What Insights Does Service Quality Gap Analysis Offer for the Wellness Tourism Sector in Kerala?

The quality of services in tourism is one of the aspects of the industry that has drawn more academic attention. The empirical study on the service quality and satisfaction of the wellness tourism sector is underexplored. The present study empirically examined the expectations and perceptions of service quality in wellness centres, assessed the level of satisfaction of tourists, and identified the factors influencing service quality and satisfaction. The study has been conducted among selected Ayurvedic resorts in Kerala. The data were collected by distributing questionnaires to tourists who had used wellness treatments. The research outcome shows a discrepancy between wellness tourists' expectations and perceptions of service quality. There is a negative gap in the service quality of wellness centres; the perception level of wellness centres is lower than expected. Recommendations to reduce the gap and sustainable business practices have been discussed. Being synonymous with Ayurveda, Kerala serves as a crucial focal point in the tourism industry, and the wellness tourism sector plays a pivotal role in enhancing the state's tourism landscape. Bridging the negative gap in this aspect can significantly boost guest flow and contribute to the overall growth of Kerala's tourism industry. By recognizing the determinants of service quality and implementing sustainable business practices, these resorts can provide tourists with authentic and enriching wellness experiences while conserving the region's cultural and ecological heritage. Keywords: Wellness tourism, Ayurveda, Expectation, Perception, Service Quality, Satisfaction, Kerala. Sustainable Development

A Study on Destination Image of Kerala as an Ayurvedic Health Care Destination

Travel and health are complimentary to each other. Recently there is a demand for stress relieving holidays as people preferred to go for particular holiday destinations where their health was also looked after and where they could rejuvenate themselves. Kerala identified this need and projected itself as a healthcare destination .The Present study concentrates mainly on Kerala‟s holistic healthcare system-Ayurveda. Ayurveda plays a major role in Kerala‟s round the year tourism.  The study is based on the fact that the growth in the health tourism definitely provides sustainable benefits to the Kerala tourism market. Destination image is generally considered as an important attribute in successful destination marketing. This paper aims to identify various destination features which contribute to build a positive destination image about Kerala as a healthcare destination and to understand the relationship between tourist perception and satisfaction. The study explores the destination image enhancement opportunities that exist between the tourist preferences and satisfaction in the desired healthcare service delivery.&nbsp

Abnormal uterine bleeding in perimenopausal age group women: a study on clinicopathological evaluation and management

Background: Abnormal uterine bleeding is the most common and frequent presenting complaint in Gynaecology Outpatient Department in all age groups, especially in perimenopausal women. Objective of present study was clinicopathological evaluation and management of abnormal uterine bleeding in perimenopausal age group women.Methods: The present study was prospective analytical study conducted at Mallareddy Narayana Multi-speciality Hospital, reputed teaching hospital, in Obstetrics and gynaecology department in association with department of pathology from January 2015 to December 2016. Perimenopausal women in age group 45-55 years included in this study. Other age groups with abnormal uterine bleeding, isolated cervical or vaginal pathology, bleeding diathesis, and pregnancy related causes of bleeding excluded from this study. Endometrial tissue collected by sampling procedure such as dilatation and curettage. Proper counselling about management was given to all women related to medical and surgical interventional approaches.Results: A total of 135 women with abnormal uterine bleeding in perimenopausal age were examined after fulfilling criteria during study period of 2 years. The age of participants in mean±SD was 46.68±2.03 years (min 45 years and max 55 years). Maximum number of patients with abnormal uterine bleeding presented in age group of 45-50 years. The most common symptoms were heavy menstrual bleeding (83.7%), followed by frequent menstrual bleeding (26.6%). Proliferative endometrium was the most common histopathological (30.3%) study followed by secretory endometrium (27.4%). Surgical management was given to 94 patients.Conclusions: Heavy menstrual bleeding and frequent menstrual bleeding were mostly correlated with abnormal endometrial histopathological findings in this study. Gynaecologists should pay attention towards these abnormal bleeding patterns along with the evaluation of endometrial tissue for histopathological findings, which will help us to plan for successful management.

Socio-cultural and Economic Impacts of Religious Festivals on Sustainable Local Community Livelihoods in Kerala: The Case of Palakkad

Festivals depict the heritage, culture, and traditions of a particular region. They create a state of exhilaration and enthusiasm. Kerala is a state in southwest India with its own distinct culture and traditions. The state is also known for its religious pluralism. This study attempts to understand the perceived impact of religious festivals on the local community livelihoods in Palakkad, a district in central Kerala. Twelve temples in which religious festivals are held annually, with attendance in the range of thousands, were selected. The selected temples are famous for hosting specific religious festivals which attract a large number of visitors, from within and beyond the region. Using a sample of 420 community members living around these temples, this study examined how the socio-cultural and economic impacts of these religious festivals are perceived by the community. The findings show that there is a statistically significant relationship between the perceived socio-cultural and economic impacts of festivals on local communities. The celebration of local values and distinctiveness were evident in these religious festivals. The local community considers these festivals as part of their community identity and as offering impetus for annual family and community reunions

