Healthcare Services Demand in Post-disaster Settings: The 2014 Earthquake in Ludian County, Yunnan Province, China

© 2016, The Author(s). Healthcare relief teams dispatched to rural areas often face difficulties due to limited initial and ongoing health information in the affected community. The present study investigated patterns of healthcare service demand for a rural displaced population in a post-disaster situation. Three weeks after the 2014 Ludian County earthquake, the Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR) at Sichuan University and Hong Kong Polytechnic University organized a disaster nursing team to support the rural community in Longtoushan, at the epicenter of the earthquake. A cross-sectional, records-based study of 2484 records obtained from a temporary hospital in Longtoushan (for the period of 14 Septemberâ1 October 2014) was conducted. The daily number of records by patientsâ sociodemographic characteristics and medical diagnoses were plotted on a time series graph to explore the temporal change during the study period. Findings indicate that healthcare service demand from younger age groups was higher than that of the older adult group. Three major health problems were observed: respiratory disease, skin problems, and ear, eye, and throat (EET) problems. All of these very real health problems are chronic issues that require long-term care. They are not health issues directly related to the disaster emergency itself. Yet disaster relief nursing teams were selected on the basis of their ability to cope primarily with traumatic disaster-related injuries. The existing practice of teaming up disaster relief professions might not be optimal. To better understand the healthcare needs of a displaced population, short- and long-term planning is needed. Planning will allow disaster response professionals to better organize and deploy healthcare personnel to manage the above-listed problems in a post-disaster situation.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

An investigation of the regulation and physiological role of Listeria monocytogenes extracellular polymer

It was shown that Listeria monocytogenes cells grown in a defined minimal, MCDB202, showed enhanced extracellular polymeric substances production compared to BHI. On the other hand, it was reported that in L. monocytogenes luxS mutant, AI-2 reduction and biofilm enhancement were seen. It is hypotheses that there could be a linkage between the AI-2 signaling system and the EPS formation. The expression of EPS could be induced by the reduction in AI-2. The main aim of the research is to study this EPS formation in minimal media, how is it linked to AI-2 production, the function of the EPS as well as to figure out the linkage between EPS formation with cap genes found in Listeria genome. It was shown that MCDB202 have caused an increase in surface hydrophobicity of the cells. However, cells grown in the defined media did not induced better attachment and biofilm formation towards hydrophobic surfaces. And cells grown in MCDB202 were shown less capable to infect eukaryotic cells in the cell invasion assay. On the other hand, AI-2 production was shown to be relative lower in Listeria cell grown in minimal media MCDB202) than rich media (BHI). Bioinformatics study has shown that only capA homologues, but no capBCDE homologues, were found in Listeria genome. However, the bioinformatics works have shown that the capA homologues are unlikely to be contributing the EPS seen produced in Listeria monocytogenes. This was further supported in the expression assay that the two genes were not highly expressed in MCDB media

An investigation of the regulation and physiological role of Listeria monocytogenes extracellular polymer

It was shown that Listeria monocytogenes cells grown in a defined minimal, MCDB202, showed enhanced extracellular polymeric substances production compared to BHI. On the other hand, it was reported that in L. monocytogenes luxS mutant, AI-2 reduction and biofilm enhancement were seen. It is hypotheses that there could be a linkage between the AI-2 signaling system and the EPS formation. The expression of EPS could be induced by the reduction in AI-2. The main aim of the research is to study this EPS formation in minimal media, how is it linked to AI-2 production, the function of the EPS as well as to figure out the linkage between EPS formation with cap genes found in Listeria genome. It was shown that MCDB202 have caused an increase in surface hydrophobicity of the cells. However, cells grown in the defined media did not induced better attachment and biofilm formation towards hydrophobic surfaces. And cells grown in MCDB202 were shown less capable to infect eukaryotic cells in the cell invasion assay. On the other hand, AI-2 production was shown to be relative lower in Listeria cell grown in minimal media MCDB202) than rich media (BHI). Bioinformatics study has shown that only capA homologues, but no capBCDE homologues, were found in Listeria genome. However, the bioinformatics works have shown that the capA homologues are unlikely to be contributing the EPS seen produced in Listeria monocytogenes. This was further supported in the expression assay that the two genes were not highly expressed in MCDB media

Parenting approaches, family functionality, and internet addiction among Hong Kong adolescents

