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Brush border intestinal disaccharidases (maltase, sucrase and lactase) play an important role in carbohydrate assimilation. These enzymes are located on the brush border and may interact with legume seed components such as dietary fiber and polyphenols. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effect of legume dietary fiber on rat disaccharidase in vitro.

Rat intestinal disaccharidases from Sprague‐Dawley rats fed a basal diet for 21 days were partially purified from intestinal scrapings. Enzyme activities were tested in vitro in the absence and presence of total dietary fiber isolated from Phaseolus vulgaris (Varieties Tacarigua and Montalbán) and Vigna unguiculata (Varieties Unare and Tuy) seeds that differ in fiber and polyphenol content. Dietary fiber was purified using the AOAC method.

The specific activities of the intestinal brush‐border disaccharidases from rats fed the basal diet were 3.29 ± 0.06, 3.13 ± 0.62 and 0.18 ± 0.04 umoles of glucose released/mg of protein/min for maltase, sucrase and lactase, respectively. Total dietary fiber from the legume tested inhibited both sucrase and maltase. Fiber from the four seeds tested affected sucrase similarly (average inhibition 35 per cent) whereas the fiber residue from P. vulgaris Montalbán was more effective on maltase (26.7 per cent) than that from P. vulgaris Tacarigua (12.2 per cent). Effect of V. unguiculata fibers on maltase was similar and somewhat in between those from P. vulgaris.

These results suggest that dietary fiber, as well as other factors from beans with anti‐physiological effect, such as condensed tannins and fitic acid possibly associated with the dietary fiber, may impair carbohydrate availability and may contribute to the low glycemic index proper of these foodstuffs.

“Dirty work” is an embodied, emotional activity, and may best be expressed through narrative thick description. The purpose of this paper is to employ creative analytic techniques through a “messy text” for better understanding the tacit knowledge and emotionality of dirty work and dirty research. The vignettes, based upon ethnographic fieldwork with US Border Patrol agents, viscerally reveal the embodied emotions of dirty work and doing dirty research.

The research draws on a two and a half year ethnography of the US Border Patrol in which the first author engaged in participant observation, shadowing, and interviews. Based upon the iterative data analysis and narrative writing techniques using verbatim quotations and field data, the essay provides a series of vignettes that explore the multi-faceted feelings of dirty work.

Tacit knowledge about dirty work is unmasked and known through experiences of the body as well as emotional reactions to the scene. A table listing the emotions that emerged in these stories supplements the narrative text. The analysis shows how communication about emotions provides a sense-making tool that, in turn, elucidates both the challenges and the potential highlights of doing dirty work. In particular, findings suggest that emotional ambiguity the “moral emotions” of guilt and shame may serve as sense-making tools that can help in ethical decision making and a re-framing of challenging situations.

A field immersion alongside dirty workers, coupled with a creative writing approach, provides access to the fleeting, embodied, and fragmented nature of tacit knowledge – answering the questions of what dirty work feels like. The essay provides a behind the scenes exploration of US Border Patrol agents – a profession that is alternately stigmatized or hidden from public view. Finally, the piece provides a self-reflexive account of the messy realities of conducting “dirty research” in a way that is open ended and embodied.

This paper aims to purpose the new design and fabrication scheme of Touch Mode Capacitive Pressure Sensor (TMCPS), which can be used in a wireless integrated resistor, inductor and capacitor circuit for monitoring pressure in biomedical applications.

This study focuses on the design, simulation and fabrication of dynamic capacitors, based on surface micromachining using polysilicon or aluminum films as the top electrode, both structural materials are capped with a 1.5 μm-thick polyimide film.

The design of microstructures using a composite model fits perfectly the preset mechanical behavior. After the full fabrication, the dynamic capacitors show complete mechanical flexibility and stability.

The novelty of the method presented in this study includes two important aspects: first, the capacitors are designed as a planar cavity within a rigid frame, where two walls contain channels which allow for the etching of the sacrificial material. Second, the electromechanical structures are designed using a composite model that includes a polyimide film capping for a precise pressure sensing, which also protects the internal cavity and, at the same time, provides full biocompatibility.

COVID-19 has spread so quickly and uninterruptedly that it has put great pressure on the capacities of emerging countries, especially the Latin America area. Its impacts that will have on businesses and entrepreneurs, it can be inferred that the duration of this crisis is still uncertain; thus, the aim on this chapter is to aggregate the current knowledge on how COVID-19 has impacted the entrepreneurship, and their expectations in the short and medium term. We examined 37 articles published between 2020 and 2021. To develop the discussion, we conducted descriptive review including year, affiliation of the first author, type of study, research methods in reviewed papers, and the origin of the empirical sample. We follow our thematic analysis within four broad categories: (1) crisis; (2) digitalization; (3) education; and (4) employment. Our results show that the call to address grand challenges, particularly relate to digitalization, public policies focused on supporting entrepreneurs and education in entrepreneurship in the Latin America context.

This work presents a review of the state of the art of the present century on academic and scientific production in Latin America related to the concept of Social Innovation. The analysis is based on articles published in indexed journals, which makes it possible to understand the existing asymmetry between the conceptual and theoretical veins, of the case studies, as well as of good social innovation practices that have been published in recent years. These debates have in some cases transcended public policies, as well as business and social realities where social innovation is a mechanism and strategy for personal, social, and territorial development. Finally, a Latin American community of researchers and academics around social innovation must be consolidated, who choose to continue building theoretical-empirical bodies following the Latin American reality.

Most researchers have studied economic performance linked to market orientation, while a lesser interest has been shown in validating this construct’s measure. We present a study of market orientation designed to obtain a valid measure of the market orientation construct. After presenting a theoretical model of market orientation, it is applied to investigate the usefulness of this construct in insurance companies of two European countries. Key features of the research methodology include several rounds of pretesting, multiple informant assessment, and a covariance structure procedure to show the structural validity of a measure of market orientation. The results show that the measure proposed is represented by a factorial structure that can be interpreted as an overall market orientation factor in both populations and a country‐specific additional factor.

Informality in the tourism sector of the Philippines is a pervasive phenomenon, yet only few studies have explored the former's contribution to the latter, especially at the local level. Hence, this chapter utilizes a tourism value chain model developed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and Directorate-General for Development and Cooperation (DEVCO) to determine the presence and examine the role of the informal sector in various spheres of Binondo's tourism industry. Findings reveal that informality is thriving in the areas of transportation, food and beverage, handicraft, leisure, excursion, tours, and support services. Conversely, they are inexistent or less visible in the accommodation and tourism assets in destination segments. Moreover, the fragmented tourism value chain of Binondo is heavily shaped by three primary challenges, namely, difference in perception between decision-makers and economic actors, resistance to change by the informal sector, and lack of relevant data to support evidence-based policymaking. To address these issues, the local government of Manila City may hence consider the following policy options: (i) mainstream a “whole-of-locality” approach, (ii) conduct an industry mapping of Binondo's tourism value chain, (iii) facilitate linkages between formal and informal businesses, (iv) develop shared infrastructure and extend capacity-building to the informal sector, and (v) employ a regulatory sandbox approach.

Environmental protection and conservation have been closely linked with the promotion of sustainable tourism across destinations. This is underpinned by the assumption that the environment and tourism have an interdependent relationship – where tourism activities need to support the preservation and conservation of environmental areas so that such economic activities can be sustained. That is a balance must be struck between the two. Within these two areas, women have been recognized to play a crucial role – in tourism, women were seen to dominate the industry's workforce globally; in environmental efforts, women were believed to play a key role in supporting such initiatives across societies. In both areas, women's efforts, despite being crucial to the achievement of sustainability, are often perceived as small and thus overlooked. Despite these, little has been said about their experiences in promoting sustainable tourism. To contribute to discourses promoting the idea of “thinking small,” this chapter looks at women's tourism-related environmental efforts that are often seen as small and overlooked, alongside their experiences in being involved in these initiatives.

This paper aims to present an evolutionary algorithm (EA) to accelerate the convergence for the radiative transfer equation (RTE) numerical solution using high-order and high-resolution schemes by the relaxation coefficients optimization.

The objective function minimizes the residual value difference between iterations in each control volume until its difference is lower than the convergence criterion. The EA approach is evaluated in two configurations, a two-dimensional cavity with scattering media and absorbing media.

Experimental results show the capacity to obtain the numerical solution for both cases on all interpolation schemes tested by the EA approach. The EA approach reduces CPU time for the RTE numerical solution using SUPERBEE, SWEBY and MUSCL schemes until 97% and 135% in scattering and absorbing media cases, respectively. The relaxation coefficients optimized every two numerical solution iterations achieve a significant reduction of the CPU time compared to the deferred correction procedure with fixed relaxation coefficients.

The proposed EA approach for the RTE numerical solution effectively reduces the CPU time compared to the DC procedure with fixed relaxation coefficients.

The purpose of this study is to provide insights into how accounting and accountability systems can contribute to transforming metrics used thus far in research performance evaluation. New metrics are needed to increase research impact on the challenges addressed by science. In particular, we document and reflect on accounting transformations towards responsible research and innovation (RRI).

The study draws on the European H2020 MULTI-ACT research project that focuses on the development of a collective research impact framework in the area of health research. We document, analyse and report our engagement in this project, which also included research funders, patient organizations, health researchers, accounting practitioners and health care providers. Drawing on RRI, Mode 2 knowledge production and accounting performativity, we inquire into the potential of accounting technologies to foster knowledge production and increase research impact.

The study shows how the engagement of accounting with other disciplines enables the development of new and relevant forms of research impact assessment. We document how accounting can be mobilised for the development of new forms of research impact assessment (i.e. indicators that evaluate key accountability dimensions to promote RRI) and how it helps to overcome the difficulties that can emerge during this process. We also show how the design of multiple accountabilities’ indicators, although chronically partial, produced a generative interrogation and discussion about how to translate RRI to research assessment in a workable setting, and the pivotal role of certain circumstances (e.g. the presence of authoritative actors) that appear during the knowledge production process for creating these generative opportunities.

This study illustrates the key role of accounts in the generation of knowledge. It also shows the value of considering the stakes of all affected actors in devising fruitful accounting approaches. This collective perspective is timely in the accounting discipline and could foster the connection between academics and practice which is so far under-reported. This perspective should be useful for policymakers such as the European Union and managers in the design of new policies, initiatives and practices.

Discussing and devising appropriate research assessment frameworks is strategic for the maximization of the social impact of research results. Accounting has a key role to play in optimizing a sustainable return on investment in research.

How to assess research impact in a more balanced way is in an early stage of development. The study provides empirical and practical material to advance further work and develop its potential to broaden the conceptualization of accountability.