Biomonitoring of trace metals in the atmosphere using moss (Hypnum plumaeforme) in the Nanling Mountains and the Pearl River Delta, Southern China

2004-2005 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

Metal contamination in urban, suburban, and country park soils of Hong Kong : a study based on GIS and multivariate statistics

2005-2006 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

Heavy metals and Pb isotopic composition of aerosols in urban and suburban areas of Hong Kong and Guangzhou, South China - Evidence of the long-range transport of air contaminants

Author name used in this publication: Celine S. L. LeeAuthor name used in this publication: Xiang-Dong LiAuthor name used in this publication: Ai-Jun Ding2006-2007 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

Association Between Acute Neuropsychiatric Events and Helicobacter pylori Therapy Containing Clarithromycin

Importance: There is a concern that Helicobacter pylori therapy containing clarithromycin might be associated with acute neuropsychiatric events. / Objective: To examine the association between H pylori therapy containing clarithromycin and acute neuropsychiatric events. / Design, Setting, and Participants: A self-controlled case series study was conducted using the Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System database in Hong Kong to explore any association. The exposure of interest was H pylori therapy containing clarithromycin in the outpatient setting. Study patients, 18 years or older at cohort entry, must have had both exposure to H pylori therapy containing clarithromycin and their first recorded neuropsychiatric events between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2012. A post hoc nested case-control analysis was also performed in patients receiving H pylori therapy containing clarithromycin. / Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was composite neuropsychiatric events, while secondary outcomes were psychotic events and cognitive impairment. Risk periods in the self-controlled case series analysis were defined as 14-day preexposure period, current use (days 1-14 since prescription start date) and recent use (days 15-30). Age-adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRR) were estimated using the conditional Poisson regression. / Results: Of 66 559 patients who had at least 1 outpatient prescription of H pylori therapy containing clarithromycin. Their mean (SD) age at cohort entry was 50.8 (14.8 years); their mean age at first exposure was 55.4 (14.8) years, and 30 910 were male (46.4%). A total of 1824 patients had their first recorded composite neuropsychiatric events during the study period. An increased IRR of 4.12 (35 composite neuropsychiatric events during 72 person-years; 95% CI, 2.94-5.76) during current use was observed but not in recent use (9 events during 82 person-years; IRR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.49-1.83) and 14-day preexposure period (14 events during 72 person-years; IRR, 1.63; 95% CI, 0.96-2.77) vs baseline (1766 events during 16 665 person-years). Similarly, both the risk of psychotic events and cognitive impairment increased during current use vs baseline, although this subsequently returned to baseline incidence levels during recent use. The crude absolute risks of composite neuropsychiatric events, psychotic events, and cognitive impairment during current use were 0.45, 0.12, and 0.12 per 1000 prescriptions, respectively. The nested case-control analysis also gave similar results to that of the self-controlled case series analysis. / Conclusions and Relevance: This study shows evidence of a short-term increased risk of neuropsychiatric events associated with H pylori therapy containing clarithromycin

Linking cohort-based data with electronic health records: a proof-of-concept methodological study in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVES: Data linkage of cohort-based data and electronic health records (EHRs) has been practised in many countries, but in Hong Kong there is still a lack of such research. To expand the use of multisource data, we aimed to identify a feasible way of linking two cohorts with EHRs in Hong Kong. METHODS: Participants in the 'Children of 1997' birth cohort and the Chinese Early Development Instrument (CEDI) cohort were separated into several batches. The Hong Kong Identity Card Numbers (HKIDs) of each batch were then uploaded to the Hong Kong Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System (CDARS) to retrieve EHRs. Within the same batch, each participant has a unique combination of date of birth and sex which can then be used for exact matching, as no HKID will be returned from CDARS. Raw data collected for the two cohorts were checked for the mismatched cases. After the matching, we conducted a simple descriptive analysis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) information collected in the CEDI cohort via the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms and Normal Behaviour Scale (SWAN) and EHRs. RESULTS: In total, 3473 and 910 HKIDs in the birth cohort and CEDI cohort were separated into 44 and 5 batches, respectively, and then submitted to the CDARS, with 100% and 97% being valid HKIDs respectively. The match rates were confirmed to be 100% and 99.75% after checking the cohort data. From our illustration using the ADHD information in the CEDI cohort, 36 (4.47%) individuals had ADHD-Combined score over the clinical cut-off in the SWAN survey, and 68 (8.31%) individuals had ADHD records in EHRs. CONCLUSIONS: Using date of birth and sex as identifiable variables, we were able to link the cohort data and EHRs with high match rates. This method will assist in the generation of databases for future multidisciplinary research using both cohort data and EHRs

Bell's palsy following vaccination with mRNA (BNT162b2) and inactivated (CoronaVac) SARS-CoV-2 vaccines: a case series and nested case-control study

