GBTA: China On Track To Be World's Business Travel Spending Leader By 2015

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By Michael B. Baker

China could overtake the United States as the world's largest business travel market as early as 2015, according to a report published Monday by the Global Business Travel Association.

Spending on business travel originating in China grew by 15.1 percent year over year in 2013 to $225 billion, the report indicated. It projected business travel spending to increase by 16.5 percent this year and by an additional 17.8 percent, to $309 billion, in 2015.

Already the second-largest business travel market in the world, China has been closing the spending gap separating it and the United States. That difference dropped from $66 billion in 2012 to $47 billion in 2013, and projections from both markets show China could overtake the United States by 2015, according to GBTA's report.

Researchers wrote that "slower and more consistent economic growth may extend the amount of time required to wrest this laurel from the United States, but current economic performance and near-term prospects suggest that China remains on track. Monthly industrial production, retail sales, management sentiment and exports are all signaling better times ahead for both domestic and international outbound business travel."

The GBTA report noted that public spending restrictions in China have impacted meetings and events demand. For example, the number of events with more than 1,000 participants dropped by 75 percent between 2010 and 2012. But GBTA's research found that private sector events and growing transient domestic travel have offset that.

Meanwhile, growth in outbound international business travel from China has been "relatively tepid," according to the report. Such spending during the past three years has grown between 10 percent and 15 percent, compared with growth rates of about 30 percent in 2009 and 2010. GBTA projected growth will remain at about 15 percent this year and suggested improving economic conditions in Europe could help boost that rate in 2015.

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GBTA: China On Track To Be World's Business Travel Spending Leader By 2015

That's epic!

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Mythological narratives are getting a major upgrade with science fiction and fantasy writers injecting them with strong doses of reinterpretation and realism, finds Daniel Pinto

Writers are ushering India's myths into the realm ofspeculative fiction such as sci-fi and fantasy. One such writer isUS-based entrepreneur and IT professional Ravi V whose The ExiledPrince, the first in his Crystal Guardian trilogy, was releasedrecently. The series, told from Rama's point of view, begins and endsin the British Raj and seeks to seamlessly connect magic, futuristictechnology and the mystical Crystal of Creation which is critical tomankind's survival."The series explains events that happen in Rama'slife and the reason why his name sounds in every corner of thiscountry," says Ravi.However, the writer, who spent three years researchinglegends before embarking upon the series, maintains that he isn'tretelling folklore.

"My series is not the Ramayana; it just usesthe tale as a vehicle to deliver the plot. The book would be auniquely presented perspective with twists and turns in the sciencefiction format, and as one reads between the lines, the lateral plotwill present itself".When one mentions the marriage of science-fiction andscripture, the seminal comic series Ramayan 3392 AD which wasenvisioned by filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and self-help guru DeepakChopra comes to mind. The series, which started in the now defunctVirgin Comics in 2006 in the US, details the exploits of Prince Ramain a post-apocalyptic future where mankind is plagued by Ravan,depicted as a transhuman entity.Shamik Dasgupta, the writer of the series, reveals howthe characters in his universe differ from those in myth.

"Wemade them more realistic and instilled real modern human emotions inthem except Ravan, who is a synthetic being. Rama doesn't havegreatness bestowed upon him.From the beginning he has to strive andfight for greatness, he has to prove himself in this postmodern,savage, dystopian world, and it is not easy, not by a long shot."Dasgupta credits the series for revolutionising the artof graphic novels in India. "It is true that Ramayan 3392 AD isresponsible for the emergence of modern graphic novels and comicbooks in India, with high caliber art and intricate storytellingmeant for all ages and not just kids."Another sci-fi work which is injected with a heavy doseof mythology is The Guardians of Karma. The novel, penned by MohanVizhakat, CTO & EVP of Manappuram Finance Ltd, fills the voidthat is India's prehistoric past with a saga that sees two advancedcivilizations, the spiritually inclined Dev Lok and theall-conquering Daityan Empire, face off.

