An Analysis of Mainland Chinese visitors' Motivations to visit Hong Kong

Hong Kong, with its high quality and wide variety of visitor attractions and facilities, is one of the most popular destinations in Asia. In the past years, UK, USA, Japan, and Taiwan dominated Hong Kongs inbound markets. With the economic boom in China, there has been an amazing growth of visitors from China to Hong Kong over the past 13 years. The total number of tourist arrivals from China has increased more than ten times from 215,000 in 1984 to 2,311,000 in 1997 with an annual growth rate of 22.8%. In 1997, China accounted for 22% of the total tourist arrivals in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Tourist Association (Hong Kong Tourist Association, 1997). In 2006, the Labour Day 'golden week' (first week of May) saw the arrival of 387,615 mainland visitors to Hong Kong in the nine days to Sunday, the Immigration Department said. This was an increase of almost 5.2 per cent on the same period last year, which saw 368,465 mainland arrivals (Eng, D., 2006). The year-on-year increase in 2005 was 3.82 per cent from a year earlier. A total of 354,904 mainlanders visited Hong Kong in 2004 (Eng, D., 2006), the first full year that mainlanders could come as individual travellers under a scheme which was introduced in mid-July 2003, following the Sars outbreak. The importance of the Chinese market to the overall tourism industry in Hong Kong has drawn scholars interests in understanding what motivates them to travel overseas. The purpose of this study is: to identify motivations of Chinese travellers by adopting the push and pull factors as a conceptual framework. Deliberations of the hypothesis were cross examined through varying media to deduce a justifiable conclusion for the research. The conclusion had some outstanding results; the Individual Travel Scheme was not the main motivational factor which Mainland Chinese visitors perceive. But the motivational push factors showed that knowledge, prestige and enhancement of human relationship are the most agreed upon travel domains for Chinese travellers. Hi-tech image expenditure and accessibility are the most important domains of pull factors for Chinese travellers. However, in order for Hong Kong to maintain its tourism industry, the Tourism Association can develop a variety of different marketing strategies based on the specific motivations of China market in order to satisfy their underlying needs

Molecular analysis of the interaction between cardosin A and phospholipase Dα

Cardosin A is an RGD-containing aspartic proteinase from the stigmatic papillae of Cynara cardunculus L. A putative cardosin A-binding protein has previously been isolated from pollen suggesting its potential involvement in pollen2013pistil interaction [Faro C, Ramalho-Santos M, Vieira M, Mendes A, Simões I, Andrade R, Verissimo P, Lin X, Tang J & Pires E (1999) J Biol Chem274, 28724201328729]. Here we report the identification of phospholipase D03B1 as a cardosin A-binding protein. The interaction was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation studies and pull-down assays. To investigate the structural and molecular determinants involved in the interaction, pull-down assays with cardosin A and various glutathione S-transferase-fused phospholipase D03B1 constructs were performed. Results revealed that the C2 domain of phospholipase D03B1 contains the cardosin A-binding activity. Further assays with mutated recombinant forms of cardosin A showed that the RGD motif as well as the unprecedented KGE motif, which is structurally and charge-wise very similar to RGD, are indispensable for the interaction. Taken together our results indicate that the C2 domain of plant phospholipase D03B1 can act as a cardosin A-binding domain and suggest that plant C2 domains may have an additional role as RGD/KGE-recognition domains

How is the Pharmaceutical Industry Structured to Optimize Pediatric Drug Development? Existing Pediatric Structure Models and Proposed Recommendations for Structural Enhancement

Correction; Early Access: DOI: 10.1007/s43441-020-00152-0 Early Access: APR 2020Background Pediatric regulations enacted in both Europe and the USA have disrupted the pharmaceutical industry, challenging business and drug development processes, and organizational structures. Over the last decade, with science and innovation evolving, industry has moved from a reactive to a proactive mode, investing in building appropriate structures and capabilities as part of their business strategy to better tackle the challenges and opportunities of pediatric drug development. Methods The EFGCP Children's Medicines Working Party and the IQ Pediatric working group have joined their efforts to survey their member company representatives to understand how pharmaceutical companies are organized to fulfill their regulatory obligations and optimize their pediatric drug development programs. Results Key success factors and recommendations for a fit-for-purpose Pediatric Expert Group (PEG) were identified. Conclusion Pediatric structures and expert groups were shown to be important to support optimization of the development of pediatric medicines.Peer reviewe

Au-delà de l’apport nutritionnel : l’analyse combinée de la macro-/micro-usure dentaire et des isotopes stables révèle des comportements alimentaires néo-lithiques genrés

L’approche structurale des ensembles funéraire Cerny (Ve millénaire BC, Bassin parisien) conduit à distinguer différentes catégories de défunts, notamment liées au sexe. Dans ce contexte économique agro-pastoral, l’accent mis sur la figure masculine du « chasseur » (hommes accompagnés de flèches) pose la question du lien entre statut funéraire, identité sexuelle et alimentation. Afin d’obtenir une vision la plus complète possible des comportements alimentaires Cerny, nous combinons ici l’étud..

