Disability-specific associations with child health and functioning

This study examined the health profile of children with different types of disabilities and explored the disability-specific associations with various types of health and functioning using a large nonclinical sample of children. A cross-sectional school survey was conducted during 2016 and 2017. A total of 4114 children (aged 6–18 years) receiving primary or secondary education, or their proxy, in Hong Kong participated in the study. Disabilities were categorized as (a) physical disabilities; (b) learning and developmental disabilities; (c) intellectual disabilities; (d) internalizing disorders or mental illness; and (e) autism spectrum disorder. Health-related quality of life (QoL), sleep-related QoL, activities of daily living (ADL), emotional functioning, and social functioning were assessed and compared between children with disabilities and those without. The results showed that children with disabilities showed poorer physical functioning, health-related QoL, and emotional and social functioning than their counterparts without disabilities. Disability-specific associations with health were found: (a) physical disabilities and intellectual disabilities were associated with greater difficulties in ADL; (b) language impairment and Attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were negatively associated with sleep-related QoL; (c) all types of disabilities but hearing impairment were negatively associated with health-related QoL (HRQoL); and (d) language impairment, ADHD, internalizing disorder, as well as autism spectrum disorder were associated with greater abnormal behavioral difficulties. The findings warrant the development of tailor-made intervention programs and give insights to effective resource allocation for the children in need

Stemness and chemoresistance in epithelial ovarian carcinoma cells under shear stress

One of greatest challenges to the successful treatment of cancer is drug resistance. An exciting approach is the eradication of cancer stem cells (CSCs). However, little is known about key signals regulating the formation and expansion of CSCs. Moreover, lack of a reliable predictive preclinical model has been a major obstacle to discover new cancer drugs and predict their clinical activity. Here, in ovarian cancer, a highly chemoresistant tumor that is rapidly fatal, we provide the first evidence demonstrating the causal involvement of mechanical stimulus in the CSC phenotype using a customizable microfluidic platform and three-dimensional spheroids, which most closely mimic tumor behavior. We found that ovarian cancer cells significantly acquired the expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and CSC markers and a remarkable chemoresistance to clinically relevant doses of frontline chemotherapeutic drugs cisplatin and paclitaxel when grown under fluid shear stress, which corroborates with the physiological attainable levels in the malignant ascites, but not under static condition. Furthermore, we uncovered a new link of microRNA-199a-3p, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt, and multidrug transporter activation in shear stress-induced CSC enrichment. Our findings shed new light on the significance of hydrodynamics in cancer progression, emphasizing the need of a flow-informed framework in the development of therapeutics

Hepatocyte growth factor enhances proteolysis and invasiveness of human nasopharyngeal cancer cells through activation of PI3K and JNK

AbstractThe hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor, Met, is frequently overexpressed in nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC). Here, we showed for the first time that human NPC cells with high Met expression were more sensitive to the cell motility and invasion effect of HGF. The downregulation of Met by small interfering RNA decreased tumor cell invasion/migration. HGF significantly increased matrix metalloproteinase-9 production. This was inhibited by blocking phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), but not extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways. We also demonstrated that PI3K induced activation of JNK, with Akt as a potential point of this cross-talk. These results provide new insights into the molecular mechanism responsible for NPC progression and metastasis

The association between intimate partner violence against women and newborn telomere length

Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women negatively impacts infant health. However, its impact on infant’s biology, in particular on telomere length (TL) is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between IPV against women before childbirth and cord blood TL in their newborn. A total of 774 pregnant women in the 20th–24th week of gestation were recruited at a public hospital in Hong Kong. The mothers’ exposure to IPV before childbirth, demographic characteristics, obstetric outcomes, health and mental health were measured at the time of recruitment and 4 weeks after childbirth. Umbilical cord blood was collected by midwives at the time of delivery. The newborn TL was quantified using quantitative PCR method and expressed in T/S ratio (the ratio of telomere repeat copy numbers to single-copy gene numbers). After adjusting for a number of confounding variables, the mothers’ exposure to any IPV before childbirth (β = −0.08, 95% CI = −0.14, −0.01) was associated with shorter TL. Specifically, psychological abuse against women before childbirth (β = −0.08, 95% CI = −0.15, −0.02) and sexual abuse against women before childbirth (β = −0.22, 95% CI = −0.43 to −0.01) were significantly associated with reduced newborn TL. This study is the first to provide evidence of an association between IPV against women before childbirth and TL shortening in their newborns. Through TL- dependent transcription and epigenetic mechanisms, our finding suggests maternal exposure to IPV may exert a life-long impact on the offspring’s health

