Population-based hospitalization incidence of respiratory viruses in community-acquired pneumonia in children younger than 5 years of age

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Optimal designs for an additive quadratic mixture model involving the amount of mixture

This paper is concerned with D- and A-optimal designs for a quadratic additive model for experiments with mixtures, in which the response depends not only on the relative proportions but also on the actual amounts of the mixture components. It is found that the origin and vertices of the simplex are support points of these optimal designs, and when the number of mixture components increases, other support points shift gradually from barycentres of depth 1 to barycentres of higher depths. It is shown that the D-optimal designs have high efficiency in terms of A-optimality, and vice versa.published_or_final_versio

Population-Based Pediatric Hospitalization Burden of Lineage-Specific Influenza B in Hong Kong, 2004–2014

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Population-Based Hospitalization Burden of Influenza A Virus Subtypes and Antigenic Drift Variants in Children in Hong Kong (2004-2011)

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Asymptomatic members with SOD1 mutation in a large kindred with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have abnormal water diffusion characterisitcs

DTI was carried out in FALS/SALS patients and familial members with SOD1 mutation (AFALS) who may be in a pre-symptomatic phase of ALS. The changes in FA and TT were investigated in CBT/CST and in whole brain. In FALS/SALS, diffusion pattern changes were found in cerebral peduncle, internal capsule, sub-cortical white matter, cerebellum and frontal lobe while in AFALS, abnormal pattern could also be detected in the cerebral peduncle, cerebellum and frontal lobe but with a smaller extent. Our study indicates that DTI can show early diffusion changes in members with SOD1 mutation in FALS prior to symptom-onset.published_or_final_versio

Interim estimates of the effectiveness of influenza vaccination against influenza-associated hospitalization in children in Hong Kong, 2015-16

From 1 September 2015 through 31 January 2016, we enrolled 2068 children 6 months to 17 years of age admitted to hospital with a febrile acute respiratory infection in our test-negative study. Information on receipt of 2015-16 northern hemisphere inactivated influenza vaccination was elicited from parents or legal guardians. Using conditional logistic regression adjusting for age and matching on calendar time, we estimated influenza vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization with influenza A or B to be 79.2% (95% confidence interval: 42.0%-92.4%). Annual influenza vaccination should be more widely used in children in Hong Kong. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Clinical and molecular epidemiology of human bocavirus in respiratory and fecal samples from children in Hong Kong

Background. Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a recently discovered parvovirus associated with respiratory tract infections in children. We conducted the first systematic prospective clinical and molecular study using nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) and fecal samples. Methods. NPAs negative for influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, and coronavirus and fecal samples from patients with acute gastroenteritis were included. On the basis of results from a pilot study using 400 NPAs from all age groups, a prospective 12-month study was conducted to detect HBoV in 1200 NPAs and 1435 fecal samples from patients <18 years old by polymerase chain reaction. The complete genome sequences of HBoVs from 12 NPAs and 12 fecal samples were determined. Results. Of the 400 NPAs collected in the pilot study, 20 (5.0%) were found to contain HBoV, all from children <5 years old. In the subsequent prospective study of pediatric patients, HBoV was detected in 83 (6.9%) of 1200 NPAs. Upper and lower respiratory tract infections were equally common. HBoV was detected in 30 (2.1%) of 1435 fecal samples. Fever and watery diarrhea were the most common symptoms. The seasonality of HBoV in NPAs and fecal samples was similar. Codetection with other pathogens occurred in 33% and 56% of NPAs and fecal samples, respectively, from patients with HBoV infection. Genomes of HBoVs from NPAs and fecal samples displayed minimal sequence variations. Conclusions. HBoV was detected in fecal specimens in children with acute gastroenteritis. A single lineage of HBoV was associated with both respiratory tract and enteric infections. © 2007 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Influenza vaccine effectiveness against influenza A(H3N2) hospitalizations in children in Hong Kong in a prolonged season, 2016/17.

Background: Influenza A(H3N2) viruses circulated for 12 consecutive months in Hong Kong in 2016-2017, peaking in late June and July 2017. The objective of our study was to estimate the effectiveness of influenza vaccination in preventing hospitalizations in children in Hong Kong. Methods: We conducted a test-negative study between September 1 2016 and August 31 2017, enrolling children 6 months to 17 years of age hospitalized for an acute respiratory infection. Influenza was diagnosed by PCR on nasopharyngeal aspirates. Results: We enrolled 5514 children, including 3608 children between 6 months to 2 years, 1600 children 3-5 years, and 1206 children 6-17 years of age. Influenza-associated hospitalizations occurred throughout the study year but time of vaccination of these children was also wide-spread, from September 2016 to May 2017. Influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) was 39.7% (95% CI: 14.7, 57.3%) against laboratory-confirmed influenza A(H3N2). In analyses stratified by time since vaccination, the VE against influenza A(H3N2) was 52.8% (17.1%, 73.2%) within 3 months of vaccination, and 31.2% (-6.6%, 55.6%) 4-6 months after vaccination. Conclusions: Influenza vaccination was effective in preventing hospitalizations in children in Hong Kong

A study on city motor vehicle emission factors by tunnel test

2001-2002 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Atomic-scale combination of germanium-zinc nanofibers for structural and electrochemical evolution

Alloys are recently receiving considerable attention in the community of rechargeable batteries as possible alternatives to carbonaceous negative electrodes; however, challenges remain for the practical utilization of these materials. Herein, we report the synthesis of germanium-zinc alloy nanofibers through electrospinning and a subsequent calcination step. Evidenced by in situ transmission electron microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy characterizations, this one-dimensional design possesses unique structures. Both germanium and zinc atoms are homogenously distributed allowing for outstanding electronic conductivity and high available capacity for lithium storage. The as-prepared materials present high rate capability (capacity of similar to 50% at 20 C compared to that at 0.2 C-rate) and cycle retention (73% at 3.0 C-rate) with a retaining capacity of 546 mAh g(-1) even after 1000 cycles. When assembled in a full cell, high energy density can be maintained during 400 cycles, which indicates that the current material has the potential to be used in a large-scale energy storage system