Phenotypic deficiencies of monocyte-derived dendritic cells in systemic lupus erythematosus

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Role of mannose-binding lectin in the innate defense against Candida albicans: Enhancement of complement activation, but lack of opsonic function, in phagocytosis by human dendritic cells

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a serum collectin believed to be of importance in innate immunity. We have investigated the role of MBL in the first-line defense against Candida albicans, an opportunistic fungal pathogen. MBL bound C. albicans via its lectin domain, resulting in agglutination of the organisms upon their outgrowth of hyphae. In a human in vitro MBL system, deposition of C4 fragments on C. albicans was increased when exogenous MBL was added to serum samples from MBL-deficient individuals. Similar enhancement of deposition of iC3b also was observed. MBL and enhanced opsonic C3 fragments mediated by MBL did not facilitate opsonophagocytosis of the organisms by monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs). However, MBL was found to inhibit the growth of C. albicans independently of complement activation, although, with complement activation, further inhibition was observed. We concluded that MBL plays an important role in the first-line defense against C. albicans without the need for opsonophagocytosis by DCs, in which a direct interaction of MBL with C. albicans results in agglutination and accelerated complement activation via the lectin pathway, leading to inhibition of growth.published_or_final_versio

Neurcognitive and psychosocial outcomes of obstructive sleep apnea in Hong Kong Chinese

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Effects of cigarette smoke on 5-hydrotrytamine metabolism in human bronchial epithelial cells

INTRODUCTION: Serotonin (5-hydrotrytamine, 5-HT) plays an important role in pulmonary functions. It is synthesised from tryptophan by aromatic 1-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) and released at the sites, which binds to 5-HT receptors at the postsynaptic ends. Excess or turnover 5-HT will be recycled back into cells via 5-HT reuptake transporter (SERT), stored or subsequently metabolised by monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inside the cells. With the influence of smoking on serotoninergic neurons, we hypothesised that there may be a potential 5-HT analogue in cigarette smoke. We aimed to study the effect of 5-HT on interleukin (IL)–8 release and the effects of cigarette smoke on the metabolism of 5-HT in human bronchial epithelial …published_or_final_versio

The role of phonology in visual word recognition: evidence from Chinese

Posters - Letter/Word Processing V: abstract no. 5024The hypothesis of bidirectional coupling of orthography and phonology predicts that phonology plays a role in visual word recognition, as observed in the effects of feedforward and feedback spelling to sound consistency on lexical decision. However, because orthography and phonology are closely related in alphabetic languages (homophones in alphabetic languages are usually orthographically similar), it is difficult to exclude an influence of orthography on phonological effects in visual word recognition. Chinese languages contain many written homophones that are orthographically dissimilar, allowing a test of the claim that phonological effects can be independent of orthographic similarity. We report a study of visual word recognition in Chinese based on a mega-analysis of lexical decision performance with 500 characters. The results from multiple regression analyses, after controlling for orthographic frequency, stroke number, and radical frequency, showed main effects of feedforward and feedback consistency, as well as interactions between these variables and phonological frequency and number of homophones. Implications of these results for resonance models of visual word recognition are discussed.postprin

Ketanserin attenuates cigarette-mediated oxidative stress in human bronchial epithelial cells

published_or_final_versionThe 15th Medical Research Conference, Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 16 January 2010. In Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2010, v. 16, suppl. 1, p. 34, abstract no. 5

Design and development of a flexible workflow supply chain system

This paper attempts to suggest a methodology for the design and development of a flexible workflow supply chain (FWSC) system for achieving flexibility to cope with unexpected changes. In particular, a multi-agent approach, which provides the capability to meet the requirement of a FWSC system, is proposed. Such a system is characterized by its capability to cope with the increasing complexity setting of organizations and markets, providing effective information exchange between business partners. The methodology for the design and development of a workflow agent is also covered in this paper. This paper is concerned with the suggestion of a multi-agent methodology, which is able to enhance the effectiveness in terms of the information flow in a supply chain, thereby providing more alternatives and ideas for those researchers who are interested in this field of study.published_or_final_versio

Age-dependent alterations of cigarette smoke-induced oxidative and inflammatory responses in rats

Oral PresentationBACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking (CS) is a leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The prevalence of COPD is much higher among the elderly. However, the impact of early-age CS exposure on CS induced COPD is unknown. This study aimed to investigate whether CS-induced oxidative and inflammatory responses were ...published_or_final_versionThe 17th Medical Research Conference, Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 14 January 2012. In Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2012, v. 18 n. 1, suppl. 1, p. 39, abstract no. 5

Anti-Jo-1 Syndrome presenting as cryptogenic organizing pneumonia

AbstractA 50-year-old Chinese lady presented with subacute onset of dyspnoea, bilateral infiltrates on chest X-ray and type I respiratory failure. There were minor symptoms of arthralgia and myalgia. Subsequent investigations confirmed that she had organizing pneumonia, polymyositis and serum anti-Jo-1 antibody. Treatment with corticosteroids resulted in prompt improvement of the respiratory condition and myositis

Relationships of Kindergarten Children’s BMI amongst Parental Body Dissatisfaction and Dietary Restraint: A Case Study in Hong Kong

Objective: In this study, the aim was to explore the relationships of kindergarten children’s BMI amongst parental factors such as parental BMI, body dissatisfaction, parental dietary restraint, child weight concern and child weightfocused restrictive feeding. Method: 466 kindergarten students’ parents were participated in this study. A self-administrated questionnaire was distributed to parents. Independent t-test, one way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation were performed to analyze the relationships amongst different factors contributing to children’s BMI. Results: 30% parents and 37% children were found either overweight or obese. The six pathways in the proposed model were all significantly correlated. It was found that parental BMI significantly correlated with body dissatisfaction [r (466)=0.282, p Conclusion: The results of this study confirmed the presence of upward trend of childhood obesity in Hong Kong. In addition, parental body dissatisfaction was found to be a significant factor to determine parental dietary restraint, which was associated with child weight-focused restrictive feeding and finally affected child BMI