BACKGROUND: Bell's palsy is a rare adverse event reported in clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines. However, to our knowledge no population-based study has assessed the association between the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and Bell's palsy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of Bell's palsy after BNT162b2 and CoronaVac vaccination. METHODS: In this case series and nested case-control study done in Hong Kong, we assessed the risk of Bell's palsy within 42 days following vaccination with BNT162b2 (Fosun–BioNTech [equivalent to Pfizer–BioNTech]) or CoronaVac (from Sinovac Biotech, Hong Kong) using data from voluntary surveillance reporting with the Hospital Authority, the COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Event Online Reporting system for all health-care professionals, and the Hospital Authority's territory-wide electronic health records from the Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System. We described reported cases of Bell's palsy among vaccine recipients (aged 18–110 years for CoronaVac and aged 16–110 years for BNT162b2). We compared the estimated age-standardised incidence of clinically confirmed cases among individuals who had received the CoronaVac or BNT162b2 vaccination (up to 42 days before presentation) with the background incidence in the population. A nested case-control study was also done using conditional logistic regression to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for risk of Bell's palsy and vaccination. Cases and controls were matched (1:4) by age, sex, admission setting, and admission date. FINDINGS: Between February 23 and May 4, 2021, 451 939 individuals received the first dose of CoronaVac and 537 205 individuals received the first dose of BNT162b2. 28 clinically confirmed cases of Bell's palsy were reported following CoronaVac and 16 cases were reported following BNT162b2. The age-standardised incidence of clinically confirmed Bell's palsy was 66·9 cases per 100 000 person-years (95% CI 37·2 to 96·6) following CoronaVac vaccination and 42·8 per 100 000 person-years (19·4 to 66·1) for BNT162b2 vaccination. The age-standardised difference for the incidence compared with the background population was 41·5 (95% CI 11·7 to 71·4) for CoronaVac and 17·0 (−6·6 to 40·6) for BNT162b2, equivalent to an additional 4·8 cases per 100 000 people vaccinated for CoronaVac and 2·0 cases per 100 000 people vaccinated for BNT162b2. In the nested case-control analysis, 298 cases were matched to 1181 controls, and the adjusted ORs were 2·385 (95% CI 1·415 to 4·022) for CoronaVac and 1·755 (0·886 to 3·477) for BNT162b2. INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggest an overall increased risk of Bell's palsy after CoronaVac vaccination. However, the beneficial and protective effects of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine far outweigh the risk of this generally self-limiting adverse event. Additional studies are needed in other regions to confirm our findings. FUNDING: The Food and Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. TRANSLATION: For the Chinese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section

Epidemiology of Acute Myocarditis/Pericarditis in Hong Kong Adolescents Following Comirnaty Vaccination

BACKGROUND: Age-specific incidence of acute myocarditis/pericarditis in adolescents following Comirnaty vaccination in Asia is lacking. This study aimed to study the clinical characteristics and incidence of acute myocarditis/pericarditis among Hong Kong adolescents following Comirnaty vaccination. METHODS: This is a population cohort study in Hong Kong that monitored adverse events following immunization through a pharmacovigilance system for COVID-19 vaccines. All adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years following Comirnaty vaccination were monitored under the COVID-19 vaccine Adverse Event Response and Evaluation Programme. The clinical characteristics and overall incidence of acute myocarditis/pericarditis in adolescents following Comirnaty vaccination were analysed. RESULTS: Between 14 June 2021 and 4 September 2021, 33 Chinese adolescents who developed acute myocarditis/pericarditis following Comirnaty vaccination were identified. 29 (87.88%) were males and 4 (12.12%) were females, with a median age of 15.25 years. 27 (81.82%) and 6 (18.18%) cases developed acute myocarditis/pericarditis after receiving the second and first dose, respectively. All cases are mild and required only conservative management.The overall incidence of acute myocarditis/pericarditis was 18.52 (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 11.67-29.01) per 100,000 persons vaccinated. The incidence after the first and second doses were 3.37 (95%CI 1.12-9.51) and 21.22 (95%CI 13.78-32.28 per 100,000 persons vaccinated, respectively. Among male adolescents, the incidence after the first and second doses were 5.57 (95% CI 2.38-12.53) and 37.32 (95% CI 26.98-51.25) per 100,000 persons vaccinated. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant increase in the risk of acute myocarditis/pericarditis following Comirnaty vaccination among Chinese male adolescents, especially after the second dose

Evaluation of metals that are potentially toxic to agricultural surface soils, using statistical analysis, in northwestern Saudi Arabia

© 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Heavy metals in agricultural soils enter the food chain when taken up by plants. The main purpose of this work is to determine metal contamination in agricultural farms in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Fifty surface soil samples were collected from agricultural areas. The study focuses on the geochemical behavior of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn, and determines the enrichment factor and geoaccumulation index. Multivariate statistical analysis, including principle component analysis and cluster analysis, is also applied to the acquired data. The study shows considerable variation in the concentrations of the analyzed metals in the studied soil samples. This variation in concentration is attributed to the intensity of agricultural activities and, possibly, to nearby fossil fuel combustion activities, as well as to traffic flows from highways and local roads. Multivariate analysis suggests that As, Cd, Hg and Pb are associated with anthropogenic activities, whereas Co, Cr, Cu and Zn are mainly controlled by geogenic activities. Hg and Pb show the maximum concentration in the analyzed samples as compared to the background concentration

“I felt like I was missing out on something”: An evaluation of using remote technology in the classroom

As technology develops in Higher Education (HE), distance learning has adopted many different guises and supports many different needs (Keane 2013). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of Double Robotics on a Doctoral (level 8) postgraduate course at a HE institution. The aim of this project was to generate an understanding of student and tutor experiences more generally, while examining the feasibility and impact of Double Robotics within a doctoral programme more specifically. Data were collected through a series of focus group interviews with the student and tutors over the course of a single semester (10-weeks). The data were subject to an inductive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2006, 2013). The findings of the study shed light on the interactive pitfalls of the technology and contribute to understanding the experiences of distance learners’ engagement. Four key themes were identified: quality of technology, classroom familiarity, tutor facilitation and user isolation. The significance of this study lies not only in assessing the feasibility of Double Robotics but, specifically, shedding light on the nuanced understanding tutors require to enrol and engage distance learners remotely. Most notable, the ‘isolation’ of the learner points to a heightened awareness of context that can help tutors develop robust and durable environments, which embrace both traditional classroom settings and facilitate the addition of distance learners. Building upon Tucker (2013), technological advancements in the classroom must be carefully designed to appreciate the context of the learning environment, the teacher, and the pedagogic experiences of the learners