The impact of residents' informedness and involvement on their perceptions of tourism impacts: The case of Bled

The tourism development debate includes many studies on how residents perceive positive or negative tourism impacts, based on sustainability, as understood by a three-pillar concept. However, so far studies were very limited in addressing certain requirements for sustainable tourism, such as informed stakeholders’ participation and cooperation – which represent the subject of this study. The survey that was undertaken follows previous ones in using the established three-pillar sustainability concept in order to define impacts of tourism. Further, it adds to tourism research by surveying informedness and developmental involvement. A four-dimensional informedness–involvement tourism grid is used to segment residents and their perceptions on tourism impacts in each segment are analysed. The model is empirically applied to the Slovenian lake and mountain destination of Bled. The findings confirm that highly informed and highly involved residents had better perceptions of tourism than all other groups, whereas those residents who were lowly informed and lowly involved had more negative perceptions of tourism. The survey contributes by expanding knowledge on resident perceptions of tourism by adding in the aspects of informedness and involvement. The proposed model can be applied to any destination to help manage residents’ opinions and consequently their support for tourism development

Solar power capture using polymeric optical fibres

The design and performance of a novel low cost technique for solar power capture is presented. Applications for such a system include daylighting, solar power delivery and in electricity generation systems using algae, amongst others. The proposed model uses Polymeric / Plastic Optical Fibres (POF) not only as the light transport medium but also as the light collecting mechanism. The light collecting arrangement is based on the Reciprocity Principle and consists of the curved surface of a POF that is structurally modified so that solar light can be directed into the fibre by using an analogous process to fibre side emission but in the reverse. Several arrangements have been investigated. Computer modeling confirms the achievability of an acceptance cone of at least ±50o. Empirical results show a 53% increase in efficiency with 3mm POF compared to 2mm ones. A major advantage of this technique is the elimination of one of the two axes (orbital) of solar tracking and the considerable decrease in importance of the second axis (seasonal), currently a necessity in solar scanning systems

Curriculum design and development for computer science and similar disciplines

In this paper, curriculum design and development for computer science and similar disciplines as a formal model is introduced and analysed. Functions of education process as knowledge delivery and assessment are analysed. Structural formation of curriculum design is presented using definitive, characteristic and predictive functions. The process of changes in the discipline is also described and analysed. The authors then develop an algorithm to determine the core of the discipline and functions of the core moving and merging are introduced

Graphene oxide-based drug delivery vehicles: functionalization, characterization, and cytotoxicity evaluation

As a consequence of graphene oxides (GOs) high chemical versatility, there is great interest in functionalized as a nanocarrier for in vitro and in vivo drug delivery. Within this review, the structure and properties of GO that allow covalent and noncovalent functionalization are discussed. In short, toxicity investigations show functionalized GO is biocompatible. Various works demonstrate the potential of GO derivatives as exciting nanocarriers for the loading and delivery of therapeutic drugs.140381sciescopu

Approaches to mitigate polymer-core loss in plastic optical fibers: a review

Within fiber optics, plastic optical fibers (POFs) have always had to take a back seat due to their relatively high loss. This kept them as a specialty fiber for illumination, sensing and low speed short data links. However, continued research and development on the core materials used in POFs are improving their performance significantly as we are now able to manufacture POFs with low transmission loss, high temperature resistance and stable bandwidth over distance. The improved performance, the ease of installation and the low cost of POFs has led to a renewed interest in these fibers. This review looks at the material developments that have and continue to improve the optical loss factors in POFs. Both intrinsic and extrinsic loss mechanisms are discussed. In particular the intrinsic loss mechanisms are reviewed in greater detail. Intrinsic losses are associated with the chemical and physical structure of the fiber materials, while extrinsic losses are related to losses due to contaminants and various production imperfections

The formation of stacked-cup carbon nanotubes using chemical vapor deposition from ethanol over silica

Processes involved in using SiO2 particles as catalysts for stacked-cup carbon nanotube formation in a spray pyrolysis chemical deposition method from ethanol were investigated. In addition, the recyclability of the SiO2 substrates is investigated. The SiO2 particles are shown to reduce to SiC. Moreover, the addition of triethylborate to produce boron species, and extended reactions, through recycling, leads to higher yields by improving the availability of SiC species. The formation of the carbon nanostructures is best explained through a carbon dissolution mechanism

Intestinal lipid-derived signals that sense dietary fat.

Fat is a vital macronutrient, and its intake is closely monitored by an array of molecular sensors distributed throughout the alimentary canal. In the mouth, dietary fat constituents such as mono- and diunsaturated fatty acids give rise to taste signals that stimulate food intake, in part by enhancing the production of lipid-derived endocannabinoid messengers in the gut. As fat-containing chyme enters the small intestine, it causes the formation of anorexic lipid mediators, such as oleoylethanolamide, which promote satiety. These anatomically and functionally distinct responses may contribute to the homeostatic control and, possibly, the pathological dysregulation of food intake