Desire for experiential travel, avoidance of rituality and social esteem: An empirical study of consumer response to tourism innovation

AbstractThis study investigates tourist consumption responses toward tourism innovation. To measure tourist responses, this study posits three key consumption drivers, namely social esteem, desire for experiential travel, and avoidance against rituality of tourism settings (a subscale of need for uniqueness) and models consumers’ affective response within the context of tourism innovation. It involves 295 respondents in an empirical survey. The findings affirm the three drivers toward tourist consumption behavior. Avoidance of rituality reflects tourist preference toward tourism product and service innovation. Desire for experiential travel and the pursuit of social esteem signify tourism management and marketing innovation. Social esteem, need for status and creative choice have significant influence on tourists’ affective responses. Acquiring unique tourist products, desire for experiential travel and seeking social esteem are important motivations for tourist consumption. The implications of the study enrich the existing literature of consumer behavior and tourist consumption in response to tourism innovation

Looking back to look forward: setting future research agenda for international business in textiles and clothing industry

Since its development by Tinbergen (1962), the gravity model of international trade has widely been applied to analyse the effect of various factors on trade relationships between countries. Past studies on trade gravity vary not only in the mix of model variables but also in how they have come into the analysis. This study reviews existing literature on bilateral trade with an aim to identify influential predictors such as changes of trade policy and national development strategy and highlight important yet understudied factors such as transport and logistics infrastructure, and sustainable development. To demonstrate the needs to examine these critical factors across industry sectors, the study presents the case of textiles and clothing (T&C) production and trade between China and its trading partners as an illustration. Through the literature review, it shows how the gravity model can be applied to address current issues in international trade arena such as the potential trade war between the US and China, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and other important factors shaping global T&C trade. This study offers future research directions for analysis of global trade in the T&C industry and contributes to the wider literature of international business and trade

Protective Effects of White Button Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) against Hepatic Steatosis in Ovariectomized Mice as a Model of Postmenopausal Women

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) includes various hepatic pathologies ranging from hepatic steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis and cirrhosis. Estrogen provides a protective effect on the development of NAFLD in women. Therefore, postmenopausal women have a higher risk of developing NAFLD. Hepatic steatosis is an early stage of fatty liver disease. Steatosis can develop to the aggressive stages (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis). Currently, there is no specific drug to prevent/treat these liver diseases. In this study, we found that white button mushroom (WBM), Agaricus Bisporus, has protective effects against liver steatosis in ovariectomized (OVX) mice (a model of postmenopausal women). OVX mice were fed a high fat diet supplemented with WBM powder. We found that dietary WBM intake significantly lowered liver weight and hepatic injury markers in OVX mice. Pathological examination of liver tissue showed less fat accumulation in the livers of mice on WBM diet; moreover, these animals had improved glucose clearance ability. Microarray analysis revealed that genes related to the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway, particularly the genes for fatty acid synthetase (Fas) and fatty acid elongase 6 (Elovl6), were down-regulated in the liver of mushroom-fed mice. In vitro mechanistic studies using the HepG2 cell line showed that down-regulation of the expression of FAS and ELOVL6 by WBM extract was through inhibition of Liver X receptor (LXR) signaling and its downstream transcriptional factor SREBP1c. These results suggest that WBM is protective against hepatic steatosis and NAFLD in OVX mice as a model for postmenopausal women

What are the opportunities for manufacturing in the “one belt one road” initiative? The case of Hong Kong’s textiles and clothing sector

The One Belt, One Road (hereafter OBOR) initiative is a development strategy launched by China in 2015. Its aim is to increase economic co-operation among countries along the China’s Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that connect Asia, Europe and Africa. As one of China’s important economic drivers, Hong Kong’s anticipated gains taking part in this initiative are substantial. This is particularly true for companies in the textiles and clothing (T&C) sectors, as the OBOR initiative offers investment opportunities in developing low-cost production bases in developing countries and promotes global trade. The main objective of this paper is twofold. First, it investigates how Hong Kong can strengthen its “superconnector” role, facilitating sustainable trade and development in the T&C industries among some OBOR countries. Specific measures are identified so that T&C companies in Hong Kong can establish and facilitate technological upgrades and transformation to potential production facilities in some developing countries under the OBOR initiative. This would contribute to the sustainable development of the T&C sectors in Hong Kong. Second, the study extends the gravity trade model to analyze the development of T&C trade patterns between Hong Kong and OBOR countries. Especially it covered some of the key factors not considered in previous studies, such as Logistics Performance Index (LPI), demographical factors, and those related to the business environment and policies. The analysis covers the impacts of country-specific, social, economic and supply chain factors on T&C trade. Based on the results, recommendations are provided to address how Hong Kong helps to facilitate trade and development of the T&C sectors under the OBOR initiative

Role of polymorphisms of the inflammatory response genes and DC-SIGNR in genetic susceptibility to SARS and other infections.

Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases: Research Dissemination Reports (Series 2)1. A genetic risk-association study involving more than 1200 subjects showed individuals homozygous for L-SIGN tandem repeats are less susceptible to SARS infection. 2. This was supported by in vitro binding studies that demonstrated homozygous L-SIGN, compared to heterozygous, had higher binding capacity for SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), with higher proteasome-dependent viral degradation. In contrast, homozygous L-SIGN demonstrated lower binding capacity for HIV1-gp120.3. Genetic-association studies for single nucleotide polymorphisms of the inflammatory response genes, namely TNF-alpha, INF-alpha, INF-beta, INF-gamma, IL1-alpha, IL1-beta, IL-4, IL-6 and iNOS, failed to show a significant association with SARS clinical outcomes or susceptibility.published_or_final_versio

Functional role of ICAM-3 polymorphism in genetic susceptibility to SARS infection.

Key Messages 1. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients who are homozygous for intercellular adhesion molecule-3 (ICAM-3) Gly143 showed significant association with higher lactate dehydrogenase levels and lower total white blood cell counts on admission. 2. In vitro functional studies demonstrated low level binding of ICAM-3 to DC-SIGN and a wide variation in T-cell response of the wild-type ICAM-3 genotype.published_or_final_versio

Association of ICAM3 genetic variant with severe acute respiratory syndrome

Genetic polymorphisms have been demonstrated to be associated with vulnerability to human infection. ICAM3, an intercellular adhesion molecule important for T cell activation, and FCER2 (CD23), an immune response gene, both located on chromosome 19p13.3, were investigated for host genetic susceptibility and association with clinical outcome. A case-control study based on 817 patients with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), 307 health care worker control subjects, 290 outpatient control subjects, and 309 household control subjects unaffected by SARS from Hong Kong was conducted to test for genetic association. No significant association to susceptibility to SARS infection caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was found for the FCER2 and the ICAM3 single nucleotide polymorphisms. However, patients with SARS homozygous for ICAM3 Gly143 showed significant association with higher lactate dehydrogenase levels (P = .0067; odds ratio [OR], 4.31 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.37-13.56]) and lower total white blood cell counts (P = .022; OR, 0.30 [95% CI, 0.10-0.89]) on admission. These findings support the role of ICAM3 in the immunopathogenesis of SARS. © 2007 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Association of a single nucleotide polymorphism in the CD209 (DC-SIGN) promoter with SARS severity.

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The photometric observation of the quasi-simultaneous mutual eclipse and occultation between Europa and Ganymede on 22 August 2021

Mutual events (MEs) are eclipses and occultations among planetary natural satellites. Most of the time, eclipses and occultations occur separately. However, the same satellite pair will exhibit an eclipse and an occultation quasi-simultaneously under particular orbital configurations. This kind of rare event is termed as a quasi-simultaneous mutual event (QSME). During the 2021 campaign of mutual events of jovian satellites, we observed a QSME between Europa and Ganymede. The present study aims to describe and study the event in detail. We observed the QSME with a CCD camera attached to a 300-mm telescope at the Hong Kong Space Museum Sai Kung iObservatory. We obtained the combined flux of Europa and Ganymede from aperture photometry. A geometric model was developed to explain the light curve observed. Our results are compared with theoretical predictions (O-C). We found that our simple geometric model can explain the QSME fairly accurately, and the QSME light curve is a superposition of the light curves of an eclipse and an occultation. Notably, the observed flux drops are within 2.6% of the theoretical predictions. The size of the event central time O-Cs ranges from -14.4 to 43.2 s. Both O-Cs of flux drop and timing are comparable to other studies adopting more complicated models. Given the event rarity, model simplicity and accuracy, we encourage more observations and analysis on QSMEs to improve Solar System ephemerides.Comment: 23 pages, 5 appendixes, 16 figures, 7 table