Achieving Wellness through Tourism: Comparing International and U.S. Travelers

Health and wellness tourism has become an increasingly popular trend in recent years as many resorts and destinations now offer wellness activities and amenities. This study sought to investigate what might be significant predictors of achieving a high perceived wellness as a result of travel. The results revealed that for international travelers internal motivations of action related activities, the need to be with others, the size of their travel party and education were significant predictors. For domestic travelers, only their perceived physical wellness was a predictor or their overall wellness state. Future research could explore relationships between the domestic and international traveler

Innovations in Evaluating Health Campaigns in Developing Countries

When conducting research in resource-poor settings, what research-method textbooks prescribe often varies substantially from what actually gets implemented on the ground. Randomization often breaks down, extraneous noise often pollutes the purity of experimental designs, and other challenges emerge in the field. The panel will highlight some of those challenges and engage the audience in discussions about possible solutions. Dr. Boulay will illustrate an analytic approach that combines propensity score matching and mediation analysis to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of SBCC activities. Dr. Firestone will discuss PSI\u27s experience using coarsened exact matching to strengthen evaluation of its behavior change communications programs. Case studies of how the methods have been applied will be discussed

The challenges of applying planetary boundaries as a basis for strategic decision-making in companies with global supply chains

YesThe Planetary Boundaries (PB) framework represents a significant advance in specifying the ecological constraints on human development. However, to enable decision-makers in business and public policy to respect these constraints in strategic planning, the PB framework needs to be developed to generate practical tools. With this objective in mind, we analyse the recent literature and highlight three major scientific and technical challenges in operationalizing the PB approach in decision-making: first, identification of thresholds or boundaries with associated metrics for different geographical scales; second, the need to frame approaches to allocate fair shares in the 'safe operating space' bounded by the PBs across the value chain and; third, the need for international bodies to co-ordinate the implementation of the measures needed to respect the Planetary Boundaries. For the first two of these challenges, we consider how they might be addressed for four PBs: climate change, freshwater use, biosphere integrity and chemical pollution and other novel entities. Four key opportunities are identified: (1) development of a common system of metrics that can be applied consistently at and across different scales; (2) setting 'distance from boundary' measures that can be applied at different scales; (3) development of global, preferably open-source, databases and models; and (4) advancing understanding of the interactions between the different PBs. Addressing the scientific and technical challenges in operationalizing the planetary boundaries needs be complemented with progress in addressing the equity and ethical issues in allocating the safe operating space between companies and sectors

The Challenges of Applying Planetary Boundaries as a Basis for Strategic Decision-Making in Companies with Global Supply Chains

Abstract: The Planetary Boundaries (PB) framework represents a significant advance in specifying the ecological constraints on human development. However, to enable decision-makers in business and public policy to respect these constraints in strategic planning, the PB framework needs to be developed to generate practical tools. With this objective in mind, we analyse the recent literature and highlight three major scientific and technical challenges in operationalizing the PB approach in decision-making: first, identification of thresholds or boundaries with associated metrics for different geographical scales; second, the need to frame approaches to allocate fair shares in the 'safe operating space' bounded by the PBs across the value chain and; third, the need for international bodies to co-ordinate the implementation of the measures needed to respect the Planetary Boundaries. For the first two of these challenges, we consider how they might be addressed for four PBs: climate change, freshwater use, biosphere integrity and chemical pollution and other novel entities. Four key opportunities are identified: (1) development of a common system of metrics that can be applied consistently at and across different scales; (2) setting 'distance from boundary' measures that can be applied at different scales; (3) development of global, preferably open-source, databases and models; and (4) advancing understanding of the interactions between the different PBs. Addressing the scientific and technical challenges in operationalizing the planetary boundaries needs be complemented with progress in addressing the equity and ethical issues in allocating the safe operating space between companies and sectors

Molecular heterogeneity and CXorf67 alterations in posterior fossa group A (PFA) ependymomas

Of nine ependymoma molecular groups detected by DNA methylation profiling, the posterior fossa type A (PFA) is most prevalent. We used DNA methylation profiling to look for further molecular heterogeneity among 675 PFA ependymomas. Two major subgroups, PFA-1 and PFA-2, and nine minor subtypes were discovered. Transcriptome profiling suggested a distinct histogenesis for PFA-1 and PFA-2, but their clinical parameters were similar. In contrast, PFA subtypes differed with respect to age at diagnosis, gender ratio, outcome, and frequencies of genetic alterations. One subtype, PFA-1c, was enriched for 1q gain and had a relatively poor outcome, while patients with PFA-2c ependymomas showed an overall survival at 5 years of > 90%. Unlike other ependymomas, PFA-2c tumors express high levels of OTX2, a potential biomarker for this ependymoma subtype with a good prognosis. We also discovered recurrent mutations among PFA ependymomas. H3 K27M mutations were present in 4.2%, occurring only in PFA-1 tumors, and missense mutations in an uncharacterized gene, CXorf67, were found in 9.4% of PFA ependymomas, but not in other groups. We detected high levels of wildtype or mutant CXorf67 expression in all PFA subtypes except PFA-1f, which is enriched for H3 K27M mutations. PFA ependymomas are characterized by lack of H3 K27 trimethylation (H3 K27-me3), and we tested the hypothesis that CXorf67 binds to PRC2 and can modulate levels of H3 K27-me3. Immunoprecipitation/mass spectrometry detected EZH2, SUZ12, and EED, core components of the PRC2 complex, bound to CXorf67 in the Daoy cell line, which shows high levels of CXorf67 and no expression of H3 K27-me3. Enforced reduction of CXorf67 in Daoy cells restored H3 K27-me3 levels, while enforced expression of CXorf67 in HEK293T and neural stem cells reduced H3 K27-me3 levels. Our data suggest that heterogeneity among PFA ependymomas could have clinicopathologic utility and that CXorf67 may have a functional role in these tumors

An Exploratory Study of Wellness Travel: Differences Between U.S. and Non-U.S. Travelers

Wellness tourism has become an increasingly popular trend as many resorts and destinations now offer these activities and amenities. Given that the “wellness travel” term is relatively new for U.S. travelers, it is unknown how they may differ in their wellness and travel choices from non U.S. travelers. Convenience samples of tourists in the US and Europe were surveyed about their differences in wellness travel motivations and perceived wellness. T-tests revealed significant differences. U.S. travelers were more likely to want to participate in outdoor activities such as hiking and camping when traveling compared to non U.S. travelers. Non U.S. travelers felt more physically well compared to the U.S. travelers. U.S. travelers felt more socially well than non U.S. travelers. Future research could explore other variables not examined here, such as obesity rates, economic conditions, and vacation days allowed from work

Achieving Wellness through Tourism: Comparing International and U.S. Travelers

previously providedHealth and wellness tourism has become an increasingly popular trend in recent years as many resorts and destinations now offer wellness activities and amenities. This study sought to investigate what might be significant predictors of achieving a high perceived wellness as a result of travel. The results revealed that for international travelers internal motivations of action related activities, the need to be with others, the size of their travel party and education were significant predictors. For domestic travelers, only their perceived physical wellness was a predictor or their overall wellness state. Future research could explore relationships between the domestic and international traveler

Secretary Institute of Education Sciences

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