© 2016 Wu et al. Background: Internet addiction (IA) among adolescents has become a global health problem, and public awareness of it is increasing. Many IA risk factors relate to parents and the family environment. This study examined the relationship between IA and parenting approaches and family functionality. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 2021 secondary students to identify the prevalence of IA and to explore the association between adolescent IA and familial variables, including parents' marital status, family income, family conflict, family functionality, and parenting approaches. Results: The results revealed that 25.3 % of the adolescent respondents exhibited IA, and logistic regression positively predicted the IA of adolescents from divorced families, low-income families, families in which family conflict existed, and severely dysfunctional families. Interestingly, adolescents with restricted Internet use were almost 1.9 times more likely to have IA than those whose use was not restricted. Conclusions: Internet addiction is common among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong, and family-based prevention strategies should be aligned with the risk factors of IA.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

The need for a definition of big data for nursing science: A case study of disaster preparedness

© 2016 by the author; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The rapid development of technology has made enormous volumes of data available and achievable anytime and anywhere around the world. Data scientists call this change a data era and have introduced the term âBig Dataâ, which has drawn the attention of nursing scholars. Nevertheless, the concept of Big Data is quite fuzzy and there is no agreement on its definition among researchers of different disciplines. Without a clear consensus on this issue, nursing scholars who are relatively new to the concept may consider Big Data to be merely a dataset of a bigger size. Having a suitable definition for nurse researchers in their context of research and practice is essential for the advancement of nursing research. In view of the need for a better understanding on what Big Data is, the aim in this paper is to explore and discuss the concept. Furthermore, an example of a Big Data research study on disaster nursing preparedness involving six million patient records is used for discussion. The example demonstrates that a Big Data analysis can be conducted from many more perspectives than would be possible in traditional sampling, and is superior to traditional sampling. Experience gained from the process of using Big Data in this study will shed light on future opportunities for conducting evidence-based nursing research to achieve competence in disaster nursing.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Attitude, acceptability and knowledge of HPV vaccination among local university students in Hong Kong

© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has the great potential to prevent HPV-related infections for millions of women and men worldwide. However, the success of the vaccine is highly dependent on the vaccination rate. Factors influencing the attitudes of undergraduate students towards HPV vaccination should be studied. This is a cross-sectional survey that was conducted to estimate the HPV vaccination rate among undergraduate students in Hong Kong, and to identify the predictors of their attitude towards HPV vaccination. The results showed that the HPV vaccination rate was 13.3%. Factors related to knowledge of vaccination were the main predictors of the studentsâ attitude towards vaccination (there were seven predictors, with B = 1.36 to 2.30; p < 0.05), followed by gender (B =-1.40; p < 0.05), acceptable maximum price (B = 0.35; p < 0.05), and willingness to receive the HPV vaccine if it can protect against cervical/anal cancer and genital warts (B =-1.90; p < 0.001).Theregressionmodelthatwasdevelopedbasedonthepredictorshadamoderateeffect size (adj-R 2 = 0.33). To conclude, the HPV vaccination rate among undergraduate students in Hong Kong was low. They should be provided with more active education and activities to promote HPV vaccination to improve their knowledge on the subject.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Functional constituency members in Hong Kong's Legislative Council : a study of governance, legitimacy and accountability in action / y Cheung Hin Kei, Hankie, Ho Sing Yan, Simon, Li Man Pong, Charles, Tse Tsz Ying, Amy, Wong Man Ting, Mandy

published_or_final_versionPolitics and Public AdministrationMasterMaster of Public Administratio

Association between screen viewing duration and sleep duration, Sleep quality, And excessive daytime sleepiness among adolescents in Hong Kong

© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Screen viewing is considered to have adverse impacts on the sleep of adolescents. Although there has been a considerable amount of research on the association between screen viewing and sleep, most studies have focused on specific types of screen viewing devices such as televisions and computers. The present study investigated the duration w ith which currently prevalent screen viewing devices (including televisions, personal computers, mobile phones, and portable video devices) are viewed in relation to sleep duration, sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness among Hong Kong adolescents (N = 762). Television and computer viewing remain prevalent, but were not correlated with sleep variables. Mobile phone viewing was correlated with all sleep variables, while portable video device viewing was shown to be correlated only with daytime sleepiness. The results demonstrated a trend of increase in the prevalence and types of screen viewing and their effects on the sleep patterns of adolescents.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex