Legislative Oaths and Judicial Intervention in Hong Kong

In this comment, we disagree with the Court of Appeal’s decision to disqualify two newly elected members of the Legislative Council from office. While we accept that the judiciary is empowered under Art 104 of the Basic Law to determine whether an oath taken is valid, it is our view that after the oath is judicially deemed invalid, it should be left to the President of LegCo to determine whether the lawmaker is to be denied a second chance of retaking the oath and be disqualified. First, the CA held that para 2(3) of the relevant Interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress “automatically disqualified [the pair of lawmakers] from assuming their offices”, but the term “automatic” or “automatically” is found nowhere in the Interpretation. The Interpretation only uses the term “forthwith”, which means “without delay”, and it would not be inconsistent with the Interpretation for the CA to punt the issue over to the President to proceed with the disqualification expeditiously. Second, reading ss 19 and 21 of the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance (Cap 11) together, we argue that a lawmaker can only be disqualified for declining to take the requisite oath if he had not taken a valid oath after a reasonable time had elapsed. Therefore, the lawmaker is not disqualified “automatically” on the first occasion where he declined to take the requisite oath. Third, the principle of non-intervention in the internal process of LegCo applies herein. Whilst the courts have jurisdiction to determine whether the President has the general power to grant or deny a newly elected LegCo member the opportunity of retaking the requisite oath after the original attempt was judicially deemed invalid, the courts will not exercise jurisdiction to determine the specific occasion or manner of exercise of this power by the President. Finally, if the Interpretation is treated as a piece of legislation instead of a judicial decision, and if Hong Kong courts were to approach this legislation using common law principles of statutory interpretation, the presumption against retrospectivity of legislation applies; and on the facts of this case, this Interpretation would not operate retrospectively to events that predated its announcement.postprin

Engineering education opportunities, perceptions and career choice of secondary school students in Hong Kong SAR, China

Session Title: Engineering Education and Comparative Studies at Universities throughout Asia, Far East: AC 2012-5321This paper presents an investigation into engineering education opportunities and engagement among secondary school students in Hong Kong SAR, China (HK). We adapted and validated an international questionnaire and executed it in HK secondary schools. The questionnaire is designed to identify pedagogy, students' perception, and experience (formal and informal) of engineering education, and measure their effects on students' career choice in engineering. We investigate how do factors like age, gender, family background (local versus new immigrants), subjects taken at school, and perceptions of the engineering profession affect their career choice in engineering. Identifying factors affecting young people's career choice in engineering is interesting as HK is in an early post-industrial position. Such study can provide an excellent comparative example to contrast between post-industrial societies such as the United States and industrializing societies such as other cities in the mainland China. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education.postprin

A method for generating non-Gaussian noise series with specified probability distribution and power spectrum

It is necessary to generate a non-Gaussian noise sequence in the simulation of the communication system and signal processing. In the design of some practical system such as radar system, we must generate a stationary noise sequence or clutter series with a specified non-Gaussian probability density function and a desired power spectrum for the purpose of testing the performance of the system. This paper presents a novel method by which such a non-Gaussian noise sequence can be generated. The simulation results are also demonstrated to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.published_or_final_versio

Medical Education and Curriculum Reform: Putting Reform Proposals in Context

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate criteria by which the principles of curriculum reform can be judged. To this end, the paper presents an overview of standard critiques of medical education and examines the ways medical curriculum reforms have responded to these critiques. The paper then sets out our assessment of these curriculum reforms along three parameters: pedagogy, educational context, and knowledge status. Following on from this evaluation of recent curriculum reforms, the paper puts forward four criteria with which to gauge the adequacy medical curriculum reform. These criteria enable us to question the extent to which new curricula incorporate methods and approaches for ensuring that its substance: overcomes the traditional opposition between clinical and resource dimensions of care; emphasizes that the clinical work needs to be systematized in so far as that it feasible; promotes multi-disciplinary team work, and balances clinical autonomy with accountability to non-clinical stakeholders

