中國新詩與古典詩關係研究 (1917-1937) : 以聞一多、卞之琳、林庚和郭沫若為中心

本論文從新詩和古典詩關係的角度切入，探討1917 年至1937 年的新詩作家怎樣借用古典詩歌的文化資源，並結合時代環境因素和個人因素，探索和發展新詩的形式和語言，並以具體創作加以實踐。論文以個案形式展開論述，重點考察對象，包括：聞一多(1899－1946)、卞之琳(1910－2000)、林庚(1910－2006)和郭沫若(1892－1978)。這些作家有共同的背景：他們具有深厚的古典文學素養，同時寫作新詩和舊體詩，創作經歷是從舊體詩的沉浸中而來，並漸漸對新詩創作產生興趣，因而自覺地繼承古典詩歌的文化資源，再轉化成新詩的形式和語言，表達屬於現代的思想，對往後新詩的形式和語言發展有重要的影響力。中國古典詩歌的文化資源影響中國新詩的形成，促成中國詩歌的現代轉型。本論文重點探討以下問題：第一，探討詩人如何繼承和轉化古典詩傳統，發展成新詩的傳統。第二，分析詩人如何從古典詩歌汲取養份，建構新詩的形式和語言範式。第三，檢討在中國詩歌的現代轉型過程中，傳統民族文學因素在新詩建構工程中的位置。 透過各章節的分析，本論文進一步釐清新詩人如何借助古典詩的文化資源，作為新詩創作的參考理論。傳統民族文學因素在新詩建構工程中的位置十分重要，古典詩所確立的詩學觀、形式句法、意象系統和語言系統，在聞一多、林庚、卞之琳和郭沫若的新詩中，有不同的承繼和轉化。這四位詩人對「新詩特質」有不同理解，這與時代因素、文學觀念的取態和創作目的有密切關係。「新詩特質」的理解影響他們接受古典詩文化資源的方針，從中可見中國現代文學史的新詩和古典詩關係，遠比很多人想像中複雜

中文寫作與世界詩歌 : 北島詩歌研究

北島 ( 趙振開1949- ) 是當今中國最具代表性的詩人之一，於1970 年開始創作。1978 年，他創辦《今天》及對外發表詩作，與芒克、多多、顧城和舒婷等年青詩人同受注意，被評論界譽為朦朧詩派的重要代表。然而，他的創作經歷不同階段，首先在1980 年他主編的文學刊物《今天》被勒令停刊，其後又經過朦朧詩論爭，作品不斷被批評為晦澀難懂，1989 年後更流亡海外，足跡遍 及歐美等地，直至2001 年才得以短暫歸國探親，現任教於香港中文大學。 本篇論文將北島放入世界文學的視野，透過討論他在不同時期的詩歌創作。論文以宇文所安於1991 年所寫的一篇書評“The Anxiety of Global Influence: What is World Poetry?” (中譯〈世界影響的焦慮：什麼是世界詩歌〉) 的提問切入，探討北島怎樣在跨文化和跨語言的情況下創作詩歌。本文並不是論證宇文所安對北島的評論是否正確，但希望從他對世界詩歌和世界文學的論述，尋找討論北島的詩歌創作新的切入點。論文第一章是導言，說明研究題旨和範圍，簡述研究概況。第二章探討北島的創作經歷。第三章分析北島，身處的革命背景怎樣影響他早期的創作，討論詩歌如何表達革命意識。第四章討論北島怎樣 運用現代主義進行中文詩歌創作。第五章討論北海流亡海外後的詩歌，透過表達懷鄕和放逐的主題，呈現回歸故地和流動異域的矛盾心理。第六章是結論

Apolipoprotein M Gene (APOM) Polymorphism Modifies Metabolic and Disease Traits in Type 2 Diabetes