Impact of dietary and lifestyle choices on menstrual patterns in medical students

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate average age of menarche, the pattern and types of menstrual disorders and their relation with BMI, dietary habits, physical exercise and stress.Methods: A cross sectional prospective study was conducted on female medical students during the academic year 2018-2019 at Mallareddy medical college for women, Suraram, Hyderabad, India. The various life style factors including BMI, junk food consumption and physical exercise were factored. Prevalence of each different menstrual abnormality were identified and analyzed by Chi-squire test and p value <0.005 was considered as statistically significant.Results: Study included 255 medical students who had attained menarche without known medical problems. Mean age of menarche was 12.81years. The most frequent menstrual disorders were premenstrual syndrome 192 (75 %), dysmenorrhoea 146 (57 %), and irregular cycle 97(38%). Statistically significant association of Body mass index (BMI) related to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and dysmenorrhoea was reported (both p<0.05). Similarly, statistically significant association of lack of physical activity had greater risk of premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhoea (both p<0.0001). Unhealthy dietary patterns had statistically significant higher risk for dysmenorrhoea (p<0.0001).Conclusions: In conclusion premenstrual symptoms, dysmenorrhoea and menstrual irregularities were more prevalent. Majority of symptoms were stress, pain abdomen, irritability, mood swings. Comprehensive education programs on lifestyle modifications like regular physical activities, promoting healthy eating habits should be emphasised to prevent menstrual abnormalities of young students as early as at school level

Image Blur Detection Using Local Power Spectrum

In this paper work, blur detection of images is carried with local power spectrum. De blurring of image plays a important role in image processing and computer vision techniques. In deblurring of image, the first step is considered the input image as a motion blurred image. Our blur detection is based on block by block local mean calculation. After that find out the global mean for the blurred image, then comparison of local mean with global mean takes place. The experimental result shows that the robustness of proposed algorithm. The proposed method performing operations on image for detecting blurred regions. After that detected blurred content converted in to an un blurred region that shows the final output of this method

Comparative analysis of conventional and real time PCR for detection of haemoparasites in dogs

9-15Ehrlichiosis and babesiosis are the most pathogenic tick-borne diseases of dogs worldwide. The present study reports that the development of SYBR green based real time PCR (RT-PCR) protocols with novel primers targeting small subunit ribosomal RNA genes to detect natural infections of Ehrlichia canis, Babesia vogeli and B. gibsoni in dogs and its comparison with conventional PCR. Statistical analysis revealed that RT- PCR is more superior to conventional PCR assay to detect low level rickettsaemia (p < 0.05). The high prevalence of these pathogens in the study population also warrants immediate attention to the adoption of efficient and sustainable control strategies

CMFRI Marine Fisheries Policy Series No-4; Indian Marine Fisheries Code: Guidance on a Marine Fisheries Management Model for India

India’s marine fisheries are at a turning point; the rapid increase in yields witnessed during the first 60 years of independence has slowed down and the scope for increase in yields from new unexploited and underexploited fish stocks and grounds seems limited. The situation calls for urgent measures to sustain the production close to the target potential yield of 4.41 million tonnes. These measures would mean implementation of science based fisheries management and regulations. Although much has been accomplished by way of research and development in marine fisheries in India, the transformation and implementation of the outcome of these studies into effective management of marine fisheries resources of the country has been a shortcoming so far. The FAO brought out the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (FAO-CCRF) in 1995 to serve as a guidance for countries for a sound and effective management of fisheries resources. This FAO-CCRF has not been put into practice in India, althrough there are some compliances. Scientists of the CMFRI and CIFT, two of India’s major fisheries research institutes, have come together to develop a guidance on how the code can be put into practice in the country. Aptly named as Indian Marine Fisheries Code (IMFC), it is expected to give an impetus to bring about a sea change in the manner in which marine fisheries is managed in the country. The IMFC explains in detail each sub-article of the FAOCCRF and provides information on how the article can be implemented and by whom. The IMFC further proposes several new bodies which are necessary to place fisheries management in the country on an unassailable footing. It is expected that all fisheries management bodies in the country, both at central and state levels would find the IMFC as a useful guidance for the future

Performance characteristics of positive and negative delayed feedback on chaotic dynamics of directly modulated InGaAsP semiconductor lasers

The chaotic dynamics of directly modulated semiconductor lasers with delayed optoelectronic feedback is studied numerically. The effects of positive and negative delayed optoelectronic feedback in producing chaotic outputs from such lasers with nonlinear gain reduction in its optimum value range is investigated using bifurcation diagrams. The results are confirmed by calculating the Lyapunov exponents. A negative delayed optoelectronic feedback configuration is found to be more effective in inducing chaotic dynamics to such systems with nonlinear gain reduction factor in the practical value range.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures. To appear In Pramana - journal of physic