Hotels seduce guests with power of smell |
- Hotels seduce guests with power of smell
- Sinopec in talks to buy 15pct in Petronas’ Canada LNG project
- Merkel and Obama reiterate the need for diplomatic solution on Crimea
- Study shows Tamiflu cuts flu death risk by 25pc
- Cholesterol drug may help multiple sclerosis sufferers
- MH370: Should Zahari and Fariq be investigated? — Rama Ramanathan
| Hotels seduce guests with power of smell Posted: 18 Mar 2014 05:56 PM PDT
In the hotel industry, the strategy is known as "scenting", an extra-sensory marketing strategy that's meant to attach certain smells to brands, drive loyalty, and make people feel at home. Just as certain smells will transport people back to their childhood, hoteliers are leveraging this powerful memory-maker to connect certain fragrances to their brand. The latest luxury hotel to develop its own scent is the Thompson Chicago, which collaborated with scentmakers 12.29 in New York to come up with its own custom scent, "Velvet", inspired by the hotel's signature colours black and aubergine, and textures like leather and velvet. "The vision was sinking into a worn-in leather chair in the lounge with a glass of scotch. Warm, inviting, comfortable, sexy and modern," said sisters Dawn and Samantha Goldworm of 12.29 in an interview on the hotel blog. Similarly, when guests walk into the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York, they're greeted with the warmth of wood and leather scents which are bottled in US$90 (RM294) room sprays and US$150 candles. Over at Le Méridien, the signature olfactory logo was developed by Le Labo in New York, helmed by two French men who bottled the scent of old paper, leather, wooden shelves and an old copy of Le Petit Prince. The connection: Le Méridien was originally founded by Air France while the author of The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, was also a pilot, pointed out a Travel + Leisure article. The Westin's signature scent is White Tea and the Mandarin Oriental takes inspiration from its signature Mandarin Blossom Tea. And luxury boutique hotel Dukes St James in London pipes the smell of the "English countryside" throughout the rooms with scents of hyacinth and bluebells. — AFP-Relaxnews  |
| Sinopec in talks to buy 15pct in Petronas’ Canada LNG project Posted: 18 Mar 2014 05:54 PM PDT
The Malaysian state oil company's Pacific Northwest LNG project, due to start up in late 2018, is one of about a dozen proposed LNG export terminals for British Columbia's Pacific coast. Petronas has moved quickly to leapfrog rivals in the race to export cheap Canadian gas to hungry Asian markets after securing export permits and filing environmental documents. This month it struck a deal to sell Indian Oil Corp. a 10 per cent stake, alongside existing partners Japan Petroleum Exploration and state-run PetroleumBRUNEI, in a move designed to share the financial burden of developing the project. Its deal with IOC also included a 10 per cent stake in the shale gas assets that will feed the LNG plant, but sources could not confirm if Sinopec intended to follow suit. While IOC secured around 1.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of the project's 12 mtpa export capacity, Sinopec can expect to receive around 1.8 mtpa with a 15 per cent stake, one of the sources said. Chinese companies, as with their Asian peers, have been scouting for oil and gas assets abroad to meet rising domestic demand. China National Petroleum Corp. last year bought a 20 per cent stake in the Novatek-led Yamal LNG project in Russia's Arctic, while PetroChina hopes to develop another Canadian LNG project called Kitimat. It is also considering a US$40 billion investment in Western Australia's Browse LNG project. A separate industry source added that Sinopec was holding discussions with multiple project developers and was undertaking a comprehensive comparison to decide the best way forward. Sinopec is also in talks to invest in the Kitimat project. A Chinese delegation is expected in Canada this week to discuss energy cooperation between the two countries, according to a diplomatic source in Beijing. — Reuters |
| Merkel and Obama reiterate the need for diplomatic solution on Crimea Posted: 18 Mar 2014 05:53 PM PDT
The two leaders also agreed in their exchange today that Ukraine's territorial integrity had suffered "unacceptable blows", according to a a German government spokesman. Obama and Merkel spoke after President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty claiming the Black Sea region of Crimea as Russian territory, and as Ukraine warned the showdown had entered a "military stage" after soldiers were killed on both sides. Russia's move, less than three weeks after pro-Moscow troops first seized control of the strategic peninsula, was slammed by Western leaders. "The one-sided declaration of Crimea's independence and the absorption into the Russian Federation that started today are unacceptable blows against the territorial integrity of Ukraine," German spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement. Merkel and Obama agreed that the "so-called" referendum on secession held in Crimea on Sunday breached Ukraine's constitution and