Kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of shape transition of strained quantum dots

2010-2011 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Mechanistic studies of anti-hyperpigmentary compounds: elucidating their inhibitory and regulatory actions.

Searching for depigmenting agents from natural sources has become a new direction in the cosmetic industry as natural products are generally perceived as relatively safer. In our previous study, selected Chinese medicines traditionally used to treat hyperpigmentation were tested for anti-hyperpigmentary effects using a melan-a cell culture model. Among the tested chemical compounds, 4-ethylresorcinol, 4-ethylphenol and 1-tetradecanol were found to possess hypopigmentary effects. Western blot analysis, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) assay, protein kinase A (PKA) activity assay, tyrosinase inhibition assay and lipid peroxidation inhibition assay were performed to reveal the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of the hypopigmentary effects. 4-Ethylresorcinol and 4-ethylphenol attenuated mRNA and protein expression of tyrosinase-related protein (TRP)-2, and possessed antioxidative effect by inhibiting lipid peroxidation. 1-Tetradecanol was able to attenuate protein expression of tyrosinase. The hypopigmentary actions of 4-ethylresorcinol, 4-ethylphenol and 1-tetradecanol were associated with regulating downstream proteins along the PKA pathway. 4-Ethylresorcinol was more effective in inhibiting melanin synthesis when compared to 4-ethylphenol and 1-tetradecanol

Method of optical treatment

US7506983; US7506983 B2; US7506983B2; US7,506,983; US 7,506,983 B2; 7506983; Application No. 10/954,631Inventor name used in this publication: Chi Ho ToInventor name used in this publication: Siu Yin LamUSVersion of Recor

An analysis of the participation of an online educational discussion forum - the study of Hong Kong Cyber Campus Forum

Information technology is now widely used in the education sector, and online discussion forum has been regarded as a useful tool for education. A large number of online forums have been set up with an unexamined assumption that participants will learn through interacting with others in the forums. This paper reports a case study of the discussion forum of the Hong Kong Cyber Campus (www.hkcampus.net). It is the in one of the largest public educational discussion forums in Hong Kong set up jointly by local higher education institutions, to provide a venue for educators, teachers, students and parents to discuss about educational issues and the use of information technology for teaching and learning. The current study addresses the following issues: (1) What are the major objects of discussion in the forum? (2) How the structure of the forum may affect interactions between the different types of participants? (3) To what extent is online discussion conducive to conceptual learning of the participants? (4) What are the characteristics of the interactions of the participants in online forum? (5) How should the moderator act effectively to facilitate discussion? What kinds of moderator's messages will spark off more discussion? What kinds of messages tend to end the discussion? To address these research questions, we have conducted an analysis of the messages of the forum generated in its first twelve months from Feb.1999 to Feb.2000. Some of the findings are highlighted in this paper, namely: (1) The objects of discussion are mostly about everyday work and life of students and teachers; (2) The structure of the forum does affect the amount of interaction between different types of participants; (3) Online discussion affords gathering opinion, exchanging information and expressing feelings; (4) Online forum appears weak in resolving conflicting views. Participants seldom exhibit a change of their beliefs during the discussion. It also tends to polarize the discussion, lead the participants to extreme points of view. This is especially salient when the participants do not share a common experience of the issue. (5) The kind of moderator's messages that try to round up, make conclusion and provide authoritative information tend to terminate the discussion, while the expression of example/experience with open meaning tend to spark off more discussion.published_or_final_versio

Layer-by-layer nucleation mechanism for quantum dot formation in strained heteroepitaxy

2010-2011 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Residue codes of extremal Type II Z_4-codes and the moonshine vertex operator algebra

In this paper, we study the residue codes of extremal Type II Z_4-codes of length 24 and their relations to the famous moonshine vertex operator algebra. The main result is a complete classification of all residue codes of extremal Type II Z_4-codes of length 24. Some corresponding results associated to the moonshine vertex operator algebra are also discussed.Comment: 21 pages, shortened from v

Fluid invasion in porous media : viscous gradient percolation

2003-2004 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Finite-size effects in diffusion-limited aggregation

Version of RecordPublishe

Effects of polarization and permittivity gradients and other parameters on the anomalous vertical shift behavior of graded ferroelectric thin films

Author name used in this publication: Y. ZhouAuthor name used in this publication: C. H. LamAuthor name used in this publication: F. G. Shin2005-2006 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe