Country of origin effect on products from Mainland China in Hong Kong

This study examines the effect of the country of origin cue on Hong Kong consumers’ purchasing of products from the two countries—China and Japan. The research findings suggest that the country of origin and brand image are the important evaluative criteria for Hong Kong consumer. There are three main objectives in the report. First is to explore the overall image of Mainland Chinese products in Hong Kong market. The other is to assess the impact of the country of origin on Mainland Chinese products in Hong Kong market. Last, we make some suggestions for improving the image of Mainland Chinese products in Hong Kong market. The literature review and survey give the picture of the image of Mainland Chinese products in other markets. Overall, Mainland Chinese products have a negative image in those markets. The country of origin effect influences the country image so much, there has a negative image towards China. Hong Kong people view Mainland Chinese products as old-fashioned, cheap and unattractive. To alleviate that, the Chinese businesses could improve their marketing strategies in Hong Kong, especially the marketing mix. They could change the product designs and packages with good brand names, put more emphasis on promotions and advertising, and improving the advertisements to adapt to the tastes of Hong Kong consumers. In addition, they could increase the number of retail channels that are more convenient for consumers to get information and easier to find the products. The low price of China brand products in Hong Kong gives people “cheap” and “low-class” impression. So, Mainland Chinese firms should raise the quality of products in order to set a higher price in Hong Kong market

Online Disinhibition: Conceptualization, Measurement, and Relation to Aggressive Behaviors

The Internet has changed the way we communicate and interact with other people. Individuals become loosen up and feel less restrained to say or do things in the online space that they would not ordinarily say and do in the offline environment. This online disinhibition effect has been found to be associated with online aggressive and deviant behaviors. Though the concept of online disinhibition has been introduced to the literature for almost two decades, there is still a lack of consensus regarding its conceptualization and operationalization. In this research-in-progress paper, we first revisit the concept of online disinhibition. We then propose a rigorous approach in scale development and validation. We believe that this research will contribute to the development of literature related to the societal impacts of technology use. The newly developed and validated measures of online disinhibition will be added to the repository of rigorous research instruments

Online disinhibition: conceptualization, measurement, and implications for online deviant behavior

Purpose: Online disinhibition is one of the key factors leading to the occurrence of cyberaggression, cyberbullying and various forms of deviant behaviors in the online environment. To understand the composition of online disinhibition, this study aims to conceptualize online disinhibition and develop a measurement instrument for online disinhibition. Design/methodology/approach: We followed a rigorous procedure to develop and validate the multidimensional instrument of online disinhibition in three phases: item generation, measurement development and instrument testing. Findings: We developed a 23-item online disinhibition scale and identified six key dimensions: dissociative anonymity, invisibility, asynchronicity, solipsistic introjections, dissociative imagination and minimization of authority. Practical implications: The online disinhibition instrument is an accessible and easily administered measure that can be used as a checklist for systems designers and administrators to evaluate the level of online disinhibition among users. It offers systems design information on how to prevent and combat online deviant behaviors on platforms. Originality/value: This work provides a rich conceptualization of an online disinhibition instrument that can serve as a springboard for future work to understand online deviant behaviors. The newly developed measurement instrument of online disinhibition also adds to the repository of rigorous research scales in this area

Exogenous Expression of Human apoA-I Enhances Cardiac Differentiation of Pluripotent Stem Cells

The cardioprotective effects of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and apolipoprotein A1 (apoA-I) are well documented, but their effects in the direction of the cardiac differentiation of embryonic stem cells are unknown. We evaluated the effects of exogenous apoA-I expression on cardiac differentiation of ESCs and maturation of ESC-derived cardiomyocytes. We stably over-expressed full-length human apoA-I cDNA with lentivirus (LV)-mediated gene transfer in undifferentiated mouse ESCs and human induced pluripotent stem cells. Upon cardiac differentiation, we observed a significantly higher percentage of beating embryoid bodies, an increased number of cardiomyocytes as determined by flow cytometry, and expression of cardiac markers including α-myosin heavy chain, β-myosin heavy chain and myosin light chain 2 ventricular transcripts in LV-apoA-I transduced ESCs compared with control (LV-GFP). In the presence of noggin, a BMP4 antagonist, activation of BMP4-SMAD signaling cascade in apoA-I transduced ESCs completely abolished the apoA-I stimulated cardiac differentiation. Furthermore, co-application of recombinant apoA-I and BMP4 synergistically increased the percentage of beating EBs derived from untransduced D3 ESCs. These together suggests that that pro-cardiogenic apoA-I is mediated via the BMP4-SMAD signaling pathway. Functionally, cardiomyocytes derived from the apoA-I-transduced cells exhibited improved calcium handling properties in both non-caffeine and caffeine-induced calcium transient, suggesting that apoA-I plays a role in enhancing cardiac maturation. This increased cardiac differentiation and maturation has also been observed in human iPSCs, providing further evidence of the beneficial effects of apoA-I in promoting cardiac differentiation. In Conclusion, we present novel experimental evidence that apoA-I enhances cardiac differentiation of ESCs and iPSCs and promotes maturation of the calcium handling property of ESC-derived cardiomyocytes via the BMP4/SMAD signaling pathway

The Case for Market-based Push Caching

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60417/1/webcache.pd

One Size Doesn't Fit All: Improving Network QoS Through Preference-driven Web Caching