Changing patterns of intimate partner violence against pregnant women: a three-year longitudinal study

Intimate partner violence (IPV) against pregnant women adversely impacts women’s and infants’ health. This study aims to provide longitudinal evidence regarding how pregnant women’s exposure to IPV changes over time. Additionally, we examine the risk and protective factors associated with these changes. In total, 340 pregnant women were recruited from an antenatal clinic in Hong Kong. IPV experiences and health conditions were assessed at pregnancy and at both 4 weeks and 3 years after childbirth. The women also reported adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), their family support, and perceived partner involvement. We found IPV prevalence among the study sample decreased from 22.9% before pregnancy to 13.5% during pregnancy, 14.7% at 4 weeks after childbirth, and 11.8% at 3 years after childbirth. We further found three types of IPV: 11.8% of women had a violent relationship (VR) persistently over time from pregnancy to 3 years after childbirth, 20.6% experienced decreased IPV (DVR), and 67.6% reported a nonviolent relationship (NVR) throughout the study period. VRs were associated with more severe mental health problems and higher ACEs. Family support and partner involvement may be protective factors for decreased IPV. Our present findings highlight the importance of identifying different IPV types over time to provide targeted intervention to the most vulnerable groups

School Closure and Mitigation of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, kindergartens and primary schools were closed when local transmission of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 was identified. Secondary schools closed for summer vacation shortly afterwards. By fitting a model of reporting and transmission to case data, we estimated that transmission was reduced ≈25% when secondary schools closed

The composition of the protosolar disk and the formation conditions for comets

Conditions in the protosolar nebula have left their mark in the composition of cometary volatiles, thought to be some of the most pristine material in the solar system. Cometary compositions represent the end point of processing that began in the parent molecular cloud core and continued through the collapse of that core to form the protosun and the solar nebula, and finally during the evolution of the solar nebula itself as the cometary bodies were accreting. Disentangling the effects of the various epochs on the final composition of a comet is complicated. But comets are not the only source of information about the solar nebula. Protostellar disks around young stars similar to the protosun provide a way of investigating the evolution of disks similar to the solar nebula while they are in the process of evolving to form their own solar systems. In this way we can learn about the physical and chemical conditions under which comets formed, and about the types of dynamical processing that shaped the solar system we see today. This paper summarizes some recent contributions to our understanding of both cometary volatiles and the composition, structure and evolution of protostellar disks.Comment: To appear in Space Science Reviews. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11214-015-0167-

Developing 1D nanostructure arrays for future nanophotonics

There is intense and growing interest in one-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures from the perspective of their synthesis and unique properties, especially with respect to their excellent optical response and an ability to form heterostructures. This review discusses alternative approaches to preparation and organization of such structures, and their potential properties. In particular, molecular-scale printing is highlighted as a method for creating organized pre-cursor structure for locating nanowires, as well as vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) templated growth using nano-channel alumina (NCA), and deposition of 1-D structures with glancing angle deposition (GLAD). As regards novel optical properties, we discuss as an example, finite size photonic crystal cavity structures formed from such nanostructure arrays possessing highQand small mode volume, and being ideal for developing future nanolasers

Potential use of multiple surveillance data in the forecast of hospital admissions

OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the potential use of multiple influenza surveillance data to forecast hospital admissions for respiratory diseases. INTRODUCTION: A sudden surge in hospital admissions in public hospital during influenza peak season has been a challenge to healthcare and manpower planning. In Hong Kong, the timing of influenza peak seasons are variable and early short-term indication of possible surge may facilitate preparedness which could be translated into strategies such as early discharge or reallocation of extra hospital beds. In this study we explore the potential use of multiple routinely collected syndromic data in the forecast of hospital admissions. METHODS: A multivariate dynamic linear time series model was fitted to multiple syndromic data including influenza-like illness (ILI) rates among networks of public and private general practitioners (GP), and school absenteeism rates, plus drop-in fever count data from designated flu clinics (DFC) that were created during the pandemic. The latent process derived from the model has been used as a measure of the influenza activity [1]. We compare the cross-correlations between estimated influenza level based on multiple surveillance data and GP ILI data, versus accident and emergency hospital admissions with principal diagnoses of respiratory diseases and pneumonia & influenza (P&I). RESULTS: The estimated influenza activity has higher cross-correlation with respiratory and P&I admissions (ρ=0.66 and 0.73 respectively) compared to that of GP ILI rates (Table 1). Cross correlations drop distinctly after lag 2 for both estimated influenza activity and GP ILI rates. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a multivariate method to integrate information from multiple sources of influenza surveillance data may have the potential to improve forecasting of admission surge of respiratory diseases