international law, Seibert added. In a statement issued by the White House today, the leaders warned "there would be costs" for Russia's moves. "They agreed it was vital to send international monitors from the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations to southern and eastern Ukraine immediately," the statement said. However, both Berlin and Washington said there was room for negotiations to de-escalate the situation. "Both leaders agreed to continue to underscore to Russian President Putin that there remains a clear path for resolving this crisis diplomatically, in a way that addresses the interests of both Russia and the people of Ukraine," the White House statement said. And the German statement emphasized "their willingness to pursue the path of political dialogue and communication," adding that the two countries had agreed on a "closely coordinated approach". — AFP |
| Study shows Tamiflu cuts flu death risk by 25pc Posted: 18 Mar 2014 05:48 PM PDT
The findings, published in The Lancet today, should be a useful guide to doctors weighing options for treating flu, the authors said. The research collated data from 78 studies, covering more than 29,000 patients in 38 different countries, admitted to hospital during the H1N1 flu scare. A novel flu strain, H1N1 initially stoked fears of a massive death toll in line with flu pandemics of the previous century. But the strain turned out to be far less lethal, with a mortality rate similar to that of annual, or "seasonal", strains of flu. Tamiflu — lab name oseltamivir — is the most widely used of two frontline drugs used to fight flu by inhibiting viral replication. The study found that people older than 16 who were given Tamiflu in hospital had a 25 per cent lower risk of death than those who did not get the drug. Among a sub-group of those who received Tamiflu swiftly, within the first two days of admission, the mortality risk was halved, and among pregnant woman it was reduced by 54 per cent. There was no significant impact on risk among children given the drug. The study, carried out by independent epidemiologists, was financed by Tamiflu's makers, Hoffmann-La Roche. The Lancet is a peer-reviewed journal, meaning that papers are vetted by external experts before publication. — AFP |
| Cholesterol drug may help multiple sclerosis sufferers Posted: 18 Mar 2014 05:36 PM PDT
Scientists found some evidence to suggest that simvastatin may help fight MS a decade ago, but further small-scale trials did not back up the findings. Now, a larger study says there are encouraging signs that the cholesterol-reducing drug can slow the development of MS when the disease reaches a chronic, crippling phase. MS is a progressive disease of the brain and central nervous system in which the immune system attacks a fatty insulative sheath around nerve fibres. The symptoms range from numbness and tingling to muscle weakness and spasms, cramps, nausea, depression and memory loss. About 10 to 15 years after diagnosis, the disease usually becomes chronic and patients start to suffer more severe symptoms. The brain loses tissue, shrinking at a rate of about 0.6 per cent of its volume per year. The new trial gave 140 chronic MS sufferers aged 18 to 65 either a daily dose of 80 milligrammes of simvastatin, or a dummy lookalike pill called a placebo, over the course of two years. The brains of patients who took simvastatin shrank at a rate of 0.3 per cent a year, 43 per cent less than their "placebo" counterparts, 3D scans showed. There were also small but significant improvements in disabilities caused by the disease, according to reports by patients and their doctors. Patients who took simvastatin also reported a similar number of side effects as those who were given the harmless placebo pill. The trial was a Phase 2 test in the three-stage process to assess whether new drugs are, firstly, safe and, secondly, effective. "Caution should be taken regarding over-interpretation of our brain imaging findings, because these might not necessarily translate into clinical benefit," said lead researcher Jeremy Chataway of Britain's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. "However, our promising results warrant further investigation in larger Phase 3 disability-driven trials." Simvastatin, a type of statin anti-cholesterol treatment, is a standard, low-cost drug designed to impede the build-up of fatty deposits in the blood vessels — a major risk for cardiovascular health. — AFP |
| MH370: Should Zahari and Fariq be investigated? — Rama Ramanathan Posted: 18 Mar 2014 05:30 PM PDT
