Medieval cultural heritage as a tourism resource in Gauja National Park territory

Viduslaiku kultūras mantojums Gaujas nacionālā parka teritorijā ir plaši reprezentēts, bet šo vēsturisko objektu saglabāšana, pielietojums un attīstība ne visiem objektiem ir vienlīdz augstvērtīga. Bakalaura darba mērķis ir apzināt nozīmīgāko Gaujas nacionālā parka viduslaiku kultūras mantojuma objektu iesaistītības pakāpi un nozīmi kultūras tūrisma piedāvājumā un izvērtēt to nākotnes attīstības iespējas. Tika apsekotas visas sešas pilis, kuras atrodas parka teritorijā, novērtēts to stāvoklis un tūrisma iespējas. Darbā tika analizēti aptauju rezultāti par pilīm, festivāliem, pasākumiem, kas ļauj novērtēt sabiedrības informētību par viduslaiku kultūras mantojuma tūrisma potenciālu. Pamatojoties uz pētnieciskā darba rezultātiem, nobeigumā autors izklāsta priekšlikumus viduslaiku kultūras mantojuma objektu pielietojumam tūrisma veicināšanā un jaunu tūrisma produktu izveidē. Atslēgas vārdi: viduslaiki, GNP, pilis, foto retrospekcija, festivāli, tūrisms.The present paper deals with the cultural heritage of the medieval period in the territory of Gauja National Park. Despite the fact that objects of cultural interest dating from the medieval period are widely represented in the territory of the park their potential for tourism is not fully developed. The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the role and potential of medieval castles in developing opportunities for tourism. Visits were paid to the six medieval castles that are situated in the territory of Gauja National Park in order to assess their state of preservation and to evaluate the potential for their development in the context of tourism. The present paper contains inquiries of respondents concerning the aforementioned castles, as well as festivals and activities with medieval topics and opportunities for development of culture tourism. It allows to interpret the extent of information provided to society concerning the cultural heritage from the medieval period and it’s potential for growth and development. Building on field studies and research the paper offers perspectives on enhancing the use of objects of cultural heritage within Gauja National Park to foster tourism and to develop new products for tourism. Keywords: medieval period, GNP, castles, festivals, touris

Desert dust outbreaks in southern Europe: contribution to daily PM10 concentrations and short-term associations with mortality and hospital admissions

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the association between short-term exposure to desert dust and health outcomes is controversial. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to estimate the short-term effects of particulate matter ≤ 10 μm (PM10) on mortality and hospital admissions in 13 Southern European cities, distinguishing between PM10 originating from the desert and from other sources. METHODS: We identified desert dust advection days in multiple Mediterranean areas for 2001-2010 by combining modeling tools, back-trajectories, and satellite data. For each advection day, we estimated PM10 concentrations originating from desert, and computed PM10 from other sources by difference. We fitted city-specific Poisson regression models to estimate the association between PM from different sources (desert and non-desert) and daily mortality and emergency hospitalizations. Finally, we pooled city-specific results in a random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: On average, 15% of days were affected by desert dust at ground level (desert PM10 > 0 μg/m3). Most episodes occurred in spring-summer, with increasing gradient of both frequency and intensity north-south and west-east of the Mediterranean basin. We found significant associations of both PM10 concentrations with mortality. Increases of 10 μg/m3 in non-desert and desert PM10 (lag 0-1 days) were associated with increases in natural mortality of 0.55% (95% CI: 0.24, 0.87%) and 0.65% (95% CI: 0.24, 1.06%), respectively. Similar associations were estimated for cardio-respiratory mortality and hospital admissions. CONCLUSIONS: PM10 originating from the desert was positively associated with mortality and hospitalizations in Southern Europe. Policy measures should aim at reducing population exposure to anthropogenic airborne particles even in areas with large contribution from desert dust advections

Measurement of the top quark pair production cross section in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV in dilepton final states with ATLAS

A measurement of the production cross section of top quark pairs (t (t) over bar) in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is reported. Candidate events are selected in the dilepton topology with large missing transverse energy and at least two jets. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35 pb(-1), a t (t) over bar production cross section sigma(t (t) over bar) = 177 +/- 20(stat.) +/- 14(syst.) +/- 7(lum.) pb is measured for an assumed top quark mass of m(t) = 172.5 GeV. A second measurement requiring at least one jet identified as coming from a b quark yields a comparable result, demonstrating that the dilepton final states are consistent with being accompanied by b-quark jets. These measurements are in good agreement with Standard Model predictions. (C) 2011 CERN. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved