An ecological analysis of secondary school students' drug use in Hong Kong: A case-control study

Background: Youth drug use is a significant at-risk youth behaviour and remains as one of the top priorities for mental health services, researchers and policy planners. The ecological characteristics of secondary school students’ behaviour in Hong Kong are understudied. Aim: To examine individual, familial, social and environmental correlates of drug use among secondary students in Hong Kong. Method: Data were extracted from a school survey with 3078 students. Among the 3078 students, 86 students reported to have used drugs in the past 6 months. A total of 86 age- and gender-matched controls with no drug-use behaviour in the past 6 months were randomly selected from the remaining students. Multiple logistic analysis was used to examine differential correlates between those who used and did not use substance in the past 6 months. Result: Positive school experience and perspective to school and parental support are protective factors of drug use. Lower self-esteem, lower self-efficacy against using drugs and higher level of permissive attitude towards drugs were associated with drug use. Students who were low in self-esteem and rather impulsive tend to use drugs. Conclusion: To prevent students from drug use, efforts in individual, family, school and community-levels should be addressed.postprin

Understanding the Epidemiology of Heart Failure to Improve Management Practices: An Asia-Pacific Perspective

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Influence of interfacial nitrogen on edge charge trapping at the interface of gate oxide/drain extension in metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors

The influence of interfacial nitrogen on edge charge trapping at the interface of gate oxide/drain extension in metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors was investigated. Positive edge charge trapping was observed for both pure and nitrided oxides with an oxide thickness of 6.5 nm. Results showed that nitrogen at the interface enhance the edge charge trapping.published_or_final_versio

Assessing celebrity endorsement effects in China : a consumer-celebrity relational approach

Author name used in this publication: Chan, Kimmy W.2011-2012 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Geological applications of machine learning on hyperspectral remote sensing data

The CRISM imaging spectrometer orbiting Mars has been producing a vast amount of data in the visible to infrared wavelengths in the form of hyperspectral data cubes. These data, compared with those obtained from previous remote sensing techniques, yield an unprecedented level of detailed spectral resolution in additional to an ever increasing level of spatial information. A major challenge brought about by the data is the burden of processing and interpreting these datasets and extract the relevant information from it. This research aims at approaching the challenge by exploring machine learning methods especially unsupervised learning to achieve cluster density estimation and classification, and ultimately devising an efficient means leading to identification of minerals. A set of software tools have been constructed by Python to access and experiment with CRISM hyperspectral cubes selected from two specific Mars locations. A machine learning pipeline is proposed and unsupervised learning methods were implemented onto pre-processed datasets. The resulting data clusters are compared with the published ASTER spectral library and browse data products from the Planetary Data System (PDS). The result demonstrated that this approach is capable of processing the huge amount of hyperspectral data and potentially providing guidance to scientists for more detailed studies

Chinese social media reaction to the MERS-CoV and avian influenza A(H7N9) outbreaks

BACKGROUND: As internet and social media use have skyrocketed, epidemiologists have begun to use online data such as Google query data and Twitter trends to track the activity levels of influenza and other infectious diseases. In China, Weibo is an extremely popular microblogging site that is equivalent to Twitter. Capitalizing on the wealth of public opinion data contained in posts on Weibo, this study used Weibo as a measure of the Chinese people's reactions to two different outbreaks: the 2012 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak, and the 2013 outbreak of human infection of avian influenza A(H7N9) in China. METHODS: Keyword searches were performed in Weibo data collected by The University of Hong Kong's Weiboscope project. Baseline values were determined for each keyword and reaction values per million posts in the days after outbreak information was released to the public. RESULTS: The results show that the Chinese people reacted significantly to both outbreaks online, where their social media reaction was two orders of magnitude stronger to the H7N9 influenza outbreak that happened in China than the MERS-CoV outbreak that was far away from China. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that social media could be a useful measure of public awareness and reaction to disease outbreak information released by health authorities.published_or_final_versio

A new mib allele with a chromosomal deletion covering foxc1a exhibits anterior somite specification defect

mibnn2002, found from an allele screen, showed early segmentation defect and severe cell death phenotypes, which are different from previously known mib mutants. Despite distinct morphological phenotypes, the typical mib molecular phenotypes: her4 down-regulation, neurogenic phenotype and cold sensitive dlc expression pattern, still remained. The linkage analysis also indicated that mibnn2002 is a new mib allele. Failure of specification in anterior 7-10 somites is likely due to lack of foxc1a expression in mibnn2002 homozygotes. Somites and somite markers gradually appeared after 7-10 somite stage, suggesting that foxc1a is only essential for the formation of anterior 7-10 somites. Apoptosis began around 16-somite stage with p53 up-regulation. To find the possible links of mib, foxc1a and apoptosis, transcriptome analysis was employed. About 140 genes, including wnt3a, foxc1a and mib, were not detected in the homozygotes. Overexpression of foxc1a mRNA in mibnn2002 homozygotes partially rescued the anterior somite specification. In the process of characterizing mibnn2002 mutation, we integrated the scaffolds containing mib locus into chromosome 2 (or linkage group 2, LG2) based on synteny comparison and transcriptome results. Genomic PCR analysis further supported the conclusion and showed that mibnn2002 has a chromosomal deletion with the size of about 9.6 Mbp.published_or_final_versio

Waking up dormant tumors

As appreciation grows for the contribution of the tumor microenvironment to the progression of cancer, new evidence accumulates to support that the participation of stromal cells can extend beyond the local environment. Recently, Elkabets and colleagues demonstrated a systemic interaction between cancer cells and distant bone marrow cells to support the growth of otherwise indolent tumor cells at a secondary site, raising thought-provoking questions regarding the involvement of stromal cells in maintaining metastatic dormancy.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant CA125550)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant CA155370)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant CA151925)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant DK081576)United States. Dept. of Defense (Breast Cancer Research Program Predoctoral Traineeship Award

2016 Consensus statement on prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in the Hong Kong population

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