Considerations for sustainable tourism development in developing countries: Perspectives from the South Pacific

Nations of the South Pacific face a number of major challenges with respect to sustainable tourism development. Much of the literature presents overtly pessimistic conceptualisations of South Pacific nations as environmentally vulnerable and economically dependent. This paper argues that the narrative concerning sustainable tourism development in the South Pacific is incomplete and the predominant narrative viewing the South Pacific nations as economically and environmentally vulnerable is too simplistic. Additionally, this paper challenges the narrative that high or mass levels of tourism within the South Pacific cannot be sustainable. Based on experience derived from operational experience and consultancy, this paper provides insights into the challenges and possibilities for sustainable tourism development in the South Pacific

Migraine relief in 20 minutes using eyedrops?

One randomized crossover trial demonstrated the effectiveness of this simple, affordable treatment for patients with acute migraine pain.Yufei Ge, MD; Gregory Castelli, PharmD, BCPS, BC-ADM (UPMC St. Margaret Family Medicine Residency Program, Pittsburgh, PA). Deputy Editor: Anne Mounsey, MD (Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)Includes bibliographical reference

Spontaneously induced general relativity with holographic interior and general exterior

We study the spontaneously induced general relativity (GR) from the scalar-tensor gravity. We demonstrate by numerical methods that a novel inner core can be connected to the Schwarzschild exterior with cosmological constants and any sectional curvature. Deriving an analytic core metric for a general exterior, we show that all the nontrivial features of the core, including the locally holographic entropy packing, are universal for the general exterior in static spacetimes. We also investigate whether the f(R) gravity can accommodate the nontrivial core.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures; v3: clarification improved, revised version accepted by PL

An Analytic Analysis of Phase Transitions in Holographic Superconductors

Using a simple analytic approach, we study the universal properties of second-order phase transition in holographic superconductor models. We explore a general model in arbitrary dimensions in which the condensation occurs via the St\"uckelberg spontaneous symmetry breaking mechanism. All the possible second-order phase transitions and their universal characteristics can be identified analytically. The relationship between the critical temperature and charge density is generic, and the critical exponents can be greater than the typical mean field value 1/2. In addition, the related numerical factors can also be computed qualitatively.Comment: 9 pages; revised version to appear in PT

Googling DNA sequences on the World Wide Web

Background: New web-based technologies provide an excellent opportunity for sharing and accessing information and using web as a platform for interaction and collaboration. Although several specialized tools are available for analyzing DNA sequence information, conventional webbased tools have not been utilized for bioinformatics applications. We have developed a novel algorithm and implemented it for searching species-specific genomic sequences, DNA barcodes, by using popular web-based methods such as Google. Results: We developed an alignment independent character based algorithm based on dividing a sequence library (DNA barcodes) and query sequence to words. The actual search is conducted by conventional search tools such as freely available Google Desktop Search. We implemented our algorithm in two exemplar packages. We developed pre and post-processing software to provide customized input and output services, respectively. Our analysis of all publicly available DNA barcode sequences shows a high accuracy as well as rapid results. Conclusion: Our method makes use of conventional web-based technologies for specialized genetic data. It provides a robust and efficient solution for sequence search on the web. The integration of our search method for large-scale sequence libraries such as DNA barcodes provides an excellent web-based tool for accessing this information and linking it to other available categories of information on the web

Towards High-Quality Selective Beam Melting Technologies: Modeling and Experiments of Single Track Formations

Additive manufacturing technologies are promising but still not widely used. One major problem is the unsatisfying quality e.g. surface roughness and dimensional accuracy. The discontinuous droplets and distortions in single track formations, which influence both surface roughness and dimensional accuracy, were investigated. The physical mechanisms of the formations of the droplets and distortions were proposed and the heat transfer simulations based on the Finite Element Method were established to predict the possibility of the droplet formation and the magnitude of the distortion. Experiments using Electron Beam Melting were then conducted to validate the physical and numerical models. The good agreements of the simulated and experimental results demonstrated that the proposed models are simple and efficient to provide quantitative predictions of the distortions.Mechanical Engineerin

Dynamical perturbations and critical phenomena in Gauss-Bonnet-AdS black holes

We investigate the perturbations of charged scalar field in $5$-dimensional Gauss-Bonnet AdS black hole backgrounds. From the perturbation behaviors we obtain the objective picture on how the high curvature influence the spacetime perturbation and the condensation of the scalar hair. The high curvature effects can also be read from the linear response function such as the susceptibility and the correlation length, when the system approaches the critical point. We find that the Gauss-Bonnet term does not affect the critical exponents of the system and they still take the mean-field values.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Lett.

Tools for Prescreening the Most Active Sites on Ir and Rh Clusters toward C−H Bond Cleavage of Ethane: NBO Charges and Wiberg Bond Indexes

B3LYP calculations were carried out to study the insertion of iridium (Ir) and rhodium (Rh) clusters into a C−H bond of ethane, which is often the ratelimiting step of the catalytic cycle of oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane. Our previous research on Ir catalysis correlates the diffusivity of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the Ir clusters and the relative activities of the various catalytic sites. The drawback of this research is that the molecular orbital visualization is qualitative rather than quantitative. Therefore, in this study on C−H bond activation by the Ir and Rh clusters, we conducted analyses of natural bond orbital (NBO) charges and Wiberg bond indexes (WBIs), both of which are not only quantitative but also independent of the basis sets. We found strong correlation between the NBO charges, the WBIs, and the relative activities of the various catalytic sites on the Ir and Rh clusters. Analyses of the NBO charges and the WBIs provide a fast and reliable means of prescreening the most active sites on the Ir and Rh clusters and potentially on other similar transition-metal clusters that activate the C−H bonds of ethane and other light alkanes