Traffic crashes at toll plazas in Hong Kong

Poisson regression was used to identify the significant contributory factors to traffic crashes at toll plaza areas in Hong Kong. Information on the crash incidences and traffic volume at the toll plaza areas of ten tolled roads in Hong Kong during 1998-2003 were obtained from the traffic accident database system and annual traffic census of the Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. These data, together with the geometric and operational characteristics, including toll plaza width, carriageway width, degree of road curvature, road gradient, and toll booth configuration, were incorporated into two aggregated crash predictive models for different traffic directions. The results revealed that the crash likelihood of inbound traffic was increased significantly with downward slope and the crash likelihood of outbound traffic increased with the degree of road curvature.published_or_final_versio

Transport geography in Asia (Editorial)

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The likelihood of achieving quantified road safety targets: A binary logistic regression model for possible factors

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A Continuum Model for Housing Allocation and Transportation Emission Problems in a Polycentric City

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Young driver distraction by text messaging: A comparison of the effects of reading and typing text messages in Chinese versus English

Background: Reading and typing text messages while driving seriously impairs driving performance and are prohibited activities in many jurisdictions. Hong Kong is a bilingual society and many people write in both Chinese and English. As the input methods for text messaging in Chinese and English are considerably different, this study used a driving simulator approach to compare the effects of reading and typing Chinese and English text messages on driving performance. Method: The driving performances of 26 participants were monitored under the following conditions: (1) no distraction, (2) reading and typing Chinese text messages, and (3) reading and typing English text messages. The following measures of driving performance were collected under all of the conditions: reaction time (RT), driving lane undulation (DLU), driving speed fluctuation (DSF), and car-following distance (CFD) between test and leading cars. Results: RT, DLU, and DSF were significantly impaired by reading and typing both Chinese and English text messages. Moreover, typing text messages distracted drivers more than reading them. Although the Chinese text messaging input system is more complicated than the English system, the use of Chinese did not cause a significantly different degree of distraction. Conclusion: Both reading and typing text messages while driving should be prohibited regardless of whether Chinese or English is used.postprin

Herba Epimedii: Anti-oxidative properties and its medical implications

Herba Epimedii is a Chinese herbal medicine with proven efficacy in treating cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis, and in improving sexual and neurological functions. This efficacy is found to be related to the potent anti-oxidative ability of Herba Epimedii and its flavonoid components, with icarrin as the main effective constituent, along with polysaccharides and vitamin C. These ingredients have been proven to be effective against oxidative-stress related pathologies (cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease and inflammation) in animal rodent models and in vitro studies. Their antioxidative properties are found to be related to an inductive effect on endogenous freeradical scavenging enzymes such as catalase and glutathione peroxidase and the inherent electron-donating ability of flavonoids. © 2010 licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.published_or_final_versio

Perspectiva longitudinal da relação entre coesão e rendimento desportivo no futebol profissional masculino

O objectivo deste estudo é apresentar os resultados de um estudo longitudinal (10 jogos) que explora a existência de correlações estatisticamente significativas entre as quatro dimensões da coesão operacionalizadas pelo Modelo Conceptual de Coesão (Carron, Brawley & Widmeyer, 1985) e diferentes medidas de rendimento desportivo. Os participantes são 23 atletas de uma equipa de futebol profissional (M idade = 22.64; DP idade = 3.89) e os 3 treinadores. Uma versão portuguesa (Martins, Almeida & Viana, no prelo) do Group Environment Questionnaire (Carron, Widmeyer & Brawley, 1985) e um questionário pós-competitivo de avaliação do rendimento, dirigido a treinadores e atletas (Cruz, 1996), foram usados como instrumentos. Os resultados indicam a existência de uma relação entre a Coesão e o Rendimento desportivo em sete dos dez jogos analisados. De forma algo surpreendente e contrariamente ao que seria expectável, verificaram-se correlações positivas e negativas entre a dimensão Integração no Grupo-Social e as diferentes medidas de rendimento. De igual modo, verificaram-se correlações negativas entre as dimensões da coesão com orientação para a tarefa e o rendimento da equipa, contrariando assim todas as evidências. Os resultados obtidos nesta investigação parecem apoiar a concepção de que, de facto, existe uma relação circular entre coesão e rendimento desportivo.ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to present the main results of a longitudinal study (10 games) which explores the existence of statistically significant correlations between the four dimensions of the cohesion considered by the Conceptual Model of Cohesion (Carron, Brawley & Widmeyer, 1985) and different measures of sportive performance. Participants are 23 athletes from a professional soccer team (M age = 22.64; SD age = 3.89) and the 3 coaches. A Portuguese version (Martins, Almeida & Viana, in press) of The Group Environment Questionnaire (Carron, Widmeyer & Brawley, 1985) and a post-competition questionnaire on performance assessment, intended for athletes and coaches (Cruz, 1996), were used as instruments. Regarding the objectives, the existence of a relation between Cohesion and Sport Performance was observed in seven of the ten games analysed. The results indicate the existence of positive and negative correlations between the IG-S and the different measures of performance, as well as negative correlations between the dimensions of the cohesion with guidance towards the task and the team’s performance, thus contradicting the results of previous investigations. The results obtained from this investigation appear to support the concept that there is in fact a circular relation between cohesion and sportive performance

Prevalence of drugged drivers among non-fatal driver casualties presenting to a trauma centre in Hong Kong

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of abusive drug exposure among non-fatal motor vehicle driver casualties presenting to a designated trauma centre in Hong Kong. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Designated trauma centre/regional accident and emergency department in Hong Kong. SUBJECTS: Non-fatal motor vehicle driver casualties who presented to the trauma centre from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2007. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Screening of abusive drug exposure using commercial bedside urine immunoassay kits. RESULTS: Drug screening was performed in 395 injured drivers, 10% of whom tested positive for the drugs of interest. Ketamine was the most commonly detected abusive substance (found in 45% of the subjects). A significantly higher proportion of young drivers (aged <25 years) screened positive (odds ratio=2.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-5.2; P=0.04), with the rate being 21%. The presence of these drugs in urine was related to the time of occurrence of the crash; those occurring between midnight and dawn revealed a trend towards a higher proportion of casualties testing drug-positive (odds ratio=2.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.9-5.3; P=0.07). There were no significant differences in the frequency of persons testing positive for the screened drugs with respect to gender, class of motor vehicle driven, or the day of the week on which the crash occurred. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of drugged driving among non-fatal casualties in our series of Hong Kong drivers was 10%. The frequency of such drivers testing positive for drugs was significantly higher in persons aged less than 25 years. These findings indicate a need to amend existing laws and implement on-site drug screening for suspected drugged drivers.published_or_final_versio

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: presenting symptoms and duration before diagnosis

This is a retrospective analysis of 4768 patients with undifferentiated or non-keratinising carcinoma of the nasopharynx who were treated during 1 January 1976 to 31 December 1985. The mean duration of symptoms before diagnosis was 8 months (range, 1-36 months for 95% of patients). A significant association between the duration of symptoms and the presenting stage was observed (P<0.001); 58% and 39% of stage I and stage V patients, respectively, reported as having had symptoms for less than 6 months. Of the later presenters (those having had symptoms for 6 months or longer), 89% were given a full course of radical megavoltage radiotherapy, but 6% were too advanced for any irradiation attempt. Consequently, the 10-year actuarial disease-specific survival was significantly higher among the early presenters: 48% versus 42% (P<0.001). The importance of early detection is emphasised.published_or_final_versio