Strengthening students’ reading comprehension ability (both Chinese and English) through developing children’s literature equiz bank on the cloud

Part I of Social Media 2014 will be held in China and Part II will be held in Las VegasReading proficiency is closely related to students’ academic performance. The online e-quiz bank “Reading Battle” aims at enhancing students’ reading interest and developing their reading habits. After reading children’s literature borrowed from school libraries, students may take quizzes on the e-quiz bank to evaluate their reading comprehension ablility. First launched in Hong Kong, the e-quiz bank assists students in enhancing their reading interest and abilities by motivating, scaffolding, and monitoring strategies. This article discusses the project’s features and evaluates their effectiveness in achieving the project goals. Preliminary findings of the project shows that the e-quiz bank offer participants a fun, interactive, and personalized experience in improving their reading comprehension abilities and is effective in fostering a habit of reading.postprin

An abnormal TRPV4-related cytosolic Ca2+ rise in response to uniaxial stretch in induced pluripotent stem cells-derived cardiomyocytes from dilated cardiomyopathy patients.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is cardiac disease characterized by increased left ventricular chamber volume and decreased systolic function. DCM patient-specific human induced-pluripotent stem cells-derived cardiomyocytes (DCM-hiPSC-CMs) were generated. We found that uniaxial stretch elicited a cytosolic [Ca2+]i rise in hiPSC-CMs. Compared to control-hiPSC-CMs, DCM-hiPSC-CMs displayed a greater magnitude of [Ca2+]i responses to the cell stretch of 10-15% elongation in length. This stretch-induced [Ca2+]i rise was abolished by removal of extracellular Ca2+ and markedly attenuated by TRPV4 inhibitors HC-067047 and RN-1734. Application of nifedipine and tranilast also reduced the [Ca2+]i response but to a lesser degree. Moreover, the augmented [Ca2+]i was decreased by cytochalasin D treatment. Taken together, our study for the first time demonstrated an abnormal TRPV4-related mechanosensitive Ca2+ signaling in DCM-hiPSC-CMs

Strengthening students' reading comprehension ability (both Chinese and English) through developing children's literature e-quiz bank on the cloud

Reading proficiency is closely related to students’ academic performance. The online e-quiz bank “Reading Battle” aims at enhancing students’ reading interest and developing their reading habits. After reading children’s literature borrowed from school libraries, students may take quizzes on the e-quiz bank to evaluate their reading comprehension ablility. First launched in Hong Kong, the e-quiz bank assists students in enhancing their reading interest and abilities by motivating, scaffolding, and monitoring strategies. This article discusses the project’s features and evaluates their effectiveness in achieving the project goals. Preliminary findings of the project shows that the e-quiz bank offer participants a fun, interactive, and personalized experience in improving their reading comprehension abilities and is effective in fostering a habit of reading.postprin

The application of technology to improve cognition in older adults : a review and suggestions for future directions

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Epidemiology of diabetes mellitus in children in Hong Kong: The Hong Kong childhood diabetes register

Objectives: To establish a registry for Chinese children with onset of type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetes mellitus before 15 years of age and to determine the incidence of childhood onset type 1 diabetes mellitus in Chinese children in Hong Kong. Research Design and Methods: A registry was established in 1997 to collect childhood diabetes cases retrospectively from all districts in Hong Kong. The study included all newly diagnosed cases of diabetes with onset < 15 yr of age from 1st January 1984 to 31 December 1996. Primary ascertainment was based on review of medical records at all regional public hospitals in Hong Kong and survey of all the registered practitioners in Hong Kong. The secondary source of validation was made impractical, if not impossible, because of the recent implementation of the Personal Data Privacy Ordinance in Hong Kong. Results: A total of 255 diabetic cases were identified, 227 type 1 diabetes mellitus (218 were Chinese), 18 type 2 diabetes mellitus and 11 secondary diabetes. 246 patients were Chinese and 9 non-Chinese. The age-standardized incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus in southern Chinese children in Hong Kong was 1.4/100,000/yr and 0.1/100,000/yr respectively for children < 15 yr of age during the study period. The incidence rates for type 1 diabetes were 0.9, 1.5 and 1.7 per 100,000/yr for 0-4 years, 5 to 9 years and 10 to 14 years age-groups respectively. The incidence for males was 1.2/100,000/yr and for females 1.7/100,000/yr. A significant increase in the incidence was demonstrated during the study period by simple linear regression (slope 0.14/100,000/year, r 2 = 0.73, p = 0.0002) Conclusions: A diabetic registry is established in Hong Kong. This study documents a very low incidence rate of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus in southern Chinese children in Hong Kong and we have seen an increasing incidence of the disease in the past 13 years.link_to_subscribed_fulltex