Novel Approach for Time-Varying Bispectral Analysis of Non-Stationary EEG Signals

novel parametric method, based on the non-Gaussian AR model, is proposed for the partition of on-stationary EEG data into a finite set of third-order stationary segments. With the assumption of piecewise third-order stationarity of the signal, a series of parametric bispectral estimations of the non-stationary EEG data can be performed so as to describe the time-varying non-Gaussian nonlinear characteristics of the observed EEG signals. A practical method based on the fitness of third-order statistics of the signal by using the non-Gaussian AR model, together with an algorithm with CMI is presented. The experimental results with several simulations and clinical EEG signals have also been investigated and discussed. The results show successful performance of the proposed method in estimating the time-varying bispectral structures of the EEG signals.published_or_final_versio

Analysis of time-varying synchronization of EEG during sentences identification

The study of the synchronization of EEG signals can help us to understand the underlying cognitive processes and detect the learning deficiencies since the oscillatory states in the EEG reveal the rhythmic synchronous activity in large networks of neurons. As the changes of the physiological states and the relative environment exist when cognitive and information processing take place in different brain regions at different times, the practical EEGs therefore turn out to be extremely non-stationary processes. To investigate how these distributed brain regions are linked together and the information is exchanged with time, this paper proposes a modern time-frequency coherent analysis method that employs an alternative way for quantifying synchronization with both temporal and spatial resolution. Wavelet coherent spectrum is defined such that the degree of synchronization and information flow between different brain regions can be described. Several real EEG data are analysed under the cognitive tasks of sentences identification in both English and Chinese. The time-varying synchronization between the brain regions involved in the processing of sentences exhibited that a common neural network is activated by both English and Chinese sentences. The results of the presented method are helpful for studying English and Chinese learning for Chinese students.published_or_final_versio

Loss of Endometrial Plasticity in Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

© 2015 AlphaMed Press.Menstruation drives cyclic activation of endometrial progenitor cells, tissue regeneration, and maturation of stromal cells, which differentiate into specialized decidual cells prior to and during pregnancy. Aberrant responsiveness of human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) to deciduogenic cues is strongly associated with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), suggesting a defect in cellular maturation. MeDIP-seq analysis of HESCs did not reveal gross perturbations in CpG methylation in RPL cultures, although quantitative differences were observed in or near genes that are frequently deregulated in vivo. However, RPL was associated with a marked reduction in methylation of defined CA-rich motifs located throughout the genome but enriched near telomeres. Non-CpG methylation is a hallmark of cellular multipotency. Congruently, we demonstrate that RPL is associated with a deficiency in endometrial clonogenic cell populations. Loss of epigenetic stemness features also correlated with intragenic CpG hypomethylation and reduced expression of HMGB2, coding high mobility group protein 2. We show that knockdown of this sequence-independent chromatin protein in HESCs promotes senescence and impairs decidualization, exemplified by blunted time-dependent secretome changes. Our findings indicate that stem cell deficiency and accelerated stromal senescence limit the differentiation capacity of the endometrium and predispose for pregnancy failure. Stem Cells 2016;34:346-356 Recurrent pregnancy loss is caused by endometrial stem cell deficiency, triggering heightened tissue senescence and impaired decidualization

A multi-centre randomized controlled trial comparing electrothermal arthroscopic capsulorrhaphy versus open inferior capsular shift for patients with shoulder instability: Protocol implementation and interim performance: Lessons learned from conducting a multi-centre RCT [ISRCTN68224911; NCT00251160]

BACKGROUND: The shoulder is the most frequently dislocated joint in the body. Multiple causes and pathologies account for the various types of shoulder instability. Multi-directional instability (MDI) and multi-directional laxity with antero-inferior instability (MDL-AII) are similar in pathology, less common and more difficult to treat. These instabilities are caused by ligamentous capsular redundancy. When non-operative management fails for these patients, quality of life is significantly impaired and surgical treatment is required to tighten the ligaments and joint capsule. The current reference (gold) standard treatment for MDI/MDL-AII is an open inferior capsular shift (ICS) surgical procedure. An alternative treatment involves arthroscopic thermal shrinkage of redundant capsular tissue to tighten the joint. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence to support the use of this technique called, electrothermal arthroscopic capsulorrhaphy (ETAC). This trial will compare the effectiveness of ETAC to open ICS in patients with MDI and MDL-AII, using patient-based quality of life outcome assessments. METHODS: This study is a multi-centre randomized clinical trial with a calculated sample size of 58 patients (p = 0.05, 80% power). Eligible patients are clinically diagnosed with MDI or MDL-AII and have failed standardized non-operative management. A diagnostic shoulder arthroscopy is performed to confirm eligibility, followed by intra-operative randomization to the ETAC or ICS surgical procedure. The primary outcome is the disease-specific quality of life questionnaire (Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index), measured at baseline, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. Secondary outcomes include shoulder-specific measures (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Score and Constant Score). Other outcomes include recurrent instability, complications and operative time. The outcome measurements will be compared on an intention-to-treat basis, using two-sample independent t-tests to assess statistical significance. A Generalized Estimated Equations (GEE) analysis will determine whether there is an effect over time. DISCUSSION: This ongoing trial has encountered unexpected operational and practical issues, including slow patient enrollment due to high intra-operative exclusion rates. However, the authors have a greater understanding of multi-directional laxity in the shoulder and anticipate the results of this trial will provide the medical community with the best scientific clinical evidence on the efficacy of ETAC compared to open ICS

Application of Polyethylene Glycol to Promote Cellular Biocompatibility of Polyhydroxybutyrate Films

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a biomaterial with potential for applications in biomedical and tissue engineering; however, its brittle nature and high crystallinity limit its potential. Blending PHB with a variety of PEGs produced natural-synthetic composite films composed of FDA-approved polymers with significant reductions in crystallinity, from 70.1% for PHB films to 41.5% for its composite with a 30% (w/w) loading of PEG2000. Blending also enabled manipulation of the material properties, increasing film flexibility with an extension to break of 2.49±1.01% for PHB films and 8.32±1.06% for films containing 30% (w/w) PEG106. Significant changes in the film surface properties, as measured by porosity, contact angles, and water uptake, were also determined as a consequence of the blending process, and these supported greater adhesion and proliferation of neural-associated olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs). A growth rate of 7.2×105 cells per day for PHB films with 30% (w/w) PEG2000 loading compared to 2.5×105 for PHB films was observed. Furthermore, while cytotoxicity of the films as measured by lactate dehydrogenase release was unaffected, biocompatibility, as measured by mitochondrial activity, was found to increase. It is anticipated that fine control of PEG composition in PHB-based composite biomaterials can be utilised to support their applications in medicinal and tissue engineering applications. Copyright © 2011 Rodman T. H. Chan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Optical Coherence Tomography in the UK Biobank Study - Rapid Automated Analysis of Retinal Thickness for Large Population-Based Studies

PURPOSE: To describe an approach to the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging in large, population-based studies, including methods for OCT image acquisition, storage, and the remote, rapid, automated analysis of retinal thickness. METHODS: In UK Biobank, OCT images were acquired between 2009 and 2010 using a commercially available “spectral domain” OCT device (3D OCT-1000, Topcon). Images were obtained using a raster scan protocol, 6 mm x 6 mm in area, and consisting of 128 B-scans. OCT image sets were stored on UK Biobank servers in a central repository, adjacent to high performance computers. Rapid, automated analysis of retinal thickness was performed using custom image segmentation software developed by the Topcon Advanced Biomedical Imaging Laboratory (TABIL). This software employs dual-scale gradient information to allow for automated segmentation of nine intraretinal boundaries in a rapid fashion. RESULTS: 67,321 participants (134,642 eyes) in UK Biobank underwent OCT imaging of both eyes as part of the ocular module. 134,611 images were successfully processed with 31 images failing segmentation analysis due to corrupted OCT files or withdrawal of subject consent for UKBB study participation. Average time taken to call up an image from the database and complete segmentation analysis was approximately 120 seconds per data set per login, and analysis of the entire dataset was completed in approximately 28 days. CONCLUSIONS: We report an approach to the rapid, automated measurement of retinal thickness from nearly 140,000 OCT image sets from the UK Biobank. In the near future, these measurements will be publically available for utilization by researchers around the world, and thus for correlation with the wealth of other data collected in UK Biobank. The automated analysis approaches we describe may be of utility for future large population-based epidemiological studies, clinical trials, and screening programs that employ OCT imaging