"The idea germinated few years back while readingabout the apparent disconnect between Indian mythology's rich legacyand the lack of any tangible archaeological evidence to support it.This got me thinking that if the myths had any shred of truth, theymust have been long forgotten or misinterpreted, either because ithappened so far back in prehistory that no records have survived orpossibly because all such evidence must be deep under sea ever sincemuch of the habitable world during the ice-age became submerged,during the deluge following global ice-melt," says Vizhakat."The book also explores the age-old wisdom of thescriptures from the perspective of modern scientific analysis,especially considering latest advancements in the fields ofrelativity, quantum mechanics, dark energy and biocentrism,"says Vizhakat who added that he relied heavily on mythological themessuch as the destruction of the demonic realms of Tripura depicted ashi-tech, free-floating cities.What is it about the golden age of yore that makes itsuch a haven for anarchronistic technological advancement?

"Anythingrelative to ancient Vedic mythologies can be looked at from thescience fiction point of view. It is known that, the father ofnuclear bomb, RJ Oppenheimer had quoted the Gita and has mentionedthat he may not have been the first to know about these atomicweapons. Take the Brahmastra; it is said as a source that can destroyworlds, like a nuclear weapon. But then these legends used to firethem from a bow and arrow! Did that technology exist or was it purelyfiction? We can't really say, but it does make a fantastic storyand that spawned imagination of several creative geniuses across theglobe," says Ravi.The Aryavarta Chronicles, a series by KrishnaUdayasankar, a lecturer at at Nanyang Business School, Singapore, isanother example of a "genre-bending" fantasy books look at thepower tussles in the titular kingdom in India's distant past. Thoughit reimagines the Mahabharata, there are supernatural elements.

But,that's not to say there's no sci-fi. "Utopia is supposed to be theultimate aim or achievement of humankind and science is the tool thatwill get us there. This is the premise of the story. An order ofscholars, the Firewrights, believe that their science and technologyis the means to peace and prosperity until things go wrong and theirweapons became a cause for terrible bloodshed," she explains.She happily categorises her books as fantasy. "Fantasystories have a structure or flow that fascinates me most of themare stories of an age, that show, in their own way, revolution andchange. It is this element that fascinates me, as also the fact thatthere is a certain sense of dramatic growth and transformation thatcharacters go through as though the story is their journey. Ifeel quite thrilled when readers place The Aryavarta Chronicles asfantasy, the reason being that I think there is the same sense ofmythopoesy, the creation of a story-world distinct and complete initself, not unlike Tolkien's Middle Earth," she says

Elaborating on why she chose to keep things real, shesays "Both religion and mythology have been, and still are, usedto legitimise or justify social elements that range from irrelevantto downright reprehensible. So, the attempt to demystify ancientstories is like a quest for a more believable truth, an attempt tomake these amazing characters and stories more 'real.' I want tobelieve that things were not always the way they are now; thatequality, compassion and reason were things heroines and heroesfought for and that's what makes my stories fantasy."

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That's epic!

Samsung's 28-inch, 4K monitor to sell for $699.99

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Samsung's 28-inch UD590 4K monitor

Samsung has followed up its many ultra-high-definition TVs with a 4K monitor that may help bring down the average cost of super-high-resolution displays for bleary-eyed computer users.

The UD590, a 28-inch 4K monitor priced at US$699.99, displays images at a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, which is four times higher than current 1080p high-definition monitors or TVs. Samsung has already released 4K TVs, both straight and curved, and the UD590 monitor is for computer users.

Samsung's new monitor can display 1 billion colors, the company said in a statement. The product will ship on April 18, according to an order page for the UD590 monitor on Amazon.com.

Prices for 4K monitors are falling as more products become available and Samsung, a big player in the display market, could accelerate this trend.

The UD590's price is a bit higher than the lowest-priced 4K monitor, Dell's 28 Ultra HD Monitor P2815Q, which has been selling for $661.99. However, Dell's monitor shows up as "no longer available" when orders are placed for it on Dell's website.

