ABSTRACT
Amidst the burgeoning interest in rural Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) tourism, this study, anchored in the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theoretical framework, chose Meizhou Island in Fujian Province as a case study to examine the impacts of tourists' perceptions of authenticity and their engagement levels on the destination image and loyalty towards rural ICH tourism. Utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze survey data, findings revealed that higher perceptions of a destination's preservation of original characteristics and traditional values correlate with a more favorable overall perception of the destination, albeit with smaller impact on emotional connections. Conversely, depth of tourist engagement was shown to enhance both understanding and emotional bonds with the destination. Further, familiarity with the destination was found to foster affection, thereby increasing the likelihood of repeat visits or recommendations. The more tourists know about a place, perceiving it as authentic, the more likely they are to remain loyal; similarly, deeper engagement enhances understanding and affection, increasing the probability of revisiting or recommending the place. These outcomes not only offer new insights into tourist behavior but also provide theoretical and practical guidance for the protection and development of rural ICH tourism, destination marketing, and management strategies, thus promoting the sustainable development of rural ICH tourism.
ABSTRACT
Background: Previous preliminary studies have found that qigong exercises produced significant effects in healthy people and in various clinical populations. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the effects of qigong and tai chi exercise on individuals with drug addiction. Methods: A systematic search of seven English databases and three Chinese databases was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized comparative studies (NRS) assessing the effects of qigong and tai chi on drug addiction. Study quality was assessed using the Checklist for the Evaluation of Non-Pharmaceutical Trial Reports (CLEAR-NPT). Results: Two RCTs and nine NRS studies were included in this study, including a total of 1072 patients with drug addiction (age range, 27-43 years). The results showed that qigong and tai chi exercise had a significant overall effect on depression (SMD = -0.353, 95%CI [-0.548, -0.159]), anxiety (SMD = -0.541, 95%CI [-0.818, -0.264]), quality of life (SMD = 0.673, 95%CI [0.438, 0.907]), and sleep quality (SMD = -0.373, 95%CI [-0.631, -0.116]). The subgroup analysis found that qigong outperformed tai chi on the improving depression, anxiety, and sleep quality. Conclusion: Existing studies suggest that qigong and tai chi are effective at improving depression, anxiety, and quality of life in drug users; however, the evidence from rigorous randomized controlled group trials is lacking.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Virtual reality (VR) balance training is increasingly being pursued in biomedical research, specifically with respect to investigating balance ability with VR. However, existing systematic reviews have found inconsistent conclusions about the efficacy of VR in improving balance in Parkinson disease (PD) patients. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the research was to evaluate the impact of VR balance training on the balance ability of patients with PD. METHODS: All major databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang, were searched to identify all relevant studies published in English or Chinese since September 15, 2010. Two researchers independently conducted document retrieval, study selection, data extraction, and methodological quality evaluation. RESULTS: A total of 16 randomized controlled trials were analyzed (n=583 patients with PD), with the methodological quality evaluation score ranging from 5 to 8 points. A random effects model was selected to combine effect sizes. Meta-analysis showed that the balance ability of PD was significantly improved after VR training compared with the control group (standardized mean difference [SMD] 2.127, 95% CI 1.202 to 3.052, P<.001, I2=95.1, df=15). It is worth noting that the intervention platform may be the main reason for heterogeneity. Meta regression analysis showed that no training program could predict the impact of VR training (P=.57 to .94) on PD balance ability. Subgroup result showed that a single training time of 0 to 20 minutes (SMD 6.446), 4 to 6 times per week (SMD 4.067), training for 3 to 5 weeks (SMD 62.478), training course reached more than 30 times (SMD 4.405), and 201 to 300 minutes per week (SMD 4.059) maybe have more benefit. CONCLUSIONS: A systematic review and meta-analysis confirmed that VR balance training is a highly effective means to improve balance performance with large effects in PD. In addition, we preliminarily extracted dose-effect relationships for training volume, informing clinicians and practitioners to design effective VR balance training for balance ability. Further research is needed to reveal optimal dose-response relationships following VR balance training.
ABSTRACT
Although endurance running (ER) seems to be a simple repetitive exercise, good ER performance also requires and relies on multiple cognitive and motor control processes. Most of previous neuroimaging studies on ER were conducted using a single MRI modality, yet no multimodal study to our knowledge has been performed in this regard. In this study, we used multimodal MRI data to investigate the brain structural and functional differences between endurance runners (n = 22; age = 26.27 ± 6.07 years; endurance training = 6.23 ± 2.41 years) and healthy controls (HCs; n = 20; age = 24.60 ± 4.14 years). Compared with the HCs, the endurance runners showed greater gray matter volume (GMV) and cortical surface area in the left precentral gyrus, which at the same time had higher functional connectivity (FC) with the right postcentral and precentral gyrus. Subcortically, the endurance runners showed greater GMV in the left hippocampus and regional inflation in the right hippocampus. Using the bilateral hippocampi as seeds, further seed-based FC analyses showed higher hippocampal FC with the supplementary motor area, middle cingulate cortex, and left posterior lobe of the cerebellum. Moreover, compared with the HCs, the endurance runners also showed higher fractional anisotropy in several white matter regions, involving the corpus callosum, left internal capsule, left corona radiata, left external capsule, left posterior lobe of cerebellum and bilateral precuneus. Taken together, our findings provide several lines of evidence for the brain structural and functional differences between endurance runners and HCs. The current data suggest that these brain characteristics may have arisen as a result of regular ER training; however, whether they represent the neural correlates underlying the good ER performances of the endurance runners requires further investigations.