The use of drama to enhance students' ability in constructing ideas in writing = Li yong xi ju jiao xue ti sheng xue sheng de xie zuo gou si neng li

寫作對於學生來說往往是一件苦差，尤其當學生没有寫作構思或意念的時候，寫作內容就變成平凡俗套、枯燥無味的文章，學生覺得辛苦之餘，文章又未能取得理想的分數，究竟如何能幫助學生提升其寫作構思能力呢？在不同的教學法中，戲劇習式的演出與寫作構思有共通之處，兩者均強調思考、情感及想像力。而是次的研究會採用論壇劇場。論壇劇場着重演員與觀眾之間的交流，當觀眾對演員的演出給予評語的時候，所有學生能一同建構更合乎情理的情節。 本研究是行動研究，旨在探討戲劇教學介入寫作課堂後能否提升學生的寫作構思能力。於研究中，共有十五位中三級第二組別的學生參與實驗教學。學生會進行前測、後測及於兩次的教學循環裏進行戲劇演出及參與評價及建議過程。在後測後，參與學生會參與問卷調查，個別學生亦會被邀進行訪談。 根據研究結果顯示，論壇劇場能提升學生的寫作構思能力，不同能力組別的學生於觸物起興文章裏均有進步。於問卷及訪談裏，學生更表示喜歡論壇劇場介入寫作課堂來幫助他們構思寫作內容，認為這能提升他們寫作的信心。 Students always find that writing is a hard work. Especially when they do not have any ideas. Then their writing content will turn into boring essays. It is difficult for them to finish a writing and get high marks. How to enhance students’ ability in constructing ideas in writing? From different teaching methods, there are similarities between dramatic conventions and writing, both of them emphasize thinking, emotion and imagination. In this study, forum theatre is chosen. It is because it emphasizes the interactions between the actors and the audience. Through the comments given by the audience, all the students can help to construct more fruitful writing contents. This study is an action research. It aims to investigate if the integration of forum theatre and writing lessons can enhance students’ ability in constructing ideas in writing. 15 students from a band 2 local school participated in this research. The research examined students’ pre-tests, post-tests and their drama performance like acting and evaluation processes. After post-test, all the students were required to fill in the questionnaire and some of the students were invited to have interview. The research findings show that the dramatic conventions can help enhancing students’ ability in constructing ideas in writing. Most of the students have significant improvement after the research. Through interviews and questionnaires, students expressed that they enjoyed forum-theatre lessons. They thought that this could help them to have more fruitful ideaspublished_or_final_versionEducationBachelorBachelor of Education in Language Educatio

Effectiveness of post-COVID-19 primary care attendance in improving survival in very old patients with multimorbidity: A territory-wide target trial emulation

Objectives:  Older individuals with multimorbidity are at an elevated risk of infection and complications from COVID-19. Effectiveness of post-COVID-19 interventions or care models in reducing subsequent adverse outcomes in these individuals have rarely been examined. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of attending general outpatient within 30 days after discharge from COVID-19 on 1-year survival among older adults aged 85 years or above with multimorbidity.  Design: Retrospective cohort study emulating a randomised target trial using electronic health records. Setting We used data from the Hospital Authority and the Department of Health in Hong Kong, which provided comprehensive electronic health records, COVID-19 confirmed case data, population-based vaccination records and other individual characteristics for the study.  Participants: Adults aged 85 years or above with multimorbidity who were discharged after hospitalisation for COVID-19 between January 2020 and August 2022. Interventions Attending a general outpatient within 30 days of last COVID-19 discharge defined the exposure, compared to no outpatient visit. Main outcome measures Primary outcome was all-cause mortality within one year. Secondary outcomes included mortality from respiratory, cardiovascular and cancer causes.  Results: A total of 6183 eligible COVID-19 survivors were included in the analysis. The all-cause mortality rate following COVID-19 hospitalisation was lower in the general outpatient visit group (17.1 deaths per 100 person-year) compared with non-visit group (42.8 deaths per 100 person-year). After adjustment, primary care consultations within 30 days after discharge were associated with a significantly greater 1-year survival (difference in 1-year survival: 11.2%, 95% CI 8.1% to 14.4%). We also observed significantly better survival from respiratory diseases in the general outpatient visit group (difference in 1-year survival: 6.3%, 95% CI 3.5% to 8.9%). In a sensitivity analysis for different grace period lengths, we found that the earlier participants had a general outpatient visit after COVID-19 discharge, the better the survival.  Conclusions: Timely primary care consultations after COVID-19 hospitalisation may improve survival following COVID-19 hospitalisation among older adults aged 85 or above with multimorbidity. Expanding primary care services and implementing follow-up mechanisms are crucial to support this vulnerable population's recovery and well-being

Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy: Consensus Nomenclature and Non–Indocyanine Green Angiograph Diagnostic Criteria from the Asia-Pacific Ocular Imaging Society PCV Workgroup

10.1016/j.ophtha.2020.08.006Ophthalmology1283443-45

Non ICGA treatment criteria for Suboptimal Anti VEGF Response for Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy: APOIS PCV Workgroup Report 2

10.1016/j.oret.2021.04.002Ophthalmology Retina510945-95

Actionable pharmacogenetic variants in Hong Kong Chinese exome sequencing data and projected prescription impact in the Hong Kong population.

Preemptive pharmacogenetic testing has the potential to improve drug dosing by providing point-of-care patient genotype information. Nonetheless, its implementation in the Chinese population is limited by the lack of population-wide data. In this study, secondary analysis of exome sequencing data was conducted to study pharmacogenomics in 1116 Hong Kong Chinese. We aimed to identify the spectrum of actionable pharmacogenetic variants and rare, predicted deleterious variants that are potentially actionable in Hong Kong Chinese, and to estimate the proportion of dispensed drugs that may potentially benefit from genotype-guided prescription. The projected preemptive pharmacogenetic testing prescription impact was evaluated based on the patient prescription data of the public healthcare system in 2019, serving 7.5 million people. Twenty-nine actionable pharmacogenetic variants/ alleles were identified in our cohort. Nearly all (99.6%) subjects carried at least one actionable pharmacogenetic variant, whereas 93.5% of subjects harbored at least one rare deleterious pharmacogenetic variant. Based on the prescription data in 2019, 13.4% of the Hong Kong population was prescribed with drugs with pharmacogenetic clinical practice guideline recommendations. The total expenditure on actionable drugs was 33,520,000 USD, and it was estimated that 8,219,000 USD (24.5%) worth of drugs were prescribed to patients with an implicated actionable phenotype. Secondary use of exome sequencing data for pharmacogenetic analysis is feasible, and preemptive pharmacogenetic testing has the potential to support prescription decisions in the Hong Kong Chinese population

Efficacy, durability, and safety of intravitreal faricimab up to every 16 weeks for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (TENAYA and LUCERNE): two randomised, double-masked, phase 3, non-inferiority trials

Background: Faricimab is a bispecific antibody that acts through dual inhibition of both angiopoietin-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor A. We report primary results of two phase 3 trials evaluating intravitreal faricimab with extension up to every 16 weeks for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Methods: TENAYA and LUCERNE were randomised, double-masked, non-inferiority trials across 271 sites worldwide. Treatment-naive patients with nAMD aged 50 years or older were randomly assigned (1:1) to intravitreal faricimab 6·0 mg up to every 16 weeks, based on protocol-defined disease activity assessments at weeks 20 and 24, or aflibercept 2·0 mg every 8 weeks. Randomisation was performed through an interactive voice or web-based response system using a stratified permuted block randomisation method. Patients, investigators, those assessing outcomes, and the funder were masked to group assignments. The primary endpoint was mean change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) from baseline averaged over weeks 40, 44, and 48 (prespecified non-inferiority margin of four letters), in the intention-to-treat population. Safety analyses included patients who received at least one dose of study treatment. These trials are registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (TENAYA NCT03823287 and LUCERNE NCT03823300). Findings: Across the two trials, 1329 patients were randomly assigned between Feb 19 and Nov 19, 2019 (TENAYA n=334 faricimab and n=337 aflibercept), and between March 11 and Nov 1, 2019 (LUCERNE n=331 faricimab and n=327 aflibercept). BCVA change from baseline with faricimab was non-inferior to aflibercept in both TENAYA (adjusted mean change 5·8 letters [95% CI 4·6 to 7·1] and 5·1 letters [3·9 to 6·4]; treatment difference 0·7 letters [-1·1 to 2·5]) and LUCERNE (6·6 letters [5·3 to 7·8] and 6·6 letters [5·3 to 7·8]; treatment difference 0·0 letters [-1·7 to 1·8]). Rates of ocular adverse events were comparable between faricimab and aflibercept (TENAYA n=121 [36·3%] vs n=128 [38·1%], and LUCERNE n=133 [40·2%] vs n=118 [36·2%]). Interpretation: Visual benefits with faricimab given at up to 16-week intervals demonstrates its potential to meaningfully extend the time between treatments with sustained efficacy, thereby reducing treatment burden in patients with nAMD