This study aimed at substantiating the associations of the apolipoproein M gene (APOM) with type 2 diabetes (T2D) as well as with metabolic traits in Hong Kong Chinese. In addition, APOM gene function was further characterized to elucidate its activity in cholesterol metabolism. Seventeen APOM SNPs documented in the NCBI database were genotyped. Five SNPs were confirmed in our study cohort of 1234 T2D and 606 control participants. Three of the five SNPs rs707921(C+1871A), rs707922(G+1837T) and rs805264(G+203A) were in linkage disequilibrium (LD). We chose rs707922 to tag this LD region for down stream association analyses and characterized the function of this SNP at molecular level. No association between APOM and T2D susceptibility was detected in our Hong Kong Chinese cohort. Interestingly, the C allele of rs805297 was significantly associated with T2D duration of longer than 10 years (OR = 1.245, p = 0.015). The rs707922 TT genotype was significantly associated with elevated plasma total- and LDL- cholesterol levels (p = 0.006 and p = 0.009, respectively) in T2D patients. Molecular analyses of rs707922 lead to the discoveries of a novel transcript APOM5 as well as the cryptic nature of exon 5 of the gene. Ectopic expression of APOM5 transcript confirmed rs707922 allele-dependent activity of the transcript in modifying cholesterol homeostasis in vitro. In conclusion, the results here did not support APOM as a T2D susceptibility gene in Hong Kong Chinese. However, in T2D patients, a subset of APOM SNPs was associated with disease duration and metabolic traits. Further molecular analysis proved the functional activity of rs707922 in APOM expression and in regulation of cellular cholesterol content

Host factors do not influence the colonization or infection by fluconazole resistant Candida species in hospitalized patients

Nosocomial yeast infections have significantly increased during the past two decades in industrialized countries, including Taiwan. This has been associated with the emergence of resistance to fluconazole and other antifungal drugs. The medical records of 88 patients, colonized or infected with Candida species, from nine of the 22 hospitals that provided clinical isolates to the Taiwan Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance of Yeasts (TSARY) program in 1999 were reviewed. A total of 35 patients contributed fluconazole resistant strains [minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ≧ 64 mg/l], while the remaining 53 patients contributed susceptible ones (MICs ≦ 8 mg/l). Fluconazole resistance was more frequent among isolates of Candida tropicalis (46.5%) than either C. albicans (36.8%) or C. glabrata (30.8%). There was no significant difference in demographic characteristics or underlying diseases among patients contributing strains different in drug susceptibility

Who wants a slimmer body? The relationship between body weight status, education level and body shape dissatisfaction among young adults in Hong Kong

Background: Body shape dissatisfaction has been thought to have an indispensable impact on weight control behaviors. We investigated the prevalence of body shape dissatisfaction (BSD) and explored its association with weight status, education level and other determinants among young adults in Hong Kong. Methods. Information on anthropometry, BSD, and socio-demographics was collected from a random sample of 1205 young adults (611 men and 594 women) aged 18-27 in a community-based household survey. BSD was defined as a discrepancy between current and ideal body shape based on a figure rating scale. Cross-tabulations, homogeneity tests and logistic regression models were applied. Results: The percentages of underweight men and women were 16.5% and 34.9% respectively, and the corresponding percentages of being overweight or obese were 26.7% and 13.2% for men and women respectively. Three-quarters of young adults had BSD. Among women, 30.9% of those underweight and 75.5% of those with normal weight desired a slimmer body shape. Overweight men and underweight women with lower education level were more likely to have a mismatch between weight status and BSD than those with higher education level. After controlling for other determinants, underweight women were found to have a higher likelihood to maintain their current body shapes than other women. Men were found to be less likely to have a mismatch between weight status and BSD than women. Conclusions: Overweight and obesity in men and underweight in women were prevalent among Hong Kong young adults. Inappropriate body shape desire might predispose individuals to unhealthy weight loss or gain behaviors. Careful consideration of actual weight status in body shape desire is needed in health promotion and education, especially for underweight and normal weight women and those with a low education level. © 2011 Cheung et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.published_or_final_versio

