Understanding destination brand love using machine learning and content analysis method

This study aims to apply the concept of brand love in tourist destinations in order to identify the core-elements that could have influential impacts on generating destination brand love. This has been carried out by using a mixed-method of machine learning and content analysis. We have discovered that the topics have been generated for historical landmarks and destinations by analyzing the visitors’ on-line reviews are architecture, historical sites, tradition and shrine places, which could be similar to other tourist historical destinations in different part of the world. However, this study has the potential to be a model for other researches related to different destinations with possible different topics emerged. Our study contributes by providing both researchers and managers a novel method to understand what attributes of destination brand love they need to posit more emphasize to attract more visitors based on the destination type

Cultural perceptions of ethical leadership and its effect on intention to leave in the independent hotel industry

Purpose Studies have shown that due to the high direct and indirect costs of staff-turnover there is a need for managers to use approaches which engender a feeling that the organisation is fair to its employees and consequently reduce intention-to-leave. However, to understand how to apply research findings and theories from different parts of the world, we need to understand how employees’ perceptions of such factors as ethical leadership and organisational justice are affected by national culture. Therefore, we compared the impact of ethical leadership on intention-to-leave through justice, loyalty and satisfaction among employees of independent12 hotels from two GLOBE cultural clusters. Design/methodology/approach A total of 1561 questionnaires were received from independent hotel employees, which were analysed using SEM. Data were collected in the USA, UK, Italy and Spain whose national cultures fall into two different GLOBE regional clusters. Findings Our results show similarities and differences between countries and within and between clusters. No relationship was found between procedural justice and intention to leave in any of the four countries. Ethical leadership had no significant impact on job satisfaction and organisational justice in the UK, which contrasts with results in the other three countries. Our findings also show that distributive justice has a significant relationship with intention to leave in the US and UK (Anglo cluster), whereas no specific relationship was found between these two variables in Italy and Spain (Latin European cluster). Originality/value This study contributes to the literature of ethical leadership and its application to the hotel industry in two culturally different GLOBE clusters. This study shows how the relationships between organisational variables are affected by national culture and emphasises the importance for hotel managers of being aware of the specific characteristics of the culture of the country in which they are operating

First Report of Vannellidae Amoebae (Vannella Spp.) Isolated From Biofilm Source

Background: Members of the Vannellidae family are free-living amoebae (FLA) distributed mainly in water and soil sources. The present study reports the first isolation of this genus in the biofilm source from hospital environment in Tehran, Iran.Methods: Biofilm samples were collected from hospital environment. Cultivation was performed in non-nutrient agar covered with a heat-killed Escherichia coli. Cloning of the suspected amoe­bae was done. PCR amplification and Homology analysis using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLASTn) was performed to search for the most similar reference sequences.Results: Microscopic examination showed numerous fan-shaped amoebae and peculiar cysts differ­ent to the usual shape of typical FLA. Sequence analysis of the PCR- product revealed that the suspected amoebae are highly homologous with Vannella spp. gene (99% identity and 100% query coverage) available in the gene bank database.Conclusion: Although Vannella spp. is not proved to be pathogenic itself, but they are capable of har­boring pathogenic intracellular organisms such as Microsporidian parasites. Thus, identifica­tion of such amoebae can be of clinical importance, as they could lead to transmission of other pathogens to human

Preclinical models of myocardial infarction: from mechanism to translation

Approximately 7 million people are affected by acute myocardial infarction (MI) each year, and despite significant therapeutic and diagnostic advancements, MI remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Pre-clinical animal models have significantly advanced our understanding of MI and enable the development of therapeutic strategies to combat this debilitating disease. Notably, some drugs currently used to treat MI and heart failure (HF) in patients had initially been studied in pre-clinical animal models. Despite this, pre-clinical models are limited in their ability to fully recapitulate the complexity of MI in humans. The pre-clinical model must be carefully selected to maximise the translational potential of experimental findings. This review describes current experimental models of MI and considers how they have been used to understand drug mechanisms of action (MOA) and support translational medicine development

Optimized superpixel and AdaBoost classifier for human thermal face recognition

Infrared spectrum-based human recognition systems offer straightforward and robust solutions for achieving an excellent performance in uncontrolled illumination. In this paper, a human thermal face recognition model is proposed. The model consists of four main steps. Firstly, the grey wolf optimization algorithm is used to find optimal superpixel parameters of the quick-shift segmentation method. Then, segmentation-based fractal texture analysis algorithm is used for extracting features and the rough set-based methods are used to select the most discriminative features. Finally, the AdaBoost classifier is employed for the classification process. For evaluating our proposed approach, thermal images from the Terravic Facial infrared dataset were used. The experimental results showed that the proposed approach achieved (1) reasonable segmentation results for the indoor and outdoor thermal images, (2) accuracy of the segmented images better than the non-segmented ones, and (3) the entropy-based feature selection method obtained the best classification accuracy. Generally, the classification accuracy of the proposed model reached to 99% which is better than some of the related work with around 5%

A molecular structural mechanics model applied to the static behavior of single-walled carbon nanotubes: New general formulation

