Prospects for sports tourism development in the Caspian region

Mestrado em Turismo, Inovação e Desenvolvimento na Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão do Instituto Politécnico de Viana do CasteloAzerbaijan is a country rich in natural, cultural and built heritage with potential to become an appealing tourism destination. This heritage richness is also found in the Caspian region where improved infrastructure could turn it into an ideal desti-nation for sports tourism, particularly water-based. However, just because it has rich natural and cultural heritage and infrastructure for pursuing this type of tourism does not mean that the Caspian region has been successful in developing this tourism potential. The Caspian region has not focused on the sports tourism prod-uct because of the low number of facilities and organized activities in the region. However, this product is argued to present considerable potential due to fast changes taking place in Azerbaijan, including the building of new infrastructure and facilities. Furthermore, no research has taken place on the development of sports tourism in this region. This dissertation is a pioneer study on this specific form of tourism in Azerbaijan and the Caspian Region. The dissertation aims to determine the current situation and identify ways of de-veloping sports tourism in the Caspian region. Online research was conducted for obtaining secondary data on available resources and infrastructure. Results sug-gest that considerable attention needs to be given by tourism planners if sports tourism in the Caspian region is to flourish. This study is expected to draw atten-tion to the need for an innovative approach to tourism development in Azerbaijan and more particularly to sports tourism in the Caspian region.Azerbaijão é um país rico em património natural e cultural. Predispõe características para se tornar um destino turístico atraente. Esta riqueza também é encontrada na região Cáspia onde o melhoramento de estruturas poderia transformar a região em um destino ideal para turismo desportivo, particularmente de desportos de água. Mesmo assim, com este potencial não quer dizer que a região tem tido sucesso em aproveitar as possibilidades ao máximo. A região Cáspia não tem apostado no produto de turismo desportivo devido ao baixo número de instalações e actividades organizados na região. No entanto, é argumentado que este produto poderá apresentar um potencial considerável tendo em conta evoluções rápidas a decorrerem no Azerbaijão, incluindo a construção de novas infraestruturas e instalações. Alem disto, nenhuma pesquisa tem sido feita no âmbito do turismo desportivo no que diz respeito a esta região. Esta dissertação é um estudo pioneiro nesta forma de turismo em Azerbaijão e a região Cáspia. A dissertação tem como objectivo determinar a situação actual e identificar as formas de desenvolver turismo desportivo na região Cáspia. Foi feita pesquisa na internet para obter dados secundários acerca de recursos e infraestruturas. Os resultados indicam que uma atenção considerável será necessária para o turismo desportivo florescer na região. Este estudo espera chamar atenção para a necessidade de uma aproximação mais inovadora no desenvolvimento de turismo no Azerbaijão e mais especificamente o turismo desportivo na região Cáspia

Diagnostic and demographic characteristics of patients referred to a child and adolescent psychiatry clinic

Objective: The aim of the present study is to examine the diagnostic categories of the patients referred to a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic and the relationship of such categories with age and gender

Evaluation of executive functions in children with rheumatic heart diseases

Background Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is a multisystemic inflammatory disease in children and young adults. The most notable complications of ARF are rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and Sydenham's chorea (SC). There have been many reports about executive dysfunctions with children who have SC. "Executive function" is an umbrella term that is used to describe higher level cognitive functions. The aim of this study is to determine the executive functions of children with RHD. We evaluated executive functions in healthy children with the same sociodemographic characteristics as children with RHD. Methods Our study was designed as a cross-sectional randomized study, including children with RHD aged between 12 and 18, and healthy controls. The difference between the patient and control group participants in terms of age, gender, education level, education level of the parents, family income level, and executive functions were investigated. Executive functions composed of Digit Sequence Test, Verbal Fluency Test, Trail-Making Test, Stroop Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Results In our study, a total of 30 children with RHD were followed up at the pediatric cardiology outpatient clinic of Bezmialem Vakif University Hospital composed the patient group. The control group was made up of 30 healthy children of the same sex and age group as the patient group. The mean age of the case group was 14.73 +/- 1.84 years. The Digit Span Test, Verbal Fluency Test, Trail-Making Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Stroop Test produced no statistically significant differences between the RHD patients and the controls. Conclusions No statistically significant difference was found between the RHD patients and control patients in any executive function test. It was suggested that executive dysfunction might not develop in RHD patients before developing SC

Duration of Breastfeeding, Bottle-Feeding, and Parafunctional Oral Habits in Relation to Anxiety Disorders Among Children

Objective: The aim of the present study is to investigate the duration of breastfeeding in relation to various parafunctional oral habits in children with anxiety disorders. Materials and Methods: The study includes 195 children and adolescents with anxiety disorders and age- and gender-matched 255 healthy control subjects. Diagnoses were made with semistructured interview (K-SADS). Information about breastfeeding and parafunctional oral habits was investigated via a questionnaire prepared for the study. Results: The mean age was 11.502.50 years for clinical group and 11.27 +/- 2.33 years for controls. Fifty-four percent of the clinical group and 56% of the control group were female subjects. Duration of exclusive (4.72 +/- 2.86, 5.55 +/- 2.36; p=0.002) and total breastfeeding (12.38 +/- 10.32, 15.89 +/- 9.09; p<0.001) was significantly lower and duration of bottle-feeding (22.30 +/- 19.54, 16.64 +/- 12.79; p=0.005) was higher than controls in the clinical group. Duration of exclusive breastfeeding was significantly correlated with duration of bottle-feeding (r=-0.263, p<0.001) and duration of pacifier use (r=-0.249, p=0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed that duration of exclusive breastfeeding (=0.88, p=0.006) and bottle-feeding (=1.02, p=0.005), as well as various oral habits, was associated with diagnosis of an anxiety disorder. Conclusion: Nutrition methods in early years of life may result in long-term consequences regarding anxiety disorders for children. Clinicians should encourage parents for a shorter duration of bottle-feeding and a longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding

Abstracts of the First Eurasian Conference; The Coronavirus Pandemic and Critical ICT Infrastructure

While the world is struggling with COVID-19, the ICT industry seeks to play a constructive role in combating the spread of the virus. This book contains the abstracts of the papers presented at The First Eurasian Conference; The Coronavirus Pandemic and Critical ICT Infrastructure (PANDEMIC-ICT-2020) organized by AMIR Technical Services LLC, Tbilisi, Georgia held on November 28-30, 2020. Conference Title: The Coronavirus Pandemic and Critical ICT InfrastructureConference Acronym: PANDEMIC-ICT-2020Conference Date: 28-30 November 2020Conference Location: Online (Virtual Mode)Conference Organizer: AMIR Technical Services LLC, Tbilisi, Georgi