Stable Isotope Analysis of Human Bone from Ganj Dareh, Iran, Ca. 10,100 calBP

We report here on stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope values from bone collagen of human (n = 20) and faunal (n = 11) remains from the Early Neolithic site of Ganj Dareh, Iran, dating to ca. 10,100 cal. BP. Our focus explores how isotope values of human bone vary by age and sex, and evaluates dietary practices at this site. It also provides a baseline for future studies of subsistence in the early Holocene Central Zagros Mountains, from the site with the first evidence for human ovicaprid management in the Near East. Human remains include individuals of all age groups for dietary reconstruction, as well two Ottoman intrusive burials for temporal and cultural comparison. All analyzed individuals exhibited δ13C and δ15N values consistent with a diet based heavily on C3 terrestrial sources. There is no statistically significant difference between the isotopic compositions of the two sexes, though males appear to show larger variations compared to females. Interesting patterns in the isotopic compositions of the subadults suggested weaning children may be fed with supplements with distinctive δ13C values. Significant difference in sulfur isotope values between humans and fauna could be the earliest evidence of transhumance and could identify one older adult male as a possible transhumant shepherd. Both Ottoman individuals had distinctively different δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S values compared to the Neolithic individuals. This is the first large scale analysis of human stable isotopes from the eastern end of the early Holocene Fertile Crescent. It provides a baseline for future intersite exploration of stable isotopes and insight into the lifeways, health, and processes of neolithisation associated with the origins of goat domestication at Ganj Dareh and the surrounding Central Zagros

Adapting Behavioral Parent Training as an Interactive Computer Game

Behavioral Parent Training (BPT) is a well-established therapy that reduces child externalized behaviors and parent stress. Although BPT was originally developed for parents of children with defiant behaviors, the program’s key concepts are relevant to parenting all children. Since parents might not fully utilize BPT due to cost and program location, we created an online game as a low-cost, easily accessible alternative or complement to BPT. We tested the game with nineteen undergraduate students at the University of Maryland. The experimental group completed pretest survey on core BPT knowledge, played the game, and completed a BPT posttest, while the control group completed a pretest and posttest survey over a three week period. Participants in the experimental group also completed a survey to indicate their satisfaction with the overall program. The experimental group demonstrated significantly higher levels of BPT knowledge than the control group and high levels of satisfaction. This suggests that an interactive, online BPT platform is an engaging and accessible way for parents to learn key concepts

Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change

Since the Eighth International Workshop on Tropical Cyclones (IWTC-8), held in December 2014, progress has been made in our understanding of the relationship between tropical cyclone (TC) characteristics, climate and climate change. New analysis of observations has revealed trends in the latitude of maximum TC intensity and in TC translation speed. Climate models are demonstrating an increasing ability to simulate the observed TC climatology and its regional variations. The limited representation of air-sea interaction processes in most climate simulations of TCs remains an issue. Consensus projections of future TC behavior continue to indicate decreases in TC numbers, increases in their maximum intensities and increases in TC-related rainfall. Future sea level rise will exacerbate the impact of storm surge on coastal regions, assuming all other factors equal. Studies have also begun to estimate the effect on TCs of the climate change that has occurred to date. Recommendations are made regarding future research directions

Dose Transition Pathways::The missing link between complex dose-finding designs and simple decision-making

The ever-increasing pace of development of novel therapies mandates efficient methodologies for assessment of their tolerability and activity. Evidence increasingly support the merits of model-based dose-finding designs in identifying the recommended phase II dose compared with conventional rule-based designs such as the 3 + 3 but despite this, their use remains limited. Here, we propose a useful tool, dose transition pathways (DTP), which helps overcome several commonly faced practical and methodologic challenges in the implementation of model-based designs. DTP projects in advance the doses recommended by a model-based design for subsequent patients (stay, escalate, de-escalate, or stop early), using all the accumulated information. After specifying a model with favorable statistical properties, we utilize the DTP to fine-tune the model to tailor it to the trial's specific requirements that reflect important clinical judgments. In particular, it can help to determine how stringent the stopping rules should be if the investigated therapy is too toxic. Its use to design and implement a modified continual reassessment method is illustrated in an acute myeloid leukemia trial. DTP removes the fears of model-based designs as unknown, complex systems and can serve as a handbook, guiding decision-making for each dose update. In the illustrated trial, the seamless, clear transition for each dose recommendation aided the investigators' understanding of the design and facilitated decision-making to enable finer calibration of a tailored model. We advocate the use of the DTP as an integral procedure in the co-development and successful implementation of practical model-based designs by statisticians and investigators. Clin Cancer Res; 23(24); 7440-7. ©2017 AACR

Stable Isotope and Dental Caries Data Reveal Abrupt Changes in Subsistence Economy in Ancient China in Response to Global Climate Change

Prior to the introduction of wheat and barley from Central Asia during the Neolithic period, northern Chinese agricultural groups subsisted heavily on millet. Despite being the focus of many decades of intensive interest and research, the exact route(s), date(s), and mechanisms of the spread and adoption of wheat and barley into the existing well-established millet-based diet in northern China are still debated. As the majority of the important introduced crops are C3plants, while the indigenous millet is C4, archaeologists can effectively identify the consumption of any introduced crops using stable carbon isotope analysis. Here we examine published stable isotope and dental caries data of human skeletal remains from 77 archaeological sites across northern and northwestern China. These sites date between 9000 to 1750 BP, encompassing the period from the beginning of agriculture to wheat’s emergence as a staple crop in northern China. The aim of this study is to evaluate the implications of the spread and adoption of these crops in ancient China. Detailed analysis of human bone collagen δ13C values reveals an almost concurrent shift from a C4-based to a mixed C3/ C4– based subsistence economy across all regions at around 4500–4000 BP. This coincided with a global climatic event, Holocene Event 3 at 4200 BP, suggesting that the sudden change in subsistence economy across northern and northwestern China was likely related to climate change. Moreover, the substantially increased prevalence of dental caries from pre–to post–4000 BP indicates an increase in the consumption of cariogenic cereals during the later period. The results from this study have significant implications for understanding how the adoption of a staple crop can be indicative of large-scale environmental and socio-political changes in a region