Evaluation of Students’ perceptions of library service quality using LibQUAL model: The case study in Hospitality Institute in India

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the hospitality students’ perception of library service quality provided by the institute using a well-known measurement model LibQUAL. A structured questionnaire with 22 items on three dimensions of LibQUAL was distributed to undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students using Google forms. The mean differences between the UG and PG were analyzed using independent sample t-test. The findings suggest that there is a significant difference in the mean perception of undergraduate and postgraduate students about the library services provided by the institute. This study provides practical insight to library managers about the perception of services provided. The library administrators need to take note of these differences in the perception and bring the necessary changes in their standard operating procedure to improve the quality of services provided

An empirical study of the overall satisfaction of hospitality students towards library services

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to identify the significant dimension of LibQUAL+ that has a greater influence on hospitality students’ satisfaction towards the quality of the overall service provided by a library. Authors of this study have used a modified (a shorter performance-only) LibQUAL+ tool to measure the perceived service quality of a library. The data for this study is collected from both graduate and post-graduate students from a single hospitality institute in Karnataka, India. The regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses. “Affect of Service” emerged as a significant dimension accounting for hospitality students’ satisfaction. The study gives practical insights to library managers about students’ perceptions of service quality for improved decision-making and helps them to reallocate human resources effectively by identifying the most important predictor of library service quality

Commensal Gut Bacteria Regulate Paneth Cell Function Putatively Via Signaling Through the Sub-Epithelial Tissue

Crohn’s Disease (CD) is an inflammatory disorder of the intestines caused by a dysregulated immune response to resident gut bacteria. Presently, most treatments for CD suppress the host immune system, which can lead to adverse side effects such as increased susceptibility to infections and malignancy. Hence, low-risk alternative treatment options are needed. Studies suggest that defects in Paneth cells (PCs) contribute to CD pathogenesis. PCs are specialized intestinal epithelial cells that regulate the gut microbiota through the secretion of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). However, the reciprocal impact of the gut microbiota, as well as the role of the underlying intestinal stroma on PC function is still unclear.Bachelor of Art

The Centrality of Religious Festival Experience and Satisfaction on The Subjective Well-Being of Visitors: Evidence from Udupi Paryaya Festival

Themed public celebrations, known as festivals, that explore and promote different aspects of local culture contribute significantly to the economic and social well-being of regions. They provide a distinctive image to the place and create a unique, shared, and memorable experience (ME) for visitors. In India, large-scale festivals represent a source of social interaction that generates positive socio-cultural, hedonic, and functional benefits, which are believed to increase happiness and, subsequently, subjective well-being. This paper explores the religious essence of the historic sacred religious site in Udupi, Krishna Matha. To do so, it examines visitors’ ME from attending a unique biennial religio-cultural festival known as Paryaya. The quantitative study investigates the impact of ME on subjective well-being (SWB) and the mediating role of satisfaction on this relationship. The study results show that ME has a significant influence on satisfaction and SWB. This study is one of the first in the indigenous tourism literature to test a framework that characterises the relationship between ME, satisfaction, and SWB of visitors in a religious festival setting. It provides a new perspective from which festival organisers and tourism policymakers at the local and state government levels can respond to visitors’ needs and plan for the sustainability of such mega-events. Locally, organisers and managers of Krishna Matha may focus on continuing their profile-raising outreach efforts on behalf of the location

Potential link between compromised air quality and transmission of the novel corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) in affected areas

The emergence of a novel human corona virus disease (COVID-19) has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. One of the mechanisms of airborne transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) amid humans is through direct ejection of droplets via sneezing, coughing and vocalizing. Nevertheless, there are ample evidences of the persistence of infectious viruses on inanimate surfaces for several hours to a few days. Through a critical review of the current literature and a preliminary analysis of the link between SARS-CoV-2 transmission and air pollution in the affected regions, we offer a perspective that polluted environment could enhance the transmission rate of such deadly viruses under moderate-to-high humidity conditions. The aqueous atmospheric aerosols offer a conducive surface for adsorption/absorption of organic molecules and viruses onto them, facilitating a pathway for higher rate of transmission under favourable environmental conditions. This mechanism partially explains the role of polluted air besides the exacerbation of chronic respiratory diseases in the rapid transmission of the virus amongst the public. Hence, it is stressed that more ambitious policies towards a cleaner environment are required globally to nip in the bud what could be the seeds of a fatal outbreak such as COVID-19

Whom to blame for brain health and appetite slump in toddlers? A narrative review

Abstract Food preference in children depends on the interplay between genetic and environmental factors. Exposure to flavors during prenatal and postnatal period through amniotic fluid, breast milk, and weaning foods have been identified as possible influences on food preference and acceptance in children. Therefore, maternal nutrition has a strong influence on the child’s food preference early in life. Aim: The authors carried out a narrative review to understand the contribution of maternal nutrition on the food preferences in children in later life. Methods: The authors retrieved the articles from SCOPUS, Medline, Science Direct, CINAHL, EBSCO, and PubMed central databases. The key words including food preferences, food choice, and acceptance of food, pregnant women, toddlers, and food culture were used to identify the appropriate articles. The authors included in the review, full-text articles, published in English language between 1995 and 2018. In total, six articles, which met the inclusion criteria, were included in the final review. Results: The results revealed that there is a very strong connection between the exposure to flavors during prenatal and postnatal period and food preference and acceptance in children in later life. The olfactory and gustatory exposures to flavors during prenatal period through maternal diet, and during postnatal period through breast milk and weaning foods determines the food preferences in childhood. Conclusion: We conclude that maternal nutrition has a strong influence on the child’s food preference early in the life, therefore effective strategies should be designed to increase healthy feeding choices during the prenatal and postnatal periods

Down syndrome with ambiguous genitalia: A rare association

Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most common chromosomal disorders. Although genitourinary anomalies, such as a cryptorchidism, micropenis, posterior urethral valves, and hypospadias, have been recognized as complications, the association of ambiguous genitalia with DS has been rarely reported. We report the case of a 1-year-old baby; assigned male sex at birth who was the first child born of a non-consanguineous marriage, by vaginal delivery at term with a birth weight of 2.2 kg. The baby had clinical features suggestive of DS with a micropenis, penoscrotal hypospadias, and incompletely fused labial-scrotal folds with palpable gonads. The external masculinization score was 3/12. The child was reared as a male and hormonal investigations were suggestive of androgen insensitivity. Karyotype was 47, XY, +21