Developing Health Tourism in Healthier Rural Areas: the Role of Matrix-resources

In the last 15 years, environmental medicine research has highlighted the negative effects of urban pollution on human health. Despite this, no review of the medical literature has emerged to examine the different forms of pollution and to assist in the development of tourism innovation in rural areas. The main objective of this paper is to understand if the presence of safety, clean air, silence, dark at night, and other (matrix) resources \u2013 defined as opposites of various forms of pollutants \u2013 may act as additional resources for companies and rural tourist destinations that wish to innovate their supply through the development of health and wellness tourism. This paper analyses the results of environmental medicine through the lens of a \u201cresource - based view\u201d of the firm (R-BV). It was thus possible to identify a range of 7 matrix-resources with the required characteristics. A wide series of health and wellness tourism experiences \u2013 lasting from 1 to 8 weeks \u2013 can be proposed as a tool for sustainable economic development of firms operating in those rural areas that have the right resources, whether or not they are already endowed with wellness infrastructures

Residents' perceptions of tourism impacts and attitudes towards tourism policies.

The purpose of this paper is to explore residents' perceptions of tourism impacts and how they affect attitudes towards local tourism policies. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of community attachment and employment sector of residents. This study presents the results of a quantitative survey among residing families of a small mountain community located in the North-East of Italy. The findings reveal that residents perceptions on economic, environmental and socio-cultural impacts affect their support to local tourism policies. Residents who perceive positively tourism impacts are more willing to support future tourism development policies. The analysis has also demonstrated that native-born residents generally perceive negatively tourism impacts and are less willing to support any increase in the overall number of tourists, supporting the well know social exchange theory. Some implications for the tourism planning and management of the destination are also discussed

Notes on a private library in fourth/tenth-century Baghdad

Studies on medieval Arabic bibliophilia have mainly focussed on public and semi-public institutions, for some of which we have detailed information. Less is known about private libraries and their physical arrangement. This paper looks at the library of Ab\u16b Bakr al-\u1e62\u16bl\u12b (d. 335/947), which is described by the sources in unique terms, contextualising it with al-\u1e62\u16bl\u12b\u2019s own words on collecting and organizing books

H\u101r\u16bn al-Rash\u12bd e al-Muqtadir : come distinguere un buon califfo da un cattivo califfo

In questo articolo ci si occupa di come il regno e la vita di due califfi abbasidi siano ritratti e valutati dalle fonti narrative arabe medievali. H\u101r\u16bn al-Rash\u12bd (r. 170/786-193/809) e al-Muqtadir (r. 295/908-320/932) divennero, pochi decenni dopo la loro morte, il paradigma del buono e del cattivo califfo rispettivamente; tuttavia, i loro lunghi califfatia le loro biografie personali presentano diversi elementi comuni. Un'analisi di temi simili presenti nelle rappresentazioni dei due sovrani illustrano mezzi e strategie narrativi impiegati dalle fonti, nel tentativo di stabilire quali fattori determinino lo sviluppo di una reputazione post-mortem positiva o negativa.This paper looks at how the lives and reigns of two Abbasid caliphs are portrayed and evaluated in medieval Arabic narrative sources. H\u101r\u16bn al-Rash\u12bd (r. 170/786-193/809) and al-Muqtadir (r. 295/908-320/932) became, only a few decades after their death, the paradigm of the good and the bad caliph respectively. However, their long caliphates as well as their personal biographies share several elements. An analysis of similar themes in the portrayals of the two rulers illustrates narrative means and strategies employed by the sources, in an attempt to establish which factors determine the development of a positive or negative post-mortem reputation

Appunti sulla pragmatica medievale

Questo contributo propone l\u2019applicazione di strumenti di analisi propri della pragmatica a testi arabi classici, e in particolare alla prosa storiografica. Scopo dello studio \ue8 identificare possibili vie e modalit\ue0 esplorative e formulare le domande di ricerca a cui questo tipo di analisi pu\uf2 offrire una risposta. Ci si concentrer\ue0 su un autore, al-Suli, e su un elemento specifico dei testi, la conversazione

A Grammarian's Life in his own Voice : Autobiographical Fragments in Arabic Biographical Literature