Dell's 28-inch monitor was criticized for its refresh rate of just 30Hz. The refresh rate is an important metric in determining how monitors are able to cope with moving images while reducing flickering. The refresh rate on Samsung's UD590 through an HDMI 1.4 port is 30Hz, and a more desirable 60Hz with a DisplayPort 1.2 port. The monitor has two HDMI ports and a single DisplayPort port.

Samsung has also brought some of its TV features to the monitor. It can convert lower-definition video content to the 4K resolution, and has a picture-in-picture feature to show content from two sources. The monitor has a "Game Mode" button that reduces screen lag, improves color and alters the "screen's contrast to make dark spots darker and light spots lighter" when playing games, according to a UD590 specification page.

Other technical specifications of the monitor include a 1-millisecond response time, 170-degree viewing angle, and the ability to tilt from 1 degree to 15-degrees.

Other 4K monitors are expected to become available this year, but many still remain priced well over $1,000. A 31.5-inch 4K monitor from Asus is selling for $2,899 on Amazon.com, while a 32-inch Sharp 4K monitor is priced at $3,595. Lenovo is due to ship two 4K monitors this year, including a 28-inch monitor that will be priced at $799.99, the company said in January.

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Samsung's 28-inch, 4K monitor to sell for $699.99

Computer Maps 21 Distinct Emotional Expressions–Even "Happily Disgusted"

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Released: 3/26/2014 2:00 PM EDT Embargo expired: 3/31/2014 3:00 PM EDT Source Newsroom: Ohio State University Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise COLUMBUS, OhioResearchers at The Ohio State University have found a way for computers to recognize 21 distinct facial expressionseven expressions for complex or seemingly contradictory emotions such as happily disgusted or sadly angry.

In the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they report that they were able to more than triple the number of documented facial expressions that researchers can now use for cognitive analysis.

Weve gone beyond facial expressions for simple emotions like happy or sad. We found a strong consistency in how people move their facial muscles to express 21 categories of emotions, said Aleix Martinez, a cognitive scientist and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Ohio State. That is simply stunning. That tells us that these 21 emotions are expressed in the same way by nearly everyone, at least in our culture.

The resulting computational model will help map emotion in the brain with greater precision than ever before, and perhaps even aid the diagnosis and treatment of mental conditions such as autism and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Since at least the time of Aristotle, scholars have tried to understand how and why our faces betray our feelingsfrom happy to sad, and the whole range of emotions beyond. Today, the question has been taken up by cognitive scientists who want to link facial expressions to emotions in order to track the genes, chemicals, and neural pathways that govern emotion in the brain.

Until now, cognitive scientists have confined their studies to six basic emotionshappy, sad, fearful, angry, surprised and disgustedmostly because the facial expressions for them were thought to be self-evident, Martinez explained.

But deciphering a persons brain functioning with only six categories is like painting a portrait with only primary colors, Martinez said: it can provide an abstracted image of the person, but not a true-to-life one.

What Martinez and his team have done is more than triple the color palettewith a suite of emotional categories that can be measured by the proposed computational model and applied in rigorous scientific study.

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Computer Maps 21 Distinct Emotional Expressions--Even "Happily Disgusted"

Researchers discover ancient virus DNA remnants necessary for pluripotency in humans

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8 hours ago by Bob Yirka Human embryonic stem cells in cell culture. Credit: Wikipedia.

(Phys.org) A team of Canadian and Singaporean researchers has discovered that remnants of ancient viral DNA in human DNA must be present for pluripotency to occur in human stem cells. In their paper published in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, the team describes how they disabled a viral remnant in stem cell samples and discovered that doing so prevented the stem cell from being able to grow into all but one type of human cell.

