Aspects of sustainability in the destination branding process: a bottom-up approach

The concept of sustainability is based on the premise that the inhabitants of a destination should be involved in the way that destination is managed and promoted. At the same time, the literature of place branding emphasizes the important role of local stakeholders in the creation of a true and reliable place brand. In fact, the process of developing a destination brand begins with the aim of shaping the identity of a destination; what the destination stands for. The sustainable dimensions of the destination branding process are explored, while focus groups and structured questionnaires are used to evaluate the usefulness of projection techniques in the process of building a brand identity. It seems that the use of the personification technique could work as an effective destination positioning exercise and as an alternative proposal to the outdated clichés used in tourism promotion

The serum zinc concentration as a potential biological marker in patients with major depressive disorder

Despite many clinical trials assessing the role of zinc in major depressive disorder (MDD), the conclusions still remain ambiguous. The aim of the present clinical study was to determine and comparison the zinc concentration in the blood of MDD patients (active stage or remission) and healthy volunteers (controls), as well as to discuss its potential clinical usefulness as a biomarker of the disease. In this study 69 patients with current depressive episode, 45 patients in remission and 50 controls were enrolled. The zinc concentration was measured by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET AAS). The obtained results revealed, that the zinc concentration in depressed phase were statistically lower than in the healthy volunteers [0.89 vs. 1.06 mg/L, respectively], while the zinc level in patients achieve remission was not significantly different from the controls [1.07 vs. 1.06 mg/L, respectively]. Additionally, among the patients achieve remission a significant differences in zinc concentration between group with and without presence of drug-resistance in the previous episode of depression were observed. Also, patients in remission demonstrated correlation between zinc level and the average number of depressive episodes in the last year. Serum zinc concentration was not dependent on atypical features of depression, presence of psychotic symptoms or melancholic syndrome, age, age of onset or duration of disease, number of episodes in the life time, duration of the episode/remission and severity of depression measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HDRS), and the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Concluding, our findings confirm the correlation between zinc deficit present in the depressive episode, and are consistent with the majority of previous studies. These results may also indicate that serum zinc concentration might be considered as a potential biological marker of MDD

An exploratory analysis of planning characteristics in Australian visitor attractions

This paper provides an exploratory analysis of the planning practices of 408 Australian attraction operators. The results indicate that attraction managers can be divided into four categories: those that do not engage in any formal planning, those that adopt a short-term planning approach, those that develop long-term plans, and those that use both short-term and long-term planning approaches. An evaluation of the sophistication of attraction planning showed a bipolar distribution. Attraction managers favored a planning horizon of three or five years, and were inclined to involve their employees in the planning process. Managers relied strongly on their own research and tourism industry intelligence when formulating business plans. The content of plans tended to focus on operational activities, financial planning and marketing. The study provides a benchmark for the comparison of attraction planning efforts in various contexts. © 2006 Asia Pacific Tourism Association

Sophisticated instrumental spectroscopy methods in studies of inorganic compounds

The instrumental spectroscopic methods are very important in nowadays scientific studies. The most of instrumental methods (e.g. IR, NMR, EPR, UV-Vis, mass spectrometry) are well grounded and used in the laboratory practice. In the article the methods of instrumental spectroscopy which are very significant in the studies of inorganic compounds were selected and described. The authors paid particular attention to the unpopular methods, such as: Resonance Raman spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy, Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance and photoelectron spectroscopy. They described spectroscopic base of these methods as well as the application based on the analysis of the particular examples of inorganic compounds. This article is an interdisciplinary review. It is the first work in literature that emphasizes many different and complex aspects of sophisticated spectroscopy methods in the modern inorganic analysis

Vitrimers – the miracle polymer materials combining the properties of glass and plastic?

Vitrimery stanowią nową klasę materiałów polimerowych opracowanych przez Ludwika Leiblera (chemika polskiego pochodzenia) oraz współpracowników z Francji. Ta klasa polimerów charakteryzuje się wysoko pożądanymi właściwościami, łączącymi odtwarzalność oraz plastyczność w wysokich temperaturach wraz z nierozpuszczalnością. Związki te stanowią nową klasę materiałów organicznych, tworzącą kowalencyjne sieci, które mogą zmieniać swoją topologię na drodze aktywowanych termicznie reakcji wymiany wiązań. Przejście ze stanu ciekłego do stałego jest odwracalne i stanowi przemianę szklistą (zeszklenie). Te bardzo wyrafinowane właściwości otwierają nowe obszary i możliwości praktycznego zastosowania tych związków. Autorzy opisali aktualny stan wiedzy na temat vitrimerów oraz możliwe wyjaśnienie ich fizyko-chemicznego zachowania, właściwości, a także możliwe zastosowania.Vitrimers are a new class of polymer materials invented by Ludwik Leibler (Polish-born chemist) and his co-workers from France. This class of polymers has highly desirable properties, combining reparability and malleability at high temperatures with insolubility. These compounds can be understood as strong organic glass formers with covalent networks that are able to change their topology through thermoactivated bond exchange reactions. The transition from the liquid to the solid is reversible and is, in fact, a glass transition. These very sophisticated properties open new areas and possibilities in practical applications. In this article, the Authors described the current state of knowledge about vitrimers and possible explanation of their physico-chemical behavior, properties and also possible applications

