A tourist learns how to ski at a ski resort in Yabuli, Shangzhi city, Heilongjiang province, Jan 31, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua] The Club Med Yabuli ski resort in Yabuli, Heilongjiang province, promised on Tuesday to pay guests triple the cost of their stay as compensation if they were affected by an outbreak of norovirus, a common cause of acute gastrointestinal illness. Transportation and treatment costs will be also covered by the compensation, the company said in a statement posted on social media. The club has suspended the reception of new guests and a professional health team has been sent to Yabuli to deal with the outbreak. Eight tourists at the resort tested positive for norovirus, Harbin's Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday. On Feb 4, Chinese New Year's Eve, some guests at the resort began to exhibit symptoms that looked like food poisoning, including vomiting, diarrhea, stomachache and low fever. Some tourists staying at the resort said more than 200 guests had fallen ill as of Sunday. Soon after receiving reports of the symptoms, an investigation team organized by Harbin's Center for Disease Control and Prevention arrived at the club and registered the information of 42 tourists who said they felt uncomfortable. Eight people were treated at nearby hospitals, but no one was admitted, the center said. I spent 25,400 yuan ($3,600) on a five-day trip for my husband, son and me at the club, including dining, accommodations and skiing, a 37-year-old tourist surnamed Liu from Shanghai said. I am a loyal customer of Club Med and have had wonderful experiences in the past, so even though I felt it was a little expensive, I chose it without hesitation. Liu described her subsequent experience. In the afternoon on Saturday, I felt uncomfortable and began to have diarrhea and vomiting. I thought I was unaccustomed to the climate of a new place and decided to have some porridge from the club's cafeteria for supper, she said. However, I found several tourists doing the same thing when I arrived at the cafeteria. After a short chat, we found we were suffering from the same condition. Liu's husband and two other tourists began to inquire room by room and found that members of more than 20 families had the same symptoms. We suspected it was food poisoning and asked the club to deal with the case as soon as possible, said Liu, who left the resort on Sunday morning. So far, the club has given me no explanation or solution. Liu told China Daily on Tuesday that she had not received any notification about compensation from Club Med. Another female tourist, surnamed Wang, said some children had vomited in the public area, and the cleaners had mopped it up in a cursory manner, without using any disinfectant. The club closed its cafeteria on Monday and offered guests packaged meals and instant noodles. We have started an investigation of water and food to try to find out the cause of the virus as soon as possible, Club Med said on Monday afternoon. At the same time, strict prevention measures, including thorough disinfection, are underway. A male guest surnamed Li said he had received a notice from Club Med on Tuesday morning listing the items eligible for compensation, but he said no details were included about how to apply for it. I hope they can settle the case properly and quickly, he said. Club Med, a global resort brand, was acquired by Fosun Tourism Group in 2015 and is the company's biggest revenue generator. wristbands canadacustom silicone bracelets canadarubber bracelets canadasilicone bracelets canadasilicone wristbands canadacustom wristbands canadacanadian wristbandswristbands canada
Shanghai scientists have located brain areas corresponding to smoking and drinking, bringing new insights and opening possibilities for stopping addictive behavior.They found that regular smokers tend to have low functional connectivity, especially in the brain area associated with the processing of punishment, while those who drink often have high brain connectivity, especially in the reward-related brain area.As human behavior is often guided by the desire to obtain positive outcomes and avoid negative consequences, neuroscientists are particularly interested in areas of the brain that process those things.The research showed that the abnormal connectivity of certain areas may be a factor attracting individuals to smoking and drinking, said Feng Jianfeng, leader of the team from the Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence affiliated with Fudan University.The team also found a correlation between smoking, drinking and impulsiveness. Changes in functional connectivity in the brain area associated with impulsive behavior could be observed.It suggested that being impulsive may be a factor leading to smoking and drinking, or vice versa, said Cheng Wei, the lead author of the research.The researchers said that the extent of such functional connectivity changes in the brains of drinkers and smokers is closely related to the amount of alcohol and nicotine they consume.Such changes are even detectable in the brains of individuals who smoke only a few cigarettes or drink a little, Cheng said.The research was based on a modeling analysis of brain networks using nearly 2,000 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) samples. The samples included daily smokers, nonsmokers, alcoholics and nondrinkers - as well as people who smoke or drink on occasion - from the United States and European countries.A paper about the study was published on the website of the United Kingdom-based biomedicine journal eLife earlier this month.Researchers said the findings could have significant public health implications, as drinking and smoking affect many people worldwide.According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.1 billion people globally smoke tobacco, and more than 7 million die each year because of their use of tobacco. About 2.3 billion people drink alcohol often. Of those, more than 25 percent are between age 15 and 19. More than 3 million people die as a result of the misuse of alcohol each year.The research team said its previous research on depression showed that changes in human brains were exactly opposite to those in drinkers and smokers.We found that depression sufferers have increased sensitivity to negative stimuli and reduced sensitivity to positive stimuli, Feng said.So we speculated that those who have smoking and drinking habits may be less likely to suffer from depression, or that a certain amount of smoking and drinking may alleviate depression symptoms, he said, adding that the team wants to figure out the reason for the opposite mechanisms.
