The roles of withdrawal in the negotiator personality-tactic relationship

The personality of a negotiator shall affect his choice of tactics. Moreover, mixed predictions of the personality-tactic relationship have been derived from prior studies. One possible explanation is the influence of other intervening factors. In this regard, this study examines the role of withdrawal, as an intervening variable, in the negotiator personality-tactic relationship. State of withdrawal refers to the level of interest to continue with a negotiation. In a state of complete withdrawal, the interest to continue no longer exists and breakdown of the negotiation is inevitable. With the participation of practicing professionals, an experiment was used to collect data for the study. It was found that competitors are prone to withdraw and use more distributive tactics. However, this pattern changes with the composition of the dyad. If the negotiating counterpart is a cooperator, a competitor will adopt a more integrative approach. This finding reminds the importance of the personality factor in selecting members of a negotiating team

Isolation and characterization of ZK002, a novel dual function snake venom protein from Deinagkistrodon acutus with anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory properties

Introduction: Pathological angiogenesis, the abnormal or excessive generation of blood vessels, plays an important role in many diseases including cancer, diabetic retinopathy, psoriasis, and arthritis. Additionally, increasing evidence supports the close linkage between angiogenesis and inflammation. Snake venoms are a rich natural source of biologically active molecules and carry rich potential for the discovery of anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory modulators.Methods: Here, we isolated and purified a novel protein, ZK002, from the venom of the snake Deinagkistrodon acutus, and investigated its anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory activities and mechanisms.Results: ZK002 was identified as a 30 kDa heterodimeric protein of α and β chains, which exhibited anti-angiogenic activity in various in vitro assays. Mechanistically, ZK002 inhibited activation of VEGF signaling and related mediators including eNOS, p38, LIMK, and HSP27. ZK002 also upregulated the metalloproteinase inhibitor TIMP3 and inhibited components of the VEGF-induced signaling cascade, PPP3R2 and SH2D2A. The anti-angiogenic activity of ZK002 was confirmed in multiple in vivo models. ZK002 could also inhibit the in vitro expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, as well as in vivo inflammation in the carrageenin-induced edema rat model.Conclusion: Our findings highlight the potential for further development of ZK002 as a dual function therapeutic against diseases with involvement of pathogenic angiogenesis and chronic inflammation

Online course design and delivery using WebCT and other multimedia tools

In this article, we shall describe our experience of developing an online course PHYS007 Physical Phenomena in Everyday Life for non-physics majors using a variety of multimedia tools. We shall discuss the approach we took, the difficulties we faced, and the experiences we drawn from this education experiment

An active-learning approach in teaching Physics 007

We discuss in this paper our experience of introducing active learning approaches in teaching a general education course PHYS007 Physical Phenomena in Everyday Life for non-physics majors. We shall discuss the approach we took, the difficulties we faced, the feedback from students, and the experiences we have drawn from this education experiment

Population policy in Hong Kong: instrument coherence or segmentation?

published_or_final_versionPolitics and Public AdministrationMasterMaster of Public Administratio

Smoke Hazards of Tall Timber Buildings with New Products

Timber buildings can now stand very tall using new products. As timber materials are expected to be easily ignitable, the fire hazard of timber is a concern. Charring of the timber surface would maintain structural stability, but would also be accompanied by smoke. Although treating timber products with fire retardants would delay the ignition time under low radiative heat flux, toxic combustion products and unburnt fuel would be emitted immediately upon burning. More smoke and higher toxic gas concentrations such as carbon monoxide would be given off upon burning some fire retardants under high flashover heat fluxes. Due to the fast upward movement of smoke under stack effect, spreading of toxic smoke in tall timber buildings would lead to a hazardous environment. Engineered timber consists of derivative timber products. New engineered timber products are manufactured with advanced technology and design, including cross-laminated-timber (CLT), laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and glue-laminated timber (Glulam). The fire behaviour of timber products has been studied for several decades. However, the smoke hazards of using new timber products in building construction should be monitored. The objective of this study is to inspire stakeholders in fire safety of timber buildings, inter alia smoke hazards, to use new timber products to build tall buildings

Hydrogen-Bonded Anionic Host Lattices Constructed with Isocyanurate and Thiourea/Urea

A series of seven inclusion complexes containing the isocyanurate ion, thiourea/urea, and selected quaternary ammonium ions as templates, namely, (CH₃)₄N⁺­C₃H₂N₃O₃^–<b>­·</b> 3­(NH₂)₂CS­<b>·</b>H₂O (<b>1</b>), (CH₃)₄N⁺­C₃H₂N₃O₃^–<b>­·</b>(NH₂)₂CS (<b>2</b>), (C₂H₅)₄N⁺­C₃H₂N₃O₃^–<b>­·</b>(NH₂)₂CS (<b>3</b>), (<i>n</i>-C₃H₇)₄N⁺­C₃H₂N₃O₃^–<b>­·</b>(NH₂)₂CS<b>­·</b>H₂O (<b>4</b>), 3­[(<i>n</i>-C₄H₉)₄­N⁺­C₃H₂N₃O₃^–]­<b>·</b>5­(NH₂)₂CS­<b>·</b>3H₂O (<b>5</b>), (C₂H₅)₄N⁺­C₃H₂N₃O₃^–­·(NH₂)₂CO (<b>6</b>) and (<i>n</i>-C₃H₇)₄N⁺­C₃H₂N₃O₃^–­<b>·</b>2­(NH₂)₂CO<b>­·</b>H₂O (<b>7</b>), have been prepared and characterized by X-ray crystallography. Complex (<b>1</b>) features a hydrogen-bonded molecular cage in which two (CH₃)₄N⁺ cations can be accommodated. Complexes (<b>2</b>) and (<b>7</b>) are channel-type inclusion compounds. In (<b>2</b>), the thiourea sulfur atom does not participate in host lattice construction, while (<b>7</b>) contains several intersecting channel systems that are formed by the cross-linkage of two sets of isocyanurate–urea–water ribbons. Complexes (<b>3</b>)–(<b>6</b>) exhibit layer-type architectures. The host layers of complexes (<b>3</b>) and (<b>6</b>) are constructed by two distinct rosette motifs produced by isocyanurate ion and thiourea/urea in a ratio of 2:1 and 1:2, respectively. The isocyanurate–thiourea–water (1:1:1) ribbons are cross-linked together to generate the host framework of complex (<b>4</b>), while a new type of supramolecular rosette ribbon is identified in complex (<b>5</b>)