Developing autonomous writers in a report writing course

Theme: Developing Students as Readers and Writers in the four-year Curriculum: the role of the English Language CentresThe Conference program's website is located at http://symposium2011.elc.polyu.edu.hk/index.php/SELC/SELC2011/schedConf/programWith the implementation of the 4-year curriculum in 2012 the current English enhancement courses for second year students offered by the Centre for Applied English Studies (CAES) of the University of Hong Kong will be replaced by 'English in the Discipline' courses which are jointly developed by the CAES and faculty. To align with the goal of the Faculty of Social Sciences in developing critical inquiry the course designers of 'Writing reports and proposals', one of the five courses to be offered to students of Social Sciences in the new curriculum, have adopted an inductive approach which allows students to participate as knowledge builders in writing. This approach aims to develop students into autonomous learners (Thornbury, 1999) through encouraging them to explore the relationship between language use and the purposes, context, and intended readership of different sub-genres of report writing, thereby enhancing their self-reliance in learning as well as their disciplinary-specific and professional literacies. This paper will discuss the evaluation of a pilot module on report writing conducted within an 'English for Professional Communication' course for second year students of Social Sciences. Teacher' and students' feedback on the module will be presented to reflect on the current development of the course.postprin

Investigation of Phellinus linteus mushroom extract on cell cycle of colon cancer cell LS 174T under oxidative stress challenge

Phellinus linteus (PL) has traditionally been used as a medicinal mushroom in some countries such as China, Japan and Korea. It was found the fruiting body of PL is rich in bioactive phytochemicals. The antioxidant property of PL has been associated in preventing cancer progression. It is also suggested that the polysaccaharides component of PL is responsible for antitumor and immuno-modulatory effect in vivo and in vitro. However, the mechanism of the inhibition effect and invasive behavior of PL on cancer such as LS 174T colonic carcinoma is not well elucidated. PL is suggested to be able to inhibit cancer cell adhesion and invasion of the extracellular matrix. Therefore, it is believed that PL can exert antitumor effect by initiating apoptosis and cell cycle blockade in ...postprin

Fish oil supplementation in CCl4 injured rodents exclusively suppressed enzymatic and non-enzymatic lipid peroxidation of DHA and EPA

Poster Session 1: abstract no. M4.07The Conference abstracts' website is located at http://www.issfal.org/conferences/2014-stockholm/abstractsFish oil contains high amount of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and helps in reducing risk of neurodegenerative diseases and coronary heart diseases. Because of the high numbers of double bonds, they are prone to undergo lipid peroxidation in vitro and in vivo. Many of the products generated through this process are claimed either to be bioactive or toxic. We, therefore, investigated the effect of fish oil supplementation with CCl4 liver injured rats. Male Sprague Dawley rats were randomized into five groups: 1) water (Control), 2) canola oil, 3) CCl4, 4) fish oil (omega-3, 350 mg/kg), 5) fish oil + CCl4. Rats were treated ...postprin

Maternal-fetal evaluation of oxidized lipid products of polyunsaturated fatty acid induced by environmental contaminant perfluorooctante sulfonate

Poster Session 3: abstract no. N9.06The Conference abstracts' website is located at http://www.issfal.org/conferences/2014-stockholm/abstractsPerfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is synthetic fluorinated hydrocarbons. However the carbon-fluoride bonds render these compounds to be non-biodegradable, leading to their persistence in the environment and lengthy elimination half-life in vivo. PFOS could also penetrate the placental barrier and the blood brain barrier, and produce neurotoxic effect. High dose of PFOS leads to neonatal mortality and neurologic delays. It is known PFOS generate a dose-dependent ROS production, but the effect in PUFA lipid peroxidation, especially adrenic, arachidonic, docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids that are ...postprin

Central nervous system inflammatory demyelinating disorders in Hong Kong Chinese

Poster PresentationBACKGROUND: Classical multiple sclerosis (CMS) must be differentiated from neuromyelitis optica (NMO) as treatments are different. Serum aquaporin-4 autoantibodies (AQP4 Ab) are specific for NMO spectrum disorders (NMOSD). We aimed to study the diagnoses of CNS inflammatory demyelinating disorder (IDD) patients presenting to a hospital over 29 years. METHODS: Chinese patients presenting with CNS IDD to our hospital from 1981 to 2009 were studied. Patients referred from other centres were excluded. Since 2008, patients had yearly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain and cord for 3 years even without relap…published_or_final_versio

Does influenza A infection increase oxidative damage?

Considerable data implicate oxidative damage in influenza pathogenesis. We examined temporal changes in oxidative damage using accurate biomarkers in an adult cohort with acute influenza infection and their relationships with clinical parameters. Clinical information and blood samples were collected during their acute illness and 3 months later. A fatigue questionnaire was administered 3 months following influenza infection. Thirty-five patients (mean age, 34 years) with polymerase chain reaction-confirmed influenza A infection were included; all patients returned for follow-up assessments. Adjusted levels of plasma F2-isoprostanes, total hydroxyeicosatetraenoic products (HETEs), 7beta-hydroxycholesterol and 7-ketocholesterol, serum gamma-glutamyltransferase, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) were increased during the acute illness compared with age-matched controls. Despite clinical recovery, levels of these biomarkers remained higher at month 3 compared with controls. A proportion of patients had persistent symptoms such as fatigue (23%), myalgia (14%), and arthralgia (11%) at month 3. Patients with significant fatigue had higher baseline levels of plasma F2-isoprostanes, F4-neuroprostanes, and total HETEs compared to those without fatigue. By contrast, patients with persistent arthralgia and myalgia had higher baseline levels of serum hsCRP compared to those without these symptoms. Our observations lead to the hypothesis that oxidative damage participates in the pathogenesis of influenza infection and postinfectious fatigue.published_or_final_versio

Brainstem encephalitis in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders

Poster: abstract no. 41published_or_final_versionThe 17th Medical Research Conference (MRC), Department of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 14 january 2012. In Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2012, v. 18 suppl. 1, p. 3

First year of 24/7 Acute Stroke Unit. Part 2: outcome of stroke thrombolysis using telemedicine

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV-rtPA) for acute ischaemic stroke through telemedicine consultation …published_or_final_versio

First year of 24/7 Acute Stroke Unit. Part 1: eligibility and utilisation of intravenous thrombolysis

INTRODUCTION: Intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV-rtPA) is the standard therapy for acute ischaemic stroke. Because of its narrow therapeutic time window, eligibility and utilisation rates of this treatment remained low. Our IV-rtPA programme was enhanced to a 24/7 protocol since September 20…published_or_final_versio

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization is involved in oxidative stress-induced apoptotic cell death in LAMP2-deficient iPSCs-derived cerebral cortical neurons

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