occurring in the intestine of the triatomine vector, was taking place in the anal odoriferous glands of the opossums. Material from the glands, inoculated in young, healthy opossums and white mice by different routes, subcutaneously, intraperitoneally, orally, and into the eye, induced T. cruzi infections in all animals. Parasitemia, invasion of cardiac and skeletal muscle, and intracellular multiplication of amastigotes were observed. Inoculation of metacyclics from anal glands, cultured in LIT medium, gave equivalent results. All opossums survived; all mice died. Excreta of opossums may thus transmit Chagas' disease by contamination, even in urban areas where insect vectors are not present.

El foment de la creativitat i de l’esperit emprenedor en el context dels ECTS per a les assignatures de primer curs de la Diplomatura de Turisme de la UAB

El present Projecte de millora de la qualitat docent subvencionat pel Departament d’Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació de la Generalitat de Catalunya dins del programa d’ajuts MQD-2006 convocades per l’AGAUR, s’ha desenvolupat amb els alumnes de primer de la Diplomatura de Turisme de l’Escola de Turisme i Direcció Hotelera (EUTDH) de la UAB durant el curs acadèmic 2006-2007, comptant amb la participació de l’equip docent així com amb la col·laboració i implicació directa de la direcció de l’escola. Aquest projecte parteix de la base que el desenvolupament de l’esperit emprenedor entre els estudiants és un pilar fonamental en la seva educació i preparació tant personal com professional per l’entrada amb èxit al mercat laboral. Així doncs, el fet que els estudiants mostrin més iniciativa individual així com més capacitat per buscar solucions als problemes d’una manera creativa i diferent, són aspectes bàsics d’aquest Projecte que preten, a llarg termini, repercutir en la societat, tot formant persones més emprenedores que aportin valor econòmic i social al sector turístic. Amb la finalitat d’assolir els objectius esmentats anteriorment es van realitzar una sèrie d’accions adreçades tant al professorat com a l’alumnat que portessin a canviar les actituds, comportaments i maneres de fer de la “metodologia docent tradicional”. En aquest sentit, s’han revisat les fitxes de les assignatures, tot adaptant les activitats existents o creant-ne de noves per tal de treballar les competències transversals relacionades amb el foment de l’esperit emprenedor. Tot i que aquests canvis són lents i difícils de mesurar, en general, s’ha pogut constatar com l’alumnat, en finalitzar el curs, mostra una major iniciativa, autonomía i independència i més capacitat per buscar solucions alternatives als problemes d’una manera creativa així com una actitud més favorable cap a la creació d’empreses que la que tenia al començament.