The influence of the fineness of metakaolin on the properties of self-compacting underwater concrete

W pracy opisano badania wpływu metakaolinu o różnym stopniu rozdrobnienia w ilości 20% w stosunku do masy cementu na właściwości samozagęszczalnych betonów do robót podwodnych. Wykazano, że metakaolin o większym stopniu rozdrobnienia zwiększa skuteczność działania domieszki DZL i superplastyfikatora w mieszance betonowej. Uwidacznia się to mniejszą wymywalnością zaczynu z mieszanki i większym jej upłynnieniem w porównaniu do mieszanki zawierającej metakaolin o mniejszej zawartości frakcji drobnych. Ponadto stwierdzono, że samozagęszczalny beton do robót podwodnych zawierający metakaolin o większym stopniu rozdrobnienia uzyskuje większą wytrzymałość na ściskanie oraz charakteryzuje się większą odpornością na działanie mrozu i środków odladzających.The paper presents the research results of the influence of metakaolin of different fineness that is applied as a microfiller (20% of the cement mass) on the properties of self-compacting underwater concrete. It is demonstrated that the metakaolin with higher fineness improves the efficiency of antiwashout admixture and superplasticizer in concrete mixture. It was revealed that the higher resistance to washout of cement paste from the concrete mixture and higher flowability in comparison to the mixture containing metakaolin with lower content of fine fraction (below 10μm). In addition, the positive effect of the higher fineness of metakaolin on the compressive strength and freeze thaw scaling resistance was proven in the self-compacting underwater concrete

Reduced corneal sensitivity with neuronal degeneration is a novel clinical feature in Wolfram Syndrome

PURPOSE To evaluate corneal sensitivity and corneal nerve morphology among patients with Wolfram syndrome (WFS). DESIGN An observational clinical case series with confirmatory experiments. METHODS We included a group of 12 patients with biallelic mutations in the WFS1 gene and a control group composed of 30 individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D). All participants (n = 42) underwent a complete ophthalmic examination, esthesiometry, and retinal nerve fiber layer assessment using optical coherence tomography. Morphologic assessment of corneal neuropathy by in vivo corneal confocal microscopy was conducted in 11 patients with WFS (both eyes) and 1 WFS patient (1 eye) as well as in 24 patients with T1D (both eyes in 6 patients and 1 eye in 18 patients). Additionally, corneas from Wfs1KO mice and their wild-type littermates were subjected to laser scanning confocal microscopy. RESULTS Corneal sensitivity was significantly reduced in patients with WFS compared with patients with T1D (4.50 cm [interquartile range, 3.50–5.50 cm] vs 6.00 cm [interquartile range, 6.00–6.00 cm]; P < 10–5). Additionally, corneal nerve fiber and branch density as well as nerve fiber length were low among patients with WFS. Corneal sensitivity correlated with macular average thickness (R = 0.6928; P = .039) and best-corrected visual acuity (R = –0.61; P = .002) in the WFS group. Similarly, Wfs1 knockout mice also presented corneal neurodegeneration changes when corneal nerve fiber density and length were measured using laser scanning confocal microscopy. CONCLUSIONS Decreased corneal sensitivity and corneal nerve degeneration are observed in WFS. Corneal sensitivity is linked with the degree of disease progression as measured by visual acuity and retinal thinning

Tourism Development As a Resident-Tourist Exchange Process: an Economic Theoretic Interpretation

Many attemps have been made to theoretically base research in tourism development. However, a discernible bias towards residents’ perceptions exists. Since tourism involves the meeting of (at least) two populations, residents’ perception ha to be analysed as part of an exchange process where hosts and guests are both considered. This paper presents and partially develops the Exchange Economic Model implemented by Bimonte and Punzo (Tour Manage 55:199–208, 2016) to investigate the possible scenarios and dynamics that tourism development may imply. The theoretical framework takes an economic perspective and assumes that agents’ preferences are endogenous. This means that the population’s interactions and experiences influence guests’ and/or hosts’ attitudes and opinions, which may in turn cause structural changes in individuals’ preferences. As a consequence, populations may split and inter- and/or intra-community conflict may arise that affects individual quality of life (QOL). The paper addresses this issue theoretically, suggesting some possible solutions