2,802 research outputs found
Spatial and seasonal variations in community structure and trophic dynamics of benthic communities of marine molluscs in Hong Kong’s Coastal Waters before the trawling ban
Oral PresentationBiodiversity & EvolutionTo rectify the detrimental impact of overfishing and destruction of benthic ecosystems, a territory-wide trawling ban has been imposed in Hong Kong’s coastal marine waters since 31 December 2012. It is anticipated that the local benthic marine ecosystem will gradually recover after the trawl-ban. Using stable isotope analysis (SIA), this study aims to compare trophic dynamics of benthic molluscan communities of eastern, southern and western waters of Hong Kong before and after the trawling ban. The results of this study will also serve as a baseline for studying long-term ecosystem recovery. Trawling surveys were conducted using a commercial ...postprin
Are hearing and middle ear statuses at risk in Chinese patients undergoing orthognathic surgery?
Orthognathic surgery, which is performed to correct dentofacial abnormalities, has been associated with postoperative reduction in hearing sensitivity and middle ear dysfunction. In this study, the pre- and postoperative hearing status and middle ear function of 37 Chinese subjects who underwent orthognathic surgery, as well as subjective reports of aural symptoms, particularly hearing loss, tinnitus, fullness and otalgia, were investigated. There was a significant increase in the number of subjects with measured loss, perceived loss and aural fullness from pre-surgery to 1 week post surgery. However, the percentage of increase was small compared with previous findings. This difference in findings was attributed to the type of surgical techniques used, and to the fact that the Chinese population appears to be less susceptible to middle ear effusion. Subjective complaints of aural symptoms may not be accompanied by measured loss.postprin
Evaluation of a Structured Volunteering Programme as an Intervention for Enhancing Resilience Level of Parents of People with Learning Disabilities
The East Asian Archives of Psychiatry can be viewed at: http://easap.asia/journal_file/EASAP-Suppl-2012.pdfPoster session D: Child and Adolescent Mental Health ProblemsConference Theme: Mental Health for AllBackground: Stresses have consistently been found to be
higher in parents of people with learning disabilities (LD).
However, some parents are able to be more resilient and
better adapted in the face of these challenges. It is known
that volunteering experience is able to increase one’s
resilient protector factors. This study was an initial attempt
to evaluate how a structured volunteering programme
enhances the resilience level of parents of people with LD.
The programme lasted for 6 months and the parent volunteers
paid home visits regularly to elderly who were living alone
and were invited to attend the debriefing sessions after every
visit.
Objectives: The researchers examined the effectiveness of
the structured volunteering programme in enhancing the
resilience level of parents of people with LD, and to identify
the specific resilience domains that are correlating with the
programme.
Methods: A pretest-posttest design was adopted, with
the intervention of a 6-month structured volunteering
programme. The researchers developed a 24-item scale
which extracted from the Resilience Scale – Chinese Version
(Chen, 2007; the original scale was developed by Friborg et
al. in 2006) and the Purpose in Life Test – Chinese Version
(Song, 1992; the original test was developed by Crumbaugh
& Maholic in 1964). The scale achieved good reliability (α
= 0.935). Data on 36 participants’ measures of 4 resilience
domains, namely, self-competence, social skills, social
resources, and meaning of life, were analysed.
Results: Statistically significant positive changes in the
resilience domains of social resources (p = 0.05) and
meaning of life (p = 0.04) were found, the domain of social
skills also showed positive change.
Conclusion: The results suggest the effectiveness of the
structured volunteering programme for parents of LD in
resilience enhancement. The programme design would be
discussed.published_or_final_versio
Gold on graphene as a substrate for surface enhanced Raman scattering study
In this paper, we report our study on gold (Au) films with different
thicknesses deposited on single layer graphene (SLG) as surface enhanced Raman
scattering (SERS) substrates for the characterization of rhodamine (R6G)
molecules. We find that an Au film with a thickness of ~7 nm deposited on SLG
is an ideal substrate for SERS, giving the strongest Raman signals for the
molecules and the weakest photoluminescence (PL) background. While Au films
effectively enhance both the Raman and PL signals of molecules, SLG effectively
quenches the PL signals from the Au film and molecules. The former is due to
the electromagnetic mechanism involved while the latter is due to the strong
resonance energy transfer from Au to SLG. Hence, the combination of Au films
and SLG can be widely used in the characterization of low concentration
molecules with relatively weak Raman signals.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Evaluation of cross-beam vector Doppler ultrasound systems for accurate 3-D velocity measurements
Vector Doppler ultrasound (VDUS) systems offer the potential for improved accuracy in mapping of complex flow parameters, such as recirculation, turbulence, and shear stress which are probable risk factors leading to vascular disease and stroke. Cross-beam VDUS systems were evaluated for velocity accuracy to optimize the number of receivers for the inter-beam angle, wall filter, system orientation, and complexity of flow seen in a stenosed carotid artery. Preliminary results for velocity estimation show promise for validation of numerical results. © 2012 IEEE.published_or_final_versio
Force measurement by visibility modulated fiber optic sensor
Author name used in this publication: K. H. WongVersion of RecordPublishe
Treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome with lopinavir/ritonavir: A multicentre retrospective matched cohort study
Objectives. To investigate the possible benefits and adverse effects of the addition of lopinavir/ritonavir to a standard treatment protocol for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome. Design. Retrospective matched cohort study. Setting. Four acute regional hospitals in Hong Kong. Patients and methods. Seventy-five patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome treated with lopinavir/ritonavir in addition to a standard treatment protocol adopted by the Hospital Authority were matched with controls retrieved from the Hospital Authority severe acute respiratory syndrome central database. Matching was done with respect to age, sex, the presence of co-morbidities, lactate dehydrogenase level and the use of pulse steroid therapy. The 75 patients treated with lopinavir/ritonavir were divided into two subgroups for analysis: lopinavir/ritonavir as initial treatment, and lopinavir/ritonavir as rescue therapy. These groups were compared with matched cohorts of 634 and 343 patients, respectively. Outcomes including overall death rate, oxygen desaturation, intubation rate, and use of pulse methylprednisolone were reviewed. Results. The addition of lopinavir/ritonavir as initial treatment was associated with a reduction in the overall death rate (2.3%) and intubation rate (0%), when compared with a matched cohort who received standard treatment (15.6% and 11.0% respectively, P<0.05) and a lower rate of use of methylprednisolone at a lower mean dose. The subgroup who had received lopinavir/ritonavir as rescue therapy, showed no difference in overall death rate and rates of oxygen desaturation and intubation compared with the matched cohort, and received a higher mean dose of methylprednisolone. Conclusion. The addition of lopinavir/ritonavir to a standard treatment protocol as an initial treatment for severe acute respiratory syndrome appeared to be associated with improved clinical outcome. A randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial is recommended during future epidemics to further evaluate this treatment.published_or_final_versio
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