Laparoscopy in management of appendicitis in high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency worldwide. Differences between high- and low-income settings in the availability of laparoscopic appendectomy, alternative management choices, and outcomes are poorly described. The aim was to identify variation in surgical management and outcomes of appendicitis within low-, middle-, and high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries worldwide. METHODS: This is a multicenter, international prospective cohort study. Consecutive sampling of patients undergoing emergency appendectomy over 6 months was conducted. Follow-up lasted 30 days. RESULTS: 4546 patients from 52 countries underwent appendectomy (2499 high-, 1540 middle-, and 507 low-HDI groups). Surgical site infection (SSI) rates were higher in low-HDI (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, p = 0.005) but not middle-HDI countries (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.76-2.52, p = 0.291), compared with high-HDI countries after adjustment. A laparoscopic approach was common in high-HDI countries (1693/2499, 67.7%), but infrequent in low-HDI (41/507, 8.1%) and middle-HDI (132/1540, 8.6%) groups. After accounting for case-mix, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, p < 0.001) and SSIs (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.14-0.33, p < 0.001). In propensity-score matched groups within low-/middle-HDI countries, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.23 95% CI 0.11-0.44) and SSI (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.09-0.45). CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic approach is associated with better outcomes and availability appears to differ by country HDI. Despite the profound clinical, operational, and financial barriers to its widespread introduction, laparoscopy could significantly improve outcomes for patients in low-resource environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02179112

Contributions of mean and shape of blood pressure distribution to worldwide trends and variations in raised blood pressure: A pooled analysis of 1018 population-based measurement studies with 88.6 million participants

© The Author(s) 2018. Background: Change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure could be due to both shifts in the entire distribution of blood pressure (representing the combined effects of public health interventions and secular trends) and changes in its high-blood-pressure tail (representing successful clinical interventions to control blood pressure in the hypertensive population). Our aim was to quantify the contributions of these two phenomena to the worldwide trends in the prevalence of raised blood pressure. Methods: We pooled 1018 population-based studies with blood pressure measurements on 88.6 million participants from 1985 to 2016. We first calculated mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of raised blood pressure by sex and 10-year age group from 20-29 years to 70-79 years in each study, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights, where relevant. We used a linear mixed effect model to quantify the association between (probittransformed) prevalence of raised blood pressure and age-group- and sex-specific mean blood pressure. We calculated the contributions of change in mean SBP and DBP, and of change in the prevalence-mean association, to the change in prevalence of raised blood pressure. Results: In 2005-16, at the same level of population mean SBP and DBP, men and women in South Asia and in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa would have the highest prevalence of raised blood pressure, and men and women in the highincome Asia Pacific and high-income Western regions would have the lowest. In most region-sex-age groups where the prevalence of raised blood pressure declined, one half or more of the decline was due to the decline in mean blood pressure. Where prevalence of raised blood pressure has increased, the change was entirely driven by increasing mean blood pressure, offset partly by the change in the prevalence-mean association. Conclusions: Change in mean blood pressure is the main driver of the worldwide change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure, but change in the high-blood-pressure tail of the distribution has also contributed to the change in prevalence, especially in older age groups

The United States COVID-19 Forecast Hub dataset

Academic researchers, government agencies, industry groups, and individuals have produced forecasts at an unprecedented scale during the COVID-19 pandemic. To leverage these forecasts, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnered with an academic research lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to create the US COVID-19 Forecast Hub. Launched in April 2020, the Forecast Hub is a dataset with point and probabilistic forecasts of incident cases, incident hospitalizations, incident deaths, and cumulative deaths due to COVID-19 at county, state, and national, levels in the United States. Included forecasts represent a variety of modeling approaches, data sources, and assumptions regarding the spread of COVID-19. The goal of this dataset is to establish a standardized and comparable set of short-term forecasts from modeling teams. These data can be used to develop ensemble models, communicate forecasts to the public, create visualizations, compare models, and inform policies regarding COVID-19 mitigation. These open-source data are available via download from GitHub, through an online API, and through R packages