Landfill extension developments in Hong Kong : a study of agenda setting and policy dynamics

published_or_final_versionPolitics and Public AdministrationMasterMaster of Public Administratio

CORRECTION Open Access

tumor progression enhances the oncogenic capacity of advanced ovarian cance

Oral health of community dwelling elders in Hong Kong

Introduction: The world’s population is ageing and the elders are vulnerable to oral health problems. This project aimed to observe the oral health status of community dwelling elders in Hong Kong, investigate the oral health impact on their quality of life and nutritional status, and provide oral health education and preventive service. Methods: Community dwelling elders (65 or above) were recruited from five community centers. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was completed to collect information on their socio-demographic background and oral health perception/practice. Their oral health related quality of life (OHQoL) and nutritional status were measured by using the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA), respectively. Their tooth and periodontal status, oral hygiene and soft tissues were examined. Individualized advice, oral health education and scaling were provided. Results: A total of 195 elders participated. Despite their sound knowledge on dental caries, their awareness of the causes and risk factors of periodontal diseases was low. Several misconceptions of oral health were common and their expectation towards oral health was low. Although 81% brush their teeth at least twice a day, over 75% did not perform interdental cleaning mainly due to unawareness of the necessity (32%) and lack of skills (42%). Their dental visits were treatment-driven and mainly for pain-relieving and emergency care. Only 19% were regular dental attendees. The mean (SD) DMFT was 8.9 (7.8). Over 60% had periodontal pockets; 6% were edentulous and 38% had fewer than 20 teeth. The mean (SD) total GOHAI score was 56.4 (8.0); 60% reported negative impact of oral health on their quality of life. The mean (SD) MNA score was 25.2 (2.9); 30% had malnutrition or were at risk. Multivariate analysis showed that tooth loss and untreated decayed teeth (DT) were significant determinants of poor OHQoL; older age, higher education level, and poorer OHQoL were significantly associated with higher risk of malnutrition (all p<0.05). Conclusions: Oral health problems are common among community dwelling elders in Hong Kong. Their oral health awareness and practice are yet to be improved. Tooth loss and unmet treatment need for dental caries significantly compromise elders’ quality of life, which in turn increases their risk for malnutrition. Outreach oral health education and service are well received by the community.published_or_final_versio

Viral Load Distribution in SARS Outbreak

Airborne transmission may have resulted in an outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong

A simple DNA stretching method for fluorescence imaging of single DNA molecules

Stretching or aligning DNA molecules onto a surface by means of molecular combing techniques is one of the critical steps in single DNA molecule analysis. However, many of the current studies have focused on λ-DNA, or other large DNA molecules. There are very few studies on stretching methodologies for DNA molecules generated via PCR (typically smaller than 20 kb). Here we describe a simple method of stretching DNA molecules up to 18 kb in size on a modified glass surface. The very low background fluorescence allows efficient detection of single fluorescent dye labels incorporated into the stretched DNA molecules

Antibody stabilization for thermally accelerated deep immunostaining

Antibodies have diverse applications due to their high reaction specificities but are sensitive to denaturation when a higher working temperature is required. We have developed a simple, highly scalable and generalizable chemical approach for stabilizing off-the-shelf antibodies against thermal and chemical denaturation. We demonstrate that the stabilized antibodies (termed SPEARs) can withstand up to 4 weeks of continuous heating at 55 °C and harsh denaturants, and apply our method to 33 tested antibodies. SPEARs enable flexible applications of thermocycling and denaturants to dynamically modulate their binding kinetics, reaction equilibrium, macromolecular diffusivity and aggregation propensity. In particular, we show that SPEARs permit the use of a thermally facilitated three-dimensional immunolabeling strategy (termed ThICK staining), achieving whole mouse brain immunolabeling within 72 h, as well as nearly fourfold deeper penetration with threefold less antibodies in human brain tissue. With faster deep-tissue immunolabeling and broad compatibility with tissue processing and clearing methods without the need for any specialized equipment, we anticipate the wide applicability of ThICK staining with SPEARs for deep immunostaining

A novel Hsp90 inhibitor AT13387 induces senescence in EBV-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and suppresses tumor formation

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epithelial malignancy strongly associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). AT13387 is a novel heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibitor, which inhibits the chaperone function of Hsp90 and reduces expression of Hsp90-dependent client oncoproteins. This study aimed to evaluate both the in vitro and in vivo antitumor effects of AT13387 in the EBV-positive NPC cell line C666-1.Results: Our results showed that AT13387 inhibited C666-1 cell growth and induced cellular senescence with the downregulation of multiple Hsp90 client oncoproteins EGFR, AKT, CDK4, and restored the protein expression of negative cell cycle regulator p27. We also studied the ability of AT13387 to restore p27 expression by downregulation of AKT and the p27 ubiquitin mediator, Skp2, using AKT inhibitor and Skp2 siRNA. In the functional study, AT13387 inhibited cell migration with downregulation of a cell migration regulator, HDAC6, and increased the acetylation and stabilization of α-tubulin. We also examined the effect of AT13387 on putative cancer stem cells (CSC) by 3-D tumor sphere formation assay. AT13387 effectively reduced both the number and size of C666-1 tumor spheres with decreased expression of NPC CSC-like markers CD44 and SOX2. In the in vivo study, AT13387 significantly suppressed tumor formation in C666-1 NPC xenografts.Conclusion: AT13387 suppressed cell growth, cell migration, tumor sphere formation and induced cellular senescence on EBV-positive NPC cell line C666-1. Also, the antitumor effect of AT13387 was demonstrated in an in vivo model. This study provided experimental evidence for the preclinical value of using AT13387 as an effective antitumor agent in treatment of NPC. © 2013 Chan et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.published_or_final_versio

The relationship between gallbladder status and recurrent biliary complications in patients with choledocholithiasis following endoscopic treatment

AbstractBackgroundEndoscopic methods are currently the treatment of choice for patients with common bile duct (CBD) stones, but subsequent management of the intact gallbladder for patients following endoscopic treatment is still controversial. The primary aim of this study was to discover the association between gallbladder status and recurrent biliary complications for patients with CBD stones after endoscopic treatment. Additionally, we also sought to determine risk factors for recurrent biliary complications in these patients.MethodsThe records of 1625 patients with CBD stones following endoscopic treatment were reviewed. A total of 681 patients were enrolled and subsequently categorized into four groups: Group 1 (n = 201), calculous gallbladder; Group 2 (n = 140), acalculous gallbladder; Group 3 (n = 175), elective cholecystectomy after endoscopic treatment; and Group 4 (n = 165), prior cholecystectomy. The basic demographics and recurrent biliary complications during follow-up among these four groups were analyzed by Chi-square test, ANOVA, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and log-rank test.ResultsDuring the median follow-up period of 34 months, 133 patients (20%) with recurrent biliary complications were identified. The recurrence rates of Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 29%, 11%, 15%, and 19%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with calculous gallbladder had a significantly higher rate of recurrent biliary complication. In multivariate analysis, patients with a history of cirrhosis, juxta-papillary diverticulum, calculous gallbladder, CBD size ≥1.5 cm, and endoscopic management with endoscopic sphincterotomy were at a higher risk for developing biliary complications (p = 0.029, p = 0.039, p < 0.001, p = 0.002, p = 0.021, respectively.)ConclusionPatients with cholecystolithiasis and CBD stones had a higher incidence of recurrent biliary complications. For some of these patients, elective cholecystectomy following endoscopic treatment may be considered. However, routine elective cholecystectomy in patients with normal gallbladder is not appropriate because of the low recurrence of biliary complications. Whether gallbladder function affects the biliary clearance and biliary complications requires further research

Genome maps across 26 human populations reveal population-specific patterns of structural variation.

Large structural variants (SVs) in the human genome are difficult to detect and study by conventional sequencing technologies. With long-range genome analysis platforms, such as optical mapping, one can identify large SVs (&gt;2 kb) across the genome in one experiment. Analyzing optical genome maps of 154 individuals from the 26 populations sequenced in the 1000 Genomes Project, we find that phylogenetic population patterns of large SVs are similar to those of single nucleotide variations in 86% of the human genome, while ~2% of the genome has high structural complexity. We are able to characterize SVs in many intractable regions of the genome, including segmental duplications and subtelomeric, pericentromeric, and acrocentric areas. In addition, we discover ~60 Mb of non-redundant genome content missing in the reference genome sequence assembly. Our results highlight the need for a comprehensive set of alternate haplotypes from different populations to represent SV patterns in the genome