All of the cells in the human body start out as stem cellsthe ability of such cells to do so is known as pluripotency. Scientists don't really understand how individual stem cells know which type to become but are working hard to find outit could lead to the development of cures for many diseases or the regeneration of lost limbs. In this new effort, the researchers wondered about the role of remnant viral DNA in stem cell DNA and pluripotency in general.

Scientists have known for some time that viral DNA exists in human DNA, the result of retrovirus infections millions of years ago. Retroviruses reproduce by injecting their own DNA into the DNA of a hostif it occurs in sperm or egg cells, the virus DNA can end up in the DNA of the host. Until now, scientists have thought that remnant viral DNA was simply "junk" DNAmeaning it didn't do anything at all. Now it appears clear that at least one type of such DNAHERV-Hactually plays a very important role in pluripotency.

The researchers treated some human stem cells with a small amount of RNA designed to suppress HERV-H. Doing so, they found, removed the stem cell's ability to develop into any human cellinstead they would only grow into cells that resembled fibroblastscells normally found in connective tissue. A closer look revealed that suppressing HERV-H also suppressed the production of proteins necessary for pluripotency. Thus, at least in humans, the remnant viral DNA appears to be necessary for normal human developmentwithout it, human life would be impossible.

Because of the role HERV-H plays in pluripotency, its possible other remnant viral DNA plays a role in human development as well, thus it's very likely that other research efforts will focus on testing each to see if they are more than just junk left over from infections over the course of human evolution.

Explore further: Critical factor (BRG1) identified for maintaining stem cell pluripotency

More information: The retrovirus HERVH is a long noncoding RNA required for human embryonic stem cell identity, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (2014) DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2799

Abstract Human endogenous retrovirus subfamily H (HERVH) is a class of transposable elements expressed preferentially in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Here, we report that the long terminal repeats of HERVH function as enhancers and that HERVH is a nuclear long noncoding RNA required to maintain hESC identity. Furthermore, HERVH is associated with OCT4, coactivators and Mediator subunits. Together, these results uncover a new role of species-specific transposable elements in hESCs.

2014 Phys.org

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Researchers discover ancient virus DNA remnants necessary for pluripotency in humans

Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fourteen) What Must Be Avoided? Part Three – Video

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Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fourteen) What Must Be Avoided? Part Three
https://www.newmessage.org/nmfg/Greater_Community_Spirituality.html Greater Community Spirituality presents a prophetic new understanding of God and human sp...

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Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fourteen) What Must Be Avoided? Part Three - Video

ALIEN COVERUP ET DISCLOSURE 2014 Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fourteen) Part Four – Video

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ALIEN COVERUP ET DISCLOSURE 2014 Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fourteen) Part Four
https://www.newmessage.org/nmfg/Greater_Community_Spirituality.html Greater Community Spirituality presents a prophetic new understanding of God and human sp...

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ALIEN COVERUP ET DISCLOSURE 2014 Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fourteen) Part Four - Video

Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fourteen) Part Three What Must Be Avoided? – Video

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Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fourteen) Part Three What Must Be Avoided?
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Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fourteen) Part Three What Must Be Avoided? - Video

Quebec | Jean-Sbastien Morin | Bishop Thomas Dowd | Spirituality | Religion | 1326 | 3 – Video

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Quebec | Jean-Sbastien Morin | Bishop Thomas Dowd | Spirituality | Religion | 1326 | 3
http://www.ContextwithLorna.com | With us now to look at the life of the church in Quebec is Jean Sebastien Morin. Jean-Sebastien is an Evangelical theologian and a...

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Quebec | Jean-Sbastien Morin | Bishop Thomas Dowd | Spirituality | Religion | 1326 | 3 - Video

WWIII RUSSIA NATO CHINA Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fifteen) Part Two – Video

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WWIII RUSSIA NATO CHINA Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fifteen) Part Two
https://www.newmessage.org/nmfg/Greater_Community_Spirituality.html Greater Community Spirituality presents a prophetic new understanding of God and human sp...

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WWIII RUSSIA NATO CHINA Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fifteen) Part Two - Video