Establishment of HKU lung cancer lines in Hong Kong - an ongoing conjoint effort and progress report

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Promotor hypermethylation of the CpG Islands of human Ras Association Domain Family 1A gene (RASSF1A) in adenocarcinoma of lung in Hong Kong Chinese - a comparison between smokers and non-smokers

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A man with a blistering eruption and tuberculosis.

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QRS changes and QT intervals on 12-lead ECGs in patients receiving biventricular pacing for congestive heart failure

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Serum adiponectin levels are predictive of carotid intima-medial thickness in a 5-year community-based prospective study

Poster PresentationINTRODUCTION: Hypoadiponectinaemia has been shown to predict the development of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and myocardial infarction in prospective studies. We have previously reported that hypoadiponectinaemia is associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation both in healthy controls and diabetic subjects. In this community-based prospective cohort study, we examined the predictive value of serum adiponectin levels on carotid intima-medial thickness, a marker of …published_or_final_versionThe 17th Medical Research Conference, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 14 January 2012. In Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2012, v. 18 suppl. 1, p. 32, abstract no. 4

Hypoadiponectinemia As an Independent Predictor for the Progression of Carotid Atherosclerosis: A 5-Year Prospective Study

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Assessing the health and hygiene performance of apartment buildings

The recent global outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has aroused public concern on environmental health and hygiene. Develops a practical assessment scheme for assessing the health and hygiene performance of apartment buildings in Hong Kong. The scheme involves assessing a hierarchy of building factors that have a bearing on environmental qualities, and thus occupants' health. Proposes an index method to integrate the assessment outcomes into a simple and user- friendly performance indicator for public consumption. The index can inform the public of the health and hygiene risk of different buildings and facilitate building owners, developers, and government bodies to make more informed and socially responsible decisions on environmental health and hygiene improvement. Although the assessment scheme is tailored for the institutional and cultural settings of Hong Kong, the assessment framework for the development of the scheme is also applicable to other cities.published_or_final_versio

Gemcitabine, cisplatin and methylprednisolone (GEM-P) is an effective salvage regimen in patients with relapsed and refractory lymphoma

There is currently no standard salvage chemotherapy regimen in relapsed and refractory lymphoma. Gemcitabine is a novel nucleoside analogue, which acts synergistically with cisplatin both in vitro and in clinical studies. We evaluated the combination of gemcitabine, cisplatin and methylprednisolone (GEM-P) in 41 heavily pretreated patients with relapsed and refractory Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The best-achieved response rate (RR) was 79% (95% CI 64–91), with a complete RR of 21%. In patients with chemo-resistant disease, the RR was 63%. Myelosuppression was the main toxicity, the incidence of Grade 3 or 4 anaemia, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia was 17.1, 61.0 and 53.7% respectively. Only one patient had neutropenic sepsis and none of the patients suffered from haemorrhage. Grade 3 or 4 nonhaematological toxicity was minimal and stem cell mobilisation was not inhibited. GEM-P is an effective salvage regimen and its use prior to autologous stem cell transplant warrants further investigation

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Profiling Insulin Like Factor 3 (INSL3) Signaling in Human Osteoblasts

Abstract BACKGROUND: Young men with mutations in the gene for the INSL3 receptor (Relaxin family peptide 2, RXFP2) are at risk of reduced bone mass and osteoporosis. Consistent with the human phenotype, bone analyses of Rxfp2(-/-) mice showed decreased bone volume, alterations of the trabecular bone, reduced mineralizing surface, bone formation, and osteoclast surface. The aim of this study was to elucidate the INSL3/RXFP2 signaling pathways and targets in human osteoblasts. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) production, protein phosphorylation, intracellular calcium, gene expression, and mineralization studies have been performed. INSL3 induced a significant increase in ALP production, and Western blot and ELISA analyses of multiple intracellular signaling pathway molecules and their phosphorylation status revealed that the MAPK was the major pathway influenced by INSL3, whereas it does not modify intracellular calcium concentration. Quantitative Real Time PCR and Western blotting showed that INSL3 regulates the expression of different osteoblast markers. Alizarin red-S staining confirmed that INSL3-stimulated osteoblasts are fully differentiated and able to mineralize the extracellular matrix. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Together with previous findings, this study demonstrates that the INSL3/RXFP2 system is involved in bone metabolism by acting on the MAPK cascade and stimulating transcription of important genes of osteoblast maturation/differentiation and osteoclastogenesis