A new general formulation for the mechanical behavior of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes is presented. Carbon atoms are located at the nodes of an hexagonal honeycomb lattice wrapped into a cylinder. They are linked by covalent C C bonds represented by a truss or spring element, and the three-body interaction among two neighboring covalent bonds is reproduced by a rotational spring. The main advantage of our approach is to allow general load conditions (and any chirality) with no need of specific formulation for each load case, in contrast with previous works [26], [27] and [31]. Four load configurations are adopted: tension, compression, bending and torsion of cantivelered SWCNTs. Calculations with our own codes for both AMBER and Morse potential functions have been carried out, aimed to compare their final results. Initial positions of the atoms (nodes) into nanotube cylindrical geometry has been reproduced in great detail by means of a conformal mapping from the planar graphene sheet. Therefore, the effect of initial SWCNTs curvature has been introduced explicitly through a system of initial stresses (prestressed state) which contribute to maintain their circular cross-section. Numerical results and deformed shapes for nanotubes with several diameters and chiralities under each load case are used to obtain their mechanical parameters with the only objective of checking the present formulation with previous works [28], [30], [20] and [24]. Also, the significance of the atomistic discrete simulations at the nano-scale size against other continuum models is underlined.Merli Gisbert, R.; Lazaro, C.; Monleón Cremades, S.; Domingo Cabo, A. (2013). A molecular structural mechanics model applied to the static behavior of single-walled carbon nanotubes: New general formulation. Computers and Structures. 127:68-87. doi:10.1016/j.compstruc.2012.11.023S688712

Viable system model in capturing iterative features within architectural design processes

In project management, iteration can be seen as an undesirable characteristic that increases risk and lengthen the cycle time. However, in design management, iteration is the key feature in designing. Iteration can also be manifest as different types which give particular characteristics to different stages of the design process. However, there are no existing methods that could capture and model the iterative activities of designers and support the analysis and design of designers’ process management systems. The design structure matrix is one method that has the capability to capture iterative activities. However, this method does not seem suitable to support the development of a design process management system as it does not highlight the functional features within iterative activities. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to discuss the potential use of viable system model in capturing functional features and requirements within iterative activities of the architectural design process. This paper also highlights an example of a previous study which adapted viable system model in the diagnosis of complex processes

Pharmacoligical characterization of the iranian cerastes cerastes gasperettii (Reptilia: Ophidia: Viperidae) venom

Objective: Snake envenomation is common in tropical and subtropical countries of the Middle East areas including Iran. Cerastes cerastes gasperettii is a dangerous snake living in southwestern provinces of Iran. It causes massive edema at the bite site and coagulopathy leading to death if untreated. Methods: The purpose of this preliminary animal study was to evaluate the toxicity and proteomic of this venom for the first time in Iran. Moreover, the hemodynamic changes with intravenous injection of the venom were assessed and inotropic in addition to arrhythmogenic properties of this venom were investigated. Results: The estimated amount of the LD50 with intraperitoneal injection was slightly less than the similar experiment in Saudi Arabia (1.32 mg/kg versus 978 µg/kg body weight). There were 8 distinct protein bands between 12 and 66 kDa in SDS-PAGE analysis that were different with Moroccan experiment due to inter and intra species variation. Inotropic potencies were not significant since the lethal dose with intravenous injection was much lower than the Arabian experiment in guinea pigs (2.4 mg/kg versus 0.8 mg/kg). Conclusion: According to the low hemodynamic changes induced with the venom, it seems that coagulopathy and edema are the most dangerous effects of this rare snake in Ira

Usefulness of Doppler ultrasound for the early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy in type 1 diabetes mellitus

Purpose: Early diagnosis and management of diabetic nephropathy (DN) might prevent or delay its progression to end-stage renal disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether changes in the duplex Doppler resistivity index (RI) are useful for the early identification of renal involvement in children and adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and associated conditions. Materials and methods: A total of 49 diabetic patients (two groups: 21 with DN and 28 without DN) were included in this study. DN was defined as 30�300 mg/l of albumin excretion in a random urine sample. The RI of the main renal arteries and their intrarenal branches (arcuate, interlobar) were evaluated with duplex Doppler ultrasound and correlated with age, renal length, duration of diabetes, and laboratory examinations. Results: The mean age did not significantly differ between the two groups. The patients with DN had a significantly longer duration of type 1 diabetes (p = 0.02). The majority of patients (90.5) had mild renal involvement with microalbuminuria and normal renal function. The mean RI was normal in both groups of patients, with no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion: The RI did not increase in the early clinical stage of DN and was not a reliable marker for the screening of DN in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. © 2021, Società Italiana di Ultrasonologia in Medicina e Biologia (SIUMB)

Utility of Urine N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase for Prediction of Renal Damage in Obese Children

The incidence of obesity has increased globally in children and adults. In addition, renal dysfunction is an important complication of childhood obesity. This study was performed to identify the diagnostic value of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), a renal injury marker, for the early determination of renal damage in childhood obesity. Totally, 115 obese children and 115 healthy normal weight controls were enrolled in a cross-sectional case�control study. Urine NAG was measured in sample urine and normalized by urine creatinine (CR). In addition, correlation of urine NAG with other variables such as blood pressure (BP), blood glucose, and urine albumin was evaluated. Mean systolic BP (P <0.001), serum glucose (P = 0.047), urine albumin/Cr (P = 0.049), and urine NAG/Cr (P = 0.037) were significantly higher in obese children, compared with normal healthy controls. There was no correlation between urine NAG and urine albumin excretion. Urinary NAG/Cr was a simple and safe screening test for early determination of renal damage in children with obesity. © 2021 Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation