Tourism sustainability methodologies: A critical assessment

In an era of economic crisis and serious environmental constraints, the transition to sustainability enters dynamically the debate over long-term preservation and welfare at a systemic level. Tourism is a resource- (capital, human and natural) demanding sector; this paper explores the variety and diversity of methodological approaches and tools employed in the evaluation of tourism, and their potential to support sustainability-oriented assessments and practices. Ranging from traditional economics-oriented frameworks to assessments of impact and ecological footprint, this paper discusses the prevailing assessment frameworks of specific tourism dimensions heading towards the integrative approaches for Tourism Sustainability Assessment. The review highlights that despite the widespread acceptance of the concept and the international consensus on the importance of its operationalization, the transition towards tourism sustainability remains still a complicated and rather problematic endeavour. © 2014 IEEE

Ablowitz-Ladik system with discrete potential. I. Extended resolvent

Ablowitz-Ladik linear system with range of potential equal to {0,1} is considered. The extended resolvent operator of this system is constructed and the singularities of this operator are analyzed in detail.Comment: To be published in Theor. Math. Phy

Determinants of Microbial Load in Infected Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Pilot Study

We examined the determinants of microbial load in infected diabetic foot ulcers in 62 patients (38 men and 24 women, mean age: years) with clinically infected diabetic foot ulcers. Tissue cultures were taken from ulcers by 4 mm punches. Ulcer grade (University of Texas classification), neuropathy disability score (NDS), neuropathy symptom score (NSS), ankle-brachial index (ABI), perfusion, extent, depth, infection, and sensation (PEDIS) grade of diabetic foot infection, and laboratory parameters were evaluated in all patients. Total microbial load was positively correlated with the number of isolates on tissue cultures (, ), white blood cell count (WBC) (, ), and platelet count (PLT) (, ). It also exhibited a borderline insignificant positive correlation with PEDIS infection grade (, ). In stepwise linear regression analysis, the number of isolates on tissue cultures and WBC were identified as the only two significant parameters accounting for 38% of the variation in the log of total microbial load (adjusted , ). In conclusion, patients with infected diabetic foot ulcer exhibit a positive correlation of total microbial load with the number of isolates on tissue cultures, WBC and PLT

Differences in Inflammatory Markers between Nulliparous Women Admitted to Hospitals in Preactive vs Active Labor

Objective To determine whether labor-associated inflammatory markers differ between low-risk, nulliparous women in preactive vs active labor at hospital admission and over time. Study Design Prospective comparative study of low-risk, nulliparous women with spontaneous labor onset at term (n = 118) sampled from 2 large Midwestern hospitals. Circulating concentrations of inflammatory markers were measured at admission and again 2 and 4 hours later: namely, neutrophil, and monocyte counts; and serum inflammatory cytokines (interleukin -1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-10) and chemokines (interleukin-8). Biomarker concentrations and their patterns of change over time were compared between preactive (n = 63) and active (n = 55) labor admission groups using Mann-Whitney U tests. Results Concentrations of interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 in the active labor admission group were significantly higher than concentrations in the preactive labor admission group at all 3 time points. Neutrophil levels were significantly higher in the active group at 2 and 4 hours after admission. The rate of increase in neutrophils and interleukin-10 between admission and 2 hours later was faster in the active group (P \u3c .001 and P = .003, respectively). Conclusion Circulating concentrations of several inflammatory biomarkers are higher and their rate of change over time since admission is faster among low-risk, nulliparous women admitted to hospitals in active labor, as compared with those admitted in preactive labor. More research is needed to determine if progressive changes in inflammatory biomarkers might be a useful adjunct to improving the assessment of labor progression and determining the optimal timing of labor admission