Many Malaysians say Zahari and Fariq say "NO!" They say Zahari's passion for justice and compassion towards others should exempt him from suspicion and investigation. As for Fariq, well he's young and is probably being investigated since it's been alleged that in December 2011, contrary to airline policy, he had two female passengers with him in the cockpit of a flight from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur. Many say "forgive lah." Investigation is about finding root causes, preventing mishaps, becoming better. In the case of MH370, it includes finding the plane. In his autobiography "Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters," Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who in January 2009 safely landed an Airbus 320 on the Hudson River with no loss of life, says he carefully read every air crash investigation so he could learn and be a better pilot. Every pilot knows he could be the subject of an investigation. I'm a data guy. So, let me tell you 7 things one Air Crash Investigation Report says about 2 pilots who died in a cargo plane which crashed while they were landing it. The report complies with the standards and recommended practices in ICAO Annexe 13: Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation. The following is found in a section titled "Working Conditions of PIC (Pilot in Charge) and FO (First Officer) up to the Accident. Commuting method and time. Both travelled thousands of miles from their homes to work. "It could not be determined" how the PIC commuted to work. The FO came on a jump seat in the cockpit of a cargo plane which made one stop en route. There is no evidence that they didn't comply with applicable regulations and policies. No reason for concern. Adequacy of rest between flights. The report lists the departure and destination airports and departure and arrival times of each of the flights they flew in the 72 hours prior to the accident. For each flight it reports the "flight duty hours" and the "flight time." It also reports the layover time. It even lists periods of "no documented activity" for each of them. There is no evidence that they didn't comply with applicable regulations and policies. It mentions that one of them received a phone call from a relative during the 72-hour period; it notes that the relative said he sounded normal. No reason for concern. Medical history. It describes their medical histories. The PIC had taken 4 months leave for medical treatment; when he returned to work 2 months before the accident he submitted a medical certificate stating that he had made a full recovery. His "aviation medical examination" authorised his use of medication for 2 named medical conditions. The FO had an ankle bone fracture 14 years earlier and knee surgery 7 years earlier. No reason for concern. Physical condition. 2 captains and a line check airman had flown with them recently. They made no remarks about fatigue; they didn't complain of back pain or knee pain. They had no sleep disorders. There is anecdotal evidence that they planned to sleep early, to get adequate rest before they reported for duty. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) recorded the FO telling the PIC to make some noise if it got too quiet, and the PIC agreeing. No reason for concern. Medicines used. Sleeping medicines, pain killers, long-term anti-anxiety medicines, anti-inflammatory medicines and fever medicines were found among the men's personal effects. No reason for concern. Blood and urine analysis (autopsy). The PIC's blood and urine contained traces of Lidocaine which may have been administered by rescuers, and three other drugs. All findings are consistent with applicable country regulations and their airline's own guidelines. (It notes that certain medicines are allowed to be used only if the pilot waits "at least 5 dosing intervals of the medication before operating the aircraft). No reason for concern. Training status. The report lists the training they had been scheduled to attend, and whether they showed up. It notes that they had both passed the required proficiency checks and were not overdue for any checks. No reason for concern. Other crash investigation reports I have reviewed include the same data about the pilots. Now, you tell me. Do the professionals who wrote the air crash investigation rules think Captain Zahari and First Officer Fariq of MH370 should be investigated? The aircraft manufacturer and its suppliers have a lot to lose if it is found that equipment is somehow the root cause of the disaster. Boeing shareholders tremble at every mention of a Boeing Airworthiness Directive proposed by the US Federal Aviation Administration on 12 June 2013. It was a proposal to take more seriously reports of cracks in the skin of the fuselages of a number of aircraft. I've led many investigations, though none in the airline industry. I know self-protection instincts are present in every Crisis Management and Investigation team. I hear the whispers: "It can't be the aircraft!" "It can't be ground control!" "It can't be the air force radar." "It's not that we're protecting a former Defence Minister." If the pilots are not ruled out, vested interests will keep insinuating it could be the pilots. Therefore, treat everything and everyone as a suspect. Consider this. The report on Zahari may include his stellar scores on his state-of-the-art DIY flight simulator; or, it may indicate some nuance about DIY simulators which no one has appreciated to-date. Isn't either result a good thing? Incidentally, it would be a good thing if Zahari had actually attempted simulated landings on "tough" airfields in the Indian Ocean: he worked extra hard at being a good pilot. *Rama Ramanathan blogs at write2rest.blogspot.com. ** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online. |
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