In order to combat Internet congestion Web caches use replacement policies that attempt to keep the objects in a cache that are most likely to get requested in the future. We adopt the economic perspective that the objects with the greatest value to the users should be in a cache. Using trace driven simulations we implement an incentive compatible market-based Web cache for servers to push content into a cache. This system decentralizes the caching process as servers provide information in the form of bids for space in the cache. Truthful information from the server on valuations of objects and predictions of hit rates is obtained. This information is used in filling the cache, which can provide increased aggregate value and differential quality of service to servers when compared to LFU and LRU.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50429/1/berlin.pd

Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue following ablation surgery

AbstractBackground/purposeThe purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SSC) of the tongue after primary surgical resection and to correlate the presence of OSA with the occurrence of obstructive apnea in this patient population.Materials and methodsThis was a retrospective study of 26 Taiwanese patients, 24 males and two females, aged 37–71 years, after surgical resection of SSC of the tongue. Patients who had a follow-up after treatment of 6 months to 11 years were eligible for inclusion. During the post-treatment period, the occurrence of OSA was determined in these patients. Overnight polysomnography (PSG) was used to determine the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI). Patients were considered to have OSA if the AHI value was >5.ResultsPatients with an AHI value of <5 showed a mean body mass index (BMI) of 22.8 kg/m2, while those with an AHI value of >5 showed a mean BMI of 28.3 kg/m2. The BMI distribution between patients with AHI value of <5 and those with AHI values of >5 was statistically significant (P = 0.018). Using the definition of clinically significant sleep apnea as AHI > 5, 14 of 26 patients (53.85%) had clinical OSA. The OSA and non-OSA groups showed no statistical significance in terms of age, tumor size, tongue ablation, neck dissection [method?], or wound reconstruction methods.ConclusionIncidence of OSA in the patient population with SSC of the tongue was found to be significantly higher than that in the general population. The limitations of this study were the relatively small patient sample size and no presurgical PSG record being obtained from the patients to compare the sleep quality before and after cancer therapy

Biased Replacement Policies for Web Caches: Differential Quality-of-Service and Aggregate User Value

Disk space in shared Web caches can be diverted to serve some system users at the expense of others. Cache hits reduce server loads, and if servers desire load reduction to different degrees, a replacement policy which prioritizes cache space across servers can provide differential quality-of-service (QoS). We present a simple generalization of least-frequently-used (LFU) replacement that is sensitive to varying levels of server valuation for cache hits. Through trace-driven simulation we show that under a particular assumption about server valuations our algorithm delivers a reasonable QoS relationship: higher byte hit rates for servers that value hits more. We furthermore adopt the economic perspective that value received by system users is a more appropriate performance metric than hit rate or byte hit rate, and demonstrate that our algorithm delivers higher "social welfare" (aggregate value to servers) than LRU or LFU.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60420/1/weighted-lfu.pd

Do people feel they belong? Socio‐political factors shaping the place attachment of Hong Kong citizens

Hong Kong citizens’ sense of belonging has gone through a period of fluctuation during the period of rapid socio‐political and legal change since the outbreak of the Anti‐Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement in 2019. This study explored how multiple dimensions of the place attachment of Hong Kong citizens have been shaped by factors associated with these changes. Six socio‐political variables were incorporated into the three dimensions of the person–process–place (PPP) framework. Based on a representative survey of the local population (n = 768), we found that political inclination and identity were significantly associated with the sense of place, with citizens identifying as Chinese and aligning with the pro‐establishment camp showing higher levels of place attachment. Mobility was negatively associated with place attachment, whereas the correlation between attachment and perceptions of the law and legal system was positive. The study has implications for Hong Kong’s current socio‐political and institutional environment and for emigration. It also demonstrates the wider applicability of the PPP framework for identifying and clarifying the various predictors of different dimensions of place attachment

Projecting the 10-year costs of care and mortality burden of depression until 2032: a Markov modelling study developed from real-world data

Background Based on real-world data, we developed a 10-year prediction model to estimate the burden among patients with depression from the public healthcare system payer's perspective to inform early resource planning in Hong Kong. Methods We developed a Markov cohort model with yearly cycles specifically capturing the pathway of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and comorbidity development along the disease course. Projected from 2023 to 2032, primary outcomes included costs of all-cause and psychiatric care, and secondary outcomes were all-cause deaths, years of life lived, and quality-adjusted life-years. Using the territory-wide electronic medical records, we identified 25,190 patients aged ≥10 years with newly diagnosed depression from 2014 to 2016 with follow-up until 2020 to observe the real-world time-to-event pattern, based on which costs and time-varying transition inputs were derived using negative binomial modelling and parametric survival analysis. We applied the model as both closed cohort, which studied a fixed cohort of incident patients in 2023, and open cohort, which introduced incident patients by year from 2014 to 2032. Utilities and annual new patients were from published sources. Findings With 9217 new patients in 2023, our closed cohort model projected the 10-year cumulative costs of all-cause and psychiatric care to reach US$309.0 million and US$58.3 million, respectively, with 899 deaths (case fatality rate: 9.8%) by 2032. In our open cohort model, 55,849–57,896 active prevalent cases would cost more than US$322.3 million and US$60.7 million, respectively, with more than 943 deaths annually from 2023 to 2032. Fewer than 20% of cases would live with TRD or comorbidities but contribute 31–54% of the costs. The greatest collective burden would occur in women aged above 40, but men aged above 65 and below 25 with medical history would have the highest costs per patient-year. The key cost drivers were relevant to the early disease stages. Interpretation A limited proportion of patients would develop TRD and comorbidities but contribute to a high proportion of costs, which necessitates appropriate attention and resource allocation. Our projection also demonstrates the application of real-world data to model long-term costs and mortality, which aid policymakers anticipate foreseeable burden and undertake budget planning to prepare for the care need in alternative scenarios