Search

Agro-tourism in the Republic of Serbia represents an increasingly significant sector of rural development, blending agriculture and tourism into an appealing whole. The aim of this study is to identify and quantify the factors significantly contributing to the development of agro-tourism, taking into account the role of community and government support, economic benefits, environmental and social impacts, as well as infrastructure and safety. The results indicate that community and government support crucially influence agro-tourism development, while economic benefits and environmental and social impacts have a smaller but positive influence. Infrastructure and safety show the least impact. This study is significant as it provides empirical evidence on factors contributing to agro-tourism development, enabling decision-makers, practitioners, and communities to strategically enhance and support the growth of this sector. The innovation of the study lies in its comprehensive approach, integrating multidimensional analysis of the impacts of various factors on agro-tourism development, which has not been extensively explored before, thus offering new insights and guidelines for more effective policies and practices in this field.

Purpose- The present study aims to investigate the interrelationship between information and communication technology (ICT) improvement, destination brand image, destination satisfaction, and destination personality, and how ICT improvement influences tourists' intention to return during the pandemic COVID -19. Design, methodology, approach- The statistical population consisted of Iranian tourists who had stayed in hotels in Iran during CPVID-19. A questionnaire was developed and distributed, and 310 usable questionnaires were received. To test the hypotheses, confirmatory factor analysis was performed using Smart PLS3. Findings- Our results showed that ICT improvement had a significant, positive impact on tourists' revisit intentions and destination brand image during the pandemic COVID -19. Destination brand image also had a significant influence on revisit intention, destination satisfaction, and destination personality. In addition, destination satisfaction and destination personality were significantly related to revisit intention during the pandemic. Originality of the research- This study pioneered the evaluation of ICT in the tourism industry, focusing on the hospitality industry during the pandemic COVID -19. It also examined the direct impact of ICT improvements on revisit intentions during the pandemic. In addition, this study provides evidence for managers to more effectively leverage ICT potential to improve destination brand image and encourage customers to revisit during a pandemic.

Background and Purpose: The human mouth mucosal surface is colonized by indigenous microflora, which normally maintains an ecological balance among different species. However, certain environmental or biological factors may disrupt this balance,leading to microbial diseases. Candida albicans biofilms are formed on indwelling medical devices and have an association with both oral and invasive candidiasis. This study aimed to compare the amount of adherent C. albicans and the biofilm formed on different denture base materials. The adhesion of C. albicans to denture base materials is widely recognized as the main reason for the development of denture stomatitis.Materials and Methods: In total, 56 polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) acrylic resin disc-shaped samples were divided into four groups as follows: 1) chemically polymerized PMMA, 2) heat-polymerized PMMA, 3) computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) PMMA in high polish, and 4) CAD/CAM resins in glazed form. The adherent cells and formation of C. albicans strains (562, 1905,1912, and 1949) biofilm were measured by the 2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT) method and use of a microplatereader. Moreover, morphological alterations of C. albicans cells were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).Results: The biofilm formation was significantly lower on CAD/CAM acrylic resins,compared to conventional denture base materials. The obtained results were confirmed by the SEM images of C. albicans biofilms. CAD/CAM PMMA-based polymers may be preferable to inhibit C. albicans biofilm formation and reduce Candida-associated denture stomatitis in long-term use.Conclusion: Based on the findings, the CAD/CAM technique can be used as an efficient technique for denture fabrication as it inhibits microbial accumulation, and consequently,microbial biofilm.

Background: Oral candidiasis is a frequent form of candidiasis, caused by Candida species, in particular, Candida albicans (C. albicans). The transition of C. albicans from yeast to hyphae allows its attachment to epithelial cells, followed by biofilm formation, invasion, and tissue damage. Hence, we investigated the effect of Streptococcus salivarius subspecies thermophilus (S thermophilus) on the growth as well as biofilm and germ-tube formation of C. albicans both in vitro and in vivo in a murine model.Methods: This experimental study was performed in the Department of Medical Mycology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Central Research Laboratory and the Comparative Biomedical Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran (2017 to 2018). The inhibitory activity of S. thermophilus against Candida species growth was evaluated using the broth microdilution method, and the inhibition of C. albicans biofilm formation was measured using the XTT assay. The inhibition of C. albicans germ-tube formation by S. thermophilus was evaluated using the plate assay and fluorescence microscopy. The experimental activity of the probiotic bacterium was assessed by culture and histopathological methods in six groups of five mice, comprising those treated with four concentrations of probiotics, fluconazole, and distilled water. The one-way analysis of variance, followed by a Tukey post hoc test, was used and a P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.Results: S. thermophilus inhibited Candida species growth at concentrations of 16 to 512 µg/mL. This probiotic inhibited the formation of C. albicans biofilms and germ tubes in a dose-dependent manner. S. thermophilus significantly reduced the colony-forming units in the mice receiving 30 mg/mL of this probiotic treatment compared with the control group (P=0.024). The histopathological analysis showed that Candida colonization was diminished in the mice following the administration of the probiotic. Conclusion: Given the inhibitory activity of S. thermophilus against the growth, transition, and biofilm formation of C. albicans, it could be used in the management of oral candidiasis.

Objective. Proper diagnosis plays a key role in the treatment and prognosis of all diseases. Although histopathological diagnosis is still known as the gold standard, final diagnosis becomes difficult unless precise clinical descriptions are obtained. So, this study aimed to evaluate the concordance of the clinical and histopathological diagnoses of all oral and maxillofacial biopsy specimens in a 12-year duration. Materials and Methods. Archive files and clinical findings related to 3001 patients who had been referred to the Department of Oral Pathology during a 12-year period were reviewed. The recorded information in files included age, sex, lesion’s location, clinical and histopathological diagnoses, and specialty of dentists. Results. Out of 3001 cases included and reviewed in this study, 2167 cases (72.2%) were consistent between clinical and histopathologic diagnoses. Age, sex, and clinician’s specialty were indicated to have no significant effect on diagnosis (p values = 0.520, 0.310, 0.281, respectively), but location and type of lesion affected that (p values = 0.040 and 0.022, respectively). In regard to location, the highest concordance of clinical and histopathologic diagnoses was observed in mouth floor lesions, and the lowest one was in gingival mucosa. In terms of lesion category, the highest and the lowest concordance rates belonged to white and red lesions and pigmented lesions, respectively. Conclusion. The results of the present study show that the consistency of clinical and histopathological diagnoses was three times more than their inconsistency, and the accuracy of the clinicians was largely acceptable.