Smart Tourism Destinations: Can the Destination Management Organizations Exploit Benefits of the ICTs? Evidences from a Multiple Case Study

Recent developments of ICTs enable new ways to experience tourism and conducted to the concept of smart tourism. The adoption of cutting-edge technologies and its combination with innovative organizational models fosters cooperation, knowledge sharing, and open innovation among service providers in tourism destination. Moreover, it offers innovative services to visitors. In few words, they become smart tourism destinations. In this paper, we report first results of the SMARTCAL project aimed at conceiving a digital platform assisting Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) in providing smart tourism services. A DMO is the organization charged with managing the tourism offer of a collaborative network, made up of service providers acting in a destination. In this paper, we adopted a multiple case studies approach to analyze five Italian DMOs. Our aims were to investigate (1) if, and how, successful DMOs were able to offer smart tourism services to visitors; (2) if the ICTs adoption level was related to the collaboration level among DMO partners. First results highlighted that use of smart technologies was still in an embryonic stage of development, and it did not depend from collaboration levels

On-Chip Contactless Four-Electrode Conductivity Detection for Capillary Electrophoresis Devices

In this contribution, a capillary electrophoresis microdevice with an integrated on-chip contactless fourelectrode conductivity detector is presented. A 6-cm-long, 70-µm-wide, and 20-µm-deep channel was etched in a glass substrate that was bonded to a second glass substrate in order to form a sealed channel. Four contactless electrodes (metal electrodes covered by 30-nm silicon carbide) were deposited and patterned on the second glass substrate for on-chip conductivity detection. Contactless conductivity detection was performed in either a two-or a four-electrode configuration. Experimental results confirmed the improved characteristics of the fourelectrode configuration over the classical two-electrode detection setup. The four-electrode configuration allows for sensitive detection for varying carrier-electrolyte background conductivity without the need for adjustment of the measurement frequency. Reproducible electrophoretic separations of three inorganic cations (K + , Na + , Li + ) and six organic acids are presented. Detection as low as 5 µM for potassium was demonstrated. In the development and optimization of miniaturized analytical systems, a delicate combination of science and technology originating from microelectronic device fabrication, electrical engineering, and analytical chemistry is essential. In this multidisciplinary field, microtechnology experts combine the demands from analytical chemistry and electronic instrumentation in the design and fabrication of novel analytical devices. 1,2 Chemical analysis systems, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or capillary electrophoresis (CE), always consist of the combination of a separation and a detection system. For separation, CE or CE-based separation techniques are highly suitable for implementation on the microchip format. Electrokinetic control of fluid transport eliminates the need for external components such as pumps and valves. The separation efficiency is relatively independent of the separation path length and is, therefore, more compatible with miniaturization than, for instance, chromatographic techniques. As far as detection is concerned, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is, at present, the most widely used detection technique in miniaturized analysis systems because of its high sensitivity. The drawbacks of LIF are its limited compatibility with miniaturization and on-chip integration and the requirement for labeling of most (bio) chemically relevant compounds. External devices such as the relatively large laser and the photodetector system strongly prohibit further miniaturization. The development of alternative detection methods compatible with miniaturization and full onchip integration is highly desirable. Since electrode deposition is a well-established process in microfabrication, the implementation of detection techniques utilizing integrated electrodes has become an attractive approach. Successful coupling of conventional CE with potentiometry, 3 amperometry, 4,5 and conductometry 6-10 has been reported in the literature. In addition, both amperometric and potentiometric detection were also implemented in chip-based CE systems. [11][12][13] The primary advantage of amperometric and potentiometric detection over conductivity detection is the high selectivity induced by the electrochemical reactions that take place at the electrode surface. Only electrochemically active compounds * Corresponding author: (tel) +31 (0) 15 278 6518; (fax) +31 (0) 15 278 5755

Confocal laser endomicroscopy in head and neck malignancies using FITC-labelled EpCAM- and EGF-R-antibodies in cell lines and tumor biopsies.

Intraoperative detection of residual malignant cells at tumor margins following excision of primary tumors could help improving surgery and thus patients' outcome. The feasibility of the tumor antigens epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) and epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) for antibody-dependent confocal laser scanning endomicroscopy (CLE)-mediated visualization of malignant cells was addressed. Both tumor antigens are highly and frequently expressed in the majority of carcinomas, including head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), and represent prognostic and therapeutic tumor target molecules. FITC-conjugated EGF-R- and EpCAM-specific antibodies served as molecular tools for the detection of antigen-positive cells using the CLE technology. Specificity of both antibodies and their ability to discriminate tumor from non-tumor cells were assessed in vitro with human fibroblasts and PCI-1 HNSCC cell lines, and ex vivo on primary HNSCC samples (n = 11) and healthy mucosa (n = 5). Antigen specificity of the used EpCAM-specific antibody was superior to that of the EGF-R-specific antibody both in vitro and ex vivo (100% vs. 31.25%), and allowed visualization of cellular structures in CLE measurements. These results hold promise for possible future applications in humans

Temporal correlation of optical coherence tomography in-vivo images of rabbit airway for the diagnosis of edema

Recently, full-range optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems have been developed to image the human airway. These novel systems utilize a fiber-based OCT probe which acquires three-dimensional (3-D) images with micrometer resolution. Following an airway injury, mucosal edema is the first step in the body’s inflammatory response, which occasionally leads to airway stenosis, a life-threatening condition for critically ill newborns. Therefore, early detection of edema is vital for airway management and prevention of stenosis. In order to examine the potential of the full-range OCT to diagnose edema, we investigated temporal correlation of OCT images obtained from the subglottic airway of live rabbits. Temporally correlated OCT images were acquired at fixed locations in the rabbit subglottis of either artificially induced edema or normal tissues. Edematous tissue was experimentally modeled by injecting saline beneath the epithelial layer of the subglottic mucosa. The calculated cross temporal correlations between OCT images of normal airway regions show periodicity that correlates with the respiratory motion of the airway. However, the temporal correlation functions calculated from OCT images of the edematous regions show randomness without the periodic characteristic. These in-vivo experimental results of temporal correlations between OCT images show the potential of a computer-based or -aided diagnosis of edema in the human respiratory mucosa with a full-range OCT system