A newly derived small synthetic compound alleviated ventricular fibrillation in a pig model with chronic myocardial infarction as revealed by optical mapping

published_or_final_versionThe 16th Medical Resarch Conference (MRC), The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, 22 January 2011. In Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2011, v. 17, suppl. 1, p. 13-14, abstract no. 1

Understanding adolescents' unethical online behaviors: A structural equation approach

A project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Library and Information Management at The University of Hong KongThis study employed a revised model of theory of planned behavior (TPB), which synthesized perspective from social cognitive theory, to understand the unethical/risky online behaviors of adolescents. Two forms of unethical online behaviors, namely plagiarism and unauthorized acts were examined. A stratified random sample of 757 Secondary two students in Hong Kong was obtained. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The proposed model was in general consistent with TPB, and it explained 54.8% and 48.0% of the variances in plagiarism and unauthorized acts respectively. It was found that peers' unethical behaviors were the most influential in shaping students' intention to act unethically. General measurements of ICT attitude and ICT literacy were also found to be applicable in the TPB framework, and a strong positive association was observed between these two constructs. Interestingly, neither plagiarism intention nor plagiarism behavior was related to ICT literacy, whereas unauthorized acts' intention influenced both forms of unethical behaviors. Implications of the findings for educators are discussed.published_or_final_versio

Long term reliability of serial echocardiographic measurement in detecting regression of left ventricular hypertrophy: comparison with magnetic resonance imaging

published_or_final_versio

Characterization of white matter reorganization in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic cerebral injury using diffusion tensor imaging

Animal Models of Ischemia: Characterization - Poster presentationThis study employs in vivo diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to understand the late changes in white matter (WM) injury and reorganization in the rat brain upon neonatal hypoxic-ischemic cerebral injury. In particular, detailed inspection of the color-encoded fractional anisotropy (FA) map of the principal eigenvector was performed to compare the orientations of the high FA fibers at the perilesional areas with the WM microstructures in the contralateral hemisphere. In addition to the differences in DTI parameters in the microstructures between both hemispheres, results showed that the perilesional areas had similar fiber orientations as the contralateral external capsule in the anterior section of the brain, and as the internal capsule and the fimbria of hippocampus in the posterior section. We demonstrated that DTI can detect the microstructure and orientations of WM fiber changes at the perilesional areas in vivo, and can be used for non-invasive evaluation of HI brain injuries and reorganization.published_or_final_versionThe 17th Scientific Meeting & Exhibition of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), Honolulu, HI., 18-24 April 2009. In Proceedings of ISMRM 17th Scientific Meeting & Exhibition, 2009, p. 327

Moment-based fast discrete sine transforms

This paper presents a novel approach to compute discrete sine transforms (DSTs). By using a modular mapping, DSTs are approximated by the sum of a finite sequence of discrete moments. Hence, by extending our earlier technique in computing moments with an adder network only, DSTs can also be implemented easily by a systolic array primarily involving additions. The method can be applied to multidimensional DSTs as well as their inverses.published_or_final_versio

A novel approach to fast discrete Hartley transform

The Discrete Hartley transform (DHT) is an important tool in digital signal processing. We propose a novel approach to perform DHT. We transform DHT into a form expressed in discrete moments via a modular mapping and truncating Taylor series expansion and present a completely new formula for computing DHT. We extend the use of our systolic array for fast computation of moments without any multiplications, to one that computes DHT with only a few multiplications and without any evaluations of triangular functions. The multiplication number used in our method is O(Nlog2N/log2log2N) superior to O(Nlog 2N) in the conventional FDT. The execution time of the systolic array is only O(Nlog2N/log2log2N) for 1-D DHT and O(N k) for k-D DHT (k⩾2). The systolic array consists of very simple processing elements and hence it implies an easy and potential hardware/VLSI implementation. The approach is also applicable to DHT inverses.published_or_final_versio

Effect of initial conditions on interaction between a boundary layer and a wall-mounted finite-length-cylinder wake

Author name used in this publication: Y. ZhouAuthor name used in this publication: C. K. ChanAuthor name used in this publication: K. S. Lam2006-2007 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Sex differences in sexual attraction for aesthetics, resources and personality across age

Because sexual attraction is a key driver of human mate choice and reproduction, we descriptively assess relative sex differences in the level of attraction individuals expect in the aesthetic, resource, and personality characteristics of potential mates. As a novelty we explore how male and female sexual attractiveness preference changes across age, using a dataset comprising online survey data for over 7,000 respondents across a broad age distribution of individuals between 18 and 65 years. In general, we find that both males and females show similar distribution patterns in their preference responses, with statistically significant sex differences within most of the traits. On average, females rate age, education, intelligence, income, trust, and emotional connection around 9 to 14 points higher than males on our 0-100 scale range. Our relative importance analysis shows greater male priority for attractiveness and physical build, compared to females, relative to all other traits. Using multiple regression analysis, we find a consistent statistical sex difference (males relative to females) that decreases linearly with age for aesthetics, while the opposite is true for resources and personality, with females exhibiting a stronger relative preference, particularly in the younger aged cohort. Exploring non-linearity in sex difference with contour plots for intelligence and attractiveness across age (mediated by age) indicates that sex differences in attractiveness preferences are driven by the male cohort (particularly age 30 to 40) for those who care about the importance of age, while intelligence is driven by females caring relatively more about intelligence for those who see age as very important (age cohort 40 to 55). Overall, many of our results indicate distinct variations within sex at key life stages, which is consistent with theories of selection pressure. Moreover, results also align with theories of parental investment, the gender similarities hypothesis, and mutual mate choice- which speaks to the fact that the broader discipline of evolutionary mate choice research in humans still contains considerable scope for further inquiry towards a unified theory, particularly when exploring sex-difference across age

Worsened arterial stiffness in high-risk cardiovascular patients with high habitual carbohydrate intake: a cross-sectional vascular function study

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggested that high dietary carbohydrate intake is associated with increased cardiovascular risk through raised triglyceride and decreased high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels. However, the relation between carbohydrate intake and arterial stiffness has not been established. The purpose of this study was to examine this relation among high-risk cardiovascular patients. METHODS: We studied the relation between dietary macronutrient intake and arterial stiffness in 364 patients with documented cardiovascular diseases or risk equivalent (coronary artery diseases 62%, ischemic stroke 13%, diabetes mellitus 55%) and in 93 age-and-sex matched control subjects. Dietary macronutrient intake was assessed using a validated food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for Chinese. Heart-ankle pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured non-invasively with a Vascular Profiling System (VP2000, Colin Corp. USA). A dietary pattern with >/=60% total energy intake derived from carbohydrates was defined as a high-carbohydrate diet according to the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for Chinese. RESULTS: Subjects who consumed a high-carbohydrate diet had significantly higher mean PWV than those who did not consume a high-carbohydrate diet (P = 0.039). After adjustment for potential confounders, high-carbohydrate diet was associated with significantly increased PWV [B = 73.50 (10.81 to 136.19), P = 0.022]. However, there was no significant association between high-carbohydrate diet and PWV in controls (P = 0.634). CONCLUSIONS: High-carbohydrate diet is associated with increased arterial stiffness in patients with established cardiovascular disease or risk equivalent.published_or_final_versio

Impact of Antithrombotic Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation on the Presentation of Coronary Artery Disease

published_or_final_versio