Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics to the Study of Designed Green Features for Sustainable Buildings

2009-2010 > Academic research: refereed > Chapter in an edited book (author)published_fina

The Bipolar II depression questionnaire:A self-report Tool for detecting Bipolar II depression

Bipolar II (BP-II) depression is often misdiagnosed as unipolar (UP) depression, resulting in suboptimal treatment. Tools for differentiating between these two types of depression are lacking. This study aimed to develop a simple, self-report screening instrument to help distinguish BP-II depression from UP depressive disorder. A prototype BP-II depression questionnaire (BPIIDQ-P) was constructed following a literature review, panel discussions and a field trial. Consecutively assessed patients with a diagnosis of depressive disorder or BP with depressive episodes completed the BPIIDQ-P at a psychiatric outpatient clinic in Hong Kong between October and December 2013. Data were analyzed using discriminant analysis and logistic regression. Of the 298 subjects recruited, 65 (21.8%) were males and 233 (78.2%) females. There were 112 (37.6%) subjects with BP depression [BP-I = 42 (14.1%), BP-II = 70 (23.5%)] and 182 (62.4%) with UP depression. Based on family history, age at onset, postpartum depression, episodic course, attacks of anxiety, hypersomnia, social phobia and agoraphobia, the 8-item BPIIDQ-8 was constructed. The BPIIDQ-8 differentiated subjects with BP-II from those with UP depression with a sensitivity/specificity of 0.75/0.63 for the whole sample and 0.77/0.72 for a female subgroup with a history of childbirth. The BPIIDQ-8 can differentiate BP-II from UP depression at the secondary care level with satisfactory to good reliability and validity. It has good potential as a screening tool for BP-II depression in primary care settings. Recall bias, the relatively small sample size, and the high proportion of females in the BP-II sample limit the generalization of the results

Estimating Infection Attack Rates and Severity in Real Time during an Influenza Pandemic: Analysis of Serial Cross-Sectional Serologic Surveillance Data

This study reports that using serological data coupled with clinical surveillance data can provide real-time estimates of the infection attack rates and severity in an emerging influenza pandemic

Performance of mitigation measures on emitted droplets in dental atomization procedure

Cross-infection risk induced by dental-related droplets and aerosol particles has challenged service providers and patients alike. The dental clinic has been widely treated as one of the most vulnerable healthcare organizations with a high exposure risk to infection. The present study aims to investigate the effect of high-volume evacuation (HVE) on the emitted droplets and aerosol particles during dental atomization procedures. Ultrasonic scaling, one type of atomization procedure, is performed in the dental clinic. The laser light scattering method is employed to visualize the immediate moment with and without the cooperation of HVE on ultrasonic scaling. The Proper Orthogonal Decomposition analysis is employed to investigate the turbulent flow characteristics. The previous hypothesis about the moderate performance of HVE on tiny high-velocity droplets has been proven in the present study. The HVE can be characterized as significantly low-threshold measures to reduce the contaminated region. Besides, a pair of vortexes presented near the facial region of dental professionals will be eliminated when cooperating with HVE. The HVE can significantly reduce the emitted droplets (about 60%) and the airborne lifetime of suspended particles. HVE acting as additional mitigation measures could augment traditional/primary decontamination strategies such as ventilation and personal protective equipment

Dental Environmental Noise Evaluation and Health Risk Model Construction to Dental Professionals

Occupational noise is unavoidably produced from dental equipment, building facilities, and human voices in the dental environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of occupational noise exposure on the dental professionals’ health condition. The psychoacoustics approach noise exposure assessment followed by the health risk assessment was carried on at the paediatric dentistry clinic and the dental laboratory in the Prince Philip Dental Hospital of Hong Kong. The A-weighted equivalent sound level, total loudness, and sharpness values were statistically significantly higher for the noise at the laboratory than that at the clinic. The degree of perceived influences and sharpness of noise were found to have the impacts on the dental professionals’ working performance and health. Moreover, the risk of having a bad hearing state would a have 26% and 31% higher chance for a unit increment of the short-term and long-term impact scores, respectively. The dental professionals with the service length more than 10 years and the daily working hours of more than eight showed the highest risk to their hearing state. The worse the hearing state was, the worse the health state was found for the dental professionals. Also, the risk of dissatisfaction would be increased by 4.41 and 1.22 times for those who worked at the laboratory and a unit increment of the long-term impact score. The constructed health risk mode with the scientific and statistical evidence is hence important for the future noise management of environmental improvement

[en] VHDL SIMPLE SYSTEM FOR DEVELOPING A SETUP OFMULTIPLE ANTENNAS

This paper reports the results of a four-part questionnaire survey to assess the effects of the sound of dental equipment on people′s perceptions and dental anxiety levels. The convenience sample for the survey comprised 230 dental students and 230 gender and age matched non-dental university students. The subjects were requested to complete the questionnaires themselves. The results show that the sound of dental equipment has a great influence on dental anxiety. Dental students, who are more familiar with the operation of this equipment, are less prone to anxiety when they hear its sound than their non-dental counterparts

Are the noise levels acceptable in a built environment like Hong Kong?

Governments all over the world have enacted environmental noise directives and noise control ordinances/acts to protect tranquility in residential areas. However, there is a lack of literature on the evaluation of whether the Acceptable Noise Levels (ANLs) stipulated in the directive/ordinance/act are actually achievable. The study aimed at measuring outdoor environmental noise levels in Hong Kong and identifying whether the measured noise levels are lower than the stipulated ANLs at 20 categories of residential areas. Data were gathered from a territory-wide noise survey. Outdoor noise measurements were conducted at 203 residential premises in urban areas, low-density residential areas, rural areas, and other areas. In total, 366 daytime hourly Leq outdoor noise levels, 362 nighttime hourly Leq outdoor noise levels, and 20 sets of daily, that is, 24 Leq,1-h outdoor noise levels were recorded. The mean daytime Leq,1-h values ranged 54.4-70.8 dBA, while the mean nighttime Leq,1-h values ranged 52.6-67.9 dBA. When the measured noise levels were compared with the stipulated ANLs, only three out of the 20 categories of areas had outdoor noise levels below ANLs during daytime. All other areas (and all areas during nighttime) were found to have outdoor noise levels at or above ANLs