Recull de premsa

Recull de prems

Enllaços d'interès

Enllaços d'interè

The Development of Geomatics Education in Hong Kong

published_or_final_versio

The role of prosodic reading in English reading comprehension among Cantonese-English bilingual children

Poster Session 4: no. p4.07bWe examine the role of prosodic reading in English reading comprehension among Cantonese-English bilingual children by characterizing the acoustic characteristics of bilingual children’s English prosodic production and relating them to their English reading comprehension. Spectrographic analysis was performed on six types of syntactically complex structures from an English passage orally produced by the participants, with a focus on pitch pattern and pause structure. Pitch patterns produced by our bilingual children were found to show similar patterns to those produced by English-speaking adults as reported in previous studies. However, pause structures produced by the bilingual children were different from the native English speakers. Furthermore, only pitch pattern was significantly associated with English reading comprehension. These results suggest that pitch pattern is a critical factor in determining English reading comprehension among Cantonese-English bilingual children. We discuss these findings in terms of automaticity theory in second language reading acquisition.postprin

Quantum correlation measurements in interferometric gravitational wave detectors

Quantum fluctuations in the phase and amplitude quadratures of light set limitations on the sensitivity of modern optical instruments. The sensitivity of the interferometric gravitational-wave detectors, such as the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), is limited by quantum shot noise, quantum radiation pressure noise, and a set of classical noises. We show how the quantum properties of light can be used to distinguish these noises using correlation techniques. Particularly, in the first part of the paper we show estimations of the coating thermal noise and gas phase noise, hidden below the quantum shot noise in the Advanced LIGO sensitivity curve. We also make projections on the observatory sensitivity during the next science runs. In the second part of the paper we discuss the correlation technique that reveals the quantum radiation pressure noise from the background of classical noises and shot noise. We apply this technique to the Advanced LIGO data, collected during the first science run, and experimentally estimate the quantum correlations and quantum radiation pressure noise in the interferometer

First demonstration of electrostatic damping of parametric instability at advanced LIGO

Interferometric gravitational wave detectors operate with high optical power in their arms in order to achieve high shot-noise limited strain sensitivity. A significant limitation to increasing the optical power is the phenomenon of three-mode parametric instabilities, in which the laser field in the arm cavities is scattered into higher-order optical modes by acoustic modes of the cavity mirrors. The optical modes can further drive the acoustic modes via radiation pressure, potentially producing an exponential buildup. One proposed technique to stabilize parametric instability is active damping of acoustic modes. We report here the first demonstration of damping a parametrically unstable mode using active feedback forces on the cavity mirror. A 15 538 Hz mode that grew exponentially with a time constant of 182 sec was damped using electrostatic actuation, with a resulting decay time constant of 23 sec. An average control force of 0.03 nN was required to maintain the acoustic mode at its minimum amplitude

Optimized Anchor-Modified Peptides Targeting Mutated RAS Are Promising Candidates for Immunotherapy

RAS mutations occur in approximately 20% of all cancers and given their clonality, key role as driver mutation, association with poor prognosis and undruggability, they represent attractive targets for immunotherapy. We have identified immunogenic peptides derived from codon 12 mutant RAS (G12A, G12C, G12D, G12R, G12S and G12V), which bind to HLA-A*02:01 and HLA-A*03:01 and elicit strong peptide-specific CD8+ T cell responses, indicating that there is an effective CD8+ T-cell repertoire against these mutant RAS-derived peptides that can be mobilized. Alterations in anchor residues of these peptides enhanced their binding affinity to HLA-A*02:01 molecules and allowed generation of CD8+ T cells that responded to target cells pulsed with the anchor-modified and also with the original peptide. Cytotoxic T cells generated against these peptides specifically lysed tumor cells expressing mutant RAS. Vaccination of transgenic humanized HLA-A2/DR1 mice with a long peptide encompassing an anchor-modified 9-mer G12V epitope generated CD8+ T cells reactive to the original 9-mer and to a HLA-A*02:01-positive human cancer cell line harboring the G12V mutation. Our data provide strong evidence that mutant RAS can be targeted by immunotherapy

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and other inflammatory markers in predicting cardiovascular risk in Hong Kong Chinese

Poster PresentationINTRODUCTION: Inflammation is increasingly recognised as a key player in atherosclerosis, and C-reactive protein measured using high-sensitivity assay (hsCRP) is the most promising inflammatory marker in predicting the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In this prospective cohort study, we examined the predictive value of hsCRP for CVD in Hong Kong Chinese and determined if other biomarkers would enhance the predictive value of hsCRP. METHODS: Subjects were recruited from the Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factors Prevalence Study …published_or_final_versionThe 16th Medical Research Conference, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 22 January 2011. In Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2011, v. 17 suppl. 1, p. 66, abstract no. 11

Astronomy and astrophysics with gravitational waves in the Advanced Detector Era

With the advanced gravitational wave detectors coming on line in the next 5 years, we expect to make the first detections of gravitational waves from astrophysical sources, and study the properties of the waves themselves as tests of General Relativity. In addition, these gravitational waves will be powerful tools for the study of their astrophysical sources and source populations. They carry information that is quite complementary to what can be learned from electromagnetic or neutrino observations, probing the central gravitational engines that power the electromagnetic emissions. Preparations are being made to enable near-simultaneous observations of both gravitational wave and electromagnetic observations of transient sources, using low-latency search pipelines and rapid sky localization. We will review the many opportunities for multi-messenger astronomy and astrophysics with gravitational waves enabled by the advanced detectors, and the preparations that are being made to quickly and fully exploit them.Comment: 10 pages, no figures. Submitted to the proceedings of the 9th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves, and the 2011 Numerical Relativity - Data Analysis (NRDA) meeting, held 10-15 July 2011 in Cardiff, Wales, UK, July 10-15 2011 (Special issue of CQG). Updated in response to CQG referees and CQG proofs. Accepted by CQ