The contribution of rose and rosewater tourism and festival to the destination image

This study seeks to explore rose and rosewater tourism and festival to understand how tourist attitudes to the festivals contribute to their image of the destination. To achieve this survey of domestic tourists was undertaken in the Kashan region of Iran. The results provide some original insights into the selection of destinations which are of value to academics, industry practitioners, tourism planners and policymakers. It confirms that events and festivals cannot develop or grow without the support of the hospitality and tourism industries. Some of the cultural limitations of undertaking the research, together with suggestions for future research are also discussed

DEVELOPMENT OF A MICROFLUIDIC GAS GENERATOR FROM AN EFFICIENT FILM-BASED MICROFABRICATION METHOD

poster abstractRecently, tape&film based microfabrication method has been studied for rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices due to its low cost and ease of fabrication [1]. But most of the reported film-based microfluidic devices are simple single-layer patterned 2-dimentional (2D) designs, whose potential applications are limited. In this paper, we present the design, fabrication and testing results of a 3-dimentional (3D) structured microfluidic gas generator prototype. This gas generator is used as an example to introduce our new approach of film-based fabrication method towards lab-use microfluidic research, which usually requires constant change of design and prefers low fabrication cost and short fabrication period. The prototype is a film-based comprehensive microfluidic gas generator which integrates self-circulation, self-regulation, catalytic reaction, and gas/liquid separation. Time and economy efficiency are the biggest merit of this method. The only required facility during the whole process is a digital craft-cutter. The working principle of the device is illustrated in Fig.1 [2]. The film-based prototype is an alternate version of the silicon-based self-circulating self-regulating gas generator developed by Meng [2]. Fig.2 shows the schematic of the filmbased prototype. It consists of 15 layers of films, tapes, glass slide, tubing connectors, and cube supporting. As shown in Fig.3, the prototype device was obtained by sequentially aligning and stacking multiple layers of patterned films and double-sided Kapton tape. The patterns were obtained by a digital craft-cutter from CAD drawings. The 3D structure was made from both the pattern and the thickness of the layer material, as shown in Fig.4. Besides, functional features can be easily added into the device. For instance, Pt-black was partially sprayed on the tape layer for catalytic reaction using a shadow mask, and nanoporous membrane was cut in the desired shape and stack-placed in position as the gas/liquid separator. The self-circulating and self-regulating functions were achieved by capillary force difference in different channels as shown in Fig.4, which can be achieved by fabricating different channel depths and treating the surface of certain channel into hydrophilic and leave others hydrophobic. The treatment for polystyrene (PS) film was achieved by spraying Lotus Leaf® hydrophilic coating or using oxygen plasma machine [3]. The fabricated device was tested with H2O2 solutions (for O2) and NH3BH3 solutions (for H2) at different concentrations (Fig.5). A pressure difference (1 psi) was applied across the gas/liquid separation membrane to provide better venting. The gas generation profiles are shown in Fig.6 and the summarized characteristics is given in Table 1. The generated gas flow rate is measured by a gas flow meter, and liquid pumping rate measured by monitoring the movement of a liquid/gas meniscus. Fig. 6 shows that higher reactant concentration causes higher gas generation rate. The fluctuation of gas generation rate is due to the pulsatile pumping of this self-pumping mechanism. It is expected that designs with multiple parallel channels can make the gas generation profile smooth due to the interactions among the channels. Detailed characterization results and discussion on reaction kinetics and pumping dynamics in the microfluidic reactor will be reported

Fear of the unknown: a pre-departure qualitative study of Turkish international students

This paper presents findings from eleven in-depth interviews with Turkish undergraduate students, who were, by the time of data collection, about to spend a semester at a European university under the Erasmus exchange scheme. The students all agreed to be interviewed about their feelings about studying in a foreign culture, and were found to be anxious prior to departure about the quality of accommodation in the new destination, their language ability and the opportunity to form friendships. Fears were expressed about possible misconceptions over Turkey as a Muslim and a developing country. Suggestions are made for HEI interventions to allay student travellers’ concerns

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is not independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease event: A cohort study

BACKGROUND There are no consistent results between previous studies for an independent association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. AIM To determine if there is an independent association between NAFLD and CVD events. METHODS In the present study, valid outcome data of 4808 subjects were available for phase 2 of our cohort study. These subjects had been followed up for seven years from phase 1, beginning in 2009-2010 to phase 2 during 2016-2017. Simple and multiple Cox proportional models were used to determine the association between NAFLD in the primary phase of the cohort and subsequent fatal and non-fatal CVD events during follow-up. RESULTS The incidence of non-fatal CVD events in males with NAFLD was significantly higher (P = 0.004) than in males without NAFLD. A positive association was demonstrated between NAFLD and non-fatal CVD events in males (Hazard ratio = 1.606; 95CI: 1.166-2.212; P = 0.004) by the simple Cox proportional hazard model, but no independent association was detected between these in the multiple Cox models. CONCLUSION No independent association was detected between NAFLD and CVD. It is likely that diabetes mellitus and age may be the principle mediators in this regard. © The Author(s) 2020

The relationship between Islamic religiosity and residents’ perceptions of socio-cultural impacts of tourism in Iran: Case studies of Sare’in and Masooleh

Religion is known to influence people’s perception and behaviour. This study explores the influence of Islamic religiosity (measured on dimensions of ‘Islamic Belief’, ‘Islamic Practice’, and ‘Islamic Piety’) on the perceived socio-cultural impacts of tourism among residents in two tourist areas in Iran. The results showed that respondents both possessed a high level of Islamic Belief and perceived socio-cultural impacts of tourism positively. The propositions which stated that ‘Islamic Belief’ and ‘Islamic Practice’ have negative relationships with the perceptions of socio-cultural impacts of tourism are not supported. However levels of ‘Islamic Piety’ had statistically significant variations relating to potential changes in infrastructure, life quality and cultural practices that may be due to tourism. This paper also discusses the implications of its findings

Optimal cutoff points for HOMA-IR and QUICKI in the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A population based study

Aims The present study was carried out to determine the optimal cutoff points for homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR) and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) in the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods The baseline data of 5511 subjects aged � 18 years of a cohort study in northern Iran were utilized to analyze. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to determine the discriminatory capability of HOMA-IR and QUICKI in the diagnosis of MetS and NAFLD. Youden index was utilized to determine the optimal cutoff points of HOMA-IR and QUICKI in the diagnosis of MetS and NAFLD. Results The optimal cutoff points for HOMA-IR in the diagnosis of MetS and NAFLD were 2.0 sensitivity = 64.4%, specificity = 66.8% and 1.79 sensitivity = 66.2%, specificity = 62.2% in men and were 2.5 sensitivity = 57.6%, specificity = 67.9% and 1.95 sensitivity = 65.1%, specificity = 54.7% in women respectively. Furthermore, the optimal cutoff points for QUICKI in the diagnosis of MetS and NAFLD were 0.343 sensitivity = 63.7%, specificity = 67.8% and 0.347 sensitivity = 62.9%, specificity = 65.0% in men and were 0.331 sensitivity = 55.7%, specificity = 70.7% and 0.333 sensitivity = 53.2%, specificity = 67.7% in women respectively. Conclusion Not only the optimal cutoff points of HOMA-IR and QUICKI were different for MetS and NAFLD, but also different cutoff points were obtained for men and women for each of these two conditions. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved