Preventing avoidable death: the case of cervical cancer in Hong Kong

Cervical cancer remains an important cause of avoidable morbidity and mortality in Hong Kong. This paper briefly reviews the epidemiology of cervical cancer and explores the evidence on the effectiveness of screening. The essential components of a successful cervical cancer screening programme, based on international experience, are discussed. The present situation in Hong Kong is then examined and the options outlined for the way ahead.published_or_final_versio

Design Learning: a reflective model

In response to the changing university context, a model for the teaching of Interior Design was developed. Traditional lecture/project-based tutorial structures are replaced by an integrated and interactive model. Aimed to address the demands of the contemporary context, while enabling meaningful learning, it has proven to have much potential. The Model is introduced firstly, by outlining a learning strategy, secondly by describing its structure and content, and thirdly, by identifying key aspects of the learning context. Its achievements are also presented, while acknowledging aspects that could be improved. It offers an innovative alternative mode of learning and teaching interior design

Short-term effects of deep ploughing on soil C stocks following renewal of a dairy pasture in New Zealand

In New Zealand’s high producing permanent pastures the topsoil constitutes a large reservoir of soil organic carbon (SOC), which shows a marked stratification with depth. As consequence, sub-surface layers can contain 10 times less carbon than the surface soil. In permanent pastures with high carbon inputs, the formation and decomposition of these surface SOC stocks are often at equilibrium and C storage shows little change over time. Pastoral based dairy systems utilising ryegrass plus clover cultivars require renewal every 7-10 years to avoid reversion to less productive grasses. This may involve spring cultivation (either no-till, shallow till or full cultivation), summer forage cropping and autumn re-grassing. It has been hypothesised that SOC stocks can be increased by inverting the soil profile at pasture renewal through infrequent (once in 25-30 years) deep mouldboard ploughing (up to 30 cm depth). Increased C sequestration occurs when the new grass quickly rebuilds SOC stocks in the new topsoil (exposed low C sub-soil) at a rate faster than the decomposition of SOC in the rich former topsoil transferred to depth (now below 15 cm). However, benefits form accelerated C storage may be offset if crop and pasture production is adversely affected by the ploughing event (e.g., as result of compaction or excessive drainage). Hence, the aim of this work was to assess the short-term effects of infrequent inversion tillage of long-term New Zealand pastoral-based dairy soils under summer crop management and autumn re-grassing. An imperfectly drained Typic Fragiaqualf under dairy grazing was deep ploughed (approx. 25 cm) and re-sown with turnip in October 2016; other treatments included were shallow (< 10 cm) cultivation and no-till. The site was core sampled (0-40 cm) before cultivation and after 5 months of turnip growth to assess changes in SOC. Plant growth, herbage quality, and nutrient leaching were monitored during the 5-month period; root growth was assessed at the end of the crop rotation. Full cultivation transferred SOC below 10 cm depth, as expected. Soil bulk density decreased whereas root mass increased (10-20 cm depth; P < 0.05) under deep cultivation only. Besides, losses of mineral N were attenuated under deep tillage, resulting in a relative increase in crop yield. The potential for infrequent inversion tillage increasing soil C sequestration as a greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation tool is currently being tested at other sites in New Zealand

Reduction in both seasonal mortality and longer term mortality trends following restrictions on the sulphur content of fuel oil in Hong Kong (Abstract)

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The pattern of cervical cancer screening in Hong Kong

Health Services Research Fund & Health Care and Promotion Fund: Research Dissemination Reports (Series 2)published_or_final_versio

Satellite-derived bathymetry in optically complex waters using a model inversion approach and Sentinel-2 data

This study presents an assessment of a model inversion approach to derive shallow water bathymetry in optically complex waters, with the aim of both understanding localised capability and contributing to the global evaluation of Sentinel-2 for coastal monitoring. A dataset of 12 Sentinel-MSI images, in three different study areas along the Irish coast, has been analysed. Before the application of the bathymetric model two atmospheric correction procedures were tested: Deep Water Correction (DWC) and Case 2 Regional Coastal Color (C2RCC) processor. DWC outperformed C2RCC in the majority of the satellite images showing more consistent results. Using DWC for atmospheric correction before the application of the bathymetric model, the lowest average RMSE was found in Dublin Bay (RMSE ¼ 1.60, bias ¼ \u100000 0.51), followed by Mulroy Bay (RMSE ¼ 1.66, bias ¼ 1.30) while Brandon Bay showed the highest average error (RMSE ¼ 2.43, bias ¼ 1.86). However, when the optimal imagery selection was considered, depth estimations with a bias less than 0.1 m and a spread of 1.40 m were achieved up to 10 m. These results were comparable to those achieved by empirical tuning methods, despite not relying on any in situ depth data. This conclusion is of particular relevance as model inversion approaches might allow future modifications in crucial parts of the processing chain leading to improved results. Atmospheric correction, the selection of optimal images (e.g. low turbidity), the definition of suitably limited ranges for the per-pixel occurrence of optical constituents (phytoplankton, CDOM, backscatter) and seabed reflectances, in combination with the understanding of the specifics characteristics at each particular site, were critical steps in the derivation of satellite bathymetry

Modulation of the equilibrative nucleoside transporter by inhibitors of DNA synthesis.

Expression of the equilibrative, S-(p-nitrobenzyl)-6-thioinosine (NBMPR)-sensitive nucleoside transporter (es), a component of the nucleoside salvage pathway, was measured during unperturbed growth and following exposure to various antimetabolites at growth-inhibitory concentrations. The probe 5-(SAENTA-x8)-fluorescein is a highly modified form of adenosine incorporating a fluorescein molecule. It binds. with high affinity and specificity to the (es) nucleoside transporter at a 1:1 stoichiometry, allowing reliable estimates of es expression by flow cytometry. Using a dual labelling technique which combined the vital DNA dye Hoechst-33342 and 5-(SAENTA-x8)-fluorescein, we found that surface expression of es approximately doubled between G1 and G2 + M phases of the cell cycle. To address the question of whether es expression could be modulated in cells exposed to drugs which inhibit de novo synthesis of nucleotides, cells were exposed to antimetabolite drugs having different modes of action. Hydroxyurea and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), which inhibit the de novo synthesis of DNA precursors, produced increases in the expression of es. In contrast, cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) and aphidicolin, which directly inhibit DNA synthesis, produced no significant increase in es expression. Thymidine (TdR), which is an allosteric inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase that depletes dATP, dCTP and dGTP pools while repleting the dTTP pool, had no significant effect on es expression. These data suggest that surface expression of the es nucleoside transporter is regulated by a mechanism which is sensitive to the supply of deoxynucleotides. Because 5-FU (which specifically depletes dTTP pools) causes a large increase in expression whereas TdR (which depletes all precursors except dTTP) does not, this mechanism might be particularly sensitive to dTTP pools