This paper follows the professional and personal biography of one of the most important third/ninth century Iraqi grammarians, Mu\u1e25ammad b. Ya\u1e25y\u101 Tha\u2bflab (d. 291/904), identifying and evaluating the importance of events narrated in his own voice within larger compilations of biographical material. Although Tha\u2bflab did not leave a long-lasting legacy as a scholar in the form of a fully fledged grammatical school, his prominence during his life was great, as was his financial success. Virtually all younger contemporary students of grammar could claim him as a teacher; he also tutored many children of kutt\u101b and aristocratic families, besides attending their maj\u101lis, where learning was displayed for the entertainment of the assembled guests. Because of these activities, which were practiced throughout a famously long life, and because of Tha\u2bflab\u2019s fondness for telling anecdotes about his youth, the sources are generous with details about his personal life and quirks, from both sympathetic and hostile perspectives. Some of the traits of Tha\u2bflab\u2019s character, as for instance his avarice, seem to be recurring in the portrayals of many of his colleagues, while others single him out. The present study investigates this material, asking whether it is possible to isolate Tha\u2bflab\u2019s voice within it and, if so, whether this voice amounts to a premodern autobiography

Energia e innovazione tra flussi globali e circuiti locali

La tematica energetica \ue8 di fortissima attualit\ue0 e rilevanza sia per questioni antiche (sicurezza nazionale, sviluppo economico) sia per questioni pi\uf9 recenti come il cambiamento climatico. Gran parte delle emissioni che provocano il surriscaldamento del pianeta provengono dalla combustione di fonti fossili. La transizione verso un uso pi\uf9 sostenibile dell\u2019energia sta per\uf2 segnando il passo. Ai buoni risultati ottenuti dall\u2019industria si sommano crescenti consumi civili, in particolare nel settore dei trasporti. I fattori di rallentamento non sono tutti legati alla contingenza economica mondiale, ma riguardano anche fenomeni sociali e istituzionali. Il libro indaga a largo spettro questi fattori, includendo tavole dei flussi energetici per settore, la distribuzione dei consumi su scala urbana e regionale, i sistemi che mirano all\u2019autosufficienza (comunit\ue0 energetiche), i conflitti sulle centrali e le modalit\ue0 giuridiche per regolarli. Ne esce un quadro con luci e ombre. Nonostante l\u2019impegno di molte agenzie e la disponibilit\ue0 di nuovi pacchetti tecnologici, vi \ue8 tuttora una insufficiente consapevolezza del cambiamento climatico, dell\u2019importanza delle nuove fonti di energia, in primis quella solare, e degli effetti re-distributivi su ricchezza e consumi. Una transizione pi\uf9 rapida avverr\ue0 quando questione energetica e coesione sociale saranno contemperate in una prassi ecologica integrata

Long term results of single high dose Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in the treatment of primary lung tumors

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is a standard treatment for inoperable early-stage NSCLC, with local control rates comparable to surgical series. Promising results have been achieved utilizing a high single-dose schedule. The aim of our study was to evaluate long-term local control and toxicity in a series of patients treated with SBRT delivered in a single dose of 30 Gy. 44 patients affected by early stage NSCLC were treated with SBRT delivered in a single dose of 30 Gy. Survival and prognostic factors were retrospectively evaluated. Median follow-up was 34 months (range 3–81). Three- and 5-year local progression-free survival (LPFS) were 87.8% and 87.8% respectively (median 30 months; range 6–81 months), 3- and 5-year OS and CSS were 64.9% and 36.9%, 80.9% and 65.5%, respectively. Two (4.6%) cases of grade 3 pneumonitis occurred. At the univariate analysis lesion diameter ≤ 25 mm was predictive of better 5-year LPFS (95.8% versus 56.3%; p = 0.003) and 5-year PFS (69.8% versus 27.8%; p = 0.002). The results of our study indicated a high local control, survival and tolerability after a long-term follow-up with the use of SBRT 30 Gy single dose. Further prospective studies could better define the role of this regimen

Failed Back Surgery Syndrome: A Review Article

Postsurgical spine syndrome is becoming an increasingly common challenge for clinicians who deal with spinal disorders owing to the expanding indications for spinal surgery and the aging world population. A multidisciplinary approach is most appropriate for patients who are unlikely to benefit from further formal surgical intervention. Anticonvulsant medications are effective in managing neuropathic pain after surgery, whereas opioids are rarely beneficial. Neuromodulation via a surgically implanted dorsal column neurostimulator is gaining popularity owing to its substantial superiority over conventional medical management and/or further surgical intervention. However, considering that prevention is always better than cure, spinal surgeons need to be well aware of the many poor prognostic indicators for spinal surgery, particularly psychosocial overlay