Determinants of portuguese wine & enotourism consumer behaviour

This study tries to understand what needs to be done to improve value perceptions and wine usage (1) Change the Portuguese wine and enotourism industry profile to adjust to huge competitive marketplace because it is still production-based; more sales than marketing oriented and the market data are less important then production and sales ones; (2) Enhance strongly the relationship between the wine and enotourism company and final consumers by “management synergies”; high “innovativeness to market”;“marketing research” and by an effective brand strategy. In this line, this paper provides an overview about strategic factors that determine the Portuguese wine and enotourism decision making process. The results of this research enable the essential features of a consumer profile of purchase and consumption to be obtained with respect to: (1) the structure of attributes - intrinsic and extrinsic - that Portuguese still wine consumers best recognise and value in determining its quality, (2) the motivational structures that encourage and guide them in their decision making process when purchasing and consuming wine and enotourism services, (3) the anticipated effect of interaction between different situations of consumption with different price bands.

The construction of a thyratron inflection indicator, its behaviour with certain vowels, and its use in instructing deaf children

This paper discusses the construction of an apparatus, Thyratron Inflection Indicator, to help hearing impaired children learn speech.

Feeding–Danger Trade-Offs Underlie Stopover Site Selection by Migrants

To migrate successfully, birds need to store adequate fat reserves to fuel each leg of the journey. Migrants acquire their fuel reserves at stopover sites; this often entails exposure to predators. Therefore, the safety attributes of sites may be as important as the feeding opportunities. Furthermore, site choice might depend on fuel load, with lean birds more willing to accept danger to obtain good feeding. Here, we evaluate the factors underlying stopover-site usage by migrant Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri) on a landscape scale. We measured the food and danger attributes of 17 potential stopover sites in the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound region. We used logistic regression models to test whether food, safety, or both were best able to predict usage of these sites by Western Sandpipers. Eight of the 17 sites were used by sandpipers on migration. Generally, sites that were high in food and safety were used, whereas sites that were low in food and safety were not. However, dangerous sites were used if there was ample food abundance, and sites with low food abundance were used if they were safe. The model including both food and safety best-predicted site usage by sandpipers. Furthermore, lean sandpipers used the most dangerous sites, whereas heavier birds (which do not need to risk feeding in dangerous locations) used safer sites. This study demonstrates that both food and danger attributes are considered by migrant birds when selecting stopover sites, thus both these attributes should be considered to prioritize and manage stopover sites for conservation.

A Filter for Visual Tracking Based on a Stochastic Model for Driver Behaviour

A driver controls a car by turning the steering wheel or by pressing on the accelerator or the brake. These actions are modelled by Gaussian processes, leading to a stochastic model for the motion of the car. The stochastic model is the basis of a new filter for tracking and predicting the motion of the car, using measurements obtained by fitting a rigid 3D model to a monocular sequence of video images. Experiments show that the filter easily outperforms traditional filters.

Small- and waiting-time behaviour of the thin-film-equation

We consider the small-time behavior of interfaces of zero contact angle solutions to the thin-film equation. For a certain class of initial data, through asymptotic analyses, we deduce a wide variety of behavior for the free boundary point. These are supported by extensive numerical simulations. © 2007 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Modelling the movement and survival of the root-feeding clover weevil, Sitona lepidus, in the root-zone of white clover

White clover (Trifolium repens) is an important pasture legume but is often difficult to sustain in a mixed sward because, among other things, of the damage to roots caused by the soil-dwelling larval stages of S. lepidus. Locating the root nodules on the white clover roots is crucial for the survival of the newly hatched larvae. This paper presents a numerical model to simulate the movement of newly hatched S. lepidus larvae towards the root nodules, guided by a chemical signal released by the nodules. The model is based on the diffusion-chemotaxis equation. Experimental observations showed that the average speed of the larvae remained approximately constant, so the diffusion-chernotaxis model was modified so that the larvae respond only to the gradient direction of the chemical signal but not its magnitude. An individual-based lattice Boltzmann method was used to simulate the movement of individual larvae, and the parameters required for the model were estimated from the measurement of larval movement towards nodules in soil scanned using X-ray microtomography. The model was used to investigate the effects of nodule density, the rate of release of chemical signal, the sensitivity of the larvae to the signal, and the random foraging of the larvae on the movement and subsequent survival of the larvae. The simulations showed that the most significant factors for larval survival were nodule density and the sensitivity of the larvae to the signal. The dependence of larval survival rate on nodule density was well fitted by the Michealis-Menten kinetics. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

Complexation of copper by sewage sludge-derived dissolved organic matter: Effects on soil sorption behaviour and plant uptake

The complexation of Cu by sewage sludge-derived dissolved organic matter (SSDOM) is a process by which the environmental significance of the element may become enhanced due to reduced soil sorption and, hence, increased mobility. The work described in this paper used an ion selective electrode procedure to show that SSDOM complexation of Cu was greatest at intermediate pH values because competition between hydrogen ions and Cu for SSDOM binding sites, and between hydroxyl ions and SSDOM as Cu ligands, was lowest at such values. Batch sorption experiments further showed that the process of Cu complexation by SSDOM provided an explanation for enhanced desorption of Cu from the solid phase of a contaminated, organic matter-rich, clay loam soil, and reduced adsorption of Cu onto the solid phase of a sandy loam soil. Complexation of Cu by SSDOM did not affect uptake of Cu by spring barley plants, when compared to free ionic Cu, in a sand-culture pot experiment. However, it did appear to lead to greater biomass yields of the plant; perhaps indicating that the Cu-SSDOM complex had a lower toxicity towards the plant than the free Cu ion.

