Whole-Genome Array CGH Evaluation for Replacing Prenatal Karyotyping in Hong Kong

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Secondary Metabolites of Marine Microbes: From Natural Products Chemistry to Chemical Ecology

Marine natural products (MNPs) exhibit a wide range of pharmaceutically relevant bioactivities, including antibiotic, antiviral, anticancer, or anti-inflammatory properties. Besides marine macroorganisms such as sponges, algae, or corals, specifically marine bacteria and fungi have shown to produce novel secondary metabolites (SMs) with unique and diverse chemical structures that may hold the key for the development of novel drugs or drug leads. Apart from highlighting their potential benefit to humankind, this review is focusing on the manifold functions of SMs in the marine ecosystem. For example, potent MNPs have the ability to exile predators and competing organisms, act as attractants for mating purposes, or serve as dye for the expulsion or attraction of other organisms. A large compilation of literature on the role of MNPs in marine ecology is available, and several reviews evaluated the function of MNPs for the aforementioned topics. Therefore, we focused the second part of this review on the importance of bioactive compounds from crustose coralline algae (CCA) and their role during coral settlement, a topic that has received less attention. It has been shown that certain SMs derived from CCA and their associated bacteria are able to induce attachment and/or metamorphosis of many benthic invertebrate larvae, including globally threatened reef-building scleractinian corals. This review provides an overview on bioactivities of MNPs from marine microbes and their potential use in medicine as well as on the latest findings of the chemical ecology and settlement process of scleractinian corals and other invertebrate larvae

Measurement of the ttbar Production Cross Section with an in situ Calibration of b-jet Identification Efficiency

To be submitted to Phys.Lett.BA measurement of the top-quark pair-production cross section in ppbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.12/fb collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab is presented. Decays of top-quark pairs into the final states e nu + jets and mu nu + jets are selected, and the cross section and the b-jet identification efficiency are determined using a new measurement technique which requires that the measured cross sections with exactly one and multiple identified b-quarks from the top-quark decays agree. Assuming a top-quark mass of 175 GeV/c^2, a cross section of 8.5+/-0.6(stat.)+/-0.7(syst.) pb is measured.A measurement of the top-quark pair-production cross section in pp̅ collisions at √s=1.96  TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.12  fb-1 collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab is presented. Decays of top-quark pairs into the final states eν+ jets and μν+ jets are selected, and the cross section and the b-jet identification efficiency are determined using a new measurement technique which requires agreement between the measured cross sections with exactly one and with multiple identified b quarks from the top-quark decays. Assuming a top-quark mass of 175  GeV/c2, a cross section of 8.5±0.6(stat)±0.7(syst)pb is measured.Peer reviewe

Analyses of the operational performance of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services in Hong Kong

This study is based on the 35 full-time Maternal and Child Health (MCH) centres in Hong Kong. Cluster analysis is first applied to produce homogeneous groups of MCH centres with a similar level of workload by using hierarchical clustering techniques, followed by a non-hierarchical clustering technique for verification. Based on the results from the clustering analyses, operational performance of the MCH centres is evaluated by using performance indicators (Pls) as it is useful to compare the performance of centres between and within clusters with similar workload statistics. The nurses' strength of different ranks are also taken into account for operational reasons. This study is helpful for the management in identifying areas in need of in-depth study and possible improvement.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Nurses allocation models for maternal and child health services

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) centres in Hong Kong offer, for children aged below six and women of childbearing age, a comprehensive range of health services regularly performed by nurses of different ranks. While each rank has its specific duties, nurses of a higher rank can step down to the work of a more junior rank when necessary. However, cross-regional deployments of nurses occur less frequently. We develop goal programming models of `optimal' MCH nurses allocation. The presence and absence of nurses' `cross-over' of work functions are explicitly considered. The results show that more equitable manpower levelling can be achieved, with flexibility (in the longer term) on cross-regional deployment of nurses as a possible way of operational improvement when the entire MCH service is taken as a whole.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

An enterprise collaborative management system: A case study of supplier selection in new product development

Businesses that remain competitive must not only look into their internal operations, but also communicate and work concurrently with all players in their supply chain network. In this paper, the supplier relationship management module of a server-based enterprise collaborative management system (ECMS) using enterprise application integration (EAI) technology for trial implementation at Honeywell Consumer Products (Hong Kong) Limited, is discussed. A case study using ECMS's supplier relationship management system (ISRMS) to integrate Honeywell's supplier rating system (SRS) and product coding system (PCS) via the case-based reasoning (CBR) technique, to select preferred suppliers during the new product development (NPD) process, is also reported here. It is found that the outsource cycle time, from the searching of potential suppliers to the allocation of orders, is greatly reduced. Through the ISRMS of ECMS, manufacturers identify preferred suppliers to form a supply network on which they depend for products, services and distribution effectively

Management of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a distinctly radiosensitive and chemosensitive tumor. Best quality radiotherapy is demanded to build up the complex concave high-dose zone for this critical location. Intensity-modulated (IMRT) technique is advocated, image guidance to ensure setup precision and adaptive re-planning if major deviations from intended dose distribution occur during the treatment course are useful improvements if resources allow. Stringent dose constraint to organs at risk should be attempted to minimize late toxicities. Addition of cisplatin-based concurrent-adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended for patients with stages III–IVB and high-risk stage IIB diseases. More contemporary series using IMRT together with extensive use of chemotherapy and acceleration reported very encouraging early results with locoregional control in excess of 90% at 2–4 years; the key remaining problem is distant failure. Further improvement of efficacy by changing chemotherapy sequence to induction-concurrent is being explored.The plasma level of Epstein–Barr Viral Deoxyribonucleic Acid is an additional tool for nonkeratinizing carcinoma for prognostication and monitoring disease progress. Integrated fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and computed tomography is useful for excluding distant metastases and posttreatment persistent/recurrent disease. Early detection of failure is critical for increasing the chance of salvage; aggressive treatment should be attempted as far as possible, long survival can be achieved for patients with limited failure or metastasis. Different salvage methods and reported results are summarized