Host plant recognition by the root feeding clover weevil, Sitona lepidus (Coleoptera : Curculionidae)

This study investigated the ability of neonatal larvae of the root-feeding weevil, Sitona lepidus Gyllenhal, to locate white clover Trifolium repens L. (Fabaceae) roots growing in soil and to distinguish them from the roots of other species of clover and a co-occurring grass species. Choice experiments used a combination of invasive techniques and the novel technique of high resolution X-ray microtomography to non-invasively track larval movement in the soil towards plant roots. Burrowing distances towards roots of different plant species were also examined. Newly hatched S. lepidus recognized T. repens roots and moved preferentially towards them when given a choice of roots of subterranean clover, Trifolium subterraneum L. (Fabaceae), strawberry clover Trifolium fragiferum L. (Fabaceae), or perennial ryegrass Lolium perenne L. (Poaceae). Larvae recognized T. repens roots, whether released in groups of five or singly, when released 25 mm (meso-scale recognition) or 60 mm (macro-scale recognition) away from plant roots. There was no statistically significant difference in movement rates of larvae.

Survival, Pb-uptake and behaviour of three species of earthworm in Pb treated soils determined using an OECD-style toxicity test and a soil avoidance test

Mature (clitellate) Eisenia andrei Bouche (ultra epigeic), Lumbricus rubellus Hoffmeister (epigeic), and Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny) (endogeic) earthworms were placed in soils treated with Pb(NO3)(2) to have concentrations in the range 1000 to 10 000 mg Pb kg(-1). After 28 days LC50(-95%confidence limit) (+95%confidence limit) values were E. andrei 5824(-361)(+898) mg Pb kg(-1), L. rubellus 2867(-193)(+145) mg Pb kg(-1) and A. caliginosa 2747(-304)(+239) mg Pb kg(-1) and EC50s for weight change were E. andrei 2841(-68)(+150) Pb kg(-1), L. rubellus 1303(-201)(+204) mg Pb kg(-1) and A. caliginosa 1208(-206)(+212) Mg Pb kg(-1). At any given soil Pb concentration, Pb tissue concentrations after 28 days were the same for all three earthworm species. In a soil avoidance test there was no difference between the behaviour of the different species. The lower sensitivity to Pb exhibited by E. andrei is most likely due to physiological adaptations associated with the modes of life of the earthworms, and could have serious implications for the use of this earthworm as the species of choice in standard toxicological testing. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Dubawnt Lake palaeo-ice stream: evidence for dynamic ics sheet behaviour on the Canadian Shield and insights regarding the controls on ice-stream location and vigour

We report evidence for a major ice stream that operated over the northwestern Canadian Shield in the Keewatin Sector of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last deglaciation 9000-8200 (uncalibrated) yr BP. It is reconstructed at 450 km in length, 140 km in width, and had an estimated catchment area of 190000 km. Mapping from satellite imagery reveals a suite of bedforms ('flow-set') characterized by a highly convergent onset zone, abrupt lateral margins, and where flow was presumed to have been fastest, a remarkably coherent pattern of mega-scale glacial lineations with lengths approaching 13 km and elongation ratios in excess of 40:1. Spatial variations in bedform elongation within the flow-set match the expected velocity field of a terrestrial ice stream. The flow pattern does not appear to be steered by topography and its location on the hard bedrock of the Canadian Shield is surprising. A soft sedimentary basin may have influenced ice-stream activity by lubricating the bed over the downstream crystalline bedrock, but it is unlikely that it operated over a pervasively deforming till layer. The location of the ice stream challenges the view that they only arise in deep bedrock troughs or over thick deposits of 'soft' fine-grained sediments. We speculate that fast ice flow may have been triggered when a steep ice sheet surface gradient with high driving stresses contacted a proglacial lake. An increase in velocity through calving could have propagated fast ice flow upstream (in the vicinity of the Keewatin Ice Divide) through a series of thermomechanical feedback mechanisms. It exerted a considerable impact on the Laurentide Ice Sheet, forcing the demise of one of the last major ice centres.

Chemical behaviour of the Wheal Jane bioremediation system

The effectiveness of remediation of the highly acidic and transition metal polluted mine water discharge from the Wheal Jane Mine by the Wheal Jane Passive Treatment Plant is described. The success of the remediation required that all the system components work as predicted. The study shows considerable success in the removal of key toxic metals and clearly demonstrates the potential for natural attenuation of acid mine drainage, particularly iron oxidation, by microbial populations. The Wheal Jane Passive Treatment Plant provides the only experimental facility of its kind. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modelling the movement and survival of the root-feeding clover weevil, Sitona lepidus, in the root-zone of white clover

White clover (Trifolium repens) is an important pasture legume but is often difficult to sustain in a mixed sward because, among other things, of the damage to roots caused by the soil-dwelling larval stages of S. lepidus. Locating the root nodules on the white clover roots is crucial for the survival of the newly hatched larvae. This paper presents a numerical model to simulate the movement of newly hatched S. lepidus larvae towards the root nodules, guided by a chemical signal released by the nodules. The model is based on the diffusion-chemotaxis equation. Experimental observations showed that the average speed of the larvae remained approximately constant, so the diffusion-chernotaxis model was modified so that the larvae respond only to the gradient direction of the chemical signal but not its magnitude. An individual-based lattice Boltzmann method was used to simulate the movement of individual larvae, and the parameters required for the model were estimated from the measurement of larval movement towards nodules in soil scanned using X-ray microtomography. The model was used to investigate the effects of nodule density, the rate of release of chemical signal, the sensitivity of the larvae to the signal, and the random foraging of the larvae on the movement and subsequent survival of the larvae. The simulations showed that the most significant factors for larval survival were nodule density and the sensitivity of the larvae to the signal. The dependence of larval survival rate on nodule density was well fitted by the Michealis-Menten kinetics. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.